Mating Fever

by Susan Hayes

  “And that still doesn’t answer my question. Why are we naked.”

  “Because, lover. I wasn’t letting go of you for something as mundane as getting dressed, and I didn’t think you’d want to wake up with a few hundred pounds of tiger hogging what little space there was back here.” He nuzzled her neck, happy to see the spark back in her eyes.

  She gave him a half-smile that made his heart beat a little faster. “That’s actually a reasonable answer.”

  “Glad you approve. How are you feeling? You up to getting dressed and heading over to the jet? I’ve been told that there’s a meal waiting for us.” Her stomach rumbled at the mention of food, and she nodded, lifting herself up onto one shoulder to glance around the crowded van.

  “Where are the others? You said you had a team, and I vaguely remember one of them coming out to help us. He smelled like wet dog.” She wrinkled her nose at the recollection, and Doyle burst out laughing.

  “Wet wolf, actually. Seth and Sean have gone off to give us a minute of privacy. I think they know I’d tear their heads off if I caught them looking at you while you got dressed.”

  “Seriously? I don’t know much about shifters, but I do know that they aren’t much for worrying about nudity.” She glanced down at him as if making a point, but he couldn’t help but see the flash of emerald fire as she responded to the sight of his body. Fuck. At this rate he was going to skip eating and move straight to devouring her, here and now.

  “No one sees you naked but me. Not now. Not ever.” He leaned in and slanted a hard kiss to her sweet mouth. “You’re mine, Tessa. And I don’t share. At all.”

  10

  Tessa

  Tessa ached where she’d been injured, but not enough to stop her from wrapping her arms around Doyle and kissing him back. ‘That goes double for me.”

  They dressed in a hurry, barely able to keep their hands off of each other. In the end Doyle simply tugged on his pants and shoes and handed her a shirt that had his scent still clinging to it. She put it on and laughed when it hung nearly to her knees. He wrapped her in his jacket next, then threw open the back of the van. The snow had stopped, but it was still cold enough to make her gasp.

  Doyle didn’t hesitate, he scooped her into his powerful arms and jumped to the tarmac. He carried her up the stairway to an impressive looking private jet. Her face heated as they entered and she realized there were other people present.

  “Guys, this is Tessa. Tessa, this is my team. Seth and Sean. The two behind them are the flight crew, I’ll do proper introductions later. Right now, Tessa needs to rest.”

  “Oh sure,” one of the two identical men present muttered to the other one as Doyle stalked past them. “We can’t so much as breathe on his goddamned shirt, but she can wear it like a dress. Please, God, let me stay sane when it’s my turn to find a mate.”

  “Bite your tongue, bro. If we’re lucky, we’ll never find them and we can enjoy being single and sane forever.”

  Tessa peeked over Doyle’s shoulder. “Just for that, I hope you find yours soon. And thank you for your help today.”

  Doyle growled softly near her ear. “Stop teasing the pups.”

  “You’re right, I think I’d rather tease you.” She turned her head to plant an open-mouthed kiss to the side of his neck, lapping at the skin with the tip of her tongue.

  “I hope you realize that move just cost you dinner.”

  Doyle half jogged the length of the jet, only stopping when he reached a doorway too narrow for them to fit through easily. As he set her down inside the door, Tessa looked around her and blinked.

  Holy shit. The jet has a bedroom.

  The walls were the same soft cream as the rest of the interior, but the carpet in here was a paler shade of gray. There was a bed that took up most of the available space, and she caught a glimpse of a small vanity and sink set into the wall beside the door. There was probably more to look at, but Tessa found herself whisked off her feet again before she could take it all in. The door slammed shut behind them, but not before she heard one of the twins groan.

  “Oh hell, he’s taking her to the bedroom. Is there any room up in the cockpit, guys? I don’t need to hear them going at it again.”

  “Please tell me this room has soundproof walls,” she whispered as Doyle carried her to the bed and lowered her until she was enveloped by the soft grey duvet and a mountain of pillows.

