He desperately wanted it all. It was what he sought when he’d approached Mary Jane all those months ago. Except with Carolline, he’d found more. More than he ever expected.
Releasing her neck, he licked the wound to help in the healing process. He expected a protest on her lips filled with angry words and punching fists. Instead, all he got was a blissed out look of euphoria and soft golden-filled eyes.
Holding her snug against his chest, he stood. He needed her on a flat surface. Any flat surface would do. He preferred their first time be in her bed, however. On the odd chance she refused to go with him later, she would have to contend with the constant reminder of his scent. Of course, he didn’t plan on letting her slip away.
When he’d taken a cursory look around her place earlier, he’d noted the kitchen and small dining room. There was the living room, which he was currently in, and a hall leading off to the right. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find her room.
“End of the hall on the left,” she said, pressing kisses over his face.
Heading into the room, his eyes adjusted easily. A large rumpled bed took center stage. Dark drapes were pulled shut. There was minimal furniture and decorations. Like she hadn’t yet settled in and made it her own. All the better for him. Moving her into his place wouldn’t take long.
Carefully placing her down on the bed, wary of her injured side, he followed her down, pinning her beneath him. Slim curves pressed into him. The sensations bombarding him were nothing like he’d ever felt. Not even with Sasha. With her, it had been all-consuming young lust. The desperate need to get naked and bury himself inside her. Get off as quickly as possible, chasing that feeling when he was close to coming. Balls tucked up tight against his body. A fire in his gut when he was about to shoot his load. It had never been about her, he realized now.
With Carolline, he wanted to worship her. Take his time to learn every dip and curve. His tiger chuffed, enjoying the feel of her touching him. There was another level of connection between their animals Devon hadn’t known existed until now. It made every kiss, every touch better than the last.
He wasted no time stripping the clothes from her body. The white tank ripped easily down the middle, revealing her pert breasts. Raspberry-colored nipples begged for his attention. Latching onto one, he sucked and bit until it beaded further on his tongue. Quickly switching sides, he gave her other nipple the same attention. Popping off only when she moaned his name.
Her plaid shorts were pulled down, and he was surprised to find she’d gone sans panties. The knowledge went straight to his throbbing erection. If he’d known, he would have pushed the fabric to the side and impaled her out in the living room. Her arousal filled his lungs; it was stronger, sweeter without the barrier of the fabric. A soft, trimmed thatch of brown hair covered her pussy. Making his way down her body, he wedged himself between her legs. Anxious to taste the sweet nectar teasing his senses. He paused, looking up her body to see if she was still with him. Still on board with what was about to happen.
She trailed a hand down her chest, reaching for his head. Threading her fingers through, she gripped and tugged, forcing his face closer to her core. She was unequivocally on board. Swiping his tongue through her slick folds, she shuddered. Her thighs flexed around his head. Fingers tightened in his hair. Both sent sparks of pleasure through him.
He wouldn’t be able to take the time to love her properly. Claiming her fully was his top priority. Driving his dick into her while marking her neck. He desperately needed it done before they left her house.
He flicked his tongue over her clit again and again. Thrusting one finger in, he finger-fucked her, quickly adding another digit as her moans increased in volume. She was on edge as much as he was, and it didn’t take long for her to stiffen and fall over the cliff. The muscles in her core were still rippling as he drove inside after freeing himself from his pants.
Her legs wrapped around his waist. Arms circled his neck. Tilting her head to the side, exposing the soft column of flesh, he set his teeth against his previous mark. Pounding into her relentlessly, he pushed her arousal back up. Her hips dancing to the rhythm he’d set, meeting him stroke for stroke. Breathy moans egging him on. As soon as his orgasm was on him, he sank his teeth in. She keened low and long, as her pussy shuddered around his cock. A half dozen strokes later, he filled her with his seed.
