by Celia Kyle
The argument between Grant and Colton grew louder as they neared and he sensed them pausing mere feet from the master bedroom door.
“I will straight up challenge you right here and now for your position as my superior just so I don’t have to knock on that door.” Damn, Colton was really dedicated to not delivering the food.
“You wish,” Grant grumbled. “How about this? We’ll do a round of Rock Paper Scissor Lizard Spock.”
What the… Oscar’s thought was echoed by Colton.
“What the… You’re watching way too much Big Bang Theory. How about regular old heads or tails?” Colton returned.
Now a new voice cut off the bickering. A voice that no one in the pride could deny. “I have never met a bigger bunch of pussies in my life.” Penelope, the Alpha Mate, snarled at them. “Give me the damn tray and get out. You’re acting as if he’d rip your head off for knocking on the door.”
Oscar was tempted to tell her that was exactly what he would’ve done. Unmated males so close to his wet, naked unmated mate? Hell yeah, he would’ve taken them out. Brett would be down two enforcers and he wouldn’t have felt an ounce of remorse.
When Penelope finally knocked on his door and he swung it open to receive her, he made sure he kept that to himself.
“Here, the men were big babies and refused to deliver this, but I’m sure you know that already.”
“Yeah, thanks, Alpha Mate.” He took the tray from her.
The moment her hands were free, she patted his hand and smiled widely. “No problem, I’m really happy for you two. I hope—”
An echoing snarl shot toward them and that was followed by a streak of peach and white as he was pushed back a few feet. It was only his lion’s reflexes that kept him from spilling the food.
“Mine,” Hillary hissed.
Standing behind her, staring at the top of her head and then down to the pale, delicate curve of her shoulder… His dick went hard.
Penelope released a tinkling laugh and stepped back. “Oh my God, I was leery about how you’d do with a passive omega for a mate, but she’s not.” Penelope shook her head. “She’s not at all.” With a small wave, the Alpha Mate disappeared down the hall. “Enjoy your mating. I know I sure as hell enjoyed mine! We’ll see you guys tomorrow for breakfast.”
Hillary spun to face him and stepped closer, and he was forced to retreat as she encouraged him to back away from the door. The moment she could, she slammed it closed and then they were alone. Alone. No chance of being run over, no chance of being shot—the whole building had been outfitted with bullet resistant windows after Brett and Jennifer’s run in—and no chance of being interrupted if the other males in the pride valued their lives.
“Hey, kitty.”
“Don’t ‘hey kitty’ me,” she snapped. “She was touching you.”
He grinned, unable to help his smile. “Jealous?”
“Furious.” She looked at her hand and ran it through her wet hair. “This is not me. You,” she reached over the tray and poked him in the chest. “You turned me into a raving bitch. My lioness is ready to kill everyone,” this time she pointed at him instead of poking. “And it has never wanted to do that. Twenty years of captivity, and she’s always been a pussy. And then you come along,” her rant was building steam, “and suddenly I’m homicidal. What’s up with that?”
His smile widened. “I don’t know, but I like it.”
Hillary sighed and rolled her eyes. “Men.”
It was his turn to growl. “What do you know about other men?”
“Enough to know you’re way too pleased with how I’m acting.” She shook her head.
“No other men.” The idea had him tempted to take on everyone else in the pride just to eliminate competition.
“Of course, no other men.” She said that, but there was an easy way to ensure no others encroached. One that involved a fully naked Hillary and a flat surface. Coincidentally, there was a bed not ten feet away.
He glanced at the tray, noting the delicacies piled on the plate, things like meat, meat, and more meat. There was also a small note that simply said “cooler near your door” in Penelope’s familiar scrawl. He platonically loved the Alpha Mate.
His lion rose, anxious anticipation filling them both, and those emotions warred with his instinctual need to care for his mate. Of course, those battled his jealousy, as well. The woman had him tied in knots and they hadn’t even spent a day in each other’s company.
