Temptation

by McAllan, Raven

  Meryl couldn’t reply. Her mind screamed “more” even as her body mourned the loss of his mouth on hers. She panted as she struggled to keep up with him. He might be a man, but his speed was that of a tiger. Marloth turned his head and grinned. It showed him almost in every way as a male in charge. Except in his eyes. There, she could see more than a hint of vulnerability.

  “Yes, oh yes.” She managed to gasp. And with a muted roar, he lifted her off her feet and moved her into a fireman’s lift. The view of his bare ass more than enticed. Meryl ached to touch, but even as she moved her hands, her body shifted over his shoulder as he walked faster. His brisk pace became a lope and she clutched his waist for safety. Her channel clenched and she bet her clit played peek-a-boo. The last thing she wanted was to slip off his shoulder and loose the chance of something else, something much better slipping—into her. She concentrated on not disturbing his balance, and watched as his feet sped over the ground.

  In a matter of seconds, the brilliant sunshine became muted, and Marloth stopped moving. He let Meryl’s body slide down his, and each slow sensuous movement sent shards of arousal to coat her skin and fill her body. At last, he stood her in front of him, chest-to-chest, cunt to cock, and with a slowness she ached to rush, turned her around to face the house.

  “Welcome to my home.”

  “Don’t look like that.” Marloth ran his hands down her arms.

  Meryl shrugged them off. Had she really heard him correctly? “Say that again.”

  She clenched her hands by her sides, mainly to stop herself thumping him. If he had said those four words, he had a hell of a lot of explaining to do.

  “What?” he said, in a wary voice. “Don’t look like that?”

  She saw red, and didn’t even think before she swung her arm back. She hit him square in the stomach, and he bent over as his breath left him with a whoosh.

  “Shit, woman.” Marloth coughed and wheezed. “What was that for? And where’d you learn to swing such a mean punch?”

  “Asshole, stop trying to be clever. You know fine well what I mean. How come my fantasy of a deserted island got hijacked and changed to be on an inhabited island? Your island.” She kicked at the patio with her feet. The shells were hard and compact and she stubbed her little toe. It was the last straw. Either she cried like a baby or screwed him senseless and then asked for answers. With a ruthlessness she didn’t know she possessed, Meryl sank to her knees, ignoring how hard the shells were on them, and curled her mouth around his prick. She could cope with hard shells if they meant she could taste his hard cock.

  His body tensed and he gave a low growl of triumph. Meryl found her hat was gone, and his hands were fisted tight into her hair as he held her head close to him. If she hadn’t got a mouth full of cock she would have told him there was no need, she wasn’t going anywhere. Instead, she tightened her lips and felt his skin roll between them. The salty male taste alone was enough for her juices to gather, and she felt them coat her clit. Meryl breathed deeply and his unique male essence assailed her senses. Rich, musky, earthy, but fresh and clean. Everything she wanted and needed. He smelt of promises and things to come.

  “I will come if you carry on, no doubt about it. But for our reconciliation, I’d prefer to come inside you.” Marloth tugged on her hair and she let him pull her backward. Her lips dragged over his cock, and at last, she let the head free with a tiny pop.

  “Yeah. Oh fuck, you’re listening in again.”

  “Of course.” He didn’t sound at all repentant. “Though there wasn’t much listening to be done. It’s a wonder they didn’t hear you back on Sogni.”

  “What? I was talking out loud? How on earth with a mouthful of c . . . er, well how?” She was aghast, and heat ran though her for all the wrong reasons. If anyone on the Island had heard her, she’d never live it down.

  Marloth laughed. Deep, sexy, and with the ever present hint of a snarl. It turned her insides to mush, and her clit throbbed with a persistent need for attention.

  “I wasn’t speaking literally, hon. It was all in your mind. But boy did it speed into mine. Hold on.” He swung her into his arms and walked to the door.

  It opened as they approached. “Yeah, it’s set to know me. Don’t ask; I’m not telling.” He pre-empted her question. “Damn it, I need you.” Without stopping he continued across a beautiful, cool, and minimally decorated room. Meryl hardly had time to admire the collection of tiny glass animals on a side table before they’d left the room. “Almost there.”

