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Ania took several deep breaths to try to get past the rising need. It came in waves. She was on fire. Every part of her body burned until she wanted to scream. She couldn’t imagine what poor little Jewel was experiencing, and yet the cat hid, refusing to allow her mate access to her so that Ania would be safe.
We can handle this, sweetheart, Ania crooned. She kept breathing deeply, putting her head down as if to stop a faint. Give me a minute and I’ll get us out of here.
She should have gone to the back, where the kitchen was. Where Mitya was in another seemingly endless meeting with Fyodor. The cousins liked to get together and talk. It couldn’t all be business, but they pretended it was.
“Ania? Kotyonok?”
She closed her eyes, savoring the sound of his voice. Her savior. He was always there. Always ready to do whatever was necessary. She knew he was very aware of the condition she was in. The moment he opened the door to the ladies’ room, he would smell her raging hormones. Every male in the shop was most likely aware.
“Tell me what to do, Mitya.” Her voice wasn’t her own. It was sultry. Sinful. Temptation itself. Lower than her own pitch, mixed with the chuffing sweetness of a leopard. “She’s so scared and so am I. She’s fighting it and I don’t know how to help her.”
“Can you make it to the car?”
Ania swallowed hard. It seemed a very long way to go, yet if she and Mitya went crazy in Evangeline’s restroom, she’d never be able to face anyone again. “I have to make it,” she decreed, not at all certain she could.
Her skin felt too tight for her body and she itched everywhere. Wave after wave of something moved just under her skin, adding to the discomfort. Her clothes felt like a terrible weight on her, and the fabric added to the irritation until she wanted to rip it off of her and shred it so it could never touch her again.
“Come here.” Mitya held out his arm. He had his coat off. He almost always wore that long trench coat. Long, heavy trench coat. All the cousins did.
She went to him on feet that were locked into shoes that felt too small. Every step hurt. She kept breathing, concentrating on her little leopard, trying to make the cat feel as if Ania knew what she was doing and was confident and in control. When she reached Mitya, she raised desperate eyes to him.
“We’ve got this, baby,” he crooned gently.
He swung the coat around her shoulders, enveloping her in his warmth. In his scent. In him. Her heart turned over and then pounded. Everything he did felt caring. His arm followed the coat, sweeping her under his shoulder, next to his side. Tucking her in tight, her front to his ribs, so he sheltered her completely.
“We have to hurry,” she whispered.
Mitya’s answer was to shove open the restroom door and step out with bold confidence. Sevastyan, Vikenti and Zinoviy were waiting, the two brothers stepping to either side of them, Sevastyan leading the way and Miron bringing up the rear. They went out of the bakery as a group, Ania keeping her head down. She knew normal patrons would never have a clue anything was wrong, but every shifter would know she was in heat—including Alessandro.
The car was right in front of the building, double-parked, forcing traffic to go around it. Sevastyan yanked open the back door on the passenger side and Ania slid in. As she did so, Mitya pulled back his trench coat and slid in as well. The privacy screen was already up. That didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but getting to Mitya’s body. To have room. She needed room. She was almost sobbing and had to force air into her lungs and calm into her mind.
“Where can we go, Mitya? I don’t think I can wait. She’s hurting, and I have to get her to the surface. She needs him. She’s terrified but she needs him.” Even as she explained, she was dragging off clothes, uncaring that the car hadn’t moved because Miron wasn’t in the driver’s seat yet. She just had to get the offending fabric off her skin.
“Sevastyan will get us to the hill country. I’ve phoned ahead and if they drop us near the Bannaconni ranch or Perez’s, the leopards can run there. They’ll have plenty of space. It will take them most of the night to make their way home.”
The confidence in his voice steadied her. The fact that he’d already thought how best to provide for Dymka and Jewel amazed her. She didn’t have the clarity needed to think that far ahead. The best she could do was not lose her mind right there and let her little female down.
