Predator's Serenade (12 page)

He grabbed the man by the scruff of the neck and hauled him off her. Stunned, the dude took a swing for him. Soren ducked, clenched his fist, and struck him, pulverizing the man’s nose. The shifter’s eyes fell back into his weaving head, and he fell to the floor in a limp heap.

Panting, Soren turned to Gioia, who was still lying on the floor on the floor. Her eyes still wedged shut, she fought back as he touched her. “Get off me,” she cried.

“Gioia! Baby, it’s me,” he soothed her as he knelt by her head. “It’s just me.”

She pried her eyes open. “Soren?”

At the sound of her cracked voice, his heart melted. He gathered her to him and cradled her in his arms. Her halted breaths made him want to cry. Her fear made him want to rage. And if she hadn’t been there, he was sure he would have killed the other man.

Holding her had a tranquilizing effect on him. His heartbeat regulated, and the lump in his throat dissipated. Caressing her all over, he breathed her in. Peachy, vanilla splendor that put stars in his eyes.

He loved this woman already. And it felt good.

Cocooned in the warmth of their embrace, it startled him when she pulled away. She glanced at his nude body in wonder but cringed at the bloody tracks he’d received while doing the monkey-climb to her room.

“You’re bleeding,” she whispered, touching a gentle finger to a small wound on his leg.

“I don’t care.” He darted an angry glance at the still-unconscious man. “He hurt you. I’ll kill the fuckwad.”

She put a finger on his chin and turned his face to her. “No, you won’t. But would you stay with me tonight?”

Soren cupped her face and nodded, completely lost in her caring eyes. She might not know it, but he’d stay with her every night from now on.

Much later, wearing one of the robes from Gioia’s bathroom, Soren watched security leave with the shifter who’d attacked her. The man was mystified upon regaining consciousness. Clearly the pheromones had been at work, turning a sane man into a monster. When he’d heard how he’d almost raped Gioia, he was devastated. Soren didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone so apologetic or terrified of getting locked in the slammer.

He’d let Ry’s shifter police friends deal with him. If he dealt with the man, there wouldn’t be anything left of him.

Soren knew he couldn’t wait any longer to tell Gioia about her new-found power over men.

Gunnar, sleeping as heavily as Soren used to when he was that age, was still quiet in his part of the suite. She’d checked on him, had smoothed the hair off his brow and kissed him, and had closed the door between their rooms. Now, as they were left completely alone, she turned to him and Soren opened his arms to her.

It was where she belonged.

She flew to him. He picked her up and carried her to the bed, where he held her on his lap. He kissed the apples of her cheeks and stroked her through her T-shirt.
His
T-shirt, he thought with a smile. It made him unreasonably happy to think she’d chosen to wear his old shirt to bed.

She nuzzled against him. “You’re my hero.”

“I’d rescue you anytime.” His lips twitched in a crooked smile. “As long as my heart doesn’t give out. I don’t think I could handle seeing you so vulnerable again.”

She stared at him, as if wholly unsure of what to do next. “Soren…”

“Gioia, you need to know something,” he said, brushing her curls from her face. “Ryland explained it to me, and I’ve been wanting to tell you. I should have told you sooner. What happened tonight is not your fault, but there is a reason for it.”

“That being?”

“The man who attacked you, he was…under a spell, you could say.”

“He did seem dazed. Even before you turned his face inside out.”

“He was.” He took a deep breath, remembering the all-too satisfying crack of his fist on the man’s head. “You wouldn’t know it, but because you never fully mated with your husband, because you’re not a shifter, there’s a scent clinging to you. A pheromone, Ryland called it. The pheromone is inviting unmated shifters to mate with you, whether you like it or not. It’s the reason you’ve been getting so much attention from men.”

She snorted. “You mean it’s not my natural charm and wit?”

He frowned. “As charming as you are, it’s the scent making men crazy around you. They can’t help themselves, and it seems to be getting worse. We have to be very careful.”

She shook her head. “I can’t believe it. All my life, men have barely given me a second look. And now that I’m wearing some kind of hoochy cologne, I’m irresistible?”

“Yeah, you are.” He smiled at her.

“Damn. That explains why Wes is so keen to take over from Paul.”

He pursed his lips. “Yeah, that’s just wrong.”

