He kissed her, relishing how sweet she tasted, and how she opened for him on a sigh. Kara’s lips were plump and ripe as cherries and the flavor bursting onto his tongue tangling with her rich, female scent shot straight through to his groin.
Ryder slid a hand up her back, holding her tight against him, never wanting to release her.
That awareness of connection surged again. He felt awake and free, and wanted to laugh with the joy of it. Two grim years spent without Kara, and with her in his arms once more, he felt alive.
Her lips were lush, plump and wet as he ravished her mouth. Ryder kept kissing her, feeling her light push away the darkness consuming him since her departure.
Sensuality was in their nature, the craving to touch and connect, but for a long time he’d only felt the touch of Alastair’s lash. The memory of Kara’s kiss had eased that sting.
Ryder surrendered to carnal bliss as he licked and tasted in a kiss meant not only to claim, but to awaken.
Kara responded sweetly, her body curling into his, her scent wending around his body in ribbons of erotic spice. He grew drunk and dizzy from her taste. This was the mating bond.
Breaking the kiss, he gazed down into her smoky eyes, aware of their ragged breaths and pounding hearts. Sex with Kara would not be fleeting pleasure.
It promised total consumption, dry wood set aflame.
And tonight, he intended to burn both of them. Ryder tugged her hand. “Come Kara,” he said softly. “Upstairs. It’s time.”
Dark and Deadly: Eight Bad Boys of Paranormal Romance by Jennifer Ashley, Alyssa Day, Felicity Heaton, Erin Kellison, Laurie London, Erin Quinn, Bonnie Vanak and Caris Roane
CHAPTER 8
He wanted her and she wanted him equally.
With a hand at the small of her back, Ryder escorted her upstairs to the third floor. At the end of the hallway he opened a door, revealing a room with a bed big enough to sleep eight Lupines.
“My only indulgence,” he said, leaning against the doorframe and hooking a thumb into his jeans pocket. “I redecorated the alpha’s room, and bought a new bed. Purged all the bad memories.”
“I’m glad.”
There were many more to purge as well. Kara closed her eyes, breathing in his scent, trembling with need as he tugged her inside. Ryder closed the door and caressed her cheek with a thumb.
“Open your eyes, sweeting. I want you to undress me,” he told her.
She unbuttoned his shirt, tugged it off with an impatient yank and threw it to the floor. Ryder looked amused as she stared at his naked chest. Kara reached up to flatten her palm against his smooth skin, and drew it away.
“You can touch me,” he said softly. “It’s okay now. No one will punish you.”
Drawing in a wondering breath, she trailed a finger across his chest. So warm and solid, smooth flesh over steely muscle. Kara grew bolder and began to explore his body. Muscle and sinew flexed beneath her fingers. She traced the ridges of abdominal muscles on his belly, marveling at the differences between them. Teasing, she dipped a finger into his naval. Ryder closed his eyes and shuddered. Having this big, strong male at the mercy of her exploring hands gave her a heady sense of power.
For two years, she’d pined for his touch, dreamed of his lips on hers, and what it would be like to finally surrender to the passion blazing between them. Tonight, she’d finally find out.
His eyes flew open. Ryder caught her wrists and shook his head. “If you keep this up, I’m going to come in my jeans and that’s no good for either of us.”
So as he sat on the bed, she helped him tug off the weathered Western boots and the thick socks. Then he stood and Kara unzipped his jeans, hooked her fingers around the waistband and tugged them down. Ryder helped her as the jeans slithered down his legs. They pooled at his ankles and he stepped out of them.
He was magnificent. Legs strong and dusted with hair, chorded with thick muscles. Her gaze traveled down each long, sleek limb up to the ridged planes of his muscled abdomen and the hard V of muscles diving down to a thick nest of dark, wiry hair and the heavy sac of his testicles. Ridged with veins, and flushed red, Ryder’s penis was thick and long, rising from his groin.
He gave a slow smile. “Like what you see?”
Kara nearly whimpered. “You’re perfect.”
But his smile faded. “Not quite.”
The beatings. She walked around him and bit her lip hard. Dear gods, what her father had done to him…
Ridges of old scar tissue flared on the thick muscles of his back. Alastair’s whip had cut deep. Moisture escaped her eyes as she traced the cruel marks.
“Dear gods,” she said thickly. “He put salt on your wounds too, to keep the scars.”