Chapter 6
A New Life
Everything had changed over the last couple weeks for Titus. He was sure it was the same way for Beth. There was still more than a month before school started, but Dale was coming back soon. His room was on the third floor to give him privacy. It had been remodeled as soon as Beth knew he was coming the first time. There was a bathroom up there and a small kitchenette, but they were shared with the other guest bedroom. An attic area allowed for storage of unused items.
Beth shared the history of the house with him and it explained why it was so big. It had previously been owned by a reclusive millionaire along with the land that came with it and even more land that had been sold off before Beth had found the place. After his death, the children had fought over the estate and the land had been parceled off and sold in plots. The house and the last plot didn’t sell for years. Finally in the mid nineteen hundreds, it sold to a lady from California who thought she got a great deal. She began to remodel, but ran out of money.
The house sat empty again for thirty years until it was bought by a land speculator who rented it out until he had a chance to do something with it. He died before he did anything. His wife held on to his properties just renting them out until she died ten years later. It sat empty while her estate was settled among squabbling relatives because she had no children and the will wasn’t clear. Three years ago, Ariel discovered it. The sale had been arranged for Beth.
“Ariel did you a big favor.” Titus said. If he ended up living with Beth, she’d done him one too.
“I’m aware, Big Guy. Favors go back and forth in our family.”
“So Dale arrives tomorrow?”
“I have to pick him up, but Marissa is taking me. She has a new SUV and it is neat.”
“I’d like to go as well.”
“Would you really? It seems like it’s tying up everyone’s time.”
“When I spend time with you, I never consider it a waste.”
“That’s sweet, but you’d have to sit in the back. The back seats are nearly as good as the front.” Beth assured.
“Why do I have to sit in the back?”
“Sometimes I get carsick. Since I already feel nervous about Dale, it’s almost a sure thing.”
“When we mate and you change, that will be in the past.” Titus assured.
“Trying to tempt me?”
“No, when we mate, it will be because you can’t resist my charms.”
Beth had nothing to say, but he’d noticed her sexual side had come alive lately. He didn’t stay with her every night, but he stayed more and more often. She wasn’t ready yet, but he didn’t know why. He, on the other hand, had been ready for a while now.
Things at school were moving along with nearly a hundred kids enrolled. The area would soon be flooded with families in need of homes. As soon as the streak house was complete, a large apartment building would be built nearby. It wouldn’t be enough. The lions had claimed most of the available homes, both rented and bought. The tigers would claim the rest leaving the other cats without any options, but building places to house their people.
With the boom in the population, local businesses were already struggling to keep up. Even the large mall Moe had built, wasn’t handling everything completely. Titus had put in a laundry mat and the business was booming. Ariel had helped or he’d never have managed it. At her suggestion, he’d put in a vending section. It had sandwiches, fruit, and other items as well as chips, pastries, and drinks.
The place would be paid for in three months at the rate of income it was producing. Now he would have to wait to see what he would do next. The laundry mat employed four of his tigers. Two teenagers worked their days around to be there to monitor things. A couple worked four nights a week after closing taking in laundry, mostly from single guys. Charging by weight, it was a lucrative business. So far most of his tigers had found work in the community especially through Ariel with the building boom on them currently. The town desperately needed a full sized grocery store. Once more people arrived, he was ready to build one if no one else did it first. The town was too small for two.
Sitting down in Beth’s kitchen, he turned his computer on. It was time to check his emails. He had over a hundred. That made it time to consider an assistant, but he had hoped to wait to hire a tiger. Scanning through them, he immediately picked out the one he needed to open first. It was from Saria, his oldest sister.
I’ve decided to relocate to your area. Even though the invitation didn’t come directly from my beloved brother. I’ll need a house ready to move into in two weeks with a studio for my art. Don’t let me down.
Love Saria
It was just like her to drop everything on his shoulders and set a short deadline. He leaned back with a sigh.
“What’s the matter?” Beth asked from where she was at the stove cooking breakfast.
