Her Perfect Mate (23 page)

Italy a few years ago. It was pretty beat up, but I fell in love with it anyway. At the time, I didn’t know how

much work it’d take to get it in shape, but it was worth it.”

He lifted a brow. “You refurbished it yourself?”

“Clayne helped, but I did most of it.”

“I’m impressed.”

It was silly to feel so darn pleased by the compliment—it was only a table—but she did. She’d put her

heart and soul into refurbishing it, along with a heck of a lot of sweat and hard work. Knowing Landon

appreciated her efforts made them even more worthwhile.

But putting so much worth into what Landon thought was dangerous. The more comfortable she got

with him, the harder it was to convince herself not to give in and do what her body was screaming for—

lean across the table and kiss him until their clothes happened to fall off.

It didn’t get any easier when they’d moved into the living room after dinner. Even though he sat on the

other end of the couch, Landon’s scent was driving her wild. He might as well have been lying on top of

her. Like she needed
that
image in her head. She stifled a moan.

She reached for her wineglass, only to freeze when she saw her claws were out. Crap. She hadn’t even

felt them extend.

“Are you okay?” Landon asked.

She quickly retracted her claws before he could see. “Yeah. Why?”

“Because your eyes are glowing.”

Damn
. She forced them back to their normal color. Could she play it off as a natural response to the

lowered light in the room? Landon might buy it. That would be a lie, though, and a lie of any kind between

them felt wrong. But she couldn’t be honest with him, either.

She picked up her nearly empty wineglass. It was easier not to give in to her animal urges if there was

some distance between them. “I’m going to get a refill. I’ll grab you another beer.”

She hoped Landon would leave it at that, but she should have known better. He followed her into the

kitchen and gently put his hand on her arm. His touch was electric on her skin and she had to bite back a

moan.

“Whatever’s wrong, you can talk to me about it. You know that, right?”

She kept her gaze fixed on the bottle of wine, afraid if she didn’t, she’d do something crazy. She knew

this was stupid, but she couldn’t stop herself. Maybe it was time to give in to her animal instincts. Maybe if

she had sex with him, she’d finally get it out of her system once and for all.

“Remember when I told you my feline side comes out whenever I’m feeling any intense emotion?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, it doesn’t have to be just fear or anger. It can be any powerful emotion—hatred, happiness.” She

looked up at him. “Arousal.”

He said nothing, but his eyes suddenly smoldered. “So, if I had to guess which of those emotions you’re

feeling right now and I said arousal…?”

Her pulse quickened. “You’d be right.”

Something flared in his eyes. “Back in South America, we both said we weren’t going to do this. Go

where this is heading, I mean.”

Landon stepped closer even as he said the words and Ivy breathed in his scent. He was as aroused as

she was. She could smell it. And damn did it smell
good
. “My head keeps reminding me of that, but my

body won’t listen. Being so close to you every day and not touching you… It’s driving me crazy.”

He brushed her hair back from her face, his fingers gentle. “It’s been like that for me, too. You don’t

know how badly I’ve wanted to kiss you again. It’s all I’ve thought about since we came back from

Venezuela.”

She swayed toward him, her lips parting. “Me, too.”

“If we do this, there won’t be any going back, Ivy. One night of sex with you won’t be enough for me,”

he said softly. “I’m okay with that. Hell, I’m more than okay with that. Are you?”

He was giving her a chance to change her mind, to put a stop to this before things went too far. If she

did, this would end right here and he’d likely never bring it up again. But for the life of her, she didn’t want

it to end here. She wanted it to end somewhere else. Preferably in bed. Although the kitchen counter was

fine, too. She pictured him sweeping everything off the granite with one arm, then lifting her up on it and

taking her right there. Heat pooled between her thighs.

It would be off-the-charts amazing.

“I couldn’t be more okay with it.”

She wrapped her hand around the back of his head and pulled him down for a kiss. This time, there

was no hesitation on Landon’s part. His mouth was hot and demanding on hers, his tongue almost

desperate. He tasted just as delicious as she remembered. Maybe more. She buried her fingers in his hair,

holding him tightly and plunging her tongue into his mouth. She could get drunk on him.

He slid one hand in her hair, kissing his way along the curve of her jaw and down her neck, making her

moan. She could feel his cock pulsing against her through both their jeans. Her pussy clenched in response.

She wasn’t sure which of them started it, but their clothes came off at the same time, her undressing him

while he undressed her, jeans and underwear hitting the floor one after another until they were both finally

naked.

She ran her hands over his shoulders, then down his muscular chest and six-pack abs. The one taste

she’d had of his body in Venezuela hadn’t been nearly enough. To be able to touch him like this again after

hours spent fantasizing was pure heaven, and she murmured her appreciation against his mouth as she

traced every chiseled inch. He was absolutely perfect.

Landon touched her everywhere, his hands palming her breasts and teasing her nipples for one long,

delicious moment before sliding down to cup her throbbing sex. His finger dipped into her moist pussy just

long enough to fan the flames even hotter than they already were before sliding back out. His roaming

hands found every one of her most sensitive erogenous zones and lingered there before moving on to ones

she didn’t even know she had. What he was doing gave new meaning to the words
hot
and
bothered
. She

thought she might actually spontaneously combust.

“God, Ivy. You’re driving me crazy.” He dragged his mouth away from hers, his breathing ragged.

“Where’s the bedroom?”

She clung to him, her knees like Jell-O. “At the end of the hall.”

