by E A Price
Mindy flinched at his sudden anger. She choked a little on the smoke and blinked rapidly. “Wow, you really are smitten. Well, I kind of guessed you had to be given that you didn’t try to beat Edmund to death with your salad plate during dinner. Not killing your mate’s exes because it might upset her – that’s real love.”
Yeah, he really was smitten. Couldn’t bear to be apart from her for even a few moments. Speaking of which, where the hell was she? She only went to bathroom. Or to powder her nose, as she called it. Took him a while to realize what she meant the first time she used that.
His bear pushed at him to find her. He’d figured that Cecile’s family wouldn’t like him, thinking him too coarse, too rough. But did they really think he was a golddigger? He needed some reassurance from his sweet mate. He needed to make love to her. He needed pizza. In that order.
Boris grunted at Mindy and went in search of his mate.
*
The bedroom door squeaked open, and Cecile smiled as she finished folding her dress.
“Hello, my love.”
She had decided to skip out on charades. She had returned to their room, and slipped into her nightgown, waiting for her mate to join her.
“Cissy.”
Cecile squawked as her bird flustered. She spun to find the very unwelcome sight of Edmund hovering near her.
“Jeez, you scared me,” she complained pettishly.
Edmund cocked her a smile. “Just like old times.”
“You mean you doing something to horrify me?” Her bird snapped her beak impatiently for him to leave.
“I meant this weekend with the family, us being together.”
“We are not together.”
Edmund gave her a pathetic look that was surely intended to make her melt. “We could be.”
“The hell we could.”
“Cecile!”
She shrugged. “What? I said hell, it could have been worse.”
Edmund frowned in disapproval. “This isn’t like you.”
“Well, it’s the new me.”
“This is all Boris’ doing; he’s a bad influence on you.”
“Go away.” The swan honked in agreement.
Sadly, he ignored her. “I’m divorced again.”
“Did you cheat on her too?” He was silent. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Cissy…”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Cissy, I’m sorry for the way I treated you. It’s taken me three failed marriages to realize finally that no other woman compares to you.”
Cecile and her bird harrumphed. “That is not what you said at the time. You pushed for the divorce before I did – not that I wanted to stay married.”
“It’s different now. Now, I have my heir.”
“What?”
“A woman gave birth to my son; my lineage is secure.”
Did her ears deceive her? “Excuse me? You paid a woman to have your baby?” Did he post an ad online?!
“She was a woman I was seeing…”
“While still married,” Cecile correctly interjected.
“And she became pregnant. I gave her an allowance to keep the baby and take care of it. I visit once a week to see him.”
Cecile was speechless. Her swan clucked in disgust. She had seriously underestimated Edmund. He was a narcissistic pig!
“So now I’m free,” he continued, clearly unable to read her mood. “It doesn’t matter if we can’t have children.”
He reached for her hand, and she pulled away. His lips thinned. “You can’t seriously tell me you prefer that bear to me.”
“In every way imaginable,” she breathed with feeling.
“He’s common.”
“I love him.”
“He’s…”
“Get out!”
“Cissy…”
“Get out. Boris is worth ten of you.”
Edmund snorted. “Look at him; he’s not even fit to breathe the same air as you.”
“He’s no better or worse than me. You just look at him, see his size and his tattoos, and you think bad of him. He’s wonderful, and I adore him.”
“You’re actually attracted to him? He looks like a drug dealer.”
“The first time I saw him my…” Her cheeks burned in embarrassment, but she pushed herself to say it. “My panties were wet from arousal.”
Edmund paled. “Cissy! Don’t be disgusting.”
“If you don’t get out, it’s just going to get worse.”
“Cissy!”
“When we ffff… when we have… sex, I, ah, come so hard, the earth virtually moves for me.”
“Cissy!”
“His p… pe… his sexual organ is so huge that I… I feel like he’s impaling me and I…”
“Enough,” snapped Edmund. “I don’t know what’s happened to you, but you’re no longer the woman I fell in love with. I won’t take you back until you change your ways.”
Thank god huffed her swan.
He slammed the door shut behind him, and Cecile felt a mixture of anger and triumph. Even at his worst behavior she had never told him off. It felt good.
The door flew open, and she turned, throwing her hairbrush. “I said get out!”
Boris caught the brush and frowned.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you were…”
Boris sniffed, and fury crossed his face. “Edmund.”
“Yes, he was here. I told him to get out.”
“What did he want?” demanded Boris.
“He wanted me back – it was tragically hilarious.”
“I’ll kill him,” snarled Boris.
“Don’t bother; I scared him away.”
“You scared him away?” In spite of his mood, he guffawed.
“It’s not that funny.”
“Not funny at all, I’m impressed. And you look beautiful.” His eyes traveled down the silky blue nightgown. He placed his hands on her ass and kneaded the flesh with strong fingers.
“Mmmm.”
“I should still kill him.”
“Maybe later,” she whispered.
“I should…”
Cecile wriggled away from him and pulled the nightgown over her head, allowing it to drop to the ground. He looked torn, and Cecile cupped her breasts, before running her hands down her stomach and circling her clit.
