Chapter Thirteen

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Maybe the Clan hadn’t been as cruel and unforgiving as he’d always thought. Maybe his older brothers had gotten it wrong all those years ago in their decision to not approach the Clan when their parents had been killed. Maybe, if they’d gone to the Clan for help, they would have been welcomed.

More and more, Colt was beginning to think that would have been the case. It had been clear since their first encounter with Lester back on Long Island that the Clan hadn’t known the boys’ parents were dead. And damn if he hadn’t been impressed by the current Alpha. Sam Kinkaid definitely lived up to his reputation, which was something Colt had researched regardless of his brothers’ feelings on the matter.

Colt had discovered that the current Alpha of the Kinkaid Clan, from all accounts, was a reluctant leader who nonetheless led his people with an astute cunning that was befitting the king of all cats. After all, lions were said to be the kings of the jungle, though that was a bit of a misnomer since they preferred the savannah these days. Still, the lion was the mightiest of all the big cat breeds, though those other breeds didn’t always see it that way. And, due to his Goddess-blessed white fur, Sam Kinkaid was also the king of all lions, odd as that seemed to be.

Wars in Africa had reduced the number of lions there greatly and killed off all the white lions who would have been the monarchs of their kind. When Sam’s fur had sprouted white, he’d become the lion king by default. A state of affairs that Sam really wasn’t very happy about, according to all the research Colt had done. But Sam did his duty, and even if the African lions didn’t care for the white lion who also happened to be a light-skinned American of mixed Scotch, Irish, and African ancestry, he had accepted the mantle of king of all lions, albeit reluctantly.

Now that Colt had met the man in person, he thought he understood why he inspired such loyalty in the people of his Clan. Even, maybe, why the African lions followed his lead on certain matters even though he kept his base of operations in the United States. Though, as a leading businessman, Colt knew Sam traveled a lot internationally. Perhaps some of his trips and investments in Africa were part of his efforts to revive and renew the coffers of the African lions. Colt would have to dig into that a bit more after this was all over. It felt right though. Like something the man he’d met would do.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Faith said, her gentle voice cutting through his reverie.

He turned to look at her, taken again by how perfect she was. Beautiful, smart, powerful. All the things he’d always dreamed of in a mate.

“I was thinking that maybe my brothers and I haven’t given the Clan enough credit over the years. I was too young to really know what the Clan was all about when our parents died, but everything I’ve seen since meeting Lester and Liam on Long Island and now, especially, after meeting Gavin and Sam, tells me that the Clan didn’t know we’d been orphaned. I’m not so sure my brothers chose correctly when they stubbornly refused to go to the Clan for help all those years ago. Rich can be just a little pigheaded at times, despite being a lion.”

Colt grinned a bit at the memory of some of Rich’s more spectacular displays of sheer orneriness. Some of them had been epic, though he’d mellowed a lot as he’d aged.

Faith chuckled, and he tugged her closer in his arms. She felt so good there. So right.

“What do you say we call it a night?” He dropped a kiss on her lips as she turned her face up to his.

“As long as we spend it together, I’m all for that idea,” she replied, taking his breath away. She really was the most amazing woman.

“Then, I second the motion.” He stood from the couch, taking her with him, carrying her in his arms as he went toward her bedroom. It was the closer of the two.

She squealed when he tossed her onto the big bed and then followed her down onto it. She made him feel strong—and not just physically. Her character and kindness gave him strength of spirit he hadn’t often felt in his life. She was just good for him, and even so soon into their relationship, he couldn’t imagine being without her ever again.

He knew that by human standards, it was way too soon to be thinking things like that, but he was a shifter, and shifters just knew . He was hers, and she was his. Forever. Simple. Right?

His heart twisted a little in agony, knowing that she might not be feeling the way he did. For her, this could all just be a pleasant encounter that wasn’t meant to last. It killed him to think that she might be able to walk away from this—from them—at the end of this mission, and he’d made a vow to himself to do everything in his power to convince her to stay.

Faith was so impressed by Colt’s strength. Not just his physical power, though carrying her as if she weighed no more than a feather and throwing her onto the bed as he had was pretty darn impressive, but he had a core of strength in his psyche that was very attractive to her. He’d let her in to his innermost thoughts and his vulnerabilities where his family was concerned, and she felt both sympathy and admiration for the way he was handling this tricky situation. It couldn’t be easy for him to have to confront the Clan that the brothers believed had turned their backs on them when they needed help the most. Yet Colt was here, doing the job, even if it tore him up emotionally every once in a while. He was strong in the face of that potential turmoil and that impressed the heck out of her.

He was such a good man. So committed to doing the right thing even if it was uncomfortable for him or challenged some long-held beliefs about his extended family. She wanted to be there for him, to help him sort through the tangled web of feelings associated with the Clan and his brothers, but she wasn’t sure how long this new relationship of theirs would last.

Even after just one night together, she already felt addicted to his lovemaking. Being with him the previous day as they searched for an answer to the upcoming trials made admire him more than it probably should have on such short acquaintance. She recognized his wit and respected his candor. She just plain liked him. More than she’d ever liked any man. If she was being honest—at least within her own mind—she would admit that she was very close to falling in love with him, if she hadn’t fallen already.

