Cannot Unite (10 page)

Oh…my!

Kissing was incredible! Magical! Creating
thrill upon thrill of joy. Light. Pleasure. Her tongue slid between
his teeth, reaching the innermost sanctum of his mouth, to toy,
tease, and then spar with his tongue. Every connection sparked more
than rubbing his palms had earlier, and created flames that were
leagues hotter than the fire he’d started for her. And all of it
orchestrated by the tongue action she kept initiating. Teaching.
Enjoining.

Desire ratcheted higher. Craving added to
the mix. Hunger slammed at him. And it wasn’t for anything other
than her. The combination coalesced as she started writhing, each
move rubbing her breasts along his pectoral muscles, her belly
against his, her loins against—

Sweetness!

KayNan wanted more. Needed more. Had to have
more.
Now
.

The scope of desire was beyond any
comprehensible level. And it kept growing. He pulled one arm from
her to shrug out of his jacket sleeve, before he had it back around
her, holding her again, so he could do the same maneuver with his
other arm. She helped him with that sleeve, pushing at it while he
worked his shoulder. And her denim jacket was too much. She must’ve
known, for the next few moments found the swish of her jacket
filtering through the harsh sound of rapid breathing, and the
continual soft, urgent noise of their kiss. He couldn’t get
enough.

More. Legions more.

KayNan slid his hands up her back, lifting
and cradling her fully against him, delving into her mouth, filling
every sense until they overflowed. He was shaking again, too. It
was impossible to contain. He had his mate! Her smell was divine.
Her taste heaven. Every contact a blessing of delight. But it
wasn’t enough. He wanted bare skin against bare skin.

And he wanted it
now
.

He lowered her slowly, pulling from the kiss
with a tinge of loss. Regret. Chill. It was to move back a
fraction, gaining enough space to yank his shirt apart, and then
off. He felt the cuffs tear, heard her say something about buttons,
amid a smattering of sound as they hit the dirt floor, and then she
sighed. And that was enough to send spears of reaction right
through him. She didn’t know the power of her breath! It added to
the visual, sensorial, and auditory impressions. And then she added
more to it with words so sweet, his eyes stung again.

“Oh…my—wow. I mean, KayNan…uh. Wow.”

The words carried something akin to awe.
Wonderment. Admiration. But that wasn’t possible. The slight
opening of her mouth as she looked him over wasn’t possible,
either. And there was no reason. He’d heard that reverence in other
women’s voices, sometimes even when they’d whispered about him. But
rarely. And never with the open-mouthed, wide-eyed look that his
mate was giving him. He was beneath consideration. A slave.

He almost grabbed the shirt back. Her
movement forestalled him. He watched with wide eyes as she pulled
her shirt up and over her head, revealing perfect, large, womanly
breasts…and they were covered by some lacy, little white
contraption.

Damn it.

KayNan’s face probably mirrored the
reaction. Women weren’t supposed to strap themselves into fabric.
They hadn’t in his day, anyway. Or maybe they had. How was he
supposed to know? The harlots who’d visited the guards hadn’t worn
them. But, he’d ignored them and rarely looked.

Shit. The next thing he’d have to figure out
was the condom thing.

And then she moved her hands behind her and
did something that made the skirt she wore gap, and then slide
down. And she helped it, keeping her eyes on him while he watched.
And there was more surprise. She wore the strangest little item
about her hips; made from tiny little strings that wrapped about
her sides, before meeting in order to weave a triangle of material
that covered over…everything.

He had to stop somehow and ask about the
condom thing. Akron hadn’t acted like it was important, but Nigel
said it was. If KayNan didn’t bring it up, it meant he didn’t
respect—

She had perfect balance, was fairly limber,
and showed lots of both as she maneuvered the skirt off, and then
just waited; mere centimeters away, and yet sending invisible
tendrils that pulsated through the space.

KayNan’s mouth went dry. His eyes wide open.
His reanimated heart pumped; mightily and heavily, before it lodged
right at the base of his throat. His mate was stunning. Everything
about her was womanly and perfectly assembled. Legs, as lightly
tanned as the rest of her, led to amazing, firm thighs. Her hips
were curvy. Rounded. He could just make out lush, firm buttocks.
Her waist was small. Lean. There was a sparkle of some kind of
jewelry in her naval. It caught his glance just before she reached
behind her back and somehow the breast holder thing came loose.

