“Lydia Jones…” He breathed the name into the steamy scents in the room, the taut bands of his arms refusing to release her as the air cooled around them.
“Shh…she’s not here,” Lydia whispered against his throat, sighing and giving the semi-hard cock a tight squeeze. “Hmmmm…”
“Christ, woman…you’re killing me with those muscles…will you…”
“You know that sexy growl just doesn’t do anything to scare me from a given decision,” and she was laughing when he moved, dumping her to her back, his body immediately turning to pin her to the bed.
“You should have told me…and let me…”
She blinked up at him, humor in her eyes. “Told you what? And aside from what we did…what do you think you could have done?” Lydia wiggled her trapped fingers, one of his legs thrown over hers to keep her from moving far.
“Baby…”
“I’m alright, Jude,” she said softly, the concern she heard in his voice and saw in his eyes touching a part of her she’d never known was there. Not in her. People didn’t worry about her. His hands loosened, her palm slipping free and touching the side of his face. “I’m not hurt. I’m not…sorry…I’m not some unconscious person going through their life. I make my decisions, Jude,” she rolled to her side when he let his body slip to the bed. They lay facing each other. “I could have walked away from the facility years ago. I learned how to survive very early. But I couldn’t say that about everyone in there and…you’re having a problem with that.”
He didn’t want to speak. He didn’t want to tell her just how right she was. Thinking of her in one of those places sent the cat in him into full protective mode and it wouldn’t be a bloodless strike.
“By letting them think I was something other than what I am…I’ve destroyed three of their operations. That’s millions of dollars in equipment and time and research,” she whispered, fire burning in her eyes. “I didn’t rescue as many as I wanted, but the healthiest ones, the strongest ones…can you see how important all that was to me?”
“You know how much every single part of you fucks with my head?”
“Romantic statement,” she murmured through a soft laugh that turned into a hungry groan when his mouth covered hers, sweeping in hot and demanding. She pressed her hips against the rise of his erection. “Only your head?”
“Witch,” her growled, sinking both hands into the thick mass of her hair and shoving thoughts of Seth’s anger far, far into the background.
“Wrong…mate,” she whispered before losing everything but the room around them in his kiss, his touch. “Aside from those incredibly wonderful explosions…the very best thing was having no control Jude. It’s like flying when you touch me…”
“Let me help you fly, kitten,” he growled, low and soft before soaring with her.
She’d been so wrapped up in so many others things through her life, she never bothered to slow down enough to find her own safe place. But when she slept over an hour later, it was like sinking onto the softest of clouds.
Warm and amazingly safe.
At least it was hers for a short time.
Jude was jolted awake with the low, sobbing cry, his body upright and eyes immediately focused on the woman he’d curled himself around. She was still beneath the blankets, but shivering uncontrollably, her head thrashing and tears in the low pain filled whisper.
He tried waking her, watching for the appearance of claws or fangs. But he received nothing. Her body was loose, pliable and cold to the touch, despite the blankets and his own physical warmth that had been wrapped around her.
Occasionally her body shook with such force he feared she’d break apart in his arms. Shivers of cold wracking her body yet she felt like she was running a high fever.
Two-thirty in the morning. In the middle of almost nowhere.
He braced himself against her and piled another blanket over her, his palm stroking gently over her head. He didn’t know what else to do. Didn’t know if whatever it was happened because of the medications they’d given her or because she’d shifted before all of it was out of her system. Didn’t know if it might have happened because of sex. Orgasms and sperm.
Nothing Seth could do to him would be worse than what’d he do to himself if anything happened to her. His eyes closed, his arms tightened and he tried whispering to her, tried pulling her back from wherever she’d gone.
Lydia wasn’t sure when she finally exited the storm.
It had been hard and cold and terrifying.
“Jude…” She didn’t see him. But she knew it was his arms around her. She knew he’d been with her through the storm, whispering to her. She heard his promise that a mate was forever and he wasn’t going anywhere. That was terrifying in itself, she mused, blinking and staring up at him when the soft fog cleared. “You don’t look so hot.”
“It was a rough night,” he exhaled, his lips brushing hers.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t, Lydia. Whatever you’re going through isn’t your fault,” he said tersely, cursing softly the next instant. He pulled her against him, his cheek on her head. “I need a shower and some food. You’re not running a fever now. And you’re not shivering. How do you feel?”
