“I probably would, but I’d still be working for William.” Peppa gave my hand a squeeze. “And I never would have met Cason.”
“If you come back to Chicago, William doesn’t have to stay at Castagna. You could take over as head chef in his place.”
I wasn’t surprised by Armand’s offer, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. From everything Peppa had told me about the restaurant world, most chefs would kill for the position. But if my mate accepted, then we’d have to leave my family behind. I’d follow Peppa anywhere, but I would miss out on seeing Greenlee and Nyx grow up.
“I would have given anything for this kind of an opportunity four months ago, but it’s too late now.” Peppa stood, tugging me to my feet along with her. “I’ve found where I belong.”
She led me into the kitchen, explained to her team why Armand had come, and asked Bexley to take over in the kitchen for her. Larken gave her a hug before practically shoving us out the door. Peppa was quiet during the short drive back to our home. Once I had my mate there, all to myself, I was struck by the magnitude of what she’d just given up. Peppa had become everything to me, and I hated the possibility that she was sacrificing her professional success in order to stay here with me.
8
As soon as the door shut behind us, Cason turned to me. His brows drew together, and his eyes were full of concern. “Are you sure you’ll be happy if we stay here?”
“Of course, I am.” I reached up and tried to smooth out the wrinkle in his brow. “I want to be wherever you are, and your life is here in Timber Ridge.”
My answer didn’t help the way I thought it would. Cason’s hands gripped my hips, and he yanked me against his chest. “The same is true for me. If you want to go back to Chicago, then that’s what we should do. You shouldn’t have to give up shit that’s important to you because fate paired you with me.”
“It’s not just that I accepted you as my mate because you were my destiny.” I pressed my forehead against his. “I would have chosen you if it had been possible, and I’ll always choose you over everything else each day for the rest of our lives.”
His palms drifted up my back to cup my shoulders. “It’s the same for me, baby. I can live anywhere as long as you’re with me. You don’t have to choose to stay here for me. Take the job at Castagna if that’s what you want. I’ll support you every step of the way.”
Sincerity shone from his dark orbs, and I knew he’d do anything if it made me happy. “I love that you’d move to Chicago for me, but that’s not where I’ll be the happiest. Timber Ridge is my home now, and Timber Treasures is where I want to cook. Not Castagna. I love what we’re creating here.”
“And I love you.” He palmed my cheeks and tilted my head back to brush his lips against mine. “So very much.”
My heart melted even more. It was the first time either of us had said the four-letter word to each other. “I love you, too.”
His dark eyes flared with male satisfaction before he bent his head to claim my mouth in a passionate kiss. “I’m so fucking lucky those assholes sent you running straight into my arms.”
“Who knew that the worst thing that happened to me would end up leading me to the best thing ever?” I grinned up at my mate as I twined my arms around his neck.
“I know you turned down the job offer, but I still think we should celebrate it anyway.” He lifted me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. With his hands cupping my butt, he ground his hips into mine. I felt the heat of his hard length as it pressed against my core.
“That sounds like a fantastic idea to me.” The friction of my drenched panties against my clit drove me crazy as he carried me upstairs to our bedroom. I was frantic to get him naked before we even reached the bed. Slipping my hand between us, I slid my palm down his chest and six-pack abs to flick the button of his jeans open. I’d just worked my hand into his boxers and wrapped it around his hard length when he tossed me on the mattress. “Hey, I wasn’t done with that.”
He lowered his zipper and fisted his dick after shoving his jeans and boxers down his legs. “Don’t worry, my hard-on isn’t going anywhere until your tight pussy is wrapped around it, milking my come from me while your screams fill the air.”
My ovaries just about exploded at the sensual promise I knew he’d fulfill. Crawling toward him, I flicked my tongue over the drop of pre-come on the tip of his dick before whispering, “Yes, please.”
He wrapped my hair around his other hand as he stroked the crown of his cock over my bottom lip. “Open your mouth for me, baby.”
