Ivory (Manhatten ten) Read online

  “I don’t know if I can.” Every step he took, I teetered on the edge of finding out.

  “Ivory. Valdís.” Panther touched my robe over the fabric of my shoulder. It was like the heavy terrycloth wasn’t there. His energy zinged through the cloth, through my skin, and straight to my soul. Or maybe it was the heat as he mouthed my name. “I saw you let loose on that plane. You might’ve been all instinct, but your soul was in your eyes. Let go. If you get lost again, I’m here to help you through it.”

  He was right. I’d never been a coward before and Panther deserved better from me. I had to trust he was right. That whatever happened, he’d be able to see me through it.

  I wanted to. And really, I had to try. I couldn’t live so split. I had to fall on either side or drive myself insane.

  “You really want to know what I taste like?” Once I’d made the decision, it was easy to lose myself in Panther’s electric yellow eyes. I moved him back until he hit the couch and his knees folded. “Then taste.”

  Panther gazed all the way up. “You sure this is the way you want to test this? We could always spar or…”

  What I had in mind was a little like sparring, but nothing like fighting. All my body wanted was to match the heat in Panther’s eyes. I let the robe slip off my shoulder. “You need a second invitation?”

  “No.” Hunter-fast, he pounced. I was in his arms for a second, then flat on my back on the sofa. He loomed dark, his jungle-hot skin searing through me. “I don’t.”

  My hands were pinned and as he stared, a thrill of fear shot down my spine. He dipped, licking the line of my jugular in a long kiss. I drew in a shuddering breath.

  Not a thrill of fear. This was pure lust.

  Panther growled low and hot. His hands roamed downward, toying with the robe’s tie as he kissed and licked his way along my jaw line.

  He sucked my bottom lip, adding a gentle nip of fang that made me gasp.

  “Like snowflakes.” He growled, shifting for a deeper kiss. I moved my tongue, licking one of his long teeth.

  The heat of him. Intoxicating.

  Panther pressed me hard into the sofa, his knee parting my body as the rigid length of him ground into my thigh. I ached to feel him inside me.

  I wriggled my hands free and smoothed down tight muscles to his waistband. “No more pants.” Pulling down, I made the movement a caress of his corded thighs, but with him on top of me, I couldn’t get them all the way down.

  When his lips found my mouth again, I pushed him until his back hit the armrest. Panther’s hands slid up my thighs and his pants made it to his knees before I caught an eyeful.

  Fully erect, he was massive. Dark and beautiful. How had I tricked myself into brushing off such a glorious man?

  I took his tip into my mouth. A swirl of my tongue and he groaned, his claws extending with pleasure. Cloth shredded where he gripped the sofa. I worked under the head, but when I eased off, he pulled back, finally kicking the pants away. “No more robe.”

  I moved to oblige him, but Panther was faster. He tore away the robe’s belt.

  With his teeth.

  Fabric ripped away until I lay naked, him kneeling at my side. With claw-tips, he traced a line from my earlobe, down my neck and around my breast, grazing my navel and hip, only stopping to trace the juncture of my thigh, where the claws retracted, and his very human, very smooth hands came to rest. “Beautiful.”

  Even without the decoration, Panther was all predator, and I wanted to try him on. I moved toward him, but he shifted me until I sat up, and he knelt between my legs.

  Oh.

  “Don’t mind me taking my time.” Panther lifted my legs upward and a little outward, tilting my hips until he had the angle he wanted. He gave one long, comprehensive lick that threw me back into the cushions with a gasp. “Damn. I could do this all night.”

  And he seemed ready to try.

  In swirls and twirls, slow and fast, he teased and tortured until the sweet ache spilled over and I cried out.

  When I could see straight again, Panther grinned and licked his lips. “I’ll go another round any time you’re ready.” With the teasing challenge in his eye and the heat in his voice, my body didn’t need to wait. I moved up until our lips met and sucked his tongue into my mouth. As he gave a happy growl, I flipped him onto the couch.

  Maybe not as smooth as him, but it worked. I kicked a thigh over his body, maneuvering into position. “I’d like to be on top.”

