"Oh baby, I'm not nearly finished with you." His voice was so dark, so velvet-rough it nearly sent her into climax. Her womb convulsed; her breath caught in her throat as her clit swelled in nearing ecstasy.

He leaned back, his knees pressing into the couch as he draped her legs Over his thighs. His hands free, he lifted her against him, holding her to his chest as he stared into her shocked face.

"Takeoff the shirt."

His cock throbbed inside her. Her pussy was sucking at him with rapturous greed, and he was worried about her shirt?

"Now." His voice hardened, his gaze turning stubborn. "I won't give you what you need, Lyra, until you do." Her hands lowered from his neck, gripping the shirt and struggling to jerk it over her head as one hand gripped her buttock and lifted her several inches from the thick wedge of his cock. Then he released her, thrusting hard and deep inside her again as she whimpered in delirious need.

The shirt cleared her head, though she struggled to force it from her arms. Finally it was gone, her hands moving to his shoulders again, her legs tightening around his hips as she fought to force him to move inside her.

"Tarek, I'm going to skin you alive if you keep torturing me." She knew the pitiful whimper in her voice didn't exactly carry the threat well. But he should know her well enough to know she would keep her word. Maybe.

He chuckled.

"Hold on. We're going to the bed."

"The bed?" Her eyes widened in horror as he moved easily from the couch.

She shuddered as his cock shifted with each movement.

"I heard that last time," her strangled gasp nearly became a mewl of rapture as his cock began to fuck in and out of her with each step. "Those steps…" She moaned at the sensation of his movements inside her. "Aren't so comfortable."

"We'll make it." He sounded too confident. Too determined. Sweet Lord, he was going to kill her.

She swore he would. She knew he would.

"Oh God. Tarek. Tarek, I can't stand it," she was screaming his name as he began to take the steps with a heavy, quick stride.

His cock slammed inside her, taking her breath before retreating, rocking in, thrusting forcibly, then rocking inside her again.

Her nails dug into his shoulders, gasping, desperate cries fell from her lips as she tightened her legs around his hips and fought to hang on.

The first orgasm ripped through her on the sixth step. On the twelfth she was shuddering, jerking in his arms as the second stole her breath and her mind.

She was only barely aware of him actually making it to the bed, laying her back, and gripping her hips as he began to fuck her into a third, destructive climax.

She arched, her breath leaving her body in a rush as she felt his release tear through him then. The barb swelled forcibly from beneath the head of his cock, pressing into the delicate bundle of nerves that no man would have reached otherwise. It throbbed, caressed, and sent her flying into an orgasm that had no beginning and no end. It only had Tarek, holding her, his teeth scraping the wound he had left earlier before his teeth locked on it once again and dark oblivion overtook her.

"I love you. Oh God, Tarek, I love you…" Velvet darkness enclosed her as the words whispered free, her heart expanding as her soul seemed to lift, shudder, and open to accept a part of him that she knew even death could never steal.

Chapter Nine

"… I'm just tired, Dad. I had dinner out with a friend last night, and I have all this work backed up. I just think it would be best if you and the boys come over after all this rain lets up. You know how they mess up my kitchen when it's wet outside…" Tarek listened to Lyra spin a song and dance to her father later the next evening that even he wouldn't have believed from her.

His sensual, sexual little mate was giving her father excuses that even he, who had no experience with parents, would never have tried.

What was it that made her think that delicate, sweet little voice was fooling anyone?

You're crazy! he mouthed slowly, ignoring her as she waved him away with a graceful little flip of her hand.

After two days of sex that should have killed him, in positions he hadn't tried in all his sexual lifetime, he was even prone to be fairly prejudiced in her favor. But the sweet, candycoated innocent tone had him rolling his eyes at her before giving her a fierce frown.

What? she mouthed back, shooting him an irritated glance before turning her attention back to the call she had made to her family.

Considering the fact her brothers were Special Forces, he doubted their father was dimwitted. Yet here was his independent, feisty mate, reclining naked in his bed with nothing but a sheet to cover her, weaving an excuse that had him wincing painfully.

Her silken hair was tangled around her flushed face, her blue eyes gleaming with irritation, and she had the nerve to sit there and attempt to put her father off in such a way. She was tired. She didn't feel like cooking. Her brothers made messes…

Give him a break. Hell, give him strength because he had a feeling the full fury of a father plus his sons would arrive on her doorstep, fouling the careful setup Braden had there to catch the Trainer.

"Yes, Dad, I know how irked they get when they have to wait to do things, but my yard looks like a swamp right now, and they couldn't do anything even if they wanted to. They just want a free meal, and I'm busy."

She was pouting. Seriously pouting. What happened to the independent "do it my way or no way" woman he knew? He shook his head, pushing his fingers through his hair as he tried to think of ways to fix this before her family became his headache.

There was no stopping her. He sliced his hand across his throat, frowning at her warningly. To no effect. All he got was a glare in return.

That glare effectively hardened his cock. All she had to do was think about opposing him, and that stubborn flesh rose to rigid life. Dammit. She was wearing him out.

