Claiming Their Cat (14 page)

Rio drove like
a lunatic.
It was getting late, and the wreck on the road between home and town had been a frigging nightmare.
Rio was glad he’d happened along since he had been able to pull the door off and snatch a car seat from a burning car before it exploded.
Lucky for him, the explosion destroyed any evidence that he’d used his claws to
sever
the seatbelts anchoring the car seat.
All that and dealing with the authorities and thankful parents had cost him precious time.
He was supposed to be gone less than an hour, but it was pushing three. He should have never taken the
chance
and left her alone.

He whipped the truck behind the house, killing the
engine
before it was even in
park
. Rio grabbed his packages and sprinted up the stairs. “Cat, where are you? I have a surprise for you.”

Her
scent
was concentrated on the back porch and the kitchen, so she was up. Taking the stairs three at a time, he raced to his bedroom and checked the bathroom. His belly tightened as
panic
rolled through him.
Where in the hell is she?
Surely, she didn’t
go
walking by herself? His instructions were clear—stay in the house, especially at night.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes to concentrate and keep his wolf under control. The wolf moved under his skin, reaching, clawing, wanting
out
to
run
and
find
his
mate
. He went downstairs and followed his nose to the front porch where her
lone
scent
was laced with adrenalin. She was running. He couldn’t
believe
it. Why would she do that? Didn’t she
trust
him when he told
her that he
’d take care of Alvarez and keep her safe? He knew he should be pissed at
hell
at her, but he wasn’t. He felt fear instead.

His wolf wanted to run
loose
, to find its mate, but Rio could locate her in human form.
He could always
shift
anytime if he needed to. He took off running, following his nose. Shadows were growing long. It would be
night
soon, especially in the woods. What she didn’t
know
was that the house was a little over four miles from the road.

Cat had veered away from the driveway causing him to smile. She was
clever
, but no match for the
beast
inside him. Trees and branches whizzed by at blinding speed as he stalked her like
prey
.
To his wolf, finding her meant winning and winning meant claiming the prize.
He’d have to be careful with her tonight, because his wolf would
demand
a mating
.

Her trail led away from the driveway, into denser brush, the last place she needed to
go
. She probably didn’t realize that it gets dark earlier because the sun sinks behind the mountains. Then the tree canopy would act like
a blackout cloth
. The forest was full of wolves and other not so
nice
wild animals. At least the snakes would have gone to
ground
since the temperature was dropping.

Rio stopped running when he caught a whiff of urine, and he had to grin.
So, she had to stop and piss. He’d have to ask her about pissing in the woods because it
sure
as hell was different from pissing in the barren desert.

He
moved
deeper into the woods knowing she couldn’t be too far ahead of him. After five minutes, he stopped and listened. Her
soft
sobbing echoed on the breeze.
Rio prayed she was
n’t
hurt, just tired, or frustrated or hell, he’d even take pissed-off.
His wolf eyes zeroed in on her. She was squatted, leaning her back against a tree, her head buried in her hands. Her body shuddered from her
sobbing
.

She broke his heart.

“Cat,” he said softly, not wanting to scare her any more than she already was.

Her head popped up. She struggled to
stand
and then launched herself at him. He caught her, wrapped his arms around her, and lifted her off her feet. She slipped her cold hands around his neck.

“Are you okay?”

She shook her head.

“Are you hurt? Show me where.”

She shook her head again. He sat her on her feet and ran his hands over her. He smelled blood, but he was more concerned about if she had any
internal
injuries.

Cat had a bloody rip in the sweats over her thigh. He dropped to his knee and ripped the
material
.

“How can you…see?” she asked through her sobs.

“I can’t. Just feeling around.” That was a lie. He could see a puncture.

“Did you trip and fall?”

She jerked her head yes.

His best guess was she fell and jabbed a stick in her leg. “Well, it doesn’t
feel
too
serious
. Let’s
get
back
home where I can clean it.”

Rio scooped her up, and she laid her head on his chest.
His Cat was cold, exhausted, afraid, and injured.

