Branded by Lust: 4 (Night Seekers) (3 page)

“Everything is beautiful.” She ran her hand along one of the
bedposts, feeling its satiny finish. “You can tell he takes a lot of care with
this.”

“The bathroom’s through that door.” He pointed. “I’m sure
Eve, John’s wife, has it well stocked with towels and whatever else you might
need. Do you have an alarm? We’ll need to get an early start.”

“Yes. I have one I always travel with.”

“Good. Well then.” He stood by the door as if suddenly
uncomfortable. “Set it for six. I’d like to get an early start.” He paused.
“Good night.”

“Good night.” She smiled at him. “See you in the morning.”

She closed the door after him, wondering what had been
running through his mind. What was behind the intense gaze that he suddenly had
focused on her just before leaving the room? The same thing she was thinking?
Here they were, alone in this house? With maybe a chance to act on what had
been simmering between them since Maine?

She’d been attracted to other men, had a couple of lovers,
but nobody had ever made her body sing with just a glance the way Logan Tanner
did. One glance from him and her pussy clenched and her nipples ached. She
always worried that he could sense her reaction.

He hadn’t made one move while they were in Maine and there
certainly had been opportunity. It wasn’t as if they had all been crowded into
a dormitory. Everyone had their own rooms at the motel. And Sophia’s evening
trysts with Clint were no secret among the four of them. Maybe Logan just
hadn’t felt comfortable about asking her into his room with her sister next
door, despite Sophia’s own agenda. He could always have invited himself to her
place for a cup of coffee. For starters. But maybe he just wanted private time away
from both her sister and the others he knew.

Whatever
.

Her subtle overtures had gone no place, which was one of the
major reasons she’d been so thrilled to get the invitation from Craig Stafford
to join Night Seekers. Being partners with Logan on this assignment was a huge
bonus. She had gotten to know Logan pretty well in Maine but she was unsure of
his feelings toward her. They still had to work this case together here.

She didn’t want to do something to alter the relationship
between them and make that uncomfortable. But maybe now that they were alone
together…

Sighing, she undressed and carefully folded her clothes onto
a chair then went into the bathroom to turn on the shower. The heated spray
felt good on her body, weary from the long day of tension, and she stood under
it for a long time. Finally, feeling guilty for using up so much hot water, she
stepped out of the big shower stall, dried herself off and pulled on the heavy
sleep shirt she’d packed.

She was startled when she walked back into the bedroom to
see Logan standing there wearing only a pair of jeans, unbuttoned and riding
low on his hips. They stared at each other for a long moment.

He cleared his throat. “I hope I’m not misreading the
signals here.”

“Signals?” She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.

He nodded. “If I am then I’m about to make a Texas-sized
mistake, so I’m really hoping I’m right.”

“Mistake? What do you mean?”

“I could be way off the mark but it sure feels like there’s
something going on between us. Has been since we met in Maine. I know for damn
sure there has been on my part and I think there is on yours too. And Rebecca?
I’m not just talking about quick, hot sex here.”

She couldn’t say anything, so she just stared at him. Had he
been somehow reading her mind? Her mouth was so dry Rebecca could only nod.

“The timing for this wasn’t right before,” he went on,
moving farther into the room. “We were caught up in the case, and besides, I
didn’t want to start anything with your sister right there in my face.”

And hadn’t Rebecca just nailed it.

“But,” he went on, moving closer, “Stafford sending us up
here together—well, I took that as a sign of fate, Rebecca.”

He took another step and another until they were in each
other’s space. “Because you have to know I want you so damn much.”

“Yes.” The word was barely a whisper. He could have been
echoing her thoughts.

“And as I said before, my gut tells me this is a lot more
than just sex. More than just a physical attraction.”

His eyes were like twin beacons of lust boring into her.

“W—What are you talking about?” The sleep shirt covered her
to well below her knees but suddenly Rebecca felt almost naked.

He drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly and then he was
right in front of her, his hands on her shoulders. “This.”

