by Robbie Cox
He had to know there was no way in hell that she’d listen to him. There was no going back. He’d have to kill her first, and if it came down to one of them having to die, it would be Kyle Wagner. She’d be sure of that.
The sound of tires on gravel broke the silence. Panic gripped her for a moment as she stared at the front door. No! I will not allow myself to fear him. Not anymore. With her hand on the hilt of her knife, Eve walked to the window at the front of the cabin, blowing out a breath as she did. It was one thing to tell yourself to calm down and quite another for your body to listen to the pep talk.
Pulling the curtain back, she saw Arlin stepping out of his car, his gaze scanning the surrounding area. He probably has the same thoughts I do, that Kyle is out there somewhere. Then she couldn’t help but giggle as she pictured Kyle crossing paths with Arlin’s tiger. The man had no clue shifters even existed, so she could only imagine the look on Kyle’s face when he actually saw one, and she highly doubted his first encounter would be a good one.
By the time Eve opened her front door, Arlin was taking the first step up to the porch. “Well?” she asked. “Were you able to accomplish what you wanted?”
He shrugged as he crossed his arms and leaned against the porch pole. “Yes and no. I filed a report, but to be honest, according to Lainie, there just isn’t much they can do until something further happens and there are witnesses. Filing a restraining order takes over two weeks and we don’t have that kind of time.”
She nodded her head, her sandy hair falling into her eyes. “I’m sure he’ll be back around once he realizes I’m not packing up and hightailing it out of here.”
Arlin glanced at her, a smile creasing his face as his gold eyes sparkled. “I’m glad to hear you’re not planning on going anywhere.”
“Hell no, this is my home. He can kiss my ass if he thinks he can scare me away from it.”
Arlin took two steps, crossing the porch, and gripping her arms in his rough, massive hands. “No one kisses your ass, but me.” He leaned down and kissed her, his lips warm, hungry.
Eve fell into his embrace, sliding her hands up his back to wrap around his shoulders as he held her. She felt his tongue part her lips, tasting her, as she tasted him, his breath warm on her cheeks. She really hoped Kyle was watching right then, just to see how a real man treated a woman. Then she felt herself grinning, her kiss deepening. Might as well give the ass a real show. She slid her hand from Arlin’s shoulder and across the ever-growing bulge in his pants. Gripping his cock through his jeans, she stroked his fire into a full blaze, feeling his body stiffen against her as his breathing grew huskier. She squeezed his cock harder, urging it to life.
When Arlin broke the kiss, keeping her tight against him, he grinned as he looked down at her. “I think we should take this inside,” he said, taking a step toward the front door, urging her backward.
“Why? You don’t like right here? Right now?” She pushed herself away from him, as her hands went to the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head and dropping it to the porch. Reaching behind her, she unclasped her bra and slid it off her shoulders to land on top of her shirt. “I thought shifters were past the whole shyness thing when it came to sex and nudity.” She felt the cool afternoon air brush against her breasts, stirring her nipples to life. She didn’t hesitate, but instead, reached for her pants button and stripped her jeans from her legs, taking her thong with them. She stared at him, grinning a shit-eating grin as she wiggled back and forth in front of him. “Are you saying you don’t want me?” She walked around him until she could lean across the porch railing, her ass wiggling back and forth in front of him. “Is that what you’re saying?”
She heard him growl as he reached for the bottom of his shirt to yank it off. “Little Warrior, I’ve warned you before about tempting me. Soon, I will not be able to hold my tiger back from marking you.” His shirt slid over his head and joined hers on the ground. He took a step toward her as he undid his pants button. Before he slid them down his powerful legs, he reached out and ran a hand over her bare ass, bringing goose bumps to her flesh. She pushed back against him, pressing her ass into the palm of his hand. “And I think it’ll be sooner than later.”
She glanced at him from over her shoulder. “I don’t want you to hold back. I want you to take me. Claim me. Make me yours. Right here on this porch. Right now. Do it, Arlin. Do it now.” She knew she taunted him, and even though she lived with shifters, she wasn’t truly sure what the mark of a mate really meant, but she was through worrying about it. She wanted Arlin and wanted Kyle to know she now belonged to another. Let the bastard try to get me now.
