Temptation Rising (14 page)

Wanted her with a fierceness he’d never experienced before, which made this yet another issue for him to try and resolve. That was his job as Faction Leader—to resolve the issues of the stateside shifters. As an attorney he resolved the issues of his clients. Now the man had an issue. A woman who both perplexed and aroused him, and who also needed his protection.

Running again Rome remained still while the cat took what it needed, fed from the elements in the only possible way.

Moonlight could now easily be seen; that meant he was nearing the edge of his forest. Rome always made sure to unleash his cat only in the deepest depth of the forest so no human passerby could sneak a peek. Even though this was his own private land and the perimeter was gated, he left nothing to chance.

Just as the last line of trees displayed themselves the cat slowed, falling to its side still breathing quickly, sensitive nostrils flaring and lifting scents from the air. As the heart rate slowed, the beast calmed, opening itself to the man. In seconds the sinewy skeleton of the cat transformed into the male—six foot two and a half inches tall, 235 pounds of male muscle. Walking to the spot where he’d dropped his robe, Rome picked up the black silk, slipping it on as he walked through the last blanket of trees out into the night air. The grass was cool and just a little damp from the humidity as he walked barefoot back to the house.

Golden light spilled from the open patio door. When he stepped inside it was to a marble stand with a silver tray on top. And a glass of scotch. Baxter knew him too well.

Picking up the glass, Rome lifted the remote that would close the door behind him and initiate the alarm system.

“Get some rest, tomorrow will be a busy day,” Baxter said in his slow precise tone from the shadow of the doorway that led to the game room.

“Has the meeting been arranged?” he asked. He took his first swallow of the drink, let the burn soothe the ache deep inside his gut.

“Yes. Mr. Dominick took care of everything. Mr. Eli will stay in the house with us tonight.”

“And Ezra?”

“He is with Ms. Harper. But you may consider bringing her here. It will not rest until it knows she is safe,” Baxter whispered before disappearing in the darkness.

He’d thought of that already. Knew his cat was hungry to see her again, to scent her, touch her. The protective edge was growing, pushing at all his restraints in its effort to keep her safe. Inside the cat began to pace, growling every few seconds as Rome considered the options.

It wanted Kalina, there was no doubt about that. And right now Rome wasn’t up for questioning the other part of himself. He was who he was because of his jaguar; they were partners, working together to make a whole. The cat wanted Kalina. The man craved her.

They both would have her.

Chapter 9

Tonight hadn’t gone well for them, which usually meant it was going to go even worse for someone else.

Chavez was in a foul place, his beast ripping free as they walked down the dark street. It was close to dawn, the sky already shifting so that it looked like an angry storm of colors from deep indigo to rich fuchsia. They were still out prowling the streets after Sabar had finished with them.

What was still bothering them was not the missed opportunity to catch the woman Sabar had sent them for, but the heavy strain of unleashed lust that built up in a shifter, manifesting like a bitch of a hangover. Each of them felt it, maybe because their sexual exploits had been shared as of late. The animalistic desire mixing with the human sex drive rose to explosive levels among shifters. But in Rogues the feeling was absorbed, allowed to spread and anchor itself deep within until depraved sexual acts were a part of their natural state.

“You smell that?” Chi stretched out both his arms, stopping Chavez on one side and Darel on the other side of him.

The threesome inhaled simultaneously, then looked up at the building they were standing near.

There were females nearby, females in heat.

Without another word they entered the building, followed the alluring scent up a dark, dirty stairwell. There was a door at the end of the hall. Actually there were three doors on this floor, but only one beckoned to them. Like trained animals they followed the scent, each of them growing harder with every step. Arriving at the door where the scent rested, Darel lifted his hand to knock. Chavez pushed it away, lifted his foot with the size eleven boot, and kicked the door in.

Two females who had been sitting on the couch hitting a blunt jumped up. One who wore only underwear, her large breasts all but falling out of her bra and a barely there thong, stood first, raising her arms as if she were under arrest.

Darel’s mouth watered at the sight of those large mounds lifting with her motions.

The other one was too high to care. She rolled onto her stomach, peeking at them from the couch. Her ass was out, too; she didn’t bother to wear a thong at all. She wore a bra but her breasts weren’t visible because she was lying on them.

The three shifters stood there for only seconds letting the smell of weed and female desire fill their nostrils.

Then they pounced.

*   *   *

Through the open window came a stifling breeze. Kalina inhaled instinctively and the scent of rain permeated her senses, filled her with such longing she coughed in response. Rain and air and a fragrant scent filtered throughout the room, wrapping her body in a warm cocoon that she embraced wholeheartedly.

Kalina sighed, a lone tear traveling down her cheek. The breeze touched every pore of her naked body, and now she tingled all over. Standing, she walked to the window, pushing to the side the long sheer curtains now billowing in the breeze. When she looked out the window it wasn’t to the scene she was used to seeing. Gone were the city street, the parked cars, sidewalks, and other houses. It had all been replaced by darkness. A darkness that was eerie and yet comforting at the same time.

Glaring outside felt like standing in the middle of nothing. No cops, no drugs, no competition. If serenity could be bottled and that bottle dropped and broken, this would be it. She couldn’t see anything, but she could feel, and what she felt was like heaven.

“It’s yours, baby. You just have to be brave enough to take it.”

A deep voice sounded from behind, and the tingling against her skin instantly grew hotter.

He was there, again. Finally.

Her heart beat a little faster, her breasts rising and falling with her steady inhaling and exhaling. “I can’t,” she responded in the tiniest whisper.

Fingers that felt like feathers touched along her spine, moving downward until hands splayed across her bare bottom. She sucked in a breath as those same fingers slipped deftly into the seam, whispering softly over the tightened back entrance.

