Prince of Fate (Lions of Pride Island Book 2) (6 page)

Maybe all the dreams she’d put on the back burner were possible again. Though, if she were honest, the biggest dream on the back burner had been him.

“You think we’ll hear from Bee soon?” he asked, worried.

She loved that about him. His protectiveness. Even as he’d teased her, she’d known he’d never leave her stranded. He was always eager to help her, seemed like he actually enjoyed it.

Did he have actual feelings for her, though, or was he just treating her like a friend while trying to charm her into being his mate?

The way he kissed her didn’t feel like a friend at all.

The phone rang, and she jumped up to get it, whipping the receiver to her ear.

“Hi, dear. I’ve decided to stay here with Theresa overnight. We have a lot to catch up on.”

“Overnight?” Brenna asked, apprehension moving through her. Then she remembered Theresa was a retired nurse. Bee would be as safe there as she would be anywhere. Maybe safer. “Okay. You have a good night.”

“You, too,” Bee said, and Brenna could hear the smile in her voice. “After all, that means you two have the house
all
to yourselves. Toodles.” Then before Brenna could respond, she hung up.

Brenna slumped in the chair across from Cain, seeing the sun already starting to set through the windows behind him.

“What’s going on?” he asked. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Brenna replied with a sigh. “Nothing. Just… she’s staying with Theresa overnight.”

He blinked. “Oh.”

Tension stretched between them. The implication of being in the house all alone. All night. Everything they’d done so far echoed through her. The kisses, the touches… watching him cut wood in the rain.

Things she wanted him to do.

She pressed her legs together, and his eyes snapped up at her.

“Um,” she mumbled.

“Don’t worry,” he said, putting up one large hand. “I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me to. You mean a lot to me, Brenna.”

Her heart pounded at that. His ability to wait for her despite clearly feeling the same desire she did only made her yearn for him more.

She wanted to see all that care, that protectiveness, displayed in bed.

She wanted him to touch her everywhere.

But maybe he was right. They shouldn’t rush things.

Her heart pounded as they stared at each other across the table. He bit his lip, worrying it slowly with his straight, white teeth. His blond hair was wind-blown, sexy. His shirt lay slightly open.

“I… What if I want you to do it?”

He choked. “What?”

“I mean, you said you won’t do anything I don’t want you to do. What if I do want you to do it?”

He swallowed, putting his hands together in front of him and exhaling slowly. “What do you want me to do?”

She lifted her eyes to his, feeling the cat in her come alive. Feeling the woman in her aching to be one with him. To feel everything he could do.

When she thought about telling him yes, she thought she knew for a moment how he felt about doing dangerous stunts and jumps. There was something to be said for living a little dangerously, and her whole life, she’d been far too safe.

“Everything,” she said in answer to his question. “I want everything.”

“And you won’t hate me after?” he asked, blinking and pushing hair back over his shoulder.

“I guess that depends how good you are,” she teased. “I thought you were going to make me fall in love with you.”

“Well, yeah.” He scoffed. “But this seems like an almost unfair advantage. I mean…”

“Will you just shut up and carry me to bed?” She demanded, standing with hands clenched into fists.

He grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

She smiled as he lifted her in his arms as if she weighed nothing. “That’s the right attitude.”

“Bee warned me about that,” he said, taking the steps two at a time up to her room.

“What?” she asked, confused.

“Nothing,” he said. “Now let’s get started on making you fall in love with me.”

He walked into her room and tossed her on the bed, prowling over her with his big body, covering her with his fresh, spicy scent.

He seemed eager, ready, predatory, as he caught her hands in his and pinned them over her head.

He was really into proving he could make her fall in love with him.

She didn’t think she needed to tell him she already was.

C
ain didn’t know
what to say. Brenna wanted him.
Wanted
him.

Granted, he could tell from the first time he’d walked through her door that he aroused her senses. That her lioness called to him. But it was something entirely different going from
thinking
she was attracted to him to having it confirmed and her asking him to give her everything.

He intended to pleasure her senseless.

Looking at her lying on the bed, her perfect curves going on for days, he could feel the winds of fate finally going in his direction.

“Are you going to just stare, or is that part of the plan?” she teased, light-brown eyes sparkling in the last rays of evening light as they poured through the thin curtains.

He gulped, his adrenaline pumping a million miles an hour, his body already painfully aware of how close they were.

“Oh, I haven’t even started, kitten,” he growled as he leaned down to lick along the length of her outer ear. Her body shivered in response, her wrists testing his gentle but unyielding hold on her.

She opened her mouth to respond, but he caught her lips with his own, sealing over them and diving into her mouth, their tongues entwining. As he flicked and slowly thrust deeper, she moaned against him, her body writhing and her breasts rubbing against his chest, turning him on even more.

Damn, Brenna was beautiful. But it was something else entirely having her beneath him. Feeling her body’s response to the pleasure he gave her.

The kind of thing he would want forever.

If he were so lucky.

He deepened the kiss, pressing his body against her, their chests brushing as he brought one hand down to cup the back of her neck, the other easily holding both her wrists at once. His fingers entwined with her soft curls, brushing the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck while he continued to kiss her, hearing her breathing pick up, her soft moans against his lips.

