Authors: Milly Taiden
He grinned. “You’re not old.”
“Hah! But I
am
a cat lady. And for your information, I feel quite old at this point.”
“Cats are great. I’m glad you like them. Don’t give age too much thought.” He liked knowing she wouldn’t have problems with his feline. “Old is just a state of mind.”
“Says the hot young one.” She laughed.
There she went again. He could tell she wasn’t thinking about actively flirting with him. There was no sly smiles or overt sexual pouts. That was new. “You’re beautiful. Don’t put yourself down.”
FOUR
Lyss didn’t know what to say. This really gorgeous man she’d never dreamed would need a date was holding her hand and calling her beautiful. Most of her exes weren’t bad looking, but hunk-man gave them a kick in the balls on the sexiness Richter scale.
“Hang on a second.” She glanced around between the trees, searching for a camera crew. “Am I being Punk’d? Because that’d be some real cruel shit but I wouldn’t put it past my mother.”
“What?” Gray asked.
“Look. It’s not every day I get a man that looks like you telling me he is looking for a long-term relationship and thinks I’m beautiful. So yes, I’m questioning it. To be completely honest, I’m wondering if you’re high, being real or joking.”
His lips lifted in a grin. Lord almighty what a smile. His eyes shone with laughter. The previously golden color had sparks of blue in them. They were truly mesmerizing. Why would a man this handsome and clearly in touch with his sexiness go to a dating agency? The women in that town were either blind or stupid.
She had the urge to fidget and glance down at her clothes. Did she look okay? Thank God Gerri had taken her shopping. She doubted he’d be saying she was beautiful if he saw her in a pair of too big sweats, bed head and surrounded by cats. Christ. The image alone scared the shit out of her.
“First, I am not high. There is no drug out there that could do a thing for me. Second, I don’t think you understand. You
are
beautiful and I
am
looking for a long-term relationship,” he said. “But I’ll tell you something. If anyone thinks calling you beautiful is a good way to joke then they don’t see what I see.”
She cleared her throat at the quick change of his tone. He’d gone from sexy and flirty to deadpan and serious. “And what’s that?”
“A woman who doesn’t need the trappings of war paint and too tight outfits to display how beautiful she is. Inside and out.”
Oh, wow.
“Um, war paint?”
He frowned. “You women call it makeup.”
A slow smile crept over her lips and a giddy sensation of excitement buzzed in her veins.
He moved forward, crowding her with the heat of his large body. Oh boy. She didn’t move for fear she’d blink and he’d disappear. He slid his hands up her arms, grasping her by the shoulders and tugged her close. So close there wasn’t an inch of space between their bodies.
She licked her dry lips again. Heck, her entire throat had turned to sandpaper.
“You keep doing that and I won’t be held accountable for my actions,” he murmured, his voice low and deep.
“Doing what?” she asked, staring at the fuzz of facial hair she wanted to rake her nails over. She’d never been one to like men with beards but that short hint of one on Gray was making her insane.
“Licking your lips.” He slowly lowered his head toward hers. “It’s like an invitation for me to kiss you.”
Was it? She’d never had that response before. Maybe now was a good time to find out what kind of chemistry they had. It was one thing for her to think he was hot, but quite another for him to make her panties wet. Okay, wetter. The man was a sight with that tattooed body and short blonde hair begging for her to grip.
“Do it,” she said boldly, not believing for a second he’d follow through. “Kiss me.”
Much to her surprise, he did. He dropped his head until his lips brushed softly over hers. Once. Twice. And then she lost patience and gripped the front of his T-shirt, yanking him closer to mesh their lips in a passionate kiss.
His tongue slid into her mouth and dominated. With each swipe over hers, he heightened the passion flaring in her blood. He glided his hands up to cup her face at first. Then he slid them around the back of her head and tugged the ribbon holding her hair up to let the long, thick strands tumble free.
She moaned into the kiss. Christ he was so good with that tongue, rubbing and grazing it back and forth over hers. Her nipples puckered tight under her top. They ached with an intensity she’d never felt before. All her muscles locked into place. It was like none of the kisses she’d ever been given had been real. Nothing compared to Gray’s lips pressing over hers. To his tongue fondling hers. To his hands gripping her hair. And to, oh dear God, the hard bar of his cock rubbing on her belly. Lust pooled at her core and heated her from the inside like a forest fire.
