Lavinia leaned up, “What’s wrong?”
“Look at the entrance to the hallway.”
Lavinia looked over to the french doors that led into the house proper. It hadn’t been closed off to guests but with the beautiful day, few had chosen to wander further into the house. However, now she watched as one of the pairs of Werebeasts disappeared down its darkened hallway.
Thearon leaned down close to her ear, “Two other pairs have already left the party and the fourth are working their way over.”
“We should follow.”
“I should follow, you should stay here, it’s safer.”
Lavinia was going to argue but Thearon called over Queen Paulette of the Loupbrun Tribe. “Queen Paulette, I don’t know that you’ve had a chance to meet Queen Lavinia, my bride, yet.”
“No, no. It’s nice to meet you, my dear.” The beautiful woman with the feline eyes dropped into a curtsy with all the grace of the wolves she descended from. Straightening up, the black dress she wore skimmed a slender frame and was accented with a large cat-eye necklace. She was, by far, the most intimidating woman Lavinia had met that day.
“Queen Paulette, it’s an honor to meet you as well. Both of my husbands speak highly of you,” Lavinia responded dipping down into her own curtsy.
“Ladies, if you don’t mind I am going to catch an acquaintance who just slipped out of the room.” Kissing their hands, Thearon hurried after the final pair of Werebeasts before he lost where they were headed.
As Thearon walked further into the air-conditioned interior, he could hear that the library was occupied. It was the only occupied room he’d come across on the main level. Luckily, Thearon knew that the library had an adjoining coatroom that was accessible from an office, the next door down. There had been some joint security concerns and the Werelion and Werebear Tribes had jointly used the space for spying.
Slipping into the office, he moved through the walnut wood-clad room to the closet. Once inside the small space, he found the old fashioned peephole with which to spy on the group. Opening the brass hole, he quieted his breathing and concentrated on the voices.
“We were lucky today. I didn’t think it was going to be so easy to gather the information that we needed,” one of the Werelions was saying.
Thearon watched as the Werehorse browsing the leatherbound shelves addressed the group, “Yes, I think it showed us that we were correct in our assumptions. We will move forward as planned. Everyone knows their place?”
The Weres that Thearon could see, nodded in agreement before the original Werelion began talking again. “Alright, then the final countdown has begun. Rest assured that the bride sacrifice will bring harmony to the Tribes.”
Thearon felt his heart beat hard. The only thing people could talk about today was the wedding of the Werehorse Princess. The Princess was getting married the final day of Mardi Gras in a ceremony that promised to rival Thearon’s own wedding. That had to be where the security concern lay. As the group in the library prepared to disband, Thearon let the brass cover fall back over the hole. However, as he stood up, he tripped on a fallen hanger and banged hard against the wall to the office. He froze, as did the group next door, he guessed judging by the sudden silence. When harsh whispers resumed next door, he knew he was in trouble.
CHAPTER FIVE
Lavinia had been quietly moving into the office when she’d heard a loud thud emanate from an open door in the back of the room. Without thinking, Lavinia dropped her heels and ran to the space. Inside, she found Thearon rubbing his elbow with a look that suggested a mixture of annoyance and terror.
“What the hell? What are you doing here?” Thearon whispered sharply.
“Saving your ass,” Lavinia replied, pulling on the lapels of Thearon’s suit.
She encountered a little resistance as she pulled him out of the closet and toward her, but when her lips landed on his, he seemed to get the idea. Lavinia took his hand and placed it on her ass and Thearon took it a step further using the position to pull her flush against him. Lavinia thought that the hardness pressing into her stomach was a little excessive for the ruse, but would make it that much more believable if they were forced apart.
Thearon threaded his other hand across her back and used the bear hug to turn her and gently bang her against the wall.
“We need more noise,” Thearon said to her lips and Lavinia let out a moan. Thearon’s face drew back and Lavinia noted a raised eyebrow, “A realistic noise, please.”
