Live It Up (7 page)

“Thanks.”

“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice tense.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? Because you’ve been growling non-stop for the past five minutes.”

He glanced at her. “What? Growling?”

“Yup. And not that I know anything about you guys, but is it normal that your, uh, nails have sprung?”

He blinked then looked down at his fingers. Sure enough, his hands had partially shifted. “Shit!”

He closed his eyes for a second and tried to force the shift, worried that if he didn’t she’d freak out at his grotesque form. What human would appreciate this show of strength? Only a fellow shifter would understand that only Alphas could do such a thing.

“Andy? Maybe we should take a break. You’re not looking at the road. Andy?”

He opened his eyes and put on his indicator. “Good idea.”

He slowed down the car once again and parked on the side of the road, far enough on a country lane that they shouldn’t be worried by other cars or crazy drivers.

As soon as the car was in park, Andy slammed his body back into his seat and closed his eyes for a second time. This time, the shift happened instantly, and as he felt the nails slide back inside his hands as he forced himself to unclench the rest of his body.

There was just a tiny problem.

He could still smell her…

“Kitten?”

“Yes?” She sounded curious and not at all disgusted.

“I’m sorry.” He turned to her and grabbed her hand with his.

“It’s okay.” She traced the backs of his fingers as if she were looking for the spot where the nails had sprung. “Does it hurt?”

“Not really. It does at first when you first shift at puberty, but I’ve done it for years now. And I’m—”

“You’re what?” She looked up at him. “The Enforcer?”

He smiled, amazed to see how interested she appeared to be in it all. Maybe his little kitten wasn’t as weak as he’d first thought. “That, but I’m my dad’s son. I’m an Alpha.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning I’m more…powerful, I guess, than most other lions.”

“Oh, I see. So does this happen often?” She gestured toward his hand.

“Yes and no. I can partially shift; it’s one of my strengths. It just doesn’t usually happen when I don’t want it to.”

She frowned. “Why was it different this time then? You got mad at that other driver?”

“No.” He shook his head. She still held his hand, and he didn’t know what to do, if he should give in to what his lion wanted. Hell, who was he kidding? He wanted the same thing too.

“Then what?”

“You’re one persistent kitten, aren’t you?” he replied, amused. He palmed her cheek and leaned over the console between their seats. “You wanna know why?”

“Ye-yes,” she stammered, her gaze caught by his. He heard the acceleration of her heartbeat, smelled the lovely scent of her arousal sharpen. He nearly growled, so taken by her he wanted nothing more than to recline her seat and do wicked things to her.

“You’re the one driving me mad.” He closed the gap between them and took her lips for an intense kiss. The kind of kiss that heralded what was coming next. The kind of kiss that made a man and a woman reach for each other, even though they were in a car parked on the side of the road and the windows weren’t even tinted. Who cared after all? What was important was how good it felt.

How good they could make each other feel…

Sunny looped her arms around his neck and leaned back against the car door.

He’s kissing me as if he wants to eat me up
, she thought, shivers running up her spine at the image.

She moaned into his mouth and wished for more space. Almost as if he’d heard her inner comment, he pulled back and said, “Let’s move to the backseat.”

Before she knew what was going on, he’d opened the door and tugged her outside. She stumbled, losing one sandal on the way, but it didn’t matter because he was kissing her again. She ran her fingernails up his neck, loving the way he groaned then ground against her, pushing her against the car.

She went up on her toes, better aligning their bodies.
There!
Yes, that was much better. His hardened cock rubbed against the apex of her thighs.

“Mmm,” she moaned, kissing his stubbled jaw. “I want you.”

“I know,” he replied.

It didn’t take him long to open the door and push her inside. She fell onto her back, her legs widening under the pressure of his wide torso as he braced himself on the seat and loomed over her.

She glanced up and smiled at the look on his face. He was such an intense man…person…lion? It was as if he didn’t know how to act without giving it his all. Which was an amazing quality, especially during sex, she added inwardly with a giggle.

He looked behind him and frowned at the sound of passing cars. “Are you sure about this?” he asked, still standing in the space between the seat and the open car door.

“Yes.” She leaned up on her elbows and tugged on his tee. “Come on!”

“People can see us.”

“They won’t know what we’re doing. Come on, Andy. Live dangerously.”

He looked down at her as if her comment shocked him, and maybe, it’d been stupid to tell him that when he was danger personified, but she needed something here. He’d awakened something in her over the past few days, and the more time she spent with him the more she wanted to stay right there by his side.

She’d been in love before, but this wasn’t it. No, she wasn’t in love with Andy. She couldn’t be, not only after a few days. And this was different anyway. Sharper. More…intense, just like he was.

Before he could protest once again, she grabbed his belt and quickly opened it. Then her nimble fingers dipped inside his pants, closing around his cock and earning herself another groan from him. “Sunny, baby.”

“I want you,” she said, looking up to find him with his eyes closed and his head thrown back.

She carefully slid his erection out of his pants so he still appeared clothed from the back and teased the crest with her thumb, rubbing the pre-cum that soon appeared all over his skin. Then she put her finger into her mouth for a quick—but thoroughly necessary—taste.

“Fuck, kitten,” he growled, reaching for her.

He divested her of her shorts and panties in two seconds flat, her remaining sandal joining the other one on the dusty road. She was naked from the feet up, her top the only thing still covering her. Not for long however as he tugged it up and bared her breasts to his avid eyes.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered as he leaned down and kissed one nipple then the other. “So damn beautiful.” He opened his mouth and tugged on it with his teeth.

