Protected Mate (Catamount Lion Shifters #1) (7 page)

Dane pushed to standing again and gave her a soft tug. “Let’s go. You’re getting cold.”

They walked hand and hand to his truck and drove through the falling dark to his house. Chloe barely noticed the details of his home when they arrived. She had a brief impression of warm wood. Her heart beat like soft wings in her chest.

Chapter 7

Dane paused to kick his shoes off when he entered the house, Chloe’s hand in his. He flicked the lights on and immediately lifted her in his arms, walking through the entryway and up the stairs that curved along the wall of the entry. Ever since he’d shifted in front of her, and she hadn’t freaked out, all he could think about was finally being with her the way he wanted. Thinking wasn’t quite the word to describe what was happening. More that he was driven by pure instinct. It had taken every ounce of restraint he owned inside to stop when he did last night with her. The thin thread he clung to had been thrown by his conscience—he couldn’t let himself go further at the time, knowing what she didn’t know and how that held the potential to ruin any chance with her. But tonight, she knew who and what he was. While he sensed all was not settled just yet, he wasn’t going to wait any longer unless she insisted.

And Chloe showed no sign of that. On the ride home, her hand had stayed warm in his. Just now, her breath caught when he lifted her. With her held close against his chest, he glanced down, his eyes colliding with hers. The air fairly crackled around them. He sucked his breath in sharply. He forced himself to keep moving, taking long strides down the hall once he cleared the top stair. Her heart thudded against his chest, his own pulse surging in reply. He turned the corner into his bedroom. In three strides, he reached his bed, a massive mahogany canopy bed passed down through the generations of his family.

He carefully set Chloe down before flicking on a single lamp by the bed. When he turned, he found her looking curiously around the room. His bedroom was an expansive room. He’d inherited his parents’ home, which had been in his family since the day it was built in the early eighteen hundreds. It was a colonial style farmhouse, average by the standards of its time, but rambling in the modern era. His bedroom had enough space for his bed, a lounging area with couches and books, and a dressing room to the side with a massive master bathroom. Aside from the bed, he’d updated the entire room with modern, comfortable furniture.

One look at Chloe with her hair catching sparks in the lamplight, her green eyes gleaming, her skin honeyed as her hair was, and Dane had to close his eyes and breathe to keep from allowing his cat instincts to gain control and take her too aggressively. That time would come, but not tonight. A few deep breaths, and he opened his eyes. Stepping in front of her, he knelt and removed the air brace and the practical running shoe on her other foot, careful not to disturb her sprained ankle. He stroked his palms up her thighs. Her breath hitched, and his cock throbbed in response.

He tilted his head up and met her eyes. “Is this okay?” His words rasped in the quiet room.

Her pulse was visible in her neck as she nodded. “More than okay.”

He moved swiftly, standing and tearing his clothes off. He didn’t intend to rush once they were skin to skin, but he couldn’t bear to delay that. She held his eyes steadily as he stood in front of her, his arousal blatant. He leaned forward, his hands on either side of her hips, and paused with his lips a whisper away. He meant to say something, but before he could she slipped her hand around his neck and tugged his mouth to hers. Chloe’s combination of shy and bold was intoxicating.

Her tongue stroked across his lips, her mouth fell open, and their kiss exploded. Dane could barely keep his balance and shifted to kneel between her knees. He cupped her face in his hands, delving deeply into her mouth. Her hands traveled down his chest, her soft touch sending sparks skittering in its wake. He trailed his lips down her neck, pausing when he reached the collar of her shirt, a soft t-shirt that hugged her ample breasts. He slipped a hand underneath, dragging her shirt up. In a swift move, she leaned back and tugged it over her head. Before he could catch his breath, she unsnapped her bra and tossed it aside.

The sight of her bare breasts took his breath away. His heart raced with want, lust surged through his body. In a flash, she pushed him back and stood. He reflexively grabbed her hips to steady her.

“Easy with your ankle,” he said, his voice husked with desire.

Her lips curved in a soft smile. “I know you’ve got me. I just want my jeans off. I’m guessing you might like that too.”

