He cleared the emotion clogging his throat. “The more she intruded on my life, the creepier it got to have her around. I couldn’t hang out with my male friends without her asking a million questions. And heaven forbid I made friends with a woman.
After a while I started to ignore her. Brush off her touches or not answer when she called. I didn’t care for her anymore and didn’t want her around. With Sam’s help, we slowly gathered up all of her things and moved them back to her dorm room a little bit at a time.
I came to the decision I needed to break it off with her. I just didn’t know how without hurting her feelings.
Things kept going as they had been, Macy being possessive while Sam and I moved her stuff. Until the day I walked in on Macy threatening my little sister who had stopped in for a surprise visit. Macy was wielding a large kitchen knife, a crazed look in her eyes as she told Jessie if she ever came near me again she’d kill her.
I defused the situation by getting the knife from her and introducing Jessie, who she should have known and recognized since we all grew up together, but I couldn’t take any more. I broke things off once I got my sister safely in another room.”
Shaking his head he tried to make the memories go away. It was no use. Once he started down this path he couldn’t stop.
“Sometimes I can still hear Macy’s hysterical cries when I told her it was over; her insane rambling about plans and soul mates. She kept repeating that we were the perfect couple and I would never find anyone like her.
She ranted and raved for an hour while I just stood there between her and the room I ushered Jessie into. Thankfully, Jessie called our parents and quickly explained the situation. They sent someone from the Guild to cart Macy away.
I never filed charges or anything like that. You know how we like to keep things within the community. Deal with it internally. Plus, there was the fact that she’s part of a founding family. It wouldn’t look good. I just wanted the whole ugly situation to be forgotten, to go away.
Unfortunately it didn’t. After a few blessed months being Macy-free, she started her stalking campaign. She left small notes on my car and under my apartment door at first, all of them begging me to take her back. The phones calls and messages were next. She was sorry, vowing it would never happen again. She was just so in love with me, knew that we were meant to be together, that she lost her mind a little.
With graduation just around the corner I changed my cell number. I was planning on leaving the area. It became a habit to delete any messages on the machine in the apartment. Eventually we just got rid of the home phone. It also became a habit to toss any stray note lying around.
The day I graduated college I packed my car and took off. I thought she wouldn’t have a clue where I was going since I didn’t have contact with her, she found out anyway.
One day she just showed up, moving into the apartment across the hall from me. She began following me to work, waiting for me in the parking lot and never saying a word to me directly. She left messages at the front desk and on my new cell phone. Always the same thing—wanted to see me, we needed to talk.
How she got my number still escapes me. It could have been the woman at the front desk where I worked at the time because I turned her down for a date. Or it could have been some underling in the Guild hoping to gain favor with Macy’s family.
Yet again I was forced to change my number, making sure only my boss had it in case of emergencies. I told only my parents and warned them about letting the Guild have it. Surprisingly, they agreed.
Weeks went by. I became accustomed to her presence no matter where I went. The day she wasn’t waiting for me as I left work I breathed a sigh of relief. I had the fleeting thought she was finally bored and moving on.
I went home in such a good mood. Damn near whistling the entire way. When I walked down the hall to my apartment I found Macy leaning on my door – I’d had enough. I knew I needed to end it once and for all. Standing in the hall we had a long talk about her needing someone who would love her and worship her like she deserved. I pointed out all of my bad habits, the drinking and flirting. How she always accused me of cheating and didn’t actually trust me. How absolutely unromantic I was, forgetting her birthday or the anniversary of the day they met. I thought of every small thing that I could to turn her off. Making me sound like the worst guy out there, even going as far as to tell her I wasn’t man or tiger enough for her.
In the end she left without a fight, agreed with what I said. I walked her to her car, ensuring she got in it and drove off.
I was relieved. I went inside to crack a beer and celebrate. When I opened the door I found the place trashed. Barely anything left worth saving.
Two weeks later I got another job offer in Cascade. Packed the few things I had left and got out of town under the cover of darkness. Call me a coward but I just couldn’t deal with her again.”
He looked down into her face. Her beautiful brown eyes staring up at him. The concern he saw glimmering in them a balm to his emotional wounds. “To have her show up after I thought she moved on freaked me out. I started thinking about us. What we have is fresh and new. I couldn’t take the chance she would do something to you because of me. I admit I was scared. So I flaked on showing up at the bakery. Didn’t call because I wasn’t sure what to tell you, how to explain. There was also a part of me that was afraid you’d turn out like her. I haven’t slept, dated or even been attracted to another shifter since Macy. You’re the first one and I’m coming to believe the only one.”
“I didn’t even think about what would go through your head. When your brother said you thought I blew you off and was only after a one-night fling, I was shocked. It hit me like a ton of bricks then. I’m done being scared of my past. I can’t let some crazy bitch hold me back from my future. I needed to see you, talk to you and beg you to actually give us a chance.”
Corrine rose up and pushed him onto his back. Hovering over him, her eyes were narrowed and he swore he was in trouble.
