“I know.” Kendrick cupped Addison’s face in his hands, his touch both hard and shaking. “I know she is.”
“Dimitri loves her.” Addie felt the need to add this.
“I know. All of us are fucked up.”
Kendrick pushed her back into the mattress, hands dragging her T-shirt from her body. He dipped his head to lick one breast. Addie arched as her nipple went into his mouth, his tongue stirring fire. She stroked his hair, thick and sleek, his warm neck, smooth back.
Kendrick wasn’t gentle—he tugged and pulled with his teeth, his hand coming up to cup her breast. He teased that nipple with thumb and forefingers at the same time he nipped and suckled the other.
Addie drew her foot up his leg, the covers dropping aside. It was too hot for blankets anyway. Addie pushed off the rest of the covers, nothing but the cool bottom sheet under them now.
High on this tall bed, it was as though they floated in an aerie, where nothing could reach them. Addie hugged Kendrick to her as he went on, his touch making magic. He knew how to pleasure with only hands and tongue, as he’d showed her in the barn, and Addie’s body came alive in response.
When Kendrick released her breasts to take her mouth again, Addie let her hand move to the thick hardness between his legs.
Kendrick sucked in a breath and lifted his head, eyes glittering.
Addie gave him a hot smile. “You think only one of us can play that game?”
“I think you don’t understand your danger.” His voice was gravelly rough.
“I understand it just fine.” Addie squeezed, and Kendrick let out a groan.
Bree had confided in Addie, confirming the rumor that Shifters were big. Very, very big. Addie had put this down to exaggeration, but she realized now that Bree was right.
It had been a while since Addie had been in bed with a man, but she’d never been shy about sex. She’d been curious and she’d discovered.
Exploring Kendrick opened up a whole new world to her. Addie wrapped her hand around his cock, marveling how sleek it could be. Kendrick growled, his eyes half closing then filling with something like pain.
Addie eased off. “Sorry—am I hurting you?”
Kendrick seized her wrist and pressed her hand over him again. “No. You’re helping. I’m going to burn up.”
“I know,” Addie said. “It’s hot tonight.”
Kendrick squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, kept on shaking it. “Not what I meant.”
Addie had known exactly what he meant. Kendrick’s body was fever-heated, his skin tight. Addie ran her hand up his cock, cupping the tip, and Kendrick arched into her palm.
“Like that.” His jaw relaxed, his eyes drifting open again. “Like that, Addison. Goddess, you are so beautiful.”
Addie touched his strong cheek, loving the rough of his whiskers. Kendrick looked straight into her eyes, the green of his bright in the starlight.
He kissed her as Addie stroked, his hips moving in time with what she did. Addie skimmed her hand all the way down to the tight balls at his base, the heat there the hottest. Wiry hair tickled her hand, and then Kendrick’s strength came to her as he thrust up through her closed fingers.
Kendrick tore his mouth from hers and raised his hips away so she lost hold of him. “No. I need more. I need you.”
“All right then,” Addie said. “You’ll have to help me out of my underwear.”
Kendrick snarled. The fingers of one hand became tiger claws, which tore her bikini panties without touching the slightest bit of her skin. Kendrick’s claws receded, and he pulled the shreds away.
“I knew I needed you as soon as I saw you,” Kendrick said rapidly. “I put you in danger, but I couldn’t stay away. I had to see you, be near you, every night.”
“Aw, and I thought Bo’s frozen pies were just that good.”
“Stop.” Kendrick brought his face to hers. “You are beautiful. Desirable. Perfect. Why the hell wouldn’t I want you?”
Addie could think of many reasons, but his expression was furious, his gorgeous, heart-stopping body right on top of hers. This wasn’t the time to tease, argue, play. This was the time to savor Kendrick and worry about the whys later.
“Have it your way,” she said softly.
Kendrick snarled again. His strong hand moved her thighs apart, and he was speaking, but in such a low voice she barely caught the words.
