Masks of a Tiger

by Doris O'Connor

  She propped herself up on her elbows using his chest, an action that brought her pussy dangerously close to his throbbing cock, and they both groaned. Their eyes locked, and sweat broke out on his upper lip. He clenched the bed sheets to stop himself from grabbing her hips and impaling her on his dick.

  Fire flared in Neeve's eyes, and that hint of defiance was back when she lifted her chin.

  "Bullshit!" She smacked her fist into his chest hard enough to wind him, and the growl rumbling from her would have done any female tiger proud. He grinned at her, and he could almost see the steam coming out her ears.

  "This is fucking bullshit. You want me. I want you. What is there to think about? You want honesty? I give you fucking honesty. I have no clue why I react to you in the way that I do. Maybe Nathan is right. Maybe you're all right. Maybe I am really a sub. How the fuck would I know? All I do know is that if you think you can pull any of that collaring crap on me, I'll have your balls for breakfast."

  He winced in between laughter, and she pummeled his chest with her fists until he caught them and flipped them over until he was on top with her pinned underneath him.

  "Damn you, let me go, you stubborn, overbearing, idiot you." She bucked underneath him, and he did the only thing he could do. He gave into temptation.

  ****

  Neeve had no idea how it happened, but one minute she'd been sitting on top of him, getting more and more annoyed at the stubborn man's insistence that she didn't know her own mind, and the next he had her pinned into the bed with his erection hard and heavy pulsing at her entrance. His eyes bled back to his tiger's, and he scraped his fangs along her neck. She went perfectly still at his growled command to do so, and her insides turned to molten lava at the heated look he gave her.

  "Give me your hands."

  She hastened to comply, and he fastened her wrists into the very same restraints she'd used on him earlier. He repeated the same process with her legs until she was lying spread eagled on the bed, every last line of her body open and vulnerable to him. Her skin tightened until it felt too small for her frame under his intense scrutiny. He ran his hands over every inch of her body, driving her wild with need. By the time he finally reached her pussy, she was about ready to scream at him. She bit her tongue however. He was very much back in full Dom mode, and trying to hurry him along would only achieve the opposite. She had learnt that much.

  He studied her piercing as though he had never seen it before, and her stomach dropped at the sinful smile that crept over his features when he looked from her to the side cabinet.

  "Sir? Please?" Her breathy voice was a mere whisper, but he raised his eyes to her face and stroked his cock slowly. Her mouth went dry following that up and down movement, and she whimpered her need. Long, hard, and thick, it jutted up toward his navel, the prominent veins testament to how aroused he was. His face contorted as though in pain, and Neeve shut her eyes in relief when he pulled a packet of condoms out of the side stand and made short work of sheathing himself.

  He tested her readiness by running his fingers through her slit and licked the wetness he found there off with his tongue.

  "You're so fucking wet for me, sweetheart. It's beautiful." He lined himself up with her entrance, and their eyes locked when he seated himself in one smooth stroke. He swore, and her internal muscles clamped around him, drawing him in farther as her body opened up for him.

  "Jesus, I'm sorry, sweetheart, this will be quick." He panted the words in between thrusts into her core that had her body climbing in record time. The delicious weight of him on top of her, the inability to move, as his thrusts grew more and more urgent, his harsh breaths in her ear, all combined to pitch her headfirst into release. He pounded her into the bed with such force the whole bed shook and her teeth snapped together, and when he changed the angle of his thrust, Neeve's body splintered. She did scream his name, as wave after wave of bliss crashed over her, and he grunted his release into her shoulder. He collapsed on top of her, and for the second time that day Neeve burst into tears at his murmured apology.

  "I'll do better next time."

  ****

  Grisha froze at the renewed tears streaming down Neeve's face. Had he hurt her? But no, these weren't tears of sorrow. She smiled at him through her tears, and he kissed them off her face and released her from her bonds. He massaged her arms and legs, ever mindful of the fact that she was new to this and then walked to the bathroom to dispose of the condom. He washed his hands and face and willed his breathing to calm down. The intensity of his feelings for the woman next door overwhelmed him completely. Even now his tiger was anxious to return to her side.

