Freeing the Feline

by Lacey Thorn

  “I want to gorge myself on your sweet pussy,” he crooned, flicking his tongue over her fingers again and again.

  She slid her other hand down inside his jeans and cupped his taut balls before walking her fingers up his rigid shaft. “I’d like to gorge myself, as well.”

  “Fuck!” He shifted, spreading his legs a bit wider as she stroked him through his underwear.

  “Or we could do that,” she agreed.

  “Clothes,” Logan muttered, easing her hand out of his fly and taking a step back. “Off. Now.”

  She shimmied her panties down her hips and thighs until they caught on her knees. She sat back and swung her legs around in front of her to finish wiggling out of them. Her eyes never left Logan the whole time. He kicked off his shoes then shoved his jeans and sexy trunk briefs to his ankles in one move. He bent to tug off his socks with the rest of it and hid his hard cock from her avid gaze. Not that the rest of him wasn’t beautiful, but she really wanted to see what she’d only felt against her so far, especially since his clothing was gone.

  He stood, and Clara caught her breath, licking her lips as her mouth seemed to go dry. His erection was long and thick, curving a bit in the center. The head crowned over the shaft, already damp with pre-cum she was dying to taste.

  “Come here,” she crooned, turning onto her hands and knees and crawling to the side of the bed in front of him. “Let me taste. Just a little taste.”

  He groaned but complied, stepping closer until his cock hung just inches away from her moist lips. She leaned in and flattened her tongue over him, licking up and around, taking the drop of fluid with her.

  “Mhmm.” She moaned and swirled her tongue around the head. “You taste sweet with just a hint of spice. I could suck you for hours.” She wrapped her lips around him and twirled her mouth over the head and down the shaft, taking as much of him as she could.

  “Easy,” he warned, reaching down and grabbing his dick. He eased it from her lips with a pop since she refused to quit sucking. “I’m already on the edge, baby. I want inside you.”

  She raised her gaze to meet his. “Just tell me how you want me.”

  He growled. “Jesus, that’s a loaded question.”

  Clara laughed. “The offer stands.”

  “On your back. I want to see your eyes. I want to lose myself in you.”

  “You say the best things.” She rose up on her knees and jerked him to her, taking his mouth and pulling him under with her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, tugging him down with her as she sat back and moved to recline.

  He dropped his hands to the bed to keep his weight off of her as she maneuvered her legs, then continued following her as she eased farther back on the bed. He moved his legs between hers, and grunted when she automatically lifted them to grip his hips. He went down on his left elbow and moved his right hand lower to rub between her pussy lips. She knew he could tell how wet and ready she was.

  He thrust two fingers deep, and they both groaned.

  “Fuck me, Logan,” she begged.

  He slid his fingers free and reached for his dick. She stared at him as he guided it to her pussy and pressed into her. He was slow and easy, taking his time as he possessed her this first time.

  “Logan.” She called his name, needing him to look into her eyes while he claimed her. There would be time for them to watch the joining of their bodies later.

  He met her gaze again as if he knew what she wanted. A smile tugged at his lips then his eyes closed and she could see the pleasure wash over him as he thrust deep inside her. It was perfect, as if they had been designed just for each other. He rocked into her, penetrating deep before pulling back until only the tip remained. Again and again.

  It was amazing how attuned to one another they were. She’d heard that sex was different when you found your mate, that it was a shared pleasure beyond anything you could imagine. They were right, so right. She might not know Logan the way normal relationships progressed. There’d been no dates or ‘get-to-know-you-better’ sessions where they discussed favorite colors or foods. But their bodies knew each other—their souls accepted without question that they were destined to be together.

  Logan leaned down and sipped from her lips. “Take me while I take you.” He turned his head slightly, offering her the perfect spot to claim him. “Make me yours as I make you mine.”