Need grew in her for the man doing with a single kiss what others could not do with months of sex. She moaned. He grunted and moved his hands down her neck to cup her breasts over her shirt. Hot shudders raced down her spine to her clit. A new throbbing took hold of her pussy. She wanted this big, sexy guy naked. Now.
He fondled her breasts, massaging and tweaking her nipples. With every squeeze her pussy fluttered. Her panties had gone past damp to soaked.
She pulled away from him, just enough to catch her breath and look into his bright golden eyes. The need and lust she saw there made her shiver.
“I want you,” he said, his voice firm, low and rough.
Those had to be the best words any man had ever said to her. Not because she’d never been told she was wanted before, she had, but because he said it in such a way she knew it was true. He said it as if it was killing him to not be inside her and by God that made the words all the more special.
“I—”
She didn’t get a chance to say anything. Her words died in her throat. His gaze jerked up from her face and his features turned feral, animalistic and angry. The warmth inside her died a sudden death and was replaced with icy fear.
He turned around, pushing her behind him until she was pressed between him and a tree.
Loud roaring sounded all around her. She tried to peek over Gray but it was hard since he was so damn big. She was, however, able to listen to the conversation without any problems.
“Leave.” Gray’s voice was loud and harsh.
She finally got around his arm enough to see two tall men standing several yards away.
“We’ve come to speak with you,” one guy said. He glanced down and caught sight of her. He frowned, his face twisting in anger. “You’ve got no mate. A pride leader needs cubs to ensure his line.”
She didn’t really understand what all that meant, but Gray clearly did. His muscles tensed, almost shaking.
“My mate is not of your concern, Lucas. Why are you and Eli really here?”
Great! Now she knew the guys’ names. The bigger, staring daggers at her, was Lucas and the shorter, not as evil-looking, was Eli.
“There’s been talk.” Eli glanced at Lucas, shifting from foot to foot. “Some are saying you won’t be leader for long.”
“We need to know what you will do about the mate problem,” Lucas said, his gaze never wavering from Lyss. “Or do you plan to fight to keep your place.”
“Again, not your business. You are overstepping and you both know what happens when anyone questions me.” He didn’t yell the words, but the effect was instant. The two men took hasty steps back and eyed each other. “You have thirty seconds to go before I decide you’ve come here to fight me yourselves.”
Eli was first to rush back, tugging a hesitant Lucas with him.
“We’ll go,” said Lucas. “But this doesn’t change anything. Others will come. You can’t be leader without a mate.”
Lyss swallowed at the fear clogging her throat. She gripped Gray’s T-shirt so hard in her fists her knuckles had gone white. They stood there a few minutes until she felt his muscles loosen.
“Let’s go back,” he said and turned to face her. His eyes were filled with anger. “I don’t think you should be out here right now in case they decide to come back.”
She frowned. This pride of his sounded like some nasty neighbors. “They’d do something to you?”
He shook his head. “Not me, but they’d try to get to you. They’ve seen you.”
She allowed him to hold her hand on their way back to his cabin. This time, the walk was silent and filled with unease. She finally spoke when they reached the kitchen.
“Is that my overnight bag?” she asked, glancing at what looked like her luggage.
“Yes, Stripes or Tynder brought it up for your comfort.”
She raised her brows and glanced at him. “But I’m supposed to stay at some guest cabin.”
“No. I want you here.”
Okay. Except she wasn’t used to being in any man’s home on a first date. It was a little strange. What if she woke up in the middle of the night and decided to climb into his bed and get her freak on? Would he object? “Um...”
“You can have your own room,” he said softly, his gaze dropping down to her lips. Butterflies and all kinds of fluttering sensations took hold of her chest. “If that’s what you wish.”
Wish? Wish! She wished she could get him out of his clothes ASAP but that wasn’t happening, now was it?
“Thank you.”
He picked up her bag and led her up to the second floor. She should have paid more attention to the surroundings, but his slap-worthy ass was all she could focus on. The entire way to the guest room all she did was debate on biting or wanting to dig her nails into his cheeks. She had problems.
The room he showed her was a nice clean one with the bare necessities. She stopped in the middle of the room and glanced around. “I guess you don’t get many guests, do you?”
He put her bag on a chair and turned to face her. “No. I like my space.”
“So who were those guys? And what did they mean that you need a mate?” She had been dying to ask but her stupid hormones had almost made her forget on the way up to the guest room.
He leaned back on the open entry. “We’re tigers, we need to mate.”
She blinked. “You’re a what?”
