Freedom in the Smokies (5 page)

Interesting. Two people destined to be together and neither of us wants this
. “Good. So you agree this won’t work.” Why did
that
idea not sit well with her either?

“I didn’t say that. I said the timing was bad.” He leaned closer as he spoke, his voice dropping in pitch and volume. The deep sound resonated through her. Only inches separated them. “What makes you think this won’t work?”

“I’ve seen too many failed relationships in my life. Every generation it seems. I don’t want that,” she replied.

“Wolves don’t fail in their relationships.” He narrowed his gaze. “I don’t think you have to worry.”

Now
he
was sending mixed messages. It almost sounded as if he wanted to mate with her. What was his
problem?

“I’ll worry about what I want. You never answered my question…what’s wrong with the timing?”

“It’s not safe here. I hate telling you this, but it’s a fact. I was pissed when I found out they’d hired you even before we met. My family knows better. And you being my mate makes it even worse.”

“’Kay, I’m gonna point out that whatever you just said made no sense. What the hell are you talking about?”

“There is a…predator…on the loose. And he’s not above murder. I don’t want anyone in harm’s way. And certainly not my mate. If you had any sense at all, you’d leave here and never look back.”

“Are you crazy? What kind of predator? Do you know how perfect this job is for me?” She shook her head. Plus, a part of her deep down knew she couldn’t leave now if she wanted to. She could resist all she wanted, but she knew how matings worked and Micah’s pheromones had already done a number on her. Besides the way she reacted to him sexually, she knew a lot about wolf mates. She’d seen several claimings in the last decade. Mated wolves adored each other. She’d give anything to have someone love her the way she knew wolf mates did. Nope. It wasn’t just the sexual draw. Kaitlyn knew this man would take care of her for life.

“Not the human kind.”

She tried to concentrate on the conversation. “Another wolf?”

“God, how I wish you didn’t have to hear this. But no. There are…others.”

“Other what?”

“Other supernatural beings. Can we leave it at that?”

“Fuck no. We can’t leave it at that.” Did he really think she’d agree to drop the subject?

Micah stared at the floor. He inhaled deeply several times. Suddenly he grabbed her thigh.

Kaitlyn jerked as the heat of his touch shot through her. Warmth spread into the space between her thighs. She couldn’t avoid his touch and if truth be told, she really didn’t want to. She was well and truly trapped by fate.

“God. Son of a…” He released her and stared at his palm as though she’d burned him.

When his gaze returned to hers, she held her breath. Talk about predators. Micah Durham was stalking her with his eyes. He looked as if he wanted to devour her, and unfortunately, she suspected she would like it.

“Our connection is strong. You smell so goddamn good.” He paused before he said, “Please tell me to get out. Tell me you’ll pack up and leave right this minute and never look back. I can’t stand the idea of you being in danger. It grips my chest and squeezes the air out of my lungs.”

God, she wanted to comply. Intellectually, she wanted to run from the room, leave her stuff, jump in her car and drive away like a bat out of hell. But she couldn’t. “I…I…I can’t.”

She touched his cheek with a shaky hand. A charge went up her arm and into her torso, as though she’d plugged herself into an outlet. The connection lit her up inside. She wanted more. She wanted him inside her, on her, surrounding her. Even though she was human, his mating hormones drove her to lean toward him. She trembled. Too many clothes. Her skin crawled from the contact of her shirt, her jeans, her bra…

Whatever doubts she’d had, whatever reservations she’d held about men for her entire life, flew out the window. They didn’t apply to this man. “I can’t leave. Not now.”

Micah brushed his face over her hand. “Crazy woman,” he whispered. He turned until his lips seared her palm. “Are you always going to be this stubborn?”

“Undoubtedly.” She smiled and uncurled her legs to scoot closer to him. “If you were hoping for someone passive, you’re out of luck.”

