“Hey, Stephanie. I was hoping to speak with my parents, but neither of them picked up,” I explained. “Are they in a meeting?”
“Oh, um...I’m sorry you’re having a hard time reaching your parents. I don’t see anything on your dad’s calendar, but let me pull up your mom’s to check there, too.” There was a pause before she added, “Nope, nothing there to explain it either.”
“Okay, well just let them know I’m trying to get a hold of them please,” I requested since I hadn’t left a voicemail.
“Will do,” she agreed before hurrying off without saying goodbye.
I stared down at my phone and muttered, “That was super weird.”
“Is it usually easier for you to get ahold of your parents?” Tane asked.
I shook my head as I set my cell on the table in front of me. “No, it isn’t rare for me to need to have Stephanie connect me with one or the other. She always knows what’s going on with them, but she seemed off. It was almost as though she was trying to get me off the phone or something. Usually, she’d ask me all sorts of questions about what’s going on in my life. She likes to be in the loop on everything because it helps her do her job better.”
“Everyone has a bad day now and then,” Tane suggested, giving me a comforting squeeze.
“Yeah, I guess that could be it.” I leaned into his side. “But with classes starting up again on Monday, she normally would’ve at least asked me if I needed anything for school. She’s the one who makes sure tuition is paid and my account has enough money to cover all my expenses.”
Tane’s arm tightened on me as his body tensed. “How many classes are you taking?”
“I’m registered for five, but I’m only excited about two of them—Form and Space and Connections Through Color and Design.” I shrugged my shoulders and sighed. “Allegra and Larissa decided to bail on the next semester since getting their degree isn’t important to either of them, and I was seriously considering dropping out and heading to New York to try to get a jump-start on my design career before you showed up since college won’t be as much fun without them.”
“Whatever you want to do is fine by me.” He gently turned my shoulders so I was facing him. “Take all five classes or just the two you like, as long as you move out of the dorm and into our house. Or skip college and get to work on your collection, which is probably the best plan because my mom and sisters will shock you with how quickly they can get shit done when it’s for family.”
There wasn’t an ounce of doubt in his dark eyes that my dream was going to happen. His confidence in me—and support—made me want to do a happy dance while I also had the urge to break down in tears. Of joy, though. My emotions were kind of overwhelming, and I wasn’t sure what to say. “I-I-I’m not sure what I want to do. Can I take a day or two to decide?”
“Take as much time as you need, baby. Just do it with me.” I gave him a jerky nod, and he lifted me off my chair and spread me out on the table. Pressing his palm against my chest, he nudged me down until my back was against the hard surface before undoing my jeans and pulling them down my legs with my panties. “Let’s take advantage of my oral fixation and help you to forget all your worries. Now that I’ve satisfied the hunger in my belly, I think it’s time for me to get another taste of what I’m really craving.”
The bottom half of my body was completely bare while he was fully clothed in the pair of shorts I’d tossed to him earlier and a shirt he’d pulled on while I’d been in the tub. But I couldn’t feel vulnerable with the way his gaze practically worshipped my body. Anticipation of the pleasure he was about to give me spread through my veins, and a rush of damp liquid spilled from my core. His nostrils flared, and I knew the scent of my arousal was turning him on even more than he already was.
His finger inched inside me, but he only kept the digit there long enough to get it wet. My whimpered protest at the loss was replaced by a moan when he began a slow, torturous circle around my clit. “And I’m not going to wait another moment to get it.”
That was all the warning I got before he yanked my legs over his shoulders and dipped his head low. His mouth clamped down on me, and my hips jerked off the table. His hands slid under my butt to hold me in place while he began to devour me. His tongue plunged, and his teeth nipped. He quickly drove me close to the edge, making me whimper. I tried to grind against him, but the position of my legs left me with little leverage. Not that I needed it since he took full advantage of the way I was wide open to him. Using his mouth and fingers, he pushed me up fast until my entire body clenched as my orgasm crashed over me.
He ate me through it but didn’t give me much of a chance to recover before he shoved his shorts down, wrapped his palm around his hard length, and nudged at my entrance. With his eyes locked with mine and a flash of his tiger visible in his dark orbs, he thrust deep and buried himself inside me until his balls slapped against my butt. Only his hands and cock were touching me, but I still felt surrounded by him. It was almost as though now that we were mated, I could feel his pleasure as much as my own. Our combined need burned through my veins as he moved in and out, over and over again.
His cock swelled inside me, and I knew he was close to the edge. Keeping my gaze on his face, I watched the pleasure build as I surrendered my body to his touch and refused to look away as the tidal wave ripped through us at the same time. When it was over, Tane collapsed on top of me, pressing his lips to the mark on my neck. Our coupling had been fast, intense, and quiet. And I felt as though it had somehow cemented our bond even further.
