Clawed: Wild Things, Book 3 (17 page)

At first, when he didn’t answer, she wasn’t sure if he’d heard her. Or had she said too much? Afraid to speak, she waited for what seemed like a lifetime.

“Do you understand what you’re saying? What it’s like to love a shifter?”

She twisted toward him, the ache in her shoulder nothing compared to the ache in her chest. Had he decided to let her go? Did he think she couldn’t handle loving him? “I know what I saw. I know that it’s painful to change. I also know your life is different from anything I’ve ever known. But I don’t care.”

He gritted his teeth, then pushed the words out. “Shifting never gets any easier. It’s always the same.”

She gave his words the time to sink in, giving them the respect they deserved, before answering. “I know and I understand. I want to be with you in every way I can. Not just as your lover, but as your mate. Is it possible, Conan? Is it possible for me…to become like you?”

The uncertainty in his expression tore at her. “Some of us are born, but some of us are made, too. We live apart from humans, visiting only when we have to. But I can’t ask you to do that. I won’t ask you to give up everything you have.”

“You’re not asking me.” She skimmed her fingertips over his lips. “I want to. I want to run in the woods with you. I want to sleep on a bed of leaves with you.” She couldn’t help but chuckle. “But most of all, I want to learn how to catch a fish like you.”

“Oh, so it’s really all about my fishing skills, huh? That’s why you want to be with me? Because I can keep you in an endless supply of salmon?”

Her laugh matched his. “Well, duh. So what do you say, Conan Cahill? Will you be my mate?”

Conan paused too long for comfort, then grunted as he moved closer to her. “I can’t think of anything I want more.” He slipped an arm around her waist. “Now, let’s get you back inside before the head nurse gives me hell.”

“You ready?”

Chloe’s head snapped up, tearing her gaze away from her painting. “Almost.” She smiled, then turned her attention back to her artwork. “I just want to get this one part exactly right. Once I’ve finished, we can run the painting to the tourist bureau headquarters and pick up my paycheck.”

She smiled and motioned for him to take a seat next to her. “Thanks again for bringing me back here.”

Conan plopped down beside her, his hand grazing her back in the familiar gesture she’d grown to love. “I don’t know how you could make the painting any better. Unless you could capture the sound of the waterfall.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Actually, that’s kind of what an artist does. I want people to look at my work and hear the sounds of the forest as well as the sound of the water.”

She had it almost perfect, even by her own standards. Conan had been very patient with her, bringing her back to the pond with the waterfall once she’d fully recovered from her wound. She’d treasured these past days of enjoying the forest and painting. And the nights? Well, the nights spent making love with Conan had been the best part. But she could feel his patience wearing thin.

He sighed, then lay back, one hand behind his head while the other traced patterns on her back. The patterns he drew teased her, tempting her to drop her brush and move the canvas aside. She reached for him, her gaze sliding down his body.

“How about tomorrow?” Keeping her attention on his crotch, she traced a trail around his ear and laughed when he swatted her hand away.
First I’ll tickle him here. Then I’ll tickle him there.

“Tomorrow?”

Although he tried not to show it, she heard the anticipation in his voice.

“Yeah. I think we should leave for your home tomorrow. If that’s okay.”

“Sure.”

He’s back to one-word answers again.
That’s my Conan.

She resisted the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Then it’s settled. Tomorrow we leave for Colorado. Do you think Billy will change his mind and come with us?”

“No.”

She let her smile take over this time. “He and Nina are getting along great, aren’t they?”

“Yup.”

“Not in the mood for talking, huh? That’s okay. I’m kind of in the mood for something else anyway.”

Sending him a seductive look, she unbuttoned his jeans, then tugged the zipper down and spread the flaps wide. Amber flashed in his eyes, signaling the awakening of both his desire and his beast. Pulling the sundress she wore over her head, she tossed her hair back, knowing his hot gaze would take every inch of her in. She heeled off her sandals, leaving on only the lacy black thong that he loved.

Conan ran his hand along her arm, slipping toward her shoulder, then taking a different route to cup her breast. “Come here.”

