Grayslake: More than Mated: A Bite of Love (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Ally Summers

  I rinsed the conditioner out and turned off the shower. I wrapped a towel around my body and dressed. I slipped into a pair of jeans and a tank top. Sundays were my junking days. I liked to browse the antique markets outside of Grayslake and see what I could find. I’d come home with treasures. My arms loaded with blue mason jars, porcelain drawer pulls, milk glass serving pieces, and whatever frame I thought I could turn into something extraordinary.

  I walked to the side of my bed, unplugged my phone, and looked at the screen. I had a missed call. Holy shit.

  I covered my mouth. It was Case.

  ***

  I stared at the number. Underneath was the voicemail symbol. I pressed the button and held the phone to my ear and listened.

  “Cadence, it’s Case. Call me.”

  I blinked.

  My fingers trembled as I hit redial. I knew I wanted this to be more than a question about a recipe. Or a friend who needed a recommendation for lawn care. I didn’t want him to call because he had a bear clan question, or couldn’t find his way to Miller Grocery. I held my breath. I wanted him to call for every other reason in the world.

  “Hey,” he answered, his voice smooth and steady.

  I almost melted on the spot.

  “Hi.”

  “I have a question for you, darlin’.”

  My chest was tight. I had to fight to make myself breathe.

  “Sure. What is it?” I tried to sound light and happy, as if for the past month I had thought of things other than him.

  “Would you like to have dinner with me?”

  “Wh-what?”

  “Dinner. You and me? My place. Let’s say seven.”

  “Sundays are my day off,” I wanted to explain that I wasn’t going to cook for him. He had to know that. A month after our last meal together and I couldn’t take myself back there like that. It had to be different.

  “Perfect. Then you’re free. I’ll have dinner ready.”

  “You will?” I was stunned.

  “I will. See you at seven, gorgeous.”

  He was gone before I could ask what was going on. I sat on the edge of my bed. I think Case Maddox just asked me on a date.

  17

  Case

  There was a first time for everything. And this was the first time I had cooked dinner.

  I looked at the casserole dish baking in the oven. It had an hour to go. In the meantime, I could take a shower.

  I showered and dressed. I pulled a T-shirt over my head. Water droplets soaked through the shirt in spots. I pulled on a pair of jeans and jogged downstairs. The entire house smelled like garlic. I hated it, but I hoped it proved a point.

  I pulled a pair of candlesticks from the cabinet and took them to the back porch. I lit each one. There wasn’t much breeze back here. Fall was starting to settle into Grayslake. The nights were getting cooler. I grabbed a couple of quilts and tossed them over the new porch furniture.

  I observed the setup. I was pretty damn impressed with myself.

  My ears perked up at the sound of tires on the driveway. I rushed to meet Cadence at the front door.

  As she stepped from the car, I propped myself against the railing and watched her walk toward me. Damn, she filled in those jeans in all the right places. Her eyes were bright and clear. God, had she always been this beautiful?

  Her blond hair hung loosely over her shoulders. I could almost taste her creamy white skin on my tongue. I repressed a growl.

  “Hey, you.” I winked.

  She blushed. “Hey.”

  “Hungry?”

  She nodded. But I could tell she was cautious. I didn’t blame her. A month ago I was a different man. Tonight was my chance to show her just exactly how different I was.

  I took her by the hand, feeling the warmth of her palm slide next to mine. “Right this way.”

  I led her through the house and onto the back porch. I smiled when I heard the gasp come from her mouth.

  “Wow. You did this?”

  “For you. Yes.”

  I pulled out one of the chairs for her. She looked up at me, her eyes full of questions. I’d answer all of them before the night was over.

  “It’s beautiful. I don’t know what to say. You’ve been busy.” Her head swiveled to take in the porch renovations.

  “I’ve gotten a few things done since your last visit.” I worked on uncorking a bottle of champagne.

