Sassy Ever After_Captivating Sass

by Casey Hagen

  “It looks like the white lines of a brand almost,” she said, rising up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to the skin there.

  He froze the minute her lips grazed him; a low hum simmered and rose from his throat.

  “Did you call Maeve?” he said, his words low and gritty with surging lust.

  “No,” she said, tracing the hollow of his spine to the top of his jeans before finishing her perusal.

  “Why not?” he asked, his gaze raking over her taut nipples, the muscle along his jaw under his beard jumping as his teeth locked with tension.

  “I needed to come here. Straight here. I don’t want this to be something we do because it’s destined. You’re who I choose, no matter our destiny.”

  His nostrils flared and he snagged her wrist and pulled her in to him, her breast meeting hot skin. “I don’t know the ways of my family. I’m not sure I can protect you from what’s to come,” he said, tracing his fingers over her collarbone.

  His touch…for three months, she’d dreamed of the way he would cherish her skin and the fact that he didn’t make it crude by grasping at her nipple or between her legs right away told her he understood that giving oneself was a gift.

  “Maybe I’m supposed to protect you,” she said, pressing her lips to his chest, just over his heart.

  His hands went to her hair, threading through the strands, and tugging them back, turning her face up to his. Lowering his lips to hers, he lingered over her, running his tongue over her bottom lip and humming.

  “You smell like the rain forest and taste like a cool waterfall,” he murmured before diving in for more and setting her aflame with his masterful, coaxing mouth, and curious tongue.

  Need surged and had her scrambling on tiptoes, desperate to get closer and wrap her arms around him and feel his heart beating against hers.

  He clasped the back of her thighs, the firm pressure of his fingertips digging into her flesh, sending shivers of anticipation singing through her as he lifted her. Seeking relief from the throbbing craving that pulsed between her legs, she wrapped her ankles around his back as their mouths warred for dominance in a searing kiss.

  He drew back and dragged his lips over her chin and down her neck. She smiled with every lick of his wet tongue against her sensitive skin.

  “I dreamed about this,” he whispered against the skin just below the shell of her ear. “I never thought I’d actually feel you in my arms. The risk was too great,” he said, dragging his lips over her shoulder.

  “Risk of what?” she asked, sliding her fingers along his short, soft beard, and into his hair.

  His eyes locked on hers. “Of not living up to the man you needed me to be,” he said quietly.

  “You’re hard on yourself,” she whispered as she touched his bottom lip.

  “Maybe,” he said, pressing his forehead to hers.

  She held his face in her hands. “I’m an adult. I’m responsible for myself and my choices. It’s not up to you to live up to anything if we’re just taking pleasure in one another,” she said quietly.

  “Except it’s more than that now. I think it’s always been more than that between us,” he said.

  She smiled. “Definitely more. Mate now. Fight evil later.”

  He growled against her throat and swung her around, making her hair fly out behind her. The feeling so much like the freedom she tasted in the woods when she shifted.

  The feeling that told her that in his arms, she’d find freedom.

  Her breasts rubbed against him, stoking the fire, as he carried her into his bedroom.

  The scent of him filled the space, a combination of spicy sweetness that made her want to taste him from head to toe.

  Her senses all tried to push front and center, but it was her sense of taste that she called on as she set her mouth to his skin when they tumbled onto the bed in a tangle of limbs.

  ***

  The broken edges of Leander’s life slid into place when Cleona stood naked in his living room, giving herself over to him. He thought investing in this park would give him a place, tucked away from a world that made him constantly question who he was, and where he belonged.

  Without a memory of his father and his mother gone, he’d been plagued with unanswered questions, gaping holes in his history that pride had prevented him from exploring until it was too late.

  He took her hands, linking his fingers with hers, and stretched her hands high, pinning them against his bed as he feasted on the vision of her laid bare before him.

  High-tipped breasts called to his mouth and tongue making his already rock-hard cock jerk in his jeans.

  The mark on his back heated the more he touched her, the burn a symbol of what they were meant to be.

  Sucking her into his mouth, he rolled the tight bud between his teeth and soaked in the sound of her moans and the way she held his head to her breast begging without words for more.

  He reached for the snap on his jeans, desperate to free himself from restraint and bury himself inside her wet heat.

  He curled his hand around her thigh as he yanked the material down his legs and kicked free. His battle brought him within a foot of the curls nestled at the heart of her, distracting him from the need to sink into her.

  Dropping to his knees, he ran his lips from the inside of her knee along the skin of her leg. Reaching the juncture of her thighs, he sucked in a breath and savored the musky scent of her arousal there.

  “Leander, please,” she pleaded, her hands curling into fists on his sheets.

  “Please what?” he rasped, running his nose over her curls and kissing her other thigh.

  “Taste me,” she said with a whimper.

  “Hmmmm, I’m getting there.”

  “Get there faster,” she demanded with frustration lacing her voice.

  “Bossy.”

  “Alpha,” she replied.

  He glanced up at her. “You sure about that?” he asked.

  “I don’t know how, but yes, I’m sure. Now do it.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “And don’t call me ma’am. That’s my mother.”

