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  How could she betray Jagger like this? Why did she want this shifter as badly as she’d ever wanted anyone…even Jagger? Why was she in awe of a complete stranger?

  “Touch me,” he dared her.

  “I have to go,” she said softly, eyeing his mouth.

  “One kiss, Ariela.”

  He didn’t sweep down upon her to take the kiss he’d invited. Instead, he rubbed his fingers firmly across the swell of her bottom lip. As if she had no control over her own responses, she nicked the pads of his fingers and drew the middle digit between her lips, sucking and pulling at his finger as if to imitate the sex act, the way she’d love to fuck him, slow and easy, with gentle loving care.

  “That’s it, lover,” Leon crooned. “Show me how we’d fuck, Ariela.”

  Coming to her senses, she paused, but he hooked his finger inside her mouth and stroked the side of her cheek. “Think about me, Ariela. When you lie awake tonight, you think about me, lover. Think about taking me in your mouth, sucking my cock dry. Then, I want you to think about me fucking you from behind, claiming that pretty ass.”

  Without any forewarning, he splayed his fingers and paddled her bottom, giving her four or five firm swats. His guttural growl filled the air. A wicked smile tilted his lips.

  Shards of exquisite pleasure rushed up and down her form. Her pussy wept. Her hole clenched. Her vision was as blurred as if she’d consumed a liter of hundred-proof vodka.

  “I have to go.”

  “You don’t have to do anything,” he told her, brushing his knuckles over her cheek. “You belong to me as much as you belong to him.”

  “No,” she said, frantic then.

  “Yes,” he assured her, gripping her chin.

  She gave him a hard push and gained the advantage of distance. Angst strummed through her veins. She took a sudden leap and shifted in midair, springing into her feline form and sprinting across the desert.

  She kept her eyes fixated ahead, hoping and praying she wouldn’t bump into trouble. Oh God, what had she been thinking?

  Jagger. Jagger. Jagger.

  Fuck no!

  That was the whole problem. She hadn’t been thinking about Jagger!

  She barreled across the land fully aware of how she’d be viewed if she came across a pride. Out there, she would be considered a nomad. She was vulnerable and all alone.

  No, she reminded herself, she wasn’t alone. A sharp shiver shook her animal form and she bit back a catcall, determined to keep moving, reminding herself that the strange lion could mount and ride her and she probably wouldn’t even put up a fight.

  Hearing ragged breaths behind her, she peered over her shoulder. At her flank, the stranger tailed her. His ears were pricked. His gaze penetrated hers. He butted his head forward as if to urge her on. Perhaps he was aware of the danger approaching, the true pride of the desert surrounding them.

  Whatever his ambition, his short-term goal was easily defined. He had every intention of following her home.

  * * * *

  Jagger flung open the front door and caught Ariela as she shifted from her lean lioness body to her human form. Draping her arms around his neck, she smothered him with hot kisses, pecking his lips, cheek, and neck. He felt her desire to breed. He, too, became feverish, desperate for her good loving as much as his need to satisfy her growing personal requirements as well.

  Framing her face with his hands, he held her steady. She trembled against him, stretching her neck and puckering her lips.

  “Where have you been, Ariela?”

  “Not now.” She raked her fingernails across his shoulders. “Make love to me, Jagger. We’ll talk about this later.”

  Studying her bright blue eyes, he saw the secrets there, concealed like nuclear weapons. She was determined to fuck him senseless. Perhaps she hoped to leave him in the dark about her whereabouts, but he was deeply troubled by her actions, and regardless of her need to mate, he wanted answers. Her demeanor made him aware of two things—she was hiding something, and she was frightened.

  He took a step back and eyed those glorious breasts. For a moment, he was sidetracked. He focused on the small claw-like patterns shaping her nipples. His cock twitched in his slacks and he briefly relived the moments they’d spent on the phone.

  She’d told him the truth. She’d clamped those perfect beads as he’d directed her. Aroused by the sight of her, he lowered his head and nuzzled her breast. Pushing aside his desire to scold her, he unhooked his belt and unbuttoned his pants. He cupped her full mounds, suckling one beaded gem and pinching the other.

