Tempting the Tiger by Lacey Thorn: Awakening Pride Series, Book Two

by Lacey Thorn

  “Go ahead and freshen up,” he offered. “I want to be on the road soon.”

  She nodded and hurried across the room, being sure to pass as far from him as she could. The soft click of the door shutting was in direct opposition to the pounding of his heart. He could still taste her on his lips where he’d trailed them over her neck. He could still feel the scent of her lust wrapping around his balls. His cock was so hard he could pound nails with it. It was going to be a long trip back to Colorado.

  He wondered what she’d say when she found out they were already miles away from Parkview. He’d had a hell of a time sneaking back into town with her unconscious body adding dead weight to him, but he’d been loath to leave her anywhere on the off chance someone found her before he got back. He’d already had his stuff in the Jeep, so it was easy to use the keypad, lay her out in the backseat and use the keys he’d tossed in earlier to start it.

  He’d driven as far as he dared before stopping and renting a cabin for the night. He’d been a little afraid she might wake up then and set the alarm off trying to get out. But she’d been out cold and still hadn’t woken up when he carried her in and, as an afterthought, tied her to the bed.

  He heard the screeching of the alarm and jerked the door open, expecting to see more of the Blane hunters in wait. How had they found him so quickly? Instead, he just caught the tail end of Amia as she took off around the side of the cabin he’d rented on the outskirts of Glacier National Park. He hadn’t wanted to chance a motel.

  He grinned, in no rush to take off after her. In fact, he felt a trickle of anticipation go through him as he used the keypad to shut off the alarm then reset it. There was nothing but woods between him and the next cabin. Woods where Amia was running. Did she even realize she was taunting him to chase her? To capture her and claim her as his prize? He shook his head, trying to dissuade the beast that was starting to ride him hard again. He did his best to throttle the roar back, but it echoed around him anyway. With a grin, he took off after her.

  Did she know how easy she was to chase? Did she have any idea how she left a pheromone trail behind her, pulling him to her? There was something primal about chasing her, sexual even. He could just see her ass darting behind a tree maybe a hundred yards in front of him. He vibrated with the need to take her once he had his hands on her. Just push her to the ground, rip their clothes out of the way and mount her like the animal he was becoming. And it scared the shit out of him.

  He was within fifty yards when he picked up on another smell and realized they weren’t alone. Someone was out there with them, and though he smelled no threat, he wasn’t sure enough of his senses yet to trust he wasn’t just being cocky again. He’d had heightened senses for a long while, but nothing like what he had now that his animal spirit, his beast, was wide awake and demanding free rein.

  He let out another roar and put on a dose of speed that had him catching up quickly. When he was within a few yards, he bunched his thighs and leapt through the air, taking Amia to the ground under him. His muscles burned with the need for something more than he was willing to give, and he felt the snarl of the beast leave his lips at being denied. He did his best to cushion Amia as he took her beneath him and rose to crouch over her.

  “What the—”

  “Shh,” he ordered, his eyes darting everywhere. He could smell whoever was out there. But still, he didn’t feel threatened. “We’re not alone,” he told her when she pushed at him to make him move off of her.

  Her pushing turned quickly into a grip of steel as if she were afraid he’d leave her. Not likely. But her eyes were all over the place, searching just as he was.

  “When I tell you to, I want you to get up and run back toward the cabin. Nowhere else, Amia. Back to the cabin.”

  She nodded her head.

  “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you,” he vowed again. How many times would he need to tell her that before she believed him? He met her eyes then went back to looking around the woods. “Ready?” he asked and felt her nod against his chest. He eased slowly back from her and moved so he was in front, shielding her as best he could while he searched the area. Why couldn’t he find whoever was there?

  “Reno?” She whispered his name in a question.

  He took a deep breath, inhaling the scents around him and couldn’t isolate the one he was searching for. It was there, subtle but still registering. Amia was too close, though, and her scent consumed him as nothing else could. Or maybe it was just that the focus of his beast was more on her and a burning desire to claim her.

  He breathed out and gave the command. “Run.”

