Raphael/Parish

by Laura Wright

  Fuck.

  He grabbed her hand and started up the incline to the bluff. “Sun’s going down. We should get back.” His tone was nearly a growl. “Natty’ll have my hide if I bring you home late for supper.”

  “Can’t have that.” The thread of unfulfilled desire in her tone was unmistakable.

  Parish cursed inwardly. “Nope.”

  “You’re probably hungry.”

  You have no idea, Doc.

  “Parish?” she said as they reached the top of the hill.

  “Yeah.”

  “Was that magic?”

  His head came around, and his eyes met her hers. “What?”

  She looked disheveled in the sexiest of ways: pink cheeked, and eyes wide and heavy with lust. “Not the alligator or your shift, but what happened in the pool, between us. Was that magic?”

  Parish felt his heart squeeze inside his chest. “No, Doc.” He drew her closer. “That was so much more.” That was just the beginning.

  Before he took her right there on the bluff, he shifted back into his puma, then waited for her to climb onto his back and fist his fur. He couldn’t wait much longer to have her. When the moon rose and stole the bayou heat, she’d lie beneath him, and she wouldn’t just be speaking his name. She’d be screaming it.

  His puma roared into the coming eve and he took off into the trees.

  CHAPTER 6

  DINNER had been fantastic. Or at least Julia assumed it had. Her plate was clean, she just couldn’t remember actually tasting any of it. Ever since she’d returned to the boarding house, all her tongue seemed to want to register was Parish. And if that wasn’t bad enough, all her mind wanted to bring forth were images of their incredible time at the bayou pool.

  She let out a long breath. She could still feel his arms around her, so tight, so possessive, his mouth working hers with soft kisses, hungry bites and snarls of arousal. She’d known what he’d wanted from her. Not because it was pressed against her belly, inciting the blazing heat inside her sex to liquefy, but because it was exactly the same thing she’d wanted from him.

  The deepest, most intensely erotic fuck of her life.

  Her body contracted at the thought, and she gripped the table. What would it be like to be touched by him? Her back to the mattress, Parish looming above her, the muscles in his arms and chest and stomach pulled tight under sweat-laced, tanned skin?

  “Dr. Cabot?” came a soft male growl.

  Julia glanced up from her empty plate and caught Parish staring at her across the dinner table with a mask of sensual ferocity, his black hair loose to his shoulders. He was so sexy. Every inch of his face, from his eyes to the scar near his lips, tempted her, made her mouth water.

  His nostrils flared. He glanced left, saw Nathalie chatting it up with one of the other boarders down the table, then returned his gaze to Julia as he leaned forward.

  “You have to stop thinking about us or I won’t be able to stop myself from throwing you over my shoulder and hauling your sexy ass upstairs to bed.”

  Julia’s mouth dropped open. “How did you know—?”

  “Your scent.”

  My scent?? She tilted her head in the direction of Miss Nathalie. “Does she know?”

  “Probably.”

  Oh my god. “I’m so embarrassed.”

  “Don’t be. She knows how I feel about you.” He grinned, molten gold flashing in his eyes. “And now she knows that as you’re thinking about my tongue in your mouth,” his voice dropped, his chin too, “I’m thinking about my tongue somewhere else.”

  Julia’s eyes widened, yet everything below her neck went hot and tight. “Stop that,” she whispered.

  “Impossible. Your scent makes me insane.” His canines lengthened.

  “You’re not the only one,” remarked the male down at the far end of the table beside Nathalie.

  Julia turned apple red and cursed, while Parish flashed the male his puma. “Don’t even think about it, Mace. In fact, keep your eyes on your plate.”

  The male grunted. “I’m mated, Hunter.”

  “Then you remember exactly what’s running through my blood right now,” Parish said with a deep growl.

  Nathalie stared at Parish, but spoke to Julia. “Perhaps you should retire, Miss Julia. Might I suggest a bath?” She sighed. “With soap.”

