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

by Lacey Thorn

  Reno didn’t say anything. He couldn’t. Tah was right.

  “I hope she can forgive me. I’d like to be her friend,” Tah said. “I know Abby will, too.”

  “She told me she doesn’t make friends.” He glanced up and met Tah’s gaze. “They either end up dead or betray her. Dead or betrayed. Those are the choices she feels she has.”

  Betrayed me. The words she’d whispered when he’d reached her would haunt him for the rest of his life. She thought he’d betrayed her. It was enough to make him want to roar again, to make him want to shed blood and claim vengeance.

  Tah’s phone beeped, and Reno watched as he held it up, swiping his fingers across the screen and reading something.

  “Logan’s on his way back,” Tah said. “He didn’t find anything.”

  “You said the signal is still coming from here?”

  Tah gave a weary sigh. “It appears so. Have to wait for Logan to get back with the handheld for us to be able to pinpoint it.”

  Both their gazes fell back to the bed and Amia.

  “It’s not her,” Reno said. “I would bet my life on it.”

  “We’re all betting our lives on it,” Tah said. “And I believe you. I don’t think she’s doing anything. Not intentionally, anyways.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “That maybe they’ve done something to help them track her. You said they always find her?”

  “When she was begging me to let her go, she said they would find her, that they always find her.”

  “I’m betting it’s not dumb luck,” Tah growled. “But damned if I can scent anything on her.”

  “Me, either,” Reno admitted.

  Tah looked at him closely. “Are you okay?”

  Reno shrugged, not willing to spout the proverbial fine he normally would. He wasn’t fine, not by a long shot.

  “Twitchy. Feels like my muscles are burning. Hard to focus. Hard to sit here when all I want to do is prowl the fucking room. I want to draw blood for what she went through.”

  “I’m right here,” Tah offered, spreading his arms wide in offering. And he would to. If Reno needed a pound of flesh to be okay, Tah would give it to him. Made it damn hard to stay mad at the bastard.

  Reno snorted. “I feel ripped in two between you and her. I think my beast has always known she’s my mate, even when I fought it. I wanted to mount her, bite her for God’s sake.”

  “Hell, I should have realized with the teeth, the possession in your voice. I was the same way. The signs were all there, and I should have recognized them.” He shook his head. “When Finn told me her threat. Christ, all I could picture was Abby. I won’t let anything threaten my mate.”

  “I can understand that,” Reno agreed.

  “And you were able to keep from biting her?”

  “I felt conflicted. Like that bite was how we mated.”

  “I think you’ve proved otherwise,” Tah said. “Which just emphasizes how much we don’t know.” He shook his head in wonder. “You must be made of steel, my friend.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s hard to hold that bite back. I know,” Tah admitted.

  “But I did,” Reno said. “I didn’t bite her no matter how overwhelming the urge was. I’ve been completely focused on her since she appeared. I needed to touch her, taste her, be inside her.”

  “I’m the same way with Abby. I’m guessing that’s how it is with mates.”

  “I knew you and Abby were like that, but I didn’t put myself in your place. From the moment I knew her last name was Blane, my head tried to convince me she couldn’t be anything more to me.”

  Tah laughed at that. “There’s no fighting what’s meant to be. I’ve learned that much with everything Abby and I have been through.”

  “I’m learning that. I just hope it’s not too late.”

  “If she’s your mate, truly the woman who will become the other half of you, then she won’t be able to not forgive you. Trust me. Abby lets me know just how stupid I’ve been every time. She yells, throws her hands around as if she can thump me into submission with that tiny fist of hers, and lets me know in no uncertain terms just how wrong I am. Then she forgives me, because she loves me. Nothing comes between us. Nothing and no one.”

  “I felt pulled in two different directions when I got here. Part of me wanted to stay with her, to not let her out of my sight.”

  “And the other part?”

  “Wanted to defer to you. I wanted to honor your request to speak with you immediately. I felt honor bound to follow your command.”

  “Whoa,” Tah said with surprise.

