Cat Style (Stray Cats) (3 page)

Penelope withdrew two glasses from the cupboard and filled each glass with water. “Here.” She gripped her own tumbler. “You two seem so happy and perfect for each other.”

Hayden leaned against the countertop. She clutched the glass in both hands. “Joel and Ascher might be in their human forms right now, but they are still the sweet and loveable cats we adopted. That affection doesn’t die when they shift. It magnifies and gets better. I know, it’s hard to believe your eyes. One day a cat, the next a man. It’s nuts.”

Penelope turned Hayden’s words over in her mind. She did see the protective streak in Ascher -- the same one in Fang. Same eyes, same good nature. But he’d become a man who said they needed to mate for him to survive.

“Look at things this way. You’re the one to break him in and teach him what you like in bed.” Hayden wriggled her brows. “Definitely a perk.”

She hadn’t thought about Ascher having sex. Well, no, she had because he wanted to have sex with her. The idea of getting a virgin stunned and amused her.

“I don’t question the witch’s magic. We were chosen for a reason.” Hayden lowered her voice. “There’s something you do need to know. If you mate, even if you fall out of love with him, he’s yours forever. The magic binds him in his cat form to you. He’s not taking mating lightly.”

Penelope wobbled on her feet. Wow. A lot rested on her shoulders. If she turned him down, he’d be hunted for his special blood. If she mated with him to help him, then decided she wasn’t in love with him, he’d revert back to a cat and be hers until God only knew when. Or she could admit she loved him no matter what he looked like.

The kitchen door opened, and Joel stepped into the room. “Are you two conspiring against us?” He grinned. “Staging a coup?”

“Just girl talk.” Penelope placed her nearly full glass of water on the counter. “When you said the shifters had to bind together, do you mean like once you find each other?”

“I’d prefer to stay close to my brother, yes, but we won’t impose.”

“Stay here. I’ve got the guest room, and someone needs to get Ascher some clothes. Pink sparkly kitties just isn’t his style.” Penelope waved. “Come on. It’s this way.”

As she escorted her new friends through the house, a thought occurred to her. In the space of a few hours her life had turned upside down. Did she regret what had happened? Not a chance. Yes, the situation was strange, but oddly enough she understood. Hayden’s words resonated in her mind. They’d been chosen for a reason. Maybe that connection she felt with him wasn’t a figment of her imagination. She needed to talk to Ascher and find out what this mating business was all about.

Ascher stood before the mirror in Penelope’s bedroom and appraised his human body. He’d been in her private space so many times but never as a man. Being there felt right. He eased the sweatshirt up over his head and tossed the garment onto the bed. He didn’t mind wearing her clothes -- they carried her scent.

The more he looked at himself, the more he liked what he saw. He turned and stared at the pale skin stretching across his frame. The hours running laps through the house, chasing dust bunnies and the bouncy ball toys, had paid off.

Goddess. He wanted Penn to find him attractive and want him the way he craved her. He sighed. The more he wanted her, the more she seemed to not believe him. He needed more than a kiss and a snuggle. He needed his mate.

Behind him, the door opened. Penelope slipped into the room and smiled. Her cheeks streaked red, and she hugged her tablet to her body. “Hey.” She tucked a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. “I want to apologize about earlier. We should’ve talked more, but to tell you to stop kissing me when we weren’t doing anything wrong… it… I shouldn’t have.”

“You were protecting yourself. I’m glad you did stop me. I want our time together to be special.” Ascher crossed the space and took the tablet from her hands. The electronic device ended up on the dresser and he cupped her jaw. “What’s happening between us is a big change. Even I don’t understand all of it.”

“It’s a good change.” She leaned closer to him. “I wanted to show you something on the tablet, but it can wait. This can’t.” She rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him. Penn eased her palms over the planes of his chest, eliciting many sensations in his body -- his blood heated, tingles zapped him from within and relaxation settled around him. His cock responded and thickened behind the constraining fabric. His cat rejoiced. His mate wanted him.