  Meryl gave a shaky laugh. “Thank god for that, because I feel the same about you. Ah shit.” She had a horrible thought. “Do you have protection?” She was on the pill, but Meryl wasn’t going to rely on that. Not this time. She knew just how potent a certain tiger shifter could be. He’d told her about the many slips others had made and she wasn’t going to have the same thing happen to her. Not yet anyway.

  “Don’t fuss. I do. Not because I thought I’d need them, but because I remembered, well, you know.”

  She did. To her disgust, Meryl felt tears forming and she blinked. The one night they’d had to be inventive had gone down in her mind as the best night ever. Except for the ending when he’d had to leave. She swallowed hard. This was supposed to be something good, not something to make them miserable. She bent her head and nipped his throat. His growl was all she could hope for.

  “Woman, take care, I’m holding on by a thread here.”

  Marloth swung through a door and into a large airy bedroom, and kicked the door shut behind him. The room spun and then she bounced as Marloth dropped her onto the bed.

  “Woo hoo.” Meryl spread her arms. “Blimey, all these rooms are so big. Beautiful, but big.”

  “Well, if I shift, I need space.” He bounced onto the bed next to her. “Nothing worse than getting half-shifted and finding your legs are in one room and your head in another, so to speak. Or squished against a wall.” He tugged on her bikini bottoms. “Lift up, please. I need you naked and under me.”

  The speed at which he moved, both in body and mind, shouldn’t have surprised her. On the few occasions she’d been privileged to watch him shift, Meryl had been awed at the speed her lover changed from golden-haired, macho male to tawny striped all male predator.

  She lifted her butt, and watched from under lowered lids as he peeled the stripy pants slowly down her legs. Each stroke of his thumb on her skin as he inched them lower and lower, made her juices gather. He’d only need to look up to see the evidence on her pussy.

  He didn’t look. Instead he followed the track of his hands with his mouth, and gave her little tiny nips all along her thighs.

  “Take . . . your . . . top . . . off.” Marloth interspersed his words with those erotic nibbles. “Touch yourself. Show me how you like to be felt, play with your nipples, and show me what you want.” He returned to his biting progress toward her feet. How she was supposed to be able to concentrate on undoing her halter neck bikini top when he was sending her body into spasms, Meryl had no idea. She fumbled at the bow between her breasts with fingers that shook. At least it was front fastening.

  “I, ah . . . .” Marloth lifted her leg and sucked at the back of her knee. How on earth did something so strange make her body convulse?

  “Damn it, if you don’t come inside me now, it’ll be too late.” She managed to undo the bow and open her top. He stared at her and nodded. Before she had time to say shift and serve, her bottoms were off, her butt lifted, and his prick was at the entrance to her channel. Meryl pushed in encouragement, and Marloth obliged. He used one long finger to stroke her clit, before he slipped it inside her.

  “Ah, so ready.” He all but purred the words.

  Before Meryl had a chance to answer he moved his finger, replaced it with his cock, and thrust deep inside her. Sparks shot across her skin, and darts of fire licked her nerve ends. Her nipples tightened and sent a primeval thread of desire to her clit and back. She threw her head back onto the coverlet and twisted
her fingers into the material. She had the strangest feeling she’d fly away if she didn’t. Her inner muscles tightened around Marloth’s prick and he groaned.

  “Witch, yes, do it. More, give me more. Let me feel you take me.” He pinched her clit and bent his head to bite one turgid nipple. The combination of bite, sting, and thrusts sent Meryl spinning over the edge. Her world spiraled into a whirlwind of color, a kaleidoscope that engulfed her with pleasure, and left her breathless. She held onto his shoulders, because if she wasn’t anchored, she thought she’d fly away.

  She sobbed with pleasure as Marloth tightened inside her. His big body shuddered, and as she used what little strength she had left to look up at him. His eyes glazed over and his breath came in tiny pants. He threw his head back and shouted as his climax overwhelmed him.

  As his body slumped onto her, Meryl welcomed its weight. It saved her having to pinch herself. Or call herself names. Stupid, idiotic, moronic, bloody daft thing to do. But ah . . . . She sighed in satisfaction. It was so worth it.

