Wicked Burn (Realm Enforcers #3)(106)

Nothing and nobody could take this woman from him. Not even peace.

No matter what.





Chapter 5


Cara awoke alone in the wide bed, safe and warm under a thick quilt. She blinked several times and partially sat up to see a still-smoldering fire safely contained in a stone fireplace across the spacious room. Exposed beams made up the high ceiling, while tongue-and-groove wood made up the walls. A window set into the nearest wall showed the very dim dawn light peeking through the blinds. It had to be about four in the morning.

The bedroom door opened, and Talen strode in, wearing running sweats and a ripped T-shirt. His thick brown hair had matted to his head, and his muscles strained in his arms and neck. His natural scent of wild pine filled the room.

She blinked. “You went running?”

“Yes.” He moved past the bed to an attached bathroom, all male grace, quietly shutting the door.

Wonderful. They’d been attacked by demons, had fought hard, and instead of sleeping, he’d gone for a run in wolf land.

The shower started.

She flopped back down and pulled the covers up to her neck. Talen in a quiet mood was never a good thing, and as terrible as his temper could be, she much preferred it to silence. The man had gotten too used to treating her with kid gloves through the years as she’d battled the deadly virus.

When was he going to see that she was healthy?

Not that he would’ve been okay with her fighting demons, no matter how strong she became.

The shower shut off, and her heart started to thrum. Seconds later, he opened the door, a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair hung to his shoulders, and a shadow covered his rugged jaw. The muscles in his chest shifted as he moved, so broad and strong.

His golden gaze remained steady as he crossed the room, dropped the towel, and slid into the bed.

She rolled onto her back, keeping some space between them. “Are you mad at me?”

“No.”

She didn’t believe him. “It’s okay if you are.” Then they could fight about it.

“I’m not mad.”

The stubborn bastard. “I think you are.”

“I can’t help what you think.”

Oh, he did not just go passive-aggressive on her. What happened to the full-on aggressive mate she fell in love with? At this point, she was going to have to kick his ass to get him to lose the attitude and treat her like she wasn’t some weak invalid. “You’re being a dick.” She moved to get out of the bed.

One hand wrapped around her bicep and pulled her across the flannel sheets.

She kicked out, struggling to be free.

He casually and way too easily subdued her by rolling over and flattening his huge body over her. “Calling names isn’t nice,” he said, his eyes burning.

She narrowed her gaze into a glare and tried to ignore the heat pouring from him. His elbows kept his weight off her, but still, the press of sinew and strength made her breath catch in her lungs. His cock, hard as steel, pressed against her clit.

Desire slid through her, flaring nerve endings to life.

Her body softened and responded to him, as it had since the first night he’d mated her, so long ago. His bite, his mark, had changed her at a chromosomal level. One that responded only to him, and so damn easily. “We need to talk,” she murmured, her nipples sharpening against his chest.

“Talking hasn’t done us much good lately.” Desire poured from him, infusing the room with the masculine scent of pine. “Let’s try something else.” His head dipped, and his mouth took hers.

Every time was like the first time. Shock, heat, and desire so hot it singed. The kiss was electricity and ice, infused with the dark taste of the man himself. His tongue stroked hers, and his sinewed body pressed hers farther into the bed.

She tunneled her hands through his thick, wet hair, holding tight.

He growled into her mouth, and wetness spilled between her thighs. So easily, and he knew it. His teeth nipped her lips, wandered down her jaw, and scraped along her neck. “You’re too beautiful for words,” he murmured, his tongue flicking a nipple.

Pleasure, dark and edged, winged through her. She arched against him, her fingers digging in to his scalp. “Talen,” she moaned.

He licked her other nipple. “Sometimes I dream about these hard little nipples.”

Her body pretty much lit on fire from within.

“But then I realize there’s more pleasure to be found.” He reached up and removed her hands from his head. Kicking the bedclothes away, he dropped to his knees on the floor and yanked her toward him.

She gasped, her arms flinging out.

His hands pressed her thighs wide, opening her for him. She looked down, her breath catching at the raw hunger on his face. His gaze, brooding and primal, captured hers as he licked his lips.

She fought a groan. “Talen?”

“Mine, Cara. Don’t you ever forget it.” His heated breath brushed her clit, and her body arched. His mouth covered her, and he sucked her clit into his mouth.

Delicious, decadent, and dangerous. Ecstasy bit into her. She threw back her head and shut her eyes, allowing pleasure to take over her body.

His fingers caressed her, pressing inside her, stretching her tight flesh. He stroked her inner muscles, his tongue lashing her, until she was thrashing and trembling with the need to climax.