“He’s very…persistent,” she said, glancing at the chocolates in her hand.
Max snorted. “He’s a stubborn, pig-headed, mangy hound.”
Cora gave a shake of her head. She’d expected to be constantly pulling Max and Soren apart. They were both aggressive males who claimed to want her as their mate.
But while they thoroughly enjoyed sniping at one another, Cora had watched in shock as the two had put aside their natural aversion to work together.
“You like him,” she teased.
“Not as much as you.” He waggled his brows, only to wince when she reached up to punch him in the arm. “Hey, the truth hurts.” He rubbed his arm. “Damn. And so do you.” Lowering his hand, he allowed his dimpled smile to fade. “Why don’t you put him out of his misery?”
Her jaw tightened, her heart flinching at the blunt question.
“Because he abandoned me.”
Max snorted. “You’re old enough to know that shit happens, Cora,” he said. “Especially for those of us who have a responsibility to Pack.”
She grimaced. Over the past days, she’d been forced to accept that a portion of her fury toward Soren was embarrassingly close to the reaction of a petulant child denied her favorite toy. True, he’d broken her heart and deeply wounded her cat, but it was duty that had forced him to walk away.
Something she’d refused to admit. Even to herself.
Watching Soren with his people, however, had revealed just how deeply he cared. It was painfully obvious that he would lay down his life if it meant keeping his Pack safe.
And ironically, it was that loyalty that her cat most admired.
But, while she might be prepared to accept that his mating to another female had been inevitable, there was still a small part of her that couldn’t entirely put the past behind her.
“I’ve accepted he had to do what he had to do,” she said in low tones.
“But?” Max prompted.
“But he had two years to make things right,” she said, revealing the wound that refused to heal. “He didn’t even make the attempt.”
Max shrugged, his attention turning toward the wolf stalking in their direction with a determined expression.
“You’re a big girl, babe, but I think you should give him a break,” he murmured.
Before she could retort, Soren came to a halt at her side, baring his teeth at Max.
“Go away, cat,” he growled.
“Eat shit, dog,” Max countered, flipping him off before he turned to casually stroll away.
“You two are freaks,” Cora said as Soren wrapped a possessive arm around her shoulders and turned to urge her away from the rowdy crowd, steadily growing rowdier.
She tensed, already sensing he was subtly trying to herd her toward his cabin. A place she’d deliberately avoided since their breakfast a week ago.
It wasn’t that she feared Soren. He would never, ever try to take more than she was willing to give.
No. What she feared was herself.
The burning need for Soren had become a vast, terrifying void. One that threatened to consume her.
She shivered, sucking in a deep breath. Instantly, she was drenched in Soren’s rich musk.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
She was obviously going to have to take care of her hunger. It was already making her human half bitchy; soon it would have her cat dangerously aggressive.
So the question was…did she surrender to Soren’s exquisite seduction? Or did she find some other male to ease her desire?
Her cat roared in instant denial, her body shuddering with revulsion. Okay. Obviously, finding another male was out of the question.
So that left Soren.
Suddenly, the tightness in her chest seemed to ease, a decadent tingle of anticipation flowing through her.
Perhaps catching the scent of her arousal, Soren allowed his fingers to skim down the curve of her spine, resting on her lower back as he continued to steer them down the path to his cabin.
“Did you like the chocolates?” he asked, his breath a warm caress against her cheek.
“Of course.” She glanced up to meet his intense gaze. “You knew I would.”
Cognac eyes smoldered with a mesmerizing heat. “I’d hoped.”
She nearly stumbled as she felt the damp urgency between her legs. Oh, lord, it’d been so long.
Too long.
“You shouldn’t waste your money on me,” she forced herself to mutter.
His fingers moved up her back, threading in her hair that she’d left down this morning.
“I would give my last penny to see you smile,” he assured her.
She licked her lips that suddenly felt dry. “Soren.”
They reached his front porch, and he halted directly in front of his door, gazing down at her with a tenderness that nearly broke her heart.
“I would give my soul to earn your forgiveness, princess.”
She wavered. It would be so easy to submit. To give in to the aching need of her cat. But there was still a part of her that couldn’t let go.
Perhaps it was a need to punish Soren. Or to protect her vulnerable heart.
Or perhaps it is simply a very female desire to continue with this delicious game, she wryly conceded. There was, after all, a heady power in having this gorgeous male chase after her.
Whatever the reason, she found herself giving a slow shake of her head.
“I’m not ready.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” His hand lifted to cup her cheek, his thumb trailing along the line of her jaw. “I can be a pushy bastard. Honestly, I’m happy we can at least be friends.”
His light touch sent sparks of pleasure shooting through her body. Swaying forward, she placed her hands on his chest, relishing the feel of his sharp shudder.
“Friends,” she said, the word sounding oddly empty.
His thumb found the pulse that was hammering just below the line of her jaw.
“We are friends, aren’t we?” he asked.
“I thought…” She deliberately allowed her words to trail away.
“Cora?”
“Maybe we could be friends with benefits,” she suggested.
