STORY EXCERPT

Her heart fluttered in her chest as she roared to the moon above. The blackness set aglow by the twinkling stars, full moon and flickering of lightning in the distant sky. A thick wall of clouds moved in, the scent of rain in the air. The wind blew, but suddenly changed direction, swirling a musky fragrance into her nostrils that had the hair rising all over her long, curvy spine. Her tail whipped from side to side as she felt the tension of the night air thicken. The aroma was unmistakably familiar.

In panther form, Bianca ran. Her legs pumped as she darted and juked around trees, boulders, brush, anything and everything that lay in her path. She prayed her feet would keep moving and allow her a chance to reach her cabin. She wasn’t ready for this. She thought she had more time.

A wall of strength crushed into her, knocking her over and sending her stiff body slamming against a hundred-year-old white oak tree. The air whooshed from her lungs, her body gasping for breath.

Stunned, she shook her head, clearing the sharp reminder of pain from her eyes. 

She sniffed the air, seeking out the object that had forced her body to fly out of control. Her panther eyes scanned her surroundings, but found nothing. Then she felt the power of the hybrid, his breath on her neck, clinging to the low limbs of the tree above her.

Bianca growled, bolting away from the branches. In seconds, Ryder pounced on her. They fought with claws and teeth tearing at one another. Ryder’s sharp fangs sank into the flesh of her hind leg and she cried out with a wild yelp. Instantly, he released her and with his massive paw, swiped her legs out from under her, forcing her body into a roll. Wedged between objects, she thrashed around to flip over, trapped on her back.

Just as Ryder jumped on top of her, the sky above them cracked with a thunderous boom. Rain from the heavens poured down on them, soaking the earth and pelting them with heavy raindrops.

He’s going to kill me like some savage beast. 

Bianca had wondered, night after night, how Ryder would end her life. She wasn’t strong enough to beat him in a fight and it would only be moments before the job was finished. But she didn’t want to be a panther when she received that final blow. She wanted to be the woman she’d been when the mating attraction had begun to call to her. When instinct and her heart had told her that Ryder was the one she was destined to be with. If she couldn’t love him as a mate should be allowed, it was only poetic that he should be the one who destroyed her, body and spirit. 

With a deep inhalation of breath, Bianca shifted into human form. Ryder’s golden panther eyes pierced into hers, his teeth nipping close to her face. He was growling as if to yell at her for changing forms. Then he backed away and shifted before her eyes.

The blackness of his panther, surrendered into a tan-skinned man with eyes so deadly, she couldn’t hold their penetrating glare. Her body shivered, as she lowered her eyes to drink in the size of his defined broad chest, chiseled abdominals, and the V-cut sinew located below his belly button and above his cock. Her breath hitched as she beheld his swelling shaft, jumping as if to command her attention stay focused on his perfectly erect penis.

She swallowed hard, studying the tension in the muscles of his body. His long legs stood shoulder width apart, his bare body damp with rain. She hadn’t given much thought to the fact that she lay naked on her back in the mud, resting on her elbows with her legs slightly spread. If she were any other woman, surely Ryder would welcome the sight. His erection was just a reaction to his transformation into human form. Perhaps it was even the thrill of his potential kill.

“Why did you shift back?” Ryder shouted, the rain falling harder. “Damn it, Bianca. I don’t want to look at you like this.” He glanced away from her, his eyes searching for something in the near darkness.

The air fled from her lungs, her body shuddering, but not from cold. “If you are to kill me, you will do so with me as bare to you as my soul is.”

His piercing gaze snapped back in her direction. She swallowed hard, hating the disgust firing in his eyes. She wished more than anything to have seen love or desire looking back at her, but she didn’t. Deep in her heart she had hoped that no matter what, Ryder would be able to see her for the person she truly was and not the monster he assumed her to be.

I will die just as I lived. Alone.

Her fingers dug into the saturated ground beneath her. She needed something to anchor to. Her body shook terribly. “I’ve spoken only the truth to you, Ryder, and I have no secrets. I will go to my grave knowing that I never betrayed you or our people.” She moved from her back and repositioned herself onto her knees. “But for the pain I have caused you, it will be a death I deserve.” Her eyes welled with tears. “I pray it brings you and your friend’s peace.” She placed her arms behind her back, clasping her hands together, and bowed her head, offering herself to him in sacrifice.

