by Ally Summers
“Fuck,” he moaned. He knew I was peaking quicker than before. The need for him was unbearable. I rocked wildly, desperate for more of him.
“You, I want you.” I locked onto his eyes as they glowed and glimmered for me.
I felt the sweet relief as he slid inside me, filling me with complete fullness. “Oh, God.” I clawed at his back while he pumped in and out of me.
“I’ll never leave,” he whispered in my ear.
The orgasm crashed down around us both. My teeth nipped at his shoulder as the howl burst from his throat. He pushed deep inside me, and I raised my hips to meet his powerful thrust. This was heaven. Our union. Our bond.
He collapsed on top of me, kissing the side of my neck. “I swear, Francesca.”
“Shh.” I pressed my lips to his mouth. “Kiss me. Love me again.”
He smiled. “Forever.”
I looked into my mate’s eyes. I believed him. He may have driven into town with a reason to find me and move on, but I had given him a reason to stay. We would face whatever challenges came from Drew’s defiance. It couldn’t be that easy to disobey generations of jaguar law. But we would figure it out together.
“Where are we going on our honeymoon?” I asked.
“Doesn’t someone have a birthday tomorrow?” He began kissing me again, and my skin tingled with new fire. I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of the heat between us.
“I might.” I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling.
“Then I think the birthday bride gets to decide. Tropical? Europe? Somewhere cooler?”
“No, no snow.” Hopefully the other night was my last encounter with ice for the year.
His fingers circled my navel. “Islands?”
“I could do islands. Do you think we’ll be too hot?” I laughed. We were instantly hot the second we touched each other.
“I don’t plan on shifting on a tropical island, so I think we’ll be all right.” He winked.
“Right.” His hand was dipping lower and I was having a hard time concentrating on honeymoon destinations. “When do we leave?”
“On your birthday, of course.”
“Oh God.” I arched my back as he curled a finger inside me. His head lowered to my breast.
“And this is all we’re going to do.” He took a breath to kiss my lips.
“All?” I raised my eyebrows.
“Well, we have a few things we haven’t tried.” He sounded rather serious.
“Ohh,” I moaned as he flipped me on my stomach.
I felt the warmth of his kisses on my back. He squeezed my ass roughly as he nudged my legs apart.
“Mine, Francesca. Always mine.”
I nodded. “Only yours. And the only one,” I added.
His teeth clamped on my shoulder. “The only one.”
That night Drew and I united in a way we didn’t even realize. Our vow to each other bonded us for life, but also against the laws of the Maddox line. We rebelled against the council. We gave each other our souls, not knowing there might be a cost to pay.
As I loved my husband and my mate, I didn’t care if anyone tried to come after us. I knew we were stronger together and we could handle danger. We could handle anything life threw at us. I held Drew in my arms as he slept and knew for the first time I had family. I had love. And I had something worth fighting for.
Sacrifice
1
Josh
I drove and I drove. I drove until my eyes burned and my knuckles were numb from gripping the steering wheel. I drove until the lines in the center of the road blurred. I had one focus. One need. To get to her.
I didn’t care how long it took, or what winding Georgia back roads I had to take to reach her. The instant I saw her name written on that list, the need kicked in. The primal instinct to hunt my mate rose to the surface.
My jaguar felt hungry. I didn’t know what it would mean when the list landed in my hand, but my entire life changed the moment the paper touched my skin. It was a borderline obsession, but I knew I couldn’t stop until I found her.
I wanted to look in her green she-panther eyes and whisper the words, “you’re mine.” I wanted to surprise her. Race into town and whip her up into my arms with a promise we were both bound to fulfill.
I fidgeted with the radio, trying to find something without static. My Jeep had been patched together so many times I was lucky it was still running.
There was a super charged amount of adrenaline pumping through my veins. The more miles I put under this rusty piece of shit, the more I could feel it. I was getting closer. She was drawing me toward her without even knowing it.
My best friend grew up under the royal shifter line. Things were different for Drew. He was a prince. His brother was the damn king of the jaguar Tribe. When Case, the king, handed out the orders that it was time to begin collecting the territories owed to us by our mates, Drew and I slapped each other on the back.
We took our lists, hopped in our cars, and drove in different directions. But we felt like we were in this together. There was a sense of camaraderie that our journeys started at the same time.
My quest took me farther south. By the time the Tribe finished, we would rule the entire southeast of the country. For Case, his reach was expanding quickly. But that was only true if his soldiers fulfilled their shifter obligations.
That’s how I felt. Like one of the soldiers. One of the chosen ones, hand-picked to serve the king. Serve the greater purpose of my family’s shifter line. I would bring pride to my family. The land I possessed would honor my parents. This is what I had been raised to do.
Hunting my mate was all I could think about. Tessa Cunningham had no idea I was headed in her direction, and I liked it that way.
2
Tessa
I closed the hood of the Cadillac, giving it an extra tap and wiped my hands on a rag I kept tucked in my back pocket. I smiled at Mr. Handon.
