Tempting the Tiger by Lacey Thorn: Awakening Pride Series, Book Two

by Lacey Thorn

  She was boneless, incapable of moving by the time he lifted his head from her. She watched his eyes skim over her body before meeting hers.

  “I want to fuck you,” he said.

  “Yes,” she nodded, understanding what he was asking.

  He might tell her he was going to do something to her, but he wouldn’t, not unless he knew she wanted it too. Her mate would always put her wants and needs before his own.

  He placed another kiss on her pussy lips before moving off the bed and opening the drawer of the nightstand. She watched him pull a tube of lubricant out and snap it open. He coated his fingers and his dick before turning to look at her. Just that look was all it took to have her lust igniting as if she hadn’t just had three orgasms. What was it about this man that fired her blood and made her so damn insatiable?

  With renewed strength, she rolled over and rose up on her hands and knees, maneuvering until her ass faced him. She glanced over her shoulder at him.

  “Take me,” she said. “Love me the way you want to.”

  His eyelids lowered and his nostrils flared as he moved closer. She kept her head turned, watching his expression as he spread her rear cheeks and skimmed slick fingers over her. He traced, probed and retreated only to return with more lube. Again and again he teased her, until she couldn’t take it anymore. The next time he pressed his finger against her anus, she pushed back into him and sighed as he sank in.

  With a groan, he worked her with his finger. He used more lube, then worked two fingers in and out of her.

  “You look so good, Amia. God, your ass is so perfect. Tight. Hot. I can’t wait to sink my dick into you.”

  “Yes,” she moaned, moving back on his fingers and wishing it was already his cock filling her. “Now, Reno. Please. Now.”

  “Shh, baby,” he crooned. “I’m going to make sure you’re good and wet. I want you ready for my cock.”

  “I am,” she insisted.

  But he just kept working more lube into her, using his fingers to prepare her until she feared she’d die still waiting for him. Then he finally pulled his fingers free, and she felt the press of his cockhead against her. He was big, so big. Maybe she wanted his fingers back.

  “Easy, baby,” he groaned, pressing against her. “You’re nice and wet. Ready to take my dick.”

  She whimpered a bit before biting down on her lip as the head speared her and lodged inside her. It burned, and pain bloomed as he kept pressing, forcing more of himself into her ass.

  “Reno,” she cried out, dropping her head to the bed and gripping the covers in tight fists as she fought to breathe through it.

  “Tell me to stop, and I will,” he promised, and she knew he meant it.

  One word from her and he’d pull out. But she could hear the pleasure in his voice, could tell from his own breathing how good it felt to him.

  Then he stopped, as if waiting for her to decide one way or the other. Making her choice, she tried not to tense her muscles as she thrust back into him, impaling herself completely on him. They both cried out as he sank deep.

  “Amia,” he groaned.

  “Fuck me,” she ordered, needing something, though she wasn’t sure what. There had to be more than the overwhelming fullness she felt, the burn of tissue unused to such an invasion.

  He moved. Slowly at first. A slick retreat followed by a firm thrust back in. He slid one hand under her and found her clit, rubbing and playing with it as he continued to fuck her ass. He kept his thumb over her clit and spread his hand wide, dipping his middle two fingers inside her pussy and rubbing her walls. God, it was so good. As her body bloomed and became fluid with desire, the burn faded into pleasure, and soon she was rocking back into his thrusts, wanting more, wanting faster. Just as he had promised.

  “Harder,” she urged. “Fuck me harder. Make me come.”

  He purred and sped up his thrusts. She eased her grip on the bed with one hand and reached back, pushing his thumb from her clit and taking control of it herself. Reno just slid his hand so he could have better access to her pussy and worked his fingers faster in her.

  “Oh, God,” she moaned as her orgasm loomed before her. “I’m going to come.”

  He rammed deep, placing his knee on the bed and arching behind her, pounding into her now with what felt like a primal claiming.

