Hunted Intensity

by Rebecca Airies

  “It’s not a mistake, Tori. I’m not going to wake one day and push you away from me. A mate is for life and it’s not something I’d get wrong, especially when the wild part of me is in control.” Tyson loosened his arm a little but didn’t let her move too much. He could feel the tension in her body. She wasn’t even close to calm.

  “No, I don’t want this.” She struggled and tried to wriggle free of his hold.

  “Tori, stop.” His voice lowered into a growl and he could feel his control slipping. He didn’t want to overwhelm her, but if she kept twisting and thrashing as well as denying the bond between them, he wasn’t going to be able to stop himself from proving that she was his. “Listen to me.”

  She blinked up at him. The deep rumble must have startled her enough to remind her that she wasn’t dealing with a human.

  “I want to give you time to adjust, but if you keep fighting, running and denying everything that’s between us, I won’t be able to do it. You are my mate. The tiron part of me wants to prove that you are my mate every time you deny it.” He took a slow deep breath and looked her in the eyes. For a moment, he thought she was going to scream at him again then she took a deep breath.

  “What do you mean prove it?” She stayed still and watched him warily.

  He leaned in close and nipped her lip. “Oh you’d enjoy it. If you push, you’re going to find yourself under me, writhing, hot and wet. You’ll be aching so much that you’ll be screaming my name, but I won’t give you what you want until you admit the truth.”

  Her eyes rounded and her hand flattened against his chest, but she didn’t try to push away from him. “What truth?”

  “That you’re my mate and that you belong with me.” He released the hand he’d caught because he thought she’d calmed enough not to take another swing at him.

  “But you haven’t done it.” She licked her lips and her fingers curled in his shirt.

  “I told you I want to give you time, but it’s not easy when you’re fighting me every step of the way. If you stop resisting each step of the way up this mountain and trying to run away, we can get to know each other and maybe you can see that staying with me won’t be so bad.” He pushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear and let his fingers linger as they trailed through her soft hair. He liked touching her and didn’t want to stop.

  “Staying with you wouldn’t be so bad now. I just don’t know what to believe or expect.” She grimaced. “It’s all so sudden and definitely different. This doesn’t seem real. In fact, it sounds like something out of a bard’s story.”

  He could feel her muscles relaxing beneath his fingertips and loosened his hold. She didn’t try to slip from his arms or edge off his lap. He let the hand holding her slide down to her waist. He could understand the unreality of the situation. With him finding her while he was drugged, it was definitely unusual. He’d never thought to simply pick up the scent of his mate while walking through a market only a world away from his home world. He’d been through that town many times before, but never came across a trace of her. Even through the haze of the drug, it had been hard to believe that he’d finally found his mate. He’d searched every place they’d visited, but finding her seemed almost impossible.

  “You want to give me time, but there’s only one pallet.” She licked her lips.

  “You’ve run,” he said, but he couldn’t leave it at that. If that was his only reason, they could sleep separately and he could tether her to him and be relatively sure she wouldn’t go anywhere without him. “It’s not just the fact that if we slept on separate pallets, I probably wouldn’t get much rest. I also want to hold you and simply be near you. I need to touch you even if it is only to wrap my arms around you as we sleep.”

  She shook her head. “Do they teach you what to say to soothe tempers when you make a woman mad?”

  “No.” He laughed and couldn’t resist pulling her closer. “I only wanted you to know that it wasn’t as simple as wanting to keep you from running back down the mountain and straight into danger. I know you feel almost the same thing I do even if you’re fighting it.”

  “You need to learn when to stop talking. You were doing pretty good until you made it sound like I was an idiot and would end up racing straight into the hands of the people who want to capture you.” She glared at him and tried to slide out of his arms.

  He kept her in his lap. “You’re not an idiot, but we don’t know how many people are after me or where they are. We’re both already in danger, but as long as you’re with me I can make sure you’re safe.”

  “Plus, there’s also the fact that you say I’m your mate and you would have kept me with you even if you hadn’t been under the drug’s effect.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

  “Do you want to sit here and fight with me and both of us only get angrier? We can sit and talk unless you have another idea.” He stroked his hand down her back, hoping to soothe a little of the anger out of her.

  She bit her lip and took so long that he thought she was going to decide to argue some more. Her head tilted and she took a deep breath. “Maybe we’ll talk later. You’re right, arguing isn’t going to get us anywhere. As much as we both may try, I don’t think we’re going to be able to avoid the issue if we talk at all.”

  Chapter Six

  “What do you suggest we do?” Tyson kept his lips in a straight line, but it was an effort. He could see the interest building in her eyes.

  There was still so much that he didn’t know about her. He wouldn’t have ever guessed that she would react like that. It reinforced how little he knew about her, but he looked forward to every moment it took to discover how she’d react and what she thought.

  “For tonight, everything’s just as it was in the cabin. There’s only you and me, but this time, I know that your touch is for me.”

  “Who’d you think it was for? You were the only one there.” He frowned. How could she have thought his touch was for anyone else? Even if they’d been in a crowd, he’d have wanted to be only with her.

