by Riley Storm
Kirell started in surprise, but didn’t hesitate. Strong hands grabbed her by the waist and spun. In two long strides, her back bounced against the wall with the perfect amount of roughness to stir up her arousal to new heights.
Instinctively, her legs wrapped around him and she lowered her face to his, crushing his lips in a fiery display that awoke one of those feral growls that men give when you thoroughly turn them on. Kirell’s was deeper, more animalistic than any she’d experienced before, and it made her heart skip a beat.
It did other things to her as well, but she was too busy fencing with his tongue and digging her nails into the tough skin of his back to pay too much attention.
Fabric ripped as he tore the shirt from her body with one hand. His fingers gripped the center of it and just pulled. She gasped, the fabric grazing her hardened nipples as he pulled it off, making them stand completely to attention as he turned his hungry eyes upon them.
“Fucckk,” she murmured as his mouth closed around one nipple, the warmth of his tongue moving in circles and sending blasts of wondrous pleasure directly into her center. Her hands moved up his back, gripping the nape of his neck and the back of his skull as she held him tightly to her chest, shuddering in his grip.
There was nothing romantic about what they were doing. It wasn’t soft and sensual, and she didn’t care. Natalia wanted him, and wanted to be used by him. Kirell was picking up on that and he tossed her onto the bed, grabbing her legs and flipping her over before lifting her waist.
She lay pressed into the soft fabric of the sheets as he pulled the shorts over her ass and down to her knees, leaving her completely exposed. A moment later, his tongue slid between her legs and she gripped the comforter tight at the wave of ecstasy that threatened to consume her entire body.
“Kirell,” she moaned, calling his name as he repeated the motion, moving slowly. Everything was rough except for the press of his tongue. That warm, wet organ slipped softly over her sensitive bits, getting them used to the attention. She’d never had someone do this from behind before, and it was different, but it fit with the more debased mood of their coupling.
She could feel herself growing swollen and wet for him. Kirell knew just the speed to go, somehow maintaining a perfect rhythm to his motions as well, and before long she cried out, her entire body stiffening as an orgasm swept over her, robbing her of much of her strength.
Falling to the side, she couldn’t stay upright anymore, but Kirell didn’t object. He simply pulled the pants the rest of the way off her, wrapped one arm around both her upper legs and lifted her from the bed to his mouth.
She gasped in surprise at being nearly completely vertical and upside down, only her shoulders on the bed, but now he could bury his face completely between her legs, and she soon forgot where she was, let alone what position he had her in. The combination of his tongue against her clit and the raw sexuality and power of the man pleasuring her was overwhelming, and she came again, hard.
“No, no,” she giggled, too sensitive for much more. “I need a break. From that.” Her eyes roamed over his chest, watching it rise and fall with his heavy breathing, then down over his ripped stomach, and to the waistband of his pants. “Take those off.”
Kirell obliged happily, revealing his thick, hard cock for the first time. It was even more impressive than she’d thought from feeling it. Natalia wasn’t about to stare at it, admiring it. She inched back onto the bed and beckoned him with as sexual a come hither finger curl as she possessed.
The huge man—no, the shifter—knelt on the edge of the bed and followed her, his huge body covering her completely. The heat he was giving off warmed any part of her that might have been cool, leaving in its place only a dull ache brought on by a feeling of emptiness. She needed him inside of her.
Now.
Kirell picked up on her desires and grabbed the base of his cock, lining it up between her legs before slowly pushing himself past her swollen entry and inside. Both of them gasped, locking eyes as they experienced the moment together. She adjusted quicker than expected to his girth and in seconds was scraping at his back, begging to take him deeper.
He groaned in her ear as the rest of him slid inside, both their bodies quaking slightly. It wasn’t long after that before they were rocking against one another, every thrust of his dick making her lose her sense of awareness a little more.
At one point, Kirell grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the bed over her head. He held them there tightly, but not so aggressively that she felt scared.
“Harder,” she begged, thrusting her hips up to him without warning.
Kirell bit his lip as they crashed together with unexpected force. She didn’t care, her body was close to reaching the peak now and she knew what she wanted.
He gave it to her. Leaning over her more, Kirell fucked her harder, just like she’d wanted.
And faster.
Her cries filled the room. In an attempt to silence her, Kirell covered her mouth with his own, but she couldn’t stop. It felt too damn good, and her entire body was coming alive as she approached the edge like a speeding locomotive. There was no slowing now.
“Just like that,” she gasped. “Don’t stop.”
Kirell didn’t.
The world went white and her back spasmed, curving her up and away from the bed as she lost all control. Ripping one hand free, she rubbed it across her clit, heightening the sensation as it slammed into her.
Through her shaking and shuddering, Kirell continued to thrust, not stopping until she fell back, gasping for air. Then, and only then did he withdraw. Natalia gasped as seemingly molten-hot liquid splattered across her from her mound to her chest.
Forcing her eyes to focus she watched his face, seeing it change with every contraction that sent more of his seed across her exposed skin, until—finally—he was spent. One final shiver made its way through his body and then he fell onto the bed next to her, his massive chest heaving as he gasped for air.