“I guess I’ll just entertain myself while you’re killing him.”
Boris stared down at her body, groaning. She spun and climbed on the bed, shaking her ass. A few seconds passed before she felt Boris behind her, naked and hard. His hands gripped her hips as his manhood pressed insistently inside her. Her body trembled at the huge intruder, moaning as he filled her, taking every inch of him. He let out a growl as he pushed inside to the hilt, glorying in the feel of her inner muscles suckling at him, squeezing him. Boris pulled out and slammed inside. Cecile cried out, her body clutching at him.
He pumped his hips, roughly thrusting inside her over and over as she moaned and screamed in ecstasy. He leaned over her, covering her lithe frame with his huge body, grasping her creamy breasts in his huge hands, massaging the mounds and pinching her nipples. He placed kisses over her back as his hips slapped against her. Cecile’s arms shook with the force of his lovemaking, barely able to hold her up. She lowered her head to the bed, turning it to one side, her eyes closed and her mouth open as Boris powered into her.
Boris hunched over her body, trapping her beneath him, wrapping one arm around her and the other leaning on the bed. He drove inside her rapidly, his movements becoming jerky as he reached his end.
Cecile let out silent screams as she gave her body over to the sensations, and finally, Boris roared, stiffening inside her and releasing. She tried to buck against his huge body, as she reached her own orgasm. Her muscles tightened and strangled his manhood, milking his seed from him.
Panting and shaking from the intensity, Boris carefully pulled them onto the bed, so they were spooning. He placed a kiss o
n her shoulder and then licked his tongue over a few of her freckles. She’d always been a little self-conscious about them, envying swans like her mother and Louise, who had flawless skin, but Boris loved them. He often played join the dots with them in bed, running his fingers over them, creating patterns - it always turned her on.
“Love you,” he rumbled.
“Love you more.”
*
Two pizzas, three portions of wings and an extra large garlic bread later, Cecile and Boris were cuddling in bed.
“I hope they didn’t miss us too much during charades, I’m afraid my French is awful,” said Cecile, not sounding concerned in the least.
“Mmm, mine too.”
“My mother is impressed that you know Spanish.”
Boris could care less what her mother thought. But that’s not what he said. “I only know a little because of my sister.”
She ran her fingers through his chest hair. “You’re an impressive man all over.”
“Damn right.”
His manhood started swelling against her stomach, and she wiggled against him, giggling in delight.
Cecile blushed. “I hope they didn’t hear us earlier; I do tend to get a little loud.”
Boris smiled smugly as his bear roared lustily. He hoped Edmund heard every moan, every cry of ecstasy. Fucking paisley-wearing swan. Sex on the bed, sex in the armchair and sex in the shower – it had been a good night. And it wasn’t over yet.
He slid the strap of her nightgown down her shoulder and laved his tongue over her skin. He froze as a scream echoed through the house. He was about to continue, but Cecile slipped out of his grasp.
“That sounded like Louise.”
He grunted in agreement. Self-centered bird probably saw herself in the mirror without make-up.
Cecile pulled her kimono on and flitted out the room. Reluctantly, Boris pulled his boxers on and followed. He didn’t sense any real danger. If he had, Cecile would have been forcibly locked in the bathroom to keep her safe.
Undoubtedly it was just one of her family making a mountain out of a darn molehill.
*
Louise let out a theatrical sob.
Cecile placed her hands on her hips. So help her god if Louise was wailing because her straightening irons had broken, Cecile would not be responsible for her actions.
Marianne patted Louise’s back. “What’s wrong, dear?”
The other guests and staff arrived, some still dressed, some in their nightwear and rubbing bleary eyes. They all made room as a boxer-clad Boris strode forward. Cecile heard a couple of her female relatives gasp on seeing his huge, muscled form. In clothes, he was impressive, out of them… gahhhh. That was her drooling. She was half-smug and half-annoyed at how they were looking at her mate. Mine thought her swan.
Boris slipped an arm around her shoulders. Edmund sneered at her. Cecile sniffed and looked away.
“My pearl necklace – it’s gone,” whined Louise.
“Perhaps you misplaced it, I’ll help you look,” said Marianne, soothingly.
“No, it’s been stolen!”
Cecile stiffened a moment before Louise continued. Her swan fluttered warily. She had a bad feeling where this was going.
“And I’ll bet I know who did it.” Louise glared at her and Boris.
“How dare you!” hissed Cecile as her swan squawked.
“We all know he has a record, no one else here would have done it.”
There were some murmurs amongst the amassed swans.
“Well someone else must have,” said Cecile through gritted teeth.
“Then let us search your room,” demanded Louise.
“Absolutely not.”
“Go ahead,” rumbled Boris.
She looked at her mate. “Boris?”
He shrugged, and Louise smiled triumphantly before stomping away in that direction with the rest of the swans following.
Cecile studied her mate. He was oddly still – not displaying the fury she was expecting.
“She’s right,” he said. “I’ve been arrested before.”
“That does not give her the right to accuse you.”
He grinned at her. “No, but why fight it? I’ve nothing to hide. I love that you want to protect me. But in my experience, you’re better off keeping your mouth shut and letting the cops get on with it.”
