Purrfect Protector (21 page)

* * * *

As they tumbled through the door, groping and rubbing against each other, Aleksi threw his house keys in the direction of the kitchen. He’d find them later.

He swooped in for another kiss as Kale broke away to suck in a desperate breath.

Aleksi slid his hands up Kale’s shirt, careful not to touch his mate’s back. The healing scars were still tender to the touch and he didn’t want to ruin the moment. Everything had been so hectic since coming out of hospital. First with the Italian police interviews, the photo shoot, then the FBI interviews—they hadn’t really had a moment to themselves. By the time they got to bed most days, they were too tired to do much more than cuddle.

Leading Kale to the stairs, Aleksi noticed his mate casting anxious glances at the door behind them. Aleksi made a mental note to get Oscar, the company security tech, to install an alarm system. Of course, he’d blindfold the bear shifter first. Aleksi was okay with his brothers knowing where his sanctuary was, but that was it. Besides, Oscar would understand. The shifter was the same with his caves.

“Have I told you how much I love your home?”

Moaning as Kale bit his lip, Aleksi tried to think.

“Our home,” he responded.

He dragged Kale, giggling and gasping, to the bedroom,

Since being mated, his tiger had become more balanced and playful, not as concerned with asserting dominance. His brothers were coming over in a few days to welcome them home. Kale was cooking. But Aleksi had a backup plan. Something told him Kale’s skills in the kitchen were less than stellar.

Bouncing on the edge of the bed, Kale abruptly stopped laughing as Aleksi began to stalk him.

As he watched, his mate scrambled off the bed and took a step to the side, as if to run.

Aleksi tensed, ready to follow, but Kale simply took another step, then another, until he was in the middle of the room and Aleksi was now the one with his back facing the bed.

Kale began peeling off his clothes and Aleksi paused. Kale had an amazing body and Aleksi wanted to rub himself all over it. The scars and faint, yellow bruises only added to his mate’s appeal. The strength and courage it must have taken for Kale to walk into Not-Barry’s clutches to save Caleb was incredibly sexy.

The blue silk shirt floated to the floor and Kale started on the low-waist trousers. One undone button revealed the top of Kale’s bush and the undoing of the second button confirmed that Kale was going commando.

“Mate,” he moaned in agony as his cock hardened even more.

If Aleksi had known Kale was wearing nothing underneath the thin trousers, he would have jumped him earlier and given the FBI more than they’d bargained for. The damn feds were a menace, going over and over statements as if they were looking for a hole in their stories.

Aleksi couldn’t look away as Kale slowly bared more of the neatly trimmed trail of hair leading to his crotch. He was hardly breathing by the time Kale stopped teasing him and dropped the trousers to the floor.

When he was nude, Kale gave him a knowing look. Aleksi could be irritated by Kale’s amusement, but he had better things to do—such as devouring his mate.

Tugging Kale to him, Aleksi purred and nuzzled his cheek over Kale’s head, marking him with his scent.

Kale moaned and rubbed against him. “It’s been so long since we’ve touched.”

Pretending to misunderstand, Aleksi pulled back and smiled. “We touch all the time.”

Kale called his bluff by cupping Aleksi’s erection through his jeans and massaging him firmly. “Want to rethink that?”

“I want you,” Aleksi answered, grinding their groins together and trapping Kale’s hand between them.

The added roughness of his jeans made Kale shudder and whimper. Aleksi loved to hear the noises Kale made when they played together.

Attacking Aleksi’s jeans, Kale gave a good impression of a shifter and growled when the zipper jammed and wouldn’t open because of his erection.

Aleksi’s patience disintegrated and he ripped the damn things off his legs and clawed his shirt down the middle so he could toss the fabric aside. With nothing between them now, Aleksi was about to sweep Kale up into his arms when his mate beat him to the punch.

Leaping at him, Kale appeared to have no fear that Aleksi wouldn’t catch him.

He caught the man easily. “Be careful.”

Wrapping his legs tightly around Aleksi’s waist, Kale rolled his eyes. “I’m fine. Stop coddling me and fuck me instead.”

His mate wiggled and Aleksi was about to ask what was wrong when he got his answer. Letting out a shaky breath, he searched for control. Kale had managed to position Aleksi’s cock between his ass cheeks. And every time his mate clenched and squirmed, the tip would brush Kale’s asshole.

