Under the Panther's Protection [Black Panthers 3]

by Leah Brooke

  Fiona found herself on her back before she could draw a breath, a cry escaping when Joshua parted her legs, his silky hair tickling her inner thighs as he lowered his head.

  The feel of his hot mouth on her slit forced another stunned cry from her, the pleasure unimaginable.

  Her entire slit burned, her clit throbbing and swelling against his tongue. Her pussy clenched at emptiness, releasing her juices.

  Bucking against him, Fiona fought for release, but Joshua lifted his head, denying her.

  Running his lips over her inner thigh, Joshua made a soft, deep sound in his throat, a sound of pleasure. “You’re a wildcat when you’re aroused, aren’t you, my mate?”

  His teasing tone sparked her temper, and fisting her hands in the sheet for leverage, she tried to sit up, only to have him lift her legs higher, sending her sprawling back. “You don’t really think I’m going to let you get away from me, do you?”

  He lifted her hips higher, running his tongue through her slit. “This is all mine, my mate.”

  Her thighs trembled, his raw sexuality strengthening her own and leaving her clinging to the edge of release.

  “Then do something about it or leave me the hell alone.”

  Joshua made a growling sound in his throat, a menacing sound that thrilled her. “You enjoy challenging me, don’t you, my mate?”

  “Stop calling me that and fuck me!”

  “No.” Flicking his tongue out, he teased her clit. “I won’t stop calling you that because that’s what you are, and I’m not taking you until you come.” His lips moved over her inner thigh. “Just to take the edge off. I’ve got plans for you. Come for me.” His lips closed over her clit, his tongue flicking over the sensitive bundle of nerves with a relentless determination that sent her quickly over the edge.

  Her orgasm slammed into her, stealing her breath and tightening her body against his.

  Crying out as the pleasure crested, Fiona fisted her hands in his hair and braced her feet against his shoulders. “Joshua!”

  He lowered her slightly, running his tongue through her slit repeatedly, easing her down from her orgasm and licking her as if he wanted to get every drop of her juices.

  Moving over her, he brushed his lips over her shoulder and then her cheek. “You’re addictive. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of the taste of you.”

  Weak, she clung to him, meeting his kiss with a passion that she hadn’t known she could feel.

  Even tasting herself on his lips did nothing to dull her desire as she’d expected. Instead, the reminder of his hunger for her made the hunger even stronger.

  Lifting his head, Joshua ran a hand from her breast to her hip and back again. “You’re delicious. I want more. Tonight, I’m going to drink my fill of you.”

  Her clit throbbed in reaction, his words warming her while reawakening a hunger that he’d just satisfied.

  His power over her body and her senses alarmed her at times, but the fear dissolved at the feel of his warm lips and hands moving over her.

  Fiona shoved him to his back, well aware that she could only because he allowed it and reached for his belt buckle. “I want you naked.”

  “Absolutely.”

  The bed shifted when he rolled away from her and rose. “Stay right where you are.”

  Sitting up, she smiled at the rustle of clothing and struggled to see him in the darkness. One part of her wanted to turn on the light to see him, but another part of her liked the mystery and seductiveness of making love in the dark.

  Getting to her knees, Fiona made her way to him and reached for his cock, but he caught her hand in his.

  “What are you doing, my mate?”

  A shiver of delight went through her at the teasing warning in his voice. Laying a hand on his chest, she touched her lips to it. “I want to give you as much pleasure as you give me.”

  “You already do.”

  Smiling against his chest at his groan, Fiona kissed her way downward. His sharp intake of breath and his hold tightening on her arm told her how much her touch affected him.

  It was a heady feeling—to want and be wanted—and she planned to enjoy it to the fullest.

  She ran her lips lower, using her tongue to trace his rock-hard abs. “Do you know how much it excites me to know that you want me?”

  Releasing her wrist, Joshua slid one hand into her hair and the other caressed her breast. “Then you should be real excited, my mate.”

