Sassy Ever After: Wise Sass Mates (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Tasha Black

  Bianca felt her cheeks burning.

  “Ohhh, Bianca, how could you not tell us that part first?” Addison asked, leaning forward to grab another brownie, as if she were settling in to watch a movie. “Who was it? Someone from your past?”

  “It was… it was nothing,” Bianca said, ashamed of her behavior and also feeling oddly selfish about the experience.

  She should have known that would never fly.

  “It wasn’t nothing,” Addison giggled and shared a look with Mei. “Look how she’s blushing.”

  “Well, you’ve only ever mentioned two guys from your past here in Blue Creek, Bianca. There’s the boy who tormented you and the teacher you had a crush on. You look happy, so I’m guessing it wasn’t the bully,” Mei said, popping a strawberry from the tray in her mouth and winking.

  “Who are you?” Bianca asked. “Sherlock Holmes?”

  “You don’t have to tell us anything you don’t want to,” Addison told her quickly.

  “But I was right, wasn’t I?” Mei asked with a wicked smile.

  Bianca bought herself time by taking a large sip of tea.

  But it was not tea.

  She coughed and a little of the alcohol came out her nose. Mei threw her a napkin and Addison leaned over to thump her on the back.

  “Sorry, Addison murmured. “I thought you might need something with a kick. That’s mulled wine.”

  “I did,” Bianca agreed, taking another sip. It went down smoothly this time, though it still had a bit of a burn. She relaxed as the warmth blossomed in her belly.

  “You don’t have to tell us anything,” Mei allowed. “We just want to be there for you.”

  Bianca looked up.

  Her tiny, curvy Asian friend with the big sharp mouth smiled back at her.

  “I know you do, Mei,” Bianca said. “I’m sorry.”

  “Oh, no, no that,” Addison said immediately. “We just got here.”

  The friends had made a pact that they would drop the annoying habit of saying ‘I’m sorry’ when they weren’t apologizing. It was second only to their goal of harvesting sufficient research material to complete their project. They hoped to accomplish both goals by the end of the semester.

  “Oh, crap,” Bianca said, covering her mouth, “I’m s—” she caught herself and managed to keep herself from breaking the rule twice. “I’ll remember.”

  “Good save,” Mei said.

  “Anyway, yes, it was the teacher. And oh my god, he’s incredible. But it kind of happened at the spur of the moment. It was a bad idea and I shouldn’t have let it go so far.”

  “Why not?” Addison asked.

  “So far?” Mei echoed at the same time.

  Bianca smiled, a shiver of joy going down her spine. How had she been so lucky, so incredibly lucky to find these two wonderful women to share her life?

  “What did you guys do tonight?” she asked.

  Mei looked like her eyes would bug out of her head.

  “We watched a movie,” Addison said.

  “Yeah and then we got a phone call that our best friend had been assaulted by a robber,” Mei added.

  Bianca laughed and Addison laughed with her.

  “I definitely owe you guys a story, but I’m just so tired. Any chance you would take a rain check?” Bianca asked, suddenly feeling the events of the night catch up with her under the spell of the mulled wine.

  “Sure,” Mei agreed. “As long as you don’t leave anything out.”

  “I promise,” Bianca assured her.

  “Come on then, love,” Addison said, returning her own mug to the tray. “Let’s get you to bed.”

  Chapter 7

  Ian paced the tall grass behind the big contemporary where Bianca was staying with her friends.

  Her scent was soft on the air, the delicate note of cinnamon nearly lost in the sea of loamy soil and pinesap of the forest.

  She had left him.

  She had left him and gone into danger, and then come here instead of coming to him.

  His pride would be dangerously wounded if he weren’t still in the throes of desire for her.

  The moonlight tickled his libido as he paced, studying the ground floor window from which her scent trailed enticingly.

  Fuck this.

  Ian had done all he could. Resisting a willing mate had been a herculean task and yet he’d managed it. He’d done the right thing for so long that he almost lost his mind when she’d come looking for him.

