Forgotten

  Kate’s heart was pounding and her face felt flushed but she nodded as calmly as she could.

  “Then we’ll do it. We have to—have to hold back your Beast and feed your hunger.” She looked down at herself. “Uh…but I’d kind of like a quick shower and a change of clothes first. Can you wait long enough for that?”

  He nodded slowly. “I think so—if you hurry. I’m going to set a course for G’nera while you do. If we can just hold off the Beast until we get there, then I can go to the Howlund and let it out to roam safely.”

  “All right.” Kate nodded and would have gone towards the small bathroom but Rone caught her in his arms and drew her close for a moment. Leaning down, he took her mouth in a soft, searing kiss that seemed to make every nerve in her body tingle.

  “Thank you,” he murmured when they finally pulled apart. “Thank you for trusting me, Kate. Even though you still don’t remember me.”

  “I may not remember you but I still…still like you. Like you a lot,” Kate whispered back. “I know it’s not love—not yet—but I’m trying, Rone. I’m trying to be open.”

  “I know.” He stroked her hair, his silver eyes bright. “And that’s all I ask.”

  Kate couldn’t take the intensity of his gaze anymore. She pulled away from his gentle embrace and headed for the bathroom. She still had on the ragged, bloodstained “exercise” clothes they’d been forced to wear at Flame and Frost and she couldn’t wait to get out of them and get a shower. And then…

  And then I’ll deal with what comes next, she told herself firmly, her heart pounding. I have to.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  After a short but refreshing hot shower, Kate stood, wrapped in a towel, in front of her small dresser and looked over the selection of lingerie her past self had acquired.

  “Wow, I certainly wasn’t shy,” she murmured, running her fingers over the variety of silky gowns and panties that filled her lingerie drawer to overflowing. She must have loved dressing to show her body off—which was still hard to believe, given how she felt about her scars.

  Speaking of scars…she flexed her shoulder blades and frowned. The familiar tightness she always felt in the scar tissue, especially when she was under stress, wasn’t there right now. Given how nervous she felt about what she was about to do—to let Rone do to her—she was really surprised not to feel it. Then she remembered what he’d told her—that he used to lick her scars to make her feel looser and more supple. He’d spent a long time healing the wounds on her back—that must have been what helped her feel so much better.

  Kate sighed. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about her scars. She needed to find a good outfit to wear—something sexy that would make her feel pretty and relaxed. As if she could relax when just the thought of the big Kindred getting between her thighs made her feel hot and cold all over.

  She still wasn’t completely sure why she’d told Rone that she wanted to let him taste her. Well, aside from controlling his Beast, that was. But the Beast wasn’t the only reason she’d agreed to this. Maybe because he was so gentle—so patient and willing to go slowly. Kate knew he would never hurt her or hold her down in any way. He wasn’t that kind of male.

  And maybe because you know he loves you…and you’re beginning to love him back, whispered a little voice in the back of her head. But was she? As Rone had pointed out, it had been less than a week since he’d found her at the International Mall and she still couldn’t remember their past life together.

  But Kate couldn’t deny that when she thought of him, she felt a warm glow that filled her whole body. Somehow during the time they had spent together after the fear toxins had been leeched out of her, she’d begun to trust the big Kindred…and to care for him and crave his touch. And since she’d been able to share the story of her attack with him, she felt even closer to him—that was probably why she was willing to let him try tasting her even though she hadn’t been able to back at Flame and Frost.

  Of course there, they’d had the sadistic Madam of Shadows demanding that they do sexual things to each other. Kate didn’t like performing for an audience—especially not a cruel Madam standing over her with a cane. The whole experience had been fraught with tension although she had to admit the feeling of Rone’s big body behind her, his thick shaft rubbing against her and spreading her pussy lips had made her feel incredibly hot, not to mention the way he’d tugged and twisted her nipples…

  Kate could feel her cheeks heating at the thought. Then she realized she was just standing there, staring at the drawer full of silky lingerie without choosing anything. She could hear Rone moving around in the other part of the ship—soon he would be back and she was still shy about letting him see her naked. As if her thoughts had called to him, she heard his voice coming down the hallway.

