The bump of each rib under his fingertips sent warring emotions through him. Her body, while muscular and strong for a human female, was fragile. She could get hurt easily. Without his cats, any injury, even a minor one, could be too much for her to overcome. On the flip side to that fear, admiration rose. Despite the danger to her well-being, she had taken on a group of sadistic lions…and him, a crazed one. He lowered his mouth and kissed each rib while vowing to protect her.
“Devin.”
He peered at her through the curtain of his mane. “Yeah, baby?”
“I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Don’t deny me. I want to worship my mate. Please let me.”
She shook her head but sifted through his hair until she cradled the back of his head. “Dammit, Devin, why do you have to be so stubborn? Coming inside me doesn’t give you the right to keep me. I’m not your mate.”
“You will be, Lena. You will be.”
With that, he focused on her perfect, perky breasts. The soft weight filled his mouth as he sucked the flesh in. He lapped at her nipple, swirling the pebbled tip with his tongue until she arched up, offering herself to his attentions. He sucked hard in response. She jerked under him. A flick of his tongue to the peak and she groaned his name in that husky voice he loved hearing. Moving to her other breast, he treated it to the same level of attention until she writhed under him.
Each brush of her body against his cock revved up his raging desire, but he wasn’t ready to join their bodies. Hearing her responses to his touch pleased him, fed that craving to see to her pleasure. He knew what would make more of those breathy moans spill from her mouth. Lucky for his woman, it was one of his favorite things to do with a female.
He kissed his way to her belly button, swirling his tongue in the little indention before moving lower. Close-cropped curls covered her sex. He loved the sensation they created against his cheek. Shifter females were bare here and many of the humans he’d been with had a healthy dusting of hair. He’d never cared what hid a female’s sex, but Lena’s neatly trimmed mound offered the best of both.
With his nose buried in the soft curls, he inhaled her lush scent. She was fertile and the fragrance ramped up his need to fill her with life. He couldn’t. Yet. But he would. And the image of her belly swollen with his babes sped his pulse. She’d be beautiful.
He kissed the edge of her mound, where hair met silky skin. She shivered.
“Devin,” she breathed.
“That’s right, baby. I’m the only male who has the right to be here.”
He shifted his attention to her core before she could respond. He lapped up the juices leaking from her sex. The tiny drops of ambrosia clung to the ends of her curls like offerings for him alone. Her flavor met his tongue and he groaned, the need to drink of her strong. Sweet and earthy, she tasted of life. He showed her his reverence with each languid swipe of his tongue over the swollen lips.
She writhed under him. When she lifted her bottom, pressing her moist center into his face, he grinned. “More?”
“Yes, more. More, more, more.”
He eased away. “Say please.”
She pushed up on her elbows, the wild mess of her brown hair framing her flushed face. “Fuck me with your tongue. Please, Devin. Lick me clean.”
She’d said please but his female hadn’t asked him. She ordered him. And he liked it.
With his thumbs, he parted her lips. He blew warm air on her stimulated flesh, her answering groan satisfying him. “Well, since you asked so sweetly, how could I deny you?”
He bent his head and traced the opening of his personal heaven with the tip of his tongue. A wash of fresh cream moistened his chin. “Yeah, baby. You taste so good.”
He kissed her lower lips as deeply as he enjoyed taking her mouth. Muscles quivered around his tongue. She was close and he’d barely touched her. Not acceptable. He wanted her crazy with lust for him. He lifted her bottom to give him better access and ate at her sex until her whimpers and moans grew breathier and her pants quickened. Just a little more and she’d go careening into oblivion, but he needed to join her in release, needed to mark her womb again, over and over, until she knew without a doubt it belonged to him.