“That was hot,” she whispered, the only words that came to her mind as she lay there covered in tiny beads of sweat and much thicker fluid as well.
“Give me a moment and then I’ll get the shower running so we can get you cleaned up.”
Natalia smiled as he fell back, his words evidently taking all the strength he had for the moment.
“No rush,” she replied in the same tired voice. “I need a moment as well. That was intense.”
Kirell could only nod.
19
Strong hands and a soft touch slowly washed away all traces of their frenzied session.
She was experiencing a different side of him now, and Natalia was enjoying the gentle soapy caresses as Kirell cleaned away his mess. He was using it as an excuse to explore her body entirely, but she didn’t mind. She liked the way he touched her, the way he felt against her. It was good. It worked. They worked.
It’ll make this act that much easier to maintain, since I won’t have to be faking being able to stomach him.
After all, that was all it was. A paid partnership; it just so happened to work out that neither of them was an asshole the other hated.
Kirell kissed the sensitive spot between her shoulder and neck, letting the water falling from the ceiling wash away the last of the soap. “There, all clean,” he said, giving her shoulder a gentle nip with his teeth.
She tried to turn and swat at him playfully, but his arms wrapped her up, pushing her against the wall so he could kiss her on the lips. He does a very thorough job of that. She finally pushed him away gently, not because she wasn’t enjoying it, but because she felt a strange obligation to return the favor and scrub him down.
Careful. Don’t get too comfortable with him.
Natalia had no intentions of that, but she was having fun, and there was no harm in it. Snatching the shower sponge from his hands, she added some bodywash and lathered it up, pushing him back out of the rainfall showerhead so she could work.
Starting with h
is shoulders, she scrubbed his body down in slow concentric circles, admiring the defined lines. It was impossible to notice just how big and bulky he was, but it seemed like there wasn’t an ounce of fat on him. His biceps were huge, and she had a brief moment of biting her lip while she washed them, but it was almost overwhelming. Everywhere she touched, it was rock hard muscle. He must work out like a fanatic.
“What’s this?” she asked, running her hands over his ribs, noticing a big black mark on one side, but an ugly purplish-yellow bruise on the other. “This black mark looks like it’s fresh, from your fight. But what about this one?” Her fingers traced the outline of the nasty bruise.
“Another fight.”
Something in his voice caused her head to snap up, just in time to see him force the sadness from his eyes. Whatever it was, she’d touched on something delicate. Gazing into his eyes, letting herself get lost in the deepness of the blue, she almost asked him about it.
Almost.
“Don’t ask,” he said before she could push any further.
“Wasn’t going to.” She carefully scrubbed the area down, making sure she didn’t apply too much pressure.
“How come this area isn’t more swollen?” she asked, using an even lighter touch on the blackened area over his ribs. “It was like, less than an hour ago. Yet it’s already fading.”
“We heal quicker than humans. Big injuries heal fast, while bruises can take a few days to fade entirely, an irritating reminder of earlier damage.”
“Fascinating. I wish I could heal fast.” Her fingers danced across his ribs one by one. “What else can you guys do that we can’t?”
“We’re stronger.”
“Yeah, I’d kind of picked up on that,” she said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm.
“Faster too.”
“So much I don’t know about you.”
“You and the rest of humanity. We work hard to keep it that way. Nobody needs to know what we can do.”
“That’s so sad. Why do you hide? You’re amazing.” She turned him around, started scrubbing his back, playfully thrusting her hips into his ass just because she could.
Kirell snorted, though she didn’t know if it was at her question or her actions. Probably both.
“Imagine if the world knew about us, Natalia. Really, truly think about it. Do you think there’s any way we would ever be free? That we would be allowed to live our lives the way we do? Governments would hunt us down with all the resources they possess, in a desperate attempt to try and take what we have, so they could use it for themselves.”
She wanted to shoot him down, to say he was just being paranoid and over-reacting, but it was hard to argue against what he was saying.
“Trust me, we know these things. It wouldn’t be the first time,” he told her ominously, though he didn’t provide any details.
“So instead, you just live in the shadows?”
He turned to face her, and she carefully scrubbed his lower body, gently soaping up and fondling his junk while she was at it, watching it slowly grow in her hands.
“We live in the shadows of your world, but ours is anything but. The Houses are…they are for the betterment of all. The Council’s decisions are always made with the effects on humans in mind.”
“Wait, wait, wait. Houses? Council? What are you talking about?”
“The Canis, the Drakos. Panthera. Raptere.”
She quirked her lips, inviting him to explain in depth.
“You know High House Ursa,” Kirell said, leaning back against the tile, watching as her hands continued to rub him slowly back and forth. “The Ursidae, as we call ourselves, are bear shifters.”
“You’re not the only ones,” she said softly, cupping his balls. Her mind was calling back the history lesson Loren had given her.
“No. High House Canis. The Canim: Wolf shifters. Panthera, wild cats. Raptere, raptors. Massive, winged birds of prey.”
