Head Over Tail - Ridgeville, Book Three

by Celia Kyle

  “Since you asked so nicely…” He tightened his grip on her hips and did as she asked: pulled his hips back, cock sliding from her ass, and then pushed forward once again, her body accepting him fully.

  Ricker repeated the slow motions, unwilling to harm his mate with rough fucking during her first time. He started gently, in and out, then again, balls tapping at her clit and pussy with every entry.

  “Fuck. Madison.” His breathing picked up to a hurried pace, balls aching for release, dick twitching within her passage.

  “Yeah. Harder. Need.” Her voice was breathless.

  Growling, he gave her what she needed. Fuck, he gave her what he needed. Conscious of his mate’s body, he increased his pace, fucking her harder. The bed shook in response, picking up the rhythm of their bodies. The wood of the frame creaked and groaned with his every thrust, but he only had eyes for the vision of his dick disappearing into Madison’s ass.

  She swallowed him, accepted him into her body and trusted him not to harm her and that level of trust floored him. His mate submitted, accepted and believed he’d never cause her pain.

  And he valued the gift she’d given him.

  Cock and balls aching, begging to empty, he leaned over her, braced one hand on the bed and used his hold for leverage. The new position gave him more control, enabled him to push deeper, harder. And he did.

  With flexes of his hips, he plunged in and out of her, relished the moans and gasps that escaped Madison’s lips as he pleasured her. The slap of skin on skin mingled with the sounds of their breathing, creating a sex-filled symphony.

  More and more he gave. More and more she took.

  Pleasure filled his veins, pumped through his body with every beat of his heart and thrust. His dick throbbed, picking up the same rhythm.

  “Fuck. Madison. Come Kit. Come on my dick.”

  Her ass rippled around him, milked his shaft and stroked his hardness as he plunged in and out of her back entrance.

  “Gonna.” Her voice was reedy thin.

  “Yeah, Kit.” He puffed out the words, balls more than ready to follow his mate in release.

  The tingles of ecstasy had grown to full-blown spears, racing through him and striking each nerve with pleasure as it passed. His dick was ready, thickening with the impending climax.

  Then it was there. The scream of pleasure from Madison filled the room, the sound quickly echoed by the convulsing of her ass around his cock, practically begging to be filled with his cum.

  He didn’t disappoint.

  Roaring, howling, he then groaned in satisfaction, jerkily thrusting in and out of her as he gave in to his orgasm. His cock swelled and twitched within her walls as wave after wave of his seed coated her ass.

  Trembling explosions of bliss wracked his body, muscles spasming while her hole continued to caress him. He pulsated within her, throbbing as each tremble forced more and more of his cum from his body, making his climax seem endless.

  Eventually, and hell if he knew how much time had passed, Madison stilled beneath him, tiny tremors skittering through her frame. His breathing eased with hers, bodies cooling, sweat drying as they recovered from their orgasms.

  God. Damn.

  He’d never get enough of her. Never get enough of his lush mate, sinking into her body and making her scream. Their connection intensified with their every touch until he didn’t know where he ended and she began. They’d fed off of each other’s emotions as she’d cradled him and he’d never had a more moving experience in his life.

  Look at him getting all poetic and shit.

  A snort and huff pulled him from his thoughts and he leaned down to nuzzle Madison. “What?”

  “Poetic?”

  “Hush or I’ll decide that I want your ass all nice and pink.” He squeezed her shoulder and trailed his hand along her spine as he pulled from her body.

  “Promises, promises.” Madison rolled to her back then sat up and nipped him, teeth sliding over his chest.

  He didn’t respond, dick too tired to do anything about her teasing. Exhaustion was finally catching up with him, their mad dash suddenly weighing down on his body.

  Closing his eyes, he sunk into their connection. She soothed the savage beast, took the edge off the tiger’s need to dominate and destroy anyone who pissed him off.

  Ricker rolled from the bed and fetched a warm, wet washcloth then returned and cleaned them both up before flopping into bed and pulling her close.