  But she was certainly old enough to make her own choices now, and that had been his undoing.

  And now that he had finally acknowledged her right to choose, she’d used her free will to run from him. She’d used him like he was a fucking sex toy, and gone back to her friends.

  The wolf growled low in his throat.

  She’d been having a great time, too. He smelled wine and chocolate.

  At least there wasn’t another man in the house.

  The thought made his blood boil and he threw caution to the wind, grabbing a pebble from the ground and tossing it at her window like a teenager in an ‘80s movie.

  The window was on the first floor, but something felt wrong about just walking up to it and knocking. He didn’t want to frighten her. Ian took a deep breath and tossed another small stone.

  Seconds later, the window slid open and a sleepy Bianca looked out.

  Her blonde hair was tousled, her green eyes wide.

  His heart throbbed painfully. The urge to protect her blotted out everything, even his own fury.

  She bit her lip and looked into the darkness.

  He was so touched by her beauty he couldn’t speak. Instead, he moved across the backyard to her.

  “Mr. Anderson,” she said reflexively.

  “Ian,” he corrected her.

  She blushed and he wanted to grab her, yank her out through the window, and make love to her on the lawn.

  “Ian, what are you doing here?” she asked.

  “What am I doing here?” he spluttered. “You left me.”

  “It’s been a long night,” she said, her guard suddenly up.

  He cursed himself for losing his temper, but couldn’t hold back.

  “You’re damned right it’s been a long night,” he agreed. “How dare you walk away from me? You could have been badly hurt.”

  “It was just a burglar,” she said dismissively.

  “Just a burglar?” he echoed incredulously.

  “I can take care of myself,” she informed him, and moved as if to close the window again.

  He reached out and grabbed her wrist before she could shut him out.

  Quick as a thought, she wrapped her other hand on top of his and rotated the wrist he held, catching Ian off guard and sending a jolt of pain up his arm.

  “Ow,” he bellowed.

  “That’s a wrist lock,” she said, releasing her hold on him. “Consider yourself lucky, the last guy who grabbed me got flipped over on his back.”

  He scowled at her, rubbing his hurt wrist.

  “You were such a nice girl in high school,” he said, hearing the childish reproach in his own voice.

  “Yes, I was a nice girl,” she agreed. She emphasized the words in a way that confused him.

  “Come out here so we can talk,” he said. “Please,” he added when she pursed her lips.

  She huffed at him, but when he gazed at her, unmoving, she rolled her eyes and climbed out the window.

  The fall wind blew her thin white cotton gown against her curves and her scent enveloped him.

  The wolf inside him howled with glee.

  Her eyebrows lifted slightly, as if she had heard him.

  “What did you want to talk about?” she asked quickly, as if filling the night air with words would obfuscate the frank desire between them.

  He gaped at her like a teenager, then caught himself and closed his mouth.

  “I wanted to talk about us,” he said patiently.

  She snorted, she actually snorte
d.

  “There is no us,” she said.

  But her nipples pressed against the thin fabric of the gown and he could practically taste the scent of her desire on the air.

  The little minx. Words weren’t going to help him tonight.

  No, he would show her. She couldn’t resist him.

  Ian Anderson tried to be modest, but women practically threw themselves at him, claimed he looked like a young Jeremy Irons. Students left him sappy little notes and teachers walked him to his car. He knew he was attractive. And he was her mate - which meant he was her catnip.

  Oh, Bianca Silver was going to pay for her insolence. She was going to beg him to claim her.

  A lock of her golden hair fell in front of her eye.

  Deliberately slowly, Ian reached out to tuck it behind her ear.

  He half-expected her to push his hand away, but she was still, she seemed to be almost spellbound by his gentle touch.

  He would have taken satisfaction in it if he weren’t spellbound too.

  Her green eyes drew him in. He felt light as air, young and wild.