Mitya also was shedding his clothes, but not nearly fast enough to suit her. She threw her shirt and bra down on the floor and went to her knees between his legs. Her mouth found his cock and immediately her world centered there. He was hot. Hard. The shape and feel of him amazed her. His girth stretched her lips, but it was such an amazing feeling to have him in her mouth. On her tongue. She lapped at him. Got him wet and slick. Fed off the droplets leaking from the broad crown. The taste of him made her squirm with need.
His hands went to her breasts, kneading the soft curves. Each flick of his fingers and brush of his thumbs over her nipples left her feeling as if a flame had touched her over and over. She arched into his hands even as she took him deeper into her mouth. She wanted to swallow him whole. She wanted the taste of him to stay with her always. Her hands went to his heavy sac, gently squeezing and massaging, not nearly as rough as he was getting with her breasts. She needed him to be rougher. She needed him so much she knew tears leaked from her eyes and her body had gone nearly bright red her temperature had soared so high.
“Ania, I love every time you suck my cock. Nothing is sexier, but right now, I need to be inside you. Get on the seat, on your hands and knees.”
Mitya used his commanding voice, the one that was rough velvet, the one that no one, least of all her, dared refuse. She reluctantly allowed his cock to slide off her tongue and immediately faced away from him, looking out the window as she climbed onto the seat.
Mitya’s hands slid over her body possessively and then he was at her entrance, finding her slick welcome. Without any preamble, he slammed into her. Hard. She cried out as the fire engulfed her, moving through her body from her sex to her belly and breasts and then right up into her brain. The flames seemed to roar over her and she pushed back into him, needing him to do something. Anything to make that terrible burning stop.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and surged into her again and again. It wasn’t enough, and she couldn’t stop sobbing. Begging. His body hammered hard into hers, driving her forward on the seat until her breasts were plastered against the window. The coolness of the glass felt good against her red-hot skin. But it wasn’t enough. Nothing seemed to put out the fire that burned out of control through her body.
“Mitya.” She wailed his name. He had to save her. Save Jewel.
“We’ll be out of here in a minute or two, baby,” he assured softly.
The confines of the car were killing her. She needed space. She needed to move. She needed him to pound harder. To do things, all sorts of things, to put out the terrible fire raging through her.
Mitya’s calm saved her sanity. She clung to that as his body continued to piston into hers. He gripped her hips hard as he surged into her, dragging her back into him. Each time his cock drove through her tight, reluctant folds, the friction sent waves of scorching heat and savage pleasure rushing through her. It was violent, it was brutal, it was the most amazing sex she’d ever experienced, but it wasn’t enough.
She was going to die if the flames didn’t stop. They were consuming her. Eating her alive from the inside out. She had no idea how long Mitya’s body pounded into hers, but suddenly the car stopped, and pulled to the side of the road. Mitya withdrew, his hands biting into her hard.
“What are you doing?” she wailed. “You can’t stop. You can’t.”
“Trust me, baby. This will be so much better.”
He opened the door and dragged her out into the fading light of the day. The other cars were out of sight. The car had been left
on the side of the road, the fencing telling her they were near Bannaconni’s ranch. They were out on a private road, but still in plain sight of anyone passing by. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but making the fire stop. Miron had gone from driving their car to hopping into one of the others and disappearing down the road to leave them in privacy. She had no idea where Sevastyan was.
“Mitya.” Her voice was filled with urgency.
The breeze felt cool on her skin. There were droplets of water in the air, a very fine mist or a promise of rain—it didn’t matter, her hot skin soaked it up.
Mitya caught her in hard hands, spun her around and lifted her up onto the hood of the car. He yanked her thighs apart and she fell back, throwing her arms out to keep herself from slipping. Then she screamed, uncaring if the entire valley heard her. His mouth was there, hotter than hell, devouring her. Eating her alive, his tongue flicking hard at her inflamed clit. His teeth found her and tugged, biting down just hard enough that he triggered an explosion. The waves rolled through her entire body like flames.