  He had no idea how he was supposed to ever let her go. Heaven help him, but he wanted it all. He wanted her to wear his collar and his mate mark; he wanted to come home to find her waiting for him, and he wanted to see her slight body heavy and swollen with his child.

  He shook his head and dug his claws into the porcelain wash bowl. He needed to shift and let his tiger roam free, to roar his frustration to the heavens. His mother's dying words came back to haunt him. "I haven't once regretted meeting your father. I wasn't what he needed, and I had to let him go, but he gave me you, Grisha. I pray that you find the woman you need one day. Just remember to truly love someone is to set them free."

  His mother, God rest her soul, had died minutes after uttering those damning words. Grisha had decided there and then that he would never allow himself to fall in love. To let anyone close enough to break through his defenses. Love just brought misery and heartache. His mother had loved his father, but the little human had just been a distraction for him. He'd left her within weeks of meeting, without telling her that he was a shifter. When Natasha had found herself pregnant, she'd had no idea she was carrying a tiger shifter, so the first time Grisha had undergone the shift he'd had no idea what was happening to him. He'd done his best to hide his “illness” from his mother. He hadn't been able to hide his nightmares, however.

  Eventually, she had wheedled the truth out of him. Natasha Sergewski had taken the news with the same calm, and quiet determination she'd faced anything else life had thrown at her. She'd helped him to find out as much as she could about shifters. The forests of Russia were rife with legends and myth, and they soon found out that most of those myths were steeped in truth.

  After the death of his beloved mother, a teenage Grisha had left Russia behind. He'd back-packed through Europe, supporting himself through odd jobs, and expanding his sexual education. To be in control of his sexual partner was a necessity he could not function without. By the time he met Ink in a bar brawl in Lithuania he'd known who he was and what he needed. Ink had started a fight with some locals, after the men had taken offence at one of the girl's shameless flirting with Ink. Grisha had come to Ink's rescue, and over the heavy beating they'd received the two shifters had bonded, and a lifelong friend ship had been formed.

  Ink's family had welcomed Grisha into their midst, and had paid to put him through adult education. Grisha was a fast learner and excelled at his studies, completing them in record time. When Ink and Nathan had opened the club, Grisha had been the first employee. They'd learned the ropes together, and over time Club Ink had become the BDSM club for the shifter community—a safe haven for shifters of all kind, and an extremely lucrative business venture.

  As a result Grisha was financially secure, and happy, or so he'd thought. Seeing first Nathan and then Ink settle down and find their mates had made him re-evaluate what he wanted from life.

  How he was going to explain all that to Neeve, he had no idea. He was under no illusion that she would be unaware of his “love them and leave them” reputation. Neeve was no fool. She would not have come to Club Ink or let him anywhere near her without checking him out first.

  A small sound behind him alerted him to her presence. She stood in the door way to the en suite bathroom, looking pensive and gloriously naked. He wouldn’t have been surprised had she draped the bed sheet around he
rself, but he should have known that wasn't his Neeve's style.

  She gave him an uncertain smile, and he spread his arms out. She scooted into his embrace. Without her heels she fitted perfectly under his chin, and he rested his head on hers and pulled her close.

  "You were gone so long I was beginning to worry you'd fallen down the loo or something."

  Grisha sighed, and she tensed in his arms.

  "Hardly, sweetheart. I just … look, you must be sore. Let me run you a bath. I was rather hard on you for your first time in a scene."

  To his surprise she snuggled closer into him and kissed his chest.

  "Don’t you start that crap again, Mister. A bath would be wonderful, but only if you join me. That bathtub looks easily big enough for three."

  "Is that a hint, my sweet Neeve? Do I call Mistress Scarlett after all?" She bit his nipple in answer, and Grisha chuckled.

  "Don't you dare, Gri… I mean, Sir." The defiant inflection made him smile, and he pinched her butt cheek.

  "Watch it, sub."

  He was waiting for the sassy comeback, but Neeve just went very still in his arms. So still that he was getting worried. He entangled himself out of her embrace and cupped her chin to make her look at him.

