The clown's eyes narrowed and his previous easy manner disappeared.
"As to that, I couldn't say. You're not one of those animal rights activists are you? They've been plaguing us for sodding weeks now. We don't need your sort around here."
Hostility radiated of the not so jovial looking clown now in waves, and unease trickled down Angelique's spine. She was on her own here with him. Darkness had fallen outside and even if she screamed no one would come to her rescue. Not once they knew who she was, and what she came here to do.
"I'm not—" Angelique did not get to finish the lie she was about to utter, because the most delicious scent pulled her up short. Every feminine cell in her body stood to attention, her nipples beaded into hard nubs of pure need, and moisture flooded her knickers. A man's sharp inhale behind her made her spin around so fast she would have toppled off the wooden bench she was sitting on, had Silas not wrapped an arm of steel around her middle to steady her.
This close he was even more devastatingly handsome, and Angelique shut her eyes and simply allowed herself to feel. The big top drifted away, and their audience forgotten, she savored the feel and scent of the man holding her, dimly aware of him talking to the clown, and the feel of being lifted.
"Let's get you out of here, my little activist, before Ramoz decides to throw you out."
She clung to Silas's impossibly broad shoulders, and marveled at his strength. At five foot ten and with far too many curves to be fashionable, Angelique had never been carried by any man, but this delicious stranger made it seem as easy as though she weighed no more than a feather. She felt small and feminine, and utterly helpless in the light of his superior strength.
By rights she should have been frightened. Circus people did not take kindly to outsiders on the whole, let alone one with ulterior motives like she was. She had been accused of threatening one's livelihood more than once in her quest to protect the innocent animals she loved, but she didn't feel frightened with this man—just the opposite, in fact. If she got any more aroused she would disgrace herself and give into her instinct to run her tongue over the corded muscles in his neck and to trace every delicious ridge and valley of his abdomen with her fingernails.
Silas growled low in his throat, as though he could read her mind, and she blinked when he put her down abruptly and pinned her against the cool surface of a caravan.
Crowded by his huge body as she was she had to look a long way up into amber eyes, which seemed to glow in the dim light provided by the moon. A growl to her right and the puff of warm air to her exposed thigh told her his bear was right there with them.
"Back off Salis, this one is mine."
The possessiveness behind those few words nudged her arousal up a few notches, and she bit her lip to stop herself from whimpering her need. The rational side of her brain told her to scream, to kick, to do something to attract attention. What was happening here was not normal and she was in mortal danger. If not from Silas and his bear then surely from the other animals that seemed to roam around freely. What sort of circus had wild animals just wander around, as though they owned the place? If she turned her head she could see a tiger and his cubs watching her with seeming amusement and the lion she had seen eat his keeper's head earlier shook his mane and then stalked off behind another caravan.
Insane this is what it was. Maybe she was just dreaming. Yes, that had to be it. She was at home fast asleep. Her worries disappeared at that reassuring thought and she smiled up at the handsome stranger keeping her hostage.
"If I'm yours, what are you going to do with me, big boy?"
Angelique grimaced at the breathy quality of her voice, and Silas went very still. He ran his hands slowly up her sides until he cupped the back of her head. His calloused fingertips massaged her scalp and he pushed his thigh between her legs, and inhaled deeply.
"That depends on whether you'll run to the authorities and scream blue murder, little one. Will you? Will you use that can of paint to graffiti our caravans, and to seek your revenge for all the cruelty we supposedly inflict on our animals?"
"I-I…I would never… I mean. Oh shit, please don't stop doing that."
Silas's low chuckle trembled through her and he rubbed his thigh along her core a little faster, whilst pinning her hands up high above her head in one of his large hands. The action raised her breasts up and she moaned when he bent his head and sucked one of her painfully erect nipples through the light fabric of her summer dress.
His jeans clad thigh along her soaking wet slit created delicious friction and she rubbed herself against it with reckless abandonment to her body's needs.
Just as she thought she was going to explode from the intensity of her need, he withdrew. Curiously bereft and shivering in the cool night air without his body heat she wrapped her arms around herself, and shook her head when he picked up her handbag. She hadn’t shut it properly and her leaflets and spray can tumbled into the long grass surrounding the caravan. Angelique wanted the ground to swallow her up, seeing the damning evidence of her real reason for being here there for everyone to see.
The bear she'd all but forgotten about roared and reared to his hind legs, as though to prove a point. Silas stopped him with a wave of his hand, and the animal dropped back down, shook his head at Angelique, and nudged her side with enough force to make her stumble.
She had to grab hold of Silas to steady herself, and for the second time that evening her world tilted, as he threw her over his shoulder. All the air left her lungs in a rapid whoosh, and before she knew what was happening she was inside and the world whizzed by again. She hadn't even stopped bouncing on the soft bed, before he was on top of her, and Angelique forgot to breathe.
"Hold onto that head board, and I'll show you exactly what I'll do with your kind."
The steely command brooked no argument and she hastened to comply, even as her dress and then her underwear gave way with audible rips.
