Keira shuddered, lifting herself on her elbows to regard the man kneeling between her legs like an ancient conqueror.

She should be pissed.

She was an alpha. Men didn't toss her on her back and have their way with her.

Not unless they wanted their throats ripped out.

So why was she lying there like she was some helpless kitten?

Perhaps it was because she was so damned consumed by her hunger for this male she couldn't think of anything but getting that hard, bronzed body on top of her.

Or perhaps it was because she was struggling to accept that he wasn't the testosterone-driven playboy she'd believed for so long.

"Then why did you let people think you had an apartment in New Orleans where you kept your latest lover?" she husked.

A golden glow spread through his pale green eyes as his cat studied her with a restless need.

"Because I didn't want a bunch of curious cats pushing their noses into my business."

She frowned, struck by an intense need to know what Bayon had been hiding. "Is it some secret?"

He hesitated, as if debating whether or not to confess the truth. Then he gave a small shrug.

"My mother was a born Nurturer," he at last said.

Keira nodded. Bayon's mother was beloved by all Pantera. "I remember her being in charge of the nursery," she said in fond tones. "I don't know how many times she kissed my boo-boos or slipped me a chocolate chip cookie when the other girls teased me for not playing with dolls like the rest of them. Your mother will always have a special place in my heart."

His blunt features softened with love.

"In all our hearts."

"I don't understand what this has to do with New Orleans."

"When the Pantera stopped having children, the nursery was closed." He grimaced. "My mother was...

devastated."

"Of course she would be," Keira breathed, wishing she'd made the effort to realize how difficult the past years had been on the Nurturers.

"I feared that she was losing her will to live, so I found a project that would keep her occupied."

"What project?"

"I opened an orphanage in New Orleans." His lips twisted as her eyes widened with shock. "It seemed like the perfect solution. My mother has endless love to share with the human children."

"Oh." Her heart melted. She'd always known Bayon was special. This only proved just how special. "Why the hell did you keep it such a mystery?"

"I did it for my mother," he said.

"There was no need for anyone else to know. Besides-"

"Besides what?"

His gaze strayed toward her naked breasts. "Besides, I wanted you to believe that I had a harem in New Orleans."

"Why?"

"You know why."

She did. It was the same reason she'd pretended that Sean was her lover.

Stupid games designed to keep barriers between them.

But now the truth had torn down those walls, and left them both unable to deny the raw, savage need that pulsed between them.

Slowly her gaze lowered to take in his massive erection that seemed to grow even larger as she studied it with an undisguised desire.

"You're playing with fire, honey," he breathed, lowering himself to sprawl beside her, the heat of his naked body like a furnace.

"This is crazy."

"Not as crazy as denying what we both want." His cat glowed in his eyes as he reached for her hand, pressing it against his dick. "Feel what you do to me."

"Bayon."

Unable to resist temptation, she wrapped her fingers around his erection, exploring down to the heavy testicles before slowly skimming back up to find the broad tip that was already damp with his seed.

He shuddered, exposing his claws to slice her jeans and then her tiny lace thong into tatters. She parted her lips to protest the destruction of her clothing, only to have a groan escape as he cupped her bare ass, his fingers squeezing her flesh in a promise of pleasure to come.

"I let you keep me at a distance for too long." He peered deep into her eyes.

"I'm not letting you do it again." She forced herself not to look away.

There would be no more hiding. "Do you know why I was afraid to let you near?"

"Because I wasn't going to let you neuter me like you did your other lovers."

She deliberately gave his cock a slow pump, taking full pleasure in the fine layer of sweat that suddenly glistened on his bronzed skin.

"It was because I feared you would undermine my authority as the leader of the Hunters," she bluntly confessed. "I had a hard enough time being taken seriously as an alpha without you distracting me."

"I might have tried," he admitted, his lips curving into the boyish grin that was lethal to the female heart. "But I have faith you would have sliced off my balls if I'd become too obnoxious." Clever, clever cat.

He knew precisely what to say.

And how to touch, she acknowledged, as his fingers moved from her ass to trace the curve of her waist.

"My need for dominance doesn't bother you?" she pressed, knowing his answer was important.

Her cat would never be happy in a subservient role.

"Let's say I'm willing to

compromise," he said, the rasp of his breath filling the air. "I don't always have to be on top."

Without warning his hands gripped her hips, rolling her until she was lodged on top of him. Tiny jolts of bliss speared through her as her already damp flesh was pressed to his thick cock.

"Oh hell," she moaned.

"No more denying what's between us, Keira?"

She met his gaze that blazed a brilliant gold.

She'd fought this moment for so long.

Ever since she'd sensed this cat was destined to be more than just another lover.

