Tiger's Triumph (Veteran Shifters Book 4)

by Zoe Chant

  “I’ve never felt anything like this before,” he said, his voice warm and low. “This connection. I know how to read you. I know you. That doesn’t seem possible, after so short a time. And I think you feel the same.”

  “I do,” she said quietly. “I don’t—trust people like this. I’ve been a loner for so long, because I learned that I couldn’t depend on people like I wanted to.” People turned out to be different than they’d pretended to be. People grew old and sick, and died. People drifted away. “But you—I know I can rely on you.”

  “You can,” he said immediately. It was like a shock of pleasure, of comfort, right to her chest. Because she knew it was true.

  “I know that you mean what you say,” she continued. “I know that you want me to be happy. I don’t know how I know it, but I do.”

  “I never thought I’d find a mate,” Carlos said. At the word mate, a thrill went through Pauline’s whole body. “It just didn’t seem to be in the cards for me, with the life I’d chosen. But I guess I was wrong, because it’s you, Pauline.”

  Pauline had a second of wondering what was even happening to her—she was so happy, but her heart felt almost bruised. The power of joy, when you were only expecting more pain, she thought dizzily, as her eyes overflowed.

  Instantly, Carlos had her in his arms. Pauline’s breath hitched, and then she was simply crying, the way she hadn’t let herself do for so long. Tears of—of relief, coming out of some place inside her that had been hardened into stone for so long, to let her keep going. And now it had broken open, and all of the pain inside it had come flooding out.

  And Carlos was there. He was like a warm, comforting wall, holding her up while she broke. “I never thought—” she gasped. “I was so sure—”

  “Me too,” he said. She could hear the pain in his own voice. “I was certain that this was it. But it’s not. There’s more for us.”

  Pauline shuddered. What was this that she was feeling? It was like pain, but it wasn’t, quite. But it had overwhelmed her as surely as the worst pain could.

  Carlos held her through it. His hand moved slowly up and down her back, and it was like strength flowed from him into her. Gradually, she was able to breathe again, and her tears slowed down, and she felt a sense of...peace.

  It was odd. Before this, she would’ve claimed to anyone who asked that she was at peace. She’d reached a peace with her parents’ death, and she’d forced herself into peace with the fact that she would never have children of her own. She had a decent job, a good home, and a nice little peaceful life.

  That hadn’t been peace, though. Because the frustration, the despair, and the fury that she’d felt about the loss of her dreams had still been there. She’d just locked it away.

  This, though—this was peace.

  She pulled back, finally, and met Carlos’ eyes. “You’re my mate,” she said. Just to hear the words out loud.

  He nodded. “I am.”

  She smiled. And then the smile grew, until it felt like it was ready to leap off of her face and take on a life of its own, spreading joy throughout the world. “We’re mates!”

  He was grinning back. “We are.”

  And then he kissed her, and it felt like he was touching her soul.

  Pauline kissed him back, wanting him to feel every ounce of joy inside her. His mouth was warm and sweet; she thought she could spend days exploring the taste of him.

  His arms came around her, and she blinked a little again, because she could tell how strong he was—goodness, anyone who saw him could tell how strong he was—but he was being infinitely gentle with her.

  She thought, suddenly, that she might not mind if he was a bit less gentle. Maybe.

  The thought gave her courage, and she leaned in, deepening the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. He sighed, a low rumbling sound, low in his chest, and the kiss turned fierce. His mouth devoured her, his tongue exploring, his lips catching hers, releasing, catching. It felt like he was melting her, like her entire body was being replaced by a pulsing desire.

  He slipped a hand up under her shirt. It was a button-down, and there was plenty of room for him to get up there and touch her skin, his hand rough and hot, making her shiver. “Is this okay?” he asked softly, against her mouth.

