by U
Pierce perked up. “Weston? Will he be bringing his daughter with him?”
A smile tugged at Pierce’s lips at the thought of interacting with Madison. His heart contracted. Warmth filled his stomach and spread through his body. He could see her features—those dark brown eyes filled with fire and defiance. The last time they had been together, she had left the room in a huff, refusing to talk to him. Her father had suggested for the umpteenth time a possible marriage contract between her and Pierce.
A chuckle started in Pierce’s chest but he squelched it. Even when they spoke, that smooth, rich, velvety voice of hers tied him up in knots and left him hard and aching to sink into her.
Her dark-brown hair was always in a bun or held back from her face, with only tendrils framing her features. Her plump lips left him speechless while she again rebuked him or tried to argue with him about some innocuous point he’d made.
Fire always sparked when they argued. Her intelligence set his passions ablaze. He had no use for stupid, witless women. Her nostrils would flare as anger spiced the air along with a brief hint of arousal. She resisted him at every turn.
He had no use for a marriage contract. He wanted Madison to come to him willingly or not at all.
He longed to lay her bare and explore every inch of her curvy figure. She moved with confidence, without a hint of self-consciousness. She wore corsets and cinchers to show off her trim waist. Her bust was always on full display with a hint of cleavage to tantalize his imagination. He longed to spend a day with her shapely legs wrapped around his waist or taking her from behind while spanking her rounded ass. Madison was a goddess come to life, and yet she challenged him, evaded him, and made his inner predator want to chase her down—own her, claim her, fuck her senseless, and do it all over again until neither one of them could move.
Pierce loved everything about Madison. No other woman compared with her. He prayed that Frank Weston would step aside and let things unfold the way they should. As much as he would love for her to come to him because her father told her to, he doubted the victory would taste as sweet. He wanted her fire and her affection.
At her core, Madison was a fierce competitor. She was determined, intelligent, sexy without being overly aware of it, confident, and comfortable in her own skin. But beyond that she was also a caring individual. Who else would drop everything to help take care of her father when he fell ill? Who would move back home without murmuring a single complaint about how exhausting it was to take care of one’s parent? Not once had Pierce heard her say anything against it, even though he knew it was wearing on her. He had begun to notice hints of tiredness that clung to her like a scent. But still she continued living in her parents’ guest home, devoted to their care.
A true woman—giving, strong, and capable—that was his Madison.
“Sir, are you OK?” Matt asked.
Pierce shook his head. “Um, yeah. Weston. Is he bringing Madison with him?”
Matt checked his details and shook his head. “No, he’s not. Sorry, sir. Should I put in a call? Maybe snag some extra tickets for her and her friends?”
Pierce sighed and tried to fight back some disappointment. It would have been too lucky if she’d shown up with her father. Then again, she would have spent more time trying to keep the old man away from the fried food than paying Pierce any attention.
“Fine, make sure the box is stocked with everything Frank needs. I’m leaving. I’ll be back in an hour but I’m stopping by the pub to check in on business there. Everything needs to be ready when I return. Oh, and e-mail details about the dress code for the auction. I have to see if I have anything in my closet that will suit or if Sergio can make something up on the fly.”
Pierce checked on the pitch before he left the stadium. Despite the storm, everything seemed to be settled. They’d closed the stadium dome to keep out the rain, much to his disappointment, and turned on the floodlights to deal with the darkness. The teams were already practicing on opposite ends of the field. He spotted Mack in the stands with a bottle of water, watching everything, feet up against the back of the chair in front of him. Pierce laughed. He’d have a chance to see what Mack thought of the competition and get to needle him about putting him up for the auction. He approached and sank down in the seat next to him.
“Well?”
Mack ran a hand through his shoulder-length brown hair, tiny braids jangling with the movement. “Don’t know. Potential but not rugby.” He gave Pierce a teasing smile. “Too many skinny blokes running around. Bunch of ponces if you ask me.”
