Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
***CAMERON***
C ameron kept his feet firmly planted, knew that to move even an inch would be his undoing. “Kennedy, you don’t know what you’re saying, you don’t know what that means,” he ground out between clenched teeth, the dragon inside him now fully awake and responding to her words. “Shifters bond for life when they find their perfect mate, claiming you would mean that you’d belong to me forever. That would be a dangerous thing to do, the future is so…”
“I know exactly what I’m asking,” she said, cutting him off, then took a couple of steps toward him, hands on her hips. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone, Cameron. You make me feel things I didn’t think were possible, and I’m not just going to walk away from that. If all we have are these few days then I’ll find a way to live with it, but not before I put up one hell of a fight, and this is round one. I want you, Cameron, more than I’ve ever wanted anything. Unless you can tell me that you don’t want me just as much, this is happening.”
The spark of determination in her eyes and the stubborn tilt of her chin was what finally pushed him over the edge, and he reached for her as warmth spread through him. “It doesn’t sound like I have much choice,” he said, groaning with pleasure when his hands touched her bare skin and her breasts flattened against his chest. “I know how stubborn you are when you want something. I just hope you don’t get carried away like you always do.”
“Oh, I’m counting on it,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “And this time, I’m taking you with me.”
When she stretched up on her toes and kissed him, the passion between them exploded in a cascade of pleasure. All his doubts fled and he knew that this was right, that Kennedy would always be the only woman for him. Power surged through him as the dragon rejoiced deep inside him and he deepened the kiss, thrilled by the sigh that escaped from Kennedy’s chest. His hands were finally free to roam, and they slid over her half-naked body until he was hard and throbbing with need, the urge to take her right then almost overwhelming.
Gently breaking the kiss, he stepped back, took a second to find some control, then slowly walked around behind her, unhooked her bra, slid the straps over her shoulders, and let it fall to the floor. Pushing the riot of blonde curls out of the way, he kissed the back of her neck, his hands slowly sliding up from her hips over her ribs to capture her plump breasts in his hands. Kennedy groaned and leaned back against him, her nipples hardening against his palms, and the throbbing need was back, but he had it firmly under control this time.
He teased the dusky peaks with his thumb and finger until they were hard and Kennedy was squirming in his arms, then he quickly twisted her around and sucked one into his mouth. Kennedy gasped, then began to moan softly in the back of her throat as he feasted on her breasts, her fingers digging into his shoulders. When he pulled away, she teetered on her feet, then opened her eyes to look up at him before reaching for the buttons on his shirt.
With trembling fingers, she slipped the buttons free, then ran her hands over his chest before shoving it off his shoulders. Beginning to tremble as much as she was when she began unbuttoning his shorts, he sucked in a deep breath, trying not to lose control, but feeling it beginning to slip again. When her hands closed around his swollen manhood, he gasped as pleasure flooded his system, and for just a few minutes he let himself float there, just enjoying the sensations thundering through him.
When the pressure began to build to a dangerous level, he grabbed her hands and kissed each palm before putting them by her side. Hooking his fingers into her panties, he slid them slowly down her legs, then kissed his way back up, enjoying her gasp of shock and pleasure. Back on his feet, he took her hand and led her over to the blanket, then pushed her down onto her back and covered her body with his, groaning when their naked flesh touched for the first time.
Finding her mouth again, he slid his hand down her stomach between her legs and gently pushed them apart, anticipation making his heart begin to pound. After stroking the inside of the thighs until she lifted her hips to him, he slipped his finger between her folds, growling when he found her hot and wet. This time, when the need to bury himself deep inside her roared back to life, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to resist for much longer, but wanted Kennedy as desperate as he was before he gave in.
Breaking the kiss, he stroked her with his finger, watching her face as pleasure slowly consumed her, his body responding when she tumbled over the edge with his name on her lips. When she opened pleasure-filled eyes to look up at him, he slipped between her legs, no longer able to deny his own gratification, but hesitated before he took her, knowing that there would be no turning back once he did.
“Please, Cameon, don’t make me wait. I need you now,” Kennedy purred, spreading her legs farther for him. “Take me now, I want to be yours forever.”
Her words penetrated deeply into his soul, speaking to something deep inside him, and he felt it happening, knowing that the bond between them was growing stronger. A surge of warmth filled him, intensifying the driving instinct to claim what belonged to him. The dragon came as close to the surface as it could without bursting out, and he gave into all of it.
Grabbing Kennedy by the hips, he drove himself into her with one hard thrust of his powerful muscles, filling her completely and satisfying the need for a few seconds. Pleasure rushed through him, more intense than he thought possible, and for a moment he stayed where he was, reveling in the sensation of finally being joined to the woman that he loved. But the need was soon back, and he drove himself into Kennedy again, her cries of pleasure only adding fuel to the fire that was suddenly burning inside him.
