Loving Her (Keeping Her) (9 page)

“Mac,” she breathed.

“That’s my girl,” he said,
then took her under again, rolling her over onto her back and pulling her
thighs around him.  He ground against her hot core while she shuddered with it,
then his lips moved from her lips to her neck where he bit down; at the same
time, his finger found her clit and rubbed just there.  She tried to get him
closer, her hands trailing down his back to grab his hard ass and pull, but it
was like molding stone.

“Mac please,” she breathed,
her back arching.  His lips moved to her breasts and he took her nipple into
his hot mouth and played with it.  Then he moved to the soft globe of the other
and left teeth marks there.  It set her on fire.  “Now, Mac, please.”

“I want my mark on every
inch of your body.”  He growled.  Then he flipped her over so that she clutched
the mattress while he ran his mouth up her back and nipped her neck just under
the hairline.  She shuddered and tried to lift herself back up, but he held
her, moving down her back nipping and kissing until he bit the perfect round
globe of her ass. 

There he left teeth marks
that had her springing up and trying to move away.  “Mac.  Damn it.  That
hurt.”  He just held on until he was done soothing it with his tongue and had
her squirming for a different reason.

Then he flipped her again
and entered her in one thrust.  “I’m going to mark you inside too Cassie,” he
said, pounding harder.  Cassie flattened her feet and braced to meet him half
way, loving the feel of him everywhere.  He nipped her ear, thrusting faster
when he felt her start to rise.  “You won’t ever get me out.”  He breathed just
before she screamed her climax.  Then with a growl, he pounded faster.  He came
with a roar of his own.

 Cassie headed down to
breakfast around nine a.m.  Not because she actually wanted to leave the bed
but because she had neglected to eat last night and was starving.  Mac had
finally drifted off so she pulled on her jeans and a t-shirt and snuck out. 
When she walked into the kitchen, she looked around.  Despite a very hospital
like smell of disinfectant, the room looked the same, only emptier.  They were
going to have to go shopping to redecorate the great room since everything was
shredded by shapeshifters.  Huh.  How many people could say that with a
straight face?

Clytie was at the island
alone, and falling asleep over her cheerios.  Cassie started laughing.  “I take
it you and Demon had fun last night.”

“I think he’s trying to
kill me with sex.”

“Yeah, but what a way to
go.”

Clytie snorted, but that
was the extent of her energy output.  Cassie shook her head and headed for the
fridge.  “Where is he anyway?  Figured you’d be tied to the bed.”

“Don’t say that where he
can hear you, he’ll get that light in his eyes like he just realized something
was possible and then it’ll be an uphill battle to convince him it’s not going
to happen.”

Cassie laughed, “That’s
quite a system you have going.”

“Works.”

Cassie couldn’t argue with
that.  “Roxanne still asleep?”

“Oh my God I’m a terrible
mother!”  Clytie suddenly yelled, hopping off her stool.  “I have no idea where
Roxanne is.  She’s probably huddled in some corner completely traumatized after
yesterday.”

Cassie, who had jumped when
Clytie yelled, let out a relieved breath.  “I have an idea captain crazy, let’s
find her first, then you can jump to wild conclusions.”

Ian came into the kitchen,
smiled his teen-age lothario smile at them, and said, “Ladies,” on the way to
the fridge.

“Hey Ian, do you know where
Roxanne is?”  Cassie asked.  “Clytie needs to make sure she’s not traumatized
and weeping in a dark room.”

He snorted.  “She’s hanging
out with Eli in the control room.  She’s fine, could use a bath, but other than
that she’s normal,” he snorted again, “at least normal for her.”

“What does that mean?” 
Clytie asked, outraged.

“Nothing,” Ian grumbled. 
“It’s just creepy the way she stares at me.  I can’t ever tell what she’s
thinking and she never talks.  She just stares.”

“Have you tried asking her
what she’s thinking?”  Clytie asked, hands on her hips.  “She is just a little
girl, you know.  She might be shy.”

“Huh,” he said, then
chugged straight from the milk carton.  He wiped his mouth on his arm.  “Didn’t
think of that.  Figured she was probably just retarded.”

Clytie had narrowed her
eyes and taken a threatening step toward the young lion. 

“Okey-dokey,” Cassie said,
grabbing her arm and leading her away from the kitchen.  “Let’s go find Roxanne
shall we, and leave braniac here to his trough.”

Ian looked confused.  “My
what?”

