Unleashed by Shadows (By Moonlight Book 10) (7 page)

“No.” Her head turned slowly, her eyes opening to do a leisurely sweep from impressive arousal to his features. “Just for you.”

Cale climbed in, bringing the water level up dramatically. He settled facing her, guiding her feet over his hip bones as he sank in as far as he could. His eyes slid shut on a contented sigh.

“Have I told you how much I love that you’re now a tub soaking kind of guy?”

Recalling a once brash claim regarding his disdain of taking baths, he smiled, toes tucking underneath her slippery backside. “I had no idea how good this could feel.”

“I know something that will feel even better.”

He slit an eye open at that tempting overture. “What’s that?”

“Being clean.”

Laying his head back on the rim, he commanded with a haughty wave, “Female, bathe me.”

Instead of hitting him in the face with her soapy sponge, which he probably deserved, Kendra began running it leisurely up and down his legs. He relaxed, letting her wash away his tension along with the day’s labor. Rhythmic motions moved to his chest and down his arms.

“Sit up,” she instructed softly. 

When he did so, she slipped onto his lap to reach his back and wet his hair, working up a lather there, and below, as the feel of her sliding over him got him thinking less of that cleanliness next to godliness thing. His hands fit to her trim waist, directing her movements. Arms draped over his shoulders, she leaned into him, her breasts stroking against his chest.

“Kiss me,” he whispered, “like you want me.”

“I have never not wanted you, Cale Terriot,” Her lips brushed his, settling in for some serious teasing and tasting.

A hard knock rattled the bedroom door.

“Hey, you decent?”

Cale’s eyes flew open to stare in alarm through the transparent wall, but Kendra held him down, murmuring, “Don’t worry. I told him if he opens that door without an invitation, I’d dismember him, and I didn’t mean arms and legs.”

Cale grinned. “Ouch.”

Rico must have believed her because the door stayed shut.

Smiling, Kendra lifted slightly and eased down to take him inside her as she purred, “Let me do the work this time.”

His brother’s very existence was forgotten as she began slow, voluptuous movements, rocking the water level until eventually it splashed over his hands where he gripped the sides. Their breathing hurried to match the sway of the sudsy tide, growing faster and harder until Cale seized up and let go in a mighty flood.

Kendra kissed his mouth gently until awareness trickled back enough for him to frown.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you out.”

“This was for you,” she murmured against his lips. “We’ve got plenty of evening ahead of us. Let’s order room service so you can build up your strength for what I have in mind.”

He stirred, interest piqued. “What do you have in mind?”

“I picked up some things in the Quarter this morning.”

Her mysterious tone encouraged him to ask, “What kind of things?”

“Things well suited to the décor of these rooms.”

He sat up. “You went shopping with Nica for naughty things?”

She brushed a fingertip over his frown. “Maybe.”

“I don’t know if that makes me kind of uncomfortable or excites the hell out of me. Things to wear?” He considered for a moment then brows rose. “Or accessories?”

“You’ll be excited.” And with that coy promise, she stepped out of the tub, giving him a good look at the tattoo.

A howling wolf’s head within a crescent moon. He reached out to trace it, mesmerized.

“That’s not our family crest.” He had that emblazoned on his shoulder.

“No,” she told him, lifting his chin in her palm so she could look deeply into his eyes. “It’s yours. To honor and celebrate your new reign.”

While he struggled for something to say from the sudden fullness in his heart, she kissed him quickly and went to get towels.

*

With Cale’s meager wardrobe sent out to be cleaned, they sat in the main room in hotel robes dining and drinking together, grateful for their roommate’s absence. Sitting at her feet with head in her lap, Cale nodded off before the On Demand movie’s opening credits. Supporting his slack weight, Kendra had no complaints, finding more pleasure in the study of his relaxed features than in the drama playing out on the screen. His eyes didn’t open until the final acknowledgments scrolled.

Straightening with a yawn and a stretch, he mumbled, “I’m sorry, baby. What did I miss?”

Kendra cupped his cheek with her palm. “Nothing.” She kissed his sleep softened mouth, awaking his senses with the slow stroke of her tongue. “Not yet.”

The door banged open. Rico rolled in with a gorgeous female under the drape of either arm. “There you are,” he called out agreeably. “Hope we’re not interrupting anything.”

