Kane (Alexander Shifter Brothers Book 1) Read online

  Kane clung to her, his arms wrapped around her thighs to keep his head in place as she rode his face, her cries of pleasure making him thicker and harder. Damesha could only hang on to the step beneath her as it felt like her body tried to turn inside out. The waves washed over her time and time again, but eventually started to dissipate. Kane slowed his movements, waiting. As she rode the last wave he plunged into her deep and hard.

  A muffled groan of pleasure escaped from his throat and Damesha opened her startling eyes to pin his gaze with hers. They stared at each other as Kane thrust into her over and over, his pace quickening as her gasps grew louder.

  “Oh, that’s it baby, give it to me. Give me more, Kane. Give me all of it.” She urged him on, her hips thrusting to meet his. Damesha had never been shy about sex but Kane just brought something out in her, a need to voice her thoughts, to make demands and ask for what she wanted. He made her bold.

  Damesha sat up, her body agile and lithe, cupping his ass as he slid into her, demanding more from him. Damesha held her face up to his and his lips captured hers, his tongue plunging as deep into her mouth as his erection plunged into her receptive body. She felt an unexpected wave pass through her as her walls clenched around his length and let her head fall back as Kane’s stroking made her inner walls pulse once more.

  Kane gritted his teeth, breaking the kiss as she came around him, and finally gave up the fight to hold back his own orgasm. He let all the sensations flood over him, into him, as he felt her wet heat, smelled her scent on his face, tasted her tang in his mouth. Then he looked down into her eyes, and let go.

  Damesha held him, reveling in the sensations of Kane’s pleasure. She could still feel him pulsing inside her, feel his body shuddering, the goose bumps along his skin. She could hear the gasps and groans of pleasure, and felt her body tingle in response. She held him close, smelling his scent, tasting his sweat as she kissed his neck, the salty liquid clinging to her lips.

  He worked to catch his breath, loving the moment, enjoying it more. Another new experience. Usually, after sex, she was in a rush to get to the shower, wasn’t the kind that needed cuddling and talking. Kane was different though. He made her feel different, and she responded to him differently. He made her feel love and that shook her.

  As he sat up and looked down into her eyes she knew she might be in trouble. There was something in his eyes, something she’d never seen from another person before. Somehow she knew her own eyes reflected that same emotion. She thought it was love and that was definitely going to cause trouble. Pulling him back down to her lips she pushed the thought away, telling herself to stop being silly.

  Kane followed her lead, letting her up when she pushed against him, leading her to the bedroom. She found a bathroom—bigger than her entire apartment—behind a door, and found a walk-in shower that gave her ideas. Turning a wicked smile in Kane’s direction she started the shower, adjusting the water to a heat she liked.

  He gave her his own grin and followed in after her, pulling her close as the water flowed over their heads. Damesha let his lips linger on hers, enjoying the way Kane kissed her, sweet but erotic. He knew how to draw his tongue along hers in a way that was suggestive but not obscenely funny. His lips sucked with passion, not a need to devour. Gentle, she realized. Kane was gentle.

  Sitting on the dark blue tiles of the shower seat, Damesha crooked a finger. She wanted to taste him and make him weak. Grasping him tightly but gently, she moved over him, taking him in slowly. Her tongue slid along his length as he braced his hands against the wall, pressing himself deeper into her throat.

  “Damesha. Oh baby, that is so good.” Kane’s groans were met with moans of delight from Damesha and it almost became too much to withstand. He pulled away, and Damesha took the hand he offered. They rinsed off and she followed him into the bedroom.

  The biggest bed she’d ever seen was in the middle of the room, curtained off with white linen. He pushed a panel aside and helped her climb up. He followed and Damesha giggled as his damp skin met hers.

  Rolling together in the bed, Damesha stopped laughing as Kane’s lips covered hers, heat building in her lower abdomen with each stroke of his warm tongue. Opening her legs wider she felt him sliding against her slick heat and moaned up into his mouth.

