Hunted: A Claiming Novella (The Claiming) (7 page)

Chapter 6

Ryon found an empty room somewhere away
from the crowded ballroom and pulled them inside it. He was fuming, so angry he
could throw his fist through the wall.

“What in the hell do you think you’re
doing?” He paced a tight circle before snatching Penelope’s wrist when she
started to move away. “I don’t think so. You’re not going anywhere until we
talk.”

“Talk, talk, talk. That’s all you want
to do,” she said blithely. “You are being far too serious, Ryon.”

He froze in place like a statue.

She called him Ryon. She’d actually used
his name.

She kept talking, having not realized
his stunned countenance.

“Truly, there is no need for this macho
behavior. You’re acting like a right mad Ava.”

Ava was a common slur for Avagarian and
it meant something close to heathen. It was considered the lowliest of insults.
However, hearing that deep insult coming from Penelope’s pretty mouth in that
soft, feminine voice of hers didn’t bother him at all. He actually found his
mouth twitching to keep from laughing.

“And in front of the king, no less.
You’re acting as if you’ve already claimed me.” She was agitated and flushed,
working into a tizzy with her hands planted firmly on her hips. “Listen to me,
because I have the gossip for you, General. You are not my husband, you have
not claimed me, and you do not control me.”

“You don’t have to tell me what I
already know,” he said.

She faltered, then carried on, “Who
knows how many men will be at the Claiming for me—”

He laughed harshly. “You plan on having
that many?”

It might be a low blow to some. Not to
Penelope. “I have a duke willing to fight for me and hordes of fans. Truly, we
have no idea how many will come, and don’t pretend that isn’t the truth. And to
think you have the right to grab my arm and bully me. Just so you can talk to
me is simply outrageous. Tell me, are you out of your mind?”

Ryon waited a breath to see if she had
anything more to say. Her arched eyebrow and peeved glare stared back at him.

He looked at her flushed face and felt
an equal warmth bloom in his ribcage. He wanted to kiss her—to make love to her
’till neither one of them could move a muscle. Tingles formed at the base of
his spine as blood pumped to places he didn’t want.

“I am out of my mind.” He spoke between
clenched teeth. “And it’s your fault.”

Her glare became murderous. “You would
blame me! Typical man. Nothing but a brute who can’t take responsibility.”

He had to shake his head to try to
understand that one. “Can’t take responsibility? Pen, I’m the General of the
Tarlèan Army. I assure you, I
excel
at responsibility.”

Her lips pursed and he thought he’d
stumped her, then she opened her mouth. It was never-ending.

“I don’t want you to be at my
Claiming
this weekend.” She crossed her arms and looked
away. Her dismissal of him was like a stinging slap to the face. He didn’t like
that. Didn’t like that at all.

Ryon, not to be outdone by her pouting,
placed a fist above her shoulder where she stood by the door.

“No,
you d
--don’t!”
she sputtered, trying to duck away. Ryon trapped her with his other fist above
her shoulder. When she moved to duck out of his arms, he slammed his hips into
hers. No hiding his erection now. Her eyes flew wide at the feel of him and a
pretty blush colored her cheeks. He liked the look. It was exactly how she’d
looked after he’d made her come. His cock leapt at the thought, remembering the
slick feel of her wetness on his fingertips, of her potent scent, which no
matter how many times he seemed to wash his hands wouldn’t go away. And when it
finally had, he couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“I do not have the patience for this,”
he ground out. He could smell her—Lord, why did she have to smell so bloody
good? He’d never cared about a woman’s scent before, but hers drove him mad,
and worse, it made is ball ache to be emptied.

Without warning, she covered his cock
with her hand. Their gazes locked, his heart leaping like galloping stallions
down a rocky pass. “What are you—
”

He didn’t even get to finish the
question before she squeezed him. A gargle sound escaped him. The pleasure
spiked through him all at once, stealing the breath from his lungs. Just as
quickly, she released him.

“You’re hard,” she stated,
matter-of-factly.

What was she playing at? He couldn’t
tell, but she was being deceptively cool. And he didn’t like it.

“Quite long, too. The women must like
that.”

“You say ‘the women’ like they’re a
specific group.” Sweat formed on his brow. Strain flexed his muscles until they
were tense. All because of her touch.

What would she do? What did she want?

He wanted her to touch him. He wanted it
with such potency he wouldn’t dare admit it. Especially not to her. If she knew
what kind of power she had over him…he’d never regain his footing. She was too
strong and she needed someone just as strong to match pace with her. That’s why
they were perfect together.

“I’m referring to all the women who’ve
had the privilege of feeling your big cock pillaging their little quims.” A wry
smile tipped her mouth, doing crazy things to his system.

“Soon, you’ll be one of them.” Ryon
dropped his head, needing to kiss her. He ground his hips into her—a direct
message. But she kept her cheek turned away and her mouth out of reach. If she
but gave him a few strokes, he could come.

She gasped at what he said, the sound
soft and sexy. Her eyes rolled up to meet his and they dazzled mischievously.
“Do you really think so? I’ll have to admit,” she whispered conspiratorially,
“I’ve never been with a man so…large.”

His chest puffed up, his ego soaring at
her words.

Yes, he thought. My cock will make its
mark on you; just as I will.

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” he
said, garnering her attention.

She cupped his manhood against,
squeezing it until he shuddered. Hard edges scraped down the length of him over
his trousers as she teased him with her long nails. Then, she stopped and lay
her hand over him again, a gentle covering.

His voice was significantly deeper as he
continued. “What I’m worried about, little devil,
is
seeing if my cock fits in your mouth.”