  “I love your mother and all, but so not the time to mention her.”

  “Leander,” she said on a growl, not a human growl, but something low and lethal sounding that had his hair standing on end and the heat searing between his shoulder blades.

  He told himself he didn’t have to, but he lied. With her demand he’d already begun lowering his head to the heart of her even as he told himself he still had free will.

  He licked into her then, his tongue strong and sure, sliding between her wet folds to taste her. She lingered on his tongue, the tang of arousal fresh and sweet as he swirled around the tight bundle of nerves hidden there.

  Her back arched as she practically levitated off his bed letting out a choked breath.

  He grinned against her wet pussy at the sound of her pleasure, lifted her thighs over his shoulders, and licked into her again while he reached up to roll her tight nipples between his rough fingers.

  She shuddered and grew wetter under his tongue, the taste of her now a part of him.

  He throbbed for her, the kind of pulsating need that bordered on pain. With her whimpering on the edge of oblivion, he rose up, guided his cock between her slick folds and thrust deep.

  “Ahhhhh,” he groaned before the sound morphed into a hiss as he arched his back with the searing pain spread across his shoulder blades. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and he blew out a breath as he slid out of her and back in, sending the mark on his back into a frenzy.

  Instead of the pain halting him, it motivated him to bury himself deeper, to thrust faster, until tears welled in Cleona’s glowing eyes and she let out a choked scream.

  She squeezed around him, her muscles locked impossibly tight as though her body refused to let him go. Rearing up, she sunk her teeth into his shoulder, the pain sharp and obliterating all focus on the burning in his back.

  She latched on and shook,
like a wolf shaking its prey.

  The sharp pain morphed into a shot of sweet pleasure as heat flooded him and his body kicked into a claiming of its own and spilled into her.

  He let out a hiss, cradled her head, and let her finish what her body urged her to do to claim her mate.

  His alpha called the shots and no matter the pain, he’d comply.

  Chapter 7

  Cleona made her way back to her trailer, scooting along as fast as she could since she still only wore a robe.

  Every muscle screamed with what she had just done between her first shift and then the mating.

  Her steps faltered as her mind stuttered over how casually she accepted all that had happened in the past hour.

  This couldn’t be normal. Surely she had suppressed her fear or disgust and as sure as the sun would rise tomorrow, it’d be back to rear its ugly head and bite her right in her sore behind.

  Right?

  She rubbed her ass cheeks as she walked, her hands gringing into the muscles there. Who knew you used the glutes so hard in wolf form.

  She spotted Lucy’s car in their drive and frowned. Unable to sneak in, she accepted that she was just going to have to suck it up, lie and say she went out for air, and pray that her mother and Lucy were good enough people to just believe the lie and let it go.

  She jogged up the steps, grabbed the handle of the door, and took a deep breath before stepping in.

  Her mother sat at the now clear table, and Lucy swiped the dishcloth over one of their breakfast plates. Both women turned to her.

  Lucy looked her up and down, her brows knit in confusion.

  Her mother smiled that knowing smile of hers that told Cleona that she was still the master of spotting a lie.

  Fine, yes, she had sex. Happy?

  An hour earlier, they’d just been talking about her being adopted, and here her mother was in total mom mode, and as weird as it may seem, it was okay.

  It’s not like she had family out there who had lived lives without her. From all indications, her real parents had died, and although sad, it helped her maintain some normalcy in the wake of their morning talk.

  “You look…refreshed,” her mother said with a smirk.

  “Well, why wouldn’t I? It’s gorgeous out. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to—um—shower.”

  “Yes, dear. You do that,” her mother murmured, lifting her coffee cup to her lips.

  And with no shaking hands.

  Cleona narrowed her eyes.

  “Something the matter, dear?”

  “Um, no.” She didn’t want to say anything and instead gave her mother these few moments to enjoy the way it felt to drink coffee before everything had changed. It was likely only a short reprieve, and it would be over soon enough. “Listen, do you have any documentation from Mylas, by any chance?”

  “Mylas?” she asked, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes.

  “Yes, from the—” Cleona glanced at Lucy. Oh, her mother didn’t want to talk about it in front of Lucy. “Never mind. The time got away from me. We can talk about it later,” she said as a chill washed over her.

  Rubbing her arms to infuse some warmth, she smiled at her mother and headed for the bathroom.

  She turned the faucet, the force of the water causing the pipes to clank and knock in a way she’d come to recognize as the hot water kicking in. Steam billowed up so she ran her fingers through the water one more time to make sure it wasn’t too hot and hopped in. She leaned against the wall, her palms flat in the tiny stall, and let hot water sluice over her face and skin, needing the relief from her soreness, but sad to wash off Leander’s touch.

  She’d never imagined anything extraordinary for her in life. At best, women like her, blue-collar workers with high school diplomas, did good to find a job they liked, a husband they loved and married, and have a family.

  She’d blinked, and that picture became such an elementary version of life. She mated, so really what was marriage to her? Maeve and Orion were engaged, but did it really matter? Was that what they told people because they couldn’t just march around as shifter and warlock?

  Cleona and Leander needed a crash course in what they were so they knew what they needed to do.

