Black Surrender

by Lorie O'Clare

  She managed to remain twisted underneath him just enough to focus on his face. When she did, he thrust again, filling and stretching her until she swore he would split her in two. He hit a spot he hadn’t hit before, drawing new sensations from deep inside her. The pressure would make her nuts. She was so damn soaked her inner thighs were wet. Yet he seemed capable of keeping her right on the edge of sanity and pure, satisfying bliss.

  Focusing on him made it harder to let go. She was torn with the need to see into his soul, learn where his heart and mind were, and the overwhelming urge to let go and grab the moment he dangled just out of her reach so she could come.

  Anna stared into his eyes. Everything around them, the darkness of night, the many trees shrouding them, the curious animals who dared to crawl back to their slumbering spots faded until all there was, was the two of them. His eyes were dark, shades of black mixing with the green. And they were intense.

  The searching emptiness was gone. Instead, focused, watching, studying and taking to memory, an incredible predator stared back at her. As if he sensed her searching, burrowing her way deeper into his mind as she stared into his eyes, Rafe altered the steady thrust of his cock, receded and paused. She wasn’t sure what he saw in her face but it pleased him. She could tell. Anna narrowed her gaze on his eyes, focusing on his pupils and taking on the strength and incredible confidence she felt flowing out of him. Rafe would overpower, conquer and control if given the opportunity. She wasn’t sure how she saw what she did, but there wasn’t an ounce of doubt inside her.

  Rafe had been fucking her for a while now, but whether it had been ten minutes, half an hour or for hours, she wasn’t sure. Time had left them, along with the forest around them, all taboos and laws and traditions. It was the two of them. He was her only concern.

  Although she tried to shift, wanting to feel on more equal terms with him, Rafe held her in place. His cock swelled. Enjoying how she tried to move. She clamped down on him, her pussy tightening and quivering at the same time. Rafe grumbled and she saw the tremor slide over his fur. She studied his perfect muscle tone, the shimmer of his black coat in the dark, although there was no moonlight. Her gaze traveled up his body to his powerful jaw bone and cheeks. He was a magnificent creature, strong, intense and focused on what he wanted.

  Dwelling on his many appealing attributes made her even hotter. Fire burned inside her. It made no sense that she shivered from the intensity of it, but dwelling on it was pointless. Instead, she saw a way to master her own control. In spite of being almost twice her size, stronger and incredibly dominating, Anna possessed something Rafe didn’t. She had the edge. He was, after all, buried deep inside her. Maybe he held his position in an effort to torture her, make her beg for what they both needed. It would make sense he would behave as all males did and believe he needed to conquer her in order to fully gain his own satisfaction.

  Nothing compared to what she was experiencing right now, and she hadn’t come yet. She believed she understood how a male jaguar thought, how he ran and why he believed he needed to gain the upper paw with a female. However, Anna knew what was needed to bring him to his belly. One thing she’d mastered since entering adulthood was watching, listening and paying attention to how males and females interacted. Anna had heard some wild howlings, and she’d paid attention. Now it was her turn to see if what females purred about was true.

  She closed her mouth, fluttered her lashes and grabbed his full attention. The moment the lustful glaze cleared from his eyes and he looked at her as warily as she probably had him a moment ago, Anna sucked in a breath, damn near drowned on the incredible aroma of their lovemaking, and clamped her pussy down around his long, thick cock.

  Immediately he jerked inside her and his eyes widened. Already he was on to her. Anna didn’t care. She did it again, doing her best to tighten her pussy even more so around him, imagined squeezing hard enough to force the come out of him. She envisioned him coming, draining him, feeling the scorching heat soak her insides and mix with her own orgasm. It would pull the cockiness straight out of him, humble him enough to see how well she was able to control a situation—and him.

