by Amy Star
“Thank you, my Queen,” Thearon said with a small bow of his head.
“I’m not done yet. My answer comes with stipulations. You must keep me in the loop for the investigation and I want you to free your entire afternoon for me. I want the Tea and I want personal time after. I would like to finally have a conversation with you.”
Thearon eyed her for a long moment. “It never hurts to have an extra set of eyes and I promise to keep you apprised of the investigation. However, in making time for the Tea I had to shift commitments around tomorrow and I do not have the extra time to give. However, I can offer an afternoon three days hence during which we can...talk.”
“It’s a date then,” Lavinia said, settling the matter.
Thearon walked forward and kissed her cheek, “Until tomorrow, my Queen.”
Watching him walk out of the office Lavinia wondered if her relationship with the Omega would ever be a personal affair or if it was always going to be the work of coercion, strategy and threats.
***
As Lavinia glanced around the afternoon Tea, she marveled at the fact that the Omega who showed up at the Tea party was yet another version of the man. It was yet another personality making Lavinia wonder if the man was bi-polar. Thearon had come out of his bedroom that afternoon dressed in a gray suit and crisp white shirt with a coral flower boutonniere. It was a perfect complement to her coral lace dress. He looked tall and dashing, and was networking the sunlit room like it was his job. Which, as far as Lavinia understood it, was not. As he wrapped a free arm around her waist and lifted a lemon garnished sweet tea to his lips, Lavinia felt dizzy with confusion about who this man really was.
Lavinia was in the process of bringing a King Cake cupcake to her mouth when Thearon’s lips brushed her ear. She shivered in anticipation of the deep base of his voice and the warm whisper of his breath.
“Don’t look now, but the pack just arrived. They’re slightly to your right, by the entrance to the patio.”
Lavinia thought that “Don’t look now” was one of the most annoying statements in the English language, but she held her ground for a moment before looking toward the outside. Leaning up to nuzzle Thearon, Lavinia glanced over his shoulder and found the group of Werebeasts. It was just what Thearon had prepared her to expect. There were eight men, two of each beast species: bear, wolf, horse and lion.
They seemed to be paired off in a manner that meant no two of the same species were together. As Lavinia watched them come into the main party area, she saw they spread to the four corners of the room. It was casual, but methodological if you were looking at them as a group.
Time passed and the people attending the Tea moved and swapped conversations, everyone trying to network with as many people as possible. It was one of the major yearly Were events for the city and people used it to gossip and advance political aspirations. In other words, it was a great party.
Lavinia and Thearon tag-teamed the Werebeasts under suspicion and after an hour of chatting, Lavinia was starting to think that perhaps Thearon was wrong in his assumption that the group was a threat. There seemed to be nothing special about them, besides the fact that they were together. On the bright side, Lavinia now had all of the particulars on the next royal wedding. The Stoneglass Werehorse Tribe had a princess who was going to marry a Werehorse King from Italy. The union was all the women could talk about and Lavinia was more than happy to learn who was wearing what.
Throughout the party, Thearon kept a hand on her at all times. If they switched sides or got new drinks or food, he would only let go in order to figure out a new way to touch her. It was quite nice and Lavinia was enjoying the casual, intimate contact. It was why she was surprised when suddenly Thearon removed all hands from her body and left her alone. It was chilly without him.
Lavinia leaned up, “What’s wrong?”
“Look at the entrance to the hallway.”
Lavinia looked over to the french doors that led into the house proper. It hadn’t been closed off to guests but with the beautiful day, few had chosen to wander further into the house. However, now she watched as one of the pairs of Werebeasts disappeared down its darkened hallway.
Thearon leaned down close to her ear, “Two other pairs have already left the party and the fourth are working their way over.”
“We should follow.”
“I should follow, you should stay here, it’s safer.”
Lavinia was going to argue but Thearon called over Queen Paulette of the Loupbrun Tribe. “Queen Paulette, I don’t know that you’ve had a chance to meet Queen Lavinia, my bride, yet.”
