Entity Mine (15 page)

She moaned under his mouth, the sound humming through their joined bodies. He flicked the tip of his tongue against hers, desperate to make her moan again, but she had ideas of her own, sucking his tongue with a rhythmic pulse that brought to mind his dreams from the past and made him groan.

She laughed against his mouth and trailed heated kisses against his jaw and down to his neck, sucking deliciously at the receptive skin under his ear.

His hand found one soft breast. He brushed the crown with his thumb, feeling her nipple beneath the thin fabric of her bra and T-shirt. “Devon.” It wasn’t a question or a statement. It was an affirmation of wonder, like breathing out a curse at the sight of a spectacular sunrise.

“I—”He tried again, even though he hadn’t an clue in hell what he was going to say.

She put a tapered finger to his lips. “Shhh. I’ve dreamed of doing this since I saw your picture and nothing is going to stop me now.”

The dreams. “
You’ve had dreams, too?”

She nodded, leaning back, fumbling for the door knob behind her and the door closed with a scrape and a click, then she took his shoulders and pushed him toward the bed. He let the gentle shove take him to the pliant edge and sank onto the old-fashioned bedspread.

A smile lit her sherry brown eyes as she knelt beside him. “You dreamed of me?” Her hands cupped his face, her gaze hungry, as if drinking him in, as if she’d waited for this moment for a hundred years.

He couldn’t get a full breath past the upswell of desire and emotion rocking through him. After years of feeling this way only in dreams, here they were together and it was so much better than a dream, almost unbearably more.

She swooped forward, her breath brushing his lips. “Did I do this?” And the sweet, warm pressure of her lips settled on his. Now she was the driver, capturing his mouth with urgent heat, her tongue flicking inside and shooting up sparks everywhere it touched. The movement of her delicate hands making similar magic on his shoulders and the nape of his neck.

But when she pressed her supple breasts against the wall of his chest, the knots of her nipples imprinting his flesh through the barrier of their thin clothing, it was less like magic and more like a bomb exploding. A shudder wracked him. His lion purred and slipped away.

A warm hand sidled under his T-shirt and stroked his ribs. He froze. There was nothing he wanted more than to be bare under her. Hell, to have them both naked and for him to be inside her, but she didn’t know everything. How could he do that to her?

He snared her hand with his own before it could move any higher, or lower. “Devon. Stop.”

Chapter 24

Devon sucked in a deep breath, Ethan’s sudden rejection whisking away the cloud of passion fogging her brain. She plopped down onto the bed and ran a shaky hand through her hair. She opened her mouth, looking around the room, too hurt to know what to say, then the anger kicked in. He’d started this, after all. She hadn’t come in here out of the blue and thrown herself at him.

The knock startled them both.

She scrambled off the bed and straightened her clothes. “Come in.”

Jake opened the door and peered in, his big hand swallowing the knob. His gaze took them both in and widened in comprehension.
Great now everyone in the house would know.

He cleared his throat, the corners of his eyes crinkled as if he were pleased by something. “Sorry to bother you guys. But I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.”

Ethan stood. “You’re leaving?”

Jake shrugged his shoulder and smiled. “I don’t want to leave Anjali alone in New York.”

Ethan lifted his brows. “Sure. You don’t want her to be
lonely
.”

His brother laughed, his face alight under his sliding curtain of inky hair. “No. We can’t have that.” He backed into the hallway, walking to the stairs and Devon followed him, all too aware of Ethan’s powerful form trailing her. Why had he pulled away?

One minute he devoured her, as if she was a meal he’d been craving his whole life, the next minute “Stop,” like she was a frat boy and he a high school senior who’d taken the chastity oath.

The worst part was, she still ached for him. He could crook his finger and she’d fling herself back in his arms.

Kyle and John met them in the entryway and the five of them went out into the cold night. Only the last red streak of sunset turning ever more maroon lit the sky.

Devon stuffed her hands in her back pockets and shivered. Damn, should have grabbed her hoodie.

Ethan pressed up behind her and put his big hands on her arms, his body radiating heat. She stiffened, but couldn’t make herself move away.

Jake strode onto the dewy lawn. Where was he going? Their SUV was in the driveway. Or was John taking him? But then why did they need to be outside?

Then a brilliant flash of light stunned her eyes and when she could see again, a massive dragon as big as a RV filled the yard. He looked black in the shadows, but the light spilling from the porch picked up deep blue scales with the iridescent refraction of a prism.

“Holy . . .”

It was Ethan, but she felt the same way. Okay, a lion was one thing, but a dragon . . .? Nothing they’d told her had prepared her for the sight of a mythical creature in her friend’s front yard. The wonder of it stole her breath.

