Ice/Reaux

  They were all on edge with this latest threat, and it’d been difficult to find an opportunity to spend time alone with Cammy. Now, however, he refused to be put off any longer.

  Shifting into his cat form, Ice ran through the Wildlands, his animal roaring with pleasure as he worked off the edge of his frustration before he was heading to the small cabin near the edge of the communal center. His lips twitched as he shifted back to human. Trust Cammy to be in the middle of the action.

  His own cabin was built in the middle of a distant bog, far from his nearest neighbor.

  They would have to find some way to compromise.

  Giving a sharp knock on the door, he released a soft purr as Cammy pulled open the door. It was past midnight, allowing him to appreciate her lush beauty brushed with silver in the moonlight.

  Her thick hair was tumbled around her shoulders, her amazing violet eyes glowing with the awareness of her cat. Her feminine curves were outlined by the satin robe that was belted around her slender waist.

  Glorious.

  “Hello, Cammy,” he murmured, leaning against the doorjamb.

  She arched her brow, her gaze taking a slow survey of his casual jeans and sweatshirt.

  “It’s late,” she murmured.

  “Not that late.” He reached out to lightly touch her cheek. “How’s Karen?”

  Cammy grimaced. She’d left the meeting with Raphael saying that she wanted to visit the clinic before she went home.

  “Physically she’ll heal in a few days. The bullet only grazed her temple,” she said. “Emotionally, she’s a wreck.”

  Ice gave a slow nod. They had no way of knowing if Ward had survived. He had Pantera blood, but all hybrids were different. And they had no way of knowing if the guards would have tried to get him help, or if they’d put a bullet through his head.

  “Understandable.” Firmly dismissing the shitload of troubles that were waiting for them, he trailed his fingers down the line of her jaw. “Can I come in?”

  She hesitated, her cheeks flushing as the air scented with the spice of her arousal.

  “Yeah,” she at last conceded.

  “Good.”

  Cammy stepped back to give him room to enter, only to gasp in surprise when he abruptly scooped her off her feet. Kicking the door shut with his foot, he cradled her against his chest as he headed toward the back of the small, cozy home.

  “Ice,” she said with a halfhearted protest.

  He glanced down, his inner cat already anticipating her sweet taste. The only question was whether to lick her from head to toe…or to start at the bottom and work his way up.

  “You said I could come in,” he reminded her, his voice a low growl.

  She glared at him even as her eyes heated with sensual anticipation. “I didn’t say you could manhandle me.”

  “I’ve been waiting to manhandle you for a very long time.”

  He moved through the open door, entering the bedroom that was filled with a four-poster bed with a pretty quilt, and a hand-carved rocker in the corner.

  Holding her heated gaze, Ice lowered her onto the wide mattress. Her entire body quivered, as if silently urging him to pounce. To conquer. To take what he had ached to possess since he had caught a glimpse of her. But he brutally fought back the primitive instincts of his animal.

  Stark, panting lust had its place, but not now.

  Not with Cammy.

  She was not just a sexy female who stimulated his senses. She was the enthralling, maddening creature who was now a vital part of his existence.

  Placing his knee on the edge of the bed, Ice leaned down to brush his mouth over hers. It was a mere whisper of a touch, but it was enough to send a jolt of searing heat through his body.

  Her hair spilled over the quilt, her lips curving with a sinful smile. “Ward was right about one thing,” she murmured.

  Reaching down, Ice grabbed the bottom of his sweatshirt to tug it over his head.

  “What’s that?” he demanded, tossing the shirt onto the floor.

  “You are a savage.”

  He chuckled, straightening so he could wrench off his boots and then slide his jeans down his legs. Kicking them aside, he crawled onto the bed, sinking into the soft mattress.

  “Oh, I intend to be a lot more savage before this night’s over,” he assured her, stretching beside her trembling body.

  She reached up, her fingers gently tracing the tattoo of a sleeping puma that was inked onto his upper chest.

