Leopard's Run

by Christine Feehan

  “Stop. You have to stop.” Evangeline rushed toward the two snarling leopards.

  Fyodor caught her and held her back. Beau watched as Temnyy bit down hard into the neck of his brother’s leopard, but he didn’t say a word, nor did he try to shift. Christophe began to rip his shirt off, while Ambroise backed away from the two fighting cats.

  “Don’t,” Fyodor commanded Christophe. “Timur, take control of your leopard and back off. Gilbert is finished. You’re going to kill him.”

  Timur cursed under his breath. He’d only been fighting for less than three minutes maximum and already they were surrounded by others. Ashe, thankfully, had done as he’d asked and was safe inside the guesthouse. He had no choice but to stop Temnyy from killing Gilbert’s leopard. He couldn’t very well kill him in front of Evangeline, but it was going to happen and soon.

  He forced Temnyy to let go of the other cat’s throat. Gilbert’s cat lay panting and submissive, terrified to move one inch. Temnyy reacted the way all triumphant cats did. He snarled, paced, swiped his paw at his fallen challenger and then raced back to grip him in a suffocating hold. Timur took a firmer hold on his cat. Snarling, Temnyy once again complied, backing away.

  When he got his leopard calm enough, he directed him toward the guesthouse and away from the humans. He wasn’t feeling very humane himself in that moment. He wanted to rend and tear and rip into Evangeline’s family. He wanted to snarl at his brother for stopping him from killing. Mostly, he needed to get to Ashe. Her scent had driven him crazy and Temnyy was even more so, in the throes of their females being in heat.

  Deliberately, Timur shifted, going to his full height instantly, walking naked, his back to them, letting Evangeline’s family see what they were dealing with. He had scars. Masses of them on his back, buttocks and thighs. They were from leopards as well as from whatever implement his father had thought would induce the most pain the fastest. Let them see that he’d survived all that.

  They needed to learn respect. Temnyy was a vicious combatant, one that no other leopard should challenge unless they were prepared to die. He didn’t fight to allow his enemy to come back another day. He fought to kill. He stalked into the house and slammed the door hard, letting his brother know he could go to hell. There would be no one disturbing him until his woman was completely sated and so tired she couldn’t move.

  She was waiting for him, the gun on the table beside her hand. She had stripped down to her bra and panties in anticipation of his win. He would talk to her about that later; right now, there was only one thing to do. He didn’t stop walking once the door was closed. He stalked right across the room, knocking away the one chair blocking him with a swipe of his hand, clearing his path to her.

  He went right up to her, caught the front of her bra with one hand and ripped down as he fisted her hair, tipped up her face and slammed his mouth down on hers. Fuck. Fuck. She was pure fire. The heat hit like a fireball, pouring down his throat and rushing through his veins to settle into a storm of flames in his groin.

  He walked her backward until she was pinned against the wall and he could lift her, taking her left breast into his mouth, wanting to swallow her whole. He sucked hard, heard her cries, felt her fists in his hair, her body squirming against his. His settled her on his thigh, so she could rub all that fiery heat over him while he suckled. He worked her right nipple hard, feeling the flow of liquid every time he tugged or rolled. He raked with his teeth, bit down lightly, lapped with his tongue, used the suction of his mouth to drive her wild.

  He was wild, feral almost, the adrenaline from the fight in his bloodstream, driving him to greater peaks of hunger and need. He was desperate for her, needing to hear her moans, needing her to surrender everything she was to him. He would take nothing less. His mouth moved from her nipples to the undersides of her breasts, determined to claim every inch of her. There would be no doubt who she belonged to before the night was over.

  He used his teeth there, his tongue, sucking and then gently biting his way around her breasts and down her belly. Her moans and pleas added to the thundering roar in his ears. He slid his hands down her spine, taking her in, feeling every inch of her that he could reach. His woman. His heart jerked so hard in his chest he was afraid it would shatter.

