The Bond (2 page)

“It
is clear, yes. But it is also apparent you’ve forgotten how to speak to your
elders. We will keep to our end of the bargain. I have some hired rogues who
will do anything I ask as long as they get a little of the action. They will
not be traceable to either of us.”

“Good.
Make whatever arrangements you need to make and keep in touch. Just continue to
use that cell phone I got you. It’s cloned.”

“You’ve
thought of everything, haven’t you?” Chief Contee growled, his cat creeping
through.

“Of
course I have. I’ve known I was meant to be the next Chief since I was a cub of
fifteen. Everything I’ve done my entire life since then has brought me here.
Ridding the Pride of that pest Rafael and having Sanura come to me as a result
was just the icing on the cake. That little bitch has been playing hard to get
for years. Soon I’ll show her what a real man is like.”

Rage
made her hiss. Her teeth lengthened, and her inner cat swam close to the
surface. She knew that bastard had something to do with Rafael’s banishing! How
dare he move them all around like pieces on a chessboard? Plotting her father’s
demise like he was simply writing a grocery list. She swallowed back hard,
trying to calm herself before she changed in public. If she failed, she’d be
trapped and her people would be doomed. Tears fell from her eyes at the
impossibility of it all. She wiped the moisture away and straightened her
shoulders. She could do this. For her father, for the Pride and for herself,
she had to do this.

Chapter
Two

Sanura was pleased as she entered
the room. For a last minute reservation, they did an amazing job. The spacious
suite had several candles placed around its darkened interior. Shadows
flickered on the walls, giving off just enough light to allow her to maneuver
around with ease and it would help with getting through what was happening to
her body with all the changes. Her senses were starting to go haywire and being
able to see him fully would add fuel to the fire.
 
The bed in the center of the room was topped
with plush bedding, but appeared sturdy with its thick wooden posts. Continuing
through the room she entered the bathroom. Her overnight bag sat out on a
counter in the large bathroom, as requested during check in.

She took a moment to take in her
surroundings as she forced her tense muscles to relax. The bathroom was
beautiful, with large double sinks encased in black marble with gold faucets. A
standalone shower sat in one corner opposite a sunken tub that could fit at
least six people. This was luxury and decadence at its finest. More sage
candles littered the ledges and flat surfaces in the room, lending to the air
of mystery.

Sanura studied herself in the
mirror, immediately recognizing the hunger that lurked in the dilated depths of
her hazel eyes. She freed her hair from its elastic prison, pleased by the
golden highlights brought out in the auburn tresses that fell to her shoulders.
A lady wanted to look good for her gentleman, no matter what the circumstances.
Blood filled her face. Desire stirred once more at the thought of an able-bodied
male. There was no use denying she’d reached the pinnacle of her cycle.

The circumstances that had brought
her to this point were daunting, but the meeting she’d set up for the evening
would hopefully end all that.
 
It angered
her that the archaic tradition of the Pride choosing mates was still in place.
If she hadn’t been
engaged
they
would’ve forced her to bond with him. There was a big difference between mating
and bonding, sort of like comparing fucking to marriage.

If only she could solve all of
this by riding out her cycle, literally if she had anything to say about it,
and go back to her Pride a single woman once more in control of her destiny. A
soft groan escaped parted lips as her need increased. The intense arousal moved
through her body, as if to mock her train of thought.

Bracing her weight against the
sink, she gripped the edge of the counter as she fought to tamp down an orgasm.
She’d waited as late as she could to get to the hotel, because she was afraid
of being trailed. Now the fire that burned inside her needed to be
extinguished. Her nipples peaked beneath the comfy black track suit, and her
panties grew damp from the abundance of cream she produced. A small moan
escaped, and she willed
him
to arrive
and soon.

This was what the Pride’s shaman
had warned her about. Unlike the other females in her Pride, her breeding cycle
was very unique. As the daughter of their Chief, she was the only alpha female
in her Pride. When her cycle came Sanura had to mate with an alpha male to end
her heat. This was fine, until the Pride had decided it was time for her to
bond and determine the next in line for Chief. Bonding for her people was
different from most. For them it was a choice, not a biological response. The
sharing of souls was a deeply spiritual experience she refused to have soiled
by Pride politics. Her father would be upset. But he loved her. Eventually he’d
get over the fact that she’d thwarted his plans to choose her path for her.
Especially, when he found out about all of Logan’s lies.

Another wave of desire threatened
to buckle her knees, shattering her thought process.
I can’t even be out in public like this.
Thank God, she was in her
room right now. Sanura attempted to redirect her thoughts and failed, biting
back a scream as her body shuddered and the wave began to build once more.

Her gaze was drawn to the bed
where a night of passion would provide her with freedom she craved. No one else
seemed to understand her urgency. Her sensitive nipples rubbed against the
fabric of her bra. She gasped, and she sprang into action. Kicking off the
black sneakers and socks, she slipped out of the track pants and white tank
top, leaving the pieces where they fell. She had to come, even if it was by her
own hand. The door opened with a soft click, and her breathing quickened. He
was here, moving toward the bathroom by the sound of it.
Fuck! There’s no time to get dressed again
.

His scent ensnared her, musk and
forest pines blended, throwing her heat into overdrive as it tickled her
nostrils. Her gaze was drawn to the doorway like a magnet, and she watched him
approach, his broad body shrouded in shadows. Anticipation ran rampant. He was
about six two with long silky black hair, copper-toned skin, and eyes that
mirrored a dark abyss. Rafael looked like his Native American ancestors. An
unusual blend of Latin and Native American the man turned heads wherever he
went. As he entered the bathroom he held up his hand to show her a red
blindfold.

“What’s that for?” she whispered.

“For you, of course. I can see
that you almost started the party without me.”

