The Sweetest Mercy (Sexy Shifter Shorts) Read online

  “Carter,” he responded in that oh-so delicious voice. “Carter Hayes. I’m here to help you, Kiera.”

  Chapter Three

  CARTER’S BEAST GROWLED in his psyche, worked up to a frenzy. The tight space left little room for movement and even less opportunity for a breath of fresh air. And right now, he was damned near suffocating on the heady perfume of Kiera’s lust.

  His beast and his body joined against his mind and it was the worst kind of mutiny. The granite ceiling seemed to close in on him as Carter tried to stand and his erection pressed uncomfortably against his fly. Of all the times for his hormones to take over… Gods, you’d think he was some unseasoned cub with his first female, not an old-as-dirt killer with years of experience under his belt.

  “Let’s go, Kiera.” He backed out the way he came, wary to turn his back on her. Seriously, what did he expect her to do? Jump on his back and tackle him to the ground? From the way her eyes glazed over with lust, it wasn’t exactly a far-fetched notion. And why did he find that sexy as hell? “We need to get out of here. Now.”

  She advanced on him. Slowly. Each step placed with precision. Her gaze locked on his and she licked her lips. His cock pulsed in his jeans as if anxious to be put to use. Not the time or the place, he reminded himself. No matter how tempting she might be, Reece could return at any moment and Carter did not want to be caught with his pants down. Figuratively or literally. But gods, her scent was driving him crazy, and the way her hips swayed as she walked made him wonder what it would be like to hold those curves in his hands as she rode him. Whoa. Carter gave himself a mental shake. Do not go there.

  Walking backward is never ideal, but still, Carter was surprised when his foot caught on large rock. He fell backward, his ass smacking on the dirt, the jolt of the impact sending the lightstick flying behind him somewhere. Kiera knelt at his feet and Carter couldn’t help but breathe in a deep lungful of her scent. It reminded him of flowers in full bloom at the peak of their sweetness. His lion purred in his psyche and Carter suppressed a groan. Gods but she was tempting. But she should have been scared half to death and running for safety by now, whether or not she was in the grip of some sort of hormonal surge. Why was she so damned calm? And why would she take the time for a quickie with a total stranger?

  Who cares? A niggling voice in the back of Carter’s mind said. He’d gone so long without female companionship of any kind. Years. Decades. Did he even remember how everything worked? His erection strained painfully against his fly. Probably like riding a bike. But this was not the place for a test drive, damn it.

  Kiera leaned forward and unfastened the button of Carter’s jeans. Her gaze didn’t leave his as she eased down his zipper and worked his pants down over his hips. As if he had no control over his body, Carter raised his hips, making it easier for her to get his jeans down around his ankles.

  “Kiera, wait!” he said, a grain of sanity invading his mind. Jesus, what in the hell was he doing? The female was obviously unhinged. He couldn’t take advantage of her in this situation.

  As if she hadn’t heard him she took his cock in her hand and stroked, causing Carter’s hips to buck involuntarily. Ah, gods, her touch was like silk, and it felt so damned good.

  “Carter.”

  Her voice resonated in his mind as if she’d crawled inside his head. The sound distracted his beast for a moment; no doubt it would rile his lion to have more than the two of them rattling around in his noggin. But, to his surprise, his beast purred at the intrusion, relishing the sound like a house cat rolling around on a pile of clean clothes. Well, wasn’t that just awesome?

  “Kiera, I think we need to… ah… talk,” he panted as she continued to stroke him. His back bowed as he arched into her touch. It had been so long since a female touched him this way. He missed it.

  “For an illusion, you’re sure uncooperative,” Kiera mused. She leaned over him, her warm breath caressing the head of his cock. Carter groaned as her tongue flicked out, circling the crown.

  “Do that again,” he commanded. Wait. What? Jesus, he was supposed to be stopping her, not egging her on.

  “Mmm. That’s better,” she all but purred as she lapped at him again. But this time taking him fully into her mouth and sucking gently.

