by Celia Kyle
“Yes, you are, but I was talking about the house.” He gave her a half smile. He teased her then, his fingers sliding up from her wrist to her shoulder before moving to massage the base of her skull.
He eased closer to her, his lips coming nearer with each passing second, and she held her breath, wondering if he really would. Did she want him to? Was she any good? They’d never kissed--her and the lions. That was something shared between true lovers, not lionesses and lions. This ... this was her first true kiss and she yearned to feel Jacob’s lips against hers.
“Tell me to stop,” he whispered against her mouth, his breath mingling with hers.
“No,” she whispered back a moment before he closed the distance between them. He captured her lips in a bruising kiss, his tongue delving into her mouth with the intent to dominate--and dominate he did. His tongue flicked and tasted, and she tentatively returned his caress, easing her tongue into his mouth. That earned a moan in response and he slanted his mouth over hers, giving her better access.
Jacob insinuated himself between her thighs, the hard ridge of his cock pressing and grinding against her heat. If only... If only there were a bed, a blanket, something nearby that they could lie on, love on. She wanted him and his kisses and caresses for as long as she could get them.
He continued his assault, performing an erotic come-and-get-me with his tongue, licking every nook and cranny of her mouth with what seemed like practiced ease.
She probed his mouth, mimicking his every move, anxious to give him the pleasure he gave her. She searched out more of his musky, woodsy taste, reveling in his scent and flavor.
And like a cold shower, the spell was lost with the clearing of a throat nearby.
Meg tore her mouth from Jacob’s and peered around him, gasping when she caught sight of who could only be Jacinda Fergus, matriarch of Strange Hollow. Oh. Shit.
“Jacinda, impeccable timing as usual.” Jacob’s voice rumbled through her and Meg’s pussy clenched in response, unable to stop her body’s reaction to Jacob.
“Well, I saw you drive in. Only, I didn’t expect ... this.” Her voice seemed icy cold, and Meg worried that the two of them had a history she hadn’t known about.
“Um, sorry?” Meg eased around Jacob and put space between them. “I didn’t realize...”
Jacinda waved away Meg’s apology. “It’s nothing. I just wanted some time for girl talk and to see if you needed help with decorating.”
“And that’s my cue to leave.” Jacob pressed a quick, chaste kiss to Meg’s lips before striding from the house.
Meg watched the sway of his hips as he strode down the driveway, and she couldn’t restrain the shudder of desire that shot through her body.
“He’s trouble, that one.” Jacinda’s soft, angelic voice sounded from behind her.
“Is he? Do tell.” She didn’t want to get tangled up with the wrong kind of man so soon after gaining her independence.
“He’s... The thing about Jacob is...” Meg turned to face Jacinda, wanting to read whatever emotions she could. The fairy with the long, brown hair and glowing violet eyes, nibbled on her lower lip while she searched for the words. “He’s a bit of a man-slut.”
She raised her eyebrows, skeptical. “Man-slut?”
Jacinda nodded. “No offense against him. He’s a bear, it’s what they do.” She shrugged. “He can’t help his present just like you can’t help your past, Meg. It just is.”
Meg glanced out the window, watching the big SUV drive away, and wondered. Would it be so bad to have a fling with the roaming bear?
Yes.
* * * *
Jacob’s cock was hard. Harder than hard if that were possible. Meg, with her sweet eyes and luscious lips, got to him. Made his bear think things it didn’t have any business thinking or wanting or fantasizing about. Stupid bear.
He needed to purge the sweetness of her kiss from his mouth, his mind ... his prick.
Driving home, he navigated his SUV through the streets of town, turning this way and that until he finally ended up on Main, driving past the Cauldron. The parking lot was nearly empty. There was a car or two Jacob recognized and those owners couldn’t give him the release he needed right now. Nah, they wouldn’t do at all...
Wait a second though. Avery’s little beat-up Honda was in the lot. The boy’d been eager enough the other day...
