Claimed by Fae_MMF Paranormal Romance Read online

  She felt his shock at the sight of her thighs, his concern and compassion. Then his head dropped, and he kissed one. He was kissing her scars. One by one, his mouth traced the burn marks on her thighs.

  Ryan said they were gross.

  She gasped, her eyes filling with tears.

  He finished kissing her thighs and came up to whisper in her ear again. “You know what I think, darling? I think you like being chained to my wall. A Dom can tell. This isn’t just about fire and air, is it?” He pinched her nipple lightly, and she squealed. “Is it?”

  She stared at him, her mind so drenched with lust that it felt almost blank. He’d been concerned about her scars but had had the decency not to invade her privacy about them. He’d even kissed them. This man might make her feel good, then reject her and make her feel bad, but good, bad, did it really matter? Her libido said no.

  “Spread your legs, August.”

  She gulped as she obeyed, growing weak all over. Heat rose to her hairline as the command humiliated and thrilled her all at once.

  Jay’s pupils spread. His hands went to her breasts again to caress them. There was no longer any hesitation in him. He gave off the arrogant air of a man in complete control. If he were to touch her between her legs now, she would lose it. She’d humiliate herself by having an instant orgasm. Instead, he forced his hands beneath the cheeks of her ass and grinned at her. She gasped as he pinched her. The mild sting drove her pussy forward, so it pressed against his cock again.

  “No.” He smacked one butt cheek. “Wait.” He pushed her panties to one side and trailed his fingers lightly up and down her inner thighs. She threw back her head and moaned. He was torturing her.

  “Hold still.”

  Her body rebelled against her mind, her hips wanting to rise to press against him, but she obeyed. Then his fingers finally grazed her drenched opening. He angled his hand to shove two fingers in at once, sharp, insistent jabs in the tunnel that was so ready for them.

  “Don’t move.”

  A moan tore from her throat against her will. He stopped and sat all the way up so he could appraise her. She felt ridiculously vulnerable, shy and lewd, hands cuffed and chained above her, bra cups rucked down, two fingers spearing her pussy.

  Finally, he spoke. “You, August Peak, are so fucking beautiful.”

  She drew in a sharp breath of surprise at his unexpected praise. A voice in the back of her mind screeched in denial. She wasn’t beautiful. But the negative thought slid away like silver mercury slipping through a crack in a rock.

  Only lust and joy remained.

  “Ah, you’re so wet, so ready, babe.” He pressed inside, hitting her G-spot, and she arched back on a moan. “A man could swim in there.”

  Warmth rose to her cheeks. His thumb grazed her clit while his fingers continued to press and thrust, and he added a third. He rubbed strong, firm fingers on her clit a moment more and then stopped, leaving her bereft. She couldn’t stop herself from groaning long and loud, and he lightly slapped her ass cheek again, shutting her up.

  Then he sat back to unbutton his shorts. She saw that his choice in the heat was to go commando. She leaned back, closing her eyes, and heard the rip of a foil packet.

  “Just say the word, August, and this goes no further.”

  The thought of him stopping now made her groan with frustration. This was magic lust, but it felt too good to fight. And sex with another man might wash Ryan from her mind. “I don’t want you to stop.”

  Jay smiled. “I have to protect such a beautiful woman.”

  She watched him slide the condom on his length, enjoying the way he exhaled. Then he shifted his body until the head of him pressed against her sex, and she whimpered, feeling the enormity of him. The thrusts came deep and slow. She couldn’t believe he was so hard, so huge. A laugh of disbelief escaped her.

  “They’re fae condoms,” he whispered in her ear. Then he moved down her body. The feel of his mouth on her nipple made her head swim. It was like being plugged into some strong electrical current that charged her whole body.

  His thumb again rubbed her clit while the width of him stretched her, burned at her opening. He body gushed in response, waves of pleasure surging over her, her body drenched in sensation as a thousand tiny sparks of pleasure sparked within. She cried out.

  Jay looked stricken. “Am I hurting you, darling? You’re so tight.”

