Chapter 9
Lana thoroughly enjoyed the next day and was delighted to discover that Roman was pretty good at moving heavy things.
The big surprise, however, was re-learning how funny Roman was, how their senses of humor meshed. Despite the intimidating task of packing up her apartment and completing the furnishings of her new suite—one that Jackson had arranged to have cleared out for her—they had a lot of fun that day, laughing together almost the entire time.
That night, as she watched her new streak move her into her suite in the hotel’s basement, Lana was surprised by a wave of nostalgia washing over her. Seeing large, loyal men perform tasks for them, obeying her orders and Roman’s, she felt for a moment like her father’s princess again, taken care of by the streak.
And as she considered being an Alpha Mate, a thrill ran up her spine when she saw how readily she was obeyed by the two streak members Roman had asked her to consider most seriously. They were watching her, too, she realized. Apparently Roman had spoken to them, as well.
After almost three hours of moving and rearranging, Lana finally started to feel a little lighter. She glanced around, not only at Roman and their streak, but at how much the environment had changed. The couches and chairs in her suite were more neutral, with earth-colored tones.
As the men in the streak started to file out, Lana plopped down flat on the bed, exhausted. She lay there, listening to the sounds around her, feeling as if she were floating. The room got quieter, and then Roman walked over, his steps slow. His large form caused the mattress to dip in a bit. Then, she realized he was not near her, but right next to her. His lips softly kissed her cheek.
“Ever have a one-armed massage?”
The joke caught her completely by surprise, and she burst out laughing. “No, I can’t say that I have,” she managed, before laughing again.
“Well, then, you’re in for a treat.”
“I think I’ll take you up on that offer.” She rolled over onto her stomach.
“You need to take off your shirt for this to work.” Amusement echoed through Roman’s voice. She started to reach around, to undo her top and make things easier for him, but he beat her to it.
With her back exposed, his strong hand began massaging her tight muscles. The longer he worked, the more she relaxed, slowly turning to putty. He was strong, but gentle, and rhythmic. It was exactly what she needed.
A long while later, his hand paused and his warm lips pressed softly against the middle of her back.
“Nice,” she murmured, smiling despite herself. “But what are you doing?” she playfully asked him.
“Kissing a beautiful woman.” He kissed up her back, dropping light touches to either side of her spine. “Can you blame me?”
“Well, I certainly don’t want you to stop.” She thought back to their original night together, the way he’d made her feel sexy and safe.
Now, he straddled her, pinning her down in a way that she found surprisingly sexy. He pressed down on her, easily supporting himself on one hand and kissing her neck. A shiver shot through her, ending in stirrings between her legs. And she also sensed his own stirring, against her ass.
She tried to turn her head toward him to let him know she wanted more of his kisses. She was only able to turn about half as much as she wanted to, but he responded by kissing her cheek.
“Turn me over,” she heard herself tell him.
He raised himself up and then turned her onto her back. She slid her pants and panties down, and then kicked her shoes off, letting her clothes fall to the foot of the bed. Reaching up, she pulled his shirt off.
God. I’d forgotten what great abs he has.
She pushed at his jeans, shoving them partially down. When he stood to finish undressing, his dark eyes intent upon her, he was already hard.
As he slid up her body from the foot of the bed, he paused, slicking his tongue across her clit. With a moan, she let her knees fall to the side, opening herself to him. He swirled her into his mouth, sucking gently as she writhed. His hot breath blew over her, sending chills racing along her entire body.
Then he began speaking in between licking and sucking, his words forming a rhythm with his actions. “Tomorrow night,” he said, finishing the second word by flicking his tongue over her clit, “Jackson and Drake”—lick—“will officially begin”—suck—“to court you.” Repositioning himself, he slid one finger inside her and began pumping. Lana moaned, her hips bucking up, but Roman didn’t speed up at all. “I want”—long, slow lick—“you to remember”—hard suck—“that I will always want you.”
With that, he buried his face and fingers in her until she shouted his name—and before she’d quit pulsing from that orgasm, he shoved his cock deep inside her. She wasn’t prepared for that, but it felt so good that she screamed aloud again.
His movements against her were perfect, shifting from hard and fast to gentle and slow, then back again. He kissed her slowly all over her face and her neck until she grabbed his head and pulled him down, taking his tongue into her mouth, tasting herself on him.
His movements into her grew more urgent, and his cock thickened even more. She could feel him craving her, and it ratcheted up her own desire, her legs tight against him, squeezing him, pulling him ever deeper into her. Almost before she realized it, she was washed over in pleasure again, crying out, her nails digging into his back.
As her tiger’s claws snicked out just the tiniest bit, puncturing his skin, Roman exploded inside of her, pumping his heat into the very core of her being.
He collapsed on her, barely managing to keep from crushing her. He felt so right, so strong, against her, on her, over her, protecting her and caressing her.
“We really are good at that,” she managed to breathe.
Late the next morning, Lana walked to work, still glowing from the night before. She was surprised to realize that she loved the turn her life had taken—and overjoyed that she’d be giving her two weeks’ notice today.
I don’t have to run anymore. Don’t have to be alone anymore. And tonight, I’ll start choosing my other mates. At the thought, her nipples harden and a hot, wet rush dampens her thighs.
The hours of her shift flew by—it was amazing what a few fantasies about a whole streak of tiger shifters could do—and she couldn’t believe it when she realized it was time to go home. She couldn’t wait to see her new male companions.
When she walked out, two of her new streak members were waiting for her outside. A shiver ran through her when she realized it was Jackson and Drake. She fought to keep the tremor out of her voice, though. “Hi, guys,” she managed to say cheerfully.
“Hi,” the bigger one, Drake, said. “Roman wants us to escort you home. He wants to make sure you are safe.”
So sweet. Then she glanced up at Drake’s bright blue eyes and muscular body. And so hot.
“Thank you,” she said to them. They turn and start leading the way.
Jackson spoke up after a few minutes. “We really are glad that Roman has found a mate. Our leader needs someone, and we need a Queen.”
A Queen, she thinks to herself. She had been a Princess most of her life, but now she was a Queen.
“You realize what that means?” she asked softly, watching as a red flush made its way up Jackson’s cheeks.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She laughed aloud. “Well, first of all, it means you can’t call me ma’am. That’s too creepy.”
“Yes, m…” He swallowed the word.
Lana grinned as they made their way along the River Walk, back to the hotel.
Yeah. She was definitely going to start with shy, polite Jackson.
This could be fun.