Khan (8 page)

Khan went to the room where she was and
saw that the flowers had been brought in. He picked up the violet, took it to
her bedside table, and set it there for her. He put his pink bag on the floor
beside her and sat down.

Her face was healing nicely, and the
swelling had gone down. He touched his finger to her skin and smiled when he’d
been right about the flower he’d gotten her. When she stirred a little, he
moved back to the chair to watch her. A few minutes later, she woke.

“Hi. How are you?”

She looked around the room, but didn’t
say anything.

“I bought you some flowers. I’ve never
bought flowers before.”

He sounded lame even to his own ears.
When she stretched, he noticed how the shirt she had on cupped her breasts and
he looked away. He wasn’t here to make love to her, but to beg her to forgive
him.

“I have to get up. I want you to go
away. And I don’t want to argue with you about it either.” She pulled the sheet
up over her and frowned. “How long have you been here?”

“Not long. I’d like to…I need to speak
to you first. If you don’t mind. I have some things I have to explain to you.”

She snorted. “If you mean you have some
orders to dictate to me, then no thanks. I’ve had enough of you treating me
like a subhuman. I’m a real person, just like you are.”

Perfect opportunity, he thought. “Not
really. I mean, I’m not a real person. Not like you anyway. I’m a bit more.”

She cocked her brow at him. “Oh, is that
right? You’re better than me. Well, how fucking fantastic for you. Then you won’t
mind if I tell you to stay away from my less than perfect self. Get out.”

He’d fucked that up royally. “That’s not
what I mean. I’m more than you because…I’m not really human.”

“I won’t argue with you there.”

He glared, but tried again. “I’m a
panther.” There, he’d told her. Not the way he’d planned, but now she knew. He
waited for her to ask questions, but all she did was stare at him. Just when he
was going to explain what he meant, she spoke.

“I’m pretty sure they disbanded in the
eighties. And not a group I would have associated you with. Especially since
you don’t seem all that political.”

It took him several seconds to realize
what she’d meant. He supposed it might have been funny had he not been trying
his best not to get pissy and to keep her from leaving him. He was pretty sure
that laughing right now might get him killed. And not by the woman his brother
had married either.

“Not a Black Panther, but a real one.
The kind that walks on four paws. My entire family is. Including Caitlynne.” He
watched her for signs of fear. But she looked…amused.

“Okay. And I suppose, oh, I don’t know,
the president is a bat and his aide is a dragon. You’re insane if you believe
that.”

