Feral Magic

by Tate James

  Hunter grinned. “Are you sure?”

  In response, I reached down between us and lined his dick up to my super excited and under-used cunt. “Positive,” I groaned, sinking down onto him and gasping with the exquisite fullness. “Oh shit, yes. Yep, I’m sure.”

  “Thank fuck for that,” he replied with a breathy shudder. His hands gripped my hips and shifted my angle slightly. In a really good way.

  Wow.

  For a while he let me set the pace. I rolled my hips and rode him slowly, savoring the feeling of him inside me. Hunter kept a tight grip on my hips, his fingers digging into the top of my ass in a way that would probably leave bruises, but I sure as shit wasn’t going to be sending a letter of complaint.

  He leaned forward and captured one of my nipples in his mouth as I bobbed up and down. I groaned, pausing to let him suck on my tits, as I gripped the back of his neck and held him to me.

  In the absence of my movement, he took over, thrusting up into me and hitting all the right places.

  “Holy fucking cats, Hunter,” I grunted when he moved to my other nipple and continued bucking up into me. “This was a good decision.” Releasing his neck, I pushed him back into the pillows once more and braced my hands on his chest.

  I was really damn close to coming, so I needed him to—

  His hand shifted from my hip, and his thumb found my clit like it had a homing beacon. Yeah, that was the shit. Right there.

  Something thudded in a weirdly physical way, but I wrote it off as the blood pounding in my brain.

  Hunter rubbed and flicked at my clit while I rode his dick hard until I came. A screaming, toe-curling, muscle-clenching climax.

  No excuses, I was just downright loud in bed. Hunter groaned his own orgasm a fraction of a second behind me, and a heady sense of satisfaction rolled through me. I collapsed onto Hunter’s tanned chest, shuddering with the aftershocks of my orgasm as I clung to him. Not that he seemed to mind. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in close and rolling me into his side. Prime cuddle position.

  Just then, that noise popped back into my head.

  “Hunter?” I murmured into his sweaty neck. He smelled like man and sex and the beach. How the fuck did he smell like the beach?

  “Yeah, babe?” he replied with a sleepy yawn. Pressing a kiss to the top of my hot pink hair, he stroked his strong fingers over my naked, ink-covered skin.

  “This might have just been, like, I don’t know, something popping in my brain because that orgasm was next level insane,” I started and could tell without looking that he was smugly smiling. “But did I hear the door slam?”

  His hand froze on my hip, and a thread of tension seemed to travel through his hard as fuck, two percent body fat form. Damn, how did he even—

  Focus, Cleo!

  “Uh, yeah,” Hunter mumbled after a small hesitation. “Raze...”

  Panicked, I shot up out of his embrace and gathered the sheets to my chest. My gaze darted around every corner of the room, as though I actually thought Raze would be standing there watching or some shit.

  “No, babe, he’s not here.” Hunter sounded like he was really trying not to laugh, which meant I was really trying not to fucking murder him. “He came in, and you were, uh, you know, and then he got all pissy and left.”

  Stunned, I blinked down at him for a long-ass moment. “He came in,” I repeated slowly, “and I was... what?”

  Hunter gave a little shrug. “You were literally about to come.”

  I gasped in horror. “And you didn’t say anything?”

  “Gods no. Interrupting a lady who is on the brink of an epic orgasm is terrible manners, Cleo-babe. Awfully, unacceptably rude. You would have killed me! Besides, it’s not like he hasn’t already seen you butt naked.” He spread his hands apologetically, yet also not. Fucker. He had a point, though. If I’d missed out on that orgasm thanks to dickhead Raze walking in, I would have been serial killer level mad.

  Still. I buried my face in my hands and tried to scrub away the embarrassment. “Fuck, Hunter. This is really bad! How much did he see?”

  Okay, yes, dumb question. We were both naked, and I’d been riding Hunter’s dick like I was competing in a rodeo. My back had been to the door, but there would have been zero mistaking that act as anything else.

