Coyote Gorgeous (12 page)

"
You smell
sweet and rugged at the same time,
"
she whispered.

His strong fingers tightened on her
knee and moved insistently up her thigh. Madison basked in the warm
feeling of being wanted. But he stopped suddenly and removed his
hand. Craving his touch, she snatched his hand and placed it higher
on her thigh.

"
It’s okay to
let go of your cool, self-control, you know. You need to loosen
up.
"
She pushed away a strand
of hair to nibble his ear.

His fingers tightened on
her thigh.
"
Aren’t you afraid
I might
...
take advantage of
you?
"

Madison shook her head
slowly.
"
I feel perfectly
safe. I want to see more of that dangerous side of
you,
"
she purred.
"
I want to feel your willful,
strong, aggressive, almost animalistic
side.
"

Leaning forward, she laid her hand on
his leather-clad thigh and felt his muscles contract in response.
She heard his sudden intake of breath. He wanted her, too.
Good.

Mesmerized by his gaze, she smiled as
she closed the gap between their faces. When their lips touched,
Madison let the intoxication of him wash over her. Soon, his kiss
demanded entry and she let him explore her mouth. Her knees
weakened. She clutched his muscular thigh while her other hand
fumbled with the buttons of his turquoise suede shirt. Dizzy from
his scent, she ached for the contact of his skin against
hers.

She gasped when his hand
found the edge of her lace panties and pulled them out and down in
a slow caress.
How many times had he
practiced that move? Was he another womanizer
? Madison silenced her intruding doubts.

Emboldened by his determination, she
kicked off stilettos and panties to sit astride his lap. Then she
tangled her fingers in his long black hair and kissed the dancing
shadows of his handsome face. His breath quickened and his arms
closed around her.

"
The first
time with a new person is always the most exciting, don’t you
think?
"
Her whisper sounded
nervous even to her. It had been so long. Madison had forgotten the
sensation of fear, mixed with expectation, and delight. She hoped
this wasn’t another mistake.

He kissed her hair
lightly.
"
Any second
thoughts?
"

Madison chuckled and
straightened to look into his eyes.
"
Not a
chance.
"

He laid her down, her head propped on
the armrest of the sofa. She felt only the slightest hint of danger
as he covered her body with his, but she enjoyed the trepidation as
he crushed her with possessive control.

She arched under him and
enjoyed the way he kept her down.
"
You are so strong,
"
she
moaned.

She pulled up the bottom
of his open shirt then peeled it away from his broad shoulders. She
gasped as the candlelight revealed a fresh scar on his left upper
arm and traced it with a light finger.
"
This must have
hurt.
"

He stared deep into her
eyes with savage intensity.
"
You have no idea.
"

The round scar looked like
a gunshot, fully healed but still pink, probably a few months old.
She kissed it and felt his muscle spasm under her lips.
"
How did it
happen?
"

His strong hands seized
her hips and the hard bulge in his pants pressed against her bare
inner thigh. He forced her head back and nibbled at her throat,
whispering between breaths,
"
You want me to stop everything and
talk?
"

"
No.
"
But a gunshot was
a serious matter. Did he have a run in with the law? Was that why
he didn’t like cops or guns? Damn. When would she learn to pick
them?
But her lust spoke louder than the
warnings in her head. She pulled him down closer and said
breathlessly,
"
Please, don’t
stop.
"

He sat her up, skillfully unzipped her
dress and pulled it over her head, in a flutter of candlelight. The
fabric glittered on its way to the floor. Then he ravaged her
breasts, teasing each nipple with his teeth. Madison’s moans rose
and her back arched as he kissed his way down to her navel,
eliciting delicious yearnings. But then he stopped and shifted his
position to lave the soles of her feet, the inside of her leg, the
soft part of her knee. Slowly, he worked his way up her thigh,
setting her skin on fire.

"
Take me
now.
"
She vaguely noticed her
low-pitch as she clawed the leather pillows, surrendering to the
overwhelming sensations.

"
Not
yet,
"
he managed between
licks as he reached the sensitive spot between her
thighs.

"
Please,
"
she moaned as
her body melted into hot, liquid pleasure.

She was so ready when he finally
thrust into her, that she climaxed in a flurry of groans fit for a
lioness. But Kal didn’t stop. With the stamina of a bull, his
powerful hips working nonstop, he kept pleasuring her.

"
Say my
name,
"
he whispered in her
hair.

"
Kal...
"

"
No, my real
name,
"
he demanded
forcefully, plowing into her.

"
Kaletaka
!
"
In the throes of ecstasy, she repeated his name
over and over.
"
Kaletaka
.
"

Just when she thought she couldn’t
take any more, he increased his rhythm and drove her into yet
another crescendo, awakening unsuspected reserves of unquenched
passion. Thrown into an eerie state of lasting orgasm, Madison
screamed until her voice grew hoarse. A hot flood surged inside
her, Kaletaka shook and gasped, then he collapsed upon her breast,
breathless, finally spent.

Soft as marshmallow, contented as
never before, Madison sighed away her vanishing fears. She had no
regrets.

