Her Tiger To Take (11 page)

“Wow, I was asleep for a while. What time is
it?”

“After midnight.”

“Midnight?” She sat up, without releasing his
hand. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“You needed the rest. I didn’t have anywhere
to go.”

“But you must be starving! Give me a minute
to use the bathroom and I’ll go out and get some more food.”

He scowled. “I’m healed now. I can feed
myself.”

“But…”

“Besides, there’s nothing open at this hour.
Not anywhere nearby, anyway.”

She frowned. “But you need food.”

His scowl softened and a contemplative look
replaced it. He was still holding her hand, more tightly now, as if
she might pull away. “How about we go to the diner? I can make us a
late dinner.”

“No. You’re not cooking for me—not after you
had to fight for me this afternoon.”

“I like cooking. It’s relaxing. And I’d like
to cook for you.”

“It’s too late to open the diner.”

“It’s my place. I can do what I want.”

“But…” She shook her head, but he cupped her
cheek with his free hand and stilled the motion.

Her breath caught. The feel of his hand on
her face was a kind of torture. Because she wanted to lean forward
and kiss him so badly her entire body vibrated with the need. So
close. So easy. Hell, they were already in bed. Her stupid “no sex”
rule could take a hike after what they’d gone through today.

Yet… Yet. Her conscience still poked at
her.

She told the bitch to shut up, leaned in, and
kissed Nick. He met her halfway, his kiss hungry, hard, and so, so
right. She wrapped herself around him, half in his lap before she
knew what she was doing.

He didn’t argue with her or point out all the
reasons this was a bad idea. He didn’t pull away. And she couldn’t
resist him. His scent rose up to meld with hers, creating that
unique combination that was more delicious than any food could be.
Catnip, she thought. She dragged her mouth from his to kiss her way
down the column of his throat, savoring the salty male taste. His
groan made her smile as she dipped lower, nudging aside his still
open flannel shirt so she could get at his chest.

He tangled his fingers in her hair, holding
her tightly as she explored with her lips. She couldn’t taste him
enough, every lick, every kiss only fueling her hunger. She pushed
his shirt over his shoulders so she could explore his muscles.

When he sat up to remove the shirt, she
leaned back and dragged her own shirt over her head. Her breasts
felt heavy, her nipples tight in the cool air. His gaze dropped to
her chest, and he reached for her before she’d finished pulling the
shirt off.

He cupped her breast, weighing it in his
palm, and she moaned. Without conscious thought, she took her other
nipple between her fingers, squeezing and pinching. The sound he
made was nothing she’d heard from a man before, all deep, husky and
desperate, and his grip tightened as he watched her.

Then he dipped and took the nipple she was
playing with into his mouth. She moaned, her body lighting up with
need. His mouth on her was electric, sending shocks of sensation to
her core. He sucked hard, giving little nips in between until she
was gasping and begging for more.

Pushing her back onto the mattress, he turned
his attention to her other breast. She writhed beneath him, her
whole body pulsing and hot. She held his head in place with one
hand and unbuttoned her jeans with the other, pushing and wiggling
to remove the last of her clothes. She didn’t want anything between
them. He never took his mouth from her as he shucked off his own
jeans.

She wanted to take time to savor him, naked
and beautiful, but she was lost to the feel of him, and she didn’t
want him to stop what he was doing.

When he moved from her breast to her stomach,
she trembled with so much desire she didn’t think her body could
contain it.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he growled
against her skin as he kissed his way over her rounded tummy. “So
lush and sexy. And delicious.”

He breathed deeply, licked a circle around
her navel, then nibbled the skin on her hipbone, a gesture that
made her buck. She felt lush and sexy and beautiful with Nick. Her
body was heavy and pulsed in time with her rapid heartbeat. When
Nick licked a line down her inner thigh, she wanted to scream. She
gripped her own breasts again, pulling at her nipples in hard tugs,
trying to ease some of the tension building in her core. Nothing
helped. She was wet and desperate, and completely at his mercy.