His mouth came down on hers, so gently at first she wasn’t
sure he was actually touching her, his lips brushing gently back and forth. And
with that first light contact she knew he was right. They were both right.
There was something deep brewing between them and it was as unstoppable as a
Maine or Montana snowstorm.

Her breath was trapped in her throat and liquid heat surged
through her body. She parted her lips slightly, apparently the only
encouragement Logan needed because his tongue swept inside like a hot flame.

Now his lips pressed against hers in earnest with a searing
open-mouthed kiss, his tongue still doing an erotic dance with hers. Rebecca
dug her fingers into his biceps to hold on for balance, her pulse tripping in a
staccato beat. Her entire body was focused on the contact, every nerve singing.
Logan threaded his hands through her hair and cupped her head, slanting it
first one way then another to give him a better angle. When he finally lifted
his lips from hers she was totally breathless. Her legs were so wobbly she
wondered if she’d fall down if she let go of Logan’s arms.

“I take that as an okay.” His voice was hoarse, rough edged
with heated desire.

Rebecca hesitated a moment, her brain fogged with desire.
Was she making a big mistake here?

Other Night Seekers, her sister included, had found that
special person during an assignment. And for all of them it had been hot and
instant, yet they’d known this was the one. Was it the same for her and Logan
or was it just the lust binding them? And if so, how would she handle it when
this assignment was over and they still had to work on the team together?

But oh god, she wanted him. There was no denying that.

“Rebecca?” he urged, breaking into her thoughts, a slight
uncertainty in his voice. “Are we good here?”

“Yes,” she told him in a soft voice, giving in to the
signals her body was sending her. “A definite yes.”

He wasted no time in grabbing the hem of her sleep shirt,
dragging it over her head and tossing it to the side. Rebecca stood before him,
trembling, while his eyes ate up every inch of her.

“Exquisite,” he rumbled. “Just as I imagined. No. Even
better.”

He moved close to her again and bent his head to capture one
taut nipple in his mouth. She felt the pull clear to the center of her pussy,
inner muscles vibrating, cream soaking the sensitive flesh.

He worked the nipple, teeth lightly grazing it, tongue
flicking over it, plucking responses from her that traveled to every nerve in
her body. She clutched his head, as much for balance as to hold it in place,
crying out when he released the pebbled bud.

But in the next moment he turned his attention to the other
one, giving it the same treatment while his finger and thumb paid attention to
the one his mouth had just released. By the time he lifted his head again
Rebecca was trembling with need and a hunger that surged through her like an
unstoppable tidal wave.

Logan lifted her and placed her gently on the bed, arranging
her so her legs were spread wide.

“I want the best view while I get rid of these jeans,” he
told her.

Rebecca lay there nervous at being so very exposed,
wondering if he approved now that he saw her with every intimate part of her
body exposed. She felt beyond naked until he took off his jeans. Then all
thought of anything else flew out of her head.

There he was, naked, the golden glow from the bedside lamp
casting its ambient light on his magnificent body. And oh, Rebecca thought,
magnificent didn’t begin to do it justice. Wide shoulders tapered to a narrow
waist, those lean hips to long, well-muscled legs. Dark-brown hair covered his
chest and flat abs, narrowing to a line that led to a thick nest of curls.

And rising from them a cock that made her mouth water. Long
and thick and swollen, it stood fully erect, the head a dark purple. She wanted
to feel it in her mouth, inside her body, rubbing against her everywhere. As
she stared at it she slowly licked her lips.

“Like what you see?” he asked in his low voice.

“Oh yes.” She barely whispered the words. He was truly
magnificent.

“Me too.”

He knelt between her thighs, his body looming over hers, his
lips coming down on hers again. He took the kiss even deeper this time, tasting
every inner inch of her mouth. Rebecca ran her fingers through the thickness of
his hair, tightening her grasp to pull him even closer. Once again when he
moved his head she felt a loss—but in the next moment he was licking the upper
swells of her breasts, swirling his tongue around her hard nipples and tracing
a path through the valley between the mounds to her navel.

