Shadow's Awakening: The Shadow Warder Series, Book One (An Urban Fantasy Romance Series) (21 page)

Never in his long life had he expected to find this connection with another being. Once, years before, he’d thought he’d found a woman he might build a life with. His relationship with Marie, a fellow Warder, had begun as convenient sex, grown into unexpected possibility, then ended in death and betrayal. And back then he hadn’t felt a fraction of what he was feeling for Hannah. No question, Conner was setting himself up for a huge fall.

Just touching Hannah was different. Where his fingertips rested against her skin, Conner felt heat and connection. As if something inside him was reaching out to touch something deep inside her. Either it hadn’t manifested before they’d had sex, or he somehow hadn’t noticed. Whatever it was, it had made the sex better than he’d ever imagined. Not just lust or passion. It had been all that and more. He’d been making love to Hannah with his whole self, everything inside him, and she’d returned the same.

Now that he was aware of the energy passing between them, Conner couldn’t keep his hands off her. Maybe this was what touching any Shadow would be like, but somehow he didn’t think so. This wasn’t happening because of her genetics. It was happening because it was Hannah. She was smart, looked like an angel and had the kind of strong spirit that allowed her to survive a life of captivity and emerge whole instead of broken. For the first time in his life, Conner’s soul relaxed. He had so little time with her, Conner knew he was going to enjoy it. To hell with the rules. This one time, Conner was taking what he wanted. And fuck the consequences.

Pushing his reservations to the back of his mind, Conner rolled to his side and studied Hannah’s sleeping form. She still lay on her front, head pillowed on her hands. Her breasts plumped out at the sides in pale half moons, legs slightly spread. If he was a nicer guy, Conner acknowledged, he’d let her sleep. Hannah probably hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in months. But she could sleep when she was safe with the Shadows. Conner had her now and he wasn’t wasting another second.

His fingers stroked down her lower back again, this time continuing over the curve of her ass to dip between her legs. Neither of them had cleaned up before they’d passed out. She was slippery with her own moisture and his. Conner circled her entrance, then dipped two fingers inside. Tight, wet and scaldingly hot, she sent a rush of blood to his cock. Still mostly asleep, Hannah squirmed, letting out a kitteny moan.

Hannah woke gradually to the gentle stroke of Conner’s fingers on her spine. It took a few minutes before her brain came back online. She’d never had sex that intense before. It had thrown her completely off track. Hannah wasn’t sure if she’d fallen asleep or passed out after her blinding orgasm. Drifting in half sleep, enjoying the sensation of Conner’s fingers sliding over her spine, Hannah was taken by surprise when his hand skated over her ass and dropped between her legs.

She was embarrassingly wet. If she’d been a little more awake, Hannah would have jumped up and run to the bathroom. As it was, she couldn’t seem to do more than slide her legs another inch apart to make room for Conner’s hand. Her arousal, which she would have sworn had burned out, flared back to life. Hips squirming against Conner’s thrusting fingers, Hannah let out a moan and opened her eyes. Conner stared at her, taking in the flush on her cheeks. Her eyelids drooping with lust, Hannah met his gaze. Already her breath was coming in pants.

“I told you you’re beautiful when you come,” Conner said in a low voice. “You’re also beautiful right before you come. I want to see it all again. I want you to come for me.”

His fingers swirled inside her, drawing another long moan. Hannah almost couldn’t think through the need. Her hips rocked into his hand, driving him deeper inside her. His fingers stretched her to the point of pain, and still she wanted more. But not like this.

The last time Conner had done all the work, taking Hannah along for the ride. And it had been an amazing ride. This time, Hannah wanted to be the one in charge. She wanted to give to Conner what he’d given to her. With a deep breath, she rolled away, pulling free from his hand. He shifted to drag her back, reaching across the bed. Hannah twisted to the side and came up on her knees facing him. Conner’s eyes glazed at the sight of her naked body. Taking advantage of his distraction, Hannah scooted toward him and slid her leg over his hips, straddling him.

