“Who’s Jagger?” A raspy voice filled the air.
Ariela peered around the corner. Her heart sank when she realized the man behind the voice had transitioned back into his lion’s form. She felt the twitch of her lips curving in a smile then, too. Apparently, her new mate had a slight jealous streak.
“Please shift for me,” she said, buttoning her shirt as she approached him. “Show me who you are. Let me feel your hands caressing mine. Let me know the touch of your skin, the feel of your cock thrumming inside me, and I’ll answer any question you have.”
“Ariela!” Jagger’s voice rang out with sheer panic.
The lion became agitated, clawing at the large mat next to his feeding bowls. With his reckless scratching he knocked over his water trough, and a sloshing sound drew his attention as the water splashed over the thick silver rim.
About that time the bars dropped in front of him. His low roar showed proof of his anger. He barred his teeth, gnarling at Ariela as if she were responsible for the steel set encasing him.
“Ariela! Oh my God! There you are!” Jagger rushed down a final flight of steps, grabbed hold of a post and swung his body around, leaping over the last few stairs. Yanking her against him, he clutched her to his chest, cradling her head in his left hand.
Almost immediately, he drew back and glared at her. “You let him touch you?”
His building rage was duly noted, and Ariela saw a flicker of hurt in his eyes. She wasn’t one for animal sex. She liked to keep her kink to human contact.
“How could you?” He took a step back. “You didn’t know for sure.”
“I know, Jagger,” she said, eyeing Sanchez in her peripheral vision. “He spoke to me.”
“The hell he did!” Jagger swung his gaze toward the cage. He stalked the beast confined on the other side. “What kind of creep are you? Show yourself! I demand it!”
The only thing he showcased then was a mouthful of extended teeth, sharp and pointed, enough to set even Jagger aback. The timing couldn’t have been any worse. Barlo appeared waving a DVD only a moment or two later.
“Are you ready to barter now, Jagger?” He smirked at Ariela with a dark wickedness that couldn’t be missed or ignored. “Cause I gotta tell you, what I have here is priceless. If it lands in the wrong hands, it could ruin your little opening at Rise to Power-Search for Pride.”
“What’s he talking about?” Jagger looked at Ariela, then Barlo. “You taped her.”
“I did indeed.” Barlo pointed at the ceiling. “Ariela’s mate, husband, whatever you are, owns a casino. She isn’t green. She knows all about the security measures used in these buildings. You aren’t naïve, are you, Ariela?”
“Barlo, you promised.”
“And you took a gambler at his word?” He snorted. “The only time you take a gambler at his word is when the dice turn cold after a long winning streak provokes an unnecessary parlay. Whatever the gambler tells you in that unexpected moment of loss, you can believe. It typically ranges from “I’m sorry I stayed” to “Maybe next time.” In this case, I’m neither sorry nor looking for another opportunity to cash in. You, my dear, gave the competition everything he needed to make a strong business play.”
* * * *
An hour later, they were only minutes from their home at the edge of the Mojave Desert. The sun had long since set on the backdrop of magnificent red rocks. With the cascading slopes across the land, sunset was the most picturesque time of day, and Ariela often went for a run right before sundown just to become part of the beautiful imagery.
She enjoyed traveling over the sand, feeling the dirt and pebbles underneath her padded claws as she loped freely, a part of nature rather than just a curious spectator. Sometimes she looked for passing tourists, realizing travelers would ooh and ah over her if they happened to see her climbing through the boulders in search of an ideal place to perch.
Unsettled by what had transpired in the basement of Barlo’s casino, she remained quiet on the ride from the famed Las Vegas Strip. She wanted Jagger to have time to think about how he’d handled the situation as well.
So she’d crouched in front of one of her mates and let him claim her in his animal form. She hadn’t killed anyone. She hadn’t stolen anything. She hadn’t lied about her actions.
No harm done.
