Then came the day when Tau reached manhood and spoke of a dream sent to him in the night by the Great Creator. He was to be blessed with the same spirit as his father, a lion, fierce and strong.
While holding the people spellbound, Tau shifted, taking the shape of the great lion he was named for. The people celebrated, understanding the significance of his spirit guide even if Tau didn’t.
Except for one, who still prayed for his spirit guide to call out to him. He watched and waited, while his aunt whispered in his ear, encouraging his hate to fester and grow.
* * * *
“Abby’s going to need to ride with you guys. It won’t be safe for her on the bike, even with the helmet on. They might have that information and be on the lookout for both of us, even if the news claims it’s only her they’re looking for.”
“I’m not riding without you.” Abby glared at Tah. What the hell was he thinking or was he thinking at all?
Tah sighed. “And I’m not taking the chance I’ll kill someone if we get pulled over and they try to take you from me.”
“So ride in the truck with me and let Reno or Logan take your bike.”
All three men looked at her as if she was crazy. Reno and Logan she could forgive. They weren’t up on the new Tah and how he took possessive to a whole different level. This idea of her riding with his buddies might seem good now, but he’d busted down the door of the motel room earlier when she was in here with them. He’d get them all killed if jealousy hit him at eighty miles per hour on the road. And it would. Even now, he stood next to her, touching her. Any time they were in the room together, he had to be touching her.
“I’m not letting anyone else ride my bike.”
“Then I’ll ride with you.”
“You’re not riding on the bike, Abby, and that’s final.”
All three male heads turned away from her as if that comment was the end.
“Then you’re not riding on the bike either, and that’s final.”
All three of them jerked back around to look at her, but she had eyes only for Tah. He was pissed; she could see it in the way he slowly turned fully toward her and pulled her closer, lowering his head to meet her eyes.
“What did you say?”
Hmmmm. So possessive was okay as long as it was his decision to keep her glued to his side, but not if she demanded it. If he wasn’t so on edge right now, she might challenge him over it. But that would have to wait until later. She knew they needed to be on the road, putting as much distance between them and Harlan as possible and heading to the safety she hoped they’d find in Colorado.
She wasn’t proud, but she was desperate. She let a whimper of distress leave her lips.
Tah instantly sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping her in his arms. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to go without you.”
“I’m going with you, Abby. We’ll just be riding separately. Don’t you trust Reno and Logan to take care of you?” Tah glanced at his friends, and she saw his eyes narrow as if somehow one of them had said or done something to make Abby upset.
“She’s going to get us killed,” Logan said as he nudged Reno.
She shook her head. “It’s not that. You trust them, so I trust them.” She leaned closer, rubbing her nose against his neck. “What if I need something?”
“Reno and Logan will take care of you.” Silly man actually looked clueless.
Man, she sucked at playing these sexual games.
“I’m sorry, Tah.” She pulled away from him, not sure he was going to let her go at first. She took a few steps toward Reno and Logan. “I didn’t realize you guys were such close friends that you,” she cleared her throat, “liked to share.”
Tah growled behind her, and her lips twitched as she kept her back turned and ignored him. Logan looked a little scared, but she got the impression Reno might know exactly what she was doing and approved of her methods.
“I have to tell you I’m a little new to all this.” She chattered nervously. “Tah’s my first. I mean, well…” She stammered a bit, suddenly embarrassed and unsure of just how far he might let her go.
“Abby.” Her name was a rough growl. She could hear the rumble of displeasure in his chest.
She turned around. “I just thought it was important to share some information with them if they’re going to be taking care of me while you ride ahead.”
His lips peeled back from his teeth, flashing the elongated canines as he growled again.
“Is that supposed to scare me, Tah? Because I’m telling you, all it does is make me wet.”
He was just as shocked as she was when the words left her lips.
“Oh, shit,” Logan said behind her.
She heard Reno chuckle, but her attention was on Tah and the way his eyelids dropped to half-mast. His cheeks took on a ruddy hue as he inhaled deeply, drawing the scent of her in. Lust and need ignited in his gaze. “Come here,” he commanded.