Kyle patted his baby brother’s massive haunch. He was smiling, but there was a tension in his shoulders. Had they argued about Jake leaving?

Jake spread his immense wings and rowed them through the air, as if testing them.

“He’s huge.” Ethan sounded as upended as she felt.

Kyle’s shoulders crested and dipped. “His other forms have actually gotten bigger since he’s mated. I don’t know if it’s happiness or as much chicken tikka as he can stuff in his face.”

Devon watched as Jake took off, shrinking visually as he gained height until the only hint of his passing were the furrows in the cloud cover plowed by his wings.

She turned without looking at Ethan and half-trotted toward the front door, pretending every fiber of her being didn’t long to be back in Ethan’s arms. He’d pushed her away. She wasn’t some obsessive teenager who couldn’t take rejection. “Speaking of chicken tikka, I’m starving.”

Devon managed to avoid Ethan while she dug into Beth’s cupboards and emerged with several cans of tuna, some mayo, and a bunch of cans of soup. He tried to catch her eye as they ate their tuna melts and tomato soup, but she found if she timed her rhythm she could always be staring into the tangy, orange-red soup when he stared at her. Well, maybe she
was
acting like a teenager, but after her experience with Mordechai she needed her emotions played with like she need a hole in her head. If he was going to turn hot and cold, better to make a break now.

If only the idea didn’t stab like an ice pick in her heart.

She shooed them all away when they tried to help clean up and went to town with the scrubber, paper towels and the broom, scrubbing, rubbing, and sweeping until the kitchen was magazine clean.

When she was done, she hesitated at the doorway.

“Finished avoiding me?” Ethan’s deep voice came from the hallway. Little more than a large, dark shadow, he leaned on the wall, arms folded, one leg up, as if he’d been watching for a while. Waiting.

She flinched, her pulse beating a wild tattoo. “I—” This was it. Time to woman up and tell him it was over.

The words she might have said withered on her lips as he took her hand and led her up the creaking wooden stairs.

In the bedroom, he closed the heavy six-panel door behind him with a click and crowded her, raising his hand as if to touch her face.

She retreated until the edge of the bed hit the back of her knees and she plopped onto the nubby surface, her slip-ons falling off as she scooted away from him.

He stood over her for a second, his hands on his lean hips, his face unreadable in the dark room, then the bed dipped as he sat beside her. He reached out and scooped her hand off the bedspread. He turned, kneeling on the bed and gathering her into him. “Are you ready to listen?”

Every beat of her heart urged her to dissolve against his body, but her mind still remembered the pain of his earlier rebuff.

She shook her head. She didn’t want to have this talk. She’d heard it before.
It’s not you, it’s me, and so on, with or without the ‘skinny bitch’ part.
Damn it, she needed to break it off first, but all she wanted to do in that moment was get away. She tugged at her arm and he released her. Her feet hit the floor, and seconds later, her hand curled around the cool glass doorknob.

“Wait.” His voice sounded rough and urgent.

She hesitated, not wanting to look at him, then glanced over her shoulder at where he sprawled on the bed like a mountain lion overturned by its prey.

Her eyes had grown used to the dark and she could see his hazel eyes were serious. He reached out to her. “Don’t go.”

That gorgeous mouth of his was open just a hair, his jaw tight, and his chest rose and fell as if her leaving would crush him. His vulnerability cracked the wall of her defenses. Her hand fell off the knob. She swiveled to face him, wrapping her arms around her chest.

He cleared his throat and stretched out his strong hand. “Come here.”

She dragged toward him, but didn’t take the offered hand. He looked at his open palm and then back at her and raised his eyebrows. She sighed and allowed him to enfold her hand in his much larger one. Even through the sting of remembered rejection, the simple touch sent her stomach on a wild roller-coaster ride.

“Devon, I didn’t want to stop.”

Okay
. “You gave a good impression.”

He ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck. His cheeks flushed. “There are some things you don’t know about chimeras.”

The tight constriction in Devon’s chest eased as she sensed his embarrassment and she crawled back onto the bed without losing her grip on his hand. God, was that what this was about? “You could fill a book with what I don’t know.”

He sighed, his gaze played over the multi-colored hooked rug beside the bed. “The truth is, I’m a virgin.”

She chuckled, drawing back. Now she’d heard everything. “Right.”

“It’s true.”

A tiny huff riffed through her. She gestured up and down his perfectly-formed body. “Ethan, you’re gorgeous. You look like sex on a stick. Women must trip all over themselves just to talk to you.”

His eyes half closed, making the gold-flecks almost shine in the light from the lamp on the nightstand. “Fewer than you think.” His jaw flexed. “And it wouldn’t matter if they did.”

He blew out a gusty sigh, and Devon sensed he was afraid of her response to his next words. “Chimera’s are only able to have sex with their mates.”

