by Selina Woods
Iliana didn’t look around, and her steps quickened. The shifters didn’t strike me as my enforcers, as they lacked the cruel arrogance that never failed to mark them as one of my crew. In addition, these two had strange lightning bolt tattoos on their left cheeks, and as far as I knew, my people didn’t have anything like that.
“Are they still there?” Iliana asked without glancing around.
I sensed their eyes on my back. “Yeah.”
“Do you know who they are?” she asked, remarkably calm. “Could they be enforcers who might be pissed you killed that guy?”
“I don’t think they’re enforcers,” I replied, grateful and pleased she wasn’t near panic. “They have strange tattoos on their faces.”
Iliana glanced up. “And you don’t recognize them?”
“Nope.”
As we walked, I looked across the street at the reflections in the glass of the storefronts. Sure enough, the pair slouched lazily as they strode along behind us, yet they carried the air of experienced predators. I could easily confront them, and perhaps lead into a fight, but I wouldn’t risk Iliana’s safety. I felt it best to get her back to the Headmaster and behind walls, and I doubted they would try anything once we were inside.
We reached the restaurant just as dusk set in, and I watched through the windows as the pair went on by without giving the place a second glance. I wanted to believe they weren’t following us, but heading in the same direction we did, but I didn’t.
“They’re gone,” Iliana murmured, also watching.
“For the moment.”
The last diners paid their checks and made their way out the door as the staff quickly cleaned the tables and floors as well as the kitchen. They then grabbed coats and also left, leaving just the three of us as Hyde pulled the shutters closed and turned off the lights.
“Can you stay with her for a while, Griffin?” Hyde asked me. “If it’s not an imposition.”
“Not at all,” I answered with a grin. “Just as long as we can fix something to eat.”
“I figured you’d be hungry,” he said, gesturing toward the kitchen as he, too, donned his coat, “so I made sure the cooks left you something. They’re warming in the oven.”
“Great,” Iliana said as she gave him a quick kiss and a hug. “How long will you be gone?”
“No more than a couple of hours. Thanks, Griffin.”
He left, and I heard his key lock the rear door, then I followed Iliana into the kitchen. “What did he leave us?”
I eyed her firm ass as she bent to open an oven door. “Looks like fried chicken with barbequed ribs.”
“Sounds great.”
I pulled beers out of the refrigerator and took them to the table while she pulled the hot plates from the oven. The plates were certainly stacked high with food, and we both ate with ravenous appetites. “Where does your old man go?” I asked, my mouth full of hot meat.
“I have no idea,” she replied, chewing on a rib bone. “He won’t tell me, and says its none of my business when I ask.”
“Is that weird?”
Iliana shrugged, her huge blue eyes on mine. “Not really, I guess. He likes keeping secrets and doesn’t want to worry me.”
Whether she did or not, I found Hyde’s leaving on mysterious errands, with Iliana left alone before I came into the picture, very odd indeed. “And he leaves you by yourself?”
She waved her hand at the restaurant around us. “This place is almost a fortress. If that lion hadn’t hidden like he did, he’d have never gotten in here.”
“True enough, I suppose.”
“And now with my protector with me, I’m safe enough.”
Unless I get myself killed.
We finished eating, and I helped her clean up the dishes. Taking me by the hand, she led me toward the back of the restaurant to a small sitting room with a couple of chairs and a couch. Books lay in stacks on the tables, and I guessed she spent a great deal of her time in there.
I picked up a book and glanced at it. “You enjoy reading?”
“I do.” Iliana sat on the couch. “The stories take me places where I can never go. It’s almost like an escape from the evils of the world we live in.”
I felt reluctant to tell her, but I was barely literate. The orphanage hadn’t been very good on the teaching part of raising little kids and merely kept a roof over our heads and food on the table. There was a great deal of fighting going on, and it was the place where I nearly killed a kid much older than me. That event got me kicked into the streets when I was eight.
Iliana patted the empty spot on the couch beside her. “Come here.”
