End of Night, page 12
“Good, sweet lamb,” he praised, watching intently as he gave her his dick. “Look at how well your tight pussy takes my cock.”
She stared down at her body, squeezing involuntarily around him as she watched her pussy lips spread around Boone’s thick length.
He moaned and then purred, reaching to cup her breast as he seated himself fully in her. “So fucking tight, Hedra.”
“Fuck me, Boone,” she gasped. “Please… I need you.”
“Yes,” he muttered. “I need you too. So much.”
He pulled out and made one glorious, deep thrust that sent pleasure skyrocketing through her body. Before he could make another one, his nan’s voice pierced the silence.
“Hedra, I need your help!”
Hedra pushed at Boone’s chest. “Boone, move.”
He groaned and pulled out of her, falling back on his ass on the bed. Moving fast, Hedra slid off the bed and hurried toward his door.
“Hedra!” Nan called.
She opened his door. “I’m on my way, Althea.”
She took one last look at a naked Boone standing by his bed, his beautiful cock still hard and gleaming with her cream in the light from the lamp on the nightstand. Lust and disappointment washing over her, she slipped out of his room and headed toward hers.
CHAPTER 14
“Boone? You’re blocking the fridge, buddy. What’s up with you today?” Gray nudged him out of the way, opening the fridge door for the coffee creamer.
“Nothing, why?” Boone cleared his throat and leaned against the counter in the small kitchenette, trying to look casual.
“You’ve been distracted all day. Cooper practically yelled at you in the morning staff meeting to get your attention.” Gray poured creamer into his coffee and returned it to the fridge before grabbing an apple from the bowl on the counter and taking a big bite.
“I’m fine,” Boone said.
He wasn’t fine, not in the least, and if his tiger didn’t shut the fuck up about Hedra, Boone would lose his damn mind.
I want to see her! Why did you leave so early this morning? Our mate wasn’t even awake.
Enough. Give it a rest, would you? Boone rubbed at his forehead.
She’s in danger. We need to protect her. You didn’t even mark her last night. Why didn’t you mark her? His tiger snarled unhappily.
She’s not ours to mark, and it upsets her if we do. Boone was trying to be patient, but after nearly seven hours of listening to his tiger repeat the same shit over and over, his patience was almost non-existent.
“Boone.” Gray’s voice made him twitch, and he took a deep breath.
“Sorry, what’s up?”
“Tell me what’s wrong,” Gray said.
“My tiger believes Hedra is his mate, and I’m falling in love with her, too,” Boone said. He sucked in a deep breath. “Fuck… just saying that out loud is a relief.”
“Is Hedra in love with you?” Grayson asked.
“I don’t know. We were,” Boone hesitated and glanced at the doorway before lowering his voice, “sort of together last night after I got home from Wes’s thing.”
“Sort of?” Grayson arched his eyebrow.
“We were interrupted by Nan just as we were getting…uh, to the good stuff,” Boone said.
“Your nan walked in on you -”
“Fuck no,” Boone said. “She called for Hedra. She’s been able to get out of bed on her own the last few days, but she overdid it yesterday and needed Hedra’s help last night. Anyway, there’s an attraction between Hedra and me, and we agreed not to act on it, but…”
“I get it,” Grayson said. “Resisting Ryan when she was a client was incredibly difficult.”
“But you did,” Boone said. “I can’t resist Hedra. I haven’t felt this way about someone since…”
He stopped, his back sweating and coppery fear in his mouth as he stared at Grayson.
“Since who?” Grayson asked.
He swallowed hard. “Since….” Fuck, what was his last girlfriend’s name? Christ, he had to say something… someone. “Since, uh…”
The silence stretched out between them as Grayson stared in confusion at Boone. Boone could have kissed Lusa when she popped into the kitchen and said, “Daisy’s looking for you, Boone. You have a visitor at reception.”
“Okay, thanks,” Boone hurried out of the kitchen like his ass was on fire. He walked into reception, his relief at having a reason to end his conversation with Grayson fading when he saw who stood at the desk.
Plastering a smile on his face, he joined Camilla at the desk. “Hi, Camilla. How are you?”
