by A. C. Arthur
His hands gripped her breasts, loving the feel of the soft mounds against his palms. He squeezed and she hissed. He growled and she arched her back, giving him even more. Eli didn’t want her giving him anything. He didn’t want anybody giving him anything, not anymore. Not since Acacia had given him and Ezra all that they’d desired.
That thought spurred darkness to swirl around inside. To combat the ugly feeling Eli grabbed her by the wrist. She was standing with her legs slightly spread, her eyes half closed, mouth open as she sucked in a ragged breath each time he touched her. He glanced at her fingers—the same ones he’d watched handle a gun, dismembering it and then shooting its target precisely. When he hesitated, she continued, wrapping her hand around his thick and throbbing cock. Her fingers didn’t meet around the flesh but she didn’t seem concerned. Grabbing him at the base she jerked him once, then twice, then with a rhythm that had him pumping into her motions.
“That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?” he said through clenched teeth. “You’ve wanted this for weeks, months even. Now’s your chance to take it,” he told her.
When she only kept her gaze fixed on his, her hand still working his length until drops of essence filled his tip, Eli yelled, “Take it!”
She lowered herself to her knees, still looking up at him, daring him to be the first to look away. Her fingers worked like magic had been infused in each tip, pulling from him every reason he’d had for staying away from her. She was dangerous. Being with her was going to lead to more trouble than it was worth. Eli knew this without a doubt, and yet he could … would not look away.
“Watch me,” she told him, licking her tongue over her lips until they were shiny and damp. “Watch me, Eli.”
She didn’t have to tell him. Damn, an earthquake or a full-on attack from those hybrids couldn’t stop him from watching her pretty fucking lips opening wide enough to fit the head of his throbbing cock inside. It was hot, goddammit, so freakin’ hot inside her mouth, and tight, the pressure was enough to make his balls swell. Pleasure zipped through his bloodstream like heroin through an addict’s veins and he loved it. Everything in his past be damned, he loved it. He was heady with the sensation, his cat purring incessantly inside, that dark that dared to rear its ugly head with memories pushed far away until there was nothing but the light in her eyes. Eli couldn’t look away from her any more than he could pull his dick from her mouth. He was stuck in this place, in this moment, regardless of how wrong he knew it was.
She used both hands now, pressing against the base of his cock, while her mouth worked the tip. She licked up and down the back and topside, letting her tongue play in the slit until she was slurping the remnants of his pre-cum. Her lips were drenched now, her fingers damp, her breathing erratic as she continued to work over him. And her eyes stayed on his.
That may have been the sexiest part of this interlude. The way her almond-shaped eyes remained open and stared at him, as if he were the only person in this room, this world that she wanted to see. His hips jutted forward and she relaxed her throat muscles to take him deeper, humming over the tip of his dick, bringing forth the release he figured she’d been waiting for.
Stop!
The word echoed in his mind but he didn’t speak it or move out of her way.
“You can’t have me,” he said impulsively. He had no idea why he’d made the declaration. Why at this moment he felt he had to say those very words to her. But it didn’t matter.
Nivea took them as a dare, as another one of his rebuffs that she planned to prove wrong. She locked her fingers around him, tilted her head, and flattened her tongue against the bottom of his cock. Then she sucked and sucked some more, her eyes glazed with pleasure. Eli felt it in his spine, his body vibrating with the intensity of the release ripping free. The next time she didn’t suck, she swallowed and Eli growled.
CHAPTER 6
Nivea was sure she’d lost every last piece of her mind. From the moment she’d been struck speechless by Eli’s gorgeously naked body standing in the doorway until the second she’d gone to her knees and taken him into her mouth, she’d been operating solely on autopilot.
“You can’t have me.”
There, he’d said it once more.
She shouldn’t have had to hear it again. Except his words never seemed to match his actions. He hadn’t walked away, hadn’t thrown her out. No, he’d stood right there, giving her … him. And she’d taken.
