He was transfixed by the sight of her, riding him with wild abandon, completely oblivious to the world around them.
“I could watch you all day.”
She smiled dreamily at him.
“It’s not going to take me that long. I was ready for you long before I woke up.”
She bit her lip at the confession, cheeks coloring sweetly.
“When you called out to me, you weren’t scared then?”
His smile said that he knew, but he waited to hear it from her. Her pert breasts bounced gently as she thrust, trying to concentrate on his words while she worked herself into a frenzy on his manhood.
“No,” her voice caught, “no I was dreaming of us, together like this.”
“So you dreamed about having your way with me in the shower?”
He slid his hands down her back and locked onto her hips. He slowed her movements, forcing her to enjoy the moment and focus on him. She shot him a look of frustration, but he was enjoying himself too much to care.
“I did. I dreamed almost exactly this.”
“So, I’m making your dream come true, then?”
“Oh my gawd, will you shut up?”
Lydia claimed his mouth with hers, cutting off his laughter. His arms went around her neck. When he released her, she moved her hips ever faster, drawing him into her very core. Her breath quickened and the color moved up her throat and into her sweet face. Carter could feel the change in her, her heat clamping down on him in that last frantic dash after the pleasure they both needed so badly.
Her body went rigid for an instant before her head fell back and she gave herself over to the climax. Carter held tight, watching her body pulse with the pleasure ripping through her. When he couldn’t stand it any longer, he surrendered to his own heat that had been building since the day he’d first held her in his arms. He’d been waiting for this moment for an eternity, and it was more than he’d ever imagined.
A cry ripped from his throat at the moment of passion. He braced his back against the wall, using it to give himself leverage as he drove into her. He forced every last drop of heat out of her before collapsing against the wall, completely spent.
Lydia melted into his arms, her body shuddering around him as the waves ceased crashing little by little. The water swirled around them, the sound of the constant rushing drowning out the world around them.
When Lydia could string together a coherent thought, she looked down at Carter.
“That was better than I’d hoped,” she purred.
“Thank you.”
He arched an eyebrow and smiled. He eased her off of his lap and reached for the control panel through the deluge.
Water shut off, they took their time toweling each other dry. Lydia walked in front of him to the bed, looking over her shoulder and smiling when she caught him eyeing her ample backside.
She slipped into bed naked, making room for him to join her.
“I thought you were leaving?”
“I am, but I’m still exhausted. I just need a little nap, and I want to sleep in your arms without worrying about what my next move is.”
“You know you don’t have to leave, right?”
“You both keep saying that. I wish I could help you understand. I’ve never done anything on my life on my own terms. I need this one thing to be right.”
“So you do love us?”
She was silent for a moment before she answered.
“Admitting seems like such a monumental thing. But yes, I love you both. I don’t know when that happened, but it would be a lie to deny it.”
“I feel the same way.”
“I need to have control of something in my life. Knowing that you both are willing to let me walk away without being certain that I’ll return helps.”
“It doesn’t help me.”
“I’m sorry. I really am. I wish there was some way for me to get what I need without hurting anyone.”
Carter smiled and brushed her damp hair away from her face.
“Let’s not think about that right now. Right now, it’s just us. A warm bed and the quiet morning sky.”
He pulled her against his body, cradling her with every inch of himself and wrapping her up tightly.
“For now, Lydia, let’s just be together and forget everything else.”
“Yes. That sounds like exactly what I need.”
She closed her eyes, loving the feel of his strength enveloping her. She would miss this. But for now, she was right where she wanted to be.
Lydia awoke to a room filled with bright, afternoon sunlight. She moved quietly, trying not to wake Carter. Even in his sleep, he reached for her. It tugged at her heart, and she wondered for the millionth time-was she doing the right thing?
If she was, it sure didn’t feel like it. She walked the room and the adjoining bathroom, going through what she had, grabbing anything she needed for her trip. She didn’t know yet where she was going, but it needed to be far away. Maybe somewhere that was sunny in the winter.
She stepped into her walk-in closet, surprised to see that the drawers meant to display and store all her jewelry and accessories were full. At some point in the evening, the maid had brought all of her wedding gifts into the closet through the side door. Even after being here for several weeks, Lydia couldn’t get over how stealthily the hired help moved through the house. She hadn’t seen anyone aside from the chef and a few guards. The rest of the upkeep of the house seemed to happen as if by magic.
It was nice to have money.
She lovingly caressed each piece, closing her eyes against the tears that threatened as the memories crashed around her. It seemed like an eternity ago that these things were presented to her in the presence of her Tribute. But the truth was, it was still Sunday, and Lydia doubted more than half of their wedding guests were even awake by this point.
So much could happen in a few hours, and Lydia wished that she hadn’t run into Adam.
She closed the lid on one of the jewelry boxes and stormed out of the closet. Carter was awake in the bed, sleepy eyes watching her as she moved about the room.
“What time is it?” he asked.
“It’s a little after two. Still plenty of daylight to get out of here if we hurry. But I think most of the guests are still here.”
