Chapter Nineteen

ERIN

Nash ran his teeth along my neck, making me shiver. Up to that point, my hands had been locked around his neck, but now, I slid one over his ass and pressed him close.

My heart pounded, and inside, I screamed, Yes, yes, yes!

This instinctive drive, this unquenchable desire… It had to be the shifter thing, right? Warlocks were renowned for their powers of seduction, but shifters had a reputation for sheer, physical magnetism. No trickery involved, unlike warlocks, because shifters were as powerless in love’s games as the objects of their desire.

“Mmm,” I mumbled into yet another kiss.

The breeze that ought to have cooled my body only fanned my desire, and the dirty side of my imagination went wild. If Nash held me a little higher, I could wrap my legs around his waist and…

Every cell in my body rushed toward that idea. Never mind our clothes or the cold or the fact that we were upright. We could do this. We could do anything. Anything we wanted, needed, or craved.

Nash pressed closer, clearly on board with that plan. Standing sex on my porch at midnight? Yes. Why the hell not?

The coyotes’ howls kept rising and falling, background noise to the rush in my ears. Then they all broke off at the same time.

Nash froze, listening. I tensed, turning to look.

Tick. Tick. Tick. The next few seconds passed in unsettling silence.

Then, Arooo… The coyotes started howling again. False alarm. The world could go on.

But they’d hit a pause button at exactly the wrong — or right — time. Nash and I looked at each other, breathing hard.

His eyes blazed. Would we do the smart thing and stop while we could? Or would we throw caution to the wind and dive back in?

A split second later, Nash crushed into a hard, deep kiss, and we both careened over the edge.

I clawed at his jeans. He tugged at my clothes. The blanket slipped halfway off his shoulders.

This, I wanted to order Nash. That. Now . But my thoughts were a jumble, and all I could do was pull him inside. He shoved the door closed behind him, but it caught on the blanket.

“Dammit,” he muttered, trying again.

I laughed, though it came out more like a yowl.

“Over here,” I ordered, tugging him.

He slammed the door a second time and stalked toward me, eyes ablaze.

The next few seconds were a blur, though it would be easy to reconstruct events later, given the trail we left behind. My robe… His jeans… My shirt… His boxers…

Every layer lost was an acre gained of hard, straining muscle and smooth, warm skin. Hard edges on his body, soft curves on mine. I found a scar on his chest and another on his side, but I was too intent on another destination to spend much time there.

I wrapped my fingers around his hard shaft, making Nash hiss.

I considered the loft, but beds were for civilized sex, and there was nothing tame about the instincts driving us now.

“Here,” I panted, tugging him down to the floor.

The rag rug was plenty thick, and — small miracle — I’d recently vacuumed. On the other hand, I wouldn’t have noticed if we’d sprawled out on bales of hay.

The fireplace was dark and empty, but I could have sworn we had a blaze roaring in there. Outside, the breeze increased, making the scrub around the cabin sway.

Nash trailed fiery kisses to my nipple and, whoosh! Embers swirled in my mind. When he worked his way south and put his tongue to work, those embers crackled and danced.

Yes, yes, yes! the deepest, animal part of my soul cheered.

“Nash…”

I tugged him up into a deep, sloppy kiss, then would my legs around his waist, lining up my achy core with his.

Nash braced himself on his elbows and dipped his hips.

If he’d teased, I would have screamed. But he was just as consumed by this inferno as I was, and a heartbeat later—

He thrust deep. I gasped, tilting my head back. Then I hitched my legs a little higher, and we were off.

These days, the ranch was down to a handful of horses, but my great-aunt used to keep an entire herd. Something had once spooked them into a stampede, and it was a lot like this. The earth shaking under my feet. The thunder in my ears. The unbridled commotion. The sheer, pounding power.

“Yes…” Reaching my hands overhead, I found the edge of the couch and held on.

When Nash paused, I nearly screamed. Surely he wasn’t going to stop now? We hadn’t bothered with protection, but he was a shifter, and I had enough magic in my genes to protect me. And as for getting knocked up… Abby might have yelled at me in warning, because she’d learned that lesson the hard way, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t that time of month. Good enough?

My hazy mind nodded immediately. Not smart, but then again, I wasn’t thinking all too clearly.