“Unbelievable.” She stopped stroking him momentarily as she listened, her brain delivering vivid images of the different types of shapeshifters.
“Each species is organized into a House. There are formal positions, with each species ruled over by a King or Queen. The Council is a ruling body, composed of three seats of each of the High Houses, and a fourth seat, the Leader of the Council, assigned to whichever House is more powerful.”
It was a lot of information to take in, but she processed it as quickly as possible. The gentle thrusting of Kirell’s hips reminded her of where her hands were and she returned to stroking him again as she thought over everything he was telling her. It was fascinating, truthfully, and amazing to her that all of this had escaped detection by human authorities to this day.
“You know, I thought finding a fake husband was going to be hard, but honestly, that was a walk in the park compared to everything I need to learn about you!”
Kirell laughed and splashed water at her. “It’s not that much. It’s just that it’s so shocking because you had no idea something like this could exist. That’s why it feels overwhelming.”
“Maybe,” she agreed, giving his dick a squeeze. “But be careful who you splash with water, mister. I have your life in my hands.”
He growled, and with a movement too fast for her to register, spun them around. Now suddenly Natalia was up against the wall, out of the water, and she had Kirell’s hulking form looming over her.
In her hand, he hardened rapidly.
20
He couldn’t delay it any longer.
The distraction of their unexpected intimacy, and the second bout in the shower had been enjoyable, but time wasn’t on his side, and he needed to move ahead with things if he hoped to pull it all off.
“Hey,” he said, snagging Natalia’s hand as she whisked by him in a towel, looking ready to plop back onto the bed and have a nap.
“Hi.” Her eyes drifted downward. “You’re not wanting to go again so soon, are you? I could use a minute.”
Laughing, he stepped between her and the bed before she could sit on it. “No, that’s not where I was headed.”
She must have picked up on his change in attitude, because she straightened and gave him a much more serious look. “What is it, Kirell?”
“I need you to get dressed.”
“You kinda ripped the shirt, remember?”
A spike of lust raced through him at the reminder, but he pushed it aside. There was no time for that now, he had bigger things to deal with. “I know. I meant in your dress.”
“My dress? What? Why? Are you sending me home?” Her eyes grew clouded. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Not in the slightest,” he assured her. “Quite the opposite, in fact. This is working out. Which means it’s time for you to meet someone. Something more than a towel or sweats is appropriate, and until we can get some more of your clothes up here, the dress will have to do.”
“I see.”
“I doubt it,” he teased, sticking out his tongue. “But thanks for pretending.”
“Not a problem,” she said with a giggle, dropping the towel and prancing over to where her clothing from the night before was draped over the backs of some chairs.
Kirell stared longingly at her body, enjoying the way the bouncing caused her rear to move in response. Truthfully, he wanted to pounce her again, and even thinking about it his body responded to the idea, but the iron will he’d been lacking so thoroughly where she was concerned was back at his disposal.
Moving to the closet, he pulled out his martial uniform and put it on. Though it wasn’t necessary for this meeting, he wanted Natalia to feel comfortable, and that meant dressing to match.
“So, who is it that I’m meeting?”
“Someone important.”
Although he knew it had to happen, Kirell was nervous. If the Queen didn’t approve, or if Natalia screwed up, they would be in big trouble. The deadline was barely more than twenty-four hours distant and finding someone new to portray his mate would be f
lat-out impossible at this point. He had to make it work with Natalia.
Finishing doing up his buttons, he turned to see Natalia was already dressed. Her hair was wet and still up in a bun on the top of her head, but that couldn’t be avoided.
“If it’s someone important, why are you taking me through the secret passages?” she asked when he moved over to the wall and not the door, popping open the panel.
“Because I’m not ready for the rest of the House to see you yet. Not until you have the approval.”
“The approval? That sounds ominous, Kirell. Should I be worried?”
“No. I think you will be fine.” It was the truth. He did feel as if she would be an acceptable choice, but Kirell wasn’t going to presume to know everything that his Queen did.
“I’ve heard that before.” But she followed him anyway, walking with her spine straight, proud and unflinching, even as they skulked around through hidden passages.
It wore on him to act so secretively, to hide things from his family members, but it wasn’t up to him. The Queen’s position was just as at risk as his own if someone found out what was going on and brought it to the attention of the rest of the House. Though she would try to distance herself from him, to claim that he had done it unbeknownst to her, she would be tarnished, and her already unstable position couldn’t handle that sort of black mark.
No, he had to act like the Assassin of the House if he hoped to be successful. Once he and a few other supporters of the Queen were firmly entrenched as Title Holders, things would begin to calm, but—for now—they were operating on very unsteady ground.
“Kirell… Who am I meeting?” Natalia asked as they approached another panel in the wall.
He slipped ahead of her and lifted both hands, one upraised to have her stay there, the other to rap twice on the door; this was followed by a pause, then two more raps, then a pause and one rap.
“The Queen,” he replied softly as a panel slid open in the wall and the muzzle of a gun became visible on the far side.