Leopard Tails: Alchemist Read online

  Katrina dabbed at the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “What happens when you get tired of me?”

  Joey leaned toward her. The wild smell of him, and the easy way her body remembered his scent, captured her senses. Pulses of heat raced through her blood and she began to tremble from the myriad of emotions and anxieties that were having a go at her. Lust wasn’t the least of them.

  “Growing tired of you, Katrina, hardly seems possible. I only spent a few moments with you, inside you, and that memory is as embedded in my blood as the leopard is.”

  The juices began to build within the heating flesh at the top of her thighs. Her nipples beaded hard and now that her hunger for food was sated, her hunger for him, both physical and psychological, demanded satisfaction.

  “Want to sleep on it?” Joey asked.

  The invitation in his eyes was clear and she doubted it was sleep he really had in mind. For that matter, neither did she.

  “Sure,” she told him.

  Chapter 2

  Katrina was a little embarrassed when she took Joey back to the small, seedy hotel room where she’d been living for the last several days. She’d come to realize that there were transients living there, and a few hookers used the hotel too. Her room had dirty wallpaper that was pulling away from the wall in several places and a single full bed with dingy sheets and a comforter with a big rip down the middle of it. The television was broken, the air conditioner worked so well she’d wake up with icicles coming from her nose, and one of the windows wouldn’t lock -- which worried her.

  “It’s okay,” Joey told her, closing the door behind them and locking it. He peeled off the dark jacket he wore and draped it across the one chair in the room. “You can be out of here tomorrow if you want.”

  Oh, she wanted to be out of here. Part of her just wanted to go with him regardless. And he’d been right about one very crucial fact. She had no other options. “I don’t have anything to --”

  Joey was on her before she could finish the sentence, halting her words when his mouth came down over hers. His tongue stroked hers and the taste of him evoked the incredible feelings she remembered from the night with him in Hell. The scent of him made her mouth water, consuming her senses. Her mind spun with the onslaught of sensations when his lips slid over hers. Joey held her tightly, rocking his arousal against her.

  It was all she could do to break that kiss and pull back just enough to look him in the eye. “I can see where this is going,” she managed between gasps. “But with all your talk about setting up a town like the werewolves, how do I know you aren’t planning to pimp me out like they were?”

  His eyes were gleaming as they gazed down into hers. “I’m going to prove to you tonight that I never want another man’s hands on you,” he vowed. “I’m going to be the only lover in your life.”

  Her throat tightened. He sounded so sincere. How could he mean that when they probably hadn’t spent a total of five hours together?

  He snatched the wig from her head so fast it startled her. He pulled the nylon cap that held her real hair in place off too. Sinking his fingers into her hair, he gently massaged her scalp as the long strands fell around her shoulders. God, how did he instinctively know how she liked to be touched?

  “I love your hair, Katrina.” He lifted a pale lock to his nose, inhaling deeply. “Since Halloween night, you’ve been all that I’ve thought of. Your big blue eyes, your delicate little face, your hair.”

  His fingers plucked at the buttons of her coat, pulling it off to reveal the sweater and pants she wore beneath. Letting the coat drop to the floor, he easily pulled her sweater over her head.

  His breath was a rough hiss as his hands ran up the flesh of her sides. “Damn, you’re skin and bones. How long has it been since you’d eaten?”

  Now she felt very self-conscious. She’d always been on the skinny side anyway. At the moment, she probably looked like a starving dog.

  His hands slid up her back to unhook her bra, pulling it away from her skin like a mask. Brushing a kiss to one of her nipples, he bent to unfasten her pants and gently push them down her legs.

  When she stood nude before him, she wrapped her arms around her middle. He didn’t speak. His hand cupped her between her legs, two fingers sliding into her dampening slit.

  “Ah,” Joey growled, low in his throat. “Your body doesn’t lie, Katrina. You want me, just like I want you. Do you see how good we’ll be together?”

  Katrina arched her back, her greedy body melting at his touch.

