by Ally Summers
“Oh my God. What are you saying?”
“I’m saying your mate is the new regent of Charleston and the surrounding territory.”
“Regent? Donovan.” I kissed him with all the passion in my body. His arms circled my waist and his lips moved over mine with hungry force.
“You like how it sounds?”
“I like how it sounds on you.” I grinned. “I don’t know what to say. What you did for me. For us. And now this.” I pushed a little to give us some space. “But wait… isn’t there a problem?”
“What kind of problem?”
“You hate the beach,” I stated.
He laughed. “I used to hate the beach. Until I met you. And until I became its ruler.” He cracked another smile. “You’ve changed everything for me, Caroline. Shown me things I didn’t know I wanted. Things I didn’t know I could like. Love I didn’t know was so pure.”
I snuggled against his chest. “I can’t believe this.”
“Things are going to be crazy. Case is sending soldiers here. We know about the Crestview plan to invade this area. No telling who they have aligned with. There could be more on the way.”
“Oh.” That wasn’t the kind of crazy I thought he was talking about.
“And there’s something else.”
He deposited me on the floor and took me by the hand. I followed him into the living room. There were candles on every shelf. Rose petals scattered on the floor. Bouquets of hydrangeas in vases, filling up the entire room.
“Oh my God.”
Donovan stood in front of me. “I know nighttime is the typical romantic time of day.” He smirked. “But we aren’t typical. And you love the sunlight. You love being in it and bathing in it. I didn’t know the sun could be so beautiful until I met you.” He lowered his body to one knee.
He reached into his pocket and extended his hand to me. He was holding a giant emerald, cushioned on a platinum setting.
“I don’t want there to be any questions. I don’t want there to be any doubts. I want you. Only you. Will you marry me, Caroline?”
I fell into his arms. “Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.”
He slipped the stone onto my left ring finger and I saw the emerald glisten in the sun. It threw glittery rainbows around the room in deep green hues.
“Do you like it?”
“It’s amazing.” I kissed him. “I love you. I love the ring. I love that we’re going to live here. I love that you’re a regent.” I couldn’t stop kissing his irresistible lips. “And you won’t miss the forest?” I questioned.
“Of course, but that’s what our honeymoon is for.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“Seems fair to me.” I smiled. “We can go somewhere very woodsy.”
His eyes softened. “I am sorry about last night. I’m sorry you were there.”
“Shh.” I pressed my fingers to his lips. “It was the only way. Let’s not talk about it again. It had to happen. We both knew that. We both agreed. And we have to move forward.”
“You know, the first thing we have to do is actually move.” He looked around us from the floor.
“We do?”
“Oh yeah. We can’t be royalty in this tiny place. Plus, eventually surfer Chad downstairs is going to start to realize that either we’re shifters or in the drug business.”
I giggled. “I guess a lot of shifter business happens at night.”
He nodded. “It does. So what do you say we do some house hunting today?”
“I would love that.”
He stood, pulling me to my feet. “Since we’ve done everything backwards and broken every shifter law we live by, I don’t think we should stop now.”
My head tilted sideways. “What did you have in mind?”
He threw me over his shoulder and I squealed.
“You have my ring on your finger, baby, but I need more than that.”
I felt my heart swell with love, with want, with desire for this man who had given me everything.
He lowered me in his arms and I looked in his eyes.
“Take me,” I whispered.
Shift
Prologue
The gas lamps flickered outside. Inside the small basement of the two-hundred-year-old brownstone, the air was filled with the guttural sounds of a pack on the brink of war. They stood shoulder to shoulder.
The air was thick with testosterone.
“It’s time,” Hayden announced.
Their eyes followed his. There was barely enough light for their jaguar eyes to focus. But they didn’t need much. Their leader had spoken and that was enough. They were followers. Indebted soldiers.
“We take the city on my command. The Maddox line will be delivered to me.”
Heads nodded in agreement. “Tonight,” they echoed Hayden’s words.
The door creaked as the messenger slithered inside, keeping close to the wall. He handed Hayden a piece of paper.
The dozen members of the pack watched as he unfolded it and scanned the lines.
The corners of his lips turned up as he shoved the message in his front pocket. “This is good news. Excellent news.” He faced his clan. “It has happened. Which means it is time. Tonight is the night.”
They bowed toward the ground. Hayden looked over their heads, knowing tonight he would possess the most valuable asset Case Maddox had ever had.
1
Case
I looked at the beautiful woman sleeping next to me. Cadence hadn’t moved since we last stopped for gas. Her blond hair fell over her eyes and I had to keep myself from brushing it away from her cheek. I always had to fight the urge to touch her. My fingers longed for her. My skin ached for her. This was what it meant to have a mate. To know my other half.
This was our third trip back to Charleston from Cadence’s home town in the past three months. I wondered if it was fair to continue to keep her with me while I dealt with the crisis ahead. The Litchfields had made their intentions to take my southern territories known.
