The Lion's Arranged Mate: A Paranormal Lion Shifter Romance Page 4
“It was all I could do not to cum all over the back of your jeans,” she said shyly, “and… and I kind of liked it. It was weird. Just… being close to someone like that. And having myself stimulated…”
He smiled and kissed her again, and her breath filled his mouth. He brought a hand down and gently stroked her labia again, moving a finger between the sticky folds and causing her to press herself against him further as she tilted her head back.
“That’s… the spot…,” she murmured.
“You’re remarkable,” he said, holding her close and tracing circles around her swollen clitoris.
“…how… unnnnh, how so?” she asked, her fingers clenching on his arm again, and her hips butting against his finger, asking to be satiated.
“How many orgasms are in you?” he whispered into her ear.
She grinned, her eyes still closed. “I… I might make it… four or five, if you… just… don’t stop,” she cried, “god, don’t stop… until I come. Put your fingers in deeper.”
Alan kissed her neck and inserted his finger, felt her vagina tighten around it as he fucked her again, still not sure what to make of this new woman in his life. She was everything he wasn’t, and yet there was something so unassailably attractive about her that he couldn’t help but be bewitched.
God, she’s tireless, he thought, working her toward another climax.
CHAPTER FOUR
The next morning found the two lovers curled into each other on the couch with sunlight slanting in through the window. Alan woke first, and ran his fingers down Anastasia’s thigh, over the lip of her waist, tickling her ribcage until she shivered and opened her eyes demurely. Her red hair caught the light and refracted it back, even redder.
“Hey you,” he said.
“Hey you,” she replied, and put her hand on his chest. “I guess… I guess we’re pretty well married now, aren’t we?” There was nervousness in her voice, and it didn’t suit her - she had been out of her element for almost a week, but she still exercised an incredible confidence. Now, the bottom of her voice had fallen out.
He drew an arc above her forehead with his finger. “I think that would be a safe assumption,” he kissed her on the nose and rolled out of bed, his naked muscular thighs still glinting dark and tanned as he made his way to the small kitchenette. “So, as my first act as husband, I’ll make us something to eat. Any preferences?”
“You’re very good at reversing gender roles.” She grinned, pulling the thin blanket on the back of the couch over her sloping breasts. “Anything you like. Let’s make it small… I want to try something later.”
“Something to do with food?” Alan asked innocently enough.
“Mmm, more or less,” she smiled.
Alan went through the motions and made them a couple of eggs each in a large cast iron frying pan, and then proceeded to make the coffee. He wasn’t a snob about most things, but coffee was something he took very seriously. He had brought with them fresh beans and a grinder, as well as individual filters – if Anastasia was single-minded about overcoming each and every challenge he gave her, he was equally committed to a few select tasks.
Making a killer café au lait was one of them. Anastasia dropped the blanket back on the chair and crept up behind him, winding her hands up under his armpits and stroking his naked chest, even as she pressed her breasts into his back. The dip of her waist rubbed against his buttocks, and he felt the scrape of her pubic hair. For a moment, he held the coffee grinder in one hand and a cup in the other and seemed confused.
“I’m not… distracting you too much, am I?” she whispered against his ear.
“Er, obviously not,” he lied, “I can… easily make coffee without being distracted by a beautiful naked woman pressing her body against me.”
Anastasia kissed his back and moved her hands down his waist, jutting her pelvis against his buttocks again in a playful gesture. “He thinks I’m beautiful,” she said out loud to no one, and he made a sucking sound with his teeth. “Fine! I’ll let you make me coffee…” she relented, tumbling backwards over the couch again where she splayed her nakedness in front of the dead fireplace.
After they’d eaten, they both wandered outside, still naked. They were far enough from any prying eyes that they’d both wordlessly taken it for granted, and clothes hadn’t even entered their mind. As they greeted the sun and Anastasia sunk her feet into the warm grass, he merely watched, taking in the sight of her frolicking across the alpine. If Cameron could see us now, he’d go green with envy, Alan thought, and then wondered how his brothers were getting along with their brides-to-be.
