Turned by a Tiger Read online

  She struggled beneath him, pressing her hands to his chest and trying to push him off her, a wicked sort of need in command, a deep desire to push him a little and reap the rewards.

  On another snarl, he caught her wrists and pinned her arms above her head.

  Her chest rose as her back arched in response to her new position, and he groaned and dropped his eyes to her breasts. Hunger flared in them, a dark need that she ached for him to satisfy.

  He dropped his head and she cried out in pleasure as he tugged her right nipple into his mouth, teasing it hard with his teeth before wrapping his lips around it and sucking on it. He groaned and shuddered, and she trembled as he pressed his hips down against hers, and she felt his thick length.

  Fuck, she needed that inside her.

  She needed to feel his strength, needed him to take control and show her just how powerful he was.

  How primal and wicked.

  He groaned as if he had felt her need, her desires, and released her wrists. He skimmed his hands down her arms and feathered kisses down her stomach, worshipping her body. She tangled her hands together above her head and gave him total control, drank in the way his lips traced her flesh and the dizzying emotions they stirred in her, need and a hunger she had never experienced before that combined with a sensation that only this man could ever satisfy them.

  No other would ever be enough for her.

  She wriggled as he stroked the fingers of his left hand down her side, and then stilled as they danced across her belly.

  The first press of them between her thighs had her hips shooting off the bed.

  Talon chuckled and kissed her hip.

  He rose off her, straddling her left leg, pinning it to the bed, and the feel of his eyes on her had her opening hers, responding to the demand to look at him. She stared into bright golden eyes, bit her lip and trembled as he stared back at her, a silent promise in his gaze.

  A vow that he was going to love her so thoroughly she wasn’t going to be able to think straight for days, let alone walk anywhere.

  His fingers teased her again, stroked her plump lips and sent another bone-melting blast of pleasure through her.

  She kept her eyes on his, and her hands above her head, placed herself completely at his mercy.

  His eyes remained locked with hers as he ran two fingers over her sensitive nub and it tensed, eager for more. His eyes grew darker, hooded as he watched her and touched her, and hell, she wasn’t going to last long with him looking at her like that.

  He brushed his fingers back and forth over her pert bead, sending wave after wave of bliss shooting through her, and she slowly raised her hips into his touch, couldn’t stop herself from seeking more, from trying to goad him into giving her what she needed. Those firm lips curled at the corners and he picked up the pace, caressing her faster, harder, sending her spinning out of her mind as she gripped the bedclothes and moaned, shook all over and lost herself.

  Need mounted, seizing control.

  “Talon,” she moaned, trembling beneath him, belly tensing and thighs quivering, aching for release.

  He stroked her harder, flicking his fingers over her, an onslaught she couldn’t withstand for much longer.

  His eyes held hers, that dark promise still filling them, but there was something else in them now, something fiercely possessive.

  He slowed his assault and she was about to reprimand him when he stole her voice by tugging on the ties of his trousers with his other hand and freeing his cock. She moaned as he ran his hand down the thick length, revealing the dark blunt head. It shimmered with his need in the low light, and she trembled as he rubbed his thumb over the head, smearing the moisture into it as he stroked her, teased her with his touch and the delicious vision of him caressing himself.

  Too much.

  She tipped her head back, ready for release to take her.

  Talon stole his touch away.

  Her eyes snapped open, vicious words ready to fly from her lips, beyond her control as he ripped her release from her.

  His mouth seized hers.

  His long cock drove deep into her in one swift thrust.

  Sherry threw her head back and cried out, stars exploding across her eyes and heat sweeping through her as every inch of her trembled and throbbed, bliss crashing over her. She grasped Talon’s shoulders, anchoring herself as she flew, afraid she might lose herself if she didn’t hold on to something.

  If she didn’t hold on to him.

  His mouth found her throat, his murmured words against it lost on her as her entire body buzzed and tingled.

  She fought for air and scrambled to gather her scattered senses.

  Talon did that for her.

  He seized her hip in his left hand, eased his cock almost all the way out of her and drove back in, deeper this time, until he was in her as much as she could take. She moaned and wrapped her arms around him, clung to him as he rocked his hips, stroking her long and slow, building things up between them again.

  She broke through the haze of her first orgasm and shook as she felt her belly heating again, readying for the next.

  Shit.

  She wasn’t sure how much she could take as he stretched her body around his thick cock, touching every part of her, rubbing her in that sweet spot with each deep thrust. She writhed and raised her hips, wanting him deeper still.

  He wasn’t close enough to her yet.

  She needed him to be one with her.

  Ached for it.

  He moaned and held her. His mouth found hers and she kissed him hard, on the verge of begging him for more. His tongue tangled with hers and he did as she wanted, angling her hips and driving deeper into her, his pace quickening.

  She couldn’t keep still, lost whatever control she’d had over her body. Need hijacked it. She moved against him, meeting his hips, desperate for more. He grunted and shuddered, dominated her mouth with his tongue as he drove her head into the bed. His right hand clamped down on her shoulder, a hot thrill dancing through her in response, and the fingers of his left hand dug into her hip, holding her fast and stopping her from moving.

