His Purrfect Mate

  Rave lifted his large body up and gripped the log to peer over the other side. He growled. “Anton, what the hell are you doing?”

  The cold, wet nose jerked away from her body and she relaxed, knowing it had been Anton touching her intimately. His brother lowered his face level with her and met her gaze. She avoided glancing at his groin. The guy wasn’t wearing anything but blood on his skin. His fingers gripped the collar.

  “Sorry. My brother just wanted to make sure none of those pride males raped you. I’ll assume they didn’t since he’s not going nuts.” He cocked his head to peer behind her. “He’s changing back now. Give him a minute to get back into skin. Let’s get this collar off you.”

  His touch made her hurt worse. She squeezed her eyes closed and took shallow breaths. Desire shot through her to the point that she had to clench her teeth not to moan at just the brush of his fingers pressed between her throat and the leather to unfasten it. The heavy weight dropped away and new hands gripped her hips. She started, her eyes flying open.

  “It’s Anton.” Rave frowned at her, sniffed, and then paled. “Fuck.” He fell on his ass to get away from her.

  “What did they do to you?” Anton’s voice scared her. He snarled when he spoke.

  She turned her head now that she could. Rage gripped his features—his fangs still out, and deadly. Blood was smeared all over his body. The hold on her hips tightened.

  “They turned you on?” He started to breathe faster—panting—and his eyes shifted enough to wolf. “Are you sorry I showed up? Did I interrupt a party?”

  Shock and hurt lanced through her. Her lips parted but nothing came out.

  “Damn it, Anton,” a man snarled. “Does she look willing? They have her tied down. See the ropes? Move!”

  A stranger grabbed Anton’s shoulder and pushed him aside. Shannon realized the guy had to be related, with his black hair and similar features. His eyes were more of a light brown though. He hesitated.

  “It’s okay. I’m Brand Harris. I’m their cousin. I’m going to get you free. He doesn’t understand what’s happened to you. I’ll try like hell to avoid touching your skin. I know you’ve got to be hurting pretty bad and touch makes it worse.” His nose flared and he softly groaned. “You’re in full heat.”

  Anton suddenly lunged, almost stepped on Shannon’s leg to put his body between her and his cousin. “Don’t touch Shannon! Think I don’t see how you react to her? Jesus. That’s my woman you’re sporting wood over!”

  “Damn it, Anton! I’m not going to mount her. I’m just reacting. I’ve got a pulse. She’s in the most intense stage of heat. I told you I used to live with one of her kind. It’s not her fault that she’s aroused this strongly. It’s got nothing to do with what they planned to do to her. It’s biology. She can’t help what her body is doing. Any touch is going to be hell. Just untie her if you won’t let me do it. She’s going to be super sensitive at the slightest…hell. You don’t know anything about what she’s going through, do you?”

  “No,” Anton growled. “I know you want to fuck her.”

  “I can’t help reacting to her scent.”

  Someone cleared his throat. “If you need any help tending to her, Anton, I’m offering. Damn, she’s affecting me too. I thought our women smelled good.”

  Anton spun to glare at Rave. “You touch her and I’ll kill you,” he snarled. “And fuck you for getting a boner. She’s mine.”

  “She won’t be if we don’t get the hell out of here,” one of the others argued. “I’m sporting wood too. Don’t yell at me. It’s a physical reaction, Anton. We aren’t going to try to mount her. We need to leave before the two who escaped return with reinforcements. I’m sure you’d rather fuck her than fight off more who want to take her from you.”

  Anton’s hands worked the ropes free. She clenched her teeth not to moan when his fingers brushed her skin. She refused to look at him, humiliated by her body’s reaction, the discussion she’d listened to, and the fact that it seemed that every male in Anton’s family had an erection over her scent. They’d also seen her naked and spread-eagle.

  When he freed her legs, she clamped her thighs together and clutched the torn shirt over her breasts. She wanted to curl into a ball, hide her body as best she could, and cry. The pain staggered her now—sharp stabs of fire—and she couldn’t manage to get to her feet.

