Cravings (Fierce Hearts) (11 page)

A low rumble in her chest resonated with his own desire to let himself go. He nipped at her earlobe, and she let her head fall back, exposing the delicate skin under her chin. He nuzzled in close, eliciting a moan from Kennedy.

Her fingers trembling, she unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. Her hands drove his pants to the floor, then slipped inside his boxers. He closed his eyes, savoring her touch, and let his boxers fall. His insides clamoring for more of her, he pulled at her pants, and she complied by kicking them off to the floor.

He paused, staring at her breasts and womanly beauty beneath her lace bra and panties. “You’re so beautiful.” The words came out with a low growl.

She flipped off her underwear and pulled his naked body on top of her. The feel of her delicious skin against him from head to toe took him to a place inside that had never been touched before. Completely aware of her beneath him and yet invigorated by this deep feeling of acceptance, emotions flowed through him like a river of sparkling clear water pouring into the ocean. More and more enlivened, he pressed a hard, driving kiss to her lips, pushing his tongue for entrance into her warm and waiting mouth. His tongue tangled with hers while her lips devoured his.

His body drove him to taste more of her. Impatience nearly overwhelmed his mind.

But he held back, instead placing kisses to her shoulders, her breasts, then pausing to take her nipples into his mouth to savor, one, then the other.

Kennedy moaned and wriggled beneath him. “You feel so good,” she breathed.

He took in her words like a parched man taking a long-awaited gulp of water. He trailed kisses down her taut abs to her firm thighs, then wandered to the tempting area between her legs and lingered.

Kennedy arched her back at his touches. “More,” she pleaded, her voice raspy. She slipped down to his abdomen, licking and nipping at his skin as he came to his knees. A quick playful shove sent him to his back.

She wasted no time to get up close and personal with his hardness. Again, he let her take him to the edge of insanity, enjoying every kiss and lick.

He paused for a moment for protection. Then their eyes collided, hers heavy and lovely. He pulled her off and she opened to him. He hesitated. Every nerve scrambled to connect with her in this way, but he needed to be sure she wanted this, this heart-wrenching connection, as much as he did. “More?” He waited for her answer, dying inside at the thought she would say no.

She grabbed him and pulled him close in an embrace of expectation. “More,” she ground out.

He entered her center, his body thrusting deep.

She strained to nuzzle deep into his neck, kissing his skin as though it were sacred.

Gratitude and joy and, yes, love, pulsed through him. He thrust again, and she met him, embracing to thrusting, mutually seeking as well as receiving.

When he could restrain no longer, Kennedy whispered in his ear, “Please.”

He succumbed to her rippling, pulsing pleasure and let himself sink into it without reserve, responding with his own mind-numbing release.

She moaned, kissing him hard. “You’re beautiful, Asher.”

His heart throbbed with the beauty of all that Kennedy was. He gazed at her, but she tried to hide her face. He felt rather than saw the tears, and gently touched them. “Did I hurt you?” He moved off her and pulled the sheet up around them both.

She shook her head, her long locks splaying out around her head like a dark halo. “No.” Quietly she sobbed, rolling her head to his shoulder. “You made me feel things, good things I’ve never felt before. I’ve made love before. With Griffin. He was my first time, and it was nice. But this with you was so much more. It was a gift, Asher. One I’ll always treasure.”

He stroked her hair, reverently. “You did the same for me, Kennedy. It means more to me than you could understand.” He didn’t know how he would go on from here, having now known the satisfaction of a true heart connection, if even for mere moments.

But right now he had this moment. So he pulled his thoughts back to the present and wrapped an arm around Kennedy, pulling her close and breathing in her scent.

She sighed. “I want to stay right here all afternoon.”

Asher groaned. “Be careful what you say.” He ran his finger down the slope of her nose, then kissed the tip. “I just might make that happen.”

Kennedy smiled up at him, a quiet growl rumbling in her throat. “Don’t you tempt me,” she teased, nuzzling close under his chin.

In response, he kissed her softly. He could so easily lean into that warmth and intensity they’d just shared and let go of any caution in favor of more of her right now and promises for the future.

