Collared for a Night (Crimson Romance) (10 page)

His mouth found her neck again and he sucked her skin at a throbbing point, making her almost scream. Shawn moved upward, dragging his tongue over her throat. She panted, battling an urge to let him drive her over the brink. She closed her eyes, so near to soaring — so near to crashing. The old Diana shrank into oblivion. For a second or two.

“So sensitive. Tell me true. You’ve never had your ass fucked, have you?” He swirled around her opening, and then moved to her anus and pushed the tip of his finger into her.

She jolted upright at his unexpected exploration of her nether end and the truth of his words. Diana gritted her teeth. She was at the point of explosion, and anger flickered across her vision. “I’ve got to come. Right now.” Shawn’s eyes flashed danger and his hands moved from between her legs. His fingers dug into her arms and he growled, “No. Hold on for me. Don’t you dare come, minx. I promise I’ll smack your ass cherry red if you do.”

Her gasp was audible. “You’d spank me?” Diana whispered, a shudder moving through her body. It felt as though she were falling, and he shook her by the shoulders. His fangs found her, dug into her skin as he held her pinned to him. The pain of his bite expanded in her mind, giving her space to stop from leaping in an abyss of delicious pleasure. His growl mixed with her moan and she inhaled in time to avoid an explosive orgasm.

In just one bite, he demonstrated his command over her.

He was perfect power. A raw force.
In a matter of hours, he’d taught her more about herself than she’d learned in the last twenty-six years. Shawn wasn’t just an alpha leopard, he was experienced to the ninth degree and the owner of a stud-club. Of course, he’d tasted every flavor of sex. She must be a bland version of vanilla in his never-ending sex sundae and the swirling parfait-flavored partners he’d more than likely have tasted. Even if he’d been hurt, the ability to find partners for sex as the owner of the Den had to be mind-boggling. Surely, he’d seen
it all.

But it wasn’t even that. There was a power he exuded. The council he spoke about and the changes he sought to help shifters were another facet to him that fascinated her. Who was this alpha leopard who sat next to her, acting like he’d nothing better to do than enjoy her company, and all the while, hundreds if not thousands of shifters depended upon him?

For the last year, he’d never appeared stressed out or overworked. He was the head of Matrix, usually appearing in tight jeans and open throated oxford shirts, a boss who ordered in take-out for staff lunches to kick back and toss around design concepts. His ability to bounce ideas had inspired her and others, and all the while he had seemingly been juggling more balls than she’d ever understand. And she had every intention of finding out just who this man was who extracted her will and had caught her in his clasp. Her breath fell all around her in gasps. For a few seconds, she peered up at him, positive that if she let him, he’d crush her heart.

“How will I ever keep up with you? Mark my words, you’ll grow bored and I, for one, will say ‘I told you so’.”

“Never.” A low unwinding growl seeped from his throat. “I look forward to being the alpha who will train you to harness your leopardess powers. Kitten, you’re almost too good to be true. You make me want to forget myself. Together we’ll create your experience, and you’ll wear my scent. Only mine. All over.”

“Shawn, I may be inexperienced as an alpha. But sex isn’t long-term. Nothing lasts forever. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” He cupped her cheeks between his palms. Shawn lowered his face, brushing his mouth across hers. He groaned, and opened his lips over her mouth, devouring her will entirely. He pushed her hips over his lap, grinding himself upward into her crotch. She clawed his shirt, gouging the tips of her fingers into his shoulders. His body tensed before he bit into her lip — a sharp nip — and she cried out.

“If you play rough, you might get hurt,” he whispered, before brushing his lips over her mouth again.

Diana felt the car slow as it passed through security gates. From the backseat of the car, she could see up the winding, well-lit drive the car followed, yet the grounds beyond were dark. She squinted, utilizing her leopardess night vision and suddenly the open spaces shimmered. She gazed out the car window at the silhouettes of trees and turned to look out toward the other window across the backseat. More darkness expanded over what appeared to be boundless land. Her focus returned to Shawn as his fingers crept back between her legs.

“We’re home,” he murmured, and captured her earlobe between his teeth. Biting down, he pushed two fingers into her pussy. “Tell me, do you like when I do this to you?”

