The Sweetest Mercy (Sexy Shifter Shorts) (3 page)

IF THIS WAS madness, then Kiera never wanted to be sane again.

The man beneath her was sheer perfection, Adonis cast in bronze. She passed the flat of her tongue up the length of his erection, tasting the salty-sweet tang of his skin. A pearly drop of precum glistened at the tip and she sucked it away, eliciting a deep rumbling moan of pleasure that came from deep within Carter’s chest. She’d never been with a man so… big. Just another piece of evidence to convince her that this moment had nothing to do with reality. She stroked the hard, thick length of him as she sucked and nipped at the head of his cock, and Carter’s hips jerked convulsively followed by another of those deep, satisfied moans.

“Ah, gods, yes. Just like that. You’re making me crazy, Kiera. We should stop,” he said through a panting breath. “We should definitely stop. Fuck. Do that thing with your tongue again.”

She couldn’t help feeling a little smug over his reaction. There was power in pleasure and Kiera had this male at her mercy. Desire raged within her, her own need for release rising to a fevered pitch that pounded in her blood and settled low in her stomach. Pushing herself to stand, Kiera quickly shucked her underwear. While a captive, her cute black skirt had been a constant annoyance, but right now, it was a freakin’ godsend. She looked down at the man lying on the cold, hard ground, all but oblivious to the discomfort surrounding them. Kiera would have thought that in her madness, she could have at least imagined a better setting. A tropical beach at sunset. Or maybe a luxurious hotel suite with a hot tub and king-sized bed. Of course, she’d trade a fabulous setting for this man any day. It wasn’t every day that madness produced such a sinful fantasy. At least, she doubted it.

“I want you, Carter,” Kiera said as she lowered herself over his body. This was madness after all, no time for sweet seduction and slowly undressing one another. The illusion could vanish at any moment and she didn’t want to waste a single moment. His growled response only spurred her on, the sound primal, a word without form. Finally the days of torturous need would come to an end. “And I want you to fuck me. Hard.”

When her slick core brushed against the velvet smooth head of his erection, Kiera couldn’t help the desperate whimper that broke from her lips. Aroused to the point of near-pain, her swollen clit feathered against his hard flesh, nearly bringing her to orgasm with nothing more than a whisper of contact. Carter went rigid, and his jaw clenched as he gripped her hips in his hands, his body vibrating beneath her. “Don’t hold back,” she murmured, sensing that he was keeping himself in check. This wouldn’t do for her descent into madness. No, Kiera wanted total abandon.

As if waiting for permission, Carter’s grip tightened and he pulled her down on him with one forceful thrust. Kiera gasped as he stretched her, filled her to the point that she was certain she couldn’t take much more of him. He eased out, and with a low moan thrust again, this time taking her deeper. Kiera threw her head back, reveling in the pleasure that tingled over her skin like cool rain on a too hot day. It had been so long… too long since she’d felt this way. And from the way Carter moved beneath her, it had been even longer for him.

He held her tight, his hands coming around her hips to cup her ass as he rocked her body against his. His eyes sparked from darkest night to sunrise, burning with golden flecks and a bright ring that circled his iris. Carter thrust with abandon, her name a mantra on his lips as he fucked into her. She’d told him she didn’t want him to hold back and he’d taken her at her word.

“Just like that, Carter,” Kiera panted. “Harder. More.”

Her core clenched around his thick length, her clit throbbing with each roll of her hips against his. She braced her arms on his chest, the unyielding muscle like the granite walls surrounding her. Carter rose up to meet her, as if he’d kiss her, and Kiera turned her head away, unwilling to let something so intimate and pure as a kiss be sullied by her own madness. He seemed not to notice, but greedily dragged her shirt and bra up her chest, exposing her breasts. As his mouth latched around her nipple and as he sucked, Kiera’s body coiled tight, imploding on itself before releasing in an explosion that made her tremble against him. Wave after wave of pleasure swept over her, the orgasm seeming unending. She cried out, burying her mouth where Carter’s shoulder met his neck and when she nipped at his salty flesh, he pressed deep inside of her, his own body shuddering and his cock jerking inside of her as he came.

