Wild Cat (29 page)

He strove to keep his mind on saving Alonzo, but her hands both had dropped to the buttons of his jeans. “Baby, you're making me hard as a fucking rock. I got that man downstairs and he wants to talk to you.”

“I know,” she replied softly, without looking up at him.

Her hands stayed busy, forcing him to reach around and withdraw the weapon.

“Can't walk around with a hard-on, Siena.”

“If you'd stop talking and cooperate, I'm pretty sure I can figure out a way to take care of that for you, Elijah. You need to take care of me.”

Hot blood rushed through his veins, drove out thoughts of anything but her body. He bent to her breast, wrapping his arm around her, keeping the gun at his side, his mouth pulling strongly, tongue stroking her nipple. He suckled hard. The moment he did, she gave him her weight, the air leaving her lungs in a gasp. Her breasts were that sensitive.

“Love these, Siena. Can't wait for you to start producing
milk. Not sure I'll be leaving much for the baby.” He began walking her backward, toward the bedroom, his fingers finding her nipple and tugging. Hard. Rolling. Watching her face. Watching the beauty of the pleasure he was giving her build.

“You might not like how it tastes,” she warned.

She hadn't protested that he wanted to drink milk from her breasts. She hadn't thought it was bizarre or freakish. “I want everything from you.
Everything.
Nothing off-limits, and
Dios mio
, you give me that without batting an eye. You taste good everywhere, Siena. Your skin. Your mouth. Your unbelievable mouth. So good. And when I go down on you it's a fucking feast I never want to leave. I could eat you all day, like candy, baby. So good. Can't imagine that your milk isn't going to be just as good.”

He opened the drawer beside the nightstand and shoved the gun inside, pushing the drawer closed.

“I don't know why that makes me burn all the hotter, Elijah, but it does,” she confessed, her hands continuing to pull open his jeans.

He tasted her in his mouth and suddenly he was starving for her. Talking about devouring her wasn't enough. He stepped back, shoving a knee in between her legs to widen her stance. He crouched low, both hands at her waist, then moving to the inside of her thighs to force her legs even wider.

“That's it, Siena. Spread for me. I'm so hungry for you and can't wait another minute.” Not even to get his damned pants open and get some relief. “You're an obsession, baby, an addiction and I've got to have my fix.” She was. The taste of her was a drug in his system, the fire spread like a storm through him.

Not only was he addicted to the taste of her and that way her sheath clamped down so tight she strangled him in all that wet silk, but he was just as hooked on the way she caught fire for him, going off like a stick of dynamite.

He caught her very fine ass in his hands, fingers digging deep as he pulled her to his mouth. There it was, his wine.
His nectar. All his. All for him. He loved that she was slick and hot and giving him exactly what he wanted.

She threw her head back, her hands going to his shoulders to hold herself up. “Elijah.”

He felt the whisper of his name in his cock and his erection nearly burst through the heavy material of his jeans. He lifted his mouth away from her, his hands tearing at the buttons to free himself. “Brace your left foot up against the bed,” he instructed.

She did as she was told, giving him better access. His throbbing, pulsing cock free, he resumed his feast, bringing her back to his mouth, tongue pulling out the sweet, sweet taste of her. Hot and sweet. He suckled, using his tongue ruthlessly. Growls rumbled in his throat. One of her hands transferred to his hair and she fisted bunches in her palm, crying out, grinding down on his mouth.

“That's it, baby. I want it all. Give it to me.” He covered her hot little button and used suction, the edge of his teeth and the flat of tongue. Her head fell back, her fingers dug deep into his scalp and she gave him everything.

“Elijah.”

His name. Wrapped up in her pleasure. In sheer bliss. So sensual. All his. All for him. He looked up to see her face, that expression, sexy as sin.
“Dios. Hermosa,”
he whispered, and caught at her once again, lapping up the nectar spilling from her body.

“I can't stand up,” she panted.

“Again,” he demanded.

“I can't,” she repeated, her fingers digging deeper into his shoulder, into his scalp.

