Clawed: Wild Things, Book 3 (11 page)

He slid his arms around her waist and took her with him to the grass. Lying by her side, he skimmed his hand along her body, reveling in every curve and valley. Her eyes shone with desire, turning the lust he felt into a power all its own. “You’re beautiful.”

She blinked, the corners of her mouth tipping up. “I bet you say the same thing to all the girls you dunk in the water.”

He shook his head, playing along with her joke. “Nope. Just the ones who almost drown me.”

Chloe cast her gaze down, then brought it back to him. “So you’ve brought others here?” She bit her lip, her nerves showing.

Conan shook his head, knowing she was no longer toying with him. “I’ve never brought anyone here. This isn’t my home, remember?”

He shuddered, loving the way she ran her palm along his arm, then down his chest. “Do you like living in the Rocky Mountains, Conan?”

He didn’t want to think of the mountains he’d left behind right now. Not when he could think of her. “Yeah.” Conan wanted to bite her lip the same way she’d just done.

“Is your home as beautiful as it is here?”

Her timid look spoke of a need for more than a simple answer. “No. It never could be.”

“Really?” Her big doe eyes locked on to him. “Why not?”

He paused, but the flowery words of love he sought wouldn’t come. Instead, he spoke from his heart, giving her the only answer he could. “Because you’re not there.”

Her pleased expression was his reward. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it and instead pulled his mouth to hers. He leaned into the kiss yet only grazed her lips with his. Holding his desire in check, he promised himself that this time wouldn’t be like before. He touched a strand of her hair and brought it to his nose, savoring the fragrance. Her scent was as fresh as the morning air, and he closed his eyes to imagine letting her hair stream over his chest.

How had she come to mean so much to him? Was he making more of their time together than was real? He opened his eyes, seeking the answer in her face and finding it in her smile.

Slipping his hand along her flat stomach, he paused and leaned back to take in all of her. She reached for his hand and guided it between her legs. She opened to him, bending one knee. Her wetness, smoother, silkier, unlike the slick wetness of the water, covered his finger with warmth. Cupping his neck, she urged him to take her nipple.

She was his heaven. She was the one person he’d waited for, yearned for, but had never allowed himself to believe existed. A long, slow moan rumbled in his throat as he dipped his fingers into her pussy. Chloe arched her back and grasped his arms to pull her body toward him. He slid his hand behind her, supporting her.

First with one, then with two, he worked his fingers against her sweet nub. She cried out and spread her legs wider, giving him the freedom to plunge his fingers deeper. Licking from one breast to the other, he rubbed his palm against her clitoris, moving faster.

She inhaled sharply, startling him, then pushed away in one abrupt movement. “Conan. No.”

“No?” Conan couldn’t fathom the word. How could she say no after what they’d already done? Fear that she would turn him away made his heart beat faster.

Chloe grabbed his hair and tugged. “I don’t mean no. Not really. I only meant—” She looked first one way, then the other. “What if someone sees us? Are we far from where we left Nina and Billy?”

Relief swamped him, leaving him shaking. “Doesn’t matter. Billy knows better than to bother me.” He glanced around the area. “As far as anyone else is concerned, they can either watch or get the hell out of here.” He took her chin, making her understand that he meant what he said. “I don’t care. Unless you tell me you don’t want me, I’m going to have you. Right here. Right now.”

Chloe bit her lip, her eyes taking on a mischievous glint. “Not if I take you first.” Laughing, she locked her legs around his waist. “Gotcha!”

Chapter Seven

Conan grunted and threw his body on top of hers, pinning her to the ground. Chloe squealed but made no effort to get away. She kept her legs firmly around him and marveled at the expressions that swept over his face, wondered at every flex of his muscles. She opened her mouth to tell him how amazing he was, then changed her mind. Words could never be enough.

He kissed her neck, feathering his lips across her skin. She shivered, a tremor born of lust and not the chill in the air. He cupped her breast, then pressed against her and eased the tip of his shaft inside her. She gasped, stiffening at the size of him. She’d remembered how large he was, but she hadn’t had time to think about his size, hadn’t had time to prepare.

