Sin's Pride Read online

  Sin’s Pride

  Mandy M. Roth

  Annora knows a lot about her best friend, Singh—including the fact that he is a lion shapeshifter and has a notoriously wicked way with women. She secretly longs to experience that passion herself, but doesn’t dare risk their friendship.

  Then Sin’s usual flirting becomes way more intimate. Suddenly, neither of them can resist their desire—even though according to pride rules, their union is forbidden….

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter One

  Annora licked her lower lip as she stared at her longtime friend and roommate, still unsure if she’d heard right. Never did she think bringing in an armful of groceries and questioning the odd look he’d worn upon his face would lead to a conversation so intimate. “What did you just say?” she asked, positive there was no way Singh could have said what she thought he did.

  Singh grinned, his amber gaze mischievous, as he took the bag of sugar from her hand and placed it on the top shelf. His hand brushed over hers and Annora could have sworn her skin was on fire.

  Of course his touch is searing. He’s Sin. Everything about him is hot enough to scorch anything and everything in its path.

  His shaggy blond hair fell forward, partially covering one eye. Annora held back from pushing the hair from his face and ruffling it. She wanted to see those sexy whiskey-colored eyes staring down at her, filled to the brim with passion.

  I bet he has phenomenal bedroom looks.

  His lips were full, giving him an air of innocence, one Annora knew better than to fall for. She’d heard of his wicked ways.

  “I only wanted to know if you’ve ever been mounted before,” he said. “That’s all.”

  “That’s all?” she echoed, her pulse speeding at the thought of Singh taking her from behind. Would he be a gentle lover and surprise her or would he be what she expected?hard and demanding? She swallowed back the lump in her throat and tried to focus on putting away the groceries from the countertop. It was hard to do with Singh standing so close and wearing so little.

  His faded jeans were slung low and left the tiniest start of dark blond hair showing. The curls disappeared beneath the top of his jeans, taunting her. If that wasn’t torturous enough, the rippling muscles of his torso left Annora’s mouth dry. She wanted to run her tongue over his steely contours and know what it was like to have Singh buried within her.

  He’s your best friend. Stop thinking like that.

  “So, are you planning on answering my question?” he asked, putting a can of vegetables away. Such a mundane act during a conversation so heated was trademark Singh. “Have you ever been mounted? It’s a simple question.”

  No. She’d never been mounted, but had little desire to share the truth with him. It was too humiliating to admit all the things she’d never done but longed to?all of them were things she wanted to do with him. Annora let her voice drop before confessing, “Sin, I don’t ask you about your sex life.”

  Because I couldn’t bear to hear how you touched another.

  He slid around her, pressing his body close and turning her to face the ornate tiled backsplash as he put another can away. He positioned his mouth over her ear and his warm breath caressed her skin. Tiny sparks of passion rushed through her body. “You can ask me anything, Annora. The time of me keeping secrets has come to an end.”

  “Secrets? What’s that supposed to mean?” She knew more about him than most. Annora was privy to the fact Singh was more than human. Something he kept a secret from those outside his immediate circle. She didn’t think he kept anything from her. Obviously, she was wrong.

  Singh rubbed against her, his clothed erection pressed against the small of her back. At six foot two, he was just shy of being a foot taller than her. Every time he was near, he left Annora feeling protected and cherished. It had always been that way. What had changed was Singh’s behavior over the last few weeks. He’d always been playful and flirtatious with her before, but it had moved past innocent and into the realm of bedroom conduct. They’d been roommates for close to three years and best friends ever since she could remember. This behavior was welcomed to a point. As much as she longed for Singh to see her as she saw him, his friendship was something she couldn’t risk losing. He was her everything.

  “It means that?” he thrust against her “?I finally figured a few things out.” A manly chuckle escaped his lips. “Took me long enough.”

  Annora’s breath caught as her pussy clenched. Moisture pooled at the apex of her thighs and her breasts felt heavy with desire. She knew Singh could not only sense her arousal but smell it as well. Denying he turned her on was pointless.

  Putting her palms on the Corian countertop, she exhaled slowly, hoping it would calm her raging hormones. It didn’t. All it served to do was leave her pressing her backside against Singh’s body. He was erect, scarily so. It had been far too long since she’d known the feel of pleasure. She couldn’t help but close her eyes and rub against him.

  He purred, the sound resonating through her. She moaned and tipped her head back. Singh chuckled softly, yanking her from her sexual stupor. She tried to step away, but he kept her pinned in place. His display of dominance left Annora fighting the natural-born instinct to submit and give him whatever he desired.

  “Answer me, Annora,” he whispered, his mouth to her ear. “Have you ever been mounted?”

  “S-Singh?” she asked, her voice failing her and coming out as little more than a stuttered plea. She sounded weak, even to herself. He was too close. Too overwhelming.

  “Have you?” he shoved his clothed cock against her ass “?ever been?” he simulated sex “?mounted?”

  “No.” It was faint but there. She shook her head, holding on to the counter for dear life. Only in her wildest dreams had Singh acted this way with her. She’d longed to have him look at her with lust in his eyes, to have him dominate her the way she’d heard he liked to dominate his women.

