Redeeming Rue AP4 (23 page)

They kissed, a hard mashing of their lips as his cock twitched and she groaned.  He slipped from her body, keeping his cock just at her sweet entrance, and then thrust forward.  She moaned into his mouth, her hands slipping from his head to his back as he began a slow forward glide and retreat, loving every second of his slow seduction.  She hugged him to her, the tight tips of her breasts rubbing against his chest deliciously, her pussy clutching at him.  He steeled himself against the orgasm that threatened, wanting her to come with him.

He captured her hand in his, twining their fingers and stretching it over her head.  Then he slipped his arm under her hips and angled her body up.  When he stroked into her, she gasped loudly, her mouth falling open.  He gripped her to him, increasing the pace of his strokes.  Her thighs clasped him tighter.  She raised her other hand and bracketed his hand with both of hers.

He twisted his hips and lifted her lower body higher off the bed, looking for the right angle to send her to heaven.  He felt her pussy grip him tighter and he stroked into her harder, faster, their bodies slapping together as he pushed his own pleasure away until she’d had her fill.  Her heels tightened on his back, her nails dug into his hand, and every thrust pushed him closer to the edge.

He was so close he could feel his balls pull up tight against his body.  He grunted out the words, “Come with me,” never stopping the pistoning of his cock into her tight pussy.

She locked her gaze to his, her mouth open and her fangs glistening through her parted lips.  She gnashed her teeth and whimpered as her pussy locked down on him.  For a brief moment, time stood still between them and then she came with a flood of heat.  Her back bowed, nearly tossing him from her body.  He stroked into her tightening pussy, letting go and coming with her, filling her.

She growled and shoved him to his back, snarling as she raised her head and bared her fangs.  He knew without words that she wanted to mark him, and he tilted his head and gave her access to his throat.  She struck, sinking her fangs deeply into his neck.  He cupped her head with one hand, wrapped his arm around her, and held her trembling body close.  She released her hold on him and licked the wound, purring contentedly.

She lifted from his body, gazing down at him in rapture as she licked her lips.  “Love you,” she rasped.  He’d never known what real love between two people could be like.  It was powerful and amazing.  His cat purred happily and he grinned as the sound rumbled in his chest.

“Love you, too, sweetheart.”

She turned toward James with a playful growl, and John reveled in the burn of her mark.

* * * * *

James watched Rue crawl toward him, her eyes blazing bright blue and her lips parted to reveal pearly white fangs.  He was reclining at the bottom of the bed, his legs out in front of him as he leaned on his elbows.  She paused at his feet, kissing both ankles, and then slowly made her way up his body, kissing and nipping his legs, hips, and chest.  She sat up and threw one leg over him, straddling him.

His cock throbbed as she grasped it with one hand and rubbed it between the swollen lips of her sex.  He reached for her, clasping her knees as she lowered herself down on him until their bodies met.  She sighed deeply, lowering her head until her chin touched her chest.  She lifted her head slowly and rocked on him.

He moaned his appreciation of the snug feel of her pussy and gripped her knees.  Leaning forward, she braced her hands on his chest, bending to kiss him as she rocked on him.  Her tight heat called to a primal part of him, and he wanted to push her to her back and fuck her hard, but he resisted.  She wanted to ride him, and he’d let her.  Their eyes locked as she moved, her breasts bobbing, the tight nipples beckoning to him.  He released her knees and cupped her breasts, pinching the tight buds between his fingers and thumbs.  Her pussy clenched him, so he did it again.  And again.

She rode him hard and her nails dug into his chest, but he didn’t care.  She could draw blood and he’d still love every second of their time together.  Releasing one breast, he slipped his hand between their bodies and began to flick her clit with the tip of his finger.

She shuddered and her pussy clamped down on his cock and his eyes crossed.  He deviled the bud until she screamed in pleasure and her body locked down on him.  Her eyes rolled back in her head, and James grabbed her and rolled her to her back, thrusting into her until he came, their bodies wed tight.

