by Emma Dean
Piper kissed him, just a soft peck that left him wanting more. Then she went to the bathroom and started cleaning herself up, fixing her dress, carefully pinning her curls back up, checking her lipstick…if he was lucky he’d get to watch her do this for the rest of his life.
“So tell me,” she said, eyeing him putting on his pants through the mirror. “If I were to agree to this mate thing, what would be expected of me?”
Her question made him hot and then cold. Caleb didn’t react other than to stop what he was doing. He didn’t even look at her. This was dangerous territory and it had to be handled carefully or they could lose her. And she’d asked him of all people. Caleb was shit at using the right words.
“That would be up to you,” he said, buttoning up his pants. “But the Klamath Mountain Pride is based in Crescent City, California. We own most of the land around there, plus all the forests and National Parks. The other small prides share borders with us. Most of Northern California and the Sierras are owned by various different ones. Together we all make up the West Coast Pride. Crescent City is where I need to be, where I need my Second, Xavier. And we need you.”
The silence that followed was like a knife to the chest, but he let it be despite the panic screaming at him to do something. Carefully he slipped on his shirt and buttoned that up as well.
“Would you need me to get pregnant right away?” Piper paused and then came out of the bathroom. “I mean…is it anything at all like being human? Would we all date, and then get married, and then have kids?”
There was that fucking head tilt again. Caleb loved that little tick of hers. It seemed to mean she’d put emotion away for the moment so she could gather information, process, and understand. Those questions…set fire to a desire he hadn’t even known he had. Caleb wanted nothing more than to have her in their life permanently and more kittens in the pride…
He turned away and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, sitting down to put on his shoes and socks. “Being mated is kind of like the fast track. Mates are stronger than a piece of paper, but some mates do get legally married to benefit from human laws. Although it’s usually to the most dominant of the triangle since multiple spouses aren’t always legal. We don’t have many female leopards any more, but that doesn’t mean we’d need to rush into anything. Although, I would love to have more kittens.”
That word made her smile, but she wasn’t done asking him questions. “And my life here? My dad? Cat Solo?”
Caleb stood and slung his tux jacket over his shoulder. Then he turned to look at her. There wasn’t anything for him to read from her at the moment and it was aggravating as hell. “Your father would be welcome within the pride. A good cop would be invaluable to Crescent City. Cat Solo is welcome as well. He could even be our mascot. The logistics of everything would need to be worked out, and would be at your discretion.”
Piper took a step toward him and placed her hand on his arm. It relaxed him despite how much this conversation fucking terrified him. One wrong word and he could lose her forever.
“Would you turn me into a cat too?”
His breath caught when she pressed against him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He hadn’t expected that question so soon. The girl was a researcher though, it made sense. “If you wanted, but it’s not required. Any children you would have with the three of us would be shifters.”
Piper tilted her head up at him and smiled. “I currently have an IUD so I can’t get pregnant, but I’d be willing to consider taking it out in the next year if all goes well. I still have my thesis to complete, here at Sac State. But otherwise most of my ties to this city are my father and my job. If my dad wants to move…” she shrugged. “I wanted to consider this as a serious option and I needed all the information.” Piper kissed him softly. “Thank you for being honest with me.”
Caleb watched her walk toward the door and then stop. When she looked back he knew exactly what she wanted like they’d been together for years. “I think we have time for a few more dances if you’re interested,” he told her.
She grinned at that and left the room that was already going through its magical cleanse.
This fucking woman was perfect and Caleb refused to mess this up. He needed to text Xavier, and then maybe it would all work out. It was the first time in his life since the fire that Caleb felt hope.
Chapter Twelve
Piper
Caleb had danced with her for hours and Piper had enjoyed her first Beltane Ball more than she’d ever admit. It had been dark and beautiful. It was like a twisted fairytale and she’d danced with the prince until she was nearly asleep on her feet.
The stress and the emotional overload from the last few days was just too much. She’d fallen asleep on the way home and didn’t remember much after that, but someone had carried her to bed.
So on some level Piper knew she was dreaming because she was tied to a slab of rock with people in hoods surrounding her and not in a bed. The curses weren’t so dramatic in the demon books she’d read so her logical side insisted it was a dream, no one tied women to rocks. But dream Piper didn’t care what was logical and what wasn’t.
She was terrified, struggling against the bonds while a man in a hood with a crocodile snout sticking out came at her with a knife. Jessica and Eisheth just stood in the corner doing nothing while this shifter cut her from neck to navel, slicing her entire body open until blood was all that she could smell and she was choking on it.
When he reached into her stomach Piper started screaming, feeling him root around in her organs, looking for something.
Her eyes flew open and Piper sat up so quick she felt dizzy. Her heart was pounding and it was difficult to breathe. Piper grabbed her stomach, feeling the skin to make sure it was smooth and unmarred.
“Are you all right?” Niko asked from the doorway.
She jumped at the sound of his voice. No, she was most definitely not all right. Piper shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself. It was hard to forget how it felt to be sliced open like that. Whether she wanted to think about what could happen at the end of the two week grace period or not, her subconscious was definitely worried about it.
