“When you showed up, I got scared. I have all these issues…Blaise, I was broken into a million pieces before I was even in kindergarten, and that’s what I am, broken.
I blinked at her a few times and had to clear my throat to get my voice back. I didn’t know where to start. I was angry at all the people who had hurt her along the way and made her so scared to open her heart to me. But mostly I felt shock and relief.
“Maybe I want the job of putting the pieces together.”
I clasped her shoulders and stared down at her, trying to read her feelings. Sure enough, I could sense her slowly opening to me, a tinge of sorrow, hope, even anger at herself. More than anything, I could feel her love for me. It burned hotter than anything I’d ever felt, and I wanted more.
“You love me.”
She blushed and looked away. When I thought she’d deny it, she met my gaze and nodded. “And you love me.”
I nodded. “Since the moment I laid eyes on you.”
“But…I wasn’t good to you.”
I moved my hand up to grasp the back of her neck. “I wasn’t good, either. I was an idiot. I didn’t think that I needed to change, and I was wrong. I’m sorry that I expected you to be a maid.”
“Don’t apologize. What I did was so much worse.”
I squeezed her neck lightly and pulled her into my chest. “I can feel you now. I’ve never felt anything like it.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Stop apologizing, mate. If you want me to feel better, you must feel better because I can feel what you feel now, and we can put the past behind us.” I hesitated. “Right? You’re here to stay?”
She pulled back enough to look up at me. “I have my own house.”
“Then, we’ll stay there, if you want.”
With a light laugh, she nodded. “It’s nothing like this castle. But, wherever we stay, we’re together now.”
I let out a whoop of excitement, startling her. And right after that, a loud peal of thunder rang out, rattling the windows. “Maybe we should stay here tonight?”
Chyna looked up at me with more of that hope in her eyes. “I think we should stay here for a few nights. We have a lot of catching up to do. We should talk at some point. We could cook for each other.”
“You want to cook for me?”
The sadness in her eyes finally gave way to joy and she smiled. “Well, to be honest, I don’t know how to cook, but I can order takeout.”
I could not stop smiling if I tried. “Later. I believe you came here earlier looking for something.”
She buried her face against my chest. “Ugh. I’m sorry.”
I lifted her into my arms and carried her to my bedroom. “No more being sorry. It’s time to focus on our future—the good stuff.”
“You didn’t forget how to be bossy while I was away, I see.”
I laughed before dropping her onto the bed. “There are just some places where I’m in charge, mate.”
I watched her nipples pebble through her wet shirt. I ate it all up and greedily wanted more. “Why do you get to be the boss?” She teased me as she moved up the bed, away from me.
I accepted the dare in her voice and, yanking my shirt over my head, I fully planned to rise to the challenge.
25
Chyna
Everything was different. There were no walls anymore. Not only could I feel his thoughts and emotions, but our depth of connection was also unparalleled. It was like strings had attached themselves to us, tethering us together. I could almost see them.
“What is that?” I got up on my knees and licked my lips. I was eager for him, but I was also floored by our connection. “What’s happening? Do you feel that?”
Blaise grinned. “Yes. It is the mate bond completing. You are stuck with me now, my queen.”
When he grabbed me around my waist and pulled me against him, I let him, surprising myself by how willing I was to surrender to his authority in the bedroom. At least, for that moment. He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, and I wrapped around him, making sure to leave the connection open so he could feel everything I was feeling. I wanted him to know the pleasure he gave me.
He lifted me so my legs locked around his waist and then lowered me to the bed, his lips never leaving mine. Softly, he made love to my mouth. His hands stroked my hips and legs, never failing to stimulate some part of me, while his hips gently rocked against mine.
As the friction built, my fingers dug into his shoulders, and I rocked faster against him. I was already so close, so ready to explode. He hadn’t even undressed me and I was falling over the edge. After one more thrust of his hips, I came with my fingers twisting into his hair and a breathy cry he caught in his mouth.
I trembled as Blaise peppered kisses down my neck and shoulder, teasing my sensitive skin until my breathing normalized.
“You were made for me, in every way, Chyna.” His hoarse whisper in my ear sent a fresh wave of tingles through me. My sister was right. This connection was amazing. As he held me tight, I could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and like magic, syncing perfectly in rhythm with mine. I pressed my hand over his chest and smiled up at him.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this.”
Blaise smiled. “I certainly hope not.”
“Whose turn will it be to make dinner tonight? Sorry about my cooking skills, but I order a mean pizza.” I grinned.
“Why do I need pizza when I have you?”
I sat up and stared down at him as he rolled over and reclined against the pillows. “Blaise?” My mood grew slightly more serious, and I kept my eyes on his. “Do you think everything will work out for us?”
“I know it will, my queen. We are mates, and now that we can connect to one another, it will help us learn what makes each of us happiest.”
Right then, I was pretty sure that as long as I had him, I would be the happiest I’d ever been. It was sappy and scary to feel dependent on someone that way, but I wouldn’t lie to him, or myself, again.
“I don’t mind doing the floors.”
Blaise cocked his brow.
