Scarlet Woman

by Shelley Munro

  “I’m sorry.” Regret chased the instant sympathy she saw on his face, warming her starved body and mind. The man intended to back off—if that was what she wanted. Gut instinct told her she’d lucked out straight away and found the man to make her feel like a woman again. At least she could have that, even if she never had love again.

  “It’s okay. What do you do here in Middlemarch? Are you married?” Emily had no intention of discussing Michael. Just thinking about the rotter chased her good mood away. Desperately wanting to live in the moment instead of the past, Emily lifted a hand to caress Saber’s cheek. A sudden smile stole her breath and made her hand falter. Stung by the unthinking intimacy she’d just committed, Emily jerked her hand back to her side as if she’d touched something burning hot. Saber grabbed her trembling hand and raised it to lie over his heart, a gleam in his eyes. Emily shuddered inwardly, the heat traveling up her arm and dispersing through her body until she tingled all over. Oh, boy. This man was good.

  “My brothers and I run the family farm,” he murmured, continuing the conversation without difficulty. “Our family has lived here for four generations. No, I’m not married and no serious relationships.” A slow, sinful grin crawled across his mouth and settled, pulling a return smile from her. “Although that might change. Any other questions?”

  “Sheep?” Diversion!

  “Mostly,” Saber replied without missing a beat. “A few cattle and crops as well.”

  A sharp jolt from an exuberant couple next to them shoved her firmly against Saber’s chest. He drew her tightly against him until they were connected knee to chest, his large erection pushing against her belly. Their eyes met and Emily’s breath caught. He wanted her, too. His head lowered and he brushed his firm lips across hers. A test, she decided, when he pulled away a fraction, green eyes studying her closely.

  “My dance,” a voice said. “Bro, you can’t keep Jo to yourself all night.”

  They pulled apart abruptly, the masculine voice a shock to the intimate moment. Emily frowned at the new arrival with his sexy grin and shaggy dark hair. He quirked a brow at her, drawing an unwilling smile despite her irritation at the intrusion. She and Saber were just getting acquainted. This—a kiss—was a momentous occasion. She could do without interruptions. Her gaze drifted from the newcomer to Saber. A brother. Attractive. Good genes ran in the Mitchell family.

  “Felix. Go away,” Saber muttered, tugging Emily back into his arms. “Find your own lady.”

  Felix persisted. “That woman reporter is here. She wants to talk to you about the panther sightings.” He winked at her. “Very nice flowery scent in the body lotion you use. Smells like a mixture of lavender and herbs. Makes me want to come closer and smell just behind your ear. I think I’d like to lick as well.”

  Emily’s mouth dropped open.

  Saber froze, his hands tightening around her shoulders. His laugh was short and impatient. “Keep away from Jo,” he snarled, scowling at his brother. “I told the woman when she rang that coming here was a waste of time. The tourists who reported the sighting had been drinking all afternoon. It’s a wonder they didn’t see talking dogs or purple people eaters with an alien or two sprinkled in for variety. According to Jenny, down the road, they’re big this year. Why the hell won’t the woman take no for an answer? She’s chasing alcohol-induced dreams.”

  “She obviously needs the facts reiterated in person. You go and talk to her. I’ll look after Jo for you.” Felix smirked at his brother.

  “I don’t think so. This won’t take long, Jo.” He studied her intently, the corners of his eyes crinkled with silent humor. “Would you like to come with me?”

  He was asking her for more than a walk to chat with the reporter. It was evident in the devilish glint in his mesmerizing eyes. Emily never hesitated. “Yes.”

  They strolled hand in hand across the dance floor. Emily caught Maggie’s look of censure as they passed her dancing with one of Saber’s brothers. Emily hesitated, but her friend’s compressed mouth and scowl looked so much like Michael’s she kept walking.

  “Changed your mind?” Saber’s lazy drawl sent a shiver racing straight to her core.

  “No.” Her gaze traced his firm lips. How would they feel closing around her nipples? Or touching her in a more intimate kiss? Heat suffused her body along with yearning. Between her legs moistened, the dampness making her fidget.

