The Sweetest Mercy (Sexy Shifter Shorts) (7 page)

Chapter Nine

TRY AS HE might, Carter found that he couldn’t hold back when it came to Kiera. He wanted to take her slowly, savor her body, but she spurred him past reason. Some animal need deep inside him controlled him now, urging him to take his female the way she needed him to. Her teeth grazed his neck, and his lion fought to the forefront of his psyche, anxious to sink his fangs into Kiera’s flesh and mark her as theirs.

On this, however, Carter wouldn’t be swayed. No matter how much he wanted to nip at Kiera’s flesh and gently mark her, this was not the time or the place. Such matings were steeped in ritual, and had Kiera been a shifter, the circumstances might have been different. For now, he would find pleasure in her body and give her the same in return. Even without his bite, he knew that Kiera was his.

He thrust harder and his balls tightened, aching with the need to come. Kiera’s sex clenched around his cock and she threw her head back, crying out as wave after wave of pulsing orgasm racked her body. Carter stroked into her, wet flesh sliding against wet flesh and his own orgasm shook him as he came, his cock jerking inside of her again and again until the pleasure finally crested and ebbed, leaving him with a warm, sated heaviness that settled in his limbs.

“Carter. That was—” Kiera panted.

“Amazing,” he finished for her.

“More than amazing,” she said with a lazy smile. “It was everything.”

Everything
. “Yes,” he agreed, kissing her lovely mouth. “It certainly was.”

Kiera lingered under the hot water, and Carter was happy to let her as he left the shower and toweled off. After a few days in a dank, dirty cave, he’d want a couple hours of uninterrupted shower time, too. He did a quick assessment of his leg, the wound had closed completely but his skin was still angry and red. It would be at least a day before he’d be one-hundred percent, but considering he’d been ready to check out just a few hours ago, his progress was pretty damn good.

After changing into clean clothes, Carter searched through his closet and drawers for something Kiera could wear. He held up a pair of sweats—twice as big as she was—yeah, those probably weren’t going to work. So he opted for one of his favorite BSU t-shirts as he imagined how sexy Kiera would look in the oversized tee, her pert ass just barely concealed and her shapely legs bare to his gaze. Carter’s cock hardened behind his fly; would she mind if he joined her in the shower again for a repeat performance?
Down, boy
. She’d been through hell and had to be exhausted. There was plenty of time for hot, hard, passionate sex later. He’d spread her legs and lick her until…
Jesus. Focus, you horny bastard
. What Carter needed was a
cold
shower.

“Kiera, I’ll be downstairs,” Carter called into the bathroom. If he didn’t put a little distance between them, he’d take her again. And again. “I left something for you to wear on the bed.”

“Okay,” she replied over the rush of water. Her tone already sounded lighter. Carter smiled. “I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

Though it pained him to put even a few feet of distance between them, Carter made his way down the stairs, his focus turned to food and what he could cook for Kiera. He hit the bottom step, turned left toward the open kitchen, and stopped dead in his tracks. Sitting at the dining room table, legs propped casually on the hand-crafted pine tabletop, Reece twirled the tip of Carter’s Bowie knife against his palm.

“You took something that belongs to me,” he said, obviously on edge.

Carter’s beast clawed to the surface of his psyche, snarling, anxious to kill. But Kiera was just upstairs and completely vulnerable; shifting now might put her in danger and he couldn’t let that happen. “You know, I should thank you, Reece.” Carter walked into the kitchen relaxed but cautious. “I was planning to head back out tonight and hunt you down. You’ve saved me a lot of trouble by showing up here, though I have to say, I don’t follow your reasoning.”

“You would have been better off minding your own business, Carter.” Reece dropped his feet to the floor and leaned forward in his seat, pointing the Bowie knife at Carter’s face for emphasis. “My quarrel is with Logan, not you.”

“Yet you didn’t see any problem with involving Drew or kidnapping a woman who has nothing to do with this pride,” Carter mused.

“Drew is a Paige,” Reece spat. “Hurting him hurts Logan. As for the girl…” He shrugged. “All wars have casualties.”

Carter’s lion rose up, demanding control and the opportunity to tear the bastard to unrecognizable shreds. He’d threatened their female and thereby signed his own death warrant. Carter held on to control by the barest of threads. He’d promised Logan he’d deliver Reece to him alive, and though his alpha’s command wasn’t absolute—meaning Carter wasn’t compelled to obey—it was a command nonetheless. Too bad his centuries of protective instinct didn’t subscribe to the same theories.

“Carter, your t-shirt fits me like a dress,” Kiera laughed as she bounded down the stairs.

He suppressed a groan. Of all the shitty timing. Why couldn’t she have stayed in the shower for another hour or so?

Reece’s gaze dragged from Kiera’s bare legs and up her body. “Didn’t take you long to get busy, did it?” The leer that spread across Reece’s face made Carter want to wipe it off. With his fist. “Bet she jumped on your cock before you could properly introduce yourself. Feisty little bitch, isn’t she? She wanted the same from me, but she’s not my type. Apparently your standards are lower, eh, Carter?”

“Kiera,” Carter said, not breaking eye contact with Reece. “Get out of here and head for Logan’s. Understand?”

SEEING HER KIDNAPPER so relaxed in Carter’s kitchen caused Kiera’s blood to run cold. She didn’t want to run, damn it. Carter needed backup and after everything they’d been through, leaving him now wasn’t an option. His gaze was locked on Reece, his jaw clenched tight.

“No, Kiera,” Reece said with a sneer. “I think you should stay.”

“Kiera,
go
.”

