Desert Fate (The Wolves of Twin Moon Ranch Book 3) (15 page)

A thrush called from somewhere in the brush, leaves rustled in the breeze, and a familiar hum started coursing through her bones.

Home.
The word formed in her mind, cued by the desert.

Home?
The skeptical part of her protested just as Kyle pulled away from her, scrubbing a hand through his hair and looking suddenly confused.

Home,
her wolf persisted.

She stood stock-still, hardly breathing. Was there really was such a place?

Probably not, she concluded as Kyle beat a quick retreat around the corner of the house.

She watched him go, blinking, while her stomach fluttered inside.

Don’t let him go,
instinct said.
Never let him go.

Acting on their own, her feet carried her around the house, then up the stairs. Kyle stood on the far side of the porch, over by the lonely chair that faced east. His back was turned to her, his shoulders stooped, his chin bent to his chest. She could see both his hands gripping the railing as if the world was spinning and he was afraid to be thrown into space. Did he hear the urging, too?

She told herself to sweep straight into the house. Her hands—she ought to wash her hands then retreat to her room and pretend this humming sensation about to engulf her didn’t exist.

Hands. Wash hands.

If her mind was a chorus of a hundred, a couple of aging sopranos would be croaking out that line. The other ninety-eight voices, however, were chanting
Home, home, home
. An entire section of basses held the word, stretching it out in her mind. Over them was the sure sound of tenors and altos, singing at a faster clip. Tempting, pleading, nodding Kyle’s way.

Home, home, home.

Hands. Wash hands,
squeaked the minority.

Home. Home. Home,
the rest roared.

It was no contest, and she knew it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

She walked over, obeying the invisible force that reeled her in. When Kyle pushed himself away from the banister and turned, a bead of sweat glinted on his furrowed brow. Whatever it was that was happening to her, he felt it, too.

She walked right up to him. Close. Kissing-close.

“I can’t do this any more, Kyle.” she whispered.

“Do what?”

“Fight this.”

His mouth cracked open and though no sound came, words were spilling from his eyes. Words like
shouldn’t
and
can’t
and
not allowed
. His eyes, though, were flickering with need so intense, it made her lungs press against her ribs. Even then, words continued to pour from her inner chorus.

Words like
friend
. She stepped closer.

Home.
Her hands slid up his arms and around his neck, pulling herself into the expanse of his bare chest.

Mate.
She knotted herself firmly around his frame and brought her lips to his.

Her wolf hummed as the kiss went deeper. Every nerve ending in her body zinged as she held on, tight as a cowboy in a rodeo. Home had never felt so warm, so strong, so near. Home never felt this sure or this sincere.

By the third or four thump of her heart, she could exhale. Because if a solid block of muscle and masculine flesh could melt slowly into a sappy goo, well, then it must mean something other than
No, thanks.
Something more like
Yes. Please. Be mine.

Home had never been such a perfect fit, from the moist line of his lips right down to the hook of her calf behind his. She released a sigh and let her fingers go from death grip to a tour of inspection, wanting to feel every curve and bend of his body. There were a lot of them to study, especially on his back, where the layered muscles slid and heated under her touch.

“Stef,” Kyle whispered. His voice was hoarse, like he’d been screaming at himself to resist. “We shouldn’t.”

She shook her head, dragging his lips with hers to work in the refusal. “Shouldn’t,” she said, lifting her lips just long enough to hurry the words out, “isn’t an option.” She deepened the kiss, opening her mouth and slowly, subtly, shaped the word
Home
into his lips.

His whole body quivered, and she marveled at his resolve. She could feel his need as clearly as she felt the bonds holding him back.

She let her fingers trail down his chest. “I can’t not have you.” The words came with a conviction that startled her.

“It’s complicated,” he tried. His hands, though, were moving up and down her back, refusing to let go.

She nudged her hips closer. “Not right now, it’s not.” She was nosing his ear now. “There’s only you,” she whispered, pulling one of his hands into hers. “And me,” she finished, bringing it to her breast.