“No, you need to go back into the
room. Let me dress so we can talk.”

“We’re not going anywhere until I
claim you as I should’ve a long time ago.”

He moved forward, and she could
see the intent in his eyes, the blindfold still dangling from his fingers.

“Rafael.”

“No, no excuses. I’m going to show
you what it’s been like to wait.”

Pleased she offered him her back,
turning away from the mirror. He pressed his body against her. The feel of
cloth covering her eyes was so sensual it made her shudder. The red cloth stole
away her vision, and her heart thudded in her chest. Her ears twitched, and her
nostrils flared as her other senses heightened.

His body was firm and tight
beneath his layer of clothing. The bulge in his pants nudged her back, making
her wonder if he’d planned this all along. His teeth grazed her neck, and all
thoughts fled. A low mewl of pleasure released from her throat. She reveled in
the relief from the burning heat that swamped her body.

He continued to nip her skin,
licking with his tongue to soothe the sting. He wrapped his fingers around her
waist, anchoring her to the spot, grinding his hardness against her ass. Her
cat craved his. Powerful pheromones pouring off him had her cat pawing to be
free.

His calloused hands moved up her
body and cupped her breasts through the sheer black lace bra. She whimpered as
he kneaded and squeezed her sensitive mounds, drawing a rumbling purr from her
throat.
Tonight was supposed to be about
them capturing Logan in his lies. We shouldn’t be doing this
! A blast of
need shot through her and weakened her knees. The time for staving off her
biological need ended. Unable to resist she thrust her back into him, rubbing
her ass against the thickness of his cock. Chills of pleasure raced through
her.

He turned her back to the sink,
bending her body over the cool marble as he placed her hands on the counter,
one in front of the other, spreading her legs apart with his knees.

“Do you like that?” His voice was imported
dark chocolate, deep and rich. Oh how she had a soft spot for accents. He
sounded sexy as sin, her Latin lover who heated her blood. Lost in her thought
and the dark magic he was performing, she was frightened by the intensity of
the emotions swarming her.

What am I doing? This will change everything.
Her confidant and best friend
through the trying times deserved better than to be saddled, deserved to know
how she felt. He wasn’t just some convenient lay; he’d owned her heart from the
time she was woman enough to know what it meant.

“Shh, querida. No need to be
scared. This is a night for pleasure. Talk will come later.”

His words encouraged her, and she
uttered a sigh. She nodded her head and swallowed. Her legs trembled as her
breath stuttered in her lungs. He kneeled to bite her right hip hard. His deft
fingers hooked into the straps of her bikini underwear, and she gasped. Sliding
the thong down, he ordered her to step out of it with a firm command that made
her body tingle. Alpha recognized alpha.

His nails raked a path up her
legs, the slight pain pushing the edge of her pleasure closer to the surface.
She bit her lips to stifle another moan as her ripe body begged for more. Only
this man could appease the fire that built inside her body. It had been stupid
of her to think she could meet him here and not want this to happen. He’d been
the smart one taking charge. This had been a long time coming.

“I can smell how needy you are,
querida,” he said as if reading her mind. “I am going to take the edge off.
Then the real fun will begin.” His words held such promise.
The feel of his tongue running up the small of her back, along her
spine, made her gasp.

The warm, wet trail was an
unsatisfactory tease when it stopped at her bra until he undid her hook,
allowing the hindrance to slide down her arms to the floor. His hands cupped
her breasts, pulling at the nipples, elongating them as his face pressed into
her shoulder and he inhaled her scent.

His other hand shot between her
thighs, his thumb thrumming over her clit. Ragged moans escaped her. Her hips
began to move in the rhythm he set, silently asking for more. She was so wet.
The cream crept from her core, coating her inner thighs. Just when she thought
she would go mad from want, he slid two fingers deep inside, filling her greedy
pussy. She cried out again.

“Ah, querida, how wet you are. How
eager you are to find your pleasure.” His mouth was at her ear, and the words
he whispered were deeply erotic. “You are tight around my fingers. I can only
begin to imagine how you will feel around my cock.” He hooked his fingers over
her g-spot within her and pressed, and then she came apart.

Sanura bucked back against him,
riding out the orgasm as she shattered into a million pieces, stars bursting
behind her eyelids. If he hadn’t been holding her, she would have fallen to the
floor. She stayed there pressed against him, panting. Her head leaned back onto
his shoulder as she tried to recover.

“I have to know how you taste,” he
said.

His voice was thick with lust, and
she heard him making licking sounds, only able to assume he was licking his
fingers. His words proved that assumption to be right. He groaned. “Just as I
thought, exotic and hot. I can taste your passion.” He then placed his fingers
at her lips and she mewled, running her tongue over his fingers, cleaning them.
With her own cream on her tongue she could taste the very desire she’d been
feeling. Her breath caught as she whimpered.

“We aren’t done, querida, by any
means.” He picked her up in his arms, and soon she felt the bed beneath her as
he placed her in what she assumed was the center of it. She heard rustling, her
werecat hearing picking up the sound of a belt being removed, then tossed. She
smiled. He was disrobing.

“It would be a shame if we were
done. You have promised my body much with that taste of what you just gave me.”
She heard him chuckle and then the bed sank, his body weight settled there.

“Damn, baby girl, you have me so
ready my cock won’t stop leaking.” Rafael moved onto the bed next to her,
inhaling the sweet musk her body exuded. She was a rare delicacy that made his
mouth water. His cock was hard, the tip leaking pre-cum, and she had yet to
place her hands on his body.

“Touch me, querida,” he said. When
she did what he asked his muscles jumped in response to the path her hands drew
down his chest to his abs. Her nails teased his flesh as she took the time to
trace each individual muscle. He gave a low moan that seemed to come from deep
within.