“Don’t you worry your
pretty fat head about it.”  Cassie said sweetly, still leading Clytie away. 
“Someone will explain it to you when you’re old enough to use a glass.”

“Hey!” he said to an empty
room.  “What did I do?”

“Retarded?  Hah!”  Clytie
smoldered, all the way to the command center.  “Not normal?  Like he would know
normal.  Have you seen the size of his feet?  And I cannot believe he drank
right out of our milk carton like that.  How many times has he done that with
no one being the wiser?”  She stopped mid step.  “Oh Dear Lord, I just had
Cheerios with that milk.”

“You know Clytie,” Cassie
said, looking at her cousin with narrowed eyes.  “For someone who usually
handles things pretty well, you seem to be a touch…how do I say this
delicately?  Out of your ever lovin’ mind this morning.”

Clytie blew out a breath.  “You’re
right.  I’m going crazy.  I think its testosterone poisoning.  With everything
that’s happened…  I think I need to get out of here for awhile.”  She started
to smile.  “Do something normal, like we should take Roxanne shopping for
clothes, maybe stop somewhere, and have lunch.  Something girly and not life
and death.  We can wait a few days to make sure the danger is past and then
bring it up to the guys.  What do you think?"

Cassie smiled back.  “Works
for me."”

***

“Absolutely not!”

“Demon!”

“It’s not safe.”

“You just got finished
saying that Bidel was nowhere around here.  That your contacts would tell you
the minute he came anywhere near or if he returned home.  You said he was on
the run and Lucas had people on his trail.”

From where she leaned
against the kitchen island, Cassie watched as Demon and Clytie went toe to
toe.  They had been at it for quite awhile.  Roxanne was sitting on the couch
across the room watching them like it was an Olympic past time.  Cassie
couldn’t really blame her.  It was impressive.  She had already had time to
bathe the child, help her dress, gotten changed herself and managed to have
some fruit and toast all while Clytie argued with Demon.  Now she had her
jacket on and keys in hand.  And still, they fought on.

“I was trying to be
reassuring,” Demon growled.  “I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Well…good job!”  Clytie
said giving him two thumbs up.  “You convinced me.”

“Damn it Clytie!”

“No Demon, this is
happening.  You can come, or you can send anyone you want to assure our safety
as long as we don’t know you’re there.  My cousin and I are taking Roxanne
shopping, like girls do.  We’re going to shop, have a nice sit down meal, and
unwind.”  She pointed her tiny finger at him.  “Deal with it.”

“Looks like its winding
down,” Ben said softly from beside Cassie as the argument continued.  He moved
up close enough so that she could feel him all along her side, and talked right
into her ear.  It made her shiver.  “Mac pulled the car around to the front.”

“I have my car.”

“It’s not secure.  Take the
Tahoe.  We’ll be following close, so no running any yellow lights.”  He leaned
down so he could rest his chin on her shoulder.  His hand going under her
t-shirt at her back to run up and down her bare skin.

Cassie blew out a breath. 
“We’re not doing this on a whim you know.  She really does need a small dose of
normal.  But if you really think there’s danger we can…”

“No.”  Mac said, coming
from her other side and moving in close so she was bracketed by them.  “Have
your girl time.  Demon wasn’t lying when he said the danger had passed for
now.  Bidel’s not stupid enough to be anywhere we can get to him easily.”  He
handed her the keys with a kiss on the lips.  “Just enjoy your afternoon.”  He
ran his hand down her cheek.  “I expect Clytie’s not the only one who could use
some normal about now.”

Cassie leaned up to kiss
him back.  “Maybe I could use a little time with my girls away from security
cameras and super shifter hearing, but normal?”  She looked up at him, reaching
her free hand back to slide up through Ben’s hair at the temple.  “Totally over-rated
in my opinion.”

“Is that a fact?”  Mac
asked, flashing a rare smile.

Ben growled and nipped her
shoulder.  “Well, hurry home then and we’ll show you all the ways we can
be…abnormal.”

She laughed, shaking her
head.  “You are such a tease.”

“Now
that
I’ve never
been accused of,” Ben said.  Nipping her ear and causing another full body
shiver.  “For instance, if I promise to take this ass tonight,” he whispered,
running his hand from beneath her shirt down into the back of her pants and
silk panties.  He squeezed the curve of her butt and Clytie lost her breath. 
“At the same time Mac takes your delectable pussy.”  Mac moved closer until his
thigh was pressing between her legs and growled, his lips going to the opposite
side of her neck and biting down while Cassie felt her body melt for them. 

