by Vivian Wood
“You’re leaving?” the girl asked.
Maddie turned to look at her, noting the fearful expression on her face.
“I’m going to send for Kellan. He’s going to start moving you into a suite as soon as we get one ready for you.”
“Oh,” Sadie said, still nervous. She glanced at the door, making Maddie wonder if she’d had some unwelcome visitors from the pack. Based on Maddie’s own experiences so far, it wasn’t unthinkable. Maddie would have to warn Kellan and Jasper.
“How about I wait with you until he gets here?” Maddie said, taking her seat again.
“I don’t want to keep you from whatever you have to do,” Sadie said.
“You know what? This is way more important. Besides, I still have to get a list of items you need. I almost left without doing that.”
“Oh. Okay,” Sadie said. She relaxed, and Maddie knew she’d made the right choice.
Maddie sighed, trying to keep the frown from her face. Something was going to have to be done to better protect the human girl. Maddie pulled out her phone and started making the list of Sadie’s requests, promising herself that she would consult Jasper on the matter later.
Human or no, the girl was a pack member now. Shifters protected their own no matter what, and Maddie was determined that Sadie would be no exception.
“Maddie?” Sadie asked, looking up at her.
“Yeah?” Maddie said, returning to their conversation.
“Can I ask you a personal question? About Gwen?”
“Sure,” Maddie said, puzzled. “I don’t really know her that well, but I’ll answer what I can.”
“It’s a really nosy question. It’s just that you seem nice, and I’m trying to figure out how things work here,” the girl said, clearly hesitant.
“Don’t worry about it,” Maddie said, waving off Sadie’s concern.
After a moment Sadie took a breath, and fired off her question.
“Aren’t you, like… jealous? I had a boyfriend once that was close with his ex, and it used to make me super jealous.”
“Jealous,” Maddie repeated, cocking her head.
“Yeah. You said that you’re the wife of the Alpha, but Don— er, the Shifter I know, he told me that Gwen has all the Alpha’s authority, because she’s banging him. His words, not mine,” Sadie finished with a blush.
Maddie’s mouth opened and closed again, and she couldn’t for the life of her think of a response. Of course as soon as Sadie said the words, everything clicked. Gwen and Jasper had a lot of hurt feelings. Gwen bossed him around, stepped all over him, and generally lacked the respect of a Beta to an Alpha. Jasper had spoken of a past girlfriend, a romance gone awry…
Yeah, that ex was Gwen. No denying it.
“I didn’t mean to pry. I was just talking, I talk when I’m nervous,” Sadie said, her eyes growing large as she rambled.
“No, no. I’m sorry, I was just considering your question. To answer, I’ll just say that with Shifters, mating is for life. We don’t divorce. If a couple doesn’t get along, they stay together. There’s no such thing as cheating. It’s kind of complicated, but… No, I’m not jealous of Gwen.”
Maddie swallowed the lump in her throat, the sad little feeling that said her words might be a lie.
She nodded and chatted with Sadie, but all she could think about was this new piece of information. Just add that to the growing pile of things Jasper hadn’t trusted her enough to tell her…
29
Four days later, Maddie started to wish that she’d never volunteered herself for such a huge task. She’d launched herself into work as pack procurer, and she’d barely surfaced since then. Though Jasper was slammed with work, making decisions and taking business meetings, even he’d started to grumble about not seeing much of her during waking hours.
At the end of her fourth invariably long day, Maddie arrived back at Alpha’s House with nothing in mind so much as a little down time. Her arms were full of various bags and packages, just a small portion of what she’d purchased in Mobile that day. She used her elbow to nudge the door open and edged inside, sighing when she could at last lay her burdens down on the large kitchen table.
Heading for the study, Maddie sat down and kicked her feet up on the battered desk. She reached in her pocket and fished out the to-do list she’d been working from, mentally checking off what she’d accomplished today.