He caught her gasp of surprise in his mouth, and then his hands parted her legs, and Angelique forgot to think altogether. He licked a path of awareness down her sweat-slicked skin and then murmured his approval at the wetness he found between her thighs.
"My, what have we here? How does it feel to know I make you so wet? Does it turn you on slumming it with the likes of me?" He didn't wait for her answer, just bent his head and licked her desperately clenching pussy. One slow, torturous lick of his long tongue was all it took for her to fall into one breath taking release that had her scream his name in wonder. He thrust his fingers into her tight cunt and curled them in just the right way to hit her sweet spot, starting the delicious tingles all over again. With his tongue lapping up her juices and his fingers inside her channel working with merciless precision, she had no choice but to tumble over that edge several more times, before he came up for air and sat back on his haunches watching her with a small grin.
When she could breathe normally again, and became aware of her surroundings, Angelique's eyes widened seeing him lick his fingers, glistening with her arousal. A scraping move outside the caravan pulled her out her post orgasmic languidness, and she scrambled to cover herself with the torn sides of her dress.
"It's a bit late for that, don't you think, my little activist?"
Heat rose in her cheeks, and she glared at him, as the truth dawned on her.
"I'm not dreaming this, am I?"
As if to confirm her words a growl shook the caravan, and she had to hold on to the sides of the bed to stop herself from falling out of it.
Silas simply smirked and said something in a foreign language that made the bear outside quieting down.
Again she was struck by the control he showed over the animal, and she realized with a start that he had shown that same control over her.
"How do you do that?" she whispered.
"What?" He shrugged his shoulders and threw a bathrobe at her. She scrambled into it, and scooted as far away from him as she could.
"Did I do something you didn'
t want me to do? I could have sworn you were begging me to take you, to fuck you just mere moments ago."
The words were meant to hurt, but there was something about the tight set of his shoulders that told her there was more going on here. And besides he was right. She distinctly recalled begging him for his cock in between the multiple orgasms he'd given her. The fact that he hadn't sought his own relief, when it would have been so easy to do so, had to mean something. She didn't miss the not so gentle adjustment of his cock through his jeans, and her insides clenched in need.
"I was, so why didn't you just take me when you had your chance?"
His laugh in response chilled her.
"Sorry to disappoint you, my dear. Stay there and I will rustle you up something to wear. Ramoz's wife is about your size."
Chapter Two
Silas slammed the door to his caravan shut and gulped in the fresh air. Not that it helped—not one little bit. Even out here her scent called her, the urge to go back in there and claim her, to mark her as his almost too strong to resist.
Get in there and finish what you started.
Salis's stern words in his psyche made him spin around to look at the bear.
If you're not man enough, let me shift and I'll do it for you.
The bear smirked at Silas's growl in response.
You as much as breathe on her, and I'll kill you with my bare hands.
I'd like to see you try.
Silas ran an unsteady hand through his hair, and turned his back on Salis.
"Just watch her and make sure she doesn't leave."
Salis bared his teeth and took up residence outside the caravan door, and Silas covered the distance to Ramoz's caravan in record time.
The door opened before he could knock on it and Veronika smiled down on him.
"Is everything all right, Silas? Ramoz said there was a spot of bother with one of those activists. I must admit I thought we got rid of them."
Silas mustered a smile for Veronika and nodded at Ramoz over her head.
"Everything is fine, but I need to borrow some clothes for her. I think yours should fit."
Surprise registered on her features edged with concern.
"She is okay, though? Salis didn't…"
Silas shook his head and balled his hands into fists.
"No, it was I." He risked a glance at Veronika's face and flinched at Ramoz's curse.
"Getting involved with one of them is asking for trouble. We'll have to move sooner, rather than later now. If she goes to the authorities…."
"She doesn't know anything, Ramoz." Silas interrupted the other man, and Veronika intervened.
"I'm sure Silas here will have had a good reason. He knows what's at stake here, better than anyone." She handed Silas a dress not unlike the one he had ripped off Angelique's curves earlier and he groaned at the mental image of her naked and quivering under his fingers. He could still taste her on his tongue and his balls ached and his dick throbbed with the need to fuck her senseless. It was that very need that had forced him to stop, a need that spoke too much of a bond he couldn't allow himself to forge with anyone, let alone a human. The risks were too great of it happening again.
One like him was an anomaly. More than one and they would set a precedent that his kind did not need, and he didn't wish this state of limbo on anyone.
"Is she the one?" Veronika asked.
Ramoz swore again and Silas shook his head.
"There isn't the one, not for us anyway."
Veronika's smile deepened at his vehement denial, and she pointedly looked at the dress in his hands.
"If she isn't, then why did your famous control slip to such a degree that I have to lend her a dress? I'm assuming she didn't tear it on a fence."
"I never said it was torn, I—"
"Spare me, Silas. I saw the way you looked at her during your performance. Both of you clocked her and I didn't need my shifter senses to notice the chemistry or the way you both ran away once your act was over, yet clearly you couldn't stay away. That there tells me something, and it's why Ramoz is so antsy." She smiled at her husband and put a hand up to stop him from responding. "Running away from this will not help, you know. The only chance you have is to claim her and hope it all works out for the best."
