by Cynthia Sax
“Too many clothes.” Violet plucked at his shirt, wanting, needing to feel his skin against hers.
“That’s easily remedied.” Nikhil yanked at the cotton, and buttons popped around her, falling to the carpet. He stripped off his shirt, revealing golden skin and tight muscles. A trail of black hair leading from his navel to the waistband of his pants pointed the way to paradise.
“You devise the best solutions,” she cooed, gliding her hands down his chest. He shuddered, kneeling between her spread legs, his eyes gleaming with desire.
“But you’ve left me with a firewall.”
Violet traced his waistband, teasing him. “I’m very good at breaching firewalls.” She lowered her voice as she carefully unzipped him. His cock sprang free, uninhibited by underwear. “You’re not as civilized as you appear, are you?” She smiled, knowing that about him, and she wrapped her fingers around his shaft, his length and girth impressive.
He sucked his breath in, his cock bobbing in her hand. “Too fast, goddess. We’re moving too fast. I should savor you, please you.”
“That’s what you should do.” She laughed, pumping him, a bead of precum already forming on his tip. “But there are no shoulds tonight -- only anarchy, chaos, doing, feeling.” Violet cupped his balls and squeezed him. His spine straightened, a growl escaping his lips.
“I’ve read your e-mails. I know your secrets. I know who you are, what you are.” She’d protected that information, guarding it from the hackers seeking to destroy him. “Let your animal out to play. Don’t hold him back.”
“No. It’s too dangerous.” Nikhil lowered himself onto her, burying his face where her neck met her shoulder, nuzzling her, licking her, his breath hot, his tongue rough and arousing.
Violet released his cock. “I trust you.” She spread her legs wider, enabling him to press against her pussy.
“You shouldn’t.” He ground against her, moving up and down, up and down, fucking her without entry, his rim dragging across her clit, setting off bone-shaking tremors. “You make me wild.”
“I want you wild.” Violet moaned, digging her fingernails into his shoulders, moving against him, needing more, needing him inside her, claiming her, owning her body. “Feel how wet I am for you, how ready.” Her pussy juices gushed around him, slicking his shaft, easing their friction. “Ready for you. Take me, Nikhil.”
“You’re mine, Violet.” He nudged his cockhead against her entrance. “Only mine.” He pushed into her pussy, stretching her. She sucked on his right shoulder, smothering her cries against his skin as Nikhil blazed the trail inside her, altering her body, his cock larger than any she’d ever taken.
“Slowly.” He gripped her hips hard, his claws pricking her flesh. Her savage billionaire sank deeper and deeper and deeper into her until his base finally pressed against her soft folds.
“I will stay in control.” Black stripes shimmered over his cheeks, his tiger reflecting in his eyes, his animal close to the surface, and Violet’s excitement, her arousal escalated. She did that to him, brought out his primitive passions.
“This is anarchy.” Violet nipped his shoulder, and he jerked against her, sliding farther inside her. “Fuck me hard, tiger.” She tilted her hips, taking more of him. “And let chaos reign.”
“Behave,” he growled, pulling out to his tip. “Goddess.” He slammed back into her, punishing her with his big cock.
“Never.” She bit his chin, marking him.
“Always.” He thrust hard and deep, riding her with a relentless rhythm, his pace stealing any retort she might have given. She raked his back in an attempt to strip his control from him.
“Obey me, mate,” he snarled, orange fur and black stripes covering his tanned skin, his gleaming white canines bared in a deadly threat.
“Make me.” Violet challenged him, raising her hips, meeting him midway as he drove into her, their bodies smacking together, heat radiating from the points of impact. He pounded into her again and again, propelling her back into the mattress, their fighting, fucking, loving freeing Nikhil’s tiger and Violet’s even more primal soul.
“Harder,” she demanded, panting, splaying her fingers over his thickening fur, his coat sensuously soft. As he thrust into her, her beastly billionaire grunted and grazed her neck with his teeth, the sting exciting her.
“Yes.” Violet clung to Nikhil, her ankles hooked behind him, her heel pressing into his ass. Passion coiled tighter and tighter and tighter around her. “I’m close.” Her thighs quivered; bone-deep tremors ran up her legs and over her hips. “So close.”
