by Zoe Chant
He put her down, carefully, sliding her down over the erection that was bulging his shorts, hands lingering at her waist.
She gave a gratifying moan of desire as her feet touched the ground, and she stood there leaning into him for a moment longer than was necessary.
“Your sandal?” Tony prompted.
“Screw the sandal,” Amber said fiercely, and then they were tangled in kisses again as Tony tried to remember where he'd put his house key.
Between digging it out and trying to claim Amber's mouth for his own, Tony managed to maneuver them into the entrance of the house and finesse the door open–which is how it stayed as they began the erotic struggle of removing each article of clothing and finding the bedroom.
“Crap,” he said suddenly, when he'd gotten her shirt off and she had thrown his across the room.
“It's not that complicated a bra,” Amber promised, big golden eyes laughing. “I can help you.”
“No, it's ... condoms. I didn't bring condoms.”
That gave her pause, but it was a grateful pause, and the smile that bloomed across her face was more reward than he had expected. “You really are a white knight,” she said warmly. “I'm on the pill, if it makes you feel better.”
The pause changed the timbre of the urgency, but not the magnitude. Tony wanted her more badly than ever, and gathered her into his arms for a deep kiss. He cradled both sides of her face, her silky hair spilling over his hands, and let his tongue explore the depths of her mouth.
She slid her arms around his neck and kissed back, licking and twining his tongue until they were both panting for breath.
He laid her down on the big bed and kissed down her neck, loving the way her body arched to his fingers. He stroked her bare arms, and over her bra, down her sides, and she closed her eyes and purred at him in delight. He put fingers along the waistband of her shorts, but when she raised her hips in invitation to remove them, only stroked her side again, and kissed between her breasts while she squirmed.
It was his first time with his mate, and he wanted to savor it as long as he could.
Amber had other plans, and gave a little frustrated growl when he ignored her signals. She pushed him off with more strength than he expected from her short frame, and he rolled over onto his back on the bed willingly while she straddled him. Her loose hair brushed his chest as she put an arm on either side of him and leaned down to kiss and nibble at his chest. Then she sat up again, and deftly unfastened her own bra, letting it spill off of her and release the breasts he had been vainly trying not to stare at all evening.
They were perfect orbs of firm flesh, with big nipples that were hard with desire, and he could no more keep his hands from them than deny that this woman was his one perfect, fated companion.
She moaned as he cupped them, threw back her head in ecstasy, and ground herself against the thick erection that was only a few light layers of clothing away. Tony wasn't sure what he would have done without them; he was at such a fever pitch that he would have embarrassed himself like a first-time teenager without the cloth to dull the sensation a little.
He used his thumbs to make lazy circles around her areolas, then dragged them across the erect nipples, and she gave a little cry of pleasure that made him feel proud and powerful. He did it again, with a little squeeze of his hands of the beautiful, soft flesh of her breasts. She cried out again in appreciation, scratching him reflexively, then tipped her head down to look at him and beg, “I want you ...”
The shorts were no longer welcome in the bed, and there was an acrobatic flurry as they both tried frantically to shed them, without withdrawing from each other more than absolutely necessarily. The moment they were fully naked, he had to hold her against him, just enjoying the silky length of her warm body beside his, and then he was slipping into her wet, soft folds without a hint of resistance.
He gave her a slow, careful thrust, burying himself into her in one smooth, careful motion, fighting himself for control. To his shock, she arched in his arms, crying out in intense pleasure and shuddering in unexpected orgasm. He had to bite his lip to keep from taking her with abandon then, but gave a second slow, contained thrust, trying to keep her at that plateau of pleasure.
Her next cry was less, but still powerful, and she opened astonished eyes to meet his gaze as he rolled her onto her back without unlocking from her. His third thrust was less controlled, and she lifted her hips to eagerly meet him as her fingers raked across his shoulders.
It was like swimming in a hot pool of pleasure, thrusting into her. She was a heady mix of pliable and resistant, and the bite of her fingernails on his arms as she held him and moaned was an intoxicating aphrodisiac. Tony realized he was growling with need and kissed her, nibbling at her ear as gently as he could manage.
He had to stop doing that, his entire world narrowing to concentrating on continuing to thrust and put off his own mounting release until he realized that Amber was crying out in orgasmic pleasure again; the sound of her delight was too much for him to resist and he was filling her with his hot seed.
His frantic thrusts slowed at last, and he was gradually aware again of the room around them, the chirps of insects and frogs outside, and the door of the cottage, still wide open.
Chapter Seven
Amber came back to herself slowly as Tony's thrusts tapered off into a finishing rhythm. They continued to couple in the afterglow of the pleasure, as long as possible, and finally lay next to each other in gleeful exhaustion as their panting breath returned to normal.
When she had decided to treat the vacation as an excuse to cut loose, she had not expected it to feel anywhere near this ... natural. She felt more comfortable with this complete stranger than she had ever been with anyone she had ever known, and he had taken her to heights she'd never dreamed possible. She hadn't even known it was possible to orgasm at a first thrust; this man was clearly no stranger to giving a woman pleasure.
