Karis

by Grace Brennan

  Shit. Zane was right. He needed to man up, find his balls, and tell Mikhail he was mated to his daughter.

  A knock sounded on the door, and he turned his head, breath stalling in his chest as he watched Arya walk in. She was so fucking gorgeous. Her long black hair was in a tight braid in anticipation of her training later, and her wide, full lips were stretched in a smile as her sky-blue eyes twinkled happily. She was wearing a form fitting shirt paired with those fucking leggings that drove him wild with need, and she had sneakers on her feet.

  He knew she wanted to wear a tank top today. She’d been reaching for one when she stopped and touched her claiming mark earlier. The only reason she wasn’t wearing one was so she could help him keep the secret.

  Regret filled him. He was already taking things from her with his ridiculous request. The tank top was a small thing, yeah, but there shouldn’t have been anything he was taking from her. He wanted to give her the world, anything and everything she needed or wanted.

  All right, then. No more hiding what they were. He wanted to tell her dad before they went public, but he was telling him soon. Tonight, or tomorrow morning, at the latest.

  Not hesitating, he walked up to her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and yanked her to his chest. Lowering his head, he took her lips, kissing her with everything he was feeling. She immediately started purring—God, he loved it when she did that—and wrapped her arms around his neck, going up on tiptoe so he didn’t have to bend as far. Fire was racing over his skin, and he already had an erection forming, when someone cleared their throat.

  Pulling back, Arya stared at him with wide eyes, glancing behind him to where Kian and Zane were sitting. Leaning down, he kissed her nose before moving back a step.

  “It’s okay. They know. And soon everyone will,” he promised as her eyes widened even more. “What do you need, sweetheart?”

  Clearing her throat and still looking dazed, she took a moment before she spoke. “I’m sorry if I’m intruding. I just wondered if you guys were still discussing things. I’m kind of anxious to begin training.”

  “No intrusion. I think we’re done.” Turning, he looked at Kian for confirmation.

  “Yeah, we’re good.” Holding the note up, he looked at Karis. “Can I keep this for now? I want to keep looking at it. See if it jogs my memory.”

  “Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll talk to you guys later.”

  Kian and Zane nodded, and he put his hand on Arya’s lower back, guiding her through the house. “I thought we’d use the field by the lake. It’s usually fairly free of people, and there aren’t many trees for anyone to use as cover to sneak up on us. And those that are there are too far away to get a good shot with an arrow.”

  “That’s fine. I’m so excited about this. It looked like fun when you guys were doing it yesterday, and I think I have a pretty good grasp on it already.”

  He shook his head. “I’m sure you’re probably already an expert, considering your gift. But it’s not supposed to be fun.”

  “Not normally, and definitely not if I ever have to use it in earnest, but I think it’ll be a lot of fun with you,” she replied, throwing him a wink that had the blood in his head immediately rushing south. “You know what my gift is?”

  It took a moment for him to pull his mind out of the gutter, but he managed it just as they got to the field. Pausing in the tall grass, he looked at her and nodded. “Yeah, your dad told me when you were fighting Shiloh. He said you weren’t keeping it contained, and it was whipping the crowd to a frenzy, so I used mine to counteract it.”

  She frowned. “I didn’t realize I wasn’t keeping it contained. I was so focused on first stopping him before he hurt or killed you, and then on fighting him, that controlling it never crossed my mind.”

  “It’s something we need to work on. If you go into battle and don’t keep it under wraps, it could have unintended consequences.” He looked at her curiously. “What all does your gift entail? He mentioned focus and being amped up.”

  Pursing her lips, she thought for a moment. “It’s kind of hard to explain, but that’s basically it. I guess the best way is like a supernatural form of ADHD. I have super laser focus, to the point where I don’t see or hear anything else around me. Most of the time, I call upon my gift to use it, but sometimes, I use it without realizing I am. Those times aren’t always the most convenient, so I try to make sure that doesn’t happen.