Niko sat on the edge of her bed and wrapped his arms around her. Piper clutched onto him, breathing in the smell of his skin and his clothes. His touch instantly soothed her and she was able to calm her breathing.
“It was just a nightmare,” she whispered, pulling him into bed with her.
There was no way she was going to be able to sleep alone now. If Niko could stay with her, maybe she’d be able to get a few more hours. It was almost dawn if the light in the room was any indication, and Piper was still so incredibly tired.
Niko snuggled under the covers with her and held her close. He didn’t say anything, but he rested his chin on the top of her head, stroking her arm lightly in a very soothing, pleasant rhythm. It helped settle the violent, frantic pounding of her heart.
“Will you talk to me about something?” she asked, resting her head on his chest. “Help me forget?”
“Mhm,” he murmured sleepily, giving her a little squeeze. “Things in the pride aren’t all bad you know. My favorite times are when everyone gets together and we meet up with the other smaller prides for the barbecues. We tend to form up by species, but all are welcome. Klamath Mountain is all leopards but the Six Rivers Pride has others, even foxes. I think out of all the other shifters out there, the foxes are my favorite.”
Piper closed her eyes and pressed the full length of her body against his. The more she touched him the better she felt. It helped Niko only wore boxer briefs and she was in just a sleep shirt. There was more skin contact, and she couldn’t decide if that was part of the mate magic or if it was just natural human contact helping her relax.
“Why are they your favorite?” she asked. Piper sighed as the last of the adrenaline left her.
Niko rolled onto his back, pulling her with him so he could rub her back. “Mm, I think it�
��s that they’re the perfect mixture of dog and cat. They’re also smaller than the rest of us, but they’re crafty as hell. Don’t try and corner one, the whole pack will rip you to shreds before you even know they’re there.”
“A leash.”
“Hm?”
“A group of foxes is called a leash,” she told him, trying not to wiggle as his hand brushed her ass.
Niko chuckled. “Why do you know that?”
Piper smiled. “Why do I know anything? I read a lot,” she teased.
“Stop that,” he said, smacking her ass when she moved against him. “I’m trying to comfort you and you’re making it difficult.”
Piper could feel him getting hard beneath her, but she hadn’t been planning on saying anything until he smacked her. “It’s not my fault,” she muttered. “You’re relaxing me.”
“I’m glad I am.” His breath tickled her hair.
“Why else do you like the foxes and not like, a tiger pride?”
“They’re just a lot of fun. Tigers are usually called clans, but their prides have other types too. And they’re usually pretty annoying. Their animal doesn’t like being in a pride as much, but their human side does. Not to mention they have this insane protective streak. The Alpha of the West Coast Pride, meaning all of us – Alpha to Caleb’s Alpha – is a white tiger. He’s pretty hands off, but he steps in when he’s needed.”
“Why won’t he do anything about the crocs?” Piper asked rubbing her face against Niko’s chest while she tried to ignore how hard he was against her and how little fabric there was between them.
Niko sighed. “There are a lot of complicated rules. He can’t do anything about you specifically because you’re human and unclaimed. If you were a cat it would be different. The rules are to stay away from humans, leave them alone unless there are cases like this where one ends up as a mate. It happens more than you think it would. If you don’t leave the humans alone, you end up on a hunter’s shit list – someone like Jessica. But we have a Council, and only the Council is allowed to send hunters on assignments – if the hunter agrees to the job. Assassinations through other means have happened before though.”
“And this white tiger sits on the Council?”
“Clever girl,” Niko murmured, his hands moving to her hips. His fingers pressed into her skin and he rubbed her against the hard length of him.
Piper gasped when she realized that she wasn’t wearing panties, just the shirt. She was wet and ready and desperate to know what Niko felt like. He was so sweet and tender with her. Would he be the same in bed, or would he be as aggressive as his kisses alluded?
“Is there an East Coast Pride?” she asked, feeling flushed when he rubbed her against him again.
Niko grabbed her ass with both hands and squeezed. “Mhm. There’s a Plains Pride as well. The other countries have their own setups.”
He squeezed hard and Piper wanted him to do it again but he trailed his hands up her sides and into her hair, pulling her face up to his. When Niko kissed her it was rough and demanding. He wanted her bad.
Piper sucked on his bottom lip and then sat up so she straddled him. She pulled her sleep shirt over her head with both hands so he could see all of her. Niko groaned and traced one of her hardened nipples.
Niko stripped off his boxer briefs almost as smoothly as she’d taken off her shirt. Piper hadn’t expected him to lift her off him the way he did just to set her right on his hard dick. He was positioned so perfectly that when he slammed her down onto him it didn’t hurt at all, but the quick stretching was a delicious kind of pain.
Her loud moan made Niko’s grip tighten on her hips hard enough to bruise. God, he felt so good and he kept moving her, rubbing against her clit just right as he had her ride him. Piper almost didn’t have a choice; it was follow his lead or nothing.
Never in her life had she experienced anything as erotic as Niko staring up at her, moving her against him in a rhythm that had her on the edge before she even realized what had happened.
“He’s what you would call a power-bottom,” Xavier said, his deep voice washing over them.
