TherianPrey (18 page)

Starting with her lovely face, he admired each individual
asset, her smooth brow and small nose, sculpted cheeks and lush, kissable lips.
The elegant length of her neck led him to her slender shoulders and those pert,
perfect breasts. He paused for a gentle squeeze, unable to move on without
feeling the soft resilience within the cup of his hand.

“You. Are. Perfect.” He leaned down and silenced her reply
with his kiss. “And not just because I’m lust crazed. I thought you were
perfect when I first saw you.”

Doubt still clouded her gaze, but she didn’t argue. He
reached for her leg, but she grabbed his wrist. “Not a chance. You get naked or
this ends now.”

He wasn’t sure the mist was completely out of her system,
but his clothes weren’t going to make that obstacle any easier to hurdle. “I
guess that’s only fair.”

Hating to move away from her, even temporarily, he rocked back
onto his ass and pulled off his boots. She propped herself up on her elbows and
watched, an appreciative smile curving her kiss-swollen lips. Her gaze followed
his hands, caressing each new inch of flesh he exposed. The physical demands of
his life had shaped his body into something females enjoyed. And he’d never
been so glad for his muscular physique. She sat then knelt as desire flared
within her eyes.

He returned to her, kneeling as she knelt, his cock arching
toward her, nearly spanning the distance between their bodies. “Touch me,
hellion. I need your hands on me.”

Carissa’s hand trembled as she reached out and touched
Quinn’s chest. As always, his skin was incredibly hot yet soft beneath her
fingers. The muscles beneath his skin were hard as stone, but the skin itself
was smooth and inviting. She grew bolder, using both hands as she stroked over
his shoulders and down his arms.

He didn’t rush her, but his hips jerked each time she
ventured near his erection or down the front of his thigh. She leaned in so she
could grip his ass and his sex brushed against her belly. They gasped in unison
and she looked into his eyes.

Without breaking eye contact, he guided one of her hands to
his cock and curved her fingers around the shaft. She moved her other hand
between his thighs, cupping his balls as she began to stroke him. “Should we
make sure the mist is out of my system before we… I don’t want to get really
into this and find out you can’t finish.”

He dragged her hands away from his sex then wrapped his arms
around her. “I have a better idea.” He swept her up in his arms and placed her
on her back. “Ladies first.” He grinned as he moved between her legs then
stretched out on his stomach.

“How will this help us determine if I’m still under the
influence of the mist?” She wasn’t objecting to his plan. She just thought his
ability to climax was the problem, not hers.

“If it takes you longer than two minutes to come, I’ll know
we’re in trouble.”

She slapped at him playfully. “That’s incredibly arrogant!
Maybe I just don’t like you.”

Bending her knees, he pushed her legs wide. “Let’s find
out.”

He kissed his way down her inner thigh. Carissa tried not to
tense, tried to enjoy the simple brush of his lips against her sensitive skin.
He paused with his face directly over her sex and inhaled deeply. Then he
kissed his way up the other side. It was a cruel sort of pleasure. Her skin
tingled and her core tightened, primed and ready to ignite.

His breath caressed her first, warm and moist against her
cleft. She trembled, tormented by anticipation, needing his kiss, the knowing
sweep of his tongue. “Please.” She turned her head to the side, hating how
easily he made her desperate.

“Say my name.” His whispered demand sent another current of
moist breath curling across her folds.

“Quinn. Stop teasing me.”

He gently parted her with his fingers and she could hear the
grin in his voice as he said, “I like teasing you.” His tongue stroked from
back to front, slowly blazing a path from her needful core to her
ultrasensitive nub. He circled her clit, dragging his tongue across the bundle
of nerves before flicking his tongue against it.

She gasped and jerked as sensations radiated through her
abdomen. Already tension built within her, rippling along her inner walls.
“We’re clear.” She gasped. “The mist is…gone.”

His lips closed around her clit, tugging with slow yet firm
pulls. Her hips came off the floor and his lips let go. The pleasure burst
within her and Carissa cried out. She shook, both hands grasping his head as
the orgasm tore through her.

