by R. E. Butler
When the last guest passed by, Maddox looked down at Sugar. She gazed up at him with amazing blue eyes and a soft purr rumbling in her chest. He squatted down in front of her, resting one hand on her neck. “My sweet Sugar. I can’t wait until you’re human so we can get to know each other.”
She yowled softly in agreement.
“Just remember that you promised to come back to the reception after she shifts,” Rai said.
“I remember,” he said as he stood. He and Sugar headed into the banquet room where the reception was being held. They were announced by the DJ, and took their place at the head table. Sugar jumped up onto the chair that he held out for her, and as he clapped for his brother and new sister-in-law, he scanned the crowd and still didn’t see the pride females. Grateful they were gone, he rested his hand on his mate’s furry shoulders, tapped his champagne glass with his fork, and then he lifted the golden liquid high in the air for his toast.
His brother was a lucky male, but Maddox counted himself the luckiest of all because he’d found his perfect match. He already felt connected to her on a cellular level, and this was the first day of the rest of their lives together.
Chapter 4
Sugar didn’t want to be in her shifted form. She felt as though the spotlight was on her because of her shift – and the reason for her sudden shift – and not on Rai and True’s special day. It wasn’t as if she had chosen for this to happen; it had been utterly out of her control. But being with Maddox felt right. She’d never seen him before today, but now he dominated her thoughts. Tall, broad, and packed with muscles that strained the suit he wore. His dark hair was cropped close and he had a neatly trimmed beard. He smelled like sunshine, and she couldn’t wait to be in her human form and talk to him.
Well, she wanted to do a lot more than talk, that was for sure. But for some reason, her meddling sister had made him promise they’d come back to the reception after Sugar shifted, which was decidedly uncool. The moment she was able to shift, she wanted to leave with Maddox. Her cat wanted to get him naked ASAP, mate and mark him, and spend about a hundred years in bed together. It didn’t hurt that he was sexy as hell, and that his lion was alpha powerful. She’d spent most of her life with wolves, surrounded by people who were shifters like her but also not like her. She already felt at ease with Maddox. Her cat was so happy that it took all of Sugar’s will not to jump into his lap and purr.
When lunch was served, she lifted her lip in a grimace. Chicken. Of all the things for her sister to serve to a group of predator shifters, she’d picked chicken, covered with mushrooms and arranged on the plate alongside baby carrots and asparagus. Maddox rubbed Sugar’s ear lightly, and she tilted her head with a purr.
She reached up her paw and flexed her claw, sinking it into one of the sliced pieces of chicken, which she brought to her mouth and ate. It was tasty, but it sure didn’t make her cat happy.
“We can hunt together,” Maddox murmured. “I bet you’re great at stalking prey.”
She butted her head against his shoulder in response.
He picked up a piece of chicken from her plate and fed her, making small talk about his pride and family. She couldn’t do anything in her shift except listen, so she did. He was giving her a glimpse into his life. The only alpha she’d ever known personally was her adopted father. She’d met other wolf alphas over the years, but she’d never met another alpha cat shifter. Mating him would make her alpha female of his pride, unless his people didn’t allow other shifter types to be in positions of power. Some groups could be particular about their alphas, and they wanted only their own specific shifter to be in power. Rai had been welcome to join the pride as True’s mate, but his pride had only the two alpha positions and no other ranked positions.
She wished she’d asked True more questions about the pride.
When the meal was over, she watched her sister and her new husband have their first dance, followed by the parent dances. By the time the dance floor was opened to the remaining guests, she could feel her shift easing and knew she was able to return to human form. She nudged Maddox’s bicep and motioned toward the doors.
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
She yowled.
“Fucking finally,” he murmured, and she would have wholeheartedly agreed if she’d had the vocal capabilities.
He stood and pulled her chair out so she could climb down, and then he turned to True and Rai and said, “We’ll be back.”
“I’m going to time you,” Rai said, pointing to the antique watch she wore, which had been her grandmother’s.
