Chapter 25
Lissa smiled. She reached up and pulled his head down, brushing her lips across his, then kissing him more deeply. With a groan, Tank crushed her to his chest, one arm around her waist, one hand cupping the back of her head.
Lissa made a soft sexy noise and slid her arms around his neck, parting her lips so he could slip his tongue inside her mouth, tasting her more deeply, tangling it with hers. She pressed herself against him.
She was soft and warm, and she settled his bear like no one else. He wanted to make her feel warm and safe and beautiful, make her bear feel safe so she wouldn’t be a demon any more.
He ran his hands up and down the smooth muscles of her back, down to her rounded ass cheeks, exposed by the sexy underwear. He could smell her arousal, and the scent drove him wild.
He wanted to feel her against him. He pulled back, still keeping his lips on hers, and fumbled for the buttons on his shirt. Lissa helped, her hands eager. She pushed the shirt off his shoulders, and the feel of her skin against him made him want to devour her with kisses, slide between her legs and touch her wet pussy, make her whimper and moan and make more of those amazing sexy noises.
Lissa’s hands were sliding up and down his back, molding the muscles, slipping down under the waistband of his pants to the curve of his ass.
Tank picked her up and tossed her on the bed. She squealed with surprise, and made another surprised sound when he pinned her gently to the bed, face-down. He kissed his way down the curve of her lower back and gently bit her ass cheek.
She gave a helpless moan and the scent of arousal deepened, so he did it again, licking her skin slowly between bites, getting closer and closer to her slick wet sex. He spread her thighs and gave her pussy one long, slow, lick, and then stood up and started undoing his pants.
Lissa turned, her eyes smoky with desire. “Oh, no,” she said. “I get to do that.”
She sat up on the edge of the bed and unzipped him, pushing his new pants down to reveal his briefs.
“Very nice,” she said, running her hand up and down the silky fabric, stroking the length of his shaft. It flexed, straining toward her. She leaned forward and closed her teeth lightly around it, through the fabric, and a low moan ripped out of Tank.
She was going to make him insane.
Lissa slowly pushed the silky briefs down, freeing his cock. She licked her lips, slowly, and his knees almost buckled just watching her. She shoved his jeans down further and cupped his balls, then leaned forward and tasted the tiny drop of moisture on the tip of his cock.
“Oh, Lissa,” Tank muttered, tangling his hands in her hair.
She licked the head of his cock, slowly, making him grit his teeth, sucking in air at the pleasure of it. No one had touched him like this in so long.
She slid off the bed and shoved his pants down his legs. He stepped out of them, leaving them puddled on the floor, and then picked Lissa up and moved her back on the bed, stretching out next to her.
He wanted to take this slow. He wanted to worship every inch of her body, treat her right. He settled himself next to her and kissed those sweet luscious lips again, sipping and tasting, stroking and teasing.
Then he moved down the side of her neck to her shoulder, adding an extra kiss for the bite scar. She stilled when he touched it, and he kissed it again. She relaxed.
He moved his hand delicately up over the curve of her hip, up her ribcage, up to graze her breast. He reached behind her to undo the lacy bra, exposing those beautiful tits.
She shivered, and he cupped her, kneading the nipple that was already hard. When he took it in his mouth and sucked it, she made one of those sexy noises again.
“Your breasts are beautiful,” he murmured. They were round and pert, and so responsive to his touches and kisses. He kissed and licked until he was satisfied, and she was moaning under his hands. Then he let his fingers trail down her belly, sliding outside her panties and circling her clit, excited at how wet she was for him.
Her hips bucked, and he touched her lightly, loving the way she arched toward him, wanting more.
He circled her clit again, teasing it, his eyes intent on her every move, learning what made her gasp and squirm. Her thighs opened for him, exposing her warm pussy, the scent of arousal intoxicating.
He pulled her panties off and tossed them aside. Then he kissed his way up her leg until he reached her soft creamy thigh. He bit her lightly, and when she moaned in excitement, he alternated kisses and bites all the way up until he reached her hot center, and drew his tongue up her pussy in one long, broad stroke.
“Oh, please, do that again,” she whimpered.
Tank did it again, and again, feeling her go wild underneath him. He sucked her clit, swirling it with his tongue, and ate her pussy until he felt her muscles clench and she climaxed around him.
And still he wasn’t sated. His bear was humming, wanting her, wanting her with a wildness he’d never experienced. He wanted to stop being gentle, to fuck her hard, make her scream his name as she came over and over again.
Not yet, his bear told him. Not yet.
Tank rolled over onto his back and pulled Lissa on top of him. She straddled him, his dick between her slick lips. She teased him, sliding up and down, base to tip until he moaned.
“I want to be inside you,” he ground out. “I want to fuck you so bad.”
She smiled down at him, her hair in a tangle and her breasts looking good enough to eat. She leaned down and kissed him, deep, and he wrapped his arms around her and held her to him. “Tease,” he muttered against her mouth.
She laughed and bit his lower lip, not quite hard enough to draw blood. His bear growled, loving it. “Bitey,” he said. “Sexy.”
She grinned at him, then rose up off him and positioned his cock at her entrance. She lowered herself slowly down, sheathing him, and he groaned at the feel of it.
Lissa wanted to die with ecstasy as Tank’s huge cock filled and stretched her. She went slow, rocking her hips, and he closed his eyes with the intensity of it.