A strangled sound came from his mouth as she leaned into another kiss. “The pack…” he murmured, then trailed off.

She almost wished he was wearing a shirt so she could grab the collar and shake the last bit of resistance out of him. “This isn’t about the pack, Kyle.” Her voice cracked, and she gave up on words completely, letting her eyes have a try. The man was like a marine:
Semper Fi
was tattooed onto his soul, and Twin Moon pack was his Stars and Stripes. But didn’t he know that duty didn’t preclude love? She nearly said it out loud. Duty wasn’t everything in life. Not by a long shot. Because what meaning did duty have if it wasn’t backed by love?

She brought her thumbs gently under both sides of his jaw and stroked from his neck out to the chin and back. The prickle of his stubble was like the striking surface of a matchbox, setting off another flare of carnal need.

“You think this will only make things worse?” she asked, and it was almost a dare.

He nodded slowly, though his pulse hammered and the angle of his lips cried for more.

“Then I want worse,” she said.

The flicker in his eyes flared, and then his lips caught hers in a kiss that had her whole body melting into his. As his tongue slid across hers, her free fall became a soaring climb into space. His hands tightened around her waist, and when a sigh escaped his lips, she knew she wasn’t the only one rocketing away on this crazy flight.

The kiss went on and on as she pressed into him. Whatever mess they might get themselves into, it would be worth it if she could stay this close. She let her hands explore his back, her pulse skipping at every bump in that heated terrain. Her hips started to rock with little nudges that grew more insistent with every quick breath. Kyle’s hands slid down her back, and then lower, tugging her good and close and fluttering every one of her nerves.

“Mmmm,” she mumbled over the hum in her ears. Was that her wolf purring or his? “I’m thinking maybe this was meant to be.”

“This?” he whispered, lips barely leaving her neck.

“This.” She wrapped her leg around his, pushing her hips to his groin.

His hands slid even lower, and the solid comfort of them had her imagining a hundred unrushed mornings waking up beside this man. Naked, sated, close. A lifetime of mornings—that’s what she wanted. To know that this wasn’t just tonight, but forever. There’d be no more spinning like a compass without a north.

“Take this off,” he urged, tugging at the hem of her shirt.

She smiled into his lips. “But it’s my favorite shirt.” The yellow one he’d given her.

“You’ll get it back.” He drew his hands up, and the shirt came with them. “Later. Much later.”

The cool slide of fabric over her skin was replaced by the heated touch of his work-hardened hands—quick, clever hands that had her bra off like it was never there. Like there’d never been any barriers between them.

“Later…” she mumbled, struggling to follow her own train of thought. Action was easier, like stretching her shoulders up and back, ready to cede him everything. Because all she wanted was him, any way he liked as long as it was now. His fingers spread wide, teasing her breasts, and a thousand brush fires roared through her nerves. Hands that big and tough and strong would be capable of holding the two of them together if fate tried to pry them apart.

“Maybe,” he murmured, running his lips along her jaw.

Her skin tingled under the delicious scrape of his stubble, and a shiver of anticipation zinged right down to her core.

“Maybe
this was meant to be?” She wanted to sound disappointed, but that was hard with every sensor in her body bouncing off the charts.

“Probably.” He was teasing her now, with his words and with his fingers. They closed over her breasts and stroked.

“Probably?” she squeaked, arching her back as her nipples stood at attention. Something about his touch made her feel bigger, fuller. Prouder, almost.

“Definitely,” Kyle said, dipping to let his lips close over her aching bud.

Need speared through her body as she fisted her hands in his hair. When she moaned and ground her hips against his rigid cock, his lips curled in a smile. Home became a place to latch on to, to wind her legs around.

“Definitely meant to be,” he murmured.

His arms closed around her and lifted, and the bob of his sure step told her he was carrying her inside. Her bones were mush, her blood pounding as the screen door creaked and the bright light of day grew muted. Kyle’s weight shifted as he pushed the door to his room open with a foot then lowered her slowly to the bed in a dreamy journey that had her heart singing. In just a few steps, the man had taken her far away from trouble and into a soft, safe place. A place where two lovers could give and take and give all over again.

