Claiming His Fire (17 page)

His lips blazed a trail from my neck to my collarbone, choosing to follow the curve of my breast lower, sucking my nipple between his teeth and giving it a small bite that made me gasp and arch into him. Once more, a final nibble, and then lower still, his hands kneading my hips as his lips and tongue teased their way to my belly button.

Down again, biting over my stomach, moaning and groaning and growling and driving me mad. When he reached my hips, he licked across the expanse—one bone to the other—before looping his arms under my thighs and pulling me down the bed.

“Shadow,” I said, giggling. He hummed and kissed along the seam between my thigh and my stomach, licking a path down. I kept my hands in his hair, not guiding, just holding on. Following along, massaging his scalp, and tugging softly as he used his mouth to tease me. To drive me wild. To ramp up the expectation and desire.

And then I died a thousand deaths as he placed his lips around my clit and suckled me.

Sparks flew, though I couldn’t tell if they were in my mind or real. If actual sparks erupted from my fingers, Shadow didn’t seem to notice or care. He sucked and licked my little nub with a vengeance, never holding back, attacking me like it was his job.

When he wrapped his lips over his teeth and bit down on my clit, causing a rush of sensation throughout my entire body, my legs clenched, my head tilted back, and I groaned. Loud.

Shadow gripped me harder, pulling me tighter to him and pressing his tongue against me. Over and over he licked and sucked, pushing me higher, relentlessly teasing me. And when I couldn’t take it anymore, when I sat on that edge of pleasure and pain that always came right before I broke apart, he used his teeth again and shattered the tenuous hold I had on reality. I trembled and stuttered, swearing, biting my lip, and trying to curl my body in on itself, but Shadow held me still, pulling me through, making that pleasure last. Making it the best orgasm I’d ever had.

When I finally had enough control over myself to act, I grabbed his hair and pulled him up my body. Kissing him deeply, tasting myself on his lips as his body fitted to mine.

“Want you to come, too,” I murmured, moving to his neck. He had such a neck fetish; I knew it had to go deeper than just a want to give pleasure. I took a chance that he liked the same treatment, and I bit him…hard. He jerked and made a noise that sounded animalistic and dangerous, more roar than growl, more jungle than forest. I liked it. Liked that he wasn’t quite human. Liked that I was able to entice all three sides of him at once.

I bit him again, not breaking skin, but sucking hard enough to leave a mark. To mark him as mine. He thrust against me, sliding through my soaking wet pussy, never inside but so damn close. Bumping my clit on every push forward, making me shiver at the sensation.

“You’re so fucking hot.” He groaned and dropped his head to my shoulder. “Your hands are going to set me on fire.”

“I don’t know whether to thank you or apologize.” I clutched at him, loving the feel of his body against mine.

“Maybe a little of both.” He huffed a laugh that mingled into a groan. “Jesus, Scarlett. Don’t stop touching me. Please. I’m not going to last.”

I squeezed my legs around his hips and thrust back against him, teasing him, giving him enough pressure to get off.

“Just let go, Shadow.”

He shook his head, growling deeply.

Knowing he needed a little more, a tiny push, I lifted my head to his ear and gripped his shoulders, burning him with my palms as I whispered, “Come on me, Shadow. I want you to mark me.”

His body stiffened as a deep snarl ripped from his throat. Pure animal, nothing human about the sound. Body tense and face screwed up tight, he gave two more pumps before he came, decorating my stomach with the evidence of his pleasure as he shivered and pinched his eyes closed. I couldn’t look away, amazed by the expression of pained pleasure on his face. Falling deeper under his spell as he let me see him like this. So raw. So desperate.

“Fuck, Scarlett,” he groaned as he finally opened his eyes. “You can’t say stuff like that to me.”

I giggled and ran my hands over his shoulders. “Why not?”

“The beasts like it too much.” He looked up at me, all blissed-out eyes and a lazy smile. “I’d hate to have you think of me as a two-pump chump.”

“Hmmm.” I slid down the bed, curling around him. “I wouldn’t worry about that.”

“No?” he asked as he wiped down my stomach with a tissue from the nightstand. “And why’s that?”

“Because you can always make it up to me with your mouth.”