My lips parted, and he gently pushed a few inches inside. I savored the salty taste of his pre-come as I hollowed my cheeks to suck him deeper. A deep groan rumbled up his chest, and I loved knowing I was giving my mate pleasure. He worked his cock in and out of my mouth for a few minutes before he pulled away and pressed me onto the mattress. “Your mouth feels like heaven, but I need the taste of you in my mouth before I shove my cock deep inside your pussy.”
I would have liked to suck him until I made him explode, but giving him a blow job turned me on so much that I was already teetering on the edge of orgasm. Frantic with need, I ripped my shirt over my head while Cason got naked. Then he helped me with the rest of my clothes before he wedged his shoulders between my thighs and lowered his head to devour me with his mouth. I felt each tug of his lips deep in my core, quickly pushing me closer to my release.
“I love how fucking wet you get. Drenching my face before you come.” His strong hands gripped my butt cheeks to lift me closer to his mouth. “And it’s all for me. I’m the only one who will ever have your taste in their mouth. Who’ll hear you cry their name in that husky tone that drives me fucking wild.”
My breath caught in my throat when he licked me from top to bottom before stiffening his tongue and shoving it deep inside my channel. Then he slid his hand between us and pinched my clit, sending me flying. Wave after wave of pleasure crashed over me. “Yes! Cason, yes!”
“That’s it, baby. Come for me,” he urged against my damp flesh. His tongue continued to sweep through my wetness, never slowing down while he drew out my pleasure. I didn't have any leverage with my shoulders pressed against the mattress and my hips lifted in his hold. He was in complete control of my body as he continued to devour me, sending me straight into a second orgasm as soon as I came down from the first.
I was overcome with pleasure when he got to his knees and drove his entire length into me with one powerful thrust. My nerve endings were overly sensitive, and I let out a startled cry. Cason anchored himself deep as he lowered his body onto mine, his dark eyes scanning my face for any sign of pain. “Too much?”
“Never.” I dragged my nails down his back until they reached his perfect butt. Grabbing hold of both cheeks, I circled my hips. “I was made to take every inch of you.”
“You’re so fucking perfect, my fierce miracle.” He ground against me, hitting a spot deep inside that had me seeing stars. “Come for me again so I can see your pleasure in those golden eyes of yours again. So I can feel your pussy strangle my cock until you suck me dry. Maybe this time when my come fills your womb, we’ll make a baby.”
His dirty talk always turned me on, but adding in the stuff about getting me pregnant ratcheted it up several notches. My nails dug into his butt hard enough that they’d probably leave a permanent mark, but that only seemed to spur him on more. “You always smell so delicious, especially when I can scent your desire. But I bet it’ll be even better when you’re carrying my baby. You want that, too. Don’t you?”
“Yes,” I cried as he picked up the pace until he was pounding in and out of me.
“Hurry, baby. I’m so fucking close. Need you to come.”
His raspy plea sent me over the edge. I flung my head back and screamed, “Cason!”
“That’s it, mate. Milk my come from my cock with your pussy.” He slammed into me a few more times before planting himself deep. Come spurted from his dick, splashin
g against my inner walls in hot bursts and filling me up so much that it dripped down my legs.
“Wow,” I gasped when I was able to breathe again.
“You can say that again.” Cason pulled his still hard length out of me and fell onto his back. His arm went under my shoulders to bring me close. “It should be impossible, building on perfection the way we do. Somehow it just keeps getting better each time.”
I pressed a kiss against his jaw. “You won’t get any complaints from me.”
“I think this time was exceptionally perfect because I knocked you up,” Cason murmured, his breath hot against my cheek as I cuddled against his chest.
Moving until I straddled him, I suggested, “Maybe we should try again, just to be sure.”
Epilogue
Cason
“Hey, Kace,” I greeted my alpha. He’d called earlier and asked to stop by, but he’d been cryptic about the reason. I was still wary of letting people around my four-week-old son, but Kace was my alpha, and he’d said it was important.
