Beautiful Mistake: 2 (Royal Pride)

by Nancy Corrigan

  She sifted her fingers through his hair and held him close. “More, please.”

  A growl rumbled his chest, the sound seeming to travel along the line where his chest pressed to her stomach. The reverberations skipped to the walls of her sheath. They clenched and more licks to her breast tightened the inner muscles. She closed her eyes to focus on the sensations.

  Without the visual distraction, the intensity of his attentions magnified. The strands of his hair brushed her skin, skipping sparks of electricity along her limbs. The heat of his breath over the bud heightened the intensity of the tingles. And his rough tongue…god, each time it dragged over her flesh, she shuddered.

  She trailed her fingertips along the back of his neck. “Never knew. Never thought it’d feel so good.”

  The satisfactory sound he moaned around the mouthful of her breast brought the tears back to her eyes. Happiness didn’t cause them this time. Lust did. The orgasm he built with each nibble and lick grew. Though not as intense as the tightening she’d felt when he’d been inside her, the peak she reached for now was the kind that made her scalp tingle, one that would leave her in a wonderful state of relaxed bliss.

  Devin released her taut nipple and moved to her other ignored breast. Although he treated it to the same loving study, his motions quickened. The rapid flicks didn’t allow her the chance to catch her breath. He raced her to the edge. Higher he pushed her until the languid release she’d longed for changed, promised to be a full-body experience.

  He slid his fingers down the slight ridges of her upper belly, over the softness no amount of sit-ups got rid of, and trailed the calloused ends lower until he rubbed over her jeans-covered cleft. With the heel of his palm pressed to her clit, he ground rough circles over the bundle of nerves.

  She whimpered, couldn’t get enough of the sweet pressure. “More. Dear god, I need to come.”

  Her plea was met with a murmur of approval that added to the physical stimulation, heightened her emotional cravings. Knowing the man latched to her breast desired her body—all of it—pushed her that much closer to the stars.

  The tugging of his mouth eased. Teeth took the place of lips. He nibbled on her breast and the dangerous fangs that had caused her agony once already dented the skin.

  Fear rose, just for a moment. So did his promise that biting wouldn’t be a part of their sex life. Trust those words? Or stop this? Her choice would set the path for them. She recognized that on an elemental level only a woman would understand. He paused too, as if awaiting her decision.

  She opened her eyes and glanced down. Green- and brown-streaked yellow eyes met hers. His patchwork hair was pushed back, giving her a perfect view of sharp cheekbones and the rough cut of his jaw. The tension she hadn’t noticed in her limbs faded. With trembling fingers, she traced his brows, skimmed the tips over the dip in his cheek to where his lips met her breast.

  “Please.”

  He closed his eyes, hiding those breathtaking orbs, and sucked.

  She screamed his name as the waves swept over her. Her body shook and each pull of his mouth whipped another crest through her. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. On and on the pleasure rolled until slow swipes of his tongue brought her down from the high. When she could drag in air, the fragrance of moss and evergreen filled her lungs. When she opened her eyes, Devin’s feline ones filled her vision. And when her legs turned to jelly, his arms swept her into his embrace.

  She rested her head against his tee, the cotton separating them bothering her. She craved his skin touching hers, wanted to wrap herself around him and sleep. He had different ideas. And sleep wasn’t part of his plans. She saw that clearly displayed in his hungry expression.

  He crawled onto the bed, laid her out in the center and sat back on bent legs. For an endless moment, he watched her with the inhuman eyes she saw every time she closed hers.

  “Soon, you’ll accept me fully.” He pointed toward the closed door separating them from the other men. “Beyond the walls that block our loving from others. You’ll proclaim me your male.”

  His correct assumption of what her submission to him meant shocked her. She opened her mouth. No words came out. Most men wouldn’t understand the difference between sexual obedience and what happened in the outside world, among strangers.

  He reached for her shorts. She watched his nimble fingers pop the button, pull the zipper. When he tugged on the material, she lifted her bottom, no thought of denying him crossing her mind. He yanked the denim down her legs, tossed it aside. Her panties came off next, leaving her naked and spread out on dark-green sheets that matched the bold streaks in his eyes.

