by Nikki Winter
Covering her face with her hands, she queried, “How…how do you manage to be so sweet and so infuriating all at the same time?”
He shrugged. “I like to say it’s a gift. My father likes to say it’s something I inherited from Lucifer. Which my mother takes exception to because apparently if she were going to commit adultery and have a child with another man it would’ve been with someone such as Yul Brynner and not Beelzebub.”
“If I wanted to run right now and never look back would you stop me?”
“Depends on if I were angled enough to watch your ti—”
She raised a hand, claws in full view. “You complete that statement and I will make you look like you stepped directly out of the circle of life.”
Kaisal’s mouth twisted. “Perhaps if my mouth was otherwise occupied…” He allowed his voice to trail off.
“I’m not kissing you.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re wearing that ‘I sniff you when you’re not looking’ expression which means the moment I kiss you everything will snowball and I will completely forget that we need to talk about what being mated means.”
“That’s quite simple, princess. It means you kiss me when I ask and simply stand still when I am sniffing you.”
“Kaisal, love.” Kamali ran her hands across his chest and looked up at him somberly. “I think you and I need to also discuss therapy.”
He blinked. “You’re insulting me instead of kissing me. I’m offended by the second more than the first and demand restitution.”
She opened her mouth to object but he leaned in until they were nose-to-nose. “Is it too much to ask for a little affection? A scratch beneath the chin? A nuzzle?” He rubbed his cheek against hers. “Just one kiss, Kamali? I won’t even use my hands.”
When he caught her ear between his lips a purr rumbled up from her throat. “One. And that’s all.”
“As you wish.” Kaisal dropped his mouth to her shoulder, found her mark with unerring precision and fastened onto it. When her breathing shallowed, he bit down harder.
“Kaisal.”
His hands grabbed hold of her towel at the low growl and snatched it away, tossing it somewhere just behind him. The feel of her bare, soft, dark skin under his palms combined with the way she trembled beneath his caress brought his beast to the surface. And when he looked up to find the eyes of her lioness staring intently at him as though he were prey, he snapped.
Kamali’s back hit the table with a small thud and he followed her onto it, resting between her now-raised knees. She clawed her way from his hair to his back to his waist as his mouth crashed down onto hers, swooping past the snarls and small grunts to delve between her perfectly shaped lips with his tongue. He placed a hand at her nape, angling her head while he plundered her mouth relentlessly. The other circled a nipple and pinched lightly. She arched upwards, her legs spreading farther apart to accommodate his wider form. He settled into the apex of her and rocked forward, feeling her shake as she slid her hands just below the waistband of his jeans and gripped his ass, bringing him flush against her.
They both gasped when Kamali’s sex came into contact with his denim-covered cock. Her digits soon moved to the button and zipper separating them from being flesh to flesh. Kaisal pushed upwards as her fingers worked the fastenings open, freeing him. Her warm palm wrapped around the length of him, stroking in an erratic rhythm that made him grit his back teeth. When he went to pull her hand away she snarled and he froze. His wicked princess clearly had no intentions of giving up her prize, which either meant he’d find himself spilling into her hand or he’d have to remind her who remained dominant between the two of them.
Kaisal latched onto her shoulder once again and bit down. She stilled. He broke the skin just the tiniest bit, and a whimper poured out of her throat. Satisfied with her surrender, he placed his hand at the dewy lips of her sex, cupping just over her clit, and slowly rolled it between his fore and middle fingers. She bucked but he was too preoccupied with steadily sliding a digit into her core to really care. The walls of her pussy immediately clenched around it, rippling. He added a second one and a hiss escaped her. With the third she called his name. Kaisal hooked them upwards, searching for something in particular until he brushed the small bundle of nerves, causing Kamali’s entire body to jerk.
Applying pressure lightly, he shuddered along with her when she moaned. Her hands clutched his sides as he continued his steady ministrations.
“Jesus…Kaisal…wait…wait…wait…”
She grabbed hold of his forearm but he shook her off, rubbing the spot over and over again. Her spine left the table, her heels now digging into his calves as she rode the sensations. “Oh God… Oh God… Oh God…” Kamali chanted.
Every muscle she owned tightened before a choked gasp passed her lips and her hips undulated against his hand as she keened. She went lax, and for a moment Kaisal wondered if she’d fainted but the claws lightly scratching just behind his left ear told him different. It also made him remove his hand and snap his pelvis into hers, jabbing into her sex with half of his cock.
“Kaisal,” Kamali whispered, her tone forceful rather than pleading. “Do it.”
He hesitated.
“Do it!”
The demand triggered him, and he gave her exactly what she obviously wanted—a rough, forceful shove of his hips. Her legs snared around his waist and he tunneled deeper into her cunt.
“Fuck!” Her hoarse voice rang out and he gave her another thrust. His pace picked up with every slap of his skin on hers. She was milking him deliciously in needy motions. Her hips rolled, her spongy walls tugging at his length incessantly as Kamali begged him to fuck her harder. He gave into every primal urge to spear her mercilessly.
