A Tiger's Destiny (Tiger Protectors Book 3) Read online

  However, as she held her lips against him, he felt his barriers and defenses melt away. Felt at peace, like fate had brought them together, if for nothing else than this moment.

  He wrapped his arm behind her neck and returned the kiss, holding her against him as they embraced. For a long moment that felt like forever, they let their actions speak for themselves, let all the unspoken words between them be said through a language older than speech itself.

  When Sofia finally released him, she rested her head back down on the couch, looking up at him with wide eyes and heavy breaths.

  “Was that the kind of punishment you had in mind?” she said, sounding satisfied with herself. Her eyes were burning with lust, accentuated by the light of the fire as her gaze roved over his body.

  “No,” Kel said.

  But just as Sofia started to open her mouth in either protest or offense, he came down to her again in a powerful kiss, this time owning her, claiming her mouth with his own. She gave out a light moan and granted him entrance, allowing him to delve into her mouth with his tongue. He stroked and searched out her most sensitive spots, teasing her and tasting her all at the same time. And as he did, her body writhed beneath him in a delicious way that made him instantly hard, her curves calling for his touch.

  “More like that,” he replied as he left her mouth, leaving her breathless.

  “You need to show me more. I’m not sure that was enough,” she said, her intentions plain in her remark.

  “Are you sure?” he asked. One or two wonderful kisses were one thing. The kind of pleasure he had in mind was an altogether different request. “Sofia, I don’t want to take advantage… Your godfather—”

  “Doesn’t get to decide what I do as a grown woman!” she proclaimed. “I said I want you, and I do. I make my own decisions.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “And you wouldn’t be taking advantage of me.” She continued. “If anything, I’d be taking advantage of you. So stop hesitating and give me what I want.”

  Kel shook his head and just laughed. This kitty cat was far from the wilting flower he’d initially thought she was when they’d first met. This was a woman who was strong and went for what she wanted.

  He loved that.

  And she was right. She had a say in this just as much as he did. And if they both wanted it, well, then…

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said, as he came down to the base of her neck and licked a light trail up the soft skin to the bottom of her ear. When he reached it, he laved her lobe with his tongue, caressing it, then biting down gently, making her gasp.

  “How does that… feel so good?” she said between breaths as he kissed along her neck, following the signs her body gave him to where she would gain the most pleasure.

  “Don’t think. Just sit back and let me take care of everything,” he said gently against her neck as he dipped lower to her collarbone, the sight of her generous cleavage tempting him,

  He ran his hands up her sides, enjoying the feel of her curves as he pulled her shirt up slightly, just enough to grant him access to her stomach. As his fingers caressed the softness there, he kissed her belly and moved higher. Grabbing her shirt with his teeth, he pulled it high enough he could see her bra, then higher until he could see the soft swells of her breasts hidden behind silky black fabric.

  Damn. Hot.

  He pulled off her shirt and bra but, not wanting her to get cold, quickly wrapped one of the blankets around her shoulders, despite the heat of her body right now. Then, grateful for his large hands, he massaged the soft flesh of her breasts, the feel of them beyond description as her breath hitched with each touch. Then he kissed her delicious, wanting nipples, starting soft and then working into a smooth, circular motion with his tongue as they became tortured tips.

  As he did, he could see the ecstasy in Sofia’s eyes. Could feel her body tighten in pleasure and then relax as he pulled back, only to come at her again with increased intensity, suckling and squeezing.

  Kel could do this for hours, pleasing her slowly like this.

  He also couldn’t wait another second to make her come. He needed to see her lose control as her body came apart with pleasure.

  His hand came down her body and untied the string of the flannel pajamas she had changed into after dinner and ran his fingers over the soft satin of her panties. She moaned and writhed as he touched her intimately, holding her and caressing her. Then he laced his hands beneath her underwear, intoxicated by her heat and wetness, and explored between her soft folds for a moment, drunk by the sight of her half-naked body beneath him and the feel of her at his fingertips.

  He would do anything to keep this moment forever. Somehow, all of this felt so right that it defied description.

  Then a low voice whispered in the back of his mind, his tiger.

  Mate.

  Kel quickly put it out of his mind, not knowing what to make of it and not wanting to be distracted from his goal. He stroked one finger slowly up and against her clit, and Sofia’s entire body clenched tightly, her hands grasping his body like a cat afraid to fall off a ledge.

  “What the…?” she said, wide-eyed with surprise.

  “First time?” Kel asked, pleased at her cute confusion from such intense, impending pleasure. For some reason, knowing he was the first made him oddly pleased.

  “Maybe,” she replied.

  Kel made a mental note to ask more about this woman when he got the chance. Somehow she’d gone her whole life devoid of this, and he wanted to know why that was the case.

  “Then it’s your responsibility to just relax and focus on how good it feels,” he said, coming down to her neck and kissing her there, covering Sofia’s body with his and keeping her warm as her muscles loosened again and she sighed soft signals of satisfaction with each touch.

