by Roxie Ray
She looked up at me with big, scared eyes, and my heart melted into a puddle that belonged to her. But then her gaze turned from hopeful and wary to overwhelmed. “I almost died today,” she whispered.
I pulled her close, into my lap, and rocked her as she cried. “My daughter would’ve been without a mother,” she wailed. Good thing Hayden was in a magical sleep because I’d learned something new about my mate. She cried loudly. “I was terrified,” she choked out between sobs. “And then there you were. You saved us.”
“As long as I’m alive, you and Hayden will be safe.” I continued to rock her. “We’ll raise Hayden knowing about dragons and witches. She’ll be human, but she’ll know. She’ll be a very special little girl for that. No humans know other than mates.” My talking seemed to be soothing her, so I kept going. “Maybe one day she’ll meet a dragon, and maybe she’ll meet a human, but whatever happens in her life, she’ll be safe and loved. And she’ll have a whole clan of dragons to protect her. They would’ve all come running in an instant if I’d called them, you know that?”
She shook her head against my chest.
“Oh, yes. The entire clan came out to fight the witch that tried to steal Skye’s babies from her.”
Bri sat straight upright. “What?” she asked in a near shout.
“Well, it was more complicated than that, but the entire clan came, and then the clan rebuilt the house after it burned down.”
Bri slapped my chest. “You’re messing with me.”
“I’m not! It’s not my story to tell, but Skye will have to forgive me for distracting you.” I proceeded to tell her the story of how Skye found out about Anthony being a dragon and what happened after.
By the time I finished, she was much calmer. “Oh, Jace,” she whispered. “I’m sorry it took me all week to figure this out, but I’m not totally on board.”
“What’s still bothering you?”
“The bite. It’s a lot. I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”
I growled low in my chest. “We’ll wait as long as it takes until you are ready. You and Hayden are my future and that’s not going to change, bite or no bite.”
She snuggled closer and we sat on the couch in each other’s arms until we were both starved. After we ate, she asked me to stay with her. We lay down and I was pretty excited for what would come, but the trauma of the day had her completely exhausted. She was asleep with her mouth hanging open within minutes.
And that was okay, too. I snuggled close and spent most of the night awake, marveling at how my life had changed for the better since spring.
The next morning it was clear that Sammy’s magic had worked. Hayden bounded down the stairs with a big smile on her face. “Jace!” she yelled. “You’re here!”
I hugged her while Bri watched us, looking very relieved.
Halfway through breakfast, my phone rang. It was Porter. “Hayden, your mother and I are going to take this outside. We need to talk to my brother. Are you good to sit here and eat your food?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, you put syrup on my pancakes, and Mom never does.”
I snorted and Bri burst out laughing. “Kiddo, you and I are gonna get along fine.”
Out the back door, on her small patio, I put the phone on speaker but turned it way down so Hayden wouldn’t catch any of it. Bri stood close to listen.
“Okay, Porter, whatcha got?” I asked.
“Damon will no longer be a problem. His multiple restraining order violations and him carrying a gun with intent to harm are going to have him locked up for an exceptionally long time. And I think the DA is going for attempted murder, since he actually discharged the weapon.”
I looked at Bri with a big smile on my face.
Now I could focus completely on my girls and claim my family.
23
Bri
Hayden was gone for the weekend with her Aunt Bianca, and I had some plans for tonight.
In the months since Damon ruined his life and nearly ruined ours, Jace had stuck by me and Hayden like glue. He’d been beyond amazing and Hayden adored him. She’d quickly figured out we were more than just friends and had given her stamp of approval. Jace moved into my apartment not long after that, though we were talking about getting a place near the water, close to Skye’s house. We’d decided that living over the bar maybe wasn’t the best place for a young girl. I’d been thinking about asking Skye if she’d sell us her place, since they spent most of their time at their house on clan land.