“I won’t ride without you.”
He growled again. “Reno can ride the bike. Now, come here.”
“I want Logan to ride the bike.” Logan was blond and wouldn’t be confused with Tah. Reno, on the other hand, might not be as broad as Tah, but he was still a big guy with hair the same shade.
“Fine. Now get your ass over here.”
He was pissed. And horny. Her eyes dropped to the bulge in his jeans, and God help her, she couldn’t stop her tongue from peeking out and gliding over her bottom lip. She walked to him, feeling his gaze like a caress over her. Her nipples tightened and puckered, drawing his gaze. She stopped in front of him and found herself turned and rushed into the bathroom.
He slammed the door and turned to lean down, meeting her eye-to-eye. “If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I’m going to bare your ass, bend you over my knee, and spank you.”
Her pussy creamed at the surge of lust that thought sent through her. Tah’s nostrils flared as he inhaled her need.
“Fuck!” He grunted, turning her so she faced the sink. “Brace your hands,” he commanded as he reached around and unfastened her jeans, shoving them and her panties down around her knees.
She heard the rasp of his zipper and then the broad head of his cock nudged between her thighs.
“You push me past control,” he muttered just before he pressed in.
She did her best to keep her moan quiet as he slid through her slick heat and buried his shaft deep. Her pussy flexed around him as her body stretched to accommodate.
Her eyes met his in the mirror as he slid almost out.
“Mine,” he growled and slammed back home.
She cried out with the pleasure that rocked her core. He gripped the hem of her shirt and lifted, until she raised her hands and let him peel it off over her head. Her hands dropped back down to the sink as he tossed the shirt and began a fast and furious rhythm. She rose up on her toes, wanting more, wanting deeper, harder, faster. She was so close to orgasm. Just a little more.
“Tah!” His name was a cry from her lips. Both a demand and a plea.
That purr she loved rumbled up from his chest as he bent over her. She felt the slow swipe of his tongue over the bite mark. Once. Twice. Then his teeth sank back in, and with a scream, she flew. He released her with a roar as she felt the heated splash of his cum inside her. She shuddered and shook as he jerked and spilled, laying his head against her as they both gasped for oxygen.
“We really need to talk about the fact you’re not using a condom,” she muttered when she had enough breath to talk.
He growled behind her, scraping his teeth over the mark and sending another round of tremors through her. She was just getting her breath again when he tugged free and stepped away from her. She lowered her head to the edge of the sink as he reached around her to turn the water on softly. She should move, so he could clean up. She needed to clean up too.
He caught her off guard when he put one hand on the small of her back and used the other to work a washcloth between her legs. She should be embarrassed, but she found it sweet instead.
“We really should be using condoms,” she told him.
He growled as she moved aside and began pulling her clothes on.
“I’m serious, Tah, and growling isn’t going to change that fact.”
He leaned his hips into the sink as he washed his cock. Then he dried it and tucked it away in his boxer briefs before jerking his jeans up and turning to her. He bent to grab her shirt and handed it to her, then leaned in, crowding her against the wall.
“There will be nothing between us. Ever.”
“Tah?”
“Never, Abby. You will not get your way in this.”
“It’s my decision too!”
“Tell me you don’t love how I feel inside you. Tell me you want a barrier, separating my skin from yours?”
She opened her mouth and then shut it. Damn him. She couldn’t lie to him. She wouldn’t.
“You are mine.”
“What does that have to do with using a condom?”
He shook his head. “Pay closer attention when we have sex later, and tell me if you think it will work for me to use a condom.”
“What does that mean?”
“Let’s go, Abby. We’ve taken more time than we should have.” His fingers smoothed over her cheek. “I need to get you out of here, need to get you somewhere safe, while we figure this all out.” He bent close and rubbed his nose against hers. “I don’t think I’d survive if anything happened to you.”