“That was re-” Lavinia lost her voice as Thearon drew up one leg and hooked it over his hip, bringing all the necessary parts into alignment. Lavinia let out a low breathy noise that Thearon marked with approval. He was in the middle of one good grind when the door to the office banged against the wall. Thearon held Lavinia in place, but swung his face away from her, toward the intruders.
“Get out,” he growled, low in his chest.
The Werebeasts didn’t react as quickly as Thearon would have expected. Surely, they thought they would find a spy with a water glass to the wall, not two lovers in a passionate embrace. So why weren’t they moving out of the room completely embarrassed? One of the Werebears stepped forward as if he was going to say something more, but the Werelion held him back. Thearon wasn’t sure if they saw through the charade or not. There was a tense pause before the Werelion spoke, “Our apologies.”
The Werelion inclined his head slightly, but the look in his eyes spoke of defiance and none of the Werebeasts moved a muscle to retreat. Thearon stepped away from Lavinia and allowed his mated bear instincts take over. His hands began to morph into large paws with claws. Even with his body mostly in human form, the change could do a great deal of damage.
“Do we have a problem here? This office is otherwise occupied.”
“Perhaps you should have shut the door, then,” The Werelion responded coolly, claws beginning to appear on his own hands.
“Doesn’t common decency require you to leave when you see two people involved as we were?” The low growl that Thearon’s voice had become worried Lavinia. They did not need to escalate to their animal forms in this situation. There would be no way to control the fallout from that situation.
Taking a hold of Thearon’s arm, Lavinia could feel that the appendage was quickly turning into more bear than human. Lavinia stepped forward to do some damage control.
“It was most likely my fault. My husband and I are newly married and all the sweet tea got to me. I thought it would be fun to sneak away for a bit but I can obviously see that was a bad idea. Clearly, you have never enjoyed a stolen moment with a lover or you would not be so harsh with my husband.”
Thearon was impressed with Lavinia’s tone; it simply oozed disdain, , somehow making their amorous tryst the less shady part of the equation. This time, the Werelion made a full bow, “Again, our apologies.”
The group turned at a nod from the Werelion and moved down the hallway, shutting the door with a click behind them. Thearon paused for a full minute, waiting for someone to burst back into the room but when silence reigned, he sighed and let the bear slip out of his system. Turning to Lavinia he admitted, “You did an amazing job talking them down. I’ll admit I let my bear get away from me.”
“Well, it would have looked a little strange if some of your bear didn’t come out. But I didn’t want this situation to become public knowledge.” Lavinia smoothed her hair back into place and Thearon followed the movement, annoyed, he wanted her hair messed up.
“What the hell were you doing here, though? I thought I told you to stay in the party?”
Lavinia rolled her eyes, “You made a strategic error when you left me with Paulette. She knew exactly what you were up to and where you were probably headed. She sent me off after you almost as soon as you’d gone. I was so slow because I was trying my hardest to stay silent. Something at least one of us succeeded at,” she finished with a pointed look.
Thearon knew that he should thank her but part of him
wanted to punish her as well. He didn’t like that she took such risks with her safety. And above all, he didn’t like that she had defied his orders. Thearon fully turned toward Lavinia and forced her to walk backward until she hit the wainscoted wall behind her.
“Ouch, hey, what’s—“
Lavinia’s speech was cut off for a second time as Thearon’s mouth descended on hers. His hard lips forced hers into a full pout. then into submission. This time, it was obvious he was not trying to put on a show. The tongue that licked its way into Lavinia’s mouth was hot and greedy and it made her knees weak. Resting against the wall for support Lavinia arched her back in hopes of giving Thearon better access to her lips.
She was rewarded as her hair was tugged, the bite of pain wasn’t even a blip on her radar as Thearon’s tongue moved away from her mouth and started ringing the edges of her ear. The gentle caress caused her insides to clench and another breathy moan to leave her newly freed mouth.
Thearon bit her ear, right over the diamond stud before whispering, “I don't know if I should thank you or spank you, so I think I’ll do both.”