  “I am. Oh God.” The tug at her nipple sent an answering need to her slit, making her squirm. Determined to make him just as crazy, she lowered her head a little more, flattening her tongue and running it over her abdomen.

  “You want to play, my mate? Let’s play.”

  The hand in her hair tightened, guiding her lower. His other hand left her breast, much to her disappointment, but he moved slightly and she heard the drawer of the nightstand open.

  Assuming he’d retrieved a condom, she smiled again and gripped the base of his cock, once again surprised at his size.

  She closed her mouth over the head of his cock, using her tongue against the tip to lick the moisture she found there. Smiling again at his groan, she ran her hand up and down the base of his cock and took as much of it as she could into her mouth and began to suck.

  The deep, throaty sounds he made excited her even more, even when he removed his hand from her hair. “That feels too good, my mate.”

  His hand slid under her, flattening on her abdomen and lifting her, unbalancing her so that she had to grip the edge of the bed to remain upright. “I’m gonna play, baby. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

  Trembling with anticipation, she spread her legs wider in the hope of getting friction on her clit and focused on giving him pleasure.

  The feel of a cold, slick finger thrusting into her ass startled her so much that she released his cock and tried to move away, but the hand at her abdomen suddenly fisted in her hair, keeping her in place.

  Clenching on his finger, she sucked in a breath, crying out at the unfamiliar, decadent sensation. Overwhelmed, she instinctively attempted to lower her bottom, but with his finger impaling her, she couldn’t.

  “Uh-uh, my mate. Keep that ass in the air. One day I’m gonna take this beautiful ass, but for now, I just want to play a little. You wanted to play, my mate. Remember?”

  The teasing calm in his voice and in his slow strokes eased some of her alarm at the strange, too-intimate sensation of having her ass breached, but nothing could have prepared her for the intense sexuality of it.

  “That’s it, my mate. Keep that ass in the air. Hell, you’re tight.”

  Moving his hand in her hair, he made another of those throaty sounds, this time much louder and deeper than before. “That mouth is incredible, but that’s enough. I’m coming inside your pussy, not in your mouth.”

  When Fiona began to suck harder, he increased the speed and depth of his thrusts into her ass, distracting her enough to pull his cock free. “Damn it, Joshua. I want you to come!”

  “I will.” Cupping the back of her head, he helped her to her knees, her body pressed against his. “I want you to feel me everywhere. I want you to remember who you belong to.”

  With an arm around her waist, he lifted her against him, nuzzling her temple. “Put your legs around my waist.”

  His deep, gravelly tone had her obeying at once, leaving her bottom completely open to his ministrations.

  Tightening her legs around him, she lifted her face for his kiss, wiggling against his erection. “I can’t believe you’re doing this to me.”

  Brushing his lips over hers, he made another deep sound in his throat. “I want every part of you, my mate. My possessiveness is more intense all the time, and knowing that you’re going to be leaving for a while has me almost overwhelmed by it. Tonight, I want to imprint myself on every inch of you. To brand you as mine.”

  She kissed him back hungrily, speaking between kisses so hot they made her dizzy. “No one.
Talks. Like. You. Do.”

  Joshua laid her back, slowly withdrawing his finger and leaving a hollow feeling and a sense of awareness that left her writhing with hunger. He rose slightly, the rip of foil that followed making her pussy clench in anticipation. “And no one’s ever going to take you the way I do. No one but me is ever going to take you again.”

  “Hurry up.” Fiona moaned, every erogenous zone on fire with a hunger that wouldn’t be denied.

  “You need more lube.” Joshua flipped her to her belly and then to her knees, plunging his cold, slick finger into her ass again. “I’m gonna add another finger, my mate.”

  Fiona sucked in a breath when he abruptly withdrew, letting it out again with a cry when he pressed two fingers past the tight ring of muscle and into her. “Oh!”

  “Easy, little one.” He knelt on the bed next to her, slipping a hand under her to caress her breast. “Just a little play.”

  His play threatened her sanity, the awareness he created in her bottom startling in its intensity.

