Lion’s Claim (Shifter Chronicles Book 6) Read online

  “I’m so sorry,” he murmured.

  “It ended up okay,” she said. “I like my life here. I have a good job, people who’ve become my family and I’m happy. I don’t want for anything at all.” She paused. “Well, that’s not true. It can still be lonely sometimes.”

  “I can understand that.” He ran his free hand over Annabelle’s knee. “My family disowned me when I joined the police academy. They weren’t good people. I never had enough to eat or clean clothes. They spent all their money on booze and drugs.”

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I would have figured you came from an uptight rich family.”

  Logan chuckled bitterly. “Quite the opposite. The trailer stank and was covered in filth. As soon as I was able to get out, I did.”

  “Why’d you want to be a cop?” she asked. Annabelle was honestly curious. Maybe Duffy had a point about talking and getting to know Logan better. The more he shared, the safer she felt. Maybe she’d judged him too harshly and he wasn’t the straight-edged agent she’d called him.

  “Because no one helped me,” he said.

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “We had cops in and out of our lives constantly. They’d come to the trailer to pick up my mom or dad on a warrant. They saw the conditions I lived in. A few even made comments about the filth, but not one of them reached out and offered me aid. As I got older, I realized that no one was going to help me if I didn’t help myself. The police had written me off at age eight. They decided that I’d turn out exactly like my parents and didn’t want to waste their time.”

  “Fuckers,” Annabelle spat.

  Logan’s laugh was warm. “Yes, but it did spur me into making a life for myself. The police academy was good because it covered room and board during my training. I had nowhere to go and no one to help me. It was either that or the military, which I seriously considered, but I was worried about not being able to shift.”

  “So you became a cop,” she stated. He must have been so afraid, leaving home and everything and everyone he knew behind. Annabelle had run, but she’d been shuffled from place to place and hadn’t had a home until Mac had found her.

  “I haven’t regretted it a single day of my life, even though I wish my family would talk to me. I wanted to help them get clean, but the first time I went home after graduating, my dad attacked me and I almost didn’t make it out.”

  Annabelle’s stomach rolled. She could picture Logan, much younger, offering his parents help and how that would have been received. “How long has it been since you’ve gone back?”

  “Two years,” Logan said. “I don’t know why I just can’t let it go, but every couple of years I drive by the old place just to make sure they’re still alive. They don’t talk to me and I leave them alone.”

  She snuggled into his side. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

  “It left me bitter for a really long time. I don’t have a lot of friends and the few I do, I’m not close to. Then I came to this small little town and saw how every species of shifter had somehow come together and lived peacefully.”

  “Amazing,” she said. “Right?”

  “Unbelievable,” he agreed. “I keep waiting to be challenged and try to stay prepared for an attack. I’ve had to fight my entire life. Even in the Coalition, we’re constantly jockeying for position. It doesn’t seem to stop. Not until I came here.”

  “So you can just be yourself,” she suggested. She tried to keep the relief she felt out of her voice that Logan understood why she loved Brookside, that he was beginning to understand how special the place was.

  “The funny thing is I keep catching myself acting the same way as I always do,” Logan told her. “With Mac or Magnus. I expect them to challenge me and react. I pissed off Mac earlier by acting like a jackass.”

  She patted his chest. “He’s used to it. We do have shifters that come through town, thinking they can take on the big bear shifter. It never works out for them.”

  “Tonight, I realized that I don’t want to be that way anymore. What you’ve all made here is wonderful.”

  Annabelle tipped up her head and kissed his jaw. “I think you’re already fitting in. You don’t have to be perfect. God knows, none of us are. You just have to have a kind heart and accept that there might be someone bigger or badder than you.”

  “I hope I get the chance to try,” he confessed.

  Oh, that’s sweet. “I have the feeling that you won’t have to try as hard as you think you will.” Learning so much about him made Annabelle want to offer him promises. She couldn’t and that hurt.

  Logan cupped her face. His eyes dilated and the scent of his arousal grew stronger. Oh, how interesting. She ran her palm down his chest, feeling the muscles twitch.

  “Enough talking?” she teased. While she enjoyed getting to know Logan better, maybe it was time to move things along.

  “I don’t know,” he responded. “I’m not ready to end the date yet. What will we do?”

  She laughed while reaching up and grabbing the back of his head. “If you don’t know, then I’ll just have to show you.” Annabelle forced Logan’s mouth to hers and nipped his bottom lip before stroking her tongue over the spot.

  He moaned, but she didn’t stop. Instead she kneeled up to swing her leg across his lap and straddled his waist. Logan grasped her hips. He gripped her tightly, rocking her against him.

  His hard cock brushed the seam of her pants. She wanted to get her hands on his shaft, but first she needed to see his body. Annabelle tugged at his shirt.

  “You want to do this here?” he asked, after pulling away.

  “I don’t see why not. We have privacy here and don’t have to worry about getting interrupted.”

  “Someone might be out here, though,” he pointed out.

  “Well, it would probably be a shifter, so they won’t come closer unless they want to witness what we’re doing. Does that thought bother you?” Annabelle didn’t want to push him past his comfort zone, but she was turned on by the idea.

