by U
He took the stairs two at a time, a mug in hand for Madison to help wake her up. Jessica would be cooking for the next half hour if he timed it correctly, so he had time to draw out a bath and help with Madison’s aching muscles. He’d given her massage as she slept to help the healing process and cleaned her up with a wet cloth, but a soak in his whirlpool tub would be just what she needed. Plus, he could send someone out to get some clothes for her to wear so she wouldn’t have to do the walk of shame.
A soft meow drew his attention to his bedroom door. He skidded to a stop and smiled. Zoe stared up at him with large china-blue eyes.
“Hello, gorgeous, you’re looking better.”
The cat just meowed at him and darted past. He shook his head and headed into his bedroom.
Madison was nowhere to be found. Pierce opened his mouth to call out but she darted out of the bathroom with his shirt on, and his pants rolled up at the cuffs and his belt.
“I’m already late. Gotta go. I’ll pick up Zoe later. Bye.” She lifted up on her tiptoes, gave him a kiss, and left him.
The only thing he could do was smile. Hope lifted his spirits, she hadn’t yelled at him or mentioned the bite mark. Life was good, for now.
Chapter Thirteen
Madison stared at Lea as she shoveled yet another mound of curly fries into her mouth. It was almost nine o’clock. She’d managed to get home, shower, and change in record time, but as soon as she walked into Shadows she knew something was wrong. Lea sat in a booth with a huge BLT and fries, and she was wearing a wrinkled T-shirt and jeans, not her usual business attire. She looked as if someone had shot her dog. Dark circles hung under her eyes, and she reeked of wine.
Madison just wanted to sneak into her office, but she couldn’t leave Lea like this. With reluctance, she ordered some curly fries herself and sat across from her friend without saying a word. Lea would have to be the person to start things.
“Love sucks. So does dating. You look like you had a good time. God, I wish I could just fuck some random guys and be done with it. Then again, I can just use my vibrator as a boyfriend. Why bother with men to begin with?”
Madison had no idea what to say, and she didn’t want to compound Lea’s problems with her own, so she didn’t mention the fact that Pierce had marked her as his mate. Just the thought of it made her shoulder throb and a pool of liquid heat seep into her core. She shifted in her seat and tried to ignore the throb of desire that started up in her clit.
Alec arrived, eyes just as bloodshot, gait slow and heavy. He collapsed in the booth next to Lea and grabbed a fry. “I’m exhausted. Spent the whole weekend grading papers. Tell me, when did text speak become the standard for the English language? Because apparently my students believe that it’s OK to use things like OMG or b4 as substitutes for words and phrases.” He placed his head on the tabletop and let out a groan. “My God, they’re so smart they’re becoming stupid.”
“Our future ladies and gentlemen,” Lea mumbled. “Crappy weekend?”
Alec lifted his head and nodded. He snatched some of Madison’s fries and started to munch on them. “Too bad I didn’t have some hot stud to distract me. So why the fast food so early in the morning and why the hell do you smell like a wine bar?”
He looked over at Madison and gave her a once over but didn’t say anything, thankfully.
“Had a date with several bottles of wine and movies. Didn’t bother with my bachelor auction date. He’s not my type. Anyway, I have to get to work. You guys finish up here.”
Lea stood up and left, leaving them dumbfounded. Madison looked to Alec for a clue and all he did was shrug.
“She’ll talk when she wants to,” Sully said, striding up in tight jeans and a Metallica T-shirt. He handed Madison a heavy file. “I have a new event for you to plan.”
“Well, you can have the rest of my fries, Alec. I have a job to do. We’ll talk later.” She got up and tried to walk normally, but sparks of pain shot through her shoulder as a fire began to build in her gut.
In her office, Madison took a deep breath and sank down into the chair behind her desk. Her concentration scattered as the fucking from last night returned to her—Ryan deep within her ass, stretching it to its limits, Pierce in her pussy. With each ghost of a thrust or withdrawal her need grew.
