Chosen Mate (Catamount Lion Shifters #2) (4 page)

He’d stayed true to his commitment to only get involved with shifters since then, but he’d yet to find anyone who called to him. Except Phoebe. She’d always had a straight line to his heart. When he was younger and watched her grow into the beautiful woman she’d become, he’d told himself he couldn’t take advantage of her. She was four years behind him in school. The yawning gap between their ages then was nothing now with him at thirty-four and Phoebe at thirty. Between the time he tried to keep from fawning all over Phoebe and his messy brush with Naomi, he never managed to wipe out the shimmering electric connection that hummed to life every time he was near Phoebe.

He might not be thinking too clearly right now, but he was damn tired of denying himself what he wanted. Especially when, in the midst of the suspicions running high in Catamount, Phoebe was one of the few who held his absolute faith. He turned into the driveway to her house in the wispy light of dusk. Her house was a cape style home, painted a soft cream with the whimsical touch of purple trim and a matching purple steel roof. Snow was falling more heavily now, coating the landscape. Phoebe’s car wasn’t in the drive yet, so Jake texted her quickly asking when she’d be home. Moments later, she replied to report she was on her way. He leaned his head back and watched the snow float down over the field beside her house. A small creek meandered through the field, the dark ribbon of it glimmering under the last rays of sun.

Phoebe’s holiday lights came on. Jake chuckled to himself, realizing she must have them set on a timer. Her home was laced with holiday lights along the roof with two bare trees flanking her front walk decorated as well. Phoebe pulled up and waved at him from her car. He climbed out and followed her down the snow-covered slate path to her front entrance. When she reached the door, she turned to him. Her dark hair was flecked with snowflakes. One caught on her lashes, glittering bright under the lights by the door.

“I didn’t know you were stopping by,” she said, a question in her eyes.

She blinked and the snowflake on her lashes disappeared. Her dark eyes met his, and his breath hitched.

“I hope you’re not planning to ask me to leave.”

She shook her head and tugged her keys out of her purse. “Of course not. Come on in.”

She nudged the door with her shoulder once she unlocked it. Jake’s eyes fell to the flimsy lock on her door. He needed to beef up the locks on her house. In Catamount, it had never crossed his mind to worry about the state of anyone’s locks. He hated that he had to think this way, but right now all he wanted was to make sure those close to him were safe. They’d gotten lucky with how quickly they’d been able to handle Chloe’s kidnapping. He didn’t want to be caught blindsided again.

He shut the door behind him and locked it. Phoebe dropped her purse and bag on the couch as she walked into the kitchen, flicking on lamps along the way. The air was cool. He glanced at the woodstove in the corner of her living room.

“I’m going to start a fire, okay?” he called out.

She leaned her head around the archway leading into the kitchen. “Please do,” she said with a grin.

Jake eyed the small wood rack nearby and turned to head outside. In the snowy almost-dark, he headed for the woodshed on the side of her yard. Walking through the light cast from her festive holiday lights, he methodically stacked wood on the holder outside her front door, filling it to capacity before bringing an armful inside. Once he had the fire started in the woodstove, Phoebe called to him from the kitchen. He walked in to find her ladling stew into bowls, instantly handing him one when he stepped to her side.

“I made it in the slow-cooker this morning. I didn’t know the weather would be ideal for beef stew,” she said.

She nudged him to the table and followed him over with a bowl. Jake uncorked the bottle of red wine on the table and filled the wineglasses she’d set out.

“This is amazing,” he said a few minutes later between bites of the rich, savory stew.

Phoebe grinned. “I didn’t know you’d be enjoying it with me, so I’m glad you like it.”

“Not that there’d be any doubt. You’re a damn good cook,” he replied. He’d shared many meals with Phoebe and knew her to be ridiculously good at cooking and baking. She didn’t go for fancy, but could make the simplest meals amazing. He finished his bowl and pushed it away. Leaning back in his chair, he looked over at her. Her dark curls were damp from the snow, her cheeks flushed. Her dark eyes drew him into their depths. All the years he’d known her, he’d vigilantly shut his brain off when it came to thinking about what it would feel like to experience the passion she exuded. She approached most everything with zeal—cooking, hiking, sewing, nursing, and more. With her dark hair and eyes, curvy figure and warm smile, he’d spent years longing to know her beyond the friendship they shared.

