Wildcat (20 page)

Zatlen heaved a sigh. “Thank
God
.”

***

How Sara could’ve had lunch in Lucy and Tarq’s restaurant as many times as she had without noticing what a looker Lucy had married was a mystery. Jerden had opened her eyes to a lot of things, male beauty being one of them.

Tarq was a handsome square-jawed, blue-eyed blond with broad, muscular shoulders and thick, heavily muscled thighs. Sara could appreciate that now, even though she still preferred Jerden’s taller frame with his bronzed skin, black mane, and smoldering eyes.

Lucy, on the other hand, was a slightly plump, dark-haired woman with a sweet smile, big brown eyes, and a scattering of freckles on her nose. Sara suspected that the two of them standing side by side was probably similar to the way she must look next to Jerden.

Gorgeous
hunks
and
plain
women.

“Great food, isn’t it?” Jerden asked.

Sara nodded as she took another bite of her chicken. “Almost as good as your
hunela
.”

“Don’t let Tarq hear you say that,” he warned. “He was always the better cook. He’s got this knack of being able to identify the ingredients in any dish just by tasting it and can duplicate almost any recipe.”

“Handy talent for a restaurateur to have—or would you call him a chef?”

Lucy paused as she passed by their table. “Actually, he prefers to be called a cook. Says it sounds less pretentious.”

“And Tarq was never that.” Noting Sara’s frown, Jerden went on to explain. “He’s always been the quiet, shy one. Never thought he was good for anything but sex.” He winked at Lucy. “She proved him wrong.”

Lucy grinned. “Yes, but he’s good at that too.”

“I’m sure he is,” Sara said. “And he
is
a darn good cook. This fried chicken is delicious.”

“That reminds me,” Jerden began. “I’d like for the two of you to cater our wedding reception—or cookout or whatever we’re calling it—that is, if you wouldn’t mind having to work at a wedding where you’re both invited guests.”

Lucy gasped. “You’re getting married? Are you kidding me? Of course we’ll do it! As soon as Tarq hears the news, he’ll start working on the menu. Consider it our wedding present to you.”

“Well, that was easy,” Sara remarked. But not too surprising—aside from being a partner in the Zetithian Palace, Tarq had been one of Jerden’s closest friends for nearly his entire life.

“Not at all.” Lucy nodded at Jerden. “These guys made so much money on Rhylos, they probably never need to work again for the rest of their lives. Cooking is what Tarq does for fun.”

Sara could certainly relate to that. Even with all the money in the world at her disposal, she’d probably still be raising and training horses. “There’s a lot to be said for enjoying your work.”

Jerden cleared his throat audibly. “Amen to that.”

Sara had just aimed a questioning glance at him when it hit her what he
used
to do for a living. “You’re retired, remember?”

He shook his head. “Not really. It’s more of a hobby now—only I’m limiting myself to just the one woman.”

Lucy let out a peal of laughter and headed back to the kitchen. Chuckling, Sara shot a reproving glance at Jerden as she reached for her wineglass. In that brief moment, her eyes slid past him just as a man and a woman hurried by the window that looked out onto the street. She couldn’t see the woman’s face, but that one fleeting glimpse was enough for her to recognize the man. “Holy shit.”

“What?”

She nodded toward the window. “Nate. I sure hope he’s not coming in here for dinner.” She shook her head as Jerden started to turn around. “Don’t bother; he’s already gone. Looked like he had a woman with him too.”

“Salan?”

“No. I only saw them for a second—they might not have even been together.” She paused, searching her memory for more details. “I don’t know for sure…”

“Well, if he
has
found himself a girlfriend, so much the better.”

Sara chuckled. “If that’s the case, there’s no need for me to marry you, is there?”

“Oh, yes, there is,” Jerden said. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

She took a sip of her wine. “Glad to hear it. You’d have a tough time getting rid of me now.” She gave him a wink. “I think I’m hooked.”

He winked back at her. “So am I.”

***

The next day, Jerden rode over to help Lynx build a new fence, leaving Sara anxious for his return. She was listening for approaching hoofbeats as she finished rubbing down her last mount of the day when she heard the whine of a speeder coming down the road. A few moments later, it came to a halt out in the yard. Fearing the worst, she stabled the horse and went out to meet her visitor.