I put the book down and obeyed, my mind naturally roaming to the fact that we were very much alone and there was much potential for hanky panky. Being a horny male, my mind roved to the possibility of getting her naked, but I also suspected she had never had sex before. Nor would I push the issue if she said no.
By the way she twisted on the couch to half lay across my lap to kiss me, I figured the word no was the furthest thing from her mind. Her hands behind my head pulled me down to her, and her mouth opened under the slightest pressure from my tongue. My arousal grew as we explored one another’s mouths.
My shaft grew hard in my jeans, and her weight on it only fueled the fires of my lust. Still, I had to make sure this was what she wanted. I broke my lips from hers, and, breathing raggedly, looked into her beautiful face.
“Is this what you want?” I asked, my voice thick.
She leaned her forehead against mine, her hands behind my neck. “Yeah,” she whispered.
“Have you ever—done it before?”
Her lips quirked upward. “Nope.”
“Then maybe we should wait until we know one another better.”
Lifting her head, her smile faded. “And how often will we find a way to be alone? I sure don’t want to make love with my dad in the other room.”
I didn’t either. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.”
Iliana straightened and crossed her arms to pull her shirt up over her head. Taking my hands, she placed them on her pleasantly round and perky boobs. “Want to back out now?”
I cleared my throat. “No.”
With her still on my lap, I leaned forward to take my shirt off, my shaft throbbing painfully. Our chests pressed against each other, I kissed her again, her skin like silk under my fingers. I slid my hands up and down her firm waist, then under her tight ass. Her weight was as nothing as I stood up, her arms locked around my neck as we continued to kiss.
Bending over, I lay Iliana on the couch, my fingers working at the button and zipper of her jeans. Hers were at my crotch at the same task, her huge eyes on mine with clear lust and desire in them. I undid her jeans first and slid them down her legs. Pulling my own off, I stood beside her as she ran her hand up and down the length of my staff.
“It’s so big,” she whispered. “Soft, and yet hard as a rock.”
“I’m so scared I’ll hurt you.”
Her eyes turned up to mine. “I trust you, Griffin.”
As the couch wasn’t very big at all, there was no room to lie side by side. I gently lay on top of her, keeping most of my weight on my arm and knees, and did not try to enter her yet. She spread her legs as I kissed her, my free stroking down her flat belly to her mound. Iliana gasped as my fingers toyed and teased her button, which swelled under my attentions.
I dipped my finger into her tunnel, finding her wet and slick with her arousal, but I knew she was far from ready. Crouching over her, I kissed and licked her nipples, hearing her soft moans of pleasure, her hands restless in my hair. Aching with the need to plunge deep into her, I forced myself to go slow, to arouse her fully. I knew how easily I could tear her fragile tissues and make her first time an experience of agony rather than pleasure.
Kissing her again, I once more played with her button, feeling the low vibration of the growl in her throat. Pulling back, I grinned down into her face. �
��You ready?”
“Stop teasing me,” she groaned.
Spreading her legs wider with my knees, I pushed the head of my shaft into her entrance, then backed off. As I gazed into her eyes, I thrust in a tiny way, working my way slowly into her. “Am I hurting you?”
“No.” Iliana threw her head back and closed her eyes. “It feels wonderful.”
I backed out and pushed in deeper, closing my own eyes to enjoy the sensations of her tight mound clamped down hard on my shaft. Slowly, yet steadily, I thrust my way in, feeling her walls spreading to accept my invasion. At last, I was buried into her all the way.
Kissing her jaws, her throat, her lips, I muttered, “You okay?”
“Yeah.”
Gliding in and out on her slick moisture, I increased my pace, withdrawing to plunge in, then out. My pleasure soared with every thrust; my breath quickened; my shaft throbbed with desire. Under me, Iliana moaned, her fingers dug deep into my back. Lowering my head without missing a beat, I kissed her, my tongue driving both of us to greater heights of passion.
