by Danica Avet
Her eyes widened in shock at his words. He couldn’t possibly think she’d just let him…what, bite every inch of her skin and come all over her? It should have disgusted her but her thighs tensed against a wave of uncontrollable lust.
“You’re mine, Daisy,” he whispered as his mouth coasted down her spine.
The slight rasp of his rough tongue combined with the soft abrasiveness of his barely there beard shot electric jolts of desire through her. Her pussy clenched on nothing, moisture gathering along her channel for his thick cock. He made another pass from the cleft of her ass to her nape, causing her back to arch for more. She dropped her head on the pillow and panted through the pleasure he forced on her. She’d never known how sensitive her back was, but under Ram’s careful touch she became a walking erogenous zone.
He paused next to her ear, letting his breath wash over her. “I smell how ready you are,” he murmured softly. “Say you’re mine and I’ll end this now.” Daisy promptly opened her mouth, but shut it when he said, “And mean it.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
The baby-fine hair on her nape danced under the force of his sigh. “I’m actually a little glad you’re not ready to submit,” he stated huskily. “I want to play with you, see how high I can bring you before you give in. And you will give in.”
She promised to detest herself for letting out a little whimper of need and fear. Later. Right now her body felt too big for her skin as Ram slid down, separating her legs as he went until he was right between her thighs. Teeth scraped over one ass cheek before nipping the other. Daisy jumped, her face burning at the husky chuckle that wafted over her slick folds.
“Now this is pretty, but hmm, something isn’t quite right.”
Daisy’s head popped off the pillow. Ignoring the strain of her muscles she craned her neck to see what he was talking about. He shifted on the bed, doing something she couldn’t see. He returned, one of his arms sliding under her hips and lifting up. He stuffed something soft and cool beneath her. A pillow, her brain processed. A pillow that propped her ass in the air and forced her legs to sprawl open.
“Cher bon Dieu,” she whispered, dropping her head down.
His chuckle sent a shudder of dark pleasure through her. “Now that’s perfect.”
Lightly calloused hands skimmed up the backs of her legs, tickling the tender spot at the backs of her knees before sliding higher. His thumbs caressed her inner thighs until he framed her ass with his hands. More heat poured through her, embarrassment and arousal warring for dominance as she pictured what he was looking at.
A stream of warm air blew over her slick sex, making her shift uncontrollably. She grew wetter at the delicate touch. Daisy couldn’t help but squirm, enjoying the abrasion of the comforter rubbing against her aching nipples.
“Your scent is intoxicating,” he murmured behind her. “And look how wet you are for me, like a pretty flower glistening with dew.”
It was such a corny line but it made her hotter. She panted into the pillow but didn’t want to give away how close she was to submitting. Her brain knew he wouldn’t stick around, but God, the rest of her wanted to believe, to grab this chance to claim a male for her own. She kept reminding herself it was a stupid, gut-clenching reaction to the sexual power he had over her. This wasn’t love, this wasn’t mating, it was sex. Just sex.
She chanted those words over and over in her mind while Ram’s thumbs found the lips of her sex and spread them wide, his breath washing over her in new spots. She chanted them when he murmured erotic words about how beautiful she was, how perfect for him, how he would make her his forever. But when his mouth pressed against her, when his tongue swept over her slit to circle her clit, all thought ceased and she became a beast at the mercy of her mate.
“God!” she panted into the pillow as he mapped out every inch of her sex with his tongue.
He hadn’t stopped purring and the small vibrations sent shock waves through her when he pressed his lips to her clit. Her body convulsed in pleasure. Her muffled moans and cries were a perfect accompaniment to Ram’s continued praise as he prolonged her orgasm with worshipful flicks of his tongue.
Daisy’s body slumped into the mattress, her bones liquefied by the pleasure he gave her. She couldn’t even protest when he continued teasing her with his mouth. Only an idiot would bitch when a man seemed determined to eat her alive. In fact, the longer she lay there wrapped in her cocoon of sated pleasure, the more her body warmed with renewed need.
