by Moxie North
Smacking him lightly on the chest, she followed up with a scrape of her nails over his pec and across his nipple. Tease her will he.
“You’re right, we really should make good use of the room,” Everett said, picking her up in one arm. She wrapped her legs around him, she didn’t care what people thought. He managed to grab up their few belongings and stride into the hotel. He carried her that way all the way to their room. Then he got her to their bed and got carried away for a good long while.
Chapter 22
Pulling up to the driveway at the Klein compound there seemed to be a larger number of cars than usual. Layla didn’t bother mentioning this to Everett. He seemed totally on board with jumping right in with her family’s craziness.
Granted, Layla was feeling pretty darn content herself. She’d lost track of the unbelievable orgasms she’d received at the hands of her mate. At one point she’d gotten so caught up she’d scratched her nails down Everett’s back and knew she drew blood. This just turned him on even more and while he was tying her hands to the bed post, she could see he was already healing from the sharp claws. Gotta love being a shifter.
As he parked the car, Layla braced herself for the coming storm. Taking a deep breath, she knew with Everett by her side, the next few weeks would be manageable. Besides they still had the Borneo idea available.
Everett opened his mate’s door and took in her long legs as she swung them out. Standing, her bright blond hair that was braided and resting over her shoulder, shone white in the bright Vegas sun.
Taking her hand, he brought it to his mouth for a kiss. Soaking in a little more of her scent. You would think after making love and or fucking the day away, he’d be satiated. Not even close. He wanted her now, up against the car. He wanted her pinned to a wall by the garden. He wanted to fuck her in the pool in the backyard. The options were endless. His cougar started making a mental list of locations they needed to check off.
Walking towards the house, they barely made it to the first step of the four steps up to the door when the huge double doors swung open.
There stood, Russell, Grace, Micah and his wife and two kids, Claire, her husband, and their two children. There was no sign of William, but that wasn’t surprising, it was a work day after all. And low and behold, there was Emily and Margo, looking smug as shit.
“You’re here! We’ve been waiting all day!” Grace called out, coming down the steps to wrap Everett in a huge hug.
Layla snorted, clearly she was being shoved off the favorite child podium. Everett just smiled at her with a knowing look. She stuck her tongue out at him and watched his eyes flare with heat.
Two seconds later, Layla was wrapped up in her sister’s arms as they all talked at once.
“I can’t believe it!” Margo screeched at her.
“Can’t leave you alone for a minute,” Emily chided.
“So happy for you, baby sis.” This was from Claire holding onto Bianca, her new little niece.
“Thanks, Claire.” Layla and Claire were a number of years apart and she never really connected with her sister. She had a hard time welcoming a human into the family. She didn’t understand her sister’s choice at the time and resented her man taking her away from them. Now she got it, now she knew her sister never really had a choice about her mate. He was chosen for her sister, just like Everett was chosen for her.
“How has mom been?” she whispered to Claire.
“Wedding planning. You didn’t think you were going to get away with sneaking off to some chapel of love did you?” Claire chided.
“Hey, it was classy, we had Elvis marry us. Wanna see the picture?” she said, laughing knowing good and well that her mother could hear them.
“Elvis? Seriously?” her mother yelped. “Layla Simone Klein, you are doing this just to frazzle my nerves. We are having the wedding here, everyone is invited. And if you behave I might let you help plan it.”
Everett looked at the bickering women, he knew his mate. She would cancel everything her mother had already set in motion to have the wedding she wanted. Smiling Everett offered, “I like burgers. How about a cake in the shape of a storm trooper?”
“Argh, you two are awful, just awful,” her mother said with a huff and turned to march back into the house.
Layla watched her father come over now that the women had said hello. He paused in front of her and cupped her face in his big strong hands. “My little Leelee, married and mated. You’re making me feel old, kitten,” his voice was gruff with emotion.
“Daddy, don’t make me cry,” Layla whispered back to him.
“Don’t you make me cry little one,” he said, wrapping her in his arms. They hugged for a long moment. When Russell pulled back from his baby girl, he looked at Everett.
Everett let them have their moment, then offered his hand for a shake. Instead, Russell let go of Layla and wrapped him into his arms and said quietly, “I know you’ll take good care of my little girl. If you don’t, I’ll hunt you down and skin you alive.”
Layla for some reason thought this quiet declaration hysterically funny and burst out laughing.
“Not funny, Duchess,” Everett said, as Russell slapped him on the back with a huge grin on his face.
“Totally is, my dad chasing your ass around the desert would be video gold.”
Grabbing his mate into his arms, he placed a kiss on her head. Not caring who was watching him. “Since there isn’t a chance in this universe that I wouldn’t take care of you or love you, I’m not worried about your dad tearing me a new one.”
“Awwww.” This came from Emily and Margo, who were both clutching their hands to their chests like they were watching a sad commercial about puppies.
“We better head in,” her father called. “Your mother has food laid out and if we don’t eat it, she’ll add that to our already long list of infractions for the day.”
“Trouble, dad?” Layla asked, confused.
“Erm, Micah and I were on cub duty when the girls were talking wedding stuff. There might have been an incident with a permanent marker and her new couch in the living room,” he said, clearing his throat.