  He was on his knees, yanking her thighs apart, catching every drop of honey she had. Ruthless with his tongue, desperate for everything she was. Ashe. He was so in love with her he wasn’t certain what to do with the overwhelming emotion that shook him to his very foundation.

  Timur knew, in the throes of a female leopard’s heat, sex was rough and hot, but he also knew his woman was sore. She had to be scared after what had happened with his challenger. He needed to find a way to temper the drive their leopards gave them.

  She shattered twice and then he was taking her down to the floor, knowing he’d never make it into the bedroom. He framed her face with his hands and looked into eyes that were ringed heavily, eyes so amber they glowed at him.

  “I never want you to think for one moment that I don’t love you. That I’m with you for my leopard, Ashe. I’m with you for me.” He brushed kisses over both eyes. He wished there was another word to use. People loved all kinds of things. Men said it to women everywhere, but then walked away. He could never walk away from her. He knew it would be impossible to lose the feeling that was so strong it shook him.

  He guided his cock into her, determined to be gentle when his body was desperate to surge into her. He watched her face for any signs of discomfort. “Tell me,” he commanded when she winced. When he stopped, she tried to push herself onto him. “I need to know what this feels like.”

  Her tongue moistened her lips. He groaned and kissed her. How could he possibly resist that invitation? When he did, he slipped a little deeper into her. She felt like silk wrapping around him tightly. Scorching hot. It was difficult to hold himself still.

  “Good, Timur. It feels good,” she whispered, touching his face, skimming her finger over his rough jaw. She let that finger move down his chest, as if she was just tracing his muscles.

  His body reacted to the feel of her touch, but it was his heart that seemed in the most jeopardy. “Tell me everything.”

  “It burns, but in a good way. I feel like I’m going up in flames and only you can take the burn away. I don’t know how something that feels so good can make me feel so desperate.”

  He kissed her, because he was feeling a little desperate himself. It wasn’t easy holding back, not when everything in him insisted he let the fire consume him. He threaded his fingers through hers and drew her arms up above her head.

  “Look at me, Ashe. Look at me while I move in you.” He fought his body to give her slow. To give her gentle. Her eyes were wide open, staring into his. Her sheath clamped hard around his cock, scorching hot, the friction incredible, so that his entire body shuddered with pleasure. The way she looked at him shook him. Those amber eyes drifted possessively over his face, as if he was a good man, a white knight, the best man in the world.

  “When you look at me like that, baby, I feel like I’m worth something.” The admission came out against her mouth where he took her breath into his lungs.

  “You’re everything to me, Timur,” she whispered back.

  His heart turned over when he heard the truth in her voice. Her hips moved, rising to meet his, until there was no holding back for either of them. He was loving her with every stroke, every surge into her, every streak of lightning that he induced in her. Then they both were going up in flames and floating together. He kept his hold on her, fingers tight through hers while they drifted down.

  He took her twice more, once bent over the kitchen table and once against the wall. He tried to be careful, but their leopards drove them and there was no going back from that. He took her into the bedroom where he could press warm cloths between her legs in an effort to ease the soreness. She was small. He was on the larger side. Rough sex might sound great, and for him, felt great, but f
or her, no matter how good it was, the aftermath was something else and he didn’t like it, nor did he know what to do about it.

  “How are we going to let them run? Godiva wants out. How are we going to let them mate?” Ashe whispered, as if the leopards wouldn’t hear them. “There are male leopards everywhere. Temnyy can’t fight them all off.”

  Temnyy could and would, but Timur wasn’t going to tell her that. “Tell her a few more minutes.” He wanted to make certain Ashe had time to rest. He had a plan to let the leopards run, just not on this part of the estate. Not with so many guards out.

  He stroked back her hair, enjoying just lying next to her, his body curled protectively around hers.