“When I checked earlier, many of them had already left. I’m sure plenty are still nursing hangovers, but there aren’t as many as there were last night.”
Lydia stopped pacing and stood in the middle of the room, looking completely lost.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m just. I don’t know. Everything was fine until Adam butted into our lives. If he hadn’t told me, I would never have known.”
Carter sat up, blankets falling from his chest and pooling into his naked lap.
“That’s true, but we shouldn’t have kept it from you. It wasn’t our decision to make.”
“You’re right. But doesn’t part of you think that no matter what, Gavin was going to come after us anyway? He wants me gone, and all because I saw too much. Who am I going to tell?”
“It’s not about who you will tell, it’s just the fact that you’re human and what goes on in our world isn’t something that’s easily explained to the other side.”
“Why not? I get why those men had to die. They murdered an innocent family.”
“They killed shifters. So many people are okay with that. Not everyone is like you. To some, we’re nothing more than animals who can speak and take on human form. There are many people who want us dead.”
“That’s ridiculous. You’re no different than anyone else. You live, you work, you have families and join communities. Why can’t people just accept that?”
She plopped down on the bed beside him, the wind rushing out of her as she grappled with it all.
“Some people don’t see it that way.” He reached out and grabbed her hand. “It’s always been that way in this world. Every group throughout history that’s h
ad to fight for equality has struggled in some way or another. And it’s been the same story time and time again. ‘They aren’t like us.’ ‘They aren’t real Americans and don’t deserve the same rights.’ The only thing that has changed is who they is. Right now, shifters fill that role. In a few years, who knows who will fight for equal rights then? It is what it is and there’s really nothing we can do to stop it.”
Lydia opened her mouth to say something when an alarm sounded on his phone. Brow furrowed, Carter pulled out his phone and looked at the text.
“Shit!”
“What?”
“Get dressed and I’ll get Jareth. It looks like we have company.”
*
When Lydia heard the doorbell ring, she wanted to run and hide. Instead, she held her head high, threading her fingers through Jareth’s and squeezing tight. She might be terrified and ready to run for her life, but she wasn’t in it alone. For the first time in her life, there was someone there to stand by her side when the world came crashing down around her.
“Why is he ringing the doorbell? It’s not like we don’t know why he’s here.”
“He’s putting on a show in case any of the guests are still around. He’s not going to just barge in here if there’s an audience.”
“Where is Carter?”
“He went to get help. He’ll be back soon.” Jareth looked over the railing and watched the butler move towards the door to let the guests in. “At least, I hope he’ll be back soon.”
He stood beside Lydia at the top of the stairs overlooking the massive foyer. Gavin strode in, followed quickly by Adam, whose face looked like it had been stitched up recently. Jareth arched an eyebrow in surprise at Adam’s appearance, but otherwise gave no indication that he was worried about their presence.
“Gavin. To what do we owe the pleasure? I was disappointed you weren’t able to join us for our wedding. You missed one hell of a party.”
“Spare me, Jareth. Everyone knows this marriage is a sham.”
Two large men walked through the front door and stood behind Gavin. Lydia shuddered, but Jareth squeezed her hand reassuringly. The men might look imposing, but she was safe.
“Actually, Gavin. We have to thank you. Without your guidance, we wouldn’t have realized that we’re in love. Our marriage was just a beautiful beginning to the next chapter in our lives. Well worth the money.”
“In love?” Gavin laughed. “There’s no way. She didn’t even know about the decree until Adam told her last night.”
“Is that what he told you? Seems awfully convenient to me. I mean, you want to kill the human girl, but things don’t go your way, so you make up another impossible hurdle just to push your agenda. Seems totally legit to me. What do you think, Lydia?”
“I don’t know, Jareth. Maybe Gavin is jealous of our love.”
Lydia’s hand trembled in his, but her voice never faltered. They were in deep, and Lydia knew they needed to stall. More than once, she caught Jareth’s eyes darting to the side. She knew he was watching for Carter.
Where was he?
“That’s enough!” Gavin bellowed, his voice echoing off the walls. “I’m not here to play games. The girl needs to die. That’s all there is to it.”
The side door in the kitchen slammed and Carter walked in, flanked on either side by four shifters. Lydia recognized Martin, but she didn’t recognize the others. All four looked angry.
Martin stepped forward, looking directly at Gavin, his posture tall and sure.
“You have no right to take this woman from them. She’s married to them, legally. I saw the ceremony myself and acted as Tribute.”
“Then you took part in a lie,” Gavin ground out. “They have no intention of staying married. They did it to save the life of a human.”
“Who cares why they did it? The fact is, anyone with half a brain can see they’re in love. Isn’t that what you demanded of them? And it worked. So you’ve got what you wanted from them. What else could you need?”
“This proves nothing. If they were in love, she would be pregnant by now. Look at her. There’s no way she’s carrying a shifter child. They’re married in name only, and I know for a fact she had her own rooms, separate from the men.”
