The Shifter's Kiss (4 page)

It was good to know he wasn’t perfect, although most of him
was. Including that magnificent cock, she thought as she lifted the sheets for
another look at the length of him as it rested along his thigh. Her insides
twisted again with need at the thought of the pleasure they had shared the night
before, brief as it had been.

She had wanted for too long, and he had been too fragile to
make it last.

Hopefully some rest and food could improve both of them.

With another hungry growl from deep in her belly, she rose and
slipped on her dress. She was about to go in search of her father when he
entered, bearing a tray with plates. The mouthwatering smells of fried empanadas
and ripe fruits teased her nostrils.

She brought a finger to her lips to ask for his silence, then
gestured in the direction of the steps to the shack.

He smiled in recognition of what she wanted. How many times had
the two of them sat on those steps, sharing some moments or a meal? Enjoying a
quiet night or sun-filled day?

It had been too long, but in the past year fishermen had grown
too aggressive in their pursuit of her as game. It had driven her out to deeper
ocean and kept her from visiting. Only the anxiety of her cousin sharks at
Victor’s presence had urged her to come in to see what had them so riled.
Yesterday’s attack only proved her foolishness in venturing close to shore, but
now that she had, she was going to take advantage of it in any way she could for
as long as she could.

So she sat on the step beside her father, the tray with the
breakfast he had made balanced across their legs. They were silent as they ate
and enjoyed the quick rise of the sun into a crisp blue sky. The morning air was
cooler and slightly damp, bringing a nip to her bare arms.

She rubbed them before snatching up another empanada.

Her father laughed as she made short work of the meat-filled
pastry. “I guess you were hungry.”

With a nonchalant shrug, she said, “You get tired of eating
fish all the time.”

Her father shot a look back at where Victor slept in the large
handmade bed. “From the looks of it, food wasn’t the only human thing you
craved.”

They had never kept anything from each other before and she
wasn’t about to start now. “He is a handsome man. Strong. Caring.” She knew that
even though they had barely spent any time together.

“From what I can see he is a good man.”

She arched a dark brow. “Playing matchmaker? You know how
impossible that is.”

Her father chuckled and shook his head. “If it were impossible,
you would not be here today, daughter.”

She couldn’t deny the truth, so she wouldn’t. But there was one
thing about which she had to warn her father. “He knows what I am. He remembers
how I changed.”

“And if he repeats it they will think he’s crazy.”

Neither of them mentioned what would have happened ages ago,
when their numbers were still large enough to protect. Now their people were too
scattered and few to carry out a death sentence for such knowledge.

Especially when no one would believe him.

The rustle of sheets and a soft moan alerted them that Victor
was awake.

“Take the rest to him. Feed him. Make him well,” her father
said as he rose and handed her the tray.

Although he hadn’t said it, she knew what else he was thinking.
Make him yours. Make him stay. Make lots of babies.

She would do none of those things in the week she had before
she had to return to the sea. But she would satisfy those human needs gnawing at
her gut much as the hunger for food had that morning.

Turning, she walked into the shack with the last of the
empanadas and fruit.

Chapter 6

Sunlight pierced the handwoven fabric of her dress,
silhouetting the lean, womanly shape of her as she stood at the door.

Even with the slight pain in his side, the sight stirred
him.

She walked toward him, lush hips swaying from side-to-side,
reminding him of how she had ridden him last night and brought him such
pleasure.

A sexy smile pulled at the corners of her full lips and her
dark eyes glittered with awareness of his attraction to her. Her gaze dipped
down to the light sheet covering him, which failed miserably to hide his growing
arousal.

“I see you’re feeling better.” She sat on the edge of the bed
and placed the tray across his lap to offer him some privacy.

“I am.” A rumble from low in his stomach followed his
statement.

“Hungry, too, I see,” she said with a chuckle.

“In more ways than one,” he mumbled as she grabbed a piece of
mango and brought it to his lips.

The fruit was ripe, lush and juicy but almost tasteless as he
recalled the sweetness of her nipples. When she went to shift her hand away, he
gently ensnared her wrist and, before she could protest, sucked one finger after
another into his mouth, licking away the mango juice.

She shuddered and her eyes widened. Her voice had a needy
quaver as she spoke. “There’s plenty of fruit.”

