by Beverly Rae
Fluttering her eyelids at him, she hoped she knew of one of the ways. “I don’t want to give you any ideas, of course, but I tend to spill my guts after a good, er, I mean, thorough tongue-lashing.” Ooh, please, oh, please, let him lash me until I scream for mercy.
He ran his tongue slowly over his upper lip. “That is one of my ways.” He stopped to nip at her taut bud. “I do enjoy that method of questioning prisoners.”
“And I’ll bet you’re quite skilled at it.”
He tweaked her other nipple and sent shivers racing through her a second time. “True. But I’m thinking you’re a tough soldier. I think I’d better use the other method.”
Could the other method include pumping her brains out? Or maybe riding her from behind until she screamed his name? If she was lucky, it would. “I’m a tough one to break.”
He smiled a wicked smile and bent over to flick his tongue over the curve of her breast. She blew out a puff of pent-up anticipation and closed her eyes. He continued to suckle her tit while his hand slid down her stomach to stop right above the cleft between her legs. “Are you sure you vant to know, my beautiful prisoner?”
With her eyes still shut, she managed to squeak out a single word. “Yes.”
“Very well. Here it is.”
“It’s about time. A girl could die from all this sexual teasing and—holy shit!”
Jason ran his fingertips up her sides and straight into her armpits. He tickled her until she shrieked with laughter.
“Ja-son! Stop! No, don’t. E-e-e-e-e-e!”
“Don’t stop? Then tell me vat I vant to know.”
“No! You know—eek!—what I mean.”
Rolling to her side, he grabbed her leg and trapped it under his while he continued to tickle her armpit. With her leg secured, he twisted his torso around and moved his fingertips lightly along the bottom of her foot.
“Eek! Stop! I can’t stand it!” If he didn’t stop soon, she’d laugh so hard she’d wet the bed.
“Tell me and I’ll stop.”
“No, I won’t!”
“Tell me, Syd.”
“No! Oh, please! I can’t…breathe.”
He stopped long enough for her to catch her breath. “Are you okay?”
Still giggling, she gulped in much-needed air before answering. “I’m okay.” Could she stand much more? Looking at the glint in his eyes gave her the answer she needed. No, she couldn’t.
“Tell me vat I vant to know.” He held up his hands and wiggled his fingers. “Or else.”
When he started to tickle her again, she had to give in. “Okay, okay, stop. I’ll tell you.”
“Good.” He dropped his German accent, stopped the torture, and waited for her to confess. “Go ahead.”
Should she tell him? Yet she didn’t think she had any other choice. “It’s not a big thing. You reminded me of a cat with your slinky movements and I thought it was funny. You know. A canine, a wolf, reminding me of a feline.” She watched him, uncertain of his reaction.
“Are you kidding me?” He sat on his heels and gaped at her. “You’re an easy laugh, aren’t you? But I don’t get it. Why not tell me?”
“I don’t know. I guess since you didn’t like my referring to pussy”—he cringed—“juice I thought you might not like being compared to a cat.”
“You’ve got a strange sense of humor, Syd Skeller.” He scrunched up his features at her before turning it into a grin and reaching for the belt.
“Excuse me, but I’ve had people tell me I have a great sense of humor. What’re you doing?”
Jason stopped fumbling with the belt. “I’m letting you go, of course.”
She rolled her eyes and made a face. “Uh, duh. Don’t you think you ought to torture your prisoner a little while longer? You know, to make sure you got everything you asked for?” When he still didn’t catch her meaning, she widened her eyes and shot him an exasperated look. “Hello? Earth to Jason. I know you got your answer with the first method, but why not try the other method of torture? Who knows what information you’ll find out with the more, shall we say, invasive technique.”
His eyebrows darted between his eyes in direct contrast to the corners of his mouth tweaking upward. “I wouldn’t want to hurt you. You know, by leaving you tied up too long. It’s not like this belt is lined with fur.”
She pffed and glared at him. “Have I complained?”
“Well, no. But you know I’ll turn you loose if you ask, right?”
