“I never wanted a natural childbirth at home. I wanted a hospital, with lots of drugs and nurses and doctors. I don’t tolerate pain well, Cezar!”
He frowned. “Little mate, what are you talking about?”
“You knocked me up! I’m pregnant and gonna have a giant prehistoric bird!”
“What?!” Cezar shouted and stepped back. “What? You’re pregnant?!”
I gestured to my body as though he should’ve been able to see it. “Look at me! There’s an egg in there!”
“Okay, stop calling it a bird. Dragons are not birds, Cherry.” He knelt in front of me and pressed his head to my belly. “We made a youngling?”
“Am I going to die? How am I going to give birth to a giant dragon egg?”
“Our child will not be in dragon form when you birth him…or her. And he or she will definitely not be an egg.” He looked up at me with stars in his eyes. “We’re having a youngling!”
“You didn’t answer my question. Am I going to die in childbirth?”
“No! You’re not going to die. I watched that movie you were talking about and it’s disgusting. You really think I’m some awful creature like that?”
Well, when he put it like that. I took a few calming breaths and shrugged. “Sometimes, you’re a monster.”
He laughed and pulled me onto the floor with him. “You think so? You think I am a monster?”
I slapped his hands away when he tried to tickle me, but he held both of my arms down with one hand and tickled me with the other. “Don’t make me laugh! This is serious!”
“Monsters are serious business! Do not dare laugh!” He pulled my shirt up and blew a raspberry on my stomach. “Our youngling’s first memory.”
Despite myself, I found that I was laughing with him and suddenly thinking about what he would be like as a father. Amazing, without a doubt. Just like he’d proven to be an amazing mate. Generous and kind, he gave me what I needed, when I needed it. He had even learned how to calm me down when I started to, as Chyna said, “overdramatize things.”
“You’re going to be the very best mother, Cherry.”
“I hope so. I didn’t get much of an example of that the way I grew up.”
He wrapped me in his arms and pulled me on top of him. “I did not have an example of a good dad, either. That doesn’t matter, though. We can give our young everything we did not have.”
“We’re going to have a baby.”
“Shall we tell the others since you haven’t been able to stop projecting your thoughts to everyone yet?” He grunted when I elbowed him in the stomach.
Cezar, you really have to stop beating yourself up about your small…problems.
“And you call me a monster. Listen to yourself.” Cezar rolled us over so that he was on top of me. “I should spank your bottom. That would teach you.”
I smiled a smile that came from deep in my heart because there was no other place in the world I’d rather be and no other person I’d rather be with. I’d found home and I knew that I didn’t have to worry about courting anything other than my big dragon.
I projected again. Hey, guys. We’re having a baby.
Cezar grinned. Or a large bird egg. My Cherry has not decided yet.
I laughed. “This means war, mister.”
I screamed when he brandished his long teeth at me and jumped to his feet, looming over me. “Cezar, no!”
He squatted in an attack position. “Better run, little human. The big, dragon monster is coming for you.”
I flew to my feet and out of the room, Cezar right on my heels. I was never able to get very far away from him, but it didn’t matter. The chase was a game we both loved and it never failed to end in a series of rapturous, explosive orgasms for the both of us.
How strange life was. All I had wanted was to turn a new page in my life. That was the thing I loved about books, though, you never knew what was gonna happen on the next page. Who knew my new page would reveal adventure and romance to rival the wildest adventure book in my beloved library?
“Slow down, Cezar! You’re chasing too fast!”
“Have you become slower already? How will you ever escape me sinking my teeth into that sweet flesh of yours, little mate?”
As though I wanted to.
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Enjoy A Free Sneak Peek…
WOLF BOSS: She-Shifters of Hell’s Corner Book 1 (SNEAK PEEK)
1
Carter
My living room had become an informal meeting place for some of the ladies—my new friends—here in Helen’s Corner. The girls were discussing effective advertising for the upcoming fall season, hoping to lure more tourists to town.