“My sister Saria is moving down here.”
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“She’s an artist.”
“And that means what?”
“She doesn’t live in the world everyone else does. Saria will be here in two weeks and she wants a house with an artist’s studio ready and waiting.”
Beth smiled. “That might be doable, or nearly so. I just bought an old house at the edge of town where we can set up living quarters upstairs and the business downstairs. She could have a store front with a studio in back. It needs remodeled, but we could do the upstairs first. That way she’d have input on the studio portion.”
“That would save my relationship with my bossy sister who forgets who is the alpha.”
“Who is the oldest?”
“I am first born, she’s a year younger. Cats aren’t as patriarchal as wolves. They consider females if they show leadership and fighting abilities.”
“Sounds like she’d be a good second.” Beth observed.
“She’d have to fight Morris.”
“Would she win?”
“I don’t know. She used to be a good fighter. Maybe she’d make top five if she kept up her skills.”
“You’d best be prepared for a major shake-up.” Beth predicted. “I’ll get things started.”
“Hey, this won’t slow down my projects, will it?”
“No, my cousin Mairi is in town.”
Titus wasn’t sure what that meant, but assumed this was Ariel’s new crew boss that she’d been expecting. That turned out to be the case. In the trip to pick up Dale, Marissa and Beth discussed Mairi. She was five foot zero and a hundred pounds soaking wet, but full of fire and attitude. The girl was also a master carpenter.
“Helping her dad in his well-established business hadn’t proved to be what she was looking for. She and her dad butted heads constantly. It was time to give up on working with that part of her family and move on.” Marissa observed. “Here’s the clinic Dale’s in.”
They turned into a large metal building with no signs except keep out. Marissa seemed to know where she was going as she pulled halfway around the building, parking right beside the first door Titus had seen. Entering, they stepped into a waiting room. It was homey and had an upbeat atmosphere. Dale was sitting in an overstuffed armchair with a bag at his feet.
He jumped up smiling big at Marissa and Beth. His eyes turned to Titus. “Do I know you, Sir?”
“We meat briefly at Beth’s.” Titus affirmed.
“Sorry I don’t remember. My name is Dale.” He held out his hand. Titus took it and they shook.
“I’m Titus, Beth’s boyfriend.”
“Oh, she finally has a boyfriend.” Dale said as Beth elbowed him.
“Hey.” He protested. “I told you that you’re too pretty to stay alone.”
“The young man is right.” Titus agreed. Beth shot him a dirty look.
“So what now?” Beth asked.
“Has anyone had lunch yet?” Marissa asked. Dale shook his head.
“I would love to take you two ladies and the young man out. Where should we go?” Titus wondered.
“Everyone like Chinese food?” Marissa asked as she and Beth bumped fists.
Dale nodded and Titus answer yes. He was curious to see where they would take them. Not familiar with Springfield, he sat back in his seat with Dale next to him quietly watching so he remembered the directions.
“This is our favorite Chinese place.”
“In Springfield?” Titus asked.
“Pretty much anywhere.” Marissa admitted. “It even has its own stop light. Oh, they say it’s for the road beside it, but we know better.”
It was a small building, but it had a seating area. They had to go to the cash register to order. “What’s good?” Titus wondered after the other three had ordered. It seemed even Dale was familiar with this place.
“The cashew chicken Springfield style.” Dale said.
“The chicken fried rice.” Beth said.
“Just about anything.” Marissa insisted. “I’ve gone through the whole menu twice.”
“I’ll take the cashew chicken, Springfield style.” Titus decided.
“The kids love that.” Beth explained with an impish smile.
Once Titus paid, they sat in a private corner at a big table. The waitress brought a big platter of crab Rangoons. “These are for everyone.” Marissa said. “You have to try this sweet sauce.”
He did. The sauce was golden with pieces of pineapple in it. “This is wonderful. How did you find this place?”
“Ariel.” Marissa and Beth chimed in together.
