Chapter Four
“Mother fucker!” Kennedy screamed into the forest as the last of her bones clicked into place, startling a flock of birds probably half a kilometer away.
Trace grinned. She had a bit of a potty mouth, and he liked it. He also liked the way her soft pale skin reflected the mid-afternoon sun, highlighting her best features. Not that she had any bad features. The woman was gorgeous, from her dazzling red hair to her gravity-defying ass. She was petite, probably close to half his size, and too thin. He hoped she wasn’t one of those human girls who dieted to look a certain way.
“Where are my clothes?” She grabbed for her breasts and the small patch of close-cropped pale red hair at the junction of her thighs, trying to hide her nakedness.
Trace couldn’t help himself, he laughed.
“You just shifted from a cougar to a human and you’re concerned about being naked?” He gestured to his own body. “I’m naked too, and you don’t see me complaining.”
Her gaze darted to his body, shifting up and down, then away as her cheeks flashed a bright pink. Trace arched an eyebrow. Interesting. His cock stirred to life.
With effort, Trace ignored his growing erection and began picking up his clothes from the forest floor. He tossed his t-shirt to Kennedy, who caught it without looking.
“You’ll notice a difference in your reflexes now,” Trace said, pulling on his jeans. He’d hadn’t been wearing underwear, normally didn’t, and the rough texture of the material grated against the sensitive skin of his erection. He gritted his teeth and tucked his manhood inside, flinching as he slowly raised the zipper. After a moment of intense concentration, he cleared his throat and continued, “You’ll be faster, stronger, and more aware of your surroundings without trying.”
“What else?” Kennedy called out, her voice muffled as she pulled the t-shirt over her head.
Trace raised his eyes and smiled. She looked delicious in his t-shirt, which hung to her knees, with her hair wild and mussed. He could imagine peeling it from her body, inch by inch…
Trace sucked in a gulp of air and found it tinged with her scent, a soft natural aroma that reminded him of honeysuckle and cucumbers. Layered underneath the sweetness was another scent, one that made his cock twitch and beg to be released. Pheromones wafted off her in subtle waves and, now that her terror had receded, he could smell it as clear as day. Trace gritted his teeth and swallowed hard. He had to control the beast or risk frightening her off.
“You’ll crave meat if you weren’t already, lots of it, super rare.”
Kennedy laughed. “Already there. You should have seen the look on my mom’s face when I asked for a sandwich.” At his arched eyebrow, she explained, “I’ve been a vegetarian for years.”
Trace burst into laughter. The sound of his laugh filled the clearing and his soul, reminding him of a time when it wasn’t rare to feel happy, to laugh, or to smile. The memory silenced his mirth and he turned away, not wanting Kennedy to read too much from his change in expression. Trace moved slowly, pulling on his socks and boots. He looked at the time as he pulled on his watch.
“We should probably get you back to your family.” Trace glanced over his shoulder and saw her silently watching him, her eyes too observant for his liking. “It’s already past 3:00 PM.”
“Yeah.” She sounded reluctant now. “I still have to stop in town. I promised Mom a few bottles of wine, and we need ice-cream.”
Trace raised an eyebrow again and let his gaze wander up and down her body in an obvious manner. Not to size her up, but to remind her of…
“Shit!” she cursed. “I’m wearing your t-shirt.” Bending to the earth where she’d experienced her shift, Kennedy lifted scraps of bikini material and sighed. “I liked that one.”
Trace chuckled and marveled again at how easy it was to laugh with her around. “You might need to skip town. But”—he had an idea that might work—“I happened to buy some ice-cream today and I always have a few bottles of wine on hand. You could borrow them.”
“Borrow?” She smiled sweetly, running a hand through her crazy hair. “I could pay you back tomorrow, if you’re free.”
Trace felt his stomach clench in anticipation and forced himself not to respond like a teenage boy. He nodded slowly. “I think I can be free. For you.”
Kennedy blushed, her skin turning a gorgeous shade of rose that fascinated him. Trace wondered if it continued all the way down her body. He couldn’t wait to find out.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
****
Kennedy woke the next morning with a languid smile and stretched.
She’d managed to sneak into the house after arriving home with Trace’s ice-cream and wine without anyone seeing her wearing a man’s t-shirt. It would have been hard to explain, especially with her knotted hair and lack of shoes. Her flip flops had fallen off somewhere between the fresh ice-cream stand and the grove where she’d magically changed into a cougar.
Kennedy giggled and shook her head as she stared at the ceiling in her room. Her life had gone from pitiful to paranormal in one day and, for some reason, she was okay with that. It didn’t make sense, none of it made sense. How she could shift, how she was accepting it as if it were a normal occurrence, how she would live her life now, knowing she was different, that different beings lived in the world she’d thought she knew.
If there were cougar shifters, were there werewolves? Trace had snapped at her when she’d called him a werewolf, so maybe he knew some and didn’t like them. And what about her parents? She’d been six months old when Sarah and Geoff Cole had adopted her, but there was no indication in the files of who her biological parents were. Obviously they’d been cougars. Why had they given her up? Were they dead?
Kennedy sighed. There was no point asking these questions right now when there was no one who would help her find answers. It would just drive her mad. The more pressing issue at the moment was figuring out how she could hide the fact that she now shifted into a big cat every once in a while. Did she control the shifts? She had yesterday when she’d changed back to human, so being controlled by the moon didn’t seem like a thing.
She felt different now and needed to know what it all meant. There was a hunger in her that didn’t seem to be satisfied, even with the three servings of lasagna she’d had at supper while her brothers and parents had stared at her with mouths agape. There’d been none of the usual leftovers.
