Man-Eater (10 page)

Chapter Nine

Cyrus drove
his Must
ang. Fast. Like he was being pursued by the hounds of hell. He’d left his work phone in the tow truck, and tracking it was as easy as following the pulsing red dot on the screen of his other phone.
He knew exactly where his truck was parked. On a remote stretch of road. But why? Then Cyrus looked down at the tools. A drill? A hammer? Cyrus could think of a few low-tech ways to disable a car, and one of them involved drilling a hole in the gas tank. It wasn’t safe. But it sure would be effective.

Cyrus put the pedal to the metal. Morgan had been determined to ruin his life. And it occurred to him that now that the divorce settlement was finalized, ruining Kendra’s life might be next on her list. Cyrus didn’t like where this was going. If Morgan was capable of stealing the tow truck, there was no telling what she might do next. Fortunately, he saw the flashing orange lights ahead in the distance. The truck. But as he sped toward it, he also caught sight of something else in the wash of his headlights.

The eyes of a tigress.

∞ ∞ ∞

Kendra shifted as soon as she saw the skinny bitch leap at her. Kendra didn’t like to shift while fully clothed. It was tough enough to find cute shoes and an outfit that matched without shredding them every time she felt the need to let her tigress out. But this was an exception. Morgan’s black panther leaped at her, and Kendra knew that all the cute outfits in the world meant nothing when put up against the law of the jungle. Besides, it felt good to free her tigress.

Kendra felt the panther’s claws come down on her, but by that point, she’d shifted. She’d have a scratch, she knew that. Maybe worse. But before she let that bitch get any closer, she’d go for her throat. Kendra roared and Morgan’s panther came at her again. Kendra was the bigger cat, but the damn panther was fast. Kendra’s tigress roared as the panther ran around behind her, and then leaped again. But then Kendra was temporarily blinded as a set of headlights washed over her.

Great timing, car.

Kendra roared and rushed in blind. She swiped at Morgan’s panther, connecting with its back. The panther swiped back.

“Rarhh!!!”

Come at me again. I dare you.

But the panther turned from her to the car. A figure approached.

Oh, no you don’t.

The panther charged the guy. And Kendra pounced ahead. She didn’t know who the guy was. But a good Samaritan didn’t deserve to be mauled on the side of the road by a crazed panther shifter. As Kendra leaped through the air, she couldn’t help but think that it felt good to be in her tigress again, good to get the blood moving. It tamed her heat to let her wild out like that. But she didn’t like the reason she was doing it. What was wrong with this Morgan chick? A shifter taking on a human? That was strictly taboo. Maybe Morgan was batshit crazy.

Kendra continued forward as the man turned to the light. Shit. It was Cyrus. Morgan’s panther was going to leap onto him. But there was no way Kendra would allow that. She felt her coat stand on end as she charged forward, blood coursing through her veins. In the next instant, Kendra took Morgan down. She caught a glimpse of Cyrus’s clear blue eyes as he turned to them, still in his human form. Kendra knew that Cyrus might shift, but she gave him the look. The look that said—Stay exactly as you are. Cyrus would know not to cross an angry tigress’s path.

Kendra’s tigress took hold of Morgan’s panther by the scruff of the neck. She could have gone for the jugular and ended it right there. But she didn’t. Kendra was no murderer, and even though she was a shifter, the laws of the jungle need not always apply. Not unless there was no other choice. Kendra picked Morgan’s panther up with her powerful jaw and flung her across the road.

“Rarhh!”

Morgan’s panther skidded across the road and whined loudly. Kendra knew that whine. Submission. Morgan’s panther skulked away. She wouldn’t be coming back. Not now. Not ever. But shit. Now what was she supposed to do? Kendra had no clothes to change into. And she was beginning to think she may have badly misjudged Cyrus. She needed to talk to him. Preferably not in the nude. She looked over at the car he was driving. A silver Mustang. Nice ride. He held out a blanket for her while casually looking away. Kendra’s tiger paced forward and shifted, wrapping herself in the lightweight blanket.