And fell.

Every coherent thought flew right out of his
head. It no longer mattered what a condom was, who wore it, or what
it did. All that mattered was a second after she released them he
had both hands full of her breasts, and was lavishing adoration and
wonder on each in turn. And she was bucking gently against him, and
then harder; pushing her triangle-covered assets into his groin.
Bumping against where the briefs were close to giving up. And that
was creating even more havoc, and more chaos, and more turmoil. He
barely felt her hands on his belt, slipping the tab loose…unzipping
his fly…delving beneath the waistband of his briefs, and then—

Oh. My!

KayNay rocked, lifting her with him, as she
slid a hand about his cock, and then gave the same caress down his
length. Her touch cocooned him in warmth and friction, and sensory
excellence, and a blend of amazement he had to vent.

Now.

Right now.

He threw his head back and launched the cry
into the space about them, surrounding them with the echo. And
then, he didn’t know how it happened. One moment he was
experiencing her hand sliding down his shaft, creating a whorl of
excitement and pandemonium and massive ache, and the next thing he
knew, she was on her back beneath him, her hair fanning out, her
legs wrapping his hips, and his rod already poised at her entrance.
Getting sucked in. Delving. Deep. KayNan tightened his arms and
chest muscles, moved the tautness to his lower back. His
buttocks…and then he thrust.

And got welcomed.

He went deep. Hilt-deep. Disbelieving the
tight coil-like sensation about him. And then he pulled back out,
rubbing along ridges and eons of sensation nobody could have
described and been believed. He drew almost…out, before she drew
him back in. Again. Out. In. Short grunts accompanied to his moves,
without his permission or knowledge. Her legs tightened about his
waist. Her ankles latched at the small of his back. Her fingernails
raked along his chest, lifting little ridges of reddened skin. Her
hips lifted to meet him, galvanized by womanly buttocks. He felt
her thigh muscles about him as she pulled away, and then lifted
again. Pulled away. Lifted.

There was no descriptor vast enough.
Enjoyment gathered, hovering at the edges of consciousness. Bliss
joined in. And then energy. KayNan moved faster, following her
lead, his pelvis slapping against hers in a rhythm nobody had to
teach him. She pushed up to meet him. Dropped slightly away.
Grabbed at him again. Dropped. And again. And then faster.
Stronger.

And then something happened. His mate
stiffened and cried aloud, while her flesh gyrated about him.
KayNan had never felt anything like it. He watched as she keened
her own cry out into the cave about them. It sounded filled with
wonder; imbued with music. It matched the look she gave him when
her body finished shivering and she moved those gorgeous brown eyes
to meet his, and for some reason, there was a patina atop hers now.
He’d never seen such a look. As if filled with supreme happiness.
Awe. And then she gave him the slightest smile before a tear
slipped from her eye.

Oh…
wow
.

That one small thing seized him, turning him
into a creature of carnal desire. And he wanted more. He became the
tool for gaining another bit of tightening to her frame, another
cry…and another slight smile. With the resultant tear.

Again. And again. And as many times as he
could before the bliss that had been riding the edges of this
experience started closing in. Sticking to every move. Hanging onto
every thrust and withdrawal. Building. Again. More. Harder. Faster.
Heavy, hard pressure filled his lower back. Reached around him.
Grabbed him—

And he exploded.

KayNan’s jaw locked and still the sobs came
out. They matched in cadence every pulse his body gave as he
experienced solid ecstasy and complete rapture, in a combination
guaranteed to drain and deplete. No wonder she’d cried. He was very
close to it himself as his body finished pulsing, his loins
emptied, and the pressure vanished.

By all the gods. Nobody could’ve described
this and been believed.

He looked down at his mate. His only. His
love. Took in the bruised-looking lips and wide, shiny eyes,
carrying the look of something he barely dared guess at. Adoration,
maybe? Love? That’s when his arms refused to hold him any longer.
He fell to the blanket at her side. And started shuddering.

