Slow Burn

by Sascha Illyvich

  He could understand that, but why? Was it the bond?

  Did it matter? With her feminine heat pressing against his crotch, he quickly forgot to care about the why of any mating.

  “I need inside you.” He groaned.

  She growled deeply.

  The puma in Derrick responded, swishing its tail back and forth.

  Derrick moved her around, pinning her against the counter with his body.

  “I like how this could end up.” She bit down on his lower lip. “But haven’t we dirtied enough of Max’s furniture?” She panted, the rise and fall of her chest an erotic sight for Derrick that hardened his cock further.

  He wanted her breasts in his mouth, needed to suckle them to hard peaks and hear her screaming beneath him. Hell, he wouldn’t care if she rode him, as long as he could remain inside her.

  Derrick pulled back. He shook his head, almost as though he were shaking off her magic and bringing himself out of the trancelike state she’d been trying to put him into. He couldn't allow her to to get the full details of the event. Witch or not, she was still a civilian, and most humans didn’t have the stomach to understand just what it meant to attack a village with flamethrowers and use claws and teeth to clean up the mess. “You’re right.” He cleared his throat. “Now how about you tell me…” He stepped back from her, the fog in his mind lifting enough to give him clarity over what just happened. “What were you thinking, trying to manipulate me?”

  * * *

  She had to catch her breath. She relished being around Derrick, surrounded by his intensity, because he didn’t overwhelm her. His sense of being, his aura, didn’t crowd hers and threaten to knock her out. Only the racing of her heart did that, just when she was near him.

  During the several hours she’d been away from him, she worried about him despite only having just met him. The first night he’d been so gentle with her, he’d been the hero who came to her rescue.

  Sad that he couldn’t continue doing that.

  She needed the balance in his calmness; she realized that.

  She made the decision to accept their mating if she could push him back and keep him safe from harm. She had to do that since his life would always be in danger from kidnappers. The dangers also included whatever crap was rolling around in his mind. Sometimes those fears, those memories, while clouded, were better addressed by putting them out in reality and voicing them. Then accepting them. Basic therapy, not witchcraft.

  Some people made her sick, their lust for power, greed, or derelict minds too much for her to deal with. It had been going on for the last several years since she’d come out publicly as the lead singer of Ark-KaotiK.

  True, she didn’t possess his speed or strength, but he killed out of instinct. Protect, fuck, mate, feed, repeat. She had a choice as a human.

  “You’re thinking. Not good.” His arms settled around her shoulders. “Talk and be quick before I fuck you here and now.”

  She shuddered, the depth of commitment in that threat sending waves of desire through her and dampening her thights just a little more. She pulled air into her lungs, inhaling Derrick’s scent and the underlying cigar aroma. The wilderness, the scent of tangy jungle and lush lands accosted her and her nostrils flared.

  He stepped closer, pressing his erection into her belly.

  Nipples hardened and wetness coated her thighs. She couldn’t think with him standing so near.

  “You’re going to answer me, Sonja. You said we’re mated. Fine. Believe me, I’m more okay with this than you might think.” He narrowed his eyes. “But you tried something on me. It wouldn’t work. Why?”

  No, it wouldn’t. She couldn’t pull the wool over his eyes, not fully anyway. Magic could do tremendous things, but with her mate, it would only go so far if used for manipulation. The target had to be willing. Derrick fought tooth and nail to defend his mind and it made her wonder what else he harbored that he no longer needed. She had to realize if she cared enough to prod repeatedly, and yes, even to trick him, then they had a destiny together.

  At her concerts, crowds gave way to her manipulation with ease because people always looked for excuses to bleed. She dealt easily with the mental chemistry required to change physical bloodletting into emotional bleeding. Well, that and the fact that they were often inebriated which lowered inhibitions.

  Her mate would know her thoughts.

  “You’re not going to answer me?”

