Savage Sanctuary 2: Panther Moon (9 page)

Four giant pillars separated the edge of the covered patio from the decking of the

pool. Trea leaned against one, absorbing its coolness against the heat of her bare arm.

Her body temp was hotter than usual and in deference to that, she wore a light, stretchy tank top along with her most comfy jersey shorts. A cool evening breeze blew across her body and she inhaled deeply the scents of the countryside. The water in the pool caught the lights of stars hanging overhead.

Beautiful.

Despite everything she felt at home here and wondered why her father had been so

determined to stay away. Stubbornness, she supposed. He’d always been a stubborn

man. A smile of remembrance lifted her lips but then she went still at a familiar

coughing sound. The panther was black, slinking from the perimeter of the shadows.

He approached the edge of the pool, circling to the deep end, a picture of muscular

grace that fairly stole her breath. Trea sucked in a breath, held it, and then he looked at her. Hudson’s distinctive, ever-appealing scent filled her head. She would forever

recognize him that way but then he pierced her with a glance from pale blue eyes and

her knees went weak. His strength called to her. His power and magnetism compelled

her to go to him but she couldn’t. Frozen in that moment, she watched as he growled

low, his fangs flashing white in the darkness.

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In the next instant he stretched, the very image of lethal grace, as his body morphed into the image of the man who’d made such savage love to her just a few, short nights ago. He crouched at the pool’s edge, his gaze connected with hers, seconds before he

stood to his full height. Hudson dived seamlessly into the pool then surfaced to stand waist-deep in the water. He shoved back his wet hair and held out his hand.

“Join me.”

Trea shook herself free of the stunning image of him, shaking her head as she

moved to the edge of the pool. “I don’t have a suit.”

Hudson flashed a wicked grin. “Not a problem.”

As of a few days ago, only her mother had seen her naked but Hudson was her

man, her mate. She wasn’t going to be a silly cow about this. Nudity was common

among her people but
her
nudity? That was something else altogether. Nope. Time to be brave. Mustering her courage, she sucked in a breath, grabbed the hem of her tank top and pulled it over her head. Upon connecting with the cool, evening air, her nipples

tightened.

Hudson’s eyes were on her like a wicked caress making her belly tighten in

reaction. Not giving herself time to think, she stepped out of her shorts and panties.

Bravely, she faced him trying desperately to ignore the heat that prickled over her flesh.

A pulse throbbed in her pussy and the need to tighten her thighs fairly overwhelmed

her. Tension raced over her along with a healthy dose of sudden modesty. Did she look needy? Desperate? Gods!

“Come to me, Trea.”

The dark demand shot through her veins like an aphrodisiac. Gingerly she stepped

closer to the edge and before she could chicken out she slid into the warm water.

Instantly his hard body pressed her into the side of the pool as he took her mouth with a voracious hunger. His tongue swept the moist heat of her mouth and without

thinking, she responded, entranced. Hudson’s firm, muscular chest teased the hard tips of her breasts making her ache to press closer. His thigh insinuated itself between hers 60

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to press against the melting heat of her pussy. Unable to resist she moved against it, gasping his name as her body responded. Fire swept through her veins threatening to

take her under and her clit throbbed as it pressed and rubbed against his hot flesh.

Then sanity returned in a rush.

Gathering her resolve, she broke the kiss and turning her head from him, pushed

feebly at his shoulders. “Hey! Not fair. I have a bone to pick with you, buddy.”

Hudson drew back and blinked.

“Don’t give me that look,” she continued giving him what she hoped was her

fiercest glare. “You ignore me for days. Move into the guest room and blow me off. I’m all alone here, Hudson. You say I’m your mate—”

“You are.”

“Shh. I mean it. Let me talk for once.” Hudson’s lips turned up but she ignored that.

Why was he grinning at her? Trea sighed. “I don’t like all these mixed signals, Hudson.

I might have been sheltered my entire life but I’m not a pushover either. I want a man who says what he means and means what he says. You, my man, are just wishy-washy.”