“You always drive around with your bedding?” Kendra asked.

“You always kick panther butt?” Cyrus said.

“When I have to,” Kendra replied.

“You know, I could have helped out.”

“What you could have done is told me you had a wife,” she growled angrily.

“Ex-wife,”
Cyrus said, glancing at his
watch. “It’s after 12 AM, right? Technically tomorrow? The divorce paperwork files with the county clerk today.”

Kendra felt the first inklings of relief wash over her. Relief served with a significant portion of embarrassment. Had Cyrus really done nothing wrong? Had she rushed to judgment?

“Really?”

“Really.”

“You could have told me that earlier,” Kendra said.

“I tried.”

“So you could have at least given me a heads-up that she was a crazy bitch,” Kendra responded.

“I was hoping to spare you that part.”

“So the credit reports? The photos?”

“Like you said,” Cyrus replied. “Crazy. She had you followed.”

“Wow,” Kendra said, adjusting the blanket around herself. The trickle of relief she felt turned into a river, then a wave. It crashed over her, flooding her very soul with calm. The relief was real. It wasn’t a fantasy. As hard as it was to wrap her mind around it, the truth was now clear. The nightmare she had just experienced was over. Cyrus wasn’t the creepy stalker Morgan had made him out to be. He’d been long separated from Morgan when Kendra had met him. And that meant she could be with Cyrus. With him in her heat, with him for life. And as Kendra considered her new reality, she felt the familiar fire between her loins again. It was her heart that swelled with happiness, but it was her heat that responded. It slicked her pussy, making her wet, making her ready for him. She cursed the insistence of her hormones, yet at the same time, she knew they were part of her. She needed them just like she needed him. But first, she needed to be sure.

“So where does that leave you and me?”

“That depends,” Cyrus said.

“On what?”

“On whether you’d consider this old tiger to be your mate.”

The feeling within Kendra transcended words. She already knew the answer to his question. Yes, yes, of course, yes! Yes! Now that she finally understood the whole story, she knew that Cyrus was the one for her. They were made for each other. She didn’t have to look any farther than the way her very being responded to him to see that. She could also see that he meant what he said. That he wanted her completely and absolutely. But still, a girl had her pride. He had to earn it.

“I’d consider letting him try,” Kendra said.

“Try what?” Cyrus said his eyes on hers, his scorching look devouring her.

“Try to claim me,” Kendra purred.

“Oh, baby, I don’t need to try,” Cyrus said.

“Really? And why is that?”

“Because, Kendra honey, you’re mine.”

Kendra felt a jolt of adrenaline rush through her veins. Her heart felt like it might explode. His words, those words, moved her. They moved her to her very core. And it wasn’t just her heat talking. Kendra’s time away from the city combined with the dancing had transformed her. She had become one with her tigress. She had connected both with her animal and with Cyrus. And now she wanted him. She wanted him so badly her pussy was dripping wet with need. She wanted him so badly she could practically taste his essence. And she wanted him right here, right now.

∞ ∞ ∞

In the next moment, Cyrus swept Kendra into his arms, effortlessly lifting her into the air. Kendra’s heat burned inside her with an intensity she had seldom felt, but the difference was this time she knew she would find relief. This time, the fire that raged within her would find its mate. Cyrus found her lips and Kendra felt her whole body flush as he thrust his tongue into her mouth.

From the moment he kissed her, Kendra knew that there was no mistake. What was meant to be would be. He would claim her. She would be his. His tongue explored her mouth with such force, such determination she felt like melting in his arms. He probed her mouth hungrily with his tongue as he carried her through the night. Where was he bringing her? The tow truck? The car? She didn’t care. As long as he took her now.

