Man-Eater (7 page)

Cyrus slapped her once more while simultaneously thrusting into her. Her fireball grew so big it couldn’t be contained. She knew this was it. Her orgasm. She teetered on the brink. Then he pulled out and jammed into her hard, one more time. As he did, he let out a roar and she felt his cock pulse, spasming inside of her at the same time she felt the rush of her own release. Her heat, her fireball, spun out of control, suffusing her body in its raging wildfire. Jolt after jolt of pure passion ran down her limbs. It was all coming out now, every ounce of heat and passion draining from her pores. The passion ran through her, coursing through her veins, and all she could think was that once it was gone, she would finally be able to relax. Finally, her raging hormones would let her rest. Finally, they would let her be.

Her orgasm went on, seemingly endlessly, wave after wave of pleasure suffusing her being, and then gradually, almost imperceptibly, it subsided. After days of wanting it, of being desperate for it, she was finally free of her heat. She knew the relief wouldn’t last long, and she could still feel Cyrus’s cock pulse inside of her, but she was happy for this moment of respite, this moment of pure pleasure. He collapsed onto the bed beside her, pulling her down with him, snuggling his groin firmly into her ass.

“That was beautiful, baby. Do you feel any better?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, I do.”

He draped his arm over her, cupping her breast. “How much longer will it last?”

“My heat? A couple more days.”

“Then we’ll have to do this again.”

“Definitely,” she said. “Providing, of course…”

“Providing what?”

“That I’m still around.”

“Oh, you’ll be around,” he said.

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m not letting you go.”

“Not for a couple of days?” Kendra asked.

“Not ever,” he whispered, snuggling her close. “I’m never leaving your side again.”

Kendra felt her human side come alert briefly at Cyrus’s words, but she let it go. Because even if her human might shy away from that kind of commitment, her tigress liked the idea, and as the heat of her orgasm dissipated slowly through her limbs, Kendra found herself smiling at the notion. That would be wonderful, she thought, never having this tiger of a man leave her side, wonderful indeed. He interlaced his fingers with her own as her core slowly cooled, and she felt safe. So safe that she simply closed her eyes and lay there in his embrace. There would be time to figure it all out later, she thought. For now, she would lie with him. She would lie with him as he held her tight, her heat slowly melting into his.

Chapter Six

Beep! Beep! Cyrus awoke with a start. What the hell was that? He looked at the woman under his arm. Kendra. His tiger had roared last night. He had connected with more than a tigress in heat. In his heart of hearts, he knew that he had connected with the one. The one woman who would complete him. The one woman he would make his. Cyrus smiled inwardly. He hadn’t expected it to ever happen. But it had. Despite all that he was going through, despite the fact that his future had looked bleak, it felt as though things were finally about to get a whole lot better. He glanced lovingly at the curvy tigress shifter breathing softly beside him. She was more than a tigress, more than a woman who had been stranded on the side of the road, more than a dancer. She was his mate.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

There was that alarm again. Why had he set it? He grabbed his phone.

Holy shit. Now he knew why. Damn. Why did it have to be today of all days? He kissed Kendra softly on the lips and gently extracted his arm, doing his best not to wake her.

“Do you have to go?” she murmured, eyes still closed.

“I’ll be back.”

“You don’t have to say that if you won’t,” Kendra said.

He kissed her deeply. “I’ll be back and I’m taking you on a real date.”

He watched her smile as he pulled himself up. Cyrus couldn’t stop himself. He kissed her once more, relishing the electric touch of her soft, sensitive lips. Then he jumped up out of bed and grabbed his coveralls. He had a very busy day ahead of him. He drove home, showered and threw on a suit. Today was the day he had been waiting for. The day he could put his past behind him.