“Cason,” he replied. “Peppa here too?” I nodded and stood back, gesturing for him to come in. “I hate to bother her while she’s on maternity leave, but something has come up, and I need a favor.”
I raised my brow but didn’t comment until I’d shut the door behind him. “She’s in the nursery feeding Cyrus, but he should be asleep in a few minutes. Do you want to wait until you can talk to both of us?” He nodded, so I headed down the hall to the kitchen, knowing Kace would follow, and went to the refrigerator to grab a couple of beers.
No sooner had we settled in the living room with our drinks than Peppa padded into the room with a soft smile curving her lips. “Cy go down okay, baby?” I asked as I jumped up to help her to her favorite, overstuffed chair and lower her down into it. She insisted she wasn’t sore and didn’t need my “coddling” anymore, but the truth was that I liked taking care of her. So I did it anyway.
Kace apologized again for the interruption, but Peppa waved him off and rolled her eyes. “You’re always welcome, Kace.” Then she threw me a dirty look. “Besides, I could use a little company since Cason hasn’t let me have many visitors since we left the hospital.”
I shrugged, completely unrepentant. I would do anything to protect my family.
“As I told Cason,” Kace began. “I need a favor. Well, a couple of them, I suppose.”
Peppa cocked her head to the side and folded her hands in her lap. “Anything you need, alpha.”
I’d gone back to the couch to sit and finish my beer, but it bothered me that another male was so close to my mate. Even if he was mated himself. So I stood and set the bottle back down before crossing the room to Peppa. A second later, I’d taken her seat and settled her on my lap. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her head, enjoying the sound of her contented sigh.
Kace rolled his eyes. “You done marking your territory?”
I glared at him and growled, “Like you’re any better.”
He smiled ruefully and canted his head in acknowledgment. “Anyway, Peppa, you haven’t sold the house next door yet, correct?”
“No. Larken rented it for a while, but she moved out last month,” she confirmed.
Kace took a deep swallow from his bottle, then set it on the coffee table and settled back into the couch, crossing his arms over his chest. “Larissa got a call from her dad the other day. He wanted to give her a heads-up that he’d sent someone to us who needed our help.”
Larissa was Kace’s mate, and both she and her father were human, but they’d shared our secret with him after she and Kace found one another.
Kace’s expression grew dark as he continued. “It seems they had an...altercation with someone who resulted in the guy having his place raided. He was sentenced to six months in prison for owning illegal animals. Link’s wife went ballistic when she heard the animals had been mistreated, so Link went to check them out.”
Peppa had gasped at the guy owning the animals, but when Kace mentioned their treatment, tears filled her eyes, and she covered her mouth with one hand. “Get to the point, Kace,” I growled. I hated it when my mate cried, and at the moment, Kace was to blame, so my wolf was pacing with irritation and urging me to punish whoever was the source of her distress.
“The man had a female falcon in his basement, and Link immediately freed her, but she couldn’t fly. He started talking to her, and she shifted into a woman. I guess he said something that alerted her to the fact that he knew about shifters, and she felt safe with him.”
Having met Larissa’s father, it was hard to imagine the hardened, badass MC treasurer as someone who women instinctively trusted. Until you saw him with his wife and children. Peppa liked to say he was a hard shell candy with a gooey caramel center.
“Why couldn’t she fly?” I asked, becoming more and more curious about where this was going.
“He’d clipped her wings.”
“He what?” Peppa shrieked, then she immediately slapped both hands over her mouth and looked at the monitor we kept on the bookshelf. Luckily, Cy hadn’t budged an inch. That boy could sleep through tornado sirens in his room.
Kace scrubbed his hands down his face and sighed. “The bastard had no clue what he was doing either. It was a hatchet job. Plus, she was malnourished and hadn’t been allowed to fly free for almost a year. However, Link found a doctor with a local pack, and he assured her that as long as she takes care of herself and rests until she’s done molting and growing new feathers, she should be fine.”
