by Ellis Leigh
There would never be anyone better. Not for me. “I’ll tell her all that. Everything. The second I see her, I will lay my heart on the floor. There’s just one problem.”
Back to the raised eyebrow. Just one. “What’s that?”
“She won’t talk to me.”
Misty’s lips turned up in a wicked sort of grin. Just what I’d expect from a sneaky fox. “That’s where I come in.”
10
Coco
I swear, I wasn’t staring at the clock. I just happened to notice when it turned from 7:59 to 8:00. Just happened to be looking at the cable box as I was pressing buttons on my remote and trying to find something—anything—to watch that wouldn’t remind me of Magnus. I wasn’t intentionally watching for when the actual dinner part of the rehearsal dinner had been scheduled to start. And even if I were, I’d never admit it.
Frustrated, I pressed the off button and threw the remote across the couch. The neighborhood was too quiet, everyone seemingly at the banquet hall to celebrate the impending nuptials of Nico and Fiona. Whatever—I was happy for them to have found their happily ever after. Mine? Well…I was pretty sure I’d lost any chance of living it out. I shouldn’t have felt that way—Magnus and I had only known each other a few days—but something deep inside me told me he was it. My one. My lobster.
Ooh, maybe I could find some old Friends reruns.
Wait…no. With my luck, it would be the “we were on a break” ones. No. Darn that Ross.
My phone buzzed on the table, and I reached for it more out of habit than anything else. Misty was calling—not texting or Instagramming or WhatsApping, but calling. So weird. I swiped to answer anyway.
“If there’s something wrong with that wolf, you’re going to have to call someone else. I’ve surrendered to yoga pants and Ben & Jerry’s already.”
“There’s definitely something wrong with that wolf, but you’re the only person who can fix it.”
That…wasn’t Misty. Tingles shot through my body, every nerve coming awake at once. Magnus. On Misty’s phone. I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing.
“Coco.” Magnus’ thick, deep voice made me tremble, and I was pretty sure a whimper even escaped me. Maybe he had been the one who whimpered. No, that was silly. It had to be me. He wouldn’t—
“Coco, beautiful, open the door.”
“What door?”
“Your front door.”
I headed to the front hall almost on autopilot. Not wanting to obey but unable not to. Nothing made sense anymore except Magnus was talking to me and I didn’t want him to stop. Ever. “You want me to open my front door?”
“Yes, beautiful. Open it.”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t wrap my arms around you unless you do.”
Oh god. Magnus was here. On my porch. I walked faster, hurrying toward the white slab of wood and glass between us. Nearly crying when I saw his shadow through the curtains. Magnus. Here.
But then the memories of earlier—that morning at the hotel, running into Nico, sloppy seconds—came back, and opening that door seemed impossible. “What if I don’t want to?”
“You do,” he said, sounding so damn sure of himself while I trembled and fought to keep from panicking at the idea of seeing him. Of losing him. Of everything.
“What if I can’t open it?”
“If you want me to role-play being the big, bad wolf and blowing your door down, we can do that. Your neighbors might not like it, though.”
I pressed my hand against the glass, a tired smile pulling at my lips. “My neighbors are all at the rehearsal dinner. Where you should be.”
“No, beautiful. I’m right where I need to be.”
Perfect words. Exactly what I’d thought I’d needed. And yet… “Magnus?”
“Yes, Coco?”
“I’m too afraid to open it,” I whispered.
“Oh, honey. There’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of, but I understand. Why don’t you step away from the door for me? Go press your back to the wall by the staircase.”
I did as I was told, again unable not to obey him. Not sure why I couldn’t just reach down and turn the little lock that would allow him entry. But I couldn’t—let him in or ignore his instructions, even though his instructions included opening the door.
I was a mess.
Not as much as Magnus, though. The door flew open a second after my back hit the wall, and he was there—all big and bold and looking completely wild. His wolf in control. But what struck me wasn’t the animal side of him. It was the dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept in days, the frenzied stare he shot me. The way his hands trembled as he reached for me.
“I’ve missed you so much today, beautiful.”
I’d missed him too. So, so much. But still, I couldn’t move. Couldn’t surrender to how much I needed him. There was so much wrong between us, so many ways this could end with my heart shattered on the floor like glass. Everything already hurt, and I’d only been around him a few days. How bad would it be if I spent months falling in love with him? If he left me after years because he’d found his mate? I couldn’t.
I wouldn’t.
“Magnus, I don’t think—”
“You’re my mate.” He stepped toward me, and my world tilted sideways. Mate?
“What?”
“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you right away. I assumed you’d need time to get to know me before I laid something so heavy and intense at your feet. I didn’t realize you’d been around so many shifters and knew exactly what mating means to us.” He inched closer still, keeping his eyes on mine. Pinning me in place with a look. “I didn’t know you’d already had your heart broken by a careless shifter who should have known not to play with it.”
