Tiger by the Tail: A Midnight Liaisons Novella (6 page)

“Which is rather ironic,” she told him. “Because when we first got together, all I wanted was for someone to let me make my own decisions for once. To let me be my own person. And you have. You’ve let me lead all week. You let me choose what I want to do, you let me determine my own future, and you’ve supported me. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. But now that I’m finally getting to a place where I’m happy with things, you kiss me and then you tell me that I can leave. So you’ll have to forgive a girl if she’s a bit confused.”

“Mandy.” He rubbed his face again, and his expression was tortured. “I’m trying to give you what you want, here.”

“I want someone that treats me like what I think and say matters. I thought that was you.” Tears brimmed in her eyes. “But now you’re pushing me away. So what the fuck am I supposed to think?”

“You should think I’m trying to make you happy.”

“Maybe I’m happy when I’m with you, though.” Funny how she realized it the moment she said it. But really, hadn’t he been giving her everything she’d ever wanted? Love, patience, understanding, companionship, and letting her have a say in her life? He was everything Johnny wasn’t. And if he let her go right now…she didn’t know what the hell she’d do.

“So what are you telling me?” Adrian’s eyes gleamed with his cat-shifter side.

“I’m telling you to shut up and come over here and kiss me,” Mandy said. “And to quit making my decisions for me.”

A hint of a smile curved his mouth as he stepped over to her side. “Is that what I was doing?”

“Yep,” she told him, and her hands went to his shirt. She fisted them in the soft fabric and tugged him closer. “I thought I was the lady in charge around here?”

“You are,” he told her, a smile on his gorgeous mouth. “I’ll do whatever you like. You just tell me how you like it.”

“You’re still talking,” she told him, studying him. Then, she leaned in and licked his mouth.

He groaned, his eyes closing. “Fuck, that was hot.”

“You’re what I want, Adrian,” Mandy told him. “So quit pushing me away, all right? Maybe I want to be your mate.”

His hands went to her shoulders, slid down her back, and he pulled her against him. “You do?”

She nodded. “I’m pretty sure I’m going to be headstrong and demand to get my way.”

“I’m pretty sure I can handle that. And I like you when you’re bossy.”

“Then take me back to bed,” she told him, and nipped at his chin again. “And show me what it means to be mated.”

He groaned and dragged her hips against his. “You sure that’s what you want?”

“I’ve decided,” she said firmly. Her fingers tugged at his shirt. “Don’t make me rip your clothing off with my claws.”

“Wouldn’t want that,” he murmured, but the flare of reflective green in his eyes told her he liked that idea quite a bit. “Besides, I don’t think you have enough control yet.”

“I thought the point of sex was all about losing control?” She teased. God, she felt so good. So light and happy. Utterly carefree. This was where she belonged, really. How funny that it nearly took Adrian booting her out to recognize what she truly wanted.

“You want control, you want to lose control,” he teased. “How about you make up your mind, Mandy?”

“I will…eventually. But I’m open to convincing.” Her fingers slid down to the waistband of his jeans and she skimmed the edge of the fabric.

“I know just the thing to convince,” he told her, hands roaming over her clothing, her skin. “But it involves a little trust and a lot of naked skin.”

“Hmm. Now you’re speaking my language,” she told him, her hands tugging at his shirt.

“Bedroom,” he told her, and moved in to give her another kiss.

As soon as his lips touched hers, she realized that this was, in fact, what she wanted. His mouth felt so incredibly right against her own. It wasn’t just his lips and the fact that they seemed to be the perfect mix of soft skin and firmness that she adored. It wasn’t that his tongue flicked against her own, asking as much as it was daring. It was that his taste matched hers perfectly, and when she wanted more from him, he’d increase the pressure of the kiss until she was gasping with need, and desire was flooding every inch of her skin.

Like now.

She made a soft little moan in her throat as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her toward the bedroom, their mouths still locked in an endless, tongue-filled kiss. A low rumble escaped her throat and she gasped, pulling away from him. “What was that?”

“You were purring,” he told her with a pleased grin. “I’m about to make you purr some more, too.”