  “That must be her over there with Sid,” Saber muttered. “Let Felix cope with her nosy questions. We’ll sneak past while she’s not looking.” With a furtive glance over his shoulder, he hustled Emily from the marquee.

  A gurgle escaped Emily when they slipped past into the growing darkness outside. After the foot-stomping gaiety inside, it seemed very quiet. Private. A sliver of disquiet stalked down her spine. She was doing the right thing, wasn’t she?

  Saber squeezed her hand, seeming to sense her unease. “We don’t have to do anything. Yet.” The light cast shadows across his face but it was difficult to miss the decidedly carnal smile.

  Sex. She could cope with that. No commitments. No need to get hurt because there were no promises made. Impulsively she headed for the shadows cast by a stand of poplar trees. Dried leaves crunched underfoot, her heels sinking halfway to China with each step. She yanked free and rolled her eyes in exasperation. “I didn’t think about walking on grass in heels.”

  “How about taking them off?” Saber knelt in front of her, his calloused fingers sliding across her ankle. Emily inhaled and held her breath. He undid the tiny buckle and slid her bare foot from the shoe. Emily grasped his shoulders to balance, her heart pounding. A balmy breeze blew, tugging at her loose curls. Saber undid the other buckle, and she lifted her foot for him. Instead of standing, he remained kneeling in front of her. Her heart skipped a beat. Her sex clenched, and she was very aware of the arousal dampening her panties.

  Saber could smell her excitement. Hear the racing of her heart. She tensed when he massaged the arch of her foot, but Saber took his time until she relaxed and a whimper of pleasure escaped her parted lips. He continued to massage her foot, noticing the sexy red toenails. Jo was a strange contrast—skittish at times, and yet, strangely forward and wanton at others. Would the real Scarlet woman step forward? He slid his palm across a heel and up her smooth calf, savoring the silky skin and the floral scent of the lotion she’d smoothed onto her body. His cock throbbed, large and eager, pushing insistently against his fly and Saber was right there with his lower brain. Interested. Desperate to bury his cock in her warm, luscious heat. Desperate to taste her natural juices and watch her shatter in his arms.

  His hand rose to the sensitive skin behind her knee, surprising a giggle out of her before drifting higher across her warm inner thigh. Slow—when what he really wanted was hard, fast. Hot and heavy with not an ounce of gentleness involved. Saber struggled with wooing her instead of demanding. Taking. Because the closer they came to consummation, the more he thought Sid might be right. After all this time, his mate had sashayed into his life, and she’d almost escaped because he hadn’t noticed, he’d become used to being alone.

  His Scarlet woman.

  He fingered her through her panties. Intimately.

  Her gasp was loud in the still evening, disturbed only by the throb of the band and the wail of the female lead singer. “I want you,” she whispered. “Here. Now.” Her blue eyes glittered in the half-light beneath the trees. Anyone could see, but she didn’t seem worried. Her bag slipped off her shoulder and she let it fall to the grass. “Please,” she whispered.

  The relief Saber felt was countered by the relentless throb at his groin. God, he was desperate to grab her offer and plunge inside her tight channel, taking her hard and fast until they both burned. But he wasn’t so far gone that he forgot about privacy. That woman investigating the panther sighting would hunt them down if her previous behavior was any indication. She was certainly tenacious, firing letters off to several of the council members asking for informa
tion. Since he’d been voted as the one to communicate with her, he’d answered the initial politely worded letter with one of his own, refuting the idea of mystery cats near Middlemarch. She’d ignored his reply and followed her letter with persistent phone calls and now a visit, despite his assertions she was chasing non-existent ghosts. Still, she kept pushing. He refused to give her material to publish in the tabloid press. About black panthers or the modern sexual techniques of a closet shifter. She might pretend she was researching a book, but it had been her byline attached to the newspaper article. Despite his assertions she was chasing ghosts, the woman remained resolute and, deep down, he didn’t expect that to change.

  Saber stood abruptly, lifted Joanna into his arms and strode toward the next stand of trees across the other side of the paddock.

  “My shoes and bag.”