The concern on his face softened her lighthearted mood. “I know. But I don’t want you to untie me yet.”
The mischievous gleam she’d come to love leapt into his eyes. “Oh, I see. Well, then here’s the deal. I’ll torture you this time on two conditions.”
“Yeah?”
“First, you promise to tie me up and torture me sometime soon.”
Like I’d ever refuse that request. “Agreed. What’s the second condition?”
His concentrated look seared straight into her soul. “Tell me you’re my mate. Tell me you know we’re meant for each other.”
A rush of love mixed with the lust already ripping through her body. She blinked once and nodded. “You know I am. You know we are.”
“Just say the words, Syd. I want to hear you say the words. After the last time…”
Wetting her lips, she gave him what he wanted. “You’re my mate and we belong together. I knew it the first time I saw you. Now, do as I say and start torturing me.”
The mischievous gleam transformed into a heat-filled one and he straddled her again. She stared, mesmerized, at those sultry eyes clouded over with desire, and his mouth parted barely enough for his tongue to peek out. With more control than she could ever hope to have, he reached his hands up in slow motion toward hers, and she couldn’t decide whether to follow his hands or soak in the view of his massive chest rising above her.
“Jason?”
He shook his head, ordering her to silence with his gesture. She jumped when his fingers touched her wrists and, with a deliberate slowness, skimmed his palms along her arms. She sucked in a breath and held it, following his hands down to her shoulders.
He paused, glanced at her with an expression she couldn’t read, and slid his palms simultaneously over her collarbones and around the sides of her breasts. She released her breath and arched, hoping to invite his hands to the taut peaks. Instead, he ran his hands over her ribcage until they met his thighs. With deliberate torture, he kept his body inches from hers.
She bit her lip and watched the muscles in his legs strain to hold him upright in position. At last, he rested his hands on his legs. Syd broke her gaze away from his lower torso to raise her eyes to his and caught a glimpse of indecision. “What? Why are you stopping?”
Jason brought a finger to his lips to quiet her. “I think I have a better way to torture you.” Taking his shaft in one hand, he began to make long powerful strokes.
Her mouth flushed with saliva at the craving lashing through her. “Jason, untie me. Let me─”
Again, he silenced her with a finger and she moaned to protest the command. Yet the desire, the need she knew was nothing compared to the ache she experienced when his other hand snaked into the crevice between her legs. Her head jerked up and her hands strained at the belt.
He worked his thumb over her nub, igniting a burn, hotter and whiter than she’d ever known. Her first climax thundered through her, making her moan in delight, and her body responded instinctively to her release. The heat within her kept climbing, shaking her, breaking what little hold she had on her control. But who needed control when freedom felt so good?
With one final climax, she cried out his name and he released her. She cried again, this time in protest, and snapped her eyes open in frustration. Yet she shouldn’t have worried. Jason pressed his mouth onto hers, groaning his blistering breath into her mouth while his tongue stroked hers. She kissed him back, matching his fervor. Placing his legs between hers, he thrust into her
, rocking the bed, slamming the headboard against the wall in a rhythmic sexual drumming.
Syd’s mind stopped working, hearing only Jason’s name repeating through her brain. Strong hands gripped her bottom and she wrapped her legs around his lean waist. Sweat ran off him and onto her, moving in fluid thrusts.
Watching him, she knew he was readying to reach his zenith and his release would soon break over her, like the waves from an ocean storm tumbling over the shore. Oh, how she longed to clutch his body to hers! She strained at the belt, wanting to be free, yet enjoying the experience of giving Jason full control.
She gritted her teeth at another roll of desire coursing through her, and his body tensed. With a growl, he sought her eyes, his face a mix of pain and pleasure. Fangs slipped over his lower lip yet, unlike before, she longed to have him sink them into her. Instead, he let his head fall backwards. Shaking his silky mane, he roared, trumpeting his climax.
He fell to the side of her, his breaths coming in panted bursts to match her own. She stared, fascinated, as his fangs receded and disappeared.
“Jason?”
“Hmm?”
“Could you untie me now?”
