by Renee George
“She’s not so bad, my love,” Alana purred in his ear.
He smiled when her hand slipped over his groin.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said without any real gruffness. Alana, who always knew how to handle him, kissed him soundly and stole whatever worries he had left.
MADDIE watched as Adam and Cage’s pride, and she supposed now they were her pride as well, efficiently broke down tents, booths, rides, and other equipment as they packed up the carnival. She was a little sore from the previous night, but not as much as she’d expected. Adam nails had dug into her thighs, and Cage had bit into her shoulder hard enough to make it bleed. She’d seen the cuts and the mark before they’d gone to sleep, but miraculously her wounds had almost completely healed by the time she woke up for breakfast. Even her head felt better. No more lump. No more headache. She reminded herself to ask her mates if the extra healing was normal, but she wanted to know what else she might expect as a result of their union.
The sex had scared her a little. Especially when Cage bit her, but after he’d come inside her, she’d felt a change in her body. Adam had been no less large, and definitely rougher, but it had been easier. She stared at Cage’s broad back, the sweat glistening off his tan shoulders, and wondered how good it would feel the next time...
He must have sensed her looking, because he turned to meet her gaze, raised his eyebrow and smiled. Darren laughed when he caught her smiling back, and Maddie blushed hotly. They’d gotten more than one or two comments at the breakfast table that morning. She hadn’t cared how loud they’d been during the moment, but now she wished they’d have showed some vocal restraint.
The devil put the smile back on her lips. No, she didn’t wish that. Restraint was the last thing she’d wished for. She slid her hand to her stomach and caught Adam’s eye. Had the three of them created a new life? It would be at least a month before they knew anything, but how wonderful would it be to have a true mating on the first try. How beautiful to bear their child, and it would be theirs. It didn’t matter who’d sown the seed, they’d both tended the garden, and the resulting crop would be a shared responsibility.
Marlena, the bearded lady, walked over and put a protective arm around her shoulder. “Don’t let my man Darren get to you. He’s happy for our kings. We all are. They’ve been alone since...” She didn’t say Clary’s name, but she didn’t have to. “Anyhow. I just wanted to officially welcome you to the group. I don’t expect anyone will curtsy and bow. This isn’t a court after all, but we will respect that you are our queen.”
“Fair enough,” Maddie said, leaning against the larger woman. “Can I ask you a favor?”
“Sure,” Marlena said. Her toothy grin contrasted against her dark beard.
Maddie nodded. “I’d like to help out, but I’m afraid if I jump in, I’ll just get in someone’s way. What can I do, so that I don’t feel so much like an outsider looking in?”
The older woman tapped her chin. “I have just the task.”
ADAM felt light and a little dazed. Between Maddie and Cage, the burden he’d carried around since he was a small child living with a lunatic father, the responsibility he’d always felt for everyone around him, seemed to ease. He still felt responsible, but he no longer felt alone in the task. Even when he’d pair bonded with Cage, he’d never fully trusted him to be a leader to their pride.
He’d wanted to trust him, but the younger lion had carried so much damage from his previous life it had made him unpredictable. But the way Cage had cared for Madeline during the mating, the way he’d stayed in control even when Adam couldn’t, was the only proof Adam needed that Cage was ready for the responsibility. He’d never been prouder to call Cage his brother, and finally, now they would share everything. Even the problems that came with being in charge.
Madeline had already proved she could be swift and decisive. He smiled, remembering what it had been like when she’d climaxed around him. He’d never felt so much raw power and emotion from a lover. None before compared to Madeline—not in the same way. She’d conquered him, body and soul. And when she touched her stomach, he prayed they’d mated true. The thought brought another smile to his lips.
Marlena was talking to her now, and a warm surge of affection toward the elder lioness had him purring again. He stopped the moment he noticed he was vibrating and stole a glance at Cage. His brother laughed. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. He guessed, now that Madeline was a part of their lives, he’d have to get used to unexpected bouts of happiness. Like now. Madeline wrapped her arms around him from behind.