He crawled over her rosy, glistening body and took her mouth as his cock slid home. Petal-soft muscles squeezed the length. He could’ve spilled his seed right then. Didn’t. He thrust through the slick grip of her core. Deep, long glides took them both higher. As he rolled his hips to rub her clit with his groin, she screamed her pleasure into his mouth. He fucked her through the strangling viselike grip, not ready to end this. Each penetration brought the head of his penis to her cervix. The light banging there took her right back to the edge of pleasure. With short, quick thrusts, he held her there.
Dazed, dilated brown eyes locked to his.
“My mate, my gift. Worship you forever,” he vowed.
With a final thrust and grunt, he came and took his female with him. She moaned his name once more before succumbing to unconsciousness. His cock continued to jerk as he spilled his seed. Once the pressure eased, he collapsed but quickly rolled off his petite female so as not to harm her. Tucking her against his chest, he held her close and enjoyed the peace being with her brought.
“You’re right, Lena. I am stubborn.”
Chapter Eighteen
Lena woke to the steady, rhythmic breathing of the male who’d gone from attacker to lover in the span of a few days. An arm banded around her waist, a chin pressed into the top of her head and a leg hooked over her hips. The intimate embrace made her uncomfortable. She hadn’t slept the night with a man in a long time. Yesterday, she’d been sick. Today, she wasn’t. It made a difference.
She slowly inched her body away from his. He yanked her back, tightening his grip, but didn’t wake. She sighed and relaxed into his embrace. His strangling hold eased.
Even in sleep, Devin refused to let her go.
She fisted her hands. The stubborn man had followed through with his promise. He’d rocked her world and succeeded in ruining her for other men. There was no going back now. She was addicted to this crazy shifter and his huge cock. No man had ever taken her to the level of ecstasy Devin could. He expertly played her body and she soared for him. If it was possible to see heaven during an orgasm, she was pretty sure she had and it looked a hell of a lot like a pair of kaleidoscope-colored eyes.
With deep breaths, she calmed and focused on facts. Thinking of details helped direct her thoughts. She needed that. In the face of Devin’s forceful personality, she couldn’t afford to allow herself to react solely on her instincts.
If what Devin said was true, he did want her as his mate. He came multiple times for her, mostly inside her body. And the ramrod-straight shaft pressing into the seam of her backside told her he’d take her again as soon as he woke. She wouldn’t fight him either. She needed him to fill her. The emptiness in her core distressed her. She ached. And there was only one penis that would stem her craving.
Great. Just great. She’d gone ahead and done it. She was once again in a relationship, one that had the potential to destroy her. She needed time to figure out exactly what she felt for Devin. Lust, definitely. It was just all those other feelings swirling around in her heart that left her in a state of disarray. There were moments when she wanted to gather him close and ease the pain she saw in his eyes. Other times, she wanted to hit him with the nearest hard object. The rubber-banding emotions scared her more than anything.
The wise thing to do would be to step back, take a few weeks and catalog her thoughts. She didn’t think Devin would give her time, not after she left him and ran to Vader. And thinking of the big wolf made her muddled thoughts worse. He’d come inside her too. Of course, they’d always used a condom. Maybe that made a difference?
Sweet Jesus, had she misread his intentions all along? If she had, did it even matter? Vader had entered her life at the worst possible time and his attitude had destroyed whatever t
hey could’ve had together. After the disaster with both Rick and Vader, thoughts of any relationship had left her twitchy. Yet, here she was thinking about one with Devin.
An exclusive relationship.
She closed her eyes and pictured her lover—Devin with his patchwork hair and feline eyes. Warmth spread in her heart. Could she have that happy life she’d always dreamed about with a man who claimed to own her? Wasn’t there some rule that made it impossible?
Relationships weren’t meant to be another form of slavery. They were built on love, devotion, shared interests and most importantly, respect. No bite mark or scent claim could take the place of those things. Not in her world anyway.
If she and Devin were going to walk this road, they needed to have clear boundaries. He had to understand that being with him wasn’t an automatic acceptance of his ownership. It was about discovering each other, seeing if they clicked beyond the sex. That was the aspect of their partnership that would hold them together when life decided to throw them a curveball.
