He lifted her onto the counter and pressed his groin to hers. The heat he found tore a hungry groan from his chest.
She grabbed his shoulders, neither pushing him away nor tugging him closer. The flexing of her fingers betrayed her inflict conflict. So did the mix of scents surrounding them. Finally, she gave him a small shove. “I don’t want this.”
He inhaled to test the truth in her words. The growing fragrance of her arousal contradicted her statement. He ran his fingertips across her thigh. “Don’t you?”
She licked her lips. “I shouldn’t want you.”
“And I shouldn’t want you.” He abandoned her leg and reached for her neck, repeating the gentle caress. “But I do.”
She watched him without speaking, but he didn’t need the confirmation. The lust hazing her eyes told him she felt the same.
He slid his hand into her wet hair and skimmed his parted lips to temple, allowing his breath to heat her skin. “I want to crawl inside you and never,” he paused to flick the tip of his tongue to her skin, “ever leave.”
Whimpers fell from her lips. She dug her fingers harder into his flesh.
“You want the same. I know you do.” Holding her still, he captured her earlobe between his teeth and gave it a little tug. A shuddered sigh met his efforts, pleasing him. “Don’t you?”
She moaned but didn’t answer. That wouldn’t do. He rolled his hips, pushing his dick harder against her cleft. She sucked in a shaky breath. “Answer me.”
“Yes, Devin. I do.”
He knew his name moaned in her husky voice would sound good. He wanted to hear it again. Parting her robe, he slid his hand inside and covered the slight weight of her breast. The erect tip rubbed against his palm. A whipping current ran through his body.
She grasped his wrist, panic sliding into her eyes. “No.”
He frowned but released the nipple he held between his fingers. A relieved sigh fell from her lips but she arched into him, pushing the hard point into the center of his hand. The conflicting response stoked his curiosity, but he didn’t give in to the urge to ask her about it. He had no intention of discovering her inner issues. He only wanted to experience more of this all-consuming lust.
“Did you change your mind?”
She shook her head.
“Okay, then tell me what you want.”
“I want…” She linked her hands around his neck and pulled him closer without finishing her demand. Her unspoken plea for attention hovered between them. His instincts demanded he meet her needs, voiced or not.
He yanked her closer. She gasped and he silenced the shocked yelp with another kiss, one she eagerly accepted. The woman surprised him with her passionate response. Her eagerness reinforced his earlier thoughts. It made him want to test her and see how far she’d take this.
He stilled his plundering kiss, waited with his lips just brushing hers so their breaths mixed.
A long heartbeat passed before she kissed him, forced her tongue into his mouth and stroked it against his. He moved with her, let her control the moment. All the while his pleasure grew. Each breathy moan she shoved down his throat confirmed his suspicions. Every one of her caresses eased the pressure on his chest, made him feel normal. With Lena’s nails digging into his biceps and her core pressed over the hard dick in his sweats, he could almost forget that his mind was broken.
The woman grinding her hips against his tamed him. Fucking healed him. Maybe only for these few minutes, but by the gods, if that wasn’t a damn miracle, he didn’t know what was. She gathered the fragments of his scattered mind and built them up around her. She became his focus and he eagerly centered his attention on her.
No longer content to merely enjoy her kiss, he tugged hard on her hair and bent over her arched body so he could delve deeper and take in more of her flavor. With strokes of his tongue, he explored her, memorized the dips and contours of her teeth and cheeks until the sensory memory became a part of him.
From the moment he’d taken her scent into his lungs, he’d known he’d want to experience more. Every minute since had amplified the need and what he found here in her arms appealed to him—her sweet fragrance, her decadent taste and this…a passion that promised heaven once he dipped his cock inside her.
As if she desired the same, she slid her bottom closer to the edge of the sink, her legs automatically widening to accommodate his hips. With her opened to him, he thrust roughly in a mimic of sex while he explored the warm, wet depths of her mouth.
