Tamed Galley Master (4 page)

“Only from male lines. If our tigress has a baby with a human male, her child is completely human. That is why we tigers prefer to keep the gene pool undiluted. Half-bloods from the male side, even though they are able to shift, are weaker with every generation. Means they aren’t as strong and as fast as the pure blood tigers.” Collin shrugged off his sport coat and started to unbutton his shirt.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Getting naked. You want to see me shift, right? If I shift without taking off my suit, it will get ruined.”

“Like David Banner in the old Hulk TV series?”

He chuckled. “Yeah. Like David Banner.
You wouldn’t like it if I’m angry
.”

Danielle laughed along. She averted her eyes when he shed his shirt and unzipped his fly. She must see the bulge in his pants. Everything about this woman made his cock hard. From that curvaceous body, her silky dark hair, to her sparkling blue eyes. But her scent. Christ. Her scent drove him insane. She might be confused with this whole ordeal, but the rising desire in her was plain for him to see. Her musky feminine scent. Her quickening heartbeat. Her flushed face. And her reddened lips.

Danielle avoided his stare.

She seemed to be fighting her own desire.

Well, Collin would make sure she failed.

After all, she was his mate. Their mate. The only person who would make their lives complete.

She just didn’t know it yet.

He cracked his fingers and slowly shifted. Unlike popular media portrayal about shifters, the transformation was painless. His two hands became forepaws. Ears and mouth elongated. White striped fur surfaced from under his skin. Collin climbed down from the sofa as he completed his transformation. Weretigers were twice as large as their non-shifting counterparts, and he was no exception. He didn’t want to ruin the hotel furniture by sitting on it.

Collin stretched out his forelegs and whipped his tail back and forth. God, it had been a while since he shifted. It felt good wearing his beastly skin. For a second, Collin forgot that Danielle was watching him.

He turned his head at her. She didn’t look scared. She was thunderstruck.

Danielle reached out and stroked his back. Timidly, at first. When she noted Collin didn’t mind, she petted behind his ear. “I can’t believe this. You’re adorable. Oh God, how is it your fur’s so soft?”

He was glad she didn’t fear him, but he didn’t want her to think he was cuddly. He was seven hundred pounds of pure masculine predator, damn it. He quickly shifted back and caught her hand. She looked surprised.

“Why did you revert back?”

Collin ignored her question and kissed her. He palmed her lovely face in his large hands. Thumb brushed her lip. She licked it unconsciously. Christ. She looked so sexy. Collin lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers. They were so soft. Warm. The beastly part of him wanted to sweep her off her feet and throw her into a bed and fuck her until morning. The human part of him reminded him that human females were more delicate than his kin. Another waft of her scent hit him. Stronger.

Christ. Collin wanted her so badly, he'd sell his soul to the devil.

He kissed her. A soft, keening moan curled from her delicate throat. She seemed to like it. She tasted as sweet fruity nectar like the dessert she ate earlier. Hmm. He loved it. A groan rumbled in his throat. Collin kissed her over and over until her knees weakened. He supported her weight with one arm, while the other pinned her against the wall where she couldn't escape his exploratory kiss. He swept his tongue over hers, the cavern of her mouth. He sucked her lip while pressing his body against hers, grinding his erection on her soft body, letting her know just how much he wanted her.

Danielle responded to his kiss. She was good. Collin was delightfully surprised. He loved passionate women. They weren't shy and made the best bed mates.

But now, he had Danielle. He wouldn't need any other woman.

Collin kissed her until she looked like she was about to faint. Then he released her. Scented her hair. Her exposed skin. Her aroma was overwhelmingly intoxicating. He flexed his arms and his fur briefly surfaced.

Must. Have. Her. Now.

Collin hooked one arm around her waist and drew her closer. He kissed. Tasted. Felt and explored her. Every inch of her skin. Every swell of her lush curves.

He was ravenous.

He untied her bath rope and pulled it off her body. She wore the lingerie he bought in the hotel boutique. It fit her perfectly. God. She was so voluptuous. His mouth suddenly watered.