  Kane groaned in response and pulled her close to his hips, snuggling them together as he ground down into her. They both gasped and Kane flipped her with a flick of his wrist, his strength on display for a moment. Damesha grinned as Kane positioned her. Oh yes, this was going to be all kinds of fun if he was always this adventurous.

  His tongue slid up the roundness of her bottom before his fingers sought out her moist entrance. His fingers slid into her for a moment, a sound of approval letting her know he was happy with what he’d found there. Damesha bucked into him, her body starting to become tired and sore, but gluttonous for what Kane had to offer.

  She felt him shifting behind her, and then he was inside her, his long length plunging into her depths. For a moment his hips were melded to her bottom, their bodies fitting perfectly together. They started to move together, no more holding back, no more trying to prolong the pleasure. It was a greedy moment they both worked hard for, striving for that explosive release.

  Kane’s fingers gripped her hips tightly, and Damesha grasped a pillow as Kane pounded into her from the back. Then the world turned into pulsing pleasure as her body tipped over the edge of into oblivion. She gasped his name one final time before she was lost.

  Chapter 6

  Three weeks later, Damesha stretched in Kane’s bed, her body relaxed, languid. She had known the word ‘relaxed’ before, but had no idea what it really felt like. Sliding her legs under the silky cotton sheets, her feet found Annie. Damesha sat up with a smile, throwing the covers off, and stepped down from the bed.

  Annie followed with a gentle snuffle, her tail wagging as she went to find the flap in the door Kane had installed just for her. Damesha went into the shower, knowing she was in love and happy. It was more than just the endless nights of passion; the days spent trying to concentrate on her work that let her know she was in love. Kane was a smart man, he asked her questions about her writing, making her brain work to dig deeper for answers, to see beyond just the newspaper print or the diary pages.

  He also made her laugh, his sarcasm and dry humor a refreshing bite rather than tedious. They often had discussions that people might take for arguments but they were happy debating. They challenged each other and though they didn’t agree on everything, they respected a difference in opinion.

  Kane was making her grow, making her mind expand, and she loved that about him. She loved how he supported her and allowed her to support him. She even loved the dark side of him, the side that still wouldn’t tell her everything, that part of him that went broody sometimes in the night. She’d find him at the window staring into the darkness outside his bedroom. She’d entice him back to bed and chase his shadows away.

  Things were getting tense with his family. She didn’t have much interaction with them but she’d heard the phone calls Kane tried to hide.

  “When is she leaving? When she feels like it. What’s it any of your business? She’s not at the cabin now, she’s at my house. Well, she can go back to the motel if that’s how you feel about.” Kane paused, listening to the reply. “That’s real nice, Cade. Nice. Thanks a lot, brother.”

  Kane had then used some words Damesha had rarely heard him use and had to smother a giggle behind her hand. That told them.

  She avoided the stares of the family when they drove into the yard, never coming into the house. She’d go inside to avoid them when she was at his house. She assumed, of course, that the problem was her skin color. Without more of an explanation from Kane it was all she could assume. He’d only say that they were old fashioned, that they didn’t like outsiders. She didn’t particularly care what they thought, but sometimes Kane would turn aloof and she wondered if it was all getting to be to
o much for him.

  Annie came in, heading straight for the kitchen. Damesha followed, calling after the dog.

  “And what would madam prefer for breakfast this morning? Pancakes, French toast, gravy and biscuits?” Damesha patted Annie’s head as she knelt in front of her. Annie gave a low woof as Damesha said gravy and biscuits so Damesha assumed that was what she wanted.

  Damesha had dressed in a loose pair of pants with a thin cotton top and was preparing Annie’s requested breakfast when the sound of a car pulling into the driveway startled them both. Damesha went to the front of the house to see a man she recognized as Kane’s eldest brother stepping onto the wide front deck. The house wasn’t too different from the cabin she’d been in but the deck went all the way around the house and had more privacy with the use of less glass.

  Damesha stood at the door, staring at the man through the glass. Something told her this wasn’t going to be pleasant. With a grim set to her mouth, she opened the door as the man stared back, giving her the creeps.

