FavoriteObsession, page 8
“Lick it.” She bent her head. Her warm exhale bathed the head. He stopped her a hairsbreadth away with a yank of her hair. “Slowly, kitten. Lick my cock, slowly.”
A small smile graced her mouth and showed off her fangs. With the tip of her tongue, she did as she was told. She licked him, base to tip, over and over. The controlled swipes tortured and pleasured him, but it was the look of rapture on her face that left him in awe.
“God, you’re beautiful, Mira.”
Her grin widened. She closed her eyes and drew his cock into the wet depths of her mouth. A swirl of her tongue, a tug of her hand over the length and she showed him how she felt. She worked him with confidence, adjusting the pace of her stroking as if she knew exactly what he needed to experience the most pleasure. He watched her, moved with her and let the passion build.
With his fingers in her hair, he firmed his grip to hold her head still and fucked her wet, welcoming mouth. The drag of his dick over the roughened flesh of her tongue and the tugging of her mouth raced him to completion. Her moans and the flexing of her fingers over his ass spurred him on. She moved quicker over him, but he shortened his thrusts and bit his cheek hoping to draw this moment out for as long as possible.
She had other ideas. She wrapped her hand around the base of his erection. The tips of her sharp nails dented his sensitive shaft. He froze and waited in eager anticipation of what she’d do. A heartbeat passed, then another before she sucked him deep. The muscles of her throat tightened around the head. Tingles settled in his lower spine and skipped to his balls. His release rushed up. He tugged hard on her hair. “Let go, baby.”
Instead of obeying him, she growled. The vibrations of that animalistic sound broke his control. He stiffened as spasms jerked his cock. His seed shot down her throat. She swallowed his release and he kept coming, harder and longer than he ever had before.
Mira took it all.
A shudder ran through him from his head to his toes, lust and tenderness mixing into a cauldron of need. The last of the tremors eased. He pulled her up, capturing her mouth in a hungry kiss.
The taste of his release on her lips brought a growl to his throat. His dick hardened again. He had a moment of amazement realizing just kissing her could arouse him so quickly. The thought faded as passion took over. Hands roaming, he caressed her hips, her sides, the edges of her breasts. More. God, he need more. All of her.
He roughly shoved at her shirt to reach bare skin. Urgency quickened his touches. He wanted to feel her muscles squeezing his shaft, wanted to spill his seed inside her womb, keep her locked to his side. Forever. He couldn’t wait any longer. Possessiveness rose in him, stronger than before. He’d kill anyone who tried to take her away.
She was his.
Reality set it, like a slash of cold water in his face.
This was a mistake. He shouldn’t have let the kiss turn into what it had. Tomorrow, he’d have to watch Mira with another man, a shifter male who could give her everything he couldn’t. He pulled back to look upon her face and tell her he was sorry. The sight of her swollen, moist lips taunted him.
Once more, then he’d let her go. He kissed her, loving the way she opened for him, taking him in as if he were the man she wanted by her side, not Kade or Zach. Or god forbid, Aron. Not that it mattered what either of them wanted. Fate was a fucking bitch who’d screwed them both.
Finally, he pulled back to study her face from inches away. Knowing she cared enough to give him tonight would have to be enough. “Mira, you shouldn’t have done that.”
She brushed her lips back and forth across his. Shivers raced across his skin. He ignored his instincts that urged him to carry her away and focused on enjoying the press of her soft curves to his hardness.
“You’re right. I should’ve done that months ago.”
“What will your suitors think?”
She massaged his scalp. His tension eased. “I don’t care.” She skimmed her mouth over his cheek to his ear, her breath heating his skin in its wake. “I need you in my life, Josh. I don’t think I can live without you.”
The door banged open. The loud thump announcing his unwanted visitor doused his remaining desire. He didn’t want anyone to see Mira with a look of carnal lust on her face, only him.
“Yo, Josh. You here?”
A deep growl rumbled Mira’s chest, the sound not remotely human. He cursed and quickly righted his pants. “Yeah, Zoe, I’m here but I’m not alone. Give me a minute. Okay?”