Yet as the SUV bounded over the speed bump midway up their driveway, she realized what she’d allowed had brought Jagger an enormous amount of pain, hurt he wouldn’t quietly dismiss as a temporary lapse in judgment.
Leon glanced over his shoulder. “Are you awake back there?”
“I guess you know,” she snapped, irritated. Leon could’ve warned her. With his expertise in seeing the future, he should’ve pulled her aside and explained how fucking in her feline form would carry with it great ramifications.
There was no recourse now, but Leon could’ve been there for her. He could’ve protected her from this guilt, from the harrowing realization that she alone had the power to bring Jagger such pain.
“Don’t blame Leon for your actions,” Jagger said. “You use his gifts as a crutch.”
“Touché,” she bit out, grabbing the handle and exiting the vehicle as soon as they pulled into the garage. As the outside world closed behind them, she entered their three-story home, tossing her purse on the kitchen counter in passing.
She didn’t change her gait or slow down her stride as she made her way upstairs. She didn’t pause to see if her men followed her.
They were aware of her growing need. They undoubtedly sensed her mating requirements, but she didn’t own a closet full of toys for nothing.
Ariela could handle her own lust. She could take care of herself.
Hoisting a box of playthings from the overhead bin in the closet, she chose her favorite vibrator, one with a larger-than-average hooded shape. Selecting a clear lubricant, she ripped the tip from the tube and doused the shaft in an oily substance before tossing the packet in the wastebasket.
She then marched to the bathroom. She’d just started to slam the door behind her when Jagger’s heavy hand landed on the jamb. “Undress. Shower. Come to bed.”
“I’m horny,” she told him, pissed.
“Do I look like I’m worried about your needs at the moment, kitten?” His dark eyes held hers, daring her to ignore his request. The lust existed there, but it wasn’t a familiar mark of desire. It wasn’t like anything she’d ever witnessed before.
He wanted to fuck her—hard, savagely, perhaps even brutally.
She shivered with the thought and shook her head. No, Jagger would never take her as forcefully as she needed him to take her. Perhaps that was part of the problem. Maybe she wanted him to spank her, throttle her with hardcore thrusts and just pound the hell out of her pussy. Perhaps she needed him to give her wild and crazy sex, the kind of rambunctious loving that left a woman quivering from the pleasure, but also a little weary, more aware of the buttons she should and shouldn’t push in her lover.
If there had ever been a time when Ariela knew she could test and try his patience, that time was now.
“I’ll be there in a minute, Jagger,” she bit out.
Leon entered the bathroom then. He stood right inside the expansive space, stuffing his hands in his pockets and just loitering there as if he realized Jagger might need supervision, or perhaps she might need his protection.
“Strip.”
“I need some privacy.”
He tilted his head up and his nostrils flared. “I said, strip damn you!” He grabbed hold of her by the collar and ripped her shirt to shreds.
Her breath caught in her chest and he took a sharp intake of air, staring at her breasts as if he’d never seen exposed boobs—hers or anyone else’s.
“You’re scaring me.”
“Oh I’ll scare you, all right,” he said, loosening his belt.
“Jagger,” Leon warned him.
“Stay out of this, Le
on. If I agree with Ariela in any shape or form, it’s that you could’ve warned us.”
“I couldn’t warn you because I couldn’t see past your entry at the casino!”
“I don’t care!” Jagger screamed, slamming his belt against the vanity and stripping off his slacks.
“You’re acting unreasonable,” she said calmly.
“I want his scent off you.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her behind him as he made his way to the shower. He paused behind the curved wall, reached for the spigot, and turned on the water. “You have a choice. You can undress willingly or peel off damp clothes later.”
“Why is this—”
“Ariela! I don’t want to answer questions. I want to get the stench of lion off you so I can reclaim my place as your mate!”
Ariela’s eyes watered. “Your place as my mate?” She searched Leon’s face for answers, but he apparently didn’t have them. He took a seat on the vanity and bowed his head.