  She lifted her head and nuzzled the skin where the strong column of his neck met the broad shelf of his shoulder. She inhaled the spicy musk of his skin, licked over his flesh and tasted the sweet essence of him. He fucked her harder, faster, urging her without words to do what he wanted. She grazed her teeth over him, knowing this one act would bind them together for the rest of their lives. Even after death.

  She glanced up to see his gaze fixed on her, watching as she caressed his skin.

  “Are you sure?” she asked. There would be no going back after this, for either of them.

  “I’ve been sure since the first moment I saw you. One look, and I knew you were my future, the missing piece I’ve waited my whole life to find.”

  She sunk her teeth deep, tasting the metallic flavor of his blood and sucking it in. She knew her saliva would be working its way into his bloodstream. It would begin making minor changes in him, linking them together while enhancing his senses and allowing his body to create antibodies that allowed for faster healing. They would be one, even when they weren’t together. They would feel the other, sense if something was wrong or if the other was in danger. It would only grow stronger with each passing day. It was the way with mated couples.

  He fucked her hard and fast, pounding his thick cock in and out. She pulled her teeth free and licked over the wound she’d made.

  “Yes! God, yes!” she cried against his skin.

  “Come for me,” Logan commanded and slid his hand back down between them.

  She felt the brush of his fingers over her distended clit and bucked up into him.

  “That’s it, baby. Come all over my dick.”

  “Ahhh,” she screamed as she jerked against him. She could feel her juices spilling around his shaft as she did as he commanded.

  Logan dropped his head to her neck and gripped her trapezius muscle with his teeth. It was a sign of dominance, one she would accept from no man, save her mate. Only he would be able to persuade her to back down from something. She would always show deference to her alpha, but Tah would never hold the power her mate would. Did Logan know that? Did he have any idea the influence he had when it came to her?

  He released her with a cry, his head thrown back as he roared in orgasm. She felt the hot wash of his seed filling her and clung to him, flying high into ecstasy with him. And for the first time in her life, she felt completely free. She wasn’t a daughter, a niece, a rescuer or a watcher. She was simply Clara, Logan’s mate. It was the most liberating sensation in the world.

  Logan collapsed on top of her, pinning her to the bed under him as they both fought to get oxygen in. He turned to glance at her and jerked up so quickly she cried out.

  “Fuck!” he exclaimed, moving off of her and running his hands over her. “Did I hurt you? Where? Shit, Clara, I didn’t mean to. I swear.”

  “What?” She shook her head, a little dazed. “You didn’t hurt me. Why would you think that?”

  He swiped a finger under her eye and came away with moisture. “You’re crying.”

  “I am?” She put her hands to her face and felt the tears covering her cheeks. “I didn’t realize…”

  “Are you okay?”

  She nodded her head. “Hold me?”

  “Always.” He lay back down next to her and tugged her over until her head was on his chest. He had one arm under her, the other was brushing through her disheveled hair. “I’ve got you.”

  “Don’t let go, Logan. Promise me you won’t let me go.”

  “Never,” he vowed, and she believed him.

  There was so much they hadn’t spoken of that they wer
e going to have to. She had no idea how the rest of the pride would react to finding out Lydia Blane was still alive and well. How would it affect Amia? Would it turn everyone against Clara for good? If it didn’t and she stayed, would she be able to work with Tah without insulting him with what she knew and he didn’t? God, what a mess!

  She needed to make a call, and get some answers herself. Then maybe she could handle all of this without fucking everything up and creating discord where they needed an alliance.

  Chapter Five

  “So tell me about your family,” Clara urged Logan.

  “This is it,” he said. “All the people here. These are my family.”

  “What about outside of here? Your parents? Siblings?”

  He sighed and began stroking her hair through his fingers. “I haven’t seen my parents in a long time. My dad was very set against me becoming a Marine. He gave me an ultimatum. I chose the Marines.”

  “Why? If your family was so against it?”

  “Defiance. Arrogance. Who knows? By the time I turned eighteen I was so ready to get out of that house and out from under his thumb, I would have done anything he told me not to.”

