Changing Her Tune

by Brandy Walker

  Austin gathered her hands, the need to touch her paramount. “This, meaning me. Us.”

  “Yeah. My cheetah told me to follow her lead, but I couldn’t depend on her. After you dropped me off, I didn’t know what to do. At some point I remembered ROAR and hoped they could help. I texted them, asking how to trust her when I felt abandoned years before. When they responded, they told me she had been there all along. They also said I needed to believe in her and let her show me the way. She would know when I found the One. Know when she found her home. I’ve never been anywhere I felt at home. You know, the place you run to and it gives you comfort and peace of mind. ROAR told me I needed to look inside and figure it out.”

  Austin didn’t know how it felt not to have a place to call home. For him, it was where he grew up. “How did you end up here at the football field?” He needed her to spell it out.

  “I ran into Blaire and Ryan. Asked them where home was when they weren’t at, well, home or the place they were living. They both said here.” She looked to the field, and so did he. “When they said it, I realized it rang true for me as well. Out there, I’m in my element. I’m surrounded by people I knew, who love music as much as I do. It’s the place I’m comfortable in my human and cheetah skin.

  “I raced over here to see if it would bring a bit more clarity to my thoughts. When I walked through the tunnel, the two sides melded. I realized every time I stepped out on the field, I found peace. Then I saw you standing there, and I knew right then, there was more to it. I allowed my cheetah to take hold. Looking at you, she wanted to go home—wanted to go to her mate.”

  She stared at him, a hopeful expression on her face. His mouth opened, then snapped shut. Austin didn’t know what to say. It was humbling. All he’d hoped for was a chance to prove they were meant to be together and find an opportunity to show her they could build a future.

  “It’s too much, isn’t it,” she whispered. Tugging her hand out of his grasp, she went to stand.

  With his catlike reflexes, he clamped a hand around her wrist, dragging her onto his lap. He slid his arm around her, locking her in close to his body. “No,” he said in a gruff voice. “Not too much. It wasn’t what I imagined the problem was.” He pressed a kiss on her lips as she relaxed into his embrace. The soft curves he dreamed about night after night melted into him. Her delectable ass snuggled against his cock, which got harder by the minute.

  “Oh,” she gasped, then wiggled.

  “Stop, Tess,” he gritted out. “I need you, but I won’t take you here. There’s more we need to talk about, too.”

  “I think we’ve talked enough for the time being. I want to make it work. No more running.” She slid her hand over his chest. Questing fingers found one of his nipples, pinching it hard. She licked her bottom lip, leaving a wet trail. “We think we should connect on a purely physical level first. I want your scent all over my body.”

  He growled, shooting out of the seat with her still wrapped in his arms. “My place or yours?”

  “Mine,” she murmured against his ear. The way she said mine, making it sound like she referred to more than her place, sent a fireball of arousal straight to his gut.

  Chapter Ten

  Tess couldn’t stop the giggle trying to escape. Austin refused to let her walk, ignoring her protests, until he had her buckled in his Jeep. He drove the couple blocks back to her town house at light speed, hardly braking for stop signs. When they arrived, he stopped the Jeep, scooped her out before tossing her over his shoulder, and carried her into the house, and up the stairs, passing a shocked Blaire and amused Ryan.

  “Looks like they sorted it out.” Ryan chuckled.

  “Tess?” Blaire’s concerned voice reached Tess’s ear.

  “I’m fine. See ya later,” she said as Austin slammed the door behind them.

  Without ceremony, he dropped her on the bed. “I know we need to talk. Promise we will, but after.”

  “After?”

  “My cheetah can’t take it anymore. I can’t take it anymore.” He pulled his T-shirt over his head, revealing the hard-packed muscle she imagined every time she saw him. True to her thoughts the first night they met, quarter-bouncing-worthy abs gleamed in the light.

  “Wow.”

  Grinning, he took a step toward her. “You like?”

  As if he had to ask. “Who wouldn’t?”

  Austin shrugged, his smile dimming a bit. “I wondered if I didn’t appeal to you. As much as you ran, I started to think maybe you were put off by me.”

