That allowed her to give him a watery smile. “You looked so scary when you came into the bakery, I thought you were mad at me.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, kotyonok. I knew the moment I stepped into the bakery and smelled him that Alessandro was leopard and he was close to you when you were going into a heat. Did you tell him you were engaged to me?”
“We hadn’t gotten that far in the conversation. I was trying to find out if his family had been the ones to put a hit out on my family. He asked after my father, which he would either way. We worked for them, maintaining their cars. As I said, my father and grandfather drove for them sometimes, and that last drive each one made was for their family and the Anwar family.”
He turned in his seat, his hand cradling her throat, his thumb tipping up her chin so her eyes were forced to meet his. “Ania, I warned you to leave it alone.”
His voice had gone scary low. His eyes glittered at her, that dark menace that warned her he had gone from being sweet to suddenly dangerous.
“I know. I hadn’t planned to do it, Mitya. He was there. He was asking questions. I just tried to lead him a little, but honestly, I couldn’t tell anything, and then I was all over the place emotionally and physically. I couldn’t hear myself think.”
He bent his head and brushed a kiss against her lips. Then her chin. His hands dropped to her rib cage, nearly surrounding her. He kissed her throat and then his mouth was on her left breast, drawing the soft mound deep inside.
It felt decadent. Hot. Erotic. She sat pinned by her seat belt, naked from the waist up, with Mitya using his tongue, teeth and mouth on her breast. Each hard flick of his tongue on her nipple sent blood rushing through her veins. His tongue stroked rough caresses and then his teeth tugged hard. Bit down gently. Her blood went hot. She tipped her head back and arched, giving him full access.
Then his mouth was on her right breast, and his hand was at her left, kneading and massaging, fingers pinching down on her nipple until she wanted to scream. Then, when he let up, the blood rushed straight to her clit and pounded through her sex. He covered both breasts, with his hands and mouth, until the fire was back, a fevered pitch.
How could he do that when he wasn’t touching her anywhere else? She’d never felt so beautiful, or so wanton. His hair brushed her skin, adding to the fire sweeping through her. He lifted his head, looking into her eyes.
“I want to fuck you until neither of us can breathe. You do that to me, Ania. Your leopard has subsided. So has mine, and I still want you. My fuckin’ cock feels like it’s going to shatter.”
She circled his neck with her arms. “I’ll take care of that when we get home.” She knew they were on the road that swept up to the hills, getting close to home. Her heart pounded, and she ached for him.
“You’ll take care of it now.”
“Now?” Her hand dropped down to the front of his trousers. Her heart went crazy. Her mouth actually watered, and her breasts throbbed. She loved his voice when he went all commander on her. She didn’t understand the difference when that same tone annoyed her outside of any sexual activity.
“Yes, now.”
She rubbed her hand over the very expensive material. “I don’t know, honey. Are you certain?”
His eyes blazed fire at her and he reached out, unsnapped her seat belt and yanked her down so she was lying across the leather seat. He stripped off her panties and jeans so fast she hardly realized he’d done it. She tried her best not to smile when his hands conveyed impatience and his eyes had gone feral. He opened his trousers, somehow managed to turn on the seat, and then his mouth was between her legs as he straddled her.
Hot. Wild. Insane. She caught his hips, but there was no stopping the press of his cock into her mouth. He might have been intimidating, as she had very little control. The leather of the seat was at her back and he rode her mouth, pumping in and out in a slow glide. She used her tongue and alternated licking and sucking, doing her best when he was controlling the action.
It was difficult to think when his mouth was attacking her, driving her up so fast while his cock burned her lips into a wide stretch and slid over her tongue, a scorching-hot treat. She dug her fingers into his hips, pulling him closer, her own hips bucking a frantic rhythm against his mouth.
Twice he went so deep that she nearly panicked, unable to breathe, but when she began to fight, he lifted his mouth from between her legs. “Stop. You’re fine. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.” He waited until she stilled before pulling his cock from her, so she could get air.