  She took off behind him, and he could hear the pounding of her feet against the earth as she headed back the way they’d just come.

  “She’s mine,” he stated, wanting whoever was watching to know Amia was no longer alone. He swore he scented approval, and didn’t that just fuck with his head. “No one will hurt her again. No one.”

  He backed slowly away, keeping his gaze scanning the area around him. When he felt the tension ease from his shoulders, he turned and ran. It didn’t take him long to catch up to Amia, and he tossed her over his shoulder with ease. When she wiggled against him and yelled, he smacked her hard enough on that stellar ass to shut her up. He would have to make sure she understood she wasn’t getting away from him. Not without those answers he needed.

  “Mine,” he snarled again as he gripped her legs tightly to his chest.

  Fuck! He was afraid she’d never be free of him period.

  Chapter Five

  Amia felt the breeze lift her hair as Reno slammed the door shut, then landed with a bounce on her back on the bed. He was over her, using his weight to keep her in place before she could even catch her breath.

  “Don’t ever run from me again,” he commanded, and his eyes glowed, though not as brightly as they had the night before.

  “Who was out there?” she demanded.

  He shrugged. “Someone watching over you. And, no, I don’t think it’s someone trying to get us. This was different. I can’t explain it, but I get the feeling they’re around to help if needed.”

  “They?”

  He shrugged those massive shoulders again, and Amia shook her head. No matter what he thought, it wasn’t safe to keep her with him. One way or another, she would be retrieved and taught another lesson.

  “You can’t take me with you,” she said softly. Why didn’t he realize she would only bring more danger? No one around her survived for long. Not when the Blane family came hunting.

  She’d tried for years to run, even to hide once upon a time. And every time, they found her. She’d learned there was no safety for her in making friends. She was either betrayed, or worse. They died because of her. So she brought the fight to her family, sneaking in and rescuing whenever she could, freeing as many as possible. There was no way to protect herself from the punishments her father—no, Marcus Blane ordered for her. But she could keep some of the people they captured from suffering. So she did. And she sent them on their way. She wanted no friends. They would only be used to hurt her.

  “You’re going with me,” Reno insisted, and part of her yearned to trust him, to believe, if only for a moment, that he could keep her safe.

  “You were going to protect me.” She whispered the words to him. In all her life, no one had ever stepped in to protect her. Not since her mother, and even she hadn’t been able to. Those who needed protection were seen as weak to the Blanes. She couldn’t be weak. So why did it make her heart flutter that Reno had placed himself between her and whomever he’d sensed was out there?

  “I meant it when I said I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.” So calm. So sure of his strength, his ability to survive.

  “You want me?” She phrased it as a question, but they both knew he did.

  He nodded and settled his hips more firmly against hers, letting her feel just how much he desired her. Just once, Amia wanted to feel what it would be like to have a m
an touch her with desire for something other than inflicting pain. She wanted to feel needed, cherished, perhaps even loved, though it would just be her body he thought of. It was more than she’d ever been given, more than she’d hoped for.

  “I want you,” she finally admitted to him and watched his eyelids sink to half-mast over shining blue eyes. She thought she was beginning to understand what the color shift meant. One was man. One was whatever else he was, and the roars he was dropping were making her truly believe there was an animal in there somewhere. Which part of him would take her when she finally gave in?

  He trailed one hand down over her black shirt to her stomach, spreading his fingers wide atop the material. “Are you asking me to take you, Amia?”

  She thought of all the reasons she should say no. All the reasons to back out and stop before things went too far, before he saw the parts of her she wanted to stay hidden. Then she met his eyes and knew there wasn’t a reason that would stop her this time. She wanted something raw and elemental. Something to fuel fantasies for years to come. She wanted him to fuck her. Should she tell him that she wasn’t very experienced? Just a few bumbled attempts with a boy she’d met then watched die before her eyes? That had been years ago. Now she was only threatened with rape, just one of the many mind-fucks the Blanes utilized.

