Instinctive (10 page)

Quietly slipping from his king-sized bed, she gathered her dress off his carpeted floor. She stepped around his computer desk and dresser—the only two pieces of furniture in the sparse room—and not wanting to wake Slyck, she tiptoed toward the window to glance out. The small community remained shrouded in darkness as off in the distance the brand-new day fought its way out of the black. She glanced at her bungalow across the street, noting how she could see straight into her living room and clear on into her kitchen. As she thought about the sexy performance she’d given Slyck, her entire body shivered.

“Good morning, sunshine.”

Jaclyn’s breath caught at the sound of his warm, sexy tone. God, he moved so quietly and so stealthily, she hadn’t even heard him approach. His delicious earthy scent closed around her and did the most amazing things to her insides. Moisture broke out on her skin just from his close proximity. Before she turned to face him, she had to work hard to gather herself, because the sound of his voice alone had her wanting him between the sheets again. It suddenly occurred to her that one could take the naughty girl out of the city, but definitely not the naughty out of the girl. No matter how hard she might try.

She began to turn. “Slyck . . .”

“Shhh.”
Big warms hands touched her body, pinning her against the window frame. “You look so fucking beautiful standing here, Jaclyn.”

He buried his face in the side of her neck, and when his mouth pressed hungrily against her flesh, her dress fell to the floor, completely forgotten. Her resolve to flee melted faster than the strawberry ice cream on the hot pavement had a few days earlier.

“I don’t want you to move.” His warm lips feathered over her skin. As he reacquainted his mouth with her body, her entire flesh broke out in goose bumps. “Because I haven’t been inside you yet.”

She gulped. “You’ve been inside me.”

His fingers slid over her ass, and he gently parted her cheeks. “Not everywhere,” he murmured. “And you see, Jaclyn, that just won’t do.” His voice was so calm, collected, and confident it made her shake.

“So I’m going to fuck your ass while you stand here.”

With that, moisture gathered between her legs, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do to summon a defense against his slow seduction.

“Then, and only then, will I have been inside you—everywhere—like I need to be.”

God, the way he was acting—like a wild animal ready to claim its mate—had her wanting to submit to all his demands. Because deep down, she wanted him inside her everywhere too.

Before she could consider the intelligence of that decision, or where that primitive thought had even come from, he slipped his hand between her legs and all thoughts were forgotten.

“I can’t get enough of you,” he murmured, then added in a soft voice, “You need this too, don’t you?”

Obviously the moisture between her legs had given her away. “Yes,” she whispered.

That seemed to please him. “Mmmm. So nice and wet for me,” he murmured as he pushed a finger into her pussy. He spent a long time stroking her, brushing the rough pad of his finger over her sensitive G-spot. Jaclyn gripped the window frame for support.

Using her cream, he lubricated her back opening, and worked his finger inside. Once he had her widened and stretched, he breached her ass with his cock, slowly pushing past her tight ringed passage, ever so gently, letting her get used to his thickness. Jaclyn moaned in pleasure. Her head fell forward to press against the cool glass, ribbons of hair spilling over her bare breasts.

After he worked his way inside, he began rocking his hips, slow at first as he raised her passion to new, never-before-known heights. Jaclyn met and welcomed every delicious thrust, her responses conveying her needs. Her body opened for him so easily, because they were made for each other. He bent forward and cupped her pussy, his thumb toying with her engorged clit.

“Oh Jesus,” she bit out. Jaclyn closed her eyes and concentrated on the delicious points of pleasure.

The growl in his throat told her he was close. “You’re so tight, baby.” But it was the need and passion in his voice that pushed her over the edge.

“Oh yes . . . ,” she cried out and erupted all over his hand, amazed that he knew just how to touch her.

He pushed deeper inside as her warm cream pooled in his palm. His cock throbbed twice as hard in response. “I love how
responsive you are to my touch. You have no idea what that does to me.”

The intimacy in his words filled her with warmth. “I have a pretty good idea,” she whispered, as she rode out the waves of ecstasy.