She hissed and grabbed his shoulders. “Andy!”

He moved down, his lips brushing the skin of her stomach and the puckered bruise there. “Let me make you feel good.”

When he started sliding further down, she stopped him. “No.”

He looked up, a frown marring his face, his dark eyebrows drawn together. “What? No?”

“No. I mean… I want you.”

He blinked. “Uh. Thanks?”

She started laughing. “I mean, I want you inside me.” Reaching for his cock, she tugged him forward and wrapped her thighs around him. “Now.” She rocked her hips up and moaned at the feel of his hard length pressing against her pussy.

Then he moved, one tiny inch maybe, and he was right where it felt good, his cock pushing inside her, stretching her, reminding her how big he really was. “Yes!” she exulted.

“Fuck,” he groaned, letting his head fall down. “So tight.” When he was to the deep of her, he stopped.

She looked up. “What is it?”

“Nothing. I’m just enjoying how good you feel.”

“Oh.” And just like that he’d brought her to the point of tears. “That’s such a nice thing to say.”

He chuckled and leaned down, taking her mouth for another one of his amazing kisses and bringing her back into the moment. And then he pulled out of her and slid back in, taking up that sweet, sweet rhythm she’d missed so much, the one that had her clinging to him, whispering then chanting his name, yearning, reaching for that burst of pleasure.

And all the while he kept talking to her, telling her how amazing she felt, how beautiful she was, how soft her skin was. Her head spun, too many sensations warring inside her.

“God,” she finally said, her voice breaking.

“Do you want to come now?” he asked, his voice rough, his eyes now a burnt copper.

She knew that if she looked closely she’d see his lion staring back at her. But she wouldn’t do that. Not now. Not now when he was offering her the release she desperately craved.

She’d let him play with her, slowing down whenever she drew too close to her climax, but now, she couldn’t take it anymore. Her nails digging into the skin of his shoulders, she pulled herself up and bit him. One sharp pressure of her teeth around his bottom lip.

He roared and drew back. Then as if she’d released the wild animal in him, he started thrusting inside her with deep movements, the head of his cock hitting that spot inside her that always made her see stars.

When her climax loomed this time, he let her fly. She screamed and clung to him. She squeezed her inner walls around his pounding cock and was rewarded by his loud shout and the feel of his cum shooting inside her.

She’d made him lose control.

Again.

She laid back on the seat and smiled. Her eyes might still be closed. Her body might still be racked by aftershocks, but she knew one thing. She’d found him, the one her mother had told her would cross her path one day.

Andy was her soul mate.

She was sure of it.

Chapter Eight

“I want to see him again.”

Andy watched her lean up on one elbow, her gaze intent on his. “See him?” he asked, too caught up in the way she looked naked to follow the conversation. He ignored the way the cheap motel room smelled of sex and mildew and badly washed blankets. He ignored the way his animal pranced inside him. He ignored everything but the woman lying beside him.

They’d just had sex, yet he was ready to go again. It was as if he were a teenager, unconcerned by anything but the woman beside him and the soft curves pressing against him.

“Andy! Pay attention!”

“I am paying attention,” he replied, enjoying the sway of her breasts when she sat up against the headboard. “Come here. Those look neglected.”

She laughed and replied, “You just played with them.”

“Exactly. They’re already missing me.”

She shook her head before holding a hand up in the air between them. “I want to see your lion again.”

That stopped him short. He frowned. “What? Why?”

“Because I want to know more about you. About shifters in general.”

“You’re not even supposed to know we exist, kitten.”

“My point exactly!” She traced his forearm with a fingertip. “I want to know everything there is to know. I don’t want to be caught unaware again.”

“Oh.” Damn, that made sense. “What do you want to know?”

“Anything. Everything. I don't know. When women get pregnant, do they birth cubs or children?”

“Cubs?” He burst out laughing.

“You know what I mean!” She hit his shoulder. “Come on, spill!”

“And you want to see my lion form again?”

“Yes. He’s really…quite something.”

He felt a proud smile escape. “Is he really?”

She rolled her eyes. “You know he is. He’s magnificent. Now, are you gonna shift or not?”

“What do I get in return?”

“Andy, we just had sex!”

He tilted his head. “So? I want you again.”

“Really?” she murmured, her gaze straying down his body. The sheet was wrapped around his midriff, but even without looking, he knew it was tenting. “Wow,” she mouthed at the sight of his barely covered erection. “Shift first?”

“Are you sure, kitten?” he asked, already sliding off the bed. He stood there and stared down at her. “I don’t want you getting scared.”

“I’m not afraid of you.”

Her words hit him like a jackhammer. He felt out of breath all of a sudden, the room darkening as his lion pushed to the forefront of his mind. A rumble escaped him. He quickly looked back at her, but she hadn’t moved.

She still sat against the headboard, her bare curves just as enticing. This time however her gaze never wavered from him. She was waiting for him. She’d told him the truth. She wasn’t afraid of him. Mary, his fellow shifter, had maimed her badly, and yet Sunny trusted him—and his animal—not to hurt her.

Emotions running high inside him, he fell onto his hands and knees and let the shift take over his body. When the bright light faded, he noticed she’d slid closer to the edge of the bed, her legs dangling over the side.