“Third, I was an asshole to demean a human marriage that I should have known meant something to you. I wouldn’t have hurt you for the world.” He removed his pants and let his heavy cock spring free. She licked her lips and he almost came. He stepped forward until he was standing in front of her then he knelt between her and the coffee table. He spread her legs and pulled her body forward until his cock lay nestled between her soft folds. They both sighed. Breathing heavily, he looked down at her half-closed eyes and smiled.
“In fact, I like the idea of something else tying us together. I went to my parents this morning and got this.” He opened his hand and revealed a small ring with a large emerald set in the center.
“My grandfather had to leave town often to do business. My grandmother wanted him to have evidence that he was taken. They exchanged mating rings. This was hers. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” he asked. He looked down and watched as tears began to run down her face.
“I love you so much! Yes! I will!” He slipped the ring on her finger and leaned down and kissed her, taking time to nibble her lips and plunge his tongue into her mouth over and over again. His eyes crossed when she reached down and grabbed his cock. She guided him to her entrance and thrust upwards, taking him completely inside of her.
“As much as I would love to make love to you slowly right now, I can’t. It’s going to be fast and hard, baby,” he said, thrusting in her.
“I need you. Don’t stop, this is perfect!” She arched her back. He was hitting that elusive spot inside of her on every stroke.
“No one, no one but me, you are mine!” he growled and slammed in her again.
“Only yours! Forever! If you stop, I swear I’m going to kill you in your sleep,” she yelled. He grinned and pushed into her, picking up speed. She felt him getting close and smiled.
“God, I love the way you fuck me!” she said. His eyes went wide at her words, and he yelled, filling her with his seed. She screamed her release and deliberately squeezed him, milking every drop. Aleks felt drained, so he pulled her down with him onto the floor between the couch and the coffee table. Panting and out of breath, he looked at her in wonder.
“Where did that come from?” he asked. She giggled.
“Rian suggested some dirty talk to spice things up. Did it work?” She looked at him, smiling.
“As if you have to ask,” he said, snuggling her under his chin. She wrapped around him.
“You didn’t even eat any cake, and I spent a lot of time last night making them for you,” she said, yawning.
“What kind of cake?” he asked, perking back up. She laughed as he untied the apron and threw it across the room.
“There is chocolate down here in the family room, coconut cake in the study, cinnamon rolls in the kitchen, your honey bun cake in the master bedroom, and vanilla jasmine pudding parfaits in the bathroom. It was a full out assault.” She kissed his chest.
He reached up and ran his fingers through the chocolate icing before pushing them both to sitting positions with her straddling him. He began to paint her breasts in chocolate. He leaned forward and licked the icing away. She sighed as he wrapped his tongue around her nipple, tugging lightly before placing a small bite on the soft flesh. She gasped.
“So you wanted to spice things up?” he asked, placing another love bite on the side of her breast.
“Yes, I want to experience everything with you,” she said, running her hands over his hair.
“Do you trust me, baby?” he asked.
“Of course I do,” she said, looking up at him. For a bear he had a decidedly wolfish grin on his face.
“Get on all fours, baby,” he said. Her heart began to pound in her chest with excitement. She quickly complied. He ran his hand over one ass cheek then the other. She let out the breath she had been holding. His hand reached between her legs to find her cunt was dripping moisture down her thigh. His eyes widened in surprise.
“Does my baby like the idea of being spanked?” he asked, popping her on her left cheek. A loud moan escaped her. Embarrassed at her reaction, she looked back at him, biting her lip.
“There’s no reason to be embarrassed by anything we do, baby. Though it does earn you another smack.” He hit her left cheek again.
“Put your hands over your head and don’t move, baby.” He leaned forward and kissed down her spine.
“Have you ever heard of using a safe word?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, shivering.
“What would you like as a safe word, baby?” he asked, nipping her shoulder blade.
“Cake,” she said brightly. He smiled.
“If I do something that you don’t like, cake is your safe word. Do you understand?” he asked.
“Yes, please do something.” She begged, feeling completely free.
