And both of her mates had released her from their jurisdiction. At least if she decided to remain with them, she wouldn’t be a zombie to their demands but would retain her freewill. That was why she’d agreed to stay a month and why she’d given him the lowdown on her ability to renege on a promise.
Shaking her head, Sameya pushed away from the wall and followed the witch’s scent to the kitchen. Another woman was seated at the breakfast table with Kat. A shifter, and if her senses were accurate, she was a were-tiger. Maybe from Gabriel’s pride? Just so long as she visits without any expectation from either of my mates, the woman will be safe.
Sameya refused to contemplate why she was suddenly very territorial of men she had no intention of remaining with at the end of the month. She chalked it up to one more irrational behavior in the long list that was adding up since meeting the guys.
The woman sat with a regal air. Spine straight, shoulders squared, and head tilted so her chin sat high enough she gave the appearance of looking down on someone. Her fashionable blonde hair was sprayed into submission. Did men really prefer a hairstyle they couldn’t put their fingers through?
Light blue eyes were direct as the shifter peered at Kat. High cheekbones and a wide sensuous mouth gave the woman a sultry demeanor. She wore a designer light pink silk blouse. A string of pearls circled her slender neck.
Sameya wouldn’t be caught dead in pink. Or such refined attire. The pearls weren’t her style either. She bet below the view of the table, the pretentious woman wore a matching pencil skirt and pumps.
Stunning. Even with the shifter’s hoity-toity demeanor, Sameya felt gaudy next to her.
She sauntered on into the room, catching Kat’s attention. The witch gulped and sat a little straighter, while tossing the shifter a nervous peek.
The witch’s distress must’ve warned they weren’t alone because the woman turned toward the door. Her cool eyes assessed Sameya’s lack of attire, and the other woman sniffled when her gaze snagged on Sameya’s bare legs below the hem of Maximus’s shirt. Quickly, her attention shifted upward and caught on the vampyr’s top hat she’d crammed on her head. “I didn’t realize the boys were entertaining.”
Entertaining? She bit back a laugh. Yeah, they’d been amusing her with their cocks and one orgasm after another. Jesus, what amazing things those were. She grew wet thinking about them. Crazy because she’d already had three…or was it four? What was the limit before someone combusted?
In place of her vocal humor, she tendered a smile and pulled out a chair to sit across from the ladies. “What did you think the boys were doing if not entertaining?” Up close the woman’s skin was flawless, like pale porcelain. Probably the type of woman Maximus and Gabriel enjoyed more often than not. She tossed Kat a cursory glance and her obvious nervousness told her much. “I mean, you’re in their home chatting with Kat instead of them.”
Was the shifter a former lover of theirs? Former being the operative word because she wouldn’t share them with anyone. Not ever.
This irrational behavior was at odds with her typical rational mindset. She gave a mental sigh and, for the moment, accepted her deranged state of mind.
Was Kat so anxious because the other woman was their lover? It wasn’t like they’d had time to inform anyone of their newly acquired mate.
The shifter elevated an eyebrow and tucked hair behind an ear with polished pale pink nails. “Little girl, you’ll mind your manners in my company.”
***
In no position to lecture Gabriel, Maximus ran his palm down his face. “Don’t hide behind your pelt for long, Gabriel.” He scratched behind the feline’s ears. “We have to figure out a way to make this up to her. Maybe feeding her will make her more agreeable.”
Gabriel executed a low-throated growl.
“You’re right. That’s not the way to a woman’s heart. I’ll talk to her instead.” A shudder rippled down his spine and caused his stomach to sour. Maximus was a man of action. It was easier to kill something than verbalize his sentiments. “Join us soon. We need to mention Tyron Gryphon’s hard-on for her and how we plan to keep her safe.”
Gabriel’s puffing noise sufficed as his agreement. Maximus went in search of Sameya.
How did one calm an agitated siren? They were lethal in any non-volatile situation, how much more would she be when vexed. Good thing he was immune to her particular brand of charm and that she still wore the collar, otherwise he surmised Gabriel wouldn’t have remained unscathed.
