Chapter Sixteen
After the moment with the pack, Cat had never felt better. It was like they had rejuvenated her with their energy. They had pulsed a whole new life into her withering being. They had broken apart from the circle and gave their condolences. Through wild tears—her own, although she hated to admit it—and rough embraces, Cat made her rounds from one member to the other. Scratch that—they were no longer just members of a pack. They were hers.
“Come on, kitten,” Jamie said, his eyes just as compassionate and warm as they usually were. He reached out his long arms and embraced her. In true Jamie fashion, he lifted her, causing her to dangle two feet off the floor as he smacked a big wet kiss to her cheek. “We got you, baby girl.” His chest vibrated beneath hers as he spoke, and then he gently set her down.
She was surprised to see the blonde pixie cut flashing by her face before she was shoved into a thin, boney shoulder. Pain lanced through her heart, but so did relief. The weight of guilt dissipated with that simple gesture. She hadn’t lost Jessica, and that meant more than it should. Closing her eyes, Cat inhaled the comforting scent of sugar cookies and wrapped her arms around her taller friend. Jessica backed away but gripped Cat’s shoulders and stared with glistening red-rimmed eyes.
“You’re not leaving, you bitch. And I forgive you for being so stubborn and foolish. But you owe me a movie night!” Behind the tears, Cat could see the mischief and groaned aloud. Jessica had the worst taste in movies, and it usually involved something really sappy and romantic.
Kelly, Finn, and Brian gave their own cordial hugs. Each equally loving, yet Cat didn’t feel the suffocation and nausea she had before. The rate things had transitioned was astounding, but Cat wasn’t about to question it. The group laughed together, and the guys took it as their cue to start strategizing. But she wasn’t ready to think about that yet. She had someone to talk to.
Cat didn’t even have to look around the room to know Killian had disappeared. His usually overbearing presence and exotic scent were absent, so she followed her nose to his bedroom. The door was shut to the outside world, and Cat took a moment to get her bearings. He was going to be so mad at her for challenging him in front of the pack.
Nervousness tickled her stomach, and Cat leaned her forehead on the wooden door and pressed a palm to it for support. The cool wood kept her grounded, and Cat took deep breaths, grasping for the ability to push back her pride and apologize. She didn’t back down.
Yet she also had to admit when she was in the wrong.
The cold metal of the handle twisted underneath her hand, and she pushed it open quietly. The heavy scent of their sex slammed into her the moment Cat stepped in, and she closed her eyes at the eroticism of it. Her toes curled in pleasure against the hardwood floor, but she quickly snapped out of it when she remembered she wasn’t alone in the room. He hadn’t moved, but she knew where he was before even looking at him. He was the other half of her magnet, dragging her helplessly to wherever he was. He sat in a wingback armchair facing the window.
Killian wasn’t relaxed in the slightest as one finger stroked under his stubbled chin. He gazed outside with such ferocity, like he could take all his anger out on the world. His shoulders were stiff and unforgiving against the gentle curve of the chair. Cat’s fingers itched to rub him there, ease those anxious knots from his muscles and see the relaxed Killian from the night before. To take away the anger she had placed in him.
Dumbly she stood there at his side, gazing out the window and completely unsure of what to say. Cat was always so certain, yet Killian left her completely befuddled on how to handle situations.
“Killian,” she began, but she hesitated. Apologies were not the easiest thing in the world. The words burned like bile in her stomach, caught in her throat by an invisible stopper.
His eyes flashed to hers, and those dark eyebrows curved down in thought. His finger stopped stroking, and he could have been a statue for how still he was. Like a magnificent Greek piece of art for everyone to admire…but with more clothes. Shame.
Cat’s heartbeat pulsed in her ears. He was so magnificent. He had this horribly rough exterior, like a big Native American man ready to fight his battles. She could stare at him for hours just to take in every single mark upon his skin from wolf attacks and memorize every one of his features. That beautiful face was marred with the crease of his eyebrows, and she couldn’t resist the need to rub it away.
Reaching out a hand, she placed her palm to his cheek. She gently rubbed her thumb across his forehead, straightening out every stress-caused wrinkle. She jerked when his hand caught her wrist, and watched as his eyes darkened. Somehow she had just made things worse.
“You’re staying?” he questioned gruffly, his voice hoarse and quiet.
He wore his mask like a shield. Cat couldn’t penetrate it and read what he was thinking, even within those enchanting irises of his. Wasn’t it what he wanted?
“Yes. I’m staying,” Cat answered softly.
Killian growled, an angry sound reverberating deep within his chest and echoing off the quiet room. Cat tried to pull her hand back from his face, but his grip tightened and pulled her across the arm of the chair and onto his lap. Cat squealed at the sudden movement and splayed awkwardly across his legs, her own hanging off the side of the chair and her arms flailing in front of her. But that didn’t stop Killian from taking her lips with his own.
To call such a thing a kiss was an understatement. Kisses were romantic, sweet and tender. This was erotic. A heavy command of lips and tongues claiming each other and fighting for ultimate control. Cat melted into him. All will and refusal completely flew out the window at the feel of his desperation. His arms wrapped around her back, and hers gripped the front of his shirt, both intent on pulling each other closer.
He broke the kiss, and Cat groaned in frustration. She needed his taste more than the breath panting between them. His forehead was still furrowed in frustration, like he didn’t understand his own actions.
“I didn’t want you to go,” he said, almost in wonder.
