Panting against his mouth, she arched her back, giving him easier access to her sex, silently begging him to touch her. And when he did, when he found her drenched and ready, he slipped two fingers inside of her and cursed.
Electric heat flowed through Kat’s body at the delicious invasion, radiating in all the right spots. Feeling full, feeling desperate, she clung to him, moaning and crying out and suckling his heavy lower lip as he slowly worked his fingers in and out of her. It had been ages since she’d been touched like this. And truly, her own hand didn’t count–was a joke in comparison to this, to him. But she did know the burgeoning sensation of impending climax, and all of it was coming upon her now. Rocking her hips, rubbing herself against him, she wanted to scream at the rising tide of orgasm—tell it to go away, give her more time. Just a little bit more time. She even thought of begging Aristide to stop, but she knew if she was given a voice, she’d only beg him to continue—and god, continue hard and deep…and rough.
As if he could read her thoughts, Aristide quickened his pace, then drove up inside of her so deep, Kat gasped. Yes. This was perfection. This was heaven. Holding her close, Aristide worked that soft, G-spot close to her womb. That spot that would send her flying and crashing at any moment. But it was when he pulled his mouth from hers and commanded that she look at him, that Kat knew she was done for.
“Come for me, Katherine,” he whispered on a growl. “Damn, if it’s possible you’re even more beautiful when you’re aroused.”
Kat stared up at him, her lips parted, panting. “How do you make me feel this way?”
“What way is that?”
“Sexy, and so safe.”
“Because I want you, Katherine. I want you more than you can imagine.” His eyes pinned to hers, the moonlight shimmering overhead, the bayou breeze rushing over their skin, Aristide thrust into her over and over as his thumb expertly massaged her clit. “And if you’ll let me, I’ll make sure you feel all of that and so much more.”
Waves of heat crashed over Kat and her body stiffened. She didn’t want it…didn’t want it to end…
But she was powerless against the pleasure that radiated out from her sex. Her cries echoed throughout the Wildlands as she gave in, gave up, to the most intense and wondrous feeling in the world.
As her body bucked, and cream coated his fingers and her inner thighs, Aristide just held her steady, and continued to gaze upon her as if she was something amazing. As if she was precious to him.
Was she? She knew he wanted her. But was she precious to him?
The question undid her, exhausted her, and she dropped her head against his chest, sated. Breathing heavily, she whimpered, and Aristide kissed her hair and slid his fingers from her body. With gentle hands, he eased her skirt back down where it belonged, then gathered her into his arms. For several, wonderful minutes, Kat allowed him to hold her. But after awhile, as her skin cooled, the feeling of vulnerability and closeness was almost too much to bear, and she forced herself to move away from him.
With some distance between them, Kat found his gaze and held it, wishing this—whatever was going on between them—could last. No…could grow. But it wasn’t possible. They were from two completely different worlds and life paths.
“What now?” she asked him.
He gave her a soft smile. “Come back with me.”
Kat closed her eyes on a sigh. “Please tell me you didn’t come after me because I’m your prisoner and you want information.”
“I can’t tell you that, Katherine,” he said, his eyes studying her.
The pain that ripped through Kat at his words, his admission, nearly stole her breath. But she could still manage a terse, “Bastard.” Tears tightened her throat and she backed up another foot. She knew it. God, she knew it. They were all the same. They all lied and used—
“But that’s not the only reason I came after you,” he said, his expression rigid. “Or, Opela help me, the most important reason.”
“What?” Her anger still humming at the surface of her skin, she just stared at him. “What are you talking about?”
“I want to protect you, Katherine,” he continued, moving toward her. “I want to find your cub. And I want to save the one who is about to be born here in the Wildlands.”
Her mind raced over what he’d just said. Find her cub? What? Was he saying he wanted to help her? Help her get Noah? And if so, how could she believe him?
“Oh, Katherine,” he whispered, reaching for her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. “My puma knew it before I did.”
“Knew what?”
His eyes glowed black fire. “Please. Just trust me.”
