by Milly Taiden
“What did you come for, Mother?”
She exhaled loudly and pursed her lips. Her navy pencil skirt and black top were as casual as she got. He glanced down at her feet and winced. Jesus. Those fuckers had to hurt. They were at least five inches high.
“I came to tell you we’re having a dinner with a couple of single women and their fathers. You’re the guest of honor.” She gave him the look. The one that said ‘go ahead, tell me you’re not coming. See what happens.’
“Fine. Anything else?”
She blinked, shock clear in her gaze. “Uh, no. You’re okay with this?”
“I’ll be there. When is it?” He might not be there alone if he could help it, but what better way to start teaching Miranda he’s serious than to show everyone she’s the one he wants?
“Next weekend. Saturday.”
He nodded. “Got it.”
She opened and shut her mouth a few times before finally turning on her heel and leaving. He was surprised she’d left without mentioning the whole feline thing again.
“I think you need to pay Gerri Wilder a visit,” Spike said as he ate the last of his sandwich. “And will you please pick up some real food on your way home? A steak or two won’t kill you.”
“You could pick up some food, too, you know.” He stood, ready to change for his visit to Mrs. Wilder.
“I pick up food all the time. You eat it, and it’s your turn. Maybe you should learn to make something in case you need to feed Miranda at some point. Like bring her home to dinner.” Spike grinned unapologetically. “What are you gonna do? Sandwich her to death?”
“Fucktard, I’m pretty sure I can figure something out if I needed to feed her.”
“Yeah. I’m sure you could burn a lot of food, thinking you could ‘figure it out.’”
Kasen shrugged. “It’s going to take a lot more than food to get her to agree to be my mate.”
“You know what, bro? You will be fine. I bet Gerri will help. She’s great like that.”
He hoped so. He’d seen the determination in Miranda’s eyes. She was not going to go for cute words and a sexy smile. Hell, not even hot sex had done it. He needed a professional at that point.
THIRTEEN
Andi knocked on the apartment door again. Maybe nobody was home. She glanced down at her watch. Perhaps Gerri hadn’t gotten her message. A second later, she heard the ding of the elevator and soon steps were coming her way. Sure enough, Gerri Wilder smiled as she approached her.
“Miranda, darling. How are you?”
She wasn’t sure if that was a genuine question or if she meant because of the whole wolf/lioness thing. “I’m good, Gerri. I’m sorry to drop in on you. I left a message.”
Gerri opened her apartment door and waived her hand at Andi. “It’s fine, Andi. I have been interviewing assistants and had to run out to grab some supplies for a small gathering with some friends at the end of this week.”
Andi followed Gerri inside the massive apartment. A wall had been removed to create a giant space. Obviously one side was used for her business while the other was her living quarters. “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”
She watched Gerri pull liquor bottles out of her shopping bag and raised her brows.
Gerri laughed. “I don’t usually drink, but my friends coming to visit like to mix drinks so I enjoy having a stocked bar. I wish I knew some cool drinks to show off.”
“Well, I could teach you one of my favorites.”
Gerri’s eyes lit up with enthusiasm. “Please! I have pretty much every liquor known to man in this place. I didn’t know what to buy so I got it all.”
Andi bit her lip trying not to laugh at the drink that came to mind. “Do you have Vodka?”
“Yes!”
“Gin?”
“Let me see…” She rummaged through cabinets before pulling out a bottle. “Yes!”
She thought back to the ingredients to one of her favorite but most potent drinks. “What about rum and tequila?”
Gerri chuckled. “Those two I know I have.”
She giggled and stood by Gerri. “Let me think. What about Blue Curacao Liqueur and Sweet and Sour Mix?”
Gerri puckered her brow. She went back to searching cabinets. Moments later, she had the two bottles on the counter along with the others. “This is a lot of liquor. Is this for a bunch of drinks?”
Andi snickered. “One drink. But we need one more thing. Do you have soda? Think Sprite or 7UP.”
“Oh, I keep 7UP at hand for guests, so yes.” Gerri got a can from her fridge.
