by Julia Mills
“Who the hell are you and what do you want with me?”
Her eyes narrowed and her breathing sped up, but she remained silent. She was hiding something. I could feel it. I just had to push the right buttons to get the answers I needed.
Changing tactics, I asked, “Would you rather I call the King’s guards?”
She relaxed beneath me and almost smiled. The vision of the altercation from the night behind my home flashed in my memory, and I almost laughed out loud. Of course, she wasn’t scared of Grant’s men; she’d kicked their asses one way or another every step of the way. No, I had to think of another way to get her to talk. The friendly approach had never been my forte, but in this instance, I’d give it my all.
Chuckling, I said to her what I’d already thought to myself. “Yeah, I guess you’re not really scared of them, are you? You’ve been making them look like idiots this whole time.”
She worked hard to keep her expression neutral, but she couldn’t control the light that came to her eyes or the tiny little wrinkles at their corners. No, those were automatic and so very endearing. Giving myself a mental smack to the back of my head and telling my libido that this woman was no good, I hurried on to keep from embarrassing myself.
“I guess you know I’m Jax, the Queen’s brother?”
A slight nod was all I got, but it was all I needed to keep going.
“This whole conversation thing would go a lot easier if you actually spoke to me. Do you think you could do that? For me?”
I watched indecision and more than a little distrust cross her face. When she finally answered, the low, almost purring tone of her voice moved through my body, sliding up and down my spine and making me think of all the ways I could get the answers I wanted and satiate the need she caused within me. I worked hard to listen to her words and ignore the sensations she caused inside my treacherous body.
“I could.” She hesitated. “I can,” she answered with more authority. “If you get off of me.”
“Will you run?”
“No.”
That single word was spoken with such confidence and such force that I believed her beyond a shadow of a doubt, but I still had to ask, “Can I get your word on that?”
She hesitated, so I added, “Will you promise me not to run until we finish our conversation?”
“Yes.” She sounded exasperated but continued, “I give you my word that I won’t run from you and I’ll answer all your questions, but I can’t guarantee you’ll like my answers.”
Not sure what she meant, but happy to have her assurance that the cat and mouse game was over, I carefully stood and held out my hand to help her to her feet. Once we were seated on a huge rock to the side of the ledge, I asked, “What’s your name?”
Her eyes slid from side to side as she constantly cased our surroundings, making sure no one would sneak up on us, but when she answered, she looked me right in the eye. “Pearl. My name is Pearl.”
She continued to stare until I was forced to ask, “Is there something else you want to tell me?”
Shrugging, Pearl tried to play it cool, but the turbulence in her eyes gave away her fear. “You’re the man with the questions. Fire away. It won’t be long before your guards are here.”
“Guards?”
“You didn’t honestly think you were gonna get the whole day to yourself did you? From what I can see, your brother-in-law has you on lockdown. You slipped your detail and that’s bound to sting those muscle-heads, so I figure we have maybe half an hour before they show up. And I will not be here when that happens.”
Her response stirred up more questions than answers, but I didn’t have time to pursue that avenue. I needed to prioritize. If what she said was true and the guards were on the way, I was going to lose the opportunity to find out what was up with this chick, and God knew I needed to know.
Nodding, I asked, “All right then, let’s get on with it. What do you want with me? Why all the cloak and dagger bullshit? Have we met before? Why run me over and leave me for dead, but then come check on me, because that’s what you were doing, right? Why follow me here today? Why...”
Pearl held up her hand to stop my tirade. “Dude, you really need to take a breath.” She chuckled. “You’re gonna give yourself a heart attack. Besides, I can’t answer if you’re still firing away...Sarge.”
My eyes narrowed at her use of my nickname. Her resulting smile was like a punch to the gut. Pearl was a beautiful woman. I’d known that even when she’d been hiding in the bushes behind my house, and had confirmed it a few moments ago when we finally came face to face. But nothing had prepared me for her smile. Just that tiny gesture transformed her from pretty to drop dead gorgeous.
