Fortune Page 4

  “I’ll call him,” she suggested, tilting her head to the right.

  “Come here,” he said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her against him.

  Ariela pushed him away. “Are you out of your mind? I have no idea where your hands have been!”

  “I can assure you what you saw is not at all the way it looked.”

  “So little Miss Cara wasn’t riding your cock with her mouth? Oh my mistake. I guess all this sexual frustration has been wreaking havoc on my brain and now I’m capable of forming illicit illusions in my head.” She clucked. “I’ve heard other lioness shifters discuss it. Apparently sexual frustration is quite normal when you’re two weeks into a mating bout and you haven’t been fucked or in more appropriate terms… bred!”

  “You’re in season?” He pretended he didn’t know.

  “Yes, Lane. I’m in season. I’ve been in season for nearly two weeks. And unless you and I don’t have a connection, which could be possible—”

  “It isn’t.”

  “Maybe it is.” She frowned. “Maybe the reason you weren’t interested in saving me is because you were behind my abduction.”

  “You know that’s not true.”

  “How do I know?”

  “You can take my word for it, but you don’t really believe something so foolish.”

  “Why would I believe otherwise? You made a deal with me when Shoc Matheson was threatening my mates. You opened a venue for Sanchez. We had an arrangement but I sensed your anger the night of the premiere. You knew I’d formed a circle of commitment with my mates.”

  He laughed. “Ah yes. Vengeance taken out on me and in turn your mates placed you in enormous danger all because they wanted to ensure they kept me out of your bed.”

  “So far it’s worked.”

  He grabbed her hand and mashed it against his cock. “Tell me something, Ariela. Does this feel like a man who won’t soon breed his mate?”

  “You bastard,” she whispered, her eyes moist. “Another woman works you over and you have the audacity—”

  “Enough!”

  She shuddered as his voice resonated throughout the room. “My mates don’t speak to me in such a manner.”

  “Of course not. You wear the pants over there at Pride’s Las Vegas Casino. Here in the desert, we lions like to lay down some ground rules for our den.”

  “Rules?” She laughed. “Do you have any idea who you’re speaking to?”

  “Do you, Ariela?” He narrowed his gaze on her breasts, wishing they could move past the argument and perhaps start the enjoyable process of making up.

  Instead of answering him, she took a quick tour of his room, seemingly impressed with the antique furnishings. “I wouldn’t have taken you for a vintage fellow.”

  “I’m not a frivolous person. My home is expensive but the furnishings inside were handed down through the generations. A few things, like the four-poster bed there, I picked up at estate sales.”

  “Who would’ve thought a millionaire like yourself goes to second hand stores and auctions for a bargain?”

  “Millionaires stay that way when they don’t let the allure of greed suck them in and bleed them dry.”

  “I wouldn’t know,” Ariela said. “Jagger handles our finances.” She seemingly watched him with this unyielding gaze, one which left him to believe she honestly thought she could toss out Jagger’s name and he would cow down to the reference.

  She dragged her fingers across the maroon and royal blue comforter. “I shouldn’t even be in season right now and as luck would have it, after your so-called enemies nabbed me from the Catwalk, I had one hell of a problem on my hands.”

  If she’d been in season the whole time she’d been missing, he could only imagine the torment she’d experienced. “Can I do anything for you?”

  “Outside of a hard fuck?” She tapped her fingers against her chin. “Can’t think of anything right off.”

  “I can bring you pleasure, quench your desire, Ariela.” His dick thrummed in his slacks. He wanted to lay her down and love her, mate with her so she would know the deep level of commitment he was willing to give her.

  “If I hadn’t found you with your cock down another woman’s throat, perhaps I’d be willing to let you lend a hand.”

  Lane sniffed, amused. “All right, beautiful. You and I need to talk. The sooner we do, the sooner I can help you out with your problem.”

  She wiggled her fingers. “Lucky for me, I can take care of myself because you aren’t touching me.”

  “Wanna bet?”

  * * * *

  An hour later, she was writhing on his bed, fighting against the handcuffs and pulleys Lane had used to secure her. According to Lane, she’d bucked authority and driven him to take drastic measures. Now, she was being ‘punished’ for her actions.

  “I want to ease your pain, Ariela. Trust me. Nothing would bring me more pleasure than to throttle you right now and I’m not talking about smacking you around. I don’t abuse my women.”

  “You could’ve fooled me.” After the way he’d spoken to Cara and then dismissed her, Ariela couldn’t decide if she even liked this man. “We need to get one thing straight right out of the gate. I do not share. Jagger, Sanchez, and Leon have never asked me to share.”

  Lane sat next to her, curved his arm around her waist, and said, “We both know that’s not true.”

  “It is absolutely true.”

  “Melinda Parker ring a bell?”

  “Melinda has been handled and we have her under control. Ask Jagger.”

  “And you think Jagger wouldn’t fuck her if he had the chance?”

  “Not without my permission.”

  Lane frowned. “Explain that.”

  “We have an arrangement. If he takes her to bed, he fucks me in front of her first. She’s blackmailing Jagger but we’ve already decided she won’t have the upper hand where Jagger is concerned.”