  And they needed the crash course today because something felt close. She couldn’t describe it. Couldn’t see it. But something hovered over them. Maybe it was nothing more than the idea of something looming, but she didn’t think so.

  Turning off the water, she hurried to dry off and put on her uniform.

  Stopping before the mirror, she ran a brush through her hair. With the third slide, the brush revealed a streak of silver threading through her hair.

  Silver like her coat.

  And a streak like Maeve’s.

  Maybe it turned silver when she shifted? But wouldn’t Leander have said something? Maybe when they mated. It might just be the distinction on her like the symbol rising from the skin between his shoulders.

  She’d have to ask Maeve.

  A long-buried desire to have siblings rose up in full force. Something she hadn’t thought about in quite some time and according to Maeve, there were more.

  Her family of two—er, three with Leander, would grow into nine.

  Crazy.

  She smiled as she braided her hair to keep it out of her face and to save her from blow drying.

  Dabbing a bit of concealer on a sponge, she brushed over a few marks Leander had left behind on her neck and called it good enough.

  She found her mom and Lucy in the living room. Lucy glanced up as she shuffled the cards. “Wish me luck. Your mother is hell-bent on making me pay for my winnings yesterday.”

  “Go easy on her, Mom,” Cleona said, leaning down to brush a kiss on her mother’s soft cheek.

  “Where are you off to?”

  “What?” Cleona said, pulling back and meeting her mother’s eyes. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, why?” her mother asked, narrowing her gaze at Cleona.

  “Because you asked where I’m going. I’m going to work like I do every morning,” Cleona said, standing up straight.

  “Oh, yes, that. I’m sorry, dear. I’m just distracted,” her mother said with a wave of her hand as she concentrated on the cards Lucy dealt.

  Lucy shot Cleona a look and shrugged.

  “Okay. Listen, maybe try to get a nap in today, okay?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Leave us to our cards,” her mother said, waving her away.

  She stepped out into the sunshine, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath of the air, noting the way the damp richness had begun to fade and the sun brought out the fragrant wild flowers as they heated up for the day.

  This wolf thing had some serious benefits.

  “Good morning, Cleona,” Leander said as he sauntered up to her in worn blue jeans that hugged in all the right places. The black T-shirt stretched across his chest fitted just enough to remind her of the curves and valleys of his muscles beneath.

  “Leander,” she said with a silly grin on her face.

  “You mind if I walk you to work?”

  “I guess that would be okay,” she said, taking his offered arm. Her hand landed over his cuff and the moonstone heated under her palm.

  “Do you feel that?” she asked.

  “Ever since we mated. Now ask me what I feel on my back,” he said with a laugh.

  “Is it bad?” she asked, the sound of their shoes crunching over the gravel unusually loud.

  He nodded and kicked a pebble to the side of the road. “It’s the equivalent of a brand.”

  She gasped. “I’m sorry.”

  He shot her a look and winked. “Why? I’m not.”

  She curled her fingers into his arm and leaned in tighter against his shoulder. “It’s painful, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, but I’ll live. How painful was it when you spotted the streak of silver in your hair?” he asked.

  “You noticed? I don’t know when it happened,” she said, reachi
ng up and smoothing her free hand over her hair.

  “I do. The minute you bit me. The silver started at the root and spread to the end,” he said with a shrug.

  “You should have said something,” she said.

  “Tell my woman she has gray hair? No, thanks,” he said with a smile.

  “Silver hair, thank you very much,” she said, lifting her chin and enjoying the easy banter between the two of them. No more dancing, no more denying their feelings—she glanced around the park—and soon everyone would know they were a unit.

  Only now the idea didn’t bother her at all.

  “And that tone just proved my point,” he said, nodding his head.

  They came to the parking lot, and she turned to him. “There’s something I didn’t tell you this morning.”

  “What?” he asked, squinting against the bright sun.

  “My mother said Mylas is the one who set up the adoption,” she said.

  His shoulders locked up, and his mouth thinned. “How is that possible?”

  Cleona glanced back at her trailer. “She said he worked at the fertility clinic.”

  “But what would he have to do with a litter of pups?” he asked.

  She reared her head back. “Whoa, that’s weird.”

  “Well, essentially, that’s what you would be. Isn’t it?”

  She rubbed her forehead. “But we were born in human form. At least, I think we were.”

  “Okay, that would make sense. But I’d still have to wonder why he was involved at all. What would be in it for him?” he asked.

  “We need to find that out. Look, can you do me a favor? Call Maeve and Orion and have them come in. I’ll see if I can get off early, and we can all talk.”

  “Maybe they can fill in the missing pieces,” Leander said, nodding.

  “I’m hoping, but I have a feeling this path has a lot of twists and turns, and I still have two more sisters to find,” Cleona said with a sigh.

  “I’ll do that. Now come here,” he said, pulling her into his arms and capturing her lips with his in a toe-curling kiss. His tongue swirled against hers, caressing her, before he pulled back and swiped her damp bottom lip with his thumb.

  She laid a palm on his chest to feel the thud of his heart under her hand. “Can you do me another favor?”