Forgotten (45 page)

“
I think…I think I can do
that,” she whispered, looking up at him. “I think if you’re very
slow and patient with me…”

“
I swear I will be.” His
eyes were half-lidded with desire now. “Gods, baby, if I could just
taste you, even a little…even a few licks of your sweet honey would
hold back the Beast—at least long enough to reach
G’nera.”

Kate’s heart was pounding and her face felt
flushed but she nodded as calmly as she could.

“
Then we’ll do it. We have
to—have to hold back your Beast and feed your
hunger.”
She looked down at herself.
“Uh…but I’d kind of like a quick shower and a change of clothes
first. Can you wait long enough for that?”

He nodded slowly. “I think so—if you hurry.
I’m going to set a course for G’nera while you do. If we can just
hold off the Beast until we get there, then I can go to the Howlund
and let it out to roam safely.”

“
All right.” Kate nodded
and would have gone towards the small bathroom but Rone caught her
in his arms and drew her close for a moment. Leaning down, he took
her mouth in a soft, searing kiss that seemed to make every nerve
in her body tingle.

“
Thank you,” he murmured
when they finally pulled apart. “Thank you for trusting me, Kate.
Even though you still don’t remember me.”

“
I may not remember you
but I still…still like you. Like you a lot,” Kate whispered back.
“I know it’s not love—not yet—but I’m trying, Rone. I’m trying to
be open.”

“
I know.” He stroked her
hair, his silver eyes bright. “And that’s all I ask.”

Kate couldn’t take the intensity of his gaze
anymore. She pulled away from his gentle embrace and headed for the
bathroom. She still had on the ragged, bloodstained “exercise”
clothes they’d been forced to wear at Flame and Frost and she
couldn’t wait to get out of them and get a shower. And then…

And then I’ll deal with
what comes next,
she told herself firmly,
her heart pounding.
I have to.

Chapter Twenty-one

After a short but refreshing hot shower,
Kate stood, wrapped in a towel, in front of her small dresser and
looked over the selection of lingerie her past self had
acquired.

“
Wow, I certainly wasn’t
shy,” she murmured, running her fingers over the variety of silky
gowns and panties that filled her lingerie drawer to overflowing.
She must have loved dressing to show her body off—which was still
hard to believe, given how she felt about her scars.

Speaking of scars…she flexed her shoulder
blades and frowned. The familiar tightness she always felt in the
scar tissue, especially when she was under stress, wasn’t there
right now. Given how nervous she felt about what she was about to
do—to let Rone do to her—she was really surprised not to feel it.
Then she remembered what he’d told her—that he used to lick her
scars to make her feel looser and more supple. He’d spent a long
time healing the wounds on her back—that must have been what helped
her feel so much better.

Kate sighed. Now wasn’t the time to be
thinking about her scars. She needed to find a good outfit to
wear—something sexy that would make her feel pretty and relaxed. As
if she could relax when just the thought of the big Kindred getting
between her thighs made her feel hot and cold all over.

She still wasn’t completely sure why she’d
told Rone that she wanted to let him taste her. Well, aside from
controlling his Beast, that was. But the Beast wasn’t the only
reason she’d agreed to this. Maybe because he was so gentle—so
patient and willing to go slowly. Kate knew he would never hurt her
or hold her down in any way. He wasn’t that kind of male.

And maybe because you know
he loves you…and you’re beginning to love him back,
whispered a little voice in the back of her head.
But was she? As Rone had pointed out, it had been less than a week
since he’d found her at the International Mall and she still
couldn’t remember their past life together.

But Kate couldn’t deny that when she thought
of him, she felt a warm glow that filled her whole body. Somehow
during the time they had spent together after the fear toxins had
been leeched out of her, she’d begun to trust the big Kindred…and
to care for him and crave his touch. And since she’d been able to
share the story of her attack with him, she felt even closer to
him—that was probably why she was willing to let him try tasting
her even though she hadn’t been able to back at Flame and
Frost.

