by E A Price
His lips twitched, and she liked to think it was down to disappointment. “Of course, how are you feeling?”
“Much better.” So good that she couldn’t really justify staying there, although her cat urged her to try.
He opened his mouth and then shut it again. “It’s getting late; perhaps you should get some rest. I don’t think you should try to leave tonight.”
“Oh no, I wasn’t! I don’t want to rush things.”
Acksel nodded and gave her a half-smile. She was going home, she was, just not tonight.
Chapter Seven
The flames licked at the door. The room was hot, too hot. She clutched at her stuffed tiger and cried for her mommy. Her skin was starting to burn. She tried to cry out, but she choked as the smoke poured into her room…
Simone panted, and her tiger whined as she awoke from the nightmare. She looked around the room, wildly, disorientated. She remembered she wasn’t home. She was somewhere else, but the same nightmare followed her.
“Simone!” Acksel gave a cursory bang on the door before barrelling into the room. He didn’t hesitate as he pulled her into his arms, holding her trembling body.
“It’s okay,” he soothed her as he stroked her back. She wrapped her arms around him. She wasn’t a natural hugger, but it did feel natural to be in his arms. “Was it about the accident?” he asked, softly.
“No… just… no.” She felt her heartbeat slowing, returning to normal. Her tiger began to calm, and she rubbed her cheek against the bare skin of his shoulder. “There was a fire when I was a kid; sometimes I dream about it.”
“It’s okay; it’s fine. I won’t let anything happen to you.” The last part was said with such feeling that Simone couldn’t help the shiver that trickled down her spine.
The steady, rhythmic thump of his heartbeat eased her. The feel of his soft skin under her fingers and the press of his hard body against hers made her heart speed up for an entirely different reason. She could feel her arousal stirring.
Acksel inhaled and groaned. “Simone,” he breathed, a touch of anguish in his voice.
She shouldn’t be doing this. She didn’t know this wolf. She’d only met him a few hours ago. She was technically mated to another male for heaven’s sake! But she couldn’t stop herself. Her tiger yowled, urging her on. She’d only ever desired one man before this, and it had been a disaster. After that, she’d told herself she didn’t need a male. That she was happy to be on her own. Love, sex, arousal – they were just things that happened to other people. But, Acksel… she could feel herself yearning for him. Every part of her - her heart, her body, her tiger - wanted him, and needed him.
Simone kissed his neck, moaning at the taste of his skin.
“Simone, don’t,” he groaned, but without much conviction.
She kissed and licked his neck while rubbing her hands over his chest. She wasn’t experienced, but her body seemed to know what to do. She’d had sex, but it was a long time ago, and it had been a case of over and done with in a matter of minutes. She’d fallen hard and fast for a human in town and had believed him when he said he loved her. He’d changed his mind after he deflowered her. But Acksel didn’t seem to have any complaints about what she was doing, not if the bulge pressing against her stomach was anything to go by.
“You don’t want me?” She sniffed and mewled at the strength of his arousal. “You smell like you do.”
He growled. “I want you more than you know.”
“Then, why?”
“Simone, I don’t want to take advantage.”
She pulled back panting slightly, her tiger prowling impatiently. The objections raised their ugly heads again, but she tamped them down. Life in her pride was hard. Didn’t she deserve something more? Didn’t she deserve this wonderful, sexy wolf shifter – if only for a night?
She closed her eyes for a second, praying her enthusiasm could overcome her lack of experience, and pulled the t-shirt over her head. Acksel groaned, throatily.
“Don’t,” she murmured with hitherto unknown confidence. “I’ll take advantage of you.”
Her lips found his and any resistance he had ebbed away. He returned the kiss with gusto, taking over and taking charge, parting her lips and delving inside. His hands caressed the smooth skin of her back as he plundered her mouth.
