by Lauren Wood
He remained calm and collected as he reached out and touched the elevator button. “I didn’t have to think about it, O’Toole. I’ve already given you my answer.”
The Irish mobster reached out and gripped his arm tightly. “I don’t think you’ll like the consequences. Are you sure you won’t reconsider?”
“You invested quite a bit of money into my company six years ago, but I would not be here if it were not for Simon and Grant. They did more than give me money. They backed me one hundred percent of the way, and I will not betray them to you.”
The man dark eyes held a touch of sympathy. “I liked you, Marquis. I really did. The people that I work for aren’t just going to take no for an answer. O’Shea isn’t going to let you walk away. You will give them what they want, whether you do it willingly or not. You would make both of our lives much easier if you simply did what we asked of you.”
Cade yanked his arm away and stepped into the elevator. He held his hand out to keep the door from closing. “Tell me, O’Toole. You have all the money you could ever need. Why do you work for them?”
O’Toole stiffened. “Once you’re in, you never get out. Besides, I want for nothing.”
“Except for true friends. A family that loves you. Peace of mind. Integrity.” Cade stepped back and let the doors close. “I won’t turn into you.”
He had to warn Erin. As much as it would kill him to tell her the truth, it would be even worse if she were caught unawares. It would ruin her career if she ran the story without knowing all the facts. And who knows what O’Toole would do to get what he wanted.
He leaned back and hit his head gently against the elevator wall. He’d tell her tonight at dinner.
***
Erin’s hands shook when she saw the headline on the magazine. “Cade,” she whispered as she pressed herself against him. It had been three weeks since he’d told her the news. For three weeks, she’d spent every spare moment she had with him. He did things to her body that no one else had, but there was fear lurking behind every moment.
“The Irish mob? Cade, are you insane?” she’d gasped.
“I didn’t know,” he’d said as he shook his head. “What can I do?”
As far as Erin was concern, there was only one thing he could do. He could come clean. And she’d done just that for him.
New York’s youngest and hottest billionaire defies the Irish mob: Cade Marquis saves hundreds of thousands of jobs by saying no.
He put an arm protectively around her and steered her away from the magazine stand. The air was chilly, but it was nothing compared to the fear that iced over her bones. “What do you think is going to happen now?” she whispered.
Cade kissed the top of her head. “Don’t go anywhere alone,” he said softly. “And keep the gun I gave you in your purse at all times. More than likely, this will be too public for them to retaliate. They’ll simply deny it and move on. Timothy O’Shea usually keeps a cool head about him. But O’Toole is a loose cannon.”
Erin nodded her head. They’d talked at length about this, but she didn’t know what she would do if something actually happened. She’d just finally gotten Cade back. She couldn’t lose him now.
A month ago, O’Toole had revealed what he really wanted from Cade. It wasn’t his money. Cade now had inside information on Simon and Grant, and O’Toole’s boss, O’Shea, wanted to bring Simon and Grant down.
But it was more than just Cade’s loyalties to the company. Thousands of workers would have lost their jobs, and Cade wouldn’t have that on his conscience. But Erin wasn’t content with Cade just saying no. She wanted to protect him and reveal the dangers of the Irish mob. It wasn’t just violence. Businesses were at stake. People’s jobs were at stake.
He walked her to her apartment and pulled her close. “Tomorrow, we’ll tell our parents,” he said as he leaned down to kiss her.
She melted into his embrace. “Tell them what?” she teased. “That you give me three orgasms every night? That I strip naked for you and give you lap dances at the dinner table?”
Cade groaned. “Keep talking like that, and this block will see just how many orgasms I can give you,” he hissed.
What would he tell their parents? She was more curious about that than she was about their reaction. He didn’t talk much about their future.
“Stay inside today,” he said with another searing kiss.
“Keep doing that, and the tabloids will tell my mom before you do,” she said as she pulled away. He gave her one last longing look before he turned and walked away.