“Yes, yes,” Iliana groaned, sweating lightly, her hips bucking upward to meet my downward thrusts.
We hit a nice rhythm, increasing our mutual pleasure, and I neared my climax. It built up in a crescendo, but I hoped to hold it off until Iliana reached her own peak of pleasure. I gasped, my orgasm creeping up on me, and I knew I would fail.
Suddenly, Iliana cried out, her head thrown back, her mound convulsing as her orgasm triggered mine. I blasted deep into her, my head spinning under the force of my ecstasy. I groaned deep in my throat, my shaft quivering as I slowed my thrusts to extend the pleasure for as long as possible.
At last, spent, I rested on her body, her arms around my neck. “That was great,” she muttered in my ear. “I’d heard the first time for a girl can really hurt.”
“I tried not to.”
Her teeth nibbled my ear. “You succeeded in turning me into a nympho. Now I’ll always want sex.”
Cleaned up and dressed again, I lay on the couch watching Iliana read. She looked so peaceful and beautiful under the light of the lamp, her hair shining an almost blue shade, it was so black. I felt an emotion deep within me, the stirrings of something I had never experienced before. I’m falling in love with her. Even with knowing her for only a few days, it seemed as though a lifetime had passed since I first saw her.
“I know you’re watching me,” she said without looking up from her book.
“Can’t help it. You’re my eye candy.”
Iliana grinned. “You’re easy on the eyes, too.”
“Yeah? I always thought I was uglier than a mud fence.”
Turning a page, she said, “Nope. When you winked at me that day we met, I thought you were the finest-looking lion I had ever seen.”
“I’ll have to wink at you more then.”
Her eyes flicked at me over the top of the book, and I winked at her. Iliana dissolved into a fit of giggles, and I think I just sank deeper into love at the sound. Her gaze passed up and beyond me, and her laughter halted. I knew then we were no longer alone.
“I’m back,” Hyde said, stepping up and gazing down at me. “What are you doing?”
Busy falling in love with your daughter. “Winking at her just so she’ll laugh.”
“Oh. Hmm.” He eyed me for a moment, and I wondered if he knew what we had been doing before he returned. “I’ll take her home now.”
I yawned. “I reckon I’ll head on back to my place, then.”
“I can give you a ride,” he offered, but I shook my head as I sat up.
“Too many night stalkers out there to risk you driving Iliana around,” I replied, and stood up.
“But what about you?” she asked, setting her book aside. “They can attack you, too, you know.”
“Don’t worry about me. I have a few tricks I can pull, and I don’t have you to protect, so I can run fast if I have to.”
Iliana eyed me doubtfully but didn’t argue as we followed Hyde out of the sitting room, turning off lights. In the alley, I shivered under the cold wind as they got into the truck and drove away. Shifting into my lion form, I trotted in the opposite direction and hit the street. Under the moonlight and the stars, the city dead-looking without lights or life, I loped toward what was once the richer part of town and the penthouse.
I kept my nose and ears working for any evidence of danger waiting to pounce, yet heard and scented nothing. No shadows from alleys came to life to attack me, and I found yet again that sense of freedom that only running on four legs brought me.
My instincts warned me I was being followed.
Ducking down a side street, I put on a burst of speed, made two left turns around the block, then flattened myself onto my belly in the shadows. The two big lions loped past me without noticing I was there and continued on. Suspecting they were the two from earlier in the day, I crossed the street behind them and galloped fast through the side avenues.
Keeping an eye on my rear, as well as either side of me, I paused often to hide, watch, and listen. Then I’d lope on, trying to stay to the shadows and the side streets, always heading toward the penthouse. I refused to regret ditching my guards, for they certainly would have put a damper on my budding love life. The streets remained dark and silent, and I didn’t even hear the usual night sounds, like a dog barking in the distance, or the rodents rustling for garbage.
That bothered me a great deal, as I often roamed the night and always heard some small sounds of life. This night I did not, and because of that lack, I stayed hypervigilant. For the next thirty minutes or so, I noted nothing dangerous. Still, my instincts wouldn’t let me relax, and I almost wished I had taken Hyde up on his offer to drive me home.