Her tiger snarled in gentle satisfaction as the kiss deepened. He pulled her closer to him, molding her body against his. An arm slid around her waist while his other hand found her breasts. He gently squeezed one and then the other. She whimpered with excitement; his kiss, his touch, everything about him was turning her on. She could feel herself becoming wet between her thighs; she was aroused in a way she’d never felt before.
As she pressed herself against him with more urgency, he circled the hard nub of her nipple, before lightly pinching it. She gasped at the thrill of pleasure. He pulled away from her mouth and his lips curled with delicious promise. His eyes shone with the amber of his wolf and Simone could feel her own eyes shimmer to the yellow of her beast.
Acksel pressed her back against the mattress, and slowly ran a hand up her thigh. “You’re beautiful, Simone,” he crooned.
“So are you,” she murmured.
He smiled and kissed his way over her neck and shoulders, moving to her breasts. She arched against him, begging for more as he took her flesh into his mouth. She ran her hands over his back as he sucked her nipples. As his teeth grazed her skin, she could feel her need growing and coiling within her. She rubbed her thighs together, trying to get some relief.
He must have sensed her need. He traveled down her body, bestowing feathery kisses over her stomach and navel before gently prying her legs apart. Lowering his mouth, he licked her sex. Simone quivered at the incredible sensation; it was unlike anything she’d ever known. And she needed more. She pushed her hips against his questing mouth, whimpering as he suckled at her clit and pushed a finger inside her slick channel.
She could feel her core clenching, nearing completion. She was almost there; it would only take a little more and… he pulled away. Her tiger snarled in disappointment. She gave him a feverish look, and was only mollified when she saw him slipping out of his boxers. She marveled at him. He was truly beautiful. There wasn’t an inch of him that wasn’t perfect, but it was probably the hunger on his face that she enjoyed the most. To have a man like this look at her like that was intoxicating.
Acksel moved between her legs and aligned their sexes. Trepidation at his size was quickly replaced by lust as the blunt tip pushed against her entrance. Thankfully, he moved slowly. Her body was opening to him, but she was tight and unused to being so stretched, so full. She wanted this; she wanted him, more than anything, but she couldn’t deny the twinge of pain. He must have seen her grimace. He crawled over her, nestling into her body and kissing her lips. His mouth on hers distracted her from the slight discomfort, and as the kiss deepened, she forgot it entirely and he thrust inside her to the hilt.
He released her lips and leaned his forehead against hers. “Okay, baby?”
“Yes,” she breathed as her tiger let out a rawr.
Slowly, he started rocking inside her. Simone wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down for another kiss. As he moved inside her, the almost uncomfortable fullness changed into a delicious friction. His thick length rubbed against every sensitive nerve ending, every tender spot. He felt so big and so good inside her. She started meeting his thrusts, pushing back against him. He began speeding up, plunging inside her over and over. Her body started shaking as she felt something wonderful coming, something incredible. She hitched her legs over his hips, trying to pull him even closer to her. Wanting them to be together, needing him to be with her. She wanted this moment to last forever; she wanted to be with Acksel forever. To be endlessly excited, to feel this connection with him. But she couldn’t stop herself. As he bent down and kissed her neck, nipping the skin, it was too much. She let go and tingling pleasure coursed through her
body like a tidal wave. She and her tiger roared at the intense ecstasy. Seconds later, Acksel held himself deep inside her and roared as he reached his own completion.
They lay like that for a few minutes, locked together. Her body was still trembling slightly, and his softening member pulsed inside her.
Acksel started to move away from her, and she tightened her arms and legs. “Just a little while longer,” she whispered.
He smiled and kissed her again. The languid caresses soon turned lusty, and she was delighted to feel him hardening inside her again.
She had no idea what was going to happen tomorrow. But no matter what did, she decided she wanted to remember this moment for the rest of her life. So she was determined to make it last as long as possible.
Chapter Eight
Simone woke early to an alien feeling of… what? Happiness? Her tiger certainly felt happy. The beast was as frisky as a kitten. Had it really been so long since she felt joy like this?
