by Mandy Harbin
A man she loved.
And now Thomas was keeping Josh from her. She knew how she felt about him, but she didn’t know how he felt about her. When they were alone, everything seemed wonderful. But Thomas said their feral sides wanted a mate. Did Josh only see her as a potential mate for his kitty cat side? If so, would any available—or “untaken,” as Thomas had so eloquently put it—woman do? The thought that Josh didn’t feel about her the way she felt about him made her stomach churn. Unrequited love sucked; there was no other feeling about it. If Josh just wanted her for his mountain lion within and didn’t care about feelings at all, she didn’t know how to accept that. If Josh mated with her just because she was an available woman, she’d be stuck with him forever. Stuck with a man she loved who didn’t love her back. That would be unbearable.
If she could just talk to Josh and get some answers, she’d feel better. And the more she thought about that, the more she wanted to do something about it. She was a grown-ass woman for crying out loud! And a lawyer who understood her rights about unlawful imprisonment. Okay, so she was stretching it, but she really didn’t care. If she didn’t get out of here, she’d go crazy.
After devising an escape plan, she picked up the phone on the nightstand and called Jeffery to initiate it, telling him some story about needing a snack. Then she went into the bathroom and twisted the faucet so that water trickled out, and she put the vanity chair right outside the bathroom door. When Jeffery knocked, she let him, and he put her food on the table by the door.
“Hey, Jeffery, can you look at the sink? I can’t get the water to turn off. It’s bad enough being stuck in here, but a dripping faucet is maddening.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He walked into the bathroom, and Mikaela pulled the door closed, wedging the vanity chair underneath the doorknob to keep it shut.
Jeffery pounded on the door, but she didn’t stick around to hear his pleas. She quickly ran out of the room, locking the door and taking the key that Jeffery left in the knob. She covertly traipsed down the hall, keeping her eyes on her immediate surroundings, looking for any sign of Thomas.
Or the others.
As far as she knew, Thomas put them outside, but that could’ve meant anything. They were part animal. They could be out running around and living in the woods for all she knew, but she had to find Josh. As she ran down the stairs, she stumbled and caught herself on the railing, cursing below her breath. She rubbed her ankle, examined her foot, and looked up—right into the eyes of Thomas.
“Mikaela.”
Well, ain’t that about a bitch? “Thomas.”
“What are you doing out of your room?”
“Oh, well, see, I was going to step outside and get some fresh air.” She shrugged her shoulders, feigning nonchalance.
“I can’t let you do that.” He stepped closer to her.
“Thomas, you can’t keep me locked up.”
“It’s for your own safe—”
She sliced her hand in the air, cutting him off. “I’m free to leave if I choose. I understand we’re snowed in, but I can walk out of here on my own two feet, leave your property, and can probably even hitchhike since the highway should be passable by now. Granted, it’s not an ideal situation, but it’s much better than being locked up!”
“Look, I’m sorry for all this, but I’m doing it to protect you. If you really want to chance leaving, let me, er, take an ATV to the main road and see if a lane has been cleared for travel.”
“Thanks.”
“But I want you to stay in your room until—”
“Thomas, I’m not going to stay cooped up like some caged animal.”
“Interesting choice of words.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I’ll give you the key. Just lock the door from the inside.”
She let him take her back up to her room, not mentioning the fact that she already had Jeffery’s key. If Thomas had another one, she’d gladly take it, too. Keys were the least of her problems, though.
After Thomas sprang Jeffery from the bathroom, she was left to stew over her misguided attempt. Her little plan backfired. Ugh! She’d really screwed up. All she wanted was to talk to Josh, but all she managed to do was expedite her removal from the property.
And once she was gone, she knew she’d never be allowed back.
* * * *
Three days. Three damn days without seeing her. Josh couldn’t stand it. He could not stand it! He proved to his father that he wasn’t a threat to her, but Thomas still refused to allow him to see her. Once the others got away from her, they wanted to stay in the cabins; they didn’t even shift at night to run and hunt. None of them wanted to take the chance of forcing a mating because they knew what that would mean.
Josh didn’t care. He wanted to talk to her, make sure she was all right, explain what had happened. He was in love with her, and deep down, he knew she felt the same way about him. He was positive he could control his feral side with her. She was never taken. The whole time she was here. Just because she confirmed it verbally shouldn’t matter.
And his father was standing between Josh and his future mate. He wouldn’t force her into it, but he knew she’d be his. She already was his for all intents and purposes.
Josh walked into the main house and passed his father’s opened door. He stood as soon as he saw Josh.
“Josh, do not—”
He kept walking. “I’m not going into her room. I just want to talk to her. I can do that through her door.”
“I don’t think that’s wise.”
“I don’t give a damn what you think.” He kept walking until he reached her door. “Leave us alone, please. It’s bad enough I can’t talk to her face-to-face. The last thing I need is an audience.” Not waiting for a response from his dad, he knocked on her door. “Mikaela, it’s Josh. I need to talk to you but don’t open the door.”
“O-okay.”
Josh cocked his head to the side and stared at his father with his brow raised, waiting for him to leave. He nodded reluctantly and stepped away.
