Mate Night: An enemies to lovers shifter romance (Southern Shifters Book 2)

by Eliza Gayle

  Kane. Her mate. The words sunk in a little deeper and scared the hell out of her. Maybe in a perfect world, but this was far from ideal. He knew firsthand that she was not a nice person and he had to know that wasn’t likely to change. She sat hard on the edge of the bed and put her head in her hands. What if he didn’t return? What would she do then?

  Chapter Ten

  Kane ran a few hundred yards in the opposite direction of the house before he circled back. He scented the intruders and didn’t recognize any of them. Blood red rage filled his sight as he moved back towards the broken window, planning to attack the idiots from behind.

  He couldn’t fathom who thought they could attack him and his mate and live to tell about it. He’d figure that out later, right now he needed to secure the house and make sure Lara got to safety. If anything, and he meant anything, happened to his mate the valley here would flow red.

  He spotted one of the men laid out on the ground by a clump of bushes and moved in that direction, not making a sound. When he was within thirty feet of the bastard he pounced on his back. In a burst of speed and rage he grabbed onto the back of the man’s neck with his teeth, twisted, and bit down with all the force of his anger, severing the spinal cord and killing the sniper within seconds. Quick and forceful was the weapon of the cougar.

  He looked down at the automatic rifle in the intruder’s hand and worried all the more for Lara. If she hadn’t found the door she’d be trapped inside with another gunman and he’d yet to ascertain their exact numbers. As a cougar he was much stronger than any human male, but add guns to the equation and the animal became vulnerable once again.

  A low snarl formed in his chest as he shifted back and yanked the weapon from the dead guy. He hated guns and the weak humans who used them, although sometimes even for his kind they were a necessary evil. With his sharpened vision he scanned the area for additional intruders, but his heightened sense of hearing located them. At least two, if he heard the footsteps crunching against glass correctly. Strangers searched his house while he traversed the trees and shrubs surrounding it. He moved effortlessly among the brush he knew like the back of his hand.

  He scanned the room beyond the broken window and found nothing. The sound of their movements came from deeper inside. Probably the kitchen. He jumped through the opening and tucked himself behind the desk, waiting for gunfire or any other attack.

  A few seconds that felt like hours ticked by and Kane opted to move in closer. By now Lara should be in the caves and hopefully even found his hidey-hole, where she’d be safe...unless she left the trap door open. No, he shook his head, his woman was far too smart and ornery to do something stupid like that even under pressure.

  He debated shifting back to cougar so it would be easier to move around undetected, but with enemies carrying guns, the best approach would be to fight gunfire with gunfire. It would smoke them out of his house.

  Kane rushed forward through the door and against the wall of the hallway. The noises made by the assholes in the kitchen sounded louder as they slammed through door after cabinet door searching. What the hell were they looking for? They couldn’t know about the tunnel, so why would they think he or Lara would be in the kitchen?

  He puzzled over the situation as he crept closer to the pass through that led to his kitchen. Something about this wasn’t right. If they wanted to kill him or Lara, wouldn’t they be ransacking the entire house for them? The logic of their movements escaped him as he peered around the corner of the wall.

  He’d been right, there were two more of them. Not willing to give them a second more to react, he shot the first one through the temple. The sound of the gun vibrated the whole house as the man fell dead in slow motion to the floor. For a moment his partner stood stunned before aiming his gun at the doorway and letting loose with an entire magazine of ammunition.

  Kane fled to the other side of the room, away from the ricocheting bullets and flying bits of drywall as the asshole destroyed all the hard work he’d done on his home. If Lara wasn’t in the picture that alone would be enough to warrant some serious pain to these yahoos.

  When the gunfire halted, he listened for the man’s heartbeat and smiled when he heard a racing pulse and labored breathing. The scent of stark fear flooded the house and Kane wondered how close the man was to peeing his pants. Given half the chance, the intruder would likely flee from his house and hunt for cover. Too late for that. He wouldn’t leave his property alive.

  He pressed his back against the wall and waited. His extreme patience would pay off here when the man got tired of waiting and came looking for him. Come on, mother fucker, come to Daddy.

  His thoughts strayed to Lara again and he prayed she’d listened and done as he asked. Otherwise, when he caught up with her...

  There was only one person left breathing in the house, so she had at least gotten out. Now all he had to do was get rid of this asshole and he’d find her and assure himself she was okay.

  A gun muzzle poked through the opening and his body drew taut with anticipation. He quietly laid down his own gun; he wouldn’t need it anymore.A fewmore inches and he’d beset. He counted...one...two...three...his hand snaked out faster than any human’s and grabbed the barrel of the rifle and whipped the man from the kitchen, flinging him hard against the opposite wall. His head crashed into the drywall leaving, another damn dent before he crumpled to the ground unconscious.

  This one had to stay alive for at least a little while longer...he needed answers. He hefted the soldier over his shoulder and retrieved some rope from a kitchen drawer. In the dining room Kane dumped him in a chair and tied him securely. With the chair placed in the middle of the room, away from any furniture or objects, if he woke before he returned there’d be no escape options.