He had to figure out a way to explain the impulsiveness of shifters, especially when in the presence of their unmated partner. All without giving the appearance the breed was mentally unstable.
He had no idea how difficult Sameya would be, so he mentally prepared himself for any reaction. She’d spent a long fucking time enjoying her single status, and he could understand why she’d planned to remain unmated. No one would want to lose their freedom to another. But they’d both proven to her that wasn’t the type of relationship they wanted from her.
In the right situation, he’d enjoy dominating her—‘Spread your legs’, ‘suck my dick’, ‘you’ll take it all’—but that was the only kind of dominance he craved. And he suspected she’d make the perfect submissive in the bedroom. That was sex. He’d never want to subjugate her personality. Many Doms would enjoy breaking her fiery disposition in and out of the bedroom, but he and Gabriel weren’t like that.
Maximus found her in the kitchen, sitting at the table with—holy fucking Christ—Gabriel’s mom! And then the were-tiger said the worst thing ever…“Little girl, you’ll mind your manners.”
This could go bad fast. God love her, he adored the woman, but Gabby didn’t have the good sense to recognize the more lethal predator. It’d been centuries since the shifters had had to fight for their dominance. Her family’s wealth and power gave her a false sense of safety. Because of that prestige in the earthly mystic community, she expected everyone to mollycoddle her. That anticipation wouldn’t be forthcoming from Sameya who lived by a very different set of rules in Atlantis, where she was at the top of the food chain.
Shit! Not good.
Instead of hostility, Sameya chuckled, shocking Maximus. His gal notched a finger in Gabby’s direction, but peered at Kat. “She for real?
Kat squirmed in her seat and sent Maximus an expression that clearly pled for his assistance.
Arching a disapproving eyebrow, Gabby said in her haughtiest tone, “Really, Maximus, dear, your attire isn’t appropriate for mixed company.”
He peered down. Wearing no shirt, his nipple piercings glinted in the false light. His pants hung low on his hips, exposing the beginning tufts of his pubic hair. He shrugged. “Wasn’t expecting company.”
“Kat is present!” As a former friends-with-benefits, Kat had seen him dressed in less. “I do hope Gabriel will join us soon and be appropriately attired.” She sniffed her affront.
God, she was in snooty form tonight. Where the fuck was Gabriel? No one could micromanage the woman quite the way he could.
“I’m sure you’ve seen him naked, so how would you prefer Maximus to dress?” As Sameya pushed the chair out beside her and patted the seat, Gabby’s mouth parted on a scandalized gasp. “Join us, lover.”
His gaze snapped to Sameya, but she was busy contemplating his mother-in-law. At what game did his sexy vixen play? Why call him lover in front of the other woman and…holy shit! The rest of what she said sank in. She didn’t realize this was Gabriel’s mother, but thought she was a lover.
Maximus would’ve laughed if he hadn’t caught Sameya’s hostile glare. Fuck him, she might not want them, but she was as protective as a shifter.
Gabby fanned her face, her tone high-pitched. “Why on earth would I see Maximus naked?”
Sameya opened her mouth to speak, but Maximus distracted her by catching the back of her neck as he sat beside her. She glanced at him and he explained quickly. “She is Gabriel’s mother, Sameya.”
&nbs
p; “Mother?” His siren gaped at Gabby.
“Sameya, meet Gabby.” At her confused expression, he bit his lip to restrain the smile that threatened to flash his fangs. He slithered his fingers through his newly acquired mate’s hair. God, he loved the discoloration of her red and black tresses. “Gabby, meet our final mate.”
“God in Heaven,” Gabby said in her thick Southern drawl. “I can barely sense her power. She’s a mere step up from a human. Are you sure this is your mate?”
Maximus cringed at his mother-in-law’s mystic snobbery. And groaned when he caught the hard glint in Sameya’s violet eyes. “You’ll mind your manners, Gabby.” He hooked a finger in the neckline of his shirt that his mate wore and tugged the material aside, exposing the bite mark Gabriel had given her on her shoulder. It still oozed blood, and he glowered, worried over her body’s lack of self-healing. “Very sure she’s ours. And couldn’t be more delighted.”