“Cool, I’ll mix all this stuff and show you how it’s done.” She gave Gerri instructions on how much liquor to mix of each. “Once you have all the liquors mixed, you fill a highball glass with it.”
“You missed the 7UP.” Gerri pointed at the can.
“Nope,” she laughed. “I got it. The 7UP goes last. Do you have a straw?”
Gerri opened a drawer and gave her a brand new straw. She stirred the drink gently and glanced at Gerri. “If you have cherries or sliced lemons, they go well with this.”
Gerri took the glass from her hand and readied to sip. “So what’s this drink called?”
She pressed her lips together, trying to stop herself from giggling. “Adios Motherfucker.”
Gerri’s sip turned into a coughing fit. She put the glass down and Andi worried she’d given her too much liquor in one shot. “Are you okay?”
Gerri started to laugh in earnest. “That has to be the best drink name ever and from how powerful it is, I see why. Once you drink one of those, you are a goner. So yeah, Adios Motherfucker is a great name.”
Gerri was so cool. She reminded Andi a lot of her mother in some way. “Glad you like it. You do have to be careful who you give it to. You don’t want people falling on their face on your floor.”
Gerri shook her head and put the drink down. She motioned for Andi to follow her as they headed into the living room. “So what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, darling? I highly doubt you came all the way over here just to teach me how to make the Adios Motherfucker.” She laughed. “You know, that is a very cool drink name.”
She smiled and took a seat in one of Gerri’s sofas across from her. “Thank you for not minding my showing up. I just wasn’t sure what to do.”
Gerri sighed and smiled. “I think I’ll make some tea. Do you want some?”
She scrunched her nose. She wasn’t a tea drinker; coffee was more her thing, but she’d take it. “Sure, tea sounds good.”
Gerri shook her head and headed for the kitchen. “Child, that face spoke the complete opposite, but okay, if you’re sure.”
“Yeah, I’ll drink tea,” she replied, a bit embarrassed Gerri had been able to notice she wasn’t a fan of it. “As long as it’s not some weird flavor.”
“Lemon okay?”
“Yes!” She felt like a picky kid, but no point in lying and then not drinking the tea once it was given to her. “Gerri, you sent a wolf shifter to see me…”
A very fucking hot and gorgeous, sexy and all around badass wolf shifter, but wolf, nonetheless. Wolf was not what she needed. She needed human or feline. Someone who would get her. And she most certainly did not need an alpha at that.
FOURTEEN
There was a moment of silence. She was sure Gerri was rolling her eyes at her for even questioning her decision. She’d pretty much given her the go ahead to do whatever she wanted and now here she was, telling her she didn’t want that.
Finally, Gerri came out of the kitchen with a tray with tea cups and saucers and a glass tea pot with beautiful blue scroll work on it. The cups matched the scrolls as well.
Gerri passed her a cup filled with tea. She smelled the fruity flavors and her mouth watered. “Is that strawberry cheesecake?” She gasped. “In tea form?”
Gerri nodded. “You said nothing weird. I figured this was one flavor you wouldn’t mind trying.”
She dropped a few sugar cubes i
nto her tea and stirred. Then sipped. Oh god, that was so good. “Mmm.” Another sip. “Wow, this tastes delicious.”
“I’ll make a tea drinker out of you yet.” Gerri sat back with her own cup and sipped. “Okay, so what’s the problem with Kasen? Is he not good looking?”
“Well, yes.” Really fucking hot was more like it.
Gerri cleared her throat and shoved a strand of fine blond hair behind her ear. “Big? Strong? Self-assured?”
She licked her lips, tasting the sweet tea on her tongue. “Yes, yes, and yes. He was all of those, but Gerri―”
Gerri raised her brows. A curious look glittered in her eyes. “Was he not good at sex?”
She blinked, heat crowding her cheeks. “I don’t think―”
“Sex is important,” Gerri said with a grin. “And I know you already had sex, so if sex wasn’t good, we’ll definitely have to find you someone else.”
