Feral Craving (27 page)

Under the hot spray, her body felt
gloriously sore in all the right places from a full day of satisfying
lovemaking. As she smoothed the soap across her skin, she was slightly shocked
to find not a single mark remained on her body. Wounds and injuries took time
to heal but never this short amount of time. Her mind frantically worked to try
to figure it out. The only thing she could deduce was it had to have been
because of Bari and the exchanging of their blood.

She should be freaking out. Mackenzie
understood that. Instead, what she felt was a peaceful calm, reminiscent to the
morning following a turbulent storm. The sensation washed over her, and she
closed her eyes, trying to draw from the comfort of it. Deeper inside, she
recognized a darker sentiment, one swirling like a tornado. Fear, sadness, joy,
and disgust battled together. After studying where the emotions came from, she
somehow identified each coming from Bari.

With her eyes still closed, she stepped
beneath the spray and hardly felt the water pelting her head. Instead, in her
mind and behind dark lids, a braided rope appeared. Sparkling with silver
colors, woven threads of blue and green intermingled between the gray strands.
Mackenzie identified the passionate emotions from before as pulsing down
through this link. She recognized this was what connected her to Bari, an
unbreakable bond, one that death itself wouldn’t even break.

This link was impossible to reach out and
touch, like an invisible thread, but it was still very, very real—she instead
concentrated on the link and sent pulses of her own senses through it. She
experienced a calm, a peace centering inside her body, and the love, the
craving she held for him constantly, solid as granite, even after all these
years.

Bewilderment met Mackenzie through the
link as she pushed her own feelings to Bari. That emotion only lasted a few
seconds though before she felt a tender stroke of reassurance shoot down the
line and then the soft touch of very solid arms wrapping her body up from
behind.
 

Chapter
Twenty-Eight

Bari listened to Tyler as he spoke in low
tones next to his ear. His eyes turned down the hall to where
Mackenzie was. He had grown accustomed to her presence, felt the calm in
being around her center him. Where before his head constantly seemed to be
spinning, now when in her presence, there was a peace he found hard to find.

As Tyler turned and strolled away, giving
him one last slap on the back, Bari took a deep breath and walked down the
hall. His boots echoed off the walls, and suddenly his pulse started to thunder
in his throat. It was so thick, he felt as if he could swallow the beat. He
stopped in front of the room Mackenzie and Byron were staying in. He and the
team all decided that bringing Mackenzie to his house was the best option for
her safety. There was something about the situation that unnerved him, and
having her close eased his worries and helped him focus on finding out just
what the threat to her was. Everyone was on edge over the threat hanging out
there. Mackenzie surprised him by agreeing to it. This couldn’t be any easier
on her than it was on him. Pushing open the door, he stepped inside.

Byron sat on the floor playing with what
looked like twice the number of Matchbox cars he had yesterday. A small smile
played on Bari’s lips. His teammates were falling head over heels in love with
his son and doing everything to make him feel like a normal kid in a world
where so much had gone wrong.

Mac sat on the bed, her body hunched
over, and misery like a living presence eating the air around her. She watched
Byron with a helpless look, strain etched all over her beautiful face.
Mackenzie might be young when compared to others, but she was one of the most
extraordinary, strongest females he had ever known. The past few weeks were an
indicator of her ability to adapt to changes. He respected her for it, the
willingness and ease she took to matters. When you compared the two of them,
Bari admitted to himself he was being a bit of a fucking brat when it came to
how willing he was being to accept all his own changes.

“Bari, look at my new lightsaber!”

Bari’s pulled his eyes from the deep
green gaze of Mackenzie’s and looked at Byron.
What the hell?
He narrowed his eyes and frowned, had to fight to
hold back the laughter in his chest as Mackenzie jumped from the bed and
bounded across the room.

“Byron, no!”

At the deep blush spreading across
Mackenzie’s cheeks, Bari started to laugh, the sound deep and hearty. Mackenzie
went from being pale, to the color of an apple, her cheeks flaming with heat as
she grabbed the blue vibrator from Byron’s hands. As she turned and shoved her
hands behind her back, her red face sporting a look of anguish, the laughter he
had been fighting erupted out of him. She started to scowl as his laughter
continued, then quirked her lips. He laughed harder, the sound coming from
someplace deep inside.

“Angel, we all have our toys, don’t we?”
Laughter rumbled from his chest and died off after a few minutes. Crossing the
room, he bent down, his forearms resting on his knees.

“I don’t think that’s something your mama
wants you to play with.” Bari chuckled as Mackenzie huffed. He turned his head
up to wink at her before turning his attention back to Byron. “I’m going to
take your Mama out for a while, but your Uncle Alex is right down the hall with
Tyler. Why don’t you go run along and see what kinds of trouble you can get in
with them?”

Byron’s eyes went wide before he ran from
the room. Bari turned to Mackenzie, who had already put away the “lightsaber.”
Before she could speak, he reached down and tucked a tendril of her hair behind
her ear, the intimate action surprising them both. It had been too long since
he’d done that action, and now it brought back memories the two of them shared.

“Come out with me tonight.” Bari wrapped
his palm under her arm and started to guide her from the room. “Trust me.”

His lips lifted in triumph as after
several moments of tense silence she finally took his hand. In the same moment
as her hand slid into his, something “softer” shifted through him.

Leaving the house, he stepped on the
porch and drew her into a corner. He lifted his hands, pulled back her hair and
studied her face. Having Mackenzie plastered along the length of his body,
feeling every sweet curve of hers pressing to him, raised all kinds of
feelings, but he reminded himself this was about her, not him.

“Everything is going to work out, Angel.”

“You can’t say that, Bari.”

“Why not?”

