Tane's Mate: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Shifter's on the Run Book 1) (22 page)

Dai reached down to adjust himself as discretely as possible. “You’re not the only one.” The quiet confession came from him.

They pulled off the main highway into a medium town looking for a gas station.

Leza raised her head looking out the window. This place was quaint not small enough to scream everyone knows your secrets, but not big enough to proclaim you are nothing but a number.

“Let’s stay for a night,” Leza said her eyes on Tane. “I need clothes. After that we can go have a meal where we are not being watched and end the night in a real bed.

The smile she cast Tane at the last part was sheer gold. She knew what she wanted to do in a bed and it wasn’t sleep.

Tane’s hand stroked through her hair before his chin jutted upward and his head moved in agreement. “All right, let’s stop and spend the night here.

Dai’s eyes jerked upward until he was looking into the rearview mirror catching Tane’s eyes in a glare that shouted ‘are you crazy?’

“If we aren’t being followed then taking the time to shop and relax won’t hurt. If we are being followed, then this will encourage them to make a move thinking that we are unaware.” Tane lifted an eyebrow challenging Dai.

Dai shrugged and lowered his eyes hiding a smile. Leza raised her head and discreetly coughed into her hand hiding the laughter bubbling in her throat.

She was sure Tane agreed to stop for her because although she didn’t say it she needed the break. A part of her was desperate to feel normal because she had just turned into a huge beautiful panther. Not some cute little cuddly animal either. She was bigger than any panther she ever saw at the zoo or on a wildlife video. If a hunter bagged her, he’d have bragging rights for the rest of his life.

She was truly the monster they called her. Funny how she was glad her parents weren’t here to see this. Her mom though would wrap her arms around her and say ‘I don’t care what you are. You’re still my baby girl.’ Yeah that’s how her mom always rolled. Her dad would offer to take the government apart with his bare hands after he hugged her real tight and reassured her she was the prettiest princess on the face of the Earth.

Neither of them would see her as anything other than their little girl. Now she wished they were here so she could hold them tight and cry her eyes out in the comfort of their arms. Wrapping her arms around Tane’s waist, she buried her head and allowed tears to roll for what was done to her in the name of science. One life for the many. She may not like it but that’s how the government justified it.

Tane’s hand reached down. He strummed his finger through her hair caressing her scalp, making her feel loved and cherished. Just what her heart craved.

With a lift of her head, she kissed his stomach conveying a thank you and a promise at the same time. She blinked her eyes and let the last tear fall. His fingers touched her face capturing it. He brought it to his lips and tasted it like it was a rich liquor.

A smile crossed her face as she watched him validate her emotions and thoughts, both the good and the bad. He was worth whatever hell she would have to go through to keep him.

“Hey,” Jay’s voice rang out. “Do you remember that time Leza was held in this facility that looked like a penal compound?” There was a slight smile in his voice.

“I remember there was some flying dinosaur watching over it,” Dai chimed in.

“Was that the place with the really bad food and service?” Leza asked hiding a smile in her voice.

“That’s the place,” Jay’s voice raised. “Anyone remember what happened?”

“We kicked ass and managed to get eaten by the dinosaur?” Dai speculated happily.

Tane shook his head, “Nope that’s not what happened.”

“We infiltrated the camp, released Leza, and got away without a trace,” Jay said, looking like he was the winner.

“Nope,” Tane said with a shake of his head.

“Well,” Dai and Jay growled at him. “What happened?”

With a wide smile for all to see. “Leza turned into a badass panther and stole my heart for all eternity.”

She stole his heart forever. Leza was still walking on air or was that rainbows and sunsets and all the things lovers chased that she never dared dream about. Tane replaced Dai in the driver’s seat when they came into town. He drove around like he was memorizing the place until the found a quaint motel. One with two stories that consisted of rooms that opened up to the parking lot. He and Dai went in and rented rooms while Leza and Jay stayed in the SUV and joked around.

After that Tane told them to go and get the supplies they would need as well as anything they needed personally. Then he took her hand and said you’re coming with me. They ended up in a small clothing boutique. That was the moment she almost felt the need to sink to her knees and thank God for making every woman feel like she needed a store like this in her town no matter how small it was.

He was amazing. Picking up outfits for her telling her how beautiful they would look on her. And the man loved some lingerie. She was sure she didn’t need as many bras and matching undies as she got. Truly she would have protested if his green eyes hadn’t turned dark and needy making her warm and wet between her legs.

Heck, she had looked around the store wondering if the sales woman or the other customers could tell. Instead she found them watching him with expressions of need on their faces. The desire to kill and maim came immediately. Because she wasn’t a monster, she chose to walk up to him, hips swinging. Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed him until his knees were weak.

They call her a monster. If the looks those women gave her could do damage she would be dead.

*~*~*~*

She looked around the motel room. There was a huge king sized bed. This is the honeymoon suite Tane told her when he brought her in the first time.

The room was done up in shades of gold a little too glaring for her taste but at least it was bright. There was a night stand on each side of the bed and a door that led off to a surprisingly nice bathroom. A large closet and a bureau for clothes. A side sitting area and a flat screen television on the wall, as well as a mini fridge.

That was where she was now. Her head was popped into the mini fridge and her hand was hovering over a can of soda as she tried to list her reasons for not drinking it again.

“Maybe you should ask your panther if you should drink that.” Tane was lying on the bed staring at her.

She didn’t have to ask her panther; she had started screaming the minute she laid her eyes on it.

“It inhibits my animal.” Her voice came out speaking what she knew to be true.

“True. I have wondered how they did it. They used something so common that it crops up in everyday life and they turned it against us.”

Her hand moved and she picked up a bottle of juice instead. “It’s almost like they wanted to prove to us how inhuman we really are.”