“How’s that for starters?” He finally ended the kiss and looked down at Brenna, whose eyes slowly opened as she caught her breath.

“It’s a start I guess,” she said breathlessly.

He grinned as his hand found the generous swell of her breast underneath her shirt. He touched it lightly, enjoying the way she arched, the way her breath hitched. The last thing Cain wanted to do was shoot their chances of being together in the foot by going too fast for her.

Even if the lion in him was roaring to claim its mate right here, right now.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” he said between kisses down her collarbone and along the tops of her breasts. So delicious. So kissable. So needing to have his tongue on them this very instant.

“Just no mating; that’s it,” she said, her breath catching as his tongue dipped under the edge of her bra, coming close to her nipple, but not quite reaching it.

“Of course. Nothing you aren’t comfortable with.” He lifted her shirt and began to kiss along her stomach, his tongue finding her belly button and stroking inside several times, making her legs tense.

Cain would make her his soon enough. He’d do anything for her, whatever it took to make that happen. To be able to be with her.

He released her hands and pulled off her shirt, then undid the clasp of her bra with a quick flick, pulling it off and baring her torso to him. Her dusky nipples stood erect, aroused already by his touch.

Before Brenna’s hands could rest at her sides, though, he gathered them again in his left hand, pinning them above her as she watched him, the slight blush in her cheeks obvious in the dim light of her small room.

“Believe me; you’ll like it better this way,” Cain said as his mouth covered one nipple, sucking on it long and hard.

Immediately, she responded to him, moaning quietly, her body writhing beneath him in pleasure. He did the same to her other breast, and again, her body tensed beneath him

“You don’t have to be so quiet, you know,” he whispered into her ear as he kissed the base of it, his hand gathering the soft flesh of one breast and massaging it deftly.

“Right…” she choked out, interrupted as his thumb lightly tweaked her nipple. “I just…”

“Let me hear exactly how much you like it.” He commanded, his free hand finding the button of her jeans and flicking it open. As he slowly pulled down the zipper, her eyes widened in anticipation. He could scent her arousal so strongly, so fresh and delightful, a gentle waterfall surrounded by lilies.

He ran his fingers along her soft panties, and she froze, holding her breath. Then he ran his fingertip up her center, rubbing over her clit with one long motion. She cried out in pleasure, this time loudly and unconstrained. The sound was sweeter in his ears than the cheers of a million adoring fans.

Damn, how could the Oracle have been so right about how perfect they were together?

The sounds of her pleasure only spurred him to further gratify her, and his fingers delved beneath her panties to stimulate her directly. He could feel how hot, how wet she was for him, and his cock twitched at the thought of being inside her.

Easy, tiger,
he told himself, his finger finding her clit immediately and moving into a slow, languorous rhythm over her as he licked over her breasts. She writhed beneath him, still held by his left hand, her inability to move away from the indulgence only quickening the build of her arousal.

He could feel her getting close, could hear each bated breath as she tried to hold back her body’s response to his touch. He continued to stroke over her clit, her wetness allowing him to slide smoothly, enhancing the contact, as he moved back to her neck, placing small kisses there.

“No holding back on me,” he whispered into her ear, her body almost buzzing with tension as she teetered on the precipice of release. Then with one slow, impossibly long stroke, she fell over the edge.

Immediately, he let go of her hands, and she wrapped around him, grasping him with all her strength as she screamed his name, her words catching in her throat, then resuming again as her body rocked with an incredible orgasm.

Cain just held her as she came, reveling in her release as she slowly relaxed in his arms.

By the time she was back to normal, Cain was already pulling off her jeans and panties, hungry to taste his mate and make her come again. Brenna had no complaints, just sighed with satisfaction and relaxed deeper into the sheets as he moved, ready to receive whatever he would give.

Cain pulled off his shirt, then spread Brenna’s legs as he lowered his mouth over her center, the warmth of her body radiating upward, as he could already feel her becoming more aroused just in anticipation of what he was going to do. He rested her legs on his shoulders, her silky skin making contact with him, then placed a single kiss at her apex.

Her back arched against him and her hands dug into her thick curls, trying to hold back the incredible wave of sensation Cain could tell was moving over her at even that slight touch.

“A little too intense?” he asked.

She just responded with a nod, biting her lower lip as her hands dug into the sheets, trying to find something to hold on to. Instinctively, sensing his mate’s need, Cain reached up and held both her wrists at her sides, pinning her down as he lowered himself once more over her.

This time there was no escaping every beautiful, pleasurable sensation.

He licked up against her clit, long and slowly, and this time she moaned loudly as she relaxed into the intensity of it, letting the wave of pleasure wash over her rather than trying to push through it. He licked again, and she nearly came, her body unable to hold back the tide.

For a moment, he let her relax, placing small kisses along the sides of her soft thighs, making her quiver lightly. Her beautiful curves surrounded him on every side, and even though she was close to the edge, he couldn’t help but admire how hot she was, especially more so with nothing on.

He could literally do this all day. But the last thing he wanted to do was torture his mate.

