Cassidy grinned. “Really? It would have been that good?”
Thoughts of Cassidy, coveralls open, on the ugly metal table, lingered in his head. “It would have been damn good.”
“It was pretty damn good right here.” Cassidy rolled her lower lip with her teeth. “Maybe still is?”
Diego rested his fists on the bed. “Are you saying you want more?”
“I’m saying I want you.”
It was a good thing Diego had decided to take a few weeks’ leave to get over shooting Enrique. He wouldn’t be able to walk after tonight.
He pushed Cassidy down on the bed, letting his tongue do some exploring. Cassidy’s skin was fiery and salty, her br**sts smooth, filling his mouth with her taste. Diego suckled and licked, then drew his tongue to her navel and flicked it over the stud there.
Cassidy laughed. “That tickles.”
“Too bad, querida. What happens to this when you shift?”
“It just goes away when I shift and is there when I change back.”
“Oh, right. How does that work?”
She shrugged. “A Basque woman in northern Nevada made it for me. There’s magic in it, she said.”
“Magic.” The Shifters liked to talk a lot about magic and seemed very comfortable with it. But then, these were people who could move back and forth from animal to human form. Scientists tried to claim that the shape-shifting ability was genetics gone wrong, but there had to be more to it. “Pretty magical, all right.”
Diego played with the stud with the tip of his tongue, liking it. Cassidy’s flat stomach rippled with her delight. “Lindsay and me both got one, daring each other. I was pretty crazy when I was younger.”
“Yeah? What about now?”
“You’re starting to make me crazy again.”
Diego warmed. “Good.” He left the stud and licked lower, then lower, to the warmth between her legs.
Cassidy stiffened. “What are you doing?”
Diego raised his head. “What does it feel like I’m doing? I’m feasting on you.”
Her eyes were round, her br**sts rising as she half sat up. “I’ve never…”
“Been feasted on?” Something in Diego went tight. “Do you like it so far?”
Silently, she nodded.
“Then I’ll keep doing it.”
Diego lowered his head. Dear God, she tasted good. He drank her in, the beautiful taste of Cassidy, his damn gorgeous, sexy woman.
He rose up over her, hard and wanting her. Cassidy’s face was languid with sex, but there was a stunned look in her eyes. Diego grinned at her. “Did you like that?”
“Hell, yes.”
“Good. How about some more?” He lowered his head again.
Cassidy loved it. His tongue drove her crazy. Hot, wet, wild, beautiful. “Diego.” Cassidy raised her hips, wanting more. And more.
Diego slid his arms behind her legs, pulling her toward him. He knelt over her, positioning himself, then thrust straight into her.
He was big, opening her, satisfying her. Cassidy never wanted it to end.
Diego feathered her skin with hot, leisurely kisses. He made love to her just as leisurely, as though they had all the time in the world, slow heat in the cool night. “Amada mia,” he whispered. “You are so beautiful.”
Cassidy didn’t understand all his words, but the mate bond did. It rose up in her to bind her to him, and it wasn’t going to give her a choice about it.
Hours later, Diego woke in the warm bed with Cassidy when someone thumped on the front door.
He didn’t want to get up, not with Cassidy backed into him, her bu**ocks nestling sweetly into his groin. Sunshine poured through the window to touch her hair—when had it stopped being night?
The thumping didn’t end. Cassidy looked at him sleepily. “That’s not the trackers,” she said. “They wouldn’t knock. And if it was someone trying to hurt us, they wouldn’t let them near the door.”
Diego growled, but he got up, pulled on a T-shirt and sweatpants, and made for the living room. He relaxed when he recognized the silhouette outside his living room window, and unlocked and opened the door.
“Hey, Diego,” Xavier said, walking in. “Ready to go?”
Diego rubbed his head. “Go? What time is it? What day is it?”
“Saturday.” Xavier strode into the kitchen in his gray T-shirt and jeans and frowned at the two beer bottles still sitting on the breakfast bar. “We’re supposed to go to Mamita’s.”
