Here Kitty, Kitty!

Chapter Eleven

Nik couldn’t believe she’d fallen asleep in the back of his brother’s pickup truck. That was awfully “down-home girl” for his little hellcat. But that’s where he found her when the impromptu party began to break up. She had the sweatshirt he’d been wearing over his T-shirt wrapped around her like a blanket. He pushed her hair off her face. She didn’t swat him away this time. Instead, she smiled in her sleep.

Alek gripped his brother’s shoulder. “You ready to go?”

Nik agreed by quietly climbing into the back with her. He carefully pulled Angie into his arms, careful not to wake her. She cuddled into his body and sighed as one hand gripped his T-shirt.

They got home far sooner than he would have liked, although he knew his brother took his time. Alek opened the rear door, allowing Nik to get out of the vehicle like a normal human being.

Nik picked Angie up in his arms and jumped out of the truck. He nodded at his brother and went into his house as Alek pulled off. He carried her up the stairs, and to her room.

The cleaning people must have come by because the bed had been changed and made. He used one hand to pull the comforter and sheets back, then carefully laid her out. Slipping off her white Keds, he stopped to rub her chilled feet before carefully unwrapping the sweatshirt and pulling it off her. He tossed it on the floor, and dragged the sheets and comforter back over her still body.

Crouching down beside her, he stared at her face. Damn, but she sure was pretty. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

“Night, sugar,” he whispered softly.

He walked back to the door, shut off the light, and closed the door after him.

Angie lay in the darkness for what felt like forever. What in hell was that anyway?

She thought for sure he’d try and cop a feel while she was asleep. Actually, she kind of hoped he would. But he didn’t. Nor did he have one of his brothers simply dump her ass in the bed while he went off to do whatever tigers do after a certain hour.

But a chaste kiss goodnight? What the hell was that? What exactly did that mean? And when exactly did she start analyzing anything anyone did or said? Especially a man. Normally that stuff didn’t mean shit to her. Miki did the analyzing. Sara did the obsessing. And Angie worked hard trying to prevent the two of them from driving themselves into a mental institution.

Add in that the long, revealing conversation with the females of Nik’s family had confused her even more. Tigers were notorious players. Both the men and the women. The majority of them didn’t want anything beyond the fucking and the kids. The women had their own lives, their own careers, their own homes.

They considered Boris a freak of the highest order. A tiger who clung to one mate no matter how hard she fought. They didn’t seem to like Natalia too much. Thought she was a rich snob, like Broyna did, but they didn’t think she was any different than the rest of them when it came to sex and relationships. But as soon as Boris saw her, when they were only twelve years old, he decided she would bear his cubs and be his mate. By the time he was twenty-one, he’d already gotten Natalia pregnant with Nik. Ban came a short time after. And finally the twins. Due to complications during the birth of Alek and Kisa, Natalia was unable to have any more children. The family felt certain, or at least hoped, that Boris’s obsession with her would end. That he’d move on to other females that could still breed.

He didn’t. He had four children and seemed more than happy with that. He never left her. Never gave her up. Terrified any male who got within sniffing distance. And although their days consisted of her telling him to get the hell out of her life, they spent their nights together in the same bed.

Everyone, however, hoped his children would be more like the rest of them. Yet after the way Nik kissed her in front of everybody, they now seemed pretty confident he took after his daddy.

Angie, however, didn’t feel nearly as confident about Nik’s feelings toward her. He wanted her, but that could be because she was simply a fresh pussy in his house. But his wanting to wait for sex and his incredibly sweet goodnight kiss kept confusing her. Although he made it perfectly clear his kind wanted nothing more than a fun romp in the hay, Angie couldn’t help but feel something very different might be going on here.

What concerned her more than anything? That she cared. She cared whether Nik might be falling for her. She cared whether his family liked her. Hell, she cared whether the man was happy or not. Her. Angelina Santiago.

Angie cared when she never had before, and that absolutely freaked her the fuck out.

Nik checked the house. Now that he had Angie staying with him, he didn’t like taking any chances with her safety. Once he felt it was secure, he shifted and headed out to check his property. He knew his brothers were around, too. They’d taken it upon themselves to make sure his grounds were safe.

It didn’t surprise him they felt as responsible for her as he did. Because they were. They’d taken her from Marrec’s Pack. But he couldn’t be angry with them anymore. Not really. If it hadn’t been for them, she wouldn’t be here. Sleeping in his house.

He owed his brothers for this one. He owed them big.

Angie, unable to sleep, rolled out of bed. She took a quick shower, put on a long T-shirt, and headed to Nik’s office on the first floor. She opened the glass doors that led outside. The fresh smell of pine assaulted her and she suddenly felt like one of those women in the floor-cleaning commercials. “Shifters—now with a pine-fresh scent.”

She laughed and went to his desk, searching out another magazine, thinking she could read a little while before heading back to bed. She grabbed an issue of GQ and plopped down on the couch. She liked how Nik had this room set up. With a desk and seriously comfy leather chairs. But also another enormous couch like the one in his living room, facing a set of French doors, looking out over his backyard. She wondered if he spent a lot of time in this room. She wondered if he lay on this couch as a tiger. It had to be one of the biggest, sturdiest couches she’d ever come across. Also the most comfortable.

