by Lauren Dane
She pressed into his touch with a soft moan. If he didn’t care that they were so small, why should she?
For so long she’d had no connection to anything but her job. She thought she’d never live in a Pack again, much less find her mate. The beauty of what he was to her, not just her man but the return of her full, whole life was staggering. Oh and that really nice dick.
A giggle escaped and soon she was laughing so hard she couldn’t stop. Her eyes watered and Cade simply raised one eyebrow as he watched her laugh.
“I’m glad I amuse you.” He leaned down to nip at her shoulder and the change in his angle brought the entire line of his cock over her clit.
Her giggle died on an intake of air as she gasped. “Ahhh, let’s see to that, shall we?”
He kept his angle, moving from her shoulder to her nipple, his tongue flicking and tracing around first one and then the other as the friction from his cock on her clit grew in intensity.
Grace grasped at his shoulders, her nails digging into his muscles as an orgasm shot through her body and he continued to fuck her, hard and harder, his breath shorter and shorter.
“Damn, you feel so good,” he murmured as he shoved himself deep, his fingers gripping one nipple as he spoke around the other one and came.
Cade fell to the side, and she snuggled in behind him, keeping one arm around his waist as he caught his breath. “I don’t think a woman has giggled at me during sex in, well, ever.”
She pressed a kiss to the small of his back. “I don’t think I’ve giggled during sex ever before either. For the record, it was lovely. The giggles were from a funny thought. I don’t think I’ve been relaxed or happy enough during sex or any other time really, to giggle like that before. You make me happy, Cade.”
He turned and looked at her, hazel eyes taking in every line of her face. “You’re a gift, Grace. It makes me sad that you’ve not been as happy as you deserved to be. But I promise, despite the insanity of the world right now, to spend my time giving you that happiness.”
Chapter Five
As the steaks grilled, Cade handed Grace a glass of wine. Tegan settled in with Ben and Megan on the small couches in the living area. Cade liked to see how his sisters tried to make Grace comfortable and feel at ease.
He dialed home and waited as the phone rang. “Lex Warden.”
“Hey. I just wanted to call to fill you in. You with Nina right now?”
“Where the hell else would he be I ask you?” she called out.
“Hello, sweet thing. It’s lovely to hear those dulcet tones,” he said dryly and rolled his eyes at Megan, who snickered.
Unease trickled through his gut and he cut his eyes to Grace, who looked at him through narrowed eyes.
“What’s up?” Lex interjected over the line, amusement clear in his voice.
“I met my mate today. Sealed the bond. We’re coming home tomorrow night.”
“You what?” Lex yelled. “Are you serious?”
“I am. She’s beautiful and a doctor so you know she’s smart. Her name is Grace. She’s also Warren Pellini’s sister and the inside source who’s just handed us a huge amount of information that may end up stopping him once and for all.” Cade smiled at Grace, trying to let her know he believed in her.
“You’re shitting me! You had sex with that asshole’s sister? How do you know you can trust her? Cade, this is insanity.” Nina’s voice brought total silence to their end of the call.
Grace’s eyebrows flew up and Megan put an arm around her.
“You’re out of line, Nina. Grace is my mate. Of course I can trust her. She risked her life for us. For every wolf including the one in your belly.”
Chaos broke out as everyone on their end started talking about the pregnancy. Grace stood up and moved to leave the room but Cade reached out to stop her, bringing her to sit in his lap.
“No. You belong here with me. She’s wrong. She doesn’t know you and she’s worried. It’ll be fine.” He kissed her temple but knew she was very unhappy. His wolf, hell his human, was agitated at her dismay and troubled feelings. It was his job, the point of his life to make her happy and she most definitely wasn’t right then.
“Cade, I can’t believe you told everyone. I asked you to keep it quiet until after the week was up,” Nina said.
“I can’t believe you’re being this way right now with my mate here in the room,” Cade shot back.