He chuckled, tossing the tissue toward the trash can and wrapping his arms around me, cuddling us closer. We lay in silence, enjoying the warmth, relaxing into sleep. Until I ran my hands over his back and he flinched.

My eyes popped open, and I stretched to see the damage. Two dark marks, one on each shoulder blade. Hand marks.

“I burned you.”

He shook his head. “It’s fine.”

I tried to push away, my heart racing and my stomach clenching, but he refused to let me go, hanging on to me with an iron grip.

“Scarlett, don’t.” He waited until I held still, then brought his face close and stared into my eyes. “It’s absolutely nothing compared to what we shared. I liked making you come, and I liked coming all over you.” He leaned down and gave me a tiny kiss. “I really liked that.” He grinned and I rolled my eyes.

“I wasn’t running,” I whispered. “I was just going to grab that burn ointment you love to threaten me with.”

“Oh, okay.” He shook his head, smiling, eyes dark and locked on mine. “I don’t want any medicine. I actually like the feel of them.”

“You like it?”

He shrugged. “Kind of feels like you branded me or something. You marked me. They’re a badge of honor.”

“Seriously?”

He held my gaze, bold as day as he stated, “I earned those burns. I want them to scar me.”

I grinned and shook my head. “You’re crazy.”

“And you’re in bed with me. What does that say about you?” He chuckled as I smacked his arm, pulling me tighter and nuzzling into my neck. We lay curled around each other, warm and comfortable once more. Quiet and at peace.

But then it was his turn to break the silence.

“I have to leave first thing in the morning.” He kept his arms wrapped around me as I tried to pull back, refusing to let me free.

“Where are you going?”

“North Dakota,” he said, his eyes soft and sorry as they looked into mine. “It’s for business. It hasn’t been planned for long; we only finalized the trip this evening.”

I watched him, waiting, feeling the secrets he kept like a tension between us. “Business?”

He paused, eyes wary, his body language telling me so much more than words. “I have a job to do out there. One I can’t really tell you about.”

A job…nothing more, nothing less. Damn, I didn’t need to know all the details, but something about the way he spoke, about the tone in his voice and the stiffness of his words, set off alarms in my head.

“Is it dangerous?” I whispered, clinging to his shoulders.

He steeled me with his gaze, silent and stoic, and I knew my answer. He wouldn’t lie to me and tell me no, but he also wouldn’t scare me by saying yes. So he stared, and I stared back. Understanding. Accepting. Hating that he would put himself in such a position but knowing it was part of who he was. Part of his breed and his family of Feral Breed shifters. Something he could no more give up that I could being a witch.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against his chest. Clutching him. “Be careful, okay?”

“I’ll do my best.” He nodded once, slowly, cradling me as he kissed the top of my head. “I’ll come home to you, Firecracker.”

We rode through some nowhere town in North Dakota long past sunset. The darkness had an oppressive vibe to it, a weight, as if the night was smothering the land. No bright moon in the sky due to the phase of the month and a lack of streetlights put us in the pitch, but I didn’t mind. We’d come to work, to hunt and fight. For us, the darkness was a blessing, especially with our animal sides much closer to the surface than we’d normally let them be. We needed their ears and eyes, their sense of smell and their instincts, if we were going to pull off this mission. No more holding back.

We had a fleet of motorcycles ridden by Feral Breed members, a war wagon full of mountain shifters, a set of Cleaners coming for backup from Chicago, and a man practically foaming at the mouth to find his mate, all ready to go.

I’d been thinking about Scarlett the entire trip, too distracted by the memories of her heat and her taste to notice the scenery flying by. Her curves beat out any rolling hills, her spicy skin better than anything on the menus of the diners we’d stopped at. The long ride gave me hours to settle in to those thoughts, to thoroughly investigate every moment of the night before. Her breathy sighs. The feel of her legs wrapping around me. The way her hair glowed like the end of a cigarette when she came. And her mouth, her words. Calling my name, asking for more, saying “please” and “mark me” as I thrust against her. The woman was a firecracker—strong and bright, beautiful and dangerous as all hell—and I would stay bathed in the glow of her if she’d let me. I wouldn’t stifle her, I’d let her fly and just enjoy the show, because deep down, I knew she’d come back to me. We may not have exchanged mating bites, but we’d bonded. She was mine, and I’d honor that to my last breath.

