Taming Mia

by Misty Malloy

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Taming Mia

  Copyright © 2018 by Misty Malloy

  ISBN: 978-1-68361-208-7

  Cover Art by Studio ENP

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

  Look for us online at:

  www.decadentpublishing.com

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Dear Readers,

  Welcome! Thank you so much for joining me in this wonderful world of Mountain Ridge University and Decadent ROAR.

  I’m so excited to introduce you to Mia and Tristan! I loved creating such a strong, feisty female protagonist in the character of Mia. Her lioness’s confidence truly shines through every facet of her personality!

  In Tristan’s character, I wanted to explore the persona of a powerful male shifter, one who thinks he knows exactly what he wants. When he and Mia meet, two dominant personalities clash, yet their vulnerable sides emerge as their relationship begins to sizzle.

  Attending college was such a fun experience for me—a time of young love, new discoveries, and independence. Writing Mia and Tristan’s story brought me back to this very exciting time in my life. I hope that you’ll love reading Taming Mia as much as I loved writing it!

  Happy Reading!

  Misty

  mistymalloy@gmail.com

  Taming Mia

  Mia is finally getting what she’s always wanted—the chance to be off on her own at college. Her own apartment, sexy college guys, and, most importantly, no more pride rules to follow. At least not until after graduation, when she’ll return home and marry the mate her father, the alpha, chooses for her. Until then, Mia is determined to enjoy her freedom to the fullest. And when Tristan comes along, she knows she’s met the perfect fling.

  It’s Tristan’s last year at Mountain Ridge University. He’s ready for some smooth sailing, including no girl drama. As a jaguar shifter, he’s not interested in a relationship, and certainly not a mate. Mia is the answer to what he’s looking for—playful, sassy, and seeking a bit of no-strings-attached fun.

  But is there more to their relationship than either of them is willing to admit?

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  Taming Mia

  By

  Misty Malloy

  Chapter One

  Mia dropped the two overstuffed duffel bags onto the bed. My new apartment. She rolled the phrase around in her mind, afraid to say it out loud in case she jinxed herself. She feared she’d wake up back in the pride mansion, under her father’s watchful eye, with her last chance at freedom only a dream. That would genuinely suck.

  It wasn’t just a new apartment, but her first apartment. Ever. The bedroom had a tiny window and the most itty-bitty closet she’d ever seen, but she didn’t care. She didn’t even mind sharing the little bathroom down the hall with her new roommate. She was thousands of miles away from the pride, and that was all that mattered.

  A loud crash came from the kitchen. A few moments later, her cousin’s worried face peeked into her room. “Fuck. Sorry. It was the last box, and I was like, hey, whatever, and accidentally tossed it onto the counter.” Rob took off his ball cap to run his fingers through his golden, shoulder-length hair then shoved it back onto his head. He laughed nervously. “Maybe a little bit more roughly than I should have you know?”

  Mia burst out laughing and playfully punched her cousin. “Robbie, don’t worry about it. I appreciate you helping me move in today.”

  “Okay, cool. I’ll buy you whatever I broke.” He gave her a boyish grin as he rubbed the spot on his arm where she’d punched him. “And hey, no more of the Robbie stuff. It’s just Rob now. Seriously. You can’t hang out with me and my friends if you keep calling me Robbie.”

  “Fine. Rob. Got it.” She made a flying leap onto the bed then rolled over to grin at him. The tiny twin bed—smaller by far than her bed at home—didn’t matter to her at all. She’d sleep on the floor if it meant being on her own.

  Rob glanced around the room. “And by the way, you better not do anything in that bed except for sleep. By yourself.”

  “Mmhmm. Okay. Sure.”

  “No, for real.” Rob’s normally easy-going features were suddenly serious. “I don’t think you should have any guys over here.”

  “Oh, really?” Mia sat up and glared at her cousin. They had always been close, but that didn’t mean he could tell her what to do. “Says who?”

  “Dude, your dad. He’s the fucking alpha if you haven’t forgotten.”

  Mia’s lioness bristled under her skin. “Oh, trust me. It’s hard to forget.” Tremaine Carmichael exuded power and authority with every breath he took. Mia couldn’t think of a single person that wanted to mess with him, and being his daughter didn’t make things any easier. “Did my dad actually tell you that?”

  “Well…no. But I’m supposed to be watching out for you. I’ve been going to school here for a year, and that’s the only reason he agreed to let you come, too.” Rob shook his head. “Please. Don’t fuck it up for both of us.”