8
Tane
Another day passed without a return call from Calliope’s parents. Each time they didn’t return a message—she’d left three so far—she grew more disappointed and I got more pissed off. My parents would’ve walked halfway across the country to get to me if that was what it took, but hers couldn’t be bothered to pick up the phone and speak with their daughter. It killed me that she had to put up with shit like this from the people who should’ve always been there for her.
I’d decided to give it one more day before I hunted them down, but that plan was shot to shit when Kace got a call from his father-in-law. He used his alpha gift and sent me a telepathic message to get to his house stat. Calliope was busy drawing some dress designs, so I gave her a quick kiss before running down the street.
“What’s going on?” I asked after flinging open the door and swiftly crossing the living room to stand beside Kace.
He switched the call to speaker and barked, “I’m going to need you to repeat that for Tane.”
“Why? Aren’t you in charge down there?” Link asked.
Kace got along with Larissa’s dad, but from the stories I’d heard while I was out of town, it sounded as though he wasn’t the kind of man who was going to cut his son-in-law much slack, even if he had the ability to shift into a fiercely dominant wolf. I enjoyed listening to him give my friend a hard time...until I heard the reason Kace has asked Link to repeat himself. “Tane isn’t just my third in command, he’s also Calliope’s mate. Her safety is his priority the same way Larissa’s is for me.”
“This is about Calliope?” I growled, my muscles bunching with tension.
“Yeah, word on the street up here is that some bad shit is going down with her parents,” Link explained. “They got mixed up in a deal with an importer whose business isn’t always on the up and up. One of his clients is pissed off they’ve lost container space to Calliope’s parents, and he’s been pressuring them to drop their contract with the importer.”
“Maybe that’s why they’ve been avoiding Calliope,” I muttered.
“If so, it’s the only smart decision they’ve made with this situation,” Link grumbled. “This guy doesn’t fuck around when it comes to getting what he wants, and he has a reputation for playing dirty and going after family members if that’s what it takes to get the job done.”
“Do you think trouble is headed our way?” Kace asked.
&nbs
p; “If I had to guess? Yeah, that’s what my gut’s saying,” Link sighed. “We’ve got a handle on things up here, and I’m making sure Calliope’s parents are covered.”
“Calliope is safe in Timber Ridge,” Kace replied.
“Anyone who dares to try to hurt my mate will be dead before they have the chance to lay a finger on her,” I guaranteed.
“Just make sure nobody ever finds the bodies,” Link warned. “I don’t think the authorities will look very hard if he and his underlings turn up missing, and he’s not the kind of guy who shares shit up the hierarchy if it's going to make him look bad. So if he up and disappears, that’ll probably take care of the problem.”
“No worries there,” Kace assured him. “Tane’s tiger has a hell of an appetite.”
“Tane, the tiger?” Link chuckled. “His parents must have a hell of a sense of humor since it sounds an awful lot like the cereal cartoon mascot.”
I didn’t bother reacting to his joke. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard it, and odds were good it wouldn’t be the last. And I had more important things to worry about at the moment. “Is there anything else I need to know to help keep Calliope safe?”
“I’ll send everything we’ve got on the guy,” Link promised. “Our tech guy is good, so the email will have his picture along with photos of known associates.”
Kace was my alpha, but I didn’t hesitate to bark out a command to him since my mate’s safety was at stake. “Forward whatever Link sends to you right away and give him my email address so I can get that shit direct until this is resolved. Unless there’s anything else urgent that I need to hear now, I’m heading back to my place. I left Calliope there by herself, and I don’t want her alone.”
“Will do,” Kace agreed.
“I don’t have anything else yet,” Link confirmed. “Get back to our girl.”
“My girl,” I corrected as I headed for the door. It didn’t matter that the man had known Calliope since she was five years old and had been the one to alert me to the possible danger; I wasn’t willing to let another man lay even the smallest claim to my mate. Especially not when my protective instincts were at an all-time high.
Rushing back to our house, I called out for her as soon I was through the door. “Calliope!”
“I’m still up here,” she answered with a yell.
I pounded up the stairs and shook my head when I heard her grumble, “You were only gone for like ten minutes tops. Where did you think I would’ve run off to in that little bit of time?”
I heaved a deep sigh of relief when I found her in our room, still curled up on the bed with her tablet in her lap. Logically, I knew nothing could’ve happened to her while I was at Kace’s house, but reason had been tossed out the window when I found out my gorgeous mate might be in danger. Some of the terror and rage I was feeling must have shown on my face because she dropped her tablet on the mattress and sat up. “What’s wrong? Is it Larissa or Allegra? Your parents? Sisters?”
“No, baby. They’re all okay.” I hurried over to her, crawled on the mattress, and pulled her into my arms. “It’s your parents.”
“My parents?” she echoed, her head going back so she could look at me with hazel eyes wide with shock. “What? Did they get wind of us being together and call you after ignoring me all this time? I swear, if they think they can interfere in our relationship because of some stupid reason they haven’t bothered to share with me, they’re going to regret it.”
