by Ravenna Tate
“Had enough?”
“I need you inside me.”
There was no arguing with that. Stone gave each cheek one final, hard smack before turning her onto her back and plunging his dick into her pussy. She cried out in pleasure, wrapping her arms and legs around him while he fucked her like a runaway train. Her orgasm was swift and powerful, and it spurred him on.
When she reached up to touch his face, he bent over and kissed her, shoving his tongue into her mouth. After he released the kiss, she gave him the cutest smile. “Will you come in my mouth?”
“Um…” Duh. Did he really have to be invited twice? Stone withdrew from her pussy, wincing as he did so. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” She was so tight, and the last thing he wanted to do was cause her discomfort.
“No, not at all. Now bring that big cock up here to my mouth, please.”
“Your wish is my command, my beautiful sexy mate.” Stone straddled her face, and she opened her mouth like a baby bird, waiting for food. The sight forced a low growl from him. What had he done to deserve this woman? When he realized how poorly her confession last night could have gone, he mentally thanked all the stars and the gods in the universe that he hadn’t reacted like an asshole.
“Stay with me, Stone.”
“Oh, Oh Makenna, I’m sorry.” He lay on top of her and kissed her. “I keep thinking about last night.”
“Do we need to talk about it?”
“No. I mean, not unless you want to.”
“I want you fuck me in the mouth, my love.”
He nearly shifted completely at those words, and at the look in her eyes, so filled with desire. She moved underneath him so he sat up, watching while she knelt beside the bed.
“Come here. Scoot to the edge.”
“Makenna…” He had no words. She’d never done this. Once he was on the edge of the bed, she took his cock into her perfect mouth, and he growled loudly as his climax drew near. There was no way to hold it off now. He’d never felt anything so fucking exquisite in his life.
The orgasm was powerful, and it seemed to go on forever, but she didn’t appear to mind. She swallowed every damn drop, and then rose to wrap her arms around him and hold him close. He pulled her onto his lap and wished again they could stay here forever. The only thing he wanted to do at that moment was hold his mate in his arms and forget the rest of the world existed.
Chapter Eight
As soon as they returned to the village, even before they had unpacked, Stone took her to see the Elders. She was glad the only one available was Laredo. Makenna felt more at ease with one of her own kind. She told Laredo the same story she’d confessed to Stone, and watched the emotions cross the man’s face, from astonishment to worry.
“You two can stop speculating on how they know you’re here. When we went to see their Elders and Council members to try to reason with them regarding the actions of Ricky and Josh, they asked if you were living here with Stone. We told them you two were mated, and that we had accepted you into our village as one of us.”
“They would have figured it out regardless,” said Stone.
“True, but they also know who you really are. That is a game changer. And it means we need to know when you plan on having your mating ceremony, so we can ensure extra protection for it. I’ll have to draw up contracts. That won’t take long.”
“We’ll sign them whenever you want,” said Stone. “As for the ceremony…” He glanced toward Makenna. “Will this Friday give you enough time to prepare?”
“Absolutely.” Her answer was automatic. Time to prepare for what? For a possible ambush? The only thing Makenna wanted at that moment was to be back at the Inn with Stone. The hell with the ceremony, and the hell with living here. Maybe she could convince the entire Benedict family, plus Arizona and Gillian, to move to Seattle with her and Stone.
“Friday it is.” Laredo stood. “I’ll let the others know, and will bring the contracts over once they’re done.”
“Isn’t there something else we should do?” she asked. “I mean, to protect ourselves.”
“I wish I could give you the perfect solution. These are dark times for our village, and I fear they may get worse before they get better. Stay close to the others, and don’t go into the woods alone, or without weapons.”
“Who else will know about this?” asked Stone. “That she’s really a Grantham.”
“I will have to tell the Elders and the Council, but I’ll ask them not to let it get around.” Laredo gave her a sympathetic look. Apparently he’d noticed her discomfort as well. “Live your lives as if none of this had ever happened. That’s the best advice I can give you. We protect our own.”
Like you protected Gillian? She didn’t dare voice that out loud, but couldn’t stop it from popping into her head. Maybe she wasn’t being fair. And the fact that she hadn’t told anyone her true past until now dropped in next to the quip about no one having protected Gillian. This was her doing. She’d brought this down on all their heads, including her own, the second she’d made the decision to follow that group in the woods.
“Makenna?” Stone was watching her, waiting for her to leave with him. She gave him a smile that he’d never believe was sincere, and slipped her hand into his. He waited until they were nearly home before he spoke again.
“Tell me what to do to make you feel safe again.”
The last thing she wanted to do was tell him how she longed to return to that night in the woods and not follow the group. Because if she hadn’t done that, who knows when or if she’d have met Stone. “I wish I knew.” That was a total cop out, and she knew it.
Tears welled up that Makenna blinked away. This was supposed to be the happiest time in her life. She had a mating ceremony to plan, and had just spent a romantic weekend with her mate. Coming home should have been a joyous occasion. Instead, all she wanted to do was run away.