  “It does. Now, tell me you’re healed enough for me to have you again,” he whispered between heated kisses, his hands already tearing away the shirt he’d given her to wear. It was impossible to think anymore. The fever had her in its grip again, and this time she knew it wouldn’t fade until they had worn each other out with lovemaking.

  “I’m all yours, mate.”

  “You were mine from the second I caught your scent.”

  Show me.”

  He stopped her mouth with another brutal kiss, his tongue tangling with hers as he rolled her onto her back and wedged a knee between her thighs. The hairs on his chest rubbed against her tender nipples, making them hard as diamonds. He kissed his way down her body, nipping and nuzzling until he reached her aching breasts.

  His mouth closed over one taut nub and he sucked hard, drawing her deep into the heat of his mouth. His fingers closed over her other nipple, tugging and stroking it until she arched beneath him and moaned with pleasure. He was rough enough to please her without causing her pain, and Tessa knew that was how it would always be. He would push her, but never hurt her. He’d shown her that as he’d carried her through the snow tonight.

  Naked.

  She definitely wanted to see him naked again. Right now, in fact.

  The button on his pants wouldn’t come free, so she tore them open, earning a sharp nip from Doyle. He lifted his head, freeing her breast with a soft pop before giving her a wicked grin. “That was my last pair of pants, beauty. And you were wearing my last shirt.”

  “I like you better naked, anyway.”

  “Then naked, I shall be.”

  He moved off the bed to shed the last of his ruined clothing, and Tessa never took her eyes off him. He was beautiful. His body was powerful without being overlarge, as if whatever god that made him had wanted his human form to echo the tiger that was part of his soul. Pale blond hair fell in disarray around his face, and she wanted to feel it between her fingers again.

  His blue eyes were as bright as lasers as he met her gaze. “Will I do, then?”

  “Fate might have a really lousy sense of timing, but I definitely have no complaints about your looks, mate of mine.”

  “I’ve no complaints either, my beauty.” Doyle moved with the same prowling grace as his tiger, closing the distance between them in a few short steps. He stretched out beside her, drawing her into his arms for a slow, torrid kiss that sent her senses reeling. Tessa buried her hands in his hair and turned to her side, throwing a leg over his to draw their bodies together. She craved his touch, and the mating fever flared hotter with every caress.

  “Will it always be like this?” she asked.

  “You mean this driving need to get naked and tangled up with each other every chance we get? From what I’m told, the fever fades, but it never goes away completely.”

  “So you’re my new addiction?” Tessa kissed her way along the line of his jaw, feeling the rasp of stubble against her lips as she worked her way to his ear and blew gently across it.

  Doyle groaned low in his throat. “Do that again and all my plans for going slowly are going to get tossed out the window. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you, Tessa. It’s fucking madness.”

  “It’s the same for me. So fuck me all ready.” She blew in his ear again, squealing with laughter as he snarled and rolled her onto her back, his big body moving to cover hers, her leg still wrapped around his muscular thigh.

  “Not this time. This time, we’re going to go slow. Even if it kills me.”

  “It might kill both of us,” she complained,
but Tessa wanted slow, too. Wanted to learn her lover’s body and find the secret places that would make him crazy with need.

  He kissed her again, tongue sliding between her lips to dance in the depths of her mouth, but when she deepened the kiss he pulled away, ignoring her soft moan of protest as he kissed his way back to her breasts. His tongue teased and swirled around one tender nipple while his fingers worked her other one, and before long Tessa was squirming and breathless beneath him.

  “I need to touch you, Doyle.” The words tumbled out of her mouth and he lifted his head to look at her. He winked and then moved off her, and she let him go, knowing he wouldn’t be far. Doyle turned himself around and then moved behind her, kneeling above her head so that his knees were at her ears. Before she could ask what he was doing, he was on his hands and knees, his cock suspended only a few inches above her mouth. She angled her head so that she could lick the tip and was rewarded by a rumbling growl.