His hand, still making lazy circles on her belly and breasts, promised more, if she was brave enough to accept it.
'It's just a vacation fling,' she reminded herself, and she thrust away the pang of regret that came with the practicality. His experience and his concern about condoms suggested that he was not any more interested in a relationship that extended past the boundaries of the resort than she was, and she ought to be grateful for that. As much as she wanted children, it wouldn't do to get knocked up here.
Her plan had always been to go home to Minnesota after a week of freedom, pick the least objectionable of the shy farmboys who made eyes at her at the garden supply store and start a perfectly respectable family. She couldn't let a magnetic tiger shifter tempt her away from that practical path, no matter how intensely her inner mountain cat was trying to convince her that this was something more.
This week, she would take each day as it came and fixedly not think about what would come afterwards.
It was hard, though, to watch Tony get up and bring them towels to clean up with, and not think about how he made every one of those farmboys look spindly, pale, and utterly unappealing in comparison.
“I, ah ... that was ... thank you! Wow!” Amber said, not sure what else to say but aware that something was in order.
Tony smiled at her, a beautiful, confident smile that warmed Amber to her toes, and leaned over to kiss her possessively. “I was just thinking the exact same thing.”
“I should get my sandal,” she giggled against his lips after a lengthy kiss. “And close the front door ...”
His cottage came with bathrobes, and she gratefully slipped into one and padded outside with a flashlight as Tony picked up their clothing and repaired the bed.
She leaned against the doorframe with her rescued sandal on one finger, watching as he deftly shook the comforter back into shape. It was refreshing, watching such a big, manly-looking male make a bed. His long arms served him well; he was able to fluff it with one smooth motion, where Amber would have been running from corner t
o corner.
He shot her a sideways smile that indicated that he knew she was watching him. “Seven sisters,” he said. “Every one of them was a tomboy and I got all the housekeeping chores they could stick me with.”
“That's adorable,” Amber said wistfully. She shut the door behind her as she came into the room.
“You're an only child?” Tony guessed, and it was close to the heart.
“I ... don't know,” Amber admitted guardedly. “I was left on the front porch of a church, and I don't know if I actually had any siblings.”
She expected pity. That was the usual reaction when she confessed the details of her childhood, and she already regretted bringing it up.
This was supposed to be a no-strings holiday fling, with no place for intimate discussions. They should be talking about fishing, or the weather, or the next time he tumbled her into bed. Which was not nearly soon enough, as far as Amber was concerned. She had never felt such an odd combination of sated and needy.
“There's a shower,” Tony suggested, gesturing towards the bathroom door. He winked and added, “It's big enough for two.”
Amber let the bathrobe slide the floor behind her as she sauntered in the direction he had indicated. “That's good,” she purred. “Because I may not leave you any hot water, otherwise ...”
Tony scrambled to follow her, though Amber suspected her threat was empty; it was unlikely that each cottage had its own individual water heater.
The bathroom was tiled in blue, with windows out over dark foliage outside. Amber had to stand on tiptoe to see out of them, but Tony would have no trouble enjoying the view ... if he had eyes for anything but Amber. She loved the way he watched her, and left the glass door open while she slipped in and turned on the water.
His cottage was fancier than her own, and where she had only a narrow, simple shower, his was, as promised, plenty big enough for two, with a tiled bench along one side that she was already making plans for. His bathroom also had a Jacuzzi tub, opposite the shower, and Tony sat down on the edge of it with a wide grin, watching.
Once the water was warm, Amber soaped herself to a tantalizing lather, keenly aware of his gaze, and playfully dressed herself in bubbles. A glance showed that he was enjoying the show; his generous member was already beginning to swell again. She rinsed off the bubbles and soaped herself more earnestly, bending away from him to rub her legs and give a view of her wet ass, and then turning to pay exaggerated attention to each breast under the warm stream of water.
Tony had to adjust his seat on the edge of the tub, but remained an audience, rather than a participant. Amber felt like this was an unspoken challenge, and let her hands trail down her sides and belly, to lay one hand, fingers flat, against the mound of her entrance. She'd been uncertain about the Brazilian wax that she'd gotten before her vacation, but now it felt daring, and deliciously exposed. She let her fingers trail over each nearby thigh, and reveled in the smooth, velvety texture.
She peeked up to see if Tony was still attending to her and was pleased to see that he was at full attention. He had one leg stretched up on the ledge of the tub and his gorgeous member was erect again, as if it were reaching for her. Tony had both hands behind him, as if it was all he could do to keep his hands from himself, and Amber suddenly wanted to see him touch it.
She wriggled her hips a little, and let a single finger dip into the folds of her entrance, hoping he would take the hint.
Though she had done it for Tony's watching pleasure, she couldn't keep back the gasp of pleasure it gave her; she was still swollen and sensitive from their earlier activity, and the touch of her own finger brought her back to a fever pitch of desire and need. She gave another tentative stroke, and another, and looked up to find that Tony's look had intensified, and the lines of his hard body were rippled with clenched muscle.