  Her eyes landed on the swing on the far side. “Oh my God. I’ve always wanted one of those.” She stood from the table and walked toward the massive hanging piece. “You put a bed swing out here?”

  “I like to sleep outside sometimes,” I admitted.

  “It’s amazing.” She tested it out. “It does need some pillows, but for a guy you’ve done a pretty good job.” She smiled at me, and I felt the chilliness between us melt.

  “You know I love to remodel and I refinish furniture when I’m not working. I don’t think I ever mentioned it. Why didn’t I mention it?”

  I don’t know why, but it made me smile. “Of course you do.”

  She tilted her head slightly. “What?”

  “I’m not surprised you have one more line of perfection Cadence Hathaway.”

  And it was true. This woman was perefect. Perfect for me.

  I walked toward her and handed one of the chilled glasses.

  “And champagne?”

  “Thought we could celebrate.” I took a seat next to her on the swinging bed.

  “And what is it we’re celebrating?” she whispered.

  My eyes glowed. “A new chapter.” I clinked my glass to hers and inhaled until the champagne was gone.

  “Case…” She was hesitant. “What’s the new chapter?”

  “Don’t you know?”

  She shook her head. I wanted to kiss that look of doubt off her pretty face. I wanted to tell her what an ass I was. But I needed to be an ass for a while. I needed that time, so that I could be here now.

  I held out my hand to help her off the swing. “Let’s talk over dinner,” I suggested.

  “What are we having?” she asked.

  “Lasagna.”

  18

  Cadence

  I sat at the table while Case jogged off to the kitchen to get our dinner. I felt as if I were starring in some bizarre and wonderful dream. He was different. Still sexy. Still smoldering. But a total flirt. And mysterious in an incredibly charming way. Holy hell, I had already fallen off the wagon and I’d been here fifteen minutes.

  He walked onto the porch carrying a glass dish of lasagna. He placed it on a sideboard. He disappeared inside and returned with a loaf of bread under his arm and a salad bowl in his hands.

  “I thought you hated Italian,” I teased.

  “I do. But I thought it was the most obvious olive branch I could feed you.”

  God, he was sexy. Cool it, Cadence.

  “Oh.” My heart fluttered and something distinctively electric pulsed in my core.

  He served me while I sat dumbfounded. The candles. The night closing in on us. The amazing food. It was all surreal.

  I took another sip of champagne, wondering how much the silky bubbles had impaired my judgment.

  “How have you been?” he asked, sitting in the chair across from me.

  I forked a sliver of cucumber. “You mean since the last time we saw each other?” Damn it. Why did I have to bitchy about it? I closed my eyes immediately regretting the way I had said it.

  “It’s ok. I deserve a few punches tonight.”

  I put my fork down. If I didn’t start asking the questions, they were going to eat me alive. I wanted to be wined and dined, and heck even seduced by this man. But there was too much left unsaid between us.

  “Case, what is going on? What have you been doing for the past month? Why am I here?”

  “We are having dinner.” He smiled wickedly.

  He poured another glass of champagne for both of us, taking his time to not spill a drop on the white linen
tablecloth. I was temporarily distracted, wondering if this was another antique piece of his grandmother’s. I was curious how many antiques were in the house. Did Case like doing the refinishing projects or was it his way to pass the time?

  “Cadence?”

  “Hmm?”

  “You were doing that thing where you disappear.”

  “Sorry.” I bit my lip.

  “Don’t be. It’s cute.”

  I blushed. I couldn’t let him sidetrack me. I needed answers.

  “I just have to put this out there because I can’t pretend it’s not already between us. Has something changed?”

  I almost jumped when I felt his hand slide along my thigh and squeeze. “Everything is different.”

  “Tell me,” I whispered.

  He leaned back and took his hand with him.

  “I don’t know where to start really.”

  “The beginning?” I suggested.

  He chuckled. “You are a little smartass at times, aren’t you?”

  “I am n-n … ok I am. But I want to know. Why did you ask me here tonight?”

