The Felidae 1: Laithe’s Pride Read online

  Chapter Three

  “Hello, gorgeous.”

  Rowan blinked up at the man leaning over her. He was big. Almost as big as Laithe, but where Laithe was all golden god, this cat had the look of the devil. Sleek, black, short hair covered his face and what she could see of his body. When the light hit his fur, it had a shine. She could make out darker spots on his skin, little rosettes a shade deeper than the rest of his black fur. His whiskers twitched when he leaned down closer to her.

  “Laithe never did tell us your name,” he whispered from above her.

  “Mine,” growled the man behind her, tightening his arm around her waist.

  Somehow they’d shifted while they slept, and Laithe now spooned her from behind.

  The man above her smiled, his eyes sparkling at the threat that sounded in that one word.

  “Ah, I see,” he said. “Is that your name or your title?”

  Laithe growled again, a low rumbling reverberating through Rowan’s body as he pressed her back further into his chest.

  “Don’t push me on this, Fahd,” Laithe snarled.

  The man -- Fahd -- only laughed, bending down to sniff at her face.

  “Mmmm, you smell good. Like sweet flowers and Laithe, all rolled into one.”

  Leaning over her, Fahd pressed his dark body down onto hers, pushing his face closer to Laithe’s. Rowan shifted to her back to watch them both. Who was this guy? And what the hell was wrong with her that she found him just as irresistibly sexy as Laithe? She seriously needed to get out more when she got home. It was insane that she was attracted to two men who were covered in fur.

  “Mmmm, and you smell even better. Like the little one here.” He inhaled deeply, holding his breath, a look of ecstasy passing over his face. “It smells like you rolled around in each other.”

  Rowan watched the look slip over his face, fascinated by the two men pressing nearer, their faces mere inches from her own.

  “I wonder if your taste will be as sweet as your smell,” Fahd mused.

  Inching closer, Fahd deliberately lowered his head, pressing his body harder into Rowan and holding Laithe’s arm captive between their bodies. Their hard bodies compressed her on either side, and she squirmed at the feel of them surrounding her.

  Lingeringly, so drawn-out she could hear each breath, she panted. Fahd bent down and melded his lips to Laithe’s. Someone moaned. Rowan was pretty sure it was coming from her as Laithe moved up and into the kiss briefly before pulling back. She was a little freaked out by how turned on she was when they kissed. First there was everything that had just happened with Laithe, and now Fahd clearly wanted in on the action.

  “Mmm, just as I thought. You taste so sweet. I always thought you did, but this is even better with the addition of the little one here,” Fahd said huskily.

  She whimpered, causing Laithe to swing his head toward her. He must have mistaken her shocked look for disgust because he immediately heaved Fahd off them, pushing the man backward hard. Fahd twisted mid-air, landing with agile feet at the end of the bed. Smirking at Laithe, he remained silent, obviously daring Laithe to contradict him.

  * * *

  Laithe turned to Rowan, burying his face in her sweet hair, the russet color so unlike what he was used to seeing among his people. Her milky white skin was unbearably soft, the tiny hairs covering her body catching in the light, casting a glow over her skin. Her brown, almond eyes blinked up at him, before she closed them, tilting her heart-shaped face to the side. Her nose was thinner than he was used to seeing, her mouth wide and luscious. She was larger than the sleek forms of the females of their clans. Her body was curved, filled out in all the right places, more than a handful. He loved every luxuriant inch of her. Although she was so little she barely came up to his chest.

  He didn’t know what to think about Fahd’s kiss. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t wanted to be with Fahd again, but he didn’t want that to happen in front of his mate. At least not until after he explained the particulars of their culture to her.

  Refusing to meet Fahd’s eyes, Laithe breathed in the scent of the nawra flowers still present on his mate’s skin. He didn’t know what to do, and his little mate wasn’t giving him any signals. She was still frozen beside him, the harsh panting of her breath the only sound in the room. He prayed to the gods that she wasn’t disgusted by what had just happened. It was just a kiss, nothing more, and if she didn’t like it then there would never be anything more.

