by Lynn Red
I studiously avoided his gaze as I said, “I had to help him. My honor was at stake.”
“It was more like your virginity was at stake, you stubborn little hellcat.”
It wasn’t the cool fury in his voice that made me flinch. It was his last word. I wasn’t his little kitty anymore. Now, after what he had seen, I was...
“You idiot.”
My head jerked up, and my eyes clashed with his. First I was a kitty. Then I was a creature from hell. And now I was an idiot? He was no superhero right now. If anything, he was a super jerk.
Another second passed, and it hit me.
I paled.
Seeing it, he smirked. And then he said very succinctly, “You idiot.”
He was not scared of me.
No one who was scared of my darker half would have had the courage to call me a hellcat and an idiot.
I blinked several times, wondering if after a few more blinks, he’d disappear. But he did not. Instead, he remained in front of me, tall, strong, and, like my darker half noticed, beautiful.
“You’re not scared of me?” I blurted out. I had to ask. I had to know. I had to be sure.
“While you did look, for a moment, like some damn extra for a Paranormal Activity movie, I hate to disappoint you, little kitty, but no. You did not scare me.” His face hardened. “But you damn well made me angry.”
In a second, he had hauled me to his arms, his mouth crushing mine in a rough kiss. I gasped against his lips, but that only seemed to inflame him more, making him pull me closer to him. This close, I could feel his heart beating madly. It took me a moment to understand that it wasn’t because he was mad. It was because he had been scared. For me.
Me. The Human Monster.
The thought was liberating, humbling, and electrifying. With a little moan of surrender, I gave myself up to his kiss, my arms going around his neck. I felt his body become taut just a moment before he released a low growl that had my toes curling.
His kiss became deeper, and his hands were suddenly everywhere, caressing my sides before they returned to my breasts. He groaned the moment he cupped my breasts, groaned with such longing it was as if he badly missed touching them.
Without breaking our kiss, he hauled me up, and my legs automatically went around his waist. He started walking and when my back hit the wall, he kept me up with just one arm while he used his other hand to take hold of my tank top—-
Riiiiiip.
I let out a little gasp, unable to believe that he had ripped my tank top into two. But then his mouth was back on my breast, his lips closing over my nipple. He sucked and sucked, with seemingly no intentions of stopping. He sucked my nipple so hard that I couldn’t stop my body from bucking against his, couldn’t stop myself from releasing these embarrassingly sensual moans every few moments.
When he let go of my breast, I couldn’t help but moan in protest.
He chuckled in response, but it was a pained sound.
I turned red, realizing how wanton I was being with him.
“You want me.” God, how his voice vibrated with sheer male satisfaction. It should have made me mad, but it just made me want to curl up and rub against him like a stupid little kitty seeking affection.
“Don’t you, little kitty?”
The words were whispered into my ear, and my body bucked against him again.
My telling reaction won a smile, and his voice was just as silky as he murmured, “And I want you as much.” He slowly slid me to my feet. Before I could figure out why, he had captured my hand and brought it to his cock.
I gasped, but my fingers instinctively tightened around the silken rod at the same time. It twitched in my hold, making me gasp again as my stunned gaze flew to him.
“That’s my cock, little kitty. Do you feel how much it wants you?”
“I...” I didn’t know what to say. All I could do was look at him, helpless with desire and excitement. It seemed to be enough because with a groan, he was kissing me again even as his hand covered mine, teaching me how to pleasure him.
“Suck my tongue,” he commanded huskily.
With a shudder, I did what he asked, and the pleasure of submitting to his command was nearly as great as the feel of sucking on his tongue and hearing him groan because of it. As I sucked his tongue, my hand didn’t stop moving, familiarizing itself with the rhythm and speed that his cock responded to the most.