He refused to stop, needing more. Needing that sweet, sweet taste of her. Needing to feel the powerful orgasm ripping through her body and hearing his name vibrating right through his cock. He knew he was losing control and it didn't matter. He didn't need to be in control. Siena took
him as he was, wild, savage, brutal even. She gave herself to him. Gave herself up to him.

He took her up fast, using only his mouth, devouring her, lapping at her, plunging his tongue deep, loving the heat and fire she gave him. Loving the taste. Her legs trembled, threatening to give out on her. Her hips bucked. She didn't have any more control than he did, grinding down on his mouth. Little gasping sobs escaping. Pleading with him for release again. Or to stop. Or to never stop. She came fast, the tidal wave taking her hard so that he had to catch her before she fell.

Hands at her waist, he turned her, belly down, bending her over the bed and yanking her hips back and into him. He didn't wait. Couldn't wait. The fire was burning through him, and as he jerked her hips to him, he thrust. As always he met resistance. No matter how hot, how slick, how ready, her channel was tight around him.

“Pure fucking heaven, baby,” he managed to bite out between his teeth. The ecstasy of her body was incomparable. Once inside her, he never wanted to leave. He never wanted it to be over, but she was so hot. So tight. The friction so great, he knew he couldn't last no matter how hard he tried.

He wasn't gentle. There was nothing gentle about the way he took her. Savage. Brutal. He couldn't stop the hard slap of his body against hers. It was too good. His hands moved over her. Possessive. His. All of her.

“Baby.” He said it softly. Her back was to him. She couldn't see his face when he made the admission. “I'm loving you the only fucking way I know how.”

Her hips bucked back. Hard. Meeting his. Over and over. The sound of her ragged breathing, the soft little sobs of pleasure, all of it, every little whimper and plea, was music adding to the beauty surrounding him.

“Elijah.”

There it was. She was with him. He felt the wet, silken clasp of her body bite down hard, scorching hot, surrounding him with fire, gripping and milking, taking him over the edge.
Taking him to that place only she could take him. He thrust several times and then collapsed over her, burying himself to the hilt. Holding her. Fighting for breath. So full of love for her he didn't know what to do with it.

He kept her there, holding her soft body to him, her face turned from his because he had to get himself under control. She hollowed him out inside. Poured herself into that space and filled every crack in his damned soul. Gluing him back together.

“Honey,” she said softly. “Lie on the bed for me.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, not certain he could take any more from her, but he was incapable of denying her. The need was in her voice. He pulled out of her and rolled, laying his back and butt on the bed, his jeans down around his knees, shoes still on. He even had his shirt on.

There was something very decadent and sensual about being fully clothed when his woman was totally naked. When she lifted her head, all that messy hair falling out of the thick knot at the top of her head, her eyes were sultry.

She slid from the bed, not bothering to turn over, just going to her knees, and then her mouth was there. Exquisitely gentle. So good. So beautiful, just like everything she did. Her fingers caressed him. Her hands cupped him. Her tongue lapped at him. Her mouth was hot and felt like velvet.

“You hear me, Siena?” He needed her to confirm she got him. She understood what he was telling her. What she was doing to him, not just his body, but he felt her mouth, her care, right in his fucking soul. She had to get him. He had to give her that.

She finished what she was doing, pressing a kiss on the crown of his cock and lifting her head, still kneeling there. Expression serious. “I heard you, Elijah. Did you hear me?”

There it was.
Dios.
Did other men feel this full? So full he could barely stand it. He hadn't known a man could love a woman so much.

“We need to get dressed so I can talk to Alonzo,” she said, and held out her hand.

He sat up and pulled her to her feet, standing as he did so. He reached down and yanked up his jeans. He could still feel her mouth. Her hands. He was going to be feeling that for hours.

“You don't have to do this, baby, not if you're afraid of him.”

She tilted her chin at him. “Elijah, you would never have woken me up and even talked to me about this if it wasn't important. It's important in a way I can only guess at. You were upset when you came into the bathroom. I could see it in you. You try to hide that from me, but I see you.”

