Match Me Later (Chinese Zodiac Romance Series Book 4)

by Rachael Slate

  “And she said something very interesting.” He nipped at her skin. She jolted and he seized her wrists, snaring them above her head. As she squirmed, he shoved one knee between her thighs. “Naya.” He purred her name, his voice husky and deep in warning.

  Shifting her wrists to one of his hands, he lowered the other, skimming the tips of his fingers along her curves, down to the hem of her skirt. He slid them underneath, gliding his rough palm up her thigh. “She thinks you haven’t been feeding. Probably never did. Is it true?”

  She notched her chin and forced her breaths even. “Is what true?”

  He lowered his face, inches from hers. “Do you thirst for only me?” His knee pushed against her sex, a firm, heated pressure.

  “Of course not.” She forced a scoff even as her pulse raced. His hand was so large, so warm. So close…

  He eased back, one brow cocked. “How about we check, eh?” Pressing his forehead to hers, he rubbed his thumb in circles along her thigh. “Have you started wearing panties?”

  His deep rumbling questions echoed through her, settling low in her core. She fought against squeezing her thighs tighter—that would only make it worse. And more noticeable. Damn him. The pressure eased off her as he drew back his knee, but only to inch his hand closer. “Are you wet for me, Naya? Should we find out?”

  She licked her lips. “Are you certain you want to?” What the hell was wrong with this man? He clearly didn’t take well to rejection. If his fingers inched any closer, she’d lose every argument against refusing him—twice. The power he held over her was the perfect excuse for not succumbing to it. Whatever dominance he had on her, it would backfire against both of them.

  She was a fox spirit. He was a human. They weren’t meant to be paired for more than one night. With him, even one night had been too much.

  “Aren’t you?” Ryden cursed under his breath and pulled back from Naya, releasing her. When Daji had disclosed Naya’s lack of feeding, he’d taken it as her hunger for him. But now, he was just bloody confused. Although all signs pointed to her arousal, if he pressed his fingers between her thighs and she wasn’t wet for him…

  He’d rather not know.

  “Fine. Have it your way. I don’t fucking care anymore.” These games had taken him for a hellish rollercoaster ride these past two months and he’d be glad to be done with them. Done with her.

  She lowered her hands and smoothed her hair. “Just like that? You’re really giving up?”

  “I’m too tired to play your games.”

  “Who said I was playing? I really don’t desire you, Ryden. I’m a fox spirit. I will never belong to only one man.”

  “Well, now that that’s cleared up, mind if I finish my movie?” He didn’t wait for her permission as he strode down the aisle and sank into the seat beside his cold popcorn. Dammit. Stretching out, he sighed and pretended to be interested in the zombies tearing humans limb from limb.

  “They got this so wrong.” Naya hopped into the chair beside him and stuck her hand into his popcorn, seizing a handful and plopping them one by one into her sweet mouth.

  What the fuck? “What are you doing?”

  She shrugged. “What does it look like? I’m watching a movie. Really, those are not zombies. Well, not jiangshi at least.”

  “Have a lot of experience with zombies, do you?” He twisted toward her, lifting one brow.

  “Some.” She hummed and snatched another handful of his popcorn.

  “Why are you eating?”

  She blinked twice. “Just because we feed off energy doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy food.”

  “Huh.” He stuck his hand into the bucket and grabbed a few pieces. “How often do you have to, ah, feed?” Fuck. His shaft twitched, a slow throbbing gathering in his ballocks.

  “You’d really like to know?” The corner of her mouth twitched, intriguing him further.

  “Yeah. Doesn’t the Queen feed off human hearts or something?”

  She leaned over and trailed one claw across his chest, tapping above his heart. “Would you like me to?” Laughing at his scowl, she lounged back in her seat. “Well, it depends. On the male. On the rawness of his energy. It can be weeks, or months.” She took a sip from his water bottle. “It depends on the female too. A Queen like Daji requires more, because she sustains us all.”

  He cocked his head. “What do you mean?” This, he’d never heard before.

  “Picture my race like a tree. The Queen forms our roots. Without her, we can’t survive.”

  “Wow. She must be pretty powerful then.”

  Naya tugged her bottom lip into her mouth.