Arlin slid his pants down his legs, his boxers sliding down with them, and kicked them both to the side. She felt his hands return to her waist, and as she glanced back over her shoulder, could see the lust growling in his eyes. Her pussy dripped at what she witnessed. It was almost as if his animal was in full control, and when she felt the tiger’s claws slip out of his fingertips and into her waist, she feared she may have made a mistake.
He positioned himself behind her, the tip of his cock teasing her passion’s entrance. Yet, he didn’t shove himself inside of her. Instead, he leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Don’t think I’m not aware of the show we’re making, Little Warrior.” His breath felt heavy in her ears, warm against the side of her face. “For all of your bravado, this will make you mine forever, and I enjoy ravishing what’s mine and don’t care who sees it.” His claws dug into her flesh just a little sharper as he thrust deep inside of her, the ache from where he took her this morning fresh as his cock speared into her, spreading her pussy open. Claiming her.
She cried out, her back arching, his chest pushing into her as he pounded her. Gripping the porch railing, it was all she could do to hang on during the ride. She felt her own nails dig into the wood, felt her body shuddering under the sexual assault he gave her, her pussy hungering for everything he gave. Faster, he drove into her, his grunts and growls stirring her own orgasm to the front. Her whole body felt like tendrils of electricity as she shoved herself back on his manhood, felt her pussy lips sucking his cock, her walls tightening around him, holding him inside of her. Gone were the thoughts of threats and Kyle, gone even was the idea that they were fucking on the front porch of her cabin where anyone driving or walking by could see them. She didn’t care. All she wanted right then was Arlin. His cock. His orgasm. His mark.
Her body shuddered, tightening as she felt her orgasm sweep through her. Arlin leaned over her, his deep voice a growl in her ear. “Mine.” And then she felt his grip tighten as he sank his teeth—fangs?—into her, his cock twitching as he filled her with his cum. She cried out again, her whole body a tightrope of sensations as she stiffened in place, his presence over her, dominating her, as the pain from his bite shot through her mingling with her orgasm.
When his body softened, his grip loosening, she could feel him stand again, his cock slipping from her. She almost cried out again as the void filled her where his shaft was just a second ago. He placed a hand under her waist and helped her to stand, turning her as he did. She maintained her grip on the railing, her knees weak and shaky as she felt their lovemaking drip from her. Gingerly, she placed a hand over the bite mark, the pain sharp, intense. Now that bruise I’m going to enjoy having. She could feel the impressions of his teeth as she gently ran her fingers across the mark, wondering if it did all the things she had heard.
He gripped her waist, pulling her against him, the curls of his chest hair ticklish against her flesh. His smile captivated her as he gazed into her eyes, his expression still hungry, ready for more. “Now that you’ve made your point out here, why don’t we go inside and continue where it’s a little more comfortable?”
“What’s the matter, Stripes? I thought animals liked the outdoors.”
“Not when there’s a perfectly good bed inside.” He bent down and scooped her into his arms, carrying her inside the cabin and to the back bedroom. As h
e dropped her on the bed, causing her body to bounce slightly, he said, “There’s much more room to maneuver right here, and I want to explore every inch of this body.” He crawled on top of her, nibbling her as he did. “Biting. Licking. Tasting. It’s going to be a busy morning. You’ll want to be comfortable.”
She laid back on the bed, her grin reaching her eyes. “I’ve got nothing but time.” And before she knew it, they had explored their way out of the afternoon and into the evening, no longer caring that outside the cabin her attacker more than likely watched from the edge of the woods.
Thirteen
He knew why she did it. He just wasn’t sure having sex on the porch was the smartest decision right then. It was one thing to turn her nose up at Kyle and tell him to kiss off, and quite another to fuck another man on her porch as a way of informing Kyle that they were definitely over. The first would probably just piss the man off, while the second would surely send him into a rage, making him even more dangerous than he seemed already.