  “What a coincidence.” He rolled his hips, easing my readjustment. “I’d love for you to be on top.” Again, the challenge in his eyes.

  One I was more than ready to meet.

  I leaned forward, leaving his hardness pressed between us as I took a long draw at his mouth. For a predator, his lips were impossibly soft. He tasted like fire, and the more I worked my body against his, the hotter he grew.

  “Ivory…Valdís…” The heat that lived in his body coursed through his voice. He arched and groped for my thighs, ready to be inside me, but I was in control.

  I sat back on his hips and took the swollen length of him in my palm. So hot. I gave a few appreciative strokes and Panther’s spine arched. “Fuuuuuck…” The words dripped from his lips in a moan and the sound was like candy.

  I needed him.

  Wrapping my fingers around his shaft, I guided Panther inside me. We both gasped as I worked myself down on him. He was large, but I was more than ready, and when I finally lowered myself all the way, we fit like our bodies were made for each other.

  I pulled back from that thought. Fast.

  Stay in the moment.

  Panther’s hands found my hips and I jolted back to him. This was too good to waste with stray thoughts.

  “Mmm…” Panther’s lids were half-closed, his muscles tight, his head tipped back with pleasure. “God, you’re amazing.”

  Slowly, so deliciously, torturously slowly, I rocked my hips. He lifted to match my rhythm, forcing himself deeper and deeper inside.

  I stifled my gasp. “Goddess.”

  “Yes. You are.” That wasn’t what I’d meant, but it wasn’t the time to argue. Panther smoothed his way up my hips. He caressed up my ribcage and cupped my breasts, circling each nipple with a lazy thumb.

  A soft moan escaped my lips. I’d wanted to go slow, but as pleasure built and Panther’s soul-searing heat pumped my blood with aching need, my hips moved faster. He thrust in perfect time, building, building, until his spine arched and his release pushed me into an inferno.

  Goddess. The heat. Every inch of me burned and every lick of flame sparked a deeper pleasure. I came again and again until I finally fell against Panther’s chest, so spent that lying next to him was the only thing that made sense.

  I panted, but the sweat that beaded my forehead didn’t freeze. Part of me knew I should move, but all I could do was bask.

  I’d always wondered what it would be like to be warm. Wrapped in Panther’s arms it was as if the ice woman had never existed.

  I was normal. Human. And it felt amazing.

  I curled into him, and he nuzzled at my cheek. A contented purr vibrated from Panther’s chest and my eyelids drooped. Why had I wanted to leave?

  It was a worry for the morning. Nothing could make me leave Panther’s warmth and its accompanying bliss.

  Chapter Seven

  Panther

  I carried Ivory to her bedroom, gently arranging her with soft down and pillows. All the while I couldn’t stop purring.

  She slept so soundly. It had to be the first time I’d seen her anything like vulnerable, and as much as I was falling for the warrior sex goddess, this suited her. Her scent was sugar and glacier water, and that sheet of long blonde hair rumpled all seductive around her shoulders.

  I slid into the bed and took her into my arms. Most women felt like dolls I might break, but Ivory fit against my chest like she was made to be there. Strong, but soft in all the right places.

  She was fucking perfect.
r />   The night ticked on and my lids drooped, but I couldn’t sleep and miss the sound of Ivory’s breathing. Which made me kind of obsessed with her, didn’t it?

  I’d followed her and teased the hell out of her, but I was ready to tear the appendages off any asshole who so much as smelled her.

  Textbook fucking mating behavior.

  Maybe I’d been into her, but I hadn’t been expecting…this. Some amazing sex, sure, but mates were forever, and I was not Ivory’s favorite cat. She wanted out of the tower and the crew.

  I was still getting to know Ivory. It would take a lifetime and I still probably wouldn’t figure her out, but I needed every one of those minutes. Now that I’d found her, no woman could fit into my life like Ivory. She understood the beast.

  Hell, she liked the cat more than she liked me. I’d be jealous if we weren’t the same guy.

  And if she left?

  My heart. Meat cleaver.