“I think you’re all set. It was only the battery.”
“Tessa, I can’t thank you enough. I’m embarrassed to say I know nothing about cars.”
I grinned. “It’s ok. It’s all taken care of. I’ll write up the bill and you can pay me. Give me a few minutes.”
I walked into my office in the back corner of the garage. It was the cleanest part of the whole place. I pulled out my invoice binder and began to fill in the details of the battery replacement. I was in the middle of converting my accounting system and had to keep hand-written receipts for another week.
“Here you go.” I handed the older gentleman the pink slip of carbon paper while he counted out a few bills from his wallet.
“Thanks again, Tessa.”
“No problem.” I waved as he backed out of the garage and onto the highway.
It was close to five. My shoulders were sore from hunching over the cars all day. I could soak in a hot bubble bath with a glass of wine.
I thought about all of the things I could do in my apartment over the garage. I had loads of shows on my DVR to watch. I could cook. I could read. But the thought of my claw-footed tub was calling. It sounded like heaven.
It took a few minutes to power down my computer and straighten the items in my office. I was probably the only garage in Four Corners that always had fresh flowers in the window. Let’s face it. This was the only garage run by a girl in the entire state of Georgia.
And I wasn’t just any girl. I had power and strength. Grace and quickness. I had a set of skills the people in town would freak out about. I turned off the lights and took my she-panther butt up the stairs until I heard a vehicle pull up outside the closed commercial door.
I groaned. Of course someone would show up at the last second. Right when hot water and my new bath salts were so close. But I jogged back down the stairs. I didn’t want to turn away someone who needed help. I’d been in that position before and it was terrible. No one liked feeling helpless.
I whipped open the door and my eyes locked on him. The brilliant green. T
he shimmer was just like mine. I swallowed hard. I might not know his name, but I knew exactly who he was. He had come for me.
I glared at him. “I was wondering when you were going to show up.”
He grinned. “Sweetheart, you don’t know how happy it makes me to hear you’ve been waiting for me.”
“Dreading is more like it.” I stood with my hands on my hips. I wasn’t anxious to let him inside my shop.
“Aww, now don’t say that.” He leaned his palm against the doorframe. “I’ve driven a long way to meet you.”
“You could keep driving.” I eyed the Jeep he had parked by the door. It was clearly on its last leg. He probably wouldn’t make it out of town.
He chuckled. “Tessa, we both know I can’t do that.” He traced the embroidered thread that spelled my name on the denim shirt I was wearing.
I hated that I could feel the heat from his fingertips. It was almost as if he was twisting a knife in my heart. Reminding me with each sweep of his finger that everything I had was about to go up in smoke. Why did I open the door?
“Are you going to tell me your name at least?” I prodded.
“Josh. It’s Josh Bauer.”
“Hmm.” I didn’t move from the entrance.
“Aren’t you going to let me in? We could have dinner? Talk? Get to know each other a little better.”
“I have plans tonight.” I pursed my lips together.
“Plans?”
I nodded. “Maybe another time, Josh.”
I moved to close the door. “Hey, you can’t…”
I quickly locked it, knowing with the amount of strength he had he could kick it in if he wanted within seconds.
I ran up the stairs and locked myself in my apartment, listening for the sound of his Jeep to pull out of the gravel lot. As soon as he turned on the road I finally let myself breathe.
Shit. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I started to shake. My fated mate had shown up on my door and I kicked him out like yesterday’s trash. What in the hell was I thinking? I was breaking laws left and right. I might as well have spit in his face.
Those eyes. Those arms. I shook my head. No. I wasn’t ready to give up everything. I wasn’t ready to be someone’s wife. I don’t know how I kept it together in front of him, but now that he was gone I was falling apart.
3
Josh
There’s wounded pride and then there’s the absolute worst kind of insult to a man. The kind that makes you see red. She might as well have punched me in the nose the way she slammed the door in my face. Fuck, that was a disaster.
My first encounter with my mate and she wouldn’t even let me inside. She wasn’t shocked to see me, but she wasn’t happy about it either. I didn’t know how to take it. She was calm. It was almost eerie.
In the few seconds I did get to see her I noticed how undeniably gorgeous she was. Pink, luscious lips. Rounded hips. Hair black as night piled on top of her head. There was an innocence to her green eyes, but I knew better. She was a she-panther, and apparently there was nothing keeping her from making her own decisions.
I thought she was supposed to bow down to her mate. Listen to me. Want to succumb to my demands. I had always heard panthers were waiting for the day their mate would arrive. As if he could deliver the perfect happy ending to her story. Yeah, I had it wrong. Tessa wasn’t that kind of girl. She wasn’t looking for me to give her anything.
I’d give her another chance. Only one. Tonight I’d sleep in a hotel in town, but tomorrow night I expected to take my mate out on a date. We needed to get to know each other. And that couldn’t happen with a slammed door between us.