  “The other part of it is like the hyper part of ADHD. I call upon that part when I need to get stuff done, because I get through tasks very quickly. But I don’t use it often, because it amps up my emotions. I feel everything a million times harder than I do when I’m not using it. I keep it banked deep inside, so I don’t feel it. And so others don’t feel it, as well. Because that’s the part of my gift that’s transferrable. But it doesn’t transfer my emotions—just the part where it amps people up. So whatever they’re feeling gets amped up, which can be dangerous, especially in a tribe like this. Like I said, I rarely even use it on myself, and only ever when I’m completely alone.”

  “That’s a really interesting and unique gift. I can see why you wouldn’t want to use the hyper part of it, though. You’re right, that part’s dangerous.”

  She nodded. “Yeah. Which is why we need to work on me keeping it contained when I’m in tiger form. Battle is the absolute worst time for it to come out.” She glanced up at him curiously. “You said you used your gift to counteract mine. What is it?”

  His lips quirked wryly. “Nothing as interesting or multifaceted as yours. It’s calm. That’s it. Like yours, it’s transferrable, but I also keep it buried. I’m not a fan of making anyone feel anything that doesn’t come from them. It came in handy the day of the challenges, though. The crowd was really reacting to your gift, so I used mine to get the situation back under control. It only worked on those of us in human form, though, not on you and Shiloh. I never realized it didn’t work on those in animal form, because I’ve never tested it.”

  “I’m glad you used it on the crowd. Talk about a disaster if you hadn’t. It’s kind of ironic, though, isn’t it?”

  “What, being head warrior and always poised for battle when my gift is calm?” he asked with a chuckle.

  She laughed, a bright, happy sound that brought a wave of warmth over him. “That, too. But I meant that here we are, mates, with gifts that can complement each other. We do basically the opposite of each other. It’s pretty cool, when you think about it.”

  Stepping closer, he cupped her cheek. “Looks like our tigers definitely knew what they were doing when they paired us together.”

  Not bothering to see if anyone was around, past the point of caring, he leaned down and kissed her. But he kept it short, breaking away after barely tasting her, though it nearly killed him to do so. They were here for a reason, and kissing her was a surefire way of forgetting that and using the tall grass for a completely different one.

  “All right, sweetheart. You ready to do this? Okay, we’re going to start with the first thing me and Jameson demonstrated yesterday.”

  An hour and a half later, they’d both worked up a bit of a sweat. Arya was doing wonderfully, her focus yesterday showing as she almost flawlessly mimicked his and Jameson’s moves.

  “You’re doing amazingly well, Arya. Almost an expert already. If you’d participated in this portion of the challenges, you probably would have come close to winning. If you were a man, you would have beaten them all. Except me, of course,” he said with a wink.

  Scowling at him, she propped her hands on her hips. “If I were a man? Women can do everything men can do, and I think I’ve proven that time and again.”

  Shit. Open mouth, insert foot. “I didn’t mean it like that, I swear. I just meant that you don’t have the same strength we do. You’re exceptional at getting out of the holds I put you in, but when I do manage to pin you down, you can’t break free. I think our focus should be on making sure you never get pinned down.”

&
nbsp; She rolled her eyes. “Nice save. And what did you mean by I could have beaten them all except you? In case you didn’t notice, you have twelve years on me. You’re not as fast as you used to be. I would have kicked your ass, old man.”

  Stunned, he stared at her, opening and closing his mouth. Was she serious with that? She had mixed tones throughout it all—truth mixed with lies. Which was which? And then she winked at him, throwing her head back with a laugh.

  “Oh, God,” she gasped, holding her stomach as she giggled. “You should have seen your face just then. That was priceless.”

  Growling, he stalked forward, trying to keep his smile hidden. Her laughter was infectious, and as sensitive as he was about their age difference, that hadn’t bothered him a bit. He’d been far more offended over her teasing him about not being as fast as he used to be than her calling him an old man.

  Maybe he really was moving past it. Thank God.

  “Little minx. Experience over age, baby. Now get back in the last position we were in. I want to go over it one more time before we call it a day.”