  Marloth lifted his head from her chest. “So worth it,” he agreed. “Knackering, mind-blowing, body-stretching, amazing.”

  Meryl grinned as Marloth rolled his eyes and then nuzzled her neck.

  “Hmm-hmm.” She turned her head to one side to give him better access. He gave her one last stroke of his tongue and the roughness reminded her of his other self.

  “Hold on, I’m moving, I don’t want to leave you, but needs must.” Marloth came out of her body, and rolled them over until Meryl rested on top of him. Even then, sated as she thought he must be, his cock did its damnedest to react to her, and perk up. She giggled.

  “Oh, bless. Is this a case of the spirit is willing, but the flesh is not quite up to it?”

  Marloth pinched her butt. “I guess so. Now just rest, and cuddle in for a minute or ten. I need to re-gather my whatever. And attack.” He stroked her back and nipped her ass again before he jumped off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom. Within a minute he was back again with a cloth and a towel. “I’m sure we’ve missed a lot of body to play with.” The soft stroke of the damp cloth over her body was soothing and arousing. Something Meryl had never thought could be possible.

  “Attack?” Meryl thought back to his last statement. Even in her sated state, she wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that.

  He chuckled. “I’m a strategist. I work out when and how I need to attack.” He threw the cloth down, paused and ran a finger from her shoulder down her arm. “Wherever you’re most vulnerable.” He pounced on her tickle zone without warning, and with each sweep of his hands under her arms, Meryl giggled like a child.

  It proved fatal; one touch and she was a gonner. The more she wriggled, the more he tickled. By the time he stopped, Meryl was a heap of jelly, and said so.

  Marloth lifted himself up on his elbows and stared down at her. “Mine.”

  She bit her lip. Whatever she might try to think to the contrary, she knew that she needed Marloth, as much as she needed air. However, telling him and agreeing to what he wanted was a different thing.

  “I love you.” Damn and blast, where did those words come from? Before she had a chance to retract them or add anything, he blinked and took her mouth in a mind-numbing kiss.

  “I love you too. But I need to know.” He paused. The look on his face was somber, and his eyes were cloudy. The abrupt change from a laughing lover to a serious, unsmiling person sent a shiver of worry skittering over her skin. “I need to know, what happened to our child?”

  The look on her face was enough to freeze sun cream.

  “You what?”

  Damn. But he needed to know. “You were pregnant. With my child.” The look she gave him could’ve melted ice—or broken balls. It made him want to protect them, but he pressed on. “And then, nothing happened. So?”

  The last thing he expected was the table lamp heading toward his head.

  “Bastard. Fucking lying, cheating, bloody lying fucktard.”

  He stretched his hand out and caught it with a precision any goalkeeper would admire. “Now, Meryl, you know—” He didn’t get any further before the pillow hit his head, and it was much harder than he expected. “Ooft.”

  “I’ll ooft you. How dare you accuse me of, of—”

  To his horror, Meryl began to cry. Huge racking sobs that shook her body. Marloth tried to hold her, but she pushed him away. He’d never felt so helpless in his life. Had he got it all wrong? He contented himself with stroking her arm, and was glad she accepted that small gesture. For long seconds, he waited as Meryl wept, until at last, she took a deep breath and shuddered. She didn’t look at him, and half turned away and looked around. Marloth understood and reached for the box of tissues on the bedside table. She took one without a word and blew her nose. Only then did she turn and face him.

  “Why did you think something as awful as that?” Her tone was cold, and her eyes were dull.

  It was only then that Marloth realized what he’d done, and what she thought he’d accused her of.

  “I think,” he said slowly, trying to find the right words to express himself. “I think I’ve gone about this the wrong way. After I left, I thought you found out you were pregnant. You never contacted me, but . . . Oh hell, I had someone make sure you were okay. No, not Mia. She’d be more likely to make sure I never heard anything ever again. Just someone who watched over you from a distance.” He took hold of Meryl and pulled her toward him. At first, she was stiff, and resisted, but Marloth persisted. “Someone told that watcher you were pregnant. Someone they trusted. Oh love, I’m so, so sorry. Please let me hold you. I need to be close, and try to explain. Will you let me?”

