by Kyle, Celia
He already knew her answer even if she didn’t want to face the truth. She yearned to be near him as much as his lion demanded she always be close at hand.
She shook her head. “Alex…”
He sighed. “How about you just stay the night? Let me make breakfast for you in the morning?”
Maya relaxed against him once again. “This is totally against one-night stand etiquette, you know. You’re supposed to kick me out now.”
Alex laughed. Because, whether she knew it or not, Maya wasn’t leaving him.
Ever.
3
Tiptoe through the window…
Okay, she wasn’t tiptoeing anywhere. It was more like cautiously creeping, with carefully plotted movements. Plus, she wasn’t headed out a window because there weren’t any.
Maya’s whole body hurt, but in a very good, and never bad, gimme more kinda way. Wow. Alex could seriously fuck a girl stupid. Three times when it was all said and done. She’d never been with a guy with that kind of stamina, but then again, Alex wasn’t your ordinary man. Since, well, he wasn’t a man.
And the sex god woulda given her more if she hadn’t told him he’d broken her vagina.
Seriously.
Of course, after he’d broken it, he had to apologize by going down on her once more before letting her pass out from being fucked senseless.
Not that she was complaining.
She was totally getting with Gina before the next kitty orgy. Maybe Alex could be two-night material.
Yum.
Maya inched toward her edge of the bed, attention focused on the hot hunk of cat-man next to her. She was surprised when he didn’t move as she slid from the bed. In two shakes she rolled her naked self from the mattress, landing not-so-eloquently with a soft thump. As quick as a fluffy rabbit she popped her head up and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw he still slept. Aw, Alex looked so cute, pillow cuddled to his chest and nose buried in the plush fabric.
Okay, enough. She had to get a move on. Distant sounds of people stirring in the club filtered up the stairs, which to her, meant she should truck on out of bow-chicka-bow-bow land, and back to her real world. First she needed to get through her walk of shame, and then she’d be home free.
Watching Alex she carefully padded through his room and removed a club shirt from his closet. A quick peek into his dresser netted her a pair of sweatpants. Damn, she prayed they’d fit. She almost felt bad about taking his clothes, but he had ripped her dress to shreds. Plus, she wasn’t stealing, she was long-term borrowing. Right.
Walk of shame outfit hastily chosen she slipped on the “borrowed” garments, then snagged her shoes and purse. She didn’t bother trying to hunt up the remnants of her dress or panties. Without a doubt, they were a lost cause.
She moved ever-so-quiet as a mouse through the room…
Heh. Mouse. And he was a cat. She nearly snorted. Maya made it to the office door and slipped back into the main club with Alex being none the wiser.
Score one for Maya!
Feeling triumphant she stood on the main floor with a one destination in mind. Front door to the rescue!
Except…
Except two strong arms grabbed her from behind, wrapped around her waist and tugged her back against a tall, firm body. A hard cock nestled along the crack of her ass. But it wasn’t Alex.
She twitched her nose… He didn’t smell like Alex, and there was no hint of the man she’d spent the night with surrounding her. A part of her bristled at a stranger touching her.
Maya twisted, tried to free her arms from the ones holding her captive. Her defiance was met with a low growl, the deep, penetrating sound reverberating through her. “Hold still, baby. I’m aching for another go. One for the road.”
The stranger leaned forward, nuzzled her neck much like Alex had done last night, but it didn’t have that same tender feeling. It seriously squicked her out.
The guy reached up and palmed her breast, the shirt she wore the only thing keeping him from touching her skin. Revulsion poured through her, the mere idea of someone besides Alex stroking her was enough to have her go all badass ninja on his ass. “Let go of me!”
“A fighter. Ooh, yeah, babe. I see you want it a little rough. Sure, I can do that.” He nosed her hair out of the way, took a deep breath against her skin. By now, she figured it was a shifter thing. They seemed to rely on their senses a lot.
Icky guy behind her froze the moment he’d taken a full breath, and then let it out with a heavy gust, dropping his arms in a split-second, instantly leaving her personal space. “I-I’m s-sorry. Didn’t mean… didn’t know… You’ll tell him, right? That I had no idea?”
