The Felidae 1: Laithe’s Pride Read online

  And just like that, she was mentally connected to him.

  There was something hovering at the edge of her mind. It was almost like opening a door she didn’t know was there, opening a door that led her straight into Laithe’s mind. There was a dizzying rush of thoughts and feelings that weren’t hers. Blinking, Rowan stared down at the black pelt of the man under her. Her eyes felt like they wouldn’t focus, and she blinked again.

  Suddenly, she realized that she was looking down at Fahd as he leaned down to nuzzle the side of her neck. The sight of his black fur brushing against the pale skin under him was confusing at first. What the hell? It took her a moment to realize that she was seeing through Laithe’s eyes. Seeing what he was seeing. Okay… that’s definitely going to take some getting used to.

  Fahd licked a path up her neck, bringing her back into her own body. As she blinked once, her vision readjusted and she saw the sheet that lay beneath her through her own eyes. At the edge of her mind, she could still feel Laithe’s presence, but she couldn’t focus on that when Fahd blanketed her body with his own. He slid down her back, rubbing along her exposed skin and bringing a shiver to the surface with the feel of his thick, luxurious fur.

  He brought his hands from her shoulders along her spine in a caress that had her arching up in response. He molded her body, learning her curves with every inch of his talented hands. The solid pressure of his palms brought goose bumps to her skin, sensitizing her to agonizing degrees. He appeared to be memorizing her body with his hands, brushing them along her skin. Her breath caught in her throat at the intensity of his touch.

  Fahd smoothed his palms over her body, reaching around until he grazed the sides of her breast with both hands. She wiggled, moving into his touch when he cupped her breasts. His hands were soft against her skin, the brush of fur erotic, sensitizing her body. He ran the pads of both thumbs against her nipples, flicking them before moving away. He curled his fingers around her waist, settling in place before he leaned down and mouthed the curve of her lower back.

  “This, this right here,” Fahd said. “You’re so soft right here. How do you get so soft?”

  His lips traced a path down her spine, trailing over her ass before the sensations suddenly stopped. Rowan struggled to lift her head, her body gone soft and pliant. Turning her neck to the side, she glanced behind her. Fahd stared down at her, Laithe looking over his shoulder. The two men were pressed front to back. Laithe’s arms held the black man close in to his body.

  “You are so beautiful,” Fahd said reverently. “I can’t believe this is happening. I never thought I would ever get this chance. I…”

  Laithe angled his head, brushing a tender kiss on Fahd’s shoulder. Fahd gazed at her, a look of such tenderness on his face that Rowan felt her heart turn over. In this moment, he looked so terribly vulnerable she couldn’t stand it. What had happened between them? It was obvious that they cared for each other in some way, and Fahd had made it seem like they’d been involved in the past.

  Fahd pulled away from Laithe, falling to all fours to hover above Rowan. He smiled, his lips pulling back in a smirk so wicked she gasped in anticipation. He shifted back and dropped his head to lick a rough path along the inside of her thigh. His tongue rasped against her skin, awakening nerve endings that she didn’t even know she had. Rowan sobbed, turning her head into the sheet when he leaned forward and placed that rough appendage against the sensitive flesh of her clit. Licking along her folds, he sent a shaft of heat through her core. She tensed her thighs, burying her head in the sheets under her. Her eyes rolled back, toes curling at the pleasurable pain. He thrust his agile tongue into her, filling her. It wasn’t enough… she needed something more, something bigger. She needed his cock.

  Rowan whimpered, wiggling her hips, pressing back into him. Her nipples brushed the fabric under her, rubbing back and forth, creating a delicious friction. Fahd chuckled darkly, pressing one last swipe to her flesh before moving to settle back over her. He pressed two fingers into her aching center, running the digits along her walls, inflaming her. She leaned back into his hand, gasping when he withdrew his fingers to brush his cock against the folds of her pussy. He slowly slid inside, filling her with his cock, filling the emptiness inside her in a single move that seemed to take forever. She could almost count the seconds ticking away, the time it took for him to fully seat his cock in her.

