Tailing Her

by Celia Kyle

  Bedrooms…

  Those interested her most. After agreeing that now was the time to tie themselves together, Jennifer couldn’t wait to climb into a bed with him. Unfortunately, each one he showed her only had a single bed. That was so not going to work. Not with his big muscular body and her curvy ass.

  Then they turned down a final hallway that sported one door—one that had yet another security measure. Once Brett gained access, she smiled in relief. All the other beds had been teeny tiny, but this one was massive. A king-size bed occupied the very center of this newest space and she noted other differences as well. Such as the walls weren’t bare, but smooth and painted a delicate shade of cream. The floor wasn’t polished concrete but lush, thick carpet. And while the other rooms held not much more than a mattress, this one offered another seating area with plush comfortable-looking chairs.

  “What’s this?” Jennifer ran her hand over the comforter that covered the bed. “Why is this room so different from the others?”

  “Because it belongs to the alpha.”

  She wrinkled her nose and snatched her hand back. “Ew, gross.”

  Brett chuckled and shook his head. “No one has ever used this room or that bed. We haven’t ever needed to.”

  “Until me.”

  “Until you.” He nodded.

  Jennifer sighed, a hint of guilt over the problems she’d caused sliding through her. “I’m really sor—”

  “Don’t apologize. We’ve gone over this. I hate that you’re in danger, hell everyone hates that you’re in danger, but what you’re doing is a good thing. It’s necessary even if you are a pain in the ass and don’t listen to me.”

  She growled, baring a single fang, but there was no heat in the sound. Or rather there wasn’t the evidence of anger. Instead, all her lioness could think about was the fact that their mate stood so close to both them and a bed. A bed that had never been used.

  “Maybe if you told me something worth listening to, I’d follow your directions. And since you haven’t…”

  Brett smirked and slowly approached her. “What kind of orders are you looking for?”

  He continued forward. The back of her knees struck the mattress, and she flopped onto the soft surface but he didn’t stop. He eased over her, encouraging her to lay back as he propped himself above her.

  “Jennifer… Crawl into bed for me, baby.” He leaned down and ran his nose along her throat. He scraped his fangs across her skin. “Moan for me.” He sucked on her shoulder then released the flesh with a soft pop. “Scream my name.”

  A shudder of pure need overtook her and snaked down her spine. Arousal, fierce and fast, enveloped her with his words and she had one response, the only thing the mate of a beta could say. She met his heated gaze, and saw her own need reflected at her. “Make me.”

  Brett grinned, the smile filled with pure sex. “With pleasure.”

  His initial slow seduction turned into a passionate battle.

  When he pressed his mouth to hers in a rough kiss, she returned that ferocity. She tangled her fingers in his hair and hugged him even tighter against her. Before he could slip his tongue into her, she pounced and delved into him. She won that passionate round, but lost the next.

  Lost it when his claw-tipped fingers shredded her clothing, the borrowed shirt splitting easily beneath the sharp nails. She didn’t exactly strip for him, but she was still bared to his gaze. Next came the moaning, and she had no way to deny him. Not when he captured a single nipple with his lips and sucked on the small nubbin. He flicked and nibbled the hardened bit of flesh, drawing more groans from her lips. Even as he tormented her breasts, his hands kept at her clothing. When the room’s cool air bathed the heated center of her body, she moaned more.

  When it came to screaming his name, he had a much easier time accomplishing that goal. It took one gentle touch between her thighs for her to arch against him and yell. His adept fingers played against her moist, needy flesh and she couldn’t halt the sounds. Then again, she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to fight him at all. In fact, she was ready to do whatever it took to move things along. When his chest brushed hers, she realized there was definitely something she could do.

  Her lioness was eager to lend its assistance and her human nails were suddenly razor-sharp and sinking into the fabric of his shirt. She gathered the cloth in her claw-tipped hands and tore it from his body. Now she had skin, his on hers, and she was overwhelmed with the feel of him. She ran her hands over his flesh, carving shallow lines down his back as she fought to pull him closer. The touch between her thighs became more concentrated as he slid two fingers inside her, carefully stretching her with his intrusion.

  Jennifer grasped at his shoulders, tugging until he released her breast and brought his mouth to hers. Their tongues tangled, mimicking the action of his digits sliding in and out of her body. The addition of their kiss to her bubbling arousal sent her nearer to the edge. His fingers, his body, and his mouth were going to send her flying and she found herself barely able to breathe. She fought to suck in air, to steal oxygen from him so she wouldn’t pass out from the sensations.

  And then… she couldn’t think of anything. Not when he brushed that perfect spot inside her, or when he circled the source of her pleasure with his thumb, or when he carefully retreated only to thrust into her once again. Because it enveloped her in a large shimmering wave of bliss and she rocked her hips against his hand, fighting to snatch more of that joy. She writhed beneath him, basking in every sensation he drew from her body, and before she knew it she was screaming his name in earnest.

