by Leia Stone
He was awfully demanding tonight. “I’m in love with you, damn bear,” I said, my voice growly.
He threw back his head and laughed then. “How long have you been calling me ‘damn bear?’” he finally said, flashing all those white teeth at me.
I grinned back at him. “Not long enough. I think I have a few more years of insults in me.”
The laughter eased and the flare of heat between us increased. “I’m very glad to hear that,” he said. His hands snaked down to cup my butt, and then he was lifting me up. My legs went around his waist like they had been made to rest there. He held me with ease as our lips crashed together. A deep throbbing was clenching my lower half, my belly filled with heat and butterflies. The emotion of the kiss was everything, it was so much. I had never known this love before and somehow I knew I never would again. This was a once in a lifetime.
He sucked on my bottom lip and I moaned as he gently lay me on the bed. I breathed him in then: wood, soil, home. He was mine and I was willing to die for this love. I just hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
The bed engulfed me, softness cushioning my body as Kade rested against me, his weight solid, his bare skin touching mine. Seriously, though, we had too many clothes on. I wanted to feel all of him. I needed the contact.
As if he’d heard me, Kade’s hands slowly skimmed up the side of my body, then my shirt was gone. Pants followed soon after and I was clad in nothing but black lingerie. Not particularly sexy, but you’d never know it by the heat in his gaze. The masculine planes of his face were extra pronounced as he stared down at me, sending my body into a sexual-need overdrive.
I pushed back on him, needing to be in charge as I ran my hands down his bare chest. His eyes lazily following my movements, lips turned up a little in the corners. He was indulging my show of dominance. Damn bear. Reaching for his sleep pants, I drew them down in one easy movement, taking my time to brush against him. The smirk fell from his face, and now he was staring at me with bear in his eyes. Throwing his clothes to the side, he was naked. Holy heck he was naked. I paused, taking a second to stare, because as always, Kade was worth staring at.
“Ari, you’re driving my bear crazy.” Kade’s voice was deeper than usual. Rumbly.
My wolf started howling inside, urging me forward. I needed no urging. I pushed him back down to the bed, straddling him, my hands running across his hard body, caressing his skin, touching wherever I could reach. He lifted himself slightly and cupped my breasts, curving his palms around to take my bra off. My underwear bottoms followed, and then it was nothing but heat and kissing. Hot, drugging, kisses.
Kade let me stay on top for longer than I expected, but as the heat built between us, as our bodies fought for more closeness, his dominance kicked in hard and he flipped our positions. He paused briefly, hands tenderly caressing my face, before he kissed me over and over, my lips swollen and plumped by the attention. Then Kade trailed down further, across my jaw and along my throat. My hands clenched the bed sheets, my body wound up tight and ready to fall apart. We had waited five years to be together, we weren’t going to waste one second of tonight apart. Ten minutes with him and I already could tell … Kade had been worth the wait.
Chapter Fourteen
The best things in life are furry.
The first brush of sunlight warmed the bed and woke me from my dozing. There was a heavy weight across my body, and on instinct I snuggled closer to the heat. Pack. Mate. Last night had been more than I could have ever expected. I’d had sex before. Great sex. But nothing like Kade. Bears did not love the same way wolves loved. Nope, they wrapped you up tight and caressed every part of your body. They were everywhere, touched everything, and … holy crap, there needed to be a word greater than orgasm, because I had surely surpassed that multiple times.
I wanted a lifetime of loving like that. I would never be satisfied with anything less. I hadn’t gotten much sleep, so it was easy to drift back into a nap, pressed tightly to the huge body beside me. Of course, that was right around the time I thought of my advisor. Dammit. Calista was going to kill me if she found out I was with Kade. I was going to have to sneak back in and pretend I was…
Kisses started trailing down my spine and all thoughts were gone. The scrape of his beard against my skin was literally the most erotic thing that had ever happened to me. I was completely at his mercy. He could have asked for anything in that moment and I would have agreed.
