The Sweetest Mercy (Sexy Shifter Shorts) (2 page)

Carter swore under his breath as he approached the cave. The best course of action would be to leave the female exactly where she was, keep watch from one of the trees uphill, and wait for Reece to return. But for the past hour or so, the female had been talking to herself and it was getting worse. Incoherent ramblings coupled with fits of laughter and dry, racking sobs. She was obviously unhinged. And whereas Carter wanted to wait it out, his lion was screaming,
Screw that shit!
His beast wasn’t waiting another second to get closer to that intoxicating scent.

Low, mewling cries echoed from the rear of the cave, causing the tiny hairs on Carter’s body to stand on end. The sounds were akin to an injured animal, surely nothing human. Logan had advised Carter to approach the female with caution, and from the sounds she was making, it was probably good advice.

From the outside, the cave looked like a large, hollowed-out rock. But once inside, Carter realized that it was more of a large crag: wider at the front and growing narrower toward the rear of the fissure. As he walked toward the rear of the crag, the ceiling brushed the top of his head and the narrow walls scraped against his shoulders. He abandoned his rifle and dug a Bowie knife out of the pack before leaving it behind as well. There was barely enough room for him in the cramped space, let alone all of his gear.

“Kiera?” he said into the darkness. That was her name, right? Shit, he probably should have written it down. “Your sister sent me. I’m going to take you back to Erica.”

The whimpers stopped and an uneasy silence descended. The problem in dealing with people who’d been traumatized was gaining their trust. He’d used her name and her sister’s name, hoping that the familiarity would put her at ease.

“I don’t know you.” Her voice was low, smooth and dark like a rich cup of coffee. It echoed in his mind as if she’d injected her words straight into his brain. With a jackhammer. Carter’s beast stirred, urging him forward toward the sound. “You don’t know my sister, either.”

Something about the levelness of her tone put Carter on high alert. A total contradiction to her earlier incoherent ramblings and keening cries, before him was a creature who should be approached with the utmost of caution. Too bad his lion didn’t agree. Usually, the duality of his nature didn’t bother him. Carter and his beast tended to operate in perfect synchronization. But from the moment they’d caught wind of the female’s scent, that balance between them had tipped to his beast’s favor. Caution was the last thing on his lion’s mind. He wanted to rush to the female. Comfort her. Protect her.

“You don’t know me,” Carter agreed as he approached the back of the large crevice where the female sat huddled against the granite wall of the cave. “And I don’t know Erica very well. I’ve only recently met her. But she
did
send me after you and I am going to get you out of here.”

He crouched down to her level, his preternatural eyesight taking in every detail of her delicate features through the darkness. Light auburn hair streaked with gold hung in tangled disarray, framing her heart-shaped face. Carter’s eyes wandered to her full lips and as if he couldn’t help himself, he licked his own, imagining their softness. Her cheeks were smeared with crusted dirt and her eyes… not quite blue, not quite purple. They reminded him of the wild lilacs that grew around his cabin in the spring.

“I’m going to cut your bindings, okay?” he said as he slowly brought the Bowie knife into her line of site. He had no idea what that twisted fucker Reece might have done to her and Carter didn’t want to further traumatize her.

Kiera’s eyes darted wildly as if she couldn’t penetrate the dark to see what Carter was doing. Interesting. Not all supes had enhanced senses like shifters and weres. Which begged the question: Just what had he gotten himself into?

EITHER KIERA WAS dreaming again, or she’d finally descended completely into madness. First of all, Erica had no idea where she was, so how could she have sent anyone? And secondly… the dark, smooth timbre of the voice speaking to her was just too delicious to be tied to anything in reality.

The darkness of the cave prevented even a glimpse of the man who knelt down beside her. But she could sense him nonetheless, his nearness sparking every nerve ending and causing a rush of excitement to coil in her stomach. Cold metal brushed her abraded skin and Kiera sighed at the cool comfort of it. A snick echoed off the walls of the cave as her bound hands were freed and she moaned as she rotated her wrists and massaged the numbness from her deadened nerves. Another snick and her ankles were freed as well.
Best. Dream. Ever
. The only thing that could make it better…

Something cracked and popped followed by a slushy liquid shake and a neon glow burst in her vision, causing Kiera to shield her eyes. When her eyes grew accustomed to the light, she looked up and her breath caught in her throat. Oh yeah. She was officially out of her mind. Or maybe even dead. Because the man staring at her with a bemused expression was nothing short of a god.

He barely fit in the cramped space he was so big. His shoulders were almost twice as wide as hers and tapered to a narrow waist. Eyes, dark as night and just as fathomless studied her with an intensity that almost distracted her from his chiseled jaw, rough with stubble, and his sharp cheekbones. A slight curve to his nose—no doubt from a break—and a scar that ran through one dark eyebrow and into his hairline at his temple, hinted that he might be something of a brawler. Kiera’s fingers itched to dive into the thick locks of his black hair. Would it be silky soft? Or coarse. If she was in fact dead, then she must have done something right in her life, because there was no doubt this male was about to take her straight to heaven.

Kiera shook her head as if to clear her muddled thoughts.
No. This isn’t real
. She’d lost count of the hours since she’d been made a captive, but her body told her that she was still in the grip of the full-moon. Her body clenched with lust, her heart pounded against her chest and her breath came in quick little bursts of air. Her senses were awash with pure male perfection and her body ached for him in a way that was almost painful. Reason seemed trite when her body urged—no,
commanded
—her to seek release with this man so obviously built for pleasure.