Rebecca ran her hands up and down his arms, enjoying the
tactile pleasure of the fine covering of hair beneath her fingers. Sophia had
told her that male shifters had more body hair than human males and she’d
always been one to be turned on by body hair anyway.

Now his tongue was tracing a pattern through the furled skin
of her navel before moving farther down her body to find her clit. The first
sweep of his tongue nearly sent her off the bed. Streaks of electricity sizzled
through her and her pulse pounded with a new fury. Automatically she widened
her thighs and Logan took advantage of the greater access to lick the walls of
her pussy, circle her opening and plunge his tongue inside.

“Ohmigod!” she cried, bucking her hips toward him.

His low chuckle vibrated through her body, causing tremors
to race through her cunt. Logan curled his tongue so with each pass he scraped
her sweet spot. Her skin felt too hot, too tight. And hunger was clawing up
from deep inside her body.

She slid her fingers down to Logan’s broad shoulders, scraping
the skin as he fucked her with his tongue and used his clever fingers on her
clit. When the climax broke over her she dug her fingernails into him and cried
out, wrapping her legs around his neck and pulling him tight to her.

Tremors were still rippling through her when Logan reached
down for his jeans and lifted a foil packet from a pocket. He rolled it onto
his very erect shaft with a deft movement and then he was back, poised over
her.

“There’s so much more I want to do to you,” he rasped. “For
you. With you. But tonight I just can’t wait any longer.”

“Do it,” she begged, already feeling the next orgasm
building although he’d barely touched her again.

Bending her knees back to give him better access, he
positioned himself at her opening and, with his eyes locked onto her, moved
into her with one long, slow, powerful glide. Rebecca sucked in her breath at
the feel of him stretching her, filling her, the very tip of him touching her
womb.

“Look at me.” His voice had a rough edge to it.

She opened her eyes to his own glittering in a face dark
with lust.

“Next time I’m going to taste every part of your body and
drive you wild with my fingers and my tongue. Maybe slide my cock into your
mouth and let you wrap those luscious lips around it.” He dropped his voice
even more. “And one of these nights I’m going to tie you to the posts on this
bed and—”

“Yes, yes, yes,” she cried. “But can we please get on with
this right now?”

His laugh was pure male. “You bet.”

He drove into her, hips moving slow then fast and hard. She
could sense the control he was digging for, the fine edge of it nearly ready to
snap. He pumped into her, his balls slapping against the curve of her ass. She
wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, pulling him into her, and met him
thrust for thrust.

It hit them both at once, a volcanic explosion that tossed
them over the edge and sent them spinning wildly. The walls of her pussy
clenched his pulsing cock, milking him, every muscle in his body taut with the
force of his orgasm. Rebecca wound her arms around his neck and hung on for
dear life, barely able to breathe until the last of the tremors subsided.

Her heart hammered wildly, her blood pulsing in her veins.
Logan’s chest heaved as he dragged air into his lungs. And then they were
spent, lying in each other’s arms, enclosed in a blanket of satisfaction.

And something more.

When he kissed her it was more tender than erotic, not
bruising like his other kisses had been. He rolled to the side, taking her with
him, their bodies still connected.

“That was…amazing,” he said at last.

“Yes,” she agreed, failing to find the words that would
express how much he’d reached deep inside her.

“I knew we were meant to be together.” He brushed her hair
away from her damp face. “We belong together.”

“I get the same feeling,” she agreed. “There’s…some special
connection between us.”

He was silent for so long she wondered if he was
reconsidering his words.

“Logan? What’s wrong?” Oh god, was he having second thoughts
already, despite what he’d just said?

“Rebecca, there’s something you need to know about me if you
don’t already.”

“You mean about your being a shifter?” She grinned at the
startled look on his face. “Sophia told me. She said six of the original Night
Seekers are. So is Clint. And Chloe, Mark’s wife.”

He frowned. “And that doesn’t bother you? Most women would
run screaming into the night.”