“I figure we can split the household chores. I didn’t want to be saddled with them all, but you shouldn’t have to do them all, either.”
“I thought we could figure that out eventually.”
“No. I’m claiming floor mopping now. Especially since I can buy a robot vacuum and mop to do it for me.”
Blaise frowned and shook his head. “Robot? I don’t like them.”
“What’s the matter, old man? Can’t keep up with the changing times?”
He laughed and flipped me under him. Looking down at me with a big smile on his face, his eyes glowing amber, he looked rugged and wild. “I have two rules: I’m the boss in the bedroom and no robots.”
Biting my lip, I pretended to think it over. “I’ll give you the bedroom, but is it a hard no on the robots?”
With a roll of his hips, Blaise answered another hard question. “I have a feeling we will come to a compromise. I suspect we will become quite good at that.”
“I like compromise.” I leaned up and nipped at his jaw. “My king.”
Who knew that a dragon shifter who had hundreds of years of practice being stern and inflexible would be so phenomenal at compromising?
THE END
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Enjoy A Free Sneak Peek…
WOLF BOSS: She-Shifters of Hell’s Corner Book 1 (SNEAK PEEK)
1
Carter
My living room had become an informal meeting place for some of the ladies—my new friends—here in Helen’s Corner. The girls were discussing effective advertising for the upcoming fall season, hoping to lure more tourists to town.
My personal opinion would not h
ave been helpful, so I kept it to myself. Personally, I didn’t want tourists. They were stressful and I didn’t like so many strangers traipsing around. I, however, didn’t have a business to run. The women around me did, and they depended on the tourists to keep them open and running. Which was why I didn’t chime in. My vote would have been to put up roadblocks and maybe even barricades and quarantines to keep newcomers out of the little town of Helen’s Corner, a.k.a. Hell’s Crazy Corner, the place that had recently become home for my daughter and me.
Muddy Hilton, friend, owner of Muddy’s Corner Bed and Breakfast, and my employer, had the floor. It was easy for her to attract the attention of whatever room she entered. In addition to her bold and take-charge personality, her vibrant red hair and peaches-and-cream complexion turned heads. “I liked the year that we all dressed up as witches. I wore those thigh-high boots with the pointed toes and I didn’t have to shave my legs all season.”
Sonnie Chaplan shook her head. “No, it’s not politically correct. I have a friend in Austin who’s Wiccan, and she says that it’s offensive to dress that way because witches look like normal people, not old hags with pointy hats and warts on their noses.”
“Well, now I’m offended. What do old hags look like?” Muddy’s mom, Grace Ellen, piped up. Grace Ellen owned a flea market called Another Woman’s Treasure and looked nowhere near her age. At sixty, she could’ve passed for forty.
“Nothing at all like you, Mom.” Muddy rolled her eyes and held up her hands. “Okay, witches are out. I’m one more rejection away from suggesting we do a month in our bra and panties. Anything to get people in here. Last year, I barely made enough to keep the doors open.”
Sonnie sighed and stared out my open front windows and across the road at her little flower shop. It’s Sonnie Out Flowers hadn’t fared any better, or so I’d heard. “Maybe they won’t mind. The Wiccans, I mean. In the name of sisterhood and all that, maybe it wouldn’t be too offensive.”
Charlie—Charlotte only if you were her mother—Monroe stood up and pointed at Muddy. “Maybe you’re onto something with the bra and panties.”
“Says the woman who owns the underwear shop,” Grace Ellen laughed.
“That’s lingerie,” Charlie corrected, “not underwear.”
“Well, in any case, I can’t afford to get anymore pretty bloomers from you than I already have, Charlie.” Grace Ellen’s words were pointed, but she smiled with a certain graciousness.
“Ahh, but look at my latest,” Charlie grinned and pulled up her T-shirt, revealing a beautiful lace-detailed bra that hugged her generous bust line perfectly. None of us was the least bit ruffled by her display. She was always flashing us her boobs to show off her new designs. “I just finished this one for myself.”
“Oooh…Can you make me one in pink?” Sonnie pulled up her own shirt and showed off another of Charlie’s impressive designs. “I’m wearing this one out. It’s just so pretty. Even though no one can see it, I feel beautiful just knowing it’s there beneath my clothing.”
I scanned my living room and, like some sort of soft-porn pajama party, all the women were showing off their Charlie Monroe Specialty Designs—CMSD—as the black-and-white sign over her store proudly displayed. Her shop did well all year ‘round because the women of Helen’s Corner couldn’t stay away from it.
When Muddy realized my bosom was still completely covered, she made a face at me and nodded toward my shirt. “Well? What are you wearing, Carter?”
Hanes. From before they were chic. I smoothed my hands down my shirt and shrugged. “Carter’s Secret.”
“Well, it’s not Charlie’s Specialty Designs.” Charlie wagged her finger at me. “No matter how many times I beg, you still haven’t let me fit you for one of my creations.”
“And no matter how many times I say I don’t need fancy undies, you still won’t listen.” I patted my chest and shrugged. “No one’s going to be seeing these babies for a very long time.” If ever.
