Daddy Protector: MC Romance (Pythons MC)
Page 31
Sam smiled, and it wasn’t a pleasant smile. “I have protection from them.”
“How can you be so blind?” Angelina asked. “They used you to try to get an in here and once you’re exiled, you’d be smart to get as far from here as possible. They don’t need you now, and they will kill you. You’re irrelevant. I did you a favor, exiling you. You have a chance. Go anywhere, but go, and stay far from the muties and from Magda, because if you don’t, you’re dead.”
It was true. Sam wouldn’t see that though. His arrogance wouldn’t let him see that, and Angelina knew it as she studied his face. He was too intent on doing what he had wanted to do from the first. He was too intent on trying to grab power, and that greedy need was going to be the death of him.
Sam asked, “Who’s with me?”
Nobody moved. Sam stared at their faces and one by one, the wolves turned away from him. Tears stung the back of Angelina’s eyelids. Her father was dead. Mario was gone, and Sam was also gone from her.
She was Alpha, and she was all alone with no family.
No, that was wrong.
Her eyes went to Drake.
He was her family now.
It shouldn’t be, but it was.
He was a bear, and she was a wolf and that was against the laws—but the laws were tumbling all over the shifting world. Since she was in charge of her pack, she got to make the rules. The first new law she would make was that they could mate as they choose and all the old arrangements would be null and void.
No female shifted should be forced to mate with a wolf she didn’t want simply because her parents made a promise that would benefit them in some way.
The second law she would create would say that no shifter was bound to the old law that said shifters could only mate with their own kind—and while she might never be able to change the minds of those who were outside her pack, in her pack, that law would hold and she would accept whatever species of shifter mated with her pack mates and members.
How could she not?
In her belly was a creature none had ever known, a shifter with a bear for a father and a wolf for a mother.
Trepidation set in. There’d be those who tried to kill her child, or children. There’d be questions of heritage and ability to lead. There was a massive war looming with the muties and a child such as hers would be all the fuel they needed—especially as the muties had been mating outside the law for a long time now with no success in birthing children who were capable of shifting at all.
What if my child cannot shift either? What if our shifter abilities somehow negate each other and they are simply human? They’d have no protection at all and where would that leave them?
“Fuck you,” Sam snarled. “If you ever want to apologize, you can do it from your knees and before the whole mutie army, which I will be riding near the head of. I can promise you that.”
He turned and stormed off. Drake lifted an eyebrow. Angelina turned to the wolves gathered there. “Make sure he takes nothing but what he needs, and that he gets past the territory lines. All those not gathered here now must be told that he’s he is a traitor. Make sure they also know that I have given him exile over death.”
They nodded. The room emptied.
Drake stood there, his magnificent body nude and shimmering. The stickiness of the blood coating her body hit her senses, and so did the rich coppery smell. The tangy, old copper scent made her throat clutch and acid float up over her teeth.
Drake caught her in his arms and held her. “You need a shower.”
“I do.”
Her voice held all her pain, and his finger tipped her head back. He stared into her eyes, his raking her face carefully. “Let’s get you in the shower.” His eyes went to Joaquin. “I’ll handle that.”
Angelina looked over. Joaquin lay there, shriveled and dead. His form had stopped in wolf and his fur was matted with clotted blood. She sighed. “Thanks. At least… say a few words, okay?”
“Sure.” He rested his hands on her shoulders, looking down into her eyes. “You do know what this means?”
“What?”
“I’m like the Alpha’s mate now.” He grinned at her.
She tried to laugh but everything hurt. She leaned into his body and closed her eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you more.” His arms pulled her in closer. His hands rested on the small of her back. ”It’s going to be all right. I swear to you it will.”
“As long as you’re with me, how could it not be?”
He kissed her, hard. His lower body pressed into her, bringing the feel of his member to her lower belly. That hard thrusting flesh ignited her passion. That she could want him even after the things that had just transpired didn’t surprise her at all.
She whispered, “You know what we’re facing, don’t you?”
“I do, but there’s nothing I can’t or won’t face with you, Angelina. You’re my mate for life, for as long as we live, and I intend to make sure we live for a very long time. I won’t let you go, and I won’t let you down. If anyone wants to come for you or our child, they’re going to have to come through me to do it.”
“I love you.” Salty tears ran into her mouth but they were tears of happiness. “I love you so very much.”
His thick cock stiffened yet again, prodding against her soft belly. Angelina backed away and took his hand. “Everything else can wait,” she said softly. “I need you now.”
Drake threw his head back and laughed. “I’ll follow you to the shower.”
Angelina’s smile was impish. “I have a better idea. I’ll race you to it.”
His eyes went dark with desire. “You have a five-second head start, but if I catch you…”
Angelina ran, knowing he would catch her, and knowing she wanted nothing more.
Goldie & the Two Bears
Chapter One
“I’m done with men. I just have no luck with them at all,” Goldie Dawson confided to her friend Greta over drinks at The Pavilion, a local watering hole that they frequented.