  Pauline nodded helplessly. She wanted to say something about everything being okay, but he caught her mouth again before she could, kissing her deeply as his hand worked its slow way up her spine. Tingles ran out from the spot he was touching her, all the way to her fingertips, and she shivered. He found her bra strap, and slid around to the front, cupping her breast. The fabric of her bra was thin, and she could feel the heat of his hand. Her nipples were tight and sensitive, wanting to be touched.

  She suddenly flashed to the memory of the halting, exploratory sex she and Gary had had early in their relationship. Honestly, the actual acts hadn’t looked much different from this, but somehow these first kisses and touches with Carlos were inflaming her with want, instead of leaving her feeling kind of awkward and self-conscious.

  Carlos suddenly pulled back from her mouth, leaving her to pant for air as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to the hollow between her collarbones. The warm, damp touch thrilled her all the way down between her legs. She’d never known that was a hot spot.

  He kissed down her sternum, one hand coming up to undo a button. “All right?” he murmured against her skin.

  “Yes,” Pauline gasped. “Yes, yes, all right. More than all right.”

  He chuckled quietly and kissed down into the warm gap that had just opened up. Then he undid another button and kissed further down. His stubble rubbed the sensitive curve of her breast, making her gasp. He kissed the spot right between her breasts...and then pulled back again.

  “Are you—”

  “Fine,” Pauline interrupted. “Fine, I’m great, let’s keep going!”

  He started to laugh. “I was going to ask, are you okay with taking this to the bedroom?”

  “Carlos,” Pauline said seriously, “the faster we get to the bedroom, the happier I will be.”

  “All right, then,” he said, and the next thing she knew, he’d stood up and taken her with him.

  Pauline yelped in surprise, finding herself plastered to his body, his big hands firmly under her butt. Her legs spread, her clit suddenly pressed against his belt, sending sparks of pleasure through her. She fought the urge to just rub against it.

  “Which door?” he rumbled.

  It took her a second to get her brain together enough to point. He moved with alacrity, and a second later, they were in her comfy, familiar bedroom.

  Carlos laid her gently on the bed, and she looked up at him. He filled this room like he did every room, and it was crazy how the homey room where she’d slept alone for fifteen years suddenly seemed darker, more exciting. Filled with his scent, and now a showcase for her, laid out on the bed with her shirt gaping open for him to see.

  And he was looking his fill.

  Feeling suddenly bold, Pauline unbuttoned her shirt the rest of the way—then hesitated, and started on her jeans. The button, the zipper...she could see Carlos’ eyes darken with desire.

  She started inching the pants down her hips—and then Carlos was there. He stripped her jeans off without the slightest difficulty, catching her underwear and her socks—no, just one sock—as he went.

  And then he looked at her, a hint of wickedness in his eyes...and Pauline’s head tipped back as he went in tongue-first.

  He licked a long, full line up from below her entrance to the very top of her clit, first thing. It felt like he was gathering all of the desire that had been building inside her body, centering it on that one point and dragging it up to combustion-level. Pauline made a noise she’d never heard come out of her own mouth before.

  Carlos didn’t slow down. His tongue was clever, and he caught every noise, every hitch of pleasure, learning what she wanted almost before she knew she wanted it. He sucked hard at the base
of her clit, his fingers teasing the outside of her entrance, while she twisted and writhed above him. Sweat was building on her forehead, and she was panting for breath. Each exhale made a little breathy noise.

  The pleasure built on itself, more quickly than she’d ever experienced, even by herself. He was breathing sensation into her, filling her body with it, then tasting it on her. He hummed in satisfaction when she moaned, and the vibration of it made her moan louder.

  When the whole area between her legs was a mass of pulsing sensation, he pulled back just for a second—the sudden lack of pressure was, somehow, just another added layer of sensation in itself, everything so sensitive that she could feel the very air currents against the tip of her clit—then thrust one finger inside her as he went back down, tonguing relentlessly at the base of her clit until she couldn’t take it any longer, and shrieked out loud as she came.

  And he didn’t stop.

  He didn’t stop even for a second, just licked a bit more gently, his finger moving inside her, and Pauline’s orgasm lingered, and lingered, the last spasm just continuing to lightly rock her body...until they weren’t the last spasms of orgasm any more, they were the ramp-up to something new.