The rest of their food came quickly and they all ate. They cleaned their plates, but they were all full. Everyone thanked Titus for the wonderful meal. “Now we head home. If we had time, we would go by and see Matt and Danny.” Marissa mentioned.
“I wish we could.” Dale admitted sadly.
“We’ll go help them for a day soon. Okay?” Beth said. Dale perked up. Apparently, the boy knew most of the family.
Now they headed south to home. The girls did most of the talking while he and Dale listened in. When they mentioned Mairi, Dale sat up. “Is Mairi visiting?”
“She’ll be working for Ariel. I think she might stay with us for a couple weeks while she decides if she wants to get a place of her own or not.” Beth admitted.
“She’s so pretty and so much fun.” Dale sighed. It was a case of a big crush. Everyone got quiet. “I know I’m too young for her, but a boy can dream.”
After that, the girls started talking again. In no time, they were at Beth’s house. “Thank you Marissa for taking us.” Beth said.
“I had a lovely time.” Marissa observed.
“Drive carefully and tell Damon and the girls hi.” Beth said. Everyone added their goodbyes and Marissa drove away.
“You have the same room, but I cleaned it up and changed the sheets. Why don’t you run your bag up?” Beth suggested.
“Sure.” Dale agreed. He grabbed his bag off the ground as Beth unlocked the door and opened it. Dale sprinted through the door and up the steps. Titus was beginning to understand more than one reason to put Dale on the third floor.
“What do you have planned for the rest of the day?” Titus asked.
“I thought about working on my office.”
“Oh, I guess I’ll leave you alone.”
“On my office, not in my office.”
“I didn’t know you had an office.”
“What I have is an empty room the right size for a home office. I’ve not done a thing with it yet.”
“Why?”
“I prioritized the remodeling and it didn’t seem as important as a kitchen, bathroom, or bedroom.”
“Besides, you don’t mind working in the kitchen?”
“True. But soon I may need files and other things.” Beth mentioned.
“Why is that?” Titus questioned.
“I’m about to start a business.”
“What would you do?”
“I’m thinking about a construction company. I might also connect people with rentals.”
“Why not do real estate while you at it?”
“It’s a possibility.”
“That sounds like a lot to cover.”
“People come in for one and often pick something else. My service could do it all in one stop.”
“Is that what you bought the building for?”
“Maybe, but I decided start up cash would be more useful. I’ll find another building. People just don’t see the potential in those old buildings on the square.”
“Andi did.”
“Ariel helped her.”
“I don’t know how she does it. She’s everywhere.”
“She’s pretty amazing. A lot of the help we get comes at family meetings which take the form of picnics or holiday parties.”
“I can’t wait until you take me to one of them.”
“The house will be packed with lots of people from all over, even out of the country.” Beth described.
They headed back into a hallway he’d never been down. “This was the master originally.” She took him through it showing him the bathroom that went with it. “This room was probably the dressing room, but someone disconnected it so it would be, maybe a nursery?”
Titus looked around and he could see that. An office here would be removed from the main areas of the house and the stairs. The only issue would be present when someone stayed in the bedroom. “I’m going to sound proof it.” She added almost as if she knew his thoughts.
The room was big enough for two people to share with room with any needed equipment. He could imagine working from home sitting at one desk with Beth at the other. There was even room for a small desk for an assistant to use at times if needed.
“I can see the possibilities.” He admitted.
“I have the sound proofing in the bedroom’s closet. It’s in a roll and we’ll attach it and go over it with paneling.”
“You have the paneling?”
“Didn’t you notice it leaning against the wall in the bedroom?”
“Yes, but I thought it was for the bedroom.”
“If there’s enough left, we’ll put in a chair rail.”
“The bedroom’s for guests?”
“Come the holidays, Ariel sends some to everyone. I prefer to put them downstairs. The elderly and very young don’t need stairs.” Beth explained.
“And you’d rather have an elderly couple than wild youngsters?”
“The last young ones trashed my place and I had to clean up for weeks. I feel I did my part.”
“I bet you gave them hell.”