  Hmm. “Isn’t she?” He pressed further. If Price wasn’t aware of this already, he should be informed.

  “Her time is coming to an end. A new Queen will be chosen.”

  Whoa. Damn, he sure hoped Price knew. “Who’s the new Queen?”

  Naya faced the screen and popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth. “Me.”

  Her declaration buzzed in and out of his ears. Had he heard that correctly? Naya would be the new Queen? Well, shit. What about Daji and his brother?

  “When?”

  “Soon.” She fingered a piece of popcorn, held it up for her inspection, and slipped it into her mouth. Between those succulent ruby lips he’d love to lick. Would they be a mixture of sweet and salty? “She had to wait until I reached the age of maturity, until I fed.”

  “Which technically, you haven’t done yet.”

  Her lips parted in a hiss as she glared at him. “That is none of your concern. I merely got sidetracked. Once I’ve regained some strength, I’ll return to the earthly realm and feed.”

  “Sidetracked how?” He dismissed her other threat, of feeding from some strange dude. The reluctance in her tone made him not quite believe it. Or hell, maybe that was just wishful thinking.

  She hedged a glance at him, lowering her voice. “I located a few of my sisters and I have to rescue them, but Daji can’t learn of my plans.” Her hands twisted in her lap. “I need to do this on my own, to prove I’m ready to be the next Queen.”

  His hands tightened into fists. “The motherfucker who hit you?”

  She pursed her lips. Guess she wasn’t talking. He unclenched his jaw, strategizing. No way in hell would he let her go after that sonofabitch alone. “Well, damn. You’re not doing any rescuing by yourself, not with the shape you’re in.” She cast him a glower, but he tossed up his hands. “Don’t deny it.”

  “Fine. Maybe you’re right.” She puffed out her breath. “I still have to try. Daji might appear bulletproof, but she’s not as resilient as she once was. I need my people to learn they can count on me. I will get them through this.”

  Right. The dying of her race, made even worse by the Red Death plaguing a good chunk of the human world. Price had told him about the fox spirits’ bleak future. He peered at Naya. She was fierce, intelligent, and dedicated. If she was their future Queen, his gut told him they would be just fine.

  That didn’t ease the one nagging question drilling into his brain. “How long will Daji’s energy sustain you?”

  The lights from the movie flashed across her face, revealing tightly pressed lips.

  “It won’t, will it?” Fuck this. He made the decision before he had a chance to back out. Ryden rose and planted his hands on either side of her chair. “If you aren’t strong enough, you’re going to fail.”

  “I won’t. Failure isn’t an option.” She murmured the words, her tone lacking assuredness.

  “Are you willing to take that risk? The fate of your race?” She lowered her lashes, fanning them across her cheeks.

  “Dammit, Naya. Look at me.” Gripping her chin, he forced her gaze onto his. “Last night, you nearly died from stubbornness. Will it be worth it, when you fail your people because of your pride?”

  Yep, he was definitely a glutton for punishment. Because his next words were as damning as they were addictive. “Let me help you regain your strength. I’ll
be by your side, and if you don’t need me, fine. But if you…”

  Her lashes lifted, her eyes widening at his offer. Yeah, it surprised him too. He refused to stand by while her race died because of…well, him. For whatever reason, she required him to survive.

  “If I don’t agree?”

  “I’ll tell your Queen how weak you really are. The real reason you won’t feed. I doubt that makes you a good candidate for the throne.”

  “You’d blackmail me?” Her eyes flashed silver.

  “If that’s what you want to call it. Yes.” Sinking into his chair, he faced the screen again.

  As he grabbed for the bucket of popcorn, she snared it out of his grasp. “Why do you care?”

  “Well, I like most fox spirits. If they’re important to my brother, they are to me. Once you’re Queen, you’ll never have to see me again. Promise.”

  She angled her face aside, and damn, he wished he could tell what she was thinking. As she shifted back toward him, her eyes sparkled. “Deal, but don’t get your hopes—or your cock—up. I won’t be needing you.”

