Touch of Temptation (21 page)

Could it be true?
she wondered, feeling even more lost than before.
Is the curse truly fading?

It seemed crazy, but Chloe couldn’t deny that she was afraid to believe the curse had finally come to an end. Terrified, actually, of getting her hopes up, when she’d gone into this thing with Kellan with her eyes wide open, knowing it was only short-term. But, God, that had been so much easier to accept before she’d spent so much time with him. Before she’d…before she’d lost her freaking mind and started falling in love with the complicated alpha.

Nearly stumbling over her own two feet, the truth of that statement hit her system with the stunning force of a nuclear explosion, and she took a deep breath, pressing a trembling hand to her fluttering stomach. Shivering with confusion, Chloe had almost reached the cave that held their tent, a small fire flickering within, when Gideon Granger stopped her. They talked for a few moments, and then she went inside, thankful for the privacy the cave provided, wanting a bit of time alone with her thoughts.

“What did he say to you?”

Unaware that Kellan had followed her in, Chloe spun around with a gasp. “Who?” she asked, lifting her hand from her stomach to press it against her pounding heart.

“The vampire.” He forced the words through his gritted teeth as he came to a stop a few feet away from where she stood, the small enclosure accentuating his height and muscular build.

Licking her lips with a nervous flick of her tongue, she said, “Gideon? He told me good-night.”

“That’s it?” he asked, his dark eyes burning with accusation.

Refusing to be intimidated, Chloe took another deep breath and crossed her arms over her chest. “Not that it’s any of your business, Kell, but he said that I reminded him of someone he’d known a long time ago.”

“Be careful around him,” he warned her, pushing one hand back through the thick, auburn strands of his hair. “His reputation’s even worse than mine.”

Choking back a breathless laugh, she said, “I honestly find that hard to believe.”

He took a step closer, his voice dropping to a dark, husky rasp. “And what about that little stunt you were pulling with Jamison?”

“What stunt?” she asked lamely, the heat in her face telling her she was blushing like an idiot. Chloe could tell by the look in his eyes that he’d been watching her the entire time.

His hair tumbled over his brow as he stepped even closer. The rich, delectable scent of his skin filled her head, their bodies nearly touching as he stared into her upturned face. “Are you trying to test me?” he demanded, the words soft, but rough, his chest rising and falling with each of his hard, ragged breaths. “Because I can tell you right now, it’s a bad idea. You’re gonna find yourself with a pissed-off wolf on your hands, and all he’s gonna care about is making sure you understand just who your little ass belongs to.”

“Oh? And who’s that?” she snapped, finding it strange that she could be so irritated and turned on at the same time.

“For now, it belongs to
me
.”

Her eyes went wide. “For
now?
God, Kellan. Do you have any idea how chauvinistic that sounds?”

Ignoring her question, he said, “I know what you were doing back there. And it didn’t work, did it?”

“I was just talking to him. Is that a crime?”

“You were flirting with him,” he snarled, taking hold of her shoulders. “Testing him. Christ, Chloe, I thought we settled this shit about the curse last night!”

Choosing her words with care, she stopped evading…and gave him an explanation instead. “This is a dangerous game we’re playing, Kellan. So yeah, I was testing him. I know it was wrong, and I’m not proud of it, but I need answers. After everything that’s happened, I’m too keyed up to just keep screwing around with you like this. I can’t explain why, but I feel like we have an axe hanging over our heads. Like something bad is going to happen.”

“The only thing that’s going to happen is you’re going to get stronger, because we’re going to make sure the Merrick keeps getting what it needs.”

“So you’re only here with me because of the Merrick?” she demanded with a burst of outrage.

“I’m here because I can’t keep away from you,” he growled, yanking her closer and suddenly covering her mouth with his. The demanding kiss was flavored with violence, stealing Chloe’s breath…stealing the troubled thoughts from her mind. With shaking hands, he ripped off their clothes and took her into the tent, quickly putting on a condom before pressing her down on the pallet. His hands were hard on her body, the man reduced to his raw, animal instincts, but she loved it. Loved the rough, graveled sound he made as he ran the damp heat
of his mouth along her jaw and down her throat, kissing his way across her chest. With his tongue swirling across a sensitive nipple, he rolled to his back, pulling her on top of him…then pulling her higher up his body. Chloe’s heart jolted into her throat the instant she realized his intention, but before she could stop him, she found herself straddling his face, his tongue lapping hungrily through her folds, and pleasure arced through her body with such stunning force that she had to cover her mouth with her hand to muffle her scream.