He grew even harder as he imagined those parts of her he had
not tasted just yet. Picturing the flush on her nether lips and the juices he
wanted to wring from her, he was thankful for the tray that hid the way his cock
hardened and jerked at those thoughts.

But he didn’t want to rush her. Not just yet, so he nodded and
released her hand, picked up a piece of fruit and offered it to her. Like a wild
animal unsure of who was feeding her, she stole it quickly from his hand.

They continued sharing bits of fruit and the empanada pastries
until not a single thing remained on the tray.

Victor leaned back against the headboard and rubbed his belly.
“That was tasty. Did you make them?”

She shook her head. “My father. My mother taught him well.”

When she removed the tray and set it aside on the floor, her
gaze dipped down to his lap and just that quick, needy look had him hungering
for her touch and taste once more.

“Are you always this...”

“No,” he admitted quickly. Since being injured during the fire,
and after, when he’d decided to finally follow his dreams, he’d had little time
for relationships.

“So why me?” she asked, but even as she did so, she slipped her
hand beneath the sheet and covered his erection.

He jumped at her touch, surprised by the openness of it. By
that hint of innocent wonder he’d sensed in her.

“I guess I could ask the same thing, Nali. Why me?”

“You saved my life.” Her response was possibly too quick and
she averted her gaze, looking down to where she moved her hand on him, stroking
and exploring the length of him.

“As you did mine,” he reminded her.

A shrug followed his comment, unsure and almost evasive.

Victor placed his thumb and forefinger on her chin and with
gentle pressure urged her face upward to meet his gaze. “I like you touching me.
I like touching you, but there’s more going on here than just that.”

He surprised himself by saying that, true as it was. She
fascinated him, and it had little to do with her beauty or the fact that she
maybe wasn’t quite as human as she seemed right now.

“Nothing else is here. Nothing but man–woman things.” Beneath
her words there was pain and loneliness. Sadness gripped him hard with that
realization.

He was a man who didn’t like to see others suffer. It was what
had driven him to be a firefighter. The realization of how he suffered was what
had put him on the road that had led him here. Maybe that was fated to be. Maybe
she also was fated, he thought and swiped his thumb along the line of her
jaw.

“Maybe in time you’ll see that it can be more, Nali.”

She had been touching him the whole time, but now she stopped
and tears shimmered in her gaze again, as they had last night. “There isn’t
enough time. I cannot stay for long.”

He nodded. “Then let’s make the most of the time we have.”

He moved forward to kiss her once more, but yet again she
demurred, looking away. So he took advantage and dropped a kiss on the sensitive
skin just beneath the shell of her ear, continuing downward to the crook of her
neck, where he inhaled deeply.

She smelled as clean and fresh as an ocean breeze.

He licked the soft skin there before closing his lips against
her flesh and sucking gently. Her hand tightened on him and he smiled against
her neck.

“Do you like that, Nali?” He licked and sucked her again and a
soft sigh escaped her.

“Yes.”

“What else do you like?” he asked and moved his head down the
exposed line of her shoulder until he reached the edge of the dress she wore. He
reached up and pulled the fabric downward, exposing the full swell of her
breasts.

“I like when you kiss me there,” she said and skimmed her gaze
across her breasts for only the briefest moment before returning that gaze to
his lap and the motion of her hand beneath the sheets.

He lifted her dress up and over her head, regretting even the
short moment she left him to allow that before once again diving her hand
beneath the sheet to touch him.

The soft daylight spilling in through the open windows bathed
her body, bringing out the gorgeous golden color of her skin and the deep
caramel of her nipples. They were already hard and he had to restrain himself
from devouring her. He wanted to savor this gift from the sea and bring her not
just pleasure, but joy.

His body tight with restraint, he bent and touched the tip of
his tongue to her nipples, ignoring the pull in his side, which objected to the
movement.

She jumped once again from that simple touch and then cupped
the back of his head with her hand and pressed him close.

As Victor encircled her nipple with his lips, Nali closed her
eyes against the sight of it. Against the pleasure that tender touch
brought.

She didn’t even realize she had moaned until he asked, “Did I
hurt you?”

“No,” she answered without hesitation and tightened her grasp
on the back of his head, stroking him harder beneath the sheet.

A kaleidoscope of colors filled her vision as she took in all
the sensations being with him brought. The heat and damp of his lips sucking and
the gentle nibble of his teeth. The caress of his rough, calloused fingers—a
man’s touch—along her nipples and the sensitive skin of her breasts.

