Cat Scratch Fever (12 page)

Grinning inside, she took a slow, deep swallow that had him cursing and sweating. Her free hand traveled to his backside and traced the crease of his tensed buttocks. Unable to resist, she rubbed his puckered hole. He came with a startled shout, his hips jerking.

Once his cock finished spurting down her throat, she gently disengaged and gave him a saucy wink. “Like that, did you?”

“You have a world of payback coming your way, pussycat.”

“Promises, promises.”

Growling, he swept her into his arms and climbed into the shower. She squealed in outrage when he dunked her directly beneath the spray. Sputtering, she slicked her sopping hair away from her eyes. “Mean, wolfman.”

“What? I like getting you wet.” An evil chuckle accompanied his double entendre. Placing her on her feet, he reached for the bar of woodsy-scented soap resting on the caddy and lathered up his palms. The first area he began washing was her breasts, of course. He took considerably longer than necessary to suds and rinse her nipples before offering the same methodical devotion to her pussy.

She was slightly surprised—and disappointed—that instead of bending her against the shower wall and filling her with his cock, he dialed off the faucet and grabbed one of the large fluffy towels from the nearby hook. He took care of drying her off before seeing to his own dripping frame. She snorted when he scooped her into his arms again. “You know, I do have a pair of functioning legs.”

“Yeah, but this way I get to cop some cheap feels.” He carried her into the bedroom and stopped abruptly. She tracked his gaze to the bed and spotted his Great Dane sprawled in the middle of the mattress rooting through the bag Dante had brought in from his truck.

“Chevy!”

Dante’s thunderous growl must have spooked the dog because a startled, muffled
woof
came from inside the bag before Chevy leapt from the bed and skidded across the floor, streaking blindly for the exit. Somehow he managed to make it into the hallway without crashing into anything.

Grumbling, Dante lowered her to her feet again and stalked after the dog. Bemused and fighting back a giggle, she crossed to the bed and parked her butt on its edge. After a moment, Dante’s pounding footsteps and curses stopped. She strained to hear any further noise but was cut short by Dante’s sudden appearance in the doorway. He gave her a chagrined look. “I put him in the cage. Hopefully that’ll be the last interruption we’ll have tonight.”

Her focus dipped to the strange wand gripped in his hand. It took her a moment to recognize what it was. Once she did, she crossed her arms over her chest and snorted. “You’ve got to be kidding.
That’s
your experiment?”

“Yep. Gonna test the theory on how many ways I can make you purr.”

“I had no idea you were such a kinky bastard. Anything else in the bag I should be aware of? Catnip? Tender Vittles?”

His gait predatory, Dante prowled toward her. “You’re the only tender vittle I’m interested in, kitten.”

She eyed the cat toy with disdain. “I mean it, I’m not playing with that damn thing.”

“I know.” His expression properly wolfish, Dante scooted her farther up the bed and leaned over her. “But
I
am.” He ducked his head and stroked his tongue across her nipple. Just as she became distracted by the delicious rasps and whorls he was inflicting on the pebbled peak, a teasing flutter grazed her other nipple. She yelped and wiggled, trying to both escape and increase the tormenting tickle provided by the bundle of feathers.

A wicked laugh rumbled from Dante. “Like that, do you?”

The bastard would use her own taunt against her. Leaning up on one elbow, he directed the feathers in a lazy crawl down her quivering stomach. The sensation was maddening and arousing as hell. She squirmed, panting. “Dante!”

“What, precious?” The twitch of his lips belied his innocent expression.

She’d find a way to make him suffer. He had to sleep some time. Then vengeance would be hers. “Touch me.”

“I am.” He bobbed the feathers across her bellybutton, making her arch. “See?”

“You know that isn’t where I meant, you rotten jerk.”

“No? Can’t imagine what other destination you had in mind.”

“I’m going to kill you for this.”

“Before or after I give you a brain-detonating orgasm?”

She paused to consider her options. “Afterwards. But I better see damn fireworks, or there will be hell to pay.”