He made it two steps before the bullet rang out. “Erin,” he screamed as he turned, but the bullets weren’t for her. Fear forced her into action. As he fell to his knees, blood seeping through his shirt, she pulled the gun from her purse.
She couldn’t lose him. Not now. She didn’t even hesitate as he aimed the gun at the large man on the corner. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. She fired until she realized the gun was no longer spilling bullets. She fired until it was just a clicking noise. She fired until someone finally wrenched the gun out of her hand.
The man was on the ground, not moving, but she didn’t give a damn about him.
“Cade,” she screamed. The world stilled as she spun raced towards him. He reached up to touch her cheek, but the blood was coming out too quickly. “Hang on,” she muttered as she stripped off her jacket and pressed it to the wound on his side.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“Shut-up,” she snapped. “You say the worse things.”
He managed to laugh, and she smiled. “You can tell me how you feel when you’re not bleeding out on the side-walk. And when that happens, I’ll tell you exactly how I feel about you.” Tears were flooding down her cheeks, and she leaned down and pressed her lips to hers. “If you die, Cade Marquis, I will tell your father that you took my virginity when I was nineteen.”
But his eyes were closing, and she began to rock back and forth. He would live. He had to live.
Please.
***
The response was overwhelming. She’d wanted to keep it a small affair. Cade wanted it that way, but more than just family and friends wanted to come out. Business associates from all over the country demanded to be there, and before she knew it, the whole thing was just out of control. Every seat in the church was taken.
She couldn’t believe that it would end like this. She’d been in love with him ever since she met him, and it took a bullet for her to realize it. For her to realize how much time they had wasted thinking they knew what the other was thinking.
Cade had only wanted what was best for her, and Erin thought he was ashamed of her. Instead of embracing the unexpected love, years of silence and heartbreak had separated them.
Too late now, she thought as she walked slowly down the aisle. She couldn’t go back and change the past.
But as she saw his eyes light up with love and awe, she knew that their future was going to be filled with love.
O’Toole was dead. O’Shea put as much distance between him and the investor as possible, and they hadn’t heard more than an apology from him in the past year. Apparently he realized that the printed word was more powerful than money and blackmail.
Cade had pulled through with surgery. Rather than finding out over dinner, her mom and his dad had learned the entire truth of their affair at the hospital. They’d surprised her with a roll of their eyes.
“It’s about time,” her mom had snapped. “I thought I was going to have to lock you two in the room together to get you to admit your feelings.”
Three weeks later, he’d slipped a ring on her finger. She’d glared and grumbled. Of course they loved each other, but that didn’t mean they could make it work. He was neat. She was messy. She wanted a smaller house and dogs. He wanted a bigger house and another car. She wanted two kids. He wanted five.
But he refused to take the ring back, and she realized that she was never going to take it off. Cade Marquis w
as hers. And even if they bickered and fought for the rest of their lives, he belonged to her and her alone. Just as she belonged to him.
Her dress trailed behind her as she finished the walk. Her stepfather leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I thought it would be weird to give you away to my son,” he admitted with a smile. “But there is no one else I’d rather see you with.”
She blushed and reached out to take Cade’s hand. Breaking tradition, he leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips. “I love you, Erin.”
“I love you, always and forever, Cade,” she said honestly.
Twenty minutes later, she was Erin Silva Marquis. And she was the happiest woman in the world.
THE END
THE BEAR’S ARRANGED MATE
The heated mating instincts of the female bear-shifters in the herik tribe were at their highest the night before a full moon. Their pheromones could be smelled all throughout the small portion of the forest their tribe called home and far beyond it. It quickly became a custom to find all of the females and have them locked away and protected by the only males not affected, which were specially trained to deal with the hordes of lustful males. However, the males in their tribe weren’t the only ones affected—their rival tribe, the kubeba, were also greatly affected by the herik women’s state.