  His women.

  The thought of Singh being with other women was the equivalent of having a bucket of ice water dumped over her head. It cooled her ardor. She jerked, trying to get away. Singh held her in place, pushing her long black hair aside and kissing her shoulder.

  “Stop thinking so loud.”

  Her brow furrowed. Forming a complete thought was easier said than done in her current state. “What?”

  He nibbled at her neck, making her knees feel weak. “Your thoughts.” He licked her earlobe and she would have melted into a puddle at his feet had he not had his body pressed so tightly to hers. “I can hear them.”

  That was absurd. He couldn’t hear her thoughts. Only a mated pair of shifters could tap into one another’s thoughts. She knew what Singh was?a male cat shifter. He was a lion, as was her father. It was the only reason she knew the truth about him. Annora lacked the ability to shift forms. The only extra gift she had was heightened senses. Nothing more had been passed on. Her father had been looked down upon for his moment of weakness in bedding a human female. Never did he think the consequences would be around twenty-two years later. Her mother had abandoned her with her father’s people when she learned what her father was.

  A monster.

  That’s what Annora’s mother had called her father?what she’d called her own flesh and blood.

  Her father’s people had taken her in, even though they, and all shifters, looked down their noses at her. All but Singh. He seemed immune to the fact she wasn’t a full-blood.

  He kissed her neck and swayed against her. “You smell good.”

  Annora stilled and stopped fighting the smile attempting to form. “I smell the same as I always do.”

  He rocked his hips against her, grinding his erection ag
ainst her ass. “I know.”

  She focused on the wall, gathering her wits about her. “Want to tell me what prompted this?”

  “I’m thinking three years of pent-up sexual tension…but that might just be me,” he said evenly as if his revelation meant nothing.

  She wanted to comment, but Singh picked then to slink his hands under her tank top. His skin was hot to the touch and her nipples sharpened to pebble-like peaks as he grazed them upward. Annora bit her lower lip, stifling a cry as Singh rolled her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers.

  “Mmm, they’re long,” he said. “Just the way I pictured them.”

  He pictured my nipples?

  Annora barely had a moment to focus on that revelation before Singh had one hand moving down her torso to the top of her jeans. He unsnapped them with ease and dipped a finger below her silk panty line.

  She held her breath.

  “Annora.”

  She couldn’t move.

  “Annora.” He laughed softly in her ear. “Tell me yes.”

  A strangled cry tore free from her as he eased his hand down the front of her panties and stroked her mound. Singh spread her folds and teased her clit with one hand while he continued to work her nipple with the other. Her entire body lit with a fire that was foreign to her. Never had anyone made her burn this way.

  She clawed at the counter.

  Singh licked her earlobe. “Baby, you’re wet.”

  “I know,” she said, her voice sounding sultry.

  He pressed a finger into her heated core and she moaned.

  “Gods, baby, you’re tight.”

  Pleasure shot through Annora and she tried to concentrate on his words, but each swipe of his finger over her clit sent her closer to the edge of culmination. She rocked against his hand, riding it, no longer caring what brought on Singh’s sudden outburst of lust. She needed to come. Just as she neared the brink of orgasm, Singh stopped his actions.

  A whimper tore free of her.

  He held tight, tracing a wet finger up her stomach, over her breast and finally to his mouth.

  Annora glanced over her shoulder to watch as Singh sampled her cream. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he rammed against her so hard the countertop dug painfully into her hips. When their gazes collided, pure animal lust shone.

  Her heart beat faster and a light sheen of sweat broke out on her brow. Annora had little doubt Singh could and would give her the mounting of a lifetime. It scared her how much she wanted him to.

  He tugged at her jeans, yanking them down and exposing her thong-covered backside to him. He smiled and Annora groaned, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

  “Don’t ever think what you feel when I touch you is wrong, Annora.”

  He knew… Singh ran a finger under the thong, causing her skin to heat from the contact. He yanked her panties down. She hissed as he slid it between the cleft of her cheeks. She swayed slightly, causing Singh’s finger to dip lower, skating through the moisture of her heat.

  “Sin,” she whispered.

  “Mmm, I love it when you call me that,” he answered, thrusting his finger into her core. “You’re ready for me.”

  “I am?” she asked before she could think better of it.

  Singh chuckled as he drew his finger from her and positioned her facing the backsplash fully. “Are you ready to be mounted, Annora?”

  Yes. No. She no longer knew what she was and wasn’t ready for. She only knew that to lose his touch now would be too much.

  She heard Singh unzipping his jeans. Excitement rushed through her. He was rough as he shoved her shoulders forward, forcing her body to bend. He probed her pussy with the head of his cock and teased her, making her whimper a plea for more. Annora hated how much she needed him.

  Her body arched as he thrust to the hilt. She screamed a cross between a moan and his name. Pounding, he took her to new heights. White lights flashed behind her closed lids as she clung to the countertop, taking all Singh had to offer. He was so big, long and thick, filling her completely.

  The sound of their joining combined with the heady smell of sex. Annora purred as pleasure built deep within her. He traced a line down her back, sending shivers of delight through her as he continued to ride her. His balls smacked against her clit as she remained pinned in place?at his mercy.

