by Rosanna Leo
Luke emerged from one of the back rooms. “He’s gone.”
Jani fought the sinking feeling of disappointment. More than anything, he’d wanted to put an end to the miserable wretch who’d hurt Fleur’s family.
“Don’t worry,” said Luke. “We’ll get him.”
“But how many more people will die first because of his drugs?”
“He’s on the run. He knows we’re coming. I wouldn’t doubt if business has slowed down for that reason.”
“Let’s hope so.”
“I’ll put the word out,” said Luke. “My spies will catch his scent again.”
“Who are these people anyway?”
Luke managed a weak grin. “If I told you, they wouldn’t be spies, would they?”
He had a point there. He’d just have to trust Luke on this one.
They headed for the door. His tiger reacted, hunching in anticipation, knowing it would see Fleur again soon. Jani was just as anxious. Even an hour out of her presence had him clenching his fists in nervousness. He wanted to see her, to touch her and ensure her safety. He wanted to hear her sweet moans as he found a home inside her.
At the same time, he realized he’d never know peace until he eliminated every threat to his mate.
Chapter 12
FLEUR had never been so happy to see Jani.
Even before he strode through the cabin door with Luke, her wolf had jumped to its feet, barking in excitement. As soon as the door opened and Jani smiled at her, the wolf had bowed its head. It was all Fleur could do not to kneel before him and bury her head in his lap. Not wanting to look like a fool, she rose and met him at the door, wrapping her arms around him.
“You’re here. You’re really here.”
He held her and kissed her on the neck, discreetly licking her skin. “I missed you too.”
Summoning all her strength, Fleur resisted the urge to tear her clothes off. She did, however, indulge in a lick as well. She couldn’t help it. His skin tasted so good. His taste on her tongue acted as a calming agent.
She’d had a good time with her mother, a much-needed moment alone with her, but it hadn’t stopped Fleur from wanting Jani back and she’d checked the clock incessantly.
Strangely enough, so had her mom. If Fleur didn’t know any better, she’d swear her mother had a thing for Luke.
Who was she kidding? Most women would have a thing for Luke, to say nothing of most men. With his long lashes and bear man muscles, he was hard to resist.
He just wasn’t her tiger man.
“Did you find Breckenridge?” she asked Jani.
Jani glanced at her mother and back at her. He shook his head.
Barbi dropped to the couch. She hunched over and pain radiated out of her frail form.
Luke was next to her in an instant, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Barbi, you have my word. Breckenridge will pay for what he did to you.”
Fleur sat on her mother’s other side. “Mom, we won’t let him hurt you anymore.”
Barbi nodded, but the shadows in her eyes made it clear she remained unconvinced.
“Do you want to stay with Jani and me?”
Luke raised his head. “That’s not going to happen, Fleur.”
“Excuse me?” Who was he to order them around?
“What I mean,” said Luke, “is your mother should continue to stay with me. We still have work to do.”
“But she’s clean. You said so yourself.”
“The drugs might be weaned from your mother’s system,” persisted Luke, “but it doesn’t mean she isn’t still under the influence. An addict doesn’t kick the habit in a few days.”
“But…”
Jani walked over and laid a hand on Fleur’s shoulder. “Barbi should stay with Luke. Believe me, he’s the best one for the job.”
She frowned at Jani. Since when had he and Miller gotten so chummy? One trip to the mainland and they were best friends? “Whose side are you on anyway?”
“Always yours.” Jani smiled. “Come on. Let’s go home and let these two have a quiet evening. Luke can tell your mother what we saw at the penthouse.” He held out his hand.
Peeved, Fleur hugged Barbi and stood. She didn’t take Jani’s hand even though it felt wrong not to touch him. Still frowning, she exited the cabin and began walking down the path.
Jani caught up to her. “You’re angry at me.”
“You bet I am.” She stopped walking and looked at him. “She’s my mother. She’s nothing to him. Yes, I know he’s done a lot for her, but why is it so important that she stays with Luke?”
“Fleur, életem. She’s his mate.”