  The council would love her. He figured they’d spend a few weeks in Ridgeville and then they could pack up her belongings and ship them to Chicago. His apartment wasn’t that big, he was a simple guy, but Madison would need more space for all her…stuff.

  He’d get her settled, maybe take another handful of weeks off after the move before he got back to work. They had Stone figuring out what the fuck went down at the Freedom compound, but Ricker had a few ideas of his own. He’d cuddle a little longer and then go hunt up a sat phone. No sense in keeping his opinions to himself. He wasn’t actively working, but it didn’t mean he didn’t have a brain.

  Ricker glance at his mate once more, smile on his lips as he realized how lucky he was. The other trackers would be jealous that a coldhearted roughneck like him had landed the sweet Madison.

  Yeah, two weeks here, just enough for her to have one last run with the pride at the full moon, and then on to Chicago. He could have Lia scope out a new place. She’d always been good at that sort of thing. She could decorate it too and—

  “Chicago?” The word cut through the silence, Madison’s anger an almost physical presence in the room. “Lia?” His mate spit the word like it was an offensive bite of food.

  Wow. Look at how quick he managed to ruin a perfect fucking after-sex daze.

  Fuck. He knew better than to mention another woman’s name when he was in bed. Now he needed to make sure he didn’t even think about another woman.

  He cleared his throat. “Uh, Lia is one of the mission coordinators. My call-in. She was the one, uh, you saw that got hurt? When you went digging? She’s not… We’ve never…”

  A fraction of Madison’s tension melted away, but her body was still stiff against him.

  “And Chicago?” She slid from his arms and, as much as it hurt him, he let her go. “Ricker, I’m not sure about moving. I know we never talked about it. We just went all bitey with no forethought. But the idea of moving to a big city like that and the council. It—”

  “Scares the shit out of you.” The pain pouring through their connection would have brought him to his knees if he’d been standing.

  Madison nodded. “Yeah.”

  The rumble of a truck pulling into the driveway cut their conversation short. Ricker jumped from the bed, hand going to the gun on the nightstand as he settled on his feet. He grabbed Madison’s hand and shoved her toward the corner so he could block her body from attackers and…

  His mate was laughing. And he had a deep suspicion it was at him.

  He turned and glared at her bright wide smile.

  Most shifters, especially women, would cower when faced with his glare. The crazy woman smiled.

  “Ricker, it’s my family. Hear that other car? And the Harley that pulled in just after? Momma, Daddy and my two brothers just pulled in.” She snuck past him, smile still playing on her lips. “Get dressed. They’re gonna see the broken door and come in growling and snarling if we don’t show them that we’re okay.”

  Madison dug through a nearby dresser, tugging out clothes and slipping into the scraps of cotton.

  He scowled again. He really liked his mate naked and ready for him.

  Then he remembered that she probably wasn’t going to be “ready” for him any time soon. Sure they’d have to put the question about Chicago aside for the moment, but it’d come back and bite him in the ass. Soon.

  Madison took two steps toward the bedroom door and he snagged her hand before she could escape. “We can talk about Chicago, Madison.”

 
; A look of sadness crossed her features and she simply nodded, tugging her hand from his and padding from the room.

  Chapter Ten

  “If he’s your guy, he’s your guy. Just make sure you tattoo your name on his furry ass so everyone else knows who he belongs to. You could pee on him and mark your territory, but a tattoo is permanent.” – Maya Josephs, Prima of the Ridgeville Pride, who has decided that neutering her mate was a viable option.

  Maddy sat at her kitchen table, coffee in hand as her mother puttered around her kitchen. It was just something mommas did. They puttered, poked and somehow created delicious meals out of a near empty pantry.

  Maddy loved it.

  With her two brothers and father in the other room, she enjoyed the quiet of sitting with her mom and bathing in the serenity that always flowed from the woman.

  Cookies baking (and she had no idea how that came about), her mother settled across from her, those knowing eyes focused on Maddy.

  “So.”

  Maddy grimaced. Grilling from her mother was more about parental stares than words and she knew she wouldn’t get outta this without spilling all.

