Page 30

She smiled up at him. She was average and she knew it—nothing special. But Jace made her feel like a freaking sex goddess.

Her nipples puckered and his eyes darkened. “Fuck, you’re hot.” He pinched them, and she sucked in a breath as pleasure shot from her breasts to her womb.

She traced her fingers up and down his wrists. He was strong, with those hard, heavy bones she’d noticed right from the first. His forearms were corded, the backs of his wrists covered with fine black hairs.

She slid her hand up his arm to the tattoo on his upper arm. The cat’s paw itself was black, with touches of gold fire at the claw tips. She outlined it with her finger. “This is something to do with your cat?”

He grunted, and something about the way his face tightened told her he didn’t want to talk about it. Then he swooped down to nip at her throat and everything else flew out of her head.

His fingers went to work again on her breasts, stroking and pinching until she was writhing on the bed. He bent down and sucked each nipple until they were both a wet, rosy pink.

She dug her heels into the mattress and tried to lift her hips toward him, but her legs were closed, her thighs pinned between his. She pushed at his chest, but he took her hands and pressed them to the mattress on either side of her head.

She moaned. “Please, Jace.”

“Please what?” His lips moved against hers, soft and warm. “Do you want me to kiss you?” He teased the seam of her lips with his tongue.

“Yes.” She lifted her head and tried to deepen the kiss, but he just gave her a quick peck before sitting back again.

“Maybe you want me to touch you here…” His fingers moved down her abdomen, leaving tiny flames in their wake, driving her to madness.

“Yes,” she rasped.

“I like to take things slow.” His voice was warm and a little rough. It stroked over her nerve endings like coarse silk. “That’s okay, isn’t it?”

Her head moved from side to side against the pillows. “Yes. No. God, Jace.”

He chuckled, and then—finally, blessedly—he moved so that his knees were between hers.

She gave a whimper of relief and bent her knees, opening to him.

He slid a finger over her curls, and she lifted her pelvis, straining toward his touch.

His finger slid lower, brushing over her most sensitive flesh so that she clenched her jaw at the pleasure of it.

He played with her, sliding his finger in and out of her, teasing her clit, until she was wound so tight, a single touch would’ve set her off, and then he lifted his hand.

“ Jace .”

“Hm?” He brushed his fingers over her again.

She narrowed her eyes. “Stop teasing.”

He nipped her ear. “You do know that I’m a cat?”

“So?”

“We like to play.”

She gasped as he touched her again. “Oh,” was all she could say as he slid two long fingers into her and then out again.

He nuzzled her collarbone. “You know you like it.”

She angled her head so that he could kiss her throat. “If I say yes, are you going to tease me more?”

“Yeah.” He nipped her skin. “But remember, I can scent a lie.”

She raised her hands in mock surrender. “Then yes. Do your worst.”

“Oh, angel.” His breath rasped in. “I’m going to make you scream.”

He brought his hands back to her face and lowered his body onto hers, keeping himself propped on his forearms. His legs came between hers and she automatically widened her thighs.

He was still wearing his shorts. His hips settled against hers, his cock hard and thick against her through the thin layer of material separating them.

“So soft.” He cupped the base of her skull in one big hand and nuzzled her cheek.

“Everything about you is soft. Your hair, your lips. Your skin.” He moved his mouth to her ear, sucking the hoop with the silver disc into his mouth, tonguing and nipping the sensitive lobe. “Soft. But strong where it counts.”

“Mm.” She wrapped her hands around his shoulders, exploring the round, hard muscles. His quartz lay between them, smooth and warm against her breast bone. It felt almost alive, like a bird’s egg.

Jace lifted his head. The pendant hung from his chest, the smoky gray and purple infused with a faint green glow.

“May I?” She reached for his quartz but didn’t touch it, recalling how he’d recoiled the night he’d been stabbed.

He shook his head. “It hurts if anyone but a close relative touches it…or my mate, if I ever take one.”

