Page 17

Chapter Seventeen

Z ar

I must have completely passed out last night after Shadow helped me to our room. “Our room,” I like the sound of that. I’m part of a pair. I have someone to protect, and someone to have my back.

I’m spooning Anya’s warm, soft body. She’s changed since she’s a free woman. Other than her concern over me, she seems calmer, less anxious. I could get used to this—lying in bed with my female, being lazy, sleeping late. But my cock tells me the time for sleeping is over. My body feels well-rested and ready to go.

I scoot closer, my aroused cock pressing against the curve of her ass. It seems to have a mind of its own, and my hips begin their own rhythm even as my hand reaches around to play with Anya’s breasts.

I lick the center of my palm and use the moist friction on her nipple. I’m not sure if she’s even awake, but her body responds, her hips grinding back against me. My fingers pluck at her hardened pink buds, first one and then the other. Anya makes a tiny moan in the back of her throat and presses her ass against me. My balls tighten at her sexual sound.

“Zar,” she says lazily, still not fully awake.

I just keep plucking her tight nipples, then rolling them between my fingers. “Ohhh.” An aroused moan escapes her lips. I keep fondling, trying to keep control over my desire to turn her over and mount her like a rutting beast.

“Glad you’re feeling better. What a nice way to wake me up.” She presses her backside against me and lifts one leg up, her knee bent, her foot resting on my thigh. This allows my cock to ride the slit between her legs from behind.

“Computer,” she commands, “contact the doctor and cancel our appointment.”

“Yes,” the robotic female voice responds.

“We have all the time in the world… and a door, Zar. What are you going to do to me?” Her voice is low, breathy. My cock bobs in response.

I’m not a talker. I’d prefer to show her. I lean my head around her and gently scrape the sharp tip of one fang across her nipple. She sucks in a quick, harsh intake of breath, then falls heavily on her back, giving me full access to all of her.

“Am I wet?” Her voice is deep and sexy. “Am I wet enough for you?”

“Let me check.” I slip a finger between her legs and slide into her warm channel. “You’re drenched, little Anya. Maybe I should inspect closer.”

I crouch on my knees between her legs and slowly begin to lick up her thighs from her knees. I learned this move from her. I can tease, too.

“Oh, your tongue, it’s so…arousing.”

My tail circles her thigh, pulling her legs farther apart as I lick and nip, first one leg and then the other. When I near the juncture of her thighs, she squirms, jacking her bottom off the bed. So insistent. Two can play her teasing game. I make my way back down toward her knee again.

“Not fair, Zar. Come up.”

She grabs under my arms to pull me up toward the vee between her legs.

“I outweigh you by twice, little Anya. I’ll get there when I’m ready.” Then I move up her sensitive inner thigh, nipping her in that responsive spot on the tender area right beside her patch of hair.

“Please…”

“When I’m good and ready.” I blow on her sensitive nub. She practically levitates off the bed.

After a few more moments, I take pity on her and lick her with the raspy flat of my tongue.

“God,” is all she can say through a long, low moan.

In a swift flurry, I flick the tiny tip of her clit. She tosses her head back and forth against the pillow. Then I press my tongue against the little dip at the side of her responsive button. I’ve discovered it’s her favorite spot. She’s completely lost now, just moaning and thrashing her head. Her hands tangle in the sheets. Her pink lips are moist and open.

I know I could push her over the edge right now with just the slightest penetration, but I love prolonging her pleasure. I move away from that spot for a moment. I think there might be such a thing as too much if I stay there. As soon as her body relaxes the slightest bit, I nip at the juncture of her thigh and torso for a moment. Then I return to her favorite spot. If anything, she’s ramped up even more now.

She’s in such a haze of pleasure I don’t know how she finds the presence of mind to say, “Don’t make me beg, Zar.” And in the next moment, she begs in a breathy voice. “Please.”

I move on top of her, my weight on my forearms. I wait for her to open her eyes so I can stare into her soul. My cock slides up and down her slit until we’re both drenched in her juices, then I spear into her, filling her up until I’m fully seated.

Her arms curl around me, pressing my furred body against her slick skin. I match my rhythm to the dance her hips are already engaged in. She begins to moan, and I know she’s almost there. I press harder, swiveling at the end of every thrust. Her inner muscles clamp down on my cock and quiver in what seems like an endless orgasm. With each wave of contractions, her keening moan intensifies. Finally, she screams my name in an ultimate spasm of ecstasy and I join her with my own powerful release.

We’re both completely surprised by the ear-splitting roar that escapes my mouth. Then another. And another. My head jerks back in surprise. I don’t even know how my body created that sound.

“Whoa, what was that?” she asks, still descending from her intense peak of pleasure.

“I’d completely forgotten. Something Pallatin told me so long ago it feels like another lifetime. He told me when you find your life’s truemate you begin to roar. I’d only half-believed it, and knew I’d never find my life’s mate anyway, so it was archived in the farthest reaches of my brain.”

“Truemate, huh?”

“He said the Ton’arr mate for life. When you find your truemate you never separate, you never want another, you love them with all your heart until you cease to exist.”

Anya

I’m not exactly sure what to say. It sounds kind of like marriage, only the forever kind, not the sixty-percent-get-divorced kind.

I realize we’ve only known each other a short time, but I think I’ve learned everything I need to know about Zar. When you weather a storm together, or in our case, go through a revolution together, you get a pretty damn good grasp of someone’s true character.

Guys I’d been with in the past could barely be counted on to show up on time for a date, much less be willing to die in a laser fight for me. Yeah, I guess it doesn’t sound like a hardship to be a truemate for life to the world’s sexiest lion-man.

“Well, if you were asking if I’m okay with that, the answer’s definitely yes.”

He smiles happily. I do love it when he hits me with one of his rare smiles; I have a feeling I’ll be seeing a lot more of them in the future. He dozes off, his arm around me from behind. We both love to spoon, even on this bigger bed.

I’m lazily rubbing the fur on Zar’s hip and thigh, enjoying the afterglow of our lovemaking. Finally, I got to scream in pleasure with the knowledge that we were blessedly alone.

He got to scream, too—in his own way. Truemate. I did not see that coming. But it doesn’t scare me. Hell, I’ve been through so much lately I don’t think lasting happiness should scare me at all. Not only have I found Zar, but I’ve found myself.

The woman I was a few short weeks ago was bored and listless and her life was going nowhere. Now I’ve spearheaded a freaking revolution for God’s sake.

I don’t know where I’ll be in the future. Like, literally don’t know where in the galaxy I’ll be. But I know I’ll be going somewhere. And I know I’ll be with Zar. And there’s not much more I could ask for.