“Shh, pack a bag as quickly as possible and meet me at my car. If the goddess is on our side, we’ll get out of the compound before anybody realizes we’re gone. I don’t know about you, but I’d like some privacy for our first time—well, our first complete time.” I flashed Sammy a wink.

Sammy paused on his dad’s front porch, turning back to look at me with a quirked brow. “First complete time? Hey, it wasn’t my fault that you took it too far that night. But thank you for stopping when I changed my mind. And by the way? I find it amusing that the loudest guy in our circle is telling me to hush.”

I held up my hands. “What else was I supposed to do when you started whimpering and then screaming for me to take it out, take it out—I wasn’t going to force myself on you. Sheesh.”

A light blush filled Sammy’s cheeks and he developed a sudden interest in his shoes. “It wasn’t that I didn’t want it, it’s just that I wasn’t ready to go that far.” His eyes flashed as he glanced up at me more confidently. “Besides, you’re the one that promised it would just be the tip.”

I threw my head back with a laugh at the memory of that one. “Sammy, everybody promises it’s just gonna be the tip. Would you care for a spoiler?” Leaning closer, I lowered my voice to a rasping whisper. “It’s never just the tip.”

Sammy’s eyes twinkled merrily as he leaned forward and pecked a kiss on my cheek. “I’ll definitely be interested in taking more than just the tip tonight, but for now, go grab your stuff. If we want to get out of here before anybody notices we’re gone, we’d better get a move on.”

“That’s what I was saying,” I huffed indignantly as I backed down the steps, giving him one more appreciative once-over before he disappeared into the house. Yeah, this was gonna be fun.

After a quick call to Uncle Ian’s helicopter company, it was an easy trip to the Isle of Man. Sammy had dithered over which bed and breakfast to stay at, until I reminded him that we wouldn’t be there to enjoy the amenities. After that, he’d shot me a grin and made a quick selection. I didn’t know how or when it would happen, but somehow or other I was going to get my mate to quit second-guessing himself so much.

“Do you want to sign in or shall I?” Sammy glanced over his shoulder as we walked into the B&B.

“You reserved the room, baby. I’m pretty sure it’s on you. But do me a favor? Use one of your personal cards—not one that your family can track. Unless, of course, you want our entire pack showing up here tomorrow?” I gave a playful shudder at the idea.

“Got it.” Sammy laughed and walked over to the desk to ding the bell. The sweet old lady who checked us in was overly chatty and completely excited to see the two of us. I tuned out on the conversation when she started making suggestions for local antique stores. Shit, is that what she thought human couples of the same sex did? Shop for fucking antiques? I bit back a laugh when I heard Sammy tell her that we probably wouldn’t be going out much.

“Oh!” Her eyes grew misty as she held a plump hand over her heart, her short grey curls bouncing as she vibrated with excitement. “Are you boys on your honeymoon? Why didn’t you tell me? That’s it, you’re getting the honeymoon suite.”

Sammy started to demur, but I stepped closer and gave the old gal a show by putting my arm around his waist and tenderly kissing his temple. “Don’t argue, baby. You deserve romance, especially on our honeymoon.”

I bit back a laugh when the old gal started moving faster, picking up a burst of speed when she no doubt began picturing what we’d be doing next. Humans. So amusing. Their obsession and archaic notions of sex were fascinating, or so my dad liked to say. Watching this lady, I had to admit that maybe he had a point.

When we finally made it upstairs, I tossed our bags to the floor while Sammy closed and locked the door behind us. Before he had a chance to take a step, I shoved him up against the wall and stole a kiss. Sammy shocked me when he took over, giving my shoulders a shove as he maneuvered us over to the large, four-poster bed.

Without ever breaking our kiss, Sammy continued to surprise me by ripping our shirts off our bodies and tossing the fabric to the side. I shoved my jeans down and kicked them out of the way, along with my shoes. When he finally pulled his lips away, it was only to tease as he kissed, licked, and nipped his way down my neck. Sammy paused long enough to toy with my nipples, sucking them between his sharp teeth before moving over to bury his nose in my armpit and sliding his mouth slowly down over my abs with short, kittenish laps of his tongue.

“Damn, baby,” I groaned, lifting up on my elbows to watch as he sniffed then licked along the crease where hip met thigh. “You’re like a cat right now.”