Maya turned to face the guy with a fierce, uncontrollable anger pouring through her veins. He wasn’t unattractive or anything. No, in a strictly clinical sense, she could appreciate his muscle-packed body and strong bone structure. He just didn’t do it for her. Not like Alex. Who could after their passion-filled night?
She sighed. She figured she’d be hung up on the man upstairs for a while. Argh. Stupid hot hottie. Why did he have to affect her so?
The guy stumbled back farther from her, tripping over a chair in his haste to put space between them. “Right? You’ll tell him?”
Damn, she couldn’t ignore his constant pleading, or the sheer look of fright on his face. Maybe it was a cat thing? Bang one and then she’s off limits to the others?
She nodded. “Sure, I’ll tell him.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Okay. Good. Thanks.” He heaved out a breath. “Right. Do you need any help, Prima?” Prima? Maybe this was another shifter thing? “Have you eaten? I-I could make you breakfast, if you’d like. If you can find a place to sit.” He gestured toward the rest of the club, and Maya took a good look at her surroundings.
Dang, the place had been destroyed! Dozens of naked bodies formed large piles throughout the room. Apparently, cats took their orgies pretty damn seriously.
“Um, no. I’m just gonna go home. And, uh…”
“Prime okayed it?”
Shifters. She had to remind herself she was around an entirely different species, one that had their own set of rules and jargon.
“You mean Alex? Sure. We’re good.” She nodded to emphasize the point, and prayed he couldn’t smell a lie or anything.
“Oh, okay. Right this way.”
Thank goodness he believed her.
Mr. No-Longer-Creepy-Guy helped her navigate safely through the bodies, and she even managed to avoid everyone’s extremities. With a nervous smile, the guy disengaged the alarm and unlocked the door. He held it wide and waited for her to exit.
“Did Prime assign you any guards?”
Dude. One-night stands got guards? Wow. Banging the big guy came with protection? “Uh, no, I’m a big girl. Besides, I know Tae Bo. I’ll be fine.”
The man didn’t look completely convinced. His eyebrows furrowed, but Maya didn’t give him time to stop her. She glided through the doorway with a quick wave, and scurried through the parking lot to her car. It was Saturday, and she had things to do. Like wash all the stickiness from her body. Walking into the club with condoms had been a good idea. Forgetting about them… had not. Thank God shifters didn’t carry diseases and she was on the pill. The condoms had been an extra line of defense against little furbabies, but she was sure she was fine.
Maya placed a hand on her lower stomach and imagined rumbling, tumbling, obnoxious cubs, and then shook her head. No, no babies.
A gnawing hunger scraped through her. Her stomach grumbled and she realized she needed to rearrange her plans. Sticky banishing could wait. She needed to go to the grocery store. Now. Mmm… steaks.
Once in her car she started up her little putter-putter deathtrap and popped it into gear. The tiny box of hell—as her mother called it—was a sporty 1976 Fiat Spider. Being a semi-cute fluffy chick, she thought that she should have a car that ratcheted her up from “semi” to “full-cute.” At least, in her mind.
&nb
sp; Plus, it pissed off her strict family. Bonus!
At the edge of the parking lot, Maya checked for oncoming cars, then carefully pulled into the early morning traffic.
Between the rumble of her engine and the wind whipping at her face, she couldn’t hear much, but she coulda sworn that a distant roar came from the direction of the club.
Huh.
* * *
Alex would not permanently scar one of his lions for simply sniffing his mate. Or tear his arms and legs off for touching her. Or kill him because he’d sent the pride’s new Prima alone into the world without a guard while she was undergoing the change.
He took a deep, cleansing breath, and then another and yet another. The cat kneeling before him, Jenner, professed he hadn’t known the woman was mated to Alex. Maya hadn’t yet been introduced to the pride.
The lion still wanted to do him bodily harm, but he restrained himself.
Jenner also pleaded he was late to scent the mating mark, because the entire club reeked of sex.
