“You told me to pet myself. I’m doing what you asked. Don’t be difficult.” He really was having fun with her. “You didn’t want to nap, either. Now I’m aroused.” He leaned back a little more and straightened his legs. “Do you want to help me?”
“No, I don’t.”
“You’re a mean mate.”
“You’re a…” She sealed her lips together in a tight line.
“A what?”
“I’m not your mate.”
“You are, but you’d be a better mate if you’d take over.” He lifted his hand off his dick. “You have softer hands. I want to feel them on me here.”
She stared at his dick. “Are you sure you’re from the lion family?”
He frowned. “What does that mean?”
“I just assumed they’d be smaller than you are.”
He laughed. “Thank you.”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
“You liked me inside you.” He dropped the lotion after making sure the cap was sealed. He didn’t want it spilling on his clean bedding. He patted the spot next to him. “Come here. I’ll pet you. You’ll like it.”
She pointed at him. “Stay back.”
Her growing assertiveness was a good sign. He might not like what she was saying but at least she wasn’t showing fear. That was progress. He shrugged. “I am used to petting myself. I do it all the time.” He gripped his dick again and rubbed harder. “It would be better if you were doing it for me.”
She turned away and stared at the floor down below.
He lunged and wrapped his fingers around her ankle with the hand not covered in lotion. He dragged her closer to him. She kicked at him, but he dodged her free foot by jerking his head to the side.
He used the slippery hand to catch her other leg and flipped her onto her back. He swiftly came down on top of her and pressed his dick against her pussy. He had to bend his knees and yank her legs to his hips to get in close. She shoved at his chest but wasn’t strong enough to budge him. He grinned.
“What are you doing?”
He adjusted his hips and rocked them, sliding his lubricated dick against the slit of her pussy. He wouldn’t enter her until she wanted him, but he enjoyed rubbing up against her. He made certain to make contact with her clit.
She bit her lip and clutched at his shoulders.
“Petting is nice,” he rasped. “See?” He kept his pace slow and steady. It was hell because her pussy was still wet and sticky from them sharing sex before. It would be easy to enter her, but he resisted. “It feels good.”
Her nipples beaded, and she arched her back, a soft moan escaping her parted lips. “I don’t even like you.”
“Your body does. It knows its mate, even if you refuse to accept it with your mind.”
He opened his mouth and kissed her throat. He used his tongue and teeth to play with her. Her legs wrapped around his hips, and he liked when her calves squeezed against his ass. He appreciated everything about her except her stubborn streak to resist admitting she was his.
One of her hands ended up on the back of his neck. He liked that, too. She clutched at him but didn’t try to use his hair to tug him off her neck. He bit her a little harder, the desire to mark her strong.
She moaned louder and her fingernails dug into his skin. It felt amazing.
“Oh God,” she breathed in a shaky voice.
He pulled his mouth away from her skin. “Lash. Use my name.” He resumed kissing her. He stopped moving his dick and she responded by grinding her pussy against his shaft. It assured him she was close to coming. He lifted his hips, making it more difficult for her to move against him. He also stopped kissing her neck to look at her.
Mary stared at him with confusion and passion. She was beautiful to him. Even with her human features. Her nose appeared delicate and the bones of her face were hidden by soft flesh. Her eyes were a pale blue. They reminded him of the sky on a summer day.
“Why did you stop?”
He should have told her to beg. She’d been mean to him. They needed some boundaries as mates, but he wanted her too much. He had a feeling he was going to be the one giving in a lot more to her than she would to him.
He braced most of his upper body weight on one arm and reached down, gripped his shaft, and lowered it enough that he could enter her. He released himself and slid home.
He growled. She was too tight, but her body would adjust to him in time. He wasn’t going to complain about that either, but it was nearly painful. It also reminded him that he’d have to be gentler with her than a Species female. That was okay. Mary was his to protect.
She moaned as he possessed her.
“Oh God!”
“Lash,” he growled.
“Seriously?”
“Try it.” He withdrew his dick almost completely, and then drove back in deep.
“Oh…Lash.”
He grinned. “Say my name and I’ll fuck you faster.” He made certain to rub up against her clit with each thrust. He did it a few times.
“Lash!” she moaned.
She was his female. He would give her what she wanted and needed. It would be enjoyable to do it, too.
Chapter Four
Lash jerked awake the moment someone entered his domain. He carefully untangled himself from his sleeping female and climbed to the edge of his bed, searching the darkness. He spotted a male near the door, just a few feet inside.
He snagged this loincloth and put it on. He leapt, caught the other platform, and jumped again to the next one, before landing in a crouch near the male on the floor.
The Species didn’t move a muscle. Jinx knew better. “Sorry for the interruption, Lash. We’re searching for a missing human female. She went into the vents, and we’re going everywhere that crosses the path of where they lead. A few of the males attempted to climb in after her, but they couldn’t fit. It’s a probability that she got out somewhere else in the hotel.”
Lash moved closer. The male sniffed, and his body tensed. He knew what the male had picked up. Mary’s scent was all over him.
He crossed his arms, daring the other feline to give him shit about it.
Jinx just gawked at him.
“She’s safe and asleep, Jinx. Keep your voice down when you speak.”
“Shit.” Jinx didn’t look happy.
“She’s not harmed. She fell from the vent but landed on those mats put under them to muffle the noise when I accidently tore them down. I stopped doing that after they were fixed.”
“Accidentally? You were doing it on purpose.”
“The old vents made noises, and I didn’t like it. You can’t blame me for making the noise stop by tearing them down. The new ones don’t creak and groan when they bring in heat and cold air. I told everyone who cared to listen that the mats weren’t needed anymore, but now I’m glad they weren’t removed. Mary could have been seriously injured if she hadn’t landed on them. They stay. I need more for under my bed, in case she ever falls out.”
“I don’t even know how to handle this situation.” Jinx reached up and rubbed the side of his face. “I didn’t really think she’d be here but was ordered to check since one section of that vent goes through your room to the mechanical room of the basement.” He dropped his hand. “You can’t just keep her, if that’s what you’re planning.”
“She’s mine.”
“Damn it. This is a mess.” Jinx reached for his cell phone. “Snow is going to throw a fit. His mate is best friends with that female. Mary doesn’t like Species.”
“She likes me.”
“She seems to like you a lot, judging by what I’m smelling. Human females are trouble, Lash. You should do yourself a favor and just hand her over to me.”
“No.”
“You’re really going to force me to make this call?”
Lash nodded. “Mary is mine.”
“How does she feel about that?”
“She is learning to trust me. I’ve made some progress.”
“What if I were to ask her if she wanted to leave?”