by Jenika Snow
A heady sensation passed through him, one that had nothing to do with the liquor he drank, and all to do with how bad he fucking wanted between her thighs.
He let his gaze travel up and down her body in a quick sweep but then lingered on the parts of her that called to his bear. She had a waist that was made for him to wrap his hands around. The shirt she wore was some kind of sweater set and far too many layers for his liking, but that didn’t matter, because he had the image of her rose-colored nipples ingrained in his brain.
Even now, all he could see was her coffee-stained blouse and bra. He had been able to see her full breasts, which had his hands itching to touch them. The fact that she was all he could think about should have bothered him. But it didn’t.
It energized him.
He had to find out who she was, what she felt like under his hands, tasted like under his tongue. He knew her name, and saying it over and over again in his head was like an auditory orgasm.
Talia Landon. Talia Landon. Talia Landon.
It was feminine and sexual and a name he wanted to say while buried deep inside her pussy.
“Ford, man, I think I’m heading out soon.” Bram stepped in front of his line of sight, and Ford let out a low growl. “Really, dude?” Bram cocked a brow, looked over his shoulder at where Talia sat with the three assholes, and glanced back at Ford with an amused expression.
He was acting dumb, and growling over some female he didn’t even know was something a male would do only for his own female.
Talia Landon was definitely not his, so he needed to control his shit.
“Somethin’ you like, brother?”
“Fuck off, Bram.” Ford picked up his beer and took a drink it, never taking his focus off his brother, although he wanted to watch Talia. Bram grinned broadly.
There was this prickling on the back of Ford’s neck. He straightened in his seat and looked over Bram’s shoulder. Talia was glancing in his direction, and when her eyes landed on his, he swore he could hear the increase in her pulse.
His dick was hard as hell, and all he wanted to do was walk up to her and take her mouth in a kiss that would leave her weak and just as fucking turned on as he was. And then he wanted to lick every inch of her until she would never forget how his touch felt.
What in the fuck is wrong with you?
These thoughts were dangerous. Ford wanted to ease this ache he had for the sexy-as-sin red fox shifter, and he was going to accomplish this tonight.
“See ya,” he said and waved Bram off without a glance. Ford kept his gaze on Talia.
The male who had been walking in front of her threw his arm around her shoulders and leaned in to say something in her ear. He was a big fucker, tall and heavily muscled, and far too close to her. Ford found himself curling his hands into tight fists, straightening, and taking a step closer.
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, filtered out the vile aromas that surrounded him, and focused on Talia’s and the male’s scents. He snapped his eyes open and felt the tension inside him start to ease.
Talia and the male shared the same blood, and the fact that the man was related to her had the wild, edgy bear inside him calming.
What the fuck was wrong with him?
4
Ford was pleased that she was trying but failing to keep her eyes off him. He could smell her curiosity and arousal, and he knew it was directed at him by the fact that her cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink the longer she stared at him.
The blond male sitting beside her looked fierce as he said something to her.
She broke eye contact with Ford and started arguing with him. After a minute, he shook his head and stood, the other two males following suit. The guys left her at the table alone, a big mistake for more than one reason, but lucky for him, because he wasn’t wasting another moment to start up whatever this was that simmered between them.
Pushing away from the bar, he made his way through the gyrating bodies and stopped in front of her. He felt feral inside, ready to haul her up and claim her in front of everyone. The bear inside him clawed to get out, to take supremacy over the situation. Ford fought the fucker back, because no way in hell was the asshole getting Talia.
She was his, and even if he and his bear were of the same entity, he was the alpha, not the other way around. Her pulse quickened, and the scent of her arousal and nervousness fueled his own lust. His cock pulsed behind his jeans, begging to be released.
Why his presence put her on edge was a mystery to him, but the fact that she desired him as much as he did her had him wanting nothing else but to take her to his place right the fuck now.
That thought had him stilling. Take her back to his place? He wanted to take Talia to his place, wanted her in his bed, smelling of him with his dick buried deep inside her. The feeling of his bear wanting anything to do with a female was odd to him, because never had his inner animal wanted to come out and show its dominance.
His bear always stayed in the back, letting Ford take the reins and control the situation. On this occasion, it seemed his bear wanted Ford to take the backseat while he dominated this little red fox, and damn was he going to take her good and hard.
He didn’t want to frighten her, so he schooled his features and took the seat beside her. The way she shifted in her seat, and the increased potency of her arousal, told him Talia was already primed for him, even if she was nervous as hell.
Maybe he should have gone easy with her, not rushed things or tried to get her under him so quickly. But fuck it, he wanted this, needed this, and for the first time in his life, he wanted a female more than he wanted his next breath.
Was there something else between him and Talia, something more elemental, and that was why he had such a strong desire to have her? Or maybe he was just thinking too fucking hard.
He couldn’t help it though, not with his arousal and testosterone coursing through his veins like two damn freight trains coming at each other, just getting ready to crash together. She squirmed in her seat again, and the smell of her innocent lust slammed into him and caused his dick to stiffen even further. If he got any harder, his damn cock would bust right through his jeans.
