Southern Shifters_Lion for Her

by Brandy Walker

  He felt her mouth pinch together against his skin. “What about everyone else?” She asked quietly. “What will they say now that I’m with you?”

  Van had had enough. Maddie was his mate. She bore his mark as proof, just like he bore hers. It had surprised the shit out of him when she’d bitten him. Her sharp canines piercing his skin, smooth hot lips, and hard suction. The euphoric surge that echoed through his body as his essence combined with hers had his toes curling. It was the single most erotic experience in his life. One he never thought he’d ever have when she was with his brother.

  He tipped her chin up, forcing her to look at him. Her green eyes were filled with worry. “When have you ever cared what everyone else thought, Mad Maddie?”

  She crinkled her nose at the name. He knew she didn’t like it when he called her that. But he thought it was cute, and the woman was insane, in a crazy good way, but insane nonetheless. She had to be in order to hang out with him and Mack growing up. They were rowdy and obnoxious when they were younger. Girls had cooties, and they thought the easiest way to get rid of her was to run around and roll in mud. Maddie hadn’t given a shit and had followed right along.

  As they got older, Van had grown quieter. He’d realized he was falling for the cute ligress that could knock him over when they were shifted. He didn’t want to ruin what they had by acting on his feelings. Mack didn’t have such problems and; luckily, it didn’t destroy them all.

  The corner of Maddie’s mouth turned up. Steely determination flickered to life in her beautiful eyes. “Never,” she admitted

  He tapped the tip of her nose with his finger. “Then don’t start now. Everything is in place and ready for us. I’ve talked to Mack, and he’s cool with it. He even expected it to happen. I got both sets of parents together, with Mack, and explained about the mating call he and I both felt, and how we wanted you to decide without any added pressure. They all understood and weren’t the least bit surprised. I promise, sweetheart, everything is going to work out fine. I’ve even gotten us a new apartment to move into.”

  Maddie shifted next to him. “You got us an apartment?”

  “Sure did. I wanted to start fresh with my mate.”

  She blinked a couple of times, then rose up on one elbow and pressed her lips to his. He slid a hand around her waist, pulling her until she was lying half on him. Her pillowy breasts pressed into his chest. It was the best feeling in the world to be able to touch her how he’d always dreamed.

  Her eyes glittered with excitement. “Oh my god, that’s…pretty ballsy of you.” The excitement faded and suspicion took its place. “How did you know I would even be interested in you?”

  “Come on, babe.” He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

  Maddie pushed to a sitting position. Her bare breasts were in complete view, and he could smell her arousal. She may be irritated, but she had no chance of covering up how turned on she was. “No, don’t come on babe, me.”

  Van pushed up to lean against the headboard. “Fine. Did you ever wonder why your mom only ever told you shit about Mack and never talked about me when you asked?”

  Her lips pursed and she narrowed her eyes. “How did you know I asked?”

  “Your mom told me.”

  “Figures. As for Mack, I just assumed she wanted to make me jealous.” She shook her head. “No, that doesn’t make sense. She liked Mack, but she wasn’t convinced we were mates.”

  “But she did think I was.” He placed his hand on her leg and tugged her closer. When he got her where he wanted her, he grazed his hand up and down her thigh. She looked down and frowned but didn’t stop him.

  “Why the hell didn’t she say anything to me? She knew we were having issues.”

  Van shrugged and brushed his knuckles across her belly. It quivered under his touch and Maddie frowned harder. “Stop.”

  “No. I like touching you.”

  “Well, that isn’t my favorite part.”

  “It’s one of mine.” He loved her curves. Every single dip and divot. She had hips made for birthing. Thighs made for cradling him. And an ass that would provide the most exquisite cushion as he pounded into her from behind.

  She rolled her eyes as he imagined she would.

  “And, I guess your mom knew you would never listen to her, and wanted you to figure it out on your own.”

  Maddie opened her mouth to say something, then clamped it shut. A few seconds of silence ticked by. “You aren’t living with Mack anymore?”

  “God no. The only reason I lived with him was so I could see you on a regular basis and pine away quietly. After you two broke up, I moved out. Lived with mom and dad for a bit, then found us a place.”

  “I wish I had known how you felt.”

  Van was about to dip his fingers lower to brush against the small thatch of brown curls leading the way to nirvana but stopped. “Really? Why?”

  Maddie licked her lips nervously, and all he could think about was kissing them again. Or watch those dark pink lips working their way down his dick. Her talented little tongue flicking and caressing his length. An involuntary groan escaped.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, her cute brow furrowed.

  He nodded. “I’m fine. Why do you wish you’d known?” She hesitated longer than he liked. Taking hold of the charged silence, he grazed his fingers over her outer pussy lips.

  A cute blush filled Maddie’s cheeks. She focused somewhere near his neck. He could tell she tried to ignore his fingers pushing between her folds. Her chest rose and fell a little quicker. Taking his time, he found her little nub and rubbed over it lightly. Her breath caught, breasts thrusting forward in a silent plea. He’d love sucking those sweet berries into his mouth, but only after he got what he wanted to hear.

