Samuel (Samuel's Pride Series) (15 page)

“Samuel Payne?” She nodded, suddenly
very afraid they were going to tell her that they’d already found him and he
was dead. “Christ, girl you sure know how to pick them. Let’s go and find your
man.”

Amy moved back just as a man came around
the side of the building. His scent hit her first, and then she smelled Samuel
on him. She moved forward slowly and felt her lion crawl along her skin. Tuck
whispered for her to go steady, but she knew this was her prey.

“Where is he?” He took a step back when
she spoke right next to him. As he reached for something in his coat, she
grabbed his arm and pulled it behind him and a gun dropped to the ground. “Where
is Samuel?”

“Ah, Kennedy, what are you doing? Don’t
you know that there are several of my men walking around here just itching to
kill someone?” He tried to pull away from her, but she was stronger. “Let me go,
my dear, and we’ll try to be reasonable about this.”

“I’m in no mood to be reasonable with
you. Where is my husband?” Tuck stepped in front of them, but he made no move
to take the man from her or even to tell her to let him take care of it.

“Your men? They’re dead. I killed one,
and Kennedy here broke the neck of the other. Damn fine job she did too. Snapped
it right at the base where the bone is the easiest.” Tuck laughed as he
continued. “I’m thinking she’ll do the same to you if you don’t tell her where
her husband is.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Why would I know where Samuel is?” She nearly pointed out that she’d never said
his name about the time that he realized his mistake. As soon as he did, he
moved so that she was no longer holding him. Her cat decided that she’d had
enough waiting and pulled her under.

Her claws raked down his belly until she
touched his thighs. The scent of blood nearly drove her over the edge when he
staggered away from her. As soon as he reached for Amy and started to pull her
toward him, Kennedy leapt at him and snapped her powerful jaws around his
throat. Before she could think that she might want to back off, she tasted his
blood as it filled her mouth. She started to pull away when Tuck put his hand
on her back.

“Finish him. If you don’t, he’ll come
after you again and again until he harms what is yours.” She snarled at him but
felt Alton’s heart start to slow. “Hold him there, love. If you don’t, I’ll
have to kill him myself for touching my mate.”

Snarling again, she shook her head and
felt his head loosen from his shoulders. When she lifted her body from his, she
watched in horror as Alton’s head rolled away and landed in the grass nearby. She
looked at Tuck when he reached for her.

“Steady, girl. Calm your cat.” Kennedy felt
her power surge over her and the need to kill again. “Come on, Kennedy, tell
her that she needs to think that finding Samuel is imperative.”

Slowly by degrees, she felt the cat
calm. She was still pissed off, but she wasn’t ready to murder the first thing
she saw either. When Tuck let her go, she looked at Amy, who was holding her
arm in the crook of her other arm.

Did he do that to you?
Shock
registered on her face, but she nodded.
I’m sorry that he hurt you. I never
meant for anyone to get hurt.

“You can talk to us?” She looked at Tuck
and told him she could talk to anything. “Christ, girl I’d keep that little
tidbit to myself. There are beings out there that would kill to have you. All
species?”

Everything. They don’t even have to be
as shifter. I talked a robin into helping me for more food in his feeder
through the winter months.
He shook his head and bowed before her.
What are
you doing, get up.

“You’re very special, Kennedy. More so
than we ever already believed you to be.” He pulled Amy to him and held her. “Does
Samuel know?”

Nay, he’s been a bit busy since I
figured it out.
She stood up suddenly and ran to the building. She needed Samuel and sitting
there talking wasn’t finding him. Jimmy came out of the building just as she
was rounding the corner.

“I’ve found him. He’s hurt bad and
might…he needs to shift, but he won’t until he’s seen you. But he needs to do it
soon.” She nodded and he smiled at her. “Do you have any idea how much he loves
you?”

Not nearly as much as I love him.
As she entered
the building she wondered how much help she’d be to him when she was a cat. But
just as she was about to go where Jimmy pointed, Amy handed her a pair of pants
and a shirt.

“It’ll be big on you but you should be
able to keep it on.” Nodding her thanks she headed to the basement and went
into an empty room. The cat was ready to let her be human again and Kennedy
pulled on the clothes quickly. Going to the room where Samuel was had her
fighting tears. He looked very bad.

