Onyx panted through her scarlet lips. “Too tired. I’ll say you’re tired. He’s tired, isn’t he, Hunter? Oh, God, that is so good. Don’t stop, baby. Oh, please don’t stop.”
Hunter murmured into her ear, “I’ll never stop, baby. He might be too tired, but I’ve got your sweet little ass right here. That’s right. Come on, baby. Cum for Papa.”
Onyx moaned and seethed in his arms. “What’s the matter, Jordan? Don’t you want some of this? Maybe your cock’s too tired to get up anymore these days, now that Ebony has got you by the balls.”
Jordan sighed. “Yeah, I guess she does.”
He wished more than anything he could close his eyes, but Onyx called him back with her sing-song voice. “I thought you were a man, but I can see you’re just a weak old lady. You’re probably a eunuch now. This disease makes your prick shrivel up and fall off.”
He couldn’t rise to these jabs. They meant nothing to him. If Onyx or anybody else ever called him a eunuch before, he would have flown into a rage. He would have drilled her ‘til she bled to show her what kind of prick he still had between his legs.
Now, she made him sad. He must seem so ridiculous to Onyx and everyone like her. She couldn’t understand him, but he could understand her.
He leaned his head back until Hunter’s voice touched his ear. “You should hear the stuff the other guys are saying about you, man. I don’t know how you’re gonna hold your head up around this place after this.”
Jordan’s head came up. Every nerve snapped alert. “What did Cole say about your planned invasion of Bruins’ Peak?”
“He keeps saying the same thing. He keeps saying we’ll pay them back.”
“Yeah, I heard that. He’s still sore about Azer killing his brother.”
“It’s not that. He’s hurt because he thought Raven liked him. He says she made out with him a few days before she disappeared. Then all a sudden Poof! She’s gone without a word to anybody. A bunch of the others had the same problem. Their casual play partners split off to mate for life with someone else. Everyone’s upset about something or other.”
So that was it. This invasion stuff had nothing to do with protecting the Midnight way of life or any other high-blown notions. This was about childish jealousy and rejection.
No wonder Onyx got so nasty. She had a rollicking good time with the Faulkner brothers, and now Jordan had to go ruining her fun.
“The guys are getting together again tomorrow,” Hunter went on between thrusts. “We still haven’t finished our inventory of this compound, and we’ve got twenty more to do before we know how many guns we’ve got and how many rounds of ammo. We spent most of the meeting this morning just talking. Everybody has a story to get off their chests.”
Now, Jordan could close his eyes. Those guys weren’t anywhere close to heading out to Bruins’ Peak. Riley was right. At the rate they were going, they might never be ready. They just wanted a place to vent their frustrations and talk about what was happening to them.
Onyx’s excited squeaks got louder. Hunter’s prick made a squishing, sucking noise when he plugged it into her saturated tissues. She moaned and whined. Her noises distracted Jordan from relaxing. He had to find a way to get out of here. He didn’t want to sit here and listen to Hunter and Onyx get it on.
He opened his eyes to say something, but when he did, he noticed Onyx facing Hunter again. Hunter had his eyes closed and his brows knit in concentration over Onyx’s kiss.
Jordan would never have backed down on an opportunity like this before. Just a few days ago, he would have been all over Onyx. He would have sandwiched her against Hunter and split her open with his driving thrusts. That was then and this was now. He got up and slipped out of the room without making a sound.
Chapter 8
Ebony sat on her bed and stared out the window at her family compound on Midnight Moraine. The sun sloped behind the mountain and cast the sky in color, but Ebony couldn’t enjoy it. Not only was she alone, she was lonely.
She’d never been lonely in her life. She always shared a room with Onyx. She always shared everything with Onyx, even the guys they liked. Now, Onyx was out and left Ebony behind.