  “Come,” he told her. “Drench my fingers so I can suck your juices off them while your ass milks my dick.”

  With a scream, she let go, doing just what he’d commanded and drenching his fingers with her release. “Reno.” She screamed his name. “Reno!”

  He roared behind her. His fingers pulled free from her pussy, and she heard him sucking them before he loomed over her, pinning her to the bed. She knew what he wanted and moved her head to offer him the access he needed. He licked over her shoulder, then with a roar, he buried his teeth, holding her in place as his cock flexed and filled her ass with his hot cum. And that was enough to send her flying into anther orgasm.

  She was still floating when his weight pressed her deeper into the bed. She loved it, the feel of his solid strength on top of her. He lay there for a long moment, catching his breath, before lifting up again and easing his cock from her ass. They both moaned as he pulled free. He patted her rear cheeks softly, kissed his favored spot on her shoulder, and moved to lie beside her on the bed.

  “You okay?” he asked, his hand smoothing over her.

  “I’m yours,” she answered with a slight pleasure induced slur. “I’m perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Reno left Amia sleeping and went in search of Tah or Logan, preferably both. He wasn’t disappointed. He ran into Logan on the way to the study.

  “I was hoping to find you,” Logan said.

  “Same here,” Reno agreed. “Now all we need is Tah.”

  “In here,” Tah called as they reached the study door.

  “How’s Abby?” Logan asked as he stepped in ahead of Reno, who shut the door behind them.

  “Finally calm,” Tah growled. “I could kill that woman for what she said to Abby. Cutting our baby from her belly and making her watch while they killed him.”

  “I think Clara’s been through more than you imagine,” Logan said.

  “What makes you think that?” Tah demanded.

  “Because I’ve just left her,” Logan admitted.

  “Where is she?” Reno asked.

  “In the room next to mine,” Logan said. “Locked in.”

  He lifted his brows in question.

  “What’s she doing in that room?” Tah asked.

  Logan sighed. Paced across the room, turned and faced them. “I thought she might run. I think we need to make sure she stays here. She has answers we need. She knows other shifters, cats, like you two. She might know something about pregnancy that could help Diane with Abby.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Tah admitted.

  “Me, either,” Reno agreed. “I know Amia was devastated by all that Clara shared about her.”

  “God, Reno,” Tah said, turning and putting his hand on Reno’s shoulder in comfort. “The things your mate suffered.”

  “Those who touched her will suffer. When the time presents its self, I will make them pay.”

  “We will,” Tah said, and Logan nodded.

  “If Clara is being truthful, then she knows about the hunters as well. She said the Blanes weren’t the only ones, just the largest and best trained,” Tah said.

  “What makes you think she’s lying?” Logan asked, and Reno sensed a bit of anger in his friend.

  “I sensed it too,” Reno agreed with Tah. “Hell, Abby even called her on it. Clara might not have been outright lying, but she was holding stuff back. And more than once. I think she’ll be a fountain of information if we can get her to talk. But we haven’t exactly gone out of our way to make her willing to help. Even now, we have her locked up. We put her on the defensive from the start. We’ll have to change that.”
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  Tah sighed. “You’re right. I’ll talk to her and try to manage my temper. Thinking she might know something that could help us makes me crazy. Hell, she could have all the answers to helping Abby deal with this pregnancy.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t be the one to talk to her. You’re not exactly sane when it comes to your mate,” Reno said.

  “I’ll talk to her,” Logan offered, but his voice was hard as if daring them to challenge him. “You both need to see to your mates. I’ll talk to Clara and see if she knows anything about pregnancy that might shed some light. I’ll have Diane speak to her, as well. You’re both too angry with her right now because of how she upset your mates.”

  Tah and Reno both growled.

  “I don’t blame you,” Logan said. “But look, I have something playing in the back of my mind.”

  “What are you thinking?” Tah asked.

