Brooke, Leah - Panthers' Prey [Black Panthers 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (34 page)

Her cries became whimpers as her body continued to clamp down on his cock, the too full feeling, the sensation of being stretched beyond her limits growing even stronger.

Burying his face in her neck, James groaned, lifting her hips several more inches and thrust deep.

Bailey cried out again as he filled her completely, her legs stiffening when she felt his cock pulse his release, the movement setting off another barrage of tingling heat. Combined with his insistent strokes to her clit, she came again, the waves of pleasure rolling over the previous ones until they all combined into something so powerful, she couldn’t even cry out anymore.

Whimpers poured from her on each ragged breath, her body trembling with aftershocks of the most intense orgasm she’d ever experienced.

After one last stroke to her clit, James wrapped himself around her, nuzzling her neck and holding her close.

“You’re my mate, Bailey.” His warm lips touched her shoulder, his hair silky against her cheek.

“And I’m yours.”

Bailey lifted her head and managed to open her eyes. Turning to face him, she blinked, smiling when he caressed her trembling body. She had to swallow and take several shuddering breaths before she could speak.

“Is it going to be like this every time?”

His grin, drowsy and full of satisfaction, warmed her.

“It can be. Would you like that?”

“It would kill us.”

James grinned and lifted her into his arms.

“But what a way to go.”

Chapter Thirteen

“So you’ve been living on your own for a while now? You haven’t lived with another man? A roommate? Anyone?”

Bailey shivered as James ran his fingers down her arm, cuddling back against him. She couldn’t ever remember feeling so warm and sated, so drowsy that she could hardly keep her eyes open. Inside, though, her mind raced with renewed awareness, and she found she didn’t want to fall asleep and miss a single moment of this delicious feeling.

Lying in the darkness, they kept their conversation low and intimate, and she found herself telling him things about herself she never intended to tell him. Frowning at the ease with which she automatically answered him, she shrugged and cuddled closer.

“No. After escaping from the last foster home, I never wanted to live with anyone else. I’m selfish. I like having my own space and my own things, and I don’t like that other people want parts of me they’re not entitled to. My bosses always wanted to get into my personal affairs. Ask questions about things that were none of their concern. That’s one of the reasons I went into business for myself. I hated being called in on my day off when I’d already made plans or told that I had to take shit from assholes and keep a smile on my face. No one had the right to grab my ass just because I brought them a beer. Fucking assholes.”

James stiffened behind her and just as quickly relaxed again. “No friends?”

Thinking about the waitresses she’d worked with, she shrugged. “There were a few of them, but for the most part—no. I can’t stand gossiping or giggling, and friendship makes demands as well. I hate calling someone just to
chat
.”

“And there’s no other family? Aunts? Uncles? Cousins?”

“I never had any family—well, except for my grandmother. My mom took off when I was a baby. Heard she OD’d later. Who knows?”

James kissed her shoulder before covering it with the blanket. With a groan he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back against him.

Wrapped in warmth, the chill disappeared.

James’s strong arm held her close while he lightly traced a pattern on her belly.

“Well, you’ve got a big family now. I can’t wait until they all meet you. They’re going to love you almost as much as I do.”

Unable to deny the inner warmth his words gave her, she stilled as the knot started to form again. Not knowing how well he could see in the dark, she was thankful that he lay behind her.

“James, I’ve never loved anyone before. I don’t know how. I don’t do family. No knack for it, I guess.”

She touched the necklace she wore all the time now.

“I vaguely remember my grandmother. She’s the only one I’ve ever loved, and I was four when she died. When she was gone, there was no one left, and I went into foster care.”

After a pregnant pause, James hugged her close.

“I think you’re a lot more loving than you give yourself credit for. Look how you took Gus and Ricky under your wing when you bought this place. You knew they had nowhere else to go.”

Frowning, she looked over her shoulder, struck by the way his eyes caught the faint moonlight coming through the window and glittered.

Turning away, she snorted. “That’s bullshit. I needed help, and since they’d already worked here, they knew the place.”

Chuckling, James sank his teeth playfully into her shoulder.

“Okay, honey, now you’re the one who’s full of shit. The others had more experience and had been working at the bar longer. Even Gus and Ricky were surprised when you hired them.”

Curiosity had her turning fully, leaning up on an elbow to see as much of his expression as she could.

“How do you know that?”

Reaching out, he circled her nipple with unerring accuracy, teasing her relentlessly and making her wonder just how well he
could
see in the dark.

“They told me. They’re very loyal to you, which is what I needed to know.”

She promised herself that in a minute or two, she’d push his hand away, but since the circles he drew around her nipple kept getting smaller, she decided to let herself enjoy the pleasure, dropping back onto the pillow and arching toward him.