He took his time eating her, his fingers working her, front and back, driving deep and then shallow. By turns gently and then rough. His mouth never stopped moving, tongue stabbing deep, then licking, his teeth biting down until she screamed with need, pain and pleasure mixing together to add to the wild, hot ride. It wasn’t enough. The burn just got hotter until she was writhing, out of control, begging him for something she didn’t understand.
He dragged her from the hood, spun her around again and shoved her over it, bending her at the waist, kicking her legs apart. Then his hand was there, turning her red cheeks to a brilliant crimson, sending those flames unfurling throughout her entire body. Each stroke was a blaze of fire and it radiated outward, stroking scorching heat deep inside so that flames rushed up her spine and down her legs, licking up her thighs, until she was an inferno.
Mitya took her savagely, half-mad himself with the drive of his leopard and his woman completely in the throes of her heat. Her body was his and he used it, riding her hard, stroking, petting, swatting and biting when the need drove him. His cock felt like a red-hot steel spike, so hard he might shatter. She was so tight and scorching hot, he thought he might burn up while inside her, and yet nothing could stop him from taking her. Nothing. No one.
He knew he was acting like a man possessed, but it didn’t matter. He wanted to crawl inside her, stay in that paradise that was more hell than heaven or more heaven than hell, the madness claiming both of them. Her screams drove him on. The way she pushed her sweet ass back into him, desperate for his cock, seeking his hand. The way she reacted when he buried his finger and then two between her cheeks as he fucked her harder and harder. All of it came together into a whirling vortex of complete pleasure.
Both of them had spiraled out of control. They moved together in a savage dance, while heat and flames burned them alive. He felt his body grow hotter and harder. Hers coiled tighter and tighter. Then she screamed again, a long, low sound somewhere between ecstasy and torment. Her body clamped down on his and he felt that same ecstasy and torment. The vise was vicious but felt so damn good he couldn’t think straight. His cock jerked hard, while her silken muscles milked him like tight, skilled fingers. Jet after jet of hot semen rocketed out of him, splashing the walls of her sheath, coating them with him. Branding her his.
Her breath was coming in a singsong cry, soft, almost heartbreaking music. He pulled out of her, turned her into his arms and took her mouth. Her kisses were like those flames crawling through his body, stirring his senses, driving him mad.
“She needs to come out, baby,” he whispered, resting his forehead on hers. She had her eyes closed and he waited, feeling the shivers moving through her as her female fought the natural emergence. He waited until he was looking into her eyes. Those dark purple eyes, dripping with fear, ringed with a dark ferocity that told him Jewel was very, very close. “You have to help her, Ania.”
“Tell me how.”
He barely recognized her voice. Her leopard was so close she was affecting Ania’s speech patterns. He felt the ripples under her skin. The pushing of the leopard in her body.
“Talk to her. Reassure her. Coax her. Tell her how she’ll run free and her mate will find her every bit as alluring as I find you.”
Ania’s gaze clung to his for a long moment and he knew she needed almost as much reassurance as her leopard. Her body was still on fire. Inflamed. Her hips pushed hard against his, rubbing. She found his thigh, straddled it and rubbed, the sexiest thing possible, and just that fast his cock was as hard as a diamond.
“Can’t you be in me? I want to ride you, Mitya. Let me have your cock.”
He knew he shouldn’t. Hell. Who was he kidding? There was no way to stop himself. He lifted her into his arms and waited for her to wrap her legs around him. He buried himself in an inferno, taking his breath, robbing him completely of all good sense. The moment she sheathed him, the familiar fire was there instantly. He laid her on the hood of the car again, dragging just her bottom off, so he could drive into her as he gave her instructions. It wasn’t easy to think, but it was necessary.
“Try to connect now, while we’re fucking. This is mating, this is what she needs. The feel of her mate’s cock driving into her, putting out that fire for her. Share it, Ania. Share how this feels with her. The beauty. The savagery. The balance between brutal and bliss. Lure her to the surface.”
“I can’t think.”
