Free Destined Mate (Catamount Lion Shifters #4) by J.H. Croix Page A

enough as her words rolled over him. He slipped his fingers out and nudged his cock into her entrance.
    “Look at me.”
    His words were low and taut, his voice barely above a whisper. Her smoky eyes flew open, and he surged inside. Her hot, slick channel throbbed around him. He lifted her knee higher and thrust in to the hilt. Her eyelids fluttered, but she held his gaze as he began to stroke in and out of her. The feel of her around him wiped everything but sensation out of his mind. All he wanted was to drive her higher and higher, closer and closer to her release. The creamy clench of her channel pulsed around him as he pounded into her.
    Only when her breath broke and she threw her head back with a cry, her body shuddering against his, did he let go. His orgasm crashed through him, the release of pressure so intense, only his grip on her held him up.

    ***
    Shana was sandwiched between the cold door against her back and Hayden’s hot body. Pleasure pinged through her still, pulses of her orgasm shaking her. Hayden’s head fell into her shoulder. His strong arms held her up. She breathed him in. She didn’t want reality to intrude. She just wanted to be here, now, with him. After several long moments, he lifted his head, his warm caramel eyes meeting hers.
    Twilight had fallen, and the light was faint. She could feel his heart beating against her skin. They were twined together. His eyes coasted over her face. He lifted a hand and brushed her hair away from her face, tucking a loose lock behind her ear. The small touch sent a soft shiver through her.
    He cleared his throat. “Hey there,” he said softly.
    He said the perfect thing. Anything else and her mind would have twisted itself in knots over how to reply.
    “Hey,” she replied with a chuckle.
    He slowly stepped back, easing her leg down as he did. She leaned against the door, thinking perhaps she should be embarrassed to have gone wild over him like that, but she didn’t have it in her to care. He picked up her clothes and handed them to her before walking to the bathroom. She followed him and turned the shower on.
    Without a word, she waved for him to join her. She wasn’t ready to talk, but she wanted to be close to him. The steaming water soothed her. Hayden was quiet though his hands stayed on her as he soaped her and ran his hands through her hair when she returned the favor.
    A while later, he lounged on a stool by the kitchen counter while she threw together an impromptu dinner of fettuccini with a light cream sauce and tomatoes. He’d just finished filling her in on his and Noah’s interview with Theo.
    “Wait, let me get this straight. Theo thinks your boss is running the smuggling network in Bozeman?” she asked, unable to hide the incredulity from her question.
    He nodded. “Yup. I’m still trying to get that to sink in. I’ve known Clint for years. I can’t say we’re personally close, but I never suspected him. Never.”
    “How reliable do you guys think Theo is?”
    He shrugged. “Thing is, there’s no good reason for him to even have Clint’s name. The fact that he does blows my mind.”
    “What now?”
    “Jake’s already doing his thing to look into Clint’s online activities. Before we act on anything, I’ve still got a few other guys to interview. I’ve got a call into one of the detectives in Bozeman. They were cool having me come out here for this, but if we get anything actionable, they’ll want to send their own guy.”
    Anxiety knotted in her chest. She’d been so relieved when Wallace had been arrested here, but she’d known it wasn’t the end in the bigger scheme of things. When they’d gone out to Montana last winter, she realized the smuggling network extended far beyond Catamount. Hearing that Hayden’s boss might be involved shouldn’t have surprised her after everything, but it did.
    She served the fettuccini on plates and slid one across the counter to him, tugging a stool to the opposite side to join