Fueled by Lust: Cato (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Celeste Prater

  “You’re being very good, Luna.” He pulled his fingers away, palmed her ass and spread her wide as he pushed his face between her legs. He lapped, sucked, fucked her with his tongue, and slurped at the honey coating her sensitive skin until he knew she couldn’t take it a moment longer, then backed away. He smiled when he heard her grunt of frustration.

  He rose up and turned her around. He quickly pulled her arms up and made her latch back onto the showerhead. The look of raw passion crossing her features was almost his undoing. He forced himself to bend down and dip his fingers back into the honey. If he looked her in the eye, he would completely lose it.

  Cato focused all of his attention to her beautiful breasts. He slid his fingers across each nipple and watched them bead into hard points. Her chest worked up and down in fast movements. Just seeing how much he’d ramped her up had him ready to blow his load across her belly. He grabbed the base of his cock and squeezed to remind himself that he wasn’t finished yet. He didn’t know how he managed to keep his voice even and calm. He deserved a medal. He bent and moved his face close to her chest.

  “Lift those breasts up to me, Luna. I want a taste.” He didn’t even fight the deep moan that left his mouth when her eyes narrowed, her head lolled to the side, she arched her back, and she pushed them toward his mouth. He planted his hand at the curve of her back and palmed a breast before he sucked it into his mouth. He worked the flat of his tongue over her nipple until he had every last drop of honey removed. He heard her whimpering cries and quickly moved to the other. She stiffened in his arms when he sucked the nipple hard against the roof of his mouth.

  “Cato! I’m going to come. Oh, my god. I’m going to come.”

  Quickly, he reared back, flipped her around, and helped her palm the stone walls. He shoved her legs wide with his knee and notched the head of his weeping cock into her channel. Her pussy sucked at the tip and he cried out at the exquisite torture. He wrapped his arm around her waist and slid his other hand between her legs and started a hard stroke against her clit. She cried out his name and he shoved himself into her silken passage. A few short strokes later and the head of his cock was sliding across her womb and trying to find more room beyond.

  “Push back against me, Luna. That’s it. Ride my finger. Get yourself off. I’m going to fuck you hard.” He pressed his body firmly against hers and hung on to his wild mate. She’d freed herself to her pleasure and almost burned him down. She pounded her ass back against his pelvis and thighs as she used the wall as leverage. His teeth clenched at the white hot flames moving through his balls and zipping through his belly.

  “Faster Cato! Faster. Yes. Yes. Just like that. Fuck! I’m there. I’m there.” Her long moan of pleasure threw him over the edge with her.

  Cato’s shout filled the small room. He pulled his upper body off her and clamped his hands on her gyrating hips as cum jettisoned out of his body and coated her insides. He continued to piston into her until his legs couldn’t hold up under the onslaught of the most intense pleasure he’d ever experienced from the unrelenting grip and release of her strong inner muscles.

  He wrapped both arms around her waist and swiveled his body to land on the marble bench before he ass-planted in the middle of the shower. He was amazed that he was still lodged inside of her and hadn’t broken his dick off at the base. His mind couldn’t reason how his oblivious cock was still shooting cum into her or that he was even breathing.

  Out of self-preservation, Luna had flung her arms back around his neck and had shoved her shoulder hard up against his wind pipe. Cato peeled her arms from around his neck and burst out laughing. Luna captured a few more deep breaths and immediately joined him. She reached up and patted him on top of his head before her arm slid back to rest on the bench like it had used the last of its juice and was just waiting for the medics to show up. Her breathless, husky voice sent shivers up his spine.

  “Damn, Cato. What the hell got into you?”

  With equally boneless arms, he barely lifted her off his sated, and still intact, cock. He cradled her in his arms as the forgotten showerhead sprayed them clean. He patted his heart and looked down at her beautiful face.

  “You, sweetness. It was you.”

  Chapter 30

  Cato grinned and leaned against the kitchen counter when Luna pushed her plate away and groaned.

