by E A Price
The bed however was extremely large and after a few quick bounces Kayleigh found it to be very soft. She was about to ask Don to come and test it with her when he received a text from his brother. Evan said that he, Rick and their wives were downstairs and waiting for them in the breakfast room.
Don chuckled at her disappointed face. “Don’t worry, darlin’, there’ll be plenty of time to christen the bed later.”
“There damn well better be,” Kayleigh groused, thoroughly annoyed, as she freshened up and changed into a new dress.
When she was ready, Don almost, almost, changed his mind about going to see his family. She was startlingly lovely in a figure hugging, hot pink, secretary-style dress. She looked like she’d just stepped out of Mad Men. His wolf roared appreciatively. The urge to give in and rip it from her lush body almost overwhelmed him. It was one of his favorites, and, by the look on her evil face, she knew that, too.
He smoothed his hand over her ass and stilled. “You’re not wearin’ underwear?”
Kayleigh’s eyes twinkled. “Nope. Ruins the lines of the dress.”
Don let out a throaty growl. “You don’t play fair.”
“True, but you can think about that while we’re having breakfast with your family. After all, there’ll be plenty of time later.”
Don groaned as his snickering mate led him downstairs.
*
Kayleigh looked between Don’s brothers. There was a family resemblance between all three of them. But while Don was in fantastic shape and still had thick dark hair, distinguished by a dab of grey at his temples, which Kayleigh would not change for anything, the two older brothers were not quite so well preserved. It was a little hard to believe that the age difference between the three brothers was so small. Don was 40, Rick was 42 and Evan was 44.
Rick had a terrific paunch, hanging over his straining belt and jeans. Not an easy feat for shifters whose natural metabolisms meant that they could eat a lot and stay thin - Kayleigh always envied that. And his hair had completely turned grey. Evan, on the other, hand was still quite buff; he was quite a bit bulkier than Don, not surprising given that he was an Alpha. But while Don kept it tight, boy did he!, Evan’s muscles were kind of fleshy. Not to mention Evan’s comb over... Ugh!
Don had told her that his brothers had been pretty promiscuous back in the day; they’d worked their way through nearly every girl in school, including a few of the teachers. She was glad Don hadn’t been like that... or so he said.
He’d told her girls always preferred his brothers to him. She was half pleased and half irritated by that. Glad, because the thought of Don being with anyone else had her seething with jealousy, but irritated at the stupidity of the women of Charming. Don was a walking wet dream, those women were idiots!
Although, she wasn’t that surprised that girls had gone wild for his brothers twenty years ago. As an Alpha and Beta, women, particularly wolf shifters, would have gravitated to their natural power.
She’d seen a couple of photos of the three of them when they were young, and, personally, she couldn’t see the attraction. The older brothers looked like they were steroidal wrestlers, with flattened noses and small piggy eyes. Don looked like he’d been carved by Rodin. Seriously, no contest! But then she might be just a tad biased...
Kayleigh couldn’t see that they had ever been more attractive than Don. Damn she was lucky; she’d snagged the hot brother! Don left the table to find her some chamomile tea. He was such a treasure! She bristled to see that the brothers’ wives were also being very appreciative of her man as he walked away, his ass really was gorgeous. Well they could look, but if they dared to try and touch...
The wives in question were still attractive. Shifters generally aged very well, again another thing that annoyed and incited envy in Kayleigh. They were both in their early forties, but the only giveaway to their ages was the worry lines on their faces. From his last brief visit, Don gleaned that neither couple was overly happy in their mating. Apparently they were arranged matings to cement fuzzy feelings between rival packs. It appeared the arrangements had led to a few resentments...
The two women were very trim in their matching tracksuits; they were about Kayleigh’s height, but they were a lot skinnier and toned than she was. The women sneered a little at Kayleigh, but she didn’t care, Don loved her curves and, more importantly, so did she. She’d tell the women to go suck on a pair of lemons, but judging by their matching sour expressions, she guessed it was too late.
Evan leered at Kayleigh’s breasts. Apparently he didn’t mind curves either. There was a loud thump and then Evan snapped his head to his wife, Jodie, who was starring daggers at him. She’d kicked him under the table.