“Not yet,” Kendra repeated with less warmth.

“The ladies and I were going to finish off this fine bottle of champagne.” He gestured to the staggering red head. “This is Shelly.”

“Sheila,” she supplied with a hiccup.

“Right. And Karen.”

“Carol,” the blonde in a partially unzipped dress amended.

“That’s what I said. Care to join us?”

“I don’t think so,” Cale assured him. “But thanks for asking.”

Rico grinned amiably. “Maybe I’ll check with Colin and Kip.” He eyed the stripper pole. “Girls, have you got any agile friends? I have two single brothers.”

Cale urged Kendra to her feet and bid them goodnight. Waving away Rico’s promise that they’d keep the noise down, he steered his mate behind their bedroom door. Hoping it was soundproof, he turned her into his arms, quickly tugging at the belt to her robe and coaxing it from her shoulders.

“I think I’ve found my second wind after that little nap.”

She pulled down his head for a wet, noisy kiss. “Good.”

“Care to show me what you bought this morning? Or better yet, demonstrate?”

*

Cale’s eyes snapped open, body and mind wide awake.

Though it took a moment to place the decadent setting, he instantly recognized the warm figure tucked in beside him. He reached out to push Kendra’s intriguing new toys out of the way so he could see the digital readout on the night stand. Two o’clock.

The outer rooms were silent. Either his brother’s guests had gone or they were all passed out in drunken stupors, hopefully, not all over the living space.

When he tried to settle back to sleep, his thoughts began an all too familiar prowling. The anxious sense of being caught in his own trap began its compression, choking off all his earlier contentment. Restlessly, he lifted Kendra’s hand, leaning his face into her soft palm, breathing in her unique scent, but not even that could calm him as the minutes and hours he’d have left with her ticked away.

He wasn’t easily shaken. He feared no man, no foe, no obstacle or challenge. He’d learned to stand his ground and take it without a wince while growing up with the most to prove in the House of Terriot. He’d been schooled beneath the heavy heel and meaty fists of Bram Terriot, the marks of those lessons scoring his skin and once tender psyche. Understanding intimidation better than he did compassion, he’d once willingly indulged in every savagery now expected from him. He would have become a brutal, heartless monster, walking the same path his father followed, except for two things that called to his latent decency: The brothers who’d fearlessly stood beside him, and the female brave enough to believe in him.

He owed them. He owed his family prosperous lives without fear and subjugation, where pride wasn’t measured in cruelties. He owed them a future in which they bowed to no one and had no reason to expect the worse from one another. He owed the woman he loved the fulfillment of promises made by a starry-eyed boy. And to achieve those things, all he had to do was right the wrongs of the man who’d desecrated the crown he now represented.

All . . .

With a weary sigh, Cale closed his eyes.

His debt. His burden. His to carry and complete alone. No whining about the costs to body, heart, or soul. No crying over what couldn’t be repaid or repaired. No shirking from sacrifices sure to cost more than he’d ever thought to wager. The blood on his hands would never come clean. There was no forgiveness for his sins—the sins of the father now those of the son. He wouldn’t drag those he loved and respected down with him. Not while he still had strength and breath and opportunity.

What was he going to do?

He couldn’t save his people hiding on their mountain top. He couldn’t purge his guilt without a willingness to surrender his life. And he couldn’t protect his mate if he couldn’t provide her with his heir.

What the hell was he going to do?

CHAPTER FIVE

“Thanks for the invite.”

A pretty brunette held the door open wide, her smile warm and genuine. “You know you’re welcome here any time. You’re family, after all.” Dark eyes skipped over Cale in curiosity. “And you must be Kendra. From the way he talks about you, I was expecting a halo and wings.

“Oh, dear. I thought this was informal, or I would have worn them.”

Tina Babineau laughed, lifting her face for her half-brother’s kiss on the cheek. Her hand stroked gently along his. Kendra, she enveloped in a lightly perfumed hug. “Everything around here is informal, I’m afraid. But its home.”

