Animal Instinct Read online

  Did her voice just become husky? What was happening to her?

  “I know,” Viktor said. His gaze dipped down to her lips and she knew that he wanted to kiss her.

  “You know?” Eve asked, growing suspicious. “Are you a patron? Is that why you’re here?”

  “No, but I wish to be.” Viktor lifted his fingers to touch her face. “And I am here for you. I know all about you, Eve. I know of your kind heart, your love for these animals and for this place.”

  Eve’s throat worked nervously. The way he looked at her--deep and probing--as if he knew every intimate thought in her head unnerved her. She fought to hold still. The potent ache he caused stirred deep in her belly and she wanted to pull him closer.

  “And I know what you want.” Lashes dipped low over his eyes as his gaze raked over her silk dress. “I know what you need, what I need.”

  Eve’s mouth opened, but she couldn’t speak. Her breasts ached, the tips reaching for him. People just didn’t speak so plainly, so boldly, so directly. They never just laid it out there, good or bad, without some kind of hidden agenda. But, looking at him, she knew that there was no other motivation than what he said. He wanted her--simple as that. And he meant to have her.

  Viktor didn’t give her time to protest. He moved forward, cupping her face in his hands as he pressed his firm lips to hers in a gentle kiss. A weak moan of surprise escaped her, but she didn’t pull back. Her blue gaze widened, meeting his. By his confident stare, she’d expected him to be untamed in his passions. His eyes searched hers before closing.

  Eve heard another moan and realized it was his. His lips began to move, parting to suck her bottom lip into his mouth. He drank gently from her mouth, as if savoring her taste. She gasped and his tongue slipped past her teeth to explore her depths. Weakly, her hands lifted to rest on his strong arms. His fingers slid back into her hair to pull her closer.

  Viktor groaned louder and she could feel it rumbling all the way to her toes, trailing liquid desire with it. As his kiss deepened, his mouth became more insistent. Slanting along hers, his tongue massaged her depths and his teeth raked her lips to nibble gently. His hands slid down over her body. Eve’s knees gave out and she fell hard into his chest. He caught her before she fell.

  She pulled her mouth back, her eyes wide and dazed with astonishment as she looked up at him. The silk gown was a weak barrier to the heat of his body. The unforgiving steel of his muscles pressed into her, molding hard against her trembling frame until there was no mistake of his desire. She felt the throbbing heat of his arousal, fighting to be free of the denim.

  “This is insane,” she whispered, breathless. Unable to help it, her stomach wiggled against the denim-lined protrusion of his shaft. Her nipples tingled, sending shock waves down her spine to her soaking pussy. “I don’t know you.”

  “Close your eyes,” he instructed.

  Eve obeyed. How could she not? Her entire being shook, whispering his name through her limbs. Viktor, Viktor, Viktor....

  “Now, Eve, just feel me against you.”

  She nodded, reaching out with her other senses to detect him. It wasn’t hard. His nearness overwhelmed her completely until she could think of nothing else. She felt connected to him, a strange feeling she didn’t care to explore. She tried to tell herself it was the champagne, but she knew it was more than that. There was something about him that made her want to throw caution to the wind and act the part of the animal, surviving on pure instinct, fulfilling each animalistic need as it arose. He smelled of power and strength. It was an intoxicatingly raw scent of man and it called to her.

  “Feel my mouth.” His accent rolled over her and she parted her lips willingly. His direct words captivated her. Viktor brushed his lips to her swollen ones. “Feel how I want to taste you.”

  Eve panted, feeling the soft kiss shooting throughout her body, arousing her further until she wanted to scream with fervent need. His tongue edged her lips, tracing around the outer edge, just as her body wanted his erection to trace her most intimate opening. With her eyes closed, she could practically imagine what it would feel like to have him there, thrusting hard.

  “Feel how my body is hard and ready for you.” Viktor groaned, as if he could sense her thoughts. To prove his point, he ground his hips forward, bending his knees to rub his cock into her sensitive stomach. Suddenly, his hands were everywhere--tangling in her hair, gliding over her arms, gripping her waist, edging the skirt up and over her hips.

