Merinus still trembled. Her cheeks were wet with sweat and tears as she gasped for breath. Her breasts were swollen, her nipples hard little peaks that had not eased with her climax.

“Merinus,” he whispered her name gently as he eased her into his arms, lying beside her, his hand smoothing down her damp back. “Don’t cry anymore, baby. I don’t think I can handle it.”

Her breath hitched, one hand clutched at his back, the other around his neck.

“Did I hurt you?” He was terrified that perhaps he had, and was unaware of it. She shook her head against his chest. A weak movement as her tongue stroked over his skin. Callan took a deep, careful breath after that small caress. He was still hard, he could easily take her again, but he feared for her. She was virgin, and there had been little gentleness in him when he had slammed inside her tender body.

She whispered against his chest.

“What?” He moved back, staring into her dazed, distressed eyes. “What did you say?”

“I need you again.” A tear fell down her cheek. “I need more, Callan.”

She was exhausted. He could see it in her expression, in her eyes and hear it in her voice. She was shy and confused and frightened by the overwhelming sensations that were controlling her body.

“Shh, don’t cry, baby. You need only ask.” He smiled softly, his thumbs wiping the tears from her eyes. She was so tired it worried him, but he couldn’t ignore her need, not when it was his own as well. He turned her to her side, bringing her leg over his as he tucked her buttocks against him.

“We will do this easy,” he promised her. “I know you’re tired, Merinus.”

She shook her head, gasping, moaning as the thick length of his cock re-entered her, stretching her, sliding in deep. The tight clasp had him gritting his teeth at the renewed pleasure.

“You feel so good,” he murmured at her ear as his fingers went to the swollen bud of her clit and massaged it gently. “So tight and hot around me, Merinus. Unlike anything I have known.”

“We’re drugged. That’s why,” she gasped. “You drugged us, Callan.”

“Then I would stay drugged forever, Merinus.” He nibbled at her earlobe, loving the sharp intake of her breath, the way she thrust back at him. “There is no pleasure on this earth as good as the feel of your pretty cunt wrapped around me.”

“Oh God, why did that just sound so sexy?” she groaned, tightening around him, shivering at the feel of his lips against her neck.

“Because it is sexy,” he assured her, smiling. He licked the soft flesh just beneath her ear, loving the little gasps she made. “It’s sexy and erotic and hot as hell.” He pushed harder into the tight sheath, gritting his teeth now at the pleasure.

“We’ll kill each other before the need goes away,” she panted. “Callan—” A plea stole from her as he felt the shivers working through her vagina.

He felt it as well, the barb’s re-emergence, the added stroke over her tight muscles.

“Does it hurt you, Merinus?” He was tortured, terrified he had been wrong, and she was in pain, despite her need. “Tell me if it hurts you. I’ll try to stop.”

He buried his head in her damp hair. God help him if he was hurting her. God help them both.

“What is it?” she gasped as his strokes became deeper, harder. Callan couldn’t control it. His hips began to thrust his cock harder inside her, the ultra sensitivity of the barb making the pleasure so damned good he wanted to howl with it.

“Does it hurt you?” he demanded again, gritting his teeth, fighting for control.

“No,” she cried out, her hand moving to grip his slamming hips. “Ah, more. I need more.”

He pushed her to her stomach, moving behind her, instinct guiding him now, the pulse of pleasure overtaking his mind. Spreading her thighs wide he slammed his hips into her buttocks, feeling his scrotum tighten against the base of his cock as he drove deep and hard inside her. His head lowered, his teeth gripping the sensitive area between shoulder and neck as she screamed out in pleasure. And it was pleasure. She was begging for more, held still by his hard body, his plunging hips, the sharp teeth that held her still for his invasion.

He was the animal he had always feared. In the back of his mind, Callan was appalled at his own actions, but helpless in the face of the frenzy overtaking him. The barb was only half erect, sensitive, sliding, gliding over tight vaginal walls and smooth flesh. It was more than he could bear. He could control himself no longer.

Primitive, throaty, his growl demanded her surrender, her submission to him as he powered inside her, over and over. She was crying out now, her body tight, reaching, desperate. The barb extended full length, scraped, she screamed out in desperation, her muscles locking on his erection as her orgasm swept over her once again. Callan plunged deep and hard, his own climax rocking his soul, the growls constant now, rumbling from his chest as he felt the hard spurt of his semen inside her, the burning grip of her muscles, the wash of her own release.

Then she was still. Slowly, the inner muscles unlocked and Callan felt his own erection begin to subside minutely. Her body became pliant, relaxed and he knew that either sleep or unconsciousness claimed her. Either, he knew, would be a welcome relief for her.

Panting, he lay down beside her. Jerking sheet and comforter from the foot of the bed, he covered them both, weariness lying heavy on his shoulders. He tucked her body close to his, breathing in her scent, her warmth. He was exhausted. Never had he climaxed so hard, so deep. As though his seed were being jerked from his soul, rather than the tight sac beneath his cock.