Penelope bit his bottom lip and moaned. She stayed in his embrace. “My knees are weak,” she whispered.

“Show me how to love you.” Ascher kissed her again, drowning in her sweetness. He caressed the satiny skin around her middle, beneath her sweatshirt. The more he touched her and tasted her, the more he wanted her. He dragged her to his chest and walked her to the bed. He wanted her bared for him and beneath him as he made her his.

Penn reached behind her head and removed the elastic from her hair. The dark tresses spilled over her shoulders. She eased her shirt over her head and whipped the garment somewhere behind her. Her breasts pressed against the lace of her bra. He preferred when she went without the pesky lingerie.

Ascher palmed her chest, loving the feel of her satiny skin under his hand. He’d dreamed about touching her. Reality pleased him so much more than dreams. He flicked his thumbs across her nipples.

“Ascher,” she groaned. Penn tipped her head back, exposing her throat.

He trailed his fingers over her neck. She felt so delicate in his arms. “Tell me what I need to do.”

She disengaged from him and shoved her yoga pants to the floor. She crawled on the bed in nothing but her panties and bra, then flopped onto her back. “You come to me and let me touch you.” She spread her legs. “Please?”

“You don’t have to beg.” Ascher grabbed the waistband of his pants and tore, shredding the elastic as he pushed the pants to the floor. The cool air in the room swirled around his dick. Oh, Goddess. He’d wanted Penn for so long, but he’d never last at this rate.

She sat up and reached between his legs. “Let me please you.”

She kissed her way up from his belly to his pecs. Penelope crawled to the end of the bed and sank to her knees. From her position on the end of the bed, she stared up at him. From his knee up to his hip, she kissed and touched. The moves elicited a deep groan from his chest. When she brushed her cheek against his cock, he jerked forward. He’d never felt anything so sexy in his life.

Ascher couldn’t move. Instead he focused on her. The woman rocked his world. She flattened her hands on his upper thighs and flicked her tongue over the blunt head of his erection.

“Shit,” he murmured. He threaded his fingers into her hair. Butterflies swarmed in his belly. He shifted his hips, easing his dick in and out of her mouth. “Feels good.” Fixated on her, he fought to catch his breath.

Damn. He knew this wouldn’t last long. The climax was too close. The more she took him in and sucked him, the closer he came to losing control.

“Stop, sweetheart.” He eased his cock from between her lips. Time to let nature take over. Ascher spread her out before him. Goddess, she turned him on. He moved on instinct. With one hand, he stroked his erection and used the other hand to tug on her panties.

“I need you,” he growled.

“Yeah.” Penelope helped him shove her underwear down her legs. She reached between her legs and caressed her pussy.

“Holy shit.” He shivered and crawled between her legs. In one thrust, he entered her. The moment he sank into her sweet heat, his head swam. She might not understand their connection or the magic, but the magic didn’t lie. He kissed her upper chest, then made his way to her throat. The urge to bite her overwhelmed him.

“Mine,” he roared.

Penn nodded again. She wound her arms around his neck and met him thrust for thrust. She hooked her ankles together at the small of his back.

“Ascher. Oh,” she moaned. She arched beneath him and exposed her throat again.

Time to give in to the primal need to claim his mate. He buried his teeth in her neck, enough to break the skin and leave his mark. When he finished, he gasped, “Mate.” Ascher surged deep inside her and shivered. He emptied his seed in her pussy. From head to toe, everything tingled.

Penelope’s tiny whimpers broke through his orgasmic haze. She relaxed beneath him and tugged him to her chest. “Ascher, baby, there’s no way that was your first time.”

“It was.” He pulled out of her, missing her heat. Ascher slumped beside her on the bed. “But I can’t wait to do it again.”

“Me, too,” she said, laughing. “But next time with a rubber. I should’ve thought of it before, but you swept me away.”

“We were both caught up.” Damn it. He’d forgotten about protection. Then again, the idea of her having his children didn’t sound bad. Not at all. Still. He respected her wishes.

