by Black, Tasha
“You’ll be back for breakfast,” he told her.
“I don’t think so, Romeo,” Grandma Stevenson replied. “Besides, Eva and I already have plans. We’re eating cold pumpkin pie for breakfast.”
“I love you, Grandma Stevenson,” Ryan told her, pressing his lips to her forehead.
“I love you too, boy,” the older woman said gruffly. “Good job today.”
He grinned at her and she turned and tottered down the porch stairs to where Eva Cortez waited by the car.
When he closed the door, he heard the sound of the shower from upstairs.
Addison.
Right now she was in his shower, water sluicing over her naked body, crystalline drops sliding down her delicate breasts, over the swell of her hips.
Calm down. Go slowly.
But he wasn’t sure he could.
He headed back to the kitchen, but there was nothing to do there. His grandmother and Eva had cleaned and packed up leftovers with military precision. There wasn’t a thing out of place.
He wandered the first floor like a lonely ghost, picturing Addison as he’d seen her throughout the day - looking at his baby pictures, running out the back door, sitting beside him at the dining table, washing dishes in the kitchen…
At last the shower turned off and he dashed up the stairs.
She was standing in his room with a towel wrapped around her like a Greek goddess, droplets shimmering on her honeyed skin.
He tore his eyes away from the delectable sight.
“Crawl into bed,” he told her. “Wait for me.”
His wolf huffed with pride as she obeyed him immediately, placing the towel on the table by the bed and slipping naked between his sheets.
He strode into the bathroom before he could lose control, and stripped in record time.
The water was warm, and it felt good on his body. He soaped up and rinsed as quickly as he could. He was already so ready for her. He couldn’t wait.
On the way out of the bathroom he caught his own eyes in the foggy mirror.
He looked hungry but happy, so happy he almost didn’t recognize himself.
Now, the wolf demanded, and he went back into his room where Addison waited in his bed.
She watched him intently and he decided to enjoy himself a bit, slowly unwinding the towel from his waist.
Her lips parted.
He was glad she liked his body, glad it could give her pleasure. He certainly enjoyed hers.
But it was the thread between their hearts, invisible but tough as a diamond, that brought him real joy.
She held her arms out to him and he moved to her, praying for the strength to give her every pleasure before taking his own.
He crawled into bed, sliding under the sheets until his naked body was pressed to hers.
She shivered and sighed, snuggling closer in a way that made his heart ache.
He kissed the top of her head.
She kissed his chest and slid lower nuzzling his abs.
“Addison,” he said warningly.
“Mmm,” she replied, kissing her way south.
“Addison, you can’t…”
But she already was. He felt her slender hand around his raging cock, stroking him so lightly it made him shiver.
“Addison,” he repeated, drowning in desire.
“Please,” she whispered, her breath floating against his skin.
He lay back in surrender.
Instantly, he felt her lips against the tip of his engorged organ.
And then the heat of her velvet tongue.
“Addison,” he groaned.
She licked his shaft slowly, exploring every vein, every curve, as he writhed in an agony of pleasure.
He groaned as she tightened her fist around him to lick the tip of him into her mouth once more.
In spite of her wanton behavior, there was an innocence about her that was making him wild. Her actions were so genuine. She wasn’t trying to emulate a porn star just to put on a show for him. She wanted to please him, wanted to know everything about him. He could feel it.
She slid her hand out of the way and drew him deeper into the heaven of her mouth and for a few moments Ryan was suspended between pleasure and the torture of holding back.
When she’d nearly pushed him too far, he encircled her upper arm in his hand.
“Addison, please, you have to stop,” he told her.
She moaned around his cock and the vibration almost sent him over the edge.
“I need to claim you,” he groaned brokenly. “Please.”
She released him instantly and crawled back up, lips glistening, dark eyes sparkling.
“God, you make me crazy,” he told her.
But she pressed her body to his and he lost himself in her mouth and arms again.
When he kissed his way down her neck she arched her back and sank her nails into his arms, begging for closer contact.
He chose not to tease her, and licked her nipples into his mouth, first one, then the other.
When she began to whimper he hastened lower and buried his face between her legs.
Her scent embraced him, spicy sweet, and he licked her with abandon, amazed at how wet and swollen she was for him already.
Addison cried out, her hips quivering.
She was ready.
He gave her one last thorough lick, which left her gasping.
Then he crawled up to her.
“Are you ready, my angel?” he asked her.
“Yes, please,” she begged.
“This is forever,” he told her solemnly. “I love you.”
“I want forever,” she said.
He placed himself against her satiny opening, gritting his teeth against the pleasure, then pressed inward as slowly as he could bear.
27
Addison
Addison held herself as still as she could.
Ryan was claiming her, pressing himself inside her until she was nearly bursting with him, setting her body trembling on a wave of need.
