Claws (4 page)

“Are you saying I stink?” Her words ended in a strangled screech.

“There you go again turning my words into negative statements. Although the smell of the bayou is not for everyone, I happen to like the scent.” He ducked over the threshold.

Sasha leaned back on the door and smiled, touching her cheeks to confirm the huge grin on her face. She cleared her throat and glanced around to make sure he hadn’t doubled back. She moved toward the tub and started to giggle. That man might be epically conceited but damn if he didn’t make her laugh. If only she could find a way for them to have a fling without strings. Goddess, she must be going into heat. It was the only explanation for her blatant desire.

Flames from the bonfire shot up into the air. Paper-light embers floated above the blaze when Etienne stoked the logs at the pits edges with a hefty branch. He tossed the limb on top of the rest of the pile. Swirls of smoke weaved together to form a plume that climbed up into the twilight sky. He looked over at the inlet and leaned back against the log he’d dragged into camp to create some seating by the fire. Rich red and deep gold washed the marsh in color as the sun sank below the treetops.

He’d gutted the fish at the edge of the shoreline, tossing the innards and scales to his pet gators that swam in closer to snatch up the unexpected treats. Cleaned, he’d skewered the trout with solid boughs he’d cut and sharpened. Hung just above the fire, they slowly roasted. The scent of cooking fish permeated the area. Etienne glanced at the house. He hadn’t seen Sasha since he’d left in search of food. Something wasn’t right; she was too quiet. He rose from his seat and faced the shack, staring at it, looking for some sign of movement. Cocking his head, he listened for any sounds coming from the structure. The deep croaks of male frogs mating calls and the crackle of the blaze filled the night.

With a heartfelt sigh he moved toward the porch. Having her as his woman was more than a notion. He peeked in the window and noted the stillness. If she somehow managed to get out of his camp without his knowledge, there would be hell to pay. He shook his head. Somehow he had to make her understand she was his and whether she liked it or not, he was hers.

Out in this bog the landscape could change with a strong wind and even though he knew she grew up in the Everglades, unease slithered up his spine. No two swamps were the same. Etienne rubbed his palm over the back of his neck before reaching for the doorknob. It turned easily in his hand and the thin barrier swung silently open. He stepped over the threshold.

The corners were dark in the lengthening shadows as the moon started to rise in the night sky and cast faint beams through the windows. He narrowed his eyes, searching for anything amiss. He caught sight of the gently swinging hammock from the corner of his eye before he heard the scrape of the screws twisting in the wall from the ropes oscillating back and forth. Sasha was still there. Etienne couldn’t help the slow smile that bloomed on his face.

She sat in his makeshift bed, still naked. Her legs were open to expose the trim dark hair covering her mound. One limb dangled over the braided rope. She used her toes to push of the floor and sent the hammock swaying. Sasha yawned and raised her arms high above her. Her breasts lifted and his gaze was drawn to her abundant mounds. His cock jumped to attention, making the crotch of his jeans painfully tight.

Sasha stopped moving. “You know since you left I have been thinking.” She paused before continuing. “I won’t deny there is an attraction between us, a powerful one. However, I am not looking for a mate nor do I believe I’ll want one in the future either. Given that, I do think that if we get this itch out of our system, we would probably get along much better.”

Etienne cleared his throat before he spoke. “So your solution to resolve this need we have for each other is to…” He waved a hand.

She leaned forward. “My plan is to fuck you until we exercise our demons. Hopefully it will take a while.” Sasha arched a thin brow.

“Careful,
Sha
, now I’m not sure exactly what kind of man you’re used to dealing with but I can assure once I start loving on you, there ain’t no turning back. Before we’re done, you will be screaming my name.”

Her voice dropped to a raspy whisper. “That sure of yourself, gator?”

He took a few steps forward. “Woman, you will learn there are a few things I won’t play with and rocking your world is one of them.”

She gripped the edge of the hammock but her voice held a thread of anxiety. “Why don’t you show me what you’re working with?”