“Hang on,” Nash murmured, pulling me close enough to hook my knees over his shoulders.

Oh yes. This was definitely going to be good.

He plunged back in, driving deep.

I didn’t know how many times I cried out or what I said. I didn’t know how often we rocked against each other or how deep our bodies sank into that rug. I only knew that I was stampeding along with those mustangs, feeling ragged, wild, and free. Across the open desert, then up and over the mesas at a dizzying pace, chased by a whipping wind.

Then, with one final push, Nash drove me right over the edge, and those mustangs sprouted wings and took me soaring through the air.

I sensed Nash gritting his teeth, pouring out his release. I felt myself shudder around him, inside and out. But mostly, I soared. At first, on impossibly light Pegasus wings. But those morphed gradually until I was soaring on broad, leathery dragon wings.

Outside, the shutters creaked under an increasingly powerful wind.

“Oh!” I cried out, clutching Nash through an aftershock of ecstasy.

He held me close, then gradually relaxed over me, panting hard.

I wound my arms around his shoulders and held him tightly. There was no need for words, and what would I say anyway?

Amazing didn’t begin to capture what I’d just experienced. And, oops. As a wolf shifter, Nash might not be too pleased to know my imagination had taken me soaring away with dragons instead of a four-footed lover. A detail I would have to keep to myself.

Gradually, my breaths leveled out, as did his, along with that out-of-nowhere wind that had blown through the ranch.

Nash stroked my hair, keeping his face tucked against my shoulder for a long time. I wasn’t quite ready to face him either. Hell, I wasn’t ready to face myself. Sex always inspired a certain amount of soul-searching. Sex with the annoying guy from work, even more so. And then there was the whole bossy, secret-agent thing…

Except Nash wasn’t annoying. Not any more — or maybe he had really never been. And as for bossy and secretive…well, sort of, but he’d revealed a lot too. And, hey. He was on my side, right?

Slowly, he turned, and I held my breath. Was he disappointed? Regretful? Was I? Or was this somehow going to be okay?

Then our eyes met, and I exhaled. The light in his eyes was clear, bright, and happy. A playful breeze whipped around the cabin, and my imaginary fire crackled merrily.

I looked closer. Wow. Nash’s eyes were really clear and really bright, without that haunted look I sometimes caught.

Without word or signal, we settled into a long, gentle kiss. Reaching around blindly, Nash found the Mexican blanket that covered my worn couch, then pulled it over his shoulders, covering us both.

Ha. As if I were cold. But it did create a comfy nest. So comfy, I never wanted to leave.

“Nice,” I whispered, risking one word.

His lips curved into a smile. “Nice.”

We lay quietly, me listening to his heart thump, him gently stroking my skin. Minutes later, a coyote yipped in the distance, and I chuckled. “You sure you’re not tempted to run out and join them?”

I’d never seen a shifter change forms — not directly anyway. I’d only ever caught fleeting glimpses of my father’s shifter friends — or my mother leaving after upending my life with one of her rare, unannounced visits.

Nash’s eyes clouded. “Not tempted, no.”

I rubbed my cheek against his, then sighed. “Pippa is going to love this.”

He shrugged. “Let her.”

“Ha. You have no idea how annoying my sister can be.”

Of course, Pippa would tease me just as mercilessly if nothing had happened between Nash and me. At least this way, I came out ahead.

Nash held me quietly, and I closed my eyes. In the morning, I would have to face up to what we’d just done. But for now…

I considered for a moment, then kissed him. Once. Twice.

Mm. My body was already warming up for a second round.

“I’m thinking about a new location for this sleepover,” I announced.

Nash arched an eyebrow in a sinfully hot look. “Oh yes?”

I pointed toward the loft. “Like Claire said. Everyone piled into one bed. As long as everyone is only us two,” I added quickly.

He laughed, rolling to his side, then getting to his feet.

The blanket fell away, and oh my goodness. Lots of goodness. Very big goodness—

I yanked my eyes back to his face. “There’s not a lot of headroom, so I might have to take the top…”

He smiled, pulling me to my feet. Our bodies pressed against each other comfortably, like we’d been together for many happy years.

I forced the thought away. This was just one night, not a lifetime.

“Lead the way, boss,” he murmured, following me to the loft. “Lead the way.”