Gabby sniffed, and he was certain she disliked his command for her to mind her manners. “Before she can be presented to the pride, we’ll have to clean her up.”
Twin black eyebrows smashed together when Sameya frowned. “I beg your pardon?”
With the mood Gabby and his mate were in, this wasn’t going to end well.
Maximus tugged his chair a little closer to his mate just in case he needed to grab her before she went after the other woman. “Kat, please locate Gabriel and bring him immediately.” With a relieved expression, Kat fled the room.
“It’s bad enough her power is so weak.” Shit. Gabby had her haughty airs on tonight.
“Gabby—”
“I’m speaking, Maximus. It’s impolite to interrupt.” Apparently someone needed to remind her it was impolite to insult others. Especially when that person was so important to her son’s life. “The pride will be appalled someone of his stature has someone as magically inept as this. You know how hard a time they had accepting you.” Damn hard, not that Gabby had helped. “I will not have him a laughingstock simply because of your appearance, little girl.” She shook her head. “That god awful hair has to go first. Then we’ll work on—”
“You crazy bitch. Shut. Up.” Sameya pushed to her feet. Maximus sat back, but grasped her hand to keep her close and away from Gabby. But he had no intentions of stopping her from putting her future mother-in-law in her place. It was the only way the shifter woman would ever respect her. “I’m not weak in magic. You are. I could manipulate you like a twisty tie if I were so inclined.”
“Which you’re not motivated to do.” Maximus wasn’t entirely certain she hadn’t already utilized her siren spell against the other woman with the way her jaws flapped in shock.
Sameya didn’t spare him a glance, but held Gabby’s gape. “I’m a siren, which means you’d be eating your last breath by the time you realized I was there.”
“A reaper.” His mother-in-law’s hand flew to her throat.
His reaper gave Gabby a tight smile. “I would strongly caution against anyone laughing at Gabriel because of me. I’ll reap them without a thought.”
“Neither will you alter her hair, Mother.” Maximus waggled his eyebrows at Gabriel as he sauntered into the room. Sameya stiffened, but otherwise didn’t acknowledge his sudden appearance. “Or anything else for that matter. She’s perfect the way she is.”
The tiger walked straight to their mate, kicked the chair away and aligned his chest with her spine. His arms went around her waist, but their little mate remained inflexible, and Maximus had the feeling she allowed his touch only because of Gabby’s presence.
“Congratulate us on finding her. She completes us. And you know how long we’ve been waiting for her.” Gabriel nuzzled her neck, but not the side where he’d bitten her.
Smart move, lover, don’t draw attention to your recent mistake.
“Yes. Well…yes.” His mother-in-law rose to her feet. She smoothed her skirt even though there wasn’t a wrinkle in place. “I should be going. You’re newly mated and….” She wouldn’t meet their eyes as she cleared her throat.
“You’re right,” Maximus reclined in his seat, enjoying Gabby’s discomfort. “Newly mated pairs are compelled to fuck nonstop.”
She flashed him a shocked expression. “Maximus!”
He chuckled and blew her a kiss. “I love you, Gabby.”
She walked stiffly around the end of the table and touched his cheek. “I love you, you rascal, even though I abhor those tacky things in your nipples. Won’t you consider removing them?”
“I like his piercings.” Sameya met the other woman’s stare with a challenge in her eyes.
Fuck the siren had his cock twitching again.
“I’ll walk you out, Mother.” As Gabriel stepped away from Sameya, he held his arm out to his mother and waited until she placed her palm in the crook of his elbow.
“It was a…delight, Sameya.” A little too late she remembered her manners. “I’ll relate your unique charm to Gabriel’s father.”
Maximus rolled his eyes.
A saucy grin hit his siren’s mouth. “I’m memorable like that.”
Gabby opened and closed her mouth a few times, before settling on snapping her teeth together. He didn’t think he’d ever seen the woman silenced by anyone before. What a priceless moment. Gabriel shot him an amused grin as they exited the kitchen.
