Brooke, Leah - Panthers' Prey [Black Panthers 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Leah Brooke

Marc got in her face, not letting her look away.

  “Cat? Did you just call me a cat? I swear, woman, you would pull a lion’s tale.”

  Bailey sucked in a breath when his cock jumped inside her. Not wanting to show any weakness, she punched his shoulder.

  “No, a panther’s!”

  She scrambled from his lap, surprised, relieved, and disappointed when he let her, and already missing the feel of his cock inside her, his arms around her. Knowing how fast he could move, she rushed to put some distance between them, nearly tripping over her pant leg. She couldn’t put more than a few feet between them in her small office, so she backed away while trying to slide her foot into her panties and jeans, yanking them up and fumbling to fasten them.

  “Since we can’t stand each other, it should be easy enough to—”

  Marc shot to his feet, started forward, and cursed. Ripping off the condom, he tossed it into her garbage can and pulled up his pants all in one swift movement.

  “What the fuck do you mean ‘we can’t stand each other?’ I haven’t done anything to you, and face it, baby, I’ve given you a hell of a lot of pleasure. Or, are you going to try to tell me those screams when you came were protests?”

  “Fuck you.”

  “No, Bailey, I fuck you!”

  “Not anymore you don’t. I’m not going to let my body tell me what to do. I’ve got a vibrator.”

  Backing her against the two-way mirror, he reached out to cup her breast and ran his thumb over her nipple, smiling when she gasped.

  “That doesn’t work for you now, remember? It doesn’t satisfy you the way I can.”

  Keeping his tone low and intimate, he leaned close, sliding his hand into the opening of her jeans that she hadn’t been able to fasten.

  “Come back to my house tonight. My bed’s a king, and you can sleep safe and warm between James and me.”

  Flicking a finger over her clit, he brushed her lips with his.

  “And there’s lots of room for moving around.”

  Bailey pulled his hand out of her jeans, once again disappointed that he’d allowed it, and hurriedly fastened them. Crossing her arms over her chest, she gave him a sarcastic smile while inside her heart raced.

  “I thought you said you hated wanting me.”

  Scowling down at her, he spoke through clenched teeth.

  “There’s no way we can stay away from each other, and we both know it. It’s like an addiction. I want you at my house, Bailey. We’ll take it one day at a time.”

  Bailey gaped at him, her heart leaping in her throat. She’d give anything to be able to spend every available minute with him and James, but knew they’d just end up hurting each other.

  “Are you kidding me? We’re either screwing or fighting. I’m not moving in with you.”

  Marc’s slow smile filled her with foreboding.

  “Yes, Bailey. You are.”

  Dumbfounded, Bailey watched him storm out the door, wincing when he slammed it behind him.

  Turning toward the two-way mirror, she watched him appear at the bar. If she hadn’t been paying attention, she would have missed his lips moving as he said something to James as he passed him. Without even glancing in her direction, he strode through the bar and out into the night.

  Already she missed him.

  Moving behind the desk, she dropped into the chair and sighed.

  One tear fell, and then another.

  Angrily wiping them away, she came to her feet and started pacing her office, looking up as the door flew open and James filled the doorway.

  With a curse, he kicked the door closed and opened his arms.

  “Come here, honey.”

  His wide chest was too damned inviting to resist, and without meaning to, she flung herself against him, shocked at the sob that broke free.

  “He hates me, James. He wants me, but he hates me. I don’t care. I mean it. I don’t give a damn.”

  Humiliating herself even further, she burst into tears.

  * * * *

  Sitting in his truck, Marc wrapped his hands around the steering wheel in an effort to stop them from shaking.

  How the hell could one woman be so much trouble?

  Christ, she made him crazy. One minute he’d been telling her that he wanted nothing more than to get her out of his system, and the next he’d been trying to figure out a way to get her to move in with him.

  Turning his head, he looked back toward the bar, missing her already.

  Sighing, he sat back, a chuckle escaping before he could prevent it.

  His mate. She sure was a handful. God, he loved her.

  He froze, staring unseeingly out the windshield.

  Oh, Christ. He loved her.

  Fighting to resist her suddenly seemed like the stupidest thing in the world.

  He’d always been taught to trust his instincts, and they’d never let him down yet.

  Yet, he sat out here in the parking lot, trying to talk himself out of trusting his instincts on what could be the most important decision he ever made in his life.

  Suddenly, he felt as if an incredible weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, and grinned for the first time in weeks.

  She was his mate.

  Chapter Eleven

  Mortified at her earlier breakdown, Bailey closed her eyes and lifted her face into the spray, letting the warm water soothe her.

  The cool burst of air was her only warning before James wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her firmly against him, and began to massage her breasts.

  “You look good wet, honey.”

  Dropping her head back against his shoulder, she reached up to grip his forearms, loving the feel of slick, sinewy muscle beneath her fingers.

  She didn’t understand the sudden sense of warmth and affection that surrounded her, one that seemed stronger than just an embrace would induce. She only knew that it warmed her from the inside out, much like a shot of her finest whiskey. Slumping back against him to get closer, she smiled when she felt his cock against her back.

