His mouth was hot, a cavern of blazing heat as he suckled strongly, his tongue flicking and flattening her left nipple alternately. All the while he tugged and rolled her right one so that her hips were bucking, and the thin pair of pajama bottoms felt like a terrible weight on her skin.
She didn’t have a single thought to make him stop. Not one. She could only think of him. His hands, his mouth. His teeth. She hadn’t known the scrape of teeth against her skin could feel so good. His hands slid down her rib cage and over her hips. Lower, taking the material with them, so the cool air fanned her heated skin.
He spent time on her breasts, sucking, using his tongue and teeth, drawing her deep into his mouth and then stroking with his broad tongue. He was by turns gentle, almost tender, and then rough as hell, bordering on pain—but an exquisite pain, one that just balanced her right on an edge she had never been on and wanted more of.
His mouth traveled lower, his tongue tracing her ribs and then swirling around her belly button. She was sensitive there, and he took full advantage, tugging on her nipple and then kissing and tasting her skin around her belly button. His hand slid lower still, over her dark curls where she was already damp, showing her need of him.
He moved then, pulling her thighs apart to accommodate his body. He was a big man and needed a lot of room. For the first time she felt vulnerable, especially when she hesitated and his hands simply wrapped around her thighs and forced her legs wider.
“Mitya.” His name came out a gasping plea instead of the no she thought she might say to him.
He looked up at her, his body stretched out between her legs. His hands were already stroking her inner thighs, fingers dancing so close to her heat she could barely keep from pushing down to try to fill herself with him.
His eyes glittered, and she knew the man was as fierce as his cat. Nothing would keep him from her. Nothing. That knowledge was both thrilling and frightening. Then his mouth was between her legs and she cried out, fire shooting through her, dozens of arrows hitting everywhere while electricity seemed to snap and leap off her skin in tiny sparks of red.
He knew exactly what he was doing, driving her up fast, holding her right at the threshold, keeping her there for long, excruciating minutes when she thought she might die if he didn’t follow through while tension gathered and coiled. She felt the wave building like a wildfire out of control. She even heard the roaring in her ears.
His mouth needed to be insured. She had no idea anything could feel that way, or make her burn the way he did. Her head thrashed on the pillow. Her fingers curled in his hair. Holding him to her. Pushing him away. Using him as an anchor. All three. She was out of control and it didn’t matter. All that mattered was the feeling building. Growing in her. Rolling like dark clouds. Spinning like a ferocious tornado.
He knelt between her legs and freed his cock. He was fully clothed, the material rubbing along the insides of her legs, adding to the fierce sensations fueling her desperation. His cock was large and for a moment her heart slammed hard in her chest, but she was slick with need and frantic for him to give her everything. She needed him.
The broad head lodged in her entrance, feeling both velvet soft and firm, flaring so wide she wasn’t certain she could take him. He pressed into her, guiding his thick cock deeper. The burn was back, this time spreading through her, impossible to tell if it was ecstasy or agony. Her breath caught in her lungs. Her gaze found his face. His eyes were almost feral, the blue so dark and wild she gasped, finally getting air, but now she couldn’t look away.
He would own her. It was there, stamped into every line of his face. He would rule her with this, sex beyond her wildest dreams. No one else would ever satisfy her. She would be forever obsessed with him. Worse, she would crave him night and day. She knew she would give him whatever he wanted when he wanted it, because she would always need this.
There was one fleeting thought to try to stop him, but the craving was already too strong. She wanted more of that long, thick shaft. She wanted him buried in her. Moving in her. She couldn’t stop the way her body reacted with more liquid heat surrounding him. Her tight muscles reluctantly opened for him, pulling him deeper, grasping at him greedily.
He was raw sex. Rough sex. Dirty sex. His hands moved over the cheeks of her butt possessively. He squeezed and massaged. He lifted her hips to him. Held her perfectly still while he buried himself deep. His eyes went to her breasts as each hard jolt sent them swaying.
“Fucking you is pure paradise.” He nearly snarled it. “I’m looking at your mouth and I wish I had another cock to bury down your throat until you’re nearly choking on me. Stretch your lips around me until you can’t open any wider. The minute I saw you, I knew you’d be like this. Pure fuckin’ fire.”
His fantasies should have given her pause, but instead, the heat turned up another notch. She wanted those things too. She wanted everything he could give her. His thumb was moving along her cheeks, finding the seam and stroking her liquid between the firm globes. Then he pushed into her, almost to his knuckle, and the sensation was overwhelming. Her body clamped down on his and she was spiraling out into another realm.
She heard her choking cries of pure elation, but he kept moving through her orgasm, unrelenting, stroking deep like a piston. Harder. Faster. Then he was pounding into her, lifting her hips to meet his every demand until she was in a frenzy of need again. His eyes glittered at her. His hands were tight, strong, possessive. He changed angles slightly and the burn was back. Growing. Scorching. Spreading like a wildfire out of control.
