Page 54 of The Mating Frenzy
“So what’s the answer?” She felt like wailing, so great was herfrustration.
“This.”
He kissed her, and all her sensesexploded.
Ella had been kissed before, and indulged in heavy necking sessions with dates, but nothing kicked her desire into full overdrive likethis.
Closing her eyes, she moved her mouth against his, pleasure spiking her blood. Kieran leisurely kissed her, cupping her face with utmost tenderness. Intrigued by the spice of his scent, the taste of him, she parted her lips and licked his mouth. She heard his breathing intensify, and he thrust his tongue inside her mouth. Heat curled through her body, her internal thermostat starting to soar. She never imagined a kiss could feel so delightful, so sensual and arousing. Placing her hands on his broad shoulders, she drew himcloser.
Kieran broke the kiss. Disappointed she licked her lips. “What’swrong?”
“This is a bad idea.” Breathing ragged, he backed away. “I haven’t had sex in four months and my beast is all cranked up with need. I risk going into a matingfrenzy.”
Risk? Anything with “mating” in it intrigued her. “Sounds okay to me,” she toldhim.
Kieran laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. He rubbed the thick bristles on his chin. “A mating frenzy is when a shifter can’t control his beast’s urge to mate. The only outlet is sex. If he’s not mated, he selects a female he desires. The sex is rough, savage. His partner needs to be strong enough to take it because the male turns feral in Skinform.”
Rather than frighten her, the notion intrigued her and made her even more aroused. “Howsavage?”
“The male turns dominant, crazed with the need to conquer and control. It can involve ropes and bondage, and whatever else he requires to satisfy his beast’s wild urge for mating.” Kieran ran a hand around his neck, massaging his neck muscles. “Sweet hellfire, just talking about this with you is torture. Can we go get that ice creamnow?”
“Has it ever happened to you? What kind of sex do you like? Tying up your lover?” Ella licked her lips again and put her arms overhead, palms together. “Like this? It sounds…wicked andfun.”
Kieran did a face palm. “Now I know why Xavier likes this gesture. Ella, you are driving mecrazy.”
“Well? Are you going to answer myquestion?”
“No,” he shouted. “It’s never happened to me before because I had to control my jaguar. I am the only one of my kind in the Winter Kingdom and mating with another jaguar is impossible. So I’ve always had sex or fought or hunted to avoid a mating frenzy.Okay?”
Lowering her arms, she regarded him. Suddenly he no longer seemed like a stranger, a shifter who wielded magick and was the only solution to saving hermother.
He seemed more…human.
Like her, Kieran had felt different and alienated. Maybe lonely. “No other ones like yourself where you live? That’s horrible. Couldn’t you find another jaguarshifter?”
“Not without leaving the Fae kingdom.” His mouth compressed and for a moment, a shaft of moonlight showed the haunted look on his face. “I learned to live with it. But it’s tough being the last of my kind in my world. The Fae are good people, and I love my home. But once in a while I’ll see them in pairs, laughing and affectionate, and I’ll wish I could be like them instead of ashifter.”
He rubbed a hand over his chin again. “Dammit, I didn’t mean to let that out. You’ve caught me at a bad moment,Ella.”
She rested her hand upon his shoulder, feeling the muscles ripple below skin. “I’m glad you told me. I’m alone too, Kieran. I’ve always felt different and it’s been hard all my life to relate to other people. So you’re notunique.”
The deep breath he released echoed in her ear. Kieran touched her cheek and as she lifted her head, he stared at hermouth.
“I want to kiss you again, Ella-mine,” he said in a guttural voice. “I need…to kissyou.”
“Well, what are you waitingfor?”
Kieran started to bend his head, pulled away. He squeezed his hands tight and drew in another shuddering breath. And then he waved a hand, and clothing appeared back on hisbody.
“Let’sgo.”
She followed him as he raced along the pathway, off the island. “Where? Icecream?”
“Fuck ice cream,” he muttered. “I need a bucket ofice.”
