The Mane Event

  “Nope. I was one of the best.”

  “Yet who knew you were really a cat person at heart?”

  “I’m not. I just tolerate you because you have exceptional thighs.”

  Mace laughed. “So what happened with Baby?”

  Dez swallowed a mouthful of food. “I’d only been working her about two weeks or so. I was pretty terrified of her, but I didn’t want to tell my sergeant because I didn’t want him to think I was weak or something.” She shrugged again. “One night I was putting Baby up in her run, I took this chewed up old ball from her…and she didn’t seem to appreciate that much. Next thing I know, she had me by the arm and had dragged my ass into the run with her. Then I woke up in the hospital, covered in bandages.”

  “Jesus, Dez.”

  “It’s the risk you take being a dog handler. You’re gonna get bit.”

  “You were mauled.”

  “Samey-same, G.I.”

  “Did they put her down?”

  “Nope. They blamed me. They were going to give her to another handler, but I wouldn’t let ’em. I was determined to train her ass myself. The other handlers suggested I take her on a Nature Walk. I thought about it, but I just couldn’t.”

  “A Nature Walk?”

  “Don’t ask.” She took another bite and spoke around the food. “Anyway, when I was done, we were the tightest team out there. I could control her off-leash with hand signals alone. Of course, no one could get near me. She protected me like you wouldn’t believe.”

  Mace touched the faded scars again and goose bumps broke out over her flesh. “What happened to her?”

  “Typical military bullshit. They gave her to another handler. New C.O. hated me. Bad move, though.”

  “Why?”

  “The next handler…she took his hand. Literally.”

  “Charming.”

  “Baby was all about the charm.”

  He stared at the one-third left to her sandwich. “You done yet?”

  “God, you’re pushy. I forgot how pushy you are.”

  “No. That’s not pushy. But I can be pushy.” He took the rest of her sandwich and shoved it in his mouth. He chewed. Swallowed. “Now are you done?”

  Dez bit back a smile. Mace Llewellyn. Always a royal pain in the ass. Now her royal pain. So she might as well enjoy it—and him—while it lasted.

  Dez slid off the stool and stood in front of him. Gold and beautiful, the man could completely change his molecular structure with a thought. How cool is that?

  “I’m still hungry, Mace.”

  He sighed dramatically. “Fine. There’s a bag of chips on the counter.”

  Dez shook her head while she undid his belt buckle. “Not good enough. I need a little more protein than that.”

  Mace took a deep breath, watching her closely. “Oh.”

  “That the best you can do, Llewellyn?”

  “At the moment—yeah.”

  “I see.” Dez unzipped his pants. As she dropped to her knees, she dragged his black jeans with her, unleashing that enormous dick. With the tip of her tongue, she licked off the small bit of pre-come already glistening on the head.

  She glanced up. Mace had his arms stretched out across the counter, as if nailed to a cross. His eyes closed, his head leaning back. She smiled. Cocky bastard.

  “These jeans new?”

  His head snapped forward. “What?”

  Such urgency flooded his voice, it took all her strength not to bust out laughing. “I said are these jeans new? They look new.”

  He swallowed. “Um…yeah…got them this morning.”

  “Locally?”

  His fingers dug into the metal of her island countertop. Even his claws came out. “Yes.”

  “The sweater too?” She tugged on it. “It’s nice. I like it.”

  He glared down at her. “You’re killing me, Desiree.”

  “I know, baby.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I want you to ask me—nicely.”

  “I don’t ask.”

  “Cause you’re a Llewellyn?”

  “No. Cause I’m a cat.”

  “But I’m a—what was it? A dog person. And dogs beg for my attention. I want you to beg.”

  “I definitely don’t beg.”

  “You will if you want my mouth around your dick anytime this millennium.”

  Dez leaned forward and let her tongue swirl around the head. Once. She pulled away, her eyes locking with his, and licked her lips.

  With a deep and painful groan, Mace’s head fell back again. Dez stifled a laugh.

  “Ask me, Mace. Ask me nice.”