“No, no. It’s nice to meet you, my dear.” The beautiful woman with the feline eyes dropped into a curtsy with all the grace of the wolves she descended from. Straightening up, the black dress she wore skimmed a slender frame and was accented with a large cat-eye necklace. She was, by far, the most intimidating woman Lavinia had met that day.
“Queen Paulette, it’s an honor to meet you as well. Both of my husbands speak highly of you,” Lavinia responded dipping down into her own curtsy.
“Ladies, if you don’t mind I am going to catch an acquaintance who just slipped out of the room.” Kissing their hands, Thearon hurried after the final pair of Werebeasts before he lost where they were headed.
As Thearon walked further into the air-conditioned interior, he could hear that the library was occupied. It was the only occupied room he’d come across on the main level. Luckily, Thearon knew that the library had an adjoining coatroom that was accessible from an office, the next door down. There had been some joint security concerns and the Werelion and Werebear Tribes had jointly used the space for spying.
Slipping into the office, he moved through the walnut wood-clad room to the closet. Once inside the small space, he found the old fashioned peephole with which to spy on the group. Opening the brass hole, he quieted his breathing and concentrated on the voices.
“We were lucky today. I didn’t think it was going to be so easy to gather the information that we needed,” one of the Werelions was saying.
Thearon watched as the Werehorse browsing the leatherbound shelves addressed the group, “Yes, I think it showed us that we were correct in our assumptions. We will move forward as planned. Everyone knows their place?”
The Weres that Thearon could see, nodded in agreement before the original Werelion began talking again. “Alright, then the final countdown has begun. Rest assured that the bride sacrifice will bring harmony to the Tribes.”
Thearon felt his heart beat hard. The only thing people could talk about today was the wedding of the Werehorse Princess. The Princess was getting married the final day of Mardi Gras in a ceremony that promised to rival Thearon’s own wedding. That had to be where the security concern lay. As the group in the library prepared to disband, Thearon let the brass cover fall back over the hole. However, as he stood up, he tripped on a fallen hanger and banged hard against the wall to the office. He froze, as did the group next door, he guessed judging by the sudden silence. When harsh whispers resumed next door, he knew he was in trouble.
CHAPTER FIVE
Lavinia had been quietly moving into the office when she’d heard a loud thud emanate from an open door in the back of the room. Without thinking, Lavinia dropped her heels and ran to the space. Inside, she found Thearon rubbing his elbow with a look that suggested a mixture of annoyance and terror.
“What the hell? What are you doing here?” Thearon whispered sharply.
“Saving your ass,” Lavinia replied, pulling on the lapels of Thearon’s suit.
She encountered a little resistance as she pulled him out of the closet and toward her, but when her lips landed on his, he seemed to get the idea. Lavinia took his hand and placed it on her ass and Thearon took it a step further using the position to pull her flush against him. Lavinia thought that the hardness pressing into her stomach was a little excessive for the ruse, but would make it that much more believable if they were forced apart.<
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Thearon threaded his other hand across her back and used the bear hug to turn her and gently bang her against the wall.
“We need more noise,” Thearon said to her lips and Lavinia let out a moan. Thearon’s face drew back and Lavinia noted a raised eyebrow, “A realistic noise, please.”
“That was re-” Lavinia lost her voice as Thearon drew up one leg and hooked it over his hip, bringing all the necessary parts into alignment. Lavinia let out a low breathy noise that Thearon marked with approval. He was in the middle of one good grind when the door to the office banged against the wall. Thearon held Lavinia in place, but swung his face away from her, toward the intruders.
“Get out,” he growled, low in his chest.
The Werebeasts didn’t react as quickly as Thearon would have expected. Surely, they thought they would find a spy with a water glass to the wall, not two lovers in a passionate embrace. So why weren’t they moving out of the room completely embarrassed? One of the Werebears stepped forward as if he was going to say something more, but the Werelion held him back. Thearon wasn’t sure if they saw through the charade or not. There was a tense pause before the Werelion spoke, “Our apologies.”
