From raising her chin in defiance to her grand plans on how to improve relations between shifters and humans, he loved all of it. On top of that, just a hint of her scent drove both him and his inner cougar crazy. His body was always on fire for her, to the point he spent most of his time with a hard cock and a blood-deprived brain.
That was why he needed to win tonight because if he did, he could finally claim Kaya as his own. He was pretty confident Kaya would say yes to his request and allow him to finally make love to her.
As Kaya picked up her pace and raced across the clearing toward the victory rock, Sy drew on the last of his strength to run as fast as he could before he jumped and just barely caught her waist with his hands. As they tumbled to the ground, Sy was careful to take most of the impact. She might be tough, but the thought of her getting hurt because of him made his inner cat snarl.
Once they stopped tumbling and he managed to get Kaya pinned face-down on the ground, he leaned down and nuzzled her neck. He took a deep inhale of her womanly scent, and his already hard cock turned to stone.
Since he wasn’t able to pound into Kaya’s wet heat just yet, he settled for nipping her earlobe. When she didn’t make the little noises of pleasure like usual, he knew she was angry. He wished he could shift into his cougar form and purr to calm her down, a trick he’d learned early on, but she would bolt the second he released her.
He nuzzled her neck again and gently kissed the place where her neck met her shoulder before he said, “Losing isn’t the end of the world, Kaya-love. You nearly beat me this time.”
Her body went tense below him. She turned her head and narrowed her warm dark chocolate eyes. “I would’ve beaten you if you hadn’t cheated, Sylas Murray.” Her voice went low. “Now, let me go.”
He wasn’t afraid of her cool, simmering anger; he was used to her notorious temper. He simply laced his fingers through hers and squeezed. She tried to tug her hand loose, but with him on top of her, she didn’t have enough range to accomplish it. “Cede defeat, and I’ll let you up.”
She growled. “Why should I? You’re the one who cheated. By all accounts, you should cede.”
He decided truth was his best option. He gently bit her ear and whispered, “I wanted you too badly to play by the rules. Will you cede, Kaya-love? All I want is you naked and willing beneath me.”
Kaya remained motionless under him, but he could smell her arousal. She wants me, too.
But he had hurt the woman’s pride, and he needed to ease it a little before she would acknowledge her desire.
He’d planned to tell her tonight anyway, but if he told her he loved her, she just might let him off the hook. While he’d said the words a thousand times in his head, he’d been afraid to say them out loud.
Of course, some people, such as his twin brother Kian, would say telling a woman you loved her when she was angry and face down in the dirt might not be the best strategy. But nothing between him and Kaya had ever followed the rules. His gut said it was time.
He lifted his head and looked his wolf-shifter in the eyes as he said, “Please, Kaya. I want to show you how much you mean to me. I love you.”
~~~
Kaya’s anger eased a little as she heard the words she’d yearned to hear for weeks, if not months, and a plan started to form in her head. There was a chance they might both get what they wanted.
Still, she wasn’t about to let her cougar off easy. If she said it was okay to cheat now, the male would do it again. She was going to make him work for it this time. “I don’t know if I should believe you. For all I know, you’re just trying to get into my pants.”
He moved one of his hands from her back to her cheek. As his fingers stroked her skin, it became harder and harder to stay mad at him.
Damn the man and his warm, rough hands.
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Want to read the rest? Reclaiming the Wolf is now available on all major online retailers.
Books by Jessie Donovan
Asylums for Magical Threats
Blaze of Secrets (AMT #1) Frozen Desires (AMT #2) Shadow of Temptation (AMT #2.5)
Cascade Shifters
Convincing the Cougar (CS #0.5) Reclaiming the Wolf (CS #1) Cougar’s First Christmas (CS #1.5) Resisting the Cougar (April 2, 2015, CS #2)
Stonefire Dragons
Sacrificed to the Dragon: Boxed Set (Parts #1-4) Seducing the Dragon: Boxed Set (Parts #1-4) Revealing the Dragons
Healed by the Dragon: Part One
Healed by the Dragon: Part Two (April 11, 2015)
Author’s Note
Writing my first serialized story has been unbelievable. I never expected for people to enjoy my dragon-shifters this much, and I’m grateful every day to my readers and fans for their support! I have many more stories to tell in this world, and I hope you’ll join me along for the ride!