“Oh, my God. He’s only in here to protect me from you.”
“He’s here because he’s your mate. I’m your mate. And until we know who or what or just any damn thing about Sanchez, we are the only mates you have. Do I make myself clear?”
The anger was a defense mechanism. Jagger’s rage had only reared its ugly head a few times in all the years that Ariela had known him, and she’d known him for most of her life. Obediently, she kicked off her shoes, stripped off her slacks, and unhooked her bra. Lowering her panties, she stepped out of the lace and straight into the shower.
Jagger finished undressing and, to her surprise, he sprang into lion form behind the wall, drawing out her need to shift as well. Occupying most of the space behind the tile barrier, Jagger and Ariela wrestled through their transitions from human to lion and lioness.
She crouched in front of him immediately, and he entered her, thumping inside her four or five times, withdrawing and then circling her. He glared at her with such intensity that her lioness’ heart almost collapsed. Sensing his despair, she nudged him with her head.
He didn’t give her a loving nuzzle back. Instead, he butted against her, roaring out his displeasure. Then he mounted her again, entering her lioness body with quick and sharp jabs.
When he retreated she released a snarl, baring her teeth and growling back at him as he opened his mouth and inhaled deeply. That need to smell her—as obvious as his body posturing—made clear that he was all about taking back whatever he apparently thought he must’ve lost.
This mating session wasn’t about her unmanageable desires. Their breeding was about ownership, possession, and an outright reclaiming.
The mating frenzy went on and on. For nearly four hours Jagger bred her, mounting her on average of every fifteen minutes. Leon observed from a safe distance, a harrowing lust settling in his expression.
When Jagger finally left the shower, he walked out in his human form and glanced at Leon. “Now it’s your turn to show her why a lioness shifter never wanders too far from her den.”
Chapter Six
“I hurt him,” she whispered to Leon, after they’d enjoyed a few hours of repetitive copulation, too.
“You destroyed him.” Leon washed her back with a luxurious bar of lavender soap.
“Will he forgive me?”
“He already has,” Leon assured her, pressing his lips to her cheek and her hand to his cock.
Facing him, Ariela dropped to her knees, gripping his tight thighs as she took to the floor. She grabbed hold of his cock and dragged her tongue from base to tip, applying special pressure to the straining veins pulsing with his excitement.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you, Leon,” she whispered, kissing the swollen crest.
“You didn’t, but Jagger and I love you in different ways. You know that.”
“Do I love you differently than I love Jagger?” She dropped her head over his cock and looped her tongue around the crest. She wasn’t talking about heartfelt love then. She was talking about sex.
Leon pressed down on her head. “You love us both the same when your mouth goes to work.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear,” she crooned before she crowned him with a fluttering tongue.
His cock disappeared between her lips and she hummed against his thick shaft, savoring the rich taste of his excitement dousing her tongue. She gripped his heavy dick then and kissed the tip, rubbing her mouth in the slippery goodness.
“Stop, vixen.”
“Are you sure?” She wrapped her tongue tighter around the hooded head and drew him between her lips, blowing and sucking, seducing him with a willing tongue as she caressed his shaft with indulgent licks.
“Do you want me to shoot off in your mouth?”
She paused and looked at him dead-on. “Absolutely.” Then she lowered her head and went to work, slamming her mouth against his groin and encouraging him.
He fucked her face as if he were claiming her body, passionately and without harnessed control. His balls bumped against her chin and she sucked harder, taking him to her throat and indulging in the tight squeeze on her shoulders.
Jagger joined them then. He stood with his cock against her back, pressing between her shoulder blades and just watching her as she pleased another lover, another mate.
Why, she wondered, had Jagger been so distant? Why had her actions with Sanchez bothered him so? He knew Sanchez was her mate. He understood how desperately she already longed for him.
Her mind traveled back to the casino as she rose and fell over Leon’s dick. The slurping noises soon filled the room as Leon swayed front to back and side to side.