  However it had happened, she owned me now. I just had to hope she didn’t want to make a return.

  I stared away the night, watching the moonlight glisten on her skin. Under the sheets, her natural chill mingled with my heat until we averaged out warm and normal. Two halves.

  Even a few hours ago, I would’ve kicked my own ass for being this sappy, but fuck it. Ivory was mine, and I could be romantic. If she let me. The sun started working its way up, but all I could do was stare and wonder where we went from here.

  A ringing phone popped my bubble and I jerked fully awake. I patted around for my cell before realizing it was wherever my lost pants were and moved for the landline. Ivory stirred but didn’t get up. She’d better not.

  I snagged the receiver and tried not to growl into the line. “What?”

  Silence. Then Tank cursed. “Sounding a little rough this morning, Ivory. Bad night?”

  Shit.

  I wouldn’t have been able to keep it from Tank for long, mind-reader and all, but I didn’t want him picking up my mental images just now. Ivory was officially for my eyes only. Then again, if he were close enough to get telepathic, he probably wouldn’t have called. “What do you want, Boss?”

  “I need you on-site for another super murder.”

  “Where?” I got busy looking for my sweatpants.

  “East 89th, between Second and Third.”

  That froze me mid-reach under the couch. “New York?” Houston had been the closest the killings had come to our home turf, and we’d liked it that way.

  “Bring Ivory,” Tank said. “They know she killed one of their guys. Maybe she can help us draw them out.”

  “Will do. Meet you there?”

  “No. Your lead. I got suckered onto a flight to D.C. after the party. Congressional hearing.”

  “Bummer.” I whipped on the pants and headed back to the bedroom for Ivory. “I’ll handle it.”

  “I know you will.” Tank hung up.

  Ivory stretched under the sheet. I so didn’t want to bring her into this. She needed to be naked in that bed for one-hundred percent of the foreseeable future, not scavenging Manhattan for killers. Plus, the minute she’d moved, we’d be dealing with the morning after, and I doubted she and I had shared the same epiphany.

  It was like a sucker-punch in the kidney. I wouldn’t give up on her—I couldn’t now—but it would fucking hurt if she were still playing Ms. In Control.

  “Ivory?” I nudged the mattress with a knee. “Need your help on a case.”

  “Mmm?” She stretched again, releasing a feminine noise as she tangled into the sheets. She so, so needed to stay in bed. I was more than ready to give our chemistry another try. And, not exactly hiding it in the sweatpants.

  Ivory looked me up and down and for one perfect moment, I thought she’d pull me down for a kiss. Instead, her eyes opened wide and I could almost hear the curtain of ice crashing down inside her.

  Ivory

  I’d been content and absolutely sated until I caught Panther looming over me. The night came back in a rush.

  Amazing didn’t begin to describe it. Shattering, maybe?

  But where did that put me with Panther? It was ridiculous to be shy at this point, but I pulled the sheet tighter around my body.

  “There was another murder.” Panther was matter-of-fact. Closed-off. “Tank wants us both on scene.”

  Of course Tank did. He wasn’t living if he wasn’t manipulating. I wrapped the sheet around myself and hurried for the shower. Helping the Ten wasn’t high on my list, but I needed to get away from Panther’s gaze.

  He was incredible and…not for me. At least, not now.

  I had to leave the Ten the first chance I found. I’d proved I could go to the edge and come back myself. If I wouldn’t endanger anyone, then it was time to be gone.

  Maybe I wished Panther could be a part of that, but he was Ten before he could be anything to me, and I couldn’t be involved with them. It would’ve been different if not for Kevan, but he might have already contacted my mother. I needed to be on the first cargo plane I could hitch to South America.

  I shuddered as I stepped under the showerhead. It had been a mistake to let myself fall so deep into Panther. I’d known I wasn’t staying, and I didn’t sleep with men I had no intention of seeing again. I certainly wouldn’t let such a man have his way with my heart.

  I owed Panther an apology before I stole away.

  After my wash, I peeked into the bedroom, but no jungle cats or big men were waiting for me. I stopped halfway to the walk-in closet. Why had Panther bothered to make the bed?

