by Eve Langlais
“Stop playing,” she growled. “And fuck me.”
“As my lady commands.” Hoisting her up by the cheeks, automatically her legs wrapped around his waist, her damp panties pressing against his lower stomach while his shaft nudged against the crease of her ass. He pressed her back against the wall to brace her as one of his hands slid under her, rubbing against the moist fabric.
“So wet, baby,” he whispered. “Wet for me. Do you want me? Do you want this?”
The hard length of his cock see-sawed across her covered cleft and she whimpered, lust stealing her ability to speak actual words.
Ripping fabric barely registered over the sound of their panting, but she noticed immediately the scorching difference when he rubbed himself against her, the silken skin of his dick slick with her juices.
“Fuck me,” she begged.
“Until you come hard and scream,” he promised then he slammed his cock home. A yell emerged from her, a savage cry of satisfaction as he pumped her, his curved length filling her, satisfying her in a way she’d never known. Clenching tight around him, she plastered him with passionate kisses, sucking his tongue into her mouth and swallowing his groans of pleasure.
Inside her head, her wolf spun, making demands that Francine wasn’t ready for yet. Ordering her to claim this man. It revived her enough to say in a breathless voice, “No marking.” Even if all she wanted to do was bite him all over and show the world he belonged to her.
“Not tonight. But you will be mine,” he growled, pistoning her faster. Gripping her ass cheeks, he thrust even harder into her, the rough friction making her squeeze tight as her pleasure coiled tighter and tighter.
Something, a sound that didn’t involve fucking, a smell out of place, made her open her eyes, eyes blurred with passion. Framed in her doorway stood Mitchell and he watched their frantic coupling with feverish eyes. He caught her staring at him, but instead of leaving or interrupting, he cupped himself, squeezing his hard bulge.
It proved too much. Her head went back and she screamed as her orgasm swept her over the edge. And still Alejandro pumped her, his slick prick slamming home, again and again, triggering a second orgasm that made her body arch in a taut bow, so intensely did it race through her. Her channel spasmed tight around him and he yelled as he came, his cream spurting into her hotly.
Spent, she could only lie in his arms limply, their harsh breathing mixing. When he shifted to improve his grip and carry her upstairs, she peered at her front door and saw it closed. Mitchell gone. Or never here to begin with. But she didn’t have time to analyze reality from imagination as Alejandro began kissing her again, murmuring, “My sweet Francine.”
The awe and affection in his voice humbled her. But not as much as the fact his semi-hard cock still buried inside her began to thicken again. A man with stamina. How perfect because Francine was far from done with her big cat. And if this is to be our only time together, I better make it count. Because despite his pretty words, she still couldn’t quite believe he wouldn’t leave and move on to greener pastures.
* * * *
Mitchell panted, his head bowed over the steering column of his car. Inside his pants, his cock throbbed, aching and ready to forget his misgivings and take what Francine had offered him for so long. What he’d now lost in his stubborn refusal to recognize the prize before his very eyes. The woman who made no bones that she wanted him, and when rejected, turned to another.
He’d not meant to walk in on their lovemaking. Although, a part of him knew what he’d see when he approached her partially ajar front door, the soft sounds of her moans and the fleshy slap of bodies fucking too blatant for him to not decipher. It didn’t stop him from entering. Coming across her, pinned against the wall, her legs wrapped around Alejandro’s flanks, his taut buttocks pumping while she clung to him, her fingers digging into his skin, should have sent him into a rage. Embarrassed him at the very least. Instead, it made him rock hard. Unable to tear himself away, he’d watched as the cat gave the woman he couldn’t erase anymore from his mind what he didn’t dare. Alejandro made love to her, fucked her with sensual intensity, and she enjoyed every hard thrust of it.
When she opened her eyes and saw him, her lids heavy with passion, he expected her to yell at him to get out or to tell Alejandro. She did neither. Instead, she held his gaze, the invitation to join them so damned clear.
