Rise of the Jaguar Read online

  “You shouldn’t, you… oh, fuck, oh, fuck, that feels good.”

  He licked her nipple again before sucking on it. She purred and arched her back as he licked and teased her pretty pink nipple into a tight bud before doing the same to the second. He cupped and squeezed her tits, smiling at her as she purred. “I’m going to eat your pussy, Em. You’re going to hold onto the headboard until I tell you that you can let go.”

  “Clay,” she arched into him, moaning when he kissed her sternum, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  He lifted his head, catching her gaze. Her eyes were a fascinating mixture of dark brown and bright jade as she fought for control.

  “You won’t hurt me,” he said. “You’ll hold the headboard until I say you can let go. Right, Em?”

  She studied him before nodding. “Yes, Clay.”

  “That’s my good girl.” He sucked on her nipple both as a reward and to see if she would do what he asked.

  Her back arched again, and she purred loudly, but she kept a tight grip on the headboard as he laved at her nipple. He gave it a soft nip, and she cried out, rubbing her pussy against his thigh.

  “Clay, please!” she moaned.

  He wanted to tease her, wanted to kiss and taste every part of her perfect supple body before burying his tongue in her pussy, but now wasn’t the time. She needed relief, and he would give it to her. There would be time after her heat for him to tease and torment.

  After her heat?

  He ignored his inner voice and settled between her smooth thighs. He nudged at them with his shoulders, and she spread her legs wide, staring down at him with a desperate look of need. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the headboard, and he smiled up at her.

  “Will you let go of the headboard, baby?”

  “No,” she moaned, her pelvis arching when she felt his breath. “No, Clay, I promise.”

  He bent his head and licked from her narrow entrance, up her soaking wet slit, to her perfect pink clit. She cried out when he tongued it and came against his face, her hips pumping and her thighs clamping around his head.

  He pried her thighs apart and licked her pussy clean – she tasted so fucking sweet – before concentrating on her clit again. Her purrs and trills washed over him, and he slid two fingers into her, pumping them in and out as he sucked and licked on her clit.

  She came again, moaning his name. He kissed and nibbled at her inner thighs, giving her a second to catch her breath. Her pussy squeezed around his fingers, and she growled quietly. “Again, human.”

  He grinned. Fuck, he wasn’t sure what it said about him, but the way she growled and demanded for her release was a heady turn-on. He hoped like fuck that she was like this when she wasn’t in her heat too.

  “Human!” she growled again. He kissed her inner thigh again before burying his face in her sweet pussy and giving her what she wanted.

  Clay was so very good at this. Emerson purred happily as Clay lifted his head from her dripping pussy. He’d been eating her out for over an hour, and she’d had multiple orgasms. The ache was still there, only being fucked would ease it entirely, but if he didn’t want to risk fucking her, at least she didn’t feel like she would go mad. Not yet anyway.

  She purred to him again when he wiped his face on the sheet and smiled at her. “Better, Em?”

  He was so damn sexy. And holy fuck, could he eat pussy. She told herself not to ask him to fuck her, then said, “I want you to fuck me, human.”

  He grinned and moved to his knees, his warm hands rubbing her thighs. “Let go of the headboard.”

  She released her grip on the spindles, wincing a little at the stiffness in her arms. Her hands throbbed dully, and her arms felt a little jelly-like from being in the same position for so long, but she didn’t care. Her strained muscles would heal soon enough, and it was better to feel some discomfort than to have shredded Clay’s perfect body.

  “Are your arms all right?” He was still rubbing her thighs, and any other time she would have appreciated his concern, but right now? She didn’t care how sweet he was being. All she cared about was easing the need.

  She shivered, trying not to panic at how quickly the feverish ache for relief returned. She knew it would be like this, knew that it would take more than it usually did to satisfy her.

  Clay can’t last your entire heat. He’s only human, remember? You should give him a break. Let him leave and sleep for a few hours.

