His tone was growly again, Julian’s influence not as strong now that they were no longer in the Kermode Bear’s presence. Julian’s powers were sometimes frightening, but his big heart made up for any fear Chloe might have felt around him.
When he slammed her bedroom door closed with his foot she understood that Julian’s influence was gone entirely. Jim’s eyes were golden brown as he lowered her to the bed. “I’m sorry. I have to.”
She stroked his cheek, smiling as he leaned into her touch. “I know. I taunt you to.”
He chuckled softly. “I promise I’ll go as slow as I can.”
Considering she could feel how hard he was trembling she doubted he’d be going all that slow. But her voice was gone again, lost in a swirl of soft touches and tiny, maddening kisses across her collarbone. Jim knelt above her, pushing up her shirt as he peppered each patch of bared skin with butterfly kisses. He didn’t hesitate at her scars as she’d feared he would, instead pausing at each one to stroke and caress.
When he licked the scar over her belly button she moaned, the sensation intensely erotic. He carefully removed her shirt, exposing her “cleaning day comfy bra”.
Hell, it wasn’t like she’d expected her dream man to throw her onto her bed and finally claim her today. She’d been throwing out the trash, for God’s sake.
Jim didn’t seem to mind the ratty-ass bra, though. She grabbed hold of her comforter, clenching it in her fists as he worked his way up to it, gently lifting her up enough so that he could work the clasp in back. He coaxed her into letting go of the comforter long enough to remove the bra, then sat back on his heels and studied her. “Beautiful.” He stroked the tip of her breast with a gentleness that startled her. “My little Fox.”
She held up her hands, smiling when Jim immediately leaned into her. She tugged him close, the feel of his shirt against her bare breasts intoxicating. She tilted her head, baring her throat to him, took a deep breath and prayed her voice would cooperate. “Claim. Me.”
“With pleasure.”
Jim struck, sinking his fangs into Chloe’s creamy skin. She screamed, but it wasn’t a sound filled with pain, like he’d feared. Oh, no. This sound was all about pleasure. Chloe’s hips rocked under him, brushing against his cock until he thought he’d cream his jeans like a fucking teenager during his first make-out session.
She’d come just from his bite.
My God. Why the fuck did I wait so long? The scent of her pleasure permeated the room. Her breath came in gasps, her eyes became dazed and her pupils dilated. Her lips were parted, her tongue darting out to lick the bottom one.
“Wow.” She smiled, the expression almost loopy. She raised her arms in the air and waved them around, almost clocking him. “Let’s fro again! Let’s go again!”
Jim chuckled. She was adorable, all rumpled and half-naked, waving her arms in the air like Kermit the Frog on downers. “Let’s get you naked first, hmm?”
She nodded eagerly, pushing at his hips until he got off of her. She wiggled out of her jeans, using her right hand far more than her left, but when he tried to help she scowled at him.
He let her be. Chloe had been dealing with her physical limitations long enough to know what she was capable of. He would watch, see if she needed his help, but otherwise she was strong enough to do things on her own.
Between Chloe and Spencer he was being fed some serious humble pie. He didn’t think he’d handle their issues nearly as well as the two of them did. He’d be a basket case, sobbing in the corner about his lost dreams. Spencer simply asked for a room and a bed, and Chloe?
She asked for him.
He was a goddamn ass, and he’d spend the rest of his life making it up to her. “Thank you.”
Her brows rose. “For getting naked?”
“For giving me another chance.”
Her expression softened. “Of course.” Chloe’s expression was both hopeful and fearful. “Are we really going to do this?”
“Do you want to?” As afraid as he was that his dick would fall off if he didn’t get inside her tight little body, he’d gladly pick it up off the floor and hand it to her if she wasn’t ready for this.
She bared her fangs at him with the most adorable snarl.
“Okay then.” Jim knew Chloe was very inexperienced, so he wasn’t going to rush this. He wanted to remember this day not for the terror of the Cheetah attack, but as the day they mated. It wasn’t ideal, but he could stand the thought of waiting one second longer.
