The Leopard King by Ann Aguirre Read Free Book Online Page B

wasn’t fast enough for him. He framed her hips in his big hands and lifted her, then dropped her down, fucking up into her with uncontrollable need.
    “You feel so sweet,” she whispered. “Talk to me, Dom.”
    A desperate, strangled laugh escaped him. “Nothing to say. Just have to come.”
    “You want to come for me.” Some devil drove her as the pleasure spiked. She had to keep him fastened tight in this moment. He had to focus on who was making him feel this.
    “Pru…” Her name slid out of him, part moan, part protest.
    “That’s good. Do it. Faster.”
    “You like it.” Suddenly, he was talking, just as she’d asked.
    “I love it.”
    “Harder. Like this.” He pulled her down to punctuate his words. “You feel so…oh, fuck .”
    With a moan, he lurched upright and wrapped his arms around her, so they held each other and worked in quick, tight pushes. She dug her hands into his back. As he came, he kissed her, wet, sloppy and open-mouthed, and that was enough to finish her off. It was a light orgasm, but he felt it as he shuddered and filled her with heat.
    Afterward, she expected him to disengage and make her feel shitty-guilty about the whole thing. Instead he stayed close, hands gliding over her sweat-slick back, so unexpectedly dear that tears prickled her eyes. She dusted kisses over his chin, his shoulders, and nuzzled him until he kissed her back, a sweet little thank-you of a caress.
    “It wasn’t awful,” he said with a thread of laughter in his tone. “You win, Pru. We’ll go home in the morning.”
    Deep in Dom’s gut, guilt had both claws and tentacles, chewing and lashing until he could hardly stand it. But when she threw herself on him like he was a sex grenade, he fucking lost his mind. Now, the truth gnawed at him—after the Noxblade attack, he’d already made up his mind to go with her. In his defense, he had tried to speak.
    And now the die was cast. She’d offered and in the heat of the moment, he had accepted. The emotional aspect of the mate bond might take a while to form, but he couldn’t go back on his word. People paired up for all kinds of reasons, and he could do a lot worse than Pru for a lifelong companion. But what the fuck am I going to tell Slay? He knew damn well his best friend had been waiting his whole life for a miracle. Now that it’s finally happened, I get the girl? Even to Dom, that seemed ten kinds of jacked up. Though he didn’t approve of how Slay protected himself and kept Pru at arm’s length, he’d seen his second’s eyes, how he watched her when he thought nobody was paying attention—so much longing that it hurt him to log it.
    Though Pru winked out, likely exhausted by her first shift and then fucking him into submission, he couldn’t sleep. Partly because the Noxblade might circle back and partly because he was weighing the variables. I could tell her I was just being an asshole when I offered that deal. All of that was even true. But she’d take it wrong, as people had been making her feel inadequate her whole damn life. As Dom recalled, she stopped eating for three days when Slay turned her down. No, it’s done, agreement made. In all honesty, returning to the hold with Pru at his side pushed his reluctance to the fair side of bearable. Maybe she could prop him up long enough to keep the pride from figuring out that he was an empty husk.
    Fuck it. I’m a terrible person, and Slay let her go.
    He held her until dawn when he roused her with a kiss to the temple. “Moving out.”
    “Hope my clothes are dry. I really can’t travel in your underwear.”
    Laughter startled him. It had been years, so he’d almost forgotten he could make the sound, but she’d amused him so many times already. “Have you always been this hilarious?”
    “I think so.”
    Fortunately, her things were ready to wear, if somewhat crispy. He liked that she had no shame around him, no awkwardness. You’d think they had been waking up together forever.