Collared for a Night (Crimson Romance) (17 page)

“It’s all related. Design in another form, a resource in a necessary form.”

“And Tristen? I don’t understand his position here.”

Shawn inhaled. Tristen had moved up ahead into the room where’d she enter as one type of leopard and come out a very different type, if the program took hold within her synapses.

“Before the war, this was his specialty. He got out of the medical field when things got complicated. Now he’s agreed to help as a personal favor. Tristen designed a type of neuro-deprogramming method to get behind the barriers a shifter erects. Once he is behind those barriers, he inserts hundreds of hours of brain training to make your thought patterns flexible. There’s nothing nefarious or evil. He limbers up your brain, to become just like when you were young. I’ll be here to monitor your progress as Tristen employs a series of exercises while you’re in a REM sleep.”

“Brain games. If he finds the memory of where I lost my keys, can he take notes and let me know?”

“This training doesn’t provide a movie of your thoughts. More like a map and insertion points. That’s all. I promise.”

“I hope you have an excellent memory for all the promises you’ve made.”

Shawn stopped outside the room, lifted her hand, and ran his lips over her palm. “I do. Each one is tattooed deep within me.”

Chapter 11

Diana woke back inside the bedroom. She’d been dreaming of running, jumping effortlessly, powerful muscles bunching as she leaped through space. Only this time, the freedom she’d experienced was exhilarating, without boundaries. She blinked, trying to recapture the totality of the dream in lieu of a patchwork quilt of images. Her mind drifted away from the dream as she moved into wakefulness.

She sat up, naked under the sheet, and glanced about. The long shadows within the room indicated it was late afternoon. It had been morning when they’d begun the mind training. She didn’t recall anything after lying down on a chaise lounge that made her think of a dentist’s office.

Tristen’s voice had lulled her into sleep using some sort of hypnosis while she distinctly recalled the feel of Shawn’s hands on her skin, the scent of him, and his soothing words comforting her.

Absent was the perception of sorrow that had infused her life by being alone as she had been these last months. A wave of guilt washed over her. Cole was dead. Shouldn’t she still feel a deep, abiding remorse? She rolled back onto the pillows. This shouldn’t be the end of her guilt trip. She shuddered under a wave of uncertainty, pressing her fingers to her temples. In the last week, her life had twisted and turned. Tonight, another major stepping stone lay before her. Only this wasn’t the type of step she could slip upon — not high in the mountains surrounding the bedroom in which she was safely seated.

The door opened and Shawn leaned against the doorframe, as he’d done only one night ago. As before, his appearance made her breath catch in her chest. The light spilled in from the windows and he wasn’t cloaked in shadows. The lines of his face were in plain sight. A five o’clock shadow gave him a rugged, dangerous appearance.

“Hello, stranger,” she said, scissoring her legs.

“I didn’t want to disturb you, but I had to find out if you were awake.” He peeled himself off the wall, sauntering toward her with more catlike grace than she’d ever witnessed from him. The air — once static — swirled about them both. She inhaled his scent, caressing her from head to toe, raw and lustful. A skittering snarl, one she’d never imagined possessing, tore from her lips.

Without any time to think, her claws sprang outward. Her skin reacted like a wool sweater put in hot water. He was coming for her. Her leopardess perception sensed a chase was imminent. “What do you want?” she asked in a low voice. The leopardess inside her sought the means to make her way from the room, yet longed also to stay, in order to submit. Primal and too powerful to resist. Then an entirely different urge overcame her like a volcanic eruption.

She wanted to feel him behind her. Mounting her and grinding into her body. Unsheathed and spraying his seed inside the walls of her womb. The moon would bathe the mountain in light tonight. This was the pinnacle of her heat cycle. What he’d tried to describe and couldn’t.

“Kitten, I’m going to have you. Just a taste to make certain you find your way back. I promise it will be quick.”

“No,” she retorted, without giving his offer any thought.

“You will give into me. Do you want me to get Tristen or Fin? They wouldn’t be pleased to assist with this part. But they would. You don’t seem the type to want an exhibition. Not the first time.”

“Are you saying you’d let them participate?”

“They’d never touch you. No man would dare without risking a challenge. But they will do what they’re told. Especially if it means saving you. I think Tristen is quite taken with you in a scientific-subject way.”

