Leigh remained silent but secretly hoped so as well.
She would have been happy to stay right there all night with Matt’s half-hard cock deep inside her, but the temperature was dropping around them. “I’m cold,” she murmured before licking at the nipple hidden in the golden fur covering the chest she lay across.
Matt grunted a noncommittal sound, but warm hands traveled up and down her back as if trying to warm her. It took another few minutes to get her arm muscles to work enough to push herself up so she could look down at him.
“We need to go back to the party. You need to meet my parents,” she said, hearing a softness in her tone she’d never heard before.
“Do I have to?” Matt asked. He opened his eyes and looked at her like a little boy who didn’t want to go to the dentist.
“Yes, you do. Especially if you plan on taking me back to Santa Fe with you anytime soon. My father’s very traditional and steeped in the ways of the Old South. I’m not sure he’ll let me go off with you, even if you are my mate, without at least meeting you first.”
“I suppose,” Matt said. “You do realize you’re coming back to live in Santa Fe with me, right?” He lifted her from his half-hard cock and moved her to lie on the shirt beside him before he reached for his pants.
“Really? I figured I’d live here and you’d live there and we’d meet somewhere in the middle every six months or so,” she snarked as he produced a clean bandana from a back pocket of his pants, which he used to clean them both up.
Giggling too hard to move, she yelped when he reached down and popped her still-tender backside. “No way will that work. You’re going to have to stay very close until I’m sure that you can behave appropriately.”
Once he’d re-dressed, Matt swung her up in his arms. He carried her back to the front of the house so she could dress before they returned to the party.
“My clothes are gone,” she observed idly when they reached the front steps.
“You’re right. I guess that means you’ll have to go inside naked,” he said with a wide grin as he set her down on the stone walkway.
“You are kidding, aren’t you?” Leigh stared at him, once again fearful that in his dominant, I-am-he-wolf mood he really would make her walk into the party as she was.
“You could always shift and go in that way, but I don’t have a leash with me and I’m not sure Adam would appreciate you prowling around amongst his guests in wolf form,” Matt said, sounding like he was considering that option.
“Please don’t make me do that,” she pleaded.
In the last hour, he had destroyed her kick-ass, don’t-give-a-shit image she showed to the world. Right now all she wanted was to find a quiet place and snuggle with her mate. But that wouldn’t happen with the entire pack gathered just beyond the door in front of them.
“Don’t worry, little one. I couldn’t handle anyone else seeing you naked,” he said with a reassuring smile. “I’ve never been known for sharing well with others.”
He pulled his shirt from his waistband then stripped it over his head.
“Thank you,” she said after he turned it right side out and handed it to her.
She pulled it on quickly, sighing as the still-warm cotton shirt covered her chilled body. She took a deep breath and savored his scent that surrounded her.
The shirt was huge on her, ending just above her knees, several inches below where her red dress had ended. Her hands were lost in the long sleeves, and she loved the feeling of security wearing his shirt gave her. She stood patiently while he rolled each sleeve several times until they ended above her wrists.
When he took her hand and reached for the door, she took a step back, pulling him to a stop.
“What are they going to think of me coming in wearing only your shirt?” she whispered, looking up at him.
He grinned and winked at her. “The same thing they’ll be thinking of me walking in without my shirt. Those who have mates will sigh, remember when they were in the same condition we are, and be happy for us. Those who have yet to find their mates will be jealous as hell. Now come on, I’m hungry and there were some really good smells coming from the kitchen earlier.”
“Are all your appetites large?” she asked, wondering if he would denounce her when he learned that, though she looked good, she had very few realistic skills. Sure, she could mix nearly two hundred bar drinks without a problem, but she couldn’t cook a meal without ruining half of it or setting the kitchen on fire.
“I’d never thought about it before but I guess you could say that, at least my appetites for food and my mate.” This time his wink sent her into giggles as he opened the door and they walked into the house laughing together.
Everyone turned to look at them as they walked in. All the attention completely unnerved Leigh. For a woman who, due to her outrageous behaviors, lived in the spotlight, having the entire pack staring and knowing what she and Matt had just done unnerved her. Turning, she buried her face in Matt’s arm, wishing everyone would just go away and leave them so they could cuddle.
* * * *
Matt smiled down at her, oblivious to the stares of those around them. He didn’t care what they thought of him. He’d found and claimed his suddenly shy mate. When Leigh tried to hide behind him, he let go of her hand, instead wrapping his arm around her back. He pulled her tight to his side.
Then he bent his head and murmured, “I’ll protect you always. You’re my mate, and nothing except death will part us. These are your friends, your family. They only want the best for you.”
He waited until she nodded. She still looked nervous but at least she wasn’t trying to use him as a wall to hide behind. She didn’t understand that she looked adorable wearing his shirt, which covered twice as much skin as her skimpy little dress had earlier.
“You’re just in time, Matt,” Adam said with a wide smile, motioning for him to join them on the other side of the living room in front of the big stone fireplace. A path opened through the crowd for him.
“In time for what?” Matt asked. He headed across the room with Leigh still glued to his side. He didn’t plan to leave her behind. She felt too right nestled against him.