“Don’t get your tail in a twist, baby. I aim to please.” He flicked his wrist, sending the feathers skating across her mound. She whimpered in frustration and glared at Dante. Ignoring her incinerating gaze, he danced the toy along her inner thigh, making her shiver. The feathers floated upward again, a delicate brushstroke caressing her skin. She trembled in need as the toy hovered just out of reach of her clit before ghosting along the sensitive juncture of her groin and hip.

“Please.” She barely whispered the word, but apparently Dante still heard it.

His gaze trekked to hers. Holding her stare, he finally let the toy kiss across her clit. The soft, teasing stroke was almost enough to make her succumb to an instantaneous climax. Her fingers dug into the bedcovers, her back bowing. Dante’s thumb grazed a circle around her nipple. The combined sensations were enough to topple her over the precipice. She cried out as the orgasm crested into a million dazzling pinpoints of pleasure exploding throughout every cell in her body.

“Beautiful.” Dante’s hand moved from her breast and cupped her cheek.

She wanted to say something, at least thank him for the amazing orgasm, but the breath refused to find purchase in her lungs. Taking pity on her, he leaned down and kissed her sweetly. Murmuring in appreciation, she sifted her fingers through his hair and drew him closer. Their tongues played together nicely for a bit before growing bolder and more demanding. Within seconds, she was writhing against him again, desperately trying to devour him with kisses. Groaning, he broke away from her and flipped her onto her stomach. Her protests about being deprived access to that delicious body of his evaporated as he nudged her legs apart and entered her in one smooth glide. The quilt smothered her ecstatic cry. Bracing himself with a hand on either side of her shoulders, he rocked inside of her, pumping in deep, hard thrusts.

She’d never felt so ravaged. So…taken.

Sweet mother of whiskers, it was freaking incredible.

Without warning, Dante settled back on his haunches, dragging her up with him. His rhythm unfaltering, he arranged her until she was straddling him comfortably. Turning her head, she met his lips in a hungry kiss. His cock thickened inside her, stretching her to the limits like it had this afternoon when they’d made love in his truck. Just like then, the additional fullness increased the pressure on her G-spot, triggering a lush wave of pleasure throughout her body. She rotated her hips and gasped at the decadent friction the movement created.

It must have produced a similar affect on Dante because he growled and splayed his hand on her breast, cupping it in a way that was both arousing and possessive. His lips left hers and traveled across her cheek before sucking on her earlobe. Shifting slightly, she caught their reflection in the dresser mirror across from the bed. Dante’s gaze was already riveted on them.

That’s why the sneaky bastard changed our position, so he could enjoy the view.

Not that she was complaining. It was deliciously naughty getting to watch their lovemaking in Technicolor detail. The contrast of her fair skin next to Dante’s tanned ruggedness only made her feel ripe with femininity. No doubt this moment was what fueled plenty of women’s fantasies of being ravished by the Big Bad Wolf. Normally she’d balk at the very idea, but her body seemed determined to scream
more, more, more
.

Dante’s eyes glowed with a feral, carnal gleam as he snatched the cat toy and draped it over her shoulder, positioning it so that the bundle of feathers tickled her clit with his every thrust. She trembled, straining for that blissful orgasm hovering on the nearby horizon.

Close. So unbelievably—

Dante’s teeth sank into the tender flesh just behind her ear. Jagged-edged ecstasy shot right to her core, throbbing through her clit and radiating outward in unending spasms. She screamed until her throat was left a raw mess.

Several minutes later, she came to. If not for the fact she was now lying curled on her side on the bed, she might not have even realized she’d passed out. Dante’s big body cuddled her from behind, adding to the heat cocooning her like a comfortable blanket. His lips nuzzled the spot on her neck where he’d marked her, soothing the tiny sting that was already beginning to fade.

As she began to drift off to sleep again, she was struck by the enormity of what had just happened.

She’d allowed a werewolf to claim and mate her. Furthermore, she’d enjoyed it. A lot. Even the tender aftercare Dante was providing was wonderful and perfect. Which only unsettled her more. Because if she wasn’t careful, she might actually believe this was the real thing.

Chapter Twelve

Shuffling after Dante as he carried her bags to the front door of her cabin, Lilly resisted the temptation to bite her fingernails to the quick. “Is it really necessary we break the news to Kinsey
now
?”

Dante offered her a wry look over his shoulder. “When would you rather do it? Five years after we’re married?”