Stone stopped walking and pulled her close. “It’s going to be all right.”
“How?”
Seconds ticked by. She was afraid she’d upset him with the question. “I don’t know, and that’s the truth.” A nasty shiver ran down her spine. If he didn’t have the answer, who the hell did? “But I do know this much.”
The warmth of his skin as he cupped her face helped a little. So did the look of love in his beautiful dark eyes. “I love you. More than I did when we first met, because now I know who you really are. You’re my mate, Makenna Grantham. Do you hear me? You are the woman I love, and I will die protecting you if it comes to that.”
“I love you, too, but I don’t want you to die,” she whispered.
Instead of answering, he pulled her close again and held her until she stopped trembling and the urge to cry had passed. The air felt heavy as they made their way to the Benedict home. Once there, Stone and Makenna told her story to Leah and her daughters.
Cletus, Luke, Arizona, and Canyon were out hunting. Fiera and Gillian were next door, at Canyon and Fiera’s home. Makenna told Stone she was going over there and would unpack later. After she shared the details of the weekend, including her real ancestry, with Fiera and Gillian, she summarized the meeting with Laredo.
“I knew it,” said Gillian, a smug look on her face. “I knew there was more to your story than the vague stuff you told us that morning in the cabin.”
“Oh, Makenna.” Fiera gave her a hug. “It must have been so frightening for you to finally tell Stone. Was he very upset?”
“Yes, but not for long.” She almost smiled as she recalled their lovemaking later that night. “But I feel responsible for everything that’s happened.”
“What do you mean?” asked Gillian. “They’re the ones who took the legend and perverted it. This isn’t your doing.”
“Yes, it is. If I hadn’t followed the group that night, none of this would have happened.”
“The only thing that wouldn’t have happened is that you wouldn’t have met Stone,” said Fiera. “No. I agree with Gillian. This is n
ot your doing. That group had already targeted Gillian and Arizona because of what the Medina females told the people in your village. All you did was add your name to the list of perceived enemies.”
“I added my name to the list the moment the Medina females realized who I was.”
“Exactly,” said Gillian. “Again, that wasn’t your doing. You couldn’t have known anyone would recognize you one day. You’d lived there all your life without it happening to your or to your family.”
“But what about happened to you? That’s my doing.”
Gillian’s cheeks blanched a bit, but her gaze stayed strong and determined. “No, it wasn’t. Fiera, Canyon, and Arizona have all tried to place the blame for that on themselves because we went to that village, looking for you and Stone.”
Makenna opened her mouth to speak, but Gillian cut her off.
“You don’t know that Ricky and Josh, or some other males, wouldn’t have made the same decision to come here, even if the four of us had not gone there. You did not do this, anymore than Fiera, Canyon, or my mate did. Please stop blaming yourself, Makenna. Please.”
“Gillian is right,” said Fiera. “We all have to stop owning their beliefs. We need to present a united front when it comes to dealing with that bunch. It’s what Canyon and I did when facing the Medinas. His family and mine both. We stood up to them as a whole, and that’s what we all need to do now.”
Gillian smiled. “I told Fiera she ought to be on the Council. She’s absolutely right. You’re part of this village now, Makenna. You’re one of us. We will stand with you. I’m sure Stone has said the same thing, if he’s anything like Canyon and Arizona.”
“He has said that. Thank you.” She hugged Gillian and Fiera again before asking them to help her plan the mating ceremony. By the time Leah sent Lissie over to tell them dinner was ready and the men were home, they had the entire party planned down to the smallest detail.
When they joined everyone at the Benedict home, Makenna and Stone told her story to Cletus, Luke, Arizona, and Canyon. They were just as astonished as Leah and her daughters had been, but no one was angry with her.
Makenna could hardly believe they all knew she’d lied to them and to her mate, but that they’d also forgiven her. They reiterated Gillian’s and Fiera’s words, assuring Makenna that she hadn’t brought this down on anyone’s head, least of all her own. The group who had perverted the legend had done that. And they also assured her that they would protect her. She was truly one of them now.
****
As a matter of tradition, the mating ceremonies took place just after dawn. Everyone in the Benedict family, and in both Arizona’s and Stone’s families, had taken the day off work to be there. Makenna was overwhelmed at the outpouring of love and support all three families had shown her already.
Her dress was the same traditional knee length fawn-colored one both Fiera and Gillian had worn at their ceremonies. While the dress differed a bit from the ones the women in her village wore, it was still handmade and adorned with embroidered designs that signified their culture. Makenna was bare-footed, as was also traditional, and Stone would be as well.
As he walked out of the Benedict house and toward the platform where Gillian and Arizona had conducted their ceremony, Makenna’s hormones went into overdrive. He looked amazing in traditional dress consisting of a dark brown tunic and pants. His hair was loose, the way she preferred it.
When he took his place next to her, the loud cheering from the crowd gave her a warm glow inside. Even though this was supposed to be a solemn occasion, she couldn’t help but smile up at him. She would have been fine without this part of it, but knew it was important to him and to his family.
