Collared for a Night (Crimson Romance) (7 page)

“There are ways to remove scents. Not that I want to.”

“Then what’s the problem? Tell me, Shawn.”

“With any training between opposite genders, there’s a risk the pair could shift and mate for life. Those bonds are unbreakable if a pregnancy occurs. You’d have to be willing to risk a lifelong commitment and children if you couldn’t control yourself. It’s risky, but the rewards are great. Especially for someone like you. You’ll have to work hard not to give in at the wrong moment — regardless of who trains you.”

“I won’t shift again without reason. Ever. I get the risks.” She promised, unable to synthesize his talk of rewards.
Did he mean great sex?
“And what about you? If you shift, there’d be no way to fuck safely. Am I right?” she asked.

“Diana, I already want to mount you like an alpha. It’s my primal nature to mate with an alpha female to produce babies. Twins with you, more than likely. I won’t lie to you. Your scent is driving me crazy, but I’ll control myself. Every cell in my body wants to bond with you. But I won’t. I’ve more in my life to keep me on my toes morning to night. So, don’t worry, this isn’t something I take lightly.”

She didn’t know if she wanted him to control himself. Tonight they’d discovered their mutual attraction was more than skin deep and could be controlled by their human nature, not their animalistic forms.

“I understand the depth of risk in trying to set limitations around a potential leopard mate.”

They gazed back at each other as humans, understanding that, if left unchecked, their desire would result in two potential alpha leopards who wanted to act. Badly.

Her two natures were beginning to yearn for the same thing. One man, one leopard, one future. The tearing of a condom wrapper roused her from her blurred scrutiny of him.

Shawn’s sheathed cock nudged her slit. She licked his chin, giving in to the urge, and rubbed against his face. “I’m crazy for you.” He crawled over her body and they purred loudly, rubbing and nuzzling against each other.

She relaxed from the rhythmic vibration coming from his chest. Then tears flooded her eyes. How was it possible to feel so lost, on the brink of shattering, and at the same time feel orgasmic ecstasy? Her leopard third lids cleared the tears away before a droplet fell.

He wiped her lids and kissed her lightly on the forehead between her eyes. “Baby, I’ll train you. Hell, if only because together we’re an amazing team. Design by day, mind-blowing sex at night. And I don’t want to let you get away just yet.”

She knew he was teasing her, attempting to put her at ease, but his expression said more. Much more. She purred in response.

This man she admired above all others had agreed to help her. She smiled, still hungry, yet not alone. Did this mean she could bestow her scent upon him? She didn’t know if he was involved with one or more other shifters. Just because he didn’t work as a club stud didn’t mean he was unattached.

Diana flexed her hips, moving her bottom under Shawn until she found his hardened cock between her legs. “Let me get on top of you this time.”

“Claiming your right?” he asked, rolling over onto his back, and then pulling her to sit astride his torso.

Diana toyed with the sensation of power he’d given her. She pressed her knees down into the futon and rose upward. She took hold of his cock and pressed his crown within her folds. “Shawn, oh my God, you feel so good against me.”

“Use me to satisfy yourself. What a turn-on. Let me watch you play.” He rose up on his elbows, gazing at her stroking his penis.

She rubbed against the top of him, gliding her slick lips across his head.

He cupped her breasts, thumbing her nipples. He squeezed, plucking each nipple into a hard, aching peak. He pulled her closer to him. He latched onto the tip of her breast with his hot, moist mouth.

She stopped to gasp, and then slid across his crown. Using his cock, she teased her clit, rubbing the head of him from one side of her slick slit and then back again. Her pleasure expanded in all directions. He sucked her breast, at first tenderly. Then, he let his teeth scrape across the edge of her nipple. She snarled a warning.

Diana pressed his slippery head at her opening. She inhaled and sank down in one movement, thrusting herself down his cock. She pushed up and lowered herself, pivoting her hips, riding him. She held onto his shoulders, giving into her hunger and riding him hard.

He growled, “That’s it. Baby, fuck me. Fuck me, Diana.”

Diana submitted by action of her pussy. Her thigh muscles tightened from raising and lowering her hips, riding him up and down. The pounding of his cock into her depths, hovering at just the right angle, ensured the head of his cock grazed across her G-spot. Each swipe of his stiff penis unleashed orgasmic bursts deep in her belly.