She warmed as she stared down at the slumbering form of the wolf shifter. His pink lips were slightly parted, and his eyelashes fluttered as he dreamed. She wondered if he was dreaming of her, then she told herself to stop being such a simpering little girl. Although, last night had been wonderful – why shouldn’t he dream of her? The look of pure ecstasy on his face as he came, the possessiveness in his eyes as he watched her reach her own release was unbelievable. No one had ever looked at her that way. It was... enchanting.
His huge chest rose as he breathed. Carefully, not wanting to wake him, she trailed her fingers through the dusting of chest hair. She almost felt shy at seeing his naked body – which was crazy. She’d seen naked bodies. She grew up in a pride who thought nothing of pulling their clothes off and shifting into tigers. But that wasn’t sexual – in any way as far as she was concerned. She’d never felt desire for any of her pride mates. She didn’t think she’d even felt desire for the idiot who took her virginity. She hadn’t even seen him naked; it had been a case of pulling his jeans down and pulling them up again after a few minutes.
Her fingers danced over Acksel’s chin, enjoying the roughness of his unshaved face. She ran the pad of her thumb over his lips – lips that had done outstanding things to her just a few hours ago.
The tiger swished her tail in encouragement, but Simone pulled her fingers away. It probably wasn’t a good idea for Acksel to wake and find her fingers in his mouth. People tended to think that kind of thing was weird.
Silently, she slipped out of bed and pulled the shirt back on. The coolness of the garment felt delicious against her heated skin. She smiled at his sleeping form and made her way downstairs. She made herself some coffee and decided to drink it on the porch. The house was secluded enough that she didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing her. Acksel told her all the pack houses were spread out through the woods, isolated enough so that all pack members had their privacy, but not so much that help was too far away.
The pride had a similar set up to this, but it somehow didn’t feel quite as relaxing. Corny, but maybe people made homes what they were. She probably had to go home today she thought glumly. If her night time activities were anything to go by, she couldn’t pretend to be injured any longer.
Her animal chuffed at her. Why can’t they stay?
The animal couldn’t understand why she ever needed to go back, but Simone knew… well… she had to… why did she have to go back? There was her mother to think about, the fact that she had no job, no financial means of supporting them, no actual skills to get a job. Her tiger – who had no shame – told her she could ask Acksel for help. Would that be fair to him? Hey, we just met and had sex now I expect you to support both my mother and me, oh and by the way, here are her exorbitant medical bills? No, that seemed a bit much. Besides, did she really believe that her Alpha would just let her leave? Other tigers had left the pride before – she was sure of it. But there had been rumors about what happened to them after they did.
The tiger snarled, and Simone stiffened as she heard soft footfalls coming towards her. She set the coffee down and hunched her shoulders preparing to spring and shift. She wasn’t a strong tiger, but then she didn’t necessarily have to be. Even the toughest rabbit shifter couldn’t take her down.
She turned icy cold as Carrick appeared and walked towards her, slowly. He moved with the stealth of a practiced predator and didn’t take his eyes off her even to blink. He was quieter than any man his size had a right to be.
“What are you doing here?” she hissed, half-fearful and half in anger.
Carrick stopped a few feet away from the steps to the house. He gazed at her evenly. “The Alpha sent me to find you.”
“How did you…?” Even a tracker as good as him surely couldn’t have found her this quickly. The anger bloomed into red-hot fury. “Does he have me chipped or something?”
His expression didn’t change. “He didn’t tell me specifically.”
She noted that Carrick didn’t seem surprised by the question, nor did he deny it as a possibility.
“I…”
“We should go,” he said, patiently. “I waited as long as I could.”
His eyes flickered to the window upstairs, and she realized that he knew what she had been doing. Pushing through the embarrassment that wanted to pull her down, she said, “I can’t just leave, I have to…”
Carrick took a step forward. “It’d be better if we did.” Simone scowled at him, but he was unconcerned. “The Alpha sent me to find you eight hours ago. He’s called me fifteen times. I can’t stall him any longer.”