  “So you think it’s just fine for your mates to share you, but you won’t return the favor.”

  “There’s a reason I have several mates.”

  He placed the heel of his hand against her hipbone and crossed one leg over the other. “I can’t wait to hear this.”

  “My breeding seasons are challenging, very demanding on my men. Three mates can’t keep me sated, let alone one.”

  Lane’s tough jaw relaxed as he seemingly processed what that could mean. “I’m capable of satisfying you, season or no season.”

  “As you’ve so easily proven,” she spat, yanking her arms as much as possible. The cuffs had very little give.

  He had no idea what kind of pain she’d endured, how she’d been in a constant state of arousal for the last fifteen days. She needed relief and she was more than willing to take care of herself. “I need a minute to myself and asked for one. What do you do, Lane? Confine me to this damn bed. You’re no better than those who abducted me.”

  “Quit being so defensive, Ariela,” he said, moistening his lips and fiddling with the button on her slacks. “Tell me what happened after you were abducted.”

  “First I have to talk to Jagger. I need to know Jagger, Sanchez, and Leon are okay.”

  “They’re fine. I talked to them earlier today.”

  “Swear it.”

  “You can always take me at my word,” he said, yanking down her slacks and smoothing his hand over her prickly mound.

  A shiver of excitement rushed through her body. Without warning, he smacked the hell out of her pussy.

  She screamed and bucked. Arousing heat shot through her channel. “What do you think you’re—”

  Immediately, he smoothed his hand over her mound, making her somewhat self-conscious of the fact that she hadn’t been waxed in several weeks. She needed a Brazilian.

  “We can do this the hard way.” He stroked his cock through the pants he wore, drawing her attention to the hard bulge in his slacks. “Or…” He slipped his mi
ddle finger between her wet intimate lips. “We can do this the enjoyable way.”

  Her pussy clenched as he teased her with the pad of his finger. She nearly purred as he swirled the lone digit around her opening.

  “Please let me come. I’ll be much more agreeable after—”

  He shifted his weight forward and assaulted her lips then, thrusting his tongue inside her mouth with one repetitive swirling motion. His kiss melted her heart and she recalled how he had easily manipulated her lust when he’d visited her at the casino nearly a month ago.

  Lane Livingston was older than her mates and his experience was part of what intrigued her. He retreated momentarily and slowly brushed his lips across hers. “I want you to be honest with me, Ariela.” He pecked her lips, her cheek, and her jaw. He trailed heated kisses to her ear, leaving her to arch in an obvious plea. He wound his hand in her hair, looping his fingers around strands of curls before holding her head in the palm of his large hand.

  “Yes, I’ll be honest with you.” Her mouth opened and closed with her ragged breaths tumbling out in audible spurts. “I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

  “Um. I believe you.” His eyes burned brightly with passion as much as seduction. Lane Livingston knew what he was doing. Not only was he building up her desire, toying with her while she was in season, but he was also driving her crazy and enjoying himself. He hovered over her ear and finally asked, “When you were outside the house, what were you thinking when you were watching Cara suck my cock?”

  Her nipples spiked as she remembered the few images that had made her wet, lust-filled and dying for a fuck. “What do you mean, what was I thinking?” She remembered the anger and the confusion, but the desire, the clenching heat that had nearly taken her to her knees was what stood out more than anything. “You want me to tell you I was turned on.”

  “You were turned on. I could smell your arousal the minute you walked on the patio.”

  “The only scent you caught was my anger.”

  “Hmm.” He rubbed his lips against hers again, playing with her. “Then I guess I’d better go find Cara, because if fury is the scent I caught, I want to do my damnedest to keep you enraged.” He backed away from the bed and winked. “And here I thought you might tell me you were turned on. If you’d told me the truth, I would’ve kept those soaked panties of yours at your ankles and had my way with you.

  “While you’re thinking about that, I want you to imagine me between your legs. Pretend my tongue is buried in your cunt and I’m licking away the pain you’ve felt, the discomfort. I’m driving you toward your first moments of indescribable pleasure, the kind of pleasure you’ll only enjoy with me.” He shot her a wink. “You think about that for a while, Ariela.”

  Chapter Four

  Lane Livingston apparently wanted her addicted to him and she could so easily find herself devoted to him, but she wondered at what cost. What price would she pay for his adoration, for his protection, and God forbid, his love?

  She’d researched the langles after she’d discovered there were shifters different from them. The langles could shift into other people, animals or even things. They were a brilliant breed and very dangerous. How had she and her pride ended up in cahoots with such a character?

  Ariela shivered as she tried to reason her way through distorted emotions. Had she fallen victim to his charms and if so, what did he represent in terms of temptation? Would she really be unable to resist him and eventually willing to desert her other mates for a life as a langle’s mate, a true mate as he’d once described? And how was a true mate different from her other mates?

  Aware of what they’d soon mean to one another, she pressed her legs together and wished he’d come back to bed and fuck her. Apparently she’d pissed him off when she’d refused to tell him how hot she’d been when she’d watched him with Cara.

