by Maia Dylan
No. Not just more. Her body, her heart, her everything called out for Kieran. The man who had saved her life, killed the man who had tormented her, beaten her, and killed her family. This man who had been so gentle with her when she was afraid and broken, who had taught her to be strong and that not every man in this world lifted his hand in anger. She’d always known that she had feelings for him. She’d called it a crush, and even hero worship, but now she knew the truth. She had been in love with Kieran Murphy for as long as she’d known him. And hell, even before that, she had fallen in love with the stories she had heard about this alpha. This man. Her mate.
Swallowing the emotions swelling within her and threatening to consume her, she fought to hold it all back. But she felt a single solitary tear slide down her cheek and from the panicked expression that swept across Kieran’s handsome face, he’d caught it, too.
****
Kieran watched in horror as a tear slid down Josie’s perfect cheek. A moment before he’d been aroused to the point of pain, his cock harder than it had ever been. Watching his cousin take their mate, giving her exactly what she needed, had been powerful, but it had paled in comparison to seeing her taking what she needed from Liam. Josie had always been beautiful and sensual to him, but he’d had no clue she was sexy as fuck and a woman who knew what she wanted from her men and wasn’t afraid to take it. He’d thought that nothing but sinking into her body and claiming his place in their triad could lessen the arousal that coursed within him. But he’d been wrong. The sight of that single, solitary tear was like being dropped into a glacial lake.
“Josie?” he rasped, his voice unsteady.
When she shook her head, he thought she was telling him that he had no place in this bed with her and Liam, that what he had done, breaking her trust and telling her that he’d found someone else was too much for her to forgive, and his heart broke within him. His lion made a whimpering sound he had never heard before, both man and beast wondering if they would ever be whole again.
Kieran flinched when Josie moved, sure that she would climb from the bed, the bed he’d purchased many years ago for the mate he’d prayed for from the moment mindless, loveless sex did nothing for him anymore, and walk from the room. He inhaled sharply when she scrambled across the mattress and threw herself into his arms, settling against him with her legs around his waist and her arms tight around his neck.
Wrapping his own arms around her slight figure, he pulled her close against his chest. Just having her in his arms settled the pain and healed the cracks that had formed when he believed she was dismissing him. He breathed deeply, taking the scent of her into his lungs, his lion growling in pleasure at having their mate in their arms.
“What’s wrong, sweetness?” he asked softly as Liam moved closer so he could lay his hand against their mate’s back.
“Did I hurt you, Josie-girl?” Kieran heard the concern in his cousin’s voice, and a quick glance confirmed it.
Josie’s vigorous shake of her head had Liam’s expression changing to relief.
“Can you tell us what’s got you so upset?”
Josie made a hiccup sound that had Kieran tightening his grip on her, but she remained silent. Kieran moved her back so he could look into her face and inhaled sharply at the emotion that shone there. He had no idea what to do or say in this moment. All he could do was pray that everything he felt for this woman was visible in his expression. He’d never felt so open and vulnerable, and he allowed his mate to see it all.
She kept her eyes locked to his for a long moment before her look softened. Kieran felt the last of his broken heart mend beneath that look, and he knew he would never forget the way she looked in that moment. Josie leaned in to press a sweet kiss to his lips before leaning back, watching him intently as she reached down between them to take his cock in her hand. As she moved to uncurl her long legs from around him, shuffling until she was on her knees, she stroked him from root to tip with firm strokes, somehow knowing exactly what he found the most arousing. By the time she pressed the blunt head of his cock against the wet heat of her pussy, he was once again so hard it was almost painful.
He gritted his teeth, keeping a firm hold on his own reaction as he watched his mate carefully for any sign of discomfort as she lowered herself on him. When she was nestled in his lap, having taken every inch of him, and there was nothing but pleasure and arousal, he allowed himself to truly feel what she was doing to him, and he groaned at the hot caress of her sweet body wrapped so intimately around his.
“Fuck, sweetness,” he groaned, sliding his hands so that he palmed her hips, helping her to rise and fall over him, never allowing her to pull completely off him. “You look so damn hot riding me like you are. Take me, sweetness, take what you need from me, and when you surrender, take me with you.”
Josie moaned, her eyes darkening as her face flushed with arousal. “So good. Oh, God, Kieran, you feel so good.”
Kieran could do nothing but hold on as Josie rose and fell over him, her steady rhythm faltering as the release she was driving them both towards came barreling toward them. He watched in awe as her mouth opened on a silent O, and he felt the flutters of her release ripple around his cock.
“Let go, Josie,” Kieran all but begged. “Let go and take me with you.”
As if that were all she needed to hear, Josie threw her head back and ground her hips down against him, making him curse out loud as his own orgasm crashed over him. He came so hard he almost missed the feeling of her pussy rippling around him, signaling that she, too, had found her own release.
He shuddered as his body surrendered everything he had to his mate, and he reveled in the way Josie jerked and shuddered against him. When she slumped against him, burying her face, damp with perspiration against his own wet neck, he wrapped his arms around her, reaching up to clasp the back of her neck in a possessive move. Josie was his and Liam’s, and he was going to spend the rest of his life making sure that she knew she was loved, that she was cherished, and that she would be protected above all others for the rest of their lives.
