He felt his own talons slide forth, knew she felt the bite of them where his fingers gripped her arms, holding her down while he penetrated her. Shoving deep, he hilted his cock within her in a single thrust. She screamed his name, her body undulating beneath him, already moving in the carnal rhythm of sex. Any chance of finesse or control rushed away faster than an eagle diving from the sky. He withdrew, thrust, filled her and reveled in the sensation of her wet heat closing around his cock.
Picking up speed each time he entered her, he pushed them both to the end of their endurance, but he couldn't stop, couldn't slow down. He needed this connection, craved it, man and beast united in the unadulterated lust for this one woman. The sound of their skin slapping together echoed in the wide room, and the mattress creaked beneath them.
“I'm going to come.” She moaned, jerking at her caged wrists. Her legs tightened around his hips, angling herself so that he sank even deeper on the next thrust.
“Deus.”
His muscles burned as he moved. Faster. Harder. He reached between them, flicking the tip of one talon against her clit.
“Breck, Breck,
Breck!
” Her sex fisted around his cock as she went over into orgasm.
The feel of her channel clenching on his dick was more than enough to make him explode. He jetted come into her pussy, and kept pumping his cock inside her until she sobbed and pulled at her arms, another climax shuddering through her. A smug grin curled his lips. Deus, he loved how he could make her react. In bed, there were no pretenses.
Her dark eyes unfocused, her breasts heaving as she panted for breath. Which wouldn't be any easier with him weighing down on her. He heaved himself to the side, letting her loose as he rolled to his back. Contentment unfurled inside of him. If he could have this for the rest of his life, he'd die a happy man. Then again, if Stefan did him in, Breck might just get his wish far sooner than he'd care for.
He sighed, pushing thoughts of their problems away, and closed his eyes. The scent of sex and Tam filled the air, and he groped blindly for her hand, lifting it to his lips for a kiss. “I think we get better every time.”
She chuckled, the sound sleepy and fulfilled. “You might be right.”
“Only
might?
” He smiled, but bit the base of her thumb as retribution.
“Well, I wouldn't want you to stop
trying
to improve and just assume it will.” She laid her cheek on his shoulder. “It does a man good to make him work a little. Makes him appreciate what he's got.”
There was a moment of awkward silence. She tensed, and he could all but feel her regret in having said those words. Considering he'd been chasing her for months and had left his business in order to come to London, he'd say he'd worked more than a little for her. And it wasn't over yet. He sighed, leaning over to kiss her forehead. “Then consider yourself the most appreciated woman in the galaxy.”
“Only this galaxy?” She injected teasing into her voice, using a bit of banter they'd said to each other before.
So he gave her his usual reply. “All of them, beloved. All of them.”
Tilting her head back, she met his lips in a sweet kiss. Her tongue tangled with his, her fingers stroking his jaw. The eagle within him preened at the feel of its mate's touch. Such a primal effect on both beast and man. His cock began to stir again. He'd never get enough of her. He didn't want to.
A disgruntled groan sounded from her and she fell back, breaking the kiss. “I have to get back.”
“I know.”
She pushed herself off the bed, staggered as she looked around the room for her clothes. “Stefan will be waiting and my time is almost up.”
“I'll see you tomorrow.” He watched her gather her things into a pile on the end of the bed, then use her cheetah speed to put everything back on. “I've secured a hired transit to take us to Ascot. We leave just before dawn. I'll wait in the lobby for you.”
She nodded, fastening her skirt as she stepped into her shoes. “Will you need any help finding somewhere for us to stay overnight?”
“No, one of my secretaries handled it. I left a message in their cache.” Hating to let her go, but knowing he had no choice, he caught her arm and pulled her close, then brushed a tender kiss across her lips. “Be safe.”
Â
The smell of horses, hay, and churned earth tickled Tam's nose. So unlike the stink of city that she was used to. The open air was so foreign, no gleaming mercurite skyrises overhead, no crush of people to wade through. A light patter of rain drizzled from the sky, mist winding over the hills in the distance.
The Ascot Raceplex spread out before her, and the box she was in overlooked the huge crowd gathered to watch the race. Vidscreens levitated above the grassy midfield, broadcasting every moment of the action. Horses reared in excitement, eyes rolling. Of course, that could be the scent of thousands of predator-shifters crowding around them. Poor beasties.
This weekend was for the ponies, but the raceplex was also used for dog racing and even shifter-beast racing where humans in their animal forms would compete in speed and endurance competitions. Some of those were somewhat less than legally sanctioned by the crown, but such was the way of the world.
Breck stepped up beside her, running his palm down to the small of her back. He had a glass of champagne in his other hand, delivered to their box along with a few choice hors d'oeuvres. “Any sign of him?”
“Not yet.” But he was here. She could smell him, somewhere in the throng of people. But they'd track him down eventually. Breck had made certain they were in a prime location, and after the race they were attending an exclusive party that Abernathy had also been invited to. She'd had to work every charming bit of manipulation she had to secure that invitation for them. With any luck, she and Breck would make a new friend.
With any luck, they could all get out of this alive.
As glad as she was to be away from Stefan for the weekend, she hated that she'd had to leave her little sister with him. She hated every second that Sophie spent in his company. Or near Leland and Nichols. Or anywhere within a hundred kilometers of anyone Stefan had any influence over. It made her skin crawl, knowing what could happen to her baby sister.