Cyrus drove to the county courthouse in the bright sunlight, his thoughts straying to Kendra despite his best efforts stay on task. Man alive, that tigress was beautiful. He knew he needed to get to know her better, but in his mind, the getting-to-know-you part was a mere formality. His tiger knew. It had struck him from the moment he’d picked her up on the side of the road. She was the one. She was his. He shook his head out. He had other problems now. His ex. He needed to stay sharp.

After the usual waiting around, the respective parties arrived in the conference room. This was it. The divorce settlement conference. It was his chance to put it all behind him and avoid a lengthy court battle. And he would put it behind him. Now that he had found Kendra, he would accept no other alternative. This part of his life, the stupid mail-order marriage to Morgan that had lasted a week and cost him so much, was almost over.

Cyrus stared at the woman who was his wife in name only. A skinny hybrid panther shifter, she had seemed great on paper. So great he had committed on the spot. She had flown in from far away and they had tied the knot without even knowing each other. Their union, however, was an unmitigated disaster. They were together for all of a week, but the aftermath had literally taken years of his life. Now, all he wanted to do was get out of the relationship with his soul intact.

“My client is willing to agree to the deal,” Cyrus’s attorney said.

“New evidence has come to light. That deal is no longer on the table,” Morgan’s lawyer replied.

Cyrus felt a hollow form in the pit of his gut. Was the other shoe finally about to drop? His wife’s lawyer passed across a series of photos to his own attorney and the judge. Cyrus recognized the photos as the shots that had been taken last night. In the photos, Cyrus stood naked, his hand on Kendra’s shoulder. Cyrus shook his head in disdain. Morgan was having him followed. Playing dirty. Anything to win an advantage with the judge. Anything to make her look like the poor victimized wife. It was a concerted effort to get hold of Cyrus’s assets, and however you cut it, those pictures of him naked in public didn’t look good.

“Clearly, Mr. White is not only a man of dubious character, but he’s been engaged in an extramarital affair,” opposing counsel said.

“Mr. White,” the judge said. “Can you explain these?”

Cyrus conferred with his attorney. There was no explaining away the fact that he was naked in the middle of the street. Not to a human judge at least. The day was suddenly looking a lot bleaker. What could he do? Cyrus decided to tell the truth.

“That lady was having a problem and I helped her out.”

“Naked?” the judge asked.

“Two men were bothering her. When I intervened, I lost my clothes.”

“And these two men, where are they now?” the judge asked, concern written all over her face.

“Gone, I would say.”

“And where were you, Mrs. White, when this occurred?”

“I was pulling out of the parking lot.”

“All right. Thank you, Mrs. White.”

His wife smiled. The judge seemed to be considering the situation.
Oh, no, lay it on me,
Cyrus thought.
With my luck, I’ll be going to jail for indecent exposure.
The judge studied the photos. Cyrus waited silently for the hammer to drop.

“This is, indeed, unfortunate, Mr. White. And it raises a whole host of questions.”

Cyrus sighed.

“But those questions aren’t relevant to the matter before us today.” The judge glanced at the photographs once more before putting them down.

“I strongly suggest you accept your husband’s more than fair offer, Mrs. White. Because if you choose to go to trial, you might wish you hadn’t.”

Cyrus wasn’t sure he had heard her correctly. Would the photos really not influence the judge’s decision? His wife conferred with her lawyer for a few seconds.

“We accept their offer,” opposing counsel said.

“Well then, I think we’re done here,” the judge said.

Really? Was it actually over? After all this time had she actually agreed? Was he about to be a free man? Why had the judge dismissed the photos? Sure, they weren’t evidence of an extramarital affair, but in terms of his character, there was no denying that, in the human world at least, they made him look like a freak.

Everybody rose from the table. “Bye,” Cyrus said to the judge, unsure how to address her. Surely a “thank you” was out of line, though that was exactly how he felt.

“Goodbye, Mr. White,” the judge said. And Cyrus thought he caught the slightest glow in the judge’s eye. That had to be it. He hadn’t scented her, but there was no mistaking that glow. The judge was a shifter. She understood the vagaries of being caught naked after an unplanned shift. And she had, Cyrus thought, just saved his ass.