“That earns you another five smacks. I give the orders, baby.” In quick succession he smacked both left and right cheeks. They were starting to turn pink for him. He picked up the chocolate cake and dipped his fingers into the cake before smearing it on to her back. She gasped. Slowly he let his tongue caress her back as he licked every inch of her clean. She was moaning and squirming beneath him.
He reached under her to test her readiness to discover she was completely drenched. He reached down and lined up his cock with her entrance. He slammed his way home.
“Yes!” she screamed, and he smiled. He would go over not making noise later. He was enjoying it too much now.
“Count them off, baby.” He plunged into her again before smacking her hard. He followed up with nine shallow strokes. Her pussy was clenching him tightly making him work hard to slam all the way home.
“One!” she screamed. He thrust into her twice more as deep as he could get and popped her on each ass cheek, followed by eight shallow strokes. Using her own juices he massaged her dark rosette and pushed a thumb in watching as it sucked the digit in. She gasped and pushed back wanting more.
“Two!” she yelled. He snapped his hips forward three times, alternated a slap on each ass cheek, and gave her seven shallow strokes.
“Does my baby like me playing in her tight ass? Do you want your dark hole filled too, baby?” Aleks asked.
“Three! Oh God yes!” she yelled. He wrapped off more hits and plunged his finger deep into her ass pushing down on the membrane as he felt his cock fill her up.
She lost track of counting when they hit six. She lost her voice when they hit eight, and her arms gave out at nine. When he slammed home ten times, alternating each thrust with a slap to her over-sensitized ass, she detonated. He roared his release as he kept coming. He had held back and made it to ten. Now his cum was dribbling back out of her and dripping down her legs. She collapsed completely. He had never come so hard in his life. He felt like his dick would fall off. With shaking arms, he reached up on the sofa and pulled down the throw he kept there. He wrapped her up and held her close. He kept whispering to her how much he loved her and how there was no one in the whole world for him but her.
“I loved your chocolate cake, baby. I can’t wait to taste and experience them all.” He grinned.
“Oh God,” she breathed.
“It’s Aleks, but close enough.”
Chapter 14
“Let’s go to that club to celebrate!” Rebecca said that afternoon when they were eating a late lunch at the diner. She kept squirming around on the barstool, the ache on her ass sent spirals of pleasure straight to her clit. She wiggled until she got comfortable trying to ignore her arousal. Aleks smiled knowing he had marked her in a way. That didn’t mean he wanted to take her clubbing. Aleks groaned. He wanted to keep her under lock and key wrapped in bubble wrap, preferably naked with cake.
“Aleks, we can’t hide away in town. It will be like they are dictating ours lives. Please, please can we go to the club? I want to get out and dance and celebrate being mated to you,” she said, looking up, her eyes pleading. He sighed. He should have known he wouldn’t be able to sa
y no. He turned his head to where Bran and Kate sat.
“Don’t ask us to go. Clubs aren’t my thing,” Bran said. Kate jabbed him in the ribs.
“As her maid of honor, I have to be there to celebrate. We’re in!” Kate said.
Rebecca hid a grin. She loved Kate and Bran’s dynamics.
“You’re going to play up this maid of honor thing to the hilt, aren’t you?” Bran said, shaking his head.
“I’ve never been in a wedding. This is going to be the social event of the decade. You better believe I’m milking this for all its worth,” she said in a huff.
“At least until your wedding, right, Kate?” Rebecca said evilly. Bran got a panicked look on his face. Kate winked at Rebecca.
“Okay, I have found the perfect invitations!” Rian said, breezing through the diner’s door with Damian and Liam.
“Hello, kitten, I hear you have trapped yourself a grouchy bear,” Liam said, kissing Rebecca on the cheek, earning him a growl from Aleks. She grinned and kissed Liam in return.
“Why are you looking at invitations?” Aleks asked Rian, confused.
“Rian and Damian are my wedding coordinators,” Rebecca said, biting into her sandwich.
“Kate is my maid of honor and Ashby and Nicholas are my bridesmen,” Rebecca said, grinning.
