by Lia Davis, Milly Taiden, Kerry Adrienne, Vella Day, Andie Devaux
He didn’t move, his face unreadable. “I want to throttle you within an inch of your life, and then love you for the rest of time.”
His welcoming words—at least the second part of his sentence—flooded her body and infused her with total joy. She grinned. “What are you waiting for, Doctor Durant?” Laughter bubbled up inside her.
“Damn you, woman. I need a drink first. Don’t think I’ve forgiven you.”
Bullshit, he hadn’t. He was surprised, that was all. “Tell me what it felt like. I’ve been shifting since I was young and don’t recall. Just like I don’t remember my first step.” She followed him into the kitchen then pulled a beer from the fridge and handed it to him.
“I’ll admit it. It scared the shit out of me. If you’d warned me, I might have been able to cope better.”
She shook her head. “Just so you know, I’ve only bitten one other person in my life and he didn’t change. The guy tried. I honestly had no idea that was going to happen to you.”
Storm leaned against the counter and described the sense of losing his balance followed by the disorientation. That hadn’t happened to her, at least not that she remembered. Then again, she was only a few years old the first time.
Storm bit down on his lip. “I never would have thought it possible that one person could turn another. I’m still trying to figure out how that works. Your dad tried to explain it, but it still makes no sense.”
She nodded. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up that we were soul mates. I honestly didn’t know what having a soul mate felt like.”
Storm pulled her close. “I do now. Why else did I need you all the time, couldn’t stop thinking about you, and am the happiest I’ve ever been when we’re together?”
Pleasure, ecstasy, and lust swirled in her veins. “Because I’m pretty cool?”
He cracked up. “You are sassy, competitive, and headstrong.”
“I’m not sassy.” The other two traits fit. “I just don’t like to be taken advantage of.”
“Like this?” Storm leaned over and kissed her.
Now that the barriers were down, the floodgates of acceptance opened, turning her need into rabid desire, and her burgeoning love burst forth. She cupped his head with one hand and drew him even closer. She then undid the top button on his jeans almost as fast as she could sprint.
Storm clasped her wrists and broke the kiss. “Hey, slow down. I want to savor this moment.”
She wanted to take her time, too, and understood that she should relish this moment, but her desperation prevented her. “It’s been too long already. I’m an animal who’s been denied what she wants and needs. Take me, please.” Her urgent tone even frightened her a bit.
His eyes darkened into swirls of passion. Storm clutched her to his chest and ravaged her mouth, darting his tongue in and out with promises of a future. She slid her hands around his back and under his shirt. His warm skin seared her palms and turned her insides into pools of wicked lust.
“I want you naked,” she said, her eyes half closed.
“Then do something about it.”
If he wanted her to work for it, she had no problem, but hadn’t he just stopped her from doing just that? Men.
Off went his leather jacket and then his shirt. Both landed on the floor at their feet. As much as she wanted to taste his cock, his divine pecs drew her. She licked one of his nipples and then the other.
“Ten seconds. That’s all you’ve got before I take over.”
Storm needed to be in control, and Chey could handle that. “Shoes.”
She was barefoot, so she worked on his zipper while he kicked off his boots. He was all motorcycled out. God, but this man was everything she’d ever dreamed of.
As soon as she opened his waistband, she crouched and yanked down his pants. He stepped out of them, and then she went to town on his cock—licking, sucking, stroking, adoring. Bobbing her head on his glorious dick, she grabbed his ass and tightened her hold. She swallowed to open her throat to take in more of him, but he was too damned big.
Storm drew her up by the shoulders. “I can’t wait any longer.”
Chey lifted her hands over her head so he could divest her of her top. In a second, her shirt disappeared.
Stormed licked his lips. “Pink. I like it.”
Instead of undoing the clasp in back, he lifted the bra over her tits, and then bent over. The first lick had her nearly stumbling in its intensity. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Oh, crap. She was still wearing pants. Chey should say something, but she was soaring too high from his wonderfully sensual tugs and nips to take the time to disrobe.