  “Baby? Are you almost ready? I’ve got the course logged into the autopilot.”

  “Almost. Give me just one more minute!” Kate called back.

  Quickly, she grabbed an outfit at random and pulled it out of the drawer. Dropping her towel, she scrambled into it and pulled up the matching panties just before he walked in the bedroom door. She stood quickly, smoothing down the soft material of the short nighty she’d picked as his silver eyes roamed over her.

  “Mmm, baby,” he murmured. “You look beautiful.”

  “Do I?” Kate looked down at herself, taking in the details of her outfit. It was a jade-green silk top with spaghetti straps and it had a border of white lace that ended just below her belly button. It also had soft, lacy white cups that held her breasts and displayed her pink nipples perfectly. The panties were matching jade green silk with a white lace crotch that did little to hide her pussy lips. Kate had to admit it was a pretty outfit—although much more revealing than anything she’d meant to wear.

  Oh God—look at me! I can’t believe I’m putting this much skin on display! Her heart started pounding faster and she had to fight the urge to cross her arms over her breasts.

  “Are you all right?” Rone asked, a look of concern in his silver eyes.

  Kate lifted her chin. “Sure I am. Why do you ask?” she said, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt.

  “Because you’re trembling, Lalli.”

  Rone crossed the room to her and took her in his arms. At first Kate held herself stiff but then his warm, masculine scent filled her senses and she felt herself melting against him.

  Safe, the scent told her. Good, right…home. It seemed to tease at the corners of her mind, whispering about memories—things she’d forgotten. But when Kate reached for them, they melted away. That was all right, though. The main thing was that she felt safe with the big Kindred—safe enough to let him do what needed to be done.

  “Gods, baby, it’s so good just to hold you again and feel you hold me,” he murmured into her hair. “I love the feel of your soft little body against mine…your sweet scent calling to me…”

  Kate gave a shaky laugh. “I was just thinking the same thing about you—that you smell really good.”

  “You’re probably smelling my Mating Scent,” he said seriously, looking down at her. “I think my body knows our bond was twisted or buried—the scent is an effort to bring you back, to try and get us to reconnect.”

  “You mean by having uh, bonding sex?” Kate had heard several of the Kindred wives talking about that in their time aboard the Mother Ship and as far as she could pick up, it was a kind of sex that tied a female to her chosen Kindred for life. “Because I’m not quite sure I’m ready for that, yet,” she told Rone. “Sorry.”

  “No, baby—that’s okay. We won’t do anything like that tonight, I swear it,” he murmured, stroking her cheek. “It’s enough for you to let me just taste you a little bit. Like I said, just a few licks of your honey will help hold back the Beast.”

  “Well then…” Kate straightened her shoulders. “I guess we’d better, uh, get started.”

  “We can. If you feel ready.” He looked down at her, searching her
eyes with his own.

  “I think so,” Kate said, trying to be honest. “I’m still a little nervous but I think I’ll be okay.”

  “All right.”

  He led her to the edge of the bed and got her situated, sitting at the foot of it. Then, to Kate’s surprise, he went to the closet and brought out a large, wedge shaped pillow covered in dark blue cloth.

  “What’s that?” she asked as he arranged it behind her back.

  “We used to use it a lot,” Rone explained, making sure she was comfortable, half-reclining against the blue pillow. “It’s so you can watch while I taste you.”

  “You want me to…to watch?” Kate bit her lip uncertainly. “Really?”

  “Really,” Rone said firmly. “You need to see what I’m doing. It will help you feel in control. Because make no mistake, Kate—you are in control. If you tell me to stop, I’ll stop—I swear it.”

  “But…what about your Beast?” she asked.