She
slept in his arms the
entire
way home. He went straight upstairs and gently laid her on his bed. She
barely
stirred. After grabbing the
first-aid
kit from the kitchen, he eased her
pants
down, not wanting to wake her. It was
evident
she’d tripped because the knees of her sweats were
wet
and
dirty
.
The puncture wasn’t deep, but
it
needed cleaning.
His wolf eyes could clearly see
debris
in the wound. At least she was on antibiotics, which would
keep
any infection from gaining a foothold.

Why was she running from him? Was their…arrangement…that bad? She was
safe
. She was worshiped. Hell, it couldn’t be as
bad
as traipsing through the desert not knowing where your next meal was coming from or if you were going to be captured the next step you took.

The game had changed. Rio would never let her go.

Cat bolted upright as a scream died in her throat. She was back in that dark, cold, scary place.

“Take it easy. You’re safe now.” His strong arms pulled her naked body against his
warm
frame
. Oh my god. She flung her arms around Rio. Relief made her giddy. She was
safe
.

Where was the
scolding
, a reprimand for her foolishness?
What she did was stupid, but really, who lived that far off the road
?
Hell, it felt like she’d been traipsing around in the dark for days.

His silence grated on her nerves; she wanted him to say…something.

“Your supper’s warming down stairs. Are you hungry? I can
go
get it.”

She shook her head. “I can walk downstairs and eat.”

He used his finger to
tilt
up her head. “I don’t think that’s a
good
idea.
You’ve got a
hole
in your thigh, and your feet look like you blew out a flip-flop early in your getaway.”

Rio
was smiling. She couldn’t
believe
it. Where was the killer no one defied? Cat stretched her legs to get out of the
bed
and flinched. Ow. She glanced at the
bandage
around her leg.

“It’s not too deep, but it’s probably going to hurt for a while.”

Enough.
She pushed away from him to see his face.
“Why aren’t you screaming at me?”

He shrugged.

“I want to know.”

“You’re injured and obviously had a
horrific
experience in the woods.
I think you’ve been punished enough.”

Horrific didn’t even come close to describing her ordeal. It was so
dark
she couldn’t
tell
if her eyelids were rolled up or down. When she
had run
through the desert, it was never that dark. And how did he know she was terrified? Did she writhe in her sleep revealing her terror?

“Except,” he said softly.

Okay, here it comes.

“You know I’ll have to spank your pretty little ass for running from me.” A smile played around his lips.

She should have known her punishment would be sexual. Men, that’s all they thought about.

“And you have to
swear
not to
run
into the woods again—especially at night. There are black bears, wolves, and mountain lions. It’s not
safe
.” He pulled her against him. “Promise me.”

She snuggled closer, thankful she hadn’t
run
into anything like that. “Oh, I promise.”

“Good. You want to eat first or a
bath
?”

“Eat.”

“Stay here
.
I’ll be right back.”

Cat watched him leave. How could a
huge
man
move
on silent feet? How? Why? Those were always on her lips. She should be
grateful
she had a
nice
, warm, dry place to stay with plenty of food. But that was the reason she had to leave. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate it, but facts were facts. Alvarez would kill Rio when he found out he was helping her. Knowing Alvarez, he’d
e
nsure a slow death just to
make
a point. She couldn’t let that happen to Rio or anyone else.
There was enough death on her conscience.

It didn’t take long for Rio to return. Her mouth watered at the wonderful smell. She wolfed down the
scrumptious
lasagna surprised to learn Rio had made it the last time he was home and stuck it in the freezer. A killer who could
cook
. It was hard to convince herself to hate this guy because Rio wasn’t helping.
Remember, he’s a killer for hire. He
’ll probably
turn
you in for the money when he gets tired
of
feeding you, clothing you, medicating you
,
—fucking you.

Cat would not give up escaping. She just wasn’t going to do it at night…on foot…in the woods.

He handed her the pills, and she downed them.
Antibiotics should help with her new wound. She’d had more injures the past week than she’d had her entire life.

“You ready for a bath?”

“Lord, yes.”

Rio helped her maneuver to the bathroom, he
r thigh aching with every step.

“I think a shower would be better for your wound.”

She nodded.
When he was satisfied with the water temperature, he stepped aside so she could
enter
.
The shower was like everything else in his house, extravagant. It was
cream
marble probably four by four feet with
several
showerheads on two walls. A seat ran the entire length of one wall.
She stepped under the
rain
head and welcomed the warm water.
The next thing she knew, strong arms
engulfed
her.