Her tiger whined pathetically. “But…”
A flicker of unease passed over his face. “Whatever was going on in that house, it’s not something you can take home with you.”
No, not yet. It was too soon; she just wanted a little more time. “But…”
“For the wolf's sake, you should leave,” rumbled Carrick with a finality that brooked no argument.
How could she argue with that? She knew of the harm Locke was prepared to dole out to his own pride mates when he considered they deserved it. What would he do to Acksel? “I’ll… grab my purse.”
Carrick grunted. “Be quick.”
She nodded and ran into the house. She found some fresh clothes neatly folded in the laundry room, and hoped that his sisters wouldn’t mind her taking them. She didn’t bother with shoes; she just grabbed her purse.
Simone scribbled a quick note and left it on the kitchen table. As she heard Acksel stirring she left, trying to comfort a distraught tiger and hold back the tears threatening to roll down her cheeks.
*
Acksel stretched an arm out over the bed. His wolf huffed as he found it disappointingly empty. Damn, he’d been hoping for a repeat of last night. He smiled as he smugly recalled what happened.
He hadn’t intended for it to happen. He’d hoped, of course he had. He’d pretty much thought of nothing else than burying his body in hers from the moment he first scented her, but he hadn’t wanted to rush her.
When he heard her whimpers of pain, he had only planned on comforting her and making sure she was okay. But when she had kissed him, he couldn’t hold back. She was his mate; she had to be. His wolf howled in agreement. Why else would he react this way to her scent? Why else would the thought of her leaving drive him so crazy?
His wolf roared in happiness. Just a few days ago, he’d been griping about life not being fair and whining like a little girl about not having a mate of his own. Well, now he did. And she was… lovely. She was funny and interesting and ate food like there was no tomorrow. And of course, looks didn’t matter, but he naturally hadn’t failed to notice that she was absolutely the most gorgeous woman in the world. Long legs, perky breasts, beautiful dark brown skin, and silky black hair that trailed right down to her perfectly rounded derriere. She looked like she ought to be sauntering up and down a catwalk. Particularly as she was a cat. Yes, he couldn’t wait to meet her feline side. He got the impre
ssion she wasn’t an overly dominant tiger, but, well, just being a tiger was enough to scare away even the boldest of furry critters. He couldn’t wait for her to meet the rest of the pack. To think, his pack mate, Jake, was so proud of his leopard shifter mate. Wait until he sees Acksel’s tiger.
Worry niggled him. She had said she needed to go home. His wolf snarled at the thought. No, surely not after last night. Surely they could talk about the future and decide where to go from there. He needed to know more about her; he needed to know about her own home situation. Acksel didn’t really want to leave his pack, and was hoping that Simone would want to join him in Rose. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself. They needed to spend more time together, and then, hopefully, she’ll be ready to talk about mating. What, give her a few hours and then spring it on her? Yes, the wolf was all for that.
“Simone?” he called out, his voice booming through the house.
No answer. The house was deathly still. His beast growled, lowly.
He jumped out of bed and started looking for her. Her scent was still in the air, combined with the scent of their glorious lovemaking, but it was starting to fade. He checked every room, even the twins’ room. She wasn’t there.
Maybe she’d gone for a morning run. Something he liked to do, too.
He was about to go out and find her when he noticed the note on the kitchen table. And both her purse and the check Felicity had brought over were nowhere to be seen.
He read the note. Thank you, Acksel, for everything. I really enjoyed our time together. Yours, Simone. Then he read it again, and again, and again. What the hell was it? A polite thank you for fucking her?! Claws shot out of his fingers, puncturing the paper. He let it float to the ground.
Both he and his wolf paced and howled. How could she do this? How could she just leave like this without even saying goodbye?
Part of him, the logical part that he fucking hated at that moment in time, raised the point that he had done this to women, too. He was no angel; he’d been with countless women over the years, and many of them had been a one-night stand. Why was he so shocked that a woman had done it to him?