Her legs began to shake, and the pressure built within her core, layer upon layer until a dam broke loose. She threw back her head, yelling, “Shawn, I’m so close. Take me over the cliff.”

Shawn held onto her hips, drawing her hips back and forth over his cock as she straddled him. He took over, plunging into her, going as far as he could. “Give it to me. Diana, I’m fucking you hard. Come for me.”

Her orgasm exploded, filling her completely before bursting apart. Her body unleashed a torrent of pleasure, deep within her pussy, and soaking Shawn’s cock with her juices.

She yearned to shift into her leopardess form and submit to this man with the depth of her being. Instinct told her it would require him to place her into a mating position. At first, he’d overpower and secure her from behind, bending over her body and allowing her to submit. He’d mount her and take her several times in rapid succession, claiming her whole, body and spirit. There was nothing free or easy in being mated to an alpha male leopard.

“I’ve got you, darling.” He scooped her up against his chest and turned them one hundred eighty degrees in midair. Spilling her onto the sheet, he stabilized his body, doing a precise push-up from the futon instead of crashing into her body. He rose on his knees, lifting her legs over his shoulders. His cock remained embedded deep inside her pussy.

“That was impressive. Quite the athlete, aren’t you?” she murmured in a husky voice.

“You make me wild. I’m going to take you, alpha-style. Don’t shift if you want to retain your independence. This should help your heat.” Shawn flexed his hips back and then thrust from tip to base into her, extracting an unexpected yelp from her mouth. He repeated the movement of his hips, slapping against her flesh, pumping his ass into the air only to plunge down fully into Diana. She dug her fingers into his shoulders, her body clenched tight into a spring.

Shawn slammed powerfully into her. Over and over, he plowed deeper and farther until his thrusts made her teeth rattle. Her insides unfurled and she floated in an orgasmic haze.

“I’m going to come. Tell me when you’ve orgasmed,” he panted.

“Shawn, now,” she cried.

He twisted her hair around his hand, exposing her neck. His eyes flashed golden and gleaming. A snarl crossed his lips. Shawn opened his mouth and clamped down on the pressure point that existed below the surface of her skin. A force within her joined something beyond her body, something male and dominant. She cried out his name, bucking her hips against him, and he released her neck.

“Fuck,” he groaned, freeing her from his bite. A shudder racked his body. He pumped, increasing the force of each thrust, hiking each plunge.

Shawn pushed through his
more-orgasm
— that’s what his climax was to her. She swore the more he pumped, the more he came. Shawn continued to bury himself repeatedly inside her body, making her think he existed in another dimension.

“Baby, I don’t know what you do or how you do it.” He lowered his body, falling onto the sheet next to her and pulling her body against him. He kissed her lightly on the shoulder. “This was the best sex I’ve ever experienced. I swear I could fuck you forever.”

For several minutes they lay entwined, no need for words where their heartbeats filled in the gaps.

“Did we almost mate?” she asked, unable to comprehend all that transpired over the evening. “I’m sorry I got carried away,” he murmured against her hair.

“Shawn, I’m confused. Why did this happen? We’ve known each other for more than a year and nothing. What does
this
mean?” She touched the space on her neck, puffy under her fingertips.

He pushed back a few inches, lifted her hair, studying her neck. “You’re somewhat marked physically, both times we joined. Then there was the thing with our … ”

She stared back at him. “Is that what I felt? It was like being outside my body. I know this sounds crazy, but were you outside your body at some point?”

He nodded. “I’m sorry, I didn’t keep my word. The craving for you was overpowering. Mind-blowing on a level I’ve never experienced. It will take discipline and some planning to maintain our control.”

“But what does
that
mean?” she whispered.

“You’re right. We almost mated. Somewhere between fucking and mating. Any male from any clan — that means any shifter who wants to fuck or mate with you — will have to openly challenge me. No one will touch you.”

“Why so much power with a bite?”

“You don’t know, do you? Not a thing about my ties to Denver or the western part of the US?”

“Only that you own more companies than God, so it seems.”