Pierce didn’t rise to the bait. “They knuckle down. Besides, the rugby schedule hasn’t been set. How’s your team? Good enough?”
Mack stroked the bit of stubble that stained his cheeks. “They’re all right. Hard workers. Talk a lot of bollocks but they move their arses when they’re told. They’ll do. If not, I’ll chuck the lot and start over.” He chortled at his joke.
Pierce couldn’t help but smile. “You always say that. Teammates and girlfriends. If you’re not careful they might take you seriously. I know it’s your way of pushing the team but it might not always work.”
Hopefully the warning would sink in. Last thing Pierce needed was complaints against Mack and his methods. Mack was just a captain, but coaches and owners alike listened to him. He was the son of the great god of rugby, Graham Grant. You didn’t ignore advice from the son of Graham Grant. He knew his stuff. Plus, during the off-season Mack coached the kiddies’ league for his nephew.
Then there was Mack’s mother, daughter of another rugby great. All her brothers played and became coaches, and she even managed a rugby team herself. The game ran in Mack’s blood. If only Pierce had more coaches and investors like him around for this football league, they’d have more capital to play with and less bitching from the press.
“Where’s Eddy? Is he joining you?” Pierce looked around for the mysterious coach. He wanted to get a read on the mystery man, especially about the auction.
“He’ll be here soon enough. Gotta deal with some family trouble. No worries. So this auction…Matt sent me the details. You could have called me and asked, mate. If it’s for the kiddies, of course I’d do it. So what kind of women attend these events?”
A wolfish smile curved on the werewolf’s face, showing off his bright teeth and the prominent chip in one of his canines. Heat burned in his eyes, and the faintest scent of musky arousal drifted between them.
Pierce rolled his eyes and tried not to retch. “Always on the prowl. When you get a mate I’d like to be there to watch her rip your balls off.”
Mack held up his hands. “Me, stray?” He placed a hand over his heart and tried to look hurt. “I can be loyal. I just need the right bird.”
Mack fingered the silver necklace around his throat. How could he stand to have silver so close to his skin? Even Pierce had to shudder when he thought about silver—and he was a feline shifter, born and bred.
“Look, we’ll talk about it later. I gotta go change and deal with some things. I’ll see you in a bit.” He pointed at his friend. “Stay out of trouble. I mean it. No taunting the footballers.”
Mack held up his hands again. “Me, taunt? Never.” A competitive spark lit up his eyes turning them amber in the florescent light of the stadium. “I’ll just watch and think of all the ways they fail and use that information to run my league properly.”
Pierce said nothing, but he couldn’t squelch his excitement. Mack was really invested in this. Both leagues—football and rugby—would try to outdo the other. He’d have to watch things carefully to make sure they didn’t go overboard.
Pierce had his car brought around, and as he slipped behind the wheel, a sense of pride filled him. He revved the engine, reveling in the purr of his 2013 Jaguar F-Type. The convertible just screamed for a drive in the mountains along the winding roads, but instead he had to go home. With a foot on the accelerator he peeled out of the parking lot, forcing himself to keep his speed under t
he limit so he wouldn’t get a ticket.
Trees blurred by and his body began to relax as his stresses melted away. Suddenly, there was no opening night, no success or failure to worry about. Here he was with his thoughts, closer to his element. His mind traveled to the one thing that he’d been trying to avoid thinking about: Madison Weston, the curvy little lioness who haunted his kinkiest fantasies and dreams.
A burst of heat washed through his chest and moved down to his stomach. A shadow of her scent filled the cab: sunshine, lemon, grass, and feline musk. He let out a groan as the warmth moved downward to fill his shaft and buzz around his balls. They’d only spent a few moments together, and yet her perfume and the sensation of her presence were imprinted on his brain. He could practically taste her warmth and feel the fire of her resistance. She was like a craving, an addiction he could never satiate. Just when he thought he could get close to her, she’d dart away and hide.
Another burst of fire filtered through his veins like sparks from a sparkler. He growled as another wave overtook him.
