A Matter of Pride (6 page)

“That’s not it. I’m responsible for all this. Lex wants me. I should be the one to take the brunt of the danger, so the others can be safe.”

“Fuck that.”
Dean snarled, and Jeremy again froze. Dean glanced down at him.
“How many of you are out there?”

“Two dozen.”

“Good. Keep us in your sights but not too close. You don’t let a thing happen to her, got it?”

“Right.”

“Any sign of Lex yet?”

“His guys are about half a day south and moving closer. They’re going four-footed and keeping a low profile. The eagles you have circling have already spotted them.”

“Good.”
Dean flashed his teeth.

“Eagles?” she asked.

Dean looked at her. “
You didn’t think we’d just wander all over the mountain without backup? We have a few raptors and wolves around, just in case we need help
,” he said, directing the warning Jeremy’s way.

“We’re here to help. I swear.”

“
If you’re lying, I’ll rip your throat out myself.
” Dean blew out a breath. “
Keep me updated. Lex moves, I want to know where he is and how long he’s been gone.
”

“
Sure. Right.
” Jeremy meowed. “
Can I go now?
”

Dean blinked down at his paw gripping Jeremy’s leg.
“Yeah. Get gone.”
He lifted his claws from the cat’s fur and they watched as Jeremy tore out of the cave.

Stacey didn’t know what to think. She’d never seen Dean so furious, so intimidating or so domineering. The lazy, tricky feline had turned into someone else entirely. Her cat couldn’t have been happier. The finicky beast inside her wanted her to shift, lift her tail and prepare to be mounted by the jerk glaring at her like his next meal.

A nightmare of epic proportions.

“What?” she snapped, hiding her confusion. “I did what I thought was right. I’m protecting my family, and I’m not putting any of you in harm’s way. So what if I might be in danger? Oh, wait. You’re angry because Lex now threatens your furry ass, is that it?” She was being totally unfair about it, and she knew it. But how else could she have handled all this?

Always being on alert, worried for her family and the pride, and missing the familiar day-to-day of work—the only thing that kept her grounded most of the time—wore on a girl. Not to mention her constant sexual awareness of a cat who’d never be able to give her what she needed. Hell, half the time he acted like he hated her. The other half, Dean tolerated her with leers or suggestive comments.

Good old Stacey. Good for a fuck but not much else.

Story of my friggin’ life.
She glared at him, waiting for another verbal attack.

She didn’t expect him to plunk his ass down on the hard ground and meow up at her.

“Huh?”

He lifted his head and waited, motioning her near.

She took a hesitant step forward, angry at herself for acting timid in front of him. Scrounging up her nerve, she reached him and placed her hands on her hips, hoping she seemed more aggravated than nervous. “Well, Chastell? What now?”

He nudged her to pet him. She did, not knowing what else to do. The feel of his soft fur under her hand started to soothe her. She watched him enjoy her touch, and something inside her softened. Like this, she could pretend Dean liked her. The man disappeared in the feline sitting so close. Acceptance warmed her from the inside out as she knelt and rubbed behind his ears. She scratched her nails along his back in a repetitive rhythm that had him purring up a storm.

“Don’t let this go to your head, but you’re actually a very attractive cat. If you’d stay like this forever, I might consider you good enough to make a house pet. What do you think of that?” she asked with a smile, imagining Dean at her condo in Miami, lazing in the sun while she worked on her designs.

He licked her face with a little too much force and she stumbled back onto her butt. He was over her in seconds and transformed back into a man, effectively caging her between his hard, warm body and the ground. His arms were like tree trunks rooted on either side of her head, and if she wasn’t mistaken, something long and hard prodded her belly.

Chapter Four

“I think being your pet would have its perks. I’d see you every day, and we’d play together.”

“Play?” She tried to squeeze her legs tight, knowing he’d likely smell what he did to her.

He inhaled, and she felt her cheeks heat. “Oh yeah.
Play.
”

“So you’re not mad anymore?”

He didn’t answer, but his eyes darkened. “Play. We’d start with me licking you all over.”

“Dean.” His name didn’t come out at all like a warning, but like an invitation she couldn’t resist.

“Let’s try it, hmm?”

He kissed her cheek and followed with a brief touch of his tongue. Then he did the same to her other cheek. Her forehead. Her chin. He moved to her mouth, and the desire in his eyes stole her breath. “What do you say, princess? How about you give me some of that sweet cream you’ve been hiding? For your little pussycat.”

Dean watched her eyes as he unbuttoned her jeans. He unzipped them and pushed them down her legs. In a hurried move, he whisked her shoes, socks, jeans and panties from her body. “Now your shirt and bra. Take ’em off.”

Worries about Hunters, Quince and Lex faded next to the wave of desire crashing over her. She was going to do it. Stacey was going to have sex with Dean Chastell.

But it wouldn’t mean anything, she reminded herself. Just putting this to rest so she could scratch sex with Dean off her to-do list.

“You do it, hillbilly,” she dared him.

His grin should have warned her. He ripped the buttons off her blouse as the shirt came off and had her bra open and gone in seconds. Then he latched onto her nipple and sucked a small shriek out of her.

“Shh, quiet. Don’t want Quince’s cats to come in here investigating.” He winked down at her and angled his cock so that it rested between her thighs. He felt so hot, so thick. She wiggled her hips as he sucked her other nipple, pulling a moan from her.

“That’s it. Put that sweet cream all over me.” Dean ground against her, his pelvis mashing her clit while his cock slid between her folds. “You smell so good. I’ve been dreaming about this,” he murmured.

His mouth moved from her breasts down her belly, past the thin strip of hair over her mound. He pushed her legs farther apart and used his thumbs to part her folds. He stared at her down there for a moment before meeting her gaze.

