Viper (25 page)

Chapter 23

Kane’s breath left his body, watching Cara do a backward crawl up the bed. Her pale white skin called to him as his hands itched to trail over every silky smooth inch. And he would. They had all night. He planned to take his time appealing to every one of her erogenous zones, so that she’d never think of another man. He’d be the only one playing out in her fantasies.

He shucked his boots, followed by his jeans and briefs before crawling onto the bed. The mattress dipped by his added weight as he made his way to join her. Her wide blue gaze darkened, the pupils nearly swallowing the irises. The scent of her heightened desire wafted to his nose, like a beacon of light beckoning in the dark. His fangs grazed his lower lip, reminding him that drinking from her again was not an option, no matter how heady the fragrance of her blood.

Grabbing her behind the knees, he slid her down the sheets toward his waiting mouth. If he couldn’t taste her blood, he’d damn well for sure taste her another way. Cara gasped from the swift alteration that brought his mouth just scant centimeters from his intended destination. Kane dragged the sharp points of his canines over the tender flesh of the inside of her thighs. Never had the urge to feed been so strong. Had he been smart, he would’ve taken care of that temptation before following her to the hotel.

Instead of giving purchase to his strong desire to take communion, he followed the path of his canines with his tongue. Using his forefinger, he slid it between her wet folds and dipped within her moist center.

“God, you’re so wet.”

Cara squirmed above him, as she fought to catch her breath. Her thighs quivered beneath his touch. Kane added a second finger, dragging them slowly in and out of her, feeling the walls of her vagina clamp around them in response. The tip of his tongue circled her clitoris as his fingers continued to slide in and out of her like his cock ached to do. Cara’s hips came off the bed, her hands fisting the sheets. He savored the sweetness of her, almost as delicious as that of her blood. His balls tightened and he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to hold out.

Sweet agony.

He wanted her wringing his cock as tightly as she did his fingers, knowing they already fit like perfect pieces of a puzzle. Drawing the sensitive bud between his lips and teeth, he gently suckled it. Cara’s breath quickened, her chest quivered.

“Kane, I—” she said, seconds before the spasms seized his fingers and her head tilted heavenward, calling out his name again.

Hearing his name cross her lips in the throes of an orgasm was nearly his undoing. If he didn’t sheath himself inside her soon, he’d most definitely embarrass himself. Kane removed his fingers, gripped one of her legs and wrapped it about his waist as he crawled the rest of the way up the bed. His lips hovered over hers as his black gaze fastened on the tip of her pink tongue, darting out and smoothing over her lower lip. His cock rested intimately between them, throbbing against her slick folds. Kane gritted his teeth to keep from selfishly driving home and ending this all too quickly.

Cara, her gaze heavy-lidded, flattened her palms against his ribs. Kane felt the heat of her touch like the flame from a candle. His breath drew in sharply as she leaned forward, pressing tiny kisses against his throat, before licking a path from his Adam’s apple to his ear. She caught the lobe between her teeth, gently nipping it.

Bracing himself on one arm, he turned her head and captured her mouth in a deep, possessive kiss. There was nothing chaste about it. No, it was meant to be one of possession as his body longed to do, and he would soon, as he was quickly reaching his breaking point. As if Cara had sensed his desperation, she raised her hips, riding the length of his hard-on, giving him permission to take her.

She threatened his self-control like no woman before her. No longer willing to deny himself, Kane gripped her other leg and hooked it over his shoulder, opening her to him as he swiftly entered her. Cara’s breath hitched and her gaze widened. His cock filled her completely as his hips rose and fell with each thrust.

His free hand palmed one of her breasts, dragging it slowly over the hardened bud before tweaking it between thumb and forefinger as he balanced on one arm. Kane watched her nipple harden and pucker. His mouth watered for a taste, but he didn’t trust his fangs anywhere near her delicate flesh, not when his hunger rode at an all-time high.

God, she had great nipples.

Kane knew the moment she teetered on the edge of yet another orgasm as her lids lowered, hiding her sky blue eyes from him. Her head tilted into the pillow and she arched her back from the mattress, taking him more deeply into her, if that were even possible.

“Cara,” he requested, willing her gaze back to his.

She blinked, her breath hitched as she focused on his vampiric features.

“Know that I claim you.”

She nodded once in acknowledgement, the only clue that she had heard. But he meant every word, every syllable. Pity the man who tried to take what now belonged to him. She might not realize yet what his confession meant, but to him it held the same level of authority as being mated, without her having to become one of them. A tear leaked from the corner of one of her eyes. Kane leaned down and licked away the salty wetness, before licking a path to her ear.

“Come for me, Mia Bella,” he whispered.

Cara’s breath stuttered and her lids closed as her convulsions began, this time squeezing his cock as thoroughly as she had his fingers. Kane grunted, tipped his head back and uttered the word, “Fuck,” as he let go and tumbled over the cliff with her, his release spilling hotly inside her.

His thigh muscles and ass cheeks tightened as white lights exploded behind his eyelids before collapsing his weight on top of her. He quickly rolled to his side and tucked her against him. Cara laid her head against his breast, feeling the gentle wisps of air she breathed, tickling the fine hairs on his chest. She used her free hand to smooth her blonde hair from her brow.

“Wow,” she said. He could feel her lips curl in a smile against his chest. “And I thought it couldn’t possibly get any better.”

Kane chuckled. “I’m only getting started, Mia Bella.”

A shiver passed through her. Tightening his grip, Kane kissed the top of her head. As much as he might wish it otherwise, he needed to get them on the road soon if they had any hopes of getting her back to the office before daybreak. And although he’d like nothing better than a round two, he knew she’d need to rest before making the three-hour trek north.

“Get some shut-eye. We’ll need to leave in a few hours if we hope to get you to work on time.”