  His playful look turned serious. “A couple of years ago I received my list.”

  “List?” I didn’t know the beginning would take us back years.

  “Yes. You sure you want to know everything?”

  I swallowed hard. I thought about my conversation with Lauren at the clan den. I thought about all the nights I couldn’t sleep because of Case. I thought about how my body responded to him. How when I was with him I wanted to get lost. How no matter what I tried, I never forgot our last night together.

  I nodded. “I do. Everything.” I was certain.

  “Ok. I want you to know. This is important to me.” He exhaled. “There are different laws that apply to cat shifters,” he explained. “Jaguars gain territory and property from their mates.”

  I had to keep my non-judgmental face on. The one the clan had thought was worthy of neutral status. Because right now I was certain Case was describing some kind of ancient dowry system.

  “But those mates are predetermined by a council. The council gives a jaguar his list of mates. I received mine two years ago and that’s when I moved to take my first mate, Dare.” He paused and I tried to keep my reactions as minimal as possible while he told me their story.

  It was a tumultuous two years. He wanted me to know exactly what happened.

  “I’m not going to lie and tell you I was in love with her like she was my soul mate. I wasn’t. She was a means to grow my territory. I know it makes me sound like a bastard. But that’s what I was raised to do. I told you as a kid I spent summers here with my grandmother, learning about the she-panthers. My uncles taught me how to fight. I learned tactical strategies. It was in my blood. I didn’t care who Dare was—I wanted her territory and that was it.”

  I needed more champagne for this. I held my empty glass forward for him.

  “And I wanted hers in particular.”

  “Why?” It was my first question.

  “Because she was a queen.” His eyes fell on me. “Queen of her own she-panthers, and somehow it made it even more critical to gain control of her lands.”

  “She was a queen?” My voice sounded small and insignificant in the middle of this story.

  “She was. She is.” He kept going. “Eventually my interests changed.” His jaw clenched. “She stopped being a target, and she became my world.” He slung back the glass. “I tore up the list the council gave me. What I wanted changed. Anyway. It didn’t work out between us. It turned out that she married me because of the magic. I had to let her go.”

  “M-married? Did you say married? Like rings and a ceremony and a big poufy dress?”

  It felt as if there were nothing but stale air on the porch and we were locked in a room lined with plastic, not breezy screens. I couldn’t breathe.

  “Hold on. Let me get some water for you.” Case stood abruptly and returned a few seconds later with a pitcher of water and a glass. “Here. Take a sip.”

  I did as he ordered, and felt a slight sense of relief. “I’m fine. Really.” But how was I going to wrap my head around this? Case had been married.

  “It wasn’t a marriage.” He sat next to me, watching me drink. “I never claimed her, Cadence.”

  “Oh.” I thought back to the conversation I had with Lauren in the bear clan kitchen. The pit that had formed in my stomach loosened slightly.

  “It never got that far.” He shook his head.

  I resisted the urge to reach for his hand. I could tell there was more, but I was having my own happy dance party inside my head. If he didn’t claim her, maybe that meant they never …

  He looked at me. “When I showed up in Grayslake I was pissed. I was angry at her. Angry at the world. Angry that the future I thought I had was destroyed. So I decided to destroy everything around me. I barely spoke to the Tribe. I wrecked the house. And I pushed away the most beautiful caring girl I’d ever met.”

  I was afraid to breathe. I wanted to know what he was going to say next.

  “But I wasn’t ready, Cadence. I needed more time. I needed to destroy everything before I could build it again. My own way. In my own time.”

  I nodded. “And how do you feel now?”

  He smiled. “Like a new jaguar. Like one who walked through hell and survived.”

  “And her? What about her?” I didn’t think I could bring myself to say her name in front of him.

  He shook his head. “I’ve let that idea go. I let her go somewhere between ripping out cabinets and using the floor polisher.” He cracked an irresistible grin.

