Tiger Bound

by Tressie Lockwood

  How could she be this tight after he’d had her so many times? Not that he complained. Her squeezing the hell out of his dick felt incredible, and he reached under her to raise her hips. He drove in farther, and she cried out his name.

  “Yes, baby, say my name again. Say it, Deja.”

  “Heath,” she moaned.

  White-hot pleasure exploded over his being, and he almost heard the exalted roar of the tiger as he began moving in and out of her.

  “Your pussy feels so good, baby. Tell me you like it,” he commanded.

  She mewled like a kitten, and it did something to his lust—took it up to another level. He pumped faster and tightened his grip around her waist. A desire to see himself disappear inside her came over him, so he arched his back and looked down. His cock, swollen more than he ever remembered it being, eased in and out of her sex, slick with her come. He hissed through a locked jaw, seeing the movements and hearing the smack of their skin meeting.

  “I love it, Heath,” she assured him. “I don’t want you to stop. I don’t ever want you to stop, please.”

  “Beg me to let you come, baby,” he said next, and cupped her breast. He teased the nipple, swirling his tongue around the areola and then popping the small bud in and out of his mouth. “Do it, Deja.”

  “Please, let me come, Heath. I need it.”

  “Yes, you do.” He pulled out and ignored her tiny shriek, but he only meant to flip her over and take her from behind. He leaned up for a moment to raise her hips and knee her legs apart. A hand in her back made her arch, and he thrust his cock home, right where it belonged. Pounding in and out of her softness made his head spin, but he held onto her hips and drove into her hard. When his pleasure escalated yet again, he released her waist and held onto the top of the mattress. The movement pushed her flat, and he ground as far as he could go, bouncing off her round ass until he shouted his ecstasy. He had wanted her to beg him to let her come, but he had no choice in the matter if it meant stopping. He would not stop. He had to have it as much as she did, or die trying to get there.

  They moved together and apart over and over, him with a knee braced in the bed so he could watch. He put a hand to her hip and jerked her back to him as he drove forward. She whimpered and moaned, pushing her ass up. He thrilled in the way his body curved over hers, taking it all and giving everything back. When his balls began to throb and rise, he knew he was close. He tried holding on a little longer, but he didn’t want to keep still. He loved the power of grinding into his woman.

  Yes, she was his. She’d always belong to him, and no other man could have her. In fact, if he dared sniff around her, he’d find himself castrated. Heath gave a mighty roar, and then emptied his hot seed inside Deja.

  He held himself inside and extended a hand under Deja to play with her clit. He circled the small knob slowly, being careful not to be too rough. She balled the sheets beneath her curled fingers. When his shaft began to thicken once again, he pushed all the way to the hilt and let his weight come down on her enough so she felt him, but not so much he couldn’t continue to tease her bud. With the other hand, he reached up to her breast and pinched the nipple between his fingers. Her words were muffled, but he knew she liked it from the way her limbs trembled. He shifted his position enough to close her legs on his dick and began a slow grind.

  “Heath, I’m going to come.”

  “I know, baby.”

  “I…” She jerked and whined, and then she shook from head to toe, her eyes closed and her lips parted. He watched the expression on her face, consumed with how beautiful she looked at the pinnacle of her orgasm. After awhile, she calmed, and he slowed his movements then stopped. He pulled out and rolled to his side, taking her with him. They spooned until he fell asleep, completely satisfied.

  * * * *

  Deja woke up in the middle of the night and inched over to her back to check on Heath. He appeared to be asleep, so she eased his arm off of her, which was like a heavy weight. In degrees, she slid to the end of the bed, scared any second he’d know she was up to no good. Somehow, she made it to her feet and tiptoed into the bathroom.

  Their lovemaking was unexpected, but it was damn good. Every time they did it, Heath seemed like he lost control a little, and it got her hot as hell. The way he told her what to do during sex didn’t piss her off like when they argued. She couldn’t get enough, and neither could he. Yeah, he could act like he didn’t desire her, but she’d believe that nonsense when his eyes weren’t glued to her boobs or to her ass, or his pants didn’t rise up with a hard-on just because he knew she didn’t have panties on.

