Tiger Born (23 page)

Heath rose from between Deja’s legs and climbed higher on the couch. He hovered above her and stared into her face. She reached up and stroked his cheek. “I want to please you, Heath.”

“You already have.”

“Not yet.”

She pushed at his chest and sat up. When he moved back, she dropped between his legs, sitting on the floor, but he held her off with a hand to her shoulder. “No, baby, you can’t do that.”

She looked at him through her lashes, and he felt his resistance crumbling. Again, she went after his cock, and her lips closed around the head until his breath hissed between his teeth. He should stop her, but she slid him deep into her mouth and sucked hard as she pulled back. A cry of pleasure rose to his lips. He swallowed and repositioned himself on his ass. Deja would not be denied. He stared down at her as she licked his shaft from base to tip. She played with his balls and massaged them in her palms with a gentle touch. Before she headed back to his cock, his dick strained for attention.

“Mmm, what’s this?” she teased, licking at his precome.

“Damn it, Deja.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m going to make you come in no time.”

“No!”

He pulled from her hands and mouth and tugged her up from the floor. Before she could do more than protest, he had her on her knees and moved behind her. A test with his fingers between her legs showed her moistening again. He spread her pussy lips and pushed a finger in. She whimpered.

“You like that, baby?”

“You know I do,” she moaned.

“I’ve got something bigger for you.”

“How big?”

She tried looking over her shoulder, but he spanked her ass and turned her head. “This big.” He pushed the tip of his cock into her entrance. She thrust back onto him, demanding more, but he splayed a hand over her ass and held her off.

“No, you don’t. I control this.”

“Heath,” she whined.

He ignored her protests while he played with her pussy. Inching in a little, he wiggled his cock around and then withdrew. He gave her the full length, feeling her walls stretch around him, and then he pulled out. She shouted her ecstasy and frustration. Heath alternated between pumping into her sex and bending down to lick her pussy. He kept her begging until he knew she couldn’t take it another second. Then he worked her clit with his thumb to bring her to the edge of an orgasm. When she tensed, and her thigh muscles had just begun to flutter, he plunged his dick in as deep as it would go. He held onto her hips and pumped hard again and again. Their bodies pounded together, their breath noisy and harsh. The stirrings of an orgasm in Heath began to build, and he took his woman faster. He released one hip and curved over her back. With one final thrust, he held himself all the way to the hilt, and at the moment Deja called out his name, he emptied his seed into her pussy.

After he caught his breath, and his heartbeat eased, he pulled out of her and stood up. He held out his hand and waited for her to stand. She curled her fingers with his, and they walked together into the bedroom. Heath had every intention of enjoying Deja’s beautiful body for the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon. Work could wait. His desire for her could not.

Chapter Sixteen

Seven months later.

“I can’t do this!” Deja stood before the mirror looking at her reflection. Panic had set in, and she feared she was about to lose it. That is, if she hadn’t already. “I think I’m going to faint. I’m going to just call it off. This is stupid anyway so close to the move. Heath will understand, won’t he?”

Coreen met her gaze in the mirror standing behind her. The older woman smiled and ran gentle hands up and down Deja’s arms. “Breathe, sweetie. It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay,” Deja wailed. “Look at me. I weigh a thousand pounds. My stomach looks like an egg and, seriously, the white dress? Come on, it’s obvious I’m so not pure!”

Again, Coreen tried soothing her. “You look beautiful, and there’s not a doubt in my mind everyone else will think so too when you walk out there, especially Heath. You want to be his wife, don’t you?”

“Hell, no, not looking like this.” She dropped her gaze to her legs. Where had all her confidence about her body gone in the last few months? “I had the nerve to wear a short wedding dress, like these tree-trunk thighs needed showing off. Heath won’t have to take the dress off me tonight. The way my thighs are rubbing together, I’m going to burn my way out of it.”

When Coreen made no comment, she looked up and thought she saw a twitch at the corner of the now-tightened mouth. Mirth danced in her eyes, and Deja burst out laughing. Then she started crying.

“See? Now I’ve ruined my makeup!”