  At first, Julia was so consumed with the aggressive banter of the two males at the table she didn’t catch the woman’s meaning right away. But when she did, she closed her eyes and winced with humiliation. She was turned on thinking about Parish, every damn feline in the room could smell it, and she was being told to get upstairs and wash it off. What the hell ever happened to privacy? She pushed back her chair and scrambled to her feet. Her eyes were drawn to Parish. “Are you staying tonight or…”

  “He’ll be sleeping on the porch,” Miss Nathalie said quickly.

  Parish hissed at her. “I will sleep wherever I want, Female.”

  “Outside?” Julia said. “But—”

  “Not to worry, Miss Julia,” Nathalie continued. “He’s used to it.”

  “Isn’t it time to clean up?” Parish growled softly, his eyes narrowed on the older female.

  Miss Nathalie ignored him. “After all, he still sleeps in those caves a mile out, don’t you, Parish?”

  “Dammit, Natty!” He pushed back his chair and stood.

  “What?” she grumbled. “Isn’t a secret, now is it?”

  Julia turned to him, confused. “You live there? Where we were today?”

  He didn’t answer. His nostrils were flared with irritation as he continued to glare at Miss Nathalie.

  Julia stared at him. Why wouldn’t he have told her that? And why was he refusing to look at her? Was he hiding something? Or was it that he just didn’t think her important enough to share information about his personal life?

  A spark of apprehension moved through her. She hated this feeling, that something was being kept from her. That the man she’d just been fantasizing about, had just kissed like she’d needed it, needed him, to breathe, wasn’t being honest with her. It gave her a killer sense of déjà vu.

  She turned from him and offered Miss Nathalie a small smile. “Good night. Thank you for dinner.”

  She needed a moment to herself. Needed to really think about what she was doing here, and how long—

  As she walked out of the room, she heard Parish growl behind her. “Julia.”

  “Let her be, Parish,” Nathalie scolded.

  “Like hell I will.”

  “You’re acting like a jackass.”

  “No,” said Mace. “He’s acting like a mated Pantera male.”

  Julia only made it to her bedroom door before Parish was upon her.

  * * *

  “I didn’t tell you about the caves for a good reason.” He followed her inside the blue and white bedroom suite.

  “They’re all good reasons,” she said, heading for the windows.

  “I know what you’re doing, Doc.” He kicked the door closed behind him. “Don’t compare me to that lying bastard who cheated on you.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Turn around.”

  She heaved a great sigh and turned to face him. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes a shocking blue against the pale hair that hung about her face.

  “I’m not comparing you to Gary,” she said. “There is no comparison. He was a mistake, and you…you’re a hope, a dream…magic…” Shadows moved over her eyes. “It just scares me, Parish.”

  Fear was the last thing he ever wanted her to feel with him. “What scares you?”

  “I’ve never wanted to be with anyone more than I want to be with you.” Her voice caught as she spoke, and her eyes brimmed with tears. “I actually ache for you. I think about you every second.” She shook her head. “My body responds to your voice like it’s your touch. That’s not normal.”

  He hated how upset she was, how fearful she sounded because to him her words were his magic, his po
tential first step back into life, and a future he never thought he’d see. He crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. “Look at me.” One hand raked up her spine to her neck. “That’s our normal, Doc. My mind is filled with you, too. Your tears make my fucking heart ache. I don’t know what to do with this desperate need I feel for you, except…this.” He dropped his head and kissed her, groaning at the raw hunger and blatant need between them. When he pulled back, he found beautiful, stormy blue eyes gazing up at him. “Julia…”

  “I love when you say my name,” she whispered.

  His gut tightened. “I didn’t tell you about the caves because I was ashamed.”

  Her brow furrowed. “What?”

  “I know you’re aware of what happened to Keira.” The damned tortured sound in his voice never went away. “Ashe told me. But what you don’t know is that she was my everything, my only family, my best goddamn friend, and when she left, when she was killed I…fuck…I went to the one place where I felt closest to her.”

  “The caves,” Julia whispered.

  He nodded. “I never left. Never wanted to.” He reached up and cupped her chin and cheek in his palm. “Until you.”

