His voice was pitched low, like it always was. She loved the way he sounded so commanding. Mesmerizing. So completely in control. He wasn't. He just believed that he was. She tilted her head and studied his features. He was far too rugged and tough-looking to be called handsome, but she loved the way he looked. All man. All hers.
"I didn't leave for a reason, Fyodor."
"Your reason?"
"I couldn't." She stated the stark truth. Felt raw for revealing so much to him, but she couldn't help herself. Telling him made her feel vulnerable and exposed, but he looked so remote, as if she'd hurt him but he refused to acknowledge it.
"Just so you know," she continued, "I'm not so easy to find when I don' want to be found. I stayed because I can't leave you, not because I was afraid you'd come after me and find me."
"Come here."
Her heart jerked, nearly stopped and then began pounding. She knew he heard because she did. She studied him, taking her time. The room had gone from scary tension to sexual tension in one heartbeat. She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, suddenly aware of her body going liquid. Of her breasts swelling and aching. He did that without even trying. With one small command.
"Evangeline."
Her name. That was all he said. Just that. But it was a clear order. She was tempted to defy him just to see what would happen, but his will was like iron and she couldn't resist the way his gaze moved over her so possessively. Her female was curled up, still in a snit, unwilling to help her out. Evangeline had confidence in herself until it came to this. Sex. Alonzo was a man who clearly knew what he was doing. She didn't. She wasn't going to be his equal.
His eyes had gone nearly golden, the entire white disappearing. She took a step and then another, compelled forward by the sheer force of his personality. When she was close to him, he wrapped his palm around the nape of her neck and drew her against him. His skin was hot. At once her breasts pushed tight against his chest. Aching. In need. He tipped her chin up with one thumb. Her gaze met his. Caught there. Trapped.
"Tell me what you're afraid of."
She swallowed hard, unable to look away from his piercing gaze.
"What made you feel as if you had to run?" He waited. She squirmed. He refused to release her captive gaze. "I know they shot you because of me. I know they came after you--"
She shook her head. "It's the children," she blurted and then clamped her mouth closed tightly.
"Children?" he echoed. "Are you afraid for our children? That these monsters might come out of the woodwork and try to harm them? Because I can protect my own."
She shook her head again. "If you lose control of your leopard, he might react the way my grandfather's leopard did. He might hunt them. Try to kill them. Or hurt them in some other way."
He was silent for what seemed forever. He didn't wince, although he knew her fear was that he might harm them in some terrible loss of control.
"I'm not capable of harming one of our children, Evangeline. You'll just have to take my word for that."
She took a breath and tried to ignore the way his thumb brushed caresses back and forth over her jaw. Each touch sent a million little darts of fire racing through her body. The blood in her veins felt thick and hot.
"What if I don' meet your expectations and you need . . . more?"
His thumb stopped moving. "More?"
She tilted her chin at him. "Yes. More."
"I can't promise you easy, solnyshko moyo, but I can promise you there will never be another woman. I'll spend every day doing my best to make you happy. I know you're afraid, I know that, but I'll take care of you. There isn't ever going to be a need for more because you're all I want."
"Alonzo." She swallowed his name. "Fyodor. I might not be any good at sex. You clearly are." Sex was the last word she wanted to utter in that room. Not with the bed only a few feet away. Not with his bedroom just on the other side of the passage.
"That's your fear?" He looked amused. His golden eyes glinted at her, the blue flame flickering through the ice.
She tried to step away, but his hand tightened and his head bent toward hers. Not fast. Slowly. Infinitely slow. She stared into his eyes as his head descended. Anticipation was in her mouth. His taste. His touch. She craved his kisses. She stood very still, waiting, her heart pounding. Needing him. Needing the feel of his mouth on hers.
His arm locked around her back and he brought her up tight against his body, his lips brushing hers with exquisite gentleness. He looked hungry. His eyes darkened with a mixture of lust and something else, but his mouth was tender as he coaxed her lips to part for him. He held her with such strength she knew he could break her into pieces, yet she felt cherished. Protected. Maybe even loved. She didn't know what love felt like, so she couldn't really say, and then she couldn't think because his lips firmed and her mouth opened for him and he was inside. Melting her.
