She jerked, her hands clenching in his hair. "Stop that."
"Why? You like it." He did the same to her neglected breast.
Her heart felt as if it would thud out of her chest. "Dorian, I don't have your control."
"Baby, as I recall, I came with a single touch," he said, between nibbling kisses. "It's your turn." Making a sound incredibly akin to a purr, he bent his head to suck at the pulse in her neck, even as he thrust two fingers deep inside her. Once. Twice.
And that was all it took.
She shattered.
The pleasure was incredible, but what was even more so was that she felt him with her all the way. And when she opened her eyes, it was to the openly pleased curve of his lips, his arms holding her tight. "Magnificent," she whispered, teasing him because she'd learned he liked it. So did she. "But I would rather have you inside me."
Feline delight in those blue depths, the dark edge of sorrow and rage pleasured away. Ashaya was no expert at passion, but if that was what it took to keep Dorian from the edge, she'd play with him night and day. Because he was hers to care for, as much as she was his. "Please, Dorian." She smiled. "Come inside me."
He chuckled. "I like the way you say please. I think I want to hear it again."
"Please, Mr. Christensen." Wrapping her arms around his neck, she hooked one leg over his waist. "Pretty please."
He scowled. "It's not begging if you smile."
She leaned in until her lips brushed his. "You make me want to crawl all over you."
"That'll do." He was inside her an instant later, a hot, hard intrusion that was somehow the most perfect of joinings. "Up." His hand went to her bottom, urging her to wrap her other leg around him. The second she did, he backed her against the smoothness of a moss-laden trunk.
Then he proceeded to show her exactly how magnificent he could get. There were no hard, fast thrusts, nothing that might cause her back to bruise. No, tonight, he was determined to drive her insane with slow rotations that touched her every sensitive spot over and over... and over again. The orgasm hit her hard, and rode her in long lush waves, wringing her dry. Her bones turned molten.
It took a while to find the brain cells to say, "Mind-blowing." His oh-so-satisfied smile of pure male delight followed her into her dreams.
And perhaps it was that smile that unlocked the knowledge in her mind.
She woke at dawn to find her cat watching her. He was on his stomach, the sheets barely covering his buttocks, all golden hair and bright blue eyes. "What?" he asked when she stared at him.
She went to tell him, but stopped herself at the last instant. Until she was sure, she had to keep this to herself. "Blondie?" she asked instead.
He grinned. "That was her revenge for me calling her Carrot. What're you going to call me?"
She took a moment to think. "Mine."
He gave her a startled look. "Possessive."
"So?" She stole the answer he'd given her so many times.
"Nothing." A meek look but his voice was filled with laughter. "I'm not going to argue with a sexy woman who wants to make me her poor, overworked love slave."
She found herself laughing, even as part of her mind obsessively considered the implications of what she'd discovered in Dorian's genetic structure. She was still working on the problem that afternoon as they drove to Talin's home. It seemed the -
"Mommy, look!"
She glanced into the backseat to see Keenan making the strangest face. "That's very interesting, baby."
Satisfied, he nodded. "I'm a leopard."
"Of course you are." She looked at Dorian to see him biting back a smile. "Are you excited about seeing Noor again?" she asked Keenan.
"Yeah! We're gonna play tag."
She was excited herself - Jon was going to be there today, too. Turning to the front when Keenan became engrossed in a handheld game, she touched Dorian on the arm. "Are you sure Jon won't have psychological issues with seeing me?" She'd been part of the lab where the teenager had been tortured.