  Her jaguar growled angrily. She didn’t want Clay to leave. Emerson didn’t either, if she was honest. The idea of using Clay until he dropped from exhaustion was horrible, but now that she’d had him, now that she knew what he could do for her, allowing him to leave was rapidly becoming impossible.

  That’s why you should let him go now. You use him all up the first day, and you’ll suffer in agony for the second. Better to dole out the pleasure he and his big cock give you in increments over the rest of your heat.

  Her inner voice was being the voice of reason. Emerson knew she needed to listen to her, but it was fucking difficult to do when the need was growing by the fucking second. If she didn’t kick Clay out now, she never would.

  “Emerson? How are your arms?”

  She closed her eyes and croaked out, “Leave, Clay. Right now.”

  His hands stilled on her thighs. “Why?”

  “Please,” she moaned. “Just leave, okay? I… I’ll call for you when it’s really bad again.”

  “It seems really bad now,” he said.

  He was right. It was bad. Telling him to leave had made her heat immediately worse. She rocked on the bed, telling herself repeatedly not to ask Clay to fuck her.

  “Tell me why you want me to leave,” Clay said.

  “I can’t… I can’t think when it’s like this. Please, just…”

  She purred loudly, her hands grabbing at the sheets when Clay slid two fingers into her pussy. He thrust rapidly, and she climaxed with a shrieking, purring growl of pleasure. Her body shaking, she collapsed against the bed. “Th-thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, baby. Tell me why you want me to leave without fucking you?”

  “Don’t want to exhaust you,” she said.

  “I’m fine. Stop worrying about me,” he said.

  “Not worried for you. Worried for me.” She didn’t care how she sounded. All that mattered was easing her need, which he couldn’t do if she fucked him into exhaustion before the first day was finished.

  A grin crossed his face as he eased his fingers out of her pussy. She growled at him, and his grin widened. “You’re so fucking hot. Turn over to your hands and knees.”

  She shouldn’t. She really shouldn’t. But she was scrambling to do what Clay said before that thought was even fully formed. She moaned and purred when he kneeled between her legs and rubbed his hand over her naked ass.

  “So, fucking sexy,” he said in a low voice before his thighs nudged hers wider and the blunt head of his perfect cock pressed against her opening. She pushed back, sheathing him in one thrust, moaning at the way he filled and stretched her.

  Before she met Clay, if someone had told her that a human could have a dick bigger than a shifter, she would have laughed in their face. But here she was, impaled on the biggest cock she’d ever seen, and it was goddamn glorious.

  “Greedy girl,” he said with a laugh before pumping in and out of her. She moaned and let her climax wash over her, reveling in the momentary relief it gave her.

  “Clay,” she gasped out, “you should leave -”

  He slapped her hard on the ass, the sting making her yelp. When his big hand wrapped in her hair and he pulled her head back with a sharp tug, her pussy flooded with wetness. He moaned, his hand tightening in her hair as he gave her stinging ass another slap. “Fuck, your little pussy gets so wet and tight when I do that.”

  He pushed in and out of her. The thick slide of his cock and the sting of her scalp brought on another much needed orgasm. He groaned behind her, his free hand kne
ading and squeezing her ass as he rode out her climax.

  Shivering and glassy-eyed, she craned her neck to stare at him when he gave her hair a gentle tug and said, “Look at me, Em.”

  He smiled at her and released his grip on her hair before running his hand up and down her spine. “You don’t have to worry about me tapping out. I’m more than capable of fucking you through your entire heat.”

  He made a few hard thrusts to drive home his point, and she purred happily, rocking her hips back to meet each of them. “I… you don’t know that for certain.”

  “Yes, I do.” His hands squeezed her hips. “I’m not your ex. Whenever you need or want my dick, you can have it. I’ll always be hard for you, and I won’t come until you’re ready for me to come.”

  “Do you promise?” She hated the naked pleading in her voice, but she couldn’t control it.

  “I promise, Em.” His voice softened, and his hand on her back turned into a gentle caress that awakened something inside of her she didn’t want to focus too intensely on. Not when her heat made her so crazy.