The knowledge that this man was her mate only accentuated the pleasure she felt.
She could do nothing wrong, this joining was anointed.
Ryan’s eyes were locked on hers. His expression was so serious, so loving.
She let go of his shoulder with one hand to stroke his cheek in wonder.
“I love you,” he murmured once more.
“I love you, too,” she told him.
He thrust into her again, sending new waves of awareness through her.
Addison clung to him, lifting her hips in a silent plea for more.
Ryan nuzzled her neck, making her shiver with need.
With his next stroke, he bit down.
The pain and pleasure mixed together until Addison saw stars.
Ryan pounded into her again and again, each thrust sending fresh waves of rapture through her until she could bear it no more.
She felt like her chest was filled with tiny bubbles and the sensations she felt were not just her own but his as well, her every quiver of pure ecstasy echoed with his.
“Please, Ryan, please,” she whimpered.
He slid a hand between them and lightly massaged her clitoris.
Addison screamed his name and flew apart, feeling him swell inside her at just that moment, jetting into her again and again.
The pleasure seemed to go on for an impossible time.
At last he collapsed on her chest, panting.
Addison ran her fingers through his hair, feeling a contentment she had never known before.
“Addison,” he whispered.
“Shh,” she hushed him.
They stayed like that for a long time, his big warm body covering hers.
Moonlight poured through the window and pooled on the floor.
Addison swore she could feel Ryan’s peace and relief, flowing in harmony to her own.
“I can feel you,” she said.
“I feel you too,” he replied, smiling against
her chest and stretching his tongue to flick her nipple.
“No,” she said. “I mean I’m feeling your emotions. I felt your pleasure too.”
“Really?” he asked, lifting himself up to look at her face.
“It’s the strangest thing,” she said, shaking her head.
He was quiet a moment.
“You know what it is, don’t you?” she asked.
“Did you sense that from me?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, that was just because you got quiet.”
He smiled at her.
“Yes,” he said at last. “And I hope you’re not upset with me.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Since the portal opened in Tarker’s Hollow, some strange things have been happening,” he said. “People with latent… abilities are developing them when they get close to magic.”
“Close to magic,” she echoed.
“Like the magic of sealing a mate bond between two shifters,” he hedged.
“I had a latent ability?” she asked.
“Your friends always say that you’re empathetic, right?” Ryan asked.
“Well, yeah, but they just mean I’m nice,” Addison said.
“First of all, that’s not what they mean,” Ryan said. “I sensed your empathy the moment we met.”
Addison looked down, feeling self-conscious.
“It’s a good thing, Addison,” he said. “And now it’s more than that. You’re not just a naturally empathetic person. I think you’re a full-fledged empath.”
She let the idea soak in for a moment, wondering what such a thing would mean for her life.
“Maybe it’s just with you,” she suggested.
“Maybe,” he said, watching her.
She felt his fear, cold and crawling in her own chest.
“I’m okay,” she reassured him at once. “I’m not sorry.”
His relief flooded her chest.
“This is really strange,” she said. “But I guess we’re not going to have any more misunderstandings.”
“I hope not, Addison,” he told her, laughing. “Because I adore you.”
“I adore you too, Ryan,” she said. “But right now I’m hungry. Want to go find some leftovers?”
His delight shimmered through her.
“I thought you’d never ask,” he said.
He took her hand and together they padded downstairs to raid the kitchen.
Whatever her newfound ability might mean, Addison was proud - proud to have any gift that happened because she had mated with Ryan, and grateful to have someone to share the adventure with.
28
Ryan
Ryan paced the enormous center hall of Thayer mansion, wishing his nerves were a little more settled.
“You okay, buddy?” Hector asked him, with one eyebrow raised.
“I’m fine,” Ryan said a little more sharply than he meant to.
But Hector only laughed.
“She’s not going to run away, don’t worry,” Hector said.
“She loves you,” Ian told him.
“That’s easy enough for you to say,” Ryan said. “You’ve had a little time to get used to being engaged. I just asked Addison last week.”
“It’s an unseasonably warm December,” Ian said, running a hand through his hair. “A good sign for a wedding.”
“And do you really want to wait any longer?” Hector asked.
He really didn’t.
He’d honestly been both stunned and relieved when Addison broached the idea of a triple wedding right away. Though she had accepted him as her mate and wore his family ring, he’d still been afraid she might want to wait at least until she finished grad school before officially sealing the deal.
The other couples hadn’t taken much convincing. They were all eager to start the next chapter of their lives together.
“Boys, it’s time,” Helen Thayer said, sweeping in from the kitchen. “Are you ready?”
“We were born ready, Aunt Helen,” Hector said, wrapping an arm around her and pressing a kiss to her temple.
She smiled at him indulgently and straightened his bow tie.
