She also knew that Caleb would no doubt show up at the bar at some point in the evening. All the guests did the first night. She needed to be safely behind her bar and focused on her job before he did. Though it would be nearly impossible, she would try to give him room to settle in before she gave in to her inner wolf who was demanding she go, hunt down her mate, and claim him.
As she crossed the pub’s back deck overlooking the port, she automatically returned the greetings of Emerald and Cash, two more of her cousins who helped out at the pub during busy evenings.
“You’re late,” her grandfather grumped from his customary seat at the end of the bar without looking up from the book he was reading.
“I was on the ferry,” she said before stopping and kissing his cheek. He patted her shoulder in a forgiving motion before she moved behind the bar.
She stepped into the back room and half closed the door then changed into the Pyrate’s Treasure T-shirt she’d carried in her bag during her ferry trip. After tossing her shirt in the carryall, she combed her hair and pulled it into a ponytail before returning to the main room.
“You met someone,” her grandfather commented as she quickly checked to make sure everything was prepared for a busy night. “Your mate, possibly?”
Shocked by his accurate pronouncement, Goldie turned and stared at the man who was not only her oldest living relative, but also her mentor and pack Alpha. “How did you know?”
“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you with him?”
Goldie did not answer, but focused on working instead.
“Child? Answer me. Someone could fill in tonight while you claim your mate.”
Realizing that human ears might overhear something they should not, she walked the length of the bar until she stood right in front of him. “I tried to claim him. He pushed me away and said we had to talk first.”
“So talk to him and then claim him. He is your mate, after all. I want to see pups running around this island before I die, and I’m not getting any younger.”
Goldie smiled as her grandfather blustered. As usual, he laid things out simply and directly.
“Yes, Alpha,” she said softly before turning to answer a waitress’s call.
* * * *
By the time Caleb reached the pub, his cock had softened somewhat, but he wished he could plunge himself in a tub of ice water before meeting with the man who would be his boss for the summer. He paused for just a moment on the wide front porch of the small brightly painted building. Taking several deep breaths, he fought down an unprofessional urge to say to hell with reporting for work and going to track down Goldie.
But duty came first, as it always did in his life. Which was but one of the reasons at the age of thirty-one, he was still single. He put the job before everything else in his life, including relationships. Would Goldie be able to handle that small detail of his life? That helping others, on duty and off, was what he lived for? Would she want to help him help others? Or would she demand he step back from that part of his life?
Shaking his head at his sudden wild imaginings that he and the lovely black-haired beauty he had spent only a few, very intense minutes with might have a future together, Caleb shifted the luggage in his hands and stepped across the porch.
Pushing the door open, he stepped into Pyrate’s Treasure and paused when he felt the air change and become electrically charged. He scanned the room, his eyes taking in the old-world décor combined with brightly colored walls and posters advertising beers and pirate sayings. His eyes passed over the woman standing behind the bar mixing a drink, then came back to her again. His half-hard cock surged back to full erection when he recognized who it was.
Goldie.
How in the hell had she gotten here before him? The mystery surrounding this woman who could turn him on just by being in a room continued to grow. Then all he could think about was getting her alone and burying himself so deep inside her that they could not be separated.
As if she heard him, the black-haired beauty looked up from what she was doing. When her eyes met his, she froze. Ignoring the man who approached from the other direction asking if he could show him to a table, Caleb dropped his bags where he stood and headed to the bar. There were only a handful of people present, so this was as good a time and place for them to talk about the erotic pull that was making him edgy.
She watched him approach, but dropped her eyes and went back to work when he stopped just across the bar from where she stood.
“Why did you run away?” he demanded, keeping his voice soft so the others present would not realize there was something interesting going on at the bar.
Goldie shrugged but did not answer as she handed a fancy-looking drink off to the woman standing just a few feet down the bar from him.
“Where did you go? I looked all over the ferry for you,” he said as she grabbed a cloth and began wiping down the bar.
“I was around,” she said softly, still not looking at him.
“Would you please look at me?”
* * * *
Goldie lifted her gaze to his. As soon as her eyes met his, the urge to jump the bar and claim him right here and now and to hell with spectators filled her. He still looked confused, but also more than a little aroused and a bit pissed off as well as he studied her.
“Yes?” she asked, trying not to sound as bitchy as she felt.
It was difficult. She had found her mate. Her cunt was gushing cream, her nipples were hard as stone, and a painfully itchy feeling was making her twitch. The growing need to tackle him, fuck him, and claim him as her mate was making it hard to think beyond her need.
By the slight shift of his expression, she figured she had failed.
Caleb opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, her grandfather broke in. “You wouldn’t be Deputy Slattery, would you?”
Goldie’s jaw dropped as she cut a glance toward her grandfather. She looked back just in time to see Caleb take a deep breath before nodding. He was starting to look as frustrated as she felt.
“Yes, sir. Are you Mayor Pyrate?”
He turned to the Alpha, and suddenly it was as if Goldie was no longer in the room.