Maddie had managed to rope Langston, the kindly younger door guard, into helping her all day. Taking Jasper’s credit card and his Mercedes, Maddie and Langston had driven all over the city to pick up items that Maddie required.
She took a moment to mark down the items they hadn’t been able to find; she’d just order those things online and have them delivered to the Bunker. The online ordering would have to wait, though. Maddie had shopped herself and poor, naive Langston into complete exhaustion. She needed a few minutes to regroup and rest her feet.
She sighed and arched her back, stretching. She was more than a little glad to have gotten so much accomplished today.
Tomorrow Maddie would borrow a laptop from the office and queue up all the orders online, having them delivered to the club that camouflaged the Bunker’s entrance. First on her list was to order healthier, higher-grade foods and some instructional cooking videos for the males. Maddie also had the idea that she might be able to tempt a female from another pack into moving here and taking up a position as the pack’s chef. Someone tough, who wouldn’t take any shit from the swaggering soldiers of the Alabama pack. A few names flitted through her mind, and she nodded to herself. Given a little time, this pack could get back on the right track.
Not that she would be here to reap the benefits, Maddie thought. Biting her lip, she realized that Jace and Tessa’s wedding was only two weeks away. After that, Maddie was supposed to move on with her life, doing all the stuff she’d meant to do when she was a young adult but had put off so far.
Travel the world, eat strange foods, write postcards, take foreign lovers…
Maddie frowned at the last thought. Despite both their workloads, she and Jasper had made love multiple times a day every day since their arrival, even waking in the night to seek pleasure in one another. She blushed, thinking that she could practically still taste her mate on her lips, though it had been hours since she’d seen him. How could anyone else compare to the experience she’d had last night? Or the night before… or the morning before… The idea of wrapping legs around a total stranger, once vital to Maddie’s pleasure, now seemed less…
Well, just less.
That was okay, though. So maybe Maddie would just skip tramping it up during her travels. There were still tons of other things to experience, temples to explore and seas in which to swim. She didn’t realize she’d closed her eyes and drifted off until she heard Jasper’s voice close to her ear, making her jump.
“You look very content,” he crooned. When she snapped her eyes open he was leaning down beside where she lay kicked back in the desk chair.
She pulled her legs down off the desk, sitting up. He stood up and looked her over, his eyes roaming over her body. The look in his eyes made his naughty thoughts quite clear, and Maddie blushed under his gaze.
“I was just heading upstairs to bed when I saw you in here and realized you wouldn’t make it upstairs on your own,” he said, his voice smoothing over her skin and making her toes curl.
“I’m mad at you right now,” Maddie said, tipping her head back. “Do you even know how much more work I have ahead of me?”
Even as she said the words, a sleepy smile crept onto her face. Damn him, looking all tall and blond and gorgeous. His innately masculine scent filled the room, all sweetly smoky cedar.
“How can I ever make it up to you?” he asked, blue eyes twinkling as he reached down to ruffle her hair. Maddie swatted away his hand with a pout.
“I just spent my whole day fixing something that this pack should have fixed years ago. I can’t believe you’ve all be
en living like this. And I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me that your Den is broken!”
“Bunker,” he corrected, giving her a troubled look.
“Whatever. You just left me to it all day, didn’t even call to check in or anything,” she said. She knew she sounded petulant, but her upset was a tangible thing.
Jasper knelt beside her, taking one of her hands in his.
“What would you have done if I had interrupted your work?” he asked, amused.
“Yelled at you, probably,” Maddie said. Jasper’s responsive laugh was infectious, and Maddie found herself smiling against her will.
“I have a proposition. How about I carry you upstairs to the bedroom like a caveman, and then I do dirty things to you until you’re happy again?”
“Sex doesn’t really solve problems,” Maddie said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
“It does for us,” Jasper rebutted.
Maddie sighed.
“Fine. If you must make me happy, then I’d guess we’d better go upstairs. But I get to be on top this time,” she stipulated.