But what a way to go.

He would have grinned at the thought if she hadn't chosen that moment to tell daddy, in that sweet innocent tone, that she was going to work all evening.

It was enough to make him groan silently.

"Yes, Dad, I promise I'm being careful and locking the doors and windows at night." The promise was made in an almost automatic tone. "I promise, the only wild animals I'll let in are the four-legged variety. Not that I've seen any lately." She grinned cheekily at her words as she winked at Tarek. Insane woman! He snarled silently, mouthing the words to her as she rolled her eyes at him. Who did she think was believing this?

"This isn't bread-baking day," she yawned after the muted sound of her father's deep voice stopped speaking. "Besides, I'm busy. They can wait another day or two." She nestled deeper in the pillows, frowning as he watched her with almost morbid fascination.

She was actually convinced she was pulling this off. He could see it in her face. In her father's tone of voice, he heard another story. Not that he could hear the words, just the alert tone, the almost military crispness.

She was going to get him killed. His training was excellent, but three Special Forces of the caliber that had helped free the Breeds from the Council Trainers and soldiers wouldn't be in any way easy to defeat. Especially considering he couldn't exactly kill his mate's family.

"Yes, Dad, I promise to rest, and I'll call you tomorrow," she answered in a placating tone that was so sickeningly sweet, it had him wondering if his dinner was going to stay down. He made a note to never be taken in by that tone of voice himself.

When she finally hung up the phone, he glared at her sternly.

"I hope you are not convinced that you pulled that off," he growled furiously. "We will now have your entire family ripping the neighborhood apart looking for you."

"Don't be silly." She laughed at his prediction. "They'll come here first. I don't think they entirely trust you. Something about not being able to find enough background information." She wiggled her finely arched brows suggestively. "Have you been a bad boy, Tarek? Hiding records and such?"

She shimmied beneath the sheet, bracing her hands on the mattress as she leaned closer to him, her eyes dancing with shimmering lights of amusement as she gave him a suggestive little smile.

"Should I spank you for being bad now?"

His brows snapped into a frown. He was ignoring the ache in his cock. He needed a shower and food or he was going to collapse in exhaustion.

"You, I will spank later." He pointed his finger at her with determined emphasis. "Someone needs to teach you better than to play such obvious games with men who know you much too well."

"Yeah. Right." She had the nerve to laugh at him. "I didn't he to him. He can see straight through my lies. Everything I said was the truth…"

"In a roundabout way," he grunted.

"How do you think I managed to get out of his house?" She plopped back against the pillow, the sheet falling away from her breasts and their hard, tempting nipples. "But you can punish me now if you want to."

She was becoming much too confident in her ability to drive him completely insane.

Finally he just threw up his hands as he rose from the bed and stalked to the bathroom door. If he was going to have to fight her brothers, he didn't want to smell of sex when that happened.

"I am taking a shower," he snapped. "I have a feeling I might want to be prepared for the visit I will have to endure by your family. And you are a troublemaker, Lyra. This will come back and smack you on the ass one of these days."

"Really?" Interest lit her laughter-filled gaze. "I bet it makes me wet."

He snorted. "I have no doubt, you little hellion." And before his body could overrule his mind, he forced himself into the bathroom, closing the door behind him before he joined her in the bed again instead.

As he stepped beneath the steaming water, he made a note to contact Braden and warn him to be expecting trouble. He had a bad feeling that plenty of it was now heading his way. Lyra laughed as the bathroom door closed behind Tarek and let the warmth that teasing him brought her fill her heart. She loved the look on his face. For once, the shadows that normally lingered there were gone. In their place may have been irritation or incredulity, but she had seen the happiness there as well.

She made him happy.

She sighed at the thought, an odd satisfaction filling her. Making him happy shouldn't make her feel as though she were glowing from the inside out, but it did.

And it made her want to cook. Something really incredible. Something that would make that bit of confused happiness fill his eyes once again.

She had food. Finally. It had taken her hours last night to convince him to have someone deliver the basic kitchen products as well as some real meat, rather than that stuff he nuked every day.

Yuck. That was nasty stuff.

She shook her head, rising from the bed and pulling on her gown and robe as she ignored the tenderness between her thighs. That and the pulse of desire. She had a feeling that Mating Heat or not, she could forget her response to him ever dimming. He had made her wet the first time she laid eyes on him, and she had a feeling she would be wet for him on her deathbed.

She left the bedroom, padding quickly down the stairs to the wide foyer and turning into the kitchen.

She stopped abruptly. Her eyes widened, terror rushing through her system as her knees weakened.

"Well, it looks like Tarek took a little mate," the intruder sneered, his weapon aimed at her heart. "I bet the Council will have a lot of fun with this one. After we take her Lion out, of course. The only good Feline is a dead one."

Lyra turned to run only to slam into the hard body blocking her way. The contact sent pain streaking across her nerve endings, causing her to gasp in shock as she jerked away from the other intruder.

What now? Breathing roughly, she fought to hold back her fear, her eyes wide, as hard hands pushed her into a kitchen chair.