Her almond shaped eyes crinkled at the corners, highlighting the twinkle that promised mischief in their hazel depths. The light blush covering the smooth skin of her cheeks was alluring to say the least, and combined with her tiny dimples, it was almost more than I could resist. But it was her lips that made my pulse race. I’d only seen them drawn in a straight line until that moment. They were now full and pink and made me wonder what they would taste like, so much so that I had to stop myself from leaning forward and finding out.
Shaking my head, I straightened my spine and looked her straight in the eyes once again, ignoring the knowing look that said she knew what I’d been thinking. I gave a quick nod for her to go ahead while telling myself that my reaction to her was normal. She was not only beautiful, but also exotic and mysterious; any man would’ve reacted the same way.
Yeah. Right. Great. More sleepless nights.
Looking over her shoulder, still on high alert, Pearl began to answer as she turned back to face me. “You’re right, I did come to check on you. I didn’t mean to knock you over that day. I had gotten stuck in those brambles while chasing a rabbit, and was so focused on getting myself free that when you spoke, it scared the crap outta me. I fought to get loose and wanted to get as far from that place as possible, so I ran. It’s a wretched excuse and I’m really sorry.”
There was something she wasn’t saying. I’d questioned enough people in my life to know that when someone spoke in slow, measured tones, as if they were checking items off a list, they were either lying or hiding something...or both. I didn’t get the feeling Pearl was being dishonest, but I knew damn sure she was avoiding telling me something. Any other time I would’ve called bullshit and pressured her for the answers, but I just knew that wouldn’t work with Pearl. She would clam up and run away, and then I’d never get my answers. For the moment, I let her think she’d won our battle of wits.
“All right, let’s say I buy your story. Why not just knock on the front door? What’s with hiding in the garden?”
She bit her bottom lip, and for just a second, I wanted to bite it too.
Damn, boy, you gotta get a date.
Her words brought me back to reality. “Honestly, I was afraid you’d have me arrested, or if you didn’t, your sister most definitely would. It’s no secret how close y’all are, and I’ve never met a phoenix before. I was afraid she was like most aviary shifters... ‘Peck first, ask questions later’.
I had to laugh at her description of the ‘birds’ as I not so affectionately called them. Not all of them were bad eggs,
Sorry. Just could not resist the pun.
... some I’d met were pretty cool. But for the most part, they weren’t the warmest or most understanding folks. Phoebe was working on that. Figuring I should set the record straight, I responded, “Well, my sister’s different. She was the first one to defend you.”
The look on Pearl’s face said she had her doubts, but she nodded all the same. It looked like we were making headway, so I asked, “Why come back? You’d seen I was okay.”
She picked at a fleck of invisible fuzz on her jeans then looked at the ground, obviously avoiding eye contact, before taking a deep breath and finally looking up at me. She bit her bottom lip for the second time, a gesture I was coming to learn me
ant she was nervous, and then said, “You’re not going to like my answer.”
“Try me. You might be surprised.”
She opened her mouth to speak just as the sound of approaching footsteps invaded our little oasis. Almost faster than I could track she was on her feet and standing behind me with her hands on my shoulders. Any other time, her breath on my neck would’ve sent us in a whole other direction, but there was no time for that, although it did raise goose bumps on my arms. “It’s the guards,” she whispered.
For a split second, I wondered why she wasn’t running away as she had all the other times, but then she added, “Come with me. We can finish our talk.”
I knew better than to head off into the forest with her. Knew it was not my finest moment as far as logic was concerned, but there was just something about Pearl that had me jumping to my feet, taking her outstretched hand, and running as fast as I could beside her. We’d run for what seemed like forever, making our way down the cliffs. I was shocked that I wasn’t exhausted and out of breath. Not to mention my recently healed leg still felt fine. Sure it was the adrenalin that had me following my stalker through the woods and kept me going, I was lost in thought when I almost tripped as Pearl made a sharp turn to the left, leading me straight into one of the many caves along the shoreline.
