Kat looked down at Prince’s bare feet, planted on the dirt, toes digging in.
“Actually, my craving is potatoes.”
Her brows popped up. “That’s unusual, and a little bit sad.”
“Yes, and not always something we have in the house. I can’t eat any of the packaged or canned foods. It has to be fresh.”
“Maybe you should make some soup out of it and hide it in the freezer.”
He looked down at her thoughtfully before lowering to all fours, crawling across the dirt like a predator.
Kat shivered and rolled onto her back, looking up at him. “What did I say?”
His blue and brown eyes leisurely made their way down to the curve of her hips, her sex, her long legs. “I like the way you want to take care of me.”
Kat bit her lip. Whether she hunted for him or vice versa, feeding a Shifter had many meanings. Offering food to someone in your house was a sign of trust, but with the opposite sex, it could be seen as a sign of loyalty and devotion. She wasn’t sure how devoted she could be to a man she’d just met, but when he stripped out of his T-shirt and revealed a resplendent physique, she decided not to rule out the possibility that the fates wanted her to share her body with this man.
“I’m going to lie with you, Kat,” he said, his voice silken as he unbuttoned his jeans.
Desire pulsed through her, as if every emotion she was feeling needed this union—this release.
She reached out, dragging his pants and briefs down his hips as he sucked in a sharp breath. Kat ran her hand along his strong back from his shoulder blades down to his firm ass while he kicked out of his clothes. She preferred strong arms and hands, but she gave his ass a hard squeeze and watched his eyes smolder.
They each lay on their sides, facing each other. The dim light made it feel as though they could have been outside, lying together on sacred Shifter land where no one would discover them. The walls were painted like a forest, and the ceiling was midnight black. All they lacked was a warm wind and the sound of crickets chirping.
As much as she wanted to feel his body against hers, she traced her finger over the coarse stubble on his jaw, across his collarbone, along the grooves of his ribs, and down to his belly button, avoiding the obvious elephant in the room that was swinging his rather large trunk. Kat adored being able to admire a man’s body and take it all in, as he did with hers. Every touch elicited a reaction, and his natural scent became stronger, mingled with earth and greenery.
Prince stroked her like a precious thing, resting his hand on the dip in her waist. “You’re exquisite.”
“And a little dirty,” she said with an impish grin. “Are you sure you don’t want to go upstairs and do this on silken sheets with golden bedposts to hold on to?”
He moved in close, his body hot to the touch. “This is the true Shifter way,” he growled under his breath. “This is the way we did it hundreds of years ago—nothing but two bodies finding bliss on the soft bed of earth.” His mouth dragged to her ear and whispered, “Open your legs, Kat.”
She gasped when his fingers slipped between her thighs and stroked the silken crease of her sex. The sharp arousal made her moan, and she put her left arm over his shoulder and parted her legs for him like an obedient wolf.
“Like silk,” he said on a soft breath.
Pleasure ripped through her with his feather-soft strokes. His ravenous eyes were no longer on her body, but staring straight into her soul. A hunger burned in those irises, intensifying each time she gasped and arched her body beneath his touch.
“I want to do this the old way,” he said, his voice rough and sexy.
Kat knew little about the mating rituals of the ancients outside the fact that they were experienced lovers.
“Is that different?” she asked, writhing beneath his rhythmic strokes. Heat flushed her skin, contrasting with the cool earth against her side.
“The old way among my tribe involved little foreplay. Just pleasure. Screams of pleasure.”
“Sounds like my kind of party,” she said, then found herself trembling with anticipation when he didn’t smile back.
Kat wasn’t used to giving up her dominance in the bedroom, and it excited her. This was a man who killed his adversaries without remorse, an alpha with enough power to create a kingdom if he so desired. She could feel the intensity of his energy rolling off him like ripples of water against the shore.
Prince pulled his hand away. “Take me inside your mouth.” He hesitated, perhaps wondering if his bold statement might offend her.
Kat wasn’t easily offended. She nuzzled into his neck and whispered, “Yummy,” inciting a groan from deep within his chest.
She scooted down, leaving a pit in the dirt where her body once lay. When she reached his hips, she circled her tongue around the tip of his erection.
Prince tightened his fingers in her hair, and she felt him shaking with anticipation. “No, not like that. All the way. Deep. I want you to get it wet.”
