Cougar's Mate (16 page)

But when he looked into her golden eyes, he realized just how concerned she still was.

“He won’t discover anything.”

And then he was kissing her and she was kissing him. She was cold, like he was, but the next thing he knew, she was pulling at his parka to remove it, their lips still pressed together, tongues touching this time.

He quickly jerked his parka off and tossed it, and then began to unbutton her coat as if their clothes were on fire. His blood was on fire, just from feeling her mouth pressed against his, the way she tangled her tongue with his, the way she so eagerly was trying to remove his clothes.

They shouldn’t be doing this. Not in a million years, they shouldn’t be going there. But he couldn’t quit it unless she said she didn’t want it, and she didn’t look like she had any intention of stopping where this was going.

She tugged at his belt and he lifted her onto his bed and pulled off her hot pink sweater. For a moment, he just stared at her lace-covered breasts and the hint of dusky, aroused nipples that already poked at the lace. He crouched down to pull off one of her tennis shoes and then the other, vowing to get her a pair of snow boots next time they went into town together. She wasn’t leaving him. She wasn’t going anywhere. She belonged there… with him.

He slipped off her socks, but then she tugged again at his belt, as if she wanted him to strip as much as she had already. He hurried to unbutton his shirt as she started unfastening some of them, too. Her fingers brushing against his chest, her helping to undress him aroused him all the more.

She slid his flannel shirt off his shoulders, then kissed one, and then the other, her mouth on his skin hot and erotic. But then she was again frantically attempting to pull off his clothes as if she was afraid she might change her mind about this, or he would.

He wasn’t about to. Every bit of him said he wanted this as long as she did.

He pulled off her jeans, and then removed his boots, socks, and his own jeans. Winter weather meant way too many clothes. He was already thinking what it would be like come summer and seeing Shannon in fewer clothes.

Before he could pull off his briefs, she slowed down, running her hands over his taut abs, the feel of her fingers skimming over his skin, making every inch of him sizzle with heat. He took her face in his hands and began to kiss her, slowly and gently, wanting to make this last. Her hands slid down his waist and as soon as he felt her thumbs slip under the waistband at his hips, he knew he was going to have a hell of a time going slow.

She pulled the briefs down, freeing his erection, her cheek brushing down the length of his cock as she slid the briefs all the way to his ankles. Stepping out of them, he reached behind her to unfasten her bra and struggled to unclasp it as their mouths again sought each other, kissing, pressuring, her lips warm and soft against his. Her bra undone, he slid the straps down her arms and gazed at her luscious breasts, heavy, the nipples aroused. He cupped each in a hand and enjoyed the feel of her soft flesh. She ran her fingers through his hair, her nails gently scratching his scalp, as he took one of her nipples in his mouth and teased it with his tongue, licking, sucking, making her collapse onto the bed.

He smiled, then pulled off her panties, and she moved farther onto the bed, her head on his pillow. Somehow, seeing her dark hair stretched out over his pale blue flannel pillowcase made him feel as though she belonged there, in his bed, just like that.

She was smiling at him, her eyes dark with desire, the curly dark hair at the apex of her thighs dewy, her nipples begging him to sample them again. He couldn’t help that he wished to admire her beauty before he joined her, but when he looked up at her face, he found her eyeing him in the same appreciative way. That had his erection jumping.

She smiled. And then he was beside her on the bed, kissing her, his hand on her breast, the nipple poking at the palm of his hand. She smelled of the outdoors, the pine, hot, and sexy cougar. She tasted of pink fruit punch and sweet sugary birthday frosting—a sweet confection that was all his.

He swept his hand down her soft belly, lower until his fingers found her swollen feminine bud. He began to stroke her, not believing it would come to this. Despite knowing he shouldn’t be doing it, being with her like this felt right.

He continued to stroke her as he kissed her mouth. She held his face and kissed him eagerly back until he felt her tense, and then she let out her breath in a happy exhalation, before she forced him onto his back, surprising the hell out of him.