Coreen gave Deja a small shake. “Now you listen to me, Deja Clark. You are beautiful, and your mate loves you. This wedding is just an extension of the vows you two have already made to each other as shifters. They are bonding and a lifelong commitment. You will go out there with your head held high, but when you do, look at Heath, because I promise you, he will have such a look of awe and love on his face you will understand the truth of what I’m saying.”

Deja sighed. “So, in other words, I won’t feel better about myself until I put myself on display for everyone to gawk at.”

Coreen glared.

“All right. Fine. Let’s get this show on the road before he comes to see what my deal is. He threatened to carry me to the alter if I chickened out, and I think he’d do it. Who would have thought he would be the one to insist on this human ritual?”

While she complained and felt terror all the way to her toes about the ceremony, when Heath suggested it and dropped to one knee in the process, she’d been thrilled beyond reason. Now, she had to stiffen her spine and be brave enough to go out there and become Mrs. Heath Hunter.

After doing damage repair to her makeup, Deja moved to the doorway leading into the sanctuary. From the looks of it, every member of Siberia had turned out for her wedding, including Tina. The woman sat at the back of the room, back ramrod straight and expression dark. Deja wondered if Ward commanded she attend or if she came hoping something would happen to call it off. While Deja didn’t feel all that beautiful, she did get a sense of triumph over Tina. She’d won, and the skank would have to settle—because any man who wasn’t Heath was just that: a settlement.

Ribbon, lace, and flowers prettied the otherwise dull, plain room, and someone had run a white streamer down the aisle and covered it with red rose petals. At the front of the room, Heath stood waiting, and Deja met his gaze. Just as Coreen had said, Heath appeared lovestruck, and her heart hammered in her chest.

Deja might have stood where she was all day, staring at Heath if Ward hadn’t walked up and cleared his throat. Because she had no father to give her away, Ward would do the honors, and Joe stood as Heath’s best man. She started off down the aisle, her fingers trembling on Ward’s arm. Her breath rattled in her throat, and her head grew light.
Oh, no, I’m going to faint!

“Calm,” Ward whispered, and she felt his special brand of power flowing over her. Not in the way he had of almost knocking her to the floor or making her bow her knees to him. This single word brought with it peace, and her heart rate eased along with a clarity returning to her mind. She breathed deep and blew out a breath. The next second, Ward was turning her over to Heath.

The clergyman performing the ceremony had been one in his former life before Spiderweb changed his life forever. Deja had found the knowledge surprising and saddening at the same time, but at least he could continue in his profession with a dedicated flock. Still, she wondered how being a shifter challenged the minister’s faith.

“Do you, Heath Hunter, take Deja Clark to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Deja had missed the opening words completely and focused on the most important day of her life. She stuttered tearfully through her vows, and when Heath looked into her eyes as he placed the ring on her finger, she sagged against him. His strong arms came up around her, holding her close. She clung to him, cursing idiot pregnancy hormones.

“Um, sorry,” she muttered, embarrassed.

“I’ll always catch you,” he whispered in her ear. “I know that sounds corny.”

She melted. “I love you so much, Heath. I always want to be with you.”

“And I love you too, baby, now and always.”

The minister cleared his throat. “If we could continue with my guidance?”

Deja and Heath chuckled, and at the minister’s prompting, she spoke her promise and then placed his ring on his finger. At last they were pronounced husband and wife, and Deja threw herself into Heath’s arms. His lips touched hers and took her to the clouds. Tingles of awareness raced over her skin, and their entire audience fell away. The only thing that brought her back to earth was a twinge in her belly and another odd feeling. She tore from Heath’s arms but gripped his fingers in hers.

“Heath, I don’t think we’re going to have a wedding night.”

Surprise and disappointment registered in his expression. “You are not going to deny me now that you’re my wife, are you? Because you were mine long before today.”

Another pain hit, and she breathed heavily through her nostrils. “I wouldn’t deny you if I could help it, but my water just broke. Our kids are coming right now!”

* * * *

Deja lay curled up in bed, but since she’d been sleeping lighter lately, she heard when Heath opened the door. She stretched and turned over on her back to find him standing in the doorway watching her. Somehow she felt like they’d done this scene many times before. Heath got up early and made breakfast, while she got in a few extra z’s. He really was the sweetest man in existence, and his devotion showed in the tiredness visible around his eyes.

