Chasing Cristabel (Ashland Pride Six) (12 page)

“Have I told you today how gorgeous you are?”
he asked as he tugged her top over her head.

“You might have mentioned it,” she said with
a smile. “You’re very sexy yourself.”

His cat preened at her compliment. “I’m a
damn lucky cat to have such a lovely mate.”

He slid his hands up her arms to her
shoulders, pulling the straps of her bra down, before reaching
behind her to undo it. Tugging the center bow that held the pale
pink lace cups, he removed it and dropped it to the floor. Cupping
her breasts, he rubbed her nipples with his thumbs, as he lowered
his head to kiss her. She moaned softly as their lips met. She
gripped his shoulders and tugged on him as she stepped back toward
the bed. He followed her, sliding his hands to her back and laying
her down gently. Leaning over, he kissed her again, sliding his
tongue against hers as his fingers moved down her stomach to her
waist.

The slacks came undone swiftly, and he slid
his hand inside them but over the fabric of her panties, cupping
her sex with the thin barrier between them. He could feel the heat
of her pussy, and knowing that she was already turned on, already
hot for him, was enough to make him want to fall to his knees and
worship her.

Which seemed like an excellent idea. He
nipped her lower lip and straightened, watching her eyes darken as
he gripped her pants, hooked his fingers into her panties, and
pulled them both down her legs. Her toes curled as he tossed the
garments aside, and the sight of her swollen pussy and the
glistening arousal made his cat howl in happiness.

He stripped off his jeans and underwear,
reining in his cat, who wanted to fuck her brains out, until they
were both spent, both covered in each other’s scent.

“I love how you look right now,” she
whispered.

“How?” he asked, raking in the sight of her
gorgeous body laid out for him.

“Like you could eat me up.”

“I plan to,” he said. “Rollover sweetheart.
I’ve got big plans.”

* * *

Cris wasted no time rolling to her stomach
and rising onto her hands and knees. Chase’s voice had dropped to a
low rumble, and the amber of his cat had seeped into his eyes. She
loved how he looked at her – so intense, so heat-filled – that she
was sure she would burn up.

Chase climbed onto the bed behind her,
stroking his fingers lazily over her back and sides, teasing her
with little glancing touches. He pushed apart her legs, kneeling
behind her. He grasped her cheeks, spreading them with a slight
push so she tilted up her hips. Ever so lightly, he lapped at her
pussy, his hair tickling the back of her thighs as he angled his
head to tongue her. She had never felt as exposed as she did with
Chase at her back, licking her and holding her just where he wanted
her. Heat spiraled through her as he flicked his tongue over her
folds, drawing her into his mouth, feasting on her as if she were
the best thing he’d ever tasted. His hands held her open, kept her
in place, and she lowered her upper body to the bed, giving herself
over to his questing tongue.

His tongue probed her, sliding into her as he
purred, making her body light up.

She groaned his name, and he growled softly,
pulling her closer to his mouth. He laid his tongue on her clit and
purred, and the vibrations slipped through her like a thousand tiny
fingers, drawing her toward the pinnacle of pleasure. He purred
louder as his tongue rolled over her clit, the vibrations growing
stronger and stronger until the heat coiling inside her rose to a
fever pitch. She buried her face in the comforter and screamed,
clutching the fabric tightly as he played his tongue over her,
drawing her pleasure on and on, until she collapsed onto the bed
with a moan.

He rolled her onto her side, sliding up
behind her, grasping her leg at the knee and hooking it with his
arm. He spread her trembling body and sank his cock into her as his
mouth latched onto her neck. He pushed his arm under her and cupped
her breast, holding her close as he stroked in and out of her.
Pounding into her, he released his mouth from her neck and lapped
at the heat of the bruise that would show when they were done.

“Mine, Cris, fuck,” he groaned.

She reached for him with one hand, sinking
her fingers into his bicep as he pumped into her pussy, pulling her
leg up higher to give himself more access.

“Touch yourself,” he growled, nipping at her
ear.

“Too much,” she groaned. Even as the heat
that spread through her threatened to boil her alive, she knew
she’d do whatever he asked.