His taste. Addicting. She lost herself in his mouth. In his taste. In everything Alonzo. It was strange that for such a big man he could be so gentle. He moved her backward, holding her carefully so that even in motion, his mouth on hers, he made certain she was safe. She felt as if she were dancing with him, floating backward. He kicked the door closed. The lock snicked automatically.
He kept her moving until she was in the center of the room. He lifted his head, his gaze moving over her face with stark possession. "Take off your shirt."
She smiled tentatively at him even though a thousand butterflies took wing in her stomach. "You say that a lot."
"I'll be saying it even more. Off."
She was wearing a button-down shirt and, because she couldn't look away, she stared into his eyes as she slowly released each button from its respective hole. The shirt gaped open. He didn't drop his gaze.
"Off. All the way off." He clearly glimpsed the lacy bra, and he shook his head, his eyes reprimanding her. "Why in the world are you wearing a bra?"
"You weren't home, remember? I was uncomfortable without you." She admitted it even as she complied, slipping out of the shirt, almost letting it drop, but his hand closed over hers.
"Fold it. Neatly. Place it on the chair over there."
His voice alone could make her go damp. Her breasts strained toward him, needing his touch. She felt sexy and his following his low orders. She very carefully folded her shirt, remembering how meticulous he'd been. She had to move around him to get to the chair and she felt his eyes following her as she placed her shirt in the center of the seat.
He crooked his finger at her and pointed to the spot in front of him. She went, heart beating in her throat. Blood roaring in her ears. She stood in front of him, trying not to fidget, forcing her hands to remain at her sides when she had an insane desire to cover up the fact that her nipples were hard and aching for his mouth.
His index finger slid under her bra strap and brushed along her shoulder from front to back, causing serious trembling. "Now your bra."
She wasn't altogether certain she was that brave. She stood a moment, looking up at him, trying to decide if she could stand there in front of him half naked or not.
"Evangeline. When I ask you to do something in our bedroom, I expect you to do it. I know you're nervous, but you have to trust me to take care of you in all things--especially here." His fingers caught her chin, slowly forcing her head up until once again her gaze was held captive by his. "Do you trust me with your body? That's what I want from you. Your trust. Your full surrender. You give me that and in return, I'll give you pleasure like you've never known."
Considering she wasn't experienced in the pleasure department, she figured she had the better end of the bargain. She found herself still hesitating. Shy, when she'd never considered herself shy. Nervous, when she knew she wasn't about nerves.
"I'm leopard, malyutka. That means I'm dominant. You know that. You respond to that in me. Your body is flushed. Your nipples are hard. Your breath is ragged, and I know you're damp for me. I can scent you. You like me in control."
&nbs
p; "I'm not submissive," she denied.
He bent his head and brushed his mouth across hers. The pad of his finger traced the swell of her breast and moved lower to find her nipple through the lace. "No, you're not, not outside this room. And I'm quite certain you'll make a few demands of your own in it, but you like this. You even need it."
She did. It made it easier for her not to think about what she should do next. He told her. He took that uncertainty away from her.
"Your bra, Evangeline."
She reached behind her and unhooked the lace. It wasn't covering all that much of her anyway. She had full breasts and the moment the bra was gone the soft curves jutted toward Alonzo as if belonging solely to him. And maybe they did. She did. Her body did. Her body knew she belonged to him almost more than her brain knew it.
"On the chair. And take off your shoes as well. Put them under the chair."
Shades of his childhood. She knew he needed order and control. She gave him both. A gift. She knew he recognized it as a gift. He wanted her trust. Her surrender. She was determined to give him that as well, although she was very nervous. She placed the bra precisely in the middle of her folded shirt and her shoes beneath the chair, perfectly lined up, and then she went back to him to stand directly in front of him.