  Ryden snatched the bucket of popcorn. Though he’d won the argument with Naya, nothing about this seemed like a victory. The woman he craved clearly didn’t feel the same toward him. She’d risked pretty much everything not to be with him. If that wasn’t a blow to his ego…

  “You look different. Than you did at the club.” And in my flat, when I was inside you… Hell.

  “Part of being a fox spirit.” She hummed. “We can shift forms to make ourselves more enticing to the male of our choosing.”

  His appreciation drifted up and down along her fine figure. “I find that hard to believe. That any man wouldn’t desire you like this. I mean, this is your true form, right?”

  A sly grin curved her lips as she rose and draped one leg across his lap, leaning forward to straddle him. “Baby, I can be anything, anyone, you wish.” Plucking his hand, she drew it to cup her breast, which grew heavier in his palm. The fabric stretched tight across her chest as her breasts swelled. She tossed her hair aside, the strands flickering to a deep shade of crimson. Despite the invitation to grope her, he wrenched back his hand, gaping at her tricks. Straightening, she combed her fingers through her locks, the curls flickering to different shades. Red, brown, blonde.

  She laughed and shot him a coy glance, lashes fluttering. “Maybe you prefer me like this?” Her hands flattened against her scalp, and as she smoothed them along her face, her hair wisped around her chin in shiny black waves.

  Like at the nightclub.

  Criss-crossing her hands, she slid them down her arms, her bountiful breasts perking into the small, full ones she’d sported that night.

  He frowned. His cock didn’t differentiate. Naya was sexy as hell to him no matter what she looked like. “You’re beautiful, Naya, exactly the way you are. Why change yourself to please some asshole?” Yeah, a motherfucker who wouldn’t be getting anywhere near her. If he couldn’t have her, he certainly wasn’t going to let anyone else close either.

  “Survival. Plenty of creatures change their appearances in order to survive.”

  “Well, you don’t have to. I’m right here, and I don’t need any convincing.” He arched a brow toward his rigid shaft. “Why are you fighting this so hard? Justifying your nature in one breath and refusing to feed in the next?”

  She was a complete contradiction. And hell, but that made the chase that much sweeter.

  “You’re reading me all wrong, babe. I’m not opposed to feeding off other men.” She wriggled off his lap and sashayed from the theater. Fuck. She enjoyed playing him, making him hard and ready, then tossing ice water on his arousal, did she?

  He saw through her games. Naya wasn’t repelled by him; she was afraid of the deep threads drawing them together. She was afraid…one taste would never be enough.

  She was right.

  It wouldn’t.

  ***

  The next morning, Naya gathered her hair into a ponytail and secured it with an elastic band. Ryden was right—about too many things. She desired him, and denying that longing was the only thing keeping her mind set on her goals.

  Despite Daji’s mating, the Queen didn’t tie herself to any one male. If Naya aspired to the title, there was no backing down. Although Daji hadn’t come right out and confirmed it last night when Naya had thanked her for the feeding, the Queen had hinted that her mating with Price was a temporary situation.

  Naya huffed her frustration and made for the gym. An hour on the treadmill ought to purge her libido. The Queen’s energy was reviving her stores, and she couldn’t afford to be distracted by enticing males with dark, soulful eyes.

  As she rounded the corner, giggling up ahead caught her ears. Huh? Half a dozen of her sisters gathered outside the gym, their noses practically glued to the window. What are they staring at?

  She marched toward them, peeking through the gaps in the crowd to peer through the glass.

  Oh no. Ryden. He was doing chin-ups in the far corner, his chiseled arms lifting and lowering his heavy frame with ease.

  She dragged her gaze along the hard edges of his sculpted body. His black shorts framed sexy, thickly-muscled thighs, and his black T-shirt fit snugly around the bulges of his large biceps. The athletic material molded to the ripples of his abdomen, all of that tightly toned brawn flexing purely for feminine enjoyment. She honed in on the tiny beads of sweat glistening his bronzed skin and meandering a lazy path downward, and…

  “Really,” she snapped at the women. “Don’t you have better things to do than ogle our houseguest?”

  “Nah-uhn.” The blonde, Akara, popped her bubble of gum. “This is by far the best expenditure of my time.”

  The two brunettes at her side giggled. “Such a shame he won’t play with us.”