Oh, dear god. “No, no. Sex was really good. Sex was fucking great. That’s not the point.”
“Good. Then all is fine.” Gerri continued drinking her tea and Andi wondered what the hell just happened.
“No. All is not fine. He’s an alpha wolf. He is arrogant, prideful, bossy, and way too good looking for his own good.” Okay, that last one was a shitty excuse, but she had nothing else.
“All those things can be worked out as you get to know him. The too good looking for his own good sounds more like a plus than a negative.” Gerri put her teacup down and folded one leg over the other. “You need a strong man, Andi. A man that will stand up and fight with you, not one that will run scared when shit hits the fan.” Gerri’s features turned serious. “And I know shit has already hit the fan. There’s restlessness in your pride.”
There was no denying that. All prides had issues though. It was part of their way of life. People had differences of opinion. That didn’t mean she couldn’t do her job and lead her people. “They’ll calm once I have a mate.”
Gerri nodded. “Exactly. They will calm, but only if you have a man who is able to put them in their place. Do you really think you need to add babysitter to your job duties?”
She frowned at her teacup, the swirling pink liquid soothing her with its scent. “I don’t think I would be.”
“Yes. You would.” Gerri’s words were curt and quick. “A human or any weaker type of male would require your having his back. He’d be afraid of pissing people off. It would escalate. Males wouldn’t respect him.”
Dammit, she hadn’t thought of it that way. “Still, I don’t have time to deal with egos and pride.”
“No, but wouldn’t it be better to know you have someone by your side who can fight along with you instead of being a hindrance? A man that will give it his all to make sure your pride runs smoothly?” Gerri didn’t glance away from her. “Tell me you wouldn’t appreciate knowing there is a man that will do all that for you and make you his priority.”
Fuck! It would be nice to have a support system instead of feeling like she had to handle everything on her own. Still, she had been trained from birth to lead. This was how things worked. Besides, a wolf would never get how her pride worked.
“Gerri, I just don’t think—”
“Look,” Gerri interrupted. “I respect your opinion and your argument, but you asked me to do a job and I’m doing it. I want you to do one thing for me. Give Kasen a chance.” Gerri raised her brows and shook her head. “Stop making faces. I am asking you to do this for a reason. Wolf or not, I think you need to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
She had a hard time controlling her lioness as it was around him. With her heat at full force, she’d probably claim him and then all hell would break loose.
“Maybe after my heat.”
“Now.” Gerri’s no-nonsense look made her rethink things. “This is the time more of your males will try to push their weight around and test their limits. Now that you need a man. Now that you’re in heat, it’s going to bring out the crazies from the woodwork.”
She didn’t know how right she was. Josh and his friends had reminded her how much the lions were in control of these human bodies.
“I’ll think about it and get back to you.” She so didn’t want to have to call Kasen the Orgasminator and tell him she wanted more time with him. He’d probably assume she wanted more sex. He’d be right, too. She totally did.
FIFTEEN
Kasen should have followed his common sense. The woman wanted nothing to do with him, but his wolf wouldn’t have it. She was meant to be his.
“You sure about this, bro?” Spike asked from the passenger side of his truck.
“Not at all.” His best reply yet. Andi had been honest with her response to him. She’d told him clearly they weren’t going anywhere. He hadn’t appreciated hearing it, but after speaking to Gerri and knowing how hard it was being a female alpha in a world of men, he understood somewhat.
“I love how we are pulling this whole visit out of our asses,” Spike laughed. “I don’t think it will endear you to her anymore.”
“She told me I wasn’t right for her.” Why did that bother him so much any fucking way? She’s your mate. His goddamned animal needed to be taken down a few notches. This whole shit with wanting her ASAP was driving him up a fucking wall.
“And so now we’re just going to show up and you’re going to…what? Debate that you are?” Spike’s tone was full of sarcasm. “I just think we’re going about this the wrong way.”
“I didn’t ask you to come,” he growled.