Leaning down, she whispered in his ear. “My turn,” Hannah said, ending with a sharp nip to his earlobe in an echo of the bite he’d given her on the couch earlier. She dragged her wet core over his cock, smiling in feminine triumph as he strained for her heat. Raising her hips, she found his length with her hand. He was thick, hard and hot. Hannah held him in a firm grip, amazed she was able to take him. Like silk over steel, she could have stroked his cock forever. But she wanted him inside her. With a last squeeze, Hannah moved him against her and slid back down, filling herself with his cock.

“Hannah,” Conner groaned. “So fucking good.”

He reached for her. Hannah didn’t know if he was going for her breasts or her hips, but she didn’t want to give up control yet. She grasped his hands with hers, linking their fingers. “Let me,” she said, rocking her hips in a slow rhythm, dragging herself almost to the tip before she sank back down, taking him deep. “Just for a few minutes, let me.”

Conner gripped her hands in a tight squeeze, and lay back. As it had before, the connection between them flared wherever they touched. Hand to hand, a current of energy grew between them, ebbing and flowing in the same rhythm as Hannah’s driving hips, the heat growing with each thrust.

Hannah leaned forward, drawing her breasts across Conner’s chest. When he moaned in appreciation, she did it again, lightly abrading her nipples against his chest hair. She didn’t think she could get any more aroused, but the gentle scrape of hair on her over-sensitive nerve endings pushed her to the edge of control. The stark flush on Conner’s cheekbones didn’t help to calm her down. Moving her hips faster, Hannah rose up and arched her back, bringing their still-linked hands to her round breasts. Conner sensed what she wanted, releasing her fingers to fill his hands with her. She heard her own cry as if from a distance.

Control drained away when Conner cupped her breasts in his strong, hot hands, sliding them around to tug on her nipples. Hannah ground her hips harder into Conner’s, driving his cock as deep as she could get it. He was bigger than either of her previous lovers, by a lot. It almost hurt to take him this deep, the stretch just over the limit of pain. She could have eased off, could have pulled back. But along with the twinge of stretching pain was a pleasure so profound Hannah had never imagined anything like it.

A squeeze to her breasts, a growl of her name and Hannah’s time on top was over. Conner flipped Hannah to her back, spreading her legs wide with his hips. His lips came down on hers in a hungry kiss that vibrated with their moans. Hannah gripped his back, aware that she was digging her nails into Conner’s skin and unable to stop. Legs wrapped around his hips, she met his thrusts, holding tight as white hot pleasure exploded. Her rhythmic contractions on his cock sparked Conner’s own release. With a rough groan, he followed her into orgasm.

This time, Hannah managed to stay conscious through the orgasm and its aftermath, though she didn’t have the energy to move. Conner lay half on top of her. When he moved to shift to the side, she tightened her legs and arms, holding him close. Sweat fused their bodies together, something that normally would have had Hannah eager to get up. She didn’t want to clean Conner off of her. She wanted him right where he was; as close as he could be, heartbeat thumping against hers, his cock still inside her.

“I’m crushing you,” Conner whispered in her ear. He rolled them, settling on his back with Hannah still plastered to him. It seemed he didn’t want any distance either. Hannah smiled in contentment.

She drifted again for a few minutes in a tired, pleasured daze, head pillowed on Conner’s hard chest, enjoying the absent stroke of his fingers through her hair. She hadn’t had time to take in his room when he’d brought her in earlier. Now she saw that it was bigger than the room he’d given her, with a huge bed framed in golden pine, topped with a colorful quilt that looked hand-sewn. Wide-plank pine floors like those in the rest of the house were covered with rag rugs in more bright colors that matched the quilt perfectly. Two sets of double windows opened to the trees, letting in beams of sunlight.