“And that goes for you too,” she prodded him once more. “No other women. Mated or not, I’ll gut them all.”
Oscar grinned. “Let me take care of this and then we can talk about exactly how you’re going to keep them away. How’s that sound, kitty?”
She narrowed her eyes, glaring at him. “Fine.”
Damn, her feistiness and possessiveness made him crave her more than his next breath. He was quick to dart around her and back to the bedroom door. He juggled the tray as he got it open and it took no time to secure the tray in the cooler and then returned to the room. He was careful to push the panel until he heard the latch click and then he threw the lock for good measure.
Now they were alone and they wouldn’t be interrupted.
“Well?” She crossed her arms over her chest and he figured she was probably trying to look stern. Instead, the move merely pressed her breasts together, giving him a better look of those plump mounds.
With her curves, sassy mouth, and those deep brown eyes with that silken hair… Damn, he’d won the mate lottery.
“I’m waiting.” His mate definitely lacked patience, but he found that sexy as well.
“The easiest way to make sure no woman comes near me is for you to make me yours.” He murmured the words as he slowly made his way to her. He couldn’t miss her reaction, the way she stopped breathing for a moment before slightly panting. Her eyes dilated and the pure musky scent of her arousal filled the air. “And the easiest way to make sure no man goes near you is for me to make you mine.” He grasped her wrists and carefully pulled her arms out of the way. He used his grip to tug her forward until their bodies were flush. “What you think about that?”
*
Yes. Yes.
Oh, wait. She hadn’t said the word aloud. Hillary cleared her throat and swallowed past the emotions and need filling her. “Yes.”
A fierce possessive light filled Oscar’s eyes, and a low rumble transferred from him to her. It sank into her body and reverberated in her bones, crawling lower until it enveloped her completely. His arms tightened, reminding her that he held her close.
Reminding? No, she didn’t need a reminder. Not when his heated scent surrounded her and his firm chest was pressed to hers. His hardness throbbed against her hip, telling her without words that he craved her.
The word had barely left her lips before he was there, his mouth brushing across hers in a barely there kiss. She whimpered and pushed to her tiptoes when he withdrew, not wanting to lose the small connection. When he was completely out of reach, she wrapped her arms around his neck and fought to bring him back down.
Oscar breathed deeply and released it on a slow exhale. “One second, kitty. I just have a couple questions and then I’ll take you.”
“Like the last one? The answer is still yes.” Mine now?
He chuckled but didn’t relent. “You’ve been in captivity a long time. Have you… Did you… I’m not judging I just want to make sure…”
The man was stuttering and grumbling and she wasn’t sure what he was trying to ask. “Spit it out. I’d like to be mated before hitting eighty.”
He glared at her but finally spoke. “How experienced are you?”
“Experienced in…”
A fiercer glare. “Are you a virgin?”
Hillary jolted with the question, and a new unease slithered through her.
“I’m not judging you, kitty, but if you are I need to know and if you’re not I need their names so I can kill them.” The last few words
were said with a snarl.
Embarrassment at her inexperience had her face flushed and hot, and she pressed her forehead against his chest. “Can I plead the fifth?”
Oscar stiffened for a moment before he spoke. “So how many are we talking? I need to kill one or two… Maybe giving me a number is a bad idea.”
“Asshole,” she grumbled. She huffed out a breath and then tilted her head back to meet his gaze. “Zero. I’ve never been with a man. How could I?”
That had her mate purring, a flare of gold ghosting across his brown eyes, and a soft coating of cream fur dappled his cheeks. “You really will be mine. Completely.”
Yes, she would. Wholly and totally. And he… She bit back the snarl that leapt to her lips. He hadn’t been in captivity since he was five years old. She was sure he had been with women just as she was sure she didn’t want to hear about it. “And after today you’ll be mine. Just don’t ever tell me about anyone else or even give me a number. You could’ve been a man whore before today but I don’t want to know about it.”
