King of Rock (Lions of Pride Island Book 1)

by Terry Bolryder

  “I’m sorry,” Stacy said. “I should have handled it better.”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong,” Beau snarled. “That dick had it coming. Looked like the type that just likes to bully.” He sighed. “I hate those types.”

  She leaned against him. A part of her was glad he’d done that for her, rescued her when she needed him. The other part was afraid of fallout.

  Being with a celebrity was something else.

  The limo dropped them off at home, and Beau picked her up in his arms to carry her inside.

  She flushed, pushing at his arms. “I can walk.”

  “Shut up,” he said tersely.

  She pushed at him harder. “What’s wrong with you?” she asked. “Look, I’m fine.”

  “He had his hands on you,” Beau said in a low voice. “I can’t… I need to… I don’t know.”

  “Are you mad at me? You seemed fine in the limo…”

  “Fine?” Beau scoffed. “I’m not fine. I needed to know you were okay, and I needed to try and calm down. But it keeps playing in my mind, what he could have done to you if I hadn’t gotten there that fast.”

  “Sorry about your guitar,” she said.

  “I could buy a million more. But I honestly don’t want to go onstage again if it means leaving you defenseless.”

  She began wriggling in his arms as hard as she could, as if she could make him drop her, and he just laughed and held her tighter against his chest.

  “That’s not going to work,” he said.

  “I made you smile,” she quipped. “I’m glad.”

  He sat on the grass with her in his lap and let out a long breath. “What a day.”

  “I can’t believe you got so violent. You could have killed him.”

  “Nah, the guitar was hollow, and I only hit him in the back.”

  She laughed, though the situation was still disturbing. “It’s not like he was going to mate me. It wouldn’t have threatened anything you want.”

  His eyebrows pulled down in confusion. “Is that all you think I want? That as long as I can mate you, nothing else matters? That I won’t care who touches you?”

  She bit her lip and nodded.

  He exhaled, and she could sense palpable frustration, even anger. “Look, Stacy, I don’t know how else to tell you this…”

  He pushed her down lightly into the grass and propped himself over her on his hands and knees. She could see his luscious pecs in his tank top from this position. The sun was setting because the concert had finished early evening, and she watched the orange and pink rays fan out behind him.

  “I want you, Stacy,” he said. “I want to be the only one to touch you. When that man put his hands on you, I thought I’d go crazy. The lion in me could kill for you. But I could also hold back for you. Anything, really, as long as you can accept me.” He leaned forward, nuzzling his nose to hers. A gesture that felt oddly intimate and soft.

  She just looked up at him, aroused by his position, overwhelmed by everything that had happened in the past hour.

  “Say you accept me,” he said. “I’ll make you the happiest woman in the world. Put me out of my misery.”

  She put up a hand to touch his face. She really wanted to just say yes. But she couldn’t. Something inside her kept pushing against it.

  He seemed to realize that without her saying it. “I’m sorry. I said I wouldn’t pressure you.” He closed his eyes and his jaw went tight as he turned his head to the side, flinching at something invisible. “When that guy was touching you… I don’t think I even fully realized how I felt about you up until that moment. It’s way beyond oracles,” he said seriously, running a hand over her hair. “It’s just how well we fit together.”

  She bit her lip and looked up at him tentatively. “I appreciate you telling me that.” Obviously, he’d been jealous, and she was oddly thrilled by that.

  But agreeing to mate was a lifelong thing, something that shouldn’t be undertaken just because both of them were easily falling into the strongest lust of their lives.

  She played with the collar of his shirt. “So you weren’t just trying to protect your political future?”

  “No,” he said, cursing under his breath. “In that moment, I was just a stupid man going crazy at the thought that someone else was touching his woman.”

  She grinned. She liked it better when they just thought on those terms. Just a guy and a girl, no matter the odds.

  It almost made her forget everything stacked against them.

  “Well, thanks for saving me,” she said. “It feels kind of nice to be rescued for once.”

  “Stay with me, and I’ll rescue you for the rest of your life,” he said. “As many times as you need it.”

  She quirked an eyebrow. “Something tells me I’d need it a bit more hanging around you.”

  He flexed. “Good thing I have all these muscles to protect you with.”

  She giggled. “You might end up buying a lot of guitars.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, comes with the territory.” He took a deep breath and let it out, and she realized he was trembling slightly.

  She put a hand up to his cheek. “Beau, what’s wrong?”

  He shut his eyes, and when they opened, she could see a slight golden glint at the center. “My lion is close to the surface. It’s getting harder not to claim you. Especially with what happened today.”

  She nodded. He took another slow breath, let it out, and when he opened his eyes, they were their normal, crystal-clear blue.

  “I won’t push this any faster than you want it,” he said. “But can you at least tell me if I’m right for thinking you’re starting to consider giving me a chance?”

  She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yeah,” she said. “I can do even better than that. I think I’m ready for you.” She flushed. “Not for mating. But for being with you fully. Seeing how we fit that way.”

  He froze, his eyes widening as her words sank in. “Seriously?”