Dozens of people filled the house. Ebony never got a free minute to herself. She had to fight to take a shower by herself. She never lacked for company, but now she couldn’t escape the feeling she was missing something. Her mind drifted back to Jordan. Her heart ached for him.
She really stuffed it up yesterday when she told him she was fluid. That really drove the knife in and twisted it to make him bleed. She knew it would, and she wanted to hurt him after the way he busted in on her and Hunter. What was he thinking?
Who did he think he was, anyway? She wasn’t his property. She mated with whoever she wanted, and the sooner he understood that, the better for everyone.
That kiss haunted her, though. Every time they kissed, unbreakable bands tied them together so they could never come apart. What could you do with a man like that? His kiss made her want him more than she ever wanted him before.
She couldn’t keep sitting in this room feeling sorry for herself, though. She couldn’t let the sun go down on another day of depression and loneliness. She was Midnight. She was made for so much more than this. She was made to glide through the treetops on silent paws. She was made to drop out of the night and kill in the blink of an eye.
She could be like that again. She didn’t even have to walk down the hall and out of the house. She slid the window open, and a moment later, a sleek black panther slithered over the window sill.
She left the window open and skidded down the roof to land on all four paws behind the house. She glanced right and left, but saw no one. She glided behind the houses, and the dense undergrowth covered her escape.
Ebony streaked over the ground in one fluid stream of motion. Rocks and sticks disappeared under her paws. The world opened around her. Smells and sounds accosted her senses, but she never stopped to investigate them. She was pure black power. Nothing could stop her as long as she kept moving.
Her torpor and depression fell away. She became one with the forest. Her blood surged in her veins. Her senses sharpened. Nothing stood in her way. With one bound, she left the ground and sailed into the canopy. Her feet barely touched one branch before she launched herself to the next. Her muscles rippled under her velvet coat. Her spine waved from her head to her tail, and the energy of movement propelled her farther than she’d ever gone before.
From the treetops, she watched as the sky turned coal-grey and finally black. The night covered her tracks, and her blood pulsed to the earth’s rhythm. This was her time. Nothing could catch her and nothing could defeat her. She could run all night and never get tired. She was fluid, now more than ever. She gloried in her freedom.
She slowed near the top of the Moraine. She sniffed the wind and caught the scent of a pig snuffling in the litter below. She tiptoed along the branches until she spotted him. He buried his face in the round so he didn’t see her stalking him.
The wind shifted, and the pig’s head broke out of the ground. He sniffed, but a moment later, he went back to what he was doing. He would make a perfect meal for her.
She crouched on her branch, but his rooting noises drowned out any sound she made. Her pulse thumped in her chest. Every nerve stretched to the breaking point. She matched every move the pig made by inching forward one delicate paw at a time.
The pig found something interesting and rooted deeper. He dug up to his eyeballs in the soft soil. Ebony took one step onto a swaying branch. Just a little further and…she dropped. For a second, she hung suspended. The next moment, gravity caught her and she hurtled toward the ground.
She hit the pig with all her claws extended. She hooked them into his skin and sank her fangs into his neck before he got his head out of the ground. He bucked her back with a squeal, but she moved too fast. She leapt sideways and dragged him with her. In a split second, she knocked him onto his side and dove for hi
s throat. He never got out a second squeal before she finished him off.
She hauled him into the ranches and settled in the crook of a tree. She filled her stomach and hid the remains where she could find it again later. She set off back to the compound with a lighter step. This was her forest. This was her world. She dominated here.
She sloped off from one tree to another, but she didn’t race like she did before. She’d proven herself to herself. She could go home and…what? What would she do now? She had nothing and nobody waiting for her.
She bounded to the ground and paused inside the trees to shift. What was the point of going back? Nothing but conflict and worry surrounded the place. She couldn’t even go back to her room without running into Onyx.
She couldn’t keep hesitating like this, though. Wasn’t she a panther? Wasn’t she the most fearsome predator on the mountain? Didn’t she kill and disappear whenever she wanted to?