Her mischievous smile only turned the heat up a notch for him. He lifted his hands away for her to slide her jeans over her hips and shimmy out of them. And then she stood before him in a pair of bright red cotton panties. Her breasts were inches away, and he didn’t hesitate to lean forward and lave one nipple and then the other, rolling her nipples between his thumb a forefinger, savoring the heavy weight of her breasts in his palms. With a firm stroke of his palm gliding down her abdomen, he pushed her back. She lay back with a sigh, a soft moan escaping when he slid a hand down to cup her mound, the moist heat of her desire pulsing through the cotton.

He had to fight to keep from tearing her panties off and plunging inside of her. His cock was so hard it bordered on painful. But more than that…he wanted to imprint this experience on her and savored the anticipation of knowing how much better it would be if he didn’t rush. He circled his thumb against her clit through the cotton. Her hips shifted restlessly with her gasp. He trailed slow kisses up the inside of her thigh and slipped a finger under the edge of her panties. Her folds were drenched with desire. His intentions weakened when she gasped.

“Dane…”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t make me wait…”

He smiled against her skin and hooked a finger on the edge of her panties, swiftly dragging them down.
 

“Just a minute…”

The cat in him flexed and arched, the primal drive to plunge into her so intense, he had to clench his teeth. He finally brought his mouth against her, her hips bucking into him the moment he slid his tongue up and down her folds and coasted across the nub of her desire. The salty tang of her was like a drug. He laid a palm on the soft curve of her belly using his other hand to tease in her folds and give in to the long, slow taste of her.

Chloe went wild against his mouth and hand, her cries echoing through him. Time dissolved as he lost himself watching her fly apart. When her channel clenched and she cried his name, his snatched a condom out of his jeans on the floor and rolled it on, stretching full length over her body as she shuddered. In a swift move, he tugged both hands above her head, holding them in place with one hand, finally giving in to his need to dominate. He paused and said her name. Her mossy green eyes blinked open. He cupped her cheek with his free hand and held her gaze. Her bare body felt so good against his, he was stunned. She licked her lips and shifted under him.

“Now…” she said.

He surged inside of her, her wet channel hugging him tightly. Her eyes widened, her breath came in ragged gasps. She shifted her hips, opening her thighs wider and arching against him. His last hold on control broke and he pulled back to thrust deeper inside of her. He lost himself in the rhythm. He held her pinned against the bed as he gave in and allowed the tempest inside of him to take over, surging and stroking into her, deeper and deeper each time. She suddenly gasped his name and he felt her climax ripple around him. His own crashed over him in a wave.

***

Dane growled her name and arched back, plunging deeply into her. Chloe was awash in the orgasm that had blown her apart. The feel of him inside was beyond anything she could have imagined. By the time he finally entered her, the ache to have him inside was so intense, she was near out of her mind. The fullness filled an empty place in her body and her soul that she hadn’t known she had. He collapsed against her, his hand easing its grip on her wrists. He shifted his weight to the side and lay still. His breath gusted against her shoulder. He trailed a hand down her cheek, lightly tracing her collarbone, curling softly around her breast and coming to rest on the curve of her abdomen.

She lay still, trying to catch her breath and to think. The entirety of her sexual life, she’d assumed she simply couldn’t relax enough to have an orgasm. Dane’s mere presence with her had made it happen with such ease, she couldn’t have stopped it if she tried. The feeling was so utterly delicious. Her mind rolled back to earlier tonight when he’d all but blown her mind. She still couldn’t quite wrap her brain around what he was even though she’d seen it with her own eyes. And though a part of her wasn’t so sure what to think, if she listened to her heart, her body and her soul rather than her oh-so-controlling mind, she trusted him more completely than she’d ever trusted anyone.

She rolled her head to the side to find his blue-gray eyes on hers in the soft glow of light from the single lamp. Holding her gaze, he leaned forward and gave her a lingering kiss before rolling away. He stood and walked across his huge bedroom to a door she presumed led to the bathroom. She heard water running, and then he returned, striding toward her. The sight of him took her breath away. He was all lean, sinewy muscle, his skin burnished gold. When he reached the side of the bed, he slid an arm under her hips and lifted her easily.