  “Now,” he squeezed her ass cheek, “be my good girl and show me how pretty you look coming on my cock.”

  His words woke the fire in her belly. She shuddered all over as her fangs dropped and her claws extended. She purred to him before squeezing her pussy around his cock. “Yes, Clay.”

  Chapter 12

  The smell of cooking meat woke her. She sat up, yawning and rubbing her belly. Her stomach growled, and her pelvis ached. She figured she had less than an hour before she needed Clay again.

  She reached up to push her hair out of her face, studying the white cotton stuffing on her hands. What was this? She picked it off her fingers, her gaze dropping to the bed. Fear nipped at her belly.

  The sheets and the quilt and – oh God – both pillows were torn to shreds. Strips of fabric and piles of stuffing littered the mattress. Her stomach nauseous, she tried to remember what happened. She’d been on her hands and knees… Clay was behind her… fuck, it was so hard to remember.

  It'd been good. Really good. She remembered that. The position and the angle were perfect for Clay to go nice and deep, for him to… her jaguar purred, and the ache in her pelvis intensified… to hit her g-spot. It had made her go wild, had made her scream and yowl and…

  “Oh no.” She stared at her hands. “Oh God, no.”

  She jumped out of bed, her fear eating at her stomach lining even as the heat pulsed inside of her, ready and willing for more. She yanked Clay’s t-shirt over her head and ran out of the bedroom. She couldn’t remember anything after he’d started giving her g-spot orgasms. Had she turned on him? Had she clawed him and bitten him while he tried to get away?

  He could be bleeding out right now. He could be dead.

  Em, think! You can smell meat cooking. He’s okay. He’s not –

  “Clay!” Panic tinged her voice as she sprinted down the hallway toward the kitchen. “Clay, answer me!”

  She burst out of the hallway. Her jaguar growled and whined, her cat’s fear that she’d hurt their human pushing her to take control.

  “Emerson?” Clay stared at her from by the stove. Chicken cooked in a pan, and he winced when the oil snapped and popped. “What’s wrong? Why are you shifting?”

  “Are you hurt?” She grabbed at his arms. “Oh God, did I attack you?”

  “No, I’m fine.” He pulled her into his embrace. He rubbed her back as she flung her arms around him and slid her hands up inside his shirt. She touched his smooth back, her tense body finally relaxing when she didn’t feel any scratches or marks.

  She pulled back a little and yanked up the front of his shirt, searching for scratches or blood. Her claws hadn’t shredded his chest. It looked perfectly fine. She ran her fingers over the scars that marked his upper body.

  “I’m okay, Em,” Clay said. “You didn’t attack me. Don’t shift, baby.”

  She closed her eyes. He’s fine, sweet one. He’s fine.

  Her jaguar retreated with a soft whine of happiness. She opened her eyes, and Clay smiled at her. “Okay?”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I woke up, and the sheets and the pillows were… I couldn’t remember. I thought I had hurt you.”

  “You didn’t,” he said. “You tore up the sheets and the pillows pretty good, and you made these hot as fuck growly screams, but you didn’t hurt me.”

  “You’re sure?” she said, even though she could see he was all right.

  “Yes. You didn’t even try to claw me,” he said. “You don’t remember?”

  “No, I… not really. It’s a blur right now. That’s not unusual. I probably won’t remember much of what happened for a day or two after my heat ends. I most likely won’t even remember this conversation until later.”

  Suddenly feeling a little awkward and shy, she said, “I remember you hit my g-spot and, um… I’ve never had a guy do that during my heat before. Apparently, it’s even more pleasurable during a heat.”

  He grinned at her before cupping her ass and squeezing it. “Good.”

  “Did you come?” she said, ashamed that she couldn’t remember.

  “Yes. When you finished, you growled at me to come, and I was happy to obey,” he said with another slight grin.

  He gave her ass a second squeeze before returning to the cooking meat. “How long until the next wave hits?”

  “Not long,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” he said. “I’m good to go. You’ve been sleeping for about five hours.”

