“How about I come over tomorrow afternoon and help?” Suddenly tense, Tate took a step closer to the woman he would be spending the rest of his life with even though she did not know it yet.
Kimber looked at him as she bit her lower lip, looking a little unnerved. “I guess that would be okay. But I don’t want you to feel obligated to help me rearrange my stuff just because you’re moving in.”
Tate relaxed as his smile grew. “I don’t. But the faster we move you out of the room, the sooner I can move in. Then my current landlord can move his girlfriend in, and everyone will be happy. Besides, I’m looking forward to living here. Your house doesn’t smell like a locker room, and I bet you don’t play video games at all hours of the day and night.”
* * * *
Kimber backed farther into the hall, half-afraid to get too close to Tate again. She was afraid that if she did she would drag him into her bedroom and do much, much more than just kiss him. “Oh. Okay. Well, that makes sense. Thanks.”
Turning, she headed back down the hall to the living room, superaware of the big man following her. She felt sure he had his eyes glued to her ass. She fought an adolescent urge to add an extra sway to her walk just to tease him.
“No, thank you,” he said as he followed her to the front door. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Now eat your pizza before it gets cold.”
“Yes, sir,” she snarked, throwing him a jaunty salute and a sassy grin.
He smiled as he stepped closer. He seemed to catch himself as he leaned closer. “And keep the doors locked,” he ordered before he stepped out onto the porch and pulled the door closed behind himself.
Kimber giggled softly as she flipped the deadbolt into place with an audible click. Then she leaned far enough to the right to peek out the window so she could watch Tate walk across the yard. Yum, yum, he was just as good-looking from the back as he was from the front. She ducked out of sight once he reached his truck and turned back toward the house. She did not move or breathe for nearly a minute when truck headlights flashed across the window as he pulled out of her driveway.
Once the low-pitched thrum of the truck’s engine faded into the distance, Kimber turned from the window. She looked at the pizza box on the dining room table, but another appetite needed to be satisfied before she could focus on food.
Hurrying down the hall, she pulled her T-shirt over her head, dropping it to the floor as she entered her bedroom. Her sweats and thong followed seconds later. Climbing onto the bed, she crawled across the mattress until she could reach the nightstand. Pulling out the bottom drawer, she fished through the junk stored there. It took a few seconds for her to find and retrieve her favorite purple vibrator. Though it was shaped like a human cock with its well-shaped head and veins tracing its length, the fantasy ended at its purple color and cold stiffness. But it worked in a pinch and fit her perfectly.
“Ahhh, baby,” she murmured.
She wrapped her hands around its length to warm it. Licking her lips, she lifted it and swirled her tongue around the head, getting it good and wet. When her pussy muscles clenched in need, she pulled the imitation phallus from her mouth and used it to draw a wet line down the center of her body to the top of her slit.
Closing her eyes, she spread her pussy lips with the fingers of one hand while the other wrapped around the base of her vibrator. Without turning it on, she began to drag it up and down the valley between the lips. She sucked a breath as it dragged over her clit. Instead of continuing down to her entrance, she circled her clit several times, feeling the nerves there dance as her arousal heated up her entire body.
Her left hand slid back up her body and cupped her breast. Her breath stopped as electricity surged in a direct path from nipple to clit. As she continued to play with her body, she pictured Tate’s strong, well-built body clad as it had been in loose jeans and a tight-fitting T-shirt. Then she let her imagination run wild and strip the clothes from him, leaving him in only a pair of deep-red boxers that hung from his hips. The soft cotton material concealed, yet also hinted at, the hard, well-endowed maleness that she had felt.
Using one hand to drive the vibrator into her pussy as far as it would go, she worked the other one down her body to her clit. She was so close, panting with her arousal, but she needed just a bit more to pull the trigger on her orgasm. After taking a slow, deep breath, she twisted the base of the vibrator from off straight to high, jolting as the fake cock thrummed to life.
Seconds later, her pussy clenched around the latex invader. She used one hand to rub her clit, crying out as her orgasm slammed through her. She forced herself to continue until she rolled through a second and then a third body-clenching release. When she finally slipped the vibrator from her pussy and turned it off, she was gasping for breath and barely able to move from the relaxation that playing had provided her.
As she lay recovering, she wondered if Tate had been as affected by their kiss as she had.
* * * *
Tate had only driven three blocks from Kimber’s house before he had to pull over and park before he had an accident. Turning off the truck’s engine and lights, he sat in the dark for a few seconds as he looked around. Not only were there no headlights coming down the road, there was no one out walking either. With a sigh of relief, he reached down and unzipped his jeans.
He glanced around the cab of his truck as he slipped his fingers through the opening to his cock. He hissed as cool fingers touched the hot skin of his shaft. He held his breath as he gently fished his still hard cock through his boxers and jeans. He stroked his impressive length twice before he released it and grabbed the dirty T-shirt that lay on the passenger’s seat under his tool belt.
Laying it across one thigh, he returned his hand to his cock and began to stroke his erection with a slow, gentle movement. He looked around once more before laying his head back against the headrest and closing his eyes. Immediately, a vision of his new mate came to him. His hand began to move up and down his shaft faster.