The wetness of her arousal dampened his sweats, added to the moisture welling at the tip of his cock. He ground harder against her. More cream soaked the cotton separating them. Her nails pressed deeper into his skin, just shy of bleeding him. Moans spilled from her as he increased the pressure on her silken tresses. Tremors ran the length of her limbs. Her pulse kicked up.
Fucking hell. She was close. All from a kiss and a little stimulation. The drive to please her and make her come took over. The compulsion became one he couldn’t deny. He tilted his hips, rubbed the hard length of his shaft over the opening of her sex. She answered his efforts with a guttural groan, not a sound he’d ever heard a human female make. He liked knowing he broke through her inhibitions and brought the raw sound out. Liked it a lot.
His fangs extended as he too lost control—a first for him. Angling her head, she ran her tongue along the length of one. Her exploration sent sparks of electricity skipping down his spine, made his shaft throb. He pushed it harder against her, the ache unbearable.
Moaning, she captured his tongue and sucked. The sensation tugged on his cock and drew his balls up. He jerked back, completely caught off guard by his instantaneous response. The look he found stamped on her face nearly brought him to release. Slumberous lust. Hunger that darkened her eyes, reminding him of the paintings he’d seen of pagan goddesses. A sexual siren. It wouldn’t surprise him if she were one. The woman had him two seconds away from coming in his pants. Three hundred years of fucking females should’ve given him a little more control.
“Devin.”
The slightly pleading inflection to her voice reminded him Lena’s pleasure came first, not his, and she needed him. He saw it in her eyes. And hell yeah, that fucking did it for him.
He cupped her bottom and tilted his hips so the head of his erection pressed against her clit. The cotton of his sweats rubbing against her sex would add to the stimulation. Make her hotter. Crazy for him. Rolling his hips, he stroked over her cleft. He listened to her breathing, quickened his motions until her pants grew raspy and the nails biting into his flesh drew blood. One more rough thrust and she arched into his embrace. He swallowed her breathless cry as she came—his reward. It wasn’t enough.
He wanted more.
He released the stranglehold he had on her damp brown waves and gripped the waistband of his pants. A tug and his dick sprang free. The tip slid along her wet cleft and he groaned. So damn hot. She rubbed the opening of her core along his rod, bathing it in her cream. Back and forth, her hips moved as she rocked over the straight shaft.
He closed his eyes to enjoy the sensation of her warm, wet lips molding his length but the head dipped slightly into her opening. He grabbed her hips and held her poised there. One thrust and he’d be seated inside her. His muscles tensed. His rough breathing matched hers. He snapped his teeth together, fought to rein himself in. If he joined them, he’d come. Already pre-cum welled and his heavy balls promised he’d erupt and fill her with his seed, claiming her womb as his. Once he did, he’d keep her.
He’d mate her, whether she was his one or not.
She squeezed his forearms and panted, “No sex.”
“No sex,” he agreed, grateful she’d stopped him, but he ran the rigid length through her cleft again. He couldn’t help it. Touching her felt too good. Too damn right. Gods, he was playing with fire. In the back of his mind, he recognized the dangers of what they were doing. Still, he didn’t want to stop, not completely. “This okay?”
“Honey, I’m home,” Kade announced as he stomped across the floor.
Lena stiffened in his arms. Instead of pushing him away—the reaction he expected—she dug blunt nails into his back and clung to him. Her breathing turned ragged. Fear fueled the little pants, not pleasure. The scent unmistakable. The change in her mood bothered him. He liked the sexy Lena, not the frightened one.
He tugged up his sweats and grumbled, “Go away, Kade.”
The other male stifled a chuckle. “Sorry to interrupt you but you’ll have to finish whatever it was you were doing later. We need to get moving. I spotted more lions in town.”
Lena trembled. He nuzzled against her cheek in an effort to calm her.
“How many?”
“Four and there’s too many humans around to just kill them.”