“Because you can’t make promises you
can’t keep. If you say that then you need to be sure of what you’re willing to
do.”

“Fair enough. But ensuring your and
Byron’s safety is one promise I intend to keep.”

Bari leaned down and grabbed the extra
helmet as he stepped away from her. He reached back for her hand and guided her
down the steps. As they stepped to the driveway, sitting in the middle of the
blacktop was his bike, his Iron 883 Harley with a metallic blue trim.
Mackenzie’s breath catching sounded behind him as the bike came into view, and
Bari let a slow smile spread across his lips.

“Wanna ride, Angel?” Bari felt his breath
catch as Mackenzie matched his smile. Back in the day, there had always been
bike rides and journeys, where the two of them would toss their legs on the
machine and head down the road, going where they wanted.

Bari released her hand and turned toward
the bike. He had pulled the Harley from the detached garage, set behind the
house and tucked deep in trees, nestled within the grounds he knew as home. If
he was honest with himself, the only place he ever felt at home was with his
team or in Mackenzie’s arms.

Bari set his helmet on his seat and like
before, grabbed her hair and pulled it back, then set her helmet on her
head, tucking the chin strap beneath her perfect, heart-shaped face. Once
it was secured, he leaned down and briefly touched his lips to hers. He wasn’t
one that normally did affection and for years had shied away from it. He didn’t
understand why he gave in to the need to do it with Mackenzie, but it felt so
damn right he didn’t question it. He stepped back and grabbed his helmet, tugged
it on, and tossed a long leg over the bike. He set the keys in the ignition and
kick started the engine. A loud roar exploded through the air, the throaty purr
deep and satisfying. Mackenzie joined him, the bike shifting as she stepped on
the back peg. Her arms wrapped around his waist, and he closed his eyes against
the feeling of it all being so damn right.

Bari eased the bike down the dirt road,
leading them out from the house to the highway. The thrum of the bike soothed
his muscles and as he reached the road, he opened the throttle. The bike
kicked, pulled from its torque and set off. Mackenzie’s arms shifted around
him, grabbing tighter.

The sun set, a picture perfect view
behind the mountains, displaying the sky with pinks, purples, and oranges as the
last minutes of the day settled in. He shifted gears and kicked up the speed,
listening to the throaty growl of the bike rumble out from beneath them and
shatter the peace. Bari drove where he wanted to go, a particular destination
in mind, and hoped like hell this would help Mackenzie. He really hoped it
would help them both.

****

Bari smelled of leather and spice, a
cruel combination that threatened to overwhelm Mackenzie’s mind with memories.
She missed this, them, their time together. So much had changed in nine years.
This was what she remembered, the freedom and peace, the time when they could
just be. They wouldn’t have to worry about stalkers or threats, about little
boys who wondered what was going on, or even about strange looking creatures in
the forest. No, this was them, and this was how it should have been.

Her arms wrapped tighter around his
waist, the hum of the bike working its way between her legs, vibrating up her
body. It had been years since they had gone for a ride, but as he cruised
around curves, her body fell in line with his as if they had never parted.
Mackenzie turned her head and rested it on his back, her eyes squeezing shut at
just how damn much she had missed him. This was their time, no interruptions,
no others around. Her body recognized his in ways she never thought possible.

The sole light from his bike paved a
path for them to follow, but she knew he would have been able to find this
place without it. It was where he went when things got to be too much, when the
nightmares of his childhood kept him up or the screams in his head became too
much. This place was where things changed between them. He shared it with her
that night, and she’d visited it over and over again throughout the years.

****

Bari pulled the bike around a curve and
stopped. A field of green grass lay before them. The sudden cut off from the
bike rang loud in his ears for a second but was soon replaced by the sounds of
night coming to life. Bari scanned the area, the full moon rising, its
reflection off the lake ahead casting a silvery glint. He waited for Mackenzie
to get off the bike before he drew the kickstand down and pulled his leg off
the bike.

Mackenzie set the helmet down on his bike
and walked a few short steps away. Her arms wrapped around herself in a
vulnerable gesture. Memories of this place, of that night hit him hard. She
stayed like that for endless moments before turning and uncurling her arms.
They dropped to the front of her jacket, unzipping it slowly as she held his
gaze.

“I remember this place, Bari.”

His eyes flickered down to her hands
before lifting back to her eyes. “What are you doing, Mac?”

“Undressing.”

He swallowed hard. “Why?”

“Seems like a nice night for a swim.”

Bari watched her, feeling the heat of her
gaze roll across him as if it were a physical caress. Her jacket fell to the
ground with a plop before her hands lifted to her shirt and began to unbutton
it.

“Mackenzie…”

“Bari…”

All the air left his lungs as her shirt
joined her jacket on the ground.

“What are you doing to me, Mac?” His
voice was strangled, and it seemed as though he choked for breath. Mackenzie
reached behind her back, the action jutting her breasts forward, as she
unhooked her bra, pulling the straps down her shoulders. She turned and walked
toward the temptation of the silver lake.

“Trying to seduce you, Bari. If you had
to ask that question, then maybe I’m not doing this right.”

No, Angel,
you have perfected the art of seduction.

If she surprised him anymore, he’d eat
his boots. Glued to the spot, Bari watched Mackenzie walk, making her way
toward the water and stripping as she went. Sexy as hell, beautiful without
even trying to be, she was his every fantasy come true. He’d known it then, and
he knew it now.

She dove into the water, and irrational jealousy
hit. He didn’t like that the water got to caress curves he wanted to touch.
Bari fought his body’s reaction screaming to join her. He knew if they crossed
that line once again, it would only end badly for them both. His plan hadn’t
been to bring her down here for this. He wanted to explain why he hadn’t
reached out in nine years. She had the right to know. Byron had a right to be
informed.