He wondered how long he would have to wait before he could claim her. And how he would explain what he was and how a simple pizza delivery had changed both of their lives so dramatically. Then he tried to predict if she would accept him as her mate, call the men in white coats to take him away, or kick him and everything he owned to the street.
He began to pant and softly moan as his hand moved faster and faster. Waves of tingling excitement raced down his spine and gathered in his balls. In less than a minute, he grabbed the spare shirt and used it to catch his man juice as it shot from his cock in rhythmic spurts. He fought the need to yowl with pleasure as he came.
Once his orgasm finally passed, he collapsed back in his seat. He gasped for breath as if he had run a two-minute mile and could not feel the lower half of his body. It took several minutes before he was recovered enough to clean up and tuck his spent cock back into his jeans.
After zipping his jeans and straightening his clothes, he took several deep breaths. He felt more relaxed than he had in months, though knowing where his mate was, he felt an urgency to get back to her. Starting the truck, he drove back to Petey’s to cash out for the night.
Chapter 3
Kimber settled on the swing with a weary sigh. She had barely slept the night before because of conflicting thoughts about Tate and living in such close proximity to the man who had caused her to cream her pants with just a smile. How could she share her home with such a sexy man without dragging him into her bed at the first opportunity? Would he change his mind about moving in once he saw her cottage in the daylight? Would he even show up today, or had he just been making a pass at her last night?
Before daybreak, she rolled out of bed and went to her computer. She finished her work and sent the week’s covers off to their publishers just after daybreak. After stopping to eat a breakfast bar and a hunk of cheese with her third cup of coffee, she headed into the littlest bedroom and began cleaning. It took her longer than she thought because she took time and quickly wen
t through each box. The ones she wanted to keep she piled around one wall in the dining room. The others she carried to the street. Either the city would haul them off, or they would disappear into the pack of some garbage pile picker’s car.
Once she finished clearing the room of its contents, she quickly wiped down the walls and mopped the floor.
She had been sitting on the porch for nearly an hour, enjoying the beautiful day while still wrestling with how to deal with Tate and her reaction to him when a white pickup truck stopped in front of the house before backing into the driveway and parking. When Tate climbed out, her nipples tightened, and her pussy overflowed, her body demanding more of the sexy man.
* * * *
Tate saw Kimber on the porch, as he pulled to a stop in front of the house in a blue denim dress that buttoned up the front that he knew would play havoc with his control. She did not look happy as the swing slowly swayed back and forth.
He also noticed a number of boxes piled by the far corner of the yard next to the road. Had she already been busy? Pulling in, he parked and climbed from the truck, suddenly fearful she had changed her mind about renting him the room.
He had dreamt of her the night before and woken up with the hard-on from hell. He ended up jerking off fast and dirty before even thinking about getting out of bed. Since it was his day off, he spent the morning packing. It had taken less than two hours to empty his room, a sad testimony that, at nearly thirty years old, everything he owned barely filled the bed of his truck.
Climbing from the truck, his cougar snarled, wanting—no needing—to claim its mate. He took a deep breath to silence his beast as he slowly approached the porch. From her serious expression, he was half-afraid Kimber had decided against renting to him. Somehow he had to convince her that their living together would be a good thing in the long run, even if he had to hold off claiming her for a few weeks.
“Good morning,” he said as he climbed the steps to the porch.
“Morning,” Kimber replied, sounding less than enthusiastic.
Looking closely, Tate thought she looked half-asleep as she sat cradling a large silver travel mug between two hands. “You okay?”
“Didn’t sleep well,” she said, lifting the mug and taking a long sip. “Give me a few more minutes to get some more of this in my system, and we can start moving my stuff from your room into mine.”
“Sounds like you’ve been busy,” he said.
She nodded without another word, stubbornly staring past him, as if the bushes behind him contained all the secrets to life.
“Care to share a cup of that?” he asked, nodding toward her mug.
She nodded. “Coffeemaker is on the counter and mugs are in the cupboard above it,” she said before taking another sip.
Tate entered the house and took a few minutes to look around before he headed to the kitchen. Like the sign he had taken home the night before, this part of the house was warm and colorful. The walls were a bright, but somehow soft, yellow that went well with the hardwood floors and white trim. The couch was blue denim, and the comfortable looking chair a deep-red. Pale wood bookcases, end tables, and an entertainment center completed the décor.
He paused a moment to study the books filling the case. His eyes widened in surprise as he began reading titles. Pulling one and then another, he studied the covers then glanced at the back covers. So, his new roommate was into kinky reading material. Or was she? Opening the book to the credits page, he discovered Kimber had created both book covers. Returning the books to their places on the shelves, he wondered if she ever read the books for which she designed covers.
Walking into the kitchen, he easily found the coffeemaker. Opening the cupboard above it, he pulled out the most masculine mug he could find—red with a yellow rubber duck on it. A duck was better than the butterflies or kittens he saw on some of the other mugs. He would have to add a couple of his plain black mugs to her collection.