“You’re just a bit jaded for now. You’ll come around,” Greta laughed, sipping her martini and eyeing a hunky guy at a table across the room. No matter where they went, Greta was always on the lookout for someone to fill her bed. She never wanted them to hang around, never seemed to need them for more than getting laid. It was a trait that Goldie envied in some ways.
“No. I don’t think so. Maybe I’ll just become a lesbian or perhaps a nun,” she said dryly.
“First of all, you aren’t into women and secondly, you love sex way too much to become a nun. Unless you find a wayward priest to fool around with in the convent, you’d never survive a vow of chastity,” Greta told her, her attention returning to the table as a woman joined the brief object of her affection at his table.
“That’s probably true. I’m just so tired of getting screwed over,” she groaned. “I’m either too big or not big enough. When did everyone become a size zero or concave, if there is such a thing?”
“Blame fucking Twiggy. She started all this skinny bitch nonsense. It’s insane for men to expect women to be so thin. I’m a size eight and you’d think I were a whale according to some folks. Fuck them. I like to eat.”
“Me too. Of course, I’m a bit thicker than you, but still, a size sixteen isn’t a crime. Wasn’t Marilyn Monroe this size and she fucked a president!”
“You’re beautiful. I don’t know how anyone could look at you and not think so. You have curves in all the right places. There was a time when women would kill for your hourglass figure.”
“You’d be surprised. Of course, there are some out there that find it a huge turn on that I have some curves. I had one guy that wanted to coat me in butter and lick me from head to toe. They take it too far. It’s more of a fetish than a preference. Quite disturbing is what it is.”
“You are fucking kidding me?! Butter? Sounds like a real nut-job, if you ask me. What happened to the Roberts guy, the producer you were
seeing?”
“He was a climber. When we met, he seemed to be really into me, but then I caught him with someone else, someone who could do more for his career.”
“What? No way? Who?”
“Well, you know he is a producer and script writer, but he hasn’t really had anything big. Even though I just do costume design for City in Siege, I know a lot of people. I introduced him to some of them, sort of got him in the loop and off the ground. He repaid me by hooking up with one of the producers on my TV series.”
“You’re kidding me! When did that happen?”
“Last weekend. I invited him to a wrap party we were having at the end of shooting. It’s a pretty popular show, so I knew there would be a lot of people there who could help him out and sort of get his foot in the door. I introduced him to Amelda Harmon, one of the primary producers of the show and they were chatting for a bit. Perhaps I should have seen what was happening between them but I didn’t. I stepped away to speak to someone and those two disappeared. I found them in a back room, making out pretty hot and heavy like two horny teens.”
“Oh, my fucking God! What did you do?”
“I shut the door and left him there with her. I wanted to throw things at him and call him names, but instead, I just felt horrified and ran.”
“That’s it? You didn’t say anything to him? No confrontation?”
“Nope. Nothing. He hasn’t even bothered to call and I haven’t bothered to try to contact him. I guess he got what he wanted. She will be able to introduce him to people I can’t and, at some point, he will probably meet someone with even more pull in the industry and abandon her for them. All I know is it isn’t my problem. Whatever he wanted, it wasn’t me, it was just what I could do to help him.”
“That sucks. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s disappointing, but I wasn’t that hung up on him. I mean, I thought we had a good thing. He’s gorgeous, hot as fuck in bed, motivated . . . you know, the total package. Turns out it was all for show though. He didn’t mean any of it. People like him know how to play the game to get what they want. I should have known better.”
“Men are pigs.”
“I know, right? I swear there is something wrong with all of them. They are too pushy or too wimpy. Great to look at, but shit in bed. Gorgeous, but unemployed or live with their mom. It’s always something. Then, there is Greg Roberts, who seems to have it all, but is only after what he can get from you. He’ll do the same to her and then be on to the next one that can help his career. Fuck him.”
“I’ll toast to that. Fuck him. Fuck them all!” Greta laughed raising her glass in salute.
“You know, I honestly think that is the answer.”
“What is the answer?” Greta asked, looking both amused and confused.
“To just fuck them all. Do what I want and have fun. If men can run around and just fuck indiscriminately, why can’t I?”
“Very true. Men do that and they are playboys. We do it and we are sluts. Here’s another toast to being a common whore!” Greta laughed, raising her glass once more.
“To whores! Fuck yeah!” Goldie cheered.
The two women giggled playfully and continued their drinking, chatting until it was closing time and things began to wind down around them. Catching a cab back to Goldie’s place, they sat in her living room and talked some more. It was one of those rare nights that they hadn’t had in a while. Goldie had missed their girl time.
“Maybe you just need a break. Why not get out of LA and take it easy for a bit while the show is on hiatus for the season? You could go up to Big Bear Lake. Ian and Randy still have a cabin up there. They have plenty of room and they love visitors.”
“Hmm. I don’t know. I don’t want to intrude.”
“Oh, please. You know how those two are. They live to entertain. Call them up and ask them if you can come up for a week or even a couple of weeks. You deserve a little down time.”
“It’s three a.m.,” Goldie laughed.
“Okay, perhaps wait until tomorrow, but you knew that I didn’t mean right this second,” she replied, rolling her eyes playfully.
“I’ll think about it.”