  Hanging free of his slacks, he rubbed against her, nudging her smooth mound with his swollen erection. His need to slip inside her outweighed his desire to question her. He yearned for her body, and needed to feel her snug pussy slip over his rigid cock in complete acceptance.

  Lifting her in his arms, Jagger bracketed her legs around his waist and impaled her. He took the few short steps and secured her against the wall, plunging inside her cunt at the same time. He fucked her against the safari wallpaper, feeling wild and free as if they were frolicking in the desert, mere feet from their own pride.

  “Where were you?” he asked, pulling out and hoping he withdrew when she was within an inch of her orgasm.

  “Not now.” A breathless whisper left her panting. “We’ll talk later. Kiss me, Jagger.” She tilted her head to the side and fluttered her eyelashes. “Fuck me, baby.” Her body bumped against his. “I’ve never needed you as much as I need you right now.”

  Alarms resounded in his head.

  Only one other time had Ariela begged him so. It was the first night they’d made love, the first time Ariela had given herself to him.

  He saw stars and a multitude of colors. A raging fury took him prisoner, binding him to a past that still enraged him.

  “Where. Were. You?” he demanded, the caution lights continued to blink and blur his vision. He used his legs to support her, but refused to enter her. “Answer me, now.” He clasped one of her hands in his and pushed her arm high above her head.

  They met in this knowing gaze. Damn it to hell, what had she done?

  “We’ll talk later.” She rocked forward, trying to encourage another penetration.

  “We’ll talk now,” he told her, pulling back.

  “The desert,” she admitted, grabbing hold of his neck and bringing his mouth over hers.

  Ariela wedged her tongue between his lips, forcing her way into the heart of his mouth. She fueled his hunger with her passion and he clamped down on her hand, holding her against the wall as he thrust inside her with one deeply delivered stroke.

  “Oh God, yes, Jagger. Fuck me!” Her pussy milked him, wrapped around his cock like a tight cocoon.

  Buried inside her, he searched her eyes. “Why were you there, Ariela?”

  She shook her head, refusing to look at him. Her refusal then was obvious and it angered him all the more.

  Still, even in his fury, he found her positively addictive. Her hot pussy clenched in response and he stilled inside her, making her work for the thrust, for a much-needed release.

  “Why were you there?”

  “Fuck me. Then I’ll tell you.”

  The translation was simple enough. If he screwed her, she would tell him whatever he wanted to know, but until then, her lips were sealed tighter than a virgin’s pussy. She seemed determined to sit on her secrets and guard them.

  Jagger slammed inside her again, his cock throbbing with need. “Tell me, damn you.”

  He might have been nearly crazy for her, but he realized what she required then was a far cry from what he was providing at the moment. He’d give her what she longed for after she supplied direct and honest answers.

  “I was mad,” she ruefully admitted.

  “Mad?” he asked, rocking his hips.

  “Yes, Jagger,” she crooned. “You angered me. You were supposed to be home early and you didn’t come
…”

  He screwed his cock inside her and she blurted out the rest.

  “…Home.”

  “So since I didn’t come home when you thought I should, you took off on a fitful run?” He watched her as he fucked her, admiring the way her eyelashes fluttered over her misty eyes. “Were you jealous?”

  “Terribly,” she admitted, a beautiful grin claiming its rightful place on her face.

  “Tell me,” he said, gravitating to her then. As much as he hated to admit it, her possessiveness drove him wild. “Tell me what you imagined, kitten.” He pulsed inside her then, his prick danced and thrummed inside her slick channel. “Tell me all about it, Ariela.”

  “Mmm,” she moaned. Her legs gripped him and she rode his cock, climbing him like a sturdy ladder. “Not now, Jagger. Let me enjoy you.”

  He held her chin firmly. Loving her had always been so fucking easy. And that was part of the problem. Most of the time, he believed anything she told him. At that moment she was hiding something, and while he didn’t like it, he still wasn’t able to resist her.