His eyebrows went up. Hudson crossed his arms over his chest. “Wishy-washy?”

“Yes. You are.” Once her initial outrage was spent, confusion took its place. “Look.

I’m just floundering here. One minute you are holding me, kissing me. We had hot,

wild, monkey sex and then nothing. It was my first time, Hudson. Tell me the truth

here. Do you even want me?”

Forcing herself to meet his astonished gaze was the
hardest t
hing. Why had she blurted everything out this way? Dummy.

Hudson took her shoulders in a strong grip and leaned down until he was

practically nose to nose with her. “Do you have any fucking idea how hard it has been to keep my hands off you? Do you have a freakin’ clue how badly I want to fuck you

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night and day, 24/7? Hm? Even now, I want to turn you around, bend you over and

fuck you like a crazy man.”

Stunned, she could only blink at him.

Hudson wasn’t finished. Not by a long shot. Releasing her abruptly, he shoved his

fingers through his damp hair. Shadows edged his features, and again, Trea sensed the aura of danger that emanated from this man. A muscle worked in his jaw as he looked

away. “I’ve been trying for days to stay away from you.”

“Why?”

A tense moment fell and then he faced her, his eyes narrowed. “I screwed up.”

“How? I don’t understand.”

“That first night. Hell, you were shattered by everything that had happened.

Grieving. I shouldn’t have fucked you. It wasn’t well done of me.”

She laid a hand on his chest and felt him flinch as if she’d struck him. “No. That’s

not true.”

“It started out as comfort. I’ll admit that but damn it, I was selfish. I took advantage of you when you were low. It was the best sex I’ve ever had in my life but it was

wrong.”

Trea’s heart thumped. She smiled, instant sympathy taking her over. “It was the

best sex I’ve ever had too.”

He laughed, a short bark of sound. “Your
only
sex, honey.”

Gathering her courage, she moved close enough to feel the heat of his body wrap

her up. “I needed you, Hudson and you gave me what I craved in that moment. It was

comfort but more. Does that make sense? How could I hold that against you?”

“I was an ass. It was wrong.”

“How could it be wrong if I asked for it, wanted it? Yes, it all happened fast but

that’s life, isn’t it?” To emphasize her point, she pressed tiny kisses over his chest and 62

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along his neck and jaw. His arms went around her as a heavy breath left his lungs. He settled his mouth on the top of her head.

“Aw, honey. I still say it was wrong of me but I figure this won’t be the last time I’ll fuck up where you are concerned.”

Trea lifted her head and grinned up at him. “I figure you’re right about that. Guess

I’ll just have to deal, huh?”

Hudson kissed her forehead and then the tip of her nose. “I moved into the guest

room to put some distance between us. I want you so badly I can almost taste it but

rushing you isn’t an option. Your comfort, your needs have to come first. You have a

long battle coming in the next few days and weeks and the change is a violent one. I

want you to preserve your strength. Tomorrow we bury your parents. It’s going to be

hard for you. I just want you to know I can be thoughtful. It’s killing me but I can be considerate.”

Emotion churned heavily through her mind, catching up her heart along the way.

His concern for her was evident and she sensed that Hudson wasn’t a man given to lies or half-truths. He was concerned for her and didn’t want to be pushy. Though it would be simple for him, considering his size and strength, to simply take what he wanted, he refused to do that. To him, she was a priority. Moved, she stroked his heavily muscled arm then finally settled her palm against his face. “I’m not a china doll, Hudson,” she whispered. “I might seem helpless considering what you know of me but I’m tougher

than you think. Yes, I was grieving that first night and more tired than I can say but I could have told you to stop. You would have respected that. The thing is, I didn’t say
no
for a reason. I wanted you and, more than that, I
needed
you too.”

Hudson took her hand and kissed her fingers. His eyes closed. “It seems we have a

lot to learn about each other,” he murmured.

“I think we have time, don’t you? Lots of time.”