Already she was chasing after him, eager to get the pulsing promise as his cock swelled and she could feel his heart beating right through his shaft. He began that easy glide again, his mouth once more driving her wild, and then it happened a second time, his cock sliding deep, pushing her boundaries, her comfort zone, holding her helpless there. She tried to be still, but panic rose and once again she found herself fighting him.
“Ania.” His voice was very calm. Just as before, he didn’t move. “Learn to trust me. You’re my world. I wouldn’t harm you.”
Again, it took a tremendous effort on her part to be still and allow him to cut off her air. The moment she stopped struggling, he pulled back, let her take a breath and then began that exquisite pumping again. His cock swelled, pushing at the silken mouth. She rubbed over him with her tongue. All the while her body coiled tighter and tighter until she couldn’t hold back the waves burning through her.
His cock grew thicker, and then it was jerking hard, and she was forced to swallow the hot liquid pouring down her throat. There was something exciting, even thrilling, about lying on a back seat with his cock in her mouth, his mouth between her legs, orgasms rolling through both of them.
It took a moment to realize the car had ceased moving. A hand hit the top of the vehicle. “Get the hell out, Mitya,” Sevastyan’s voice was tight. “I’m heading for the bar and I’m done for the night.”
Mitya moved, pulling his spent cock free of her mouth as he sat up. He gave a soft groan. His cousin was a shifter. A leopard. He had heard every sound coming from the back seat. Smelled every scent. Heard her screams. He had to be desperate for a woman. He cursed himself.
“Go ahead, Sevastyan.” Mitya’s hands on Ania’s shoulders helped her into a sitting position.
“The others will be here if you need them.”
Mitya heard the strain in Sevastyan’s voice. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop myself. She needed . . . care.”
Ania wrapped her arms around her middle and rocked herself. Her body was still on fire, but now she was embarrassed. Mitya put his arm around her.
“Is that what you call it? I’m gone,” Sevastyan snapped.
7
THE rain had finally stopped, although the windows were covered with drops. Beside Mitya, Ania was asleep, worn out by the nearly violent sex they’d shared in the car. He kept his body tight against hers, his arm circling her waist, hand cupping her breast. He inhaled her scent. She’d taken a long bath as soon as they’d gotten home, hurrying into the house and upstairs, his jacket covering her.
He found he could barely keep his hands off her. He loved that he could touch her when he wanted. That he could take her anytime, night or day. He’d gone so many years without a woman’s touch, without her hands or mouth on him, because he feared when he achieved his release and he was vulnerable, his leopard would strike at the woman. Now, he had a woman he had come to almost revere, and she wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her.
He knew Ania was still unsure of him. She believed he was with her solely because his leopard had claimed her leopard. She didn’t realize Mitya had claimed Ania. She was his. He liked her. More, that affection was growing into something else. The way she cared for her father. The way she worried about Annalise’s future. She was even paying for an apartment for Annalise, so she wouldn’t have t
o see the terrible end to her father’s life. The fact that she had begun her own investigation and was shaping herself into a sniper. He loved all of that in her.
He rubbed his thumb back and forth over the soft swell of her breast. Everything about her appealed to him, even that little streak of defiance she had. He knew she thought she could get away if she wanted. He also knew she couldn’t. There was no going back for either of them. He pressed a kiss into the nape of her neck. He knew how lucky he was. The odds of finding his mate were a million to one, and yet she was there in bed with him.
He savored the sight of her, lying there curled up in that way she had. She was naked because he liked her that way. She complied with his wishes when it came to anything in the bedroom. Never once had she said no to him, not that he would have accepted that. The only reason his woman might say no was if she was afraid, and he didn’t want her to ever be afraid of anything they did. If that happened, he’d back off and introduce her much more gently to whatever it was she feared.