  “Ah, yes,” she panted. Eve’s head fell back on her shoulders, gladly meeting the rocking of his hips with her own. Her fingers glided around his waist to squeeze his tight buttocks and pull him closer, urging and controlling his hips in her desperation. She lifted a thigh to rub along his, spreading her body open to him.

  “You know me, Eve,” he whispered into her ear, his voice hoarse and hot. “Your body knows me.”

  Eve couldn’t explain it, but she knew he was right. She’d never be able to reason it aloud, but every fiber in her being recognized him and wanted him. She couldn’t fight the burning need any longer. Her fingers clawed at his clothing, pulling the shirt up and over his shoulders. She sighed in pleasure to discover the dark muscles of his chest. Lightly, she brushed kisses over his chest, flicking her tongue against his nipples until they budded beneath her touch.

  Viktor pushed the straps of her dress off her shoulders, unzipping it from behind to free her breasts to him. A light moan escaped him as he discovered she wore no bra with the gown. He devoured her neck, kissing and licking over her throat and ear. His fingers flicked her nipples as his hands massaged her aching breasts.

  Eve cried out in pleasure, clinging to him for support. His lips made a hot trail of discovery and exploration to her breasts. Explosions fired beneath her fevered skin as his mouth pulled a hard nub between his teeth, only to bite and kiss and lick in a mystifying rhythm.

  “This is crazy,” she whimpered. Her hands fumbled to free him of his jeans, eager to discover if he was as big as he felt rubbing against her. She pushed the denim slightly from his hips.

  “Do you want to stop?” He pulled back to look at her, his eyes tortured by the very idea.

  “Mmmm, no.” Eve dipped her fingers to touch him, grabbing his hard shaft in her hands. His eyes closed and she gasped to feel his enormous size, so much bigger than she’d imagined. She grew wetter just thinking about it. “Oh … my … Viktor. Wow.”

  Low, animalistic sounds came from them as she stroked his large cock. Viktor’s hand jerked her skirt aside, gliding to find her moist center. He groaned as his fingers cupped the lace-covered slit, soaked with the cream of her body. Pushing the panties aside, he worked around them, moving to stroke her intimately with his hand.

  “Ah, you’re so fucking wet,” he growled in approval. He thrust a finger up inside her and her hot channel convulsed and tightened around him. His lips devoured her neck. “You drive me mad.”

  “I want you … now!” she demanded, fierce and sure. She gripped his cock firmly in her hand to emphasize her meaning.

  With stalking precision, he backed her towards the end of the bridge, bringing her back to settle along a thick post. She didn’t take her hand from him, loving the feel of his strength in her palm as he moved. Her body was on fire for him, drenching her pussy. Never had she felt the insanity of pure lust, never until him.

  “Fuck me,” she insisted, arching her back into the post. The night breeze caressed her skin, keeping her nipples hard. Then, almost shyly, she begged, “Please, Viktor.”

  He smiled, a devilishly handsome look to his dark features. His black hair blew over his shoulders as he lifted her up. He held her before him as if she weighed no more than a leaf. Her legs wound around his strong hips, jerking him close.

  Insistent, he guided his hips up to hers, rocking his smooth shaft up towards her slit. He let his cockhead rub along her in several strokes, lighting a fire from her clit all the way down past her soaked opening. Her body jer
ked as he neared the cleft of her ass and his grin deepened. She hit his shoulder weakly, loving the sensations, but hating that he teased her with them.

  The waiting became too much for them both and he couldn’t hold back. Adjusting her body, he thrust forward, roughly sliding into her core, letting gravity pull her down until she was seated completely on his throbbing shaft. Eve tensed, surprised by how full she was, how deep into her womb he touched. She cried out in pleasure.

  Viktor’s call matched hers as he began to move. He gripped her hips, controlling her completely as he began to thrust. Her legs flailed weakly behind him and her hands held onto his shoulder and neck for support. He drove himself into her hot passage, only to pull out and do it again, conquering her moist depths. The natural rhythm of his hips sped up. Animalistic grunts of passion came from them, loud and primitive.

  Eve felt the tension of her body, centering on her rocking hips. She held onto him, helpless to do anything but ride out the agony of pleasure. With each hard thrust it felt like he pounded deeper until she was sure her body would be ripped in half by his massive size.

