WickedBeast (13 page)

This time the moan had nothing to do with pain as she
shifted to open her legs, welcoming his touch even in her sleep. Cord clamped
down on his response to her blind trust. That sweet, welcoming movement punched
him in the gut with punishing power.

She should be running from him. He was the worst possible
future and she would never get rid of him. Perhaps she would never know. He was
a master of deception. A shapeshifter was a natural liar, deception built into
every form by virtue of the fact that he can shift to another to suit himself.

His fingers between her legs stroked, petting her because
she had asked him to with her movement. Even in this, he was an excellent liar.
Touching her intimately was a desire that would never be sated. He would always
want to, but the dragon knew so well how to make her want him to. Get her to
ask for what he would always take.

Sleepy eyes opened to look up at him. Leaning over, propped
up on one elbow as his other hand strummed plump folds between her legs, he
wished he could smile for her. He was afraid attempting that would simply be a
show of teeth. Apparently his ability to deceive her to her face was
diminishing. A purring smile and sleepy eyes as her hips shifted eagerly
translated to complete trust, and he had no defenses against that innocent gift.

His head sank to take her lips so her eyes would close. The
kiss was deep and sweet, a soft plunder of her soul’s secrets. He sucked her
tongue into his mouth, keeping his ravenous cravings hidden behind a blind of
gentle touches and sensuous requests.

One of her arms was trapped between them but the other hand
rose to trail through the thick hair on his chest. She seemed fascinated with
it as her mouth opened under his.

Between her legs, he carefully, ruthlessly stroked her with
seemingly casual touches. His fingers gliding around her slick opening, drawing
liquid up over her clit in quick passes and down again. He leaned farther,
deepening the kiss, thrusting his tongue into her, but still gentleness was all
she felt.

Kelly moaned as her body arched, inviting his attention with
growing hunger. The hunger he was creating, encouraging, building. She was
asking for exactly what he wanted. His lips trailed across her cheek, dropping
light kisses as he found the sensitive nerves below her ear. Kelly turned her
head so he could better reach what he wanted.

Knowing he was manipulating her did not make him any less of
a dragon. He took what she offered, rewarding her with subtle stimulation to
little-known nerve bundles directly beneath her skin. Sucking where he knew it
would have an erotic response, kissing and nipping down to her collarbone. His
body moved over hers and his head rose to gaze into her eyes as his hips
settled between her legs.

She was ready for him. He’d made sure of it. His cock found
the entrance to paradise and he pushed into her slowly. Kelly’s knees came up
in response, opening her center to his invasion. Her fingers threaded through
his hair, pulling his head down to her mouth so as his body pushed into her
fully they were kissing like lovers should.

Cord bent his will into channeling all his animal greed into
being the gentle, sensual lover she deserved. This time he would be with her
all the way, in every way it was possible for a dragon to pretend he was a man.

He didn’t move in her until her little fingers curled into
claws and scrape down his back. His hips pulled back slowly, savoring every
inch of the journey, out then back to her body. She arched into his gentle
thrust, trying to take him faster. His large hand clamped around her hip, not
tight enough to bruise, but firmly.

This was for her, and she would endure being treasured.
Establishing a slow rhythm of entry and retreat, he lifted his mouth from her
lips. Her beautiful eyes were closed and her head naturally arched back,
inviting his mouth to her skin. The bruise he had left on her alabaster neck
this morning had long since disappeared. Something else he’d made sure of. But
the spot that drove her crazy was right there beneath his nose.

He kissed around that temptation, refusing to take any
shortcuts to her fulfillment.

“Cord,” she whispered, her head still tilted back, eyes
closed.

“Right here, baby,” he rumbled into her neck.

“Kiss me like you did this morning,” she requested in a
trembling voice.

“It would be cheating,” he admitted reluctantly.

“That doesn’t make sense. Kiss me.”

“I am kissing you.”

“Please.”

Little Wind Witch had found the whip. It didn’t matter what
he said, what his intentions were, she had just hit the master control button.
He wasn’t sure she was aware of it so it seemed prudent for him to simply shut
up and do as she wanted.