A man came out of one of the houses. He crossed the compound heading toward the woods. His presence drew her toward him. She couldn’t resist. She skirted around in front of him so she blocked his path.
Jordan drew up short when he saw her. He frowned, but he didn’t say anything.
“Aren’t you glad to see me?” Ebony asked.
He nodded, but didn’t smile. He didn’t look glad—not at all. He looked miserable. He scowled at her before he looked away. Dark circles shadowed his eyes. For the first time, she noticed he looked tired.
She knew how to fix that. She knew how to heal him and invigorate him with energy. She knew, and she would show him. She glanced off into the trees, then back at his face. She flashed him her mischievous grin. Did he want to?
Jordan’s frown deepened, but when she glanced into the forest one more time, his eyes widened. Did she mean it? Yes, she did. Would he come?
She didn’t wait to find out. She dashed aside and into the thicket. In an instant, she shifted again, but this time, she didn’t run for the sheer pleasure of flight. Now she ran from him. She pranced through the trees faster than ever. Drunken energy surged in her muscles. Excitement fired her pattering heartbeat.
Where was he? Was he following her? She didn’t look back. She didn’t have to. He was there. Every hair told him he was right behind her. He was coming for her.
The thrill of dancing through the canopy mingled with the tension of the male. He sprang from one branch to another with no friction at all. He wanted his mate. He would run her down and…
She held her breath. A new sensation shivered through her. It sparkled down her spine to fly out the end of her tail. Her excitement called to him. He would come and get her. He would find her no matter where she went in these woods. He would come and take her for himself.
She caught sight of him on a ridge leading west into the trackless mountains. She couldn’t let him catch her. She wheeled and headed south, but he dogged her steps all the way. He wouldn’t back down, and his powerful frame carried him faster than she could go.
She skipped to another tree. She bounded on springy paws, lighter than air. The night itself supported her and lifted her higher. She hung from the starry sky. A high-pitched screech shattered the stillness. She glanced over to see him gliding at her side. He judged the distance between trees in the blink of an eye. No matter where she ran, he followed.
He put on a burst of speed and dodged in front to cut her off. She whipped aside and retreated, back the way she came. She laughed in her heart, but the chase excited the predator in her. So he wanted to play cat and mouse? So much the better.
She turned so fast he didn’t catch her for a while. She put some distance between them, but his greater strength brought him level with her again. He tried the same trick to cut her off. She lunged and nipped him in the shoulder.
He bellowed out loud and turned to fight, but she already vanished. His teeth snapped on open air. She skipped right and left, but he stayed alert to her antics now. He recovered faster and blocked her escape.
All at once, he pounced. He extended both forepaws to grab her and landed on her back. His teeth closed on her neck, and his weight flattened her against the branch. Her whole being raged against this intrusion, but she couldn’t escape the charge stabbing her to the quick. He wanted her. He swiveled his hips around to get behind her.
She growled low in her throat, but she wouldn’t submit, not even when he had her by the scruff of the neck. She wrenched her body around and sent him flying off the branch.
He landed on his feet on the ground far below, but when he looked up, she was long gone. Nothing but empty canopy separated him from the sky studded with stars. He sniffed and twitched his whiskers, but could catch no sight or sound of her. He shook his head and trotted away into the trees.
He only made it a few paces when a low growl stopped him in his tracks. The night split apart, and Ebony stepped into the open. She licked her lips and blinked at him.
He narrowed his eyes at her, but made no move to approach. He looked away and sat down to lick his shoulder. He pretended she wasn’t there until she darted forward to lick his cheek.
He snapped at her again, and his teeth closed on her neck. She whined, but she didn’t try to get away. She rolled over on her side and waved her paws at him. She opened her mouth, but she didn’t try to bite.