“More than you can imagine.” She whimpered and he curled his fingers, deeply thrusting past her entrance and finger-fucking her hard and fast.

“Right now, I want to be inside you. Would you let me?” he whispered. The car stopped moving, and the front door opened and slammed shut. “I promise I’ll not, given Fin is right outside, but you too must learn to exercise restraint. Take control of yourself. See how your body and mind respond. Go to the edge … but hold back. You can do it.”

Diana squirmed, unable to resist him or herself. He was doing more than testing her; he prompted her to wonder how this would play out. Or if she’d survive.

“Yes. God, I’d let you do whatever you want as long as you take me. Why do you keep delivering me to the edge and then pulling back?”

“You’re right about this being about sex. But sex is power, make no mistake. Don’t come. Hold on. Control yourself, kitten,” he whispered against her cheek.

Shawn kept plunging his finger into her slit, curling and vigorously rubbing. He removed his finger abruptly, leaving her breathless and hanging off his shoulders. His cock continued to move against her bottom, a suggestive pledge of his intent.

“From my vantage point, you’ve got all the power,” she gasped through her arousal. “We had better
mount
those steps, otherwise I might rescind my promise to keep from
mounting you,
right here.” He softly murmured against her neck, twining his fingers into her hair, tilting her chin upward. “I’ll make you come and when you do, you’ll never question why I push you repeatedly to the edge. I’ll fuck you so hard, you’ll be sitting on a feather pillow. I make promises because I keep them.”

She didn’t know if he was serious or not, but Shawn Barclay’s reputation in the business world had already been proven. He achieved his goals. Shawn was unconventional, not exactly someone who gave a rat’s ass for what anyone else thought, but she believed his unwritten mission statement was damn close.

“I want to learn control. This last year has been hell. But I need to know the reasons why. I can’t blindly accept even though I wish I could. Give me time.”

“Time,” he groaned. “Perhaps that’s what we both need.” He scooped her up and off his lap, and then he reached down to adjust his erection. He watched her, the corners of his lips lifted giving him an air of smug satisfaction. The chink in his near-perfect smugness was a fleeting look he gave her containing a glimmer of vulnerability.

To her surprise, Diana realized she was learning he wasn’t the emotionless wall he attempted to present to the world. She framed her hands on either side of his jawline, capturing his face furrowed by his knitted brows. She pressed her forehead against his, unable to fathom what made him take on such a pained expression.

He whispered, “I’ve never been this close to losing complete control myself. You push us both.”

She rubbed her nose alongside his and laughed. “You bring out this side in me. Don’t blame the leopardess when it’s your leopard nature that makes me hungry. If anyone is pushing, I’d say it’s you.”

He tunneled both sets of fingers through his hair. “I’m captivated with your mating scent. In a matter of hours, I crave all of you. I can only imagine the level of hunger I’ll experience after a few days or weeks in your company. This isn’t something we can lightly put aside like a hobby.”

“You have that exact effect on me.” She released him and tugged her skirt down her thighs, focusing on him, not her trembling fingers. By mistake she scooted forward on the backseat, and the friction of the padded leather against her sex made her arch and gasp. She quickly bent over, retrieving her purse that had fallen onto the backseat floor. Uneasily, Diana swung the strap over her shoulder, aware that Shawn’s gaze followed her every movement.

With an arched brow, he asked, “Shall we?”

“You tell me,
sensei
.”

He stared for half a second and then threw back his head, laughing, and damned if he didn’t slap his knee. The sound hit her square in the chest. The ring in his voice, the crinkle at the corner of his eyes kept her pinned, awaiting his words.

“Aha, my luscious grasshopper. I think you shall teach me a thing or two.” He opened the car door, pushing off the seat. “We’re finally here and can unwind,” he murmured over his shoulder.

Fin greeted him at the side of the car door, touching his cap. “Will you need the car again this evening?”