  Even the air seemed to wait for her answer. Outside, the house a bird called and another one answered. Meryl sighed, but gradually her rigid body softened. She didn’t melt into him, but neither did she pull away. He decided that was as good as it was going to get. Me and my big mouth, but something happened and I need to know what.

  “It better be good.”

  He hoped so. “It’s a long story. Are you happy here or do you want to go somewhere else?”

  Meryl struggled to sit up, and shrugged. “As in where? Back to Isola Dei Sogni? I think if we do that, we’ll never talk. Damn and blast. Half an hour ago I was on cloud nine, and a happy bunny. Yes, okay, you hate that expression but—”

  “I never said a word,” Marloth protested.

  “You didn’t have to. You rolled your eyes. Anyway, like I said then, I was happy and now I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut and betrayed. How could you think A, I was pregnant, and B, think I’d do anything to jeopardize a child of ours. Oh, and C, who the fuck was stalking me?”

  “No one was stalking you, not really. Shit, let’s go and have a drink and something to eat. Then sit on the patio and talk. It’s a long story, and I’ve a nasty feeling some things didn’t happen as they should. Just one more thing, though.”

  Meryl raised an eyebrow in query.

  “I do love you, never doubt that,” Marloth said. He helped her into a sitting position and held her against him. “And that, I think, is part of the problem. Oh, not for me, but for other people.”

  “Nor for me, although I think Mia would doubt your sincerity. She had to help me pick up the pieces after you went.” Meryl gave him a swift kiss on the nose and swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Oh hell, how did it all come to this? I thought I was coping. Damn it, I was coping, and now? Shit. I don’t know what’s happened, what’s going to happen, or why life is so bloody complicated. Yeah, let’s eat and talk.” She stood up and stretched. The sight of her body was enough for Marloth to tingle and his cock did its best to respond.

  Meryl looked down at him and for a brief moment, her eyes brightened. “Willing spirit and weak body?”

  He laughed. “Yup, that’s about it. The shower is through there. I’ll go and use the outdoor one and then sort out food.”

  Meryl started to walk to th
e door and turned to look at him. “So, in words of one syllable. How far are we from the boat here?”

  “About a minute. There’s a direct route from the beach. You wouldn’t find it unless you knew where to look. I reckoned if you wandered along the beach you’d not find it. Not that I didn’t want to show you what I’d always hoped would be our house. Whoa.” He jumped off the bed and grabbed Meryl as she swayed. “Are you okay?”

  She shook her head. He realized it wasn’t a negative shake, but more one to clear it.

  “Say that again. Our house? Like how? And after knowing me for a month? And then buggering off? Yeah, that’ll be right.” She looked at him as if he’d just escaped from an institution.

  Marloth tamped his frustration down. How could he explain things he didn’t fully understand himself? “I met you. I fell in love with you. I was forced to leave you. I built this with us in mind. In the hope that, one day, it would be ours. And yes, we were only together for a few weeks, but I knew you were mine. The only one. And you’ve just said you love me, so?”

  Meryl nodded. “Ton of bricks. I know. I was the same. So how, after you left, did I get the ‘all over but fun while it lasted’ email?”

  He blinked. A rushing noise filled his head and the hairs on his arms stood on end. “Pardon?”

  “The dear Jane email you sent me.”

  “I didn’t send you a dear Jane email. I sent one and asked you to be patient, and I’d be back as soon as I could. You never answered.”

  “Something stinks.”

  He nodded. Something did, and he was damned sure he’d find out what and why. “And we’ll get to the bottom of it somehow. Shower and food. I’ll bring your bag back with me. I’ll be ten, fifteen minutes, tops.” He didn’t wait to see if Meryl agreed or not. He needed to get out of the house, shift, and run off his anger.

  He started to shift the minute he left the building. Her words of ‘take care’ floated after him, and he was thankful. Within seconds, he’d changed into his tiger self and ran toward the beach. A swim to the boat and a full out sprint along the sand should help him. His pace increased and he hit the sand at full speed before rushing into the water and diving underneath. He surfaced and shook his head. Water dripped off his pelt as he rose up and swam strongly toward the boat.