  Rafe growled, pressing his mouth into her fur as if he would try to bite her nape again. She twisted her head, rubbing her nose against his, and intentionally swayed her hips to force his cock to stroke her inner walls. The sensations tripped over each other, causing rush after rush to quake inside her, giving her chills and boiling her alive at the same time. She was right there, leaning over the edge, her orgasm so imminent she could embrace it.

  The moment victory was in her paws, Rafe pulled out of her, once again panting hard as he almost leapt off her. She howled, jumped to her feet immediately and was ready to attack over having been robbed of her moment of pure perfection.

  Don’t think you’re going to win this time, jaguar. She smelled her anger, and at the same time watched Rafe’s mouth open and his large white teeth glow in contrast to his black coat. When he moved closer, strutting and looking damn pleased with himself, there was only one thing to do. Apparently no one has ever howled to you about who is in charge here. Anna leapt at him, indifferent to his size, his strength or his abilities. She would use everything she possessed to knock his pompous ass on the ground and teach him a much-needed lesson about herself.

  No one controls me, jaguar, she growled. Not ever again!

  She might as well have lunged herself at a brick wall. Worse yet, Rafe didn’t quit grinning at her. Instead, he pounced on her, knocking her off her feet. This time though, he rolled her to her side and mounted her once again. Thrusting deep inside her before she had a chance to adjust herself underneath him, Rafe began fucking her, giving her everything she had wanted and more.

  Holy crap! Rafe, oh damn! She wasn’t sure how loud she howled. When he lowered his face to hers, licked her cheek and scalded her with a passion jaguars didn’t usually share in their fur, everything inside her shattered. What she’d strived so hard to reach since they’d started fucking each other, he now offered her.

  Anna tumbled over the edge, every inch of her convulsing over and over again as her orgasm hit her hard and fast. At the same time, she was aware of Rafe trembling, his cock swelling and growing hotter with each thrust.

  She managed to focus on his face when he came. Something shifted in his expression she couldn’t label. He stared into her eyes, the glaze over them growing thicker as he exploded inside her, filling her with his come.

  * * * * *

  Anna jumped. Every inch of her tensed. A great pressure existed over parts of her body. It prevented her from straightening or stretching. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and stared at the black, large chest she’d been curled up against. It took a minute before she focused on Rafe. He lowered his head, moving slowly until he stared into her eyes. Had he been awake, watching her sleep?

  When she heard the crunching sound, it dawned on her she was hearing it for the second time. It was the sound that woke her up. She instinctively turned her head, straining into the darkness beyond the surrounding trees as she focused on where the sound came from. Immediately she noticed how quiet the forest was. At the same time she wondered how long she’d slept. It seemed a dull light fought with the dark haze to their east.

  It had rained. The forest floor was damp and beads of water clung to the leaves. Her coat wasn’t drenched though, the trees and foliage above them having provided a natural umbrella against the elements. A quick glance at Rafe showed he hadn’t sheltered her while she’d slept and endured the brunt of the storm for her. His coat wasn’t wet either.

  The weather wasn’t her main concern. They weren’t alone in the forest anymore. When Rafe slid off her, Anna didn’t need any prompting to know it was time to move. And quickly. The crunching sound was easier to hear now, although whoever approached was definitely trying to remain unnoticed.

  Anna didn’t bother to stand but instead slinked across the ground, her fur growing damp from morning dew and dir
ty as she followed Rafe into the trees. The second she moved behind the nearest group of trees, Rafe circled around her, his large body making it hard to see what was beyond the trees on the other side of the clearing. He smelled of their sex, which distracted her only for a moment. As much as she would have loved to lie there and let him clean her then lick his coat until it gleamed under the morning sun, that wasn’t going to happen. Already the air filled with an uneasy tension.

  Rafe was making it damn hard to see what was going on. He continually moved around her, blocking her and making it impossible for her to move. Anna smelled the predator on him. Her insides curled into a ball of nerves when she breathed in his anger.