He pushed two fingers into her tense passage, drawing out
her pleasure as she shuddered and moaned. “That’s right. Don’t hold back.”

Then he slowly slid his fingers out and draped her legs over
his shoulders. Too dazed to question his intentions, she relaxed into the new
position and waited for the next wave of sensation. His mouth moved against
her, tongue delving deeper. He made soft, appreciative murmurs as he lapped up
the proof of her pleasure. It was as if he not only enjoyed her taste but…
needed
it.

The thought made her tremble. He wasn’t just giving her
pleasure. He was sustaining himself with her essence. It was so primal, almost
vampiric in its savagery, and she had never found anything so arousing. Tingles
spread across her skin and heat melted through her body, providing him with
more of what he needed. He growled, the sound decidedly feline, and his tongue
thrust deep into her body. She canted her hips, offering him a better angle for
his feast.

Sensations swirled through her and flowed out of her.
Another orgasm formed deep inside her, throbbing with its own distinct rhythm.
His hands tightened on her hips and his mouth became more demanding, his lips
sucking, drawing her cream directly into his mouth.

She tossed her head and fought back a scream as pleasure
erupted inside her. The wave crashed over her, flowed into him, then returned
like a tingling tide. Lights danced before her eyes and she seemed to float
above the floor.

He rose to his knees and her legs slid to the bend of his
elbows. Then his cock pressed against her entrance and his gaze locked with
hers. He advanced slowly, filling her inch by tantalizing inch.

Her body stretched around him, wet and willing yet snug from
disuse. When he was buried to the hilt, he moved his hands to the floor,
freeing her legs as he arched over her body.

His mouth came down and covered hers, lips warm and soft,
tongue bold and playful. The taste of her passion was inescapable, but she
found it thrilling, a not very subtle reminder of how well he had pleasured
her.

She waited for him to move, anticipation heightening her
arousal. He kissed her and kissed her, his groin flush with hers. With their
bodies joined, she could feel the link connecting their minds growing stronger.
A trickle of energy flowed into her mind, bringing his desire for her with it,
revealing the control it took for him to go slow.

Tightening her inner muscles, she squeezed him as hard as
she could. He wasn’t the only one craving motion. He groaned against her open
mouth and pulled back his hips. His length slid outward as slowly as it had
glided in. As usual, his patience was driving her crazy.

Rocking back onto his knees, he tilted her pelvis toward him
and found a steady rhythm. His tempo was slow but smooth, filling her deeply
with each rotation.

She’d known it would be sweet, but there was a depth to
their joining that she’d never experienced before. Their psychic link vibrated
and more emotions flowed into her mind—lust, determination and a liberal dose
of tenderness. The stronger emotions were clearly written on his tense
features, but she hadn’t expected the tenderness.

His fingers dug into her hips and he moved faster. She bent
her knees but kept her legs open, not wanting to hinder his range of motion. He
took advantage of her position and drove deep, a fresh rush of desire
accompanying each thrust.

His lips pulled back from his teeth and she tensed. His
canines had formed distinct peaks, elongating into fangs. His pace sped, and
then sped again, spine arched, head thrown back. An animalistic growl emanated
from his throat and she trembled with a heady mixture of pleasure and
uncertainty.

As long as she didn’t swallow his blood, her Therian nature
would remain undefined. If he lost control, it was up to her to keep this from
ending badly.

Blinding hunger poured across their link, saturating her
mind. Rational thought was consumed by the fire, but protective instincts
guided her next move. She grabbed his hair and jerked his head to the side
while twisting her shoulder out of range of his mouth.

With one final thrust, he came deep inside her, the rhythmic
spurt of his hot seed triggering her orgasm. She let go of his hair and clung
to him as sensations swept through her body.

Threaded through her pleasure, she felt emotions that were
clearly not hers. Fierce protectiveness, elemental longing and…hope. When Quinn
looked at her, he felt hope for the first time in many years.

“Damn,” he whispered. “That was close.”

She looked up in time to see a flash of gold gleaming in his
eyes. “Don’t I have to swallow your blood for it to trigger my definition?”

“Yes.” He rocked back onto his knees, taking his weight off
her without separating their bodies.

