"Damn it, she has to talk to me. I'm her fucking mate. She should trust me."
The truth was, he was used to being taken at his word. He answered to Drake Donovan and Elijah Lospostos, but no one else. And no one questioned his word. He was also used to being popular with women. He liked sex. A. Lot. His body was often hard, making demands on him, and after a long day, there was nothing better than a night of sex. But then he went home. He didn't sleep with them. He didn't cuddle them. He didn't want to inhale them with every breath he took--until Sonia.
Sonia was like a drug he couldn't get out of his system. Not just any drug, one that gave him such an intense release, he swore he could reach the fucking stars. She did that. He wanted to devour her. Her taste was addictive. Her body was paradise. He knew she was his. She'd been made for him. He'd known that even without the leopards, Sonia would have belonged to him. He wanted her to feel the same way about him. Possessive. Urgent. Explosive. And then, in bed with her after, holding her close, sated, completely at peace.
"Joshua, I'm your friend. You're leader of the lair here. You're getting this lair under control, and it was seriously fucked up. Most of the men here are unknown. We aren't positive we can trust them yet. We've got this Miami deal we have to set up. Elijah made it clear that the pipeline had to be set up as fast as possible, and we need the Russians in Miami. That's on you and you know it. Now this woman comes along at the wrong moment and adds a huge complication. You have every reason to be edgy and moody, especially with her in a heat, but you know, if you scare her, she might get it in her head to take off."
Joshua stood on the edge of the upper gallery, one arm circling the massive support post while he stared out over the swamp toward Sonia's home. The branches of the trees touched one another, laying out a long, complex highway that stretched to Sonia's as well as in the other direction and also deeper into the swamp. He had the perfect setup for his leopard. For all the leopards in the lair. They had freedom to run their leopards undetected by the outside world. He had the freedom to get to Sonia without anyone seeing--including her.
God. He wanted her. He fucking wanted her with every breath he took. "I can't think straight, Evan. I didn't know it could be like this. I know she's mine. I know it. My leopard claimed hers. I thought when that happened she'd just go along with the program, especially after all those nights together."
"Did you talk to her about this? Maybe she doesn't know about shifters. I've known that can happen. Drake said as much."
"She told me she didn't know the rules. I told her I'd come to her tonight and we'd talk. We didn't do much talking while she was in her heat." The thought of those nights made his body hard all over again. "I should have been more careful with her. Gentle. She didn't seem to want or need gentle and neither did I. I knew leopard sex could get rough during a heat, but I had no idea it would be like that. I about lost my fucking mind. Rough is my preference every time, and she was all over that."
"You're going to her." Evan made it a statement.
"I can't keep away, and it sucks that she doesn't feel the same way. It pisses me off and hurts like a son of a bitch at the same time." He rubbed his chest over his heart. "You know me, I'm not like this."
"You're going to have to resolve it soon. We've got a week, no more, and then you have to have your head in the game. If you don't think you can do that, Joshua, we've got to tell Elijah. Maybe one of the others can take over."
He shook his head. "Elijah and Alonzo are counting on me. I've worked hard on this and I know every detail from start to finish. I'm going to see it through." But first, there was the biggest deal of his life waiting to be brokered. Sonia Lopez. He'd already called Drake Donovan and Jake Bannaconni, two friends who would be able to learn every secret the woman had. He didn't like setting them on her, but he had no choice. She wasn't going to talk, and he needed information fast.
He took a deep breath, breathing in the swamp, listening to the insects and frogs dominating the night's sounds. He heard the plop of snakes in the water. The jump of a fish. The rush of wings as an owl flew close. He loved the swamp. He'd been born in Louisiana. It was home and always would feel like home to him.
The swamp wasn't for everyone, but Sonia had been fearless yet respectful, making her home there. She'd been careful not to disturb the animals and plants any more than necessary. He could see that she was trying to restore her home to its once-elegant beauty while keeping the grounds covered in native plants.
"You're good with women, Joshua. They're all over you."