He closed his mouth over hers again in a fierce, possessive kiss, then he swung her up in his arms and

strode down the hall. Ivy was so spellbound by Landon she didn’t even realize they were in her room until

he set her down in the middle of the bed.

She barely had time to catch her breath before he bent to kiss his way down her body. His mouth was

molten on her skin, setting her on fire everywhere he touched. She gasped as he stopped to take one of her

nipples in his mouth and suckle greedily on it. He swirled his tongue around the tip, playfully letting it slide

out of his mouth before capturing it again. He repeated the move until she was on the verge of going insane.

Then he moved to the other nipple and did it again. By the time he kissed his way down her stomach then

to the juncture of her thighs, she was practically dizzy. She needed this so bad.

Landon cupped her ass in both hands and buried his face in her pussy like a starving man. She arched

against him, grabbing fistfuls of his hair in both hands as he lapped hungrily at her clit. She’d had guys go

down on her before, but none of them had been this talented with their tongue. Landon knew exactly what

to do to make her come and wasn’t shy about doing it. He slid the tip of his tongue up one wet fold to

linger on her clit, making lazy circles around it. Then, just when she felt herself start to build toward

orgasm, he pulled his tongue away to tease her folds again. She’d never been with a man so patient when it

came to oral sex.

But Landon continued tormenting her until she was writhing on the bed. And then, when he had her

right on the edge, he slid a finger in her pussy and fucked her with it. The combination of his soft tongue

and firm thrusting set her off like a rocket. She arched off the bed, letting out a long, low moan that echoed

off the walls.

When she came back down, Landon was grinning up at her from between her legs.

“So, you really do purr.” He pressed a kiss to her inner thigh, then climbed up beside her. “I’ve been

wondering about that.”

She blushed, suddenly self-conscious of the animal sounds she might make. She bit her lip and turned

her face away, but he cupped her chin and gently turned her face back to his. He leaned forward and

covered her mouth with a consuming kiss. By the time he was done, she could barely remember what it was

that had made her embarrassed in the first place.

“Don’t you dare try to rein yourself in.” Landon’s voice was husky in the near darkness. “I think those

purrs and growls are sexy as hell.”

His erection pulsed against her thigh, heavy with need, and she knew he wasn’t just saying that stuff to

make her feel better. She turned him on as much as he did her. She reached down to wrap her hand around

his thick cock. He sucked in a sharp breath.

Then swore.

She jerked her hand away. Had her claws come out? Had she hurt him? “What is it?”

“I don’t have a condom.”

She almost laughed. That she could deal with. “Not a problem. I have some. I just hope they aren’t

expired.” She opened the bedside drawer and took one out, then handed it to him with a sheepish look. “It’s

been a while since I’ve slept with anyone.”

He looked at her in surprise. “Me too. I’ve been on four back-to-back deployments. What’s your

excuse?”

She gave him a wry smile. “It sort of kills the mood if I have to concentrate on keeping the shifter

inside.”

Landon caressed her cheek. “I said you don’t have to hide any of that from me, remember?”

“I know.” She reached up to cover his hand with hers and kissed him hard on the mouth, trying to

communicate how important his trust was. “You have no way of knowing what that means to me.”

“Why don’t you show me what it means.” Letting out his own sexy growl, he rolled them both over on

the big bed until she was lying beneath him. Capturing her wrists in one hand, he pinned them to the pillow

above her head. “Just be careful with these claws of yours if you don’t want me to tie you up.”

Ivy purred. On purpose this time. “That might be kind of fun.”

The glint in Landon’s eye as he rolled on the condom told her he thought so, too.

Bracing himself on his forearms, Landon rubbed his shaft up and down her slit, teasing her with the

head. He wasn’t even inside her and it was already amazing. She might just pass out when he slid in.

She didn’t, but when he finally entered her, it was close. If she thought she’d been in heaven before,

that was nothing compared to this. Landon was hot and hard inside her, his cock touching her in places she

never knew existed until now. How was it possible to fit together with anyone so perfectly?

She didn’t know the answer to that. And right then, she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was enjoy

how good he felt inside her. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, lifted her hips to meet his, and

pulled him in deep as he slowly started to thrust.

“Harder,” she demanded. She wasn’t in the mood for slow and gentle. She wanted urgent and

animalistic.

Landon’s mouth closed over hers as he pumped into her hard and fast. She felt her body tighten and

knew with all her heart that the approaching orgasm was going to be the best she’d ever had.

But then Landon flipped over, taking her with him. She wasn’t sure how he did it so smoothly. One

minute she was underneath him, and the next, she was on top, his cock buried deep inside her. While she

liked this new position just as much as the first, the move had slowed down her climax, and she growled in

frustration.

“Ride me,” he commanded.

Her growl dissolved into a throaty sigh at that. She eagerly obeyed, placing her hands on his chest and

slowly moving up and down on him.

“Damn, that feels amazing,” he breathed.

Yes, it did. She could already feel her orgasm building again.

Landon grasped her ass in both hands, urging her to go faster. She rotated her hips more, clenching her

pussy around him every time she came down. She rode him hard, wanting him to love it as much as she

did.

“That’s it,” he urged hoarsely.

She leaned forward, grabbing his shoulders as she picked up the pace. His thrusts matched hers, and her

pussy quivered around him.

She cried out as her climax surged through her and kept going. Somewhere in the throes of passion—

possibly between orgasm number three and number four—she thought she dug her claws into Landon’s

back, but she wasn’t sure. She didn’t care. Because he didn’t care. For the first time in her life, she had