  “Sure thing, boss man.” Instead of turning, she leaned up, and he thought she was going in for a kiss until she brushed her fingers through his hair. “Is that a gray hair? You know, I think it is.”

  Shooting him a saucy grin, she turned, putting her back to him. Lightning fast, he smacked her ass, and she gasped as she dropped down to her knees, turning her head to look back up at him. “Naughty little girls get spankings, right? Nothing less than you deserve.”

  Her eyes went all sultry, and her look went straight to his dick. “That’s the kind of spanking I can get behind. Makes me want to be as naughty as I can, all day long.”

  With that, she faced forward and propped herself up on her hands in the position he asked for. But with her perfect little ass in those second-skin leggings waving in the air, the wrestling position looked far more sexual than he ever imagined it could. Cursing under his breath, he adjusted his raging hard-on in his jogging pants, hissing out a breath. Fuck, this was going to be torture.

  Inhaling deeply and trying to find his sorely lacking control, he dropped to a knee behind her and wrapped an arm snugly around her waist. “Okay, do what I showed you—”

  Breath choking off, he groaned as she pushed her ass back into his pelvis, rubbing herself on the erection he still sported. He dug deep for every last shred of control he possessed, but there was very little of it to find, and what was there was in tatters.

  Our mate is perfect. Take her. It’s what she wants, and it will make her happy. And all we want is her happiness, his tiger purred.

  Not. Helping.

  “Arya, sweetheart, what are you doing?” he asked, the words barely recognizable through his gritted teeth.

  Glancing at him over her shoulder, her blue eyes heavy lidded and swirling with the darker blue of her tiger, she rolled her hips again. “What’s it look like I’m doing? Or better yet, what’s it feel like I’m doing?”

  Fuck, the look in her eyes and the way her voice was all husky and breathy was just as sexy as the feel of her ass rolling against his hard dick. Unable to help himself, he slid his hand up from her ribcage to her breast, squeezing it firmly as she moaned.

  “We shouldn’t do this here. We’re out in public.”

  “No one’s here, and we’re hidden in this grass. And we’ll hear if anyone approaches.”

  “Not fucking likely,” he said, still caressing her breast. “You know we’ll be lost in each other.”

  Fuck it. He didn’t want to resist, so why the fuck was he trying to talk her out of it? Without hesitating any longer, he moved his hand down to her hip and slid it under her shirt. Trailing his fingers over her quivering stomach, he reached her full breast, squeezing and kneading. Moving it higher, he tugged her sports bra down, until the opening was underneath her breasts.

  “Karis,” she breathed, pushing her ass back into him again.

  Leaning down, he pressed his lips to her neck as his fingers found her nipple, plucking and twisting as he gave her biting kisses. Putting both knees on the ground, he filled his palms with her breasts, playing with her nipples. He fucking loved her breasts. Full and generous, large for her small frame, they overfilled his palms in the perfect way, with delicious pink nipples.

  He never had a favorite part of a woman’s anatomy before. But now, with Arya, he was firmly a breast man. She rolled her hips again, and he groaned. And an ass man, a hip man—hell, he was just an Arya man. Everything about her was perfect to him. Perfect for him.

  Unable to wait, he moved one of his hands down, slipping it past the waistband of her leggings and panties. Groaning again as he cupped her mound, his dick thumped at how hot and wet she was. His fingers easily slid inside, and her gasp turned into a moan as they found her clit. Fuck, she was soaking already, and he’d barely touched her.

  He’d already learned how she liked being touched, and he circled her swollen nub as he pinched her nipple lightly. Moaning again, she arched her back and pushed back on him, pressing deliciously on his aching dick, giving him the pressure he needed.

  “Karis,” she moaned, undulating her hips as he picked up speed, rubbing her clit faster and faster. “I need to feel you inside me. Now.”

  Sweat beaded on his forehead as he shook his head. “I need to make you come first.”

  “Fuck that.” Surprised at her language, his fingers slowed. Did she really just say fuck? “You always make me come when you’re inside me. I don’t need to come first. Now quit playing and get. Inside. Me.”