Releasing his hold on her neck, he got the surprise of his life when she bit him. Soft lips suctioned. Momentary pain shot from his neck down into his chest. A growl rumbled from Carolline, warning him not to move. As quickly as she’d hit, she let go. Her hot tongue lapped at her bite, and he would swear he heard her purr. Satisfaction whipped through his blood. She’d claimed him as quickly as he’d claimed her. There would be no allowing her out of his sight. She’d sealed her fate, marking him as she had.
A grin curled the edges of his mouth, as he stared down at her now limp body. Her eyes opened and the faint glow from before was definitely gone. Her eyes were now a bright golden fire.
Chapter 22
Carolline wasn’t quite sure what the hell happened. She’d been basking in the afterglow of sex when Devon had gotten up from the bed. She wanted to crawl under the covers and drift off into a sex-dazed slumber, he hadn’t allowed that though.
Devon had gone into her bathroom and gotten a washcloth to clean her up, then pulled her from bed when he was done. He captured her mouth. His sinful lips devouring hers, breaking away far too soon.
Here she was, twenty minutes later, dressed in yoga pants and a T-shirt, her rattiest slip-on shoes adorning her feet, and sporting her white fleece jacket she usually took when she went out for a morning shift, sitting in Devon’s SUV about to leave her home.
She got the feeling he didn’t intend on letting her come back here. He’d grabbed the large suitcase in her closet before pushing her towards the bathroom with instructions to grab whatever essentials she needed, and then proceeded to fill the suitcase almost beyond capacity.
Had he tricked her into coming to his house? No. You walked out to his SUV all on your own. Hell, you even helped pack your own bag when he opened your underwear drawer and promptly closed it without taking any out. Still, he’d never asked her to go. He assumed she would and she proved him correct.
Devon leaned across her and buckled her in. He kissed her lightly on the lips before closing her door and rounding the front of the vehicle. They were headed out the gate of her little community minutes later. A set of headlights trailing them out.
“So,” she said nervously. She wrung her hands together, unsure what even to say. Too much rambled in her head for her to think clearly. He’d marked her and she’d bitten him back. What did that mean in the grand scheme of things? Were they really mates? He’d had a wife…and a mate. Did this change what he thought before? Did he really think she would fall into whatever plan he had concerning her without discussing it first? She’d managed fine on her own for the last twenty-nine years and wasn’t convinced she needed him around. But damn, it’s kind of nice.
“Yes?” His voice came out deep and soft, and too damn tempting. It drifted over her, doing its best to lull her. Her tigon purred in the back of her mind before curling up and flicking its tail in a leisurely manner. It felt safe and pleased with the turn of events that evening. Carolline, herself, was a bit lost in a confusing fog. Normally, she would be protesting his man-handling ways. If it had been Ben packing her things, she would have lost her shit on him. Knowing that, she wasn’t sure what she should be doing now.
Focus on the attempted kidnapping of his children, and not the mate thing. She needed time to sit down and figure out what she thought about being his mate before she had a discussion with him. Yes, her tigon took over and marked the man. It knew deep down they were meant to be together. The part of her brain that knew that to be true as well wasn’t letting her push it aside to be forgotten either. Coming to terms with the fact they were mates was going to happen sooner rather than
later. Much, much sooner than she really wanted.
What did it all mean? What did he expect from her? She knew from her sessions with Mary Jane, Devon was looking for a companion. Someone to help him raise his kids. Even so, what about having more? What about them being mates, and her biological clock, which could very well still be a thing? Maybe?
And, holy shit, unprotected sex. They’d done that. Not even thirty minutes ago.
She knew he was over thirty, and it was widely believed if you didn’t find your mate by that age, you were out of luck. You wouldn’t be able to reproduce. You could continue being together, but there would be no children. However, what was the case when it came to one-half of the couple being over thirty and the other being under thirty? Or, if one of them was a hybrid? She was already a jumble of freakish shifter genes. Would the ability to have children be affected as well?