“Oh,” she breathed. Her entire body ached with need at his confident words, and she wondered what he’d do to her in bed. She’d never been this aroused, not with any prior boyfriend. Johnny had certainly never done a thing for her—

She gasped, her hands flying to his chest even as he coaxed her backward onto his bed. “Adrian?”

“Hmm?” He leaned in and nibbled at her throat, distracting her.

“I didn’t have sex with Johnny. I just want you to know that.”

His head lifted and he grimaced. “Do we have to talk about Johnny right now when my mouth is on you?”

Mandy bit her lip. “I feel like it’s important to bring up. I never slept with him. Never even got close. The day he bit me, we’d kissed, but nothing more. I think he bit me because he was trying to get me to go further with him. Kinda worked in the opposite direction.” Her hands smoothed down his chest. “I just wanted you to know, because I know he’s your brother and all.”

Adrian leaned in and gently kissed her mouth. “I know he never touched you.”

“How do you know?”

His nose brushed against hers in a knee-melting caress as he smiled down at her. “Because he’d have never let you go if that was the case.”

Oh. “Boy, you’re good at making me want to fling my panties off.”

He chuckled and then wagged his eyebrows at her. “Wait until you can see what I do once I get your panties off.”

She giggled and pulled his mouth against hers in another long, sweet kiss. His tongue met hers, and she eagerly flicked her tongue against his as she tugged at his clothing. Touching Adrian was like a drug, she decided – one hit and she was addicted. His scent was in her nostrils, spicy and enticing, and she wanted all of his skin against her own, warm and delicious and sensual. Just the thought of their bare bodies pressed against each other made her wet, and she clenched her thighs at the thought. “Can we get naked now, please?”

“Absolutely,” Adrian told her, and he helped her sit up on the bed. His hands tugged at her shirt, and she helped him pull it over her head. Her bra quickly followed, and then she shimmied out of her jeans and panties. She knew he was looking at her, but she wanted to get all of her clothing off before she got distracted again, because she knew once she saw the look in his eyes, and saw his naked body, she was going to be mighty distracted indeed.

She kicked off the last bit of clothing and then leaned back on the bed, looking at him expectantly. She knew she had a decent body. She wasn’t a virgin, and she’d been told that her breasts were nice and full, her hips had just the right amount of curve, and she had great legs. But she wanted to hear Adrian say it. She wanted to know what he thought of her. So she bit her lip, gazed up at him, and waited.

His gaze swept over her, and she watched as he seemed to eye every inch of her body in what felt like slow motion. Then, he gave himself a little shake. “God damn, but that’s the best thing I’ve seen, ever.” His hand reached out and he brushed his knuckles over the peak of one aching breast. “I’m going to touch you now.”

No asking, this time. He was telling her what he wanted to do, and she shivered with need because she wanted it, too. “Yes, please.”

His eyes flared with that reflective green again, and then his hands were stroking over her skin, petting every inch of her. And maybe it was her cat side coming out to play, but Mandy loved it. She closed her eyes and reveled in the glide of his fingers over her skin and the sensations he evoked.

Then, his mouth was on one breast, and she moaned. “Oh God, Adrian!”

He flicked his tongue over her nipple and she dragged her fingers through his hair, clutching at him. It was like he knew exactly how to touch her to make her wild. She whimpered as he lavished attention on one breast – licking, nipping, tasting – and then moved over to the other to give it the same treatment. By the time his hand slid to her sex, she was arching on the bed and desperately wet.

“Sweet, delicious Mandy,” he told her in a low, husky murmur, and to her surprise, his mouth left her breasts and started to trail down her stomach. “I’m going to taste all of you.”

She shuddered with need; she knew exactly what that meant, and she couldn’t wait. In response, her legs fell open in silent invitation.

Adrian groaned and kissed down her belly, past her navel, until his mouth hovered over the curls of her sex. He stroked one hand along the inside of her thigh, encouraging her to spread wider for him, and then parted her flesh with a thumb, leaning in and giving her a long, sweet taste.

Mandy cried out at the sensation. Her hips rose and she rocked in time with his mouth as he began to lavish attention onto her clit and her folds. If she thought his mouth was talented on her lips, well, she’d clearly been underestimating him. “Adrian,” she moaned. “Oh God, make me come.”