He almost did. His hand even reached down to cup himself, stroke his turgid member through his pants. As if the sight of his excitement were too much, she’d come with a long scream that made his balls tighten and almost shoot their load.
In those seconds, he almost forgot his aversion to the cat, his trepidation over being with his sister’s best friend, and even the fear of the commitment she offered. For more than a fleeting moment, he wanted, with an intensity that shocked him, to belong to her, whether as part of a threesome or not. He could even so easily imagine taking turns with the seducer, pleasuring her lusty body, muffling her cries with his cock as Alejandro took her from behind. Erotic images that stunned him and sent him fleeing.
Not ready. Frightened.
His emotions swirled inside him, a cacophony of sensations that made him sit in his car, unable to move while he fought to regain control. It didn’t help that his wolf nipped at the edges of his mind, demanding to know why they didn’t go back to mark the female, to stake their claim.
But mating with Francine had taken on a whole new dimension. Claiming her also meant accepting the cat. It meant sharing a woman, a home, possibly even a bed. Could he handle that? Probably not given each time he saw the bastard, he wanted to wipe the smug look off his face with his fist.
He needed advice, but who could he turn to? His mother, who clawed the face of the last female bitch who thought to grab her mate’s ass? His brothers, whose solution would probably rhyme with beat the crap out of? He did know one person, make that two actually, who would possibly understand what he went through. Who could maybe explain how they managed to share without turning his sister’s house into a war zone. But given the late hour, it would have to wait until morning.
Amped up on emotion, and hornier than a fucking bunny in heat, Mitchell made it home, but sat in his car instead of going inside. Indoors, he’d just wander restlessly or toss and turn. If he woke his mother, she’d pry the uncomfortable truth from him, or cuff him upside the head. Neither scenario appealed.
The serenity of the forest called him along with the mindless peace he knew he’d find in letting his beast free for a run. Stripping, he placed his clothes on the passenger seat of his car and got out. Naked, he stretched, enjoying the cool night air on his body. Then clenching his teeth, he shifted, letting the animal mind that resided within him bound forth and take control.
As his wolf emerged, which involved a painful cracking and re-shaping of limbs, his senses grew even sharper. The myriad scents of the outside filtered themselves into identifiable things like grass, rubber, a wandering coon…and a female bear?
Cocking his head, he sniffed, sucking in a deep lungful, trying to figure out why the scent appeared so odd. He could tell right off that the scent didn’t belong to a shapeshifter, the human overtone that melded with a shifter’s animal odor a distinctive marker. And yet, he knew for a fact no bears roamed these parts. No large predators did given they’d claimed the forested tract behind the strip of houses as shapeshifter land. Natural creatures smartly stayed away, or had in the past, which made the odd-smelling bear’s presence beyond strange.
Putting his nose to the ground, Mitchell followed the trail, growing more baffled as it led to the base of a tree across from his sister’s house. Sure, bears climbed them, but not big sows, and not without leaving marks. The bark didn’t show any of the deep gouges from claws he’d expect to see. A glimpse up showed him nothing but shadows.
Circling the base of the large oak, sniffing to see if he’d tracked wrong, he froze as he heard a whisper of sound from above him. Peering up, he dove sidew
ays as he caught a glint of metal. Bang!
The shot grazed past his shoulder, taking hair and a sliver of skin with it, the gouge burning like hell. Fuck. Not a bear, but something worse. A hunter.
Snarling, and unable to shift because the human might see, Mitchell began to howl in warning, knowing either his brother’s or Naomi’s mates would come running. Lights flicked on and as doors opened. A second shot went whizzing past, burying itself in the dirt in front of his paw. Mitchell darted sideways, barking to draw help to him, not stupid enough to think he was a match for a gun shot at close range by an asshole in a tree. A third shot buried itself in his side, and he yipped at the fiery pain, almost missing the sound of feet hitting the ground. Agony or not, he whipped around with a snarl in time to see a shadow running away. He limped after the hunter, but the pain proved excruciating, and inexplicable. He’d suffered worse before.
