Kendra dropped her head to his shoulder and bit down on the muscles. It was either that or scream as she went over the edge. Declan wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as he growled his pleasure. When she felt his warmth pour into her, she exploded.
There were no words to describe how hard she came. She’d never ever experienced anything like it, so she had nothing for comparison.
She only knew it was magical.
When the cave stopped sparkling and spinning, Kendra opened her eyes to find her cheek resting on Declan’s broad chest, his arms around her, keeping her warm. He was still inside her, though not nearly as hard and rigid as he had been. It felt good, though, and she had no interest in letting him go anywhere.
She pressed a kiss to his chest. “That was beautiful.”
He ran his fingers gently through her hair. “I wasn’t too…rough?”
“Of course you weren’t too rough. You were amazing.” To prove it, she lifted her head and kissed him on the mouth. “Better than amazing, even. You were perfect.”
Declan grinned. “Perfect, huh? And to think, we’re just getting started.”
She quivered as she felt his cock harden inside her.Mmm, this is going to be good.
Chapter 9
Angelo frowned as Derek wrapped layer after layer of bandages around Landon’s left forearm. The four scratches weren’t too deep, but they were ragged and going to leave some serious scars. Ivy crouched beside her husband as he leaned against his rucksack, concern in her eyes.
Landon had gotten his latest collection of conversation starters when six hybrids hit them from behind while Clayne and Ivy had been out in front, trying to get a bead on Declan and Kendra’s trail. It hadn’t been a chance encounter with a bunch of scouts like the previous attacks. No, these damn hybrids had lain submerged in a muddy stream along the path until Angelo and the others had moved past, then had come at them in a flat-out kamikaze ambush meant to take out as many of them as possible before Ivy and Clayne could get back to help. The first part of their plan had worked to perfection, and they’d come damn close to accomplishing the second part as well.
Angelo ground his jaw. There wasn’t a single one of them that wasn’t bleeding from somewhere on their body. Derek’s medic bag was practically running on empty as he tried to patch everyone up and get them back into fighting condition. Thank God Tanner, Gavin, and Carter had shown up, or they’d all probably be dead right now. If the eleven of them could barely fight off a pack of hybrids, how the hell was it possible for Declan and Kendra to still be alive?
“How far did the locals make it before the hybrids caught up to them?” Ivy asked Carter as Derek applied antiseptic cream to the sergeant’s ribs.
Carter had tackled one of the hybrids during the assault. His lightweight Kevlar vest had absorbed most of the damage as the creature tore into him, but his chest and stomach looked like he’d gone ten rounds with a cat on steroids. Angelo was pretty sure the guy had a few cracked ribs, too, but he was dealing with it.
“Fifteen miles, give or take,” Tanner said. “They put up a fight, that’s for sure. If we’d gotten there sooner, we might have been able to save them.”
Tanner’s voice was tinged with regret. Angelo got that. In battle, you always wondered if things would have ended differently if you’d only pushed a little harder, gotten there a little sooner.
Clayne strode into the small defensive position they’d set up so Derek could tend to the wounded. The wolf shifter was pissed the hybrids had slipped past him and had been out roaming the perimeter for the last hour. Clayne stopped in front of Landon and tossed a handful of something on the ground at his feet. It was dark, but Angelo was pretty sure they were flowers.
Landon regarded the flowers for a moment, then looked at Clayne. “And I didn’t get you anything.”
Clayne growled. “Funny, but it’s not a present. It’s the reason we haven’t been able to find Declan and Kendra.”
Ivy bent down and picked up the flowers. She held them at arm’s length and sniffed, then groaned. “Dammit.”
Landon frowned, looking from his wife to Clayne and back again. “What am I missing here?”
Angelo wanted to know the answer to that, too.
“Declan and Kendra have been rubbing these damn flowers all over themselves for days,” Clayne explained. “To you guys, they probably smell nice, but to us, they’re overpowering as hell. A shifter—or a hybrid—wouldn’t be able to smell anything cloaked by this fragrance.”
“Then how do you know Declan and Kendra used them to mask their scent?” Angelo asked.
“It wasn’t too hard to figure out once I realized a plant shouldn’t leave a trail through the forest like this.” Clayne jerked his head toward the trees. “I went back about a mile or so and checked. This flower’s scent follows right along with the prints we’ve been following. Declan covered their tracks with a fucking flower, and it took us almost three days to figure it out. I’m not sure if I should be impressed with him or pissed at myself. But it’s them, I know it.”
Ivy picked up her pack. “Let’s get going. If we’re lucky, we might be able to catch up with them tonight.”
“No,” Landon said.
She swung around to face him, her eyes glowing. “What do you mean, no?”
Landon moved to put his hands on her shoulders, but stopped himself. Angelo felt for his friend. God, it really sucked that Landon couldn’t touch his wife in front of other people simply because the DCO had some stupid policy that said they weren’t supposed to be married.