The ache of riding with a hard-on was a price I willingly paid to remember every moment of the night before. But as I pulled behind a roadside motel with my brothers, that changed. I needed to focus on the task at hand. The fight we were about to kick off. I needed to get down to business.

“I can feel her,” Gideon said, nearly shaking as he hopped out of the SUV to stand between Cahill and Killian. Obviously fighting his urge to go to her…to run. “She’s still fuzzy, but it’s stronger here. We’re
so
close.”

Jameson stepped in front of him. “We
are
close, but you need to wait.”

“I’m fucking tired of waiting,” Gideon snapped, his canines descending. The man was over the edge, ready to lose complete control to his wolf and his need to protect their mate. When I thought of my Scarlett being in the same situation as his Kalie, I understood his desperation. I had no idea how the man was still standing after all the months of not knowing where she was or if she was okay. If he’d ever see her again. And now, when his mate was close enough to feel even through the haze of drugs the kidnappers had to be keeping her under, he’d have to sit back and wait more. Brutal.

“We’re all tired of waiting,” Killian said, echoing his packmate. “I say we go get her now.” He crossed his arms and gave a solid Alpha stare, ready to fight. Killian O’Shea was a big man—huge, really. Tall and broad with arms as thick as tree branches, he exuded strength and power. But so did Jameson, who looked about ready to bash the other wolf’s head in. Time to intervene.

“The Cleaners are coming tonight.” I stretched, cracking my neck, and nodded at Killian. “Your pack, Rebel, and Gates need to stay put so someone’s here to meet them. Phoenix, Jameson, and I are going to do a little recon before things kick off.”

Gideon snarled, his shoulders hunching and fur sprouting along his arms. “I don’t want to be held back.”

I growled a warning, my one and only. “If we go in without knowing what the situation is, they could kill her. If we go in without backup, they could kill us all. We wait for the Cleaners, and we check things out from a distance. If she’s in immediate danger, we’ll act accordingly. Otherwise, everyone needs to chill the fuck out.” I held his Alpha, nodding deeply, more of a bow, in a move that showed respect. “We’re getting her back, but we have to do it right. I will not let you lose more pack members tonight, Alpha. You have my word.”

Killian’s glare broke, his face losing color. He’d lost a lot recently, as an Alpha and a man. But he was fair and kind, he loved his pack more than anything except maybe his mate. He’d never do anything that would harm a single one of them, which was why I knew he’d back down if I reminded him of the danger Kalie was in.

Finally, Killian nodded. “We stick to the plan, Gideon. These men are going to help us save Kalie, and we need to listen to them, no matter how much it kills us to.”

Gideon’s growl morphed into a sound like a whimper. “But I can
feel
her.”

Cahill put an arm around him, pulling him into his side. “We’ll get her back soon. And then we’ll kill those bastards for touching her in the first place. And for murdering my sisters.”

I locked my eyes on the desperate shifter, keeping my face flat and expressionless. Worrying about his ability to think logically in the face of what we were sure to find. All three of the Appalachian shifters were dangerous to our mission: Killian had an ax to grind because of losing the battle to keep his pack safe, Gideon had a mate in danger and would do anything to get her back, and Cahill…apparently he’d lost sisters in the attack. Lost family. The level of pain and fury the men had to be feeling would feed their wolves, make them lose focus, make them a liability instead of an asset. Unless we kept them on a short leash.

Rebel, Gates, and Phoenix had turned away, probably feeling the same pang I did when I thought about being in Gideon’s shoes. But I held strong, faced down the man and the agony of his fear. Keeping my thoughts pinpointed on Gideon and Kalie. We had a mission to do, and it wouldn’t help anyone for me to be distracted by my Scarlett. Not when there was so much at stake. Not if I wanted to be of any use during the fight that was sure to come.

Scarlett was a distraction I craved, but one I couldn’t allow to take over.

“If you can feel her, then she can feel you. She knows you’re coming for her,” Jameson said. I turned and cocked my head. Those words didn’t seem like something an unmated shifter would say. Jameson sounded…mated. Experienced. “Send her good emotions, safe ones, something for her to hold on to even if they’ve still got her drugged. That’s your job for right now. You give her mental strength, and we’ll go check out what’s happening.”