Every shifter was talking about it. I couldn’t let the fear grow any more than it already had. The only way to end it, was to end them. Complete removal of the Litchfields was the only way.
Every time we drove over the bridge and into the city, I worried that I had just delivered my mate into the hands of a war. I questioned whether I was dragging her deeper into danger, or maintaining her safety by keeping her at my side.
So far there hadn’t been much on the shifter front. No war. No battles. Nothing. There had been too much silence as far as I was concerned.
But I could tell the air was changing. Something was happening in the coastal city. Something that made the fur on my neck stand tall.
I steered us farther east into South Carolina. With every turn of the wheels, I wondered if I should have left her behind this time. Left her to be safe.
There were things she could do back home that would easily keep her occupied. Although, I had learned over the past three months that my mate wasn’t easily dissuaded. Once she had her mind on something, she wouldn’t let go. She was tenacious as hell. Maybe even more so than a she-panther.
She sighed lightly and I followed the rise and fall of her chest. I would never be able to accept that she was safe anywhere other than next to me. I wasn’t the only one who knew the mate of the jaguar king was just as valuable as his territory. The Tribe were my brothers and they would protect her if I needed them to move her to a new location, but without Cadence by my side, my attention would always be divided.
She was adamant she wouldn’t be left to wait out the war in another city.
First one eye and then the other opened.
“Hi.” She smiled, stretching until she was upright.
“Nice little cat nap?” I teased.
“Sorry I passed out on you like that. I’m exhausted.”
I knew that was partly my fault. As soon as we settled into one place, I yanked her to the next. These were unsafe times. We couldn’t afford to get complacent. Not now.<
br />
“We’re almost there and then you can get some real rest. Not cramped up in the car. The suite will be ready for you.”
“It’s ok.” She stretched out. “You’re under a lot of pressure right now.”
“You shouldn’t have to suffer for it.”
I glared at the road. We had put too many miles on this vehicle lately. I felt the anger surface in my jag. My mate shouldn’t have to suffer because of shifter politics. My reasons for hating the Litchfields had become a lengthy list.
“I knew exactly what I signed up for when I said yes to you, Case Maddox.” Her hand slid to my leg.
“You think you did.” I chuckled. “When we met at that cabin and you brought me dinner for the first time, you had no idea what it would be like to be a jaguar’s mate.”
“Maybe not, but it didn’t take long for me to realize how much I liked it.” Her hand dug into my thigh.
“And what is it you like so much, darlin’?” I liked this game.
She sighed. “How you make me yours,” she whispered. “It’s my favorite part of being your mate.”
I let out a low grumble from my chest. “What are you doing?”
“How far until Charleston?” she asked. Her hand inched dangerously close between my legs. My jag was coming to life in more ways than one.
“Thirty minutes,” I answered.
“That long?” I heard the poutiness in her voice. She pinched her lips together.
It was the middle of the night. The darkness stretched out in front of us. I could see the glow from the city beaming up toward the sky.
“And then once we get to the compound you have to meet with Eli and Ronan, don’t you?”
“I do.” I nodded. “I need a complete update from Donovan. It’s going to be a long night. But, Caroline will be there.”
Her nails dug into my skin. “That’s the part I don’t like about coming here. The sharing.”
I smiled. “You don’t like to share me? Baby, I’m a king. A lot of people depend on me. They need me to rule this territory.”
“I know. But sometimes I wish it could just be you and me.”
“And why is that?”
She bit her lip, dragging her teeth across the plump surface. “Because I love it when you claim me. And sometimes it’s more than I can stand having to wait all alone. I just lie in that big empty bed upstairs and wait for you to crawl under the sheets and take me.”
My jag was ready to jump out of my skin.
“Hold on.” I pulled the car over onto a dark trail, shielded by low hovering water oaks.
The SUV jostled as I followed the road to a dead end.
“Where are we?” She looked at me.
I shrugged. “Somewhere you’re going to get claimed.” I grinned wickedly.
In less than a second I had unsnapped my seatbelt and dove across the seat, taking Cadence’s lips with mine.
She moaned, wrapping her hands around my neck.
“Oh God.”
I tugged on her shirt, growling as her breasts spilled from the open buttons. I lowered my head, licking and lapping at her nipples through her bra. I took one between my teeth, snapping the satin back in place.
Cadence arched her back and I took the other nipple with my teeth, this time tearing through the fabric and latching onto her tit with force.
“Oh Case,” she whimpered.
“Out of the car,” I growled.
Her lust-filled eyes locked on mine. “What?”
“There’s no room. Get out of the car.”
She fumbled for the door while I pushed her out and jumped to the ground behind her. My arms wrapped around her waist, wildly freeing her from the bra. She sought my lips and my tongue pushed deep inside her mouth.
I lifted the edge of her skirt while she worked the buckle on my jeans. The skirt was up past her hips and I groaned with so much want I thought my chest might explode.