As he slumped to the ground, he heard the sound of animals baying and running footsteps. Then, the more disturbing sound of an engine starting and tires spinning.
But he found it hard to care that his prey escaped as he passed out.
Chapter Eight
A feathery touch tickled down Francine’s spine, and she squirmed to make it stop. It lightly stroked her again, and she grunted as she rolled onto her back to stop it. A warm hand landed on her bare breast, cupping it, and she froze, her next breath halted. Oh my God, he’s still here. The realization both warmed her and sent a chill of fear through her because she didn’t know what to do.
She’d not exactly expected Alejandro to disappear like Houdini before she woke, but she’d never expected to wake up beside him. While she’d had boyfriends in the past, short term ones, she’d never had one spend the night. At a loss as to what she should do, she kept her eyes clamped tight and tried to breathe shallowly lest he discover her less than pleasant morning breath.
“You’re not very good at faking sleep,” Alejandro said wryly, squeezing her breast before rolling her nipple between his fingers.
With a gasp, her eyes flew open, and she saw him propped on one elbow staring down at her while his other hand continued to palpate her breast.
“Um, hi. I didn’t expect to see you.”
A frown tightened his lips. “I told you I wouldn’t leave.”
At his disgruntled tone, she hurried to explain. “That came out wrong. It’s not that I expected you to run off at the crack of dawn, it’s just,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “no one’s ever spent the whole night with me before.” A blush heated its way up her cheeks as she admitted it.
“Probably because you steal the blankets and hate to cuddle,” he retorted, diluting his rebuke with a smile and squeeze of her boob.
“I like to cuddle. Well, I do when I’m awake anyway.”
“I’ll test that claim later, but I can tell you right now when you sleep, it’s on your stomach, clutching your pillow, and every time I touched you, you elbowed me. At one point, you even kicked me.”
She could only grin sheepishly. “Oops. Sorry, I guess I’m not used to sharing.”
“Well, get used to it, baby, because while I don’t have much experience sleeping with someone either, I’d like to start doing it with you. But…” He released her breast to wag a finger at her. “I also don’t want to wake up freezing on a sliver of mattress, looking for something to hold on to for fear of falling on the floor.”
“Whiner.”
“Brat.”
They grinned at each other and laughed. He dropped a kiss on her nose, but she cringed anyway. “Toothbrush first.”
“I’ve already brushed,” he admitted. “I’ll go make breakfast while you take care of yourself. You need to get ready for work, and since I’m going to be sticking around, I need to start looking for a job.”
“Really? You’re serious about staying even though I wouldn’t let you claim me?”
He flicked her nipple and she yelped. “You are really asking for a spanking. I meant what I said and as far as I’m concerned, I claimed you all right, baby. It might have only been your body last night, but I’m pretty sure I’ve already got my hooks in your heart, which just means I need to win your trust. And that starts with me putting down some roots.”
Biting her lip, she fought not to throw herself on him and kiss him silly. She’d probably kill him with her morning dragon breath if she did. But once she did wash herself up, he was in for a big smackeroo. And if she had time before work, a BJ too. “Sounds good. Now get that sweet ass of yours moving. I thought I heard the mention of breakfast and after last night’s workout, I am starved.” She winked and he groaned.
“Gonna kill me for sure. Wasn’t three times enough, baby? A man’s only got so much stamina.”
She grinned. “Buy some vitamins if you can’t keep up. I’m a lusty girl. Get used to it.”
“My pleasure.” He gave her nipple one last tweak before rolling off the bed and strutting off in nothing but skin, glorious tanned skin that felt so freakn’ good against hers.
Humming to herself, she showered and brushed her teeth, getting ready for work in record time, still determined to indulge in a morning quickie before she had to leave. Skipping down the stairs, she grinned at the smell of bacon. I could get used to this. Used to him. He brought her to heaven last night, more than once, and she’d never felt better or happier. She never wanted the pleasurable glow he gave her last night to fade.
