by Vivian Arend
James rolled, pinning her under him. The soft green moss under her back had been warmed by the sun, and with him lying over her, all sorts of interesting ideas were beginning to arise.
She reached down and wrapped her hands around his cock, stroking gently.
His eyes rolled back in his head and he groaned. “Kaylee.”
“What? We had a nice run, and you caught me. I think that means you get a reward.” She was longing to take him in her mouth. Longing to get to taste every bit of him once again.
What she got was a man on the edge, his hands moving in inspired ways as he teased and drove her wild. Playing with her breasts, tickling along her ribs, stroking between her legs.
She did her best to tease back, pushing him so she could rise up and nip at his shoulder. She dragged her teeth along the thick muscle of his neck then pressed a kiss to his chest, his torso scalding hot.
Her hands steady around his cock, stroking. His fingers deep inside her, sliding in and out in a way that teased of what would come.
She would. He would. They definitely would.
“Kaylee,” James rumbled a warning as she slipped out from under him and turned her back. Dropping to her hands and knees, she cast a come-hither glance over her shoulder.
He laid a hand on her hip as he moved in behind her. Hands sliding up her back then down again. A caress that was worshipful and yet a demand. “I could stare at you for hours.”
She did one better. “Don’t stare. Fuck me.”
His entire body shook at the dirty demand. He rocked against her, the thick length of his cock between her legs, her body wet and growing wetter as the solid head of his shaft bumped her clit over and over. “Tell me you want me.”
“Yes. Now.” She tilted her hips. His forward motion angled him between her folds, and this time he slid deep. All the way in until his hips met her backside.
Oh my God, so good. So full, so connected.
James panted hard. His fingers dug into her hips as he pulled back and thrust forward. Pace quickening, pressure deepening. Kaylee dropped onto her elbows and braced herself as he pounded into her. Every bit of her body tingled with awareness, rushing toward completion. When he bent over her, his body warm and protective, and one hand slid over her belly to land on her clit, she started a countdown.
Three, two—
“James.” Her sex clamped down on his cock, squeezing out pulses hard enough her limbs were ready to melt into the ground like spring runoff.
He jerked behind her, roaring his pleasure so loudly anyone within a five-mile radius probably heard him.
She couldn’t find it in her to be embarrassed. Not one bit.
Still connected, James curled up, somehow finishing in a seated position with her impaled on his thick length. Their arms tangled around each other. Slightly sweaty, very sated.
She dropped her head on his chest and listened to his heart pound. “Great date,” she finally got out.
His laughter rumbled up from his chest until the two of them were shaking.
He tucked his fingers under her chin and lifted until he was smiling down at her. “The best.”
17
The next week passed in a blur. James was kept hopping getting ready for the gala.
Added to that, booking upcoming summer promotional tours had become increasingly difficult. Invitations were coming in that had to be answered. What he wanted to do was accept for himself and Kaylee.
Instead he sent them off as him with a plus one and hoped like hell they would find a way to make this work.
Truth was, he wanted her by his side. Always.
Not only in the apartment, where they’d fallen into a routine of waking in each other’s arms, fooling around, then making breakfast together, both of them grinning from ear to ear.
Not only when she joined him as they went for walks in their human forms and runs in their animal forms.
Not only when they spent time with Alex and Cooper, his brothers watching carefully as if wanting to protect their baby sibling from being hurt.
Kaylee cared about him. He knew that. He knew that to the core of his being.
But they weren’t mates. That box of potential inside him remained firmly wrapped, no matter how clearly he could sense it was real.
Which meant she was worried about everything she’d need to do as his mate, and it didn’t seem he could do anything to reassure her on that count.
“I don’t want to mess up anything for Borealis Gems,” she repeated for the umpteenth time. “If I go up on a stage with you, who knows what might happen? I might have a panic attack. I might faint dead away—wouldn’t that look good on national television?”
He squeezed her tightly. “What if you don’t panic because I’m there beside you? Or what if you don’t go up on the stage with me in the first place? You could be somewhere near the side and wave.”
“Yeah, right. Perfect idea. I can see Meghan doing that with Prince Harry. Standing somewhere away from the crowd and waving when they call her name. Or sitting in the car and sticking an arm out instead of being by his side.”
James had to grin.
She glared. “What’s that expression for? We’re talking about something serious here.”
He couldn’t help himself. “I like being compared to Prince Harry. And I think you and Meghan have a lot in common.”
Her lips twitched. “You’re such a pain,” she complained softly, sliding into his arms and patting his chest.
“But I’m your pain, yes?”
Her lips twisted into a smile. “Yes.”
Still, they hadn’t come to any great solutions because while he honestly didn’t mind keeping her out of the spotlight, it was clear that she needed to be there.
If he was choosing her to be his mate—and he was—he was choosing for her to be by his side.
Which meant…
A thought flickered across his brain too quickly for it to register.
