Rome’s Pride: Chapter Two

He rolled them over and covered her in one swift move. One hand tangled in her hair to hold her head still as he plundered her mouth. The taste of Zuri hit his system like a drug, and he grunted. The aroma of her need filled his nostrils, tightening his balls to the point of pain, and he ground his erection against her hot, slick pussy. Her moisture quickly dampened the fabric of his jeans.

Needing more, he freed his mouth and trailed kisses down her cheek. Bypassing her neck, he latched onto her right nipple—tugging, licking, and sucking. His cat roared its appreciation when Zuri’s sharp little claws dug into his shoulders. He switched breasts and gave the left one the same rough treatment.

The scent of her cream drove him crazy. He had to track it to its source. Rome worked his way down her body until his mouth poised over the apex between her thighs and inhaled deeply. Nirvana. He lapped at her, not wanting to damage the delicate tissue with his rough tongue.

She squirmed and writhed beneath him, alternately trying to get away and wriggle closer. A steady stream of unintelligible words flowed from her mouth. Rome braced his forearms on her thighs, holding her open for his pleasure. When she beat on his head and shoulders, he paused long enough to hiss his rebuke.

“Fuck me, Rome, please. I need you,” she begged. “Give me your cock. It hurts.”

At her words, the human part of his nature lifted its head and tried to push through. There was something he’d missed. Something important. He fought with his beast until he was once more ascendant. Understanding hit. Zuri was in heat. How had he not realized it?

Shit!

Rome scrambled backwards, appalled at the colossal mistake he’d almost made. Zuri sat up and reached for him, mewling her distress. He slapped her hands away. “Zuri, you’re in heat.”

He continued scrambling away from her while she stalked him on her hands and knees.

“It’s hurts, Rome. Make it stop.”

His cat slipped its leashed and lunged for the bounty that was Zuri. Rome bitch-slapped it into submission. No. Not just hell no, but fuck no. He would not spend the rest of his life stuck on this mountain. There was a world out there with his name on it, and joining the Navy had been his first step of many. He had dreams and goals, and they did not include fathering a bunch of cubs. Nor would he do as his father had done—impregnate his mother and go on his merry way.

Rome glanced at Zuri, who’d clutched her stomach and curled into a ball. He couldn’t leave her like this. Sighing deeply even as he muttered all kinds of threats of what he’d do to his jaguar if it dared fight him in this, he caught Zuri around the waist and tugged her back against his chest. Wrapping his body protectively around hers, he snarled in her ear, “Don’t touch me.”

Before she could respond, he slid his hand between her legs and thrust two fingers deep within her sex. Pressing hard against her mound, he gave her clit the friction it needed while he finger-fucked her into an orgasm. One climax became two as his hand ignored his mental commands to stop. She felt so good in his arms, and her body responded so sweetly to his every touch.

“More, Rome. I need more.”

He’d give her more. Giving Zuri his cock was out of the question under their current circumstances, but he could do this all night. He rode her hard, licking and sucking her neck as he ground his denim covered erection against her ass. Rome caught himself scraping his teeth back and forth over the tendon between her shoulder and neck, and pulled his head away before he gave in to his cat’s urge to sink his canines and incisors deep. There would be no marking, no mating, no binding of his cat to hers.

It took hours before she collapsed into an exhausted heap in his arms. His control held by a single claw, Rome gently pressed a kiss to her forehead before laying her on the damp earth. Zuri purred and fell asleep.

Grimacing, Rome absently palmed his aching cock. He refused to give into the urge to relieve the pressure. It would give his cat too much control. Besides, he had enough to explain to Josiah, Zuri’s father and his foster father. They were both drenched in Zuri’s scent. Rome didn’t think he’d ever rid himself of the smell. It sank down into the very marrow of his bones, becoming an intrinsic part of him. If he added his cum to the mix, Josiah would never believe his account of tonight’s events.

Rome tilted his head toward the Cock and Bull where he’d left his vehicle. His enhanced hearing didn’t detect anything but the sounds of nature, and the occasional vehicle rumbling along a back road. No telling what the guys thought of his disappearing act. Sam had probably spread the word that Rome had run off to take Zuri up on her offer.

Thoughts of Sam reminded Rome of the comments he’d made about Zuri and what he’d like to do with her. His cat slashed at him and both man and beast agreed. The male who dared to touched Zuri would be missing a few vital body parts when Rome caught up with him.

Sighing, Rome shook his head. He knew he was being an asshole. He didn’t want Zuri, but was possessive enough not to want any other male to have her either. He excused his behavior by telling himself Zuri was too young. She hadn’t even reached eighteen, the legal age of adulthood in most of the known countries of the world.

He was twenty. Three years her senior but years older in terms of maturity. Zuri was like a little sister to him. His jaguar grunted his objection, and Rome grimaced. Okay, that was stretching it a bit, but they had been raised together since he was a wet behind the ears twelve-year-old with more attitude than sense. It was natural he’d feel protective of Zuri.

Rome tugged his t-shirt over his head and knelt to put it on Zuri. She grumbled but cooperated. She was sleep again before he had the shirt smoothed over her curves. He scooped her up in his arms and stood. As he strode forward, his booted foot struck something and sent it skittering. Recognizing his cellphone, Rome bent and picked it up, sliding it into his back pocket, grateful he’d found it. He didn’t have time to replace the device. His flight left in the morning for the West Coast.

As he carried his precious burden to his truck, part of him sighed with regret. Zuri was a natural beauty, and her heart was generous and kind. She was a woman any man would be proud to call his. If things were different, if his life wasn’t set on a different course, maybe…

But no, his course was set. He was headed to SEAL’s boot camp and had no doubt he’d make the cut. Then there was A-School and BUD/s training to get through. At heart, he was a warrior, and warriors made lousy husbands.

He knew what it was like to always be left behind. It was the reason he’d been raised by a pride of lions. His mother was a famous, international wildlife photographer who traveled all over the world getting the shots no one else could.

When he’d first been born, she’d tried settling down and staying in one place. She’d opened a photography studio and turned it into a thriving business. As he grew older, little by little she begun taking small weekend excursions, but she’d taken him with her. By elementary school, weekend trips had become every summer and holidays. However, when he reached puberty, she could no longer fight the wanderlust that drove their kind.

Josiah had offered to take Rome in, and his mother had agreed. She’d shed a couple of tears and promised to visit often. For a time she’d kept her word. Gradually her visits had grown fewer and farther between. Rome hadn’t faulted her, but he knew the pain of always saying goodbye. He wouldn’t subject any woman to the demands of his military career.

The parking lot was empty and dark, as he’d expected. Rome loaded Zuri onto the passenger seat and went around to the driver’s side. A glance at his phone showed it had gone dead. He brushed the dirt off and plugged it into the charger. Then he headed home.