Kiernan, page 4
part #4 of Sea Dragon Shifters Series
Anger fought with fear. They were renters. They had every right to be here. Unlike her. She was running out of options. And Mr. Nosey, the guy at the bottom of the kitchen stairs rattling her door? She knew his type. He wouldn’t leave this apartment uninspected. If a new key wasn’t forthcoming, soon, he’d snoop around the garage, spot the housekeeper’s entrance, and do whatever it took to get himself inside.
What could she do? How could she hide?
The man outside the door made a deep sniffing sound, then he climbed back up the stairs. From the kitchen, the two voices now seemed deliberately low and muffled.
Paranoid much?
She gasped when she heard the unmistakable sound of a slide on a weapon, a bullet moving into place.
Oh god. They weren’t innocent renters on vacation. At least one of these guys was armed.
Chapter 8
Kiernan
Kiernan took one look at the weapon in Ji’s hand and shook his head. “Put it away,” he whispered. Positive he knew who was down there, no way he’d allow weapons anywhere near her. “You only smelled one woman, right?”
“Correct.” Ji gave a half shrug. “Better to be safe than—”
“Not necessary,” Kiernan insisted. “I can sense her from up here. It’s Delia, the woman we’ve been searching for. My long-lost mate.”
“Seriously? You can sense her?”
It was his turn to shrug. “Not all that difficult since my sea dragon’s been going nuts since we walked in the door.”
“I’m not about to argue with him,” Ji said and tucked the gun into his waistband at the small of his back.
“This time I’ll go down first,” Kiernan said, “I can recognize her scent and verify she’s alone.”
“Okay but I’m right behind you.”
“When I confirm it’s just her, you need to lock up your weapon. I’m already on shaky ground with the woman, I don’t want you scaring her.”
“Hey, I don’t make a habit of scaring women,” Ji insisted, sounding truly offended.
Kiernan stopped at the top of the stairs and said over his shoulder. “Nice try. But you, my furry friend, scare the crap out of everyone.”
He started down the stairs and immediately, Delia’s warm, sweet scent drifted up to him. He frowned at the smell of her fear, while the dragon simply crowed with delight.
She’s here. We found her. Our mate.
Yes, now settle down, he cautioned. We still have a way to go. After we find out why she ran away, we’ll convince our mate to let us protect her. Plus, we need to gain her trust, so she’ll fall in love with us.
He hurried down the last few steps. To steady himself and the dragon, he inhaled deeply, then knocked gently on the solid door. “Delia?” he called out softly, “Are you in there?”
“Kiernan?” Her voice came out squeaky, the poor woman sounded shocked.
“Yes. I’m here with Ji, the Muirdris VP of security. He’s been helping me search for you. Would you unlock the door? I rented this house and if you open up, I swear you’ll be safe with me.”
“Let me try my key.”
She unlocked the door and opened it. Seeing her right there, more beautiful than he remembered and unharmed, he couldn’t hold back. He took a giant stride toward her, his arms open. When Delia stumbled back a step back and held up a hand, he stopped dead in his tracks. Damn it. Was she afraid of him?
“Wait,” she whispered. Her eyes tracked from his to study Ji who now stood beside him.
“Cordelia Sorrel,” Kiernan said, “this is Gahaji, my friend and Muirdris security chief. Everybody calls him Ji.”
Ji extended a hand. Ignoring it, she drew her brows together and asked, “So you’re an executive at Muirdris, too?”
“Yes ma’am, in Boston at the headquarters. I’m vice president of corporate security.”
“The gun I heard was yours?”
A bit of the tension left Kiernan’s shoulders—this was about Ji’s gun—and he chalked up a point for Delia when Ji sucked in a quick breath and said, “Impressive, Ms. Sorrel. You have excellent hearing.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Kiernan watched as Ji’s right arm moved in slow motion. He spread his long fingers and reached behind his back. Pulled the dark handgun from the waistband of his pants. Bringing the weapon forward, while keeping it aimed at the floor, Ji said, “I apologize for causing you any concern. As my job is security, I always carry.”