Without lube to ease the way, the rubbing created delicious friction.

Aleksi’s hips hitched without his consent.

“Lube, Aleksi!”

Kale’s shout broke through his lusty haze and he sat back so that they were both on the bed, Kale sitting astride his chest. He scooted them up the mattress toward the solid oak headboard.

They reached out at the same time, rolling in separate directions and each rummaging in their bedside cabinets. Aleksi found lube first and lifted it like a trophy.

Snatching the bottle from him, Kale then squeezed out half its contents onto Aleksi’s aching cock. “Cold,” he commented with a glare.

His mate straddled his chest again and Aleksi forgot about the freezing gel.

Kale poured more lube onto his fingers and reached behind himself.

Watching Kale stretch himself was highly erotic. He could see the pleasure start to build in Kale’s eyes.

Aleksi took hold of Kale’s cock and fisted it. He kept his grip loose until Kale thrust into the tunnel of his clenched hand then tightened it until his mate’s movements became frantic and he made little whimpering sounds. Trailing his left hand lower, he brushed the back of his knuckles over Kale’s testicles. They were heavy and hairless, perfectly smooth like the rest of Kale’ skin. The only body hair Kale didn’t wax was the neat patch above his cock and the light path to his navel.

It took only a few minutes for Kale’s balls to twitch in his hand, but Aleksi was having too much fun to let it end this quickly. Once they had built up their stamina, he’d see how many orgasms he could wrestle out of his mate. Now, however, he didn’t possess the control to draw it out long enough to drive Kale to the edge and not push them both over.

“I’m ready,” Kale announced breathlessly.

After releasing Kale’s leaking erection, Aleksi pulled Kale’s hand away and replaced it with his cock. He gave his rigid dick a quick pump to make sure the lube Kale dumped on him was evenly spread.

He gritted his teeth as Kale slowly lowered onto him and his cock was engulfed by tight, wet heat.

Being ten inches long and thick enough that some men couldn’t get their hand around his cock meant he had to go slowly with his lovers to avoid tearing them. In the past, he had simply regarded it as a chore, something that delayed the pleasure of fucking.

With Kale, though, this was his favorite part, the agony of staying still and the tension as he shook with the need to pound into the man. The exact moment Kale gasped and clung onto him, fingers curling into Aleksi’s pecs was beyond anything else Aleksi had ever experienced. Neither of them looked away or tried to hide from the intensity of their feelings.

“You’re so damn big,” Kale groaned.

Kale inched down over Aleksi’s cock, wearing an expression of eagerness.

As his dick sank inside Kale, Aleksi fought against his instincts to claim and dominate. His tiger roared inside him.

Aleksi’s eyes locked onto Kale’s tempting mouth. Kale’s lush, pink lips were made for kissing, for licking—they were made for him. Aleksi grabbed Kale and slanted his mouth over his, kissing him deep and fiercely.

His gums tingled and he couldn’t stop his incisors from lengthening.

Jolting back from the kiss, Kale licked the drop of blood from his bottom lip.

“You bit me,” his mate accused.

Eyes, sharpening on the crimson dot. “Sorry.”

Kale clenched down on him. “Don’t be.”

His eyes rolled back in his head at the strangling pressure around his cock. Aleksi whipped his hips upward, driving the rest of the way inside Kale.

They both cried out and panted as their bodies were overcome with the sensation of being completely joined. Kale moved first, planting his hands on Aleksi’s chest and rising then slamming back down.

Aleksi thrust up as Kale rode him like a man possessed.

But it wasn’t enough.

Placing his hands on Kale’s hips, he steadied him, then quick as a flash, he rolled them over so he was on top and Kale lay flat against the mattress.

“Fuck!”

He froze, wide eyed, as he remembered Kale’s injuries.

“It’s okay. I’m fine. You just caught me by surprise,” Kale rushed to reassure him.

Aleksi tried to move back but Kale kept him in place by tightening his legs around his waist. Cradled between Kale’s thighs, he had more leverage. He pushed up on his arms and began power-driving into Kale, setting a fast, hard rhythm that made Kale scream for God.

If he had any neighbors, they’d no doubt thought he was killing Kale.

Adjusting his aim, Aleksi gave Kale everything and thrust until his back became damp with perspiration. Kale dragged his fingers down Aleksi’s torso.

