by Lauren Dane
He smiled, mainly because she had a spine of steel and he liked that about her. But also because she knew what she wanted and she demanded it.
“I want you to go into my bedroom so I can get you naked.”
“Was that so hard?”
“It is, yes. I hope that penchant for demanding your due extends to fucking.”
It was her turn to smile. “Fuck me and find out.”
He bent his knees and picked her up, adjusting his hold on her butt. She wrapped her legs around him as he carried her into his bedroom and put her down carefully on his bed.
“I’m not fragile.”
He snorted. “You got shot today. If I break you, how can I fuck you?”
She whipped her shirt up and over her head, tossing it across the room. Her bra followed, and she shimmied from her shoes, socks and jeans. “That’s true. You’re not naked.”
He remedied that while he watched her get totally naked. Not bothering to hide his hum of satisfaction as she slid the panties from her legs and lay back, her gaze roaming over his body.
“You’re something else.” He got on the bed, kissing the pink parts on her chest and shoulder, and she shivered.
“I was about to say the same.”
Her fingertips traced over the muscles of his back as he kissed over her collarbone and watched her nipples stand at attention.
“The piercings are so hot I can’t quite stand it.”
He stretched to take her mouth again and she pressed her body to his.
Skin to skin, she gasped at how good it felt, and he swallowed the sound. He smelled good and felt even better. He kissed her nearly senseless. The scratch of his facial hair only made it better.
She pushed him back and got to her knees to look down at him. He was…holy shit he was amazing.
“You shouldn’t put your weight on that thigh.”
Smiling, she threw one leg over his body and straddled him, resting her weight on his thighs.
“I like this view.” His gaze moved from her face down, down and straight to the heart of her.
“What a coincidence.” She flicked her index fingers over the piercings in each nipple. He hissed and writhed a little so she dipped her head to lick over first the left, then the right. He seemed to enjoy that so she filed it away for later. “Love the tats.” His chest was broad and hard with muscle. Her hands slid over warm, taut skin as his gaze never left her. It was…disconcerting and yet really exciting to have him watch her the way he did.
He was a predator after all. But so was she!
But not with him. With him she was his prey. This made her shiver a little.
“Are you cold?”
“No. Just…delighted.”
A flash of his smile in the dark.
She tugged on one of the ropes of his hair. “I like this too.”
They were to his mid biceps, and they added to the overall badass vibe. Tattoos, muscles, dreadlocks and enough smolder to send a girl’s underpants up in flames.
She kissed down his neck, pausing to breathe him in at the place where it met his shoulder. Which in retrospect had been stupid because his scent bounded into her system, sending it into overload. Her cat surfaced, pressing against the human skin it wore, and his responded.
He groaned and flipped her, shielding the side she’d been shot on. “That’s better. Now I get to slide all over your body and kiss all your parts.”
And he made good on that promise, starting at the hollow of her throat. He kissed, nibbled and then licked, tasting her pulse. More kissing across her collarbone and over the healing scars from the attack. She shoved it from her head and just enjoyed it. Especially when he moved a little farther down and found her nipple.
Unable to tear her attention away, she watched as he licked over her nipple. Slow at first and then he sped up to flick before he sucked it between his teeth. She was sure she should have been embarrassed by the sound she made, but she couldn’t bring herself to be.
She held on as he found her other breast and did much of the same to that nipple.
By this point she was so wet and ready she rolled her hips to get his attention.
But it wasn’t until she dug her nails into his shoulders and growled that he let go of the nipple long enough to meet her eyes.
“Yes?”
“Fuck me!”
He laughed and kissed his way down her belly, insinuating his body between her thighs. “I need to be sure you’re ready first.”
She was totally ready. But it wasn’t going to stop her from enjoying that first long lick of her pussy. Or the second. By the time he made the third one she’d dropped her protests and let her head fall back to simply enjoy what he was doing.
On and on he went with that mouth of his and devastated her until she was shaking so hard it felt as if she shattered into a thousand pieces when she came.
“Holy shit.”
He chuckled and kissed her belly. The slide of his hair over her skin sent her back into sensory overload.
And that was before he nudged at her gate before pushing in so very slowly. Thick and meaty, good gracious he filled her up. So much to enjoy about this male. She opened her eyes to find him above her, his face a mask of concentration.
Her vision was good, even in the dark of the room. Enough to see the bunch and ripple of his muscles as he began to thrust in earnest.
His eyes opened and met hers, and everything stilled. He saw right through. Right into the heart of her, which was freaky even as it felt right. Freaky enough for her to wrap her uninjured leg around his stellar ass and pull him in deeper to break his concentration.
He fucked her hard and deep, each stroke slow and deliberate. He took his time, demanding her response, which she gave. She rolled her hips to meet his thrusts, tightening around him, giving him a little swivel until he growled.
Smiling, she stretched up to lick over the biceps so close to her face. He tasted so damned good she hummed with it. Which reminded her she hadn’t been able to taste him.
Perhaps she’d do it next time. If there was a next time. It was only fair.