Madison shifted in her seat and tried to shove down the sensations that rose within her. Every nerve in her body seemed to be directed to the rise of desire. Her body temperature climbed from normal to a fever that prickled along her skin. All her thoughts flowed toward one thing—Pierce. She could feel the phantom of his cock push into her, rubbing against her vaginal walls, setting off waves of pleasure. A moan formed in her chest, pushed up into her throat, and filled her mouth. She could feel his sharpened teeth sinking into her skin and pushing into her muscles and tendons. The moan spilled past her lips as a shockwave took her, and her body trembled as a small orgasm burst within her. Her thighs quaked and her heartbeat raced. She reached out, gripped the arm of her chair, and squeezed her shoulder again.
It didn’t help. The desire only grew until her panties became damp and her pussy throbbed with need. Again, she felt Pierce’s cock inside of her, pulling back and then driving forward while Ryan’s cock filled her ass, matching Pierce’s rhythm as they fucked her in concert.
The previous night’s activities flared to life and played out in her mind, echoing through her body until all she could do was writhe in her seat. Mewls and groans played back at her, bouncing off the walls. Need wove through her veins. She knew what she needed, wanted, yearned for—Pierce, her mate.
The door flew open and Sully appeared, glass of water in hand. Without a word, he pressed the ice-cold mug against her temple and stroked her hair. “I could smell your need, even out in the hall. He marked you?”
All she could do was nod. She didn’t want to ask him how he knew. As far as she’d heard
Sully was single and loving it.
“OK, you need to fuck him, by himself. I can smell both him and Ryan on you. Don’t be embarrassed about it, OK?” Even from behind his sunglasses she could see his eyes flash with emotion. “But you need to have him all to yourself and seal the deal by marking him. Shoulder, wrist, side, ass, don’t matter. He needs his own mate mark. Once you’re both marked then you need to have sex one more time to make sure that it’s all sealed and you don’t need a third. You do want to be with him, yes?”
She didn’t hesitate. All she did was nod again. Madison couldn’t think of a reason to deny it. He didn’t care about her social or her monetary status, he didn’t care how many lovers she’d had, nor was he disgusted by her desire in the bedroom. He was too good to be true, but despite her doubts he was her mate. Period. End of story. The rest would work itself out.
She had to say it, affirm it out loud. “Yes, I want to be with him.”
“OK. Do what I say and you’ll be fine. If you need to take some time, ease the need, use one of the rooms upstairs, free of charge, OK?” Sully pressed a kiss to her temple, put the mug in her hand, and turned to leave. “Also, take some aspirin for the pain. It will dull the feverish symptoms and the ache. And if you really get desperate, go the apothecary on Hawthorne. You’ll be OK. I promise. Now plan me some wicked awesome parties. I have a rep to maintain.”
Sully left so quietly that she couldn’t be sure he wasn’t floating over the floor.
Madison opened up a drawer and took out a small bottle. With shaking hands, she managed to pop open the top and get out two pills. She took the tablets with the water and waited for the shaking and passion to pass.
She knew she needed to talk to Pierce and tell him what was going on. She knew that Pierce valued their time together. Any other horny male left with an in-heat female of any species would have taken her, fucked her, and then dropped her off at home if she was lucky. But Ryan and Pierce had taken care of her, shown her consideration, and catered to her every need. They had introduced to her to pleasure-play and sensual-play and some aspect
s of BDSM, and now she wanted more.
But this time she wanted it to be with Pierce and only him. Ryan had been fun, but he had his own mates to find. Pierce was her mate and she wanted him all to herself, for now and forever.
Madison picked up her cell phone and dialed Pierce’s number. She hoped she wasn’t interrupting something important. He did have a new sporting league to manage and set up after all.
* * *
Pierce looked over his at the people he’d assembled for the morning’s meetings. All of them had invested in this venture, so they had a right to know what was going on.
“My sources informed me this morning that the majors are allowing athletes currently still in the paranormal closet to come out, so long as they sign an agreement that they won’t compete in our league for at least five years.” He paused to take in the mood of the men around him. Stormy looks flickered around the room. “No word on whether or not they’ll offer this deal to our boys and girls, or even if they’ll consider taking on any of our coaches.”
