by P. Jameson
Her face split in a grin. “It’s beautiful.”
“Come with me. I want to show you something.”
Taking her hand, Renner led her down a path toward the back of the lodge. It grew darker the farther they walked away from the celebration. When the path continued into the woods, Renner pulled a flashlight from his jacket pocket and shined the beam ahead of them.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see. Just a little farther, babe.”
In the distance, she could see a faint flickering glow. It was broken by trees and rocks, but it gave her something to focus on in the darkness. As they walked, it got brighter and brighter until they were standing before a row of candles. The glimmering pillars lined the rock bed that surrounded a natural hot spring. It was one Beth hadn’t seen before. The steam billowed from the water making the area seem like it glowed.
Renner clicked the flashlight off and turned to face her. His look was so intense, she almost wanted to step back.
“What is this?”
He stepped close, pointing over her head. “Look. Up there.”
Beth peered into the branches of a tree above. “I don’t see it.”
“Right up there,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.
She looked again, squinting through the dark. It was…
She gasped when she saw it. “Mistletoe.” There, nestled into the crook of a branch, was a bundle of the kissing flower.
“The real kind,” he murmured. “Not the shit hanging in the lobby. Only the best for my mate.”
Mate.
He kissed her before she had a chance to ask for a clear definition. His mouth was hot and insistent, his lips urging hers open, his tongue delving inside. But they didn’t get too far before he broke away.
“We need to talk, Bethy. Set a few things straight. I want to do it tonight.”
Her stomach clenched with nerves, but she nodded. “Okay.”
“Our clan doesn’t mate. To live at the lodge, you have to follow a code of conduct. No life mates. The way of the mountain cats is brutal. When we mate, the male claims the female as his own and she is no longer free to be with any other. It’s a one-way monogamous relationship, leaving the male free to… roam. In return, the male protects her and their young. But when we came together here, our clan, we decided we didn’t want that. As a product of that kind of relationship, I chose to avoid it at all costs.”
Beth shivered and it wasn’t because of the cold. What he described sounded horrible.
Renner cradled her cheek. “I knew you were mine at twelve. You, with your round cheeks and sweet smile and kind hands. I knew, and I wanted to protect you from a future with me. So I sabotaged us. Made sure you’d hate me. I’m so sorry for that, Bethy. You’ll never know how much.”
That’s why. Why he’d torn her up over and over again. His reasons made some sense, but why was he telling her this now?
Her fingers gripped his shirt, curling into the flannel. Why did she feel like she needed to hold onto him tighter now than ever?
“But I want you. I want you as my mate, as my partner, as my lover and friend. I want you to give me young and I want to grow old with you and when the time comes, I want to die with you. Because I love you. Because I’ve thought about you everyday since leaving. And because I can’t imagine living the rest of my life here without you.”
Beth felt the tears prick her eyes. She’d thought about him too. The times he’d let her in haunted her as much as the times he’d hurt her. Maybe even more, because she knew he had love to give. And now, he declared it in such sweet words. It made her chest ache. This was what she’d only caught a glimpse of as a child. But she’d known even then, Renner’s heart was gold. Finally, he was giving it to her.
But… she couldn’t be what he wanted. Not if it meant she was the only one committed. The thought of him with anyone else tore her to shreds.
“Renner,” her voice broke and she had to try again. “You… you’d be with others?”
His eyes went wide. “No! That’s what I’m trying to say. I want something different with you. A dual mating. We each belong to the other. Faithful to each other for the rest of our lives.” He placed a gentle kiss to her lips. “You’re the only woman I want, Bethy.”
A sob blew past her throat. The relief those words brought was powerful. It was rewriting years of doubt and miles of wrongs.
Renner dropped to his knees before her.
“If we do this, it’s forever. We can’t undo it. Can you… do you love me? Will you choose me? Us?”
Her tears were falling in earnest now, but she had to calm down enough to tell him the truth. “I do, Renner. I always have. But I never thought we’d be here, now, making choices about our future. Thing is…” She wiped away the wetness and went down to her knees too. “I can’t see myself with anyone else. Or a future without you. I did that, and it was horrible. Coming here and finding you, had to be some kind of miracle. How could I possibly let that go?”
This was it. She was jumping off a cliff, and holding on to him the whole way down.
“I’m all in,” she whispered. “I want you, need you. And I’ll give you forever as long as you give me that too. I love you.”
The storm in his eyes raged. “Say it again, Bethy. I’ve waited a long time for those words.”
She leaned forward, kissing the corner of his mouth. “I love you.”
“Fuck,” he whispered. “That turns me on more than seeing you naked.”
He stood and helped her to her feet. She let him unzip her coat and remove her shoes. The cold air blasted her bare skin, but the anticipation of what they were doing pushed the chill away. The rest of their clothes came off quickly and Ren led her into the warm water of the spring.
The steam billowed around them as their bodies made contact beneath the pool. His hard planes against her soft curves seemed like the perfect fit. Renner’s lips started at her forehead and hit every spot on the way down until he stopped at the curve of her breasts. He grazed the area with his teeth.
“These are mine.”