“Talia.” He leaned in an inch and inhaled deeply. He was on autopilot now, unable to stop himself from making it pretty fucking clear what he wanted. His bear growled deep inside at her intoxicating aroma. “Those males shouldn’t have left you alone.” He cast a glance at the shifters at the bar, and even though he knew one of them was related to her, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was with one of the other two males.
That had his claws starting to unsheathe as his animal came to the forefront. He’d fight for her, draw blood, and do some major fucking damage to claim her as his. “If you were mine, I wouldn’t let you out of my sight. That only gives others the impression they can come sniffing around what isn’t theirs, and that leads to broken bones and bloody bodies.”
Her eyes widened, and he knew he was going too fast, saying feral things, and he was going to run her off before anything happened between them. “E-Excuse me?” she stuttered a little, and he found himself leaning closer to her, needing to have her heat and scent surrounding him.
She looked over her shoulder, and Ford followed her line of sight. The three males were engaged with other females.
“I don’t have a male.” Her cheeks turned even redder, and the rush of heat that came from her enveloped him. Ford swore he grew a little drunker from it.
“No male?” He placed his forearms on the table and leaned in so close to her he could have counted each individual eyelash. Her chest rose and fell, and the outline of her nipples was now visible through her sweater set. Letting his eyes travel up from her chest, over her slender, pale neck, and to her mouth, he watched in rapt awe as she dragged her tongue along first her bottom lip and then her top.
The glossy residue along her plump lips had his shaft jerking in response.
“N-No. I don’t have a male.” Ford couldn�
��t help but stare at the way the tops of her breasts gently peeked over her sweater. They were large, far more than a handful, and so fucking delectable he wanted his hands on them and his mouth sucking on her nipples. The scent of angry males nearing had Ford stiffening and moving closer to Talia.
She looked to the males she’d come in with as they stopped at the table. The male stared down at him with a predatory gaze on his face. Nothing was said as he and the other male stared each other down.
Ford had to give him props for taking care of the female, but he didn’t know Ford very well, nor the fact that he wasn’t about to fucking back down.
“Hey, get the hell out of here.”
Ford smirked at the big blond fucker. If he wasn’t so damn horny for his little fox, he would have found this situation humorous, but as it stood, he was growing increasingly annoyed.
No one fucking talked to him that way. Ford stood and fully faced the male and the three shifters behind him. The falcon shifters eyed him curiously. Before Ford could say anything that would most likely start something unfortunate, Talia stood and addressed the male.
“Luke, this is Ford. I bumped into him earlier today at a little café.” Ford and Luke stared at each other for several more seconds. “Anyway, he was just about to buy me a drink.” Ford looked down at her and smirked. He thought it was endearing that she thought to protect him.
Instead of showing these males that he was an alpha and wasn’t intimidated by a cougar or a couple bird shifters, he spoke directly to her. “Yeah, a drink sounds good. What do you want, Talia?”
The way her name flowed from his lips sounded really fucking good, but what would have sounded even better was Talia screaming out his name as he was balls-deep inside her.
“How about I go up there with you and see what they have?” She was still protecting him. Ford found himself with a full-blown grin, now that this little slip of a fox thought she was helping him out. Well, he’d let her rescue him, and then later he’d show her exactly what a bear was capable of.
5
Talia made a move to walk by the male, but Luke stopped her and said something low in her ear while keeping his eyes locked on Ford. He couldn’t blame Luke for his worry, but Ford also knew the male could sense he meant Talia no harm.
Now, there was no doubt Luke could sense how badly he wanted Talia, but that wasn’t something he was going to be ashamed of or hide.
Before anything else could be said, Talia grabbed his hand and started walking toward the bar, and he let her, because he wasn’t going to allow things to escalate, not unless they started shit with him. When she was leaning against the counter, she let go of his hand and faced him.
“Are you freaking insane?”
He cocked his brow at her question and didn’t hide the genuine smile that formed on his lips. When was the last time he felt amused? “Am I?”
She pointed at her brother and his friends. “Three against one. You have to be crazy if you think you could have taken all of them on, and I could sense that’s where it was going.” She breathed out roughly, and a tendril of wavy red hair puffed out in response. “I swear it was like a He-Man showdown right in front of me.”
Ford stared at her, blinking a few times and processing her words to make sure he heard her right over the loud music. She looked so damn worried it was heartwarming. When he realized she was serious, he threw his head back and laughed loud and long, and fuck did it feel good, refreshing.
Another sliver of darkness broke away, and light shone through. Whatever it was about her had everything he had become being moved, transformed, and shaped into something that used to fill him. Several people at the bar turned and looked at him curiously.
“Baby, not to seem cocky or anything, but I’m pretty sure I can take on a cougar and a couple falcon shifters.” She didn’t respond right away, and despite the fact that he could sense her emotions, he wished he could have been able to know what she was thinking.
Her mouth parted, but before she could say anything, he turned and ordered a couple drinks. What was crazy as fuck was he had ordered a beer for himself and one of those frilly girly drinks for her, and he never did shit like that. He waited for Zarry, a weasel shifter and the current bartender for the night, to fill his order.