He patted her hands, turned his upper body, and peered down at her. “Yes?”
She grinned. “Marlena’s given me a job. I’m going to fold clothes in the laundry tent and pack them up. Not the glamorous life of a queen, but it will make me happy.”
“I can go with you,” Cage said.
“Don’t be silly,” Madeline told him. “You all have your work, and I want a job too.”
Cage came up behind her and stroked the side of her face. “You could always be our sex slave,” he said teasingly.
Adam laughed and rotated in her arms. He caressed her other cheek. “That really sounds like an excellent job for you.”
Maddie smacked them both. “You’re getting me sweaty, and not in a good way,” she protested. “Besides, if there are any sex slaves around her, it will be the two of you. Now, you get to getting with your business, and I’ll go get on with mine.” She wiggled her way out from between them.
She smacked him on the ass. Hard. Adam snorted at her audacity. Cage hooted when she did the same to him, which startled several of their pride members who’d never seen him this happy. Their wide-eyed stares nearly doubled Adam over with joy.
THE laundry tent was warm. Not a lot of cross breeze with only the front open, so Maddie untied the backside and rolled it up. She fastened the gray canvas flap to a pole with the loose bindings. A gust of wind sang across her hot skin. It was an unseasonably warm day, and the breeze was a blessed relief. She closed her eyes for a moment to enjoy the cooling sensation.
Piles of clothes were stacked on wooden folding tables. Marlena had brought them in from the line they’d strung up in the back. Maddie could see the thick, white cable through the opening, clothespins dangling and dancing on the tight cord. She inhaled the fresh fragrance of the washed costumes, towels, and other garments, amazed at how vivid the clean smell of Oxydol lit up her senses. It reminded her of home. She smiled, remembering how her mother couldn’t wait to open the laundry detergent box to get at her new glass dish. She’d been particularly keen on completing a green set when Maddie had left. Had she managed to find the missing pieces? Or was the missing glassware just another disappointment in a long list of disappointments Lucille Granger would have to live with?
Not Maddie though. Disappointment would not be a part of her life. Not anymore. Not with Adam and Cage by her side. For the first time, she had the world on a string as Sinatra said. And she’d be damned if she’d let anyone mess with her rainbow.
A black leotard crowned the top of the pile. Maddie picked it up and held it to her nose. She could just catch Adam’s scent, an earthy pleasant musk, just under the soap smell. Wow. Quick healing wasn’t the only ability she’d gained in their mating. It seemed she’d also developed a keen nose and was now able to identify subtle odors. What else had change? They’d already told her she’d live longer, stay younger longer... Did there need to be more?
A happy sigh turned into humming as she folded clothes and packed them away in labeled boxes. She giggled a few times when she caught scent-filled glimpses of some of the other performers. Luckily, nothing too intimate or compromising. Instead, she experienced their acts from their perspectives. A gift of freedom to move her body in ways she’d never imagined. Even Alice’s tightrope act. God! Laundry had never been so exhilarating! Maddie decided she would ask Cage and Adam to teach her how to do some of the routines she’d enacted second hand. She’d proba
bly never be good enough to join the other performers, but man, it would be a total gas to try.
When she’d almost finished with the costumes, she saw a shiny emerald dress. She leaned over and picked it up, running her fingers over the slick polyester. A sudden sickness took hold as the tables, the boxes, and the day-lit tent faded into darkness.
THE music ends, but he has caught my eye, and I can’t stop swaying. I want to please him, to make him love me. I think he does, but how can I be certain? It is impossible with a man like him. He keeps his counsel close and his emotions closer. He wants to let me in. I can see it. More than anyone in the world, I know he wants to let me in. All anyone sees is his cruelty, but with me he is tender. Gentle. His patience has nearly undone me, and tonight, I will be his. And he, in turn, will be mine. My king.