  Her breath came in rough pants. She gripped the soft material on the bed and let her gaze roam over the male she’d taken as a lover. Male was the right term for him too. Here in this moment, when primal drives consumed them both, Devin wasn’t a man. He was more. A shifter. A predator she couldn’t wait to take back into her body.

  Maybe it was the aura of danger surrounding him that appealed to her. Maybe it was the way he watched her. No matter the reason, she wanted him packed inside her core bringing her to release. Over and over. All damn night until she didn’t know where she ended and he began.

  With unhurried moves, he undressed. The tee was pulled up slowly, revealing miles of tan skin stretched over abs that formed deep grooves between the muscles. A few hairs marked a path down into the simple pair of sweats he wore and drew attention to the outline of his rigid erection. Her fingers itched with the desire to touch the silken-steel shaft.

  When she stroked his cock earlier, he’d felt as powerful in her hand as he had when he’d filled her. The veins running the length and the swollen head had betrayed how excited he’d been to be with her. With the impressive bulge tenting the loose sweats, she knew the hidden penis would be just as hard as the last time she’d held it.

  She ran the tip of her tongue along the roof of her mouth. “Devin, I want—”

  A low, rumbly growl stopped her words. “I hunger, Lena.” Hands grasping her ankles, he widened her legs, exposing her sex to him. His gaze focused on her slick lower lips. A groan to match the look of carnal lust on his face spilled from his throat. “I want to feast on you.”

  “Oh god,” she breathed.

  He slid his gaze up her body to focus on her eyes, leaving a path that tingled as if he’d caressed the upward journey he’d taken with his hands. “Will you deny me, my mate?”

  The pointed use of the term she realized meant so much more than lover stopped her from automatically saying no. Why was he so focused on getting her to agree to the role? Vader had never pushed her for acceptance. He’d almost seemed relieved. Devin, on the other hand, wouldn’t let it go. It didn’t make sense. There was more to his focused intent than she could figure out. But what?

  “I am not your mate.”

  It was the only answer she could give him. No way would she agree to be something she didn’t fully comprehend. Her response didn’t appear to bother the man kneeling between her widened legs. He reached forward and swiped a finger along her cleft. She arched for him, encouraging him to sink that single digit inside her, anything to ease the lust he stirred within her. He didn’t take her offer. Instead, he swirled the finger in the cream coating her opening, dipping the tip in to drag more of her arousal forth.

  Another circling swipe and he lifted his hand to his lips. He sucked on the finger and closed his eyes on a groan. “Taste good, love.” He captured her gaze. “Exactly how I knew my mate would.”

  The praise warmed her but she couldn’t acknowledge him. “I am not—”

  “You will be.” He lifted her legs, draping them over his shoulders, and bent his head to lick the path his finger had taken. She closed her eyes, the simple touch making her convictions crumble. “And until you accept that, you will give me everything I need, my sweet female. Here, in this, you will not deny me.”

  She locked her gaze with his. The determination displayed in those y
ellow eyes was the same she saw when he’d promised her he wouldn’t let her go. He meant every word.

  “Do you understand me?”

  Not asking for her acceptance. His question was a demand, one she couldn’t dismiss. She’d worry about what to do about his stubbornness later. Now she had to give him what he wanted.

  She nodded.

  “Good.” He slid his hands under her bottom and tilted her so her sex was inches from his mouth. “Now feed me, my mate. Give me your pleasure.”

  He didn’t offer her the time to counter his claim. He pushed a flattened tongue into her opening, turning her retort into a long, breathy moan. The roughened flesh stroking against her inner walls was better than any ribbed vibrator she’d ever used. He touched on every one of her nerves. She’d never be able to enjoy this with anyone else without remembering how it felt to have Devin eat at her sex.

  The rolling thrusts quickened and each time he dipped inside as far as he could reach, he curled the end of his tongue. More whipping currents danced down her sheath to her womb. The low grumble spilling from his mouth reverberated along her core, tightening the muscles. Fangs pushed against her swollen lips. And all the while, he rolled his tongue, explored her sex as deeply as he worshipped her mouth.