  “Joshua. Oh God.” She pumped her hips, crying out at the pleasure.

  The inner walls of her bottom clenched on him repeatedly, burning at the full-stretched feeling.

  “Easy, baby.” He slowly withdrew his fingers and moved into place behind her, pushing her legs farther apart to make room for himself.

  With a hand flattened on her back, he poised the head of his cock against her pussy opening and thrust into her with an animalistic groan of pleasure. “Yes. You’re so damned hot and tight it drives me crazy. Those little ripples clamp down on me and feel so fucking good.”

  She tried to move in time to his thrusts, but he began to move so fast that she couldn’t keep up. “You feel it, too? Oh. God. Joshua.”

  “I feel it.” He pumped into her, the friction of his cock against her inner walls driving her higher with every thrust.

  The tension between them didn’t allow for any more play, and several thrusts later, she came again, her inner walls spasming on his cock.

  Seconds later, he groaned and thrust deep, his cock pulsing inside her as he covered her body with his, his teeth closing lightly on the sensitive spot between her neck and shoulder.

  Her harsh breathing gradually slowed, a moan escaping when he slowly withdrew from her.

  He pulled her close, running his hands over her while his lips brushed lightly over her shoulder. “Oh, my mate. How am I going to handle it when you’re gone?”

  Fiona smiled. “I’ll be back.”

  “If you don’t come back to me, I’ll find you and bring you back myself.”

  “Promise?”

  “Promise.”

  She must have drifted off because she suddenly became aware that he’d rolled her to her back and moved a warm washcloth over her slit. “Joshua.”

  “Shh. Go back to sleep.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  His lips moved over her breast. “I can’t remember the last time I did something I didn’t want to do.”

  After wiping her dry, he pulled the covers over her. “Which makes letting you go even harder.”

  The light streaming in from the bathroom allowed her to see the glimmer in his eyes. “I have to go. They need me.”

  “I know, my mate.” He rose, giving her a tantalizing view. “Go to sleep.”

  “It’s warmer when you’re next to me.” The words slipped out before she could stop them, and she hated that it made her sound needy.

  Her words seemed to please him, though.

  His eyes seemed to glow as he ran a hand over her hair. “I’ll be right back.”

  She fell asleep in his arms, waking in the middle of the night to find him wrapped around her from behind.

  With a smile, she kept her eyes closed, running her hand up the muscled forearm at her waist. She turned her head, moaning at the feel of his lips on hers as he rolled her to her back, the reverence and tenderness in his kiss bringing tears to her eyes.

  His hand moved over her as if he wanted to memorize every inch of her, leaving a trail of heat and awareness in its wake.

  His lips and tongue followed the path of heat, heightening the intense pleasure, and by the time he covered her body with his, she trembled with a hunger that had her clutching at him in desperation.

  Wrapping her legs around him, she cried out when he entered her, lifting her hips to take him deeper.

  Lacing his fingers with hers, he held them on either side of her head and buried his face in her hair. “Nice and slow.”

  He kept his strokes slow and smooth, building the pleasure slowly, his tenderness surprising in its intensity.

  Touched at her gentle giant’s gentleness, she slid her heels from his tight ass to his thighs and back again, caressing him and brushing her lips over the base of his throat.

  With a low, throaty sound, Joshua released her hands, sliding a hand under her to hold her to him while rolling to his back.

  Missing the warmth of his chest, she reached for him, sucking in a breath when her new position pushed his cock deeper.

  With a groan, Joshua sat up, catching her hands in his and settling them on his shoulders. “I’ve got you, baby.”

  With a hand splayed on her bottom, he moved her on his cock, cupping the back of her head to keep her face tilted up to his. “My mate.”

  Sipping at her lips, he continued to move her slowly up and down on his cock, his finger pressing at her puckered opening.

  It set off a riot of sensation from his finger to her clit, a tingling heat that had her wriggling against him.

  “Joshua!”