Then his cock seemed to double in size, pushing at her tender sheath. Insisting she belong to him. A volcano, so hot it needed to explode. Her body clamped down on his like a vise. He swore between clenched teeth. The hot splash of his seed coated the walls of her channel, triggering the wild flames sweeping through her body in rolling waves of orange and red. She felt every jerk and throb of his cock as he emptied himself into her. Every splash pure fire so that aftershocks rocked her.
Mitya collapsed over top of her, giving her the complete weight of his broad, muscular body. He had the build of a leopard—dense, with roped muscles—and he was heavy. He trapped her beneath him and buried his face between her neck and shoulder. Then his teeth were in her. Pain flashed through her, but strangely, her body reacted with more liquid heat and several aftershocks. The bite felt more erotic than violent. He licked at the small wound, and that felt erotic as well. Everything he did was sexy. Everything he said was sexy. She was so lost she was terrified. Somehow, he had welded them together.
She didn’t want him to move, although he was pressing her deep into the mattress and she had to breathe shallowly. He was buried in her and she could feel his heart beating right through his cock. She felt as if she truly belonged to him. For this time, when they both lay quietly together, she felt as if he cared for her. It wasn’t about their leopards. They didn’t have to be together. It was about them—two people. She wanted, even needed, to feel that, if only for a moment.
He shifted his weight far too soon, sliding out of her, sending delicious little shivers through her body as his cock withdrew. He kissed her breasts and then her throat before going up to her chin and finding her mouth. She tasted herself on his tongue and it added an extra layer of wickedness to the fiery kiss.
“Give me a minute and I’ll get a washcloth,” he said as he turned over to lie on his back beside her.
She lay very still, her heart beating far too fast. She’d just given herself to him. Wholly. No going back. She had no idea how he actually felt about her, and yet she’d locked herself into a relationship. “Mitya?” She had to ask. “We’re exclusive, right? For as long as this lasts, we’re exclusive.”
He sighed. She closed her eyes against the sound. She should have asked questions before she’d had sex with him, not after.
“We’re getting married, Ania. You’re going to
be my wife. Your female is my male’s mate. You want another man, you’d better know that I’ll fuckin’ kill him with my bare hands. There aren’t going to be other men in your life. No one else touches you. They don’t kiss you. They don’t put their hands on you, or their mouths. They don’t fuck you. You’re mine. You. Your heart. Your body. Your soul. That’s all mine. There’s no going back. There’s no divorce. You have a problem with something I’ve done, you come talk to me about it.”
She lay for a long time in silence, and then, just as he rolled to get up to get the washcloth, she sighed. He turned his head to look down at her. One hand slid possessively from her belly to her breasts.
“What is it?”
“That’s all about what you’re going to do if I take another man as a lover, or some such weird thing. At no time did I hear what you intend to do with other women.”
“Baby, you’ve been outside for what? The last three years? Training to be a sniper? You think I’m stupid enough to let another woman touch me when you’re that kind of woman? I’m not. I’m also not a man who would ever disrespect my wife, my woman, by cheating on her. I don’t want another woman when I have you. You light up for me like no one else ever could. I intend to get every damn thing I’ve ever wanted or fantasized about from you. I don’t like the word no, and don’t expect to hear it from you in the bedroom. In any case, if I tried to fuck another woman, not only would you be after me, but my leopard would kill her.”
She bit her lip, her gaze on his face. “You don’t like the word no? What does that even mean? I imagine you’re going to hear that quite often from me because you think you can rule the world.”
“I rule your world, kotyonok, and that’s all that should matter to you.” He got up to go into the bathroom. He left the door open and she could hear the water running as he washed himself.
Ania stared after him, not quite sure whether he was teasing her. “You’re not ruling my world. I’ve gone my own way for a very long time. I don’t think Evangeline’s or Ashe’s husbands rule their worlds.”
“Maybe not, but I’m not married to either of them. Don’t worry, baby, I intend to rock your world as well as rule it.” There was a trace of amusement in his voice. “Spread your legs for me.”
She felt the blush start and was very glad it was dark. “I can do it, Mitya.” She held out her hand for the washcloth.
“Not a good start, woman. You don’t want to argue with me over something so ridiculous. Save your energy for battles that truly matter to you. I like cleaning you up. It feels like taking care of you, so spread your fucking legs and let me do it.”
“Nice.” She cooperated, but only because he was making her laugh and she needed to. Everything had been so intense, from the discussions about her father to the way he’d taken her body.
He was so gentle she had to blink back tears, proving she was far too emotional. He sat on the end of the bed while he slipped the warm washcloth down her thighs. “Ania, I intend to make your life a very happy one. I’m not going to be with another woman. I’ve spent years without any hope of finding you, and you all but dropped into my lap. You’re beautiful. You like my rather rough style of sex. I need certain things from you in the bedroom, and it’s clear you’re not only willing to give them to me, but you get off on them too. I look at you and can barely breathe sometimes. Stop fighting me on this and try.”
“You have all the control.”
“Is that so bad? I’m a male leopard. A shifter. We aren’t human, and the rules for our society aren’t the same. Put yourself in my hands and see what happens.”
“If I don’t, you’re going to take control, aren’t you?”