He took her hand and entwining his fingers with hers, brought them to his lips. He sucked a finger into his mouth, twirling his tongue around the tip.
“These are mine.”
His other hand slid down her hips, squeezing the plump area she no longer tried to hide. Reaching around, he gripped her ass.
“This beautiful thing is mine.”
Beth panted at the sensation of his hands owning her body and his hardness pressed into her thigh. His palm swept around to her belly.
“Mine.”
And down between her legs, cupping her there.
“This, sweet Bethy, is fucking mine.”
He rubbed the heel of his hand against her mound until she felt like she was about to fly. Not yet.
Beth’s hand reached out to find him under the water. Gripping his hardness brought a hiss of pleasure from his lips. She rushed forward to kiss it away. “Mine,” she whispered.
His eyes dilated and changed from blue to panther green. “Always,” he huffed, his breath coming quicker. “I need inside you.”
Beth rose up and straddled his waist, bringing his erection to her opening. She kissed him deep and hard, and she could feel his struggle to hold back, to wait for her. Pulling back, she stared into his eyes as she lowered herself slowly onto him. He clenched his teeth and sweat broke out on his forehead.
“There,” she breathed. “Where you belong.”
He kissed her, pulling her bottom lip between his teeth. Beth began to move her hips, slowly at first, feeling his fullness inside and his hands outside. With each thrust, her breasts bounced at the top of the water. In and out, her nipples hot one second, ice cold the next. The sensation drove her crazy, and when Renner started thrusting beneath her, everything intensified. A grunt escaped his throat and she opened her eyes to find him staring at the tight tips dipping above and beneath the water.
�
�Faster,” he growled, and she obliged, swinging her hips. “God, Beth. You’re going to make this too quick.”
She moaned in response. The flickering candle light glowing against the steam, the sight of Renner losing his mind because of her, the knowledge that they were making this permanent… it was all too much. So when his hand came between them, pushing on her clit while she thrust, Bethany blew apart. Like glitter being tossed in the air, she went high, and then floated back to the ground.
But Renner kept up the movement and within seconds, she was wound tight again.
“This time,” he said, through clenched teeth, “I mark you. A claw to your back, it will leave a small scar.” He stopped moving. “God, I’m going to come. Be still.” She tried but the urge to move was almost unbearable. Breathing deep, she nodded. “When I come inside you, it will mark you with my scent. The cats will know you’re mine.”
“And how will they know you’re mine?”
“By my actions. And I plan on doing this a million more times, so your scent will be all over me too. They’ll know, sweet, because you’ve marked my heart.”
She kissed him, tasting the truth on his lips.
“Are you ready, Bethy?”
“So ready.”
He pushed into her again, hard and fast and delicious. She felt the build, the climb, she was on the verge once again. Renner pulled her close, his nails digging into her shoulder. The bite of his grip was sharp, but pleasurable. With his other hand, he gripped her ass, grinding his hips into hers.
She erupted with a scream of pleasure that broke the blackness of the night sky. She saw flashes of color between one blink and the next, and then Renner followed her over the ledge, groaning as he released into her.
A sharp swipe at her back had her gasping, but his insistent pounding between her legs distracted her, bringing her to the top once again. She cried out with her third orgasm, trembling above him like a newborn bird.
“Renner.”
She collapsed onto his chest, drained and more sated than she could have imagined. His chest heaved as he pet her hair.
“Do you remember my twelfth birthday? Mama R made a chocolate cake because she knew it was my favorite.”
“Mm hm.”
“I blew out all the candles with one breath, and made a wish that one day I’d be able to do right by you. To stop hurting you and just love you. I thought leaving, loving you from afar, was an answer to that wish, but I was wrong.” He kissed her head. “Wish came true tonight.”
Tiny bites of cold landed on Beth’s arm, and she realized it was snowing. The white stuff sprinkled around them like a blessing on their union.
“I made a wish that day too.” She glanced up at him, sheepish. “I wished you’d cry more, because then you’d let me lay in your bed and pet your head.”
Laughter bubbled from his chest, warming her. He dropped a kiss to her nose. “You can lay in my bed and pet me anytime you want. And you don’t even have to wait for me to cry.”
Beth grinned. “Wish come true.”
“Hold on, babe, because we have an entire lifetime to make each other’s wishes come true. And I plan on making lots and lots and lots of wishes with you. Wishes in the morning, and before we go to bed. Shower wishes, and outdoor wishes, and wishes against the wall. You up for that?”
Beth nodded. “Absolutely. In fact, maybe we should do some wishing right now. A Christmas Eve wish?”
He kissed her lips, rubbing a thumb over a taut nipple. “I can’t think of anything better than wishing the night away with you, my Bethy.”
The world faded away under Renner’s lips, and Bethany knew she’d found her home.
Epilogue
A year had passed, and another Christmas had come and gone. Renner stood on the footbridge and watched his mate as she maneuvered past the nativity, her belly swollen with his cub. She wasn’t due for another month but he wished she’d take it easy. Until she gave birth, he couldn’t relax. The two most precious things in his life were in one volatile package and it left him feeling constantly anxious.
At least Josie was visiting for a few weeks. The poor girl fussed over Bethany more than Renner did.