  Firework explosions erupted between her thighs. Eve screamed as her orgasm racked her body, fiercer than any she’d ever felt. Viktor didn’t stop as she trembled, releasing a wave of hot cream like molten lava over his cock. As soon as he felt it, his body exploded, washing her womb with his seed as he came in hard, jerking shudders.

  Their trembling continued for what seemed like both an eternity and an instant. Her body too weak to move, Eve dropped her head to his shoulder. Her legs fell like dead weights and he let her body slide from him to the ground. Crushing her to the pole, he began to kiss her gently, moaning softly in the back of his throat as if he never intended to let her go.

  Chapter Five

  Eve moaned, weak and completely sated as Viktor pulled back from his kiss. His dark eyes gazed deeply into hers and his mouth opened as if he would confess something. Suddenly, he tensed. His eyes glimmered with gold as he looked at the forest. Eve blinked, dismissing the strange sheen as a play of the moonlight.

  Without looking at her, he began to adjust her clothing. His eyes scanned the trees as a worried frown marred his brow.

  “It was probably just one of the cats,” Eve began weakly. “Don’t worry. All the animals that show signs of dangerous tendencies are caged in a different area. I come out here all the time at night and have never had a problem.”

  Viktor looked at her and frowned, as if he wanted to say something to her, but held back. Or was it that he wanted to scold her for coming to the fenced prairies alone? She started to ask about it, when he pressed his mouth to hers in a swift, searing kiss.

  “Go to your office and lock the door,” he commanded. Eve trembled in a combination of fear and shock. “I’ll explain everything tomorrow.”

  Eve didn’t move. This was her territory and she wasn’t scared.

  “Eve,” he began, only to pull away. “Please, just go. Trust me, please.”

  “But, you’re a stranger.” Eve’s rational mind was slowly trying to return. Her comment was insane after what she’d just done with him. A wave of panic overcame her as she realized she’d just slept with a strange man without using protection. She started to feel sick and soon after came the confusion.

  “Damn it!” Viktor frowned, again looking to the woods. He didn’t bother to right his clothing. “I … I don’t have time to explain this. You know me, Eve, just trust that you do. And I know you. Now, please, I beg you, go inside.”

  Eve looked him over. She couldn’t help it. He was half naked and so very beautiful. His dark eyes stared at her with a strange, possessive light.

  “What is going on?” she asked, her words soft.

  “Eve.” He hesitated. Then, as if a dam burst inside him, he rushed, “I love you.”

  Her face fell in disbelief. She shook her head. She could see that he thought he meant his words, but that was impossible. Suddenly worried she was standing before a psychopath, she backed away.

  “Eve…?” he began. He started for her, but then stopped. He struggled for a moment, then turned to run into the forest. Eve stared after him, not knowing what to think. Silence penetrated her numb brain, interrupted by the babbling of the small creek beneath the bridge. It was as if he hadn’t been there at all.

  Frightened by her reckless actions that night, Eve began to run. She didn’t stop until she reached her office. Locking the door behind her, she stared dazedly at it. What in the world did she just do?

  * * * *

  Viktor hated to leave Eve the way he did, but he didn’t have time to explain. Running into the forest, he shifted into panther, dropping down on all fours without breaking stride. The remainder of his clothing fell from his body as he ran faster. An old enemy was in the forest this night and he couldn’t risk being seen with Eve. If Bartel discovered his feelings for the woman, the shifter would use them against him.

  It was Bartel who had jumped him from behind, stabbing his human form in the back before beating him near death. He had managed to get away, crawling broken and bruised to an old barn. He was sure death was coming for him. When the farmer found him and then the cops, he was sure they’d finish what Bartel started. He’d seen the fear in the cop’s face. He’d seen him draw his gun from the holster to put him down.

  But then, an angel from heaven had appeared. He remembered her perfectly, her clothes crumbled from sleep, her angry blue eyes flashing as she stood between him and the cop’s bullet. He had been in too much pain to hear her words, but she’d screamed at the cop, calling him a long list of names from incompetent to inbred. Viktor inwardly chuckled each time he thought of it.