Why had she ever thought Kaletaka
might be wrong for her? He was a good, honest man, a talented
artist, and a wonderful lover. She felt very lucky, indeed, and
quite safe in his arms.

Chapter Six

Sitting shirtless on the living room
couch in the glow of a single candle, the full moon rays seeping in
through the skylights, Kaletaka listened again to the
twelve-day-old message on his cell phone. He couldn’t find the
courage to push the key that would erase Madison’s
voice.

"
I hope
you’re all right. We were so great together the other night. I
thought we had something special. I don’t
understand.
"
Her sad voice on
the recording paused as she emitted a barely audible sigh.
"
I’d really like to talk to you.
Call me.
"

Flipping the phone shut,
Kaletaka threw it down with force. It clattered to the parquet
floor and slid under the armchair. He raised his gaze to the full
moon beyond the skylights.
"
Great Coyote, help me! I’m not cut out for this. Why does it
have to be me?
"

Whether he heard or not,
the Great Coyote remained silent.
Typical!

"
I didn’t ask
for this! You owe me.
"
Kaletaka rose, almost expecting a thunderous answer from the
great beyond, but he didn’t care.
"
What kind of life is this? I can’t do
it.
"
His voice broke.
"
I miss her too
much.
"

At the howl of a coyote in
the distant hills, the skin along his spine prickled. He could feel
an ominous presence lurking out there. Time to
change
...
time to
die?

Kaletaka had no choice but accept his
fate. Dejected, he sat on the floor and touched the ceremonial sage
bundle to the candle flame, then dropped it in the copper bowl on
the low table. The dry substance flared. He blew off the flames to
obtain a slow crackling burn and thick smoke. Waving the fragrant
smoke toward his face, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Would
the Great Coyote talk to him through the smoke?

"
This will
ease the change,
"
his father
had said, handing him the soft leather pouch a few days
ago.

"
Or make me
see things that aren’t there.
"
Kaletaka had accepted the gift nevertheless.

"
It’s only
sage, not peyote. If you see things, they are there, although
sometimes visible only to a few.
"
Then his father had clamped his mouth shut, grunted, and left
without another word.

Kaletaka’s acute senses now registered
the sweet smell of the cleansing smoke insidiously relaxing his
muscles and his mind. Every cell in his body pulsed with renewed
energy. Fire burned in his chest in bright rainbow colors. His
apprehension at the upcoming confrontation dulled, then turned to
peace, anticipation, exhilaration.

When Kaletaka willed his body to
change, it expanded at a slow, even pace. Arms and legs lengthened
and bulky muscles bulged under his darkening skin. A surge of power
took hold of Kaletaka. He felt invincible. He wanted to shout his
newfound strength, but the only sound coming from his throat was a
growl. Long fangs grazed his lolling tongue. What had he
become?

As he stood, he realized how much he
had grown. His house looked smaller from this height.

When he picked up an empty glass on
the table to test his new reach, it shattered under his unexpected
strength. He flinched at the loud sound of broken glass. As he
stretched his arms, tentatively opening and retracting sharp claws,
Kaletaka felt awkward at first. But quickly, he developed a feel
for his new size and shape. Once confident in his strength and
agility, comfortable in his new skin, he strode to the back door
and ducked under the lintel to meet his archenemy calling from the
hills.

Following the scent of
evil, Kaletaka ran up the hill toward his fate, confident he would
win. But when he caught sight of the black monster, he realized how
much larger and stronger his opponent was
...
and very determined.

Kaletaka stopped cold at a safe
distance. His archenemy stared at him, as if assessing his
strength. Was the black beast afraid of him? Kaletaka barely
controlled his shaking. He growled to give himself
courage.

The black beast growled back but
didn’t attack. Neither did Kaletaka. The time wasn’t right. Or
maybe Kaletaka wasn’t ready to die.

The black monster retreated into the
desert shrubbery, and Kaletaka did not pursue him. He hated himself
for failing his father, but he couldn’t die yet. He had too much to
lose.

*****

"
You said the
rogue bear was dead!
"
Was
Jake sweating?
He stood, both hands
resting on the back of his desk chair, face drawn, his uniform
slightly wrinkled, shadowed by the black panther on his wall. The
stern confidence had gone from his eyes.

"
Maybe I only
grazed it.
"
But Madison
hadn’t found the slug. She sighed with frustration and shifted
uncomfortably in her chair.
"
There must have been more blood than hurt. It’s been a
month.
"

"
I hold you
personally responsible for the new killings.
"
Jake shoved photographs in front of her.
"
I took those myself this morning.
At another ranch on the same road. Same tracks, same technique.
It’s your predator.
"

Since when did Jake do
field work? Madison studied the gruesome pictures. They matched the
first killings. This time, the beast had hit on the opposite side
of Kaletaka’s house.
"
I’m
sorry.
"

Jake almost knocked over the potted
corn plant against the wall, then disentangled himself and rounded
the single desk to pace the small space behind Madison, who
swiveled to face him.

"
It’s your
blunder, you fix it,
"
Jake
shouted, red in the face with anger. He raked his blond
hair.
"
Get rid of it once and
for all. Whatever it takes.
"