Fast and the Furriest (7 page)

Ares waggled his eyebrows.

“That’s even creepier.”

He turned away from her, flicking his tail as he disappeared and returned to the quickly filling tub. Rolling her eyes, she focused on getting clean, wondering how the hell the water heater managed to supply the house. Then the warm water cascaded over her nude body, and she didn’t give a damn about anything but the stinging heat and the way it relaxed her muscles. She took her time washing her hair and running the soapy washcloth over her body.

The splashes and sounds of water hitting the tile told her Ares continued his own bath and she let her body relax as fatigue bombarded her. She’d endured fear, worry, excitement, terror… all in a single day. Hell, in fewer than twelve hours. Finally, everything that’d kept her moving—mostly adrenaline—fled, and she found herself utterly exhausted.

At some point Ares finished and came to her, the massive tiger gentle as he batted at the shower’s knob and then carefully grasped her hand between his teeth. He tugged her toward the bed, leading her along, and she realized she didn’t even mind that they both climbed onto the mattress and soaked the blanket and sheets with their wet bodies.

Zoe sighed and sank into the softness, closing her eyes as she relaxed. She reached out for Ares, running her hand through his fur as she sought the quiet of slumber.

Then she was sure a single, masculine word drifted through her mind.

Sleep.

Zoe went to bed with a tiger and woke beside a man. A man with a large body covered in carved muscles that made her fingers itch with the need to touch. She reached out, fingers hovering above his skin, and she felt the warmth that radiated from his body. It was another clue she should have recognized. Shifters ran hotter than humans.

How had she forgotten? Now that she thought about it, other little quirks should have clued her in as well. The way others wouldn’t meet Ares’s gaze for long. How they’d listen to him no matter who he spoke with. The twitch of their noses. The massive amounts of meat the group consumed. The way others seemed to flow in and out of the house; they were rarely ever alone.

And for some reason, she didn’t mind. They
did
get their own space, but she also felt comfortable with all his friends, er, pride members.

“You gonna stare at me all morning or touch me?” His voice was hoarse and filled with his cat’s rumble.

“I dunno. Depends.” She flicked her attention to his face, finding him with his eyes still closed.

“On?”

“On how you feel about me.” There, she laid her vulnerability at his feet.

Like a cat—heh—he snatched her around the waist and tugged her close until their bodies were flush from chest to knees.

“You’re mine. That’s how I feel,” he murmured.

“But I’m responsible for…”
So many things.

“Tell me.”

Tell him. It sounded so easy, but guilt made it hard to talk.

“You know I’m a reporter for Tower Sentinel News?” At his nod, she continued. “A friend knows this area, not Wilden in particular, but she knew the mountain had a bunch of little towns. Wilden happened to be deeper in the woods and higher on the mountain than others. I wanted a quiet, secluded space to relax for two weeks. Just somewhere to breathe, without the rush of the city.” A city she secretly loathed. She’d always been more comfortable in open spaces with clean air. “Then I met you and we…”

They fell in love? She thought so. Maybe. If this whole mess hadn’t destroyed everything.

“Keep going,” he murmured and cupped the back of her head as he rolled to his back. He encouraged her to rest her head on his chest.

Keep going. Right.

“I texted with Ronnie,” when he stiffened, she rushed on. “She’s my best friend—a wolf.”

He snorted. “That’s gonna be so much fun when she comes to our mating ceremony.”

“Mating what?” She tensed, her heartbeat picking up a rapid pace as the weight of his words struck her.

“Keep talking.” Another soft kiss to her temple.

“I told her about you. In our texts. And then I saw you,” she swallowed hard, remembering the wonder at seeing him transform. She’d watched Ronnie and her family in the past, seen vids of other species, but to watch Ares turn into a massive tiger… It’d been beautiful. “And I took a picture to send to Ronnie because I was pissed that she’d lied to me.”

That had been a big bitch fight.

“About what?”

“She said wolves, bears, and lions were the extent of shifter kind.”

“They’re the only ones who were ready to come out.”

“Yeah,” she drawled. “I figured that out.”

“So how’d we end up in the paper?”