Could she handle him again? She’d never seen anyone as impossibly long and thick. She had, in fact, felt raw after the first time. Raw in the best way possible. The kind of raw she wanted to feel again. Her vaginal muscles tightened in anticipation.

He caught her looking and understood her thoughts, a frown creasing his brow. “I should make sure you’re ready.” He tried to slip lower, but she clung to him and shook her head.

“I’m ready.”

He arched an eyebrow, a cocky expression on his face. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to hurt you.” A second later and the cockiness disappeared. “No, I’m serious.”

“I know.” She palmed his cheek, loving the way his stubble tickled her skin. “Hey, I was fine the first time, remember?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Conan, are you ever going to finish what you started?”

He chuckled, then repositioned his body. “Look at me.”

Doing as he asked, she held him, both of them locked in a spell of their own making. He pushed his shaft farther into her vagina. She stiffened, once again surprised at his size, as though it was the first time he’d entered her. Maybe she wasn’t as ready as she thought. He stroked her hair, comforting her.

“Breathe, Chloe.”

She let out a breath, then took deep breaths.
Breathe
.

“That’s it. Relax and let it happen.”

Chloe kept her gaze glued to him and concentrated on clearing her mind of everything else except Conan. She drank in the musky scent of him, an aroma that was part male and part wilderness. Wanting to taste his scent, she traced kisses along his shoulder, then flattened her tongue to feel the strength lying beneath the tanned skin. She ran her hands down his arms, letting her fingers slide over the swell of muscles. His breathing was steady, and she tried to match hers with his, but her heart raced too fast to do so.

He stroked her, gently, lovingly, making her ready. But it was the tenderness she saw in his face, in his eyes, that rushed the wetness between her legs. She blew out air and gripped her legs tighter around him

He pushed in, her walls welcoming him, cocooning him. She tightened around him, the pain easing to heat, her body opening to him as her heart welcomed him. Easing farther inside, he gripped the sides of her head, his hands stroking her hair.

Chloe arched against him, drawing him deeper than she’d thought possible. Conan nibbled his way from her earlobe down her neck to slip along her chest until he could latch onto her nipple. She clutched his hair as zings of lust ripped through her.

Conan moaned against her breast, the vibrations of the sound traveling into her. He sucked and nipped at her bud, tormenting her. Without warning, he tracked his tongue along her skin into the hollow between her breasts, then under the ticklish curve.

She held him tightly and rocked against him. Wetness flowed from where they’d joined, making wet sounds that drove her desire higher. He cupped her bottom, fondling her cheek, and rammed into her harder than ever. She cried out as an orgasm broke free. Throwing her head back in a wild scream, she sent the birds in the nearby tree soaring into the air.

“Easy, baby. You don’t want anyone to hear you.” Conan’s chuckle warmed her lips seconds before he closed in on her.

The kiss smothered her retort and softened her mouth. He toyed with her, dancing his tongue at the roof of her mouth, and a groan flowed from her throat. And still he plunged into her, releasing her only to plunge again. Breathless, she fought to keep pace with him.

The kiss ended, and she opened her mouth to speak. But her breath was swept away once more when Conan rolled over, taking her with him.

If she’d thought him big before, she now wondered if he would tear her apart. But, oh, what a way to die!

Conan filled his hands with her breasts and she mimicked him with her hands on his pecs and reveled in the hardness of his chest. He thrust upward, pounding into her. Keeping her arms straight, she cushioned her breasts as they bounced with each of his pushes. She lifted her face to the sky and closed her eyes, loving the way her hair danced around her shoulders as the warmth from the sun tried to match the heat between her legs. He released her breasts to take her ass in his hands, spreading her cheeks apart so he could play with her bottom. She lost the battle to remain silent as another shout of release echoed into the air.

She couldn’t think any longer and closed her eyes, focusing on the way he held onto her, the way his arms felt under her grasp, the way he kept her upright when it felt like her body could have dissolved into a molten pool. Her body reacted to his by instinct alone, calling on an inner primal hunger. Her exclamations of “oh, oh, oh” played accompaniment to his thrusts and she held on to him, to her consciousness.