She shrugged off the embarrassment when they walked out and found Reno and Logan waiting on them. She had little doubt they had heard well enough to know what had taken place in the bathroom. But as she watched Tah toss his keys to Logan, she felt it was more than worth it. Tah needed her safe, and she needed him safe…and sane.
Now, they were finally on the road. Reno was driving while Tah rode shotgun. Abby was lying down across the backseat of the truck, a stolen pillow under her head, doing her part to appease Tah by staying hidden. Logan followed them on Tah’s motorcycle, so Abby had gotten her way in the end. And she’d had another round of incredible sex before they left, making her pretty content right now.
Tah had one arm slung over the seat reaching toward where she lay, his fingers playing with a long strand of her hair as he and Reno talked. She, on the other hand, was lost in the thoughts he’d planted in her mind just before they’d walked out of the bathroom.
Pay closer attention when we have sex later, and tell me if you think it will work for me to use a condom.
Now, she could think of nothing but his cock and having sex. And every heated look he sent her way told her he was more than aware of that little fact. It was driving her crazy. She could recall every position, every angle. The how, when, and where of it. But she couldn’t put her finger on what he knew but wasn’t sharing with her. Something he expected her to realize on her own.
But how could she when he was her first? It wasn’t like she could compare him to another man. She’d seen a penis before. She wasn’t so naive that she hadn’t watched a video or two and seen plenty of pictures. But Tah was the only one she’d seen up close, the only one she’d taken inside her body, sucked into her mouth. She had no comparison.
So, what was it? What was his body doing that made him think a condom wouldn’t work? She let her mind go through the information she knew about lions mating.
Lions had barbs, sharp barbs that flared out all over the penis when he was inside his mate. The barbs scraped along the female’s walls in an attempt to send her body into heat and make her ovulate. It was pleasurable during the moment for the lioness, until the lion withdrew from her, barbs still extended. This caused the lioness pain, which studies suggested was another way of forcing ovulation so conception could occur.
She would definitely know if Tah had barbs. It would be hard to miss if he was scraping and hurting her every time he pulled out. She shuddered. Please don’t let the animal emerge in that way. She was growing way too fond of sex with Tah.
He glanced over the seat at her again, and she felt her heart contract. She loved him. Was
in love
with him. She’d dreamed her entire life of finding him. And when she had, she’d thrown his life into chaos. Here they were on the run because of her. Harlan would have never found him if not for her. And she’d never even known the other man was watching.
What did he want with Tah? Obviously, Harlan believed her stories now and thought Tah was the descendent of the alpha lion. But what did he want with Tah? Why had he tortured and shot him with adrenaline? She’d always thought Harlan was mean and selfish, but she’d never thought of him as smart. And what was the comment about hunting he’d thrown out to her? She couldn’t shake the feeling that Harlan was just a finger of a greater hand that was reaching for them.
“Let me see the phone again, Tah. I want to ask the Professor to bring some of his journals and collections with him. I’ve got some specific ones I want to look at.”
“Here use mine,” Reno said and handed his phone back to her.
She quickly dialed the number the Professor had given her, but no one answered. He probably wouldn’t answer again, since he’d told her to meet him. Pulling the number for his office from her memory, she dialed it next.
“Professor Mueller’s office,” a woman answered, and she sounded like she’d been crying and maybe still was.
“Is Professor Mueller in today?”
No question whether or not the woman was still crying now, as a sob carried over the phone.
“I’m sorry. I guess you haven’t heard. The Professor’s home blew up this morning. The police think it was a gas leak. They…they found his body inside.” The woman began to cry harder. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I shouldn’t be telling you this. I just can’t believe it. He’s gone. He’s gone.”
“Professor Mueller’s dead.” The words left Abby’s lips, and she could sense Tah turning toward her.
“I just can’t believe it.” The woman was still mumbling when Abby disconnected the call.
She went numb. She could hear Tah calling her name, but she couldn’t respond. He was dead. Because of her. Another person dead because of her and her obsession. How many more would die? She thought of Reno and Logan, of Tah. Would she be the cause of his death too?