Sugar would have bared her teeth at her sister if she hadn’t seen her wink in jest.
True said with a low voice, “I think you’ll need this.”
He handed Maddox a key card. Maddox palmed it and said, “What’s her room number?”
“Three oh seven,” Rai said.
Maddox thanked them, and then he looked down at Sugar with a heated gaze. “Shall we, sweetheart?”
Walking next to Maddox as they exited the reception room, she purred in anticipation of him seeing her in her human form. She’d had almost two hours of ogling him, and she hoped he was as pleased with her as she was with him. Before meeting him, she’d never heard of an uncontrollable shift. Now, she was thankful for it. She didn’t have any misgivings about being with him. She could feel in her heart that they were meant to be together. Her nature had chosen an amazing male for her, and she couldn’t wait for their new life to start.
They left the reception hall. The freshly fallen snow felt good under her paws, and if she hadn’t been so intent on getting to her room, she would have enjoyed a good run. Winter was her favorite time of year. Not only because Christmas was fun, but because of all the snow. There was nothing she liked more than being outside in her shift when the temperatures dropped, when the world was covered with pure white flakes and everything glistened like diamonds. Maddox was an African lion, though. He probably liked summer better.
Maybe she could change his mind about snow.
Instead of going through the front doors of the hotel, he took her around to the back entrance, using the key card to open the locked door. They climbed three flights of stairs, and once they were on the landing, he used the key to unlock the security door for the third floor. Her room was at the end of the hall. The pack members were all staying in the hotel, enjoying a night away from their homes to celebrate the marriage. In the morning, the pack was meeting for breakfast with Rai and True, and then the two were leaving for their week-long honeymoon at a resort in the Poconos.
He pushed the key card into the slot, and after it clicked loudly, he pushed open the door. “After you, sweetheart,” he said with a husky voice.
Thankful she’d cleaned up before leaving for the ceremony, she padded to the middle of the room and turned to face her mate. He shut the door and then turned, leaning against it. His riveted gaze was fixed on her, and with her enhanced senses, she picked up the subtle scent of his arousal and heard the fast rhythm of his heart. He was excited, which excited her.
Her cat was more than happy to return to her human form, and she shifted swiftly, moving from four paws to two feet in the blink of an eye. She straightened with a sigh, clasping her hands above her head and stretching.
His gaze roamed over her, lingering on her curves. He said nothing for a long moment, and she opened her mouth to say something when he grasped his tie and loosened it with one hand while engaging the security bar with the other. He stalked to her, losing his jacket and tie, and then he cupped her face.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said.
His husky tone made a shiver of pleasure race down her spine. She rose onto her toes, wrapping her hands around his wrists, as their mouths met, lips parting and tongues sliding together. The center of her body turned to liquid, and a purr rumbled in her chest, matched by his cat’s. He kept one hand on her face, his thumb rubbing back and forth on her cheek, and with his other hand he traced a slow line dow
n her throat. His fingertips rested on her pulse for a moment, and she knew he could feel it pounding. She reached for his shirt, anxious to see what he looked like naked, but he grasped her wrists and pulled them behind her.
“If you strip me, then we’re going to be late getting back to the party,” he said.
“Do you care?” she asked.
“I only care about you, Sugar. Just because you’re naked and the most fucking temptingly perfect female I’ve ever seen doesn’t mean I can’t control myself and take things slow, if that’s what you need.”
His compliments made her want to dance a jig. Not only was he super sexy, but he thought she was, too. Then she realized what he’d said at the end. If slow was what she needed.
“You…don’t want to take things slow?”
He wrinkled his nose as he made a face, the golden gaze of his lion rising through his chocolate brown irises. “Are you kidding me? When I laid eyes on you in the foyer, I thought you were gorgeous. Then you shifted, and I felt immediately connected to you in a way that I didn’t think was possible.”
“But?”
He kissed her temple, then her nose, and then the corner of her mouth. His lips were soft and his beard tickled her skin.