Watching her now, he let go of the tight control he’d kept on his feelings for her. He simply didn’t care to hide them anymore. He sensed she didn’t quite believe him, but he didn’t know what to do about that other than show her. When she stood to carry dishes to the sink, he followed her with the empty wineglasses. The clink of dishes and silverware placed in the sink echoed in the quiet room.

Jake’s body was humming. After so many years of tamping down the ever-present arc of desire for Phoebe, to allow it to exist freely set him afire. After handing her the wineglasses and feeling the brush of her fingers against the back of his palm in the tiny exchange, he had to close his eyes to keep from yanking her against him. When she finally turned to him, he reached for her hands. Her dark eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything. He began walking backwards, drawing her with him into the living room. The light from the fire in the woodstove flickered through the glass door. Snow was still falling outside, the white flakes shining brightly in the glow from the holiday lights encircling the house.

He backed up until his legs bumped the back of the couch. Resting his hips on the edge, he tugged her close, barely able to keep himself under control. The act of letting go of his iron control on his feelings for her was unnerving. The cat in him purred and growled softly, desperate to unleash the lust surging through him. He lifted a hand and trailed the back of it down her cheek, into the soft dip of her neck, across her collarbone and over the lush curve of her breast. Her breath hitched. He flicked his eyes to her face to see her tongue dart out to moisten her lips. The thin thread of control loosened further.

***

Phoebe’s body was on fire, molten heat building in her center, slick moisture between her thighs, and a longing for Jake that ran so deep it shook her to her core. When he’d texted her tonight and said he was waiting for her to get home, she’d decided she wouldn’t try to turn him away. Desperate as she was to keep her heart safe, she was more desperate to give free rein to her feelings for him. Her body had been simmering ever since he’d kissed her, desire thrumming and pulsing with every breath. Though she seriously wondered if her heart could handle it if she gave in to what she’d wanted for so long and it was torn away from her later. Jake slid his hand around her waist and drew her to him, bringing his lips to hers swiftly. As with the kiss the other night, the feel of his mouth against hers was sheer heaven. Her mouth opened to his and he delved in, seeking, stroking, and tangling.

Her pulse leapt, the desire that had been buzzing in her veins for days blew into a flash-fire through her body. Inside, she was hot, needy, and achy for more. She pressed against him, running her hands up over his shoulders and down the muscled length of his back. He tore his lips from hers, nipping her earlobe, tracing a burning path of kisses down her neck into the dip of her blouse. Shivers raced through her body. He tore at her shirt, a button flying loose and pinging on the floor. She ran her hands under the edge of his cotton shirt. His lips never breaking contact from her skin, he reached a hand behind his head and tugged his shirt up and over in one swift move.

She groaned at the feel of his warm skin under her hands. She’d seen him shirtless countless times over the years—watching him run track in college, swimming in Catamount Lake—and always wondered how good it would feel to touch him. He was all lean muscle and pure strength. His muscles shifted and flexed under her hands. She groaned at how good it felt to touch him. His skin was burnished gold in the flickering light from the fire.

Jake’s hands were warm, strong and sure, coasting over her skin in soft touches. He pulled back, his hands on the curve of her hips, his blue eyes dark as he looked at her. He held her eyes as he reached around, and with a flick of his finger, unhooked her bra. The straps slid down her shoulders, her breasts fell loose, heavy and aching for his touch. The air around them was hot and electric, vibrating with the intensity of want and desperate need.

“Phoebe…” he whispered, a hint of reverence in his voice.

She closed her eyes, the moment, the sound of his voice something she’d wanted for so long and beyond what she could have imagined. When he whispered her name again, she opened her eyes and met his, startled at the bare desire reflected in them. She opened her mouth to speak, but groaned when he leaned forward and closed his mouth over her nipples. His tongue swirled, his teeth nipped, and pleasure streaked through her as she arched back with a soft cry. After he gave the same attention to her other breast, she was frantic. She pushed against him, relishing the feel of his hard chest against her soft curves.

