Authors: Cyndi Friberg
“I did not drug you.” He paused then shifted her head into
the bend of his arm so he could see her face. “You’re in heat. Try to calm
down.”
She laughed, gripping the front of his t-shirt with one hand
while her other arm wrapped around his body. His hips were lean and his back
felt hard even through the material of his shirt. “You’re insane.”
“Are you a virgin?”
“Oh my God!” She twisted out of his arms and hurried away.
“Are you one of those freaks who likes little girls? Sorry to disappoint you,
asshole. That ship sailed years ago.”
“Then you’ve only been with humans?” His tone growled with
obvious disapproval.
Her knees gave out and she caught the side of the truck for
support as reality spun around her. He was there a second later, lifting her
into his arms as if she weighed no more than a child. Closing her eyes made the
vertigo worse, so she focused on his chin, refusing to think, determined to
free her mind from the whirling.
When the world finally stabilized, Carissa found herself in
the backseat of the truck again, only this time Quinn was with her. He sat to
one side, and she lay half on the seat and half in his arms. He’d planned this,
moved the seats forward to accommodate his legs!
“Let me go.” She tried to sit, but his arm tightened around
her shoulders, holding her in place. Reality came crashing in. Ava had been
kidnapped by werewolves or someone who employed them, and she was the prisoner
of… She had yet to determine Quinn’s exact role in this nightmare.
“I know you’re frightened, but I can’t let you run.” His
breaths seemed unusually deep and his gaze centered on her mouth, not her eyes.
“How strong have the impulses gotten? Did you try to ease the burning during
the day?”
His arm felt solid and warm against her shoulders, his hand
lightly resting against her upper arm. She wanted to touch him, slip her hand
under his shirt and count the muscular ridges from his navel to his neck. “The
‘impulses’ only accelerate when you’re around.” She fisted her hands, refusing
to give in to temptation. “Which makes it damn hard not to think that you’re
the cause.”
“I am, but not in the way you mean.” He lifted her and
pressed her against his chest. “Inhale my scent and tell me what happens.”
With her face flush with his skin, it wasn’t as if she had a
choice. She tried to take short, shallow breaths, but each time she inhaled,
calmness spread through her body. “How are you doing this?” she whispered
against his skin, unwilling to abandon the comfort.
His fingers pushed into her hair and he raised her again,
bringing her face up to his. “My scent will only work for so long. Very soon,
you’ll need more. You’ll need this.” His lips brushed over hers, caressing
without really kissing.
“No.” She shook her head. “If being around you is doing this
to me, then—”
“It’s too late. It’s already begun. The cycle will continue
until your body gets what it’s craving.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“A female’s first season generally grips her at a much
younger age. You’ve been secluded from others of your kind, so your body
didn’t—”
“Am I a werewolf?”
He shook his head. “The men in your house weren’t
werewolves. They were Therian wolf-shifters. You’re a Therian shifter, but
right now you’re latent. Your animal nature has yet to be defined.”
“Am I supposed to know what the hell you’re talking about?”
His smile was slow and patient and he swept his fingertips
along the side of her face, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Let’s tackle one
problem at a time. We need to get your cravings under control before your scent
draws a crowd.”
She covered her eyes with her hand, not ready to admit how
easily her body could confirm his statements. Her core ached and her senses
hummed. She was charged and ready for detonation, ready for sex! She needed a
hard, thrusting…cock, filling her emptiness. The graphic word fit her mood,
matched the urgency of her need.
His lips grazed her temple then drifted toward her ear, and
tingles danced down her spine. “If you let me touch you, I think we can buy
ourselves some time.”
With a distressed cry, she scrambled off his lap, surprised
when he let her go. “When you left the store, things calmed down. Just give me
a few minutes in the fresh air and I’ll be fine.”
“No you won’t.” His tone was absolute. “Your scent is too
strong. You’re not getting out of this truck until we’re at my cabin.”
“Then you get out.” She stared past him into the night. If
he would just leave her alone for a few minutes, she could bring down the
intensity a notch or two.