  “Well, when you first got there, you didn’t call me by my name, although I told you what it was. You called me all these other words and I had to wonder if one of them was the name of the woman you really saw when you looked at me. I knew I’d never seen you before so the strength of your reaction didn’t make sense to me.” Her eyes lowered and her tongue slicked over her lips.

  “Words like nari and i’ma?” His eyes followed that movement and lingered on her glistening pink lips. He understood a little of why she thought he might have been a little out of it at first, but over the time they spent together she should have realized that those were endearments, not another person’s name. “They’re pet names lovers use. Nari means mate and i’ma means baby.”

  “Those were the words. You were so unfocused at times. Well, unfocused on everything except for keeping me close that is.” She shrugged. “It wasn’t hard to think that maybe you thought I was someone you knew really well especially with the way you talked to me. Sometimes it was as if you thought we’d been together for years.”

  “The drug did muddle my thinking a bit, but I always knew what you were to me even if I couldn’t explain it at the time.” He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “My tiron was focused on claiming its mate.”

  “Well, I didn’t. I felt guilty because I thought you were confused and thought I was someone else. You know, your wife or a special woman.” She grimaced.

  “I knew I was with a special woman.” He brushed his fingers across her cheek.

  Maybe she was right and they shouldn’t talk about it anymore tonight. He didn’t like the thought of avoiding the issue, but he knew that getting angry and fighting about it wouldn’t solve anything. She needed time to think about what he’d told her tonight. He wasn’t expecting a sudden turn-around. She’d probably even be trying to slip away once she fully became Santir and realized he was her mate.

  She framed his face with her palms and leaned so clo
se their noses touched. “No more talking.”

  He was more than willing to follow that suggestion. He let his hand drift up her back and cup her head. Her head tilted and she leaned forward, closing the small distance between them. Their lips met and she kissed him. Her tongue thrust against his lips, seeking entrance. He opened his mouth, but he wasn’t letting her take the lead. Their tongues met and brushed against each other. Her arms slipped around his shoulders and she tried to pull him closer.

  He pulled his mouth away from hers. He wanted to be nearer to her too, but he didn’t want anything between them. He wanted to see the firelight flickering over her skin as he kissed and touched her. As much as he wanted to hold her, he lifted his arms and started to unbutton her shirt. She pulled back enough to make it easier for him and so that she could work on his shirt.

  Her shirt gaped as the buttons slipped free, revealing the delicious rise of her breasts. He wanted to run his tongue over those darkened peaks and watch the nipples harden and pucker. First, he was going to strip both of them out of their clothes. If they got too involved something could be ripped. They didn’t have enough clothes to risk ruining any of those they had. He rose to his feet, taking her with him, and slipped the last button free of the hole. She wasn’t far behind.

  He pushed her shirt down her arms just as she freed the last button on his shirt. He shrugged out of his shirt while she untangled her arms from the sleeves of hers. Not waiting for her to catch up, he untied the laces of his pants and pulled off his boots. In moments, he rid himself of the last barrier between them. He moved forward as she stepped out of her pants. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and feel her body against his, but the opportunity to see her was too much to resist.

  All the other times he’d made love to her, it had been dark or he’d been too focused on claiming her. Her creamy skin gleamed in the soft light of the fire. She could have been made just for him. Her body was slim and sleek. Simply looking at her sent a surge of lust pouring through him. He licked his lips at the sight of those darkened nipples. He couldn’t wait to taste them and feel those long legs wrapped around his hips. When he couldn’t hold back even a moment longer, he reached out and brushed his fingers over her nipples. The tips immediately tightened to hard little points.

  “How do you like to be touched?” He lifted his eyes to meet hers.

  It was something he hadn’t asked before. Not because he hadn’t wanted to know. Then only the moment had mattered. Now he wanted to know everything about her. His mind was set on discovering what made her laugh and what drove her to screaming pleasure so that he’d be able to do it again and again in the years ahead.

  “Not so soft.” She bit her lower lip as his fingers grazed back and forth over the peaks. “I’m slim, but I’m not going to break.”

  He smiled. “I didn’t think you would, but the last thing I want to do is hurt you. Especially since I wasn’t quite so gentle earlier.”

  “If I’d been hurt I would have told you. That’s something I wouldn’t have kept silent about, but even when you bit me, I barely felt it because of the pleasure.” She dropped kisses on his neck between her words and tried to get closer, but he held her away from his body.

  He knew that if they touched that they’d both be lost in the hunger almost immediately. Even though he knew that it would be better to wait until he had her in the safety of his home, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to look his fill now. She was gorgeous.

  His head lowered and he swiped his tongue over the reddened tip of her right breast. She drew in a shaky breath. He could feel her body tautening and she leaned into him. That almost automatic response thrilled him. The move only made him want to draw more of a reaction from her. His teeth grazed over her nipple and she moaned.

  “I love that.” He drew the words out as he licked and kissed his way over to the peak of her left breast.

  Her fingers threaded into his hair, pulling him closer as her back arched. “What?”

  “The way you lift into my touch and push your nipples deep into my mouth.” He drew the stiff peak between his lips and chuckled when her chest arched, driving the taut bud deeper into his mouth.