  She smiled thinking of it, and her pussy clenched like she could go a few more rounds. “Hm, I bet if I went in there and woke him up acting all horny, he’d be game.” She couldn’t do that, though, because she had to give her contact the information about where they were so she could meet him. This was the only time she could be sure Heath wouldn’t know. During the day was too iffy. At least she had the added bonus that after their sex sessions, she was never ill. Maybe she should mention that little observation. No, he would think she lied and accuse her of trying to seduce him.

  Deciding not to waste any more time, she unlocked her phone and pulled up the email account. Heart pounding in her chest, she hit the reply button to the last message received from the contact and blew out a shaky breath. Here went nothing. “I will meet you in person.” She gave him the town name and as an afterthought, the state. “We could meet at the library here in three days. Where are you? Can you get here? I never thought of the fact that you could be across the country.” Realizing she rambled in text, she cut off the message and hit send before she lost her nerve. If she just informed Spiderweb of their location, they were totally screwed, and Heath wouldn’t see it coming. She debated running from the bathroom to tell him the truth about what she’d done and letting him yell while they packed their bags.

  The phone dinged. “I will be there. I promise. Delete these emails and then the account itself.”

  She typed fiercely. “Wait! How will I know you?”

  “I will find you.”

  * * * *

  Deja lay in bed doubled over in pain. The room spun around her, and she shut her eyes to combat it, but it didn’t help. As if someone jumped on the bed or tried flipping it, she rocked out of control. Every fiber of her being seemed to be on fire, and no matter how hard she tried to calm down, her breathing was labored, and her heart raced. Why now, of all times, when she waited for the contact to come? As far as she knew, it had been two days, and tomorrow was the day. Twice she considered telling Heath the truth, but she hesitated. When she passed out from the pain, the next time she woke, she didn’t recognize the room. “Heath!”

  “Shh, I’m here, Deja.” He stroked her hair. “You need to rest.”

  “What is this place?” Panic set in, and she tried to get up to get dressed. Heath held her down, and she tried to shake him off, but her strength waned with each attempt.

  “Baby, this is the room we’ve been in for a few days. Remember? You wanted to stay. Don’t you recognize it?”

  “No, this isn’t it. This isn’t the room!”

  “That’s it.” Heath threw the covers off of her. “I have to take you to see a doctor. I have no choice.” She began to shake, and the pain grew in intensity. Black dots formed before her eyes and steadily grew until she saw nothing before passing out.

  The next time Deja opened her eyes, she lay in a hospital bed. This time, she recognized the surroundings with the white walls and machines beeping, a TV mounted on the wall, and an extra wide door leading out. Where was Heath? She remembered how the last experience in the hospital went. What if Spiderweb had found them and already took Heath away? What if they right now were doing horrible things to him?

  She threw her sheet aside and rose on shaky legs. The pain still lurked in her gut, but the doctor must have doped her up because it seemed low key, along with her fuzzy thinking. She supported herself, h
olding onto the bed as she worked her way around it. When she reached the end, she pushed off and stumbled to the wall next to the bathroom. Now she could make it to the exit and get out of there to find Heath. She had no idea where they’d taken him, but her contact might have information she could use to piece together what had happened.

  Opening the big door took the last of her strength, and she sagged in the opening, knees ready to give and head bowed. She drew in a breath, meaning for it to be deep, but shallow was all she managed. She raised her head and scanned the hall. A few yards to the right stood the nurse’s station, and to the left, more rooms. An exit sign shined on the ceiling in that direction, so that’s the way she’d go.