With that, he stilled his movements. She could feel his cock pulsate as he let go, splashing his seed high up inside her. She clenched her ass muscles, milking him dry, not wanting to lose a single drop of his liquid desire. As his hot come filled her body, it seemed to bring on yet another orgasm, and she began to shake uncontrollably.

Not really understanding what was happening to her, she glanced at Slyck over her shoulders; their eyes met and locked. “Slyck . . .”

“It’s okay, babe. I’ve got you.” His tender tone caused her heart to skip a beat. Slyck tightened his arms around her waist as she rode out the tremors. Oh God, her body had never reacted in such a bizarre way before, climaxing simply from a man releasing inside her, as though his hot seed had the ability to bring on another orgasm. What the hell was that all about? When the wave finally passed, he spun her around and pulled her to him.

Seconds turned into minutes as they stood there holding on to each other, each seeking solace in the other person’s arms. She wasn’t sure what the strange tremors were all about; all she knew was that they’d yet to use a condom, which was so unlike her. But they’d been so caught up in the frenzy, desperate to fuck, she’d never given protection another thought. Her body tightened with unease. Yes, she was on the pill, but she always took safety precautions.

Slyck brushed her hair over her shoulders and put his mouth close to her ear. “Are you okay?” he whispered. From the protective way he held her to the intimate way he talked to her, she instinctively felt this man would never do anything to harm her.

She talked into his chest. “We didn’t use a condom. I always use a condom.”

He blew a slow breath. “I’m clean, babe, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Me too,” she whispered, suddenly feeling unusual and strange.

He licked her earlobe and she shivered. “Come back to bed.”

She touched his face and summoned all her control. “I have to go,” she murmured, even though she liked his idea much better.

A teasing grin curled his lips, and he slipped a hand between her legs to stroke her swollen clit. “No, you don’t. You have to come,” he teased.

She moaned and pushed against him. “Oh, I have, many times. Thank you very much,” she said, chuckling. He pinched her clit. Good Lord, if he kept that up, she’d never get out of there. “But I want to get home before sunrise, before the neighbors find out that I’m a wanton hussy, sleeping with the first man I met after only a few days in Serene.” She frowned. “They’re already unfriendly as it is.”

He stepped back, his hand falling from her pussy, his face taking on a serious look, like he’d just remembered something. Something important. “I’ll walk you.”

“It’s just across the street.”

“And I’ll walk you.” Slyck bent down and gathered her dress.

Jaclyn watched a flurry of emotions pass over his eyes. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine. It’s almost dawn,” she assured him.

“All the more reason.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I’ll explain it when we get you safely inside.”

“Jeez, you’re acting like the bogeyman is out there.”

“He is.”

She waited for an explanation, but when none came, she quickly got dressed.

The morning sun began its ascent as they cut across the lane and slipped through the back door of her bungalow. Jaclyn stopped to check her bird feeder and frowned when she found it empty.

When she got inside, Slyck got right to the point. “Jaclyn, you can’t go out alone at night.”

“Why?” She made a face, but it didn’t seem to amuse him. “Because the bogeyman is out there?”

“Yes.”

She tossed him a skeptical look, dropped her purse onto her kitchen table, stretched out her fatigued body, and stepped into her living room. Slyck followed close behind. “And here I thought your need to see me home was just a quirk of small-town living.”

He watched her move the vase from the side table back to the window. He arched a brow. “I guess we all have our quirks.”

“Touché,” she said, grinning.

His voice took on a hard edge as though to prove his seriousness. “Jaclyn, I need you to listen to me, to understand what I am about to tell you.”

His brisk tone stilled her. She turned to face him and took in his watchful, protective stance. Her stomach clenched, her pulse leapt. “What?”

He captured her hand and led her to the sofa. When he had her nestled in beside him, he said, “Your whole life you had this emptiness inside you, right? This hollow feeling?”

She narrowed her eyes and nodded at him. “How did you know that?”