With one sleek move, he twisted onto his side. “Oh, shit, I forgot. Sorry, but don’t blame me for forgetting once I’m in the middle of everything.” He pushed up and started to work on the belt. Within moments, he’d turned her loose. “Remember, you tie me up next time.”
“And maybe next time you’ll remember to lock your front door.”
Syd gasped and whipped her head toward the bedroom door. “Mom? What’re you doing here?”
Chapter Five
“Did you say…Mom?”
At Jason’s question, Sydney made an apologetic face. “Uh, yeah, I did.” Within seconds, she’d transformed from a grown woman—a sexually satisfied adult female—into the fifteen-year-old girl who’d gotten caught necking with Johnny Roman in Green Valley High School’s audio-visual room. Her mother had arrived at the school less than half an hour later. A calm discussion with the principal had followed and her mother had taken her home. Once home, she’d had hell to pay.
Jason scrambled from the bed, taking the bedspread with him and leaving the sheet to cover Syd’s body. She tugged the thin material to her neck and turned to her mom. “Uh, Mom, I, uh─”
Frosty blue eyes, a shade lighter than her own, flicked back and forth between Syd and Jason. “I’ll let you two pull yourselves together while I brew a cup of tea.” With a curt nod, her mother whirled on her heel and left.
Jason’s chuckle swiveled her head in his direction.
“Are you kidding me?” She gaped at him, stunned when he doubled over in laughter. “What about this do you find funny? Please tell me because right now I sure could use a good laugh.”
He pointed in the direction of the door and sputtered out an explanation. “You. Your mother. Us.”
“Oh yeah, real funny. How’d you like it if your father found us like this?” If she clenched her fists any tighter, she’d bore holes into her palms.
He dropped the cover and started pulling on his clothes. “My old man would probably shoot me a thumbs up for landing such a sexy lady—at least until he found out about your family.”
Since he was nearly dressed, Syd scrambled out of the bed and hurriedly gathered her clothes. She bent beside him and lowered her voice. “Figures. One sexist pig applauding another sexist pig. Just for the record, my family’s not going to think much of your family, either.”
Jason’s finger pointed at her nose. “Hey, I already told you. I’m not a sexist pig. Sexist wolf, yes. Pig, no.”
His faked serious expression lifted her dour mood and made her relax—a little. “Oh, don’t worry. I remember, all right. But wasn’t it sexiest wolf?”
“True enough.” He winked at her, making the knot in her stomach loosen a smidgen more.
“Are you two planning on joining me, or do I have to sit through another show?”
“Yup, she’s your mother all right. Same sarcastic wit.”
“Shut up.” Her mother’s voice dredged up her initial embarrassment. “I’m coming!”
He slipped on his shoes and preened with pride. “Wow, I am good. I’m merely standing next to you and I still made you─”
“Ja-son.” Someone save me from a hilarious shifter. Syd slapped him on the arm and shot him a warning look. Steeling herself for her mother’s reaction, she headed out of the bedroom.
Her mom, dressed like a typical suburban housewife in cropped blue pants, a sleeveless white cotton shirt and strappy white sandals, waited for them on the living room sofa. Syd slowed her approach to allow Jason to catch up with her. No way would she face her mom alone. Together they’d wait for whatever came next, standing shoulder to shoulder.
Her mother sipped her tea with her usual style and grace a moment longer before sizing them up. With an air of sophistication, she glanced at her cup before declaring, “I don’t know why I ever try microwaving a tea bag because it never tastes right. But I was in a rush and didn’t want to wait for the water to boil. Besides, this place is already way too hot.” She glanced up, shot them a pointed look, and lowered her gaze again.
Score another jab for dear old Mom. Syd reached out to take Jason’s hand and hoped he’d remain silent. She’d learned the hard way when to keep her mouth shut. Although her mother’s methods might appear less harsh than her father’s, Syd had never doubted who really doled out the discipline.
Those blue eyes snapped up at them again, this time sparkling with humor and mischievousness. “So, sweetie, aren’t you going to introduce me to your lover?”