Cat touched her forehead to his. She didn’t understand what was wrong, but knew she needed to affirm to him that she was going nowhere. His eyes were agonized and his body tense beneath her own.
“I’m not, Killian. We’ll figure it out. As a pack.” Cat emphasized the word, loving the feel of it on her tongue.
He searched her eyes, glancing left and right like he could see something within her soul. Could he see she was as desperate for the pack as he seemed to be about making her stay? That she pulsed in his arms, needing him despite their pact for only one night? Something spurred him into movement. One minute she was sitting on him, the next he had her on the bed and was ripping his shirt over his head. Cat gulped at his intensity, but her cleft vibrated in appreciation.
“One night isn’t enough, Catrina. Not anymore,” Killian said huskily, his voice low and dominating the space. It sent shivers down her spine at the promise of what was to come. Because, dammit, she wanted him too.
His hand went to his pants, and he wasted no time taking those off too. He watched her intently, daring her to move from the bed and try to escape from the room. But she wouldn’t, because she was just as captivated by him. She pulled herself up onto her knees and yanked the blue sweater over her head roughly. In a flash, a very naked and muscular man dived across to her and pushed her onto her back.
His mouth crushed hers, their teeth clashing and their tongues invading each other’s space. He reached between them to unbutton her jeans, his hands quick and able.
“You drive me wild, Cat,” he gasped, his mouth traveling roughly down her neck and sending licks of fire straight to her core. His tongue branded her, lashing hot scores over her skin. The denim on her legs was heavy and abrasive, so Cat lifted her hips to help him pull the obstacle off her quivering thighs. “You act like nothing is happening between us. As if it means nothing, and you don’t feel the intensity.”
The fire reached the rise of her breasts as he lavished them with his tongue. Killian moaned appreciatively. The sucking sent a gasp of pleasure from Cat’s mouth, and her back arched off the bed so he could remove her bra. He didn’t even wait for the fabric to hit the floor before he yanked a nipple with his teeth. The other was twisted forcefully between two fingers, pain and pleasure mixing in the most fantastic way. God, he was being so rough, but Cat loved it. Her wolf growled.
“But I feel it, dammit.” He spoke roughly against her skin, moving lower. Cat writhed beneath him, his intense speed and ministrations more than she could handle. No longer was he gentle and attentive, but a needy and forceful predator. Pleasuring her differently, but better in its own devious and erotic way.
“Oh God, Killian,” she moaned as his devilish tongue dipped into her navel and swirled in furious circles to the spot above the lace of her underwear.
“Yes.” He grabbed the thin blue fabric with his teeth and pulled it down as one hand finished the job of removing her jeans. “I love it when you do that. Call out my name like I’m driving you insane. It’s the fucking hottest thing I’ve ever heard.”
His hot breath fanned between her thighs as he spoke. Her whole body tingled with eagerness, and her fingers dug into the sheets beneath her. His mouth wasn’t gentle when it clamped on to her clit, sucking it deliciously into his mouth. Neither were the two fingers he inserted into her, but she was ready for them. Her core was pure liquid, opening up to him, and her muscles clenched around his hasty digits as he brought her higher and higher. Her body was meant for him, answered to the command of his own. When his teeth scraped against that bundle of nerves, it was her undoing.
Cat screamed, her whole body convulsing against the bed. He relentlessly pushed his fingers into her, riding out her orgasm, and his groan vibrated against her clit.
“That’s it, Cat. Scream for me. Let the whole pack know what you’re doing. Who you’re doing it with. You. Are. With. Me,” he said fiercely, his eyes molten gold. His voice was rough from pleasure, breaking through the post-orgasm fog.
She shook from the carnal pleasure he invoked in her. Like he owned her body, and she didn’t have a say. He. Owned. Her.
The bed shifted, and she vaguely heard the sound of foil ripping before rough hands gripped her thighs. Cat looked up through her lashes, and if she hadn’t already been turned on, his face would have done the trick. The fury and desire belonged together and created such a beautiful creature.
She yelled when he thrust into her roughly. Killian’s cock was so big it stretched her to full capacity. Her hands shot up to his arms, and she dug her nails into his skin as her walls clenched and pulsed around his hard shaft.
“Mmmm,” Killian moaned. His eyes were thin slits, and a sheen of sweat formed on his body. His arms shook as they held her thighs up around his waist. “Oh God, Cat. You just… You feel…so amazing,” he said shakily.
His voice was like her detonator, the huskiness and sensuality of his words igniting her core. She needed him to move, could practically beg for it. That tenderness within her only heightened the pleasure of his cock, pulsing within her needy cleft. When it seemed like he wasn’t going to, Cat took control and pushed her hips up into him to get him to do her bidding.
He gasped and closed his eyes tightly. He bent over her, his elbows at her shoulders and his hands buried into her endless amount of hair. Those delicious lips took hers. His cock drove into her over and over again, claiming her as she groaned into his mouth. Cat’s core yielded to his pace, her orgasm building with each stroke to a spot deep within her. Her fingers dug into his ass, leaving fresh bloody scratches.
He bucked and groaned angrily against her hands and bit her lip until she tasted the copper of her own blood. They drove each other higher, wild and uncontrollable like the wolves they were. Until, finally, Cat reached that edge. She gripped tightly with her fingers, anchoring herself to Killian’s body as her walls tightened around him. He groaned with pleasure and pain against her lips as she squeezed him in desperation. Finally, he shuddered, his own release pouring into her shaking body, and their hearts beat furiously against each other’s chests.