Where was one of her notebooks when she needed one? Panic tried to claw at her throat. Now was not the time to skip down that particular road. She’d already told herself to focus on the attempted kidnapping of his children, and not the mate thing. It seemed like safer ground in a weird way.
Carolline tucked away everything in her head that she wanted to write down, and went with the more benign topic. She glanced in her side mirror and noticed the headlights of the unmarked police car, the one that had been sitting across the street from her home. “So, do you really believe someone will come after me?”
He cast a glance in her direction; opened his mouth, then hesitated. Shaking his head, he looked back at the road. The streets were quiet, with barely another vehicle on the road. It didn’t take much concentration to drive from where she lived to his place. Did he not want to have the discussion with her? Or had he expected her to say something entirely different?
After a few moments he grunted out, “The sheriff believes so.”
Carolline rolled her eyes at his non-answer and looked at the side mirror again. “Ben’s a little overprotective. That’s to be expected since we’ve known each other for such a long time.”
“So I gathered,” he gritted out.
She turned her head slightly to get a better look at Devon. She saw him work his jaw. Clench. Unclench. Clench. Unclench. It fascinated her to see his mind at work. He held back, but said so much without a single word. “Go ahead and ask.”
With a quick glance at her again, she saw the glow from his eyes. “What kind of relationship do you have with him?”
“Nothing more than friendship,” she paused before casually adding, “now.”
“Explain.” The words came out between grinding teeth.
“When I lived back East, we had a no-strings attached affair going on. No, not really an affair. More like an arrangement. If we were both free and needed some companionship, we would get together.” The more she talked, the heavier the air in the vehicle became, and the harder it was to press on. A soft warmth radiated from him, pushing against her. Nervousness bubbled up inside. Teasing him might not have been the smartest move. She couldn’t help it though. The residual hurt from before still simmered beneath the surface. Claiming and sex went a long way to soothing her ego, but it still didn’t erase the hurt feelings completely. All the same, she could give the man a break. “It wasn’t serious. Neither of us believed the other was our mate or that we were in love. We met because of a research grant when one of my subjects went a little haywire. We broke it off when he got a new job. No hurt feelings. No abandonment issues. It was merely time for us to part ways.”
“Stop,” he growled.
“I don’t know what you’re getting all huffy about. You were married and had children. You don’t see me getting bent out of shape because you had a life before me.”
“That’s different.”
“Really, I don’t see how. If we’re mates like you believe…”
“We are and you know it.” The intensity of his voice shook her resolve to keep a slight distance until she had time to examine what they were going through.
Suddenly, the vehicle came to a screeching halt. He was out his door and standing next to her in the space of a heartbeat. Whipping her door open, he reached across her, unbuckled her belt, then pulled her out. Crushing his mouth to hers, she stood rigid and resistant to his rough seduction for all of three seconds. His hot tongue swept over her lips, nudging the seam. She opened her mouth, unable to keep him out, allowing him to invade and explore. He tasted too damn good. Like decadent dark chocolate drizzled over lush raspberries. She shuddered in his hold; and, when he broke the kiss, she was sure she would crumple to the ground if he hadn’t held her in his arms. “We’re mates, Carolline. My tiger knows it. Your tigon knows it. How else do you explain the overpowering urge to mark and claim? You sure as hell didn’t hold back from marking me after I brought you to orgasm, my cock buried deep within you. And after you did, your eyes glowed bright. They are glowing bright as we speak. You want me, baby, just as bad as I want you.”
She slid her hand over the spot on her neck. The heat of the mark radiated into her palm. She’d marked him too, without thinking. Instinct drove her to do it, and she would have done it during orgasm if she’d been able to think clearly. She was not telling him that, though. “It was the heat of the moment,” she said without conviction.
“Bullshit.”
Ben, striding up to them, cut off whatever else Devon planned on saying. A huge grin lit his face. Gleaming white teeth shining in the darkness. “Is everything okay? I thought you were going to break the land speed record getting home.” He looked between her and Devon, his smile dropping into a frown.