He kissed the hollow of her throat and down her cleavage. With one finger, he pushed down the spaghetti strap on her baby doll chemise, exposing her alabaster breast. He licked her nipple and sucked it.

She writhed in pleasure. Her hands fisted his hair.

Collin deepened his sucks, trapping the hard bud between the roof of his mouth and his tongue. She trembled from head to toes. She might’ve called his name deliriously; Collin barely paid any attention. He was delighted by how responsive her body was to his touches. And she tasted and smelled so damn good. He couldn’t get enough of her. The beast inside him threatened to break free. It wanted to claim her.
Now.

No, not yet.
Collin resisted.

A little bit more.

Just a little more…

Danielle was shocked to find the pleasure he gave her was so intense. And it felt so right. As it should be. And that’s the darnedest thing ever. She had never been this giddy from making love to someone. Like Sleeping Beauty who awakened for the first time in a century by the Prince’s kiss.
Her
prince. Her soul mate.

Collin released her nipple and tilted up his head. He kissed her on the mouth when he saw her smiling.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured.

This time she took the compliment with pride. Collin was sincere and it showed. He pushed the other strap down, spilling her breasts for him to see and ravish.

She jerked when Collin licked and sucked her untouched nipple hard. The sensation was too sinful for words. So good that she was starting to see stars in her peripheral vision. Her spine kinked in pleasure. Her pussy clenched and moistened with each deep, thirsty suck. Her panties soaked with her juice.

Collin slid his hand over her belly and down to the juncture of her thighs and sounded delighted when he found her wet.

Very wet.

He let go of her nipple and focused his attention to her pussy. “What do we have here? Let’s take them off.”

He pulled off her panties impatiently.

She instinctively closed her thighs, feeling self-conscious.

“I don’t think so, kitten.” Collin pushed her legs open. He pulled her body to the middle of the sofa to his liking.

Her gaze drifted to the hard erection below his hips and promptly felt dizzy.

Collin was big. Impressive girth and length.

How would it feel to have his cock inside her?

Her cheeks burned deeper at the thought.

Will he even fit? She had never—

Her train of thought crashed when Collin placed his mouth on her pussy. Ten million voltages of pleasure jolted into her body. He dragged his tongue from her perineum to her aching, throbbing clit. Then he flicked her clit and sucked it deeply, hungrily, like the way he sucked her nipples.

“Collin,” she murmured. “I…”

He slid his arms under her hips and locked her in place. No amount of thrashing and writhing could get him from enjoying his prize.

Danielle surrendered and went with the ride.

Pleasure gathered steadily as Collin teased her clit with his teeth and tongue. Grazing it. Nibbling it. Circling it with his tongue tip.

Danielle writhed again. This delicious torture was more than she could handle. He licked her again and this time he speared his tongue into her entrance, licking her deeper and deeper…

The pleasure was mind-blowing. Her body went rigid as he fucked her with his tongue. A violent climax raked through her with the sharp intensity she had never experienced. Tides of pleasure rippled throughout her body. When she finally floated back to the surface, Collin was smiling.

“Sorry, but I must have you now. I can’t wait any longer.” He stroked his cock and positioned himself on her opening. With one smooth thrust, he penetrated her.

Her scream ripped out of her throat as he pushed and pushed until he was able to sheathe himself balls deep. She was stuffed to the brim like she never had been.

“Sorry…” he started.

“No,” she whispered. “I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

She nodded furiously.

Collin kissed her in return.

He moved in and out slowly, fucking her with a dozen strokes until she was accustomed with his size. She creamed luxuriously, making it easier for him to move. He picked up his pace and slammed her without reserve. Her pussy made a wet sucking sound each time he withdrew. Collin’s eyes brightened. He loved the noise they made; it turned him on even more. He whispered that he loved the way she made him feel.

And she loved the way he made her feel, too. Her heart pounded so fast, she was lightheaded. Collin slammed his cock in and out, over and over as another immense pleasure quickly built. Then, she came.

A violent orgasm crashed over her. Collin didn’t stop pounding. Another hard climax followed the first. Collin growled as he thrust once, twice, and last, riding the orgasm with her. His cock beyond hot and rigid inside her spasmed with his seed. Her pussy quavered and hiccupped around his still hard shaft until it slowly spent.