  Jesus God, she’d never felt anything like this before.

  Carlos kept licking her steadily, building her up and up and up again. His finger inside her was joined by a second one—his hands were huge, and his fingers thick. Even two felt like a little stretch.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  Pauline clenched as he sucked at her, and reached down, grasping, trying to get hold of his shoulder. “Up here,” she demanded. “Come on, up, I need you—”

  At the words I need you, Carlos immediately pulled away, coming up over her, his whole body bracketing hers. Pauline tilted her chin up, and he kissed her—God, he tasted like her, smoky and rich.

  “What do you need?” he murmured.

  “Inside me,” Pauline gasped. She was open and aching and she needed him.

  Carlos kissed her again, deep and intense, and pulled away again—Pauline was about to protest, but she realized that he was still fully-dressed.

  That was a first, she thought dizzily. A man who would give you one orgasm and have you halfway to another without taking a single item of clothing off.

  Then she was distracted by the fact that he was taking every single item of clothing off. He looked just as big naked, maybe even bigger—the broadness of his shoulders was now clearly not a result of a well-tailored suit, and his muscles were well-defined, his stomach rippling. Could this all really be hers? Her mouth watered.

  Before she could change her mind and tell him that really, she needed to lick him all over, he came forward again, almost looking like the tiger he was. He caught her thigh in one strong hand. Parting her legs—while Pauline cooperated, tilting her hips up eagerly—he pressed his tip against her entrance.

  “This?” he asked, with a hint of a smile.

  Pauline didn’t waste any time. “That,” she agreed, and pushed up herself, getting the first inch or so inside her.

  Carlos’ teasing expression dissolved into hunger. His hand slid up from her thigh to support her lower back, and he thrust in hard.

  Pauline made a strangled sound, her fingernails gripping at Carlos’ back as her whole body convulsed with pleasure. God, the feeling of him inside her...! It was like there was a fire at her core, and that fire was him.

  He pulled back, and thrust again, and then he was moving in her, and it stroked over every nerve ending in her, it felt like. She never wanted it to end.

  And gradually, as he made love to her, as she gasped and cried out and pulled him closer, closer, she felt something.

  Not where they were joined, not that fiery ecstasy that kept spiraling up and up and up. No, this was a spark inside her chest. A knowledge, a reality.

  Mates.

  She’d known it was true, beforehand. But she hadn’t known it like this. Hadn’t felt it like gravity, like the knowledge that she was Pauline.

  She was Pauline, Carlos’ mate.

  She shuddered again, this time not with pleasure but with pure joy, and kissed him.

  “Pauline,” he whispered when he pulled back. “God. Pauline.”

  He was so close now, neither of them wanting to pull away, that they were rocking together, riding the high of pleasure as long as it would last.

  It broke for her first. She crested, and climaxed. Tears leaked from her eyes as she quaked and spasmed, clenching so hard around him, feeling every inch of him inside her, bringing her pleasure, making her his.

  “God,” he ground out, and followed her, pulsing deep inside her, and collapsing with her still in his arms.

  There followed a long, warm, happy, sweaty silence.

  Pauline treasured the new feeling in her chest. How had she ever lived without it? What had she even been, before now?

  Then she shifted her attention to her mate. She was struck by a burning, atavistic possessiveness. That man was hers. Every muscle, every gleam on his skin, every touch of his hands. All hers.

  It felt like she’d swallowed the sun, there was so much light inside her.

  And it would be for forever.

  ***

  Carlos

  Carlos held his mate in his arms, listening to her breathe, and wondered how the hell he’d never realized he was missing this.

  His life, in retrospect, had been so incredibly lonely. The closest he’d come to family, as an adult, was his platoon. And he’d left them behind to go...make money.

  Which didn’t mean a single thing without someone to enjoy it with.