The bark of laughter that escaped through his lips surprised him. He rocked back on his heels and took measure of the woman who stared in his direction. “You asked for this,
Sha
.” He unbuttoned his jeans, leaving the zipper, and stalked toward her.

She blinked and he watched her eyes change to light amber with oblong irises.

“What’s wrong, baby? Having a hard time controlling your beast?” he taunted.

Sasha leaned back and skimmed her fingertips up her belly to circle a taut nipple with her index finger. “If you don’t want me just say so. I mean I’m sure I won’t have a problem finding someone else to take care of my needs.”

Etienne stomped forward and wrapped his hands around her upper arm. He yanked her against him, and looking into her eyes. “Never play with me like that. Bad kitty.” He hefted her up and threw her over his shoulder.

“What the hell are you doing?’ Her words were muffled.

He stalked out of the house and dropped down into one of the two chairs on the porch. Swinging her around, he set her facedown on his lap, he laid an arm across her back. She pushed up against the weight of his limb. Etienne smacked her ass and she went still.

“You will pay for this, Etienne,” She shouted as she yanked at the hem of his jeans leg.

“So you say,
Sha
. We need to establish a few rules and one of them is I am the man, and as I’m well aware that you know, you are the woman. I will not bow down to your childish attempts to control me. Do I want you? Yes and badly. I will have you on terms we can both agree on.”

She remained silent.

He raised his hand and spanked her butt again. In the dark, he couldn’t see the fruits of his handiwork but he could have sworn he heard her whimper. He rubbed the spot before lifting his palm to slap her cheek again. “Do we understand each other,
Sha
?”

She twisted her head away from him.

Etienne slid his hand over the gentle curve of her buttocks. He could feel the heat at the apex of her thighs and eased a digit over the tight pucker of her asshole and along the moist folds of her pussy. She writhed against him.

He leaned down, dropping minute kisses along the back of her neck before speaking “You like this Sasha?”

Sasha turned her head and stared up at him. The gold of her irises swirled with desire. Her lips curled revealing her lengthening canines. Her words were jumbled as she spoke. “The real question is, can you handle all that I am?”

He traced his finger along her labia. “I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t.” His cock pressed against the zipper of his jeans. He was sure the metal would leave an impression in his shaft.

Slowly he slipped a finger into her passage and felt the undulating muscles tighten around it. He added a second digit and thrust deeper. Her sighs became wails when he swiveled his wrist and crooked his fingers. Her body bowed and drops of her essence flowed into his hand. He could feel his own teeth sharpening, cutting into his gums. A series of light spasms rippled around his digits and he drove them deeper. She clamped her thighs shut. Her claws pierced through his pants and dug into his calf. He tugged his hand free, gripped her hips and urged Sasha up onto her feet.

Etienne rose with her, yanking his zipper down. He rolled the jeans down his hips. Dropping to her haunches, Sasha pushed his hands out the way and jerked his pants down, shoving them to his ankles. His cock bobbed in inches from her face. She rested on her knees and sat back on her calves. He watched as she raised her face to glance at him.

Sasha licked her lips. “My turn, lover.” She cupped his nuts in her palm and slid her other hand along the length of his shaft.

He curled his hands into fists to keep from grabbing her shoulders and forcing her forward. A groan escaped past his lips as she slowly slid her hand up and down his erection. He watched her, enthralled when she leaned in and drew the head of his cock into her mouth. Tingles of pleasure exploded through him, making his knees so damn weak he had a hard time staying upright. He locked his legs to keep from dropping back into the chair behind him. His cock touched the back of her throat and she did something with her mouth, a sort of hum that reverberated through him, making his balls tighten. No longer able to resist he tangled his fingers in her hair, gripping the loose strands from her braid to hold her head in place as he thrust forward, fucking her mouth.

Her grasp tightened around the base of his dick and the friction from her mouth and hand increased. The heat and suction she created sent a sharp wave of unimaginable bliss shooting through his cock, his balls drew up, and he felt himself about to come.

He sucked in a breath as prickles raced through him and coalesced into a ball at the base of his spine.