He frowned. “A tiger. Didn’t you know?”
“No!” she said, growing confused. “Mrs. Wilder never said what you were. I assumed—”
His brows rose with interest. “You assumed?”
“Um...” Shit. She’d been so stupid. Mrs. Wilder didn’t tell her what kind of shifter because she didn’t want her to have any preconceived notions. Lyss knew better than to assume anything, but she’d seen Tally with her two wolves and she’d sort of thought she’d get a wolf too. “I thought you’d be a wolf.”
“Like hell!”
She winced. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed. It’s just that a coworker of mine used the PDA and got a pair of wolves. I wasn’t sure what I’d get but I kind of expected a wolf for some reason.”
His brows darted down in a fierce scowl. “I see. I’ll leave you to unpack.”
She held her breath as he turned on his heel and left her room. Fuck. She’d done a great job of insulting the tiger. Well, Gerri had given her a cat alright. A big ass cat. And just like her cats at home, this one didn’t like being compared to a puppy.
She marched to her overnight case and opened it. The first thing she noticed was her bag of sex toys. She couldn’t have known if they’d have any chemistry and she wasn’t going to leave home without them. Now all she wanted was for him to use some of her favorites on her.
Fuck. Guilt crept up her throat. She had to apologize. He’d looked so surprised and then disappointed over her words. It made her feel awful to have hurt his feelings somehow.
She left the bedroom and listened for the sound of footsteps. His cabin was well built. The wood was strong and blended with the colors of autumn from the outside. A few doors down from her room she stopped. She must have reached his bedroom. He’d left the door ajar and she heard his footsteps inside.
Inhaling some courage she wasn’t sure she possessed, she pushed the door open. “I’m sorry, Gray, I—”
Oh. Dear. God.
FIVE
Lyss blinked. Then blinked again. He was naked. Like so naked there wasn’t even shoes on him to detract from the powerful muscles and amazing tattoos covering his back and arms. She’d been right. He had an ass she definitely wanted to bite and slap.
He turned to face her slowly. If possible, his front was even better to look at. She didn’t even attempt not glancing at his cock. Her brain short-circuited when she did. Her gaze shot up to meet his with a gasp. He was big. He was hard. He was ready.
“I’m...I’m sorry for barging in.” She cleared her throat. “I...just...how did you get naked so fast?” she blurted out.
His lips lifted into another of those panty-melting smiles. “We tend to be naked a lot.”
Oh. Her gaze strayed down to his cock again. She curled fingers into her palms, squeezing them into fists. “I’ll—I’ll go—”
“Don’t,” he broke in and slowly prowled toward her. “Don’t go.”
Shit. What to do? She really should get out of his room and leave him to whatever he’d been doing. Her dirty mind turned vivid with images of him stroking himself. Nope. Not the thing to be imagining right now.
He inhaled and groaned. “I don’t know if you understand, but I’ve been hard from the moment I laid eyes on you.”
Jesus. Maybe she could stay a few minutes. Or hours.
He came closer, his lightly tanned skin covered in tattoos called her attention. The blue and black lines of his ink captivated her.
“Do you want to know what I was about to do in here?” He taunted her with his soft words.
She shook her head jerkily. No. She didn’t want to know, she wanted to watch him do it.
He stopped just a hairsbreadth away and lifted a hand to cup her cheek, sliding his thumb over her bottom lip. “I was going to imagine those full lips of yours wrapped around my dick.”
This was better than anything her mind could have conjured up. Way better and hotter. He grabbed her fingers with his other hand and brought them down to his abs, placing her hand flat. Air pounded in and out of her lungs as she slipped her fingers down his navel to his straining erection.
His eyes held her captive, the gold and blue bright with arousal. “I can’t stop thinking of you naked,” he breathed.
She reached his long thick shaft and gulped. “Just naked?”
He glanced at her lips, his chest rising and falling with every hard breath. “Naked. On my bed. Spread open for me to feast on.” He licked his lips. “I can already taste how sweet your pretty pussy will be. I know you’re wet. I want to lick your pussy and drive my tongue and cock into your cunt. Deep. So deep you’ll never want me out of your body.”
Holy hell. If the words were anything to go by, she’d done the right thing staying there.
She watched his facial lines tighten. The knowledge that he was so close to losing his control sparked an evil need to push him inside her. Curling her hand over his hot length, she grazed her nails from his balls up to the head of his cock. Then she slid a thumb over the slit, spreading the bead of moisture at the tip.