It wasn’t just about food, though. She couldn’t help shake the desperate need to get back to Trace, to be around him, to see him in his human form or his cougar form, to smell him.
God, here I go again, wanting to smell him. At least it makes a bit more sense now.
He’d told her things would be different now, and they were. Last night she’d slept. For the first time in months she’d woken with energy. The dreams that had plagued her had disappeared, or at least the unsettling effect they’d had on her. She’d dreamed last night about running as a cougar. Trace had been there, running by her side, shifting with her, his long cat body becoming the undeniably mouth-wateringly gorgeous male specimen he was in his human form.
Kennedy’s body warmed at the memory of his naked body. He was a big man, almost double her size, and there wasn’t an inch of his physique that wasn’t toned to perfection. Her mouth watered at the memory of his tanned body, glistening in the sun. Even through the fear of her first shift, she’d responded to him, noticing the way the cut of his abs led to his…
She swallowed and whooshed out a breath as her entire body turned blistering hot. Kennedy writhed in the cool cottons sheets on her bed and skimmed her fingertips over her suddenly too-sensitive skin, wishing they were Trace’s hands.
A loud grumble interrupted her thoughts, reminding her that there was another type of hunger she had to deal with first. Sighing dramatically, she climbed out of bed and padded down the stairs on silent feet.
The house was quiet. The clock on the kitchen wall read 5:24 AM, which shocked her. She was on vacation, and she should have been lazing around in bed like everyone else, enjoying herself. Instead, she was bounding around with excess energy and a grumbling stomach that demanded to be fed.
Kennedy opened the fridge and grabbed a pack of deli meat, tearing it open. She rolled the slices up and chewed on them, two or three at a time, but the snack only settled the worst of her hunger. Frowning, she rooted through the fridge and then checked the freezer, sighing in frustration when she saw only frozen meat in there.
Kennedy was about to pull a tray of frozen sausage from the freezer when she heard a soft knock at the kitchen door. Startled, she reached for a knife and pushed back against the countertop, her heart pounding in her chest.
“Kennedy, it’s me.” Trace’s voice rumbled from behind the door.
The sound of his voice sent a wave of butterflies flying in her stomach. The memories she’d just pushed aside of her dreams swam back to the surface of her mind and kept her heart pounding. Kennedy clenched her thighs together and bit down hard on her lower lip, exhaling slowly in an attempt to calm her body’s reaction.
Kennedy moved to the door and unlocked it with trembling fingers. She knew the memories in her head weren’t real, and they were just remnants of dreams, but her body didn’t seem to accept that it hadn’t actually happened. She felt needy, aching, in places she’d never noticed before. Her entire body surged with heat, pumping the scent of her own arousal into the kitchen air. She took a deep breath and pulled the door open, revealing a gorgeous disheveled Trace. He arched a wicked eyebrow at her knife and let his lips curve into a sexy smile. “What were you planning to do with that?” He nodded toward her weapon.
Kennedy glanced down and blushed, and then backed slowly into the kitchen, never tearing her gaze off him. “Defend my family.” Suddenly feeling foolish and defensive, she glared at him. “What’s wrong with that?”
Trace moved into the kitchen silently, coming to stand behind her. His large body eclipsed hers, shadowing her from the kitchen light, while his hand came to rest of her arm. “Nothing’s wrong with that. You’re brave and loyal. Never apologize for that.” He tipped his head to the side and inhaled deeply, and then stared down at her with an intensity that made her knees begin to quiver. His lips turned up slowly in the sexiest smile she’d ever seen.
Kennedy’s head swam. Heat blossomed from where his hand touched her and traveled quickly, spreading to all her limbs, setting fires wherever it touched. Deep, pulsating need pulled at her core, urging her to respond, begging her to touch him. She gasped in a breath as her skin flared, and her knees gave way. She fell against his chest, looking up at him.
His eyes, so beautiful and deep yesterday, were endless pools of need now. Kennedy inhaled sharply and let the aroma and flavor of his arousal roll around her tongue. His desire for her was obvious, painfully so if the thick erection pressing into her abdomen was any indication. Kennedy’s logical side reminded her that she’d only just met him, that he was a stranger to her. Then her realist side countered that she was a mother fucking cougar shifter now and he was all she had. The rules had changed. Besides, her blood boiled and her skin danced when he touched her.
Kennedy reached for him, grasping at his neck, needing to feel his lips on hers, needing to taste him. She let out a soft cry when he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her to the counter top where he could touch her easier. For a long moment, neither of them moved. They stared at one another, gazes locked as they sucked in oxygen.
Then Trace crushed his lips to hers, plunging his hands into her hair and pulling her closer, so close, that there was nothing between them. Kennedy opened to him, licking out her tongue to savor his uniqueness. He tasted like nothing she’d ever savored before, but it was intoxicating.
His teeth grazed her bottom lip, nipping it ever so slightly, and then his lips were there, soothing the small hurt, and repeating the process until she was clawing at his shoulders, demanding more. Soft mewls escaped her throat as he moved his lips from her mouth and down to her jaw, igniting new fires as he went. Kennedy threw back her head and moaned as he licked out his tongue and traced her collar bone.
A sound from upstairs halted them. Kennedy gasped for air, trying to regulate her speeding heartbeat enough to listen. Mortification poured through her at the thought of being caught with a man, a beautiful man, in the kitchen by her parents. This wasn’t a situation she’d ever been in before. She stared up at him in panic.
Trace chuckled and ran his hands over her body, smoothing down her pajamas and hair, “Meet me outside in half an hour.” Then he kissed her softly, making her long for more, and slipped out of the kitchen into the darkness of morning.