“Good, thanks. How’s your day?” She smiled at him.
“Fine. Is everything good with Abena?” he asked.
“Oh, she’s good,” Camilla said. “This isn’t a work thing. Is there somewhere more private we could talk?”
Boone glanced at Daisy. Christ, please let Cooper’s mate pick up on his signals. “Oh, unfortunately, I don’t have an office, and our boardroom is currently in use. Right, Daisy?”
“That’s right,” Daisy said without hesitation. “Sorry, Boone, this is about as private as you’ll get.”
“That’s fine.” Camilla smiled at Daisy. “You’re just the sweetest little human, aren’t you.” She inhaled in Daisy’s direction. “Your mate is very thorough in marking you.”
Daisy smiled, but Boone wasn’t surprised when she pushed her chair back slightly, and he could smell the faint scent of her anxiety. Daisy was much better about being around shifters, but it wasn’t surprising that Daisy realizing Camilla was a shifter and the leopard’s closeness to Daisy’s desk would freak her out a little.
Boone took Camilla’s elbow and steered her away from the desk and toward the far end of the reception. “What can I help you with, Camilla?”
Camilla grinned at him before wiping away a piece of lint from the front of his shirt. “Don’t look so nervous, Boone. It’s no big deal. I just wanted to bring you a little something.”
She handed him a plain brown box, and when he didn’t open it, she said, “Go on. Open it.”
He lifted the lid, studying the cookies inside. “Cookies? You brought me cookies?”
“Not just any cookie,” Camilla said. “These are Bliss cookies.”
He stared blankly at her, and she gave him a friendly poke in the chest. “Don’t pretend you’ve forgotten that Bliss Bakery was our favourite bakery when we were dating. It wasn’t far from my apartment, remember? We used to go every Sunday morning and get croissants. You loved their white chocolate cookies.”
“Oh, right,” he said.
“Anyway, I was back in the old neighbourhood and stopped in at Bliss. I saw the cookies and immediately thought of you. I decided you might want a taste of old times, so here I am with the cookies.”
“Thank you.” Boone’s nervous system was practically screaming WARNING at him in twelve-foot neon lights, and his tiger was letting out little growls of disgust that were becoming increasingly difficult to keep contained.
She stinks! His tiger growled.
Stop it. She doesn’t.
Camilla smiled and stepped a little closer. “Do you remember that night we picked up that red velvet cake from Bliss, and you rubbed it all over your -”
Boone cleared his throat so loudly that it sounded like he was hacking up a congested frog. “I appreciate the cookies, Camilla. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She inched forward, her body nearly brushing against his. “Are you almost finished work? I thought maybe we could have dinner together tonight.”
“You know I’m with Hedra,” Boone said as the office door opened behind them.
“I know,” Camilla said. “But is your mate so insecure that you’re not allowed to have dinner with an old friend?”
She suddenly sniffed the air, and disappointment flickered across her face. Relief washed over Boone when he smelled Hedra’s scent. His tiger purred so loudly it was impossible to contain the sound, and the smell of Camilla’s disappointment intensified at the noise.
Hedra’s warmth pressed against him, and her arm slid around his waist. She smiled cheerfully at Camilla. “Not insecure, but I am the jealous type. Ridiculously so. It’s a personality flaw that I’m working on.”
Camilla gave her a generous smile. “Hi, Hedra. I understand. I’m the same way.”
Hedra turned to Boone, and his tiger trilled to her when she said, “Hi, honey.”
“Hello, little lamb.”
She pressed her mouth against his and gave him a kiss that made his cock hard and almost made him lift one foot in the air like he was a fucking Disney princess. Her tongue skimmed into his mouth, pressed playfully against his, and retreated.
She grinned at him. “I missed you today.”
He swallowed hard. “I missed you too. What, uh, what are you doing here?”
“Your nan made some cookies to bring into the office.”
“Nan’s here?” He looked behind him, smiling at his grandmother, who stood near the door, holding a plastic container in one hand and her cane in the other. “Hi, Nan. Sorry I didn’t see you there.”