  “What if Clara contacted her uncle or this adopted mom? She could tell them where she is. Invite them to join us. It would increase our numbers and possibly provide another avenue to enhance our knowledge base. We’ve got a lot of questions and too few answers,” Logan said.

  “We don’t even know if we can trust Clara, much less trust any people she brought in,” Reno stated. “I say we learn what we can from her first before we make any major decisions.”

  “If the Blanes are already on their way here like she said, then we need people here. The sooner, the better. There are too few of us right now. Even with two shifters,” Logan argued.

  “You both have points,” Tah said. “But I think the wisest thing to do is talk to Clara first. Find out for sure what she knows and what she’s hiding. Once we know that and why, we can make other decisions.”

  Logan nodded. “I’ll see what I can find out.” He shook his head, ran his hand over the back of his neck. “She’s hurting. Whatever you’re both thinking, I want you to know that. If she’s lying, it’s because she’s trying to protect someone.”

  “What makes you think that?” Tah asked.

  “I left her in the room for a few minutes,” Logan said. “When I came back, she must not have been expecting me. She’d been crying. She wiped the tears away pretty quickly and yelled at me. But I know what I saw.”

  Tah sighed. “Why is it the more we learn, the more complicated things seem to get?”

  “Agreed,” Reno said.

  “Remember the good old days?” Logan said. “When all we had to worry about was sand, sun, gunfire and the occasional roadside bomb?”

  Tah and Reno both snorted.

  “At least we knew who the bad guys were then,” Reno said.

  “And we thought we were leaving war behind,” Tah added with a shake of his head. “I’m sorry you both got dragged into this whole mess.”

  “In case you missed out down in the labs, I’m in this from teeth to tail as well,” Reno said.

  “A lion and a tiger,” Logan said with a snicker. “Who knew I’d have such pussies for best friends.”

  Two growls filled the room, and Logan burst into full-blown laughter.

  “Lord, I keep checking my teeth, just in case this kitty thing is catching,” Logan admitted, and it made both Reno and Tah both relax and chuckle.

  “Kitty or not,” Tah said when they’d settled down. “You’ll always be like a brother to me.”

  “Same goes,” Reno added.

  “Don’t worry,” Logan assured them. “I’m good with being all human. Except for the healing thing. I really want that super healing power thing you have,” he said to Tah, then turned to look at Reno. “And you have it too. I knew you healed from that gunshot way too quickly.” He shook his head with disgust. “Hey, if Clara’s a lioness, maybe I can just get her to bite me.”

  “Better let Clara keep her teeth to herself for now,” Tah said.

  Reno opened his mouth to say something more when there was a loud knock on the door and Murphy burst in.

  “Well, fuck me!” He exclaimed. “He’s gone and done it now. I knew my brother had a death wish at times, but I never expected him to be stupid.”

  “What’s going on?” Tah asked.

  “This!” Murphy waved a paper in the air, which Tah took and began to read.

  “He’s decided he needs to make amends for what we did to your mate,” Murphy told Reno.

  “He was following orders,” Tah replied without looking up from the note he was reading.

  “What’s he done?” Reno asked.

  “Taken the tracker and gone off on his own. He’s planning to lead whoever’s following the signal away from Colorado and us,” Tah said.

  “Christ,” Logan uttered. “What the hell was he thinking?”

  “He wanted to prove himself after the complete fuck-up with Reno’s mate,” Murphy said.

  “He has nothing to make amends for,” Reno said. “Amia and I both understand what happened. It was a misunderstanding.”

  “That’s all good and fine and pointless.” Murphy grunted. “He’s gone.” He glanced at Tah. “I’m going after him.”

  “Not by yourself,” Tah said.

  “We’ve been on our own a long time,” Murphy said.

  “Not anymore,” Tah countered.

  “You’re with family now,” Reno stated and realized just how much he meant it. “This is my fault. I’ll go with you.”

  “Not happening,” Logan said. “We need you here. Your mate needs you here. I get the feeling she’d just follow you if you tried.”