  “Really?” I needed to know for sure. I wanted to throw some kind of logic into this equation.

  “There is only one girl I’m interested in.” His fingers curled to the inside of my thigh again and I inhaled sharply. “And she happens to have beautiful blue eyes and the most fucking edible lips I’ve ever tasted.”

  Who was I kidding? Logic was never going to play a role in this.

  Case’s eyes flared with green flames and I felt the beckoning draw to him. He had poured out his heart to me the way he knew how. He had done everything he could tonight to show me he was ready for a new chapter. That all this time apart from each other was time he needed to be here with me now.

  “Are you going to kiss me?” I whispered.

  But Case wasn’t the kind of man to share his strategies. He was steps ahead of me.

  In the breaths it had taken me to utter the question he had pushed back the chair and swept me into his arms. In two long strides he rested me on the bed swing.

  “So much more than that,” he growled.

  My entire body shivered with his promise as his lips brushed over mine. My lips parted as I felt the pressure of his tongue glide between them, twining and flicking. I’d missed these kisses.

  One knee came down on the swing, floating us over the porch before his entire body hovered over me. I liked the sensation of gliding at the same time I felt the heaviness of his chest press into my breasts. My hands wrapped to his back.

  “Tonight I want you to know all sides of me.” His eyes glowed green. They took my breath away.

  I ran my fingers along the ridges of his toned muscles. “And what does that mean?” I felt playful and serious at the same time.

  His hand slid to the roundness of my ass and he squeezed. I trembled. “Ohh,” I whimpered.

  “It means you’re not getting out of this bed until my jag is satisfied.”

  My teeth sucked my bottom lip in. Holy crap. How could that make me turn into a complete puddle? My pulse raced. My core twitched. I wasn’t taking one step off this porch until that happened either.

  I’d never wanted a man like this before.

  Our pasta dinner was long forgotten. The bottle of champagne slowly warmed. The candles dripped with heavy layers of wax. Nothing else mattered, but Case, me, and what our bodies could do together.

  My hips lifted with eagerness as h
e tugged on the denim, wriggling it over my hips and off my thighs. He deposited the jeans on the floor. He pushed my shirt forward until it was over my head and my breasts peaked over the lining of my bra.

  “You smell so good.” He nuzzled behind my ear. Thank God I showered earlier, taking extra time to use all my favorite scents. My legs were smooth.

  His expert hands unclasped my bra, tossing it on the porch. And with one snatch my panties were gone. I looked down at my naked body. How had he done that so quickly?

  His mischievous grin was going to get me in so much trouble. My eyes darted to his gaze, but he wasn’t looking at my face. He was feasting on every part of my body with a ravenous stare.

  He cupped my breast, squeezing until my nipple perked and hardened for him. My hips jolted and rocked at the same time. With a slow lick over the peak he made me moan. And then suddenly he slipped his fingers inside me.

  “Ohh.” I gripped his shoulders as he began to intensify the swirling motion of his fingers, dipping and curling with intense strokes.

  “So. Fucking. Sexy,” he whispered.

  But I was lost in every sensation. The night air around us held us in a private sphere of sexual bliss. We soared through the air, back and forth, encased in the coolness of the fall. And Case drove my body to ecstasy, pumping, sliding, and grinding until I felt the twinge in my core. The tiny blast of heat that told me I was going to tumble hard in his arms.

  It was as if he could read my body language. His lips pressed into mine just as the orgasm began to rip through me. His tongue jutted inside and I sucked and moaned. Moaned and clenched, riding the pleasure he gave me.

  My breathing slowed and my eyes lifted to his. I wanted more. There was a new spark spiraling through my nerves. A spark that set me on fire.

  I grabbed the buckle on his jeans, yanking it away and unbuttoning the denim as fast as I could. If I didn’t have him, I might suffocate. I would thirst to death. I would starve without him.

  He sensed how desperately I wanted him to sink inside my walls.