“Ascher?” She draped her arm across his belly and rolled into his side. “You do realize whatever we did could be heard in the guest room.”

He closed his eyes and chuckled. “Oh, well.” He could only imagine what his brother and Hayden had overheard. The weight around his shoulders had lifted. Penelope belonged to him. No one could break their bond.

Now he had to convince her just how much he loved her, and that their love could last forever.

Penelope rolled onto her back and blinked her eyes open. For a moment, she forgot where she was. A warm body pressed to her side. She knew the smell -- Ascher.

“How long have you been awake?”

“Since six, like every morning,” he replied. “I’ve got a schedule. Six a.m. means dinner time.” He rolled her, pressing her back to his chest. “Right now, I don’t want dinner.”

“You don’t?” She hooked her leg around his, opening her pussy up to the erection sliding between her ass cheeks. She’d forgotten just how sexy a hot man could be in the morning.

He kissed her shoulder and wrapped his arm around her. Ascher rocked his hips until his erection tapped the mouth of her cunt. “I want you,” he whispered in her ear.

“Take me.” Like she’d actually resist him? She arched her back and slipped her hands between her legs. His erection throbbed against her pussy lips. She caressed his dick. Oh, hell. Whoever created Ascher had endowed him well, and she hadn’t known because he was in his cat form.

Ascher surged inside her and grunted. “Damn.” He grasped her hips. “Love you.”

Penelope froze for a split second. He’d said the word “love.” The night before, he’d said she was his mate and used the word “mine.” Heat slid through her body. She cared about him, more than ever. Was it love? She groaned and shifted her hips.

“Oh, Goddess.” He pressed his face to the soft spot between her shoulder and her neck. “Mine.” He held her tight. “Come for me. Come with me.”

She shivered. Everything inside her tightened, then splintered. She closed her eyes and embraced the orgasm. Things with Ascher seemed to happen fast. Crazy fast.

“I love you, sweetheart.” He brushed her hair away from her neck. “I don’t care who knows or what they say.”

“I believe you.” From deep in her heart, she did. She sagged into the bedding again. Sleep filled her brain. She wasn’t sure how long she’d dozed until a knock at the door jarred her awake.

“Hey, you two. The walls are paper thin.” Joel’s voice came from the other side of the door.

“We know,” Ascher called.

“Get your ass out of bed. I brought you some decent clothes. I left them in the car last night, but they’ll work.”

Ascher snorted. “Typical brother.” He kissed Penelope’s temple. “He thought ahead, then forgot what he brought to help out.”

“I don’t know. You looked pretty hot in those sweats.” She flattened her hand on his naked chest. “You’ve got wicked style.”

“I got you.” He slid out of bed and stood. His naked ass flexed with each step as he crossed the room. “You’re all I need.”

His words touched her heart. “Don’t take forever.”

“What’s the hold up?” Joel called. “Let’s go.”

“For a guy who almost lost his life a few days ago, he’s pushy.” Penelope wrapped the sheets around her body. “Let him in so you can get dressed and go.”

“This is why you’re my mate. You keep me grounded while making me feel invincible.” Ascher poked his head out the door. “Joel.” He reached for something she couldn’t see, then brought a duffle bag into the room. “My brother is the perpetual Boy Scout.” He unrolled the clothes. “But he’s saving my butt.”

Penelope shook her head and stepped into fresh panties. She donned a bra and T-shirt, then grabbed the first pair of jeans she could find. A shiver raced up her spine. She debated shrugging off the feeling.

“If that guy wants to hurt you, he can’t… right?” She unrolled a pair of socks. “He’s in jail, right?”

“So Joel says.” Ascher tipped his head to the side. “Why? What are you thinking?”

“I’ve got this strange feeling.”

“Like what?”

“It’s odd.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t think you should go.”

“You felt it, too. Like we’re being watched?” Ascher knelt at her feet and held both of her hands in his. “Talk to me.”