He lifted his head again to look down at her face, the long sweep of her lashes and her full lips. He had never thought he was capable of love. He didn’t count his cousins, because he didn’t think in terms of love with them. He didn’t identify emotion. But Ania . . . She was different. She was getting into him. Deep. He thought of her continuously. He didn’t like her to be upset. He wanted her trust above all else.
Mitya considered what he was asking of her. She had to accept him, believing he was a criminal. Not just any criminal, but a very high-ranking one. He was asking her to do that. No, he was demanding it of her. He wanted her trust on every level, yet he had no intention of allowing her into his business. It was too dangerous, and he wasn’t taking chances with her life.
In a very short time, he knew he had grown to need her. Not just the sex, although he was totally addicted, but the promise of her. The brightness of her. The beauty that was far more than skin-deep. He wanted her loyalty. Her faithfulness. Her love. That was the bottom line. He wanted Ania to fall so deeply in love with him, she would never consider leaving him.
“I’ll never leave you,” he whispered aloud. “We’ll make this work, kotyonok.”
Although Mitya spoke softly, barely allowing a thread of sound into the room, she stirred, her lashes fluttering. “Mitya? Are you all right?” She turned over, her body sliding against his. Her arms circled his neck and she laid her head on his chest. “I’m right here. Tell me what you need.”
His heart did a slow somersault. His gut tightened into a thousand knots. That was why. Right there. How could he not fall in love? He hadn’t intended to. This was about her loving him, not the other way around, but she was tearing him up inside. What did he need? Was he all right? That was Ania. Thinking only of him.
She kissed his chest. His throat. Up to his jaw. Little kisses. Nothing sexual about them, but they struck at him with far more intimacy than he could stand. He was afraid to love her. Afraid once he admitted it, even to himself, Lazar would strike. She would always be his greatest weakness. Lazar would hate that Mitya had found happiness. Found a woman who would lavish him with love. Ania was that kind of woman.
If he let himself love her, if he gave her that, she would give him everything in return. A house full of laughter. Her complete trust. Her body. Her heart. Her soul. That was Ania. She didn’t do anything by half measures. He knew that by the way she cared for her father, by the way she practiced with a sniper rifle. She was thorough, seeing to every detail, and she’d be that way with him.
“Things are just a little too close tonight,” he admitted because he had to give her something.
She blinked, and he felt the long sweep of her lashes against his skin. “Can I take it all away for you?”
He closed his eyes and nearly groaned. His body stirred; he felt the heat moving through him, pooling in his groin, but he didn’t want her to do anything but sleep. He’d been rough. She didn’t realize it, but her female leopard had made a big appearance. She was declaring to them she was definitely going to emerge. It would be rougher than ever, far more so, and Ania needed to be rested. Her body needed time to heal.
“I need to hold you close, baby,” he admitted. It was easier to think he just needed sex. He was a very sexual being. Oral as well, as most shifters were, maybe even more so than most. He liked leaving his mark on her. His leopard was oral, and he knew her female would take the cat’s teeth often, just like Ania took his. He wanted his relationship with her to be sexual, but it was more than that. It was this—the intimacy of holding her close. Talking to her in the night. Needing that as much as he needed her body.
He kissed the top of her head just as a prickle of unease slid through him. He turned his head toward the window. They were on the second floor and had the entire upper story to themselves. Her father had the master bedroom and his men stayed in the various guest rooms, by shifts, until their time to patrol the grounds. Annalise had moved to an apartment in the city.
The unease became more, spreading through him like a cancer. Dymka leapt at him, pushing at his skin, demanding to be allowed freedom. He ran the cat every night. He’d learned to let the leopard out to keep him healthy. Sevastyan and some of his other cousins allowed the leopards to carry out battles as long as they stayed in control. It kept them fit and helped to get some of their energy out, making them a little less of a constant handful.
With Ania and her female in such close proximity, Dymka had settled and Mitya had been at peace. Now the leopard was fighting for control. In a rage. Furious.