  “There are…pieces of me that aren’t…so pretty.” She finally managed to force the words out past a throat tight with shame. And wasn’t that the ultimate punishment, that she would feel ashamed of the marks they’d left on her.

  “We all have scars. They don’t make us any less than who we are.”

  She nodded her head. “No questions, Reno. Promise me. No matter what you see. No questions.” She didn’t want to get into any of the hows and whys with him. Not here. Not now.

  Slowly, he nodded his head. “No questions. Just me worshipping your gorgeous body.”

  “Then, yes. Take me.” Make her feel alive, for once in her life, make her feel like a woman worthy of having.

  He reached for the hem of her shirt, and she held her breath as he eased it up. He kept his eyes on her face, not once dropping his gaze to the marred flesh he revealed.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he crooned as the shirt cleared her head and was tossed aside.

  His hands traced across her shoulders, down the inside of her arms and back up and over her chest. He rubbed his fingers over her nipples, and she gasped with surprise. She’d never found her breasts so sensitive to touch, at least not in a pleasurable way. They were in her way, a weakness that was used against her to inflict pain when she was captured. As his head lowered, she automatically stiffened, bracing herself for a painful pinch or bite. Instead, she felt the soft brush of his lips, the brief flicker of his tongue across the cotton top of her black bra.

  She shuddered, not in fear, but with the promise his lips whispered to her skin. He sat back on his knees and held her gaze with his for a long moment before dipping his head again. He reached under her and undid the clasps at her back so the cups of her bra loosened around her breasts. Watching her eyes, he eased the straps down her arms and tossed the bra away. His hands cupped her, shaped her, braced her weight, but never once caused her pain.

  “If I knew who put the fear in your eyes, I swear I would rip them apart with my bare hands.”

  He had to be feeling the raised edges of her worst scar, but still he didn’t look. She knew it was jagged, ugly from the number of times Kellan had re-opened it. It never really healed, leaving it red and angry, though they always cleaned it so it wouldn’t get infected. Nice of them. But then she provided a lot of training practice for them. Would Reno be disgusted when he finally looked? Would he flinch and turn away from her? Had her family stolen this from her as well?

  “Come back to me, Amia. No memories allowed here, except the ones we make.”

  She caught her breath at the warmth in his eyes and found herself doubly startled when he bent to kiss a tear from her cheek. She didn’t cry, had learned the hard way tears changed nothing. They were just another form of weakness she couldn’t afford to have.

  “You make me feel beautiful,” she told him. And it was the truth. Right here. Right now. She felt like the most beautiful woman in the world.

  “You are more than beautiful, so much more. You make a man want to bare his soul and hope for things beyond his means.”

  What was he saying? What…

  The question died away as his head bent again, and she felt his lips on her nipple. Licking, teasing, then enveloping and sucking. She cried out and arched into him, lifting her hands to wrap around his head and hold him close. Maybe her breasts weren’t so useless after all. She swore she felt as if a string was attached from her nipple to her womb and every tug he gave stimulated her core.

  “Reno.” His name was a whisper of awe from her lips.

  He met her gaze and tugged against her hold to move over to give her other nipple the same treatment. She writhed with need by the time he lifted his head again and kissed along the bottom of both breasts. He reached up and pulled her hands from his hair and kissed both palms then placed them over her breasts.

  “Touch yourself. Show me how good it feels while I taste you.”

  She just cradled them at first, not sure she could do such a thing while he watched. She held her breath as he dropped his gaze to her stomach and the scars she couldn’t hide. The three red slashes left by Kellan’s favorite whip crossed her stomach in an angry red reminder of how powerless she was when it came to them. She felt another tear spill as a hiss left his mouth. Now he would turn away from her. Tell her thanks, but I don’t think I can do this. Because she was ugly, hideous even. And no man would ever want her.

  Kellan’s words, not hers. But they filled her head and ate into her soul, feeding an insecurity she couldn’t shake.

  Then she felt Reno’s tongue slowly tracing the scars as he planted soft kisses from just under her left breast to where it ended above her right hip. Her eyes met his, and she had to blink to bring him into view. She was crying. Again. Who knew she still had this many tears locked inside her?