  “You won’t need them.” When she opened her mouth to argue, Saber paused to kiss her, tempted by the sexy curve of her bottom lip. Just one quick taste—enough to make them both crazy. Minutes later, he put her down. They were further away from the marquee and possible interruptions. The hoot of a morepork drowned out the band, and when the echo of the lonely cry died, only silence remained. A gentle breeze ruffled the leaves. They responded with a placid song, a serenade for the sensual dance to come. Jo slid down his body, arching against him with a sound that reminded him of a contented purr. Apt. Very apt.

  Saber buried his face against the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent. Without warning, the ripple of awareness preceding the shift to cat slid seductively across his skin. Goose bumps prickled. A faint glow emanated from his hands. He hissed in alarm and fought, gritting his teeth. Fighting the change with everything he had. Panting.

  “Are you all right?”

  Shit, this had never happened before. His father hadn’t mentioned the strange phenomenon when they’d had the sex talk. Their Uncle Herbert, who’d taken on the guardian role after his parents’ death, hadn’t discussed the oddity either. Maybe it was something peculiar to him? Saber gritted his teeth, resisting the shift toward feline with all his might. He inhaled sharply, struggling to remain in control, to remain in his human form. Pity Uncle Herbert wasn’t there to offer advice—the elderly man had passed away two winters ago. Exhaling slowly, he kissed and nibbled at the soft skin beneath her ear while he wondered what to do. There wasn’t anyone else to ask, not without suffering an incredible amount of embarrassment. “Turn around,” he ordered, trying to hide his panic. “Put your hands against the tree.”

  “Why?”

  So you can’t see me. “I want to touch your ass. Besides, this will be easier. I don’t want to get grass stains on your dress.” And I want to take you in the traditional way from behind, he added silently, every particle of him wanting to dominate, to seize her by the scruff of the neck and exert his power. He wanted to mark her with his scent, his teeth, and make sure no other male dared to approach his woman. Because she belonged to him, whether she knew it or not. It was just a matter of time…

  “Oh.” Uncertainty shaded her reply but to his relief, she followed his order, turning her back to him and placing her hands palm down on the tree trunk.

  Saber wasted no time, not wanting her to change her mind. He slid his hands beneath the short red dress. Warm skin. Temptation. His skin prickled all over again, and when he slid his fingers beneath the elastic of her panties, a fine tremor swept through him. Saber tested her readiness, dipping his fingers beneath the crotch of her panties. She was wet for him, he realized with relief. As ready for this as he was. He could hurry the process and stop the surge of feline genes. Or not. The temptation to hover in between pulled at his willpower. It would be so good fucking her with his feline senses engaged. Slowly, he trailed his fingers the length of her cleft, stopping just short of her clit.

  Jo cried out, gripping the trunk tightly. “Don’t tease me. Please.” Like a tree in a fierce storm, her slender form shook violently.

  Intrigued, Saber repeated the move before yanking at her panties. The flimsy lace tore and he tossed them aside, leaving her bare and accessible to his touch. A feral grin spread and with it, his canines lengthened.

  “Bend forward a little more,” he ordered, cupping her bottom. Beautiful, firm globes filled his hands. He swallowed, forcing aside his urge to bite, to mark her as his own and let their enzymes mingle to seal the bond. It was too soon, and she wouldn’t understand. The human woman needed wooing… He made do with licking carefully, running his tongue across the firm, fragrant flesh and delving between her legs, pushing the tip of one finger into her pussy.

  Her back arched and she pushed her butt back, driving his finger deeper into her clinging womb. “I want to touch you,” she protested. “Kiss you. I want you to touch my breasts with your mouth.”

  “Soon,” Saber promised, biting back a chuckle. Demanding wee thing. “You want me to touch your breasts?”

  “Yes. Please. And you could bite me,” she added in a thick voice. “I think I’d like that.”

  “That could be arranged, kitten.” He’d love to bite her. In fact, his feline genes demanded he do a little biting. But he didn’t think she was ready for a display of his feline preferences, despite her verbal urging. Or the sharpness of his teeth. Instead, Saber played, testing his willpower. Part of him wished they’d taken the time to find a bed so he could unwrap her like a parcel and kiss each luscious body part revealed. He ran the tip of his finger across her clit in a brief, teasing foray, intending to give her what she wanted. Soon. Another circling pass of his finger around her swollen flesh brought a gasp. She trembled. Her soft cry of pleasure filled the evening.

