EXCERPT
“Sorry, speedy. I can’t take any
chances. You’re going into a holding cell until we get this resolved. If you
want to call a lawyer—”
“That won’t be necessary.” Kaz shifted.
The bonds meant to restrain a human fell loose on the cheetah’s form. He slid
his paws free and bit through what he couldn’t slip out of.
Then he leaped at Dillon.
They fell backward, onto the narrow bed.
Kaz shifted back. His teeth grazed Dillon’s throat, just a tease, before he
crashed his mouth against Dillon’s in another of those soul-blasting kisses.
Dillon had his knife. One thrust and it
would be over.
Instead, he accepted the kiss. How had
he gone his entire life without being kissed like this? Like Kaz intended to
swallow his soul. As if he already had.
His hands moved as if with minds of
their own, exploring, groping Kaz. Not an inch of him was still. Every speck of
Kaz’s naked body seemed in constant frantic motion. Holding him was like
holding on to a primal life force. His body was the desert, spare and barren at
first glance but harboring unexpected bursts of color and flavor and life. An
entire ecosystem of fiery desire, all of it focused on Dillon.
So long. Too long since he’d had any
relief, or so desperately wanted it.
Only when he realized Kaz was tearing at
his fly did Dillon come back to his senses. This was all happening too fast.
Somehow, he got his eyes to focus.
“Don’t I even get dinner first?”
“What? Oh.” Kaz slumped, all over. Even
then his body still vibrated with speed. “You humans and your stupid rituals.
What a waste of time. You’re my mate. We were born for each other. Isn’t that
enough for you?”
“Sorry, no. I don’t have the luxury of
instinct. Right now, I’ve got a set of murders to solve. That’s my first priority.
You and your mating urges—” Our mating
urges, he couldn’t help thinking. “—Are going to have to wait.”
“Go slow?” Kaz tested the concept and,
from the lift of his lip, clearly found it distasteful. “I don’t know if I can
do that. Though it would be an interesting test.”
“You’re going to have to. And you’re
going to have to sit in a cell for a while. You’re the prime suspect. Can’t be
helped.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Kaz said
firmly. “Tell you what. I’ll go do some investigating on my own. I’ll catch up
with you tomorrow night and we’ll have that dinner. And then I’m claiming you.
That’s as slow as I can go.” He palmed Dillon’s cheek. “We’re going to be
spending our lives together. I suppose I should ask you your name.”
“It’s Dillon. Dillon Royce.”
“Dillon.” His name sighed off Kaz’s
tongue. “Until tomorrow night, my love.” He captured Dillon’s mouth again and
sent his senses spinning. When Dillon opened his eyes, those delightful lips
were gone, the hand at the back of his neck was gone, the scent of cat was a
fading memory, and the door to his room stood open.
He went to the open doorway, although he
knew it was pointless. Of course, Kaz was nowhere in sight. The ache in his
groin was now joined by a more poignant ache in his soul, its one true mate
discovered and abruptly torn away. Maybe there was something to the mate bond
after all, even where humans were concerned.
Or maybe that was guilt he felt, that in
spite of everything he was falling hard for his number-one suspect. That he’d
let a possible killer go free.
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