Gavin’s tone lost some of its conviction when he spoke to Martin. Lydia watched the men square off, wondering if Martin standing up for her was going to be enough.
“Why do you want her dead so badly?” Martin asked.
“She witnessed things no human should see. What if she runs back to her people and tells them what she saw?”
“She won’t do that.”
“We can’t be sure.”
Gavin was insistent.
“You can’t be sure of anything. How do you know that one of us won’t do the same?”
“Don’t be foolish Martin. Even a half-breed like you can understand the importance of keeping the humans out of our private affairs. She’s seen too much.”
Gavin took a step towards the staircase, his massive guards moving with him.
“Gavin,” Martin warned.
“The matter has already been decided. She dies today, unless she can prove she’s pregnant with one of their children.”
“You said I had a year!” Lydia shouted from the top of the stares.
“One year or one day. It doesn’t matter. This marriage is a mistake. I should have killed you myself when I had a chance. That was my first mistake and it will be my last.”
Gavin nodded to Adam who smiled wickedly at the pair on the staircase. Carter, Martin and the others stood ready, but Gavin was focused only Lydia.
Lydia glared back at him, refusing to let him see the fear that quaked within her. Jareth held her tight, standing tall beside her. There was movement at the door, and with a sinking heart, Lydia realized that there were more guards coming to Gavin’s aid. They were outnumbered now, and Gavin was between them and the only exit.
Lydia watched Gavin’s face as he continued to stare at her. His features moved, slowly changing, at first looking contorted as if in a dream. Lydia held fast to Jareth, trying to keep her bearings straight. Around the open room, the others were going through the same motions, some shifting faster than others. Lydia fought the urge to run, to scream out in anger, but Jareth’s hand steadied her.
Carter and the others paced on four feet, moving to place themselves between Gavin and the foot of the staircase.
The men were outnumbered, but it didn’t matter. Lydia had already lost sight of which one was Carter, but Martin’s silver coat was easily distinguishable from the others.
Without warning, one of the tigers beside Gavin lunged at Martin. The others jumped into the fray, their angry roars filling the air as they pounced and tore at one another. Jareth pulled his hand from hers as she watched the scene below them in horror. She didn’t know who was winning but it didn’t matter. Already, two of the tigers had broken out of the scuffle and were making their way around the others towards the staircase.
“Get on my back.”
Lydia turned to Jareth, shocked to see that he was nearly shifted.
“Your back?”
Unable to speak any longer as the last of his features pulled into the tiger’s visage, he nodded his head.
Lydia hazarded a glance at the base of the long staircase and was shocked to see that one of the tigers was already moving past the fighting and too close for comfort.
Lydia swung onto Jareth’s back as he finished his shift and grabbed tight to his scruff an instant before he took off. Head laying low above his back, she looked over her shoulder and saw that the other tiger was almost upon them. She cried out as he lunged at them, barely missing Jareth’s tail as he slid along the tiled hallway.
Jareth ducked and weaved, heading for the far wing of the house. A second tiger joined the pursuit and Jareth crashed through a door that had been left ajar and towards an open window on the second story. Lydia’s eyes widened and she leaned back when Jareth threw himself out
the window and into the air. She squeezed her eyes shut for an instant, holding her breath and too afraid to scream.
Jareth landed easily on the gentle slope beneath the window and never missed a beat. Jareth had chosen that exit intentionally, knowing that the gently sloping hill that rose a few feet beyond the first story would ease their landing, should they be forced to flee.
A mighty roar came from behind them and Jareth pushed himself harder and faster. They were still being pursued, though they’d made up a little time when the pair had been forced to slow down to pass through the tight doorway and window. More roars followed.
Lydia counted four separate voices. She hoped that at least one of them was running after the group to rescue them. If all those tigers were with Gavin, she and Jareth were screwed.
Jareth changed course abruptly, ducking through what was left of the wedding setup and heading towards the woods beyond. Their pursuers followed close behind them, slowly but surely closing the gap.
The wind whipped through Lydia’s hair and forced tears from her eyes. She leaned down low over his back again, trying to give him any advantage she could instead of acting as a wind drag.
She could feel him tiring beneath her, though he pressed on. The tree line loomed, but the group behind them was gaining ground. It wouldn’t be long before they caught up.
Jareth seemed to sense what she was thinking, his stride slowing as he neared the tree line. He stopped and Lydia slid off. He looked at the approaching tigers and at her, motioning with his eyes that she should run for the trees.
“I won’t leave you.”
Jareth roared and shoved her with one mighty paw. He turned to face the oncoming group and showed his back to her. It was her choice to make, but he was left to defend her. In the distance, Lydia could see another group of tigers dashing towards them. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Gavin and his men made up the group that was closest to them. Until Carter, Martin and the others could catch up, only Jareth stood between Lydia and death.
Lydia backed away, unwilling to leave Jareth when he was so clearly outnumbered. If she was going to die anyway, why not die beside the man that she loved?
The Tigers Shared Mate Page 13