Danielle grabbed and kissed him hungrily. He kissed her back with the same heat. They tangled on the sofa, riding the afterglow.

“Are you always this amazing?” Danielle whispered as she stroked his toned pectoral.

Collin made a delighted kind of sound. “A compliment, I see? I’m not doing this to impress you. Can you see I’m so into you? You’re our mate.”

“There it is again. Mate. What does that really mean? Is it like soul mate or something?”

“It’s exactly like a soul mate. When we saw you earlier, we knew you were the one.”

“But how did you know? I only met you a few hours ago.”

Collin pushed himself up into a sitting position. He pulled her to straddle his lap and circled his arms around her waist. “We just know. It’s hard to explain, but we shifters tend to be more sensitive in the instinct department. It’s in our blood. We just know. It’s like somebody knows not to touch fire because it will burn you. Or not to touch a live naked wire because it will electrocute you. Does that make sense so far?”

“You put a lot of faith on your instinct.”

Collin laughed. “I know. But trust me, once we had our eyes on you, we have no interest in other women. You
are
the one.”

What he said made her pause. For a long time she thought Brian was the one and she couldn’t have been more wrong. She didn’t want to make the same mistake again. The price she paid and heartache she’d suffered were too great.

He seemed able to read the doubt in her face. “I know I’m asking a lot for you to put blind faith in us, but bear with us, we’ll prove to you what it means to be a tiger’s mate.”

“Okay.”

“Now, how about a bath, then let’s change our venue to the bed? I have a surprise for you.”

“Ooh? What kind of surprise?”

“It won’t be a surprise if I tell you, would it?” Collin pecked her lips. “Come.”

Chapter Three

Collin and Danielle checked out from the hotel shortly after nine in the morning and returned to the Dakota. Dane greeted her in the now quiet apartment. Their housekeeper had just left, leaving no trace of the party.

They chatted about their childhood as shifter kittens growing among humans. Their parents wanted them to learn how to blend into society at an early age, something most shifter parents were averse to. Danielle was awed by all the mischief the twins got themselves into.

She opened to them gradually, sharing her past. But she avoided the part about Brian. And luckily, Collin and Dane didn’t pry. She was grateful for that. She didn’t want the two most amazing men she’d ever met to pity her.

Collin left after helping Dane clean the kitchen, giving his brother and Danielle some alone time. Dane told her he had plans for the rest of the afternoon: he’d take her for romantic sightseeing in Manhattan. Danielle was delightfully surprised.

Dane took her to the art museum on Fifth Avenue. She quickly discovered she and Dane shared the same fondness of master painters during the Dutch Golden Age and early Renaissance. They perused the wealth of collection of the museum from Botticelli, Vermeer, and Rembrandt.

Dane shattered her expectations from what she originally thought about shape shifters. He was well-educated, polite, charming, and affectionate. She was well aware of the attention Dane received from people, and the envious stares directed to her. And Dane wasn’t shy about showing everyone he had eyes only for her.

They walked hand in hand as they went from one gallery to another. Dane stroked her hair and whispered intimately in her ear. She couldn’t help comparing him to Brian. Her ex-fiancé wasn’t the type who liked being lovey-dovey in public. Brian was more introverted about intimacy and she got used to that. But for a change, she enjoyed the attention Dane showered onto her. Dane knew how to make a girl feel special.

They exited the museum around four p.m. Dane took her to a boutique on Fifth Avenue and told her to pick a little black dress to wear for the evening. She wasn’t comfortable at first but Dane insisted on spoiling her.

“My brother and I only have forty-eight hours to court you,” he said, “I wish I had more time than that. For the sake of my ego, please allow me to treat you as my lady.”

She couldn’t say no.

Dane patiently waited as the personal shopper of the boutique brought her beautiful dresses to try. He complimented each time she put on a new dress for his approval as his sharp gaze hungrily raked over her body. She was flustered like a schoolgirl with a crush. It had been a long time since she felt that way. Dane made her feel alive again.