  “Is that a warning or a promise?”

  With a groan he feathered kisses over her cheeks, a quiver shaking his body. Did she know exactly where this night was leading?

  He did.

  Before he left the bed, he fully intended to claim her.

  The sort of “together forever and ever” claiming.

  Anticipation shivered through him. With every kiss it became more and more difficult to leash the need to be buried deep in the sweet heat of her body.

  “Both,” he muttered as he moved to trace his lips along the stubborn line of her jaw. She tasted just as delicious as he’d anticipated. Decadent. Intoxicating. Sweet sin.

  Dear Goddess, he would never have enough of her.

  She gave a small gasp of pleasure. “Shouldn’t we talk first?”

  Sweeping his tongue along the curve of her ear he returned to claim her lips in a kiss of sheer possession.

  “Talk about what?”

  Beneath him Cammy stirred, her hands grasping his shoulders. “Us.”

  “What’s there to talk about?” he demanded, his fingers stroking down the length of her throat. “You belong to me.”

  Her fingers curled against his chest. The hint of claws digging into his flesh made Ice shudder with pleasure. Inside, his cat purred with anticipation.

  The animal liked claws and fangs during sex.

  “Your arrogant ass is showing again.”

  With a chuckle, he studied the hectic color that stained her cheeks. “Do you want to touch it?” he asked, his gaze lowering to the plush softness of her lips “I promise to pet yours if you want.”

  She gave a sudden laugh, her mischievous cat glinting in her eyes.

  “How did I ever think you didn’t know how to enjoy life?” she whispered.

  His cock twitched. She was always beautiful. But when she smiled she became irresistible.

  Swooping his head lower, he dipped his tongue into the moist heat of her mouth. Raw desire sparked between them, the heat nearly combustible as he reached down to tug at the belt that held her robe together.

  His breath lodged in his throat as her tongue tangled with his own. This female had always been capable of making him forget everything. His duty. His family. Hell, he was lucky if he could remember what day it was.

  All he could think about was claiming her as his own.

  Lifting his head, he studied her with a fierce gaze. “I didn’t fully enjoy life.”

  Her smile faded, her fingers skimming over his chest in an unconsciously soothing motion. “What do you mean?”

  He held her gaze as he gently separated the robe to expose the ivory loveliness of her soft curves.

  “Earlier you asked me if I was lonely and I said no,” he murmured, leaning down to brush his lips along the upper curve of her breast. “That wasn’t entirely true, but by concentrating on my duty I could pretend I had a purpose.”

  She gave a choked groan, her fingers tangling in his hair. “And now?”

  He slowly explored her bountiful flesh, relishing the intoxicating smell of her arousal perfuming the air.

  “Now I’ve realized there’s much more than duty.”

  “Hmm.” She arched her back as he lashed his tongue over the tip of her hardened nipple. “Very enlightened.”

  Savage desire pulsed through him, his cat brushing against his skin with the need to savor the heat of her desire. He suckled her nipple before using the edge of his teeth to pleasure her.

  “Do you want me to tell y
ou about the things I’ve discovered I enjoy?” he asked, his lips pressing a trail of kisses to her other breast.

  She gave a low groan, restlessly stirring against the quilt. “I think already knew that you enjoyed this,” she choked out.

  Ice grasped her hips, holding her still as he kissed the underside of her breast before heading downward. He intended to make a banquet of her, tasting and biting until she was screaming with the force of her orgasm.

  “I didn’t know that my day could be brightened by the sight of a particular female,” he murmured, scraping the tips of his elongated fangs against the tender flesh of her stomach. “Or that her smile could make my heart miss a beat.” He slid his hands beneath her legs, tugging them apart so he could settle between them. “Or her scent send my cat into a frenzy of need.”

  She shivered as she tilted her head to watch him with glowing eyes. “You aren’t the only one frenzied.”

  With a chuckle he turned his head to nuzzle the soft skin of her inner thigh. “Good. But it’s more than that.”

