Claimed by Fae_MMF Paranormal Romance

by Lisa Gardiner

  Outside the bedroom, she heard a low rumble and then a roar. She scrambled up to pull back the blue curtains just enough to see a portion of the veldt. Yes, a lion. He was right outside the trailer, and he was magnificent. Big, even for a male. Hearing Jay return, she dropped the curtain and turned to face him. When she glanced over at him, he was holding a metal bowl in his hand, full of chunks of meat. The smell of the raw beef made her queasy.

  “I don’t know how long he’ll stay like this. That shooting was quite a shock for both of you, I’m sure.” He opened the door and step out of the trailer.

  “Wait! I have training with lions. You don’t want to just go out there.”

  He shut the door behind him and she heard the lock turn on the outside. He’d locked her in. She swore.

  August jumped out of the bed, ran to the door and tugged on the inside handle. She swore again. Why has he locked me in?

  Memories of being shot at came back, and she started to shake, bile rising in her throat. Was he one of those men? Why had he kidnapped her? Who was he? Where was Arlan?

  Her heart thumping against her ribs, she made for the kitchen and found the knife he’d used to chop up the beef. She rinsed it under the tap and hid it in the pocket of her shorts, gripping it tightly.

  She returned to the bedroom and sat on the bed. She needed a car and a way to get back to the apartment in Hwange.

  In a moment, the key turned in the lock again. Jay stepped back into the room. She squinted as bright sunlight flooded the trailer. The tiny scar she’d seen on his shoulder was more apparent now in the sunlight, revealed by his sleeveless T-shirt. Seeing he had a scar to match some of her own made her a little less nervous, even if the scar was only from the removal of a mole or birthmark.

  His impressive height and broad shoulders made him appear dangerous. A lump welled in her throat, but when she looked in his eyes, they seemed filled with only kindness and empathy.

  She managed to speak. “Why are you holding me here?”

  “I’m a friend of Arlan’s. Sorry, I had to go feed Arlan just now. I don’t know how long he’ll be in this form.”

  “What?”

  “He got upset about you being shot at and having dark dust thrown at you. He has trouble controlling his shifting ability when he gets emotional. I feed him when he turns into a lion so he doesn’t end up killing any of the animals he loves, because that would be tragic.”

  O…kay, then. This man is completely, one hundred percent insane. I have to do something now or never.

  Adrenaline roaring through her blood, she pulled the knife from her pocket and pointed it at him. “Just let me go, forget about me, and I won’t tell anyone you kidnapped me.”

  “What? I didn’t kidnap you.”

  She tried to make her voice as gentle and sympathetic as possible. “You’re not well. You should see a doctor.” She made a bolt for the door.

  Jay lunged at her. His fingers closed around her wrist and slammed it against the windowsill, pushing her body between him and the side of the trailer. Her breath whooshed out of her lungs, and she dropped the knife.

  She stared down at it, the threat of tears burning. “Let me go.” She struggled against his vise-like grip. “You’re crazy. Just let me go.” His hands only tightened around her waist, and he hauled her back onto the bed. A sob gathered in her throat.

  “Listen, listen, sweetie, don’t you remember being shot at? I didn’t kidnap you. My friend Arlan carried you here. You need protection.” He pinned her to the bed with his body. “I’m sorry, August.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to do this to you but put your hands above your head.”

  She didn’t move.

  “Now!”

  His voice was such a dark command, she unthinkingly obeyed. He pushed her back against the pillows and straddled her. Reaching forward, he caught both her wrists, trapping them in his large hand, pinning her to the bed.

  She tried to pull away, but he held her tight. She almost cried out, not from pain but from amazement at the sheer power of his hold. Deftly, he reached to take something from a side-table drawer, and she heard the clink of cuffs. The cuffs were attached to a chain, which he fixed to the bolt on the wall above the bed.

  She was helpless.

  Panic swirled in her belly, along with another sensation. God, what was wrong with her? She couldn’t be aroused by this.

  “Shh, shh, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid,” Jay whispered, tucking a wisp of hair that had come loose from her braid behind her ear. “Shh, baby, I’m a police officer.”