Without second-guessing himself or listening to the raging bear inside, Jacob swung into the parking lot and threw his SUV into park. Before the truck stopped rocking, he was out and striding toward the front door of the Cauldron, sweet ass and all the cock he could suck on his mind.
He stood inside just past the doorway for a moment, giving his eyes time to adjust to the darkened interior. Once he could see again, he scanned the interior, looking for his prey. In a back booth, he spotted the sweet little morsel sitting alone.
Jacob didn’t waste time. He moved around chairs and tables, his prey in sight. He didn’t wait to be invited to sit when he got to the table, but just slid into the booth, smiling. “Avery, baby.”
He got a smile in return, big and beautiful. “Jacob!” The smile turned flirtatious. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Uh huh. So, baby, did Mr. Whoever turn out to be “the one”?” Sometimes men found one person to spend their lives with. Jacob didn’t think he was one of them, but that didn’t mean Avery wasn’t.
Avery took a sip of his drink, teasing the straw with his tongue. “Nu-uh.”
Jacob eased closer. “Care to spend a little more time with “Mr. Wrong”, then?”
“You know exactly what I like.” Avery purred and eased even closer.
Jacob kissed the other man, lips brushing, his tongue dipping just inside for a deeper taste. “Out back.”
Jacob’s cock was hard as nails while he dragged Avery behind him through the bar. In moments, they were out back as they’d been days before, cock eager, hands stroking and petting, pulling on clothes and anxious to get to skin. He tugged on the man’s belt and delved between skin and jeans to feel Avery’s hard dick jerk in his hands. He continued his journey to just behind the man’s balls and felt the telltale bit of slick. “Always ready for me, baby?”
“Always.” The other man panted and moaned. “Always. Fuck me.”
He spun Avery around and pulled on the man’s jeans, exposing his bare ass. Jacob undid his own pants, freeing his hard erection and sheathing himself quickly, ready to be inside someone, ready to brush the memory of a sweet mouth, round hips and cute ass from his mind.
Condom on, Jacob separated Avery’s cheeks with his hands and placed the head of his cock against the man’s asshole. And then ... promptly got soft. As in, no erection, no hard dick, no pounding nails ... soft. Mr. Happy was not happy and he knew exactly whose fault it was.
She had dark hair, gorgeous eyes, a body that even a priest would lust after, and the sweetest little bow-shaped mouth that he ached to kiss again. Damn it. “Fuckity-fuck.”
Avery wiggled his bottom and pushed it out toward Jacob. “That’s what I’m waiting for, Jacob,” he whined.
“I-I know, baby. Just one second.” He stroked his cock, willing it to harden once again. He squeezed and massaged and prayed to God that the damned thing would fill with blood so he could fuck Avery through the wall, and then... Nothing. Not a damned thing. He thumped the head of his dick, wincing at the blossoming pain that coursed along his shaft. Well, at least he could feel something.
“Jacob?”
“Uh...”
Avery pulled his jeans over his hips and turned around, his gaze immediately going to Jacob’s wilted dick. “Oh. You know, Jacob, it happens to everyone. Not me, but... Okay, no one I know, but...”
He raised his hand, silencing the talkative man. “It’s a woman.”
“A woman? Wow. And you’re with me because...”
He hung his head, his attention focused on his prick. “I don’t know.” And he didn’t.
“Well, it
was fun, sorta. Not really, but I’ll see ya around, Jacob.” And with that Avery zippered and snapped his jeans closed and sauntered down the alley through the Cauldron’s back door.
“Shitmotherfuckershitfuck.” At least he hadn’t gone through with it. At least he could say that much. He’d come close, but... His bear growled and roared, pissed that the human side of him had even thought of being with someone other than its mate. “Mate.” He spat the word. He never thought he’d have one of those.
He needed a drink.
Jacob stripped off the lubricated condom, tucked his cock back into his slacks, and zipped up before heading toward the door Avery had just entered. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the dim interior, but once they did he headed for the bar. He bellied up to the bar. “Whiskey on the rocks, make it a double.”
“Little early.” The bartender, Caleb or something, commented and then reached for a bottle behind the counter.