“There’s my girl.” Samuel’s voice was
hoarse and soft. She went to him when he looked at her, and she knew that Jimmy
was right. If he didn’t shift, he would die.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Ye
wanting to have me carry ye out on me back too?” The others in the room backed
up. “Look at ye lying about here like there is nothing to do. Ye’ve a house
full of people at the house waiting on ye to show up, and there you lay.” He
started to say something to her, but she snapped at him. “Shift, damn you.”

Chapter 15

Samuel opened his eyes and looked around
the room. He’d been here for two days now, and he was ready to murder someone.
When the door opened, he was both glad and disappointed it wasn’t Kennedy. She’d
been bossing him around since she’d called his beast.

“Kennedy is cooking again.” Jimmy sat in
the chair next to the bed and laughed. “She’s going to make everyone here as
fat as a goose if she keeps this up.”

“I’ve told her countless times that she
needs to hire a cook so she doesn’t have to do it any longer.” Jimmy shook his
head and laughed harder. “She’s not going to do it, is she?”

“I’m sure she will eventually, but right
now I think it’s the only thing that’s keeping her from going over the edge. She’s
a mite on the tense side.” Samuel knew that. He could feel it every time she spoke
to him. And especially when she was in the room with him.

“I don’t want her upset, Jimmy. You have
to help me fix this for her.”

Jimmy handed him a file, and he opened
it. There were pictures of two dead men as well as the house he’d been held in.
He looked at his friend when he didn’t explain.

“She killed Stockberry, as you know, but
what you don’t know is that she killed another man first. Snapped his neck when
he tried to call out. I didn’t know that at the time because she’d only told me
that she’d subdued him. I thought she’d tied him up.” Samuel looked at the man
lying on the ground with his head at an odd angle as Jimmy continued. “She
killed Stockberry when he tried to get away from her. Tucker and Amy Savage told
me that she’d shifted, too, as if she’d done it all her life.”

“Why are you telling me this?” There had
to be a reason. Jimmy never told something straight out when ten hours would do
better. “Get to the point.”

“She can talk to animals.” Samuel
thought of the bird and felt his heart start to beat harder. He’d never
mentioned that to anyone and was almost afraid to tell Jimmy he already knew.

“A bird came to me while I was in that
basement.” Samuel looked away and at the snow coming down outside his window. He
didn’t want to see his friend’s face when he told him. “I thought I was out of
it and couldn’t think straight. But he’d said that Kennedy told him to come to
me.”

“Tucker Savage and his wife came to me
just after you were brought here. He said that he was afraid for her if anyone
found out. He said that what she can do is a gift but others will try to take
her for it.” Samuel nodded, having talked to the big man last night. He’d never
mentioned Kennedy’s abilities but had asked him if he and his mate could join
their pride. Samuel told Jimmy what he’d said.

“So are you going to do it?” Samuel
looked at him, frowning. “You could do it. Have a pride of all kinds of
shifters. You can already speak to all of us. So can Kennedy.”

“Kennedy can do what?” She came into the
room as if they’d summoned her. She was carrying a large tray that Jimmy took
from her and sat across his lap. Samuel looked down at the food on it.

“Who are you feeding? Or should I say
how many did you expect to feed?” He’d been short with her and Jimmy knew it
too. When he stood up and moved toward the door, Samuel had a feeling that he
was about to get his ass handed to him on a platter. When the door shut, he
looked at her.

“I’m sick of being in this bed, and I’m
fucking sick to death of everyone treating me like I’ve got some sort of fatal
disease.” She took the tray from him and walked to the door. “You leave this
room and so help me I’ll find you and beat your ass.”

She didn’t even turn. Opening the door
one-handed, she moved into the hallway and stood there for several seconds
before she turned. When she sat the tray down on the floor, he thought maybe
she’d talk to him now. But when she picked up the glass of juice and threw it
at him, he almost didn’t dodge in time.