Which was why this was such an effective weapon to use against her, the son of a bitch. And there was no legal way to get Sophie away from him. He was her father. He had legal custody. He could bring every illegal, immoral thing Tam had ever done against her if she tried to sue for any kind of rights. No, they had to settle this the way their kind didâquietly and without any law involved.
What made her stomach turn was how she was ever going to keep Sophie safe once this was over. Stefan had to be dead or in jail for life. Preferably dead. But Tam had never killed anyone. She manipulated, she stole, but she didn't physically hurt people. Could she coldly kill a man? To keep her sister safe, she hoped so. But how and when? His two guard dogs were always nearby, and Stefan might be twice her age, but he was also stronger than he looked.
And she was afraid of him.
So many years of him beating her down, threatening her, terrifying her. The psychological effect was something she couldn't deny and shouldn't underestimate.
“There,” Breck said, jolting her back into the here and now. He nodded toward the ring the trainers and handlers walked the horses in.
She had to focus on using her feline vision to see the man where he stood by the rail inspecting a tall black stallion. “Good eye.”
Breck grunted. “I'm an eagle. And I'm motivated.”
So was she. They had to play this game until they found a way out. “If he sticks to pattern, we'll see him at the Duke of Gemini's winner's celebration.”
“Gemini?” Breck blinked down at her, his eyebrows lifting. “That's not an English title.”
“No, he's not English.” She shrugged. “I believe it's a self-bestowed title.”
His lips twitched in a grin, his brows rising higher. “They allow that?”
“When you own your own island in the middle of the Atlantic, you can call yourself whatever you want.” She smiled back, amusement darting through her. His Grace was nothing if not eccentric, given to flamboyant displays and colorfully covered in nanotats he liked to reconfigure every other day. The buzz was he had his own personal nanotat artist on staff to service him whenever a new whim struck. “Most believe he was quite restrained in leaving it at duke and not trying for king or emperor.”
“Very restrained. What kind of shifter is he?”
She frowned. “Some kind of reptile, I believe. I'm not certain which species, though.”
“What kind of shifter is Stefan?” There was a hint of disgust in his voice when he said the other man's name. “It wasn't listed in any of the files I have on him.”
“A weasel.” Her smile wasn't nice. Neither was Breck's answering snort. She met his gaze. “Appropriate, but being a lesser predator species doesn't help him in a fight. He doesn't often shift unless he's using his small size to escape someone. Or hide in some dark hole until the coast is clear.”
“And his men?”
“Nichols is a dingo. Nasty little mongrel, very dangerous. Leland, you don't have to worry about shifting on you. Unless you're near water, in which case, you're sunk.”
“He's a fish-shifter?”
“A great white shark.”
“Of course he is,” Breck muttered, huffing on a laugh and shaking his head. The breeze tossed around his blond hair, and the sun made the strands shine like gold. He was so handsome. His white teeth flashed in a little smile that was warm and just for her. Her heart turned over, even as she tried to harden it against him.
No matter which way this situation flipped, she couldn't see how someone like her could ever end up with someone like him, mates or not. The thought made her ache inside, but she couldn't lie to herself. She was a criminal, and he was a golden eagleâthe golden boy from a golden family that had been wealthy and influential since before the Third Great War, when most people had lost everything. Circumstances might have brought them together for a little while, but in the end he'd have to fly away. A woman like her would be toxic to him, dragging him down into the gutter with her.
Reaching up, she brushed back a lock of hair from his forehead. He caught her hand, kissed her fingers. “That's a very serious look you're wearing, beloved.”
Beloved. She loved it when he called her that, though she knew she shouldn't. She wished it could last, this thing between them. Nothing had ever felt as good. Not even the rush of pulling off a heist. But she had to focus on getting Sophie free of Stefan, even if it cost Tam's life to do it. A future wasn't a luxury she had anymore.
Instead of responding to him verbally, she rose up on tiptoe and kissed him, telling him with actions what she'd never said outright. He hummed, his hands settling on her hips to pull her close. She could feel his rising erection against her stomach, and her body responded with alarming enthusiasm. They both jolted when a loud horn blared out across the raceplex.
“And they're off!” The announcer's voice echoed across the grandstands, calling out the actions of the current race. A deafening cheer went up when the horses swept past.
The rest of the day went the same, the tension before a race building up, the horses parading by, the horn blaring, and then a few minutes of controlled chaos before it started all over again.
Breck rolled his shoulders beside her, stepping back to throw himself into one of the kleather chairs in their private box. “Deus, how many more of these are there?”
She glanced at the nanosheet she'd been given when they arrived. “We've done six, so . . . three more, according to the program.”
A groan was his only answer. He pinched the bridge of his nose.
Tossing the nanosheet onto a low, hammered mercurite table, she reached out to press a button embedded in the wall. A privacy screen engaged, so they could see and hear everything going on around them, but no one could see or hear them. Then she walked over to Breck and crouched beside him. “You don't have to be involved inâ”
“Don't. Just don't.” His hand dropped to the arm of the chair and his eyes met hers. “I'm just impatient to do this thing. It's how I get before closing any big deal. Now is the time I'd usually shift and go for a long flight to burn off some energy.” He shrugged, tapping his fingers restlessly against the kleather. “I'm fine.”
She could definitely understand that. The tension had been winding tighter and tighter inside of her since she'd kissed a sleeping Sophie's forehead this morning before leaving her in the dubious care of Stefan, Leland, and Nichols.
A little distraction before they went after Abernathy would be a good thing for both of them. She ran the tip of her nail up the inseam of his pants, grinning when the muscles in his leg went taut and his cock began to swell against his fly.