“Nah, top shelf.” Today deserved top shelf.
“Troubles? Man or woman?” he asked while reaching for the bottle Jacob indicated.
“Woman. Mate troubles.” He tossed back the drink, whiskey burning while it made its way down his throat, the heat reminding him he was alive and needing to be punished for what he’d tried to do.
“Ah. Want to talk about it?”
Just what he’d needed, an impartial third party. “Pour me another and we’ll get to it.” He watched while Caleb filled the glass again. He nodded when it’d gotten to near the top. “The thing about it is...”
Chapter Six
Jacinda left with smiles and promises of shopping. With new information about Jacob in mind, Meg decided to keep her distance from the alluring bear. Nothing good could come from a fling. Her feelings were still too raw from leaving the pride, and an affair would only break her heart, not mend it.
A knock sounded from the front door. No, it was more like a rough pounding, and she wondered if Jacob had returned.
Meg glanced out the front window and froze. Four black BMW’s packed her driveway and, without looking at the vanity plates, she knew exactly who they belonged to. Damn it.
It hadn’t taken them long. Not long at all and already they were here to drag her back home. No, no, no.
The pounding came again followed by her Aunt Nia shouting through the solid wooden door. “Don’t make me go big bad wolf on this door and break it down, Margaret!”
Oh, hell no. She hadn’t grown a backbone and moved hundreds of miles away from her home just to have her new front door broken down by her aunt and the woman’s minions. She was a lioness, hear her bitch the women out.
She stomped through the house, the ground shaking with her fury. She wrenched the front door open and ... froze. Half the women of the pride were standing on the front step of her porch, suitcases in hand. Meg stood there, mouth agape.
Her aunt closed her mouth with one well-manicured finger. “Close your mouth, dear, you’ll catch flies.”
Nia pushed past her and the other lionesses followed. Meg counted them as they entered the house, and by the time the line ended she had eight ladies in her two-bedroom home.
Oh, this would not do at all.
All of them started chattering at once, discussing decorations and sizes and additions, and it was all too much for Meg after the day she’d had. She lost it. “Enough! Nia.” She hadn’t ever called her aunt anything but “Aunt Nia” and the woman gasped at Meg’s tone. “What are y’all doing here? Why do you have suitcases?”
Her aunt stepped forward. “We found your note and scented you to the airport and Gemma hacked the airport computers...”
Of course, Gemma, the computer nerd of the pride.
“And then we just did a little research and drove on up. Figured we’d need transportation, and since the men have used us for years, we figured they owed us. Plus, we took all our money, just like you did. We’re here to stay.”
“The hell you are!” Lincoln, Marcus and Nicholas’s voices echoed in unison.
Great. Meg stomped her foot and groaned. The lions had arrived.
The room erupted with screams and yells. Men declaring and women telling them they were bat-shit crazy.
“No!”
“Yes!”
“Fuck you!” Wow, Gemma actually had a voice. And she used it.
“Gemma!” Nia gasped and clapped her friend on the back, smiling.
“Fuck me? Fuck you! You’re coming home.” Nicholas reached for Meg, and a deafening roar silenced the whole house. Twelve lions were suddenly quiet as a mouse.
Meg looked toward the source of the sound and froze. Her sweet, rugged bear had turned into a ferocious animal in a matter of seconds. Jacob’s shirt was hanging off him in tatters, his jeans split at the thighs and his chest was covered in a thick carpet of dark brown, almost black, hair. His face had elongated and formed a half-snout. The man ... was scary.
Nicholas, the strongest and biggest of the pride’s lions roared in return and stepped up to Jacob. Stupid mistake. “They’re coming home with us, bear.” He said the name in a sneer.
“No.” One word and he brooked no argument. Jacob dismissed Nicholas and waded through the gathering of people to come to stand behind Meg. He placed his claw-like hands on her shoulders, and instead of being afraid, she was strangely comforted.
“She’s ours,” Marcus stated, as if she were property.
“Mine.”
“Look, bear, we can come to an agreement,” Lincoln cajoled, ever the negotiator.