Aleksi rolled his hips and made certain he hit the spot inside Kale that made his mate go, “Eeeeeee!”

Kale spread his legs wider and arched his back. “Aleksi!”

The tight grip of Kale’s body and the way his mate called his name stole his breath. He reached down between them and curled his hand around Kale’s cock. Aleksi plunged deeper into Kale’s body and shuddered as Kale leaned up to bite his chest.

The move shocked him as Kale’s human teeth pierced his skin. He hoped Kale would leave marks. His tiger relished the idea of wearing Kale’s bite. Everyone who saw it would know just how much he pleased his mate.

Wide-eyed, Kale flung his head back. Ropes of cum splattered over his chest and the scents of their mutual pleasure filled Aleksi’s nose.

His claws burst free of his fingers and his teeth grew, overlapping his bottom lip. His tiger’s aggression needed an outlet so he slashed at the pillows above Kale’s head. Artificial stuffing flew everywhere. Feather pillows weren’t an option. The last thing a predatory shifter wanted to smell when he was making love with his mate was food. That wouldn’t end well for anyone.

Aleksi roared as the world exploded around him.

Waves of intense pleasure crashed into him and he pumped his release into his mate.

Collapsing to the side so his weight didn’t injure Kale, he gulped for air. Never in his life had an orgasm left him so utterly shaken.

Aleksi kissed the mating mark on Kale’s shoulder and settled him closer to his side and out of the wet spot where they’d rolled on the bottle of lube. He’d go and fetch a washcloth from the bathroom in a minute.

“Nap, then more sex,” Kale grumbled, already asleep before Aleksi could reply.

Looking over at his mate, he smiled when he spotted the bits of stuffing in Kale’s hair.

* * * *

As Kale looked out of the living room window of Aleksi’s house in the woods, he heard the bleep of the security system. Every time something bigger than a rabbit crossed the underground sensor barrier Aleksi had installed on the edge of the tree line, a little beep sounded. When the sensor triggered, automatic locks engaged.

At first, he’d thought it was silly, something else to add to the list of things Aleksi insisted would help protect him, but it actually did make him feel secure. It was sweet that the big, bad shifter was so focused on keeping him safe. That more than anything had helped him get over his fear of Not-Barry escaping again to come after him, Caleb or Aleksi.

The sensor wasn’t the only change that had been made since Kale had moved in last week. Well, technically he had only brought the last lot of his stuff in that morning and had unpacked it an hour ago. He’d agreed with Aleksi about not having cable or complicated electronics that would run off the generator, but he had managed to persuade the shifter to cave on the Internet issue. The den now functioned as his office and had WiFi. There was also a little plug-in thing he had to use if he needed to go online anywhere else in the house, but Kale didn’t plan on using it. He knew how much Aleksi hated the
buzz
.

In return, Kale had agreed to have a tracking chip implanted under the skin of his armpit. He still couldn’t believe that he’d let the man chip him like a fucking pet. Aleksi had played dirty, asking him while naked and wet from the shower. At that point, he could have asked Kale to chop off a limb and Kale would have said yes. He had taken revenge, though, and had gotten Aleksi hooked on two vampire TV series—
Blood Ties
and
Moonlight
—despite his mate’s denial of it. They often curled up on Aleksi’s mountain of cushions when they had an evening free to watch the DVD boxed sets on his laptop together.

Kale waved as he saw Scott and Caleb walking up the path carrying a large crate. By the time he got to the door and disengaged the locks, Caleb and Scott were almost at the front step.

Running out to meet the two men, Kale eagerly greeted them. “Hey, guys!” He grabbed at the label pasted on the crate and ripped it off so he could look at it. “Is this it?”

“Yep, it came this morning and Scott helped me lug it up here. Where’s the big guy?”

“Around,” he said with a secret smile.

Aleksi was somewhere close. He’d gone to lock up the truck and make sure they’d grabbed everything. Surprisingly, Kale had gotten used to there being no vehicle access here. It made everything that much more relaxing when they actually had time to come out here and away from the city.

Aleksi would have heard Scott and Caleb arrive. If he hadn’t made himself known by now, it meant his tiger mate was planning something. Kale was beginning to notice that Aleksi and his tiger were quite playful and liked springing surprises on him.