Of course, Arlin was quite happy to perform with her, even marking her in front of the peeping tom they assumed hid in the bushes. There should be no doubts as to who Eve preferred now. Besides, Arlin rationalized, it just might be what they needed to spur the man to make an asinine move, which permitted Arlin to put an end to him once and for all. All of that rage he felt at the Wolfe’s Den would surely have a place to be vented once he got Kyle in his grasp.
“You seem pensive,” Eve said from her spot on the bed beside him. “What’s wrong?” Then she shot up on her elbows so she could stare him in the face. “You’re not regretting marking me, are you?”
“What?” He turned to her, reaching a hand out to cup her face. “Not at all, Little Warrior. The tiger within can now relax, knowing we’re together.” He snaked his hand behind her neck and pulled her down for a kiss. He would never regret marking her, he knew that for sure, as he licked her bottom lip, pulling away from the kiss. “I just wondered what our little show did to infuriate your ex, that’s all. If he watched as you suspect, and I would agree that he was, then he’s definitely going to be gunning for you now. You need to be extra careful. Watch your back.”
She grinned at him as she swung a leg over his waist to straddle him. “Does that mean you’re going to be watching my front?”
He groaned as he felt her wetness sliding up and down his cock. Reaching up, he caressed her perky tits, flicking his thumb back and forth over her nipple. “I’m going to be watching every inch of you. You can count on that.”
He felt her slide back and forth along his quickly growing cock as she leaned down, her hands pressing on his chest. “Good. I’m counting on it.” She leaned down and licked where she bit him the first time they made love, the impressions of her teeth faint, but still there. He winced as she nipped at him again. And still tender, it seemed. With a push, she shoved herself straight again as she grinned down at him. “So, what’s the plan?”
He chuckled. “You’re on top. I thought you knew what you were doing.” He winked as he waggled his eyebrows.
“Snarky, Stripes. I like it.” she said with a laugh. “However, I’m talking about getting Kyle out of our lives and out of Bull Creek.”
“Do we really need to talk about your ex while we’re naked and you’re straddling me like this? I’m sure we can come up with something else to…um, discuss.”
She rocked back and forth on him, her grin growing. “Discuss? You want to talk? Really?”
His tiger growled within, urging him to take his mate right then. “Well, perhaps discuss is too weak a word.” He could feel his cock stirring to life, twitching between her pussy lips as she ground on top of him. “I can come up with something stronger, I’m sure.”
She leaned back down, her grin full of want, passion. “Good. I like stronger.” She gripped his arms, squeezing them, her nails digging into them, and then—he yelped again—her claws digging into him. Eve screamed, matching his yelp as she jerked back up, her back straight, her hands in front of her as she stared at her fingertips, the tips of claws sticking out. “What the hell?”
Arlin reached out, taking her hands in his and pulling them to his lips, kissing each claw tenderly. When he pulled her hands from his mouth, he said, “It happens, Little Warrior, with humans. The mate bitten takes on the animal of the mate who bites her.” He looked up into her eyes, doing his best to make his expression reassuring. By her wide eyes, he assumed he hadn’t pulled it off.
She glanced down at him, her body trembling slightly. “A little warning would have been nice,” she said, her voice holding a tinge of a growl, which made the tiger within Arlin growl as well. She glanced back at her fingertips, unable to look away, it seemed. “You mean…I’m going to shift now? Into a tiger? Like you?”
He gave her a slow nod, worried now that perhaps he should have been more upfront with her about the specifics and risks. He just assumed she knew all about shifters since she lived in Bull Creek surrounded by the paranormal. As best as he could tell, her best friend was a wolf shifter, so he just assumed… He took a deep breath. By the look on her face, he assumed wrong. “I’m sorry, Eve, I just…I assumed you knew.” He squeezed her thigh, hoping to reassure her of his sincerity.
Yet, the worry that creased her brow just a moment ago shifted into wide-eyed excitement. “This is so cool.” She turned her hands over and over, just staring. Finally, she shoved herself off him and slid to her feet on the floor. “C’mon, I want to go try it out.”