  Singh rooted himself in her and his cock throbbed, jetting seed. Annora clawed at the counter, unable to believe it was over. So much sexual energy was amassed inside her with no release.

  “No!” she cried as she tried to sway her hips and move on his still-erect cock.

  He withdrew and she sucked in a deep breath. He kissed a line down her neck. There was a sharp pinch to her shoulder followed by blinding pleasure as Singh shoved his finger into her core and raked it hard inside her. Annora came with an intensity that scared her. She pounded on the counter as her pussy quaked around his finger, their combined juices leaving her beyond damp.

  What had he just done?

  The slight pain in her shoulder eased and Singh kissed it gently. “Mmm, I thought it was rather obvious, Annora. I made you come.”

  “But what…” She tried to face him, but he held her in place.

  “You’re part cat shifter, too,” he said, his voice even. “You weren’t ready for me to take you in partially shifted form, so I had to mimic the barb that would normally scrape against you…from the inside out.”

  The barb?

  It took Annora a moment to collect her thoughts before she figured out what he meant. She’d heard rumors that male cat shifters had barbs on the end of their penises when they partially shifted and that these barbs helped to induce the female’s reproductive cycle, making her more receptive to his semen. She’d never been taken by a shifter male. Her only sexual partners had been human and they’d never made her come so hard and so long that her legs were still shaky.

  Singh growled. “And they won’t ever make you come again.”

  Confused, she shook her head. “What?”

  “Nothing,” he bit out, moving away from her.

  Annora, with shaky hands, pulled her panties and jeans up. It took her three tries before she finally managed to fasten them. What had she allowed to happen? Would their friendship be ruined?

  The thought sobered her, leaving her very aware of her disheveled state.

  Singh cursed under his breath. “You’re thinking too loud again, Annora.”

  “Sin?” she asked, using the nickname he’d acquired as a child.

  He backed away, slowly, allowing her to turn around.

  Annora looked her longtime friend over for any visible sign as to his change in attitude. She found none. Though, if the bulge in his jeans was any indication that he truly wanted her, then he did. His amber gaze seemed locked on her. She swallowed back a lump in her throat, never feeling so naked before in her life. Since she still had her clothes on, it was a hell of a look on the part of Singh.

  He did a rather blatant adjusting of his cock, gave her a wicked wink and walked away, leaving Annora standing there, dumbfounded. She huffed, glanced at the bag of half-put-away groceries and then let out another long breath. She needed fresh air and time to think.

  With little thought of anything else, Annora rushed out the front door.

  Chapter Two

  “You did what?” Dex asked as he stood in the center of Singh’s living room. “Sin, tell me you didn’t act on your feelings for Annora.”

  “I could but it would be a lie.” Singh gritted his teeth. He had walked out of his bedroom to find the house empty hours ago. He’d called everyone they knew, hoping to locate Annora, but had no luck. Dex, his best friend and fellow pride member, had rushed over to help. “She was standing there, looking so sweet, so innocent…biting her lower lip as she held that bag. I couldn’t stand it anymore.” He exhaled loudly. “Those big blue eyes of hers grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. One look and she had me.”

  “She’s a half-breed and you
’re next in line to head the pack. It’s a union that won’t be allowed.”

  Dex wasn’t telling Singh anything he didn’t already know, but somewhere along the line he’d hated hearing Annora referred to as a half-breed. She was different from the women in the pack. They were all blonde, tall and toned to the point they lacked soft curves. Annora was petite, yet shapely, and her hair was as dark as night. She was perfect in every way. How dare Dex try to take away from that fact? He shot his friend a nasty look.

  Dex put his hands up as if to say he was innocent. “Look, man, I know she’s hot. Hell, I’ve entertained what it would be like to bend her over and fuck that sweet ass more than once but—”

  In a flash Singh was across the room with his fist connecting to Dex’s jaw. He didn’t know what came over him but the very thought of Dex anywhere near Annora’s body sent him over the edge. His breathing was erratic as he faced down a man who could give him a run for his money in a fight. “You won’t fucking touch her! Understand me?”

  Rubbing his jaw, Dex let out a small laugh. “Possessive much?”

  “I’m not possessive of her.”

  Dex lifted a brow. “Oh, really? So, you wouldn’t mind if I asked her out. Took her for a few drinks and maybe let her take a ride on—”

  “Finish that sentence and I’ll rip your tongue from your head,” Singh said, scarcely able to control the beast within him. A growl escaped and he froze, having heard other male shifters make a similar noise in the past.

  His gaze met Dex’s rather amused one. A sardonic smile spread over his friend’s face. “You are in deep shit, man. That was an audible claiming if I ever heard one.”

  Singh tried to balk at the idea, but he couldn’t. Annora consumed his every waking thought. She always had. He’d tried to fuck her out of his mind, sinking into woman after woman, but none were her. None made the burning need to find solace in Annora’s body disappear.

  Several weeks ago he’d dreamed of Annora opening herself to him. He’d found bliss deep within her and when he’d woken, he knew in his heart she was the only one for him.