  “You let me worry about that,” he said firmly. “The most important thing right now is for you to feel comfortable. And for you to understand that I would never, ever hurt you.”

  “I…I think I’m beginning to get that,” Kate said softly. He was kneeling at her feet and she reached down tentatively and cupped his cheek. It felt slightly scratchy and his skin was warm against her hand.

  Rone turned his head and kissed her palm. His silver eyes were so full of need and love and desire, Kate caught her breath. What had she done to inspire this level of emotion in such a man? The big Kindred looked at her as though she was the most precious thing in the world to him.

  “Lallie,” he murmured, and placed another kiss further up, on the pulse point of her wrist. Kate felt her heart begin to race as his warm lips caressed her gently. And then he was kissing even higher, placing his lips on the inner bend of her elbow…and then her shoulder…and then the sensitive side of her throat.

  “Hey,” she whispered breathlessly as her pulse fluttered against his warm mouth. “I thought…thought you wanted, uh needed, to kiss me lower.”

  “I do but there’s no harm in working our way up to it,” he murmured, giving her a little grin. “Besides, I want to taste your sweet lips again…before I taste your pussy.”

  Kate felt her breath catch in her throat at his soft words and the way he was looking at her with those half-lidded eyes so filled with lust and need. And then he was kissing her again, taking her mouth but so gently it felt almost like a butterfly’s wings brushing against her lips.

  He’s showing me, she thought, hear heart pounding in her chest. Showing me exactly how he’s going to taste me—proving how gentle he can be.

  She kissed him back, surprising herself with her eagerness. Rone was still kneeling on the floor before her and it put their faces almost on the same level. She found she liked that—liked the intimacy of being so close to him without having to reach up.

  Then Rone was kissing his way down her throat again. He stopped when he got to her chest and rubbed his cheeks against the inner slopes of her breasts, almost as if he was marking her in some way. Kate shivered when she felt his hot breath against her skin through the open-weave lace.

  “Mmm…I love your breasts. So ripe and full…” His voice was a soft growl as he reached up to cup her gently. “Love how tight your nipples get for me when I touch you.” One long finger traced her right peak through the lace and Kate had to bite back a moan. “Love how sensitive you are and how you like having your nipples sucked,” he went on, looking up at her. “Can I suck them now, baby? I think it would help to get you warmed up for being tasted.”

  “I…um…” Kate wanted to say yes but she still felt a little nervous, a little uncertain. She remembered how good his tongue had felt on her while they were in the exercise room at Flame and Frost but then she’d had a layer of fabric between her skin and his mouth.

  “Just through the lace,” Rone said, as if reading her mind. “Would that be all right?”

  “Yes, I…I guess so,” she whispered breathlessly. “I mean…if you want to.”

  “Always want to taste you, baby,” he murmured. “Anywhere and everywhere—I love putting my mouth all over your sweet little body.”

  Kate tried to bite back a moan as he covered one taut peak with his mouth. She expected him to suck or lick but for a long moment, Rone just held her, bathing her nipple in his hot breath without using his tongue at all.

  Kate squirmed in frustrated anticipation. When was he going to do it?

  “Rone?” she asked at last, wishing her voice wouldn’t come out so high and breathy.

  He didn’t answer but arched an eyebrow at her and she knew he was teasing her, building her anticipation to get her ready for what he was going to do. Then something hot and wet caressed the tip of her nipple, sliding around the open-weave lace to bathe her bud with heat.

  “Ohhh…” Kate breathed as her nipple came immediately to attention. Rone had mentioned that she loved having her nipples sucked and played with but honestly, she had no memory of that. She could only remember the relationships she’d had before him and none of the men she’d briefly dated had been much good at this—or any kind of sex for that matter. Now she was beginning to see that she did like having her breasts touched and tasted—if the person doing the touching and tasting knew what they were doing.

  If the person is Rone, whispered a little voice in her head. If—

  But her train of thought was cut off when the big Kindred suddenly stopped licking her and sucked hard instead, taking as much of her breast into his mouth as he could.