  Finally giving in to his curiosity -- the silence weighing heavily in the room -- Laithe opened his eyes to look at his mate. She was so beautiful, and more than he ever expected he would have. The other pride leaders would look at him with jealousy at his fortune for being gifted with such a mate.

  She looked back at him, her cheeks flushed and her eyes glazed over. At that moment, Laithe wished for a deeper connection with her. Now that they had mated, her mind would link to his. A single thought was all it would take to see through her eyes. But he would never be able to hear her thoughts, or gain access to her mind without her permission and he would dearly love to know what she was thinking right at this moment. He refused to tread in her mind without her giving consent first.

  “Oh, God that was… that was so hot,” she whispered as if in answer to his silent question. “Do you… are you lovers?”

  Laithe couldn’t believe her reaction. He hadn’t anticipated that she would be so accepting of Fahd. It might be conventional practice among the men of the Felidae to accept other males into their beds because of the lack of females, but he didn’t think that was a practice that Rowan had been raised with. Maybe he had more in common with his human mate than he thought.

  Fahd made a soft grunting noise, his only response when Laithe raised his head to look at his childhood friend. They had known each other since they were cubs. Fahd’s father had long served as a guard for Laithe’s own father. Fahd had pushed for a deeper relationship between them for years before finally giving up and taking his pleasure with other men. Other than a few heated times when they were younger, Laithe and Fahd hadn’t been lovers in years.

  Laithe had always been different from him, different even from his brothers. Knowing that one day he would take over the responsibilities of his father, Laithe kept to himself for most of the time. His father wasn’t just one of the most powerful men among the Felidae, he was the most powerful man among them. Haytham Gatti was the Appaliunas, the Father Lion of the Felidae. Along with his three younger brothers, Haytham had ruled the Felidae since reaching adulthood. They had been lucky enough to have found their mate, Ariel, among the Leos and she had birthed them four sons.

  It was widely understood that Laithe would take over his rule in time. But early on in their relationship, Haytham had cautioned him against accepting anything further with Fahd, telling Laithe at the time that Fahd was just too impulsive to serve as his second, his personal guard the way Fahd’s father served Haytham. Laithe had watched Fahd grow into a more cautious man and while he cursed the fact that it was his rejection of Fahd that made him grow up, he was proud of the man that he had become. He was stronger now, and more fitting to serve on the Ruling Pride. Laithe had always wanted to connect again.

  “You liked it, Nawra?” he asked, unable to think of anything else to say.

  “Yeah,” she whispered, “I thought it was amazing.”

  “Shall we do it again then, my Lord?” Fahd asked, smirking as he broke his silence.

  Laithe growled. He absolutely hated it when Fahd did that. He constantly seemed to mock him, mock his position, and mock his title. Why now, of all times, was he approaching Laithe again? Was it because of Rowan? Perhaps he was afraid of losing Laithe completely to his mate. He hesitated. Now was not the time to question Fahd, but he would find out his reasons sooner or later.

  Fahd trekked around the bed, coming up behind Laithe, before crawling into it.

  “Because I would dearly love to do it again. It has been much too long for us.”
/>   Laithe watched his face when he leaned forward, bringing their mouths together once again. He felt the press of his little mate at his side as he rolled to land on his back, Fahd on one side of him and Rowan on the other. His cock hardened, filling painfully and rising up to rest on his stomach. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to come just from the thought of being with both of them.

  Fahd moved his mouth against Laithe’s, capturing his breaths as they both moaned into the kiss. Rowan leaned closer to them, running her smaller hands through Laithe’s mane, leaving one to twist in the thickness behind his head and moving the other to his chest.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Laithe saw Fahd react to the presence of his mate, reaching over and pulling her into them. Turning, Laithe released Fahd’s lips to capture Rowan’s, tasting the difference between his two lovers. Fahd’s lips followed, turning the kiss into a three-way of little bites and nips.