Yes, Kendra could see that from the moment they’d pulled up in front on Cale’s big bike. The modest curb appeal, the carefully tended lawn and flower beds, basketball hoop with its torn net attached to a car port, a cheerful kitchen where the scent of their meal tantalized. Home. Kendra felt that same subtle longing she’d experienced when visiting Cale’s mother’s condo. A place filled with memories and love, removed from the dangers of their daily life. The kind of place she wanted to create with Cale. She reached out to tuck her hand inside his and received a gratifying squeeze.

“Alain’s on the patio fighting with the grill. He’d probably welcome the company and this.” Tina handed Cale a couple of long necks.

“Where’s the kid?” he asked, releasing Kendra to accept the beers.

“Where else? In his room saving some kingdom or another.” She turned and shouted, “Ozzy, Cale’s here.” That earned a loud, “Cool! Be there in a sec! Soon as I finish this level!”

Cale laughed. “Who am I to interrupt the rescue of the free world?”

Kendra studied the crowded stovetop and offered, “Can I give you a hand in here?”

Tina blinked then grinned wide, opening her arms to embrace the narrow galley space. “Sure. Extra hands are always appreciated. It’s a tight fit. Alain calls it our one butt kitchen.”

Cale’s hand smacked his mate’s playfully. “Good thing you’ve got a nice, tight—“

“Cale!”

“Turning radius,” he concluded diplomatically. He leaned over to sniff one of the bubbling sauces, eyes rolling heavenward. “She’s anxious to become a homebody. And I love that about her.” His arm scooped about Kendra to tug her flush against him, tone growing husky. “I love everything about her.”

For a long second, their gazes mingled.

“Do I need to turn on a fan?”

Cale laughed at his sister’s wry comment and stepped back, hoisting the two bottles. “Can’t have these getting warm.” He turned and headed through the small dining area toward the back of the house.

Blushing when Tina caught her ogling the tight fit of his jeans, Kendra murmured, “I miss him like crazy, but I love watching him leave.” She waved her hand in front of her face. “Whew. Maybe I do need that fan. We haven’t seen each other for three weeks. Let me know if we get too embarrassing.”

Tina smiled. “I think it’s an enviable problem.” And just before she turned back to the sink, Kendra caught an unmistakable sadness in her dark eyes. “I wasn’t kidding about the halo. From the way he talks about you, I was expecting a cross between Saint Theresa and Saint Joan.”

“Such a high bar. Sorry to disappoint you.”

Tina glanced over her shoulder, eyes softening. “You don’t. You’re perfect for him.”

How that simple statement from a stranger pleased her.

“Cale did lead you astray in one thing. I have no domestic skills. None, other than popping something in the microwave and ordering off a take-out menu. I never had the chance to learn or anyone to teach me.” Her voice hitched painfully, but instead of expressing sympathy, Tina pressed a wooden spoon into her hand and gestured to one of the pans.

“Taste that and tell me what it needs.”

Kendra obliged and moaned, “It needs to be on my plate.  Right now.”

“Then set them on the table and get an ETA on the steaks.”

As Kendra gathered up the inexpensive stoneware dishes, Tina touched her arm lightly.

“Welcome to the family.”

An unexpected wad of emotion had her looking away before the other woman could see how greatly her gentle comment impacted. Her hands were a bit shaky as she dealt the plates around the table. Until she glanced through the living room to see Cale on the other side of the open slider, and everything steadied. He was leaning back against the patio rail while Tina’s husband turned their dinner. His beer was almost to his lips when his glance caught hers and held. His smile spread wide as he lifted the bottle in a toast before taking a drink and responding to whatever he and Alain Babineau were discussing.

Love for him hit like an unexpected blow, stealing her breath with a powerful crush about her ribs.

She moved through the tiny living room where a flat screen dominated one wall and a cushy sectional draped with inviting pillows and crocheted blankets the other, and stepped out onto the small patio.

“Here’s my much, much better half. Hey, mama.” Cale scooped her up close, the heat from his body almost as great as that from the grill. “This is Alain Babineau, detective and rescuer of lost souls.”

Had one of them been her mate’s?

Alain Babineau was, in a word, a doll.

Mega-white teeth flashed as he put out his hand with an offer of, “Pleased to meet you, Kendra.”  Any female with ovaries couldn’t help but respond to that smile with a sudden explosion of estrogen.  Mainly because he was so unaware of the effect he had on the Y population.