Of course there, they’d had the sadistic
Madam of Shadows demanding that they do sexual things to each
other. Kate didn’t like performing for an audience—especially not a
cruel Madam standing over her with a cane. The whole experience had
been fraught with tension although she had to admit the feeling of
Rone’s big body behind her, his thick shaft rubbing against her and
spreading her pussy lips had made her feel incredibly hot, not to
mention the way he’d tugged and twisted her nipples…

Kate could feel her cheeks heating at the
thought. Then she realized she was just standing there, staring at
the drawer full of silky lingerie without choosing anything. She
could hear Rone moving around in the other part of the ship—soon he
would be back and she was still shy about letting him see her
naked. As if her thoughts had called to him, she heard his voice
coming down the hallway.

“
Baby? Are you almost
ready? I’ve got the course logged into the autopilot.”

“
Almost. Give me just one
more minute!” Kate called back.

Quickly, she grabbed an outfit at random and
pulled it out of the drawer. Dropping her towel, she scrambled into
it and pulled up the matching panties just before he walked in the
bedroom door. She stood quickly, smoothing down the soft material
of the short nighty she’d picked as his silver eyes roamed over
her.

“
Mmm, baby,” he murmured.
“You look beautiful.”

“
Do I?” Kate looked down
at herself, taking in the details of her outfit. It was a
jade-green silk top with spaghetti straps and it had a border of
white lace that ended just below her belly button. It also had
soft, lacy white cups that held her breasts and displayed her pink
nipples perfectly. The panties were matching jade green silk with a
white lace crotch that did little to hide her pussy lips. Kate had
to admit it was a pretty outfit—although much more revealing than
anything she’d meant to wear.

Oh God—look at me! I can’t
believe I’m putting this much skin on display!
Her heart started pounding faster and she had to fight the
urge to cross her arms over her breasts.

“
Are you all right?” Rone
asked, a look of concern in his silver eyes.

Kate lifted her chin. “Sure I am. Why do you
ask?” she said, hoping she sounded more confident than she
felt.

“
Because you’re
trembling,
Lalli.”

Rone crossed the room to her and took her in
his arms. At first Kate held herself stiff but then his warm,
masculine scent filled her senses and she felt herself melting
against him.

Safe,
the scent told her.
Good,
right…home.
It seemed to tease at the
corners of her mind, whispering about memories—things she’d
forgotten. But when Kate reached for them, they melted away. That
was all right, though. The main thing was that she felt safe with
the big Kindred—safe enough to let him do what needed to be
done.

“
Gods, baby, it’s so good
just to hold you again and feel you hold me,” he murmured into her
hair. “I love the feel of your soft little body against mine…your
sweet scent calling to me…”

Kate gave a shaky laugh. “I was just
thinking the same thing about you—that you smell really good.”

“
You’re probably smelling
my Mating Scent,” he said seriously, looking down at her. “I think
my body knows our bond was twisted or buried—the scent is an effort
to bring you back, to try and get us to reconnect.”

“
You mean by having uh,
bonding sex?” Kate had heard several of the Kindred wives talking
about that in their time aboard the Mother Ship and as far as she
could pick up, it was a kind of sex that tied a female to her
chosen Kindred for life. “Because I’m not quite sure I’m ready for
that, yet,” she told Rone. “Sorry.”

“
No, baby—that’s okay. We
won’t do anything like that tonight, I swear it,” he murmured,
stroking her cheek. “It’s enough for you to let me just taste you a
little bit. Like I said, just a few licks of your honey will help
hold back the Beast.”

“
Well then…” Kate
straightened her shoulders. “I guess we’d better, uh, get
started.”

“
We can. If you feel
ready.” He looked down at her, searching her eyes with his
own.

“
I think so,” Kate said,
trying to be honest. “I’m still a little nervous but I think I’ll
be okay.”

“
All right.”