  “I want to be that towel.” Davi sighed, fluttering her lashes as Ryden swiped a white linen towel across his forehead.

  Ugh.

  “Let’s accidentally walk in on him in the shower again.” Ary elbowed Davi.

  “Let’s not.” Naya rolled her eyes and shooed the horny females away. As she veered into the gym, Ryden stared at her, one brow raised. In challenge.

  Oh damn. Had he noticed the other females or did he assume she’d been spying on him?

  Shoulders straight, she marched into the gym and set her water bottle on one of the treadmills. She hopped on, totally ignoring Ryden’s questioning stare.

  Muffled thumps droned, and she dared a peek in his direction. He’d resumed his workout, slamming his fists into the punching bag, dodging from side to side as he pummeled his inanimate opponent.

  Guess she wasn’t the only one seeking satisfaction in bodily exhaustion. Naya switched on the treadmill and jogged.

  “Wanna spar?” Ryden’s rich baritone purred behind her. Jolting, she switched off the treadmill. She bit her lip, because her mouth definitely wanted to say yes.

  “Of course, if you’re afraid I’ll beat you—”

  “I’m gonna kick your ass.” Whirling, she shot him a sweet smile, batting her lashes. “Or don’t you think a fox spirit capable?”

  His stare traveled up her legs, paused for a few seconds on her breasts, and landed on hers. “The rumor is, you’re gentle and avoid violence.”

  She repressed the shiver coursing through her core at his heated perusal. “Well, you heard wrong. We may not enjoy violence, but we can definitely dish it out.” Flicking out her wrist, she slashed her claws through the air. “Very effectively.”

  He grinned at her demonstration. “I’d like to see you try.”

  She narrowed her eyes at his taunt. No doubt, he’d intended his words to provoke her. Engage her emotions and make her lose focus. He wasn’t the only one with that plan.

  Naya adjusted her snug, black bra-top, plumping her breasts. Ryden’s hooded gaze riveted to her chest. Ha. She arched her back and took a large step forward, sinking into an exaggerated stretch and arching her spine to wriggle her
ass under his nose. “Gotta stretch first.” She smirked over her shoulder at his gaping jaw. “Wouldn’t want to pull a muscle.”

  A light scoff passed his lips. “Yeah, sure.” He tugged his shirt over his head and winked. “Hot in here.” His glistening abs flexed with his shallow inhalations, as though he calmed his obvious arousal. No hiding desire from a fox spirit. Lust was as tangible to her as a scent drifting on a breeze, as the shimmer of a rainbow through a cloud.

  Right now, Ryden was most definitely on the edge.

  “Shall we begin?” His cocked brow and the quirk in the corner of his lips would soon be history. She lunged forward, slicing her claw at his shoulder. He seized her wrist and spun her around, hauling her to his chest. “This is how I like to play.” His fingertips skimmed to her waist, curling over her hip, and his hand crushed her ass into his pelvis. The long, hard ridge of him left no doubt as to his meaning. Or his state of arousal.

  Naya huffed and slammed her foot on top of his. “Too bad I don’t.”

  “Argh.” As he released her, she spun and smirked at him. Hopping, he switched his weight to the opposite foot.

  She kicked out at his middle, but he snatched her foot and swung her upward, lifting her by the ankle in front of him. He dangled her with one hand, his large, powerful arm easily bearing her weight while he lowered her gently to the floor.

  Hissing, Naya kicked her leg out at his knee, knocking him off balance. His ass planted on the mats and she sprang on top of him. He growled and snared her hips, rolling her over. “Let’s whip you into shape, yeah, Your Highness?”

  She drew a knee up between his legs, but before she could shove it into his groin, he flipped them in a somersault. Propelling her weight forward, she ended the flip straddling his shoulders. She pinned his shoulders with her hips, locking her legs. “Now who’s whipping who into shape? Seems like, I’m the one who’s got you at a disadvantage.” She teased one sharp claw along his Adam’s apple. “One more move and I win.”

  He grabbed her ass and shoved her sex closer to his lips. “One more move and I’m pretty sure I win.” His warm breath heated her core. “I can’t get your sweet taste out of my head.” As he wet his lips, his fingers dug tighter into her ass.