"Kian? I swear that was all he was - and once I realized I was just another woman they wanted to control, or I should say they realized they could control I left. He's the reason I started the self defense classes. When I went back because he begged me, I found him laying on the floor, unresponsive and pasty."
Kian's heart rate had started to spike as his cougar started to grow restless at the story.
"Is it wrong that a part of me was relieved? Until now?" she said.
Every word coming out of her mouth added one more chunk of coal under the fire already burning within him when it came to Raine.
"So who was on the phone Raine?"
Her eyes never met his. She looked everywhere but at him. "It was one of his brothers, or pack members, I’m not really sure what he is. But they think I owe them. They think that I belong to them. They've been stalking me for the last year. I've changed my number twice now and they still find it. They haven’t found my apartment at least."
"Raine, look at me."
His index finger gently rested under her chin, coaxing her face to look at him.
"I want you to know that I would never do that. Know that when I say you are mine, I mean that you are my responsibility. You are my sanity. You are the woman that my soul craves and my cougar desires more than our next meal."
He paused, studying her. Raine didn't make eye contact until she seemed to cover every inch of the room.
Kian didn't like waiting, and waiting for her to trust him wasn't his thing. "Raine, you are my soul mate. I would die for you. No one, including myself would hurt you." He knew this to be true. Deep within himself, he knew he couldn't hurt her. His cougar knew who she was to them and that was all he needed. Too bad the niggling in the back of his head had him remembering his dad. Kian truly believed he couldn't hurt Raine, he did. But then again, his dad hadn't protected his mom.
Shifting position on the couch, pulling her onto his lap he pushed aside the doubt.
"Raine, when you agree to mate me, someday, when you accept me as yours, then I promise you will be safe always. My sole purpose is to protect you, and love you."
He nuzzled into her shoulder, kissing the space between her collar bone and her neck. "I will protect you now."
He kissed her again. "Tomorrow."
His tongue slowly licked the place he'd just kissed. "For always. If you just let me."
She shivered. The sweet scent of arousal slowly replaced the fear lingering within the air.
The tension within her tightened muscles relaxed as she sank against him. Slowly, she seemed to allow him to kiss away her fears. He pressed a tender brush of his lips against hers and waited for her to kiss him back. Each tick of his heart had the confidence within him wavering until she responded to his touch.
He picked her up, repositioning them. Kian laid her down on the couch. Without breaking their embrace, he positioned himself over her.
His cougar purred as she pulled him down. His body pressed into her, Raine's heart a mirror of his.
Pulling away, she met his eyes. "I don't know that I believe in soul-mates yet, but I do believe that you are everything I want."
She paused. Her chest rising and falling beneath him. "You're everything I need."
Sitting up he took her in, the view of her a magnificent sight. She placed one leg on either side of him, he shifted, settling between them. Running his hands up her fully clothed thighs, he enjoyed the way her body reacted to his touch. Kian bent down, kissing the bare skin peeking from under her t-shirt.
She squirmed under him as he gripped her hips.
"You have an insatiable appetite," he said.
He glanced up to see her biting her lower lip, a sparkle of mischief on her face.
She wound her fingers into his hair as he kissed lower and lower. Biting at Raine's waist-band, he slowly pulled her pants down. His fingers taking over, feathering a trail down her stomach to her pelvis.
"Maybe you should start wearing more skirts." He winked at her.
Slowly, maybe too slowly if his dick had any say in it, he teased her. His fingers teased at the apex of her thighs, slowly playing with the soft skin.
He licked his way down her slit, slowly parting her lips.
Fuck.
She was so wet; he nearly came in his pants.
Finding the bud just above, his tongue played until she was squirming for more.
"Kian. Please."
He peeked up from between her thighs and gazed at her.
"Please what, princess?"
He loved her moan and the way her hips squirmed under his touch.
"Please. I want you."
He flicked his tongue against the small bud and smiled as she squealed.
Without a warning she grabbed his face. She set his nerves ablaze as she tried to pull him up. Curiosity got the better of him and he let her. Starved lips claimed his mouth and the animal within in him nearly won control as she challenged him.
Raine pressed her body against him, a move he didn't ignore and accepted. He allowed her control, just this once. She knelt next to him, and he cursed her pants imprisoning her ankles. He wanted her on his lap, riding him.
He followed her as she slowly slid off of the couch. He groaned at the pressure in his balls as he watched her ass while she pulled off her pants. A quick glance over her shoulder at him revealed the mischief in her eyes.
He followed her hands as they slid beneath the hem of her shirt while she slowly turned to face him. Inch by inch she gave him more and more skin until she