“She’s jealous. Can’t you hear that in her voice?” Grace said softly. “She’s had you to herself all these years. And if you think other people don’t feel the same way about me because of my last name you’re out of your mind. It’s going to be a problem. You have to know that.”
“You don’t know me, don’t speak for me,” Nina said from the other end.
“I’d ask the same of you, then. Or, are you so very special you get to be abusive while no one else can reply?” Grace replied calmly. Well now, apparently shy had its limits with Grace. Cade smiled inwardly. Not at the strife but at her spine. The jealousy comment hit him hard. He hadn’t thought of that, which had been stupid of him because of course Nina would have a hard time adjusting.
“I agree. Come on, Nina, I’m telling you, she’s good people. Do you honestly think Cade would ever endanger his people by bringing in anyone who posed us harm?” Tegan said, smiling over at Grace.
“Stop trying to leave the room, Grace,” he whispered in her ear. “You’re the Alpha of this Pack too. Last names be damned, you’re a better wolf than most. You risked your life to get this information and no one is going to get away with attacking you in my presence.”
“I’m sure we can smooth over all this trouble when you get back,” Lex interjected. “Of course we’re pleased you’ve found your mate, Cade, and I’m sure Grace is a wonderful person.”
“That remains to be seen!” Nina yelled.
“I think you’ve got some proving to do as well, Nina. But in the long run, I don’t need to prove anything to you. I’m here, get used to it.” Grace pushed Cade’s restraining arms away with a strength he’d only suspected and stomped out of the room muttering to herself.
“We’ll be home tomorrow night. And she’s right, get used to it.” Cade disconnected and scrubbed his hands over his face.
“That went well.” Ben chuckled. “At least no one threatened to kill her and leave her body in the woods like you did with me. All in all, a warm Warden reception.”
Cade snorted. “We’re not that bad. What the hell was that? Nina is a hardass yes, but I’ve never known her to be anything less than a compassionate, good-hearted person.”
Megan just stared at him. “You’re such an idiot. I love you, you’re smart and strong and all the things a person should be but you have such a blind spot. Grace is right, Nina is jealous. Part of it will be hormones from the pregnancy but another part is that Nina has had you and Lex as her husbands for the last two years.” She held up a hand. “Oh I know neither of you would ever overstep your boundaries and I know she’s ridiculously happy with Lex and now you are with Grace. But in the time since Nina joined Cascadia, you’ve not dated or really had any females around. You’re her Anchor and let’s not lie, you’ve been a little in love with her and she with you.”
He wanted to deny it but he couldn’t. Part of him had loved Nina but knew she wasn’t his. Now that he’d found Grace, he understood what he’d felt was in part due to their bond and a pale shadow of what it was to really be mated.
“That’s due to the bond. But what I have with Grace, well, there’s no comparison at all. She’s my everything. Nina is my sister, my Packmate and my anchor bond but Grace is my mate. My life is about her.”
“The steaks are nearly done. I’ll go in and talk to her. You’ll muck it all up.” Tegan stood and rolled her eyes at him.
�
��Don’t make things worse, Tee.”
“Please. I’ve dealt with Nina long enough to know a few things. I’ve also dealt with you long enough to know a few things. Lastly, I have lady parts, I have a bit more to say on this score than you do. Tomorrow you will make sure everything is about her and make it clear to everyone back home.” Tegan sighed and went toward the closed bedroom door where Grace had sequestered herself.
* * *
Grace scrubbed her face and moisturized before stomping back into the bedroom. The nerve of that woman! Grace knew people thought she was either evil because of who she was or a pushover. She was neither.
You didn’t have to be hard on the outside, foul mouthed, mean, snarky or bitchy to be powerful. Grace knew that. She held life and death in her hands on a daily basis. She waded into terror and blood every time she went to work. Didn’t mean she had to get a God complex like some of her colleagues or affect an exterior of nonchalance so thick they didn’t seem to be moved by anything.