“Dad! That couch cost ten G’s! You should be freaked out too!” Layla said with an exasperated tone.
“It’s not like the couch doesn’t work now. It’s just got a little extra decoration.”
Shaking her head, Layla understood why her mom was peeved. Their home was a showplace not just for her family but for the pack also. All of the pack was living well. They either worked for the hotel or a number of other businesses the pack ran. No one was struggling and everyone lived comfortable. That was the greatest accomplishment of being part of the Kleins.
“I better get in there before we have a wedding in teal and puce,” she sighed, turning to Everett. “Wanna help? It’s your wedding too.”
“Can I plead male on this one? If you think there is something I would definitely have an opinion on, then sure ask me. Otherwise, you have impeccable taste and whatever you chose will be stunning and classy like you.”
“Nice, suck up,” her dad said with a snort.
Everett just gave him a shrug. Hells yeah he would suck up to his wife. He was pretty sure Russell Klein wasn’t above schmoozing a little to his own mate when it was going to benefit him in some way.
“Oh, Duchess?” he called out as Layla turned to leave.
Looking back at him she raised her eyebrow with a haughty look.
“I like chocolate,” he said and gave her a wink.
Everett heard Layla snort as she turned to walk into the house and then his new father-in-law snorted right after that.
“Come on son, we’ve got things to discuss.” Russell wrapped his arm around Everett’s shoulder and led him into the house.
Chapter 23
“Mother, we are not having swans. First, swans in the heat of Vegas is just plain mean. Second, a bunch of cougar shifters are going to terrify the poor beasts.” Layla moaned this out as
they sat and were two hours in on the wedding slash bonding ceremony. They would have a formal wedding, with an officiant, because her mother said she missed hearing the vows and wants them done over again. And then later they planned a ceremony where the packs would affirm the two shifter’s bond as official.
This would mean at some point Layla was going to have to loop Everett’s mother in to arrange for their pack to be there. That would mean hotel rooms, transportation, and the like. This was not a problem. She just knew if she planned anything without his mother’s input she’d have to change everything.
“I want two cakes, one by Berducci’s, it will be lemon chiffon because I like lemon and it’s my cake. Second, we will have a groom’s cake, chocolate, in the shape of a storm trooper and if any of you spill the beans about it, I’ll pummel you. Third, we are having a tent in the yard, with air-conditioning, and the theme is fairy garden. I’m a Duchess, damn it, and I want fairy lights and flowers and pretty crystals!”
Yes, this tantrum was followed by a teensy tiny foot stomp. But her three sisters and mother had been debating themes, colors, mood lighting, and food for hours now. They had run the gambit of Gatsby themed to her sister Margo’s horrible idea of a hoedown. Not happening on her watch.
Layla already knew where she was getting her dress. It was going to be off the rack and from a local shop in town. It was simple, sweetheart neckline with a pleated organza over the bodice. It had a jeweled belt under the bust and flowed down into a floor length cloud of fabric. It was soft and delicate just like her for fuck’s sake!
“You three will be wearing pale yellow, floor length gowns, and I don’t want to hear another word. Flowers, mother, I’m sure you will make sure are fitting for the occasion. And we are having a band so we can dance. I also want two bars, because with our families we are going to need the alcohol to keep flowing.”
Looking over at her mother to drive home her point, she surprisingly saw her mother staring at her with a tear in her eye and a look of sheer pride on her face.
“That’s my girl,” she said softly.
“Mom, I’m being a bitchy bridezilla, you really shouldn’t be happy right now,” Layla admonished.
“Of course I’m happy. You have a mate, you’re giving me the ceremony every mother wants for her daughters. You know what you want and you are being assertive to get it. Just shows I raised a strong confident shifter. I’m pleased as punch,” her mother said firmly.
“Well, glad to be of service,” Layla sighed.
“Wow, she’s totally a drama queen,” Margo said cattily from the side.
“Yeah, yellow really isn’t my color,” her sister Emily started.
“Suck it up, buttercup. Yellow it is,” Layla warned.
Claire was sitting in the corner nursing Bianca. “Don’t worry about me, this wedding is in two months, I’ll probably be knocked up again by then.”
“Well, tell your man to give you a freaking break!” This came from Emily who still wasn’t on the human mate bandwagon. Even though it had been years. Layla had grown to love her goofy brother-in-law. Mostly because he adored her sister and was an awesome dad. He took to a family full of cougars rather well considering he thought they were a cult for a long time.
“What can I say? My man loves me and can’t keep his hands off my saggy tits and stretch marked tummy,” she said with a little sadness in her voice.
“Claire, you are beautiful and you know it. Scott would love you know matter how you look,” Layla said, leaning over and patting her knee.
“I know, he says they are my tiger stripes. He doesn’t realize that’s kinda offensive. I get what he’s trying to say,” Claire laughed.
“Well, pregnant or not, you are still my matron of honor, so no getting out of it.” Layla leaned over and gave her sister a kiss on the cheek. When she did this she heard two mewls coming from the other couch.