  Reno sighed and nodded. Logan was right. Amia would just follow him. Besides, he’d just promised never to leave her, and he meant every word.

  “I’ll go,” Zane spoke from the door before stepping in. “I was with Murphy when he found Finn’s letter. I’ve already packed.”

  Tah looked at Zane for a long moment as if he were reading something in the other man. Reno could pick up a unique vibe from Zane as well. He was waiting for Tah to ask Zane pointblank if he was a shifter, but Tah didn’t. He was obviously thinking about something, though.

  Finally, Tah nodded. “When you get back, I think we should talk.”

  Zane met Tah’s gaze and nodded.

  Reno recalled Zane stepping in front of Diane when he’d shifted into his tiger. The other man had faced him with no fear. He’d have to ask Amia if Zane had a glow. He was willing to bet he did. Either way, he knew Tah was still hoping those among them who might be shifters would come forward on their own. He wanted them to trust him enough to share. Reno just wondered how many suspected but weren’t certain, and if there were any who still had no clue.

  “I’ll grab a bag, and we’ll head out,” Murphy said.

  “Already threw your stuff together for you,” Zane said.

  “Thank you.” Murphy turned and nodded at Zane in appreciation.

  “I want to know as soon as you find him,” Tah demanded. “Toss the damn tracker wherever and get the hell out of there. Whoever these Blanes are, I think we all understand now that they’re capable of anything.”

  “Yeah,” Logan agreed.

  “I’ll find Finn,” Murphy said. “And we’ll be back.”

  “I’m counting on it,” Tah said.

  “Take the Jeep,” Reno said. “Did you bring it back?” he asked Logan.

  “Parked and ready to go,” Logan said with a nod. “I’ll code you in and change the print over. Put both of you in.”

  “How long will it take?” Murphy asked, and they could all feel his anxiety.

  “Not long,” Logan said, heading toward the door. “Let’s go now. I’ll have you keyed in and ready in ten minutes.”

  “Murphy,” Reno called and stepped up to the man he’d considered a friend since their first meeting. “I’m sorry.”

  “You’ve no need to be saying sorry,” Murphy said. “Finn’s a grown man and making his own decisions. We both know we caused your lady some hurt, and we’re sorry for it. But he’s always been the crazy one of the family, and me always bailing his ass out o’ th
e fire. This time won’t be any different.”

  “Anything you need,” Reno said. “I’m here. Just let me know.”

  Murphy nodded and surprised him by pulling him close for a hug. “We’ll be okay. Finn will be back before you know it, causing trouble with his mouth and quick temper.”

  “I thought that was both of you,” Tah said.

  “So it is,” Murphy said with a grin. “Better get him back here to keep me in line then.”

  With that, Murphy and Zane followed Logan from the room, leaving Tah and Reno alone.

  “We’ve got three gone. That leaves Holt, Vic, Kenzie, Logan, myself and you,” Tah said.

  “You can’t leave the house and Abby right now,” Reno reminded him.

  “We don’t have a choice,” Tah stated. “We need to be checking the perimeters. We’ve got to keep our eyes open now more than ever. Sensors should be checked daily. That means some of us out patrolling and someone inside monitoring at all times.”

  “I can help.” Amia’s voice called from the door.

  “Me too,” Abby said.

  Reno and Tah both turned and moved across to their mates.

  Reno took Amia in his arms and just held her close, breathing in the scent of her. His heart lightened just by holding her in his arms.

  “You can’t help,” Tah told Abby.

  “I can too,” Abby argued.

  “Are you going to try to tell me no?” Amia asked Reno.

  He laughed softly. “Hell, no. I’m not stupid, and we need the help.”

  “So just my mate is stupid,” Abby said with a huff.

  “I’m not stupid,” Tah growled. “You’re pregnant. You can’t be traipsing along in the woods checking sensors and scanning for intruders.”

  “No,” Abby agreed. “But I can monitor the equipment so that Vic can go traipsing and scanning.”