by Elisabeth Naughton, Cynthia Eden, Katie Reus, Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright, Joan Swan
“Come, Miss Julia,” Parish said, turning and leading her toward the door. “You think what you saw today at midday meal and out your window was beautiful, you haven’t seen anything yet.”
* * *
She felt like heaven on his back.
The weight of her, the way her thighs gripped the sides of his body. And her hands, fisting the fur at his nape as he ran the familiar course, weaving in and out of trees with the warm bayou air against his face.
Damn, he could get used to this.
Several feet from the bluff, his puma came to a halt. For one exceptional moment, he looked out over his sacred space and purred as Julia leaned down, wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. He’d never brought anyone here. It was the secret hideout he and Keira had spent hours playing in as cubs, then the home Parish had created after she’d left. No…after she’d been murdered. A mile from anything Pantera, anything that wanted to talk, lecture or demand, the caves had been his solace. While the scent of the bayou, the sharpness of the rocks, and even the intensity of the heat had become his family. He’d never needed more than that to feel whole, never craved more.
Until now.
Until her.
Parish allowed Julia a moment to slide off his back, then quickly shifted and walked to the very edge of the bluff. As was his daily custom, he took a visual inventory of each curve of rugged hillside and the caves above, the heavy vegetation that hung from the rocks and dipped gently into the warm water of the bayou pool below. He sensed nothing unusual or threatening, and his muscles relaxed.
“Incredible,” Julia said behind him, her tone awestruck.
Glancing over his shoulder, Parish eyed her with just a hint of playful arrogance. “Me or the landscape?”
She smiled. “You within the landscape.”
“Thank you for that.” He smiled back and reached for her hand. When she instantly curled her fingers around his, his cat purred. Her touch did what nothing else could: comforted him, made him feel something remarkably close to happiness.
Keeping her protectively at his side, Parish led her down the incline to the grassy bank near the pool. The scent of bayou coated the insides of his nostrils, and he breathed it deeper into his lungs.
“I’m not sure of the reason,” he said. “But the water here is incredibly warm.”
“And clear.”
“And remarkably free of critters.”
She laughed. “Do you bathe in it?”
He turned. “I do.”
Her eyes flashed with sensual interest. “I thought cats weren’t supposed to like the water.”
“I’m not your typical cat.”
“Really?”
He nodded.
“Prove it.”
His eyebrows lifted. “You want me to go in the water? Bathe in your presence?”
She pretended to think for a moment, then she smiled. “Yes, I believe I do.”
He chuckled. “Fine, but you’re going with me.”
“What?” A choked giggle erupted from her as he slid one arm around her back and another under her knees. “No. Wait.”
He lifted her up and started walking into the water. “Don’t struggle, Doc. I might drop you.”
“Okay, okay,” she said, laughing, kicking her feet. “You called my bluff.”
“Never dare a Pantera.” He waded farther in.
“Come on, bring me back.”
“You want me wet and I want you—”
“Parish!” she cried out in shock.
He stopped, the water swirling around his waist, his entire body tense as he gazed down at her. “What did you call me?”
“Parish,” she said, this time with a wave of heat attached to each syllable. She bit her bottom lip, suppressing a giggle.
He lowered his head and lapped at that bottom lip with his tongue. “Oh, Doc,” he uttered. “I warned you what would happen the next time you said my name like that.”
Her eyes flashed. “Yes, you did.”
His mouth closed over hers, hard and hungry, and he groaned with the instant and incredible feel of her soft, wet lips. She could drive him insane with just her scent, her warm breath. He suckled her bottom lip, then nipped it, and when she whispered his name again and pressed herself closer, he thrust his tongue inside her hot mouth and claimed her.
Christ, how did he tell her?
How did he form the words, then release them?
How did he make her understand when he himself barely did? She didn’t live in his world or understand how things were when a Pantera male claimed a female.
How could he explain to her that there was no going back? That she belonged to him now.
His hands gripped her thighs and waist as he caressed her tongue with his own, then plunged it deep inside her mouth, over and over until they were both panting. There. See how much I want you, Julia Cabot. Understand that you are mine.
Water splashed as she suddenly struggled in his arms, trying to turn, reposition herself. When she faced him, her legs wrapping around his waist and squeezing, Parish growled and caged her ass in his palms as he took her mouth again. Fuck. She was wet. And not just from the splash of the warm bayou water around them. He could feel her damp pussy through the fabric of her jeans. It ground against him, calling to his rigid cock, begging to be filled, fed. And he wanted to oblige. He wanted take her, rip her clothes from her body and sink himself balls-deep into her tight, tender flesh.
Just the thought of it made him mad with lust. He’d never wanted anything or anyone like he wanted her. The intensity of his desire almost frightened him.
He ripped his mouth from hers and nuzzled her neck, ran his sharp canines gently across her pounding pulse.
“Parish?” she uttered on a moan.
He lapped at her pulse, wondered what her blood would taste like. “Hmmmm?”
She gasped, pressed her breasts against his chest. “You said this pool was free of critters.”
“Mmmmmm…Yes…”
“Then…what’s that behind you?”