“Come for me, mate,” Nikhil commanded. She gritted her teeth, determined to defy him. “Come.” He surged forward and bit her neck, the pain sharp and stimulating.
“Nikhil!” she screamed, bucking, trying to dislodge him, her very being splintering into the disarray she loved and needed. He was her only constant, the hard coding in a fluid world.
Nikhil gripped her neck tightly with his teeth, holding her in place as he drove deeper. “Violet!” he roared. He stiffened as hot jets of cum spurted from his cock, coating her, claiming her, and he shuddered, collapsing on top of her trembling body.
“I have you.” Violet held him. His fur receded, leaving warm skin. His spicy cologne mixed with the scent of sex and her.
“I lost control, and I hurt you.” Nikhil licked the mark on her neck. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” Violet met his catlike gaze, his savage tiger reflecting in his eyes. “You lost control, went wild, and I survived.” She smiled at him, euphoric from their loving. “I not only survived, but I thrived. I loved it.”
“Only you would.” He rolled onto his back, taking her with him. “My goddess of chaos,” he purred, his chest vibrating, the sound soothing.
“Yes, I’m your goddess.” For tonight, at the very least. Violet closed her eyes, content to be with him, her big cat lover.
* * *
The next morning, Nikhil zipped up Violet’s dress. “Stay here.” He pressed a kiss against his aggravated hacker’s bare shoulder, inhaling his scent on her pale skin, a proclamation to other paranormals that she was his. “Allow me to fix this.”
“When was the last time you fixed Wi-Fi service at an upscale hotel, wonder boy?” She laughed, her violet eyes sparkling. “The staff will fawn all over you, and it’ll take hours, instead of seconds.”
Nikhil frowned, torn. His human side agreed with her, his animal protesting, wishing to protect her, to keep her to himself. Their bond was too new, too precious. I’m more than my animal. I can deal with this rationally. “If you’re not back in fifteen minutes…”
“You’ll tease me mercilessly.” Violet opened the door. “And I’ll deserve it. A hacker unable to reinstate Wi-Fi.” She snorted as she padded into the hallway in her bare feet, having deemed shoes unnecessary. “If you’re ordering room service, I’d like an ice cream sundae with a cherry on top.”
“For breakfast?” He admired the sway of her hips as she walked, her head held high, her blonde-and-purple hair cascading down her back.
“For breakfast.” Her joy bubbled over him. “Don’t forget the cherry.” She turned the corner.
Nikhil stared at the empty hallway, aching to go with her. Room service first. He stalked to the phone, the primitive device being a remnant of days gone by, and he picked up the receiver. There wasn’t any dial tone. He tapped the switchhook. Nothing happened.
“Shit.” He tucked his tuxedo shirt into his pants, grabbed his jacket with his key card, and hurried out the door.
“You should remain inside, boss.” Bruce, his head of security, stepped in front of him. “It’s not safe.”
“Not safe?” Nikhil pushed past him, his inner tiger pacing, anxious to protect his mate. “And you allowed Violet to leave?” He rushed down the hallway, fighting the urge to shift.
“She knows the people after you.” Bruce followed him, breathing heavily. “For all I know, she’s working with them.”
“The hacker community is small.” Nikhil turned the corner. “Of course, she knows them.” The hallway was empty. “Where is she?” He sniffed, flaring his nostrils, tracking her. “She didn’t take the elevators.”
“The elevators aren’t working, either,” Bruce informed him.
“Bloody hell.” Nikhil slammed through the door to the stairway, and the scent of fear hit him, raw and savage. His tiger howled.
“No! I won’t!” Violet’s voice rang through the vertical space, bouncing off the concrete walls. “You’ll have to kill me.”
Nikhil’s body temperature plummeted as he descended, taking the steps three at a time. Protect mate. His claws extended on his feet and hands, shredding his black leather shoes.
Voices rumbled, too quiet for him to hear.
“Never. I’ll never betray him!” Violet shrieked. The maddening aroma of freshly spilled blood flavored the air -- his mate’s blood.