  One step and she tumbled to the floor, a curse on her lips. Behind her, an elevator dinged its arrival. She peered over her shoulder. A man stepped into sight. He wore a long, dark coat and dark clothes, and when he spotted her on the floor just a few yards away, his eyes widened as if in recognition. Deja froze. They were back, and they were coming for her. She shoved up from the floor with all her might and ran down the hall. Her gait clumsy and off balance, she knocked into rolling trays left in the hall and banged into walls.

  “Deja,” someone shouted, but with blood pumping through her ears, she couldn’t recognize the voice, nor would she stop to identify them.

  She reached the corner and slid around it on bare feet. The exit door stood within reach. She would make it. Just when she grabbed the handle to push, fingers wrapped around her arm and jerked her backward. She screamed.

  “Deja, baby, stop it,” Heath said when he dragged her around to face him. “Why are you out of bed?”

  “They’re here, Heath. I saw them. Spiderweb is here.” She looked past his shoulder and screeched again, pointing.

  He spun around, and they both watched the man in dark clothing push a door open at the end of the hall. He never looked their way, but Deja heard him when he spoke. “Dad, I came down as soon as I heard.”

  Deja let her forehead drop against Heath’s shoulder. The person she’d identified as Spiderweb was just a big city man who’d come to their small town when he heard his dad was ill. Now the pain and shaking in her limbs grew worse again. She clung to Heath with all she had. “You should let me die and get on with your life,” she mumbled into his shirtfront.

  “Deja! Don’t talk like that. What would I do without you?” He lifted her into his arms and started back toward her room. When he laid her in the bed and arranged the covers over her, he took her face between two hands. Deja started at the raw anguish in his eyes, worse than she’d seen when Tate died. “Don’t you understand, baby. I couldn’t bear it if you died. Let’s not talk that way anymore, and you stay in bed. I promise I’m not going to leave you or let anyone take me away from you.”

  She lay there staring at him, choked up and unable to respond. One minute he pushed her away, and the next he affirmed they would always be together. She suspected he didn’t know what he should do, and neither did she. How could they make it all right?

  “What day is it?” she asked.

  He frowned. “Thursday, why?”

  She closed her eyes, struggling to get a grip. “Today is the day.” Had she used too much energy to get to the library now? She’d already lost an entire day and didn’t know it because of her sickness. The likelihood of Heath letting her go whether she had the strength or not was probably nil, but would he go?

  She opened her mouth to tell him everything, but the door opened, and the doctor walked in. Deja sighed. She slumped back and closed her eyes. After awhile, she realized she must have dozed, but wasn’t sure how long because she caught the tail end of the conversation between Heath and the doctor.

  “There seems to be something abnormal about her blood work, and we’re sending it to a bigger lab to see what we can find out,” the doctor said.

  “No,” Heath exploded. She heard him blow out a breath as if to calm down. “Is there any way I can convince you not to send out her blood? Just do something for her pain.”

  “Sir, do you realize how sick she is? It’s too late to stop the blood from being sent. It’s already gone, and I’m sure you’ll want to get answers to what is causing her illness.”

  Heath didn’t even close out the conversation. He walked to the closet where Deja’s clothes hung and removed them. Then he began helping her to get dressed. The doctor hovered, a frown creasing his forehead.

  “What are you doing, Mr. Montgomery?” the doctor asked.

  Deja looked at Heath. “Montgomery?”

  He shushed her. “I’m taking her home.”

  “If you leave now, it’s likely she will die!”

  Heath’s hands dropped to his sides and clenched. She knew how much it upset him to hear her and die in the same sentence. He faced her, and she glanced up at him. The rage in his gaze made his eyes flicker, and she saw the tiger. He battled the instinct to fight physically against the threat, but he couldn’t fight the doctor, and Spiderweb wasn’t there. She gave his hand a squeeze, as small as the pressure was, and whispered his name. Heath remained still, his stare locked on her. “It’s okay,” she said again. “We’ll be fine.”

  After some time, he said to the doctor, “I’d like you to give me a prescription for pain pills for her, and something to ease the nausea, whatever else you think is necessary, but we are leaving.”

