Cinderella's Guardian (20 page)

It felt like paradise.

He gave her other nipple the same treatment and enjoyed her reaction again. Within moments he could feel himself climbing ever closer to his climax. Leaving her breasts, he straightened his spine, gripped her hips and began to thrust faster into her. With his left hand he reached around to press against her sensitive bundle of nerves. Three flicks later she shattered around him, pulling him with her straight over the ledge into bliss. His hand was firmly over her right hip as he felt the magic tingle and his claws sprout. He dragged his fingers back, leaving an arch of scratch marks over her hipbone.

Pulling from her core, he gently rolled her over on her back. He picked up her right hand and let her see the claws that were now where her nails had been. As she gasped in awe, he placed her hand over his heart.

"Scratch me, Tina. Mark me as yours, right over my heart."

She curled her fingers and dragged them down his chest. The magic sparked through his entire being. His breath caught and as he watched Tina writhe under the same sensations, he felt himself harden for her all over again. He covered her body with his, thrusting inside her in one strong move. He could barely hear her moan through his roar of possession.

She was his.

Claimed fully as his mate.

No other would
ever
touch her.

~ * ~

Magic flowed throughout her body, her fingers tickled as the claws disappeared and her nails reappeared. Conner's hard body was pressed against her. He'd buried himself within her in one strong stroke and now she moaned as his animalistic roar filled the room. He pounded into her, dominating her. Her body was overwhelmed with sensation. Her mind spun with all that was happening.

Conner lifted up on his arms to look down at her. Her gaze wandered from his face to his chest, she raised her hand to trace the mark over his heart. Four wide scratch marks revealed his leopard spots over his heart. She pressed her palm against it and felt a small jolt of magic run though her again. He closed his eyes and his whole body tightened above her. Obviously he'd felt the jolt too.

Continuing his thrusts into her, he lowered his head to torment her nipples and breasts. Tossing her head back and forth on the pillow, she moaned as the coil in her belly began to draw in impossibly tight. He knelt as his strokes sped up. The new angle took him deeper inside her. She watched, lost in a daze of passion as his hand moved to her clit. He flicked and teased it until she was bucking against him. She screamed as she flew apart for the third time that night. His roar once again filled the air as she felt his warmth fill her womb. She hoped she was fertile at the moment. The only way this experience could be sweeter would be if they had created life.

"That was amazing. Even though I'd been told what would happen, that was so much more. I love you."

Conner rested his head against her chest and she managed to raise her hand to run her fingers through his sweat drenched hair. "I love you too, Conner. And yeah, that was spectacular."

He raised his head to stare up at her. She could see love and desire, along with male smugness and pride. Her man was macho enough to be delighted at having marked her. She was girlie enough to relish the fact he wanted to mark her as his forever. He gently, reverently kissed her as his palm covered her mark, the magic tingling once again.

"Let's go have a shower, shall we?"

"Only if you carry me."

"Of course, baby doll. I'd carry you everywhere if you'd let me."

Tina relaxed into Conner's embrace as he scooped her from the bed and headed toward the bathroom. He set her on the bench seat he'd installed for her and grabbed the handheld shower. After adjusting the water, he rinsed her off and handed her the showerhead. He lathered up his hands and proceeded to clean every inch of her. His touch on her sensitive skin revved her up. By the time he was washing her feet, she was panting with her arousal. Now on his knees, he spread her thighs and buried his face between them, suckling on her aroused flesh. She cried out as he nipped at her clit, the sensation enough to push her over yet again. She shuddered beneath him as he lapped at her, drinking down her liquid heat once again.

He rose from the floor and she forced her eyes to open so she could watch the play of his muscles as he took the showerhead from her and washed himself. Leaning heavily against the wall she didn't realize she'd dozed off until she jerked awake as Conner picked her up from the seat.

"Let's go back to bed, sweetheart."

He snagged a towel on his way back to the bedroom and set her on the end of the mattress before he carefully dried her off. He finger combed her hair before he tucked her in beneath the covers. She cracked her lids open just enough to see him dry his spectacular body before he moved to crawl into the bed beside her. He rolled her on to her side before tucking her in against him. He slid his hand down to cup her mating mark and she felt the tingle jolt her system as she drifted off into a very sated, content sleep.

Tina slowly surfaced to the sound of Conner's angry voice on the phone.

"What do you mean she's not been found? You told us she'd be caught in no time, or her body found. That was three days ago!"

Oh hell no, Robyn was still on the loose? Heaven only knew what stunt she'd pull next. Would her dad ever be safe from her? A sob caught in her throat and she rolled to bury her face into the pillow then curled into as tight a ball as she could while emotions battled inside her. She was feeling so overwhelmed, the last weeks had brought with them so many extremes, both good and bad. Her mind was now struggling to cope with anything else.

The bed dipped and then she was against Conner's warm chest, wrapped in his embrace.

"Shh, baby doll. I'll keep you safe. Robyn can't keep getting away with her actions. She'll slip up and get caught. You'll see."

"What about Dad? He's the one she keeps going after."

"Jennifer will make sure he stays safe. Female shifters are just as protective as the males. Your Dad will be well protected so long as she's near, and by the look of them, she'll always be near until Robyn is caught."

She nuzzled her face against his mating mark allowing the jolt of magic to help center her. "Can we just forget the whole thing? For today I just want to be normal. Go out and do something totally boring and human like."

"Well, Kit and the team are still out at the Rally. We could head over and have lunch with them. Is that human and boring enough?"

She heard the humor laced in his voice and smiled against his flesh. "Yeah, not sure it will be at all boring, but it's definitely human enough for me."