  “With protection,” she said, feeling her body already going liquid at the thought of just having him inside her. Feeling completely one.

  He jerked slightly as he pulled himself off of her and snatched her into the air. She squeaked as she found herself hoisted over his shoulder.

  “Beau!” she screeched.

  “What?” he asked. “I’m taking you up to my room to ravish my mate.”

  “Ravish?” she asked. “I don’t think so.”

  “You’re right. Ravish implies you weren’t asking. Which you were.”

  She felt blood rush into her face as his hand lightly tapped her bottom. “Hey!”

  “So I guess taking you off to my room to make love to you is what I meant.”

  She gritted her teeth but couldn’t stop the excitement running through her, her body already humming at the thought of having him inside her.

  After everything that had happened today, him protecting her, him confessing how much he wanted her with it having nothing to do with the oracle, she didn’t want to hold back anymore.

  She’d go as far as she could with him without mating him and having to make a final decision, and then she would hope she could somehow get a clear message on what she should do.

  Meanwhile, she felt it wasn’t too bad to have a guy that could carry her to bed this easily.

  “I like the view back here,” she said.

  “Oh yeah?” he asked. “Good sunset?”

  “Nope,” she said, pointing her eyes downward. “Great ass.”

  His laughed boomed across the grounds as he crossed the threshold and carried her up the steps.

  She could hardly wait.

  11

  Beau passed his room, enjoying the feel of his mate’s lush curves over his shoulder, and walked up the stairs to a large suite that sat at the top of the mansion.

  One he’d rarely ever used but felt like the right place for this.

  There were windows looking out over the grounds, a huge bed i
n the middle of the room, with lush furnishings around. He came up here to think sometimes when he was upset or just needed to recharge.

  It was a special place and the perfect place to be one with her. Well, there’d be a pesky condom in the way, but that wouldn’t stop him from enjoying every bit of her.

  He could already scent her arousal in the air, her reaction to simply being carried and lightly spanked. Or just her anticipation of what was happening.

  He’d been worried right after attacking the douche that she would yell at him for being violent, but he honestly couldn’t have helped it if he’d tried.

  He loved her. It was as plain as the nose on her face. Which was a cute, rounded little nose with a couple freckles on top. He loved her silky brown skin, her curves, her hair that always wanted to escape her tight ponytail. Maybe one day he could get her let it all down…

  But he loved her. He’d almost told her. Instead, he’d copped out and said he wanted her.

  Oh well, it was something he could correct later. Why mess things up when they were going so well now? For some reason, she was ready to go further with him than she’d ever gone, and he wasn’t going to argue.

  Not when he was so ready as well. Every day with her felt like more of a fun preview of the rest of their lives. She’d be a great mom, too, not letting any of the kids get away with crap, while keeping their dad in line, too.

  Except he’d be the one doing discipline so she wouldn’t be too tired at the end of the day to be with him. He’d make life as easy for her as possible.

  He resisted the urge to put his face in his palm as he realized the direction of his thoughts. Damn, he was getting all mushy, ready to play house, when she hadn’t even agreed to anything yet.

  But he’d been ready from the first time he knew her name.

  He looked down at her, pushing herself back onto the middle of the plush bed, sinking into it, and looking up at him with soft eyes, and didn’t know what to do with himself.

  He wanted her so badly.

  She was everything.

  He had a feeling he’d be writing a lot of sappy love songs after this worked out.

  He came over her, kissing his way up her arm to her neck. She’d worn a sexy red halter top for him, and he’d loved looking up from the stage at her.

  Right up until douche boy had bothered her. The thought still sent rage rushing through him, and only his mate’s soft hands on his arms snapped him out of it.

  “Beau, I’m safe,” she said, pushing his hair back out of his face. “So focus on making love to me.”

  He grinned. “I can do that.” He cupped her with one hand. “You’re already wet, dammit. You drive me crazy.”

  She gasped but just squirmed against him. “It’s not my fault. And who said you could touch there?”

  He cocked his head and pulled back his hand. “So you didn’t want me to? Isn’t it my job to make sure my mate’s ready to accommodate me?”

  She bit her lip adorably. He loved their dark, natural color. “I guess if it’s your job…” She grabbed his hand bossily and pulled it back over her and then mewled as she rubbed up against it.

  Damn, she felt amazing. His mate. It was too good to be true.

  Her eyes when he’d rescued her flashed through his mind. It reminded him of another moment when she’d been troubled. A moment that had always stuck with him. Haunting. But she clearly didn’t remember or recognize him.

  He didn’t know when the right moment was to tell her either. It was a night he didn’t like to think about because of his family.

  He pushed the painful thoughts out of his head. No, he wouldn’t think about that now. He had a beautiful woman underneath him, waiting for him.

  He wouldn’t leave her hanging.

  He unbuttoned her jeans and helped her wriggle out of them and knelt between her legs. He loved the smell of her, the taste of her, as he kissed her over her panties and then tore them aside with one hand, leaving her bare. She was so wet, so hot, so ready that he growled and would have taken her there if it were possible. But clothes were still in the way.

