He reached out and grabbed my shirt, and I readied myself for the slow, sensuous unbuttoning. I was giddy, as though this was my first time. But it was. This was my man. My forever partner. And I’d remember this time for the rest of my days.
But slow wasn’t in Bryce’s dictionary. With his fingers clawed, he ripped my shirt and tossed the tattered pieces into a corner. What the fuck! I loved that shirt but the desire that was threatening to overwhelm me and take control of my cock pushed the irrational thoughts over a ruined garment out of my head.
He pushed me toward the center of the room where a huge shag pile carpet covered the wooden floor in front of the couch. Though small, this was a much nicer office than mine. No fluffy carpets at my place of work.
“On the floor, Corey.” His eyes, which I’d noted that day at Gabe’s, were almost glowing. But not with fury. With lust. I was completely under his spell, and I slumped on the carpet. What now? Was there a shifter sex ritual that had to be observed? My frazzled mind couldn’t recall if Gabe had mentioned anything similar when he’d first slept with Brad. Big was the only thing I recalled. Big cock.
I was so ready for an enormous cock to possess me as Bryce dropped to his knees and pushed me back. My breath was coming in spurts and starts as he undid my belt and slowly lowered the zipper. After the frantic removal of my shirt, the change of pace had my thighs shivering and my fingers trailed over the thick-piled carpet.
“Lift.”
One word and I obeyed, as I raised my hips and he shimmed off both my pants and briefs. His dark eyes raked over my stiff dick.
“I picture a lifetime of sucking off your cock, Corey.” I raised my head, begging my dick to stay calm. Spurting cum over Bryce based on the huskiness of his voice was an amateur move, and I wasn’t going to miss out on having his length in my ass.
I studied Bryce’s face and contemplated a future with this man but my gaze dropped to his crotch when he unzipped his pants and yanked out his cock. It wasn’t often I was lost for words but this was one of those times. His dick was glorious. Pink and pulsing, gigantic and stiff. And all for me!
He wriggled out of his clothes and crawled over the carpet toward me. Without thinking, I instinctively shuffled backward but he grabbed my ankle. “Are you afraid?”
I shook my head.
“The truth, Corey.”
“No. I want you.”
He got up on his knees and stroked his cock. It was mesmerizing—as though I were in a trance—and my eyes were glued to his fingers fondling himself. “Tell me how you want me.” His voice was an octave lower, more gravelly, while my body hummed with anticipation.
“Ummm… inside me,” I panted. “Fucking me hard, yelling how good it is.”
A wicked grin flickered over his face. “Good. Spread your legs and bend your knees.”
“O-On m-my back?”
He sat back on his heels. “Is that okay?”
“Yes,” I gushed. No taking me from behind. I’d see that gorgeous face contorted as he came.
“You’re so wet.” I lifted my legs and with my knees bent, my thighs were pressed on my stomach. His eyes went to my ass.
“Perfect for fucking,” I whispered as the tension stretched between us.
He nestled between my legs and spread my knees so they were splayed. “Like this,” he grunted.
Using all my strength, I lifted my head as he wriggled himself into position and the tip of his cock grazed my ass. I gasped, eager for him to shove it in. And he did. The head eased into my tight wet hole and the only sound in the room was panting. His and mine. Despite him being a dickwad at our first meeting, I’d dreamed of this moment.
Bryce placed his hands under my knees and gripped the skin. His fingers pinched my flesh and I winced and yet welcomed the pain as his cock owned my ass. His thumbs pressed harder and he bucked his hips, so his cock, though the biggest and most beautiful I’d ever seen, slid into me. I’d wanted to be owned and possessed. Taken and claimed. And his length was doing exactly that.
“Bryce,” I yelled. “I love your cock.”
He reacted by fucking me. My head fell back on the carpet as I was momentarily short of breath. His cock slid in and out of my channel, and each thrust had my body tingling and my head begging him to go faster. He took me, inch by glorious inch, while he panted and mumbled my name.
As he filled and stretched me I focused not only on his length but on the other sensations. The downy softness under me, a bead of sweat trickling over my chin, Bryce’s panting and his cheeks becoming more flushed as the slid into me, the dimming of the light outside, the faint roar of traffic on the highway a few blocks over, and my dick flopping on my belly with each lunge.
Our eyes met as Bryce’s length powered into me and he speeded up, each lunge becoming more frantic. The soft slap of my length on my damp skin had me wrapping my fingers around it and tugging.
“More, Corey. I want to see you come with my name on your lips.”
The brutal strength of the passion in his eyes, and hands, him plunging into me, had me writhing beneath him, raising my hips to meet him.
My ass glided over the rug. I grunted. Each pump of my dick along with me matching his rhythm coaxed me toward orgasm. I blinked sweat from my eyes, and when I peered at Bryce, my vision blurry, the expression on his face was almost feral. He was still Bryce, the sexiest man on the planet, but his gaze gave me a glimpse on what lay beyond the exterior.
With our bodies fused and him fucking me hard, I yelled, “I can’t last, Bryce. I’m… I’m gonna come.”