“You scared me today,” he said.

“I scared myself.”

Rio grabbed a sponge and loaded it down with body wash. The sponge slowly sliding over her skin was somehow sensual. He washed her legs, her feet, and her back.

“Why did you run?”

He was behind her, so she couldn’t see his face, but he sounded like he was…hurt.
What could she say?
I’m trying to save
the life of th
e most notorious killer
.
He wouldn’t understand, but she gave it a
shot
anyway.
“You’d be better off without me.
Alvarez wants my baby, and if you
stand
in his way, he’ll mow you down and
make
an example of you.”

“I’m pretty hard to kill.”

She couldn’t resist rolling her eyes. He ran the sponge over her breast, the material snagging on a nipple, and she couldn’t help but
lean
her head back against Rio and sigh. Why did he
affect
her so?

His free hand wandered over her belly and down to her clit. “I want to take care of you. I’ll
handle
Alvarez when the time comes.”

“I don’t want you to
handle
him. I just
need
to
disappear
.”

“I can’t let you do that
.
”

The water falling on her skin was a
gentle
caress. Rio’s hard cock pressed against her back. His finger swirled over her
extended
bundle of nerves.
D
esire
pool
in her belly.

“I will take care of you even if I have to tie you to the bed.”

His voice wasn’t harsh, but she knew he meant what he said. A shudder rolled through her. She’d been tied down before and raped by Alvarez, but she knew that Rio had something different in mind.

“It’s time for your punishment. Go
place
your hands on the seat, and
spread
your legs.”

As excitement coursed through her, she did what he asked.
He moved the rain head so the warm water was falling on her back.

“Is your leg okay?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve been bad, my beautiful Cat.” He rubbed his hand down her ass. “And I’m going to punish you.”

A hand landed on her ass, a pleasurable sting.
Another slap on the other cheek.
“Do you promise not to run away again?”

“Yes.”
Not at night. Not in the woods.

Another smack. “I think you’re lying to me.”

How could he possibly know? “I promise not to run away.”
At
night
...into the woods.
Please don’t ask me for more?

His hand landed again, harder this time. “Promise
me that you
won’t run away
at all
.”

She shook her head. “No. I can’t
promise
that.”

“Don’t make me chain you to the bed, Cat.”

“I’m sorry. I won’t make that promise.”

He was
silent
, too silent, and she wondered if he were dragging out the chains.

“We’ll discuss this later. Right now, I have a surprise for you. Have you ever heard of anal beads?”

Cat glanced over her shoulder. He was spreading lubricate over a long, bumpy, black thing. “Don’t worry, you’ll love it.”

She probably would. Hell, she’d loved everything he’d done to her so far. She felt pressure against her anus. Cat shuddered when the first bead slipped in.
The feeling was so wicked.
She wiggled her butt as more beads entered her snug channel.
Erotic sensations swirled in her core.

“Now Cat, take all of me and let’s ride.”

Rio nudged his cock into her pussy and pushed in until she was
full
. His hips pressed against her backside.

“God, your cock feels wonderful.” She loved the hardness of him, the
stretch
that promised
pleasure
.

“I love the way your pussy feels around my shaft. It’s
soft
and
hot
and
wet
just for me. Tell me what you want, my wildcat.”

She pushed back against him, but he held her
steady
with his
big
hands. “Say it.”

Cat recognized the
order
, but was powerless to resist. When he was inside her, he owned her. “Please fuck me, Rio.”

“You don’t sound too convincing. Beg me, sugar.”

She tried to
wiggle
, but he held her still. She whimpered. She needed to
come
.
A slap landed on her rump, and her pussy tightened around his cock.
She couldn’t wait any longer. “Rio, please fuck me with your cock. Hard. I
need
it
hard
. Please.”

A laugh rumbled behind her, and she knew he was grinning.
Finally, he started to move. Slow. “Faster, please.”

Rio pulled out and slammed back in.

Her
walls contract
ed
around him. “Again.”

He did.

“Now, faster.”

Rio complied. The sound of his flesh slapping against hers bounced off the shower walls. Her breasts jiggled with each slam into her. It was
hard
and forceful—just what she wanted. A slap landed on her ass.

“Again. Spank me again.”

The burn from his hand was pure
pleasure
.