“Oh shit, I’m sorry.” The sound of cloth brushing against itself echoed in his ears. “I can sleep in my car or something. I just couldn’t find the key to the apartment in the dark. All those damn rocks look the same. Umm, so you can…you know, finish what you were doing. I mean, I know how focused you are when you’re fucking…”
Mira roared, the noise frighteningly disturbing coming from her throat. She didn’t stay human for long, though. Fur tickled his fingertips a moment before she leapt away from him. He stumbled backward, knocked by the force of her push.
Zoe screamed.
With a shove, he dived after the spotted jaguar. He wrapped his arms around the big cat’s chest. They crashed to the floor inches from Zoe’s scuffed boots.
Mira snarled and twisted in his arms. He rolled with her and slammed a hand between her shoulder blades. He knew his roughness wouldn’t hurt her. In her animal form, it took a hell of a lot to injure her. Besides, her cat would only respond to a more dominant person. He might not be a shifter but he needed her to submit to him. Otherwise Zoe would suffer.
The three-hundred-pound cat bucked, nearly knocking him off. He dug his knees into her sides and did the only thing he could think of.
He clamped his teeth over the back of her neck and bit.
Mira stilled. Her sides heaved with rough pants. He flicked his gaze to Zoe. Wide-eyed, she stared at them, the look of panic clear. Thankfully, she stood frozen in place. Assured she was safe, he turned his focus onto the dangerous predator between his thighs. After a moment, he eased the tight grip on her torso. She took advantage of it and squirmed, knocking him off.
She swiped a paw at Zoe. A scream tore from her throat. She crashed to the floor. Heart knocking against his rib cage, he dug his fingers into Mira’s fur and dragged her to him. She fought him, twisting and squirming, snapping and snarling. Her flexing body slipped out of his grip.
She scrambled, claws scraping at the floor to get away from him. Hell, no. That couldn’t happen. He threw himself on her back, flattening her body to the ground, and bit the flesh under his mouth. Sweet, decadently rich blood spilled over his tongue. He clamped down harder until she stopped moving.
Time stretched. Mira panted. Zoe whimpered. And he debated what he should do. He couldn’t make the same mistake by letting her go. Mira’s cat was in charge. He had to get through to the jaguar, not the woman.
He cursed inwardly, hating what he had to do, but he couldn’t come up with a better solution. He ground his teeth into her flesh, the sensation of fur on his tongue odd but not unpleasant, and waited. The lithe body under him tensed.
Dammit. Come on, kitten. Submit.
He dug blunt nails into her muscles, tightening his grip in case she made another attempt to throw him off. He bit harder and repeated his silent urging. More blood filled his mouth. He swallowed it down. Finally, a chuffing noise came from her throat. The sound encouraged him, but he held still until a shudder ran through her cat’s body. He eased back minutely, testing her. She remained limp. He released her shoulder, not the firm grip on her flank.
“Rein your cat back. Now.”
The jaguar whined. She didn’t obey him.
“Now, Mira.” He dug his knees harder into her sides. “Shift back, now.”
Smooth, hot skin replaced the fur. Josh peered down at her bare back and desire hit. Wrong time, wrong place. He knew it yet couldn’t deny what this woman did to him. All these crazy urges rose. The desire to repeat the little dominance battle in her human form being the biggest one. He wanted her to beg him to fuck her and prove he was hers. Shit like that made him feel as if he were the animal, not Mira.
He pushed the thoughts away and let his gaze roam over her smooth skin. With gentle strokes, he swept her hair to the side, exposing her naked flesh. The slope of her back was beautiful. Unable to resist the temptation, he traced her spine from where he was straddled over her waist up until he reached the base of her neck. Blood covered her shoulder where he’d bitten her.
“I’m sorry, kitten.” He lightly caressed the skin around the wound. She flinched. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t,” she panted. “Please, get off me.”