  “It was never that.” She scooted to the edge of the bed, her fingers curling tight to keep her in place. “You are the most beautiful man I’ve ever met. You have a body meant to be worshipped.” But would she do him any justice? “I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed in me.”

  His face softened. “I know our cheetahs are what drew us together, but as a man, I am very attracted to you. Beauty aside, I love your fire, your spirit, even when it’s directed at me and you’re telling me no. The scent of you drives me wild. I will never be able to look at a peach pie and not think of you.”

  He took another step toward her, closing the distance even more. Her cheetah rolled over in submission and chirped. He held out his hand to her, and she took it, her nerves making her own shake. He pulled her to stand in front of him. Letting out a jittery breath belying his confidence, he skimmed his palms over her sides and inside her jacket before smoothing them over her shoulders and dragging her coat off. Tossing the coat to the side, his gaze jumped from her face to her chest. His grin grew bigger.

  Oh God. “There’s something you should know,” she squeaked, unable to mask her nervousness. In her room and on the same page, she had no doubt they would be having sex. Hell, she wanted sex.

  He chuckled, taking her off guard.

  “This isn’t funny, Austin.”

  “I know, but I can’t get over your T-shirt. Were you trying to give me a hint?”

  “What?” She looked down at the shirt she’d put on in haste earlier. Oh no. She groaned in embarrassment. In her rush to get to the field, she’d paid no attention to what she grabbed. She had on one of her goofy band shirts. It was white with a gold flute printed across her breasts and “Blow me” written below. “It’s a joke the flute section came up with to wear when we travel.”

  He chuckled and fingered the fabric at the hem. “I like it, but please don’t wear it around other men. I’d hate to have to beat them to a pulp when they hit on you.”

  She snorted. “You don’t have to worry. No one has ever hit on me while I’m wearing it.”

  “And they won’t ever get the chance.” He raised a claw-tipped finger, pulled the shirt tight, and sliced down the middle.

  Tess gasped, but not in outrage. Her hands rose, hiding her breasts.

  “Damn. No bra?”

  A blush heated her cheeks. “I was in a bit of a hurry.”

  “I’m not complaining.” He pushed the shirt off her shoulders, forcing her arms to her sides. Instead of letting the ruined shirt drop to the ground, he used it to bind her hands together behind her back, freeing up his own. Leaning in, he sucked a nipple into his mouth. Swirling his tongue around her flesh, he nipped and sucked before letting go with a pop and delivering the same treatment to the other side. His hand dropped to the button on her jeans, and she panicked. He needed to know before they went any farther.

  “Austin,” she gasped when he unzipped her pants.

  “Tell me what’s so important, Red, so I can get back to enjoying you,” he murmured against his skin. “Damn, I need my scent all over your body.”

  “It’s been almost two years since I’ve had sex,” she blurted.

  He stopped for a second before tunneling his fingers beneath the band of her panties. She jumped when he swiped a finger across her slit.

  “Don’t you have anything to say?” she panted. His fingers moved back and forth over the lips of her pussy, sending a tingling sensation along her legs. She wanted t
o spread them farther. Invite him to touch her more.

  He looked her in the face, the golden glow of his cat eyes shining with arousal. “Goddamn, that’s hot. I know you said you’d had sex once, but…you might as well be a virgin.”

  She waited for the panic that tended to accompany her thoughts of sex to set in, but nothing came. Letting go of the past released her mind, allowing it to blend with her cheetah. They were of the same mind—they wanted Austin naked, making love to her.

  “Yes,” she said on a shaky breath. What she said yes about, she wasn’t quite certain. Yes, she was basically a virgin. Yes, he got what she was trying to say. It didn’t matter as long as he kept doing what he was doing.

  Austin spun her around, grabbing her hips. He pushed her jeans over her hips, dragging her panties with them. As she stepped out, she swung around to face him.

  “Fucking. Gorgeous.”

  “And you’re overdressed.”