“Oh, yeah.” Real life, which had seemed a million miles away, rushed at Diego with lightning speed. Last night, when Diego had talked to Xav, Xav had reminded him, but that seemed a lifetime ago. Xav had said he’d turn sitting on Reid’s place over to Eric’s trackers, because missing Mamita’s Saturday breakfast wasn’t an option. Mamita had made that clear a long time ago.
Xavier’s gaze was on the half-open bedroom door. The bed was hidden but not Cassidy’s shoes resting lazily on the floor.
“Aw, hell, Diego, you’ve got Cassidy in there. Why didn’t you say anything?”
Diego stepped to the bedroom door and pulled it shut. “Keep it down.”
“You should have used the signal. I’d have left you alone.”
Diego and Xavier had worked out a signal when they’d moved into their own places years ago. If either had a woman spending the night, one front window blind was to be completely closed, the other to have the slats half open.
“There wasn’t time,” Diego said. “Give me a minute.”
Xavier strode to the refrigerator, looked inside, and shook his head. “You’ll starve Cassidy to death. Tell her to come with us and have one of Mamita’s spectacular breakfasts.”
Diego imagined Cassidy meeting his mother and how that would go, on both sides. But he did want Cassidy to meet his mother. Cassidy was special, and his mother would realize that.
Diego opened the bedroom door, ready to invite Cassidy and offer her first dibs on the shower.
He faced an empty bedroom. Cassidy’s dress and panties still lay in a heap on the bathroom floor, but she was gone.
The window by the bed was wide open. Diego went to it and looked out. Two years ago, he’d have hung all the way out, but now he stayed a safe foot back on his solid floor and scanned the narrow alley below. He saw nothing but a few stray newspapers caught between the apartment building and the block wall that separated the property from an empty desert field. The apartment’s back wall was sheer, but a large wildcat could have easily leapt down, scaled the far wall, and faded into the field on the other side.
Thoughts of Cassidy, coveralls open, on the ugly metal table, lingered in his head. “It would have been damn good.”
“It was pretty damn good right here.” Cassidy rolled her lower lip with her teeth. “Maybe still is?”
Diego rested his fists on the bed. “Are you saying you want more?”
“I’m saying I want you.”
It was a good thing Diego had decided to take a few weeks’ leave to get over shooting Enrique. He wouldn’t be able to walk after tonight.
He pushed Cassidy down on the bed, letting his tongue do some exploring. Cassidy’s skin was fiery and salty, her br**sts smooth, filling his mouth with her taste. Diego suckled and licked, then drew his tongue to her navel and flicked it over the stud there.
Cassidy laughed. “That tickles.”
“Too bad, querida. What happens to this when you shift?”
“It just goes away when I shift and is there when I change back.”
“Oh, right. How does that work?”
She shrugged. “A Basque woman in northern Nevada made it for me. There’s magic in it, she said.”
“Magic.” The Shifters liked to talk a lot about magic and seemed very comfortable with it. But then, these were people who could move back and forth from animal to human form. Scientists tried to claim that the shape-shifting ability was genetics gone wrong, but there had to be more to it. “Pretty magical, all right.”
Diego played with the stud with the tip of his tongue, liking it. Cassidy’s flat stomach rippled with her delight. “Lindsay and me both got one, daring each other. I was pretty crazy when I was younger.”
“Yeah? What about now?”
“You’re starting to make me crazy again.”
Diego warmed. “Good.” He left the stud and licked lower, then lower, to the warmth between her legs.
Cassidy stiffened. “What are you doing?”
Diego raised his head. “What does it feel like I’m doing? I’m feasting on you.”
Her eyes were round, her br**sts rising as she half sat up. “I’ve never…”
“Been feasted on?” Something in Diego went tight. “Do you like it so far?”
Silently, she nodded.
“Then I’ll keep doing it.”