“Let’s go then. You know what the music means,” she said.
Sure enough, piano music had begun to drift in from outside.
Helen moved down the hall toward the back door and the men followed.
Snowy white tents were set up over the lawn with decorative Victorian gas heaters billowing the canvas into a balmy paradise. The main tent was lit with what had to be thousands of fairy lights. Calla lilies filled a plethora of crystal vases, and white rose petals lined a fragrant path leading to the altar.
Ryan followed his two friends to the front of the tent, passing between rows of happy, familiar faces.
When they reached their destination, the music subtly melted into the wedding march.
Ryan held his breath, watching the entrance to the tent.
First Bianca stepped gently onto the petals, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she went to Ian. Her white beaded gown made her look like Cinderella.
Mei followed her, elegant in ivory satin with her hair piled on top of her head and adorned with pearls. She wore a pirate’s jaunty grin as she moved to join Hector.
The music seemed to fade away as Addison stepped delicately onto the petal-strewn path on her way to Ryan.
She wore a silvery white gown that draped her slender figure perfectly. Grandma Stevenson’s elegant diamond earrings hung from her lobes, sparkling in the fairy lights.
But all of it paled in comparison to the expression of love in her eyes as she gazed across the tent at Ryan.
He felt glorious and terrified at the same time. Was he really responsible for that look on her beautiful face? Would he ever be able to keep it there?
She gave him a little wink as if to say, We’ve got this.
And he chuckled.
Amazing.
She was amazing.
Then she was by his side, and it was all he could do not to touch her.
The words of the ceremony seemed to go on endlessly as each couple repeated their vows.
At last he was allowed to kiss her.
The crowd cheered as he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to hers, a chaste kiss that promised her so much more to come.
“Addison,” he breathed as they pulled away.
“Looking good,” she said, holding her hand up to his.
They studied the two golden bands that signified so much.
“I- I don’t know how to tell you,” he said. “I’m so happy, Addison.”
“Me too,” she said, smiling up at him in a way that told him that of course she knew.
Johnny Harkness began to play an acoustic guitar and one by one the crowd got up to dance.
Ryan held Addison in his arms in a happy haze as they twirled endlessly around the tent, accepting congratulations from their friends and family.
He licked cake off her fingers when the time came, and when the moon was out and the sky was filled with starlight, it was finally time to go.
“Ready to go home?” she asked.
Home, it sounded good coming from her lips.
“Wherever you are is home, baby,” he told her.
“Wait,” Helen called as they headed for the front lawn. “You forgot to throw your bouquet, Addison.”
“Oh,” Addison said. “Let’s go do it.”
Ryan smiled down at his mate. She was always game for anything.
Helen had caught Mei’s bouquet earlier this evening, which really tickled her, and didn’t seem to make her date, a Springton police officer, at all uncomfortable.
And Bianca’s bouquet had been caught too, though Ryan had been so busy dancing with Addison he hadn’t seen who caught it.
“Come on, ladies,” Helen called.
Half the party gathered in the lawn once more.
Addison moved to the front of the crowd.
She gave Ryan a smile, then tossed the bouquet over her shoulder.
“Oh,” the crowded cooed.
Ryan looked to see who had caught it.
Parker Everly stood on the outskirts of the group as if she had only been participating half-heartedly.
She held the bouquet in both hands, with a stunned look on her face.
Ryan’s eyes moved across the lawn, seeking a certain someone.
Sure enough, the pack beta, J.D. MacGregor stood in one corner, holding a glass of wine and gazing at Parker Everly holding that bouquet as if he were dying in the desert and she were a tall glass of ice water.
“Oh wow,” Ryan said.
“Wow, what?” Addison asked, taking his hand.
“I’ll tell you on the way home,” he said.
“I like the sound of that,” she replied, pulling his hand to her mouth and planting a kiss on his knuckles.
It shouldn’t have awakened his lust, but it did.
There was something about Addison. He was sure he could never get enough.
She squealed with laughter as he swung her up into his arms and carried her to the car. They had enjoyed a beautiful day and he was about to give her a wild night.
And a wild and wonderful rest of her life, if he had his way.
Thanks for reading Her Doctor Mate!
Keep reading for a sample of the next book - Her Professor Mate.
Or grab your copy right now:
www.tashablack.com/seasonedshifters
Her Professor Mate (Sample)
1
Parker
In her dream, Parker Everly searched the ballroom.
It was dim, but the jewel-encrusted gowns of the revelers reflected the faint light from the crystal chandeliers, sending a scatter of tiny rainbows across the crowded floor.
It was warm, and her own ballgown was tight in the bodice. The backings of the pearls and rhinestones that lined the seductively plunging neckline of the dress felt scratchy against her sensitive skin.
But Parker was on a mission. She had to find him.
If only I could remember who…