He’d reached the conclusion last evening that the bold, brash, outspoken sex kitten the world saw when looking at Leigh Kincaid-Thorne was a carefully built and maintained façade. She wasn’t nearly as brave or strong or bitchy as everyone thought. That was just a mask she showed the world. He planned to peel back every one of the layers to the woman hidden beneath, but that would take time. For now he wanted her to feel secure in his commitment. She needed to be comfortable with him and their relationship before she gave up everything familiar.
“Because I am your mate and I am coming to love you more than I do anything else in my life. I want you to know I will always be here for you no matter what. I want you to be mine by the laws of the land as well as the laws of nature,” he said easily, his gaze never wavering.
He watched as she contemplated his words. Though her gaze dropped so she was looking at his nose and not into his eyes, he knew the instant she made her decision.
Everything in her relaxed. Then she nodded and lifted her eyes to his again. “I’d like very much to marry you,” she whispered with a soft look that reached into his chest and wrapped around his heart like a blanket.
He leaned closer. “Thank you, angel,” he murmured just before he kissed her.
* * * *
This kiss was gentle and loving and just as thorough as the others they’d shared. The only difference was this one held no building heat of impending sex. It was the kind of kiss Leigh had never experienced before, but found she could become used to. Not too aggressive, not too mushy, and with just the right amount of oomph to send little shivers down her spine, but not so much as to set the sheets on fire.
When he pulled back, she sighed. Though all their kisses had been wonderful, this had to be the most perfect of all.
“We need to get moving if we’re going to get everything done and still make our flight.”
He rolled away and climbed from the bed long before Leigh was ready for him to go anywhere. Without another word he disappeared into the bathroom.
She wanted to continue cuddling and kissing with his warm body next to hers assuring her this wasn’t just a dream. With one hand, she reached across her body and pinched her other arm.
“Ouch,” she gasped.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just pinched myself,” she admitted as she sat up, rearranging the sheet to cover her from the armpits down.
Matt reappeared in the doorway gloriously naked with a small towel draped around the back of his neck. “Now, why did you do that?”
Knowing her explanation would sound silly to him, Leigh decided a change of subject was in order. “I hope in your scheduling you’ve included a stop by my house so I can get something to wear and maybe pack some clothes to take with us?”
He didn’t answer.
Throwing back the covers, Leigh stalked to the bathroom door. “Matt, I refuse to be married wearing nothing but your shirt.”
He looked at her with a grin. “But you look so cute in it. I think you should wear just my shirts all the time.” His voice dropped as he made the suggestion and instantly her body reacted.
“Matt, I will not get married wearing your shirt,” she repeated, crossing her arms across her chest, which pushed her tits up and together in a most suggestive display.
His gaze had dropped to her chest and she took a deep breath in exasperation. It didn’t help the situation, only made him lick his lips as if she’d just set a steak dinner in front of him.
Growling with frustration, Leigh whirled away and stormed into the closet but found nothing in the large, empty room she could wear. She would turn the bed sheet into a toga, but that would only add to the scandal that was sure to surround them. Especially since Adam and Margot had to go to the courthouse to deal with their own marriage paperwork.
“Don’t worry, little one,” Matt said when she returned to the bedroom. “We’ll stop at your house before we go to the courthouse. But I’ll warn you now, you’ll only have a few minutes to get dressed and pack the clothes you’ll need for the next week or so. Nothing fancy like you wore last night. Jeans and shirts and maybe a dress or two.”
Leigh nodded without a word. He didn’t know how much she could get done in a half hour, especially if she could get Myna, the housekeeper, to help her. She began to plan what she would and would not take with her to Santa Fe. As she mentally sorted through her clothes, tossing nearly all of her mother’s choices, she grew more and more excited about the day and the new adventure she faced.
They were mated. They were getting married and moving to Santa Fe.
“I’ll spank you when I get back,” Matt stated just before he disappeared out the door to the hallway.
“Spank me? Why? Matt!” She raced across the bedroom and poked her head out into the hallway, surprised to find him bent over about a yard away. “Matt?”
“Go clean up, angel. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said as he straightened. He handed her a tray that had been left on a small stool just outside their door. Then he turned and walked away.
“Why are you going to spank me? Did I do something wrong?”
Matt looked over his shoulder at her. “We’ll talk about it when I get back. Get cleaned up and ready to go.” He spoke in the dark, power-filled voice that caused her cunt to moisten and her nipples to tighten.
Chapter 6
“From here on out, there are two things we’re going to start your morning with. A spanking and an orgasm,” Matt announced five minutes later when he walked into the bathroom.
He fought to keep from grinning when Leigh turned to stare at him with wide eyes and a curious, yet horrified, expression. She looked cute wearing nothing but his shirt, her face bare. Without the heavy make-up she’d worn the night before she looked years younger than her thirty-five years.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“You tell me. Have you done anything wrong?”
“Not that I know of, so why are you going to spank me?”