Jerden hadn’t been serious when he’d promised never to leave her side—and she hadn’t expected it, either—but one glimpse of Nate’s angry scowl as he strode toward the barn made her wish otherwise. Suppressing a groan, she gave herself a mental boot up the ass and pasted on a smile she didn’t feel in the slightest. “Hey, Nate. What’s up?”

“I heard you and
Jerden
were engaged.” His emphasis on the name made it sound like a curse.

“Didn’t take long for
that
news to get around,” Sara said with a dry chuckle. “Who’d you hear it from? Salan?”

He ignored her question, his lips forming a thin line as a muscle twitched in his cheek. She could almost hear his teeth grinding. “So it’s true then. I don’t get it, Sara. I thought you were smarter than that. I can’t believe you’d take that alien freak over me—especially since I have it on good authority he won’t be fathering any children.”

So, the gloves are off now…
Sara shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant when her courage was already beginning to crumble.
Come
on, Sara. Be strong… and if he comes any closer, slug him.
“I’m not marrying him to have his children. I’m marrying him because I
want
to marry him.” A few days before, she couldn’t have said that, but now the words rolled off her tongue with surprising ease.

He snorted in disgust. “Yeah, right.”

“Why is that so hard to believe? He’s a kind, wonderful man.” She attempted another smile, but as always whenever Nate was around, she found it difficult. “You should be congratulating me—not calling my fiancé a freak. Which he is
not
, by the way. Nor is he a barbarian or a wildcat or anything of that nature. Best I can tell, he’s more civilized than you are.”

“He isn’t human, Sara. I can love you better than him.”

By that she assumed he meant that his dick was in proper working order.
If
he
only
knew…
“You’re entitled to your opinion, but so am I. The fact that he isn’t human doesn’t matter to me. We get along great. He’s an absolute whiz with horses—and any other animal you’d care to name. And—oh, what the hell, I might as well say it—he’s stinkin’ rich. Why
wouldn’t
I want to marry him?”

Nate’s skin took on a darker flush. “Is
that
how you justify it? Because he’s rich and good with animals? I can’t believe you’d marry a man for stupid shit like that.”

“You’re missing the point, Nate. That stuff is just icing on the cake. I
love
him.”
Now
I
just
have
to
tell
him
that.
“Besides, you don’t know me well enough to even begin to guess my motives for marrying anyone. If you’d stop and think for a second, you’d realize you don’t know me at all.”

“That’s not my fault,” he countered. “I’ve been trying to get to know you better ever since you moved into the district. Just when I thought we might be getting somewhere, that damned Zetithian got in the way.”

Sara forced out a chuckle, hoping to mask her growing irritation. “Actually, I think it was more Danuban’s fault than Jerden’s. If he hadn’t run off, Jerden and I might never have met.”

Nate’s eyes widened like he’d been sucker punched, leading Sara to suspect this idea hadn’t occurred to him. Despite seeming momentarily stunned, he recovered quickly. “I still think you’re making a mistake—”

Sara cut him off with a wave of her hand. “No, I’m not. I’m sure there are all kinds of good, sensible reasons to choose you, but there are more for marrying him.”
For
one
thing, he doesn’t scare the bejesus out of me.

“Be that as it may, I still think you’ll regret it. He’s not the right man for you.”

And
you
are?
Sara laughed grimly. “Possibly. But if he isn’t the right man, he’s the next best thing.”

“So, I finish second, then.” His words didn’t quite match his demeanor, which was
not
that of a man conceding defeat. Clearly the mere announcement of her engagement to Jerden hadn’t been enough to deter him—though just
why
it wasn’t was difficult to understand. It wasn’t as though he’d sworn his undying love for
her
, either.

No matter how true it might be, Sara knew that a flat-out
You’re not even in the running
would be needlessly cruel. Nevertheless, something had to be said. Heart pounding, she took a deep breath and pictured Jerden standing beside her—feet planted, arms crossed, and fangs bared as he snarled at his rival. The mere thought sent a flood of courage coursing through her bloodstream. Lifting her chin, she looked him right in the eyes. “Yes, I guess you do.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll believe it when I see it,” he said.

“We’ll be sure to invite you to the wedding.”