She’d seen true love at its purest and wouldn’t settle for anything less, not this time. This time it was all or nothing.
Her parents had found that special, ‘once in a lifetime’ love in the unlikeliest of places—a federal investigation where her mom had been a suspect. Theirs was the type of romance that brought a sigh to any girl’s lips. A tough, hardened agent took on a mob family to clear the name of the woman he loved. The years they’d spent together were filled with joy and sorrow, but their love had helped them conquer the hardships of life.
When her stepdad took Molly into his family, he’d left the dangerous life of a government agent behind to become a full-time dad, fulfilling a dream they’d both shared. He’d lived that fantasy for a measly six months before death finally found him.
The image of his mutilated body flashed across her mind and her mother’s screams filled her ears. All the memories she’d blocked came rushing back—the pain, the loss, the suffering. She’d been helpless to stop it or save her sisters.
She’d failed everyone.
Tears fell. She couldn’t make them stop.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
Devin’s concerned, drowsy voice wrapped around her and cocooned her with the promise of his protection. Tender caresses to the slope of her neck made her feel treasured.
She cried harder.
The bed squeaked as he moved closer. His gorgeous face hovered inches from hers. His gaze swept over her and he ran big, trembling hands down her limbs and across her belly.
“Gods, was I too rough. Did I hurt you?”
She shook her head. It was impossible to answer with misery choking her throat.
“Then why are you crying?”
The sounds of her wet, anguished sobs were far from flattering, but the pain in her heart would no longer be denied. She had refused to allow herself to grieve before. There hadn’t been time for a breakdown. As the eldest Burnett, it’d been her responsibility to get her sisters to safety. Then there was the mess with Devin. Now she finally felt safe enough to give in to the agony. Ironic that she found a safety net with a dangerous predator.
He feathered kisses across her cheek and licked away her tears. The tender way he touched her brought on a fresh wave of sorrow. She wanted his affection to be genuine. Part of her believed it was. There was also the jaded part that whispered she was a mistake, that if he could do it over, he wouldn’t have added his scent to her body. Without the draw to her, that instinctual need to keep his possession close, he’d have moved on by now.
“Please, don’t cry. Whatever I did, I’m sorry. Just tell me and I won’t do it again.”
She couldn’t let him blame himself. Hugging him close, she buried her face in the crook of his neck. “They’re dead.”
The tension in his muscles eased. He lifted her so she straddled his groin. His cock pressed between them, but there was nothing sexual about the way he traced her spine. The firm strokes eased the pain lodged in her chest.
“Your parents.”
She nodded. He cradled her closer, held her while she grieved. The silent support he offered was better than the fumbled apologies or worthless words other men would’ve given in the face of a sobbing woman. Devin didn’t waste his breath. She appreciated that. Nothing he or anyone said would bring them back, or erase the memories she had of their death.
She didn’t know how long she cried. The tears finally slowed then stopped. Devin’s comforting arms never released her. He bore her pain with her. That was exactly what she needed. She squeezed him tighter in thanks.
“How did Molly end up with your family?”
While Vader had probably shared the tale with the other men, Devin had been with her nearly every minute since he walked into Vader’s apartment. She hated thinking of Molly’s suffering, but if her five-year-old sister could survive the years she’d spent in that horrible place, Lena could let the memories surface long enough to relay them.
Comforted by the steady heartbeat under her ear and the warmth of strong arms around her shoulders, she said, “One of their main objectives of my dad’s unit was shutting down the medical facilities that experimented on shifters. During one of those raids, Molly was rescued. Vader fought the Council who wanted to send her to a center for evaluation since she’d been tortured while within the facility.”
She swallowed hard, the pain fresh. “Because of his ties to Shifter Affairs, he pulled a trump card and convinced them she was a perfect candidate for the new programs that are being rolled out, the ones meant to counsel abused shifters. And since my family has been involved in your world for years, Molly was given to my parents in the interim until they finished finalizing them.”