Just as she was now as he yanked her shirt over her head and ripped her bra from her chest. His lips were fastened to her in seconds, his hands squeezing her swollen mounds, while his teeth and tongue toyed with her nipple until her thighs trembled.
Nivea reached for her belt buckle, trying like hell to help this moment along. She’d waited so long, needed so desperately. His words drowned in the buzz of pleasure, the adrenaline rush of anticipation.
Eli swiped her hand away instantly. “I got this,” he growled, his incisors longer and sharper than they had been just moments before. Shadows looked like humans, from their head to their feet when they weren’t in full shift. They walked and talked like any other man or woman on the streets, hence the reason they’d been able to live amongst the humans without detection for so long.
But there’d always been something different about Eli. From the first day Nivea had laid eyes on him she’d noticed it. His jaw was stronger, more pronounced than his twin’s, his muscles more defined right down to the strength in his hands and the corded veins that never quite went away. While Stateside Shadows trained to keep their animalistic nature safely secure, Eli was the only one who wasn’t totally able to achieve that. Hence, the sunglasses to keep anyone from seeing the bright gold of his cat’s eyes. He exuded strength and power and the keen hunter’s instincts of the jaguar that he was inside. There was no amount of training or warning that could change that.
Nivea shivered at the thought.
His hands were rough as they hurriedly moved to the laces of her boots, pulling them off while she supported herself by holding onto his shoulder. When she would have allowed her fingers to wallow in the strength, the taut skin over trained muscle, Eli had a mission. He yanked her pants and underwear down, pulling them from her ankles before lifting her into his arms.
“You wanted it, now you’re going to get it,” he whispered in her ear just before biting down on the lobe.
The sting of pain was instant, rippling down her body in quick jolts. She couldn’t help but cry out, no matter how submissive she thought it made her sound. When he dropped her to the bed Nivea didn’t have a moment to catch her breath before he was over her. The hunter moving on its prey.
Later, she would swear his body glistened, skin the color of chocolate, smooth and decadent, perfectly sculpted and cut in all the right places. With his knee he pushed her thighs apart and she gulped at the stretch and bend of the muscles in his thighs and calves. Holding his weight on the palms of his hands his biceps bulged, pectorals lifting and falling with the steady rhythm of his breath. When he lifted his head, his gaze searching for hers, Nivea gasped.
“Don’t move,” he told her.
She licked her lips. “Don’t make me wait.”
For an instant Nivea thought he might back away. It was there and it shocked her to her core to see it, Eli Preston blinked. As she figured she’d caught him just out of the shower, he wasn’t wearing his shades, his turbulent green eyes had been keen, assessing but human. Until the second he’d touched her. The gold cat’s eyes had appeared, calling to her cat, letting it know the game was on. But in the moment she’d snapped back at his comment, his eyes had shifted again. A second, maybe two, his shoulders shook, gold, then green, then gold again.
He growled in the next instant, baring those sharp-ass teeth, basically telling her to hold on, the ride was about to begin. Nivea gripped the comforter in her hands tightly and tilted her hips, more than ready to receive him. She held his gaze. “Now.”
His thick, hot length was ins
ide her so fast Nivea would swear she saw stars. The instant stretch of her skin, the fullness pressing quickly into her, sliding along the essence-coated walls, had her body shaking and her lips spreading in a grin. This was how she’d expected it to be, just what she’d known he would be like. It was perfect.
Until he wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her up off the bed and onto his lap, quickly changing their positions. Her first instinct was to gasp as the length of his long, thick cock pressed farther inside her. Next was to hold onto his shoulders to keep from tipping over. Then, he bit her. Those sharp incisors touching the tender skin of her upper breast, just above her nipple. It was a strong enough sting, to ensure he’d broken skin, and lightning bolts of pleasure entered her bloodstream.
“Ride,” he ordered when he lifted his head, touching those teeth to her ear. “Ride me like you want everything I’ve got.”