Things moved Grace Pellini. Things got to her, touched her deeply. Made her angry and upset and insecure. That was human and she may be a werewolf but she was partly human too and unlike some others, she embraced that. Feeling things didn’t make her weak.
Right then, she felt like smacking Nina Warden’s bitchface. Hmpf.
She’d done her best to ignore part of the conversation out in the living room by turning on the water and washing up but she heard the steps coming down the hall toward the bedroom. Tegan, if she wasn’t mistaken.
“Can I come in?” Tegan asked from the other side of the door.
“Sure.” She opened the door and Tegan came into the room and sat on the bed.
Good gracious, Tegan was beautiful. So much so it made Grace uncomfortable just looking at her. She didn’t usually worry about her looks and wow, she did have Cade Warden naked and willing to serve her with gusto, so it wasn’t like she needed large breasts and all that gorgeous hair, but these Warden women could give a person a complex.
“I just wanted to talk with you a bit. Make sure you’re okay. The thing is, I love Nina. She’s a very dear person to me. But, she’s wrong here and out of line and generally just acting like a brat. You’re my family now too. My sister, like she is, and I like you. I think you’re incredibly brave to have done what you did and not crack. You’re good for Cade, he needs something to care about other than the Pack. You’re worthy of him.”
“Something to care about other than the Pack and his brother’s wife?”
Tegan’s eyebrow went up in a very fine imitation of her oldest brother. She sighed. “Astute. But I’m not sure it’s that simple. And certainly not accurate at this point anyway. He loves you. I’ve been mated, twice. I’ve had an Anchor. I know what it is to feel deeply for your Anchor and what it feels like to be bonded to your mate. The difference is night and day. Tomorrow you may be in a better position to understand what I’m saying after you do the tri-bond with Jack. Lex and Nina are strong together, a force of nature really. She’s a very big personality. She tends to suck up the air in the room. It works because Lex needs that sort of woman to keep him in line as he can be, um, a wee bit controlling.” Tegan paused and then laughed. “Okay, a lot controlling. Now Cade lives with them in the house and he’s very paternal. He’s a worrier, it’s his job as Alpha. I hope I don’t offend you when I assume you don’t know what it’s like to be around an actual Alpha.”
Grace shrugged. “No. Although I did grow up in a Pack, I know Warren isn’t an actual Alpha. He’s more like the boss of his Group rather than the Alpha. There’s no compulsion to obey him other than fear.”
Tegan nodded. “Okay, then the thing is, Cade is no less strong than Lex. In fact, he’s stronger because Lex can pour all his energy into one thing, protection. Physical protection of the Pack. But Cade has to think about everything. Finances of the Pack, physical safety, boundary issues, inter-Pack relations, the relations of all the wolves in the Pack, his own family, his own position, the position of the Pack in the US and the world and now this war. He doesn’t need a big presence like Nina. And I’m not saying you’re not a big presence, you are. But with you, it’s under the surface. You don’t need to be managed. You won’t hare off on a wild scheme. You’re as calm and smart and far thinking as he is and that’s what he needs.”
“A Pellini is doubtless not what he needs. But he’s bonded to one now and that’s the breaks.”
Tegan laughed. “I like you, Grace. You’ll do fine. Nina is a good person, she is. She loves her husband and she loves her Pack. But you’re the Alpha and Cade is yours. Stand up for it and don’t let her push you around. I think the two of you will actually get along well once your roles get established. But I expect that establishing will be a bit bumpy and of course Cade just loves you and assumes that’s all it takes.” She stood. “And now, let’s go eat. You have no idea how pouty Cade gets if the food he makes gets cold.”
“I can imagine. He doesn’t seem to know what it is to be disobeyed.”
“Very true. He was this way even when he was a kid. If you ever need to talk, I want you to know I’m here. I mean that. The rest of my sisters are wonderful as well. Tracy is in Portland but she’ll like you immediately and Layla, well, Lay is the most like Cade of all the siblings. I think you and she will really hit it off.”