Matt stared at her, quirking one eye higher than the other. “You need to learn that not everything is about you and your happiness. I am not your father who obviously never disciplined you. I am your mate and spanking you will give me pleasure. By your response last night, I think you enjoyed it as well. But don’t worry, little one, I always see to your happiness as well.” He brushed a knuckled against the beaded nipple that poked at the shirt. “Now, face the counter.”
Matt waited as she thought over his words. He knew he was pushing her boundaries by bringing her into his dominant, discipline-filled world so quickly, but she needed to accept him and his ways before they returned to his home.
He could see she wanted to argue, but wisely kept silent. Instead she turned to face the counter. Without instruction, she bent forward, leaning on her forearms to prop her up.
Then she looked at him in the mirror with a saucy smile. “Like this?” she asked, wiggling her hips.
“Almost,” he replied as he moved to stand behind her.
Holding her hips, he nudged her feet further back and wider apart so her arms took more of her weight. “There, that’s better.”
Then he flipped the tail of the shirt she wore up onto her back, baring her ass to his gaze. “Perfect.”
He stepped to the side then began to rub his hand over her fleshy ass cheeks. His cock, that had gone iron hard the moment he stepped into the bathroom, began to throb in time with his heartbeat.
“Now hold still. You’ll receive ten swats. If you try to move away, you’ll get more. Do you understand?” He met her green-eyed gaze in the mirror.
“Yes, Sir,” she answered.
“Count them,” he ordered as he lifted his hand.
He wanted to take his time, but his cock and heart demanded he get this over with so he could fuck her deep, hard, and fast. The slaps came fast enough that she had a hard time keeping up, but she managed. He heard her struggling to control her breathing. A glance in the mirror showed the t
ears rolling down her cheeks.
After she gasped seven, he paused long enough to drop his hand between her legs. He ran two fingers over her entrance then up between her lower lips to find her skin slicked with excitement. With his other hand, he opened his jeans and freed his cock before it strangled from the tight confinement.
Not sure he could hold out much longer, he pulled his hand away and delivered the last five swats quickly. Before she could move, he stepped behind her and slid his cock into her open, dripping cunt. The feel of her wet, clenching sheath around his hard, throbbing length weakened his knees. He growled deep in his chest as he leaned forward to rest his palms on the counter beside her arms.
“God, angel, you feel so damn good wrapped around my cock,” he said as he leaned down and licked at the claiming mark on her shoulder.
At the same time, he brushed his chest across her back, tickling her skin with the fur covering his chest. He held his cock deep inside her, trying to keep himself from coming too soon.
She responded by dropping her head until her forehead rested on the counter. Her entire body trembled under his and she moaned a soft, sexy sound that sent shivers down Matt’s spine. He rested his chin on her shoulder and shifted his chest against her again, loving the feel of her soft, warm skin against his.
“Move dammit,” she demanded as she lifted her head and met his eyes in the mirror.
His eyes widened in surprise, but he couldn’t reprimand her because she was demanding just what he wanted to give her. Shifting his weight to one arm, he reached around and slid his hand around her hip and down between her thighs.
With two fingers he took hold of her clit as he pulled back and slammed home again. He began a hard, fast pace, but grit his teeth to keep himself from shooting before she came.
He watched in the mirror as her face tightened and her eyes drifted shut again. With the next stroke she screamed as her orgasm overtook her. Her cunt clenched even tighter around him, pulling his release from him. He held himself deep as his seed flooded her in several long, strong jet pulses.
Pulling his hand from her clit, he wrapped it around her waist to hold her against him as he straightened then staggered back across the room to collapse on the bench between the shower and the bathtub. With his cock still deep in her, he shifted her so she sat across his lap. Wrapping both arms around her, he cuddled her close, loving the feeling of her in his arms.
Though she hated to admit it, Leigh knew she could get used to this routine Matt had dictated. The spanking had indeed turned her on as it had the night before. She’d never before believed that she had a kinky side but the more time she spent with her mate the more she realized that she could enjoy whatever he had to offer.
When her breathing slowed and heartbeat settled to somewhere near normal, she took a deep breath and sighed. “I need to clean up again,” she said before licking at his throat.
“Yes, we both do.”
Matt lifted her off his cock and helped her to stand, holding her hips until she stopped wobbling. Patting one pink ass cheek, he grinned at her when she looked over her shoulder at him. “You’ve got five minutes before we need to be downstairs and on our way to the courthouse.”
They reached the foyer six minutes later, only to find it empty. “Adam and Margot will be here soon,” he assured her.
Pulling her into his arms, he began kissing her again. She wasn’t surprised to feel his hands smooth down over her ass to her thighs then back up under the shirt she wore. He cupped her still slightly tender buttocks without the fabric getting in his way. The little nip of pain only added to the arousal that began to build again.
Leigh thought she heard footsteps, but didn’t care. She snuggled even closer to Matt, wishing she could open up his skin and crawl inside with him.
“Excuse us, we’ll just go on into the kitchen to wait for you. The couch in the living room is quite comfortable for what you’re leading up to.” Adam’s voice broke through the fog of lust that had filled her brain. He sounded amused but she heard Margot’s nearly silent gasp of shock.
