Daxon's Heart (Ravenwood Panthers Book 3)

by Lynn Howard

  Daxon’s moves were frantic now, his breaths coming in short pants, his hips thrusting harder, faster, and Ryanne felt the tingling of another orgasm quickly building. Two in one night? That was a record.

  Hell. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d orgasmed during sex with anyone. She knew making love with Daxon would be an experience to remember.

  “Daxon,” she breathed out as a release crashed through her hard and fast.

  Shit. They hadn’t used a condom. As she opened her mouth to remind him they needed to be safe, Daxon’s teeth sank into her shoulder.

  There was no way she could stay quiet.

  Ryanne threw her head back and moaned loud and long.

  Daxon pulled from her quickly and trapped his cock between them. Hot jets hit her stomach as every muscle in his body tensed and he pulled his fangs from her flesh.

  “Ryanne. Fuck,” he gritted out as he twitched and finished on her stomach.

  When he was empty, he laid there, keeping them connected but with his weight off her and on his elbows. His face was still buried there where he’d bitten her. His tongue lapped at the seeping blood a few times, warming Ryanne’s body and heart.

  He was caring for her. It was animalistic but so freaking sweet.

  He had marked her. But she hadn’t marked him. She wanted him to carry her mark, too. She wanted any Shifter who came close enough to smell the difference in his blood and know he was claimed.

  Wow. She’d claimed a man. She had finally found someone she believed was worthy of not only bringing into her life forever, but bringing into her baby sister’s life.

  “I love you,” Daxon said against her skin, his voice muffled.

  She lifted her arms and hugged him tight, combing her fingers through his hair. “I love you, too.”

  He rolled to his side and brought her with him, keeping them connected.

  Eventually, though, she rolled onto her other side and spooned back against him, her bottom cradled in his crotch, his thighs lined up against the back of hers, his face buried in her hair.

  One of Daxon’s arms created a pillow beneath her head while the other wrapped around her waist and kept her tightly against him. Even lying on the ground, she was comfortable and more content than she had ever been in her life.

  She felt safe. She felt cared for. She felt like her path in life had brought her directly to Daxon.

  Huh. In a way, it did. What were the odds he and his friends would be driving down that specific road at the exact time she went running onto the street and in front of his car? The fact it had been Shifters and not humans had amazed her.

  The fact her mate happened to be in that car was damned near miraculous.

  Ryanne’s lids grew heavy as Daxon’s breathing grew slow and steady behind her. He’d fallen asleep.

  She was pretty close to dozing off herself. Her body felt like jelly and the two orgasms had zapped her of her last remaining energy.

  Twining her fingers through his left hand, she hugged it close to her chest and closed her eyes. She would just rest for a few minutes, get dressed, then head into bed.

  Should she invite Daxon in for the night? What would Penny think if she woke up to find a man in their house? Ryanne knew her sister loved Daxon, but a man had never stayed over since Ryanne had gotten custody of her.

  Any thoughts she had of inviting Daxon to bed with her floated away as sleep dragged her under and she dreamed of all the ways she and Daxon would make love in the future.

  ****

  Her body was sore. A heavy arm draped over her waist when Ryanne tried to roll over. Cloudy memories slowly made it to her sleep addled brain.

  With a gasp, she sat up. The sun was rising over the horizon. They’d fallen asleep outside and had been out there for hours.

  Oh no. What if Penny had woken and couldn’t find her big sister? She would be terrified.

  Untangling herself from Daxon as carefully and quickly as she could, Ryanne hastily pulled her clothes back into place and jogged into the house with the sounds of that flock of birds squawking a little further than last time.

  One of the high points of being a feline Shifter was even in her human form, she was nearly silent on her feet.

  Turning the knob on Penny’s door, she pushed it open silently and peeked in. The little girl was still out cold.

  Ryanne sighed with relief and backed out of the room, pulling the door closed behind her.