“Sheesh,” she said getting up to hug and kiss her other bossy sisters.
“Well, now that the love fest is out of the way. When is Everett going to tell his family? Or has he already?” Grace asked.
“He talked to Dax this morning. Told him it was his Alpha duty to tell their mother. He also said he would try to give us a few days before calling her. She pissed him off royally with his mate recently. Said some not so nice things which made her abandon a trip they were on. This allowed her sleazy ex-boyfriend to kidnap her to try and extort money out of Dax. It was so stupid, the guy is in jail and Effie is fine. But none of that would have happened if his mom had kept her trap shut.”
“Wow, she’s a peach,” Claire murmured.
“Yes, but she’s now my mother-in-law and since I haven’t met her I’m going to keep an open mind. I’m not going to borrow trouble without cause. I’m sure when we meet, we will have a friendly interaction and she will be happy that her son found his mate.”
Layla said this, but even her cougar was scoffing at her in her mind. Hey, she was going to be positive. She knew Everett’s mom wanted Dax to mate with a Klein. So she should be thrilled that one of her sons has made the strategic connection she was looking for. Although Layla didn’t really understand what his mother wanted to accomplish with the union. They were still separate packs. They lived in different states and outside of the sharing of grandchildren, there really wasn’t any other reason for them to spend time together.
Wow, that did sound bitchy, she thought. Okay, maybe she was just feeling a little greedy and protective of her new mate. Yes, his family was now her family but Everett was her heart and soul, even without all the family drama he was all she needed to be happy.
“Good luck, baby sis,” chimed Emily and Margo at the same time.
Sheesh, she hated when they did that, it was creepy and she told them so. That earned her two double raspberries blown to her before their mother told them all to knock it off.
Everett had actually had a great time hanging out with Micah, who he finally got to know a little. He ran a trucking company that his family owned. Cross country hauling, that employed mostly shifters from their packs. He was a nice guy, confident in his position in the pack. Technically his little brother was running the real money maker, the casino. But the trucking company had come first and it was easy enough to manage which allowed Micah to spend more time with his family.
His mate Elena was a member of their pack. They’d both know each before they’d both hit puberty. Micah realized she was his mate in his early teens, but she was a few years younger. He told his grandfather he’d found his mate and the pack supported him in courting her slowly until she realized he was her One too
Micah was quiet, steady, and would make a great alpha some day. He was in no hurry and it was clear he could bear the burden of their large pack easily. Nowadays his only stress came from having two little boys running around wreaking havoc everywhere they went. Luckily they were past the age where they would spontaneously change in cougar cubs. They wouldn’t shift again until they were older. This cut down on some of their destruction, not having claws and all. Still they managed to terrorize the staff and the older pack members in the house while they ran around like little whirlwinds with Micah chasing after them.
Russell had called Will and put him on speaker phone as they worked out their scheduling on the security system, knowing Everett’s priorities had changed. He’d still oversee the installation, but he since he would be staying in Las Vegas for the foreseeable future, he had more time to help out.
“You planning on living here?” Micah asked, clearly worried that Everett was thinking of taking his little sister away.
“Of course, I wouldn’t want Layla to leave her family. The work I do for my family is simple and I can fly back and forth as needed. My brother Dax and sister Kenzi are already in Washington, so I won’t be the first to fly the coop.”
“Glad to hear it, son. I’d hate not being able to see my little Leelee every day,” Russell said. Man, he was a softy. “You’ll be staying here, of cour
se, until you two decide on something more permanent and I won’t hear anything else about it.”
“I’d appreciate it, Russell. We’ve haven’t gotten that far in the conversations yet. I know we need to spend some time figuring out the next year or so. I was hoping to take her away this weekend. Maybe away from here, somewhere she can disconnect from the hotel a little. If that’s okay with you, Will,” Everett asked into the speaker phone.
“Fine by me, I’ve been trying to get her to take a vacation anyway. We have a perfectly capable manager for the club. She just doesn’t trust him to handle her baby. You should take her to our houseboat on Lake Havasu. It will be a bit of a break from the heat and she loves it there,” Will suggested.
Looking to Russell he saw him smile and nod. “Great idea, Will. I’ll call and make sure it’s ready for visitors and have groceries delivered,” Russell said.
Russell got up and walked to the corner of the study they were in and started dialing his cell phone.
“If you really want to play nice, she loves yellow flowers. I’ll give you the number of the florist we use. They’ll make a special run out to the boat for us. Our account is most of their income,” Micah laughed.
“Thanks, man. I really want her to have a break. Relax and feel comfortable making some plans for us. I’m afraid here there is just too much activity and she’ll be rushed,” Everett explained.
“Well, aren’t you the thoughtful mate,” Will snickered over the phone.
“I am, take notes, boys,” he said, propping his feet on the desk and crossing his arms behind his head in the pose of a confident man. Inside he was terrified of making the wrong step with his new mate. He had no idea just how pampered a life she’d led to this point and he didn’t want her changing an inch for him. He knew he’d have to make some changes and he was happy to do it. He wanted her just the way she was.
Everett realized he needed to make another call. “Would you guys mind if I excuse myself to make a call?”