“My editor,” she spat out the words. “My phone… I’m an idiot. I get that. I didn’t realize my work phone was subject to search. That my boss actually monitored what I did with the thing. He read my texts and viewed those couple of pics and ran with it. I didn’t realize what he’d done until the story hit the stands.”

Then it’d been too late.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, regret clogging her throat.

Warm, firm hands stroked her, drifting over her body in a comforting caress. “You have no reason to be sorry,” he murmured. “Your editor has a reason to fear for his life, but you have no reason to be sorry.”

“You believe me?” It was a worry she’d carried from the second she left her house.

“Baby, you can’t lie to me. You can’t lie to my nose.”

“Oh.” Right. She’d forgotten about that. She wasn’t sure why that’d slipped her mind. She should know from her time spent with Ronnie’s werewolf family. They could sniff out—literally—an untruth a mile away. Lying did not happen around the Barringtons. Ever. (Which totally ruined their every attempt to get something over on the adults.)

“But no matter what, scent or not, I trust you. My cat trusts you. If you say you weren’t involved, then you weren’t involved. All we can do is recover and move on.”

Zoe chuckled. “It sounds so easy.”

“That’s because it is.” He nuzzled the top of her head, his grip tightening. “Wanna know what step one is?”

“Sure.”

She found herself suddenly flipped to her back, a nude tiger shifter kneeling between her spread thighs. Ares retained his human shape, but his tiger peeked out through his eyes, and he licked his lips. “Step one is tasting you.”

“Yes.” That sounded like a wonderful idea. All kinds of wonderful.

Zoe’s nipples pebbled, breasts suddenly aching with the need to be touched and stroked. She couldn’t stop herself from cupping her mounds and tugging on the hard nubbins. His gaze remained locked on her as she caressed herself, but his hands were busy.

He reached for her legs, fingers skimming her calves, then knees, to her outer thighs. Goose bumps followed in his wake, her skin sensitized to his touch. They’d only spent two weeks together, but her body was attuned to his, and she craved him. Craved every brush of his fingers and press of his lips.

A slow burn blossomed within her, her body preparing for the pleasure of what was to come. Her pussy warmed, aching for his fingers, his mouth, his cock. She grew wet, her sheath preparing to accept him, take him within her and snatch every hint of pleasure he gifted her.

All this with only a heated look and the gentle glide of his hands on her legs.

He continued reaching higher on her thighs, not stopping until his thumbs brushed the lips of her sex. There he drew small circles on her flesh, so close to where she desired him most, yet too far away to give her pleasure. He stroked her, sliding up and then down, tormenting her with what could be.

“Tell me,” he murmured, his gaze flicking from the juncture of her thighs to her eyes and back again.

“Tell you what?” Her hips twitched, body aching for more from him.

“You know.”

She did know. She’d fallen into bed with him, her body craving his, but the words he craved came later. The day before she’d left him to return home, their relationship’s future unresolved, he’d asked for the words.

And she’d given them. They were just as true today as they were mere days ago. “I’m yours.”

He purred, the rumbles traveling from his chest, down his arms and to his fingers. “You are.” One thumb moved to tease her slit, the slow travels along her pussy continuing with this added sensation. He gathered her cream until his movements were smoother than before. “You very much are.” Ares slipped between her labia, teasing her soaked pussy with new intimacy. “All mine.”

Zoe whimpered, unable to speak. Not when his other hand gave her more as well. One thumb circled her clit, going ‘round and ‘round in gentle circles that stoked her need while the fingers on his other hand… slipped into her. He pushed in one and then another, spreading her for him. He stroked her, his digits plunging in and out of her pussy with a slow rhythm. He scissored his fingers, reaching for nerves, those special places that would make her scream his name.

Zoe trembled with his caresses, her limbs no longer controllable with the pleasure that consumed her. She continued to knead her breasts and pluck her nipples, her entire body begging for more pleasure. She rocked her hips against his penetration, taking more and more from him as he tormented her. She wanted to come, to scream his name and then beg for even more.

She kept her eyes trained on him, watched the pleasure fill his features as well, watched the need flit across his expression as he licked his lips. “Please,” she whimpered. “Please, Ares.”