  There was a long pause, then she heard Mace’s gruff voice talking to the ceiling. “Please, Dez, for the love of all that’s holy—put my cock in your mouth and suck me as if your very life depended on it.”

  “See? That wasn’t so hard, now was it, baby?”

  Without waiting for him to answer, Dez opened her mouth and eased Mace’s huge dick in until the tip hit the very back of her throat. She closed her lips around the engorged flesh and sucked. Hard.

  Mace gave a catlike hiss, and Dez had the feeling her countertop was suffering some serious damage. Oh well. It came with the house.

  She pulled back until only the head rested in her mouth. She laved it with her tongue, then sucked on it. With a sigh of pure enjoyment, she deep throated him again. She didn’t know blow jobs could be so enjoyable. Her ex always made her feel like they were obligatory. The job requirement for being his wife.

  It didn’t feel that way with Mace, though. All she wanted from him at the moment was his pleasure. She stroked his dick with her mouth, sucking hard when she pulled back, licking when she went back down. She brought her hands up between his thighs and gently took hold of his balls. They were tight, and she knew he’d come soon. Normally, she’d pull away and finish him with her hand. But there was no way she was doing that. She wanted him to come in her mouth. She wanted to taste him in the back of her throat and know she brought him there.

  His hands tunneled through her hair. He tugged, forcing her to look up into his face. Without releasing her grip on his dick, she did. He stared at her as if seeing her for the first time. Then his eyes closed, his body tightened, and with a kind of scary, kind of sexy roar, he came. She sucked and swallowed until she drained him dry.

  Dez finally released her grip on his dick and that’s when he yanked her to her feet by her hair. Startled, she barked out a curse, but it got lost in his mouth as he crushed her in a brutal kiss that made her entire body ache. She knew he tasted himself in her mouth, but that seemed to only fuel his lust.

  Mace yanked the blanket off her body and pushed her toward the wall.

  “I swear, Dez. The things you do to me.”

  Even in the wildest, dirtiest dreams he used to have while trapped in his bathroom, he never imagined that Dez would be this hot, this willing, this wild. She was much more than he ever hoped for. And she belonged to him.

  Her hands moved along his shoulders and down his chest. Now that she knew he craved her affection, she never stopped touching him. Which is what he wanted. She pulled his sweater over his head and tossed it across the room while he toed off his boots and kicked his jeans after them.

  Once naked, he forced her against the pantry door with his body. She gasped, and it rippled against his skin.

  “Wait. Wait.”

  “What?” He didn’t mean to growl that at her, but his need for her nearly overwhelmed him. And her naked body against his…damn.

  “We used up the condoms last night.”

  “I’m a SEAL.”

  “And?”

  He reached over to the counter, digging into one of the bags. He pulled out the box of condoms. “We are always prepared for every contingency.”

  She took the box. “I didn’t even know they had boxes of fifty.”

  “That should last us a day or two.”

  Dez squeaked and tried to bolt past him. He caught he
r around the waist, pushing her back. “What are you doing?”

  “Running for my life. Much more of this and I’ll be walking like I’ve been in the rodeo.”

  “You complaining?”

  Dez frowned, deep in thought.

  “Fine.” He started to walk away, but Dez’s hand on his rapidly growing cock stopped him in his tracks. “I didn’t say leave.”

  “You didn’t say stay either.”

  She pulled him toward her, using his cock as a handle. She kissed his chest, nipped the flesh.

  “Stay, Mace. Stay with me.”

  Wow. This certainly couldn’t be Dez MacDermot. The bitter ex-wife of a lawyer who told everyone in his office she was a cold fish with a dry pussy. Dez now realized the man was an asshole, because she was anything but cold.

  She looked up and was startled by Mace’s expression. Intense and desperate were the words that came to mind. Funny, Mace never seemed like that before.

  He stared down at her without saying anything. Simply stared. Then his hand came up and cupped her cheek.