  The reason she hadn’t wanted to tell him was multi-layered and just how many layers could a woman reveal to one man? How much of herself did she want to lay before him on a sheet of vulnerability?

  “Lane?” She breathed out roughly, aware of her tender breasts as her chest rose and fell. “Are you out there?” She attempted to lift her head off the pillow.

  She was tired, hungry, and feeling helpless, weak. She needed to breed and Lane was aware of her need and yet he’d left her bound to the bed, her pants down to her knees, her pussy exposed, and her legs trembling whenever she pressed them together.

  “This is agonizing!” She tried to jiggle her thighs together and create some friction but that was about as helpful as watching someone else fuck.

  Her mouth watered then as she remembered the way Cara had been riding Lane’s cock with her slippery lips. She had a full mouth, thick rosy-red lips, and the way she’d gone at his erection was a pretty good indicator they’d had a previous history, a past they couldn’t deny. Too much familiarity existed between them. She had a feeling Cara wouldn’t want to deny the fact. Lane, however, might tell a different story.

  The spicy aroma of a thick tomato-based sauce filled the air with promises of a dish peppered with oregano, basil, and Italian seasonings. Was he cooking dinner for her?

  Her stomach rumbled with hope as her body became increasingly sensitive to every thought, every vivid daydream. Her excitement would soon hold her hostage and her ragged breaths would resound in such a way that even Lane would have a hard time denying her.

  Wouldn’t he?

  At this point, she didn’t know.

  “Okay, I’ll tell you in…in explicit detail…what I felt when I saw you.” She swallowed. “It would help if I could see who I’m talking to and I’d also like a drink, please. My mouth is dry. It’s not easy going from one captor’s palace to another.”

  “Is that what you think?” Lane appeared right inside the doorway. He crossed his arms over his strong bare chest, seemingly proud to show off his pecs, abs, and muscular arms. “You think you’re here against your will?”

  “Bound to your bed without so much as a drink? I’d call that imprisonment. Wouldn’t you?”

  “You came here, remember.”

  “If I’d known you were going to cuff me to your bed, I would’ve trekked across the desert.”

  “You shouldn’t have provoked me.”

  “Provoked you?” She snarled.

  “Point made,” he said, starting to turn around.

  “I’m thirsty,” she complained. “I’m tired. I need a shower. I could’ve showered with you.” She noticed the white towel around his waist. “I could…” Her mind ran wild. There were so many things she could do, wanted and needed to do.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  “Don’t go!”

  He paused, turned his chin to his shoulder and said, “Let me pour you a glass of wine.”

  “Will you untie me?”

  He took a deep breath and turned around. They exchanged this heated look and she shivered as she considered the pleasures they could enjoy once her hands were free.

  “Just for a minute?”

  “How about for the rest of the night?”

  “Sounds even better,” she said sweetly, though something told her he wasn’t quite buying her demure act.

  Minutes later, she sat on the bed massaging her wrists and eying the glass of wine in his hand. He’d insisted on holding her glass and helping her drink claiming he wanted her to relax and let him pamper her.

  Her pulse raced as he gave her another sip and raked his knuckles over her breasts. “So you’re ready to talk?”

  “Yes.” She eyed the thickness underneath the cotton towel wrapped around his waist. “Lane, I’m…”

  “I know what you need, Ariela, and I plan to give you everything you’ll ever want just as soon as you tell me what I asked.”

  “About the blowjob?”

  “Yes.”

  She came to her knees and looped her arms around his neck, feeling empowered when he didn’t restrain
her. She caressed his lips with her own and whispered, “The men who were holding me captive released me on the hill outside. I immediately saw the pool. You know where you first saw me?”

  “Yes, I remember.” His grin was positively sexy.

  Ariela used his shoulders for support and adjusted her pants, realizing she might soon wish she’d kicked them off rather than pulled them up. She then rose over him, throwing one leg over his hips before she scooted forward. Seating herself right on top of his pulsing erection, she hated the barriers between them, the towel covering him and her clothing, too.

  “I saw you behind the pool. You were in the process of standing up.”

  “And…” he pushed his arm between their bodies and held his head up and back a bit, seemingly determined to keep her mouth away from his.

  “You stood up, drove inside her mouth, pulled out, seemed to look down as if you were in awe, and…” She paused deliberately then, pushed against him and moaned. “I can see why you’re impressed.”

  “I looked down for another reason.”

  “Why?”

  “Finish your story.”

  “I’m turned on just telling it.”

  “I think anything would turn you on right now, Ariela.”

  She clenched her bottom and shoved her hips forward, copping a good feel with her pussy. “I wanted you to come.” She gazed into his eyes. “When you started rocking against her mouth, I wanted to see how you look when you come.”

  A guttural growl oozed from his lips and he flipped her over to her back, staying locked between her legs as he rose over her. “You want to see how I look when I come?”

  “Yes.”

  “Even if another woman makes me come?”

  “Yes, but I would rather be the one.”

  “I thought you said you wouldn’t share.”

  She had said that. Hadn’t she?

  “So?” He arched a brow.

  “Okay so at the time, I wanted to see you come. You were already in the act, Lane.”

  “And now?”