  She stared at the broad expanse of his chest. She wanted to speak, to do something, to say something. Anger poured off him but not in waves. More like in a slow stream, the energy flowed from him, and it made sense now.

  If they were mated, he would balance her. And Max was right.

  Dammit.

  She wanted to seethe, but it’d do no good. Besides, up until she’d had phenomenal sex with Derrick, she only had her music to take her aggression.

  She understood clinging to her emotions. Anger, violence, vitriol. Those feelings she dealt with in her music. Death metal was never tender though it held a dark resplendence. Derrick, however angry he seemed, wasn’t giving her a rough time.

  He simply wanted an answer to a question.

  She stuttered. “I can’t. I wanted to help you, goddammit. I can’t tell you why it didn’t take this time.” Tears stung the backs of her eyes.

  His expression, energy, all softened and his lips parted. She watched the slow movements of his tongue sliding out, licking his lip and imagining it on her lips. She had no idea what to say next but her pussy clenched in response to his simple movement, bringing her back to the reality that they were going to have sex again.

  He seemed to loom over her now. He dwarfed her in height, made her feel small and girly. She hadn’t felt that way in a long while. Even when they fucked, she’d felt like she’d been well fucked, not made love to.

  One question she had to ponder: did she truly pay attention to Derrick, or was she just using him as an outlet for her magic because her life had been disrupted?

  His hands gripped her shoulders. He bent down and looked her in the eyes. Annoyance rolled off him. Nothing she couldn’t manage.

  The corners of his mouth curled upward in a smile. “I love that you alone make me hard. And that you can pull tension from me. Feel it roll off my body in gentle waves.”

  She started to lean into him but he held her fast. Then she knew she wasn’t using him. She’d never admit it—not her style—but she at least had love for him.

  The emotions swarming off him slowed to a dull roar that only she could hear, only she could feel. They concentrated, centered over her heart, and wrapped around it like a soft blanket.

  Her breath caught in her throat.

  “I don’t know what you’ve done to me, but I know we’re bound,” he whispered, his voice so low another human would have strained to hear it.

  Her eyes widened, she nearly choked on a breath. Her chest tightened with need, with fear. “How? How do you know I did it?”

  His nostrils flared. He shook his head, blinked, and brought his mouth dangerously close to hers. “I don’t know. I just feel it.” He took her hand in his, held it to his chest.

  His heart beat a steady rhythm beneath her hand, pulsing with life. Pounding with desire cloaked by the annoyance of her earlier actions, it still beat a steady chorus to her own.

  “Why don’t you…” Her mouth felt dry. Her body ached, muscles clenched between her thighs. Breasts felt heavy until Derrick cupped them both.

  He leaned forward again, took her mouth slowly.

  She let his tongue roam over the contours of her lips before feeling it slide down her collarbone, neck, and over the tops of her breasts.

  Heat seared her flesh, cream wet her slickness.

  “I want you, my mate.” The depths of his emotions were buried in the deep growl of his voice.

  She knew exactly how his heart yearned for her even if he feared this relationship.

  It scared him. Good. It scared her
, too.

  “Come with me, my pretty witch.”

  “Make me come,” she begged, aware of the breathlessness in her voice. She didn’t care. Flames of lust singed her, controlled her body now—not her mind, not logic. Every nerve burned and needed sating by fulfillment, and the only fulfillment that existed for her was Derrick.

  He undid the snap on his jeans, tore them down his hips with one hand, and held his cock against her belly. “Beg me.”

  The air rushed out of her lungs at his incredulous demand. She stared at him, mouth hanging open, before she finally said the one thing. “Now?” Her voice had grown raspy.

  “Yes.”

  Derrick wanted the mating game. She’d let the secret out and he was going to take it full on, dominance and all.

  Could she beg?

  “I’m burning for you, baby. I need inside of you. Beg me.” He growled, a low sound that rumbled through her chest, exciting her further.

  She wanted, needed. “Where?”