“I know what you’re thinking, but it won’t work. Even if you
managed to get yourself off—which you probably wouldn’t—the craving would still
be there.”
“Then how will you touching me help?” she snapped, ready to
crawl out of her skin.
“I’m not a scientist, but I know they’ve tried for
generations to duplicate the chemical reaction produced by Therian heat. We’re
shifters. Our bodies transform and change at will, which is something they
haven’t been able to re-create in a lab.”
“What does that have to do with what I’m feeling?”
“You’re in heat, sweetheart. Your body is calling to mine.
It’s producing pheromones and hormones and all sorts of other moans.” When she
didn’t react to his attempt at humor, he went on in a serious tone. “Then my
body responds. Until you absorb the male version of the chemical cocktail, your
body will go right on burning.”
Leaning against the opposite door, she drew her legs up to
her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees. “Are we talking saliva or
semen?” She knew the answer, but she needed to hear it, needed to solidify the
destination in her mind. Her abdomen was cramping so badly her entire body was
starting to tremble.
“Both, and more besides. My body chemistry is changing, and
so is yours. The cycle shifts our scent, perspiration, the oil on our skin,
saliva, my semen, even our blood. It brings our bodies in sync, makes us more
attractive to and more compatible with each other.”
“There is no way around it, no way to fight it?” Her
shoulders shook and her teeth began to chatter.
“It’s hitting you hard, and this is nothing to mess with.
Therian heat can escalate until the person literally goes insane.”
“Has that line ever worked for you before?”
Ignoring her sarcasm, he peeled her hands off her legs then
pulled her legs away from her chest. “I promised to protect you. If that means
protecting you from your own fear, then so be it.” With a few quick yanks he
had her beneath him on the seat, one arm pinned beside her, the other above her
head. “I will not hurt you, but we’re out of time.”
She whimpered as his face descended, more afraid of her
reaction to him than she was of his kiss. His lips were warm and firm as they
settled over hers. They rubbed and caressed for a long moment then parted,
leading, as his tongue gently traced her lower lip.
He pushed his taste into her mouth with the first pass of
his tongue over hers, and she moaned deep in her throat. His scent was
exciting, but his taste sank through her being like warm, spiced wine. This was
dangerous! Addictive. She did not have sex with strangers, no matter how good
they tasted!
With a determined yank, she freed her arm from its trap at
her side, but as soon as her hand found his shoulder, she forgot her purpose.
His arm was thick with muscle, his shoulder impossibly broad. Rather than
deepening the kiss as she’d expected, his lips moved to the corner of her mouth
where he licked and nibbled with maddening patience.
“We can’t do this.” The objection was more a reminder to her
wayward body than a sincere protest for her companion. “I don’t want to do
this.”
He pushed up enough to meet her gaze. “You need this.
We
need this. The longer we wait, the harder it will be for me to maintain
control, and I’m plenty hard already.” He rocked his hips forward, making it
impossible for her to misunderstand his meaning.
She took a deep breath and dragged her gaze away from his
face. He was too damn tempting. “I’m feeling better. I think I can—”
“You’re feeling better because I just kissed you, and my
scent is sinking into your pores. It won’t last.” He released her other wrist
and pushed his hand under her head, curving his fingers against her skull. “Has
my kiss calmed you?” His ink-black gaze drilled into hers, demanding honesty.
“Yes.” He loomed over her, larger than life and infinitely
more dangerous. And yet she wasn’t afraid. He could have hurt her, could easily
have forced his will on her. Instead he waited for her to accept the
unbelievable truth. She was still struggling with most of it, but his kiss had
definitely calmed her.
“Then part your lips and stop arguing with me.” He added the
last with the hint of a smile as his mouth returned to hers.
Chapter Two
Quinn trembled as his mouth moved over and against
Carissa’s. Each time she gently brushed his tongue with hers his cat tossed its
head and roared, demanding he shred her clothes and claim her soft body with
the inescapable thrust of his cock. He held her arms down more to avoid her
touch than to keep her from pushing him away.