Never stupid, Soren was swift to follow her implication. His muscles tensed, his heart pounding beneath her palm.
“Would those benefits include having you in my arms?” he demanded, his eyes fully wolf as he gazed down at her flushed face.
“If you want-” Her words broke off in a startled shriek as he abruptly grabbed her by the waist and tossed her over his shoulder. “What are you doing?”
Wrapping his arms around her legs, he shoved open the door and headed into his cabin.
“Not giving you the chance to change your mind.”
Chapter 4
Soren didn’t hesitate as he headed to the small room at the very back of the cabin, slamming the door behind him before he dumped a stunned Cora onto his bed.
Friends with benefits?
His wolf growled as he leaned over her.
He’d been oh-so patient. Wooing his wary cat with unexpected surprises and tender touches. Every day he waited for a crack in her defensive walls. Just the slightest hint that he was earning his way back into her life.
And now she’d given him that opening.
To hell with being friends…he intended to claim every silken inch of her. Starting now.
Holding her gaze, he peeled off her clothes with slow enjoyment. Like he was unwrapping an unexpected gift.
As she was a gift.
The female fate had intended to be the other half of his soul.
Planting his hands on the mattress on either side of her head, he leaned down and, without warning, sank his teeth into the tender skin of her shoulder where it met her throat. Not hard enough to taste her blood, but with enough force to warn that he intended to claim his ownership.
“Shit, Soren,” she groaned, her claws digging into his shoulders as she writhed beneath him.
Not in fear.
No, this was pure animal excitement.
“Mine,” he snarled, his nose pressed just below her ear as if to savor her scent.
She trembled, her cat growling in ready response.
Still, she clearly wasn’t about to give in without a fight.
“No,” she growled.
He traced his bite mark with lingering kisses before heading down her taut body.
Cora moaned, her fingers shoving into his hair.
“Deny it all you want,” he whispered, his teeth teasing the hard tip of her nipple, “but we both know that you belong to me.”
She arched her back in silent invitation, even as she denied his claim.
“I told you…I’m not ready.”
“Your body recognizes my touch,” he pointed out, his lips skimming over the tense muscles of her stomach. “As does your cat.”
“Arrogant dog,” she muttered.
He chuckled as he shoved himself off the bed, quickly ridding himself of his clothes with minimum fuss. She could call him whatever she wanted, but she couldn’t hide her pulsing desire.
The very air was spiced with the scent of her cat’s musk.
Rich, evocative, and tempting as hell.
His wolf strained at the leash to pounce on the female who’d haunted his dreams for more nights than he wanted to admit, but Soren took a moment to savor the sight of Cora stretched across the mattress.
His heart twisted. Gods above, she was exquisite.
Her satin curls spilled across the pillows, shimmering with hints of fire in the sunlight. Her features were delicate and her skin a perfect ivory. Her eyes glowed with emerald heat as her cat studied him with a blatant hunger.
Unlike the human part of her that remained wary.
His fault, of course.
He’d been young and arrogant and utterly selfish when he’d first met Cora. The last thing he’d expected was to be bewitched by the tiger princess. Which was why he hadn’t walked away when he realized that their relationship had gone beyond flirtatious games to something far more dangerous.
Now he knew it was going to take time and patience to earn her trust.
Until then, he fully intended to enjoy what she was willing to offer. Including her delectable body.
Balancing a knee on the edge of the bed, he bent down to kiss a path along the line of her collarbone, pausing to suck at her tender skin. He intended to leave his mark, as well as his scent on this female.
She gave a choked groan as he slowly explored downward over the curve of her breast and the heady perfume of her arousal filled his senses.
Cora reached toward his straining cock, giving a muttered curse when he grasped her wrists and pinned them over her head. There was no way in hell he could endure her touching him. Not when his desire pulsed through him with an edge of violence.
One stroke from her hands and he’d be spilling his seed over her belly.
Sucking the tip of her nipple between his lips, he feasted on her, savoring her tiny moans of pleasure as he used his tongue and teeth to stir her hunger.
“Let me go,” she pleaded softly, her body rubbing against him. “I need to touch you.”
His lips twitched. She was such a cat.
His wolf, however, was determined to remain in control.
Giving her a punishing nip, he lifted his head to study her with a smoldering gaze.
“Behave yourself, or I’ll tie you to the headboard.”
She bared her teeth, but when he slowly released his hold on her wrists, her touch was gentle as she reached out to run her fingers over his broad chest.
He allowed himself a second to savor her touch before he returned his attention to the soft satin of her skin, tracing a slow path down her body.
Outside, he could hear the distant sound of his brothers baying at the Pack Games, and the less familiar growl of a tiger passing by the cabin, but Soren’s attention was focused on the female beneath him.
The spicy taste of her skin. The rich musk of her scent. The soft purr that rumbled in her throat as he worked his way down the curve of her hip before spreading her legs.
His wolf gave a low snarl of anticipation as he crawled between her thighs, his hands sliding beneath her ass to tilt her to the perfect angle. Only then did he use his tongue to stroke through her moist heat.