  She cleared her throat. “You’re making me nervous.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ve never had anyone look at me like that before. I can’t tell if you’re falling for me or if you’re going to kill me using my own kitchen knife.”

  He laughed, which eased the moment for her. “I have claws. Don’t need the kitchen knife.”

  “Well, that’s good to know. Now I can sleep peacefully.”

  He pulled her naked body flush against his. Just her skin against his had his cock rearing right back to life. “Exactly which one is scarier?”

  “You falling for me.”

  Mace shook his head. “I’m not falling for you, Dez.”

  “Oh.” Damn. “Good.”

  “I’ve already fallen. Head first.”

  Oh shit. “Um…”

  He smiled. “Um?”

  His hand lazily traced patterns across her chest, around her nipples, and under her breasts. She started to squirm from the pleasure of it.

  “Mace, maybe we’re movin’ a little too—”

  He cut her off. “Actually, I fell for you a long time ago, Dez. The day you dropped your books at my lab station and sweetly asked ‘Youse mind if I sit here?’” Dez smirked at Mace’s accurate portrayal of the Bronx accent she’d so desperately tried to curb. “And it’s not my problem if that freaks you out.”

  “Do you even care if it freaks me out?”

  “No.”

  Christ, could the man be more like a cat?

  Mace pushed her hair off her neck and licked her wound. “That still hurt?”

  “Mmmhm…what?”

  “You’re not paying attention, Dez.”

  “Mmmhm…what?”

  He grabbed her ass, pulling a squeak out of her. “Pay attention, baby.”

  “What is it with you and ordering me around anyway?”

  Mace leaned in, his nose right against her neck. He breathed in deep and sighed. “I love how it makes you smell.”

  Oh, that’s a damn good answer. She could get used to these shifters. She understood their logic better than she understood any human’s she’d ever met.

  Dez pushed at Mace’s shoulders. “I don’t think that’s good enough, cat.” He watched her, concern on his handsome face. He didn’t want to hurt her. Man, was she falling for this guy or what? That couldn’t be a good thing.

  She stood up on her toes to get closer to his face. “I don’t take orders from any man.” She looked him up and down. “Especially you.” She quirked an eyebrow, and Mace’s concern turned to amusement. Well, amusement and lust.

  He pushed her back against the wall. “You’ll do what I tell you to.” He grabbed her arms and pinned them above her head. “And you’ll enjoy it.”

  Could a woman spontaneously come? Dez felt perilously close.

  So that banging at her front door, not a welcome intrusion. Especially when it set her dogs off to full-on warning barks, and some rather scary fangs burst from Mace’s gums along with a growl that quickly became a roar erupting from his throat.

  She heard Bukowski’s voice as Mace released her and protectively wrapped his arms around her body. “Dez, if you can hear me, open this fuckin’ door!”

  “Who the hell is that?” Mace snapped. He really needed to find a way to control those fangs of his.

  “My partner.” She pushed past Mace, grabbing the green and white blanket off the floor. “Stay here. I’ll get rid of him.” She glanced at him over her shoulder as she wrapped the blanket around her body. “And feel free to stay hard.”

  She moved toward the door, eager to get back to Mace with his enormous dick and killer voice. Dez had no idea what Bukowski wanted, but it better be good.

  As she neared the door, she heard Bukowski again. “Answer me or I’m breaking it down!”

  Dez’s body froze, but not her mouth. “Don’t you dare!”

  Her dogs stopped barking, running to stand protectively on either side of her. Fighting to control her anger, Dez snatched her front door open and came face to face with Bukowski.

  Mace pulled his jeans over his painfully hard cock and thought about all the ways he could eviscerate Dez’s “partner.” He had no idea he could detest a man he barely knew, but the loud-mouthed bastard had interrupted their “playtime.” Unacceptable.

  When he heard Dez’s “Don’t you dare,” he was all ready to go out there and kick some NYPD ass. But the smell of Irish Spring soap stopped him. He scented the air. They were moving through the backyard. Actually, they were right at the back door. He scented two…no. Three. Although only one of them used that particular soap.