Countless battles ensued due to the confusion and aggression brought about from the males on both sides of the rivalry. Not long after their last confrontation, the leaders of both tribes met and agreed that on the night before what was known as “pre-mating season” the heriks would choose a female to be given to the kubeba. On this year, in particular, the heriks decided to choose early, but unfortunately for them, the female had other things in mind.
***
Trish stared out the window in her room, feeling the heat between her legs growing hotter with each passing moment. She’d been condemned there by the tribe leader, Keldrin, as a way of protecting her. The throbbing, aching need pulsing through her and making her fingers tirelessly twirl in her long, dark hair was starting to drive her past the point of seeing that reason. Hoping to distract herself from the buff, shirtless men patrolling outside, she turned her attention to the bare walls around her. Being an outdoorsy type of woman, Trish didn’t waste time with decorating her space, but in this instance, she wished she had.
There was only one thing in the room to distract herself aside from the bed she lay on or the scattered dressers—a mirror. Looking into her reflection, Trish lost herself for a moment. The wavy hair that covered her shoulders and flowed down her barely concealed, perky DD-cup breasts hidden just behind a thin cloth across both of the hardened nipples. Trish quietly groaned each time one of the sensitive nubs rubbed against the soft, but hard-pressed fabric.
Below her exposed mid-drift was where her hand started to wander, sinking between her legs. Trish’s eyes started to slowly close as her head tilted back and a soft hand caressed between her thighs. She nearly lost herself in the moment before violently jerking upward, coming back into reality with both eyes shot wide open. Trish looked around the small room made of aged logs and sighed. “I can’t take this any longer,” she admitted to herself. “Maybe if I could just release a little bit of it, then… I can stay sane for just a little while longer…”
A twinge of warmth ran up Trish’s spine and settled at the back of her head as she swung an arm over the window frame, looking through it again. She subtly licked her lips, eying the chiseled abs and beefy biceps on the warriors passing by. Despite herself, she couldn’t keep her eyes from drifting further downward to their loincloths and the longer she gazed at the bouncing clothes, the louder the growls from her bear grew. Every fiber in her being told her to beckon to him—call to him that she wanted him—needed him.
Trish bit down on her lip, but when that failed to keep her thoughts from bubbling to the surface, she bit her finger. Should I really be doing this…? Quickly turned into: How have I not done this already?
A confident smile naturally formed on her face as she gestured to one of the men to come closer. The dark and tall muscle-clad stud looked focused, and yet, clueless at the same time. He had the sort of look someone lost would have while also being an intimidating, towering beast of a man. Trish couldn’t even begin to imagine what he looked like shifted. His braided hair covered his shoulders, but gave him a more innocent look as he cocked his head to the side and asked, “Did you need something?”
The man’s deep, husky voice sent shivers down Trish’s spine—even through the glass. Trish opened the window as widely as she could, making sure to adjust herself in front of the man for several minutes before answering. “It depends, handsome. Are you willing to help?” Trish asked in a sultry, seductive voice.
The man didn’t seem to be fazed by Trish at all and replied, “Of course I am. Whatever you need.”
“Well, you see… I’ve been having this aching feeling for the longest time and there’s only one way to get rid of it…” Trish bit down on her lip softly and reached out to the man to move a few stray strands of hair away from his face as she looked into his deep, dark brown eyes. She could sense a change in the male as she cupped his chin, slowly pulling him toward her. “I need a big, strong man to help me relieve some of this…tension. Do you think you can help…um…?”
“Mik. My name is Mik, ma’am,” the man responded, pulling his head away from Trish’s grasp. “I-I’m sorry… I was given very strict orders on not doing that… I don’t even know if I’d want to…”
Mik turned his head to the side, but Trish used two fingers to tilt his chin so that their eyes met again. “So, you’re not even a little curious?” she asked with a smirk wedged in the side of her mouth.
“Maybe…a little,” Mik grumbled. Trish could feel his warmth in her palm.
