Wanted: Wild Thing (Midnight Liaisons) (23 page)

“Ah,” he sighed, and I could hear a wealth of emotion in his tone.

I felt stunned. The feel of Hugh deep inside me was fascinating and deeply satisfying. I remained utterly still, trying to make sense of the feelings rushing through my body. How could it be so intensely pleasing to have another person stick a body part inside you? And yet . . . damn.

I’d been missing out.

Hugh’s fingers remained on my clit, continuing to coax my body, and my surprise just as quickly turned back to pleasure. The feeling of Hugh buried deep inside me added an entirely new layer to the sensations, and after a moment of his teasing fingers, I moaned again.

“Ryder?”

His words were a soft question. Was I okay? Was I in pain?

“Keep going, Hugh,” I breathed. “I’m fine.”

He drew backward, and I felt him push forward again. Again, my pelvis twinged with an ache, but it was less than before. When he stroked in the third time, I felt nothing but the curious sensation of being utterly filled.

“Okay?” he asked, his voice full of tension.

“Better than okay,” I agreed, lifting my hips when he stroked again, letting my actions speak more than my words.

He brushed his fingers over my clit again, and I cried out, feeling pleasure racing through me. My toes curled, and I was close to another orgasm. Oh, God, the feeling of Hugh buried inside me while he played with my body was driving me crazy. I sucked in a breath and it exploded out of me in the next moment, when the orgasm peaked once more. I felt my entire body tighten around him, the pleasure rippling through me again.

With my orgasm, Hugh became unleashed.

His fingers left my flesh, and suddenly both hands were on my hips. He rocked into me, his hands anchoring me in place. Then, as if he couldn’t stop himself, he continued to push into me faster with each stroke. My body was shaking with the recoil from each thrust. And I wanted to protest, but the slam of his body against mine was making an entirely different and new sort of pleasurable ache between my thighs. In moments, I was screaming his name, needing another orgasm—this one fierce and wild—as my primordial lover made wild love to me.

My orgasm exploded through me like a supernova, and I gasped for air, the scream lodging in my throat even as my forehead pressed to the furs. I felt Hugh shout and tremble as he gave another enormous thrust inside me, then he collapsed on top of me as he came. I felt the wash of his release inside my body and heard his long, extended exhalation.

And then he rolled onto the furs next to me.

Which was good, because I didn’t think I could move at the moment. To think that I’d been worried the sex wouldn’t be any good? If it had been any better, it would have killed me.

I laughed into the furs.

Hugh exhaled deeply and pulled me close to him, cuddling my smaller body against him. “Any regrets?”

I pressed my face against his hard pectorals, breathing in his wonderful scent and loving the feel of his skin pressed to mine. “None whatsoever. You?”

“That I did not take you for myself sooner.”

Sweet man. I snuggled closer and sighed with contentment.

Chapter Seventeen

I
awoke sometime later to the sound of a large body snoring and a clawed hand protectively placed on my breast. I smiled even with my eyes closed, cuddling closer to Hugh. It was nice to wake up next to a man, to have his big body pressed against my back. I didn’t even mind that I was a little stiff and cold from the damp.

Unfortunately for me, my bladder and my stomach both protested being ignored, and I knew I’d have to get up soon. I slid a bit closer to Hugh and found that he had morning wood. Maybe I could help him take care of that. Sneakily, I tried to turn over.

And a groan of pain escaped my lips.

Everything below my waist was stiff and aching. I knew some people got sore after vigorous sex, and I’d figured I would be, too, but this was more than I’d expected. Guess we’d been rough with each other.

Hugh immediately woke up at the sound of my voice, and his hand reached for my cheek. “Mmm, Ryder? What is it?”

“Just stiff,” I told him with a wince. “Nothing too surprising.”

He sat up next to me, and I realized I could make him out a bit easier in the low light of the cave. The sun had to be up outside. “Did I hurt you?”

“I’m a little tender. I think we were overly enthusiastic. It shouldn’t be a problem in the future, though, and I wouldn’t change a thing about last night.”

Hugh kissed me fiercely. “I love you, Ryder.”

“I love you, too,” I told him, feeling warm and delicious at his words. “But can we go find a bush or something? I hate to ruin the moment, but I really need to pee.”

Hugh chuckled. “As you wish.”

A short time later, we had climbed down from our waterfall cave and discreetly taken care of our bladders behind separate bushes. I was eyeing the water of the pool with longing; I was thirsty and felt achy and dirty, and a soak in a pool of water sounded great. Then I remembered Hugh’s words about fish with teeth, and I decided that cleaning off could wait until I got home.

A big arm wrapped around my waist from behind, squishing my wings and trapping my tail. Hugh nuzzled my ear, making me squirm at the ticklish sensation.

“You should be walking around. Stretch out your legs.”

I gestured at a nice, leafy plant near the water. “I was just wondering if that was edible.”

“Not unless you want to be violently ill.”

“It’s not high on my list of things to do,” I said cheerfully. My stomach growled under his hand, and I patted his arm. “I don’t suppose there’s a drive-thru around here?”

