Cara melted into him as he deepened the kiss, his tongue dueling with hers, desire raging to the hint of pain throughout her body. Suddenly, she was lifted off the ground and deposited on the cool granite counter, her skirt pushed up and her knees spread wide on either side of his masculine hips. She felt small and feminine compared to the powerful male trapping her on the counter, and damn if that didn’t turn her on.
He’d told her to run. He’d chased her around the house while she fought the need to giggle like a teenager. Pure instinct had her fingers digging into his ribs.
“Hey.” Talen moved back, his hands clasping her arms. “Knock it off.”
No way. No way! She dug in harder, pressing between his ribs and squeezing.
“Stop,” he chuckled out, grabbing her hands, trapping them in his.
She grinned, her knees clasping strong hips. “I had no idea big, bad vampires were ticklish, Talen.” How freaking cute was that?
He grinned in response, and her heart tumbled in slow motion without a net. “Hmm. Well, let’s see.” He released her hands to go for her waist. And he pressed.
The shriek she gave as his massive hands tickled her sides should’ve raised the dead. “No, no, nooooo,” she cried, struggling to get away, giggling as she returned the favor, pushing her knees against his front to escape. Good thing Janie was a sound sleeper.
Talen shifted to the side, tangled a large hand in her thick hair and tugged not too gently to one side, exposing the graceful column of her neck to his mouth. His lips traced a path from her ear, down her cheek to the hollow between her neck and shoulder where he nipped. The imprint on her hip burned for him. “How about we call a truce?”
Hmm. A truce sounded good. She’d worry about her heart later. It was one thing to want the man, quite another to genuinely like him. The fun side of the dangerous leader was almost too much to resist. Then his sharp teeth nipped again, reminding her that his true idea of fun held a hint of genuine danger.
Cara’s knees clenched his hips as she pressed her aching core against his jean-covered erection. One strong arm around her backside pulled her even closer as he continued his exploration down her body. He murmured in appreciation as his lips
found the swell of her left breast above her rounded neckline. Releasing her hair, he inserted one finger in her cleavage and tugged her T-shirt down to expose one hardened pink nipple, which he immediately covered with his mouth, his eyes closing in pleasure.
His pleasure fueled hers and she opened herself to the sensations rioting through him—maybe being an empath wasn’t so bad. She closed her eyes and leaned her shoulders back against the smooth cupboards as he rolled her nipple in his mouth, her pelvis pressed flush against his. She moaned and tangled both hands in his thick hair, pulling him even closer to her throbbing flesh. Her body screamed for her to give him whatever he wanted while her mind sought reason.
Her heart should remain her own.
Talen raised his head, gave her a hard kiss on the lips, and ripped her T-shirt down the middle with two strong hands. “I’ll buy you a new one,” he promised as he turned his attention to her other breast. Cara could only gasp as the sharp pulls on her breast coupled with Talen’s covered erection pressing into her damp panties sent her spiraling into a sharp orgasm.
She buried her head in his salty neck to keep from crying out too loud. The ripples tore through her, and her every muscle tightened with the effort to keep quiet.
Talen gentled her with soft kisses along the undersides of both breasts as she clung weakly to him, her hands now limp in his hair. She stopped trembling, and Talen lifted his head to again claim her mouth, his hands spanning her waist. Lost in his kiss, Cara instinctively wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck as he lifted her off the counter and deserted the kitchen.
Talen strode across the house, nudging his bedroom door open with one foot, his mouth claiming hers. He deposited her on the bed before yanking his T-shirt over his head. His belt and jeans followed his shirt to the floor, revealing his warrior’s body. Desire clawed through her again as she took
in the hard muscles and sheer strength of the inhuman male. He placed one hand across her upper chest and pushed her onto her back.
“My turn to eat, little gazelle,” he murmured, eyes intent on the scrap of lace before him. He knelt on the ground. Two strong hands reached out and pulled her closer to the edge of the bed, his breath hot through her soaked panties. He leaned down and clasped the elastic waist with sharp teeth, tugging. The panties refused to move, so with a growl Talen ripped them in two with desperate hands. “I’ll buy you new ones,” he repeated as he lowered his mouth to now bare flesh, his hands cupping her thighs.