“I can’t go slow. I can’t, can’t. Damn it.” He was at her opening, Addie so slick with heat there was nothing to keep him out.
She gasped out loud, her whole body opening as Kendrick closed his eyes and drove heavily inside.
* * *
Kendrick’s words died as soon as he felt Addison around him. He opened his eyes again, finding her face softening with pleasure, her blue eyes warming.
He slid right in without barrier—she’d been with a man before. She wasn’t hurting; her gasp had been surprise, but most human women weren’t used to Shifters.
Shifters weren’t used to human women either, as a rule, but Kendrick’s body didn’t care. Addison was warm, welcoming, hot, beautiful. The hunger he’d carried for her since he’d laid eyes on her rose up and consumed him.
She’d smiled at him when he’d first walked into the diner, she wearing that awful salmon pink polyester dress and holding a coffeepot. But her eyes had been kind, sparkling with good humor, her smile, genuine. Kendrick had pictured himself lifting her to the countertop, throwing aside the coffee, ripping open the ugly dress, and taking her.
The fantasy had sustained him every night, but every night he’d renewed it, going back to see her. He’d tried to stay away and couldn’t.
He couldn’t now. He was in grave danger, as was every Shifter out there who looked to him for protection. And Kendrick couldn’t not be with Addison.
He stroked her hair back, lifting the weight of it. Kendrick kissed her as he pushed further inside, then raised his head as he eased back.
Addison’s chest rose with her breath, her hips lifting with his. Kendrick thrust, closing his eyes on the incredible sensation, opening them again to find her looking at him. She touched his face, pressed her fingers against his back, her body rising to him.
Kendrick eased out and thrust again, Addie making a faint noise in her throat. Kendrick balled his fist into the mattress, the next thrust coming faster.
Again he slid inside and out, speeding up, mating frenzy closing on him. Addison.
He didn’t realize he’d said the word out loud until the guttural sound floated back to him. Addison. Beautiful. Mate!
Her cries joined his as Kendrick rocked faster, Addison winding her legs around him, drawing him deeper into her. Her face was flushed, her head turned on the pillow, eyes closing as she cried out.
Down into the bed, up only enough to make the next thrust deeper. Sensation became a swirl of color and light, like the stars against the night.
Growls escaped him, Addie’s body tight against his while he buried himself deep inside her. The touch of her hands, legs, arms, propelled him on, any thought of gentleness gone.
They were bound together, rocking, he shouting, Addison laughing. Kendrick knew the noise they made floated to the Shifters inside and out—Shifter hearing being what it was. He didn’t care. The frenzy caught him up and spun him around, and Addison clung to him, coming along with him.
Their bodies were slick together. Kendrick punched the bed beside him, need gathering deep behind his balls, telling him his coming would be powerful.
It was. Kendrick lost it too soon, but he was wrapped in Addison, his being dissolved in her. He cried her name as he gave up his seed, and she met him with her climax, the two of them clinging, holding, hungry.
After a long, long time they dropped back to the bed, Kendrick barely remembering how to breathe. He kept pushing into her, unable
to stop, while she touched him and smiled.
A few Shifters in the distance did cheer, and Kendrick growled. He continued his thrusts as Addison laughed and kissed his chin, Kendrick moving until he could think and feel no more.
* * *
Waves of Kendrick’s frenzy touched Dimitri, or maybe it was just all the noise they were making down the hall. He held Jaycee’s hand more tightly, rejoicing she was home and well.
Jaycee opened her eyes. She took a startled look around, tried to sit up, then sank back with a groan.
“What the hell happened to me?” she demanded.
“Sh.” Dimitri put a soothing hand on her shoulder. “You’re at th-the ranch. You’re all . . .” He couldn’t make his mouth say right and gave up.
Jaycee put her hand to her head, brushing back her thick hair. Her golden brown eyes shone in the lamplight, so beautiful. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”
Dimitri gave her a truncated account of her near kidnapping, telling her how Addie had distracted Jaycee’s abductors, giving Kendrick and the others time to come for her.