  Kane ran to his room long enough to grab and don a pair of pants before he headed outside and the other side of the mountain to a hidden trap door that led down to hopefully where Lara waited. He swept through the small hatch type door and jumped the few feet to the bottom of the cave. If anyone did find their way this far they wouldn’t get in without a ladder or a rope, and by then the alarm would alert him with plenty of time to respond.

  He jogged down the tunnel to the door of his private quarters. He’d unlocked the doors by remote from his office when he’d sent her here, but hadn’t told her that once she got in she would be locked in without the code. There had been no time to have that discussion. He hoped to God she hadn’t tried to get out.

  He punched in the code and reclosed the hidden alarm panel built into the rock wall. If you didn’t know it was there you’d never notice it. He opened the door cautiously, noticing the lights already on.

  “Lara?” He no sooner got the door open than she launched herself at him, fists and legs flying.

  “You son of a bitch, you locked me in here. I couldn’t get back out and I didn’t know whether you were dead or alive. What if you had needed my help? What if you had died, how the hell would I have gotten out? I could have died in here.”

  Her tirade continued and her anger and fear swamped him, but what broke his heart were the tears tracking down her face she probably didn’t even notice.

  “Baby, calm down.”

  “Don’t tell me to calm down you motherfucking asshole.” One of her fists connected with his cheek, and he decided enough was enough. He wrestled her to the ground, grabbing both wrists in one hand and holding them above her head. Her shirt slid up, showing a luscious strip of bare flesh that distracted him from what he’d intended, which was to merely talk her down.

  His semi-hard dick stood up and took notice, and the more she struggled underneath him the harder he got. His mouth moved to the bare skin of her abdomen and pressed against the soft skin around her belly button, a small kiss to the little indentation.

  “I would never let you die in here. I couldn’t leave you like that.” His labored breathing made his words come out rough and growly.

  “You don’t have that kind
of control, Kane. Anything could have happened out there.” She half-struggled underneath him. Not enough to really get away, but more than enough to have the blood rushing in his ears.

  “But it didn’t. I know what I am capable of and have a keen sense for assessing a situation. That wasn’t even a challenge. In fact, whoever sent those men understand very little about cougars or weren’t trying all that hard.” He went back to her stomach and this time swirled his tongue into the indentation on her flat stomach. When her body arched upward and a low moan escaped her lips, Kane knew he’d regained the upper hand.

  Mine, all mine.

  Lara had never been so scared and angry in her whole life, and she didn’t know what to think of it. When she’d found herself locked in she’d alternated between stark naked fear and anger that gave her the desire to hunt him down and flay him alive for his treachery. While the space was more than adequate to control her claustrophobia, the uncertainty of her rescue had driven her mad.

  Now his large, flat tongue stroked and licked roughly at her skin, and she no longer cared about being mad at him. Her only clear thoughts were of fucking, of him taking her every which way to Sunday until she screamed and screamed in multiple orgasms. What had he done to her? She had cried for him and worried he wouldn’t make it back to her. This was so unlike her.

  She flung her head from side to side, desperate for him to touch more of her. The knowledge that she wanted him in spite of everything between them told her volumes more than her brain wanted to admit. When had she become attached? She would have to leave him one way or another when this was over, but it wasn’t going to be easy, she would miss him.

  He’d let go of her wrists and she hadn’t noticed until his hands were at her waist tugging at her pants. When her pants were removed and tossed aside Kane slid his hands up the inside of her legs from ankle to thigh. She sighed at the soft sensation of his touch and whimpered when he spread her legs wide. For a minute she thought about the fact they were sprawled on the floor, but really she didn’t care. As long as he didn’t stop touching her she could care less where they were.

  He kissed a trail up her inner thigh and her breath caught in her throat. She waited for more, knew it was coming, but still when his tongue swiped the outer lips of her sex her hips shot off the floor. Oh. My. God.

  “God, babe, you are so wet. Mmmmm.” He purred when he stabbed back into her and licked from top to bottom, just missing her sweet spot. She panted for breath, about to explode from that little touch. His tongue slid inside her and stroked in and out like he fucked. Her center flooded in readiness as she grabbed at his hair and held him in place.

  The world fell away and her body spiraled out of control as his hands drew under her ass and gripped her damn tight to the point of a small bite of pain. She tugged more at his hair and he purred louder in response. “Oh, Kane. Please don’t stop.”

  He shook his head and dove deeper, but it was when he swirled around her clit and nipped at it with his teeth that she bucked and fought underneath him all the while trying to hold his head in place. Colors and light danced in her head as she hovered on the verge of release. He swiped and swirled twice more and everything around her erupted. Her release slammed into her and she fought and writhed against him.

  Her mouth opened to scream and no sound could escape, not when there was no breath left in her body. She opened her eyes in time to see Kane crawling up her body one kiss at a time. His face glistened with her juices and the hard, possessive look in his eyes made her muscles clench all over again. Her hands clutched at his skin, pulling him closer so she could get her own taste. She bent to his shoulder and licked at the soft and salty skin sitting taut over corded muscles.