He walks across the room to me. His hand is large, nearly twice the size of mine, and I tremble as I reach for him. He has kept our love a secret, but soon the pride will know. They will know I am truly meant for him. Born for him.
“You’re beautiful, Adelaide. My Adelaide,” he says as he scoops me into his arms. “Do you claim me?”
“Yes,” I tell him. “Yes.”
In that second, his expression changes. I see brutality in his eyes, but in the next moment it is gone. An apparition. Something I imagined. He slips my dress over my head, and the night air chills my naked skin.
He will never hit me, because I will give him all of me. I will hold nothing back from him.
I watch as the large muscles in his arms flex as he unbuttons his shirt and lets it fall to the floor.
He will never call me horrible names, because I will never do anything to deserve them.
“My mate,” he says, crawling on top of me, his weight almost suffocating.
He will never...
MADDIE came out of the vision gasping for breath. She could still feel the heaviness of the man pressing into her flesh. The scene with Adelaide and her mate had been erotic and terrifying all at the same time. She could feel Adelaide’s need, but there had been an underlying fear that hadn’t been conditioned out of the young girl.
Maddie pressed her hands to her mouth to suppress the urge to scream with horror. The man. Her mate. Oh, God. It was too awful for Maddie to even think about it. Some things were better left buried, and this memory fell in that category. But how would she tell Adam and Cage? Should she? After all, Adelaide was gone now and most likely not coming back. Revealing her secret would only hurt the men she loved. No. They needed to know, and she wouldn’t start their life together by keeping secrets. This knowledge would be a hard truth to overcome, but together, they could get through anything.
She leaned back on the table, praying the work would take some of her care, wishing she was still seeing trapeze and high-wire acts instead of... She shuddered and pushed the memory back again.
A sharp point pressed into her throat as a strong arm gripped her from behind.
Maddie tried to yell, but a hand clamped her mouth. Then she heard Adelaide’s quiet snarl.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” she said. “You’re coming with me quietly, or you’re coming along unconscious. If I have to carry you out, I will. You scream, though, or try to fight me, I’m going to slit your throat, and no matter what my brother has told you, you won’t come back from dead.” She waited a moment for her words to sink in then moved her hand from Maddie’s mouth.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I’m going to trade you for Zaria.”
She yanked Maddie’s hands behind her back and tied her wrists with some kind of rope. After, Adelaide shoved a rag into her mouth and secured it with a handkerchief she knotted behind her head. “I really don’t want to hurt you again, Maddie.” She tightened her bindings. “But I will.”
CAGE finished strapping down the final crate on the back of the second trailer. They’d broken down all the structures and soon they’d have everything loaded up. He had a lightness in his body, a transformation he didn’t recognize, and he would give anything not to lose it. Maddie had done that for him. He glanced at Adam hoisting poles on to the third trailer. For them. She been in their world less than ten days, but until the first time she’d walked into the big top, they’d never really lived.
He looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Maddie coming back from the laundry. Their mating had been a beast all its own, and Cage hadn’t realized how hard it would be to not have her next to him, to be touching her all the time. He lightly rubbed his fingertips together and recalled with perfect clarity the silkiness of her skin. Heat grew in his belly as he thought about holding her, being inside her. He had never believed in miracles, not the fairytale kind, but Maddie’s love had fixed the unfixable.
The pair bonding between Adam and him had saved his life. The link had leashed his angrier impulses, keeping his tenuous control in check. But the impulses were always there. Sometimes the fight was day to day, and sometimes minute to minute, but the truth was, his rage never went away. The abuse he survived made it impossible to be truly happy. Or so he’d thought.
“Heads up,” Adam said, and Cage easily caught a bundle of rope flying toward him. He tucked it under a tarp. His brother smiled. “We’re about done here. Let’s go get our girl,” he said.
Cage shook his head, not bothering to fight the grin on his face. “It’s like you’re psychic.”