Jasper grinned, standing and scooping Maddie up. Maddie had never been carried up a flight of stairs before, at least not at a full run like Jasper did now. She was thin but very tall, almost six feet barefoot. Most guys were barely her height and certainly not capable of literally sweeping her off her feet like he could.
Maddie laughed and let her head fall back against Jasper’s arm, staring up at him as he carried her into the master bedroom and laid her carefully on the bed.
Backing up, he unbuttoned his white dress shirt and black slacks. Discarding everything but his tight black boxer briefs, he gave Maddie a wicked smile and laid down next to her. He was belly up as she’d requested, submissive for once. His erection was obvious in such little clothing, thick and long and proud. Maddie’s fingers itched to wrap around it, stroke it hard enough to make him moan.
Just this little bit of power over him, and Maddie was ready to rip her own clothes off. She held herself back, though. He’d been incredible the night before, giving her everything she could possibly want, and she wanted to give him the same.
It was more than that, though. A little voice in her head also wanted to mark him, to make sure no female would ever measure up to her, at least in the bedroom. She would have to give him up soon enough, so she might as well enjoy the little bit of time she had with him now. Just for tonight, she wanted to possess him, make sure he’d remember her forever.
“Change your mind? You look very serious now,” Jasper said, reaching out and lifting her chin with a finger.
“No, no. I was just… no,” she said, sitting up. She stripped off her clothing, leaving only her bra and panties. Turning back to him, she was electrified by the look in his clear blue eyes. He looked desperate, adoring, and ravenous all rolled into one. Biting her lip, she scooted close and pressed a kiss to his muscular shoulder. Another kiss on his collarbone, then she grabbed his hand and brought his fingertips to her lips.
After a few delicate kisses, she circled his index finger with her tongue. Sucking his finger into her mouth, she bit down on his finger hard before soothing the pain with her tongue. She then moved to his middle finger, bobbing her head over it to mimic giving head. A glance at Jasper showed her that he was completely riveted on the wet glide of her mouth, as intended. She bit and sucked her way across all the fingers on that hand, then switched tactics completely and straddled him.
Suddenly they were pressed together intimately, and with only the thinnest barrier of fabric between them. Maddie leaned down to tickle Jasper’s chest with her long hair, then flipped her locks back over her shoulder to showcase the tops of her breasts where they peeked out from her lacy bra.
Jasper growled at her, a deep sound that only a Shifter male could produce. It made all the hairs on her body stand up, provoking her inner wolf to the nth degree.
Maddie rolled her hips, pressing her most tender flesh against the hardness of his erection. Jasper’s eyes closed briefly as he rocked back against her, greedy, wanting more. Maddie stopped moving her hips, instead leaning down and pressing her lips to his. His eyes opened instantly, echoing all his hunger and need and… something more.
Maddie parted her lips, and Jasper slid his tongue against hers, teasing and promising. One of his big hands sank into her hair, gripping her head to hold her in place. Maddie nipped his bottom lip to scold him, pulling back and reasserting her control.
Last night he’d been such a tease, dragging everything out so long that Maddie almost went crazy. Tonight, it was going to be different. She was going to watch him lose every ounce of that precious control.
Maddie unhooked and removed her bra, tossing it aside. His hands rose to cup her there, but she pushed them away, running her own fingertips over them instead. He let out another growl, thrusting up against her as she toyed with the stiff peak of each nipple. Looking down at his expression of pure craving, Maddie felt liquid pool hotly at her core.
30
Maddie paused to strip off her panties next, and then Jasper’s boxer briefs. In moments they were pressed flesh to flesh, his heat radiating into her body and intoxicating her further.
She swept her hands down her ribs and over her flat stomach, watching his eyes descend in line with her fingertips. She rose up on her knees and widened her stance just enough to give herself access to touch her most sensitive spot. Slipping two fingers down into her soft curls, she bit her lip against the moan that sprang forth when her fingertip stroked the silky wetness of her sex.