  Mia growled. She couldn’t deny Rob spoke the truth—she’d had to beg and plead to go away to school. Her father had never let her sisters leave for college. They had been allowed to do online courses and take a few classes at the community college, like she had been doing the past two years. But they’d never pushed her father’s boundaries like Mia did. They’d stayed at home
while finishing their degrees, gotten their diplomas in the mail, and then married the mates her father had chosen for them.

  Husbands. Cubs. Bam. Being a daughter of the alpha came with a set of duties that couldn’t be ignored.

  “Ugh. Mia, please don’t growl at me like that. It gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

  “Right. Sorry.” Mia exhaled and jumped off the bed, wrapping her arms around Rob in a big hug. She had nothing to worry about. After months of deliberation, her father had finally relented. It’s really happening. She had two years of pure bliss ahead of her at Mountain Ridge University. After she graduated, she’d go home, back to New York and to the Carmichael pride, and accept the man her father would choose for her as her mate.

  “So…you can’t really mean no guys at all.” Mia flashed Rob her most mischievous smile. “Just no serious relationships, right? A little fling here and there. My dad will never know, I promise.”

  Rob sighed and rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Okay, okay. Fine. But no boyfriends. And keep it on the down low…. You’re not supposed to get involved with anyone.”

  Mia grabbed her cousin in a friendly headlock, ripped off his ball cap, and ruffled his already tousled hair. He yelped, and she laughed, knowing full well he was being a good sport—even though female lion shifters were tough, male shifters were much stronger. “Thanks again, Robbie. Er…Rob. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

  Rob blushed and extricated himself gently from her grip. “Um, okay. But please do not do anything stupid. If anything happens to you under my watch, your dad will have my man bits. Let’s just say I would really like to keep my cock and balls intact, thank you. Especially on the weekends when the ladies want to come over and play.”

  “Of course.” Mia grinned at him. “How about we order some pizza? I’m starving. My treat.”

  “Dude. You are reading my mind, cuz. Meat lovers sound good?”

  An hour later, an empty pizza box in between them, Mia lay sprawled out in a recliner next to her cousin on the apartment balcony. With a full belly and the warm Arizona sun pleasantly seeping deep into her body, Mia’s inner cat purred. Freedom. Even if only for a little while. Her lion wanted to shift, to pad softly down into the desert below, and to sun herself on top of the biggest rock she could find. But not now. Although her cat protested, fingernails tingling as her claws itched to be unleashed, she had to be careful and wait for darkness to shift. She didn’t want to scare the shit out of any unsuspecting humans who thought shifters existed only in fantasy novels.

  Her second-floor apartment gave her a perfect view onto the complex’s large pool area. There were a handful of people at the pool, mostly relaxing on lounge chairs or floating on inflatable rafts. They were all college-age, and Mia wasn’t surprised, since the apartment complex was only a few blocks from campus. Several of them were guys, Mia noted happily. Oooh, and they were cute. Yum.

  “Hey, Rob?”

  Rob lazily opened one eye. “Humph.”

  “Does it ever bother you that our mates are going to be picked out for us? That we’re not allowed to choose?”

  He sat up and squinted, reaching for his sunglasses. “I don’t know. I guess I haven’t spent much time thinking about it. It’s the way things have always been in the pride. The alpha…um, your dad…chooses someone for us based on who he thinks is the best match.” He shrugged. “You know, alliances and shit between other prides.”

  “Well, yeah. Obviously, I know why he does it.” She stood and walked over to the balcony railing. “But what if I never want to have a mate? Like, I wanted to do my own thing the rest of my life instead? Have fun, you know?” She smiled and waved to the group of guys in the pool. A few of them waved back.

  “Oh my God. Who are you waving at?” Rob jumped up and peered over the railing. “Please don’t tell me you’re going down there to talk to those guys already. Shit. You barely got here! Can’t you chill for a bit?” He sighed. “When you said you wanted to hang out with a few dudes here and there, I didn’t realize you meant right this second.”

  Mia laughed and grabbed Rob’s arm, pulling him away from the balcony and back into the apartment. “Robbie. Relax. Trust me. I’m not going to do anything dumb, and you know very well I can take care of myself. And if anyone tries to take advantage of me, I’ll shift and eat them.”

  Her cousin grimaced. “Ew. Okay. Well, I’m only five minutes away. So, if you need anything, anytime, call me. And don’t forget—party at my house this weekend. You should bring your roommate. Is she hot?”