  The rawness of this act wasn’t lost on her. From the way he kissed her, she knew this was a favored form of sex for him. He truly enjoyed it. That was what the wonderful sounds of contentment meant and when the vibrations of his purr traveled from his chest to her sheath, she came. Hard.

  She screamed his name, the cry turning into a gasp as the intensity of her orgasm overpowered her. Blackness didn’t just dot her vision. It took the light and she careened into a sea where only ecstasy reigned. She fell into the bliss and let the waves welcome her into sleep.

  Chapter Sixteen

  As Devin watched his female sleep, his fears surfaced. He’d fucked up and endangered Lena by starting the mating process and not finishing it. No denying it, Lena acted as if she were his mate. The little display in the main cabin proved it.

  The mystical tether linking souls, whether they were the ones joining a shifter to their animals or a human to their god, acted the same way. Whenever he closed his eyes and reached for his cats, he saw a coiled leash stretched between them and him. When he’d touched Lena’s soul, he’d seen the same. That was what he’d gnawed and tugged on—the rubbery rope that would rein in her soul once her body died.

  Maybe the humans had a better description for it. He wasn’t sure of their religious beliefs, only that no matter the culture the end was the same. They belonged to someone. Who that someone was, he couldn’t be sure. He only knew it wasn’t the same entity that owned him.

  What he’d done to save her life messed with her connection and left her in limbo—hovering between his heaven and hers. She needed to sever one connection in order to ascend if she died. The only problem was, if she chose his she wouldn’t find it. His cats linked him to his heaven. It was their tie to the gods he shared. Since she didn’t house a piece of his cats in her soul, she didn’t have that connection. She only had the emotional, mystical draw to him, not the one that would give her immortality.

  Thinking about the dangerous state of her soul brought all those odd sensations he’d felt back in the witch’s house to the surface—a deep fear of losing his one. He hadn’t connected the physical symptoms to the sentiment then. He did now. The ailments had been more intense than any other time he’d experienced the unsettling emotion.

  Existing without his brown-eyed angel was like trying to imagine his life without the three crazy cats that shared his body. Unimaginable. Yet the worst part was in knowing he couldn’t rectify the situation, not anytime soon. She still denied her role.

  He tossed his sweats to the floor and settled next to the petite woman who’d tamed him. Her scent surrounded him, soothed the wildness. He propped himself on his elbow and looked over his female’s naked body. Tanned skin from the roots of her hair to her toes. Not her natural tone. This healthy glow was sun-kissed. It made him wonder if she lay out naked to get the burnished color or used one of those tanning places.

  After seeing all the natural food items she’d had in her fridge, he guessed it was time spent under the warm, outside rays. Some humans loved nature, couldn’t get enough of the outdoors. From the way Lena had run through those woods that first night, he suspected she was one of those. Good thing too. These past few days with her had been the most time he’d spent under a roof in ages. His inner animals didn’t tolerate confinement well. It reminded them too much of those horrible months spent in a cell no bigger than a casket.

  He closed his eyes on the memories but they rose from the depths of his mind, wrapped around him and dropped him in hell.

  Blessed darkness surrounded him. For months, he’d dreaded the blackness, associated it with pain. Not anymore. Now he embraced it, even if his cats still hated it. The cloth wrap tied around his eyes blocked out the sneering faces of his torturers. Smelling their enjoyment of his suffering was one thing, seeing it and knowing he couldn’t stop it was another.

  Devin listened to the robed attendants chanting, ‘Repent, atone’ as they prepared him for his next round of punishments. He didn’t bother begging for mercy or leniency. Never had before, wouldn’t today either. Fucking bad enough they got his screams.

  A bitter laugh crawled up his throat but never came out. The ball gag in his mouth muffled the cry. Lips stretched wide, he choked on the wet leather. The taste of rawhide churned his stomach and sickened his cats. They suffered more than the man. At fifteen winters, he stood as tall as his jailers, yet his cats were cubs…too young to hurt, too young to hate. And they did. They seethed, their rage growing every minute of every day.

