Page 23 of Dangerous Stakes

Rory stood, removing his clothes, folding them neatly and handing them to her. Susan grinned. “Well, anything that gets you naked and hard can’t be all bad.”

He chuckled, beginning to believe they just might get through this. Rory called forth his beast and was consumed by the swirling mist charged with color, lightning and magic. Susan gasped and reached out to touch the whirling mass that surrounded him. It delivered a shock. He should have warned her about that.

When the mist fell away, he stood before her as his panther—sleek, black, powerful. Her eyes were open in astonishment, but he sensed and saw no fear. She reached out again, and he rubbed his head against her hand.

“Fuck me,” she whispered. Rory growled. They’d had more than one go ‘round about her language. “No fair. When your lover turns into the most gorgeous panther that ever lived, a girl is allowed to use bad language.”

Rory nuzzled her hand and then brushed his body along her arm, wrapping himself around her back and settling behind her with his head in her lap, scenting her arousal.

“You pervert,” she laughed. “Even if you hadn’t told me, I would have known it was you.”

He purred softly to her, allowing the sound to surround and envelop her as it often did.

“So that’s how you do that.”

He nuzzled her.

“Forgive my stupidity, but do you need a litterbox?” she teased.

Rory backed away and let his panther retreat. “I expected fear, anger, incredulity. I should have known I’d get snark and bad language.”

Susan was staring at his hard cock as it pointed towards his belly. She laid back on the ground, spreading her legs in wanton invitation and like some fertility goddess of old. “Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” she murmured seductively.

Not one to turn his back on an opportunity, Rory knelt between her legs, before covering her body with his. “I love you, Susan.”

He pressed into her in one long push, making her moan in pure, hedonistic pleasure. He began stroking her, allowing her body to take his weight, pinning her down and surrounding her. He never stopped moving within her as he kissed her, stealing her breath away. There would be time enough to introduce her to his barbs and to being turned. Tonight, was about acceptance and forgiveness.

Rory’s hands tangled in her hair, holding her still while he continued to kiss her as though he couldn’t get enough. He positioned his body so that he hit her clit with each stroke, building her orgasm relentlessly before she cried out, clinging to him and holding him tight.

He pressed deep and allowed his cock to flood her pussy with his cum. He allowed himself to rest there, her body cushioning his as he caught his breath.

“Forgive me?” he asked, needing to hear it from her lips.

She held his face in her hands and covered it with kisses. “Forgiven,” she whispered.

The pavers that formed the patio were cold and hard. His mate deserved the warmth and comfort of their bed. He stood up, leaning over and scooped her up, striding back to their bed where he proceeded to prove just how much he loved her.

Over the next few days, they shared the stories of their lives. Understandably Susan had questions about Rory’s ability to shift into a black panther. Several times she went with him at night to watch him shift and run free.

“That must be amazing,” she said in a wistful tone, when he shifted back to human and lay on his back with his head in her lap.

“It is. I spent most of my life denying that part of myself. Being able to share it with you has given me a kind of joy that I’ve never experienced before.”

“Do you think your mother was afraid of having another shifter after she married your stepfather?”

“Not at all. Female panthers can only be impregnated by their male counterparts and vice versa.”

“So even if I wasn’t using birth control, I couldn’t get pregnant by you?”

“No, but if you consented to be turned…”

“What would that entail?”

“I would introduce the virus, for lack of a better term, into your blood stream through a claiming bite. The shifter DNA would overwrite your human DNA and after a brief transition that is relatively peaceful and painless, you too would be a panther. Is that something you’d want?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s certainly something to consider.”

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