The Werelion inclined his head slightly, but the look in his eyes spoke of defiance and none of the Werebeasts moved a muscle to retreat. Thearon stepped away from Lavinia and allowed his mated bear instincts take over. His hands began to morph into large paws with claws. Even with his body mostly in human form, the change could do a great deal of damage.
“Do we have a problem here? This office is otherwise occupied.”
“Perhaps you should have shut the door, then,” The Werelion responded coolly, claws beginning to appear on his own hands.
“Doesn’t common decency require you to leave when you see two people involved as we were?” The low growl that Thearon’s voice had become worried Lavinia. They did not need to escalate to their animal forms in this situation. There would be no way to control the fallout from that situation.
Taking a hold of Thearon’s arm, Lavinia could feel that the appendage was quickly turning into more bear than human. Lavinia stepped forward to do some damage control.
“It was most likely my fault. My husband and I are newly married and all the sweet tea got to me. I thought it would be fun to sneak away for a bit but I can obviously see that was a bad idea. Clearly, you have never enjoyed a stolen moment with a lover or you would not be so harsh with my husband.”
Thearon was impressed with Lavinia’s tone; it simply oozed disdain, , somehow making their amorous tryst the less shady part of the equation. This time, the Werelion made a full bow, “Again, our apologies.”
The group turned at a nod from the Werelion and moved down the hallway, shutting the door with a click behind them. Thearon paused for a full minute, waiting for someone to burst back into the room but when silence reigned, he sighed and let the bear slip out of his system. Turning to Lavinia he admitted, “You did an amazing job talking them down. I’ll admit I let my bear get away from me.”
“Well, it would have looked a little strange if some of your bear didn’t come out. But I didn’t want this situation to become public knowledge.” Lavinia smoothed her hair back into place and Thearon followed the movement, annoyed, he wanted her hair messed up.
“What the hell were you doing here, though? I thought I told you to stay in the party?”
Lavinia rolled her eyes, “You made a strategic error when you left me with Paulette. She knew exactly what you were up to and where you were probably headed. She sent me off after you almost as soon as you’d gone. I was so slow because I was trying my hardest to stay silent. Something at least one of us succeeded at,” she finished with a pointed look.
Thearon knew that he should thank her but part of him wanted to punish her as well. He didn’t like that she took such risks with her safety. And above all, he didn’t like that she had defied his orders. Thearon fully turned toward Lavinia and forced her to walk backward until she hit the wainscoted wall behind her.
“Ouch, hey, what’s—“
Lavinia’s speech was cut off for a second time as Thearon’s mouth descended on hers. His hard lips forced hers into a full pout. then into submission. This time, it was obvious he was not trying to put on a show. The tongue that licked its way into Lavinia’s mouth was hot and greedy and it made her knees weak. Resting against the wall for support Lavinia arched her back in hopes of giving Thearon better access to her lips.
She was rewarded as her hair was tugged, the bite of pain wasn’t even a blip on her radar as Thearon’s tongue moved away from her mouth and started ringing the edges of her ear. The gentle caress caused her insides to clench and another breathy moan to leave her newly freed mouth.
Thearon bit her ear, right over the diamond stud before whispering, “I don't know if I should thank you or spank you, so I think I’ll do both.”
Lavinia almost dropped to the floor with that statement, but Thearon’s hands moved to her ass to keep her in place. The feel of his mouth against her neck caused her heart to beat like a hummingbird’s: fast and loud. So loud in fact that she had missed the zipper being slowly pulled down the back of her dress. It wasn’t until Thearon had moved it down her arms that she felt the release of the tight fabric. Thearon dipped his head down further and hummed into her breasts, nuzzling them as if they were what he loved and missed, rather than the woman baring them.