  Jennifer’s orgasm was upon her, racing through her like a runaway train, speeding along her veins and nerves until her entire body was alight with ecstasy. She tightened around him, body milking his fingers as if they were his shaft and she wished they were. She wished he was fully inside her, stretching her with his hardness, and bathing her in his scent. But that would come…

  “Brett!” She couldn’t withhold the shout that burst past her lips. That was followed with a deep moan of bliss. She ground against his hand, letting his touch drag her release on and on. Her muscles were no longer her own, her body twitching and jerking as his attention stole every ounce of control she possessed.

  He growled, “More. Give me more.”

  She didn’t have anything left to give. He’d wrung every ounce of satisfaction from her body and now she was merely a limp shadow of herself.

  “I can’t,” she whimpered, and twitched as another shot of desire attacked her.

  “You can,” he snarled. “Now.”

  His demanding words and his attitude annoyed her cat, and suddenly it did have strength for more. But she wasn’t about to do as he demanded. In fact, now it was his turn.

  Grasping his shoulders, her lioness gave her added strength and it was easy to flip her distracted mate onto his back. Easy to change their positions so she dominated and Brett lay beneath her. While she still grasped the element of surprise, Jennifer wiggled down his body to fall to her knees between his parted thighs. His jeans shredded as easily as his shirt, and then she was left with his long hardness. The tip was large and purpled, droplets of his arousal coating the domed shape.

  While his shout of surprise still echoed off the walls, Jennifer struck. She didn’t hesitate to swallow him, lick along his silken length, and savor the taste of his pure essence on her tongue. She slowly rose, releasing him in gradual increments, until she lifted her mouth from him. She placed a soft kiss to the head, and gave him a small, satisfied smirk. “I think it’s time you gave me something.”

  *

  Brett would give her anything she wanted as long as she didn’t stop. He didn’t think he’d ever seen anything so beautiful as Jennifer’s lips wrapped around him as she took him into her warm, wet depths. So perfect. So delicious. So trusting.

  It was her trust that aroused him most. She trusted him to take more, demand more, than she was prepared to give.

  “Any
thing,” he rasped. “I’ll give you anything.”

  She grinned and kissed the tip once again, telling them without words that she liked his answer.

  Then she was on him once again, lips stretched around his girth, and tongue bathing the underside of his shaft. Her eyes remained intent on his as she pleasured him, those gold irises proving her lioness was present. It wasn’t just her human half present, but her beast as well. As it should be between lion mates.

  Her hand joined her attentions, stroking him where her mouth could not and giving him even more snippets of bliss. She kept up a steady rhythm, a continuous rise and fall along his hardness, teasing and tormenting him with what he desired most. To be inside her. To be truly inside her.

  But when she scraped a single fang along his very tip, adding a hint of sting to the pure joy running through his body, he figured this was kind of okay too. He remained passive beneath her, letting her take the lead, and he simply laid back and reveled in her attention.

  He loved it when she tapped her tongue against that one spot beneath the head, when her thumb traced a circle along his sensitive shaft, and—oh—she encircled the base and squeezed ever so slightly… Honestly, he loved it all.

  Brett fought to keep his hips in place, fought the urge to pounce on her and take what he wanted. Instead, he buried his fingers in her hair, luxuriating in the feel of the soft strands against his palms. Her eyes remained intent on him, expressing emotions neither were ready to voice. So he let his body speak for him. He let her experience the full brunt of his need, and there was no mistaking the musky scent of her desire that filled the air.

  “Jennifer…” He paused, unable to believe he was on the verge of begging. Had he no pride? No. Not when it came to his mate. There was no sense in clinging to pride with his other half. “I love this, but I need you.” Her answer was to suck harder, to tighten her delicious grip, and to nibble a hint more. The actions hauled a shout from his throat, and the sound bounced off the room’s walls. “Jennifer!” She purred, the vibrations enveloping his hardness and then reverberating through his body. “Dammit, Jennifer.”

  This time the tremors were more like a chuckle, and he didn’t have a chance to tell her he wasn’t in the mood for laughs. He wanted to bury himself inside her, already. He wanted both his firmness and his fangs inside her body now.

  She must’ve been reading his thoughts because in one fluid move she released him and crawled up his body. She sat astride him, knees on either side of his hips, and before he could voice an objection, he was poised at her entrance. Without conscious thought, he gripped her hips and slowed her movements. Her wet, tight opening kissed the very tip of his length, and he shuddered with the first jolt of bliss. He was on the brink of taking her, and he wanted to savor the moment.

  “Slowly.”

  Jennifer whimpered and nibbled her lower lip, but nodded in agreement.

  From there, it was a gentle descent, her flesh parting for him, allowing him to slide into her wet heat. Her inner walls were like the softest of velvets soaked with her arousal. He edged deeper and deeper, her body lowering until finally her hips rested against his. And then they remained there, frozen in position as the truth of their intent washed over them both.

  “You’re mine.” He couldn’t hold the words within him any longer. “All mine.”

  He ran his palms along her outer thighs, traced her hips, and then teased the small thatch of dark hair that shielded her femininity from him. He gently burrowed through the curls and rubbed the bundle of nerves he found with the pad of his thumb. Her body’s reaction was instantaneous, she tightened around him, sheath milking his length, and he nearly lost himself in that moment.

  But he couldn’t. At least, not yet. Soon though. Very, very soon.