Nikhil roared, shifting completely, his arms extending, fur covering his body, a tail protruding from his ass. He leaped down the stairs, his only thought to protect his female, to save Violet.
A man -- a dead man -- pressed Violet’s neck against the wall with one beefy hand. “What the fuck was that?” he demanded.
She pulled on his fingers, her face red, her bare feet dangling inches above the floor. Blood streamed down her right arm.
Mate! Nikhil screeched with fury and sprang. He barreled into the human, knocking him to the side, and Violet dropped to the floor, slumping into a heap.
“A tiger?” The man pulled a gun and backed away, his eyes wide, his skin turning ashen. “What the fuck is a tiger doing in a hotel?”
Nikhil paced before his prey, his gaze on the weapon. He watched and waited, his muscles coiled and ready, knowing the traits of the foolish humans, aware of the species’ impatience.
An ear-splitting bellow sounded behind him. The man’s gaze lifted over Nikhil’s shoulder blades. “Oh, shit.” The man ran down the stairs, and Nikhil gave chase, gaining on him.
“Nik-hil!” Violet screamed, her voice breaking.
Mate! Nikhil skidded to a stop, turned, and rushed back to her side, his first priority to protect her.
“Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.” She sat on the floor and stared up at Bruce, her palms facing the big bear as though she was trying to stop him with her bare hands.
Nikhil twitched his head toward the fleeing man. Bruce barked and lumbered past him.
“Nikhil, is that you?” Violet rasped, resting her skull against the wall.
He bobbed his head and padded over to her side, prepared to protect her if the man returned. Her blood dripped on the floor and bruises circled her pale throat. The man will die for daring to touch my mate. Nikhil licked her arm, and she trembled.
“Don’t eat me, okay?” she whispered, her eyelids closing, her long dark eyelashes fluttering on her white cheeks.
My mate. Nikhil nudged her with his nose, reassuring himself that she was safe and alive. His female was strong, yet fragile, brave yet defenseless, and he couldn’t live without her. His heart pounded from the scare she’d given him.
“His boss wanted my passwords to your systems.” Violet sighed, her chest rising and falling. “You should change them, in case they get to me again.”
He huffed. They wouldn’t get to her again, and he wouldn’t change the passwords. Changing them would eliminate any bargaining power she’d have. They’d hurt her, kill her. Nikhil pushed away his desire to pursue their enemy and carefully cleaned her wound with his tongue, healing her with his shifter saliva, tightening the bond between them.
Violet ran the fingers of her left hand over his fur, following his black stripes, fearlessly embracing his animal, and he purred, rubbing his sideburns against her, covering her smaller form with his scent. Her wound partially closed, the bleeding stemming, and her heartbeat slowed to a normal rate, color tinting her cheeks.
Nikhil searched for more injuries, beating her legs with his tail, his nose bumping along her breasts, and she petted him, stroking his back and shoulders, loosening the tightness in his muscles. His chest rumbled, the sound amplified in the narrow stairwell.
“You’re beautiful, Nikhil,” she murmured, brushing her face against his fur. “You should never hide this side of yourself from me. I know you won’t hurt me.”
“He might hurt me.” Bruce trudged up the stairs, his broad face red, his skin smeared with dirt. He wore only the emergency pants he kept in his car, his chest bare, his clenched fists gripping a long coat. “I lost the bastard.”
Bloody hell. Nikhil shifted, his fur and claws retracting, his arms shortening, his tail sucked back into his human form. “I want you to find out who he is.” So I can kill him. He knelt before his mate, the floor unyielding under his bare knees.
“I know who he’s working for.” Violet held him to her, her grip surprisingly strong. “The hacker’s name is Gaur. He’s been tracking you for almost a year, trying to access your systems.”
Gaur, his enemy. The bovine shifter had been tracking him for decades, wishing to punish him for escaping his caste. Nikhil stared at his female, a deep freeze spreading over his chest. “And you’ve been blocking him.” Violet’s cheeks flushed pink, confirming his speculation. “You risked your life for me.” He roared with outrage. If Gaur’s man had gotten to her a day earlier, she’d be dead. “You’re never to do that again.” He grabbed her arms, needing to touch her, to feel her warmth. She winced.
