Sunshine Mated (Ouachita Mountain Shifters Book 8)

by P. Jameson

  “Gonna show you how mine you are. Gonna make sure the whole fucking world knows.”

  And that was all it took. She was lost to pleasure, lost to the feel of his powerful body thrusting above her. The feel of him deep inside, changing her in a permanent way. His darkness meeting her light, swirling them together to form something new and better. The scales balancing. The topsy-turvy righting.

  In a quick move, Mason brought the back of her right hand flat to the mattress so her palm was exposed. He kissed her hard, driving into her once, twice, before she felt hot jets of his release filling her. Branding. She felt their mating bond strengthen. More solid than she could have imagined. It was like seeing clearly for the first time, and only then realizing you’d been nearly blind.

  Adira gasped in his mouth as a sharp pain slashed across her palm, but he didn’t stop. Not until he’d wrung every twitch and shiver from her body. Not until they were both wrung dry.

  By the time he pulled back to stare at her, the burning in her palm was fading. But the soft, dazed look in his eyes would have taken any pain away. A trill of satisfaction raced along her spine. She’d done that. Made her cat look like that.

  And she’d do it again. A million times even. Because they had the rest of their lives. They had forever. Because of Ouachita, they had this. And she’d never forget what this wild and crazy, faithful, lionhearted group of shifters had given her.

  “There,” Mason said, satisfied. He eased out of her, hissing at the tight grip her body still had on him.

  Falling to his side, he pulled her into his arms, bringing her marked hand between them and cradling it like it was precious. Two jagged claw marks cut diagonally over her palm. They were shallow, barely bleeding, but she knew they’d leave a scar.

  A smile the size of North America spread across her face. Her mating mark was perfect.

  Mason blew lightly on the wound. “Does it hurt?”

  “Not bad.” She couldn’t stop smiling.

  “I’ve watched this hand do magic for our people time and time again. It seemed only right to mark it up with a new kind of magic.”

  “Ours.” She beamed.

  He grinned back, brushing his thumb over the corner of her mouth. “Yeah, ours, Sunshine.”

  “I love it.”

  His smile faded to intense. “I love you. Do you feel it?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, snuggling closer.

  “Good.” He pressed her marked palm to his chest, closing his eyes on a heavy sigh. “Good.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Mason stood on one side of the glass wall, arms crossed over his chest, watching intently what was on the other side. Slowly, his head angled to get a better view. Left, then right. Left again. His eyes narrowing to take in every detail. And goddamn, what a fan-fucking-tastic view.

  Shh. I can hear you. You’re making it very hard to concentrate. Sunshine’s voice was harsh in his mind but it was tinged with something sweet. The promise of the lecherous things she was going to let him do to her tonight.

  Preaching to the choir, baby. I’m having a hard time concentrating too. Very hard time. Hard. I’m hard.

  He watched through the glass as a smile played at her lips. It’s impossible to hold these poses when you’re talking.

  I’m not talking.

  When you’re thinking.

  Don’t worry. My mind is getting blown riiiiiiight about now.

  Through the glass his mate bent forward, walking her hands along the thin rubber mat under her feet, until her elbows touched the ground and her fine, fine ass was pointed high in the air.

  “Yoga, man,” Ryan murmured to his right, reminding him there were other people in the room. Other females on the opposite side of the glass. He was blind to them all except Sunshine.

  Mason turned to find his friend dazedly watching his own mate. Magic, Renner, Eagan, Owyn, Gash, Thames, and Theo were all in a similar mind blown state.

  This was life now. They were all finally at a place where they could enjoy it. And it. Was. Splendid.

  The equinox had come and gone without incident. Father Isaac had gone home after making sure his Sorcera and Daybreaker were safe and happy. Renner and Bethany had settled on a name for their little girl.

  Autumn Moon.

  Because the two of them couldn’t come up with a proper name if the entire clan depended on it. Or as they liked to put it, in honor of the equinox that brought the clan their three Sorcera. Which… was pretty damn nice if he was honest.

