Kissing Sin (5 page)

“Why not?”

“Because he prefers men.” And because he was my brother. I mean, that was illegal, not to mention icky.

Kade drained his coffee, and put it in the sink. “So, how long have we got before we’re rescued?”

“Four hours, at least.”

He raised an eyebrow. “So what do we do in the meantime?”

The look in his eyes set my pulse racing yet again. But I meant what I’d said earlier, and no matter how much my hormones might be pleading to be set loose, I just didn’t dare do it. No matter how good having sex with Kade promised to be—and I had no doubt that it
would
be good—it wasn’t worth the risk of recapture. “I think we should sleep. Or rather, take turns sleeping and keeping watch.”

“That’s boring.” He reached across the bench and untucked the end of the towel, his fingertips brushing heat across my skin. “Especially when there’s other things we could be doing.”

“Down boy.” I slapped his hand away and re-tucked the towel. “The last thing we need is to be attacked by big bad hairy things because we were too busy having sex to notice they were near.”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take. Especially for such a delightful piece of tail.”

I smiled. “Well, the piece of tail would prefer to wait until the danger is over.”

“Such a shame.”

“You could at least say that with a little more sincerity.”

His soft laugh sent goose bumps rippling. He leaned across the bench, and slowly, languorously, kissed me. “How much more sincere do you want me to be?” he said, after a while.

“I think”—the words came out all husky, and I quickly cleared my throat—“that
that’s
more than enough sincerity for the moment.”

“You sure I can’t change your mind?”

I was sure that he could, actually. Thankfully, he didn’t try. “Yes. So, who rests first?”

“Well, given I’m not going to be able to sleep until certain parts of my body relax, it’s probably better if you take the first shift.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And just how badly do these parts need relaxing?”

“This badly.” He stepped back, and that’s when I saw the stallion in all his proud glory. My mouth went dry. Obviously, the tent pole I’d viewed earlier had only been half-mast. Lord, he was
big.

“You’re right,” I said. “There’s not going to be much sleep happening with that hanging about.”

“If it was hanging about, it wouldn’t be such a problem.” His chocolate eyes twinkled lightly with the mirth tugging at his lips. “Go, before the temptation gets too much.”

I went. A few hours’ sleep was never going to be enough, but it was better than nothing. I did a changeover with Kade, and spent the next hour and a half alternating between drinking coffee and prowling the premises. There was nothing and no one around.

Maybe I was wrong about the orsini. Maybe they couldn’t track us as well as I thought they’d be able to.

I made myself yet another cup of coffee and leaned on the bench, warming my hands on either side of the cup as I stared out the main kitchen window.

Dappled light played across the yellowing grass, and in the shade along the fence line, daffodils bobbed. The forest beyond was filled with shadows, though sunlight danced amongst the leaves and cast occasional sprays of green and gold waltzing across the tree trunks.

There was nothing or no one moving out there. Nothing or no one moving in the house. And yet…

Unease stirred. And I had no idea why.

“Why the pensive face?”

I jumped slightly, and looked around as Kade came into the room. “I just realized I’ve used up all the instant coffee,” I said. “A very sad thing when you’re as addicted as I am.”

He stopped behind me, one brawny arm going around my waist, pressing his body against mine as he leaned forward and kissed my ear. “That’s very sad indeed,” he whispered, his breath so warm against my skin. “You want me to make you feel better?”

A smile twitched my lips. “You’re as insatiable as a wolf in moon heat.”

“Hey, I’m a randy stallion who hasn’t had sex for over two months, and I’m standing behind a woman who is both luscious and naked. What do you expect?”

“A little restraint until we’re safe, perhaps?”

“I
have
been restrained, sweetheart. Trust me on that.” His lips touched my spine, a butterfly kiss that was powerfully arousing. “So, who were you thinking about when I came in? A lover?”

“No.”

“But there is a lover who is causing some grief?”

“Yes.” I twisted around to look at him. “How did you guess that? Are you a telepath?” And if he was, how was he reading me? Quinn—the lover I’d mentioned before—couldn’t, and yet he was not only one of the most powerful vampires I’d met, but also one of the most powerful telepaths.

“No. Telekinetic. But I’m very good at reading women.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Just women? Not men?”

His smile was devilish. “I have no interest in men.”

And wouldn’t my brother be pissed at that. “So, what do you think you saw in my expression?”

“Regret.”

He
was
good. While I hadn’t actively been thinking about Quinn, those thoughts were always present, sitting at the back of my mind, waiting to pounce the minute I relaxed my guard.

“Tell me,” he added.

“Why?”

He shrugged. “Wolves aren’t the only ones who can be nosy.”

I looked away, studying the shadows beyond the fence line again. “He doesn’t like what I am.”

He brushed another kiss across my spine, but higher this time, closer to my shoulder. Goose bumps fled excitedly across my skin.

“A paper pusher?”

I smiled. “No, a werewolf. He thinks us little more than whores.”

“I’m betting he doesn’t think the same of your pack-mate.”

“According to him, it’s okay for men to sleep around.”

“Has to be a human.” Disgust edged Kade’s voice. “Because only they would say something dumb like that to a werewolf.”

I smiled. “He’s a vampire.”

He shrugged, something I felt rather than saw. “Same thing, as most vamps were once human and have all the old prejudices.” He paused. “You loved him?”

“I barely knew him.”

His touch trailed up my stomach until he’d reached my breasts. Lightly, teasingly, he began to pinch the engorged points. My breath caught somewhere in my throat, and my heart began to race. I knew I should move, should put an end to it now, before it went too much further, but somehow, I just couldn’t force the thoughts into action. Part of me—most of me—hungered.