Anastasia called out to him, waving him toward the lake. He ran after her, enjoying the feel of the grass under his feet. Up ahead, she turned suddenly and stepped down toward the icy shore of the lake, dipping her toe into it.
“Fresh from the glacier,” he said behind her, “what do you say? Do you want to head up the ridge?”
In answer, she bent low and dipped her hands into the pond, craning her back. Her change was fluid and seamless as the flesh gave way and a heavy mat of grey fur began to sprout from her. It was like watching a time-lapse as the smooth pelt expanded down over her arms and legs, and the faint sound of flesh stretching and bone rearranging sounded in the air.
In moments, a tall dire wolf was standing with all four paws in the water and looking back up at him with an inviting glance. He smiled and made his own transformation, although it wasn’t quite as practiced. His long swooping tail extended out behind him and a halo of soft fur extended in a fierce mane.
Anastasia broke into a run first, ploughing through the shallow water at her ankles and making for the narrow line of scree that wandered up the main rocky slope behind. With a playful growl, Alan took after her, his huge strides covering massive distances on the soft marshland, but as the terrain became steeper, it was clear that Anastasia had the advantage.
She seemed to follow some unseen path, magnetically drawn upward, her large canine ears always craned behind her to gauge how far away he was. When Alan finally reached the top of the bluffs and dipped down the other side, he found her sitting on her haunches next to another glacial kettle lake, her tail wagging ferociously and her head cocked.
Alan slowed down to a trot as he approached and she nuzzled her head against his. His purr was almost deafening, and physically shook her as she continued to lean into him. Then with a playful lick, he jumped past her and swatted the pool, causing a frigid wave of water to soak her thoroughly. Even in wolf-form, there was a moment when her expression was aghast, quickly followed by a determination to get even. Alan didn’t have any time to react before she’d pounced on him, and dunked his own great yellow head below the surface of the lake.
The whole afternoon they spent in their true forms, wrestling and wandering and lying on the soft alpine tufts of matted grass, and the sun was only just beginning to descend as they slowly, hesitantly, made their way back down the scree trail where the small black shape of the cabin waited for them. As they neared it, however, Anastasia suddenly stopped, and lowered her head, her lupine eyes fixed on the structure. Alan noticed her out of the corner of his eye, and lifted his own head to try and discern what it was that alarmed her.
She crouched lower, shuffling out of her wolf form until a supple naked woman was lying on the grass instead. Her expression was even more tempered now, a mingled fear and surprise bordering on dread. Alan huddled down on his paws and changed back as well, edging closer.
“What is it?” he asked in a hushed whisper. She was still staring straight ahead.
“I’m… I’m so sorry, Alan, I… I should have told you.”
“Told me what?” he hissed, his beard scratching the low grass. “What’s going on? Did you see something?”
“They’re here,” she murmured in a low perilous voice. “I don’t know how, but they found me. They’re here to take me back. Oh, Alan… I’m sorry…”
“Sorry for wh-”
Reluctantly, Anastasia sighed and stood up, and Alan did the same, his gaze circulating back and forth between the red haired woman and the mysterious strangers who had arrived at the cabin. He took her lead as she walked carefully toward them, unabashed by her own nakedness, her powerful slim thighs carrying her with a practiced grace and decorum.
As they neared, Alan saw that the stranger was a well-built man in his late thirties. He was dressed all in black, from his jeans to the extravagant vest that emphasized his strong hunter’s physique. The motley crew behind him seemed to have followed their leader’s example, and all hung back, looking very much like a restless gang of delinquents. There were two jeeps, both spray-painted a dark grey, beached on the open landing.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to find you naked,” the leader said, when Anastasia finally came to a stop in front of him, her long neck held high in a sort of formal courtesy, “but it took me longer to find you than I’d hoped. You didn’t make it easy.”
