Fierce Player (Sierra Pride Book 4) (5 page)

Maverick looked around, evaluating their surroundings. His mountain lion was useless in the city—there were too many stimulants, from scents to sounds to rapidly-moving objects and people. He couldn’t see anyone suspicious from here, but any number of people walking along the sidewalk could have been tailing Kate.

“Let’s get you inside, then we’ll come up with a plan. Between the two of us, maybe we could figure out if you’re really being followed, or if it’s your imagination.” He didn’t want to freak her out even more, but he had an inkling that the stalking was real.

Once he’d unlocked the library doors, then locked them again behind them, Kate seemed wholly uninterested in talking about stalkers.

“Coffee!” she shouted. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice it right away. Thank you a thousand thank yous under a thousand joyful suns of happiness.”

“Not a morning person?” he asked with a smile.

She smelled so fucking good, it was hard to concentrate. They walked toward the Clark room, almost by default. The motion sensor lights came on, bathing the room in a bright glow.

“Nope. I came here for you. I mean—” She bit her lip and blushed.

Now she smelled aroused. He leaned closer to smell her better, and trailed a finger across her collar bone. “Last night was fun.”

“Yeah?” she squeaked.

“Yeah. And I want to kiss you so bad, I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to kiss anyone like this before—”

She interrupted him with a kiss, and he promptly forgot everything he’d been about to say. Her lips were soft against his, and she tasted like her coffee. Her springtime scent was stronger now that he was so close to her, and he imagined wrapping himself in her scent and wearing it forever.

He opened his mouth, deepening their kiss, before flicking his tongue out tentatively to see how she’d react. She reached up and threaded her fingers behind his neck, and opened her mouth. Soon their tongues were sliding together, and Maverick had to pull away before they went too far.

“I want you,” she said breathlessly. “I don’t understand it, but I do.”

He grinned. “I asked you here so we could get to know each other. Like a date.”

“Sex first,” she said. “Date after.”

Before he could respond, she was tugging on the bottom of his shirt, lifting it up over his head and splaying her fingers over his abs.

“Damn, your fingers are cold, woman.”

“Not for long,” she said, sliding a hand toward his waistband.

He groaned and pulled her closer for another kiss, gripping her waist and sliding his hands up to her breasts. She wiggled against him, so he led her toward the bookcases and away from the windows on the far side of the room. No sense in allowing people to see them, although the campus had looked deserted when they walked in.

“Kate, seriously,” he said next to her mouth, which was moving down his jaw and pressing little kisses to his neck. “Kate, I need to be sure you’re okay with this. I mean, things are moving fast and I’m totally okay with it. Are you?”

“Yes, now hush,” she said.

He threaded his fingers in her hair, turned on by how the pale blond and pink locks looked against his skin. He lifted the bottom of her shirt up and over her head and their mouths met again as his hands went to her breasts, rolling her nipples in his fingers through the thin fabric of her bra.

“You’re beautiful,” he rasped. He dropped to his knees and yanked on her jeans. They caught around her ankles, so she shucked off her boots and allowed him to pull her jeans off the rest of the way. He pressed his face against her pussy. She smelled so fucking good. Springtime and desire and
Kate
. He’d never get enough. Lifting one edge of her panties to the side, he pressed a kiss to her soft curls. She moaned and grabbed his hair, a tiny edge of pain with so much pleasure.

With a growl, he yanked her panties down her thighs. She kicked them off, and he shouldered her thighs apart. Pressing his mouth to her again, he spread one long lick against her slit, rumbling a satisfied purr when she whimpered.

He’d have to keep himself in check—if she was his mate, he’d definitely have to tell her about being a mountain lion shifter. But right now, they had more important things to do, and he didn’t want to scare her off with too much growling or purring.

He wanted to give her all the pleasure in the universe. He licked her again, and sucked on her clit until she squirmed. Holding her hips in place, he wouldn’t let her get away, and he went back to lapping at her.

“Maverick,” she said on a whimper.

Grinning while he loved her with his tongue, he pressed one finger against her entrance. She was so wet, he added another finger, and felt her walls flex against him.