Snarling softly, she sank her fangs into him, and he swore he came again as the sharp pain of her fangs slipped into pleasure at the thought of being hers forever in such a primal way.  He held her close and reveled in the pure bliss that washed over him.

He was hers forever, and she was his and John’s.

She released his neck with a purr and licked the wound.  He felt boneless, but he lifted her up the bed until her head was on the pillow next to John and then he collapsed at her side.  Her fingers played across her stomach as she sighed with contentment.

James nuzzled her throat.  “Love you.”

“I love you, too, James.”  She giggled lightly and said, “How about round two?”

Chapter 21

Monday evening, Rue walked out into the backyard where the pride members were milling around.  Everyone but Alek was there, because he had to work.  Jericho and Lachlyn had offered to stay with Sam and the kids who were too young to shift.

Rue looked back at the porch where Sam was kissing Aaron and Grant goodbye.  “Why does someone have to stay with her and the kids?”

“Because when she was first mated to Aaron and Grant, the females sent thugs to try to kidnap the kids and she almost died.  It was a giant clusterfuck,” James said.

Rue looked around at the pride members and noticed that Ray and Wesley weren’t there.  “Where are Ray and Wes?”

“They opted to skip coming out,” James said.

“I’m afraid they’re going to give up on the pride and go back to King,” John said.

“Because of Scarlett?”

“The heart wants what it wants sometimes,” John said, shrugging.  He tugged on the bottom of her shirt.  “Are you ready to shift and hunt sweetheart?”

She pulled off her engagement rings and tucked them into her pocket and reached for the button of her jeans.  “Whoa, wait, hold on!” James growled.

“What?”  She froze.

“Not out here, woman.  Too many unmated males.”

“But,” she said and turned and saw that Melody had walked with Tristan and Micah into the woods and hidden behind a tree.  “Oh.  I see.  I haven’t shifted anywhere but my own house, but when I was a kid, the clans all shifted out in the open together, mated and unmated.”

“Sorry, love, I might have to knock some heads if any of the cats see you naked.”  James was smiling when he spoke, but his words didn’t sound all that teasing.

“Really?”  She undid the button on her jeans, and his and John’s eyes dropped to her waist and both of them growled.  “All right, geez.”

John snagged her behind the neck, drew her close, and kissed her.  “You’re ours.”

“I know.”

“Tease.”  He smirked.

“I know that, too.  But I’m still yours.”

“Ugh, gross,” Dom said, rolling his eyes.  “Race you to shift, Henry!”  Dom tossed his shirt over Henry’s head, and Henry growled in feigned annoyance.

Jilly said, “Dionne wants you guys to come over for dinner tomorrow night.  I said Dad was working, but you and Uncle James could still come over.”

“Sounds good.  Tell Dionne I’ll call her in the morning for details.”

“Could we go to lunch together?  I’m in the mood for a bacon cheeseburger from Cherie’s.”

“You bet, sweetie,” Rue said.

Dom and Henry, fully shifted, pounced on each other and tried to trip Jilly as she returned to her mates.

“We should shift, too,” Rue said.

James lifted his voice.  “Have a good hunt, everyone.”

They pulled her into the trees so she was hidden from view, and they watched as she stripped and shifted into her form.  For a long moment, she froze, unused to being in her form in public.  The first time she’d shifted, her own people had attacked her.  Once she had Dom, she hadn’t allowed herself the luxury of shifting outside of her house, afraid that someone might see her white fur and figure out that she was banished.  The last time she’d been out in the woods in her shift she’d tried to kill the bastard who hurt Dom.

Her cat was optimistic about hunting, anxious and exited.  She pawed at the dirt and flexed her claws, stretching fully and whipping her tail back and forth.  Sitting back on her haunches, she watched as James and John squatted down and touched her.  They murmured praises over her snow-white fur.  They scratched her ears, ruffled her fur, and gave her heated looks that had nothing at all to do with what she looked like in her panther form.