  “You feel good hard.”

  Chuckling, he tugged her wet nipples, the feel of his strong fingers sliding over them creating an answering pull at her slit. Rubbing his cock against her lower back, he kissed her shoulder, his lips warming her there even over the heat of the shower.

  “I’m glad you think so because I’m always hard when I’m with you. Need a little help washing?”

  It felt so good to be in his arms. Not only did she experience the lust she felt whenever she was with Marc, but also a closeness that somehow smoothed some of her rough edges.

  Not just sex. Intimacy.

  It made her more than a little uncomfortable, but in his embrace, she didn’t have the willpower to fight it. She felt safe with him physically, but his effect on her emotions made her nervous and jittery, which eased under the glide of his hands, a phenomenon that she noticed with increasing frequency.

  Hiding her confusion and determined to keep the mood light, she handed him the soap, her body already humming in anticipation.

  “If you think I’m going to pass up a chance to have your hands on me, you’re crazy.”

  Lifting her arms around his neck in invitation, a slight shiver went through her at the level of emotional vulnerability that slammed into her as she offered herself. All of a sudden, she felt like throwing herself into his arms and crying, something she wouldn’t have ever dreamed she’d do, something she’d already done once today.

  She had no desire to repeat the performance.

  The burst of emotion seemed to come out of nowhere, but once it struck, it wouldn’t go away. She wanted to push him away as much as she wanted to curl into him. Thankful that the shower hid the unexpected tears that gathered at the corners of her eyes, she rubbed against him. Leaning back, she tilted her head and kissed the strong line of his jaw, closing her eyes against the stinging spray.

  “Thank you.”

  The low, husky words were out before
she could stop them. Uncomfortable now at bringing up the subject of her earlier breakdown, she took the soap back from him and turned in his arms, fighting the urge to squirm under his close scrutiny.

  Lifting her chin with soapy fingers, he frowned down at her. “What exactly are you thanking me for, honey?”

  Shrugging, she looked away and started lathering his chest, not finding it difficult at all to focus on the sleek muscle beneath her fingers. “For putting up with me when I acted stupid.” Looking up at him through her lashes, she shrugged again. “I’m never like that. I made a big deal out of nothing, and I’m sorry I fell apart all over you.”

  The memory of it still made her feel like an idiot.

  Sliding his hands through her wet hair, he dropped a kiss on her lips, a small scowl marring his features. “You were upset. I’m honored that you trusted me enough to let me see you that way.”

  A hint of something more glittered in his eyes, but while she debated with herself on whether to ask him about it or not, he started to lower his head.

  He brushed his lips over hers again, his breath mingling with hers. “And that you let me comfort you. You and Marc are both fighting this, and you’re only going to end up hurting yourselves and each other. I hate watching it.”

  Wiping some of the water from her face, he tilted her head back and ran his thumb over her bottom lip.

  “And I can’t stand to see you hurting.”

  Shaken by the emotion in his eyes and the almost overwhelming need to beg him to hold her, she pulled out of his hold.

  Fascinated by the streams of soap bubbles that ran down his chest, she toyed with a male nipple, not daring to look up at him. She had to ask the question that had been plaguing her, one that had been niggling at the back of her mind for days, but she didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.

  Attempting nonchalance, she smiled and traced another soap bubble. “I can’t believe I’m asking about this since I don’t even believe in such a thing, but are you really my mate, too, or are you just saying that?”

  He moved fast, pressing her back against the shower wall and catching her jaw in an unbreakable hold, his eyes narrowed and snapping fire. “Excuse me?”

  “Forget it.”

  She tried to pull away and failed, so she settled for pushing at him, which only served to make her lose her balance. Before she could even cry out, he caught her, wrapping his hands around her upper arms to steady her.

  “Why would you ask me that?”

  “I said, forget it.” Hell, she didn’t even know why she’d asked.

  She didn’t even know why the hell she cared since she didn’t believe in that mate crap anyway.

  A little tremor went through her when she realized she’d started to accept what they told her as truth.

  How the hell could she have started to believe that bullshit?

  Lifting her to her toes, James loomed over her.

  “I want an answer, Bailey. Stop acting like a child and—”

  “Put me down, damn it. I’m not acting like a child. You and Marc barge into my life—”

  “Saved your life.”

  “And right away you start talking about shape-shifters and mates and I’m just supposed to fall for it.”

  A muscle worked in his jaw, and she could swear she could almost feel his struggle for patience. Gritting his teeth, he let out a breath.

  “Damn it, Bailey, we wanted to be honest with you from the start. We’re proving to you what we said is the truth, and we’re giving you time to adjust to it. We know it’s hard. We’re trying to be patient.”

  Wrapping his hand in her hair again, he pulled her close. “But if you think I’m going to let you turn a blind eye to what’s happening between us, you don’t know me at all.”

  Running a hand down her back to her bottom, he pulled her even closer.

  “And I think you and I know each other very well, don’t we, Bailey?”

  She gasped at the feel of his finger sliding between her legs, moaning as he slipped the tip of it into her pussy.

  Without hesitation, she tilted her hips back to take more of it inside her, rubbing restlessly against him.