Her squirming grew exponentially while her sodden pussy constricted around him, making it difficult to focus on anything aside from the way she felt. The harder he fucked her the more she wanted and the more he tried to give. Their coupling was near frantic in its intensity as it caused base desires to come careening out. Kamali clasped his biceps, and he sensed the moment her orgasm came rocketing up because a near-savage groan sounded out from her and her core greedily siphoned his cock, pushing him into a climax with her.
He never stopped moving nor did she. Not even when the cracking of the table began or the distinct ring of wood snapping announced itself. Kaisal finally unhinged his jaws from her mark and fixed his lips onto hers, drinking down her wails. However, the kiss did stop when the two front legs supporting their upper bodies gave out and half the table collapsed, sending them rolling down the incline that the now-damaged wood created and onto the floor.
Kaisal opened his mouth to speak but his mate held up a hand. “Don’t…just…don’t…”
Sighing, he quieted and silently wondered how long it would take before he had to hit Naresh in the face for constantly mentioning this incident.
Eleven
“I just don’t think we should tell him now.”
“Why?”
“Because—”
“At least do me the honor of looking at me when you’re about to lie. The indirect stare gives it away, princess.”
Kamali’s gaze rose from the ground, and Kaisal stuffed his hands down into his pockets to keep from reaching out to her. They’d stopped in the middle of their trek back to his home after she’d informed him she’d rather wait to tell Callum about their mating bond. Kaisal wanted it done now. He wanted to make sure Callum’s idea of a new home and family wasn’t romanticized. He wanted to make sure the cub could see him as more than just a friend. Kaisal wanted to know he was good enough to be his father. His mate’s hesitation was causing his confidence to waver.
“Kaisal, this is a huge adjustment for him.”
His head tilted. “For him? Or for you?”
Her lips twisted and he took a step closer, watching the way her pulse jumped. “We tell him and we do it today. If you aren’t adjusted to the idea as of yet t
hen I have proven methods to help you.” Brushing his thumb across her mouth, he murmured, “You need to trust me. You need to believe me when I say you’re not alone anymore, and you need to understand that I’m not going to allow you to compartmentalize us because you’re afraid I’m going to suddenly change my mind. I’m not considering the consequences of marking you, princess. The consequences should be considering me.”
When her eyes softened just the tiniest bit he stepped past her and held out a hand. Kamali’s cool, soft skin slid against his own and Kaisal felt his chest bulk slightly. He drew in a calming breath and pushed down his tiger.
Not. Now.
There was a grunt and then…silence.
It was necessary for them to tell Callum today; otherwise they’d never get around to it. After the table incident yesterday they’d left indents in the headboard of the bed, they’d damaged the dry wall in the master bathroom, and one of the chairs in the living room. While considering the incredible amount of broken furniture and the bites, scratches, and marks they’d left on one another, they’d finally understood what had sparked the untamable need to be constantly joined—mating heat. Shifter females experienced it once in a lifetime, and it only occurred when their beast made a choice on a life mate. It seemed Kaisal was that choice.
They’d hunted together to stem the energy but something about seeing Kamali allow her lioness free reign, the way the two fell into sync with one another, the way her long, lithe, muscular form had taken down a deer before he could even scent it had Kaisal rolling her in the snow after she’d shifted back. The consistent urge to bend her over had dulled into an isolated warmth in his groin but Kaisal suspected that had more so to do with the woman herself rather than any chemical change her scent caused.
“As much as your discomfort amuses me,” Basanti said, stepping out of what appeared to literally be thin air and causing them both to yowl, “it’s starting to become less entertaining and more so sad.”
“Where did you come from?” Kamali’s eyes seemed to search the line of trees that stretched just outside Kaisal’s backyard.
His cousin shrugged and pointed upwards. “Occasionally I like to climb the sturdier branches—which reduces my urge to kill.”
Kamali looked up then down again. “Kaisal, there’s a treehouse up there. Why is there a treehouse up there? And how did she reach it without a ladder? Aren’t tigers literally the worst climbers?”
“Propaganda,” Basanti stated. “We’re actually very proficient at climbing as long as we have a running start. It’s the getting down that’s hard. This is why I have a pulley system.”
His mate slowly turned her head and stared at him.
“Princess, sometimes…you just don’t question things. You accept them and you move on.”
“But—”
He held up a hand. “No.”
“You and I aren’t procreating. I hope you know that.”
Kaisal frowned. “Why the hell not?”
Gesturing toward Basanti, who was literally sharpening her claws and softly chuffing, Kamali arched her brows.
Whatever argument he’d been prepared to give died. “Adoption?”
“I’m okay with that.”
“If you’re going to insult me, can you at least wait until I’m not in front of you to do so?” the tigress queried.
“Why?” Kaisal questioned. “From what I understand Satan can venture into the deepest parts of hell and still hear his name when it’s called.”
Basanti’s eyes narrowed. “The only reason your face remains intact and attached to your skull is because that one”—she motioned toward Kamali—“would screech endlessly if I were to touch it.”