The rest of their clothes were torn off in a rush. Time was suspended. Somehow, she found herself pressed against the couch, Jake’s hand holding her wrists in his grasp. She was stretched beneath him, her hips rolling against him, blind with need. She struggled to get closer, gasping as the hard planes of his chest caressed her breasts. His free hand coasted over the curve of her belly, sifted through her dark curls and into the drenching moisture of her folds. His lips pulled away from hers slowly, his eyes landing on hers in the shadowy room.

“You feel so good…” His voice was ragged, slurred.

“Jake…please…” Her hips communicated what her voice couldn’t when she shifted against his hand.

He slid a finger into her channel. She was so close to the edge, pressure gathered inside. Another finger joined the first, stretching her. Sensation rolled through her in waves, centering on the feel of his fingers in her slick core. She tumbled into the blur of his blue gaze, unable to look away until his lips fell to hers in a searing kiss. He ravaged her mouth, his lips tearing away as he licked his way down her neck. He caught her earlobe in his teeth, the sharp bite sending shivers wracking through her. His fingers pumped in and out of her, driving her to a point of desperation. She distantly heard her voice gasping his name, pleading. His hard, muscled body was fluid under her hands. Rolling her hips against him, sharp pleasure spiked through her as her climax crested, so intense, it tore through her with wave upon wave. She felt his fingers go still inside of her, her channel throbbing around him.

Opening her eyes, she found his on hers—dark and intent. For a flash, she felt self-conscious at her complete abandon in his arms. She shoved the feeling away. Now that they’d broken through this barrier, she would take all she could get. She wanted more. She reached between them, curling her hand around the heated, hard length of his shaft. His forehead fell to hers. She held him in her grip, stroking up and down. His breath hissed when she arched up and left a trail of wet kisses on his neck, nipping at the curve. In a swift move, he reached for his jeans, which had fallen to the floor. Within seconds, he rolled a condom on and brought his eyes back to hers.

Settling his hips against hers, he arched into her, sliding his hot length against her. Just when she thought she’d regained a fraction of control, he drove her beyond wild again, teasing her as he dragged his cock back and forth through her wet folds without giving her what she wanted. He nudged her closer and closer to the edge. Just when she thought she could take no more, he finally surged into her slick heat. He filled her completely, stretching her channel. It had been years since she’d had sex, so she gasped at the fullness, teetering on the edge of pain.

Jake held still for a long moment, his eyes locked to hers. He leaned on his elbows and laced his hands in hers and began to move. In slow, tantalizing strokes, he notched her higher and higher into an arc of pleasure. His hot length filled her again and again. She curled her legs around him, pulling him so close against her, they moved as one. His hands pinned hers by her head as he rocked deeper and deeper into her. She felt surrounded by his body, encompassed in dizzying passion and intimacy at once. Shudders began in her center and spiraled outward until she finally tumbled over the edge again, climaxing around him. His back arched as he surged deeply into her one last time. She felt the pulse of him inside her, her channel throbbing with her lingering climax as his brought his body to a tense arch before he collapsed against her with a growl.

They lay still in the quiet, breathing in rhythm. As reality settled into her awareness, Phoebe couldn’t believe she was lying here with Jake inside of her, skin to skin. He shifted his weight to the side and leaned on one elbow. She opened her eyes to find his locked on her. He stroked a stray lock of hair away from her forehead. Uncertain what to say, she simply watched him. She wasn’t ready for this moment to end, but was afraid if she said anything, it would shatter the bare intimacy between them.

Jake took a deep breath, his mouth curling in a small smile. He leaned forward and brought his lips to hers in a lingering kiss. When he pulled away, he gave her a long look as his palm rested warm on her belly, his thumb idly stroking her. Without a word, he untangled himself from her and lifted her in his arms, striding down the short hallway off the living room into her bedroom.

Moments later, they were cocooned in her down quilt after he’d stepped into the bathroom and disposed of his condom. His warm heat surrounded her. She thought she should say something.