Maybe he was thinking about this the wrong way. He struggled to figure out what was teasing in the back of his mind, but the next thing he knew it was the day of the gala, and his brave, sweet, beautiful Kaylee was sitting opposite him at the breakfast table as if she were preparing to face a firing squad.
He opened his mouth.
She held up a hand. “Not one word. I said I would be there for you, and I meant it.”
“I want to protect you,” he said sincerely. “That means I don’t want you doing anything that’s going to hurt.”
“I get that, and I appreciate it so, so much. But you said something the other day that was true. What if?” She lifted tired eyes to his, but there was determination there as well. “What if the things I’m worried about are only in my head? What if I can do this, but I give up before I even try? That’s not fair to you. So—let’s do this.”
He caught her fingers in his, squeezing tight before lifting them to his lips and kissing them tenderly. “That’s my Kaylee Kat.”
She slid out of her chair and crawled into his lap, and if he hadn’t set a timer on his watch to remind him when he needed to be heading out, her sweet kisses would’ve made him late.
Kaylee walked with him to the door of the apartment, hand in hand.
“I’ll be somewhere near the outdoor stage for most of the day. We won’t move into the auditorium until after eight,” James reminded her.
“I’ll find you. I’ll get changed then join you.”
James kissed her, tenderness in his heart as she squeezed his neck tightly before letting go, pacing back into the apartment as if she belonged there.
Which she did. She totally did, mating bond be damned.
Down at the fairgrounds, the car lot was beginning to fill as people wandered in the park, picking up food at the various vendors. There were families everywhere, with pockets of teenagers stealing into less supervised corners to flirt. It seemed the entire community had come out to the event.
He was in the middle of organizing a set o
f prizes when her call came through. “Kaylee. Where are you?”
“Late. I’m sorry, I’m not going to be there right at the opening.”
The noises of the fair were slowly rising, and he slid away from the group he’d been working with to try and find quiet. “You need some help?”
She hesitated for a moment, then spoke crisply. “Small commitment popped up. It’ll take me a couple of hours to take care of, and then I’ll be there. I promise.”
He found a quiet spot and focused on her. Listening intently to see if there was anything more she wanted to say.
Nothing.
He took a deep breath and trusted.
“I’ll miss you,” he shared. “I’m looking forward to seeing you, but I’m looking forward more to after the celebration is done. I plan to take you home and hold you all night long.”
“I’d like that,” she told him. “Now, go. I’m sure you’ve got a million people needing you to help them. I’ll get there as quick as I can.”
Screw what everybody else thought. He blew her a kiss, smiling as her laugh carried over the line before she hung up.
Even with more than enough to do, Kaylee stayed on his mind. James worked quickly, smiling at people, chatting and being friendly. Eyeing the growing crowds.
Amber’s familiar dark hair appeared as she exited the organizers’ tent. James was surprised to see Lara at her side, her long silvery white hair pulled back into a high ponytail.
The women wandered slowly. James watched with interest to see more than one person give a double-take at spotting a member of Midnight Inc. at the Borealis Gems sponsored-event.
Including, it seemed, his brother.
“What’s that woman doing here?” Alex demanded.
James shrugged. “It appears Amber and Kaylee have adopted her. You should probably get your nose back in joint, or the three of them are going to make your life hell for the sheer fun of watching you get annoyed.”
“I don’t trust her.”
“I don’t see that she’s doing anything untrustworthy,” James pointed out. He pivoted his head toward the parking lot, checking the open space beside his car in the hopes Kaylee’s truck had magically appeared in the last three seconds.
“It’s just not right,” Alex complained as he folded his arms over his chest. “Inviting someone from the competition to hang around when I’m damn sure they’re up to no good—”
“Maybe you need to keep a close eye on her,” James suggested. Anything to get his brother out of his hair.
“I plan on it.” Alex turned his scowl in James’s direction. “Where’s Kaylee?”
Great. The distraction failed. “She’ll be here,” James said mildly.
Alex checked his watch. “The first event starts in under ten minutes,” he pointed out.
“Thank you, Big Ben.”
“Just saying. Kaylee is usually more punctual than this…” Alex trailed off as he frowned. “Hang on. Kaylee is punctual, but she doesn’t usually come to events like this. Are you sure?”
The look of concern on his brother’s face was annoying to the extreme. “I said she’ll be here.”
But as the afternoon faded into evening and there was no sign of Kaylee, James found it harder to maintain a happy expression every time Alex gave him a pointed look.
He went up on the stage as he normally would, by himself, proclaiming the start of children’s races and handing out prizes. All the things he’d done a million times. When he needed help, Amber stepped forward as always to offer a spare pair of hands, but it wasn’t what he wanted.
Something must’ve happened. He checked his phone for the millionth time. There were no messages, but he kept hoping. Kept trusting.
She would be there. She’d promised, and Kaylee had never broken a promise to him. Not once in all the years that they’d been friends.
Come on, Kaylee, I need you by my side.