  “Ugh. I’m stuffed. I can’t believe I ate all of that.” She glanced up and smiled. “That was, by far, the best steak I’ve ever eaten. I’m going to start calling you the ‘Grill Master.’ It was a perfect medium rare, too. How’d you learn to do that? I suck at grilling.”

  Moving their plates to the sink, Cato chuckled. “It’s called survival. This is headquarter central during football season. The first time I ruined the guy’s steaks, they threatened to throw me over the balcony. I stuck with burgers for a while until I could tell you the pinkness level of a steak just by squeezing it with the tongs.” He fluttered his digits. “I have magic fingers.” He heard Luna snort and glanced over his shoulder. She was grinning at him and his heart melted at how damn cute she was.

  “I can certainly vouch for that.” She leaned forward and crossed her arms on the countertop. “Not to change the subject,” she said on a serious note, “But could we skip the movie? I’ve got something I need to take care of.”

  Curious, Cato moved closer to the bar. “Sure. What’d you have in mind?” He watched her swallow and knew she was nervous. That surprised him. “It’s okay, Luna. You don’t have to be afraid to talk to me.”

  Her face flushed and she glanced down. “Sorry. I’ve got to get out of the habit of preparing for a battle when I want to do something.”

  He reached out and stroked he cheek. “Don’t apologize. You have every right to say what’s on your mind and not get jumped about it. I’ll be honest and tell you that I’m not perfect and I’m going to piss you off on more than one occasion, so don’t be afraid to pop me on the side of the head if I’m acting like a jerk.” He saw her shoulders relax and her smile returned. She looked up and pure relief reflected in her blue eyes.

  “Thanks for that. Okay. I want to pick up my last check from Bakers. I’m pretty sure they fired me already. I feel weird not having any money. I practically depleted my savings before you rescued me. You keep paying for everything and I feel like a total loser. I also need to pick up some things from my storage unit.”

  Cato frowned. “You’re not a loser. Please don’t feel that way. It makes me happy to pay for what you need. You’ll hurt my feelings if you deny me that one pleasure.” She gave him a shy smile and placed her hand against his cheek. He loved the feel of her fingers stroking his skin.

  “How can you even be real? I keep expecting your skin to bust open and a total asshole crawl out, but I’m beginning to think that’s just Bryan PTSD talking. Okay. You win. I’ll let you spoil me rotten only if you let me pay for something every now and then. Don’t take that pleasure away from me either.”

  He grinned, walked around the bar, and lifted her up from the chair. She wrapped her legs around his waist and clung to his neck. “Deal. But I have an even better idea if you’ll consider it.” Her eyes widened and she tilted her head to the side in question.

  “And that would be?”

  He kissed her on the forehead and looked her directly in the eye. He didn’t want to miss her reaction. “After we get your check, why don’t we clear out your storage and bring your things here?”

  He watched carefully as her eyebrows lifted in surprise, her pupils dilate, and the edge of her lips lift briefly before they parted on a soft gasp. Ah ha! That was real surprise and happiness. She was totally busted if she denied it. He was so glad he’d found that TV show.

  Luna leaned forward and kissed him on the nose. “Are you sure? I don’t know how easy it is to live with me. I’m not going to let you throw all of your clothes all over the house or use the den as a garage. I think I snore, but I’m not sure. You’ll probably regret this decisi
on two days in. You’ve been warned.”

  Cato laughed and felt his whole body suffuse in warmth at her easy acceptance of his subtle “live with me” proposal. He was going to have her permanently in his home. It was now their home. One hurdle was now crossed and he was on his way to making her his life mate.

  “I don’t care if you snore because I probably do, too. I’m just hoping you don’t regret it two days in. I’ll promise to change my slob ways if you promise to cut me a break if I screw up sometimes.”

  Luna nodded and smiled. “Deal.”

  They studied each other’s eyes for a few moments and let their mutual decision sink in for a bit. Their lips came together in a chaste kiss of acceptance. He didn’t know if she loved him, but he promised himself that if she didn’t, he’d work hard to convince her otherwise. He set her down.

  “Come on. Let’s get this done. Maybe we’ll still have time to catch that comedy you wanted to watch.”

