After the call, she retreated to Blue’s bedroom to put her gear bag back at the foot of the bed, where it had been since she’d landed in the Sawtooth Mountains. She felt Blue come in from the kitchen before she saw him. Brilliant and smart was the man who brought a girl butter pecan ice cream after such a stressful, yet relieving conference call.
She spooned up a bit and moaned. It was so, so good. A few bites into the creamy deliciousness, Kotara remembered something else she needed to do.
She set the napkin Blue had given her on top of the sturdy wooden chest she’d sat down on and her bowl followed, still half-full.
“You know I’m a scientist, right?”
“Of course.” Blue licked his spoon and winked at her.
“Well, I have an unusual request. My twin and I are on the trail of figuring out how mating heat works.”
“Mating what?”
“Mating heat. It’s a biological reaction we have to a person who has the genetic predisposition to mate with us. My sisters are all mated to other lions, except for my twin. She’s mated to a human.”
“Really?” His beautiful deep blue eyes were round as saucers, but she sensed a mix of both fascination and something less than fear, but more than a passing concern.
“Yes, really. I think part of why we’re so in tune with each other, and attracted to each other, is because we’re mates. Or we can be if it’s something you can accept.” She sucked in a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye without wavering, no matter how much her stomach jumped around beneath the skin. “I believe you’re mine and I’m yours...but the question is, why? Would you mind giving a sample of a drop or two of blood so we can run some tests for our research?”
“Tests? What kind of tests?”
“Hormone levels and the like.”
“Hormones? So you think I’m on my period?”
A laugh burst out of her chest before she could stop it. It was pure unadulterated joy at the snark and humor of this man. Yep, they were made for each other all right. They should get t-shirts that said “Snark One” and “Snark Two”.
He reached out and pulled her into his embrace, then tickled her until she cried for mercy. Between giggles, trying to catch her breath, and twisting and kicking, Kotara had to rely on her shifter genetics to actually get loose. Wow, the man was strong. When she was finally free, she danced out of reach and tossed a few choice words his way.
“You kiss your sisters with that dirty mouth?” he teased.
“I sure as hell do.”
“Good. Glad you’re this way all the time. Or I’m assuming you are. Now, about the whole period thing.”
“As you know, Doctor Blue, men and women secrete different kinds of hormones. We’re sure it plays a part in mating heat—”
“Heat? I like that word.”
“I bet you do, cowboy. So anyway, we’ve never taken a sample of blood from the male mates and we’re trying to learn if that’s where we’re coming up short in figuring this out.”
“Makes sense. So, how do we do this blood thing? I don’t have the proper equipment here.”
“No worries. I have what we need. I only need a few drops, and I have some tech that’s integrated into my field med unit.”
“Sounds high tech. Why are you telling me about it?”
“Because you’re mine.”
His grin lit up his eyes like fireworks on New Year’s Day. “I’ll ask about that field med thing...after.”
“After? After what?” Then she practically purred as her lioness rolled around deep in her consciousness, tongue lolling as if she were completely sated. But Kotara wasn’t sated at all. She wasn’t sure she ever would be again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This wasn’t just sex. This was deeper, as in down-to-the-marrow-of-your-bones deep. Blue seemed to touch every part of her all at once. When he slid his fingertips along her biceps, warmth sank beneath her skin, set her muscles a-tingle, and infused her blood.
This man was like a shot of aged whiskey laced with his own special brand of liquid horny. Honey spilled from her channel as her sex caught fire, along with the rest of her.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been this turned on with a woman,” he whispered into her ear. “Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever been this far gone. What have you done to me?”
“When I figure it out, I’ll let you know. In the meantime,” she panted, then lost her train of thought as Blue kissed a trail across her hip, and then inhaled deeply.
It was such a primal thing to do, as if he serenaded her with nothing but the wafting of breath over her skin.
“Damn, I love the way you smell, Kotara. Is this normal for a human to be this attracted to a shifter? Or is it part of the mating heat thing?”
Now that was a question she should ask her sister, Koreas, or her sister-in-law, Reya. They’d both mated humans and this was just so unexpected and what if he didn’t want to...?
The flared head of Blue’s cock pressed inside, just past the strong ring of muscles at her entrance.
Then he paused.
“Hey, come back here,” Blue demanded with a whisper.
“Huh?”
“You slipped away for a moment. If I can’t keep your attention, then I’m not doing it right.”
“Oh, you’re definitely doing it right, Blue.”
Blue’s cock was perfect—just long and thick enough to make her feel the stretch of her honeyed walls, but not so big that she couldn’t take him deep. Sure, she enjoyed the occasional rough play...okay, fine, she enjoyed rough play period. But that didn’t mean she wanted her pussy to feel as if she were being split apart. In that case, she’d rather masturbate and get herself off.
No, this man was well-endowed, but he knew exactly how to work with what he had.
She swiveled her hips, trying to take him deeper, but he simply held her gaze as a mix of pleasure and frustration wrapped around her consciousness. And she knew he was holding back.
“Oh no you don’t,” she snarled.
His eyes widened, but it wasn’t fear. It was a challenge.
And she was up for it.
“Don’t you dare hold back, Harrison Daniel Blue.”
“Did you just say my whole name, woman?”
“I sure as hell did.”
“Well, in that case, tell me how you want it, baby.”
“Hard. Fast.”
“Rough?”