"Your skirt." She'd put on the skirt because her leg had been aching and when she'd jumped out of bed at Sevastyan's insistence, she'd dragged on the long, flowing skirt to keep from having to find a pair of jeans. She liked skirts. She'd never worn them in the swamp, and she liked the feel of them. She slipped the material off her hips and down her thighs, over her calves and then stepped out of it. She folded it carefully, all the while standing in her lacy little boy shorts.
She'd never felt sexier. She hadn't known she could feel sexy, but his gaze had grown so hot she thought she might go up in flames. Strangely, his eyes had gone back to glacier blue, but that flame was there, leaping beneath the ice to show her even ice could burn. She walked over to the chair, conscious of his gaze on her. She bent to put her skirt on top of the bra and shirt.
"Take off your panties right there. No, don't turn around. Just like that."
Her breath nearly stopped, strangling there inside her lungs. Could she do that? Shimmy out of them with her back turned? With him looking at her butt? She'd always thought her butt was too big. He was staring at it, she knew he was.
"Evangeline. Do you want me to help you?"
His voice had dropped even lower. A warning. She had the feeling whatever help he gave her would send her crashing right over the edge. Her body was coiled tight. Her clit throbbed and pulsed. She felt her feminine sheath spasm at his tone. She hooked her thumbs into the lace and drew the material down. Once again she folded the panties and put them on top of her pile of clothes.
"Come here and don't cover up, I want to look at you."
That was the hardest thing to do. Walk over to him. The moment she did, forcing herself to keep her hands at her sides, she knew why he had asked her to remove her clothing the way he had. She felt sensual. Feminine. A temptation to him. Her body moved with every step, her breasts swaying enticingly. Her hair fell around her back, sliding over her skin sensuously. Her nipples were hard pebbles, and deep inside she craved him. So much so that, even though she was nervous, she wanted him with every cell in her body.
She stood in front of him. He stood for a long time staring down at her, his gaze moving over her body, ratcheting up her tension, her sexual awareness. He began to move in a small circle around her, as if inspecting her from every angle.
"You are so beautiful, Evangeline. So incredibly beautiful."
Leopards could hear lies, and she knew he believed what he was saying. She let her breath out. He made her feel beautiful and sexy. He came back to stand in front of her and he reached for her hands, placing them on his chest.
"I belong to you, devochka moya. Everything I am and will ever be. My heart. My body. I belong to you and I want you to be familiar with what is yours. To know every inch of me. What I like. What brings me pleasure. That's what I intend to do with what's mine." He brought her hands to the waistband of his trousers. "Take them off."
His palms cupped the soft weight of her breasts, thumbs sliding over her nipples. Instantly white lightning streaked through her body straight to her clit. She heard a soft moan escape before she could stop it. He'd barely touched her and she was so ready for him. She knew this was all about getting her over her shyness. He wanted her to feel confident, and truthfully she was growing more so with every passing moment. Well, it was about giving her confidence and bringing them both pleasure. He was thick and long and hard beneath his trousers.
"You like lookin' at me," she said.
"So much," he agreed. "And I like telling you what to do and have you do it," he added. "That's a huge turn-on for me."
"Because you're all about control." She slipped his trousers open and slowly unzipped them. He wasn't wearing any underwear and his heavy erection sprang free. She couldn't help the shocked gasp. His cock matched the rest of him. She should have known. He was leopard.
"I'm all about control," he agreed. He caught her nipples in between his thumbs and fingers, tugging gently, making her gasp again, this time as more fire sizzled through her body. "Take the trousers off me and fold them, Evangeline."
She nodded and hooked her fingers in the waistband so she could pull them down over his hips. She had to bend to bring them to his ankles so he could step out of them. The action brought her mouth in line with his impressive cock. The leopard in her wanted to taste him. To see if he tasted as good there as he did when he kissed her. Before she thought, she licked along the hard shaft as she crouched low.