He bit one nipple harder than usual and a sharp ache shot straight through her. When he nabbed the other one, she dug her fingers into his back. Chey was about to comment on the roughness, but then the slight discomfort morphed into pussy dripping pleasure.
Oh, my. “Don’t stop.” Storm’s lips and tongue were like rain to a parched desert. “I want you so much.”
He set her down and fumbled with her pants while she tore off her bra. Damn thing was useless anyway. Her bones cracked and the urge to shift nearly undid her, but she held off. The woman in her had to claim him.
Once she was naked, he drew her to eye level and kissed her hard. This time when she wrapped her legs around his waist, she was rewarded with the pressure of his cock. With her feet against his thighs, she rubbed her body up and down while devouring his mouth. Chey only broke the kiss for more air.
“I swear I’d planned to take my time,” he said in metered breaths, “but I must be in heat. I think when I shifted, all of my human hormones changed to animal ones.”
She laughed. “Welcome to my world.”
In one quick move, he impaled her. God help her. When his cock banged the back of her womb and hit every erotic nerve on the way, her climax nearly swooped in. She tightened her walls to keep him inside her, loving the friction, the tension, the lust that enveloped her.
“Careful, kitten. You’re playing with fire.”
Chey relaxed her body and rode him for all she was worth. Then Storm held her still, withdrew, and drove into her again. And again. And again.
With the last thrust, her resolve broke and her climax descended. Dropping her head back, she gulped in more air, enjoying how the ecstasy pummeled her.
She wanted Storm to hold her forever, but he finally set her down. She planted her palms on his chest. “Wait a minute. You didn’t come.”
“Don’t worry about me. Remember, you still owe me a few climaxes. I plan to have you every which way imaginable. Now turn around and hold on to the counter.”
She did as he asked, and when he slid her legs apart, she’d never felt as vulnerable. Air licked her pussy and her tits pebbled. As his hands slid over her breasts, Storm’s chest met her back, and his cock had no trouble finding its way down her slippery slope.
The first plunge took her breath away. How she could be this excited after having just come, she didn’t know.
Oh yes, I do. This was Storm—her man—her mate.
“I want to love you the way you deserve. Thank you for turning my wishes into reality,” he whispered.
How romantic. Chey pressed her hips back to take in more. “Go.”
He chuckled. “I’m on the edge, but I will hold out. I have hours of loving in store for you.”
“Can’t…wait.” She lowered her head and held on tight for the wicked ride.
As Storm dragged his mouth across her shoulder and up her neck, sparks of ecstasy invaded every part of her body, and goose bumps rippled across her skin. She wanted to touch and taste him, but all she could do in this position was receive him.
And receive him she did. Bending her knees slightly, Chey opened her legs wider and leaned over more. Storm slid one hand to her belly and teased the top of her pussy lips. The pressure from his fingers pushed another climax to the precipice.
“Harder,” she gasped.
“Does my little cheetah girl liked to be fucked?”
“Only by you.” She loved when he talked dirty.
He moved both hands to her hips and thrust in again. Slowly, he eased out as if he wasn’t ready for her to explode. The man seemed to enjoy bringing her to the edge and then stopping.
“Hurry, damn it.” Storm was insufferable.
“You’ll climax when I want you to climax.”
He’d just told her that he wanted her to come as many times as possible. The man needed to make up his mind. If memory served her, she owed him at least two more. Chey growled, and Storm responded with a laugh.
He tunneled back in, but from the way he was grunting, Storm was holding on by a thin thread. He lifted one hand from her hip, and she leaned back hard, driving his cock in farther.
“Damn it, Cheyenne.”
Just as his hot seed scorched her, her orgasm swept in. Together they gasped and yelled, the sound ricocheting off the walls. She couldn’t move and she couldn’t think, but she’d never been happier.
Storm straightened and slipped out. “Don’t move.”
“Can’t anyway.” Chey rested her forehead on the counter.
He returned with a warm, wet towel and cleaned her, then twisted her around. “You make me happy, Ms. Snow.”
“Ditto.”