  “Ian,” she whispered.

  He leaned down and brushed her lips once with his own.

  When he pulled back, her eyes remained closed for a moment and he tried to memorize the way her lashes rested on her pale cheek in the dim light.

  Her eyes fluttered open and he pulled her to him, kissing her harder this time, tasting her.

  She melted into him, her softness driving him insane with lust.

  He pulled back again and slid her nightgown over her head.

  She stood before him in the moonlight, her pink nipples stiff as pebbles, round hips flaring out from her waist. She looked like a fertility goddess.

  Overwhelmed, Ian didn’t know where to begin.

  A look of sadness crossed Bianca’s face, and the next thing he knew she was wrapping her arms around her body.

  “What’s wrong, my love?” he asked.

  “N-nothing,” she replied.

  “You’re beautiful, please don’t hide from me,” he whispered into her hair.

  The aroma brought him back to that afternoon in the library. He thought of it often, cursing himself for it, but unable to resist conjuring up the scent of her hair, the warmth emanating from her.

  His memory had nothing on the reality.

  She sighed and it sounded like a symphony to his ears.

  Before she could change her mind, he trailed gentle kisses down her neck and nuzzled between her breasts.

  Her nipples called to him and he licked one, and then the other and then the first again, losing himself to the small sounds his attentions were drawing from her and the incredible texture of her stiff little buds against his tongue.

  When her hips began to bump against him, he knew he was pushing her too far.

  She whimpered when he left her breasts, but when he knelt at her feet and slid her panties down to her ankles she quieted.

  He leaned in and allowed himself one second of delicious anticipation.

  Bianca felt it too - he heard her catch her breath.

  His mate. His mate, my god, could it finally be real? How many times had he dreamed of embracing her? Of pleasuring her as he was about to do?

  He used a finger to part her curls.

  She trembled but held still and quiet, even as he leaned in and applied his tongue to her quivering sex.

  “Oh,” she sighed, her head dropping back.

  He smiled against her and tasted her again, this time allowing himself to explore her swelling clitoris.

  “Oh,” she cried out.

  God, he loved how vocal she was. He went to work on her, flicking his tongue against her clit and sliding a finger up to slowly penetrate her soaked opening.

  His cock was hard almost to the point of pain. He longed to press it against her legs for relief, but he wanted this to be about her, no distractions.

  She was so close now - he could feel her flowering open against his mouth and finger.

  He redoubled his efforts, adding a second finger and licking her frenziedly.

  Her whole body stiffened, and then he tasted new moisture as she clamped down on his fingers and moaned out her incredible climax.

  When she finally relaxed, Ian was burning with lust.

  “Bianca?”

  The female voice coming from inside sounded worried.

  “Oh, god, oh no,” Bianca whispered, snatching her gown from the ground, sliding it over her head backward, and heading back for the window.

  “Wait,” Ian said.

  “Go away,” she whispered. “I’m out here, Addison. Just wanted some fresh air,” she called into the house. “Get out of here,” she hissed at him.

  Ian stood watching in stunned silence as she crawled back in the window, leaving him behind, again.

  And this time she had left him wanting.

  Chapter 8

  Bianca curled up in one of the massive upholstered chairs overlooking the pond. Blue Creek Library’s Historical Files room was one of the nicest spaces in an already lovely building.

  Addison and Mei were munching on breakfast baklava from Blue Creek Cafe. The little Greek diner had an incredible breakfast menu.

  But for once, Bianca had no appetite. She sipped her Turkish coffee, a necessary indulgence after a night like last night, and lost herself to the memory of Ian Anderson.

  He had been so angry with her when he’d tracked her down at the house, but why? How had he even found her?

  Maybe being a wolf he could actually track her. That would be amazing.

  She was so lost in thought that she almost didn’t realize Mei was talking to her.

  “What’s the matter?” Mei asked her with a smile. “Cat got your tongue?”

