Authors: AJ Hampton
His pain ran deep, was a wound she felt in the pit of her gut. His hurt called out to her on
a
visceral level, begging her to take it away. She didn
’
t know if Peter would let her. Taking a chance, she lifted on her toes and pressed a soft, tender kiss against his mouth.
As she
’
d done with his leopard, she pressed her forehead to his.
“
You are wrong, Peter. It
’
s not the end.
”
Chapter Thirteen
The insistent pounding of a soon-to-be migraine
sent starbursts of pain through Peter
’
s skull. His vision blurred. He forced himself forward, told himself he
’
d come inside Eva
’
s house only to make sure she was safe. A chivalrous lie. Hours with Becca
’
s mourning family left him raw and pissed off about it. An Alpha had no business feeling, period.
He made it as far as his father
’
s study before the past and present collided. Suppressed memories from his mother
’
s death, his father
’
s subsequent isolation, unfurled. Things he hadn
’
t thought about in years ripped through him. The fights. The blood. The isolation of living without his Pard. Pain slipped past his self-control, and like a tidal wave, the current gathered momentum.
The front door closed, a soft sound that had him turning toward
it
. Eva pressed back against the wall, as if no longer able to stand unsupported. Her gaze rose from
the
shiny wood floor, met his penetrating one. The weariness in her eyes tightened the invisible hand closing around his throat. He hated her discomfort. Hated the scent of her tears tracking down her pale, smooth cheeks. He hated the vulnerability shining her eyes.
He clenched his fists, fought to stay where he was, several feet away from her. Her heart, innocent and fragile, was his for the taking. For the first time in his life,
the
temptation to take what didn
’
t belong to him reigned.
“
That was awful,
”
Eva said, her voice cracking, her body trembling.
She undid him.
“
Come
‘
ere,
”
he rasped, knowing his mistake and making it anyway.
Tears streamed down her face. She crossed the distance between them, slow at first, then sped to a run. He stepped forward, catching her when she threw herself against him. As if he would never let her go, he buried his nose against her neck and clutched her tight. It was a lie he
’
d let her believe, one he
’
d let himself fall for as well.
The sobs she
’
d held back for the Graysons
’
benefit released with the force of a hurricane.
In both hands, he cupped her cheeks, tilted her head up. Thumbing away the streaming moisture, he searched her eyes. Grief. Love. A knife across his Achilles
tendon
wouldn
’
t have been more paralyzing.
Fucking hell. She
’
d fallen in love with him.
The look in her gaze sucked him in, had him lowering his mouth to hers. One kiss and then he was leaving. One taste of heaven was all he would allow himself. He wouldn
’
t break her heart, not more than he was already going to.
At the first touch of her hot, silky tongue, all thoughts of nobility vanished. In the same instant Eva licked into his mouth, she scratched her nails up the indent of his spine,
then
along the nape of his neck. A shiver tightened his skin, had him groaning into their kiss. He fisted the back of her shirt, fought to hold himself in check. Desire pulsed and blood rushed to his rock
-
hard cock.
Her scent, the one he
’
d been trying so hard to ignore, invaded. She clutched him closer, as if she could burrow inside him. Stupidly, he let her in all the way. Eva
’
s tongue caressed his, wet, slow, and delicious.
H
er soft body pressed into his hard one. Passion built, the kiss changing when she pulled back to nip at his lower lip. He chased her mouth, reciprocating her bite and soothing the sting with his tongue. Her soft, mewling moan broke his restraint.
He growled from the place deep inside him, the place where his predator lived, and took control. Without breaking their kiss, he lifted Eva, wrapping her legs around his waist.
Inside her bedroom, he set her down only long enough to unlace and tug off their boots. He found her kiss-swollen lips again, an addiction he
’
d need professional help to get over.
Together, laid out in the middle of the decadent bed, he settled into the v
ee
of her legs and rose above her. Beneath him she was tiny and delicate. His. He stared into her chocolate eyes. He moved the hair from her face, swiped the rest of her tears away. The tip of her nose was red, her forehead blotchy and her eyes bloodshot. Still, she was stunning.
Eva looked up at him. Silently she gasped to recover the breath he
’
d stolen from her lungs. Mouth to mouth, he would give her all the oxygen she needed. His tongue swept inside, teased and caressed. She pushed at his long-sleeved shirt, got it half way up his back before he lifted enough to pull the material over his head. In between drugging kisses, he took his time removing her sweater, exposing the soft swell of her stomach. Beneath black lace, her breasts strained.
He ran a knuckle from her throat down her chest, and then to the front clasp of her bra. She sucked in
a breath, trembled. Her hand smoothed across the planes of his back, a soft, simple caress. His lust spiked, had him tearing at the closure, anxious to free her creamy mounds. Between them, he cupped a full, round breast.
The moment he touched her, Eva moaned for him, arching
into his touch.
Her desire spurred him to take her hard and quick, but he held back. He wanted something different tonight. Something slow. Sensual. Forbidden.
He drew his lips over her chin, down
the center of her throat.
Nibbling on the sexy line of her collarbone, he plumped her full breast, loved the way she filled his hand. She was so fucking perfect. He trailed his mouth lower, bent to take a peaked nipple between his teeth. She cried out, the erotic noise encouraging him to sooth the sting with his tongue.