Evan cleared his throat. “So, Kayleigh, how old are you?”
Jodie shook her head and sniggered. “I apologize for my husband,” she said imperiously. “It’s just that you’re so... so young... it’s kind of a surprise.”
Kayleigh arched an eyebrow. “It’s okay. I have a very old soul.” She winked at Rick, who blushed furiously.
Neither Jodie nor Crystal, Rick’s wife, was impressed by that answer, and they gave each other a look.
Don placed the tea in front of her. “Here you go, darlin’.”
She beamed at him. “Thank you.” They kissed chastely when he sat, before turning back to their table mates. Don put an arm round the back of her chair, and Kayleigh put her hand on her mate’s thigh and gently rubbed.
“Well, this is nice isn’t it?” asked Rick, to no one in particular.
“Yes,” agreed Evan. He slapped a hand on Don’s shoulder. “It’s good to see our little brother again.” He said warmly.
“Yes, it is nice,” agreed Jodie, half-heartedly. “I’m just sorry that you couldn’t stay at our house, but with so many family members arriving for Christmas, we just haven’t got the room.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it, Don and I will be fine in the hotel. I always find it fun sleeping somewhere new. It’s kind of an aphrodisiac.” Kayleigh squeezed Don’s thigh and he jerked a little as he felt his sex growing.
“So, how long have you two been together?” asked Crystal, while Jodie spluttered, trying to find a reason to object to what Kayleigh had said.
“Just a few weeks, but we’ve bonded and we’re livin’ together,” answered Don, giving her a crooked smile. Crystal simpered a little, pissing Kayleigh off no end.
Thankfully, a waiter brought a basket of bread over, and Kayleigh was diverted. She eagerly snagged a brown seeded role and put a white roll on Don’s plate for him. No one else moved to take some.
Kayleigh frowned; it smelled absolutely gorgeous. “Doesn’t anybody else want some?”
Evan and Rick mumbled something unintelligibly. While Jodie told her they were on a low carb diet, and Crystal agreed unenthusiastically.
Jodie fingered her cutlery. “Has Don met your family, Kayleigh?”
Kayleigh slathered a roll of bread in some butter and Crystal practically drooled. “Oh, goodness, gracious, no! I only have my mom, and we don’t get along. Besides, if I introduced Don to my mother, she’d try and steal him from me!” Kayleigh made a kissing motion in Don’s direction and he immediately warmed.
Jodie raised her eyebrows. “Oh my, she sounds very... singular.”
“If that means nuts, then yeah, I agree, she is.”
Kayleigh munched on her bread happily. She’d grown up accepting her mother for who she was, she wasn’t going to get upset over it now. Since Kayleigh was 16 and started bringing boyfriends home, her mom had tried to steal them, because she assumed Kayleigh did the same thing to her. Kayleigh would never; she couldn’t really see much merit in any man who would date her mom. But Kayleigh forgave her mom for all her foibles; she believed it all stemmed from low self-esteem.
“So what do you do Kayleigh?” asked Jodie.
“I work at the library part-time and I give readings.”
Crystal frowned. “Readings?”
“And people pay you for this?” asked Jodie slowly with an edge of superiority.
Don tensed as his wolf growled; his mate was being slighted. But if Kayleigh minded, she didn’t show it. “Yep, they sure do.”
“Kayleigh’s wonderful at what she does, as well as givin’ readings, she has visions,” intercut Don. “And she can also project images and dreams.”
Kayleigh flushed, pleased at her mate’s praise. “I can only do the projecting thing with Don, no one else. It’s actually a testament to how strong our connection is. I could even do it before we bonded.”
Kayleigh felt an enormous surge of pride push through their bond; she pushed back with her own feelings of love and contentedness.
“So, how accurate are you with the readings?” asked Rick, skeptically.
“Well, fifty-fifty,” she admitted, before her tone turned teasing, “although, sometimes I get it dead on. I told Don that he was going to bond with the most wonderful woman in the world, and here we are!”
Don twisted his fingers in the small whispers of hair on the back of her neck. “Can’t argue there.”