“No. The only food here is either foraged, caught, or hunted.”

“Sounds delicious,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “I think I just might wait until we get home to eat.”

His face was unreadable. “Do you want me to come home with you? Do you regret this?”

“Of course I want you with me. I don’t want to go home without you.” I reached up and caressed his cheek. His face was hard and unyielding, but I sensed the vulnerability underneath. It made me want to give him a hug. “I don’t have anything if you’re not with me.”

He tilted his mouth and kissed my palm. “You are my world, Ryder. Wherever you wish me to be, I will be there.”

“I’m glad,” I told him softly. “The thought of staying here scares me. I don’t know how time passes here compared to home. And it’s dangerous here. You’re cut off from everyone but the fae. But if you cannot leave . . . I will stay. As long as we’re together.”

Hugh pulled me close to him again, dragging my body against his in a tight embrace. I went willingly—this man loved to hug and cuddle more than anyone else I’d ever met, and I was a sucker for it. He pressed another kiss to my hair. “The other primordials are my brothers. My friends and companions. But I have chosen you over them. I do not know how it will affect their hearts. I would not want them to try and take you from me.”

I clung to him, a bit worried by that statement. “I don’t want them to try that either, big guy.”

“I must come with you, then. Back to your world.” He seemed disappointed.

I felt a twinge of dismay at his lack of enthusiasm. “Do you hate my world?”

“Not at all.” He seemed pensive. “I do not like the cold is all.”

The cold? “I live in Texas.” I poked his abdomen. “We don’t get much of a winter at all. Barely any snow.”

He looked down at me in surprise. “What about the ice glaciers?”

Ice glaciers? “In Texas?”

He nods. “Everywhere. Great amounts of ice. It is hard on our kind. The herds fled south, so we followed the herds, and so did humans. But they fear our kind.”

I blinked at him, then gave him a little shake. “Hugh, sweetie . . . exactly how long have you been in this world that the fae created for you?”

He shrugged. “I told you. Time passes differently here.”

“Didn’t you notice that we’ve sort of moved beyond a hunter-gatherer society? Shapeshifters are living amongst humans. The humans just don’t know it.” My hand smoothed along his stomach. “And the Ice Age ended about ten thousand years ago, Hugh. Your kind is long extinct. No one worries about ice ages anymore. We’re actually handling a little problem called ‘global warming.’ ”

He stiffened against me. “Extinct?”

“No more saber-toothed tigers, I’m afraid. You’d be the biggest, baddest shifter on the block.”

He grunted. “We came here under promises from the fae, you know. They would make this realm for us to keep us safe and let us hunt undisturbed in a warm, peaceful climate. They made the offer to us one by one, and we did not realize that the paradise they had created had left us more vulnerable than ever. There are no women here, and we did not realize until too late that they intended to keep them separate from us.”

“More bad deals from the fae,” I agreed. Shifty bastards.

“And time passes here as if in a dream. The only time we interact with the fae is if they demand favors in exchange for a boon.”

“Have they demanded favors before?”

He nodded. “In the past.”

“What kinds of things?”

Hugh frowned. “I . . . do not recall. It is possible there is something in this place that tampers with our memories.”

I believed it. The fae liked to tamper with everything. “And did those who worked with the fae come back?”

“I . . . do not recall that, either.” He didn’t look happy.

I didn’t blame him. It was disturbing to think about. I imagined the jobs the fae must have come up with over time. Who knew how many millennia Hugh and his primordials had been here? How many had disappeared while performing another fae task, never to be seen again? It sounded ominous. The fae liked to play games. Now it seemed that their games had an even more sinister edge than we’d imagined.

I gave Hugh’s arm an encouraging little squeeze. “This doesn’t sound like a safe place after all. So why don’t you
all
come with me?”

He looked down at me, the worry smoothing into surprise. “All of us?”

I nodded, gaining enthusiasm for my idea. “You don’t have to stay here. You can come with me. You, Artur, all of your friends. The world now is very different from the world you remember. There are a lot of shifters in the Fort Worth area, so you’d have a support network. I’m positive they’d help you all acclimate to modern society. And if the others leave this place, you will no longer be beholden to the fae. More than that . . . the others can find mates. There are shifter women. Not tons of them, but they are there.”

His eyes gleamed with excitement, but then he shook his head. “The fae will not like it, and they are holding our females. What if they punish them for our disobedience?”

I hadn’t considered that. I thought for a moment, then snapped my fingers. “You can all still come with me. We’ll just play hardball.”

“Hard . . . ball?”

“Yes. Basically you come with me and tell the fae you’ll only return to this realm—and to being their errand boys—if they give you the mates they are holding. They will have no choice but to release them if they want to keep you.”

“Do you think that will work?”

“If it doesn’t, Finian’s going to have to explain to all his buddies that he’s lost all of the primordials. I bet that’s a conversation that won’t go over well.”

Hugh looked down at me, eyes dark. “Do you truly think it will work, Ryder?”

“They will want you back, so they’ll have to give in. And what do your men have to lose?”

