He sucked in a breath. “You’ve got the coldest feet on the planet, pip-squeak.”
“And you’ve got the warmest legs.” She relaxed against him, the warmth making her forget the wisdom of the matter, and let his hips cradle hers.
“Your birthmark looks darker than it used to,” he said, touching the spot at the top of her back. She felt a shiver, as she usually did when he touched her, but this one shook her. He wrapped his arms around her, obviously thinking she was still cold.
The odd-shaped mark on the back of her neck—Cody said it looked like a sliver of moon and three red stars; Lachlan said a toenail clipping and three warts—was hard to see unless she used a mirror. Even then, her hair usually covered the mark.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the mate mark,” he said softly, his breath warm against her ear.
“Why didn’t you?”
“I’d planned to, that day I came to Lake Placid, and Renee stopped me. There were other times, when I couldn’t go another day without seeing you, but every time I got there, I talked myself out of it. I couldn’t be with you until I was finished with my duty, and I couldn’t let you be part of my world. Fighting demons is dangerous, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“But you’re twenty-eight. You’re finished with your duty. Why didn’t you come?”
“I did.” He slid his hand down her arm and linked his hand in hers. “You weren’t home. Some kid on the street told me he saw you walk down to the pub. I followed you. I got close enough to call out your name, when I saw the engagement ring. I was so stunned, I just left. I started to call Nina and ask who the guy was, but I was afraid if I found out I’d kill him for putting his ring on your finger when it should have been me. I didn’t know it was Jamie.”
Shay turned and faced him. “I’m sorry, Cody.” She touched the tattoo on his neck. He pulled in a breath. “Where is the mark?” she asked, shocked that the words slipped out.
He reached for her hand. Taking one finger, he moved it to a spot behind his ear that was usually covered by his hair. There was just enough light from the bathroom to show a circle with notched edges in the design, but looking closer, she could see it was different. He hadn’t tattooed over it, but all around it. A lump formed in her throat. She ran her finger over the mark and felt him shiver. Her hand tingled, then her arm, and her neck, until her whole body pulsed.
His eyes locked on hers, and Shay slid her hand around the back of his neck, pulling his mouth to hers. They were completely still, no sound except their breathing and the pulse pounding in Shay’s ears. He moved, she moved—she didn’t know which—but they kissed until Shay’s lips and tongue felt numb. Cody lifted his head long enough to roll her to her back. He moved over her, and she could feel his hips pressing against hers, rocking gently, then harder. With a muffled exclamation, Cody reached for her shirt. She lifted her arms, helping him slide it over her head. His gaze dropped past her father’s talisman to her breasts, softly touching them through her bra. His finger dipped underneath, then he shifted his weight off her and opened the clasp, groaning when her breasts were freed.
His hands and mouth were desperate, moving with such abandon that the two of them almost slid off the bed. He shifted to the side, and a second later, her jeans and panties, along with his underwear, landed on the floor. Shay stared at his body. He was perfect. Broad shoulders, flat stomach, and the sexiest hips and legs she’d ever seen on a man, not that she’d seen many. He settled between her thighs.
She grabbed his hips and pulled, nudging him inside. “Hurry. Please.”
He didn’t need any more encouragement. He buried himself inside her, his talisman clinking against hers as they moved. The pace was frenzied, cramming nine years of longing and need into every thrust, every grasp of fingers and touch of lips. Shay felt his teeth at her neck, and the feeling rushed at her, closer and closer, as breaths came faster. He locked his lips on hers as her body tightened, shattered into a billion pieces, and came back together again. He drove in hard, two more strokes, then stilled, his body pulsating inside hers. He collapsed, chest pounding against breasts. He dropped kisses along her forehead, her cheek, and her jaw.
“If I had any doubts that you’re my mate, not that I did, that just removed them.” He pulled out and rolled over, taking her with him. “Are you all right?”
“I guess so.” She’d never experienced anything like it, not even in her dreams, but already, doubts started creeping in. Renee, lying injured somewhere, maybe dead. The past. The mark. Cody getting distracted and dying. He’d never be able to focus on the battle now. “I should shower.”
He released her slowly. “I’d offer to help, but there’s barely enough room in there for a child.”
There was a tap on the door. “Shay?”
She froze. Had he heard her crying? She remembered that he could hear things most men couldn’t.
“Shay. Open the door.”
“In a minute.”
“Open the door, or I’m coming in.”
A fresh bout of tears rolled down her cheeks. She hadn’t had an episode like this in years, but when they hit, it was always unexpected, triggered by something simple, a tricycle on a sidewalk, a boy laughing and running with his dog.
She scrubbed at her face, and the door flew open. Cody stood, naked, his eyes worried, angry, afraid. “Care to explain what that was about?”