He slid a finger deep inside her and she arched, but it wasn’t quite enough. Even as his tongue flicked against her clit and his finger pushed inside her, she needed a bit more.

He seemed to know it, too. Because in the next moment? He was purring. A deep, vibrating rumble started in his throat and as he licked and sucked at Mandy’s sensitive flesh, the purr made her skin react in explosive ways.

And now she was coming, crying out his name and screaming her pleasure, the purr in his throat working like a vibrator against her clit. And it was incredible. So freaking incredible.

She was panting as she came down, and her eyes opened, dazed, just in time to see Adrian stripping his clothing off. “You’re not in heat, are you, sweetheart?” He asked. “Not close?”

Mandy frowned up at him. “Don’t think so?”

“Good, then we don’t need a condom. You’re not fertile, and shifters don’t get diseases.” He dropped his pants, and then she stared, unable to think beyond the gorgeous amount of flesh he was showing her. Adrian’s chest was gorgeous, all planes and sculpted abs, hairless with only a dark happy trail leading to his belly button. But his cock was incredible. Long and thick and smooth, it was probably the most beautiful cock she’d ever seen, the head a fat, rosy purple.

“Mmm,” she breathed. “Why is it you look so utterly delicious?”

“I need to in order to please my mate,” he said, grinning. “I hear she’s a demanding sort.” He moved on top of her and she sighed with pleasure at the feel of his skin against hers.

But instead of getting down to business, he began to kiss her again, pressing hot, fierce lips against her neck. “Are you sure you want to be my mate, Mandy?”

“I’m sure,” she said dreamily, wrapping her arms around him. “More than sure.”

“A shifter bites his mate to claim her. You know that, right?” And he licked at the spot on her neck where Johnny had bitten her.

She knew that, too. After she’d shifted, she’d stared in surprise at the welts that shifter women seemed to wear proudly on their neck, but no human could ever see. She’d asked Estrella about the marks, and had been horrified to learn that Johnny had left one on her neck when he’d bitten her to turn her. She’d scrubbed at her skin with soap and water for weeks but to no avail – the mark only faded with time. Even now, she could still see it in the mirror like the world’s most lingering hickey. “Are you going to bite me?” she asked Adrian. For some reason, it made her a little nervous to think about it.

“I want to,” he told her, nuzzling her neck and licking at her throat. His mouth made shivers go down her spine. “But I won’t if you don’t want me to claim you.”

She remembered her turning, the surprise of pain at Johnny’s bite, and her initial outrage turning into fear. She’d spent those days in utter confusion, frightened by what was happening to her body. He’d left her to dangle, too, not explaining anything to her until he was sure she’d turned.

And even as she thought about it, she knew Adrian would never do the same to her. So she smoothed her hands over his gorgeous chest and thought. “Will it hurt?” she finally asked.

“Shouldn’t.”

“Any side effects I should be aware of? Turning into a super-tiger or something?”

He chuckled against her throat and licked at her skin again, and her nipples tightened in response. “No super tiger-ing. Just a bite that shows that you’re mine.”

“Then let’s do it,” she told him. Before she lost her nerve.

She didn’t even have time to be nervous – his teeth sank into her skin, and she felt his tongue flick against the bite a moment later. And instead of pain, she felt…aroused. Really, really damn aroused. A loud moan escaped her, and she clutched at him.

“Now you’re mine,” he told her in that sultry, purring voice, and then he adjusted his weight against her, and thrust deep.

“Yours,” she told him breathlessly, clinging to his back even as she wrapped her legs around him, squeezing him against her tighter. The friction he was creating between them was delicious, and before she knew what was happening, she was climaxing all over again, her sex clenching tight around him as he pumped into her.

Adrian growled her name and his strokes became more erratic, wild, and then he was coming too. He collapsed on top of her a few moments later, wrapped his arms around her body, and then rolled them so she was on top of him.

“That…went faster than I anticipated,” Adrian murmured, playing with a lock of her hair. “Next time, I’ll take longer. You were just too beautiful and I lost control.”

Her cheek rested against his chest, and she lay draped over him feeling wonderful and boneless and very, very content. “Clearly we have a few things to work on if you’re going to keep me happy.”

“Oh?” He mused, twining one of her curls around his finger lazily. “What’s that?”