“Of course, you didn’t. Not when you’re tongue kissing your girlfriend in the middle of the office. I didn’t raise you to be a savage, Boone.”
“Sorry, ma’am,” he said.
“In his defense,” Hedra said, “I stuck my tongue into his mouth.”
Nan rolled her eyes before staring at Daisy. “Hello, human. Where’s that young cheetah shifter? Is he in the office today?”
“Hi, Mrs. Jameson,” Daisy said. “Do you mean Chase?”
“Yes,” Nan said.
“He’s out of the office, but I expect him to be back any minute,” Daisy said.
“Good. He’s got a cute ass,” Nan said. “I need a cute ass viewing today.”
Hedra studied the box of cookies in Boone’s hand. “I guess you already got cookies today.”
“Uh, yeah, Camilla brought some for me,” Boone said.
“They’re from a bakery we used to go to when we dated,” Camilla said. “The cookies are Boone’s favourite.”
“Oh. May I?” Hedra asked Boone, and he nodded. She scooped out a cookie and bit into it. The scent of her delight and the look on her face got Boone hard again. “They’re so good. I can see why they’re your favourite.”
“Anyway,” Camilla glanced at her watch, “I should get going. Nice to see you again, Hedra.”
“You too, Camilla,” Hedra still had her arm wrapped around Boone’s waist and she kept it there as Camilla headed toward the door. It opened as she reached it, and Chase stepped back to let Camilla leave before joining them in the reception.
“Hey. What are you doing here?” Chase asked Hedra as she ate another bite of cookie.
“Visiting her boyfriend,” Nan said with a snort as Cooper and Wes entered the reception. “Well, aren’t you a pair of handsome lions.”
“Hi, Nan.” Wes kissed her cheek, and Nan patted his face. “Welcome back, Wesley. You look good. Happy.”
“I am,” he said.
Cooper bent and kissed her cheek and said, “How’s Jerry?”
“Got no complaints,” she said. “I made you some cookies.”
“Thank you,” Cooper said.
“You’re welcome.” Nan pointed her cane at Chase. “Walk me to the kitchen, young cheetah, and we’ll eat cookies while my grandson and his girlfriend make googly eyes at each other for a while.”
“Nan,” Boone said, giving her a pointed look.
She ignored him, handing Chase the container of cookies before slipping her hand around his arm. He led her out of reception as Hedra smiled at Cooper and Wes. “Hey, guys.”
“You just missed Camilla,” Boone said.
“We didn’t miss her,” Wes said. “We smelled her in the hallway and deliberately waited until she left reception. None of us liked her when you were dating.”
“Jesus, Wes, I think I liked it better when you didn’t talk,” Boone said.
Hedra laughed before popping the last bite of the cookie in her mouth. Wes gave him a grin and clapped him on the back. “So, why was she here?”
Boone glanced at Hedra. “She, uh, brought me some cookies.”
“Because she totally wants to bang him again,” Hedra said. “But his fake girlfriend inconveniently showed up.”
Wes and Cooper laughed, and Boone handed the box of cookies to Wes. “Can you put these in the kitchen for me, Wes?”
“Sure.” He took the cookies, and he and Cooper left reception. The phone rang, and as Daisy answered it, Boone stared at Hedra. His urge to mark her was overwhelming, and he was so fucking tired of denying his tiger’s demands.
Please mark our mate. His tiger pleaded. Boone couldn’t remember the last time his tiger sounded so anxious and, frankly, desperate.
I can’t.
Let me free. I’ll mark her. His tiger pushed for control, and Boone battled him back.
Stop. Hedra doesn’t want us to mark her.
“Boone?” Hedra’s soft fingers touched his jaw.
He made himself smile at her. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine.” She studied him carefully. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said.
Little frown lines appeared between her eyes. “Can we talk privately for a minute?”
He nodded and turned to Daisy, who had finished her call and was staring at her computer screen. “Daisy, is the boardroom free?”
“It is,” she said.
“Thanks.” Telling himself not to, he took Hedra’s hand anyway and led her through the maze of cubicles to the boardroom.
