CougarHeat (3 page)

Taylor straightened and turned in
her direction as if he’d sensed her watching him. His gaze met hers. Aspen
sucked in a sharp breath. The way he looked at her made her heart beat faster
and her blood heat. Even in the dim light, she couldn’t miss how he seemed to
eat her up with his gaze. It made her hungry, and not for food.

He jumped out of the bed of the
pickup and the spell was broken. Aspen quickly pulled herself together. Even
though she wanted nothing more than for Taylor to kiss her again, she really
needed to get some food into her.

Taylor stopped just inside the
doorway. “All set.”

Aspen nodded. She walked back to
one of the beds and grabbed her purse where she’d tossed it earlier. “Okay.”

After locking the room door, Taylor
and Aspen made the short walk to the café. Since it was well past what would be
considered the dinner rush, if the place had one, only a few tables were taken.
They were seated and then left alone to look over the menu.

It didn’t take Aspen long to decide
what she wanted. Surprisingly, everything on the menu looked delicious. Some of
the items she wouldn’t have thought to find at a place that was practically out
in the middle of nowhere.

She looked up to find Taylor
intently watching her. Once again her body reacted to his stare. Aspen licked
her lips, almost able to feel what it would be like to have his claiming hers.
His gaze lowered to her mouth, desire showing starkly in his eyes.

A wave of arousal shot through her,
her pussy clenching with need. She’d told Taylor she hadn’t been with anyone
all summer, but it had been longer than that. Even before leaving Anchorage to
work in Skagway, she’d been single. Six months before that she’d split with her
long-term boyfriend. They’d been together for two years. The breakup had been
mutual. The relationship hadn’t been going anywhere, and both of them had known
it.

Now, having Taylor look at her with
such hunger, her long-neglected body reminded her how much time had actually
passed since she’d had sex with a man. She needed to get out of her slump. One
mostly caused by her. After her past relationship had ended she hadn’t been
ready to be with someone new. But with Taylor, that was no longer the case. She
was more than willing to see how far things would go with him.

Aspen cleared her throat. “I’m
ready to order. How about you?”

Taylor nodded. “I’ve decided. And
just so you know, this is my treat.”

“Then I guess we should consider
this our first date?”

“If you like. I promise our next
one will be in a better place than this.”

“I’m not complaining. At least the
company is good.”

The waitress came and took their
order. After that, much of the meal seemed to pass in a blur for Aspen. She ate
the food that was placed in front of her, but her attention was more on Taylor
than it. Her thoughts kept straying to what could possibly happen once they
returned to the motel room. Arousal still rode her, making her body ache to be
filled.

It didn’t help that Taylor gave her
heated looks from time to time as they spoke between mouthfuls of food. Each
sizzling glance sent her desire to higher levels. By the time Aspen had
finished eating there was only one thought on her mind—how soon could she get
her hands on Taylor’s hot body.

Taylor paid the bill, then stood at
her side to help her out of her chair. He kept her hand in his, their fingers
linked, as he silently walked her out of the café. Excitement coursed through
her with each step that brought them closer to the room they’d be sharing for
the night.

Taylor was so aroused he was
surprised he could walk straight. His cock was hard and pressed against the
front of his jeans. Luckily it was dark out and there wasn’t anyone around as
he and Aspen headed to their motel room. There was no mistaking the state he
was in.

So far he didn’t think Aspen had
noticed. If she had, it wouldn’t have bothered him. Actually, he wanted her to.
During the entire meal he’d only been able to smell the scent of her need. Her
arousal was an ever-present sign of how ready she was to accept him into her
body. More than a few times he’d had to hold back a purr when the scent of her
desire became almost too much.

He unlocked the room door and
pushed it open wide to let Aspen step through before him. He followed her in
and closed them inside. She turned on the lamp on the small table between the
two beds as he went to the single window and pulled the curtains closed.

Taylor turned to face Aspen. She
sat on the end of one of the beds, watching him. He crossed the distance
between them until he stood directly in front of her.

Her head fell back as she looked up
at him. “So which bed do you want or…would you like to share?”

Aspen’s gaze drifted down his body
and landed squarely on the bulge in his pants. Taylor heard the sharp indrawn
breath she took at seeing how aroused he was. He did nothing to hide it from
her, stayed exactly where he was.

“Are you sure that’s what you
want?” he asked in a voice gruff with desire. “Because if I share that bed with
you, we’ll be doing more than sleeping. I already find you tempting.”

She nodded. “I knew what would
happen when I offered. You’re not the only one who feels tempted.”

Taylor took Aspen’s hand and tugged
her to her feet. “If we do this, I can’t promise you anything. I’ve never been
one for being in a lasting relationship, but I do want to see you again.”

“That’s better than one night and I
never see you afterward.”

“I know for sure I can give you
more than that.”

He bent his head and claimed her
lips. A breathy sigh left Aspen as he slanted his mouth over hers for a tighter
fit, his tongue pushing inside to taste her. It ramped up his desire. Taylor
put his arms around her waist and hauled her closer so their bodies touched
from chest to knee. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers sinking
into the back of his hair.

