“You are extraordinarily gifted, but no one has taught you how to use them. Once you mate, you will no longer be able to deny or ignore what is currently locked up inside you,” Zoe said. “I will be available to help you in any way I can, but you may not need my help, as you will have Luka to help you and keep you grounded.”
Diamond still looked confused, but she did not fight when Zoe turned her and guided her through the back door of the bar and toward her future.
Chapter 7
Instead of introducing Diamond to her mate-to-be and quickly slipping away with Cash, Zoe found reasons to stay in the bar. She met all the members of the pack while always keeping several people between her and her mate. Though Cash had already claimed and mated with her, seeing him shift just inches from her had scared the shit out of her. What if he shifted again after sex and turned on her?
She had been around shifters for a decade, had seen them shift back and forth, had even witnessed a few fights between shifters, but she had never been frightened before. Knowing her mate was a wolf shape-shifter and watching him transform from a human into a large black wolf while standing over her was something entirely different. Especially since he had fucked her speechless just moments before.
Slipping through the crowd, Zoe escaped to the bathroom, though she had a feeling the “Wenches” sign on the door would not stop her mate. Once she was alone in the beautifully decorated restroom, Zoe stood in the center of the room with her back to the door. Closing her eyes, she tried to fight down the fear that remained, even though Cash had showed no aggression toward her and had shifted back to human form without attacking either her or his sister. The thing that bothered her most was that she could not understand exactly what it was that had scared her so badly, that Cash had shifted just inches from her or that he had shown aggression when she knew him to be anything but.
She remained still and looking inward even after she heard the door open and close behind her. The soft snick of the lock clicking into place and the heady scent of her mate roused her from her thoughts, but she could not turn to face him.
“Zoe? Are you okay?” Cash’s words were soft as his hands came to rest on her shoulders. He sounded worried.
“I don’t know,” she admitted, turning into his chest and wrapping her arms around his middle. She buried her face in his shirt, not wanting him to see the fear she knew remained in her eyes.
“Do I need to beat someone up?” His voice turned growly and protective as his arms came around to hold her securely against his chest.
Zoe could not help but smile as she shook her head, rubbing her forehead and nose against his chest. “No, there’s nobody to beat up.”
“Then what’s wrong, gypsy? Something happened out on the beach. I need to know what it is so I can fix it.”
Zoe knew she had to tell him, but she had a hard time finding the right words. Cash continued to hold her securely against his body in a warm, comforting embrace as she struggled for the right explanation. She felt his love and his worry, but she also felt a calming peace fill her. His presence helped settle her earlier fear. When his cheek came down to rest on the top of her head, she felt completely surrounded by the big shifter.
Zoe had not been hugged in more than a decade, so Cash’s simple embrace almost meant more than the hot, hot sex they had shared. Snuggling deeper into his embrace, her arms tightened around the big man as she soaked up the love Cash emanated.
When the doorknob rattled and then someone knocked on the door, she tensed, not ready to rejoin the party that was going on just beyond the restroom door. Cash never moved. He seemed prepared to give her all the time she needed, and to hell with whoever was waiting just outside the restroom. His seemingly endless patience helped her find the words.
Taking a deep breath and inhaling Cash’s scent, she tilted her head back far enough to look up at him. “I may not explain this well, so bear with me, okay?”
“Absolutely.”
“Maybe it’s because we mated so quickly, or maybe it’s because I had never been so close to a shifter when they transformed, but it scared me a little when you shifted like that out on the beach,” she said, hoping he understood without being hurt by her explanation.
Cash stared down at her for several long moments. His expression was blank, as if he were processing her words. He blinked, and his expression softened, and he looked at her with what could only be described as love and compassion. Then he pulled her close and hugged her tight again.
“Damn, I should have thought of that. Of course you freaked out. It’s not every day a man makes love to you and then shifts form while standing over you before running off to beat up his sister,” he said. Then his tone changed. “At least, it better not happen often.”
Zoe giggled. “Nope. Never happened before, though I have seen Luka and members of the council shift before.”
“I’m not sure I like that,” Cash grumbled. “You weren’t naked, too, were you?”
“Of course not. I’m human. I’m also known throughout the community as Luka’s wife, though he has never seen me naked, either.”
“Good. I’d hate to have to tear his eyes out for seeing my mate naked.”
Since Cash had no doubt seen his sister naked innumerable times, Zoe had trouble following his logic. Instead of questioning him further, she decided to change the subject.
“You said something earlier about romancing me. Do you think we could do some of that now? And maybe later you could shift so I could get to know your wolf without the angry growling?”
Cash’s laughter rumbled through his chest, tickling the side of her face where it once again rested against his body. “That sounds like an excellent idea, mate of mine. Tonight, during Goldie’s ceremony, I do not want you looking at anyone but me.”
Zoe nodded and took a step back, forcing Cash to release her. “Like I’d be able to look at anyone else once you drop trou,” she snarked. “Now come on. We’ve tied up the restroom long enough.”