  “I think we have the answer to whether I’m a part of your pride or not. The pull to follow you is there inside me.”

  “It was never a question for me,” Tah stated. “You’ve always been a part. Nothing changes that.”

  “And the beast inside me?”

  “Is just as welcome here as you are. Doesn’t matter to me what animal spirit has claimed a home within you. I’ll never turn my back on a brother.” Tah stepped to him and dropped his hand on Reno’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “I have amends to make. To you and your mate.”

  “You owe me nothing.”

  “I owe you for everything I have. You stepped in and protected my mate when I couldn’t. You brought me back to her when nothing else could. Those are debts I can never repay. They are beyond the worth of anything I could give. But know this. Anything you need. Anything you want. If it is within my power to give, it’s yours.”

  “I…” Reno was too choked up to speak, and Tah seemed to know and understand.

  He gave Reno’s shoulder another squeeze then headed toward the door. “I’ll leave you with your mate. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “I will,” Reno said.

  The door opened as Tah went to step out.

  “Tah.”

  “Yes?”

  Reno pushed from the chair and met his friend at the door. Tah stepped forward, and they wrapped each other in a tight hug. More than friends. More than family. Brothers, soul deep.

  “Thank you,” Reno said.

  “You have nothing to thank me for,” Tah countered as he shifted back and met Reno’s gaze. “Anything you need. Either of you. I’m here.” And Tah stepped away, shutting the door, leaving Reno and Amia alone.

  “He’s overwhelming.” Amia’s voice was soft as a whisper coming from his bed.

  “Amia!” He crossed to her and sat beside her on the bed. “Are you okay? Oh, God!”

  He couldn’t stop himself from gathering her close and holding her against his chest. “I’m so sorry. So sorry.”

  He could feel her trembling and knew the moment she locked it all down by the way her shoulders lifted and her hands pushed against him.

  “I’m fine, Reno.” She wouldn’t meet his gaze, instead bouncing that beautiful green stare all around his room. “Where am I? I must say this is a much better room that the first one you had me shown to.”

  “This is my room,” Reno growled. “And I would have never shown you to that room downstairs.”

  Another shudder went through her, but she clenched her hands in the covers and met his gaze head-on.

  “You left me to them. They were following orders.”

  “Not my orders.”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Yes.” His growl filled the room. “Not my orders. Never my orders. I promised you’d be safe with me. I meant it.”

  She shrugged as if his promise didn’t matter, as if he were just another in the long line of those she’d spoken of who’d betrayed her.

  “I will never betray you, Amia. Never.”

  “Then let me go, Reno. Don’t let me be the reason they find you, kill you. Don’t make me live with that guilt.”

  He was shaking his head before she even finished. “I can’t let you go.”

  “You have to,” she pleaded.

  “And you?” He questioned. “Do you think you cou
ld really leave me?”

  She looked confused for a moment, but defiantly nodded her head. “Say the word, and I’ll leave.”

  “You would destroy me?”

  “Never!” she all but yelled. “Staying here, with you, would bring the destruction of you and everyone else here.”

  “Leaving me would,” he countered. “Don’t you understand? I’m not whole without you.”

  “What?” she asked.

  “I told you how badly I want you. I ache for you. Deeply.” He put his hand to his heart. “In here. I ache, and only your touch can soothe me.”

  “Reno,” she began, but he silenced her by leaning in and touching his lips softly to hers.

  “I need you, Amia, like I’ve never needed anything or anyone.” He skimmed his fingers down over her breasts, the hard points of her nipples, until he found the hem of her shirt. Holding her gaze, he lifted it, waiting, watching for her consent.

  With a nod, she lifted her hands and helped him pull it up and over her head.

  “I need you like I need food or water.” His lips traced along her neck while his hands slid behind her to undo the clasps of her bra. “I need you like I need air to breathe.” The bra disappeared, leaving her breasts displayed for him, high and firm with hard pink nipples just begging for him to suckle her. He licked over her neck, tonguing the scratches there, knowing soon he’d replace them with his bite.