  She kissed him hungrily, again and again, digging her fingertips into his wide shoulders. Using her knees for leverage, she moved on him, each stroke of his cock filling her with steely heat.

  The awareness in her bottom added an erotic edge that made her movements clumsy and frantic, and whimpering, she tightened her grip on him.

  Making a soothing sound in his throat, Joshua steadied her, his teeth nipping at her bottom lip as he slipped the tip of his finger into her. “Easy. Just a little. Just a little, my mate. Yes. You like that. That’s it. Come. Let go. I’ve got you.”

  Lifting her hands to slide them into his hair, she held on as her world went spinning out of control. Stiffening when the pleasure crested, she tightened her knees on him, whimpering and clenching on him, which made the dual invasion even more intense.

  Joshua withdrew his finger, gripping her hips and surging deep with a groan of completion.

  Letting her arms drop to rest on his shoulders, she sighed and slumped against him. “I’m going to miss this.”

  Joshua kissed her forehead and settled back with her sprawled on top of him. “So will I. More than you know.”

  He pulled the covers over her and dropped his head back with a sigh. “If you don’t come back, I’m coming to get you.”

  Fiona smiled against his chest. “So you’ve said.”

  He ran a hand down her back. “Don’t forget, my mate, I can find you anywhere.”

  Giggling at that, Fiona lifted her head, wishing she could see him in the darkness. “Don’t forget that I managed to hide and keep Glenna hidden for months.”

  “Yeah, but we found you. If you disappeared on me, I’d hunt you down no matter where you are.”

  Chapter Ten

  When Joshua took her to the airport, Fiona was surprised to find Brock waiting.

  With a hand at her back, Joshua led her to the plane, the tension surrounding him showing in his eyes. “Brock’s going to fly you to Miami. Someone will meet you at the airport with a rental car for you to use while you’re there.”

  “Joshua! I can’t believe this. I could have just taken the bus.”

  “No. This is faster, and I’ll make sure you get there safely.” He took her face between his hands, his gaze hooded. “You mean too much to me.”

  He bent, kissing her deeply and with the same tenderness as his early morning lovemaking. Tightening his
arms around her, he lifted her off the ground, his kiss becoming more passionate.

  Alarmed when emotion tightened her stomach, she gripped him tighter, a lump forming in her throat.

  Breaking off his kiss with a moan, he slowly lowered her to her feet again, his expression unreadable. “Remember what I said. I’ll be waiting for you and waiting for news.”

  Fighting back tears at the thought of being away from him, Fiona panicked at how close she’d allowed him to get.

  It hit her all at once that he’d blown through barriers that she’d thought firmly in place and become more important to her than she’d meant to allow.

  Staring at his chest, Fiona drew a deep breath, but it didn’t do much to steady her. “Joshua, I plan to come back to Ethanville. I like it here, and I want to be close to Glenna and the baby. I’d like to see you, but I don’t want to be tied to you because of a baby.”

  “Fiona, it’s more than that, and you know it.” Gripping her upper arms, he lifted her to her toes. “I’m not about to let you get away from me.”

  She pressed a hand to his chest, swallowing heavily before lifting her head to meet his gaze. “If I’m pregnant, I want you to be part of the baby’s life. I would never keep you away from him, but that’s not a reason to stay together. There has to be more.”

  “There is more, and you know it.” He covered her hand with his, his eyes flashing. “You’re feeling emotional right now, and it scares you. I understand that, but I’m not going to let you walk away out of fear.”

  Lifting her chin, Fiona yanked her hand away. “I’ve been hurt before. You know that. Trust doesn’t come easy to me, and you have to admit that we haven’t known each other long enough to know that things will work out.”

  “And we’ll never get the time we need if you don’t come back to me. Remember my promise. You’re not getting away from me without one hell of a fight.”

  Not until they were in the air did something occur to her.

  She looked over at Brock, who seemed right at home in the air. “Joshua didn’t come with me. He would have come with me. He’s got a job, doesn’t he?”