“I brought you a coat, boss.” Bruce tossed him the garment, and Nikhil released Violet to catch it. “Guess she’s one of the good guys.”
“Yep, I’m wearing a white hat… for once.” Violet grinned at Nikhil as though she hadn’t faced death mere minutes ago.
Bloody female. Nikhil tugged the coat on and wrinkled his nose in distaste, the fabric smelling of bear. “You won’t be wearing any hat. Until we find Gaur, you’re staying locked up in my house in the country.” He scooped her into his arms, savoring her weight, her curves.
“What about the hotel?” She linked her fingers behind his neck, clinging to him, a male more beast than man. Has she no sense of self-preservation?
He growled. “The hotel is clearly not secure.” Nikhil carried her down the stairs, the steps cool against his bare feet. Bruce gathered his things, his shredded clothes and discarded phone, wallet, keys. “You’re living with me, where I can guard you, protect you.” Forever.
“Cool.” She smiled up at him. “Being wonder boy, you must have fast broadband and the latest gear. It shouldn’t take me long to track Gaur down.”
“You’re not tracking anyone down.” Nikhil scowled, his female clearly not listening to a word he said. “You agreed to obey my rules from now on.”
“I agreed to obey your rules today.” Violet pushed an unruly strand of hair back from his forehead, the tender gesture causing Nikhil’s pulse to race. “Tomorrow remains open to negotiation.”
She drives me mad. Nikhil gripped her tightly to him, never planning on letting her go. “What do you want?” I’d give everything I have to keep you safe. He met her gaze, all his calm blown to bits by her violet eyes.
“Chaos and anarchy.” Violet laughed, her unbridled joy forcing a smile to Nikhil’s lips.
Chapter Three
“This is a lair.” Violet cast an admiring gaze around the large room, the walls covered with screens, multiple computers buzzing. Cables looped along the ceiling’s high beams, black, leafless vines against the electronic foliage. She sank into the nearest leather captain’s chair.
“If I had a room like this, I’d never leave.” She spun the chair around, lifting her military-style boots off the tiled floor.
“Not even to eat?” Nikhil watched her, amusement in his catlike eyes; his lips curled upward.
“I could eat here.” She laid her head back, spinning faster and faster, images swirling into a stream of color. “And sleep here.”
Nikhil grabbed the armre
sts, stopping the chair, and her body was thrown against his right arm. “I’d rather you slept with me, goddess.” He leaned over, seductive heat rolling off his firm form.
“I’d rather we didn’t sleep.” Violet brushed her lips against his, tasting tea and spice. “But we both have to work. I must strengthen your firewalls and track Gaur.” She drifted one of her fingertips along Nikhil’s thin blade of a nose. “I’ll protect you.”
“And I’ll protect you.” He nipped at her finger, revealing a playful side she’d always suspected he had. “It doesn’t matter how many mercenaries Gaur sends after you.” Nikhil lifted her easily, his strength impressive, and he slid into the seat, settling her on his lap. “I’ll defeat them,” he vowed, his passion moistening Violet’s pussy.
“It’s challenging to hire mercenaries with a deleted bank account.” She wiggled into Nikhil’s hardening cock. “And with his name on the authorities’ hit list.”
“You can do that?” Nikhil handed her a tablet, his fingers wandering over her knuckles, sending tremors of sensation up her arm.
“With help.” She relayed her activities through a chain of hacked servers, disguising her virtual trail. “The hackers will want something in return, a sacrifice to the computer gods.” She held her breath, waiting for his response, wondering if the price of safety was too high.
“A sacrifice to the goddess of chaos.” Nikhil rested his chin on her shoulder. “To protect you, I’d make the operating system for mobile open-source. Will that suffice?”
Violet exhaled, her jaw dropping. “You’d release all that beautiful code upon the world?”
“For you,” he rumbled, his voice lowering even more.
For me. Her toes curled. “That’s the sexiest thing anyone has ever done for me.” She blinked back tears. “And it would rally the entire community behind you. They’d erase him in mere minutes.”