  He chuckled and took a step back when she reached for him. “I’m trying to make it good for you. If I take my pants off, you’ll end up on your back with my cock in you before you take your next breath.”

  “Sounds good to me,” she mumbled. “It isn’t like I haven’t ever had an orgasm before or don’t know what’s going to happen. I do own a vibrator. I just haven’t had intercourse with a man in a while.”

  Austin growled low. The possessive sound sending a rush of cream to her pussy. “He was no man.”

  She laughed and decided she needed to tempt him closer. As she talked, she crawled onto her bed, lying down on her back. “No, he wasn’t. I, for one, am happy to forget it even happened.”

  Trailing a finger over her chest, she made tiny, looping circles, grazing her skin and causing gooseflesh to appear. The lower she got with her finger the heavier her breathing became. Austin’s gaze tracked each loop and whirl she made. His eyes turned a deep amber-gold, and the rumbling she wasn’t sure he knew he was making grew louder and louder.

  “Gladly.” Austin was riveted. His mate lured him to join her on the bed, but he resisted.

  He wanted to join her with every fiber of his body and soul. Press her back into the sheets, covering her from head to toe. Explore every dip and curve with his hands, then his mouth.

  He wanted to do that. So. Damn. Much. But he’d wait. He had to wait, or he might hurt her.

  Cupping his dick through his jeans, he attempted to relieve the pressure. It didn’t work. It throbbed and jumped beneath his hand with each inch of skin she skated over.

  Fucking hell, she was hot. Her fiery red hair spread out over her pillow. Her creamy skin begging to be licked and caressed. Lick. Taste. His cheetah rippled, demanding action. Their mate presented herself to them. Knees bent and feet spread. She was a feast, and they needed to take her.

  Approaching the end of the bed, he dropped to his knees on the mattress when he bumped into it. He grabbed her ankles, spreading her legs farther apart. He placed a tender kiss on one knee, then the other. Switching back and forth, he kissed his way to her core. Inhaling deep when he reached her center and shuddered. “So fucking good.”

  “Please,” she whimpered, damn near breaking him.

  But who was he to deny her plea? Sliding his hands up her bent legs, then back down toward her hips, he swept them under her, her ass a perfect fit into the palms of his hands. He tilted her hips with slight pressure before licking the seam of her nearly naked pussy. Insinuating his tongue between her pink pussy lips, he found her clit, engorged and throbbing.

  His lust spiked, sending him into frenzy. He licked, sucked, and nipped at her flesh. Alternating between laving her moist center and blowing warm puffs of breath, pulling gasps of pleasure from her.

  Sliding two digits in, he pressed deep, before dragging them over the spot he hoped would send her shooting off like a bottle rocket. She grabbed for purchase in his hair, and he knew he hit the spot. Over and over he pumped into her while sucking on her clit. A flick of his tongue later, and she screamed, calling out his name.

  The cheetah in him preened at the idea of satisfying their mate. Austin was pretty freaking pleased as well.

  Standing, he unbuttoned, then unzipped his jeans. Before dropping them to the floor, he pulled out a condom.

  Tess stared at him with hungry hooded eyes. She licked her lips, tempting him to ram his cock between them. “I want to taste you. I want to know what it’s like to have your cock in my mouth.”

  He swallowed hard. Never in his life had anything sounded so good. “I won’t last. I need to be inside you too much.”

  She pouted but didn’t argue with him. That’s a new one. Part of him missed her sassy mouth telling him no and giving every reason under the sun to make her point. He’d get over it.

  “I promise, I’ll let you suck me later.” He crawled over her body, brushing every inch of her with as much of his body as possible. His skin caught fire as tingles of awareness shot through him. He felt his nails change to claws. His vision wavered between human and cat.

  He reached between them, and, with as much care as he could, he fed the tip of his engorged shaft between her swollen folds. Sliding in inch by inch, one powerful thought screamed through his brain. Home. He had found his home with her.

  Balls-deep inside his mate, he panted above her, waiting for her to adjust to his girth. “You okay?”