  For all he knew this could be a set up. Kiera could be suffering from some crazy Stockholm Syndrome and seducing Carter into a mindless state so Reece could come in and run a silver dagger through his heart. Kiera continued to work her mouth over his cock and all rational thought fled Carter’s mind like leaves blown in the wind. He reached out for her, wanting to thread his fingers through the tangles of her hair but stopped short. Though mindless with lust, he needed to be able to react if this was indeed an ambush. Because really, how could it be anything else? Carter might have let his lion’s need take over, but that wasn’t to say he’d throw caution completely to the wind. After all, someone had to watch out for their fool neck.

  The wet warmth of her mouth was like heaven, gliding over his erection in a steady rhythm that had him pumping his hips just to get a little deeper. Kiera cupped his sac, pulling gently as she moaned and the vibration coupled with the new sensation of her hand as it worked his flesh was just… fucking… awesome.

  He didn’t give two shits if this was an ambush. There were worse ways to die.

  IF THIS WAS madness, then Kiera never wanted to be sane again.

  The man beneath her was sheer perfection, Adonis cast in bronze. She passed the flat of her tongue up the length of his erection, tasting the salty-sweet tang of his skin. A pearly drop of precum glistened at the tip and she sucked it away, eliciting a deep rumbling moan of pleasure that came from deep within Carter’s chest. She’d never been with a man so… big. Just another piece of evidence to convince her that this moment had nothing to do with reality. She stroked the hard, thick length of him as she sucked and nipped at the head of his cock, and Carter’s hips jerked convulsively followed by another of those deep, satisfied moans.

  “Ah, gods, yes. Just like that. You’re making me crazy, Kiera. We should stop,” he said through a panting breath. “We should definitely stop. Fuck. Do that thing with your tongue again.”

  She couldn’t help feeling a little smug over his reaction. There was power in pleasure and Kiera had this male at her mercy. Desire raged within her, her own need for release rising to a fevered pitch that pounded in her blood and settled low in her stomach. Pushing herself to stand, Kiera quickly shucked her underwear. While a captive, her cute black skirt had been a constant annoyance, but right now, it was a freakin’ godsend. She looked down at the man lying on the cold, hard ground, all but oblivious to the discomfort surrounding them. Kiera would have thought that in her madness, she could have at least imagined a better setting. A tropical beach at sunset. Or maybe a luxurious hotel suite with a hot tub and king-sized bed. Of course, she’d trade a fabulous setting for this man any day. It wasn’t every day that madness produced such a sinful fantasy. At least, she doubted it.

  “I want you, Carter,” Kiera said as she lowered herself over his body. This was madness after all, no time for sweet seduction and slowly undressing one another. The illusion could vanish at any moment and she didn’t want to waste a single moment. His growled response only spurred her on, the sound primal, a word without form. Finally the days of torturous need would come to an end. “And I want you to fuck me. Hard.”

  When her slick core brushed against the velvet smooth head of his erection, Kiera couldn’t help the desperate whimper that broke from her lips. Aroused to the point of near-pain, her swollen clit feathered against his hard flesh, nearly bringing her to orgasm with nothing more than a whisper of contact. Carter went rigid, and his jaw clenched as he gripped her hips in his hands, his body vibrating beneath her. “Don’t hold back,” she murmured, sensing that he was keeping himself in check. This wouldn’t do for her descent into madness. No, Kiera wanted total abandon.

  As if waiting for permission, Carter’s g
rip tightened and he pulled her down on him with one forceful thrust. Kiera gasped as he stretched her, filled her to the point that she was certain she couldn’t take much more of him. He eased out, and with a low moan thrust again, this time taking her deeper. Kiera threw her head back, reveling in the pleasure that tingled over her skin like cool rain on a too hot day. It had been so long… too long since she’d felt this way. And from the way Carter moved beneath her, it had been even longer for him.

  He held her tight, his hands coming around her hips to cup her ass as he rocked her body against his. His eyes sparked from darkest night to sunrise, burning with golden flecks and a bright ring that circled his iris. Carter thrust with abandon, her name a mantra on his lips as he fucked into her. She’d told him she didn’t want him to hold back and he’d taken her at her word.