  Joey’s fingers were gentle and arousing, spreading the juices that he found there and making her pussy contract in need. He parted the folds of her cunt so he could easily slide into her entrance. They filled and stretched her, and her greedy passage closed around them.

  “Have you thought about my touch since that night, Katrina?”

  He expected her to talk? Everything on earth had come to a grinding halt for her except for the exquisite pressure of his teasing fingers and he wanted conversation? “Yes.”

  Katrina cried out when his fingers pulled free and trailed upward from her pussy to her tummy, then circled the hard beads of her nipples with the moisture from her pussy. The scent of her own arousal drifted up to her like heavy perfume. Her face warmed while he watched her reaction and her clit began to throb, clamoring for his attention.

  His mouth claimed hers for a kiss, his tongue sweeping into her mouth. When he tilted his head, the kiss became one of desperation. His tongue licked at hers, slid over her lips. Katrina wrapped her arms around him, clinging to him. Joey growled low in his throat at that, pulling her tighter against him.

  As if he couldn’t deny himself any longer, he bent his head, his lips going to her breast. His tongue stroked over one hard nipple enticingly. With his hand, he framed the mound of her breast while he laved her.

  “That feels good,” she whispered. Arching, she pushed herself at him with the need for him to take her deeper into his mouth. Katrina wanted him to suckle her with abandon.

  Joey rewarded her by doing just that. Drawing the tiny, hard tip into his mouth he began to give her what she craved. Katrina moaned. It felt that good. Pulses of pure pleasure spread down toward her stomach and cunt. Her pussy walls clenched hard with each soft, wet lash of his teasing tongue. Her thighs squeezed together, the heated flesh between them slick with her juices.

  He pulled back to grin up at her, the handsome devil’s dark eyes shining. “Have I convinced you to come with me yet?”

  Would he stop if she said yes?

  Katrina grinned at him. “No.”

  His mouth dove for her other breast, lavishing it with the same attention he’d given the first. Katrina shivered and bucked against him, the relentless sensations smashing her sanity. She barely noticed he was moving them closer to the bed until he nudged her back onto it.

  Joey pressed her onto her back with her knees hanging over the foot of the bed. He pushed her thighs open and she let him, knowing what he intended to do and wanting it with a desperation that overwhelmed her. He sank down to his knees on the floor and slid his hands beneath her to cup her bottom and lift her up to his mouth.

  He only licked her at first, swiping his tongue through her swollen folds. She lost her breath and her hips shot off the bed. Warm juices coated her pussy and matted the tight curls covering it. Joey took his time, lapping at her pussy and sucking at her swollen clit by turns. His tongue burned a devastating path down through her slit, then he plunged his tongue into her opening.

  Screaming, Katrina convulsed in pleasure. Her frantic pleas filled the room around them while her pussy pulsed and contracted. Before her orgasm could really blossom, his tongue pulled out of her, drifting up to lick at her clit while her hands clutched at the comforter beneath her and she begged him not to stop. Hell, who knew what she was saying. Tiny explosions of ecstasy ripped through her, making her writhe on the bed. Yet the small sampling of pleasure was not enough. She wanted more.

&nbs
p; She wanted a big, wonderful, sanity-smashing orgasm and she wanted it right now. His tongue was a silken flame in her cunt, lapping at her juices and teasing her with quick, little dives into her aching passage. How was she going to survive this?

  “Please,” she whispered.

  Joey rose above her at her whispered plea, pulling off his own sweater and yanking at the front of his jeans. “Please what? Take you with me?”

  When he’d rid himself of his pants, he pushed her legs wide apart and poised the heated length of his cock at her weeping entrance.

  “You know what I want.” Katrina clutched his arms with her hands, trying to pull him down to her.

  Joey chuckled and began to push into her with a slow glide that drove her crazy. She bucked against him, grabbing at his arms and shoulders. He wouldn’t be hurried. His cock stretched her unbelievably until his entire length was buried inside her. Katrina’s head tossed on the bed but he waited, not moving. Her desire for release was so strong now she was afraid she wouldn’t make it.