I stopped at the first motel I saw on the side of the road, checked in, and settled into my room. Days of driving and searching didn’t prepare me for this. I had built up some kind of scenario that my mate would be happy to see me. It hadn’t registered that Tessa might be a dream girl to look at, but she was possibly a nightmare mate. She wanted nothing to do with me.
I thought about calling Drew or even Case, but I didn’t want them to know what happened. I needed to figure this out on my own. Tomorrow was another chance. Another day to give us a do-over. Because if there was one thing my mate and I needed, it was a chance to meet each other for the first time again.
The next morning I stopped at a local bakery and chose a few pastries and ordered two cups of coffee. This time I’d show up with a peace offering.
I parked next to a row of cars and strolled inside the garage.
“Good morning, gorgeous.” I extended a cup of coffee in her direction.
She looked up from the stack of papers she was working on. “Is there something you need?” Her voice was clipped.
“Just wanted to bring you breakfast.” I placed the bag of pastries on her desk. “I got a little bit of everything. I don’t know what you like, yet,” I added.
She rolled her eyes. “This isn’t necessary.”
“What?”
“The wooing. The seduction. The whatever you’re trying to do to get me to like you.” She slammed the binder closed and walked around her desk.
I stopped her at the door. “Don’t you think we have some business to discuss?”
Her eyes flared. “I’m actually running a business here. I don’t have time for personal issues at work.”
“And how is it that a beautiful girl like you is a mechanic or whatever you are?”
Her nostrils flared. It was hard to ignore that she was sexy when she was mad. There was need in my fingers dying to touch her. I shoved one hand in my pocket and gripped my coffee in the other so I wouldn’t pull her into my arms.
“I inherited the garage from my family. If I don’t keep it going, there’s no income.” She raised her eyebrows. “Would you feel more comfortable if I had brothers to run it for me?”
“No. No, I’m just curious. It’s not everyday you see this kind of thing.”
“Well, this kind of thing pays the bills and takes care of my mom.” She tried to move past me again, but I stepped to the side, corralling her in the office.
“What’s wrong with your mom?”
“I don’t want to get into it. I have work to do, and you’re going to make me get behind schedule.”
I looked around the garage. The place was immaculate. Her office was clean and professional, as if she was an accountant, not a mechanic.
“Do you run the whole shop by yourself?”
She nodded. “I can’t afford to hire help right now. So I do it. Ok? Does that answer enough of your questions?”
I moved out of her way so she could walk into the shop, but I followed her.
“Tessa, why don’t you let me help?”
She scoffed. “You? The one who drives the Jeep that’s about to fall apart?”
I shrugged. “I can do something. I might be handier than you think.”
For the first time since meeting her I saw a smile. “I doubt it.”
I had to admit the sparring was fun. It was kind of a turn on. A dance for what we both knew was eventually going to happen. But she was making it clear it wasn’t going to happen easily. I had a challenge in front of me.
She was the one who would have to evoke our bond. And for that to happen she was going to have to want to be with me.
“Give me something to do. Anything.”
“All right.” She twisted her lips together. “Can you handle changing sparkplugs?”
“Sparkplugs are my specialty.”
I saw that sexy smile again. “Follow me.”
I tossed my empty coffee cup in the trash and listened to her instructions as she gave me the lineup for the day. It didn’t take five minutes around her to realize she knew exactly what she was talking about. I was impressed. My mate was sexy and brilliant.
4
Tessa
He had worked all morning doing anything I asked him to do. I knew what his motives were. He’d worm his way into my world and secure his place in our relationshi
p. By the time he was finished, I would be begging for him to marry me. That’s what he thought would happen. I had a different plan.
I wasn’t ready to give up what my family had built. I wasn’t ready to be someone’s wife. I didn’t really give a damn about the shifter laws. They didn’t account for life circumstances. My mom needed me to run the garage. And I couldn’t do that as a newlywed, and especially not as a pregnant she-panther.
Josh wanted everything I could give him. My territory. My name. My body. I could stay strong a little longer. Long enough for him to give up and move on to the next she-panther he was supposed to marry.
I hadn’t even asked where I fell on his list, but I wasn’t stupid. Every jaguar would have multiple wives. I was only one of many. It didn’t matter if I was first or third. He’d want to change me. He’d want me to give up my power. I hadn’t worked this hard to hold on to what my parents gave me to throw it away for a hot guy.
“So what do you think?” Josh strolled toward me with a grin on his face.
“I think you’re kind of dirty.” He had streaks of grease on his cheek and his hands were black on the tips.
“Oh? And what do you think about dirty?” He waggled his eyebrows.
My heart fluttered enough for me to have to take a step away from him. Damn mate bond. I straightened my shoulders and pretended not to notice how irresistibly sexy he looked with grease stuck to his strong jaw line. Yeah, I couldn’t pay attention to that.
Why did this one have to be my mate? Why couldn’t he be human? Someone I could have fun with when the lights went down?
“All I want to know is if you’re finished.” I was harsh with my answer. I seemed to answer him that way every time. I had to keep the wall up.
