by Milly Taiden
He stopped and zipped up her coat and hugged her to his side. “We’re almost there.”
She saw stores she hadn’t seen since her last visit. Bloomingdales and Dylan’s Candy Bar.
“If you didn’t have a place in mind, I’d be dragging you to Cabana Nuevo Latino,” she laughed. “I’m a fan of their Cuban food.”
“I’ve been there. Their skirt steak is delicious.”
She nodded and snuggled closer to him. “They make the best Piña Coladas! And from what I heard, from someone I went with, their Mojitos are amazing.”
“Coconut, right?”
She snorted and slapped his abs. Good god, those abs were damn hard. “I thought you didn’t drink.”
“I don’t, but I did go to college up here. I gave it a try when a classmate dared me. They were pretty good.”
She laughed at the fact he had to be dared to drink. “I’m not a drinker, but they looked damn good the time an old co-worker got one.”
“I stick to their food. The meat is delicious. Seasoned enough that all you get are the flavors from the spices.”
She groaned. “God, now you’re making me extra hungry.”
They crossed the street and walked until they stopped at Serendipity 3.
“Are you serious?” She chuckled. “Here?”
He opened the door to the restaurant and held it for her. “Heck yes. Their cheddar burgers are amazing.”
Yeah, he was right on that account. Serendipity 3 had a pretty great menu. She’d always felt like she needed to be there with some children so they could be a reason for her to be having frozen hot chocolate or a banana split the size of her head.
They were still the same as she remembered. Delicious. The food was great. The service was fantastic and the massive banana split he made her share with him was so over the top, she had to send Isaline a photo.
Her phone buzzed instantly.
“I think that’s your sister.”
She glanced at the screen and laughed. “You’re right. She demands I bring her one of everything and says I’ll be forced to eat Mom’s tofu if I don’t.”
He glanced at the near empty sundae. “I guess tofu it is, huh?”
She shrugged. “Meh, I’ve had worse. It’s not so bad. Mom just makes it and all those healthy dishes to make sure Isa doesn’t eat herself under a table.”
“I don’t think she’ll appreciate that information when we don’t bring back ice cream.”
She winked at her sexy tiger. “Too bad. How’s Ramsey?”
He helped her out of the restaurant once he’d settled the check. “You know she’s great. Dying to see you. She had to get Reysha and Hawk to promise to bring you back so she could spend more time drawing with you.”
Outside the restaurant, the limo they’d taken earlier was waiting for them. They got in and once she was snuggled next to him, they were back on the road.
“I’ll go back and see her. She’s precious.”
He tipped her chin to meet her gaze. “Will you come back with me?”
She cleared her throat, nerves making her stomach buzz with anxiety. “I have a show to put together, at the theater. I can’t go anywhere for a few days.”
He nodded. “Then I’m staying with you. I’m not leaving until you’re mine.”
She stared into his bright golden eyes and scrunched her lips. “Are you sure you want to do that? You were just attacked here. What if those people take over your pride?”
He gave a wide grin. “I have people that can handle things while I’m gone. They handle my resort as well. I won’t leave here until you are ready to come with me.”
She looked away from him, unsure how she felt about that. This was moving so fast. Her emotions were all over the place, but her heart told her to go for it. What did she have to lose?
He picked her up and placed her on his lap, holding her tightly in his arms. “I’m not going anywhere, Sage. The world can fall apart around us, and I’ll be here. I’ll be with you. You are my world.”
23
She raised a hand and slid her fingers over his jaw, her nails scratching at his short beard. “I’m feeling so much right now. But the decision to up and leave my home, my family, has to be for nothing less than love, Feral. Love. I’ve never been in love before, so I don’t know what’s going on in me, but if I leave with you, know it’s because I love you.”
He gave a rough growl and cupped her face in his hands, pulling her in for a swift meeting of their lips. Oh, what a kiss.
His tongue slid into her mouth and dominated. With each swipe over hers, the need, the urgency, the hunger flared brighter in her blood. He slid his fingers around the back of her head and tugged the hair tie holding her locks to let the colorful, long, thick strands tumble freely.
Christ, how good he kissed. He was amazing with that tongue, rubbing and grazing it back and forth over hers. Her nipples puckered tightly under her top. They ached with an intensity she’d never felt before.
All her muscles locked into place. She rocked on his lap, feeling his erection on her ass and she wanted badly to make their clothes disappear and push down until he was deep in her. Until all there was in the world was his body pressed tightly to hers.
This fucking kiss. It was like none of the kisses she’d ever been given before had been real. Nothing compared to the press of Feral’s lips over hers or the way his tongue fondled hers.
It certainly wasn’t anything like his hard muscles holding her soft body hostage. Lord, she loved it. All of it. His hands gripping her hair.
And oh, dear God, how her mind reminded her how good it felt to have him in her body. To give herself to him fully and allow him to own her. Lust pooled at her core and heated her from the inside like a forest fire.
Need grew in her for the man doing with a single kiss what others could not do with months of sex. She moaned as desire grew wings in the most basic of needs. The need to be his.