“Magnus, I—”
“I’m not playing, Coco. Not with you or your heart or any of this. You’re my mate, the one person the fates deemed perfect for me. Nothing else matters—not Nico, not your interwoven pasts, not this damned spectacle of a wedding. All that matters is you and me.” He ran a finger over my cheek, sending shock waves through my body. “I’ve waited so damn long to find you. I’ll do anything for you.”
I almost closed my eyes, almost turned away from him. The joy his words fueled soothed the ache in my heart, but could I trust it? Could I trust him? Could we get past…the Nico situation?
I couldn’t take that step without knowing. “You’re missing your son’s rehearsal dinner.”
“That’s really not…” Magnus sighed, “My son’s an asshole sometimes.”
“I’m not going to argue with you there.”
“He never should have played with your emotions the way he did, and he certainly shouldn’t have said one damn word about you and me being together. He has no right to question fate.” He inched closer, sharing his warmth with me. Wrapping me in his scent. “His mother was human and raised him like one. I didn’t even know he existed until I ran across him on a business trip and recognized my scent within him. The shifter traditions and codes are practically lost on him because he wasn’t raised with them, and that doesn’t give us a lot in common. I’ve been trying to build something with him—some sort of relationship—for the last couple of months because I missed so much. Trying hard but… But Coco, he’s a grown man. He’s not a child who needs me to be in his life every day. I love him because he’s a part of me, but I don’t know him. And to be honest, what I do know, I don’t like very much.”
“But he’s your son.”
“And you’re my mate. My future. You’re mine forever…if you’ll have me.”
I reached for him, pulling him against me as I pressed my lips to his. How could I not after all that? I was his mate—his mate—which meant we would have a bond humans could only dream of. Strong, powerful, and unbreakable. Everything I could have wanted, I suddenly had in my arms.
And there was no way I was letting it or him go.
Without true intention, the kiss turned wil
der. Magnus lifted me by my thighs, pinning me to the wall with his hips and assaulting my pussy with the thick ridge of his cock. I groaned and pulled him closer. Needing more. Not caring that the front door sat open and the world outside could see us. Let them. Most of my neighbors were shifters of one sort or another—they’d understand the draw of mates.
God, I couldn’t stop thinking that word. Mate.
Magnus finally broke the kiss, his eyes bright as they met mine. His breaths hard and fast as he said, “I’ve waited over a hundred years to find my mate, and here you are. But I’m not a young man, Coco. I don’t have the patience to play the sort of games my son would. So tell me you’ll be mine—tell me we can figure this out. Because I’ve waited a century to claim my mate, and I don’t want to wait another second.”
This night had become magical. So much better than watching Friends reruns. “Yes, Magnus. To everything…yes.”
“Thank the fates.” He pushed off the wall, carrying me across the hall so he could kick the door closed, and then he was racing up the stairs as I laughed.
“You’re going to throw your back out, old man.”
His growl made my pussy throb. “I’m not old yet, beautiful. Just experienced. And I’m going to use everything I know about pleasing a woman to keep you satisfied and happy.” He set me down when we reached my bedroom door, grinning down at me. “I like these pants, by the way.”
“Because they’re clingy?”
“No, because they tear easily.” With a swipe of his hand, he ripped my yoga pants from my body. Ripped. My. Yoga. Pants.
Some things were not easy to forgive, no matter the motivation. “Those were my favorite.”
“I’ll buy you more. It’s naked time.”
Okay, well…that motivation was acceptable. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. How do you feel about me claiming you, Miss Coco?”
“Can’t say I’ve ever been claimed before.”
His growl reverberated through the house, his hands rough as he grabbed my hips and pushed me backward into my room. “No, you haven’t. And no one will ever get the chance to again. You’re mine, Coco. All fucking mine.”
Words I’d dreamed about hearing. “Prove it.”
So he did. Six times that night. He also claimed me as his mate. His partner forever.
His.
Period.
The snarl he released as he did it—as he bit down on my neck and came inside of me—might have been my most favorite sound ever. I silently vowed to make him growl like that every day for the rest of our lives together.
I might never watch another Friends rerun, but life with my mate was worth it. Magnus was worth it.
Unless the episode where Ross refused to pay for delivery on his new couch came on. That one was golden, and I could watch it with my mate. Magnus needed to learn the true meaning of the word pivot.
Epilogue
Coco
One month. That was how long it took me to let Magnus move in to my house. Not that we’d really spent much time apart since he’d claimed me as his—we simply made it official at the one-month mark. More so than just him having most of his books, his work computer, his toothbrush, and his almost obscenely large concert T-shirt collection at my place. Those shirts were awesome and so comfy, by the way. I had a bit of an obsession with wearing them—and nothing else. Due to my obsession, Magnus had developed his own obsession with taking them off me slowly. No ripping of the shirts. My yoga pants…well, I wished Amazon had a Subscribe&Save option for those. Magnus always replaced what he destroyed, but still—it added up.
If I didn’t like what he did to me afterward, I’d probably be pissed about the pants. But alas…multiple orgasms had a way of erasing any sort of bad mood. So I continued to wear them, and he continued to rip them off me. Good times.