  “Shannon?” Anton’s voice softened. “Look at me.”

  She refused. She focused on the ground instead. He softly cursed and his hands gripped her hips. The touch made her cry out and she threw herself forward and hit the log hard enough to scrap her skin. She huddled against it.

  “You’re such a jerk,” Brand muttered. “They were going to rape her and you think she wanted it just because her body is in heat. Move out of the way and I’ll carry her.”

  “You touch her and I’ll tear your head off!” Anton threatened with a snarl.

  Someone crouched behind her close enough that she could smell him. It made her whimper. Her body burned and her breasts tightened until her nipples throbbed. She pressed tighter against the log, the rough bark better than having one of them touching her.

  “I’m sorry,” Anton rasped softly. “I was out of my head, okay? Rave told me what they do to unmated half-breed females, how they use them to carry their young, and I didn’t think I’d reach you in time. I know that you didn’t want them. I’m going to pick you up. We have a van about a mile from here. We need to get you back to pack territory before more of those pride males show up. I can protect you better there.”

  “I’ll walk,” she whispered.

  “Damn,” he ground out harshly. “You aren’t in any condition to walk. Don’t fight me.”

  He jerked her away from the log and scooped her up in his arms. Her back arched and she hissed. His warm body drew her, though, and she turned into him, pressed tightly against him, and buried her face against his skin. His masculine scent made her moan and twist within his hold. Her hands gripped his shoulder and chest, her fingers kneading his skin frantically.

  “We need to go,” he muttered. “Let’s hurry. If I see anyone staring at her body, it will be the last thing you ever look at.”

  The jarring motion of him jogging with her cradled against his body made her writhe in his arms. Sexual desire fogged her brain. She made soft crying sounds she couldn’t stop from passing her lips and sometimes a rumble would vibrate in her chest. It was almost a whining. She hated being out of control, and the fact that there were witnesses made it worse.

  “Get the door,” Anton ordered. “Brand, you drive to stay as far from her as you can get.”

  “I’m not going to try to fuck her!” the cousin snapped. “It’s just physical. You’re aroused too. We all are.”

  He nearly crushed her when he ducked down to move inside the van. He gently placed her on a cool leather seat and then dropped down next to her. She turned away from him toward the window, huddled on the seat with her knees drawn up, and kept her back to him. She sat on the back bench seat of an extended travel van with tinted windows. The other guys climbed inside and the van doors slammed closed.

  “We’ll dress later,” someone announced. “I know I can’t put my jeans on in this state. My zipper might catch skin even if I could shove my dick inside enough to attempt to get them closed. Roll down the windows, Brand. Turn on the air conditioning too. Now I can taste her. Why the hell didn’t anyone ever tell me that’s how they smelled in heat? I would have hooked up with one long ago.”

  Anton snarled. “Silence, Braden. Someone toss me a shirt to cover her with. She’s trembling.”

  The van engine started and the vehicle rolled forward. Shannon slid into a big, warm Anton when Brand made a sharp U-turn on the narrow two-lane road. Just brushing up against Anton made her hotter. She fought the urge to stay there. She tried to pull away but then he wrapped an arm around her waist to secure her at his side.

  “Here’s a shirt. Let’s put this on you.”
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  She moaned. The heavy weight of his arm just under her breasts made her arch and her hand gripped his bare leg, rubbed it frantically, and then clutched his inner thigh. Anton groaned in response, yanked his arm from her, and shoved the shirt over her head to pull it down her body.

  “Damn,” Anton rasped. “You’re on fire, aren’t you, kitten?”

  She nodded and tears filled her eyes. She wanted him now, needed him, and knew if she followed her instincts, she’d beg him to take her inside a van with his family watching. She’d never recover from the horror of it. She wasn’t the type. She’d known women who had sex in public and hadn’t ever understood why they’d do something that awful. She’d never been in heat before though.

  She turned her head and met his concerned gaze. “Not in front of them. Please? Don’t let me. I―” She choked on a sob. “Please?”