“I’ll remember that,” Delia said.
“However, I’ll secure the weapon in a lockbox if that would make you more comfortable.”
“I actually think, now that I see you and know who you are, I’d feel better about staying in this house knowing you’re armed and willing to protect us.” She extended her hand to shake his. “It’s very nice to meet you, Ji.”
Ji quickly restored the gun and shook Delia’s hand. Giving her a nod of approval, he said to Kiernan, “How about I unpack the car while you two catch up?” Not waiting for an answer, Ji slipped through the open door to the stairs and closed it softly behind him.
Suddenly alone with Cordelia, his mate, after all these weeks, Kiernan could only stare at her. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Lush and voluptuous, her curves made his hands itch to remove every bit of her clothing. To reveal the soft pink skin beneath. He couldn’t wait to kiss and lick every inch of her. Worship her, bury himself deep inside her. Claim her as his alone, forever.
The sea dragon enthusiastically agreed on all points and helpfully supplied erotic visuals.
No, wait. What the hell happened to going slow? He bit the inside of his cheek praying the bit of pain would help him to refocus. To force back the surge of desire threatening to overwhelm any shred of common sense he might still possess.
“Maybe we should sit? Talk?” Much better. “I know you don’t want my help, but...”
“Why would you say that?” She took a stumbling step toward him and her rosy cheeks darkened with a blush. The woman was magnificent.
“When I opened the door and you were on the other side?” she said in a raspy whisper, and took a bigger step, “I’ve never been so glad to see someone in my entire life.” One more half-step and she literally threw herself at him. Locking her arms around his neck, she buried her face in his neck. “Thank you for looking for me. Thanks for not giving up. Could you hold me for a minute?”
His arms circled around her, pulling her close, pressing her tight against him. Heat and desire raged through him.
“God, I was so worried,” he murmured to the top of her head.
She lifted her head to look at him. “No man’s worried about me in a very long time. I’ve thought about you a lot since the parade, how kind and thoughtful you were. I feel like I’ve known you for a lifetime.”
He lowered his lips to hers. Go slow. His mouth was gentle, the kiss exploring, seeking.
Delia astounded him for a second time by taking the lead and changing, deepening the kiss. She ran the tip of her tongue along his bottom lip, then thrusting her tongue into his mouth, she explored and teased. He buried a hand into the thick hair at the nape of her neck, angled her head slightly and the kiss became erotic.
With a moan, she pressed her breasts to his chest and rubbed against him. Stimulating herself until he could feel her taut nipples through the layers of clothing.
He loved how responsive she was. Prayed she didn’t regret all of this afterward. As for him, she was driving him crazy. He couldn’t wait to explore her velvety skin, her dips and curves and test just how sensitive her luscious breasts were.
Did the compelling attraction of the mate bond affect humans too? Breaking off the kiss, he tipped his head back to study her face. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“In March,” she whispered, “Once I got to a safe place, I found myself regretting my need to hide. Disappointed that I couldn’t stick around and get to know you better.” She dropped her gaze. “Instead, I read everything I could find on Muirdris Shipping and the ports here. Based on your first quarter, you’re looking to surpass last year’s revenue. I watched the v-logs about working on a huge container ship. Even read the gossip columns looking to see who you’ve dated.” She blushed deeper.
He dropped kisses across the warm, pink cheeks and whispered in her ear, “No one as beautiful as you.” Stroking a hand down to her waist, Kiernan slid his fingers beneath the hem of her lightweight top and up her back, stopping again before he unfastened her bra.
He asked, “Delia, are you sure you want this?”
“Positive,” she insisted. Like the sexy librarian in an X-rated video she slowly reached up, released her long hair from the ponytail and shook it free.
Then his mate said, “I’ve been fantasizing about you, about this, for weeks now. Get naked, Kiernan.” She grabbed his shirt and tugged. He helped pull it over his head and then whisked off her top and bra. She moaned as her breasts were released.