Devon blinked, wondering if he’d just said what she’d thought he’d said. She straightened. “You mean you’re gay?”

She’d felt the proof of his excitement against her when they’d kissed. Her chest puffed up with anger.
Unbelievable
. “It’s not necessary to lie to save my feelings.”

He covered his face with his free fist. “I’m not gay. Or Australian. When I say mate, I mean the one
female
who is biologically a match.”

She set her chin. “Well, you felt plenty able to have sex with me.”

He gathered her other hand and looked into her eyes, his expression serious. “
You
are my mate, Devon.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Whoa.” She looked at their joined hands. “Whoa.”

“Can you say something else?”

“Wow.” Devon looked out toward the backyard, but she didn’t really see the curving expanse of windows. A mate. The
one
female he’d said.

His laugh held no humor. “Not helpful.”

Devon found his worried gaze. On one hand, he’d always be faithful. On the other . . . “So you want me because you don’t have a choice?” God, what she wouldn’t give to have a do-over and say that without the rise in pitch at the end that made her sound so hurt.

“I could say the same about you.” His voice was steady, and she might have thought he was perfectly calm except for the corded tension in his neck and shoulders.

“I— That’s different.” She tried to rip her hand away, but he didn’t let go and she gave up. “I’m not a virgin and a woman would have to be dead not to be attracted to you.”

“I think you’re the loveliest woman I’ve ever seen.” The gold in his irises seemed to fade as he spoke, leaving the clear green she remembered from her dream. “Your laugh gives me shivers.” He bowed his head and shook it. “Even when I thought I was dead, I never felt more alive than when I was close to you. Whatever the cause of our connection, I think it could be really good.”

His words, spoken with unwavering sincerity, filled her with a warm glow, throwing her doubts into the shade, making them almost invisible.

She slid her hands from his and this time, he let her, his muscled shoulders concave, rising and falling with his ragged breathing, his head down, empty hands resting where she had left them. The line of his jaw begged for a hand.

God, he’s beautiful
. She cupped his cheek and he lifted his head, that new green gaze searching hers. He seemed to be holding his breath, waiting for a blow. The unguarded mix of trepidation and hope in his gaze melted the last remnants of her hesitation.

Her thumb stroked his warm, angular cheekbone, her heartbeat a drumroll in her chest. No one had ever said such lovely things to her, the skinny redhead. A woman would be crazy to walk out on a man like this when he said things like that. Did it
matter
why?

She kissed him, and the heat of his mouth, the sensual rasp of his stubble under her palm, shrank those invisible doubts a little more in their dark hiding place, but they still had plenty to say. ‘Not a word of love,’ they whispered, but his lips were on hers and her ears were buzzing so she barely heard.

Ethan could hardly believe he’d told Devon the truth and she was still here. Her lips were so soft and the pressure of her body against him so thrilling. Breathing came hard, let alone thought, but there was still fine print to discuss.

Her mouth found a sweet spot under his chin and he couldn’t breathe at all. “God, Devon.”

God damn it, he wished he had the expertise to make her feel what he was feeling, but all he had was instinct and his lifetime worth of dreams of her to guide him. He dragged her up to his mouth again and when her tongue met his, he sucked it as she had his earlier. Her gasp drove her breasts harder against his chest and he filed that move away to use again at a later time.

Her hands eased under his T-shirt. The feel of her fingers on his chest made his abs tighten. He was wearing too many God damn clothes. He reached down to peel off his T-shirt and was rewarded when Devon’s hands allied with his and then her hot stare grazed the length of his torso. Her small even teeth compressed her peachy lower lip as she drank him in, pupils almost eclipsing the sherry brown ring of her iris.

The heat of her gaze made him shiver and she smiled, long and slow. God, he would lie here with his shirt off all day, just to see that look on her face. The tender curve of her lips and devil gleaming in her eyes promised wicked pleasures and more.

A deep breath expanded his chest and her gaze tracked the movement. With another devilish smile, she leaned down to flick his nipple with her tongue. “Mmm.” Her eyes were feline slits. “You taste as good as you look.”

She lowered her head again, but he stopped her. She drew back, looking for all the world like a kitten denied its cream.

He sat up and slid his hands to her waist, moving her glorious hair aside so he could whisper in her small ear. “It’s my turn to see and taste.

Now
she
shivered and her hands joined his at the hem of her T-shirt. “Let me.”

“Seems like I’ve been letting you do everything.” His words had the low rumble of a purr and she stretched her slim arms up behind her head, throwing her sweet curves in his direction.

“There are . . . compensations.”

He let his hands fall away and she reached down, stripping off her shirt with the slow tease of a woman who knew her man was watching.