  The way he touched her and spoke to her, the look in his eyes, all reminded her of the way she herself treated stray dogs and cats.

  Maybe he really is a cop?

  But the handcuffs were lined with something soft. Maybe velvet. They weren’t policeman’s handcuffs. His body pressed against hers, his rock-hard length against her pussy. Her panties were damp, and her nipples ached. Magic scented the air.

  She looked into his eyes, and the last of her fear eased. Maybe she was crazy, but something told her this man would never hurt her. She was no stranger to leers from students at the university, considering her breasts were a little too big for her small frame. Jay’s expression looked nothing like those leers.

  He shifted the pillow underneath her head to make her more comfortable. “Sorry about the handcuffs, sweetness, but I can’t have you trying to get out of here on your own. There are people who want to kill you.”

  “Why?” Is that pathetic squeak really my voice? “Why do they want to kill me? Who are they?” He sighed. “It’s a gang of people who call themselves witch doctors. Some of them are Shona, some are white men, some may have dark-fae blood, although the rumor is that most of them don’t. They dress up as witchdoctors and control everyone around here, taking money from them.”

  “But what would they want with me?”

  “Babe, I can only guess they’ve heard about your mother. She’s some kind of powerful half-fae, right? Plus, you were hanging out with Arlan, and he’s been trying to stop these people for a long time. They hate him.”

  “I never told Arlan about my mother. I don’t understand any of this.”

  “This is a very greedy crowd, sweetness.” He shrugged. “I can only guess they’re worried you’re some kind of threat to them. But anyway…” He laughed. “They’re the ones that tried to kidnap you. Not me.”

  He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. “I get that you’re scared of me, but I’m a cop.” He flashed his badge. “I work mostly in the anti-poaching unit, protecting our wildlife here in Hwange.”

  August let her head fall back against the pillows and let out a breath. The badge calmed her more than she would admit to him. Even while logic told her the badge might be a fake, her intuition said he was for real. And, sure, the handcuffs were still kind of kinky and crazy, but she had pulled a knife on him after all. “These aren’t police handcuffs, though.”

  An ironic smile fluttered across his lips. “That’s true.”

  “You’ve used these on other women?”

  He frowned. “Sometimes.”

  Even with that badge, she wasn’t sure she could trust him. There was a cynical twist to his mouth, the same expression in his eyes that made him seem almost…bad. But it was part of the appeal. Jay still sat astride her, his cock hard against her thigh, so close to her pussy that her body vibrated, wanting him to shift just slightly. The bulge in his shorts seemed impossibly large. She fought a shiver that washed over her body. When he moved, she whimpered.

  “You feel it too, don’t you, baby,” he whispered. “The intense attraction between fire and air. Your mother was part fire fae, right?”

  “And you’re sylph born? Part air fae? I…I have heard about fire and air fae having an attraction, but I never thought it would be like this.” She gulped.

  His pupils appeared so large, it seemed they’d swallowed the rest of his eyes. Darkness. “Yes. I want inside you so bad,
my cock is about to burst.”

  She drew in a ragged breath as her pussy clenched involuntarily. Her mother had spoken of the powerful attraction between fire fae and air fae.

  Jay shifted again, and his cock pressed harder against her wet crease, through their thin summer clothing. Her nipples were bullet hard. They hurt.

  Embarrassed, she tried to wiggle a little so his cock wouldn’t be flat up against her pussy, so he wouldn’t feel how slick she was beneath her thin shorts and panties.

  I have to remember this man is crazy. He thinks Arlan is a lion. Fear throbbed in her, as fierce as her lust.

  “Listen, Jay. No disrespect, but you’re having delusions. You know I took some psychology classes as part of my science degree.” One of Jay’s eyebrows arched critically in a sexy way. She tried not to react to it. “I…I mean I minored in psychology. There is nothing to be ashamed of. What you have… It’s an illness.” She gulped at the amused twist of his mouth. “What I’m saying, Jay is… Well, you think Arlan is a lion. That’s not normal. Uncuff me. We’ll find Arlan and get you to a doctor.”