Her belly clenched. “I don’t know you, Aristide.”
He squeezed her hand. “And yet, you kind of do. Right? I know I feel that way. Shit, I felt it at The Cougar’s Den the first time I saw you.”
She shook her head, her fingers curling around his even as she warned herself to stop touching him. “But how is that even possible?”
He sighed. “Oh, the magic of the Wildlands is a curious thing. It exists inside every Pantera, and when a male or female recognizes their other half, the one they are connected to on a level that surpasses reason, that magic’s released. It finds the match, the mate, and grabs on tight until both parties realize it.”
He smiled at her. He was so gorgeous, so sexy, so convinced of what he was saying. But how could that be? He cared for her, wanted to protect her, help Noah…
“Keep that in mind for your next article, by the way,” he added, then brought her hand to his lips and kissed the palm.
Kat shivered. Not with fear or pleasure. But with all that he’d just said to her.
“Let’s work together,” he said. “To bring Noah back to you, and to make sure that his sperm donor never gets near him again.”
Kat didn’t know if she believed in magic, or god—if she even deserved it. But in that moment, her heart believed. In Aristide and all that he promised. She felt somewhere deep inside of her soul, somewhere she had always refused to access for fear of being hurt further, disappointed further, that he would do everything possible to help her and her cub. She smiled at that. Her boy.
Aristide broke away, releasing her hand. “Now, let’s go home.”
Home. No, she wouldn’t think on that right now. Right now was all about getting Noah away from that monster.
“Climb on my back and hold on.”
Kat’s eyes widened at his words. “Your back?”
He flashed her another killer smile before dissolving completely into the spotlight of moon glow and reemerging as the gorgeous, growling, and fiercely protective puma she’d seen only once before. She wasn’t used to his shift yet and her breath caught in her throat at his size and fierceness.
With a quick snarl, he made an impatient gesture for her to get on his back. Still trembling slightly from both the residual effects of her climax and from the anxiety of all she knew, feared, wanted and prayed for, Kat climbed onto Aristide’s muscular, golden back and wrapped her arms around his neck.
The satisfied purr that broke from his cat’s throat echoed throughout the forest as he took off into the trees.
CHAPTER 6
“Move and you’re dead,” Hiss uttered in his most deadly voice.
“Easy, friend,” came the reply. “I come in peace.”
Just outside the back door of Shakpi’s and Lady Cerise’s makeshift prison, Hiss had discovered someone camped up under the small deck. It had been pure luck that the Hunter had even spotted the male, as the bastard had been hiding incredibly well. All the way to the back under the stairs. And even more worrisome, he had masked his human scent.
Hiss pressed the butt of his gun a quarter inch farther into the man’s soft temple. “How did you get past my guards?”
The male—the human—seemed completely unfazed by the weapon, or by the puma shifter who wielded it. “Shakpi chose well,” he said, his starkly pale face splitting into an ugly smile. “You are ruthless.”
Shakpi? Hiss’s lip curled. “Show me.”
The man’s near-manic eyes widened. “Show you what, Kitty Cat?”
Hiss didn’t even bristle at the man’s attempt to ruffle his fur. “If you have true knowledge of Shakpi, then you know exactly what I’m asking for.”
The man laughed softly, the movement causing his long, pale red hair to fall about his face. “Are you going to shoot me if I move?”
Hiss pulled the gun from the man’s temple, but kept it aimed at his chest. “You can move. Just don’t fuck with me. How ‘bout that?”
“Sounds like a very solid plan,” he said, reaching down and grabbing the hem of his shirt.
Hiss watched as the man yanked the black fabric up to his right nipple. Below it, inked into the ribcage, was the raven and the moon he sought. But something else caught Hiss’s eye, something he didn’t expect. Two slashes of red, of blood, across each raven’s wing.
His eyes jacked up, and his gut went tight. “Who the fuck are you?”
The man’s eyes glistened. “My name doesn’t matter. All that matters is Shakpi. Has she awakened?”