“Look at you getting all jealous.” That grin was way too satisfied.
“Shaddup and mate me already.”
Apparently she didn’t have to ask twice. Oscar gave her a real kiss this time. He captured her lips in a passionate meeting of their mouths, his tongue immediately delving into her and stroking her tongue with his own. She sank into the connection, mimicking each delicious slide and lick that he gifted her, and giving the same in return. When he suckled her tongue, she did as well, enjoying the moan that it drew from his chest. His hardness pulsed against her, and she reveled in his response to her inexperienced attentions.
Yeah, she was a virgin into her late twenties, but at least she was giving him pleasure despite her inexperience.
She used her hold to practically crawl up his body. She wanted more, she wanted to kiss him deeper.
And he let her. Oscar wrapped his hands around her and instead of clutching her waist, his grip went lower until he cupped her ass. One gentle squeeze and a slight lift, and she realized what he desired. She let him take her weight as she wrapped her legs around his waist until they were intimately connected. Her bare center rested over his long and thick length. She’d touched herself in the past—she was a virgin, not ignorant—but this was so much more. The heat that seared her despite his pants, sang through her blood and the way he kneaded and squeezed her ass merely added to the gathering bliss. And he hadn’t even stroked the source of her pleasure yet. She was gonna die. Keel over from the ecstasy.
The continued squeeze and release had her moving with him. She rocked her hips, taking joy in the added pleasure of sliding along his shaft. If this was just a little bit of foreplay…
Oscar moved, jarring her with every heavy step, and then they collided with a hard wall. He had her pinned with his body, slightly bent thighs now supporting her as he removed his hands from her ass and pulled out of their kiss. His mouth still hovered near and they shared breath as he leaned back.
“Need skin. Need to see you. Touch you.”
“Yes,” she hissed.
He went to work on her towel, quickly undoing the knot that kept it in place while she—with the help of her cat—yanked and tore at his shirt until he was topless. What seemed like miles of tanned skin were exposed, each rise and fall beckoning and tempting her to taste him. One look told her he was gorgeous. That had never been in question. But this… was beyond her dreams.
“Don’t look at me like that or you’ll have me coming in my jeans.”
She didn’t believe him, not really, how could she? Then she tore her attention from his wide chest and solid abdomen to meet his gaze. She realized he was telling the truth. There was no mistaking the arousal and need that filled his features. She’d done that. Hillary Stewart of the nearly thirty virginity.
“Can’t have that,” she murmured. “I want you inside me first.”
Oscar’s moan transformed to a growl. “Witch.”
“But yours.”
“Mine,” he confirmed.
She reached around him, burying her fingers in his hair while resting her forearms on his shoulders. She held herself steady as she rocked her hips, drawing out the pleasure of moving against him. “Want to be yours,” she panted. “So bad.”
He gripped her hips, working with her as she took bliss from that blunted connection. He pressed against her, teasing and tormenting them both, and she found herself embracing the bliss that came with each flex of muscle. She was wet and hot—more than prepared for him—and she wanted nothing more than to embrace his possession.
“Need you.” She curled against him, clinging to him. “So bad.”
His lips ghosted over her ear, and his voice held more than a hint of his lion. “Tell me. Do you know what you want?”
“You. Inside me. Please.” She may have never experienced being with a man, but her body, her lioness, knew what it craved.
“Then that’s what you’ll get.”
Her world spun as he moved them, carrying them across the room, and now her back rested against a soft and cushioned surface. The bed.
Oscar lay atop her, his hips still snug between her spread thighs, and he kissed her again. Their tongues dueled, teeth nipped, and they made love to each other with their mouths. It was a pale imitation of what was to come.
She tore her lips from his. “This is not you inside me.”
“You’re right.” He grinned and she fought the urge to snap at him. “One second.”