  Kate moaned and thrust her chest out involuntarily, giving him greater access to her breasts.

  Rone made a hungry sound at the back of his throat and sucked harder. At the same time, one large hand had found her other breast and he began tracing her left nipple in a slow, teasing way that was the exact opposite of what he was doing to the right.

  Kate moaned again at the double sensation—the ticklish, barely-there touch on one side and the deep, hard suction on the other. God, he was driving her crazy. Was this the way they always were together? Was he always able to turn her on so fast?

  Because there was no denying that what he was doing was having a definite effect on her. Between her legs, Kate was beginning to feel swollen and hot. Her clit throbbed as she pressed her thighs together, trying to quell the rising tide of desire.

  At last Rone released the nipple he was sucking although he didn’t stop tracing the other with his fingers.

  “Gods, baby, look at how tight and pink your sweet nipple is,” he murmured, examining the peak he had been sucking, which was extremely visible through the wet lace. “I wonder if your clit is looking the same way.”

  “Uh…I don’t…I’m not sure,” Kate whispered uncertainly.

  “It’s something I’ve always noticed with you,” he told her. “When your nipples start getting all tight and pink, your little clit does too. “Are you ready to let me see?” he murmured. One big hand brushed the top of her thigh and Kate jumped a little and let out a low gasp. She still had her legs closed and Rone was kneeling at her side. But she knew he was asking if she was ready to part for him and let him in.

  “I…I guess so,” she said in a low, trembling voice. “I mean, if you want to.”

  “I’ll just look at first,” Rone promised her gently. “And I won’t touch or taste until you’re ready to let me.”

  His reassurance that he would take things slowly did a lot to calm Kate’s nerves.

  “All right,” she said softly. “I…I guess that would be okay.”

  Taking a deep breath, she parted her legs, letting the big Kindred in at last.

  But Rone didn’t crowd her or try to shove his way between her thighs just yet. Instead, he continued kneeling before her, his big hands on her knees as he took her in.

  “Gods, baby, you’re so beautiful,” he murmured hoarsely, his eyes fixed on the spot between her thighs.

  Kate looked
down as well and made a muffled sound of embarrassment. Through the lace of the panties, she could clearly see how swollen and wet her pussy had gotten. Her outer lips were dark pink with need and spreading under the lace, revealing her glistening inner folds. Even her clit was visible, throbbing like a pink pearl and begging for attention.

  “God,” she whispered in a strangled voice and had to fight not to close her legs.

  “So beautiful,” Rone said again. He had begun caressing her inner thighs, running his big, warm hands up and down her bare skin, sending shivers down her spine with his gentle caress. Kate thought that soft, soothing touch was the only reason she didn’t close her legs and run. She felt incredibly vulnerable all spread out like this, even with her panties on.

  Rone dragged his gaze from the V between her legs up to her face and seemed to sense her embarrassment and uncertainty.

  “It’s all right, baby,” he reassured her gently. “You always get hot and wet from letting me suck your nipples.”

  “I…I do?” Kate whispered.

  “Mm-hm. It’s one reason I wanted to taste your breasts before I tasted your pussy,” he murmured. “To get you warmed up.” He gave her a little smile. “I remember how embarrassed you got the first time I tasted you. You thought you were getting too wet.”

  “Well, aren’t I?” Kate looked at herself doubtfully, feeling a fresh surge of embarrassment.

  “There’s no such thing,” Rone assured her. “And anyway, it’s not all your doing. Your body is responding to mine—responding to my scent. It makes you produce a lot more honey than you normally would because that helps feed the hunger.”

  “Oh, I…I didn’t know.”

  “Now you do.” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her knee. “Do you think you can let me come a little closer now and touch you?”

  “Touch me how?” Kate asked. Her heart was pounding a rapid rhythm against her ribs that was half excitement and half fear.