Now used to finding his pleasure in
human women’s arms, Taylor was well practiced in the art of keeping his cat
side hidden. Unlike his werewolf friends, he didn’t have to worry about his
eyes taking on a muted glow once he became very aroused. The only thing that
would give him away was the loud cat-sounding purrs that built inside him.
Instead of allowing them free, he groaned.

Aspen held him tighter and rubbed
against him. The scent of her desire increased. Taylor dropped his hands from
her waist to her ass and cupped it to grind along her pussy. She moaned into
his mouth, the fingers in his hair tightening on the strands.

Their kiss became more erotic with
each second that passed. Soon it wasn’t enough. Taylor had to taste her skin,
take her more-than-a-handful breasts in his hands and suck on her nipples. He
wanted to strip her naked and learn every inch of her with his tongue.

He broke contact with her mouth and
tugged her shirt up over her head and off. Taylor reached behind Aspen and
unhooked her bra. She pushed the straps down her arms before tossing it aside.
She then took hold of the bottom of his long-sleeved t-shirt and removed it.

Aspen ran the tip of her finger
across his cougar head pendant. “It’s beautiful.”

“Thanks.” Taylor ran his gaze over
what he’d revealed of her. “And so are you.”

He lifted her off her feet and
claimed her lips once more. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held on
to the tops of his shoulders. Her tongue met his as he pushed inside her mouth.

Taylor climbed onto the bed with
Aspen still in his arms. He lowered her to the mattress, following her down to
lie stretched out on top of her. He rocked his hips into the V of her spread
thighs as he covered one of her breasts with his hand. He plucked at her taut
nipple, causing it to tighten even more. She arched her back, pressing tighter
into his palm.

He left her mouth and shifted to
lie at her side. Taylor pressed a smattering of kisses across the top of
Aspen’s chest before changing direction to take a nipple into his mouth. He
sucked on it, then gently bit down. She moaned, her hips lifting restlessly.

Taylor switched to her other breast
and trailed his fingers down her flat stomach. At the top of her jeans, he
pushed the button undone before pulling the zipper down. He parted the material
and ran a caressing hand down the front of her panties. The satin was smooth
under his fingertips.

With Aspen’s help, he took off her
pants. Taylor raised himself on a bent arm and looked down at her. Her body was
gorgeous, slim and curvy in all the right places. His cock jerked inside his
jeans as he thought of what he’d reveal once he removed her panties. He knew
she’d be wet for him. The scent of her arousal wafted around him.

Aspen turned on her side to face
him. “I think you have on entirely too many clothes.”

She made short work of the
fastenings on his pants and pushed them down past his hips, leaving his
boxer-briefs in place. He shoved his jeans the rest of the way off and kicked
them over the side of the bed.

“Is that better?” he asked in a
husky voice.

She ran her hand along his chest
and down his abs to the top of his underwear. A finger pushed under the
waistband and ran from side to side. “Almost. We’re definitely getting there.”

Aspen hooked her finger and tugged
the front of his boxer-briefs down, freeing his cock. She circled the head of
it, gathering the pre-cum that leaked from the slit before she traced the
length of his shaft. Taylor couldn’t stop himself from thrusting his hips toward
her, his erection jerking.

He soon groaned with pleasure as
she took him fully in her hand and pumped up and down. She squeezed him tight,
using long strokes. More pre-cum leaked out of the head of his cock as his
excitement grew. At the rate she was working him, he wouldn’t be able to stand
this for long. He didn’t need to lose control and come before they’d even
started. Also, unlike his werewolf friends, cougar shifters couldn’t maintain
an erection for hours at a time. Just like human males, they needed recovery
time.

Taylor gently pulled out of Aspen’s
grasp. He finished removing his underwear, then focused on her, pushing her
onto her back. “Now you’re the one who has more clothes on.”

He slid her panties off her hips
and down her legs, using caressing strokes as he went. Her skin was soft to the
touch. Taylor ran his hand along the inside of her thigh, not stopping until he
encountered the wet opening to her body. He brushed a finger along it before he
pushed inside. Her inner muscles clamped around the digit as he stroked in and
out.

Aspen moaned, her hips lifting to
meet each of his strokes. He looked at her to see she had her eyes closed and
her bottom lip between her teeth. She was an erotic vision, one he wouldn’t
soon forget.

Unable to hold back any longer from
possessing her, Taylor pulled his finger out of her pussy and shifted so he lay
between her spread legs. He pressed the head of his cock against her slick
opening and slowly pushed forward. The sensation of her inner walls closing
around his shaft had him fighting for control. It hadn’t been all that long
since he’d last been with a woman, but for some reason with Aspen, he swore
it’d been years. The urge to take her hard and fast until he came deep inside
her was almost overwhelming.

Instead he continued to thrust
slowly into her. Once he was seated to the hilt, he stilled, savoring the feel
of her pussy wrapped around his cock. Taylor pulled back until he was almost
all the way out, then pushed inside, Aspen taking all of him again. She felt so
damn good. And as he continued to pump in and out, the sounds of pleasure she
made hyped up his arousal even more.