“In time for my wedding,” Margot announced with a smile.
Nodding, Matt took his place beside his sister, shifting Leigh to his other side so he stood between the two women. “Wondered how you were going to work this out.” He looked at Adam.
Adam shrugged. “Figured while you’re in town and the pack has gathered and we have an abundance of people willing to officiate, now is as good a time as ever.”
Margot harrumphed as she took offense at the man’s words. “If that’s how you feel, maybe I don’t want to marry you tonight after all. Maybe we need to talk about this some more.”
She turned to walk away, but Adam caught her after she had taken only a single step. After licking the bite mark visible on her shoulder, he whispered in her ear. She shivered in response and whispered, “I love you,” before she kissed him.
It took nearly a minute before their lips parted again.
He heard Leigh’s stomach rumble, which reminded him they were both hungry. But they couldn’t eat until this bit of family business was dealt with. “So, are you two getting married or not?” he snarked.
Leigh elbowed him in the ribs as she sniffed with some female emotion he couldn’t begin to understand. With a quirk of one eyebrow, he looked down at her as he patted her still-tender ass.
“Yes, we are getting married,” Adam said after Margot looked deep in his eyes and nodded. “Mother, Sarah, would you please join us?”
The two women came forward as the rest of the pack pressed forward, no one wanting to miss a word of their alpha’s marriage ceremony. Matt watched the traditional ceremony with only half his attention. The rest was focused on how fast he’d be able to talk Leigh into marrying him. He hoped it was soon because he was determined to have her bound to him by every means possible. He also had a feeling
that her parents wouldn’t be too happy if they didn’t at least discuss marriage before he took her home to Santa Fe.
When he blinked and focused on the present, his sister was married, and her new husband was lifting her into his arms. Adam then turned and walked down the path that opened before them leading to the foyer.
At the bottom of the staircase, he turned to grin at the crowd. “There’s champagne and dessert in the dining room. Last one to leave, please turn out the lights and lock the door.”
“Aren’t you going to stay and celebrate with us?” One of the older pack members asked with a laugh as the tiny woman next to him shushed him with a gentle, loving smile. Matt could almost envision Leigh shushing him that way many years in the future, when they were old and still together, teasing and laughing together as they watched the goings on of the young members of their extended pack family.
“No, thanks, we have a honeymoon to get started,” Margot answered with a joyous grin.
Matt watched as they ascended the stairs. He wished he could pick Leigh up and follow but he was hungry and knew Leigh felt the same way.
“Come on, little one. Let’s go to the kitchen and see if Mrs. Nicholas saved us anything for dinner,” he said as the rest of the pack migrated ahead of them to the dining room for the promised dessert and champagne.
Before they could edge around the crowd and escape into the kitchen, a rather large, stern looking man stepped into their path. “Mr. Brady, I’d like to have a word with you and my daughter.”
Chapter 4
Leigh’s heart sank as soon as her father moved in front of him. He only looked that serious when his stock portfolio dropped five points or he lost the latest charity golf match her mother had entered him in. The fact that he sucked at golf didn’t matter. If Yancy Kincaid-Thorne competed, he expected to slaughter the competition.
“Daddy, we’re going to the kitchen to get some dinner. Can’t this wait until later?” She stepped in front of Matt, hoping to keep her father from attacking her mate.
Her father was very traditional, in an old-school, good-old-boys-rule-the-world kind of way. He strongly believed in marriage, home, and family and didn’t understand why, at age thirty-five, Leigh had not presented him with a half dozen cubs. The fact that she’d only now found her mate didn’t matter. He wanted family, and since she was an only child, it was up to her to provide him with the next generation.
“No, I want to talk to your mate before you two disappear upstairs, which I’m sure will happen as soon as you can sneak away from the gathering.”
Leigh gasped at his insinuation. While her father never discussed her sex life, he also never acted as if he were proud of her. Matt’s hands came up and began to massage her shoulders. His touch soothed her and loosened tight muscles under his fingers tips while causing others in her body to tighten in response.
“I’d like that, sir, but I will tell you that no matter what you have to say, I claimed your daughter as my mate. She will be coming home with me to Santa Fe tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Leigh and her father asked in unison.
Turning her head, she looked over her shoulder to find that Matt looked even more serious than her father. Were these two shape-shifting wolves going to come to blows over her? How could that be? No one ever fought over her.
Matt dropped his gaze to hers. “Tomorrow,” he said, his voice dropping into that dark, sexy range that tickled her low in the hips. Immediately any thought of opposing him melted away.
She nodded, still staring deep into his eyes. “Okay, tomorrow.”
He winked as one corner of his mouth quirked up. Then she turned back to look at her father as Matt said, “If you’d like to come to the kitchen with us, I’d be happy to talk to you while Leigh and I eat something.”
Her father looked stunned for a moment then shook his head. “Leigh can go with you only if you marry her before you leave town. I will not have my daughter leaving New Bern unless there’s a ring on her finger. She may dress like a slut, but she’s no man’s floozy, and I refuse to allow her to leave town unless it’s with her husband.”