“I wasn’t trying to,” she said stiffly.
“And who’s this, then? He smells like a cat…”
Alan grimaced and his hands flexed into fists, but he held his ground.
“Leave him out of this,” Anastasia flashed, and her eyes became dangerous arrowheads, “and you can take your little pack of mongrels and leave as well, Elias. I’m not going back with you. I was granted secession by the Council… unless you’re thinking of defying them?”
The dark faced man named Elias seemed taken aback for a moment by her threat, but the jeering crowd behind him bolstered his courage and he grinned it off. “You were promised to me, Anna. Pack law overrules any other law – even if they’d have us believe otherwise.”
Alan watched their exchange carefully and it finally dawned on him. This man Elias and his brood had the same brusqueness, same bare-bone mentality and straightforwardness of Anastasia, except that hers was refined. They’re Wolves, he realized. And a whole pack of them. He stepped forward presumptuously; saw the flicker of awareness trigger in Elias’ eyes. “I don’t know who you think you are, but Anastasia’s right about one thing… I think you should leave.”
“Do you know who I am, cat?” Elias snarled, irritated to be interrupted.
“Enlighten me,” he said in an even voice.
It was Anastasia who spoke up, her eyes never leaving Elias, as if she might be able to train them into his heart like daggers. “I didn’t want to tell you, Alan. It didn’t seem like there would ever be a need, and I thought… I thought I could move on from it,” she began. “In the Stormfang Cloud we have rigid codes of behavior, ancient laws. And one of those laws involves mating.”
“Don’t be so blasé about it, Anna,” Elias sneered, “call it like it is… marriage.”
Alan froze, the word cauterizing something in the back of his mind, and a pained look spread on Anastasia’s face as she accepted its condemnation.
“What are you telling me? You’re already married?”
“Not so much as the standard definition applies,” she said, “but I have been promised to another. The youngest daughter of the Pack leader is always bestowed on the Pack’s strongest warrior and hunter. It has always been this way.”
“You don’t mean…” Alan started to say, but Elias beat him to the punch.
“Anastasia is mine. She was promised to me,” he snarled, his anger rising, and a purple vein stood out on his forehead, “and the second an opportunity arose to try and run from her obligations, she took it!”
All eyes went to her again, and she seemed to cringe from it. Respectfully, Alan lowered his own eyes, wished there was a way to throw a curtain over her filial betrayal, or better yet a way to nullify it altogether. She was promised to another man, he thought again. He took a moment to size up Elias. He was strong, lean in the same way Cameron was lean, although his muscle seemed to have been the sort that was developed while in form – he’s made a life out of hunting, and it shows.
The mangy black hair was thick and greasy, but attractive in a smug sort of way. Behind him, the other men were getting restless again, kicking at the dirt under their feet or reaching for hidden items in their black pants. They look like goddamn Yakuza, he thought for a moment.
“I don’t understand,” Alan said, putting himself between Anastasia and Elias again, his own naked torso and abdomen still flexing with the remaining adrenaline of having run down the mountain. “I thought the Council arranged the marriages between the different clans in order to avert war. Why would they choose… someone who was already spoken for?”
His question was open-ended, and the way Elias’ lips shriveled into a scowl and Anastasia lowered her eyes, it wasn’t hard to guess.
“It was the only way to free myself from the Cloud’s obligation. I offered myself as a bride – the Council saw preventing civil war as an overruling priority to my own commitments,” she explained carefully, and lifted her chin again, but the steadfastness she had demonstrated earlier was gone.
“But why?” Alan said, and saw another pained look on her face and wished he hadn’t asked.
“Because she’s a coward,” Elias put his hand on his hips. “She’s always tried to evade me. When she saw this… this arrangement as an opportunity, she took it without thinking. Well, how is it working out, Anna? You traded one prison for another… at least with me you’re with your own kind.”