  Rowan arched upward, consumed with need from both the feel of Fahd pushing inside her and the images coming from Laithe. The echo of his pleasure from watching his friend take his mate was evident, making her own pleasure skyrocket. She could feel what was happening to her, but she could also sense Laithe, the painful throbbing of his cock, the pressure in the base of his spine. She was going to die from the sensations alone. Rowan pressed her face down into the sheets below her. Everything was bigger, more enormous, all her feelings magnified because of Laithe.

  She could see in her mind Laithe moving his gaze up, watching Fahd take her. She turned to look over her shoulder again and he smiled at her, flashing his sharp teeth. The sight of his bared canines stirred something primal in her.

  Fahd buried himself to the hilt inside her, bringing her attention away from Laithe when he began to purr. Her whole body came alive, the purr vibrating through her. Her nipples ached, turning to hard little points that chafed against the rough sheet. He filled her, stretching her walls with the thick length of him. She was going to lose it any minute now. She was stretched almost unbearably from the incredible width of him. Her pussy ached with the need for release. It reminded her of being stuffed with her favorite vibrator, only better, stronger, hotter and way more intense.

  Fahd began to pull out of her, and suddenly she experienced the same sensation she’d had when Laithe had fucked her. Tiny spines raked the sides of her pussy, making her gasp when they caught in her channel. What the hell are those?

  Fahd drove back into her, holding himself inside her, biting down on the back of her neck but not breaking the skin. She found she was a little terrified that she loved the proof of his animalistic nature. It seemed so barbaric, like he was holding her in place. For some reason, the added danger sent her winging further toward climax.

  Fahd groaned against her skin, pushing deeper into her and then his body tensed. Rowan concentrated and brought up an image of Laithe, looking down at Fahd’s back. Oh, God… his cock was actually pushing into him. She had no idea how she was able to see through Laithe’s eyes, but she couldn’t hold onto the thought for long.

  Laithe drew back, and Fahd followed him, nearly pulling out of Rowan. She mewled, desperately trying to push her hips back against Fahd, before he slammed back into Laithe’s hips. Back and forth, he pumped into her, his purrs growing louder, vibrating through her body.

  Rowan threw her head back as soundless cries burst forth from her, clamping down hard on the cock sawing into her body while she climaxed. Fahd groaned in response, losing his rhythm and pushing into the slick sheath of her pussy erratically. Each jarring movement sent those damnable hooks scraping inside her core, prolonging her orgasm with the erotic pressure.

  In the back of her mind, Rowan felt Laithe’s urgency like it was her own. She was bombarded with images from his mind, the sight of her and Fahd together, the feel of Fahd’s tight ass as Laithe ground into him. He was getting closer and closer to his own orgasm. She heard him let out a loud roar before Fahd was thrusting hard into her again. Fahd purred out his own orgasm, the three of them melting into the sheets. Dimly, the last thing she was aware of was the chuffing roar as Laithe called out his climax.

  Chapter Five

  Rowan was dying, she was sure of it. She could only vaguely remember the last disastrous time she’d had sex, and she had definitely never had sex twice in a row. With two different men. Yep, she was definitely dying. Lying in a tangle of limbs, Rowan sighed. If this was a dream, she never wanted it to end.

  Starting at a noise, Rowan twisted around when the door slid over agai
n. Two more men walked into the room.

  “No no no no no no! I am not doing this again!” she yelled.

  Laithe sat up in the bed, looking over Fahd’s shoulder to glance at her. Rowan grabbed the blanket from beneath them, pulling it out from under Fahd to wrap it tight around her body.

  “Ah, now you’ve hurt my feelings, little hairless one.”

  “Leave her alone, Morgan,” Fahd grumbled, not moving from where he laid sprawled half on top of her.

  That would make Morgan the one with the spots. His sleek body was covered with yellow tawny fur, little black rosettes providing a contrast to the rest of him. The man standing behind him looked so much like Laithe that Rowan knew he had to be related to him.