  When Kel was satisfied that she was ready again, he stroked against her center, this time more delicately and slowly. For a moment, she tensed, then relaxed slightly as her body responded to the smooth motion of his finger. Then, as he stroked again, she groaned with pleasure as her hands held on to his shoulders and she closed her eyes to take in all the sensation.

  He’d make this kitty purr for him.

  As Kel kissed her body in every place possible, beside himself with how hot she was, he went into a slow rhythm. And as he stroked, her body moved in time with his hand, savoring the pleasure he wished he could give her in limitless amounts.

  A few more times he ran his finger along her clit, feeling her body get closer and closer to the brink. And then, with one final flick, Sofia’s body clenched tight as a coil, then released as she let out an oath and climaxed, hard. Kel held her close as she came, her body rocking with overwhelming pleasure and satisfaction.

  So beautiful. So much better than he could have ever imagined.

  The more he saw of her like this, the more impossible it would be to handle if this had to end.

  But for now, he would just focus on the present.

  It took several seconds for her body to relax, and even as it did, Kel could sense her increased sensitivity with every touch.

  “How was it?”

  “Mind-blowing,” she said, still breathing heavily from the exertion.

  “This is only the start,” he said as he pulled the blanket covering them high over her and moved lower down her body. While he did, he could see Sofia go wide-eyed with curiosity as he proceeded to pull off her panties, baring her to him.

  He was completely covered by the oversized blanket, only a hint of light from the warm fire penetrating through its thickness. But he didn’t need to see his mate to please her. He could feel her, scent her, taste her.

  Kel spread her legs slightly, allowing him access, and then kissed the soft mound at the apex of her hips gently. She gasped lightly as he did, and he kissed her again and again, running his lips over her and breathing warmth over her heated center.

  “Kel, what the—” she said, her words interrupted
by her body’s own response to the pleasure overtaking her.

  He didn’t respond with words, but instead used the tip of his tongue to tease at her clit, first barely touching it, then flicking it lightly. Each time, he ratcheted up the intensity by a fraction, knowing her body was hypersensitive and if he went straight for what would be the most pleasuring, it could be too much for someone so new to this.

  Given enough time, though, he could make her go with one long stroke of his tongue.

  The thought of doing this over and over again with her made Kel happier than perhaps any other had in his entire life.

  He couldn’t contain himself any longer. His tiger was so near to the surface. He started to lick more determinedly at her center, taking in the euphoric experience that was Sofia, first running the entire length of his tongue slowly over her clit, then deftly making small circles around. And each time he did, her body rocked with the pleasure of it, her hands digging into the sides of the couch, her hair, anywhere she could hold on to try to contain herself.

  But Kel saw every mission to completion. He was relentless, unstoppable when he wanted to be.

  And Sofia was all he wanted. Her pleasure, her safety, all they could experience, if even for this small moment in time.

  Sensing she was close, so very close, Kel held Sofia’s hips as he stroked one final time over her clit. As he did, her voice tore into the quiet night, screaming his name as her body arched against the couch in sweet release. He held her as she came, committing this sacred experience to memory so he could forever have this supernal moment to covet.

  Again and again her body spasmed with all-encompassing pleasure, until finally it ebbed, leaving her breathless and exhausted.

  Whether she wanted to or not, she was definitely done for the night. Between the long drive, the near-death experience, the freezing temperatures, and presumably the first two orgasms she’d ever had, Sofia needed rest now.

  Kel came back over her as she wrapped her arms around him in an embrace, the soft feel of her breasts against him still tempting him.

  “What about you? I want to see you now,” she said, her breaths labored. The heart was willing, but her body was clearly spent.

  Tamping his tiger down and trying to ignore how impossibly hard he was from seeing Sofia go, Kel gave her a kiss and responded, “No, not tonight. You need rest.”

  “But…” She let out a harsh breath, pushing hair off her forehead in an exhausted motion.

  “I know. I know. Just give yourself some time to recuperate, okay?”

  Sofia frowned in dissatisfaction, but Kel kissed her neck, making her shiver lightly and sigh, a reminder of what he could do and a promise to not let her down next time.

  If there was a next time.

  And Kel really hoped there would be.

  “Fine, you’ve made your point,” she said as he helped her put her clothes back on. “But next time, if I ask, don’t go controlling the situation or making decisions without me.”

  Kel just chuckled at the thought of him needing to be asked. “Next time, I’ll have you begging for me, kitten.”

  Her eyes lit up at that, and she covered herself with the blankets he’d piled on her, hiding her embarrassment. He pulled out another blanket and put it on the floor next to her and lay down. It was best if they slept in the same room, and Kel could only guess how cold the upstairs bedrooms would be, so this would be better.

  “Good night, Kel,” Sofia said, her speech already slurred from fatigue.

  “G’nite, Sofia,” he said, lying on his back as memories of the evening flashed through his mind.

  “And, Kel?” she asked, sounding ready to fall asleep at any second.

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you… for that.”

  “You’re welcome,” he replied.