The lion in Alex wanted Jenner for dinner, but it couldn’t devour the male. Maybe he would just chase him for a bit, hunt him as if he were prey. Scaring the ever-living-crap out of Jenner sounded like a great idea.
Alex clenched his fists, releasing the tension and tightening it once again while he fought with his inner beast. He knew without looking that his face had elongated, forming into a snout, fur sprouting along his arms and cheeks while his fingers turned into claws.
The cat was pissed.
“Where did she say she was going?” He ignored the fact he sounded more lion than man.
“Home, maybe? I think.” The younger lion swallowed, and the cat in Alex instinctively followed the bob of the man’s Adam’s apple, imagining his teeth ripping out Jenner’s throat.
Okay, so he was edgy. No, he was much, much beyond edgy.
“Grayson!” He watched his Second crawl from beneath a pile of bodies, nudging aside the women atop him. Naked as the day he was born, his Second approached.
It didn’t take the man more than two steps to realize Alex was ready to lose control. Grayson dropped his gaze as he approached, and when he finally stood before Alex, he tilted his head to bare his neck in submission. “Prime.”
Alex grunted. “Bring me Gina, and find out anything you can about a Maya Josephs that lives in the area. Address. Phone number. Family. Everything. Anything.” Grayson didn’t move fast enough, and so he snarled, “Now.”
His Second scampered away. Were it any other time he might’ve found humor in the way the large, powerful lion ran. Right now, he was seriously pissed the man wasn’t running fast enough.
Alex paced while he waited, anxiously striding back and forth in front of the bar, nudging and shoving body parts out of his way as he moved. His cats and familiar humans scattered and whimpered, sensing his foul mood.
He knew the pride felt his tension. The anger and unrest pouring through him in waves unsettling them. He stopped long enough to roll his shoulders and crack his neck.
Alex had not awoken a happy kitty. Far from it. He expected to rise with his mate in his arms. He expected her to be hot and ready for him to take her again. He expected to feed and nourish her through her change, until a gorgeous lioness stood before him.
What he’d gotten was the opposite. An empty bed with his mate gone, and to make things worse, Maya—lovely Maya—had been accosted by one of his lions. And then… she escaped into her world. He didn’t like it one bit.
Shit, fuck, damn, and growl.
After some time—too long as far as he was concerned—a weary and completely nude Gina crawled from beneath a mound of bodies.
Alex approached her swaying form, the weight of his lion filling each of his steps, his predatory beast barely caged beneath his skin. He stepped in front of her, inches separating their bare bodies. He’d been so torn over Maya’s absence that he hadn’t bothered to dress.
“Gina.”
“Alex…” The bitch had the audacity to purr and reach for him.
He felt the movement of a lion behind him, probably warning the woman of his irritable mood.
Alex captured Gina’s wrist, squeezed and tightened his hold until she realized her serious predicament. Then he spoke to the pride member that lingered near his back. “Jenner, if you want to keep all your limbs, you’ll stop dancing behind me like a treat for my beast.”
A squeak was his only response. It was funny how one of his strongest lions could become cub-like in two seconds flat, merely at Alex’s displeasure.
Alex turned his attention to the woman before him, squeezing harder and harder as the seconds passed. When Gina finally whimpered and bared her neck, he figured she’d gotten his point.
“P-Prime.” The word was barely a whisper, but it was said with respect.
“You’ve caused a problem, Gina. You let an unknown female into Genesis for the Gaian Moon. You risked not only the human’s safety, but also the pride’s secrets. And it was out of spite.” He spit out the words, each one tasting fouler on his tongue. Regardless of the consequences to her actions, Gina violated their rules. “Though we have few laws and few secrets, your selfish actions threatened both the pride and shifters alike.” Alex didn’t think it possible, but the normally proud and haughty female shrank even smaller before his eyes. Murmurs surrounded him, but he didn’t take his focus from the she-cat. “Your fate will be decided at a later date. For now, you’ll work with Grayson to find the female, and then you’ll be restricted to your home.”
Gina gasped, her frightful gaze flashing to his. “But, Prime…”
Alex again tightened his hold, felt the rub of bone-on-bone. “Silence. You’ll speak to your employer, use the vacation time you’ve saved. Now, help my Second before I drop you where you stand.”