“She should come stay in my house!” Peppa offered excitedly.
Kace and I both chuckled, and after a minute of looking at us like we were crazy, she caught on.
“Duh, that’s the favor you wanted to ask.”
“Yes. And that leads me to the second one. After talking to the woman—Ramsey—she admitted to Link that her captor knew she was a shifter. That’s why he wanted her in his ‘exotic animal collection’ and kept her in the small cage so she couldn’t change.”
“Why is this asshole still breathing?” I snarled. “I would think the pack would’ve taken him out when they found out he was holding one of their own.”
Kace shook his head. “Ramsey is a loner, and the pack doesn’t want to get involved and draw attention to themselves.”
“Cowards,” Peppa grunted with a dark scowl.
“What’s the other favor?” I asked, remembering he’d mentioned more than one.
“Her presence here needs to be kept a secret. Only you two, Zeke and Tane and their mates, and Larissa and I are to know she’s here.”
“Not a problem,” I responded at the same time as Peppa asked, “Why?”
I wasn’t curious by nature, so I’d accepted the task without question. Peppa, on the other hand, loved to know the answers to everything. Just like she wanted to know the ingredients to anything she tasted and liked. She would break it down until she knew every last one and the amounts it took to recreate it. Watching her do it was pretty fucking amazing, too.
“He’s got connections,” Kace stated, his tone filled with frustration. “Someone is selling out shifters, basically auctioning them off to the highest bidder.”
“What the fuck?” I whisper-yelled, completely outraged at this revelation.
Kace jerked his head up and down. “That was pretty much my reaction, too.”
“She’s afraid he’ll find her,” Peppa concluded.
“He’s out in six months, and her recovery could take a year if the molting process is slow.”
Peppa climbed off my lap and stood with her feet braced apart, and her fists jammed onto her hips, about to pounce like the magnificent lioness she was. “Don’t worry, Kace. We’ll protect her. When will she be here? Does she need anything? Clothes? I’ll bring her meals from the restaurant. Do you think—”
“Baby,” I growled. “Sit your pretty little ass down and relax. You just had Cy, and you need to rest too. I’m sure the other women will want to p
itch in anyway.”
Peppa pouted but plopped back down in my lap and snuggled into my arms. “Cason will be here to protect her,” she stated. “She’ll be safe.”
It always made me puff up with pride yet be humbled when my mate exuded such confidence in me. She was a strong, independent, fierce animal, but she trusted me to care for and protect our family.
* * *
Someone pounding on my door woke me up, and I raised my head to look at the clock on the nightstand. Six in the fucking morning? Peppa sighed and cuddled closer to me, her tits pillowing against my chest and making my morning wood stand up and take notice.
The pounding started again, and I muttered a string of obscenities as I reluctantly released Peppa and climbed out of bed. If whoever it was woke up my exhausted mate or my infant pup, on the first night he’d slept more than four hours at a time, I was going to go feral on their ass.
“Peppa! Cason! Open the fucking door!” I heard a man shouting as I neared the front of the house. I recognized Aero’s voice immediately, and my first thought after killing him was that there must have been some kind of a disaster at Timber Treasures.
I hurried the rest of the way to the entrance and unlocked the door before yanking it open. “Calm the fuck down and stop shouting, Aero,” I snapped. “If you wake up Peppa or Cy, I’m gonna break your beak.”
Aero was pacing back and forth in front of the door, but his eyes were glued to the house next to us. Unease crept into my chest, and I almost hoped he said yes to my next question, “Did something happen at the restaurant?”
Aero continued to pace and stare until I stepped in his path. “The restaurant?” I barked.
“What?” Aero’s brow creased as he looked at me with confusion. His normally blue eyes had turned brown with a golden ring around them, telling me that his falcon was incredibly close to the surface. “The restaurant is fine. I need Peppa to let me into her old house.”
Her Destiny Page 5