Chapter Fifteen
The instant the door shut, Maximus peeked at Sameya. Her two-toned waist-length hair hugged her curves. His shirt hid those curves, but he knew what lay beneath the garment. When he stripped it off of her later, she would smell like him. That appealed to the possessive vampyr and would please Gabriel, too. “I’ve never seen anyone put Gabby in her place before.”
“Is she always that bitchy?”
“She grows on you.”
Sameya made a face. “So does fungus, and I don’t like it.”
He laughed. “She’ll be the perfect mother-in-law from here on out.”
That title had her fingers touching the shirt where the bite was located.
“The mating-mark will fade.” Eventually. “You didn’t accept it, so it’s not permanent.”
Sameya crossed her arms in a defensive gesture.
Her silence felt like a bad omen. “I would like to point out that I bit you, and you didn’t freak out.”
“You didn’t try to force a mating. He did. If I wasn’t wearing this”—she yanked on the gem encrusted collar—“I’d kill him for what he attempted. At the very least, I’d make him miserable.”
“He’s already miserable.”
“Not nearly enough.”
Maximus elevated an eyebrow. She might possess a bigger taste for blood than he did, and he survived off the elixir. He rolled out of his chair and moved to the refrigerator. “So, tell me about yourself.”
“Like what?” He didn’t look her way, but he could hear her confusion.
He snagged the tray of eggs, a packet of diced ham, and a bag of cheese. “I want to know everything.” Even the littlest details…like her favorite color. If she owned any pets, what were their names, and their breeds? The name of her best friend? What’d she do for fun? What was her favorite food? “Want to join me for an omelet?” Maximus indicated the items he’d set on the table.
“You eat?”
“Don’t you?” At her silence, he peered at her. Eyes narrowed quizzically on the contents scattered across the counter she approached him. “I especially get the munchies after having fantastic sex.” Their gazes locked, and she froze like one of his victims in his sights. “For the record, Sameya, what we shared was phenomenal.”
She glanced away quickly and shrugged. “I suppose.”
Maximus chuckled. “Shame on you for lying.”
“In comparison to my other lovers, I guess it was okay.” She leaned a hip against the island and watched him as he set a skillet on the stove and sprayed it with non-stick oil.
“You experienced multiple orgasms.” From what he’d read, not man
y women could say that. Neither could they claim to have men that cared about their satisfaction. “Who doesn’t think that’s phenomenal?”
Using a whisk, he beat eggs in a bowl.
“Those were…disturbing.”
The serious note to her voice had his gaze whipping up to meet hers. “How so?”
Sameya shrugged. “You wouldn’t understand if I told you.”
“Try me.” Dumbfounded by her confession, he poured the battered eggs into the skillet. He waited a moment for them to cook before sprinkling cheese and ham in the pan. “You might be surprised by how well I understand.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll be gone soon.”
Sameya shifted to walk away, and Maximus caught her wrist. “Please, Sameya. Our relationship isn’t built on sex with you.”
“Yes, it is.” A minor twist of her wrist. He understood the hint and released his hold on her. “Neither of you asked if I wanted a liaison with you.” It was a lot more than a liaison, but Maximus let it slide. “All I’ve heard from you both is caveman grunts of mine, mates, mine.”
“That was only to prove to you that you’re our mate.” And it wasn’t like she hadn’t been doing the same thing with Gabriel’s mother before she figured out the woman wasn’t one of their former lovers.
“Let’s get something straight, vamp. I am no one’s property.”
“Mates are not property, Sameya. For your fellow sirens to enslave theirs, that’s…atrocious.” He folded the omelet in half over on top of itself and flipped the food. Enslaving a partner was worse than atrocious, but it was the best he could come up with. He really wasn’t a man big on communication.
She stared at him as if she were trying to figure him out. He was pretty simple really, but he’d let her discover that on her own.
Keeping his movements measured so as not to alarm her, he casually met her eyes. “I want to know the woman you are. Inside and out intimately. What makes you laugh? What makes you cry? What—”
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