“Good morning.” The rumbly voice was a close second on the erotic scale, and as I rolled over to see him, his amber eyes moved right into third place.
The way this man looked at me … holy shifter babies.
“Waking with you is a life I’m already used to, Ari.” Kade kissed me as he spoke. I arched my body like a kitten, shifting closer to him. “I’m not sure I’ll ever let you go back to your own room.”
“You can … deal … with Calista then.” My breathless words had him chuckling.
“I like her,” he said, and went back to kissing me.
I moaned and then there was a knock at the door. I froze.
“Go away!” Kade grumbled, pulling me tighter as if he sensed my instinct to flee.
A male voice spoke through the door: “It’s your mother, sir. She’s waiting downstairs.”
The word “mother” was all it took to have me ripping out of Kade’s arms and shooting out of bed like I’d been stung. “Crap, Kade, your mother’s here. Does she know about us?” I had no idea how the bear matriarch felt about her son’s relationship with a wolf shifter.
My eyes scanned the room for my bra and finally spotted it hanging on his lamp.
Kade was still sitting in bed, the sheets piled across his lower half, which was still very distracting. “She’s been on vacation. Must have come back after learning about the attack, even though I called and told her everything was okay.”
We couldn’t use cell phones, tablets, or computers without short circuiting them, but landlines were okay. That would have been the only way he could have reached her.
I was fully dressed now, feeling much more in control. “Do you think she’s angry about me being here? Do you think we should leave?” What if she’d heard about him firing his council over me and was here to straighten him out? Why hadn’t we just gone to a hotel. This was not the way to ease his people into the idea of a wolf-bear relationship.
Kade was out of bed now, the sheets falling away to give me a glorious glimpse of his body. All of a sudden I wasn’t sure we needed to leave the room yet. Maybe I could avoid meeting his mother for a few more minutes. He strode across to me, his eyes pinning me in place.
“My mother knows all about you, Ari. She’s excited to meet you.”
Okay, then. My mother would have killed Kade on sight. And let’s not even get to the Red Queen, although she’d been with a fae, so there was no room for her judgment.
I was having trouble concentrating on Kade’s words with his huge body right in front of me. “Meet us downstairs for breakfast?” he said.
I cleared my throat. “Uh … what … oh, yeah, sure.” With great difficulty I turned, ready to descend to my room. Kade stopped me, wrapping his hand around my wrist and spinning me around.
He pulled me back into his warmth, his lips gently caressing my own. My hands found their way to his hard stomach and my legs went all weightless as the kiss deepened. When he pulled away, he said, “Even if my mother didn’t approve of us, that wouldn’t stop me. You’re mine now. No matter what.”
I might have been an heir for my entire life. Queen for a brief period too. But I was still like most women and shifters, insecure, lost, searching for pack and home. Kade’s reassurance wrapped around me, sank into the darkest recesses of my insecurities, to the place where my father disappeared and my mother was distant to me. It filled in some of the cracks in my soul. I had Kade now. Forever. He was my family, my mate, and I wasn’t going to let anyone jeopardize that.
After sneaking downstairs into my
room I quickly messed up my bed so Calista wouldn’t suspect anything, considering I hadn’t made my bed in my entire life. Heir perk. Then I showered and put on a nice dress. I was going to meet Kade’s mom. I needed to make a good impression. Luckily I was pretty well trained in etiquette and small talk. I could do this.
I knew Kade had said that she was okay with us being a couple, but sometimes men don’t see the truth. Especially sons. She might be secretly plotting my death. I would know after this first meeting. I could size someone up in about sixty seconds.
After throwing my long hair into a braid and finishing my makeup, I made my way downstairs. It was still early, just after 7 A.M, and Calista’s door was closed. That was good. I would rather not have a crowd for this meeting, I was nervous enough as it was. Damn, I missed Violet so much. I wish she were here to calm my nerves, or at least make fun of me. Three days. Three more days and I could get her back.