  “Maddie?” He let his lion push to the surface. Let its gruffness filter through his voice. Years of not having her by his side as more than a friend had made the beast a bit more possessive now that he’d had her. Playtime was over.

  She heaved a delighted sigh when Van changed tactics and pushed his middle and pointer fingers into her. He pumped them gently, felt her muscles contract around them. “I’m waiting.”

  “I wouldn’t have felt so guilty when I got turned on around you,” she rushed.

  “You mean when we were all together?”

  She bit her lower lip and hummed before shaking her head. “When it was just the two of us.”

  Van pulled his fingers free of her core, grabbed her, and hauled her up his body. He slammed his lips against hers, thrusting his tongue inside on her gasp. She nestled her legs on either side of his hips and ground against his erection.

  “Are we going to play that game again where I tease your cock until I come?” She asked between kisses.

  He thought that sounded like a stellar idea, but first he needed to know something. “Are you admitting that you’ve had feelings for me all of this time?”

  “Yes. I’ve probably been in love with you since we were kids.”

  “And you didn’t tell me because…”

  “I was with your brother.”

  “And is it possible you two had problems because you were with the wrong twin?”

  “Very much so.” She leaned forward, placing her hands against his chest. She kissed him quickly and sat back a little. “Now, are we going to have sex or what?”

  “One more thing.”

  A sparkle of excitement lit her eyes. “Yes?”

  “Are you going to come home with me and love me the rest of your life?”

  Maddie’s grin lit up her face. “Of course.”

  “Show me,” he growled.

  Chapter Ten

  “Madison Templeton, you get your butt out here right this minute.”

  The high-pitched voice coming through the door was asking for death. Maddie rolled and bumped into Van’s warm body. She hummed and ran her hand down those delicious abs she’d spent a fair amount of time licking the night before.

  Tru
e confession time ended with her sucking his cock before he flipped her onto all fours and pounded her from behind. In the throes of orgasm, he bit her mating mark again. At some point after they’d collapsed, he’d gotten them back under the covers for a catnap.

  Van grabbed her wandering digits and guided them lower.

  She giggled, but they didn’t get far into their playtime.

  “I’m serious, Madison. Get your cute butt out here now or I’m coming in.”

  Maddie and Van both groaned. She kissed him on the lips quickly. “To be continued.”

  Before he could answer, she tossed the covers off and let the cool air wash over their bodies. She hopped out of bed and scrambled for some clothes.

  “Damn it, Maddie.” Van bolted upright at the same time she tossed his jeans in his direction, smacking him in the face. He grumbled and got out of bed.

  The door rattled and they both looked toward it.

  “If you don’t want to get an eyeful, you’d better stop right there, Sienna. I don’t think Gage would appreciate you ogling another man.”

  The rattling stopped abruptly, but unfortunately was followed by her cousin pounding on the door.

  Maddie skipped to the door and ripped it open. “What?!”

  Sienna’s eyes bulged and her mouth dropped open. Her cousin wasn’t looking at Maddie, and the utter wreck she must have appeared. Nope. She had zeroed in on Van. “What the fuck is he doing here?”

  Maddie looked back at her mate. His eyebrows had skyrocketed up in surprise. His hands froze while buttoning his jeans. Tan skin and bare chest. The man had to be a subscriber to 8-minute abs or something. Was there any better sight than that? Damn, he was a yummy, yummy man. Her body clenched in reaction. Her pussy flooded and Van’s nostril’s flared.

  Maddie turned her attention back to her cousin. “Well, we were going to have morning sex. I thought I’d start with a hand-job, then maybe move to a blow-job while he ate me out.” Sienna’s hand came up and she cringed. Maddie smirked. “But you interrupted.”

  “I stopped you from making a colossal mistake,” Sienna said with heat. “Greer told us some guy showed up the other day looking for you. Imagine my surprise when the man he described was the same description as your ex. Why would you get back together with Mack? You said you wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole if he ever came crawling back to you. You know…skank, dick falling off…all of that stuff.”

  That set Van in motion. He came up behind Maddie and wrapped her protectively in his arms. “Because I’m not Mack.”

  Sienna’s eyes got wider, if that was even possible. Gage finally made an appearance. “Sienna, what are you…” His words trailed off, his head swiveled back and forth between Maddie and Van. “Who’s he?”

  Maddie let out an annoyed sigh. “My mate, Van.”

  Gage’s mouth screwed up with confusion. “You mean, as in your ex-boyfriend’s twin brother? Are you sure? He looks like the guy Sienna described. We thought it might be good to get an idea to know what he looked like in case he came hunting for you.”

  “In case Mack or Van came, which one?”

  Gage looked at Sienna, who rolled her eyes and shrugged.