“You should be resting with me,” she whispered.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

“That’s beside the point.”

At the right side of the bed were two bassinets, each holding a baby. When a tiny coo in one bed was copied by another in the other bed, she couldn’t stop the grin that spread over her face. Heath matched it with one of his own. She leaned over and looked down at the little feet, going a mile a minute in pink booties. Heath believed Maia, their oldest daughter by six minutes, couldn’t wait to get out into the wild and run. Neve was the calmer of their girls, but she always seemed to follow her sister. If Maia woke ready for a meal, so did her sister. Heath did all he could to always help Deja, so the two wouldn’t overwhelm her, and she appreciated him for it. The first month of having their girls had been both a blessing and the most tiring of both their lives.

Heath joined her to watch their babies, and Deja took his hand to rest her forehead on his side. “They’re perfect, aren’t they?”

“Mmm, they are everything, and so are you, baby.”

She smiled up at him. “Do you really have to go into work? You hardly slept last night.”

“I’m the sheriff.”

She frowned at him. “It was sexy at the beginning.”

“You’re telling me I’m not sexy?”

“Boy, please, with those abs? I married you for your body.”

“I noticed in the way you sexually abuse me.”

“That’s the pot calling the kettle black. I’m surprised I’m not already pregnant again.”

She burst out laughing when he flinched. Yeah, they loved their girls, but, more, well, she wasn’t sure about that. “I guess I’ll find something to do with myself today.”

“Let me arrange for a nanny for when I’m at work.”

She stood up and threw her arms around his neck and then kissed his lips. “When we move maybe. Right now, Coreen would kill me. She enjoys being a grandmother. Is everything going smoothly for the move?”

He sighed, and she thought she saw greater tension in his bearing, sorry she had brought it up. “It’s going. I guess I better go. I’ll come by Dad’s at lunchtime to see if you need anything.”

“You can call.”

He drew her in a tight embrace. “I’ll be there.”

“Fine, stubborn man. I’ll see you later. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

* * * *

The day had worn on until the hour struck two, and Deja hadn’t heard from or seen Heath. She’d called him three times, and he hadn’t picked up. She left voice mails telling him to check in by phone if he couldn’t come by. Still no contact. Worry made her pace in Coreen’s kitchen while her mother-in-law rocked Neve in her arms. On the table, in her carrier, Maia babbled with her feet going.

“You think something’s wrong?” Deja asked for the millionth time.

“No, I think he got busy. You know how fussy many people have been since they learned Siberia is relocating.”

Deja chewed her nail. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She paced some more. Ever since Heath had been abducted, she couldn’t bear not hearing from him. Another half hour passed, and she’d had it. “Mind watching the girls, Coreen?”

“Of course.”

Deja grabbed a jacket and bolted for the door. Her new minivan sat in the driveway with two car seats in the back for her daughters. She scurried around the vehicle to the driver’s seat and hopped behind the wheel, and within a few minutes she pulled up to city hall. No cars were out front, and when she tried the front door of the place, she found it locked. Dread knotted her stomach.

“They all tore out of here a while ago.”

Deja spun around to meet the curious gaze of one of the town’s busybodies. “All?” Deja asked with an eagerness she couldn’t hide.

The woman nodded. “Ward, Joe, that new guy Sam, and Heath.”

Having held her breath as each name was mentioned, Deja let it out when she heard Heath’s name. At least he was with the others. “Any idea where they were headed?”

“No, but they looked serious.” The woman’s eyes brightened, and she almost bounced in her excitement. “Whoever finds out what happened first can tell the other, okay?”

“Uh, sure.” She had no intention of sharing anything. Some information didn’t need to get out into the public. A year of being in this town, even she knew that, and Heath’s position brought it home even more. She excused herself and watched as the woman disappeared around the corner. Then she climbed back inside the minivan to consider her options. Should she track Heath or go back to Coreen’s? She had no idea how far away he might be or if he was even in Siberia at the moment, and the babies required a lot of attention, a real challenge for one person. While she considered it, her cell phone rang, and she dug it out of her purse. The sight of Heath’s name flashing on the caller ID gave her instant relief, followed by anger.