  "What thoughts are swirling around inside that pretty head of yours?"

  She shrugged her shoulders, and his tiger growled, a rather menacing, possessive sound that had her eyes widen. She trembled, and her skin flushed a delightful shade of pink. His nostrils flared in response to her sweet musk, and he dipped his other hand into her slit. Sure enough she was wet for him. His cock hardened immediately, and he groaned when she cupped the heavy shaft and dropped to her knees.

  With an impish smile in his direction she wrapped her lips round his prick and sucked. Grisha swore and grabbed the wash basin for support. He knew he should stop her, that she was avoiding his question, but fuck it, she was good at this. His thighs tensed, his balls drew up, and he stopped fighting her. He grabbed her hair, and she smiled around his dick when he fucked her mouth.

  "That's it my little tigress, take me deep, milk me. Deeper, yes … Fuuuuck!" Neeve's hands curled around his thighs, and she renewed her efforts as his pre-cum leaked and he grew bigger still. He yanked her hair and thrust in earnest, hitting the back of her mouth. She gagged once, but he was too far gone to slow his pace. His orgasm build from the base of his spine, the ferocity of it taking his breath away, as it surged through his shaft and flooded her mouth. Neeve's throat worked in tandem with his thrusts, as she swallowed rapidly to take every powerful jet. With her eyes closed in concentration, her lips flayed wide around his shaft while his black dick tunneled in out of her plump lips, it was every fucking man's fantasy.

  He roared his final release into the stillness of the room, and Neeve released him slowly. She licked him clean and then rested her head against his thigh with another impish grin.

  "I've been meaning to do that since I saw you, Sir."

  ****

  Happiness bubbled up inside Neeve like a fountain, and she couldn't stop grinning, even when Grisha gave an exaggerated sigh and pulled her up by her hair.

  His face looked stern, but there was an unmistakable twinkle in his eyes, and he pulled her in for a breathtaking kiss that left her breathless and clinging to him for support. Her nipples turned into little hard nubs of sensation, and she pressed closer into his hard abs. The exquisite friction created by the movement sent sparks of need dancing along her nerve endings. Her pussy flooded, and her clit clenched as she moaned her arousal into the kiss. He lifted one of her legs to give him better access and pushed two of his fingers deep into her cunt. Her body clamped around those digits as he finger-fucked her with merciless precision. His tongue mimicked the actions of his fingers. With the kiss growing ever more passionate, his fangs grazed her lips, and Neeve whimpered her need, as her body climbed. The tingles of sensation spread from deep inside her until she hovered on the edge of bliss, and Grisha stopped.

  He withdrew his fingers, lowered her leg, and when her knees gave way, picked her up and sat her on the vanity unit. The shock of the cold porcelain on her bare cunt made her gasp out loud, and Grisha ducked the half-hearted punch aimed at him with a huge grin. He turned his back on her and turned the taps on to fill the bath with water.

  "Careful there, sub. You don't want to add to the punishment you've already earned yourself, for evading my question."

  The mere thought of punishment made her squirm. Not in fear, she realized with astonishment, but in anticipation.

  "I wasn't evading your question, Sir." Grisha went very still. He stopped pouring the bath oil into the swirling water and then set it down very carefully. He crossed his arms and looked at her, every inch of him the imposing Dom, and Neeve pressed on with her explanation, suddenly desperate to explain, to see him smile in approval.

  "I was just wondering how you knew, Sir." She tried her best to keep any inflection out of her voice, surprised how easily the hated Sir rolled off her tongue now. He blinked, and some of the tension went out of his tall frame. He turned the water off and covered the distance between them in a few loose limbed strides.

  "How did I know what?"

  "That I needed to cry?"Neeve barely heard her own whisper as she swallowed past the lump in her throat, and he rested his head against her forehead. Their breaths mingled, and he pulled her off the counter top and carried her over to the bath. He lowered her into the bath, and Neeve sighed her contentment when the warm, fragrant bubbles caressed her skin, and took away the last of the lingering discomfort left over from his earlier ministrations. He climbed in behind her and pulled her toward him until her back rested against his chest.