Lei was the first to speak up. “I won’t go back to them, even if they do come to me. Not with the way they treated me after I was outed.”
“Neither would I,” Mack declared with a dark glint in his eyes. “We’re all with you, Pierce. And they can go fuck themselves as far as I’m concerned. Bunch of wankers.” He looked around at the men Pierce had assembled, as if daring anyone to contradict him.
Ryan nodded. “I’ll put out feelers with the people we’re vetting for the league, and I’ll have lawyers look over whether this is a rights violation. This is a clusterfuck if I’ve ever seen one. And I’ve seen a lot of fucked-up shit in sports.”
Pierce slumped in his seat. A weight lifted off his shoulders and chest.
“No worries. Just relax and take this weekend off.” Ryan stood up and everyone followed his lead. “Spend it with Madison. We’ll handle it all and report to you on Monday.”
Tears stung Pierce’s eyes, but he fought not to let his emotion show. He just gave everyone a stoic nod and watched them leave.
Matt gave him a small smile. “Yeah, no worries, sir.”
Pierce didn’t have long to think on what had just happened. His cell phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Madison. With trepidation, he answered the call.
“Hey, love, I was just about to call you and check in.” He prayed she wasn’t mad at him. “Can you come to the house for dinner?”
Madison cleared her throat and Pierce’s stomach knotted with worry.
“I wanted to talk to you too, and dinner would be great but, um, Pierce, I…well, I need to mark you. During sex.”
Pierce blinked at her last statement. His mind turned over and his tiger chuffed in approval. “Is it part of the mating heat?”
He could picture her, licking her lips and shifting in her seat in discomfort. A desire to make her even more uncomfortable with a bit of dirty talk rose, but he quashed it down.
“Yes, but, um, well…I want to try something with you, if it’s OK,” she said, shy and low.
Pierce chuckled. “We can discuss it during dinner. How’s that?”
“OK, see you later.”
Pierce called Matt back into his office. “Get me Rachel from the real estate agency. She needs to find Ryan his own place. And see if you can get an invite for Ryan or whoever to the Wolven Wine Weekend. I already used my influence to get myself an invite with Madison.”
Matt nodded. “Will do.”
He turned on his heel and left, but Mack came in immediately afterward.
“Where the fuck are those reports for the reservists I asked for? No one’s seen them. I need more fucking options.” He stomped off without giving Pierce any time to respond.
Pierce could see this was going to be a long day. As soon as that thought popped up his phone rang.
“McKinney.”
“Pierce, I can’t practice on this pitch. It’s still soaked from last night. When’s the secondary facility going to be done? We’re slipping and sliding all over the place.”
“Practice anyway. I’ll tell you when the practice facility is good enough for you,” Pierce growled and slammed the phone down. “Matt, get in here.”
Matt appeared at the doorway. “Sir?”
“Field my calls. And no one is to see me unless I want it. I have paperwork.” Pierce watched Matt nod and close the door behind him as he left the office.
Once alone, Pierce let out a sigh. Dinner with Madison looked like it was a million hours away. Never in his life had he so looked forward to being alone with paperwork and answering e-mails.
Chapter Fourteen
Madison smoothed down her skirt. She hovered her hand over Pierce’s doorbell, trembling with anticipation.
It had been a frantic day. Once the wave of mating heat had abated, she had buried herself in her work. Then she had dashed home, changed into a blouse and skirt, and packed an overnight bag.
Before she’d left for the day, Sully had handed her an envelope with an invite to the Wolven Wine Weekend and orders to get in as many different kinds of wine as possible. She knew from experience that only a few invitations were given out, and from what she’d heard from the bartenders on staff, Sully hadn’t been able to snag one last year. All the premium wines had been snapped up, leaving him with stuff he didn’t particularly like.