The soft sound of cloth brushing against itself warned him of Kade’s approach. His friend cleared his throat once he leaned against the bathroom door. Devin met his gaze in the mirror.
“So what happened to keeping your perspective?”
Devin bared his fangs at Kade’s reflection. He tucked Lena closer. Once he ensured her sweet treasures were hidden, he glared at Kade over his shoulder. “Stay out of this.”
“Can’t. That human you’re groping endangered an innocent cub. We need to get Molly back before she’s given over to her buyers and you’re not going to get any answers with your tongue down this woman’s throat.”
Lena gripped his biceps, her slight tug urging him to look at her. He did. Her wide eyes captured his. “I didn’t sell Molly.”
“Then where is she?”
She pressed her lips firmly together in answer. He growled at her stubbornness. She flinched. The involuntary reaction tore another snarl from his throat. He hated seeing the fear in her eyes when only moments ago passion had hazed them.
He brushed the damp strands of her hair from her cheek. “Please, sweetheart, we want to protect her too. You need to trust me.”
Her eyes pleaded with him, the chocolate color deepening. She was going to deny him, feed him some bullshit line. He didn’t want to hear any excuses.
“Lena, just listen…”
“I’m sorry but I can’t, Devin. I’m not a stranger to your world. I know what shifters are capable of. I’ve seen it firsthand. Heard stories.” She lifted her hand from where it had covered her belly and rested the tips over his sternum. “So many horrible stories. How am I supposed to trust you with a child, especially after what you did to me?”
He laid his palm over the slashes she’d uncovered. Her skin felt as if it were on fire. He frowned and gently traced the reddened flesh around the scabs, not understanding why the wound looked different. It hadn’t been puffy or pink tinged before her shower.
His cats picked up on his confusion. They began to prowl their enclosure. The lion snarled at the tiger and the jaguar trotted over to join in on the commotion. Gods, he hated when they fought. They fucking tore him up inside, made his head hurt with their howls. He gave each cat’s metaphysical leash a sharp tug, reminded them Lena was here and she was upset. They calmed. He turned his attention back to the female patiently watching him.
“I’m sorry, angel.” He slid his hands to her tiny waist, spanning it with his fingers. “I was angry that I allowed the male to hurt you. He paid for it and you’re safe now.”
Her gaze flicked from his mouth to his hand. “You tore his throat out.” Her brown eyes that had looked upon him with lust moments ago held uncertainty now, but she held his gaze, even as the scent of her fear increased. “You didn’t just kill them. You slaughtered those men, Devin. Ripped them to shreds. You were so lost to your rage that you didn’t even notice me.”
He pressed his palms to the counter, tried to ignore the doubt in her expression. She was afraid of the situation. That was all. It wasn’t because she was terrified of him. He’d explained that it was an accident. She had to feel the truth in his words and believe him. If she didn’t, she couldn’t be his one. A potential mate would be drawn to him, no matter what. She wouldn’t look upon him with fear. A breeding partner would though. Unless they were fucking, she’d have no compulsion to trust him or even want to be with him. Those unions focused on sex, nothing more.
Eyes narrowed, he studied her and tried to decide which category Lena fell into. Her words and the look in her eyes didn’t match the way she swayed toward him. The scent of her arousal and anxiety mixed. He couldn’t make sense of her mood. It left him uneasy and made him wonder if he was seeing things in Lena that weren’t there. He waited for spots to dot his vision as his confusion mounted. They didn’t come, yet his doubts remained. Damn, he didn’t want to question this. Lena made him feel sane. Right here and now. He latched on to the normality. He refused to think of anything else.
Devin ran his thumb over her lower lip. “I scented their lust. They would’ve raped you.” He drew her back into the shelter of his arms, the memory too close to the surface. “Males like that would torture you just for fun. It’s a power trip for them. They deserved to die.”
“You have the right to decide that?”