“Kiera!” he shouted, his face buried in her hair. He murmured something against her ear, the words almost too quiet for her to hear. She thought he’d made some claim on her, but perhaps that was the point. He was madness come to take her. And she’d gone to him willingly.

“Yes,” she whispered as she treaded her fingers through the silky-soft strands of his hair. “I’m yours.”

Chapter Four

HAD HE HEARD her right? And for that matter, had he heard his own words correctly? Clearly, he’d lost his fucking mind. Kiera lay limp against his chest, face still buried against his neck, her breathing slow and even, and her arms slung over his shoulders. The warmth of her body lent him comfort, something he hadn’t allowed himself to feel in a very long time. Still, despite that comfort, guilt slithered under his skin like a snake making its way through the tall grass. Kiera was obviously out of sorts. Hell, Logan and Drew had both warned him. He’d taken advantage of her and let his beast assume control of the situation, mating her like they were simply two animals living in the wild. He let out a heavy sigh as he gently shifted Kiera away from him. Who was he kidding? He
was
an animal.

Gods. What have I done?

“Kiera?” For as roughly as he used her, now all Carter could think to do was treat her as though she was made of glass. Awkward had nothing on the current situation. They needed to get out of here. Now. But how could he possibly urge her to get her ass in gear after what had just happened between them. It was the equivalent of a late-night booty call.
Thanks for the mind-blowing fuck, babe. Now call yourself a cab
.

Shit. Kiera didn’t seem too interested in abandoning her current position, and if Carter’s cock had any say in the matter, she wouldn’t be moving any time soon. Still hard as a fucking stone, his body was ready to take her again. And truth be told, it didn’t seem like a bad idea.
No. Jesus. Get your head on straight. Not the time. And not the fucking place
. Reece could come back at any second and odds were he wouldn’t be coming back alone. Time to leave.

Carter reached up as if to smooth her hair away from her face. It seemed such a natural thing to do, and yet…so foreign. He hadn’t touched a woman since he’d been with Aurielle and he’d been without his mate for nearly seventy years. Old habits die hard, he supposed. But Kiera was not his mate. They had no history, no real intimacy between them. Just a moment of recklessness.

“Kiera,” he said again, slowly easing her body off of his. He swallowed a moan as her slick heat released him and he fought the urge to bury his cock deep inside her and take her one more time. “Reece could be on his way back here. We might not have much time to get away. I need to get you out of here now and take you back to your sister.”

Kiera pulled away and looked at him as if truly seeing him for the first time. Her forehead knitted, drawing her dark brows over her beautiful eyes that no longer appeared glazed with confusion—or lust. For the first time, Carter was seeing Kiera as she should have been. Lucid. Though perhaps slightly bemused.

“What are you talking about?” she asked, her voice still thick with passion. Carter’s beast growled in his psyche, urging his mind to places it should not be going. Like how badly he wanted to fuck again for starters. “I’m…” she paused and looked around as if only now realizing where she was. “Wait. You’re
real
.”

Oh. Fuck.

WHAT EMOTION WAS worse than mortified? Because Kiera was pretty damned sure she’d left mortification a few hundred miles back. Her body tingled with pleasure, the after effects of what had to have been the world’s greatest orgasm still pulsing in her core. Surely this couldn’t be real. She’d never been one of those women who claimed to see stars or have a religious epiphany after a great orgasm, but, hallelujah! What this man had just done to her made her want to stand up and testify!

Holy shit. She looked down, only now aware that she was still straddling Carter, her skirt hiked up to her waist, her shirt and bra riding up on her collarbone. Kiera stifled a groan as her cheeks heated with embarrassment. She’d been so crude! Forcing herself on him, begging him to… she couldn’t even finish the thought without getting nauseous.