He wasn’t sure she’d want to go all the way, but when she lined herself up to impale herself on top of his rigid cock, he managed to use his other brain and said, “Wait, let me get a…”

“Implant—three year birth control,” she said, and he was glad she was protected, given her current circumstances.

She finished the move and he felt like he was in heaven as his cock pushed deep inside her. He reached up to cup her breasts as she rocked on top of him, her own muscles clenching tight around his erection, still pulsing with her orgasm when Chase’s damn phone rang.

Ignoring it, he placed his hands on her hips and worked her up and down as he watched her exquisite breasts bounce with their moves. He thrust into her, loving the way his cock was surrounded by her dark curls as he pumped into her.

He was on the verge of coming when she began to slow down, and if she stopped now, he swore he was going to die.

Shannon had never felt so wild with abandon as she did with Chase. She didn’t know why she felt that way with him when he was the nicest man she’d ever met. But something about him made her take risks that she normally wouldn’t take. Like making love to him when she had no business doing so. She told herself it was okay because she really wasn’t a criminal. But the truth of the matter was, she could get him killed. And he certainly didn’t deserve that.

Then she felt another climax coming and she slowed down to savor it, to allow it to build, to feel herself rising above the world and ascending to heaven when it hit. “Oh… my… God,” she said, but as much as she was totally boneless and tired and felt like the whole world was at her command—after she took a nap—she knew Chase wasn’t quite done.

His face was hard with concentration, his eyes lusty, the smell of the all big he-cat, musty, sexy, and hot, hot, hot. He groaned as he came, and yet he still rocked into her, still pumping hard until the last. And then he grabbed her arms and pulled her against him, his hand on her back, his other sliding down it in a soothing caress.

They didn’t say anything, just listened to each other’s heart beating way too fast, their breathing heavy, and she felt totally satiated.

She snuggled against his chest, when he pulled the covers over them to keep them warm, though the heater was on. He was still inside her, as if he intended to take a cat nap with her just like this.

Then she recalled the phone call, and she wondered who had called. And she wondered if Chase was thinking about it, too. He didn’t say anything about it though, just stroked her back and held her close as if this was the most natural thing for the two of them to be doing. And in a weird way, it felt right, as if they were living the lies that everyone in town was already saying were true—that they were married, she had lived here forever, and this was her home.

That was the last thing she remembered thinking before she fell asleep.

Chase held onto Shannon, torn between wanting to stay here the rest of the day and night, and knowing he needed to check on the phone call. But Shannon was sound asleep and despite that, just her breasts pressed against him, her light, warm breath tickling the hairs on his chest, and the way she was straddling him as if she’d claimed him was making his cock stir inside her.

He wasn’t about to move an inch, had no intention of unsettling her, not when her being with him allowed her to feel safe. He snorted. Hell, safe from whoever was out there, but what about from him? But he was glad she felt safe enough to sleep against him.

He had wanted this as much as she had wanted this, but now he worried even more that she planned to run off on him. As if the sex—like he had worried earlier about her kissing him—was a way to say thank you and good bye. He had to quit thinking in those terms. But he was having a hard time doing so. Especially since with her, she had proved to be so unpredictable.

For now, he just held her close, loving that they’d shared this intimacy, and hoped she would stay with him, and they could work things out with whatever trouble she was in.

He closed his eyes and fell asleep for a couple of hours and woke to her stirring on top of him. That had him hard all over again. The wicked smile she cast him gave him the go ahead to pleasure her all over again before they finally got up and she headed to the bathroom to take a shower. The phone rang again, and he sighed, and grabbed it. Two missed calls from Dan. At least he waited for a while before he called again.

“Hey, Dan, that hound of a reporter, Carl, was asking some questions.” Chase told Dan all that had transpired between them.

Dan laughed.

Chase frowned and was going to ask him what was so damned funny, when Dan said, “He asked the same questions of a dozen different people right before Dottie’s birthday party. The answer everyone gave was that you were doing some practice police work, seeing how those new handcuffs worked on your wife while she was serving as the arrestee. But once you entered the dress shop, you knew they worked fine and so you were back to your usual loving selves—shopping for your lovely wife and enjoying the day together. I swear everyone has been coming up with stories to explain everything that has happened way before either you or I think of it. Cell phones, text messages, emails, everyone’s swapping stories to cover you.”