  “Hello, Kane isn’t home. Can I help you?” Her tone was superior, her left eyebrow crooked. She looked the perfect picture of domestic civility but the coldness in her eyes gave away her true thoughts. Smoothing a strand of hair behind her ear with well-manicured nails, Damesha hoped she gave off the impression that she didn’t care what the man wanted.

  “Hello, Damesha, we’ve not been introduced. I’m Cade, Kane’s brother. I just thought I’d see if you were getting ready to go home yet? I can help you pack and get your papers in order if you need.” A not so subtle hint at all from the man. His grin was just as fake as hers, she noted, her eyes taking in every slight twitch around his mouth and eyes. No, he didn’t like her any more than she liked him. He’d caused the mutual dislike, though, not her.

  Damesha stepped back and looked at him. Remarkably similar to Kane, Cade was a little bit taller but less handsome. It wasn’t really a matter of looks, it was how his face was set. Something cold and hard lived inside Cade, something Kane didn’t have. Oh, Kane was arrogant enough, independent and headstrong, but he lacked the hard edge Cade had. And rather than making her feel calm, this man sent her senses into overdrive and anxiety made her chest tighten. Pushing it all down and controlling herself, Damesha looked at the man with a raised eyebrow.

  “I’m not planning on leaving just yet. I’m sure Kane can let you know of my departure, though. If I leave.” She started to shut the door but Cade stopped her by putting his hand out.

  “If you leave?” Something in his tone told Damesha she shouldn’t have pushed so far. Oh well, she’d done it.

  “If I leave, yes.” She didn’t give a toss what he thought and refused to back down just because he wanted to be a little aggressive with her. He didn’t pay her bills. He could take a flying leap. “If you’ll excuse me, my breakfast is burning. Have a nice day.”

  She didn’t stop to see the stunned expression on Cade’s face. She shut the door and locked it. Turning away, she went back to the kitchen. Her hands shook as she took the biscuits out of the oven and removed the sausage from the pan. Okay, so now adrenaline wanted to hit her, she could live with that. She’d just put Cade in his place. Maybe he’d leave Kane alone now. Something told her that wasn’t going to happen but she could hope, couldn’t she?

  Placing the breakfast on a plate, she put Annie’s biscuit and sausage in a bowl to cool and sat down with a glass of orange juice. She wasn’t certain she wanted to get in some kind of Romeo/Juliet scenario with Kane’s family but she knew that he was worth fighting for. A hard worker that was generous, loving, kind, and everything she’d ever wanted Kane was totally worth fighting for. Thinking some of her own dirty words at the memory of Cade, Damesha finished her breakfast and went back to work. It wasn’t worth worrying about.

  Working throughout the morning, Damesha started putting together the research she’d done into a folder so she’d know where she was using each piece in the book she was planning. She made copies of quotes, highlighted passages, and indexed all of it. While she was busy with her book, Kane was out riding the fences on a four-wheeler, making sure the cattle were healthy and not breaking down the fences. Kane wasn’t a hired hand, as Damesha had thought, she’d learned that much anyway.

  No, he was one of the owners of the ranch, along with his siblings. Damesha still didn’t know a lot about them, other than there were three other brothers. She knew their names and that Cade was the oldest of the four boys. Men. Oh, they were definitely men, Damesha reminded herself, though she had yet to see the other two brothers. If they were similar to Cade and Kane then there was no doubting they were grown men.

  Cade was a beautiful man, sexy in his own right even, but he didn’t appeal to Damesha. There was too much dominance in his gaze for her liking. An independent woman, she had no need for a caretaker or a surrogate father. Kane was an Alpha male, but he wasn’t a dominant male. He was a capable partner and that was more important to Damesha than anything else. She didn’t need a man like her father who’d run out and leave her mother in trouble in more ways than one.

  Damesha decided long ago sex was a good thing but relationships with men, leaving yourself vulnerable that way, wasn’t for her. Now she’d made herself a liar. She knew she was falling fast for Kane, but couldn’t stop it. Maybe he was the one, the fabled one who’d bring her to her knees. Tapping a finger against her lip, she paused what she was doing. Damesha looked out the kitchen window at the Kansas wilds. Could she live here?