“I don’t need you to watch out for me, James. Hmm. That feels good.”

Without touching her nipple, he moved to circle the other.

“That’s part of loving someone, my mate.”

Her breath caught when he leaned over her, his eyes taking on a predatory gleam. A cloud had blocked out even the little bit of moonlight, making the gleam all the more breathtakingly primitive.

“You can’t love me. We hardly know each other.” She gasped when he unexpectedly tapped her nipple and arched higher to get more, but he denied her. Her stomach and abdomen quivered under the slow slide of his fingers over them, her breath hitching when he paused to trace the delicate area right above her mound.

James bent and touched his tongue to a nipple with an accuracy that told her how well he could indeed see in the dark. Keeping his voice low and intimate, he continued to tease her.

“I know all I need to know about you, mate. I know you respond beautifully each time I touch you. I know that I’ve always liked being alone, but now when I am, I can only think of being with you. I can’t sleep if you’re not beside me. You’re the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning and my last thought before I go to sleep at night.”

Since she felt much the same way about James and Marc, she chose to remain silent as she fought back tears. She turned more fully onto her back, hoping to coax the hand beneath the covers to move lower, and had to clear her throat of tears before speaking, firming her voice.

“That’s lust.”

James chuckled and avoided her efforts to get him to touch her more intimately, teasing her by tracing his fingers lightly up and down her inner thigh.

“No, lust is what makes my cock hard every time I get near you. Lust is what makes you wet every time I touch you. What I’m talking about is much more than that. It’s—” He froze, every line of his body going hard and tense against hers.

Alarmed, Bailey started to sit up, only to be pushed to her back again.

“James, what—”

“Quiet!”

His voice, barely a whisper, carried a steely edge that silenced her immediately.

Bending close, he put his lips to her ear and pressed a firm hand on her belly.

“Someone’s outside. It’s those three men from the bar. I can smell them. Stay right here.” Tossing the covers aside, he stood, and she heard denim rustle as he pulled on his jeans.

Not bothering to argue with him, Bailey began feeling around the covers for her robe, staring toward the window.

“Are you sure? I don’t hear anything.”

Finding her robe, she bundled herself into it, not hearing much of anything. She couldn’t hear James move around at all and jumped when he touched her shoulder from the opposite side of the bed.

Putting his hand over her mouth, he silenced her instinctive gasp and leaned close, his lips brushing her ear.

“I’m sure. One of those men from the bar is kin to the man who attacked you in the woods. I can smell it on him. Now, stay put while I deal with them. I mean it, Bailey. I smell gasoline. Get dressed and get ready to move.”

Assuming that the other men wouldn’t be able to hear her any more than she could hear them, she disentangled herself from the covers and got out of the bed, grabbing James’s arm.

“Their uncle owns the bar down the street, and he doesn’t want any competition. That’s why Dave Hopper sold the bar to me. He couldn’t deal with it anymore.”

James surprised her by wrapping his hands around her upper arms and lifting her several inches off of the floor.

“You knew this and bought the place anyway?”

Kicking his shin got her nothing but sore toes. She smacked at him, encountering his hard, naked chest.

“Put me down. Yes, I knew it. How the hell do you think I got the place at a price I could afford? Let go of me so I can stop them before they burn my bar down.”

James tossed her to the bed, somehow not jostling her much at all.

“Stay here, Bailey. Do what I told you to do. Stay here and get dressed.”

She bounced once and scrambled to the other side. Getting to her feet, she pushed her hair back and stumbled over his boots, barely managing to catch herself before she fell.

Keeping her voice at a furious whisper, she made her way through the darkness toward her dresser, hitting her already sore toes on it.

“Damn it. I’m not used to this room yet. Of course
you
don’t run into anything. If you think I’m staying here while you go get those guys, you’re crazier than I thought you were.”

She rummaged through the drawers for sweatpants and a sweatshirt, not bothering with underwear. Her robe kept getting in her way, and she couldn’t tie it because she’d put it on inside out.

With another string of curses, she threw it off and tossed it aside.

“Just how well can you hear and see in the dark, anyway?”

She jumped up and down on one foot as she struggled to get her sweatpants on.

“My baseball bat will take care of them.”

She had a little more trouble with her oversized sweatshirt, but finally managed to get it on.

“If you want to come with me…James?”

She hurried over to where he’d been just moments ago, but stilled when she realized she could no longer feel his presence.

Careful to keep her voice low, she started cursing. “Son of a bitch! Fucking asshole. Who does he think he is to go without me? You get yourself hurt, James Archer, and I’ll kick your ass.”