Instead of turning a light on so she could read the magazine, she continued to stare out into the Carolina night and enjoy the couch. Before she knew it, she was out cold.

Nik shook his head and trotted back home. If his brothers wanted to chase rabbits like a couple of cubs that was on them. He had a warm bed waiting for him and the delicious smell of Angelina Santiago to keep him company. Much better than rabbit.

The three of them had done a complete sweep of the area first, and his markings were still strong. Any that weren’t, he refreshed. As he approached the house he saw that his study door stood open. He knew he left it closed.

He burst into a full-out run, coming to a sliding, crashing stop when he saw Angelina asleep on his couch. She must have woken up after he put her down for the night. She’d showered and wore a T-shirt. He padded closer to her to make sure she was okay, and she suddenly moved in her sleep. Her T-shirt rode up a bit. Enough for him to see she wore no panties.

His big tiger head crashed to the floor, his paws covering his eyes. What is this woman trying to do to me?

Angie woke when she heard cardinals singing outside the study doors. Still slightly dark out, she realized she’d slept the rest of the night in Nik’s study. She wanted to be out of there before he woke up since she was half naked. She tried to move and realized something pinned the entire lower half of her body to the couch.

She took a second to let her eyes become accustomed to the lightening darkness and propped herself up on her elbows to look down the length of her body. That’s when she saw him. His huge tiger head resting on her lower abdomen. His giant forearms spread across her legs, pinning her to the spot. The rest of his furry body comfortably situated between her thighs and across the couch.

She figured this could be the one thing that pushed her back into therapy.

Nik’s eyes slowly opened. He looked around the room, then his big head turned to look at her. His gold eyes blinked.

Too weird. Too weird. Too weird. Even for her.

As she tried to scramble out from under him, he shifted. Back to human. Suddenly she had Nik the man between her legs. And now she didn’t want to go anywhere.

His arms tightened around her thighs, holding her in place. Apparently he didn’t want her going anywhere either.

His head dipped down and he nuzzled her exposed sex. He glanced back at her, watching to see her reaction. She didn’t move. Or breathe. Or do anything, but grasp her bottom lip lightly between her teeth. Of course the hillbilly didn’t need much more than that.

His head lowered again and Angie realized she held her breath. What if Nik just gave the appearance of being a hottie in bed? She had that happen before. The guy who taught her how to water ski promised to make her legs shake. She ended up walking out halfway through it. What if Nik were the same? What if he bored her senseless? She refused to fake it. Faking it was not in her DNA. Then what? Would he throw her out? Beg her not to tell? What if…what if…holymotherfuckingshit!

Her elbows went out from under her and she dropped back onto the couch. His tongue took another long swipe and Angie’s toes curled. The tip of his tongue flicked her clit, but thankfully his big arms were still holding her down, otherwise she would have flipped right off the couch. He didn’t concentrate on that though, but a mere tease of what was to come. Instead, he took his time exploring every inch of her pussy with that rough, flat tongue of his. Even sliding inside her and fucking her with it.

No. She wouldn’t be faking anything this morning. She wouldn’t have to.

Nik adjusted her legs so they rested on his shoulders and he moved up a bit, lifting her ass, giving him deeper access into her body. His hands reached under, gripping her cheeks as Angie reached up and gripped the arm of the couch. She arched her back and he continued tongue fucking her, while his fingers squeezed her ass.

Her head fell back, her body arched even more, while Nik returned to her clit, rubbing it with the flat of his tongue. Her hands released their grip on the couch and, instead, dug into Nik’s thick hair.

Angie’s entire body began to shake, and she knew she probably ripped hairs from his head as her orgasm ripped through her. Swiftly followed by this long, low purring sound she’d never made before.

Nik growled in response and kept right on going. Working his tongue around again until her shoulders left the couch and her entire body clenched violently, clasping him tightly to her. Any other man might have gotten his neck broken but, instead, Nik purred, stretching out her orgasm for what seemed like forever.

She finally couldn’t take anymore, but unable to actually form coherent words or thoughts, she yanked on his hair to get him to back off. His wet, grinning face rose from her lap and she knew she’d never seen anything so beautiful before.

Nik pulled himself out from the grip of her legs, nipping the inside of her thigh before dragging himself up her body until they were face to face. He hovered over her for a bit, his arms on either side of her. After a moment, he leaned his head down to kiss her.

Angie moaned into his mouth, her own taste giving her one last shudder. After he thoroughly and slowly explored the inside of her mouth, he pulled back, his smile still as wide as before.

“Mornin’, sugar.” He kissed her nose, then slid off her, and walked out.

Angie pushed herself up on her elbows, staring at the door he’d just left through.

For less than a split second she wondered again if maybe he didn’t want her. But she saw that bobbing cock bouncing out the door, harder than a plank of wood. She didn’t believe for a second he wasn’t ready to fuck her.

So what the hell is he waiting for? And exactly how much longer could she hold out?

Groaning, she turned over and buried her head into the couch cushions. Then she screamed.