Together, they walked toward Laredo, Gavin, and Hidalgo, who waited at one of end of the platform. Makenna was happy it was those three, and not Elders she didn’t yet know. The men were dressed in traditional robes that reminded Makenna of the kind judges wore in Gillian’s courtroom world.
The ceremony itself was short. It was the party that would last the remainder of the day and well into evening. The Elders read passages from an old leather-bound book with thin parchment, and it was Makenna’s and Stone’s roles to repeat what they were told to by the Elders.
Once that part concluded, they faced each other, and Stone slipped the ring on her finger while they repeated more words. It was a simple silver band, similar to the ones mated women in her village wore. To Makenna, it was one more outward symbol that she was bound to this male forever.
When the ceremony concluded, there were more cheers as Stone kissed her. It was now official. They were mated. Makenna and Stone belonged to each other in every possible way. She hadn’t thought she could be happier than she’d been over the weekend when she realized hadn’t lost him. Makenna only prayed that Stone continued to feel the same way.
Chapter Nine
Every time Makenna thought about the story she’d kept from Stone and everyone else, her stomach became unsettled. They’d heard nothing from her former village, but that didn’t mean they weren’t plotting. Did all the Elders and the Council members know the truth about her ancestry by now? Would they take the threat seriously, or had everyone become complacent because weeks had passed without another incident?
It was two weeks after their mating ceremony before either of them heard from Laredo. He came to the Benedict home one cold evening in early November to tell her and Stone that with only a few exceptions, the Elders and the Council had agreed to step up the patrols.
“That’s the best they are willing to do?” asked Stone, pounding his fists on the table. They were seated in the room where the Benedict family ate their meals. The rest of the household members were in other rooms, but Makenna had no doubt some, if not all, were listening.
“My hands are tied,” said Laredo. “Gavin was one of those who argued against increasing the patrols.”
Gavin Rockland was Alex’s brother. He had replaced Avery Caddock as the Chief Elder when Avery, Alex, and Darren were forced to step down as a result of the petition Canyon, Feira, Arizona, and Gillian had worked so hard on.
“What’s the point of moving Gavin up to the position of an Elder, and Chief Elder at that, if all he’s going to do is imitate the bad decisions his brother made?”
“I wish I knew the answer to that.”
“What more do they need? Makenna gave all of you the group members’ names. Gillian was attacked by two of them. Two patrols are dead because of them.”
A nasty shiver ran down Makenna’s spine. “Do you have reason to suspect Gavin or the others who didn’t want to increase the patrols are in league with the people of my village?”
“No. Not at all. Their argument is that we’ve had patrols out there for over a month now, and no further incidents have taken place. They feel the Elders in your former village have convinced their people to let the matter rest.”
Stone shook his head. “I don’t believe that for a second.”
“We did manage to convince them we should stress to the patrols how important it is that our borders be guarded with diligence.”
“One would think everybody in this village would have already figured that out.”
“You’re assuming everyone in this village cares as much as you do about the blood on the doors.”
“What about what happened to Gillian?” asked Makenna, her voice coming out a bit harsher than she’d intended. “Do they care about that?”
“Of course they do.” Stone put his arm around her and pulled her close.
“They care,” said Laredo. “I didn’t mean to imply any indifference to that incident. I only meant that most people now believe this is over. They believe the leopards will leave this village alone since blood has been spilled for blood.”
“When did that happen?” asked Stone, his voice filled with bitterness.
“When we told them this matter is settled, remember? That day in the woods? Since nothing has occurred since then that the pe
ople of this village know about, they aren’t looking for trouble to occur.”
“They don’t who Makenna really is.”
“No, they do not.” Laredo gave them each a stern look. “And we don’t intend to let that get around because it doesn’t change the fact that we can do nothing unless they make the first move.”
“Can you at least put extra patrols on this side of the village? What if an entire group decides to come after the women while the men are away at work? Will you stand in the square and tell the people your hands were tied?”
Laredo glared at Stone, but Makenna could see in his eyes that her mate had made his point. Laredo’s expression gradually returned to a neutral one.
“I hear what you’re saying. I’ll see to it that patrols are fortified along this border. But you have to understand our position as well, Stone. We can’t have groups forming in the village who decide to play vigilante and attack the leopard village on their own.”
“I do understand that. But I also believe the threat is a credible one. They take our legend seriously. They have already killed the Medina women. What more proof do you need that they intend to kill Makenna and Gillian for having human blood, and the rest of us by association?”
Laredo leaned forward. “I’ve done all I can do.”
“It’s not enough.”
“Live your life. Go about your normal routine. I’ll make sure there are extra patrols assigned here.”
“Thank you, Laredo.” Stone stuck out his hand, but Makenna didn’t miss the way a muscle twitched her mate’s jaw. He wasn’t satisfied that the Elders had done all they could.
Once Stone walked Laredo toward the front door, Makenna joined the others in the main room. She took a seat next to Leah and picked up a piece of embroidery she’d been working on earlier in the day.