Behind the Eight Ball (17 page)

Lawson removed his thumb from my hole and I meowed pitifully. He moved from my aching peak to nuzzle under my arm. I was hairless there too, but apparently that skin was very fucking susceptible to his lips. My cock jumped on my belly as he tongued me. I tightened the hold I had on my wrists, writhing on the bed as he wrapped his other hand around my cock.

“Oh, oh, oh…
gods
, Lawson.” Straining on the bed, I fought not to open my eyes.

“Keep those eyes closed or I stop,” Lawson murmured softly.

He continued to drive me quickly out of my mind with his hand. A tingle started at the base of my spine. “Going to come,” I growled.

“Huh, didn’t know cats could growl.” Lawson raised his head from my pit and stopped jacking me.

“Surprise,” I gasped weakly. My body screamed to finish as he scooted back down. “But I do wish you’d—fuck!” Lawson rubbed his thumb against my hole, then slowly eased it inside me.

Pain flared briefly but couldn’t hold my attention thanks to being on the verge of orgasm. His thumb did feel odd in me, though. Funny how different it felt from when I did that. Lawson pressed in deeper as he lowered his head to my chest again and sucked one of my nipples. He replaced his thumb with a finger, crooked that digit, and nailed my hot spot. I curled my toes and precome smeared on my belly. Holy fuckatory did it feel different when he did that. A strange yowl exploded from me.

My eyes popped open and I jerked my head up, wanting to see what he was doing. He stopped moving his finger, and Lawson buried his hand in my hair. He jerked my head back down onto the bed. The slight pain sent tingles racing through my body. Oh, I liked that.

Lawson lifted his mouth off my nipple long enough to do some growling of his own. “Keep that head down and eyes stay closed… or I
will
stop.”

I couldn’t get my eyes closed fast enough, and he let go of my hair.

“Better.”

Better was good, right? At least I thought it was good, but what—my breath swooshed out of me as he pushed in another wicked finger and went back to work. Lawson had filled me with two fingers, but I still wanted more. He scissored them open, spreading and loosening me. Panting, I tried to rein in my desire.

Every time he bumped my prostate, a needy mewl escaped from me. “Please… more.”

Lawson added another finger, and for a moment, pain threatened to take over. I must have made some small sound because he stopped moving.

“Easy. You’re clenching up. Just breathe and it’ll pass, I promise.”

Minutes passed and the pain receded. “O-okay.”

Lawson waited until I was relaxed. “No rush, pretty kitty. This isn’t a race, and I refuse to hurt you. Just let me know when you’re ready.”

I wiggled, and his fingers brushed my hot spot. Pleasure sparked. “Whoa!”

“Sounds like you’re ready for more.”

“Yes!” Lawson thrust his fingers deep inside me. “Fuck, I’m ready. Do it.”

“Not quite ready, but soon.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he banged my prostate and talking took a backseat to hoarse cries. “Please! Please, please, please.” Holy shit, I was going to lose my mind if he didn’t do something and soon. I
ached
.

He removed his fingers and the bed bounced as Lawson moved between my legs. “I’m going to fuck you so good. Going to make you scream. Going to claim that virgin ass of yours, Heller. You’re going to be mine before this night is done.”

My head swam at his words. I’d finally belong. “You gotta take my blood as you come in me. You have to.”

Lawson pulled my legs up onto his shoulders. “But—but how?”

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about that. When I tell you to, you drink from me. I’ll handle the rest.” Look at me carrying on an intelligent conversation with a huge cock poised at my hole. “Now fuck me like you mean it.”

I expected him to shove his dick in me. I really should have known better. The care with which he entered me must have taken years off his life, but it didn’t hurt.

“Okay?”

“Fuck yeah!” I hissed at him.

He took me at my word. Next thing I knew, he had my knees up around my ears, with both of his hands on my pecs to support himself. He pushed in a little farther, then pulled out. In and out, in and out. Each time he went deeper in me. I relaxed and my body accepted him.

I loved that he took me carefully since this was my first time. He’d stretched me, and I took his length with no problem. He’d never hurt me. My cat was loving the feelings his cock sent through me. His tenderness stroked the part of me that craved to be needed.

But I also wasn’t made of glass.

“Fuck me,” I growled.

Lawson paused above me. “Don’t… don’t want to hurt…. It’s your first time.”