Cord’s mouth settled over that sensitive spot on her neck.
Sucking gently, he felt the ripples of excitement wrap around the ever-rising
flame deep in her abdomen. His hips picked up the rhythm of his mouth on her
neck. The woman in his arms became fire racing through the air. His heaven and
hell were her pleasure.

He rode the wave with her this time, allowing her to feel
urgency building in his body. Giving her what she needed while he took another
piece of her soul.

Doing his best to mimic human male responses, he allowed his
hips to speed up so he carefully controlled the power of each thrust. Feeling
her contract around him, he knew exactly when she was ready to fly. In that
moment, he gave her a little more of his greed. His hand reached between them
to firmly caress her clit. Tight circles forced her body to respond. Hard and
fast, he pushed her over the edge and fell with her. Coming in her body was a
pleasure he wasn’t expecting.

Pushing deep in her, the sensations of her internal grasp
shot flaming spears up his spine. It was blazing, feral delight in his
possession of her. The beast gloried in his woman and would not be restrained.

At the first burst of come, the world exploded. Apparently
controlling the power of his body’s use of her had nothing to do with the power
she could pull from him. His hips jerked, slamming into her in short thrusts as
he emptied. Grinding his seed into her and sealing it there with his body. This
wasn’t the first time he’d come in a female, but it was the first time he’d
lost control in that moment. She ripped away his ability to hide from her for
those few minutes. His head jerked up to look at her face and see if she
realized what had just happened.

Her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly open as she gasped
through her own release. She didn’t know.

Metaphorically grabbing his beast by the neck, Cord
forcefully shoved it back into the cage of control before she could open her
eyes and see what she did to him.

As the contractions in her body wound down, her eyes opened
slowly. Gentle fingers trailed down her cheek as he gazed into her lazy smile.
This woman glowed, she radiated the light of contentment and it blinded him.

“Kiss me,” she asked softly.

His lips covered hers, but the touch was featherlight as he
rubbed them back and forth, savoring the feel of her beneath him. It wasn’t
until she opened her mouth and ran her tongue over his lips that he took her
kiss. Gentle, painfully gently, he kissed the wind.

He lifted his head but still couldn’t smile. This had been
much more than he’d intended. He had wanted to give her the reverent touch of
an adoring lover. It never occurred to him that she could return that same
touch with such painful honesty.

Cord didn’t want to discuss it. Being a gentle lover meant
time spent cuddling. He knew the rules, exactly what to do next. He just
couldn’t face it. Moving over her and off the couch, he slid arms under,
lifting her to his chest. He strode out of the living room to the stairs.

“What are we doing?” Kelly wanted to know.

“Taking you to bed.” He kissed her forehead as he lightly
mounted the steps.

“Oh.”

They were in her room already. He reached down and pulled
back her bedspread. Placing her in the bed, he drew the blanket over her.
Dropping to one knee, with an arm around her head on the pillow and one across
her body, he kissed her cheek, her forehead, her eyelids, forcing her eyes
shut. “Go to sleep,” he whispered into her neck has he continued the soft
kisses.

“Stay with me?” she whispered.

“I can’t. When your baby runs in here this morning, she will
find Mommy in Mommy’s bed. That’s how it should be. Now is not the time to
change what you’ve taught her.”

“What I’ve taught her?”

This time he could smile. “You’ve taught her the difference
between what married people do and single people do. I don’t want to get in
trouble by not following the rules.”

Kelly returned his smile sleepily. “Thank you.”

Cord briefly dropped his head to the bed as he battled the
urge to break every rule. Without lifting it, he made sure she knew what he
wanted. “You know I want to stay, right?”

“I know, but thank you for supporting me as a parent. It
means a lot to me.”

Cord lifted his head to look at her. This was very
important. “I know the difference between right and wrong, Kelly. I know what a
difference it makes when raising a child. I will always support you, support
instilling values, checks and balances. These are the things, the only things
that Minuet will have to keep her a child of the light. Her power will tempt
her to break all the rules, to take whatever she wants, to be anything she can
imagine. Without a core set of values, she will be lost.”