She thought he’d laugh at her attempt at humor, but instead he looked her in the eye. “We’ll see about that.” The next second his mouth was on hers. How had she lived without this? Without him?

Oh hell
. The electrical connection switched voltage from 120 to 240 in two seconds. When their lips connected, every cell in Kaitlyn’s body came alive.

She grabbed Micah’s face with her other hand and held him to her as though he might escape if she didn’t attach herself to him. Micah wrapped one arm around her and tugged her closer until she barely sat on the edge of the window seat. He remained on his knees and squeezed himself between her legs.

Kaitlyn moaned into his kiss. It instantly went from gentle to steamy. When he tipped his head to one side and licked the slit between her lips, she opened to him, dying to know his taste and explore him.

Someone moaned. Kaitlyn opened her eyes when the silence broke. Had it been her voice she heard?
Oh God
.

Her body trembled under Micah’s touch. With a final lick, he broke the kiss and nibbled his way to her ear. “Wow,” he whispered. “That’s…powerful.”

Kaitlyn tilted her head, giving him more space. Even though he was tucked between her spread legs and their torsos were smashed against each other, it wasn’t enough. She wanted more. And that frightened her.

The feelings coursing through her were overwhelming. The intense need to let him claim her scrambled her brain and scattered all the cells in different directions.

Kaitlyn gripped his shoulders and squeezed. The pressure might help ground her. Something tangible amidst the crazy.

“Kait…” Micah licked a line down her neck until he reached her shirt. “If this is too much…” He gripped her biceps now, held her steady while his lips tortured her neckline. “If you need me to stop…”

She ignored his feeble attempts at being a gentleman. Neither of them could stop this avalanche from spreading down the mountain any more than they could voluntarily stop breathing. Although she wasn’t sure when she had last taken a gasp of air into her lungs.

“Is it always like this?” Her voice was husky, and didn’t sound like her own.

“What, baby?” He pulled back a few inches and gazed into her eyes. “Sex?” He shook his head. “No. This is a mate thing. And it’s…wow…”

Kaitlyn giggled. “Wow? Best you can come up with?”

Micah didn’t laugh. He leaned his forehead against hers, bringing their eyes closer. “Kait? Are you a virgin?” He inhaled long and slow waiting for her answer.

Kaitlyn paused. “Does it matter?”

He shook his head. “Not a bit. But I want to take things slow…er than my body is demanding if this is your first time. You seem a bit timid and…I want to make it special for you.”

She narrowed her gaze. “So if I’m not a virgin, your intention is to strip me and fuck me fast? And if I am, you’re going to take seven extra seconds?” She was teasing him now and couldn’t keep the grin from spreading across her face.

Micah bristled before he saw her face. “Imp.”

“How about if you treat me like you intend to forever, so I’ll know what to expect in general?” Now she had to bite her lip to keep from chuckling. Although part of her was serious. She didn’t relish the idea of letting him know that was her first kiss, let alone the fact that no man had ever touched her the way he had already.

Am I embarrassed?
A twenty-two-year-old woman with no sexual experience?
Or am I so horny right now I want him to fuck me as fast as possible?

He narrowed his gaze at her and kissed her gently on the lips. “Tell me. It matters to me,” he murmured.

Kaitlyn nodded. Then she tipped her head back and stared at the ceiling. She was really going to do this. This…this…thing she never ever wanted to explore. And not only was she going to have sex, but she was going to keep doing it with this man who was already tipping her world upside down and dumping the contents out on the floor for all the world to see.

Her soul felt bared. All her private thoughts and secrets that had never been shared with anyone were about to spew out by osmosis. She leveled her stare back on the man waiting for her to gain control. “You’ll be in my mind after, right?”

“Yes. Do you have deep dark secrets?” He smiled.

She furrowed her brow and nodded. “Some, yes.”

Micah sobered. “Baby, whatever is in your past is just that, past. We’ll work through it together. Besides, the connection is more of a communication thing. It’s not as though I will suddenly be privy to everything you’ve ever thought or done. Only the current things you project my way. And even that you’ll learn to block, when you want.”