“Yes, but most folks just call me Edward or Mayor Ed,” Edward said, extending his hand. “Welcome to Pyrate Island. I see you’ve already met my granddaughter, Goldie.”
“Your granddaughter, sir?” Caleb glanced her way in shock.
She nodded with a smile. “His granddaughter,” she confirmed.
“Uh-huh,” he grunted. “Well, sir, I’m assigned to the island for the summer. I just need to know about special laws that pertain only to the island before I begin my duties.”
Edward handed him a set of keys. “We can talk about that in the morning. Right now Goldie will show you to your cottage and help you settle in. We can meet tomorrow morning at nine at the Town Hall to go over your duties and responsibilities. There’s really not much to the job, but the guests feel better if we have a member of the law on the island, just in case.”
With that, Edward turned to her.
“Show him to his cottage and make sure he’s got everything he needs,” he said. His tone was that of an order, but his smile told her he was up to something. “Cash will cover for you here for as long as you need.”
“Yes, sir,” Goldie said.
With luck, her cousin would spend the entire evening behind the bar while she claimed her mate.
As Goldie walked down the bar to the opening at the far end, Caleb matched her step for step. As soon as she came out, he was there to meet her. She gasped silently when he grabbed her hand and pulled hard so she stumbled into his chest. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders as the other lifted her face up to his.
“Never, ever run away like that again,” he fairly growled before his head lowered and his lips covered hers.
He held her easily, and his lips opened to allow his tongue to crowd hers. It was as if their kiss from earlier had not ended as their
tongues tangled. Her own arousal grew faster, and she slid her arms around his shoulders as his hands moved down her back to cup her ass cheeks and pulled her even closer. She shifted when she felt his long, hard cock press into her belly through the layers of cloth that separated them. It took a loud, long cough from her grandfather to bring her back to reality. The middle of her workplace was not the place for what was about to happen.
Caleb lifted his head and stared at her in shock, oblivious to the others in the room as he caught his breath. It took another moment for him to release her, but when he did, she wobbled for a few seconds, trying to find her balance.
“Let’s go,” he said gruffly, taking her hand and turning toward the open door that led to the back patio.
She followed him at a trot out of the building. As they stepped onto the dock that ran the length of the harbor, she heard her grandfather call out, “I’ll have Teach take his bags over later.”
“Who’s Teach?” he asked suspiciously.
“My grandfather’s best friend. He’s a mute, but still works every day as a gofer for whoever needs errands run.”
Caleb did not slow until they were outside on the dock and well away from the pub. Only then did he stop and look around before looking down at her.
“So, where are we going?”
“Your house or mine?” she snarked with a grin.
“Whichever one is closer,” he growled, his cock screaming at him for relief. “I don’t know how much longer I can contain myself before I either explode from hormone overload or lay you down right here without a care about who might see us.”
Goldie grinned at his honesty and pulled him down the dark street, walking as fast as she could. He matched his steps to hers as they passed several more shops.
“So, while we’re walking, what did you want to talk about?” she asked.
“Talk? You want to talk now?” He was having a hard time thinking of anything beyond the hunger roaring through his body demanding satisfaction that he felt only she could provide.
“Not really, but maybe it would keep us from getting arrested for indecent exposure in the middle of the street,” she said as they walked down a path at the end of the dock that led through a small thicket of trees. They paused at the edge of the wide road as two golf carts drove past. Both were full of laughing, chattering guests.
“I don’t know what’s happening to me, but right now all I want to talk about is how soon we get to this cottage I’m to be living in for the season.”
Goldie giggled as she led him across the street. She pulled him to a stop when he would have walked past the last house on that side. “Here it is,” she said.
He looked at the small white house with navy-blue and coral trim, but barely noticed it. He did take in the wide front porch that held two rocking chairs with a small table in between on one side. Two wicker chairs and a settee sat on the other side with a coffee table that held a big green plant.
“Nice,” he said, looking around at the neatly landscaped flower gardens between the house and the sidewalk. “Am I responsible for the yard work? ’Cause I’ve got to tell you, I’ve got a black thumb.”
“No, the yard is maintained by the town. Would you like a cleaning lady while you’re here? A cook? Or are you domesticated enough to take care of yourself?” She sounded as if she were only half joking as they climbed the steps and crossed the porch.
“Talk about it later,” he managed to say as he used the key Edward had given him to unlock the door.
As soon as it was opened, he pushed it in and pulled Goldie inside after him. Slamming the door closed, he twisted the lock then pulled Goldie back into his arms.
“Now, where were we?” he growled.
Chapter 4
“About here, I think,” Goldie said as she ran her hands up his chest and around the back of his neck. With little effort, she pulled his head down and kissed him.
As soon as their lips touched, the barely controlled fire between them roared out of control once again. Goldie’s need to claim her mate had her humping her hips against his thigh while damning the clothes that separated their bodies.