She did. Too clearly.

“So I'm going to go talk to Alonzo, and I'm going to make him realize once and for all that you are
my
choice. No coercion. I'm staying with you because I want to be with you. I'm leopard. You're leopard. I'm guessing he is as well, or my grandfather wouldn't have had him in the running for my husband. I'm going to walk into that room with you inside of me, with your scent all over me. Our combined scents. He'll know. Just from that and from the way I look, he'll know. I won't have to do much to convince him with that evidence in his face.”

He liked that. Too much. He fucking loved the idea of his woman walking into the room with him inside her. With him all over her. He shouldn't have allowed her to clean their combined scents off of him. He loved what she did so much he hadn't even considered giving it up for a moment.

“You
seduced
me.” He wanted to laugh. The little minx. He was going to have to work hard to keep ahead of her.

She gave him a satisfied smirk. “It wasn't that difficult, honey. You're easy.”

S
IENA
was acutely aware of Drake, Joshua, Joaquin and Tomas standing in the corners of Elijah's office. She'd practically bathed in Elijah's scent because he gave her courage, but she hadn't thought about anyone else smelling Elijah all over her. In her. On her. It was sexy though. She
felt
sexy. She knew she looked thoroughly taken. Her lips were still swollen. Her face and body flushed.

She wore Elijah's favorite skirt, the one with the cascading ruffles and the matching camisole that did nothing to hide the strawberries and fingerprints on the swell of her breasts, so she added a light sweater that at least gave her a little modesty. Now she was glad she had.

The moment she'd opened her eyes and looked at Elijah's carefully expressionless face, she'd known something was wrong. He hadn't shown it. She couldn't tell even when he'd spoken to her, but she'd known. She just knew. And she knew it was bad. Something was riding him hard, and the
moment he told her Alonzo had penetrated their security she feared she knew what was happening.

If she didn't talk to Alonzo and get him to stand down, Elijah would act and something very bad would happen. She was afraid to think what he would do, but she was fairly certain Alonzo would never come around again. Elijah didn't want to do whatever he was going to do if she didn't talk to Alonzo. She got that. But he would. She made up her mind to find the courage to face Alonzo, and instead of acting like a child, hiding from her fear, she planned to confront it, to find out why she was so afraid of him. Whether or not she could put that nightmare to rest didn't really matter. What mattered was keeping Elijah from doing something he didn't want to do.

She walked into his office with her chin up, eyes sweeping the room, Elijah at her side, his hand on her back. His hand felt like a flame, burning through her clothes like a brand. Alonzo was leaning against the opposite wall to the entrance—the four men close, but not looking like threats. She knew they were. She knew Alonzo was in trouble.

His eyes came to her immediately, moved over her face, her body. Inspecting. He inhaled, and she knew he caught the scent of sex and Elijah imprinted over and in her. His expression didn't change. Not in the least. His eyes were as cold and dead as ever, his hands rock steady, but he knew.

“Alonzo,” she greeted, and moved away from Elijah straight toward him.

Elijah caught her arm. “Baby, I want you to keep a safe distance from him.”

“Is there a safe distance?” Alonzo asked.

She lifted her chin. “I'm sorry I worried you, Alonzo. I did try to call you but then the phone broke and I forgot. I honestly didn't think the call had gone through.”

He folded his arms across his chest. “You got a price on your head, Siena. Paolo is an asshole, but he didn't put it there.
He's still thinking he's got a shot at marrying you and cementing his empire. You need protection, and I'm it. I'm all you've got right now. Until you or your man step up and take back what your grandfather built, you got one soldier to look after you.”

Elijah snarled. Audibly. A low rumbling growl emerged from his throat. The room suddenly was electric with danger. The air went heavy. Oppressive. Elijah's rage was almost tangible. “Leave, Siena. Go now.”

She glanced up at his face. His dark features were carved with danger, but his eyes were alive with strange liquid silver that glittered with menace. His entire focus was on Alonzo. She wasn't certain why, or what Alonzo said to set him off, but she wasn't having this.