Syd opened her mouth to claim they weren’t lovers, but knew that particular boat had already sailed into the sunset. “Uh, of course. Sure. Mother, this is Jason Cannon. Jason, this is my mother, Miriam Skeller.” With the introductions made, she risked a glimpse out the corner of her eye at him—oh, shit, a shifter meeting my mom!
Jason, exuding charm, magnetism and, thankfully, no fur, executed a short bow and bestowed his glorious smile on her mother. “Mrs. Skeller, I’m very pleased to meet you.”
Her mother cocked her head at him and patted the cushion for him to sit beside her. “Jason, is it? Now there’s an interesting name. Rugged and manly. The name reminds me of a man who’s a take-charge kind of guy, a leader of his pack, if you will. You know, the strong animal type. Are you the strong animal type, Jason?”
He was halfway to his seat when the word “pack” made him pause and study her.
Syd’s heart ached as though refusing to beat and she felt the blood draining from her face. Pump, heart, pump!
“Sit down while Sydney fetches”—she paused, catching Syd’s eye—“you something to drink. I’m sure you’re probably bone dry after your, uh, workout. But I wouldn’t recommend my tea.”
“No, I’m fine.” Jason recovered his footing before she did. “No, I’m fine.” He sat beside her mother, his posture relaxed but alert. “But thanks for offering. I hope you’ll forgive me for the way we, um, met.”
Miriam tipped her head and twisted her body to face him. “Perhaps. How long have you known my daughter?”
At last Syd’s stunned mind clicked into gear and she joined the conversation. “Mom, I’m a grown woman. I don’t need you to interrogate my friends. If I’d known you were coming…”
“Well, you know how I love surprises, sweetie. Especially ones providing everyone with a little jolt.”
“Then you must be loving this one, huh?”
Miriam giggled—since when has my mother ever giggled?—and narrowed her eyes at Jason. “Well, speak up. Have you known my daughter long?”
“Only a few days.” He leaned against the cushions, obviously enjoying the situation and Syd’s uneasiness. “And yet, I feel like we’ve known each other forever.”
Syd bit her lip and tried to remember her age. How could she let her mother treat her like an errant teenager? How would she get Jason t
o stop fooling around and behave? The idea of a shifter conversing with her mother boggled her mind.
“Then you must be very special to Sydney.” Miriam studied him carefully before turning to Syd. “Am I right, honey?”
Syd’s mouth dried up like a drop of water on the desert floor. Yet somehow she forced the words out her mouth. “Yes.” Jason’s gaze caught hers, invigorating her with renewed strength. “Yes, he is.” Although she kept her focus on him, she could sense her mother watching them, scrutinizing them, interpreting their reactions. Should I say more? Perhaps something like, “He sure is, Mom. He’s the shifter of my dreams and I’m thinking a winter wedding would be cool. How about it? A white wedding in the pack’s cave?”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying, Sydney?”
Syd met Jason’s smile with her own and kept their connection solid. “Yes, Mom, I am.”
Yet all the strength she could gather from him couldn’t keep her mother’s next question from rocking her world.
“You do realize you’re in love with a shifter?”
She stared at her mother as her words echoed in her brain. “You know?” Of course she’d known. Why else would she have made all those little verbal jabs? But how had her mother known?
With her features immobile, Miriam placed her cup on the coffee table, rose and crossed to the other side of the room, putting her back to them. A tense quiet filled the air.
Finally, Jason whispered, “She doesn’t hide a gun in her girdle, does she? One loaded with silver bullets perhaps?”
Her mother’s sigh brought their attention back to her. Her shoulders slumped and she rotated on her heel to confront them. Guilt sliced through Syd at the expression on her mother’s face. A myriad of emotions flickered across her features while a single tear trickled down her cheek.
“I’ve lived with your father long enough to make an educated guess. After my initial fright that Jason was an intruder, I gave him another look. Seeing his fangs sticking out while you two were…involved…gave me a big clue. Although I almost didn’t notice, what with his other impressive feature sticking out.”