  “What is it with you people? How many more of you are there, and how many more are going to want to come in here? And why are you all naked?” she asked, her voice rising.

  Laithe sighed, forcibly pushing Fahd off and pulling Rowan into his arms, causing a snarl of disgust to come from Fahd. “Nawra, I want you to meet my brother Lev. The other man is Morgan, and he is a member of our pride, although if he doesn’t behave, he will be finding somewhere else to live. As to clothing, we normally go without clothing when we are on the ship, but we will wear a strip of cloth when we are among our people.”

  “So you don’t wear clothes?”

  “What is the point when it is just us?” Laithe responded.

  “So you don’t wear clothes?”

  “Is there an echo in here?” Morgan asked, looking around the room before grunting at the elbow that was jabbed into his stomach by the man beside him.

  “Cut it out, Morgan. Can’t you see she is uncomfortable?” Lev said, the disgust evident in his voice.

  “In case you didn’t notice, Lev, I was trying to break the tension in here.”

  “Well, it wasn’t working, pea brain.”

  “Pea brain? Pea brain? Oh, you are going to regret that one.”

  Morgan pursued Lev, chasing the larger man around the room. It would have been comical except for the fact that Rowan couldn’t breathe. This was all too much. She needed answers and she needed them now.

  Gasping, she looked up at Laithe helplessly.

  “Everyone out now!” he roared.

  Grumbling, Fahd stood up and gracefully sauntered toward the door. Stopping halfway there, he turned and paced back to the bed. Grabbing Laithe by the scruff of his neck, he leaned in and placed his mouth against Rowan’s. She moaned at the taste of him, and he took full advantage, thrusting his agile tongue into her mouth.

  He sat back to look at her, studying her face before turning to Laithe and kissing him too. Laithe reached up to place a hand against Fahd’s cheek, keeping it there even after Fahd tried to back away.

  “Aww, does this mean we have to find another third when we want to spice things up?”

  “I swear to the gods, Morgan, if you don’t stop this, I will…”

  The rest of Lev’s threat was muffled when Fahd turned from the bed, grabbing a handful of Lev’s mane and forcibly pushing him out of the room. Morgan followed shortly after, blowing a kiss to the couple on the bed before Fahd could kick him out as well.

  “I’ll be in my quarters if you need anything.” Fahd paused, looking as if he wanted to say something more. He shrugged his shoulders and turned to leave.

  “Fahd…”

  He turned back when Laithe called him. Laithe seemed to be struggling to say something. He turned to Rowan, a look of utter confusion on his face. She didn’t know what he was asking for, but she refused to speak until she understood more about what was going on. She was nearing her wit’s end.

  Fahd smiled gently, “It is all right. We’ll figure it out. There is no rush, Laithe.”

  Laithe watched him walk out of the room with a look of sorrow on his face. Rowan gazed down, twisting the sheets in her hands. With just the two of them left now, the tension skyrocketed. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on? I’ll admit that question might have slipped my mind a bit when you first walked in. And then there was the whole thing with Fahd coming in, but seriously, why am I here and what are you going to do with me now?”

  She thought she was being very calm -- level-headed even -- until Laithe pried the blanket out of her hands. Her knuckles were white from clutching it so hard.

  “You are my mate. I told you, I am one of the pride leaders of the Felidae. Our people are made up of a variety of clans, each one different from the others. I am of the Leo, as are my brothers. You just met Lev, and we have two other brothers who you will be meeting later. Fahd is of the Pardus clan, as is Morgan. They normally do not associate with other clans, but the two men have known me for many years. We became friends when we were younger and they chose to stay with me when I received my own pride. The other two you haven’t met yet. I will introduce you to them later.”

  “Okay, you say you received your own pride. What exactly does that mean?” She sat up, trying not to become lost in his words. This was fascinating, like watching a documentary on TV.

  “The Leo clan forms prides.”

  “Kind of like the lions on Earth? Wow, I wonder if you guys are related in any way. I know that humans are descendants from a common ancestor that we share with primates. It would make sense if you guys had something similar.”