  She’d approached him without loathing or fear. Her gentle hands had probed him and she’d stayed by his side, talking to him, urging him to drink, to eat, and later to stand. She had a good heart--all the cats at the Preserve said so. And, in those long hours, listening to her as she cared for him, he had fallen in love with her.

  Only, he couldn’t believe he’d let the words slip. The plan had been to take it slow, to make her fall for him as the man, before he revealed his secret to her. Now, remembering the look of shock and horror on her face, he was worried that he might have ruined his chance at winning her heart.

  Running faster, he let the worry slip from his mind as he concentrated on tracking down Bartel. The next time he found the deceitful tiger, he wouldn’t be caught so off-guard. When they next fought, it would be to the death--only this time Viktor didn’t plan on being the one left for dead.

  * * * *

  Eve looked around her apartment, sighing at the plain white walls devoid of photographs. She hardly spent any time in it and at times she wondered why she bothered keeping it at all. It was hardly a home. There was a couch and a coffee table--both gifts from her mother. Several boxes lined the walls, waiting until she got the urge to unpack them. That day hadn’t come in the two years she’d rented the place.

  Crossing the kitchen barefoot in only her white robe, she grabbed a cup from the cabinet and poured herself some coffee. It was the only thing she had in the cupboards. If she wanted to eat, she’d have to either go to a restaurant or back to her office at the Preserve. Thinking of the office, she shivered. She’d stayed locked up until dawn, before making a run for her car.

  “What was I thinking?” she moaned, looking down at her coffee cup. She didn’t even want to think of the fact that she might be pregnant by a stranger--or worse, diseased. She knew better than to have casual sex! “Argh! What the hell was I thinking!”

  The little voice inside her laughed, seeming to mock, I know what you were thinking!

  A small, unaware smile came to her lips as she remembered Viktor. She dipped her finger into the coffee’s surface and made little ripples in it. His dark eyes had penetrated her, capturing her soul. The memory of his voice gave her chills. Oh, but he was handsome! And his body inside hers felt so … so … so incredibly good that she ached with wanting hi
m all over again.

  Eve couldn’t quite place it, but she would almost swear she knew him somehow. She thought of the endless parties she’d been to with her parents and couldn’t for the life of her remember him. Surely, she’d remember meeting a man as gorgeous as he was.

  She closed her eyes, as a wave of hot longing shot through her. It wasn’t fair. One man shouldn’t hold so much control over her.

  I love you.

  Eve froze, stopping her hand from reaching beneath the robe to touch between her thighs. Had he actually professed his love for her? No. He couldn’t mean it. But, something in his eyes had said he believed the words to be true.

  “Ahhh,” she moaned aloud into the empty apartment, slamming her palm on the countertop. “He’s a lunatic. I had unsafe, unprotected, unbelievably great, extraordinary sex with a complete lunatic.”

  Eve banged her head against the cupboard door several times.

  “Mmmm and what’s worse, I want to do it again.”

  * * * *

  Eve was nervous stepping out of her car in front of her office, but she knew she couldn’t avoid going to work. There were a lot of animals that needed her attention and care if they were going to get better. Her morning went fairly smooth and, after three hours working in the Preserve’s lab, she left it to make her daily inspection of the grounds.

  Looking for Midnight first, she was disappointed not to find him. She went to the main security compound to check the hidden cameras. They covered nearly all the Preserve’s grounds. She searched every acre, unable to find him. She asked the guards about him. They told her they hadn’t noticed the black panther about, but one mentioned having seen a tiger they hadn’t noticed before.

  Eve thanked them, though in truth she doubted they could tell a lion from a housecat. There were no new tigers on the grounds--not for the last year at least. It’s what she got for hiring men barely out of their teens to work for her. Half the time, she thought it was the cool uniforms that attracted them to the job more than helping to guard the animals.

  Eve sighed in frustration, hoping Midnight was all right. For some reason she couldn’t discern, she felt closer to him than the others. Suddenly, she thought of Viktor. He’d run into the forest the night before, the same direction Midnight had earlier. Not understanding what, if anything, was going on, she made her way back to the bridge.