  Logan grinned. “You want to be watched, baby?”

  It sounded so dirty, coming from his mouth.

  “What else are you into?” he asked. He slid his hand around her ass and squeezed.

  “I don’t know,” she confessed. This was new territory for her.

  “Let’s find out.” Logan pushed her to stand in front of him while he remained on the log. “Will you kneel for me?”

  Oh, yes. She dropped down. Her knees hit a pile of leaves, but she didn’t care.

  “Good girl,” he praised, stroking her cheek.

  Annabelle turned her head to kiss his palm. She liked this new and interesting side of Logan. He smiled then whipped his shirt off. He had a nice chest, which was a favorite part of hers to admire.

  Logan tweaked his own nipple before looking at her. “Now your turn.”

  She wasted no time complying. After dropping her shirt to the ground, she unsnapped her bra and let it fall.

  “Perfect,” he said, cupping her breasts. “You fit right in my hands.”

  Desire coursed through her and she gasped.

  “Hmm,” he murmured. “Now our pants.” Logan stood, unbuckled his belt and left it open before tugging at the clasp of his slacks. Without ceremony, he pushed his pants and underwear past his knees then moved his shirt to where he’d been sitting. When he sat back down, he was on top of his shirt. “Take the rest of your clothes completely off.”

  It took some maneuvering to finish undressing while remaining kneeling. She could have stood, but Annabelle like the position she found herself in. Once she was naked, Annabelle gazed up at him.

  “Anyone might see you right now.” Logan’s voice was husky. “But they can’t touch you.”

  “I don’t want them to,” she said.

  “I know. And I wouldn’t let anyone. You can trust me.”

  That sounded like heaven. She could give in to Logan and he was strong enough to keep them safe.<
br />
  Logan grasped his cock then pumped himself a few times. “Do you want to taste me?”

  “God, yes!”

  “Come here, then,” Logan placed his hand on the back of her head as she lowered down to hover at the tip of his erection.

  She took a deep breath, bringing the masculine scent of him to the front. It was fresh and mixed nicely with the aroma of nature that surrounded them.

  “Lick.”

  Shit. She squirmed, so aroused that she couldn’t hold still. Annabelle ran her tongue over the slit of his cock.

  “Good girl.”

  Annabelle probably shouldn’t love to hear those two words. She wanted to please him so much that she took the crown of his shaft and sucked deeply. Logan bucked up while grasping at the back of her hair. He threaded his fingers through until he could push his cock in farther.

  She took every bit of him that she could. It wasn’t enough, so she wrapped her hand around the base of his cock and stroked while going up and down.

  His pre-cum was salty, bitter and tinged with a buttery flavor. Unique—she’d never had anyone like him before.

  “I’m going to fuck your mouth,” he warned.

  Annabelle moaned in approval.

  “You can take it,” Logan said. “I won’t hurt you.” He held her in place and began moving his cock in and out of her faster and faster.

  The tip of his shaft hit the back of her throat and she had to work at suppressing her gag reflex. She didn’t mind, though. Even when moisture pooled in the corners of her eyes, she didn’t want him to stop. This was the hottest, most erotic scene of her life. She fucking craved it.

  “Stop!” Logan pulled his cock away and she almost fell forward, chasing after him with her mouth.

  “No,” she pleaded.

  “I’m not going to come down your throat. I want to be inside your sweet pussy.”

  She whimpered.

  “Stand up.”

  Struggling to her feet, she had to rest her hand on his shoulder to stand on her shaky legs. Logan didn’t help. Instead he slid his hand between her legs to brush his fingers between her folds. She was already wet and needy.

  “Please,” she begged. Her entire core ached and her clit pulsed.

  “Lean against me,” he ordered.

  She wanted him to keep making demands of her. Her mind was clouding and thought becoming nearly impossible.

  Logan speared two fingers inside her and she clutched at his shoulders to lean against his side. His mouth was at her breast. He sucked her nipple and Annabelle started to shake.

  “So much…” There were too many feelings shooting through her.

  “You can take it,” Logan assured her. He was moving his fingers in and out with the same rhythm that he’d fucked her mouth. She rode his hand, not having the right amount of pressure to send her over the edge.

  “More,” she pleaded.

  Logan stood, sliding his body against her, stepping behind her and urging her to lean forward. “Down,” he said.

  With her stomach over the shirt and her knees digging into the ground, she allowed Logan to position her. His thighs pressed against her back and he also lowered himself to the ground.

  “Is it still just the two of us?” he whispered in her ear. “Or do you think someone is going to watch me claim you?”

  She shook her head, unable to form words.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Logan told her. “Because I’m coming inside you and I don’t care who might be around.”

  Annabelle arched her back, which had his cock rubbing her ass cheek. That was what she wanted, too.

  “Do I need a condom?” she asked her.

  “What?” she panted. Why wasn’t he inside her yet?

  “We don’t have to worry about diseases, but what about pregnancy?”

  “Birth control,” she managed. “On it.”

  “Then I’m going to come inside you. Leave my seed and mark you from the inside out.”

  She was going to go insane. “Do it.”

