She raised herself up on her elbows, her anger making her smell fucking amazing. “Dogs are loyal. They’re intuitive. They drag people out of burning buildings. With cats you just hope they don’t kill you in your sleep.”
Mace had to be the most relentless man she’d ever known. He wanted her and apparently had no intention of giving up until he got what he wanted. What exactly should she do with a 230-pound shapeshifter anyway?
Sauer yelped as Mace unceremoniously kicked his furry butt off the bed. Then Mace was on her, kissing her, snatching the breath from her lungs. Damn, but she loved the feel of the man’s body against hers. All that velvety flesh over hard muscle. One big hard muscle pressing against her inside thigh.
Now see. How exactly was she supposed to panic about their “relationship” when that demon tongue of his so gently stroked the inside of her mouth? And those big hands of his were on her breasts, tugging and rolling her nipples?
Tricky bastard. He was trying to keep her off track. Confuse her. The bastard wanted her to love him. Dammit. Why couldn’t she get a nice, normal psychotic with mother issues, like every other woman in New York?
Mace flipped her over. She buried her face in her pillow and gripped the irreparably damaged headboard between her hands. He grabbed a condom, then thrust inside her, taking ownership—again.
Well he could forget anything about her loving him. She was completely okay with the desperate lust holding her captive. That was perfectly normal. But love? No way. That wasn’t happening. And the fact she squeezed the damaged wood headboard so tight she had splinters in her fingers? That meant nothing. Or the fact that she gasped like a long-distance runner on her last mile—it didn’t mean a damn thing either. At least not to her.
And when she came and screamed his name into her pillow? Nope. That didn’t mean shit either.
Aw hell.
Chapter Eleven
Mace pulled the thick, black cable sweater over his head and tugged it down his body. He shook the water out of his mane and put on his new watch.
Dez’s arms looped around his waist from behind. She pressed her T-shirt-covered body into his and kissed him on the back.
He took hold of her hands. “How are your fingers?” It took him forty-five minutes to get the splinters out, and she whined the entire time. He offered to cut her fingers off entirely rather than using the tweezers, but she resisted that idea.
“Fine now. Was the shower okay?”
“Too small.”
“Well, blame your genetics on that one.”
“You still should have joined me.”
“I couldn’t. I had to feed the boys.”
Mace glanced over. They sat staring at him. Their dog tongues hanging out. Since Dez couldn’t see him, he flashed his fangs. One of the dogs started to whine.
“Whatever you are doing—stop it.” She released him. “Hey, do me a favor.”
He turned around and saw that she’d grabbed two leashes off the dresser. “Walk ’em for me, babe.” She handed him the leashes and walked out of the room.
Mace stared at the leashes in his hand. Had the woman lost her mind? Had the world gone mad? There was no way he was walking these…these…
Mace looked over at the dumb beasts waiting patiently for him. “Dogs.”
“You’ll need these too.” She came back in the room, and shoved a couple of plastic grocery bags in his hand. “Thanks, babe.” She walked away.
Mace stared down at the bags in his hand.
Oh, there is no way!
No. No. No! She just asked for too much. Demanded too much. She wanted him to walk her dogs and to pick up their shit. Him. Mason Rothschild Llewellyn. Breeding Male of the Llewellyn Pride. Former Navy SEAL. And a lion.
Missy was right. He needed a nice Pride to take care of him. A bunch of females who made sure he ate, fucked him, and bought him stuff to keep him happy. What he didn’t need was a thirty-six-year-old cop with two dogs she insisted on referring to as her “boys.”
He followed Dez to the bathroom. She stood at the sink brushing her teeth with an electric toothbrush when the alternative radio station she had on suddenly busted out with No Doubt’s “Oi to the World!,” in honor of the Christmas holidays. That’s when Dez began to shake her ass and bop her head from side to side. The T-shirt she wore barely covered that adorable butt of hers.
Mace closed his eyes. Keep thinking accommodating Pride females. Keep thinking foot rubs and being the first to eat.
He opened his eyes, and Dez bent over to spit out the toothpaste. She wore no panties. Of course, she hadn’t had any on since the night before.
Mace, really having trouble breathing, turned around and went back to the bedroom. He looked at the two dogs still waiting for him.
“Well, come on. Let’s get this nightmare over with.”
Dez came out of the bathroom as soon as she heard the front door close. She checked both floors, every room.
Holy shit. He’s actually taken my dogs for a walk. She’d only been joking. She never thought in a million years Mace would actually walk her dogs. She thought he’d follow her into the bathroom, throw the baggies at her, and then fuck her on the bathroom sink.
Dez stood in the middle of her hallway. Either Mace truly loved her or she just experienced one of the signs of the apocalypse the nuns always talked about.
“What have I gotten myself into?” she asked no one in particular. The sad thing was…she really expected an answer.
Mace turned over on the bed, letting his arms hang over the sides. A wet snout sniffed his hand. He gave a short roar and the nose scrambled farther under the bed with his canine buddy.
When had this relationship taken such an odd turn? He always controlled every relationship, and the women he’d been involved with had never minded. But, except for the bedroom, Dez never gave him a goddamn inch. She always knew what he was up to and called him on it every time.
He wasn’t at all sure about the dog thing either. Irritating little bastards. Dez had made it clear, though. Love her, love her dogs. He actually picked up dog shit for her.
He pushed his mane of blond-brown hair out of his eyes. Within twenty-four hours, his hair had returned to its standard length. It took him all of puberty to grow the first round, but once there it didn’t like to go.
Mace sighed and looked at the clock next to Dez’s bed. Where the hell was she? A shower shouldn’t take this long.
He hated waiting. It was the lion in him. He didn’t wait to eat. He didn’t wait to go out. He didn’t wait for anything if he didn’t have to. True, he could leave without her. But that wasn’t going to happen. Not with him having the best time he’d ever had with a woman. Cranky bitch that she was, he liked her as much as he loved her. So, for once and without any direct orders from a C.O., Mace would wait. He would wait for Dez. Christ, what was his life coming to anyway?
A tongue swiped at the fingers he had resting on the carpet. Great. Playful dogs. They’d started liking him. In typical dog fashion they found a way to make this work. Even if they forced him to like both of them.
He growled and the dogs yipped back. He almost smiled. Grudgingly.
“Are you being mean to my dogs again?”
Mace looked up, about to tell her he had just been considering what pieces of her dogs would taste good with barbeque sauce, when he pretty much stopped breathing completely.
He barely noticed the black jeans she had on or the black leather boots. No, it was that black leather bustier that had his full attention. Clearly created specifically for her, because no way could something off the rack from a fetish store have done those magnificent tits as much justice as the bustier she now wore. Tight and form fitting, it tied up the front, showing a healthy amount of cleavage that simply called to him. The bustier fit over a black leather top with long leather sleeves that molded to her strong arms and scooped nicely off her shoulders. Her tits practically defied gravity in that outfit. She didn’t need a bra, and he could make out her tight nipples through the leather. The light brown skin she showed looked satiny and soft. For some reason he found her outfit almost as hot as when she stretched out in front of him completely naked, and at the moment she barely revealed anything. He wanted to rub himself up against her until he was purring and she was coming.