She was arching, pressing into him, and when he looked up, he saw she was rubbing and pinching a nipple. His Kate was so sexy, he couldn’t believe how lucky he was.

“Stop,” she said.

He froze and pulled back. “What is it?”

Angling her pelvis toward him, almost as if she wasn’t even conscious of it, she gasped, “Want you…inside me…when I come.”

Condom. He reached back and found one in his wallet before shucking off his shoes and jeans and boxers. Kate watched him through half-closed eyes while she clamped her thighs together, writhing against the end of the bookcase.

He slid the condom on and kissed her again. Already she was lifting up a leg, as if to climb him, and trying to guide him inside of her. He wished there was a way to slow this down. He wanted to savor his mate the first time they made love.

He was overthinking it, and she was whimpering more, trying to maneuver herself onto his cock. Lifting her in his arms, he held her over him. “You sure?” he asked again.

“Yes,
yes
,” she said, and he settled her down onto him, sliding in slowly until she bounced forward. Sexy Kate, as eager for him as he was for her.

They moaned and kissed and writhed, fitting together with her so hot and tight around him, he wanted to weep with joy. Their tongues twined and he nipped at her lips. He could feel the front of her grinding against him, stimulating her clit. Her moans grew louder and louder until she shuddered, her pussy spasming around him, and he thrust into her three more times, hard and furious, before spilling into the condom. He leaned his forehead against her neck, and then pressed little kisses along her shoulder.

“Wow,” she breathed. “Wow.”

“That was fucking magic,” he said. Still inside her. He’d have to pull out unless he wanted to get hard again, so they gently separated.

She grinned and pressed a kiss to his lips. Nudging his forehead against hers, he said, “
Now
can we have that date?”

“Ha. Yes.”

They got dressed because it was cold in the empty library, and Maverick spread his blanket out on the floor. They settled next to each other and made a picnic with the pastries from the coffee shop. “So other than being fantastic at sex,” Maverick said, “what else should I know about you?”

“Nothing really. I’m into gaming and game development.”

“What kind of games?”

“Now I’m into action-adventure games, but I used to really be into role-playing adventure games. I guess I always played them because I was an only child, and I was lonely a lot.”

“I wish I could’ve sent you my brothers and sisters for company sometimes—I used to have to hike far away from our house, just to hear myself think. What’s the story with your parents?”

“No dad in the picture. My mom does great work, but she’s barely had any time for me. I know it isn’t fair, but sometimes I think she cares more about the environment and stopping bad guys than she cares about me.”

He pulled her into a hug. “I’m pretty sure she cares more about you than she shows, then. You’re absolutely one of a kind, and she’s lucky to have you.”

Kate sniffled into his shoulder. “Tell me about your family.”

“Ah, it’s really big. We’re pretty tight, except for my two sisters, Cora and Justine.”

“What happened?”

He couldn’t tell her that they were Exchanges, sent to live with other prides. In mountain lion shifter culture, female lions were often sent off to strengthen inter-pride bonds. Usually they ended up marrying into the new pride, but of course Maverick had no clue what Justine and Cora were up to, because he couldn’t freaking get in touch with either of them.

He hated not being able to tell Kate everything. “It’s a long story, but basically they moved away for work and our aunt told us not to contact them. Then our aunt died, and we still haven’t contacted them. Every time I bring it up, one of my brothers shuts me down. It’s bullshit. I thought we were a stronger family than that.”

She rubbed his arm and shoulder, and he felt a gentle warmth spread through his body. He wanted to lean closer and revel in her touch and scent.

“That’s awful,” she said. “
You
could still call them, though, right? It’s not like someone can really forbid you from doing it.”

“Well, we’ve got this weird hierarchy, and I’m not supposed to go against my brother Gabriel. It sounds dumb when I say it like this, but it’s how it is.”

Kate nodded.

Gathering up his courage, he said, “Once, um, once we know each other a lot better, and I know you feel half as much for me as I do for you…I’ll have something to tell you.”

“What?” She arched an eyebrow. “Is it that you’re a shapeshifter?”