  Anton had never felt so helpless in his entire life—or like such a complete asshole. He’d screwed up big time when he’d accused her of wanting to be fucked by the pride males who’d kidnapped her. He’d been shocked and then enraged when he’d realized how sexually excited she’d been while tied to that log. Seeing her restrained and her body displayed, totally exposed to all the males who’d stared at her pussy, had sent him into a jealous rage.

  He knew mating heat affected his kind, made a male mindless to fuck at times, but it seemed cats ended up with a worse deal. A female werewolf would only want the male who’d marked her. She’d fight to the death if another male tried to mount her. The touch of another male wouldn’t feel good. It would grate on her nerves to the point of pain. Shannon wasn’t a werewolf.

  The hand on his leg tightened and tears spilled down her face. It assured him of the hellish situation she experienced. He could smell her lust, see the desperation in her gaze, and understood what she’d tried to say to him. She was losing control, the heat overtaking her ability to think, but she would be mortified later if he took her in front of others.

  “As soon as we hit our territory, pull over,” Anton demanded loudly. “How far?”

  “Ten miles.” Brand cursed. “Is she going to make it? Charma, the human, half spotted leopard I dated, used to just about lose her mind. If she even started to scent of going into heat, I’d stay home with her. I was always terrified she’d go into heat when I wasn’t there. It would get so bad that she probably would have attacked any male she came into contact with. The mailman would have been in for a hell of a surprise. I would have murdered the bastard if that ever happened.”

  Shannon cried more, a look of pure horror on her features at hearing that news. It pissed him off.

  “Shut up, Brand.”

  “Sorry.” The engine grew louder when he punched the gas. “I’m breaking every speed limit.”

  Anton groaned when Shannon leaned into him, rubbing up against his chest, and his dick turned to stone. The smell of her drove his mating heat into full-blown lust. He wanted to shove her flat on the seat and drive into her, balls deep. His hands gripped her hips, locking her into place where she sat, and then she started to purr. She nipped at his chest with her teeth. It sent a jolt straight to his cock.

  Rave turned his head to gawk at Anton. “The sound of her purring is really sexy.”

  “Turn around, damn it. How are we doing, Brand?” He glared at his brother until he followed his order.

  “I’m doing seventy. It would be really bad if a cop pulled us over. I doubt he’d understand why five guys are naked with a chick who’s in her condition.”

  “Just take her,” Von urged, turning in his seat. “How can you not? I want to climb back there and do her if you won’t. It’s torture hearing her agony.”

  Anton made a vicious sound. “Turn around!”

  Von muttered an oath but faced the front. Anton watched his brothers to make sure they didn’t glance at Shannon and tried to fight the urge to fuck her, regardless of where they were. He knew it would make her hate him. He needed to be strong for both of them. That became more difficult when she clutched at his arms, kneading his skin and whimpering.

  “Please,” she begged. “It hurts so much.”

  “We’re almost there. Just hold on to me.”

  She tried to move, her intention to straddle him clear, and he snarled at her. He hoped her instincts would make fear override her lust. Her head jerked up to peer at him, her lovely eyes filled with such pain that he felt like an even bigger bastard.

  “Almost there. Just a few more minutes.”

  She lowered her face and pressed it back against his chest. Her teeth and tongue tormented him as she spread desperate, wet kisses over his skin. She purred louder, her entire body vibrating, and frantically stroked her body against his where they touched. His balls drew up tight and his cock pulsated painfully. If she kept it up, combined with her scent, he feared he’d embarrass himself by coming without ever entering her.

  “Almost there,” Brand promised again.

  “Just pull off the road so no one can see the van and then take a hike. Guard us from a distance.” He had to take a breath to calm down enough so they could understand his words. Talking became difficult. “Backs to the van. Understand me?”

  “You don’t want us watching.” Von sighed. “Got it, bro. You’re very protective of her.”

  “She’s mine,” Anton announced.

  Braden turned in his seat. “You love her, don’t you?”