Their hands tangled, hurrying to release buttons and unzip pants.
He stretched to retrieve a condom from his wallet before his pants hit the floor. Eyeing the room’s small couch and nearby desk chair, Kiernan gasped, “Bed?”
Her mouth busy, she raised a hand to point. As he took a step to walk her backward toward the bedroom, she sprang off her toes, and wrapped her legs around him. Carrying her into the kitchen, he quickly realized she was perfectly positioned. At the precise angle. Her wet pussy lips pressed against the head of his cock. Oh lord. Just one thrust of his hips and he’d be buried so deep—No, not for their first time together. And definitely not without the condom.
Staggering into the bedroom, he lowered Delia down to the bed. Shoving a backpack aside to give them more room, he tore open the foil packet and rolled on the condom.
With her luscious body revealed and open before him, Kiernan was tempted to drive his mate crazy by slowing things down. By taking time to explore every inch of her glorious body.
“Hurry,” Delia rasped. “Inside me, now.”
Explore later. He moved above her taking most of his weight on one elbow while her thighs opened wider, welcoming him. When he thrust deep into her slick tight pussy, they groaned together.
When he was fully seated, as physically close as two beings could be, they fit together perfectly.
He began moving in a steady rhythm. She tipped her pelvis to meet him and he increased his speed, rotating his hips to adjust the angle.
“Yes, right there,” Delia gasped, and her fingernails gripped his shoulders. He sped up as she arched her back. A moment later, she screamed her climax. Her inner muscles pulsed and throbbed with her orgasm and drove him over the edge. With a final thrust, he came hard, emptying into her.
When he could breathe again, Kiernan rolled to one side, taking her with him. When they were face to face, he kissed the tip of her nose. “I love…how responsive you are. So beautiful when you come.”
She blushed and a smile, complete with flirty dimples, came with her rosy cheeks. “Is that a euphemism for loud?”
He kissed one warm dimple. “I love beautiful orgasms.” And her other one. “I really love loud orgasms.”
“That’s good.”
“Sweetheart, it’s a great way to let me know you’re enjoying what I’m doing.”
“Yes, Kiernan, it was good for me, too.” She said the clichéd words with a straight face, but her eyes twinkled with mischief. In a blink her smile and her dimples were back. “You must know you have serious skills.”
He drew circles around her nipple with his fingertip. “That’s great to know because I haven’t begun to show off yet.”
“Can’t wait.”
“I’d be honored if you’d also trust me enough to agree to stay here with me for a while. At least as long as it takes to figure out how to stop the people who are threatening you.”
“I thought you’d have it figured out by now.”
“After the parade, when you disappeared, I did some digging, trying to locate you. I became aware of the lawsuit and the inheritance but not many details. I’m hoping we can be open with each other. I want you to know, no matter what happens, you can depend on me.”
“Since you know a little of my family history, you’ll understand that level of trust isn’t easy for me.”
Chapter 9
Cordelia
Delia propped herself on one elbow and studied Kiernan’s chiseled face, his broad shoulders, and those muscular arms. The man had carried her to this bed like she was a ninety-pounder. Awesome since she weighed a heck of a lot more than that. Meaning, in addition to being unbelievably gorgeous, he was strong, and kind, and protective, and dynamite between the sheets. She was definitely attracted.
She traced the curved shape of the green dragon tattooed on his right pec. “I had to dig deep to come up with an Irish ancestor to qualify for membership in the Heritage group. I’ll bet you were invited to join.”
“Not quite but I was hatched not far from Dublin, so my lineage is clear cut.”
“Cute. Like hatched from an egg. Even your tattoo looks like it’s an Irish dragon. Is there any particular significance?”
“Since the entire family has deep roots in Ireland, each cousin wears the tattoo. It’s based on a Celtic design. Dragons have a long tradition in the history of my family.”
“And each cousin runs a division of the family shipping company—right?”