“Uh-uh.” She shook her head and shoved his shirt toward his chin until he sat up and dragged it over his head. He kicked off his boots as he helped her rid him of his jeans. Slowly, she leaned over him, teasing him with her mouth an inch from his erect shaft. He groaned and slid his hand under her cascading hair to cup the back of her neck.

“You’re killing me.”

“Hmm.” She studied his length, his width, the intoxicating curve leading to the tip. “You look alive to me.” She arched an eyebrow. “Very alive.”

Chloe wrapped her hand around his cock, letting her palm run to the base, then back up again. Precome showed at the opening, tempting her to taste. Instead, she inhaled, long and slow, drawing in the scent of him.

“Chloe.” He tugged at her to coax her lower, then moaned in dismay when she released him.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t even started.” Slinking between his legs, she smiled provocatively at him, then dipped her head. Her hair flowed over his abdomen, falling around his shaft. She shook her head, moving the silky strands against him. He gasped, his abdomen tightening, muscles rippling.

Leaning forward, she slipped her hair over his stomach and pressed her breasts on either side of his shaft. Conan lurched upward, but she shoved him back. Loving the control she had over him, she took her breasts and enveloped his cock between them.

“Oh, my God.”

The grittiness of his tone made her wet, making it harder for her to resist sliding on top of him. Moving her breasts in opposite directions, she worked his shaft while blowing warm breath on the tip that played peek-a-boo between her breasts. Conan reached for her, taking her hair with both hands and massaging her scalp. He tried again to pull her on top of him, but she resisted.

“No, Conan. Just lie back and enjoy.”

“Oh, I am, I am.” Lust and love mixed in the colors of his eyes to melt her heart. “But I want more.”

“And you’ll have more.”

Resting her shoulder on his thigh, she ran her hand under his leg to grasp his butt cheek. Taking his shaft, she tracked her tongue down the underside of him, tracing a blue vein from the cap to the base and back again. His butt tightened as he lifted his pelvis. She cupped his balls, loving the weight of them.

She knew the way he fit inside her and now she would learn how he would fit into her mouth. Taking it slowly, she parted her lips, closed her eyes, and circled the mushroom cap. His breathing quickened, his body tightening as she teased his slit with her tongue.

Chloe took her time, focusing on the way his shaft twitched when she traced her tongue there…and then there. She would remember the way his skin warmed under her touch, the texture of the dark hair curling over the side of her hand, the primal aroma he exuded. He was her man, and she was his woman.

He lifted his upper torso, tensing his stomach muscles so that he could reach between his legs to fondle her breasts. He teased her nipples, tweaking them as he murmured words of need, of lust, and love.

Chloe paused, then plunged him deep into her mouth. Conan shouted and clutched her, then dropped his hands to tear tufts of grass from the ground. She held him, using her tongue to explore every ridge, every vein.

Using both hands, she pumped him, drawing his taste from him, then returning for more. Her pulse quickened, the sun warming her back as delight rushed through her. She pulled him to the edge, releasing just long enough for him to recover, then started all over again. Pumping him, she fondled his balls, torturing him as he’d so often tortured her. His release was near and she found herself unable to decide whether to let go or to take him to the finish. Conan, however, made her decision for her.

Emitting a growl that was so animal-like that she had to look up, he sat up, lifted her by the arms and tossed her onto her back. She yelped, then giggled until his mouth found her taut nipple. Taking her hardened pebble in his teeth wiped her giggle away, replacing it with a gasp.

Heat, hotter than ever before, flashed inside her, at once turning on the flame while drenching her with her own juices. He swept his hands under her shoulders, taking her in a hold that told her he’d never let her go. Her pulse beat erratically, skipping a beat, then pounding in a staccato rhythm.

Conan’s breath on her skin burned her but it was a fire that matched the one burning within her. He swiped his tongue from one nub to the other, finding valleys between her breasts she hadn’t known existed. She wrapped her legs around him and arched toward him, pressing her crotch against his shaft, urging him to take her.

