by V. Vaughn
“Love the way you feel,” he groaned, picking up the pace.
“Love you,” I bit out around gasping for air, pushing back against him, meeting him thrust for thrust. He cupped my breast, dipping his head, using his tongue before sucking and teasing. Sweat mingled, our scents combining in the air, the sound of his muttered curses and muffled groans shocking my senses into overdrive, feeding the surge of heat that was rising inside of me, sending me into a constant loop, in danger of overloading.
I shook like an adrenaline junkie, needing more. I wanted him to take me over, wanted him as deep as possible, needed him to cover me, surround me as we joined as one. Instinct demanded this. I pushed at his hands and he frowned, but then his expression cleared. Pulling back, he flipped me over and dragged me to him, plunging back inside, barely missing a beat. His hands came down next to my shoulders as he curled around me, his knees pressing my legs wide and chest rubbing against my back.
“Is this what you need, my mate?” His voice was gravelly, his wolf riding him to complete the bond.
“Yes,” I choked out, bracing myself on my elbows so I could really feel the power behind every punch of his hips. Nerve endings sparked, pulsing.
“Always yours, my mate,” he murmured, brushing the side of my neck with his lips, then I felt a sting as he pierced my skin, claiming me as his.
Then he lifted me, pulling me back against his chest and bent his neck, offering himself to me. I grabbed his chin, pulling his lips to meet mine. “Always yours, my mate,” I echoed, then in sync, he tilted his head and I pierced his skin. He was mine. My cat roared in triumph as the ball of heat inside my chest expanded, exploding into something bigger. I rocked against him while in my mind’s eye, I watched as the heat reached out of me, searching for my mate, spindling down a golden line until it collided in a flash of light that had me groaning as I suddenly felt fuller, stretched, bursting at the seams.
I dropped back down onto my elbows as Tom snarled, a surge of lust hitting me through the soulbond, as he fucked into me, his face tucked into my neck, breath hot and fast. I could feel his love, his devotion. The steadfast loyalty he offered those who he felt had earned it. But it all faded under the weight of the pleasure cycling through our bond, building and building, ricocheting back into me until I couldn’t breathe and then I was floating, carried away as I melted into a puddle, Tom’s roar of satisfaction echoing in my ears, his hips grinding against me.
The floating continued, an out of body experience for sure, and I was vaguely aware of Tom cleaning us up and lifting me under the covers. When I finally managed to drag myself out from under the layer of endorphins, I smiled. He was curled up around me, his head tucked against my shoulder and leg pinning me down.
“Are you back now?” He sounded half asleep but very satisfied.
“Hmmmm.” I wriggled my hips, snuggling closer. “I’m enjoying the rush.”
He pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “Good.” There was really no need for more words, the bond radiated with happiness.
A thought snuck into my warm, happy place. “I want to show you my ocelot. And she wants to meet your wolf.”
He didn’t lift his head. “Now?”
“Why not? We could curl up together for a while.”
I felt his interest spark, then curiosity. “I googled ocelots,” he admitted. “I can’t wait to see you.”
“No time like the present.” Also, shifting would help restore our energy, which meant more fun naked time in my near future. I knelt up and called my shift to me, letting it wash over me until I looked up at him from a very different perspective. Yeah, I wasn’t the biggest cat.
He reached out, respect and something that looked like awe on his face. His hand glided over my back. “You’re beautiful. Sleek and powerful. Your markings are amazing.”
Of course, I preened at the praise. I was a cat after all. Giving him a prod with my paw, I licked his shoulder, silently telling him to get a move on.
With a chuckle, he rolled out of bed and his shift washed over him, leaving in its place a very large black wolf, flecked with brown, with familiar silver eyes. He jumped up onto the bed and I had a moment to wonder if Ester was going to kill me for this—I didn’t have a clue how much wolves shed, or if they did at all. I curled up into a tight ball and the wolf curled it’s larger body around me, tucking his head into my neck and snuffling.
Ah, screw it. What she doesn’t know won’t kill her.
Epilogue
Julie
One week later…
Heartsridge town was nothing like I’d expected and everything like I’d grown to hope it would be. In reality, it wasn’t much different from a human town, a hodgepodge of people from all walks of life trying build a life. The packhouse was amazing, huge and full of people. They’d all welcomed me like a long lost sister, which had freaked me out to begin with, but Tom had managed to convince me it was actually great. Even better, Owen had given us our own suite of rooms at the back of the house so we could have some privacy, which meant we had our own living room. It wasn’t very big, but it was somewhere that I could escape to when the feline side of me decided that she’d had enough and wanted to chill in peace.
Tonight was New Year’s Eve and Tom had taken me out to an amazing Thai place. My mouth was still burning but my stomach was still orgasming.
We were walking down the main street, his arm around my shoulders and mine tucked up under his jacket around his waist. I was mildly amazed that we’d managed to go all evening without ripping each other’s clothes off. Tom hadn’t been lying about the whole crazy for each other newly mated stage. Privately, I was hoping it never wore off, though I could imagine it might get a little difficult at times, especially when Tom goes back to work. I’d have to start arranging lunchtime booty calls.