“What? They’ve known each other for days.”
“It doesn’t take long to figure it out.”
“But…wait. Did he touch her? If I find out he put a hand on her while he was supposed to be counseling her, I’ll…”
“He hasn’t touched her, I swear. Luke knows your mother’s health and wellbeing are at risk and he’s promised me he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize them. He cares for her, and he believes she feels the same way.”
“But my dad…”
“Your dad beat her up on a regular basis. Fleur, maybe they weren’t meant to be mates. Maybe she was meant to meet Luke in this way.”
She scratched her head and grunted in frustration.
“You’re adorable when you do that.” Jani tickled her waist.
She edged away from him. “Stop that. Let me think.” She dragged her gaze away from him and tried to concentrate. “I suppose it’s possible she cares for him. My mother wouldn’t stop going on and on about Luke, and I swear she had an eye on the door, the way I did for you. Luke knows so much about shape-shifters. Luke’s such a great cook. Luke’s biceps are bigger than my head. She talked about him almost the whole time. I had to ask her to change the subject.”
Jani laughed and pulled her close, nuzzling her neck. “I love you.”
Heat traveled into her extremities. Desire shot into her nerve endings, making her forget her momentary pique. She couldn’t stay mad at her mate. Jani’s power over her was absolute. One touch was all it took to ready her. One look reduced her to a blushing, giggling mess. It seemed she’d been reprogrammed. She used to be a spitfire. Now, in his presence, she felt like a simpering wuss.
“That’s ridiculous,” Jani said, reading her mind once again. He pulled her down the path toward their cabin. “You’re not a wuss. In loving me, you’ve simply come to your senses. You’ve…mellowed. Matured, like a fine wine or a block of cheese.” Chuckling, he raced the remaining distance to the cabin door.
“Cheese? You’re comparing me to cheese?” Fleur chased after him, determined to thump him. Or kiss him. One of the two.
She reached the open door and Jani dragged her in, enveloping her. Taking her mouth in a ruthless kiss, he pulled her up against him. His cock throbbed against her belly and she ground herself on it. Jani groaned and shut the door, locking it, even as he caressed her with his other hand.
“If you stay angry at me, I’ll have to throw myself off a tall building.”
“Don’t say that.”
“I couldn’t stop thinking of you when I was gone,” he said, licking the length of her neck. “I smelled you all around me, even though you were nowhere near. Your hair. The warm skin under your breasts. Your silky pussy. I want to eat every inch of you.”
“Do it. Every inch.” She guided his lips back to hers and teased him with her tongue.
Even though she attempted to take charge of the kiss, Jani asserted his dominance when his tiger teeth descended. He looked away, winced, and tried to force them back into his gums.
“It’s okay,” Fleur said, making him look at her. “You can bite me if you want.” She knew full well a tiger in its prime needed an outlet for its aggression. Jani had been so gentle with her so far, even during the mating process. Was it possible she hadn’t given him wh
at he needed?
“You give me everything I need. Don’t even think that,” he answered with a stern look. He rubbed one of his gums. “I just…the urge to bite is a strong one for someone like me.”
“Then do it. Bite me.”
“But I already broke your skin when we mated. I don’t want to hurt you again, Fleur. I don’t wish to spill your blood. Last time, it was necessary. Now, it feels selfish.”
“Even if I want you to do it?” Fleur could see his sense of honor held him back from unleashing his predator. Jani had seen her battered and a part of him still clearly worried she’d compare him to August Crane.
She needed to show him he couldn’t be more wrong.
Fleur stepped back and began to take off her clothes. Keeping her gaze pinned on Jani, she calmly dispensed with her shirt, bra, shoes, jeans, socks, and panties. He stood still, his breath coming hard, hands clenched at his sides. Anyone else might be terrified to see him like this, but she knew he wouldn’t harm her. She licked her finger, rolling her tongue in a provocative manner, and slid it through her pussy. She offered the wet finger to him. “I’m ready, Jani. Do your worst, tiger.”