With a yowl, she encouraged them to shift for her, and she watched as her mates stripped slowly, never taking their eyes from her, and shifted.  Their fur was pale gold, their muzzles white-edged and dark brown.  They were bigger than her shift, and their muscles flexed as they moved toward her on silent paws.  Their noses pressed against her neck at the same time, one on either side, and a massive purr rumbled from her chest.  She licked their cheeks, wishing she could talk in her shift so she could tell them how incredible she felt.

James made a chuffing sound, and they headed off into the woods to hunt.  Two cats streaked by them, one stark white, and she thought it was sweet that Dom and Henry acted like siblings who had been raised together their whole lives.

Prowling through the woods, she was not surprised that James and John flanked her, keeping her between them as they let her lead where they went.  She gave herself over to the cat and let her instincts go.  She luxuriated in the feel of the night wind on her fur, the scents of earth and foliage and creatures in the air, and the brush of her mates’ bodies against her as they ran in tandem.  She’d never been so happy.

She ran until her lungs burned.  Until they’d trekked the entire territory that the pride had claimed.  She hadn’t caught anything, but she had given a few rabbits a good scare when she’d almost snagged their furry butts.

Henry, Dom, Jilly, and her two mates met up with them, and the group headed back to the boarding house.  Rue and her mates shifted into their human forms, dressed, and walked into the backyard.

Jilly yawned and stretched, kissing her mates goodnight.  “See you tomorrow,” she said.  The boys looked as though they didn’t want to leave her side, and Rue knew what that felt like.  She would have hated to have to spend nights away from James and John.  Henry and Dom walked into the house with Jilly after saying goodnight and Rue looked at the dark house in silence.

“What are you thinking about?” John asked.

“That it sucks for them to have to wait three years.  I know she’s young, but they’re mates.”

“It’s your culture that made the rules,” James pointed out.

“I was told as a kid that the reason the mating age rule came about is because there was a clan leader a long time ago who didn’t want his only daughter to mate with a panther he considered to be a bad egg.  He thought if he gave her enough time that she would eventually find another mate, or the male would run off, but that didn’t happen and the law stuck.”  She looked at her mates.

John said, “If it were us in that situation of waiting for everyone to turn twenty-one, I’d definitely be hating life right now.”

“But because it’s your daughter, you’re happy with the waiting?”

He shrugged.  “I know it’s a double standard.”

She took his offered hand and reached for James.  “I get that you don’t mind about the waiting, though, since she was gone for so long and you just got her back.”

James held the door open for her.  “Do you plan to enforce the rule for Dom?”

The stairs creaked under their feet as they walked up to the second floor.  She kept her voice low so she didn’t wake up anyone.  “No.  We’re not part of the clan anymore, and the lions don’t have that rule.  If Dom and Henry find a mate to share, I’m not going to put an age limit restriction on them, even though I hope that they wait to find her until they’re a little older.”

John shut the bedroom door and yawned.  “Did you have a good time hunting, sweetheart?”

“I did.  Thank you so much.”

They stripped and climbed into bed, and it didn’t take long for exhaustion to claim her.  Somewhere in the last bit of wakefulness, she smiled to herself as James and John took up their positions on either side of her and held her between them.  She was safe now in so many ways.  Before, she’d forced herself to feel safe — extra locks on the door, carefully covering any trace of her panther nature, never letting anyone know her.  James and John offered her safety.  Through the many members of the pride who stood with them, the easy way they accepted her into their lives, and their hands on her even as they slept, told her she wasn’t far from their thoughts at any time.

More than physical safety, though, was the safety of her heart.  They both whispered they loved her, and then James placed a tender kiss on her neck at the same time as John kissed her forehead.  As she whispered the words back to them, she closed her eyes.  She was theirs and they were hers, and she was one lucky girl.

* * * * *

James walked with Rue through the woods to the clearing to meet with Dag and his family for dinner.  John was working, and what James
really
wanted to do was keep Rue locked up in the bedroom, naked and screaming in pleasure.  But he wasn’t the kind of guy to keep his mate from being around others, and so he kept his grumbling cat leashed in his head, promising that they would return to the bedroom soon enough to enjoy some alone time with their mate.