“What, baby?”

“Lick me.” She arched her back and rocked her hips, forcing him deeper. “Taste me.” She loved his tongue on her, his mouth doing wicked things to her sensitive pussy. “Please.”

Ares’s purring increased, the volume growing and vibrations strengthening. Then he slipped his fingers free of her pussy, dragging a whimper from her as he left her empty. She expected him to lower himself and lay on his stomach, get comfortable before devouring her pussy as he had in the past. But this time, he did something else. This time he brought his fingers to his mouth and slipped them between his lips, licking them clean.

“Fuck, you taste so good.” He rumbled loudly. “Tiger wants all of your cream, Zoe. Is it his?”

She had only one answer. “Yes.”

Ares growled and then finally lowered to his belly, settling between her splayed legs. He made room for himself, forcing her thighs farther apart as he got comfortable.

Then he attacked her. Not with violence, but with passion.

Ares leaned forward and lapped at her glistening pussy. He licked and sucked, exploring every inch of her aroused flesh. He flicked her clit, circling it with tiny movements before scraping the small nub with one of his sharp fangs. Then he moved lower, lapping at her slit before arriving at the source of her heat.

He circled her aroused opening, flicking and fucking that part of her until she trembled and hovered at the edge of arousal.

That’s when the purrs started in earnest, the vibrations filling her and spreading from her pussy to the rest of her body. The pleasure inside her grew and morphed into a massive bubble of desire and wanting. She lost track of what he did to her then, his fingers and mouth toying with those most desperate parts of her body. He alternated between teasing her center and tormenting her clit, and all the while… his golden eyes remained locked on her.

“Please, Ares,” she whispered, her breath stolen by the bliss consuming her. “Please.”

Please more. Please less. Just… please.

Two fingers slipped into her pussy, pushing deep and caressing her inner walls, touching her in a familiar stroke she couldn’t get enough of. Ares returned his mouth to her clit, settling into a seductive rhythm fueling the fires of her pleasure. Her arousal grew, her pussy clenching around his thick fingers as he slipped in and out of her sheath. He was gentle at first, a careful seduction that stoked her need.

The bliss enveloped her pussy, each twinge and twitch of her clit sending ecstasy spiraling outward. She moaned and panted, riding his hand as she sought more of that burgeoning pleasure. She added a pinching ache to that swelling joy, giving her nipples a small twist that sent her desire flying higher.

Ares scraped his fang across her clit once more, sending a bolt of pain along her spine, and she gasped, arching her back farther as she took him deep. Then she rolled her body in earnest, taking more and more pleasure from his seductive invasion. She fucked herself on his hand, forcing him deeper and harder. Her release inched closer, the pleasure stretching to encompass her body. It skated over her nerves, plucking them as it filled her blood and stole her breath. Her release hovered on the edge, reaching the precipice and freezing. She waited for the final nudge that would send her cascading down in to the abyss of joy.

“Ares,” she whispered his name. Begging for… What? It was right there for the taking. It’d take one more rock of her hips, one more twitch, and then she’d be gone. And yet… “Ares.”

He lifted his mouth for a split second, his pace stuttering for a single breath so he could answer her. “Come.”

Then he sucked hard, harder than before, and shoved his fingers deep. He curled them upward, pressing and stroking that bundle of nerves within her sheath that had her screaming. She dropped her head back, shouting her release as the pleasure suddenly broke over her. She yelled his name, telling everyone exactly who’d made her come and who continued to give her rolling waves of ecstasy.

She rode him, letting her orgasm continue on and on as he fucked her, took her. The tremors stole her control, snatching her ability to move her muscles, and her toes curled involuntarily while her nerves burned with the never-ending sensations until… it was too much. Pleasure gradually morphed into stinging pain, and she flinched.

As if he knew her—who was she kidding, he did—he slowed his attentions, carefully bringing her down from the utterly overwhelming heights of bliss to a panting mess.

Eventually his fingers stilled, his tongue gently lapping at her pussy lips until he finally pressed a soft kiss to her mound.

“That was…” She didn’t have the words.