“You were raised by wolves who have traditions they insist on upholding. True and Rai haven’t mated each other yet, and they’ve been together for weeks.” He paused and stared down at her as he brought her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “If I get naked, I’m going to make you mine in every way. I don’t want to piss off your family or upset you if I push too fast.”
She could have cried at how sweet he was being. His body was practically vibrating with need, but he was willing to take things slow with her because her emotional well-being was important to him. Her traditions and family were at the forefront of his mind, not his own physical satisfaction.
She’d never wanted anyone more than she did Maddox.
Twisting her wrists from his light grasp, she placed her fingers on the top button of his white dress shirt and undid it. Tilting her face to his, she whispered, “I’m yours, Maddox. The pack traditions are mine by adoption, but my cat wants to be your mate in truth.”
He purred. Her muscular, alpha mate purred like a happy kitten. A giant, teeth-like-daggers kitten, but still…sweet. She couldn’t help but grin. Their lips met, causing both of their purrs to stutter in their chests as heat grew between them. She made fast work of his shirt buttons, pushing the silky material off his shoulders as they moved backward toward the bed. It felt like a dance, as they moved together, bodies bumping, legs twining, and then the back of her legs pressed against the mattress and he wrapped his arms around her waist.
Lifting her into the air, she wrapped her legs around his waist, and he climbed onto the bed, their lips never leaving the heated kiss. He laid her on the bed and gently bit her bottom lip before breaking the kiss. He looked down, his eyes shifting from brown to gold and back again. He kissed her lips once, then her chin, and then trailed kisses down her throat, nibbling on her pulse.
She ran her fingers along his broad shoulders as he kissed across her collar bone and then worked his way down the center of her chest. His biceps flexed as she wrapped her hands around them, curling her fingers into his skin. He cupped her breasts, kissing first one nipple and then the other, sucking one to hard perfection and then licking the valley between them to tease the other. With each tug of his lips on her nipples, she felt her whole body respond. Her skin prickled with goosebumps, her pussy clenched, and her clit begged to be touched.
Releasing her nipple with a wet pop, he growled and kissed down her stomach, nipping her flesh as he moved. He grasped her knees and pushed them roughly to the bed, baring her to his eager gaze. Lowering his head, he inhaled slowly and glanced up the length of her body.
“You smell like heaven,” he said, and then he flicked his tongue across her clit and snarled. “You taste like it, too.”
He slid down the bed until he was between her thighs, and then he kissed her clit. His lips brushed her bud, his tongue curling around it with a light touch. She let out a shaky breath, closing her eyes as he tilted his head and licked the entrance to her pussy, his tongue sliding in and out with a maddeningly slow tempo. His hands were hot on her thighs, the pressure just enough to hold her open for him. A wave of heat slid through her as he began to purr, his tongue vibrating inside her.
Then he laid his tongue on her clit as he slid two fingers inside her. She arched her back with a moan, her toes curling as the climax rose fast. He pumped his fingers into her, sucking on her clit and flicking his tongue on the tip, driving her wild. A third finger spread her farther, and all three digits curled and rubbed her inner walls, her pussy a riot of sensations as her climax took over, twisting and rolling pleasure through her.
She cried out, jerking on the comforter as liquid heat spilled from her, soaking his fingers. He lifted from her body and growled softly. She rose onto one elbow and watched as he sucked his glistening fingers into his mouth one by one.
“Heaven,” he murmured. “Sweet fucking heaven.”
“Maddox,” she said, cupping his face. His eyes were bright gold. His beast was coming out to play, and she wanted to be claimed by both of them.
He moved off the bed and undid his belt and trousers, never taking his golden gaze from her. He hooked his thumb in his waistband and pushed his pants and underwear to the floor, standing straight and grasping his rigid cock. She felt the dominance of his beast, the power of his alpha lion.