“Ania, get dressed, baby.” He shifted her out of his arms and was out of the bed instantly, pulling on clothes he could get off fast if needed.
She rolled over, frowning, looking at him.
“Don’t ask questions, just do it.”
She muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like “bossy, much,” but she threw back the covers and was up, dressing hurriedly. He signaled to her to stay quiet and behind him as he began sliding weapons into various loops in his clothing. Texting Sevastyan and his men, he warned them that someone was close to the house. Each of the guards was expected to text a single letter of the alphabet in response to let the others know they were alive, well and alert. All but one texted back.
Mitya swore under his breath. The silent guard, Amory Binder, was one of the leopards Drake Donovan had recruited from Borneo. He was younger than Mitya liked, in his early twenties, and not as experienced as the rest of them. Mitya needed men to guard against Lazar and what he believed would be an army when his father made his move, so he’d taken the kid on.
He texted the others to check on the absent guard. Sevastyan sent several private messages to him telling him to take Ania and get to safety. He didn’t bother replying. Ania pulled a gun out of a small box she had under the bed. He watched her load it. She should have had it already loaded, but he wasn’t about to take up that argument with her.
He went out of the room first, letting Dymka take over all his senses. At once, he knew the house had been breached. He smelled . . . leopard. Dymka went insane at the idea that other male leopards were near his female. She hadn’t yet emerged, and the bond wasn’t complete. It took a moment to fight for control. He hissed his impatience at his cat.
“Stay close, Ania. They’re in the house.”
She nodded. She moved almost in unison with him as they made their way down the stairs. The open floor plan on the first floor allowed Mitya to see into the great room, foyer, formal dining room and part of the kitchen. A shadowy figure, all in black, made his way down the hall toward Antosha’s room.
Ania started to move, to push past him, but he gripped her arm hard and shook his head. He put one hand on the railing and leapt over it, landing silently in a crouch, almost directly behind the intruder. The man spun, his leopard clearly warning him, shifting as he did so. Mitya was fast, his speed blurring.
He’d had to learn to rid himself of clothes and shift in a heartbeat, to keep his father from breaking his bones.
Dymka met the large golden leopard in the air. The two heavy cats crashed together, ripping at each other’s belly and genitals, teeth trying to sink into throats. Loose skin helped to save both animals as they hit the floor and rolled over and over.
Ania rushed down the stairs and took a two-handed stance with her weapon, trying for a shot at the golden leopard. It was easy to tell which of the leopards was Mitya. Dymka’s coat was very distinctive. Mitya had named him Smoke because of his coloring and the fact that he could vanish into haze or fog easily.
It was impossible to get a shot off with the two leopards snarling and ripping at each other, rolling over and raking sides and bellies. Ania tried to ease around them to go down the hall to check on her father. The golden cat tried to break free and rush her. Dymka buried both front claws deep into the hindquarters of the golden leopard and pulled it back and away from Ania.
Mitya’s heart, inside his leopard, nearly seized. The intruder was so close to Ania, she had to feel its hot breath on her face. She didn’t freeze as he expected her to do. She put the gun almost right between the eyes of the leopard and pulled the trigger several times. The large cat sagged to the hall floor, the dead weight sprawling out along with pools of blood.
Ania leapt over the leopard’s body and ran down to her father’s room, Dymka right behind her. She grabbed the doorknob and yanked it open just as Dymka threw his weight against her. She went down almost completely under the big cat as several shots rang out.
“Dad,” she whispered, horrified that anyone had managed to breach security.
There was the sound of breaking glass, and then Dymka was up and rushing into the master bedroom, Ania right behind him. The room was a mess, drawers pulled out, overturned and broken. The pillows were pulled out from under Antosha and ripped to shreds. The two vases had been destroyed. How the intruder had managed to rip everything apart so silently was anyone’s guess. The intruder had gone out his window, breaking the glass to get out.
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