Once Jace’s apartment was available, Porter had asked if he could use it. He’d been making plans to move to Bluewater, and I couldn’t have been happier for Jace to have his brother nearby. They’d really bonded since Porter helped us with Damon.
After having a long talk with my girls last weekend at Kaylee’s apartment, I knew I was ready. We’d had a girls’ night and talked about commitment, and then Skye and I had a private conversation about mating and the bite after Kaylee passed out.
And I was ready. I was tired of waiting, of trying to convince myself to be patient and make sure the time was right.
It was right. Enough was enough.
Jace was due home from doing some admin stuff at his office at the bar, and it had run on late. I was on the bed in a new negligee and had a bottle of champagne chilled on the bedside table. I played a game on my phone while I waited to hear the front door open.
I’d dozed off and jerked awake when I heard him come home. I smoothed out the blankets and arranged myself as sexily as I could with one leg crossing the other while I reclined on the pillows. The candles had burned low, but they were still lit, so I was good.
“Bri?” he called up the stairs.
“Up here.” I tried to sound sultry while hollering, but it didn’t work so great.
As soon as he walked in the door and noticed me, all that didn’t matter. He smirked with fire in his gaze. “What are you up to?”
My planned speech went totally wonky. I forgot everything I was going to say.
So, I spoke from my heart. “I love you, Jace. Hayden loves you. I don’t want to be without you, and I want to be tied to you in every way. I know we’ve talked about marriage several times, but more than that. You’ve been patient and understanding. I know I only want you. Forever.” I rolled over, spread my legs, and sat up. He made a sexy growling noise deep in his throat. “Bite me, Jace.”
He made that unbelievably sexy noise again, that deep growl that made me wet every time. A high-pitched squeak escaped my throat when he suddenly tackled me to the bed, his weight settling over me without being suffocating. He stared deep into my eyes for a long, meaningful moment.
“I love you, Bri,” he whispered.
I pulled his face down to mine, meeting his lips in a slow, lazy kiss. “I love you, too, Jace. Make me yours.”
His voice was low when he replied, “I can do that.”
The gold silk negligee I’d chosen for that night didn’t cover much, but I felt utterly bare under his intense gaze. He stripped away the awkwardness of my speech, my lack of confidence, my initial apprehension, and made me feel like the powerful woman he’d always told me I was. My fingers slowly worked the buttons of his shirt loose and I pushed it off of his strong, muscular shoulders.
He chucked the shirt carelessly across the room, then ran his palm up my calf and across my thigh. His kisses moved across my cheek and jaw, his teeth nipping at my earlobe before moving down to my throat. I already felt the heat from him intensifying, which drove my desire for him up several notches. Tugging the undershirt from his waistband, I stripped his upper body bare. Bathed in the golden glow of his nightstand lamp, he was perfection incarnate.
I rolled on top of him without resistance, my eyes roaming appreciatively over his muscular figure. While I wanted to be his mate—of that, there was no question—I also didn’t want to rush it just to get it over with. I wanted to make everything about that night absolutely perfect. We could take our time, go at our
own pace, and he would be just as patient with me as he had been this whole time.
“Not reconsidering, are you?” he asked, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips.
Grinning, I leaned over him. “Not in the least.”
He slid his heated hands up my thighs and grabbed my ass. “Good.”
Wiggling out of his grip, I scooted down to rid him of his pants. His cock sprang free, hot and fully erect. I licked my lips, eager to taste him, to please him, to draw out that feeling of anticipation. Jace’s eyes were half-lidded with lust and he hissed between his teeth when I ran my tongue from base to tip. I traced my tongue around the ridge of his head, then swiped it across his slit. His head fell back, and he groaned.
Finally, I wrapped my hand around his base and took him into my mouth. I felt his muscles tense as if he’d resisted the urge to thrust, which was just as well. It would’ve been horribly embarrassing had I gagged on him, but he was exceptionally good at controlling himself with me. My tongue molded to his shaft, increasing the suction, and his breath puffed out of him as my mouth and hand worked in sync.