“No.” Jacob growled and shoved her behind him. “Mate trumps pimp, asshole.”
Oh. Oh. Meg snuggled up against Jacob’s back, soothed and calmed by the touch of his fur on her skin.
Jacob reached back and patted her hip. “You can leave now, or I can make you leave.”
Nicholas just couldn’t back down. He stepped forward, sniffing the air. “Mate?” He inhaled deeply, his chest expanding. “Then why do I smell bird all over you, bear? Is this a new realization or did you decide to stick with females instead of the male’s arousal and seed I can smell on you.” He took a step forward. “She comes with us.”
Her heart broke. It’d ridden high for moments, thrilled that the man she’d met only hours before felt the same as she did, that he recognized the mating instinct as clearly as she had. Only, it’d been a lie. Even she could scent the male arousal permeating the room, and she knew without a doubt that none of the lions or even Jacob were aroused by the situation they found themselves in.
“Regardless. Mate trumps pimp, asshole.” Jacob took a step forward and Meg released him, no longer enjoying his touch. “Leave.”
Growls filled the room and it took Meg a moment to realize that they weren’t coming from Jacob or the lions, but from the lionesses. They were asserting themselves, and a peek around Jacob revealed three white-faced lions.
“Leave!” they chorused as one, and without hesitation the men fled, jumping into their SUV and squealing their tires as they peeled out of the driveway.
“Well, glad I wasn’t needed.” Jacinda appeared to Meg’s left from down the hallway, looking as perfectly put together as always. The ladies turned on her, growling low. “Oh, stop it. I don’t want y’all for sex any more than you want me.”
That cut off the growls pretty quick.
“Now, if you ladies will come with me, I think these two could use some time alone and the eight of you aren’t even going to come close to fitting in Meg’s home. Come along now.”
And just like that Jacinda had the house cleared, leaving Meg with a half-shifted bear.
Perfect.
Meg scooted around Jacob and scurried down the hallway toward the kitchen. She had a feeling their conversation was about to get heated, and while a lioness could hold her own against a bear, knives were sometimes better. Thank God she had knives.
Thudding footsteps followed her down the hallway and she didn’t stop until she reached the butcher block and had a carving knife in hand
. She spun around to face the entrance to the kitchen and nearly laughed at the shocked expression on Jacob’s half-shifted face. “Now, let’s chat.”
Jacob covered his groin. “I’m good.”
“Shift back.”
“Promise not to Lorena Bobbitt me, first.”
“No.”
“Then, no.” He took a step back.
“Jacob. We’re going to discuss this.” She took a step forward, and the man actually whimpered. “Did you mean what you said?”
He nodded and took another step back as she stepped forward.
“And the reason you smell like a man in heat is because...” She’d never seen a bear nibble its lower lip before and couldn’t withhold her laughter. “Ha! Ha! Jacob. I’m not going to Lorena Bobbitt you and cut off your dick. Shift back already.”
“Put the knife down.”
“Are you really afraid of me?”
He nodded. “I wouldn’t hurt you in a million years, Meggie. And if you attacked me, I’d stand there and take it. So, yeah, think of this as self-defense. I like myself, so does the bear, most times. We’re defending.”
Meggie... She liked it. Everyone always called her Meg or Margaret, but no one had ever given her a nickname all their own. “Fine,” she grumbled and put the knife back. “Better?” She held her open hands out to him.
He nodded, and she watched as the bear shifted and turned from half-man to completely male and the man she wanted desperately to mate with. If only she could trust him. Not five minutes out of her sight and he smelled of aroused male, and it definitely wasn’t his arousal she scented.
“Well?”
“Uh...”
She nearly banged her head on the counter. “Spit it out already.”
“I was afraid?”
“Question or statement?”
“Both.” He smiled.
Men were idiots. “What were you afraid of?” Lord, it was like dragging details out of a two-year-old.
“You.”
“Me?” She sighed. “Jacob, I weigh half as much as you do, even shifted. I’m seven inches shorter than you and you’ve got muscles I could never dream of. Try again.”