  “Listen to me and only me. Whatever voices are in your head don’t belong here, with us.” His eyes, neon blue orbs. “You are a woman of immense strength and courage. I will kill whoever put these marks on you, whoever put the shame in your eyes. They will pay for ever making you feel less than beautiful. And you are beautiful, Amia. To me, you are the most beautiful woman in the world.”

  She bit her lip to hold the sob in as her heart tumbled to his feet. He had the power to destroy her in ways no Blane ever could. A stranger, who saw her more clearly than anyone in her life ever had.

  “Mine.” He whispered the claim against her flesh then scraped his canines just above the waistband of her pants. He glanced up at her, maybe to gauge her reaction, maybe just to see if she’d heard him. It didn’t matter. In that moment, she was his, his and only his, until reality intruded.

  He flashed his teeth as another purr seemed to rumble in his chest. She should be afraid of his teeth. They were long and both looked and felt wickedly sharp, but she wasn’t. They actually served to turn her on more. He pressed her thighs wide as he eased down until his head was poised just above the top of her cargo pants.

  “These have to go,” he stated, watching her eyes.

  She waited for him to use his hands, to rip her pants from her, but he surprised her again. Holding her gaze, he dipped his head and used those wicked teeth to free the snap, to tug the zipper down, before burying his nose against her exposed panties and inhaling deeply.

  “You smell like heaven. Like sunshine after a fresh rain.”

  She swallowed and rubbed her thumbs over her aching nipples. His eyes flared, and she knew she’d pleased him by touching herself. Suddenly, she really wanted to please him. She moved her hands, shaping her breasts, lifting them up so she could lean down and run her tongue over her nipple. She’d tried it once before but hadn’t found it excit
ing. Funny how that changed with Reno watching her.

  He groaned and used his hands to tug her pants and panties over her hips until they hit her mid-thigh. Then he stopped and dropped his head as if he couldn’t wait any longer. His tongue feathered along her swollen pussy lips and dipped inside, tracing her portal before darting up to flick against her throbbing clitoris. She dropped a hand to thread her fingers through his dark brown locks, holding him in place as he licked her slit.

  “Reno.” No longer a whisper, but not a scream—more of a long, drawn-out moan of need.

  “More.” He grunted and moved, shoving her pants the rest of the way down until they caught on her shoes. He grunted again but made quick work of everything until she was left completely naked to his gaze. He could view every inch of her marred flesh, all of her, even the parts she tried so desperately to hide. All embarrassment left her, though, as he settled between her thighs again and began to eat her in earnest.

  His tongue was wicked, licking and flicking, tasting everywhere. She lifted her hips off the bed when he thrust it inside her and wiggled it, tonguing her walls. She moaned and used her free hand to reach for the bed, wrapping her fingers tight in the covers as if that would keep her grounded. She brought her knees up and pressed her heels into the bed, and he moaned in what she took as appreciation, considering the way he increased the speed of his tongue fucking.

  God, it was good, so good. He’d sworn she’d be begging him to take her while she was riding his face, and he hadn’t been cocky like she’d told him. He’d been honest. She was barely holding in her pleas for more. She wanted to feel him, all of him, deep inside her. As his tongue retreated to her clit and a long finger took its place, she couldn’t keep holding back.

  “Take me,” she begged. “Reno! Take me!”

  Reno felt how hot and tight she was, and it made man and beast both desperate to be inside her. His animal senses surged with the knowledge of how much she wanted him, and that knowledge made his chest swell with possessiveness. Though others might have touched her, it was easy to see from her expressions, from her innocence, none had given her the pleasure he was just beginning to show her. And no man would ever touch her again, but him. Even as he fought that thought, a rumble worked up from his chest as his beast pressed to challenge his denial. Amia was his. All he had to do was take her, claim her. But he couldn’t. No matter how much he wanted to. What he could do was show her how beautiful she was, how much pleasure he could and would bring her anytime she asked him to. He could worship her with his mouth and body.