"Not good with the one who counts." He sighed. "I can't stay here knowing she's over there. I'm going to her. You might want to cross your fingers she doesn't shoot me."
"She have a gun?" Evan was mildly worried.
"I wouldn't put it past her," he said and bent to remove his boots. "Can you find me a pack? I'll just take a T-shirt and pair of jeans."
"I'll leave you a pair of boots and socks at the corner of her property. The old tree where we stash clothes." He pulled a small pack from under his chair and handed it to Joshua.
"Thanks, Evan." He rolled his shirt and put it in the pack. Jeans were more difficult, they had to be rolled tightly to fit the smaller packs. The packs were fitted around their necks so when they shifted, they carried their clothes with them. They also made it a practice to stash clothing and shoes at various sites around the property just to be safe.
Joshua was relatively new as leader to the lair, having taken leadership from the leopard who'd claimed it when Rafe Cordeau disappeared. Joshua's leopard fought and killed the leader, and the remaining leopards opted to stay and swear allegiance. The first thing he'd done was decree that his men would befriend their neighbors and the townspeople. No business paid protection money. No one was shaken down or made to feel afraid. He'd set the example of buying locally and using local talent to help put the property back together.
Drake had sent him several leopards from Borneo, men Drake had worked with and trusted. Joshua knew them, and had fought alongside of them. All had volunteered to help him when Drake had laid the problems in the lair out for them. They knew the danger and were willing, as usual, to assume the risks.
He didn't wait. The moment he'd secured the pack around his neck, he shifted with blurring speed. Drake Donovan had drilled it into all of them that speed counted, and they'd practiced, knowing one second could be the difference between life and death. Most of the time their clothing and footwear were easily gotten rid of so they weren't slowed down by stripping.
His leopard was a big, fearless male. In a fight, he was fast and deadly. It was Joshua who held him back, tempering dominance with compassion and mercy. That wasn't always the best thing, not in a fight to the death, but it made for a good balance as a leader of a lair.
Shadow ran along the branches, above ground, leaping easily from tree to tree on the twisted, outstretched limbs. Each branch was solid and thick, making them perfect perches for the leopard to move fast through the swamp. Joshua had run the swamp night after night, familiarizing himself with every inch of the territory. He had explored above ground, in the trees, and ground level. He'd seen Sonia's home many times, never once imagining that his own mate resided there.
The big leopard caught Sonia's scent and moved faster, knowing he was close to his mate. He leapt to the tree that would take him around to the back of her house looking out over the swamp. Music filled the night. Not just the cacophony of insects, frogs and alligators, but actual musical notes.
The leopard paused in the tree that had one branch extended toward the top balcony and another bowing down toward the ground, leading straight to the lower verandah. Joshua took over, pushing to shift again. The leopard instantly retreated to the background, leaving Joshua in the crook of the tree, naked with a pack around his neck.
Sonia danced to the music, her body undulating like a temptress's. Hands above her head, eyes closed, she moved across the verandah, her hips and breasts swaying with every bea
t. She wore red lace, and beneath it, nothing else. He could see the marks of his possession on her soft skin and it made something primitive and savage in him rejoice.
His breath hitched in his lungs when she turned around and he was looking at her smooth back and her butt. He was partial to her bottom, and the marks there proclaimed he'd spent time worshiping her. Just watching her made his mouth water and his cock throb with heat. She was the most naturally sensual creature he'd ever encountered. Everything about her appealed to him. Her hair was down and wild. It fell in waves around down her back, thick and glossy in the moonlight, making her appear an exotic dancer enticing her lover.
He was more than willing to oblige. Stark naked, pack in hand, he walked along the dipping branch leading straight to her porch, his gaze fixed on her. Predator hunting prey. Focused. Determined. Certain of his destiny. He knew with everything in him, his destiny was to love her. To keep her safe. To make sure that every day of her life with him was happy.
Sonia's head turned and she froze, her eyes on him. Her gaze drifted over his body, taking in the hard cock pressed tight to his stomach, his heavy balls, and then jumped back up to his face.