Her eyes darkened wickedly. He could
smell her arousal, the heady erotic scent a potent aphrodisiac. “I thought we’d
already discovered that. I remember you fitting quite…snugly.”

His eyes slammed closed at her apt
description, an expression of pain crossed his face. “True. But see, we haven’t
done the best experiment. If your mouth is as tight as it is now, how are you
going to handle all of me?” His cock leapt in her hand and she squeezed him
again, sending a flurry of undeniably wonderful pressure to his cock. Unable to
keep from kissing her any longer, he leaned down and found her cheek. Her
breathing was as erratic as his, he was happy to learn. A sheen of perspiration
coated her neck and he doubted it was from the lukewarm heat in the air.

“Wicked, wicked man,” she said, her
voice sounding weakened and defeated.

When he’d kissed all along her cheek, he
moved to her jawline, then up to her neck. He was getting lost in her. She
consumed his thoughts and mind. All he wanted was to get her naked and take
her. She wasn’t just any woman; she was something special. And he needed to
claim her.

“Pen,” he groaned, his voice cracking.

Her hand cupped him fully, fingers
tracing the lines of him. As much as he hated it, he snatched her wrist.
“Stop.” A drop of sweat dripped down his temple.

“Why?” She looked wild and sexy and
beautiful.

He struggled to find reason. “Because I
have to go back to the party. I have a speech to give and—”

She squeezed the head of his cock and
his hips jerked forward. “Damn it, Pen. You have to let me go.” His arse
muscles clenched to stave off the impending release he craved.

Her words were muffled. “Do I?” she
asked coyly, dreamy. She touched him again but this time softer. After only a
few seconds of this new, gentle caress, he realized he still might erupt. He
grabbed her wrist again.

“No,” he gritted out.

Her eyes snapped open, challenging.
“No?” she repeated, louder.

Bloody hell.

His gut sank as he realized he might
have just made a big mistake.

Penelope slammed her hands into his
chest shoving him back. “What the fuck, Pen?” he cursed.

But then she dropped to her knees and
his mouth dropped. She watched him with sultry,
fuck me
eyes as she
slowly pulled open his black leather belt. He had plenty of time to stop her.
But that thought didn’t spring to mind. Not for even a second.

He could see the slopes of her breasts
heaving as she panted, could see the gleam of wetness on her bottom lip.

Ziiiiiip
.

Down went his zipper.

Except for the rustle of clothes and
their heavy breathing there was no sound. Where had all his big speeches gone?
They’d abandoned him the moment she dropped to her knees. Lord, maybe even
sooner.

Warm, smooth fingers curled around his
cock. She made a cooing sound and rubbed her cheek against him. Puckered lips
and looking like she was in love, it was a hell of a sight. One he planned to
take to the grave with him.

But—real life intruded in a big way. He
had to put a stop to this. He was at a public, royal and military gathering. He
couldn’t get caught with Penelope sucking him off; it would be even more
devastating for her than for him. Plus, he remembered where this had gotten him
last time. And he wasn’t doing a renewal.

That’s what he told himself, but what
came out of his mouth was something else.

“If you don’t finish me and end this
now…” His threat hung in the hair. “I don’t have the—”
Control
, he
thought, but said, “
Time
to stay away all night. I have a speech to give
and a crowd to greet.”

“Hmm,” she mumbled. “Interesting.”

She sounded anything but.

She was staring at his cock having
finally tugged his trousers down to his ankles. The cooler breeze felt stark in
contrast to his blazing hot cock which was fully charged and ready to go. There
was nothing like the feeling of having a gorgeous woman look at your erect cock
like she was planning all the ways to make it come. He squared his hips, then
his shoulders, masculine posturing that posed his manhood to her. He wanted her
to see him, to see what she could have, to see how much pleasure he would give
her, if only she agreed to be his.

She made a ring around him with her
fingers and trailed them up and down his shaft. Stomach muscles bunched
violently as pleasure shot down to his balls and out through his cock where he
leaked.

She made sexy cooing sounds while
licking a long path up his cock. The wet, soft glide stole his attention. It
made him forget he was trying to get away from her addicting touch and back to
the party. It lasted for all of two seconds.

Until she said, “I would like to place a
bet.”

Up and down she stroked him, alternating
between hand and mouth, working him into a promising rhythm. Instead of
throwing his head back in ecstasy like he wanted to, he watched her carefully.
Not a bad sight for sore eyes.

“What kind of bet?” he managed to say.
“I don’t gamble.” Normally.

Stroke, stroke. “Let’s bet to see if I
can make you come. In less than five minutes.”

His eyes widened. “Brilliant idea. I’ll
take that bet to win, now begin.” With a growl in his voice he tucked a fist
around her long, blonde hair for grip. Now that he had her head under his
control he pushed his hips forward so his cock grazed her lips.

Sharp fingernails cut into his hips and
she pushed him back, chuckling softly. “What you haven’t realized yet, Ryon, is
that I’m in control here.”

His back snapped straight, though he
didn’t lose his grip in her hair. “That’s a load of lies.”

But she didn’t respond. She did
something far more wicked, and pleasurable, instead.

She opened her sweet mouth and wrapped
her wet, velvety tongue around his cock. Lapped and swirled around his
sensitive tip. Soft lips created a wet cocoon so heavenly—stifling his
meandering thoughts. A low groan escaped him as his breaths charged. Slowly, her
tongue stroked him and her mouth engulfed him, sliding further and further down
his shaft. Taking him all in. Her lips spread wide around his girth. The sight
of her pink lips wrapped around his shaft made his cock twitch with arousal.

This wouldn’t take long. Not that he was
proud of that. He’d been going on nothing but his hand and blue balls for days,
or rather, years, if you counted no sex. He
needed
this release.