When An Alpha Purrs(29)

The world caught on fire.

As least her whole body did. Every nerve ending came to life. Every  sensation became amplified from the firm ownership of his hands on her  waist drawing her near, to the prod of his shaft against her lower  belly, to the soft sensual slide of his lips on her own.

Her arms twined around his neck, hugging him tight, her mouth opening to the prod of his tongue.

Need burned, and she could have whimpered as he teased her, rubbing himself against her mound so cruelly hidden by her pants.

Didn't he know she wanted more? She mewled against his mouth, ground  herself against him, and then froze as an amused voice said, "You do  realize you've got an audience?"





Chapter Twenty-one


Arik could have killed Hayder for his interruption. Couldn't he see he was doing something important?

He wasn't just making love to Kira. He was easing her fears. Showing her  that, while the lion-rawr-was a part of him, he was still a man. Her  man.

But did his beta grasp what he was trying to do? Of course not, stupid,  cock-blocking jerk. While Arik relinquished his hold on Kira, he did  lace his fingers through hers to keep her tethered by his side lest she  suddenly decide to take flight again.

She'd dealt with quite a bit in the last few days. Her entire world-view  was now skewed. It would take some time and explanation for her to  accept all the changes, and to accept him as her mate.

Strolling back to the main area, he was glad to see the body had already  been disposed of. Shifter justice was swift. Shifter cleanup even  swifter. No one would ever find Gregory's body. He had a crew that would  make sure of that.

While he noted Kira peering around, no doubt wondering at the disappearing corpse, he dealt with his lackeys, Hayder and Leo.

"It took you two idiots long enough to get here," he grumbled.

"Was our king of the concrete jungle not able to deal with one itty-bitty puppy?" Leo arched a brow.

"Not the point. What if he wasn't working alone? What if he was armed?  The guy was already breaking all kinds of shifter laws. Who was to say  he wouldn't have brought a gun to a fang and fur fight?"

"Oops." Hayder didn't sound the least bit apologetic.

"Um, excuse me, but am I the only one who thinks it's weird that you're  chitchatting with Arik here while he's in the buff?" Kira interjected.

Ah, there was the woman he'd come to adore. "Kira, meet my beta, Hayder, and my pride omega, Leo. They're shifters too."

"That doesn't explain this weird nudity thing."

"Well, it's not like we change shapes fully clothed."

"That can get awkward," Hayder added. "A lioness in a G-string is a dangerous sight to see."

"Dangerous how?" Kira dared asked.

"Because the Instagram pic I took of it got me pounced on by a trio of  them, and they waxed me from head to toe." Hayder shook his head, in  rueful remembrance.

Kira snickered. "I would have used Nair. It lasts longer."

Before Kira could give his cohorts more evil tips on ruining a lion's  mane, or a lioness' luxurious fur, he tugged her in the direction of the  exit. Just outside was his truck, his clothes tossed onto the driver's  seat.

He paused only long enough to put on pants and shoes. He could see Kira  gnawing at her lower lip, the pensive mood upon her again. He needed to  get her back to … not his place. He'd have to run the gauntlet of too many  women there.

He drove them, instead, to her apartment, which took her by surprise.  The hour was late, the street quiet, and the silence between them  dangerous.

He dared not say anything, and for once, she held her tongue too, until  they reached the outside door that led to the stairs up to her  apartment. She looked at the lock and then her empty hands. "I don't  have my purse or keys."

"Good thing I found them in the alley then." Along with that note. He  didn't want to think of what might have happened if Gregory's cocky  pride hadn't forced him to leave it.                       
       
           



       

He pulled her purse from the console box between the front seats.

She unlocked the front door and turned, her mouth opening, probably to  speak, but he took advantage and stole her breath with a kiss.

While she might prove uncertain about him and their future, her passionate nature knew what it wanted. It wanted him.