“Fuck, you’re hot.” The words seemed to have been torn out of him. He took command of the kiss once more, and I gladly surrendered to his control. Passion had completely taken over me. All I wanted now was to do what he wanted. His fingers gripped my hips just before he hauled me closer so he could grind his cock against my belly. He began dry humping me, and I could have cried at how good it felt. Every thrust, rub, every moment of friction created by his cock coming into contact with my belly had me shuddering and writhing.
“Tell me your name.” His fingers dug hard into my buttocks just before he ground his erection against me, harder than ever.
I gasped, “Calys.” I looked up at him with dazed eyes. I couldn’t believe, after everything that happened, we were only exchanging names now. “A-and you?”
He said roughly, “Why don’t you find out for yourself?”
Another moment passed before I realized what he meant. My heart sped up at what he was offering, and my fingers shook as I reached for the strings that held his mask in place.
He squeezed my breast, hard enough for pain to become pleasure, making me whimper. “Go on, beautiful Calys. Find out who I am.”
With a little tug, the mask dropped to the floor.
I whitened. “You.”
He raised a brow, as if not knowing how to take my shock. “Me.”
Alejandro Moretti.
I couldn’t believe my superhero was none other than Alejandro Moretti. On one hand, he was everything I expected from one of the famous Moretti twins. Or rather, make that infamous.
With his mask removed, he made an even more alluring figure. Cute guys had never been able to turn my head, but Alejandro Moretti wasn’t cute. He was beautiful. Lethally so. Everything about his face was perfection. I wished I could say he was so pretty he looked like a girl, but he didn’t. He was all male, his face a picture of both strength and beauty.
No wonder I found him irresistible. Panthers in my pack talked about him a lot, not because he was the savior of shifter kind but often because he was bedding his way to becoming the most sexually prolific shifter in history.
The thought made my stomach turn even as I told myself I shouldn’t care about his past – or even his present.
“You are disappointed to find out I am who I am, aren’t you?”
His tone was bland, but even so, I couldn’t make myself admit the truth. It just wasn’t in my nature to say something that I knew could hurt another person, even if it was just his pride.
So I shook my head.
He said dryly, “You’re a bad liar.”
“No. I’m not.” But I couldn’t meet his eyes. In my mind, I could so easily imagine him surrounded by so many women.
Only a shifter living under a rock wouldn’t know that his pack’s name had been dragged through the mud. And he didn’t seem to give a crap about it. At least his twin cared enough to get into fights over it. But Alejandro? Every time I heard news about him, it was always in connection with some other woman.
But...there had to be a reason for his actions. Even superheroes made mistakes at the start, right? All of them had started flawed, but they eventually got their act together.
Looking at him, I said slowly, “I know what you’ve been through.”
A smile that didn’t reach his eyes started to play on his lips. “Do you?”
“Yes.”
He cupped my face.
Oh, crap. I had a feeling he was going to do something to shut me up. I said in a rush, “I know it’s unfair, what’s happening to your pack. I won’t pretend to understand—
-” I ended up gasping the last word out as Alejandro bent down to kiss the corner of my lip. Craaaap. Such a simple kiss, and yet my body was on fire.
Concentrate, Calys, concentrate!
“Go on,” Alejandro murmured before nibbling on my lip.
I shuddered. God of superheroes, save me. Lend me the strength to remind him of his purpose.
“You must remember that we all have our own trials to face, and we can’t blame fate for it...” As Alejandro started nuzzling my neck, I couldn’t help leaning to one side to give him better access. “All we can do is face our problems and find the courage to overcoooooome...” Oh my God, he was sucking on my neck and it couldn’t feel any better.
“So, I just want to tell...you...” I gasped as his hands reclaimed my breasts and my eyes squeezed shut in utter pleasure as he started pinching my nipples between his fingers.
“Tell me what?” He pinched my nipples harder. His nostrils flared as if the scent of my arousal was an aphrodisiac in itself.
Even as my body swayed towards him, a silent plea for Alejandro to continue pinching my nipples, I tried valiantly to reclaim my thoughts. “I wanna tell you that...you are no ordinary...Lyccan.”
