Bad Cat Baby Blues (Shifter Squad Six 3) (16 page)

She gave up on holding herself back, her nails scrabbling at his thighs, pulling him closer. Ari rose up from her haunches to take him in further, watching him as he looked down at her, his delicious lips slightly parted, his breath coming in quick bursts. She took his cock deep, gagging on him a little as her nose slammed into his pubic bone, then pulling back to do it again until her eyes watered and he was groaning, shuddering in her grasp.

She blew him like it was supposed to be done. Wet, sloppy, needy and so good that she knew she’d carry that memory with her no matter what happened next. Hands snaking up him, she laid them flat on his abs as she needily sucked on him, until his strong hands sharply gripped her and pulled her up to her feet, her lips missing him as soon as he was out of her mouth.

This time, he’d let her control the scene, but only for so long.

“Hungry, aren’t you?” he teased, before Ari got to yelp again because his hands were kneading her ass, crushing her against his body.

“Yes,” she admitted, lost in the moment. “I want more!”

Ari mewled as Dutch pushed her down then, flipping her around on her hands and knees before she knew what hit her. Her nails scraped at the plastic cover of the mat as she pushed herself against him, loving the feel of his cock, wet with her saliva, running up her slit and then nestling between her ass cheeks as he held her by the hips. Dutch ground into her slowly, bucking with slow, taunting motions, not giving her what she wanted so easily. But one hand slipped around her body and it left a fiery trail, exploding when his fingertips flicked over her clit.

“Dutch,” she whined, every muscle straining. “Please!”

“I thought you were afraid of me. That you didn’t want this,” he said, his voice heavy with emotion.

Ari looked over her shoulder and as she was about to speak, he rolled his fingers over her clit again, leaving her gasping and wailing. He did it a few more times, a smirk curling the corner of his mouth, before she could spit out words through gritted teeth.

“I don’t think I’m wrong for being a little bit afraid. But I fucking want this.”

It was enough. Thank the spirits above. Ari was pushed down on her elbows, her face against the mat as he spread her cheeks with his hands, rough and calloused as the pads were. She was glistening for him, she knew that much, wet with need for his thick cock. Ari closed her eyes tightly as he moved the head down to her slit, adding pressure, letting her hang on the edge a moment longer.

When he finally thrust in, it was like heaven and hell met in her head and body all at the same time. Her vision blurred and she saw stars and flashes of light as he sunk into her with his full length. He stretched her painfully, but it was the kind of pain that promised imminent pleasure, and within a few strokes, her body responded as she knew it would.

Her hips started moving back against him, willing him to fill her faster, to sink to the hilt as soon as he could. She wanted that feeling of fullness, that complete knowledge that she couldn’t take any more, that she was at her peak and he was the one she’d needed to reach it.

Dutch’s hand was on her breasts again, tweaking her nipples, making them hard and swollen and screaming for his mouth. Everything he did drove her to insanity and it was a feeling she relished.

“That’s so good, baby,” he growled, and it was music to her ears.

She loved hearing him grunt, groan, hiss for her, just as she did for him. His pace picked up when he buried himself in her, stretching her to her limits and bottoming out in her, and it was exactly as darkly wonderful as she’d hoped. Her moans turned into screams and when she felt his hot mouth on her skin, his hands pulling her up to her knees with her body flat against his, she couldn’t withstand it any longer.

Her orgasm came like a violent force, ripping through her and shaking her to the core. A thousand explosions went off at once, her nails digging into his skin, scraping at his arms as he pumped into her. Ari’s pussy clenched around Dutch’s cock, milking it, urging him to his finish as well.

She threw her head back against his shoulder, her cheeks slick with tears she didn’t know were falling, and his breath scorched against her as he planted kisses on her neck and cheeks and lips.

“That’s it, baby. Cum for me,” he whispered, and she could only answer with a long, drawn-out scream that encompassed all the hurt and all the desire that she’d felt when she’d missed him.

Before her body could relax, she felt his arms growing tighter around her, his hips bucking into her faster and more feverishly. Ari strained to meet his lips, sucking his lower lip into her mouth and keeping it trapped between her teeth as he came with a snarl, the jaguar and the man both muddled in that noise. She could feel the way his cock spilled his load inside of her, the thick shaft throbbing intensely.

In a daze, Ari was lowered down on the mat, Dutch’s strong arms never letting her go. He curled her up against him and she was glad for it, the little spoon in a big, firm grasp as they both fought to catch their breath, their bodies hot and sweaty against one another.

She loved the way his fingertips traipsed along her arm, leaving a heated trail there, then moving lower over her sides and thighs. There were some stretch marks there that hadn’t been there the last time they’d been together, but if he noticed, he didn’t mention it. However, the sensation of his hand skittering over her stomach brought her out of her happy bubble, breaking it with a swift and painful edge.

What are you doing, Ari,
she asked herself, her eyes fluttering open.
You shouldn’t be here. Not with him. You can’t do this to yourself or Ro!

And that was all it took. She practically hurled herself out of his grasp, clambering for her clothes, her lips pressed together in a tight line.

“Did I do something?” Dutch asked, his voice still breathy and his eyes beckoning, making her want to go and crawl back into his arms and stay there until nothing bad in the world could threaten her or her baby.

But she couldn’t.

“No. I have to go. This shouldn’t have… this shouldn’t have happened,” she muttered, tears in her eyes as she was already throwing on her shirt and grabbing her bag, trying to locate her cell phone to call a cab.