Beneath her hand his cock was hard and hot. So full and
responsive. Her vagina clenched in emptiness, wanting to be filled by that
length once more. At her core, her clitoris swelled and begged to be
touched.

She dropped her hand downward and found that nub, caressing
herself until he whispered, “Let me, Nali.”

He slipped his hand between her legs and, with a man’s
sureness, exposed her clitoris to his touch. He stroked and pressed against it
while he continued loving her breasts with his mouth and his other hand.

Wave after wave of pleasure swamped her and she clenched her
hand around his cock. Stroking harder, faster, he brought her ever closer to a
climax, and she pulled him along with her with the caress of her hand.

He grunted at one sharp pull of her hand and then said roughly,
“I need to be in you, Nali. I want to be in you when you come.”

She was almost there, and she didn’t hesitate to yank away the
sheet and straddle him. Sinking down on him hard, she shattered, her back bowing
as the pressure of him filling her sent her over the edge.

His wild groan burst against her breasts as he joined her with
his release, but he didn’t stop loving her. His lips skimmed the tips of her
nipples, kissing the fullness of her breasts before moving up to that sensitive
spot just beneath her neck. As he had before, he opened his mouth on her and
sucked. Between her legs, desire slammed into her again, dragging her
upward.

She wrapped her arms around him and held him close, riding the
ebbing hardness of his cock as with another bite on her neck she came once
more.

Chapter 7

Victor cradled her in his arms as her body shook from
the force of her climax. Her muscles milked the last of his release from him,
the powerful undulations of her vagina caressing him. He maintained his erection
long past the point he had thought possible from the failing strength of his
body.

The spear through his side had not hit anything vital, but the
wound and last night’s fever had weakened him.

Even as he soothed her, running his hands up and down her back,
kissing that sensitive spot on her neck where he had marked her with his loving,
his mind and body were pulling him to rest and restore his strength.

He fought back the fatigue, understanding just how much she
needed the connection, both physical and mental.

When some semblance of calm had returned to them, he shifted so
they were lying down once more, facing each other. Their legs intertwined and
his arms lay loosely around her waist.

“Will you stay?” he asked, risking a glance at her face to
judge her state of mind. He suspected Nali was much like the shark that had
circled him warily in the water, approaching only to retreat once more.

She surprised him by meeting his gaze directly and cupping his
jaw. She ran her thumb across his lips in a caress as intimate as any kiss. It
made him wish that by the time she left him, she would find the courage to
really kiss him.

“Why do you want me to stay?”

“Because I’m tired of being alone.” An honest answer and one he
hadn’t thought to make. Since leaving the fire department, his single-minded
goal of becoming a marine biologist had kept him apart from those around him. It
was only once he’d come here, to complete the task he’d dreamed of, that he
realized he had no one with whom to share the joy of that success.

Nali nodded and lay her hand along the swell of his chest,
close to his heart. “Rest, Victor. I’ll be here when you wake.”

With a smile, he closed his eyes, an unexpected lightness in
his heart that matched the freedom that came to him beneath the surface of the
ocean.

Nali did not fail to miss the way the tension ebbed from his
body. She waited until the slow, regular breath of sleep confirmed he was
resting. Only then did she take a moment to explore him in ways she could not
while he was awake, fearing they would reveal too much to him. Make her too
vulnerable.

She glanced up at his face in rest. That boyish smile still
graced his lips. Lips that were both tender and demanding. She touched the spot
where he had marked her and it sent a zing of arousal through her. She had never
considered herself so wanton, yet he brought out the desire to always be joined
with him. Even now, despite the satisfaction he had brought her just moments
earlier, her insides vibrated with need.

Tamping it down, she continued her visual exploration of his
body, dipping her gaze to the damage along his shoulder, arm and upper chest.
The flesh there was both shiny and rough, and she held back from touching it,
afraid of waking him. But she had seen him grimace after he’d pulled himself
from the water, and she suspected the wounds were more than surface deep.

Definitely more than just physical scars.

Tired of being alone, he had said and she understood. As one of
the last of her kind, hunted as game, she spent far too much time in the
solitude of the sea. Restlessly seeking that which she would never find there:
love.