  Should she go wake Daxon up? Let him know he needed to go home? Or she could invite him in for breakfast and tell Penny he came over early to hang out. She hated to lie to her sister, but Penny was too young to know the truth about the birds and the bees and all that.

  She couldn’t leave Daxon asleep on the hard ground.

  Sneaking back outside as quietly as she had come in, Ryanne hurried around the side of the house and found Daxon on his back. He had rolled over at some point when she’d pulled away from him.

  The birds were quiet as she knelt beside him and laid a hand on his chest. “Hey,” she whispered, gently shaking him.

  His head lolled toward her, but his eyes were still closed.

  “Daxon,” she whispered, leaning a little closer as she shook him again.

  He was so warm under her palm as his chest rose and fell with each deep breath. Shame they weren’t in her bed so they could snuggle a little longer. She would have loved to lay her head on his chest and listen to his heart beat beneath her ear.

  He grunted the next time she nudged him.

  “It’s time to wake up,” she whispered. “We fell asleep.”

  “A little longer,” he mumbled, attempting to pull her down with him.

  “Penny’s going to wake up soon,” she said with a giggle as he continued to pull her down so he could wrap his arms around her.

  His eyes shot open and went to the sky that had turned from a hazy gray to blue as the sun moved further up the horizon.

  “Shit,” he said, shoving her away from him and lunging for his pants. “She didn’t see us, did she?”

  Ryanne slapped a hand over her mouth as giggles bubbled up her chest. He truly looked panicked. “No,” she said. “She’s still sleeping. We’re safe.”

  The relieved look on his face sent her into another round of giggles. He was so damned cute. Sure, she was worried about Penny waking up and not finding Ryanne inside, but hadn’t really thought about the prospect of her finding her big sister naked…outside…lying beside a naked man.

  And not just any man. Daxon. The cool guy.

  “I’m going to go in and shower. When Penny gets up, we’ll have breakfast. I mean, Penny and I will. And I hope you’ll stay.”

  He froze as he pulled on his boots. “You don’t think that will confuse her?”

  Ryanne shrugged, then shook her head. “Nah. We can tell her you came over early. She won’t have a clue.”

  He went back to tying his boots and stood. “Then yeah, I’d love to stay.”

  ****

  Daxon couldn’t believe they’d slept outside all night. Oh, and not only did they sleep outside, on the ground, but they were butt ass naked.

  Son of a bitch. What if that little girl had woken up and looked out the window? She would have seen way more than a kid her age should ever see.

  He was so different when it came to Ryanne. Everything he had ever believed, everything he’d ever been taught had pretty much flown out the window the second he’d seen her beautiful face.

  Not completely true. Ryanne had made every first move. And he’d made sure that was what she wanted.

  Oh shit. He’d marked her last night.

  His eyes jerked to the already healing punctures where her neck met her shoulder. No way would Penny understand why Daxon had hurt her big sister.

  “You should probably put on a shirt to cover that,” he said, nodding toward the mark.

  She turned her head and ducked her chin as though she were trying to see it. “I planned on it.”

 
“Does it hurt?”

  She pointed to her shoulder. “Throbs a little. But doesn’t really hurt.”

  Shaking his head, he moved closer and inspected the wounds. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

  “Kind of hard to mark someone without hurting them,” she said with a huff of laughter. “But I didn’t get to mark you.”

  He glanced up at the house then back down to Ryanne. “How long before Penny wakes up?” He wasn’t even sure what time it was now.

  She checked her phone. “In about thirty minutes or so. She’s always been an early bird.”

  Thirty minutes. They had at least another thirty minutes of privacy before they had to get back to their real life.

  Grabbing his shirt by the back collar, he removed it again, balling it up in his hand. “Mark me. Do what you want to me. Use me however you want.”

  He’d willingly strip naked and take her again if that was what she wanted. Anything to have her mark on his body.

  Ryanne’s beautiful eyes flashed bright the same time her cheeks acquired that sexy blush he’d grown obsessed with. Her little pink tongue darted out to moisten her lips as she moved closer, every step reminding him of a predator stalking her prey.