“My muscles ache…” She saw a grimace crease his forehead and sighed. “Not those muscles, mate. Like…tired muscles…a really good work out would be nice. Or a long exhausting run,” she pushed against his chest, sitting up and stretching her arms high above her head.
“I’ll shower fast,” Jude left the bed, striding into the bathroom and closing the door before he ignored the common sense and returned to her side to pull her back into his arms again.
Lydia shook her head and slid silently from the bed, her hand on the doorknob, listening. When she heard the water begin, she eased the door slowly open and watched the steam begin forming, the strong broad shoulders and lean hips reflected in the large mirror.
He knew she was there. Above the steam, above the scent of the soap, stronger than anything had ever been to him before in his life, was the scent of Lydia Jones.
She stepped into the large shower, taking the soap from him and rubbing her palms together with it in the center. Bubbles formed and she put both hands on his chest, swirling and spreading the soap, up to his shoulders and down to the patch of dark amber that continued lower, sprinkling over his thighs.
Jude put his hands on her face, held her still and stared into her eyes.
She was willing him to trust that she knew her body, she knew her needs. She knew what she wanted and when and right now, she wanted and needed him.
Neither of them spoke, their mouths meeting in the spray of hot water. His hands skimmed along her body, memorizing, caressing and arousing.
Jude heard his name whispered from her lips, his teeth nipping along her throat, his palms gliding down her spine, meeting in the narrow hollow of her back and spreading out to lift her against him before turning her to lean against the tiles.
“Lydia Jones…you are a most amazing mate,” he breathed raggedly against her lips some time later.
Her body still quivered and clenched his cock, while they tried to level off their breathing. The steam of the shower had continued around them through the passion. Reluctantly, Jude let her slide to the tiles, his forehead against hers, their breathing slowly returning to normal.
“I probably should never have indulged you,” she murmured against his throat, licking the stream of moisture from his throat. She wasn’t sure her knees had stopped shaking when she finally felt the tiles beneath her feet. Shower sex, she thought dreamily. Who knew?
“Indulge me?” Jude laughed, letting her slip from the shower and start to dry. “I’m pretty sure I was seduced.” He turned the water off and grabbed a towel from the shelf.
“Only pretty sure? I need to find a book on the fine points of this mating stuff,” Lydia tossed back, realizing it was getting easier and easier to play. To just laugh and tease him. She packed up the little things like toothbrush and favorite paste into her plastic bag and was deep in thought when his palm went beneath her chin. “Thank you.”
Jude studied the serious expression, his lips brushing hers.
“I’m not sure for what, but you’re welcome.”
“For letting me laugh. And play…”
“I don’t think you’ve played enough, kitten,” he pulled another towel from the shelf and wrapped it around his waist. “Get dressed and we’ll collect Dev and get some breakfast before we hit the road. Seth and his Institute people are chomping at the bit that we get you somewhere safe.”
“I’m not hungry,” Lydia pulled clean jeans from her case after sliding a pair of apple green panties up her legs. She pulled a tee shirt over her head and tucked it in, digging for simple slip-ons to wear on her feet. She crawled into the center of the bed after closing up her case. “Let me sleep and you guys come get me when you’re ready to go. You can take the case to the SUV.”
“Lydia…” Jude was about to shake his head.
“I promised. No trouble. I’m just tired, Jude. I’ll be good, I promise,” she said drowsily, already slipping to sleep.
She didn’t hear the door open or the soft, rough curse from Dev.
“Just let it go, Dev,” Jude pulled both cases to the door. “Throw these in the SUV and we’ll get breakfast. She wants to sleep, so I’m going to let her.”
“She can sleep in the SUV,” Dev grabbed the large case, his head shaking as he walked with Jude toward the stairs. “You sure she’s okay?”
“I don’t know, Dev,” Jude ground out. “I know she was having nightmares or something most of the night. She was shivering so much I thought her bones would come apart.”
“Her scent’s changed,” he said, knowing there was no point to the words, but he had to say them anyway.
“She’s my mate. Let it go.”
“I recognize that on both of you. This is different. She doesn’t have the off scent anymore. The juvenile scent,” he watched his friend. “She shifted, didn’t she?”
“She asked to see my animal form. Before I realized what she was trying…” Jude swore softly. “She shifted…and held it for almost fifteen minutes. The shivering didn’t stop through the night, though.”
“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that Seth will be pissed.”
“She’s my mate. I’ll deal with Seth.”