Diego lowered his head. Dear God, she tasted good. He drank her in, the beautiful taste of Cassidy, his damn gorgeous, sexy woman.
He rose up over her, hard and wanting her. Cassidy’s face was languid with sex, but there was a stunned look in her eyes. Diego grinned at her. “Did you like that?”
“Hell, yes.”
“Good. How about some more?” He lowered his head again.
Cassidy loved it. His tongue drove her crazy. Hot, wet, wild, beautiful. “Diego.” Cassidy raised her hips, wanting more. And more.
Diego slid his arms behind her legs, pulling her toward him. He knelt over her, positioning himself, then thrust straight into her.
He was big, opening her, satisfying her. Cassidy never wanted it to end.
Diego feathered her skin with hot, leisurely kisses. He made love to her just as leisurely, as though they had all the time in the world, slow heat in the cool night. “Amada mia,” he whispered. “You are so beautiful.”
Cassidy didn’t understand all his words, but the mate bond did. It rose up in her to bind her to him, and it wasn’t going to give her a choice about it.
Hours later, Diego woke in the warm bed with Cassidy when someone thumped on the front door.
He didn’t want to get up, not with Cassidy backed into him, her bu**ocks nestling sweetly into his groin. Sunshine poured through the window to touch her hair—when had it stopped being night?
The thumping didn’t end. Cassidy looked at him sleepily. “That’s not the trackers,” she said. “They wouldn’t knock. And if it was someone trying to hurt us, they wouldn’t let them near the door.”
Diego growled, but he got up, pulled on a T-shirt and sweatpants, and made for the living room. He relaxed when he recognized the silhouette outside his living room window, and unlocked and opened the door.
“Hey, Diego,” Xavier said, walking in. “Ready to go?”
Diego rubbed his head. “Go? What time is it? What day is it?”
“Saturday.” Xavier strode into the kitchen in his gray T-shirt and jeans and frowned at the two beer bottles still sitting on the breakfast bar. “We’re supposed to go to Mamita’s.”
“Oh, yeah.” Real life, which had seemed a million miles away, rushed at Diego with lightning speed. Last night, when Diego had talked to Xav, Xav had reminded him, but that seemed a lifetime ago. Xav had said he’d turn sitting on Reid’s place over to Eric’s trackers, because missing Mamita’s Saturday breakfast wasn’t an option. Mamita had made that clear a long time ago.
Xavier’s gaze was on the half-open bedroom door. The bed was hidden but not Cassidy’s shoes resting lazily on the floor.
“Aw, hell, Diego, you’ve got Cassidy in there. Why didn’t you say anything?”
Diego stepped to the bedroom door and pulled it shut. “Keep it down.”
“You should have used the signal. I’d have left you alone.”
Diego and Xavier had worked out a signal when they’d moved into their own places years ago. If either had a woman spending the night, one front window blind was to be completely closed, the other to have the slats half open.
“There wasn’t time,” Diego said. “Give me a minute.”
Xavier strode to the refrigerator, looked inside, and shook his head. “You’ll starve Cassidy to death. Tell her to come with us and have one of Mamita’s spectacular breakfasts.”
Diego imagined Cassidy meeting his mother and how that would go, on both sides. But he did want Cassidy to meet his mother. Cassidy was special, and his mother would realize that.
Diego opened the bedroom door, ready to invite Cassidy and offer her first dibs on the shower.
He faced an empty bedroom. Cassidy’s dress and panties still lay in a heap on the bathroom floor, but she was gone.
The window by the bed was wide open. Diego went to it and looked out. Two years ago, he’d have hung all the way out, but now he stayed a safe foot back on his solid floor and scanned the narrow alley below. He saw nothing but a few stray newspapers caught between the apartment building and the block wall that separated the property from an empty desert field. The apartment’s back wall was sheer, but a large wildcat could have easily leapt down, scaled the far wall, and faded into the field on the other side.