  “Is it?” she breathed, clearly struggling to concentrate as his lips skimmed toward the sweet center of her pleasure.

  “Yeah.” He sucked in a deep breath of her intoxicating musk. Hunger blasted through his body even as he fiercely leashed his need. “Suddenly I want to share dinner with the pack just to watch you with your friends. And I’m starting to plan the house I intend for us to share.”

  “Share?” Her fingers clenched in his hair as his tongue lapped through her moist heat.

  “With a lush garden where our cubs can play,” he continued.

  Her eyes widened, but before she could respond he grasped her hips, tilting her to the perfect angle. Then, settling on the mattress, he lapped at her cream.

  “Ice,” she breathed, arching beneath his relentless onslaught.

  Ice savored her sweetness, dipping his tongue into her sweet little channel. “Tell me that you’re mine.”

  She made a strangled sound of pleasure as he stroked back to the top of her clit. Reaching down she tangled her fingers in his hair. “We can talk later.”

  He chuckled, finding her tiny bundle of pleasure to suck between his lips. When her hips bucked off the mattress, he lifted his head to meet her smoldering gaze. “Say the words.”

  She groaned, roughly tugging at his hair. “Later.”

  He could scent her nearing climax, his cock twitching in reaction. “Now,” he growled.

  “I’m yours,” she breathed.

  He continued to taste her luscious cream. “Again.”

  Her grip on his hair eased, her fingers gently touching his face as if sensing the importance of this moment.

  “I’m yours, Ice,” she murmured with a blunt simplicity that soothed his inner doubts.

  “And Rage?” It was impossible to halt the question.

  She grimaced. “I told myself it was easier to seek a male who was more a friend than an alpha. I thought my cat was too dominant to accept a mate who challenged me.” She traced the curve of his lips, her face softening with an emotion he never dared to hope he would witness. “But thank the Goddess, I was wrong. What I need is you. Just you, Ice.”

  “Yes.”

  Joy rushed through him as he bent his head, intending to taste her climax on his tongue. Cammy, however, surged upward to grab his shoulders.

  “Wait, Ice.”

  He froze, his cat on instant alert. Had he done something wrong? Had she changed her mind? “What?”

  Her eyes blazed a hunger that matched his own. “I want you inside me when I come.”

  A growl rumbled deep in his chest even as raw relief shuddered through him.

  “Yes.” With a last, lingering lap of his tongue, Raphael surged upward, claiming her mouth in a kiss of stark possession.

  For years he’d fantasized about having this female in his arms. In his bed.

  Now he was so desperate to make love to her, he wasn’t sure he could leash his cat. He was quivering with the need to impale her with his aching cock, pounding them both to a swift, explosive orgasm, but he was acutely aware that this was their first time together.

  Didn’t females like it soft and romantic?

  “Tell me if I’m too rough,” he murmured, settling on top of her.

  “I’m a Hunter, darling.” She dug her claws into his shoulders, her legs wrapped instinctively around his waist in a silent offering. “There’s nothing you can give me that I can’t take.”

  A rough groan was wrenched from Ice’s throat at her husky challenge. “Then hold on, kitty.”

  Holding her bold gaze, he breached her entrance with the head of his cock, hesitating to savor the feel of her moist flesh wrapped around his crown.

  His breath hissed between his teeth. Nothing had ever felt so good.

  Beneath him Cammy squirmed, the musk of her puma scenting the air. “No more playing,” she muttered. “I need you inside me.”

  “You’re mine,” he murmured. “My mate.” He pressed an inch of his broad erection inside her. “My partner.” Another inch slid into her slick heat. “My love.”

  “Forever,” she added, sinking her teeth into the spot where his neck met his shoulder.

  The pleasure-pain jolted through him, and with one fierce thrust he had his cock buried deep inside her. They groaned together in raw pleasure. This was what he wanted. Why he’d chosen his warrior female.

  It was two Pantera mating on their most primitive level, the pounding of their hearts and the press of their cats just beneath their skin.