  “Timur.” She rolled over and propped herself up on one elbow. “Is there any way out of all of this? I know you’re in deep, that it was something you were born into, but we don’t need to be a part of it, do we?”

  Her voice trembled and when she touched him, he felt the same tremor in her fingers. He wanted to give her everything and knew she was thinking of a future with him, a future with children.

  “I’m sorry, malen’kiy smerch . For the first time in my life, when Drake Donovan laid the plan out for us, I felt like we were part of something worthwhile. I might still have to live dirty, but we’re cleaning up the worst of the criminal lairs. That’s what we do, Ashe, and I’m proud to be a part of it. Coming from a lair that was so violent and vile, seeing the cruelty of men driven by killer leopards, I felt shame at who I was, at what I was. Drake gave us a sense of purpose. He made us feel that those years we had behind us, years of being forced to do our father’s bidding, would finally be of help to someone, maybe make up for some of the shit things we had to do.”

  Ashe leaned into him and brushed a kiss along the heavy muscles of his chest. “I’m not certain I understand what you mean. You told me, but tell me again. Make me understand so I feel that the two of us staying here, living with the cops coming at us and enemies everywhere, is worth it. You’re worth it, but I have to know that the things you do are worth it as well.”

  She hadn’t pulled away, and that gave him a sense of relief. She didn’t react until she had all the information, and he loved her all the more for that. She’d need that a lot with him.

  “Drake’s idea was to take out the worst of the criminal leopards from the inside. Elijah Lospostos, like me, was born into a world of violence and crime. He inherited the mantle but didn’t want it. By the time he realized it was impossible to get out, he’d met Drake Donovan. Drake runs an agency that goes anywhere in the world and retrieves kidnap victims. He also works with Jake Bannaconni to take down the worst criminals.” He would explain it to her over and over until she understood what they were trying to do.

  Ashe frowned. “If you’re already working undercover, you could at least go to someone in law enforcement …” When he shook his head, she rubbed her finger along his jaw. “It’s a way out, Timur. For all of you. At least the cops would be off your backs.”

  “That would be too risky. Sooner or later someone would be on a payroll and we’d be running for our lives. This way, we’re in a close-knit group. We have to rely on one another. That group is growing faster than we anticipated. We were only supposed to go after leopards. The world of shifters has different rules than human law, and we handle the criminals accordingly, but now, it seems as if we have to make a decision whether or not to include humans we know are particularly ruthless and just plain fucked-up.”

  “Like Ulisse and his human trafficking.”

  He nodded, watching her closely, his heart pounding, adrenaline racing through his veins.

  She bit down on her lower lip, her lashes fluttering against her cheek. “It’s even more dangerous than if you were a criminal, Timur.”

  “I am a criminal, Ashe. The friends you’re going to have will be the wives of the men I trust. Our children will play with their children. There will always be bodyguards and guns and me telling you or the kids no to something you want to do.”

  She seemed more committed now, and interested, as if she was trying to figure out a way to help him, to help them all and find where she might fit in their world. She asked him questions, dozens of them, and he answered as honestly as he could. He found her interest settled him just a little more.

  Ashe rose up on her elbows, looking him straight in the eye. “You’re not just staying for your brother, are you, Timur? I need to know absolutely that you’re committed to me, that if you had a choice, you’d go with me far from this life.”

  He had to think about that. Would he leave Fyodor? Would he leave his life here? What would he do? He wasn’t capable of doing many other things. “I’m absolutely committed to you, Ashe,” he acknowledged. Those, he knew, were the truest words he’d ever spoken. “As for the leaving this life and my brother, I honestly don’t know. If I had to choose, I would choose you every single time. I’m not staying just for him. But if we left, we would be hunted for the rest of our days by both sides. More, this is my only chance to make a difference, to hopefully make something good come out of the bad I was born into.”

  He watched her closely to see her reaction. Ashe nodded her head. “Thank you. It was important to me that you told me the truth.”