He stroked her hair back from her face before cupping her jaw in his palm. His mouth descended on hers, devouring her as his fingers slid into her hair. He pulled back as her heart began to beat wildly. His forehead rested against hers.

"We'd better get moving then or we won't make it for lunch."

"Hmm, I suppose you've got a point. And, to be honest, I'm a little sore from all our nocturnal activities last night."

A frown creased his face. "I didn't hurt you did I?"

"Oh no, you didn't hurt me. You're just, well, rather large and my body is still getting used to your size. I'll be fine."

She felt her cheeks heat with a blush and she twisted her face away. With a finger beneath her chin, he turned her back to him and kissed her gently.

"You're so cute when you blush."

Before she could think of a response, he was up and striding toward the shower with her.

Chapter Twelve

Shivering, Robyn paced the small cabin. It had been three days since the incident at the lake and she'd not seen Barbara since. There was next to no food left in the kitchen and Robyn's mind kept running away with random thoughts. She now remembered the fresh damage on the front of Dale's car. Was Barbara responsible? Is that why she wasn't here?

She strode over to the sink and got herself a glass of water. With shaking fingers, she lifted the drink to her lips and sipped the cool liquid. Focusing on the feel of the soothing water going down her throat, she managed to control the shivers wracking her body as she heard a car door close.

The squeak of the front door opening had Robyn gently placing the glass on the bench top. She looked up and caught Barbara's panicked expression.

"I can explain, Robyn."

"Explain what? Your absence? Or the damage to Dale's car?"

She felt her lips curl into a grin as Barbara's eyes peeled wide. "What? You didn't think I'd know about his car so soon?"

"I was doing what you asked!"

Rage rolled through Robyn. "I asked you to delay the others, not to injure Dale."

"I didn't injure him. I saw Jennifer sitting in the car and rammed into her, not him."

Robyn prowled around the bench, discreetly pulling a knife from the block on her way.

Barbara cocked an eyebrow at her before she backed away. Robyn guessed the look in her eyes must have given her intentions away.

"I'm sorry I was late but the cops hauled me in for the crash. I was charged then released. They were following me everywhere! I couldn't come out here without leading the entire police force with me." She paused as her gaze dropped to the hand Robyn had behind her back. "What are you holding behind you, Robyn?"

With only a few steps now between them, Robyn was confident Barbara wouldn't be able to get away from her.

"A knife of course."

Robyn loved the way Barbara's eyes peeled wide with fear. The power she felt as she quickly swiped the knife forward in an arch aimed at her throat. Barbara lifted her arm and the knife sliced deep into her forearm. Barbara's scream of pain stung her ears but it was too late now, Robyn was lost to the bloodlust. With no real thought to what she was doing, she reached for Barbara's arm and pulled it low as she stabbed forward with the knife, driving it deep into her chest straight into her heart.

"No one endangers what is mine. Dale is mine."

Robyn pulled the knife free and stepped back. Blood gushed rapidly from the wound. With a macabre fascination, she watched as Barbara slumped to the floor and a pool of blood grew around her. Her now pale skin stood out against all the red and Robyn saw the beauty in it. Robyn stayed, fused to the spot as Barbara struggled with her final breaths. Once her chest ceased to move and her glassy eyes lay open and unblinking, Robyn snapped out of her trance and back to what she needed to do.

With no Barbara, she'd have to follow Dale herself. Good thing Barbara had come in a car. She bent forward and plucked the car keys from the pool of sticky blood. She calmly walked back to the kitchen where she used a paper towel to clean off the keys. She hoped the electronics in the locking mechanism still worked. Using another towel, she wiped off the knife before she strolled out of the cabin into the early morning light. She saw Barbara had brought Robyn's car and had left it conveniently sitting right out the front which suited her just fine. She didn't need anyone catching a glimpse of her splattered in blood. They'd come to investigate and find the body.

Can't have the police getting involved before I get to Dale now can we?

She drove to Dale's rental place, where she very carefully parked far enough away that the patrol car that passed by every quarter of an hour didn't see her. As she waited for Dale to come out of his house and start his day, she noticed the damage to his car. His previously in-perfect-condition black Hilux was now sporting a serious dent and scrapes on the front passenger side. The scrapes were yellow. Barbara's car was yellow. The confirmation that Barbara was guilty of causing her man harm made her wish she could hurt the woman all over again.

"Such a pity."

After what felt like hours, Dale left his house. Robyn's hands gripped the steering wheel tight enough her knuckles turned white as Jennifer followed him out. Jennifer scanned the area as they hopped in the car and reversed out the drive.

"I will not be stupid. I will not be stupid."

She slowly started her car and followed at a safe distance as they left town.

They wound their way through the Tasmanian wilderness toward the coast. Where was he going? A sign on the road read, "Temporary Road Closures Ahead." Ahh, of course, the International Bethotte Rally was on. He must be going somewhere to watch this leg of the race. Glancing at the clock, she noticed it was just past noon. Didn't they stop the race for a lunch break?

Dale turned into a track that was sign posted as an entry for rally volunteers. Robyn drove on until she found a small rest stop. Quickly parking, she palmed the knife she'd brought from the cabin and trekked to where Dale had turned off.

She slowed as she reached the pit-stop area. Tina and Conner were chatting with a couple of firefighters. So, they were all meeting up with Conner's work buddies for lunch. She kept far enough away to stay hidden—and down wind, she didn't want to risk those cat people sniffing her out—but close enough to catch the odd word spoken. Nothing useful.
Typical
. Then she heard Tina mention going to the toilet before she pushed away from the group.

Perfect.

Her chance had arrived.