Why did she avoid him? There was only a small indication that she was attracted to him. It wasn’t enough, but it couldn’t stop the daydreams and fantasies that filled his head and threatened to shake his cool. Even now, alone, he could feel the tension that threaded along his legs and arms.
The feline instinct in him wanted to find Madison, wherever she was, and claim her. It went against everything his human side felt was right in the world. She had to come to him willingly. The waiting, however, was torturous. Nights alone, with only his imagination for company and his hand for relief, were starting to wear him thin. Not even porn helped take his mind away from how alone he was and how empty his bed felt.
Within, his tiger clawed at his heart, demanded he search Madison out and carry her away. He resisted the impulse. This was not the middle ages, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to act like a savage.
His thoughts streamed toward the bachelor auction. Lots of single women in the shifter community wanted to get their paws on him, and they had made it perfectly clear that they’d do anything he asked of them. His stomach soured in revulsion. Only his mate could release him from these feelings.
Pierce shook his head as he hit the button for the gates of his property and then turned into the drive. Hesitation filled him, pushing back some of his arousal. His tiger remained vigilant, pushing images into his head of Madison—her full lips, button nose, large brown eyes, and flawless, cocoa-colored skin. She had an hourglass figure and a tendency to wear things that reinforced that image, from corsets with blouses and pencil skirts to dresses that hugged her form like a second skin. She had a confidence and sway about her that enticed him. Madison Weston was a mystery wrapped in silk and perfume. She didn’t wear much makeup, but then again she didn’t need any artifice to look beautiful.
He wondered how he was going to survive the shifter females at the auction without insulting them. Many in the community had invested in this new sport of his, and the last thing he needed was a group of enemies. The league allowed paranormals to truly unleash their true natures in a sports setting. A lot of popular athletes had come out of the paranormal closet to participate, leaving lucrative contracts and being shunned by their human counterparts. There was turmoil in the sports community at that moment. No one knew what to make of things as they stood, and some paranormal athletes were still not admitting to their otherworldly status. There was even talk of the vampires possibly joining the Elemental League.
They just needed to get through opening day. With all the cameras around and people looking for him to fail, he wanted to tell everyone to sod off, find a pint, and hide in his house until everything was done. Being the face of the Elemental League was putting him on edge. His wilder instincts were coming out and his tiger wanted time to itself to do some hunting—become that wild loner he’d been when he had played himself.
In those days, he had kept a low profile, but had a different woman waiting for him after every game. Now there was only one woman he wanted.
Pierce turned into his driveway and let out a sigh. He was home and yet he didn’t feel safe or happy in the least. He felt lost. He could only hope that when he did get Madison in his net she’d like the place he’d custom built to house a family.
Chapter Two
Madison tried to ignore the list of participants for the bachelor auction on her computer screen and focus on her dinner. She dragged a fry through the barbecue sauce and popped it into her mouth. The tart, spicy sweetness rolled over her tongue with the earthy saltiness of the fried potato trailing behind. For a moment, her mind was focused on the bliss of deep-fried delight, but as soon as her taste buds were satiated her brain tried to drag her back to the topic she dreaded—Pierce McKinney and his piercing ice-blue eyes.
Unfortunately, her brain was in cahoots with her two best friends, LeAnna Washington and Alec Treaty, who were both bent over her laptop. Lea was reading out the bachelors’ stats and scribbling down the men who caught her eye. Madison tried to stay out of it and focus on eating the rest of her turkey burger in peace.
“Come on, Madison, you have to go.” Lea nudged Alec’s shoulder and stole a fry off his plate. “Alec, tell her she has got to stare at some prime man meat.”
Alec shrugged. “I’m not gonna comment. Besides, why would we want to ogle them? It’s not like they have a queer section. I highly doubt any of those men would find it funny if I put in a bid for a date with them. You know, since I have cooties.”
Madison stifled a giggle. “And I’m not interested in the auction. I can just give to the Children’s Hospital via my laptop from home. No need to get dressed up or anything.”