  “Oh, Parish…”

  He smiled. “I love it when you say my name too, Doc.” He captured her mouth again, kissing her frantically. “I want you.” He nipped her lip. “Christ, the scent of your heat. It calls to me, begs me to taste.” With one hand around her waist, he easily lifted her. “Let me earn my way into your bed.”

  “You already have,” she said breathlessly.

  He tossed her onto the bed, then drew back. “Not even close.” He stripped bare, and grinned as her gaze moved hungrily over him. “You know what I am.”

  Her eyes lifted, connected to his. She nodded.

  He growled softly at her. “Then open your legs for me, Julia. This cat must have his cream.”

  CHAPTER 7

  JULIA had never been undressed so quickly, so frantically, and with such desperate hunger in her life.

  And she loved it.

  Her back to the mattress, her legs bent and spread, Julia trembled with heat and desire as she stared up at Parish. Without clothes, he wasn’t just sexy—he was stunning. Drool-worthy. His powerful body flexed with every movement, each muscle defined. But it was the long, thick muscle standing hard and proud against the six-pack of abdominal perfection that made her mouth water. What would he feel like in her mouth, taste like against her tongue? She almost reached for him when he knelt, placed his hands under her buttocks and yanked her to the edge of the mattress.

  His breath fanned her stomach and hipbones. “I’ve thought about this ever since we met. How you looked, scented…” He lowered his head and lapped at her. Just once. Julia gasped and arched her back. “How you tasted.”

  How was it possible that just one swipe of his tongue made every muscle in her body jump? He was magic. There was no other explanation for it. She lifted her head to see what he was doing, and the blood rushed to her sex. Nostrils flared, dark eyes glittering with exotic desire, his gaze was locked between her thighs.

  A soft growl came from his throat. “You’re so beautiful, Doc. Every inch of you is soaking wet. Your pussy’s like a ripe peach, juice running down your leg.” Once again, he dropped his head, but this time he ran his tongue up her inner thigh.

  Julia nearly came right then. His tongue. It wasn’t smooth like a human’s. It was slightly rough, like a…

  She stared at him.

  “Cat,” he said with a grin, lapping at just the edges of her sex. “So sweet. Christ, I think I’ll drown in you.”

  The heat building inside her burst into flames. Her ass clenched, her breasts tightened into sensitive buds and she felt her pussy cream right before him.

  Parish saw it too and his canines dropped. “My cock’s crying for you too, Doc. But first I’m going to fuck you with my tongue.” Without another word, he curled his fingers around her knees and spread her wider. He purred, his eyes glowing. “Oh, yes…there it is. Your clit is ripe, Doc. So damn pretty. So pink.”

  Julia’s legs shook, her sex pulsed and ached to be filled, touched, eaten. God, she was going to go out of her mind just from the way he talked. “Please, Parish…” she moaned, letting her head fall back on the mattress.

  “Spread yourself for me,” he commanded, his breath fanning her wet sex. “Wide. I want my entire mouth on you, my tongue thrusting inside you as my lips suck that plump little clit.”

  With trembling fingers, Julia moved her hands down her belly, over her hips and into her hair. She gasped at how wet she was, how sensitive.

  “Hurry, Doc,” he growled with need, his fingers digging gently into her thighs. “I want to taste you before you come, and you’re so ready.”

  His shoulders pushed between her legs, and the minute she spread herself wide, he latched onto her clit, suckling gently as his tongue flicked feather-light. In seconds, she came. Spasming on the mattress, her hips slamming upward, pumping as she moaned. Dammit. It’s too soon. Too fast.

  Just as she was about to lift her head, Parish chuckled against her sex, his hot breath making her writhe. “Now, we can begin.” Without another word, he thrust his tongue up into her, and fucked her in slow, rhythmic strokes.

  Her hands fisting the bedspread, Julia tried to focus but it was impossible. She was so tense, so heated, her body refusing to come down from the orgasm. It wanted more. It craved more.

  He drew back then, eased his tongue out of her and replaced it with two thick fingers. “I feel you around me,” he growled, thrusting into her so deeply she felt it at her belly. “You’re so wet, suckling my finger.”