Lavinia nudged Thearon until his head popped up and she gave him a dirty look. Thearon’s eyes narrowed and he maintained defiant eye contact with her as he roughly took her breasts. In turn, he sucked both nipples from behind their lacy protection. He roughed his tongue against the sensitive skin until they turned to pebbles in his mouth. Lavinia felt her core go molten at the trespass. The frustration of not being able to use her hands was becoming overwhelming, it was adding to her need to have more. More freedom, more kisses, more of him.
“I need more.”
The statement must have come from Lavinia’s own mouth, but the deep and breathy voice that spilled into the room sounded like it had come from someone else. Lavinia had never sounded so undeniably sex crazed. Thearon chuckled in response and knelt down on the floor. Slipping his hands up her dress, he hooked his fingers into the lace of her thong and pulled down. He considered the job complete after one leg was out of the scrap and he stood up again. Pressing back against her body for a deeply penetrating kiss, Lavinia could feel his hands move between them to free himself from his trousers with the motions of his hands pressing against her intimate spaces as well.
Without breaking the kiss, Thearon bunched the coral lace up between them and lifted one of her legs back up over his hip. It was the exact position they’d been in when last interrupted. Lavinia was fairly certain that if someone burst into the room at this very moment, Thearon would plunge ahead anyway, their lust was beyond being reigned in.
In one smooth motion, Thearon thrust into her and Lavinia gasped at the feeling of fullness. He was a large man and had barely fit when Parker had paved the way for him by easing herself r open. The sudden stretch had her feeling like she was filled to the brim. With Thearon, there was no time for gentleness. He wanted her, and he wanted her now. Moving a hand in between their bodies he found the spot that was sure to shatter her in minutes.
Slow circles pushed her higher and higher until she was straining against him, using the wall for leverage for release. Meeting Thearon thrust for thrust, they slammed into one another till Lavinia came on a scream. Thearon caught the sound in a kiss that might have muted some of the fallout and the taste of her pleasure sent him following her over the edge.
Holding her in place, Thearon rested his forehead against the wall and caught his breath. Lavinia too let her head fall back and waited for her world to right itself. That had to be the most amazing sex two people had ever had. She turned her head slightly and nuzzled his neck, bringing her mouth into contact with his ear.
“What are you
thinking?”
“That scream probably did a good job of reassuring any Werebeast sent to spy on us, that we were really here for a romantic interlude. I think that solidified our cover quite well.”
Lavinia’s head snapped away from Thearon’s at his businesslike tone as she pulled away from him. When Lavinia was back on the floor with her dress in place, she turned and gave the man a good slap.
“Don’t you ever use me for sex unless your goal is our shared pleasure. How dare you use me and my emotions for cover. You are an asshole.”
With that, Lavinia spun on one heel and left the party. Thearon was left alone in a room with his pants around his ankles, literally. Gods, he was screwed again.
*
Lavinia was sitting in the library trying her best to hide from Thearon. She had no desire to see that man for at least a week, maybe even a month, at which point, she would be open to reconciliation. Not that he would be very good at that process either. The more she thought about it, Lavinia decided she also needed Thearon to get therapy of some kind. The multiple personality syndrome or bipolarity or potential sociopathic tendencies were an issue. Lavinia didn’t know what was behind it all but she didn’t want to be on the receiving end of it anymore.
This evening she was curled up in one of the library’s armchairs, flipping through fashion magazines. Now that she was officially married and had the freedom to access whatever information she wanted, Lavinia was trying to work her way through every style magazine available. Her bank account was beginning to reflect the new obsession, too.
Dog-earing a page with a cute pencil skirt, Lavinia tried to push thoughts of Thearon out of her mind. She spent a solid half hour debating the idea of color blocking vs prints for spring when a knock at the library’s door had her looking up with trepidation. Had he found her? The man at the door held a whiskey glass and a soft smile. Seeing Parker at the door made Lavinia feel guilty. In her desire to avoid one husband, she had accidentally ignored the other as well.