  Jay shook his head. His features crinkled in amusement, his smile too smoldering for her liking. “Seriously? That’s what this is all about? Your grandmother was some crazy dark-fae princess, your mother is a powerful half-fae, but you don’t believe in were-lions?”

  Her breath caught in her throat. “Are you saying Arlan’s a were-lion?”

  “Yes, sweetness.” His words were a soft whisper against her ear, with the faintest hint of a laugh. The muscles in her pelvis clenched at the sound of his voice.

  This is so wrong.

  This is not the plan. You should be surrounded by zoology textbooks right now. You should be working on your PhD, alone in your room.

  She had to keep him talking.

  “He’s a were-lion? Is he half-fae as well?”

  “No, baby. Arlan is only a quarter fae. He has no magic power other than shifting, and that’s not really a power since it seems to happen against his will. A former lover of his put a curse on him. She was dark-fae.”

  A chill ran through her. “Why would Arlan date a dark-fae? He doesn’t seem like an evil guy.”

  “Oh, hell no. He’s the best dude you could ever meet. He didn’t know what Silvara was when he first met her.”

  “Why did she put a curse on him?”

  Jay sighed. “I don’t really know. She shifted into a lion form and bit and clawed him when he tried to dump her. Something like that.”

  He must have seen the fear on her face. His hand stroked down her braid, over and over. His touch so gentle that she wanted to cry.

  She needed to distract him and herself a bit more from the tension between them, and then talk him into unhandcuffing her. “Can’t you tell me any more about what happened? Between Arlan and this dark-fae, I mean.”

  He bent forward and touched his lips to her earlobe. “To be honest, all I care about right now is your skin on my skin, you know what I mean?”

  Her heart slammed against her chest, her breath coming in little gasps. She shouldn’t have just obeyed his command to put her hands above her head. But she hadn’t obeyed from sheer fear. A part of her had wanted to play into his power, to be his docile submissive. That kind of power play with a gorgeous man had always been one of her secret dark fantasies. And now, here she was, handcuffed to a wall.

  “Do you want me too, sweet thing?”

  She swallowed, her face hot with emotion.

  He tilted his head to one side, brushing the bulge in his shorts against her again. “Do you want me too, August?”

  Oh hell!

  Her heart thrummed. Her sex flared. But she couldn’t give in yet. “Do you get off on this?” “On what?”

  “A woman being handcuffed to your wall? I mean, I know you did it because I pulled a knife on you, but…”

  The very devil was in his smile. “Yes. I get off on this.”

  Out of pride, she tried to sound haughty. “So, you’re some kind of pervert? You get off on women being tied up?”

  One eyebrow shot up, and an amused, cynical expression crossed his face. “You call me names even though your nipples are stiff beneath your shirt? You expect me to answer your questions, but you haven’t answered mine.”

  In the heat, she could smell her own arousal, just as Arlan had said he could scent her when they were out in the veldt. Both men were right. She was a hypocrite. She needed release. “I d-don’t… I don’t normally do this kind of thing.”

  He put a finger to her lips. “Shh. I know. I don’t judge a woman for her needs. Only cowards and losers do that. Men who can hardly call themselves men.”

  She nodded, her brain too overwhelmed with lust to speak. Still he waited. He began to grin, and his smile was wicked but not without mercy.

  It was time to stop closing herself off to everything because of her ex, Ryan, and his asshole friends. Because of her mother. She was letting them win, letting the bullies wreck her self-esteem and close her off from life.

  With Ryan, you were hoping for a boyfriend. This time, you won’t hope. A little meaningless fling to get out of a rut.

  “Yes,” she finally managed. “Yeah. I’m interested. I can’t help it.” Her words came out thick, choked, as though her tongue were trying to move through honey. She nearly sobbed with embarrassment and arousal.

  His answering groan lit a flame inside her. His mouth moved along her throat, pulsing damp heat as he licked and sucked.

  “You’re so petite, so tiny like a china doll, with that shiny hair, that tight braid. I love that.” He brushed a hand over it, gave it a tug.” Beautiful, rich auburn hair. I knew you were mine the minute I laid eyes on you, August.”

  She didn’t know how to respond to his declaration of possession. Probably it was part of some Dom act and not meant to be taken seriously.