  Rowan moaned, and Laithe moved his hands to run them over her smooth skin, so different from his own form. Losing patience with the slow, torturous pace they were setting, Laithe released them both, and turned to place his mouth squarely over one of her breasts. He couldn’t breathe, his pulse was racing so fast. The thought of being with Fahd after all of these years, coupled with the joy at finding his mate accepting of him, was pushing him closer to losing his control completely. He sucked hard at the nipple in his mouth, smoothing his tongue against the nub. It was so soft, the skin unbearably supple against the roughness of his tongue. He raised his head, releasing it with a pop.

  Fahd moaned, a rumbling purr coming out of his throat. He placed biting kisses along the top of Laithe’s spine, taking advantage of the expanse presented to him. Moving his hands, he cupped Laithe’s ass, kneading the flesh and biting down on his shoulder blade, raking his teeth along Laithe’s skin.

  Laithe growled in response, pulling harder on the breast he took into his mouth again. Rowan bucked up underneath him. Sliding down her body, he thrust two fingers into her pussy, growling again at the wet heat he found there. She was so warm, her honey coating his fingers when he sank them into her gripping channel. It was incredible; he loved that she was wet because of both him and Fahd.

  “Please, Laithe, I need you now,” she whimpered.

  “Not yet, Nawra. You are not quite ready.”

  Laithe continued to drive his fingers into her pussy, fucking her with his hand. A chill moved down his back when Fahd shifted away, returning before Laithe could complain about his absence.

  Fahd smoothed his hands down Laithe’s spine, following the path with his hot mouth. Reaching his ass, he palmed each cheek in his hands, spreading them to lick his way along the crack.

  Laithe reared up, arching his back when he felt a gentle probing touch against his ass, circling around and around before finally pushing just the tip inside. Without warning, it was removed and two lubricated fingers were roughly shoved into him, making him back into them. He realized Fahd must have found his stash of lubricant, and then his mind was racing back to exactly what Fahd planned to do with that lube. He stretched him, filled him to the point that he was aching for more. Fahd knew what Laithe liked even after all this time. His touch was driving Laithe crazy. Each stroke inside his ass made him hotter. The teasing little probes, scissoring his fingers to stretch the tight entrance. His cock throbbed, his balls drawing up tight. He wasn’t ready to give in to the pleasure just yet, though. It had been years for him, and he was going to fucking come from the pleasure without a care for anyone else if he wasn’t careful.

  Laithe moved back against the digits in his ass before giving a throaty moan and pulling away. Moving to rest on top of Rowan, he grabbed a thigh in each hand, pushing her legs up and out to give him better access to her core.

  He pressed his face into her stomach, biting down on her belly. His lips curved when he saw the rosy mark he’d made on her pale skin. Continuing downward, he smoothed his hands along her curves, delighting in how different she was. Her skin was so soft, smooth against his palms. The only fur covering her was at her mound, a small triangle of pelt to cover her otherwise hairless body.

  He nosed the hair, following its path down to her wetness, then struck out with his tongue, swiping along her folds. He held her down when she arched into his mouth. The taste of her was intoxicating. He pressed his mouth closer to taste as much of her honey as he could, sweeping his tongue out again, licking her pussy and lapping directly from her heated passage. She clenched her inner muscles around his agile tongue, squeezing her thighs against the hands holding her in place for him.

  A knowing hand pumped his cock, squeezing the base when Laithe jerked in surprise. Grunting, he concentrated on Fahd’s strong grip around his cock, stroking up and down, memorizing every contour, as though he was trying to find differences from their last time together.

  Laithe released one hand to slide a finger in Rowan’s core, thrusting it alongside his tongue. He needed to taste more of her. Their bond was allowing him only a glimpse of her passion. He could see in her mind her thoughts were centered on him feasting between her thighs. When her mind clouded, he couldn’t take any more of it.

  Between Rowan spread out in front of him, and the feel of Fahd’s talented hands on his body, he was ready to be fucked. He reached down for one last stroke of his fingers before pausing. Pulling away from Fahd, he lined his aching cock up with her pussy. Fahd’s hands dropped down to hold his thighs, wrapping his fingers around his bulging muscles.