  “Hold up. I want to call and make sure they haven’t tried to send the check to Bryan’s. If they did, he can keep it. I’m not going anywhere near that place again.”

  Cato handed her his phone. “If they did and you still want it, I’ll get it for you. I know where he lives now. Once I saw the license plates on his car, it was easy to locate him. He needs to find out very soon that you’ve got somebody else in your life and he should move on. If he doesn’t listen, then I’ll just have to break his neck. He’s lucky I haven’t paid him a visit already.”

  Luna’s eyes widened. “I hope you’re joking.”

  He leaned down and let the words rumble from his chest. “Not in the least. If he ever tries to touch you again, he’ll wish for death.”

  Shaking her head, Luna wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. “That’s so sweet, and totally barbaric, of you. But I’d rather visit you here instead of from the other side of bars. So, I’ll have to ask you to restrain yourself. He’s not worth a moment of your time, Cato. Promise me that you won’t kill him.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  She lifted a brow. “Cato?”

  Snarling in frustration, he caved. He’d follow her to the end of the universe and couldn’t deny her anything. “Fine. But I’m leaving open the option to kick his ass if warranted.”

  She stepped back and smiled. “That sounds reasonable. At least I can bail you out.”

  Cato bent down and scooped her up, sat in the chair, and planted her on his lap. “Go ahead, sweetness. Make your call.”

  Luna rolled her eyes and punched in a number. “Yes. Hello. May I speak with Doyle? Oh! Hey, Jennifer. Yes. It’s Luna. No. I’m fine. He did? I’m sure that was fun. Did he act like an idiot? That’s not a surprise. No. He’s exaggerating. I wasn’t kidnapped. I was trying to get away from him. If he calls back, don’t tell him you heard from me, okay? Good. Thanks. What? Yeah. I figured they’d let me go. I don’t blame them. I’m not coming back anyway. Hey. Can you tell me if my last check is still there? It is? That’s great. I’m coming by to get it. Tell Doyle I’ll sign whatever papers he needs and I’ll bring back the shirt. I hated that damn thing anyway. What? In about thirty minutes if traffic’s good. Okay. See you.”

  Luna handed the phone back. “Okay, you can relax all of those big muscles, now. Nothing to kill at Bakers.”

  Cato slid his hand under her ass and pinched. “No teasing the barbarian.” He held her close when she squirmed in his arms and giggled. He grabbed her braid and gently tugged her head back. He kissed her stupid and set her back on her feet. He smiled at the dazed look in her eyes.

  “Let’s go. I want to get back so I can feel you wiggle on my lap while I eat popcorn.”

  * * * *

  “No. Stay here. I can go inside just fine on my own. It’s only going to take a second.” Luna huffed in frustration when Cato reached for the door handle again and looked at her like she was crazy.

  “I want to go inside. Why won’t you let me? This is silly, Luna.”

  Luna got back in the truck and closed the door. She turned in the seat to face him and crossed her arms. She saw Cato’s eyebrow lift and decided she’d better fess up.

  “Okay. Fine! I don’t want the other girls to see you.” She wasn’t expecting the hurt look that crossed his features and immediately scooted up next to him and touched his cheek.

  “No. I didn’t say that right. This is stupid. I’m jealous, okay? Most of those girls in there have been to Heat Seekers and I know they’re going to be stripping you down to your shorts with their eyes. It’s just going to piss me off.” She turned into a bag of goo when he grinned. He could cause wrecks with that smile. She closed her eyes when he grasped her jaw and softly kissed her lips. His voice was just as sexy as his fallen angel face.

  “Awww, my baby thinks I’m hot. I can die a happy man now.”

  Luna narrowed her eyes and popped him on the shoulder before backing out of the truck cab. “You know you are, you damn barbarian. Let’s not get a big head, okay?” Shivers shot up her spine when he lowered his voice and palmed his crotch.

  “Oh, I’m getting a big head all right.”

  Luna laughed when he waggled his eyebrows. “If you weren’t so damn cute, I’d punch you in the nose. Be right back, you big lug.”