  She groaned and tried to fight his hold. He tightened it further, pressing short claws into her hips that had her shooting higher, her mind filling with seductive and tempting thoughts about those claws.

  About his fangs.

  She broke free of his lips, unable to resist the urge that bolted through her, and dragged his head down to her throat. He stilled, his entire body tensing, his hips freezing with his cock buried deep inside her, and then he loosed a dark snarl that had every inch of her shaking in response.

  She gasped as his mouth clamped down on her throat and he sucked hard on it before devouring it with kisses, harsh presses of his lips and the blunt edges of his teeth. He started moving again, hips pumping fast and hard, leaving her in no doubt that he felt as desperate as she did, as consumed by his desire and that burning need.

  A need that hadn’t been satisfied yet.

  Her hands ran over his back, the feel of his powerful muscles shifting with each deep plunge of his cock mesmerising her, thrilling her.

  Damn, he was strong.

  He traced his teeth over her throat, brushed his lips and licked at it, pressing his tongue in hard against her flesh.

  Needed more.

  She grabbed the nape of his neck.

  He grunted and snarled against her throat, thrust deeper and faster, and his mouth clamped down on her flesh.

  A low growl rumbled through him, and through every fibre of her being, and he sucked hard on her throat.

  Pain mingled with the pleasure, and detonated.

  Sherry was fairly certain she screamed at the top of her lungs as her climax suddenly broke over her, the surge of feeling short-circuiting everything and making her ears ring and her entire body quake.

  Talon held her down and broke away from her throat, pressed his forehead against it as he thrust harder, faster, his breath washing over her damp ski
n in swift bursts interspersed with low groans that had her tightening around him, a need to give him a mind-blowing release too seizing hold of her.

  He plunged deep and stopped dead, shook in her arms as he growled and grunted, his cock throbbing hard inside her, sending aftershocks of pleasure blasting through her with each one.

  She sank into the mattress beneath him, muscles like water beneath her skin as contentment rolled through her, mingling with the warm haze of her climax. Her bones felt too heavy to lift even when she wanted to hold him, needed to have him pressed against her.

  He sagged on a sigh, his body coming down to cover hers, and rolled onto his side, taking her with him, keeping them intimately entwined as he continued to pulse.

  She slowly opened her eyes and looked into his.

  Silence reigned around them, but inside her emotions were raging out of control, stirred to a frenzy by the man staring at her with soft amber eyes that whispered she wasn’t alone.

  She wasn’t the only one who felt this way.

  As if she had just lost a piece of herself to him, but had gained a piece of him in return.

  As if they were bound together now.

  Entwined soul-deep.

  CHAPTER 12

  Surrendering to his need of Sherry had been dangerous.

  Foolish.

  It hadn’t satisfied that need, it had only intensified it. Now he couldn’t get his mind off her, and his primal side, the tiger in him, wouldn’t settle unless she was close to him. The pressing need to mate with her, to ensure that she was his, filled his waking hours and invaded his sleep too, manifesting in sultry dreams of her.

  Gods, he needed her.

  But it had been dangerous.

  He had almost lost control when he had been kissing her neck the first time, and had stopped himself from doing something reckless and irreversible by leaving her. The second time?

  Talon still wasn’t sure how he had resisted biting her.

  He had felt her need, the desire that had awoken in her, and he had wanted to satisfy it.

  Somehow, he had reined himself in at the last moment, finding the strength to overcome his instincts and settle for sucking on her throat instead.

  Not the sort of mark he had wanted to place on her.

  Still wanted to place on her.

  It was one hell of a mark though, a huge deep bruise that was going to take some time to fade, and was enough to make others aware that she had a male.

  That she was his.

  In a way.

  Talon had expected her to attempt to cover it up, or to be flushed with embarrassment when they had met up with Kyter and the others at Underworld to go over the plan one last time.

  Sherry had surprised him by brazenly walking into the nightclub in a low-cut black t-shirt that revealed more than it hid.

  Including his mark.

  Kyter had spotted it immediately, his golden eyes going dark and questioning her. Whatever look she had given him, it had been answer enough for the jaguar. He had backed off, not saying a word about it to her, or him.

  Talon wished he had seen her face.

  He wanted to know how she felt.

  It plagued him as he paced in the quiet park, surrounded by nature and feeling her comforting touch. He breathed deep, stilled his thoughts and let nature wash over him, carrying away his worries and allowing him to focus again.

  Nature had always soothed him like this, had always made him feel connected to something greater than himself, something beautiful and miraculous, and that he wasn’t alone.

  Byron wasn’t bothered about whether he lived surrounded by a concrete city or lush greenery and wilderness. It bothered Talon though and he knew it bothered his other brother and sister.

  He didn’t like the human cities, even hated the fae towns if he was honest.

  This was his home.

  The wild green realm of nature.