He kissed her inner thigh, then bit down
hard. She did cry out this time and pinched her nipples harder.

“Yes,” he said. “I love watching your hands
on your breasts. Don’t stop.”

She couldn’t find her voice to answer him. He
pushed her thighs farther apart, then settled his mouth against her
wet heat, licking her once gently. Then he spread her with his
fingers and licked into her, and Tiana lost her mind. She panted
and tried to hold back her orgasm, to savor the feel of his tongue
on her, but he didn’t make it easy. He licked hard, pushing her,
driving her toward a total loss of control.

“Nick…” His name came out as a harsh moan.
The scent of her own desire mixed with their tangled essences, and
it pushed her over the sharp, hot edge. She arched up, every muscle
tight, and then her body exploded into a rippling spasm of release
so intense she stopped breathing for an instant. When she dropped
back down, she was limp and shivering, hot and satisfied, but still
needy.

“More,” she growled. “More of you.” She
pushed him onto his back and took his hard cock into her mouth
before he’d settled. His answering hiss fueled her, fed her. She
pulled away just long enough to whisper, “You taste so good.”

He shivered as her breath hit the tip of his
cock. “Tiana, you’re going to kill me.”

She smiled, then she took him in her mouth
again. She wanted to make him come too, to take him this way. But
she wasn’t sure she’d survive the time it took for him to get hard
again before she took him inside. His muscles were tight under her,
so solid and hard. He panted, and the harder she sucked the harsher
he breathed. One hand tightened in her hair, the other ripped at
the blanket beside him. She pushed him as far as she dared,
reluctant to lose the taste of him, but unable to resist having all
his pulsing thickness inside her.

He didn’t complain when she took her mouth
from him, just watched her with dark, hooded eyes, his jaw tight.
She straddled him, positioned his cock at her entrance, and dropped
down in a single fast move. He was thick and perfect, filling her
in a way she’d never experienced. For several moments, she rocked
gently, just savoring him.

He gripped her hips, his fingers digging into
her skin, and he growled again, his voice harsh and deep. “Move if
you don’t want me to take over.”

She laughed and did as he ordered, rising up
and dropping down with a groan. His cock stretched her and the
friction started another orgasm building, this one deeper and
richer. She fucked him as hard and fast as she’d wanted to since
first catching his scent. Her breasts bounced with her movement,
the sensation adding to her growing tension. She watched him as he
watched her. The heat in his eyes, the emotion and barely held
control, drove her faster, harder.

This time she held her own orgasm at bay,
focusing on his pleasure, waiting to see him break. When he did, he
roared her name and Tiana let go, her inner muscles clenching
before everything tightened and burst apart.

As the ebbs of her orgasm eased, she folded
over him, still gently pumping her hips as she came back down.

“Oh, my,” she murmured into his neck, then
licked his skin because tasting him felt so natural and necessary.
“That…worked.”

His chuckle was harsh and breathless. He
tightened his arms around her waist and hugged her, shivering when
she licked him again.

“Fuck,” he breathed.

She sat up enough to look at him. “What?”

“I want you again already. And you’re not
even in estrous.”

He sounded so awed and appalled in equal
measure, she laughed. “Told you we had good chemistry.”

His groaned laugh was a little pained.
“Combustible chemistry.”

“I’m not near done with you yet,” she said.
“But I might need a few more minutes before we start again.”

“God.” He held her tight and rolled her onto
her back. “You’re going to kill me, and I’ll die with a stupid grin
on my face.”

“We’ll go together.”

He kissed her, deep and gentle, but still
with the heat lurking just at the edge. She gave herself to the
kiss, forcing back any thoughts. She was too happy, too content to
think or consider their future. She’d worry about it tomorrow. Or
maybe the next day. For now, Nick was hers and she wanted to wallow
in the dream that this was their forever.

When he pulled back suddenly and rolled out
of bed, she gasped. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I want to feed you. Come on.” He
tugged her to her feet and took her to the bathroom so they could
clean up.