The dark edge to Carter’s voice sent chills chasing across Kiera’s flesh. She sensed the deadly intent and knew a thin veil of control was all that separated Carter and Reece from impending violence. Reece wanted her for some sick revenge, he’d alluded to that much. So she doubted he’d accept her running away as no big deal. Still… Kiera wasn’t completely helpless. Carter might want her out of the path of danger, but she refused to let Carter deal with Reece by himself.

Like a shot she took off for the front door, throwing it wide and flying down the porch steps in a single leap. From the house, she heard the sound of Reece’s chair scraping against the hardwood floor and her heart leapt up into her throat. Mountain lions were predators. They loved to chase their prey. Kiera assumed a lion shifter wouldn’t be much different and she’d just given Reece exactly what he wanted. Footsteps pounded on the earth behind her but she didn’t dare look back. A glint of silver flashing in the early morning sun caught her eye and Kiera picked up her pace.

Lungs burning, arms pumping as her bare feet dug into the grass covered ground, Kiera sprinted as fast as her legs would work, which just wasn’t fast enough. A flash of movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention moments before she toppled to the ground, her chin scraping against the rocky earth. The breath rushed out of her chest from the impact and she gasped, desperately fighting for air. Sharp, feral screams mingled with cries of alarm. She rolled to back to in time to see Reece sprawled on the ground, his hands braced against the jaws of a large, tawny mountain lion as he desperately fought to keep the animal’s jaws from locking on his throat. He brought his feet up into the lion’s abdomen and shoved, sending the cat into the air and it rolled several times before it gained its footing. Hackles raised, teeth bared, a menacing hiss issued from the lion’s mouth before it dug its claws into the ground and charged. Reece scrambled on the ground for the discarded Bowie knife and rolled out of the way just as the cat pounced. With inhuman speed, he jumped to his feet and hauled Kiera up by her hair. Struggling against him, he hugged her body tight, one arm wrapped around her torso, while the other held the Bowie knife to her throat.

“Take another step, Carter, and I won’t hesitate to slit her throat.”

A cat, too large to be an average mountain lion came to a skidding halt not ten feet from where Kiera stood. Murder flashed in the animal’s golden eyes, death in the set of its fanged jaw, and the promise of torture erupted from its throat in a wild battle cry. Kiera had never seen anything so wildly beautiful in all of her life. The mountain lion clawed at the ground, sending bits of turf into the air and Reece chuckled as he choked up on the knife, pressing it into Kiera’s windpipe. “He’s lost one mate already,” he whispered in Kiera’s ear. “Killing you would more than likely send him over the edge. He won’t recover from it.” A warm trickle made its way down the column of Kiera’s throat. “When a lion like Carter goes mad, the animal takes over. He’ll no longer be a man and Logan will be forced to put him down. Killing you is the best punishment I can think of,” Reece seethed. “Funny how one dirty little wood nymph could affect so many people.”

Anger pulsed hot and fast through Kiera’s body and the tang of adrenaline burned in her throat. Reece’s obsession with vengeance had made him careless, and Kiera would use his foolishness to her advantage. She dug her heels into the ground and shoved backward with all of her strength. Reece stumbled, and Kiera rolled away and the knife cut down, biting into her flesh as he fell to the ground. She bent and retrieved the trap, swinging it with every ounce of strength she could muster. The open mouth of the trap bit into Reece’s stomach, the C clamps keeping it from biting down, but Kiera hoped the silver would at least weaken him enough to give Carter the edge. Scrambling to safety, Kiera watched as the lion sprung into the air, crossing the distance between them in a single graceful leap. He pounced on Reece and Kiera looked away as Carter bit and tore at her kidnapper until his gurgling screams grew weaker, and then, eerily silent.

Eyes squeezed shut, Kiera flinched when a large, boxy head nudged at her arm followed by an anxious chuff of breath. She opened her eyes to find Carter using his nose to bump her hand away from her wound, sniffing and cautiously lapping at the laceration that thankfully hadn’t cut very deep. She might need a few stitches, but she was alive and so was Carter, and that’s all that mattered. “I’m all right,” she said, reaching out a tentative hand to stroke the lion’s silky coat. He purred contentedly and she smiled. “But I think I’m going to need a vacation.” Carter rubbed his head against hers, the deep rumbling in his chest growing louder. “You’re invited too, you know,” Kiera said as she nuzzled him right back. “I’m going to need someone to wash my hair.”

Carter squeezed Kiera’s hand as she climbed into his Jeep and buckled her seatbelt. The drive to Logan’s would only take fifteen minutes as opposed to a two hour hike and Kiera was anxious to see her sister. Logan would be pissed that Carter hadn’t brought Reece to him alive as requested, but Carter would deal with Logan’s wrath after Kiera was reunited with Erica. Logan may have wanted to mete out justice on his own terms, but Carter had done what was necessary to defend his female and he would never, ever apologize for that.

“Ready?” Carter asked as he pulled out of his driveway onto an old dirt road.

“More than ready.” A sweet smile curved Kiera’s lips and it was all Carter could do to keep from pulling over and taking her right then and there. Maybe Logan had a guest room they could use… “I can’t believe Erica is getting married. Or… mated. She’s only known Drew for a little over a week.”

“Is it so hard to believe?” Carter asked. He’d only known Kiera for a couple of days, but already he couldn’t picture his life without her.

“I guess not,” Kiera said, placing her hand on Carter’s thigh. He swallowed hard, lust knotting in his stomach from nothing more than a simple touch. “We’ve only just met, but I can guarantee you, Carter, you’re going to have a hard time getting rid of me.”