“It’s never too much,” he whispered hoarsely,
their bodies riding together as he held her in place and pumped his
thick length into her. “Wanna feel you come, scream my name. Take
me with you.”

Her clit was hyper-sensitive from her climax,
but she wasn’t about to let him down. She would have done anything
he asked. She moved her hand down her sweat-slicked stomach to her
clit, giving the bud a slow stroke. His hand tightened on her leg
and he purred. She knew he was watching her, and the idea bolstered
her.

“Like this?” she asked, rubbing her finger
lightly across the bud.

“Faster, baby,” he urged.

She turned her face to him, watching the sexy
determination on his face. She relaxed into his hold and played
with her clit, wanting to give him her pleasure so they could come
together. Her fingers flew over her clit as she rubbed herself for
him, so he could feel how much he affected her and how much she
cherished him.

“Fuuuuck,” she groaned as her body locked
down on him as the truth of her feelings for him tumbled from her
mouth just as quickly as her pussy fisted his cock. “I love
you!”

His hips pistoned into her, harder and
faster. He roared as he came, nearly deafening her in his pleasure.
She felt the heat of his come spilling into her, and then he
released his hold on her leg and wrapped his arms around her. She
opened her eyes, not even realizing she’d closed them, and he was
smiling, his eyes shining brightly.

“Baby? I love you, too. I love you so fucking
much. Since the moment you walked into the bar, I knew you were
mine. Mine to love, mine to cherish.” He kissed her, so tenderly
that it made tears sting her eyes.

“That was amazing,” she said, as her
heartbeat slowed from the tap dance it had done when she came the
second time.

“You’re amazing. Watching your fingers work…I
almost blew my load right there.”

He eased out of her pussy and reached for the
comforter, tugging it over them and once more wrapping his arms
around her. She snuggled into him, her body still humming from the
pleasure, her cat blissed out and purring.

“We haven’t used condoms,” he said softly,
nuzzling her with a purr. “We’ve never talked about that part of
our future.”

“I’m not on any birth control. It doesn’t
work for lionesses.”

“What?”

“It’s part of the joy of being a lion
shifter. Birth control doesn’t work on us. We don’t naturally go
into heat until we’re mated.”

“So you should be going into heat?”

“I…don’t know. We’re not mated.”

He tipped her face toward his and frowned.
“We most definitely
are
mated.”

“No, don’t be upset. I know that we’re all
mates, but we’re not mated by lion standards. There’s marking and
blood sharing. You bit me to claim me, and my cat recognizes that,
but it’s not what my kind do.”

“If we don’t do the mating like your cat
wants us to, you won’t be able to have cubs?”

“I’m not sure,” she said. “When there’s an
arranged mating, the male and female perform the mating ceremony
that night, and the female goes into heat a few days later. We’re
hardwired to wait for the ceremony, I guess.”

“Can we just do the ceremony?”

She thought back to the ceremonies she’d seen
in the past. She hadn’t been able to witness them until she was
older because there was a sexual tone to them, although the male
and female both remained clothed. The female would submit to the
male, offering her throat, which he would bite in order to swallow
some of her blood. It was different than the way that her males had
claimed her while they’d been making love. Then the male lion would
give the female his wrist. The males would never give their neck to
a female. It was too vulnerable and would make them look weak. She
would cut his wrist with her fangs and swallow some of his blood,
and then he would rub the wound against her marks, mixing the
blood.

“Yes,” she said, “but you guys will have to
bite me again.”

“What? Baby, it’s too much.”

“Not for us to claim each other in a way my
cat recognizes.” She rolled to face him and snuggled into his
embrace. “We don’t have to do it now, and besides, I need to tell
my other mates how I feel about them, too. Then we can talk about
our future and cubs. We can wait. There isn’t a rush.”

Her cat yowled as if protesting, but Cris
shushed the creature, ordering her to enjoy the afterglow, which
was exactly what Cris wanted to do.