  When he began to thrust inside her, she nearly came right away. Her muscles tightened around the hot, broad cock that plunged inside her. She struggled to breathe, struggled to lift her hips to meet his every thrust. Joey fucked her with smooth strokes of his cock, holding her in place with the firm grip of his fingers digging into her flesh. The pressure built at an alarming rate. She was so close to coming now. Tremors began to pass through her, one after the other, preparing for the release that was coming to blow her apart.

  Katrina trembled while he watched her. Perspiration gathered between her breasts, beading her forehead. Her pussy began to throb and convulse. “Let go, Katrina.” His voice was a harsh whisper. His face was flushed and his expression was one of steely determination. “Scream for me.”

  And scream she did as the orgasm finally tore through her. Pleasure raced along her, from her pussy and clit, racing through her blood like molten lava. His thrusts gained in strength and speed as the ecstasy rocked her body hard. She convulsed around his cock as he began to shake and moan with his own release.

  Hot jets of sperm filled her over and over. His grip on her hips turned almost painful. Shudder after shudder seemed to run through his body and into hers. They strained together, their bodies locked in passion until every ounce of their energy was spent.

  Joey climbed slowly onto the bed, pulling her with him up to the ruined headboard. It felt so wonderful to be held in his arms, against his heart. Katrina snuggled against his chest, content and sated.

  “So?”

  Did he want to talk again? Katrina grinned but closed her eyes. Sleep was claiming her fast, shutting her mind and body down.

  “So?” She threw the question back at him.

  “Will you go with me?”

  The question pulled her mind out of its sleepy lull. He was asking her to trust him, to go with him to who-knew-where and let him take care of her. Of course, if she could enjoy this every night, the shelter of his arms and the incredible pleasure he seemed to draw from her with great ease, well, that was a pretty powerful enticement.

  Yet there were so many other things to consider. “Will I be able to work in this town you talk about?”

  He yawned above her. “I suppose. You certainly don’t have to.”

  “I want to.” She didn’t want to be completely dependent on someone she hardly knew.

  “Then you can. Anything else?”

  “Well, we didn’t use anything just now.” And wasn’t now one hell of a time to think about birth control? “If I were to… you know… would the child be like you or…?”

  “From what I understand, Katrina, our kind must be full blooded to achieve transformation. So any children we have will lead mostly normal lives.”

  “Mostly?” Katrina had to wonder what that meant.

  “There will be time to talk, Katrina. Once we get to Madden. You’re exhausted. Rest now.”

  That she could definitely do.

  “After you answer me.”

  Katrina sighed. “You asked if I wanted to sleep on it,” she reminded him.

  “After having you again, I need to know now.”

  “Then I’ll go.” She had no other prospects. She wanted the protection she knew he could offer her if the werewolves found them. The sex was really good.

  And it wasn’t like she was agreeing to marry the guy. It was an opportunity to live better than she was now until she decided what to do with her life, right? She’d be safe from the werewolves. Once she was there, she didn’t have to stay.

  Joey pulled her closer to his chest at her answer and Katrina fell immediately to sleep.

  Chapter 3

  She’d packed up the three outfits she’d lived in since she escaped Hell and they left the next morning. Katrina slept most of the way to the small town in Maine. He’d wakened her only once to eat dinner in Pennsylvania. He’d slept for a couple of hours at a rest area that night and then he’d continued their drive. All she knew was that they arrived in the small, seaside town late the next morning and for all her sleep, she was still exhausted.

  She’d never been to Maine before and it was beautiful despite the fact that it was freezing cold there. The view of the ocean that ran along the edge of the little town was breathtaking. The sleepy homes nestled into the wintry landscape were as perfect as a painting. The town of Madden amounted to one short strip where there were about three restaurants, a clothing shop, a gift shop, a butcher shop, and a hardware store. There were some bed and breakfasts there too which only made sense.

  “We aren’t far from Bar Harbor. We’ll stop here before we go home,” Joey told her, pulling into the driveway of an attractive older home just outside the small town. It was painted in white with black shutters and appeared very well kept for a house its age. “I have to pick up my cat.”