  He fucked her like a savage and quickly lost the ability to remain on his feet. Tucking her body against his, he dragged her to the floor. Looking down on the beautiful woman he’d loved for as long as he could remember, he lost another piece of himself, loving her more in that moment than he ever had in his life.

  Her release was building inside her. He could sense it.

  He pulled out, pushed in. He thrust forward, backed out.

  Good God, she was killing him!

  The need was building inside him. Her desire was obviously over the top. Her wet pussy gave way to the truth, and he gave her one hard thrust and then another. He stroked deeper, slamming into her again and again until his balls slapped against her firm ass.

  “Oh yes,” she moaned, locking her legs around his hips. “This is what I need. Oh yes.”

  Jagger plunged inside her, aware of the thick barb emerging right under the head of his penis.

  She screamed and he bore down on her cunt, stamping her with the head of his penis while gazing at his woman. He shared her dreams of parenting. He wanted children of his own. They needed a pride they could call out as their family.

  Her chest rose and fell. “Yes, Jagger now!”

  He withdrew an inch or so, forcing her to wait. The barbed head scraped at her walls, raking gently against her womb. He wanted to prepare her, needed her fertile and ready.

  They longed for a real family with cubs and children, babies to bring up as proud shifters of a pride he and Ariela would one day leave behind.

  He shimmied his hips and delivered another series of wild thrusts. Maybe that was why she’d gone out for a run. Perhaps she’d needed to explore without him, see if she could find a pride, perhaps a family they could eventually claim for their own.

  God no. He couldn’t think in those terms. He would soon give her children. He jerked out again, raking the barbed head against her walls until she screamed aloud.

  “God help me, Ariela. Forgive me, baby.” He nuzzled her cheek and buried his cock balls-deep.

  “Now, Jagger. I’m ready now!”

  She met him then, stroke for stroke. She planted her feet on the floor and hurled her body against his, curving her legs around his hips again. His penis was trapped inside her clenching cunt. He refused to abandon her then. He didn’t try to pull out and rake the barb against her walls one last time.

  Surely she was ready. Surely to God good loving like this would be fruitful.

  “Mmm…oh yes.” His sweet kitten purred, looping her arms around his neck.

  Her full breasts mashed against his chest and he reached between their bodies, pinching her nipple until she cried out. Even her cries turned him on. He needed to feel closer so he pounded deeper. He wanted to feel her everlasting love, so he hammered still harder.

  Damn it to hell! He wanted her to know that she belonged to him!

  “Ariela!” His cum shot inside her channel. “Oh God, yes, baby. Hmm…yes.”

  “Jagger!” Her pussy vibrated around his cock. Her nails raked over the gentle slope of his shoulders.

  They fucked like animals, rolling around on the floor. He topped her. She topped him.

  She rode him like he was her personal high-strung stud. Throwing her buttocks behind her, she jerked her hips forward once more.

  Nuzzling her breasts, he lost himself in those luscious mounds. He nipped at her nipple, drawing the tight point between his teeth until the sweet vibrations from her pussy subsided.

  Tucking her body at his side, he wrapped her hair around his hand and pulled her head back. Staring into her eyes, he said, “You and I have a lot to discuss.”

  “We have all night.”

  “Yes, but freedom has its price. Doesn’t it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You went looking for trouble, Ariela.” He tilted his nose then, acknowledging a scent he had definitely missed. His heartbeat picked up a pace, racing faster than it had during their thrashing fuck. “You found it. Didn’t you Ariela?”

  “Yes.” Her eyes welled with tears.

  “Tell me you didn’t fuck him.”

  “No, I didn’t. I ran.” She held fast to his bicep, clutching his arm. “Tell me you believe me, Jagger.”

  He peeled away her fingers. “Who was he?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied. “Why didn’t you say something?” Her voice carried an accusatory tone. “How did you know?”

  “I smell him on you, damn you!”

  “But I didn’t fuck him!”

