Chapter 31

Gage picked up his pillow and pounded it between his hands, trying to reshape it. The day had gone without incident. Kelsey hadn’t avoided him, but had been cold toward him. Cold enough that Gage was sure if he looked closely there would be frostbite. He twisted the pillow again then dropped it like it was to blame for him flipping around in bed. Tossing the pillow against the wall, he ripped the sheet off his body and grabbed a clean pair of jeans out of his dresser.

Yanking them on, he went out into the hall. Maybe a few shots of whiskey would settle him down enough to get a few hours of sleep. Grabbing the banister, he froze when a whimpering noise came to him.

He looked at Kelsey’s door. What was she doing awake? He’d checked on her after his run. If things kept going the way they were, he’d soon have to learn how to work in animal form. She’d been sleeping soundly.

He listened at her door. Soft, tantalizing sounds were coming from the other side. Quietly, he opened it a few inches and peered in.

She was twisting in her sleep, discomfort plain on her face. Thinking it was a nightmare, he stepped into the room when the scent of her heat hit him, catching him off guard. His nostrils flared, his body hardened in an instant.

Kelsey moved her legs as if she was trying to run, kicking the sheets off her body. He watched it slide to the floor and stood frozen in place. She was wearing one of those little baby doll nighties, her body barely covered in soft white material. He wanted to be that material rubbing over her skin.

Christ. He tried to swallow, his mouth suddenly so dry he could barely breathe. She gasped and then squirmed some more, he realized she was sensing him near and it only made it worse.

He continued to stand there, his eyes roaming over every inch of her skin. His cat, that he’d thought he’d exhausted, was rubbing against him trying to entice him him to go over to her, the scent was so fucking intriguing.

He should just let her suffer and maybe she’d stop being so pigheaded. Taking a deep breath, he knew he was being a dick, every instinct was telling him to take care of her, to fill all her needs and she was in serious need right now.

Moving toward the end of her bed, he was unable to take his eyes from her. The bottom of the nearly transparent pajamas she left little to the imagination. His heartbeat pounded rapidly, so powerful he could feel it in his throat, when he realized she wasn’t wearing underwear.

Moving like a cat preparing to pounce, he lowered to his knees and rested his hands on the mattress. Christ, how am I going to touch her without going too far? She made a needy mewling noise in the back of her throat and he swore he heard the zipper on his jeans break apart, he was that hard.

Her legs started moving again, unconsciously, moving to rub herself. Christ. Shakily, he reached out and gently clasped one of her ankles. She stiffened, stilled, simply waiting. He looked up to see her eyes were still closed. Was she awake? Taking hold of her other ankle, he held her legs still. With a needy moan, she flexed her legs trying to move them to no avail, he held them tight.

The edge of her gown rode up further and he couldn’t look away. He’d only intended to touch her, to comfort her cat with a bit of contact, but now he was looking at her swollen pink flesh open to him, so wet her could see it from where he knelt. He knew he was going to do more than comfort her.

Inhaling, he tightened his grasp and flexed the muscles in his arms, pulled her toward him until she was almost hanging off the bed. Reaching under her legs, he held her hips and blew on her dripping folds.

Please don’t hate me, he prayed as he leaned forward and stroked his tongue over her. She stilled completely, but didn’t attempt to move away from his touch, so he did it again. His eyes rolled back in his head at the sweet, potent taste of her. Doing this for her wasn’t going to be a sacrifice in any way.

He pulled her thighs wide so he could bury his mouth in her flesh. Her hips lifted and thrust against his mouth as he applied more pressure. Her panting was increasing with each move he made.

Lifting his head, he straightened to pick her up off the bed. He still didn’t trust she wouldn’t claw him up. Lifting her legs bringing her hips completely off the bed, he nibbled along her inner thigh, making her gasp each time his teeth lightly marked her. It took all his restraint not to sink them in and mark her fully.

He plunged his tongue inside her and kept on until her breathing was an erratic mix of moans and gasps. He gently nipped at her engorged clit until she was thrashing around on the bed, pulling at her gown until her whole body was bare. He watched her breasts bounce with each movement, his own hips rocking into the end of the bed, driving him even more crazy for her.

When she started to make soft squealing noises, he knew he wouldn’t be able to continue much longer without climbing on top of her and making her his. Grasping her nub with his lips, he sucked until she was shaking and louder than he’d ever heard a woman groan. It was killing him slowly.

When her cries quieted, he lowered her, licking at her with long strokes, wanting to take the taste with him. She lay there completely sated, her entire body bared to his eyes, watching him with glazed eyes. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

Reaching, he pulled the sheet up and across her body. With stiff movements, he got up and looked down at her. “Get some sleep, honey.” He whispered, his voice so hoarse with lust it was unrecognizable.

He didn’t look at her again as he left the room, pulling the door closed softly.

Stumbling to the stairs, he almost missed a step that would have landed him at the bottom in more pain than he was already in.

The pain of his erection was so bad it actually burned, and he couldn’t see calming it down, no matter what he tried. His body wanted its mate; no substitute was going to cut it.

With a curse, he headed for the back door. He’d have to run this off, even though he doubted the effectiveness of the only option he could think of.