“No. It’s true, and the president is a
white Bengal, as is the aide. But I think he’s golden, not white.” He stood up
and started unbuttoning his shirt. “Would you like to see him?”

~~~

Monica was shaking her head even as he
took off his shirt. When he had it off, she expected to see a tattoo or
something like that on him, but that was not the case. He took off his belt and
unsnapped his jeans. But she stopped him.

“Look, if you want me to believe this, I
will. There’s no reason for you to do this.” She eyed him closely. “Are you
your panther now?”

He laughed at her, and she felt foolish.
“No. I think you’ll know when I shift when I’m him. And, Monica, please don’t
scream or run. If you do, you’ll make him chase you, and he loves to run.”

She nodded. When he slipped off his
pants, along with his boxers, she had a moment of sheer pleasure run though her
body. He was beautiful. When he growled low, she looked up at his face.

“I’m going to show you my cat then, if
you still want me, I’ll change to human again and make love to you. Is that all
right with you?”

She nodded, not sure what else to do. “Good,
because I can smell you, and I want nothing more than to come deep inside of
you.”

And as suddenly as he was naked before
her, he was gone. And in his place stood a humongous panther. She scrambled to the
top of the bed to get away, and he leapt on the bed with her. She eyed the door
and wondered if she could make it when he snarled at her.

“Nice panther. I just want to go and get
some help. You stay right here and I’ll—” His big paw landed on her leg and she
cried out. “Please don’t eat me.” She looked down at him when he moved closer. He
didn’t let her go, but he did move a lot slower toward her. Just when she was
going to scream, he licked her foot.

“Stop that. What are you doing? Seeing
if I’m tender enough for you? Stop that right now.”

She thought he was laughing at her. And
when he licked her again, she wiggled her toes. It wasn’t a bad feeling. His
tongue was rough but soft and when he moved up her leg, she stretched out for
him.

“Licking is fine, but no biting.” She
watched him as his tongue lapped the wound on her leg. She nearly jerked away
when she realized that it didn’t hurt.

“You fixed it.” She looked at him. “Can
you understand me? What I’m saying to you?” He nodded. “I’m off my rocker here.”
She looked around the room and saw the flowers. “Are those roses? Did you buy
me roses?” He shook his head this time. “It’s really you, isn’t it? You’re
really a panther and I’m in bed with you.” He nodded and licked her thigh. “Are
you going to have sex with me like that?”

He didn’t move. And she thought maybe
his eyes had darkened. Her body felt his gaze, felt everywhere he was touching
her. When he lifted his paw off her leg, he moved it up to her belly and
nuzzled at her shirt. Without thought to what he might want or to chew on, she
lifted it up and exposed her ribs to him.

“I did that climbing out the window at
the hotel. I know it was stupid, but you…the human you had made me mad. I don’t
want you to treat me that way again.” His tongue rolled over her ribs and the
scrapes and bruises. They no longer stung. “You’re healing me.”

When he’d licked the area, she nearly
put her shirt back down, but he bumped his head against her breast. She wasn’t
sure about this part, but unhooked her bra and exposed both breasts to him. He
watched her as he flicked his tongue over her nipple, and she moaned. Then when
he did the same to the other, she wrapped her fingers in his fur and lifted his
head.

“You want me, then you do whatever it is
to make you human. I’m on fire for you.” She was too. And she was wet as well.
When he moved back down her body, he lowered his head to her pussy and inhaled
deeply. She shifted on the bed and nearly came when he did it again.

He stood near the bed and became Khan
again. His cock was the first thing she noticed because he was incredibly hard
and straining from his groin. When she reached for him, he took a step back and
took a deep breath.

“I’m going to bite you when we come. I’m
going to mark you as mine. All right?”

Was he kidding? She didn’t care at this
point if he tore her throat out so long as he was inside of her. She nodded.

He lifted her up and took her mouth. Her
body was molded to his as he took them back to the bed; his mouth was
voracious. His tongue, soft and smooth now, touched deep and tangled with hers
over and over. His hands tore at her clothes and she at his flesh.

When he took her nipple into his mouth,
she cried out, lifted herself up to him to give her all to him. When his cock
was at her entrance, she moved and shifted until she felt his crown fill her.
Moving again, she tried to take him all.

He tore his mouth from breast and looked
down at her. “I know you’re not a virgin, but I’m large and I know this will
hurt, but I can’t wait. I need to fill you.”

“Please. Please, take me.” He punched
hard into her. She screamed out in pain and held him. When he didn’t move, she
looked up at him.

“I’m so sorry, but I need to move, baby.
I swear to you I’ll make it better for you next time, but I need to come inside
of you.” When he moved again, it was slow and easy. “I’ll make it up to you, baby.”

She felt her body adjust to his. His
cock was thicker than she was used to, but he wasn’t hurting her any more. She
rolled her hips up to take more of him when he licked along her throat. Every
part of her body, including, she was sure, her hair, felt it. Moving her head
for him, she felt his teeth as they grazed along her skin. Digging her nails
into his back to encourage him to do it, she felt his teeth at her earlobe. All
the while he was moving in and out of her slowly, steadily.

“You’re going to come when I bite you.
Come very hard. I can hardly wait to taste you. Lick my tongue into your pussy
and drink you.” Her hands moved to his chest, and she flicked her nail over his
nipple. “Christ, do that again.”

She did and drew blood. But instead of
feeling bad for hurting him, she found that she wanted to taste him. Lifting
her head, she licked the droplet and then covered her mouth over the tiny wound
and suckled.

Her climax tore through her, but before
she could throw back her head and scream with it, Khan held her to his chest
and took her hard. Then he sank his teeth into her neck.

The climax screamed though her body,
taking her up and over a crest so high she saw stars behind her closed lids. Even
as he lapped at her skin, and her at his, he pounded into her over and over. Then
he stiffened and lifted his head. As he snarled, she looked up and saw her
blood on his chin, his teeth, longer than before, stained with it. She took his
injured nipple again in her mouth and bit him as hard as she could, and cried
out when her mouth filled with his blood. As she swallowed, she knew that
something had happened, something neither of them had expected. As the darkness
took her, she thought he told her he loved her.

Khan covered her up again. He’d been
checking her for injuries and that her pulse was still beating since he’d
realized she was unconscious. He’d rolled off her and the bed so quickly that
he’d tripped in the bag he’d meant to give her and turned his ankle. He’d
limped to the bathroom to get her a cold rag when he noticed the blood on his
chest.

She’d bitten him. Drawn blood and had
drunk it in. He rubbed his hand over the tiny scar that was there and smiled
again. He tried hard not to think about what she’d done, but couldn’t help feeling
like he’d been given a great gift. He checked her pulse again.

He hadn’t told anyone what had happened,
though he was pretty sure they’d heard them. He hadn’t thought of the rest of
them in the house when he’d taken her. He looked down at her again and wondered
at that moment who had taken whom. He caught himself smiling again and turned
to the door when someone knocked.

He opened it a crack, just enough to see
his brother, Walker, standing there. “Go away. I don’t want to wake her.”

He laughed. “I don’t think that’s going
to happen. The way she screamed, I’m pretty sure she’s going to be out for a
while. You okay?”

He nodded then shook his head. “I don’t
know. She…Christ, Walker, she bit me. And she drew blood.”

“I’m happy for you. She’ll be fine. She
has your blood now and will be fine. I swear it. Come out here. We’ve got
something to—”

“Khan?”

He turned to her when she said his name,
shutting the door in Walker’s face. He heard him laughing as he made his way to
the bed and her.

“Are you hurt? Did I hurt you too much?”
He lifted off the cover again and checked her pulse. “I’ve been so worried after
you slipped away that way. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes. How are you?” She ran her finger
over the scar and looked up at him. “You heal fast, don’t you?”

“Yes. So will you now.” He lay down
beside her, but didn’t get under the covers. “You really all right? I didn’t
mean to bite you so hard. But you’re mine now.”

She raised a brow at him. “I don’t
belong to anyone. I’m my own person. And the sooner you figure that out…what do
you mean I’m yours?”

“We’re a couple, paired. You and I have
had sex and exchanged blood. I guess that makes us belong to each other. But
mostly, you belong to me.” He grinned. “I’m going to protect you.”

“I see. Actually, no, I don’t.” She got
up, and he watched her grab things up as she mumbled. He thought he should tell
her that he could hear her, but decided that he might get hurt if he did.

“What are you so upset about? I mean, it’s
not like you’ve done that good of a job taking care of yourself up till now. I
mean, look what happened to you when I first met you. That guy had beaten you
for shit and you didn’t fight back.”

He knew the moment he’d said it he’d
screwed up. Before he could tell her that he hadn’t meant it that way, she
picked up the vase on the dresser and looked like she was going to throw it at
him. When she set it down, he let go of his breath with a whoosh. She went to
the door and opened it.

“Get out.”

He didn’t move, wasn’t going to.