Caleb’s hands slid between their bodies, forcing her to take a half step back. She took a deep breath through her nose to try and rein in some control. Though their lips remained locked together with tongues dueling, her hands moved down his body and began to work the fastenings of his shorts.
At the same time, his hands pushed up her shirt then pulled at the snap of her skirt. When the small disk refused to part, he slid his hands around her waist and down to the hem of her skirt. He pushed the back of her skirt up until he could cup the cheeks of her ass. She smiled at his quick intake of breath when he found them bare. His fingers then roamed until he felt the strip of lace that traveled between the globes of her ass to the thong’s waistband.
“Mmmm,” he groaned into her mouth as he plucked at the thong. “Sexy.”
Once she eased his zipper down over the fullness of his erection, she grabbed the material at the sides of his shorts and shoved them down. She released them once they were below the curve of his perfect ass. Then her hands roamed back up his butt and hips now clad in only a pair of loose, soft cotton boxers.
Sliding up to the elastic at the top, she pulled the front of the boxers out and slid one hand inside, wrapping it around his cock just under the head, earning a deep-throated groan from Caleb. She worked the boxers down until they, too, fell to the floor.
Though she wanted to drop to her knees and study his impressive-feeling cock before giving him a blow job he would not soon forget, Caleb had other ideas. Before she could kneel before him, he pushed her skirt farther up her body.
She jumped when he jerked on the thong’s waistband, snapping the thin lace before pulling it from her body. Then his hands slid over her ass cheeks to cup them before he lifted her up his body. She shivered as his long, thick, silky erection brushed against her lower lips.
Breaking the kiss, he lifted his head and stared at her. His blue eyes glowed silver as they stared deep into hers.
“Wrap your legs around me and hold on tight,” he ordered softly.
Goldie mentally bristled at his dominant tone, but was too horny and in need to argue with him about who would be the boss. Lifting her legs, she did as he demanded. She sucked a breath as warm, hard fingers brushed across one ass cheek. In the next instant, those fingers spread her lower lips and brushed across the wide-open entrance then up to the top of her slit.
“So wet,” he murmured against her lips.
The touch of his fingers left her to be replaced a heartbeat later by the brushing of the tip of his cock up and down between her pussy lips. She gasped each time his cock brushed over her knotted-up clit. Juices gushed from her pussy, wetting his tip, which he then spread up and around her entire center.
She thought she felt him walking, but could not imagine how he had any ability to move. All she could think about was impaling herself on him and riding his cock until the itch that had taken over her mind and body subsided.
She sucked a small breath when a cool, flat surface pressed against the length of her back. So, he was not as steady as she originally thought. Still, his ability to remain on his feet while holding her showed he was in better control of his body than she was of hers. Her wolf was clawing for its freedom, the need to claim its mate driving her out of her mind almost as completely as the need to fuck this man.
She loosened her hold around his shoulders, intending to slide down his body and impale herself on his cock. The only problem was that he held her pinned high against his chest as he continued to tease her with just the tip of his cock.
“Please,” she begged against his lips. She continued squirming and trying to capture him.
“Shhh, baby girl. No need to beg,” he said, his voice deep and soft as he lowered her just enough for the top half of his cock to breach her entrance before stopping again.
“Please,” she repeated, unable t
o finish the request. What she really wanted was for him to slam his thick length deep and fuck her into the wall.
He lifted his head and smiled down at her as he lowered her another inch. When she growled in frustration, he shifted her down his body another two inches.
“Feel better?” he asked, sounding as if he was near the end of his own restraint.
“No,” she growled between gritted teeth. “Fuck me into the damn wall. Make me yours.”
As if her words cut the last threads of his control, Caleb lowered her onto his cock until he filled her completely. Goldie dropped her forehead to his shoulder as her hands clenched into fists behind his head. She kept her eyes closed to keep him from seeing that her amber-colored eyes had shifted to bloodred. Her canines dropped, and she fought the near-explosive need to claim her mate.
She began to pant when his hands gripped her hips tighter and he began to move. He pulled out of her until only the head remained inside, then thrust fully into her again. He moved slowly, holding his cock deep inside her for a heartbeat before repeating the move again and again.
With each increasingly hard and fast stroke, Goldie’s need to claim grew as her arousal mushroomed out of control. She lifted her head, pushed aside the collar of his shirt, and licked at the spot where shoulder and neck came together.
He made a sound from deep in his chest as his hips began to move even faster, slamming home. Finally, she could not take the gut-clenching anticipation any longer. With one last lick of his salty skin, she bit into his shoulder and sucked hard. His tangy, salty blood filled her mouth, and she flew over the edge of release at the taste.
As her body convulsed with her orgasm, Caleb tightened his arms around her, thrust twice more even harder and deeper than before, then roared as his cock pulsed and twitched deep inside her cunt.
She pulled her teeth from him and licked the small wounds closed. She hugged him tight as her body dealt with the aftermath of the best sex she had ever experienced in her life. Caleb leaned heavily against her, but surprisingly remained on his feet as they recovered.
Goldie [Pyrate's Treasure 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 3