McKenzie, Cooper - The Soldier's Mate [Prequel to The Billionaire's Mate] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Cooper McKenzie

  “Nick, let me up,” she said, lifting her head from his chest and wiping at her tears.

  “No, you stay right here where you are. Adam understands my need to comfort you. Consider it a mate thing.”

  Angel looked across the desk and found Adam nodding with a grin on his face. “Oh yes, I understand completely. I applaud your restraint as well. If it were my mate Jones had upset, I would tear the building apart to find him.”

  Nick nodded. “I would, but this is your battlefield. Besides, right now my mate needs my attention more than some worm.”

  Angel relaxed deeper into Nick’s hold, nuzzling her cheek against him. “I’m okay,” she said, though the tremor in her voice was hardly convincing.

  “I know, baby, but I’m not. I need to cuddle you a while longer,” Nick kissed the top of her head, then laid his forehead there as his arms tightened around her in a strong hug.

  Closing her eyes, Angel took a deep breath, filling her lungs with her mate’s scent. That did more to calm her than anything, knowing he was safe and with her.

  She listened as Nick and Adam discussed the options of what could be done about Edmonds Jones. Though she did not participate, she thoroughly agreed that something needed to teach the man that he was not as important as he believed himself to be. She opened her eyes and looked across the desk when she heard Adam dial a phone.

  “It’s Adam. I want Edmond Jones in my office immediately. I don’t care. He’s got three minutes to get his ass down here,” he barked before forcefully returning the handset to the phone base.

  As soon as Adam disconnected, both men turned their attention back to Angel.

  Chapter 6

  “So, sweet mate of mine, didn’t Adam tell you I would come up to your office once we finished talking?” Nick’s voice rumbled in his chest.

  “Yes, but…” Angel lifted her head to look up at him. He looked serious, but not angry.

  “And didn’t I tell you that nothing would happen to your mate while he was here?” Adam leaned forward, looking solemn as well.

  “Yes, but…” Angel tried to climb from Nick’s lap. She always thought better when she could move around. Besides, Nick’s masculine scent and loving touches made it hard to think of anything beyond getting naked and getting busy with the man, and she really didn’t care if they had an audience.

  “Let me up, please,” she said when Nick’s arms tightened around her. When he didn’t immediately comply, she touched his arm. “Please, let me go.”

  “No, I don’t think so,” Nick lifted one hand to hold her head where he wanted it as he closed in to kiss her.

  As soon as his lips touched her, the need to escape melted like powdered chocolate in hot milk. Winding her arms around his shoulders, she parted her lips and licked at the tongue pushing for entrance. In seconds she forgot everything but her reawakened need for the man wrapped around her.

  “Stop that you two, before I find a hose to turn on you.” Adam’s amused words broke through the sexual fog clouding her thoughts.

  Nick broke the kiss long enough to look at the billionaire and growl, “Shut up, Adam.”

  Taking advantage of his distraction, Angel scrambled to her feet. Once there she swayed a moment, trying to find her balance, though her equilibrium was way off kilter. With a cocky grin Nick stood then helped her sit back down in the chair they had just occupied. Then he knelt in front of her, the warmth of his hands burning through the skirt covering her thighs.

  He looked deep into her eyes and said, “Okay, sweetheart, tell me why you needed to come down here.”

  “I was worried Adam wouldn’t let you stay,” she said softly as tears blurred her vision. “If he makes you go away, I might never see you again. I don’t want to lose you now that I’ve finally found you. If we have to leave New Bern, that’s fine, but please don’t go without me.”

  Angel knew she was begging, but she didn’t care. Nick was the other half of her soul and now that she’d found him, she couldn’t lose him. If she had to, she would sell everything she owned to follow him around the world. She didn’t care where they lived, as long as they were together.

  “Shhh, mate. No one is going away. Not unless you want to move somewhere else. Adam wasn’t sending me away. We were getting acquainted and he was telling me what I need to do, what we need to do, to be accepted by and into the local shape shifter pack.”