  “Ride me, baby.”

  Another whimper, another nibble, and another nod. Then she was doing exactly as he craved, raising and lowering along him, giving them both immense ecstasy. It became a sweaty race. Bodies working toward the pinnacle, the scent of sex filling the air, and the sound of their bodies meeting filling the room. When she gasped, he moaned, when he groaned she whined, and when she shouted as another orgasm raced upon her, his beast roared.

  Jennifer cupped her breasts, kneading the abundant flesh and plucking her hardened nipples. Each squeeze and tweak had her tightening around him further, and he wished it was his mouth on her. His mouth nibbling, tasting, and teasing as he filled her.

  Then again, he had better ideas on what to do with his mouth. Particularly ones that centered on sinking his teeth into her shoulder as they both screamed with their release.

  And he was ready. He was riding the edge, just waiting for any hint that she was right along with him. He knew it wouldn’t be long now, the seductive rhythm of her body milking him constantly increasing with each breath. No, it wouldn’t be long.

  “I want you to come for me. Come, and I’ll make you mine forever.”

  Her eyes flared an even brighter gold, and he noted her teeth were longer and sharper than before. Yes, she was ready.

  Without breaking their torturous tempo, Brett repositioned until she was beneath him once again. Hips jerked forward with each thrust as he fought to get deeper than before. Sweat dripped from his brow and painted Jennifer with his scent.

  Her stare was intent on his shoulder, and her teasing pink tongue darted out to wet her lips. “Brett… Want you to be mine.”

  Fuck. That had him balancing on the edge, and he thought he’d blow any moment. “Just come for me, baby.”

  Jennifer did as he asked, arching from the bed as a scream left her throat. He let go of what remaining control he had, his beast breaking free and taking control of his body. As his orgasm pummeled him, he struck, sinking his teeth into her shoulder. The ache of her own bite on him added to his rolling bliss, and then they were merely a rising ball of sensation. They exchanged bliss and joy as it mingled with the pain of their claiming bites.

  But then the final connection, the final piece of their mating, wove into the knot that would keep them tied forever. It went beyond the fighting sensations, beyond the demanding lions, and into their souls. Their bond was unbreakable, souls wound into one, his heart and hers could never be separated.

  Her coppery blood continued to flow over his tongue, and his beast called out for more. It ached to have her scent all over them, inside them, and it was his human half that demanded they stop. They couldn’t take too much blood from their mate. Their female needed to remain healthy. With a feline grumble, the cat retreated and returned his dangerous fangs to blunted human teeth. He pulled back and licked the wound, distantly recognizing that Jennifer did the same to him.

  Now their loving became gentle strokes and softly murmured words, his body not yet allowing his retreat. He was swollen within her, nature ensuring they spent time together after such an explosive and emotional first mating.

  Once he’d lapped up the remaining droplets of blood, he turned his attention to kissing the other parts of her. He used his tongue to gather snippets of her natural flavors. Salt, musk, and sweat filled his mouth, and he knew he’d never get tired of her taste.

  There were husky murmurs, hoarse whispers, and low promises exchanged.

  Brett would never let her go, he’d never allow her to be hurt, and he’d never let her out of this bed.

  “Except tomorrow morning,” Jennifer gently corrected.

  Brett’s lion snarled. He knew what he’d promised, but he didn’t want his mate going anywhere near danger. Ever.

  “You can keep me safe.”

  “Flattery won’t get me to say yes.” Though it did have his cat preening.

  “It’s not flattery if it’s what I truly believe.” She stroked his cheek, finger sliding over his skin, and he couldn’t withhold the purr that filled him.

  “He’s going to come after you with everything he has.”

  Jennifer stared into his eyes, and he knew the truth even as he objected. He was going to
ensure her safety because this was important to her, and her happiness was important to him.

  “But you can protect me,” she countered.

  “But I can protect you.” And God save the man who tried to hurt her.

  Chapter Five

  Jennifer trembled, hands shaking so hard she forced herself to form fists to keep them steady. Her lioness paced, snarling and growling at the delay, anxious to get the answer they’d fought for so they could return to their mate’s side. She hated being away from him for even a moment, detested any physical distance between them since they mated. This whole trial had been a study in separation. There was never the same route, never the same destination, never the same bed… And when it came to bed, there was no guarantee Brett would be there.

  But as she stood in place, confident in her abilities and her performance, she didn’t regret their actions.

  The jury filed in, twelve men and women who would decide a single man’s fate. After two days of deliberations, here they were.

  Colletti no longer wore the pristine Italian suits coupled with handmade leather shoes as he had during the trial. Instead he was clothed in the familiar orange jumper for inmates. What was the point in dressing him up now that he no longer had to look nice for the jury?

  She scanned each juror, hunting for any hint of their attitude. Were they going to convict him? Were they going to let him free? The scents in the room overwhelmed her cat’s ability to detect emotions so it was of no help. Which meant she merely stared. Stared and prayed.

  She distractedly listened to the judge question the jurors, asking if they’d reached a decision. The foreperson stated they had, and then it was time for the verdict. One that would prove whether Jennifer had wasted so much time being without her mate.