  * * * *

  “Hey, Jennifer. Here’s the shirt and my name tag.” Luna nervously glanced around. Employees were peeking around corners with widened eyes and she knew the grilling was about to commence. It was the last thing she wanted. Jennifer wasn’t any better. She was a petite, mousy little girl, yet she had a large voice. Her brown eyes were wide and she looked shaken.

  “Damn, Luna. You scared us to death. You didn’t come back to work and when Bryan showed up here and started asking if anyone had seen you, we didn’t know what to think. He said you’d been in an accident and then someone kidnapped you from the hospital. The way he talked, you were practically on your death bed. You look fine to me. Why’d he say that?”

  Luna clasped Jennifer’s arm and started guiding her toward the office. “Like I said, he’s nuts. Can I get my check? Someone’s waiting for me and I have other stops to make.”

  Jennifer nodded and glanced around. “Uh, sure. Come on.”

  Luna let go of her arm and followed her to the back. “Where’s Doyle?”

  Jennifer fumbled with the door lock. “He’s at the store in Dallas. They have a new manager and he’s training him. He put me in charge.” She opened the door and motioned for Luna to go inside. “The check’s on his desk.”

  Luna looked around the cluttered desktop and couldn’t find it. “Where, Jennifer?” She glanced over her shoulder and was surprised by the haunted expression that greeted her. Frowning, Luna turned back around.

  “What’s wrong?” She saw Jennifer swallow hard and flick her eyes to the left.

  “You should’ve never come back, Luna. I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice.”

  Luna jumped at the deep voice that drifted over her shoulder.

  “Hello, baby.”

  Luna felt the blood rush from her head and grabbed the edge of the desk before her knees buckled. She watched in horror as Bryan nodded to Jennifer and she backed out of the door. He closed it and engaged the lock. When he turned around, his eyes widened in surprise.

  “So, you weren’t as injured as you led everyone to believe.”

  Luna grabbed the lamp from Doyle’s desk, threw it as hard as she could at Bryan’s head, and didn’t wait around to see if it connected. She had one foot out the back door to Doyle’s office before she was lifted off her feet and slammed hard to the floor. Fire tore through her scalp and she realized Bryan had used her braid to yank her back inside the room. As she fought to catch her breath, Bryan kneeled beside her and pulled a plastic baggie from inside his coat. He opened it and slid a white cloth from inside. She batted at his hand as it descended toward her, but couldn’t stop him from pressing it over her nose and mouth. The last thing she heard was his gravelly voice.<
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  “Why do you have to make this so hard, Luna? I love you and you messed it all up.”

  * * * *

  Cato leaned forward and glared at the front door to Bakers. Each body that walked out wasn’t hers and his patience was skating the razor’s edge. He had gotten out of the truck twice, cursed, and gotten back in. She was expecting him to trust her decision to handle this simple task, so he needed to calm the fuck down and act civilized. He glanced at his phone and saw she’d only be in there for seven minutes. Maybe she had to fill out paperwork. Perhaps she was getting grilled by the other employees. He sat back against the seat and started counting the cars in the parking lot. Five minutes passed and she still hadn’t appeared.

  “Fuck it!” He jumped out of the truck and figured he’d just have to suffer the consequences. He promised himself that if he caught sight of her he’d haul ass and get back in the truck before she spotted him. All he needed was a glimpse of her face and he’d calm down.

  Cato strolled through the aisles and kept his eyes peeled for her. Nothing. After he’d hit all the rows, he figured she might be in one of the back offices. He found the customer service desk and waited for the woman behind the counter to finish with a man complaining about the bathrooms. When he was about to act on his instinct to head-slam the asshole to the countertop, the fucker finally gave up and stomped away. Cato slid into his vacated spot.

  “Hi. I’m looking for Luna. She came in to get her check. Is she in the manager’s office?” The look that passed over the woman’s face sent his heart into his stomach. She’d morphed from surprise right into panic in under a second. He looked at her name tag.

  “Jennifer. Tell me where she is. Now.”