He took those precious minutes to just stare at her, to enjoy the sight of her luminescent skin with a light, almost invisible sprinkling of freckles along the bridge of her nose, her lush, light-pink lips, and the all-around natural beauty she exuded.
Something clicked into place the longer he stared at her, a realization that put everything else on the backburner in his mind.
What if this attraction he had for Talia, this connection that was like a rope pulling him closer and closer to her, meant she was his mate? She bit her lower lip, and the sight of her small white teeth worrying the plump flesh had desire growing higher inside him, but also had a touch of fear mixing with his desire.
He couldn’t handle this if that was what was going on, if he had actually found his mate after thirty-five years on this planet. He wasn’t wired anymore to accept a female for his own again. When he had, shit had gone bad, and he didn’t want to have to relive that.
His fear could be holding him back from something explosive and mind-blowing, but it was also that fear that protected him from a lot of shit.
Fuck.
“Why don’t you seem worried about what could have just happened?” The fact that she was still thinking about a fictitious threat was slightly amusing. Zarry set his order on the counter before him, and Ford picked up her daiquiri and handed it to her. It had a damn pink umbrella and a slice of strawberry sticking out of it, and that sight had him grinning.
He didn’t want to talk about the other males or what she thought was about to happen. All Ford wanted to talk about was him and her. All he wanted to hear was the melodic sound of her voice as she told him all about herself.
God dammit, he was falling incredibly hard and fast for this girl, and he hadn’t even known her for a full fucking day. “Will you sit with me and talk?”
She looked hesitant and glanced at her brother.
Ford looked in that direction as well and saw Luke watching them with narrowed eyes. The protectiveness that came from her brother made him feel a semblance of calm, knowing she had someone fierce enough to watch over her. “I swear all I want to do is talk.” He held up both hands in surrender. Look at him, practically begging a female for attention, but then again, Talia wasn’t just some female. She was his, at least for tonight. “There is an empty table in the corner. It’s away from everyone and a bit quieter, I’m sure.”
She looked from him to her brother again then back to him.
“I swear your brother can still see us, and if I try something, I’ll give you a free, unrestricted shot at my balls.”
That had her smiling, and Ford realized he wanted to see her do that over and over again. It lit up her damn face and warmed his cold, broken heart. He didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable or like she had to go with him, but fuck he wanted to get her alone, even if it was in a secluded corner of a crowded bar.
He didn’t think she’d go, not with the way she kept worrying her bottom lip and glancing at her brother. Hell, he knew indecision as well as the next person, but he prayed like hell she’d give him a chance. It had taken ten fucking years to find someone who made him give a damn about something, and hell, this moment right now was so fucking important.
“Okay. Let me just let Luke know.” His once battered heart started to beat wildly at her acceptance. Palms sweaty and anticipation wracking his body, Ford turned to go with her to speak to her brother, but she held up her hand, stopping him. There hadn’t been anything that could stop him or his bear when he wanted something, but Talia, his little fox, could stop him in his tracks and successfully bring him to his knees if she deemed it so. “Just wait here. I don’t want any more testosterone being thrown around.”
She smiled
, and although he sure as hell wanted to argue with her and didn’t want to leave her side, he knew he would’ve sounded like some overprotective asshole, and they had just met. If that’s what she wanted, then he’d hang back and be a good boy, although all he could think about was her being his good girl.
She moved away from him, and his bear paced inside him to follow her. The damn animal didn’t want her walking away from him anymore than his human side did. Bringing his bottle to his lips and taking a long pull, he watched her talk with her brother, who apparently didn’t like what she was saying by his instant frown and fast-moving mouth.
She pointed to the corner table where they would sit, but Luke shook his head adamantly. Talia placed her hands on her hips, and it looked like she was giving her brother a tongue lashing, which had Ford grinning. His female was a feisty little thing.
No, quit thinking like that. Having a female for more than one night is bad news, dangerous to both of you. Even if he knew it was a bad idea, he kicked those thoughts in the ass, because he wasn’t about to let the first female to awaken him slip past his fingers.
Ford watched them closely, and after Talia was finished ripping her brother a new asshole it seemed, he finally nodded. His eyes caught Ford’s, and the cougar shifter narrowed his. Yeah, Ford knew he was watching, and that was fucking fine, but by the end of the night, he was taking his girl home and fucking her so thoroughly she couldn’t even think of not staying with him.
This might be the very worst idea he had ever had, but it also felt like the best fucking idea.
She came back over to him, and as much as he wanted to place his hand on the small of her back at the very least, he curled his hand around his beer bottle and led her to an empty table.
Oh, he wanted his hands on her, wanted to feel her lush curves and roundness, but he would work up to that, make her comfortable with him, and then have his way when she melted from his touches.
They sat down, and it was clear she was still uncomfortable. Usually, he didn’t have to fight hard for a female, but Talia, with her unusual but gorgeous blue eyes, made him feel like an inexperienced teenager. He actually felt tongue-tied around her, and that would just not do.