“Kellan,” she panted, when she could finally draw enough air to speak, barely able to hold herself upright, the hot glow of ecstasy melting her bones. “It’s too much…”

“Too bad,” he rasped, his rough breaths rushing against her sensitive flesh. “This time, Chloe, I’m not stopping until you’re coming in my mouth.”

“I can’t take it,” she sobbed, trying to hold herself together, but it was impossible. Anger melted into hunger, her worries into craving, and she lost herself, coming hard and fast, her arms curled over her head as hoarse cries spilled from her lips. Her body pulsed with blinding points of light and heat, and he growled with visceral satisfaction, keeping at her with his lips and tongue, his mouth deliciously greedy, letting her know that he got off on the explicitly intimate act every bit as much as she did. She was still coming, hard and sweet and heavy, when he tightened his hold on her hips and lifted her with ridiculous ease, the power in his muscular arms making her breath catch. Then he stole her breath completely when he pulled her down his body…and straight onto the throbbing head of his cock.

“Take me, Chloe. All of me,” he groaned, his fingers
biting into her hips as he waited, jaw clenched, for her to work her way down all those thick, vein-ridden inches. A choked gasp shook her chest when she’d finally sheathed him, her body stretched to its limits, her face tingling, blood pulsing in her earlobes and her breasts…in her fingers and her toes. Curving his hand around the back of her neck, he pulled her against his chest and rolled over, reversing the position of their bodies, his hips slamming against hers, shoving his cock so deep, she felt like he was in every part of her, taking up space in every cell of her body. His hand fisted in her hair, holding her, his eyes fever-hot and wild with need, glowing an unearthly blue, the sheer intensity of his gaze making it impossible for Chloe to look away. Watching her closely, he pulled back his hips, then rammed in, shoving himself deep, the slick, blistering friction too good to endure. He was going to kill her with pleasure, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to soak in every second of bliss, her fingers tingling as she ran her hands down the muscular length of his back, loving that animal-like play of muscle beneath his sweat-slick skin as he started riding her in a rough, grinding rhythm.

He made a hard, thick sound in his throat, and then his mouth was covering hers, the kiss raw, drugging her senses with pleasure. She climaxed, screaming, and he swallowed the keening sound, the orgasm catching her in an explosive rush, crashing over her in another shattering wave of ecstasy.

“You didn’t come?” she whispered against his throat, when she could finally catch her breath, realizing he was still hard inside her, feeling even bigger than before.

“Not yet,” he growled, wedging his hips tighter between her thighs. His soft lips touched the apple of her
cheek, as if tasting the heat of her skin, his muscles locking the instant he found the hot trail of tears slipping from the corner of her eye. “What the hell, Chloe?” He drew back his head so that he could see her face. “Did I hurt you?”

She shook her head, taking a shivery breath, trying to get it together.

“Then why are you crying?”

“Because it shouldn’t be this good!”

At first he didn’t say anything, a tremor moving through his big, muscular body as he held himself hard and still, packed deep inside her. And then he quietly asked, “Why?”

Chloe turned her face to the side, wishing that she’d never said anything, because now that the conversation had started, she knew it wasn’t going to end anywhere good.

“Damn it,” he growled, losing his patience. “Answer me.”

Quietly, she said, “This isn’t real, Kellan.”

“You’re wrong.” Bracing his weight on one forearm, he touched her chin, demanding she look at him, his eyes smoldering in the flickering shadows cast from the distant fire. “I told you before, this is as real as it gets.”

“You’re giving me your body,” she whispered, unable to stop her tears, “but…that’s it.”

His brows drew together over the burning blue of his eyes, his heart thudding heavily against hers. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Chloe licked her lips. “You’re holding yourself back from me.”