Chloe began taking off his shirt and he helped her, wiggling until it landed beside the bed. Next his jeans were shucked, along with his underwear, tangling with the shoes he hadn’t yet kicked off. She giggled when he began shimmying like a crazy person, kicking until the shoes fell off and he could finally get his pants and briefs off.
“Think that’s funny?” He licked her chin, her giggles intensifying. He was more than willing to embarrass himself if it meant she was relaxed. “Oh, are we ticklish?” He feathered his fingers over her sides, delighted when she shivered and tried to get away.
“Don’t!”
“Don’t what?” He did it again, enjoying the sound of her laughter. “This?”
“Jim!” She tried to glare at him, but the sheer joy in her gaze made it more kittenish than villainous. “I will end you.”
He chuckled, the urge to run his fingers over the mark on her neck impossible to ignore. He stroked the mark, startled when her laughter stopped dead and she shuddered beneath him. The scent of arousal once more filled the air.
“Chloe?”
“Hmm?” She leaned into his touch as he continued to caress the mark.
“You like that?” His voice dropped, becoming husky as his own arousal rose to match hers.
She tilted her head, baring her neck further, her eyes closing. Her expression was yearning, nearly begging him to touch her more.
Jim kissed the mark, raking his teeth over it. The moan he got in return had him biting down gently, eager to elicit more of those beautiful noises.
She reached up and clasped the back of his head, holding him in place as he bit down. It wasn’t until he tasted the copper of her blood that he realized his fangs had come down.
Chloe bucked beneath him as she reacted to his bite, coming from that alone. His Wolf grunted in satisfaction as she gasped out her pleasure.
His dick throbbed in response, the mark on his own neck pulsing as his heart raced. He needed to be inside her, one with her, feeling her clench around him as she came again and again.
Jim slid down her body, pausing long enough to pay homage to her breasts. He licked and suckled each one until her quiet moans became demanding cries, her fists clenching painfully in his hair. Her voice was gone, the only sounds erupting from her throat guttural and barely human.
She was lost in the pleasure he was giving her, and he couldn’t be happier about it.
He kissed his way down her taut stomach, making sure to hit each and every one of her scars as he did so. When he was done she would know that he wanted every part of her, flaws and all.
He began to tease her opening with his finger, gently coaxing her to accept his touch. She seemed startled at first, her eyes going wide, but when he licked her clit and sucked it into his mouth her eyes squeezed shut once more. She began moving against him, barely flinching when he eased his finger inside her.
God, she was tight. He was right, then, that she’d had little to no experience. And as asinine as it was, the thought that he might be her first made him want to beat his chest like Tarzan.
He finger fucked her, watching her reactions, gauging when he felt she could take a second finger. He wanted her stretched, wet and ready for him, because the last thing that should be in bed with them was pain. When she seemed ready he added a second finger, sucking her clit hard to distract her from any sting she might feel.
If her face was anything to go by, she was more than ready for what he was doing. Still, he needed to make sure. “Ready for more?”
“M-m-m-m…” Her eyes opened, some of the passion fading as she couldn’t get the word out.
“I have you, little vixen.” He planted a soft kiss on the ginger curls between her thighs, then carefully eased a third finger inside her.
She winced for the first time and he stilled, allowing her to get used to the width of his three fingers. As she relaxed, he began peppering her skin with kisses again, soothing her, gently taking her clit once more into his mouth and gently sucking.
Before long she was bucking against him, taking him to the third knuckle.
She was ready.
Jim sat up and prayed that the condom he had in his wallet was still good. As much as he’d love to make children with Chloe they had to wait. He fumbled for his pants, pulling his wallet from his pocket.
“Uh?”
“Condom.”
She grinned and lay back down, watching him with a slumberous, pleasure-filled gaze that had him dropping the condom twice in his eagerness to see her come yet again. He ripped the package open and slid the condom on. The feel of his own hand on his length made him grit his teeth and pray like he never had before. If he came before he even had the condom on he’d have to move to Siberia and change his name to Ivan Jerkov.