There was sadness in her eyes. It wasn’t really over soda. That was something she could take or leave. It was more over the fact that the government or maybe she should refer to them as the shady government was determined to strip them of any humanity. They wanted monsters, not people who were suddenly blessed with extraordinary abilities.

She walked across the room and crawled on the bed with Tane. Her fingers went to the strip of skin that was exposed on his abs from the lifting of his shirt.

Tane told her to dress up earlier in one of her new outfits and he took her to dinner—someplace expensive with prime cuts of meat. Her panther wanted to thank him. They laughed, dined, and then found a place playing slow music where they could get lost in one another’s arms. It was a night she would always remember.

“Leza.” Tane whispered her name slowly as if drawn out on the wind.

She looked at him, the openness in his face stealing her breath away.

His hand stroked her face with gentle fingers. He was enough to send her into a fit of tears over how special he made her feel.

“Babe,” his voice was low but sure. “When Dai and I enlisted for our survival, I knew right then there would never be a female for me. I would give my life, my soul to the military and every woman would breathe a sigh of relief at having missed me. Then this happened and I was vindicated in my knowledge that I would always be alone.

“That’s where this story should end. Instead you drove that car into my net and then challenged me with your large brown eyes to let you live. You made me want to find out if you could really cook and challenged me to see past survival mode until I found something worthwhile. Your fierce protectiveness, along with your desire to live life to the fullest, made me want to survive. You never gave up on me coming to rescue you, along with how you endured until I released you and you weren’t afraid to spill blood when needed. All those things and a million more are the reasons I love you.

“Leza, I love you and want to dedicate the rest of my life, no matter how long it is, to caring for you.”

Her mouth dropped open and tears flowed before she threw herself into his arms planting kisses all over his face and neck.

“I love you, Tane. I love you so much! I’ve known for a while but I didn’t want to scare you and make you run away from me. I knew when I claimed you as my mate that my heart belonged to you. The first time you called me love, I knew I wanted to hear that endearment for the rest of our lives.”

She pressed against his body and kissed him until his mouth opened wide. Plunging her tongue in she rubbed it against his, feeding from his taste. Her body moved over his as she felt her nipples start to pucker at the way he sucked and nipped on her bottom lip.

“Tane,” she moaned. Her middle was on fire with sensations that were overwhelming. Her slit was slick with the wetness coming from her. She slid herself against the rock hardness of his leg before he settled her on his cock.

He was so hard and warm. She rocked back and forth against him feeling her body tighten. His hand pressed against the small of her back holding her still.

“Shhh, Love, not without me.”

She made a little whimpering noise and lifted her arms as she pulled off the shirt she was wearing, revealing a silky black demi bra.

It pushed her breasts up showing them off. Tane took his tongue and licked her right at the edges of the bra making her want him more. He tilted his head and buried his nose in her cleavage as he took a deep whiff of her, growling out a sound that went straight to her pussy.

She needed him in her right now. The desire to feel so full that he might split her in half was sitting in her center and her nerve endings were begging for him to invade her.

He flashed a grin that was worth maiming over and bit the top of her breast.

“Yes,” she breathed out until he swallowed her bra covered nipple. Now her voice wasn’t working and all she could do was drown in the sensation of his mouth on her breast. He pulled away until her nipple was caught between his teeth before he bit down.

She let out a scream as her body convulsed on top of his. Her mind shut down as she felt warmth travel through her.

“That never happened before.” She fumbled with words trying to let him know how amazing it felt.

He gave her a sweet smack on her ass before setting her down on his body. His eyes lowered to half-mast.

“Oh no, Lover,” she whispered. “We’re not even close to being done.”

He gave a sexy laugh as she started pulling off his shirt. He lifted up to make it easier for her. He had worn a charcoal grey shirt that matched the grey pants. Every female eye had turned to look at him and when they saw the way his pants hugged his ass she thought she was going to have to hurt a few of them.

“Nice,” the word came out as a hiss. His chest came into view. She loved the wide expanse. Taking her hands, she splayed both of them over him still amazed at the amount left untouched by her hands.

One day, she assured herself that she would have the patience to play with him, to drag her fingers slowly over him until she was burning hotter than a volcano, but not now. Today she needed him; the greedy part of her had to have him now.

Diving downward, she caught his nipple in her mouth and sucked on it, tugging and pulling. She teased his other nipple with her fingers. His breathing deepened just a little, but not enough for her.

Taking her tongue, she licked down his torso taking the time to nip here and there with her teeth as she felt his cock growing harder under her wet pussy lips.

“Please Babe,” he breathed out as she stopped at his belly button tracing it with her finger.

When she touched that small path of hair leading to the land of eternal joy, he grasped her by the arms and turned her over.

“What?” she whimpered after losing her perch.

His hands went to her skirt pulling it over her hips and gasping the tiny thong she was wearing. It came down her legs and landed on the floor with a little swoosh of sound. He stood and undid his pants so fast he looked like a blur. When he settled into the nest of her legs, he was naked with his hard cock coming up to greet her.

She opened wider, ready for him to push in. He gave her that smile instead the one she was beginning to hate. It meant that he wasn’t ready yet. She would have to endure for a while longer.

With his hands, he trailed down over her body stopping to treat her nipples and then pull on them watching them elongate before sucking the stiff little nubbins into his mouth.

His tongue licked down the center of her chest before he took as much of one breast in his mouth as possible. She let off a little scream as her legs pushed up trying to rub against him.

He took hold of her waist and held her still as he did the same to her other breast.

Her breath shallow, she panted as he licked his way down her torso finding the spot in her middle where the fire was burning and made it burn hotter with his mouth.

Her head was thrown back now as pleasure overtook her. Low aching sounds coming from her only served to make her hotter. His mouth came down on her clit sucking it in his mouth and she begged.