The Sweetest Mercy (Sexy Shifter Shorts) by amanda bonilla Page A

her body. Carter stroked into her, wet flesh sliding against wet flesh and his own orgasm shook him as he came, his cock jerking inside of her again and again until the pleasure finally crested and ebbed, leaving him with a warm, sated heaviness that settled in his limbs.
    “Carter. That was—” Kiera panted.
    “Amazing,” he finished for her.
    “More than amazing,” she said with a lazy smile. “It was everything.”
    Everything . “Yes,” he agreed, kissing her lovely mouth. “It certainly was.”
    Kiera lingered under the hot water, and Carter was happy to let her as he left the shower and toweled off. After a few days in a dank, dirty cave, he’d want a couple hours of uninterrupted shower time, too. He did a quick assessment of his leg, the wound had closed completely but his skin was still angry and red. It would be at least a day before he’d be one-hundred percent, but considering he’d been ready to check out just a few hours ago, his progress was pretty damn good.
    After changing into clean clothes, Carter searched through his closet and drawers for something Kiera could wear. He held up a pair of sweats—twice as big as she was—yeah, those probably weren’t going to work. So he opted for one of his favorite BSU t-shirts as he imagined how sexy Kiera would look in the oversized tee, her pert ass just barely concealed and her shapely legs bare to his gaze. Carter’s cock hardened behind his fly; would she mind if he joined her in the shower again for a repeat performance? Down, boy . She’d been through hell and had to be exhausted. There was plenty of time for hot, hard, passionate sex later. He’d spread her legs and lick her until… Jesus. Focus, you horny bastard . What Carter needed was a cold shower.
    “Kiera, I’ll be downstairs,” Carter called into the bathroom. If he didn’t put a little distance between them, he’d take her again. And again. “I left something for you to wear on the bed.”
    “Okay,” she replied over the rush of water. Her tone already sounded lighter. Carter smiled. “I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
    Though it pained him to put even a few feet of distance between them, Carter made his way down the stairs, his focus turned to food and what he could cook for Kiera. He hit the bottom step, turned left toward the open kitchen, and stopped dead in his tracks. Sitting at the dining room table, legs propped casually on the hand-crafted pine tabletop, Reece twirled the tip of Carter’s Bowie knife against his palm.
    “You took something that belongs to me,” he said, obviously on edge.
    Carter’s beast clawed to the surface of his psyche, snarling, anxious to kill. But Kiera was just upstairs and completely vulnerable; shifting now might put her in danger and he couldn’t let that happen. “You know, I should thank you, Reece.” Carter walked into the kitchen relaxed but cautious. “I was planning to head back out tonight and hunt you down. You’ve saved me a lot of trouble by showing up here, though I have to say, I don’t follow your reasoning.”
    “You would have been better off minding your own business, Carter.” Reece dropped his feet to the floor and leaned forward in his seat, pointing the Bowie knife at Carter’s face for emphasis. “My quarrel is with Logan, not you.”
    “Yet you didn’t see any problem with involving Drew or kidnapping a woman who has nothing to do with this pride,” Carter mused.
    “Drew is a Paige,” Reece spat. “Hurting him hurts Logan. As for the girl…” He shrugged. “All wars have casualties.”
    Carter’s lion rose up, demanding control and the opportunity to tear the bastard to unrecognizable shreds. He’d threatened their female and thereby signed his own death warrant. Carter held on to control by the barest of threads. He’d promised Logan he’d deliver Reece to him alive, and though his alpha’s command wasn’t absolute—meaning Carter wasn’t compelled to obey—it was a command