Then he began to pull her shirt over her head. “Let’s go to bed. We’ve had a long day of it, and the morning will come soon enough.”
When he didn’t say anything about her comment, she figured he didn’t know the truth of what was going on with her shifter genetics any more than she did. But would he be disappointed if she wasn’t a jaguar, if that was the case, or glad he no longer had to worry about taking care of a shifter who had no control over her abilities?
She could fly home without any difficulty. What a relief that would be.
Then a new thought occurred to her. She knew what they were. Could Connor and his sister let her live if she wasn’t one of them but knew about them?
Great. She would be just as much a liability as before.
Connor didn’t think that the jaguar-shifter genes would just disappear, that Kat’s blood could destroy the invading genetics. But what if it did?
He’d changed his mind about her from when he had found her needing his help in the jungle again. Once Maya had turned Kat, Connor had wanted her for good, and he was ready to bite her himself to ensure she stayed with them.
She was so tense, and he wanted to help her get rid of the tension any way that he could. Rest should help. He pulled her to the large bed covered in a flowery comforter, the air conditioner on high.
Before long, he had her naked and in bed with his body spooning hers. She was so tired that she fell asleep before he did, but he couldn’t help worrying whether she had lost her jaguar ties to them.
He pulled her tight against his body, breathing in her feminine feline scent. She had to still be a shifter. He took in a deep breath of the scent of her hair, nuzzled his face in the silky tresses, and ran his hands over her soft bare skin. He had been so weary of driving that he figured he would fall right to sleep, but having Kat in his embrace made all the difference in the world. Suddenly, he was wide-awake, and he wanted to bury himself deeply in her.
He would prove to her that she didn’t need anyone else. That marrying him was the right thing to do. Mulling over the reaction she had to his mentioning that he meant to marry her, he supposed he hadn’t asked her in a proper way. Had Roger asked her on bended knee? The ass.
If he hadn’t been such a jerk and given Kat up, he could have been the one with her now.
Forget that. He would have sanctioned her further Army missions, putting her into a world of further danger.
Connor frowned. Not that she was safe for now. But that had everything to do with the mission she had gone on and nothing to do with him.
Then he thought about the other jaguar. He hadn’t gone after Maya to protect her when the bastards had tried to take them hostage, damn him. He had tracked Kat down. Connor had to tell himself it was because Kat had been alone, armed with a rifle, but still so newly turned that she was at a strong disadvantage.
He had to remind himself that the other cat had protected her when Connor wasn’t able to. He told himself that he should appreciate that the jaguar had saved her from the bastards. Yet, he still was having a difficult time dealing with it because he knew the jaguar was intrigued with Kat.
But he also worried that if the Army had been following Kat’s progress, they might have seen something concerning the jaguars.
The more he knew about her and her past, the more mired in trouble they were all becoming.
Kat woke to Connor’s mouth pressing kisses all over her naked breasts, his hand caressing her belly, his fingers drifting lower. Whether she was a jaguar-shifter still, she didn’t know. But she sure smelled how hot he was for her, tripping her pheromones into overdrive.
His raspy beard brushed her sensitive skin as his soft warm tongue and heated breath caressed her nipples. She squirmed, moaning as the tips of her breasts became sensitive and her nether region ached for his penetration. What a way to wake up in the morning. She wasn’t a coffee drinker, and she normally didn’t need any stimulus to get her going in the morning, but omigod, this was the only way to go.
“Quit teasing me,” she managed to rasp with a husky breath. “Connor.”
He chuckled darkly. “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed?”
She growled. “You started it.”
He laughed and drove her insane with the way his mouth suckled at one breast, then the other. His fingers dipped inside her, then caressed her nub harder, faster, until she was arching against him, her hands in his hair stroking, clutching, trying to reach the peak, attempting to find release.
His heart was beating hard, nearly as hard as hers. Both were breathless as she became vaguely aware of the scent of their lovemaking filling the air. She was on fire, her skin flushed with heat, ready to explode when he inserted his finger deep within her swollen folds. She jerked with surprise and pleasure.
“Omigod, finish it,” she said in a breathy pleading tone, the sweet pain of expectation nearly killing her.
He looked all smug, superior male in charge of making her come and making her beg for completion. Not really, but it felt that way.
“I love you,” he whispered against her ear, licking and nibbling the lobe. Then he stroked her like she liked it, harder, faster, until she was trying to stifle the urge to cry out as it hit her.
A wash of pleasure and heat made her sink into near oblivion. Until he spread her legs, bent her knees, and with a deep push filled her with his rigid cock. Hot and hard and broad, he thrust his rigid erection between her slippery folds, his tongue in her mouth, caressing and poking, his hands on her breasts, massaging as if he couldn’t get enough of her and wanted to touch and taste and breathe in her very essence.
“You’re so hot,” she breathed out, her hands on his buttocks, her heels pressed against the squeaky bed as Connor banged it against the wall.
She tried to think of only the delight she was taking in their joining and not worry about Maya next door and how she must feel.
“Kathleen,” Connor groaned, lifting her legs over his shoulders and thrusting even deeper. “You taste so good,” he mouthed against her neck, kissing and licking and nipping.
She couldn’t speak, her body climbing higher to that sexual plane that sought release until he made a final thrust.
She could feel the hot, white explosion bathing her deep inside. She felt the ripples of contractions as she came again, sagged again under his delicious onslaught, and saw the self-assured satisfaction on Connor’s face.
“You love me,” he said and wrapped his arms around her in a loving but possessive embrace.
She couldn’t help sighing, smiling, and yeah, loving the wild cat on top of her.
He rolled onto his back and cradled her against his slick, hot body, enveloping her again as if he was afraid she would try to get away. She loved this part of him, the caring, loving intimacy he shared after the act as if he truly enjoyed being with her, all of her, and not for just the sexual act.
Super serious, as serious as she could sound while she was naked and wrapped tightly in his embrace, she said, “About your marriage proposal…”
His smoky eyes gazed into hers, watching her expression as he licked her chin. “Yeah?”
“We’ve only had one date.” She stroked his hair and kissed his chin.
He raised his brows and combed his fingers through her hair. “I took you on a jungle hike, a picnic in the woods, and a swim with the piranhas.”
“And pink dolphins.” She sighed, remembering how he had kissed her in the river and made her forget about anything that had been swimming with them in the water.
“Right.” He caressed her back and smiled a little. “And I carried your bag on the hike.”
“All right,” she conceded.