  He purred, letting peace wash over him to carry his troubles away as he thought about the pride village and the lake beyond the forest surrounding it, and his rock, a large flat one that jutted out over the water, standing at least six foot above it. Gods, he loved to sunbathe on it in summer after a swim, staring across the lake to the mountains and the endless blue sky. He had defended it more than once in the early days after the pride had moved there, chasing off the males and making it clear it was his place. They had soon learned to keep away from it, even when he wasn’t around.

  The image of that place filled his mind, chasing away the city park.

  Sherry popped into it, bikini-clad and beautiful as she smiled and waved from the shallows, luring him to her.

  Gods, he wanted to take her there.

  He wanted her to make it her home too.

  With him.

  He kept his thoughts on that dream, using it to bolster his heart and give him strength.

  It would get him through the next few hours away from her.

  Hours that were already testing his strength, pushing him to the limit.

  He used the desire to see her again to calm his fear and give him an objective, something tangible that he could work towards, a goal at the end of the dark road that lay ahead of him.

  It wouldn’t be long now.

  He lifted his head and scented the night, trying to discern the hour. It was cold, the heat of day dissipated at last, and the roads were getting quieter.

  Soon.

  It had to be soon.

  His stomach flipped and he breathed through it, trying to expel his fear on each exhale.

  Fear that pressed him to turn tail and run before Archangel could find him.

  Talon clenched his fists and stood his ground against its assault, refusing to surrender to it. He had to do this. He needed his revenge and had to help the others, but it was bigger than him and it was bigger than them.

  The information they found in this raid might help shine a light on a darker side of Archangel.

  It might save his species, and the other shifters, fae and immortals by preparing them, making them aware of what the hunter organisation was up to behind the scenes.

  That was worth the risk. It was worth reliving a nightmare.

  By doing this, he could be helping everyone.

  Movement off to his right had him tensing, muscles coiling tight in preparation. This was it. His animal side pushed and fur rippled over his skin. He gritted his teeth and held back the urge to shift, mastering it. It wasn’t going to happen.

  Not only because he had to hold with tradition.

  If he shifted, they were liable to use weapons against him.

  Only Emelia was in on the plan, the rest of her group were none the wiser, and therefore an unknown variable he preferred to keep nice and calm, not panicked and on the defensive.

  He hunkered down and rubbed at the wound on his side, irritating it with his short claws so it began to bleed again, and smeared the crimson over his stomach. If he looked as if he was already injured, there was a chance he would get through this without anyone shooting him.

  The group halted and he focused his senses on them, picked out the female and four males just beyond her. His vision sharpened, the park becoming as bright as day around him, and his fangs lengthened as he called on his primal strength, his true nature.

  Better make this look good.

  Talon looked over his shoulder at them and bared his fangs in a silent warning to keep away.

  Emelia stared at him through impassive green eyes, her face schooled to hide her emotions, a mask of calm and control. While the males at her back had chosen to pair black t-shirts with their black combat trousers and boots, she had opted for a long-sleeved roll-neck sweater. Her deep brown hair had been tied back into an all-business bun.

  He kept his breathing slow and steady as he waited, his eyes fixed on her, monitoring her closely as his senses kept tabs on the others.

  He wasn’t sure how this was going to go down.

  Sable had neglected to mention that part
.

  Emelia slowly moved her left arm, holding it out at her side with her palm facing the others. A warning to stay back?

  He glanced at the males, weak creatures, ones he could easily defeat in his current form and would butcher in his tiger one. He turned and rose to stand in one slow fluid motion, coming to face them.

  A hiss of air was all the warning he had.

  He flinched as a fierce sting pierced the left side of his chest and his eyes leaped there. Numbness swept across his pectoral and over his shoulder, crept down his arm and spread along his stomach. He blinked hard as fogginess invaded his head, slowing his thoughts, and stared at the tiny dart sticking out of his chest, white feathers bright in the slim moonlight.

  Fuck.

  On a growl, he tore it from his body, and tried to toss it away as he collapsed to his knees. It fell from his lax fingers and he struggled to focus on them, couldn’t make them obey him no matter how much he tried moving them. His hand fell to his knee, a weak growl escaping him as that cold numbness continued to spread across his body.

  This wasn’t how he had imagined it going down.

  He roared inside, mad with a need to shift and escape, but no matter how fiercely he battered the cage the drug formed in his body, he couldn’t break free of it. He slumped forwards and grunted as his cheek hit the dewy grass, his breath coming faster as panic mingled with the numbness to take hold of him.

  It screamed how weak he was, how easily Archangel had overpowered him, and that he was now at their mercy.

  And he had no reason to trust them.

  He had foolishly expected to be lucid when they took him in, his faculties all in order.

  Emelia did another complicated signal and her team broke up, two males circling one way and the others rounding him on the opposite side. She edged towards him, right hand still gripping the damned dart gun she had used on him. He weakly bared his fangs at it as it wobbled in and out of focus.

  She twitched it upwards. Once. Twice. A third time.

  A signal?

  He fought the heaviness in his head and his body and managed to get his eyes off the gun and up to her face. Her lips moved silently, small motions that the others wouldn’t see in the slender light.