Cara groaned. “You had to go and ruin the moment.”

“I thought you liked your job?”

“I do when it doesn’t include trying to pin a murder on you.”

Kane tipped her chin so she looked him in the eye. “Still believe I did it?”

She shook her head. “But now that the state is involved…”

“The pencil-pusher.”

“Robbie?”

“You know the captain personally?”

Cara lay there for long moments, not saying a word. Finally, she said, “We dated.”

Kane drew his brows together. So Cara had fucked the captain? A fire began in his gut. Now he had more reasons not to like the man. “It better stay past tense.”

“You have no worries. Trust me, I’d rather not be anywhere near the ass. But without telling everyone about our past, I’m stuck working this case with him.” Cara glanced up at him. “He seems bent on laying this on your doorstep.”

“Doesn’t surprise me. You let me worry about Captain Melchor. You want to tell me what happened?”

Cara sat up, pulling the sheet around her nakedness. Kane wanted to pull the cotton barrier from between them and wrap her naked frame back around his. But because she seemed bothered by whatever had happened between her and the captain, he allowed her the space.

Her gaze left his and trained on the outdated, gold striped wallpaper. “He’s the reason I left Eugene and came back to Pleasant. That and being closer to my grandfather, of course.”

“Then maybe I should thank him.”

Cara clenched her jaw and further closed herself off. Kane hated the emotional distance. He needed to hear what happened and she needed to let it go. “Tell me about him.”

Cara glanced at him and smiled. “It’s not pretty. You sure you want the ugly truth?”

Kane nodded.

“I’ve never been good at relationships. Blame the lack of great parenting. The best I had was my grandfather. My father was overworked and my mother only cared about reaching the bottom of a bottle. Seems being drunk was much better than spending time with the daughter she never wanted.”

“I’m sorry, Mia Bella.”

Cara shrugged. “I guess because of my past, I never really believed in love-ever-after anyway, maybe like-for-the-moment. And truthfully, I’m probably still no better at it. Anyway, Robbie was my superior at the PD in Eugene. Dating him was against department rules.

“He didn’t care, so why should I. He was cute, paid attention to me. Eventually, we started meeting secretly. Back roads, back rooms, back seats. Wherever we could find a few minutes of privacy. It was fun for the time being … exciting even as we tried to keep it covert. Then something changed … Robbie changed.”

“How so?”

“He became possessive. Not that I was dating anyone other than him. But he started having some of my fellow officers follow me when I was off the clock.”

Cara paused, absently tracing the veins running along the back of Kane’s hand that now rested on her knee.

“I confronted him with it. He didn’t even deny it. He called me a slut, said I was seen having drinks with one of the third-shifters. That much was true, but we were just friends. He told me I was his whore and that if I took my pants off for anyone else, he’d make sure they had an accident, cop or no cop.”

Cara glanced up at Kane, pain lacing her gaze. “I knew he would carry through with his threat. If I even looked at another guy, he’d take him out. I couldn’t risk it. So I called off the affair. Told him we were over and if he even so much as looked at me cross-eyed, I’d tell the police chief.”

Kane turned his hand over and intertwined his fingers with hers, giving her hand a light squeeze.

“As you can imagine, he didn’t take it well.” Cara’s laugh rang false. “Hell, he didn’t take it at all. Acted as though we were still together. One night, he showed up at my place. I tried slamming the door in his face, but he was too quick. He stuck his boot in the door and wrestled his way into my apartment. I don’t need to go into details. He raped me. Slapped me around. I wound up with several lacerations about my face and a broken nose, earning me two black eyes.”

Kane growled as his hatred for the pencil pusher just skyrocketed. “I’ll kill the son of a bitch..”

Cara shook her head slowly, looking away as her eyes filled with unshed tears. “I came to terms with it, Kane. But I couldn’t tell anyone what had happened or Robbie would see that I was the one on the wrong side of the dirt if I ever told soul. So I kept my mouth shut.”

She looked back at him, a tear slipping down her cheek. Kane used the pad of his thumb on his free hand to swipe it away.

“That’s when I moved here. I was able to put it behind me. That is, until yesterday.”

Cara placed her palm against Kane’s cheek as if she meant to comfort him. Jesus, what she had gone through. “He’s set on solving this case, and I’m afraid he won’t stop until he finds something to convict you with, even if he has to plant evidence. He’ll play dirty. He wants all the glory. Always has. I’m sure that’s how he got his promotion. He doesn’t play fair.”

Kane grinned, a grin laced with malice. “That’s okay, Mia Bella, because I don’t play fair either.

* * *

“I’ll be just a few minutes,” Cara said as she entered the clubhouse in front of Kane. “I need to change clothes, then you can run me to the office.”

“You sure you have to go in today?”

Cara could hear the smile in his voice, but she knew better than to look at him or she’d never make to work. No doubt he’d succeed in seducing her right back into bed.

“How about meeting me at my house later this evening?” She didn’t miss a beat, not giving his suggestion an answer. “I need to stop by the nursing home and visit my grandfather after work. Say maybe around eight?”

Kane’s boots sounded off the scarred flooring behind her, kicking her heart rate up a notch knowing he was so close. She swore, as long as she lived, she’d always have a thing for this biker. Cara wasn’t sure she believed in love, but what she felt for this man … vampire, she mentally corrected with a smile, had to be damn close to it.

“You wanting to try out that big bed of yours?”

His deep voice washed over her, making her shiver. Lord, he could beguile her easily enough just by talking. Heat rose up her neck, undoubtedly reddening her cheeks, just at the reminder of how they had spent their prior evening. They had made love once more before getting back on the road. Kane had allowed her to sleep a few hours before waking her with his questing fingers and well-placed kisses before hitting the shower together. Damn, just the thought of it made her hot all over again.