shorts and marveled at the size of him and his control. She wanted him inside her now.
He jerked off his T-shirt and tossed it aside, then nestled between her bare thighs. The satiny feel of his Bermuda shorts slid against her thighs, her mound, caressing and enticing her. His arousal was stiff and ready for her, and his hot, bare chest was pressed against hers. He had to want release as badly as she did.
Instead of yielding to the lust, he cupped his hands on her face, and she gave in to the gentle kisses. His lips brushed her eyelids, her cheeks, her mouth. He was like shadow and light—dark and demanding, then subtle and soliciting. He was already between her legs, and her ache below lessened as he rubbed his erection against her, hard and compelling.
She slid her hands beneath the elastic band of his shorts and cupped his cool buttocks. He groaned against her mouth and rubbed his whole body against hers, slowly, methodically as if he was already plunging deep inside her.
He brought her knees up, her feet planted on the couch, legs spread, as he rubbed her crotch with punishing deliberation, making her want him all the more. His mouth moved down her throat, licking, kissing, tantalizing her. Then he took a mouthful of her breast, suckling, teasing, and nipping it. She throbbed with need and moaned. She squeezed his ass, licking his mouth, parting her lips, and begging him to take her to the top as she felt she was almost… Just… a… little… more…
She let out an exalted cry of release and scored his buttocks lightly with her nails.
“Ahh,” Wade groaned, ready to come in his shorts with the way Maya was responding to his kisses and rubbing that sweet body of hers against his. He smelled her fragrant arousal and tasted wine and lime pie on her lips and tongue. Agonizingly, he fumbled to slide the shorts down over his hips. When he finally managed, his cock sprang free.
With Maya, there was no going slow. No partial commitment. It was all or none. And he wanted it all. Wanted all of her. He couldn’t have stopped this if he’d tried.
His fingers brushed against her clitoris, and she gave a little gasp. She was wired. He thrust his cock deep into her wet heat, his damnable shorts at his knees, but he couldn’t do anything about that now. He was too far gone. He pounded into her with a need so great that he couldn’t quench the compelling urge to claim her.
Delicious heat spread through every nerve ending as his blood sizzled. He ground against her as she dug her heels into his buttocks. He pushed deeply, hard, fast, thrusting until he felt he was ready to come. Then he held it, held her still, and gazed into her beautiful golden eyes that simmered with passion… and love, he thought.
“More,” she said, as he groaned his release, and she was close to coming again.
Wanting to please her, he kept it up, thrusting until she came, her lips parted on a purr of pleasure. He gave her a quick kiss and a thorough tonguing. He pulled away from her, yanked his shorts off the rest of the way, and dumped them on the floor. Before she could protest his abandoning her, he gathered her up in his arms and this time carried her up the steps to the bed.
He had every intention of making love to her again. And again.
Morning would come way too soon.
Wade and Maya snuggled, her soft body curled against his chest as he stroked her hair.
“There’s something you’re not telling me,” Maya said. “You seemed more than worried last night when you saw me before dinner. More than was warranted just because Lion Mane clawed me.”
Wade snorted. “His clawing you had me seeing red, Maya.
Maya didn’t say anything for several moments. “Great.”
“Yeah. Not good. If he decides he wants revenge…” Wade didn’t need to finish the thought.
“Okay. I’m glad I know what I might be up against.”
“He might not be Bettinger’s brother. But the possibility exists.”
She nodded. Then, to his surprise, she asked, “What do you think of our garden nursery?”
Wade kissed her cheek and gave her a long look. Maybe she was having doubts about seeing other shifters. He could only hope. “Your brother asked me the same thing.”
She stiffened and tried to pull away. He held on tight and nuzzled her face until she relaxed. “He’d better not be acting like we’re… well, we’re…”
“A couple?” Wade supplied. “He just wondered what I’d do if we got hitched. He was concerned about how you’d feel. Stay in Texas. Move to Florida.”
“That’s not for him to discuss. Or you. We’re not a couple.”
“Maybe not, but he doesn’t want to lose you. That much was evident.”
She settled down. Two alpha male cats in the house wouldn’t work well. But when she looked up at him, he could see the worry in her expression.
Wade understood how she felt—the closeness she shared with her brother and sister-in-law was important to her. He didn’t want her to give that up. “I wouldn’t take you away from your brother or Kat or their kids.”
“Then what?”
He fought a smile. She
“What would you do?”
“My job,” he said honestly. “But I’m not gone all the time. I wouldn’t mind helping with the garden when I’m around.”
“You?”
“Planting seeds. Digging around. It could work.” And he wasn’t talking about the garden, either.
She nestled against him. “I’m not saying yes about anything.”
He nodded. “I told you it was your choice.” But he had every intention of changing her mind. He did have a thought, though. If he could get some of his friends to take her out and prove how much better of a choice he was for her… He shook his head. He couldn’t do that to her. Besides, what if one of the guys he knew appealed to her?
“You don’t really mean it about not minding that I’m planning to see others,” she finally said, her fingers caressing his chest.
“Sure I do,” he said, not even trying to be convincing. She already had him figured out.
She smiled up at him. “You’re making headway.”
He smiled back at her. She was
Maya couldn’t believe she’d slept most of the day. Then again, since she and Wade hadn’t slept most of the night, they’d had some making up to do. They finally managed to pack their bags and have their last meal together at the dining room where David, Kat, and Connor were already waiting for them.
Maya tried hard not to blush as all eyes were on her, but that part of her being just wouldn’t cooperate. It was one thing knowing they knew she’d been making love to Wade half the night and this morning. It was another thing to face them in person.
Everyone but David seemed tired. Too much late-night activity for the shifter couples. Poor David.
No one said much of anything during the meal. Not even the other guests, some of whom were also headed home.
Once they were on the bus to Belize City, Maya realized she hadn’t once eaten anything in the jungle as a cat, like she normally did when Connor and she visited the Amazon. At least she’d had several nights to run as a jaguar.
The club date was the next big adventure, and she worried just how that would turn out. Fighting in the jungle was one thing. Dealing with a shifter in a city was quite another.