He seemed about to say more, but his grimace of disgust heralded Reutal’s approach even before she heard the determined slap of the Norludian’s footsteps behind her. Picturing his fierce glare and pugnacious posture had Sara bowing her head as she bit back a smile, not daring to risk another glance at Nate. Her subsequent peal of laughter was bound to piss him off even more.

“See you later, Sara.” Turning on his heel, Nate stomped over to his speeder and climbed in it, firing up the engine.

“
Please
tell me we’ve seen the last of that son of a bitch,” Reutal muttered as he appeared at her side.

Sara stared off into the distance, watching as the dust settled in the speeder’s wake. “You know,” she said slowly. “I believe we may have.”

“Good.” Reutal didn’t even bother
trying
to sound diplomatic. “I never
could
stand that asshole.”

“Kiss me, Jerden.”

He leaned closer—so close he could feel her breath on his lips. “What did you say?”

“I said, kiss me.” Her sigh trailed off as his fingertips grazed her nipple. “I love your kisses. They make me feel… I don’t know… different somehow.”

Darkness had fallen and Jerden was back in Sara’s bed.
His
bed, now. He was never going back to his house again—not unless she was with him.

The plans were all made and a date had been set for the wedding. Dax would bring Onca from Rhylos, and Jack would pick up Sara’s family from Earth. Tarq and Lucy were coming from Nimbaza, and Bonnie and Lynx were bringing all the kids. The other neighbors were invited, including Salan and Nate—following the old adage to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Not that they were truly enemies—quite harmless, really—and certainly not an impediment to the marriage. Sara had told Jerden about Nate’s visit that afternoon, and although he wished he’d been there to rip Nate a new one, Jerden was very proud of the way she’d stood up for herself. Hopefully, they’d finally heard the last from him. Jerden still retained an uneasy feeling about the woman he’d seen in the square, but Sara was probably right. The odds against her being Audrey’s killer were astronomical.

The touch of Sara’s hand drew his attention back to the present. He had no business thinking about Audrey or her murderer or anyone else at the moment. Not when Sara was there with him, her scent luring him to her, her soft skin begging for his caress. Her kisses made him feel different too. He’d never felt quite like this with any other woman. If nothing else, that should’ve told him she was the one.

Not that he’d ever doubted it. As his lips touched hers and the kiss deepened, her lips parted with a welcome so warm it sent the heat of her passion rushing to his groin. He was astonished at how easily she’d become accustomed to his body. Even now, her hands drifted down to the cock that had been craving her touch the whole day through. A purr escaped him as her fingertips traced the rim of the head—teasing, stroking—until her hand was slick with his syrupy fluid.

“Do you have any idea what that does to me?” he asked.

“I think so. You make more noise when I do that—but perhaps you’d like something different.”

“Doesn’t matter what you do, Sara. As long as you’re the one doing it.”

He could hear her smile in her reply. “But you adore being sucked. You said so.”

“Yes, I did. And I do. But that’s up to you.”

“I’ll try it, then.”

Without another word, she slid down beside him, leaving a path of kisses from his chest to his groin. “As I recall, you taste pretty good.”

“So do you.”

“Ah, but not right now. It’s
my
turn.”

In the next instant, she opened her mouth and took him in, displaying no hesitation whatsoever and certainly no aversion. He could see her in the darkness, her luminous skin calling to him, her eyes heavy-lidded with desire, and the curve of her lips on the crown of his cock.
I’m lying flat on my back and Sara is sucking my dick.
It didn’t get any better than that.

Well, perhaps it could, but at the moment, it was perfect. Her tongue delved between the fleshy points of the coronal ridge, sending fresh spurts of orgasmic fluid into her mouth. She savored him slowly, and though her body occasionally contracted in climax, she didn’t let it stop her for an instant.

Shifting from his cock to his balls, she sucked them as easily as his cock. “I do believe you adore sucking me as much as I adore being sucked,” he said.

When she let go of his nuts, he wished he’d kept his mouth shut. “I absolutely love it. Actually, I haven’t done anything yet that I didn’t enjoy. Incredible, isn’t it?”

Jerden snickered. “Yeah, well, remember who you’re with, sweetheart.”

She slapped him on the thigh. “Don’t get cocky, now.”

“Hey, if it’ll make you smack my butt, I’ll make a point of being cocky—though I’d much rather you bit me.”