His mind came awake like a shock of electricity. He drew back from her neck and whirled around, coming face to face with a small alligator. The thing was only about two feet long, but it was packing a set of impressively sharp teeth. Protective of his woman, his puma rose to the surface and growled, flashing the small creature his own set of sharp and deadly hardware. The alligator instantly turned around and swam the other way.
“Damn reptile,” Parish grumbled, still gripping Julia’s sweet ass as he carried her to shore. His body screamed with need, his cock hard as stone and pulsing. But he wasn’t risking another encounter with sharp teeth.
Other than his own.
If she was willing.
His puma purred at the thought. For a second, he wondered about taking her to the caves above, where he lived and slept. But it didn’t seem right, didn’t feel like the proper place to take the female he intended on claiming as his mate. Not for their first time together, anyway. He had enough cold, hard stone to deal with as it was.
At the bank, he gently eased her to her feet and tried to get his mind to focus on something else, something that would make his cock calm the hell down. But one look her way, one brief trip down her body, had the thing creaming at the tip.
Wet clothes clinging to delectable hips, round succulent breasts and erect nipples.
Fuck.
He grabbed her hand and started up the incline to the bluff. “Sun’s going down. We should get back.” His tone was nearly a growl. “Natty’ll have my hide if I bring you home late for supper.”
“Can’t have that.” The thread of unfulfilled desire in her tone was unmistakable.
Parish cursed inwardly. “Nope.”
“You’re probably hungry.”
You have no idea, Doc.
“Parish?” she said as they reached the top of the hill.
“Yeah.”
“Was that magic?”
His head came around, and h
is eyes met her hers. “What?”
She looked disheveled in the sexiest of ways: pink cheeked, and eyes wide and heavy with lust. “Not the alligator or your shift, but what happened in the pool, between us. Was that magic?”
Parish felt his heart squeeze inside his chest. “No, Doc.” He drew her closer. “That was so much more.” That was just the beginning.
Before he took her right there on the bluff, he shifted back into his puma, then waited for her to climb onto his back and fist his fur. He couldn’t wait much longer to have her. When the moon rose and stole the bayou heat, she’d lie beneath him, and she wouldn’t just be speaking his name. She’d be screaming it.
His puma roared into the coming eve and he took off into the trees.
Chapter Six
DINNER had been fantastic. Or at least Julia assumed it had. Her plate was clean, she just couldn’t remember actually tasting any of it. Ever since she’d returned to the boarding house, all her tongue seemed to want to register was Parish. And if that wasn’t bad enough, all her mind wanted to bring forth were images of their incredible time at the bayou pool.
She let out a long breath. She could still feel his arms around her, so tight, so possessive, his mouth working hers with soft kisses, hungry bites and snarls of arousal. She’d known what he’d wanted from her. Not because it was pressed against her belly, inciting the blazing heat inside her sex to liquefy, but because it was exactly the same thing she’d wanted from him.
The deepest, most intensely erotic fuck of her life.
Her body contracted at the thought, and she gripped the table. What would it be like to be touched by him? Her back to the mattress, Parish looming above her, the muscles in his arms and chest and stomach pulled tight under sweat-laced, tanned skin?
“Dr. Cabot?” came a soft male growl.
Julia glanced up from her empty plate and caught Parish staring at her across the dinner table with a mask of sensual ferocity, his black hair loose to his shoulders. He was so sexy. Every inch of his face, from his eyes to the scar near his lips, tempted her, made her mouth water.
His nostrils flared. He glanced left, saw Nathalie chatting it up with one of the other boarders down the table, then returned his gaze to Julia as he leaned forward.
“You have to stop thinking about us or I won’t be able to stop myself from throwing you over my shoulder and hauling your sexy ass upstairs to bed.”
Julia’s mouth dropped open. “How did you know—?”
“Your scent.”
My scent?? She tilted her head in the direction of Miss Nathalie. “Does she know?”
“Probably.”
Oh my god. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t be. She knows how I feel about you.” He grinned, molten gold flashing in his eyes. “And now she knows that as you’re thinking about my tongue in your mouth,” his voice dropped, his chin too, “I’m thinking about my tongue somewhere else.”
Julia’s eyes widened, yet everything below her neck went hot and tight. “Stop that,” she whispered.
“Impossible. Your scent makes me insane.” His canines lengthened.
“You’re not the only one,” remarked the male down at the far end of the table beside Nathalie.
Julia turned apple red and cursed, while Parish flashed the male his puma. “Don’t even think about it, Mace. In fact, keep your eyes on your plate.”
The male grunted. “I’m mated, Hunter.”
“Then you remember exactly what’s running through my blood right now,” Parish said with a deep growl.
Nathalie stared at Parish, but spoke to Julia. “Perhaps you should retire, Miss Julia. Might I suggest a bath?” She sighed. “With soap.”
At first, Julia was so consumed with the aggressive banter of the two males at the table she didn’t catch the woman’s meaning right away. But when she did, she closed her eyes and winced with humiliation. She was turned on thinking about Parish, every damn feline in the room could smell it, and she was being told to get upstairs and wash it off. What the hell ever happened to privacy? She pushed back her chair and scrambled to her feet. Her eyes were drawn to Parish. “Are you staying tonight or…”
“He’ll be sleeping on the porch,” Miss Nathalie said quickly.