“Then,” Mac whispered in
her free ear.  His voice deeper than Bens.  “You can know, absolutely, that
there won’t be an inch of you we won’t claim tonight.”  He licked the soft skin
of her neck to her ear making her shudder.  “Not an inch, Cassie.”

“We guaran-damn-ty it,” Ben
finished.

 
Okey-dokey then.

“All right,” Essie
screeched from the door, where she stood with her coat on and her cane at the
ready.  Everybody turned to look.  She was so loud, even Demon and Clytie
stopped arguing.  “I’m ready to go.”

Oh dear lord in heaven.
  That took care of the Mac and Ben sex haze right quick. 
Cassie looked to Clytie.  She was looking back in a clear: manners versus
“restore sanity” dilemma. 

“Who’s taking me to the
train station?”  Essie finished, her eyes narrowed, as if they might refuse. 
“Got places to be.”

Oh, thank goodness,
Cassie thought, while she watched Clytie slump in
relief.

“Oh, please.  Allow me,”
Ben said, moving away from Clytie enough to present a mocking bow.  “I would
love nothing more than to deliver you…just about anywhere else.”

“I can drop her,” Lucas
said from the doorway his young lions with him.  Cassie automatically looked at
Roxanne, and sure enough, she was staring at Ian with a kind of rapt attention
usually found among the great predators of the wild. 
Hmm. Weird.

“We’re heading out
anyway.”  He walked to Demon.  “I have a line I want to tug while Bidel is off
licking his wounds.  If there’s the slightest need we’ll be back.”

“I know that.”  Demon said,
taking his proffered hand.  “Same goes.”

They gave each other steely
eyes and manly head nods that still managed to convey solidarity and promise. 

“Clytie.  Cassandra.”  He
nodded respectfully to them both and turned to go. 

Ian flashed them his
signature come-hither smile.  “Ladies.” 
Idiot.

“Later everyone,” Cleo
said, giving her own version of soldier cool.  She looked around as if she was
searching for someone in particular and was disappointed, but then she headed
for Roxanne.  “See you later Roxy,” she said, and put out her fist for Roxanne
to bump it with her tiny one.  “When I come back, you’ll have to show me how
you hide so well.”

“Kay Cleo,” she said,
finally looking away from Ian and up into Cleo’s smile.  “You won’t forget to
come back?”

“Course not.  We’re buds.” 

Roxanne’s smile went huge. 
“Kay.”

Cleo smiled at Cassie with
Mac and Ben, then went over and hugged Clytie good-bye.

“Don’t be a stranger,”
Clytie said, hugging the taller girl.  “You can come just by yourself sometimes
too, you know.”

“Yeah?  I might take you up
on that.”

“See that you do.  We girls
have to stick together, especially with this group of ruffians.”

Cleo studied Clytie’s
smiling face almost wistfully for a minute.  “Roxanne’s lucky to have you,” she
said quickly and then left fast, leaving Clytie with her mouth hanging open,
and a soft look on her face. 

Essie just harrumphed once,
gave everyone a final evil eye, and followed. 

Roxanne watched it all, her
angel face resigned, as if she had come to expect everyone to leave anyway. 
Demon and Clytie were both watching her watch Essie leave.  Clytie moved up and
ran her hand down his side to get his attention.  He looked from Roxanne to her
and finally nodded.  His hand going into her hair. 

“Okay baby.”  He leaned
down until his forehead rested on hers.  “But for my sake, at least try to stay
out of trouble.”

“I always try to avoid
trouble,” she told him with a sassy smile.  “Well, except for you.”  He reached
down and spanked her with a growl.  She laughed. 

Argument officially over.

***

After experiencing her
first ladies afternoon out, Roxanne was nodding off at the table, her head on
her fist while her ice cream melted both in her bowl and on her chin.

The bistro was empty since
they had ended up having either a very late lunch, or an early dinner depending
on how you looked at it.  Surrounded by bags and looking glassy eyed with
exhaustion, they had bought way more than a six year old could possibly need. 

Presently, while Ben and
Demon were sitting across the room, Ben eating and looking hot while Demon
glared and looked scary, they were arguing about which movies they should
introduce Roxanne to first, since she had apparently never seen any. 

“Toy Story,” Cassie said
definitely.  “And of course, all the Disney’s you bought.  You did buy them all
right, or was I hallucinating that particular extravagance among so many?”

“All except Pocahontas. 
Disney movies should have happy endings, it should be a law.”

Cassie pursed her lips in
thought.  "I think they considered it a happy ending when the white people
left."