  “Just like that, Carter,” Kiera panted. “Harder. More.”

  Her core clenched around his thick length, her clit throbbing with each roll of her hips against his. She braced her arms on his chest, the unyielding muscle like the granite walls surrounding her. Carter rose up to meet her, as if he’d kiss her, and Kiera turned her head away, unwilling to let something so intimate and pure as a kiss be sullied by her own madness. He seemed not to notice, but greedily dragged her shirt and bra up her chest, exposing her breasts. As his mouth latched around her nipple and as he sucked, Kiera’s body coiled tight, imploding on itself before releasing in an explosion that made her tremble against him. Wave after wave of pleasure swept over her, the orgasm seeming unending. She cried out, burying her mouth where Carter’s shoulder met his neck and when she nipped at his salty flesh, he pressed deep inside of her, his own body shuddering and his cock jerking inside of her as he came.

  “Kiera!” he shouted, his face buried in her hair. He murmured something against her ear, the words almost too quiet for her to hear. She thought he’d made some claim on her, but perhaps that was the point. He was madness come to take her. And she’d gone to him willingly.

  “Yes,” she whispered as she treaded her fingers through the silky-soft strands of his hair. “I’m yours.”

  Chapter Four

  HAD HE HEARD her right? And for that matter, had he heard his own words correctly? Clearly, he’d lost his fucking mind. Kiera lay limp against his chest, face still buried against his neck, her breathing slow and even, and her arms slung over his shoulders. The warmth of her body lent him comfort, something he hadn’t allowed himself to feel in a very long time. Still, despite that comfort, guilt slithered under his skin like a snake making its way through the tall grass. Kiera was obviously out of sorts. Hell, Logan and Drew had both warned him. He’d taken advantage of her and let his beast assume control of the situation, mating her like they were simply two animals living in the wild. He let out a heavy sigh as he gently shifted Kiera away from him. Who was he kidding? He was an animal.

  Gods. What have I done?

  “Kiera?” For as roughly as he used her, now all Carter could think to do was treat her as though she was made of glass. Awkward had nothing on the current situation. They needed to get out of here. Now. But how could he possibly urge her to get her ass in gear after what had just happened between them. It was the equivalent of a late-night booty call. Thanks for the mind-blowing fuck, babe. Now call yourself a cab.

  Shit. Kiera didn’t seem too interested in abandoning her current position, and if Carter’s cock had any say in the matter, she wouldn’t be moving any time soon. Still hard as a fucking stone, his body was ready to take her again. And truth be told, it didn’t seem like a bad idea. No. Jesus. Get your head on straight. Not the time. And not the fucking place. Reece could come back at any second and odds were he wouldn’t be coming back alone. Time to leave.

  Carter reached up as if to smooth her hair away from her face. It seemed such a natural thing to do, and yet…so foreign. He hadn’t touched a woman since he’d been with Aurielle and he’d been without his mate for nearly seventy years. Old habits die hard, he supposed. But Kiera was not his mate. They had no history, no real intimacy between them. Just a moment of recklessness.

  “Kiera,” he said again, slowly easing her body off of his. He swallowed a moan as her slick heat released him and he fought the urge to bury his cock deep inside her and take her one more time. “Reece could be on his way back here. We might not have much time to get away. I need to get you out of here now and take you back to your sister.”

  Kiera pulled away and looked at him as if truly seeing him for the first time. Her forehead knitted, drawing her dark brows over her beautiful eyes that no longer appeared glazed with confusion—or lust. For the first time, Carter was seeing Kiera as she should have been. Lucid. Though perhaps slightly bemused.

  “What are you talking about?” she asked, her voice still thick with passion. Carter’s beast growled in his psyche, urging his mind to places it should not be going. Like how badly he wanted to fuck again for starters. “I’m…” she paused and looked around as if only now realizing where she was. “Wait. You’re real.”

  Oh. Fuck.