“Where are we going?” she asked as he started to carry her across the room.

“Shower.”

Though she loved being held in his arms, she protested. “I can walk…”

His intense blue-gray eyes slanted down to hers. “You’re ankle still isn’t up to speed. Plus…” He paused with a sly grin. “It gives me another reason to touch you.”

His words sent a shiver through her and warmth curling around her heart. Dane stepped through the doorway into a large dressing room with closets lining the walls. In another few steps, they entered the master bathroom, another huge room. Chloe’s impression of the home had been so brief when they’d entered, it was only now sinking in that this was an old farmhouse with gleaming hardwood floors in most rooms and elaborate tile in the bathroom. As with many older homes, the rooms were much larger than those of modern homes. The bathroom had clearly been updated with a soaking tub occupying one corner and a shower tiled in soothing blue glass. He set her down just outside the shower. Steam billowed out when he opened the glass door and gestured for her to enter. He kept a hand firmly on her elbow as she stepped inside.

She was still readjusting to the sheer heaven of hot water after so many months of hiking and quick baths in cold rivers, streams and lakes along the way. She sighed at the feel of water coasting over her skin. Mist curled around them. Dane moved with efficiency as he quickly soaped himself and then turned to her. Though his movements were quick, every touch was a caress. Chloe didn’t realize how tired she was until he lifted her again and carried her back to his bed. Cool sheets fell against her skin, followed by a down quilt and then the heat of Dane’s body curling around her.

Chapter 8

A few days later, Dane bumped the swinging door that led to the break room with his shoulder. He’d had a busy morning at his family practice between ear infections, a broken arm, and a little boy whose curiosity got the best of him when he encountered a porcupine in the woods. The porcupine, a creature rather inclined to avoid confrontation, had scurried away, but the little boy followed it. For his trouble, the boy only came away with a few quills in his arm, but he was wailing loudly enough, he terrified his mother. Dane filled a cup of coffee and headed straight for his office. After flying through paperwork to get charts up to date in the electronic records system, his phone buzzed. Seeing Chloe’s number, he answered immediately.

“Hey there,” he said.

“So what time did you say we were meeting for dinner at The Trailhead?”

Dane glanced at his watch, smiling because he couldn’t help but smile whenever he heard Chloe’s voice. “Six.”

“Okay. I’ll meet you there.”

“I’ll pick you up,” he countered. “Your ankle’s almost better, but you’re not helping with your insistence on walking as much as you have.”

Her ankle sprain was almost healed, but not because of her efforts. He’d quickly discovered when left to her own devices, Chloe ignored most of his recommendations, namely that she liked walking around town. Though he didn’t want to argue the point because she’d also finally agreed to stay at his house instead of at the inn. When they were together, Dane knew beyond any doubt, she was meant to be with him. But when they weren’t skin to skin, he could see the wheels turning in her brain. Though she claimed she hadn’t had a plan when she finished hiking the trail, he was fairly certain she’d never contemplated meeting a mountain lion shifter who insisted they were meant to be together.

“Dane, you have to stop insisting on driving me everywhere. How about I rent a car?”

“I’ll find one for you to borrow. How’s that?”

Chloe laughed. “Fine. I suppose there’s no point in debating whether it’s okay for me to walk to meet you for dinner,” she said cheekily.

“I know you’re tired of taking it easy with your ankle, but I don’t want you to aggravate the sprain. If you don’t mind me picking you up…”

“I don’t mind, but after that, I’m renting a car tomorrow, or we find one for me to borrow.”

Dane hung up a few moments later and wondered how soon was too soon to ask Chloe to consider something more permanent with him. The last few days had been a bubble of shimmering passion, which only served to ratchet up his need for her. He was trying to balance the need to give her space with his own need to find a way to know if she felt what he felt. The mere thought that she’d stay for a visit and then leave Catamount made his heart clench. He wished like hell he wasn’t trying to deal with the fallout from Callen’s death in the midst of this. It chafed on his conscience that he couldn’t talk much about his concerns about what happened to Callen. He worried she picked up that he was holding something back and misunderstood what it might mean.