Kayleigh fluttered her eyelashes exaggeratedly, and in her best southern belle voice said, “Oh, Mr Cross, you do go on!”
The other women at the table weren’t overly happy at the couple’s displays of affection. Jealous bitches, thought Kayleigh smugly.
A petite, dark haired waitress in her late thirties came over to take their order. She stared at Don for a few seconds. “Oh my god! Don, is that you? It’s Cathy Lowe, how are you?”
Don dragged his gaze away from Kayleigh. “Cathy? Wow, you look great. How are you?”
Cathy flushed happily at the compliment and scooted round the table. Don stood up and Cathy eagerly hugged him. “You look amazing. I swear you’ve hardly changed at all since high school. I’m good, thanks. I’m divorced with two kids, but doing okay.”
Kayleigh watched the woman with narrowed eyes. Yes she just ‘happened’ to throw her marital status into the conversation. Time to put a stop to this.
Kayleigh stood up and placed a proprietary hand on Don’s arm. “Hi Cathy, I’m Kayleigh, Don’s wife.”
Cathy froze and looked at the young, blonde beauty in dismay. “Oh! It’s, ummm, it’s nice to meet you.”
Don snaked an arm round his mate’s waist and rubbed his thumb over her hip bone. Cathy couldn’t take their order fast enough.
“Old girlfriend?” asked Kayleigh accusingly after Cathy scuttled away.
Don arched an eyebrow. “Actually no, she used to date a friend of mine. She wasn’t interested in me.”
Kayleigh huffed. “Maybe not back then,” she muttered.
Don silenced her with a toe curling kiss, “Doesn’t matter, darlin’.”
Kayleigh was still jealous, but slightly mollified. Don was a little surprised at seeing the hungry looks on the faces of his brothers. Apparently, they wouldn’t mind Kayleigh being possessive of them either.
The rest of breakfast was uneventful. Jodie was snooty, Rick leered at Kayleigh, Crystal watched Kayleigh eat, with longing, and Evan kept reiterating how good it was to see Don. Kayleigh ignored them all to play footsy under the table with her mate.
His family grew bored of watching Don and Kayleigh fondling each other, and left, telling the couple they would see each other tomorrow for Christmas dinner.
When they got in the elevator, Kayleigh waited for the doors to close before pushing Don against the wall and nipping his neck. “Alone at last.”
Don rested his hands on her ass as he rubbed his jaw over her bonding mark and inhaled her heavenly scent.
The doors pinged open again, and Kayleigh spun to see a small, harried-looking pregnant woman getting in the elevator, with three children jumping around and hanging off her arms.
“Stop it!” yelled the woman, before freezing. “D… Don?” she stammered, eyes wide in fright.
Kayleigh felt his chest rise and fall behind her. “Melinda,” he hissed, as his wolf bellowed in fury.
Kayleigh gasped. It was Don’s ex-girlfriend. Or rather, it was the witch who had used a spell to make Don think she was his true mate, so she could con his family out of money. Don had mourned for her, thinking he had lost his true mate, until he met his real true mate, Kayleigh. Clearly Melinda was unhappily surprised to see Don there.
Don’s hands rested on Kayleigh’s stomach, she covered them with hers and stroked them, gently and reassuringly.
Melinda looked to be on the verge of tears. “My mom told me you visited her a few weeks ago. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
“It’s not worth much,” growled Don.
Melinda flicked her eyes to the elevator doors, considering making a run for it. It wasn’t likely she could outrun a wolf shifter, even if she weren’t pregnant.
“Which floor?” demanded Don, gruffly.
Melinda blinked at him. “What?!”
“Which floor?”
“Oh, ummm, three… please.” Melinda flicked her eyes between Don and Kayleigh uncertainly.
Don disentangled a hand and pushed the buttons for three and five. Melinda stared at her feet as the elevator shuddered to life.
When they reached her floor, Melinda herded the children out and turned back to Don. “Again I’m sorry.” She hurried away as the doors closed.
Don was silent until they reached their own room. He took Kayleigh’s face in his hands. “Are you okay?”