  She shook her head. “No…please…”

  “Please what?”

  A flash of shame mingled with desire. She could say it if she had to. “I…I… Please, fuck me.”

  And then he was there inside her again, thick, hot and throbbing. He was so huge, she felt impaled like a kebab on a stick. It was heaven.

  He forced himself up inside her, drawing back just slightly, only to shove himself in harder again. It was what she wanted, what she craved. His fingers worked relentlessly at her clit, demanding she find pleasure.

  Her bondage became more frustrating as she longed to grip his biceps or his ass and force him still deeper, but at the same time, it heightened her arousal.

  He let go, pounding, screwing up into her with all his fierce masculine force.

  She came in sharp gasps, wailing at the deep stabs of pleasure, jerking and bucking off the bed, her braid and breasts bouncing, the chain clattering against the wall.

  “That’s it. That’s it, sexy. Yes, fuck, yes, beautiful, come for me.”

  August glowed with the effect of the climax, and also with delight at his praise.

  But that was dangerous, because while she might be ready to let another man have power over her body, no one was going to have power over her mind ever again. She lay there vibrating, overwhelmed with words she couldn’t say. And part of her knew, knew that the unloved little girl inside her had given in too quickly to the touch of a beautiful man.

  At least, unlike with Ryan, this was about pure lust. She didn’t know Jay at all, and he didn’t know her, so no ulterior motive could be involved.

  Chapter Six

  Jay stared into his coffee cup as he stirred it, losing himself in the swirling black liquid. A lump of guilt lodged in his throat, making it difficult to swallow. The headline that leaped out at him from the Zimbabwe Herald on the table made his stomach clench even tighter. Sodomites earn seven-year jail term.

  He put a book of Arlan’s on top of the newspaper so he wouldn’t see the headline anymore. August’s face flashed into his mind again. But thinking of all that sweetness, all the innocence he’d seen in those soft blue-gray eyes as she gave herself to him made him feel even worse. Her face was so arresting, so serenely beautiful, that when he first saw her, it had made him blink in surprise.

  Christ, I’m a bastard.

  August had fallen asleep almost immediately after their lovemaking, obviously exhausted and worn down from the events of the day. She didn’t even wake when he uncuffed her and laid her arms gently down on the bed. Nor had she stirred when he’d brought out the citrus-scented massage oil and worked it into her wrists to ease any possible stiffness. When he watched her sleeping, a fierce protective instinct had welled up inside him, making him regret having given in to the overwhelming chemistry between them.

  He drew in a sharp breath. Fuck it. He needed to admit it to himself. Seducing August so quickly had been a stupid, selfish act. The woman had recently been attacked, shot at, had even had the poisonous dark-fae dust thrown at her. Why had he thought it was okay to seduce her? The timing had been wrong, wrong, wrong.

  He glanced at the bowl of yogurt sitting next to his coffee cup. Good sex had first made him crave food, then guilt had stolen his appetite.

  And yet guilt couldn’t stop his cock springing up again at the thought of everything about her. That smile. Those large, full breasts on that tiny frame. That curvy ass.

  Jay groaned at the memory. So, what if he kept comparing it to Arlan’s tight butt? So, what if both shapes could make him hard? That just made him a regular super-ho
rny young guy. It didn’t make him bi. His hands clenched into fists. A delicate woman like August would probably be grossed out if she knew what he did with Arlan.

  He didn’t know what would be worse, the guys down at the station discovering his secret, or a chick like August discovering it. She was some sort of bookish academic, but however intellectual she was, she’d still be pissed if she found out she’d slept with a guy who slept with guys.

  The bullshit between him and Arlan needed to stop.

  Arlan had tried to get him to read books about the fae and half-fae history. But he wasn’t a big reader like Arlan. Jay preferred to use his body, lift weights, run, work out. He liked being a cop because it was physical. He read the odd thriller or some Stephen King—horror, guy stuff.