“I can see why you went stupid the past couple of days, that doesn’t explain your actions the past couple of weeks though. I’m not Macy and you should have realized that by now. I never asked or expected anything from you. Not marriage or mating or any of that. Frankly, I don’t think that stuff is for me. What I did want and maybe I should have told you, was for you to spend time with me and not just swapping spit when no one was around. Not that I didn’t enjoy it for your information. I just don’t want to feel like a dirty secret or some plaything you can toss aside whenever you want.”
“I didn’t plan on sneaking around. It just happened,” he said. “I didn’t know if we were going to last or how to tell my best friend that I’m interested in his sister and not in a ‘she’s cool I wanna hang out’ kind of way. In all my male logic, I thought if no one saw us together then I wouldn’t be put under a microscope and be forced to explain my feelings when I didn’t even know what they were.”
He lifted his head placing a soft kiss on her lips. “You aren’t a dirty secret or a plaything. You’re my mate,” he whispered before increasing the pressure. Drowning in the taste, feel and smell of the woman he craved. In that instant he knew he was home. She was the woman of his heart, the tiger of his soul. And he was never letting them go.
CHAPTER TEN
Mate? Corrine knew they needed to talk about that ludicrous idea before they went any further. This was the second time he had said it. There is no way this gorgeous man could think she was his mate after their very few encounters together.
Sure their tigers seemed to want each other and were really compatible but there was more to picking a mate. Pheromones mixed and attracted but they had a choice. Personality and physical appeal also played a part. Well, depending on what was more dominant: Human or tiger.
Jett’s tongue swiped across her lips. Without thought she opened her mouth, granting him access. The tang of beer she tasted as she matched his tongue stroke for stroke, reminding her h
e had shown up drunk.
That’s why he thinks we’re mates, she thought. He’s too drunk to know the difference. She bit back the sigh before it could escape.
In the back of her mind her conscience was telling her to stop, that he was using her for sex again. Her body ignored it, responding to his touch, calling for more.
She drew away from him. Staring down into his heavy lidded gaze. Without a word she threw a leg over his hip straddling him, the robe parting just enough to show the smooth lips of her pussy and a hint of the small patch of neatly trimmed hair above.
She watched as his gaze traveled down her body to the juncture between her legs.
Gently she lowered herself down over the ridge of his hard-on, which was visibly straining at his zipper. The rough texture felt wonderful pressed against her sensitive skin. The heat from her body collided with his, pulling a moan from within.
Jett grunted as she rocked slightly back and forth, slick arousal coating the material of his jeans. She needed them off but hated to move.
Reaching down she flicked open the button before raising enough to carefully lower his zipper. His erection sprang from the opening, practically begging to be touched.
Thank god! Commando.
Wrapping her fingers around his cock she raised up on her knees, using the tip to circle her hard clit. He hissed at the contact.
Tingles shot through her, straight to her belly and the arousal curling, tightening within.
“Please baby, don’t tease,” he said, the strain evident in his voice.
“You’ve teased me all week, Jett Murphy. Coming into the shop—kissing and touching, never once seeming to want more. Then you leave me high and dry on the weekend. No contact of any sort.”
She released his cock, letting it thump against his belly. Jett released what sounded like a pained grunt. A satisfied smile tipped her lips. It served him right to be in a little pain.
Too bad she couldn’t stand to see him suffer. Her soft heart just wouldn’t let her torture him more, at least not without gaining more pleasure.
Spreading her nether lips with her hand she nestled over him. With a roll of her hips she slid over his length, coating him with her arousal. Letting the sensitive head of his cock bump her clit just like she liked.
She had taken the backseat in everything they had done up to this point. Let him lead, which had gotten them nowhere. It was time for her to take control of the situation and get exactly what her body demanded every time he was within reach.
“All week I’ve wanted you. Needed you,” she said as she rolled her hips faster. The thrill of being the one in control revving her arousal up another notch. “We could have gone off anytime you wanted. I would have left with you in a heartbeat,” she panted.
“I didn’t know. Didn’t think past seeing you,” he murmured.
“Why not Jett? I’m only good for a quick roll in the grass or couple of fumbling touches when no one was around? Was the sex so bad you didn’t want more? Or are you too embarrassed to be seen with me?”
“God no. That’s not it at all,” he groaned as she ground against him.
When he didn’t explain she lifted off him completely. Planting her hands next to his head she stared into his face, attempting to read his thoughts. “I’m not sexy enough? Pretty enough? You couldn’t stand the thought of seeing me naked in daylight?”
His beautiful golden eyes popped open in shock. “Fuck no. That’s not it either.”
With the speed of his cat he hooked her around the waist and flipped their positions. His heavy body settling between her legs, his erection pressed firmly against her belly. She felt overwhelmed by his masculinity and power and loved it.
