The Mating (Black on Black, #1)

by BJ Cunningham

  Growling, she tangled both hands in the soft white fabric of his shirt. She wanted to rip it to shreds, as though destroying it would remove what she had done and the way she felt it coming between them. Instead, she leaned into him, losing herself in the taste and feel of his lips and tongue.

  Jared purred loudly, the spicy spike in her scent making him want to ravage her.

  Sliding her hands down, she dipped under the tail of his shirt and scraped her nails softly up and down his sides. "No bloodshed?"

  Cupping her ass, he growled against her lips and shook his head no. “Keep that up, and it’s back to bed for you, Baby.”

  Serra smirked and nipped his lower lip. “You started it.”

  “And I’ll finish it too.” He sucked on her neck.

  She purred and bit his shoulder. “Promise?”

  Nodding, he went back to nibbling on her neck.

  Tearing open his shirt, popping buttons off to ricochet over the hardwoods, she pushed it over his shoulders with a wicked smile. Her fingers slid over the Edge tattoo, smiling as it moved and shimmered slightly. She was still getting used to that. Cupping his face between her hands, she pulled his lips back to hers, purring loudly. She needed this, to reconnect with him and the new life they were building, and to block out the past.

  Lifting her with a growl, he pushed her against the wall. Her nails on his chest sent heat straight to his groin. Ignoring the stirring of Edge when he moved, Jared knew the demon was trying to go deeper to hide from them. Smirking, he claimed her lips hard. “Mine.” He growled out, ghosting her bare to him. As the cold air hit her body, goose bumps broke over her skin. Using his arms, Jared lifted her a bit more so he could lean down and reach her breasts, letting his mouth roam over them.

  Growling when her back pressed into the wall, Serra licked and swirled her tongue with his like he was the last sip of water on the planet. Her hands tangled in his hair, and her head fell back when he lifted her. Her clothes disappeared. Thank fuck for that.

  Edge mindlinked Jared. ‘You know if you use your teeth, the little kitten will go nuts. Just saying.’

  ‘All in due time.’ Jared linked the demon back.

  His mouth on her skin was cranking up the temperature and making her quiver. “Gods Jared.” She purred, her nails digging into his back and marking his skin. She ghosted away his pants.

  In between exploring her breasts one at a time, he looked up at her. ‘Tell me what you want,’ he linked her, groaning at her nails sinking into the Sainday mark on his back. Feeling his pants vanish, he thought about how well the wall could hold them. He smirked at the thought of fucking her so hard the wall broke, but he didn’t want to hurt her.

  Pressing her shoulders against the wall, Serra wrapped her legs around his waist and nuzzled his neck. Pulling back, she bit her lip, one side of her mouth curling up playfully. She knew that smirk. Fuck she loved that smirk. Scraping her nails over his skin, she leaned closer to purr into his ear. “Fuck me, Jared.” Nipping his ear, she tugged it with her teeth. “Hard.”

  Smirking at her, Jared let his arms drop. As she slid down his body, he thrusted his pelvis. His length caught her and his hands on her ass lifted her as he worked his hips. “Your wish is my command.” His words came out in a growl as he took her hard against the wall. The pictures hanging there started to rattle in rhythm with them.

  Tightening her legs, Serra dug her heels into the base of his spine and pressed against the wall for leverage, she arched against him working her body over his cock. The air rushed out of her lungs with each thrust that pinned her to the wall, her body tightening, skin shrinking and waves of pleasure radiating through her.

  Edge mindlinked Jared, ‘Bend your knees a little. You’ll have more leverage.”

  Jared heard Edge’s tip but said nothing and focused on making his mate come apart like a cheaply made rag doll. As the pictures fell from the wall, he made sure that none hit her. Thrusting harder into her, he felt her nails grip him. “Harder baby, make me bleed,” he said with a grunt leaning his face into her neck, Jared felt his fangs drop. He hadn’t forgotten how good she’d tasted the night they mated. "Fuck." He panted out, the wall wasn't giving him what he wanted. Still holding her, he spun them and dropped her on the edge of the bed, slipped her legs over his shoulders and took hold of her ankles, pushing her legs back. Looking down between them, he watched her core fill itself with him over and over again.

