She woke to a relative silent stillness. Looking around, she was shocked to find they had reached the marina and Caleb was maneuvering them toward the dock.
“Wow,” she said, turning to find Nick watching her closely. “I fell asleep.”
“Yes, you did,” he said with a comforting smile, “but you needed it since you haven’t slept much the last couple of nights.”
Emerald felt a slow burn climb up her face as she realized the reason why she had fallen behind on her sleep. Worried about leaving the island for the first time in eight years, she would wait until Nick passed out after they had wonderful and inventive sex in his bed. Once she was certain he was asleep, she would crawl from the bed and go to her bedroom where she would write for hours until she felt tired enough to sleep. Then she would return to Nick’s bed.
“You know about that?”
He nodded. “I woke up several times last night and found myself alone. There was light coming in from your room, and I heard the tapping of fingers on a keyboard. Knowing that interruptions can screw up an author’s creative process, I decided to let you work. Hope the story is a good one.” He nuzzled his nose up the side of her neck.
Emerald tilted her head to the side, giving him easier access as she grinned as she remembered what she had been writing for the last two days. “Yes, it’s going to be a good story, but not one appropriate for children.”
“Oh, really?”
“Uh-huh. I’ll let you read it once it’s finished, and after you’ve finished reading the rest of my stories.”
He had spent the day before reading the some more of the children’s stories Emerald had written. Once he had finished, he declared them as good as the handful that Silver finally confessed to have submitted to him in Emerald’s name.
“Oooo, can’t wait to see it. For now, how about we go walk around town?” Nick asked as he pulled his arms from around her and stood up.
Emerald took a breath as she looked across the deck to the marina and the small beach town beyond. “Okay, but don’t leave me,” she said softly as she placed her hand in his and allowed him to pull her to her feet.
He did not answer until they were on the dock and he had threaded their fingers together. “Not a chance,” he said, holding up their intertwined hands. “I love you, gypsy, and we’re going to have a wonderful day. Now, what would you like to do first?”
Emerald looked down at his clothes then at all the other humans in sight. Her mate stuck out like a peacock on a turkey farm. Knowing the two boys who had assaulted her were no longer living in town, thanks to Nick doing some investigative work on the Internet, and that he would be by her side the entire time, Emerald’s fear slowly dissipated.
With the first genuine smile she had shown since agreeing to this trip, she patted her mate’s chest. “First stop is to buy some beach-appropriate clothing for my overdressed mate. And maybe some souvenirs for your friends back in New York. Then lunch and maybe we can find a hiding place to make out,” she whispered with a wink.
Nick looked surprised at her itinerary, but grinned in response. “Feeling better?”
She nodded as they followed Goldie and Caleb up the dock and onto dry land.
After buying Nick shorts, T-shirts, and sandals at a beachwear store, they walked through the rest of town until they came to a restaurant with a covered outdoor seating area. Though she had been scared spitless before leaving Pyrate Island, Emerald found herself relaxing and actually enjoying herself.
After lunching on fried seafood, fries, and creamy coleslaw, Goldie and Caleb left them alone after they decided to meet back at the boat several hours later for the trip back to the island.
“Doing okay?” he asked with a smile as he finished his tall iced tea.
“Just fine. How are you?” she asked, unable to wipe the grin that she had worn since leaving the dock.
Her spirit was lighter than it had been in years, and she was kicking herself for hibernating on Pyrate Island. All it had taken was finding her mate to fill her with a bravery she had never felt before.
“Want to walk around some more? Or go back and sunbathe on the boat while we wait for Goldie and Caleb?”
“Can we just sit here for a few more minutes before we go anywhere? I’m having fun just sitting here and people watching,” Emerald answered, her gaze drawn to several small children who were playing chase around their mother.
Children were one of the things she missed most about visiting the mainland. Except for an occasional child born to one of the pack members, she had forgotten what small humans were all about. Chase and giggles without thought to the dark side of light.
“Will you be okay if I hit the men’s room?” Nick said as he pushed from his seat.
“Sure, no problem,” she replied. A pair of seagulls on the sidewalk begging for a handout distracted her.
She did not realize she was alone until two men surrounded her. The alcohol breath that filled the air around her told her that they were more than a little drunk.
“Hey, sweetheart, want some company?” one of them asked as he and his buddy each pulled up a chair too close for her comfort.
“No, thank you,” she said, the fear that had left her earlier suddenly running back and causing her to feel sick.
“Aw, don’t be like that, babydoll. You’re too pretty to be hanging out here alone. Maybe we could go somewhere and get better acquainted,” the second one said as he stroked a hand across the top of her shoulder.
As she eased away from his skeezy touch, her fear turned to anger. Pushing the table out of her way, she stood up and turned on the two men. But her anger flared so much she could not speak and her wolf broke from her normally tight control. She growled low in her throat and felt her canines slide down as a red haze dropped over her eyes.
“What the fuck?” the two men said in unison as they pushed their chairs farther away from her.
