Chapter 5
Fallon’s heart had never pounded so hard in her life as she gently pulled Avi into the apartment, knowing full well that things were going to move forward physically between them if she did.
She knew she could tell him she just wanted to sleep with him and not have sex, because he was the sort of male who wouldn’t try to push things forward physically if she wasn’t ready.
But she was so freaking ready.
Less than twenty-four hours ago, she was on the way to the farm from the safari park, scared out of her mind and not knowing what the future held.
But then she met Avi and piece by piece, her fears melted away.
She might not know when her mom would be able to get free of the prowl, or what Otto was planning, but she knew she was safe with Avi and the herd. She’d actually never felt so safe in her life.
She was still a little scared.
Otto was a psychopath, after all, who thought she belonged to him.
But Avi was a strong and determined male and so were the other members of the herd. Whatever happened, she knew she could count on Avi.
And that’s why she decided—her libido pulsing at her like an alarm clock—that she didn’t want to be away from Avi a moment longer. She didn’t want to spend a night tossing and turning on the bed, she wanted to know what it felt like to be held and cherished by her soulmate.
He pulled her close and her jaguar purred in response.
“Beautiful,” he whispered, his fingertips ghosting down her throat and tracing the curve of her breast. “So very much mine.”
She shivered and tilted her head for another kiss and he met her lips with his, a low growl rumbling in his throat. He kissed her like he was going off to war, like every time their tongues touched, dancing against each other, was a memory he was keeping close to his heart.
He gripped the bottom of her shirt and pulled it upward, one rough hand sliding along her back as he moved the soft fabric up. She pulled from the kiss and helped him to take off the shirt, leaving her in the only cute bra she had: pink with white lace trim.
He let out a playful growl and cupped her breast, lowering his head to capture her lips again.
He lifted her against him and turned, taking the few steps to bring them to bed and settling her on her back.
Feverish for him, her stomach fluttering in excitement, she grinned as he straightened and grasped the collar of his shirt, his fingers flying down the buttons and undoing them before tossing it aside.
He put a knee on the bed and trailed his fingers over her exposed skin, making her skin prickle and her heart race.
He kissed her, then nibbled down her throat, following his fingers over the swell of her breasts, pulling down the bra to expose her tight nipples.
He ravished her, sucking and licking her nipples like they were his favorite piece of candy, until her stomach was clenching and she was twisting her fingers in his hair with each wave of heat that spiraled through her.
He kissed his way down her belly as she wiggled free of the bra, hooking his fingers into the waistband of her skirt and undoing it, sliding it free of her legs along with her panties.
He growled softly, sounding like the sexiest predator on the planet, and then he hooked her knees over his shoulders and pressed his lips to her clit.
Closing her eyes as she tipped her head back, she focused on everything he did. The way his fingers played with her heated folds as he tongued her clit, sliding his fingers in and out of her, until her body was humming on the edge of pleasure, her nerve endings raw and exposed.
Just as she tipped over the edge into white-hot pleasure, crying out his name, he kissed his way up her body and she heard him undo his jeans and then he was inside her, over her, arms tight around her as he slid home.
Home.
He buried his face in her neck and bit her throat, holding her tight as he moved, thrusting in and pulling out.
She lifted her hips to meet his, his thick cock hitting all the right places inside her to keep her climax going, wave after wave, toes numb, body on fire, and every ounce of her belonging to him.
They moved together like it wasn’t the first time, but the thousandth time, perfectly aligned, his hard muscles to her soft curves. He moved faster, slamming his hips against her, his hand sliding between them and his fingers touching her sensitive clit.
She bucked under him with a gasp as he found just the right place to touch her, seemed to know exactly what she needed to fall apart again.
“Take me with you, sweetheart,” he said hoarsely.
She dug her fingers into his back and let herself go into the pleasure that wove through her, pushing her to another great height of bliss.
She threw back her head and cried out as she came, her pussy gripping his cock as her body locked down on his.
He followed, roaring her name as he filled her again and again, until they were both spent, both boneless and sated, collapsed against each other.
He slipped from her body and settled next to her, kissing her shoulder with a tender press of his lips.
“Mine,” he murmured.
She rested her hand on his on her belly, the heat of his body against her back as they lay together in the blissful afterglow, a warmth she didn’t think she’d ever want to do without.
“You’re mine too.”
* * *
The window in the bedroom area was open, a light breeze ruffling a long curtain and carrying the sound of crickets and birds into the room. Even though minutes had passed in a haze of post-bliss caresses, she still felt like she was floating.
She was tucked against Avi, her head on his chest and his heartbeat steady under her ear. His fingers moved slowly over her back, making aimless patterns as they talked quietly in the way lovers did in the quiet darkness after rocking each other’s world.
“I feel like I’m dreaming,” she said.
“How so?”
“Last night when I came here, I was bracing for the worst. I didn’t know if I’d made a mistake leaving the park, I was questioning every move I made. But now, after just a day with you, I feel more like myself, more at peace, than I have in ages.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad you’ve found peace here. It’s important to me that you’re not just safe, but also happy. With me.”
“I’m happier with you than I’ve ever been, that’s for sure.”
She tilted her face up to look at him, the moonlight highlighting his features with pale light. “We keep dancing around the future, you know.”
“It’s only been a day.”
“I know. But I want to tell you that I want to stay. Here, at the farm, with you. And not just because I think it’s safe, but because this is your home, and it feels like my home too. I want to help you with the chores and find something for myself that’s useful and helpful to the herd.”
He chuckled in a low way that made his chest vibrate. “I’d definitely love to work with you, but you know that you don’t have to prove yourself or work a ton to belong here. You already belong because we’re soulmates.”
“I know, but I want to. I want to mainly because you’re letting me choose.
I never got a choice in the prowl—I had to do what was best for the prowl, no matter if it was something I was good at or wanted to do.
You’re giving me freedom to choose my path in the herd.
And that means the world to me.” She leaned up enough to kiss him, loving how soft his lips were.
In the quiet that followed, she listened to his heartbeat and closed her eyes for a moment.
Otto popped into her mind, but she pushed him away.
He wasn’t here now, it was just her and Avi.
She didn’t want to be ruled by fear and always looking over her shoulder.
She wanted to live in the moment, with her soulmate.
“Is there anything that jaguars do to officially become mates?” he asked after a few moments. “For stallions, just having sex is enough to become mates, although we do usually have a welcome party for new members.”
“No, nothing special for jaguars. Just this...being together. Choosing each other. Saying the words.”
“Then let’s say the words,” he murmured.
She rose up above him and smiled at him, her heart swelling.
“Avi, you’re my soulmate,” she said with a kiss.
He cupped her face and kissed her more fully, delving his tongue against hers. “Fallon, you’re my soulmate.”
She snuggled into his side and kissed the space over his heart. “I’m falling for you.”
His arms tightened around her and he nuzzled the top of her head with a yawn. “I’m falling for you too, Fallon.
She yawned, her eyes closing slowly as the world started to drift away into a sweet sleep. She felt him pull a blanket over them and kiss her forehead with a happy sigh. Then she drifted off to sleep, warm and safe in his arms.
The stallion and the jaguar.
Two soulmates separated by hundreds of miles and brought together by a crazy jaguar and an incredible twist of fate.