“Things are changing in our world. The one between shifters and humans and the
others
.” He glanced over to her and she nodded understanding. He spoke of the recent rise in crime plaguing not only Denver but the entire United States. Shifters were openly challenging humans and seeking positions of power and rights that so far had not been afforded to them. The
others
, beings who resided in shadowy existences, weren’t so menacing or outrageous. Not yet at least.

He continued speaking, “I’ve been authorized to sit and hear cases involving shifters. A council has been formed so that humans aren’t the only means of judging shifter crimes. The council is harsher in some ways in dealing with shifters. The human justice system isn’t prepared to do more than lock shifters away in compounds. At the least, the council is open to hearing cases with varying degrees of punitive measures while also helping those shifters who can be rehabilitated
.
That’s where this idea of training shifters to control their urges has arisen.”

“Is that why you were chosen? To act as a type of judge?”

“I suppose. My ties run deep in this part of the world. The council believes shifters may seek justice instead of vengeance if there is a fair and impartial place for them to vocalize their concerns. This council isn’t about blind punishment. Shifters are being sought to bring cases of alleged abuse and victims can seek a remedy. Never has there been a place for shifters to seek this type justice. This could mean a laying down of arms, if it works. If not, things will return to an eye for an eye.”

“I hope not. Our kind has existed between two worlds. What you’re doing requires a tremendous amount of time and energy. When on Earth do you sleep?” Diana half-laughed, but in reality a cloud of worry hovered over her: one more thing on Shawn’s plate would be an unwelcome burden. “How can I ask this of you, when you’re already doing so much?”

He shook his head, lifting her hand, and then studying her fingers. Shawn shifted his gaze to her face. Underneath his contemplation, something smoldered in his eyes. “Baby, consider yourself part of my clan. You’ll sit at my right hand. No one will take that spot until our connection is broken. Not to worry. We’ll figure out some way to loosen the ties if that’s what you want. I know there are ways. But for now, you’re mine.” His clasp around her waist shortened, pressing her breasts up against his chest. His satisfactory purr rumbled in her ears.

Her brows tightened. “And that woman who came up here before? Is she also part of your clan?”

“No. She’s works here and has her own mate. I’ve not marked another woman in years. There’s no other single female carrying my scent. Only one. You.”

“Again, what does all this mean in terms of us or me?”

“Let’s just say you’re under my protection. Nothing overwhelming or mysterious, a mere deviation from the plan.”

“A glitch that prevents any man from approaching or touching me within what, a two hundred mile radius?”

He growled back at her. “Over a thousand miles from the Pacific Coast toward the East. Is that so bad, sweetheart?”

Her chest pounded. He would be listening to her heart race in this enclosed space. This was not simple fear. It was no use pretending this revelation was anything but unnerving. “I’m concerned about our relationship at work. What about my scent, Shawn?”

He inhaled deeply and his gaze fixed upon her. “Me too, kitten. Me, too. How about we renegotiate our deal from before. I’ll be your stud if you continue to kick ass in the design world. I want you to come live with me. I’ll be infused in your scent.”

“You mean we’d work together by day?” she asked.

“And at night, we’ll explore a whole different world. You and me, baby. I know it’s a lot to think about.”

Shawn was beyond breathtaking in the way his hard, sculpted muscles moved. His upper body bore an intricate inked pattern and without the ripping hunger devouring her mind, she studied him. Before he was a shifter, her boss. Simple. Now, he was the man who had brought her intense pleasure. Complex. Appealing. Her chest purred.

She reached out and traced a black line running down his shoulder. She didn’t recognize the swirled patterns crossing his skin but imagined the design was his creation. “Mmm, I don’t know. What if we can’t keep our hands off each other at the office?” She couldn’t promise him she’d have strong willpower at first. Maybe after training, yet she didn’t even know what that encompassed. He arched an eyebrow and shot her the most licentious look. “Sweetheart, I’d not complain if you tempted me to break our deal. Are you thinking you want to me to take advantage of you on a design table or copier? We could renegotiate our relationship over and over again until you’re satisfied. I’m not looking for an out clause — only ‘the way-in clause’. I think you’ll need my undivided attention for a long fucking time.” He journeyed from the futon, depositing one used condom into the waste bin, and snagging another packet. Shawn’s leopard stamina showed no signs of waning.