“Correct. As you probably discovered, my part of Muirdris has facilities in all the Georgia ports, especially deep-water Savannah and Brunswick, as well as Charleston. The natural rivalry between Georgia and South Carolina keeps our workers in both states on their toes, but I try to remind the Muirdris folks that our serious competitors are the other shipping companies.”
“Have you ever considered cruise liners?”
“No. And we try to avoid paying passengers on our ships.”
After a few minutes of silence, she kissed him and said, “You want to know the truth about why I left Savannah so abruptly on March 16th?”
“I have an idea. I’ve figured out the basics, but yes, I’d really like to hear the details from you.”
“Let me apologize for telling you the lamppost excuse. Lame. At the parade a man attacked and threatened me. And he swore he’d hurt me even more if I didn’t sign the legal documents Leopold had sent months before. He wants me to refuse everything my mother bequeathed to me. Besides hurting my jaw, the goon scared me out of my mind, so, I promised to send the paperwork to Leopold’s lawyer.”
She bowed her head and whispered, “Stupid.”
“No. A logical reaction to physical violence and a believable threat of follow up.”
“When I got home from the parade, the cottage my grandmother left to me had been trashed. All my belongings smashed, and furniture broken. Leopold’s men went ahead and destroyed everything I owned, even after I promised to cooperate. They didn’t give me a chance to keep my word. So, I didn’t. The paperwork through the nearest Office Depot shredder and I ran. Went into hiding.”
“You disappeared very successfully. Where have you been?” he asked.
“Based on a couple of books about the witness protection program, I stayed on friend’s couches. In different spare rooms. Finally, I struck gold in Statesboro. A friend of a friend knew of a furnished room in a dorm at Georgia Southern.” She studied the glints of gold in his eyes. “Have you really been searching for me all this time?”
“Not just me. After I questioned Lily and Beau, and your front neighbor showed me the destruction done to your cottage, I finally believed they had no idea where you’d gone. That’s when I feared the worst.”
“I couldn’t tell anyone where I was going. If you tell one person connected to you, it always seems to leak out. Since the gangster guy wouldn’t hesitate to rough up and frighten my friends, I did my best to simply vanish.”
God, he looked so concerned. Her heart did a mini flip. And she realized how much she wanted someone to care about her.
She squirmed a little. “Who else did you ask?”
“I enlisted Rachel, my personal assistant to help interrogate everyone who marched in the parade with the Irish Heritage Group.”
“That’s a lot of people. Sure she didn’t do the asking while you played golf?”
“Oh, ye of little faith.” He flicked a finger lightly on her chin and then kissed her. A reassuringly long kiss that curled her toes.
“I’m very attracted to you, Ms. Sorrel,” he murmured. “One reason I was so concerned about the lamp pole attacking you and then your sudden and unexplained disappearance. Rachel and I split the membership roster right down the middle. I neglected my regular work trying to locate you. Anyway, I don’t like golf. Only play if a business associate insists.”
He wasn’t exactly blushing but there was something new in his expression. She liked what she’d heard so far. And she had more questions.
“After you struck out talking to the parade participants, why didn’t you and Rachel give up?”
“Because I’m serious about getting to know you. I called in Ji and reinforcements. He sent two of his best men down here to conduct a professional search. All too soon, Ji’s pros had to take on another assignment, for Muirdris. Which made me even more frustrated.”
“What more could you do?”
“That was about the time I got assigned to Boston for eight days and couldn’t continue my own search. While I was going to be stuck cooling my heels at Muirdris headquarters, Ji would be in Tokyo covering for cousin Devlin.”
“Both of you out of town?”
“Yep. Disaster. Ji recommended a private investigation company, the Paladin Group, up in Peachwood, Georgia, and I instantly hired them. The owner, Captain Lacy Zabarowski sent several of her pararescue veterans to comb through South Georgia looking for you.”
“Wow, I’ve read about the PJs, Air Force rescue teams. That others may live. I’m impressed. And embarrassed. Kiernan, you spent so much time, and effort and money.”
