Timur leaned down and pressed a kiss against Evangeline’s cheek. “You need anything at all, you tell me.”
She nodded. “Thanks, Timur. I’m sorry I’ve been difficult over security. I find myself irritable and annoyed over everything.”
“Stop giving me days off,” Ashe said. “I can handle the bakery for you.”
Evangeline nodded and waved them off. “Go and be together. Once you get pregnant all you’ll see is the inside of a toilet bowl.”
11
ASHE woke toward morning, her skin burning hot. She’d gone to sleep naked, tangled with Timur. He’d been a gentle lover the first time, something she wasn’t certain she could handle from him yet. When they had wild, uninhibited sex, she felt more in control of her emotions. Not her body—he was in complete control of that—but she could pretend to herself that she had time to make up her mind about him.
She knew herself very well. If Timur turned that ice-cold, compartmentalized demeanor loose on her, becoming violent or emotionally abusive, she knew she wouldn’t tolerate it, not for one moment. If the attack was physical, not only would she fight back, but she was mean enough to wait until he was asleep and beat the crap out of him and then get out. She wasn’t certain she was the best match for him.
Her skin hurt with just the sheet touching it, so sensitive she wanted to cry in alarm. Very carefully she tried to extract herself, afraid of waking Timur, wanting to know what she was facing first. She had so many questions and felt so much uncertainty. She genuinely liked Timur. She liked being with him. He had that edge she needed, and yet was sweet to her.
He loved Evangeline and the emotion was wholly genuine. That should have told him right there that he wasn’t even close to being the psychopath he thought himself. He wasn’t selfish. His every thought seemed to be for the protection of others.
Ashe suppressed a groan and covered her face with her hands in an effort to block out her thoughts. Was she trying to give herself reasons to stay with him? He needed her more than any other man ever would, that much she was certain of. She wanted to be needed. He focused completely on her, which was a good thing, except that she didn’t want their relationship to be like her parents’—she wanted children, and her husband had to love them as fiercely and as protectively as she did.
“What is it, malen’kiy smerch ?” Timur’s voice was soft, tender even.
She felt that tone right through her heart, as if he’d pierced her with an arrow. He shifted positions, turning toward her, propping his head up with one hand so he could look down at her. His eyes glowed in the dark of the room, telling her his cat was close. Of course, Temnyy would rise, looking for his female.
She tried not to flinch at the thought. Timur’s arm slid around her waist, locking her to him, but she felt the difference in his hold. He was more protective than sexual.
“You’re burning up, Ashe.”
“I know.” Her hair felt too heavy for her head. Her skin felt as if it had shrunk and was far too small for her. Her mouth ached, as if her teeth were stretching the limits of her jaw. As hot as her body was, there was no comparison to what was happening between her legs or in her deepest core. There was no doubt in her mind that Godiva would be emerging soon.
“I’m afraid, Timur.” She might as well admit it.
“You’ve shifted before, Ashe. It gets easier every time. Your body remembers, and your mind becomes more accepting. You know you, the human being, is still there. You’re strong, you’ll be in control of her. She needs to know she can count on you. When you let your leopard free, she has to be able to count on you to keep her from doing anything that will get her killed or harmed.”
She had to try very hard not to rub her body with her palms. Her skin hurt. Burned. Felt as if she might die if she didn’t touch herself—or worse—beg him to touch her. “If I let her out and your male claims her for his mate, it will be impossible to get out of this relationship. You know that, Timur. Don’t you?” She hoped she was wrong, that she hadn’t run out of time, but it felt that way.
Ashe had to move. She couldn’t stop herself from rubbing along the sheet and over his body. The chemicals under her skin were driving her insane with need. She wanted to claw her way over top of Timur. Her hips slid along the sheets, legs sprawled apart, so her hand could creep down her belly to curl inside of her with the hope of putting out the fire—or at least stalling it.