He still hadn't touched the rigid hard-on that was all Amber could focus on.
She put a second finger in, enjoying the sensation, but so aware that it was nothing compared to the thick, solid member that was so close and yet so far away. She gave one slow stroke, and then another, unable to keep from squirming at her own touch. The water pouring over her shoulders added another dimension of sensation, and she closed her eyes to tip her head back and let it pour over her face.
A groan made her open her eyes, and she found that Tony was touching himself at last, not stroking, but holding his member tightly with a closed fist, as if he could keep his pleasure from mounting too fast by sheer will.
She didn't want to stop touching herself, but she was dizzy with desire for more; she wanted to be filled by his cock, not just admire it, and the memory of his movement inside of her was an ache. “Tony ...” she moaned, and speaking out loud unlocked the moment.
Amber wasn't even sure how he crossed the room, but suddenly Tony was against her, lifting her onto the bench and kissing her neck as he pressed his manhood against her hungry folds.
She welcomed him eagerly, taking the length of him into her in a single, deep thrust that seemed to split her, fill her, and complete her, all at once. She didn't come at his first entrance this time, but did again after only a few of his strong penetrations, cresting into pleasure with a helpless cry.
He slowed, carefully, and then picked her up again and turned so that the water was spilling down over her back and she was straddling him as he sat back against the bench. She rode him, letting her fingernails trail over his shoulders and arms, reveling in the devoted attention he gave her breasts and the small of her back. He held her close, like she was a precious thing, while he met each of her bounces with a wild thrust of his own, and his embrace became a desperate clutch as he lost himself inside her once more.
Chapter Eight
The practical side of Tony was dimly grateful that they were already in a shower and it was easy to clean up, but the rest of him knew he would never be able to take another shower without picturing Amber, her own fingers caressing herself, her gorgeous hair flowing wet over her bare shoulders, lips parted in concentration and desire.
This might complicate taking showers at the agency gym, he feared.
He soaped Amber gently, and let her do the same with him. They explored each other's bodies curiously, fingers stroking over flesh like they were taking silent notes. She lingered over the angry scars on his back, but didn't ask. He stroked the faded scars on her wrist, but didn't ask.
It still felt unreal, finding her. He'd known his mate was out there, somewhere, but it was a distant certainty, playing no role in his real life. To find her, to so completely trust and love her so quickly, gave the whole world a new cast, as if the sun had suddenly changed color.
And the sex. Tony grinned, looking down at her hair as she finger-combed the conditioner through it. What a wildcat!
They toweled each other off with the same gentle silence, and without conferring, each took a side of the big king bed and snuggled in together.
In the darkness, cuddled together, Tony felt like he could ask, “Was it hard, growing up without siblings? There were days I'd wish for it, when privacy was impossible to get in our little house ...”
Amber was quiet for a moment, and Tony wondered if he'd pushed too far, too fast.
Then she said, “It was a small town, and they really did their best for me. The staff at the church where I was found, Saint Mary's, they still call me their little foundling and send me birthday cards every year on the anniversary of when I was found. And foster care was ... it really wasn't horrible or abusive, like you read about in the news sometimes. But I was a difficult child even before I started turning into a cat when I got mad. I went through a few families.”
Tony held her tighter, nuzzling her neck in wordless comfort.
After a few breaths, she continued. “I finally found someone like me in high school–a bear shifter military brat named Alice who told me there were others like us. We stayed in touch, even after she moved away, and we ended up sharing an apartment in Lakefi
eld after college. She's the one who convinced me to come here. I was ... I was hoping I'd find another Andean mountain cat, like me. Maybe figure out where I came from, why I was abandoned.”
The hopelessness in her voice would have cut Tony to the bone even if he hadn't already loved her. “You don't have to be alone anymore,” he said fiercely. “You can make your own family.”
Amber went rigid in his arms and Tony had a stab of doubt. Was it possible that she didn't consider him her mate, or that she didn't want him for family despite their connection? The idea that she might not feel their bond as deeply as he did made him suddenly, deeply uneasy.
They lay stiffly together, a chorus of frogs and insects loud compared to their silence, until Amber gradually relaxed in his arms. It took Tony a long while to realize that she had fallen asleep, and it took him even longer to fall asleep himself.
***
He woke up tangled in Amber, arms and legs entwined with hers. He'd never slept over with a girlfriend, always preferring to seek his own space, and he was amazed by how natural it felt to come awake next to another person. It was fascinating to feel her breathing change against his chest, to feel her stir along the whole length of him, and come awake in parts; her toes wiggled adorably before the rest of her woke.
“Good morning,” he said in her ear.
There was enough late morning light streaming in through the window to see her clearly. She looked confused at first, then wary, then smiled slowly.
“Good morning,” she replied, almost shyly.
He bent over to kiss her, and she responded hungrily, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him close to her. Any doubts that Tony had been left with from the night before were washed away in the wave of passion and the complete rightness that came from being so close to her. She could have no doubts about his interest; his member was rigid between them, and she was rubbing herself against it wantonly.