Following her through the near-darkness around more twists and turns than I could count, we landed straight into a huge cavern with a pool of water in the corner. I watched as water flowed down the walls in several streams, feeding the tributary sitting in the center of the most serene setting I’d ever witnessed. From the rumpled sleeping bag and pile of clothes in the corner it was apparent she’d been living there. So much more than I’d originally thought was going on. I had no clue what I’d gotten myself into, but for the first time in my life, I could say I was looking forward to the ride, and that alone scared the shit out of me.
“Why the perplexed look? Not what you expected?” Pearl asked from across the cave.
“That would be an understatement. I thought Grant said everyone staying on the Pride’s lands had been provided for, had a home, supplies, and all that good stuff.”
“This isn’t a home?” It sounded as if I’d offended her, but I was quickly learning not to take anything about Pearl at face value.
“I suppose it could be. But is it what you want, or what you’ve settled for?”
She stood looking at me like she wanted to answer but wasn’t sure how much to say, so I went for the direct approach. “Are you here by choice or necessity, Pearl?”
I watched her pace a circle around her makeshift bed. I could feel her indecision and knew the minute she’d decided to answer me. Of course nothing with Pearl was as expected. In the blink of eye she was standing in front of me, hands on my shoulders, our faces mere inches apart. Just as our lips almost touched, she whispered, “This is the only way I know how to explain. Please forgive me.”
With a strength I didn’t know she possessed, Pearl pulled my much larger body against her smaller, muscular frame, stood on the tip of her toes, and slammed her lips to mine. My shock quickly turned to lust as fire tore through my body, igniting every cell of my being with the impenetrable need to be everything this woman needed. It became more than lust, more than sex, even more than a need to satisfy her. It was the need to know her, to complete her, to have her as my own.
Pearl climbed my body. Her nails tore through my thin T-shirt and into the skin of my back and shoulders. It was as if she was marking me, which made no sense but fed my ego in a way I’d never experienced. My rational brain searched for reason, while my libido was shouting for it to shut the hell up and give in to the pleasure we both knew was to come.
But you just met her.
And I couldn’t care less. There’s just something about her...something...
I shut down the running commentary in my brain before I lost my mind. And then it became an afterthought as her legs wrapped around my waist, only the denim of our jeans separating my instantly hard cock from the intense heat of her arousal. She tore her mouth from mine, gasping for air. Her eyes opened wide and I saw the puma within. I felt the beast’s needs like they were my own. She wanted to own me, to claim me, to have me dominate her and to own her, as well.
Pearl threw back her head while my hands slid from her waist to the full, round globes of her ass. The need to keep her close was a living being within me. The sight of the beautifully bare column of her neck made my mouth water, my dick push harder against the zipper of my jeans, and my gums tingled with the need to mark her.
With no thought except claiming what in just a few passion-filled moments had become mine, I leaned forward and licked a path from the base of her neck to the sweet spot behind her ear. Pearl let her head roll to the side, granting me greater access while she began to roll her hips, riding my cock.
A sound, something like a cross between a growl and a howl, rose from deep inside my chest and tore from my lips, echoing off the stone walls of the cave. I nipped and bit my way back down the path my tongue had just lavished. I walked us the few steps to the wall, needing the support almost as much as the use of my hands. Leaning as much of my weight as I thought she could take to hold her up, I slowly ran my hands under her top and across her ribs, stopping as I reached the wonderfully soft weight of her full breasts. The need to feel as much of her as possible had my hands closing over them, her hardened nipples pushed into my palms. Pearl was panting and moaning, driving us both higher. I needed more. I needed to feel all of her. I needed to mark her as mine.
In one fluid movement, I moved my hands enough to squeeze her nipples between my thumbs and forefingers while biting down on the extremely sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulders. Pearl screamed. Fireworks burst behind my eyes. A taste like no other slid down my throat, igniting a path of flames that threatened to burn me from the inside out.