He could have gone on, but this wasn’t how he wanted to
leave her. Not with a mind full of worry and a heart heavy for the future.
“Relax, baby. You know your daughter is everything right. She has an inborn
concern, an uncommon awareness of those around her for a three-year-old. You’re
doing it right. I did not mean to imply differently. I’m trying to say that I
support you and will continue to do exactly that.”

Kelly nodded, but the clouds did not disappear from her
eyes, and Cord wanted to kick his own ass. What they had just experienced was
beautiful. He’d wanted her to drift off to sleep feeling safe and treasured,
not worried and anxious. How was he supposed to walk out of this room if she
was upset? It wasn’t possible.

“Look, hand me that other pillow, will you?” he said. Unsure
how to fix what he’d done, he figured it was time to just stop talking already.
Every time he attempted to reassure her, he exchanged the shovel he was digging
a hole with for a bigger tool, he had to shut up. Apparently this dragon was
not eloquent.

Taking the pillow, he dropped it to the floor beside her
bed.

Kelly shifted up on an elbow to look down at him as he
stretched his long form on the floor. “You’re sleeping on my floor?”

“Yeah, you’re worried and upset, I can’t leave you. If I
keep talking, you’ll never get to sleep, and I’m only making your concerns worse.
If I get in that bed, you are not getting any sleep either. So this is it, you
fall asleep and I relax. You stay up worrying and I’ll be awake right here with
you, except with a hard-on.”

Kelly bit her lip to keep from smiling as the big beast
below her firmly closed his eyes and folded his hands behind his head. “I see.
So you on the floor is different from Minuet finding you in my bed?”

“Way different.” He didn’t open his eyes to respond.

Kelly relaxed back on her pillow but lay there looking up at
the ceiling. “You’ll know if I worry the rest of the night?”

“Absolutely. You’ll know if I worry the rest of the night.
Breathe in the air, draw it over your tongue. You can taste the worry as well
as smell it.”

She did as he instructed, marveling at how clearly she could
identify the different emotions swirling around them. “Good to know.”

Cord grunted from below her.

Outside the open window, the breeze picked up, bringing the
night into the room with them. Kelly tested her new knowledge, inhaling deeply.
Abruptly she sat straight up in bed. “Do you smell that?”

Cord opened his eyes but didn’t bother taking the deep
breath she had needed. “Yeah. Power is on the air tonight, and it’s not us or
Legion and Molly. We have company a lot sooner than I’d hoped.”

“Who is it?”

“Lie down. I’m not sure who it is but they are far away. The
power you taste is weak.”

“You expect me to sleep?”

“You have to, Kelly. Humans can’t afford to skip that much
sleep.”

Kelly looked down at him, his eyes were closed and his body
seemingly relaxed. “Who do you suspect it is?” she asked.

The corner of Cord’s mouth ticked up in a brief show of
teeth as he acknowledged her intuition. “I think one of my cousins was sleeping
within range when Minuet called me.”

Slowly Kelly lay down as she thought through his response.
“You are trying not to tell me it’s a dragon.”

“Go to sleep, Kelly. I’m tracking his every move and you’ve
given me the power to take care of any problem that might arise. Your dragon is
bigger, badder and a helluva lot more motivated than this guy could ever hope
to be.”

Kelly closed her eyes, seeking sleep, but she was pretty
sure it wouldn’t come. Cord was probably right. Sleep might be in short supply
in the near future. She had to be rested. Had to maintain a normal life for
Minuet, or as close as they could come to it.

It was an hour before Cord could be sure she had drifted
into restless sleep. Dawn painted the horizon with a shy blush. He slowly stood
and went to the window, hands on hips, gazing west.

He’d been afraid of this. On the other side of the mountains
was the desert. People had been finding bones in the desert for a very long
time. Human archeologists put them together in interesting combinations but
sometimes they got it right. Sometimes getting it right meant they didn’t
believe what they’d found. This time a collection of bones had reassembled with
no human help.