  “So, hey, I got mated.” She tried to smile wide, super big and everything. It didn’t work. Nope, her mother frowned, deep lines forming around her mouth and eyes narrowing.

  “And my baby isn’t as happy as she should be.”

  She forced her smile a little wider. “Of course I am. I found my mate. Everything is perfect and…”

  Her mother shook her head. “Don’t try to feed me crap, Madison Margaret Lane. I gave birth to you. I brought you into this world and I’ll take you right back out of it if you don’t start telling the truth.”

  So she did.

  She unloaded about the kidnapping. She skipped over the whole “make all the Freedom members happy” portion of the show.

  Tears formed in her mother’s eyes.

  Then about offering to be raped so that little Elise would have been left alone. Then saving the sweet fox and gutting a hyena in the process.

  The tears disappeared and were replaced with pride.

  She added in rejecting Ricker in an, uh, “delicate moment”. She wasn’t talking about sex with her mother. Finished or otherwise.

  Maddy got a smile for that one. “I think I love our Prima. I’m gonna make her a cake and some cookies.”

  That was big praise coming from her mother. The woman was a blue ribbon winning baker and anything that came out of her kitchen caused oral orgasms.

  Seriously.

  Then there was the actual mating at the safe house. Again with the glossing over of “delicate moments”. She skipped over the whole driving and getting shot at part. She considered that a kissing cousin to “delicate moments”.

  Mating talk made her mother’s smile go super nova.

  Kaboom.

  Then the recap ended with getting home.

  She skipped the whole “Chicago” issue.

  Of course, her mother was like a bloodhound mixed with a piranha. She scented blood in the water and she was chasing after it. “Well, where’s the rest? You should be glowing. You’ve got a fine man in the living room being grilled by your father and your brothers and he hasn’t been chased out yet. But I’m not feeling a whole lotta happy coming from my baby girl and I know those men in the living room are aware of it as well. So, give me all of it.”

  Maddy slumped into the chair, defeat washing over her. “He wants to move to Chicago.”

  An ache at leaving her family, her pride, blossomed in her chest. Then again, she knew that Ricker needed to be in Chicago for his job. He was the best tracker the Council had, one of the toughest lines of defense against Freedom and the HSE. She couldn’t imagine the shifter world without him protecting them all.

  Her mother reached across the table and Maddy slid her hand onto her mom’s, drawing comfort from the touch. “You knew you’d mate outside the pride. You knew you there was a possibility you’d have to go with him when that happened.”

  “I know. I just hoped he’d be like daddy and come here.” Tears pricked her eyes. “I don’t want to leave you.”

  Her mother scoffed. “It’s not leaving. Chicago is only a few hours away by plane. Your daddy and I can come and visit and I have no doubt that your brothers will come and make sure he’s treating you right. Probably when you least expect them.”

  This time Maddy scoffed. “They’ll visit, all right. To meet women and party.”

  A twinkle slid into her mother’s eyes. “They’ll give your mate hell, too. It’s a brother’s prerogative.”

  With a sigh, she let her mother’s love sink into her. “I don’t want to leave.”

  “But you will. You’re head over tail for that young man and you’ll follow him to the end of the earth.”

  Maddy wasn’t quite ready to admit that her mother might be right. The woman was a gloater.

  The timer on the oven dinged and Maddy pulled her hand free of her mom’s, thankful for a reason to escape her mother’s searching gaze. “Lemme get those. The guys will be in here any second for a quick bite. I have no doubt that they worked up an appetite grilling Ricker.”

  Just as she opened the oven, all four men came tromping into the kitchen. A quick look over her mate revealed that he was physically unharmed and a brush of his mind showed her that there was calm, affection and something more occupying it. In two steps he was next to her, his face pressed against her neck and a shadow of hair scratching her tender skin.

  His scent enveloped her in a blanket of reassurance, each brush of his head against her bathing her in his essence. “Hey, Kit.”

  “Hey.” She nuzzled him in return, taking his strength. She sunk into him, the rest of the room forgotten.