  “Really?”

  “Angel, finding a mate is the most important moment in a shape shifter’s life.” Adam broke in, reminding her they weren’t alone. “Some of us never find that one person destined for them. Once a mate is found and claimed, nothing and no one comes between them except death. But because Nick is not of our pack and since he is also an alpha, we have a bit of a situation.”

  Before Adam could continue, three sharp knocks sounded at the closed double doors. “Damn, I really do need to find a new assistant,” he muttered. “Enter,” he called in a voice as sharp as a chef’s carving knife.

  The door opened, and Edmond Jones hobbled in. He took tiny steps, still hunched over with his expression tight with pain. “You wanted to see me?”

  Nick rose and moved so he stood between Angel and this man who’d threatened her. A soft growl filled the room.

  That sound caught the newcomer’s attention. Edmond turned his attention from Adam then saw Angel for the first time. “You bitch! What lies have you been telling?” He took three quick steps in her direction before his brain registered the pain he was causing himself. “Oh damn,” he moaned as his hands cupped his crotch and bent double.

  Nick growled again and took a step forward. Angel grabbed one of his hands and squeezed, for a moment afraid of what might happen if she let go.

  “No, Nick,” she whispered, hoping to calm the man. No matter how badly Edmond needed a good beating, she didn’t want Nick to get into trouble for it.

  “Mr. Jones, I understand you have a problem with Miss Dugan?” Adam rose and walked around his desk so the smaller man was bracketed by the two shape shifters.

  “I want her arrested for assault. She attacked me, sir, when I refused to let her leave the department. She kicked me right in the balls. First she took Friday and Monday off, then came in hours late this morning, and she’s been goofing off ever since she got here.” Edmond slowly straightened. “I fired her, but I want her arrested for assaulting me. I’m sorry she came to you with this matter.”

  Adam crossed his arms and leaned against his massive desk looking deceptively calm. “Miss Dugan came here at my request, Mr. Jones. But you don’t need to worry about these things as you are not her supervisor any longer. While Miss Dugan is not fired, you sir, have thirty minutes to clear your desk and get off Thomasson Enterprises property. We’ll send you your final check.”

  “What? Why?” Edmond looked from Adam to Nick to Angel and back again. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Gross ineffectiveness in your duties as well as numerous complaints of sexual harassment from the women of this company to begin with. If necessary, I’m sure Human Resources can give me a full list of your transgressions, right down to how many pens and paperclips you’ve taken home with you over the years.”

  Nick growled again and seemed to Angel to grow bigger, as the other man’s expression went from bewildered to crazed.

  “This is all your fault, bitch. I knew I should have tamed you years ago.” Before anyone could stop him, Edmond dodged around Nick and wrapped his hands around Angel’s throat. His fingers felt like claws as he squeezed tight.

  Angel tried to push him off, but he held on, his grip growing even tighter. When that didn’t work, she reached for his thumbs, hoping to pry his hands from her neck. Her vision blurred as a gray veil dropped between her and the man’s crazed eyes as she fought unsuccessfully for breath.

  She thought she heard a wolf’s snarl and then the hands cutting off her airway were gone. She took one gasping breath and then another. A moment later she felt herself lifted fro
m the chair, then resettled in a lap. Nick’s scent surrounded her, and she relaxed into his hold.

  She didn’t realize she was shaking like a leaf in a high wind until praises crooned in her ear, assuring her that everything was alright. He held her tight to his chest so she felt his heart racing in tandem with hers.

  “Unless you want to die, Mr. Jones, I suggest you lie very, very still,” she heard Adam say in a deep rough voice that reminded her of Nick’s when he got highly aroused or emotional. Only it held a granite hard tone her mate’s never did.

  She heard a whimper before Adam spoke again. “I need security in my office ASAP.”

  Angel opened her eyes and found Edmond cowering on the floor, and Adam crossing the room to the double doors. He returned a moment later with two men Angel recognized as working for the security department.