He yanked his shirt off and handed it to her. Eyes closed, he turned away before he got a full view of her gorgeous body. He reacted too easily to her. A deep breath cooled his heated body.
He shifted his attention to Zoe and cursed. A claw mark swept over her upper thighs. Blood ran steadily from the four deep lines. Perspiration beaded on her ashen forehead. With her lips pressed in a thin line and tears leaking from the corners of her eyes, she looked about two seconds away from passing out.
“Oh god.” He dropped to the floor by her side. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay! I just got attacked by a…a cat!”
He leaned closer to examine the wounds and swallowed hard. They weren’t life threatening, but the deep cuts would scar.
“Mira, go get the first aid box from my office.”
Silence met him. He peered over his shoulder. The shirt he’d given her fluttered to the floor in shreds. Movement drew his eye. He swung his head and caught a flash of tawny fur as she ran out the door.
He cursed. Although he wanted to go after her, he didn’t. Soothing her had to come after taking care of Zoe. “You’re going to be fine, honey. Don’t worry.”
Zoe waved black-painted nails at him. “I’m not worried about me.” She pushed up on her elbows, an incredulous look stamped on her face. “I want to know where you found your freakish girlfriend.”
“Mira’s not my girlfriend.”
Zoe snorted. “You always were a little dense but whatever. I don’t want to hear about your love life right now. I want to know about the werecat. Where did you find her?”
The excited twinkle in her dark-blue eyes made him grin. He shook his head. “Mira isn’t a werecat. She’s a shifter and she sort of found me.” He hefted Zoe’s slight frame into his arms. She winced. “Sorry about this, kiddo.”
Zoe glanced at her legs and grimaced. She flicked her inquisitive eyes up to his face. Her gaze locked onto his scarred cheek. “Your girlfriend is a little careless with her claws.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” he sighed, “and her brother actually did that.”
Her eyes widened as if she’d just remembered something. He had a feeling he knew what it was. A triumphant grin spread across her face, confirming his suspicion.
“So I was right all along, huh? You owe me fifty bucks.”
He laughed as he carried her back to his office. When Jazz had moved home five years ago, they’d made a bet. Zoe had been convinced Seth and Levi, Jazz’s sons, weren’t human. She’d sworn she’d seen their eyes glow. He’d told her she was full of it. He should’ve listened to her. Life might’ve taken a different path than the damn self-destructive one it was on now.
“Yeah, you were right. A boatload of shifters moved into town a couple of months back.”
He sat her on the worn leather couch and moved to the desk. The first aid kit he pulled out held the basics—Band-Aids, ointment and a roll of tape, no gauze. He dropped it back in and slammed the drawer closed. Zoe’s cuts needed more than a couple of plastic strips.
A quick look around and his gaze landed on a discarded shirt that belonged to one of the felines who always seemed to be hanging out in here. It smelled a little like sweat but it would do.
He handed it to her. “Put some pressure on those cuts.”
She did, pushing hard on them. She flinched. After a moment, she lifted the bloody cloth and peered at her thighs. “I hate to say this, but we need to go to the hospital.”
“Sorry, Zoe, that can’t happen.”
He grabbed his cell from the desk and dialed. Kade mumbled an incoherent greeting.
“I need you to come back to the bar. I have a situation.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Mira shifted and attacked my baby sister.”
Chapter Eight
Josh paced, his frustration mounting with every step. He hated how the night had turned out. No matter how he looked at the situation, it sucked. Not only had Zoe been hurt, his first and only sexual encounter with Mira would be forever tainted in his memory. She’d given him pleasure beyond his wildest dreams. What had he given her? Pain, embarrassment and a bloody bite mark.
He slammed a balled fist into the brick wall. The sting of his split skin barely registered. That wouldn’t do. Three more solid punches and numbness radiated up his arm. Zoe’s weary sigh only added to his irritation. He resisted the urge to turn around and snap at her. Instead, he planted his palms on the rough surface and hung his head.
“You ready to talk?”
