The questions swirled around in her mind until she was certain thinking about it anymore would drive her over the edge of madness. Maybe it was time to step out of her safe zone and take a leap of faith.
Deno would cut off his arm before he would deliberately hurt her again. He was nothing like any other man she’d ever had contact with before. She knew that. So why was she hesitating?
Tabby stepped back and stared up at him. He didn’t move. He didn’t try to rush her inside. He merely stood there, staring back, his love for her shining in his eyes. Had someone told her she would see that in him when they first met, she would have laughed. Not now.
Her heart swelled at the thought that he could love her so much that the emotion would show in a glance. His amber eyes stared down at her, and she could have sworn she saw the gold flecks in his irises swirling as she held his gaze.
The scent of cinnamon and cedar filled her nose. Tabby inhaled deeply, taking in his unique, intoxicating scent. It drew her closer and closer until she had plastered her body against his.
“Kiss me.”
One thing was sure, she didn’t have to ask him twice. His large hands reached up and cupped her cheeks, his thumbs brushed over her bottom lip until she opened her mouth just a bit. Then slowly, with so much care, he leaned down and pressed his mouth gently against hers. His lips were open, his tongue lightly tracing her lips until she opened wider in an invitation to deepen the kiss.
When she closed her eyes, everything intensified. Her hands moved, almost of their own accord. She grasped his upper arms, her fingers digging into his hard biceps as he slid his hands down her shoulders, and around her back.
Fire licked at her skin everywhere he touched. Her blood heated, moving slowly through her veins like molten lava. Tabby slid her arms around his neck, stood on her toes, and pulled him closer, her tongue tangling with his.
Large hands played across her back, pulled her closer, and then slid down to her rear and lifted her against him. Again, she wrapped her legs around his waist and did her best to crawl inside him.
Within Deno’s embrace was the safest place she’d ever been. It didn’t take her long to realize that in his arms and by his side was where she wanted to be.
With effort, she broke the kiss, put one hand on each side of his face, and stared deep into his golden eyes. “Take me inside, Deno.”
“I don’t dare.” He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “I don’t think I can stop myself from making love to you if we aren’t someplace public.”
Tabby smiled at that. What other man would put her needs above his own? What other man would do the honorable thing, even though it was so difficult to do?
She knew how difficult it was for him. She could feel it in the muscles that trembled with the effort to hold his tiger at bay. She could almost feel the way his inner beast beat at him, demanding he take her, whether she wanted it or not. Still, he held himself to a higher standard, one that would ensure her right to choose.
“Deno.” She stayed in his arms, her legs wrapped around his waist, the cleft of her sex riding his erection as he stood as still as a statue, his eyes squeezed shut. “Deno, look at me.”
“It’s difficult to hold it back. Give me a moment.” Slowly, his eyes opened, and he met her gaze. His eyes glowed an eerie shade of amber as the eyes of his beast stared back at her.
His hands moved to her thighs and pushed gently, most likely trying to get her to drop her legs and stop tempting him. But she was having none of that.
“Are you paying attention?” Staring deep into those wild eyes, she again placed a hand on either side of his face.
“Yes.” His voice came out deep, almost a growl.
“Take. Me. Inside.”
A low, rumbling growl started deep in his chest. His entire body shook either with the need to have her, or the effort to stay put and not give in to the demands of his tiger.
“I can’t. If I do...”
“Stop hurting yourself and listen to me. Take me inside, Deno. I want you to. I have chosen you, and I want to be your mate.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Deno couldn’t believe what he heard. She had chosen him? Even though he stood holding her, his beast demanding he take her, even if it was against her will?
It was a ruse. It had to be a deception by his tiger, making him hear what he so desperately wanted to hear. He shook his head.
“I can’t.” He shook his head harder to clear it. He pushed her legs from around his waist and stepped back, holding her at arm’s length. “Run, baby.” He stared at her, desperate to make sure she understood. “My beast is deceiving me. It’s attempting to make me believe you want to bond with me tonight. Run before I do something unforgivable.”
His beast was desperate if it was going to such lengths. He feared for her life if she didn’t run. If he forced himself upon her and she fought him, he could kill her. He would rather kill himself than harm one hair on her precious head.
“Deno.” She stood her ground and shook her head. “It’s not your tiger. It’s me. I’ve decided to become your mate.” She rested her hand on his chest. Her brave action nearly brought him to his knees as his beast finally withdrew and returned to its tiny corner of his consciousness. Waiting.
“Truly?” Reaching up, he covered her hand with his, his breathing erratic as he thought about how close he had come to doing the unthinkable. “You truly want to consummate our relationship and complete the bonding?”
“I do.” She smiled and stared up at him, her heart in her eyes. “I love you. I think I have for quite some time. I just never realized it until tonight. You are gentle, loving, and you always put my needs above your own—not that I think that’s necessary. I would be crazy to refuse to be your mate.” She reached up with her free hand and pushed back a lock of hair that had fallen over his eyes. “Besides, you definitely need a keeper, mister.”
“You think so, huh?” He smiled down at her. “I would have thought that was Xeno more than me.”