The bridge vibrated with heavy steps, and he turned to find Magic approaching.
“How’s she doing?” he murmured.
“Good. Doc Davis says everything’s coming along perfectly.”
“And you?”
“Me? I’m nervous as hell, but other than that, I’ve never been better.”
“It’s only been a year, Renner,” Magic said, skeptically. “There’s no way to know if this is working.”
Renner shrugged. “No. I guess not. But… what do you see, when you look at us?”
Magic leaned his elbows on the rail. “You love her. That’s clear. You’re face lights up like a fucking LED pre-lit piece of shit tree from Walmart.”
Renner smirked. “Go ahead, tell me how you really feel.”
Magic shook his head.
“When you see us, do you see any trace of our parents? Because, I’ll tell you right now, it feels all different to me. I can protect her like a cat and love her like a man. Every day that I’m with her, I believe it more and more. But tell me, what do you see?”
Magic stared into the twinkling multi-color lighted darkness, watching as Beth handed a steaming hot cup of cocoa to Josie.
“Shit, man.” He shook his head. “When I see the two of you together... I see hope. Maybe things really can be different. I don’t know.”
Renner smiled as Bethy noticed him watching. She blew him a kiss. He’d return the sentiment later, when they were alone. And in a way that would make her knees shake.
“Hope,” he told Magic, “is just the evidence of a wish.” He clapped him on the back. “Maybe it’s time for you to make a wish of your own.”
“You are one sappy motherfucker, you know that?”
Renner nodded as he strolled down to meet his mate at the end of the bridge. “Takes one to know one.”
THE END
About the Author
P. Jameson likes to spend her time daydreaming, and then rearranging those dreams into heartstring-pulling stories of trial and triumph. Paranormal is her jam, so you’re sure to find said stories full of hot alpha males of the supernatural variety. She lives next door to the great Ozark mountains with her husband and kids, who provide her with plenty of writing fodder.
For more information about P. Jameson and future stories, visit www.pjamesonbooks.blogspot.com. Or go here to sign up for P. Jameson’s newsletter and receive updates on future books.
Other books by P. Jameson
A Mate’s Denial (Ozark Mountain Shifters, Book 1)
Amazon
Chapter One
There she was. After months of hunting, at last he had her in his sights. All he could see was the back of her honey brown head through the café window, but he was certain it was her. His wolf could sense his mate no matter how far away, but this close he could, ever so faintly, catch her scent. The fresh smell—like evergreens and cherry blossoms—made his heart thunder, his pants tighter, and everything under his skin come alive.
Damn wolf. Now was not the time to get excited. He needed to stick to the plan. If he went in there like He-man, it could mess things up. He needed to be patient. Had to keep the wolf at bay for a little while longer.
Trager sat back in the seat of his motorcycle and turned the engine off. He couldn’t get a good look at her from his vantage point, but he didn’t necessarily want to get closer. Too risky. He’d just wait her out. She’d have to leave sometime.
His shades made it possible for him to spy on her in broad daylight, but unfortunately, there was only a bobbing head to be seen. He would’ve given his left nut for a view of her profile. Waiting this long left him feeling desperate.
The amount of time he spent outside the café was measured in units of torture. By the time she left the place, he was dying for even a hint at what his mate looked
like. A hint other than the color of her hair. Which was fucking awesome. In his experience, brunettes were always hotter.
Trager didn’t own a watch, and he didn’t feel like digging his phone out to check the time, but if every bob of his mate’s dark head was the equivalent of a second, he sat there for almost an hour before she finally stepped out of the café.
Anticipation made his breath catch in his throat. A truck whizzed by, obscuring his view for more seconds than he could possible tolerate. Fisting his hands, he waited, heart thundering…
Finally, he got a look at her, and the first thing he noticed was what she wore. Khakis. A pale pink polka-dotted shirt, sensible shoes, and khakis. He was appalled, but then a grin inched one side of his mouth upward. He’d like to get her out of those drab clothes. Peel every stitch off slowly, revealing her luscious body one centimeter at a time, until there was all skin and zero fabric.
Trager swallowed hard. His smile slipped and he gripped the handle of his bike to keep steady.
She was going to reject him. It had been prophesied by the Elders when he was still a pup, that his mate would deny him, that he would never find love, that he would never have young.
That single foretelling rendered him useless to the pack. A male who couldn’t secure a mate? One who couldn’t produce offspring? Even though he’d been too young to do much more than simply survive pack life, he was the weakest link and therefore expelled. Or as he liked to think of it, tossed on his ass.
He’d spent so much of his life hoping the Elders were wrong. Now, he needed them to be. And not because his mate was beautiful beyond words, with a body he’d love to spend a lifetime learning to master. No, he needed them to be wrong because his pack—the very ones who’d betrayed him—was in danger.
And she was the only one who could save them.
His plan had to work. There was much more at stake than the future of his love life.
Her scent drifted over to him, a thousand times stronger than it had been when she was still inside. His wolf shuffled under his skin, wanting out, because he knew Trager wasn’t going any closer to her. Wolf wanted to get cozy, and Trager wouldn’t mind either, but he had to take it easy.