Timur stroked his hand over the curve of her buttocks. “Baby.” His voice was so gentle it turned her heart over. “He’s already claimed her. You know that. The leopards are fine. You just have to let yourself catch up. Tell me what your worst fear is.”
“That you’ll change your mind and become abusive. Men do that. Some men,” she qualified. “You’re capable of violence, Timur. You are. There’s no denying that.”
“Not toward a woman.” He bent his head and kissed her hip, his hair sliding over her burning skin, adding fuel to the fire spinning out of control inside her.
She lifted her lashes, so he was looking her directly in the eye. “Some women take it, Timur. They do for whatever their reasons may be. I’m not one of those.”
“Did you think I wasn’t aware of that, Ashe?” He stroked a caress from her hip to her thigh, leaving behind a blazing trail of fire. “I see you, the real you. You aren’t hidden from me. It’s my job to assess people’s nature quickly, size them up and assess the threat. I’m damned good at my job, that’s why Fyodor relies on me. It isn’t because I’m his brother.”
She knew Fyodor hadn’t hired Timur because he was his brother. Just in the short time she’d been around them, she could see Fyodor relinquishing more and more of his power to his brother. He was doing so because Timur had earned his trust and respect.
There was a strange roaring in her ears making it hard to hear. Her hips moved of their own accord, restless and wantonly hungry for him. His fingers drove her to distraction, stroking her skin so there were trails of flames licking over her thigh and hip.
“Timur.” His name came out breathless. Fearful. She had expected to handle this moment with grace because she knew what was coming. She knew what to expect. Her mother had talked to her about it. Hearing it, thinking about it and feeling it were very different things.
He rolled her under him, his hips wedging between her thighs, spreading her legs wide and leaving her feeling very vulnerable. He caught both her hands in his and brought her arms up over her head, stretching her under him.
“I know you’re scared, Ashe. Keep looking into my eyes. I’ll get you through this, I promise. No one is ever going to love you, or need you, the way I do.” He transferred both of her wrists into one hand and then slid his fingers along the inside of her thigh.
Ashe thought she might die with wanting him. At the same time, she was terrified of the consequences of her actions. She couldn’t help but move into him, her body no longer under her own control. Something much larger had taken over. A force as big as nature commanded her and she was helpless under its onslaught.
His fingers were right there. So close. Stroking flames over her thighs. That wasn’t where the true fire was. Didn’t he know that? On the other hand, she knew she would never leave him if they did this. If their leopards were allowed to mate, which would happen as soon as they were finished, she couldn’t take Godiva from Temnyy. That would be … cruel.
“Look at me, Ashe.”
Even his whispers held command. She hadn’t realized she’d lowered her lashes to prevent herself from falling into him, which she did every time she looked him in the eye. Very slowly, with great reluctance, she lifted her lashes. She knew what she would find. Those eyes of his. Ever changing. Eyes that no longer reminded her of glaciers, but of fires burning so hot the flames had gone blue.
She fell, just as she knew she would. She was trapped there, right in the center of those blue flames. There was no getting out. And did she even want to? Where else could she find such perfection? Danger and yet sweetne
ss? She needed both. Usually they didn’t go hand in hand. Usually danger was bad, very bad.
“Please,” she whispered back, the fever burning so strong she thought she might die.
“I’m here.”
She felt him pressing against her entrance. That broad, velvet head, so wide she felt she couldn’t possibly take him inside, yet every cell in her body demanded she do just that. She needed him. At the touch of his cock against her, the need rose until she was practically sobbing.
“Timur, it feels as if I’m going insane.” She made her confession in a rush.
“I’ve got you, baby. Just keep looking at me.”
He was pushing into her, a slow, steady invasion that forced her tight muscles to yield. Just the touch of him, that thick shaft and broad head, sent her careening over the edge, straight into madness. Her nails dug into his shoulders. Her heart pounded so loudly she could hear the way her blood drummed along with her heartbeat.
“It burns.”
“I know. I know, sweetheart, but it’s a good burn. You like the way this burns.”
