Protected Mate (Catamount Lion Shifters #1) (4 page)

Dane’s questions about her plans had made her wonder what she was going to do. She’d been truthful when she’d told him she didn’t have any plans, but now that she was face to face with what it meant, part of her was terrified. She’d hoped the sense of accomplishment she felt from finishing the Appalachian Trail would buoy her onto whatever would happen next in her life. Somehow, ending her hike with a sprained ankle fizzled those dreams. Strangely though, she felt a sense of fate when Dane had found her in the cave last night.

When he’d told her he wanted to kiss her, Chloe’s heart beat to the resonance he evoked. And then there was the kiss, which pretty much blew her mind. She couldn’t even think about it without blushing, and all they’d done was kiss. With a shake of her head, she stood and limped to the bathroom.

Moments later, she carefully climbed into the tub, keeping her ankle propped up on the side. The hot water relaxed her. Resting her head against the edge of the tub, Dane filled her thoughts. When she was near him, there was a constant current between them. It went beyond mere attraction. After her engagement was in shambles, Chloe had wondered if she’d ever trust again. Though her mind resisted, her heart completely trusted Dane. And if her body had any say in the matter, well, she’d never have hesitated at his offer to stay with him. Her mind had to raise its voice to be heard in that little internal disagreement. Just thinking about his smoky blue-gray eyes and the feel of his lips on hers and heat unfurled in her body. Her hand unconsciously toyed with her nipples, imagining Dane’s hands there.

The aftermath of her engagement falling apart and months of hiking had taken her to a chaste place, which she’d needed for a while. But now, Dane’s touch had flicked a switch. She was hot and bothered—all by herself in the bathtub. She slid a hand down her abdomen and into her moist folds. She was swollen with desire. Teasing herself, all she could think about was Dane. She abruptly sat up. She was so close to the edge, but she didn’t want to tumble over by herself.

Swearing at how slowly she had to move, she got out of the tub and dried off. Tugging her phone out of her purse, she opened her contacts. She’d added Dane’s number earlier today after he dropped her off.

Swatting her rational thoughts away, she called him. He picked up on the second ring.

“Hey Chloe, is everything okay?”

The sound of his low voice amped up the desire humming through her. “I want to see you,” she said, her voice raspy.

“Give me ten minutes and I’ll be there,” Dane said swiftly. Before she could reply, he hung up.

She sat on the bed wondering what the hell she was thinking. She’d met him in the dark in a cave in the middle of the woods. She knew almost nothing about him, other than that he was a doctor, he had a sister, and he lived in Catamount. Everything she felt didn’t make sense. She felt as if she’d known him for years. Her heart hammered against her ribs, anticipation fluttering in her veins.

***

Dane careened down the hill toward town where Chloe was staying. Her voice had set him on fire. After lunch, he’d reluctantly dropped her off at the inn and returned to his office. He’d spent the next few hours doing some online digging with Jake’s help. He didn’t like prying into Callen’s email accounts after he died, but he had a suspicion if there were any clues that might tell him why Callen was in mountain lion form weeks after he’d flown out West, they might be there. Callen had been one of the alphas in their mountain lion clan, his family along with Dane’s and two others the founding families of Catamount, the name selected because it was an old nickname for mountain lions.

Centuries ago, the dwindling mountain lions in the eastern United States kept pushing further north as humans spread into their territory. During this precarious time, litters of mountain lions began to be born with the ability to shift from cat to human. This became their last line of defense against extinction.
Before mountain lions became shifters to save themselves, they’d had a loose hierarchy with alphas claiming the broadest swathes of territory, but otherwise living solitary lives. After being driven to smaller and smaller corners of the wilderness and developing the ability to shift, alphas functioned more as leaders among their clans and were fiercely protective of their families.

For as long as eastern mountain lions had been shifters, rumors had swirled there were shifters in other parts of the country. Though the West had bigger populations of wild mountain lions, it was rumored they were so established because there were hidden shifters among them. Callen had been determined to find them. He reasoned the eastern species needed to grow and wanted to connect with their counterparts elsewhere. Dane, just as alpha as Callen but less interested in throwing his weight around, had disagreed and repeatedly shared his concern that Callen was risking their safety with his research. After plowing through way too many emails, he and Jake had flagged a series of emails with a man who worked for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and lived in Montana. Dane’s stomach churned with worry that Callen may have accidentally revealed their presence to the government.