“Put the words in action, Tiger-man.”
He moved faster than she expected. One second they were standing there and the next his lips were on hers, kissing her like the zombie-apocalypse had started. He tugged at her clothes, ripping and tearing. Not that she had half a mind to give a fuck. So what if the clothes were new. She’d spent hours in shopping hell to buy outfits with the hopes he’d like them. Tearing them off her sure qualified as liking in her book.
She lifted her arms for her top to come off and shimmied out of her pants when he yanked them down. The usual insecurity of being naked with a new man tried to push forth. God. This wasn’t just any new man. This guy was the epitome of tall dark and make-my-eyes-water sexy. She had long ago learned to live with the body she had. She might not be the sexiest dresser or the best at wearing stuff to entice men, but she was fine with being a big girl. A really big girl.
Except now. Right now all she wanted to do was glance down at her body and see what he saw. Did he see the rolls and the too small breasts for her size? Was he turned off by the fact her thighs might be bigger than most women? She hoped he liked ass because she had quite a big one back there. With a deep breath, she met his gaze and all those questions were sent to hell. His look stopped any feelings of discomfort with being so curvy dead on their tracks.
He’d pulled her pants and shoes off her feet and glanced up. The lust she saw there filled her with a new sense of excitement. He definitely wanted her. She gasped and groaned as he slid his finger up her legs when he stood. Each glide of his digits on her flesh felt like ribbons of fire stroking her.
She opened her mouth but he shook his head. His gaze swept her from head to feet and back up, stopping at her lips. “I was right. You’re beautiful.”
It was her at that point who lost control. She curled her arms around his neck and pulled his head down, pressing her mouth to his. He caressed his tongue over hers, decadently rubbing her and fanning the flames lighting her core. There was a new tug and her bra came off. The hiss of a tear and her panties were gone. And she loved it.
He picked her up as if she weighed nothing but a feather which only made her want him even more. In a few steps they were on the bed. The plush comforter warmed her back while he sat back on his heels and glanced at her naked body.
“Gray...”
“Shh, darling.” He pushed her legs open and stroked her pussy with a finger, sliding it up and down her slick lips. “I told you you’d be wet.”
She could hardly hear past the sound of her heavy breathing. Gripping clumps of the comforter in her fists, she waited for him to make a move.
“That’s such a gorgeous sight.” His voice was low and deep. He pushed her thighs wider and got on his belly.
Oh this was going much better than she expected.
He inhaled and groaned. “I can scent how much you want me.”
“I do,” she murmured. “I want you.”
His eyes flashed that golden color she loved. “I want to fuck you.” He pressed his finger over her clit in lazy circles that pushed her breathing into the heart attack zone. “I want my cock coated in your pussy juices.” He lowered his head, his gaze still locked on hers and swiped his tongue over her folds. “Mmm. I knew you’d be sweet.”
Lord Jesus. She groaned, her eyes wanting to shut and her body begging for more. “Oh, please.”
“I like the sound of you asking me to do more.” He did another lick from her ass to her clit again and then rained small bites on her inner thigh. “Do you know how hard it is not to slide my cock into your slick hot pussy and fill you with my cum?”
No. She didn’t but she wanted that just as badly as he did. “Don’t hold back,” she panted. “Do it.”
Another slide of his tongue over her clit and she saw stars. She moaned and pressed her pussy closer to his mouth.
“My dick hurts from how much I want you. I want to watch my cock slide into your pussy and come out wet with your scent.” He flicked his tongue over her clit and slid his finger into her channel, slowly fucking her with it.
“Oh! Oh, God,” she groaned.
Hot and cold sensations rushed her body. Her mind focused solely on the lips and tongue sucking her clit and the fingers invading her body and pushing her to orgasm.
Her legs pressed against his head but he curled his arms around her large thighs and urged her to lay them over his muscled shoulders. Another suck and lick and her pussy squeezed around his fingers.
“Fuck!” he grunted, his lips barely above her mound. “You’re hot and wet. So fucking sexy.”
Her muscles shook from how hard it was to hang on. She couldn’t think, breathe or do much more than lay there and feel. And it felt fucking amazing. He added a third finger gliding into her pussy and something pressed into her asshole. She inhaled and let it out slowly, allowing her body to relax so his finger could get in her.
“That’s it, beautiful,” he breathed from between her legs. “Let me fuck your pussy and ass with my fingers because soon it’ll be my dick in your pussy. Soon, gorgeous, it will be my cock in your tight ass.”