I heard Kade’s low voice the moment I stepped into the foyer. I was trying to walk quickly to announce my presence and not eavesdrop, but I picked up some of the conversation.
“How dare they dethrone her for this! We should march on Manhattan and make this right.” The woman’s voice was strong and deep.
Kade’s reply was low: “We have to be political, Mother. Arianna’s first priority is Violet. Then she can decide what to do about her crown when she gets her best friend back.”
“Hmpf. In my day you couldn’t just dethrone someone so easily. It took a fight to the death with just cause.” Her voice was heating up; she sounded enraged on my behalf, which of course made me instantly like her.
I turned the corner then and cleared my throat. Sitting at the table was Kade and his mother. I wasn’t prepared to see bright blond hair; she looked mid-forties, although with shifter aging who knew her real age. She had fine wrinkles around her eyes and mouth, which told me she smiled a lot, and she was wearing a dress that would make Violet swoon. Full Renaissance style.
She stood and I bowed deeply. I don’t care if you’re the pope, when you meet your king boyfriend’s mother, you bow.
She greeted me with a smile and a deep bow of her own as she crossed the room quickly and opened her arms. “It is so nice to finally meet you!”
My body froze when she pulled me in for a tight hug. Quite quickly though my shock eased, and I was able to relax into her comforting embrace. She was tall. At least a few inches taller than me.
“You too, Your Majesty,” I replied, unsure of proper protocol here.
“Oh please, call me Annette.” She waved a hand and ushered me to sit beside Kade. I did so and then she took a seat as well.
“We were just talking about your dethroning. Honey, I’m so sorry, that must have been hard.” Her tone of voice, the way she looked at me, this must have been what it was like to have a real mother. She reminded me of the softer parts of Calista. I loved my mother, but she’d been duty first and all hard edges.
“Yes, it was very hard, but I’m not a quitter. Selene is not a fit leader for my people, and as soon as I rescue my best friend, I will take back what is mine.” I hadn’t really said it out loud to anyone yet. Weird that it was Kade’s mom I was eventually confiding in, but I had never planned on letting my dethroning stand. I was going to fight that evil hag until my dying day. I would not allow her wickedness to taint our packs.
Annette patted my hand. It was … nice. I felt more relaxed than I ever would have expected, so deciding it was time to address it straight up, I said, “So … I need you to know that I love your son. Pretty sure I have since I was fifteen. We never meant to go against our packs like this … but … are you okay with us?” Kade hadn’t said a word since I walked into the room, but his hand slipped in mine now and he squeezed.
“Oh, honey, didn’t Kade tell you? Bears marry for love. Always. We don’t do the arrangement thing like the cold wolves—”
“Mother,” Kade said, a slight warning in his tone.
She waved a hand. “I’m sorry, but it’s weird to me. Breeding for dominance, mating for pedigree…”
It was weird. I’d never been a fan of it, but the way she put it, so bluntly, it really struck me how odd it actually was. Why didn’t we marry for love? Why didn’t we teach our young that it was okay to do that? Lineage should come second, love first. But when you grew up knowing that was the way, it was hard to break.
“You’re right. It is weird,” I said, and she smiled.
“Yep, but then again, so is a bear and a wolf. It took some getting used to, but I knew you had to be a special woman. Kade’s been talking about you since your coronation.”
“Is that right?” I said, raising my eyebrows at the king.
Kade grinned then, and I could see that cocky confidence he was so well known for. He always owned his feelings. His gaze remained on my face, before he gave me the slightest of winks. Damn bear.
“So, Mother, how was Florida?”
Annette went with the change, starting out with a hilarious tale of a few bear cubs in the Orlando den.
Our breakfast was brought out then, huge piles of bacon, eggs, and sausages, fruit platters, small rolls and sweets. I might have lost my throne, but this morning I’d still eat like a queen. Annette and Kade had huge appetites. For once I was the one eating smaller.