Aspen gripped his biceps and lifted
her legs to either side of his hips. She squeezed her inner muscles as she
matched him stroke for stroke. Taylor could no longer keep the slow and steady
pace he’d set. He thrust faster, harder, his climax building at the base of his
spine. He groaned, but with the pleasure rioting through his body, it came out
half as a purr. His ability to keep his cat side hidden slipped. He usually had
no problem keeping it hidden from the woman he was with.

Taylor was almost at the point of
no return when Aspen let out a keening moan. Her pussy rhythmically clutched
and released the entire length of his cock. It had his climax roaring to meet
him. He pumped his hips faster as his orgasm overtook him. He spilled deep
inside her, giving her everything he had.

After it was over, Taylor collapsed
on top of Aspen. She wrapped her arms around his back and held him tight. They
both were breathing hard. He turned his head and kissed the side of her neck.
One time wasn’t going to be enough. Being with Aspen was the best sex he could
ever remember having. He definitely wasn’t prepared to let her go once they arrived
in Anchorage.

* * * * *

The sound of an unfamiliar alarm
clock going off made Aspen jerk awake. She lifted her head and looked around,
at first not remembering where she was. It wasn’t until her gaze landed on the
man who lay next to her that it all clicked into place.

She rubbed her eyes as Taylor
reached over and shut the alarm off. She stared at his naked chest once he
turned onto his back. She’d touched every inch of his body during the night,
had learned all the planes and angles of it. They’d made love three times.
Aspen would have gone for another round, but Taylor had said they’d better get
some sleep since he wanted to get an early start on the road in the morning. He
wanted to push through to Anchorage with no long rest stops.

Her gaze landed on the cougar head
pendant he wore around his neck. During their lovemaking it had come to rest on
her skin more than once, and she swore it warmed against her. Though it was
possible it only retained Taylor’s body heat. The man was a living, breathing furnace.

Taylor turned his head and gave her
a smile. “Morning. Did you sleep okay?”

After a yawn, she nodded. “As can
be expected in a motel room. The bed isn’t all that comfortable. And waking up
this early sucks.”

He chuckled. “The ache in my back
can attest to the uncomfortable mattress. I know it’s not much later than dawn,
but if we want to get to Anchorage before it’s really late, we should leave
shortly.”

“I know that, but my body is still
complaining about it.”

Taylor rolled toward her and gave
her a kiss. “Well, you’ll have to tell that sexy body of yours it can sleep
later. We need to get up. You can have the shower first.”

“Or to save time we can take one
together.”

A flash of desire showed in
Taylor’s eyes before he shook his head. “Not going to happen. If I get you in
there, I’ll be doing all the things I still want to do to your body. We’ll have
to save that for another time.”

That was something for her to look
forward to then. “It was worth a shot. I won’t take too long since you want to
get going.”

Aspen threw back the covers and
walked naked to the bathroom. She looked over her shoulder at Taylor before she
went inside. He lay in the bed with his hands under his head, his gaze on her.
And seeing how the sheets over his hips were tented, he appeared to like what
he saw. She gave a wistful sigh before she closed herself in the smaller room.

Once she had the shower at the
temperature she wanted, Aspen stepped inside the bathtub and under the warm
spray. Spending the night with Taylor was something she’d never regret. He was
a generous lover with a body she wouldn’t ever get sick of exploring. He put
her last boyfriend to shame. She smiled as she thought how if it hadn’t been
for Cindy abandoning her, Aspen never would have met Taylor. Her ex-friend had
done her a favor in a roundabout way. It still didn’t make what Cindy had done
any better, but Taylor made up for some of it.

Aspen washed her body, feeling how
she ached in intimate places in a good way. It had been too long since she’d
had sex, but the soreness would quickly go away. She and Taylor had already
planned to see each other tomorrow night. Today would be shot with the long
drive and getting settled at home.

She finished her shower and dried
off with the motel’s poor excuse for a towel. It was barely big enough to keep
her covered as she walked out of the bathroom and headed for her suitcase to
get her toothbrush.

“You can have the shower,” she told
Taylor. “Is it okay if I brush my teeth while you’re in there?”

“No problem. Just don’t flush the
toilet on me.”

“I promise not to do that.”

She lifted her suitcase onto the
bed as Taylor pushed the covers off him and slipped from under the sheets.
Gloriously naked, he was a work of art with all his hard muscles. As if he
sensed her staring, he turned to face her and let her look her fill. The grin
he wore was crooked.

Aspen was more than tempted to
close the distance between them and run her hands all over him, but before she
could move the sound of a cell phone going off reached her ears.

Taylor grabbed his phone off the
small table next to the bed. “Hello? Blaise, why are you calling me so early…?
I should arrive sometime this evening… No, you don’t need to call again to see
where I am. I’ll get there when I get there. I said I’d come home and I won’t
go back on my word. Bye.” He disconnected the call and put his cell back where
it had been.