He led her to the edge of the bed and got
her situated, sitting at the foot of it. Then, to Kate’s surprise,
he went to the closet and brought out a large, wedge shaped pillow
covered in dark blue cloth.

“
What’s that?” she asked
as he arranged it behind her back.

“
We used to use it a lot,”
Rone explained, making sure she was comfortable, half-reclining
against the blue pillow. “It’s so you can watch while I taste
you.”

“
You want me to…to watch?”
Kate bit her lip uncertainly. “Really?”

“
Really,” Rone said
firmly. “You need to see what I’m doing. It will help you feel in
control. Because make no mistake, Kate—you
are
in control. If you tell me to
stop, I’ll stop—I swear it.”

“
But…what about your
Beast?” she asked.

“
You let me worry about
that,” he said firmly. “The most important thing right now is for
you to feel comfortable. And for you to understand that I would
never,
ever
hurt
you.”

“
I…I think I’m beginning
to get that,” Kate said softly. He was kneeling at her feet and she
reached down tentatively and cupped his cheek. It felt slightly
scratchy and his skin was warm against her hand.

Rone turned his head and kissed her palm.
His silver eyes were so full of need and love and desire, Kate
caught her breath. What had she done to inspire this level of
emotion in such a man? The big Kindred looked at her as though she
was the most precious thing in the world to him.

“
Lallie,”
he murmured, and placed another kiss further up,
on the pulse point of her wrist. Kate felt her heart begin to race
as his warm lips caressed her gently. And then he was kissing even
higher, placing his lips on the inner bend of her elbow…and then
her shoulder…and then the sensitive side of her throat.

“
Hey,” she whispered
breathlessly as her pulse fluttered against his warm mouth. “I
thought…thought you wanted, uh needed, to kiss me
lower.”

“
I do but there’s no harm
in working our way up to it,” he murmured, giving her a little
grin. “Besides, I want to taste your sweet lips again…before I
taste your pussy.”

Kate felt her breath catch in her throat at
his soft words and the way he was looking at her with those
half-lidded eyes so filled with lust and need. And then he was
kissing her again, taking her mouth but so gently it felt almost
like a butterfly’s wings brushing against her lips.

He’s showing me,
she thought, hear heart pounding in her
chest.
Showing me exactly how he’s going
to taste me—proving how gentle he can be.

She kissed him back, surprising herself with
her eagerness. Rone was still kneeling on the floor before her and
it put their faces almost on the same level. She found she liked
that—liked the intimacy of being so close to him without having to
reach up.

Then Rone was kissing his way down her
throat again. He stopped when he got to her chest and rubbed his
cheeks against the inner slopes of her breasts, almost as if he was
marking her in some way. Kate shivered when she felt his hot breath
against her skin through the open-weave lace.

“
Mmm…I love your breasts.
So ripe and full…” His voice was a soft growl as he reached up to
cup her gently. “Love how tight your nipples get for me when I
touch you.” One long finger traced her right peak through the lace
and Kate had to bite back a moan. “Love how sensitive you are and
how you like having your nipples sucked,” he went on, looking up at
her. “Can I suck them now, baby? I think it would help to get you
warmed up for being tasted.”

“
I…um…” Kate wanted to say
yes but she still felt a little nervous, a little uncertain. She
remembered how good his tongue had felt on her while they were in
the exercise room at Flame and Frost but then she’d had a layer of
fabric between her skin and his mouth.

“
Just through the lace,”
Rone said, as if reading her mind. “Would that be all
right?”

“
Yes, I…I guess so,” she
whispered breathlessly. “I mean…if you want to.”

“
Always want to taste you,
baby,” he murmured. “Anywhere and everywhere—I love putting my
mouth all over your sweet little body.”

Kate tried to bite back a moan as he covered
one taut peak with his mouth. She expected him to suck or lick but
for a long moment, Rone just held her, bathing her nipple in his
hot breath without using his tongue at all.