  Tilting his head down, he covered her lips in a searing kiss, the pleasure shockingly intense.

  “How have I survived without you?” he muttered as he began to move. She gave a groan of appreciation, her hips lifting off the mattress in silent invitation. “You complete me.”

  “Ice,” she breathed. “My mate.”

  Pressing his face into the curve of her neck, he pistoned in and out of her heat, keeping a ruthless pace. A part of him wanted to make this last, but his cat refused to be denied. On some level he’d been searching for this female his entire life. Now it was time to claim her.

  Releasing his claws, he allowed them to score through the skin along her lower back. The shallow wounds would heal, leaving behind four silvery scars that were a pagan mark of ownership.

  Heady bliss swirled through him, intensified by the feel of her pussy clenched tight around his cock. He would never have enough of her. Never. Ever.

  Hearing the fractured sound of her breath, he intensified the force of his thrusts, the bed banging against the wall as they moved together in a savage rhythm.

  Still, it wasn’t until he felt her orgasm squeezing his cock that he sought his own release. Giving one last surge, he buried himself until his balls were flush against her ass and allowed his climax to shatter him into a million pieces of sated joy.

  Nothing had prepared him for the erotic ferocity of making love to his mate. It felt as if the world had just tilted on its axis, leaving them in a new, wonderful place.

  Raising his head, he studied his female’s stunned expression. Clearly he wasn’t the only one reeling from the intensity of their mating.

  It was Cammy, however, who at last broke the thick silence.

  “So tell me about this house you intend to build for me and my cubs.”

  Reaux

  By

  Laura Wright

  CHAPTER 1

  “Are you comfortable?”

  Karen stared straight ahead as she sat on the edge of the couch in the Healer’s office. Was she comfortable? What a strange, impossible idea. She hadn’t known comfort for a very long time. Maybe since the night before she was taken. Maybe when she was tucked in around her family dinner table twelve years ago, having…what was it again? Spaghetti? No. Her mom didn’t make good red sauce. Tacos? No.

  A soft smile touched her lips. Chicken and dumplings. Her mother made the absolute best.

  A rush of pain echoed through
her. She missed that wonderful woman…even more now that she had passed. Never to see her grandchildren. Caleb. Or Ward. Or…

  “Let’s talk about your offspring,” the female Healer said, trying once again to pull Karen back into her universe.

  “Children,” Karen corrected woodenly.

  “Of course.”

  “I have three.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  Caleb, Ward…and the one she’d known for seconds only…before he was ripped from her arms, before they’d injected her with drugs to force her to sleep. And forget. As if that was even a possibility. No amount of drugs could steal the memory of birth, or the squalling face of an infant. She’d named him Tate. After her grandfather. Who knew what he called himself now. If he was called anything. If he was even alive.

  Her chest tightened to the point of pain, but she didn’t flinch. It was a pain that was familiar now. One she’d learned to live with. One that had strangely come to feel good.

  Right.

  “I think we should talk about them, Karen,” the female said in a gentle voice. “Each one. Let’s start with Caleb.”

  That sweet three-year-old face appeared in her mind. Her baby Caleb, who was hardly a baby anymore thanks to his Pantera blood. The Healers were worried about Caleb. Actually, what they were worried about was Karen’s ability to care for him. After she’d been brought back to the Wildlands a few days ago…after she’d been abducted by Ward, by her son, who’d been told she hadn’t wanted him—she’d pretty much fallen apart. Quietly, gently, unquestioningly, apart. Jean-Baptiste and one of the Healers she worked with had found her in the living room of her little house, holding Caleb and refusing to let him go.

  She’d been holding him for seven hours straight.

  “Caleb,” the female pressed. “Tell me how he’s reacted to being here. In the Wildlands.”

  Karen, of course, had agreed to start therapy. She’d been told that this female Healer, Mackenzie, was one of the best. Sharp, insightful, probing.

  Clinical.