He stepped onto the gallery right in front of her. Close. She smelled like heaven. He tossed the pack onto one of the chairs and stepped into her again when she retreated. One finger drifted down her face to her lips, absorbing the softness of her skin. He had to touch her. The need was so strong it shook him.
Touching her wasn't enough. He recognized that immediately. He hooked one hand around the nape of her neck and took her mouth. That mouth he was obsessed with. The one he thought about when he should be working, should be thinking about staying alive and keeping his men alive.
She tasted every bit as good as he remembered. More so. Her mouth was paradise. Sweet. Hot. She gave herself fully to him, no hesitation, her tongue sliding along his, following his when he retreated, so that when she was in his mouth, his body shuddered with such need, such pleasure, he couldn't remember any woman who had come before her.
He kissed her over and over, a man starving, a man falling, but he ignored that and just let himself feel. Let himself drown. Little sparks jumped from her skin to his, flames licking over his cock like a scorching-hot tongue. His groin burned, an inferno threatening to consume him. Even his thighs were on fire. He lifted his mouth from hers and it took effort. Concentration. Discipline.
"You didn't text me."
Her eyelashes fluttered, betraying her nerves. "I know."
"I waited as long as I could." He took her hand and brought it to his cock. "Just thinking about you makes me hard as a fucking rock, Sonia." He pressed her palm to him. Tight. He needed that. Needed her not to pull away--and she didn't. "Sometimes I think I'm going to go insane with wanting you."
She touched her tongue to her lip, sliding it along that small mark. His cock jerked under her hand. She curled her fingers around the hard length, her thumb sliding over the drops leaking there, smearing them all over the sensitive head.
Fire streaked through him. He hadn't realized just how far gone he was. He hadn't intended to have sex with her, not without talking first. She used sex to keep him at bay. She might not know that was what she was doing, but he couldn't resist her. He couldn't now. Not with his body raging at him, making demands he couldn't control or ignore. He'd never been like that. He was always the one in control.
"Sometimes I think I'm going insane with wanting you too," she whispered.
He groaned. She looked sexy in her red lace. Her lips were full. Red to go with the lace stretching over her full breasts and hips. He loved what she was wearing. Her nipples were hard little knots begging for attention, and each time she moved, the lace strained to keep them in.
His cock jerked and his balls felt so tight and full he was afraid they'd burst. He put his hand on her shoulder and applied pressure. She didn't hesitate. She went to her knees, and the sight of her like that in all that lace nearly undid him.
"Look at me." He fisted her hair and pulled her head back so she was forced to look up. "I want to watch you. I want you watching me."
Excitement flared in her dark eyes. He loved that. He loved that whatever he asked of her turned her on. He knew she liked his brand of sex. Right now, he could scent her answering need, that liquid heat that tasted like an aphrodisiac.
"Open your mouth." He wanted to see her red lips stretched around his cock the way the red lace stretched around her curves. It was sexy as hell. She'd swallowed him more than once, but he'd never seen her, not like this. Not with the light on her, not with her body adorned by red lace and his marks. Not with her full, pouty lips so red. He loved her mouth, he lay awake at night thinking about it and how she tasted. How she smiled or frowned. That adorable lower lip he couldn't resist biting every time he got close to her.
Sonia obeyed him, licking her lips, her eyes on his, and then she slowly opened her mouth for him. Just that alone nearly made him erupt all over her face. He didn't know how he was going to keep it together.
"You're so fuckin' sexy." He hissed the words between clenched teeth as he guided his cock in, giving her the broad head, watching it disappear between her lips, feeling that burn that shook his entire body, that made his thighs harden and his blood run so hot he feared he might burn from the inside out.
Her mouth was on fire, scorching him the way her sheath did. Her tongue slid over the sensitive crown in a lazy curl and then stroked underneath in that sweet spot that nearly took his head off. He pushed deeper into that scalding-hot cauldron. She hollowed her cheeks and sucked. He didn't know if it was the feeling alone of her mouth on him, lush red lips stretched around his girth, or her eyes staring up at him, but whatever it was, it set off an inferno inside of him.