  He wished he could take it slow… give her lots of foreplay, but…

  “Hurry up,” she said as he lowered his head and kissed her there again. “I can’t wait.” She squirmed and put her hands in her hair, pulling it out and letting it splay on the pillow in beautiful dark shapes as his tongue played over her.

  He felt the tension building inside her, and despite his own impatience, he was determined to make her come at least once before letting her try to accommodate him.

  When she did come, with an extra deft flick of his tongue in that circular motion she liked so much, he held her as she screamed, letting her nails dig into his back. He felt sharp pain as they became claws, grinning that the lion in him was good enough to bring his mate’s lioness close to the surface. If she’d done that when they were having unprotected sex, they’d be mated.

  He pulled back from her, letting her arms fall limply into the mattress as she breathed heavily, eyes glazed from her orgasm. Damn, she was too beautiful. How had he gotten so lucky?

  He pulled off his shirt and then just got caught staring down at her, looking so beautiful in his bed.

  “Pants,” she gasped, looking up at him. “They need to be gone.”

  He licked his lips and looked her over. “Same with your shirt.”

  She hurriedly pulled it over her head and unhooked her bra, wriggling out of it as he slid out of his pants and stepped out of his boxer briefs.

  The appreciative look she gave him was worth everything.

  She writhed, opening her legs toward him, giving him a view that was mind-melting hot. “I need you. Now.”

  He just growled and came forward, kneeling in front of her. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  She spread her legs farther. “I don’t care. I’ll be fine. I think?” She reached up to wrap her legs around him, trapping him.

  He bit back a groan as he held her legs and tried to adjust himself in front of her entrance. She pushed against his head, and he felt how tight, how hot, how wet she was. It took all his control to hold back and not push into her right there.

  He had to be careful. This was his mate.

  “Wait,” he said, suddenly pulling back. “Condom.”

  Her eyes flew wide. “I almost forgot.”

  He could almost laugh it was so ironic. His mate had almost taken him without protection, and he’d stopped her. But it remained that he loved her; thus, he didn’t want her to do anything she wasn’t ready for. Anything she didn’t want yet.

  Still, a tiny part of him regretted he’d remembered. But only for a second, as he tore open a condom and slid it over himself, grimacing at how tight it was. They really needed to make them bigger.

  Her eyes were wide as she watched him. “Um, if condoms don’t fit, how am I going to?”

  “Because I made sure you’re ready, and I’m going to stop at any moment if you aren’t comfortable. I’ll be on constant guard.”

  “That doesn’t sound very fun for you,” she said, biting her lip.

  He groaned. “Don’t do that. It’s hot. I’m having a hard enough time here.”

  “Hard, yup.” She giggled, and he shook his head.

  “Wanton,” he said.

  “Yup.”

  He loved when she was shameless, when she turned off that quick mind of hers and just lived in the moment with him. Though, he hoped at some point soon, her heart could line up with her mind and agree they should be together.

  He wanted all of her to want to be with him. Not for parts of her to be at odds over it. That was the only way he’d mate her.

  Funny how when this had started, he’d thought it would all be too easy. But now he wouldn’t have it any other way.

  Messy and complicated and difficult. And oh so fun and right.

  She wriggled against him. “You ready?”

  “If you are,” he said, his voice husky. He positioned himself
at her entrance and pushed in just slightly.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up to whisper in his ear. “You were so hot on the stage today. Watching you sing made me wet.”

  He jerked at that and held himself back with all his might. “Seriously?” He pushed in another inch, and she gasped and shut her eyes, screwing up her face.

  He immediately stopped moving, frozen in fear, but then she opened her eyes, staring up at him in wonder.

  “I thought it would hurt. It does feel intense, but…” She wriggled, and he felt her relax slightly. “It also feels so amazing.”

  “So you get wet watching me perform?” he asked, reaching down with one finger to feel her clit as he slowly slid a little deeper into her. He hoped the sensation there would distract her.

  She bit her lip and nodded.

  “I told you not to do that,” he said. “It’s too sexy.”

  “I can’t help it,” she snapped. “It feels good. So intense.”

  He rubbed his finger over her clit again. “What about when you first saw me?” He leaned in over her ear, breathing on it as he came in another inch. “You liked that, too, didn’t you?”

  She closed her eyes and nodded. “Yes,” she said breathlessly, her arms grasping him tightly.

  “You were wet, weren’t you?” he growled.

  “Yes,” she gasped out as he came the rest of the way inside. Her body thrashed, and he pinned himself against her, holding her still.

  “It’s so strong,” she said. “I can feel you everywhere…”

  “Are you okay?” he asked, slightly alarmed. “Do you need me to move…?”

  “No!” she cried out. “No, just give me a minute. Holy hell, you are huge.”

  He grinned. “Thank you… I think?”

  She gave him a playful glare. “I’m still figuring out if that’s a compliment.” She took a deep breath, and he could see she was forcing herself to relax. As she breathed and her hands loosened their death grip on him, he could see the moment worry and tension morphed into pleasure.