  Eyebrows raising, he stared at her as a slow smile curled his lips up. She surprised him multiple times a day, and he fucking loved it. The strip tease had the top spot, but this moment was coming close. And hell, who was he to deny her something she wanted so much? Especially when he wanted it, too.

  Pulling his hands out of her clothes, he glanced around to make sure they were still alone. Then he took the waistband of her leggings and peeled them and her panties down until they were at her knees. Fuck, that was the most gorgeous sight he’d ever seen. She was on her hands and knees in the tall grass, braid hanging over her shoulder as she looked back at him, licking her lips. Her shirt was pushed up high on her chest, and her breasts were free, her sports bra perking them up from where it was underneath them. And her bare ass and dripping wet core were on display right in front of him.

  Fuuuuck, he was painfully hard now. Reaching out, he caressed her ass and then gave in to his urge, smacking it lightly. Arya gasped, eyes sliding closed for a moment, and then she opened them, the heat in her blue depths sending answering lava flowing through his veins.

  “Do that again. Harder.” Her tone was both pleading and demanding all at once, and who was he to refuse her?

  This time he smacked her harder, watching as her skin rippled. She was toned all over, her ass included, but it still jiggled enticingly. But no more. He had to get inside her right this second. He’d either spontaneously combust or cream his pants like a fourteen-year-old virgin if he waited any longer.

  Quickly yanking his jogging pants down, he slid a knee between her legs, urging her to open wider. Taking his aching cock in hand, he rubbed himself through her folds, breath hissing at her heat, coating himself in her wetness. Making sure he rubbed her clit a few times first, he finally positioned himself at her entrance. Grabbing her hips, he started easing inside, gritting his teeth at how tightly her wet heat gripped him.

  Her fingers clutched at the grass as she moaned, arching her back and pushing into him, trying to speed him up. But he managed to hold strong until he was buried inside her. Fuck if his spine wasn’t tingling and his balls weren’t tight with the need to come already.

  Leaning over her, he wrapped her braid around his wrist and lightly pulled her head back. Tracing the shell of her ear with his tongue, he whispered, “I’m not going to last long at all, Arya.”

  Gasping as his hot breath caressed her ear, she shook her head as much
as she was able. “I don’t need you to, because I won’t either. Don’t hold back this time, mate. I can handle it.”

  Mate. Shit, that word was like a livewire straight to his dick. Straightening a little, he kept her long braid loosely wrapped around his wrist and put his other hand back on her hip. Pulling out, he gritted his teeth at the feel of her walls trying to suck him back in. When just the head was still inside, he tightened his fingers on her hip and slammed back in with more force than he ever used before.

  Arya moaned loud and long, the sound making his balls tighten further. Pulling out, he thrust back in again, and he kept that pace up. Hard and fast, their skin slapping together loudly, peppered with her moans and his groans. He could feel her wetness leaking out of her, coating his thighs, and he squeezed his eyes shut so tightly he swore he was seeing stars.

  Opening his eyes again as he felt her start to ripple around him, he knew she was getting close. Releasing her braid, he snaked his arm underneath her, finding her swollen clit easily. It only took three passes of his fingers before she was letting go, crying out as her walls pulsated around his dick.

  With a gritted curse, he slammed into her once, twice, three times, and then held himself still as he emptied himself inside her. The pleasure was so intense, so overwhelming, his vision blackened around the edges, and it felt like he was never going to stop coming, still pouring himself inside her.

  When he finally came back to himself, they were both gasping for air. Arya’s body was shivering with the slightest of tremors, and her arms were shaking minutely as she tried to hold herself up. Honestly, he felt just as weak, as if he’d poured all his strength and energy into her when he came.

  Pressing a kiss to the back of her neck, he gently pulled out of her, watching as his seed spilled out and dripped down her thighs. Fuck, that was the most erotic sight he’d ever witnessed. His blood heated anew, but his poor cock was keeled over in a pleasurable state of exhaustion. Smiling wryly to himself, he pulled his pants back up, and helped her as she turned over to lay on her back.