“Hell yes,” she panted.
Something seemed to unravel from around him in that moment. It was as if he’d wrapped himself up in a coil of rope for ages and was just now figuring out how to unwind it.
A whispered, “Oh thank god,” was followed by Blue sinking balls deep, then deeper still as he rode. The pleasure sank into her muscles, down to the bone until she felt as if she was drowning in it.
“Tara, I feel you. I can actually feel how good this is for you.”
She was streaking toward orgasm and let her emotional and psychological walls crumble and fall until her entire being was wide open. There was no desire to keep any of herself separate from Blue.
“Holy fuck! That’s hot. It’s like your mind is naked to me,” he gasped.
Because it was naked to him.
“Ah, I see,” he said, just before he angled her just the way she liked it. There was a lot to be said for the whole mind-meld mating thing. His strokes were long, then shallow digs that left her panting. And when she was sure she couldn’t take anymore, he flipped her over and dove in from behind.
Sweat gathered at the base of her spine and formed rivulets down the backs of her thighs where his legs rubbed sensually against hers. A hand wrapped in her hair and pulled her back hard against him, even as he surged forward.
Her orgasm ran toward her like a pack of mustangs, wild and unrestrained. And she welcomed it with open arms as her man pushed her toward it. Muscles went taut. Scalp tingled. Toes curled. And Kotara yelled her pleasure to the rafters.
Blue’s cock pulsed deep inside her soaked channel as he joined her in the ultimate, most intimate of expressions, complete with a mind altering climax.
It was as if he were made just for her, and she guessed he was. And true to his word, he allowed Kotara to take just a few drops of his blood...after.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When she woke from a post-sex coma, she rolled over and immediately missed Blue’s body warmth. She closed her eyes again and listened. He wasn’t in the house, but something delicious wafted on the air that made it clear she’d slept so hard, he’d not only gotten out of bed without disturbing her again, but he’d made dinner, too.
“Some bounty hunter you are,” she grumbled to herself. Sitting up, she then noticed that the little message indicator light on the comm unit she’d left on the nightstand was flashing.
The message from Kory simply said, “Call me right away.”
Since Blue wasn’t in, she slipped in a pair of earbuds and initiated a voice-to-voice call. Koreas practically screeched with delight as she said, “I have some interesting news. Your guy has recessive shifter genes.”
“What?!”
“Yep. You mentioned to way he moves. The way he smells. Well, it may have something to do with why he seems to move faster than a typical human, as well as your attraction to him. He’s emitting hormones that he probably doesn’t know he has.”
Holy cock-a-doodle on a cracker!
“This is huge, Tara! I really can’t wait to meet him now. I’m wondering if we’ll all have the typical reaction to your mating since he has...”
“We’re not mated, Kory. I’ve explained it to him, but he hasn’t agreed.”
“What do you mean he hasn’t agreed?”
“Just what I said. We get along well enough, but we haven’t discussed where this is going.”
“So he’s not coming home with you to meet us?”
“I don’t know, sis. I really don’t. I grew up knowing who and what I am. And you must admit, his introduction to our world was less than stellar. I don’t expect him to just accept all of this because I say so, Kory.”
“Kotara, please don’t cry.”
“I’m not crying, damn it.”
“I’d be crying if it were me. And I hear you sniffing and snotting and trying not to bawl. I’d think you were crazy if you weren’t concerned about it.”
And then Blue was there in her head. He’d obviously been close enough to feel her sadness because a second later, he not only bulldozed into her emotions, but he flew through the door. Just like a true mate would.
“Baby, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”
She looked up and her mouth fell open. The man was covered with sweat and bare-chested in a pair of stretchy pants that left absolutely nothing to the imagination.
“I was outside working out when I felt you...crack. Like something inside you was broken or wrong. What the hell, Kotara?”
“Koreas, I’ll call you later.”
“Listen, Kotara, just talk to him,” her sister said.
“I will. See you soon.”
“Did your sister upset you, baby?”
“Nah. It was something else.”
“Tell me.”
When she just looked up at him with tears in her eyes, he walked over to the bed, picked her up and headed for the bathroom.
“What is your deal with picking me up and carrying me around?”
“I like it. Have a problem with that?”
“No, not really. Was just wondering.”
“Good. Shower with me so I can warm up while you tell me what’s wrong.”
He stripped her with efficiency and set her into the oversized stall.
“Okay, spill it.”
“Wash my back first,” she said.
The second his hands touched her skin, they both went up in flames. Her pain was forgotten, his worry receded. Instead, they explored each other’s bodies until the heat of the shower was nothing compared to the scorching need they had for each other.
Kotara needed him to mark her, to take her like a lion takes its mate. And given his shifter genetics, which she and Koreas agreed to keep to themselves for now, he seemed to know exactly what to do.
“Hands on the tile,” he said. “Bend at the waist.”
“Hurry. Please.”
“Say it again,” he whispered against her ear.
“Please.”
With that, he sank into her drenched heat and slid home in three strokes. Once seated, he gave her exactly what she needed, even if he had no idea why.
Blue zeroed in on the super-sensitive patch of skin where neck met shoulder. The moment his lips covered it and he sucked deeply, she knew he would leave a bruise. But when his teeth sank into that spot, Kotara’s knees went out from under her and she came on the spot, even as Blue held her on her feet.
As she pulsed around him, he joined her with a shout to the rafters.