Too soon, it was time for her to leave, as in addition to her work with theBredhren, she cared for the young of others at the Faire. He already ached at the thought of being separated.
“I shall accompany you to your vehicle,” he surprised himself by saying. She looked at him, startled. For once the otherBredhrenwere quiet, so he would not have to slay them after all.
“Don’t you—don’t you have a patrol or something?” He was puzzled, and then realized that she was referring to how her lessons took place either when he was away, in wolf form to surveil the lands around Simon’s house, or shortly before he would leave with the others in another attempt to bond as aWar-Packin wolf form.
Barric gruffly said, “Go with her, Col. Fare thee well, Katie Cooper.” The large, dark hairedWaryeorhad no mockery, or rancor, in his voice. No wonder it sounded so strange.
Aylwyn had a huge grin on his face, but there usually was one as he oft played the fool. “Yeah, tick tock!”
Col wasn’t going to wonder why Aylwyn was making strange sounds, but with Tybalt’s nod, he walked towards Katie Cooper, his arm outstretched.
“Bye, everyone!” She called out, as she turned and let him guide her with one hand gently resting on the small of her back.
They were silent until they reached the front entrance of the house, in the foyer that was dark. He let his hand slide to her waist, turning her gently to face him with the door at her back. Nothing else existed for him at this moment, except the connection between the two of them, the short distance that still separated them.
Sounds faded into the background, all that mattered, all that he could hear were her soft breaths, rapid; the pounding of his heartbeat, quickened. The sweet scent of flowers, ripening, enticing, unfurling around as she looked up, her eyes liquid pools welcoming him in.
His hand spread on her waist, and he lowered his head towards that plump lower lip and curvaceous mouth. He had only meant to brush his lips against her gently, but the first touch ignited a flame within him. It had been too long since their first kiss in the woods, his wanting for more had grown so much. He was hungry for her, and she moved against him, her lips parting, allowing him in, as he took full possession.
His tongue swept in, danced against hers as she kissed him back just as fervently. His other hand had moved, around her neck, cradling her head as he moved his mouth to trace her jaw, the curve of her lovely neck.
She shivered, pinching her shoulders back and arching towards him. Her arms slid around him, and he ran his teeth, ever so lightly, on the sensitive skin where her jaw met her neck.
Even more than that first kiss, Col had never felt so much the need to possess a woman, to move his mouth over her body, discovering its secrets and unlocking its pleasures. He had never before felt such intensity of compulsion to meld with another, to achieve a deeper union than the mere slaking of lust.
There was nothing “mere” about what existed betwixt them, and braveWaryeorthat he was, the unfamiliar sensation of fear fisted within him for the first time. Fear that perhaps she did not feel the same.
It was disconcerting, as was the effect she was having on him, overriding his years of self-restraint. His mouth descended on hers again, almost of its own volition, and he felt her hands moving up the expanse of his back, towards his head to pull it down further. He pressed himself against her, uncaring if she felt the thick proof of his want, his desire for union.
He slid his hand up, to the under curvature of her breast, and she shivered once more against him, the quivering of her body setting off a corresponding wave of excitement throughout him. The thin weave of the chemise she wore stretched against one stiffened peak, as his thumb stroked alongside it. She moaned softly against his mouth, and he cupped her breast gently.
He wanted nothing more that moment than to give her pleasure, to slake his thirst for what the joining of their bodies would bring. But she deserved more than to be treated as a wench, to be taken against the door.
And he sensed that she would look back upon it with sorrow and regret if he did. Reluctantly, he dragged himself apart from her.
Her breath was ragged. As was his. But she was looking at him warily, he hoped it was her wondering why he had stopped.
“ You wished to…to take it slow.”
A smile spread across her face.
“I had forgotten.” Her voice was husky, but there was starlight in her eyes.
“I cannot,” Col said, then quickly corrected himself as the starlight dimmed slightly. “I cannot ever let myself forget what you wish for, if it is in my power to grant it.”
She closed her eyes, the smile still on her face. A wave of concern spread through him.
“Katie Cooper, are you unwell?”
“Mmm. Not at all,” she said, her eyes still closed. “I just want to savor the moment, what you just said.”
He brought her close against him, his arms around her. He was happy his words brought her pleasure. He would savor the moment as well.
Sometime later, he watched as she drove off in the vehicle that Simon had given to her for her use. He had recognized it as the one that Merek had raced in, testing the side of it against what Miller had set up as “an obstacle course.” Unfortunately, hisBrodherhad thought the objective was to hit the constructs that Miller had set up, and not go around them.
Two other vehicles were in similar state, after Aylwyn and Barric had decided what Merek was doing looked like great merriment.
The thought of hisBredhrenmade him realize that there was an unusual quiet in the house and its environs. He could not hear them. How long had it been thus? He had been so enrapt with the nearness of Katie Cooper, the final kiss where time seemed to stop in its tracks, before she entered the vehicle to drive away.