I ran my hands up and down his arms as a small purr escaped from me. I loved his muscles. “Not gonna break.
Fuck
me. I need you to… to take me. I want to feel you. I need to, Lawson.
Fuck
me.”

Still frozen above me, Lawson gritted his teeth. “Are you sure?”

I tried to fuck myself on his cock. All that got me was a narrowed-eyed look. “Yes,” I whined. “I’m absolutely—shit. Yes, just like that.”

Lawson thrust harder into me, taking me at my word. Gentle was gone. This was hot, sweaty, with a hard edge of possession to it. Now I knew what being fucked through the mattress meant, and I loved it. Each time he bottomed out, he grunted.

I wanted to yell with the pleasure coursing through me. I had no idea it could feel like this. I lost track of time as he loved me, and then suddenly he rolled more of my weight upon my back and crouched over me. Lawson hooked his hands around my neck. Inches apart, we stared at each other as he slid back into me.

“So sexy. So good,” he groaned as he fucked me.

I ran my hands over his sweaty body as he rode me. Every couple of thrusts hit my prostate, and I grunted with pleasure. His eyes were unfocused as he plowed my ass, pulling more sounds from me.

“Gonna come,” he whispered.

“Let my legs down!”

He leaned back and I wrapped my legs around his waist. Covering me with his body, he stared down at me. “Heller… I’m going to…. Do whatever it was you were going to do.
Now
.”

I popped a claw out and cut a groove across my chest. I grabbed him behind the neck and yanked him down. “Drink while you come.”

“Mine!” Lawson snarled, then fastened his mouth to the cut and starting swallowing. Heat bathed my insides as he came in me.

Lawson’s orgasm triggered mine, and I came so hard everything grayed out for a moment.

Lawson

I PULLED
out of Heller and rolled onto my side so I could see him. He collapsed on his back next to me, eyes closed, breathing as if he’d just run ten miles. Uphill. In a snowstorm. “Babe?”

His lips twitched but he kept his eyes closed. “Yeah?”

“Wow.”

Heller snorted. “Yup, ‘wow’ works. Man, does it work.”

I touched the wound on his chest. The bleeding had almost stopped. “This okay?”

Heller opened his eyes and grinned over at me before looking down at his chest. “Yes. It’ll heal pretty fast.”

I petted his chest. “Is everything else okay too?”

“What do you…? Oh. Ah, yeah, everything is good.” Heller wiggled a bit. “Might be a bit sore, but nothing to be concerned about.” He rolled over onto his side and ran his thumb across my lips. “You, ah, have some….”

Mortified, I licked my lips and tasted blood. Jeez. I’d just gulped down blood like a pro.
Blood.
My stomach gurgled a little and then settled down. It hadn’t been as bad as I thought. I licked my lips again.

His blood didn’t taste like I thought it would. I’d tasted my own before—cut my finger or something like that—and it had a metallic taste. Not exactly what I’d call pleasant, but Heller’s didn’t have that. Well, it did, but it was overlaid with a sweetness too.

It was still blood. And I had drunk it. In this day and age, you didn’t mess with blood without being damn sure you knew it was safe.

“Don’t be embarrassed.” Heller scooted closer and licked at my lips. “I find it incredibly sexy. You took my blood and started the mating process. How could I
not
find that sexy?”

Well, hell, put like that, how could I freak out? “Speaking of which, what happens now?” I reached out to play with a strand of Heller’s hair.

With a quick kiss to my lips, Heller sat up. “Well, we have to finish it within twenty-four hours.”

“Huh. I thought I’d feel different.” I sat up too and tugged Heller’s hair. “Oh well. Want to take a shower?”

Heller ran his hand down his chest and grimaced. “Yeah, that sounds like a nice idea. Then let’s grab a quick bite to eat and go to bed.”

“Oh?” That surprised me. “I thought you’d want to finish our mating.”

“I do.” Heller laughed at my expression. “But even shifters need more than a few minutes to recharge, you know what I mean? I also thought you’d be hungry.”

I rubbed my stomach. “Yeah, I could eat.”

After a quick shower that led to some not-so-quick touching, we were in the kitchen. I’d kept an eye on him to see if he was walking funny. While the primal side of me would’ve liked to see proof I’d popped his cherry earlier, I was glad I hadn’t hurt him.

He’d loaned me a pair of his boxers; they fit rather well. I thought we’d just snack, but Heller was headfirst in the refrigerator. He apparently had other plans.

“Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits okay with you?”

“That sounds good to me.”

Heller hastily filled the counter next to the refrigerator with packages of bacon and sausage. Next came a can of biscuits and a carton of eggs. Milk and orange juice joined the party. He backed out of the refrigerator and turned to face me. “What?”

“Are you planning on feeding an army and forgot to tell me?”

“Huh? Oh. Shifters tend to have an enhanced metabolism. We eat more than humans.” Heller turned on the stovetop, and then got a bowl down from a cabinet. “I like to eat and I, ah, also worked up an appetite.”

The grin he flashed me was sweet and… dammit, shy. I patted his ass as he walked past me to get the salt. “I enjoyed helping you work up that appetite.”

This was a side of Heller I hadn’t seen. Gone was the arrogance and the egotism that seemed so much a part of him. Oh, the man was still achingly gorgeous, with all that long hair around his shoulders and those silky black boxers.

Hells bells, even his feet were sexy, and I never looked at feet. I mean, they were feet. You walked on them. There were other things to look at besides feet, for crying out loud. But his were sexy, with those long toes, smooth skin, and high arches.

I had it bad.

I rubbed my chest. Either that or I had a case of indigestion. Problem with that was I hadn’t eaten in a while, and listening to Heller break eggs in a bowl wouldn’t qualify as eating. So what was going on with me?

One minute I was standing there in the kitchen admiring Heller, and the next thing I knew, someone turned the heat up to fry-your-ass level. I was burning up, and my body decided now would be a good time to start shaking like a leaf.

“Fuck. Heller?” Someone jacked up my internal thermostat, and now my blood was boiling. Sweat dripped off me from the sudden heat.

“Yeah?” Heller cracked another egg and looked at me. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I, ah, was hoping you could tell me that. Jesus, is it hot in here?” I hurried over to his refrigerator, opened the freezer section, and stuck my head inside.

Heller came up behind me and ran his hands over my back. “You’re as red as a lobster, and you’re so hot.”

“Feels like I’ve been dipped in scalding hot water too.”

But outside of being really, really,
really
fucking hot, I didn’t feel sick. There wasn’t the urge to throw up, and I wasn’t dizzy. Nothing hurt, and I wasn’t babbling. I jerked my head out of the freezer and padded back to Heller’s bedroom, my mate hot on my heels.

“Hey, hey, what are you doing? What about the food I was…. Um, Lawson?”

Food? Food was the last thing I wanted. Heller danced around me as I stripped off what little I had on and turned on his shower.

“Oh. Um, about that.” Heller tried to reach in and shut off the water. “Fuck, that’s straight cold water! Look, I’m not sure you should—”

I whipped my head around and we were nearly nose to nose. I growled—yes, growled—at him. “Move it or lose it, buddy.”

Heller’s eyes widened, but he got out of my way. Good. He
really
didn’t want to get into a discussion with me on why this wasn’t a good idea. Now that I had a clear path, I stepped in the shower.

“I can
not
believe you did that.” Heller shuddered. “That’s just wrong. My balls are the size of raisins just thinking about… I’m going to… going to… call Dolf. Yes! That’s what I’m going to do. Right, call Dolf. Oh my goddess, cold water. Don’t go anywhere.”

Go anywhere? Was he
kidding
? I crowded under the cold water. I knew this wasn’t normal, but shifters changed humans all the time. It wasn’t as if I was the first one ever changed. I’d be fine, unless this wasn’t supposed to be happening. Shit. I was going to kill him, just as soon as I wasn’t on fire anymore.

I don’t know how much time passed until Heller returned looking a little calmer. Just as soon as I opened my mouth to ask what he found out, my body flipped the temperate switch.

“Holy fuck!” I yelled as the heat in my body receded and freezing cold water blasted me. Holy shrinkage. Desperately I turned the knob for the hot water. “J-J-J-Jesus. What the hell’s happening to me?”

Heller spoke through the glass shower door. “Nothing that’s not expected.”

I glared at him through the stream. “Did
you
expect this?”

“Well, no. I had no idea, but I called Dolf. Since Kirk was human and went through this, I figured he’d know what was happening.”

“And?”

“From what he said, this is normal for a human. He told me your DNA is mutating. The hot, then cold flashes, are signals the change is taking place. He also felt the need to share what his Mom said—that what you’re going through is similar to menopause, only much faster.”