Ryland (25 page)

“I’ve been looking forward to tearing
these from you all day. I saw them on the bed when you went in to take a shower
this morning and had to jerk off just thinking about them on you. Then I
decided to seduce you here, tonight.” He ripped them from her body and sat back
on his heels to look at her. “Magnificent. And all mine.”

Ryland helped her to the floor, touching
her more than she thought was necessary, but loving everything about it. She
lay before him feeling like a goddess because of the way he looked at her, made
her feel. He moved over her, his body settling between her legs as he took her
mouth in a gentle kiss. She moaned when he moved his mouth along her throat and
then down to her breast. She burned for him, but didn’t want him to stop making
love to her.

He kissed her shoulder, her arm. Then he
moved down her belly, kissing her ribs then her wrist. He nipped at her waist
then her hip. By the time he lifted her leg and rained kisses on her knee and
her calf, she was on fire. Still, she didn’t stop him or beg him to complete
her. Moving back up her body, he kissed her again as he entered her.

Her hands wrapped into his hair and he
moved deep into her. Every stroke felt amazing; each time he moved, she wanted
more. Feeling him inside of her, having him touch her, she closed her eyes; it
was almost too much. When he took her nipple into his mouth, she arched up
beneath him and felt him shiver. Knowing that he was doing all this for her
made her love him all the more.

“Come for me, love. I want to feel you
tighten around me before I have my pleasure.”

She came; a gentle yet overwhelming
climax took her. As she screamed out her release, her entire body felt it. Her
fingers tangled harder into his flesh and hair; her arms gripped him closer to
her. Even as he stiffened above her, his body slamming into hers, she came
again and again.

Ryland dropped onto her then rolled to
his back, taking her with him. She laid over him, her heart pounding and
breathing hard. She noticed that is heart wasn’t in any better shape than her.
Lifting her head, she looked down at him as he lay there with his eyes closed.

“You’re going to have to feed yourself. I
think you killed me.” She laughed at him and he opened his one eye and looked
at her. “Seducing you is much harder work than taking you against the wall. This
was more fun and completely satisfying, but hard work.”

“Because you couldn’t just fuck me, you
had to thrill me. I’m glad you did. I needed this more than I can say.”

He sat up and put her on his lap.

“You recovered fast.”

“Hungry.” He fed her cheese and crackers
as she gave him strawberries. By midnight, they were making love again. She
loved this man more than she could ever imagine.

Epilogue

“It says here that there is a DNA test that was inconclusive. What does that mean?”

The man across from Sheldon Pierce
shrugged.

“You don’t know or you can’t figure it
out?”

“I figured it out, but I don’t know what
the hell he was talking about when he wrote it. It says that he created this
being. He doesn’t call her by any name or, if he did, I haven’t found it yet.”
Tony Brads handed him yet another file. “All I can find is that she was created
by him and that he was going to use her for his funding. What funding?”

Sheldon didn’t know. This entire mess
was brought to him after the man had disappeared some weeks ago. His ex-wife
had brought it to their attention, stating that some woman had told her that he
had been killed and that she was to go away. She also claimed that she’d become
a tiger. They’d since found she was a major user and liar. Her kids were now in
protective custody. And he didn’t want to think about those brats.

“I think we should simply put it in a
box and forget about it. He was insane, obviously, and his ex-wife? Shit, she
needs some serious help.”

Sheldon might have agreed on the boxing
it up part, but something in the notes intrigued him. Cunningham had created a
superhuman by injecting her with other DNA. He thought about what had happened
a few nights ago in his backyard.

He had been looking out the window at
the coming storm when he’d seen him. There had been a man, then a tiger, then a
man again. And he’d moved like he was on speed. Sheldon had gone out to his
yard the next morning to find prints, but the rain had been strong and had
washed everything away. He looked at Tony when he stood up.

“I’m going home. There is nothing in
these files but horseshit. I say lock it up and forget about it.”

Sheldon nodded and tossed the file on
the desk with the rest of them.

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

After he left, Sheldon gathered
everything he could fit into his briefcase and left too. He had his own printer
at home which he would make copies of this that the CIA, where he worked,
wouldn’t know about. He figured it would take him a week to get it all copied
and put back before he put the files in a locked box and forgot about them. Not
the ones at his house.

Sheldon wasn’t going to give up until he
found out if even half of this was true.

About
the Author

Kathi Barton, author of
the bestselling series Force of Nature, lives in Nashport, Ohio with her
husband Paul. In addition to writing full time Kathi likes to spend time with
her eight grandkids, three children and three children-in-laws. She writes to
relax and have fun.

Her muse, a cross between
Jimmy Stewart and Hugh Jackman brings them to life for her readers in a way
that has them coming back time and again for more. Her favorite genre is
paranormal romance with a great deal of spice. You can visit Kathi on line and
drop her an email if you’d like. She loves hearing from her fans.
[email protected]
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Follow Kathi on her
blog:
http://kathisbartonauthor.blogspot.com/