* * *

Dylan was bummed he had to close on Saturday.
It was fair, of course. He’d had her all to himself on Friday night
while Chase and Hunter closed, and he and Cris had a great time
together. Dylan and his cousins managed to work out their schedules
in a way that each of them had a night alone with her, and then
they shared the other nights. Even though he wouldn’t get off work
until one a.m., he’d still get to wake up to her and have the whole
day with her and his cousins.

Hunter wanted to take her out on a real date,
all four of them together and out to dinner, maybe a movie. Dylan
glanced at the clock, grumbling inwardly that it was only a few
minutes after seven. In less than an hour, Chase would leave and
join Hunter, and the two of them would…well, his cat didn’t much
want to think about what the two of them would be up to with Cris.
He was a little jealous, even though he knew that Cris loved them
all.

Knowing Cris loved him had been an amazing
revelation. Because he loved her, too, and had just been waiting to
hear her say the sweet words. He pulled his cell from his pocket to
send Cris a text, letting her know he was thinking of her, when the
scent of perfume wafted by him and his cat snarled. He’d hoped that
Theresa, the insistent human waitress, had taken the hint when he
and Hunter had made it very clear that he was mated. He’d known she
was working that night, but he’d hoped she would stay on the other
side of the pass and not come into the kitchen.

“Hey, lover,” she said in what he suspected
she thought sounded like a sexy voice. To him it grated, like nails
on a chalkboard.

Hunter had warned him that he needed to man
up if she tried to come onto him again. Dylan wasn’t a fighter. He
didn’t really feel like he had a mean bone in his body, but the
idea of betraying Cris, even in the slightest by allowing Theresa
to get away with her flirty and overly sexual behavior, didn’t sit
right with him. He’d never do anything to betray Cris.

“The kitchen is off limits to you,” Dylan
said, taking a step back to put distance between them.

“Aw,” she said, her lips pulling into an
exaggerated pout. “You’re not being very nice to me, Dylan. Your
little vanilla pudding isn’t here. What’s her name? Cathy?”

He growled as she moved closer. He didn’t
want her anywhere near him.

“Get out, Theresa. I have a mate, and that’s
the end of the discussion. Get out or I’ll put you out.”

She rolled her eyes. “Why would you want to
share a woman with two other guys when I’m right here and all
yours?” She reached for him, wrapping her fingers around his wrist.
She made a soft sound, a human sort of purr, and his cat roared in
rage.

Her grip was tight, but she was no match for
him. He twisted his wrist and pulled from her grasp, causing her
nails to scrape over his flesh and draw blood as she screeched in
dismay. Grasping her by the shoulder, he fisted her shirt and
marched her into Perry’s office. Perry looked up in surprise as
Dylan shoved Theresa into the chair across from his rusty, metal
desk.

“She goes or I do,” Dylan said, releasing his
hold on her shirt. “She will not keep her distance, and it’s
interfering with my ability to work.”

“Well, shit. I’ll handle it, Dylan. Please
don’t quit.”

Dylan snarled at Theresa once more for good
measure and stalked from the office. He immediately thought of
Cris, wishing he was home with her instead of dealing with a
nutcase human who couldn’t take a hint. If she were so desperate
for a husband or a lay or whatever she was after, why didn’t she go
after one of the humans who came to the bar to drink themselves
stupid? Dylan stomped back into the kitchen.

Chase pushed open the door to the kitchen.
“Cris is here.” He skidded to a stop and looked at Dylan
critically. “What’s wrong? Shit, you’re bleeding.”

Dylan looked down at his wrist and saw the
blood welling in the nicks on his skin. Sighing, he moved to the
sink and turned on the water, rinsing off his skin as Chase pulled
the emergency kit off the wall.

“Theresa’s getting fired. At least I hope,
anyway,” Dylan said. He used paper towels to pat his skin dry and
then bandaged the shallow cuts. They were already healing thanks to
his shifter healing abilities, but the idea that she’d had her hand
on him long enough to do that still rankled his cat.

“What the hell is her problem? I’ve never
known a human female to be so aggressive. It’s weird.”

Dylan didn’t particularly care. He wanted her
gone. “I told Perry that I would quit if she wasn’t fired. He said
he’d handle it.”

“He should have handled it when she first
started acting inappropriately. That would have solved this
issue.”