Of course, she did. She knew that, yet why was she was so worried? Why couldn’t she just enjoy what was happening between them? He moved deeper in her and flames lashed over her skin and seemed to swallow her whole. She screamed as sensations poured over her.
He gripped her hips in his large hands and lifted her, driving down savagely. It felt … wonderful. “More,” she demanded, uncaring what he might think.
He moved in her, fast and hard, plunging deep, over and over until the breath was coming out of her in ragged pants and she was streaking her nails down his shoulders and back in an effort to find something to anchor herself to when she was flying too high.
She never wanted him to stop, and he seemed more than willing to oblige her. He kept her on the edge for so long she was afraid she might really lose her mind, but then when he tipped her over, it was worse, her body rippling with contractions, with waves of such intense pleasure, it was both ecstasy and hell. Opposites, yet so close together. She had both sensations at once and it didn’t matter. She needed more.
Then he was pouring himself into her. She felt the lash of that heat, the swelling of his shaft as it pushed against her tender muscles, demanding she surrender completely. Completely . Staring into those blue flames, she did, letting herself fall, flinging herself right over the edge of the cliff, praying he’d catch her before she hit the earth below.
The fall was unlike anything she’d faced in the past. She floated, her body on fire, feeling so good she couldn’t do anything but experience it. Still, the fire refused to be put out, and she found herself in tears.
“It won’t stop,” she whispered, burying her face in his neck.
“We’re just starting,” he assured. “I’ve heard this can be brutal on women. I’m right here, Ashe. I’m not going anywhere.” He pulled out of her, and she cried out as his heavy erection dragged over her sensitive clit. It hurt. It felt good. She needed more. He rolled off her, and with one arm around her waist, took her to the edge of the bed and positioned her easily, bending her over, so that her feet, on the floor, were spread apart, and her head was on the mattress.
“Hurry,” she whispered again, jamming her fist into her mouth.
The need was building and building, a wild, feral urgency that left her breathless and terrified. It had to go away. It had to be assuaged. There was only Timur in her world in that moment. Timur was her only hope.
She felt the broad head of his erection push into her and she pushed back, desperation setting in. His hands smoothed over her buttocks and down her thighs, creating the sensation of flames licking over her skin. Deep inside, she responded to that feeling, that brutal need. It was as if she was made for anything Timur could do to her.
Then he was riding her hard and she couldn’t think. His hands were everywhere, heightening the sensations pouring over and into her. Her breath came in those raggedly insane pants that meant she couldn’t find her voice, but it didn’t matter. Everything he did, everywhere he touched or rubbed, or smacked, it was everything she needed.
Every hard jolt set her nipples rubbing along the sheet, the friction feeling like a fire in her breasts. Her nipples seemed to have a connection, a line straight to her clit. He was manipulating that little bud as well, flicking with his fingers, patting it hard, tugging and rolling so that crazy waves of heat rushed back and forth between her breasts and her sex.
Then she was sobbing as her body took over, the hardest orgasm she’d ever had rolling through her like thunder. Like a firestorm. “The tornado” he called her. It was huge and so strong it shook her and him as well. She heard his husky cry as if in the distance.
“You’re so hot, Ashe, and you’re milking me dry. Taking everything.” He collapsed over her even as her muscles continued to grip at him, dragging everything he had out of him.
He held her for a few minutes while they both fought to catch their breath. They didn’t have that kind of time. Ashe felt her female pushing hard for the surface, desperate, now that she was on such fire too. Her own body immediately felt the urgency again, the fire so hot and strong she buried her face in the sheets and wept. She couldn’t do this. It was flying too high. Singeing as the fire only got hotter. It was brutal. Terrible. Wonderful. Truly frightening.
“Timur …” Her voice held despair.
“I’m here, baby. I’m not going anywhere. She needs out. You have to let her out.”
“I hurt already. I don’t see how.”
“Slide to the floor and call to her. She’s close because Temnyy is right on the surface. Look at my arms, Ashe.” He held them out on either side of her.