His lips pulled back and he displayed sharp tiger teeth. His eyes brightened, making him look very much like his inner animal. As he held her hand, sucking her finger into his mouth, a growl emanated from deep inside him.
Yes! Triumph made Fleur squirm in his clutches.
He finished licking her finger, swallowing her juices, and his teeth pricked her skin. Her body erupted into goose pimples as she anticipated his bite elsewhere. She wanted it on her breasts, her buttocks, even between her legs.
Gleaning her thoughts, Jani released her hand and kicked off his shoes. He tore through his clothes, tossing the fragments to the floor. Nude, he loomed over her, his body rippling with animal greed. He looked at her the way a wild tiger might regard a gazelle with a broken leg. Even though it made an anxious chill dance down her spine, Fleur welcomed his carnal attention.
Finally breaking the tension, Jani closed the distance between them and gripped her face. He kissed her once, hard, and breathed into her mouth.
“Feel my teeth with your tongue. Feel what they can do to you.”
Curious, Fleur reached her tongue into his mouth and ran it slowly along the ridge of his teeth. So terrifying but so wonderful at the same time. As she teased him, his growls reverberated, a threat as much as a promise of what would follow. Finishing the circle of his mouth, she pricked her tongue on one of his deadly incisors and tasted blood.
Jani tasted it too.
Driven by a bloodlust only another shifter would understand, he claimed her mouth, swallowing the tiny droplets of blood. His fingers clawed at her bottom, dragging her against his hard body. His heart pounded in sync with her own, and his cock throbbed.
So good.
Jani picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. He put her down in front of the full-length mirror hanging on the far wall.
“Not the bed?”
“Not yet.” Jani stood behind her, holding her gaze in their reflection. “You want me to bite you? Then I need you to see exactly what I’m doing, Fleur. I need you to see each drop of blood and know its power. I need you to understand what you do to me. You make me an animal.”
Shivers danced where his breath met with her skin.
“But,” he said, smoothing a hand around her waist, “no matter how much I will dominate our play, I want you to know you are in charge. You will see it all, and only you can make me stop once I’ve started. Am I clear?”
She nodded. Fear and excitement mingled in her body, arousing her as she’d never been aroused before. She was safe with Jani, always safe. He understood her pains and worries and let her know he abided by her rules. Even though she urged him to wildness, he would always be her tame tiger.
“These breasts,” he said on an exhalation. “How I dream of touching them.” His gaze locked on her and he touched her there. Smoothing his fingers over her nipples, twisting them until she gasped, Jani experimented with rougher touches. “Do you like that?”
Once again, she nodded in response. She’d lost all words.
As he tormented her nipples, Jani licked the tender spot between her neck and right shoulder. On a low snarl, he curled his lips and showed her his teeth, readying her for his bite. Fleur’s stomach tensed, but everything else inside her felt fluid and limber and needy. She watched him in the mirror, waiting for the moment those teeth would meet her skin.
He opened his mouth on her shoulder and there was a sting as he broke her skin, but it was followed by the most sensuous warmth. Fleur relaxed into him as he sucked, wrapping her arm around his. His tongue eased the pain, gliding over the spot, lapping. Despite his ministrations, a drop of blood emerged at the corner of his mouth. Entranced, Fleur followed its slow path as it dripped over her shoulder blade.
Swallowing and groaning, Jani released her shoulder and moved in front of her, angling her so she could still see past him into the mirror. Crouching before her, he licked at the droplet of blood. Once it was gone, he suckled at her breasts, taking time to lave both nipples.
Fleur couldn’t take her eyes off the small wound at her shoulder. It would leave a bruise, but it was one she was proud to wear. Her mate had given it to her with the utmost in care. She had half a mind to tattoo over it so she could always remember exactly where he left his mark.
Only Jani didn’t seem satisfied to leave just one. As he sucked the tip of one breast into his mouth, his sharp teeth descended once again. Fleur jumped this time, but Jani ran a comforting hand over her lower back, letting her know he heard her. In response, he retracted his teeth and suckled gently. Her nerves dissipated once more and she sighed, digging her fingers into his back.