  More like the wolf’s got my tongue.

  Or like I’ve got his tongue.

  Ack! Stop thinking about it, Bianca.

  “Nothing, I’m good,” she replied vaguely.

  “Yeah, you look good,” Mei retorted.

  “Actually you do look good,” Addison observed calmly.

  Did she?

  As a matter of fact, she felt good for a woman who had been up half the night. All the colors in the world seemed to be brighter today.

  “You got paid last night, didn’t you?” Mei asked.

  “That’s not a thing people say. And I don’t want to talk about it,” Bianca retorted, though she was pretty sure her vivid blush was talking for her.

  “I don’t get it,” Addison mused. “You’ve had a crazy crush on him for ten years. You obviously had some kind of… encounter with him last night. How could you not want to talk about it?”

  “You know what? I do want to talk about it,” Bianca declared suddenly. These were her best friends. If they couldn’t help her work out these feelings, what was the point?

  “So, yes, I bumped into him,” she began. “I was on my way to the party thing and I saw him in the woods.”

  “Did he look, you know, as good as before?” Addison asked.

  “He looked better than before, he’s so gorgeous I can’t even tell you,” Bianca let herself gush. “Anyway, things got kind of physical really quickly.”

  “How quickly?” Mei asked suspiciously.

  “Like… immediately,” Bianca admitted.

  “Immediately?” Addison leaned forward, looking impressed.

  “Well, he had just shifted and—oh. Yeah. I forgot to tell you guys, he’s a wolf,” Bianca told them, finally convinced she had completely lost her marbles.

  “Wait - what?!?” Mei demanded.

  “He’s a shifter?” Addison asked. “Why didn’t you think to tell us this before?”

  She was right to ask. The whole reason they were in Blue Creek in the first place was to research shifters.

  “I didn’t know before last night,” Bianca told them truthfully. “I was in the woods, this wolf came after me, it turned into my old crush, and then boom we did it in the woods, and then I came h
ome and there was a burglar in my apartment, and I beat him up and came to your place.”

  She conveniently left out the part where she made out with Ian again.

  “Listen,” Mei said. “I don’t want to complain about your storytelling or anything, which is seriously lacking in detail, but are we really supposed to believe you did it out in the woods? I mean, you just organized our creamers.”

  Bianca looked down at the table. It was true. She had arranged the creamers so that they were in a symmetrical pyramid, with the labels facing the same direction.

  “I did,” she admitted. “I guess there’s just something about him…”

  “So how do you feel?” Addison asked.

  “I don’t know,” Bianca admitted. “I feel like a complete slut for doing what I did. I mean clearly if he liked me he wouldn’t have just, you know, fucked me in the woods. He would have asked me out.”

  “Then why did he come to the house for you last night?” Addison asked.

  Oh god.

  Bianca blushed so hard she felt like steam must be rising from her cheeks.

  “I heard voices,” Addison said delicately, “I assumed you were talking with someone, makes sense that it was him.”

  “Well, I think he only came back for round two,” Bianca admitted.

  “Sounds like my kinda guy,” Mei chimed in. “Does he have a brother?”

  “Maybe I’m just old fashioned or something,” Bianca admitted. “Or I read too many books. But if I’m bringing a guy into my life I want the real deal - flowers and home cooked meals and romantic walks. Otherwise, I’d rather have my peace and quiet.”

  “Well, a guy like him won’t stop that,” Mei pointed out helpfully. “Sounds like he’s ready to help you let off some steam and stay out of your way.”

  Addison didn’t say anything, but Bianca saw the line forming between her brows.

  “I’m good,” she told Addison, patting her gently.

  Addison caught her eye for a moment, then smiled at last, as if she were convinced.

  Now if only Bianca could convince herself that she was all good.

  “Wait, Bianca, what was the party you were invited to?” Addison asked suddenly.

  “I dunno a scent party or something,” Bianca replied. “Something with perfumes, I guess.”