She couldn't fight any longer.

"No more," she whispered.

His hands skimmed to cup her breasts, his cat watching her with a sensual intensity.

"Admit that you want me," he

prodded, his fingers squeezing her nipples with a pressure that was on the right side of pain.

Oh...yes.

"I want you," she breathed.

"Bayon." His voice was thick with need. "Say my name."

"Bayon."

He smiled with satisfaction. "Now show me what you want."

She planted her hands on either side of his shoulders, lowering her body and tilting her head to the side in open invitation. With a growl of approval, Bayon sank his teeth into the tender curve of throat where it met her shoulder.

The same spot he'd used to imprint himself.

She shuddered, rubbing against his hard erection as his elongated fangs pressed into her flesh.

"Wait." He clamped his hands on her hips, holding her still as his lips kissed the tiny wounds on her throat. "You aren't going to freak out once you're mine, are you?"

She gave a lift of her brows as she trailed a finger over his chest. Once you're mine. The words should be terrifying.

Instead they were oddly erotic.

After twenty-five years of brutal isolation, where she'd been cut off from everyone and everything she cared about, she understood exactly the precious gift he was offering her.

Never again would she be afraid to open her heart to love.

"I could ask you the same question." He hissed in pleasure as she scraped her claws lightly over his upper chest, dangerously close to breaking his skin.

"This is all I've ever wanted, but you're still recovering."

"My memories might still be fuzzy, but otherwise I'm recovered. The bastards tortured me by keeping me locked in the damned cage and using that collar to control my cat." She held his gaze. "But they never touched me."

"Fuck." His breath rasped through the air. "I'm going to skin them alive for what they did to you. Hell, I've already promised myself I'd chop them into pieces and feed them to the gators. But, I was so afraid-"

She nipped his bottom lip. "I'm fine.

And I know what I want."

"Good."

A moan was wrenched from her throat as he allowed his lips to travel over the curve of her breast, at last latching onto her aching nipple.

Her eyes squeezed shut as raw, undiluted pleasure raced through her.

The heat of his body. The rough stroke of his tongue. The silken brush of his hair against her chin.

She'd been starved of touch for so long.

Now she savored each touch, each caress as if it were her first.

"Oh...god, yes."

He used the edge of his teeth to tease the very tip. "You like that?"

"Harder," she whispered.

"Like this?"

He clamped down until her back arched in delight. "Perfect."

"You're perfect." His mouth moved to torment her other nipple, lapping and nipping until her fingers dug into his shoulders. "Competent. Smart. Willing to kick ass when necessary."

She trembled, his soft words as much a turn-on as his skillful touch.

Oh hell, she was being burned alive.

Perhaps a more girly-girl would want the first time with her potential mate to be a slow, romantic seduction, but Keira had never been that sort of female.

She took what she wanted.

And she wanted Bayon with a force that threatened to overwhelm her.

As if sensing she was tumbling out of control, Bayon studied her with a gaze that made her heart skip a beat.

It was a gaze that spoke of need and lust and...sheer male possession.

Framing her face in his hands, he pulled her down to kiss her with an aching sweetness. Keira sighed. When she was younger she'd devoted endless hours to fantasizing about this man and his kisses, but nothing could have prepared her for the reality.

Her hands explored the corded muscles of his chest. His skin was warm, silken. The perfect temptation for her cat, and with a moan of need she gave in to the urge to spread kisses over his face before licking her way down the strong column of his throat.

"I like the taste of you, Bayon," she whispered as she continued to tease him with tiny nips and nibbles

"I'm supposed to be tasting you," he growled, his hands clutching her hips as he sought to retain control.

Such an alpha.

"I'm on top this time, remember?" she whispered, moving steadily lower.

"I...oh hell, woman."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"Keira," he rasped as she reached the rippling muscles of his lower stomach.

"Mmm?"

"You stop and I'll never bring you back another greasy burger," he ground out.

"Such a demanding kitty."

She gave a throaty chuckle,

deliberately rubbing her breasts against his rigid body as she kissed her way to the tip of his massive erection. They both gasped at the electric sparks ignited by the friction of their naked skin. Damn, but this felt good. Her claws flexed, pinning him to the ground as she took the broad head of his cock between her lips.

His shout of pleasure echoed through the caverns, the musk of his cat spicing the air. She stroked her tongue over the tip, lapping the bead of pre-come and purring at the taste of him. Yummy.

Widening her lips, she sucked him deeper into her mouth.

Bayon's hips arched upward, his breath hissing through his clenched teeth as she took her time to savor every impressive inch of him, scraping her teeth down the throbbing shaft before using her tongue to trace a thick vein back up to the tip.