  He narrowed his eyes, the puma’s glow becoming dangerously visible to her now. “Inside you, now. I want inside you.”

  “Yes.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her. “But where? We’ve already soiled—”

  His mouth claimed hers possessively. His tongue thrust past her lips in a forceful move that demonstrated his claim on her.

  Her body responded by tensing.

  Derrick’s fingers massaged her ass, roamed up her hips, and reached her breasts. One hand pulled her to him.

  She felt the swollen flesh of his cock and her body ached for it. She wanted him—needed him. She pulled back, savored the taste of his mouth and masculinity. Before she knew it, his hands were on her hips, turning her around.

  “I need you badly,” he mouthed against her back.

  A shiver of delight ran straight up her spine and shot cream to her pussy. Her thighs slicked even more, spread apart when he thrust a knee between them and kicked her stance open.

  Again, his fingers dug into her hips and pulled her back from the counter. One arm bent her forward, the other tugged lightly on her hair. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured against her ear. “So very beautiful.”

  She felt the head of his cock press into her opening, and before she could react, he impaled her. Sonja gasped, arched her back, and thrust against him.

  He filled her to the hilt.

  His fingers dug into her flesh, the palm of one hand roamed up her flat stomach and cupped a breast. Fingers pinched her nipple into an even tighter peak, pulling a scream from her.

  She wanted this, needed the connection with him if they were to be bound and mated. She’d think about the consequences later, but for now, she needed him to satisfy her.

  The aching bud between her legs swelled.

  Slowly, Derrick pulled out of her. His hands shook against her.

  Slickness coated his dick inside her and made it slightly easier for her to take his length and girth, but when he thrust in deep and hard, harder than before, it tore a scream from her.

  Derrick stoked the fire inside her, slowly though, taking time to truly show his appreciation.

  His mouth lowered against her neck, lips caressed her skin.

  She turned to look at him, intense lust burning in half open eyes, her hands gripping the marble countertop so hard her knuckles turned white.

  Derrick slammed into her again, her muscles responding to him by clenching him tighter than he ever thought possible. He growled his low sounds of pleasure into her ear. “Goddamn, you’re so tight. If we’re mates…” He let the words trail off as he pulled back and thrust inside her again.

  “If the sex is at least worth it…” She tried to get the full sentence out, but he moved and growled again.

  He withdrew and plunged in rapidly and began a rhythm of thrusting, pausing, slapping her ass with one hand, and fondling her breast in the palm of the other.

  The sensations produced from everything pulled the knot in her belly even tighter until it was too much. Her eyes slammed shut, her breathing became ragged while her muscles clenched around Derrick’s cock.

  “You’re so tight, baby, so damn tight. A man could get lost in you forever.”

  She barely heard the words but understood them very well. Each thrust reassured her that her body and heart enslaved her. She’d had a few one-night stands and some of her fans had been good, great even. But none were magnificent. Not like Derrick. None could be counted on to come after her or risk their lives for her. For seemingly no reason.

  Before she could finish another thought, Derrick’s hand caught her ass cheek, sending a stinging throughout her that pushed her over the chasm.

  He kept pumping, pushing. His teeth caught flesh and his tongue danced over her skin.

  She arched against him, into him, letting the force of her orgasm explode through her entire being.

  Out it burst, while he continued thrusting inside her.

  “Spill inside me, puma!”

  He picked up the slight hint of magic that could have pulled his orgasm. Derrick thrust faster, harder, but stopped slapping her ass. Instead, he gripped her tightly, drove himself into her, and bit down on her shoulder possessively.

  In seconds, he filled her cream-soaked pussy with cum, shooting deep inside her several times before he stopped. His body shook around hers, adding to the tremors that whipped through her.

  Sweat-covered and cum-filled, Sonja felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and hold her against the strong body behind her. With him still inside her, his mouth fell on her, tasting, licking.