Oscar disappeared long enough to rip his jeans from his body, the fabric falling away beneath his claws, and then he was fully exposed to her gaze. Long and thick were descriptors that just didn’t give him justice. Massive. Ginormous. Holy-fuck-he-will-break-my-vagina…
“Oh.”
He quirked a single brow. “Oh? That’s all I get?”
No, she had more, but what rose hot, fast, and furious was a single word. It was fueled by her newly possessive lioness. “Mine.”
Based on the way his eyes glowed brighter, and the new wave of fur that slithered over his skin, she figured he liked what she said.
She didn’t have a chance to ask him though. He joined her on the bed, propped above her on hands and knees and she squirmed beneath his intense perusal. Then she realized as he stared at her she could stare at him. So she gave him the same blatant and obvious perusal. Of course, instead of making him uneasy, he merely grinned.
“Like what you see?”
Bastard.
Hillary nodded. “Yes, but I’m sure there are other things I’d like even more. Any ideas?”
His lion’s fangs peeked from beneath his lower lip. Instead of replying, he altered their position, grasping her and holding her tightly as he rolled them. Now he was beneath her, her thighs on either side of his hips. “You’re gonna ride me, baby. I don’t want to hurt you, and you can set the pace.” He slid his hands up and down her outer thighs before settling on top of her legs, thumbs teasing her cropped curls. “You’re in control.”
She liked the sound of that, like the idea that the little omega werelion had power over the big bad enforcer. It sent a new thrill down her spine, a new wave of arousal, and she couldn’t wait to take it to its fullest heights.
She started where they’d left off, a seductive slide of her body over his, except now it was moist skin on heated hardness. The tip of his shaft nudged that pleasurable bundle of nerves hidden within her folds, sending a lightning bolt of ecstasy racing down her spine. With each shift of muscle, Oscar grunted and groaned. She knew if he took even half the pleasure that she did from the small movements he was in heaven. But she wanted to rise higher. So she used his body as he’d asked, taking and giving and then taking more until she was merely a mass of pleasure and need.
Then his thumb glanced the source of her ecstasy, and she trembled, releasing his name with a shout. “Oscar!”
The bastard chuckled.
She dropped forward, propping herself on
his chest, but still continuing to tease them both with the motion of her hips. “Need more.”
“That’s because you need me.”
“Cocky.”
“No,” he shook his head. “I just met you, but I know you. I know you need me as much as I need you.”
That touched something inside her, reverberated against her soul, and suddenly she couldn’t wait to have him inside her. She’d heard of the stinging pain that came with a woman’s first time, but now she welcomed it and couldn’t wait for that ache.
“Yes.” She licked her lips, internally smiling when his eyes tracked the movement and his length pulsed between her thighs. “Please, yes.”
Oscar encouraged her to lift her hips from his as he grasped the base of his shaft, and then he was further directing her movements until her entrance tasted the very tip of his length.
“Take me as you can, kitty,” he murmured.
She took his suggestion to heart, keeping her gaze on his as she slowly and very carefully took him inside herself. The stretch and burn nearly overcame the pleasure of having him inside her, but when he rubbed that hidden nubbin with his thumb, any hint of pain was banished. Between his tormenting touch and the ache of having him deep, she was carried along on the brink of release.
Hillary continued the careful slide down his hardness and occasional rise as she allowed herself to breathe before taking even more of him. Hours later… No, it couldn’t have been more than a couple minutes merely because she wasn’t sure her mate had the patience to wait hours to claim her. Minutes later, her hips rest against his, her sheath completely filled and stretched by his length, and he now touched and stroked those virgin places inside her.
It was as if time froze, that initial penetration snatching a moment and holding it close.
“Hi,” she whispered. “You’re inside me.”
“And now you’ll be mine.”
He tightened his hold ever so slightly and encouraged her to rise before gently and silently asking her to lower once again. She moaned with that tiny shift and picked up his intent, setting a gentle and seductive pace of her own.