It filled Madison with pride that he’d wanted her to be the one to broker the deal. She had a lot of experience drinking wine, but had no clue what to look for when it came to selecting it. She knew that white went with fish and red with meat, but that was the limit of her knowledge.
She hoped Pierce could help her out. He had a large wine cellar and was an investor with Wolven Winery, as well as other paranormal vineyards. Maybe Jessica, his chef, would be able to give her a hand.
With a sigh, she rang the bell and waited for Inga to answer the door. Pierce surprised her by pulling it open himself. Zoe wound around his ankles, looking quite at home.
Madison didn’t feel the least bit jealous of this. In fact, she was relieved that Zoe seemed so content with Pierce and his staff. It didn’t mean she was moving in with him, yet, but at least Zoe had a second home there.
Pierce’s gaze brushed over Madison in a heated caress that left her skin prickling and desire blooming in her stomach. Her pussy slickened and thoughts of dinner temporarily flew out of her mind. She tried to ignore the way her nipples had tightened and the slow pulse of her clit. She swallowed and took a breath as her mating heat came back in a slow throb. A blush filled her cheeks.
“Hi.” She looked down at her shoes, feeling shy.
Their relationship had changed so completely in just one night. Intimacy and knowledge had taken the place of stubbornness and aggression. She couldn’t ignore her desires any more, not after what had happened between them.
“No need to feel shy, love. Come on in. You look gorgeous, as usual.”
He reached down, grabbed her hand, and pulled her forward until she stopped just millimeters away from his body. Pierce bent down and brushed his lips against her cheek, sending a lick of fire down her spine. He moved his mouth over hers, which only ignited the flame in her body.
With a whimper, she pressed herself against him and rose on tiptoe to kiss him more fully. She sighed and opened her mouth, slipped her tongue out, and tracing a line along the seam between his lips. They parted to allow her tongue in for a deeper taste. A muffled groan was her reward. She felt his canines thicken and sharpen until they nearly drew blood when the brushed against her lips.
Madison wrapped her arms around Pierce’s neck and slipped a hand over his head, feeling the smoothness and heat of his skin against her palm. She could feel the hard planes of his body, even with the barrier of the silk shirt and wool pants he wore. She wanted to feel all that muscle and sinew against her body.
Her shoulder bite throbbed, and an insistent heat grew in the pit of her stomach. Her clit pulsed in time with her heartbeat, demanding atte
ntion. Her breasts ached for his touch. She groaned and lifted her leg to twine it around his. The pencil skirt she wore was too tight. She hated that she’d chosen to wear a waist cincher. It felt as if it weren’t allowing her take in enough air. Her blouse felt itchy and abraded her skin.
“Dinner is served.” Jessica brushed past the two of them. “Or are you two gonna keep letting in the flies and night air? I’m off to the movies. Enjoy!”
Rather than embarrassment, Madison felt amused. She gave Pierce another kiss and stepped back. Her stomach gave a growl and she gazed up at him.
“Time to eat.” She took his hand and led him into the house. “And then dessert.”
He released his hold on her and bent down to get her bag. “I’m gonna deduct some pay from her salary. Can’t get good help these days,” he muttered.
Madison laughed. “No, don’t do that. She might poison your coffee. Let it be. And besides, I need to eat. I’m starving. And for more than just food.”
Pierce followed her to the dining room and pulled out her chair. “You get settled and I’ll put your bag away. If you’d like, you can serve yourself first.”
Madison didn’t object. It would give her time to compose herself. Her panties were wet and she wanted to take off her clothes and get herself off to ease some of the need. Instead, she decided to indulge in some wine and let the alcohol work its magic. She hadn’t taken anything since the aspirin that afternoon.
She found that being with Pierce both eased the passion and increased it. It was manageable, but just barely. She poured herself a glass of red and took in the spread on the table. Their plates had already been made up with an herb-crusted steak, mashed potatoes, and asparagus in a butter sauce. It all looked delicious. And they would have plenty of protein to give them energy for the night ahead. She just hoped that Pierce would like the plan she had in mind. Madison hesitated before picking up her utensils. Should she start without him?