  The animal living inside of her might have been on the submissive side, but her human side was dominant and strong.

  Her hands smoothed up his chest as her eyes devoured him. He knew she was studying his tattoos, but the simple act made him grow hard behind his jeans.

  When she leaned in and her lips brushed his ear lobe, he about came in his jeans like a damned virgin.

  “We don’t have time for what I have in mind. But I’m going to mark you.” She pulled back and pressed a kiss over his left pec. “Right there.” She was looking up into his eyes as she feathered another kiss on the spot she’d chosen, then her tongue darted out and lapped at one of his nipples.

  He hissed in a breath. “You’re killing me,” he said with a growl. His panther was addicted to this vixen. And so was Daxon.

  Her smile was full of temptation and lust and so many things he couldn’t identify. There was a huge part of him that wanted to turn her around, lift the back of her dress, and take her against the side of the house.

  Penny. Penny could end up waking up soon. And Daxon would rather cut off his left nut than risk that little girl catching them.

  Ryanne lowered her head again and touched her tongue to his chest. And then a purring sound worked up from her chest and escaped her lips. Teeth grazed his flesh, then a burning sensation hit his nerve endings as she Shifted her fangs and sank them deep into his skin and muscle.

  If he thought he was close to coming when her lips touched his ear, he was a fool. His dick twitched in his jeans and he struggled to keep his hands at his sides instead of burying them in her hair or ripping the dress from her body.

  That purring sound still rattled from her chest as she pulled her fangs from his chest and lapped at the blood beading up from each puncture.

  “You sure we don’t have enough time?” he asked and realized how breathless he was from her mouth on him. It made him think of her mouth in other places.

  She chuckled and took his shirt from his hand. Holding it out, she pulled it over his head and waited while he put his arms through the holes.

  “Tonight. As soon as Penny is asleep, I’m doing everything I can think of to you.”

  He groaned as he adjusted his hard-on. “You’re seriously killing me. How the hell am I supposed to walk into your house like this?” He pointed to his crotch, and she laughed again.

  “Stay out here and get your little friend under control.” She walked toward the front of the house.

  “Little?”

  Her throaty laughter floated on the air as she turned the corner and headed toward the stairs.

  “Little,” he muttered and shook his head. He knew she was fully aware he was anything but little.

  Shit. He had to get himself under control. Baseball. Sports. His Pride. Okay. That was working. There was no way he could stay horny when thinking about his Pride. Even the women in his Pride were like sisters to him.

  Hell, they were his sisters. Campbell was pretty much his sister-in-law since she was mated to his twin brother, even if she was a human.

  With a deep breath, Daxon trudged around the corner, up the stairs, and into the house where Ryanne was leaning against the counter impatiently watching the coffee drip into the carafe.

  As he closed the door, a bird sound caught his attention.

  His brows dropped and his panther hissed in his head as he opened the door wider and stepped back onto the porch. That couldn’t have been a crow. No way were those fuckers coming around Ryanne and Penny.

  But why wouldn’t they? Both females had gotten away. Even if they had no interest in trafficking a child, they could use the five-year-old to make her big sister do anything they wanted, including mate with a male she wasn’t interested in.

  That last thought sent his panther into a frenzy inside his head and Daxon actually struggled to keep his skin. His cat wanted to break through and hunt the bastards down. He wanted to make them pay for going after Daxon’s mate and for anything they might do in the future.

  He stood on the porch and searched the trees lining the property and focused his attention on the sounds around him. Had he imagined that? Because he didn’t hear anything now. Only the normal morning birds, the robins and sparrows and others chirping away as the sun rose in the sky.

  Shaking his head, Daxon stepped back inside and closed the door behind him.

  “Do I have time to shower before Penny wakes up?” he whispered.

  Ryanne opened her mouth to answer at the same time two little feet hit the floor in the other room.

  “Guess not,” he said with a chuckle.