Jasper’s hands came up to grab her ass, and Maddie used one hand to spread herself so that he could see exactly what she was doing. After pausing to lick her fingertips for lubrication, she ever-so-gently swirled them around her pulsing clit. She fell into a little rhythm of motions, absorbed in watching Jasper’s face as he struggled not to interrupt. He groaned and cursed, his hands squeezing her flesh hard.
“Fuck, Maddie. You are so damned hot,” he breathed, sounding a little winded.
Maddie drew her fingers and reached up to brush them against his lips, which made him wild. She then reached around with the same hand and positioned his cock just so before nestling her entrance against him. He thrust, expecting her to pull away. Instead she pushed against him, taking his cock to the hilt in one smooth motion.
Jasper gritted out a string of impressively foul curses, and Maddie leaned over to kiss him again as she rocked her hips in a slow, soft movement. His kiss was scorching, hungry and needing and male. As Maddie began to roll her hips against him, he broke off the kiss with a growl and pushed her upright. He met her every movement with a stroke of his own.
Their excitement spiraled quickly, movements growing desperate as they each raced toward climax. Jasper reached up and wrapped his hand around the back of Maddie’s neck, his possessive need making her feel that much more excited. She peaked suddenly, almost violently, moaning her pleasure into his ear.
Jasper was only a few thrusts behind her, growling roughly as he released into her willing body. He thrust several times, groaning as he pulsed his seed deep into her body.
Rather than pull away, he splayed a hand over her lower back and pressed her close before lying down. They were still joined, Maddie lying atop Jasper, but at the moment it felt right. They lay in silence, each trying to regain enough breath to speak again.
It was some time before either stirred in the thick silence. Jasper was the first to speak.
“What were you thinking about earlier, when I first found you in the study?” Jasper asked.
Maddie blinked, surprised by his question. She thought for a moment before answering.
“I guess I was thinking about getting on a plane and going somewhere exotic. I’ve never been on a plane before, you know?”
Jasper was quiet for a moment before replying.
“No, I didn’t know. I guess I figured you’d taken a year off to travel, like most young Shifters do when
they reach adulthood. It’s a pretty standard part of our education,” he said, turning onto his side to look at her as they spoke. Maddie winced as he eased out of her body, but he still held her close.
“I know. This is going to sound silly, but I just couldn’t leave Jace by himself. He never really traveled, supposedly because he was raising me. When I brought up my own plans, he would just look so worried. And then he got a serious job working for the pack and couldn’t just traipse around the world with me for a year,” Maddie said, trying not to sound bitter. She truly loved her brother, even when he was being a complete ass.
“What’s changed? If you’re considering leaving, there must be a reason that you feel you can leave him,” Jasper said. Maddie sighed, loathe to admit the reason she felt Jace would be completely fine without her.
“His mate, Tessa. You can tell when he looks at her, he’s just fucking so lost on her. Like she’s the sun and he revolves around her. It’s disgustingly cute,” Maddie said.
“I thought you didn’t really like Tessa?”
“It’s not that. It’s just… you know, she’s human, and she’s a stranger, and then out of nowhere she’s pregnant…” Maddie paused, not wanting to finish her statement.
“And suddenly she’s stolen Jace away from you?” Jasper asked, absently reaching out and fingering a lock of Maddie’s hair. Maddie frowned, disturbed by his accuracy.
“No. Maybe. I don’t really know. I can’t dislike her, she makes Jace so happy. When she looks at him, you can tell that he’s everything to her. Like without him, there’s no point in living.”
“I know what you mean. It’s an all-encompassing thing. No room for anyone else but your mate,” Jasper said. Maddie gave him a sharp look, suspicious.
“You sound like you know from experience. Did you feel that way about your last relationship?” she asked. “The one you’ve been so secretive about?”
She quirked a brow, letting him know that she disliked his total lack of transparency about his last girlfriend.