The veins on his neck bulged with exertion as he gasped, “Me too.”
His fucking anchored me to the floor as warm flesh slapped on wet skin. Passion increased to the point it was almost choking me, and as I yelled, “I’m coming,” I surrendered, cum shooting over my belly while Bryce growled. He arched his back and his body stiffened. And then he shot his load inside me.
My final words were, “Fill me with your knot, babe!”
A door slammed. “Oh God! I’ve interrupted… shit… I’m sorry.”
I opened one eye as a man fumbled to get out of the office.
“Bad fucking time, Iver,” Bryce grumbled, but his eyes were on me and there was a smile on his lips.
16
Bryce
“This better be amazing.” I took the tickets from Iver. “You owe me after using the app to get your ass into my office while I was busy.”
“I already paid the price for that.” He pointed to his eyes, “That image is burned right here.”
“Serves you right.” I slid the tickets into my front pocket. “But really—next time why don’t you knock? And tonight—please for the love of Pete, don’t call me unless there is no other option.” At this point there was nothing that could be done about our land but wait for the court bullshit to do its thing. Our claw was a peaceful one and I didn’t need to worry about invasions from other shifters, and last I knew everyone was good and healthy. So barring a lightning strike, he had no reason to call me—period.
“Got it, Alpha, and do yourself a favor and quit worrying about making everything perfect and just enjoy yourself.” That was so much easier said than done, but I agreed and left for my date.
Or at least what I hoped was going to be a date. I was surprising my omega at his office with tickets to a fun museum exhibit opening and the promise of dinner. The closer and closer I got, the less and less it sounded like a great idea to just surprise him.
I parked in front of the building where he worked. By doing this, I was showing how confident I was that it was a good idea, or at least not a horrible one.
I felt like all eyes were on me as I made my way into the building, which was insane given that there were people of all ages wandering about and I was wearing jeans and a shirt just like most of them. The hallways were crowded with people both coming and going from various businesses, and from what I could tell a few doctors’ offices, my timing a bit too close to qu
itting time for them, based on the way I was resembling a salmon going against the stream because they were coming out as I was going in. Please let him still be there.
I hadn’t been there before, but knew exactly where it was based on a story Corey told about how loud it could be being next door to the elevator on days when the office upstairs was doing a conference or something—he wasn't quite sure, but it happened every month and it drove him bonkers. He vented to me. He had friends and colleagues and he vented to me. Mine.
Yes, he was ours and always would be even if he walked away. Would he be able to go on with his life if we weren’t together? Or would he be like me, living a half-life, my panther out of control?
Did he even know what a claiming mark was? Would he want one from me or was the idea too distasteful for his human sensibilities? Biting and marking our mate’s skin was very much our animal custom, and I couldn’t think of anything human compared to it. Maybe I should ask him. Or perhaps I should just take him on a fun date.
I stopped outside the door, a few people walking out, one complaining about some audit that they were dealing with and another talking about how hot the accountant was. On that I agreed. He was more than a few steps above my pay grade, that was for sure.
He was in the foyer, chatting with someone who was visibly upset, not with Corey from what I could gather, but with himself. I sidled my way over to the reception seating area and watched as my mate told him how to fix his filings, going so far as to let him know he would look over them if he needed. He was helping a co-worker.
He was in his zone.
Corey noticed me standing there, his cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink as he crooked a finger for me to join him.
“What brings you here?” he asked as he led me away from the reception desk glancing back to make sure we were alone.
“I hear there’s an accountant who is wicked hot and was hoping he’d agree to go out with me.” I held out the tickets. “The optical illusion exhibit is opening tonight.”
“Ohhh, the sexy alpha comes with bribes. It’s not good to offer kickbacks to your accountant for better tax returns.” He tsked, the idea of him and I role playing sending very naughty messages to my cock.
“I wasn’t trying to buy you off for tax breaks,” I leaned in close to his ear. “I was bribing you for cock.” His breath hitched. Oh he liked this game too.
“We best leave now.” He shoved papers into his satchel. “And for the record, that would require dinner as well.”
“Good thing that was on the agenda too.” I offered him my arm, not sure how appropriate PDA was in this setting and wanting to give him the choice...and he took it, grabbing my hand instead.
“You’re not my client. You’re my alpha and I demand your hand.” He kissed my cheek and intertwined our fingers. “I’ve been wanting to see that exhibit. I heard they even have a maze.”
And they did have a maze, one filled with mirrors and height-altering paths, and even a holographic chicken. We laughed, discovered some pretty cool things, and were just us. Iver kept things at bay, zero emergency messages coming through. It was perfect, even the meal at the greasy diner that we had to try after seeing their sign sponsoring the exhibit—their milkshakes beckoning us to the point where we ended up with four on our table before thinking about ordering our burgers.
The date was perfect and I didn’t want it to end. Thank gods he didn’t either.
“Take me back to your place, Alpha,” he said when I turned towards his place. I’d never turned around that quickly in my life, the sounds of his giggling to my insane maneuver magic to my ears.
Best. Date. Ever.