  If Katrina was still lingering on the edges of drowsiness, that pulled her right out of it. “Your cat?”

  Joey glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He parked the car and shut the engine off. “Yes.”

  “Don’t you think that’s… I don’t know. Weird?”

  Joey laughed. “No, why?”

  “Just curious.” Okay, now she felt awkward. “So, is it afraid of you at all?”

  He shook his head, taking off his safety belt. “No, that’s why I have a cat. To her, I’m a curiosity. Another pet, a bird or dog, would be impossible though.”

  “They know what you are?”

  “Yes.”

  “What’s the cat’s name?”

  Joey threw her that little lopsided grin of his. “Tiger.”

  He released her seat belt and motioned to her with his hand, opening the car door. “Come with me. Meet my friends.”

  Katrina slowly climbed out of her side of the car, stretching as she did and trying to rake her fingers through the wild tangle of her hair. “Are they…”

  “Ilia is,” Joey explained, understanding that she was asking if his friends were like him or human. “His wife, her grandmother, and their son are not.”

  “Their son isn’t…”

  “Ilia adopted him.”

  “Ah.”

  She followed him onto the porch where he softly knocked at the door. A striking man with dark hair and dark eyes answered the door, smiling at Joey. Warmly clasping Joey’s hand, he invited them in. “Who is your lovely guest?”

  Katrina didn’t miss the man’s thick accent. Her gaze met his. Russian?

  “This is Katrina,” Joey said in the way of introduction. “Katrina, Ilia Kerensky.”

  She accepted the hand the other man offered her and shook it. Okay, he wasn’t so scary. Like Joey, he was very attractive but he didn’t make her feel threatened.

  “Hey, Joey,” a woman’s voice called.

  Katrina stepped inside just in time to see a gorgeous woman walk into the living room. Her dark hair just touched her shoulders and gleamed like silk, the perfect complement to the smooth ebony of her skin. She wore a ta
ngerine colored sweater with jeans and exuded a confidence that Katrina really admired.

  And she was human, Katrina reminded herself. That was good to know.

  “Who do we have here? Is this that lady friend you’ve been pining for all this time?”

  Did Joey actually blush at the woman’s words? Katrina grinned up at him as the woman walked right up to her, holding out her hand. “Hi, I’m Molly, Ilia’s wife.”

  “Katrina. Nice to meet you.”

  “Well, I’m glad to finally meet you.” Molly shot Joey a teasing grin. “Come in. Sit down.”

  She led them toward a cozy corner with a large couch and two matching upholstered chairs where the four of them sat down.

  “How’s Tiger?” Joey asked.

  “Renard ain’t going to give up that damned cat, Joey.” Molly chuckled good-naturedly. “I told Ilia last night that it was going to be ugly when you came to get her.”

  “Renard is Molly and Ilia’s son,” Joey explained to Katrina. “You’ll just have to get a kitten for him after this, Molly.”

  “No.” Glancing at her husband with mischief in her eyes, Molly shook her head. “Too many damned cats around here without adding to them.”

  Contrary to what Katrina would have expected from the comment, both men smiled.

  “So will you be joining us up here, Katrina?” Molly asked her now.

  Katrina nodded, but she wanted to be clear that it was her choice. “For now.”

  Molly studied her for a moment. “I think you’ll like it up here. I’ve always lived in the city, so it was quite a change moving to a small town like this one. But they’ve got good schools here for my baby and I started my own beauty salon. Business is surprisingly good.”

  “It looks like a wonderful town,” Katrina told her.

  “I don’t want to give Tiger back!” The high wail of a child’s voice drew their attention to the dining room. Only it wasn’t a child that stood there but a very old black woman. According to Joey, that would be Molly’s grandmother.

  “He don’t wanna give back that ole cat,” the woman announced. Using her cane, she slowly entered the room. Her thinning hair was solid white and her weathered, dark skin was lightly lined. Her eyes were bright and alert as they scanned the occupants in the room, eventually falling on Katrina and remaining on her.