“You are not my kind,” she snapped, “and I would suffer anything to be away from you!
Something primal welled up in Elias’ eyes as he darted forward, his heavy black and polished boots skidding on the stones as he raised his hand toward her. It was one thing to have abandoned the Stormfang Cloud, scorned her responsibility to him, and taken off with a feline of all things. It was quite another thing to speak to him so seditiously and in front of his own pack.
Anastasia saw his open palm descending toward her and froze, her muscles tightening her into a statue, and she merely tilted her head to one side, awaiting the blow. She had earned this, hadn’t she? She had broken the covenant of her own people - she knew why. Elias was a monster, if ever there was one. He was blood, he was Pack, and as the daughter to the leader, she had bred into her the primeval institutions of the wolves.
You can hit me, Elias, but you cannot make me love you, she wanted to say, but it was enough to stand simply still, resolute against his anger. It said more than any words could. His hand never reached her. She opened her eyes slowly and saw the brute mass of Alan standing in front of her, could almost smell the sweat of his skin he was so close. His right arm was outstretched, and in it he was clutching Elias’ wrist.
The two men growled at each other, and Alan pushed him back lightly.
“Pussy-wretch!” Elias snarled, his knees bending low. The pack behind him, finally given the opportunity for action, crouched low as well, waiting for a command from their Alpha. “You think you can stand up against all of us? We’ll tear you apart.”
Alan had been in tight spots before. More than a few brawls where he’d been outnumbered like he was now. Whether or not it escalated into an all-out fight depended on the leader. If he acted, the rest would follow. Suddenly Anastasia burst forward, but he caught her by the arm. Her eyes said everything he was afraid to hear out loud.
Elias is too prideful. If you try to fight him, he’ll kill you. I can’t let that happen. Let me go with him. It’ll be all right. I’ll be all right.
“Bullshit,” he said, half to himself and half to Anastasia, and turned toward his enemy, “I can’t speak to her feelings,” he muttered, pushing his chest out, “but I know the Council’ edict. That is all I can act upon. According to the edi
ct, any previous rendezvous she had is nullified. You have no right to her.”
“Unless you’re dead,” Elias grinned.
Anastasia tried to push past Alan again but he held out his arm. “Please, don’t do this Alan… you don’t know what he’s capable of. I lied to you… I should have told you everything. This is my fault, please just let me go. I won’t have any more blood on my conscience. Especially not yours.”
He looked at her and quailed. She had become a child – the confident adult had disappeared, withered into this fragile naked girl who had made a desperate choice in an attempt to liberate herself from some archaic laws. She’d only found her way into another set of ancient guidelines and the arms of a shifter who was her opposite.
“It won’t come to that,” he said, and brushed her cheek.
Alan took in a deep breath, turned, and gave the Wolf a reviling look, as if he were witnessing some child’s angry temper tantrum. “Well, you’ve got me outnumbered, about seven to one. I’ve had worse odds, but I’m quite tired from climbing that mountain behind me. Still,” as he took another step forward, he saw a sliver of uncertainty creep into Elias’ posture, “if Anastasia doesn’t want to go with you, then she’s not going anywhere.”
Elias and the other Stormfangs were balanced on a knife-edge. A single breath would tip them to the left or right, and Alan knew his next words would determine the outcome.
“As for killing me,” he mused nonchalantly, “that may well be. I swear to god I’ll take at least three of you motherfuckers with me. Starting with you.” He pointed a long cruel finger at Elias, and the man paused, just long enough for Alan to register his fear.
The stand-off seemed to last for an interminably long time. Alan kept his eyes on Elias, knowing that the slightest twinge of muscle, the flicker of a finger or a shoulder, would be enough to elicit the movement of his black-attired friends. If that happened, he intended to make good on his promise. It was a strange thing, this moment before the storm – the way events hovered on the edge of happening. Behind him, he could hear Anastasia’s breath, carefully measured.