Easy peasy. At least that’s what Madison told herself. Somehow, she already knew that Lea would get her to go, even if she was stuck in the hospital with appendicitis. The cougar shifter was eager to play matchmaker, no matter how much a person protested, and was not above resorting to blackmail to get her way.
Lea wouldn’t be deterred. With a few taps of the keys and a click of the mouse, she turned the laptop around and showed Alec a new page. “There you go. All the yummy gay man flesh you can handle and all up for auction.” She waggled her eyebrows for emphasis before she leaned back with a cat-that-ate-the-canary smile. “They wanted to be fair to everyone and do a gay section. This way everyone gets to be involved and there won’t be protests.”
“Uh-huh? Come to Alec, sexy gay bachelors!” Alec grabbed the laptop and pulled it toward him with a whistle. “Well butter my biscuits, they have Torsten up here. The big T is putting himself up on the auction block? I may have to go to this one after all.” His gaze wandered over the screen as he read aloud all of Torsten’s likes and dislikes, including what he found attractive in a mate. “Is it getting hot in here or is just me?” Alec grinned lasciviously. “Long walks on the beach? Ha! I’d love to see if I can get sand in his shorts.”
“Traitor!” Madison took another bite of her sandwich, ate some more fries, and sipped her vanilla-bean mocha milkshake.
Alec rolled his eyes. “I’ve had waking wet dreams of this man doing filthy things to me after a championship. Things porn stars wouldn’t do.” He leered. “Yes, indeed. I’ll have to check my savings and make sure that there will be enough in there. He’ll be a popular one.” Alec scrolled through the rest of the candidates, each one more delicious than the last. “Hot damn, they have a lot of choices. I love it. Can they do this every month? No wait, not every month, otherwise I’ll starve.”
Madison bristled. She’d be the only one left out of auction fever. Now that Alec was involved they’d double-team her. She shuddered at the thought of all the things they’d use to get her to show up.
Alec looked up and grinned. “I know why you’re not happy. The big, bad Brit isn’t on this list. I mean, there are plenty of sexy options here but not him.”
Madison glowered him into silence. “You know, for a horse shifter I think all your intelligence was given
to your cock and not your brain. I’m not upset in the least. In fact, I don’t care.”
Alec typed in something and turned the laptop around again. The image of Pierce McKinney stared at her, bright blue eyes gazing back at her with a fierce, determined look that made her heart rate pick up, her stomach muscles clench, her pussy fill with liquid heat, and her brain short circuit. The man wasn’t conventionally handsome, what with his crooked nose and rugged features, but to her the tiger shifter was everything she could want.
And yet, Madison refused even to dip her toe in that pond for fear of getting her heart ripped out. Pierce had a reputation with the ladies. He’d been a football star over in England, with a different woman in every city. The wild antics he’d indulged in were reported by a breathless press and poured out by women desperate for their fifteen minutes. Madison wasn’t about to be another notch in his belt. So what if he had started acting like a priest since moving to town? Tigers didn’t change their stripes. He was probably just after her for her inheritance.
“Not even my type,” she said dismissively. “I’m a lioness. We don’t do tigers.”
She took another sip of her milkshake, feigning disinterest, but her lioness snorted and paced as she snuck another peek at Pierce’s visage. Even from a computer screen, he devastated her defenses. Pierce McKinney was dangerous with a capital D, no doubt about it. To make matters worse, her father was becoming his best friend and doing everything he could to set them up together. He’d even insisted on going to the opening match of the new para-football league, much to her mother’s annoyance. Neither Madison nor her mother could stop him from going, but they had made sure to call ahead and have the kitchens prepare something healthy for him to eat. The last thing they wanted was another attack.
“Does a bear shit in the woods?” Alec laughed. “Of course he’s your type, honey, or you wouldn’t be fighting as hard as you are. Miss Independent, my ass. You want him to tie you down and spank your ass. You dream of saying, ‘Yes, Daddy, I’ve been so bad, spank me harder.’”