  “Doesn’t sound like you had a great childhood,” Clara whispered.

  “It was all right. He wasn’t abusive or anything like that. I never wanted for anything. We butted heads a lot. He had his way of wanting things, and I went about it just the opposite.”

  “What about your mother?”

  Logan shrugged. “Mom always sided with Dad on everything. What he said was the law, and that was that as far as she was concerned.”

  “Any brothers or sisters?”

  “I have a younger sister, Laura.”

  “Do you ever talk to her?”

  “I haven’t spoken to anyone since I left. I wrote a few letters home at first, but no one ever answered.”

  “Your family sucks, Logan.”

  His laughter tickled her ear. “No. My family’s the people here, the ones I chose and who chose me. Tah and Reno. Finn and Murphy. Zane, Holt, Vic and Kenzie. We became a family when we were in the same unit. I know I can trust all of them with my life. Now I have Abby and Amia, the Professor and Diane.” He tipped her chin up so she met his gaze. “And you. Now I have you. I’d say my life is pretty wonderful now.”

  She shook her head. “Now your life is shifters and the hunters who feel it’s their job to rid the world of the abomination we are. They won’t ever stop, and it won’t matter if you’re human or not. You’ve mated me. To them you’ve chosen a side and that makes you fair game as far as they’re concerned.”

  “Let them come. We’ll stop them just like we did the last time.”

  “How many hunters did you face last time? A half dozen? A dozen? Or a fully equipped team?”

  “We stopped them. It doesn’t matter how many they send. We’ll keep stopping them.” She felt him rubbing at his chest and took a closer look at the scar she’d noticed earlier.

  “You were shot,” she stated.

  Logan nodded. “The hunters used a type of stink bomb. We were all out in the woods. The Professor’s daughter Jess and her mates were here. They were working with Tah, trying to teach him how to shift.”

  “Is she the one I heard was mated to the four alpha wolves?”

  Logan grinned. “Sounds a little crazy, I know. But they all seem pretty happy.”

  “I won’t share you like that,” Clara declared with narrowed eyes.

  “I don’t share,” Logan replied, flipping them so that she lay under him on the bed. “You’re all mine, Clara. My woman. My mate.”

  She let the joy his words brought her show on her face. “I like the sound of that.”

  “I’d keep you in this bed indefinitely and keep showing you, but you really need to talk to Tah. There’s so much we need to learn from you.”

  “There are a few things I should tell you first.”

  “Like what?”

  “Now that we’ve mated, you’ll notice a few changes.”

  “The enhanced senses and all that,” he said with a nod. “And I’ll get that super cool healing buff. Gotta admit, I’m going to love that.”

  “There’s more than those,” she said with a smile. “We’ll be joined now. Here.” She moved her hand from his heart to hers. “Linked. Soon, I’ll know if you’re in danger and vice versa. I’ll sense your emotions as you’ll sense mine. I won’t know what you’re thinking,” she said, noting the look in his eyes.

  “You’re misreading me if you think I’m concerned about that. I’m an open book. If I’m pissed, you’ll know it. Luckily, I rarely get that way. I’m more concerned with you being okay with me being able to pick up on what you’re feeling.”

  “You’re my mate,” she said with a shrug. “I’m just sorry that I’m so uncertain right now. I’m usually not this way. Following Amia and finding all of you. It’s thrown me for a loop.”

  “We’re on your side,” he assured her. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

  “Didn’t seem that way when I was being interrogated.” She pressed her fingers to his lips when he started to speak. “I’m sorry about that. I shouldn’t have said it. It doesn’t matter anymore. That was then. We’re mated now, and I know I won’t stand alone again.”

  “Never,” he swore.

  “The truth is, I’m uncertain of what to say to Tah. There’s so much information that none of you seem to know. I don’t feel adequately prepared to share it all. I really think it would be best coming from an older and wiser shifter.”

  “Your uncle?”

