A Kitty in the Lion's Den (3 page)

Chapter Three

“God, you’re so big.” Maverick looked down at the female currently sucking on his cock. She had pretty small tits, big, teased red hair, and was pretty decent looking. But the most important thing about her was that she was a human. He had come to Sugar Rush about an hour ago, gone into
Bunny’s,
the bar attached to the small rundown motel, and had gotten a drink. He didn’t have to wait long for the desperate female to approach him, but that was the norm in these rundown country bars where the females came looking for some cock. That was the reason he came to Sugar Rush, because it took no effort to get his rocks off, well, one of the reasons.

She continued to bob her head up and down, took his dick all the way to the back of her throat until she gagged, and he felt the empty pleasure escalate. Taking hold of a chunk of her hair, which had way too much product in it, Maverick lifted his hips and slammed his cock into her mouth, loved the fact the tip hit the back of her throat and she gagged again, and did it over and over until she was groaning against him. He was close, really fucking close to getting off, and all he wanted to do now was come, clean up, and get the fuck back home. He closed his eyes, just focused on the fact a warm and semi tight suction surrounded his shaft, and came seconds later. Maverick didn’t think about who was giving him pleasure, just that it felt good. When he was finished he gently pushed her away and stood. He had rented the room for the whole night, but used it for a grand total of twenty minutes. He had to give the redhead credit. She was a champ and hadn’t stopped giving him head the whole time. Once in the bathroom he turned on the light, peeled the condom off and tossed it in the trash, and braced his hands on the chipped and rusted sink. His reflection showed the same thing he saw whenever he looked at himself: short, dark hair, black bottomless eyes, and the face of a killer. Maverick quickly washed up, and when he stepped back into the room it was to see that the female was already gone.
Good
. That saved him the hassle of trying to get her the fuck out. Sometimes they were clingers after they fucked or sucked him off. And to say that was a pain in the ass was an understatement. Maverick knew the type of breed he was, the kind of male that used women and didn’t give a fuck. But he also didn’t fuck with the females that didn’t want to be used.

****

Kettah knew she was being followed the moment she stepped out of the bar, but it wasn’t the body numbing fear of knowing her father had found her. No, this was that creepy prickling on the back of her neck, the kind that told her some asshole was about to try something on her. But Kettah wasn’t going to be anyone else’s victim. She may only be a Pallas’s cat shifter, and really no match for males of her kind, or any shifter for that matter, but when it came to a human trying some shit on her, she could hold her own. At least she was about to see if she could. She was only about ten feet from the motel, and so she quickened her pace. Some of the streetlights flickered, reminding her of some freaky ass horror movie.

“Hey, pretty little thing.”
She straightened her shoulders at the male voice a few feet behind her. The scent that he was human had her Pallas’s cat rising up at the threat, but Kettah didn’t dare slow her pace. The sound of his footsteps picking up speed had a tingle of fear moving through her, but then again she reminded herself that she was a shifter, he was a human and far weaker than she was, and that she had a lot of hatred and anger churning inside of her. She might be on the run and scared, but this asshole had nothing on what she was up against. “Hey, why don’t you and I slip into my room and enjoy each other’s company?” He gripped her arm in a hard grasp and turned her around. “I was watching you on the bus, and couldn’t take my eyes off you. You’re one very pretty girl.”

Kettah
didn’t pause to react. She let her nails grow into claws, let her inner animal out, and lifted her hand to bring her claws down his cheek. He hissed out in pain, let go of her, and cupped his wound. “You fucking bitch.” He lowered his hand and looked at the streaks of blood covering his palm. “I’m going to take that out on your ass.” She took a step back, ready to attack him again if he came any closer.

“Just turn around, and go back under the hole you crawled out of, and leave me alone.” He laughed, but it didn’t sound at all humorous.

“Sweet thing, I have no intentions of leaving you alone. What I have in mind is a lot more fun.” Before she could say anything the sound of one of the motel doors opening stilled both of them.

****

Maverick grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair and walked over to the door. As soon as he pulled it open his lion rose up violently. A male stood in the parking lot, shrouded partially by the shadows. There was a set of nasty looking claw marks that had been raked down the human’s face, and the scent of vile arousal came from him like a punch to Maverick’s fucking gut. But it wasn’t because the wind blew the disgusting aroma Maverick’s way. He had seen enough of the same kind of intent during his lifetime, and could have sensed it with his fucking eyes closed. The female that stood between him and the human was also covered in shadows, and with her back toward him he couldn’t get a clear view of her. The wind also blew away from him so Maverick wasn’t able to pick up on her scent.
 

“Man, just turn around and close the door. This isn’t your business, and I saw her first.” The little fucking cocksucker talked like he had the biggest set of balls around, and he must for starting shit with a lion shifter. But obviously this asshole didn’t know a shifter when he saw one, but he would soon find out what a big fucking mistake it was to mess with someone who was as unstable as Maverick was. The human wore a ball cap that was pulled down low, but his snarl was clear as fucking day. The human also couldn’t hide the nasty looking claw marks on his cheek. Damn, the female was a fierce little thing. She moved backward, and was smart to keep her focus on her immediate threat. He couldn’t see her face, but for some inexplicable reason there was a tightening in his gut, a tingle in his fingers and toes, and a feeling that had his lion moving to the surface at a violent rate, as if the fucker was stalking his prey. Before she ran right into Maverick the human went to grab her. No fucking way was he about to let this shit happen. Maverick might be a scary, twisted bastard, but he wasn’t about to let a female get hurt.