  She felt the shrug of his shoulders. "Just a hunch, sweet Neeve. I wouldn't be a very good Dom if I couldn’t read people easily. You, as it happens, carry your heart on your sleeve."

  "I do not!" He chuckled and pulled her closer still until she felt the head of his rapidly hardening cock rub against her ass. He trapped her legs by looping his own over hers, and her heartrate sped up when he reached behind them and produced a pair of handcuffs. In the blink of an eye he had her wrists cuffed to either side of the enormous tub and secured to the hand rails. He rubbed his stubble into the sensitive skin of her neck, sending tingles of awareness along her nerve endings. The tingles erupted into shivers of anticipation when he reached behind them again and produced a waterproof vibrator. The dildo shaped object seemed huge in his hands, and Neeve sucked in a sharp breath when he ran the phallus along her slit repeatedly. He lifted her slightly with one hand and then pushed the thick rubber cock inside her hole with one swift and thorough twist of his wrist. She moaned at the fullness in her cunt, and she jumped when the vibrations started deep inside her core. Her head fell back against his shoulder, and she squirmed in the water, as much as she could, held in position as she was by the handcuffs and his powerful legs.

  "Comfortable there, sweet Neeve?"

  She panted her affirmation as he turned the vibrations up again and bit her earlobe. His hands settled either side of her hips and tilted her forward, so that her labia rested on the bath floor. The base of the dildo hit the bath tub and increased the sensations inside her.

  "Show me your fists. Let me know you're all right." She clenched her hands and gritted her teeth desperate to hold off the orgasm approaching with the ferocity of a speed train. "Good girl, hold it off, until I give you permission."

  "I … I can't. Please…" Neeve didn't recognize the hoarse, needy voice pleading for her climax over and over, and she barely registered the pressure in her ass, as Grisha pushed one, and then two fingers into her nether hole.

  "Relax for me, sweetheart." He thrust his fingers in and out slowly, stretching her preparing her. "That's it, breathe, go with it. Come for me." Her body exploded at the grumbled command, and she was dimly aware of his hands lifting her onto her knees. Somehow he kept the dildo inside her, and then there was pressure against her puckered hole.
So much pressure she couldn't breathe. As her body shook with the aftershocks, Grisha pushed past the ring of muscle until he filled her so completely, she didn't know where she ended and he began. With his back molded against hers, her arms stretched to the sides, and her tits hanging free, he thrust. Slowly at first and then with ever increasing speed. The water sloshed around them, and Neeve screamed as the dual stimulation pushed her into a powerful set of multiple orgasms, so intense she could barely draw breaths into her lungs. When Grisha roared his own release with one last forceful thrust into her ass that sent the dildo shooting out of her cunt, Neeve's screams turned to sobs of pleasure. She pushed against him and tensed her muscles around his cock, her ass on fire inside as his hot seed filled her. Grisha turned her head and claimed her mouth in a kiss so full of emotion, Neeve's heart splintered into a million little pieces that only her Sir would ever be able to put back together.

  Chapter Eight

  He was back in the forest, his skin on fire, his body contorting in agony, as he turned into the monster he seemed cursed to be. He roared his agony, every muscle in his body tensed to flee, to outrun this dark magic, to get as far away from his Mama as he could, lest this thing he turned into hurt the one person he loved more than anything in this world. He forced his eyes open and drew a long denied breath of air into his lungs, but it wasn’t the lush vegetation of his homeland that greeted him, but the inside of Ink’s dungeon. He leaped off the bed, completing his shift in mid-air, with Neeve’s terrified screams ringing in his ears. He prowled along the dungeon willing his heart rate to slow down, the terrified expression on Neeve’s face cutting through him like glass. Slowly the swirling mists of his old nightmare lifted, and his frantic pacing slowed down enough for Neeve to be able to approach him. His ears twitched, hearing the tentative footfalls of her bare feet, and both man and tiger held their breath anew, when her scent surrounded them. She crouched down and buried her fists in his fur, pulling him into her soft curves.