He shut the door behind them and smiled at her. “What’s up?”
“Tell me what’s wrong,” she said.
“Just tired,” he said.
“Do you regret what happened last night?” she asked bluntly.
“No,” he said quickly. “Do you?”
“I don’t.”
A weight he didn’t realize he was carrying dropped off his chest. “Good. That’s good. Why didn’t you come back to my room?”
“A couple of reasons - I felt sort of awkward about returning to your bedroom with a certain expectation that you might not have shared, and the look on your nan’s face when I went into her bedroom. She knew exactly what I’d been doing, and it was… frankly, it was a little humiliating. Also, I felt bad that I was fucking you instead of doing my damn job.”
He frowned. “You were off the clock, Hedra. My nan should have called for me to help her, not you.”
“I’ve been helping her in the night since I started as her nurse, Boone,” Hedra said. “You know that because you add extra to my paycheque for the nights I help her. Which you shouldn’t do, by the way.”
“Yes, I should,” he said. He raked his hand through his hair. “I don’t want to argue about how I pay you for doing your job, okay?”
“Okay.” She folded her arms across her chest, her gaze assessing and sharp. “Are you ready to tell me what’s wrong?”
Tired of denying it, he said, “My tiger wants me to mark you. I want that too, but he’s being very neurotic and persistent about it to the point that it’s distracting and…”
Hell, in for a penny in for a pound, right? “Exhausting.”
Before she could say anything, he said, “That isn’t your problem, but you wanted to know what’s wrong, and I don’t want to lie to you.”
He stared at the floor, ignoring his tiger’s pleas to mark Hedra. Christ, he sounded so pathetic.
His tiger purred happily when Hedra’s arms slid around his shoulders. He lifted his head, and she kissed him lightly before resting her forehead against his. “Go ahead and mark me, Boone.”
His tiger trilled with excitement, and a small grin crossed Hedra’s face at the sound. Boone swallowed hard. “It’s okay. You don’t want to be marked, and my tiger will eventually, uh, lose interest in marking you.”
“Will he?” Hedra asked, her voice soft.
“No,” Boone said hoarsely.
“Then mark me. Right now.” She lifted her head and bared her throat to him, dropping her hands to his hips and gripping them loosely.
“Little lamb, are you sure?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said.
He should have asked again, should have reiterated that she absolutely did not have to do this just because his tiger was being an insistent asshole, but instead, he cupped the back of her neck and rubbed his jaw across the delicate skin of her throat.
His tiger’s anxiety lessened with every rough stroke of Boone’s face against Hedra, and he marked her again and again until her throat was red, and Boone’s dick was a hard pipe in his jeans. His tiger was finally relaxed and content, but Boone’s urge to put Hedra on the boardroom table and fuck her until she screamed his name was a raging fire. He sucked in a harsh breath and stepped back, taking Hedra’s hands and squeezing them.
“Better?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, except for how badly I want to fuck you right now.”
She gave him a shaky smile. “Ditto, big guy.”
They stared silently at each other, their deep breaths syncing up before Boone said, “Thank you. That, uh, really helped my tiger.”
“You’re welcome,” she said.
“Hedra, I -”
The door opened, and Max walked into the boardroom. He paused, studying both of them. “Sorry, I thought I booked the boardroom for a client meeting. I must have messed it up.”
“You didn’t,” Boone said. “We were just using the room for a minute.”
Max stared at Hedra. “Hey, drunk girl.”
“Hey, lash man,” she said with a laugh. “They’re even more spectacular looking when I’m not completely wasted.”
A grin broke across Max’s face. “Thanks. You should see them with mascara.”
“Colour me intrigued,” Hedra said.
Boone could smell that Hedra wasn’t attracted to Max, but it didn’t stop him from taking her hand and pulling her up against him. “Time to go, little lamb.”
“See you around, Max,” Hedra said.
He nodded, and as Boone led her out of the boardroom, he had to resist pushing Hedra up against the hallway wall and marking her again. And this time, it wouldn’t be because of his tiger. No, this was pure jealousy and possessiveness from Boone’s human side.