It was chilly when she woke. Dim.
Empty-feeling. And yet, with all that, Jeannette felt absolutely
marvelous. Supremely healthy. Happy. She stretched fully, feeling
better than she could remember. She was ready to hum.

Amazing.

And weird.

And just where was KayNan?

Jeannette sat, holding what turned out to be
KayNan’s jacket to her nakedness, and took stock of the situation
while gathering her discarded clothing. She had her skirt, shirt,
and a bra that appeared to be missing the shoulder straps. Not much
help there. It would never stay up. Her panties hadn’t been lucky,
either. They were ripped in more than one place. She tried tying
them back together. No. She’d have to lose at least an inch to make
that work. Well. Women all through history went without
undergarments. She could manage it, too. And thank goodness for the
denim jacket! It really wore well.

Her situation looked a little better once
she was dressed. Jeannette surveyed the remnants of this morning’s
tryst while sitting cross-legged on her bedding. Hmm. Looked like
she could also claim the space blanket. She was in a cave somewhere
in the Canadian wilderness – or maybe it was the US side – she
hadn’t been paying enough attention. Either way, she was probably
off a grid. Alone.

“Oh. You’re awake. Sorry. I should’ve been
here. I did rush.”

KayNan’s voice accompanied the sight of him
as he leaned over the fire. He fanned it with a hand moving so fast
it blurred. Obviously vampires didn’t need a bellows.
Whatever
for, Jeannette?
The flames rushed to life, shed all kinds of
glow on him, and Jeannette couldn’t even prevent the sigh. He was
naked from the waist-up, exactly like she’d first seen him. And he
was the most sculpted guy she’d ever seen.

Still.

He opened his other arm and goods of all
kinds tumbled out. A dented can rolled toward her, turning out to
be cherry pie filling. There was mangled lump that might have
started as a package of crackers. A chocolate bar. Several ketchup
packets. Or maybe they were hot sauce. And if her eyes weren’t
deceiving her, he had two bottles of purified water.

“I got you water. And food.”

“I’m afraid to ask from where,” she
commented.

“I followed scent. A bear attacked a cabin,
uh…recently. This was some of his haul.”

“A…bear?”

“Yeah.”

“You took these from a bear?”

“Yeah.”

“What kind of bear?”

“I don’t know. Big. Brown.”

“And he…didn’t mind?”

“Oh. He minded. He’s not going to wake for a
bit. I almost brought you fresh bear meat. But I didn’t think it a
good idea to cook it. Creates a smell even Hunters can follow.”

Jeannette shuddered. “You really didn’t kill
it?”

That would be a violation of Rule Number
Three.
Oh, what the hell, Jeannette
. She’d been in
violation of her list since she’d met him. She might as well let it
go. Rules were for the structured life she’d tried to lead. They
weren’t going to do a damn bit of good if she was in love with
him.

Whoa.
What? She loved him?

Oh no. Oh yes. Yes! Of all the strange times
to have that emotion hit. Jeannette should be in denial. Shock.
Defiance. Anything other than aglow with the absolute certainty of
her feelings.

She loved him!

She’d never had anyone care for her like he
did. He’d protected her, cherished her, thought of her first
throughout this whole crazy adventure…

And just like that, everything was clear.
She accepted it. And him. And a future as a vampire. And everything
that came along with that. Because for the first time in her life,
she felt like she belonged. She was home. And she loved him
massively. And if her future contained the passion and intensity of
their lovemaking, well. She didn’t need her gifts to see a lot of
pleasure in her forever.

He didn’t act like he knew her train of
thought. Or even guessed at it.

She watched him shake his head at her
question. Lanky strands of hair accompanied it. He wore it exactly
like when she’d first seen him, although the tie at his forehead
looked like it had once been lacy bra straps. She narrowed her
eyes. And then he turned away to fetch something. The fire lit
fully on a huge claw mark, a good eight inches across, scoring his
skin from one shoulder almost to mid-back.

She was beside him an instant later, and
didn’t even care how she’d moved that fast. “Oh, KayNan! Your
back.”