The Mating (Black on Black, #1)

by BJ Cunningham

  Smirking at the rabid cub's remark, Serra walked behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of water, unscrewed the cap and took a long drink. Noticing a few water rings on the bar, she wiped it down while she waited, leaning her hip against the cooler. She mindlinked with Jared, “No rush, Babe.” Glancing at the clock, she arched a brow. Not seeing any of the usual openers around, she busied herself with getting things ready. Damn, it was just like being back home.

  Bret groaned. “Brax, get your Cubs. Please!”

  Brax grunted once. The three bear cubs plopped onto their rears and became adorable, perfect little angels looking cute. “Almost makes you not want to kill them, doesn’t it?” He smirked and glanced at Jared. Something was bothering the cat. “If you need me, hit me up.” Turning back to the Cubs, he grinned. “Who wants pancakes and honey?” Shaking his head, he watched them growl and fight to be the first one down the stairs.

  Watching the Cubs with a smile on his face, Jared sighed. He hated the idea of leaving his own, to do this shit and leaving Serra with them so soon after they were mated wasn’t fair. He wouldn’t be surprised if she slapped his face and moved out. Jared scrubbed his face with his hand and followed the Cubs down the stairs to the bar’s kitchen and pushed through the swinging saloon doors to look for his mate. Serra wasn’t hard to find. She was the only one here. Even if she hadn’t been, she would have stood out. Serra was drop dead gorgeous, and he still couldn’t believe that she was his. He kissed her cheek over the bar and patted the stool next to him. “Have a seat.”

  “I need to sit down for this?” Shaking her head, Serra wiped her hands on a towel and hung it back in its place. She didn’t want to sit down. That always came with bad news, and she could tell by his scent that something wasn’t right. Dragging her feet, to put this off as long as possible, she walked around the bar slowly and finally hopped up on the stool to face him, leaning her elbow on the bar. “What’s up?”

  Jared took her hands, looking at them and sliding his thumbs over her soft skin. “I have to go to Ireland, to see my parents for a bit. I wanted to ask you if you could watch the Cubs for me.” He stared at her, expecting the worst and daring to hope for the best.

  Serra narrowed her eyes at him. She wasn’t buying it. There was more to it. She felt it. Sliding her thumb over the back of his tatted hand, she studied the beautiful ink work before she raised her eyes to meet his. “You know I will. What aren’t you telling me, Babe? I can smell it. I know there’s more.”

  He knew what Zev had said, but Jared didn’t like lying to her. Sighing, he looked at her, surprised that he wanted to tell her everything. “I can't say. I want to, but I can’t. All I can say is that I have to go to Ireland.” The look she gave him said it all.

  “Yeah, okay.” She knew she was bad at this mate thing, but damn, not this bad. “When are you coming back?”

  Jared dropped her hands to rake them through his hair. This lie was going to come between them. He could already feel it wedging them apart, and it made his chest ache. He ghosted the file into her hands. “Read it. It’s everything I know, but you cannot say a word about it to anyone. Even this, me showing it to you, might get me killed.”

  Serra looked at the file in her hands and didn’t miss the tribunal watermark that told her this was some heavy shit. “If I open this...” She trailed off and shook her head, handing it back to him. “I can’t do that to you, Baby. I trust you.” Yeah, curiosity was killing her, but she wouldn’t risk him just to make herself feel better. “You’ll be careful right? And mindlink me to let me know you’re okay?” Leaning forward to kiss him, she slid her arms around him and held on tight. She didn’t want him to go. “When do you have to leave?”

  Jared kissed her softly and shook his head. “No. Open it. You need to know the truth. I want our relationship to be one hundred percent. Read it, please. I leave tonight.”

  “Tonight?” Her heart sank, and she didn’t want to let go of him, but if he wanted her to read it, then it was as bad as she’d feared. Sighing, she braced herself and pulled back. Flipping open the cover she read, flipping through the pages. No. She was wrong. This was worse than anything she could have imagined. “Fuck, Jared. Why you? I don’t want you to do this. That son of a bitch is bat shit insane.” She chewed at the inside of her lip, telling herself that he had enough shit on his plate, she wasn’t going to add tears to it too. But she sure as hell felt like crying.