“But it doesn’t hurt when it rests on my chest?” she asked, and ignored how her heart constricted at the thought of his someday taking a mate.

“No. And don’t ask me to explain why—it’s not logical. Magic has its own rules.”

“Why is it glowing?”

“Is it?”

He looked down, frowning, and then shrugged. “Thing has a mind of its own. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah—I was talking about how soft you are. Here and here.” He pressed a hot kiss to each of her nipples, and then licked the undersides. “And here.”

Her legs writhed beneath his. She reached down and tried to push off his shorts.

His hand went to his waistband. “You want these off?”

When she nodded, he murmured agreeably and got out of bed to remove them. He grabbed a handful of condoms from the nightstand drawer and dropped them on the table next to the amethyst before crawling back on top of her.

She touched his chest. “Jace?”

“Mm?” He smoothed a hand down her belly.

“I should tell you it’s been a while.”

His thumb brushed over her clit. A quick, light touch that made her muscles tense. “I’m honored then.”

“You should be.” Her mouth quirked. “I don’t take my clothes off for just anyone.”

He stilled and stared down at her, eyes shuttered. “I am.”

But she sensed his withdrawal. So this was just sex. She kept her smile—but inside, her stomach twisted, even as she told herself that was all she wanted, too.

He lowered his mouth to hers and she kissed him back hard, wrapping her hand around his nape. He met her kiss for kiss, sweeping his tongue into her mouth. Tasting her. Teasing her.

She felt hot, unbearably aroused. Her hips moved restively against his, and she sucked his tongue deeper.

His groan vibrated deep inside her belly.

When he lifted his head, they were both sucking in oxygen. They stared at each other without speaking, and then Jace pressed a kiss to her collarbone.

“Your skin is like strawberries and cream,” he rasped. “And fuck, I want to eat you.”

He didn’t wait for her response, just headed down her body. When he reached her mound, he pressed her thighs apart. “Beautiful.”

She pressed her palms on the mattress, her thighs rigid in anticipation.

He pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her clit. Sensation zinged up her spine, tightened her nipples. He feathered his lips over her needy sex, licking and teasing her until she thought she’d go mad—and then he swiped his tongue up her moist center.

“Oh, God,” she said on a moan. “No….no.”

“No, what?” he asked against her pussy.

Her head moved back and forth on the sheets. “I mean yes.”

“Yes to this?” His tongue slipped over her, circling her clit. Light, sure touches that had every muscle in her body constricting.

She threaded her fingers through his hair. It was almost dry now, the strands silky thick. “Yes.”

“Or maybe you like this better?” He opened her with his thumbs and dipped his tongue inside her.

Her core contracted. She muttered something incoherent.

“Can’t make up your mind?”

She shook her head, unable to form words. She only knew that she wanted more, so that was what she said: “More—please.”

He gave a throaty chuckle against her inner thigh. “I like a woman who begs.” He rewarded her with more licking and sucking.

The tiny flames danced up and down her body, gathered at her center.

He nibbled at her belly. “I’m waiting, Evie.”

Heat spiked through her. There was something so sexy about the way he said it, low and firm. Her hands fisted in the sheets. “Please, Jace. Please. Kiss me. Suck me.”

He murmured something rough and dark. He slid a long finger into her and at the same time, set his lips to her tender, aching flesh—and sucked. Hard.

Electricity arced through her. Her hips bucked and he pushed her back down onto the bed. She dug her fingers into the mattress and whimpered his name. Her thighs tightened on his arms, and then she pressed up against him.

“That’s it,” he murmured, stroking a finger into her wet opening. “Come for me, pretty Evie.”

She cried out one more please , and then the fire at her center exploded in a series of rapid, molten bursts.

Jace gave a last, voluptuous lick to her pussy. She lay on the mattress, too pleasured to move, and watched as he fitted a condom on himself.

He came back over her body. She was still feeling the aftershocks. He worked his way up her body, kissing her as he moved: her stomach, her nipples, the sensitive indentation of her throat.