“Addie did that?” Jaycee asked in surprise. “I thought she’d have been glad to let them take me.”
“She w-w-wou . . .” Again Dimitri gave up. His stupid stammer grew whenever he was agitated, and he got agitated a lot around Jaycee. “She’s not like that,” he said in a rush.
“Yeah, I know.” Jaycee looked slightly disappointed that Addie wasn’t as bad as she’d hoped, but also a bit more respectful. “So, what are you doing in here?”
“L-looking out for you.”
“I’m all right.” Jaycee’s hand was still in Dimitri’s. She closed her fingers around it, losing some of her bravado. “Thank you.”
Dimitri squeezed her hand. “Any t-time.”
They looked at each other. Whether Kendrick’s mating frenzy was so strong it really did touch them, or they were simply alone in the night, lonely, relieved, safe for now—it didn’t matter.
Jaycee lifted herself to Dimitri, cupped his face, and kissed his mouth.
Dimitri’s heart hammered, and joy blossomed inside him. He slid his hand behind Jaycee’s head, her hair trickling through his fingers, and pressed her up to him.
His return kiss parted her lips, wild fires building as his tongue swept over hers. Jaycee wrapped her strong self around him and pulled him down to the bed. Dimitri didn’t even bother to fight his surrender.
* * *
“Lots of shagging going on tonight,” Ben remarked.
Zander, flat on his back in the dirt and dried grass, arms outstretched as he gazed up into the stars, crossed his booted feet. “Yep.”
Ben sat cross-legged next to him. Zander still wasn’t sure what the guy was. Vampire? Fae? Creature from the Black Lagoon? But with so many Shifters getting busy in the house and barn—all rejoicing that their god on earth, Kendrick, was back in their lives—Zander had felt the need to walk away, seeking the isolation of the back fields.
Zander didn’t belong here—he was not part of Kendrick’s group—and neither was Ben. Therefore, the two outsiders left the others to their fun. Zander had also realized something tonight, an ugly truth that had smacked him in the face when he’d seen the scarred face of the half-human Shifter who’d confronted Kendrick.
“So,” Zander said, studying the constellations that were slightly off from where they were way up in the northern latitudes. “Why aren’t you with a lady? You have someone special waiting for you at home?”
Ben snorted a laugh. “Not me. I’m a thousand years old, the last of my kind. Any woman I took up with would live out her lifespan while I never changed. She’d get a little pissed off at me for that.”
“A thousand?” Zander said in surprise. “Even Shifters will live out their lifespan before that. And we thought we had age hang-ups.”
Ben shrugged. “I’ve gotten used to it.”
No, he hadn’t. Zander had a little bit of empathic ability in him, which was part of how he healed—as far as he knew. In all the years he’d been a healer, he hadn’t figured out exactly how his Goddess magic worked. That empathy told him Ben was lonely and hated being alone, but didn’t think there was anything he could do about it.
“What the hell are you, anyway?” Zander asked him. So much for being polite and giving him his privacy.
“Goblin,” Ben answered readily. “That’s as good enough term as any. I and my kind were kicked out of Faerie by the mofo bastards.”
Interesting. “Out here is better,” Zander said. “No Fae. More channels. Internet. No women who try to kill you after you have sex with them. Well, usually the women out here don’t.”
“Depends on your point of view,” Ben said. “What about you? Special someone back in Alaska?”
“Nope.” Zander folded his hands behind his head. “I’m a free spirit, not tied down, always on the move.”
“You mean you struck out?” Ben asked, grin gleaming in the starlight.
“I mean I’ve never tried,” Zander said, not offended. “I’m crazy, hadn’t you heard? The Goddess reached out and gave me healing powers when I was ten years old and too young to fight her. Not that anyone can really fight the Goddess. But it made me half insane, and other people don’t want to be near me for long, unless they’re in serious pain or dying. Then they’ll put up with me.”
“I feel your pain.”