The potential ramifications of that were disastrous. As it was, mountain lions were relegated to mere fractions of the territory they once roamed. If the government discovered the existence of mountain lion shifters, they faced the threat of regulation, being fenced in, being forced to report their whereabouts, or even worse, being rounded up and studied. The possibilities were horrifying. Catamount shifters had protected their existence for centuries. The trait to shift from human to lion and back again was the key to their secret and to their safety. If Callen had put that at risk…the mere thought of it sickened Dane. Jake had left moments before Chloe called, promising to get to work tomorrow and try to hack into the man’s computer.

Chloe’s voice had been music to Dane’s ears. Not only did he want to get his mind off of his worries about what happened to Callen and what it meant for his kind, he desperately wanted every minute he could have with Chloe. He didn’t know precisely why she’d called and so bluntly stated she wanted to see him, but he didn’t even consider saying no.

He knocked quickly on her door. Chloe opened it, and Dane’s blood heated at the sight of her. Her honey blonde hair was damp with soft tendrils framing her face. Her green eyes were bright. She was wearing nothing other than a robe. He swallowed at the realization that she was likely bare underneath it. Her skin was flushed.

“Hey,” she said simply, her voice low and husky.

He stepped through the door. She remained standing just beyond where the door swung open. Realizing she couldn’t move quickly because of her ankle, he moved out of the way and closed the door, never taking his eyes off of her.

“Hey,” he returned, standing in front of her and brushing a loose lock of hair away from her cheek. A mere touch and lust streaked through him, his cat arching and stretching inside. He forced himself to hold still for a moment, trying to read her eyes. He saw vulnerability and uncertainty mixed with heat and desire. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips, and he was gone. “Tell me if this is too much,” he whispered right before his lips came against hers.

Dane’s blood pounded in his ears, desire thundering through him. Chloe’s lips were soft and luscious. Her mouth opened instantly to his, her tongue tangling in a slow dance with his. He stepped closer, barely able to remember he needed to be careful of her ankle and leg. He slipped his arms around her, bringing her against his body. The feel of her curves against his hard muscles wiped his mind clear of all thought. Instinct driving him, he slid one hand slowly down her back to cup her bottom, so soft and round. His other hand traveled down her neck, coasting across her pulse and curling around her breast, so heavy and hot in his hand. A soft sound escaped her throat, and his cock pulsed against the cradle of her hips.

He forced himself to gentle his lips and still his hands. He was about to take her—right here, right now.

“Chloe,” he whispered urgently.

She opened those green eyes, misty with desire. Her lips were swollen and she strained against him. Her breath was ragged. “I wanted to see you because I…” She paused, a flush washing her face. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I just needed to see you,” she said simply. She broke away from his gaze, her eyes unfocused. She bit her lip.

“Don’t be nervous,” he said gruffly, sensing she was. “It’s the same for me.”

Her eyes flew back to his, a furrow forming between them. “It is?”

He nodded. He tried to think of how to slow this down and find a way to tell her what he was. His brain could barely function. When Chloe took a few steps back and untied her rode, letting it fall open, his knees buckled. He was lost.

“Before you got here, I couldn’t stop thinking about you…” she whispered, lifting her hands to cup her breasts. “I decided I didn’t want to be alone, to only think about you.” Her eyes were bold and shy at once.

Dane took two strides, stopping abruptly inches away from her. His entire body vibrated with need, the force so powerful, he could barely restrain it. He closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath. When he opened them, meeting her soft green gaze, her eyes intent on him, he had to shake his head to focus. “You have to know I want you more than I’ve wanted anyone ever. But I don’t want to rush you…”

She placed her finger against his lips. “You’re not rushing me. I’m rushing you. I can’t not do this.” She dropped her hand, eyes on him, expectant and waiting.