  I shook my head. Panther couldn’t be my concern right now. I dressed in the flight attendant’s uniform that Angel had had pressed and twisted my hair into its bun. The familiarity eased my nerves. I was going to fly apart if I didn’t get back to myself soon. I took a very deep breath before I could open the door to the living space.

  Panther had also found a shower and some fresh clothes. He sat at the breakfast bar, busily spooning a bowl of Lucky Charms. I wasn’t surprised. He had a way of making himself at home in my life.

  “Some breakfast before you jet?” His voice held an unfamiliar distance. I’d expected him to be clingy or joking or…something other than this.

  I grabbed a banana. “The faster we do this, the better.”

  Panther downed his cereal milk, rinsed the bowl and set it in the sink. Why all the cleaning? But no, I wasn’t worrying about him.

  Instead, I peeled my banana and followed Panther down to the parking garage. An unlocked cabinet full of keys sat outside the elevator, which seemed like poor security. Though only someone with a death wish would break into the M-10’s stronghold in the first place.

  After he chose a set of keys, he led us past the Ferraris, Porsches and Maybachs to a row of regular-looking sedans. When the locks beeped, a beat-up Honda Civic flashed its lights. That was…surprising. “This is an undercover car?”

  “We try to keep it low key when we’re on case. Hopefully the press won’t tail us.”

  We squeezed in, and Panther took us up a level, past a flight of more average cars and through the employee exit. I didn’t see any reporters, but that didn’t mean no one was watching.

  The ride passed in silence. I finished my banana and toyed with the peel as we crawled through Midtown traffic. It was the best opportunity I’d have to apologize. I just wished I didn’t feel so awkward in my skin when faced with this quiet Panther. “About last night…” But where did I go from there?

  “You think it was a mistake.” He didn’t turn from the road, and his voice was close to empty.

  “It was.” And why wasn’t this easy? It wasn’t as if I’d planned to spend the rest of my life with him. “I used you to test my control.” The huntress side of me had wanted Panther so deeply, and I’d been willing to flip a coin and see what happened. “So I’m…I shouldn’t have done that.”

  He threw the turn signal so hard the stick should’ve snapped. “You used me?”

  “It was shameless. T
hings shouldn’t have gone that far.” They wouldn’t again. I’d see to this murder scene and slip away as soon as I could. Before I could make things worse.

  “You kill me.” Panther leaned an elbow on the window and rubbed his head. “You’d deny yourself anything you could to fit this box you think is normal. Normal’s what you make of it, darling.”

  I glared at the darling but let it hang. “I’ve never been normal.” Every day was a battle.

  “Yeah, and if you got with me, that would about shatter your last chance at playing house.”

  “Playing house? You think that’s what I’m doing?” Ice bunched under my fingernails, and I clamped my hands into a fist to keep both the shards and my emotions from exploding.

  “We’re the same, except that I don’t try to be what I’m not. And you’re attracted to that, but it freaks the shit out of you. When you’re with me, you can’t pretend either.”

  “That is not true.”

  “No? Enlighten me.” Panther finally glanced my way. Intense yellow glowed from his eyes, but I couldn’t read his expression. It was something more than confrontational.

  I wanted to say something to that gaze, but what? My pulse thumped. I had no answer for him.

  A cluster of police cars parked just ahead of us, their lights flashing. Officers milled, holding back press vans and curious pedestrians. “I’m leaving after this.”

  “No.” Panther flashed an ID at one of the officers, and the man waved us through a barricade. I waited until we were past to respond. If I hadn’t, I would’ve blasted him with ice.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “You need to be here.” He threw the car into park and unbuckled. “I want you to stay.” Panther gazed my way and his heart bled into his eyes.

  It was something like the look Kevan had given me. Total adoration.

  I sucked in a breath.

  It couldn’t be. I was misreading him.

  I needed to get out of the car, but my body wasn’t taking my cues. Instead I sat as frozen as an icicle.

  He reached over and unbuckled me. The heat that seeped off his hands sparked a flashback to last night. All of that dark skin, so hot underneath me as we both bucked in passion.