Her body bucked at the dual penetration of his fingers in her pussy and ass. “Gray!”
Tension swirled into a ball of explosives in her belly. Her chest felt compressed and she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs.
She let go of the comforter and gripped his blonde hair in her fists, wiggling and rocking her hips over his lips. The fire inside grew in intensity. She was so close. The promise of an orgasm threw her into single-minded focus. She had to come.
He sucked her clit harder, plunging his fingers in and out of her in a faster speed with each lick. She moaned loud, not caring about being quiet. Fuck who heard her.
His head lifted and she glanced at him from lowered lids, her chest heaving while she struggled for breaths.
“Come for me, beautiful.” He nibbled her clit, his fingers driving in and out faster than she could catch a breath. He splayed his tongue flat on her pussy, pressing on her clit and then sucking it between his lips.
“Oh,” she gasped. “Oh my—”
The world shattered then and there. She screamed, her body unravelling and letting go so fast she could do nothing but let it happen. A massive wave of pleasure rushed her. Her bones liquefied and her ability to breathe stopped. Shockwaves of bliss spread through her body, down to the smallest cell.
She blinked her eyes open and glanced down. Her legs shook and her belly still quivered. Gray was on all fours, licking his lips.
“I love how sweet your pussy tastes, but now I want to feel it stroking my dick as I slide into you.”
Her desire shot right back up. She was dying for him to take her, to slide into her body and give her a new taste of the amazing release she’d just had. She widened her legs, pulling her knees up to allow him more access to her body.
“I like that,” he said, his lips lifting into a sinful grin. “You do have a pretty pussy. It’s so pink and wet.” He glanced up and met her gaze. “Ready to be fucked.”
Oh, yeah. She was ready, willing and desperate.
She reached for him but he shook his head. “Not yet.”
Instead he lowered and kissed her belly, licking his way up to the valley of her breasts. Then he sucked one of her nipples between his lips, the heat of his mouth enveloping her breast.
“Oh, my God!” Her mind turned to baby food.
His powerful legs rubbed the inside of her thighs. Her breath caught in her chest. His lips were driving her wild. His nips and sucks on her nipple were like electric currents between her breast and clit. She’d never known such exquisite torture.
He released her nipple and continued his licking journey up to her lips. The head of his cock pressed at her slick entrance. Steely hard and silky smooth, he slipped easily between her drenched folds.
She gasped, her gaze locked on his. He clenched his jaw, the vein on the side of his cheek popped to show the hard time he was having taking it slow. He pressed forward, his cock sliding into her in a drawn-out slide.
“Fuck, Alyssa. You really are tight.”
He said that like it was a bad thing. It wasn’t her fault he was big and her previous men had been...well, smaller.
She gripped his slick shoulders, digging her nails into his sweaty flesh and pushed a breath out. “You’re taking too long.”
Curling her legs around his hips, she used the balls of her feet to press at his ass and push him forward faster. The movement worked, but she hadn’t expected the burning of his cock stretching her pussy walls and filling her until she felt invaded by him.
“Christ!” he rumbled and blinked his golden eyes down at her. “Your body is soft, tight. Perfect for me to fuck.”
“Do it, Gray. Do me hard.”
“I want to fill you with my scent, sweet Alyssa,” he breathed. “I want to come deep inside you. To mark you as mine.”
She might not understand his words but she knew one thing, she wanted whatever he wanted to give her. “Do whatever you want. Just do it already.”
“Do you want me to come inside you?”
“Yes. Fuck me and fill me with your cum.” Where were these words coming from? She liked dirty talking as much as the next person but that right there was unlike her.
A feral smile split his lips. “I’ll do just that. I’ll fuck your sweet cunt so hard you’ll never forget how good we are together.”
She raised her head and met his lips with hers. The kiss was not soft or sweet. It was a rough mating of mouths with groaning, moaning and biting. He pulled back, almost sliding out of her and then pushed forward. She whimpered. His drives didn’t slow or stop. Neither did the kiss. Their tongues tangled at the same time his cock drove deep and retreated. In. Out. Harder. Faster. Blazing arousal pumped her blood straight to her head.
Sex had never been this untamed. She’d had sex for enough years of her life that she considered herself well prepared for anything. Not this time. But his rough fucking only opened something wild inside her too. A new need to let go filled her. She scored her nails down his sides. When she reached his ass, she squeezed and dug them into his meaty flesh.