“I think I need to talk with Alonzo . . .”

His fingers bit into her arm, jerking her to a halt when she took another step forward. “You
fucking
will do what you're
fucking
told,” he snapped, his tone low. Furious. Dictating. So close to his leopard she could feel the wave of fur slide for a moment against her skin and then it was gone.

She took a deep breath and let it out, tilted her head as she swung around to plant herself right in front of his body. Showing Alonzo she wasn't afraid of Elijah Lospostos or his
foul
mouth. She met those glittering eyes with her own narrowed and challenging and all green.

“And you can just f-ing stop saying that f-word to me when you want your way. Because I'm f-ing not going to leave when Alonzo came all this way to deliver a warning and maybe help us out. I would like to hear what he has to say.”

They stared at each other for a long moment. Someone snickered. She thought it might be Joshua, but she wasn't certain. She refused to break the stare, which was a good thing because she saw it in his eyes first. Warmth spreading through the danger. Amusement. Smirking, arrogant
male
amusement, but still, it was there. Something deep inside
her that had coiled tightly and formed hard knots in her belly she hadn't even recognized earlier released the tension and she was able to breathe normally.

Elijah framed her face with his hands. “The f-word, baby? What exactly is that, because I don't have a clue? F-word? F-ing?”

“You have a clue. And stop laughing at me. You have a dirty mouth.”

He leaned down, his mouth against her ear. “You like my dirty mouth.”

She did. But she wasn't going to admit anything. She glared at him. It was difficult to keep that glare in the face of his amusement.

He straightened. “Baby. Really. It's just a word.”

“It's a
foul
,
dirty
word.”

He leaned down again and pressed his lips right against her ear. “I love
fucking
you. The dirtier the better.”

Her eyes went wide, she knew it. Shocked. Hot. She felt her body get damp and her nipples get hard. Seriously. This was so not the time, when she was trying to defuse a bad situation and make a point.

His amusement grew as he watched her face flush with color and the heat hit her eyes. She glanced at the other men and saw they shared his humor. She shared her glare with all of them, including Alonzo.

“Apparently it is a prerequisite to be able to drop the f-bomb to get into the men's club around here.” She gave them all her haughtiest, nose-in-the-air look. Princess to peasant. “I have no desire to join your club. Alonzo, since you're my only soldier and I don't even know what that is, could you tell me exactly who wants me dead?”

Elijah cleared his throat. “Babe. This is my jurisdiction. We talked about this. I keep you safe, and you live free, not having to deal with this crap. Alonzo and I will be civilized and he'll help me sort it out.”

“You didn't look civilized,” she accused. “Either one of
you. And just this once, because it really is upsetting to me, I would like to know what's going on. Paolo scares me to death, and earlier, when those shots were fired, I thought maybe it was Paolo trying to kill you and I felt
horrible
. Emma and Jake and the children were here. Catarina was here and she's pregnant. That would have been my fault.” She ducked her head, her voice dropping an octave. “Clearly I was right, just not about Paolo.”

“Siena.”

Elijah and Alonzo both said her name simultaneously. Elijah sounded sweet, so sweet her heart melted. Alonzo sounded as if he were reprimanding her.

“Paolo has always wanted the kingdom,” Alonzo said. “As far back as I can remember since signing on he was determined to get in good with Tonio. He knew you didn't have a clue what your grandfather did other than his legitimate businesses. He knew, and he thought Tonio would just hand the reins over to him when he died. He made certain he was in position to be the natural successor. But Tonio wanted you to have it all. He wanted your husband to run things and keep you out of it, but he was determined that you inherited everything.”

“So he didn't think Siena was part of the deal?” Drake asked.

Alonzo glanced at him, shaking his head. His gaze swung back to Siena, and then jumped to Elijah's face. “You need to declare your intentions and soon, or there's going to be all-out war. Paolo put out a hit on you, not Siena. A man by the name of Robert Gaton, one of Rafe Cordeau's lieutenants, is going after Siena. He wants her territory and believes if he kills her, he has a better chance.”

