Ju DiMello - Jaguar, Be Mine

“I don’t see you being verbose either.”

His jaw tightened further. Did she hear his teeth grind?

“What do you want?” he asked after a tensed silence. His voice was pained, rough. “That I bend on my knees, begging, sniveling and spouting out verses of my love for you?”

Did she hear him right? Her head swam and she abruptly sat on the sofa. He continued, “I am none of those things, Karin. I prefer a desk job to meaningless fights. I want to be wild in bed, but tame outside. My idea of romantic is probably an invigorating run in the woods, followed by some swimming, then fucking until we are too tired to move. Your call, take it or leave it.”

Time stilled. Her hesitation, her insecurities, and any other misconceptions she harbored vanished with the emotion bubbling in her. The love she’d tried to squash and failed.

“You left out the night-life photography bit.” She fought a smile.

He lifted his chin in acknowledgement.

Did that mean he was still planning on leaving their company? Their . The concept tasted different, but contained a wealth of meaning. She’d always wanted a go at independence, to be able to call the shots. Alone. Until Xander. In a single night he’d shown her how fantastic a partnership could be—in every sense of the word.

He’d challenged her at work, but her decisions had been stronger, better for it. He’d spent every night working with her instead of perusing any of the fawning females. Tonight, he’d shown his selflessness, a genuine heart and his willingness to channel his instincts for the greater good of their pack. Sex had been the cherry on top of her ice cream.

“What if I ask you not to quit?” she asked, her heart in her throat.

“Why’d you want to do that? I cannot stay and watch you—” He faltered, his eyes bleak as he stared at her. “I’ve already told you my reasons.”

He’d told her his reasons, but she’d never given voice to hers. She took a deep breath, willing herself to go slow, to not screw up the one good thing that mattered.

“You needn’t make a living off the photos. You— We—”

Something dark flitted across his eyes. His expression darkened. “Photography is the only thing I have left.”

“You have me,” she said. If you still want me.

His head whipped up. “Excuse me?”

She glanced at him, drinking in his lean, strong profile. “I’ll take it—what you’re offering.”

His eyes widened a fraction, but a definitive glint appeared in them. “You don’t think the company would survive without me? Is that why you’re doing the right thing , again?”

Resisting the urge to smack him on the head, she replied, “Why do you have to deliberately misunderstand?”

“Then make me understand.”

His words were an invisible challenge, one she hoped she could win. She didn’t see why they should mince words. Maybe it was time to lay everything on the line.

“I want you to stay. Not for the company, not because the elders asked you to. But with me. For me. I want to be a part of everything that matters to you. Maybe I can hold the flashlight on your night expeditions and you can act the badass against intruders. Would that do?”

Lips curling at the corners, he reached her in a single stride. “I didn’t hear the lady say the magic words.” His breath warmed her lips.

A mad fizzle of excitement raced through her veins at his challenge.

“You’re determined to make this hard for me, aren’t you?”

His smirk answered more than his words ever could, and she bit the bullet, her voice as clear as her decision. “I love you. Be mine, Xander. Forever. Please?”

His smile vanished as he bridged the distance between them, capturing her lips in a toe-curling, tongue-lashing kiss.

Mark me , she commanded. Only one way he could do that, by claiming her from the back, spilling himself in her completely.

He caught her by the arms and she gazed into his rugged face. “Are you sure?”

She eyed the jaguar who’d shattered her defenses, captured her heart in a few hours, and nodded. “Never been surer of anything else in my life.”

A slow grin lit his face and her heart stuttering, she answered him with a smile. In an instant, he lifted her off him and pushed her face down on the bed.

“Ouch.”

“This is what you get for teasing me.”

His low growl raised her hackles, and her body thrummed in anticipation. He didn’t waste time on preliminaries, pulling her hips so her ass was level with his cock. He pressed a finger into her anus and she gasped into the pillows, trying hard to relax her muscles.

Something probed her slick pussy and she realized his fingers smeared her wetness at her anal entrance. She’d taken a jaguar there once—very long ago for duty’s sake, but this time, she realized, she was doing it for herself. To love and to be loved. To finally bond with the other half of her soul.

Thoughts vanished from her mind as his cock prodded her back, filling her with a bittersweet ache. He filled her body and mind, chasing away the past, giving a promise of a future together. When he began moving, she felt his love in the careful grip of his hands on her hips and his low murmurs to soothe away her ache. Soon, the slow start gave way to mindless lust and she matched him thrust for thrust, as he pounded into her, groaning.

“You’re so tight.” He growled. “I don’t think I can hold out much longer.”

“Then don’t.”

“After you,” he ground out.

His hoarse voice sent a jolt of pleasure and joy.

“So chivalrous,” she murmured. Pleasure blanketed her mind as her body tensed in exquisite anticipation.

Explosive passion filled her as he put his hand between her thighs, his thumb running in maddening circles over her clit. He palmed her mound over the curls mere seconds before she felt his hot breath on her neck.

His ragged breathing echoed in her ears, even as his tongue readied her for his bite. Ecstasy slammed into her at the first prick of his teeth and she cried out with the force of her orgasm. He gurgled, gasped and withdrew his canines. With a shout of completion, he exploded inside her, filling her with his seed.

I love you, Karin. This time there was no doubt of his voice in her mind.

So do I, my jaguar, she replied, confident he could hear her as well.

He withdrew after a few moments and she heard the water running. He returned with a wet towel. She winced at the slight soreness as he cleaned her off.

“Guess we can inform the elders that their evil plan actually turned out well,” she said, struggling to keep her eyes open under his gentle ministrations. There’d be so much to do come tomorrow. For once in her life, she didn’t have to handle things alone. She had someone to share everything with. She yawned. “Those old busybodies would surely be pleased.”

“They will be pleased, but not more than me.” He threw the towel into the hamper and tumbled on the mattress beside her. He spooned her before nipping her ear. “Thank you, my love. For trusting me with your heart.”

Tears of happiness seeped from the corners of her scrunched eyelids.

“What?” Sensing her unbidden emotions, he turned her around, kissing her tears away. “This was supposed to be a one-night stand. A parting gift.” He grinned at her while settling himself above her, nestling his semi-hard cock within her, as if afraid to let go of her. “I got lucky instead.”

“I don’t like the parting bit.” She sighed in contentment, looped her legs around him, placed her cheek against his thundering heart and smiled. “But we could make it a one-night stand—every night.”

“Undoubtedly,” he said into the crook of her neck. “You are mine, as I am yours.”