  Jared pulled her to him and kissed her, feeling her sadness and allowed knowing that she cared this much warm him. “I don’t know why me. But I do know I love you. I’ll be okay and come home safe. If I need help, I’ll ask for it.”

  “You’d better, Jared Morgan. That’s right, I’m pulling a page from Pop’s book, with the full name thing.” She tried to crack the lame joke, but it went over like a lead balloon. Blinking back the tears as best she could and not being successful she nodded and dropped her head to his shoulder. Her hands fisted the material of back of his t-shirt.

  Stroking her back, he could smell her tears starting. “Please don’t cry.”

  “I love you too. You know that right?” She wasn’t sure exactly when it had happened, but their bonding had cemented it soul deep.

  Jared nuzzled her, purring. “I know Serra. I know.”

  Serra nodded, her throat too tight and raw to say much of anything. She hated this. All of it, but growing up in the Mangas house, she was used to it. “I’ve got here and the Cubs. You just worry about getting your ass back home, Baby.” She wiped a tear that spilled over her lid with the back of her hand. “If you die on me, remember I’ll be right there beside you and I’ll make you pay for it.”

  Jared laughed and kissed her neck. “Marry me.” He whispered in her ear and purred loudly. He didn’t know where that had come from, but he meant it. She’d accepted him with their mating, and he wanted her to know that he chose her too.

  She shuddered at the feel of his breath against her ear, and his words made her heart stop for a moment. Nodding, she pulled back to kiss him, whispering “Yes,” against his lips.

  Kissing her with passion, he growled happily and nipped her. Finally, something was going right in his life, and he had something to fight to live for.

  “Take me home until you have to go?” She wiped at her face with her fingers and tried to smile.

  Jared smiled and nodded. “Done.”

  Ghosting back to their home, Serra realized that her hand still had a death grip on Jared’s t-shirt. Forcing her fingers to open and release it, she smiled up at him sadly. Fuck, she did NOT want him to do this. Eyeing the ceiling and biting her lip, she tried to get her shit under control. He was leaving soon, and she wasn’t wasting the time they had by being a whiny little twit. She could do that later.

  “What do you need me to take care of while you’re gone, Babe?” She pulled a pad of paper from the countertop and tried to distract herself with finding a pen. Anything not to think.

  Jared watched her, then he took her hand and smiled. “First, you need something.” He pulled out a ring.

  Serra blinked at the band he slid onto her finger. It was stunning. Gaping, she held up her hand to let the stones catch and play in the sunlight. She would have been happy with a cigar band. It was the thought and the meaning behind it that took her breath away as she stared and it became blurry through the tears that she’d barely reigned in started to fall again. “Damn it I wasn’t going to do this anymore.” She wiped them away angrily before rolling up on her toes to kiss him. “You’re not doing this because you don’t plan on coming back are you?” She teased and nipped at his lower lip.

  Jared shook his head no and cupped her face. “I’m doing it because I love you, I want to, and it’s right. I want the world to know you’re mine.”

  She smiled and had to bite her lip to stop herself from begging him not to do this. Clearing her throat, she finally managed to whisper, “Good. I want everyone to know too.” Turning her face, she kissed his palm and tried to
smile. “I love you, Baby. So what do I need to take care of? I don’t want to let you down.”

  “Just the Cubs. Daniel can take care of himself.” He wiped her cheeks with his thumbs.

  “I can do that,” Serra smiled and tried to memorize every line of his face. “Okay! No more being sad, because it’s going to be alright. I love the ring, Baby. It’s beautiful. More than that I love that you gave it to me.” She stepped back and shook out her hands, trying to get grounded. “I need a drink, how about you?”

  He smiled, and for a moment, he felt at peace. Only she made him feel that way. “I would love one.”

  Yeah, tequila sounded about right. Blowing her breath out through tight lips, Serra pulled down two short glasses and poured until she didn’t think she could carry them without spilling.

  He watched her get their drinks and took photos of her with his phone. He hoped that he wouldn’t be away for too long.