Intimacy lay heavy around them and for a second there she’d almost forgotten

where they were. Hudson’s eyes swept her body. She shivered in response.

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“Come,” he said, leading her through the pool into the shallow end. In her wildest

dreams she never imagined stepping naked from a warm pool with a hot man but

oddly, it didn’t bother her. Together they moved, dripping, onto the patio and Hudson released her long enough to fetch two big towels from some shelves nestled along one

wall. Casually, he tossed one onto the foot of the enormous chaise then turned to her holding the other in one, big fist. His gaze lowered down the front of her naked body then back up again sending a responsive shiver through her. Trea swallowed hard and

unable to resist, looked down the length of his body. His casual stance was a total lie.

Hudson’s stiff cock stretched upward from his groin, his heavy balls drawn up tightly beneath.

Entranced.

Trea was so entranced by the look of him that she forgot her own discomfort, her

own nakedness. Unable to resist, she reached out to grip his cock. The long, thick stalk was damp but warm. Hot even. Watching his eyes slam shut, she realized her power

over him.

His reaction prompted her to exploration as she slid her hand down to capture his

heavy balls with her fingers. Hudson sucked in a breath and then a low moan broke

free as she fondled him, stroked and touched. She fisted her other hand around his

heavy erection, dragging it repeatedly over the burning hot flesh. Sliding up over the thick head, then drew her thumb lazily over the crown to gather up a tiny drop of

moisture at the very end.

Hudson’s big body trembled.

Emboldened, she traced seductive circles there while maintaining a teasing hold on

his balls. Her mouth watered for a taste of him as his scent filled her head and her

memories took her back to that first night with him. Overcome by the whip of power

that swept through her, Trea pressed open-mouthed kisses to his chest, licking and

sucking that firm flesh. Deep within Hudson’s body a low growl gathered and then

burst through the heavy night air. Inwardly she smiled then gently scraped one nipple 64

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with her teeth. Her gums tingled, another indication that her time was fast approaching.

Deep inside her body, the warmth of fur, her beast, stretched, eager to break free. Her pussy throbbed, needing to be filled by this man who took such tender care of her.

Trea’s inner thighs dampened as her body catapulted into readiness. She wanted him

there, deep inside her, thrusting, pounding. Savage pleasure swept her along with need.

Making another feral sound, Hudson dropped the towel he held and thrust his

fingers through her hair, his grip on her scalp, firm. “You’re dry, I think.”

“Uh-uh. Wet. I’m wet, Hudson,” she whispered. “Gods, I love touching you. Can I

taste you?” She looked up, saw the intensity burning in his eyes and knew his need

matched her own.

“You’re killin’ me.”

She smiled. “Can’t have that now, can we?”

When had this contrary little streak of bravado been born? Maybe it was born

during their first meeting when Hudson had pinned her to the forest floor and told her she made him hungry. It could have happened when he fucked her that first night and

took away, for just awhile, her pain. Didn’t matter now. She wanted what she wanted

and wasn’t about to hold back now.

Hudson slid his fingers from her hair to trace her neck and shoulders. A shiver

shook her but then he wrapped her up in the heat of his arms drawing her against his

body. Reaching between them, he gently removed her hands from his cock. “Let’s save

this for later, sweetheart,” he murmured. “I’m ready to go off like a rocket and, I don’t know about you but I want this to last.” His hands found her ass and when he

manipulated her, squeezing gently, it was her turn to almost lose it. She sucked in a sharp breath, her head dropping back like a broken flower stem as his cock rubbed

evocatively over her drenched pussy. She needed him now. Needed him deep.

He dipped his fingers into her vaginal opening. “Gods, you’re wet, so wet. I love

this.” Pumping once, twice, and then adding another finger was almost her undoing but then she didn’t have time to think about it at all because he lifted her up. Before she 65

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could take another breath she was flat on her back against the cushiony softness of the chaise. “My turn.”

Grabbing behind her knees, he dragged her to the foot of the chaise and spread her