She rolled to her stomach and crawled to the head of the bed, rising to her knees and grasping the wooden headboard. He joined her quickly, splaying his hands on her hips and kneeing her legs farther apart. “Give me your neck, Sugar,” he said gruffly as he teased her pussy with the thick head of his cock. “Let me make you mine.”
She bared her neck to him, pulling her long hair over one shoulder and tilting her head to the right. He pushed into her slowly as he kissed her neck, from the crux of her shoulder to her ear. Their bodies met, and she felt their connection as mates begin to solidify.
One of his hands covered hers on the headboard, and the other slid down her stomach to her clit, rubbing in time to the push and pull of his cock inside her. She closed her eyes as he sucked her flesh into his mouth, waiting for the bite and the pain that would follow, but he released her neck and went back to kissing her. His fingers began to move faster on her sensitive bud, her pussy clenching rhythmically around his thick cock as he fucked her harder. The bed rocked against the wall, and she panted for breath as heat wove through her and her pussy fisted him hard as she came. She cried out wordlessly, barely feeling the bite of his fangs as he sank them into her throat. He continued to finger her clit, dragging out her pleasure until her fingers tingled and her vision blurred.
He lifted from her neck, his cock buried deeply in her. She scented his blood and realized he had nicked his tongue and was using his blood to seal the mark so it would scar permanently. She shivered, reaching behind her to fist his hair.
“Fuck, Maddox,” she said, her voice rough.
“No more fucking, sweetheart,” he said, pulling from her body.
“What?”
He chuckled as he lifted her into his arms and laid her on her back, coming down over top of her and pushing into her pussy. “Fucking’s for markings, not love. We’re mates, and I’m not going to wham-bam you our first time.”
He moved in her slowly, sensually, and she wrapped her legs around his waist and hooked her ankles together. He slid his arms under her body and held her close as they moved together in perfect sync, their gazes locked together. The mark on her neck throbbed as it healed, and she licked one of her fangs and let her gaze shift to his throat.
“I’m wholeheartedly yours,” he whispered, kissing her and then exposing his throat to her.
She was humbled to the core. She sank her fangs into his neck as gently as she could, and she felt their bond as mat
es solidify. Nicking her tongue as he’d done, she swiped her blood into the marks and then kissed the marred flesh that would tell the world that they were mates.
He moved faster, his beast rumbling in his chest, and she gave herself to him, her nails digging into his back. He roared when he came, his lion staking a verbal claim to her as his cock thickened and the heat of his come filled her.
He rolled to his back and pulled her with him, so she was splayed over him like a blanket. Her skin was sensitive and her cat purred. All she wanted to do was curl up against him and sleep for a little while. And then round two.
“Not that you’re not the most comfortable and sexy blanket I’ve ever had, but we should consider getting back to the party before someone comes looking for us.”
“If you insist.”
“Of all the things that I want to do with you, to you, and for you, getting dressed and going back to the reception isn’t even in the top one hundred.”
Lifting her head from where she had been listening to his heart pounding, she smiled. “The sooner we get back there, the sooner we can come here?”
“Actually, I was hoping you’d come home with me tonight. It seems only right that we spend our first night together in my home. Your home.”
“Your pride,” she started, but he put his finger to her lips, and she didn’t continue.
“We can talk tomorrow about what our mating means. Right now, I want to take you back to your sister’s reception, dance, flirt shamelessly with you, and then take you home. Tomorrow’s Christmas Day.”
“I don’t have a gift for you,” she said, sliding off him and rising to her knees.
“You’re my gift, Sugar. The one female on the planet perfect for me. I’m going to try my damnedest to be the best mate to you.”
“You’re off to a really good start.”
Chapter 5
Sugar rubbed her foot on Maddox’s calf under the table. She was talking to her sister but driving him wild. He could hardly think straight, and part of that was because she was touching him, but the other part was because he knew she wasn’t wearing any panties. Which he both loved and hated. Loved that she was bare under the black silk dress, yet hated that he couldn’t do anything with that knowledge at the moment.