Lavinia almost dropped to the floor with that statement, but Thearon’s hands moved to her ass to keep her in place. The feel of his mouth against her neck caused her heart to beat like a hummingbird’s: fast and loud. So loud in fact that she had missed the zipper being slowly pulled down the back of her dress. It wasn’t until Thearon had moved it down her arms that she felt the release of the tight fabric. Thearon dipped his head down further and hummed into her breasts, nuzzling them as if they were what he loved and missed, rather than the woman baring them.
Lavinia nudged Thearon until his head popped up and she gave him a dirty look. Thearon’s eyes narrowed and he maintained defiant eye contact with her as he roughly took her breasts. In turn, he sucked both nipples from behind their lacy protection. He roughed his tongue against the sensitive skin until they turned to pebbles in his mouth. Lavinia felt her core go molten at the trespass. The frustration of not being able to use her hands was becoming overwhelming, it was adding to her need to have more. More freedom, more kisses, more of him.
“I need more.”
The statement must have come from Lavinia’s own mouth, but the deep and breathy voice that spilled into the room sounded like it had come from someone else. Lavinia had never sounded so undeniably sex crazed. Thearon chuckled in response and knelt down on the floor. Slipping his hands up her dress, he hooked his fingers into the lace of her thong and pulled down. He considered the job complete after one leg was out of the scrap and he stood up again. Pressing back against her body for a deeply penetrating kiss, Lavinia could feel his hands move between them to free himself from his trousers with the motions of his hands pressing against her intimate spaces as well.
Without breaking the kiss, Thearon bunched the coral lace up between them and lifted one of her legs back up over his hip. It was the exact position they’d been in when last interrupted. Lavinia was fairly certain that if someone burst into the room at this very moment, Thearon would plunge ahead anyway, their lust was beyond being reigned in.
In one smooth motion, Thearon thrust into her and Lavinia gasped at the feeling of fullness. He was a large man and had barely fit when Parker had paved the way for him by easing herself r open. The sudden stretch had her feeling like she was filled to the brim. With Thearon, there was no time for gentleness. He wanted her, and he wanted her now. Moving a hand in between their bodies he found the spot that was sure to shatter her in minutes.
Slow circles pushed her higher and higher until she was straining against him, using the wall for leverage for release. Meeting Thearon thrust for thrust, they slammed into one another till Lavinia came on a scream. Thearon caught the sound in a kiss that might have muted some of the fallout and the taste of her pleasure sent him following her over the edge.
Holding her in place, Thearon rested his forehead against the wall and caught his breath. Lavinia too let her head fall back and waited for her world to right itself. That had to be the most amazing sex two people had ever had. She turned her head slightly and nuzzled his neck, bringing her mouth into contact with his ear.
“What are you thinking?”
“That scream probably did a good job of reassuring any Werebeast sent to spy on us, that we were really here for a romantic interlude. I think that solidified our cover quite well.”
Lavinia’s head snapped away from Thearon’s at his businesslike tone as she pulled away from him. When Lavinia was back on the floor with her dress in place, she turned and gave the man a good slap.
“Don’t you ever use me for sex unless your goal is our shared pleasure. How dare you use me and my emotions for cover. You are an asshole.”
With that, Lavinia spun on one heel and left the party. Thearon was left alone in a room with his pants around his ankles, literally. Gods, he was screwed again.
*
Lavinia was sitting in the library trying her best to hide from Thearon. She had no desire to see that man for at least a week, maybe even a month, at which point, she would be open to reconciliation. Not that he would be very good at that process either. The more she thought about it, Lavinia decided she also needed Thearon to get therapy of some kind. The multiple personality syndrome or bipolarity or potential sociopathic tendencies were an issue. Lavinia didn’t know what was behind it all but she didn’t want to be on the receiving end of it anymore.