17
Corey
Lying in bed, hands behind my head staring at Bryce’s ornate ceilings and knowing he was downstairs in his office was the best feeling ever. The emptiness I’d experienced was gone. Though I would have survived being by myself and not having a partner, part of me had been yearning for my destiny. And Bryce was it.
Even work was more meaningful and I had a bounce in my step at the office. My colleagues joked about that now my love life was looking up, maybe I wouldn’t come in early and vacuum after the office cleaners had done their rounds or tell everyone from a design standpoint a display needed three objects not two. That would never happen, I thought, as I moved on Bryce’s nightstand to the right. Being an accountant, I loved order.
The old expression regarding rose-colored glasses was apt. No matter where I was, when I gazed round, the edges of the world were tinted with pink rather than gray. And I giggled more, much to Brad’s annoyance whenever I visited his and Gabe’s place. My bestie and I often retreated to the guest house with Ursula along with a bottle of wine and goodies from a bakery near my apartment to gossip.
He’d stood outside one evening and grumbled, “Can I have my husband and daughter back, please?”
“I’d better go or he might start spouting limericks again,” I’d told Gabe, referring to the day the bear shifter got down on one knee in the meadow.
“Don’t ruin that for me, Corey,” my bestie admonished me. “That’s a memory I keep close to my heart.”
“Sorry,” I’d admitted as I kissed my goddaughter, hugged my friend and ducked under Brad’s huge arm as he leaned against the door.
“Don’t you have a shifter who needs your company?” Brad griped.
“Yes,” I’d shouted as I unlocked the car and blew him a kiss. “And that’s where I’m headed.”
The phone dinged and the memories faded as I read Bryce’s message. It was a weekend and I wished he wasn’t working but the government was threatening the claw’s existence. He had to find a solution as their survival was at stake. They’d inhabited their land for centuries, or so Bryce had told me. And it wasn’t a case of just living on that extended patch of ground, they were at one with the soil. They were all born on the land, whether in the claw clinic or in the forest.
But as I snuggled under the bedcovers and watched reruns of Shifter World on my laptop, Bryce appeared at the door. “Hey.” He sat on the mattress and kissed the top of my head.
“You all done?” I asked hopefully, thinking we could spend the rest of the day in bed.
“Not a chance. I popped up to make sure you were okay.”
“Don’t worry about me. I wish there was some way for me to help? I feel so useless.” Especially as I was lounging in bed and he’d been with his Beta puzzling over various solutions to the claw’s dilemma.
As he cuddled me, his belly rumbled and suddenly I had a purpose. “I’ll make you something to eat.”
“Cheesecake?” He grinned but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. He’s exhausted.
“Very funny.” I jumped out of bed and got as far as the door. Bryce heaved himself off the mattress and yawned. “Wait.” I made the bed in record time and headed for the kitchen. After rummaging in the fridge, I said, “There’s leftover Korean takeout we had last night and corn beef I cooked from the night before. Kimchi and corn beef sandwich in a baguette?”
“I’m drooling just listening to you.”
“Oh, babe. When you get home tonight, you’ll be doing more than that, I assure you.”
A flush crept over Bryce’s cheeks. It was adorable and I loved making him blush. He adjusted his bulging cock. If he had more time I could have made him lunch and sucked him off. “Or would you prefer a blow job?”
“Corey!” he whined. “I have to get back.”
“Food it is,” I sighed.
“Raincheck?” he asked.
“I’ll keep you to that.” I bustled around making his sandwich while he lay on the sofa. My heart broke, not only at his exhaustion but at the defeat in his eyes and the slump of his shoulders.
He was sound asleep when I placed the food and a soda on a tray along with a napkin. “Awake, my prince. I don’t have a chariot but your food awaits. I made enough for you and Iver.”
Bryce pulled my head down and kissed me. My body reacted a
nd slick coated my backside. It would have been so easy to sit astride him, undo his pants, and slide his cock in my hole. But he had work to do. “Take the tray with you.”
He groaned. “I’d rather stay here with you.”
“Duty calls.”
After he stumbled out the door, bleary-eyed carrying the tray, I crossed my fingers the food would make it downstairs. I took Bryce’s place on the couch and flicked through TV channels, and I paused on a documentary about an archeological dig.
That took me back to one summer vacation during my college years when I’d joined a similar dig. We’d spent weeks uncovering a tiny section of an ancient city which had been buried under hundreds of years of human existence and change. If the claw had been on this land for so long, perhaps there was something of historical significance buried under the surface.
There was no point looking for shifter history on my search engine. The only results would be Shifter World references and fanfic. I knew from Gabe and Brad that a special shifter section existed on the internet. I needed some thingy on my computer I didn’t have to get onto the shifter internet. The land, Corey. Find the history of the land. What was there before the present building?
Until I got that, I’d have to make do with human history. After what seemed like a few minutes but turned into a couple of hours, I’d scribbled notes on a pad and printed out pages of a timeline stretching back as far as land records began. Not only did I have a sense of accomplishment, but also I was actively helping Bryce and the claw instead of passively waiting for him to find a solution.
Matched To His Panther Page 7