He gave me the side eye. “What are you sniggering at?”
I lifted a shoulder, pasting an innocent look on my face. “Lunchtime booty calls.”
Silver flickered in his eyes and I shivered. It was getting ridiculous. Like I was a trained monkey. He looked at me, all sexy and hot and with his silver eyes and I shivered. Every. Goddamn. Time.
His breath caught and a low growl trickled out.
Okay, at least I wasn’t the only one with Pavlovian responses.
“I’m going to miss you when you go back to work.” Our honeymoon was nearly over. Owen had given us just over a week, but they really needed Tom back. Things were still shaky with the humans and there were a lot of shifters who needed our help.
Check me out. Our help.
Assimilation complete.
“I’m going to miss you, too.” His thumb stroked my neck as we made our way past the souvenir shop. Yeah, that’s right—a souvenir shop. The town was going full-on tourist hotspot. Personally, I wasn’t sure how it was going to work, but the Mayor was sold on the idea. He was the lion shifter, Mayor Carter. We’d been introduced and I had honorary membership of his Pride, but he knew I really belonged to the wolves. Still, it meant I could socialize with them, and, as a bunch, the cats were a lot looser organized than the pack. More a ‘call a friend if you’re stuck’ kind of thing, than ‘live in each other’s pockets and be the bestest friends eva’ wolf ethos. It was a work in progress.
“Have you thought about what you’d like to do with your free time?”
That was one of the plusses about moving in with the pack—shared bills. Though Tom contributed our share, which didn’t really sit right with me. I’d always been proudly independent, so I wanted to work. “I was hoping that there would be a cafe or bistro in town, but it doesn’t look like it.”
“I should mention that to Owen, he’s always looking for new ideas.”
I glanced at him. “Really?”
“The pack owns quite a few of the businesses in town, plus the construction company.” At my quizzical stare, he added, “Not every wolf is cut out for security.”
“Makes sense.”
“Here we are
.” He pulled me to a stop, turning me to face the line of shops that stretched all the way down to the Municipal Building. “What do you think?” He pointed at an empty unit. “Across from the fountain with space outside for tables and chairs. The guys have finished the basic fit, but are waiting on input from the new owner before they do anything else.” When I gave him a blank look, he grinned. “It’s a good space, right. Good location, plenty of foot traffic.”
“Suuuuure.” I shrugged. “Maybe Owen can open that cafe here and I can apply for a job?” It would suck, going back to taking orders from someone, but it wasn’t like I had a lot of options when it came to traveling to work.
“Hmmmm.” He rubbed his jaw, narrowing his eyes. “Or maybe you should instead.”
A set of keys appeared in front of my face, dangling in the air.
“Happy New Year, baby.”
I spun around to face him, searching for any sign that he might be kidding. Taking my hand, he placed the keys in them, then folded my fingers around them. “Your happiness means everything to me,” he stated in a quiet voice. “You went through a lot, lost a lot, and now it’s time to build it back up, bigger and better than before.”
“But— How?”
“I rang Owen the first week I was with you and asked him to hold this place for me. He put a rush on finishing the main work. Now it’s all up to you.”
I threw myself into his arms, clinging like a limpet. I hadn’t realized until right now how much I’d mourned that part of my life.
“Once I’ve got the cafe up and running and it’s turning a profit, I’ll see about paying back the start-up money you lent—”
He cut me off with a growl. “That I took from our savings. Our money, sweetheart. And you’ve seen the accounts, we’re fine.”
Okay, that would take some getting used to.
I turned back to the empty unit, possibilities brimming inside of me. Grabbing Tom’s hand, I held on tight.
New start. New beginning.
“I love it and I love you. Thank you.”
He dropped a kiss on my temple. “Want to go inside and make lots of crazy plans?”
I was already moving. “Hell, yeah.”
Thank you for taking the time to read The Ocelot’s Surprise Present, I hope you enjoyed meeting Tom & Julie. If you’d like to read more from me, Austin’s book is a great place to start!
HEARTSRIDGE SHIFTERS: AUSTIN
(SOUTH-ONE BEARS #1)
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From the Author
Olivia Arran is a USA Today bestselling author. An avid reader her whole life, she loves spending her time immersed in fantastical worlds. She writes steamy paranormal romance with strong alpha heroes and feisty heroines.
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Angel Kisses - Elianne Adams
Jenna hasn’t been home for Christmas in years. Life happened—actually, her asshole ex happened—but this year, she’s back if only to lick her wounds and salvage her pride. When an unfortunate Christmas tree incident reunites her with her high school crush, Dereck, the last thing she needs is a fling, much less a relationship. But the Parish Pointe wolf pack Alpha is too sexy for his own good, and she’s not sure she can resist or even if she wants to.