  They were even bigger and more muscular than Adam. Their tailored black suits did little to hide their powerfully built bodies. Both men were tanned and completely bald. The only thing that differentiated one from the other was that one had freckles and the other did not.

  “You asked for security?” the one with freckles said.

  “Yes, thank you for responding so quickly. Mr. Jones has been fired. Please take him to clean out his desk and make sure he’s off the property in the next twenty-five minutes,” Adam said after a glance at his watch.

  “Yes, sir,” the other man answered.

  “Mr. Jones, if you do not leave quietly and without incident I will bring assault charges as well as numerous other charges of sexual harassment and anything else I can think of against you. Or Mr. Nash and I will come visit you for a private conversation that will be very, very painful. Do you understand?”

  Angel watched as Edmond glanced at Nick. Nick growled again, and Edmond paled even further and nodded, clearly terrified of the not-so-subtle threat.

  One of the men pulled him to his feet. Edmond began to struggle after the second man took his other arm. “Wait a minute. These people are crazy. They should be arrested for assaulting me.”

  The guards ignored him and dragged him from the room, closing the door as they went.

  Once they were alone, Adam looked at Angel. “If he contacts you, let me know, and we’ll deal with him.” He returned to his chair.

  “He won’t,” Nick stated in a flat tone.

  Angel sat silent, not sure what to say. Her tremors slowed then stopped all together. Finally she cleared her throat and tried to climb from Nick’s lap. “I guess I should get back upstairs.”

  “No, I don’t think so,” Nick said standing easily while still holding her secure against his chest. “I don’t think Adam will mind if you take the afternoon off after such a traumatic event.”

  “Not at all. I’ll call upstairs and let them know.”

  Angel struggled until Nick set her down. She wobbled, but refused to lean against his strength. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back to rest on him. “I’m fine, and I need to go back to work.”

  Adam studied her expression for a moment then raised his gaze to look over her shoulder at her mate. “You’ve got quite a woman there.”

  Nick gave her a quick squeeze. “I knew that during our first video chat. Alright, sweet mate. You can go back to work. After.”

  “After what?”

  Nick canted his hips forward, pressing a long, hard, erect cock between her ass cheeks. The feel of her man’s hunger sent Angel from shock to arousal before she could catch her breath. Suddenly all Angel wanted was to fuck her mate and feel him deep in her. All her other chaotic emotions coalesced into a need so great she couldn’t find it in her to argue with him.

  “Yes, after. Now let’s get out of here so Adam can move on to damage control. I’m sure Mr. Jones won’t go away too easily.”

  “We’ll see you both tomorrow evening?” Adam asked as Nick turned them to leave.

  “Yes, we’ll be there.”

  “The second office on the left is empty,” Adam called as Nick guided Angel across the office.

  “Thanks,” Nick said with a quick grin.

  “Oh and Nick…” Adam said as they reached the doorway.

  “Yes?” Nick paused and looked over his shoulder.

  “Think about that job. I need men like you working for me.”

  * * * *

  Nick nodded without another word. With the aroused scent of his mate now swirling around him, his thoughts had already moved beyond Adam’s offer of employment.

  “He offered you a job?” Angel asked as he moved them swiftly down the hall to the second office on the left.

  After guiding her inside, he bumped the door closed with his hip. He twisted the lock in the knob before turning Angel around within the circle of his arms so he could feel her generous breasts press into him.

  “He offered me a job and this office if I want. Vice president in charge of something or another.”

  Lowering his head, Nick licked at her lips before pressing for entrance. He sighed when her lips parted, and the taste of her flowed over his tongue. Her arms wrapped around his waist as her hips shifted back and forth against his, applying just the right amount of pressure to his cock to send waves of want through his entire body.

  The air around them filled with the combined scent of their arousal. Breathing deeply, he began to ache with the need to be inside his mate. Kissing his way from her lips to her ear then down her neck, he licked at his bite mark. His already hard cock twitched when she mewled breathlessly in response. His hands dropped from her back to reach for his belt.