My personal opinion would not have been helpful, so I kept it to myself. Personally, I didn’t want tourists. They were stressful and I didn’t like so many strangers traipsing around. I, however, didn’t have a business to run. The women around me did, and they depended on the tourists to keep them open and running. Which was why I didn’t chime in. My vote would have been to put up roadblocks and maybe even barricades and quarantines to keep newcomers out of the little town of Helen’s Corner, a.k.a. Hell’s Crazy Corner, the place that had recently become home for my daughter and me.
Muddy Hilton, friend, owner of Muddy’s Corner Bed and Breakfast, and my employer, had the floor. It was easy for her to attract the attention of whatever room she entered. In addition to her bold and take-charge personality, her vibrant red hair and peaches-and-cream complexion turned heads. “I liked the year that we all dressed up as witches. I wore those thigh-high boots with the pointed toes and I didn’t have to shave my legs all season.”
Sonnie Chaplan shook her head. “No, it’s not politically correct. I have a friend in Austin who’s Wiccan, and she says that it’s offensive to dress that way because witches look like normal people, not old hags with pointy hats and warts on their noses.”
“Well, now I’m offended. What do old hags look like?” Muddy’s mom, Grace Ellen, piped up. Grace Ellen owned a flea market called Another Woman’s Treasure and looked nowhere near her age. At sixty, she could’ve passed for forty.
“Nothing at all like you, Mom.” Muddy rolled her eyes and held up her hands. “Okay, witches are out. I’m one more rejection away from suggesting we do a month in our bra and panties. Anything to get people in here. Last year, I barely made enough to keep the doors open.”
Sonnie sighed and stared out my open front windows and across the road at her little flower shop. It’s Sonnie Out Flowers hadn’t fared any better, or so I’d heard. “Maybe they won’t mind. The Wiccans, I mean. In the name of sisterhood and all that, maybe it wouldn’t be too offensive.”
Charlie—Charlotte only if you were her mother—Monroe stood up and pointed at Muddy. “Maybe you’re onto something with the bra and panties.”
“Says the woman who owns the underwear shop,” Grace Ellen laughed.
“That’s lingerie,” Charlie corrected, “not underwear.”
“Well, in any case, I can’t afford to get anymore pretty bloomers from you than I already have, Charlie.” Grace Ellen’s words were pointed, but she smiled with a certain graciousness.
“Ahh, but look at my latest,” Charlie grinned and pulled up her T-shirt, revealing a beautiful lace-detailed bra that hugged her generous bust line perfectly. None of us was the least bit ruffled by her display. She was always flashing us her boobs to show off her new designs. “I just finished this one for myself.”
“Oooh…Can you make me one in pink?” Sonnie pulled up her own shirt and showed off another of Charlie’s impressive designs. “I’m wearing this one out. It’s just so pretty. Even though no one can see it, I feel beautiful just knowing it’s there beneath my clothing.”
I scanne
d my living room and, like some sort of soft-porn pajama party, all the women were showing off their Charlie Monroe Specialty Designs—CMSD—as the black-and-white sign over her store proudly displayed. Her shop did well all year ‘round because the women of Helen’s Corner couldn’t stay away from it.
When Muddy realized my bosom was still completely covered, she made a face at me and nodded toward my shirt. “Well? What are you wearing, Carter?”
Hanes. From before they were chic. I smoothed my hands down my shirt and shrugged. “Carter’s Secret.”
“Well, it’s not Charlie’s Specialty Designs.” Charlie wagged her finger at me. “No matter how many times I beg, you still haven’t let me fit you for one of my creations.”
“And no matter how many times I say I don’t need fancy undies, you still won’t listen.” I patted my chest and shrugged. “No one’s going to be seeing these babies for a very long time.” If ever.
Denny Wade, named after the restaurant chain because her momma, who was always in between one addiction or another, was in the midst of food cravings when she gave birth to her daughter, barged through my front door with all the finesse of a bull in ballet shoes. I watched as a framed picture of my brother and daughter started to fall.