“Well… I am a jaguar, aren’t I?” Sammy flashed me a wink, his eyes glowing bright purple with a subtle golden ring around the pupil—yeah, his cat was definitely close to the surface right now. He lapped at my balls, sucking first one, then the other into the warm, moist heat of his mouth. That tongue of his was magic, the way it swirled over the flesh as he sucked. Moving on from my balls, he gave my taint a lick before kissing a tender spot on my inner thigh and moving back up.

“Not to distract you…” I fell onto my back as a groan escaped me when that silky tongue began lapping at the base of my cock. “Can I just ask one question before things get too crazy? If you’re this frisky, and you knew we were fated mates, why the hell did you beg me to take it out that night? We could’ve been doing this for years. I’ve always cared about you enough that I would’ve claimed you—fated or not. There’s never been another omega but you for me.”

Sammy paused with his tongue halfway up my shaft. He huffed out a breath and sat up, leaning back onto his feet. I craned my neck to look at him, noticing right off that his hair tie had fallen out at some point and his long, beautiful, silky brown hair was trailing over one shoulder as he sat there shaking his head at me. I wanted to bury my nose in it and have it curtain my face while he rode me. I wanted… I gave myself a mental shake and focused on what my mate was telling me.

“I know that everyone gives me crap for second-guessing myself, and maybe I do? But as badly as I wanted to make love to you that night, I didn’t want you to worry later that maybe you’d cheated on your future mate, you know? My brain was all over the place and all I could think was what if you went home and regretted it.” Sammy bit his lip and brushed his hair back with a trembling hand. “We were much too young, Kyle. What were we, like seventeen? What if I’d gotten pregnant? That would have been much too soon, and we weren’t ready for that. I don’t know, my dads just always made a big thing about me and my brothers needing to wait and let things happen when fate willed it, not our own needs.”

“Maybe so,” I said quietly as I pushed myself up to a seated position and reached for his hands. I wondered absently at what point his pants had been removed, but shook the thought aside as I focused on our conversation. “I know your family puts a lot of stock in fate, but don’t forget about free will. And trust me, baby, I was freely willing to free my willy that night.” I pause to waggle my eyebrows at him as he rolled his eyes. “Seriously though, Sammy. You freaked out in the heat of the moment that night, what was up with that? I’m wondering if I should be worried now.”

With his thumbs rubbing circles over the back of my hands, he shook his head with a gentle smile. “I don’t know why I reacted so strongly. One minute we were making out and then the next you were asking if you could just put the tip in and I got caught up in the romance, you know? But then, it wasn’t just the tip! Before I knew what was happening, you were all the way in and it hurt like a bitch because I wasn’t ready for it. I just couldn’t quit stressing about how we weren’t ready to go there, and yet there we were, if that makes sense.”

I shook my head. “Okay, first of all? You need to understand the difference between lust and romance. We weren’t caught up in romance that night, we were caught up in teenage hormones. And I didn’t mean to trick you, for the record. I really did just plan to put the tip in to see how it felt but then I did and… fuck, baby… I kind of lost control because it felt so good.”

Sammy looked off to the side, as if not wanting to make eye contact as he spoke. “Feel free not to answer this because I probably shouldn’t ask, but I’m going to anyway because I’ve always wondered… I mean, I wouldn’t blame you if you did, okay? But, did you ever… you know… with anyone else after that night?”

Much as I hated to admit it, he needed to know the truth—no matter how cheesy it might make me sound. I held up my right hand, displaying the palm with a wide smile. “Are you kidding, baby? Why do you think I have so many calluses on my palm? I could never be with anyone but you. That aborted attempt to screw is the only action my cock has seen except for Rosie Palm and her five sisters.”

Sammy rolled his eyes as he glanced back at me with a smirk. “You hardly have calluses, but I am glad to know that you’re more intimately acquainted with your right hand than another omega’s ass.”

My jaw dropped open as a loud laugh came tumbling out. “Damn. You sure didn’t second-guess yourself on that comment. Way to go, I’m proud of you, baby. Speaking of ass, though…” I lowered my voice and got on all fours and began crawling toward him like I was the predator and he was my prey.

Sammy started laughing so hard, he flopped down on the bed beside me, holding his stomach while he cracked up. I nipped at his shoulder as I flipped myself around to cage his body under mine and knelt over him on my hands and knees. “Rookie mistake, baby. Now I’ve got you right where I want you.”