∞ ∞ ∞

Kendra rose to face the day. Was Cyrus the one? She couldn’t help but think so. The tiger she had shared her bed with was more than a dream. He was a flesh-and-blood reality with whom she might just share a bright future. And despite her desire not to dwell on the future so soon after meeting him, she couldn’t stop her human side from coming around to the idea. They would be perfect together—hey, they
were
perfect together.

Kendra checked the time. Even though she’d slept in, it wasn’t yet midday. Her body was still stiff from the night before. She wasn’t sure if it was the sex or the dancing, or both, but she felt like she’d been through the wringer. The dancing sure had gone well, though. One more night and she’d have enough to pay for her car repair. Given she wasn’t on until early in the evening, she wondered what she’d do with the rest of her day? Dream, no doubt. Dream about the glorious tiger shifter who had entered her life.

Kendra hopped in the shower, enjoying the hot water as it sprayed down over her. She knew that as soon as she toweled off, the sudden change in temperature would cool her down. Her heat would, of course, get more and more intense as the day progressed, but for now it was manageable.

Kendra figured she’d get dressed and go over to Ma
n-Eater
s for some breakfast. Maybe find out a little more about her mystery tiger, Cyrus. He certainly had left quickly that morning, and she couldn’t help but feel a tiny shard of doubt pierce her overall feeling of well-being. She wondered if his promise to take her out on a real date had been less than sincere—an empty movement of his mouth that would never see the light of day. No. There was no way. She believed Cyrus. She barely knew him, but something about him made her believe in his integrity. Kendra dressed and headed out into the bright sunlight. First stop, Roland’s auto repair shop.

“Are we good to go?” Roland asked.

“Yup. I’ll have the money by tomorrow. Go ahead and fix my little chariot up.”

Roland smiled. A big shit-eating grin. Why was he smiling at her? Or maybe it wasn’t her that he was smiling at. Kendra turned. Cyrus stood behind her in the shade of the building.

“Hey, pretty lady,” Cyrus said. He was smartly dressed in a lightweight Italian suit, an enormous bouquet in his hand. “For you.”

“They’re lovely,” she said, bringing the bouquet to her nose. She felt her heart skip a beat. So maybe it wasn’t an empty promise after all. The flowers were wonderful. “I was just going to get some breakfast,” Kendra said.

“Don’t you mean brunch?”

“We were up late last night,” she replied with a knowing smile.

“That’s why I’ve got something a little more relaxing planned,” Cyrus said.

∞ ∞ ∞

Cyrus drove Kendra out to about the most idyllic spot she could imagine. Weeping willow trees shaded the green grass on the banks of a babbling brook. The air was cooler out here. He removed a big picnic basket from the tow truck and pulled out a checkered picnic cloth.

“How did you know I hadn’t eaten yet?” Kendra asked.

“I didn’t.”

“So what were you going to do with all this food if I had?”

“Tigress like you I figured could always eat.”

“You know my heat makes me hungry,” Kendra said.

“I know your heat makes you beautiful.”

Kendra blushed. She hadn’t had a man speak to her from the heart like that before, and it made her heart soar. It made her feel like she’d been lifted on the wings of angels. Feel like Cyrus really cared. Like she’d slipped the surly bonds of Earth. Like anything was possible.

“Were both your parents shifters?” Kendra asked.

“Yup.”

“A Pure Stripe.”

Kendra realized that some shifters didn’t like the term “Pure Stripe.” Many in the shifter community considered it snooty. Kind of like calling somebody a blue blood. Kendra hoped she hadn’t offended him, yet she was curious about Cyrus’s background. She wanted to know everything about him.

“Stop it. I don’t think of myself like that,” Cyrus said.

“But you knew I wasn’t a Pure Stripe?” Kendra said.

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter to me. Shifter mother, human father, right?”