18
Earlier that morning…
K aylee finished getting dressed in the quiet of James’s apartment. The dread in her stomach disappeared quicker than she thought possible. Maybe all those what ifs that had jammed into her brain were actually working their way through far enough to make a difference.
She was scared silly to head to the gala and be expected to act as a master of ceremony, but for James, she was willing to try.
One quick stop and she’d join him. And hey, if nothing else, she could stress-eat cotton candy all afternoon until she had a reason for throwing up later.
She slipped into the post office and waved at the front desk staff, darting around the corner to peek into her box.
One parcel pickup and a delivery notice requesting her signature. Strange, or at least it was until she remembered that her parents were planning on inflicting something on her.
Nope. She wasn’t having any of it. She would ignore the delivery notice for now. Maybe if it worked in their plans later this week, she and James would head out to her parents’ house in the country and see if there was anything left to be moved.
Rebellion in hand, she was feeling pretty perky as she headed to the front desk, the parcel pickup notification flapping in her fingers. She even whistled a little bit.
Kaylee handed over the card. “You have something for me?”
“One here, and more.” The postmaster reached behind her to grab a box off the shelf. “This small one fit in the office, but the rest of them—took two trucks to get everything out to the main address. Bit of a surprise. Sign here, please.”
“My parental units are nothing if not unexpected,” Kaylee said. Drat. She hadn’t managed to completely avoid entanglement, but nothing said she had to go out to check the delivery today. She signed the paper a bit more cheerfully before accepting the box that was not much larger than a bread basket.
“Have a great day,” the postmaster called as Kaylee stepped outside, swinging the light package in her hand—
The package shrieked.
It took everything in her to stop from dropping the box instantly. Kaylee ignored the few tourists wandering the street as she lowered the box to the ground and examined it more closely. There were small holes under the top edge of the lid, disguised by a layer of protective material that was wrapped over the entire thing. Kaylee had to look hard but finally found latches that allowed her to open a small corner of the box.
Shock raced through her.
Shiny black eyes and a black nose poked up into the small opening. A little mouth with jagged teeth opened in a teeny meow.
“Oh my God, they mailed me a kitten.”
Kaylee examined the box for any kind of a message while the teeny thing behind the cage bars cried piteously. Beyond food and water dispensers, though, there was nothing else in the crate.
“It’s okay, baby. I’ll get you out of there in a minute. I need to find out what my idiot parents were thinking.”
It took a couple minutes for Kaylee to settle the creature down before she could pull it out and nestle it in her lap. Black and tan markings made it look like some kind of Bengal tiger—not a shifter, obviously, considering the size of it.
When the tiny beastie finally curled up in a small fluffy puddle in her lap, Kaylee pulled out her phone and frantically opened her email.
Sure enough, one had arrived from her parents barely fifteen minutes ago.
Friend of a friend in the US informed us of a really good deal on these caps, so we decided to purchase them all and have them shipped north from New York State. Your father plans to purchase a logo machine so we can start up a sports enthusiast paraphernalia shop.
* * *
Toss everything in the shop until we get back, there’s a good girl. I don’t expect it will be any later than the fall, or possibly the new year.
* * *
Keep us up-to-date if you manage to find a job. Or if you plan to go back to school. We’re always eager to encourage your scholastic achievements.
* * *
Smooches.
Mother and father.
She read the note three more times, but it never made any more sense. What on earth? It certainly wasn’t a cap curled up in her lap.
What if all the boxes out at the house were the same? What if by some freak mistake, her parents had sent a delivery of live animals into the wilderness?
She stared at the message, cursed loudly, then opened her phone. There was no way she could go with her original plan and simply ignore the boxes. Not if living things might suffer as a consequence.
Only, considering everything that James had to coordinate today and the magnitude of the gala, she didn’t want him dropping everything to come and help her.
Heck, she didn’t even know if she needed help. No, she kept her cool and calmly told him she was going to be a late without once letting him know she was in the middle of a potentially weird situation.
Her heart turned over a little at the end of what she thought was an amazingly reasonable conversation when he blew her a kiss. Stupid how hard her heart thumped as she pictured him doing it. Her big oversized bear being all cute and puckering up for her.
Then she got in her truck and headed out to her parents’ house, a baby tiger nestled in her lap.
It was sound asleep at the end of the nearly hour-long drive, so she took off her sweater and left the creature curled up in a nest of soft fabric. She parked her truck in the shade and left the window cracked open so the little creature would be safe.
Then she went to work on the stack of boxes sitting out on the front porch where they were about to be hit by the sun.
Caps? No.
Cats? Definitely. Of all shapes and sizes.
They’d been shipped in large, roomy crates with food and water, but it was definitely time to give them room to roam. A few oversized kitty litter boxes would be handy, as well.
Kaylee debated for all of three seconds before making a decision that was going to really piss off her parents.
She unlocked the first crate and scooped out a pair of Siamese cats. “Welcome to Chez Feline. Make yourself at home.”