“More or less.”

“Darlin’, you survived the Morgan inquisition. Shouldn’t this be a cakewalk in comparison?”

“Obviously you don’t know my sister.”

Dante’s unhelpful response was a brief peck on her cheek. Ignoring her scowl, he turned and carried her luggage to his waiting truck. Grumbling, she fished her keys from her coat pocket and locked up the cabin before joining him. Since Shane was watching Chevy for the weekend, it would only be her and Dante making the trip downstate. While the big dog did have a tendency to intimidate her, she almost wished Chevy would be tagging along. Then at least she’d have something to distract her from Dante.

Or more to the point—the primitive claiming they’d initiated yesterday.

They hadn’t spoken about what happened. She didn’t know if Dante’s silence on the subject was out of awkwardness, or if he simply hadn’t been as affected by it as her. It probably made her a huge chickenshit that she didn’t want to be the one to broach the topic, but her pride likely wouldn’t survive finding out the act of mating her had been no more eventful to him than trimming his goatee.

Shoving her pathetic musings to the back of her mind, she let Dante help her into the passenger seat. She fastened her seat belt and sent him a narrow look. “Just so we’re clear, I’m only letting you drive because it’s more economical than taking two vehicles. Plus I don’t need your dog food samples stinking up my car.”

Rather than take her bait, Dante only smiled serenely. “Pussycat, you made that
clear
the first dozen times you pointed it out.”

“I wanted to make sure you were listening.” Her feminist card was getting worn thin thanks to the past couple of days. Abdicating her place behind the wheel wasn’t exactly helping matters.

Dante crossed to his side, and after buckling up, pulled out of the drive. The first fat flakes of the feared snowstorm were already beginning to fall. He set the wiper blades to intermittent and headed toward the county road that eventually led to the freeway. “You ever plannin’ to tell me why it’s so hard to let me do things for you?”

“I told you why.”

“No, you only said you didn’t like relying on others. There’s a big section missing beyond that.”

“It’s not important.”

He flicked a glance in her direction. “Yeah, you said that before too.”

“And I still mean it.”

“Lilly, we’re mates now. It’s okay to share this stuff with me.”

Finally he’d brought up the damn mate thing. Too bad it had to be during a conversation she’d rather not indulge in. She decided to make the most of the situation and use it to her advantage. “Speaking of that whole mate thing, don’t you think we should talk about it?”

Dante removed his attention from the road long enough to shoot her a blank look. “About what?”

She tossed up her arms. “Were you not listening to the beginning of my sentence?”

“Wait. You mean us being mates now?” He relaxed his grip on the steering wheel and returned to gazing out the windshield. “Didn’t realize there was anything to talk about.”

“God, you’re such a
man
.”

Snorting, he shifted his broad shoulders against the seat. “Yeah, guess that’s why I’ve got a dick.”

“You know what I mean. It’s always like a guy to have sex, fall asleep immediately afterwards and then not want to discuss any of it.”

“For your information, you fell asleep before me.”

“No, I didn’t. I passed out. Big difference.” She grimaced at the smug grin ghosting across his mouth. “You don’t have to look so satisfied. Sometimes that happens to me in the heat of the moment.”

“Sure.”

Great. Now his arrogance would truly know no bounds. Grumping beneath her breath, she scuffed her boot heels on the floor mat.

“What about the mating do you want to talk about?”

“Noth—”

“Lilly,” Dante prodded warningly.

“You know, most males prefer not getting into these types of conversations.”

“I’d rather we get everything out in the open now, versus you springing it on me when I’m least expecting it.”

She drummed her nails on the armrest, waiting for him to return his focus to the road. Once he did, she expelled her breath in a rush. “I’m curious if you feel weird about it. That’s all.”

“Why would I feel weird?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you bit my freaking neck and got all growly and possessive.”

His eyebrows formed a low V. “I told you what was going to happen.”

“You did
not
mention those last two things.”

“Lilly, I’m a werewolf. Growly and possessive is what we’re all about.”

She remained quiet for a moment while she digested his words. “Does that mean you’d be that way with anyone you mated?” From the corner of her eye, she noticed the wariness settling on his gorgeous face.