And she was already coming up with a plan. Mel had joked that the two things Snow loved most were food and sex.
Mary so didn’t want to be food…
She darted a look down his body and almost changed her mind. He really was the largest man she’d ever seen. He had to weigh three hundred pounds. At least. Her gaze lingered on the parts of his body that she could see. He didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. Just muscle, flesh, and big bones.
She kept stroking his chest. Not that it took much effort. Her hand shook enough that she could just hold it against him.
Could she make him more interested in her as a woman than his next meal? He was probably too lion-ish to see her as a woman. She was screwed if that were the case, and not in a sexual way. Though, he could probably kill her that way, too.
Currently, he just watched her, easing the grip on her skin with his sharp fingernails. That gave her slight hope she might live.
She swallowed hard and tried to speak. “Please don’t hurt me.”
The purring stopped, and he growled.
Shut up! Don’t talk.
There were people who’d been dubbed dog and cat whisperers. It was possible she was the reverse, and her voice sent animals into attack mode. She had an aunt who had the most annoying laugh on the planet. Every time that woman started to snort and choke—what it actually sounded like—Mary wanted to wring her neck just to make it stop.
She reached up and stroked his chest with both hands now. He watched, and the purring started up again. She figured that was a good sign. Maybe she could just keep petting him until Mel was ready to toss her bouquet. When she didn’t answer her phone, Mel would send Snow to find her, and he’d come to her rescue. She just had to stay alive until then.
Mary calmed just a bit, since he wasn’t killing her. She used her fingernails to lightly scratch his fur. He closed his eyes, and his harsh features seemed to smooth out a little, as if he enjoyed her touch.
Hope soared. Maybe she could put him to sleep and then run for her life. There had to be a way out of the basement.
She grew bolder, expanding the small area she touched. She accidently ran one fingernail across his nipple, and it puckered. His eyes opened as he locked gazes with her, continuing to purr. They watched each other closely.
Mary was tempted to beg for her life again, but she stayed silent instead. He didn’t appear to like her voice. She was a fast learner. Especially when her life was on the line. He enjoyed being petted, though. She could do that for as long as it took Mel to send Snow to find her.
There was only one problem with that plan. The lion man decided to move. She gingerly tried to stop him by pressing her hands to his chest, but he lowered his upper body, trapping her hands instead. And then she couldn’t see his face anymore—because he’d buried his face right against the center of her bra.
The sniffing started up again.
Mary closed her eyes and lifted her chin when the hair mane from his head brushed her face. It almost tickled, but she wasn’t in a mood to laugh.
The fear made it decidedly not funny when he opened his mouth and a wet, hot, roughly textured tongue licked the skin between her cleavage.
She wondered if he were tasting her to see if she’d make a good dinner and prayed that wasn’t the case. New Species did like their meals bloody. She was fresh meat for sure. There would be a lot of blood. And screaming.
He adjusted slightly, and she sucked in a sharp breath, closing her eyes when he closed his lips around the material that hooked her bra together in the center. He clamped down with his teeth and jerked his head back with impressive force.
Material snapped and ripped. Her eyes flew open and she looked down, but he had pressed his face against her once more, making it impossible to see anything but that wild hair of his. Then he twisted his head, nuzzling the cups away to expose her breasts.
Not there. God, don’t bite me there!
Terrifying images surfaced of him taking a chuck of her breast right off her body. It seemed about to happen when he opened his mouth wide and captured one breast in his mouth.
She felt his fangs dig into her sensitive flesh…but there was no pain. Just a jolt of sensation. His hot tongue licked at her, and then his lips sealed around her nipple.
Mary gasped as he sucked on her. She bit her lip and closed her eyes again. She’d had men play with her breasts before, but they’d always been gentle. He wasn’t. He was aggressive about it. She’d never felt anything like it.
It felt amazingly good.
His teeth nipped her slightly, and it sent another jolt of pleasure straight to her brain.
His lower body shifted and his leg nudged between her closed thighs. He pressed down with one knee, and she parted her legs, since it was that or have him crush them. He slid his thigh between hers.
His skin was warmer than her own. He gave her more of his weight to keep her pinned to the slanted slope of the waterfall base. The movement also gave her just enough room to slip her hands out from between them, and she gripped the top of his broad shoulders. He had warm, firm skin.
He released her breast and turned his head, going after the other. Mary expected it that time, and she smothered any sounds that might come from her mouth, afraid it would make him mad when he latched those sharp teeth onto delicate skin. There was no pain, but she was very aware of each tip of his fangs.
His lips sealed over her breast, and he licked at her nipple. The texture of his tongue was something new, too. It was a bit rough, not quite as much as sandpaper. He sucked hard then, and pleasure raced through her body.
She realized she was kneading his shoulders. Her grasp on him tightened when he sucked on her, relaxed when he licked. He kept doing both. Warmth and awareness spread through her body.
He rubbed his leg against hers, inching his knee higher and higher between her thighs, coming dangerously close to her panties. He legs was smooth. Most men had hairy legs, but not lion man. It vaguely struck her as odd, since he had a patch of fur on his chest.
Even as his leg moved, he kept playing with her breasts, alternating between them, until she couldn’t hold back anymore. Mary moaned and released one of his shoulders. Her fingers sank into the hair at the back of his head. It was soft and felt a bit thicker in texture than human hair. She liked it, and he seemed to enjoy her touching him, since he didn’t snarl or hurt her…though pain was now the furthest thing from her mind.
He finally pulled away from her breasts and lowered down her body. Mary watched as he ran his face over her ribs. Her nipples were taut, wet from his tongue and completely bared. The breeze from the waterfall didn’t help, chilling them after his hot mouth, keeping the peaks stiff.
He continually sniffed at her as he moved, brushing his lips against her belly, then rubbing his face over her lower stomach.
He paused when he came to her panties…and Mary’s eyes widened when he gripped the waistband with his teeth.
She started to object but didn’t have time to get a word out. Once again, he just jerked hard, ripping them. The front tore but they didn’t come off. That seemed to make him mad, because he snarled. He gripped her thighs with his big hands and parted them farther. Mary released his hair, reaching up and grabbing the fake moss on the slope to avoid sliding down and hitting the artificial grass covering the basement floor.
He gripped more of the material with his teeth and jerked his head again. That time, the entire center of her panties gave way. He used one hand to snap the thin material over her hips and just threw what was left over his shoulder.
It left her pussy completely bare.
He slid down until he was crouched at the base of the slope, adjusting his hold and pinning her thighs wide open, his gaze locked between her legs.