“I always wondered if there would be some sort of repercussion to me not shifting.”

“It is pretty unusual,” he concurred. “Why do you think it happened?”

“Well, it’s just a theory, but I think it was because of Paul’s state of mind. He loved me, but maybe on some level his brain wasn’t capable of accepting me as his mate.”

“Did he ever mark you?” And then Soren felt guilty, asking such a private question.

“Mark me?”

Damn, she didn’t know about marking. “Yes. A bear will always mark his mate before mating with her. He has to break her skin and leave a mark behind.”

She raised a brow at him. “Sounds chauvinistic, if you ask me.”

He grinned. “It just needs to be done. No bear in his right mind would want his woman out there without his mark on her.”

She rolled her eyes. “Like putting a stamp on grade-A meat?”

“Call it what you want,” he teased. And then he stroked her soft cheek, knowing her skin would bear his mark soon enough and that she’d be proud to wear it.

She considered. “Paul never marked me. Maybe he didn’t realize. Or maybe he just didn’t want to.”

He kissed her forehead, wanting to take her pain away. “I’m sure if he was in the right frame of mind, he would have taken care of you better.”
Like I’ll take care of you
. “Anyway, I’m not going to leave your side. I don’t want a repeat of tonight. It just about exploded my ticker to see you under that man.”

Her eyes widened, and then they widened further. “Oh. I think I may have inadvertently aggravated the situation this evening.”

“How? It’s not your fault. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

She blushed from brow to neckline, a delicious red that made him want to lick her all over and see if he could make her blush harder. “No, but I may have, um, fanned the flames a little on the balcony.” She looked at him from under her lashes. “I was out there. I saw you swimming.”

“Really?”
Well, well
. “And did you like what you saw, my voyeuristic little owl?” Soren grinned from ear to ear, imagining Gioia watching him from above, getting all hot and bothered.

She offered him the bashful smile he’d grown to love. The heat from her lap grew more intense then. He knew she was nude under his shirt, and her potent scent now slammed into his brain, taking him hostage. Christ, he could feel her juices on his leg.

“I might have liked it a little.”

He feathered his lips against hers, needing so badly to drink her in. “And what did you do?”

She licked at the corner of his mouth, setting his body on fire. She whispered, “I touched myself.”

Soren’s head raced.
Oh, Jesus! Take me now!
He had to have her. He flared his nostrils, drinking her in, wanting to claim every inch of her. And yet, some dude had jumped her tonight. How could he make a move now? He didn’t want to terrify her.

“You won’t terrify me, Soren,” she revealed, her eyes blazing desire and sympathy.

His jaw dropped. “You heard me?” Damn, their connection was already powerful. Mated shifters could speak telepathically, but for her to be able to hear him in her human state was rare indeed.

She smiled, a beautiful smile that touched the outer reaches of his previously-untouched heart. “I did. I don’t know how.”

He held her tight, never wanting to let go. “I know how.” He looked at her and smoothed his thumb over her bottom lip. “You’re
my
mate, Gioia. I knew it the first time I saw you. And I want you so much.”

She stared at him, the slightest crease between her brows. “Your mate. I don’t know what to say.”

His throat felt tight, his chest constricted. She couldn’t send him away; he wouldn’t survive it. “Don’t say anything right now. You’ve been through so much tonight. Just let me hold you.”

The flirt returned to her gaze. “And if I want you to do more than hold me?”

Slam. Dunk. Thud
. “Then I’m your man.”

Moving through the raging case of shivers all over his body, Soren removed her eyeglasses and lowered her to the bed.

*

As Soren slipped her glasses off, Gioia’s first thought was,
Damn. I wanna see this!

It took her a second to realize she’d uttered the frenzied words aloud. Even without her glasses, she could see the widening of his smile and the white of his teeth. Before she knew it, he’d replaced her glasses.

“I want you to see this too,” he murmured, his deep voice touching her in places yet to be discovered.