  Daxon straightened his clothes and took a seat at the table while Ryanne poured two mugs of coffee then grabbed three bowls and a box of cereal.

  “I can make you something else if you don’t want kid cereal.”

  “Nah. Kid cereal is my favorite,” he said, pouring Penny’s bowl first, then his own.

  She chuckled softly and shook her head as she grabbed a bowl of sugar from above the fridge and a bottle of creamer from the fridge. “For some reason, that doesn’t surprise me.”

  “Because I’m an overgrown child?” he teased.

  Penny came down the hall and didn’t look the tiniest bit surprised to see Daxon sitting at the table.

  “Good morning,” she said. The words sounded almost like a song as she smiled wide and sat at the table. “Did you finally sleep good?” she asked her sister.

  Ryanne turned a frown on the little girl and set the milk in front of her along with spoons for all three of them. “What do you mean?”

  “Since Daxon stayed the night.”

  Ryanne shot Daxon a look and her facial reaction looked a lot like he felt. Had she heard them? Seen them naked outside? Oh shit.

  “Why do you think he stayed overnight?”

  Penny shrugged and poured milk into her cereal, then pushed the bottle toward Daxon so he could do the same. “Because I felt safe. And you weren’t looking in my room a bunch like normal. So, you felt safe, too.”

  Ryanne shot Daxon another look before turning wide eyes on Penny. “You heard me looking in your room?”

  Penny dove into her cereal and chewed a few times then spoke around a mouthful of food. “Sometimes. Usually.” Pieces of food fell out of her mouth.

  “Ew. Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

  The little girl was perceptive. There was no doubt about that. For a second, Daxon wondered if she was more than human and had sensed his presence. But it turned out to be nothing more than concern for her big sister.

  “Well? Did you sleep good?”

  “I slept well,” Ryanne said, emphasizing the word to correct Penny and teach her proper grammar. “How about you? How did you sleep?”

  “Good. Well,” she said, correcting her
self. “I slept well. Did you sleep well, Daxon?” she asked in that little voice of hers. At least she was no longer spitting food everywhere when she spoke.

  “I did,” he said, waving off the creamer Ryanne offered.

  She didn’t know his back and knees were stiff from sleeping on the ground. It would have been much more comfortable if they’d Shifted and slept in their animal form. But he had enjoyed having her bare ass pressed against his crotch all night.

  Ryanne and Daxon listened as Penny rattled on about a dream she had and what she wanted to do for the day. Every once in a while, Ryanne would catch Daxon watching her and would wink. She knew what he was thinking. There was no way she couldn’t. After marking each other and her promises she’d made outside, he could barely think of anything other than what had to happen later that night.

  And it definitely had to happen. He was pretty sure he’d go blind from jerking off if it didn’t.

  “Your eyes are glowing,” Penny whispered as though she didn’t want anyone else to know.

  “Yeah. Sorry about that,” he said, rubbing his eyes with his finger and thumb like he could make the glow fade.

  Ryanne tried to hide the smile behind her mug, but she couldn’t hide the chuckle.

  “I’ll get you back,” he whispered as preternaturally low as possible. It worked because Penny didn’t bat an eye at his comment.

  That was a promise and one he couldn’t wait to make good on. He wanted to tease her until she begged him for what she really wanted. He wanted her squirming under his hands and –

  “Daxon,” Ryanne whispered, widening her eyes at him.

  Shit. His eyes had to be super bright now. And his dick was stiff in his jeans. He’d have to sit there a while so he didn’t scar Penny for life.

  “Can we play outside today?” Penny asked.

  “Sure,” Ryanne answered.

  “Can you play with us?” she asked Daxon.

  He looked down at the little girl with her bright blue eyes and messy blonde hair. For a second, he wondered what his own child would look like. He knew she or he wouldn’t have blonde hair or blue eyes. Neither he nor Ryanne had an animal with blue eyes. And with Ryanne’s darker skin and hair and Daxon’s dark hair, they definitely wouldn’t have a blonde baby.