“Now?” He felt his heart—and his cock—deflate a little. “I thought you wanted to, you know, discuss a little more.”
She grinned as she patted the shaft of his cock slightly, and at first he worried she would use her newfound claws on him. “Later. Right now, I want to see how this works.”
He sighed again for dramatic effect. “Fine. But, I’m warning you, the first time is going to hurt like hell. They all hurt, but the very first time is the worse. Your entire body is snapping and popping into a new shape, a new animal, fur sliding from your skin, claws from your fingertips and toes, arms and legs turning into tiger legs. I can tell you all about it, but even then, it’s not enough to prepare you for what will happen.”
“It’ll make me stronger, though, right? I won’t have to carry that knife everywhere. My claws will be my blades.”
He swung his legs off the bed, his hands on his thighs, as he stared up at her. “You don’t need to be stronger, but yes, it will.” Then he grinned up at her. “Of course, ladies night may not be as fun.”
“Aw, damn. Shifters can’t get drunk.” Her shoulders slumped a little at the realization. Then she took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “That’s all right. It’s worth the trade. Tiger claws are much better than a knife I’m still learning to throw. Truthfully, I suck at it anyway.”
“Eve, you don’t…”
She stopped him by placing her fingers on his lips. “I know what you’re going to say, so don’t. I know what I am and how strong. I also know Kyle seems to always have the upperhand and I’m tired of that happening. The next time he raises his hand to me, I swear I’m going to bite it off.” Her grin grew. “Now won’t he be surprised that I can actually do it.”
Arlin couldn’t really blame her for how she felt. And, if he was honest with himself, he knew Kyle had it coming. Still, Arlin didn’t want Eve to lose who she was in her quest to put an end to her ex-boyfriend. He couldn’t allow her to do something that she might later regret, and which might turn her into someone besides the sweet girl he was growing to love. His tiger already knew what Arlin was just now realizing, that he would do anything to protect and keep Eve safe, to prove to her that she was, indeed, a precious lady worthy of love and adoration.
Reaching out, he took her hand in his and gave it a tender squeeze. “I can’t wait to run with you. Let’s do it.”
Eve reached to the floor to grab her shirt, but he stopped her. “It would just be a waste of time. Clothes get ripped
off, remember? Might as well save yourself from buying something new each time you shift and just strip down.”
She shrugged as she turned toward the door. “No wonder you shifters are so comfortable at nudist camps. You have to go around naked all the time anyway.”
He chuckled. “True. And we’ll wait to shift until we’re outside. Tigers can bust through doors, but not open them real well. It’s easier on the wood this way.”
She glanced back over her shoulder and down at his cock. “I wouldn’t want to do anything to hurt the wood.” She winked before turning back around and heading to the front door.
He followed, his gaze riveted to the way her small, heart-shaped ass swayed as she walked. His cock twitched at the sight and he groaned inwardly at the distraction to more “discussing.”
“By the way,” she started, reaching for the doorknob, “have you ever, you know, had sex while in your tiger form?”
He followed her outside, his head tilted to the side as he thought abut her question. Finally, he gave a shake of his head. “You know what? I haven’t. Ever. I mean, it’s possible, I’m sure. I just haven’t done it.”
She grinned, running her tongue across her lips. “Great. Another thing we can try together.” And then she shifted, her bones popping and snapping. She released a loud wail as her body twisted, the transformation jerking bones and muscles into new shapes and positions. The orange and black striped fur oozed from her flesh, shoving its way out of her skin as she screamed again. And then, she hunched down onto her paws, growling, as her sharp teeth dripped saliva. She ran her tongue over her dark lips, her growls turning to a soft purr of satisfaction.
He couldn’t shift until she was finished, his gaze frozen at the process he witnessed a million times, yet, never before with someone for which he truly cared. There was a grace to the transformation, he now realized, watching her, that he never before noticed, a fluidity from human to animal that was both frightening and amazing.