Boy oh boy, but he wasn’t, not when he was so masterfully good at making my body melt. Those wonderful fingers of his were pulling on my nipples now, plucking and plucking them like a flower with an endless stream of petals.
I found myself gripping his shoulders. Hard. I had to. My knees had practically given out at his relentless attack on my senses. A whimper escaped me as Alejandro lowered his head. Oh, no. He couldn’t—-
He did. His mouth replaced his fingers, his lips closing over my nipple like a favorite candy meant to be savored. It felt so good, but I couldn’t let myself be swept away by it. If I didn’t speak my piece now, I must forever hold my peace.
When I felt his teeth actually scraping against my nipple, I knew I was this close to losing my mind. The words tumbled out. “You can restore your family’s name. You’re not Alejandro Moretti for nothing. But you have to remember...aaaaah...”
He bit my nipple.
I gasped, “You have to remember that with great power comes—-”
Alejandro stopped biting my nipple. He raised his head and asked, “Did you just quote Spiderman to me?”
Voices coming from another approaching group of shifters saved me from the embarrassment of replying. Before I could figure out what was happening, Alejandro had swiped my costume from the floor and got me into it. And then we were speeding away.
When he finally stopped, the world spun around me. Although the shifters in my family could be as fast, I didn’t really make a habit of letting them sweep me into their arms and using them as mobile cars. When the world stopped moving, I realized he had brought me to my dressing room.
My eyes flew to him in surprise.
“I traced your scent back to this place,” he said simply. Looking at me with a hooded gaze, he said, “I’ll be your Cavaliere.”
That stunned me even more. “Y-you will?” He couldn’t even be bothered to defend his own pack’s reputation, but he was willing to give me his allegiance? It didn’t make sense, and I found myself blurting out, “Don’t you care that I’m...”
He raised a brow. “That you’re what?”
“That I’m...” That I’m a human monster, I wanted to say but couldn’t.
Understanding dawned in his gaze. “Do you mean when you transitioned from kitty to hellcat?”
I choked. Never had I imagined my abilities described in such a way.
“Am I right then?”
I nodded.
“If you want me to be honest...I find it a fucking turn on.”
My eyes widened.
He shrugged. “I told you, little kitty. You’re the kind of girl after my cock. You intrigue me.”
“A-and that’s it?” I asked incredulously even as I did my best not to blush at his words. How easy it was for him to say such things. “You’ll be my Cavaliere because of that—-”
He said coolly, “I will not be for free, little kitty.”
Oh. He wanted money. I told myself I wasn’t disappointed. “You want payment.” I hadn’t heard any rumors about the Morettis being poor, but maybe he had been disinherited recently for his wrongdoings.
“Yes. I want payment. Every time I help you, I get to do whatever I want with your body.”
My jaw dropped. I waited for him to say it was a joke, but when he only continued to stare at me with those hooded green eyes, I shook my head in bemusement and whispered disbelievingly, “You’re crazy.” And good at turning me on. God, he was good! His words alone had desire rising inside me once more, but I fought hard against it.
His lips curved in a slight smile as he said agreeably, “Crazy for you, little hellcat.” He added lightly, “So you must count yourself lucky for that.”
Before I could answer, he had stolen my hand. I tried to tug it away instinctively, but he held on fast as he murmured, “You must take good care of yourself, my princess.”
There was something in his eyes that made my heart twinge. It was as if...as if I had suddenly become his anchor, and only I could keep him from going adrift.
He started stroking the back of my hand, caressing my knuckles in a way that made my toes curl even more. “Your beautiful skin has become precious to me in so short a time, little kitty. I will kill anyone who leaves a single mark on it. That is the kind of Cavaliere I will be. The only kind I can be. Do you understand?”
I couldn’t answer. He had turned my hand over and was licking my palm, the action completely taking my voice away. By the time I managed to open my eyes, Alejandro Moretti was gone.