  Jay took another long sip of coffee. Arlan said he shouldn’t be ashamed, that the two of them were fated mates. As far as Jay was concerned, the two of them were best friends because their dads had been business partners. The other stuff that happened between them was…well, these things happened at all-boys boarding schools. Teenage boys were fiercely horny. Men in their early twenties the same. And now it had become a habit. A bad one.

  He swallowed another spoonful of yogurt.

  He’d had a birthday in January. He was twenty-one now. Time to take stock of his life. He’d become a policeman to protect and serve. Protecting the wildlife, he and Arlan loved meant everything. And when it came to catching poachers, he was successful, but in every other area of his life, he was a fuckup.

  The sound of Arlan opening the door broke his train of thought. He set his coffee down and went to greet him. “You look like shit.”

  “Thanks, mate.” Arlan ran his hand through his hair, and clumps of dirt and dry leaves fell at his feet.

  There was blood on his hands and around his mouth, a cut on his face. Jay’s gut clenched at the sight of the blood. Not because he cared if Arlan’s lion had killed an animal for food, but because Arlan, inhuman form, was so devoted to protecting Zimbabwe’s wildlife.

  “I left you some food. Did you kill something?”

  Arlan shoved past him and headed for the sink. He washed his hands with the cedarwood-scented soap he favored, grabbing a dishcloth to get rid of the blood. “Nothing’s dead. Got in a fight.” He paused and shot Jaya wry grin. “You should see the other lion.”

  Jay smiled.

  “So, where’s August?” “She’s asleep.”

  Concern flickered across Arlan’s features. “Still?” Jay swallowed. “She was awake for a little while.” “She’s been through a lot.”

  A pang of regret squeezed Jay’s stomach, and he nodded his agreement. Arlan leaned back on the heels of his Safari sandals, his back pressed against the wall. He crossed his muscular arms over his chest. Jay turned his head, trying not to notice the way Arlan’s biceps bulged.

  Arlan waited another beat, and then his eyes narrowed. “Jay…” “What?”

  “There’s something you’re not telling me” “We’ll talk about it later.”

  “We’ll talk about it now.”

  Jay put his head in his hands. Arlan waited a beat and then headed for the bedroom. Jay thought about running after him and grabbing him, trying to haul him back, but thought better of it. He held his breath and closed his eyes.

  It wasn’t long before he heard a small thunk on the glass coffee table. He opened his eyes to see the velvet-lined handcuffs. The damn things almost seemed to pulse with accusation all on their own.

  “You want to tell me about these?” Arlan stabbed a finger toward the handcuffs. “They weren’t in the bedside table. They were lying on the floor.”

  A muscle twitched in Jay’s jaw, but he stayed silent. Arlan wasn’t his minder. He didn’t have to answer to him.

  “Seriously, what is this shit, Jay? You jumped the gun on this? You’ve risked the whole goddamn plan? You think I don’t know why?”

  Jay opened his eyes, his nostrils flaring. “Because she’s hot, that’s why. That’s all.” “Because you and I nearly had sex today. Because you always have to prove you’re not gay.”

  Jay walked away from him, heading back for his coffee. “Because I’m not fucking gay. I like girls. I like women.”

  “You know I like women too, Jay. All fae are—” Jay slapped a hand on the table,

  “I hate that word bi too. Stupid fucking word. Why do people have to be shoved in stupid little boxes?”

  “In the Fae Realm, everyone lives in ménage rela—”

  “We’re not in the Fae fucking Realm, get that through your thick fucking head. I have to go to work every day. Plain ordinary work. I work with cops who would loathe me if they knew I—”

  “Jay…”

  He hated the way Arlan’s voice got now, too kind and almost condescending just because he was three years older. “You and I have known each other forever, and I think that we’re—”

  Jay raised a hand. He sat down. He could guess what Arlan was about to say, something soft and romantic that he didn’t want to hear. “Listen, mate we’re friends, but the shit that sometimes happens between you and me…” He took a sip of coffee. “For me, it’s just… It’s a bit of tension relief. Being a cop is stressful. Life is stressful. That’s it. That’s all.” He felt momentary guilt, but it was better this way.