  Anton glared at him. “Now is not the time to discuss this.”

  “She’s part cat. If our enforcers aren’t in time to find and warn Dad, and Mom kills him, you’re our new alpha. You can’t mate her, Anton. It would tear the pack apart.”

  Von answered before Anton could. “Enough, Braden. That’s secondary. If he loves her, we’ll find a way to make it work for the pack. If they won’t accept her then I’ll step up to the plate, but you never ask a brother to give up a woman he loves.”

  “You don’t want to lead the pack,” Braden argued. “You always say it’s a shit job and there isn’t any reason you’d do it.”

  “That was before Anton fell for her.” He blew out a deep breath. “I’ll take the hit if he wants to mate her. His happiness is the most important thing.”

  “Thank you,” Anton whispered.

  Von glanced at him and then Shannon, then back at Anton. “I knew how you felt when you wanted us to declare war on a pride by going after her. There will be repercussions down the road. We killed some of their males.”

  “They stole her from me.”

  “Actually, Mom gave her to them,” Rave stated. “I knew she could be cruel but this is beyond forgivable. She knew you’d marked your woman, realized the hell you’d suffer if you lost her, put your life in danger, but didn’t give a damn. She put all of our lives at risk.”

  “We’re here!” Brand yelled. “Hang on.” He barely hit the brakes before they left the road.

  Anton grabbed hold of Shannon tightly and the seat in front of him to keep them in place. Brand pulled far from the road, parked the van behind some trees, and killed the engine.

  “We’ll be guarding you from afar,” Rave swore, meeting Anton’s gaze. “We won’t spy. As you said, she’s yours. We respect that.”

  Rave shot a warning glare at the brothers as they bailed out of the van. He grabbed the men’s pants out of their pile of clothes before the doors slammed shut. Anton watched them go until they moved out of sight. He turned to deal with Shannon.

  “We’re alone.”

  He pushed her onto her back on the bench seat, startled when she gasped, and his hands gripped her thighs. He salivated at the sight of her hot, swollen pussy dripping with her desire. He slid off the seat to his knees, cursed the tight fit between the seats as he shoved his ass against the back of the other bench seat and lowered his face.

  “I’m dying too.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Shannon clawed at the back of the seat with one hand while gripping the edge of it at her side with the other, ju
st to keep down when Anton suddenly shoved her onto her back. He spread her legs wide and, to help him, she lifted the leg against the seat to rest it along the top edge.

  “I’m going to make it all better,” he snarled a second before his tongue licked a wide path up her slit to her clit.

  The contact made her cry out. Her entire pussy throbbed painfully. She threw her head back when his mouth fastened around her clit and he sucked. She came with a scream at just the sensation of it. The climax tore through her brutally but the pain remained.

  Anton didn’t stop. His tongue slid across the engorged bud over and over until she came again.

  He released her clit and his tongue started to push inside her pussy. He snarled and jerked back. “You’re so swollen I can’t get in.” He replaced a finger where his mouth had been, pressed against her, and she screamed when he wiggled inside her tight channel. He froze.

  “Don’t stop. I need you,” she panted. “It feels good.”

  He worked his finger in deeper, filling the void that had her hurting the most, and she trembled. She needed more, faster, harder, but couldn’t form words as he started to slowly slide his finger in and out of her. Her hips moved to arch against him. She had no control of her body and couldn’t stop the noises coming from her, which normally would have frightened her. She growled and made mewling sounds.

  He added another finger, stretched her, and she came again. The pleasure terrified her, the sensations too intense, but the need remained no matter how often he brought her to climax. Just pumping his fingers inside her wasn’t enough. She needed more.

  “Anton,” she begged.

  “I don’t have condoms.” His voice had turned scary deep, more of a snarl than words.

  Her eyes opened and she stared at his face. He’d partially changed. His fangs were out, the shape of his eyes narrow, and he had more facial hair than normal but he still looked mostly human. Her hand released the side of the seat to grip his forearm.