  “I have no idea. I haven’t met her yet, I think she’s planning on moving in later today.” She had arranged for a roommate through a campus agency. The two of them had emailed a few times, but never officially met in person. “She sounded nice.”

  “Mmm. Sounds promising.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Alright, later.”

  Mia walked him to the door and watched him jog down the stairs to his black truck.

  Once inside, she had a sudden urge to belt out a roar of pure pleasure. Her very own apartment. Thousands of miles from New York and her family. Two years of being on her own and doing what she pleased.

  Everything she had told her cousin was true—she wasn’t going to do anything stupid. She’d uphold her end of the deal to her father, and, after two years at Mountain Ridge, she’d come home and do her duty as the alpha’s daughter.

  But that wouldn’t happen for ages. And until then, having fun came first, right smack at the top of her agenda.

  She took a quick peek at her watch. Perfect. She had plenty of time before her very first class to go to the pool and say hello to her sexy new neighbors.

  ***

  Tristan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Damn. Could they have made this desk any smaller? He extended his long legs out into the aisle and sucked in a deep breath, hoping it would give him a little bit more space. No such luck. His inner cat protested, wanting to arch and stretch, and, quite honestly, stalk right out of the room.

  The temptation to get the hell out of there tugged at him. Why not walk directly out to his car and drive the hour north to Phoenix? Then he could get his bachelor pad, work for his dad, and pretty much relax. Start living the good life.

  Tristan sighed. Not yet. First things first. Before he could leave, he needed to finish his degree.

  Not that he hadn’t had a good time in college. Fuck, far from it. But at twenty-two and in his last year at Mountain Ridge, he was ready for something new. Something different. Bryson, a small college town, didn’t offer much else aside from the university. Living here for the majority of three years made a guy ready as hell for bigger and better things.

  From his seat in the back of the chemistry lab, he watched the other students slowly filtering into the room. The classroom area of the lab fit about thirty or so students, and the desks were filling up. Off to his right, stools lined long, high tables. The teaching assistant, already standing at the front of the room by the whiteboard, chatted with a few students that gathered around her.

  He shifted his weight again, failing at another attempt at comfort. He wished desperately the TA wouldn’t keep them long today. Maybe they’d do a quick introduction to the course, go over the syllabus, maybe some safety instructions. He couldn’t imagine they would start right off with an experiment during the first class.

  He recognized a guy from the gym, sitting a few seats over, who nodded at him. He responded with a friendly nod of his own. A cute brunette in denim shorts smiled at him, and he grinned. With her back turned to him, she leaned over to reach into her purse, and his attention lingered on her exquisite ass. Hmm. Very nice. Even though he’d decided to lay low this year with the ladies, he didn’t see anything wrong with enjoying some of the eye candy Mountain Ridge had to offer.

  He dragged his gaze away only to discover a familiar redhead flouncing in his direction. Oh, fuck. It was Jenna. She beamed at him, making a beeline toward the empty desk
on his right. Tristan blew out a deep breath as he realized he couldn’t avoid her.

  “Well, hi there, stranger!” Jenna dropped her bag and scooted her small frame easily onto the seat. “When did you get back in town?”

  “Hey, good to see you. Got in the other night.” Tristan smiled at her but quickly turned his attention to his phone. Shit. They had a whole five minutes to kill before class started, and the last person he wanted to talk to was Jenna. He opened his email and scrolled through the messages, even though nothing new had popped up in his inbox. He didn’t want to be a dick, but he hoped she would get the hint.

  “Have you been working out this summer?” Jenna giggled and reached over to grab his biceps muscle. “Wow…your arms are so buff! And you can barely fit in that desk!”

  Gently but firmly, Tristan grasped her hand and placed it on her own desktop. His eyes met hers. “Jenna,” he said, his voice low. “What are you doing?”

  She broke eye contact and quickly lowered her gaze. As a human, she had no idea he was a jaguar shifter, but he had no doubt she could feel the presence of his power. “Um, sorry. I just thought…maybe you had the summer to think about things. About us, you know?”

  Double fuckity fuck. “Hey. I’m sorry things didn’t work out how you wanted. I thought we were on the same page.”

  When he and Jenna had hooked up last spring, he had thought she wanted the same things he did. He didn’t want a girlfriend—he told all the girls straight out. No relationship, no strings attached. Jenna said she was totally cool with it. But hell—what a complete lie. He tried to break things off directly, to end things on a good note. Finally, he’d had to resort to ignoring calls from her. He hated doing that shit.

  Jenna sniffed. “That’s fine. Whatever.” She busied herself with getting out her notebook and pen.