Muddy reached out and caught it, showing off her shifter reflexes. “And Denny has arrived.”
“Sorry. Sorry about the picture. Sorry. Oof.” Denny dropped onto my favorite chair, which was half-covered in a faux fur throw and had a matching ottoman. She looked around the room and blew out a big breath. “Sorry, do you happen to have any dessert, Carter? I need something sweet. Or rich. Or just something with lots of butter.”
I stood up and smiled at her, thankful to have the attention off of my five-year-old Hanes bra. “You’re just in time. I’ve got strawberry bourbon cupcakes with maple drizzle and fresh lemon zest, but only if you tell us what’s got you so frazzled.”
Charlie raised an eyebrow. “I’m not done with you, Carter.”
Denny was already off on her story, though, so I was able to escape to the kitchen. It was the only room in the house that was completely put together. The rest still had moving boxes that I hadn’t yet unpacked, despite the fact that Jellybean and I had been in Helen’s Corner for a couple of months already. I had two dozen cupcakes that I’d finished icing only an hour or so before. The women always managed to know and “stop by” whenever I was trying out new recipes. I guess that was to be expected in a town of predominantly female shifters. Their heightened sense of smell was one thing, but when it came to sweets, a she-shifter could sniff ‘em out for miles.
“Hey, do you—” Muddy stopped when she saw me and frowned. “I’m sorry, Carter. You’re missing Jellybean, huh?”
She’d caught me staring at my daughter’s latest artistic creation hanging on the fridge. It was a colorful crayon drawing of her Uncle Cannon and his mate, Uncle Matt, standing next to Jellybean and me. My arm was around an indistinguishable, swirly blur of color that looked a bit like a rainbow tornado.
Since Cannon had found his mate, she was obsessed with the idea of me being with someone. If I didn’t miss her so much, I’d almost be glad for the break from her subtle and not-so-subtle hints. She was visiting her uncles, Matt and Cannon, at their home in Burden, Texas, for a few weeks. I touched the blur and sighed a sigh of single mom’s guilt. My daughter wanted a dad.
I snatched my hand away from that damned blur and tried to shake off the bad feeling I got every time I thought of bringing another man into our life. “Yeah, I am. She’s only been gone for a couple of days and I’m already going a little stir crazy.”
“I’ll be sure to keep you busy, then.” She grabbed a stack of napkins and waved them. “Come on. Stuffing your face with one of these cupcakes will make you feel better. Plus, she’ll be home before you know it.”
I nodded. It was true. I needed the time she was gone to try to get our home in order. There was never any time to unpack when she was home. She required full time supervision. She had too much of me and Cannon in her. She was wild and brave and everything good in the world somehow, despite what we’d gone through.
I grabbed the cupcake stands and smiled. “Let’s go hear what Denny’s been up to.”
2
Alec
An engagement trip? What the fuck was an engagement trip? I never knew there was such a thing until I was informed that I had to clear time in my schedule for an engagement trip to a strange little town out in the middle of nowhere. A place called Helen’s Corner. We’d just pulled up outside the B&B on Main Street. The sign out front read Muddy’s Corner Bed and Breakfast.
I admit, I wasn’t exactly sure what I’d signed up for when I’d agreed to marry Chelsie, but I certainly had no idea it would include a trip to one of the most remote towns in the American Southwest.
I had important work to do, and all I wanted was to be back at the office in New York to tackle it. I was juggling a huge merger with Dames, Inc., and I wanted to be in the office to handle it myself. If anything went wrong, we could lose the chance at getting Patterson Furniture into a major market in North America. The merger meant the opportunity to turn my million-dollar company into a billion-dollar company. The whole engagement trip was an annoyance.
But, being engaged to the daughter of the man who called the shots at Dames, Inc., Arthur Dames himself, meant that I did what I had to do to make sure she was happy. If she wanted to visit Helen’s Corner, then Helen’s Corner it was.