The entire room fell silent at his pronouncement, and neither lion nor human dared to breathe until he released his hold on Gina’s wrist and she darted away.
Later he’d regret being so harsh, but right now, his anger and frustration got the better of him. His conscience would have to wait until after he’d secured his mate in his den and ensured her safety. Which sure as hell needed to be sooner rather than later. The last thing Ridgeville needed was a she-cat prowling around with no training. She didn’t know how to control her hunger, her inner beast or… her shift.
Shit, fuck, damn, and growl.
4
Owie, owie, owie…
God, Maya must’ve burned like, a gazillion calories, while doing the horizontal mambo with Alex. Seriously. She’d never been so sore or hungry in her life. It felt as if the hunger inside her was a living, breathing thing, furiously trying to gnaw its way out of her empty stomach in search of food.
Couple that with an uncharacteristic royal bitch attitude, and she was batting a thousand. One night with Alex and she suddenly became schizophrenic and had another personality to deal with inside her head. One that was very, very cranky.
At the grocery store, she snagged a cart and went directly to the meat department. No other aisle for now. Do not pass go, do not collect glorious cartons of ice cream. She strode down the frozen aisle and straight to the meat section. Cranky or not, hungry or not, there would be no eating of the people who got in her way. Because, really, that seemed like a pretty good idea. Really good idea, even.
Reaching the back section of the store, she stared at the plethora of beef before her. And it had to be beef. Because chicken, fish, and pork weren’t gonna cut it. Part of her balked at her sudden, insatiable craving for meat. But the other part—the stronger part that seemed to be prowling, dragging its nails inside her brain—told her to grab it all and eat it raw. It wanted her to bathe in the blood to feed her hunger.
Okay, ew, just yuck.
Maya had no problem purchasing pounds upon pounds of meat. Besides, Atkins involved the whole low carb thing. She could rock that diet.
So yeah, she was game for no-carb-town, but she sure as hell wasn’t eating
it raw.
Nu-uh.
The weird prowly thing in her head snarled a little and she shook her head, trying to clear the sound from her mind. She really should’ve made Alex let her get a little sleep. While she was at it, he should’ve told her that sex with him came with a second, carnivore-y personality.
Her resolve to quell her hunger firmly in place, she snatched up a few steaks. Then a few more. And a dozen pounds or so of ground beef for good measure. Fatty good stuff. Atkins was about low carbs, not low fat.
Maya growled at anyone who got too close. Her food. All hers!
A familiar sound reached her ears—the padding of quick feet, the loud squeaking of shoes on shiny floors—gave her friend’s approach away. Maya swiveled her head and narrowed her eyes. Carly was her friend, but…would she try to take her food?
“Maya?” The woman’s face was easy to read, happy, not predatory.
Okay then. She took a deep breath, scented the air, and something teased her nostrils. Something wild and sweet, and it made her hungrier, believe it or not. The prowling presence within stretched and scratched inside her head, snarled yet again. Maya decided she had to be going crazy. Certifiable. Because she suddenly had the urge to eat her friend. And not in a good, lotsa-orgasms way. No, she wanted her friend for lunch.
Maya licked her lips, nose flaring with each step closer the slim woman took. Yum. “Grrr.”
“M-Maya?” Carly stopped, and even with several feet separating them, Maya heard the rapid thumping of the woman’s heart.
Her friend was scared. Of her?
Hmm… scared made hunting the prey all the better. Yummy.
Wait! That thought, the idea of her friend as some sort of prey, snapped Maya’s attention back to reality and away from that freaky, homicidal part of her brain.
“Oh, shit.” Maya slapped a hand over her mouth and ran straight for the bathroom, bile rising in her throat.
She ran faster than she’d ever run before. As if she had wings, Maya flew by the other customers, weaving and dodging little old ladies in panic until she burst through the bathroom. She bolted into a stall and bent over a toilet as she tried to calm the sickly feeling in her stomach. Wave after wave of retching crashed her insides as she fought for breath, fought to keep her composure.