He let his forehead fall to hers. They stood like that for a long moment, time suspended, before he took her lips. An incremental step closer and he finally felt her soft curves against him. That itself was such heaven, the memory would stay with him for a lifetime.

***

Chloe thought for a moment Dane wouldn’t give her what she wanted. She couldn’t explain what she felt, only that she wasn’t going to let her old, tired planning mind talk her out of this. Her body came to life like a tuning fork around Dane. Desire rushed through her in waves. All she wanted was to feel his bare skin against hers and to let the passion that sparked and flickered burst into flame.

He kissed her softly at first until she reached up and tugged him closer, stroking her tongue against his. Their kiss went wild, deep strokes, nips and nibbles. Their breath mingled in gasps. She pressed into his hard body, glorying in the feel of the planes of his muscled chest and abdomen against her breasts. Dane’s lips left hers with a groan. His eyes pinned hers, the blue darker and deeper. He took a step back and carefully lifted her.

“We have to get you off your feet,” he said, his voice raspy.

In a few strides, he reached the bed and carefully set her down, tugging the pillows to prop behind her head. Her robe fell further open. She didn’t know what had come over her, but she felt no modesty around him. She shifted her shoulders, and the robe fell away from her breasts.

Dane’s breath hitched. “You have no idea what you do to me,” he bit out.

“I want to feel you against me.”

Dane tore his shirt off, revealing a chest that exceeded her fantasies. He was all muscle, lean and sinuous. He kicked his shoes off and carefully lowered himself on the bed beside her. The bed dipped with his weight, and she didn’t resist the roll of her body right into his. The feel of his skin against hers was electric.

Dane closed his eyes and groaned, rolling to his side and lifting a hand to caress down her shoulder, curling around the curve of her breast, into the dip of her waist and coming to rest on the rise of her hip. He took a shuddering breath when she arched against him.

“Chloe…we have to slow down…” he rasped out.

“I just want to be close to you,” she whispered.

It was the bare truth. A tiny corner of her mind tried to remind her that this was crazy. She’d been with only one man. Before she’d met Tom in college, her experience with men had been limited to a few kisses. She had lost her virginity to Tom and gone on to have several years of reliably mediocre sex, never even contemplating her body could feel the way it did when she simply got near Dane. She didn’t know what was going to happen, but she wasn’t going to deprive herself of the chance to feel something she’d never felt before.

She looked up at Dane’s face. His hand was on her hip and her breasts grazed his chest. His eyes were closed, his breathing ragged. Wishing she could move more nimbly, Chloe pushed herself up and placed a hand on his chest. His eyes flew open, dark with desire. She leaned forward and brought her lips to his. The barest touch and he devoured her mouth. He shifted them so she was resting against the pillows again and proceeded to kiss her senseless. Deep, openmouthed, wild kisses.

Time dissolved into the curtain of passion that fell around them. Chloe succumbed to sensation, tumbling headfirst into the force that pulsed between them. Kisses moved from her lips down her neck to the tops of her breasts. He slowly pushed her robe back off her shoulders. She wore nothing other than a pair of practical cotton panties underneath. She’d wished she had something sexy to wear when she’d called Dane, but when she’d packed for this long hike, so many months ago, she’d been certain sexual encounters would not be on the list of her activities, so she packed only what she needed for months of hiking.

When Dane leaned up and trailed his fingers down between her breasts, over the soft curve of her belly to trace across the top of her panties, he smiled softly. “So sexy,” he whispered.

“These?” she asked, gesturing to the white cotton panties.

“Yes, so practical and perfect. You don’t need to do anything other than be you.”

“Oh.” She met his eyes and careened into the intensity of his gaze.

When he brought his lips to her body, he began a slow exploration that left her breathless, gasping and half out of her mind. He mapped her body with his lips and tongue, careful not to dislodge the bandages on her leg. His touch was light and sure at once. He stroked, licked and nipped. Her breasts were aching for more, and her desire built to a wet frenzy in her core. When he finally closed his lips over a nipple, she almost cried in relief. He proceeded to bring her higher and higher by teasing her nipples with suction, rolling the hard peaks between his fingers, and softly biting.