  Serra growled her frustration and sunk her claws into him when she felt his fangs scrape against her skin, but he didn’t bite. She needed to feel his teeth break her skin, more than she needed her next breath. “Fuck, Jared” She groaned when he dropped her onto the bed, bouncing against him before she was rolled up. Growling louder as she pushed herself over him with feral lust, she dug her claws into his shoulders again pulling him closer. "Bite me damn it," she demanded turning her head to the side and exposing her throat.

  Letting one leg drop so that he could reach her, Jared licked her slow before sinking his fangs into her neck. Growling, he drilled her hard, taking long pulls of her blood.

  She shivered at the damp softness of his tongue and when his fangs pierced her skin she came so violently that she was positive something had broken beyond repair. Screaming his name as her teeth elongated, she sunk them into his shoulder, groaning as their heartbeats fell into the same rhythm and she felt like she was as deep inside him as he was her.

  Letting her other leg drop over his arm as he felt his own blood start to trickle down his chest. ‘Fuck, Serra.’ He linked her as he felt her strangle him with her core. Feeling himself almost melt into her as their hearts pounded together becoming one.

  ‘Gods Jared, I love you.’ She linked him, savoring the coppery sweetness of his blood on her tongue.

  The world fell away from him as her voice filled his head. He had never felt this with anyone. Heather had never even touched the surface of this or his feelings for Serra, and he’d gone to prison for her. At that moment he knew that Serra owned him entirely. She held the one thing no woman ever had, his heart. As they fed from each other, he plunged himself into her over and over again loving how hard she released on him, wanting her to do it again. Wanting to make her weak from pleasure and passion. ‘I love you too Serra.’ He linked back, pulling his fangs from her throat licking the wound closed, tilting his head and giving her free reign.

  Something about the tone of his voice in her head shattered something she hadn’t realized was there. Taking one last draw, she pulled her fangs free carefully, licking at the torn skin and pulling his lips down to hers to taste their blood mingled as their tongues slid against one another, slowly. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for him. The realization hit her like a train wreck. Pulling back to meet his hazel gaze, she rolled her hips against him, purring in the back of her throat and nipping at his lips with a soft smile. “Come for me, Baby.” Her eyes moved over his face, memorizing every line and curve. Fuck, she loved him.

  Staring at her for a moment, the urge to be rough with her left him. He slowed a bit, making love to her. Kissing her lips, he let his lips glide over her jaw and down to her neck. She begged again for him to cum but he wasn’t ready. The moment meant too much to him. “Not yet baby.” He whispered.

  She growled against his lips when he slowed everything down, confused at first until that growl became a purr and his lips turned soft and made butterflies flutter in her stomach. Turning her head and moaning softly as his lips moved over her skin, she rolled her core over him, building a warm tension in her body as her hands took their time exploring the planes of his back. Everything moved slower, but she felt it deeper like it was more than just two bodies pounding out a moment of pleasure.

  As her core worked him, he wasn’t able to hold back and exploded into her, hard. “Serra!” Holding on to her tight as his body emptied into her. Looking down at her his heart was pounding. “Damn.”

  His release filling her, pushed her over the edge, coming with
him in a full bodied, oh my fucking god, orgasm that left her clinging to him and panting for breath. Smiling, she bit her lip before nipping his jaw. “Hells yeah, damn.”

  Kissing her slowly, he moved off her because he was about to drop. He laid on the bed next to her, purring and stroking her hair.

  She rolled toward him, her fingers stroked his chest while her eyes caressed his face. Turning her head to press her lips to his palm, she purred. “Mine,” she whispered closing her eyes.

  “Always,” he promised, tucking her against his side.

  Zander lay in human form on his bed. He’d been trying to sleep for hours, but every time he closed his eyes he saw Ty and his smug face. Zander was so young when he learned the truth about his father or the male he thought was his father. Frank Morgan had slaughtered his birth parents, and Salvation made him take on Zander than the triples as punishment for what he had done.

  “He’s not your brother. I know you think you’re doing the right thing by Frank, but I’m telling you everything you know is a lie,” Ty said staring at the young liger. “And it gets worse.”

