They stared at one another, and the world around Gabriela was so peaceful and quiet that it fell away from her perception. She didn’t know why he’d stopped her from touching his hair. He’d done so once before, and she couldn’t help but wonder at his reasons. His action seemed so at odds with the way he was looking at her, with the desire in his eyes.
Perhaps, given a few more seconds, she might’ve brought herself to ask him about it. Perhaps she might’ve regained her wits enough to do so. But before that could happen, Mason bent down and pressed his mouth to hers.
His lips were hot, firm, and commanding, and they washed away any questions she might have had. A soft sound escaped her, and she leaned into him, pressing her body against his.
She tilted her head back as far as it could go, just so he’d kiss her deeper. And he did. Mason slanted his mouth overs hers, and she opened to him, letting in his tongue—his incredibly long tongue—to twine with hers. She brushed her tongue over his teeth, tracing one of his canines, which felt oddly—but thrillingly—longer and sharper than it looked.
Mason’s arms wrapped around her, and one of his hands settled on her ass as he clutched her to him. His cock, hard and hidden beneath his coat, pressed against her belly, but there was too much padding separating them. His growl shot straight to her clit, causing it to pulse.
Gabby’s mind was immediately transported back to this morning. Back to the feel of his long, thick, and strangely ridged shaft nestled against her pussy, rubbing back and forth, stroking her clit again and again, sending the most delicious pleasure through her. She wanted more of that—needed more of that.
No, she craved everything. All of him. Naked, with no barriers between them. She wanted to feel him inside her.
Ana’s exaggerated gagging sounds broke through the haze of passion that had overtaken Gabriela’s mind.
She tore her mouth from Mason’s, though he seemed reluctant to release her, keeping his arms and hands firmly in place. Cold winter air swept in to replace the warmth his lips had left upon hers. She looked at her daughter.
Ana had stood up while Mason and Gabriela were kissing, and she was looking at them now with disgust on her face. “You were sucking each other’s tongues!”
“You wanted him to be my boyfriend, right?”
“Well…yeah.”
Gabriela smirked. “Well, get used to it. This is what boyfriends and girlfriends do.”
Frowning, Ana turned away and trudged onward. “I’m staying single forever. That’s just gross.”
Gabby laughed. “Sounds fine by me!”
When she turned her attention back to Mason, she found him still staring down at her, his eyebrows low. “Boyfriend?”
“Ah, well…” Her cheeks warmed, and she ducked her head, lowering her gaze to his chest. “That’s what you are now, right? That is…if you want to be?”
He hooked a finger beneath her chin and lifted it, forcing her eyes back up to his. He wrinkled his nose, and his lip curled. “I am no boy, female, and we are far more than friends.” He stroked his thumb over her bottom lip, which was tender from their kiss. “I am yours, Gabriela—your mate. And you are mine.”
“I…like the sound of that,” she said, a little breathlessly. She really, really did. Who cared if no one else she’d ever known talked like that? It was sexy as hell. It was like he was staking his claim on her, and allowing her to claim him right back.
Mason’s lips spread into that sensual smile she loved so much. “Mmm… Good.” His gaze moved to her lips, and he dipped his head.
“Hey! I found our tree!” Ana called. “It’s short and fat with a skinny stick on top. It’s perfect!”
“That’s great, baby,” Gabby replied before easing closer to Mason, lashes fluttering shut in anticipation of the coming kiss.
“M-mom?” Ana’s voice trembled with fear and uncertainty, piercing straight through Gabriela and replacing the heat she’d felt a moment before with bone-deep cold.
Gabby swung her gaze to her daughter, and her heart stopped.
Ana was standing deathly still with her back toward Gabriela, clumps of snow clinging to her clothing from head to toe. Directly ahead of Ana was the largest mountain lion Gabriela had ever seen. Its shoulders were hunched, its ears back, and its eyes were locked on her little girl.
Mason snarled something in a language Gabriela didn’t recognize and released his hold on her. Gabriela staggered in the snow, unable to take in a breath, unable to think, unable to act. There was far too little distance between her baby girl and that beast.
The mountain lion’s lips peeled back as it made a low, rolling growl.
Ana took a small, unsteady step backward.
That growl rose into a yowling roar, the sort of call that had always prompted Gabriela’s father to load his shotgun when she was a child, and the mountain lion charged across the snow.
With a scream, Ana stumbled back. Her boot caught in the snow, and she fell onto her backside.
“Ana!” Gabriela cried, trying to run forward, but the damned snow made it feel like she was moving in slow motion.
There was another growl, this one much more powerful and from much closer—from Mason. He darted forward, barreling through the snow like a charging rhino, moving faster than anyone as large as him had any right to. His long legs ate up the ground between him and Ana.
The mountain lion leapt into the air with its big paws splayed and its claws extended.
Mason bounded over Ana. But what landed in the snow in front of the little girl looked nothing like the man Gabby knew—he wasn’t even human. He looked like a demon. A red-skinned, horned demon.
The mountain lion collided with him, its front half coming down on his shoulder and its paws slamming down on his back. The animal twisted its head, opening its fanged mouth wide, and lifted its hind legs as though to claw at the demon’s stomach.
But the demon—Mason—seemed unfazed. He lifted is hands quickly, bracing them against the big cat’s midsection, and heaved it off with a mighty shove. The mountain lion’s claws shredded his coat, but it could not keep hold. The beast yowled and flipped head-over-tail before crashing into the snow a good fifteen feet away from Mason.
The cat scrambled onto its feet, huffing and shaking its head. Growling, agitated, and wary, it prowled to the side as though it meant to get behind Mason.
Gabriela stumbled and dropped down into the snow beside her daughter, who was staring up at the huge man standing between her and the aggressive cat. Gabby pulled Ana against her, watching the scene in wide-eyed shock.
Mason held his arms out to either side and stepped forward with one foot. The roar he released was unlike anything Gabby had ever heard; there was a hint of his voice in it, but it was primal, gravelly, bestial, a sound that put the mountain lion’s calls to shame. That roar echoed across the winter sky, strong enough to make loose snow fall from the nearby trees.
The mountain lion’s ears folded back, and it retreated several steps. A moment later, it turned and ran, disappearing into the woods.
Mason stared after the beast for a time with his back to Ana and Gabby. His coat was torn open along his back, but as far as Gabriela could see, there was no blood.
Finally, he turned around to face Ana and Gabriela, his broad chest heaving.