Taking his big hand in hers, Zoe unlocked the door and opened it to find several pissed-looking women waiting just outside. Their expressions changed from angry to understanding when Cash followed her out of the restroom and into the bar’s main room.
“We should have known,” one of them muttered.
“Sorry, girls,” she heard Cash say as they brushed past him and entered the ladies’ room.
Instead of leading her out of the bar so they could be alone, Cash led her to the jukebox across the room. The sign on the wall over the colorful machine advertised free music. After punching in the codes for several songs, Cash turned to her with a sexy smile and a twinkle in his eyes. “May I have this dance?”
* * * *
By the time the sun went down that evening, Zoe admitted to herself that she had fallen in love with her mate. She also felt romanced to the point of wanting to tackle her mate, strip him, and fuck him right here on the floor. She did not care if the whole world watched as they fucked. She needed her mate to scratch the twitchy itches his attentions had built in her.
They spent nearly an hour dancing at the bar as others cleaned up the mess left over from Edward’s wake. They then strolled through the village hand in hand, looking in shop windows. Their nonlinear conversation covered all the first-date subjects other couples usually discussed before jumping into bed together. As the sun settled toward the west, they returned to the Pyrate family house and shared a long shower filled with sexy kisses and inflaming touches, but Cash refused her demand for sex, stating anticipation would make it even sweeter when they finally came together later that evening.
After drying them both thoroughly, Cash sprayed her liberally with bug repellent before allowing her to dress in the simple burgundy silk robe and matching flip-flops she had brought specifically to wear for the installation ceremony. He then bug-sprayed himself before pulling on a pair of loose-fitting gray gym shorts. Taking her hand, he led her from the room before she could suggest they skip the
ceremony to play sexual games.
Goldie, Caleb, and Silver were waiting for them on the back deck.
“It’s about damn time,” Silver muttered as he swatted a mosquito that had just landed on his shoulder.
“Go to hell, cousin,” Cash responded, his low, deep voice sending shivers through Zoe that settled right behind her clit. “My mate needed my attentions.”
Zoe’s cheeks grew hot as the others chuckled. She knew they thought she and Cash had had sex, but after a glance at Cash she kept her mouth shut. Let them think what they would. They knew that one way or another, they would have sex before the sun rose again.
“Boys, if you don’t stop sniping like children, I’m going to sit you in the corner for an extended time-out and name Diamond and Ruby as my Betas,” Goldie said, sounding nervous and near the end of her patience.
“You wouldn’t!” the two men responded with shocked disbelief.
“Don’t tempt me. Now come on. They’re waiting.” Taking her mate’s arm, Goldie led the way into the forest.
* * * *
Once they reached the ceremonial circle deep in the forest, Cash and Silver went around the clearing and lit torches so there was more than enough light to see before taking their places on either side of Goldie. Zoe moved to stand behind Cash as the other human mates did.
The ceremony was for the shifter members of the Pyrate Island pack. Though mates were required to be present, they were to watch and listen, but not otherwise participate. She heard a soft murmur go through the area of the circle where the other pack Alphas gathered, probably because she was standing behind Cash and not Luka, who stood at the other side of the circle from Goldie.
Once everyone had gathered, all eyes turned to Luka. He waited another long moment before moving to the center of the circle. She had been to several of these and knew the order of what was to come, but each time she found herself fascinated.
After Goldie was called to the circle and installed as Alpha of the Pyrate Island pack, she, in turn, called Cash and Silver forth and swore them in as her Betas. The three then pledged their loyalty to Luka before returning to their places in the circle. King Luka then spoke to the pack members about loyalty to pack and family and especially to the Alpha and her Betas. Once he finished, the shifters lined up and, one by one, congratulated their new leaders.
Once the official ceremony had concluded, the Alpha from the Smokey Mountain pack stepped forward and said he wanted to witness Goldie mate with Caleb. He wanted the other Alphas to be certain that the powerful-looking human male could be properly submissive to his Alpha, even if she was a female.
Again all eyes went to King Luka. When he nodded his approval, Cash and the other members of the Pyrate Island pack turned their backs and took a step forward out of the circle. They did not care to see their Alpha have sex with her mate. They had accepted her years before when Edward had named her as his successor. This was for the other pack leaders who seemed to be having a hard time accepting Goldie as their equal.
Cash moved close enough that all Zoe could see was his broad, muscular chest. The need she thought had subsided filled her once again at the sounds of heavy breathing and soft moaning coming from the center of the circle.
She looked up into her mate’s eyes and saw they had grown dark with his own need. A moment later, he stepped close enough that his long, thick erection pressed into her belly. The feel of his heat and arousal sent pulses of need straight to her clit and from there to her nipples, which tightened into fleshy beads pressing against the thin silk of her robe.
“Need you,” he mouthed as he brought his hands up to rest on her shoulders.
“Oh, yeah,” she breathed in response.