His laughter quickly turned into a rumbling purr. His arms moved possessively around my shoulders while his legs moved up to loop around my waist. Pulling himself up, he hung from me as I knelt there, his eyes flashing with playful affection as he rocked his hips to grind his bare dick against my cock.

With a groan, I pushed him back down onto the bed and reached between his legs where the slick was already leaking from his hole, its sweet fragrance filling the air. The heady hint of spruce mixed with lilac had my leopard fighting me as he tried to push for the surface, but I gritted my teeth and stayed in control.

I bent to kiss Sam again while my fingers worked to prep him. After hearing his memory of our fateful night, I was determined that this time wouldn’t hurt him. Although, now that I thought about it, there hadn’t been any slick present that night since he hadn’t had his first heat yet.

Shit, had I really gone in dry that night? Damn. No wonder he’d begged me to take it out. Thank the goddess I’d listened. What if I hadn’t and I’d lost him forever over some stupid teenage hormones?

Sammy broke the kiss, his hands pushing at my chest to shove me back enough that he could make eye contact. “What are you thinking about so hard? I thought we were trying to be in the moment, but I can practically smell the wood burning in your skull.”

I shook my head. “I was just realizing while savoring the scent of your slick that you were dry that night. I’m glad you stopped me because I could’ve hurt you, now that I think about it.”

Sammy’s gaze softened. “That was nearly seven years ago, Kyle, and I lived to tell the tale. Or the tale of the tip, as it were.” His eyes twinkled as he gently cupped my cheek, stroking his thumb over my skin. “I’m okay and we’ve stayed friends, right? And now, here we are. You and I always had a thing for each other—that’s why we were so hot for each other back then, and still are. Before things go any further, I just want you to know that fated mates or not, I love you. That’s never going to change. You and I have a whole history together, Kyle. From stalking the sheep on your dad’s farm when we were kids just to scare the baas out of them, to you accidentally taking my virginity and me putting a stop to it before you got to enjoy the moment. We’ve got years of living, laughter, and memories between us—and decades ahead of us with more of the same. Now could you do me a favor? Quit thinking so much. Less thinking, more fucking. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s the fastest route to us claiming each other?”

I shook my head, completely awed by the gift the goddess had given me when she made Sammy and then had the grace to choose him to be my mate. “I love you too, baby. And ditto to everything you said. Now, all that talk about sheep has made me hungry for a piece of ewe.”

Sammy snorted. “Seriously? Do you really want to go with bad puns right now?”

I flashed him a wink as I settled the head of my cock against his opening. “What better time? I don’t know about you, but I like the idea of having fun in bed. Now brace yourself, baby… this is just the tip.” I flexed my hips and pushed through his tight ring of muscle. “But I promise, there’s a whole lot more coming after it.”

“That’s what he said.” Sammy winked then grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me down for another kiss, laughing against my mouth the whole time.

Once I was fully seated, I paused and broke our kiss, searching his eyes to make sure that he was okay this time. I shouldn’t have worried. Sammy smirked as he ran his hands down my back and grabbed my ass, pulling me deeper in as he began to rock his own hips and silently urging me to move.

“Damn, baby,” I groaned. “Now who’s the one pushing things too fast? I want to savor this, you know? We’ve waited a lifetime for this moment.”

Sammy jerked forward, nipping at my throat before scraping his teeth over my alpha gland with a possessive growl. “And we have a lifetime to cherish each other. Right now, I have no hesitation with what I want, and I want to feel the MAND.”

I paused mid-stroke, lifting onto one arm to look at him curiously while Sammy huffed out a frustrated laugh. I twirled a long strand of his silky hair around my finger, staring at its beautiful sheen as I spoke. “MAND? The fuck is MAND?”

Sammy snorted. “I heard my papa say it to my dad one time. My dad hushed him and they ran off to their room, he was so embarrassed. But, umm… cat ears, you know? It’s my papa’s joke for the knotting vortex you feline alphas get. I heard my papa moan and say how much he loved that mystical awesome nipple dick. That was all I heard, because eww, you know? I ran outside, and I never told anyone, but yeah… isn’t that funny?”

I shook my head. “And you thought talking about your dads during sex was a good idea, baby? I have to admit, that is funny, though, and I can’t wait to see it myself. I bet it’s a trip, you know?” Snorting out a laugh, I wrapped my arms around my man and went for another kiss, thrusting my cock in deep right as his tongue pushed into my mouth.