He grunted, that harsh sound spoke volumes about his self-control. He was close to losing it. His hands slid down her neck to cup her breasts over her sweater. Hot shudders raced down her spine to her clit. A new throbbing took hold of her pussy. She wanted Feral naked. Now.
The crazy emotions fighting for dominance in her chest begged her to give in, to open herself to his care and allow him to be the man who would love her forever.
Her mind, on the other hand, warned caution and reminded her it was okay to try something as long as she was careful. That she didn’t allow him to hurt her. Need shut down all thinking. Fuck everything.
Instead, she focused on feeling here and now. He slipped under her sweater, pulling her bra down and spilling her breasts for his touch. He fondled her breasts, massaging and tweaking her nipples.
With every squeeze, her pussy fluttered. Her panties had gone past damp to soaked. Her jeans were past uncomfortable. She had to stop this or they would have sex on the back of this limo.
And as much as she was okay with that, she’d rather have unlimited time to ensure she got off as many times as possible.
She pulled away from him, just enough to catch her breath and look into his golden eyes. The need and lust she saw there made her shiver.
“I want you,” he said, his voice firm, low and rough.
Those had to be the best words any man had ever said to her. Not because she’d never been told she was wanted before, she had, but because he said it in such a way she knew it was true. He said it as if it was killing him to not be inside her, and by God, that made the words all the more special.
“I want you, too,” she breathed, her heart thudding so hard, she could barely hear over her own heartbeats.
The limo stopped at that moment, they were back at the airport. She needed to think of something else or she might burst into flames from how turned on she was.
In the plane, she turned to him and smiled. “Thank you for a lovely day. I wish all the kids could have been there to see the play. I’ll tell them all about it, b
ut it’s not the same.”
He kissed her as they took off and pulled her close. “Don’t worry. The kids will get their turn.”
24
Feral glanced at Sage as she opened the door. He’d been counting down the seconds until he could have her again. After she’d told him about her feelings, he knew his mate was close to giving him her heart.
He wanted that, more than anything. The thought of her loving him made his tiger restless. He needed her.
Kicking the door closed, he locked it. His tiger rumbled and she turned, her eyes wide with shock, and met his gaze.
“Are you okay?”
He picked her up in his arms and carried her straight to her bed. “I’ll be fucking perfect in a moment.”
He tore her clothes off, his control all but disappeared. She gasped but her fingers went to work pulling on his garments as well. He snarled, fighting his hunger for control.
“I need you, Sage. You don’t know how fucking badly I want you. You’re all there is for me.”
Her gaze softened and a smile split her lips. “For a guy who’s not used to romancing a woman, you know how to say the perfect things.”
He shook his head and tugged her to the bed, pulling her atop of him. “Not perfect. The truth.”
His whole world had dwindled down to Sage. At that very moment, the perfume of her desire was all he focused on. How much he loved it. How much he wanted more of it.
She kissed him with almost as much desperation as he felt. Thank fuck. Then she straddled him, her pussy heat curled around his cock and he almost forgot how to breathe.
She lifted, their kiss leaving them both gasping from harsh breaths. “I want you in me, Feral.” She caressed her nails down his chest, south to his abs. “I don’t know what all these emotions are. You make me want so many things, but the biggest is more. You make me want more of you. Of us.”
“I can give you everything you want, love.”
She grinned, her gaze full of need. “I know. Can you give me love? A stable relationship? Can you give me a family? If I leave here, will you give me the family I’ve always wanted?”
He groaned, feeling her pussy lips rubbing over his cock, all slick and hot. He gripped her hips, ready to raise her and slam her down on his dick and cum until she was bred with at least triplets.
“Baby, I will give you so many kids, you won’t know what to do with them. I’ll give you a new family. You, me, and our kids. I’ll love you beyond death. I’ll love you for all eternity. My heart will never belong to anyone but you.”
Another soft smile spread over her lips. “Did Google tell you to say that?”
He raised her hand from his abs and brought it over his heart. “No, love. That’s all coming from within. My tiger and I will give up anything to have you.”
“Fuck,” she sighed. “I guess after my play, I’ll move in with you,” she grumbled. “I might have been able to fight you if you weren’t so damn cute and romantic.”
He chuckled and pulled her head down for a kiss. Her lips were so soft, so warm and willing. Her nipples grazed his chest and he sucked in a breath. He loved every single touch of her body with his. But when she lifted from the kiss, her features appeared set on something.
“Come here,” he growled, his voice deep with his animal.
She shook her head. “Not this time. I want you in me. Now.”
“I might hurt you. Let me taste you first.”
“No,” she told him firmly and lifted her hips, showing him her wet pussy folds. “I’m ready for you.”
Fuck! He grabbed his cock at the root, guiding it to her entrance. She held herself up by pressing on his chest. Raking her nails over his nipples, she pinched down on the tiny buds. He groaned and gripped her hips with one hand.
Instead of taking it slow and easy, like he expected her to, she lowered into a sitting position, impaling herself with his cock. He choked out a breath and she moaned, pressing her body as low as possible to take him even deeper.
“Fuck, Sage!”
Her pussy grappled around his cock, squeezing him so tightly, he had to count to ten so he wouldn’t spill inside her like a fucking teenager having sex for the first time.