  Adira twisted into a new position. One that showed just how flexible her legs were. And Mason’s head filled with ideas of how he could use that position while they were fucking. She wore a long sleeved shirt and the baggiest yoga pants known to man, but it didn’t matter. Watching her body move, the body he knew every inch of, the body he loved, turned him so far on there was probably no off switch.

  A long, happy sigh sounded from his left. “I’ll never regret the day you and Gash convinced us we should be interested in yoga,” Eagan said, swiping his hand under his lips. Drool, probably. Yoga time did that to males. “It’s my favorite exercise.”

  “I’d have to say it’s my second favorite,” Magic argued. “Fucking’s my first.”

  Eagan tipped his head. “That. Fucking then yoga.”

  Adira changed poses again, twisting Mason up like a pretzel inside. Damn, he loved her. She could be wart riddled like witches should be, and he’d still love her for all the beautiful things she held inside.

  Mine, his animal rumbled, content.

  But she heard him. She met his eyes through the glass, biting one lip the way she did when he turned her on. She liked his possessiveness. And he liked being free with it.

  He liked being free.

  That’s what Sunshine had done for him. She allowed him to open his heart. Made it possible to dig around in the cobwebs of his past, dust things off, and live again. Really live, not the pretend shit he’d been doing for so many years.

  And as much as he wanted to stay here and watch her body do amazing things… he had a phone call to make.

  Slowly, he backed toward the door, determined to watch her until the last second.

  “Where the hell are you going?” Gash asked, but his eyes were still glued to the glass too.

  “Got something to take care of.”

  “Right now?” Renner asked, dubious. “Dude, it’s yoga time. What could be more important than yoga time?”

  “Not much. But this.”

  Thames shook his head. “Let him go. He’s clearly not as patriotic as we are.”

  “Yoga for president,” Owyn murmured, then drew in a hiss, tilting his head so his eyes could follow the next pose.

  “Yoga for fucking president.” Theo agreed.

  “Election day is coming up.” Ryan added.

  “Vote yoga,” Gash groaned.

  “Vote yoga,” Mason agreed as he pushed through the spa door and lost sight of his mate.

  A sloppy smile took up his whole face as he strolled through the lobby and outside. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a number he hadn’t called in… well… too damn long.

  The phone rang, and this time the sound wasn’t ominous. It was a bugle announcing reasons to celebrate.

  “Hello?”

  He took a deep breath. “Hi, mama.”

  The line was silent for several heartbeats. “Mason.” Her voice was breathy with happiness. “You sound different. How are you, son?”

  “I’m good, mama. So damn good…”

  For the next ten minutes he caught her up on everything that had happened in the past months since he’d spoken to her. About the Sorcera and the clan, his Elder status, his mistake with Deana, his mating with Sunshine. By the time he’d finished, they were both crying. Him sniffing it off to hide it, her not so much.

  “Mama… are you okay?”

  “Am I okay? Yes, son. Yes. I’m more than okay. I’m so happy you finally found your way. I had faith that
you would.”

  “Thanks, mom.” He felt his cheeks go red, and wished she was here for him to hug. Maybe he’d take Sunshine out to Seattle to meet her soon. But there was one more reason he’d called. “I was thinking… wondering if maybe… if you could send all my pictures.”

  Again, the line was silent. “Your pictures?”

  Every picture he had of Jordy he’d given to his mama because they hurt too much to be in his possession. But now, he was healing. Now he was bringing Jordy back into the light. Where he belonged.

  “Yeah.” He drew in a long breath. “The box I left with you. I’m ready to see them again.”

  “You told me you’d never ask for them, Mason. Are you sure?”

  He swallowed hard, pressing the phone into his ear. “I couldn’t imagine a time I’d ever want them back,” he admitted. “But now… now I need them, mama. I’m not hiding him away anymore. Not hiding from what me and him went through. Sunshine says he belongs on the walls of our home, and she’s absolutely right.”

  When his mother answered, her voice was light with happiness. It had been too long since he’d heard her sound that way. “Oh, I’m going to like her very much, aren’t I?”

  “Yes, mama,” he whispered.