He watched her below him, her hair spread around her face like honey. Her tits jiggling perfectly as he fucked her. She was so tight and hot around his cock that he’d worried at first he’d come three seconds after he got inside. And then she’d added that swivel and he’d nearly lost his composure.
She was small but strong. Toned and nicely flexible, even with a freaking gunshot wound on her thigh. She pulled him deeper with her calf, urging him on with the prick of her nails on his upper arm.
Her taste was still on his lips when he licked them. He needed more. More of her. More of this. A female who was as unabashed as this one was a treat on just about every level. Porter or no, he had plans to do this again very soon.
And when she added a back-and-forth movement as he got all the way inside, he knew it was nearly over. His control was frayed and just about worn through. Her scent drove him wild. The heat of her body, the sweet taste of her skin when he leaned down to lick over the swell of her left breast brought his cat closer to the surface. Hers was there as well, but she didn’t try to hold it back. She threw herself into fucking, opening the way between them, letting him in, letting his cat and hers mingle in that space just beneath the skin.
That was all it took. One last thrust and he came with a snarl, holding himself deep and trying not to rest any of his weight on her right side.
He rolled off with a sated sigh and she laughed, moving close.
“Yeah, I’m feeling a lot better.”
He rumbled a laugh against her face as she rested on his chest.
Chapter Six
The last thing she expected to see as she approached her apartment was Gibson de La Vega standing there with an actual smile on his face.
“Hey. Hope you don’t mind but I was in the neighborhood. Would you like to grab a bite somewhere so I can give you an update on what’s going on?”
Sh
e smiled back. “I’m totally starving.”
He walked with her a few blocks to one of her favorite little Japanese places. “Do you like Japanese food?”
“I haven’t eaten it very often. But I’m happy to try it if you’ll give me a primer on what’s best to order.”
He was being very sweet.
“Are you sure? There’s a great pizza place just across the street if you’d rather.”
He opened the door. “No. Really I’d like to.”
The server gave him a long look and showed her boobs to them far more than was proper, but he kept his attention on her as they watched the food move by on a conveyor belt. She ordered hot tea and turned back to him.
“I sort of lied,” he said when she began to pull plates off for them to share.
“How so?” She mixed some wasabi with soy and then did it for him as well.
“I don’t really have an update. But I was in your neighborhood and I was hungry, so I thought I’d stop by.”
He made her flustered like a teenager. “Well. I’m glad you did.”
He tried several different kinds of sushi, really enjoying the eel and the tuna.
“Tell me about your life.”
“That’s a huge subject.” She grabbed some more tuna.
“All right. What are you reading right now?”
“I’m reading Vaclav Havel’s Living In Truth. It’s a collection of his best essays. He’s amazing. One of my idols. What about you?”
“Haunting of Hill House.”
“Really? I loved that book! I haven’t read it in years.”
“When I finish you can borrow it. If you let me borrow Living In Truth, that is.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal. Did you always know you wanted to be the Bringer? Was it like a family thing and you did it because you were supposed to?”
He sucked in a deep breath. “That’s a long story. But the quick version is that yes, I did know. I was trained from a very early age to do it. It’s something I love. Something I believe I’m meant to do.”
“I like that.”
“I feel very fortunate. A lot of people, hell maybe most of them, don’t get to do things they feel born to do.”
“The Bringer is the heart of the jamboree,” she said softly, quoting the story.
And he was. The Bringer was justice, not vengeance. The Bringer protected and kept the cats safe. Guarded their rules and laws and found and judged the wrongdoers. It was a big job. One she wouldn’t have wanted at all. Being judge and jury had to be pretty damned tough.
“I try very hard to do that justice. My mother would most likely spank me if I didn’t. She’s very smart that way. A judge in her own right.”
She enjoyed that he respected his mother so much. From what she could tell, Imogene deserved respect and had raised at least one very decent son into adulthood, so that was a big reason to respect her right there.
They sat and had more tea and talked books for another hour or so until he walked her back home.
“Would you like to come up?”
“Yes, I would.”
But his phone rang and he paused to answer.
By the tone she knew he was going to have to leave. Which bummed her out because she wanted to leap on him and jump his bones.
He put the phone back in his pocket. “I have to go.” He shook his head. “Trouble back at work. I’ll see you soon though. All right?”
She nodded.
He stepped close and pulled her to him, his lips brushing over hers once and twice before he settled in for a long, sensual kiss that left her weak-kneed.
“Bye for now, Mia. Be safe.”
He held the door for her and she went inside. “You too.”
And she watched him jog to his car just across the street, admiring that stellar butt of his.
She might have sighed wistfully.
“You’re looking better than you have in a long time.”
Mia looked up as her mother spoke. “Thanks.”
“Apparently getting shot isn’t the key. Does it have anything to do with how much time you’ve spent with Gibson de La Vega?”
She sipped her tea, thinking over what she’d say. There was something between them. Aside from the amazing sex, which would have been more than enough on its own. But it wasn’t what her mother thought. She didn’t even have time for what her mother thought.