Chelsie peered at me over the roof of the car and snapped a picture with her phone. She looked at it and then made a face. “Bay-bee, would you smile? You look so cranky. I don’t want to post this to my Instagram with your miserable sour-puss face.”
I tried to look like I wasn’t ready to slam my head in the car door, but judging by her frown, I wasn’t succeeding. I opened the trunk and removed our bags. “I’m not miserable. I just have a lot of work to get done before dinner tonight.”
She looked up from her phone and sighed. “Work, work, work. It’s all you do, Alec.”
“I know. I tried to warn you of that before we started this trip. With the merger, there’s a lot that needs to be taken care of. Things are stressful right now.”
“Well, planning a wedding is stressful, too. You don’t see me ignoring you, though, do you?” She tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked back down at her phone. I found myself wishing she’d ignore me a little more.
I supposed that stemmed from the fact that I wasn’t used to having someone else in my life. Something I’d have to work on. Relationships were hard work, or so I’d heard. I’d never been in a real relationship before. Nothing that lasted more than a few months, anyway. Until Chelsie.
I’d have to make a concerted effort on this trip to act interested in the things that were important to her like… I wasn’t quite sure what was important to her other than shopping, parties, and social media.
Well, there it was. Something to work on over the next few days. Finding out her interests.
“Come on, Alec. I’ve got to figure out where the girls took their pictures. We’re going to need to up our game to outdo Madison and Edward. Theirs were stunning.” Her demands always irked me a little bit, but Chelsie was Chelsie. She was headstrong, a quality I generally admired. People said the same about me.
As I followed her through the front door of the quaint bed and breakfast, she was still talking, something about her sorority sisters and their photos, but there was a scent in the air that was incredible. My mouth watered. I tipped my head back and inhaled deeply. Delicious. Even with my shifter senses, I couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from. It seemed to just float in the air.
“What’s that smell?” Even my wolf stirred, agitated we couldn’t figure in which direction to go to chase it. Huh. He never stirred.
“Jeez, Alec, subtle much? It’s just an old house.” Chelsie stopped at the front desk, her hand already slapping the bell to announce our presence.
> “Not that. It smells sweet. Like cupcakes and… I don’t know, something else.” It was like sweet vanilla cupcakes with buttercream icing. My wolf loved it. He was practically tail-wagging like a pup.
A tall woman with bright red hair walked in, all smiles. “I couldn’t help overhearing you. It is cupcakes. My friend Carter does all the baking for us, and she’s uh-may-zing. I don’t know what she made earlier, but lucky for us, the smell always lingers. I can’t say the same for the cupcakes, though. Those are gone like that.” She snapped her fingers.
Chelsie flashed her best fake smile and moved in closer to the woman, looking like she was ready to make a new best friend. Chelsie was slick. In fact, I could probably learn a thing or two from her to aid in my business dealings. It was barely detectable that her smile wasn’t genuine. I’d posed for enough ridiculous Instagram photos with her lately to know, but it was unlikely others could tell.
“Do you work here?” Chelsie cooed. “We’re on our engagement trip and need to check in.”
“I’m Muddy, owner of Muddy’s Corner Bed and Breakfast. You’re the future Mr. and Mrs. Patterson, I presume?”
I almost winced. Why did the sound of that make me squirm? I guess it was because I’d been a bachelor for so long. I never thought I’d hear a Mrs. attached to my name. One more thing I needed to get used to.
Long-term commitments had never been my thing. My life revolved around business 24/7. There’d never been a shortage of women around to satisfy my sexual needs, but I went for the “no hassles, no headaches” types. I was a busy man. My idea of long term was having breakfast together in the morning. Until Chelsie, of course.
“Alec Patterson. Nice to meet you.” She shook my hand with a firm grip and went around behind the desk, where she produced a set of keys. “Nice to meet the both of you. I hope you’ll enjoy your stay with us. I prepared your room myself this morning.”
Fire Breathing Cezar: Dragons of the Bayou Book 2 Page 12