  “Do you want to spend some time with the Cubs before...?” She offered him a glass and downed half of hers, grimacing at the burn and the way her stomach lurched when it hit. Dropping her head against his chest, she breathed in his scent, committed it to memory and sighed. “Let me try that again, what do you want to do?” She glanced up at him through her hair.

  “I would love to spend time with my wife and kids.” Jared grinned at her.

  Pulling his arm around her shoulders, she laced her fingers with his and leaned against him. “Let’s find them then, Baby. Who knows, maybe Daniel is around somewhere too.” As much as she wanted just to close him in their room and keep him to herself, she knew that wasn’t fair, and she loved him too much to do anything that would make this less than right for him.

  Smiling, he took her hand, already knowing that they were out back playing in the tree house. Once in the backyard, he sent the babysitter home. Jared shifted and laid down on the ground letting the cubs climb on him.

  Sitting on the lawn beside them, she watched him shift with a smile. He was truly gorgeous in his panther form, not that she found a thing lacking with his human one. Smiling, she rested her elbow on her bent knee and held her drink loosely. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she scrolled through the options until she found video and tapped record. It wasn’t possible to not smile when watching the cubs play with their dad. It hit her like a wrecking ball that this was her family now, all they were missing was Daniel.

  As the Cubs chewed on Jared’s ears, he rolled on his side and played with them. He purred and stared at Serra.

  Watching them through the screen was easier, it gave her something to focus on as they jumped and pounced. And then Jared turned those hazel eyes on her. Lifting her arm, she turned her head and shrugged to rub the tear that escaped with her shoulder and then finished her drink. Only a month ago, she hadn’t even known Jared, and now she couldn’t imagine him not being here. Pausing the recording, she crawled over the ground on her knees and flopped on her back beside them, holding the phone over them all, she hit record again.

  Jared purred and licked her. He watched the cubs pounce and paw at her.

  Smiling turned into laughing between the licking and the energetic cubs crawling over her, attacking her fingers and hair. Purring she brushed her face against Jared’s and nipped the end of his black nose.

  He grinned at her. ‘I love you,’ he linked her.

  “I love you.” She linked back and buried her face in the soft fur of his neck, squealing and laughing as her ear was chewed on by pointy little teeth.

  Soon the cubs were fast asleep in the tree house. Jared shifted back to human form and looked at Serra. He ghosted the cubs into their crib and took her hand. “Now what would you like to do?”

  Pulling his face down to hers, she nipped at his bottom lip and purred as she pressed against him. “I’m thinking one hell of a sendoff to hold you over until you come back.” Pulling just out of reach and teasing him when he tried to kiss her, she grinned playfully. “Just a suggestion.” It was a struggle to keep her mind in the moment and not on what was coming. She wanted him to remember them happy.

  He purred and growled. “If that’s what you want, I’m okay with it.” Nuzzling her, he nipped her neck.

  “I do.” She purred as her skin tingled from the feel of his lips. Sliding her hands up to circle his neck, she pulled her body flush against his and ghosted away her clothes. “Unless you have a better idea?” She nipped at his ear while her hands played with his hair.

  Jared ghosted them to the bedroom. “No, I don’t. God, you’re gorgeous.” Kissing her, he licked her neck and purred.

  Growling deep in her throat, she shivered against him, as her body began to burn. Nipping his jugular harder than was polite, she grinned and pulled his lips back to hers as she pulled him toward the bed. “Baby, you take my breath away.” She stepped back to rake her eyes over him, biting her lip with approval. Her chest clenched for a moment at how much she loved this male. “Don’t you dare take it easy on me.”

  “I think it’s your call tonight, my lady.” Smirking, he took off his clothes slowly, teasing her. Her purr and the lust in her eyes made his length so hard that it hurt.

  “Always the tease.” Smirking, she dropped back on the bed and enjoyed the show. Chewing on her bottom lip, she purred and fought with herself not to look at the clock. If they were running out of time, she didn’t want to know. “Then don’t, I want you to think about this with a smile when you’re freezing your ass off in Ireland. I want you,” Leaning forward she licked from the base of is hard cock slowly to the tip circling the head and smiling as his body jerked from her lips closing over him. She pulled back with a grin. “I just want you, holding nothing back.”