  “It’s different with you than it is with Marc. If I’m…ah… supposed to be the mate to both of you, oh, God that feels good, shouldn’t it feel the same?”

  He slid his finger a little deeper and moved it inside her.

  “We’re not the same, Bailey, something that you’d better come to terms with right from the start.”

  His hooded gaze narrowed even more as he slid another inch of his finger into her slick pussy.

  “Don’t try to tell me you don’t respond to my touch every bit as much as you respond to Marc’s. I’ve been inside you, baby, and I know better. I’ve held you while you came apart in my arms. You want me every bit as much as you want him.”

  She couldn’t deny it, especially not when she almost came when he slid his finger all the way into her, her slick juices easing his way. Coming to her toes as he pressed against that supersensitive spot inside her, she grabbed his shoulders and slumped against him, his determination to prove his point apparent in every mind-numbing stroke.

  “I know, and it’s—oh God, that feels good—and it’s wonderful.”

  “But there’s a difference, isn’t there, honey?”

  Shrugging, she nodded, curious enough to be honest with him.

  “It’s not as frantic, but it’s more…I don’t know—”

  “Satisfying?”

  To her surprise, James slid his finger from her, trailing it up the crease of her ass, pausing at her puckered opening, his broad grin making her nervous as hell.

  His breath feathered over her cheek, the silky cadence of it sliding over her with as much warmth as the hot shower.

  “That’s because you’ve already accepted the fact that I’m your mate—just as I’ve accepted the fact that you’re mine. It’s just as good, but we’re both sated afterwards. No matter how much you fight it, you’ve already accepted that you belong to me.”

  Nothing he could have said could have surprised her more.

  Infuriated her more.

  Terrified her more.

  Panicked, she tried to push at him, only to find herself once again backed against the shower wall, both of her wrists caught in one of his strong hands and raised over her head.

  Sputtering against the shower spray, she kicked at him, furious at being manhandled so easily and alarmed at her reaction to it. “Let go of me. I haven’t accepted a damned thing.”

  Her stomach tightened in arousal, her clit throbbing in time to her heartbeat.

  His grin only managed to piss her off more, but did nothing to diminish her hunger. He raised a brow, his eyes glittering with challenge.

  “You think not? Go on, honey. Try to deny it. I’m going to enjoy listening to you beg. But be careful, because it affects me, too.”

  She sucked in a breath when his fingers trailed over her belly, her stomach muscles quivering under his hand.

  It took tremendous effort to fight him with need clawing at her, the tingling in her nipples and clit growing stronger.

  “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I never agreed to be your mate. We fuck, that’s it.”

  James tapped her clit, his eyes narrowing to slits.

  “Keep it up, honey. No, I’m not talking about a few weeks of fucking you every chance I get. I’m talking mate, as in, for life. You know, sleeping in the same bed every night, kids, the whole thing.”

  A surge of panic welled up inside her.

  “I never agreed to anything like that.”

  God, she burned. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t keep her eyes from his cock, mesmerized by the sight of the wet, purplish head. Her pussy clenched with the need be filled with his long, thick heat, already soaked in anticipation of the pleasure she knew he would give her.

  James’s eyes raked over her. “Maybe you didn’t consciously make the
decision, my mate, but you accepted me as your mate on some level, which is why sex between us is so good.”

  Struck by his ridiculous claim, she struggled against his hold, fighting the surge of panic that bubbled up inside of her.

  “No, damn it. It’s not true. I didn’t accept a fucking thing. Just because we’re good together in bed doesn’t give you—oh, hell.”

  James reached out to circle a nipple, his touch effectively cutting off her rant. His hooded eyes held hers, filled with an emotion that left her transfixed and breathless.

  “Let me tell you a little something and maybe you’ll understand.”

  Using his entire body to press her against the shower wall, he released her hands to tilt her face up to face his, a muscle working in his jaw.

  “That night we found you, I felt a rage unlike anything I’d ever experienced. I caught your scent long before we ever got to you, and all I could think as we ran through the woods was mine. She’s mine. She’s in danger, and I’ll never get to her in time. I didn’t know you. I didn’t know your name or what you looked like, but I knew your scent, even though I’d never smelled it before.”

  Bending close, he brushed his lips over her temple, the tension in his voice and in his body pressed against hers keeping her silent as much as her fascination in his words.

  “I knew that I’d spent my life waiting for you when I didn’t even know I’d been looking for you. I knew you were in danger, and I couldn’t get to you fast enough. I’ve never been so scared.”

  He sighed, touching his forehead to hers.

  “I could never explain to you what I felt. It’s more than a human emotion, and I wish I knew how to put it into words for you. Maybe one day I’ll figure it out. Let’s just say that I would have, and still would, gladly kill for you. I would risk my life to keep you safe without any hesitation at all.”

  Bailey lifted her gaze to his, stunned by the raw emotion blazing in his eyes. She swallowed heavily at what she saw in them, an emotion she’d been looking for her entire life. Everything around her seemed to fall into place. Sucking in a breath at the warm sense of belonging that surrounded her, she let out a shaky breath, lifting her face to his.