But he couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right. Too many unknowns stood between them, and it would be wrong to bring her along too fast. She needed to know what he was capable of, and he wasn’t ready to share that part of his life with her yet.

“We can just lie here all afternoon and talk.” Kennedy nestled beside him, wriggling closer under the sheet and blankets.

His heart stuttered. Was she interested in getting to know him better or just playing a role, a pawn in plans of The Nexus Group?

He shook his head. No, they’d hurt her. She had no loyalties to them. But the suspicion niggled at him.

“Well, I guess that long pause is a no, huh?” She pursed her lips and eyed him warily.

Time for happy-go-lucky Asher to pop in.
“No, that sounds nice. But my stomach is saying it’s time for food.”

She held his gaze, her lips a firm line as her eyes searched for something inside him. “Okay, sure. Let’s get lunch."

Kennedy stretched her legs in long, running strides, her nostrils flaring with the exhilaration of the brisk, fresh air and the mixture of scents filling her senses.

The colony had a meeting to conduct, but they each opted first to shimmer into their cat form and take to the field and forest of Casey’s property. The shift and run was both a luxury for the colony, as they were urban shifters, and a necessity. The change into a cat kept them grounded in their animal form as well as human form by letting their natural state take over when possible. It cleansed them of jittery nerves and built-up frustration.

Running beside bobcat Asher filled Kennedy’s soul with a kind of glee she’d never experienced before, as a human or lynx. Their lovemaking meant something deep and personal to her. She’d let down her defenses and placed her trust in him in a new and unfamiliar way. It had filled her with a shade of acceptance of who she was that glimmered inside her soul.

The memory of afterward in his bed, his emotional withdrawal from her, tightened her stomach muscles. She shook her head, letting the action free her body of that moment when he detached emotionally, and veered away from him on a serpentine path. He chuffed, then followed until he caught up. He rubbed his head against her long midsection and let out a yelp. The others redirected their path to come running up to Asher and Kennedy. They never missed a step, running in synchrony.

Kennedy pivoted and split off from the group, delighting in the play. Asher hung back and let the others—Asia Blue, with brown fur and white chest and belly; beige and white Tizzy Sands; bobcat Lara; golden-furred Casey and Conrad Pike; russet-furred Quinn Arons; and brown lynxes Booker and Shaun Chase—pass him by as they headed with earnestness toward Kennedy. Quinn tagged along behind Tizzy, nipping at her heels playfully until she pivoted and slapped him down into the snow.

Asia zigzagged, leading Conrad in a game of catch me if you can. Kennedy chuffed, amused at Conrad’s tactic, which appeared to be: wear out Asia, then grab her by the scruff and yank her off her feet.

From nowhere, Lara grabbed Kennedy by the scruff. They tousled in good fun until Kennedy managed to get out of Lara’s hold and sprinted a few feet away, adrenaline coursing through her. Suddenly, she caught a new scent on the wind and stopped short. She scanned the empty field and landed her gaze on two figures nearly hidden behind a small knoll about one-half mile away.

The men were wearing masks and dark outerwear, but she recognized their scents. It was Thing One and Thing Two. A growl knotted in her throat. The figures were pointing guns in the direction of the colony cats, and their attention was distracted by the cats’ activity.

She stood in the snow, frozen. The wrong move would elicit an action from the figures that could be deadly. Helplessness drained all her energy from her body. She’d learned there was no sense in resisting or hoping or asserting herself. It was futile. Always had been.

Then she saw Asher standing still across the field. His eyes trained on her, he shook his head in the direction of the men. She chuffed, and he chuffed back. It wasn’t in their nature to run the other way. Besides, there would be no safety in that, either. She turned as Asher turned, and together they headed toward the figures.

As the others caught the scent of strangers, they followed Kennedy and Asher. Fear bloomed in Kennedy’s chest. The obvious conclusion was that these people were from TNG. They had to be confronted. But her muscles cringed at the thought of another member of the colony getting hurt. Or worse. All because of her.

It wasn’t smart to be seen in their lynx form by humans, especially those from TNG. How had these two found them?

Panting as much from panic as exertion, Kennedy glanced away from the figures, taking in all the lynxes and bobcats racing toward the men, closing the gap, but the figures remained steady.

