“I want to taste you,” was the murmured plea against her flesh.
Not the easiest thing to do in their bower with its blanket and tarp but she managed to lie down. He tugged her pants down enough that he could get to the treasure between her thighs.
At the first lick, she arched. By the second and third, she was thrashing. His tongue had a slight roughness to it that drove her wild. And when he slid a pair of fingers into her, she rode his hand, rode it until she came, crying out at the unexpected pleasure of it.
Reaching for him, trying to drag him closer. “I need you.”
“Later,” he murmured against her, still licking and stroking until she came again, even harder.
When she finally recovered her breath, it was to find herself wrapped in his arms, with him—
“Are you purring?”
“Yup.”
“Big cats don’t purr.”
“This tiger does. But only for the right woman,” he added, giving her a squeeze.
“The storm doesn’t look like it’s lightening again. Rather than spend another night in the sled, maybe we should try and find my house. We’ll get a fire going in the stove, and you can make me that peach dessert you promised,” she suggested as her stomach rumbled.
He stiffened, and his voice was a low rumble as he said, “We can’t, bella. Your house is gone. They torched it before leaving.”
“Gone?” she whispered. What of her things? Her books? Her clothes? For a moment, she almost cried, and then she remembered the important thing.
She was alive. This wouldn’t be first time she started over. “Guess I’d better hope they still have that room for me at the motel.”
“Or you could stay with me.”
Chapter 11
Too much. Too soon. He should have kept his mouth shut. A hint of panic lit Rilee’s gaze. Since he didn’t know how to counter it, he kissed her.
And kept kissing her. But rather than make love to her again, he held her close, listening to the wind as it died down that night.
When the skies cleared, his GPS activated, and he received a flurry of texts. His mother’s being the most strident.
A sleepy Rilee said, “She must be freaking. You didn’t call her two nights in a row.”
Actually, the more ominous thing was the lack of messages since the previous afternoon. He fired a quick one to his mother that simply said, “Alive. Busy. Will call when I can.” Then to Reid, “Have Rilee. Snow has stopped. Will see if sled still running. Trouble.”
He didn’t wait for a reply. It was time for them to move. But not before he kissed Rilee again.
She ducked her head. “Guess it’s time to return to the real world.”
Was she as reluctant as he was? Once they arrived, he knew they wouldn’t have much time together because the attack changed everything. However, he didn’t say any of that to Rilee because, after the intimacy they’d shared, it wasn’t how he wanted to start the day. They shoved their way out of their sled tent.
The world beyond remained mostly dark, the dawn only starting, meaning it was already late morning. He’d slept longer than expected.
Fresh snow coated everything, including the snowmobile, which was buried. The sledge they’d sheltered in was buried as well, which kept them insulated but would not allow them an easy departure.
When digging only buried it further, he had to admit defeat. “We’re going to have to walk.”
He sounded so unhappy. She put her hand on his arm. “It’s fine. Let’s get layered up.” Her kidnappers had at least somewhat dressed her for the elements, meaning she had boots and a coat, but no insulated pants.
He had full gear, but neither had snowshoes. Every step they took, they sank. Thigh deep in some places.
She grumbled, “This will take us forever.”
“I’ll send another message to Reid.”
She sighed. “Please don’t. Then I’ll have to listen to a lecture on how he warned me living out here put me at risk.”
“Then I guess there’s only one thing to do. Let’s see this infamous lynx.” He flicked snow at her.
The only real solution but for one problem. “I hate shifting in snow,” she grumbled as she stripped.
Whereas he quite enjoyed the show. In the confines of the sledge, he’d barely been able to see her, and he only got the quickest of glimpses before she turned into her cat. By the time she finished transforming, he’d also shed his clothing and was sniffing at the lovely lynx, with her gray and white coloring, fur as thick, maybe thicker even, than his own. Her tail was a short snappy thing. She uttered a playful yip before sprinting off.
It was on!
They raced through the trees, the silence broken only by the cracking of branches snapping under the weight of the snow and the occasional whoosh of snow as it fell in a clump. The crisp smell invigorated the lungs but was soon overshadowed by that of something burnt. Apparently, he had overshot his destination the night before. The shell of the cottage saw the lynx pausing for a gander before she ran off again, and since she knew these woods better than him, he followed.
Just outside of town, they ran into Boris patrolling the edge, sitting on a snowmobile, rifle in his lap.
He took one look at them and said, “Ah fuck. What happened?”
Given they were both cats it sounded like, “Rawr. Meow.”
Boris grunted. “No idea what that’s supposed to be. Let’s get some pants on you both and get you over to Reid’s office. You can borrow some of Jan’s stuff,” he offered.
Only Rilee shook her head and sidled closer to Mateo, which had Boris raising both brows.
“Oh. In that case then, figure it out, but make it quick. I can probably give you a half-hour, but don’t take any longer or shit might get ugly.”
A cryptic statement. Running down the recently plowed street, Mateo led them to the motel, where he had to change shapes and spend a naked second outside to open the door to his motel room. Never locked. What would they steal?
She stepped in and shifted, head ducked as if suddenly shy. He wouldn’t let her retreat from him, not after the progress they made. He shut the door behind him.
“Let’s get you into a hot shower.”
“Oh, that sounds heavenly!” Her expression brightened.
“I gotta ask, what did you do at your cottage to bathe?”
“In the summer, there’s a lake nearby. But in the winter, I melt snow into a tub and sponge wash mostly. Unless I come to town. Then I have a shower at Jan and Boris’s place.”
Turning on the taps, he stepped back to wait while the water warmed. Then he gave in to temptation and grabbed her ass. She glanced at him over her shoulder.
“Checking it for ripeness?”
“It’s too perfect to resist.”
“Liar.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m well aware I have a big butt.”
“I happen to think your ass is perfect.”
“It’s too wide.”
“Just right.” He squeezed it again. “If you only knew how many times I’ve imagined you bent over with this perfect ass up in the air, you wouldn’t argue.”
She didn’t argue, and the scent of her arousal filled the tight space. Her eyelids dropped to half-mast, and she licked her lips. Not immune to compliments. Good to know.