Reaching between them with one hand, she brushed the tip of her index finger down the length of his nose then over his lips. She continued the line over his chin and down neck to the center of his chest. She sucked a silent breath as Cash’s hands slipped down the front of her body to cup her breasts. Her pussy gushed, and she had to lock her knees to keep from falling to the ground.
Before they could join Goldie and Caleb in mating, male cries and a wolf howl interrupted them. A moment later applause sounded, along with a few other barking howls. The mating had been completed. The other Alphas were satisfied.
“Stay here and behave yourself,” Cash said with a disappointed sigh. “And close your eyes until we leave the clearing.”
“Yes, oh sexy mate of mine,” Zoe snarked. Closing her eyes, she lifted her hands to cover them for added protection like a child playing hide-and-seek.
After seeing the other Alphas clothed, she had no interest in seeing them naked. Even the thought of seeing King Luka naked did nothing for her libido. None of the men, except her mate, made her think of the big bed back in Cash’s room.
Knowing a run around the pack-held lands was a traditional ending to the ceremony, Zoe was not sure why she did not want Cash going. He would be out there with other naked wolves, male and female. And she had heard stories about what sometimes happened during pack runs, especially ones like these when the emotions of loss and celebration were fighting for domination in the shifters.
She felt him brush a kiss over her forehead before he whispered in her ear, “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Then we’re going to spend the rest of the night expanding your education while scratching all those itchy spots we both have.”
She gasped with surprise that he had read her thoughts so clearly and accurately. “Be careful out there,” she responded.
“No worries. I am Beta, hear me…” His joke ended on a long, deep-chested howl, letting Zoe know that he had shifted.
Lifting her hands from her face, she opened her eyes to find him standing before her in full wolf form. He was big and beautiful in his wildness. For the first time since becoming a member of Luka’s household, she wished she could shift and be wild with them.
The wolf looked her straight in the eyes and made a grumbling sound as he shook his head, as if he could not believe she had peeked. When another wolf, who she thought was Silver, nudged Cash with his head, her mate chuffed at her, which she took to mean, “Stay here and behave yourself.”
The two wolves then turned and took off with the rest of the three dozen or so wolves that stood in a loose circle where the pack members and high-powered guests had been just moments before. As the wolves left the clearing, she saw Luka’s wolf at the head of the group with the small black wolf from the beach at his side. So, the king had indeed found his mate.
Looking around, she found the clearing was empty other than a stunned-looking man, who had been introduced before the funeral as Emerald’s mate, Nick, and Goldie’s relaxed and satisfied-looking mate, Caleb.
“So, do you want to wait here or go back to the house? This run could take all night, or it might be over in five minutes,” she said as she picked up Cash’s gym shorts and folded them.
“Goldie said for us to go back to the house because she didn’t want us carried off by mosquitoes,” Caleb said after clearing his throat.
“Emerald didn’t say one way or the other,” Nick said, sounding as if he was in shock by what he had just witnessed.
“And Cash told me to stay here. But Caleb’s right,” Zoe said, watching as a mosquito landed on her arm. “Even with bug spray, we might be eaten alive if we don’t go inside soon. And since Caleb is the Alpha’s mate, his word is law when she’s not around.”
“Really?” Caleb grabbed a torch, and they slowly headed down the path that led straight to the Pyrate family home.
“Really. Even though you are not shifter, you are the Alpha’s mate and, as such, are subordinate only to her. So, if she is not around and Silver and Cash get into an argument, you can step in and break it up.”
“Good to know that I’m not totally without power among the island shifters. But I’m still not sure I’d want to get between Silver and Cash if they came to blows.”
Once they reached the house, Zoe excuse
d herself and went to the kitchen. She found a large picnic basket in the pantry and spent the next few minutes filling it with snack foods, bottled water, and juices. She had a feeling that this time when she and Cash escaped to his bedroom, they would not be leaving it for a few days. Looking around, she added a handful of candles, several candleholders, and two lighters to the basket. Nothing said romance like a room lit only by candlelight.
After saying good night to Caleb and Nick, who had settled at the chessboard in the living room, Zoe headed to the room she now shared with Cash. With a little luck, she would have enough time to wash off the stink of bug spray and put a few romantic touches on the room before Cash returned.
Chapter 8
Almost as soon as the pack left the clearing, Cash wanted to turn around and go back to his mate. His cock has been hard as a rock all afternoon, and he needed the relief he could find only in his mate’s body. Unfortunately, as pack Beta, he had to be at the front of the group and could not just drop out and go home.
When they reached the beach, Goldie and Luka turned and headed toward the far end of the island. Cash dropped back from his normal place at the front of the pack. Once all of the other wolves had passed him, he turned around and headed to the house. He had a hot, sexy woman waiting for his return.
He did not bother with his shorts. They would be fine until morning, but his mate needed his attention now. Once he reached the house, he did not shift back, but instead pushed his way through the dog door Edward had put in the back door when they were pups. He smelled his mate’s scent immediately, and without a thought of anything except getting to his mate, he tracked her from the kitchen through the house and up the stairs straight to his room.
Cash [Pyrate's Treasure 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 6