After filling the mug, he began the search for the sugar and milk that he normally drank in it. He found a plastic container marked “sugar” in a cupboard that was otherwise mostly empty. Opening the refrigerator, he blinked several times at the blinding whiteness from the nearly empty walls reflecting the light. Except for a gallon bottle of water, a quart of milk, and the pizza he’d delivered the night before, the machine was empty. After adding a splash of milk to his coffee, he returned it before opening the freezer and frowning to find it just as empty. Only a large package of hot dogs and a large box of individually wrapped sliced cheese filled the big empty box.
“Well, at least I won’t have to worry about where to store my food,” he muttered as he took a spoon from the dish-drainer and stirred his milk.
Returning to the porch, he sat in the rocking chair next to the door. He drank his coffee and relaxed, waiting for the woman to start the conversation. As a predator, cougars—both shape-shifters and in the wild—were known to be solitary creatures, but the last thing Tate wanted was to return to his lonely existence now that he had found his mate.
Neither spoke a word for the next few minutes. Finally Kimber drained her mug and stood up. “Ready to go to work?”
He nodded and finished the last of his coffee in three swallows. “Yes, ma’am.”
Kimber froze mid-step and made a face at him. “Please don’t call me that. I’m old, but I will never be a ‘ma’am.’”
He stood as she moved toward him, hoping for a repeat of the previous night’s kiss, but she stepped wide around him. She stopped at the door and turned. She looked resigned as she said, “I’ve been thinking, and last night was a mistake.”
“Excuse me?” Tate managed to choke out as his heart dropped to his toes, and his stomach clenched.
Which part of last night? The part where she had rented him the room? Or the part where they had kissed and come close to making love standing in the middle of her office?
Taking a deep breath, he forced a smile. “You’re not kicking me out already, are you?”
“No, you’re welcome to rent the room, but I don’t think we should…um…kiss again,” Kimber said, her cheeks growing rosy with each word. Her gaze dropped to his chin instead of his eyes as she continued. “It was wonderful but had to be a fluke. No way can there be such instant chemistry between two people.”
Stepping closer, Tate did not stop until there was barely an inch between them. Looking down, he met her eyes and saw both lust and confusion in their depths.
“That’s not really what you think, is it, mate?” He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek, the softness of her skin causing blood to surge to his cock.
She shook her head slowly back and forth in a negative, the lust winning out over any hesitation she felt toward him. When her mouth opened on a soft sigh, he began to stroke his thumb back and forth over her lower lip.
“I didn’t think so,” he said, lowering his head and kissing her again.
He did not bother easing her into things but went straight for a deep, wet, hard, openmouthed kiss that would prove to her last night’s exchange was not a fluke. Her tongue met his second thrust and dueled with him passionately until he finally pulled his head back. He smiled when she made a soft sound of disappointment as they caught their breath.
“Nope, that kiss last night wasn’t a fluke, my mate. We are meant to be together. Now, let’s get the furniture moved and unloaded so we can go grocery shopping.”
With his hands on her waist, he turned her around and patted her ass to get her moving into the house. He followed several steps behind, his eyes glued to her beautifully round, firm ass.
* * * *
Kimber was surprised at how quickly the furniture moving went. In less than two hours, they not only had her furniture transferred into the smallest bedroom, but all of Tate’s things had been brought in from the truck and set up in his new bedroom.
As they worked, they talked. They exchanged information as if they were on a first date and not preparing to live together under the
same roof for the foreseeable future. He explained he worked three jobs because he was trying to bank enough so he could eventually go back to school full-time, get his contractor’s license, and eventually start his own construction company. She shared that she rented out the room because she was gaining popularity as a cover artist at a slower pace than she had hoped.
It wasn’t until she handed him the last drawer full of well-worn jeans that she asked the question that had been niggling at her since he had kissed her.
“Why did you call me ‘mate’?”
“Excuse me?” he asked, taking the drawer and sliding it into place in the dresser.
“Earlier on the porch when you kissed me. Why did you call me mate?”
He straightened and looked at her with an unreadable expression. “Actually, it was a mutual kiss. And I called you ‘mate’ because you are.”
Kimber frowned. “I am what?”
“You are my mate. Would it be okay if I had cable run into this room?”
“Sure. There’s a hole in the floor over there.” As she waved toward the corner, an insane possibility occurred to her. “Are you…what are you, that you can say I’m your mate after barely meeting me?”
“From the books in your bookcase, you already know about shape-shifters. Well, we are not just a figment of some creative writer or moviemaker’s imagination. We are real.” Tate crossed his arms over his broad chest and leaned his hip against the dresser.
“Wha...wha…what kind of shape-shifter are you?” Kimber took two steps back until she ran into the wall.
Instead of answering, Tate pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it on the bed. Kimber’s mouth went dry at the broad, heavily muscled chest covered with a pelt of tawny fur. Her fingers itched with a need to see if the hair was soft and silky or coarse. She swallowed when he bent over, untied, and took off his boots and socks. After his feet were bare, he straightened, and his hands went to the waistband of his jeans.
Cougar Wants [Cougarlicious] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 3