“Screech?” Kamali demanded. “I do not screech.”
The tigress smirked. “Madam, I, Kas, and half of the pride know that to be a lie after the last two days.”
“Annnd this conversation is officially over. Kaisal, if you so much as smile I’ll make you wish you didn’t have a mouth.” She nodded forward and commanded, “Let’s get this over with.”
With a heartfelt sigh he did as she demanded, shooting Basanti a death glare over his shoulder. His cousin only smiled back. He would most assuredly be setting a trap for her later.
Kamali tugged his hand and he started walking once again. As they cleared the dense brush around his yard the sound of giggling echoed out—specifically Callum’s. They glanced at one another before taking a few more steps forward and then they stopped. Why? Oh, it might have had something to do with the fact that Naresh shot past them running in full tiger form, a makeshift saddle made out of a thick blanket on his back and Callum grasping his fur while peals of laughter poured from the cub and he yelled, “Faster, striped servant! Faster!”
“Kaisal…” Kamali whispered in the same warning tone she usually used when referring to him.
“I know, sweetheart. I know…”
Naresh flew past again while Callum raised a hand and let out what definitely sounded like a small war cry.
“Fix this.” She waved a hand at her son. “Fix it now.”
“He’s being a boy.”
“He’s galloping around on your brother like a Shetland pony! How is that okay?”
“Considering that Naresh still has all his fingers and toes and Callum looks to be—”
“Filthy,” Kamali cut in, now sounding horrified. “He’s filthy! Look at his hair! He was a blond when we left here!”
He shot her a glance. “Something wrong with being a brunette?”
She rubbed above her eyes as if praying for strength. “Get my child down. Get him down now.”
“Kamali look at him, I mean really look at him.” Kaisal motioned toward the pair. “See that expression on his face?”
They watched Naresh stop and drop onto the ground panting. Callum stood and stumbled around him before sucking in a deep breath and pouncing on him. They wrestled, Naresh obviously being careful as they tumbled around, the cub pulling on his ears and the nape of his neck. When they fell into a heap of fur, wild hair, and mussed clothes, Kaisal and Kamali could clearly see what they hadn’t days ago. The wariness was gone, replaced by contentment. Callum looked happy. He looked like every cub should. He looked like he belonged.
Kamali sucked in a deep breath, and he caught the way she blinked rapidly. She swallowed before saying, “Well, that’s…he’s…” She stopped and exhaled then choked out, “For fuck’s sake, I can’t even talk.”
He tried not to laugh at her. Slinging an arm around her shoulder, he pulled her into his chest and rubbed the side of his face against her temple. “Still doubtful, princess?”
She simply shook her head.
Seemed that Naresh was good for something other than the occasional slap around.
Briefly running a hand over his chest, Kamali pulled away and headed toward the exhausted pair. Callum perked up at the sound of her footsteps and a wide grin split his face. “Iya!” He scrambled to his feet and charged toward her as she stooped down, and the pair went backwards the moment his small body made impact with hers.
Laughing, she ran a hand through his curls. “Precisely what have you been doing?”
The cub waved his arms. “Everything!”
“Including getting dirty, I see.” Kamali wiped dirt from his small cheeks. “Ah, there’s my prince. He just happens to look like Pig-Pen at the moment.” She planted kisses all over his face. As she pulled back her nose wrinkled. “And smells like he’s been rolling around in a pile of dead birds.”
When Callum’s face turned guilty, Kaisal began to chuckle.
“Oh, God, Callum! No!”
“But Iya—”
“Inside. Now.” She stood and sort of wrangled the cub upside down until she held him by an ankle. “You’re going to bathe and then we’re going to discuss why you don’t play around with the carcasses of winged animals.”
“I regret nothing!” Callum shouted as he was hauled away.
Almost in tears now,
Kaisal watched the pair argue all the way into the back door.
Naresh rolled over and shifted back, using the blanket to cover himself. “I envy you, big brother.”
Kaisal’s brows just about touched his hairline. “Really?”
“Yes,” Naresh replied, getting to his feet. “That child is going to be lord and master of the world someday, and when it happens you’ll be in an extremely cozy position.” He sighed, looked off into the distance, and continued with, “Your woman also screams like a banshee while coming, and I would bet my very last dollar that she nearly snapped your cock in half at some point over the last two days. I would say that scream haunted my dreams but mostly it gave me the desire to hump things. I wonder what that means…”
“It means that I will personally sedate you, coat you in honey, drop you into the nearest pit of fire ants I can find, and strip you of your self-respect if you ever mention what Kamali does or does not sound like while experiencing the gift of my loins again.”
His brother nodded then pointed toward the forest. “I’ll just be...” Without another word he walked off.
Seconds later, Kaisal heard Naresh bellowing, “Goddammit, Baz! Let me down from this devil’s contraption of misery!” This was followed by laughter. Lots and lots of laughter. He could’ve gone to help. But…meh.