His body shuddered, and he dropped a hand on her shoulder as he stepped out of the trousers. She hid a little smirk as she straightened again, indulging in another tongue swipe up his shaft, this time flicking under the crown as she stood. Without looking at him, she folded the pants and walked over to the chair.
She never heard him behind her, but then he had her in his arms, cradling her against his chest as he walked back to the bed.
"When your leopard really begins to rise, and my male says she's close, what we do together is going to be intense and maybe a little scary and shocking. I'm going to take you every way a man can take his woman. I'll be rough sometimes, most of the time, because I'm a rough man, but I'll make certain you love it, solnyshko moyo, every single time, no matter what we do. You have to learn to be comfortable with me and to trust me." He laid her in the center of the bed, so gently she felt the burn of tears. She had no idea he could be so gentle.
He moved over the top of her, so that his much larger body blanketed hers, although he kept his hands on either side of her head, so he supported his weight. Very slowly, he bent his head and kissed her with such tenderness she could barely conceive of him being that way when he truly was a scary man.
He shifted just a bit to one side of her, although his thigh remained over hers, pinning her down while his hand swept from her neck down the center of her body. "I want to play with your body for hours. I never had that luxury ever with a woman. I never had the inclination, but with you, because you're mine, I can indulge every fantasy."
She liked that idea.
His hand stroked another caress between her breasts down to her navel and farther to the tiny curls at the junction between her legs. "I'm going to shave you so when I eat you like candy, there's not going to be anything between my mouth and your body."
She shivered. His touch was very possessive, his words even more so. She couldn't look away from his face, although he was looking down at her body.
"I love that you're mine. I've never had anything for myself. Not one fucking thing, Evangeline. I love that when I finally have something, it's you. Your body. Your mind. Your heart. I'm going after that you know. Your heart. I want complete surrender from you. Nothing less will do."
He kissed her again, over and over unti
l she was squirming with need, her hips bucking and her breath coming in ragged gasps. "Are you going to give that to me, woman? Everything I ask for?" He kissed his way down her throat, stopping to suckle gently and then shockingly, use the edge of his teeth.
She heard her own broken cry. The little bite sent waves of heat crashing through her. Sent liquid heat coating her lips and the tiny curls guarding her entrance.
"See? You were made for me. My woman. My everything. I hope you're not too tired, because I intend to indulge myself tonight."
14
"I MEAN every word I say," Alonzo whispered against the sweet curve of her breast. "You're mine. Your body belongs to me. I intend to make love to you slow and easy. Fast and hard. I'm going to drive you up as high as I can and watch you shatter for me. While you rest, I'm going to play with your body." He slid his hand between her legs while his mouth closed over her nipple and sucked hard, taking her breast deep into his mouth, flattening the nipple against the roof with his tongue.
She cried out and liquid heat spilled into his hand. He rubbed a slow, lazy circle and kept suckling. Gentle. Hard. Laving with his tongue. Biting down with his teeth and tugging until he felt that answer spilling into his palm. "Feel that? That's your body loving what I do to it. There's never a need to be afraid. I'm loving you no matter what we do, even when I'm using you as my little fuck toy. And I will use you like that, solnyshko moyo, because I can and you'll let me. I've dreamt so many times of taking my time with you and doing whatever I want." Another wave of hot liquid spilled into his hand at his rough, dirty words.
He licked his way over the creamy swell of her breast and suckled again, leaving behind his mark. Then he bit down carefully, watching her face, feeling her reaction. He was being very gentle with her. He wanted her to know what he liked. What he needed, and he wanted to know what she liked and needed. This was her first time and he wanted to initiate her as gently as he was capable of. Still, he wouldn't lie to her. He wanted her to know what to expect, and so far, she hadn't shied away from his language or his teeth.
"Once when I was in the bakery and you were wearing that tight skirt with the big bow in the back, right under your ass, all I could think about was ripping that off of you, pushing you down to your hands and knees and fucking you so hard neither of us could breathe. Where is that skirt? Do you still have it? Because you didn't wear it after that."