New Page 1

STORY EXCERPT

“Oh, shit, damn, damn, damn, ouch,” she cried out as pain flashed through her thumb and all the way up to her elbow.

She dropped the sign, nail, and hammer. Barely a second later, her big toe screamed with an identical pain as the hammerhead landed on it.

“Having trouble?” a deep voice behind her asked. He sounded amused at her pain.

“Duh,” she replied sarcastically.

Looking over her shoulder through the tears that filled her eyes, Kimber felt her heart pause for several beats before it began to pound. This was not Aaron, the normal pizza delivery guy, who had shown up every week for the past six months. Aaron was barely out of high school, short, pimply, and about twenty pounds overweight.

No, this was a man, but he looked to be no older than thirty. Maybe. At five foot seven, she was not a short woman, but even standing on the second step leading to the porch, she had to look up at him. Looking into his eyes, she found herself trapped in their lightness that seemed to twinkle as he met her gaze. She could not tell if they were a blue or green, but they seemed to offset his shaggy, light-brown hair to perfection.

He had a tanned, craggy, strong-boned face that made her fingers itch for paper and a pencil to sketch, or her camera to capture every nuance of the amusement she saw in his expression.

Dropping her curious gaze, she took in broad shoulders, flat abs, and a body sculptured by the gods. He wore the same uniform Aaron wore, a red T-shirt with the Petey’s Pizza logo emblazed on the front. With the shirt, he wore faded blue jeans that hung loose on his long-legged, narrow-hipped frame, and a pair of scuffed work boots that looked like he actually did work of some kind in them.

The pain in her thumb and toe eased as her libido woke up and screamed Whoohoo! at her. This was the kind of man she wanted—both in her studio and in her bed. She could just imagine the sculpted body his clothes currently hid from her.

Lifting her gaze to his face again, she found his amusement had given way to concern. Had she missed something as she had done the mental striptease? “Did you say something?”

She fought an urge to trip off the steps and fall into his arms. She wondered if he would sacrifice her pizza to catch her or allow her to fall to the sidewalk.

“Just asked if you needed some help.” His voice flowed over her like a hot shower, sending a shiver of need through her that settled between her legs.

“Think you can drive a nail without smashing your thumb?” She bent and picked up the hammer and sign then looked around the steps for the nail. It must have fallen into the bushes beside the steps because she did not see it anywhere. “I don’t want Petey to sue me for abusing one of his employees.”

The left corner of his lip raised in the sexiest half smile she had seen in a long time. “I think I can handle it,” he said confidently.

She handed him the hammer and the sign then dug the money for the pizza out of her pocket and handed it to him as well. “I’ll get you another nail.”

“Here, take this with you,” he said, handing over the pizza box.

* * * *

Tate Pierce waited until the woman, whose name was Jordan, though he did not know if that was her first or last name, disappeared into the house before adjusting his hard cock. It complained painfully loud of being cramped in his close-fitting briefs. For the first time since his early teen years, he had grown hard and aroused just from talking with a woman.

He knew instinctively she was not just any woman. His body recognized her as his mate.

By quick appraisal, she appeared average, but something about her pulled at him. Her brown hair fell in straight lines past the peaks of her impressive breasts. Her dark eyes sparked some kind of recognition in them every time they met his though she could only hold eye contact for a few seconds at a time before looking away. When her eyes dropped down to check out the rest of his body, it was as if she was physically touching him instead of just looking. Her too-big T-shirt and baggy sweats hinted at a full-breasted, curvy woman. Just the kind he liked.

As a cougar shape-shifter, he had always known he would recognize his mate immediately but never expected to find her while delivering her dinner. And with his sense of smell tainted by hours of breathing spicy pizzas, he could not be sure if she really was his mate, or if his cock was just telling him it had been a while since he’d had a woman in his bed.

He took several deep breaths to calm and distract himself, but thoughts of stripping them both naked and taking her any way he could in the next five minutes consumed him. He saw himself bending her over the porch railing to keep them hidden behind the overgrown bushes that hid most of the porch. Glancing at the porch swing, he could see her riding him accompanied by the squeaking of the chain. Then there was always the missionary position on the porch floor. All were viable options, though the neighbors might disturb them if she was a screamer, so maybe they should take this in the house.

ADULT EXCERPT

“Make me your mate.”

Tate blinked and stared at her as if stunned by her words. “Are you sure?”

His sudden hesitation sent a cold chill through her. Maybe he was having second thoughts about having an older woman as his mate. She tried to leave his lap, wondering if this whole thing, from renting the room to allowing him to move in and now this request, wasn’t a big mistake.