“Then it wouldn’t have mattered if you had bitten me, as
long as I kept my mouth closed.”

He looked startled by her attitude. “It would have mattered
to me. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You would never hurt me. I know that now.” She reached up
and ran the backs of her fingers across his cheek.

“If you were so sure of me,” he leaned down and kissed the
tip of her nose, “then why did you yank on my hair?”

“Instinct took over, I admit. But at the very end, I felt
what you feel for me.”

Before he could respond to her admission, the most annoying
sound doused their simmering desire.

“Shit!” Quinn disentangled their bodies and rushed to the
computer desk, he was still mostly erect, as if he were ready to go again. “At
least they waited until we finished.” He winked at her and added, “Round one.”

“What’s wrong?” She sat up, too shaky yet to stand.

“Something tripped a proximity sensor.” He snatched his
jeans off the floor and dug out his phone. “Landon, what—” Landon’s curt
response cut off the rest of Quinn’s question. He ended the call, tossed
Carissa the phone then jumped down from the loft. “Lock the door behind me and
do not leave the cabin for any reason!”

He didn’t bother dressing, so she followed suit, though she
used the ladder on her way down. A familiar feline cry split the night moments
after she bolted the door. She intended to stay inside as he’d directed, but
she needed to get dressed and find a weapon. She had no idea what, or who, had
tripped the alarm, or how serious the danger was, but she was not going to be
standing here naked if the fight made it back to the cabin.

* * * * *

Releasing his human form in a violent surge of Therian
power, Quinn leapt from the porch and arched through the darkness. He channeled
energy through his body, commanding his bones to reshape, muscles to re-form
and cells to reorder. One moment of blinding pain drove reality from his mind.
Then the shift passed along his body in a controlled cascade.

His strangled cry of agony erupted in a feline roar and his
sturdy front legs absorbed the impact as he landed on the hard-packed ground.
He shook off the momentary jumble, scrambling for understanding within his new
perspective.

Quinn still existed within the jaguar, but the cat was in
control. Instinct rather than logic guided his actions. Raising his head, he
sniffed the air, assessing the danger and locating the threat. Cool,
pine-scented air hung heavy with the promise of rain and—

Wolves! Their scent was unmistakable.

He bounded through the trees, following their scent, fueled
by fury and possessiveness. This was his territory. His mate was nearby, which
meant his mate was in danger.

Twigs snapped beneath his paws as he ran up a slope and
skirted a rock formation. Growls and yelps reached his ears, drawing him in a
slightly different direction. A shot echoed through the trees, an angry voice,
and then another shot.

Quinn sped his pace, heart hammering in his chest. He saw
figures up ahead and heard the voice more clearly.

“The next shot goes through your stubborn head,” Landon
shouted. “Is that really how you want this to end?”

Pausing at the edge of the scene, Quinn quickly assessed the
situation. Two naked men knelt on the ground with their hands clasped behind
their heads. Their chests heaved and they glared at the three wolf-shifters
circling and snapping at them. Apparently, Landon’s men had motivated the intruders
to revert to their human form.

Landon, who hadn’t bothered to shift, had a pistol trained
on the final intruder. Still in wolf form, the final intruder snarled and
paced, his compact body low to the ground, ready to attack.

“Back down,” Landon ordered. “There doesn’t need to be blood
between us.”

“You’re the one on the wrong side of the fight,” one of the
other intruders muttered.

Landon tensed but didn’t let his focus drift from the
stubborn wolf.

The wolf lifted its head and bared its teeth, looking as if
it would leap for Landon’s throat.

Quinn started forward, but with a feral growl, the wolf
darted to the side and ran into the darkness. Coward. The thought was still
echoing through Quinn’s mind when he realized the direction of the wolf’s
“retreat”. He was headed straight for the cabin!

Pivoting sharply to the side, Quinn ran as fast as his
feline legs would carry him. He crashed through underbrush and leapt over
boulders, fear driving him faster than he’d ever gone before. Carissa was safe
inside the cabin. As long as her curiosity didn’t compromise the situation,
she’d be okay.