“I’m going to eat you until you scream. Then I’m going to fuck you hard, princess. No more teasing. No more waiting. It’s time.”

He didn’t give her a chance to protest—not that she would have. He sucked her clit into his mouth and bit down with enough pressure to shoot her into orbit. Like a firecracker, she came so hard she saw stars. But the stubborn cat wouldn’t stop. He continued to lap her up, licking with that tongue that didn’t know how to quit. And he purred while he did it, the masculine rumble filling her with pleasure, because she knew he truly enjoyed tasting her.

She should have been embarrassed that she’d come so easily, but she wasn’t. The cat inside her rolled and stretched, loving the attention of a worthy mate.

“God, that’s so good,” she moaned and gripped his hair. She wanted more, but with him inside her this time. “Again.”

He kissed her clit and her thighs and eased up from her, still in a crouch. “Oh, baby, you bet your ass again.”

Before he could lower himself to her once more, she scratched his shoulders. “Inside me this time.”

He gave her a look that made her tingle all over. “Don’t worry. I’ll come inside you. But not yet. Not until
I
say it’s time.”

Stacey wanted to argue, but she liked him telling her what to do. A surprise, because she’d never been into dominant men. The few who’d tried, she’d sent packing. But with Dean, it felt…right.

He kissed her clit, this time putting his fingers inside her, stretching her. His tongue felt like heaven and hell, increasing her need while giving her such ecstasy. She felt him with every part of her. Physically
and
emotionally, and he scared the crap out of her.

“Christ, you’re tight. And so fucking sweet,” Dean growled. “I’m not gonna last.”

She didn’t want him to last. She wanted him inside her. To come and be done, so she could put this behind her, forget him as if he’d never mattered. Because to her chagrin, he did.

He teased her some more, and she writhed over the ground, not caring about the cold or discomfort. Nothing existed for her but Dean and his wild mate-scent. Her cat wanted more. She purred and grunted, snarling inside Stacey to be set free to capture the cagey male.

Stacey was losing her grip on herself as the pleasure spiraled. Her nails lengthened and she felt the spark of change overtake her.

But Dean wouldn’t let her. He rushed over her body, nudged her thighs wider and slammed inside her in one deep, hard thrust, grounding her cat to her woman’s body once more.

“Fuck, yes. That’s it. God, let me have it. All of you. Yes, yes,” he groaned as he took her, pumping with such ferocity she could only lie beneath him and take the delicious pounding.

He ground against her clit with each pass, and when he kissed her and thrust his tongue inside her mouth, invading even there, she exploded.

She arched up as she came, clenching him tight inside.

He ripped his mouth away and shouted, releasing all that warm seed that belonged to her. Dean groaned and shuddered, coming hard. To her shock, he didn’t stop moving. His orgasm blossomed into another, and he kissed her everywhere he could reach as he filled her up.

“Christ. Oh baby. Stacey, honey.” He hugged her tight, and that affection after such an explosive coming together turned her into an emotional mess. The beauty of such togetherness made it hard to think.

They lay there in silence while she dwelled on what had happened. He leaned up from her and swept her hair from her face with gentle hands. He kissed her, his lips lingering and stirring an impossible need for him again.

Then he opened his mouth to say the words that would no doubt spoil it all.

Dean had no idea what he’d planned to say when Stacey placed a finger over his lips.

“Please, don’t. Let me bask in postcoital bliss without you ruining it.”

Postcoital bliss? Why the hell couldn’t the woman just say orgasm? Her familiar arrogance should have annoyed him, but he silently agreed with her. The prickly female would probably take anything he said the wrong way. And after having his circuits fried, he could barely string two intelligible words together anyway.
Holy shit
, or
you blew my fucking mind
weren’t the stuff of romance.

But hol-ee crap. Sex with Stacey had been better than anything he’d fantasized. Than anything he’d ever had. His cat purred with contentment, way too close to claiming the female as his own. And wouldn’t that be a colossal mistake. He was still pissed that she’d kept the truth from him, and more for putting herself in danger.

Yet her actions confirmed what he’d always thought. The woman had another side to her than the conceited persona she projected. She truly loved her family. The worry in her gaze, the clear scent of distress at the mention of them in harm’s way, had been real. It soothed a part of him that had worried she might be less on the inside than she was on the outside.

And what an outside. He clutched her tighter against his chest, completely enthralled with her breasts. He could suck on her tits for hours and not be satisfied. Yeah, Dean was a breast man. And she had a real set of perfect on her. Not to mention that honeyed pussy. Licking her had been incredible, not something to be endured to get his own happy ending. He’d come hard.

Inside her.

Without protection.

“Shit.”

“See? I knew you’d ruin it,” she grumbled, sounding like a snarly kitten before she yawned.

“Sorry. I was just worrying about…” He didn’t want to upset her, and he needed time to process what had happened. Stacey might be an aggravating princess, but in his arms, she’d been exactly what he needed. And really, what were the odds she might be pregnant from just this one time? He really shouldn’t screw up his chances for another go-round, one where he’d be more careful, of course.

He glanced down at his hands over her waist and wished he didn’t like the sight of them there so much. Even worse, his cat loved the thought of Stacey bearing his young. For a split second, so did Dean.

“Worried about what?” she asked, her breath warm against his throat. She nuzzled his chest and sighed against him, and his heart did a funny little flip in his chest.

“Uh, about the thought of the pride in danger.”

She tensed, and he stroked her shoulder.

“But if you trust this Quince guy, I guess I can too.” A lie, but the right thing to say because she relaxed.

“I don’t know that I trusted him at first, but I don’t think he’ll hurt me. I’m not so sure about you though.”

“How do you know?” He didn’t like her faith in this guy for several reasons he didn’t want to think too hard about. “You and he have a history or something?”