Devon’s body went rigid as he shoved her behind him, and a low growl escaped his throat.
Ben’s eyebrow shot up on his forehead. He put his hands out in front of him in surrender. “I’m not here for your mate, Andersen. I only wanted to make sure you two were okay.” His eyes focused on her face as she peered around Devon’s shoulder.
She nodded to Ben and rested her hand on Devon’s back. “It’s fine, Ben. You should have told me you were the one sitting out front. I would have invited you in to watch TV.” Devon stiffened even more beneath her hand.
“The point of sitting out front was to make sure I caught anyone sneaking up on your place. It wouldn’t do me any good to let them get in your house.”
Carolline hummed in agreement. It was sound logic to her. “Well then, thanks for watching out for me and for making sure we got here safely.” Devon relaxed a fraction, his shoulders dropping minutely.
Ben took a step back, placing his hands at his belt. “I’ll check in with you two later. Officer Nichols will be stationed at the house through the night; and his replacement, Griggs, will come in the morning.” Ben pivoted on his boot, heading back to his car. “I’ll see you in the morning,” he called out, then left.
“Even he knows we’re mates, Carolline, so don’t deny it. Not when I take you into my home. My parents and the kids are in there. You’re linked to my family already. Our mating the final thing bringing it full circle. Tabitha overheard Ben’s conversation about me having a mate. She asked for you to be the one, because you’re different—like her. I won’t have you breaking her heart by saying anything contrary to what we know is true.”
Carolline’s heart clenched at the thought of hurting the sweet little girl. She hadn’t seen the kids since the day in the meadow, but they were never far from her thoughts. As she lay in her hospital bed, she caught herself wondering if they were okay. Afraid to ask about them because people would make a big deal out of it. The terror flowing from the children never left her senses. If she thought about it too long, her own throat closed as she choked on the fear.
Snaking an arm around his waist, hand splayed across his washboard abs, she sighed and allowed herself to relax into Devon’s back. Delicious fissions of heat soaked into her. “I won’t. I understand what it’s like to be rejected for being different.”
The hurt in Carolline’s voice had him turni
ng in her arms. Pain and heartache clouded her eyes. He dipped his head, taking her lips gently. Wanting to erase the haunted look he’d put there unknowingly. Replacing it with something good. When he came up for air, all traces of being upset had vanished. In its place were deep desire, wet lips, and a flushed face. He’d take her arousal, need, and adoration any day of the week. The part of his heart that died with Sasha in the accident slowly beat back to life.
He’d been surprised when she’d placed her delicate hand on his back as he turned to warn Ben off. Comfort enveloped his heart; soothing the raging beast inside. His tiger pushed at the seams of his consciousness, wanting to burst free and take down the man who’d once been Carolline’s lover. The jealousy he’d felt was foreign and not something he’d experienced before. Not even with Sasha had he felt the sting of the green-eyed monster.
Threading their hands together, he pulled her toward the front door.
“My bag,” she protested, jerking in his grip. He tightened his fingers, refusing to let go. He didn’t want to lose the connection the simple act created.
“I’ll get it later. Let’s get you inside and introduce you to everyone.”
“Ah, yes. Your parents. How are they going to feel about me being here?”
“They’re excited. Maybe a little blown away too. My mother was the one who said I needed to come get you the night I showed up with Ben.”
“It wasn’t your idea?” He heard a tinge of disappointment in her voice, but it gave him a glimmer of hope that she was beginning to see things as they were supposed to be.
Devon paused before answering. It hadn’t been his idea, but it certainly did not mean he didn’t want her in his home. He’d hoped to wait until the attempted kidnapping of his children had been solved before dealing with his attraction to her. Prior to dealing with the demands of his tiger. Compartmentalizing Carolline, as much as he’d tried, hadn’t worked.
Finding More (Tiger Nip Book 3) Page 14