Chapter Eleven
“Porca miseria!”
Amadeo Rossi slammed the lid of his laptop and pushed back from his mahogany desk. Striding over to the bank of windows that afforded him a million-dollar view of the Chicago skyline, he cursed some more.
Caruso was done being patient, and it looked as if Rossi wouldn’t be getting the entire six-month grace period as was agreed on. His boss was heading to Chicago, and Rossi knew that meant trouble for him. Caruso had tasked Rossi with three things: get the distribution channels back to shift the product and merchandise through the city—which he had already done—and kill two people who had fucked it up for them in the first place.
Normally, it would have been easy. A dark night, a patient killer, and a bullet to the back of the head each and he would have crossed all three of his damn to-do list. But Kieran Murphy was the Alpha for the Black Ridge Pride and extremely hard to kill, and the bitch Violet Riccitelli never went anywhere without a damn guard. Before he knew it, the damn deadline was almost here and both targets still breathed.
Rossi growled, thumping his hand against the bulletproof glass of his office. He had never liked deadlines. He got things done when he got things done and if people had an issue with that then fuck them. They would just have to deal. However, Caruso was not just an ordinary person. Some of the men Rossi had gotten to know since throwing in with his organization talked about him as if he were the devil himself. Rossi saw that in the man, too, and that was why he would do everything in his power to meet his damn deadline.
The only problem was nothing was fucking going to plan. They’d found two slabs of meat out in the grasslands to the east of the city, and they turned out to be two of his fucking lions. He’d been trying to get a hold of that piece of Irish shit McMurtrie but got nothing back.
No, that wasn’t entirely true. He got a text telling him to stick his fucking contract up his ass. So no
w he’d had to go to Plan B, which involved a whole lot more money, and two fucking feline shifters he had no idea if he could trust or not. Hugh and Brett hadn’t exactly been the most moral or sane employees, but they had a code of conduct that meant the job would get done. These others? He would have to wait and see. But, once all this other shit was done, he would find that fucking lion McMurtrie and show him exactly what happened to assholes who crossed Amadeo Rossi.
A knock on his door had him turning from the window to face the man who’d stepped into his office.
“Sir, we have heard from the team. They have a clear shot at the woman. Five men are moving in as we speak.”
Rossi grinned. Perhaps today was going to be his day after all.
****
“Alpha!”
Kieran had been sitting there, reliving the night before, when he and Liam had taken their mate for the first time, then reached for her again and again through the night when the sound of his name being roared from the front of his house had him launching himself from the chair he’d been lounging in. He moved with every ounce of preternatural speed he had in that direction. When he got there, he saw that the door was wide open, and he ran through it, leaping off the porch to stand next to Mason, who was pacing impatiently in the drive.
“What’s going on?”
As Alpha, he could sense through the bond that made them pride that Mason’s leopard was close to the surface. He was instantly hit with the same feelings from Jacob, who had just slid to a halt beside them.
“Someone attacked our mate,” Jacob snarled, his voice more leopard than human. “She somehow managed to hide it from us, closing herself off from our own damn mating bond. Didn’t want to worry us or some such shit.”
Kieran’s lion paced within him. He didn’t know what the hell he would do if Josie suddenly exhibited uber psychic skills that would enable her to do that.
“Where is she now?”
“On her way back,” Mason turned to look at him over his shoulder. “The two tiger shifters who stepped in to give her a hand are bringing her in.”
Tiger shifters? They were rare, and as a white lion shifter, he knew rare. Tigers were fierce, but had a strong loyal streak that meant they very rarely traveled from their own lands, and if they did, they remained on their own, preferring to travel independently of others. It made them vulnerable, and Kieran had heard horror stories over the years of many of their kind turning to the wild side of their nature, giving into the animal and simply turning their backs on their human side. Hell, he’d heard of some that had even been killed for their damn pelts.
Kieran heard a vehicle approaching in the distance. Not knowing what to expect, he let out a loud rasping, chuffing noise that would call all pride members in hearing distance to him. They would blend into the trees that surrounded the pride house, not showing themselves unless he signaled again and drew them all into a fight. He was not surprised when he sensed Liam move silently to stand beside him.
He stood tall, watching as Violet’s bright red Ford Expedition came down the drive. The sight of an unknown man driving the vehicle, and no sign of their mate, had Jacob and Mason growling continuously. It was obvious from the swell of dominance in the air that both men were close to losing control of their animals.
“Stay calm,” Kieran growled, the order clear in his tone. “We do not want to start a fight when we don’t know what the hell is going on. If nothing else, at least wait until your mate is safe.”
Their growling ended on a strangled sound as both submitted to their Alpha. Kieran kept his gaze on the driver. The man was not known to him, but he could tell from his darker skin and almond-shaped eyes that he had some Asian ancestry. Kieran’s gaze narrowed when the driver tilted his head, exposing his neck in submission.