Vaguely, she wondered if love could really move so fast. But maybe this wasn’t as fast as it seemed. Maybe it was slow—something years in the making, until two souls separated could once again unite.

“Gotta get rid of these.” His fingers ran along the edge of her shorts.

Her body danced under his searing touch, wiggling as she stripped eagerly out of her remaining clothing.

“And these.” She bit her lip as she dipped into the waistband of his jeans then eased the zipper down. “Definitely need to get rid of these.”

He jerked under her touch, and she bit back a smile. Greed took over and she pushed down his clothes, letting his cock spring free. He was big and startlingly, deliciously wide. A little like his eyes right now, as they roved along her body. God, this was going to be good. This was Kyle. Big, bad, buff Kyle. The friend who had never, ever let her down.

The moment she spent anticipating was a moment too long, because Kyle took over again, and all her arms could do was snake up and out of the way. A strong, masculine hand flattened her on the bed then spent a long time on her torso.

“Nice,” she purred.

“Nice?” he growled, letting his callused fingers rub her belly, then scoop along the curve of her breasts. A rumble built in his chest, and hell, if he wasn’t shy about showing his pleasure, neither would she be.

“Great,” she managed, giving in to the whimpering sounds building in her throat.

When his fingers explored her folds, then worked her from the inside, she surrendered completely. She climbed under his touch, writhing in pleasure.

His eyes swept upward to meet hers again, glowing yellowish blue like the outer edge of a bonfire—the parts that lapped around the edges of a charred log and threatened to consume it entirely.

“Stef,” he murmured, and it was the groan of a bear who’d finally found his way to the honey.

She closed her eyes and gave herself over to the feel of him tasting her breasts, sampling her lips, exploring the walls of her sex. And through every singular sensation, she tried desperately to memorize it all. The tweak on her nipples, the pressure of his thumb over her clit. After the uncertainty of the past days, she thirsted for this solidity, this confidence.

Then it hit her. She’d been rolling with the punches of life instead of fighting back for too long. Maybe it was time to exercise a little control. Did she dare?

Dare,
a voice urged. An animal voice deep inside her. One that felt like it belonged there.

Before she could lose her nerve, she sucked in a quick breath and led their bodies into a sideways roll until Kyle was prone beneath her, his eyes wide.

To hell with
forbidden
. She’d banish the thought from his mind. She kissed her way down his abdomen in a long, quick slide. Not that she wanted to miss any detail of his chiseled torso—but if she didn’t go quickly, she might overthink what she was doing.

Enough thinking,
her wolf nodded.
Trust the instincts that brought us to him.

Her tongue was at his navel now, but she kept sliding down. She needed to take him in the light of day, to know it was her human side and not the beast doing the talking.

The thing was, she’d only ever taken a man in her mouth once in the past, and that hadn’t been so much her own desire as the guy’s request. Once had been enough, though, or so she’d always assumed.

Not any more. The burning need to do this—for herself, not just for him—possessed her.

Take our mate,
the wolf inside her urged.
Show him what we can do.

She eyed the crown of his cock then ducked closer until her lips greeted the glistening tip. His whole body hardened—a moment of truth. Would he let her take him like this?

Believe me, our mate wants this.

She shook inside but continued, whispering down the length of him, all the way into the curls of his groin and back up. God, he was long. Wide. Hard—for her. A tingle raced through her spine at the power she found in that moment. She licked the cleft of his velvety tip, first tentatively, then more insistently as her thoughts scattered to a thousand corners of her mind. North was full of heat; west was fiery as a sunset. South was churning with warm, wet anticipation, and east—east wanted her to hurry the hell along. This was her man, her home. She belonged here.

“Right there,” he breathed, guiding her head.

Claim. Mate.

She opened wide and took him in one long, greedy gulp. Warm and solid as tensile steel, his cock filled her mouth and overpowered every sense but one.