Before her wolf could completely break free, Nick stepped in. He pulled her into his chest and held her tight as he turned them until her back was to the drunks. She heard him ask, “Are you bothering my wife?” in a low, threatening voice that she never wanted aimed in her direction. She wondered for a moment if he had a fierce expression to go with the voice.
His comforting presence and touch combined with the thought that he would step between her and danger calmed her wolf almost as quickly as her anger had originally flared.
She heard the men stammer an apology as chairs scraped across the concrete floor. A moment later Nick loosened his hold and used two fingers to lift her chin until she looked up at him.
“Emerald? Honey? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Thanks for stopping me,” she said softly as she began to tremble in response.
Nick hugged her again then lowered his head forward and kissed her. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here. I can’t believe those two actually tried to hit on you.”
“They were drunk,” she said. “I was scared for a minute, but then I thought about it and realized that I had as much right to sit here and not be hit on. Then I got mad. I got so angry my wolf almost broke through. Thank you for stepping in and saving them from being eaten.” She hugged him with a giggle.
They stood there for a few minutes hugging and calming one another before they slowly parted. Nick picked up her left hand and looked hard at it. “I think we need to do something to stop men from hitting on my mate.”
Lacing their fingers together again, he kissed her ring finger before walking out onto the street.
“So where are we going?” she asked as he led her down the street.
He pulled out his phone and texted someone. As they waited, they continued walking. When his phone dinged in response, he read the text then turned them to walk up the next street away from the wharf area.
“We, my sweet mate, are going to the nearest jewelry store and buying a great big shiny piece of bling for this finger,” he said, stroking his free hand down the ring finger of her left ha
nd. “And if you agree, instead of going back to the island, we can go to New York, close up my apartment, and arrange for me to be a telecommuter with only one client in my stable. When we get back here, we are going to get married.”
“We are?” Emerald asked, amazed that his plan did not frighten her in the least.
“Yes, we are.” He glanced around and saw the store he was looking for across the street. Then he turned back to her. “That is, if you’re okay with the plan?”
She turned her head and looked up at him. “Can we spend tonight here in town, just in case?”
Nick stopped just outside the jewelry store’s door and pulled her into his arms. Dropping his head, he kissed her until they were both breathless. “Whatever my sweet gypsy wants,” he murmured when he finally lifted his lips from hers.
Chapter 9
Two weeks later, Nick taped closed the last box to be shipped to Pyrate Island before looking at Brittney, who seemed to have blossomed into a competent, organized assistant, though she was still timid. “These boxes are to be shipped to the island. Have the rest of the stuff packed up and sent to my apartment. The manager knows they’ll be coming and will take care of them.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, still sounding like a mouse facing a gauntlet of cats. “Oh, there’s someone waiting to see you. She did not care that this is your last day of work. She was adamant about seeing you, no matter how long she had to wait. She didn’t have an appointment, but said you would see her.”
“Who is it?”
“She wouldn’t give her name, but she said you were expecting her.”
Nick frowned as he tossed the roll of tape on his desk. The only person on his schedule was his mate, who he had sent shopping with strict instructions to buy something beautiful for their last dinner in New York before returning to Pyrate Island. After two weeks back in the city, he realized that neither he nor Emerald could be comfortable living in a tenth floor apartment that looked out on nothing more than other tall buildings.
“Well, show her in. But stay by your phone just in case I need you to call security,” he said.
As Brittney scurried out, he moved around his desk and sat down. Pulling a blank pad of paper and pen from his desk, he tried to put a welcoming expression on his face. A moment later, the door opened, and the woman stepped in. She wore an ankle length trench coat and tall black stiletto heels and carried a large plastic shopping bag in one hand. She turned so he did not see her face as she closed the door. He thought he heard a snick of the lock, but could not be sure.
“My assistant said you were adamant about seeing me, Miss. What can I do for you?”
The woman stood with her back to him for a moment before taking a deep breath. She dropped her coat, and he saw she wore only a leopard print camisole with a matching thong and a pair of black stockings with wide elastic tops that held them securely against her toned thighs.
Nick tried to speak, but could not swallow or clear his throat to do so. Then the woman turned around, and his shock turned to amazement.
“Hello, mate,” Emerald said. Teetering on the tall heels, she stepped over her coat and slowly crossed the room to stand in front of his desk.
“Oh my God,” Nick muttered.
He flew around the desk, stopping when just inches separated them. Though he was so proud that his mate had come out of her shell, he also hoped that this new core of bravery and strength would not get her hurt, or worse.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing running around the city in that outfit?”
Emerald giggled as she wrapped her hands around his upper arms before kicking off her shoes. “How do women walk in those things? Don’t worry. I changed in the ladies’ room down the hall. I thought you deserved a treat since you’re changing your entire life for me.”
“Then why didn’t Brittney tell me it was you?”