One glance back at him told her that he wanted to say something, but her hasty departure left her tongue-tied to explain her behavior.

Put distance between you, it’ll be better then,
she tried to encourage herself, but it sounded like utter bullshit.

It hadn’t worked the last time, why would it now?
 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Dutch

Dutch stared at the door as it swung closed behind Ari in slack-jawed surprise, his mind whirring very slowly to catch up with the situation at hand. His body was still enjoying a blissful glow and he’d assumed Ari had been coiled up in that moment with him, but evidently not. For a second, his will faltered as Dutch hiked himself up to sit, reaching for the nearest item of clothing that he could.

Fuck that. I can’t let this happen again,
a voice said inside of him, firm and undeniable.

If there’d been doubt in his mind before that she still harbored feelings for him, she’d confirmed as much with what had transpired in the training room. His nose still hurt like a bitch as did his side, but it had been worth it. He couldn’t let her get away again.

Determined, he tossed on his clothes and slipped on his boots, taking off at a dead run after her. He knew where she’d be going and he’d catch her. There could be no other way.

By the time he’d gotten his motorcycle and thrown his helmet on, rounding the corner on the powerful beast, he saw Ari getting into a cab and it speeding off. His jaw set, Dutch sped after the cab, keeping some distance but committing to the moment. He’d confront her and get her to tell him exactly what the hell was going on and what she was really running from.

The drive took a while and by the time the makeshift convoy reached Ari’s house, Dutch was equal parts enraged at the situation and annoyed at his own behavior. He should have stopped her earlier, or at least spoken up when she moved to leave. But as usual, his words seemed to fail him when he needed them the most.

Dutch slowed the bike down as she got out of the cab, Ari practically running into the yard of a small, one-story home nestled between dilapidated buildings. Hers was kept in good shape, though Dutch could see a few spots where it could use a man’s hand. A man who didn’t fear heights and knew his way around a hammer, anyway.

He slowed the bike and parked it in front of one of the neighboring buildings. The closer he got to walking up to the door and talking to her, the worse he felt for following her. It was an invasion and had she not made it clear that she didn’t want him in her life? Conflicting emotions roiling in him, Dutch was almost about to shove the helmet on and head back to the Squad Six apartment to drink himself into a stupor when another cab pulled up.

The front door opened and Dutch witnessed a woman stepping out, elderly but fresh-faced, beaming a smile so big half the block could have been blinded by it. And Ari appeared at the door as well, looking radiant, at peace. But what really caught Dutch’s eye was the bundle on her hip, his chubby little hands reaching for the older woman as she leaned in to give him a peck on the cheek.

Dutch’s world froze. In slow-motion, he watched the woman retreat and disappear in the car before it took off. His mind was blank as he stood by the bike, and he must have screamed her name because Ari paused at the door, her green eyes filling with horror as she looked at him crossing the street and then through the yard toward her. Ari threw the door shut before Dutch could make it there, but his fist thrummed against the wood hard and heavy, solid knocks that coincided with the beating of his heart.

“Ari, fucking open up!” he snarled, more vicious than he’d ever heard himself.

His head was humming like there were waves crashing in it, colliding with one another and drowning out any thought, any reason.

It can’t be…

“Ari, open this fucking door or I swear to the spirits above, I
will
break it down!” he roared, inciting a dog to bark somewhere down the street.

He was about to slam his hand into the door again when it opened suddenly and he came face to face with the muzzle of a gun, trained on his forehead. Dutch grinned, a hollow smile that didn’t reach his frenzied eyes.

“Is this what it is? Is this how I get to find out?!” he asked, feeling more energy trundle through him than ever before.

His eyes were solid gold now and so were Ari’s as she stared at him, half-terrified, half-prepared to put that bullet in his brain. He didn’t care.

“Answer me, Ariadne!” he said, his hackles raised, his hands itching to roll into fists.

He would never hurt her, nor anyone else in the building. But the emotions that were roiling through him left him a bundle of nerves and reactions, far disassociated from any rational voice he might have had.

“I don’t know what the fuck you want me to say!” she said, her voice shuddering and the tremor carrying into her hands.

Dutch stepped closer once, twice, until his chest was against the handgun and he could slam the door shut behind him. His face was all hard lines, jagged edges, and corners while hers was drained of color, her lips pressed thin.

“Who was that in your arms?” he questioned, forcing calm into his voice, though his eyes did not change.

But he did not need to wait for her answer. He smelled the child. Not only that, but he could smell
his
child. The moment the scent hit his nostrils, he had no doubt. How could she have hidden it was a mystery he had no time to dwell on. Dutch’s head twisted in the direction he sensed the smell from and he peeled himself away from Ari, not giving even a second to wonder if she’d go through with shooting him.

“You can’t! I won’t let you hurt him,” Ari squealed, springing ahead of him and trying to block his path into the living room.

He grabbed her by the arms, firmly but not with intent to harm, setting her aside and out of his path as he would a bothersome piece of furniture. When he stepped into the room, locking eyes with the child on the floor, who was cuddling a soft toy of some sort, his universe crumbled and rebuilt itself all in one second.

Dutch’s mouth fell open and he stared at the raven-haired, bright-eyed boy, looking up at him with curiosity and maybe a hint of recognition that his young brain could not yet process. There was a kinship there between them, immediate and strong and Dutch only snapped out of his stunned silence as his feet carried him over and he took the boy in his arms, gently, as if he were cradling something he thought would shatter to pieces with a mere touch.