Rome pulled out of the car, slammed the door. “You what? Found who simultaneously?”
Ezra stood tall, his voice clear. “She was there. And the other shifter was, too. I think she might have seen him. It would explain why she was so crazy with fear when I got hold of her.”
“She was probably crazy with fear because you abducted her.”
Ezra was shaking his head. “No. She was looking at me weird, Rome. Like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. We may have to do some damage control here.”
Damage control meant killing the witness. Shifters did not have some sort of memory-erasing power. In the end, to protect the secret they would have to erase the threat.
Rome saw red and once again reacted first.
His fingers twisted in Ezra’s shirt as he pushed the guard back against the car and yelled in his face. “She does not die! Do you hear me?”
Ezra nodded, his hands remaining at his sides. He was a trained guard, he respected Rome and his position. And they were also friends.
Those facts had Rome backing off, his cat growling and scratching just beneath the surface. But the man pulled away. “She didn’t see anything,” he said tightly. “There’s no need for damage control. I’ll handle her.”
Ezra nodded again. “I’m going back to look for the shifter.”
“I want him alive,” Rome said, moving to the driver’s-side door. “Do you hear me, Ezra? Bring me that sonofabitch alive!”
“He’s on his way back to the mansion. He’s got the girl with him,” Ezra told Nick and X when they both caught up with him. He’d already repeated the story he’d given Rome and watched as the two senior officers shared the same grim thoughts as he did.
“What if she knows?” Ezra asked.
“Rome said he’d handle it,” X answered.
Nick looked skeptical. “Maybe we should head over there, make sure things are cool anyway.”
“Yeah,” X agreed.
“I know she saw that shifter. And she saw me,” Ezra continued.
“You weren’t shifted,” Nick interjected.
“But I was close.”
X was grim. The guard was probably right. Kalina had seen a shifter tonight.
What that meant for tomorrow, none of them was quite sure.
He watched her sleep. She lay on her back, her feet bare, her shirt lifted so that inches of her creamy skin were revealed.
For endless moments Rome just stared at her, wondering who she was, inside. He knew her name, her address; her personality said she was a fighter. She was beautiful and sexy and alluring.
And she was in his bed.
Because a shifter was hunting her.
At this moment none of that seemed to matter. All he could focus on was the sight of her. She was in his space, a place no woman had ever been before. Everything in his mind rebelled against that thought, but his body, inch by inch, had warmed. From the moment he lifted her off the backseat of his car and carried her into the house, up the stairs to his room, his need for her had grown. Until now, standing here, it was all he could do to keep from stripping her, stripping himself, and taking what he so desperately desired.
She moaned, her brow furrowing as her head turned from side to side. He wondered what she dreamed, what thoughts went through her mind. Could she feel him? Did she want him?
He’d been wanted by a woman before, desired, lusted after. Somehow those feelings didn’t amount to what he craved from this woman.
An arm lifted as she inhaled deeply. Rome watched as her chest rose with the effort, full breasts rising then falling gently as she exhaled. His mouth watered. Long fingers with neutral-colored nails went to the part of her stomach that was revealed to him and moved in slow circles near her navel.
His body tightened. The cat inside paced, hunger thumping wildly through them.
Her hand moved upward, pushing the T-shirt as it traveled. More of her lovely skin was revealed, a light moving in his line of vision. Up and up until a silky black bra came into view. She cupped her breast with one hand; the other arm had lifted and fallen so that it arched over her head. Through the slits of butter-toned fingers the black material of her bra showed in great contrast as she molded, squeezed, released her covered breast.
Rome’s gut clenched, his dick harder than he’d ever felt it before, straining against the confines of his slacks.
Reluctantly he tore his gaze from her breasts to see if she was awake, if she was aware of how she was enticing him. But her eyes were still closed, her pert lips just barely parted to accommodate the quickening of her breath.
The arm that was above her head came down, that hand moving between legs that spread slowly. She cupped her juncture, fingers moving raptly over the material that covered her. With efficiency she undid the button and zipper, pushing her hand quickly inside. Her head thrashed from side to side as her breathing grew more labored.
Watching her aroused Rome, pushing his cat into a feral heat that scraped along his skin. They both wanted her, needed her on a level that was foreign, but still relevant. He undid the buckle of his belt, slipped the clasp of his slacks free, and pushed the zipper down. His dick throbbed, his own breathing increasing.
The scent of her lust permeated the air as he inhaled deeply, taking in every nuance that was her. Her moans grew louder as her fingers worked between her legs, the other hand pushing the cup of the bra aside and toying with a turgid nipple.
Rome gripped his shaft, stroking its length as he continued to watch her, pumping into his own hand as she was thrusting her fingers into herself. He wanted to see her, wanted her completely naked as he watched her pleasure herself. Then he wanted to get inside her, to plunge his length into the sweet depths of her core.
With those thoughts floating through his mind and with his hunger growing to the point of no return, he looked back to her face and groaned as he saw she was now watching him.
Hazel eyes flecked with golden highlights stared back at him. Their gazes locked, silent communication humming between them. Rome tore his shirt off, pushed his slacks and boxers down his legs, stepped out of his shoes, and stood before her naked. With a hand returning to his thick length he touched a finger to the weeping tip then extended his arm, tapping the damp fingertip to her lip. She moaned, her tongue quickly coming out to stroke the pad of his finger, to lick away his essence.
Rising up from the pillows, Kalina pulled her shirt over her head then reached behind her back and unsnapped her bra. When she looked up at him again it was with a hunger he’d always sensed in her. She looked different, her eyes glistening with need, her lips wet and parted as she panted with desire.
When she reached for him, he stepped closer to the bed. Her head lowered, nimble fingers wrapping around the base of his dick, applying the slightest amount of pressure. He thrust forward lightly and her tongue extended, licked the tiny bead of arousal at the tip of him. With small enticing circular motions, her tongue bathed the head.
His hands went to the sides of her face, thumbs rubbing along the smoothness of her skin.
“Take me deep,” he whispered through clenched teeth, his entire body tensing with expectation.
This was what he craved, what he desired from her so desperately. Her touch, her mouth on him, her closeness, her need. The room grew hotter as her mouth opened wider, sliding slowly down the length of his dick.
“Fuck yes!” he roared, his head falling back as she sucked harder, pulled back so that only the tip rested against her tongue, then sank down again for another taste. “Suck me hard, baby. Suck me long and hard.”
She obliged, with her fingers slipping back to massage his sack, her mouth working slowly, tortuously over his length. He gripped her head as he began slow movements, fucking her mouth slowly, deliciously.