That felt dangerous to her. Not that she expected him to deliberately hurt her. It felt dangerous to risk her heart on a man who believed there was only one woman destined for him in all the world. The odds of her being that woman were low. Colt had been sure to tell her that before they got together. She admired his honesty, even as she cursed the belief that could keep them apart.

She tried really hard to keep it all surface. Especially with the demons and life-threatening situations she was sure they would be facing soon. But she couldn’t help that little part of her heart that insisted that he was special. That little bit of her heart that was his now, forevermore, no matter how everything else turned out.

Colt took off his clothes slowly, allowing her to watch. He gyrated his hips in a way that made her giggle, but also made her breath catch. He was doing a little striptease just for her.

“You could make a fortune as an exotic dancer,” she said, fanning herself comically as he stalked closer, moving sensuously to music only he could hear.

“I know some guys who did that when they were in college. They made great tips,” he replied, moving closer and losing the last bit of his clothing. Her mouth went dry. He was hard and ready, but apparently willing to chat a bit. “And we shifters get a little naughty when we’re young and sowing our wild oats, so to speak.”

“Just when you’re young?” she asked, wondering how old he was.

She knew from her mentor that shifters lived a lot longer than regular folk. Colt looked about her own age, but he could be anything from that to a hundred and fifty and still look like the prime beefcake before her. She blushed at her own thoughts as he knelt on the side of the bed, then crawled toward her like a stalking cat. Rawr.

Without speaking, he spread her thighs and then lowered his head. She really did want to growl aloud as his mouth touched her most sensitive places. His tongue teased and sent her senses into orbit even as she writhed on the bed. After she’d calmed a bit, he sat up and looked at her near-boneless pose on the bed and grinned with pure male satisfaction.

“I may be through sowing oats, but the wild will never leave me,” he finally answered her question in a roundabout way.

Then, he sprang on her like the cat that shared his soul and covered her body with his. She really liked his version of wild . In fact, she might already be completely addicted.

He joined their bodies together, and she was more than ready to sail up to the stars again on a wave of pleasure only Colt could bring her. He brought her to orgasm again and again before joining her in bliss.

They lay together in the aftermath, side by side in the large bed. Colt toyed with her hair, twirling a strand around one thick finger while she just reveled in the state of absolute satiation he had given her.

“You know, I never did the exotic dancer gig, but I really did know a few guys who went that route. It was a really easy way to make a lot of money for doing something that comes sort of naturally to a lot of shifters. We love to dance, and we’re more in tune with our bodies than most of the humans I’ve known,” he said contemplatively. “I chose to follow my brothers into the service and that sort of precluded going wild in a strip club night after night, you know?”

She turned her head to find him grinning as he gazed up at the ceiling. Turning farther, she kissed his shoulder.

“You would have made a killing as a stripper,” she told him. He looked over, meeting her gaze.

“You really think so?” he challenged, a light entering his eyes that she was coming to recognize as the cat’s desire to play combined with the human’s naughty thoughts.

She nodded slowly. “I know so. You have to know how hot you are, Colt. There’s not a woman alive who could resist throwing dollar bills at you if you ever chose to strut your stuff on a stage.”

He laughed out loud at her statement, and she was entranced by the deep sound of his amusement. She’d never heard him laugh so freely before and realized he probably wasn’t the kind of guy who let loose often. She counted it a small victory that she’d been able to get him to laugh. Really laugh.

“I can just picture it. Me standing there in my skivvies while little old ladies make dollar bills rain down on my unsuspecting head.” He chuckled as his humor subsided a bit.

“Well, at least for now,” she began, moving to straddle his hard thighs, “I think I want to be the only woman watching you gyrate in your skivvies. Or out of them.” She smiled as she lowered her lips to his chest and began working her way downward. She wanted to taste him, and now was the time for a few of her dreams—and his, she believed—to start coming true.

He let her have her way with him, which was a freeing act she hadn’t anticipated. The few times she’d done this before, the man had tried to take charge of her actions, which she hadn’t really liked. Colt, though… He gave her free rein to do whatever she wanted. He was her willing sacrifice on the altar of their shared passion.

His passivity couldn’t last forever, and when he finally did take control again, she was more than happy to let him. He lifted her on all fours and came down over her from behind.

“This is lion style , lest you have any other thoughts in your mind about what to call our position,” he growled near her ear, nipping lightly on her earlobe.

His words were so unexpected, she laughed. The feel of his possession, combined with her laughter made them both groan at the unexpected sensations.

Then, there were no more words. Only feelings and sensations. Want and need. Passion and pleasure. So much pleasure.

When it was over, they lay on the bed together again, their breath coming fast from the exertion as weariness combined with utter satisfaction lay like a blanket over them both. Faith fell asleep, only dimly aware of Colt pulling the covers over her and himself, then giving her a peck on the cheek as he whispered goodnight.

The image made her smile, even as sleep claimed her. He was such a caring man. She wished she could keep him for always.