Josh leaned his head against the door, taking a deep breath. He could smell her luscious scent through the wood. God, how he missed her. “Kitten, I’m so sorry about what happened the other night. I know you had to have been really frightened. I need you to know that I’d never let anything happen to you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” She sounded like she was leaning against the other side of the door. She was so close, but still out of reach.
“We’re sworn to secrecy. It’s too dangerous for us if anyone finds out. Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t engaged?”
“I figured you’d figure it out when I slept with you.”
He laughed softly, tracing circles on the wooden door. “No, I didn’t.”
“I miss you,” she barely whispered.
“Oh, God, kitten, I miss you too. I don’t know how it happened, but I-I… Shit. I hate saying this through the door.” He wanted to tell her that he loved her, but he wanted to see her face, touch her skin. He heard her fumbling with the doorknob, and the door swung open. He stared at her, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.
“Tell me what?” she breathed.
He stepped through the door, shut it, and locked it. “You’re not afraid of me?”
“No,” she whispered, stepping closer to him.
He stiffened and shut his eyes at her nearness. “Ahh, kitten, I’m not sure if I can do this,” he whispered. He wanted to take her right now, his feline fighting for control.
“What did you want to tell me?” she pressed, walking forward, ignoring his concern.
He cleared his throat and opened his eyes. “That I love you.”
Her breath caught, and her tears leaked over. “I love you too, Josh.”
At her admission, his control snapped.
* * * *
Mikaela took another step toward him, reaching out for him, but hesitated when she saw his eyes glaze over. A feral sound crawled up his throat. “
You’re mine,” he growled.
Uh-oh.
“Josh?”
There were no words. He took her in his arms and kissed her, hard. He moaned as he clung to her, forcing her body against his. She understood that his feral side was taking over, so she couldn’t fight him off even if she wanted to.
She didn’t want to.
She tangled her hands in his soft brown hair and pulled herself up, wrapping her legs around him, rubbing her body against his hard dick like a cat in heat. He walked her over to the bed, falling on top of her. Even though she understood what was happening, she couldn’t just give up complete control. Not yet. Deep down, she realized he’d have to prove himself to her. Prove that he was alpha enough, worthy enough to take her, make her his. Mikaela didn’t think about all the consequences of what that meant for her; she just wanted Josh forever.
They both kissed and nipped at each other’s lips, fighting for control. He yanked her shirt up and slipped his fingers under her bra. He plucked at her nipples, which turned into stiff buds immediately under the delicate lace. She grabbed his shirt and started pulling it up, and he broke away from the kiss to divest himself of it in one fluid motion. Within two seconds, he crushed his mouth back to hers, shoving his tongue into her mouth. He ripped her shirt open, buttons flying everywhere. He sat up on his knees, pulling her with him, and tried to pull her shirt all the way off, but she was busy fumbling with the button on his jeans, which blocked his progress.
“Take off your shirt. Now.” He growled in her ear, and she immediately complied. God, he sounded so sexy. It took every ounce of willpower not to give in to him totally.
Once her shirt was off, he unhooked her bra and flung it to the side. He pushed her back down on the bed and bit her nipple, making her cry out. Then he laved it to ease the pain before sucking it to the roof of his mouth. While he sucked one nipple, he pinched and pulled on the other, and there was nothing gentle about his touch. He was showing her that he was the dominant one.
But she wasn’t relinquishing her dominance just yet. She managed to flip him on the bed when he was distracted with her tits so that she was now on top. He growled in protestation, but didn’t right her. He was too immersed in her breasts. He continued sucking her nipples until she slid her hand into his pants and stroked his cock through his boxers.
He released the tight suction on her nipple with a wet popping sound and grabbed the sides of her jeans. He pushed her off him and yanked her pants and panties down in one motion, then tossed her back onto the bed and pulled her clothes completely off in another.
Not being outdone, she sat up and reached for his pants, but he tried to push her back to the bed. She refused to give up.
“Take your pants off, Josh.”
He growled, but he stopped pushing on her, stood up, and pulled his pants off. He stared at her briefly while she scooted farther on the bed. She lifted her hand and crooked a finger in invitation for him to join her. He growled again and crouched down, slowly crawling on the bed toward her like a predator stalking its prey. Slight unease crept into her, but she shook it off. It was only because this was new territory for them both.
“Tell me what you want, Josh,” she said while she played with her nipples.
He growled louder, still advancing.
“Uh-uh. I want to hear you say it.”
“I want to fuck you and bite you. Make you mine.” His voice was a gravelly interpretation of his regular speech.
“Is that how you claim a mate?” she asked, trailing her hand down her belly to her pussy.
He watched her hand. “Yes. You must submit yourself to me.” His head popped to stare into her eyes. “You will submit.”
“Maybe later. Not right now.” She smiled coyly at him.
He growled angrily at her, grabbed her ankles, and yanked her closer to him. He started to climb on top of her, seeming as if his feral side didn’t want to engage in any more foreplay. He wanted to take her. Now.
She wasn’t having it.