  Not only did the crunching sound grow louder, when she lowered her head and quit trying to fight to get around Rafe, she was able to tell it wasn’t just one jaguar approaching. The crunching sound came from skilled paws trekking over the beds of fallen leaves and undergrowth. She jerked her attention behind her, almost spinning around when she was certain she heard sounds behind her as well.

  My God! We’re surrounded! She gulped in the early morning air as her hackles rose down her spine and a low, menacing growl escaped from her throat. Anna searched through the trees, studying every shadow, not daring to blink since she knew how stealthy a jaguar could be.

  Anna was suddenly pissed as hell. If John had formed a search party, determined to find her and drag her to their den, she would kick his ass in front of everyone. He would not humiliate Rafe. And she knew that would be his intention. He was so obsessed with the laws and traditions he’d follow them to the T, at least when it came to protecting her. Anna was beginning to think his vision had grown rather cloudy when it came to sniffing out the truth in matters.

  Anna would clear his vision up for him once and for all. Yes, she’d needed him once in her life and he hadn’t been there. She’d been a cub. She wasn’t a cub any longer. Anna was very much a grown female, capable of deciding how she would run, and whom she would run with. His coming out here like this showed he believed her incapable of making clear and honorable choices about her life. He wasn’t protecting her by doing this. He was interfering with her life.

  Her anger faltered with her next breath. These weren’t jaguars she knew and already she smelled aggression that wasn’t coming from her or Rafe. Why would jaguars she didn’t know be on a run this close to Guarida? And worse yet, smelling the way they did—determined, vicious.

  Crap. This isn’t good. She barely made a sound when she growled, and then caught Rafe’s concerned look. He brushed up against her, moving in close as he continued to jerk his head in one direction then the other. His entire body was rigid. Anna drank in his scent and managed to keep her footing when he rubbed against her. The low purr in his throat was anything but cuddly. He was pissed, livid and ready to rip apart whoever dared to steal their morning from them.

  Anna felt his frustration. She was angry too. But all she could do was pray Rafe wasn’t so enraged he wouldn’t think clearly. Because she feared they were about to be attacked.

  Rafe shoved into her harder, using enough of his body weight this time to make her stumble sideways against a thick, tall tree next to them. She stole her attention from their surroundings and gave him a hard stare.

  I’m not climbing a damn tree and hiding, she snarled, keeping her grumbling quiet. You know as well as I do they’re closing in around us. Two against however many are out there is a hell of a lot better odds than one against all of them.

  Anna accepted Rafe didn’t know a lot about her fighting skills. A lot of unmated males and females sparred in center ground as the sun set. It helped build their skills and was one of the best forms of foreplay. She hadn’t participated in any of the sparring here or in Colony. She stared into Rafe’s green eyes. They hadn’t gone dull the way they had looked a lot of the times in Guarida. Instead they were a piercing green with depths she swore allowed her to see to the center of his soul.

  Hold your own, jaguar, and I will too. There wasn’t time to tell him how it would be in any further detail. Anna had his tail and knew Rafe would watch hers.

  Something moved ahead of her and Anna looked just in time to see an older male, although not so old he had lost his prime, appear from behind the dark shadows of the trees. He leered at her, a cocky grin appearing on his face as he strutted closer. She didn’t smell desire, which was a damn good thing. Anna wasn’t sure she was ready to see just how capable Rafe might be of tearing several jaguars’ throats out if they tried to attack her. What she did smell didn’t put her at ease. There was a cold darkness in this jaguar’s eyes. It was almost maniacal.

  She didn’t take her attention from the older male for too long when another male strutted out behind the first. At the same time, there was a scuffling behind her. Rafe leapt and roared with such furious outrage she jumped to the side, making the mistake of looking behind her.

  Anna shot her attention to the two males in front of her in time to see the older male repeat the aggressive scream as he leapt through the air. She looked up, bracing herself, and at the same time tried to decide if she should leap as well or attack.

  The second male went low to the ground. He broke into a fast run even though his target, which was her, was less than ten feet away.