He was making her feel like no one ever had. His scent, his touch, was fulfilling her in a way that had never happened before.
When he filled her completely, she rested her hands on his chest and raised her hips, then slowly let him slide inside her and fill her again. She kept up the slow rhythm, letting the feeling build.
He gazed into her eyes, watching her, his eyes going half-lidded with pleasure every time she bore down on him and he was buried inside her. His hips moved with the rhythm, thrusting as she moved, and she wished she could just stay like this forever.
Gradually, the rhythm grew faster, and she could feel her climax building. Tank was gasping, thrusting harder, holding onto her hips. He moved one hand so his thumb was on her clit, stroking it with every thrust.
Oh. My. God. Lissa threw her head back, the feeling so overwhelming she could hardly stand it. Tank was creating the rhythm now, holding her back, each thrust and touch such an exquisite pleasure it was almost pain.
It went on and on until she lost track of time, of herself, of everything except the feel and scent and heat of his skin. Finally, he deepened his thrusts, stroking her clit faster and harder until her orgasm exploded.
Tank pulled her down against his chest and wrapped one hand around her ass, thrusting into her harder and harder, groaning, bracing his heels against the mattress. Lissa’s orgasm went on and on, building again, until he tensed and she felt his cock pulsing inside her, and he held her hips against his with every pulse, drawing wave after wave of ecstasy from her body and soul.
Afterwards he lay curled around her, stroking his fingers down the side of her neck, across her shoulders, tracing the lines of her collarbone, as if he couldn’t get enough of her.
Lissa wanted to burrow inside him and just stay there forever, safe and warm. But she couldn’t, because he couldn’t ever have another mate. And she could never be like Angie, someone who just loved him and was uncomplicated.
But her heart ached with wishing it could be.
After a while he got up and got a towel, wiping himself off and cleaning her gently. Then he tucked her underneath the covers and climbed in next to her, snuggling up to her again and stroking her back.
She said to him, “You told me you have a lot of tiny house sketches. Are they private? Or could I see them?”
His hands stilled, and he hesitated a moment. Then he said, “You really want to? I haven’t shown them to anyone.”
That made her want to see them even more. If she couldn’t have his heart, she wanted to be the only one he shared his secret dream with. That was almost as good.
He dropped a kiss on the top of her head, and then rolled over and leaned out of bed to grab a sketchbook off the long low shelf under the window.
“This is it,” he said.
He pushed up until he was leaning against the headboard, and pillow at his back. He pulled Lissa to him, tucking her underneath his arm so she could lean against his chest.
The he opened the book.
Lissa gasped. The sketches were captivating. Fairy-tale cottages, tiny Victorian houses complete with turrets, a tiny castle, a gypsy wagon, and a mini cathedral with tiny gargoyles at the corners. Each one was more charming than the last, with stained-glass windows, pointed doors, and other exquisite details.
“Oh my gosh, I want to live in every single one of them,” Lissa breathed. “Can I have them? Please?”
Tank grinned. “How are you planning to live in all of them?”
Lissa leaned back against him. “I’m going to have a different one for every day of the week,” she said. “Monday will be castle day. Tuesday will be gingerbread cottage day. Wednesday is gypsy day. And of course the cathedral is for Sundays, and I will be very grave and pious, except when people annoy me—like Xander—and then I’ll send the gargoyles after them. It’ll be awesome.”
Tank was laughing, a comfortable rumble in his chest. “And how am I supposed to run a business if I’m spending all my time building you a fleet of tiny houses?”
“You’ll figure it out,” Lissa said. “I have faith in you.”
She continued to turn pages. “Seriously, though, you could make a fortune selling these,” she said. “People would come from all over the country, I bet. Especially with the quality of craftsmanship I’ve seen in the one I’m living in.”
“I don’t know,” Tank said. “Custom ones like this would take a lot of time. I’m not sure if I could turn them out fast enough to make a profit. One of the reasons people like tiny houses is that they’re inexpensive.”
Lissa said, “Couldn’t you make a few basic models that could be finished to people’s taste? You could train Sloan to help you. He likes to work with his hands.”
Tank leaned back and looked down at her. “He does?”
“Silly bear,” Lissa said. “Of course he does. Who do you think Xander is stealing your stuff for? Sloan is too scared to ask Flynn for anything, and he’s scared to steal it himself.”
“Xander does that for Sloan? I didn’t even think they liked each other.”
Lissa smacked him. “You should talk to your crew once in a while. Find out what they want out of life.”
Tank shrugged uncomfortably. “Flynn’s the alpha. That’s his job.”
Lissa said, “Flynn drinks too much, and he’s not sure he wants to be alpha. Somebody needs to help him. After all, he was tortured too. He has to be dealing with stuff.”
She knew Flynn was dealing with his own demons, and it was hard on a crew when the leader was too preoccupied with his own mess to deal with the others’. She’d never been a shifter before, but she’d been in crews on the street, and it couldn’t be that different.
Tank grew thoughtful and quiet. Lissa didn’t say anything more. She knew that Flynn relied on Tank more than he wanted to admit, but Tank needed to decide if he was going to go all-in with this crew.
Or go back to Georgia.
Lissa didn’t want to think about that. She had to keep Tank here. This was where he belonged.
This crew needed to become a real crew, and Flynn needed to be a real alpha. Maybe then Tank would realize that this was where his future lay.