  “Yeah... he didn’t leave super quick, so...” Hunter wrinkled his stupidly perfect nose, and I was torn between wanting to kiss him again or punching him right in the face. Fucking cats, these guys had me all kinds of messed up. The idea that Raze had stood there for a while, watching me fuck Hunter like a starving succubus... damn, that turned me on.

  But wait. That wasn’t the point here. “Hunter, focus! What about the whole punishment thing?”

  He tilted his head to the side and scratched at the dark stubble on his cheek. “I’ve never done it before, but if you’re into it, I’m down to try.”

  My mind went down a dirty rabbit hole, and I needed to shake my head to keep on track. “What? No, I didn’t mean... Okay, keep that discussion for another day. I meant the whole thing with the Cat Army and us not being allowed to do exactly what we just did.”

  Understanding dawned on Hunter’s face, but then he just shrugged again in that slightly infuriating, carefree way. “I wouldn’t stress about it,” he told me, grabbing the edge of my sheet and using it to pull me closer to him. “Raze has issues, but we’ve been friends a really long time. He won’t go tattling.” He paused. “I don’t think.”

  I’d maintained my iron grip on the sheet, so he’d effectively reeled me in like a fish on a hook. I groaned as he snaked his arms back around my waist and started pressing featherlight kisses to the ink on my neck.

  “Nope, no, you’re not suckering me in again, Crocodile Hunter,” I announced, and with extreme willpower, I peeled myself out of his embrace and scooted off the bed. “I’m showering, then sleeping.” I speared him with a sharp glare as he opened his mouth to say something suggestive. “Alone.”

  Quickly gathering up my awesome truck-stop outfit, I raced into the bathroom and locked the door behind me.

  Holy Cats.

  What had I just done?

  I picked up the gold amulet from my naked chest and peered down at it accusingly. “This is all your fault,” I hissed at the piece of jewelry. “Shit better not get weird with the guys after this, or I’ll personally throw you in the ocean like that chick on Titanic.”

  Call it my imagination or fried nerves from all the mind blowing sex... but did that fucking necklace just zap me?

  Either way, I dropped it quickly and cranked the shower. Time to pretend nothing happened! Nope, nothing. No dicks in this pussy. No reason for crazy shifter police to go locking up any of my guardians. None.

  Pretend, pretend, pretend.

  Chapter Eleven

  All my pretending flew straight out of the window when I finally emerged, fully dressed, from the bathroom and found Hunter all spread out across the bed. He was still totally naked and didn’t seem at all bothered by his lack of blankets as he snored softly. It wasn’t obnoxious, dad snoring, more like that content sound cats make when they’re deep asleep. Almost a half purr.

  “Holy cat shifters,” I whispered under my breath, taking a moment—a really long moment—to perve the hell out of him. I’d been so focused on getting his D in my V earlier that I really hadn’t appreciated the buffet that was naked Hunter.

  I’d briefly skimmed over the ink on his torso with my mouth, but now I could actually see the designs. They were geometric and depicted what I guessed to be a Tasmanian tiger amongst constellations. The tattoo wrapped around his left side, hugging all the tight lines of his muscles and finishing in that deep groove next to his impressive dick.

  Wow. Just... freaking wow.

  I took a couple of steps closer to the bed—not because I was a creeper who wanted to drool all over Hunter, but because I wanted to sleep somewhere and the floor did not appeal.

  Trouble was, my A
ustralian fuck buddy was sprawled across the bed in a way that literally had him touching all four corners. My options were a tiny patch on his right between his outstretched arm and leg... or on top of him. And let’s not act dumb and pretend that wouldn’t turn into more sex.

  A pointed throat clearing had me spinning around and clutching my hoodie to my chest in fright.

  “Hey, uh, I was just...” I flailed a hand at Hunter’s stark naked form, still sound asleep on the bed. “Looking for somewhere to sleep?”

  I have no idea why that came out as a question and not a statement. That was what I was doing. Mostly. Ugh, I was so busted.

  “Come on.” Boden indicated to the adjoining room behind him and gave me a small smirk. “Hunter tends to hog the bed.”

  Ducking my head to avoid eye contact with him, I scurried into the second room and heard him close the door behind us.