“Ah yes,” Leon rasped, changing his stance. “Here, baby. Taste me.”
She studied him intently. Leon had such a strong and masculine presence, a true sexual existence. She swirled her tongue around his cock, willing him to wait just another second or two so she could capture the true male form, the beast of a man pounding her throat.
As if he could read her mind, he cupped her chin and tilted her face upward. Then, in one swift move, he bent down and whispered, “That’s right, baby. Give me head.” He jerked once. Twice. Three times. Then he fucked her mouth with a steady beat. “Ah baby. That’s it. Let me explode!”
* * * *
It was just before sunrise when Jagger lifted her from the tile floor and carried her to bed. She was vaguely aware of his hand between her legs, smoothing a wet rag back and forth as he cleaned her.
When he finished, he stood up and towered over her. She stared up at him and whispered, “I never meant to hurt you.”
“I was being foolish, Ariela. Jealous. You’ve never given me any reason to treat you so poorly. How can I ever ask for your forgiveness when I’m unworthy of it?”
“Unworthy?” She stroked his cheeks with her knuckles. “You are so cherished, so loved.”
“And you, my sweet kitten, are adored.” He left a trail of kisses along the underside of her jaw, easing his way forward so he could nip at her earlobe. “You need to rest.”
“Do I?” she asked playfully, squeezing his thighs with hers. “I’ll have a shorter season this time. I can feel it.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Leon said, joining them on the bed.
“Let me guess, you can suddenly see the future again?”
A vibrator landed on the blanket with a thud. “Bet I could tell you exactly what happens next.”
“Not if that’s in the equation,” Jagger said, swatting the box away. “If Ariela has needs, I’m here to satisfy them.” He peppered her flesh with numerous kisses, dipping his head lower as he trailed to one breast and then another. Cupping her fullness, he drew the hard point between his lips and nipped at her nipple, raking the throbbing point with his teeth.
“Jagger,” she crooned, grabbing a handful of hair.
“My love,” he whispered. Using a quick entry, he impaled her. Forcing his dick inside her cunt, he wiggled his hips one way and anot
her as he fucked her with leisurely and timed strokes.
Leon brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her. He screwed his tongue between her lips, delivering a ravenous kiss.
Jagger reared back on his heels before he laid into her with rapid beats, thumping her pussy as if he were charging for the finish. In fact, nothing could’ve been further from the truth.
When Leon released her, Ariela caught a glimpse of that renewed fire, the blazing passion guiding both men, directing them. She could only fantasize now about the good loving they held in store.
Chapter Seven
Jagger couldn’t explain his insatiable urges. He felt as if he were the one in heat, the one with the uncontrollable desires, the sexual demands that needed to be fulfilled, tapered, then sated.
He forced his body away from hers and motioned for Leon. Instead of mounting her together, they left kisses along her body. Leon took care of her on the left, and Jagger claimed her from the right.
Her breasts were heavy, captivating, and Leon couldn’t seem to stay away from them. He suckled her nipple, drawing the hard gem between his teeth and growling aloud when Jagger took the liberty to shove him away so he could take his turn as well.
Ariela’s blond hair fanned around her flushed face. She looked like a seductress, yet the breeding bout had taken its toll and demolished her energy stores.
She bit down on her forefinger and sucked the digit between her swollen lips. She reached for her clit, but Jagger caught her by the wrist. “Don’t even think about it, kitten.”
Jagger spread her then, pushing her thighs apart before he made room for Leon. She released a feminine moan when he swirled his fingers around her opening, taunting and preparing her, checking to see if she was already wet for them.
“Are you horny, sweetheart?” Jagger stuffed one finger inside her.
“Yes,” she whispered, her legs parting a fraction more.
“Do you want both of us?” Leon leaned over and kissed her. He stuffed his hand under her neck and brought her forward so he could cradle her head in his hand.
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