  “Oh, god,” she moaned as he started licking her again, using his entire tongue in greedy circles.

  Julia didn’t know what to do with this feeling. She’d never experienced such mind-numbing pleasure. She wanted him so badly, yet didn’t want him to stop licking her or thrusting his fingers inside her.

  She released her pussy lips and plowed her fingers through his soft, thick, hair. She scratched at his scalp as he ate her. Instantly, he started to purr, the sound making his lips and tongue vibrate against her. Her eyes slammed open and she gasped in a breath. She was going to come. Again.

  “Parish, please,” she begged, rocking her hips against his face, her juices pouring out of her, down her thighs. “I want you inside me.”

  But he wouldn’t stop. Hungry and determined, he drank her down, his purr coiling around her aching clit.

  The climax that tore through her was raw and shocking. For a moment, she was blind and deaf, all her senses pooling below her waist. She cried out, pumping wildly, barely feeling him draw back and loom over her. She could hardly breathe, and her eyes were as wet as her sex. Nothing could feel better. Nothing.

  And then she felt something nudge against her sensitive mound. Instinct blossomed inside of her and she reached out and grasped him. Hot, rock-hard cock filled her hand, and she moaned a hungry, “Yes.” Up and down, she stroked him until he started to breathe differently, moan, curse, and pump himself off in her palm.

  “Inside,” he growled. “I need you. I need to be up inside you where it’s hot and tight and still shaking from your climax.”

  She released him, and he entered her with one quick, deep, gasp-inducing thrust. Julia gripped his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin. He felt so right there, so perfect.

  “Wrap your legs around me, Doc. I want to ride you.”

  She groaned, closing her thighs, her heels squeezing his tight ass. For one moment, his eyes met hers and he grinned. Then he started to fuck her, deep and slow, all the way to her womb. Oh, the pleasure. The heat.

  “You’ve claimed my heart, Julia Cabot,” he whispered against her mouth as his thrusts quickened. “It’s useless to anyone else, but full of life and love and desire for you. I want no one but you.”

  Oh, god yes. She wanted him, too. But… “I’m scared.”

  “Of wh
at? Being loved? Taken care of? Respected and desired? Of never having to worry about my devotion, my commitment?” His kissed her, then settled in the curve of her neck. “Pantera mate for life, Julia.”

  She gasped as he bit her gently.

  “Tell me I can claim you.”

  She moaned.

  “Tell me you want not only my cock inside of you, but my mark on your body.”

  “I want you,” she cried out, climax so close she could taste it. “All of you.”

  He growled harshly, “Mine…all mine,” as he scored the skin between her waist and navel with his claws and pounded her deep into the mattress.

  Julia came with a jolt and a scream, and as she did, Parish roared out her name, pumping his hot seed into her soaked and sensitive pussy. Freefalling, Julia slapped her arms around him, holding on tight as he continued to come inside of her.

  Long minutes passed before he rolled to his side, but when he did, he didn’t break their connection. His powerful arms curled her snugly against his chest, where she rested and tried to catch her breath. Tears threatened as she gripped him possessively, almost fearfully. Had he truly marked her? Was that the delicious sting she felt on her abdomen? And if so, what did it mean?

  Oh, god…

  Parish kissed her hair and whispered, his voice raw with emotion. “Tell me you’re going to stay. Here. In the Wildlands with me. I need to hear it.”

  Her heart squeezed. “I want to.”

  “But something holds you back. What is it?”

  She rubbed her face against his hard pectoral. “I don’t know. I have nothing back there, nothing but my cat. But how do I trust my wants and desires when they’ve always led me into failed misery?”

  He tipped her face up to meet his, brushed the hair from her cheek so lovingly she nearly burst into tears. “Perhaps this time you should trust your gut and your instincts. I watched you that day in the hospital. You used them delivering the child, didn’t you?”

  Her breath caught in her throat. He’d been watching her? “Yes.”

  He smiled. “You have Pantera in you, I think. When I looked at you for the first time I felt need and desire unlike anything I’d ever felt. But you were human, and I was lost in anger and grief. It was my gut and my instinct that told me we belonged together.”