Adam laughed as they turned in unison toward the laundry. “It doesn’t take a psychic to know you hate being away from her as much as I do.”
“I feel so strange, brother.” Cage wasn’t good with words, but with Adam he didn’t have to be.
Adam gripped his shoulder. “We have been made and unmade and made again. We were caterpillars before, and we’ll both feel strange until we get used to our new wings.”
Cage gave him a sharp look, unable to keep the incredulity out of his expression. “We’re butterflies now?” He snorted at the comparison.
Adam shrugged. “You’re more like a moth, I think. Unable to fly a straight line and leaving a mess in your wake.”
Cage lunged sideways and got his brother in a headlock. He knuckled the top of his head. “A moth, huh?”
Adam lifted him from the ground, and Cage twisted until he was behind him. Each move either of them made was easily countered by the other, and they laughed as they played like two carefree boys on their way home.
They neared the laundry tent, and Cage stumbled when Adam abruptly halted. A waft of air carried an all too familiar scent. Adelaide.
Adam’s hand on his chest stopped him from charging forward.
“Wait,” he said, the word barely a whispered hiss.
“I know you’re both out there,” Adelaide said, and though they couldn’t see her, Cage could hear the fear in her voice. “You might as well come in. As a matter of fact, I insist. So does Maddie.”
Adam’s jaw flexed, and Cage felt his muscles bunching with tension. A rising terror tore at him from the inside, and his lion tried to claw its way to the surface. He clenched his fingers, tightly curling them into fists. He had to keep it together, if not for his own sake, then for Maddie’s. In the past, he’d always let his animal take over when he was scared or angry, but this time it wasn’t about his own survival. He tamped the beast back, feeling its snarl of discontent.
Together, he and Adam rounded the entrance to the laundry. Adelaide stood with Maddie in front of her. Maddie’s eyes were wide as Adelaide held a knife to her neck. She’d gagged Maddie, and to their mate’s credit, Maddie hadn’t even made a whimper. Cage had worked so carefully to maintain his control that a deep growling roar from Adam startled him.
17
“LET her go,” Adam said. He took a menacing step forward, feeling no satisfaction when Adelaide winced. He could smell her fear, a heavy and sour scent. Even so, she didn’t release Madeline.
“Bring me Zar and Madeline’s car. When we are outside of town, and I’m certain no one has followed,
I will release her.”
“No,” Cage said. He shook his head. “You already tried to kill Maddie once. There’s no way I’m letting you leave with her.”
“Then it ends here,” Adelaide said.
The sharp tang of blood, a pungent odor, drew Adam’s attention. A line of dark, red oozed down the side of Madeline’s neck. In his life, he’d never hated anyone as much as he hated his own sister in that moment. “Don’t hurt her.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do, Adam.” Adelaide’s hand, the one holding the knife, trembled. If Adam didn’t calm down—calm his sister down—she was going to do real damage to his mate.
In all of this, Madeline held perfectly still. She looked scared, but not panicked. Once again, she was in danger because Adam failed to protect her. Why had he believed Adelaide would go on the run without Zaria? It had been some pie in the sky twisted hope that if she disappeared so would the problem of punishing her. Now she was forcing his hand.
To emphasize her position of power, Adelaide yanked Madeline’s head back. “Don’t make me ask again, Adam. I’m telling you I won’t hurt your mate. All I want is Zaria. But if you turn this into a standoff, Madeline will be the first to die.”
Adam held his hand out. “Okay. Okay. Just take the gag out of her mouth. I just want to hear from Madeline.”
Cage had been quiet, moving almost imperceptivity closer to Adelaide while she was distracted by Adam.
“Don’t come any closer, Cage,” Adelaide said without even glancing in his direction.
Damn it! Fresh fury shot through him. She’d paralyzed them both with her threats, and her ability to make good on them. “Why, Adelaide? Why do this? Madeline isn’t a threat to you. You would have always had a place with me. I don’t understand. Help me to understand.”