All the while she kept her eyes on him. Every one of his movements was loud and clear: he wanted to fuck her in a way she’d never experienced. Until meeting him, the things he’d suggested were beyond imagining. If they were going to mate for a lifetime, her leopardess
knowing
realized that she had to make him earn the right. Was that where this was now headed?

“I thought this was just supposed to be temporary?” She swallowed, uncertain what she desired.

It was right to give her alpha the chase they both deserved. One where her mate could prove himself. And one where she in turn gave him something to remember. This was her whole future. Not so simple as a chase, followed by simple sex.

There were the tales retold to children of how mates outgunned or outmaneuvered until the last second. An alpha would want a story worthy of repeating. This was a sexual coming-out party, with only two guests.

“I’m not tricking you, Diana. This isn’t a secret ceremony. I promise you, you’ll own your life by the end of tonight. And I will claim a small part of you. If you want to break our ties, you’ll still have that doorway. This isn’t a leopard bonding, sweetheart. I’m training you as you wanted.”

“I’m not going to give you what you want just because you ask nicely. Shawn, all female leopards know the rules.”

“We discussed this already. I give you my word. You must know what markings to keep track of as you find your way. Without the scent, you’ll get lost, or worse, tricked or trapped. Plenty of poachers would love to bag a big cat. I will have you to protect you, but I won’t screw my own chase. Baby, I want to let you run just so I can get hold of you. I promise, only a few strokes and that’s it. When your cells absorb my precum, you’ll be set. Let me have you, Diana. Now.” His voice thundered, making her flinch.

And then he was on her. His linen pants and no shirt were no barrier. His warm body against her stymied her bolting. “I can’t,” she panted bewildered.

“You will.” He became naked, rubbing his body over hers. His cock was harder than she remembered, if that was even possible. He pinned her body, his knees pressed her thighs open, and then he bit into her shoulder at the base of her neck. A feeling of being paralyzed overcame her and she couldn’t move. Teeth — or rather, fangs — sank into her skin and he released his grip on her arms.

A bottle appeared and he squeezed something into his hand. This was heaven and she could do no more than lie under him. Cold liquid bathed her ass opening. His fingers gently swiped her pussy. Had she been able to utter a word, she would have called out for him to do whatever he wanted.

Then his fingers were at her ass, pressing, swirling between her cheeks, creating the most delicious torture. He bit down harder as the pressure from his cock increased against her anus, and he worked himself into her with just the tip of his crown.

All too soon, she was opening to him, while his hips flexed and then he breached her opening. Pain — red-hot and scalding — assaulted her nerves and she reached to scratch him. His hands caught her wrists, hauling her arms above her head. The head of his cock nudged inside her anus without doing more than titillate her. Shawn gyrated, pushing little by little past her sphincter muscles, and then plunging his head inside her again. The pain made her buck, trying to get him off her. He came out of her for a second before he rocked back and this time pumped into her with greater force. One thrust and he was inside her, not far but enough to make tears flood her eyes.

Closing her eyelids, she froze, overwhelmed. Taking in his length and size were tearing at her. Together they lay without moving. Then warm lips were at her throat instead of teeth. Shawn licked her skin, making her body tingle. His mouth reclaimed her, pouring murmurs into her mouth as he kissed her, releasing her wrists and wrapping her with his arms.

The burning stopped and all that remained was the need to have more of him. Pleasure so sharp, so intense, sliced through the haze and she rocked toward him this time. Oh, the feeling was more than artful; it was sinful and dark.

Ecstasy she could no longer hide, bliss, poured around her, whispering to her to ride his cock. In response, he nipped her lip and arched up, sliding backward. She felt his head withdrawing from her, a moment of power, and then he was back, moving slowly, sliding into her, allowing her the chance to accommodate his cock. He withdrew so quickly, she shuddered and cried out, not in pain, but in surprise.

“Can you take more of me?” His hands snaked down, cupping her ass cheeks.

“Yes. I think so.”

Just as soon as she’d agreed, he opened her wide to him. His cock rimmed her anus, firmly gliding and stretching her, pressure building with sinful heat, searing mixed with pleasure so hot she wanted to feel the length of him. Pushing her breasts against his chest, she threaded her fingers into his hair and pulled forcefully back.