Kendra ran her hand down his strong back. The blanket had fallen away, but it didn’t matter. It would only get in the way. She needed him now. And she could tell he needed her. Kendra felt Cyrus’s arms fall away beneath her and she found herself lying on the warm hood of her car. The orange lights of the tow truck cast an intermittent glow over the night. Cyrus ripped off his T-shirt and she feasted her eyes on the glistening musculature of his chest.

“Here?” she said.

“I told you, you’re mine.”

“But here on top of my car?”

“I can’t wait for it, baby. I told you I was going to taste your pussy. I promised you I was going to fuck your tight little ass until you screamed with pleasure. I made a solemn oath to worship you.”

Kendra’s tiger scratched beneath her skin. She was wetter than wet now. Sopping. She knew he’s be able to slide right into her pussy. But what if he kept his word? What if her pussy wasn’t the only place he was going? “Grab my purse off the seat.”

Cyrus reached in the open window.

“Give it me,” Kendra said.

Cyrus handed it to her. She reached inside of it for her favorite body oil. The one she had applied before dancing. The one that also acted as a lube. She took the tube and squeezed a few drops onto her breasts, spreading it around her smooth dark skin.

“Are you trying to turn me on?” Cyrus asked.

“If you’re going to claim me, I want you to do it right.”

“Are you saying you want to be marked?”

“Your ex-wife, Morgan. Did you mark her?”

“No way, baby. There was nothing like that between us.”

“Nothing?”

“No mark. No fire.”

“You know when I was dancing in the club?” Kendra said.

“Yes, baby?”

“I was dancing for you.”

“I know.”

Cyrus dropped his head into her bosom, licking a long line up between her breasts. She could barely keep her body still in anticipation of the pleasure that was to come.

“And what I’m going to do right now?” Cyrus said.

“Yes?” Kendra said.

“This is for you. I’m going to make you mine.”

“Forever?”

“Always.”

And like that, Cyrus dropped his mouth over her breast, licking a long slow circle around the areola. Just his presence made her pussy weep, and she found herself grinding her mound at the air. She wanted him inside of her so badly she grasped at his waist with her knees, pulling him nearer. Her kneecap brushed across his rock hard cock as she did. Oh, my. Did his cock have to be so perfect? She wasn’t sure she’d be able to wait for him to enter her.

Mercy me.

Cyrus took her nipple into his mouth, tugging it back between his lips. Sweet heaven. Kendra felt her inner tigress roar. Tiny jolts of pleasure shot out from her core as he tugged back on her nipple once more, massaging it between his lips again. Something about this man brought out the animal in her.

“Suck it harder,” she moaned.

He licked around her nipple in a swift circle, swiping a delicious pass upward before taking the whole thing back into his mouth. Kendra bucked up, running her hands down his muscled back as she did so.
Sweetness
, that felt good. He licked over to her other nipple and she squeezed his torso between her thighs. Kendra’s heat burned. He was going to have to get lower, and he was going to have to do it soon. He ran his fingers through her hair and sucked her other nipple back into his mouth. Kendra felt sparks arc out of the heat deep within her. She wanted more.

“Lower,” Kendra said.

Cyrus lifted his mouth from her breast. “How much lower?”

“Mark me.”

“I’ll mark you, baby, but I’m going to taste that sweet peach of a pussy first. I’m going to fuck it with my tongue until you come, and then I’m going to come back for seconds.”

“Right here on the road?”

“Right here on the hood of your car.”

“Do it,” Kendra moaned.

Chapter Ten

Cyrus ran his hands down Kendra’s curves, licking and swiping with his tongue as he moved lower. She ran her fingers through his hair, his crewcut bristly to the touch. Kendra was a shifter and a tigress, but she’d never been marked before and she felt her anticipation grow with every deft movement of his tongue. She wanted to press her thighs together to quell her heat, but she found herself squeezing his torso between her legs instead and all it did was make her hotter. The hood of the car flexed below her as Cyrus finally shoved his face between her thighs, parting them with his powerful hands.