“It looks like you just made it my business.” Maverick had to give the human credit. He was a ballsy bastard, but clearly too dumb to realize that he had two shifters in front of him, and shit was about to get ugly. Maverick moved swiftly past the female, pushed away everything that had to do with her and this strange sensation moving through him, and focused on the asshole. He reached out, wrapped his hand around the human’s throat, and slowly tightened his hold while lifting him off the ground. The male clawed at Maverick’s hand, and a surge of adrenaline poured through his veins. Maverick was a sick asshole for liking this shit, that was for sure, but was he going to stop? Fuck no. “I should kill you right
now,
just snap your weak little fucking neck like a wishbone.” He twisted his wrist gently, just enough to show the male he wasn’t kidding, and a satisfying grunt left the human. Maverick grinned, flashed his elongated canines, and chuckled when the male’s eyes widened.
“When a female doesn’t show any interest in you that usually means to back the fuck up.
Now, I want you to nod because you understand what the fuck I’m saying.” The human nodded frantically, and Maverick grinned again. With one more squeeze, he tossed the male aside. His body landed on the pavement with a sickening crunch. He picked himself off the ground and got the fuck out of there. Maverick turned, saw the female standing under the awning with her head lowered, and felt that unfamiliar ache in his chest.
His lion roared out unexpectedly, clawing to be released. Her head was downcast, but the need to see her face, to really get a good fucking look pounded inside of him and wouldn’t let up until he was satisfied. He moved forward until he stood right in front of her. He shouldn’t do what he was about to do, but fuck it. His lion was a demanding asshole, and the need to feel this female was too strong to ignore. He reached out, gripped her chin between his thumb and forefinger, and a powerful jolt went through his veins at the feel of her. He had to do everything in his power to rein in his motherfucking animal. His heart pounded double-time as he looked down at the mop of messy honey colored hair that was slightly windblown. The feel of her, the smell of hyacinth that cracked his flesh like the sting of a whip, and the fact he was currently standing in front of her made everything inside of him shift. He grew rock-hard instantly despite the fact he had just gotten off.

Mine. She is all
mine
, and I want her now.

He felt the intensity of knowing she was his mate, but he was better at controlling himself than the animal he housed. It was his lion roaring out those words in his head, pounding them inside of him over and over again. The lion tried with desperation to be released. It clawed and snapped to be released and claim its mate, but Maverick was just as strong as the fucker, knew that if he let the beast out destruction would follow, and he wasn’t about to put his mate, or anyone else for that matter, at risk. Slowly he lifted her head, and when her hazel eyes, ones that were far more green than brown, met his everything inside of him momentarily froze. Her eyes were wide, and her breathing kicked into overdrive. She was a Pallas’s cat shifter, his mate, and staring at him like she was scared as fuck to be in his presence. Any other time he would have agreed that she should have been running in the other direction, especially when his lion was so close to the surface, threatening to break free, but this wasn’t one of those times. She was his mate.
His
.
She had nothing to fear from him, but everything to fear from his lion, because that motherfucker wanted out, and it wanted her. It wouldn’t be gentle and soft. It would take her the way it wanted: rough, raw, and unforgiving until neither of them could walk afterwards.

Maverick inhaled deeply, and a low growl left him. Yeah, she was fucking
his
, but that wasn’t the only thing he scented. He should have picked up the smell instantly, but the fact of the matter was his senses had been clouded when he realized she was all his. The very light scent of Viktor Milokov surrounded her, but it wasn’t for any other reason than because they shared the same blood. Maverick kept hold of her arms and looked around. She seemed to be alone, and he couldn’t detect any other malicious presence close by. He pushed her into the motel and then into the room he’d just left and closed the door silently. At least she hadn’t fought him, but she would have lost regardless. Once inside the darkened room he smelled her fear peak and
intensify
. With her being a shifter she knew who and what he was to
her, that
she was his mate and that also meant he wouldn’t be letting her go, no matter who her father was.
Fuck
. But that didn’t make his anger that she was here, that she had found him, any less momentous.

“Who sent you?” He kept his voice low and didn’t hold off on the growl that was laced within the words. Despite the darkened room he saw her perfectly. Her eyes widened further, and she took a step back. What confused him was why she was so frightened if Viktor had sent her, which he clearly had, because the chances that she just happened to stumble upon him were slim to none. But Maverick had known this day was inevitable. The logical explanation was that she was
bait,
and that they had somehow, against all odds, realized what she was to him and planned on using her against him. It was a pretty fucking farfetched reason, but when it came to the Milokov crime family, he didn’t put
anything
past them. He may have just found her, only spent a few moments in her presence, but that didn’t make his need to protect her or keep her close to him any less intense. It didn’t matter if this was all staged, or if she was part of some conspiracy because her father knew he was still alive. This little Pallas’s cat was his, and no one would change that.

“W-what?”
She stuttered out that word, and he knitted his brow. She could try to act coy, play games, and lie to him, but when he inhaled deeply he knew she was doing none of those. He was a shifter and could tell things by scent, sight, and instinct alone, but the type of breed he was, more animal than human, had his senses far more advanced, precise, and sharp. He could tell that his question had come as a surprise to her. When he didn’t answer her she spoke again. “No one sent me.” Her voice was low, and the aroma of hyacinth filled the room.

“No?” He crossed his arms over his chest, made no move to take a step toward her, yet she backed away because he obviously terrified her. She was smart, had no doubt sensed his feral lion, and was trying to think of a way to escape, but there was none. He blocked the door and had no intentions of letting her out of his sight anyway. “You know what you are to me, yeah?” He heard her swallow, watched the delicate line of her throat move from of the act, and saw her nod. “Then you also know I won’t let you go.” She clenched her hands in front of her, but he saw the way she looked around the room in a frantic notion.