So good, Jani.
I’m not done, Fleur. Can you take more of my bite?
She spared a moment to consider the implications of his question, rather than agreeing in a lust-clouded haste. He’d given her the chance to direct him, and she wouldn’t throw it back in his face. I can. I want it.
“Then you must tell me where to bite you.” Jani looked up at her from his position on the floor, smoothing his fingers along the seam of her pussy. “Where do you want to feel my teeth?”
Fleur could barely enunciate her thoughts. She wanted him anywhere, everywhere. She wanted marks all over her body. Her mind whirred and spun. It was almost too much sensation, too many emotions. As she tried to decide, her wolf provided no help. The beast merely alternated between running in circles and showing Jani’s tiger its ass. Damn useless pup.
How could she tell Jani what she wanted most was for him to control her, to dominate her in every way? Did that make her a weakling? A pawn?
Did it turn her into the sniveling creature Crane had overpowered so many times?
It was all too much.
“It is too much.” Jani stood and passed a gentle hand over her hair. He captured her lips in a soft kiss. “I shouldn’t have bitten you.”
“No, I wanted it.” Her voice cracked. “I want more. But Jani, in giving myself over to you completely, I’m afraid to lose myself again. I don’t want to be the woman I was with Crane.”
Jani frowned, his eyes darkened by regret. His tiger teeth disappeared back into his gums.
She’d ruined the moment because she couldn’t be brave.
“You haven’t ruined a thing,” he said. He grazed the marks on her shoulder and her breast, his touch light and full of reverence. “You’ve given me the most precious gift. Your trust. I know how hard it was for you to offer it, and I’ll never abuse it. You’re my life, Fleur. I’m not here for a cheap thrill. I want to make you happy, for as long as we live.”
“You don’t think I’m weak for submitting to you?”
“No, my flower. It takes great strength to admit it. I take my responsibility to you very seriously. It’s my vocation, my honor, to give you whatever you
need, however you need it.”
Fleur clung to him. She sighed against his skin as a burden seemed to slip from her shoulders. He really did understand her. August Crane had recognized her needs but had taken advantage of them, warping them to his own selfish desires. Jani, on the other hand, knew when not to push.
He knew when to give.
She’d spend the rest of her life giving him what he needed too.
“Jani, take me.”
His face lit up with the sweetest of smiles, Jani picked her up and carried her to the bed. He lay her down and covered her body with his own. His bulk pinned her to the mattress, but she’d never been so happy to feel such weight. Wrapping her legs around his hips, she urged him inside.
“Not yet.” On that whispered admonition, he slid down her body. His hands caressed her everywhere and his mouth followed. There was such consideration in each embrace, yet such urgency. Jani kissed her A.B. tattoo and nipped a path along her stomach to where he’d left his mating mark. He smiled, tracing it with a finger. “I think it turned out nicely.”
“Admiring your handiwork?”
“Maybe, but mostly I’m admiring you. You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I love you, Jani.”
“I adore you.”
He spread her thighs and lowered his head. Fleur groaned as his mouth met with her swollen lips. Just as he worshipped her body, she prayed to God as well, begging never to be separated from her mate. She’d seen Elaine endure such torture at losing Lloyd. Fleur knew she’d never be able to bear it if something happened to Jani.
His tongue speared into her, distracting her from her morbid train of thought. His kisses became more intense, more urgent. She writhed against his head, wishing she could take his whole body inside hers and keep him there. He grabbed at her ass cheeks, scratching her with his fingernails, and moaned like a satisfied man at a banquet.
Her stomach contracted as wild energy twisted inside her. The cyclone in her mind ravaged her body and she clawed at the sheets to maintain hold of her sanity. With a hungry growl, Jani latched onto her clit and sucked. Just then, the storm exploded through her, breaking down every remaining wall she’d built up around her heart. Jani took and took and took until she was spent, and then he took more. By the time he was done, her body was no more than a weeping pile of exhausted nerves.