A scratch at the back door pulled me from my job of unpacking some of the kitchen accoutrements his movers had sent along from his former home out east. Two houses coming together meant having to make decisions about what stayed and what didn’t. We definitely didn’t need doubles of everything, so I’d been tasked with picking what we were keeping and what we were getting rid of. Most of his stuff was going simply because the kitchen was my realm, though he had a way nicer coffee press than mine. We’d be keeping that one.
Another scratch. Shoot. “I’m coming.”
It had to be Magnus coming back from his run. His wolf had settled into Kinship Cove nicely, the surrounding forests and mountains giving him places to take off and let his instincts rule. The best part was that he tended to come home from those runs all wired and crazy. Needing me. Wanting to tackle me into bed and spend a few hours making me scream.
I didn’t mind that one bit.
I opened the back door and grinned as a large, gray wolf padded inside. A mud-covered one.
“You’re dirty, mate. Do I need to wash the wolf or the man?”
Magnus shifted to his human self, standing before me with mud covering most of his skin. So much skin. Naked Magnus was a sight to behold. Still. I might never get over seeing him in all his unclothed glory. Or, at least, I hoped I never would.
“If you’re promising me time in the bath with you, then the man is in.”
“And if I’m not?”
He growled and grabbed me, rushing across the room until he had my back to the wall. The ridge of his erection rubbed me in all the right places. “You don’t want to be naked with me, beautiful?”
“I do, but not in the tub.” Water and sex didn’t work…not for me at least. Shower sex, yes. Bathtub, not so much.
“You just want me to fuck you against the shower wall.”
Guilty. “Any wall will do, really.”
His grin had my stomach clenching with want. “Like the one I’ve got you up against right now?”
“Yes.” I leaned in for a kiss, groaning when he licked into my mouth. The man certainly knew how to kiss. Who was I kidding? The man knew how to do everything, including give me multiple orgasms against a wall. And on the floor. And in the shower. And in the bed. The couch. The porch. The car… I was a lucky, lucky human.
“I want you in a bed,” he said before kissing his way down my neck. “I want to lay you down and lap that sweet pussy until you scream.”
How was I supposed to say no to that? “Okay.”
He chuckled, adjusting his hold on me while turning and heading for the stairs. But not before he grabbed my ass cheeks.
And ripped through my yoga pants with his claws.
“Oops,” he said, looking completely unrepentant.
“You did that on purpose.”
“Of course I did. Those pants make me want to get you naked.”
“So give me a chance to take them off.”
As he hit the stairs, I wrapped my legs around his hips and rode him as hard as I could. I was a rocking and writhing madwoman chasing my first peak before he even made it to the second floor.
“Patience, my mate,” he said with a moan as we reached the top landing.
“You waited so long to find me. Don’t make me do the same.”
A hundred years he’d been without me—I couldn’t wait for thirty seconds. That was okay, though. He liked me needy and craving him. Liked it enough that he laid me on the rug at the top of the stairs and shoved the shirt I wore up to my neck.
“No more waiting,” he said before sucking my nipple into his mouth and making me groan. “We were apart for long enough.”
We were—him a century, me not nearly as long. But it didn’t matter. We’d found each other, and nothing would come between us. Not my past or his, and especially not his son. Nico and Fiona had left Kinship Cove to be closer to her pack. Something Fiona had wanted desperately, and Nico…well, he dealt with it. That woman definitely wore the pants in their relationship.
Me? I tried to wear pants, but Magnus tore them off.
Something I’d never, ever complain about.
Thank you for taking the time
to read CANDIED WOLF. I hope you loved Magnus and Coco, but do you want to know what’s next? Maybe you want to get a look at Coco’s sister Ginger and the dragon shifter who might just rock more than her world? Make sure to keep keep reading for a look at SUGAR DRAGON, the second Kinship Cove: Mates & Macarons novel.
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SUGAR DRAGON SNEAK PEEK
Ginger
A man walked into the bakery and thoughts…gone.
Brain…fried.
Panties…wet.
Good lord, he was the hottest thing I’d ever seen. Tall and muscular but not thick, with a shock of black hair streaked with gray and the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. A silver fox who looked ready to eat her alive and fully capable of doing so. And totally new in town.
Jackpot.
“Well, hi. Welcome to—”
“You smell like cinnamon.”
“I…well, I work in a bakery.” I gave him my best smile, the one I’d practiced in the mirror as a teenager. The one that hopefully said why yes, you’re handsome and I’m available so let’s have a little fun in a non-too-blatant way. “That’s sort of bound to happen.”
He dragged those eyes made of ocean waves over my body, something almost covetous in his gaze. “Cinnamon is my favorite.”
“That might be the strangest pick up line I’ve ever heard.”
He shot me a cocky smile that made my knees weak and my breath catch. But then he opened his mouth.
“Who says I was trying to pick you up, Sparky?”
Attraction could turn to anger in the flip of a switch. Or the possibility of rejection. But being pissed about the tossing out of a nickname you didn’t exactly ask for was likely a much better look. “Sparky?”
“Yes, because your eyes practically shoot out sparks when you’re mad.”