“Bridesmen? I didn’t know you were that close to Ashby and Nicholas,” he said.
“I did the neck thingy with them and now we’re kinda linked. I think that definitely ranks them up there with best friend,” she said, digging into her potato salad. Aleks nodded then stopped.
“What neck thing? You mean the submissive head tilt?” he asked.
“From time to time, when certain individuals pledge themselves to an Alpha Mother, they become more than part of the pack, pride, or sloth, they become part of what is called an Inner Court,” Leona explained as she walked in with Ashby and Nicholas.
“Ma doesn’t have one,” Aleks said, frowning. Leona laughed and smiled at him.
“My dear boy, your mother is a force unto herself. Can you imagine her being comfortable sharing her emotions?” Leona asked, grinning. Both Aleks and Connor shook their heads fervently.
“Having an Inner Court doesn’t denote strength or weakness. Sometimes we have gone hundreds of years without one. Each Inner Court is also different. In one case I read the Alpha Mother turned out to be a gentle-born lady used to court life. When she started meeting the townspeople, the artists, sculptors, and musicians were drawn to her. Her Inner Court provided what she would have lacked. Without music and art she would have been miserable and a terrible Alpha Mother. As a result Arkadia experienced a micro renaissance era. It was a very beautiful time in our history. In another documented case, the Prides and Packs were at war, which ended up drawing Arkadia into the fighting. When that Alpha Mother started meeting the townspeople, the Warriors of the town were drawn to her. Her Inner Court became her body guards. They saved her life on seven occasions, once each time she was pregnant with the next generation.
“It all depends on the Alpha Mother or the situations they find themselves in when they take over. Even if the person pledges themselves to the Alpha, unless the need is there a bond doesn’t form. It’s a very good start to your time as Alpha Mother for you to have two already pledged and accepted.” Leona sat at the table next to Kate and Bran. Everyone was staring at Rebecca, who had started her chocolate pie. She looked up.
“What?” she asked. “If you think I’m some kind of super Alpha Mother thing, you’re wrong. Ashby and Nicholas are just really great friends and we’re tuned into one another,” Rebecca said stubbornly.
“A ruling pair is an Alpha Mother and her Alpha, who acts as the enforcer.” Everyone looked at Aleks.
“Ashby and Nicholas will guide you on the pulse of the town. They are in positions to speak to a lot of the townspeople.” Everyone swung to stare at Ashby and Nicholas, who were blushing.
“You also have Liam and Kate, who have subconsciously taken on the roles of protectors,” she said. Everyone stared at Liam and Kate. They shot looks to each other. Leona smiled slyly as if she had a secret before continuing.
“You already have a well-balanced support group, even if you don’t form any other bonds,” she said, sipping her coffee. Everyone looked around.
“Leona, where did you find all this information?” Rebecca asked when she couldn’t bear the silence anymore.
“It’s in the town archives,” Leona said. Rebecca’s eyes lit up. She loved diving into history.
“This could explain why the hyenas have been trying to get to her. They hate us. She represents our future and they know that,” Connor said quietly.
“The attacks started after she claimed Ashby at the ice cream parlor before the hyenas were banned. I think one of them saw Ashby’s claiming,” Liam said.
“Why would they want me though? What does it gain them to take me?” Rebecca asked.
“Leverage. Aleks would move heaven and hell to get you back. He would also have the support of the pride and pack. They could ask for anything,” Leona said.
“I didn’t know they were that organized. The way you describe them, it makes them sound like backwoods rednecks that run meth labs at the edge of their properties. I wonder what they want that makes them so desperate that they would risk pissing Aleks off,” Rebecca said, snuggling closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her.
“She’s right, hyenas aren’t known for being organized or intelligent or literate for that matter. They would usually piss themselves at the thought of going against Aleks. They must want something badly,” Liam added.
“Or they found something that scares them more,” Rebecca said quietly.
“Aleks, the next time you see a hyena, try not to maul it to death so we can ask it a few questions,” Connor said with a grin.