At least not
too
much.

Even with his light touches, she was drawn tighter than a wire now, her breath racing, her body begging to be released. He answered, letting his tongue plunder her clit, first by doing small circles around it, then stroking his tongue along it over and over until she was pushed past the limits of her self-control.

Again, she came, this time her legs wrapping around him and her fingers digging into his wrists as he held her, letting her experience every ounce of pleasure from her incredible release.

By the time she was finally finished, giving out a long, pleasured sigh signaling the end of her orgasm, Cain was painfully hard. Something about her satisfaction drove him into a frenzy. A frenzy of need for her and only her.

Suddenly, Cain felt the end of his belt unthread through the buckle, and he looked down to see Brenna’s hands quickly working on the button of his pants.

“I can’t wait,” she said, fire in her eyes, the lioness in her close to the surface.

“Me neither.” He agreed, standing and pulling off his jeans, then his boxer briefs, his member coming free.

He quickly pulled out a condom from his back pocket, slid it on, and positioned himself at her center. As he felt her warmth, Brenna bit down on her lower lip, accentuating her voluptuous mouth, red and slightly swollen from their passionate kisses.

For a moment, he teased her, giving her a slight taste of what was to come. And in response, Brenna wrapped her hands around his back, her fingers digging into him a little more each time he came close to her.

Then with one slow stroke, he entered her, being careful to make sure her body could accommodate his sheer size. Brenna gasped, and he paused for a moment, letting her body relax around him.

Immediately, her shock melted into utter ecstasy, and she moaned loudly as he filled her entirely.

Cain had to hold himself back. Just the sight of her pleasure mixed with the feel of her heat and wetness completely encompassing him was so good, so intense.

He got the distinct impression neither of them was going to hold out long.

Cain withdrew from her, then thrust in again, and Brenna arched against the bed, moans signaling the increased acuteness of the pleasure she felt. Cain tried to stifle a groan, but it just felt too damn good.

So rather than try to make her last any longer, he moved into a heated rhythm, focusing on the feelings rising between them. The wet friction sent bolts of lightning coursing from his toes to his fingertips in powerful bursts, and it didn’t take much to tell Brenna felt the same, her body more alive with sensation than ever before.

Feeling she was coming close, Cain reached his hand between their bodies and stroked against her clit, further intensifying Brenna’s pleasure. With a single flick, her body froze against him, coiled tightly the moment right before the release as the entire world stopped around them.

With a loud oath, Brenna screamed Cain’s name as her convulsing body pushed him past his own limits of self-control. He drove into her all the way, completely to the hilt, and felt himself jerk inside her, throbbing with release as Brenna’s nails raked across his back and he held her tightly.

For that single moment that seemed to spread out into eternity, they came together, caught up in unending ecstasy within themselves. Then finally, they both regained their senses. Brenna let out a satisfied sigh, and Cain carefully slid out of her, going to the bathroom to clean off and then returning to her side.

By now, the evening had slipped away into nighttime, and outside, crickets could be heard chirping far away. No words were spoken between the two. Instead, Cain placed a soft kiss on Brenna’s neck, then pulled the sheets around them as he wrapped his arms about her, holding her close.

Despite their release, tension still ticked through the moment, and Cain could feel Brenna was holding things back as well. The physicality had been wonderful, pleasing her had been beyond his dreams, and it had been extra special because of the years he’d been thinking of her and wondering about her, how beautiful she was in his eyes.

But at the same time, they still didn’t agree on what the future held. She hadn’t agreed to to be his mate, and he hadn’t agreed to quit his job doing dangerous things.

Though he felt if he had a choice, Brenna was worth it. But would he feel that way when the urge to do something dangerous came again?

She reached up to stroke his hair, and he looked down at her. Her light-brown eyes were hazy, satisfied, but there was something hesitant in her expression.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “That happened… faster than I thought.”

“I am,” she replied. “Just thinking. You?”

He propped himself up on one elbow. “Just thinking I’m the luckiest man in the world right now. Not wanting to screw it up.”

She sighed, rolling onto her back to look up at him. “I guess you should sneak back since we don’t know when Bee will be home in the morning.”

“I guess so.” But he didn’t want to leave her. He wanted to stay with her all night, hold her close, and watch out for her. Just wonder at how incredibly beautiful she was and how he already couldn’t imagine a life without her.

It was amazing how fast that could happen.

He’d given up on a life of anything substantial, sure that even when he was assigned a mate, he wouldn’t be able to pull it off. But having it be Brenna truly was perfect, because if there was anyone he’d be willing to try for, it was her.

“I don’t want you to go either,” she said. “But I’m not ready for Bee to know…”

“It’s fine.” He pulled her in for one last hug. “You smell amazing. You
are
amazing. Thanks for letting me love you.”

She gazed up at him, hair damp from their lovemaking, but didn’t say anything at first. He knew she was still measuring him up, measuring her own feelings. “The pleasure was all mine.”

He laughed at that and got up to get his things and retreat. “If you change your mind and you’re not afraid to get caught, you’re welcome to come over to my room.”

She grinned and nodded but didn’t stop him as he silently exited through the door.