Flipping us over, I got Sammy on top and urged him to sit up. “Ride me for a minute, baby. I want to watch you.”

Sam sat up just enough to ride me, while leaning over to gaze into my eyes. Just as I’d imagined, his hair fell forward to curtain my face, so it was just the two of us in this moment. I felt my teeth elongating slightly, my cat pushing through enough that I’d be able to make the claiming bite when it was time.

The bright purple glow of Sammy’s eyes was mesmerizing as he rocked back and forth, sliding up and down on my cock, taking me deeper into that glorious heat with every move. My chest rumbled with a purr, and Sammy’s vibrated against mine as his cat answered. Our bodies shook and there were only the loud purring sounds to balance the noise of our bodies slapping together as Sammy rocked faster… and faster… and then faster yet.

Gripping his hips, I held him in place and thrust upward, pulling closer as I fucked him as hard as I could. My entire body was on fire, lit up from within as if my very cells were sparkling. My cock began to tingle, and I sucked in a sharp breath when bumps popped out and scraped against Sammy’s entrance. It felt like my nipples were being squeezed and pinched in all the right ways, but it was coming from my cock.

“Baby…” I gasped. “I think the MAND is making its grand appearance because my cock is tingling and it feels fucking amazing.”

“Let me up.” Sammy struggled free of my hands. Squirming off my cock to look at it, he shoved his hair impatiently over his shoulder as he tilted his head to get a good look. I lifted weakly onto an elbow to check it out for myself. “Ooh,” Sammy breathed. “This really is a mystical awesome nipple dick.”

He tentatively poked at one of the nipple-shaped bumps that had appeared and were running around my cock in a spiral from the base, wrapping around in a tight coil to just below the head. When he bent to lick from the bottom of the spiral and followed the trail around until he reached the tip, I flopped backward, panting for air as I mindlessly thrust my hips, searching for more.

“Oh, you liked that, huh?” Sammy asked with a growling purr. “Let’s see how you like this, then.” He swallowed me down, taking my entire cock deep into his throat while I groaned and thrashed my head from side to side.

“I can’t… too much, baby… holy shit!” I batted at his shoulders, urging him to back off before I came in his throat. “Baby, I don’t want to swell more, and we don’t know how big these grow. The nubbins are meant to work like velcro inside your channel, remember? What if I get lodged in your throat and you can’t breathe?”

Sammy wiggled his head from side to side as he slowly released me with a loud slurp. He grinned as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and crawled back up to straddle me again. “They are getting bigger, they’re about the size of nipples now. You might have been exaggerating, but I can see where that would be a real danger. Can you imagine? Talk about orgasm being the little death.”

I snorted, then gasped as he slowly lowered his heat back onto my cock. Moving one torturous millimeter at a time, he shot me a cocky grin and wiggled his hips as I watched his ass slowly swallow my cock. I shook my head. “Damn, baby. I love how confident you are in bed. Now do me a favor and fuck me, because I’m not going to last much longer.”

“Gotcha covered.” Sammy winked then ran his hands over my chest, giving my nipples a swift, tugging pinch as he slammed himself into place and began rocking my world all over again.

“Holy fuck, someone’s getting pregnant tonight, and I’m not sure it’s gonna be you,” I groaned with a laugh as he expertly worked my cock like he’d been born to it.

Sammy laughed and bent to kiss me, not missing a move as he continued to rock. Lifting my knees, I planted my feet to brace myself and sped up my pace, meeting him thrust for thrust while he bounced up and down. I reached between us, gripping his cock and giving it a tug while we kissed. He growled into my mouth, breaking our kiss enough to nip my lips before thrusting his tongue right in and swirling it against mine.

My cock felt like it was on fire, the pleasure so intense it was almost painful when the nipple-like nubbins swelled fully until I couldn’t pull out. When Sammy’s purring intensified, his ass began to vibrate around me as my knotting vortex locked into his walls. I broke our kiss enough to gasp against his lips.

“Sammy… baby… I’m…”

“Right there with you,” he panted, riding me hard as I stroked him off. “Just one more… nnghh!” He froze, his face contorting like he was about to sneeze as he shot jets of cum over my chest.

