one at a time to hold her at the top of her thighs. Leaning toward him, and pushing her breasts against his chest, Larissa was turning the sweet kiss fiery and fast.
“We really don’t have time for this,” he whispered, withdrawing his head slightly.
“We better make it a quickie, then,” she persisted, pulling him back with her new strength.
“Damn you, woman,” was the only reply he could utter before she hushed him with her mouth and ground her pelvis closer to his. His fight was gone and she felt his willingness harden between her legs. They continued to kiss each other hungrily, as he turned around and seated her on the picnic table, her legs still wrapped around his waist.
She leaned back and he slid his hands down her body, grazing her firm nipples through her T-shirt, making her moan and bite her lower lip. He moved his hands over her stomach as she arched her back to meet his tender touch, down to her jeans, undoing them quickly, eagerly. His hand found the heat, the wetness that ached for him, and his fingers played her as if she was an instrument in the hands of a maestro. Raising her T-shirt enough to expose her bra, he leaned down, his mouth teasing her breast through the lace.
“Zane, I want you. Don’t tease.” Larissa gasped, her breathing heavy.
Using his tongue, he tasted his way down her body, and then tenderly tugged at her panties with his teeth, as his hands pulled at her jeans. She grabbed the sides of the table and cried out her delight as his tongue found the succulence it craved, darting, with each caressing strike bringing her closer to orgasm. Then his tongue was gone for the briefest moment and replaced by the only thing she wanted more.
The pleasure she felt as he entered her was even more intense than the first time. She yearned to be devoured by this man. It was more than need, more than want— she loved Zane with all she possessed and that feeling made her want to be aware of nothing but him. He was all that mattered. With every thrust, the fever that bound them intensified. There was no need for him to leave her this time. They came together, both crying out the passion that had ignited within them. He lifted her to his chest, cradling her with a sweet possessiveness that made her feel that nothing in the world could harm her.
“I could do that forever,” she whispered, basking in the serenity that washed over her.
“Well, we don’t have quite that long, but pretty close.”
Larissa lifted her face to Zane’s, an inquiring look asking the question for her. “We’re not immortal; we do age, but only about one year for every five.”
Larissa frowned as she tried to do the math. Her mind remained blissfully trapped in the previous moments, and she gave up. “So how old are you?”
His smile lines creased as he rolled his eyes and a chuckle broke through. “In human years, twenty-seven. I first shifted when I was nineteen, so I guess that makes me almost twenty-one.”
Larissa smiled back. “Hmmm. I always wanted a boy toy!”
He shook his head, putting her at arm’s length and still smirking. “You’re only twenty-six, and technically, I am still older than you!”
“So I get the best of both worlds then; experience in a hot young body. I think I can live with that.”
He leaned down, kissing her tenderly, and in doing so rekindled the fire that craved only his touch.
C HAPTER T EN
Their enjoyment was disturbed as both of their heads snapped up in the same instant, aware of a presence perhaps a hundred yards away in the woods behind them. Their bodies mirrored one another as they scrambled away from each other, positioning themselves in defensive crouches, ready to strike at the as-yet-unseen danger.
Larissa’s own reaction shocked her. Her body was functioning on pure instinct and adrenaline. Their quarry moved slowly toward them through the low-lying bushes. Larissa’s head whipped left and right, simultaneously with Zane. There were more of them.
Regina Bartley, Laura Hampton