She was so damn cute as she worked herself into a frenzy in my defense. If it had been any other day, I would have helped her work through her mad with a nice, hard fuck. But that wasn’t possible until I’d put protections in place to keep her safe—after I filled her in on the shit they’d actually pulled, which was unfortunately worse than whatever she was dreaming up in her head. “I wish that was what I had to tell you.”
Her already fair skin paled. “Are they…? Have they—”
As soon as I realized how she’d taken what I said, I interrupted her stammer. “Your parents are physically okay, and Larissa’s dad is going to do his best to make sure they stay that way.”
“Crap. Link’s involved?” She cringed at my nod. “Then I guess the reason they aren’t returning my calls is more serious than I expected.”
After I filled her in on the details Link had shared with me, she jumped off the bed to pace back and forth. “I can’t believe them. Even knowing I’m in danger, they still won’t risk their precious business over some stupid deal?”
I didn’t really want to cut her parents any slack, considering the situation they’d put Calliope in, but I hated seeing her so upset. “From what you’ve told me about your parents, they probably don’t realize how far this guy will go to get what he wants. The risks they usually take are purely financial. They aren’t used to dealing with people who are willing to cross any boundary to get what they want.”
“My parents aren’t dumb,” she huffed, coming to a stop in front of me and crossing her arms over her chest. “They aren’t returning my calls for a reason, and I’m willing to bet it’s because they realized they’re in a situation they aren’t used to dealing with and don’t want me anywhere near it.”
“It wasn’t the best decision to make. They should’ve let you know what was going on so you could protect yourself, though. But in the end, their mistake doesn’t really matter,” I reassured her, tugging on her hand to pull her close. “Even if this guy comes looking for you to use as leverage against them, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“What? No.” Calliope shook her head. “I don’t want you to get hurt protecting me.”
I pointed at my chest. “I shift into a six-hundred-pound tiger, remember?”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you’re invincible,” she argued with a frown.
“When I’m going up against humans who have no idea what they’re facing, it’s pretty damn close.” My added strength and ability to heal went a long way, and if shit got serious, I could always shift into my tiger.
“You better be because I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you,” she grumbled, burying her face in my chest as she fisted her hands in my shirt.
She didn’t have to worry about me; I wasn’t going to let anything ruin the happiness I’d found with my mate. It was her parents’ adversary who was in for a world of hurt if he tried to pull Calliope into this mess.
9
Calliope
The one upside to the trouble my parents landed me in was that it helped clarify things in my head. Getting a college degree didn’t really matter to me—the life I wanted to build with Tane did. I dropped all my classes without any problems because it was before the deadline and moved my stuff out of the dorm even though it was paid for through the end of the semester.
All the drama also seemed to feed my muse because I’d made great progress on a couple of designs that I could totally picture on the runway in New York. That was a good thing because Tane had told his mom all about my dream to have a show during Fashion Week, and she called me every day to ask for an update on my designs. She and my sisters-in-law were on a mission to make it happen at an insanely fast pace. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve suspected that Tane had let her know we were holding off on getting pregnant until after I fulfilled my dream so I could focus on my family without any work responsibilities pulling me away from them. But that was something we’d agreed to keep between ourselves for now, and I knew my hunky mate would never do anything to betray my trust. Plus, he hadn’t left my side since he found out what was going on.
“I can’t believe I still haven’t heard a peep from my parents. I mean, their priorities have always been a little messed up, but I’ve never doubted their love for me. And they’ve always been protective of me.” I shook my head, feeling dumbfounded by their silence, considering the circumstances.
Tane came out of the en suite bathroom and padded across the room toward me. Taking the sweatshirt I’d grabbed from th
e closet out of my hand, he tugged it over my head and guided my arms through the holes. “Link probably took their phones away so they couldn’t be tracked.”
“Maybe,” I conceded with a sigh. “It just sucks that they’ve let that stop them from getting ahold of me when you wouldn’t. I’m sure Link would’ve let them call using his phone or something.”
“Damn straight. Nothing would stop me from talking to you,” he agreed, wrapping his arms around me to pull me against his chest. “His entire club could try to lock me down, and that still wouldn’t keep me away from you.”
I grinned a little at the thought of Tane going up against Larissa’s dad and his crew. As tough as they were, I had no doubt my man would find his way around them to get to me. I swore that I’d never take his devotion to me for granted. “Mac, their president, would do anything for his wife, Bridget, too. So I don’t think you’d get much resistance from them.”
I didn’t hear anything unusual, but I stilled when Tane tensed up and cocked his head to the side to look out the window. His dark orbs filled with the ferality of his tiger, and his voice was rough as he commanded, “Get on the floor and slide under the bed, baby.”
Without hesitating, I dropped down to my hands and knees and crawled over to the bed. It was a tight fit, but I managed to squeeze underneath the frame. I couldn’t see much from my position, but I watched Tane’s feet as he crossed the room to flip the switch on the wall. With the lights off and only the moon shining through the window, I could see even less. “Is someone out there?”
Her Tiger Page 4