  WHAT EMOTION WAS worse than mortified? Because Kiera was pretty damned sure she’d left mortification a few hundred miles back. Her body tingled with pleasure, the after effects of what had to have been the world’s greatest orgasm still pulsing in her core. Surely this couldn’t be real. She’d never been one of those women who claimed to see stars or have a religious epiphany after a great orgasm, but, hallelujah! What this man had just done to her made her want to stand up and testify!

  Holy shit. She looked down, only now aware that she was still straddling Carter, her skirt hiked up to her waist, her shirt and bra riding up on her collarbone. Kiera stifled a groan as her cheeks heated with embarrassment. She’d been so crude! Forcing herself on him, begging him to… she couldn’t even finish the thought without getting nauseous.

  The thought of moving and putting herself back together seemed more humiliating than staying where she was. For the past twenty-four hours, her mind had become increasingly muddled. She hadn’t been able to distinguish reality from fantasy and Carter was just too good to be true. Naturally she’d filed him under fantasy. “Is Erica okay?” She eased her body away from his, and already she felt cold and empty without his skin touching hers. “How do you know her? And how did you find me?”

  Was it easier to pretend that this moment wasn’t awkward as hell and just jump right to the business at hand? No. But she had to do something; otherwise she’d turn into a stammering fool and start apologizing. Gods, she could only imagine what he thought of her.

  “Erica is fine,” Carter said as he offered a steadying hand. She pretended not to notice, instead using the granite wall of the cave for support. She righted her skirt and pulled her bra and t-shirt back into place while Carter did the same with his own clothes. Her underwear was a lost cause, though. She couldn’t find them in the dark. “She’s with my alpha, Logan and his brother, Drew.”

  Alpha? “Are you a werewolf?” Kiera didn’t know if it was polite to ask, but she figured she was past worrying about etiquette.

  “Shifter,” Carter replied, his tone brusque. “Mountain lion. Not wolf.”

  Panic seeped into Kiera’s bloodstream sending icy chills across her flesh. Her kidnapper was a shifter. She’d seen him take his animal form. Cougar. Mountain lion. Big fucking cat. He was one of them! “Oh. Okay.”

  He knew her kidnapper’s name, a name that Kiera had all but forgotten in her madness. Could he be lying to her? Erica could be a prisoner as well for all she knew. Carter could be in league with Reece, though Kiera had a hard time wrapping her mind around the whys of it. He had no reason to lie or deceive her, unless his plan had been to use her for a quick screw. The realization that she’d been duped stabbed through her chest like a blade. Gods, in her mindless lust she’d thrown herself at the enemy.

  “So, exactly where are you taking me?” If she had to guess, he planned on dragging her out to the woods where it would be easy to dis
pose of her body. Not that she’d let that happen. Problem was, Carter wasn’t exactly your average sized male. He was huge. And he was also currently blocking the only way out of the cave.

  “Your sister is at Logan’s compound about ten miles away on the other side of the summit. I was planning to backtrack to my cabin, which is five miles east of here and then circle back. I’d like to stay downwind if we can. But I might have to change directions if the weather front moves in faster than I expected. Do you think you can make the walk?”

  Oh, she’d do better than that. “Sure. I just need—” she looked around as she slid her feet into her ballet flats, frantic for a distraction. Oh! Right! “—my underwear.”

  Carter turned to the side, his gaze sweeping the floor of the cave. It would be a tight squeeze, but it was all she needed. Underwear, whether on or off apparently held any man’s attention. Kiera moved as quickly as she could without rousing suspicion, only half aware of each and every place their bodies made contact as she squeezed past him. The cave wasn’t terribly long, but still, her eyesight wasn’t much better than a human’s and negotiating her way toward the wide mouth was tougher than she’d suspected. Her ankle turned on a rock and she cursed under her breath, skipping a step or two until the pain subsided. The ground became more even and free of hindrances as she reached the wide arching mouth and when she could finally see well enough to navigate her way, Kiera broke into a full run.

  “Kiera?” Carter called out behind her but panic and fear fueled her flight and she didn’t dare look back as she dodged and wove her way through the thick stands of pine and mountain ash. A string of curses echoed from the cave, a clear indicator that Carter finally managed to tear his attention away from her panties long enough to realize she’d taken off.