  Dez had guns hidden all over her house. He could smell the gun oil. The one in the cabinet under her sink was the easiest to get to. He crouched, his hands wrapped around the grip, when they came through the back door. Almost silently. If he’d been human, he wouldn’t know they were there until they were on top of him.

  Still crouched, Mace released the safety, spun, and landed flat on his belly. The barrel of his weapon pressed against a throat.

  Hard to enjoy the moment, though, with a .45 slammed against his head.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “I kept trying to call you and never got an answer. I finally called your neighbors about an hour ago. The old couple next door. They said they thought they heard screaming last night.”

  Maybe Sister Mary Joseph had been right. Dirty little girls like you, Desiree, get caught and dragged out in front of the town and stoned.

  “Get in here.” She grabbed her partner by his arm and dragged him into her house, slamming the door behind her.

  “Did that scumbag do this to you?” He motioned to the wound on her throat. It probably looked much worse than it felt.

  “No. Of course not.”

  “Don’t bullshit me, MacDermot.”

  Exasperated, she snapped without thinking, “Do you think I’d let some guy do this to me and then fuck him?”

  “Oh my God! You fucked Llewellyn?”

  “I am not having this conversation with you!”

  Dez, busy wondering how much time she’d actually do for killing her partner, barely noticed when her dogs suddenly spun around and charged back into the kitchen. She doubted they suddenly regenerated the balls she removed years ago and charge Mace. Someone else was in that kitchen. And one look at her partner’s face confirmed it.

  Bukowski tried to grab her arm, but Dez yanked herself away from him, taking his sidearm with her. She headed to the kitchen but stopped dead in the doorway.

  She lowered the gun to her side and took a deep breath to calm her exploding nerves. One false move here and she could destroy everything she held dear.

  First, she ordered her dogs out with a barked “schnell.” Then Dez laid Bukowski’s gun on the side table and calmly walked into the room. She walked up to the four men in her kitchen.

  Mace had her gun, a sweet little .38
, shoved up against Vinny’s neck. Vinny had his Glock .45 against Mace’s temple. Jimmy and Sal had their semiautomatics—no way legal in this state—trained on Mace’s back. A Mexican standoff, and she could only hope to keep these four idiots from killing each other.

  First, she focused on Jimmy and Sal. “I need you two to stand down.” When they ignored her, “I need you two to stand down…now.”

  Their eyes shifted to her and, so slowly she thought they were completely ignoring her, lowered their weapons. She wasn’t out of it yet. Vinny was one of the best Marines she knew. Mace a government-trained killer.

  She moved until she stood right next to them, her feet nearly touching both men. Slowly she crouched beside them and carefully placed her hands over each man’s, pulling their weapons away and up. Mace and Vinny never looked away from each other. They finally released their hold on their weapons, and Dez quickly stepped away. After one glare, both Sal and Jimmy handed over their guns as well. They knew better than to fight her when she got like this.

  They also knew she had no qualms about putting all their asses in prison for illegal weapons possession and forced entry.

  She walked back toward the table where she placed Bukowski’s gun and dropped the weapons there. She fought to control the shaking of her body. The thought of anything happening to her best friends or to Mace almost too much to bear.

  She faced the man she held responsible for this bullshit. “Get in the living room,” she spit out between gritting teeth as she handed him back his gun. “Now!”

  Mace slowly stood, the dark-haired man following. They heard Dez leave the room with her partner, but they still hadn’t looked away from each other.

  Mace glanced over the men. The blond one sported a tattoo on his inside wrist. The Eagle, Globe, and Anchor. Marines.

  “So…you guys interested in a job?”

  Dez dragged Bukowski into the living room. “Have you lost your ever-loving mind?”

  “You’re sleeping with some scumbag whose sister you’re investigating for murder and you have the nerve to ask me that?”

  “I’m not investigating her anymore. I’m off the case. As of now.” Why should she pursue the case? She already knew the answers. “And I can’t believe you dragged the guys into this either.”