“Am I okay?! That bitch, she…”
Don kissed her softly before leaning his forehead against hers. “Doesn’t matter.”
“But…”
“Doesn’t matter, darlin’.”
Don moved his hands down to her back and began unzipping her dress. His wolf perked up from the encounter with Melinda, and suddenly became very interested in what was happening.
“But Don…”
“No darlin’, it really doesn’t matter. I’ve thought about it over and over, and I don’t care about Melinda. I’m not even angry at her even more.”
“You’re not?” asked Kayleigh. “Because I’m fucking furious!”
Don pushed the sleeves of her dress off her shoulders and let it drop to the floor. He cupped her mound and she let out a delighted ooooohhhh. His wolf howled happily.
“I’m not angry at her. If she hadn’t done what she did, I wouldn’t have left my pack, I wouldn’t have gone to Rose, and I wouldn’t have met you. I’d probably be in an arranged mating to a wolf who can’t stand me.” Much like his brothers.
“You can’t honestly condone what she did,” breathed Kayleigh, trying to ignore the heat spreading throughout her.
Don pushed a finger inside her, and she squirmed. “Of course not, I’m not about to thank her for it, but it did lead me to you. The last twenty years weren’t fun, but they were just years spent waiting for you, anyway. You were worth the wait.”
“You’re insane if you believe that, cowboy. Oh, yes, right there, that’s lovely!”
Don pushed his thumb against her clit. “Then I’m insane.”
Kayleigh felt a niggle of doubt about what he said; she couldn’t believe that she really was worth twenty years of loneliness. Yet, through their bond, she sensed he was telling the truth. She felt so blessed to have a mate who loved her so much. A stray tear trickled down her cheek.
Don kissed it away, before twirling his fingers inside her making her squeal. “Hey, now, darlin’, unless you’re cryin’ because you can’t believe how amazin’ I am in bed, let’s have none of that.”
Kayleigh burst into laughter. “God, I love you, cowboy.”
“And I love you. Now, then, wasn’t there some talk about testin’ out this bed?” His beast was crooning for their mate.
Kayleigh and Don spent the rest of Christmas Eve testing the bed. To the point where it actually collapsed. The manager of the hotel was pretty annoyed, but K
ayleigh thought it was hilarious.
As much as he’d been dreading it, Don was actually going to enjoy Christmas in Texas. Hell, he’d probably enjoy Christmas in the Bermuda Triangle, if Kayleigh was with him. She made life worth living. Mine.
Kira & Gabe – Secret Admirer
24th December
“No! Shoo! Go away!”
Gabe North groaned as the horse refused to leave him alone. He could swear the beast was smiling at him. The horse nuzzled his shoulder and whinnied, while Gabe tensely tried to pretend he was fine with it.
He did not get along with horses.
His wolf grumbled at the affectionate horse. Gabe would like to pretend that the reason he didn’t get along with horses was because he was a wolf shifter. But no, his mate was a wolf shifter, and she could practically whisper them into submission. The truth is, he just couldn’t get along with big, willful animals.
He tried to explain that to his mate Kira. She just snickered, and wickedly told him that he managed to get along with his pack Alpha and Beta. Even though she was an Omega, his mate sure was feisty.
His spirited little mate was currently leading a pony round the paddock, while trying not to fall over laughing at seeing his current predicament.
They were in New Mexico to spend Christmas with Kira’s family. After leaving their own Alpha’s wedding celebration the night before, he, his mate and his mate’s twin Lilah, who had been the Alpha’s wedding photographer, caught a plane to New Mexico.
Lilah was a little quiet and skittish. She had always been a little quiet, and the skittishness wasn’t that unexpected, given everything she been through over the past couple of years… But she seemed more agitated than when they last saw her, and Kira was a little worried. Whenever asked, Lilah assured them she was fine though, and Kira didn’t want to pressure her sister.
When they arrived at Kira’s childhood home, Gabe was met with a warm welcome. Kira’s parents, Mari and Jesse, were delighted by their new son-in-law, and Kira’s younger sisters Hanna and Nina were just bouncier versions of Kira. Kira’s heart swelled to see all her family together again, and even more so to see how much they adored her new mate.