“Have you cleaned the wounds and begun dressing them?”
“Gee, Doctor Dufus, what the hell do you think I was doing before you called?”
“Asshole.” Adrian’s amusement was once again loud and clear. “We still on for next Saturday?”
“Yeah, we are. Anything you need me to bring?”
“Nah, I got it all covered. I remembered to pick up everything we forgot when we did your floors.”
Simon and Max were helping Adrian install new hardwood floors in his living room. Remembering all of the screw ups that had happened when they’d installed his floors, Simon couldn’t help but grin. “All right.
See you then.”
“I’ll have donuts and coffee ready to go. And tell Becky I said get better, and welcome to the Pride.
Bye.”
Simon hung up and turned towards her, finger raised, mouth open.
“Phone’s ringing.”
Simon tilted his head, listening. The phone rang a second later. Becky snickered.
“How the hell do you do that? It’s freaking spooky.” He shook his head as he picked up the receiver.
“Hello?”
Becky listened in as half the Pride called to check up on her, snickering silently over Simon’s frustration.
She’d always known when the phone was going to ring, even as a child. It had freaked people out back then, and still freaked most of them out now. Except for Emma, who didn’t really freak over much.
She was surprisingly touched; she didn’t think that many people cared about her. Or was it because Simon was the Pride’s Beta and had declared her his mate? It was possible all this “hail-fellow” stuff was pure political bullshit. Sniffing the Beta cat’s butt, as it were.
“That’s it, the answering machine is going on.” Simon ended yet another phone call with a gruff laugh.
“Phone’s—”
“Don’t say it!” Simon pointed a commanding finger at her, but his tone didn’t fool her. She could tell he was fighting a grin. He turned on the answering machine just as the phone rang. He left the machine to take the call as he stalked back towards her with a fresh bowl of water. “That must drive Emma nuts.”
He sat on the edge of the chaise once again, leaning one hand against the back of the sofa.
Becky bit her lip to keep from giggling at the look on his face. “Nah, she’s used to it. She just makes me answer it.” She hissed out a breath as he began cleaning her wounds once again. “Oh, ow.”
“I know it hurts, baby.” His hands were gentle; his expression was anything but. “I’ll hunt her down and kill her if you want.” She stared at him, seeing the dark rage in him again. It was the same rage that had scared her spitless as he hovered over Livia, his claws dug deep into the blonde’s stomach. “I’m very good at stalking my prey.”
“Yeah, well, guess what, Garfield, there are laws against stalking.”
He chuckled, some of the darkness receding from his face. He began gently cleaning the bite wound on her neck. She could feel his breath against her shoulder and she shivered. The feel of his hands on her skin was distracting despite the pain.
“I’ll cover you up in a nice warm blanket as soon as I’m done, baby,” he crooned in her ear. Which only made her shiver again, much to her disgust. A smug, self-satisfied smile crossed his face as he leaned towards the wound in her shoulder.
She gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes. Arrogant jerk. “Bite me, Simon.”
He struck with a swiftness she couldn’t evade. The sharp, stinging feel of his teeth piercing her skin made her gasp in pain.
But then pleasure hit, so intense she writhed, moaning in pure ecstasy. It raced from where his fangs were imbedded in her neck all the way down to her toes. She felt his big hand cover her pussy and stroke her gently through the fabric of her skirt and panties. It couldn’t have felt better if he’d touched bare skin. She felt as if her entire body was having an orgasm. Even her toenails felt good.
He groaned against her neck, his body arching above hers as he settled himself between her thighs. His hands moved to her breasts, plucking at her nipples as his hips came in contact with hers. He carefully ground his hard cock against her and she moaned again.
She whimpered as his teeth left her skin. She could feel the roughness of his tongue as he licked roughly at the mark he’d left behind. She ran her hands up and down his back and felt a strange rumbling under his skin.
Simon was purring. She ran her hands soothingly up and down his back, making him purr even louder.
She bit her lip to keep from giggling.
This has got to be the weirdest freaking night of my life.
Simon purred as Becky stroked his back. He just couldn’t help himself. The feel of her hands running up and down his body felt so right.
Finally she’s mine. He couldn’t believe how incredible it felt to mark Becky as his own. The feel of her moving under him as she came nearly triggered his own orgasm. He’d moved between her thighs without even thinking, his dick aching with the need to sink into her body. He wanted to taste every single inch of her, fuck her until they were both raw, and then do it all over again. The urge to complete the mating had been so strong that, if her blood hadn’t still scented the air, he’d have had her naked and mounted within minutes.
“Ow,” she whispered. He felt her flinch as she tried to move under him and damned himself for an impatient fool. She would heal faster as a result of the bite, most of the wounds closing in a matter of hours thanks to the enzyme he’d injected into her, but she was still in pain now. He carefully climbed off of her, any urge to purr gone as he scented her blood over their lust.
“Sorry, baby.” He stroked those wild curls away from her cheek. Her skin was so soft he wanted to nuzzle her. “I lost my head.” He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before he stood and went to his hall closet, pulling out a colorful afghan his mother had knitted. He went to his bedroom and pulled one of his T-shirts out of a drawer. It was large enough that it could act as a short nightgown for her. He had no intention of taking her back to her miniscule apartment over Wallflowers. Tonight, and every night from now on, his mate was sleeping in his bed.
He stepped back into the great room and handed her the T-shirt. “Put that on.” He ignored her raised brow at his order, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting. She pulled off the torn lace shirt and replaced it with the white tee. He covered her up gently with the afghan and perched on the edge of the sofa next to her.
Picking up one of her hands he gently caressed her fingers, his possessive gaze never leaving her face.
He took her hand to his mouth and gently nibbled at her fingers. “You’re mine now.”
Chapter Three
She was having the best dream of her entire life. Hard, calloused hands kneaded her breasts, bringing her nipples to stinging life. A warm tongue lapped at her clit. She moved slightly, sighing as it found just the right spot. A rumbling, vibrating purr moved along the tongue and she gasped at the added sensations. She came with a low moan, riding the tongue as it slithered and slid against her moist pussy.
“Mmm. Tasty.”
A deep, rumbling voice was coming from between her legs. Simon. She opened her eyes to see his dark hair spread across her legs as he lapped one last time at her clit. She jumped. Not a dream. She stared around the bedroom, wondering how the hell she’d gotten there. She remembered staring sleepily into the fire he’d started while he sketched a new design for a stained glass window. He must have carried her to bed when she fell asleep. She had no clue what had happened to her skirt, panties, or…her hands flew to her breasts…yup, her T-shirt. “Damn it, Simon, what are you doing?”