“Thank fuck,” I growled, grateful he’d shot first. “Here I… nnghh…”

Right as my cock began to pulse, filling his ass with my seed, I bent to his neck and bit cleanly into his omega gland while he did the same to me. As the sweet, coppery taste of his blood hit my tongue, I felt our claim lock into place and I was swept into another plane for a second where I was him and he was me and we were just… one being. I couldn’t tell where my cock ended and his channel began, it was awesome… it was beautiful… it was… everything.

When I felt fully in my own head again, I pulled my teeth free and licked his bite clean so it would quickly heal on its own. I turned to meet his eyes. “Sammy, I’ve loved you since before I knew what love was, but now? I think I fall more in love with you every second.”

Sam grinned. “I’m pretty sure that’s pheromones talking, but I love you too, Kyle. And can I just say that, damn… that was amazing. Now that I know what we’ve been missing, I’m kinda sorry I called a stop to it all those years ago.”

I shook my head in wonder as he squirmed to get comfortable before I rolled us onto our sides to cuddle. It was amazing how in sync we were, like he knew what I wanted and was on the same page.

Once we were settled, I stroked his now sweat-dampened hair and held him close. “No, you were right, Sammy. Don’t doubt yourself, baby. It was this amazing because it was the right time. The knotting vortex only comes out for fated mates, remember? We wouldn’t have had a night this awesome until now, when it was meant to be.”

“Hmm. I guess my dads might have a point then,” Sammy agreed softly as he kissed my Adam’s apple. “But damn. We’re still locked together and I’m ready to go for round two. Well, maybe a nap first? But then we’re definitely doing this again.”

“Agreed.” I laughed. “I think we just found our new favorite form of exercise.”

“Mhmm, and it’s cardio, so it totally counts,” he said softly as he chuckled.

“Hey, baby, are you about done with your shower? I think the lady downstairs said something about breakfast being served until eleven? It’s okay if you’re not ready, we can just walk to town for lunch if you’d rather.” I set my toothbrush aside and patted my face clean with a towel.

The shower curtain moved back as Sammy’s face popped around the edge. “Did you smell anything different about me when we woke up?”

I spun around, looking at him curiously while I searched my mind to try and understand what he was saying. “Sorry, baby. You might want to make it simple and break that down for me right now. We didn’t get a lot of sleep last night and my brain definitely is not firing on all cylinders. Plus I need some caffeine, you know?”

Sammy shot me an indulgent smile. “Kyle, remember your joke last night about someone getting pregnant? Take a deep whiff of my scent because it’s already changed. We’re both cat shifters with excellent hearing, so I know you’ll be able to hear the heartbeats as well as I can. Come a little closer and see what you did to me. Or maybe I did to me? It’s hard to say at this point, I suppose.” He trailed off thoughtfully, tilting his head to the side as he considered the events of last night and how toppy and in control he’d been for most of it.

I threw the towel to the floor as I raced over to the shower, pulling the curtain back to bend and press an ear to his abdomen. Sammy shrieked and tried to bat me aside. “Kyle! You’re getting water everywhere, and you’re already dressed, you crazy man!”

Ignoring him, I focused on what I was listening for until I heard it. Heard them, actually. I sucked in a breath as I stood up, not caring about the water that was spraying all over my clean shirt and splashing onto the floor. “Am I losing my marbles, or am I hearing three distinct heartbeats?”

Sammy beamed as he leaned forward to turn off the water before throwing his arms around my neck. “I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but the goddess must know we can handle it. But yes, there are definitely triplets on board.”

We both started laughing hysterically as we slowly lowered to our knees, each of us on one side of the wall of the tub as we embraced. Damn, I was going to be a father. And even better, the father of triplets?

I pulled back and shook my head as I stared at Sammy in mock horror. “Holy shit, what if our triplets are as bad or even worse, goddess forbid, than you and your brothers were? I mean, they didn’t call you guys the terrible trio for nothing. You three were little shits who liked to make brooms dance and dishes fly.”

Sammy shrugged and giggled almost wickedly. “If our kids are anything like me and my brothers? It’ll be fine, you see. It’s not like they can pull anything that I or my brothers didn’t at least try at some point, right? And you were right there for almost all of it. Even when you were in England, we still visited all the time and our pack always got together. So I think it’s safe to say that you and I will be a step ahead of these cubs.”

“True.” I grinned. “But you do realize that they’ll always outnumber us, right?”

“Sure.” Sammy shrugged. “But we’re bigger, and will be for a long time. I might not be confident about a lot of things, but I can definitely handle three tiny cubs. Seriously, how hard could it be?”