When the vehicle came to a stop, there was nothing and no one that could have kept Jacob and Mason back from the car. They both charged forward, pulling the back door open where they had no doubt sensed their mate’s presence. There was a scramble and hiss of displeasure before they had her out of the car and in their arms.
“I’m okay, guys,” Violet said in a tired, pain-filled voice. “Honestly, I’m too damn stubborn and cool to let a couple of dumbass Mafia assholes take me out.”
Kieran stepped forward as the two men, obviously identical twins, who had been in the truck with Violet stepped out, both of them remaining well out of the way. “Jacob, Mason, take your mate inside and get her into the infirmary.”
Violet spun to look at him, anger flaring in her eyes. “Oh, hell no, Alpha Kitty! You don’t get to tuck the little woman away while the menfolk talk war. I was the target today, and I will be here while you all talk about it.”
“I agree on that, little one,” Liam said, sounding slightly amused. “And from what I can see you aren’t bleeding all that badly. I’m sure your mates will want to hear what Kamon and Rune here have to say about what they’re doing here in Chicago.”
Kieran frowned, locking his gaze on the twins. “That’s something I would very much like to know, too.”
The one on the right crossed his arms over his chest. “Liam McMurtrie, as I live and breathe. I always imagined the next time we laid eyes on your sorry ass, it would be looking down into your casket as we paid our last respects.”
Liam stepped toward them, a grin on his face. “The funny thing about that, boyo, is I figured the same fecking thing!” Kieran watched as his cousin pulled first one then the other of the two strangers into a hug, the camaraderie clear among the three of them. “Boys, this is Kieran Murphy, Alpha of the Black Ridge pride, and me cousin.” Kieran nodded in their direction as both men stared back at him in surprise.
“Sawasdee krab, Alpha,” both men said almost at the same time, showing that they were of Thai descent. Kieran dropped his head in acknowledgement of the greeting, remaining wary.
“Hell, Liam.” The one on the right spoke this time. “Who would have thought you’d have family down this way, let alone someone who got the distinct pleasure of taking Santiago out.”
“Hey!” Violet called out, scowling in their direction. “B1 and B2. You never mentioned you knew anything about Daddy dearest? Is that why you were following me?”
Mason and Jacob turned predator-still, their eyes locking on the newcomers with laser intensity.
“Hey now,” the guy on the left said, holding his hands out in a placating manner. “Rune and I weren’t following you, per se. We were after the bastards who were targeting you. We figured they would turn up wherever you happened to be so decided sticking to you would be our best chance of catching one of them fuckers to question.”
“Which Violet made impossible by killing them all,” the one that must have been Kamon said in a dry tone.
Violet made a shocked squeaky noise and threw her hands in the air. Kieran was positive she would have stamped her foot, too, if she hadn’t been hanging six feet in the air, pressed between her mates.
“Well, that’s what I do to any douchebag asshole who thinks it’s a good idea to try to corner me in a damn alley and shoot at me!”
Jacob and Mason growled, and Kieran stepped closer, thinking they were about to shift spontaneously. But he should have had more faith in their mate.
Violet frowned at both men and slapped them in the back of the head. “Oh, will you two stop with all that growly shit? We talked about this. You don’t get to go all tooth and fang on me when I get attacked. Spankings are allowed when I put myself in danger, not when I am the innocent victim of Mafia thuggery!”
Mason sighed. “That is correct, little one, and you wouldn’t be in trouble except for the fact you left without the protection of the two pride members we left in the lobby.”
Violet winced. “Damn. That shouldn’t count either. I only wanted to head over to the adult store on Third and get a little something slinky and fun for this weekend. That should not warrant a spanking.”
“If it helps at all, she was very impressive,” R
une said with a grin on his face. “She had these baton things, and she sure as fuck knew how to use them. The only reason she got injured was because another three came at her from behind while she was dealing with the first two.”
“Five!” Jacob yelled. “You fought five of Rossi’s assholes and closed yourself off from our damn bond so we didn’t know about it until after you were fucking hurt and you deemed it necessary to fucking call us!”
Violet winced, shooting Rune a glare before she simply wilted in Mason’s arms. “I’m feeling faint and sore. I think we should take a look at this knife wound.”
“Oh, baby!” Mason said as he turned to hurry toward the house, Jacob keeping pace with them both. “We shouldn’t be out here keeping you from medical help. What the fuck is wrong with us?”
The four that remained watched the mated triad head to the house, the quick grin and wave Violet threw them over Mason’s shoulder a sure indication that she was using her injury as more of a diversion tactic than anything else.
“So, what the hell are two members of the ESE doing in Chicago hunting Mafia assholes?” Liam asked. “Surely anything like that would fall into the jurisdiction of the FBI or some other faceless human government agency?”
Hearing that these two men worked for Elite Shifter Enforcers, one of the most powerful shifter enforcement agencies in the country, made Kieran pretty damn curious about that himself.
“Rossi’s not the head of this particular snake. He’s simply stepped into Santiago’s shoes,” Kamon explained. “There is a man that, as far as we can tell, runs the whole organization taking a foothold in this city. He has a deep-seated hatred of shifters.” The man turned to level his gaze at Kieran. “And for some reason that all leads back to you.”