She rose up and sat back on her heels, eyeing him with suspicion. “You told me to slap the shit out of you if you ever hurt me. D’you mean to say you actually
like
it?”

Catching his lower lip in his fangs, he nodded. “Kinda kinky, huh?”

“Just a bit.” She gave her lips a tantalizing lick. “Roll over.”

He did as she asked, but he made sure his dick was still in reach. Spreading his legs wide, he aimed it toward the foot of the bed, hoping she’d take the bait.

His balls clenched as she climbed over him to settle between his legs, resting her arms on the back of his thighs. Jerden bit back a chuckle that turned into a groan as she nibbled his buns. She backed off for a second, and he held his breath waiting for her to strike.

“Ohh…
yeah
.”

She’d chosen the perfect spot, the lowest part of the muscle, just above where his legs met his butt. The pain shot through him like a lightning bolt and his cock pulsed, forcing even more syrup onto the sheets. He’d never been able to understand why it had that effect; he only knew that it did.

A stinging slap sent another flood of heat to his groin. His cock already felt like it was going to explode, but knowing he could keep pumping out
snard
all night made him urge her on. Growling, he shook his ass at her.

“More.”

When she hit him again, it occurred to him that there was an assortment of long, slender dressage whips out in the tack room.
There
might
even
be
one
in
the
house…

Quivering with excitement, he rose up on his elbows and shot a scorching glance over his shoulder. “If your hand hurts, you could always use something else.”

She gulped, her voice a hoarse whisper. “You mean a whip?”

He nodded slowly. “I’ll even run out to the barn and get one for you.”

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, but what was most astonishing was that she appeared to have an orgasm—triggered by what he’d said, rather than by any of his orgasmic body fluids.

“I—I’ve got one in the closet. It’s the one I use in competition—show equipment never goes
near
the barn. It’s the only way to keep it clean.”

“I promise not to get it dirty,” he said with a wink.

She pointed at the closet. “Top shelf. In a box with the other show stuff.”

Jerden got up on his hands and knees and turned around. Purring, he crawled toward her, pausing to plant a heated kiss on her lips before climbing off the bed. His dick was dripping like a faucet, the fluid running down his thigh as he quickly found the right box and opened it. The long, tasseled whip was inside, along with assorted cuff links, tie pins, and white leather gloves.

The whip itself was exciting enough, but his breath went out with a hiss when he discovered the spurs.

As she’d always worn spurs while riding, he’d never given them a second thought. But now, the idea of fucking her while she spurred him on almost made him lose it right there in front of the closet. Their long neck and rounded tip would apply more pressure than anything, but he liked that too.

He held up the spurs. “These are incredibly sexy.”

“You astonish me,” she said drily. “I’ve been riding horses all my life, never dreaming that whips and spurs could be so hot.”

Actually, it was more the thought of
Sara
using them on him than anything inherently sexy about the items themselves. He tossed her the whip. “
You’re
what makes them so exciting.”

***

Sara caught the whip on the fly and watched as Jerden came toward her with a smirk that was far sexier than whips or spurs could ever be.

The spurs dangled from his finger. “Lie back and I’ll put these on you real quick.”

If he’d asked her to put them on
him
, she might’ve balked, but since it was she who would be wearing them, Sara did as he asked. Picking up her foot, he placed the loop of the strap in her instep and buckled the spur around her ankle. Once he had her properly outfitted, he stood back, surveying his handiwork. The fire in his eyes cast a glow over the rest of his tightly coiled body, highlighting his drooling cock, which twitched like a cat’s lashing tail. Sara had a sneaking suspicion that the “wildcat” was about to pounce.

She waved the whip. “Ah, ah, ah,” she warned. “No rough stuff—at least, not
yet
.” With a wink, she crooked a finger at him.

He was on her in seconds—purring, growling, snarling—his cock penetrating her with unerring accuracy. It wasn’t until her second orgasm that she remembered she was supposed to be using the whip and spurs. So far, she hadn’t needed to, because, within moments, his back arched and his semen blasted into her.

“Now,” he groaned. “Do it
now
.”

Sara could barely raise her legs, but somehow summoned up the strength to bounce both spurs off his ass.

The results were instantaneous. With a feral growl, his pupils dilated until they were completely round and so bright it was a wonder they didn’t set fire to everything touched by his gaze. His hair swung forward as he bucked into her like a wild bull, the long tendrils sweeping over her skin in thrilling waves, leaving behind a trail of heightened sensitivity.