I realized that I had barely stopped smiling for thirty minutes. It was so warm and friendly at this table. I was starting to see where Kade’s beautiful heart and soul had come from. I’d never known what his father had been like, but his mother was wonderful. And funny. She gossiped and told tales, all of it in good humor. Once we finished eating, Annette announced that she was going to head back to her house.
“It was so lovely to meet you,” I said, standing and bowing into a curtsy.
Annette grabbed me and hauled me in for another hug. When she pulled back she kept her hands on my shoulders. “I’ve lost my husband and my eldest son, so Kade is all I have now. I want a big fancy wedding to help plan, and a couple grandbabies one day. You got it?”
A grumble rocked Kade’s chest, but I just laughed.
“Yes, ma’am,” I told her, and she winked, giving Kade a long hug before leaving the room.
Once she was gone, Kade turned to me. “Sorry, she’s a little intense.”
I smiled. “She’s wonderful.” It was refreshing to have someone so brutally honest, although Annette and Baladar in the same room might be too much to handle.
“What now?” he asked me.
My features hardened. “Now we make a plan to get Violet back. Starting with the tree in your yard.”
Kade tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. My heart rate picked up and I almost missed when he asked, “The old fae tree you can talk to?”
Kade had tried to communicate with the tree in the same way as me, but nothing happened. No voices, no energy. I really should ask the faeling why that was, but for now I was more interested in hashing out a rescue plan.
I nodded. “Hopefully he can give us the right information to help with our plans to rescue Violet.”
Kade nodded, trusting me without explanation. I led him out onto the front lawn, both of us striding toward the huge, ancient, gnarled tree. By the time Wednesday arrived I wanted a map of the fae lands, names of the leaders of the courts, and any information that would help me get my best friend back.
The days passed quickly, and before I knew it, it was Wednesday morning. We were finalizing the plan to rescue Violet, armed with all the knowledge I’d managed to glean from many hours beneath the fae treeling. It’d had much to share, although most of it was outdated. The tree spirit couldn’t be sure of the current leaders of the courts, only those who were in power when it was in the Otherworld. With their long lives, it was hopefully still the same leadership.
More importantly, the terrain and way of life wouldn’t have changed. I had my rough map and some clues as to where the dark court would have taken a prisoner. Prisoner. That word was like a punch to
the gut.
I stood before my inner circle, preparing to give everyone a job for tonight. Kade’s job, which he’d only just learned, was to stay back here and rule the bears, keep everything calm while I was gone. I wanted a stealth sneak attack; a big party in fae land wasn’t on the menu. I’d known he was going to fight me on it, but I had to try. It was the best thing for his people, and … I couldn’t lose him too. Or be responsible for taking him away and then having Selene attack his people when she found out he was gone.
Of course, one should never argue with a bear; they were immoveable.
“It’s not going to happen, Arianna. I will never let you go to that land without me.” Kade wasn’t even mad. He just crossed his arms.
Immoveable.
“Kade, I could be gone for weeks in Earth time. What will happen if someone attacks your people?”
His stance remained calm, but now his eyes were burning hot coals. “Gerald and my mother will wipe them from the face of the planet. I’m going, Ari. You need my help to control the mecca. That’s the end of it.”
I wanted to fight him more on this. My gut was telling me to push back, but my heart wouldn’t do it. It was so selfish, but I didn’t want to do this without him.
“King Kade has a point,” Monica piped up. “What if you have to use the mecca in the fae lands and he isn’t there to bail you out?”
Yep, that was a fair call. When it came to mecca things, Kade did have a wonderful, annoying habit of saving my butt.
Knowing I’d never win this argument, and since my heart wasn’t in it any longer, I conceded.
“Fine, Kade and I will go to the Otherworld. The rest of you will stay here and make sure that the wolf and bear shifters are protected in case the fae attack while we’re gone.”
They opened their mouths to argue with me again, and I let out a growl that shut the conversation down fast. The Otherworld was dangerous, fae were dangerous. I was trying to save my people here. Why couldn’t they see that?