“You do that. In the meantime, I’m going to crash in your spare bedroom. I’m wiped!”
“Make yourself at home. I think I’m going to call it a day, as well.”
The two women hugged one another and headed to bed, where they fell fast asleep. When Goldie woke up the next morning, Greta was already gone, having an early call at the magazine where she worked as a photographer. Sitting at the kitchen table with a bit of a hangover, Goldie waited for her coffee and aspirin to kick in. An hour later, she found herself feeling more human, showered and wondering what she should do now that she was free for at least six weeks. She sighed and picked up the phone. Ian answered on the first ring with an inviting hello that instantly put her at ease.
Chapter Two
“You have no idea how much I appreciate you letting me stay on such short notice,” she told Ian and Randy over breakfast the following morning. It had been a long drive, but after talking to Ian, she had headed out as soon as she could pack, arriving late in the afternoon. They already had plans and were heading out upon her arrival, leaving her to her own devices for the evening.
Deciding to take Greta’s advice, she had taken the rest of the day to make arrangements for a house sitter and get packed for an extended visit to Big Bear Lake. The fresh air would hopefully be enough to clear her head and give her a fresh perspective on things. She had told Ian and Randy all about Greg Roberts over bacon, eggs, and toast.
“No problem, honey. We’re glad to have you. Now, listen, we’re having a party later and there will be loads of straight men there for you to meet. You just shake that piece of shit Greg Roberts off your mind and we’ll find you someone way better! We are geniuses at matching up like minds!”
“Oh, no, no, no. The last thing I want is a new man. I’m in for some “me” time. Let’s just let things be, shall we?” she said.
“Fair enough. You’re beautiful. They’ll flock to you anyway. It’s up to you whether you give them the time of day or send them away.”
Getting dressed for the party later, Goldie considered her options. Why not play this game the same way men did? Fuck relationships. She could stage her own sexual revolution. No games, no expectations, no disappointments. There had already been too many men that she had found herself settling for. From now on, she’d just do what she wanted and walk away like so many of them did with her. That was the key to future happiness, as far as she was concerned. It was time to just have fun and the rest of it be damned.
“Wow. That dress is stunning,” Ian told her as she stepped out of her room and into the kitchen where he and Randy were preparing food and drink for the masses they were expecting.
“You like it?” she asked, doing a mock twirl. The summer dress did suit her quite nicely. It clung in all the right places and flowed in a way that flattered the less flattering. A simple pair of wedges and a loose ponytail that hung in long curls down her back finished off what she felt was a casual but sexy look.
“Absolutely! And that color brings out the fantastic hazel specks in your eyes. Perfection!” Randy added.
“What can I help you with?”
“Oh, no, darling. You just go right over there and man the door. Guests will be arriving in a bit and we’re behind on the party dishes. We know you are just as charming as you are beautiful, so you just got nominated as the party greeter.”
“But it isn’t my party,” Goldie laughed.
“It is now. You are our guest, so it is your party too. Welcome to our world,” Ian joked.
“Help yourself to the wet bar. There is plenty of everything to be had over there,” Randy told her.
Goldie wandered to the living room and poured herself a glass of Merlot, flipping through a fashion magazine while she waited. Ian and Randy chatted brightly in the kitchen, sometimes feeding o
ne another bites of the food they were making. It must be nice to find such a love, she marveled with a sigh. Too bad it just wasn’t in the cards for her. A few moments later, the doorbell rang and she went to answer it. After that, it began to get really crowded with people from all over the lakefront village where her friends lived.
Chapter Three
“What do you say we skip out on this party for a while and go down to my lake house? I’m only a little way down,” an attractive guy named Joshua asked her as he leaned into her on the sofa.
She had been talking to him earlier and found him quite intriguing. It seemed the feeling was mutual and she couldn’t be happier about that. He was certainly the best looking thing at the party.
“Sounds like fun. Let me just let Ian and Randy know I’m going,” she told him.
“I suppose I should say my goodbyes, as well,” he agreed, standing to help her up from the sofa.
Ian and Randy gave her a knowing look as she told them she was going to walk down to Joshua’s place with him. Ordinarily, she wouldn’t broadcast her naughty behavior, but she couldn’t let her libido get ahead of her good sense. Joshua was definitely a bad boy, tall and powerful looking with numerous tattoos. She had noticed the bear paw on the back on one hand almost instantly and he had told her it was a local brotherhood he belonged to, but didn’t seem to want to elaborate further.
Since Ian and Randy didn’t caution her in any way about him, she felt pretty good about going home with him. In fact, she felt even better about it once he got her alone. Not wasting any time on further formalities, he pushed her against a wall and began kissing her heatedly. Things quickly progressed as he peeled away her dress and kissed her breasts. Giving in to him, she leaned in, moaning against him.
Goldie caught her breath as he bit into her neck, sending shards of electricity through her veins. There was something about him that clouded her thoughts, she couldn’t think about anything but what he was doing to her. She could hear his heartbeat and her own, pounding loudly against one another as he bit into her flesh, holding her hands up against the wall behind her. His breath was heavy, sounding almost as if he were panting like some sort of wild animal. It only turned her on that much more.