“No,” she whined. She tried to crawl up the bed despite her legs being reduced to gel. “I can’t.”
Ram pulled her back. They briefly wrestled for her placement in the bed until he dragged her—and the damn pillow under her hips—to the edge of the mattress. Hanging on to the mattress with her cuffed hands, her legs were suspended in air, leaving her very little leverage to move again.
“I’m not letting you go until you realize you’re mine.” He spoke against her thigh, his fangs scoring the skin. “Forever, Daisy. Not just for right now. You’re mine.”
The last words were spoken in a big cat’s snarl as two of his fingers thrust into her, unerringly finding her G-spot and rubbing it. She cried out, her hips bucking as he fucked her hard and fast. Fangs sank into her leg at the exact moment her pleasure peaked. She screamed through the near-painful clenching of her inner muscles, her body trying to suck him into her.
She fell back on the bed, feeling as if she’d been hit by a train, but Ram wasn’t finished. Not by a long shot. He worked her with his fingers, adding a third when she relaxed around him. Tears burned her eyes as her body prepared for more pleasure. Every time she thought she couldn’t take any more, he proved her wrong. Her third crest came quickly, though it was a less powerful orgasm, rippling through her body like an aftershock.
Daisy quivered from the excess pleasure, her muscles twitching from the power of her orgasms. In the back of her mind, she was awed by his determination. If he was this set on having her, maybe she was wrong. It seemed like a weak argument, but the thought fermented in her brain, growing in strength the longer he teased and tortured her with her body’s response to him. He removed his fingers and returned to lapping at her. Low, growling purrs sent ripples through her.
He pulled away after what felt like forever, pillowing his head on her ass. The only sounds in the room were her raspy sobs and Ram’s harsh breathing. His big body trembled against her, proving he wasn’t immune. Wedging his arms beneath her and the pillow, he hugged her to him.
It should have been awkward. There was a male hugging her bare ass, after all, but it seemed sweet and adorable, as if he couldn’t help himself and only wanted whatever he could get.
“I want you so much,” he whispered suddenly. “I know it sounds like bullshit, but I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you. It kills me that you’ll take sex from me but nothing else.” His arms tightened around her, squeezing hard. “I’ve had more females beg me to mark them, to take them as a mate, than I could name. I turned them all away. Is this my punishment for being so arrogant?” he asked in a low, absent voice.
Something alien stirred in her soul. She locked her teeth to keep from shifting at the thought of other women touching him, loving him. Her beast stirred, the possessive protectiveness of the bear beating a rapid tattoo against her chest. She wanted to find every single female and slay her, wanted to tear them apart for daring to touch what was hers.
Daisy sucked in a shocked breath at her possessive thoughts. Oh God, she loved him! He’d somehow wormed his way into her affections and taken up residence. She squeezed her eyes shut, stupidly trying to ignore the truth of her cowardice. And she was a coward. She’d fought her instincts, fought Ram, and fought her heart, piling excuse after excuse up to shore her weakening resolve. Even now, when she realized the depth of her feelings for him, part of her—the cowardly, cringing part—reminded her she didn’t know Ram very well. He could be lying. He could be throwing her
practiced lines to win her over.
But why would he go this far? What male would bare himself so completely and leave himself vulnerable to a female he felt would reject him? The bear gave her the answer. Only a male who desperately fought for what he truly wanted.
“If I thought for one minute I could forget you,” he continued in a hoarse tone, “I’d go back to my old life, to the one-night stands and—”
“Mine!” Her outraged shout echoed around the room cutting Ram’s words off.
Chapter Eight
Ram froze at the enraged scream. His heart thudded with excitement and hope. He hadn’t consciously mentioned other women to get her jealous. He’d known she was stubborn, but bringing her to climax numerous times without her giving in had left him feeling helpless. Doubt had reared its ugly head, taunting him with the notion she didn’t want him for anything but what pleasure he could bring her.