She’d been concentrating on the heavy erection inside of her. She made herself concentrate on lifting her head enough to look at his arms. They were contorting. Something clearly moved beneath the surface, demanding to get out.
“I’m pulling out of you now, and it’s going to sting a little.” He was careful, sliding his cock out of her.
She felt the sharp pain, almost as if the tip of a tack had dragged across the walls of her sheath and then over her clit. She heard herself cry out and then she was empty, and he was rolling away from her, going to the floor beside the bed.
She spun off the bed, onto the floor, her muscles contorting. Where before, it hurt and she’d been terrified, now every sensation was sexual. She was practically writhing on the floor, rubbing her body along the bed and crawling toward Timur on her hands and knees. She felt that need inside her building and building until it was so raw and urgent she was on him, her mouth trailing up his thigh, tongue licking at him, stroking demands of him all the way to his cock.
She saw her arms and legs change, felt thick fur slide over her skin and when she turned her attention back to Timur, he was all leopard. For a moment, her heart nearly stopped. Those eyes were on her, a killer blue, lost in a sea of black rosettes, but staring at her with the focused, unblinking gaze of a pure predator.
He was beautiful and all hers. Godiva brushed along his side, rubbing her fur along his. He answered by rubbing his muzzle all over hers and then his chin down her body. Timur had left the window open and Temnyy turned and padded toward it, looking back at Godiva.
The thought of freedom was too hard to resist. Godiva was interested in enticing her mate, while Ashe was mostly interested in running. Fast. Hard. Long. Wearing herself out. She was exhausted and yet she wasn’t. She needed more, and she wanted Godiva to have her turn with Temnyy. Maybe, just maybe, that would help.
Godiva landed on the ground outside and lifted her head to scent the world around her. Ahead and just a little to the right were the vineyards. Acres of grapes. To the left was the grove of trees Antonio Arnotto’s family had planted. Antonio had added to that thick paradise for leopards. Branches formed unique highways for the leopards to travel from tree to tree without ever touching the ground.
Temnyy didn’t take to those tempting branches. He chose
to run along the ground. Godiva followed him into the coolness under the canopies of the trees. Once in the darker and more protected area, Temnyy paused to allow her to take the lead, which she did without hesitation. She had never been there before and took her time exploring. She also claimed every inch of the territory she could find.
Another female had been there before her. She didn’t like that and scent-marked over her offending smell. Godiva made certain that Temnyy knew another male had also claimed this territory. He reacted as expected, roaring his rage and promising death to any challenger. Godiva had to be satisfied knowing he would fight for the privilege of having her as his mate.
She ran a few steps toward the small stream that rushed on a winding course through the grove and then she crouched, inviting Temnyy close. The moment he came near, she was up, slapping at leaves and sending them at him in a whirling eddy of debris. She ran toward the stream, ignoring the large fenced-in tea garden where her rival female’s scent was strongest.
The night was dazzling seen through a leopard’s eyes and smelled through the cat’s olfactory senses. The moon appeared to be much brighter, the stars like diamonds shining overhead. Moonbeams danced across fallen leaves and spotlighted the cicadas holding their nightly concert.
In spite of the beauty surrounding her, Godiva’s attention was mainly on Temnyy as he paced alongside or just behind her. He lifted his head continually and sent out sawing challenges to any other male in the vicinity. He rubbed his scent over Godiva’s making certain that any cat coming across their trail would know she belonged to him.
Godiva pranced and preened and occasionally crouched seductively in front of Temnyy. He was alert but very cautious when he came close. Each time he approached, she let him get closer before she snarled and swiped her paw.
Deep in the leopard’s body, Ashe felt the gathering heat and knew her female was close. She had to get her to see that she needed to accept her mate. In doing so, she would be sealing her own fate. Once the two leopards had mated, there would be no tearing them apart. Her mother had made her very aware of that. Her mother’s leopard was her father’s leopard’s true mate. They had found each other in another life cycle and recognized each other.
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