  “I’ll put your box in the mail today, son. But maybe you could send me some pictures too? Some of you and your female. I want to see what a smile looks like on your face again. I miss seeing that.”

  “It’s a deal.”

  “Good.”

  As they said their goodbyes, Mason thanked his lucky stars for a new beginning. He knew this time, whatever big bad fucker came his way, he’d never battle it alone. He had his Sunshine, his clan, and together they could survive anything.

  Together. It was the Ouachita way.

  Epilogue

  Mason trekked up the footbridge to meet his leader at the top. Magic stood overlooking the lake, watching a young black panther as it playfully darted in and out of a group of kids. There were too many for Mason to keep track of. The clan had blossomed over the past decade.

  “Rhys is taking to his animal well,” Magic mused, laughing when the panther carefully batted Theo’s sassy eldest daughter.

  Mason nodded. The teen had just learned to shift in the past few weeks. Now he liked to tease the younger ones from his animal form. And they gave him shit right back. Thames and Nastia’s son pounced on the panthers back, rolling him to the ground while Owyn and Doc’s tiny one wrapped his arms around the cat’s leg like a little barnacle.

  “Gonna have to watch him. He holds a lot of fire inside him. He feels hard, like I do. He’ll need an outlet soon.”

  Magic pursed his lips. “Good advice, Elder. We’ll give him one. Maybe let him train with Gash for a while, if Renner thinks it’s good.”

  Footsteps thumped across the bridge as Renner came into view, carrying the newest addition to the clan on one hip. He stopped next to Magic and watched the scene below.

  “Babysitting duty?” Mason asked him.

  One side of his mouth curved up, but his eyes were soft. “Layna and Ryan went Christmas shopping. Couldn’t take this little lady with ‘em.”

  Mason grinned, watching the little human Ryan and Layna recently adopted. Her eyes drooped and her head slowly lowered to rest against Uncle Ren’s chest. She’d been abandoned by her parents, but she found an entire family with Ouachita.

  “So what are we here for?” Renner asked. Magic had called this little meeting but so far all he was doing was watching the young.

  Magic braced his hands on the rail and Mason waited for whatever was coming next. He wasn’t worried. Even if it was a disaster, he knew they’d be okay. Ouachita was forged in fire and now they were steel.

  “I just wanted you to see what I see. Look at them,” he said, jerking his chin at the young. “Look at our future. Look what we made.”

  “Yeahhhh.” Renner sighed. “We done good, huh?”

  “Real good,” Magic agreed. “But the reason I called you two here is to say thank you.”

  Mason frowned. “For what?”

  Magic opened his mouth to answer, but then seemed to struggle for the right words. “Well, fuck,” he said. “If it weren’t for you two, we’d have none of this, you hear? You and Bethany,” he said to Renner before waving his hand at Mason. “Doctor Seuss and the masseuse. Between the four of you, I’m pretty damn sure I owe both nuts, a kidney, and half my liver. But without you, I’d still be stubbornly butting my head against any idea of mating. We’d be a group of miserable old men with Doc and Layna the clan nags. Love ‘em,” he added. “Our animals would have withered to obsolete. What you did for our people…” he lowered his head, shaking it. “Thank you.”

  Mason envisioned what their present would be if their past hadn’t gone down the way it had. It was a lonely, desolate picture. And it wasn’t the first time he realized how a dark past could form the brightest future.

  “Would you consider keeping your nuts and trading for a lung?” Renner asked. “Lungs are pretty important. So if you say you owe us a lung…”

  Magic let off a hard laugh. Mason could feel the emotion rolling off him.

  “Just… thank you. Both of you,” Magic mumbled. “And I mean that shit, okay. With all my heart. Which is nice and big now because of you two bastards.”

  Renner let off a knowing chuckle. “Don’t blame that on us. You’ve always been a sappy motherfucker and you know it.”

  “Takes one to know one,” Magic muttered.

  Mason clapped him on the back. “Or two.” He wasn’t afraid to admit he teared up when he thought of the clan. He loved them. All of them.