That sounded better than what she’d assumed from conversations with the wolves on her farm.

With his brow furrowed, Micah stared into her eyes. “If you understand about mating, you must realize this is a forever sort of thing. Once I claim you, it can’t be undone. At least not without both of us suffering miserably. I’m yours, you’re mine. That’s kind of the way it goes. Don’t make this decision lightly.”

Kaitlyn inhaled slowly. She shook her head to clear it. She’d never done anything this rash in her life. Where had her senses gone? Logically, she knew she should walk away. But her heart and soul told her she belonged right here with Micah, even if it was the craziest decision she’d ever make. “Won’t we both suffer if we don’t mate?”

“Yes, but I don’t want you going into this thinking it’ll be just the same after. It won’t. My brothers have assured me of that. After the claiming, being apart would be unbearable.”

“I see.” She did. And yet, Micah looked at her with such gentle eyes. He didn’t move. His patience filled her with courage. She knew beyond doubt even though she knew very little about Micah and had spent only a handful of minutes with him, she would never meet anyone in her life who could compare. It felt more right than any choice she’d ever belabored. He wanted her. His protective arms wrapped around her in a way that made her feel safe, cared for.

Could she do this? Be someone’s everything? What if she sucked at relationships like everyone she knew in her family? She’d had only dysfunctional examples in her life.

She could start fresh. She didn’t have to be like her mother or her grandmother. She could break that chain right now. “I’m not leaving.”

A grin spread across Micah’s face. “You’re more courageous than I thought.”

“Don’t forget that.”

“You know I’d lay down my life for you, right? That’s the power of the mating.”

She nodded. It shouldn’t make sense, but it did. He was sincere. This was for life.

Micah stood and took her hand. “Come.”

Kaitlyn obeyed, allowing him to tug her across the room toward her bed. When he reached the edge he stopped and she ran into the back of him. “On second thought…” he turned toward her, “…my bed is bigger and you’re never sleeping in this room again, so…” He pulled her again and headed for the door.

She glanced around at the room she’d occupied for all of one night and barely more than a day. Somehow, the act of walking out that door and down the hall was monumental to her. Definitive. A decision she hadn’t expected to ever make.

As they slipped into the hall, Micah flipped the switch inside her room, leaving them in darkness. She could hear noises coming from the living area. Laughter. She shivered. It dawned on her that they knew. They all did. They had to. “Everyone…?” she muttered in the silence of the dark hall.

“They know. It’s not as though I could keep this to myself. I had a full tantrum earlier when I realized you were my mate.” He guided her to the next door and into his room. A faint glow from his adjoining bath was the only light. As she glanced around, she took in his world, his signature. He was a fan of black. Black leather chairs and a love seat in his sitting area. Black comforter tossed haphazardly across his king-sized bed. The wood of his furniture was a dark mahogany.

She jumped as the door snapped shut. She turned around to face him as he stepped closer. “Are you going to lock that?” She bit her lip…again. It was starting to smart.

“No one would dare venture down this hall tonight, but if it makes you feel better…” He reached behind him and turned the lock.

That final noise sealed her fate.

Chapter Five

Micah took her lips, his hand gentle on her shoulders as he pressed her to walk backward. The kiss deepened, as it had earlier. In seconds, all she knew was his taste. The mint of his toothpaste overshadowed his personal flavor.

When the back of her legs hit the bed, she stiffened involuntarily.

“Relax,” he muttered against her mouth. “I’m not going to maul you. At least not this time.” His voice calmed her racing heart while his hands soothed her, stroking her back.

She swallowed. “The problem is…I think I want you to maul me.”

He chuckled. “One thing at a time. I intend to make you want to be mauled without a doubt, baby.” He reached under the back of her T-shirt and flattened his hands on her bare skin.