  “Yes, he’d be a great person to talk to.” She nodded vigorously. “If you’d just persuade Tah to let me call him. Tah or you can be there when I do if he’s concerned with what I might say or do. I won’t betray this pride. I wouldn’t betray you, ever.”

  “I know that.”

  “Which means I need to tell you that Amia left her phone in here when she hurried out earlier. I thought about making a call but didn’t. It’s under the mattress.”

  Logan pushed up and rose from the bed. “I’ll grab my phone and give it to you. Things have changed now. You’re my mate. That makes you part of this pride.”

  “I have a phone I can use. It’s hidden in the woods with the rest of my stuff. I just haven’t had a chance to go get it, yet.”

  “I’ll take you. I’m curious to see where you hid it. We’ve been all over the woods and found nothing.”

  “I’ll show you.”

  He reached down and took her hand, tugging her up. “Time to get up and dressed.”

  “Logan.” She said his name quietly when he moved to rummage on the floor for their clothing.

  “I’ll give you one of my shirts to wear for now,” he said, turning back to her as he sorted what he’d picked up. “It’s going to be huge. Sorry about that.”

  “Logan,” she said again.

  “Yeah?”

  “It was a hunter who shot you, wasn’t it?”

  He nodded, absently reaching up to rub the scar he’d always bear.

  “Is he still living?”

  Logan shook his head. “Reno killed him.”

  “Good,” she said with a nod. “I hope he ripped his fucking heart out.”

  Logan grinned. “Bloodthirsty, aren’t you?”

  “No one will ever threaten my man. You are mine, and I protect what’s mine.”

  He jerked her up against him and took her mouth in a savage kiss. It was wild heat and unbridled passion. His tongue ravaged the interior of her mouth, owning her. She nipped his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood, tasting it on her tongue as he pulled back. His hand fisted in her hair as he held her in place.

  “You’re mine, Clara. You will never place yourself in front of me when there is danger. I protect what’s mine. I won’t deny you the fight, but don’t ever think to try and deny me, either.”

  “By your side,” she vowed. “Always.”

  He nodded, loosening his gr
ip until he cupped the back of her skull. He guided her mouth back to his, the kiss soft and lazy this time. She knew he was remembering that moment in the lab when she’d tried to place herself between him and Reno. In her defense, Reno had been a fully shifted tiger at the time, and she’d taken one look at Logan and felt the mating call scream through her. She’d been completely off-guard in that split second with only one thought in mind. Protecting her mate.

  “I’ll go grab you a shirt,” he said as he slowly eased away from her. “Then we’ll go talk to Tah and get your gear.”

  “The phone call?” she asked.

  “You’ll get to make it. I’ll make sure Tah doesn’t have a problem with it,” Logan assured her. “He’ll understand where your loyalty lies now that we’re mated.”

  She watched Logan pull up his jeans and turn to leave the room. Where her loyalties lay? Not as easy a question as Logan seemed to think. Yes, she was loyal to her mate and understood that, as such, she would be expected to show loyalty to his pride. But that didn’t mean she could just turn her back on her uncle and the shifters that stayed with them. And Lydia? What about her? How did she tell Amia that Lydia was alive and well and had been living with shifters this whole time? Clara was Logan’s mate, but that didn’t make everything else magically disappear.

  “What do I do?” she whispered, praying for some divine guidance since she didn’t have a clue.

  Logan ran into Tah in the hallway. Tah inhaled deeply and sighed.

  “I see you took my advice and mated Clara.”

  “Yes,” Logan confirmed. “She’s mine, Tah. I did what our hormones have been demanding of us. I know you remember how this mating thing consumes you.”

  Tah nodded his head. “You’ll find yourself even more consumed with Clara now. She’s a part of you. Mating is so much more than marriage is.”

  “You okay?” Logan asked.

  “Tired,” Tah admitted. “I wanted to find you. Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

  “What’s wrong?” Logan asked then grabbed Tah’s arm, his eyes huge with panic. “Abby? Did something happen? Did the transfusion not work?”