Chapter 42: Chapter Forty-Two--Where There Was One, Is Now Two

He stiffened. “You were aware?”

“Most of the time. My cat was so much more than me. I got to know her on a fundamental level, and now that she is learning to communicate, it’s easier.” My arms tightened around his neck.

“Still, it must’ve been horrible for you. I imagine the change was not pleasant.” He sliced through the water, heading for the rocky shore. The sense of déjà vu wasn’t beyond me when he lifted me onto a flat boulder.

“No,” I debated. “But all good things aren’t easy to get. Regardless of how strange the situation, I feel more alive than I have ever been.” And never less alone. Sure, I needed time to adjust, as did my cat. But the comfort of her presence soothed bone deep.

He blinked, and pulled himself out of the water, stretching over the sun-drenched stone, a long line of powerful muscle. “I understand. But stay vigilant of yourself, and do not take on too much. This is a lot to take in. Novelty only gets you so far. A sudden burnout wouldn’t be unconceivable.”

No argument for that. I’d proven the fact a time or two in the last few days. Maybe, the novelty hadn’t worn off yet. Without a doubt, my cat controlled my anxiety: an emotional puppet master, providing room to breathe and think in a rational manner.

I leaned back to soak up the caressing sun. He massaged my calves in deep, sure strokes. My damp hair brushed the smooth rock beneath my hands. Serenity was mine. My cat prowled my memories, flipping through them, learning about this new world. The sense of ancient knowledge was held at my fingertips. How odd, the two of us. Brand new, and inconceivably old, brought forward by a trick of fate, and the attention of an entity old as time. How had she chosen me?

Your pain is a solid thing. A drip in the pond of life that ripples outward. Your kindness calls out to those who chose to listen. I needed a vessel, and I searched far and wide for such a being. You, my human, are a rare breed indeed.

I cocked my head. I’m not too sure about that. How can I stand out from millions of people?

You underestimate yourself. A habit of yours, I am finding. Your inner strength and beauty knows no bounds.

“You seem far away,” Kalvyn said, voice whisper soft, yet compellingly dominating.

I was startled from my inner musings. My gaze drifts over his legs, up his clothed torso. My cat growled. The inhuman noise climbed my throat. “My cat speaks to me a lot.”

“And what does she have to say?”

“At the moment she isn’t all that happy that you’re clothed.” My blood boiled, sending shocks of animalistic desire that trumped anything I’d ever experienced. Instant. Devastating to my nerve endings. My breasts swelled, nipples taunt and ready to be touched. Liquid heat bathed my inner thighs.

His nostrils flared, pupils eating up his irises. My abdomen quivered at the thought of stripping him bare.

Mine. The single worded litany echoed to my soul and back. My cheeks flushed, fingers itched to stroke every inch of him.

“You’re naked,” he murmured.

“Just noticed this?”

“No. I attempted not to focus too much on how naked you were. You need time…”

“To do what?”

“Adjust.”

“I’m adjusted.”

We both heard the lie for what it was. But I couldn’t focus on the facts, only the need.

He made a study of my body, piece by piece. Each second that passed, the wildness inside of him unleashed a little further. Or maybe, it has always been there, just below the surface, only needing a little prodding for him to show his true self under the strong built façade he put on every morning.

In this moment, I felt every bit as beautiful, strong, and powerful as my cat labeled me.

Kalvyn uncoiled his tight body, crawling over me. His arms braced himself above mine. His lips parted, pink tongue swiping his bottom lip. Achingly slow, he lowered his hips, his cock resting exactly where he needed to be, sans the offending clothing.

I shifted against him, leg hooking his thighs.

“Impatient?”

One corner of my mouth lifted in a half sardonic smirk. “Very.”

“Too bad,” he growled. “I’m in the mood to take my time.”

My brow lifted. “You sure about that?”

“Oh, yes.”

I pushed on the back of his knee with my heel, but his unmovable resolve wouldn’t budge. Lightning fast, he pulled my wrists above my head, tangled my legs with his, weight pinning me. He bit my ear. My womb clenched.

“Go ahead, struggle. Fight me,” he said, tantalizingly erotic. “I might like it.”

“And you might pay for it.”

“Then punish me. I dare you,” he mocked. Unruly locks of black hair tickled my cheek, mingling with the gushes of hot breath.

He kissed me, and I bit into his lip until I tasted the barest hint of blood. His hips pushed forward, his thick erection running over my aching flesh. His hands tightened on my forearms, hard enough to leave bruises, but I didn’t care.

His tongue thrust past my teeth, tangoing with mine, an untamed mating dance. I struggled, needing to have his skin gliding over mine. He jerked, rolled and twisted.

He tore his mouth from mine, working back to my ear. “You have more fight in you than this. I’ve seen it. What are you waiting for, Katrina? Nothing in this world is free. You have to take it.”

His teeth gashed my jugular. He dragged my wrists with him as he licked my collarbone. “I do not have to be careful with you,” he said, awe and lust in equal measure, as if this just occurred to him.

“No, you don’t.”

He caught my nipple between his teeth, tongue rolling, accompanied by a delectable purr. “Mmm.”

My back arched, fingers clenching. I fought him, trying to tear free of his hold. He bore down all the harder.

“Clothes off. Now.”