Spike laughed. The sound only annoyed Kasen more. He knew Kasen wasn’t one to back down…from anything. “No, you didn’t. But what kind of fucking beta would I be if I let my alpha go into enemy territory alone.”
He flashed Spike a cold look. “She’s mine.”
Spike cleared his throat. “Maybe, but her people sure aren’t. I highly doubt they’ll take your visit to court their alpha as anything to celebrate.”
He thought about what Spike said. Kasen didn’t need this kind of shit. What happened to wanting a chase? He didn’t expect to be rejected in the process. Not after sex so hot, it fucked with his ability to stay emotionally neutral. He acted like a moron after and got demanding. No wonder she didn’t want anything to do with him.
Women flocked to him. He was the alpha of the Steel Claw Pack. Fucking hell! Women all over the north wanted him, and she, the one he wanted, had looked him straight in the eyes and said she didn’t have time to teach him how to be the kind of mate she wanted. Like he was some new pup that needed training. He growled at the memory.
He slowed the truck as they neared her house. The bumpy country road didn’t bother him. This pride kept to a solo area and humans rarely came around there. There was a Jeep in front of her house so he was sure she was home. He hopped out of the vehicle and walked to the front door but stopped himself from knocking. The sound of yelling from the back of the house got his attention.
He motioned for Spike to be quiet and started around the house with his friend in tow. Spike frowned, but he shook his head. No way was his beta gonna fuck this up for him by trying to talk him out of it. They went around back and stopped at the scene of Andi surrounded by women.
“I don’t know what you want to hear from me,” Andi snapped, her lioness making herself known with the rough quality of her voice. “I told you I haven’t encouraged any of the men to think they’re going to lead this pride with me. I, “she hissed, “and I alone am the Prima.” She glanced around the women surrounding her along with the men at the women’s backs. “I don’t need any of them for a mate.”
One of the men, a younger guy with too much cockiness from what Kasen could see, shoved forward. “You do need a mate, though, Andi.”
Andi gave him a glare that made Kasen proud. She wouldn’t be pushed. That’s my girl.
“My decision on who to choose as a mate is my own. I don’t need anyone to remind me of my job.” She took a step toward the guy. There was no fear in her g
aze. Kasen had no doubt of her alpha status. She exuded power and strength. “I’m the prima here. Don’t any of you forget that.”
The cocky moron took another step, getting way too close to her. Kasen was glad he’d been watching. Andi’s features pulled tightly across her face. The partial shift was one he was well aware of and able to control. Not many could. She hissed and raked her claws in a quick X across the guy’s face and chest.
The movement was so fast, even the guy seemed shocked, his jaw hanging open and his eyes wide. He tried to move away, fumbling back a step. He blinked and blood dripped down the right side of his face. The pristine white T-shirt he wore hung in ribbons off his left side while soaking up the blood from his wounds.
“Ah!” The guy screamed too little too late when he realized what happened. A hush fell over the crowd. No one moved a muscle. Here was their prima reminding them who was in charge. Miranda relaxed enough for her hands to turn human again. Her gold-rimmed irises sparkled with the power of her feline.
“Holy fuck,” Spike whispered.
That was probably the sexiest thing Kasen had ever seen. She glanced around the group, one brow raised high, and pushed her hair away from her face. He couldn’t wait to fuck her again. Right there. Outside. In the middle of her fucking yard, where everyone could see him taking her. His mate. He’d come so hard, she’d swell with their young.
“Someone needs to get laid,” Spike joked in a hush.
Another man, a bigger one this time, stepped forward. Kasen saw the lust etched in his features. “Fine. So who are you going to choose? We’ve waited long enough for you to make a decision.”
Kasen didn’t stop to think. This motherfucker wanted her. Not in this lifetime. She might deny it from here to eternity, but she and Kasen had unfinished business. Mate business. This asshole wasn’t going to pressure his girl. All he wanted was all of them to back off his woman. To leave her the fuck alone. He marched forward and could hear Spike behind him warning him to stay out of it. Too fucking late.