Watching him react to my attention was addictive, having such a powerful man at my mercy. I took him in until I felt him brush the back of my throat, humming a moan as the taste of him filled my senses. That low growl filled the room again and his fingers brushed through my hair without latching on. I released him slowly, swirling my tongue around his head again, and continued pumping with my hand. Then I adjusted his leg and lowered my head to suck on his sac.
“Damn, Bri,” he gasped, his hips jerking.
I alternated between massaging his balls with my tongue and licking along his shaft. His fingers dug into the comforter and his stomach muscles contracted irregularly where he was fighting not to take control. The sight made the tightness in my own core nearly unbearable. I took him into my mouth again, pumping him hard. My grip on him tightened and he bucked in response.
The sounds he made and the delicious heat he put off had my hand wandering down into my own underwear. I was so wet that my fingers slid right along my folds with no resistance. Jace started to harden further in my mouth and I braced myself for him.
“Bri, I’m gonna—”
I moaned in response, encouraging him, and the vibration in my throat sent him over. Heat splashed against the back of my throat and I swallowed him down, pumping him for everything he had. That time his hands wound through my hair, but I pressed against his hips to keep him still.
He cursed quietly, head thrown back, and breathing hard. I pulled away, easing him slowly out of my mouth. His cock was still rock-hard thanks in large part to his nature, and my panties were off before I’d made the conscious decision to remove them. I crawled up his body, kissing my way up his beautifully defined abs and pecs and throat and jaw. His hands slid beneath the gold, silky material and pulled it off over my head.
“You are so gorgeous,” he said as his hands caressed my bare breasts. He sat up, sucking one into his mouth. Turned on as I was, the electricity of the attention zipped right between my legs. I positioned myself and sank down onto him, my body providing more than enough lubrication, and he squeezed my ass again. He filled me up so completely that I felt whole like I could breathe properly again, and that was the feeling I wanted to capture forever.
Without breaking his contact, I used my hips and legs to start building a rhythm. I tucked my hands under his jaw, forcing his face up to mine, and kissed him. His strength steadied me as I thrust myself up and down along the length of his cock. If he tasted himself on my tongue, he didn’t seem to mind.
Suddenly, I was under him again. I gasped in surprise at the movement. He gave me a cheeky grin, then his warmth disappeared inside and out. Before I had time to react, wild, wet heat slammed into my sex as Jace’s mouth settled there. My back arched off the bed as the most incredible pressure built up and he ravished my swollen clit with his tongue.
The air had left my lungs and I could barely get a breath to vocalize my pleasure. Perhaps it was payback for my lovingly torturous care. If that were the case, I’d make sure to repeat that performance every night from then on.
His fingers slid inside me then and coupled with the feel of his fiery tongue sliding rapidly through my folds, I felt the end approaching. He curled his fingers every time he slid in, applying pressure to a sensitive spot that had me gasping for release.
“Jace,” I moaned. His name was the only coherent thought I could form. My body was on fire and he was stoking the flames higher and higher with each stroke.
Jace pumped his fingers faster and closed his mouth over me, sucking hard even as his tongue continued sweeping back and forth. Euphoria crashed over me as my release came, but this time, he didn’t ease me down from it. Instead, he immediately stood and slammed his cock inside of me, intensifying my orgasm even further.
The friction of his cock rubbing against my overly sensitive walls was too much and another one had already started to build up, my core tightening in anticipation. He loomed over me, his gray eyes meeting mine, a questioning look in them. I tilted my head to the side, giving him my permission. That had been what this night was all about after all. I wanted to be with him, wanted him to claim me as his mate.