“That’s not what I asked,” he said.

“No.” I hesitated. “And no, I didn’t. It’s just that there was something between us, something I wanted to explore. He refused, simply because I am wolf.”

“You don’t look the type to give up.”

“I’m not.” I
had
tried. I’d rung. I’d even met him for dinner a couple of times. But Quinn had made it patently clear he didn’t want anything more than what he’d already had. In the end, I’d walked away. As Rhoan had noted, it was Quinn who was the loser, not me.

“So why have you given up?”

“Because I’m far from desperate, and he’s not a wolf.”

“And you want children eventually?”

I nodded. “As I tried to tell him, I wasn’t after anything deep or everlasting. I just wanted to explore.”

“You know, I’ve found that jealousy works a whole lot better than trying to talk sense to people like that. Flaunt your conquests under his nose, and watch his pulse rate go up.”

His teeth grazed my shoulder, nipping lightly.
My
pulse skipped into race mode.

“Hard to make him jealous when he doesn’t even live in the same state.”

“Then forget him. He’s obviously a man who doesn’t know a true prize when he finds it.”

Amusement ran through me. “And you are?”

“Sweetheart, when I find a prize worth having, I grip on tight and ride it until it’s mine.” As if to demonstrate, he slid a hand down to my leg, his grip bruising. I barely had time to register it when his grip shifted and his thumb began to caress my inner thigh, sending little shivers of desire scooting across my body.

“This from a man who warned me, ever so gently, not to expect anything more serious than a good time?”

“If you were a horse-shifter, I’d pursue you until I won you, and you wouldn’t have a hope of ever leaving my herd.” His touch and his voice left me in no doubt as to his sincerity, and suddenly I felt a whole lot better about myself. After Talon’s betrayal, Misha’s probable involvement with the people behind my kidnappings, and Quinn basically dumping me, I’d been beginning to wonder if I’d had a sign on my back saying, “Stomp all over me, I love it.”

“Of course, you’re not a mare, so I’m just going to have to settle for a little fun.”

Amusement bubbled through me. “So the planned riding lessons will still be going ahead?”

“As soon as possible.”

Which would be
real
soon if I didn’t get my act together and move. Not that I did. His touch had finally moved up my leg and it just felt too good to end it all so soon. “So, how many offspring have you got in your herd?”

“None. The government shoves the same hormonal chip in us stallions as they do you wolves.” He hesitated. “Of course, the chip was taken out in that place, which means I’m more than likely fertile right now.”

“Then it’s just as well it’s extremely rare for interspecies breeding to happen.”

Of course, it
did
happen—I was living proof of that—so it was probably just as well I couldn’t get pregnant without medical help. In fact, I might not be able to get pregnant at all, if my latest tests came back like Rhoan’s.

He raised an eyebrow. “Then you’re not chipped either?”

“No.” It had been taken out over a year ago by Talon, and I’d never bothered getting it replaced. Couldn’t really see the point of it, when most of the docs considered me the werewolf version of a mule and felt it was unlikely I’d
ever
fall pregnant. “But it won’t matter. I have medical problems that prevent conception.”

“So we can play without worrying about consequences?”

It was becoming extremely hard to concentrate on what he was saying when his clever fingers were doing all sorts of wonderful things. “We most certainly…ohhh!”

He laughed and placed his large, warm hands on either side of my butt and lightly kicked apart my legs. “Sweetheart, you ain’t felt nothing yet.”

He thrust into me, sliding deep and hard, and I groaned in pleasure. He stilled, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the connection of flesh, the pulse of warmth deep inside. I knew, like he knew, that this wasn’t entirely wise. That it was dangerous to give in to pleasure when we were far from home, and far from safe. But danger is something of an aphrodisiac to a wolf, and I was a wolf who couldn’t remember feeling
any
sort of pleasure in over a week. I needed this as badly as a vampire might have needed blood.

He began to move, stroking long and deep, and any lingering reluctance dissolved into intense pleasure. The rich, low-down ache grew, becoming a kaleidoscope of sensations that washed through every corner of my mind, the intensity of which increased sharply as Kade’s tempo increased. All too soon the shuddering took hold as pleasure ripped through my body, my mind. I gasped, grabbing the bench for support, my cries of pleasure joining Kade’s as his own orgasm hit.

When the tremors finally eased, he laughed softly and rested his forehead against my back. “I think we both needed that.”

I smiled. “I think we did.”

He dropped a kiss on my shoulder, then wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled my back against his warm body. “Next time I promise to take more time.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but in that moment, I heard it.

The faint scrape of nail against concrete.

We were no longer alone.

Chapter 3

I
froze.

“What?” Kade asked immediately, his voice barely a whisper.

“Something’s outside.” I scrambled to the window, carefully peering out. Nothing moved in the yard. Nothing but sunlight danced in the shadows of the trees.

Yet something was out there. I was growing more and more certain of it.

I ducked past the window. “Check the back. I’ll check the living room and side.”

He left the room. I crept into the living room and peered out the windows. No creature crept across the lawn or hid in the nearby trees. I retreated to the bathroom.

And heard a familiar rumble.

It was one of the orsini. Against all the odds, it had tracked us here. I wondered how far behind human pursuit was.

I went to the bedroom and grabbed some clothes, but left the shoes. Not only because they didn’t look as if they’d fit, but because I didn’t really need them. My feet had thick soles thanks to the fact I only wore shoes when I had to, and I suspected Kade, as a horse-shifter, would be the same.