She arched into his mouth with a soft cry. Her mind shut down as sensation took over.
“So sweet. So spicy,” Talen declared against her, the vibrations making Cara clench her thighs against his hands. He licked her from one end to the other, releasing a thigh to insert one, then two fingers into her. He stretched her wide and spoke against her, “Truly succulent, Cara.” With a growl, Talen nipped at her, throwing her into the crashing wave of another orgasm. She clenched the sheets with white knuckles as he plundered her, prolonging wave after wave until she shuddered with a final sigh of release.
Then she exploded again when twin fangs pierced her thigh and he drank.
Talen kissed the puncture wound and then slowly crawled up her body until they were groin to groin, his erection nestled impatiently against her core. His mouth mastered hers without leniency. The kiss was dark and dominant; Cara tasted herself on Talen’s tongue while he began to slowly possess her. Then, with a growl and powerful thrust, he buried himself in her warmth. His mouth claimed her startled cry.
Cara was stretched wide as Talen began to drive in and out of her, his mouth delving deeper with a commanding kiss, his hand twisted in her hair. She couldn’t fight her reaction to him—even if she wanted to. Why the fuck would she want
to? She’d worry about that later. She moaned as he increased his thrusts and the friction created a wondrous series of electrical explosions deep within her womb—she opened her mind, her heart as much as she could. Powerful energy slammed into her from within him—claiming, striking at nerves, at emotions she hadn’t known she had. In fact, she wasn’t sure they were her emotions. Maybe they were his.
They shattered at the same time. Cara didn’t know if it was her release or his that had her seeing stars. Perhaps it was the combination of both.
T
he phone shrilled Talen awake as dawn began to cling to the horizon. He snatched up the receiver, instantly alert. “What?” He sat up in bed and switched on the light. “When?” He pulled Cara closer to him, and her blue eyes widened. He shook his head at Jordan’s words. “She can’t go on the raid, Jordan. I know …” He wiped a frustrated hand across his eyes. “All right. We’ll see you in a half an hour.” He hung up the phone before facing his mate.
“Is it Emma?” Her voice whispered with fear.
Talen shook his head. “No. The Kurjans have kidnapped Katie.”
“Katie?” Cara sat up with a gasp. “No! Why?”
Talen shrugged. “I don’t know. Could be any number of reasons.” He jumped out of bed. “Jordan tracked them to eastern Oregon; he thinks he knows where she is being kept.” He threw on jeans and a dark long-sleeved shirt.
“Why does he want me on the raid, Talen?”
“It doesn’t matter.” He may not yet own her full empathic abilities, but her determination slapped him with impressive strength.
“It does,” she countered as she threw on jeans and a sweater and faced him across the bed.
Talen looked Cara over carefully. “She’s in a large private
hospital, and Jordan doesn’t know where she is. He thinks you can sense her if you are close enough.”
“I probably can.”
“No.”
“Talen, you can’t push me to accept this ability and then not let me use it. Especially when a friend needs me.” Her voice stayed low, direct. Impressive, that. “You didn’t see how she fought when Lorcan had me, or how she shifted into a lion to protect me when she knew it would expose her to the Kurjans. I owe her.”
Talen gave a low growl from deep in his throat and strode out of the room. Cara had a point, and he didn’t like it. He’d pushed her from day one to embrace her empathic abilities, so how could he refuse her need to use them? Every instinct he had bellowed for him to lock her in a closet until he dealt with the threat. He had not counted on this fucking turmoil when he’d pictured his life with a mate.
He sighed. She wasn’t just
a mate.
She was his. The little smart-mouthed scientist held his heart in her hands. He’d kill her if she let anything happen to herself.
Once in his office he lifted the phone and started barking orders. His mate may still need to learn her place in his life, but the rest of the fucking Realm would do as he ordered.
He had just clicked off when she entered the room dressed in faded jeans and a navy sweater that emphasized pert breasts and fragile shoulders. Her skin pale over delicate cheekbones, she’d set her soft mouth in a hard line. Eyes the color of heavens late in the day flashed blue sparks at him, and only the child on her heels kept him from answering her challenge and taking her to the floor right then and there.
His gut clenched as he realized his anger lay with himself. He loved her.