ADULT EXCERPT

Slowly, he lowered his mouth to hers, feeling the timid feel of her tender lips against his. He couldn’t seem to make himself dive in and ravage her mouth. He wanted to feel her as the soft, vulnerable woman who’d been hiding in the mountains, waiting for his brutal assault. She deserved a touch that wasn’t threatening or violent. He couldn’t explain why he felt that way, but his mate had been through emotional hell, as had he. Together they would find a piece of paradise that no one could destroy, a moment that was completely theirs and theirs alone.

Bianca pulled away, her eyes squeezed shut. “Oh, God,” she cried. “Is this real? Are you kissing me? Really kissing me?”

“Shhh, baby,” he muttered against her ear. “It’s okay. No more tears. No more pain. I’m here. I’m really here.”

She sobbed, her cheeks streaked with tears. Her beautiful breasts rose and fell with her panting breaths. He traced his finger up her arm and then down to her breast, cupping it in his hand. She gasped as he stroked her nipple with his thumb. His other hand grasped the back of her neck and the action had her eyes opening wide.

“Mine,” he said adamantly. He nipped at her lips as his hand reached around to cup her buttocks, pulling her hard up against him. “All mine.”

Instantly, her arms went around his neck and her mouth sought out his. Between fevered kisses, she mumbled, “Yes, all yours.”

He reached between their pressed bodies and cupped her pussy, slipping a finger past the slick folds. Her breath fluttered against his lips as he stroked her clit, smearing the dampness of her desire. Gently, he pressed a finger inside her, hungrily taking her mouth as he plunged deep.

Holding her this way drove him mad with lust. His needs were becoming primal, raw. His tongue dove into her mouth, thoroughly tasting her.

Trembling, he lifted her from the floor and brought her legs up around his waist. Turning, he pressed her back against the door. In that second, he lifted her so that her knees were resting at his bent elbows, supporting her weight in a manner that placed her pussy directly in the path of his mouth, his very greedy mouth.

She hissed as he nipped at her inner thigh, and her legs spread wider in response. Like a starved man, he dipped his head lower, feasting on her. He slid his tongue over her swollen clit, exhaustively tasting her. He sucked her into his mouth and as he applied more suction, she writhed more and more within his arms. Her fingers weaved through his hair, her panting moans growing louder and louder.

The wetness of her pussy flooded his mouth as she cried out. Her release rocked her as if a jolt of electricity was charging through her body. Even after hearing her cries of fatigue, he continued to lick, sucking and tasting her with a hunger he’d never known before. He couldn’t get enough of her wild flavor.

She gripped his hair, yanking his head back, forcing his eyes to meet hers. As he stared up at her wide, lust-filled eyes, he couldn’t mask the grin that played at his lips. Her breasts so beautifully displayed in front of his face, rising and falling with her breaths. The hardened peaks were begging to be teased and tormented.

“So fucking beautiful,” he said with a growl low in his throat.

Never in his life had he seen anything that invoked such a longing inside him. All he could think about was Bianca and how he needed her, all of her.

He repositioned her legs so that they wrapped around his waist. Pressing her back firmly against the door, he brought one nipple to his mouth and nipped at the tender bead, sucking and teasing it until he heard her breathing become erratic once more. With his other hand, he plucked at the nipple of her other breast and soon she was squirming, rubbing her slick heat against his pelvis. His cock jumped, eager to be buried deep inside her tight sheath.

Wrapping his arms around her, he gripped her buttocks, teasing her anus and pussy with his fingers as he carried her over to the fur rug in front of the unlit fireplace. He lowered her so that she was kneeling in front of him. She wrapped her hand around his shaft, the tight squeeze of her fist ripped the air from his lungs. She licked the head of his cock, and then nipped, gently biting the crown. He groaned as her sweet mouth surrounded him, her hand working the base of his dick as she took him to the back of her throat.

He flipped her raven hair over her shoulder. There was something so damn sexy about the way her lips wrapped around him, and her tongue danced along the length. He had to watch every second. The sound of her satisfying moans turned him on more than he ever dreamed possible. His cock pulsed, not only from the motions of her sucking him deep, but of the fantasy displayed before him. His balls tightened and as much as he would’ve loved for her to slurp every ounce of pleasure from his body, he wanted to be buried inside her more.

He cupped her face in his hands and eased her off of him. He held her lusty gaze. “Hands and knees,” he demanded.

Grinning, she turned around, arching her back like the sweet pussycat she was. He ran his fingers along the curve of her spine, dipping his fingers down the crease of her buttocks. He playfully stroked her anus and pussy. Her body damp with her release, he plunged his index and middle finger inside her pussy, while the thumb on his other hand pressed inside the tight grip of her anus.

“Oh, God,” she cried, pushing back against his hand.