Elijah's face was a mask. “He better look to his own territory before he decides to declare war. He hasn't cemented that yet.”

Alonzo's gaze flicked to him, and Siena's stomach dropped at the knowledge there. She took a deep breath,
replaying Elijah's words and what they meant. There was no mistaking that meaning. She didn't want to live in a crime family. She didn't want her children to do so either. She wanted to raise her children clean and normal, whatever that was. She'd never had it.

She pressed her hand protectively to her stomach. Instantly she felt the heat of Elijah's gaze. She should have known he wouldn't miss even that small of a gesture. More than anything, she didn't want this life for her husband. And Elijah Lospostos was going to be her husband. She knew that. She knew what they had together she'd never have with anyone else, and he needed her. He needed her because without her, he would be just like Alonzo, cold and dead inside. Well, she amended, sneaking a quick glance at Alonzo, something in the way he looked at her told her she was important to him. If he were truly dead inside, he wouldn't be able to feel one way or the other for her.

“What happened, Alonzo?” she asked softly. “I remember feeling safe and comfortable around you. I was never scared. And then I was and I don't even know why. Do you know?”

He sighed. For the first time he looked uncomfortable, but she could see that he was going to answer her. He didn't want to, but he had declared himself her soldier and that meant when she asked him something, he came through.

“You saw me shift and kill two men who were threatening you at gunpoint. You were so traumatized you never remembered it.”

Her breath caught in her lungs. Of course. Her nightmare. She'd had blood all over her, but it wasn't her blood. Alonzo hadn't killed her, he'd killed two men to save her. Why had she blocked that out? She knew. It was the leopard. To have seen that meant she was insane. There was no such thing as a shifter, a man who could turn into a leopard.

It hadn't been the violence of the moment that had traumatized her so much, but the sheer impossibility of a man turning into a leopard. The leopard had been snarling,
covered in blood just as she was. Terrifying. Close. Those eyes glowing with the drive to kill. She shivered, and wrapped her arms around herself.

“I'm sorry you saw that, Siena,” Alonzo said quietly. “You had nightmares after that, and you wouldn't come near me.”

She had hurt him. She hadn't even realized he could be hurt. That shamed her. “Alonzo, I don't know the first thing about what my grandfather was doing or what he wasn't doing. I love that you're protective of me and that you're looking out for me, but I have no idea what to do.”

“Your man does.”

“My man doesn't need to be involved in my mess.” She stuck her chin up.

Elijah caught at her arm. “That's it, baby. You're done here.”

“You can't tell me I'm done here. I have to sort this out.”

“Your man sorts it out,” Elijah said, and dipped down, his shoulder hitting her belly gently, and he stood up.

She found herself upside down, over his back, hair hanging down in her face, his arm across her buttocks holding her in place. Before she could get more than a squeak out, he was striding from the room, using long, purposeful steps, slamming the door behind them. She was
not
giving him the satisfaction of being so undignified that she struggled.

Elijah carried her through the house, past the atrium without going inside it this time, which meant there were more ways than one to get to the various rooms on this side of the house. He set her on the counter and kept one hand on her belly.

“Baby, I'm going to say this once more because it's important. I know what you were doing in there, and I appreciate it. I do. But this business does not touch you. I know you think you're responsible, but your grandfather is, not you. You are mine now. My woman isn't touched by shit. Not ever.
Mi amorcito
, this business is shit. I was born into it and I know how to handle it. You are not to go near it again. Are we clear?”

She studied his face. He meant every word, and there was
a warning, as sweet as he was trying to say it, as subtle as he was making it. Elijah wasn't the kind of man to be crossed, not even by her, not when he laid down the law. When she'd accepted him, made the decision to be his, she'd gone into it with her eyes open about him. She saw him. She saw the dominant in him. If she was his woman, the one for him, she had to accept that in him as well.

“Elijah,” she began carefully.

“I asked you if we were clear on this.”

His voice hardened and she winced. She put her hand on his chest, tipping her head up to his. “Honey, we're clear,” she agreed, “but I'd like to say something.”