“She isn’t a cop,” argued Cecile, stubbornly.
“No, she’s a pain in the ass. Let’s make sure she isn’t destroying our stuff. Can’t have her ripping apart my favorite underwear. By which I mean, your underwear.”
*
Louise held up the pearls triumphantly as Cecile and Boris made their way into the room.
“Aha, I knew it was him,” crowed Louise. “Call the SEA, have him arrested for theft.”
Boris’ eyes narrowed as his bear growled. His pregnant mate looked like she was about to have a fit.
*
“You are not locking him up,” snapped Cecile.
“We need to before the SEA arrives,” declared Hilary – her least favorite cousin. Considering Louise was also her cousin, it showed how little Cecile thought of him.
“I’m SEA.”
“You’re hardly objective,” he sneered.
Hilary looked at Boris, considering his options for restraining him. In Cecile’s opinion, he actually looked quite benign in his boxers, but she supposed he was still a seven-foot bear. Hilary gulped and muttered something about having a bad back.
“He’s done nothing wrong,” she argued.
“Why don’t we all calm down, darling,” said Marianne, wringing her hands and darting worried looks at Cecile. “Don’t get excited, think about your blood pressure.”
“She’s right,” agreed Boris.
“I am fine, just annoyed at these ridiculous accusations.”
“They were in his room,” said Louise.
“In our room, I must be a suspect too.”
Louise rolled her eyes. “You wouldn’t do this.”
“Why not?”
“You have your own pearls and your own money.”
“Well, Boris doesn’t wear pearls, and he has money!” Honestly, the stupidity of her family members was driving her up the wall!
“He has your money,” corrected Edmund, smugly.
“We share our money – we have a joint account, we just bought a house together.”
Boris rubbed her shoulder. “Babe, calm down.”
Marianne nodded. “Think of the baby, Cecile.”
“You’re pregnant?!” yelled Hilary, loud enough so that everyone in the house could hear.
Amidst calls of congratulations from other family members, Edmund looked at her in disgust. Louise appeared very uneasy at the news and Dawson unobtrusively stepped out of the room.
Cecile watched them all with suspicion.
*
“Mother.” The word slipped out like an accusation.
Marianne was making coffee for everyone. She had sent most of the staff back to bed, not wanting to keep them up.
“I’m sorry, darling, Edmund called the SEA before I could stop him – I’m sure your colleagues will sort all this out.”
“How did Louise know Boris has a record? You didn’t seem surprised when she mentioned it.”
Marianne’s cheeks turned slightly pink. “I’m not entirely sure, but when you told me about him, I was a little concerned, so I hired an investigator.”
“Mother!” Her swan honked.
“Well, I knew nothing about him, or who his family was. I had no say in your mating whatsoever.”
“You mean like you did for my first two husbands.” Yes, and those two marriages turned out swimmingly.
“Point taken,” conceded Marianne.
“I take it you supplied all this information to the rest of the family.”
“Of course not, darling. I admit I was slightly shocked by what I learned about him, but I didn’t tell anyone else. I didn’t want them t
o pre-judge him.”
“Like you did?”
“Darling, I’m sorry, but I vetted your first two husbands, and I approved them and…” Cecile raised an eyebrow. “I should probably stop talking.”
“So you didn’t actually tell anyone?”
“No, only Dawson. But then he knows all my business. He’s a very good listener.”
Ah yes, the butler.
*
While Cecile disappeared to talk to her mother, Mindy was trying to extract details about Boris’ record.
“Were you a cat burglar?”
His bear grumbled at the excitable red panda shifter. “What do you think?”
“Mindy, dear,” admonished her father, Jasper.
She ignored him. “Have you ever stabbed anyone?”
Boris gave her a long look that had no effect.
“Have you ever killed anyone?”
“No, but wait a couple of minutes and my answer may change.”
“Mindy, take the hint,” murmured Roderick.
Where the fuck is Cecile, he wondered in growing irritation.
*
“Why Dawson?” sighed Cecile when she found him in the dining room.
“Miss. Cecile?”
“I know you put the pearls in the drawer. It had to be you. I suspected someone did it after Louise started screaming and they waited for us to leave our bedroom, but now that I think about it, Boris was the last to arrive at Louise’s room. I put some clothes in that drawer right before Boris left the charades game and came back to the room, and from that moment on, neither of us left until Louise screamed. But, we did order some takeout, which you then brought up to our room. And while I took the tray from you, Boris was in the bathroom, and my back was turned long enough for you to slip the pearls into that drawer.”
Dawson gaped at her.
“I was an investigator for the SEA, you know. Putting that together was hardly taxing. As to motive, I would imagine that you believed my mother was horrified by my choice in mate and wanted to get rid of him to make her happy. However, you didn’t realize at the time that I was pregnant and was, therefore, making my mother happier than she’d ever been by giving her a grandchild. Am I right in thinking that Louise approached you with some half-baked scheme to separate Boris and I, and you suggested the pearls?”
Dawson grimaced. “Your cousin informed me shortly after your arrival that your mate was treating you badly. She implied that he was beating you.”