  Nick growled in triumph when his belt gave way, and he jerked at the button on the waistband of his jeans. It was hard to think past his need. Seeing her supervisor choking his mate scared him worse than anything he’d faced in Iraq. With Edmond Jones now dealt with, he needed to confirm that his mate was alright. He didn’t tell her, but it might take the rest of the afternoon to reassure him that she really was safe.

  “You might want to take that skirt off if you plan on wearing it back to work,” he said as he brought a hand between them to tweak one of the beaded nipples tenting the silk of her blouse.

  The air around him grew even sweeter with her arousal until he had to grit his teeth to keep from ripping the clothes off of them both. She did not move as he shoved his jeans and boxers to his knees. She looked aroused and oh so sexy, and he needed to be inside her right now.

  “To hell with it,” he murmured.

  Before he could touch her skirt, she stepped back and shook her head. Wrapping one hand around his cock, she backed slowly across the room and around the desk. He shuffled with her, gritting his teeth with the hope that he didn’t explode before he could even get inside her.

  “Sit there,” she said as she pointed to the black leather executive chair behind the desk.

  Chapter 7

  Angel would never be able to explain what happened to her in the moment they entered the empty office. All she knew was that after four days with Nick, her confidence had grown to where she wanted to try to control and guide the pace of their loving.

  When Nick sat without question or complaint she took a step back so she stood well out of his reach. “Stay right there.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Applying for the position of your personal assistant,” she said with a giggle as she kicked off her shoes. “Don’t move. Let me do all the work.”

  Only after he nodded did she begin dancing to music only she could hear. She swayed and circled, shimmied and slowly stripped off her skirt and silk blouse. She draped her clothes over one of the other chairs in the room. She danced closer wearing only the scarlet thong and matching bra he’d chosen for her to wear that morning. She brought her hands up to cup her satin covered breasts. “Like what you see?”

  “More than you could ever know,” he groaned as she reached behind her back and unhooked the bra. Turning her back to him, she slipped it off and tossed it away.

&nbs
p; “Come here so I can show you just how much,” he demanded gently.

  With a breathless giggle, she turned to face him with her palms covering her breasts. “I don’t think so. Take off your shirt.” Her hips continued to sway then began to circle. The panties caressed the skin of her hips, amping her hunger higher and higher.

  Releasing her breasts, she pinched her nipples between thumbs and forefingers. Then she began to roll the coral tips back and forth. That slight pinch set her hips swaying even harder. The combination of touches catapulted her closer and closer until she could see her orgasm rising around her like flames.

  “Oh God, baby, you’re so beautiful. Come here,” Nick growled, his voice so deep and rough it added yet another layer to her arousal.

  Angel danced around his chair, wondering when he’d stripped off his clothes. How had she missed that? She barely held onto the remaining strands of her control as she worked to drive her man past his limit. When she once again stood in front of him, she stopped. Bending at the hips, she laid her palms on his thighs so the pads of her thumbs brushed softly against his scrotum. Dropping to her knees between his widespread legs, she looked up at him. His eyes glowed gold with arousal.

  “I love you, Nick.”

  “I love you, too, my beautiful mate,” he said, his voice hoarse, and his tone strained.

  Opening her lips, she extended her tongue and licked at the slit glistening with pre-cum. When that small touch elicited a hiss, she repeated the action. Pulling back, she licked her lips and savored the taste of him. Then she leaned forward and slid his shaft into her mouth until the head brushed against the back of her throat.

  Only then did she close her mouth around him with a soft “Mmmm.” She savored the feel of soft flesh over hard shaft as it filled her mouth.

  “Oh God,” he groaned as his fingers threaded through her hair and began to massage her scalp. “I can’t hold on, baby. I’m too close.”

  Angel slid up and down his shaft several times before pulling off again. “Relax and let go. I’ll take good care of you,” she said, meeting his heavy lidded gaze as she kissed the head of his cock.