Matt lifted his head, breaking the kiss. “Thanks, but we’ll wait until later.”
Just the thought of walking around in the state she was in for an indefinite period of time had her whining, and she struggled for him to release her. In response, he squeezed her still-tender ass until she yelped at the red hot pain that shot from ass to brain then back to cunt.
“Anticipation is half the fun of sex,” Matt murmured as he brushed the side of his face against hers. Then he released her, took her hand, and followed the other couple to the kitchen.
He caught just the last of what Adam was trying to explain to a distraught-appearing Margot. “Didn’t you know he was a Dominant male?”
Margot shook her head in response. “Must be something he forgot to tell me. Like the fact that he was a shape shifter. Wonder what other tidbits of information he’s never shared.”
Matt grinned. “Well, I like my women submissive but feisty, and I like my bacon cooked about ten seconds from charcoal.”
Adam returned his grin. “Sounds like you got your wish in the woman department. The bacon we’ll have Mrs. Nicholas work on.”
“Maybe next visit. Right now we need to stop by Leigh’s house so I can pick out the dress she’ll be wearing today, and so she can pack what she needs to take with her this afternoon.”
Adam looked thoughtful for a moment. “Why don’t you wait until tomorrow to leave and we can give you a ride home? Santa Fe’s on our way.”
When Margot turned to her husband, Matt led Leigh across the kitchen and out the back door to a private patio. Once they were alone, he turned and wrapped his arms around her once again.
“What do you think about Adam’s offer?” he asked, looking down at her with those blue eyes that saw everything.
She blinked, in surprise that he asked her opinion. He must have seen her shock for he smiled and lifted a hand to slide around the back of her neck. “Angel, I want to hear your opinion. Just because I like my woman submissive does not mean that I want a brainless robot. It just means that I might be a little bossier than some husbands. But this affects us both and I’d like to hear your thoughts.”
Leigh dropped her gaze to the base of this throat. She thought for a minute, and the list of things she could accomplish in the next twenty-four hours mushroomed like a storm cloud.
“Having another day would allow me to sort through my clothes and pack everything I needed instead of just some of it. It would also allow me to make the calls I need to regarding my trust fund. And I bet Adam’s plane is a lot roomier than any commercial flight flying to Santa Fe.”
She nodded then raised her gaze to meet his once again. “I think we should take him up on his offer. Or we could just rent our own plane and fly out whenever we wanted.”
Matt blinked then frowned in concern. “Angel, I’m a cop. I don’t have the kind of money Adam does.”
“Maybe not, but I do. Well not quite as many zeros, but more than enough. At least I do as long as I have access to my trust fund.”
Matt’s frown grew deeper. “Just how much is in this trust fund of yours?”
Leigh shrugged and dropped her gaze again. “Around twenty million, I think, but I’d have to check with the accountant to be sure of the exact figure.”
“Twenty million dollars?”
Leigh nodded. “I know I have a reputation as a spoiled bitch, but I’m really not. I don’t spend a lot of money. I live with my parents by their demand. I have a five-year-old car that I like. In the ten years I’ve had access to my trust fund I’ve learned about investing and managing money and have doubled the initial amount. I’m not the society bitch Margot probably told you about.”
“Holy shit,” Matt said. He released her and walked to the edge of the patio then stood with his back to her.
Leigh wondered if this news would change their relationship. Though he had already claimed her and they had mated several
times over the last twelve hours, would he change his mind?
“Matt? What’s wrong?”
He turned back, his expression blank. She looked in his eyes, but they were shuttered as well. It was as if he’d thrown up a wall to keep her out. Had she made a mistake in telling him she was richer than some small countries?
She couldn’t lie to him. He was, after all, her mate, her other half, her reason for being. And now he was pulling away. Did he have something against money? Or just people with it?
“Tell Adam and Margot I’ll be back in a little while,” he said as he quickly undressed.
As soon as he dropped his shirt, he shifted into a big black wolf with long, thick fur. He looked at her once again, his expression solemn, before turning and racing away. Though tempted to shift and follow, Leigh knew she couldn’t. When a man pulled away it meant he needed time to think, and nothing she said or did would help him make peace with her announcement any faster. It might, in fact, make things worse though she wasn’t sure how.
As she turned toward the house, the weight of his rejection pressed down on her. Though he hadn’t said the words, she knew he would not be taking her back to Santa Fe with him. He would renounce their mating and leave, and she would be alone again.
She let herself into the kitchen to find her red dress and shoes sitting on the table. Picking them up, she shuffled through the room, not aware of the people who watched her. She made it as far as the front door before her knees gave out and she fell to the floor.
Curling her legs into her chest, she covered her face with both hands and forced herself to breathe slow and deep. She fought down the screams tearing at her throat as her heart imploded. Matt didn’t want her. What was she going to do now?
“Leigh? What happened?” Margot knelt beside her. The little human didn’t look like she hated her any more. She looked worried.
The Cop's Mate Page 5