Problem was, Tate’s arms wrapped tight around her and refused to let her move. It was as if he could read her mind.

“Kimber, stop,” he ordered, sounding pained as she continued to squirm and fight for her release.

His tone struck a chord deep within her, and she froze. Looking across the room so she wouldn’t see his expression, she took a deep breath and released it slowly, trying to relax.

“If you’ve changed your mind, it’s okay. We can still be roommates, just without the mating stuff.”

“Look at me,” he demanded, his voice soft and low.

Again, as if he held total control of her will, Kimber turned and met his gaze. She swallowed when she saw how serious he looked.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I wanted to be sure that this is what you want. Once I mate you, that’s it. There will be no others for either of us as long as we both shall live. Mating is a life-binding contract, even more so than being married these days, and I just want to make sure you are sure this is what you want.”

Kimber swallowed again before nodding. “I’m sure. It’s crazy, but there’s something powerful between us that makes me feel safe…protected…almost…”—she hesitated as she thought about her next word—“for the first time in my life. Not even my ex-husband made me feel like this, and we were married for years.”

She held her gaze steady as Tate stared into her eyes. It was as if he was trying to read her soul. Whatever he saw must have satisfied him, for in the next moment, he nodded before smiling a smile that had her wiggling on his lap again. This time she did not want to escape but get closer.

She rose from his lap, earning her a low chuff from her cougar mate-to-be. The sound did not scare her nor did the hand that grabbed her arm. Once on her feet, she turned and climbed back in his lap, this time straddling his legs.

“How does this work?”

Her fingers began tracing random patterns across his chest, finding the hair that covered it was indeed silky to her touch. The warmth that radiated from his skin made her want to strip off her dress, lean close, and just rub up against him.

He did not answer right away. Instead, his hands slid up the outsides of her thighs and hips to the waistband of her thong.

“We make love, and once our juices mix inside you, we will be mated for the rest of our lives.” His words were low and growly, sending more shivers through her.

His fingers slipped under the elastic of her thong and moved back and forth, sending heat straight to her pussy, which caused more fluid to pulse forth. Then his hands moved back down the way they had come. She sighed a protest when he lifted them from her body completely.

Before she could form words to complain, he wrapped one hand around the back of her neck and pulled her head closer so he could reach her lips. His other hand went to the low V of the neckline of her dress. Though distracted by the kiss, Kimber also remained aware as he worked each button free until her dress opened.

He broke the kiss as he pushed the sides of her dress apart. “Oh, God, you are beautiful.”

Though she wanted to argue that she was hardly a hard-body, the words flew from her brain at the heat she saw in his eyes. He then leaned forward and dragged his tongue over her right nipple. A moment later, he moved across her chest to swirl the tip around her left. Dropping his head back, his hands came up and covered her breasts.

“So pretty,” he breathed, slowly dragging his fingers up the mounds. “So soft.”

Tate took her nipples between his fingertips, sending electricity straight to her clit. Her pussy clenched in response. She could not fight the soft moan when he began rolling her nipples. She moved her hands to the waistband of his jeans as her hips shifted, pressing her lower lips against his erection.

“Need you,” she breathed, leaning closer to kiss him as she fumbled with the button fly of his jeans.

She sighed when his fingers left her breasts. Hot, callused fingertips traced down the center of her body. She whined a soft protest when they disappeared from her body completely and brushed her hands away from his lap. Pulling her lips from his, she dropped her forehead to his shoulder and watched as he took over unbuttoning his jeans himself.

“Lift up, sugar,” he said in a low, deep voice once the last button had slipped from its mooring.

As she rose from his lap, he shoved his jeans down to his knees, freeing his cock. Then his hands came up and cupped her ass cheeks. She shivered when two fingertips slid down the valley of her ass and over her puckered star. Tate did not hesitate before moving even deeper between her legs until he reached her pussy.

“So wet. So hot,” he murmured as two fingers pressed about an inch into her.

Kimber moaned and tightened her hold on his shoulders as she tried to take his fingers deeper. Instead of filling her, his fingers pulled from her core.

“Tate, please,” she whimpered as arousal surged.

A moment later, the head of his cock brushed against her centerline, following the same path from asshole to pussy. Only his cock continued until it stroked over her clit and all the way to the top of her slit. Then he reversed direction. When he reached her knotted clit, he teased her by circling it instead of brushing over the top of it.

Kimber whined and shifted, bowing her back to capture the spongy head with her pussy. Tate moved away again, stroking back up between her lips as he chuckled.

“Stop teasing me!” she growled, tightening her fingers in his shoulders until her nails pressed into the skin.