When his teeth met my flesh, any pain there may have been was overtaken by another powerful orgasm. Simmering heat rushed through me, filling me, spilling from me. He kept his pace for a few more seconds, then grunted into my shoulder, hips jerking spasmodically. Something clicked into place as if a single missing puzzle piece had been found and put where it belonged, making the picture whole. It was a link, sizzling and electric like a live wire that ran between us.
He was mine. I was his. Forever.
24
Porter
Home just didn’t feel quite the same anymore. Ever since I’d lost my mom, nothing was the same. Christmas had lost its luster, and I didn’t look forward to it this year at all. So, when my newfound brother invited me to come to spend the holiday with his family and clan, I jumped at the chance. I hadn’t been to Bluewater Coast since spring when I came and met Jace, then hung out for the clan weekend.
As supportive as my clan had been through losing my mom and after, there was nothing like being with family. Something about the clan in Bluewater felt like family. My brother, of course, but even his mom had been welcoming, and Jace’s Aunt Missy had been the best host I could’ve dreamed of. She’d taken me under her wing like one of her own. I actually put on a few pounds thanks to her cooking.
Not to mention, Hayden called me Uncle P. That had been really cool.
I walked across the bar and set the beers down on the table, then slid them to my brother and his friends. My new friends, as well. “Stop fucking around and just move already,” Jace said.
We were having a rare night with Jace off duty. He had two guys working tonight when normally only one did. That way if anything happened, they’d have a spare to handle it. I’d insisted on it. He needed a weekend night off every once in a while.
“Every time I go home, it’s a little harder to leave.” I shrugged. “But jumping clans isn’t the easiest thing in the world. And I’d have to sell the house and deal with all that. It’s not simple.”
Jace’s clan alpha was a pretty cool dude. He’d come to hang out with us for a few hours. “All you have to do is ask.” Anthony grabbed a beer and grinned. “I’d be more than happy to make the necessary arrangements. Just say the word.”
I didn’t want to be too hasty about it. “Thank you. When I’m totally decided, I will. I’m really going to think about it.”
“Come on, let’s play some pool,” Jace suggested. “The backroom just emptied out.”
There had been a bachelorette party back there giggling and shooting on Jace’s only pool table. “You need more pool tables and dartboards,” I said.
He rolled his eyes. “If you figure out somewhere I can squeeze in another pool table without taking any space from the patron tables, I�
�ll order it right now.”
Chuckling, I conceded his point. “Okay, fair enough. What you need is a bigger bar.”
He shrugged. “Good location.”
I racked the balls and Wayne, another friend I’d made in the Bluewater clan, handed me a cue. We played several games, betting each time, and each time, somehow, I lost my money. It might’ve had something to do with the number of beers I’d consumed, but by the time I cried uncle, I was only down about fifteen bucks. We’d only been betting dollars.
“Let’s go order some onion rings,” Wayne suggested.
“That sounds delicious.” My stomach growled at the thought.
I led the way, and we found an empty table in the corner. It was lucky we got that. “Is it usually this busy on a Saturday?” I asked.
Jace nodded. “Yeah, business has been booming. I’m thankful for it, especially now.”
I grinned. He was a family man now.
As I opened my mouth to tease him, a scream a few tables over pulled all our attention away. A blonde woman stood beside two men. The men were busy going to town on each other. As soon as one landed a punch, the other twisted around and got one in. They were too close together for it to be a real fight. More like an upright wrestling match. “You’re both a bunch of fucking idiots!” the blonde screamed. “I’m done with both of you.”
The guys jerked away from each other and looked at the woman, both of them panting and red-faced. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the scene.
“Don’t you know who I am?” she continued. “You’re both easily replaced.” Damn. She was one hell of a ballbuster. There weren’t enough hot curves in the world for me to put up with shit like that.
She looked around the bar and her eyes landed on us in the corner.
“Shit,” Jace muttered.
“Shit is right,” Anthony said.
She stalked over to us and stood behind Jace and Wayne, across the table. Anthony and I were sort of wedged against the back wall. “Hello,” she said.
