Ember

"Kneel." An alpha's command, gripping me with soul-shaking, unyielding force, bending my will to its desire-

And bouncing off me like a rubber band.

The smile fell from Wendy's pink lips.

Take it. Another dominant presence, wrapping itself around me, hot and furious- but it wasn't Wendy's this time.

I reached for it, let it seep into me and felt the instant rush of power speeding through my veins. Kane was lending me his powers.

I grinned, the icing on my face no doubt making me look absolutely ridiculous, but the kick I gave Wendy's head was nothing of the sort- her whole body moved with the swing of my foot, lips pursing and then gushing saliva, followed by a spurt of blood (and what looked like a tooth), before she went spiraling right into Donna. They crashed into the car, denting it and startling the man in sunglasses. Wendy groaned once, head lolling once as her eyes shut.

Donna gaped at me. Sue gaped. I think I was gaping too. The only one who didn't was Sunglasses who flew into action right away, pulling open the backseat door and throwing Wendy inside before shoving the other two women in. He was opening the driver's door when I heard Kane bursting out of the house. The car peeled away from the curb, tires screeching as it sped off. Kane streaked passed by me, only to stop in his tracks. He glanced between me and the car, frowning. Wondering if he should chase after it or check if I'm okay first, I supposed.

"I'm okay," I said, wiping a bit of frosting off my cheek with a hand. The hand shook, still buzzed with some of the energy from Kane's powers. If I'd thrown a kick like that on my own I would have had a useless leg on my hands right now, but there was nothing wrong with it. Not that Kane looked convinced.

He didn't go after the now very distant car, brows creasing over a pair of glowing yellow eyes. "You have cake on your face," he said.

I smirked. "You should see the other guy."

"Whooo!!"

I turned, the living room window was open and Tom was jumping up and down in excitement, pumping his fists in the air.

I grinned, then winced at the sting in my eye. I think I got some cake into it.

Kane grimaced, grabbed my chin and tilted my face towards him. "Are you hurt?"

"What happened?" Bluebell burst out of the house, Helen trailing behind. "What's going on?"

I gave her a sheepish look. "Wendy and Donna-" The rest of my sentence was lost to the air as Kane swept me up in his arms, ignoring the incredulous look I gave him and the cake I'd gotten on his shirt.

"All of you are going to Jett's house," he said, voice stone cold, "Now."

***

When he said all of you, I thought that applied to all of us. Apparently it didn't since he shut the front door after everyone but us was loaded into Jett's car.

"I've never been to Jett's house," I said nervously, mostly for something to say rather than the importance of it being known. I'd already told him what had happened when I opened the door for Wendy and didn't know what else to talk about.

Kane wiped the water from my face with a towel, as quiet as he'd been while washing the cake off, blue eyes cold and distant. When my face was dried he pulled me out of the bathroom and into the connecting bedroom (his scent was all over it so I assumed it was his), but then proceeded to crowd my personal space again right away. Making it impossible for me to discreetly study the space he's lived in his whole life.

"Strip," he ordered.

I frowned. "I don't have any cake down my shirt."

"I want to see if you're hurt anywhere," he said, frowning as well. "I wasn't fast enough to stop her from getting her hands on you but I want to make sure you're really unharmed."

"I've had worse," I said, trying to shrug it off.

A tick appeared in his brow. "So you are hurt. Strip."

I raised a brow at him. "Only if you strip first."

His shirt was gone in a heartbeat.

I sucked in a breath, gaze following the solid planes of his chest and going lower to the area Ian was always teasing me about. The abs distracted me- I didn't see him moving until I felt his hands tugging my shirt upwards.

I leapt back, hand held up to ward him off. "Hold on, haven't you ever heard of sarcasm before?"

He raised his dark brows, a few locks of hair falling onto his forehead. "Do I look like I'm in the mood for sarcasm?"

"Why are you the one in a bad mood? Did you get punched in the face with a cake too?" I quipped, backing up until the bed stopped my progress. I hopped up onto it so we were the same height. "Wendy only gave me a few scrapes on my thighs but I've had worse. I don't need you to kiss my boo-boos well."

He tilted his head. "I'm going to lick them."

I froze. I knew werewolves licked mates when they were hurt but it's not something I've witnessed before. My mind was suddenly filled with the possibility of his words- attention drawn to the mouth in question that could make that possibility a reality. My hand fell to my side.

He pounced.

It was a gentle tackle in all honesty, soft as the sheets under me, although his kiss was rough. More nipping teeth than the brushing of lips. "Drive...me...insane," he said between punishing kisses, hand fumbling at the waistband of my pants. Trying to get to the bruises on my thighs.

Just to spite him, I curled a leg around his waist, obstructing his progress. A growl reverberated in his chest, the vibration against my chest strangely sensual. Interesting enough that I lifted upwards, moving against him, nails digging into the skin at his shoulder blades. The growl of annoyance turned into a groan and for five minutes of breathless insanity, he cupped my face, tongue delving, licking, tasting every inch of my mouth while his hips moved with jerking desperation against mine. Each move had me gasping but he didn't- seemed unable to- stop himself.

He eventually dragged himself off me, breathing hard, eyes burning amber. He reached out and pulled my pants off with a two tugs, studying the red skin on my legs. They'd been bleeding before but were already healed, nothing life-threatening. My bruises were the least important thing on my mind now but it was- unbelievably- now the center of Kane's attention. He lowered his head, tongue flicking out, cooling the slightly burning skin there and at the same time setting it aflame with another fire. But he made no move towards the direction I wanted him in.

Frustrated, I started to pull my legs away. He wrapped an arm around the back of my knees, putting an end to that avenue of escape. Toes curling, I blew out a breath, glaring down at the back of his head. "You know, the guys I know don't usually go down that low," I said, baiting him.

His tongue stopped moving. He lifted his head, gaze cutting into me like a knife. "Which guys?"

I smothered a grin. "It's nothing important," I said, peeling off my shirt as nonchalantly as I could. "You can continue with what you were doing."

Mouth tightening, he crawled back on top of me, the arm that had been behind my knees a band at my waist now, his weight a challenge. As was his voice when he grabbed my chin, his other hand taking mine and moving it down to the fly of his pants, "Unzip it."

I hesitated, suddenly uncertain despite my earlier bravado. Unlike what I'd just said, this was actually my first time and there was a greater chance that I'd make a fool of myself after pretending to be a know it all.

Kane watched the emotions playing out on my face, his own expression softening. He pressed his lips to my neck. "Sorry. I couldn't help getting angry. We can stop."

I thought about it, thought about how nice he felt wrapped around me. How the house was empty (if you excluded the unconscious girl in one of the bedrooms down the hall) and how uncommon that was. At how gentle his eyes had gotten at my display of vulnerability.

I shook my head, pulling him towards me. "Don't stop."

Kane blinked down at me, saw the conviction and desire I didn't bother hiding. He smiled and I couldn't help but give him a smile in return- although it was gone as soon as he started kissing me again.

Then I happily lost myself in Kane Wilder.