CHAPTER 25

C HAPTER 25

T amsyn moved to the far side of the bed so Cade could slide in beside her. By unspoken agreement, they rolled toward each other into a warm mutual embrace. She felt her muscles slowly relax so she molded herself bonelessly against him, her head on his shoulder. His familiar scent and breathing soothed her. She gave a slow sigh of relief and pleasure. “I always feel so safe with you,” she murmured.

He gave a soft chuckle. “But you’re the one who rescued me, not the other way around.”

“It’s the merest accident that you needed rescuing this time.” She cupped his cheek with one hand, enjoying the prickle of his dark whiskers. “You’ve always been a protector, even when you were a small child and guided Bran safely to London.”

“We worked together,” he pointed out. “Bran supplied the idea and the confidence while I figured out how to steal rides on coaches and find food and shelter. Low-quality food and shelter, but they kept us alive.”

“As I said, you’re a protector. As the oldest male member of the Tribe of Tremayne, you always protected us from those who dislike anyone who is gifted.”

He shifted uncomfortably. “It has been my responsibility to look after my younger brothers and sisters.”

“Not just your responsibility, but your calling,” she said. “It’s why you’re such a good agent for the Home Office. That work gives you a chance to protect the whole of Britain.”

He chuckled. “That’s too vast an undertaking for one man!”

“True, but you’ve always done your best.”

“It’s all any of us can do, my golden girl,” he said tenderly as he brushed out her blond hair, which had fallen from her loose braid.

She sighed. “Sometimes our best isn’t good enough.”

He didn’t reply, just ran a warm, wide hand down her back. She closed her eyes, understanding why cats like being petted. As they both lapsed into silence, she became increasingly aware of how this closeness stirred her senses. She wanted him to touch more of her and found that she wanted to touch more of him. Sweet intimacy.

Her hand brushed down his chest and lower until she reached a firm, unexpected barrier. He caught his breath. “Best you avoid too much exploration, Tamkin!”

She pulled her hand back, a little embarrassed but also intrigued. Though she was primarily a healer of the mind, she understood how male and female bodies came together and her curiosity had been aroused. “Perhaps some mutual exploration?” she said hesitantly. “Now that the female part of me has woken up, I’ve become actively curious.”

“That’s dangerous territory,” he said ruefully. “But if you’re sure you’d like to learn a little more . . .” His voice trailed off as his hand slid around her to rest gently on her right breast.

She caught her breath, thinking that felt wonderful, and pressed a little closer into his hand. Understanding her unspoken signal, he began stroking her nipple with his thumb, sending tingles in all directions.

Her breathing quickened and his hand moved gently lower. Even with the layer of flannel between them, his touch was intoxicating. What would it be like if he was stroking bare skin?

She tugged up the hem of her nightgown till it crumpled below her waist. He hesitated before stroking lower, over the subtle curve of her stomach. Lower still until his skillful fingers reached the incredibly sensitive area between her legs.

She gave a choking sigh as her lower body began pulsing involuntarily against his hand. She’d never felt anything so enthrallingly wonderful, and she wanted more. She could feel sexual tension burning through him, but his touch remained delicate, suggesting rather than demanding. Stimulating a yearning so intense that the world faded into a golden haze of delight.

Then shockingly, a series of fierce convulsions rocked her as she lost all control, thrashing against his warm, firm touch in a surge of desperate need and fulfillment. “Cade!” she gasped. “Dear God, Cade !”

He drew her against him until her body stilled, his breath soft against her forehead. Shaken but trying to sound calm, she murmured, “That was . . . educational.”

“You’re an apt student,” he said, his voice strained. “That’s probably enough exploration for tonight.”

He started to move away from her, but her curiosity hadn’t abated. “Surely there’s more.” She slipped her hand under his shirt so that it rested on taut skin over powerful muscle. His deliciously male body invited further touch.

She slid her hand down his belly under the waistband of his drawers and found the interesting barrier she’d brushed against earlier. She wrapped her hand around the heated length and squeezed gently. “I know the theory. Can you show me the application?”

He jerked within her clasp and gasped. “Stop, Tam!”

She squeezed him again. “Why? I’m interested in further lessons.”

He caught her hand and stilled it within his own. “It’s too soon, Tamsyn! You’re only just discovering a side of your nature that you buried, and you’ve only just learned how I feel about you. Becoming lovers would be an irrevocable change, one we might both regret. You need to come to terms with what just happened, and what you’d like to happen in the future.”

She wanted to exclaim that she knew what she wanted and he was right here in her bed, but her rational mind intervened. “You’re probably right,” she sighed.

“You know I am,” he said gently as he started to pull away. “We need to put some space between us. I’ll go up to the sleeping loft.”

Becoming lovers might be unwise, but recklessness still danced through her veins. “Not yet! Though it’s too soon for anything irrevocable, there is a matter of equity to be settled. What you did for me was . . . stunning. It’s only fair for me to attempt to return the favor.”

Before he could reply, she freed her hand from his and again clasped that heated, pulsing essence of masculinity. She stroked rhythmically, sensing his desire as it intensified to a golden inferno. Suddenly he gasped and turned rigid as he climaxed swiftly with a deep, shuddering groan that engulfed his whole body.

As he slowly relaxed, she exhaled with pleasure and cuddled against him. “I think I’m going to sleep very, very well.”

“You’ll have to share the bed with me since I no longer have the strength to climb the ladder to the loft,” he murmured as he rolled to his side and tucked her back against his front.

She relaxed into his warm embrace, her body satisfied and happy but her mind whirling. Her instinctive feeling that they could not be physically attracted because they’d been raised as brother and sister had faded as she accepted that they weren’t blood kin, but the issue was still complicated.

She’d think more about the complications tomorrow. Tonight she reveled at being cradled in Cade’s arms.