It was an order and a dare, given in a way that only Eli could. There was no room for argument and if she cowered, there would be no living it down, no taking it back. Not that she wanted to. Nivea let her hands rub up and down Eli’s arms, right over the slight ripple in his skin where his tat was emblazoned. The connection had her own tat, on the back of her left calf, twitching. Cat connecting with cat. Coming up on the heels of her feet, she leveraged herself and began to move. Rising high, pulling off his cock until only the tip remained ensconced in her heated core, then dropping down, sucking him in completely once more. Eli didn’t make a sound, but his muscles bunched beneath her hands and she continued. Up and down, up and down, until her essence dripped down onto him, her breasts beginning to sweat, her breathing coming in quick pants.
Tossing her head back, Nivea rode the delicious wave that would soon carry her to complete bliss. Every nerve ending buzzed with the pleasure, the intense desire reaching its full culmination. This felt so right. He fit so securely inside her. He knew what she needed, just as she knew what he craved. He’d wanted hot and fast, she’d given him the exact scenario she’d dreamed of. When he closed his eyes and looked away she frowned, grinding her hips down on him.
“Look at me, Eli,” she told him.
“Just ride,” was his tight response.
Nivea shook her head. “No. You look at me. See that I’ve got you. Whether in the field or in this bed, I’ve got you, Eli. I want you and I’ve got you.”
“No!” he yelled instantly, lifting her off him before she had a chance to react, to defend.
Nivea instantly felt the loss, her heartbeat almost stopping at the disappearance of what she’d wanted for so long. She felt momentarily confused, blinking her eyes to try and refocus. But Eli didn’t give her the chance. He was off the bed, standing at the side, reaching for her once more. He pulled her by the ankle until she was sliding off the bed as well, his big hands moving roughly down her neck to her breasts where he cupped her tightly, then down her torso to her hips where he reached around and squeezed her ass. He slipped down the crease until she was bucking, opening for him. His fingers pressed hard, deep into her pussy, then coming out, spreading her essence back toward her ass. Over and over he did that until Nivea’s knees began to shake, her head lolling forward, forehead touching his shoulder.
As quickly as he’d moved before, he turned her so that his dick was pressed along the now-dampened crease. He put a hand to the small of her back and pressed her down toward the mattress.
“You never listen,” he told her. “No matter what I tell you, you are determined to do the opposite.”
“You wanted me too,” she countered.
“You’re fucking disobedient!” he yelled, spreading her cheeks, letting the tip of his dick rub from her anus to her core, still spreading her juices until the slick sound echoed in the room.
“You should be punished,” he continued. “Punished.”
The smack of his palm against her ass was quick, painful, and had Nivea coming with a rush that stole her breath.
“Eli,” she breathed finally.
He smacked the other cheek and her arms shook, threatening to buckle and send her face smashing into the bed.
“Just … just,” he started to say, then stopped, deciding to press his cock into her instead of completing the sentence.
He pounded hard, spearing in and out of her while holding tight to her hips with the same confidence and determination he trained his guards. The sound of his groin smacking into her ass was rhythmic, addictive as Nivea grabbed the comforter between her fingers again. With each thrust she moaned, with each retraction her cat growled. She’d tried to circle her hips, to meet his pumps, but he held her tighter, keeping her still while he worked.
“You don’t have me,” she vaguely heard him say through the haze of pleasure, the rise of her next release.
“You. Will. Never. Have. Me.” Each word was punctuated with a thrust, retract, then a thrust again.
For what may have been the first time in her life Nivea couldn’t respond. She couldn’t give a quick quip, couldn’t defend herself or tear him down with a smart retort. All she could do was grit her teeth to keep from screaming as her release rippled through her entire body.
He stilled behind her and she heard his cat purring, a soft curse falling from his lips as his dick pulsated inside her, his release escaping even though, she thought with faint alarm, he didn’t want it to.