“But he knew about the break-in at Hal’s house.”

“Right. You’re both helping him move, right? She was at the house already packing up some of his household items to help out, and you got this idea about trying out your new handcuffs. She didn’t resist you when you left the house, did she?”

“No.” Chase couldn’t believe it. He loved the people in this town. “I’ll let her know. Someone should have told me, though.”

“Yeah, sorry. Kind of got distracted at the party. Besides, I didn’t think he’d be around to bother you since he hadn’t already.”

“Did you call about anything special?”

“Dottie said that Shannon told her that she had lost her parents and her twin brother. No names though. And she’s been running for four and a half weeks. So that narrows down the timeframe as far as an approximate date that a crime might have been committed. Still no idea where though.”

Chase glanced in the direction of the bathroom, the shower still running. “That’s a hell of a long time.”

“Yeah, I know. The little lady is one survivor. We also know her father served in the military, but that’s about it for now.”

“All right. We’re going to have some supper and watch one of Dottie’s movies, I suspect.”

“Okay, same goes as before. Learn anything, call me pronto, and same here.”

“Sounds good. Talk to you later.”

Chase threw on his briefs and a robe, then headed into the kitchen to see about making supper. He heard Shannon leave the bathroom and then enter the guest bedroom and close the door. He sure hoped she would sleep with him tonight. When the shrimp pasta was ready to serve, she joined him in the kitchen and took in a deep breath of the aroma of the meal.

“Sorry I took so long in the shower. I meant to give you time to take one and then I would have made dinner.”

“I think I was a chef in another life,” he said. “Do you want to grab a bottle of white wine, and we’ll eat in the living room tonight while we’re watching a movie?”

“Sure.”

Tonight, this was how he wanted it, with her sitting beside him on the couch, the two of them having shrimp pasta and wine, and watching—well, a romance movie. He could deal with it. And if it put her in the mood for more loving, he
really
could deal with it.

After finishing up dinner and their glasses of wine, she snuggled with him like she did before, only this time she stayed awake through the movie, but once it was done, she asked, “Was that Dan who had called?” She carried their plates into the kitchen, and then started the dishwasher while he put the wine bottle away.

“Yeah. I told him about the reporter.” Chase explained what the townspeople had made up as their cover story.

She laughed. “That’s hilarious. It’s a good thing I wasn’t in handcuffs any longer when we went to Millicent’s to shop.”

He pulled her close and looked down at her. “Speaking of which, I need to take you to the store to pick up some more things. Something for you to wear in the snow—snow boots, a hat, a few more clothes.”

She almost looked afraid and that had him worried all over again. “No pressure,” he said, and leaned down to kiss her wine-flavored lips. “But… you’re coming to bed with me.”

She chuckled, pulled out of his grasp, slipped her hand around his and headed for his bedroom. “But you know what happened the last time we ended up in your bed.”

“Yes, you slept really well.”

She smiled at him.

And he smiled right back at her. “You will sleep.” But only after they made love again.

He truly wanted this with Shannon, only he was afraid that no matter how much he wanted it, her mind was set on leaving.

***

Late the next morning, Shannon woke and stretched in bed--Chase’s bed—not believing that they had been up half the night making love. He was banging around in the kitchen. She realized just how much she had needed the intimacy with a man—not ready to say that Chase would be that man for the long run—not with the way things stood right now.

But he seemed to need the same things as she did, so for now, she was fine with it.

"Hey, are you finally awake?" he asked, smiling at her as she joined him in the kitchen. He was drinking a cup of coffee and started to make her a cup of hot tea.

He sounded friendly and eager to talk with her, not annoyed that she'd slept half the day and missed breakfast with him just because she didn’t hold up as well with making love half the night as he did. She really appreciated him for that. She needed that in her life for the moment. No one judging her. Just accepting her the way she was.