  “It is certainly possible. I have seen footage of your wildlife, of course. Any pride that chooses to accept patrol duties must acquaint themselves with the worlds they come across. Earth is in our territory, although it is a remote, outlying planet. So we don’t have much contact with you.”

  “Have you ever?”

  “A very long time ago. Our people have always been fascinated with the universe around us. From the earliest of our time, our greatest minds have dedicated their lives to finding ways for us to explore.”

  “Right, curiosity killed the cat, and all that,” she snickered at the look on his face.

  “And just what is that supposed to mean?” he asked, frowning.

  Laughing, Rowan tried to roll to the side to escape the arm swiping out toward her. His hand caught the sheet around her, pulling it off and throwing it to the end of the bed. Laithe grabbed her around the middle, growling and pushing his face into her stomach, nipping the flesh he found there. Rowan giggled when he tickled her belly with his mane, brushing his face back and forth until she doubled over and gasped for him to stop.

  “Where was I? Right, our men have always been curious. Don’t even say it! I don’t want to hear another word about killing any cats. Anyway, it has always been the males of our people that have traveled, protecting our territories, and finding new places to visit while the women stayed on planet, hunting and caring for the young. Over time, our people grew anxious. They wanted to send out more scouts to learn more, to learn as much as they could. So they decided to alter our genetic make up to produce more male cubs.

  “Unfortunately, it backfired on us. Males now outnumber females greatly. We tried to reverse the effects of what we had done, but nothing worked.”

  “So what happened?”

  “During all the testing that was done, we found that some mated pairs had a mental connection as well as an emotional one. It didn’t happen all the time, but we noticed it occurred mainly with the leaders of the prides. It was theorized that the same thing that made a male Leo a pride leader made him a better and more desirable mate. So a law was passed by the Appaliunas, our king, that only mates with a mental connection would be recognized. Any other mating was outlawed, to cut down on Leos stealing females that didn’t belong to them.

  “I had resigned myself to waiting to find my mate. I have never connected with a female before, and I wasn’t sure if it would ever happen. Then I felt you, saw you in my dreams and sensed you in my mind. I knew you were mine. I had to find a way to get to you. I thought you were being abused, you must believe me, or I would have given you more time to understand what was happening. I would have limited myself to appearing
in your dreams until you began to accept our bond.”

  “I do understand, but you have to see this is going to be really hard for me. I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve never experienced anything like this.”

  Rowan sighed, looking at the wall and staring at the imaginary wind blowing through the grass. Strangely, the sky was darker than it was before, turning an inky indigo. She thought about his words about the females of his kind. It sucked that they were outnumbered, but seriously -- was that all he wanted, some broodmare to procreate with?

  This was all so weird. Things like this didn’t happen to people like her. Rowan Brandt wasn’t the type of person that had adventures. She didn’t do crazy things. She wasn’t used to having anything out of the ordinary happen to her. She wanted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, it all seemed so fantastical. Although, if it was a dream, it was certainly the most erotic one she’d ever had.

  “Just give me time. I promise that if you just give me time to woo you, you will be happy to live among my pride.”

  “Well, a little wooing never killed a girl.” Rowan smiled at the look of happiness that crossed his face. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I feel like I’ve known you forever, which is just plain weird, because this isn’t like me. It isn’t normal for me -- for any human -- to let go and trust someone innately. That’s just how we were made. We’re a pretty suspicious group.

  “But I do have questions, and I want to make sure that you’ll answer them. I’m not going to just blindly accept everything that’s happened. My life may not have been perfect before, but consenting to be your mate is just crazy. I have a life… I had a life. Well, I sort of had a life. I need to think about this.”

  “Of course, Nawra. You must believe me. I will answer any questions you have for me.”

  Rowan smiled shyly up at him. He reached out, waiting for her to accept his hand before he drew her to him. Leaning back against the wall, Laithe cuddled her into his chest. She hesitated for a moment. “How did you know you would be a pride leader? I mean, how did you know it was you and not one of your brothers?”