“Yeah, Aleks,” Liam said, chiming in. Aleks laughed.
“Like you’re any better? I think that the hyena that tried to grab Rebecca still hasn’t made it to his car.” He grinned and they bumped fists. Rebecca looked at them shocked.
“You like each other,” she said matter-of-factly. Both men jumped back as if shocked.
“Bullshit,” Aleks said.
“Never happen,” Liam countered.
“Awww. You two are so cute! I was worried that you really didn’t like each other. I felt bad because Liam takes such good care of me. But now I see that you’re best friends,” she said and then continued eating her pie.
Aleks stared down in horror at his mate as if she just admitted to being pregnant with the Antichrist. Bran lost all sense of composure and began to laugh and loudly. Kate joined in. Connor smiled and also began laughing.
“Busted,” Emmett added from a table by the wall.
“Whatever,” Aleks grumbled.
“So what time are we going to the club?” Rebecca asked and Aleks groaned.
“Club? What club?” Rian perked up.
“Aleks is taking me to that paranormal-only club in the flyer that the vampire gave me,” Rebecca said, swinging around to face Rian. He and Damian exchanged glances.
“Whoooooo hoooooooo!” Rian said and pulled Rebecca off her chair and out of Aleks’s arms. They began to dance and grind in the middle of the diner. Kate jumped up and began to dance behind Rian, slapping him on the ass. Rian laughed and gyrated between the two females. Aleks and Bran growled lowly, and both women ignored them.
“Is it just me or does it feel like this town is coming to life with Rebecca here?” Pa asked Ma as they walked out of her office. He watched Aleks pull Rebecca away from Rian and Kate. Aleks’s face turned red when Rian popped him on the ass. Rian then ran behind Kate. Both Kate and Rebecca dissolved into giggles.
“Because it has. This town has always been a safe haven for shifters. But she is making it a home,” Ma said. She mulled over the phone conversation she had just had with the council. She knew they were in for some tough times. She cleared her throat and ev
eryone turned to face her. Inside she smiled. Her time may have been coming to an end as Alpha Mother, but she was going to do everything in her power to hand over Arkadia during a happy and peaceful time.
“Maybe going to the club isn’t such a bad idea,” she started, and Aleks opened his mouth as if to say something. She held up a hand. He closed his mouth and waited.
“I just got off the phone with Elder Lachlan,” Liam hissed, interrupting her. Rebecca looked at him in fascination.
“Who is Elder Lachlan?” she asked, curious.
“The Lion Elder who rules all the cats,” Ma replied.
“A meddlesome old bastard,” Liam said at the same time, and Ma rolled her eyes.
“Language, Liam! And you shouldn’t speak of your grandfather like that. He does care a great deal about you,” she said, and he gave a cynical bark of laughter.
“The only thing that old man is concerned about is his council seat, which I don’t want by the way,” he said.
“He thinks you would be a wonderful Elder, but that is neither here nor there.” She turned to Rebecca. “The vampire you met in the bookstore. Can you describe him?” she asked.
Rebecca sighed, a happy smile on her face. Aleks growled.
“He was about six foot five, shoulder-length wavy black hair, strong jaw, perfect smile, and the most brilliant blue eyes I have ever seen,” she recounted. Rian, Damian, Ashby, and Kate sighed. Bran and Aleks scowled. Ma hid a smile.
“Did he have any other distinguishing features?” she asked.
“His eyes changed color. He had red glowy eyes at first, scary but cool. Then they changed to teal then a royal blue. He also had the coolest antique ring I have ever seen,” she said.
“The eyes changing color and the signet ring confirms it.” Ma pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Ma? What is it?” Aleks asked, almost afraid to know the answer.
“Rebecca, did he seem pleasant?” she asked. Aleks was starting to get worried.
“Yes, he was extremely polite. He kissed my hand and said it was a ‘distinct pleasure’ to meet me. He liked me,” she said. Ma smiled at Rebecca as Aleks started growling lowly and began to kiss each hand as if to remove the vampire’s touch.