That expression on her face didn’t help either. He could come just from the lust she was showing him.
He took a deep breath, trying to control the tremors racing through him. This was it. The rest of his life was on this single moment, when she’d accept him into her body.
Before he could get himself under control she tugged him down and nodded. Her gaze was pinned to his, urging him on.
He didn’t need to ask. She’d already told him without words that she was ready for him.
Jim slowly eased into her body, the faint tightening and loosening of her expressions giving him clues as to when to slow down and when it was all right to move again. So slowly he thought his dick might die of blood deprivation, he forged his way inside her, never once breaking the contact between their gazes.
They didn’t need words. In this moment, they both knew what the other was saying.
Before he knew it he was fully seated inside her. He kissed her softly, both their eyes open, waiting for her nod that it was all right to move.
She gave it, so he began fucking her in slow, easy strokes that had them both on the breathless edge far quicker than Jim would have liked. He’d wanted to make this last, to bring her to ecstasy over and over again, but it was just too much. The sensations were too strong, too tight, too perfect…too Chloe.
He came, shivering as lightning rushed through him, his Wolf howling in joy. Chloe shuddered as she, too, came once again. Her gasping, wordless cry fused with his own as the pleasure raced down his spine.
God, it had never been this good before. He leaned his forehead against his mate’s and smiled.
God willing, it would be again.
Chapter Nine
Chloe felt like she was doing the walk of shame into her own living room. Her brother Ryan was sitting on the sofa, Glory cuddled close in his lap and a huge scowl on his face. Cyn was pacing and snarling at the bound Cheetah, while Julian watched her warily, ready to stop her from attacking…or to help her. Chloe wasn’t quite sure. Alex and Tabby had also shown up, Tabby so far along in her pregnancy she looked ready to blow. Chloe was pretty sure the turkey timer was about to pop any second and her couch would be toast. In fact, she was surprised that Alex had brought his mate, but from the stubborn look on Tabby’s face she must have convinced Alex to bring her. Alex’s hazel eyes were completely brown, his Grizzly close to the surface.
The Cheetah was bound hand and foot, naked as a jaybird. His dark skin was flawless, his thin, twisty dreads hanging past his shoulders. His eyes, the gold of his Cheetah, were startlingly beautiful. He looked pissed as hell, ready to claw anyone who was insane enough to get close to him.
And then there was Barney, who turned out to be that crazy. The Hunter sat calmly on the floor, petting the damn Cheetah on the head. “Who’s a good kitty? You are, yes you are!”
The snarl was loud even behind the duct tape covering the Cheetah’s mouth.
“Congratulations on your mating.” Barney winked at her. “It’s about fuckin’ time.”
“Tanks.” Chloe could feel her face heating. Her cheeks were probably bright red.
“Honey, I wasn’t talking to you.” Barney nodded to Jim. “If you hadn’t claimed her I’m pretty sure you would have found some pissed-off Bears on your doorstep.”
“Are you kidding? They got ahold of me at the supermarket.” Jim shuddered. “I thought for sure they were going to maul me in the dairy aisle.”
“Nah. I wouldn’t hurt you there. I wouldn’t risk it.” Ryan grinned. “Glory’s lactose intolerant.”
“Am not.” Glory jabbed Ryan in the stomach hard enough to make him grunt.
“I’m sorry, who was it who had a cheese sandwich and two hours later the neighbors were looking for the source of the sewer leak?”
Glory rolled her eyes and refused to answer.
Barney just continued to pet the Cheetah, his gaze bright with laughter.
“What I want to know is who this is and why is he after Chloe?” Jim crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the Cheetah.
Barney picked at the tape on the Cheetah’s cheek. “Oh, that’s easy. His name is—” The Cheetah began to kick furiously, staring wide-eyed at Barney when the Hunter slapped him on the ass. “Bad kitty! His name is Francois Prejean, from New Orleans. He’s a Hunter for the Senate.”
If Chloe had been on the receiving end of that murderous glare she would have been running for the hills.