“Soren.” Her fingers clenched in his hair as he tasted her sweet cream, dipping his tongue into her sweet little tunnel.
He smiled, stroking his way back to the top of her clit. His cat liked having her pussy licked. And he liked licking her.
She tasted like the finest honey.
Pure ambrosia.
Her hips instinctively moved against his mouth, her soft groans filling the air. Her climax was close. He wanted to taste it on his tongue.
Typically, Cora wasn’t going to lay back and allow him to be in control. She might be a princess, but she was anything but passive.
“No,” she breathed. “I need to feel you inside me.”
He turned his head to give her thigh a small nip. “I won’t last long,” he warned. “I’ve waited too long to have you.”
“I want to see you when I come,” she commanded.
“Yes,” he breathed.
She was right. There was something intensely intimate in holding a lover’s gaze as he thrust deeply inside. With a last, savoring lap of his tongue, Soren flowed upward, branding her mouth in a kiss of pure possession.
He’d waited so long to claim her. Now he would never have enough of her.
Never.
Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, her claws digging into the skin of his back. Soren gave a rough growl. His wolf prowled close to the surface, even as his human body quivered with the need to slam his cock into her. He wanted it rough and raw, claiming her in the most primitive way possible.
Only the fierce reminder that she was a cat, not a wolf, curbed his instinct.
His tiger might occasionally enjoy a hard pounding that led to a swift climax, but she preferred to play.
Locking their gazes, he pressed the head of his cock against her clit, rubbing it through her gathering cream. Her breath caught, her cheeks flushing as she scored her claws down his back.
“Tease,” she husked, her eyes shimmering with emerald pleasure.
He leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose. “Christ...I’ve missed you, Cora.”
Her eyes darkened with remembered pain. “Don’t.”
“Accept us, Cora,” he warned. “I have.”
“You...”
Her words came to a sharp end as his cock hit her entrance and his tip slid just inside her. The heat of her moist body enfolded his crown.
His breath hissed between his clenched teeth. Shit. He was on the edge of an orgasm, and he hadn’t even gotten fully inside of her.
Beneath him, Cora released a shaky breath. “Soren, please.”
“This time we take it slow,” he murmured. “Next time, my wolf gets to choose his way.”
“I never said there would be a next time...oh, hell…”
She arched her back, urging him deeper. Soren pressed forward, giving her another inch.
The air heated, thick with the musk of their mutual arousal.
This morning was about connecting skin to skin, their mutual passions binding them together despite Cora’s determination to keep him at a distance.
He tangled his fingers in her glorious hair, lowering his head to kiss her with stark hunger, even as he tilted his hips and surged forward.
Buried deeply inside of her, he held perfectly still, silently absorbing the pleasure that sizzled through him.
“This is what I dreamed of,” he buried his face in the silken curls that spread across the blanket, imprinting her scent on the very fiber of his being. She moaned, her legs wrapping around his waist as he pulled out to the very tip before thrusting deep, over and over. “You. And me. Together.”
“Soren,” she moaned. “Stop
talking.”
He chuckled, continuing to plunge into her heat as the pressure of his looming orgasm swelled with alarming speed. Dammit. He’d genuinely intended to make this last the entire night. Or at least a few hours.
But he’d seriously underestimated the force of his need.
Lost in the sensations that were thundering through him, Soren unconsciously sank his teeth into the flesh of her shoulder, holding her in place as her warm pussy clasped his cock, urging him to a savage pace.
She groaned, arching beneath him as her entire body clenched with pleasure. Still, he continued with his ruthless rhythm, waiting until he heard her strangled gasp of completion before he gave in to his own explosive climax.
Groaning, he pumped his seed deep into her womb, slowing his thrusts to a sated pace. Cora ran her hands up and down his back, petting him as his wolf growled in satisfaction.
Yes.
This was what he’d needed.
What he’d longed for since he’d been forced to turn his back on this female.
Raising his head, he studied Cora’s flushed features with utter contentment.
Chapter 5
Cora snuggled next to Soren, stunned by the shattering pleasure that continued to quake through her.
Good. God.
Sex with Soren had always been fantastic. But this had been…cataclysmic.
They’d never made love with their animals so close to the surface before. It’d intensified each touch, each kiss, until she’d felt as if she were shimmering with an incandescent ecstasy.
Lying on his side, Soren used the tip of his finger to absently trace the tattoo of a pouncing cat on her forearm.
“You’re quiet,” he murmured.
I’m not the same chatterbox I used to be,” she said, not about to admit that she was trying to recover from the spectacular orgasm that had turned her brain to mush.
His ego was quite big enough, thank you very much.
His brows drew together as he gazed down at her. “I hope that’s not true.”
“Why?”
“I liked your chattering,” he said, his fingers lingering on the rough brand that marred her skin beneath the tattoo. A tangible reminder that they lived at the mercy of the humans. “And how you would eat an entire bowl of dough before I could bake a single cookie. And your habit of flitting around the room straightening my messes.”
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