Darkworld - Fire Season Part 16

And thank goodness it was a dream. Her body hungered for the touch of flesh against flesh. Reaching for him, curling her fingers around his biceps, something awakened deep inside.

She'd ignored the months of celibacy, hadn't really thought about them, but now, the need to make up for lost time drove her. She moaned as he deepened the kiss. Pa.s.sion flared in her blood.

She wanted him-her dream man. Now. A quick tug pulled her shirt free of her jeans. His hand splayed across her abdomen. His touch branded her. He laid her back on the bed, tugging at her T-shirt. She released him long enough for him to pull it over her head. He unfastened her bra and slid it off her shoulders.

Althea reached for him once more. She wrapped her fingers around his hard biceps and pulled him to her.

Dante lowered his head and nibbled along her collarbone. He laved each kiss, each love bite, with a long sweep of his tongue that had her shuddering to her toes. The crisp whorls of his chest hair tickled her nipples and stomach.

She arched beneath him, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s begging for his touch. "Please," she whispered, unaware she voiced her plea. Keeper By Shaunta Grimes Available Now Jude Felini carefully removed all the thorns from a single, perfect yellow rose before biting the long stem. He surveyed the tree-lined street, the rows of neat four-plex apartments, making sure he was alone before his body shimmered and contracted into that of a large orange tomcat.

Clutching the rose between his teeth, he hopped from the ground onto an iron balcony railing, walked across it, jumped to a tree limb, and then up to a second story balcony. Potted plants and flowers turned the small s.p.a.ce into a tiny rain forest. Jude loved being here and he often snuck up without the balcony's avian owner knowing.

The s.e.xy little bird in question had once again jumped headlong into a boatload of trouble.

From his position under her window, Jude watched Avery Dove wrap her arms around her slender waist and gaze at the sky. Her up-tilted heart-shaped face was unguarded, and breathtaking in its beauty. She opened the window and Jude leapt onto the sill.

Avery stumbled backward several steps away from the window, upsetting framed pictures off the table behind her, and then let loose with a string of swear words all the more colorful for coming from such a delicate woman.

Laughter rang in his head. He drew altogether too much enjoyment from yanking her chain.

If he could get that personality quirk under control, maybe he'd be in Avery's bed instead of standing outside her window. He took on his human form again as he jumped from the sill to the floor. As he transformed, the rose was tossed in the air. It spun in a slow arc before it landed in his hand. He presented it to her with a formal bow.

She stood with her hands fisted on her hips, her cheeks flushed. Though she struggled to keep her gaze resolutely on his face, he caught the sweep she made of his nude body. "I swear to G.o.d, one of these days I'm going to put a collar around your neck and take you in to be neutered, Jude Felini."

Jude laughed out loud. "You don't want me neutered, Sweetheart. Trust me."

"Maybe neutered you wouldn't be such a pain in my a.s.s." She took the flower. "Where the h.e.l.l are your clothes?"

Jude raised an eyebrow and tilted his head toward the window with the tree outside, under which rested his jeans and t-shirt. "Being a pain in your a.s.s sounds fun. Maybe we should give it a try."

"I hope you aren't here just to gloat, because I'm really not in the mood." Avery stuck her nose in the flower, but Jude saw the blush rising up from her elegant neck. No woman had ever done angry as beautifully as she did. "Go get dressed."

He leaned against her clean, white wall. Everything in her apartment was airy and light, perfectly suited for a bird. "Don't you think it'll cause a sensation if I walk down the front stairs nude?"

"So go back down the balcony. You need clothes." "Or you could take some of yours off." He let his eyes slide down her body. Her hands were fisted on her hips and she was teetering on the edge of more angry than s.e.xy. "And I'm not here to gloat. I'm here to lend support."

Avery looked down her nose at him over the rose. "Sure you are. Stay there."

She put the flower in water and then stalked off. Maybe needing some air, because it wasn't like her to give into this particular argument so easily. She'd spent an entire evening pretending that he wasn't naked before, just to keep from going down and collecting the clothing that he shed during his transformation.

Once he was dressed, Jude sat on Avery's couch and closed his mouth before s.e.xy-angry turned to really-angry. Avery sat next to him. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was beautiful, fine boned and delicate in a way that made him want to take her in his arms to hold and protect her. But also fiery, she was a small package of dynamite with no fear, no hesitation when she went after something she wanted.

That rebellious streak was how she got into trouble this time. King of Cats By Jessica Quinn Available Now Rita was still on the phone when she marched out to the front desk and deposited the vase onto her desk with a thud. "Get rid of these ASAP, will you?" Mel asked. "I don't care if you take them to the nearest cemetery or throw them in the dumpster, but I don't want to see them when I come back out here." Rita nodded and Mel turned and marched back into her office to retrieve their latest guest for his bath.

The bronze-furred cat was nowhere to be seen when she stepped back into her office, and she frowned. Hiding under the couch, maybe? Most folks would be surprised at how many cats learn to recognize the word 'bath'. She took a few steps forward, shutting the office door behind her without a glance back so he couldn't get out that way, and knelt down on the floor to peer under the sofa.

"You don't really want to let the old man neuter me, do you, sweetheart?" came the purring voice from behind her. A tan, lithely-muscled arm wrapped itself around her waist even as she half-turned, ready to scream.

The eyes she found herself staring up into were copper-gold, brighter than any she'd seen outside of contact lenses. Long, straight, golden-bronze hair spilled over impossibly wide shoulders, gone the color of b.u.t.terscotch from the summer sun. The broad, hairless chest was equally muscular and tapered downward to a trim, narrow waist, lean hips and a very nice- Oh.

My. G.o.d. He's completely naked.

Before she could force a scream past her parted lips, he grinned roguishly, eyes twinkling, and swooped in, mouth closing over hers. His tongue speared straight into her mouth to tangle with hers, his lips roaming possessively over her own. A flush of heat shot from her lips all the way down to her groin, igniting an ember of liquid flame there that slicked her panties. Eyes wide, she watched the stranger's nostrils twitch, almost as if he could smell her arousal, and even as she turned the rest of the way to face him, he lowered her to the floor.

Her nipples had gone hard enough to cut diamonds, pressing achingly against the white lace bra she wore. He undid the b.u.t.tons on her blouse with eye-watering speed, fanning the lapels of the shirt open.

"Wait, no!" she gasped, pulling free for a second. Her knees went weak, and she swallowed hard at the rush of heat through her body, consumed by a white-hot l.u.s.t she hadn't felt since...well, ever. Jason never made me feel like this! Something hot and hard nudged her thigh and she glanced down, stifling a gasp at the sight. His erection was huge, large enough to nudge the soft flesh of her belly.

He leaned in close before she could get a better look, arrowing in to nip her shoulder and the side of her throat. She could feel his hands slip below her waist, working to undo the b.u.t.ton and zipper of the slacks she wore, and she grabbed his hands, temporarily stilling them.

"Who...who the h.e.l.l are you?" she gasped, desperately trying to maintain even a thin facade of sanity against the sensations that swirled turbulently through her hungry flesh.

He grinned again, wide, licking his lips, those emerald eyes hot with desire. "Don't you know, sweetheart?" he teased, sliding one finger under the waistband of her panties and drawing a fiery line from her left hip to the right. "After all, you were the one who saved me when that car hit me."

It made no sense whatsoever. She spent half a second trying to puzzle out the mystery behind his words; then his mouth sought hers again. With waning determination, she grabbed his hands-again- pulling them away from her pants. She could hear the stranger making a deep rumbling sound in his throat and chest. It took her a second to realize what it meant.

Purring. He's purring.