“You both need keepers.” She grinned. “Maybe it’s a good thing you two found us. Otherwise, who knows what could have happened to you guys?”
Deno chuckled as he pulled her close, fitting her supple body to his. He cupped the back of her head and then fisted his hand in her silky hair, tipping her head back. He pressed little butterfly kisses to her forehead, her eyes, and along her jawline to her neck. She wriggled against him with a moan, her pelvis brushing back and forth over his hard cock.
Reaching down with his other hand, he cupped her rear and drew her closer, grinding his hips against her. He growled deep in his chest when she skimmed her hands up his sides and over his chest, her fingernails scoring his nipples on their way up to his shoulders. He hadn’t expected that. Tabitha had always been so reserved and demure. He would bet she’d clawed his nipples quite by mistake.
“Did I hurt you?” She pulled away and stared up at him with passion-glazed eyes.
“No.” The word came out more a growl than anything else. “You most definitely didn’t hurt me. Wrap your legs around my waist again, lincha.” Reaching down with his other hand, he grasped her legs and lifted her.
“What does that mean?” She wrapped her legs around him and he groaned.
“It means...” He paused to take her mouth in a kiss so hot, he was certain they would both explode into a million points of light like the Fourth of July fireworks he’d admired every year since they arrived. “Beloved.” His tiger tried to say the word with him, causing his voice to sound deeper than it ever had been before. “It means beloved.” He headed for the front door. His neighbors had already had enough of a show if they had been watching.
“No one has ever called me anything like that before. It’s beautiful.” A single tear tracked down her cheek.
Deno wanted nothing more than to lean forward and sip that tear into his mouth, a beginning of his plan to drink her in, in every way possible.
Giving in to his nearly desp
erate desire, Deno pulled her closer and kissed her tears away.
“Don’t cry, little one. I would do anything to keep you from sadness for the rest of our lives.”
“That’s just it.” She laughed through her tears. “I don’t know if you have noticed this yet or not, but we women tend to cry even when we’re happy.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder. “I’m so happy, Deno. I can’t believe I found you. What makes it all so much better is that I will never have to fight you to see my sister if she’s married to your brother. Things couldn’t have worked out more perfectly if I tried.”
“I can see your point.” He grinned. “I never thought about it before, but now that you mention it, I can remember my father complaining about visiting his second mother.” He paused with a frown. “I think you call them mothers-in-law. There would be no argument, kechi. I would take you to the ends of the Earth if it made you happy.”
“You should probably be careful what kinds of promises you’re throwing out there, sweetheart.”
“I like that.” He felt a peculiar warmth settle within him.
“What?” Her brow furrowed.
“I like it when you call me sweetheart.”
“Really?” She leaned closer, her warm breath bathing his ear. “How would you like me to call you lover? Lover.”
“I like it,” Deno said with a growl as his cock jerked in his pants. It was almost as though the thing had a mind of its own and was trying to escape the confines of his jeans and boxer-briefs.
He kicked the door shut behind them and headed up the wide stairs.
“Aren’t you going to lock the door?” Tabby giggled as he practically ran up the last few steps in his hurry to get her into his bed.
“Secure!” He barked the order in his haste to make her his before she changed her mind.
“I didn’t know your security system was voice activated. I’ve been using that little remote thingy you gave me.”
“It is, but for my voice alone. Tomorrow, we shall add your voice and biometrics to the system. Tonight—” He growled low in his throat. “We shall be preoccupied with other matters.”
He entered his room, kicked the door closed behind them, and carried her straight to the bed, letting her slide slowly down his body as he lowered her to the floor. He closed his eyes, reveling in the sensation of her soft curves pressed so tightly against his hard frame.
“If you have any doubts, now is the time to voice them, lincha.”
“I have no doubts, Deno.” She bit her lip with a frown. “Or should I call you lincha as well?”
“No.” He shook his head with a laugh. “Lincha is female. You would call me linchu if you want to call me beloved or mate.”
“Linchu,” she repeated the word. “I like that.” Smiling up at him, she rested her hands on his shoulders and slowly slid them around his neck. “Kiss me, linchu. I can’t wait to be in your arms again.”
Deno didn’t hesitate. He lowered his head and ravaged her mouth, his tongue delving inside when she opened for him. She tasted sweet, almost like strawberries and cream. He cupped her cheek with his right hand, his left sliding down to grasp her fleshy rear.
The little sounds of pleasure she made were almost enough to drive him over the edge of his control, but he willed himself to hold back.
Slowly, he slid his hand beneath the hem of her blouse, his fingers gliding over the smooth and silky skin of her lower back. He caressed the small indentations above her low waistband and moved his hands upward until he brushed the band of her bra. With a flick of his wrist, he had the clasp undone. He slid his hand higher, gently kneading her shoulders.
He kept his hands moving upward until he’d managed to draw her blouse and bra over her head and toss them to the floor.
“Please, Deno. Don’t draw this out. I need you.” She stood before him, naked from the waist up. There was no coy covering of her chest, no fake modesty. She stood tall, her hands resting on his chest, her full, beautiful breasts on display.