  Logan chuckled then kissed the back of her neck. As he pressed the head of his cock inside her he also ran his hand down her side. He flexed his hips, pushing his shaft deep before pulling out then thrusting back inside.

  Annabelle dug her nails into the wood of the log under her. His cock was long and thick, filling her in a way that no man ever had before. The connection went deeper than just taking a cock inside her. The feline part of her wanted to take over and transform to enjoy the large male mounting her. Annabelle would remain human, though. Logan’s cock felt too good to give up.

  She wanted Logan to hold her down and make her take him deeper. As though he could hear her thoughts, Logan pressed his hand to the top of her back, pushing her down onto the log.

  “Yes,” she whispered, wriggling, liking that she couldn’t break his touch.

  “Take me,” Logan panted, leaning over her.

  Sweat dripped from his body to hers and Annabelle was surprised that the water drops didn’t sizzle—they were making so much heat between them.

  “I am,” she promised. “I will.”

  He pounded into her. Not in a way that a human would have been able to manage. No, Logan was moving so quickly that she barely had time to match him thrust for thrust.

  Beneath her, the log rocked back and forth. Annabelle had to tighten her hold to keep from collapsing as Logan plowed his hips forward. She would ache later, but in a good way. Right then, all she managed to do was beg for him to make her come. She needed the release, her orgasm climbing higher and higher.

  One hard desperate thrust and Annabelle’s body felt as if it was being ripped apart. She screamed as she experienced the most intense climax of her life. She shook, couldn’t catch her breath and her vision even wavered. Holy shit, she was going to fly away.

  “Yes. Let me hear you. I want everyone to hear how good I make you come.”

  She was still yelling. Spent, she started to fall forward, but Logan’s arm around her waist kept her upright while he continued to move his cock in and out.

  His pace was slower, but he remained hard as he didn’t stop. “I’m going to come and I want you to know that it’s me who’s filling you. No one else will ever get the pleasure of knowing what it feels like to have your muscles clamp down on them. You’re so tight, baby, so good.”

  “Yes,” she hissed.

  He howled, his mouth so close to her ear that it startled her, but he sang his release to the trees and the sound echoed around them.

  “We’ve got to do that again,” she said, after he stilled, completely wrung out.

  “I still have my cock inside you and you want to do it again?” Logan teased.

  He circled his hips, moving his shaft around. She moaned. Yeah, she was going to be sore later.

  “I want to do it all the time,” she confessed.

  He nipped the side of her neck. “I’ll see what I can do about that.”

  Annabelle giggled, the sound happy and at peace. “You sound sure of yourself.”

  “I know that I want to see more of you,” he said.

  “I’m pretty sure that you’ve seen every inch of me.”

  Logan groaned as he pulled out of her body. She tried to lower herself, but he turned her so he’d take her weight. “I might have missed an inch or two.”

  Annabelle yawned. “I guess you’ll just have to do better next time.”

  He pinched her side, making her gasp and jerk. “Watch it. I might have to find a way to keep your mouth busy if you keep getting smart.”

  She licked her lips.

  Damn—just that fast his cock stirred. He was too old to go again so soon, but maybe by the time they made it inside, he’d have recovered.

  Chapter Eight

  Logan managed to get both him and Annabelle re-dressed, but the way that she remained cuddled into him and refused to allow him any separation had made the chore last much longer than it should have.

  “If you helped me, we coul
d be making our way back to your room, where I’ll try to keep my promise of staying buried in you,” he scolded.

  “Let’s just live here,” she murmured.

  He’d never had anyone respond to him after sex like Annabelle had and he fucking loved it. She was sweet, sleepy and very handsy. “I bet your bed will be much more comfortable.” He hadn’t noticed the chill earlier, but now that he could think straight, Annabelle’s skin was cold.

  She sat on his lap as he leaned against the log that he would forever think of as theirs. He had the crazy urge to mark the damn thing with his claws and scent so that no other animal would come near. He might still do it, too.

  The shirt he’d pulled on was rumpled, wrinkled and torn, but at least it protected him from the worst nip of cold. He kept his arms tight around Annabelle so she didn’t shiver.

  “Or I could tie you to your bed and have my way with you,” he offered. He was testing her reaction, and when her breath caught and her heart sped up, he was extremely pleased.

  “We could do that,” she agreed.

  They weren’t going to do much more that night, but Logan already knew that he would be back soon. He had to return to his office in the morning to check on Fabian and Fredrick as well as take care of the issues he was finding out about Ruiz, but he was going to be putting the miles on his truck. “Let’s stand first.”

  She moaned, trying to burrow closer to him.

  Logan had to lift her off his lap and set her on her feet. It was a good thing that he had shifter strength, but she was not cooperating with him. It was good to know that he could turn the hard-edged woman into a little pussy cat. He chuckled at his thoughts, knowing if he spoke them out loud, he’d see her claws.

  He climbed up and stretched his arms over his head before once again bringing Annabelle against his body.

  “Can you stay the night?” she asked when they began walking toward the bar.

  “Yes,” he told her. Like he’d leave her after the experience they’d just shared. “I have to get on the road early to get to work on time, but you can sleep in.”