  It was terrifying. Carlos wasn’t afraid of much, but he was struck with a deep thrill of fear at the thought that he might never have come here, might have decided to just go to Bali, or pick a charity and devote his life to it, rather than lingering in Glacier Park. And then he would never have known this feeling.

  This woman.

  This woman who was his. This loving, generous, beautiful, smart, capable woman. Carlos wanted to find her ex-husband and give him a beating for treating her like she wasn’t worth keeping.

  Although...he couldn’t imagine having come here and found out she was married. No. That was unthinkable.

  Better to focus on the present. On her warm body in his arms, the sweet scent of her hair. The flush on her cheeks from their lovemaking.

  She’d been so passionate. She was reserved, out in public. And now that Carlos knew that this was hiding inside her, he’d be holding that knowledge close and taking pleasure in knowing something that no one else would. God, the way she smelled when she came. It was like the scent bypassed his brain entirely and just filled his body with desire.

  He couldn’t wait until he’d made love to her so many times that he knew her body inside and out. And at the same time, he wanted to draw that process out as long as possible, because he knew the discovery would be a pleasure and a joy.

  ***

  Pauline

  Pauline drifted awake from a nap, to the most luxurious feeling of warmth and light that she could remember. When had her bed gotten so comfortable?

  No, she realized, it wasn’t the bed—it was the way she was pressed up against the side of the man next to her. Carlos was a quietly breathing furnace, giving off a delicious heat that warmed her to her core.

  “Mmmm,” she sighed, and he stirred. When those dark eyes blinked open and focused on her, he smiled.

  “Good evening,” he said.

  “Good evening.” Pauline leaned in for a kiss, and got one in spades. Wow. She might just melt into the mattress and stay there forever.

  Her phone buzzed.

  “Hold that thought,” she sighed, and reached for it.

  It said, Marsha. A thrill went through her. Was Marsha back?

  But when she answered it, the voice was Drew’s. “Pauline?”

  “Drew,” Pauline said. “Is your mother back?”

  “No,” he said, and her
hopes fell. “She left her phone behind.”

  That didn’t bode well at all.

  “Were you serious?” Drew was saying. “That you’d do anything to help me?”

  “Of course I was,” Pauline said. “Drew, what do you need?”

  “I need you to take the kids for a little while.”

  Pauline caught her breath. “Drew, what are you—”

  “Just a little while,” he interrupted. “I promise. I just—I can’t leave them with the Bowmans for this, in case—I just can’t. Will you take them?”

  “Of course I will, but Drew—”

  “Thanks, I’ll be there soon.” He hung up.

  Pauline stared down at her phone. “Well.”

  “He’s meeting the wolf pack tonight, then,” Carlos said quietly next to her. “Or carrying out whatever it is they’ve gotten him to do.”

  Pauline nodded miserably. “And I don’t know what to do! It’s not like I can kidnap him. And I won’t call the police on him—God knows what might happen.”

  “If he went to them voluntarily, it might be fine,” Carlos said thoughtfully. “Unless he’s been labeled as a troublemaker somehow already.”

  Pauline shook her head firmly. “No. He’s never been in trouble with the law, or even at school. Everyone understands that he’s been doing his best in the bad situation. I don’t think the sheriff would have any prejudice against him—I just don’t want her to come into a scene where he’s obviously doing something illegal, and have to take action.”

  “If he goes in himself, then—especially now—then she’ll likely jump at the chance to get a line on these wolves. Unless there’s some kind of internal politics I don’t know about.”

  “She doesn’t like that pack at all,” Pauline said positively. “She comes into the diner sometimes, and I heard her talking after Stella’s ex was arrested. They weren’t able to make anything really stick on the rest of his pack, and she was frustrated about it.”

  Carlos nodded. “There you go. Now all we have to do is convince Drew of it.”

  “It’s going to be difficult.”

  “I think we’re halfway there.” Carlos took her hand. “He was wavering, and if he’s asking us to take the kids, he’s on his way to trusting us. Now all we need to do is get him to realize that he’s got better options.”