His hips moved of their own volition, pushing deeper. He tried to be gentle. He liked rough, but she deserved gentle and he was determined to be careful of her. She sucked harder and lashed him with her tongue. A low purr emanated from her throat. The vibration tore up his shaft like a wildfire out of control. His balls drew tight and hard. He pushed deeper, not meaning to, but unable to hold back.
She didn't pull off him, not even when he felt those tight muscles gripping his sensitive head and her eyes watered. It was too much, the massage, the heat, the way she looked. He couldn't hold back. The force started somewhere deep and climbed, spreading like hot lava through his gut, up his thighs, centering that violent flame, burning, stroking, so hot he thought for a moment he would go insane with the brutal pressure. Then he was erupting, hot jets of seed splashing down her throat. He couldn't look away. He needed to throw his head back and howl, but he was riveted on her, the way her mouth worked him, the way her throat swallowed, massaging him more. The way her eyes had gone liquid and her red lips stretched to accommodate his size. Her breasts heaved in the red lace as her body fought for air, but she refused to stop until she had all of him.
She took a long, deep, shuddering breath, and then gently swallowed him again, gliding a couple of times and then lapping at him. Every touch of her tongue sent lightning streaking through him, a white-hot pleasure that consumed him.
His hands tightened in her hair as she licked her lips and then sat back on her heels, still looking up at him. "You're so fucking beautiful." It was all that he could get out of his mouth. She was. Beautiful. Sensual. Sexy. His.
She just stared up at him, looking as vulnerable as hell. It occurred to him she didn't have the first clue what to say or do. She hadn't wanted him there and the moment they were together, they were at it. He could see her nipples, peaked, hard, desperate for his mouth. She squirmed, pushing her thighs together, every bit in need as he'd been.
He reached down and took her hand, tugging until she was on her feet. Without a word he lifted her, two hands at her waist, and set her on the table between the two chairs. He bent his head and sucked her left breast into his mouth. That soft mound had been driving him crazy as she swallowed him, swaying in temptation,
straining against the thin, delicate lace. He sucked hard, used his teeth to rake at her.
She shivered, jolted, gasped and then moaned, her arms coming up to cradle his head. His hand went to her right nipple and he wasn't gentle, tugging hard, rolling, setting her on fire. By the time he switched his mouth to her right breast, her left was covered with . . . him. He left strawberries and rake marks decorating her soft skin. It looked beautiful, his signature, his name written on her. He claimed her right breast in the same way. His. All that beauty. He wanted her to do the same to him. Brand her name into his bones.
When her breathing was ragged and moans had turned to pleas, he kissed his way down the lace to her belly button. He dipped his tongue there, left his signature all around that sweet little enticing circle and kept going.
He wrapped one hand around her throat, feeling her pulse hammering into his palm. He exerted gentle pressure, giving her no choice but to lie back. He kept kissing his way down to that sexy little mound. He loved the way she had tiny tight curls that hid rosettes. Using both hands, he dragged the lace from her body and then pulled her thighs wide apart and lifted her to his mouth.
She screamed when his tongue swiped across her swollen bud. Her body jerked. Liquid heat met his mouth, and he devoured her. He wasn't gentle there either, driving her up ruthlessly, demanding her orgasm, and then doing it again. He used his teeth on her thighs, leaving a string of his marks on both inner thighs, up close to her entrance.
"Again. I want it again," he demanded and lapped at her before using tongue, teeth and fingers to get what he wanted. He loved watching her face when she came apart. That beauty ripping through her, taking her someplace only he could give her. He loved the sounds she made. She wasn't quiet. Those hitches in her breathing. Her moans. Pleas. He loved that especially. Taking her up, keeping her right on the edge for as long as he thought she could take it. The way she said his name. Shocked. He loved her shock. The demand that crept into her voice. He could watch her come apart all night every night.
"I can't." Her head thrashed back and forth, fingers curled into tight fists.
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