She had spent part of every day in the office as Nick put the first six books up for auction, earning her more money for each book than she thought she would get for the entire series of three dozen stories she had written. She also helped him sort and purge through his paperwork, helping Brittney reassign the rest of his client roster to other agents, and generally being more help than he ever expected. He also watched as she helped Brittney grow into the job.
“Because I asked her not to. I wanted it to be a surprise for my hardworking mate. So, what do you think about this outfit? Too much? Too little? Too leopard?”
She stepped back and turned a slow circle, allowing him to see her from every angle. His cock, which had slammed from soft to diamond hard in three heartbeats, began to drool with his excitement.
“Perfect. Beautiful. Just like the woman wearing it,” he said, reaching for her, but missing when she stepped back and turned away.
She heard his clothes rustling as he followed her across the box-cluttered office toward the long leather couch on the other side of the room. When she turned around and sat down, she was not surprised that he was standing several feet away and naked.
Though they had been pushing the boundaries of her experiences, her cheeks began to burn as she watched him stroke his hand up and down the length of his cock.
When he moved close enough, she ran the pad of her index finger over the tip of the head of his cock, smearing the fluid there around the head of his cock. He responded with a deep-throated moan and thrust his hips closer to her lips.
She took her finger away from his cock and slipped it into her mouth, needing to taste her mate. “Mmmm,” she breathed as he stepped closer.
Leaning forward, she took the head of his cock into her mouth. Nick allowed her a moment to swirl her tongue around the head of his cock before he eased back, pulling from her lips.
“Don’t go,” she whimpered, her hunger growing with each beat of her heart. She wanted more than the one quick taste.
“Strip, then you can have more,” Nick ordered gently as he took another step back. “But leave on the stockings.”
Aroused almost beyond words, Emerald stood and stripped off the last of her clothes. Then she stepped forward. “What now?” she asked. The bold, brazen side she had discovered in this city pushed forward, and she closed the last inches between them, hot shivers running through her as they did every time she and her mate came together.
* * * *
Nick moved slightly side to side, reveling in the feel of rubbing against his mate. His need for his woman overwhelmed him until he was out of control. The knowledge that they were about to have sex in his office with Brittney sitting on the other side of the door made his cock even harder.
Lowering his head, he brushed his cheek against hers before sucking at her earlobe. “Need you now. Right now.”
He blinked when Emerald leaned back and looked up at him. Her blue eyes glowed with her own lust. “Take me.”
Wrapping his hands under the cheeks of her ass, he lifted her easily. Instead of using the couch, he walked to his empty desk. Laying her down, he lifted her legs high and wide, showing him the juices glistening at her wide open entrance. He brushed the tip of his cock up and down her pussy, thoroughly wetting the head. He then set the head and pushed forward, filling her completely. She gasped as he pushed deeper and deeper until he could go no further.
He guided her legs around his back then leaned over her until he looked directly into her eyes. “Oh, gypsy, you feel so damn good around me.”
He licked then began to suckle at a hardened nipple while slowly pulling out until only the head remained inside his mate.
“More, Nick. Fuck me good,” Emerald murmured.
Licking at her nipple, he gave up on control. Straightening, he held her hips steady, and he began to piston in and out. In seconds, his hunger spiraled out of control. He watched as her canine teeth dropped and she prepared to claim him yet again.
A moment later, he felt her cunt begin to caress his shaft in rippling waves. His hips drove forward three more times before he bit his lip, trying to kee
p from screaming as his cock pulsed and jetted semen into his mate.
Once his orgasm passed and he could think again, he lifted his head and looked at his mate. Though her eyes were closed and she lay completely relaxed beneath him, she was smiling with the joy that had grown in her since they had become mates and she had broken free from the prison of her own making.
Sliding his hands behind her shoulders, he picked her up. His cock fell out as he carried her behind his desk. Settling in his chair, he arranged her to sit across his lap. He cuddled her as he looked around the office, knowing that this move in both career and living conditions was the right thing. Brushing a kiss on the top of her head, he murmured softly, “I love you. You’re mine now, my sweet gypsy Emerald. Now and forever.”
THE END
WWW.COOPERMCKENZIE.WEBS.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cooper McKenzie always thought she had been born a hundred years too late but appreciates air conditioning, computers, and other conveniences of modern-day living. She enjoys the slower pace of New Bern, North Carolina, as well as the history and small-town community found there. In addition to dreaming up her next story, Cooper enjoys reading everything except scary books, singing in her church choir, and needle-weaving.
Also by Cooper McKenzie
Siren Classic: Pyrate’s Treasure 1: Goldie
Ménage Amour: Club Esoteria 1: His Sub’s Submissive
Siren Classic: Club Esoteria 2: Caught by the Master
Ménage Amour: Club Esoteria 3: Minding Mistress
Ménage Amour: Club Esoteria 4: Masters of Her Heart
Siren Classic: Club Esoteria 5: Jillian’s Master
Siren Allure: Club Esoteria 6: His Beck and Call Girl
Ménage Amour: Club Esoteria 7: A Club Esoteria Christmas
Emerald [Pyrate's Treasure 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 7