Pride unlike anything I’d ever experienced filled me as I saw the large red teeth marks I’d left on her neck. I should’ve felt guilty, shouldn’t have wanted to taste every inch of her body just as I had her neck. Before meeting her, I’d never so much as left a hickey on a woman, but now I wanted to devour the one before me and felt no remorse, only want and need.
Dropping to the sleeping bag with Pearl in my arms, I licked the mark on her neck while we tore at one another’s clothing. It took only seconds before we were blissfully naked. Our skin-to-skin contact could only be described as magical. Everywhere we touched I felt the electricity of our attraction, the spark of a connection that I somehow knew meant so much more than I could fathom in that moment. Flames danced along my spine, filling every fiber of my being with the realization that the woman in my arms was my future—my everything.
As hard as I tried to wrap my head around everything I was feeling, pure need overrode every thought and emotion. I gently tried to push Pearl onto her back, the need to be buried deep inside her more important than my next breath but she knew better. In the blink of an eye, my puma flipped onto her knees, bowed her head, and presented me with her voluptuous ass. The proof of her arousal glistened in the light blonde curls surrounding the wet, puffy lips of her pussy and slid invitingly down the insides of her thighs.
Unable to stop myself, I leaned forward, lightly gripped the outside of her thighs, and laid the flat of my tongue against her engorged clit. Her sweet essence burst on my taste buds as the deep, pulsing throb of her arousal beat in rhythm with my pounding heart. Pearl pushed back against me, spurring me into action. One long, slow lick with the flat of my tongue from the bottom to the top of her luscious lips, and I was sure I’d died and gone to heaven.
Opening her wide with my thumbs on either side, I drove my tongue as deep inside her as I could go, using the tip to tease her special bundle of nerves at the top of her channel as I worked my way in and out. She rocked back and forth, creating a frantic rhythm I tried hard to keep up with while giving her all the pleasure I could. This was about her, about pleasi
ng her, showing her she was what was most important. All thoughts that confused the hell out of me but felt right; more right than anything I could think of at the moment.
The contracting of her walls multiplied and her juices flowed freely, wetting my chin and dripping onto my chest as I fought to drink in all that she was. I could feel how close she was to her orgasm and wanted nothing more than to give it to her. Moving my hand, I took her clit between my thumb and second finger, teasing the tip with my forefinger and causing Pearl’s movements to quicken and became so erratic it was hard to maintain my position. Holding her tight, I pulled back, letting the tip of my tongue lick lazy circles around her opening while I continued to work her clit relentlessly. Pearl growled her displeasure while pushing against me with her incredible strength.
Taking a deep breath, I drove back into her with all the force I could muster. At the same time, I pinched her clit between my thumb and fingers. Pearl’s back bowed and she threw her head back as she screamed her release to the ceiling. Her orgasm went on and on, bathing me in her succulent juices. I ate at her, devouring every drop I could while she slowly returned to earth. Every pass of my tongue caused her pussy to spasm, Pearl to mewl and try to close her legs around me, and me to smile.
Her body relaxed as I withdrew my tongue and massaged the backs of her legs, placing kisses where my hands had just been. Sure she was ready to collapse, I laid my body over hers, loving the feel of her damp skin against mine. I kissed the spot I’d bitten, trying hard to feel bad for the mark I’d left but only feeling fulfilled; as if it was something I’d had to do.
Before I could speak, Pearl turned her face to mine and kissed my cheek before whispering against my skin, “I need to feel you inside me...all of you.”
“After you rest.” I chuckled, kissing along her jawline.
“Oh no, mate, there’s no time for rest.”
Before I knew what was happening, she rolled over until we were chest to chest, placed her hands on my shoulders, lifted her behind and put her legs around my waist, before rolling us both over. We ended up with her straddling my thighs and my painfully hard cock resting against the lips of her warm, wet pussy.