  “Rowan?”

  “Oh, God, if you stop now I’ll kill you!” she wailed.

  “Wait!” Fahd gasped.

  Laithe huffed, his displeasure evident as he felt the wet heat of his mate pressing against his cock, beckoning him forward.

  “If we are going to do this, I want you to fuck me.”

  “What?” Laithe gasped, turning to look over his shoulder at Fahd.

  Rowan whimpered when Laithe pulled away.

  “Please, Laithe, it has been so long for me, and I need you this once.”

  “But you have…”

  “No, I haven’t. You are the only one that I have ever trusted enough to do this. I may have fucked other men, but you were the last to take me.”

  Fahd pushed back when Laithe sat up and turned to look at his friend.

  “You never said anything. I just assumed.”

  “If… if this is going to be a one-time thing, then I want it to be just like this. I want it to be my choice. Please, Laithe.”

  Laithe’s heart bumped painfully in his chest. He couldn’t believe that Fahd was begging him for this. That Fahd trusted him enough to take a part of him that he’d refused to give to anyone else. A wave of tenderness assaulted him, blinding him to everything but the beseeching eyes of the only man he had ever loved.

  Chapter Four

  Rowan waited for Laithe’s reaction. She had a brief thought as to why she wasn’t upset about this, but it disappeared quickly. She considered herself kind of boring in real life and the last time she could remember having sex was more than a while ago. A one-night stand that ended badly when he’d informed her that he was married. Rowan had been so upset -- especially considering the man had been introduced to her by one of her friends.

  She had decided to retreat and lick her wounds, refusing to return her so-called-friend’s calls until she could get over her hurt. What kind of friend set you up with a married man? It only served to reinforce her reasons for being alone. If you were alone, you couldn’t be hurt.

  But here was a man -- beast man, whatever -- who was attracted to her. He wanted her. And for whatever reason, he wanted her so badly that he’d kidnapped her to be with him. She realized that she was a little demented to not only be okay with that, but to be flattered by his attention. Talk about having Stockholm syndrome. But really, what had he taken her from? A boring life, a horrible job, and a lonely existence without any friends or family. She had no idea where her parents were at this very moment. They weren’t
exactly close and they never had been. She was a disappointment to them, never quite managing to be the daughter they’d hoped for. They’d decided to wash their hands of her after their last fiasco where she’d failed to live up to their expectations.

  She waited for the men to figure out what they were going to do. Frustrated, Rowan decided to speed up the process a little.

  “I don’t care who does what, but one of you is going to fuck me. Now!”

  She was surprised by the words that came out of her mouth, but they must have been floored. Both men ceased their argument -- one she hadn’t really been paying attention to. Something about fucking other men or some such blah, blah, blah. They swung around to gaze at her.

  “You are comfortable with this?” Laithe asked. “I want to make sure that you are not upset by what is happening. I want to make sure that you understand that this is your choice. Do you understand that? If this is not what you want, we will end it now.”

  “I’m sure,” she breathed out. She reached out and grabbed his arm. “I’m sure about this. It’s what I want.”

  The men looked at her closely before turning to each other.

  “Fine,” Laithe gritted out. “Switch positions.”

  Fahd grinned down at her, moving around Laithe. “More than fine with me. As much as I want to fuck you, Laithe, I can’t wait to taste the little one here too. She certainly liked you before. We could all hear her moaning through the walls. Will you moan for me, gorgeous?”

  Rowan gasped when she was lifted up and turned to her stomach. He fit himself more closely into the V of her legs, brushing up against her. His cock felt massive from where she was lying.

  “Please,” she whimpered. Looking over her shoulder, she locked eyes with Laithe, desperate to make sure he was okay with this. She didn’t even know the man, but for some reason she felt connected to him, and that connection made her want to make sure he was agreeable to this. After all his talk about this being her choice, she needed to know that he was all right with what she’d chosen.