“I just need some relief, Mik… Nothing more and no less,” Trish said warmly.
“Well… Maybe I could make a small exception just this once…” Mik replied, reaching down to gasp his steadily rising loincloth for a moment.
“That’s a good boy. Just come around the front and I’ll let you in. I’m sure you’ll know what to do from there.”
The tall, dark male strode into Trish’s bedroom with the confidence of a thousand men. He didn’t bother trying to hide his thick, bobbing cock as it barely kept its tip hidden behind the light fabric of the loin cloth. Trish grinned, sprawled out on the bed and beckoning to Mik with a finger. Hint of a grin on his face, he came nearer, but stopped just before he reached the side of her bed.
“D-dammit…” Mik stuttered as he bit down on his bottom lip and Trish crawled across the bed to him.
“What is it, honey…?” she asked as she looked up at Mik, lightly tapping the tip of his extended prick—right on the wet spot forming on the loincloth from the pre-cum.
“I know that I shouldn’t be doing this, but… I can’t…” Mik groaned as Trish wrapped her large, soft hand around his shaft and slowly moved it up and down his throbbing length. Forcing the words through his grit teeth, he went on to say, “I c-can’t… Stop myself… You sm-smell so damned good…” Trish looked up at him with a confident smirk, squeezing his manhood firmer, but keeping the tip hidden still. “Not quite as good as a male smells, but… Maybe trying new things…”
“Ha-ha… It sounds like I turned you into a real chatterbox, huh?” Trish asked as she licked her lips, feeling her heaving chest steadily rising and falling with each slow breath.
It was hard to see the soft redness on both of Mik’s cheeks, but Trish could tell the warrior was blushing. Just knowing how much power she held over him by controlling his lust was enough to get her gushing, but she could hardly keep away from the man herself. Every part of her was hyper sensitive—begging to be touched and caressed, but she wanted more still. There was something else she wanted. A toy.
Mik opened his mouth to speak, but Trish stole the words away from him as she tore the loincloth away with her teeth and took his cock head into
her lips. “Ah… Mm…” Mik stood on wobbling legs, curling and uncurling his fists repeatedly as he gently rocked back and forth. Trish hummed around his head, pleased, but pulled it out to leave a thin line of pre-cum from her lips to the tip. The warrior looked down, panting at his seductress and she merely grinned up at him, licking his taste off her lips.
“I don’t know what’s come over me, ma’am,” Mik started to say as he lightly panted. “I’m not usually so… It’s just… It feels so damned good… What did you do?” Trish shrugged, twisting her hand around Mik’s shaft again and again while her other hand reached for his plump, shaven sack.
“These feel pretty full. Are you sure it’s entirely my doing?” Trish let his balls roll atop her palm a little before she grasped them a little more firmly, squeezing just enough to earn a gasp out of Mik.
“I w-wouldn’t be surprised by it…” Mik’s eyes couldn’t focus anywhere—not even on Trish. Watching her was enough to push him closer to the edge, so he closed his eyes and threw his head back, letting his mouth hang open as hot pants escaped it.
Trish poked her tongue out of her lips and used it to round Mik’s cock’s crown slowly before inviting his head into her mouth again. She suckled lightly at first, using her tongue to guide his throbbing manhood into her mouth, inch by inch, as he groaned and grunted in pleasure. Fed up with not being able to hold something, Mik planted both of his hands on the back of Trish’s head. He ran his fingers through her thick, dark hair and murmured something Trish couldn’t quite hear underneath his breath.
As Trish got into a steady rhythm, letting her tightly enclosed lips replace her hands, she closed her eyes and imagined what his meaty cock would feel like inside of her. He felt good in her mouth—too good from how she pulsed and tensed while sucking him, but she couldn’t help but wonder even though she knew it was forbidden. What’s the worst that could happen? She thought as she pushed her lips all the way down to Mik’s pubic hair, effectively deep-throating the warrior and holding herself there.