  Looking at the forest outside she knew she could. She loved it here. She really cared about Kane and he’d insisted she stay with him rather than staying at the guest house. He was willing to go that far but was he willing to keep her for good? They hadn’t really talked about the future other than Damesha’s work. Did he want her to stay? Did she want to stay?

  “What do you think, Annie? Do you prefer life here or in New York?” Damesha looked down at the dog at her feet.

  Annie’s answer was a look that screamed “Are you stupid?”

  “I guess that answers that then. You prefer living here. I bet that’s because of all the bunnies and stuff you get to chase around.”

  Damesha considered the question as she prepared dinner later, a role she’d taken on happily when she’d seen the state of the art kitchen in Kane’s house. She spent most nights at his house now so she’d started cooking for him. She loved to cook and the kitchen was like something out a dream. Putting the lasagne she’d prepared into the oven, she stared out of the windows once more.

  When Kane came in through the back door of the kitchen, Damesha had the dining room table set and the plates filled with salad, garlic bread, and lasagne. Two glasses held a dark ruby red wine that would stain their lips but tasted divine. Candles lit the room with a soft intimate glow. Damesha had a question to ask Kane, the mood needed to be right.

  Kane ran upstairs to shower and change clothes, quickly coming back down to sit with Damesha. She’d dressed carefully in a white sundress that highlighted the darkness of her skin while somehow making her eyes stand out. Not one for makeup, Damesha only needed her natural beauty and a good hairstyle to take Kane’s breath away. He walked into the room with a delighted smile.

  “What’s the occasion?” Sitting across from her, rather than at the head of the table, he picked up his fork to taste the food. “Excellent. I can’t believe how good of a cook you are. You have it all, why do you need me?”

  His tone was teasing and Damesha laughed as she sipped at her wine.

  “Well, there’s one or two things you provide that I can’t do myself.” Her tone was just as teasing but it had a naughty hint to it that got his attention.

  “Oh? Just a couple of things huh?” Kane kept eating, waiting for her to expand on those things she needed.

  “A few maybe. But now it’s time to make a decision. I’ve finished my research and I’m ready to start writing the book.” She stopped speaking and looked at him in a pointed way. “I can go h
ome now. There’s nothing to keep me here.”

  Kane’s fork dropped and he looked into her eyes. Damesha wasn’t sure if they showed hurt or sadness but they weren’t filled with relief either. That had to be a good sign. She was nervous, unsure how any of this was going to go, and her heart was pounding because she was afraid Kane would reject her. She’d made up her mind this afternoon, she wanted to stay here and give it a try. She could work from anywhere in the world, she knew in her heart she wanted to see if they could make a life together.

  “I don’t understand.” Kane put his fork down to take a sip of wine. Wiping his mouth, he looked at her with hurt tempered by a tiny bit of anger. “Are you saying you’re going home now, there’s nothing here for you?”

  “I don’t want to presume, Kane. I know men don’t like to get too attached, that they prefer to keep their freedom.” The words sounded too similar to the words she’d said about her father and she could see by the way his jaw tensed that Kane was remembering the last time she’d spoken those words. “I just don’t want to put you in an awkward position. Your brother came by today to remind me it was time to go home.”

  “Cade was here? I see.” Kane sat back in his high-backed dark walnut chair and stared across the table at her. “This is our goodbye dinner then.”

  “That’s up to you.” Damesha let the words come though she knew they made her sound weak and needy. It was up to him. He had to make a choice.

  “Right then.” Kane stood, his dinner forgotten for the moment as he began to walk out of the room. He stopped at the arched entrance and looked back at her. “I guess I’m going to have to spend the night making you squirm then. Show you why moving in with me is a good idea.”

  He walked out the room then and Damesha quickly followed, unsure if it was an invitation to come and stay permanently or for just another holiday romp. She ran after him, following him up the stairs, calling out his name.