Copyright © 2018 by Elianne Adams
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
1
Jenna Blaine’s grunts filled the crisp air, puffing little white clouds in front of her face as she tugged with every ounce of strength she had. Her left foot slid in the wet, sticky snow, sending her sprawling on her ass. Blocks of ice had long since replaced her fingers in her wet mittens, but she was going to get her Christmas tree home if it killed her. It wouldn’t, though—she’d been made tough. The last few weeks had proven that.
For five years, she’d all but begged for a real tree. “They’re too messy. I have allergies. I don’t have the time. We don’t even have an ax.” She could almost hear Kevin’s nasally whine as he’d thrown every excuse he could think of at her. And so, every Christmas, the crappy one they’d bought at a thrift store their first year living together came out of the box.
Had the thing been pretty, she could have used a pine scented diffuser and pretended to have a tree, but no. It had been as fake as fake got. No amount of skillful decorating could hide that fact. The scrawny wire boughs barely had any needles on them when Kevin had set it up the first time—never mind the following year, and the one after that. Even good ol’ Charlie Brown would have tossed the pitiful thing to the curb, and yet, they’d kept using it.
But not this year. Nope, Kevin was gone, and along with him went his cheap-ass tree and Scrooge-y attitude. Paula had done her a favor by sleeping with Kevin and exposing him for the lying, cheating weasel that he was. Didn’t mean she’d forgive either of them any time soon, but she’d dodged a bullet, for sure. And to think she’d convinced herself that a diamond might be waiting for her under the tree this year. She snorted, remembering the black velvet box she’d found in the glove compartment of his car not so long ago. The stupid ring was probably for Paula. Seeing how cheap Kevin was, it would turn her finger green. Would serve her right.
A sharp pang streaked through her chest. Not because she wished Kevin back in her life—hell no, that chapter was done—but she was going to be alone this Christmas.
After having told her parents a few weeks earlier she thought Kevin was going to pop the question over the holidays, she hadn’t had the guts to tell them what had happened. Besides, they’d already booked their trip to Italy to see Kate, and there was no way she was asking them to change their plans. Her sister had been so happy to have family coming, she’d sobbed over the phone for what had seemed like hours.
Jenna took a deep breath of cold mountain air. Rather than get to her feet right away, she flopped onto her back and stared at the white, puffy clouds dotting the sky. Home. Being in the city for the holidays wasn’t the same. As much as she would miss having her family around her, she couldn’t blame her parents for booking their vacation over Christmas. They probably expected her to cancel her plans to come home at the last minute like she had the previous two years when Kevin had come down with a bug. Of course, the convenient illness had magically cleared up the moment she’d cancelled their plans. Served her right for letting a man get in the way of her relationship with her parents. Well, no more. I’m making changes. Big changes. Time to get my life back on track.
Huge, fluffy snowflakes floated on the breeze to land on her cheeks, making her smile. “Those are angel kisses,” her grandad had told her the winter after her grandma had passed. “That’s grandma sending her love to all of us.”
She sighed as cold seeped through her jacket and her ass grew damp. Time to get back to it. Dragging the tree was slowing her down a lot more than she’d expected it would. Funny how much easier it all had been when she was little and her dad had done all the work.
Jenna grinned and hoisted herself upright. She’d have to hustle if she wanted to get back home before the sun set. Thankfully, she’d been smart enough to stick a flashlight in her pocket before leaving.
Two days. That’s how long Dereck Harrington, new Alpha of Parrish Pointe, had managed to keep away from Blaine land. He’d spotted Jenna at the grocery store on Monday and had decided to leave her the fuck alone. She was human, and worse, she was in a relationship. Word in Parrish Pointe was that she was getting married. His gut clenched at the thought. He didn’t bother restraining his growl. Unlike on Monday, when he’d been in t
own, there was no one around to hear him this time.
Dereck leaned into a curve on the trail, then gunned his snowmobile, crossing the property line between his, and Blaine land.
Of course, she didn’t know she was his mate, and he hadn’t spoken to her since high school, but that wasn’t the point. Why come home now? Wasn’t her life in the city? Her parents were in Italy. They’d asked him to keep an eye on the property for a few weeks while they were gone, which was why he was heading over there to check things out. It had nothing to do with the sexy woman being there.
Right. Nothing at all, his wolf grumbled into his mind. We don’t want to see our mate. Or smell her. Or taste her. You’re full of shit.
Dereck groaned at the images the beast was sending into his mind—soft brown hair splayed on his pillow, sweet smile on full lips, luscious curves he wanted to get lost in. We can’t have any of those things, he reminded none too gently.
Not if you keep acting like a pussy and never talk to her.
Dereck grunted. Arguing with his wolf wasn’t going to solve a damned thing. He couldn’t blame the beast for being surly. Having Jenna so close and not allowing himself near her had him snapping at everyone he came across, too.
He slowed and leaned into another curve, easing the machine around the bend before hitting the throttle. He’d make sure she had enough firewood and that the emergency generator was in good working order, and then he’d leave again. If he saw her, he’d say hi, but he wasn’t going to go out of his way to make contact. In the end, it would be easier for him—and his wolf—if all he had were muted memories from their youth rather than fresh ones to erase.