“My mate is no shrinking violet.” He said the words with pride, knowing she could fight as well as any man when she shifted. How could he have ever thought mating with her could make him weak? Just the thought of her standing her ground, protecting their children, proved she would not be a weakness. In fact, she was a strength he hadn’t expected.
Every time he kissed her, he wanted her more. With every brush of his hands over her supple flesh, he yearned to make her his.
Her scent drew him to her as irrevocably as it would have had someone given them zidalpham, the chemical agent his people had derived to help with their search for mates. Only he knew no one had given them the drug. He’d felt the same way the first day they had met when he had thought her a cat.
“Let me help you with that.” Tabitha grasped the hem of his shirt, drawing it up to his neck.
He bent to help her, raising his arms over his head when she pulled it off. Inhaling deeply, he took in the sweet scent of her desire. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed to keep himself from ripping her clothes off and throwing her on the bed.
Patience, he told the beast within him.
Her unique scent, her sweet and delicious flavor bound him to her. She had nothing to hold her to him. He wouldn’t have used the chemical enhancement if he could have. The zidalpham restrained one’s free will, and he was just selfish enough to need her to want him for himself, not some forced artificial reaction.
He stood, pulled her against him, bare chest to bare chest, and took her mouth in another heated kiss. His tongue tangled with hers, mapping her mouth as she clung to him, seemingly needing him as much as he needed her.
His palms flat, he slid his hands over her back, drawing her closer and closer.
Tabby’s hands fumbled at his waist, releasing his belt buckle and the first two buttons on his fly.
“Slow down, baby. We’ll get there.” He wanted to leave his pants on to ensure she was ready before they completed their bond.
“No way, buster,” Tabitha said against his lips. “You’re going to take those off and show me what your’re packing down there. I’m not positive, but I suspect that thing isn’t real and you’re smuggling a baseball bat in your pants.”
Deno burst out laughing.
“You, my love, never cease to surprise me.” He shook his head and resigned himself to removing his pants and forcing a tighter rein on his impatient inner beast. “I am not that large. In fact, I’ve seen some males with cocks twice the size of mine, though I am loathed to admit it.”
“You have to be joking,” Tabby replied as she stared at his hips. “It looks plenty big to me under those jeans.”
He finished unbuttoning his jeans and slid them and his underwear down his legs.
“Whoo!” She stared at his cock, her eyes wide. “That’s a monster.” She licked her lips and reached out. “I’m almost afraid to touch it.”
“Why?”
“For fear it isn’t real.” She grinned up at him. “Call me crazy, but I’ve always heard bigger was better, and well, you’re bigger than any man I have ever seen. Not that I’ve seen a lot.” She waved her hand when he raised his brows. “I mean, I’ve seen porn on the internet, who hasn’t, but your... uh... member,” she stopped and coughed, her face nearly as red as his sports car. “That thing is huge!”
Bending, she licked the drop of pearly liquid from the tip and Deno groaned.
“Good grief. It tastes good.” She smiled up at him. “You taste good.”
Deno watched as she reached out and grasped the base of his cock. He groaned when she slid her closed fist up its length and then took the head into her mouth and sucked lightly. Certain his legs would give out if she kept it up, he reached down and pulled her up.
“Did I do something wrong?” She frowned.
“No, kechi, you did something very right. But if you continue to do that, I’m not sure how long I can stay in control. I want this to be go
od for you.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“But I want this to be good for you, too.” Tabby had no thought for her own pleasure. She knew sex wasn’t as pleasurable for the woman as it was for the man. She’d had her own horrible experience to attest to that.
“Your satisfaction comes first. Giving you pleasure will be gratifying enough for me.” He held her gaze. “Take my word for it.”
He stepped free of his jeans and kicked them aside. God, he was beautiful standing there in all his naked glory. At some point, he’d stopped concentrating on his glamor because his stripes had started showing and his skin was slowly turning a gorgeous shade of blue.
Her sex pulsed as she stared at his male perfection. Her stomach clenched and thick cream coated her panties.
“Take off your pants.” Deno stared at her through narrowed eyes. “Let me see you undress for me.”
Tabby wasn’t sure why, but she felt shy all of a sudden. Still, she reached for the button on her slacks and slowly slid it through the hole. She then tugged the zipper down with a little snick, and before she knew it, she was pushing the waistband over her hips as she wriggled her rear to slide them over her too-large ass.
They fell to the floor once she had them past her wide hips. She should have been self-conscious, but she wasn’t. The way he looked at her made her feel beautiful, gorgeous even. Heat filled his gaze, turning his amber irises to molten gold. He stood still, his hands fisted at his sides as she did her little striptease.
She stared into his eyes, watching his desire grow. His breathing turned ragged, and his chest heaved as he watched her slide her underwear off in the same way she had her slacks.
If this was what love and desire was, she had never seen it in the eyes of any man, not for herself.
Her stomach fluttered and twisted as she thought of how good it would feel to have his hands touching her skin, to feel his mouth on her breast, and his hands stroking her heated flesh. That was her reward. The actual act, well, that pleasure belonged to the man. By her estimation, foreplay was for the woman because once the man thrust inside her, the pleasure was over for her and just beginning for him.
Tempting Tabitha Page 16