  When the doctor agreed and left the room, Heath sat down on the bed and pulled her onto his lap. He tucked her head against his shoulder and rubbed her back. She clung to him, breathing in his scent, loving him with every bit of her soul.

  “I’m sorry, Deja. I promised you we could stay awhile, and now I’m breaking that promise. I wanted so much for you to just be happy, and I realize it’s impossible because of what they did you to. No, I have no right to think of it as what they did and not take the blame for my part.”

  She struggled up from his embrace to look at him. “What do you mean your part?”

  “We’ll talk about it later. For now, we have to get moving. I don’t know how the hospital transports blood to a larger city and how long after that before we’re revealed. We don’t know Spiderweb will find out, but we can’t take the chance.”

  “I know.”

  She would have walked, but Heath refused to put her down. He carried her and the prescriptions out of the small hospital, ignoring the staff member following with a wheelchair. Deja remembered the wild dash they’d had the last time she was in one of those and didn’t relish a return to it. Heath stopped off at the pharmacy near the entrance to the hospital and then had her tucked into the car within moments. They drove back to the room they rented in silence.

  Heath carried her inside and sat her on the bed while he began packing their things. Deja had wanted to get out of the hospital to make the meeting at the library, but she hadn’t counted on leaving so soon. If they had even a small chance to learn more about Spiderweb, now was the time to tell Heath everything.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Um, Heath?”

  He pulled a bag out from under the bed, one she didn’t remember seeing before. “Yeah?” He didn’t look up from the zipper he undid, and when he reached into the bag and pulled out a gun, she gasped.

  “Where did you get that? When did you get it?”

  “A few days ago while you were resting.”

  He checked the gun, she assumed, to be sure it was loaded. Deja licked her lips. She’d never liked guns for some reason. They scared her, which was ridiculous with the number of people who owned them in Oklahoma. Hell, her stepmother owned a few, some that had belonged to Deja’s father before he died. She’d had no intention of fighting the woman for ownership of the pieces.

  “If we’re going to protect ourselves, we need this. I don’t want to always rely on the tiger.”

  She wondered if that meant he’d killed people as the tiger, or had he just injured them? “I don’t like guns.”

  “I know, baby.”

  Her
hands shook, but she gripped the blanket in an effort to keep them still. They didn’t shake because of her fear, but because of her sickness. If only she could be stronger. Maybe she could if they had more answers. There might be an antidote. New hope rose inside her. “Heath, I have to tell you something.”

  “Can it wait until we’re on the road, Deja? We have to get moving, and there’s more crap than I realized. Maybe we should just leave all this food.”

  “It can’t wait.” Her voice cracked, and she coughed. Heath eyed her as if determining whether she needed meds now rather than later. “I’m fine. I just need to tell you about…” Again, she stalled. Damn, what if she checked the ad again and answered it with a new email address? No, the contact told her to delete her account, so it stood to reason he’d removed the ad.

  “Come on, Deja. We can’t delay any longer. What did you want to say?”

  Her stomach balled into a knot. “Oh crap, you’re going to be pissed.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

  She told him everything, and he began cursing. “Damn it, Deja, don’t you realize it was just a trap? Who the hell do you think is going to be out there gladly handing out information about Spiderweb?”

  “I thought…”

  “No, you didn’t think. You put us in jeopardy.”

  “I don’t know who you think you’re talking to like that, but it can’t be me! All you want is to run and keep running. Whatever happened to fighting? I want a life, Heath, and I think you should want it too. Or did you forget about your ranch and how much you loved it? You act like you enjoy living out of duffle bags and jumping from place to place. Well, I don’t, and I’m going to that library even if you’re too scared to go.”

  She panted and had to close her eyes by the time she finished her tirade. Heath walked around the bed to her side to stand in front of her. When she felt the heat off his body, she opened her eyes and tried moving back from him. He caught her arm and kept her where she was.