The peaceful
laetralance
that should have followed his ejaculation never materialized. Instead, Sara’s vision blurred as though a veil had been draped over her eyes, becoming crystalline as the veil shattered into a million glittering fragments. Incredible pulses of intense pleasure accompanied every plunge, each one surpassed by the next as though the effects were cumulative.

Unable to take much more, Sara raised the whip, thinking if she smacked him with it, he’d stop. Why she thought that, she didn’t know, but she tried it anyway.

Wrong
move, Sara.

Jerden hissed like an angry cat and climaxed again, his
snard
setting off a chain reaction that culminated in a cataclysmic internal explosion that seemed to lift her right off the bed.

Okay, so it was the right move after all…

Granted, Sara’s experience with orgasms wasn’t extensive, but this went so far beyond orgasmic as to be something else entirely. She wondered if there was a Zetithian word for it—something along the lines of nirvana, only better…

Her mind drifted through space, afloat on a surging wave of joy. Jerden still moved inside her, but it felt different now—peaceful and serene rather than ecstatic. It seemed odd that he didn’t stop, not when the whole of her being was wrapped around him so snugly. Surely he’d had enough…

Then she realized that her being wasn’t the only thing wrapped around him. Her legs had crossed over his back, catching the neck of one spur in the strap of the other, allowing her heel—and also the spur—to bump him in the butt with each thrust of his hips. She straightened her knee, releasing the spur, and her legs slithered to the bed.

Jerden collapsed on her with a heavy sigh. “Oh, Sara, that was
so
amazing.”

“It was accidental,” she said with a chuckle. “My spurs got locked together.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he murmured. “Still good.” He rolled off her, sprawling across the sheets. “You should always wear spurs to bed.”

“No way I could take
that
every night,” she declared. “I’m surprised I can still think.”

Sara heard him yawn. “You might have trouble getting me out of bed in the morning too.” He yawned again. “I feel like I could sleep for a month.”

“Don’t worry. I can get you out of bed. Remember, I’ve got a whip—or, barring that, an omelet for breakfast.”

“With bacon and cheese?” He sounded slightly more alert.

“Sure.”

He combed an errant strand of hair from his face. “Better make it a big one. Probably best not to use the whip, though. You
know
what it does to me.”

“I certainly do.” She shifted slightly, noting a drag of her heel on the sheets. “Think you could take off my spurs?”

“Yeah. Give me a minute.”

But in much less than a minute, he was fast asleep. Sara sat up, unbuckled the spurs, and tossed them on the floor. Pulling the blanket up over Jerden, she snuggled in beside him. Within moments, she’d followed his lead, falling into a deep, satisfying slumber.

***

A week later, Sara leaned over the paddock fence, watching Danuban as he grazed. The setting sun added golden highlights to the stallion’s coat, but even Jerden could see that he’d lost weight.

“He looks much better,” she said after a few moments of careful scrutiny. “But I doubt he’ll ever be capable of performing the capriole again.” She frowned. “Not that he needs to, but damn, he was spectacular. I never showed you the video, did I?”

Jerden shook his head. “No, you didn’t.” With a suggestive lift of his brow, he added, “We’ve been too…
busy
.”

Sara nodded. “Amen to that.”

Jerden had spent several days scouring his land for juluva weed, and by the time he was sure he’d dug up all of it, it had found its way into his dreams. Even so, he considered it well worth the effort. He was taking no chances that the stallion would ever ingest any of the toxic plant again, but by the time he returned home in the evenings, he and Sara were too exhausted to do anything but have dinner with the crew and then head straight to bed.

They hadn’t fallen asleep immediately, of course. Each night with Sara held new surprises, whether Jerden had fucked a thousand different women or not. The whip and spurs event would remain forever etched in his memory, but there were others that were every bit as memorable.

Sara had gone from a woman with seemingly no desire to one who wanted him constantly—at least, that was what her scent told him. She was making up for lost time, and he was more than willing to accommodate her. Drawing in a breath, he could sense her need for him as her scent was carried to him on the wind. The astonishing thing was that he had already noted differences in her scent and was sorting and cataloging them according to what happened next. Of course, just when he thought he had her pegged, she stunned him again.