“You can.”

She was shaking her head because his touch, there, in such a forbidden place, rendered her momentarily speechless.

“Tell me what you want and you can have it.”

What she wanted, what she thought she wanted didn’t seem half as important as this moment, this feeling. It was beyond intimacy, more than she’d ever thought could be a part of her. She knew him, had known him for a long time, and yet tonight his touch felt new, exciting, enticing.

She wanted to do what he said, to tell him what she wanted, to take what she needed. The urge to take had never been so strong before. And yet there was something else. Not too far in the distance was something that she feared, a being, a place—what was it that held her back?

Again she didn’t speak.

But it didn’t stop him. One hand slipped over her hip to brush past her clean-shaven mound. Thick fingers parted plumped dewy folds, touching the tender and tightened clit. She moaned, her head falling back to rest along his shoulders.

“You want me to touch you here? To fuck you this way,” he continued in a voice that simply lulled her into a pleasurable abyss.

Kalina didn’t know the answers. There was his other hand, behind her, pressing one finger slowly against the tight back entrance. Another finger moved through her wetness, finding her center then pressing inside. Sensations rippled through her and she sighed, moaned, welcomed.

Against her bottom was also the heated pressure of his arousal. Thick and hot it felt against her, and her nipples tingled with awareness.

She wanted him, desperately.

“Yes, that’s what I want,” she heard herself whisper.

Sharp teeth nipped at her shoulder, traced a pleasure–pain path along the nape of her neck, and ended at the other shoulder.

“Tell me,” he urged. “Tell me what you want.”

“I…” She could barely think of the words, much less speak them. “I want you to … fuck me … like … this.” They tumbled free, her mouth watering at the thought.

The hand that toyed with her anus retreated, as did the one drowning in her wetness, but he didn’t leave her. Oh no. When she was just about to panic that he was gone again, she felt his palm at the base of her back, pressing her forward. Kalina gasped as her hands gripped the windowsill, the warm breeze still blowing over their naked bodies, the stillness of the night still her only view.

Strong hands parted her cheeks, and she whimpered at the feel of his heavy erection pressing closer. When the thick head of his dick brushed over her center, she bit her bottom lip. He pressed forward, slowly, and she wanted to scream. It wasn’t going to fit. She couldn’t see it, but she could feel and her heart hammered at the discovery. Tears of disappointment stung her eyes.

“It’s for you, baby. Don’t worry, it’s all for you.”

It was too much for her, that’s what she thought. It, him, this moment—it was overwhelming and yet inevitable.

She was worried but she didn’t speak, just let the breeze soothe her as he slipped more of himself inside her. The stretching should have been brutally painful, but instead it was pleasingly tight, pushing her to acceptance of what was more than just physical. She was opening, taking him in, taking in everything that was around her. The sultry breeze, the scent of rain and fresh air, the nothingness that seemed euphoric: It was all rippling around her even as his dick sank in to the hilt.

He began to move, slow, steady thrusts that milked her essence until it trickled down her inner thighs. Pumping her bottom back against his ministrations was as natural as breathing. Feeling his hands holding her hips, guiding the depth of his thrusts anchored her somehow, kept her from soaring into the unknown.

“I told you it was for you.” He moaned behind her, his pace increasing. “All for you.”

Sweat poured from her body as his thrusts came quicker, went deeper. She was crying out now—his name, she thought, but she wasn’t entirely sure. The sound of her voice was untamed and wild to her own ears.

“Yes! Fuck! Come for me, baby. Come so hard you can’t stand any more. Come, damn you!”

His voice was a guttural growl, one she matched with a keening howl of her own as her release rushed through her like a raging waterfall.

It was a demand, not a request. Her thighs quivered in response to the sound of his voice—so familiar, so in tune with her. This felt like déjà vu, like this man had loved her this way before. Her entire body trembled at the thought. Maybe it was all for her. Maybe …

“Kalina! Kalina!” he repeated as he pumped into her fiercely, his thighs slapping against her moistened cheeks. His fingers dug deep into her skin, keeping her still while he pounded into her. Her release made her even slicker and his dick moved through that slickness like a professional violinist playing the symphony of its life. When he roared she should have been afraid, yet she was satisfied in a way she’d never thought existed. Every feminine part of her opened, bloomed like a flower at the sound of his pleasure, and as he emptied his seed into her she knew, without any doubt, she knew.

“You are for me, Kalina. Only for me,” he said, his voice rough against her ear as he bent forward over her, his erection still lodged inside her. “Only for me.”

Only for me. Only for me.

It’s for you, baby. All for you.

You are for me.

The words echoed in her head, dancing about as if begging her to memorize them, to make them mean something for all time. And as she awoke they stayed in her mind, playing and replaying.

*   *   *

Rome woke with sweat pouring from his body, his heart thumping wildly in his chest.

Pushing the covers from around his legs, he got out of bed and walked across the floor of his bedroom, trying valiantly to catch his breath. At the balcony doors he pushed the latch, and the glass accesses swung open. A cool night breeze flushed his damp skin. He inhaled deeply.

The scent filled his mind, seeped into his lungs, creating an acrid taste in the back of his mouth. Blood. Lust. Death.

Leaning forward, he planted both palms on the railing and stood naked on his balcony, closing his eyes to the memory of the dream.

It had begun with her, Kalina. The feel of her rounded backside beneath his palms still had his dick hard. She’d been so wet, so sweet, so open for him. They’d connected, linked, as if they’d always been meant to follow this path. Then he’d heard something in the distance. A scream or a cry. And the scent assailed him.