My jeans hit the road and I grinned.
I loved taking her. I loved hearing her call my name. How much she wanted me. How much she wanted us.
My hand slid between her legs, swirling and flicking over her clit until she rocked into my fingers with an urgent hiss.
“Please,” she begged.
“Please what?” I taunted her. It was my favorite part. It never got old. It never would.
“Take me. Make me yours, Case.”
I nuzzled my face into her neck, inhaling the scent of my mate. The woman I knew I couldn’t live without. I lifted her hips, knowing she was wet and ready for me. I brought her just to the head of my cock.
“I love claiming you.”
She nodded, holding on to me with a strong grip as I brought her crashing down on my cock.
She screamed and I growled. But it only fueled our passion. Cadence began to ride me with passion. Her tits bobbed and brushed against my chest. Her head flew back. Her legs kicked wildly. This woman was made to fuck me.
I didn’t need much to send me over the edge with her. Her body was my drug. My addiction.
“You feel so good,” I groaned. I couldn’t hold off.
My spine clenched with power as I spiraled into blackness, taking my mate with fevered possession.
“Oh God. Oh Case.” She breathed heavily in my ear before convulsing and panting under the strength of her own orgasm. I held her tightly while her body vibrated with the aftershocks.
Eventually our breathing leveled off and I let her slip to the ground. Her feet touched lightly and I kissed her forehead.
“Will that get you through tonight?” I asked, grabbing her on the ass.
She wiggled her skirt down. “Maybe.”
I laughed and wrapped both arms around her. “You know you were made for me Cadence Hathaway.”
“I was.” She smiled.
My lips brushed over hers, taking my time to touch every corner. Suck every edible inch of her fucking delicious lips. My tongue twined along hers, dancing in a new rhythm. One that wasn’t desperate to claim her, but one that was content with what we had found. A fire that never burned out. A fire that could easily be flamed into a raging blaze.
She moaned against my tongue. Her hands trailed along my shoulders. Her nails raked under my shirt, moving lower to my hipbone. I growled when she wrapped her slender fingers around my cock.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I tilted my head sideways.
She lowered herself to her knees and looked up. “Taking something I want. Again.”
My hands tangled in her hair as she licked my cock and then sucked it lightly, before I pushed it inside her hot wet mouth.
“Shit,” I growled.
She never stopped surprising me. Never stopped pleasing me.
Her tongue moved with expert precision over the head and then down the length before moving back again. I thrust against the back of her throat.
I looked down into her eyes. They sparkled with mischief. I fucking loved this girl. I pumped inside her again, before grabbing her by the arms and lifting her to her feet.
“But I wasn’t…”
“Shh.” I silenced her.
I peeled the rest of her clothes off in the quiet of the woods. She looked sexy as hell under the night sky. She tried to cover her chest but I wouldn’t let her.
I threw my T-shirt in the back of the car, and led her away from where we had parked.
2
Cadence
I followed Case into the woods. I wasn’t scared. I never was when he was around. He protected me. Kept me safe. Lavished my body with attention and desire. He cherished me. And damn, if he didn’t make me feel like I was an amazing sexual goddess every time my hands touched his skin.
His eyes glowed green. I loved that look on him. He had to be the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. He had dark hair and a rock-hard body that was so chiseled, I had to touch him sometimes to remember that he was actually real. Every ounce of him was real.
He brought me into a clearing in the woods.
His fingers strummed between my legs, circling my clit with certain strokes until I was panting with need. I tried to press off the ground, but his lips hovered over my throat.
“Please,” I begged. I was desperate to feel him. Desperate for more.
“You’re so damn sexy when I make you come.” His tongue flicked over my perked nipple. I didn’t even think about all my clothes being back at the car.
I guess loving a jaguar king made me do crazy things like have sex in the middle of the woods.
My breathing grew more erratic. I could feel myself quickly coming undone.
“Oh, Case.”
His fingers were relentless, prying my folds. Dipping inside me. He pumped another finger inside me, spreading my legs wide as I begged. “Please.”
He grinned devilishly. “Only when you come, baby.”
And then my release shot through my body like an explosive detonated by the touch of his fingers. He pushed them inside me, curling them up and I screamed his name. My body shook as the orgasm coated my veins with ecstasy.
His mouth moved against mine and then I felt the heaviness of his body over me. I looked into his eyes. I loved him. I loved him more than I knew was humanly possible. Maybe it wasn’t human love that I felt. Maybe it was shifter love.
My hands wrapped around his neck, holding him close to me. I wanted to feel every part of him at once. I wanted to be closer to him than I ever had.
And then he thrust inside me.
“Oh, fuck,” he growled, hilting himself deep.
I clawed at his back. He moved slower and deeper with each thrust. His eyes locked on mine and I shivered with the love I felt.
My body would forever be his. I’d known that since the day we’d first met.