  A moment later, he could hear Sofia’s breaths become long and satisfied-sounding as she drifted off. Kel just put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

  * * *

  An hour later, Kel still couldn’t sleep. At first, thoughts of Sofia’s beautiful, naked body and the sight of her climaxing made it impossible. So he got up, checked the perimeter sensors and the camera to make sure they were still working, and got a glass of milk, hoping it would help.

  He’d never been unprofessional with a client before. He’d never come on to a female client.

  And he’d never had a night like that, where he’d felt so close to another person, just really shared things from his soul and felt listened to. And he’d enjoyed listening to her, getting to know her. Comforting her and sheltering her.

  Mate.

  The word echoed back from when he’d been pleasuring her.

  The thought was tantalizing. He’d always assumed when he quit this job, he would find a mate and settle down, but he never thought he’d find a mate through his work.

  And how did he know it wasn’t just wishful thinking?

  A guy like him, a hired gun, probably wasn’t worthy of someone like her. High class, clearly, and sought after and family to someone in high places. He wanted to know even more about her. But all he really knew was in only one night, he’d fallen for her.

  He scratched his head as he thought about what to do next.

  He knew what he would tell his brothers to do. He’d helped both of them with their mates. But Kel wasn’t dumb enough to not see a good thing when it was right in front of him. And perhaps because he’d spent a lot of time alone, he was very in touch with his tiger.

  And his tiger wanted Sofia.

  For now, the most important thing was to focus on keeping her safe. They would work out the rest later. He simply wouldn’t let her walk out of his life until he’d won her over. He could swear, from the way she’d fallen asleep peacefully beside him, there was something there for her, too.

  But he didn’t want to get in trouble, falling for someone who was sheltered, who just saw him as the first hot bad boy to come along. Rich, sheltered young girls had often thought of him like that, while he saw them only as jobs.

  But Sofia was different. He could tell she had struggled. Been alone. Needed him as much as he needed her.

  But he told himself all of this could wait until she was safe. He had to focus on that first.

  And something was bothering him as he thought about the whole situation surrounding his job. As he thought of Sofia’s godfather, a deep unease settled over him, as if his tiger were warning him of something that was very off about it all.

  He went to his luggage in the kitchen and pulled out the dossier that had been given him by Ralston back at the mansion. On the front in bold letters it said “Destroy Immediately,” but Kel ignored it. He cared more about Sofia’s safety and his gut instinct than he did about some vague order from a stranger.

  He rifled through the paperwork that contained the location of their stay, an inventory list, pertinent but still-vague details about Sofia, and contact information in case of emergency. There was only one photo in the small folder, a picture of Sofia with her godfather standing next to her, looking particularly smug.

  The more he looked at the photo, the more suspicious he felt of her supposed guardian. Perhaps Jace or Carter knew something about this man that Kel didn’t?

  He checked his watch and saw it was only barely past midnight. The three of them were all night owls, and even if he woke them, he could apologize later if needed. Right now, he just had to see if they knew anything.

  Kel pulled out his smartphone and turned it on. He’d been instructed to turn it off to cut off contact from any sources that could possibly use it to trace him, but he didn’t care about that right now. He took a photo of the picture and sent it to his brothers with the simple message, Need a hand. Have you seen either of these people before?

  As he waited, he did as much research as was possible on a small phone screen, doing reverse image searches of both their faces and looking for any news articles that mentioned her godfather or the house he lived in. Five m
inutes later, he got a text from Jace.

  J: Hey, bro, what’s up?

  K: Glad to see you’re awake.

  J: NP, just doing some intel work. Like always.

  Kel recalled that Jace had mentioned in their last talk the shift in responsibilities he’d taken. Ever since finding a mate, the dragons had relocated him and given him less and less bounty-hunting jobs, at his request, instead leveraging his knowledge of the underworld and extensive contacts to do intelligence gathering for them.

  K: Sounds fun.

  J: Ha-ha. Hilarious. LMAO. You’re so funny. But seriously, what do you need, man?

  K: I need to know if you and Carter have anything on the man in the photo.

  As Kel waited for Jace’s reply, he reached for the bag of pistachios on the counter, taking them one at a time, shelling them silently, and discarding the shells into a tiny pile.

  J: Sorry, Carter’s out of town on leave. Vacay with Amy, I think. But the guy in the photo looks familiar to me. Give me a sec.

  A minute later, the bubble appeared on his phone indicating Jace was writing a reply.

  J: Yeah, found it. Apparently, his name’s Aaron Felding. Suspected for a whole string of illegal activity, but the dragons haven’t brought him in because he keeps a pretty low profile as far as shifter crime lords go.

  K: What about the girl?

  J: Lemme check

  As he waited, Kel went back into the living room to check on Sofia. Still asleep. Good. When he got back into the kitchen, before he could eat another pistachio, his phone buzzed quietly.

  J: Damn, bro. How do you know this girl?

  K: What do you mean? I was hired to be her bodyguard.

  J: Her name and picture came up while I was snooping through some of the private communication channels that illegal dealers use to contact sellers and buyers of goods. Apparently, there’s a bounty for her that’s bigger than anything I’ve ever seen. We’re talking stupidly high.

  Kel’s mind was starting to race. What the hell was going on?