He ground his jaw. If he could growl like the shifters living around here could, he would’ve. Giving in to the animalistic sound would feel damn good. “There’s nothing to talk about.
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.” He glanced over his shoulder and cursed. Zoe looked like a china doll with her waxy complexion and black hair. The only color on her face came from her eyes. “God, sis, I’m so damn sorry. I don’t know what got into Mira. She’s never done anything like this before.”
Another weary sigh accompanied her eye roll. “Did the sex with your girlfriend leave you stupid?”
“We didn’t—”
“Stop. No mood. Got it.” She waited until he nodded before re-balling the shirt so a dry section showed. With it pressed to her thighs, she peeked at him through the long choppy bangs hanging into her eyes. “You’ve got yourself involved with the woman somehow, no matter what label you slap on it. She’s obviously possessive of you. If she doesn’t normally attack people, it’s the only explanation.”
Possessive. The explanation fit. According to shifter law, he was technically Devin’s beloved human, except Mira’s scent seeped from his pores, not her twin’s. That triggered her animals’ instincts. Hell, when he looked at it that way, he couldn’t help but wonder if her attraction was real or a result of her claim on him.
He scrubbed a hand down his face. No use thinking about the whys.
“Sure, possessive. Felines are like that.” He dropped his hand. “You want me to get you some Ibuprofen?”
“No. I need stitches.” She motioned toward her bag with a tilt of her head. “Get me my purse.”
He raised a brow at her description. The duffel bag doubled as her suitcase. She lived out of the thing. How his sister could condense her life’s belongings into the single tote while most women couldn’t even pack for a weekend trip in one, he didn’t know. Zoe lived by her own standards, though. Typical would never be a word applied to her.
“Why?”
She waved at her bare legs. Thankfully, she’d worn shorts tonight. Having to see his sister in her underwear would’ve scarred him for life.
“Bleeding,” she sassed. “Since you won’t let me go to the hospital, I figured I’d take care of myself.”
“I explained to you why. It’s too risky with all the shifters living around here. It’ll draw the attention of the wrong people.”
“Shifter Affairs, I remember, and you don’t want Mira punished.” She leaned her head against the back of the couch, her gaze locked onto the ceiling tiles. “You know, it’s hard to believe there are so many people in the government who know about shifters, yet there haven’t been leaks to the general public.”
He glanced over at Megan’s picture on his desk. Behind the photo, he kept a pic of Molly. It bothered him, keeping her image hidden, but he couldn’t exactly display a photo of a lion cub. For them, he’d followed the shifter’s rules, including the one that left his sister bleeding on his couch when she should have been in the hospital.
He picked up the frame and pulled out Molly’s picture. Shifters always bred multiples, identical twins being the norm. From the couple of photos Lena had shown him, Molly and Megan fit the standard. Both beautiful, in human or cub form.
“I thought the same thing.” He held the glossy print out to her. “This is the reason the government has worked so hard to keep the shifters’ existence secret.”
She frowned. After a moment, her face blanched. Wide eyes focused on him. “Is that…”
“Megan’s twin, Molly.” He slid it back into place. “They were kidnapped as infants, sold to a research facility for experimentation and god only knows what else. Megan either refuses to talk about it or has blocked it out. And Molly…well, Molly has embraced her cat, a fate she might never recover from.”
Zoe’s shocked gasp stirred his anger back to life. He focused on his niece’s face until the familiar determination returned. He’d protect them and never let any sick fucks get their hands on them again.
He met Zoe’s horrified expression. “My opinion is that greed has kept those people who know about them from telling the world. Shifters are citizens who are protected by the government. Once it becomes known they exist, the…the humans who make money off of them will lose their profit margin.”
Zoe blinked back tears. “In our high-tech society, it’s only a matter of time before the world finds out. Somebody is going to snap a pic on their smartphone and it’ll be over the web in minutes.”
He carefully replaced the frame and faced his sister. “I know. All we can do is stick together, protect our own and hope for the best.”
Zoe smirked. “You talk as if you’re a shifter too.”
He shrugged. “Honorary member.”