Zander glanced over at Ben, who sat upright, head tilted back as he studied the heavens. “So, Ben, how about you and me blow this place, get roaring drunk, and find a few ladies for the night?”
Ben kept his gaze on the stars. He was silent a long moment, then said. “Nah.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Zander said. “Who needs uncontrolled, no-strings-attached, no-holds-barred sex?”
Ben chuckled. “You do. Tell you what—we’ll sit this one out and next time we’ll make a night of it.”
Zander settled back down, staring up at the sky until he felt as though he were floating among the stars. “All right. It’s a date.”
Ben grunted another laugh and then they both fell silent, contemplating the night, lost in their own thoughts.
* * *
Addison woke to bright daylight and her nose against Kendrick’s forehead.
For a moment, the previous day blurred, to coalesce into the memory of the fantastic lovemaking she’d had last night with Kendrick. He was here, lying with his chest against hers, his hand heavy on her side.
Addie lay motionless, soaking in his warmth, the scent of him. Sunlight touched his mottled hair, the white luminescent against the black.
The light traced his cheek, the dark lashes against sun-bronzed skin, his mouth, which had so thoroughly kissed hers. Addie slid her gaze down his tight shoulder, arm folded against his body, his hand relaxed, fingers splayed just above her breast. The sunlight touched his bare hip and backside, down his leg to the curve of his calf.
Addie couldn’t see the front of him, because it was pressed against her. But she could feel him. The hard planes of his chest cradled her breasts, and his cock, no longer rigid, rested heavily against her thigh.
Addie raised her gaze to his face again and found his green eyes open and looking straight at her.
“Hey,” she said, suddenly shy.
Kendrick touched her cheek with a gentle fingertip. “Hey.” His deep voice vibrated the mattress. “You okay?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Addie considered. “The morning after great sex? Yeah, I think so.”
Kendrick let out a small breath. “Good.”
“Why good?” Addie frowned. “Why do you sound so relieved?”
He brushed back a lock of her hair. “Because I could have hurt you. I can be . . . focused.”
“Focused on taking me to the best orgasm of my life?” Addie brushed a brief kiss to
his lips. “I didn’t mind.”
A small smile touched his mouth. “The best?”
“Don’t get a swelled head. But yes. Although the thing in the barn—that was pretty good too.”
His smile turned wicked. “You bring out the playful in me.”
“Oh, yeah?” Addie kissed him again. She liked how Kendrick tasted in the morning, and the fact that he kept his eyes open to watch her kiss him. “Do you feel playful now?”
“A little.”
The growl in his throat made her shiver. “The others will expect you to get up soon, go out and see them,” Addie said. “Maybe make a speech.”
The growl escalated. “They can wait.”
The warmth that squeezed Addie’s chest grew. “Really? What for?”
Kendrick pushed her down into the bed, his fine weight on top of her. “The more you tease me, the less gentle you make me want to be.”
“Mmm,” Addie said, stretching under him. “Intriguing.”
Kendrick’s ongoing growl became a snarl. He backed away swiftly, seized her by the hips, and flipped her over. Addie squealed and struggled, but not very hard.
She went rigid in surprise, though, when his hand landed on her backside, the hot tingle of the swat spreading. Addie looked back at him. Kendrick knelt behind her, his cock straight out, his eyes sparkling like water under the sun. His palm smacked her backside again.
Addie squirmed. “What in the world are you—”
Her words cut off as Kendrick swatted her one last time, then raised her to her hands and knees and slid smoothly inside her.
Addie’s eyes rounded, and she said, “Oh.”
Kendrick slid out and back in, making Addie emit a louder, Oh. Then again, and again. In a short space of time, Addie was clutching the sheet, dragging it half off the bed, invocations to every deity coming out of her mouth.
“Goddess,” Kendrick said harshly behind her. “Addison. Mate. Mine!”
Addie’s words turned to screams, Kendrick’s to mere sounds. The sun rose to heat the room, but nothing could be hotter than Kendrick, taking Addie to pleasure she’d never experienced.