Her father had found it on shore with Nali’s mother. He’d given
up what he was, the leader of their diminishing group, to live on land with
her.

Only her mother had died and left them both alone.

Just like Victor would one day leave, Nali told herself as she
shut her eyes against the tears she had already shed far too often in his
presence. They were a sign of weakness and she was far from weak.

She was Nali, the shark goddess. Goddesses did not cry. Nor did
they sacrifice who they were for mere mortals. Her father had learned the
painful reality of that choice.

Victor could only provide a respite from her loneliness. A week
of loving before she returned to her home.

With that decision made, she allowed herself to enjoy the
sensation of him surrounding her. The warmth of his skin was as delicious as
that of the Caribbean waters. The rasp of his chest hairs against her breasts
was a tease much like the softness of his dick along her belly. She itched to
reach down and awaken his passion once more, but she knew he needed to rest.

Which reminded her that when he woke, she would need to check
his bandages and feed him.

Mentally she made a list of the things she required to help him
heal quickly, and once she was certain he was in a deep sleep, she eased from
his side to gather them.

She intended to make the most of the time she had on land.

* * *

The enticing smells of something spicy woke him from
sleep.

He reached out for Nali, but she was gone and that made him pop
up in bed, straining his side.

She turned at the sound of his movement and smiled. She wore
the dress made from the brightly colored molas the Kunas created and was busy
working at the gas-powered stove at the far side of the room.

She stopped stirring, shut off the flame, then walked back to
the bed and sat on the edge as he rose and leaned back against the pillows. With
an ease that relaxed him, she brushed a kiss along his cheek and rubbed the back
of her hand along his midsection.

“You slept the day away,” she said.

He glanced toward the open windows and realized the sun was low
in the horizon.

“You wore me out,” he teased and stroked his hand down her
arm.

Her smile brightened and a stain of pink erupted on her cheeks.
“You’re just weak.” Her smile turned awkward as she quickly added, “From your
injury.”

He grinned and shook his head. “Don’t worry, Nali. My male
pride is not that fragile.”

“I have some fresh ointment and bandages. We should change your
dressings.”

Before he could say anything else, she sprang into action. She
walked to the table and came back with a tray that held a basin of fresh water,
clean towels, bandages and a small dish filled with something green and
pasty-looking.

“What is that?” He pointed to the dish.

“It’s more of the ointment I used last night.”

He grimaced. “The one that stung like a bitch.”

A mischievous grin returned to her features as she bent and
unwrapped the bandage around his midsection. “Surely a big, strong man like you
can handle a little sting.”

“So much for my male pride,” he teased back, liking the easy
way they had together.

“It’s healing nicely,” she said, and he looked down at his
side. The puncture wound had no traces of pink or anything else that warned of
infection. Surprisingly, it even seemed to be knitting without the benefit of
stitches.

“It is.” He watched as Nali dampened the cloth and then gently
cleaned both sides of the wound, exposing the smallish area that had yet to
close. That made her frown and scoop up a goodly amount of the paste with two
fingers.

Her gaze flitted to his for a moment. “Brace yourself.”

He did, dragging in a breath and gritting his teeth when she
smoothed the paste over the area and the burn registered in those parts that
were still raw. When he released his pent-up breath, she covered the areas with
clean gauze. A moment later, she wrapped the bandages around his midsection
again to keep them in place and apply pressure to help close the wounds.

As she worked, the smell of her tantalized him and the feel of
her hands on him, even at the simplest task, renewed his desire. He covered his
growing erection with his hand, but she brushed his fingers away and instead
eased her hand over him. Only the thin fabric of the sheet separated the smooth
flesh of her palm from his dick.

“Why do you wish to hide this?” she asked, her caresses
exploring the hardening shape of him.

“I don’t want you to think that’s all I want from you,” he
admitted. He wanted to know Nali, the woman, and not just her body.

She shrugged and continued with her caress. “This is as natural
as breath. As beautiful.”

He reached down and stilled the motion of her hand. “I want to
give you more than just this.”

She pulled away from him and tilted her chin up at a determined
angle. “What if this is all that I want?”

He arched a brow in challenge. “Then I’d say you’re a
liar.”

In a burst of speed, she flounced away from him and back to the
counter, where she tucked away the medical supplies in one of the cupboards.
Then she started up the flame again and resumed her cooking. “You must be
hungry. I know I am.”