Her body vibrated with fury, her skin running hot as she struggled with her animal. The scent of woman and bear intertwined, growing stronger the longer she fought. Soft grumbling sounds emerged from her throat. She wasn’t just jealous. She was pissed.
Feeling like a kid on Christmas, Ram lifted his head. “Am I, Daisy? Am I yours?” he asked softly.
She stopped moving, her growls growing lower and lower until only the sound of her harsh breathing remained. He pressed a soft kiss to one lush ass cheek and did his best not to hold his breath.
“Mine,” she said after a few tense seconds.
Ram’s sigh emptied all the air from his body. He went limp against her, weak with relief. Thank God. He couldn’t have taken it if she denied him again. No, he would have taken it because he couldn’t live without her. The female made him desperate with lust and love and…
Holy shit. He was in love with her. No wonder he was so fucking miserable and happy at the same time.
A sudden surge of strength overcame him. He needed to complete this mating before she changed her mind. Roughly fitting himself to her soaking-wet folds, he slid in to the hilt in one smooth thrust. Ram’s eyes closed at the exquisite heat and tightness of her hugging every inch of his cock.
Her small moan of completion soothed his pride. She felt it too. What they had between them was something special. Sex had always been a means of getting off, but with Daisy it became something so much more. He needed her like he needed air to breathe. Being inside her in any way was better than the most outlandish sex he’d had with other females in the past.
He didn’t move immediately, savoring the way her pussy gripped him like a fist. The silky skin of her ass pressed up against his lower abdomen. He withdrew slightly and saw her juices glistening on the thick base of his cock. His breathing hitched at the erotic sight and he thrust back inside her.
“Yes,” she breathed. “Fuck me.”
Ram slipped his arms from beneath her hips and gripped the belt he’d fastened around her waist. “I plan to.”
Holding tight to the leather he started a hard, fast rhythm. He powered into her tight sheath, his heart beating harder with every thrust.
“God, you’re perfect,” he bit out through choppy breaths.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she chanted the harder and faster he fucked her, the clap of their bodies punctuating her words.
He fell forward, pressing her to the mattress and used the strength of his legs to pound into her. Bracing his arms on either side of her, he gave his mate everything he had. She was so tight, so wet and hot, he was almost afraid he wouldn’t last.
Daisy arched her back, forcing her ass even higher and changing the angle of his thrusts. Her breathing hitched. Ram grinned, though the effort was strained. He deliberately slowed his pounding rhythm, taking every care to stroke his cock over the slightly rough patch of tissue at the front of her sheath.
“Ram, oh Ram, oh god, oh god,” she whispered even as her inner muscles twitched and rippled in warning. “I’m gonna come, I’m gonna come, I’m gonna—”
Her body tightened around him, the friction driving him mad. He lunged deeper, humping her hard and fast as his fangs sank into the tendon running between her throat and shoulder. The minute he broke skin, she screamed, her pussy clenching around him in a hard, milking rhythm he found impossible to fight against.
His balls tingled, ready to shoot his seed into her. The taste of her blood and skin on his tongue intoxicated him as much as the flavor of her arousal. He purred around the bite, his hips snapping forward faster and faster and—
“God, I love you!” she screamed.
A millisecond later her fangs pierced the skin of his forearm, the brief pain sending a shock wave of pleasure through him. Fearing he’d hurt his mate he let go of Daisy’s neck and threw his head back with a roar that shook the walls as he came like a tidal wave. His hips churned against her as he shot his seed into her over and over again.
When Ram came to, he was slumped over his mate. Neither one of them was winded. Anymore, at least. He didn’t want to move but knew this couldn’t be a comfortable position for her. He heaved himself up, his legs protesting the movement with pins and needles.
Grunting, he forced himself to keep moving. Daisy was out like a light, her soft snores charming him even as he felt like a bastard for leaving her like this. She’d linked her hands together and pressed them beneath her head to use as a pillow. He pushed her hair off her forehead. Her face was streaked with his blood, her cheeks flushed from her orgasms.