Chapter Five
“Smile, cub.” The command was issued with a smile of his own by my father, Venetto Adelardi.
My lips quickly stretched into a smile. There were many reasons to smile, really, but all I wanted was to mope. The drive home last night had been completely spent just thinking about Alejandro Moretti, and it was the same when I got home. I had tossed and turned in my bed, wondering why I should care so much about a man who clearly didn’t take his duties to his pack seriously. He had everything – everything – needed to be a superhero, and yet he had turned his back on his responsibilities.
It was a glorious day, the sky a clear blue, and the surrounding pine trees lent a fragrant scent to the air. But for once in my life, I failed to take pleasure from the land I loved and had been raised to protect.
I looked up absently, but the bright morning sun had me silently groaning and looking away again. My head hurt. It was as if thinking so hard about the werewolf had given me a hangover. I hated how obsessed I was about him. So he kissed beautifully and made my body hum with such pleasure it was as if I had been born to moan his name. It didn’t mean no other man could do it, right?
So he looked at me like no other man had ever looked. As if I was desirable and not the human monster that everyone feared. It didn’t mean no other man could like me the way I was...right?
In fact, that was what this morning’s auction was all about. My pack possessed genetic ties to the near extinct species of Florida panthers. Adelardi shifters could command them by will, and they could transfer the command to another person – even a human. For the first time in history, my pack was auctioning some of our baby panthers. It was bait, pure and simple, to get the most eligible shifters to come into our territory.
“Are you mad at me?” Venetto asked as he continued to smile at the guests we had milling about, checking the panthers that were prowling about, their fur coats sleek and shiny, their eyes flashing with alert intelligence.
My smile also in place, I answered, “Of course not, Father.” I wasn’t. I was just...not as resigned as I should be to having my choice of consort taken away from me like this. One of the panthers had reached my side, rubbing his head against my thigh. I bent down, obliging its demand for attention by stroking its back.
Shifters in front of me gaped. I pretended not to notice. I couldn’t blame them. An idiotic guest had tried petting one of the panthers earlier and ended up in our medical center to get stitched. Shifters healed very quickly in general, but not when bitten by one of our cats. He was lucky it had been a cub. A full-grown panther would have cut off his arm completely.
My father said under his breath, “I would have postponed this if I could. But we’re running out of time. Last night was your last chance to hunt.”
I choked. “You make me sound like a cougar.”
Venetto snorted. “I’m not. I’d be doing them an injustice if I did.”
I made a face. “Very funny, Father.”
Instead of answering, he simply looked at me closely, his bushy brows coming together in a frown. Venetto was a solidly built man and one of the most respected and feared pack leaders of the Panthera. He didn’t talk much, but he was mighty observant. I kept my face expressionless, not wanting him to guess my thoughts.
Finally, he said, “You have not yet told me about why you always come home with bruises. I told you to find a man worthy of being your consort, not your sparring partner.”
An image of Alessandro Moretti flashed through my mind. He would make a worthy sparring partner and an interesting consort. As soon as the thought occurred to me, I pushed it away. There was no point thinking about him. He hadn’t even asked how we would meet again. The world of shifters might be small, but not so small that he would easily find out which pack I belonged to. Clearly I had only been a momentary diversion to Alejandro Moretti. It was only to be expected from the most licentious wolf in history.
“I just wish I didn’t have to choose at all.” It was the most selfish thing I had ever said, but I had to say it. Warriors didn’t lie and I needed to voice my true feelings, even just this once. “You know I can lead the pack on my own, Father. You know.”
He answered wearily, “Your abilities have never been the issue. You know that, too, daughter. I’ve raised you myself. Trained you myself. You’re a hundred times more a warrior than my greedy nephew could be. I know better than anyone that you can be the future alpha of my pack, and each and every panther in our pack would gladly follow your command and die to protect you.”