She responded readily now, matching the movements of his
lips and tongue. He tried to take it slow, to savor the kiss as its own
pleasure, not anticipate where it might lead.
Suddenly she turned her face to the side, tearing her mouth
away from his. “I can’t do this!”
Damn it. They were back to the beginning. She bucked beneath
him, inadvertently grinding her mound against his leg. The carnality of her
movements sent blood flooding through his groin, compounding the pressure
already gathered there. He’d never ached this badly, never needed a woman—no,
he’d never needed
this
woman as badly as he needed her now.
Instinctually he knew that no other female would ever satisfy him after he’d
tasted this one.
He shook away the fanciful thought. It was just the heat
talking. A combination of chemicals designed to drive them crazy.
“I need…” She turned her face into the seat and sobbed.
“I know, love. Say the word and I’ll ease your pain.”
“Please.” The word was muffled by the seat.
“Do you want me to touch you?” He had to have her
permission, wanted no doubt between them that this was interactive.
“Yes!” Fury flashed in her bright-blue eyes. She was willing
again, but she still wasn’t happy about it.
Knowing damn well that was as good as it was going to get,
he rocked back on his knee and carefully unzipped her pants.
Her belly quivered and another sob escaped between her
closely pressed lips. “I hate this!”
“I know you do.” He paused and soothed her with another long
kiss. “I didn’t do this to you. You have no idea how abhorrent I find that
thought.”
“But you can make it stop?” Her anger seemed to melt and she
licked her lips.
“I can bank the fire. Give you some time to think.”
“I won’t lie here like a victim. I want to touch you too.”
The admission sounded tentative and begrudging, as if she were still struggling
with the fact.
“Not this time. If you touch me, I’m not sure I’ll be able
to stop with just a touch.”
She nodded and buried her free hand in her hair. She stared
up at him with tear-bright eyes, but deep in the shimmering blue burned a need
every bit as demanding as his. He pushed her shirt up, exposing her belly while
leaving her breasts covered. She seemed confused by the choice, but he knew
each inch of bared skin would make her feel more vulnerable.
He ran his fingers across her ribs, smiling when she bit
back a giggle. Then one hand drew patterns on her silky skin while the other
slipped inside her jeans. The denim was snug, even with the zipper down, so he
accepted the inevitable. He had to pull them down.
Slipping his arm back under her neck, he teased her mouth
with his. “I have a problem,” he whispered against her lips then tugged on one
side of her jeans. She lifted her hips and used her free hand to help him. They
didn’t stop until the material bunched below her knees, a makeshift binding for
her ankles. “Thank you.”
He looked down her body and realized her panties hadn’t slid
down with her jeans. Not sure if it was a blessing in disguise or just another
annoying obstacle, he kissed his way down her body. She trembled a little more
the closer he drew to her panties, but the scent of her arousal filled the air.
Definitely a blessing.
He kissed from hip bone to hip bone, occasionally touching
her with the tip of his tongue.
“Just touch me already! You’re driving me crazy.”
Raising his head, he smiled. “Isn’t that the point?” He
returned to her belly, easing the satin bikinis down by degrees. He paused at
each increment and explored the newly exposed skin. God, she was soft and the
earthy scent of her arousal was making him dizzy.
Her thighs shook by the time he reached her mound. Rather
than dragging her panties past the gentle protrusion, he pressed his mouth to
her sex and blew hot breath through the soft material.
She groaned then whimpered. Then her hands were there
pulling her panties down to bunch about her ankles with her jeans. “It hurts.
Do you understand? I ache so bad it hurts.” She rushed through the admission
then collapsed back against the seat.
Her knees were bent and the best access to her sex was from
below. He touched her ass just to let her know where his hand was then traced
the intriguing crease upward, and lust crashed over him. She was sopping wet
and incredibly hot. He gently worked his finger back and forth, venturing
deeper with each motion.
Her belly tensed and she turned her face away again. Slowly
he pushed his middle finger into her slick core and his cock bucked against the
confines of his jeans. It was so easy to imagine how she’d feel if he… No!
She’d given him permission to combat the pressure, nothing more.