  She drew the thick crown of his cock deeper into her mouth, savoring the smell and taste of him. His scent was spicy and warm, and she finally recognized it. He smelled like fresh baked gingerbread. It was one of her favorite aromas in all the world and Tessa couldn’t tell if he truly smelled like that, or if the fact he was her mate simply meant her senses assigned him a scent she adored.

  Before she could think about it too much, Doyle’s mouth brushed over the lips of her pussy and she stopped thinking about anything but his touch. Stubble rasped along her inner thighs as he pressed his face into her folds and devoured her like a starving man.

  His tongue lashed across her throbbing clit and she moaned. His thighs tensed as the vibration traveled through his cock, and Tessa licked the tip of his cock again, this time reaching up to stroke a finger over the sensitive skin tucked away behind his scrotum. He groaned and licked her clitoris harder before sucking the delicate pearl into his mouth and biting it down on it just enough to make her see stars. Doyle worked her relentlessly, driving her further into the realms of pleasure than she’d ever been before.

  Pre-cum gathered at the tip of his cock and she licked it off before taking him deeper into her mouth, teasing every inch of his shaft with lips and tongue. His balls tightened when she caressed them, his dick growing impossibly thicker. Doyle growled again, his ministrations growing more intense by the second.

  Tessa was so close to orgasm that she could barely think, but she did her best to keep up, wanting to take him with her when her release hit. He didn’t give her the chance. Without warning Doyle shifted his weight, and then somehow she felt his fingers plunge deep into her pussy, pushing her past the breaking point. Her cries were muffled by his cock as she gave voice to her pleasure.

  When her cries stopped, he pulled out of her mouth before she could finish him off. “No fair,” she huffed in frustration.

  Doyle moved back so that he was kneeling by her head again and then dropped his head so she could see his face. “I want to come inside you. I need to know you’re marked by me, inside and out. So, up on your hands and knees, beauty.”

  “I won’t be able to bite you … and I’m going to want to.” Tessa saw lust flare in his eyes as he met her gaze.

  “Trust me, when the time comes, we’ll both have what we need.” His words were rich with dark, sensual, promise, and Tessa’s pussy flooded with fresh evidence of her arousal. As she got to her hands and knees she could feel it trickle down her leg.

  Fingers stroked up her thigh, gathering the wetness as it went, and Doyle chuckled softly. “My mate wants me as much as I want her.”

  “I do,” Tessa said, surprised by the emotions that swirled through her at that simple confession.

  “I’m glad.” He paused, his hand still on her thigh and his cock brushing lightly against the back of her leg. “I never expected it to be like this. It’s … more than I could have hoped for.”

  She turned her head to look back at him and her heart did a double beat as she saw the yearning in his eyes. More than lust. More than need, there was a spark of something far deeper shimmering in the ice-blue depths. He held her gaze for a long moment, and then fingers brushed between her legs as he guided himself to her entrance.

  “Take me, mate. Claim me again,” she whispered, and deep in her soul her leopard rumbled in agreement.

  “Mine,” Doyle uttered the single word with a growl as he thrust into her body, his hands settling on her hips as he claimed her in one long, steady stroke that didn’t end until he was buried balls deep inside her.

  “I am,” she whispered.

  A full-throated roar filled the cabin and then he was pounding into her with powerful strokes. The sound of fabric tearing reached her ears and she realized her hands had transformed to claws, shredding the bedding beneath her. Her fangs dropped and she felt the mating fever burn brighter, parching her with a thirst that only Doyle’s blood could slake.

  He moved over her, chest pressed to her back as he fucked her, hips pumping and his breath coming in ragged gasps as he pushed them both toward the moment of bliss they both craved. Tessa couldn’t stop the cries that rose from her throat, urging him on. She felt his teeth graze the side of her throat and she tipped her head, offering herself to him.