He was hungry, and not just for food or sex. He was hungry to
know more about her and what made her tick. Maybe in time she would give him
what he wanted.

He hated the thought of being stuck in the bed all day, having
had too much of that during his recovery from his burns. He scooted to the edge
of the bed and applied pressure to his side for support as he forced himself to
his feet. Dizziness made him waver for a moment before it passed, and he walked
to the table she had already set for a meal.

He was pleased that he could manage more than just a shuffle.
Despite his earlier complaint about the paste she had applied, the heat of it
working through his side had cut down on the pain.

“What’s in that green glop?” He sat down at the table.

“Some herbs and leaves the Kuna have used for centuries,” she
answered with a sharp shrug before dishing out whatever she had been cooking
onto plates.

She walked over and placed the dishes on the table, her
movements jerky. Clearly she was still annoyed with him, but he was not about to
let her mood ruin the coming night.

“Thank you. This looks and smells delicious.”

“It’s a simple meal,” she replied as she forked up some of the
omelet she had made.

“Simple is always better.” He took a big bite, enjoying the
sweetness of the onions and the crispness of the potatoes enveloped in the
fluffy egg mixture. Cutting off a piece of the chorizo sausage also on the
plate, he found its spiciness contrasted pleasantly with the smoothness of the
omelet.

Thick slices of rustic bread sat on a dish in the middle of the
table and he grabbed a slice, buttered it and ate it, enjoying the yeastiness of
the still-warm bread and the sweet cream of the butter.

“Delicious. Did you make the bread?”

Another shrug greeted him. “I had to do something while you
were sleeping.”

He chuckled at her seeming outrage. “Forgive me for being so
weak. Not all of us are as strong as...” He paused then, reminded of the fact
that she might be something other than mortal.

“Just what are you? What is your father?”

Another shift of her shoulders came, but she seemed slightly
more uneasy. “We have been here far longer than when the Kunas came to these
islands. Until then we were alone, surviving in the sea and coming to land for
just brief moments.”

“But when the Kuna arrived—”

“They were kind but fearful. We were intrigued by their
worship, and more and more of us came to shore. Some forgot the ways of our
people. Others lost their lives as more men came to hunt us for sport.”

“Your father is like you?” he asked, intrigued to know
more.

“My father
was
like me, but then he
met my mother during a visit to shore.”

And gave up what he was, Victor realized.

“Do you think that is what love is about? Giving up what you
are for someone else?”

His question brought her up short, with her fork halfway to her
mouth. After a pause, she set it down and nodded. “It’s what happened to my
father and so many others.”

“And you do not wish for it to be that way with you?”

“No,” she answered abruptly and far too testily.

Her hand rested on the table and he covered it, squeezing
reassuringly. “Love is about sacrifice, but that doesn’t mean you need to stop
being who you are. What you are.”

She withdrew her hand, picked up the fork and finished eating
silently. He did the same. He understood her a little better, but that did not
make things any easier.

When they were done, she cleaned up quickly while he sat at the
table, reluctant to return to bed. But she had something different in mind. That
was clear as she stalked over to the bed, yanked off her dress and lay down, as
if waiting for him.

His cock jerked and came to life at the sight of her, creamy
copper skin dark against the sun-bleached whiteness of the sheets. But as he had
told her earlier, he wanted more from her and no amount of anger on her part was
going to change that.

“Are you not coming to bed?” she finally asked while staring up
at the thatched roof of the shack.

“I’m not sleepy.” He had to fight back his chuckle at her moue
of annoyance.

“I’m not here to sleep. I want to make love,” she announced in
regal tones.

This time he could not contain his burst of amusement, which
only earned him a nasty glare. “You may be waiting a long time.”

With a huff, she said, “Then I’ll just satisfy myself.”

He stifled a groan as she reached up and cradled her breasts,
tweaking the tips into tight peaks. Her first sigh escaped her lips. She closed
her eyes then and shifted one hand between her legs, parting them as she dipped
her fingers to her center and pressed while continuing to play with her
nipples.

His balls tightened painfully and he couldn’t just sit there,
despite his earlier declarations.

Almost hobbling over from the pain of his erection, he sat
beside her on the bed, his hip against hers.

Her eyes flew open then, but before she could say a word, he
said, “Let me help you.”