He didn’t need any other urging, and he plunged into her. She cried out and clutched him, possessing him as he did her. She pulled on his hair to bring his gaze to hers. Golden eyes stared back at her, and for a second, she let the old fear sneak in. But then she saw him, the real Conan, through the glassy haze of lust, through the beast-like need.

“Conan, make me yours.”

He gritted his teeth, his body shaking with the effort to keep his shaft unmoving inside her. “Are you sure?”

She smiled and arched against him, driving him deeper, forcing him to thrust again. He couldn’t refuse her sex. But had he changed his mind about making her his mate?

“It will hurt.” Worry clouded his eyes. “A lot.”

“Haven’t I proven how strong I am?” She tightened her vaginal walls around him. “Do it.”

Conan slipped his hands to frame her face and studied her. She met his concern with determination and resolve he couldn’t argue with, and he didn’t. The golden of his eyes took them over, and he shifted just enough to bring out his fangs. Growling, he shoved into her again, harder, more urgent than before. Chloe renewed her hold on him, her muscles moving on instinct to draw from him what was hers. She smiled, giving him silent permission, then inhaled as she let him turn her head to the side.

The lust-fire burst free again, rising within her, searing her until the pressure within was too much to hold back. Calling his name in the same moment he roared his release, she clung to him, their bodies inseparable.

Wave after sweet wave flowed through her, dousing the lust until only embers of their desire remained. Conan held onto her, still enclosed by her. He bent his head, gave her one last look, then sank his teeth into her neck.

Chloe screamed and at first struggled against the agony that felt like her shoulder was being torn apart. She fought against him, but Conan wouldn’t let go, his fangs buried in her flesh, his hands holding her head still while she pounded him with her fists. Blackness offered relief but she held on, her mind fighting to push the panic away.

At last, she accepted his bite as she’d accepted his love, and stopped resisting.

Clinging to him now, she moaned as her body trembled and shook. A strange sensation rushed through her, empowering her with strength. The world around her changed, the colors of the forest trees and slanted sunbeams muted with an overlying haze of amber. She groaned, but the groan soon changed into a growl. At last, her body jerked with the final spasm, then relaxed.

Minutes later, he withdrew his fangs but kept her in his arms. Her heart threatened to break free of her chest even as her breasts pressed against his. The pain continued for another few agonizing minutes, then subsided to a throbbing ache that traveled from her neck down her arm.

Conan’s grip on her softened. He brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead and kissed away the tear that had trekked down her cheek. Rolling to the side, he kept her with him, enclosing her in a comforting bear hug.

“Sleep, Chloe. I’ll take care of you.”

She lifted her head, searched his eyes, hoping he’d understand her question.

“Don’t worry. You’ll heal by tomorrow.” He nodded, giving her the answer she wanted, the one she needed to hear. “We’re together. Mated forever.”

Her hand shook as she touched her fingertips to the mouth she loved, to the man she trusted with all her heart.

“Tomorrow we’ll go home.” He kissed her fingers. “Until then, just rest.”

She tried to speak but found her voice stolen by the dryness in her throat. Instead, she sighed, cuddling closer to him. Safe and happy, she let exhaustion take her.

About the Author

To learn more about Beverly Rae, please visit
www.beverlyrae.com
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Look for these titles by Beverly Rae

Now Available:

Touch Me

Wailing for Love

To Fat and Back

Magical Mayhem

Wild Things

Cannon Pack

Howling for My Baby

Dance on the Wilde Side

Running with the Pack

Magical Sisters

Magical Sex

Para-Mates

I Married a Demon

I Married a Dragon

Wild Things

Cougar

Wild Cat

Coming Soon:

Magical Sisters

Sex with a Hex

She’s a real wild cat…in and out of bed.

Wild Cat

© 2010 Beverly Rae

Wild Things, Book 2

Alexandra’s brother has changed since his mate’s death, but she’s certain he’s no cattle killer. When she gets the chance to track down the real culprit, she jumps at the opportunity to clear the suspicions hovering over his head. And maybe ease her own grief.