  Suddenly, it was all awkward as fuck. Had Boden heard me screwing his friend in the next room? Was he jealous? He’d kind of made it pretty clear that he was interested, and I’d made excuses, and then look what happened.

  Holy Cats, Cleo, you’re a massive hypocrite! Huge!

  “Where’s Raze?” I blurted out, noticing the lack of brooding, Native American cat shifters in the room. Not that I was anywhere near ready to face him, knowing he’d watched me coming all over his buddy’s cock.

  Boden made a noncommittal noise, climbing into the mussed bed and getting comfy on one side. “Raze does what Raze wants. He’ll be back by the time we need to leave.” He eyed me up as I stood there in the middle of the room like the awkward panda I was. “Are you coming to bed? I promise I will let you have a whole half, and I’ll even keep my pants on.” He arched a brow, and I bit back a smile at his reference to Hunter sleeping totally nude.

  Dropping my hoodie on the little table, I crawled into the other side of the motel bed and tried really hard not to roll into Boden. The bed was dipping under his superior weight, though, so it was like trying to balance on a yoga ball. After a few moments of fighting it, I gave up and let gravity take over.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled, peering up at him. “Not really the most springy mattress, huh?”

  He chuckled a warm sound that vibrated his chest and made me all tingly inside. “Sleep, Cleo. There are bad people trying to kill you, remember?”

  I grumbled something about “how could I forget” under my breath, but let him shuffle me around until my back was to him and his arms were around me.

  “Hunter’s right,” Boden commented, right as I was about to fall asleep.

  My eyelids snapped open. “About what?”

  I held my breath.

  “You really are the perfect little spoon size,” he commented, and all the breath rushed out of me. I was cool with this observation. Little spoon rocked.

  Boden only gave us a few hours of sleep before gently waking me up by whispering in my ear, telling me it was time to go.

  I was still wrapped up in his warm embrace, and I groaned my protests in incoherent grumbles as he tried to coax me awake.

  “Come on, beautiful,” he laughed softly. “We need to move on before our stolen van gets spotted here. I promise you can sleep more at the safe house.”

  “No,” I whined, squeezing my eyes tight shut. “I’m still tired. Go away.”

  Boden seemed to take me at my word and started to slide out of bed behind me until I squeaked in panic. “I take it back! Don’t go away! Holy cats, that was like an arctic blast. Never leave me!”

  He hugged me again, kissing the side of my neck. “As badly as I want to read way too much into those words, we do need to go. Come on, I’ll get you drive-through coffee.”

  This got my attention, and I cracked one eye open, peering over my shoulder at the golden-blond god. “What sort of coffee?”

  He grinned, knowing he had me. “Caffeinated coffee. And a blueberry bagel.”

  I groaned again, but this time it bordered on a sexual sort of sound. “Damn you,” I hissed, gripping the top of the blanket. “Okay, like a Band-Aid.” Gritting my teeth, I whipped the warm quilt off, then practically dove into my hoodie. “Let’s roll.”

  Boden shook his head with a laugh and held out my rocking cowboy boots for me to put on. I stuffed my feet into them and followed him outside to where the minivan was waiting before a thought occurred to me.

  “Hey, how did you know I love all forms of coffee and blueberry bagels?” I squinted at him suspiciously as we paused beside the van.

  Boden gave me a lopsided smile and stroked a lock of hot pink hair off my face. “I can read emotions, and your level of excitement when I mentioned coffee was enough to turn my dick hard. Blueberry bagel was a logical step from there.”

  I squinted at him, nodding slowly. “Smart move.” It was taking all my willpower to ignore his statement about having a hard dick, and even more effort not to check.

  He smirked like he knew where my mind had gone and opened the passenger door. “Wanna ride me today?”

  I froze halfway into the car. “Sorry, what?” I blurted, immediately picturing myself riding Hunter some hours earlier.

  Boden gave me a quizzical frown. “I said, wanna ride with me today?”

  “Oh,” I said. “With. Ride with. Gotcha.”

  In an attempt to cover my awkward moment, I hopped into the passenger seat and buckled myself in while Boden came around to the driver’s side.