And damn it, she was going to do just that.

“What’s your name?” she asked, infusing her voice with power.

The man cocked his head to one side and his brow furrowed as he studied her. Of course, if this was just a by-product of her madness, an illusion sent to torture her. Her wiles wouldn’t work on an illusion, would they? Her voice wasn’t the only weapon in her arsenal, though. She was a woman after all and he was a man. Insanity could mess with her mind all it wanted. But crazy or not, Kiera was taking control of the situation.

“Carter,” he responded in that oh-so delicious voice. “Carter Hayes. I’m here to help you, Kiera.”

Chapter Three

CARTER’S BEAST GROWLED in his psyche, worked up to a frenzy. The tight space left little room for movement and even less opportunity for a breath of fresh air. And right now, he was damned near suffocating on the heady perfume of Kiera’s lust.

His beast and his body joined against his mind and it was the worst kind of mutiny. The granite ceiling seemed to close in on him as Carter tried to stand and his erection pressed uncomfortably against his fly. Of all the times for his hormones to take over… Gods, you’d think he was some unseasoned cub with his first female, not an old-as-dirt killer with years of experience under his belt.

“Let’s go, Kiera.” He backed out the way he came, wary to turn his back on her. Seriously, what did he expect her to do? Jump on his back and tackle him to the ground? From the way her eyes glazed over with lust, it wasn’t exactly a far-fetched notion. And
why
did he find that sexy as hell? “We need to get out of here. Now.”

She advanced on him. Slowly. Each step placed with precision. Her gaze locked on his and she licked her lips. His cock pulsed in his jeans as if anxious to be put to use.
Not the time
or
the place
, he reminded himself. No matter how tempting she might be, Reece could return at any moment and Carter did not want to be caught with his pants down. Figuratively or literally. But gods, her scent was driving him crazy, and the way her hips swayed as she walked made him wonder what it would be like to hold those curves in his hands as she rode him.
Whoa
. Carter gave himself a mental shake.
Do
not
go there
.

Walking backward is never ideal, but still, Carter was surprised when his foot caught on large rock. He fell backward, his ass smacking on the dirt, the jolt of the impact sending the lightstick flying behind him somewhere. Kiera knelt at his feet and Carter couldn’t help but breathe in a deep lungful of her scent. It reminded him of flowers in full bloom at the peak of their sweetness. His lion purred in his psyche and Carter suppressed a groan. Gods but she was tempting. But she should have been scared half to death and running for safety by now, whether or not she was in the grip of some sort of hormonal surge. Why was she so damned calm? And why would she take the time for a quickie with a total stranger?

Who cares? A niggling voice in the back of Carter’s mind said. He’d gone so long without female companionship of any kind. Years.
Decades
. Did he even remember how everything worked? His erection strained painfully against his fly. Probably like riding a bike. But this was not the place for a test drive, damn it.

Kiera leaned forward and unfastened the button of Carter’s jeans. Her gaze didn’t leave his as she eased down his zipper and worked his pants down over his hips. As if he had no control over his body, Carter raised his hips, making it easier for her to get his jeans down around his ankles.

“Kiera, wait!” he said, a grain of sanity invading his mind. Jesus, what in the hell was he doing? The female was obviously unhinged. He couldn’t take advantage of her in this situation.

As if she hadn’t heard him she took his cock in her hand and stroked, causing Carter’s hips to buck involuntarily. Ah, gods, her touch was like silk, and it felt so damned good.

“Carter.”

Her voice resonated in his mind as if she’d crawled inside his head. The sound distracted his beast for a moment; no doubt it would rile his lion to have more than the two of them rattling around in his noggin. But, to his surprise, his beast purred at the intrusion, relishing the sound like a house cat rolling around on a pile of clean clothes. Well, wasn’t that just awesome?

“Kiera, I think we need to… ah… talk,” he panted as she continued to stroke him. His back bowed as he arched into her touch. It had been so long since a female touched him this way. He missed it.

“For an illusion, you’re sure uncooperative,” Kiera mused. She leaned over him, her warm breath caressing the head of his cock. Carter groaned as her tongue flicked out, circling the crown.

“Do that again,” he commanded. Wait.
What?
Jesus, he was supposed to be stopping her, not egging her on.

“Mmm. That’s better,” she all but purred as she lapped at him again. But this time taking him fully into her mouth and sucking gently.

For all he knew this could be a set up. Kiera could be suffering from some crazy Stockholm Syndrome and seducing Carter into a mindless state so Reece could come in and run a silver dagger through his heart. Kiera continued to work her mouth over his cock and all rational thought fled Carter’s mind like leaves blown in the wind. He reached out for her, wanting to thread his fingers through the tangles of her hair but stopped short. Though mindless with lust, he needed to be able to react if this was indeed an ambush. Because really, how could it be anything else? Carter might have let his lion’s need take over, but that wasn’t to say he’d throw caution completely to the wind. After all, someone had to watch out for their fool neck.

The wet warmth of her mouth was like heaven, gliding over his erection in a steady rhythm that had him pumping his hips just to get a little deeper. Kiera cupped his sac, pulling gently as she moaned and the vibration coupled with the new sensation of her hand as it worked his flesh was just… fucking… awesome.

He didn’t give two shits if this was an ambush. There were worse ways to die.