She blinked, getting used to her improved vision with the specs, and smiled as he sat up. Slowly, Soren removed the bathrobe. Aside from the scratches he still hadn’t cleaned up, he was perfect: all long lines and sinuous brawn. Pecs that curved under taut nipples, underscored by a tantalizing plane of hard abs. His arms were enormous and made her feel so cherished and warm when he held her. His legs, long columns of strength. His velvet cock pulsed, standing out straight from his pelvis, its engorged tip swollen for her. And his ocean eyes were dark and mysterious. “I’ve never known anyone like you,” she admitted in a hushed tone. “It’s as if God fashioned you just for me.”

He leaned over her, pressing her into the mattress. “He did. I’m yours. No one else’s.”

She spread her legs and welcomed him into the cushion of her thighs. He settled there, groaning as his cock sought entry between her folds. Damn, he
was
big. It was one thing to look at him. It was another thing to feel his girth pressed against her.

He paused. “Shit. Condoms. They’re in my room.”

She didn’t care. It wasn’t like her not to care, but she didn’t. She just wanted him inside her. She knew enough about shifters to know they were basically free from disease, and she wasn’t worried about pregnancy. Despite not having sex in over a year, she hadn’t stopped taking the pill.

His cock thumped against her skin.

“It’s okay,” she reassured him. “I’m fine without one if you are.”

He swallowed. “God, yes.”

Soren took her mouth, smudging her glasses in the process. Stupid specs weren’t letting her get close enough to him. In frustration, she pulled away and whipped them off, almost throwing them across the room. Ravenous, she crushed her lips against his again, kissing him through his chuckles.

And then, as she’d fantasized about doing, Gioia ran her hands over his sculpted back, luxuriating in the glide of muscles that got the best of workouts while pounding on a set of drums. She slid her eager fingers down to his ass cheeks and felt him tense. Giddy with need, she rounded her hands over his rock-hard buns. They were so perfect she never wanted to let go.

“Gioia,” he moaned. “Fuck, little owl, you’re killing me.”

She laughed, heady with power. “Just by touching you?”

He sucked on her chin. “Just by breathing.” He gazed at her. Even though she couldn’t make out fine details, she could see his normally azure eyes had turned midnight blue with desire. “I’ve been a mess, wanting you so much.”

“Soren,” she whispered, touched to her volcanic core. “I’ve wanted you too.”

He latched onto her sensitive neck, sucking and swirling his tongue, and she closed her eyes as she relished his heat. Where his lips assaulted her, his teeth followed. He nibbled on her neck, groaning with the delight of a hungry beggar invited to a king’s banquet. The lush, stinging sensation was so exquisite she began to imagine his teeth elsewhere on her body.

A few delirious moments passed, and Gioia realized he’d removed his mouth from her neck. She opened her eyes and could make out his proud smile, even though it was fuzzy to her.

“You’ll need a scarf next time you go out,” he said, his chest rumbling in a quiet laugh. “Someone’s got a hickey.”

She poked him in the chest. “You territorial ass. How would you like being marked?” She touched her neck and giggled. She couldn’t be mad at him; she liked it too much.

He rolled off her onto his back and opened his arms in a gesture of surrender. “If it’s you doing the marking, angel, go nuts. Which of my body parts would you like to start with? If you’re not sure, I can recommend a dozen or so.”

“Soren!”

He yanked her on top of him. As she straddled him, his cock throbbing so close to her anxious pussy, he grabbed her bare ass cheeks and squeezed. “Do me a favor?”

“What?”

“Don’t ever wear panties again.” He ran his hands all over her hips, as if measuring their precise shape and roundness. With leisure, he then slid his hands up her torso and removed her shirt.

As her full breasts sprang free of their Hugo Boss prison, Gioia crossed her arms over her chest. It was an automatic reaction. Being bountiful up top, she’d always gotten unwanted attention as a young woman and still sometimes felt shy about her cup size. She couldn’t even count how many times, when walking down the street, some guy had shouted, “Nice tits, girly!”

Soren gently eased her arms off her chest. “Don’t hide from me. I want to see you.”

“I don’t look like the women you normally date.”

“This is true,” he teased, tilting his head and appraising her as if she were a cracked oil painting at an auction. When she smacked him for his lame attempt at humor, he caught her hand. Tugging her closer, he reached his head up and captured one of her nipples in his mouth. Her head spun as he laved her peak, and she ground atop him, gripped by the fiercest passion she’d ever known. He released her nipple and smiled at her. “You’re not like those women at all. They wish they could be as beautiful as you.”