He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip, and it was all she could do not to lean into his touch. “I also know that you have an insatiable appetite for sex.”

“Yes, but I told you that.”

He angled his head and studied her carefully. “But what you don’t know is why you have it, and I do.”

Okay, he was starting to freak her out. She began to inch away. “Listen, Slyck—”

He cupped her elbow to stop her from escaping. “It’s because you’re a shifter, Jaclyn,” he announced.

She blinked several times as her sleep-deprived brain took a minute to digest and assimilate what he was telling her.

“Shifter?”

He looked at her carefully, gauging her reactions. “Yes, a shape-shifting panther. A were-cat.”

All righty, then.

Breaking his tenacious hold, she jumped to her feet and stepped behind the coffee table, putting some much-needed distance between them. So she’d slept with a weirdo, an escaped mental patient perhaps. And here she’d always prided herself on her
exceptional intuition, and her ability to judge character. Her sixth sense had never let her down before. Why had it suddenly failed her now?

She lowered her voice and spoke in a calming manner. “It’s been a long night, Slyck. And we’re both in need of sleep.” She blinked at him and smiled. “I’ll see you later, then,” she added for good measure, with every intention of avoiding him for the rest of her stint in Crazyville.

He shook his head slowly and studied her eyes. “You really had no idea, had you?”

“No, but thank you for enlightening me. Maybe we can discuss this later after I’ve had some rest.”

Or not.

His voice softened. “Jaclyn, I know it sounds bizarre, and that it’s hard for you to take in and assimilate, but trust me when I say I’m not insane.” He angled his head and took in her stance. “So you can stop looking at me like I am.”

She planted her hands on her hips and questioned, “Well, how am I supposed to look at you after listening to you spout something so crazy? Shifters are folklore, Slyck. So are vampires, demons, and monsters under the bed.”

“You forgot witches and werewolves. They’re real too.”

Oh boy! He was crazier than she thought.

She pointed to the door and demanded, “I think it’s time for you to go.”

“Were-cats are very sexual beings, Jaclyn.” Undeterred by her rising hysteria, he stood and began to walk toward her. The closer he came, the weaker her knees felt. “They’re unable to sate the
incessant ache inside them unless they mate with the one and only panther meant for them. It’s the way of our pride, Jaclyn. The way of our bloodline.”

As he inched closer, her thoughts raced, and she recalled how for the first time in her life she had actually felt satiated, the hole inside her closing, the ache abating after mating—err—having sex with Slyck.

“Your parents were shifters.”

“Slyck, you’re crazy. I grew up in Chicago, with two very normal parents.”

“And your biological mother?”

“I never knew her. She abandoned me.”

“No, she didn’t.”

“She didn’t?” After harboring fears of abandonment her entire life, she brushed her tongue over her bottom lip and entertained the idea for a brief moment. She truly wanted to believe her mother had never ditched her in a Chicago subway on purpose.

“No. She was panther too. Which was why my rogue shifter broke through the town’s barriers and went in search of her. The panther in her called out to him. Just like your panther calls out to me, and the reason you were drawn to Serene.”

Okay, so she couldn’t deny that she felt a very strange pull toward this town, toward him. But still, she was hardly a panther.

What a weirdo.

“Then after I hunted down my rogue shifter, he was forced to accept his just punishment for putting the colony at risk.”

Her eyes widened with a mixture of disbelief and fear. “You killed him?”

He lowered his head, as though taking a moment to remember and respect a lost loved one. “Mandate rules, Jaclyn.”

Oh God, she couldn’t believe he was telling her that he had killed her biological father, that he’d stolen her opportunity to know and love him. Her legs weakened as her emotions went on a roller-coaster ride. Tears threatened and she choked them back, reminding herself that none of this could be true, that Slyck was a wacko.

He looked sad. “I’m sorry, Jaclyn. I never knew it would come to this, but we have strict rules.”

“And you never break the rules,” she challenged, overwhelmed by everything he was telling her.

His eyes clouded for a quick moment; then he said in a low voice, “Never.”