“No. We’re staying here for the next few days. I’ll relay that to Tristen as well.” Shawn held out his hand to Diana in the backseat. He bowed to retrieve her arm, all the while his eyes searching her gaze, accessing her depths with his pensive expression. His brows knitted as he sought her reaction to seeing his home for the first time. No wonder — it was unlike anything she’d ever seen. The house sat far back from the road and they’d pulled up directly in front, giving her a car-window view of a home that defied definition. The house design combined styles of architecture into something unconventionally breathtaking. An original three-story structure with more glass than she’d seen in any home in Denver. What must the heating bill be like?

The porch lamps flickered, casting and recasting shadows along the cut granite block walls. Her fingers squeezed Shawn’s muscular arm. “Never have I admired such an uniquely designed home. The glass and angles. Your hand?” The tension eased from his arm and he exhaled.

“Yes. I’m interested in your reaction to the interior. I think we share the same tastes on several levels,” he murmured.

“Excuse me.” Fin’s voice came from behind them. They both turned toward the driver.

“Shawn, is there anything else for this evening?” Fin’s quiet Midwestern accent always made her smile, but tonight her grin froze on her face.

There beneath Fin’s jacket, dull gun metal riveted her attention. He had a holstered weapon at his shoulder. Fin was his usual self, dressed in all black that spoke to military experience. His demeanor had always struck her as trained but still on guard. Same with Shawn’s right hand man, Tristen. She reminded herself, this was the same Fin she’d seen around Matrix, and carrying a concealed weapon was far from unusual. But why would he need one? Was crime running that rampant in Denver?

As Shawn’s driver, she’d wondered about his duties. He was a staff member present at almost every Matrix function; yet it had been all work, design presentations, and no play. Him in the background. Watchful. She couldn’t recall him speaking during the meetings. His affable nature had always been pleasant enough whenever she’d greeted him.

Again, more questions about Shawn and what his life entailed.

“Thanks for the safe journey,” she murmured, her gaze sweeping past the man’s blank expression, but then her attention backtracked. He acknowledged her with an incline of his head, same as usual. Yet Fin’s expression wasn’t really blank and it was the first time she noticed. Was it the dark that made his eyes change color, going from a colorless grey to a flash of hues sparkling from his irises? The effect reminded her of a rainbow forming, but then instantly dissipating as though a trick of the light.

Wolf, she’d always assumed. She blinked, unable to place his shifter type or level. And then it was the heat in Shawn’s fingers crossing into her body that recaptured her attention. Her chest expanded as Shawn tightened his grip on her. He turned back to his driver. “Fin, we’ll be fine. Get the Jeep ready for tomorrow.”

“Very good, I’ve some maintenance work I can attend to on it.” The man bowed and shut the door.

• • •

Shawn tucked her fingers into the crook of his arm and pulled her with him toward a set of wide steps leading up to the front of his house. Massive Doric columns rose from the veranda, framing a set of equally stately arched doors. The outside of his home challenged her brain to find a home that compared in size and stature. His home pushed the boundaries of form, capturing elegance and even simplicity, but on such a grand scale that her gaze kept moving and marveling.

She wondered if she was ready for what he had in store. So far this evening, he’d tamed the insane inferno that had dwelt within her body and doused her heat with several rounds of mind-bending sex. So far, he’d marked her and revealed that, without her actual consent, he’d ensured that no other male would seek her out. Since the moment Shawn had told her she was an alpha leopardess, she continued to doubt him given her lack of control.

All he asked in return was her trust. Confusion still jabbed at her. She’d traded a cold metal collar for blazing heat that held her prisoner all the same. Thinking about where this was leading only heightened her unease. Shawn had nothing to lose; after all, she was replaceable both at work and in his bed. Her heart began whispering that he might not be.

He’d brought out a side of her that literally roared. She had shifted into a snarling leopardess — almost out of her mind — and then consented to his whispered command to calm and shift back into human form. She’d never known such
powershifting.
He had proven his mastery over her tonight. Alpha leopardess. Never before had she questioned anything he’d told her.

The nagging echo contradicted her desire to trust him. What on earth would a man like Shawn be doing with a female who wasn’t an alpha? It didn’t make sense and the details were too risky to contemplate when, at every turn, his hands, his mouth, and his cock kept tempting her to put aside worry. On the ride down the other side of ecstasy, she contemplated just what’s she’d agreed to in his arms.