  “What do you mean he killed my parents?” Zander asked, confused. He’d always wondered why Frank seemed so happy when Jared came along, but by the time that happened Zander, and the triplets were on their own.

  They ha been cast out of the mountain after an incident with an Antelope Garou that got out of hand before Brenda had given birth. It had robbed them of their chance to grow up with Jared. Part of him wished he had that bonded with his panther brother, but after finding out the truth he only wanted to make Frank pay and that meant taking out his precious son.

  “Salvation sent Frank on a mission, and it went wrong. He wasn’t supposed to kill Ander and Zye. Just capture them and bring them back to Sal.”

  “You’re full of shit,” he growled, considering disemboweling the God for even suggesting it. Zander didn’t want to believe that the man he worshiped could do that. Frank had never said a word to Zander about his being adopted and definitely not about him and the trips being a punishment. If anything, he seemed to push Zander harder. Telling him that because he was different, he needed to be stronger, smarter and prove himself to Sal, and the others.

  Ty chuckled and waved his hand over the table. What reminded Zander of Star Trek holograms appeared, and the scene played out just like he said. Two shifters, the male, held a close resemblance to Zander and the female looked like the trips. Zander’s chest ached and even though his mind was screaming that it was all a lie, he couldn’t deny what he was seeing.

  From that moment on, Zander vowed to make Frank pay. For what he had taken from them. For making him believe the lie. For making Zander love him and want to make the male proud. It was all a crock of shit. His entire life. That was over. The memory Ty had shown him played in his head. He had never told his brothers this until he let it slip last week in the Irish pub. Now that they knew, the triplets were on the same page of not letting Frank, or anyone close to him, live.

  Zander’s six foot, seven, body barely fit on his bed. His rolled on his side and ran his hand over his shaved head. The peach fuzz under his hand felt good on his rough hand. He closed his sky blue eyes when he felt them flare with anger at thinking of it all.

  He thought about going to see if the triplets were awake. He listened to the sounds of the house they shared. It was quiet. The triplets were sound asleep. He sighed and let his mind wander.

  He’d always found it odd that no one could tell the Trips apart. They were tall. Six foot, three with hair the color of fire and eyes as dark as night. They all looked skinny as a twig, but they were all muscle. They were almost identical. The only difference was the birthmark in their eyes. Stone’s was in his right eye a black mark, Jet was on his left, and Rocky had none. Zander decided to give up the ghost and rolled out of bed to do what he did every night since Ty had told him. He went in search of more information about his real parents and what had led to their murders.

  CHAPTER 17

  After putting the Cubs down for a nap, Jared stripped down to his sweats and went to work out in the home gym. He stretched a bit before going to the weights. Bending down, the cool steel of the bar between the weights hit his palms as he lifted it. He didn’t need to look up to know that he wasn’t alone. “What do you want?”

  Zev smiled. “How’d you know I was here?” He asked, remaining invisible to the panther.

  “You forgot a few things about me, and after our last chat, you forgot to take back your toys. I’m keeping them, by the way. They have become super handy.” Jared went back to his workout as the Ghuardian finally made himself visible.

  “Have you found Zander yet?” Zev asked, looking at his nails.

  “If I had found him, I’d have a fucking Liger skin rug on my living room floor.”

  Zev stared at him, letting his annoyance show. “How’s the demon working out for you?”

  Jared wondered if he wanted the truth. Probably not. So he told him what he wanted to hear. “Wonderful. He’s a big help, for the most part.” Zev’s brow quirked up at Jared’s smirk. “You wouldn’t understand. Then again, you probably knew the truth, and that’s why you spun it this way.”

  Zev gasped dramatically. “I would never...”

  “Bullshit. You think I’m that stupid? People always underestimate me. Which is fine by me.” Turning to look at him with a barbell in each hand, Jared wanted to put one upside the Guardian’s head. It would be so sweet. “Why don’t you just kill him yourself? I mean you have that power, right? I know Sal does. So, why can’t you?”

  “If I kill him, it makes a mess for me, but if someone else does it, then everything can be fudged.” Zev leaned against the wall.