  A rough cough interrupted. “Yeah, ‘hey’ all around. Brat, you gonna give out the cookies now? Or do we have to throw down?” Her brother, Paine, interrupted, but she chose to ignore him.

  Too bad Ricker didn’t.

  A snarl silenced the room and her mate’s comforting touch disappeared. “Don’t touch her.”

  Wow. He-man much?

  Maddy set the cookie sheet down and wrapped her arms around his waist, rubbing her hands over his flat abdomen. “Shh… He’s just being an ass. Besides, I can take him.”

  Her other brother, Darius, howled. “So true. Remember that time she treed your ass, P? Ricker, your girl chased Paine to the top of our old oak and wouldn’t let him down until Mom told her she wasn’t gonna get any cookies until she left him alone.”

  Heat burning her cheeks, she rested her forehead against Ricker’s back. “In my defense, he told me I had cooties and that Grayson would never like me because I was a stupid girl.”

  A growl built in her mate’s chest. “Grayson?”

  “Uh…” Oops? A laugh came from Darius and he sounded more like a hyena than a lion. She looked around her mate and glared at her oldest brother. “Shut up, asswipe.” She stuck out her tongue. She was juvenile. So what?

  “Grayson?” Her mate’s voice was quiet. Way too freaking quiet. Like, who-do-I-need-to-hunt-down-and-kill, quiet.

  “It was a crush. I was young and he was sixteen and he’s not my mate, you are, and—”

  “He’s Alex’s Second.” The deep voice of her childhood crush filled the room and she wondered what she’d done to God now.

  Ricker’s body tensed, weight shifting as if he was ready to go after Grayson, but Maddy kept her arms locked around him. No, she wasn’t deluded enough to think she could keep him still if he really wanted to be free, but a girl had to try.

  Peeking under her mate’s arm, she gave the pride second a small smile. “Hey, Gray. How ya doing?”

  See, even if her mate was ready to go all homicidal, she could be nice and shit.

  “Mine.” The voice was deadly soft, but held a whole fuck-ton of intent behind the single syllable.

  Mom, the epitome of a people pleaser, and totally used to diffusing angry males, butted into the tens
e situation. “Well, isn’t this fun! Anyone want cookies?”

  *

  A bite of a cookie, a bite outta Grayson, another bite of cookie, another bite out of the second.

  Ricker could see the pluses in his plan.

  The tension in his mate’s body told him she didn’t agree.

  Great.

  With a concentrated effort, he eased the tiger from the surface, forced the beast into its cage until the need to murder the male before him left his body. The breath he’d been holding eased from his lungs and his muscles relaxed in slow increments.

  With his mate at his back, her soothing presence urged the process along. Maddy’s fear for the male before her irked him, but a deeper look revealed that her worry was centered on what would happen to him if he killed Grayson.

  The male, big and dominant, wasn’t a true match for Ricker, so it wouldn’t have been too hard. But the council could have a teeny-tiny problem with outright murder.

  The man approached, hand outstretched, smug smile on his lips. Bastard. “Grayson Shor, pride Second and Maddy’s high school crush, apparently.”

  “Ricker Croft. The man who will gut you if you look at Madison as anything other than a sister.”

  Ricker heard something that sounded suspiciously like “possessive asshole” from behind him, but he ignored it. Yes, he was possessive. And yes, he was an asshole when the need arose. Right now, he needed both, so he shoved it all together.

  Instead of looking scared, hell worried, the lion laughed out loud. “Funny, Stripes, you’re funny. So, do I smell Mrs. Lane’s cookies or did you buy one of those smelly candles?”

  Madison’s mother went into action then, bustling around his mate’s small kitchen. The woman got Grayson settled in a chair and then the family was chatting with the pride’s second, ignoring Ricker and his mate.

  He pried his lioness from his back and brought her to snuggle against his chest, head tucked just beneath his chin.

  Fuck, the mere thought of her even liking another male had sent him into a rage. Madison belonged to him. Him. Not some measly second. She needed a strong male to protect her, even if she didn’t let him do his job very well when she decided to go running off, aggravating the hell out of him.