He let her go and turned away. She sat up under his chin and nuzzled his mouth. He snarled at her, but he didn’t snap again. She retreated and washed her face. He regarded her with his half-open eyes. When she didn’t notice him again, he bent his head and ran his cheek down her neck. She pretended to grab him by the scruff of the neck in her jaws, but she didn’t clamp down. She held him there until he broke free to growl at her.
He jumped to his feet and slid his body across her back. He let his hips linger longer over her spine until she spun around to knock him off. She mouthed his foreleg when he stood aloof.
He lunged for her one more time and caught her behind the neck in his powerful jaws. He pushed her down on the ground and swiveled his hips around behind her. Ebony stiffened all over. This was it. He was moving into position to mate with her. His whole body tensed for the final act. His hips bumped her from behind.
All at once, she twisted free. He made a grab to catch her, but she slipped out of his grip just in time. She slithered off into the trees and disappeared.
Ebony streaked across the ground faster than thought. Trees and scrub vanished beneath her feet. Far behind her, Jordan was coming for her. His nose caught the scent of a female in heat. That scent led him on an unerring line. He could never fail to find the source of that scent. He would find her if it cost him everything he had.
Never had she run like she ran that night. He was right behind her. She had to get away from him. She knew what he would do when he caught up to her. His nearness, his catness, his raw power shivered her bones.
She dropped out of the branches outside the compound and caught her breath. She didn’t hear or smell anything, but that meant nothing. He could be lying in wait for her. She had to tread lightly if she wanted to get away from him.
She backed against a tree to still her pounding heart. She listened to the night noises, but he didn’t come back. Had he given up? Had she played too hard to get away from him? She should have submitted when he had her pinned down. She should have let him take her when he wanted to. Didn’t she want him to?
God, yes, she wanted him to! She never wanted anything more in her life. She wanted him to bite her neck and drive his pelvis under her tail. She wanted him to sink his prick in her delicious folds and make her scream to the velvet night.
She waited a long time, but when he didn’t come back, she pushed off the tree. She had nothing left but to go home. He wouldn’t mate with her tonight. She did her work too well.
She headed out into the path—and stopped. There he was, blocking her way. His chest rose and fell with steady breath. How long had he been standing there waiting? He must have gotten here at the same time as she
did or maybe before.
He scanned her up and down. His eyes lingered over her thighs, her waist, her breasts, her choice round ass. She dared steal a glance down. His crotch swelled inside his pants. He still wanted her. He had come for her after all.
He walked right up to her—no foreplay, no conversation, no hesitation. He had her, and he knew it. He was her mate, her master, her panther. He had her on her knees out there in the forest. He had her by the neck, and he had her that way right now. They both knew it beyond doubt.
Ebony stared up into his eyes. His glowering gaze bored into her soul. He hypnotized her with those bewitching eyes. She could never back down from that. He didn’t have to ask her permission anymore.
He raised one muscled arm, and his fingers closed behind her neck. He hauled her in against his mouth to kiss her, and she collapsed into that kiss. She could never tear herself away. His lips fizzed all the tissues down her body to the nest of burning desire between her legs. Her juices seeped against her lips and dampened her panties inside her shorts.
He held her by the neck in one burly hand. She laced her arms around his ribs and clung on for dear life. She didn’t know where this tempest would take her, but she would ride it there to its natural limit. She wouldn’t cringe from the future anymore.
He prodded her mouth open with his commanding lips. His tongue woke her pent-up desires as never before. No one knew better than she did what he could do with that tongue. She would give herself to him, and she would experience all the mind-blowing passion she experienced with him before and then some. He would take her beyond the stars to a place she’d never been before.
She pressed her body against his chiseled bulk. Her nipples pricked through her shirt and through his shirt to stab into his skin. Oh, she wanted his skin like never before!
His other hand appeared on her cheek. He didn’t squeeze her ass or finger her crotch or mangle her tits to shreds. He only stroked her cheek. He petted her hair away from her face. His little finger glided down her jaw to her neck.
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