For a moment, he looked stunned, and then a grim,
breathless rumble of laughter shook his chest. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“I wouldn’t joke about this. And you’re wrong if you think I don’t know this sounds crazy. I mean, we only just met. I know that! And I know this wouldn’t be considered a normal conversation for a couple who only just started…doing whatever it is we’re doing, but damn it, nothing about this situation is normal.”

“Yeah, well, this doesn’t feel like holding back to me,” he grunted, his voice a guttural mix of anger and lust as he gave her another deep, devastating thrust, her body melting around him, clinging to his shaft.

Drawing an unsteady breath, she somehow managed to say, “I’m not talking about holding back when it comes to sex. I’m talking about holding back when it comes to
us
. I mean…look at us, Kellan. You’ve never once said anything about us continuing to see each other once we’re out of the Wasteland. How hard would it be to say ‘Hey, when this is over, maybe we should go out on a date sometime?’ But no. All you’re willing to give me is
this
,” she told him, wiggling her hips, “and that’s why I think it
has
to have something to do with the curse. Because I might not have your experience, but I’m not stupid. Men don’t make love to women the way you make love to me then talk about it only being for the moment.
For now
. That’s not how it works.”

“Christ, Chloe. In case you didn’t notice, this isn’t a bloody social outing. We’re on the run for our lives. It’s not like I’ve got time to sit and come up with a fucking five-year plan.”

“That’s not what I’m asking for,” she argued, shoving against his chest.

His nostrils flared, a muscle pulsing in the hard line of his jaw. “What do you want from me?”

“I don’t know,” she burst out. “I just…I need to understand what’s happening. Where this is going—or if it’s even going anywhere, so that I can prepare myself for what’s coming. Because if I’m not careful, Kell, I’m going to get in too deep. And I can’t help feeling that I’m the only one treading water here. That maybe we should step back a little and ease things off.”

F
EAR SHOOK HIM.

“No. I can’t…I can’t do that. I don’t want to lose you, Chloe. Damn it, I
won’t
lose you. Not yet.” The ragged words trembled with emotion, and he took her mouth, pouring everything into the kiss that he couldn’t put into words. She lay still beneath him for a heartbreaking span of seconds, then moaned, finally kissing him back, her arms wrapping around his neck, and his wolf silently howled with triumph, his fangs getting heavier in his gums, burning to be released.

God, he wanted to bite her so badly it was a physical ache in his gut, the wolf punching against his insides, demanding he do it. As if she were already spilling down his throat, he knew exactly how perfect her blood would be against his tongue…how hot and sweet and achingly addictive.

Since the moment Kellan had first met her, his feelings had been wrapped up in utter chaos—his cravings and fears battling for dominance. But now they’d coalesced into one seething entity. One fired by a hunger to have her and claim her that was unlike anything he’d ever known.

Possession.

He wanted every man out there to know exactly who her sweet little ass belonged to. Wanted it so badly he could taste it. It was only for Chloe’s sake that Kellan stopped himself from making the bite, because he couldn’t do that to her—couldn’t tie her to him when the odds were strong that he wouldn’t be around much longer. If he bit her, she would still feel the pull long after he’d gone. Spend the rest of her life aching for something that she couldn’t have. That was no longer within her reach.

Fighting the primal pull of the beast with everything that he had, Kellan pushed himself up on his straightened arms and raked his gaze down her slender, beautiful body, until he reached the intimate place they were joined. With hot eyes, he watched the way his cock stretched her, the heavy shaft gleaming with her juices as he thrust into her with deep, penetrating lunges, keeping the pace grinding and slow, knowing it would drive her crazy. Lifting his gaze, he watched the breathtaking swirl of emotion in her glowing eyes, needing that intense connection. Pressing deep, he held hard and tight inside her, loving the warm flush of color in her cheeks…the white flash of fang beneath the curve of her upper lip; their breaths ragged and loud, as if the air was too thick for their lungs; their bodies shuddering…pulsing, held on that knife’s edge of sensation. And then a low, predatory sound tore from his chest, and he broke, his fingers biting into her hips as he leaned back, pulling her over his spread thighs, pumping into her with a raw, savage rhythm that would have scared the hell out of most women, his wolf so close to his surface he had no doubt she could see it in his eyes.