  Anna felt all the air slam out of her lungs as the younger male rushed into her. The older male landed on top of her. In spite of her efforts to jump out of both their ways and bulldoze into the male behind her who seemed to share the same amount of confidence as these two that Rafe and Anna were easy prey, there wasn’t room or time.

  She was crushed, rough black hair covering her face and the smell of putrid anger mixed with a warped sense of satisfaction caused her to gag. Something stung in between her shoulder blades and everything began to go black. Her body turned into a lump of muscle without any bones to help it move.

  “Lift them both into the truck and we’ll get out of here. This was easier than I thought.” The voice sounded vaguely familiar and it was the last thing Anna heard.

  Chapter Six

  Anna jerked when a cold hand gripped her ankle.

  “Wake up, sleeping beauty,” a male said then laughter followed.

  She snarled, momentarily blinded by bright light but reaching to where she’d been touched. Instantly, she detected much thinner air and a rich smell of evergreen. It was mixed with other strong odors, amusement and worry making for a rather stomach-rolling combination.

  “Put these on.” Clothes were thrown at her.

  Anna caught them against her chest as she curled her lip and snarled. Her brain was a thick fog and she didn’t have a clue where she was or what she was doing there. Staring into cold, familiar eyes helped clear her head and spiked her anger.

  “Devon Romero,” she tried growling, but her voice cracked and her words were inaudible.

  The older male, who had been one of Natasha’s guard dogs when Anna had lived in Colony, laughed at her effort to speak and looked her naked body over, making her feel even dirtier and more pissed than she’d been a minute ago.

  “Wake up, asshole.” Devon reached for Rafe.

  Anna leapt at him. “Get your paws off him,” she roared. She landed on all fours and realized her ankles were shackled. There was chafing around her wrists and every muscle in her body screamed in retaliation when she moved as fast as she did.

  “View looks pretty good from back here.” Another male stood to the side of the truck and leered at her.

  She glared at him over her shoulder at the same time Rafe moved to a sitting position, letting a low, dangerous growl as his arms came around her and pulled her off balance against his hard, virile body.

  “What the fuck is going on here?” he snarled, sounding even more dangerous when he spoke.

  His voice reverberated through Anna’s body as he wrapped his arms around her. She stared down at the metal cuffs locking his wrists together then slowly raised her gaze to Devon Romero.

  “You hav
e no honor,” she hissed, putting her hands around the cold metal and feeling Rafe’s warmer flesh too.

  “But I do have brains.” He looked away first and walked over to two males who stood against a second truck parked not too far from them.

  “Put your clothes on,” Rafe whispered in her ear, setting her down on the hard metal in the back of the truck where they’d apparently been knocked out and hauled one hell of a distance. “Do you know what’s going on?” he asked, looking at her for a moment, his gaze actually warming her slightly when he looked her over. “Are you okay?”

  “I think so. Pissed and confused,” she admitted.

  Rafe nodded and shifted his attention to the males hovered together and speaking quietly with each other. “What have you sniffed out?” he asked, his tone cold and flat. Rafe had never looked so capable of ripping a jaguar’s jugular out as he did right now.

  Anna’s stomach twisted as she struggled with the sweatshirt. She pulled it over her head and Rafe helped her, in spite of his hands being handcuffed. Her ankles were still shackled, which made it impossible to put the sweatpants on Romero had tossed at her. She never had liked the way that male smelled and hated him even more as he appeared to be the male in charge of their abduction.

  Her head was in a cloud, but it didn’t prevent her from recognizing the mountains surrounding them. “Only that we aren’t far from Colony,” she said the moment she pulled the sweatshirt down past her face.

  Another truck pulled to a stop behind the pickup parked not too far behind them where the males huddled. Anna watched several more males climb out of the extended cab and join the group of males who’d already been there, all of them watching her and Rafe.

  “We’re on Highway 550 Rafe looked around them, then gave her an appraising once-over and reached for her, tugging her sweatshirt. “That will cover all of you?” he growled.