His hands went to her breasts so only the strength of his body kept her in position. Each time she slipped toward him, he slammed his body into her, driving her back onto the hood. His fingers were rough, tugging. Rolling. Pinching. “Do it, damn it.”
Ania nodded, her gaze clinging to Mitya’s. He was so strong. His face was carved into a mask of sheer sensuality. Lust was there in every line. In his eyes. Flames seemed to burn in his eyes, turning them that deep arctic blue. His hands were nearly as hard as his cock, but she wanted harder. She wanted to feel his teeth. She wanted her mouth on him. She wanted . . . just wanted. Her mind was so chaotic, but her body was in a frenzy of need.
There was no disobeying Mitya when he used that tone, and she had to get past the fires roaring through her and reach her leopard. It was the only way for this to stop. If it didn’t stop, she feared she’d go insane. The hard drive of his body sent her back skidding along the hood of the car. She could still feel the way his hands had smacked her bottom, and between her legs she was so slick and hot she thought she would implode. Or just burn up.
“Damn it, Ania. Do what I tell you or I stop.”
He couldn’t stop. There was no stopping. She stared up at the sky. The sun was setting, so that streaks of gray slid through the fire of orange trying to peek through the clouds rolling across the sky. Every stroke sent matching flames streaking through her body. She reached deep.
Jewel. Baby, I’ll help you. I’ll be with you every step of the way.
What if he hurts me?
She felt the leopard tremble. Both knew she was so close there was no turning back. She had no choice. She had risen, and the raging hormones were doing the rest. Taking them both over. Giving neither a choice.
He’ll only do it once and then we’re gone. I swear to you, if Dymka hurts you, Jewel, I’ll take us far away from here where they’ll never find us. It would kill her to leave Mitya, but if he couldn’t control his leopard, then she had no business being with him.
She knew the moment Jewel accepted her fate. Mitya seemed to know it as well. Most likely, Dymka was very close to the surface and was telling his companion exactly how close Jewel was. He would sense her. He would know her scent and just how ready she was.
Mitya increased his speed and changed the angle, jerking her legs up so he could hit that place inside her that sent her careening over the edge. She was engulfed fast, her entire body, taking Mitya with her, so th
at it seemed the world retreated, throwing the two of them together into a fiery realm of sheer pleasure. She heard herself keening his name. Sobbing it. Chanting it. When she could breathe, open her eyes, the aftershocks still shaking her, he was dropping her legs from around him and lifting her off the hood.
“Call to her, Ania. She’s so ready. Call to her.” His voice was hoarse, almost a sawing.
Looking into his eyes, she could see the leopard. Unlike Jewel, unlike Ania, he was calm. Those usually malevolent eyes were steady, amber rather than yellow, wholly focused on her. Watching. Waiting.
Ania took a breath. Now, Jewel. You can run free. Tease him. Entice him. Play.
Jewel had obviously made up her mind because the next thing Ania knew, she was on the ground, on all fours, her skin feeling as if it was shredding, too small to accommodate the bones, so much denser than her own. Her jaw hurt, stretched, elongated, teeth filling her mouth so fast she was terrified, her heart beating out of control.
Mitya’s hand stroked over her head, calming her. “Breathe, kotyonok, you’re doing great. She’s almost out. Relax and let her take over. You’ll still be right there. You’ll feel the freedom as well. I’ll be with you the entire time.”
His voice was steady. Mitya was the man who could always be counted on. His voice held that rough velvet tone that meant he was in command and needed to be obeyed. She forced her shivering body to relax and allow the shifting to happen. It was both exhilarating and terrifying. Her body felt like it was coming apart. It hurt. Every joint. Every bone. Her teeth. That hurt the worst. Or maybe it was her skull. The itch was horrendous.
The actual change felt slow and unsteady, as if Jewel pushed, retreated and then pushed again. Like Ania, she had no idea what she was doing. The female was definitely in her first life cycle with Mitya. She had no past experience to draw on.