Another orgasm, more intense than any other, ripped through her. Her body jerked, letting wave after wave sweep her along for the ride. She cried out, unable to care any longer if someone heard her. He shouted along with her, his release coming seconds after hers.

Conan grew still even as the sweep of orgasms rolled on, and as the last one quieted, she opened her eyes. “Oh, my God, Conan.”

She smiled, a woman satisfied, and looked down at his face.

Shock drove every thought away. Conan’s face was contorted, his eyes glowing with a strange, amber hue. His mouth had extended and his lips were drawn back, exposing long, sharp fangs. Chloe screamed and threw her body off his, then scrambled on hands and knees to the other side of the small island. Staying in a crouched position, she whirled around, terror filling her lungs. She clutched her clothes to her chest, not only for cover, but for something to hold on to. Something real to cling to.

Conan sat with his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. His shoulders rose and fell with an obvious effort to breathe.

Chloe swallowed, dislodging the fear clogging her throat. “Conan?” Hurriedly, she dressed, pulling her clothes on in quick movements.

Several moments passed before he finally raised his head. She inhaled, surprised to see his face had returned to normal.

“It’s okay, Chloe.”

“What the hell did I just see?” Her voice was a whisper. “Am I losing my mind? Tell me what happened just now. And don’t tell me I imagined what I saw.”

She saw the struggle on his features. Saw how he battled with himself to decide what to tell her.

“You didn’t imagine it.”

Now that she had confirmation, she wasn’t certain she wanted it. “No. I can’t believe it. I saw…”

He nodded, encouraging her to continue. “Go on.”

“I saw your face change. You looked… You looked like an animal.” She waited for him to laugh and tell her she was hallucinating. Maybe hallucinating was better than the truth she didn’t want to hear.

“I know.”

She stood, ready to run. From him. From what she’d seen. From her heart telling her to stay. “I don’t understand.” What possible explanation could he give her?

“Will you let me say what I need to say? Without running away?”

She glared at him, at once angry. Why did something always go wrong with the men in her life? How could he do this and take away what she’d found in him? What she hoped he’d found in her? She didn’t want to understand. Instead, she wanted to believe everything would be all right. But the burn in her stomach stole away the hope of her dreaming coming true. She gritted her teeth and gave him the best answer should could. “I’ll try.”

“Do you remember that day by the stream?”

Oh, please don’t. Don’t tell me what I don’t want to hear.
But she had to know. “Of course I do.” Her anger faded, replaced by fear—and, God help her, curiosity.

“You saw me.”

Again, she couldn’t stop from answering. “Yes.”
I should run. Why am I not running?

His gaze nailed her to the spot. “You saw me change.”

She licked her lips and tried to swallow in a mouth gone dry. Her heart beat faster, pounding in her ears. “I saw you. Then I saw a bear.”

Conan stood and took a step toward her. To her surprise, she held her ground, ready to face whatever came.

He nodded. “You saw me change into my other side. Into the animal side of me. You saw me shift into a bear.”

Even the birds had stopped singing as though they, too, prepared to hear the unbelievable. “No.”

“Chloe, don’t. You know what I’m saying is true.”

“I was drunk. I hallucinated.”

“No, you weren’t drunk. I smelled alcohol on you, but not enough. Not enough for you to see something that wasn’t there.” Conan took another step toward her, but halted when she raised a hand to ward him off.

She had to go in, all or nothing, daring him to make her believe. “I don’t believe this. What you’re saying is impossible.”
Prove it to me.
Torn, she wanted him to refuse and yet prayed he’d take her unspoken dare.

“Then I’ll show you.”

She stared at him, then tasted the blood on her lip where she’d bitten too hard. Wiping it away with her fingertips, she held herself tall and took his challenge. “Okay. Show me.”

He backed away, his naked body exciting her even as a different kind of excitement shot adrenaline though her. She waited, ready to see the truth.

“Please, Chloe, promise me one thing.”

Even with fear chilling her, she would have promised him anything. “What?”

“Promise me you won’t run.”

She laughed, the sound blurting from her lips in an effort to keep it contained. “I don’t know. I’ll try not to.”