  An aggressive urge to bite powered through her as his musky scent mingled with her arousal to combine into an aroma that reacted as an aphrodisiac for her. No matter how many times he touched her, or even just looked at her, she doubted it would ever be enough. Her mouth ached for so much more, she bit down on his shoulder, far harder than simple fun and games. She unknowingly aimed to draw blood.

  Kane snarled in her ear. “Fuck yes, baby, mark me.”

  Her mind reared back at what he said, but her body cared less; she wanted her mate and nothing was going to stop her now. She reached between them and unfastened his pants enough to free him. He groaned low and loud when she cupped his cock and balls, rolling them with her fingers. Her free hand pushed more at the waist of his jeans and he helped her push them out of the way. She reveled in the thick, solid heat resting in her hand, ready to please her and be pleased. She smiled at that and wondered how far he would actually go in the pursuit of their bliss.

  Emotions swamped through her and she pushed them back. No, this was sex. Good, hot crazy sex that did nothing but create the pleasure they both needed.

  When her fingers brushed over the slit at the tip his breath caught in his throat and he waited, not breathing. She didn’t want to wait, she wanted him inside her, filling her, so she grasped him with strong fingers and guided him straight to her waiting core. He pulled back and she was forced to let him go.

  “You can drive a man crazy like that, you know.”

  “You deserve it for leaving me here.”

  “You’re mine, Lara.” He grabbed her shoulders and held her down as he pushed his dick deep within her. She wanted to say something back, but how could she with him rubbing against every sensitive spot inside her at the same time? That’s what it felt like, anyway. Her skin sizzled, her clit pulsed, and her nipples hardened to tight points poking at his chest. It was heaven and hell, a feeling she didn’t want to ever stop.

  “I belong to no one.” She panted, tilting her hips enough for him to seat himself deeper.

  “Keep telling yourself that, maybe you’ll believe it.” He grunted and moved faster. Pain erupted in her shoulder at his death grip, and it somehow managed to combine with the pleasure to give her an out of this world experience. How else would she explain the crazy urge to beg and plead for him to never stop fucking her? Ever.

  She contracted her vaginal muscles around him in quick succession until she heard the sudden intake of breath and hiss of an exhale. Oh yeah, she could give as good as she could get.

  “You little witch.” He withdrew from her then and she cried out in protest until he flipped her on her stomach and raised her hips in the air, opening her body to him in a different way. She shivered against his hands, a delicious sensation that arrowed straight to her clit. With no pause he thrust into her to the hilt and their mingled moans filled the room.

  “So damned tight.” One hand grabbed at her waist and the other her shoulder as he moved in and out of her in rough, fast strokes. She arched her back and pushed against him, picking up his exact rhythm.

  Bright burning streaks of pleasure shot through her as he touched on nerve endings she didn’t know she had. Nothing had ever been this good. The stretching, the fullness...she cried out over and over and begged him for more. When she didn’t know if she could take any more of the escalating pleasure and rough fucking she cried out. “It’s too much.”

  “Do you want me to stop?” He didn’t slow, instead he raised up and angled his entry to nudge against her sweet spot every time he pushed himself in.

  She shook her head and pounded her fists on the floor, grappling with the quivering of her body and the rough voice he spoke with. It rumbled along her spine, turning her on even more as she imagined him fighting the beast, the animal, from taking what he wanted more than anything. He’d told her if he bit her on her birthmark as he came in her body their DNA would magically be mingled forever, creating a bond neither of them could break for the rest of their life.

  His rough tongue lapping at the curve of her back distracted her thoughts, but it was the teeth scraping her skin that sent her rocketing against him. “Harder, Kane, harder.”

  His hips slammed against her ass, driving him hard and deep each time until her muscles were so taut and aching she
wondered if she’d break. She squeezed her eyes closed and forgot about everything around them, only caring about the way he stretched her over and over as he tunneled inside her with every grunt and forceful move.

  “Come for me, baby. Hurry before I bite you. I’m not sure how long I can hold it back. I hurt for you, Lara.”

  Her orgasm snuck up and swamped her as her whole word exploded around her. Every muscle in her body clenched and she screamed long and loud. The pleasure tore at her, fracturing her until all she could do was take what he could give.

  “Fuuuck!” He thrust into her one last time on his own blast of release, shuddering against her as the heat between them blazed out of control. She collapsed underneath him, utterly exhausted. Between their run in with intruders, her ordeal with being locked in and the hottest damn sex ever, she was worn out.

  Kane stirred behind her and slid from her body. She missed the connection immediately. She’d instinctively known how close he’d come to mating her and part of her wished he had. Her eyelids drooped, she needed to rest for just a minute, regain her strength. She didn’t even pay attention to Kane picking her up and carrying her to the bed.

  “Get some rest, baby, I’ll wake you when it’s time to go. And no, I won’t leave you alone.”

  Those were the last words she heard as she drifted into a sound sleep.

  Chapter Eleven

  Kane paced the room restlessly, glancing over at the computer screen every few seconds. He’d booted up the security cameras in the house and had kept an eye on the asshole tied up in his dining room. About thirty minutes ago the idiot woke up and was now trying to work his way loose. Kane didn’t think he could, but he itched to get over there and tear this guy apart.