“What the fuck was that for?” Next came
the cup with hot tea. He knew it was hot because it burned him on the leg just
before the thing shattered over his head. Her aim was getting better. When the
plate hit him in the chest, he knew he was in trouble. After she’d hit him
once, it was all-out war on her part. Another cup hit him in the head, a
platter of sausage hit his leg, there were tomatoes hanging in his hair, and he
had egg all over his face. When he stood up, she picked up the tray and held it
like a bat. He moved slowly toward her.

“You hit me.” She nodded but didn’t drop
the tray. That’s when he noticed the tears. “Are you really that pissed at me?”

“I’ve been trying for two days to leave
you alone but you kept calling for me. I don’t want to be here.” That stopped
him. “She’s blaming me and I dinna do it.”

“Who is?” Then it occurred to him. “Your
mother? She’s blaming you for…for Shamus’s death? That wasn’t your fault.”

“She said if I had simply done what he
said then he’d be alive and everything would be fine. Mother said that she knew
that Shamus killed Da and that she had thought it was the right thing to do. Da,
she said, wasn’t happy with their marriage and would have sent her away. How is
that my fault?”

“It’s not.” Moving slowly, tiny steps at
a time, he made his way through the mess to her. She still held the tray, but
it was sagging at her shoulder, and her knuckles were no longer white. Reaching
out, he pulled it from her fingers and dropped it to the floor. Pulling her to
him, he held her while she sobbed.

“I dinna do anything to Shamus. When I
went to tell her he was dead, she looked at me and asked why it couldn’t have
been me instead of him. He was her boy.” Kennedy looked up at him, and he could
see the pain in her eyes. “I’m her daughter, doesn’t that count for something?”

“I’m so sorry, love.” She continued to
sob against his chest as he held her. When Butler came to the doorway, he shook
his head at the man, and he nodded once and left. Turning them, he moved enough
to shut the door and picked her up into his arms.

Samuel held her until she stopped
crying. And then long enough for her to fall asleep. Lifting her closer to him,
he stood up and started for the bed but smiled at the mess there. Turning, he
went to the door again and into the hall. Taking her to the bedroom next to
theirs, he put her on the bed and stripped off her soiled clothing. When she
was naked, he pulled off his own clothes and crawled into the bed next to her.