* * *
The shower wasn’t meant for two. Each bathroom was utilitarian in design. So it was no wonder Eli felt claustrophobic as they both attempted to wash away the sweat resulting from their tryst. He’d done so with clear and present intent, while Nivea looked to be languishing in the moment.
She lifted one long arm, soaping the pit then up and down its length. Repeated those steps with the other arm. All the while her eyes remained closed, her breasts rising and falling with the act. When she soaped the high mounds it was with great slowness, her hands resting over her puckered nipples, slipping slowly down her torso, where a trail of soapy bubbles followed. The moment the trail ended at the V of her legs was when Eli finally looked away.
His fists balled at his sides as he thought of how he’d fallen to the weakness. He’d fought for what seemed like so long against touching her, taking her. And now, here they were. Not even a foot away she was naked, her body available and waiting for him. All he had to do was reach out and take, again.
But he didn’t. Instead he moved quickly to exit the stall, slamming the door behind him as he stepped into the coolness of the bathroom. The towel he’d used earlier was still in the bedroom, so he continued his hasty steps there, yanking the towel from the floor where he’d left it. Drying quickly he pulled on a pair of sweatpants and was just sticking his arms through a sleeveless undershirt when she emerged from the bathroom.
“So how are we going to deal with this?” she asked. “Uncomfortable silence? Awkward avoidance?”
She dried off her body as she talked, showing not an inch of modesty as she let the towel fall to the floor and reached for her clothes. Gritting his teeth, Eli refused to look at the lines and curves of her body as she moved, performing the simplest, yet most seductive task he’d ever seen.
“I have some questions to ask you and then we’ll see,” he stated, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, with the now-rumpled comforter.
Their scent filled the room—the musk of sex, combined with the earthy shifter aroma. It was intoxicating, wafting through the air like some sort of hypnotic agent, convincing him that the more important thing to do at this moment was to stop her from getting dressed and to sink inside her hot, wet pussy once more.
“Questions about what?” was her response. He would have been a fool to believe she’d keep quiet and let him do the talking.
“Your parents and some donations they’ve made recently,” he told her, being careful to watch everything about her for a reaction.
It would be within the first few seconds of hearing his statement and digesting what he’d said. She would either look or smell
guilty, or not. Seeing as his senses were operating at their own whim, Eli wasn’t sure what he would rely on.
“I have no idea what my parents do,” she replied slowly. Her hands had stilled only minutely as she stopped tucking her shirt into her pants and looked up at him. She hadn’t broken the eye contact and she didn’t look like she was guilty. As for the scent, Eli almost growled. All he could smell was their combined aroma, in all of its seductive and damning glory.
He frowned. “You’re their child, how can you not know what they do?”
She looked affronted. “Where are your parents right now? What are they having for dinner? What was the last business transaction they completed?” she fired back.
“I’m asking you a specific question,” he stated as calmly as he could because the attraction to her was slowly winning the battle over the serious nature of the conversation. On the one hand he was irritated as hell by the fact that Nick was questioning Nivea’s allegiance to the tribe. On the other, his dick was already hard, his body craving hers as if he hadn’t just been inside her a half hour ago.
“Why are your parents making contributions to the Comastaz Labs?”
There was an instant reaction to that question. Her eyes widened and she swallowed, clearly thinking about how she would respond before doing so. Eli stood, crossing the room until he was in front of her. He felt safe in doing so now only because she was fully dressed, except for her boots.
“Answer the question,” he prompted.
She lifted her hands, smoothing down her hair then letting her arms fall to her sides once again. “First,” she said after a deep breath and even deeper exhale. “As far as the romance and holding a girl through the afterglow of lovemaking, you suck.”
Eli didn’t even flinch at her words, not at all offended by her declaration. If there was one thing he didn’t want to be good at, especially as far as Nivea was concerned, it was romance.
“Second, in addition to their marketing firm, my parents own a couple of nonprofit foundations. I don’t know where any of their money goes or why.”