God, but he loved her. And she loved him back. He glanced down at the perfect mark of her fangs on his arm, pride and possession warming his heart. They were bound together. He didn’t kid himself into thinking everything would be perfect from now on. She still had issues about lions and prides and possibly his rock star status, but those were things they could work out together.
After taking off the belt—and damn, he might have to test that fantasy out again later—and unlocking the handcuffs, he swept Daisy beneath the comforter and tucked himself in bed beside her. It was a tight fit on the narrow bed but he didn’t care. She mumbled something, nuzzling his chest as she found a comfortable spot.
He closed his eyes, feeling a contentment unlike anything he’d ever known before. She was his. He was hers. Forever.
*
Daisy stretched her sore muscles and enjoyed a sense of well-being she hadn’t known for a long time. The warmth of the body cuddled close to her reminded her of the male she’d screamed her love to.
She paused in mid-stretch, her eyes popping open. Her bedroom light was still on, their clothing scattered all over the place like confetti after New Year’s Eve. Carefully turning her head she glanced over her shoulder to see Ram’s eyes closed.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she relaxed. She needed a moment or two to remind herself why this wasn’t a permanent relationship. Yes, he made her body sing and she loved him but he hadn’t repeated those words back to her. He’d never said anything about staying here. It was all about her belonging to him. It was hot in a caveman sort of way but it wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want to be someone’s possession because possessions could be traded out for something new. She wanted love.
“Did you always want to be a cop?” Ram’s deep voice rumbled behind her.
Daisy squeaked and would have fallen out of her bed if he hadn’t had such a strong hold on her. Heart pounding quadruple time, she glanced back. His eyes were still closed, though now he had a small, satisfied smile on his face.
Facing forward again, she stared at the far wall. “No, not always.”
His fingers stroked over her stomach in a slow, rhythmic motion. “What did you want to be when you grew up?”
She shrugged. It wouldn’t hurt to tell him. “When I was thirteen, I was taller than everyone in my class and a good many of the boys a couple of years older than me. It was awkward. Then one day I read an article in one of those fashion magazines Kitty always had lying around talking about the average height for a model was five-foot-eight. I was fi
ve-nine at the time and decided to be a runway model.” He didn’t laugh and say how ridiculous it sounded. She kept going. “Since Kitty planned to be a designer it made sense, she’d need someone to model her clothes.”
“And what happened? Why didn’t you become a model?”
Daisy whipped her head around, nailing Ram in the chin. He grunted but she was too stunned to apologize. “Have you looked at me? My ass is huge! I talked to my guidance counselor about it and she suggested I play basketball instead.”
Ram rubbed his chin, looking a little dazed. He shook his head slightly and frowned at her. “What an idiot. Not you, your counselor. You’re gorgeous, Daisy. You have beautiful clear skin, an arresting face and I love your ass.” He nudged her with his hips, letting her feel exactly how much he liked her ass.
She grinned, flattered to the tips of her toes. “Well, it didn’t happen and I decided to become a cop.” She turned around and rested her head on his biceps. “What about you? You said you were in choir, did you always want to be a singer?”
He nuzzled the back of her neck. “I was a skinny, short kid when I was fifteen with the biggest crush on all the tall girls at school. I would’ve fallen mane over heels for you,” he confided with a nip of her ear. “I was in choir but when I started going through puberty and my voice changed, I left. I couldn’t sing like I used to. Like all males with too much testosterone and not enough brains, I started playing guitar to look cool.”
Daisy closed her eyes, picturing him in her mind. He would have been adorable.
“It didn’t work. I sucked at instruments, so I turned my attention to writing songs, lyrics mainly. When I graduated and moved to California I saw an ad one day for a singer of a rock band. I joined up with Nick, Craig, Trick and Leland and we’ve been together ever since.”
She frowned. He didn’t say a thing about the women he’d been with, the fame or fortune. He acted as if it wasn’t a part of his life. On one hand she was glad he didn’t mention it. She didn’t want to hear about all the females he’d been with, except it left her no room to ask him about it.