Rue was quiet as they walked, and James didn’t push her to talk.  He’d learned quickly that if she didn’t want to talk, no amount of cajoling would open her mouth.  If she wanted to talk to him, she would.

They broke through the trees and into the empty farmland that the clan was renting.  The RVs the clan lived in were parked together in a loose circle.  Generators hummed, providing electricity for the RVs, and in the center of the circle was a large bonfire.  A grate was set over top of the bonfire, and Dionne was laying thick steaks on it using a long-handled fork.

“Hi there,” Dionne said with a smile.  Rue and James greeted her and watched as she finished putting the steaks on the grate and then came around to them so she could hug Rue.  “I’m so glad to see you.  Congratulations on your mating and engagement.”

“Thank you,” Rue said.

Dionne called over her shoulder for her husband and then gestured to the folding chairs that ringed the bonfire.  Dag opened the door of their RV and stepped out, followed by Hanai.

“I bet it seems empty around here with all the clans gone,” James mused, accepting a beer that Dag offered.

“It’s certainly a lot quieter,” Dag said, giving a beer to Rue and settling in a chair next to Dionne.  He looked pointedly at Rue.  “How is Domino?”

“Great, actually.  He and Henry act like real brothers, and he’s fitting in with the pride like he belonged with them his whole life,” she said.  “He wants to enroll in community college for the winter semester, and he’s already asked if he can make a studio for himself in one of the unused rooms on the first floor.”

“And how are you?” Dionne asked, her face soft with emotion.

Rue reached for James’ hand and laced their fingers together.  “It’s better now.  I know that my former clan can’t hurt me or Dom anymore, and I feel safe — truly safe — for the first time.”

Hanai nodded.  “Race will be a good leader and drag your former clan out of the dark ages by the scruff of their necks.”

James said, “I have a question about that.  You told us when we first met Rue that Race had been banished in the same way as her, so why did they accept him as their leader and how the heck did he show up at just the right time?”

Dag smiled.  “I called him.  I told him what Rue had been through and about Domino’s kidnapping, and he came to help.  He wasn’t too far.  Like Rue, he had left the southern states where the clan had traveled and was living in southern Indiana, so it didn’t take him too long to get here.”

“He was planning to take over the clan in a coup and oust the former leader.  I believe that enough of the clan members were horrified by what was done to Domino that they would have embraced Race no matter what, but the fact that the former leader was killed just made it easier for Race to take over,” Hanai said.

“Why do you keep calling him the ‘former leader’?”

“It’s forbidden to say his name,” Hanai said, smiling.

“Race was banished for wanting to mate with a human.  Did he mate with her anyway?” Rue asked.

“No, the female he loved has since moved on.  When he was branded, she was told that they would both be killed if she ever saw him again, so she fled.  He told me that he went looking for her, but she refused to see him, too scared that he would die if they were together,” Dag answered.

Rue squeezed James’ hand a little tighter.  “I hope he finds someone worthy of him.  He’s a good male.”

Jilly, Wyked, and Fate came out of one of the RVs, and James thought they looked a little flushed.  He raised a brow at Jilly and she averted her eyes, looking guilty.  James shook his head with a smile.  “I just realized that you’re my daughter now, too, Jilly.”

“Are you going to be like Dad and give me a hard time about
everything
?” she asked dramatically.

“Of course not.  John has a corner on that market.”

She snorted, sitting down in a chair between her mates.  “I’ll hold you to that.”

“You do that, honey,” James said, smiling.  Jilly had enough trouble coming to terms with her emotions.  The last thing she needed was James coming down on her for following her heart.  And besides, he agreed with Rue that it sucked that they were mates but unable to truly join together for three more years.

Dionne gathered plates from a nearby picnic table, and Dag lifted the cooked steaks from the grating with the fork and placed them on the plates as Dionne held them out.  The plates were handed out until everyone had one.  Then containers of side dishes were passed — pasta salad, potato salad, corn, and coleslaw — until everyone’s plates were filled.