  They snarled and snapped at him, tore him apart in their useless attempts to escape. He wouldn’t let them out. They couldn’t help him. Nothing could. He had to take the fucking abuse. If he fought, Mira would take his place. He knew that’s what they wanted. They wanted her tied to a single, wanted to mess with her destiny. They’d told him every damn time they pulled him from his cell.

  Never, he’d never let them touch her. So he suffered, let them do what they wanted to him. Only way, but it hurt his cats. Their minds were slowly unraveling and no amount of soothing strokes or whispered words of encouragement helped. They didn’t understand why he wouldn’t fight his captors, didn’t understand why he allowed them to violate him.

  Truth wasn’t something his animals understood. They only wanted to kill. He’d failed them. He’d fucking failed everyone, beginning with his baby sister, the precious soul with whom he shared a womb.

  Mira’s sobbing followed him here, never left him. He’d found her…afterward in the middle of a field, the pretty white flowers stained red around her.

  Trails of tears had marked her dirty, bloody face. Eyes he’d been told matched his had locked onto him. “I tried to stop him, Devin. I tried.”

  “You did, Mira. You stopped him.” He’d scooped her up, carried her home, then he’d come here the next day.

  He worked his jaw back and forth—couldn’t dislodge the ball. Arms strung from the ceiling, legs spread wide, he took Mira’s sentence, what she’d denied her mate. Over and over. For this, they gave him the gag to dampen his curses. He blocked it out. The grunts. The shame. He curled his spirit around his angry inner cats, shielded them as best he could.

  The splash of boiling water on his backside tore a roar from his throat. He swayed, felt himself falling. He reached a hand out to steady himself. Soft skin met his fingers. He reared back, fell onto his ass. He sat there, waiting for the first sting of the whip. None came. He held his breath, afraid to move but his lungs burned, forcing him to breathe.

  He sucked a lungful of coconut and heaven.

  His eyes popped open and Lena’s face filled his vision.

  His one.

  He pushed onto rubbery legs, climbed next to her and let his gaze roam over her swe
et body. Wonder filled him, stopping his heart. She truly was his key. Lena tethered him to the present, let him remember without the accompanying breakdown.

  The sight of her lovely face pushed the remainder of those unwelcome recollections away. She drew his focus and he welcomed the distraction she posed. With the tips of his fingers, he traced the supple lines of muscle in her short legs from her ankle up to her thigh. Strength and softness. How she accomplished it, he didn’t know. It had to be one of those feminine secrets his twin always told him he wouldn’t understand. A damn miracle. That was all he knew.

  “My mate,” he whispered, still awed by the fact that he’d found her.

  “Devin,” she breathed his name as if in agreement.

  Warm, chocolate eyes met his. She groaned sleepily, the corner of her mouth lifting. He grinned, loving the sexy, drowsy expression she wore. He’d pleased his female and his chest swelled with the knowledge. Pride. Happiness. Lust. It was all there, filling him up, chasing away the emptiness he never knew he’d felt. The emotions mixed, blended into one overwhelming desire no other woman would ever be able to sate. It was the driver that ensured he’d remain faithful to his one. And by the gods, he embraced it, never thought he would, but he did. Fucking craved it.

  He rested his palm over her cheek. “Need you.”

  The smile faded, replaced by a look of hunger. Black overtook the brown. Her lips parted on a long exhale. The siren watched him now and the lust displayed in her eyes promised this time he’d be on the receiving end of her attentions. Damn if he’d fight it. A smart male knew when to give his woman control and when to take it back. Right now, he wanted his female’s touch.

  She tugged his head to hers and kissed him. Slow, invasive swipes of her tongue caressed his while she explored his mouth. A deep moan betrayed her growing arousal, as did the frantic movements of her wandering hands. She skimmed her soft fingertips along the length of his back, each caress pulling him closer until the points of her nipples pushed into his chest. Her muffled sigh against his mouth told him what she needed. He shifted his body, rubbing the erect tips, stimulating her more. Another pleased sound met his efforts.