Denny Wade, named after the restaurant chain because her momma, who was always in between one addiction or another, was in the midst of food cravings when she gave birth to her daughter, barged through my front door with all the finesse of a bull in ballet shoes. I watched as a framed picture of my brother and daughter started to fall.
Muddy reached out and caught it, showing off her shifter reflexes. “And Denny has arrived.”
“Sorry. Sorry about the picture. Sorry. Oof.” Denny dropped onto my favorite chair, which was half-covered in a faux fur throw and had a matching ottoman. She looked around the room and blew out a big breath. “Sorry, do you happen to have any dessert, Carter? I need something sweet. Or rich. Or just something with lots of butter.”
I stood up and smiled at her, thankful to have the attention off of my five-year-old Hanes bra. “You’re just in time. I’ve got strawberry bourbon cupcakes with maple drizzle and fresh lemon zest, but only if you tell us what’s got you so frazzled.”
Charlie raised an eyebrow. “I’m not done with you, Carter.”
Denny was already off on her story, though, so I was able to escape to the kitchen. It was the only room in the house that was completely put together. The rest still had moving boxes that I hadn’t yet unpacked, despite the fact that Jellybean and I had been in Helen’s Corner for a couple of months already. I had two dozen cupcakes that I’d finished icing only an hour or so before. The women always managed to know and “stop by” whenever I was trying out new recipes. I guess that was to be expected in a town of predominantly female shifters. Their heightened sense of smell was one thing, but when it came to sweets, a she-shifter could sniff ‘em out for miles.
“Hey, do you—” Muddy stopped when she saw me and frowned. “I’m sorry, Carter. You’re missing Jellybean, huh?”
She’d caught me staring at my daughter’s latest artistic creation hanging on the fridge. It was a colorful crayon drawing of her Uncle Cannon and his mate, Uncle Matt, standing next to Jellybean and me. My arm was around an indistinguishable, swirly blur of color that looked a bit like a rainbow tornado.
Since Cannon had found his mate, she was obsessed with the idea of me being with someone. If I didn’t miss her so much, I’d almost be glad for the break from her subtle and not-so-subtle hints. She was visiting her uncles, Matt and Cannon, at their home in Burden, Texas, for a few weeks. I touched the blur and sighed a sigh of single mom’s guilt. My daughter wanted a dad.
I snatched my hand away from that damned blur and tried to shake off the bad feeling I got every time I thought of bringing another man into our life. “Yeah, I am. She’s only been gone for a couple of days and I’m already going a little stir crazy.”
“I’ll be sure to keep you busy, then.” She grabbed a stack of napkins and waved them. “Come on. Stuffing your face with one of these cupcakes will make you feel better. Plus, she’ll be home before you know it.”
I nodded. It was true. I needed the time she was gone to try to get our home in order. There was never any time to unpack when she was home. She required full time supervision. She had too much of me and Cannon in her. She was wild and brave and everything good in the world somehow, despite what we’d gone through.
I grabbed the cupcake stands and smiled. “Let’s go hear what Denny’s been up to.”
2
Alec
An engagement trip? What the fuck was an engagement trip? I never knew there was such a thing until I was informed that I had to clear time in my schedule for an engagement trip to a strange little town out in the middle of nowhere. A place called Helen’s Corner. We’d just pulled up outside the B&B on Main Street. The sign out front read Muddy’s Corner Bed and Breakfast.
I admit, I wasn’t exactly sure what I’d signed up for when I’d agreed to marry Chelsie, but I certainly had no idea it would include a trip to one of the most remote towns in the American Southwest.
I had important work to do, and all I wanted was to be back at the office in New York to tackle it. I was juggling
a huge merger with Dames, Inc., and I wanted to be in the office to handle it myself. If anything went wrong, we could lose the chance at getting Patterson Furniture into a major market in North America. The merger meant the opportunity to turn my million-dollar company into a billion-dollar company. The whole engagement trip was an annoyance.
But, being engaged to the daughter of the man who called the shots at Dames, Inc., Arthur Dames himself, meant that I did what I had to do to make sure she was happy. If she wanted to visit Helen’s Corner, then Helen’s Corner it was.
Chelsie peered at me over the roof of the car and snapped a picture with her phone. She looked at it and then made a face. “Bay-bee, would you smile? You look so cranky. I don’t want to post this to my Instagram with your miserable sour-puss face.”
I tried to look like I wasn’t ready to slam my head in the car door, but judging by her frown, I wasn’t succeeding. I opened the trunk and removed our bags. “I’m not miserable. I just have a lot of work to get done before dinner tonight.”
She looked up from her phone and sighed. “Work, work, work. It’s all you do, Alec.”
“I know. I tried to warn you of that before we started this trip. With the merger, there’s a lot that needs to be taken care of. Things are stressful right now.”
“Well, planning a wedding is stressful, too. You don’t see me ignoring you, though, do you?” She tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked back down at her phone. I found myself wishing she’d ignore me a little more.
Fire Breathing Blaise (Dragons of the Bayou Book 3) Page 11