“Wait. Senate?” Jim was behind her, but his confusion was clear in his voice.
“We have a structure that deals with shifter laws called the Senate. Each species is represented by a Senator, and together they make and help enforce those laws.” Tabby rubbed her stomach and winced. “I really wish this kid didn’t like to put his toes in my ribs.”
Alex shook his head but picked up where his mate left off. “Just like in a Pride or a Pack, the Leo is the Alpha over all the shifters. The Senate runs the day-to-day issues of the shifter world, but on a grand scale. On the local scale, those issues are dealt with by Alphas or the heads of the family groups.”
“Sort of like Alex’s father rules over the Bunsun-Williams clan.” Julian grinned. “He’s not an Alpha the way Max Cannon or Rick Lowell are, but I wouldn’t want to tell him no.”
“Packs and Prides have their own hierarchies, with Betas and Omegas and Marshalls, oh my.” Chloe giggled at Barney’s wink. “And then there’s the low men on the totem pole, which would be the rest of us peons.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “Hunters, like Alphas, are born, not made. We work directly for the Senate, usually two to three Hunters per territory. Gabe has all of Pennsylvania, while his partners work New York and New Jersey. Gabe and I shouldn’t even be living in the same town—” Glory gasped, and Ryan hugged her close. “But I have no intention of moving and neither does he.”
“Hmm.” Barney eyed Ryan. “It is odd, come to think of it. Not one of the Senators has mentioned removing you from Halle, at least not that I’m aware of. And you should be reassigned. They wouldn’t be at all sympathetic to your mate’s needs.” He tilted his head. “Come to think of it, no Senator has mentioned you at all. I wouldn’t have known you were a Hunter if I hadn’t already been here, looking into…” His lips clamped shut.
Like Chloe cared about all of this. “Why would a Bunter be interested in me?” She hadn’t done a damn thing except get her ass kicked to hell and gone.
“I have no idea.” Barney snapped his fingers
and sat straight up. “I know! Let’s ask him!” He then ripped the tape off the Cheetah’s mouth.
The howl sounded almost wolf-like. “Fucking asshole!” The man’s Southern accent was different from Tabby’s, the drawl longer and somewhat sharper.
“Aw, I wuv you too, cupcake.” Barney patted the Cheetah’s cheek. “Now, tell me why you’ve been harassing Miss Chloe here.”
Prejean clamped his lips shut.
“You know, I have more duct tape.” Barney picked up a silver roll of tape that had been hidden behind him, twirling it on his finger. “I could do this all day.”
“I say we just rip his arms off one by one until he tells us what we want to know.” Alex flexed his hands, his hazel eyes the deep brown of his Bear. His five-inch claws scraped against his jeans with a schrick schrick sound Chloe knew all too well. She’d grown up around Grizzlies, understood how they thought. Alex was about to go postal on the Cheetah. If that happened, there wouldn’t be enough left of the cat to fit into a peanut butter jar, let alone answer questions.
Prejean swiveled his head until he could see Alex. His eyes went wide, and he gulped. “I was told to bring her in, dead or alive.”
Every male in the room except for Barney growled at the Cheetah’s answer. Barney simply tilted his head and asked in a childish voice, “Why?”
Prejean rolled his eyes. “Because she’s rogue.”
Chloe felt faint. “Who…what?” She gulped, swaying. If she’d been declared rogue by the Senate, then…
“Oh fog.” She turned to Jim. “Go. Now.”
He glared at her, his hazel eyes dotted with dark honey brown. “No.”
She whimpered and turned her gaze to Ryan, who would surely understand. “Peas?”
He shook his head reluctantly. “You know he can’t. He’s your mate.”
Chloe spoke slowly, determined to get the words to come out right. “He’ll. Die.”
“Sweetie, they’ll go after him anyway just for being your mate. You know that.” Barney flipped the duct tape into the air and caught it. “So. When was Miss Chloe declared rogue, hmm? Because my orders were to watch her, not harm her.”
Figure of Speech (Halle Shifters) Page 9