“Yes. I’m not human, Lena. You can’t hold me to the same standards. But know this, you are safe with me and so is Molly. I won’t lose control again. I promise.” He prayed it was one he could keep. With Lena’s soothing fragrance cocooning him, it felt like the truth. Gods, he wanted it to be.
She tensed in his arms. “And how would you protect us?”
“I’d watch over you.”
“How? Keep us close?”
He nodded.
Her eyes narrowed more. The tint of anger twined with her fragrance increased. “Watch our every move? Decide who we’re allowed to be with and where we can go?”
“Of course. Your safety—”
She cut him off with an annoyed little growl that sounded incredibly sexy. “Get this straight, I’m not a shifter female who cowers to males nor will I give up my…Molly to someone I…don’t know.”
His cats caught the spike in her pulse. Her quick amendment hid something significant. He studied her expression but couldn’t guess what. Whatever she hid angered her though. “What were you going to say?”
“Nothing.” She pushed at his chest. He didn’t budge. She shoved harder. “Back off, Devin.”
Instead of releasing her, he held her chin and stared into her chocolate eyes. After a moment, black overtook the brown and the tension in her limbs eased. The confirmation that what they’d shared wasn’t an adrenaline surge pleased him, eased his fears.
“This isn’t over, baby. I meant what I said. I’m not letting you go.” Maybe not ever.
Kade’s warning chuff stopped her retort.
Devin allowed his cats to rise and assess the threat. The scent reaching him was weak but distinctive. “Lion.”
“And he’s been hurt.” Kade motioned toward Lena. “Get the female out of here. I’ll handle the shifter.”
“No, we need to stay together.”
Kade bared his teeth in answer.
“If there are more waiting for us, how am I supposed to fight them and protect Lena?”
Kade’s gaze shifted to Lena’s shoulder. He nodded without saying another word.
Devin tightened the sash on her robe and lifted her into his arms.
“I can walk, you know.”
He glanced into her face. She watched him warily. The anger from a moment ago gone. “I know.” He grabbed the plastic shopping bag with the items Kade had bought, shoved it inside her duffle and slipped it over his shoulder. “But you’re not going to.”
“Afraid I’ll run?”
He didn’t answer. He’d shared enough of his inner turmoil while Kade was within hearing distance. His pride leader didn’t need to know
how much he needed Lena’s touch.
“Don’t I even get the chance to get dressed?”
If it was up to him, she’d never get dressed. He cleared his throat. “No time. The fewer scenes we cause around the humans, the better. We don’t know what’s waiting for us outside.”
After a moment, she clasped her arms around him and buried her face into the crook of his neck, obviously choosing not to question his reasoning. Devin sighed. Despite everything, she trusted him enough to seek his protection. This time he’d make sure he kept her safe.
He brushed his thumb over her exposed leg and focused on Kade. “Why would he come here to confront us? We haven’t masked out scent. He knows who we are.”
Kade shrugged and flung the door open. The scent of blood lingered in the hall but the male standing by the elevator didn’t have any visible wounds, nor did he look fearful. In the presence of two royals from a rival pride, the mortal single-shifter should’ve been cowering.
“There’s the bitch I’ve been waiting for.”
The strained lines around the male’s mouth and the way he favored his left side gave away his weakness, but cockiness dripped from his words. He sneered at Lena and casually swung a locket from his fingers. She sucked in a rough breath.
“That’s right. I met your sister.”
“What did you do to her?” Lena asked in an agonized whisper.
“Oh, she got away, but now that I got a taste of her sweet little mouth, I’m anxious to get her body beneath me.” He tossed the necklace up in the air, caught it. “That is, unless you want to tell me where the cub is.”
Kade leaned casually against the wall, ankles crossed and a brow raised. “And why would she do that? Delaware is part of my territory. By Council law, the cub is mine. Her parents are dead. Your pride has no right to her.”
Beautiful Mistake: 2 (Royal Pride) Page 6