  He growled as she teased him. “Okay.” Pushing her back onto the bed, he parted her legs. He smirked as his head dipped to explore her core with his mouth. Jared felt her body jerk and shiver. His hands held her thighs still so he could have his way with her. Her scent and taste made him growl. ‘God Serra,’ linking her and pushing his face in deeper, growing hungrier with every moment.

  Her back arched up off the bed, and the air froze in her lungs as his mouth covered her. “Gods Jared!” Hot tingling heat washed through her as she struggled to curl her hips closer, but his hands denied her that, holding her firmly in place. Curling her claws into the blanket, wave after wave of pleasure washed through her and rocked every muscle in her body until it wound so tightly that she knew she would snap like a cheap plastic toy. She shoved her hand into her mouth to stop the scream of his name from waking the cubs, but she let it lose in a link with her mate. Serra shattered like glass, falling into thousands of pieces only to slowly flow fluidly back together as her muscles twitched and her breath sawed in and out of her throat. “Oh my fucking God, Baby.”

  He smirked as her taste flooded his mouth and he didn’t let up. Instead, he used his magic to make it feel like his hands and mouth were all over her body. He wanted her to beg for him to be inside her or tire her out totally. He laughed to himself at the thought.

  Her eyes flared as the feel of him touching, licking, sucking and biting everywhere at once almost made her pass out. Lifting her head and swiping the strands of hair that were plastered to her sweat slicked skin and covering her face, she caught his satisfied smirk. She tried to speak, but it was drowned out by a moan as she climaxed again. Not trusting her voice, she linked with him. ‘Please Baby, I’m going to lose my fricken mind.’ She closed her eyes and was dragged under again. ‘I need you inside me now. I think I might die if you don’t.’

  Jared licked her a few more times before taking her hard and fast. As her walls tightened on him, he moaned her name. The bed started to rock against the wall. He kissed her mouth and then her jaw.

  Locking her ankles around his hips, Serra ground down and into each thrust her body blowing apart every time he entered her. She couldn’t breathe, and she didn’t care. Her claws dug into his back, shredding his skin in her mindlessness and the scent of blood just made her
orgasm harder. Kissing him desperately, she slid her tongue against his, wanting this memory to keep them both warm at night for however long it needed to. “Come for me, Baby.” She growled against his lips as she tightened her core around him with a smirk of her own.

  Panting hard and trying to stave off the urge to cum, not wanting it to end, Jared came undone. “SERRA!” He roared, slamming into her hard, growling, and biting her shoulder. His mind screamed MINE, over and over again.

  Growling at the bite, she closed her arms around him tightly, never wanting to let go. Tears flooded her eyes, and she buried her face against his neck, whispering how much she loved him until she had to bite her lip bloody to stop herself from begging him not to leave her. She clung to him like it might be the last time. Memorizing the raggedness of his breath, the feel of his skin against hers, the scent of them together in the air and she wasn’t letting go until he made her. “I love you, Jared. Like crazy stupid love.”

  He kissed her, tasting her blood made him growl. “I love you too. I know you’re scared, but I promise I’ll come back to you. I couldn’t do anything to put you in harm’s way.” He nuzzled her and licked her lip. When she started to cry, he hugged her and rolled over on his side, pulling her to him.

  Rolling with him, she leaned into him and still it wasn’t close enough. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to be all weepy girl on you, baby.” She tucked her head under his chin, pressing her lips to his collarbone. “I know you’re doing what you have to, but I’m going to worry about you every second until you come back home.”

  He kissed and nuzzled her. “I know baby, and I’m sorry for this.” He was, but knowing that she cared enough, about him and not just herself, to worry made his chest swell.

  “I know.” She felt like her heart was being torn out. “If you get into trouble,” She closed her eyes and swore under her breath, not even wanting to think about it. “If it happens, I know people who can help. Please don’t be too proud to tell me. I don’t care how I get you back as long as I get you back.”