He spit out his coffee—thankfully he hadn’t taken that big of a sip. “What?”

“I could tell. You’re hearing is too good, and your eyes flash differently when you’re emotional. Oh, and the purring while you gave me head. That was a dead giveaway.”

“Holy shit, you
know
about shapeshifters?”

She shrugged. “My cousin in Oregon. He’s married to this girl. I think the world of her. When I was ten, my mom sent me up north during one of her big cases because she was worried about the corporation’s thugs, so I spent a lot of time with them. One day, I followed Yvette out into the woods. I was making a game of being a spy, so I climbed a tree and took out my binoculars. Then I saw her change into a bear.”

“And…you were okay with that?”

“Yeah. Like I said, she’s really cool, and she explained everything to me, and that I couldn’t say anything to anyone. Except my brother—he knew, of course.”

Maverick’s heart was beating too fast in his chest. “I—I can’t believe this.”

Her fingers were soft against his wrist. “Sorry for freaking you out.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s almost too easy. This was the big thing that I was sure was going to scare you away, but, wow. Did she tell you about shifter mates?”

Kate frowned. “Noooo. But if you tell me you have to marry some shapeshifter woman, I will beat you to death. That’s not the kind of thing I say on a first date, but you seem to bring out my possessive side.”

“That’s the mate thing. We’re like, a match. I could tell from the very beginning.” He looked at her shocked face. “Now I can tell I’m freaking you out.”

“No, it’s just a lot of information. Does the mate thing explain why I want to nuzzle against you and never let go?”

“Either that or my mad sexual prowess.”

She laughed and hit him. He pulled her close for a tender kiss.

Then the lights went out.

Chapter Ten

“Motion sensors?” Kate asked. Her heart was thumping wildly, from a combination of fear and the heady feeling of being so close to Maverick.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “We haven’t been completely still.”

Letting go of her, he stood up. She could still see him a little in the light from the windows. His posture had changed—he’d been relaxed before, but now he seemed wound up, his shoulders tight and his head moving as if he was searching for danger.

“What were you saying about thugs?” he asked in a whisper.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up. “My mom does, like, Erin Brockovich type stuff,” she whispered back. “One time a corporation resorted to intimidation, hoping to get her to stop.”

“I bet she pisses off some powerful people,” Maverick said. He leaned down and brushed a kiss against her cheek. “Get up, and go hide in the men’s bathroom.”

“Why?” She reached for his hand, and he squeezed her fingers. “Maverick, you’re acting weird and growly.”

He sucked in a breath. “Please, just go. There are three of them, and they have guns.”

“Guns?” It took effort to keep her voice down. “How do you know?”

“I can smell and hear things that you can’t. Please, Kate. Get somewhere safe.”

She took a step away from him, toward the restrooms, before turning back. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to shift so I can chase them off.”

Kate had seen her cousin’s wife shift more than a few times, on subsequent visits up to Oregon. She wasn’t scared or freaked out about that. She
was
freaked out that the scary man really had been following her, and now there were others with him.

And Maverick…whatever he was, some kind of lion or a tiger or something…he was going to shift into his animal form and chase men with
guns
? Her cousin’s wife had told Kate about strength and speed and quick healing, but invincibility wasn’t one of the powers she’d listed.

“You can’t do this,” Kate hissed.

But he was already walking toward the entrance to the Clark room, tugging off his shirt.

She couldn’t help it—she watched as his pants came off, and he got down on all fours. The air around him shimmered slightly, or maybe she was imagining that, trying to make sense of the changes to his body. In the span of two breaths, a mountain lion stood in Maverick’s place.

A mountain lion.

He was breathtaking. Majestic, beautiful, dangerous.

With a glance back to Kate, he growled. It wasn’t a scary growl, so she cocked her head, trying to figure out why. He jerked his head to the side. Oh, right. She was supposed to be hiding. She nodded and scooted toward the restrooms.

From the doorway, she surveyed the Clark room. Maverick’s blanket was spread on the floor, their abandoned coffee cups and pastries sitting on top of it. Her phone was out there, too—maybe she should call for help.