“Nothing,” he admitted. “If what you think is true, this place is as deadly a prison as any. We will ask my men what they wish to do.”

I beamed up at him. “This will work. I know it.”

Hugh grinned down at me, all fangs showing in his delight. “You have a good heart, my Ryder.”

“I hear a lot of things are pretty good about me,” I teased back. My flirty ways had returned.

His hand slid to my ass and cupped it. “I could not agree more. There are many things about you that are more than merely good. They are mouthwatering.”

Oooh.
Mouthwatering
was a rather descriptive word. It sent a shiver of excitement down my spine. “Such as?”

He squeezed one buttock. “The way your lower back curves in just before your tail. The smooth lines of your spine nestled between your wings. The way that your nipples perk when I say your name. The way I catch your scent when you are aroused, and it makes me hard.”

I sucked in a breath at his words. Just like that, I wanted him again.

“Like now,” he murmured huskily. “I can smell your desire, and it’s making me crazed.” He leaned in and nipped at my lower lip with those big teeth.

My knees went weak. “Hugh,” I breathed. I glanced around at the wilderness surrounding us. “Are we safe here?”

He kissed along my jaw. “You are always safe with me.”

“Good. Then let’s have sex again.” Who cared if I was sore? I was going to be sore anyhow. And right now? I wanted Hugh. My hand moved to his cock, and I grasped it. Already hard and ready.

He groaned at my touch and his tongue swiped at my open mouth, licking me.

I gasped at how good that felt and squeezed his cock again. “Point me to where we can lie down.”

“We don’t need to lie down,” Hugh said. He pulled me against him and scanned the area.

“We don’t?”

He hauled me over his shoulder again, my stomach thumping against his skin. “I know just the place. Over here.”

“Okay,” I agreed breathlessly. His hand was pressing down on my behind, and I wanted to push back against him, to have those fingers seek out my flesh. I was already wet and aching with need. Who knew that sex was like an itch that needed scratching once you started?

He paced across the brushy forest floor, and I squirmed with anticipation. A moment later, he put me down again, his hand caressing me as he released me to the ground. As soon as he did, he pressed another fierce kiss to me, distracting me before I had a chance to look around. His hand hitched to my leg and he pulled me up against him.

I pulled away from him in surprise when he dragged my other leg against him and pressed me backward. My back was against a smooth tree, and I clung to his shoulders. “What—”

“I saw this in one of the moving stories you gave me to watch,” he said, mouth pressing against my neck urgently. His hands clung to my hips, keeping me balanced against him.

“You . . . you did?”

“I did.” His voice was a low growl of pleasure as he nipped at my collarbones, then slid down to take the peak of one breast in his mouth.

I moaned, clinging to him. “You’re a fast learner.”

He licked at my nipple, teasing the sensitive point. “Do you hurt?”

“Mmm. I ache. Deep inside.”

He suddenly stopped, looking at me with concern. “Did I hurt you?”

I dug my pearly nails into his shoulders. “I hurt a little, but I’m fine. I want you. Please.” I rocked my hips, feeling them press against his cock. He was so close, yet so far away. “Don’t tease me like this and then pull back.”

He moved to my mouth and kissed me again. “If you’re sure.”

“More than sure.”

His hands shifted my hips, then I felt the head of his cock pressing against my sensitive opening. I sucked in a breath, and a tiny whimper escaped me when he sank deep.

Hugh groaned as he seated himself inside me. Then he stilled, and his gaze searched mine. “Ryder?”

The fullness felt different sitting upright, pressed between him and a tree. It ached a little, but it was also being rapidly taken over by the sensations that pricked at my nerve endings. It hurt to have him buried in me, but it also felt really, really good. That itching, needy ache had suddenly been filled . . . and had left another craving in its wake. “I’m good,” I reassured him and lifted my mouth for another kiss.

He groaned again and pressed his mouth to mine, his tongue slicking against my own. The kiss deepened even as he thrust inside me, and there was no thought of pain in that moment. Instead, every bit of my body sang to life, and I tightened my legs against his hips. The way he’d thrust against me had pressed my clit against him, so when he’d stroked forward, it had felt incredible.

And the rotten man had stopped again. I dug my claws into his shoulders, silently begging for more.

Hugh didn’t need encouraging after that. His mouth forcefully ravaging mine (someday we’d have a conversation about sweet, gentle kisses, but I was enjoying the rough ones too much), he began to pump into me with slow, sure strokes that left me writhing against him.

I came moments later, in a hard, shattering burst, clenching around him and shuddering with delight even as I dug my nails in harder. “Hugh,” I cried out as the orgasm took over me. “Oh, God, Hugh!”

“Ryder,” he growled against my mouth. “My Ryder. Mine.” And his thrusts became hard and jerky. A moment later, he came, too, pushing hard between my legs and shoving me so fiercely against the tree that I heard the limbs creak.

Once again, I found myself thankful that I was a changeling, because I could take all that Hugh had to offer, and more. I dug my fingers into his shoulders, utterly pleased with myself. That had been a short, rough round of sex, and it had left me totally sated. “You’re pretty good at that, Hugh,” I told him breathlessly.