by Celia Kyle
He couldn’t stand “premium” blends. He wanted plain, regular coffee that the working man could afford, not something that was fifteen dollars for a tiny bag of ground beans.
More huffing and he lowered his head, lapping at the hot liquid. He took a few sips, flicking the coffee into his mouth with his tongue, before leaning back and resting his chin on his paws.
That was when he stared at her shoulder and glared at her wound. Dammit, she should have worn something other than a tank top. His narrowed yellow eyes met her gaze and he gave her “the look.” The one that said he wanted explanations. That there would be some talking about that now and not later.
“It wasn’t like he had any time to talk to you, Daddy.” Her father was old school and even if the matings were destined, he still wanted to get to know the male before he got his fangs into his little girl. Daddy’s words, not hers. “Your visit was a surprise, plus there was the whole Jaxson issue.”
She was downplaying the issue, but she was done talking about it.
He rumbled. That wasn’t enough.
“He already saved me once. He proved he could take care of me and took out the threat. You know he’s a good protector.” That earned her a feline snort. “He’d caught a nice plump deer. If I actually ate meat, he would have provided me with food, too.” She fought not to gag when she remembered the animal’s blood coating Carter’s snout.
This huff told her she’d made her point. “And he’s strong. One bite, Daddy.” He responded with a grumble. Agreeing with that. “And he’s got a good job. Between the two of us, we’ll have more than enough to support ourselves and our kits.”
He raised one eyebrow, attention flicking to her stomach and then her eyes. “No, I’m not saying I’m… I’m saying someday in the future we’ll raise kits and be financially stable and capable.” He curled his lip, probably thinking about her and Carter making the kits. “Daddy,” she sighed and rolled her eyes. “We’re growing up. It was bound to happen eventually.”
The floor vibrated as Carter stomped down the hallway and his annoyance reached her before he actually came into view. And what a view. Bare chested and wearing nothing but a pair of loose boxers that sat low on his hips… She remembered tasting his abs, then the carved lines at those hips before finally getting her mouth on his cock.
She couldn’t wait to do it all over again.
But based on his deep frown and narrowed eyes, she didn’t think she’d get the chance anytime soon. Plus, there was her father.
“What’re you doing—” His nostrils flared, her mate catching her father’s scent, and then he spun to face her dad. “Bethie, why do you have a lion in your kitchen?”
“It’s Daddy.”
Carter breathed deeply. “I know that, but I don’t understand why he’s here like that.”
Her father rumbled a low, threatening growl. Carter of course returned it with one of his own. Bethany hissed at them both, her bunny lunging forward and pushing that small sound past her human lips.
Both males—massive predators who could kill her with one nibble—flinched and shot her an apologetic look.
“Oh, you did learn something from me, didn’t you?” Bethany sighed and prayed for patience as her mother, smiling widely, entered through the back door. She was followed by Katie and Hannah, both clinging to cups of Furbucks Coffee from town. Mom waved at Bethany and then made her way to Dad. “Good morning to you, too. We agreed we wouldn’t start trouble this morning.”
Her dad grumbled and lowered his gaze, pouting as he focused on the bowl of coffee. The leader of the clan… pouting.
Her sisters mumbled hellos and made their way to the kitchen table, both of them folding their arms, resting them on the flat surface, and then placing their heads atop them. They were not morning people.
Her mother chattered at her father, her sisters mumbled the occasional comments, and Carter padded toward her.
Her mate pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head and she leaned into him, taking comfort in his presence. She turned and nuzzled his chest, breathing deeply and savoring his scent as it wove through her body. The annoyance she’d experienced vanished beneath her mate’s presence, Carter keeping her attention.
“Missed you this morning,” he murmured and she sighed, liking that he’d wanted her at his side.
“I knew Dad was coming over. He does a morning run and then we have coffee. We’ve been doing it for years.”
“Hmm…” He wrapped his arms around her and she sank into his embrace. Her bunny immediately calmed and urged her to snuggle closer. He was their mate. They only got one and he was it and they needed to stay as close to him as possible. “So if I do morning runs, you’ll do this for me? Take care of me?”
She tipped her head back. “Always. I’ll do anything I can to take care of you. It’s part of being a mate.”
“And what about loving me? If I love you…” Hope filled his expression and Bethany’s world became Carter and Carter alone. Her family didn’t exist, her sisters and parents were no longer a thought. All that matter was her mate.
Bethany swallowed past the tightening in her throat. “I—”
“Oh, Angus, do you see how sweet they are? That’s so sweet.”
“Ten bucks says she’s pregnant within a year,” Hannah drawled.
“I got six months,” Katie mumbled.
“No, more like two. Newly mated males… Yes, two months.” Of course, her mother had to get in on the bet.
Predictably, her father’s rumbling growl cut all three of them. Thank God.
At least, she was thankful until his tail started flicking, striking the floor in a regular rhythm. One, two, three… All the way up to nine.
“Okay, your father has nine months. Money in the pot, girls.”
Carter sighed and she sensed a combination of annoyance and… happiness? She lifted her gaze to him, a single brow quirked and he shrugged. “Don’t have much of a family. Now I get yours.”
“You’re stuck with mine, you mean?”
“No, baby. I like ’em. Not too happy about you sneaking off before the sun rose, but they’re not here every day.”
“I’m thinking of moving here,” Hannah whispered and Bethany winced. God, what would the men in the town do when faced with the whirlwind that was her sister?
Carter twined their fingers together and took a step toward the hallway, pulling her along.
“Where are we going?”
“I wanna get in good with your mother.”
She ignored the rest of her family entirely. “And?”
“And I want her to win that bet. So…”
“You’re joking.” She resisted his pull, putting a stop to their travels. “Carter…”
The scrape of chairs cut her off and she glanced over her shoulder to see her family rapidly heading out the back door, her mother even nudging her still-shifted dad along. “Go, go, go… That money is as good as mine.”
Bethany groaned. “Carter.”
“What? I wanted my mate alone, now I’ve got my mate alone.”
“But, Carter…”
“You’ll see them again soon. Right now I need to love on my mate.”
“Yeah?” She let the seed of hope creep to the surface, her bunny nudging the emotion along.
“Yeah.”
“Oh,” she whispered.
“Uh-huh. Oh. So come back to bed. I like your family, but I wanna build my own with you.”
Bethany… was okay with that. More than okay. She thought the idea was… purrfect.
And she didn’t care if that sounded lame. It didn’t make it any less true.
The End
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The wild and passionate heroes of Erika Masten’s Aesir Shifters and Windemere Stallions BBW paranormal shape shifter romance series cross over into the world of Eliza Gayle’s Southern Shifters to find a curvy psychic mate capable of taming their hearts in this erotic romance novella. Heat level: fierce.
Available on Amazon: http://bookbit.ly/danzon
About the Author
Ex-dance teacher, former accountant and erstwhile collectible doll salesperson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Celia Kyle now writes urban fantasy (as Lauren Creed) and paranormal romances for readers who:
1) Like super hunky heroes (they generally get furry)
2) Dig beautiful women (who have a few more curves than the average lady)
3) Love laughing in (and out of) bed.
It goes without saying that there's always a happily-ever-after for her characters, even if there are a few road bumps along the way.
Today she lives in Central Florida and writes full-time with the support of her loving husband and two finicky cats.
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