“You make it sound like I’m with him every minute of the day. He’s investigating what happened to me. I helped him after he got shot. It’s not unusual that I’d be spending time with him. He’s a nice enough cat.” She shrugged.
Mia’s mother snorted. “Of all the people on Earth for you to tell that story to, you think your mother is going to buy it? Plenty of nice boys out there, Mia. I’m not opposed to you finding one.”
“Not looking for a nice boy. I’m not getting shot because I have a crush on the Bringer. Anyway, too much stuff on my plate just now. Dating is low on the list. I need to find a place to live and a job first.”
“You have a job.”
“Mom, you guys can’t keep me on. I know there’s some seasonable stuff now, which is why I’m happy to stay on for a bit. But we both know the shop is fully staffed with you and Drew. And I can’t afford to work part time. Especially once the physical therapy ends.”
“Are you going to go back to school, then? What is it you want to do with your life?”
She sighed. “I was thinking of finishing my degree.”
Her mother shrugged. “Baby, you don’t want to be an engineer.”
“You’re the mom. You’re supposed to encourage things like engineering degrees. Good degree. Good prospects.”
“You don’t want to be an engineer. It’s why you left school to join the military in the first place. I’m all in favor of you having a good, solid career, but I’m not a fan of you doing something you’ll be unhappy with. Especially when you’re plenty capable of doing something you do love. Like flying.”
“I haven’t totally ruled it out. But did you hear two airlines just passed internal rules that they won’t hire werewolves to fly commercial? They said they’re worried about any lunar stuff affecting their pilots even though of course that’s not how it works. Lots of ignorance out there right now. How do you think they’re going to feel about a jaguar-shifter pilot once we come out? Hm?”
“Those two airlines are stupid. As your father and I have discussed. Anyway, they’re not the only airlines and you can do other sorts of flying. You can still fly helicopters and small planes. You have options, Mia. Don’t let this attack mess with your head this way.”
Mia blew out a breath. All of that was true. Shifters were often very good pilots because of their keen sight and senses and their excellent hand-eye coordination. But many didn’t go into careers as pilots for various reasons.
“I’m trying. I have to get through the last bit of the physical therapy first. I’ve got a week or two of that left, and then it’ll go down to only needing it once a week or so. Though I’ll continue to work out with Rich. Whatever I do, if I keep on top of this damage, the doctor said there’s every reason to believe I’ll get at least eighty percent of my original strength back.”
Maybe by the time that happened she’d be able to accept she’d never be a hundred percent ever again.
Her mother’s mouth flattened. “This is wrong, Mia. These thugs attacked you because of what you are. This is a hate crime. They need to be punished.”
She nodded. “They should be, yes. But you heard the Alpha down in LA, he doesn’t want to come out yet. There’s all this other stuff with the witches going on now. He doesn’t want to agitate matters.”
“So they’ll do nothing. Some alpha he is. None of them seems to give a tinker’s damn what happens to their cats. Whatever is the point of belonging to a jamboree if they don’t do anything for you?”
“They’re not all that way.”
It wasn’t as outlandish to think so now. Gibson mig
ht be a de La Vega, but he’d done nothing but be protective of her since the first day they’d met. Albeit that was only a little over a week ago, but he hadn’t tried to blow her off. And Max had called her about the gunshot to thank her for yet again putting herself in the service of the jamboree. He’d been pretty cool about it, even apologized for the way he’d asked if she was behind the shooting that first night.
“I will find the people who did this to me. And I’ll take care of them.”
She kept her mother’s gaze for long moments, waiting to see any disappointment or anger and saw nothing but resolve. “You will.”
And that was that.
And she still needed to figure out what to do with her future.
“Max, this is Bob Whitford from the Smithville Jamboree.”
Max looked across his desk to Gibson before he answered. “Hello, Bob. You’re on speaker with me. Gibson is here with Galen.”
“Good, it’s best they all hear as well. We’ve censured and removed Bertram as Alpha of the jamboree. I’m taking over.”
Max’s brows rose but he kept his composure. “Mind sharing with us what exactly happened? I assume this is about the attack on my Bringer and one of my cats?”
“Yes. Hal Pepper, his girlfriend Margret, the female with him, Bertram and two others have been removed from the ranks of the jamboree. Once you’re done with Hal, if you decide to let him live, we’d like you to send him back our way. Margret is here, and if you like, you can question her, or we can turn her over to your custody. We don’t want a war with de La Vega.”
Of course they didn’t. Gibson knew that. They were a strong jamboree. Stable, even with the betrayal of his brother Carlos. And now it was also well known that they had two witches in the jamboree. It added to the sense that they were not to be messed with.
“What’s the motivation? Pepper continues to insist he acted on his own. We can execute him. After all, he did attempt to murder one of our cats in her place of business. But we’d like to know what the issue is.”
Bob sighed. “No one seems to want to say anything. Bertram and these cats have been with this jamboree for years. He’s skipped, we don’t know exactly where. His wife and their son are gone as well.”