He hoisted her and said, "Wrap your legs around my waist." She complied  and giggled into his mouth as he jogged them up the steep flight of  stairs.

"I could have climbed them myself," she said at the top as she leaned to insert the key into the lock.

Yeah, she could have, but he'd done it for selfish reasons. One, he got  to hold her, and two, when she started panting, he wanted it to be  because of him and not those wretched stairs.

They made it into her apartment, and then no farther. He'd meant to  stick them both in a hot shower and wash the stink of the wolf from them  both. However, alone and with her so eager and delicious, her mouth  devouring his with frantic urgency, he forgot his plan.

There was only one thing he needed right now. Her, and the nearest wall.

He let her down, but only long enough to drag her pants down and strip  off her top. His trousers also met the floor in a wrinkled pile he'd  regret later.

With her naked, just the way he wanted her, he hoisted her again and  meshed his lips to hers. Her skin rubbed against his, velvety soft. The  erect peaks of her nipples dug into his chest while her moist core  honeyed his shaft as it slid back and forth between her thighs, teasing  them both.

"I want you," she gasped against his mouth, gyrating her hips and making a sound of desperation.

"You have me," was his reply. For now, and forever.

He sank himself into the glorious heat of her sex, reveling in how she  milked him, the muscles of her channel gripping him so deliciously. As  he seesawed in and out of her sheath, the cream of her desire coated him  and eased his passage.

He could feel her mounting pleasure in the closeness of her uttered  mewls, the raggedness of her pants, the digging of her fingers into his  back.

The same urgency affected him, and he pounded into her, holding her  tight, finally allowing himself to truly believe she'd escaped  unscathed.

To think he'd almost lost her, almost lost her to arrogance because he'd  rushed to confront the enemy instead of going after her with a plan.  But when he'd read the note and knew she was in danger, all rational  thought evaporated.

The beast took over the man and went to the rescue-and prevailed. Rawr.

Kira was safe. His mate was in his arms, atop his cock and crowning him  with orgasmic glory. She cried out his name as she came, her pleasure  sweeping through her in shuddering waves, a pleasure he joined. He might  have roared as he came. He definitely nuzzled her neck, sucking anew  the mark he'd made.

They clung together, two bodies with one fate. One future and …

A meddling mother who pounded at the door and yelled, "Arik Theodore Antoine Castiglione, I know you're in there."

Kira shouted, "Hey, Norma, fancy you showing up," before humming the theme to Psycho.

As his mother screamed in rage, Arik laughed. And laughed. Life in the pride was about to get more chaotic. He couldn't wait.





Epilogue


Belonging to a lion's pride took some adjusting. For one, Kira had to  learn to live without any expectation of privacy. She now understood why  Arik employed the touch screen system, which relied on fingerprint  scans and even facial images for security. Even with those measures, his  mother found ways to invade their home. Often at the most inopportune  moments.

Bang. Bang. Bang

"Why can't any of you use a bloody phone?" Arik roared, one of those  times when they'd disturbed his pursuit of the sensitive spot on the  nape of her neck.

Kira almost roared a time or two with him. A human roar, of course,  because, to her relief, Arik had spoken the truth when he said his whole  furry deal wasn't contagious. Still, though, she wasn't reassured by  his mention that some of their children would carry the gene.

Children.

Babies.

Big eek!

One of these days, it would happen. Or so he so arrogantly assumed.  They'd talked about kids. He was all for having a litter, the sooner,  the better. Kira, however, stuck to her guns, insisting that they needed  time to get to know one another.

But that conversation had happened a while ago. A few weeks as a matter  of fact and much had changed since her initial shocking immersion into  his life-and his secret.

For one thing, he wasn't the control freak she'd first accused him of  being. Well, he was, just not in the way she initially expected. For  example, he was a freak about his space. Arik liked his apartment kept a  certain way, to which end he had an army of cleaners come in daily to  keep it spotless. It was uncanny how thorough they were.