  A small smile played at his lips as we waited in silence for Hunter. Seconds later, he came flying out of his room, rubbing sleep from his eyes, and climbed into the back where Raze already waited.

  “G’morning,” Hunter greeted us with a lazy smile as he got comfy and strapped on his seatbelt. “Everyone sleep well?”

  I had no response to that. Or none that wouldn’t light up the pink elephant in the room with a fucking neon light. So I said nothing and stared ahead out the window as Boden pulled into traffic.

  Raze said something to Hunter, which was too quiet for me to hear, but Hunter’s response of “Fuck off, mate,” was clear.

  Shit. That was totally about me. Of course it was. Oh sweet baby cats, Raze saw Hunter balls deep inside me. This is not good. Not good.

  “I mean,” Boden said softly, quiet enough that it was for my ears only as he turned into a drive-through Starbucks, “I wouldn’t object if you wanted to drop the ‘with.’” He shot me a look that was pure sex, and it took me a second to realize he was still referring to riding with him. Or... riding him.

  Oh wow.

  Pressing my hands to my warm cheeks—and clenching my thighs—I stared out the window and acted super interested in the menu. “Uh, caramel macchiato, please,” I asked him sweetly. “And we can revisit that other offer later.”

  As soon as I said it, I bit my lip. I really, honestly had not intended to say that out loud. Oh cats. It should be illegal to proposition a woman when she was still half asleep and dazzled by all the sexy men in the stolen car with her!

  Again I cursed whoever was in charge that they couldn’t have just sent me girls to be my guardians. Or even dudes with dad bods! Were all shifters cut like they were made of marble? Or was there a generation of older, portly sort of magical beings? Ones that had let themselves go a bit and weren’t going to tempt me into jumping their bones every fucking opportunity I had?

  “Hey,” I blurted out as the girl at the window handed through our coffees and snacks. “Are there any unattractive shifters? Or are they all walking sex like you three?”

  Ah crap, there I went running my mouth again.

  Hunter and Boden seemed to find me amusing, but that was apparently the last straw on Raze’s restraint.

  “Why’s that, Margaret?” he sneered at me from the back seat. “Three guardians not enough for you? Looking to add to your little harem of cats?”

  I turned in my seat, glaring death at Raze. “So what if I was, huh? You keep banging on and on about not wanting to be here, so why shouldn’t I search for a repl
acement?”

  Yep, turning to face him was a bad idea. His flaming green eyes met mine like a bear trap, ensnaring me in their emerald depths and holding me immobile.

  “Firstly,” he growled—legit growled, “I have never once asked to be released as a guardian, so I certainly haven’t been ‘banging on’ about it.”

  I huffed. “Yes, well. You’ve made it clear that’s what you want. With, like, uh, body language.” Yeah, I could have thought this argument through better before starting it, and I fully blamed Hunter and Boden for scrambling my brain.

  “With body language,” Raze repeated slowly, like he was reinforcing how dumb I sounded.

  Biting my lip, I wrenched my eyes away from his mesmerizing gaze. “Whatever.”

  I was losing this argument fast, so I opted for retreat. Turning my back on him, I sunk into my seat and sipped my hot, sweet coffee. Unnervingly, I could feel him staring a hole into the back of my head for a really long-ass time before Hunter broke the tense silence.

  “Hey,” he whispered to Raze, “what was ‘secondly’ going to be?”

  “Shut up, Hunter!” Boden and I both snapped at the same time, and I heard a small snicker of laughter from the cheeky tiger. Fucking shit stirrer.

  We drove mostly in silence for a while, with just the odd barb traded between Raze and I, until we slowed in front of an ordinary, suburban kind of house.

  Or... it would have been at some point.

  Now? Now it looked like a crack den or squatter’s paradise.

  Graffiti covered the walls, the grass in front was overgrown and littered with trash, and all the windows looked to be smashed.

  “Shit,” Boden murmured as he peered at the house through his window. “That’s not good.”

  “Let me guess,” I said with a sigh. “That’s the safe house.”

  “Was,” Boden corrected.

  The back door slid open, and Raze hopped out. Silently, he prowled toward the house and seemed to just completely disappear into the shadows near the fence line.