“So now what happens?” He cocked a brow.
It took a moment for her thoughts to return to order. “Can you be more specific?” She couldn’t tell if he was asking if she was ready to make a commitment or not.
He chuckled. “How about we get dressed first? If you’re naked, I can’t think.”
“Good idea. Since your cock’s still hard, I can’t think either.”
Chapter Eleven
Storm was the first to admit he was a little nervous about going to Cheyenne’s dad’s house for dinner. While it was premature to be discussing the role of an Alpha, Storm wanted to know what obstacles he’d be up against when he and Chey did marry—not that they’d discussed it yet—but when the time came to propose, he sensed she’d say yes. After all, they were mates. The bite had proven that.
“Come in,” her dad beckoned.
The log cabin style home was two-story. Because the downstairs appeared quite large, Storm wondered if her father had ever debated moving. Living alone had to be hard.
Once inside, Chey set the bottle of wine on the kitchen counter.
“You didn’t have to bring anything, but since you did, let’s open it.” Leonard located a corkscrew and opened the bottle while Cheyenne retrieved three glasses from the cabinet next to the sink.
Her dad poured the wine and handed them their drinks. Perhaps because Storm needed the emotional support, he wrapped an arm around Cheyenne’s waist. With wine in hand, she led him to a comfortable looking sofa in the living room.
Storm leaned forward. “Can I ask you something, sir?”
Leonard swung around and waved a hand. “No need for any sir shit. Leo will do. Or dad.” He winked then sat across from them.
“Leo, something has been bothering me.” A lot of things had bugged him, but Cheyenne had answered the big question—why her dad had chosen Chuck in the first place. She explained that her father had never intended for her to marry the man, in large part because he had tried to harm her.
“Shoot.”
Cheyenne squeezed his hand either for support or to make sure he was careful with what he said. “When we last spoke, you mentioned that in your world, a woman has to obey her husband, and that if he asked her to prance around naked, she had to do it.” It wouldn’t be an issue now, but he was curious about the morals of the Clan.
Leo seemed to be working hard to keep the smile off his face. “What about it?”
“In my world, that’s plain wrong. A man and wife should be equal, so if this is the way cheetahs behave, I’m not sure I want to be part of it.” He was bluffing. He’d never leave Cheyenne.
She was the one who cracked up first. “Dad, are you shitting me? You told him that?” She swiped a tear from her cheek.
“Had to make the man mad, didn’t I? I tried to think of the most despicable thing I could.”
Reality dawned. “That was a lie?”
Leo nodded and smiled. “Oh, son. I didn’t know humans were that gullible. I can see my daughter means the world to you, and that’s all I care about.”
She twisted toward him. “Dad needed to make you angry in order for you to shift the first time.” Cheyenne smiled, stood, and then clasped his hand. “On that note, let’s eat. I can smell the chicken and I’m starving.”
“Me, too,” Storm added. Looking like a fool wasn’t how he wanted to spend the evening.
The dinner was pleasant enough, except for the fact everyone skirted the issue of the role of the Alpha. He figured Leo didn’t want to make matters worse by bringing it up and chance embarrassing his daughter. Given how long they’d known each other, her father had to realize theirs was a budding relationship, or else Leo knew Storm wasn’t ready to totally forgive him for lying. However, if Storm had never shifted, he never would have known he had the ability.
As soon as the meal concluded, Leo stood and picked up his plate. “I’m sure you two have better things to do than hang out with an old man.”
“Nonsense, Dad. We had a good time.” Cheyenne glanced at Storm.
“Absolutely. Next time, maybe you can come over to…Cheyenne’s house.” Storm didn’t have a grill at his.
Leo grinned. “Get going. I’ll clean up.”
Cheyenne pushed back her chair and led Storm to the front door. After she hugged her dad goodbye and Storm shook his hand, they left.
He believed he was about to enjoy another amazing evening with Cheyenne, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. Ten feet in front of the door stood Chuck Lord.
“Fuck,” Cheyenne said.