The two of them walked back into the small dining room area and Cade immediately came to her and enfolded her in his arms. Comfort washed through her system as she breathed him in, sinking into his body and their link.
After everyone had left, Cade pulled her body to his, already spoiled by her presence in bed with him. “I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t think. I just wanted to share the good news.”
What pissed him off so much is how he rejoiced for Lex and what a fucked-up response he got from them. They made his woman hurt and their reaction was selfish. He’d never actually been more hurt by Nina than earlier during that call. Even when she hated him after the fight at the Pack house that’d transformed her into a wolf he hadn’t been so disappointed in her.
“Cade, you had to expect something like that. I don’t like it but I’m well aware of how people react to my last name.”
He turned her and she had an exasperated expression on her face. He kissed her because there was nothing else he could do when he saw the scrunched-up nose. “Don’t be so matter-of-fact about my brother and his wife snubbing you.”
“I’m not. Believe me, Cade, I am not pleased about it and I really don’t like the idea of living with them at this point. But what I do accept is that my brother has hurt so many people, the name Pellini will raise suspicion and ire.”
The low burn of her anger reached through the link. He hated it. Hated that she felt bad when she should only feel joy.
“And you, stop it. You can’t control everything, Cade.” The link worked both ways.
“I can’t help it. I was made to make you happy. I want that. It’s not happening.”
She nipped his shoulder and his body roared to life. “I’m very happy. And by the feel of it, so are you.”
“It’s been a long day. I’ve taken you twice as it is.” Even as he said it, he pressed his cock into her, into that fragrant, soft skin.
“Third time’s a charm,” she said softly, opening up to him like he was meant to be there.
And he was.
Chapter Six
“So, Jack, do you have a girlfriend? Someone who’s going to be upset about this?” Grace placed a cup of coffee before Jack Meyers, the man she’d be fucking within the hour.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t appealing. Jack Meyers was incredibly handsome. Hot even. Surfer boy good looks, tanned, muscled, pale blue eyes and blond hair bleached by the sun. He looked as if he’d be more at home in Newport Beach rather than Boston’s Back Bay.
“I had a human
girlfriend but we broke up just before war was declared. As for wolves—” he shrugged “—you know how it goes. By the time we get to my age, everyone is focused on finding their mate. Not a lot of dating, just a lot of fucking. I suspect the only person who’ll be upset about this is Cade.” He winked at Cade who snorted grumpily.
He’d been testy all morning long. She understood it, she was terribly unhappy that she’d have to come face-to-face with his Anchor that very evening. But still, it wasn’t like she was jonesing to have sex with a total stranger either. Even one who was as delicious as Jack.
“Let’s be honest, okay? Yep, this is bound to be uncomfortable on several levels. For me too, just so you understand. We’re wolves. This is what happens. Our parents did, their parents did, and so on.” Jack paused a while, drinking his coffee before he spoke again.
“I won’t say I regret this. Grace, you’re a beautiful wolf who’s done something extraordinary. I admire that, hell I find all that courage very sexy. And I like you. I can respect a woman who’ll be my anchor bond and that’s the whole point, right?”
Cade nodded and reached out to squeeze Grace’s hand.
“Being an Anchor is something important to me. I count myself fortunate to have found what I think is a good fit for the three of us. We’ll be living on opposite sides of the country, though I want to be part of your lives, especially once you have children.”
Happiness flooded her as she thought about having a family with Cade. And that their Anchor would be part of their life, and wanted that connection.
“When I meet my mate, I’m sure she’ll be glad of it,” Jack said easily.
Grace then thought about Nina and wanted to snarl. Too bad Nina didn’t live across the country instead of Jack.
Jack threw those thoughts out the window when his easy demeanor shifted. “How would you prefer we did this? Grace and me alone? All three of us? It’s up to you two.”
Well. She guessed they’d just gone from zero to ten in a pretty short period, but they were all on a busy schedule so it didn’t make sense to laze around anymore.