  Just as his teeth broke skin, Doyle reached forward, pressing his wrist to her mouth. She bit down, and the taste of his blood sent her skyrocketing into a soul-shattering orgasm. Time slowed, allowing her to experience her pleasure one heartbeat at a time. She savored his blood, feeling the way her body absorbed it, making it a part of herself. Doyle’s cock thickened and jerked deep in her body, and then he was marking her again, spilling his seed in her womb. Her body absorbed that too, increasing the bond between them.

  Emotions poured through their link, their thoughts and feelings blending until they were one. Two hearts, two minds, two souls, forever joined to each other. The mating was complete, and now nothing could part them.

  Time returned to normal, and they both tumbled to the bed. Doyle lay on his side, his cock still inside her as he gathered her into his arms and spooned with her.

  “I think I love you, Tessa Banks,” he murmured dazedly.

  “I can still sense your thoughts, lover. I know you do.” She snuggled into his arms with a sigh of contentment that could hardly express the joy that suffused her soul. “And I love you too.”

  Thank you for reading!

  Next up - Wolf Under Cover

  Wolf Under Cover

  Secret identities, hidden agendas, and a wolf who will do anything to protect his unexpected mate…

  1

  Wolf Under Cover

  The rumble of bike engines wasn’t quite loud enough to drown out the sound of thunder, but the storm was still some way off. The heat was oppressive and the asphalt shimmered in the heat as the miles ticked by. Off in the distance the horizon was marred by a wall of black clouds headed their way, and the storm looked like it would hit before they got to their destination.

  Ramrod flipped open the visor of his helmet and sampled the air. All he could smell was dust and the baking road under his wheels. He called on his wolf, cracking the door of the beast’s cage open just enough for it to boost his senses.

  The storm was closer than it looked. The wind carried the scent of wet asphalt and ozone. He dropped his visor and took a moment to make sure his wolf was secure again. The others had no idea what he was, and he needed to keep it that way. Shifters might have come out of the shadows, but most humans still reacted badly to the discovery that someone they knew could sport fangs and fur at any moment. He preferred to leave some things until the big reveal… and he wasn’t ready for that yet.

  His train of thought got derailed when one of the other riders let out a whoop, gunned his engine and broke ranks to pass all but the lead bike.

  He didn’t have to look to know it was Freak. the shit-for-brains kid the Club’s president had sent along on this run because he thought it would be a learning experience. As far as Rod was concerned, Freak needed
to learn how to control his bike and his mouth before he learned anything else. God fucking help them if they had to ride any distance in the rain. The idiot was the best prospect the club had, which was fucking pathetic. Then again, most of what Rod had seen during his time with this club had been a shit show of violence, sex, and incompetence. Why should their recruiting be any better?

  The club should be pulling out all the stops to make sure he saw nothing but their best. The newly named president of the Legion’s mother chapter had sent him to assess their club. If he didn’t like what he saw, then these assholes were in deep shit. Maybe enough to get them cut from the Legion MC club completely.

  Another mile passed and Rod still couldn’t see anything but sun-baked dirt and open road. Where the fuck did this asshole live?

  They’d left what little there was to the town of Cummingford miles back. He glanced over to the other riders but Ogre and Mutt wore blank expressions, and Freak was cackling like a lunatic as he wove his bike back and forth across the road. No help there.

  No brains either.

  Rod put a few more feet of distance between his bike and Freak’s. When the fucktard prospect lost control and kissed asphalt, he had no intention of getting caught in the wreckage. Ogre dropped back, too, which put the big, ugly, enforcer within shouting distance.

  Rod flipped up his visor again and called out, “Where the fuck are we going, man? I got no plans to drive all the way to the coast today,”

  Ogre grinned back at him, revealing the mouthful of twisted teeth that had given him his road name. “Not far. This guy likes his privacy, stays out here with the rocks and jackrabbits.” Ogre’s smile vanished. “Works to our advantage this time. No one to see or hear what we gotta do to him if he doesn’t have the product and the cash.”

  “He’s the cook who fucked you guys over, right?”