Leigh froze, afraid to look over her shoulder to see her mate’s reaction to her father’s demand. How could he be so bold as to try to dictate to another man? Would Matt agree? Or would he decide that she wasn’t worth marrying?
“Sir, while I appreciate family and tradition as much as anyone, I will not have you dictating to me what I can and cannot do when it comes to the welfare of my mate. If and when Leigh and I marry will be our decision, not one dictated by you. Now, if you’ll excuse us, my mate is hungry.”
Matt took her hand and led her past her father, who appeared speechless for the first time in Leigh’s memory.
“I can’t believe you did that,” she whispered softly as they started down the hall to the kitchen.
Before Matt could respond, someone grabbed Leigh’s free arm and yanked hard. She spun around so fast she was dizzy. Her father appeared as angry as she’d ever seen him, appeared to be fighting the need to shift. So maybe her quicksilver temper wasn’t a quirk as her father had been telling her for years.
When Matt growled behind her, she squeezed his hand, hoping to calm him enough to keep from facing off with her father. The last thing this evening needed was a bloodbath as Matt took on her father and his friends.
But Yancy seemed oblivious to the other man. He glared at her and only her. “Leigh, if you leave town without a wedding ring on your finger, I’ll cut you off. You’ll have nothing. Do you understand? Not a penny. And I’ll block access to your trust fund unless you come to your senses and get married.”
Leigh blinked in shock then felt her anger blast off like a rocket. Normally, she would just say “yes, sir” and do whatever her father dictated. But not today. She was mated, and from now on, Matt would be the only man to influence her decisions. She had no idea what had changed in her but she refused to be treated like a brainless twit any longer.
“Daddy, I love you and Mama dearly, but Matt is my mate. From now on, he comes first. If you can’t be happy that I’ve finally met the man I’m going to spend the rest of my life with then I guess you don’t love me as much as I thought you did. I’m going with Matt when he leaves town, whether we have your blessing or not. We are mated, and to us, the mating bond is a hell of a lot more sacred than any wedding ceremony. I’ve not been a child for a long time and I refuse to allow you to dictate my actions any longer. Excuse us.”
Leigh turned and walked away from her father without another word. It wasn’t until they were in the kitchen amid the chaos of the catering crew cleaning up their mess that she finally took a deep breath.
“Oh my God, what have I done?”
Matt didn’t answer. He waved at Mrs. Nicholas who ran Adam’s household with an iron fist hidden in a velvet glove. The housekeeper waved back with a smile.
“I talked back to my father. We both did. No one talks back to my father. Ever.” Leigh allowed him to push her into a rocking chair that sat in an isolated corner of the room out of the flow of traffic.
He shrugged and plucked a twig from her hair as he knelt. “So we talked back to him. It’s not as if he’s coming with us to Santa Fe. I refuse to have someone else dictate our lives.”
Leigh blinked and stared at the man kneeling before her. “What if he keeps me from my trust fund?”
He looked deep into her eyes for a long moment. “I’m sure Adam has a gaggle of attorneys on speed dial who will can look into it tomorrow. Or would you rather placate your father and get married?”
“Is that a proposal?”
Matt shrugged again, looking uncertain for the first time since she’d met him. “Or don’t you want to marry me?
Leigh felt her eyes go wide. “I’m your mate. Of course I’d like to marry you. I just don’t want him to bully you into it. I want you to propose when you feel the time is right, not because of something my father said.”
Needing to touch him
, she ran her hand up and down his leg without realizing what she was doing. In the short time they’d known one another, the feel of her mate had become as comforting to her as a blanket to a child.
Matt smiled down at her. “You will learn, little one, that no one bullies me into doing anything I don’t want to do. We will discuss this later.” He took the hand she rubbed up the inside of his right thigh. He lifted it to his lips and kissed her palm before placing it in her lap and patting it gently. “Right now we’re going to eat. Then we’ll sneak up the back stairs, and I’ll let you claim me if you’d like. Now stay here and I’ll scrounge us up something to eat.”
“No need for you to scrounge around and mess up my kitchen, Matthew. I figured you’d be wanting something to eat sooner or later. I set aside some things you might want to take it upstairs and enjoy. And congratulations on your mating, by the way.” She handed him a basket that looked full and heavy. “Now get out of my kitchen,” she ordered, pointing toward the back staircase that led to the second floor
“Yes, ma’am.” Matt accepted the basket. “Come along, mate. Let’s go see what this wonderful woman packed for us.”
By the time they climbed the stairs and walked down the hall to his room, Leigh wanted to forget about eating food and instead feast on her big blond mate. She didn’t even look around the room he led her into as he closed and locked the door behind them. She took the basket from him with a grunt at its heaviness and carried it to the table next to the windows across the room. Once that was dealt with, she reached down and pulled his shirt over her head and tossed it toward what appeared to be the closet door.
“Oh my,” he said as he stalked across the room toward her. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you like wearing my shirt?”
“It was getting a bit warm. Aren’t you feeling it?” she asked with a slight smile as she reached for his belt.
In seconds, she’d opened his belt then his pants and pushed them to his thighs, revealing his half-hard cock. It twitched and jerked when she took it between her hands and played with it, going steel-stiff in seconds.
The Cop's Mate Page 3