  Saber’s breathing quickened. His balls tightened until they ached. Increasingly urgent hunger forced him to hurry. She was tight but so wet for him already. They’d barely started. It was going to be good between them. He knew it.

  “So sweet,” he murmured. Teasing her slippery folds nudged his need higher. The deep sound he issued was throaty. Close to a dull roar and when he glanced down, he saw his forearms were more densely furred than normal. God, his change was out of control. Maybe if he fucked her quickly and gained release, he could stop. No way did he want to change now. He’d scare the life out of her and with the large number of strangers around, someone was bound to witness a black leopard stalking the marquee. With his luck, it would be the reporter, and he’d never hear the end of it from his brothers.

  “Touch me again,” she whispered, thrusting her butt against his groin.

  The pressure of his erection against his trousers became painful. Saber ripped open his fly and let his cock spring free. Thank goodness, he’d dispensed with underwear tonight. Less clothing to remove. He leaned forward and bit the soft skin beneath her ear. Not too hard as to alarm her or draw blood, but enough to give her pleasure along with the nip. Keep her interested. Keep her concentrating on the sex so she wouldn’t think about wanting to see the man who fucked her from behind. He held his erection in his fisted hand and pumped once. A drop of seminal fluid formed at the very tip of his penis. Saber bit her lightly again, reveling in the taste of her—the sexy moan that came from deep in her throat. He wondered what she’d do if he claimed her at the same time, pinning her down and forcing her to submit. God, he wanted to so badly, despite common sense telling him to wait. Stepping close, he dipped slightly, aligning his cock at her entrance.

  Jo groaned and pushed back against him in silent demand. Saber let out a snarl and surged deep. Hard and without warning. He squeezed his eyes shut, savoring the feel of her inner walls clinging and clutching at him. Heat, hotter than he’d ever felt before, scorched him, eroding his restraint. He withdrew until just the tip of his penis rested inside her cunt before plunging deep.

  They both groaned.

  “Again,” Jo muttered. “Harder.”

  “My pleasure.” Saber pushed inside again, gritting his teeth at the tightness. He trembled, wanting to pound into her over and over but held back, not wanti
ng to hurt or scare her despite her demands. He had to be sure.

  “I won’t break,” Jo protested. “I need more.” The pleading note in her voice pushed past his restraint.

  Saber hammered into her, splaying a hand over her taut stomach to hold her in place. She gripped the tree trunk as hard as her womb gripped his cock. Saber shuddered, helplessly caught in the moment.

  The soft murmur of voices jerked him up. Jo froze. They stood listening, both panting and poised on orgasm.

  “I saw her come this way. She shouldn’t be alone. She doesn’t know what she’s doing.” The woman sounded as if she was on the verge of panic.

  Saber hesitated before continuing in an instinctive rhythm, but slower and more quietly. Jo relaxed, moving with him and stoking the need that burned both of them.

  Then he heard his brother Joe’s voice. “No, I bet they’ve gone for a walk down by the river.”

  With his superior eyesight, Saber caught Sly’s wicked grin as he diverted the dark-haired woman away from the copse of trees where Saber stood with Joanna. Silently he thanked his brothers.

  “Joe’s right,” Sly murmured. “The ground is very rough this way. They would have walked down the path.”

  “If you’re sure,” Maggie said. “My friend has acted very strangely this month. I’m worried about her. She’s not herself.”

  A whispered curse from Joanna lifted Saber’s brows. A smile quirked his lips as the voices faded away in the opposite direction.

  “Make me come. Please make me come before they come back,” Jo pleaded.

  Saber set up a steady rhythm, each surge and retreat pulling him closer to release. He slipped a finger between her legs and stroked her clit. Jo bucked against him, shuddering violently. Her womb clenched hard, the tiny nubbin spasming beneath the slide of his finger. She gasped, her slim body tensing. Saber thrust deep. Hard. His breath loud to his own ears, his whole world focused on sensation and the way this woman felt in his arms, surrounding and milking his cock in her tight grip. Another thrust and semen exploded from him in a blaze of pleasure.