  “I’m going to take you,” he told her, and Amia moaned. He could smell the unique scent of her lust rising up around them. “I’m going to strip the rest of your clothes off and feast on your sweet pussy.”

  “Reno.” She groaned his name, and he could hear how much his words stimulated her, smell how hot and wet she got.

  “Then I’m going to turn you over and mount your pussy, burying my cock balls deep inside you. I’m going to fuck you hard and fast, then slow and easy.”

  “Yes,” she cried out in agreement.

  “And when I’m ready to come, I’m going to grip you with my teeth.”

  Her lust-glazed eyes met his.

  “I’m going to grip you and bite down, sinking my teeth into you.”

  “Oh, God,” she moaned, but it wasn’t fear he scented. No. Her lust burned even hotter at his words. She wanted his bite as much as he wanted to give it to her.

  “If you don’t want this, me, then say something now. Tell me no. Demand for me to leave.”

  She shook her head at him.

  “You will be mine, Amia.” He needed her to know, to understand. “Mine,” he said, gripping the snap on her pants and popping it open. He held her gaze as he tugged the zipper down. “Mine, and there will be no leaving me. Ever.” He slipped his hand down into her panties and cupped her hot pussy with his palm. He used his middle finger to dip inside her, rimming her opening with the promise of what was to come. “Tell me. Tell me you understand. Tell me you want this.”

  She nodded, the pink tip of her tongue flicking out to wet her lips. “I want this. You,” she amended. “And you’ll belong to me? You’ll be mine?”

  “I already am,” he vowed as he tugged the pants and panties down her body and off, leaving her completely naked before his eyes. “I’ve been yours since you woke me on that wall with your sweet promise of setting me free.” He skimmed his lips over her nipples, giving each a deep suctioning kiss before easing lower. “And you did. Free me.” His lips brushed her belly, moving ever lower. “All of me. You tempted me.” He shifted, pressing her legs wide to make room for his shoulders. “You took what was tame and content, and tempted it into awakening.”

  “What did I tempt?” she whispered.

  He looked up her body to meet her gaze. He lowered his head, holding her stare as he took the ripe bud of her clitoris into his mouth and sucked gently on it. Her moan of pleasure had his dick jerking behind his zipper with need.

  “The beast,” he groaned, licking over her plump lips on his way to her slick opening. “You tempted the beast awake, and now only you can control him.” Her taste filled his senses, and he purred against her flesh. “Mine,” he claimed and flicked his gaze back to meet hers. “Mine,” he repeated and waited.

  “Yours,” she finally acknowledged. “I’m yours.”

  He sank his tongue deep, pumping it inside her before pulling it back out. “Mhmm,” he groaned and went back for seconds.

  She tasted sweet, addictive. He’d never get enough of her. He fucked her with his tongue, making a feast of her pussy as her moans floated on the air around them. Slowly, he licked his way back up to the hard kernel of her clit and thrust two fingers into her. She met him, pumping her hips in perfect counterpoint to his fingers. One hand gripped him tightly by the hair and held him to her. He wasn’t planning to go anywhere. His only plan was to enjoy, to make her come over and over again, until he couldn’t deny his own need any longer.

  “Reno.” She cried his name as she rode his mouth and fingers. “Oh, God! Oh, God! I’m coming! I’m coming!”

  He loved the way she shuddered and shook as the pleasure overtook her. He could feel her thighs trembling, see the way her stomach contracted. He loved the long, low moan that left her lips as her eyes glazed, then shut. Her fingers tightened to the point of pain in his hair as she tugged and held, her sweet cunt grinding against his jaw and lips. Perfection. She was perfection. He’d never seen anyone more beautiful, and in that moment, he realized something that rocked his whole world.

  Mate was far too simple a word for what she was to him. She was more, so much more. She was his very heart and soul. He would kill for her, die for her, fight off any demon that threatened her. The thought of anyone trying to harm her was inconceivable to him. The thought of her unhappy, sad, had the power to knock him to his knees. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her. It was more than love. It was a joining of souls, of spirits, at least for him. He was still unsure of what Amia felt.