He sucked her into his mouth, her hips rocking against the length of his erection. If he didn
’
t have her soon he was going to explode. Delicate hands curved over his shoulders and drew a wake of goose bumps before changing directions. She cupped his ass, and he needed no further encouragement to thrust against her.
“
So good,
”
she moaned.
His cock pulsed.
She was
so
hot
. So
willing
. F
uck
,
he want
ed
her
now
.
He released her nipple with a pop, nipped the wet swollen bud and shifted his ministrations to the other breast. Giving the rosy flesh the same attention, he devoured, didn
’
t stop until he had her on the edge of climax.
He let go of her breast and looked up, meeting her glassy, pleasure-filled eyes. He never broke their gaze as his lips moved down the center of her quivering stomach. With more finesse than he felt, he unfastened her jeans and guided both the denim and her panties over her hips. The sweet intoxicating fragrance of her need hit him.
His feline, suddenly starved, surged to the surface
,
no longer satisfied to wait. Peter forced the leopard into the back of his mind and concentrated on Eva. He spread her legs wide, exposing the hidden treasure. The slit of her pussy glistened with arousal.
“
You are so Goddamned beautiful,
”
he whispered, lowering to lick a line from the bottom of her entrance all the way up to her clit, her delicious taste an explosion on his taste buds.
“
I ache
;
please, touch me,
”
she said.
More than happy to oblige, h
e pushed
one finger into her core, and then two
, needed to feel the ripples of pleasure when he made her climax.
He settled his mouth against her and the world faded away. One lick at a time
,
he brought
her
higher and higher, satisfying
her
in tasting every inch of her pussy. He listened for the change in her breathing, the subtle tightening of her vaginal walls. He
’
d made her come enough times to know she was close. Not yet.
Against her clit,
he made
tight circles with the tip of his tongue
, back
ed
away at the first pulses of pleasure.
Again and again, he brought her close, drew her back, and then started over. The slow, hard pumping of his fingers changed. No longer teasing, he flicked the hard bundle of nerves, sucked.
Her inarticulate moans grew louder, louder, louder, and then she was crying out his name, her hips thrusting.
Not until he milked the very last drop of her pleasure did he remove his
jeans
, the only barrier keeping him from shoving his cock inside her. Naked, skin slick with a fine sheen of sweat, he settled above her.
“
Is this what you want?
”
he asked, smoothing her tangled curls from her face.
“
Yes.
”
He cupped her thigh, squeezing the flesh before bringing it around his waist, opening her to him. Bending over her, he found her mouth and t
h
rust home. Liquid heat sheathed him from base to tip. Flesh against flesh. No barriers. She gasped, her hips lifting to bury his shaft deeper. Sensation gripped him, had him pulling out and slamming forward. Damn it, she was wet and slippery and so fucking tight.
He broke the seal of their mouths and thumbed her wet lower lip. His body tightened at the sight of her beneath him. Unblinking, she stared up at him, her dark, sensual eyes smoldering with pleasure. He drank in her flushed cheeks, swollen lips and lowered lids. She was a fantasy come to life.
Their gazes never parted as made love to her. With each thrust the pleasure ebbed and flowed, started something he wasn
’
t sure he could stop. He took his time with her, let their coupling draw him into a place where only sensation mattered.
Every touch heightened his awareness. Almost absently she stroked his shoulders, neck and back, as if she couldn
’
t get enough of him. He lowered his mouth to hers, coaxing her tongue out to play. The wet, gentle slide made him groan against her, thrust just a little faster.
In response, she clutched his back, her nails scoring his skin, a delicious bite of pain he
’
d missed when tying her up. He hadn
’
t wanted the intimacy then, but now, now everything was screwed up and he was so fucking lost it seemed nothing could bring him back to reality. Her soft lips caressed his sweat-slicked skin, had his hips pumping in a deeper, faster rhythm. Desperate to touch her, he cupped her breast, her throat, stroked her shoulders and arms until he brought her hands over her head.
Words formed in his head, and he struggled to hold them back. No longer in control, they spilled free, his confession ripping through him.
“
You undo me.
”
Her slow, intimate smile stole his heart. Palm to palm, he laced their fingers together, uniting them as one. They never stopped touching, kissing, rocking against each other. Only when she cried out, her body tight in the grip of another powerful climax, did he give up the fight
for
restraint.
The leopard surged forward
but
Peter had enough control to keep from shifting on top of her. His thrusts sped until he pounded into her welcoming body, the animalistic urge to mate too strong to ignore. He released her arms to grip her hip. His other hand found her breast. Holding her
in
place,
ensuring
she wouldn
’
t run, he let himself go.
E
cstasy drew her name from his throat, over and over again. He said that and so many other things.
“
I
’
ll never be able to leave you,
”
he growled against her mouth, his low voice foreign in the darkness.
“
Fuck, Eva, what have you done to me?
”
A tear rolled from the corner of her eye.
“
Then stay.
”
He shook his head, brought his damp forehead against hers.
“
You know I can
’
t.
”
She ti
l
ted her head and sucked his bottom lip into her mouth. Their tongues tangled. Her nails drew down his back, bit into skin, the
n
added pain
—
the last spike in his coffin. Pleasure ripped through him. The head of his cock swelled, knotted inside to
e
nsure a successful mating. He jerked, a full
-
body shudder stealing his breath as his semen jetted deep. The fluid made her wetter, encouraged the shallow thrusting of his cock to slide faster.