Then Janie gave him a tiny smile, her pretty hair in little braids with pink ribbons. His heart tripped. Jesus. They were his life. Fear and a fierce resolve to keep them safe nearly
knocked him off his feet, and the marking on his palm burned right to his heart.
Cara opened her mouth to speak. Hell, to argue probably.
He raised a hand. “Jordan’s picking us up in fifteen minutes. We’ll drop Janie off at headquarters and get reinforcements before heading to Oregon.”
“We?” Hope flashed across Cara’s face.
He took a deep breath, fighting every impulse he had to shield her. “Yes. You were right. There’s no sense having your abilities if you don’t use them. But, mate”—his voice lowered and he sent out an emotional wave as a threat—see her block that, damn it—”you follow orders. You remain in the background until we clear the facility and if I tell you to do something, you damn well do it.” If she gave him one hint that she’d put herself in danger, he’d leave her here.
“I will,” she promised, her sexy voice low and breathy.
Talen shook his head as unease swept through him while he fought his gut. Every instinct he had bellowed for him to keep his mate safely away from the Kurjans and the raid—hell, away from any hint of danger. The sound of blades slashing through the air caught his attention. “Jordan’s here.”
She nodded as she took Janie’s hand, and they headed out the front door to watch the massive helicopter land on the grassy lawn.
“Duck your heads,” Talen yelled as they ran forward and jumped into the sleek vehicle. With a quick nod at them, Jordan lifted the Blackhawk into the sky.
Deep in the Kayrs underground headquarters sat a room with an impressive array of computers and technology that was at least as advanced as anything owned by Cara’s government, maybe even more so. Data scrolled across screens in flashes of green, black, and yellow, reminding Cara of a science fiction movie she’d seen as a teenager.
The Kayrs men stood shoulder to shoulder with the four
towering shape shifters. Talen brought a holographic image of a private hospital in downtown Portland up on the large center screen. “The primary objective here is to rescue Katie and any other captives, per Realm Operating Directive 25.”
Jordan slammed a knife into his vest. “Are we expecting other captives?”
Talen shrugged. “It’s possible. Second objective is retrieving information, grab any computers or files you see. The final objective is killing Kurjans.” He shook his head. “This new Kurjan policy of hiding in plain sight concerns me. A hospital, for God’s sake. We’ll need to alter our battle strategy as well as our training scenarios.”
A momentary thought whispered across Cara’s subconscious—how in the world had Jordan tracked Katie to Portland? Realization slammed home. Oh. No. He. Did. Not. She shook her head. Katie would be furious. “When did you put the tracker on Katie, Jordan?”
His tawny gaze met hers before he gave a shrug. “What tracker?”
Jase snorted next to him.
Talen cleared his throat. “The data we’ve collected shows the facility is fairly new and probably not fully secured yet. Even so, they’ll know we’re coming, so the plan is shock and awe. We hit fast, and we hit hard, flying the two Blackhawks in together.”
Once everyone had their orders straight, Talen led them into another secured room stocked with every weapon imaginable, including guns, swords, knives, cannons, and rockets.
“Wow,” Cara said, scanning the abundant weapons. Her breath hitched in her throat.
Talen was all business as he dropped a lightweight black vest over her head and secured it at the sides.
“Bulletproof?” she asked. Her mind flashed to her child. Janie needed a mother. Fear and guilt swept down Cara’s spine.
“Yes. The vest will protect you even from our bullets,” Talen said soberly as he pulled a similar vest over his own head. He lifted his gaze. “Are you sure you want to go?”
No, she wasn’t. But Katie needed her. “Yes, I’m sure.”
His jaw hardened, and he stepped back to prepare for battle. The weapons room suited him as the head of security for the entire Realm. The vest fit snug over his black shirt, clearly emphasizing the breadth of his chest and the muscled strength of his arms. He’d pulled his dark hair back into an efficient band, and his face set hard in lines of concentration as he checked each weapon before handing it to the waiting warriors. The very air around him vibrating with purpose, his unearthly golden eyes glowed with intent.
But it wasn’t just the dangerous color of his eyes; it was the sheer intelligence and basic power shining out of them. His ability to strategize and create the battle plan to ensure their success impressed her while creating a yearning deep within she couldn’t quell. Damn it.