Devin’s palm cradled the back of her head. “Those evaluation centers are hellish places too.” He sighed wearily. “I suppose I owe Vader my thanks and will have to offer him an apology.”
She lifted her head. Amusement glinted in his eyes. She frowned. “Why is that?”
One corner of his mouth lifted in a lopsided smile. Her heart skipped a beat before racing.
“I’ve been planning ways to punish him for causing angst between us. I can’t kill him, but a hell of a lot of fun can be had with a tube of quick-dry glue.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Like what?”
He chuckled and a mischievous look she never expected Devin to wear slid over his features. Seeing it supported her earlier thoughts. She knew little about Devin the person. That was the part of his persona she longed to discover because the sex, despite it being incredible, wouldn’t stop her from wanting to hurt him when he went all ‘domineering shifter’ on her.
He opened his mouth. A knock on the door stopped his answer. Guess she wouldn’t learn anything today.
“We land in thirty minutes,” Kade announced through the wood.
Devin kissed her cheek before lifting her into his arms. “We’ll be out after a shower.”
With the way he studied the bite on her shoulder, she didn’t think they’d spend much time actually getting clean.
Chapter Nineteen
Lena studied the long fingers twined with hers. What had her life come to? She stood surrounded by shifters while the sexiest one out of the bunch held her hand as if they were a couple. They all treated them like one too. Even Vader did and she could tell it bothered him. He’d automatically climbed into the third row of their rented minivan so she could sit with Devin. She’d offered to take the back since those rear seats were cramped by her standards. He’d grumbled about it being disrespectful to Devin.
On the forty-five-minute drive from the airport, he’d touched her constantly whether it was a simply linking their fingers or caressing her to the point of being inappropriate in front of other people. The constant attention kept her focus locked onto the man, probably his goal. It worked too. She couldn’t stop thinking about him or desiring him. Horny was a mild description for what she felt.
Devin’s thumb caressed her wrist
. Desire flared. Her pulse pounded. She blew out a rough breath. She reacted too easily to him and now wasn’t the time for it.
“You okay, baby?”
She glanced up and found Devin’s concerned eyes studying her. She nodded and offered a small smile before surveying the empty parking lot of the tour guide agency. They were supposed to meet a shifter familiar with the area, another active member with Shifter Affairs. He hadn’t shown yet and she hated wasting time waiting on him.
She’d been to Alaska a few times before. Whenever they’d visited Maggie’s house, they always used a tour guide. It wasn’t necessary—they could rent a Jeep and drive themselves—but her father had insisted on it. Safer, he’d said. The roads connecting this town to Maggie’s lodge were iffy at best. She hoped Gwen remembered his insistence and didn’t try to go it alone. If she had, it might explain why she hadn’t made it to Maggie’s place. Lena hoped that was the reason. If it wasn’t…
“You sure?”
Devin’s question redirected her thoughts to him. She forced another smile, her anxiety not allowing for anything genuine, but he needed the reassurance that she was fine. His tense muscles spoke of how troubled he was and she refused to add to it. “Just anxious. I thought you said some shifter who lives near here was going to meet us.”
“Dante.” He chuckled, a twinkle sparking in his eyes. “Yeah, he lives an hour south. He texted Kade to let him know he’s running late. There’ve been some rumblings of unusual activity up here. He wanted to check in with a few locals who know about us to see what they’ve heard.”
She tugged her hand free and ran her fingers through her hair. She was aroused again and all he did to cause it was laugh. Embarrassment swept through her, warming her neck. Not the right time. Not the right place.
The passion they’d given into on the plane was one thing. She’d needed the comfort Devin could give her and the distraction. The long flight would’ve been torture without him. He gathered all her scattered thoughts and emotions and focused them on him. Damn if she wasn’t grateful too, she could barely focus with her sisters close by and possibly in danger.
Beautiful Mistake: 2 (Royal Pride) Page 25