“You’re beautiful, Corrine, inside and out. I’ve always thought that. You’re smart and caring. Have a sly sense of humor when you want. A body I can get lost in and that I’m not afraid I’ll hurt. I don’t know why I never drug you off and fucked you silly. Or bent you over the nearest table regardless of anyone walking through the door. What I do know is that I was hard as stone and pushing it to get to work on time everyday. I mourned having to leave you every morning. I was a man without a real plan. Just winging it like I did with other women and I regret that. I was afraid to see what I knew inside, we are meant to be together.”
Corrine studied the man hovering over her, trying to gauge his sincerity. Biting her lower lip she was unsure what to make of it all. It sounded great. Made her heart skip a beat when he called her beautiful, said they were meant to be together, but until she saw something different, something not laced in alcohol and self-consciousness she couldn’t believe it.
“I can see you aren’t convinced.” His eyes dipped to her tortured lip. His nostrils flared, a growl escaping his clenched teeth.
He shifted his hips back letting his erection dip down, pressing against her center. “Oh!” she squeaked out as he lowered his head, stroking her lips with his tongue.
“Does this feel like I’m not attracted to you?”
“Natural reaction. It would happen to any guy in this situation,” she panted.
“Hell yeah, natural reaction. My body reacting to finally getting you underneath me again. Where you belong.”
“I just don’t know. Maybe you’re just feeling the affects of the alcohol. You admitted that you haven’t been in the right frame of mind.”
“I’m thinking just fine now. It just took me a little bit to come to grips with what my heart and tiger already knew.” A feral grin split his face. With a slow thrust he nudged inside, one agonizing inch at a time. “I want to let the world know you’re mine. I want to take it nice and slow,” he said pulling back until only the head of his cock was lodged inside. With restraint she never would have had, he pushed his thick length through her delicate inner tissues so slow she was sure she would die before he was completely inside.
“I want it all with you and I’m going to do it right. Dinner, dancing, movies. Late nights at home eating popcorn. Long runs through the woods and frolicking in the lake. Hell, I want to declare my intentions to mate with you to anyone who will listen,” he gritted out, pushing the rest of his cock in until fully seated. “You’re mine Corrine Eleanor Hart.”
The shock of his words hit her square in the chest. Her brain unable to grasp what he was admitting, latching onto the one thing that didn’t scare the hell out of her. “How in the world do you know my middle name?”
He chuckled above her. “That’s all you have to say? I know you’re scared.” He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips. “Don’t worry though, I’ll be here when you’re ready to admit the same.” With that he started a slow rhythmic seduction. Rolling his hips, dragging his cock over the most delicious spots within in.
All thoughts of mating and middle names flying out the window. The only thing she could concentrate on was the feel of him inside her.
Jett cracked one eye open. He was flat on his back, covers pushed to his waist. A warm naked feminine body curled up next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. For the first time in a long time he was at peace. Completely relaxed and with no desire to move from his spot.
The warm body next to him moved, snuggling deeper into his side before letting out a contented sigh. Glancing down he saw a mass of familiar auburn hair. Sex and jasmine mixed in the air around him. Flashes of the night before danced in his head.
Corrine.
He vaguely remembered the alcohol-induced trip to her place and a conversation about Macy. Clear in his mind was the mind-blowing sex. Corrine teasing and getting off on being in control before his dominant nature snatched it back and gave them both what they wanted. Exhausted they’d fallen asleep only to wake up a couple of hours later to do it all over again.
Corrine blossomed when they made love. She did everything he asked from masturbating in front of him to allowing him take her from behind while marking her. It was a nice change from the disinterested sex he’d experienced over the past year or so.
He could certainly sit and watch her play with her breasts for hours on end. The sounds she made were another thing he could get used to hearing morning, noon and night.
She gave herself over to their passion and he reveled in it. Couldn’t help but get lost in the moment, putting every emotion and feeling he had into their lovemaking.
Corrine shifted again. He knew exactly when she woke up. Her body stiffened and her breathing stopped.
She must not have realized he was already awake. She slowly began turning away, sliding the sheets off her body while trying to put her foot on the floor. He needed to disabuse her of the notion that she could creep away and forget what happened.
Tightening his grip on her shoulder, he pulled her firmly back against him. “Hey sweetheart.” He dropped a kiss on top of her head.
“Hi,” her voice cracked. Her body stiff against him again.
“This is nice,” he said. Lightly massaging her shoulder.
“What time is it?” Corrine asked. Apparently choosing to ignore his comment.
He peeked over her at the clock. “Going on eleven.”
She tried jumping out of his arms knocking the covers away. “Oh shit! I was supposed to open the bakery this morning and now its already time for it to close. MJ is going to kill me.”
He chuckled at her panic. “Bit late now. I’m sure MJ took care of everything.”
“How would she know to? Its not like she knew I would sleep in or that you were here.” Her fingers tapped out a worried tattoo on his chest.
“Relax Corrine. It’ll be okay.” He placed a finger under her chin tipping her head back. He could see the worry in here eyes and wanted nothing more that to kiss it away.
Which is exactly what he did. Starting on her forehead he worked his way to her lips. Stopping along the way to press kisses against her eyes and nose.
Craving More Page 11