  What did that mean? He didn’t have time to find out because already, the next wave of heat was surrounding him. Flames licked at his skin and fire rolled through his body.

  His cock rose and immediately she was there, her mouth bringing the conflagration to a roaring inferno. He forgot what he was telling her. Forgot everything but watching her swallow him, letting himself feel the absolute pleasure she gave him every time her mouth was on him.

  She rolled over top of him, straddling him. At once he felt the heat of her center, burning his skin. “I need you again, and then Godiva needs Temnyy. Desperately, Timur.” She fisted his thick girth and then slid right over top of him, engulfing him completely.

  The breath left his lungs in a rush. She didn’t wait, but began to move, grinding down, setting a fast pace, taking him deep, her muscles clamping down on his cock as she rode him. His hands went to her swaying breasts, working her nipples, watching her breath hitch every time he tugged or pinched. She was beautiful, leaving him astonished that she could be his.

  There was no holding back, not when her breasts jolted and swayed with every powerful move of her hips. Not when her body undulated and seduced. Not when she was temptation and sin with every breath she drew. His mouth was everywhere, his hands claiming her. Then he took over, pulling out of her, flipping her onto her hands and knees and surging deep again. She screamed his name several times before he emptied himself into her.

  Temnyy’s need was just as urgent as theirs. He caught her hand and tugged her up, liking that his seed was on her thighs and inside of her. “We’re going out the far window and making a run for the garage. Once inside, go to the Jeep.”

  “I need clothes …”

  “What for? We’re heading for the hill country. The estate is several miles wide and equally as long. We’ll get them away from the sentries and let them run. We don’t need clothes for that.”

  She didn’t argue with him but shot him a mischievous look that sent his cock into a frenzy of need again. She was up to something. He went out the window first, and he waited for her. She was much smaller, and it was easier for her to slip through without making a sound. Timur thought it was good practice for her to sneak through an enemy’s line. She didn’t want to be caught naked and that gave her the necessary incentive to stay low and move fast.

  He led the way until they were close to the garage and then stepped back and waved her ahead of him. He loved her ass. The way it swayed, the firmness of her cheeks, the little dimples just above the swell of them. When she made it to the door of the garage, he pressed close to her, patting her cheeks with firm, hard swats and then rubbing the pink handprints.

  “Stop, you crazy man,” she hissed over her shoulder. “Someone will he
ar.”

  “Do you think I care?” He knew he was experiencing the inevitable high one got from being in the throes of a leopard’s mating ritual.

  She cast him one more look of pure censure and then raced to the Jeep. Heat banded as Temnyy pushed close, but Timur refused to allow him to shift. He hurled himself into the driver’s seat, pressed the garage opener and turned the key. There was no top on the vehicle and the wind rushed over them, cooling their bodies as he turned onto the narrow dirt track that led into the vineyard.

  They passed two guards, both leopards who watched as they hurtled past. Ashe’s laughter teased his senses. She could turn a situation such as this one, where their leopards tore at them and their bodies drove them, into pure fun. She held on to the bar and pulled herself into a standing position as he took them around the dark vineyard and up to the higher hills. He knew where every guard was stationed, he had been the one to position them, so he knew when they were outside the boundaries.

  He slowed the Jeep, so she could feel the wind on her face and body. Her legs acted as springs, and her body swayed with the movement of the vehicle. She laughed again. “It’s a perfect night, Timur.”

  It hadn’t been, but now it was. Being with her made his entire life different. It gave him meaning and purpose. Before, he had thought maybe the work they were doing would make his world right, but it hadn’t. There had been nothing at all to temper the violence. Now, there was Ashe.

  The vineyards rolled with hills and then gave way to more trees. He parked the Jeep and watched as she jumped down and took off running. Her hair flew out behind her and every muscle rippled beneath her satin skin. He slid out from behind the wheel, keeping his eyes on her as he stretched and then he took two running steps and shifted.