The beefy man had his thumbs hooked in his pockets looking relaxed, but Storm wasn’t fooled. The tic around the man’s eye and his stiff shoulders proved the easy going pose was a sham.
Chuck approached. “Been waiting for you, Doc.”
Either Chuck needed medical attention or he wanted to draw the line in the sand and have a battle to see who deserved to be the Alpha. That was not what Storm wanted, but if the ass came at him or touched Cheyenne, he would fight. He’d done a bit of it in the service, not to mention he’d earned a wrestling scholarship in undergraduate school.
Cheyenne stepped between them. “Go away, Chuck. You’ll never be Alpha. In fact, Dad never intended for us to marry.”
Storm stiffened. “Cheyenne, I don’t need you to fight my battles. How about going back inside to your dad?”
She spun around so fast that she emitted a flash of blinding light. Cheyenne had shifted. He didn’t need this on top of dealing with Chuck.
When she bared her teeth at him, Chuck laughed and twisted toward him. “She told you, dude.” His nemesis faced Cheyenne. “As for you, girl. Stay out of this.” His tone had turned brutally cold.
The whole situation was escalating. “What do you want Chuck?” he asked as calmly as he could muster.
“You out of the way is what I want. And what I want, I get.” He looked over at Cheyenne again.
While he didn’t believe the man was capable of listening to reason, Storm had to try. By now, his little cheetah was facing Chuck, the hairs on her back sticking up straight. “What Cheyenne said is true. Her dad admitted that he made a mistake by pairing the two of you together.”
Chuck sneered. “Just because she turned you into a shifter doesn’t mean anyone will respect you as their Alpha.”
His words stung. News of Storm’s transformation must have spread. He feared that might have been the case, but he’d been up against prejudice before. “If all the cheetahs know that I might take over for Leonard and are that upset about it, where are they?”
A flash of fear crossed his face. “Only a few know.”
Figures. From the man’s shifting gaze and the way he was playing with his shirttail, his claim was a blatant lie. “I’ll take my chances.”
“You aren’t married to her yet. I know she’ll get tired of you soon and come crawling back to me—a real man.” Chuck tapped his chest.
From the smirk on his face, he seemed to believe his claim, and that irritated the hell out of Storm. When the wannabe Alpha spun and shifted, so did Storm. Fuck, that hurt. Hopefully, with time, it wouldn’t be so painful.
Before Storm could get in his fighting stance—assuming it was the same for animals as it was for humans—Chuck charged and swiped a paw across Storm’s face, drawing blood. Cheyenne raced around Chuck’s rear. Damn it. She needed to stay out of the way. This was between him and Chuck.
Hoping to draw him away from Cheyenne, Storm raced off toward the barn. While his stamina was untested, given the poor condition of Chuck’s human body, Storm hoped he could outlast him. He was pretty sure he’d find himself on the losing end of a pawing, scratching, biting fight if he stayed.
His strategy was to tire Chuck out before attacking. Some might say it was the coward’s way out, but for him it was the only way to stay alive. So in circles he went, dashing around the barn a few times. When Chuck gained on him, Storm changed direction and cut across the field. While Storm could move phenomenally fast, he, too, was tiring, but so apparently was Chuck. When Storm believed they’d were equally matched, he raced close to the ranch house to be on more even ground.
Oh, shit. Leonard was there with Cheyenne, both in full human form. One was smiling, the other looked pissed. He shouldn’t be surprised. Cheyenne had been stinking mad.
While Storm was no expert on how cheetahs fought, he knew an animal’s neck was a vulnerable spot. Even cheetahs had hearts, and hearts had arteries. While Storm had no desire to kill the man, he wanted to show him he was worthy of being the Alpha.
Recalling how Chuck had attempted to assault Cheyenne, Storm let his anger fuel the adrenaline already coursing through his system. He turned to attack, teeth bared and claws extended. While Chuck tried to get out of the way, Storm was too quick for him. He bit Chuck on the neck and held on, trying not to puncture anything vital. The whimper from his opponent convinced him Chuck was giving up, so Storm let go.