Piper gasped at the sudden intrusion. She would have stopped if Niko let her, but instead he kept grinding her against him, lifting his hips in perfect rhythm to drive his cock in farther. Seeing Xavier watch them with his hand on his dick made her lose it. Piper came hard, falling against Niko’s chest as it rippled over her in waves.
Her shout of pleasure made them both growl and suddenly Piper was on her back with Niko on top of her, kissing her senseless. When he let her come up for air Xavier had climbed up on the bed too.
Xavier kept his eyes on hers the entire time Niko thrust into her. “Mind if I take Niko while he takes you?” Xavier placed a hand on Niko’s lower back and Piper’s eyes widened.
Her nails sank into Niko’s shoulders and she licked her lips as Niko slowed. “I don’t mind,” she said. “Although I may be a little jealous Niko is the one who gets the ass-play.”
Niko laughed and raked his teeth across her throat. “If that’s what you want I’m sure we could arrange it.” Then he groaned against her mouth as Xavier spread him, rubbed lube all over his length, and then placed the head of his cock against Niko.
Piper couldn’t stop watching. Never had she seen two men together before and it was like watching live porn, but a thousand times hotter. Xavier went slow and Niko pressed into her the farther he went in until she was pulsing around his hard cock, close to another orgasm just from watching the two of them.
Xavier was powerful. The way he slowly entered Niko though told her this wasn’t new for them, and he cared about them both to be so careful. Piper knew when he was all the way in because Niko shuddered against her and the three of them took a moment to adjust.
Then they both moved. And it was perfection.
Niko pulled out and then Xavier did. Xavier thrust into him and Niko followed by slamming into her. Xavier pressed hard into the both of them which made it look like they were both fucking her. Piper’s back arched and she couldn’t get enough of them. She wanted to touch Xavier – have him touch her. She wanted to watch them both come hard on top of her.
“Fuck me harder,” she told Niko, gritting her teeth at the slow and steady rhythm. “I want Xavier to watch while he takes you.”
“Jesus fucking Christ Piper,” Xavier muttered, but the two of them picked up the pace. “You always talk dirty like that?”
Piper’s eyes rolled into the back of her head as the tight sensation inside her finally released and she clenched around Niko again. He couldn’t hold onto it this time. Niko cursed and slammed into her, spurting his cum inside. The heat of it warmed her and Piper managed to open her eyes so she could watch Xavier pound into Niko.
Their eyes met and held while Niko still pulsed inside. It was too much for Xavier and he roared his release. Piper smiled and reached for him as he panted above her and Niko. He obliged and she gave him a kiss. “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” she told him.
“I always knew the quiet librarian secretly being a freak was a thing,” Niko said with a laugh. “Do you always talk like that in the bedroom Piper?”
“She did with me,” Caleb said with a laugh.
Xavier and Niko slid to the side and Piper was suddenly exposed to Caleb. A very naked Caleb whose broad shoulders filled her doorway and his obvious erection teased her. He stood there for a moment, taking in the three of them. “You guys aren’t exactly quiet.”
Piper could let this be weird, or she could just roll with it. Now that Caleb was there she wanted him too, wondering how long he’d been there, watching. She reached out a hand for him and gave him a smirk. “Would you even want us to be quiet? You might miss out if we were.”
Xavier let out a surprised laugh, but Caleb only smiled. “What do you want Piper?” He took a step forward and took her hand in his.
Oh, there were a lot of things she wanted, but one thing in particular came to mind. She r
olled over and got up on all fours, glancing over her shoulder at Caleb. “I want you to fuck me from behind while Xavier and Niko make out.”
“Fucking hell, woman,” Niko muttered, adjusting his dick.
But Caleb only grinned. “You heard the lady.”
Piper loved that all three of them did as she asked, that they were so willing to be at her service, especially Caleb – the big Alpha. It made her feel powerful and strong in a way, and she adored that. She could get so used to this.
Chapter Thirteen
Niko
Holy fucking shit. Caleb was going to play with them.
When Niko had first found out that Caleb was going to be their third he honestly thought they’d never share their mate together. He was always down for some time just him and her, but Niko had always known he wanted to share her with Xavier in a thousand different ways.
Why not when he and Xavier were already so comfortable with each other?
But Caleb had always seemed like the kind of guy who would only have sex with their mate on his own, and leave them be when it was their turn.
Niko knew that Piper would open Caleb up at the Beltane Ball. She was pushy when she wanted to be, and she’d pushed Caleb right off the edge to get him to talk to her. And when he’d finally talked she’d seen the real man behind the scowl.
Caleb was beautiful and what Niko remembered of him before the fire…sure he was an Alpha and could be an ass, but he was also the most dedicated, quietly passionate person Niko knew. And here he was…getting the front row seat to this passion.
Piper arched an eyebrow at him and Xavier, and Niko snapped his mouth shut when he realized he’d been gaping. Oh the reality of the sexy librarian was so much better than the fantasy. Caleb stared at her like she might not be real, and Niko knew exactly how he felt.
Sure, this was just sex and they were enjoying each other – no emotions or feelings required, but the bond between him and Piper was getting stronger and the physical touch only strengthened it.