This evening she was curled up in one of the library’s armchairs, flipping through fashion magazines. Now that she was officially married and had the freedom to access whatever information she wanted, Lavinia was trying to work her way through every style magazine available. Her bank account was beginning to reflect the new obsession, too.
Dog-earing a page with a cute pencil skirt, Lavinia tried to push thoughts of Thearon out of her mind. She spent a solid half hour debating the idea of color blocking vs prints for spring when a knock at the library’s door had her looking up with trepidation. Had he found her? The man at the door held a whiskey glass and a soft smile. Seeing Parker at the door made Lavinia feel guilty. In her desire to avoid one husband, she had accidentally ignored the other as well.
“Hey,” Lavinia said brightly, swinging her feet to the floor.
“Hey yourself, my Queen.” Parker walked over to her and laid a kiss on her forehead. He sat down in the armchair across from her, giving Lavinia the perfect view to take in his jeans and a button down. The relaxed outfit made him look even more like a male model and suddenly, she was a little embarrassed by her sweats.
“What’s up, my Alpha? Do you have a casual appointment tonight?”
“I’m hoping to have one,” he said taking a sip of his drink “You’re an awful hard person to track down, Lavinia. I feel like I haven’t seen you for days.”
Lavinia blushed, “Well, I’m just getting used to everything. Becoming Queen, having two husbands, learning my way around a new area of the castle...it’s all a little overwhelming.”
Parker nodded in response, “I’m sure it is. That’s why I was thinking that maybe you needed a night off as much as me. I’m free this evening and according to your assistant, you don’t have plans either. Would you care to join me for a date? Perhaps dinner and a little dancing to follow?”
Lavinia’s eyes widened as she sat up straighter. “Like a real date? One non-royal people go on?”
Parker tilted his head from side to side, “We’ll still need to bring the guards, but other than that, it will be totally normal; completely ordinary even. Something that wouldn’t even be considered exciting to normal people.”
Lavinia laughed, “That sounds absolutely wonderful to me,” touching her hair she wondered, “What time is it?”
“Almost six. Do you think you could be ready in an hour? I was feeling lucky so I made reservations at this little place downtown – very casual – but they have the best gumbo in town.”
“Yum, I’ll go get on it.” Her entire look ne
eded an overhaul ASAP.
Lavinia stood up and started to walk out of the room but hesitated after a few steps. Turning back she walked over and gave Parker a kiss on the lips, “I’m really happy you asked me out tonight. It’s just what I need.”
Parker kissed her back and gave her the golden boy smile, “I figured. Just because I haven’t been involved the last few days doesn’t mean I don’t notice what’s going on. Tonight, I just want a nice night out with my wife.”
Lavinia’s smile could have lit the room; at least one of her husbands seemed to get it. With one last kiss she hurried off, texting Callia to pull some outfits. Once Lavinia arrived at her rooms, she saw that Callia was already on it. Hanging from the wardrobe were three options. Lavinia remembered Callia had confirmed Lavinia’s schedule after all. Excited, Lavinia put a little extra pep in her step getting ready. How sweet of Parker to suggest tonight. This was just what she needed, a night with an emotionally stable, sexy man, whom she also happened to be married to. This would banish all thoughts of Thearon from her mind.
Thearon sat at his desk flipping his phone. It was the third new phone since the one he had broken over the Tea Party frustration. The others had died in the course of trying to apologize to Lavinia via text. A poet he was not, but every time they’d had a physical conversation, it either ended in sex or a fight. Since it seemed as though Lavinia was itching for the fight, Thearon thought he might try typing his feelings out on a tiny keyboard. It was not going well.
Technically, he could’ve had the night off. The only reason Thearon was still sitting in his office was because if he went back to the royal suite, he would have to admit that Parker and Lavinia were out on a date without him. It was far easier to slip into his work persona and stare at the security footage than assess his personal life. At the moment, he was viewing a live feed from the camera attached to the armored car waiting out in front of the restaurant where his husband and wife were ..
Simply Bears: A Ten Book Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance Collection Page 72
