Chapter 20

"You owe me for this," Kalpar grumbled as he threw the last shovelful of dirt over the grave.

He'd arrived with S'kal and the three of them had dragged the bodies into the woods and buried them - although the other two had done most of the work. As he'd predicted, S'kal fussed over his wounded arm, but it was already feeling much better.

"I do," he said sincerely. "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be sure to call on you next time I need bodies buried."

They all laughed, then Kalpar headed back through the woods, anxious to return to his mate. Constance was struggling with both the knowledge of what her father had planned and the fate he had in store for him, and Kalpar didn't like leaving her alone for long.

He and S'kal followed more slowly through the darkening woods.

"I'd forgotten what this was like," he said softly. "Being part of a team. Having people you can rely on."

"We were always there for you."

"I'm not sure that's true." He came to a halt and turned to face his brother. "But you were. You were always there for me. Thank you for not giving up on me. For continuing to visit me even when I was so locked in my own head I couldn't talk."

"Of course I came. You're my brother. I knew you'd come around eventually."

S'kal grinned at him affectionately and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Let's go home, H'zim."

Home.He smiled as he thought of Kara waiting for him in their house - a house that had become a home.

He paused as they emerged from the woods, looking across the fields to the farmhouse, the windows glowing warmly in the dusk. He'd realized today that the past would always be with him. He couldn't turn his back on those years of bitterness and resentment, not entirely. But with her help he could learn to live with them.

"It's a beautiful night," S'kal said as they started across the fields.

The sky was clear and filled with stars, and the twin moons cast a silvery glow over the world.

"It is," he said absently, and then a thought occurred to him. "If anything happens to me, will you take care of Kara for me?"

"Of course, you idiot. But nothing is going to happen to you."

He ignored the obvious false reassurance. He wasn't going to throw himself into danger, but he also knew that life could be unpredictable. He'd been lucky tonight. His wound might easily have been fatal and then she would have been left alone again. He trusted S'kal to make sure she still felt like part of a family.

They said goodbye outside the barn and his brother rode off into the night while he returned to the farmhouse. Kara had fallen asleep in the big chair he'd occupied earlier, so beautiful in the lamplight that his chest ached. He thought again about the fact that he could have lost her and suddenly he needed her desperately.

He bent down and picked her up. His arm ached but as long as he kept most of her weight on his uninjured arm, he was fine.

Her eyes fluttered open as he placed her on the bed and she looked around in confusion.

"How did I get here? You didn't carry me, did you?"

He shrugged and pulled off his shirt. As he'd hoped, the sight distracted her and she licked her lips before giving him an admonishing look.

"You shouldn't have done that. What you need-"

"What I need is you, my love."

He toed off his boots and shoved down his pants, his cock springing free between them. Her eyes went heavy with pleasure as she reached for him but he made her wait while he helped her undress, kissing and caressing each inch of exposed skin.

As soon as he removed her blouse, he cupped her breasts, tracing his thumbs over the dark pink tips and listening to her whimper of need.

"H'zim please," she whispered, and he obeyed the urgent tug on his shoulders, closing his mouth over a tempting peak and sucking eagerly.

She clutched his head, crying out as he worked the hardened tip until she was writhing beneath him. His need increased at the sound, driving him on as he dipped his hand between her legs, seeking her hot little cunt. He groaned as his fingers slipped along the warm wet folds, already swollen and ready. His little mate was as eager as he was.

He eased one finger inside her as he switched to her other breast, lavishing the same attention on it. His finger stroked her, feeling the needy little spasms against his touch. She was so close, but he didn't want her to come yet.

Slowly, he began to kiss his way down her body, ignoring her impatient hands as they tangled in his hair, and her whispered pleas. When he finally reached his destination, he looked up at her.

"Open your eyes, Kara. Look at me."

Her eyelids fluttered open and she looked down at him, her eyes unfocused for a moment before her gaze fixed on his. He held her eyes as he pressed another finger inside her and then leaned in, using his tongue to tease the swollen little bud of her clit. She gasped, but she kept her eyes on him as he drove her higher and higher, her hips jerking as he sucked and lapped.

The wet sounds of his fingers thrusting into her heated depths mixing with the sweetly erotic cries that he was dragging from her lips. Her fingernails dug into his scalp, but he kept going, watching as her release swept over her, her eyes still locked with his. She came with a wordless cry, her hips bucking wildly until she finally slumped back on the mattress, gasping for air.

He lifted his head, licking the sweetness from his lips, then prowled back up her body to kiss her. She sighed happily into his mouth as he kissed her, reaching up to curl her arms around his neck.

He thrust his aching cock along her slick folds, and she gave him a teasing look.

"I'm kind of tired," she said, but she reached between them to run a teasing hand over his length and he growled.

He rolled over and pulled her on top of him. Her eyes widened as she realized what he intended and she wiggled a little as she settled over him, her hot slick core pressed against his cock. He gave an involuntary groan and she smiled down at him.

"Maybe I'm not that tired after all," she purred.

She took his hands and put them on her hips as she began to rock against him. Her cheeks were flushed and her nipples were a dusky pink, and she looked so beautiful, so confident his heart ached as she leaned down and kissed him.

His body reacted immediately to the brush of her sweet little mouth and his cock pulsed, eager for the heat of her sheath. But she seemed content to continue playing, rocking against his cock until they were both desperate.

"Kara," he growled in warning.

She smiled a little impishly but positioned herself over him and slowly began to lower her body. He'd meant to give her time to adjust to the size of him, but he couldn't resist the delicious little cunt that was gripping him so tightly. He gave an instinctive upward thrust and she moaned.

"Yes!"

He repeated the movement and she whimpered and nodded, encouraging him until he was slamming into her.

"Ride me," he demanded and she complied immediately, bouncing on his cock as they raced towards their finish.

Her needy moans surrounded him, the sweet scent of her arousal filling the air, and his cock throbbed inside her. She started to shake, and then she cried out his name as she came, her tight little channel spasming around him as she collapsed down over his chest.

He caught her in his arms and rolled her over, plunging into her welcoming warmth again and again until his own climax washed over him, stealing his breath away as he emptied inside her.

When he could breathe again, he looked down to find her smiling up at him, her face even more radiant than it had been a moment before.

"I love you, Kara."

"I love you too," she said.

And then she kissed him, and he knew that he had everything he could ever want right there in his arms.