They grappled, rolling around on the bed, kissing, biting, licking, sucking, fighting for dominance. They were both panting with the effort it took to dominate the other. When she worked her way down his body, she wrapped her mouth around his cock and looked up at him. She knew she couldn’t growl like he could, but she bared her teeth and tried anyway. His eyes grew big in alarm with her trapping him, but then he narrowed his eyes and leaned back. She figured he’d realized this was a fight worth losing for the moment.
She sucked his cocked all the way to the back of her mouth, forcing as much down her throat as she could. He groaned and fisted his hands in her already tousled hair, thrusting his hips up so she could take more. She squeezed his sac to the point of pain while she sucked him as hard and deep as she could. He groaned again, sounding more like a man in the heights of pleasure than an animal staking its claim. The more she sucked, the more pliant he became, moaning and rubbing his fingers in her hair, softening his grip.
“Oh, God, kitten, don’t stop,” he breathed.
She had no intentions of stopping anytime soon, but she pulled her mouth off and stroked him with her hand. “You want to come in my mouth? How very naughty of you, Josh.”
He thrust his cocked between her fingers while he groaned. “Mikaela, I just want to come while you’ve got the upper hand. If I get control, I’m going to…oh, God, that feels so good…ugh, I’m going to bite you against your will. If I come…oh, yes, like that, kitten. Oh, my God, that feels so fucking good. Ahhhhhh, if I come, I can get away before I do something you don’t want.” He whimpered when she stroked him faster, and he rocked his hips in time with her hand.
She squeezed his sac and sucked him again. He groaned loudly, bucking his hips. “Yes, yes, I’m going to come, kitten. I want you to swallow all of it.”
She felt his balls drawing up and knew her window of opportunity was upon her if she was going to take it.
She was. She’d come too far to turn back now.
Mikaela pulled his cock out of her mouth, dropped his balls, and backed away.
“W-what are you doing?” he asked breathlessly, propping himself on his elbows.
She got off the bed and stepped back. “I’m making a run for it.”
His breath caught. “No, Mikaela, I-I’ll chase you.” He shook his head, shut his eyes, and wrapped his hand around his cock. She guessed he was just going to finish himself off to protect her. She couldn’t let that happened. She’d just have to provoke him.
“Let go of my cock, Josh. You don’t touch yourself unless I give you permission.”
His eyes flashed to hers, and she saw them glaze over again. He dropped his cock, a low growl escaping him.
“That’s right. You do what you’re told because I’m the only alpha in this room.”
His growl grew more pronounced. Any other time, she’d realize it was crazy to provoke a man struggling with domination, but she knew that was exactly what she needed to do. She backed away, taunting him, making him come after her. Josh flipped, landing on his hands and knees, crawling across the bed and jumping off. She turned as if to run to the door, and he caught her by the waist and threw her up against the door, her legs instinctively wrapping around his hips.
“Damn it, Mikaela! Do you know what you’re asking? If not, you’re really underestimating my control.”
Oh, she knew what she was asking. She wanted to be his. She was never surer of anything else. “Take me, Josh.”
His face immediately transformed to that of a powerful, determined being. He hadn’t turned into a mountain lion, but he didn’t look very human, either. He growled, putting her on the floor and maneuvering her on her hands and knees. He hovered over her, his chest pressed against the length of her back, roughly licking and kissing her shoulder. “I’m going to bite you right here after I fuck you.” He sat up, grabbed her shoulders, and shoved her to the floor, leaving only her ass hiked up in the air, in a position of total submission. Without warning, he to
ok her with one deep thrust.
“Josh!”
He pulled out slowly and slammed into her again. And again. And again. Keeping her teetering on the border of pleasure and pain, he started out slowly, but his feral side wanted to take his mate quickly, so he did. He fucked her hard and fast, her cries of passion fueling his own. She came suddenly, and he howled when her pussy fisted around his cock. But that didn’t slow him down. He plowed into her again and again until she screamed his name over and over with one climax after another. When she was sobbing for breath, her will completely gone, his dominance proven, he pulled out smoothly, turned her around, and sat her astride him. He guided her gently back onto his cock, and she rode him slowly while he kissed and caressed her, touching her tenderly, lovingly.
“I love you, Mikaela,” he murmured.
“I love you too.”
They both panted and clung to each other, the dynamic of their coupling totally altered. When her next climax hit, he went with her. Throwing his head back with roar of completion as he pumped his seed inside her, his fangs slid out, but this time, he didn’t hide them from her.
She reached up and stroked his teeth, his lips curling with a snarl at her intimate touch. Josh may have been sated, but his beast obviously wasn’t.
“Take me,” she whispered.
He yanked her hand off his teeth and bit into her shoulder just above her collarbone without warning.
She cried out as she dug her fingers into his soft hair. The pain quickly turned into euphoria as her body hummed and pussy fisted on his softening cock. When he pulled his teeth out, he laved the bite while a rumble built in his chest—a purr. She stroked his hair, and he purred louder.
They held each other like that, unmoving, for what seemed like an eternity, neither one wanting to let the other go.
“So what happens now?” Mikaela asked.
Josh kissed his mark of possession and traced his lips up the side of her neck to her mouth. He kissed her on her lips before responding.