He settled between her thighs. His tip nudged her center, blunt and so good. She raised her hips to take him in and he thrust into her in a leisurely glide.

She moaned as her body stretched to accommodate him. It was too much. It wasn’t enough. And then she was completely filled.

“Yes,” she said hoarsely. “Just like that.”

He buried his face in her neck. “You’re so tight,” he gritted against her skin. “So fucking hot.”

He pulled out and thrust in again. Every nerve ending in her body shuddered with wonder. She dug her heels into his ass. “More.”

He lifted his head and gazed down at her, his eyes a gorgeous swirl of green and gold and brown. His canines looked sharper, as if he were truly half cat at this moment.

Her jaguar man .

“More of this?” he asked in guttural tones, and thrust back in—hard.

“Yes.” Her breath sawed in. “Please, yes.”

She gripped his head and kissed him. He kissed her back, and then took her hands and, threading his fingers through hers, pinned them on either side of her head, holding her in place while he continued moving in and out of her. Slow, deep strokes that she felt clear to the base of her spine.

It was erotic, sensual. Perfect.

And then slow wasn’t enough, and she canted her hips toward him, tightening delicate inner muscles around his thrusting cock.

“Holy fuck,” he muttered, and they moved together, fast and hard. “That’s it. Take it, Evie.”

He released her hands. “With me,” he said. “I want you with me.” One arm wrapped around her shoulders while the other cupped her hip so he could thrust into her at a new angle.

Oh. My. God.

Pleasure and pain fused into one glorious burst of sensation. She heard herself cry out, and then she shot over the edge. He pumped into her a few more times, and then groaned out her name and followed her.

Jace rested his face in the turn of Evie’s neck, lungs heaving. He felt as if he’d been run over by a steamroller like a cartoon coyote—but what a way to die.

He inhaled deeply, steeping himself in her summery scent—fresh, sexy, and all Evie.

Her breath huffed out, a warm puff against his temple, and he gave her a last kiss on the lips before rolling onto his back. He curved an arm around her, tucking her close to his side. She murmured something and set a hand on his waist. A minute later, she went lax with sleep.

Poor baby was exhausted. A wave of protectiveness washed over him.

It’s just sex , he told himself. She doesn’t want more, and neither do you if you’re smart.

Then he dragged in a breath. Because who the hell was he kidding? His cat was already acting possessive and the man was halfway in love with her.

Still, Evie wasn’t his mate. He didn’t feel the mate bond—not even a hint. Not that he was sure what it felt like, but everyone said you just knew . And yet…the cat was so content in her presence. He’d never felt that around any woman—fada, human, or fae.

The fae lights had drifted closer to Evie. There were six of them in the bedroom now. The woman was a fucking light magnet. They hovered near, tinting her face with a warm glow. Her dimple flashed in her sleep.

He recalled how she’d looked when he’d come into the room—impossibly beautiful, her hair the color of sunlight, her eyes a deep topaz beneath her dark brows.

He smoothed a thumb down her cheek. How had he fooled himself into believing she had only a few drops of fae? The woman practically glowed, just like the rest of her kin.

But she wasn’t just fae, she was human, too. A mixed-blood, just like Silver.

“Fada don’t mix with other humans or fae.” Leron had pounded that into all of them, until Jace had believed it. “Humans are weak, easy to break, and the fae would sell out their own mothers for a handful of jewels. And you’ll have cubs who can’t take an animal form.”

Jace had shuddered. The cat was part of him, clear to his soul. Being without it would be like cutting out a vital, irreplaceable piece.

That had clinched it for him. He was pretty sure he’d muttered that to Adric, when he’d given his friend the news about Takira’s mating. “Her cub probably won’t even be able to shift.”

Gods, he’d been so fucking self-righteous.

And Leron had been wrong because Merry could shift. She was a beautiful black jaguar, just like him.

He tucked Evie closer and stared at the ceiling as one by one, the fae lights winked out until the room went dark.