The thought of moving and putting herself back together seemed more humiliating than staying where she was. For the past twenty-four hours, her mind had become increasingly muddled. She hadn’t been able to distinguish reality from fantasy and Carter was just too good to be true. Naturally she’d filed him under fantasy. “Is Erica okay?” She eased her body away from his, and already she felt cold and empty without his skin touching hers. “How do you know her? And how did you find me?”

Was it easier to pretend that this moment wasn’t awkward as hell and just jump right to the business at hand? No. But she had to do something; otherwise she’d turn into a stammering fool and start apologizing. Gods, she could only imagine what he thought of her.

“Erica is fine,” Carter said as he offered a steadying hand. She pretended not to notice, instead using the granite wall of the cave for support. She righted her skirt and pulled her bra and t-shirt back into place while Carter did the same with his own clothes. Her underwear was a lost cause, though. She couldn’t find them in the dark. “She’s with my alpha, Logan and his brother, Drew.”

Alpha? “Are you a werewolf?” Kiera didn’t know if it was polite to ask, but she figured she was past worrying about etiquette.

“Shifter,” Carter replied, his tone brusque. “Mountain lion. Not wolf.”

Panic seeped into Kiera’s bloodstream sending icy chills across her flesh. Her kidnapper was a shifter. She’d seen him take his animal form. Cougar. Mountain lion. Big fucking cat. He was one of them! “Oh. Okay.”

He knew her kidnapper’s name, a name that Kiera had all but forgotten in her madness. Could he be lying to her? Erica could be a prisoner as well for all she knew. Carter could be in league with Reece, though Kiera had a hard time wrapping her mind around the whys of it. He had no reason to lie or deceive her, unless his plan had been to use her for a quick screw. The realization that she’d been duped stabbed through her chest like a blade. Gods, in her mindless lust she’d thrown herself at the enemy.

“So, exactly where are you taking me?” If she had to guess, he planned on dragging her out to the woods where it would be easy to dispose of her body. Not that she’d let that happen. Problem was, Carter wasn’t exactly your average sized male. He was
huge
. And he was also currently blocking the only way out of the cave.

“Your sister is at Logan’s compound about ten miles away on the other side of the summit. I was planning to backtrack to my cabin, which is five miles east of here and then circle back. I’d like to stay downwind if we can. But I might have to change directions if the weather front moves in faster than I expected. Do you think you can make the walk?”

Oh, she’d do better than that. “Sure. I just need—” she looked around as she slid her feet into her ballet flats, frantic for a distraction. Oh! Right! “—my underwear.”

Carter turned to the side, his gaze sweeping the floor of the cave. It would be a tight squeeze, but it was all she needed. Underwear, whether on or off apparently held any man’s attention. Kiera moved as quickly as she could without rousing suspicion, only half aware of each and every place their bodies made contact as she squeezed past him. The cave wasn’t terribly long, but still, her eyesight wasn’t much better than a human’s and negotiating her way toward the wide mouth was tougher than she’d suspected. Her ankle turned on a rock and she cursed under her breath, skipping a step or two until the pain subsided. The ground became more even and free of hindrances as she reached the wide arching mouth and when she could finally see well enough to navigate her way, Kiera broke into a full run.

“Kiera?” Carter called out behind her but panic and fear fueled her flight and she didn’t dare look back as she dodged and wove her way through the thick stands of pine and mountain ash. A string of curses echoed from the cave, a clear indicator that Carter finally managed to tear his attention away from her panties long enough to realize she’d taken off.

The full moon gave her enough light to see the path up ahead, but she might as well be running blind. Miles from civilization, without a sense of location or direction, the chances that she’d wind up further from help rather than closer was a very real possibility. Still, she had to try. At this point she had to assume that Carter and what’s his name… Reece, that piece of shit, were working for this Logan if he was in fact the alpha like Carter said. Which meant Erica was probably in even deeper trouble than she was and Kiera would not let her sister be used by a bunch of horny mountain cats.