He nodded. His hand was once more cupping her breast, his thumb sliding gently over her nipple. “That’s who I am, Ania. It will always be who I am. Just now you gave up all control to me and look what happened.”
Her body was still singing. She’d even had a few aftershocks when he’d used the washcloth on her. She couldn’t deny the sex had been amazing. Terrifying, it was so intense, but beyond amazing.
She moistened her lips. Could she? Could she give him control outside the bedroom as well? She wasn’t certain she was capable of that. Or if she trusted him that much to put her interests before his own.
“Do I seem like a submissive yes-woman to you?”
“Why would you think I would want you to change? I like who you are. I don’t want submission from you. I want your trust, yes, but I intend to prove to you that you can trust me. Because I’m willing to lock you up to keep you safe, does that make you think I want submission? You can fight me all you want. It isn’t logical, and I think you know that.”
She sat up slowly and scooted to the headboard. Mitya immediately tucked pillows behind her back. She caught the sheet to cover herself, but he tugged it down.
“I love looking at you. I think I could spend years just staring at your body.”
That made her smile. “I would hope you’d want to do more than just look.”
His eyes took on that feral, intense glitter that sent a shiver down her spine. “I could devour you, kotyonok.” He leaned down and bit her inner thigh. It wasn’t just a nip and yet instantly she was damp again. Her nipples peaked. He smiled at her. “See, Ania. Your body knows me. It loves whatever I do to you.”
“That’s because you totally short-circuited my brain,” she admitted with a smile. That much was true. He had. The way he was looking at her made her want to experience his particular brand of sex all over again.
“Ania, can you at least concede that I’m right about your father? It is a debt of honor I must fulfill. When he can no longer stop his leopard, I have to be the one to handle it.”
She bit down hard on her lip and felt the sting immediately, knowing she’d drawn blood. It wasn’t fair to Mitya. She’d already accused him of being a murderer if he did what he said and allowed his leopard to kill her father’s. But what did she want him to do? He was right.
“I hate that you’re right. I hate that I’m not strong enough to do what needs to be done. I’ve known all along that I would have to find the courage and strength to go into his room with a gun, but I couldn’t make myself do it. I kept hoping for a miracle.” She took a breath. Let it out. Kept her eyes on his because it had to be said. She owed him that much. “Maybe you’re the miracle for both my father and me.”
He leaned forward and framed her face with his hands. “Thank you for that, Ania. I would never allow him to suffer.”
She nodded, because she was certain that was the truth. “Thank you for having one of your men relieve Annalise. She wants to stay with him. She’s been in our family since I was born, but she’s terrified of his ‘fits.’ I’m terrified his leopard will emerge and harm her before she can get out of the room.”
“Is she a shifter?”
“Yes, but her leopard never emerged. At least that was what my mother told me. She has no family other than me. I have always planned on taking care of her.”
“Perhaps she will want to help us with our babies.”
She blinked. “I haven’t thought in terms of babies. Not once.”
“You don’t want children?”
She could tell he did. That it was important to him. For a moment, just because she tended to panic a little at the thought of actually living with him, she considered lying. But what was the use? He would hear the lie.
“Three years earlier, when it became apparent that my grandparents and mother were murdered, and then the try was made for my father, I accepted the fact that I wasn’t going to live once I exacted my revenge. I was going to find who was responsible as well as those who carried out the actual attack. My future ended then.”
His face darkened. He leaned in and kissed her. This time, his kiss was gentle, and her heart turned over. Her stomach tumbled, a long, slow drop.
“You
have a future with me. I want babies. In the plural. As many as you’ll let me make with you. Annalise can be a part of our family until the day she passes. She’ll have quite a few men to boss around.”
She found herself smiling at him. “She’ll like that.”
“I heard you were planning on selling. Let’s keep both properties for now. The leopards will have more room to run.”
“It will be more difficult and take more manpower to guard both places,” Ania pointed out. She knew because she didn’t have a lot of help and she’d been a little paranoid since the attempted break-ins.
“My woman. Thinking like a general.”
He looked so pleased she felt her heart melt.
“I told you we would be perfect together. You have a good point, but I still think it will be better for the leopards. I can hire a few more men. Drake Donovan can find us shifters that need work.”
She liked that he listened to her. She didn’t want to sell the property, but she had thought it better not to have any ties where her enemies could trace her. “All right, then. I won’t put the property up for sale.”
“What about the family business? Do you want to keep that as well?”
She could have kissed him. “No, I think I’m done with all that. It was a relief to me when I made the decision to sell. I didn’t tell my father, mostly because he thought I loved it. I love driving, but I don’t love dealing with customers.” She flashed a small smile. “I don’t have the right personality.”
“You don’t like being told what to do.” He stroked his chin as if he had a beard. “That’s too bad. I was just about to give you a few commands.”
His hand dropped to his lap and her breath caught in her throat. He was fully erect. Thick. Pulsing. Already leaking precious fluid.
“So soon?”
“I told you, kotyonok, I have my fantasies. Just thinking about what we can do together makes me hard as a fuckin’ rock.”
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