Entering the kitchen, she found her sexy cat flipping French toast in a frying pan, still naked.
“Aren’t you afraid of burning some important parts?” she asked, munching on a strip of bacon while watching him move, hunger of a different sort making her body warm.
Hooded eyes met hers. “Don’t worry, baby. I won’t let anything harm me and get in the way of your pleasure.”
Laughter bubbled from her as she went around to the sink to wash her hands of the grease. Arms bracketed her, and she turned to find Alejandro’s face hovering only an inch away. “Morning. Can I get a kiss now?”
She pretended to think about it, and laughed as his hands bracketed her waist and pulled her to him. “Brat.” He crushed his mouth to hers, and she sighed against him as, that easily, her arousal came roaring back to enflame her.
Lifting her, he seated her on the lip of the sink, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as she sucked his tongue into her mouth, enjoying his low growl of pleasure.
“I’m going to burn your breakfast,” he murmured into her mouth before sliding his lips down to nibble at her jawline.
“I’m sure I could find something else to eat,” she quipped, threading her fingers into his hair and yanking him back up to kiss her again. Things got pretty hot after that with their lips fused and her hips gyrating as she dry humped his hard cock, now cursing herself for dressing before she came down.
Glass shattered and she vaguely wondered what they’d broken in their impromptu romp just as a sharp sting in her back made her cry out.
“Francine!” Alejandro’s frantic yell came through white noise that roared in her ears. She tried to gather herself to answer, but found herself coughing instead, fluid bubbling at her lips. The world tilted as he pulled her down below the level of the counter, repeating the word “shit” over and over.
“Where’s the fucking phone?” he growled as he cradled her in his arms, his tone panicked.
“Wall,” she muttered, the word emerging out as sluggish sounding as she felt. “What happened? I feel funny. Kind of cold and numb.” She had to force each syllable past a tongue gone thick, and she blinked as her vision blurred.
“Someone shot you,” he said, his voice low and tight. If she didn’t know better, she would have said her affable cat was pissed-and scared. She found it hard to concentrate on anything with the ice spreading through her body. He laid her down gently on her stomach, and she almost welcomed the cold tile floor on her cheek because at least she could feel it.
Alejandro scooted to the wall to grab the p
hone. He yanked it down and scurried back to her while punching in numbers furiously. Her eyelids fluttered shut. A tap on her cheek made her open them.
“Stay with me, baby. I’m going to get you some help. Answer the fucking phone,” he yelled when whomever he called didn’t immediately pick up. “Javier, about fucking time you answered. He shot her. What do you mean who? Francine, you idiot. In the fucking back. I need help. Now! I think he used silver.”
Silver? Well that sucked. Who wanted her dead? Shapeshifters could heal from a lot of things, but silver interfered with that ability. And that’s not good. Because she now knew the spreading numbness meant she’d gotten hit bad.
She wanted to tell Alejandro, whose face hovered over hers fixed in a mask of devastation, that everything would be okay, but her lashes fluttered as darkness sucked her down.
* * * *
Helplessness. What an awful feeling, and one Alejandro never experienced before. It bothered him as much as the fear that gripped him when he thought of Francine not recovering. No! She has to get better. I won’t let her die.
Alejandro paced in front of the door that hid him from Francine and the doctor they called to take care of her. The ride to Naomi’s house with Francine pale and unconscious would haunt him forever. He’d not wanted to move her initially, but he feared even more her bleeding out from the silver embedded in her flesh, so he agreed to meet the physician at Naomi’s house, which cut their travel time in half.
Borrowing Francine’s car, he sped all the way, and said a prayer of thanks no cops stopped him on his way. Arriving in a squeal of tires at his brother’s place, he almost cried in relief when he saw the doctor already there. Hands shaking, he feared moving the pale bundle in the back seat. Ethan pushed him aside and gently carried Francine inside, closeting her in the master bedroom for the physician to work on. The big Kodiak got shooed out by an ashen-faced Naomi who shook her head at Alejandro when he would have followed her inside.