“Mine,” he whispered the word as his grip tightened on her, exhaustion draining him. He was aware he made the claim, and he admitted it terrified him clear to his soul.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Merinus awoke, tender and groggy. She shifted in the bed, seeking the warmth that had held her through the night, but Callan was gone. Opening her eyes she blinked, stared up at the ceiling and tried to ignore the pressing need that still throbbed in her vagina. Damn, talk about a potent kiss. She licked her swollen lips experimentally. Callan had nibbled on them more than once, licked them. His tongue, the rough texture of it, the stimulating feel of abrasive velvet running over her skin, the memory of it caused her to shiver.

She needed a shower. Dried perspiration itched on her skin, made her feel grungy. The smell of sex, hot and wild, lingered on the air and on her body. She grimaced. Rising from the bed, she stepped gingerly over the cool hardwood floor, moving to the opened door on the far right of the room. A bathroom, complete with a large sunken tub and a brief written message on the counter greeted her. Bathe. Relax. Stay in the house. I’ll return soon with your things. So much for her camp, she sighed. After the hours it took to set it up so neatly, it might have been nice to actually use it for longer than a few hours. She wondered how long he had been gone, then decided it didn’t really matter. He would return soon enough, and she desperately needed that bath.

She ran the tub nearly full, adding a liberal portion of bubbling bath salts she found at the edge of the tub, then eased herself into the hot water. She washed her hair quickly, wrapped it in a towel then lay back against the rim to allow her body to soak. She glanced down her body, seeing the red abrasions on her skin, small sensitive points where his tongue had stroked her a bit roughly. Her breasts were still swollen with need, her nipples still hard.

She couldn’t understand it. The events of the day before seemed more like a dream than reality. But reality was the tenderness between her thighs, the flush on the smooth mound of her cunt, the sensitivity of her body. The need for Callan wasn’t as intense, as harsh as it had been the day before, but it still throbbed in her. She still ached for him. It made no sense.

“Merinus.” Sherra’s voice called through the closed door, her knock light. “Can I come in?”

Merinus checked the bubbles covering her, then sighed deeply.

“Yeah. Come on in.”

The other woman entered the room, concern marking her pretty features, lingering in her light blue eyes.

“If Callan’s DNA is lion, then what’s yours?” She didn’t bother to beat around the bush. There were

more than just Callan and she knew it.

Sherra sighed. She sat gracefully in a padded chair at the end of the tub.

“Snow cat,” she said quietly. “Dawn and Dayan’s mix is cougar. Tanner is Bengal. Taber is jaguar, Callan is lion.” She watched Merinus carefully, her expression composed, calm, but her eyes were shadowed.

“What’s happening to my body?” She would ask the questions of their DNA later. Right now, there were more pressing problems.

“It’s a mating, Merinus,” Sherra said gently. “Our tests aren’t conclusive yet. Doc’s still working on it. But it seems pheromones, chemistry is the culprit. Yours matched with Callan’s and his body reacted to it. There’s still so much we don’t know about our bodies. Aren’t certain of. Unfortunately, we’ll need more samples. I had hoped to catch you before your bath to begin them. Your body will give us more answers than Callan’s can, as the mix of his semen and your body’s secretions are contained within you.”

Fear raced through her now.

“I’m not on birth control,” she whispered, her voice trembling. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of that before.

“Don’t worry,” Sherra rushed to reassure her. “The semen of our males has never been compatible with a female before. But just to be on the safe side, the injection doc gave you last night would prevent conception, should the reaction have changed that.”

“And this ‘thing’ going on with my body?” she asked her hesitantly. “Will it stop?”

Sherra sighed roughly. “We think so. Callan’s semen seems to have a counteracting agent in it, but it appears very slow acting. In time, I believe it will go away.”

“Man, I really stepped into it this time,” Merinus breathed wearily, closing her eyes at the problem she now found herself steeped in. “This is not good.”

“Perhaps for Callan it is,” Sherra said softly. “He was growing very angry, very hopeless, Merinus. He leads us. Protects us. Maybe this was what he needed. I can’t say he was relaxed when I saw him this morning, but he now plans for more than just his death.”

“And what are those plans?” Merinus asked her, watching her through the steam of the bath.

“Providing for you. Protecting you,” Sherra informed hesitantly.

“No.” Merinus shook her head fiercely. “This is just a story. This chemical thing will go away, and so will I. I can’t stay here. And if he goes back, then I go to the next story. This is not permanent.”

“That’s what you think.” Callan stood in the doorway, his face dark, the savage lines pulled into a mask of male arousal and hard purpose. “You cannot leave me now, Merinus. No matter what either of us would wish.” He glanced at Sherra, the look hard, commanding.

“I need those samples, Callan. Quickly,” she told him as she came to her feet. “And Merinus is sore—”

“I do not need you to tell me my responsibilities, Sherra.” He flashed her a sharp look. “I have always seen them through.”

“Of course you have,” Sherra said worriedly. “When she’s finished, please, we need her in the lab.”

“I’m not a guinea pig,” Merinus burst out. “I won’t be poked and prodded at incessantly.”

She flushed as Callan arched a brow sarcastically. Then her body heated as her gaze skipped to his thighs, then back up. He was aroused. Ready for her. Again. Her body heated up further, her blood pumping harshly through her veins.

“Leave, Sherra. I will have her there soon for your tests.” Callan moved aside, allowing the woman to escape, then closing the door behind him.