“You could have told me you wanted me. Pissing
me off by throwing food at me wasn’t a way to a man’s heart.” He whispered that
he loved her and pulled her into his arms. Within minutes he was asleep.

~~~

Kennedy woke screaming. She grabbed onto
the sheets and pulled herself up to see Samuel between her legs. He was
grinning at her like he’d just won the lottery.

“I thought you’d enjoy that.” He moved
down her body again, lifting her leg up and kissing her knee. “I could smell
you laying there all warm and sexy.”

“I do not smell sexy.” She moaned when
he nipped at her calf. “Stop that. I’m upset and I don’t need you muddling me
all up with your body touching mine.”

“You mean like this?” He ran his finger
up her thigh to her pussy and entered her slowly. “You’re very wet and you do
smell like sex. And taste it too. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been
wanting to do this?”

“You were supposed to be resting. Your
mother said that you needed rest and not to be stressed out.” He laughed. “I
was trying my best to leave you to your own.”

“You did too. And now I’ve got to make
up for lost time. I do hope you’re up for the challenge.” She moaned again as
he continued to move in and out of her, stretching her more and more. “You
should see what I can when you’re enjoying yourself. Your nipples are hard and
pink and your body is flushed with need. The beads of sweat that are across
your forehead are even sexy to me.”

“Samuel, please, stop teasing me.” She
rode his fingers, hoping to get him to touch her clit. If he did, then she was
going to come again. She wanted that.

“I want to taste you again. I so love
the way you fill me with your cream and then when you come you flood my mouth
with your juices.” He moved to her again, leaving her leg over his shoulder. “Then
when you come…oh, I don’t know, seven or eight more times, I’m going to fuck
you.”

His mouth set off a quick climax the
moment he covered her. Begging him for more, she curled her fingers into his
hair and tried to guide him to where she wanted him, but he wasn’t having it. He
lifted her up and slid his hands beneath her. She screamed when he suckled her
clit hard into his mouth.

“That’s it, baby, only seven more to go
and I’ll enter you. I’m going to fuck you slow and easy before I mark you
again.” Whimpering, she tried to get him to hurry, but he was playing again.

For what seemed like hours he teased
her, ate at her, and gave her just enough release to make her want more. When
her body was limp, she begged him again to stop. This time he lifted his head.

His eyes were so dark that she knew that
his beast was there. Reaching down to touch him, she watched as he sank his
teeth into her wrist. Her body felt like it was poised on the edge of a sharp
knife and either way she fell was going to be fantastic. Samuel sat up now,
leaning back in his toes and fisted his cock.

“I want to taste you.” He shook his head
and started to crawl up her body. “Please, Samuel, I want to feel you come down
the back of my throat. I want to have you in my mouth.”

“Next time. I swear, next time. Right
now I’m in so much pain I can hardly stand it. The minute I enter you, I’m
going to come.” Nodding, she opened her legs for him, bringing her knees up to
her chest. “That’s it, baby, give it all to me.”

He moved into her slowly. Inch by incredible
inch, he filled her. Sweat dripped from his body to hers and mingled with the
sweat of her own need. When he was buried as deep as he could be, she shifted
her hips and he surged forward.

Kennedy reached down and grabbed his
ass. The muscles were tight and strong and pulling him deeper into her, she
cried out when he touched her spot that only he knew about. The next time he
moved, she dug her heels into his thighs and rocked up. Samuel took her breast
into his mouth and bit her.

“I’m coming,” she screamed at him. “Christ,
Samuel, I’m coming.” Her body bowed up of its own accord, and when she released,
stars danced in her vision and she bit into his shoulder. When he did the same,
sank his teeth into her throat, she cried out again, her body seemingly coming
apart above her and coming back together with the power of a bomb. Screaming
again, she felt her cat roar, and when Samuel lifted his head and roared too,
Kennedy lost consciousness.

Kennedy woke slowly. She heard the
thump-thump of Samuel’s heart under her ear and smiled. There was something
very nice about waking this way. Of course the other way had its merits as
well. Smiling, she moved her hands down his body until she found his cock. His
hand wrapping around her wrist had her looking up at him. He was smiling at
her.

“As much as I’d like to continue your thought
process, Butler needs to talk to us.” She pulled away and moved down more until
her fingers brushed over him. “Kennedy, if you don’t stop now, the people
waiting in our living room are going to know that I’ve come again. I’m
reasonably sure they might know what we’re doing anyway.”

“How would anyone know that?” She sat up,
forgetting about her nudity until he pulled her back down and moved over her. “I
thought we didn’t have time for this.”

“We don’t, but you’re making it very
difficult to keep on track.” He kissed her quickly and rolled out of the bed. He
stood there so hard, his cock straining from his body, that she moaned and
licked her lips. “Stop that. Damn it, woman, the Pride Council is downstairs
and Butler says that they’re not happy with us. If I take the time to let you
do what you have in mind, we’re going to be later.”

“I don’t care.” She crawled to the edge
of the bed and sat on it. Pulling him toward her, he didn’t resist but let her.
When his cock was near her mouth, she licked him, taking in the pearly cum that
was at the tip. “You taste amazing.”

As she took his thick crown into her
mouth, he rocked forward. Kennedy had never done this before and was surprised
at how much she was enjoying it. Wrapping her hand around the thick shaft that
she couldn’t take in, she sucked hard on his until he groaned.

“Swirl your tongue around me.” She did
as he instructed. “That’s it, baby. Now cup my balls in your hand gently.”

They were hot and full, and the more she
touched them, the tighter they got to his body. Samuel rocked harder into her
mouth, touching the back of her throat every time now. When he held her head to
him, his fingers pulling at her hair, she reached between her thighs and touched
herself. He cried out when she moaned.

“Come for me, Kennedy. Come so I can
feel your release when you scream.” She pinched her clit and slid her fingers into
her sheath. “That’s it, baby, fuck my pretty pussy. Christ, I’m coming.”

When he pulled back, she held him to
her. She wanted to taste him, feel him come down her throat. As soon as the
first hot stream of cum splashed against her tongue, she felt her own climax
race over her. Samuel held her tighter the harder he fucked her mouth until her
eyes crossed.