Parish hissed at her. “I will sleep wherever I want, Female.”
“Outside?” Julia said. “But—”
“Not to worry, Miss Julia,” Nathalie continued. “He’s used to it.”
“Isn’t it time to clean up?” Parish growled softly, his eyes narrowed on the older female.
Miss Nathalie ignored him. “After all, he still sleeps in those caves a mile out, don’t you, Parish?”
“Dammit, Natty!” He pushed back his chair and stood.
“What?” she grumbled. “Isn’t a secret, now is it?”
Julia turned to him, confused. “You live there? Where we were today?”
He didn’t answer. His nostrils were flared with irritation as he continued to glare at Miss Nathalie.
Julia stared at him. Why wouldn’t he have told her that? And why was he refusing to look at her? Was he hiding something? Or was it that he just didn’t think her important enough to share information about his personal life?
A spark of apprehension moved through her. She hated this feeling, that something was being kept from her. That the man she’d just been fantasizing about, had just kissed like she’d needed it, needed him, to breathe, wasn’t being honest with her. It gave her a killer sense of déjà vu.
She turned from him and offered Miss Nathalie a small smile. “Good night. Thank you for dinner.”
She needed a moment to herself. Needed to really think about what she was doing here, and how long—
As she walked out of the room, she heard Parish growl behind her. “Julia.”
“Let her be, Parish,” Nathalie scolded.
“Like hell I will.”
“You’re acting like a jackass.”
“No,” said Mace. “He’s acting like a mated Pantera male.”
Julia only made it to her bedroom door before Parish was upon her.
* * *
“I didn’t tell you about the caves for a good reason.” He followed her inside the blue and white bedroom suite.
“They’re all good reasons,” she said, heading for the windows.
“I know what you’re doing, Doc.” He kicked the door closed behind him. “Don’t compare me to that lying bastard who cheated on you.”
“I’m not.”
“Turn around.”
She heaved a great sigh and turned to face him. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes a shocking blue against the pale hair that hung about her face.
“I’m not comparing you to Gary,” she said. “There is no comparison. He was a mistake, and you…you’re a hope, a dream…magic…” Shadows moved over her eyes. “It just scares me, Parish.”
Fear was the last thing he ever wanted her to feel with him. “What scares you?”
“I’ve never wanted to be with anyone more than I want to be with you.” Her voice caught as she spoke, and her eyes brimmed with tears. “I actually ache for you. I think about you every second.” She shook her head. “My body responds to your voice like it’s your touch. That’s not normal.”
He hated how upset she was, how fearful she sounded because to him her words were his magic, his potential first step back into life, and a future he never thought he’d see. He crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. “Look at me.” One hand raked up her spine to her neck. “That’s our normal, Doc. My mind is filled with you, too. Your tears make my fucking heart ache. I don’t know what to do with this desperate need I feel for you, except…this.” He dropped his head and kissed her, groaning at the raw hunger and blatant need between them. When he pulled back, he found beautiful, stormy blue eyes gazing up at him. “Julia…”
“I love when you say my name,” she whispered.
His gut tightened. “I didn’t tell you about the c
aves because I was ashamed.”
Her brow furrowed. “What?”
“I know you’re aware of what happened to Keira.” The damned tortured sound in his voice never went away. “Ashe told me. But what you don’t know is that she was my everything, my only family, my best goddamn friend, and when she left, when she was killed I…fuck…I went to the one place where I felt closest to her.”
“The caves,” Julia whispered.
He nodded. “I never left. Never wanted to.” He reached up and cupped her chin and cheek in his palm. “Until you.”
“Oh, Parish…”
He smiled. “I love it when you say my name too, Doc.” He captured her mouth again, kissing her frantically. “I want you.” He nipped her lip. “Christ, the scent of your heat. It calls to me, begs me to taste.” With one hand around her waist, he easily lifted her. “Let me earn my way into your bed.”
“You already have,” she said breathlessly.
He tossed her onto the bed, then drew back. “Not even close.” He stripped bare, and grinned as her gaze moved hungrily over him. “You know what I am.”
Her eyes lifted, connected to his. She nodded.
He growled softly at her. “Then open your legs for me, Julia. This cat must have his cream.”
Chapter Seven
JULIA had never been undressed so quickly, so frantically, and with such desperate hunger in her life.
And she loved it.
Her back to the mattress, her legs bent and spread, Julia trembled with heat and desire as she stared up at Parish. Without clothes, he wasn’t just sexy—he was stunning. Drool-worthy. His powerful body flexed with every movement, each muscle defined. But it was the long, thick muscle standing hard and proud against the six-pack of abdominal perfection that made her mouth water. What would he feel like in her mouth, taste like against her tongue? She almost reached for him when he knelt, placed his hands under her buttocks and yanked her to the edge of the mattress.
His breath fanned her stomach and hipbones. “I’ve thought about this ever since we met. How you looked, scented…” He lowered his head and lapped at her. Just once. Julia gasped and arched her back. “How you tasted.”