  Tess wiggled beneath him, driving him insane. She wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her heels together, holding him in place. She rocked her hips a little, mouth popping open in an O, then smiled like a Cheshire cat. “Very okay.”

  He grunted as he tunneled through her slick channel. The tight walls of her vagina squeezing each time he tried to pull back. He increased his pace as her cries of pleasure rose in volume. Damn, he hoped he’d locked the door. Not like he would stop what he was doing to check or if someone opened the door.

  Tess beneath him was heaven. She met him stroke for stroke, sneaking a hand between them to play with her clit. Her little fingers flew fast and furious over the bud. A small gasp escaped her lips as she tightened around him. Her back arched, lifting him. He couldn’t stand the pressure anymore. Slamming into her a couple more times, his cum filled the condom as he groaned in fulfillment.

  As much as he wanted to stay seated within her, it wouldn’t be a good idea. He would crush her when he fell into a sex-induced coma. Rolling to the side, he gripped the base of the condom.

  Tess handed him a tissue and he took it off, balling it inside. Leaning over her naked body, he placed it on the nightstand. “Remind me to get rid of it once I can walk again.”

  She snorted and closed her eyes, settling against him. Austin tried to stay awake. He wanted to soak in Tess being next to him. Enjoy the feel of his mate curled against his body. Too soon, he found his eyelids too heavy and drifted off to sleep, his mate wrapped around him.

  Chapter Eleven

  Tess stretched her arms over her head. Best damn night’s sleep she’d had in over a week. Shifting onto her back, she noticed there was more room in the full-size bed than before. It didn’t take a genius to realize she was alone.

  “He can’t have left already,” she grumbled. Propping herself up on her elbows, she looked around the room. His jeans were no longer crumpled on the floor, and his shirt had also disappeared. “Maybe he did.”

  After the first round of sex, they slept for a little bit before waking to do it all over again. She was beyond thrilled she got her wish when she asked to taste him. He let her touch, stroke, lick, and fondle him to her heart’s content, before turning the tables on her and mounting her from behind. As she came, he sank his teeth into the soft spot where neck and shoulder met, climaxing as soon as she shouted his name. A shiver skittered through her as she remembered the feel of his canines locked on her flesh.

  Rolling out of bed, she struggled to shake the feeling of abandonment trying to take hold. After grabbing some yoga pants and a tank top from her dresser, she shimmied into them, the
n looked for her phone.

  Maybe he got called away. Phone in hand, she smashed the Power button, lighting the screen.

  Nothing.

  Dropping it back on the nightstand, she noticed the pile of used tissues and condoms were missing.

  “At least he cleans up after himself,” she said, aggravated by how upset she was to find he wasn’t there. “Gah, I’m being stupid.” She’d finally had sex after two years. She should be thrilled.

  She reached for the door to head to the bathroom, when it opened. Austin stood in front of her, holding a brown bag and drink holder with two cups on it.

  “’Bout time you woke up.” Slipping inside, he paused to kiss her lips then headed to the bed. “Shut the door, Red, and come join me.”

  He got comfortable on the bed, leaning back against the pillows as if he’d done it every day of his life. “Give me a minute to freshen up.”

  He grinned then pulled his shirt off over his head. “I’ll be right here.”

  Oh Lordy! She rushed to the bathroom. After relieving herself, she washed her hands, brushed her teeth, and then finger combed her hair. “As good as it’s going to get.”

  She took a second to compose herself as she stood outside her bedroom door. All of the emotional flip-flopping would get to her if she let it. Content and happy one second, then disappointed the next, followed by instant arousal and joy. It was tough for a girl not used to it all.

  She pulled open the door and found Austin right where he said he’d be. He patted the spot next to him, inviting her over. She didn’t waste any time settling against his side.

  Opting not to discuss her anger at him for not being there when she woke up, she went for the obvious. “What’s in the bag?”

  Austin picked it up off the carpet and set it between his legs. He dug in it, pulling out the biggest cheeseburger she had ever seen. He handed it over and pulled another one out. “I figured some protein might be a good idea after last night.”