  She could barely turn her head to meet his kisses. Reaching up was a chore, but she managed to capture him and thread her fingers through the dark strands of hair. Derrick’s scent smelled of her, sex, and man.

  She couldn’t ignore the fact that his eyes had changed shape again, resembling the primal puma now, not the man who could shift.

  She should be afraid.

  But surrounded by Derrick’s arms, the dread she should feel didn’t seem so bad. In fact, his strong arms reassured her, put her at ease with the world.

  This she liked. Very much so.

  “I’ll be the therapist now.” He interrupted the silence with a nuzzle to her cheek.

  She cocked a brow. “Hmm?”

  “It’s going to cost you.” He wriggled his hips against her, stirring her passion again, despite how tired she’d suddenly grown.

  “What keeps such a pretty witch up at night? Talk to me, lover. Basic therapy, not witchcraft, like you said earlier, right?”

  Should she? The shit weighing down her head was no different than what Derrick carried, what she’d taken from him, but she didn’t want to add to his burden. He’d had enough, and with the little gift she’d placed in his heart, he’d be able to mitigate that somewhat and she could help him once things ended between them, even from across the globe. She yawned and tried to cover her mouth, but he took her hand and placed a chaste kiss on her palm, sealed her fingers around it, and held it to his heart. “Later, baby?”

  “I’ll hold you to that promise.”

  She nodded and settled against him. Perhaps there could be peace with Derrick. They could deal with the worlds they lived in, though she had to admit that all she knew about him came directly from his actions. Steadfast, he’d come through every time she needed someone. He stroked her bare thighs and held her against him, as though he could protect her.

  In that moment, she believed it. It didn’t matter that in a few days this would all be over, she had right now. And right now, she swallowed the lump in her throat and realized that Derrick had left a permanent mark on her heart.

  Chapter Nine

  Showered again, this time both of them dressed with the intent to act after getting the last bit of information needed from the bear. Max was awaiting their call.

  She wore black jeans and a low-cut top that showed off the lower half of her forearms. Her blood-red mane hung around her face, e
mphasizing round eyes and plump lips.

  With her perfect hips swaying, Derrick had trouble keeping his eyes off her ass.

  She also wore his trench coat and he decided he liked how it looked on her, giving her the impression of creeping death that would intensify when she wore corpse paint.

  Even though Max shared a file of her earlier, Derrick knew more than that file could ever contain. Her body rocked, responded to his. Her courageous attitude wouldn’t let her show fear even though he smelled it on her. Humans couldn’t hide scent, and when she tried, he found it cute. Even told her once. But her nervous laughter confirmed his thoughts and only made him hold her closer. He would never accuse her of being weak or lesser.

  Derrick smiled at her, blew a puff of smoke over her head, and held her hand in his.

  He’d dressed ready to kill. Steel-toed boots, long-sleeved dress shirt, and lightweight black pants hugged his form. He kept his hair down, too—at Sonja’s request.

  The puma almost reared its head at being told what to do, reminding him of his animalistic nature. That scared him just a little. She had proclaimed they were mates. He hadn’t bothered to really question it, but it was easier to go with how he felt, even though it terrified him. Allowing harm to come to her made him even more determined to hold onto her.

  It made sense that he felt overly protective over her. Even now she fought against herself—he read the expression on her face. What horrid nightmares kept her awake at night? She’d said the energy she picked up was negative; maybe he could filter that for her, too. In the same sense, he could hold off or filter the day-to-day stuff after her shows if they were to make a go of things. Maybe they would balance each other out. He noted his nightmares seemed not to exist these days.

  He leaned back against the leather recliner facing the door; a gun lay at his side, loaded and cocked in case someone other than Max came through it. Bars covered the windows, though it was ridiculous to think someone would try to scale the building just to come in through the windows. The walls of the former storage space were metal, slick, and kept fairly clean, with just enough dirt and wear and tear to keep out the average intruder.