"Wait." He threaded his fingers through her hair as she took him deep enough to feel the head of him at the back of her throat. "Christ, honey, I need to be inside you when I come." With a tantalizing lack of speed she lifted her head, freeing him from the suction of her mouth with an audible pop.

He cursed, tugging her by the hair to urge her up his body. Keira growled in glorious anticipation.

It'd been so long since she'd felt such stark, uncomplicated desire. Hell, she wasn't sure she'd ever felt this kind of need before. Her every nerve was buzzing with life, sensitized to the point that she thought she might combust.

"Bossy and impatient," she murmured.

"I was just getting started." Without warning he grasped her hips and jerked her into place, stealing her breath as the fierce jut of his cock settled in the damp heat between her legs.

She sighed, the persistent throb in her pussy rejoicing as the wide tip of him slipped just inside her body. But instead of shoving himself home, he clutched her hips and regarded her with smoldering eyes.

"You can play all you want next time," he said in thick tones. "But Keira, I've waited for you all my life," he rasped. "I can't wait another second." God almighty, she was in trouble.

"Bayon."

"Now...my turn for some tasting," he informed her, drawing her toward his waiting lips. "I want you begging before I'm done."

With a smile that held a wicked promise, Bayon branded her lips with a kiss of pure hunger. The taste of his cat on her tongue sizzled through her, setting off explosions of pleasure.

Then, spreading kisses over her face, he at last stroked his tongue down the length of her arched neck. Keira's fingers dug into his shoulders as he tugged her upward, catching the tender tip of her nipple between his teeth. She gave a soft purr as he nipped her sensitive flesh, her head tilted back at the insistent bliss darting through her. He turned his attention to the other breast, deliberately urging her desire to a fever pitch.

She needed to get him inside her.

Immediately.

But Bayon wasn't finished tormenting her. Even as she struggled to slide onto his waiting cock, he was ruthlessly tugging her up to her knees. She cursed, glancing down to watch his mouth explore the clenched muscles of her stomach, his tongue darting out to send a shiver of searing lust through her.

She moaned, her heavy lashes

lowering as his extended teeth scraped over the curve of her hip and down the inside of her thigh.

Okay, she'd let him play alpha. Just this once.

Then his seeking lips found her moist pussy and any logical thoughts were destroyed. Oh, this was so fucking good.

Barely remembering to breathe as his tongue stroked the highly sensitive flesh, she speared her fingers in the thick satin of his hair.

There was something a bit naughty about straddling him as he expertly tongued her, although she intended to become a whole lot naughtier before the day was over.

Still holding her hips, Bayon found her clit, gently sucking as the magical pressure began to build.

"I knew there was a reason I called you honey," he rasped. "You taste so sweet. Cream and honey, my favorite."

"Oh god, Bayon, I'm close," she gasped.

"Yes," he muttered, guiding her back so he could position her over his straining erection.

Then, slowly he penetrated her damp channel.

Keira purred as she pressed herself ever deeper. She'd known he was large.

Hell, she'd had him in her mouth. But she hadn't realized what it would mean to have that delectable hardness stretching her to the limit. Now she groaned in fierce approval. She could become addicted to the sensation of being speared by such a large cock.

Oh, yeah.

Size really did matter.

Spreading her knees, she allowed him to sink even deeper inside her, smiling with wicked satisfaction when he hissed in approval. She liked to reward excellence. And Bayon was truly a master at pleasing a demanding female.

Savoring his slow, steady pace, Keira at last placed her hands on his chest, holding his gaze that had gone cat-gold.

With one swipe, she deliberately allowed her claws to pierce his skin, marking him from his collarbone to just above his nipples.

His roar of shock shook the air, vibrating through her as her cat stretched toward her mate.

"Mine," she breathed.

"Mine," he panted. "Forever." Lifting herself until the tip of his cock was nearly at her entrance, she sharply plummeted downward. His hips jerked off the ground, his snarl of pleasure sweet music to her ears.

Keira chuckled, euphoria at the sensation of being bound to this male bubbling through her like the finest champagne.

This cat meant to be hers for all eternity.

How could she ever have tried to push him away?

Refusing to dwell on how close she'd come to losing this strong, loyal, astonishingly compassionate man, she concentrated on the sensation of Bayon's deepening thrusts, her soft pants filling the air as her muscles clenched in preparation for her impending orgasm.

Bayon tightened his grip and buried his face in the curve of her neck. Then, still pumping into her at a furious pace, he sank his claws into her lower back, marking her at the same time he catapulted her into a shattering climax.

Keira quivered in ecstasy, convulsing around him as he gave one more thrust and cried out with the violent pleasure of his own orgasm.