His attention had her body humming again in
moments, but he didn’t give in to her wordless pleas. Instead, he
found clothes for her in the closet and actually dressed her—just a
shirt and jeans; no underwear or bra. She felt so sexy under his
ministrations she wasn’t about to argue. And the lack of underwear
would make it easier to strip and fuck him again at the soonest
possible moment.

“Where are we going?” she asked as he held
his truck door for her. “The diner?”

“My house. I want to cook for you in my
home.”

Her heart jumped and her throat tightened.
She was lost. His. Completely and entirely. He was going to break
her heart. But in that moment, she decided the pain was worth it.
Nick was worth it.

Nick let Tiana into his house and had to
fight a possessive growl of satisfaction at having her there.
His
. He couldn’t deny it anymore. He was completely lost to
her. Having her in his home, filling it with her scent, only
reinforced that sense of possessiveness. And resignation.

“What would you like to eat?” he asked as he
took her coat and hung it on one of the hooks by his door.

“Whatever you have is fine. Just no eggs.”
She wrinkled her nose.

“I remember.” He grinned, feeling like a
love-struck fool, but not really caring. “I’ve got steaks?”

“Meat! Perfect.”

“Make yourself comfortable.” He motioned to
his living room. “You want something to drink?”

“Water would be nice. Thanks.”

As she wandered into his living room, he took
to the comfort of his kitchen. Cooking for her felt…intimate in a
way cooking had never felt before. Some soul-deep instinct drove
him to feed and care for her, make sure she was comfortable and
content.

Thoughts of his father haunted him as he
pulled the meal together. He remembered his dad doing similar
things for his mother—cooking for her, making sure she was
comfortable, looking after her and spoiling her. To this day, Nick
still wasn’t sure how his father had missed his mother’s depression
when he seemed—to a nine-year-old boy anyway—so devoted and
attentive.

Tiana is nothing like your mother
, he
reminded himself.

But he was oh so much like his father.

He was about to call her in to eat when he
felt her come up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist
and leaned around him to look at the simple grilled steaks he had
resting.

“Those look and smell delicious.”

“You smell delicious.”

She kissed his shoulder, her chuckle
vibrating against his skin. The sensation traveled straight to his
cock, but he wanted her fed first.

They took their plates to his dining room
table, a place he usually reserved for paying bills, and chatted
about easy things: movies, cooking, her work, and the townspeople.
She smiled a lot. He laughed more than he had in years. The
comfort, the rightness of it, wasn’t lost on him.

The ephemeral nature of that peace wasn’t
lost on him, either.

Had his parents experienced this in the
beginning? Was this where the madness started?

And could he escape the consequences now, or
was it too late?

As soon as she finished eating, his
self-control buckled. “Dishes can wait,” he said as he pulled her
to her feet and into his arms. She fell into his kiss without
resistance. He loved that about her.

They stumbled up the stairs, petting and
kissing as they went. More than once, Nick thought they might not
make it to the bedroom. At the top of the stairs, he pushed her
against the nearest wall so he could feel her entire body pressed
against his. He pulled her top off and tossed it behind him, his
gaze dropping to the delicious fullness of her breasts.

“I love your body,” he muttered, before
taking her nipple into his mouth.

She lifted up on her toes and clenched at his
shoulders, panting as he sucked hard. She was so sensitive, so
responsive, he wondered if he could make her come like this.
Tempting. But maybe later. There was so much he wanted to do with
her, to her, and he had a bed just a few feet away. With a final
lick, he released her nipple and grabbed her hand, tugging her to
his room, and his bed.

Desperation like he’d never experienced
pushed him. He actually ripped her jeans dragging them off, but he
couldn’t find it in him to care. He needed her naked, needed to
feel and explore her glorious body. He needed to bathe in her scent
and fill himself with her.

Years of want and denial had left him so
vulnerable to her. He’d imagined having her in his bed, just like
this, so often it was like living in a dream. Except her moans were
real. Her scent was real. And those desperate little sounds she
made when he kissed her inner thigh, when he licked into her, were
so much better than anything he could have imagined.