  “Tension relief?” Arlan’s voice fell to a bare whisper.

  Adrenaline, guilt and rage surged through Jay’s bloodstream. Before he knew what, he was doing, he gave the whole table a violent push.

  Bowl and coffee cup spun across the surface, shattering against the wall, yogurt and coffee splattering them both. Arlan took a quick step backward, brushing yogurt off his arms, his eyes full of pain and anger.

  “What’s going on?” They both turned. August stood in the doorway, mussed and sleepy, her tiny body draped in one of Jay’s shirts. She stared at the broken table and the rest of the mess.

  Arlan stepped toward her. “August, beautiful, how are you feeling?” Jay angled around the smashed table. “Don’t be fake, Arlan.”

  Arlan whipped his head around, shock on his face. “What? What’s your problem now, asshole?” “You. Acting so concerned about her when we planned to use her.”

  “What?” August looked confused, wary…stricken.

  Jay strode over to the laptop and switched it on, quickly finding the email Kruger had CCed him on.

  “What do you mean, use me?” Her voice shook. Arlan stood up. “Jay, don’t do this. Not this way.”

  Something inside him told him to stop, but rage and adrenaline pushed those thoughts aside. Besides, she had a right to know. He spun the laptop in August’s direction.

  “Read it.”

  Arlan could have pushed Jay away from the laptop and forced him against the wall to stop this, but what would that have achieved? The damage was done. August wouldn’t have trusted him if he’d tried to stop her reading the email.

  He was still smarting from Jay’s stupid words about “tension relief”, even though he knew Jay didn’t mean it. His chest constricted as he waited for August’s reaction.

  The children, the lions, the possibility of using sex magic to find the storm tower were all hanging in the balance, ready to be shattered like the coffee cup and the cereal bowl. Worse, this sweet, beautiful, oddly familiar woman was not going to understand. She was going to be offended they needed her for sex-magic.

  She’d blanched when Jay had said they were using her. Her face still appeared unusually pale and milky in the dim light of the trailer, but her chin jutted up with determination. This woman was fragile, but strong in her own way.

  He watched her now as she read the email.

  The red highlights in her chestnut braid caught the sunlight coming in through the window. Arlan wondered what it would be like to feel that glossy hair in his hands, warm, rich and thick. He wondered what it would look like loose, hanging around her pretty face.

  When he’d knocked her to the ground to save her from
the bullets, her scent had been sweet and exciting, like jasmine, orange blossom and musk. Her cheekbones were wide and high, like a movie starlet’s from the fifties. All her facial features were delicate, but her lips had a unique quirk to them that made him long to taste them. Made him wonder how they’d move beneath his own. He imagined her under him again, imagined her hips lifting, her pretty legs twining around his waist.

  Hello? Moron? She doesn’t exactly seem to even like you. And once she finishes reading the letter, she’s going to hate you more. Your libido is way ahead of reality.

  He glanced at her lips again. He knew that quirk; it was more than familiar.

  Oh Jesus. August… Gus for short, because her three-year-old sister, May, couldn’t pronounce August. No… No!

  Pictures flashed in his mind. Dark dust in bottles on a shelf above an oven. A beautiful, clever eleven-year-old girl with a bruise blooming violently on her upper cheek, more bruises of varying shades of yellow, purple, black on her legs; fresh cigarette burns on her shoulders. God, no!

  Guilt hollowed his belly, and he drew a ragged breath. He’d been a twelve-year-old boy surrounded by adults impressed by Mrs. Peak’s astonishing fae powers. He hadn’t saved August or her father. Fate was bringing her back into his life to teach him a lesson for his failure and cowardice.

  The few times he’d actually spoken to her as a child, her soft, scared voice had ripped at his heart. She didn’t remember him. That was no surprise.

  “Gus.” He whispered it. But she heard him. August’s swallow was so loud, he could hear it.

  She turned and fled into the bathroom, slamming the door. He wanted to punch the wall as he listened to her dry heave. Was it because of the remaining effects of the dark dust, or was it because of remembering her mother’s abuse? He didn’t know.