“Oh god, Feral...”
“I love being in you. It is even more perfect each time,” he groaned.
She wiggled a little, rocking back and forth and sighing with the movement. “I’m stretched taut.”
“Baby, you’re all that’s perfect right now.” He gripped handfuls of her ass and rocked her on his cock.
She dug her nails into his arms and shook her hips. “Every time I move, it is amazing how you graze me inside.”
“That’s it, love. Squeeze my cock,” he grunted.
She rocked back and forth on him, at first. But she was too slow and he was going insane waiting for her to speed it up. Her pussy muscles clamped tightly around his cock.
Guiding her up and down, he helped her ride him faster, to come down harder, and to rock when she got all the way down so he could hit different areas inside her.
“Oh, oh, god, yesss,” she mumbled. Her pussy fluttered and he knew she was close to her release. He increased the speed. Lifting and dropping her. Her body tensed, her pussy clamping tighter on him.
He continued rocking her, gliding her up and down his dick. Her head fell back, her eyes closed, and her tits bounced with each lift and drop, making his own orgasm rush at him.
She leaned down, kissing him and moaning by his lips. “I’m so close. So close.”
He licked her lips and bit down on her jaw. “Let go.”
He rose and took her breast into his mouth, suckling hard on her nipple. Her pussy quivered around his cock and a harsh cry fell from her lips. She pressed down to take him deeper. Her body shook with the force of her orgasm. She dug her nails into his shoulders, clinging to him as her pussy squeezed him to come.
He let go of her breast and tensed, gripping her ass hard. A deafening roar sounded from his chest, shaking them both in the process. He continued to lift and drop her hard on his cock, until he suddenly stopped. His cock pulsed in her pussy, thick, hot and hard. Jets of cum filled her channel with his seed. The longer he roared, the more he came.
“Mine, Sage. Mine. Mine. Mine!”
It was a loud, growled chant his tiger demanded. She gripped his shoulders and for long moments, his cock continued coming inside her.
Finally, he stopped. She fell on him, her body slick with sweat and her breathing ragged.
“I think I need a nap,” she yawned and glanced at him with a soft smile. “I have never been this tired after sex.”
He cupped her face and kissed her. She was his woman and his mate. If he had his way, she’d live with that smile on her face. “Get some rest, love.”
“And later, we do this again?” She smiled wider.
“Later,” he growled. “I’m going to show you just how much I want your sexy ass.”
She kissed his chin. “It’s a deal. I have lube.”
“Baby, you can’t say shit like that.” Now he was never going to fall asleep.
“Shh,” she yawned again. “Later. You can have all the ass you want after I get some sleep.”
25
Duke rolled the poison-filled jar in his hand and smiled.
“You’re sure this will work?” he asked the weasel of a man in front of him. The character fit in perfectly with the dark, seedy alley they stood in.
“No question. It’ll knock any shifter on his ass instantly. Coma quickly follows, and then…death,” he replied.
Duke rolled his eyes. Could this creep be any more overdramatic? It wasn’t like Duke would be sucked into any razzle-dazzle marketing ploy. He wasn’t sure if he believed the words sliding out of the jerk’s mouth.
“Even a large tiger?” he confirmed.
“Absolutely.”
Somewhat reluctantly, Duke pulled the wad of money from his inside jacket pocket.
“Here. We’re
done. Unless this stuff doesn’t work. Then I’ll be back to make sure there is at least one death from it.” Duke pulled the hat lower on his face and walked out of the alleyway to his SUV parked along the street.
After the debacle with his nephews, his sister bailed the brothers out of jail and hadn’t talked to him since. Which was fine by him. The boys were beat to shit. They said several Terai members interrupted their progress. They would’ve had the alpha in their vehicle, otherwise. Right, Duke doubted that.
This time, he wasn’t taking any chances. He would go along with his two best men. If they couldn’t take out the damn alpha, they would take his mate. At least his nephew’s trip wasn’t a total waste. Intel reached him about Feral and a female staying at a cabin outside Full Moon Bay. It was just the break he was needing. The alpha alone with a huge weakness—his mate in danger.
Then finally, Terai land and pride would be his. He could mine the gold and keep it for himself. Of course, he had to find the exact location of the old mine. Shouldn’t be difficult. The ancient map he found in his grandfather’s library looked detailed enough. And of course, the legend of the Lost Man’s Gold had directions.
According to the story, a Swede and his family were crossing the mountains with their wagon train on their way to the West. In a blinding snowstorm, they were separated. Continuing with no sense of direction, he and his family wandered the mountainside.
After days in the deadly storm, he’d lost the horse and wagon, and the next day, he lost his child and wife. In agonizing grief, he found a cave to store the bodies until he could come back and bury them.
Inspecting the rock walls, he noticed flashes of light reflecting the illumination from his lantern. Sifting through the pebbles and dust on the floor, he found nuggets of gold. He spent the next day collecting all he could while the blizzard snowed itself out. After coming off the mountain and arriving in a nearby town, he purchased land and began his dream of ranching. When the first of spring came about, he tried to find the cave, but never could.