  “And God forbid a fuckin Ghardian does anything on their own. You know man, I ain’t your fucking puppet. I’ve got too much to lose. I’m done. Go ask someone else to do this shit.” Jared’s voice was stone cold serious.

  Zev came at him, reaching out and grabbing Jared by the throat. A flash of light filled the room, and the Ghuardian was blasted back, landing on his ass. “The fuck?”

  Jared smiled at him. “I told you, I’ve got toys. You forget. I’m a convict. I picked up some tricks in the joint. Like sticky fingers.”

  Zev growled and flipped to his feet. “Panther, what did you take of mine?”

  Jared was still grinning at him. “That’s for me to know and for you to find out.”

  Zev growled and cursed in some ancient language that sounded a lot like a cat hacking up a fur ball.

  “Same to you, man.”

  “Look, Panther, I don’t know how you got into my home or what you did. But if you want to live, you’ll work with me. Not against me.”

  Staring at Zev, Jared smiled coldly. “Okay, but I have some conditions. And you can’t tell me no, or no dice. I’ll let your ass blow in the wind. I may even go to Ozzy with all of this shit. I know you don’t want Alpha Pride in the way.”

  Zev growled again and glowered at him. “What do you want, Panther?” He said, his voice full of malice.

  “I want your word that if I do this, yet again, and it comes down to me having to die, you’ll break my bond with Serra and set Edge free. I don’t want anyone being hurt or ending up dead. Not for this shit.” He kept his face blank, not wanting the Ghardian to know how much he hated this.

  Zev pushed his hands through his hair. “What if I say no?”

  “Then,” Jared dropped the barbells, the sound of metal clattering on the floor and echoing loudly. “You can kiss my black, furry nuts. Cause I know what Zander is capable of and I don’t want my family hurt. Even if the demon doesn’t seem all too happy to be part of it, he will not die over this. He just found his children again.”

  Zev laughed “Ain’t life funny? His son is banging your ex.”

  “Yes, it’s a world of chuckles. I don’t give a tin shit about that. It’s not my business what they do, but if I end up taking their father away? I know how Kanon are
about holding a grudge and getting even. I don’t want him to take it out on my kids and mate. We got a deal or what?”

  Zev nodded “Deal, but I don’t want Zander dead. I want to know what he’s up to, and why he thinks your father killed his parents. I’ll be in touch Panther. I'll figure out what you took, and I’ll get it back,” Zev said calmly.

  Smirking at him, Jared shook his head. “Sorry Zevy Boy, you getting it back is like Salvation and being a dick, parting ways. Hell will have to freeze over twice before it happens.” Knowing that look of anger that popped onto the Ghuardian’s face as he left, Jared had to laugh. “It’s a shame they’re so powerful and yet so powerfully stupid.” He grinned like the cat who swallowed the canary and went back to working out.

  Jared ghosted to the second floor of The Pit. He felt like he’d just sold his soul to the devil and that everything that was solid in his life had become nothing but a house of cards that even the tiniest whisper could destroy. Things had been off with Serra. He knew that there were things that she wasn’t telling him, and it made his gut twist. Heather had kept secrets. So had Emma. Was this just another ass fucking from life? He shook his head, pushing the hair back from his face, remembering this morning with Serra. He’d never felt closer to anyone. She was part of him, the part that he would protect with everything he had.

  Nodding to Brax, who leaned against the rail of the landing that overlooked the bar below he wondered how anyone confused the quads. They may look like carbon copies, but their mannerisms, personalities, and scents all but screamed who they were. “Brian around?” Jared braced his hands on the rail and searched the crowd below.

  Brax scratched his beard and glanced over his shoulder. “He’s here somewhere.” Shrugging, he went back to scrolling through his phone.

  Jared arched a brow. The fucking bear was glued to his phone, twenty-four/seven. He doubted that he put it down even to sleep. “Thanks,” he muttered and went down the stairs, nodding at Blade who looked bored out of his mind. Jared didn’t blame him. Stair duty was a soul sucker, but the clinic was on the third floor, and humans were nosey and wandered. It was a necessary evil.