  He sucked on the sensitive flesh and lifted her off her feet. Her legs wrapped around his hips without his urging. He felt one of her hands brace on his shoulders and the fingers of the other clenched in his hair. She pulled his head closer. He took his time licking around the darkened circle and flicking at her nipple with his tongue. He wanted to learn every wriggle or turn and every sound that she made as hunger rose. Her hips moved, trying to rock against him. His hands tightened on her hips, holding her still. The sweet scent of her arousal tantalized him.

  “Tyson, don’t think you can torture me and get away with it just because you’re holding me.” Her voice was husky and the hand in his hair pulled as if she thought she could physically move him.

  Her nails sank into his shoulder as she gave a hard tug on his hair. His head lifted and a growl rumbled through his chest. Before he could get out more than that first low sound, she was drawing his head up to hers. She kissed him hungrily. Her teeth nipped his lips and the aggressive move sent an answering surge of hunger through him. He had to have her now. How did she know just what to do to send him right over the edge? He didn’t waste time giving the issue much thought. Later he’d try to work that out. He lowered her onto the pallet and knelt beside her for a moment. He let his eyes feast on her long legs and the curve of her breasts.

  “Are you going to do something or are you going to stare, because I definitely want to be doing something.” She ran her hand down her stomach to her pussy. Her fingers parted the lips and slipped between the folds.

  “I’m going to do something.” He gripped her wrist in his hand and pulled it away from her lips. “That’s mine tonight. No touching.”

  Her lips spread in a wide smile. “Then you better start doing and stop looking. I’m getting impatient.”

  He pressed her hand to the blanket at her side. “That may be the first thing we’re going to have to work on.”

  He bent and ran his tongue across her stomach. Her breath hitched and her belly quivered beneath his lips. His tongue slicked down and swirled around her bellybutton. He flicked it into the small indention. Her hips lifted and her thighs widened in silent invitation.

  “You’re a tease.” Her voice sounded strained and her body grew taut.

  “I’m thorough.” His teeth scraped over her hip as he moved between her thighs. He loved seeing her body heat and the hunger begin to take over. It was almost enough to distract him from the heavy ache in his cock, but he knew that eventually his own need would pull him away from the task.

  He drew his fingers along her thigh, eliciting a moan from her. He pulled her legs up and put them over his shoulders, opening her to him. Her hips lifted and she moaned.

  “If you’re going to lick me, do it. If not, I want you to…” Her voice trailed away on a moan as he scraped his teeth over her inner thigh.

  “In time, I want to taste you and hear you.” He drew his hand up and down her thigh as he used his other to part the plump lips of her pussy.

  Holding the lips apart, he leaned down and blew over the sensitive flesh. Her feet dug into his back and she groaned. Her pussy glistened with her juices. His mouth watered. He had to taste her. He drew his tongue from her entrance up to her clit. He loved hearing the hitch in her breath as he flicked at the reddened bud. Her hands touched his shoulders stroking across. When he drew her clit between his lips, her nails sank into his shoulders.

  He wanted to hear what she liked. He brought one of his hands between them and drew his fingertip around the sensitive skin of her opening. He needed to know every part of her and for her to realize that she was his just as surely as he did. She might have her doubts mentally, but on the most basic level, she had to recognize they were bound together and crave his touch. The urge was primitive and he didn’t try to fight it. She was his. He had no do
ubts. As he flicked and sucked at her clit, his fingers drove into her.

  Her hips rose from the blanket, demanding more. Her moans filled his ears, but he wanted more. He had to see her come. He gave her clit a last lick before he eased her legs off his shoulders. His thumb brushed over her clit in slow circles as he moved up her body. His eyes locked on her breasts. He needed to taste those again and find out what made her body burn with need.

  He kissed the slight dip between her breasts and licked his way over to her nipple. He felt a shiver ripple over her. That sexy little move only made him feel like drawing more reactions from her. He scraped his teeth over the tip of her nipple. He drove her desire higher. His fingers stroked into her as he continued to tease her clit with his thumb as her hips rose against his hand.

  Her fingers tightened in his hair, pulling his mouth away from her nipple. He looked up and found her staring down at him. Raw hunger blazed in her eyes and her face glistened with a fine film of sweat. Liquid desire coated his fingers and he wanted to withdraw his hand and lick the delicious juices, but he didn’t yet.

  “Tyson, now.” Her back arched and her fingers tightened in his hair.

  He ignored the small sting in his scalp and stroked deep into her pussy. His thumb pressed down on her clit with every inward thrust. Her inner muscles clenched around his fingers and he reveled in the small whimpers and moans. Her hips bucked up against his and her hands tightened even more as she cried out hoarsely. Her entire body trembled as she came. He watched the pleasure roll over her and waited as she relaxed back against the blanket. He buried his fingers in her pussy and held them still as the last of the muscular contractions pulled at them.

  She frowned up at him. “I wanted you inside me.”

  “I will be.” He stroked his thumb over her clit as he began moving his hand against her again. His cock ached fiercely and he wanted to drive inside her right now, but first he was going to feel her writhe as her desire rose again.