A flash in her mind alerted her. They were waiting for the colony to get close. She stopped and let loose a loud snarling growl to get the others’ attention.

But Kennedy was too late. Asia dropped to the ground, limp on her side. A yowl went up from Conrad, the sound cracking the night air, and he sprinted to her side.

One of the figures had gotten off a shot in the moment Kennedy’s mind alerted. Both of them positioned to take shots from behind the knoll. Crazy determination sprang in her limbs, and she burst into a run that ended with a high leap into the air that landed her on top of one of them. She tore off the hood and bared her teeth at Gordon. Fury raged inside her as she stood on his chest, snarling and hissing. She had no doubt the other person was Patrick. The Nexus Group had found her again.

Right behind her, Asher growled, a furious sound that echoed around the field. He knocked the gun out of the other man’s hand and knocked him down. He stood above him licking his lips.

“Get off me, you freak!” Patrick flailed on the ground like a scared rabbit while Asher continued to rumble a low growl in his chest.

A shot cracked in the forest a few yards away. Then another, closer this time, buzzed by Kennedy’s face. There were more of them.

She didn’t have to think about the next move, she simply reacted. She swiped at Gordon’s face hard, her claws retracted so that he wouldn’t suffer a huge gash but would feel the weight of her oversized paws. His straining quieted and she presumed she’d knocked him unconscious. Then a quick glance at Asher told her he’d dispatched Patrick similarly, and they both took off toward the other cats.

Asia limping alongside Conrad, the colony cats returned to Casey’s house before the TNG thugs could reach them.

Kennedy reached the back door and turned her head to assess the situation. Six men stood on the knoll, holding their fire but watching. A sense of foreboding swept over her. The people of TNG would never stop hunting her down. And because of that, her presence put all of the colony cats in jeopardy.

Inside, the others had already shimmered and dressed. Casey, Asher, Conrad, and Quinn pulled on winter jackets, hats, and gloves, ready to go back out.

Of course they were going out to confront the intruders. Kennedy sighed, watching Asher, wanting to touch him, get a look that only he could give her. But his attention was wholly on preparation for confrontation.

She dripped uselessness. “I could go with you,” she offered. “I can fight.”

“No, Kennedy.” Casey laid a hand to her shoulder. “I appreciate the offer, but it’s you they want. I’m not going to serve you up to them. You stay here and be prepared for anything. I’ve called Ben, so we’ll have reinforcements soon.”

“I thought you didn’t want to involve the police.” She chewed at her bottom lip, fear tripping through her.

“Ben will be discreet. The police element will have an effect on those people out there.” Casey lowered his eyes, demanding her attention. “They won’t want to fall into the cops’ radar.”

He rubbed her back and led the others out the back door. Shaun closed the door behind them and stood at the window, her lips pursed. “I could help.” Her voice tart, it revealed her determination to take part and be by Booker’s side.

Conrad stood next to Asia, rubbing her hair and studying her. “Are you all right?” His voice was low and intimate with Asia.

“Yes. You be careful out there, Conrad. Don’t take chances.” Asia’s hazel eyes were grazed with worry.

Conrad chuckled, a rumbling sound combining with his laughter. “Taking risks is something I’m good at. Trust me.” His honey brown eyes held hers. “I better get out there before the ruckus begins.”

Kennedy looked away, feeling as though she were intruding on the two.

She pressed her face to the window and listened as Casey yelled out to the people. Her breath caught in her lungs as she watched Asher approach the knoll and the advancing group, now numbering ten.

“You’re trespassing on private property. You need to leave. Now.” His voice, deep and raspy, was a smitch away from a full-out growl.

Kennedy sucked in her breath, watching, hoping no one out there pulled out a gun and shot one of the colony.

Casey and the others kept marching closer to the knoll. One nervous, itchy finger from TNG was all it would take to end any one of their lives.

“Put down your guns and raise your hands in the air.” It was Ben speaking through a megaphone. He and his men appeared out of the trees behind the intruders.

Kennedy’s fingers flew to her lips. She didn’t dare make a move that might draw attention, but inside her body, she was pacing off steps back and forth, her nerves screaming.