  “And that alone should make me feel better, right?”

  “Yes! I mean no…I mean I don’t know.”

  He dragged his fingers through his hair. “You shifted in front of him.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Yes.”

  He balked at the thought of another man seeing his woman, his mate. “Did he touch you?”

  “He touched me.”

  His roar resounded and he sprang to his feet, pacing the length of the living room. Pausing at the floor-to-ceiling window, he looked over the desert, that pulsing rage thrumming through his veins. “Did he touch you intimately?”

  When she didn’t answer him, he turned on her. “Answer me Ariela!”

  “His cock mashed against me.”

  Jagger’s anger quickly turned into unexplainable excitement. He thought of his beautiful mate out there in the wide open desert, running across another male, a shifter like them, a man and beast aware of his mate’s season, her need pulsing through her system and inviting others like them to acknowledge her desire, the yearning she couldn’t deny even if she desperately tried.

  In that moment, he wanted her more than he had in the minutes before. His unexpected longing was two-fold. He wanted to fuck her where others like them would see and watch, know beyond reasonable doubt that his woman belonged to a mate. His woman, even when she was in season, had a lover at home willing to meet her every need. And he also wanted to prove to Ariela that he alone could please her. He could make that ache and burning discontentment go away.

  Jagger didn’t need another damn shifter to help him keep his mate satisfied.

  Chapter Four

  Leon stood on the ridge right next to Jagger’s and Ariela’s home. He often loitered there, watching over them, particularly during Ariela’s season. He carefully guarded them, always fearing for their safety, particularly when Jagger was away and Ariela was left all alone.

  Laughter rang out in the distance. The yard was lit up like Christmas. Spotlights shone on the back deck, and Leon chuckled, already seeing the staged event.

  Ariela must’ve told Jagger about meeting him in the desert. Either she confessed or Jagger picked up his scent. He focused on their backyard, watching as Jagger thrust Ariela’s body forward, positioning her in front of him.

  With one quick motion, Jagger cupped her nape, forced her forw
ard, and thrust inside her. A guttural growl resounded as he fucked his woman like a man who’d already made his claim, a mate who already understood he had lost a small part of Ariela when she’d gone to the desert and met up with the likes of him.

  Leon took his cock in hand, watching the two lovers fuck out their differences, if in fact they had a few differences. He pumped his dick up and down, imagining the tight squeeze of Ariela’s pussy locking around his cock. She would ride him. God yes, she would climb on top of him and fuck him wild.

  Only Jagger had enjoyed the pleasure thus far. He knew the feel of her skin, the touch of her lips, and the pulsing clench of her tight pussy.

  “Ah God,” Leon rasped, focused on the unfolding erotic scene.

  Jagger cupped her breasts and nuzzled her hair, weaving his nose through her long blonde strands and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Ariela curved her arm around his neck and dragged him closer for a kiss.

  Jagger pulled away first, his gaze seemingly fixated on the grounds. Was he performing for Leon’s sake? Was he making sure Leon knew Ariela belonged to him?

  What was his purpose for taking his woman outside during the height of her season? Why would he risk exposing her to others who would be drawn to her lioness heat?

  He had one purpose, Leon decided. He possessed a single goal.

  “Oh yes, kitten!”

  “Jagger!” Ariela screamed. “Fuck me, Jagger. Um, yes. You’re wonderful!”

  Hearing her voice sent shards of electrifying sensations up and down Leon’s spine. It was like receiving a thousand succulent kisses scattered across his flesh.

  Leon closed his eyes and imagined fucking her. He envisioned holding her against the deck and throwing the weight of his cock deep inside her pussy. Her womanly juices would coat his shaft, and her hot, slick walls would nearly destroy him, as he’d push the weight of his erection inside her and spank her ass like a man without a conscience.

  Ariela seemingly loved receiving a slap or two on her bottom. She liked rough sex. In fact, if Leon had learned anything at all by watching over Ariela and Jagger, it was that she loved forced seduction and playing rough.