  In silence, they watched the young play. Happy screaming and laughter bubbled up on the chilly breeze, and contentment was thick in the air.

  Magic broke their quiet observation. “Oh. The other reason you’re here… Destiny called. We’ve been invited to Christmas dinner with the Dirt Track Dogs.”

  Mason raised one eyebrow. “Again? I figured after what happened last year, they might not want us around this time.”

  Magic laughed. “Naw, they’re over that. It’s just… well, if we go, we are forbidden to go near the race cars. Beast said not within fifty feet.”

  Renner’s shoulders sank. “Damn. I was hoping for another shot.”

  Magic shook his head gravely.

  “Well… okay. I guess I can agree to that. Racing isn’t a thing I’m good at. I can admit it.”

  “Destiny,” Mason mused. “We should send her a fruit basket.”

  Magic nodded. “I can have Layna set it up.”

  A fruit basket? How about some of those cookies Eagan makes. How about a basket of those? Fruit baskets are for neighbors you hardly speak to and your kid’s teachers. I think I’m much more than that.

  Mason grinned huge as she took up space in his mind.

  Knew that would get your attention, Elder, he said.

  She hardly ever invaded his mind anymore. They were on an emergency only mind meld restriction. This was no emergency, but Mason had something important to say.

  Thank you, Destiny.

  You know you don’t have to keep doing that. Her tone was soft, uncomfortable with his gratitude. But he was never going to stop telling her, as long as both of them were alive.

  Across the bridge he caught sight of Sunshine walking toward him with their twins in tow. A girl and a boy who had just learned to walk. They held on to her skirt, one on each side as they slowly approached, cheeks spread with happy smiles.

  His whole world right there. They took up all the space in his heart, right beside his best memories of Jordy.

  “Da-hee!” they squealed in unison when they spotted him. They ran forward, awkwardly maneuvering the planks of the bridge, and Mason crouched low to catch them in his arms.

  No, he’d never stop telling Destiny thank you.

  He felt her presence drift off, and knew she was smiling somewhere, miles away, living her own happily-ever-after. />
  Holding his young close, Mason leaned in to kiss his mate’s smile from her face.

  My Sunshine, he whispered in her mind.

  And as she nuzzled closer, and Magic and Renner crossed the bridge to enter the lodge, he knew every heartache of Ouachita’s past, every ache and bruise, every choked moment of fear or regret… was worth it.

  Because when you’re facing the sunshine, all the shadows fall behind you, and what you’re left with is a miracle so bright you can’t look upon it directly.

  This was Ouachita.

  This was life.

  This was living.

  THE END

  ********

  For information on new releases, exclusive excerpts, and giveaways, sign up for P. Jameson’s Newsletter HERE. Or visit her website at www.pjamesonbooks.com

  Scroll on for more books by P. Jameson…

  Other books by P. Jameson

  Ouachita Mountain Shifters

  A Mate’s Wish (Holiday Prequel)

  Deliciously Mated (Book 1)

  Ouachita Mated (Book 2)

  Merrily Mated (Book 3)

  Secretly Mated (Book 4)

  Shadow Mated (Book 5)

  Brother Bear Mated (Book 6)

  Brave Bear Mated (Book 7)

  Dirt Track Dogs

  Racing the Alpha (Book 1)

  Racing the Beast (Book 2)

  Racing Home (Book 3)

  Racing Hard (Book 4)

  Racing Destiny (Book 5)

  Home for the Holidays (Book 6)

  Ozark Mountain Shifters

  A Mate’s Denial (Book 1)

  A Mate’s Sacrifice (Book 2)

  A Mate’s Revenge (Book 3)

  A Mate’s Submission (Book 4)

  Sci-fi Fantasy Romance

  Starwalker (Amazon)

  *****

  About the Author

  P. Jameson likes to spend her time daydreaming, and then rearranging those dreams into heartstring-pulling stories of trial and triumph. Paranormal is her jam, so you’re sure to find said stories full of hot alpha males of the supernatural variety. She lives next door to the great Rocky Mountains with her husband and kids, who provide her with plenty of writing fodder.