They came out of the shadows on both sides of me.
A pack containing a lion and three wolves. I saw the movement from the corner of my eyes and reacted as a deer would, rather than a lion. I bolted. Not bothering to cast a glance back over my shoulder, I did hear them slam into one another, roars, growls, and curses combined with the sounds of bodies striking one another.
I knew I’d never win a fight against four of them, even if three were wolves. While my courage and pride wanted me to fight, my better sense told me that fleeing was the best option at the moment. If they managed to get me down, I knew exactly what would happen to me. So, I ran as though the devil himself were behind me.
I knew they chased me, for I clearly heard their snarls and growls, their taunts. “Look at ‘im run,” and, “cowardly lion,” as well as, “we’ll get you, my pretty,” reached my ears. Had there been only two of the drugged-out lunatics, I would have fought them. Getting caught between four of them, well, I knew the odds weren’t good enough to risk it.
On I ran, down the middle of the roads, heading for the turnpike that would lead me to the neighborhood I lived in. I was young and I was fit, and they had abused their bodies with the drugs for far too many years. It wasn’t long before their snarls turned to gasps for breath, and I grinned to myself. I just need to outlast them.
They started to fall behind, but still chased me, and that led to my confusion. “Why haven’t they given up?” I shot a glance behind, and saw they were still there, gasping, the wolves’ tongues flopping from the sides of their jaws but determined to catch me. “Maybe they’re too horny for good sense.” Or maybe they know who I am.
I wasn’t worried. I grew closer to my penthouse, and the guards armed with high powered rifles. As long as they recognize me before they start shooting. A lion galloping at top speed toward them would no doubt set them on edge. When I got within a half a block of my penthouse, I began to roar.
“It’s me,” I bellowed at the top of my lungs. “It’s Griffin. Shoot them. Shoot them.”
Chapter Seven
I repeated my yells and saw ahead of me my guards running toward me, raising their guns. In case they didn’t believe it really was me charging toward them, I broke sharp left just as they fire
d. Sharp howls and cries of pain spun me around, clawing for purchase on the concrete. My guards kept firing, not at me but at the four night stalkers who thrashed and yelped as the bullets tore into them.
Panting, I watched as the lion and three wolves collapsed, a few paws twitching, and the guns fell silent.
I walked toward the guards as they lowered their rifles, watching me approach. About a dozen of them, they stared, their expressions tight, and I knew I had pissed them off. I not only gave them the slip, but nearly got myself killed because I didn’t invite any of them along.
The building’s doors opened, and Brand, followed by several more of my bodyguards, ran toward me. Brand glanced down the street at the dead bodies, then at me. His expression of fury actually warmed my heart.
“Griffin,” he snapped, “what have I told you about leaving without your bodyguards? Dammit, look! You nearly got yourself killed.”
I felt like a kid being scolded by my parent for sneaking from the house at night. “Yeah, well, sorry, guys,” I said, catching my breath. “I sorta met a girl, and having you guys along really put a damper on the romance part of things.”
Brand and the bodyguards weren’t mollified one bit. “I don’t care, Griffin,” Brand growled. “They are to protect you, with or without a new squeeze. They can give you enough privacy while still watching your back.”
I sat down on my haunches, my tail flicking back and forth, actually enjoying their anger. “All right,” I said at last. “I’ll stop ditching you. But if I need you to back off a little, you back off. Right?”
Brand continued to glare while I heard murmurs of, “Yes, sir,” from the guards. Shaking his head, Brand gestured for me to accompany him into the building, and I was having too much fun to remind him of who the boss really was. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you,” he said as we walked side by side into the grand foyer.
I shifted into my human as we reached the elevators, and I dug the key from my pocket. I unlocked the elevator and punched the button to call the car. “The drug manufacturer?”
“Yeah.” He was still mad as we got into the car, and the doors hissed closed.