Silas shook his head and swallowed the profanity bubbling on his tongue.
"That is never going to happen."
He murmured his thanks and stalked back to his caravan. The closer he got to it the stronger her scent was, and he hid his smile when he spotted her. Wrapped in the robe he'd given her she stood on the top step of the caravan. White as a sheet, and seemingly terrified by Salis's hulking presence she nonetheless extended a shaky hand and gingerly touched the bear's fur.
Fuuuck.
Salis's silent curse echoed his own, as he too felt that tentative touch sear his skin, as though her slender fingers had touched him too.
"There, nice bear. There you go. You're not gonna eat me, are you? I'm sure he keeps you well fed, and besides it would make an awful mess. There now, just let me past, and we'll be all good."
She barely suppressed a shriek when Salis roared his denial and she hastily withdrew her hand, and stared at him.
"Damn it, this is insane. I need to go before he comes back."
The desperation behind those whispered words tore at his gut and he cleared his throat to announce his arrival.
Her wide grey eyes that reminded him of a summer storm focused on him and her mouth formed a silent O when she spotted the dress in his hands.
"You did go in search of clothes?"
"I told you I would. What else did you think I'd gone to do?"
She blushed again, a delightful shade of pink that lit up her features and had him itch to kiss the worry lines around her mouth away.
"I don't know," she said. "Garnish maybe, to feed me to your bear?"
Silas laughed and she stuck her tongue out at him.
"Well, what am I supposed to think? He doesn't seem to act like a normal bear would, so maybe annoying human with a side dish of garnish and mayo is just what he's looking for."
Salis snorted in his head, and Silas flashed Angelique a grin.
"Trust me, if Salis wanted to eat you, he'd start with your pussy and stay there. All that cream would keep this bear very happy."
His dick twitched his agreement and Angelique gave a little nervous laugh.
"You're joking, right? Cause that's just … well…"
I'm game if you are.
Salis's amused voice in his head made him shake his head and Angelique breathed a sigh of relief when he ordered the bear to stand down.
"Just get dressed, and then we'll talk."
He threw her the dress and laughed again at the speed with which she scrambled into the caravan and shut the door.
Silas stood and watched his bear in bemusement.
"What the fuck are we going to do, Salis?"
I say we eat her.
****
Angelique willed her breathing to slow down and fastened the buttons on her dress with trembling fingers. The effect Silas had on her was just beyond ridiculous. When she'd spotted him standing there looking more handsome than any man had a right to look, it had only been the presence of his bear that had stopped her from throwing herself into his arms.
Despite the surreal situation, or maybe because of it, her libido seemed to be in permanent overdrive around him. She clenched her thighs together seeing the rumpled bedding on his bed, and heat rose in her cheeks at what she had allowed him to do. What she had pleaded with him to do to her. What she still desperately wanted to do with him.
What was it about this man that send her insides alight with need? She just about had enough time to use the bathroom and splash water on her face, before he knocked on the door. He stepped through without waiting for her answer and she bit her lip when she saw what he had in his hands.
He wordlessly set her oversized handbag on the table and turned a
round to look at her.
"So, tell me, Angelique Duvenne. What did you intend on doing with this, and why pick on this circus?"
Angelique squirmed under his silent scrutiny, and she wrapped her arms around herself. The action pushed her ample breasts up, and she didn't miss the way his amber eyes dipped to her cleavage, and rested there for an instant. Somehow this was more erotic then when she had lain pinned under him on the bed. Her nipples firmed under his heated gaze, and her breasts ached in remembered pleasure. By the time he raised his eyes back up to her face her breathing had become erratic, and he cleared his throat and grabbed the back of a chair and straddled it.
He gestured for her to sit down also, and she gladly complied, and sat down with an inelegant thump. Silas raised an eyebrow at her and she realized that she still owed him an explanation.
"I had to make sure you weren't mistreating the animals. Too many circuses do. Animals shouldn't be subjected to cramped conditions and the noise and vagabond nature of a travelling circus. Forced to perform tricks in front of an audience. It's barbaric and cruel and…"
Her voice trailed off, seeing the corner of his full mouth kick up in a sardonic smile.
"Don't you think you're throwing the baby out with the bath water here? Surely not all circuses mistreat their animals?"
"I'm not saying they are, but it's not natural to have beautiful wild animals penned in."
His smile deepened and he regarded her thoughtfully.
"I see, but what if the animals know no other way of life? What if they were born in captivity as it were? And what about zoos? By your logic they would be cruel too. Would your time not be better spent campaigning against them? Far more animals are kept in zoos than are ever being held in circuses, after all."
She couldn't fault his logic, and it was a point she had belabored more than once in heated discussions with the powers that be.
"No answer to that, my little activist?"
His eyes flashed in barely disguised amusement, when she harrumphed her annoyance.
"I'm not little, I know that. I like my food too much, so stop calling me little."
Sinsperationally Yours Page 7