  “Mmmm, you’re a hot little thing. He ran his tongue over her shirt, over the nipples that pressed against the lace of her bra, and she lost the ability to think. Microscopic jolts of pleasure spiked in her brain, destroying rational thought.

  His fingers moved to the buttons on her khaki shirt, and he quickly and efficiently unbuttoned each one until her shirt fell open, revealing her lacy forest-green bra. She gave a sigh of relief, pleased she had a collection of pretty underwear that she bought for herself, just for fun, even when she was too busy studying to expect anyone to see it.

  She was glad her shirt still hungover her shoulders, hiding the scars there.

  He murmured his appreciation, almost made her feel beautiful. Okay, she was tiny, but she kept her body taut with sessions at the gym.

  Isn’t it time you let go and actually start enjoying your body?

  Jay scooped a hand in one cup, and the warmth of his fingers brushing a nipple made her shiver. He lifted one breast free, and then the other. Her breasts jutted awkwardly above underwire and rucked- down bra cups.

  “Gorgeous,” he whispered.

  August was hyperaware of the leisurely track his gaze took strolling up and down her body. His final low growl of pure male need gave her a sweet bellyache. A yearning. He bent forward and kissed the top of each breast reverently.

  “You are gorgeous.”

  Wow! For him to use the word gorgeous was amazing. He must have dated women much more attractive —and taller—than she was. He stopped to tug his sleeveless T-shirt over his head.

  She gaped at the slabs of muscle revealed, at his six-pack, his luscious biceps and pectorals. The urge to lick every inch of his smooth caramel skin suffused her.

  God.

  She wasn’t sure she’d ever even talked to someone this handsome before. If his chest is that big, how big is his…?

  Jay killed her train of thought by cupping her breast. Her nipple pushed into his palm, stiff and yearning. He pinched one nipple and then the other, making her arch as fresh arousal soaked her panties.

  “You sure about this, babe?” He stopped and leaned back. “
I won’t take advantage of you.”

  August snorted. “You have me handcuffed and chained to a hook in your wall, and you don’t want to take advantage of me?”

  His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t back down. “I know what I want. I want this so bad it’s killing me. But this is your chance to backout. Say the word now, and we’ll stop.”

  She swallowed a raw, painful lump in her throat. Her nerves were tingling, her pulse racing. Fear of the unknown and of his tremendous size reined her in. “You’re right. We shouldn’t. We only just met.”

  “The fact we just met means nothing to me. I don’t care about society’s sorry-ass rules. How do you feel about it? Do you want to stop?”

  I want to drink you. I want to drown myself in you.

  “Th-this attraction between air and fire. It’s painful. Yes…I want—” Jay groaned.

  His firm lips slid across her skin. He dropped a trail of kisses down the valley between her breasts, making her writhe for more until her nipples were sharp bullets stabbing toward the sky. He covered her nipple with his mouth. His tongue stroked her gently, his mouth drawing her in tight. He pulled his mouth from her nipple and took the other, his hand on her waist.

  He sucked on a nipple, and his thumb grazed the other. The shock of that sensation went straight between her legs. He was huge and heavy, but held his body so carefully above her, she felt no discomfort at all.

  As much as being bound aroused her, she longed to clasp those firm brown muscles and feel his strength. Magic was being unleashed. Her half-fae power connected somehow with his. She gritted her teeth as the wild, flickering burn of lust increased.

  “I think nature wants to right itself,” he said. “Nature wants more fae to mate with fae. That explains this pressure, this fierce burn.”

  August managed a nod. She was glad her shorts and panties were on, so he couldn’t see her scars or her…need. She was so wet already, it embarrassed her, but he wasn’t going to let her have her privacy much longer. With confident efficiency, he unbuttoned her shorts and tugged them off, then tossed them to the ground.

  Because of the heat, she wore just a lacy thong that matched the green of her bra. She hoped he understood they were so skimpy only because of the weather. She hoped he wouldn’t notice her scars. Silence. He’s looking at them. She cringed, waiting for him to ask where she got them, like Ryan had. Although the truth was, Ryan already knew.