He buried himself inside her over and over, her body accepting him each time, her muscles tightening around him until they were both desperate for release. When his climax finally came, he took Kennedy with him and her cries of pleasure only intensified his own, her body clamping tightly around his making the sensation go on and on until drained, he collapsed on top of her.
They lay there, both still trembling, their breath coming in short gasps as they slowly came back down to Earth, Cameron’s power still filling the cave with a pulsing energy that slowly soaked into the rocks around them. On the other side of the mountain, through layers and layers of rock, the power reappeared, seeping out of the walls of another cave and making the crystal hidden there begin to glow.
***Kennedy***
Kennedy lay with her back to Cameron, his body pressed up against hers, watching the rain falling outside the cave, still floating on a cloud of happiness. “I don’t think we’re going anywhere tonight,” she said. “I hope they don’t start worrying about us. I’d feel terrible if Max sent out a search party in this weather. We don’t really need rescuing.”
“Matt knows that you came prepared, right?” he asked, a hint of jealousy in his voice. “As much time as you spent with him, he should know.”
“Cameron Sullivan, are you the jealous type?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him. “Is that what all that stuff was about with that guy on the beach?”
“It came as a bit of a surprise to me, too,” he said. “I’ve never had anyone to be jealous about. I’ll try to work on it, but I’m not making any promises; it’s not all me.”
“What does that mean?” she asked, turning around to face him. Then, she opened her mouth to ask another question but shut it again.
“Thank you,” he said, giving her a quick kiss. “It’s the dragon, he operates more on instinct than anything else, so when he’s awake, I have to control him. He really likes you, by the way; he seems to think that you’re perfect for us. He’s been driving me crazy since we met.”
“Oh, really, I guess that’s good,” she said. “Is he happy now?”
“Sound asleep,” he said. “It’s just the two of us.”
Kennedy laughed. “This may take some getting used to,” she said, shaking her head. “I have about a million questions, but I don’t know which one to ask first. ”
“Well, as long as you ask one at a time, I promise to answer as many of them as I can,” he said. “We’re really not that much different than regular people, we just have a dragon living inside of us.”
She was silent for a second, trying to decide what was most important, finally settling on the one thing that mattered to her the most. “Tell me about the clan,” she said. “How does that work?”
“Most shifters belong to a clan, it’s a way for us to have support in a world that doesn’t know we exist,” he said. “Most families have been part of their clans for generations, we’re very committed to the clan, and the rules that our ancestors set down to keep us safe. Leadership in the clan has always passed down from father to son, which is something a lot of us would like to see change, especially me.”
“So, you don’t have any choice?” she asked. “You couldn’t just say no thank you?”
“It would be a huge insult to the clan and to my father, and would create a huge scandal,” he said. “I’ve tried to talk to him, but he won’t listen. He’s determined to force me to bend to his will, it’s a power thing with him. In two months, he expects me to pick a woman to marry and get on with it.”
“You can’t take over without getting married?” she asked. “And it has to be to another shifter?”
“That was two,” he said, holding up his fingers. “Not exactly. Women don’t shift, so we don’t call them that, but I am supposed to choose from the women of the clan. It’s really just a way for a few families to keep control of the clan. They use the reasoning that it keeps the bloodlines pure, but that’s not why they do it. It’s all about power and whose hands it ends up in.”
“Wow, this would make a good story,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s almost as good as the royals over in England.”
“You say that now, but Kennedy, this is serious,” he said, sitting up. “We’re not supposed to be together, and I have no idea what to do. I’m not giving you up, but this could get really tricky.”
“I know, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been joking about it,” she said. “Too bad we can’t fake a pedigree for me, pretend I’m from another clan or something. How would they know since women don’t shift? I suppose there might be a risk if our kids weren’t shifters, but by then, it would be too late.”
“Not all boys become shifters,” Cameron said, a little hope in his voice. “It might work, but when did we decide to have kids?”
She felt herself blushing. “I guess I was getting ahead of myself again,” she said. “Don’t freak out. I was just trying to come up with something to help.”
“Oh, I’m not freaking out. In fact, I think it’s a wonderful idea,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “We should start working on that right now.”
“Now, hold on,” she said, her voice quavering a bit when his hand found her breast. “I was talking about the future.”
“Hmm…me too,” Cameron said, nuzzling her neck, his hand sliding down her body. “At least nine months from now.”
“Cameron, that’s not funny,” she said, trying to push him away. “We have to talk about this some more.”
“You brought it up, I’m just running with the idea,” he said, spreading her legs apart and finding her pleasure button with his finger. “But I can stop any time you want me to so we can discuss this more.”
The pleasure was already beginning to build deep in her loins, and she was sure that she’d die if he stopped. “I think maybe we can save that conversation for later,” she said, barely able to form the words. “But you’re going to pay for this, mister. ”
“I’ll be looking forward to it,” Cameron said, sliding between her legs, then deep inside her. “You belong to me now, Kennedy. You’re mine until the end of time.”