She liked that they could lie here, almost surrounded by the forest, without worrying about neighbors seeing in. It felt like they were lying in the woods with no walls or roof above them. Except with a much more comfortable bed. Shifting against him, Hannah mused that Conner made the most comfortable bed she’d ever lain on. A hell of a lot better than the twin bed in her old bedroom.

“Am I too heavy?” she murmured. Conner’s arm tightened over her waist in response.

“No. You’re perfect. I like you right here.”

“Good,” she said.

His cock had softened and slipped from her body, making her aware that she really needed to get to the bathroom to clean up. The thought of leaving Conner’s embrace was like tearing off a limb. Now that their bodies had been sated, the fiery connection between them had dimmed to a soft glow, but it was still there. Everything had happened so quickly, they hadn’t spoken of it. Hannah knew it was time to talk.

“Conner?” she asked, voice low.

“Mmm?”

“I’m not sure how to put it…how to ask… When you touch me it feels different.” Hannah felt a flush rush through her as she realized how that sounded. Her words spilled out in an awkward rush. “I mean, of course you’re different. But this is really different. I can feel you. Your energy. The way I could feel Glenn and the others, but not bad. It’s good. I feel it when you touch me. I didn’t notice it before, but now…”

Conner didn’t say anything, just continued to stroke her hair, his breathing deep and even. Had he fallen asleep? Or was he trying to think of a kind way to let her know that this hadn’t been any different for him than good sex would be with any other woman? Maybe it hadn’t even been that great for him. Maybe Hannah was so tied up in how it had felt to her that she didn’t notice he was just going through the motions. Hannah wished she’d left it alone. Uncertain, she tried to shift away. Conner’s arms tightened, keeping her pressed against him.

“Conner?” she asked, fear and anxiety dropping her voice to a whisper.

“I feel it too,” he said. “I don’t know what it is. Never felt anything like it. Almost like you’re sharing your energy with me, but it’s coming from me at the same time. Since I noticed it, it hasn’t gone away, just gotten stronger when we were having sex.”

“But you can still feel it now?” Hannah ventured.

“Yeah. You too?”

“Not as strong as before when we were…but still there. You don’t know what it is?”

“No,” Conner said, his fingers still threading through the long strands of her hair. “Maybe it’s because you’re a Shadow.”

“Do you think that’s what it is? Is it going to go away?”

At that, Conner slid his hands to the front of her shoulders, lifting her to meet his eyes. His face was unexpectedly grave, considering the gentle tone of his voice.

“Is that what you want? For it to go away?” he asked.

“No,” she said. She never wanted to lose this feeling. It was as if she had a little piece of Conner tucked away, deep within her where no one could ever take him from her. She’d only known him a few days, but it was enough. He was hers, as impossible as their situation might be. Conner would always be hers.

Hannah’s mother had fallen for Hannah’s father in one afternoon. She’d bumped into him rushing to get to an elevator, met his eyes and known. They’d both ridden past their floors, gone out to lunch and married a few months later.

Hannah had always loved that story, but she’d never understood. It had seemed so irresponsible—why hadn’t he just gotten her number? Shouldn’t they have dated for longer before getting married? Hannah had assumed they were lucky to beat the averages and stay together. Now she knew exactly what her mother felt.

Hannah barely knew Conner. Worse, they had begun this knowing they would have to separate, and soon. None of that seemed to matter. A part of him was hers and she was going to treasure the bond tying them together.

“No,” she said again, in a more level tone. “I don’t want it to go away. It feels good.”

Conner relaxed his head back down to the pillow and resumed stroking her hair. “Yeah, it does. I don’t think it’s just because you’re a Shadow. I think it’s because you’re you,” he said.

Hannah felt something inside her, a protective wall she hadn’t been aware of, melt away.

She relaxed into the hypnotic sensation of his fingers in her hair, her body anchored to his by the heavy arm he’d wrapped around her waist. Part of her never wanted to move again. And part of her was becoming increasingly aware that she needed a shower. Or at least a wet washcloth. In the light breeze from the partly open window sticky sweat was drying on her skin.