  “Reno.” She whispered his name, her fingers softening in his hair, stroking through the strands.

  He glanced up her perfect body and met her gaze.

  “Take me. Make love to me. Make me yours.”

  He stood, holding her gaze while he quickly stripped off his clothes before joining her once more on the bed. He eased up her body, his lips brushing every inch he passed along the way. He met her lips and shared the pleasure of her taste with her. His tongue penetrated her mouth, finding her tongue and rubbing along it. She surprised him by sucking on his, appearing greedy for a taste of herself. It only made his lust burn hotter. She pulled back, trailed her lips over his neck and down to his chest where she nipped him with her teeth.

  “Fuck me, Reno.”

  He used his knees to part her thighs and slid through her pussy lips, coating his cock with her juices. The broad head bumped her clit, and he watched her eyes flare in ecstasy. He reached down between their bodies, slid his thumb in a tight circle over her clit and gripped his dick. Using one hand to hold his body over hers, he guided his cock to her entrance with the other, and holding her gaze, thrust deep.

  She moaned, arching her head back and closing her eyes. Her hands came up to clutch his shoulders. Her legs lifted and wrapped around his hips, feet tucked against the small of his back. He was lost in her. It was more than the fiery pleasure of her tight cunt squeezing his dick. It was the flush on her face, the sexy cast of her eyes. It was the spill of her curls over his pillow, a cascade of red and gold that made him think of a sunset. It was the sounds she made, how she crooned his name and begged for more.

  She came again, her pussy rippling around him, almost milking his cum from him. But not yet, he wasn’t ready, yet. He needed more. He tugged free and, with her help, rolled her over onto her belly beneath him. She moaned as she came up on her hands and knees.

  “More,” she demanded, glancing over her shoulder at him. “Give me more. Give me everything.”

  With a loud purr, he thrust home again, and wasn’t that a good description. She was home to him. He was begin
ning to understand that there was never really any chance of him letting her go. He couldn’t. And he would bet that was why she’d never really attempted to leave him after the first time they’d tasted each other. There was no going back for either of them.

  He rode her hard and fast, following the direction of every cry she made.

  “Harder!”

  He gripped her hips tight in his hands and pounded into her, rocking them both on the bed.

  “Faster, Reno! Fuck me faster!”

  He pumped his hips, pistoning in and out of her slick heat.

  “Oh, yes! Yes! Oh, fuck yes! Reno! Reeennnooo!”

  His name was a long drawn out wail as she fisted around him and came again. Her cunt was so wet he felt her juices coating his cock and slipping down to moisten his balls. With a roar of dominance, of possession, he leaned over her, slamming deep and holding his cock there as he covered her and his lips found her shoulder. There, where his teeth kept trying to claim her, he finally did.

  “Mine!” He gave the primal claim just before his canines sank deep, finally marking her in the way his beast demanded. He sucked her skin with his mouth as his cock swelled larger, stretching her farther around him.

  “Reno!” She yelled his name, one hand gripping the covers beneath them while the other reached back and buried in the hair at the base of his neck. She pushed into his bite, pressing her skin deeper against his mouth.

  His cock jerked, and his cum left him in what felt like an endless wave of hot spurts that had him dropping over her, too weak and spent to move. He could hear her panting for breath, and struggled to get his body to move off of her.

  “No.” She tightened her grip in his hair. “Don’t move. Not yet. I love the feel of you inside me. The weight of you over me.”

  He had to be crushing her, but he enjoyed the feel of her under him as well, took pleasure in covering her with his heat and strength. Still, he moved, using his arms to push himself up, his head hanging as he sucked oxygen deep.

  She tilted her head back, just enough to meet his gaze, and the slow smile that graced her lips had him feeling like a king.

  “Nobody has ever made me feel like you do,” she whispered.

  Fuck king. He felt like a god. He tugged his cock free and shifted to land on his side next to her on the bed. He used one hand to trail down her back from shoulder to the full, round curve of her oh-so-tempting ass. He was incapable of not touching her.