  Her jaw dropped, and she stared wide-eyed at him. “I… are you serious?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  “I don’t normally sleep that long in between… the waves. Usually, it’s only about three hours or so, and in a heat this bad, I should be barely sleeping at all.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said with a flirty grin. He moved the piece of chicken to a plate before opening the fridge. She stared at the chicken as her stomach growled loudly. She was starving, but Clay had obviously made the food for himself. She wouldn’t have time to cook herself some meat before the heat took over and her hunger was forgotten. But she could eat some canned meat.

  Clay turned, and her jaguar roared with hunger and happiness at the pile of raw meat on the plate he held. Clay set the plate on the island. “Eat before you lose interest in food, Em.”

  She slid onto the stool, her mouth watering and her jaguar growling so loudly she could barely hear the clink of the silverware that Clay set beside her plate. “It’s raw meat,” she said.

  “Yes. I took it out of the freezer last night. I would have given it to you earlier, but it took a while to thaw. Eat up.”

  He joined her at the island, cutting up pieces of his chicken and shoving a bite into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. “Eat please, Emerson.”

  “How did you know?” she said as she picked up her fork.

  “That you like to eat raw meat during your heat?” he said.

  She nodded, and he shrugged. “Read it somewhere, I think.”

  She was so hungry, but she let her fork hover over the meat as indecision warred inside of her. Shifters rarely ate raw meat in front of humans, and some shifters didn’t eat raw meat at all. Ira was grossed out by it to the point where she’d abstained from eating it during her heat.

  It made her heat worse to go without it. Studies over the years had proven that if they ate raw meat during their heat, it eased some of the symptoms. But Ira had been adamant that if she ate raw meat, he wouldn’t help her at all during her heat.

  “Why aren’t you eating?” Clay said.

  “Maybe I should eat this in my room,” she said. “So, you don’t have to see it.”

  He raised his eyebrows at her. “You really think watching you eat raw meat is going to upset me?”

  She flushed, the reminder that he was a very bad man who did very bad things rushing in all over again. It was easy to forget that he killed people for money when he was
being so… kind to her.

  “Emerson,” his flirty smile had returned, “eat all of your lunch like a good girl, and I’ll fuck you in the shower afterward.”

  The purr escaped her throat before she could swallow it down. He laughed and ate another bite of chicken, watching with satisfaction when she stabbed a piece of meat and popped it into her mouth.

  Clay woke to the sounds of Emerson masturbating. She was on her side facing away from him, but the storm had ended, and her low purrs and soft trills were easy to hear. He glanced at the alarm clock before staring at the dark ceiling. It was good the storm was over. As soon as it was light, he’d dig out the SUV, and they could leave. He’d drop Emerson off in White Rock and –

  Without any money? A phone?

  He scowled. Of course not. He might be an asshole, but he wasn’t a monster. He’d give Emerson some cash. Enough to –

  Enough to what? Get her out of the country? Because that’s the only way she survives this. You know as well as I do that Granger will spend every bit of his considerable wealth to find her and kill her.

  So, he’d give her money to leave the country. Done.

  She doesn’t even have her driver’s license, let alone her passport. Without it, she isn’t going anywhere. She’s not like you, Clay. She doesn’t live in the world you do, where obtaining fake documents is easy. You leave her, she’s a dead woman. Simple as that.

  Emerson made a gasping soft moan that hardened his dick even as his stomach churned. He couldn’t be responsible for Emerson once they left. He still needed to save Owen, and if he kept Emerson with him, she’d be in even more danger than if she were on her own. Besides, she was a jaguar shifter and tough. She could take care of herself.

  Against someone like Granger? Like Dax?

  Emerson’s purring grew louder. He shut down the inner turmoil in his brain. Emerson needed him for an entirely different reason right now, and that’s what he would focus on.

  He rolled to his side and spooned her, cupping her breast and teasing her nipple as he kissed the back of her shoulder. “Hey, isn’t this my job?”