Growling, he surged into her, his dick ramming, then stopping, and he withdrew, lowering himself over her. She pulled his hair again, wanting to anger him and make him slam back into her. No movement, only his shallow breaths followed by a curse.

“One more stroke, but that is all. If I give in and take you completely, then I’ve not kept my promise. Do you understand? Don’t beg me or plead — one more stroke and then we’ve got to run. I’ve spilled enough inside you that you can pick me out of a crowded Moroccan bazaar on market day.” All her thoughts tried to make sense of what he said. She struggled to understand this delicious sensation was not going to last, but downright stop. In one more stroke.

This was the ultimate tease. No wonder every leopardess tried to find her way back. Who wouldn’t want to taste this pleasure again, knowing at the end of the chase her alpha would take her and bury himself deep in her body? Two exquisite sensations--stark, bright, and biting--to make her crave release in a way she’d never known. Well, she knew now, didn’t she?

“Please, then. But hard, Shawn, fuck me good. Make me remember.”

“Yes. You’re right. But not from behind. I’m going to give you only what you deserve. Later tonight, I promise I’ll fill you so full you’ll never forget my dick in your ass.”

Shawn curled his hands around her cheeks, hauling her up. She gazed up into his gleaming eyes, his pupils fully dilated, and her breath evaporated as if burnt from her lungs. What she saw bordered on savage and ruthless, utterly feral.

This was no easy task for him, and she understood that fact as if it had smacked her in the head. The glowing light emanating from his eyes captivated her with intensity, leaving her in no way uncertain he would find her tonight.

His body tensed, betraying what he wanted to deliver. She didn’t dare move a muscle but couldn’t help quivering from the heat in his eyes. The spark he produced ran deep in her body. Her pussy pulsed and clenched. The feel of his hard head rubbed her anus. He gritted his teeth, working a muscle along his jaw, and then he arched back, way … way back.

Before her brain took hold, his cock thrust inside her, and moved beyond her rim into her body in one forceful slam. His balls swayed against her ass, the muscles in his shoulders bunched, and his arms shook. Struggling against his own hunger, he snarled, revealing four large canines snapping at the air. Pumping without moving deeper, the complete sensation of pain twisting and teasing her wrapped her in bliss and exploded.

Her sex reacted with a deep-seated throbbing, making her gasp. The way he held her open made her want to push down, all the way to the base of his cock. But she couldn’t be responsible for making him come undone. Heat spread in all directions over her body, flaming across her skin in a heat-cycle blaze.

Shawn came out of her and pulled her into a tight hug, holding her flush against his body. Hot kisses covered her jaw, face, and then his mouth found hers. His tongue tangled over and around her mouth until she returned his kiss with the fervor of a promise. She wanted him and now had to have him in ways she’d only imagined until just a moment ago.

Adrenaline dripped into her bloodstream. Excitement roiled through her veins. Tonight they’d run as leopards.

Chapter 12

Only a thin strip of will power kept him from thrusting into Diana’s ass all the way. Fuck, she was tight and her flesh hugged his dick. He worked himself into her little by little, holding back, and then tasted supreme pleasure in one powerful thrust. Soft and silky, he slid his finger into her pussy, finding her wet and so ready to explode.

Tonight he’d capture her and then there’d be no mercy. This was the night that they’d both remember; and heaven-fucking-help them if they didn’t remain together. No way another leopard would ever compare in their black books of carnal history. He was about to rank number one if he had anything to say about it. He might not mate with her, but he’d fuck his name into her DNA, mind, and soul before her heat cycle was done. After tonight, he’d always be a part of her, just as much as she was a part of him. He kissed the top of her head, rubbing his cheek along her, marking her with his scent.

Strange, too, that he wanted her scent all over him. Never had he even considered what it meant to wear a leopardess’s scent. “Mark me,” he growled. At the same time, he wanted to fuck her, unmercifully this time as the other times, but knew he’d have to hold back, keeping his semen boiling. His scent would grow stronger if he stayed hungry for her. He drew her nipple between his fingertips, tweaking her peak. “Now, Diana.”