  “Either?” Gage said.

  “That doesn’t sound convincing,” Van murmured.

  “Whatever. I’m sure he’s Van and not Mack. Mack has a softer mouth, and easy smile. Van’s always been a bit more serious. He has a few more worry lines.”

  Maddie reached out and closed Sienna’s mouth. “Good lord woman, get it together.”

  “But…but,” Sienna stammered.

  “But nothing. I’ve always felt something for Van, and he’s always felt something for me. For whatever reason, I ended up with the wrong twin in the beginning, but I know where I truly belong now.” She grinned up at Van, who smiled back. Her heart did that silly flip-flop thing in her chest, and her breath caught in her throat.

  Gage’s chuckle broke through to her love-addled mind. She blinked a couple times, and a blush stole over her cheeks at having been caught mooning over the man holding her like he never planned to let her go.

  “Let’s go, babe,” Gage said to Sienna.

  “What?”

  “Let’s give the mates their privacy. We’ll see ya later.” Gage pulled Sienna away and Van pulled her back out of the doorway. He closed the door and locked it before taking her back to bed where they picked up exactly as they’d left off.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Are you sure you want to leave this here?” Sienna ran her hand along the hood of Maddie’s blue Bug.

  Maddie handed Van the new rolling touring bag he’d picked up for the bike. He’d ridden down with his saddlebags filled, and there wasn’t any place for her few things. They planned to take a week or two heading back home. Spend a little time getting to know each other as more than just friends.

  “Yeah. You guys can use it.”

  Gage chuckled and eyed it skeptically. “I’m not sure many of us can fit in that thing.”

  Maddie pursed her lips and thrust her hands on her ample hips. “I fit in it just fine. Unless you guys are doing some strange clown car trick, then you should be okay.”

  “I’d pay to see that.” Sienna giggled. “Can you imagine Greer, Dean, Bhric, and Calder getting in this thing? It would be hilarious.”

  “They’d probably pop all of the tires,” Gage said, looping an arm around Sienna’s waist.

  Maddie waved her hand dismissively. “Whatever you want to do is fine by me.”

  “Yeah,” Van butt in. “I’ve been trying to find a way to get rid of it since she got it. A grown man can’t be seen riding shotgun in that thing, let alone driving it.”

  Maddie smacked Van lightly on the arm. “You leave Mirabelle alone. I didn’t hear you complain when I was the one driving us around all of the time.”

  “Not out loud at least,” he grumbled and looked away.

  “If you hated it that much, why didn’t you just crush it with your big manly lion paws then?”

  “Believe me, babe, I thought about it. But it would have crushed you, so I didn’t.” He grinned and grabbed her, planting a kiss on her lips.

  “What are you going to do for a ride once you get home?”

  “Me.” Van was quick to respond.

  Maddie frowned. “I’m not sure yet, but I’ll figure it out. I’ll also need to figure out what to do for a job.”

  “You could always open up a bakery. We could have Sweet Retreat Too up in Sugar Mountain. I bet they’d go wild for donuts there just like they do here,” Sienna said.

  Maddie hummed and thought it over. “It’s certainly an idea. I had a blast working in your shop, and shifters have such a sweet tooth.”

  Van snorted. “Yeah, we do. But you don’t need to decide now. We’ve got some time to figure it all out, and right now I just want to spend as much time together with my mate as possible.” Van let go of her and walked to his bike. He grabbed the helmet he’d bought her and picked up his own.

  Another gift from her mate, the first being himself. He’d gotten them brand new helmets with cool communication sets, so they could talk to each other while on their trip.

  “Go give your cousin a hug so we can get out of here,” he nudged her in Sienna’s direction.

  Maddie and Sienna said their goodbyes. Gage kissed her on the cheek, even under a roaring threat from Van.

  Van helped her put on her helmet and flipped her face shield up. He checked the mic and made sure she could hear him okay.

  A flip of the switch and his bike came to life. Maddie climbed behind him, wrapping her hands around his waist without hesitation, and sighed happily. Her trip to visit her cousin had indeed changed her life.

  Van reversed the bike and pointed them in the right direction. “You ready for our first adventure together, mate?” Van’s voice came through loud and clear in her headset.

  “You better believe it, mate. And Van?”

  “Yes?”

&nb
sp; “Love you.” His chest came alive under her fingertips, sending a rush through her body. The rumble of his lion burst free at her proclamation.

  “Love you, too.” He finally said, right before gunning the engine and taking off.

  THE END

  About the Author

  Brandy is a paranormal romance author who, on occasion, likes to dabble with contemporary. She’s addicted to murder mystery shows and who-done-its. You’ll almost never see her without some type of skull paraphernalia on and is always dreaming of more tattoos.

  Brandy is a Navy brat, prior enlisted Army, current Army wife, and mom. She lives in Virginia with her husband of almost 20 years, their three kids, and one dog.

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  email: brandy@brandywalker.net

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