“Enough!” The word erupted from his mouth in a rusty growl. Etienne yanked Sasha off him and pulled her up. Checking behind him he drew her down with him when he collapsed into the seat. “Ride me.”

A half smirk lit up her face as she crawled into his lap and straddled his hips. She planted her feet, and pushed up a little to fit his dick snugly between her nether-lips. “Is this what you want, Etienne?” She purred as she rubbed the slick furrow of her pussy along his shaft. He flexed his pelvis to sink into her but she evaded his thrust.

“
Sha
, has anybody ever told you, you talk too much?” Sweat coated her skin and moisture glazed his palms on her waist.

“Aww, no,” she moaned as she rolled her hips, rubbing her clit on his dick. Her words were thick.

Etienne slid his hands down to grip her hips. She steadied herself by latching on to his shoulders when he gave her a quick heave to position his dick at her vaginal opening. Cock in hand, he directed his member into her pussy. Sasha slowly lowered herself, flexing her hips while taking him in, so he sank into her snug sheath until her pussy wrapped around the base of his dick. A bead of perspiration rolled down her neck. She trembled. Etienne kissed the spot where the moisture hovered and arched his pelvis, driving deep into her channel.

Sasha threw her head back exposing the long column of her neck and rotated her hips. Her body glistened under the moonbeams as she flexed her legs to rise up off his member almost completely before plunging down. He slid his hands along her thighs as she lifted up and dropped again. The chatter of the nocturnal animals ceased to exist. All he heard was their heavy panting and the slap of skin against skin making contact on every drive into her body.

Currents of energy coursed through his limbs, popping from one nerve ending to another. His sac tightened. He snaked an arm around Sasha’s waist to hold her in place as he started to thrust up with piston like quickness. She embraced his torso, her taut nipples pressed into his chest, holding him close. Her nails scrapped his scalp as she pulled on his hair.

His jaw started to elongate filling with rows of sharp teeth. Etienne called back his beast, holding his shift at bay and the animal snapped its jaws at him. He sucked great draughts of air into his lungs to bring his inner gator under control. His vision changed, tunneling until she was the only thing he could see. Her vaginal muscles clenched around his shaft and he surged up, touching her womb. Cream flowed over his member and he opened his mouth as his own orgasm shook him when he released his seed.

A brief sting at the hollow of his neck and he pressed his lips together. Sasha shuddered, and started licking at his throat. Delight and satisfaction commingled when he realized what she’d done.

“Wrap your legs around me.” Etienne rose from his seat and she locked her ankles at the small of his back.

She mumbled. “At least you didn’t exaggerate.”

He chuckled. “Ah,
Sha,
we are going to have a lot of fun years together.”

Sasha let go, eased off his cock, and allowed her limbs to fall. She looked up at him and then at the mark at his throat. Color drained from her face. “Fuck!”

“We did and it was enjoyable.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why didn’t you stop me, you ass?”

He shrugged. “Stop you? Babe that would be like trying to lasso a hurricane. Plus it paid off for me in the end.”

“I hate you right now.”

“You’ll get over it.”

She shoved him away and started pacing. “There must be a way to change this.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Can we talk about it tomorrow? My mate tried to break me, I think.” Etienne looked over at the dying fire. “Our dinner is burned. Come to bed.”

“I am not sleeping with you.”

“Not to point out the obvious but you’ve already done that. Not that there was much sleeping involved.”

“Urgh! Screwing you was supposed to get
you
out my system.”

“We’re mates,
Sha
. Nothing will ever get us out of each other’s
systems
.” He cupped her chin.

She took a swing at him. Her blow grazed his chin as he danced back. Sasha went for a body shot, aiming for his ribs. He caught her fist and spun her around, engulfing her in a reverse bear hug.

Her honeysuckle scent surrounded him. “Who are you really mad at, my mate? Me or yourself? First we sleep. When Loubel or Armand comes to pick us up we’ll go talk to Marree. If you won’t believe me maybe you’ll listen to her when she tells you there is no reversal. You are the woman the Goddess chose for me and I find you…refreshing.”

“How would this Marree know? Who is she?”

“The vet, of course.”