“I expected them to clean up, but instead, they ran.”
Titus laughed. “I bet they did.”
“I’m not mean. Not unless it’s called on.”
“Of course you aren’t, Sweetheart. They deserved what they got and more.” He pulled her into his arms to hold her tight.
“We need to get to work. Things are about to start happening.”
He gave her an affectionate kiss before letting her go. Then he went to the closet bringing in the sound proofing rolls. They put them up quickly before he and Beth carried in the paneling. It was painted off white and ready to go accept for the pieces that had to be cut. That went quick too, but Beth explained it was the trim that took the time. Measure twice, and cut once was what they applied to their work.
Getting the room paneled and soundproofed in one day was apparently to Beth no major undertaking. The floor was already a wood floor that had been refinished. She had lights and furniture, with a nice ceiling fan to put in the center of the ceiling. Beth did that while he carried in the desks. He was surprised to see two huge desks and one smaller one. It was just as he’d imagined. She had Tiffany style lamps for each desk and floor lamps for next to the desks.
There was a table for the printer that did everything and a small printer went below it on a shelf. The file cabinets were wood and matched the desks. The office chairs were big and comfortable. There were four chairs of a different style for visitors. There was even a small portable bar similar to what Ariel had gotten Blake. When they were done with the rugs and paintings, the office was a calm and attractive place.
“We’ll add a land line for the phone later.” Beth said as she nodded her head in approval. “Your streak house is almost done.”
“I know. You’re starting on the apartments tomorrow, right?” Titus asked.
“The painting crew finished today and the floors go in tomorrow at the streak house. We start with the foundation tomorrow for the apartments. It’s the same crew that did the streak house. Ariel wants me there in case of any problems. It’ll take a few days to get it done. As they finish up, I’ll schedule the other crews like plumbing.”
“Aren’t some pipes already laid?”
“Yes, but they can’t do more until the foundation is complete.”
“I’m learning more about construction then I ever thought I would.”
“So is Seb. I think he may change his mind about getting into it.”
“He’s not said anything.” Titus said.
“When’s the last time you saw him?”
“It’s been three weeks maybe. He’s been chasing the other cat shifter leaders. He thought I was bad. Now he knows what bad is.” Titus chuckled.
“You should help him.”
“When?”
“You need an assistant.”
“I was waiting for my people to come. I’ll need to find them all jobs.”
“Send out a help wanted email to your people with the job qualifications.”
“That’s why I love to hang out with you. You always have such good suggestions. Will you help me?”
“And here I thought it was the hot sex and of course I’ll help.”
“That too, Baby. Come here.” It surprised him when she did. “Do you want to take a shower first or last?”
“Let’s get clean afterwards. I don’t mind you sweaty after you’ve worked hard.” Beth admitted.
His cat rumbled inside him. His female got to him. He picked her up and carried her to their room where he set her down and stripped himself bare. The interest in her eyes as she watched him made him burn. “Your turn.” He said as he moved to her to help her remove her clothes.
Her shirt dropped to the floor as he turned to her bra. It was off in a second so he moved to her pants. She helped remove those and now all she wore was a sexy pair of panties. They were too pretty to rip off her so he calmed himself as she slid them down revealing the rest of her beautiful body to him.
“Yesss. Goddess, you’re gorgeous!” He whispered as he stared at her naked body.
Now he could hold back no more. Titus wrapped his arms around her pulling her against him as his lips dropped to hers. Pushing forward, they both fell on the bed in a tangle of arms and legs. Breathing deeply, her sweet scent drove him crazy so he began to kiss and lick his way down her body pausing to worship both of her nipples one at a time. They grew hard and sensitive as he sucked on them.
Moving down, he laved her belly button wringing a moan from her before licking his way lower. Now his head was at the crux of her thighs where he could breathe in her need. It wasn’t enough, he had to taste it. Holding her thighs apart, his tongue licked her from gate to click savoring her special flavor. Titus wanted more, he wanted it all.
Diving in with his tongue, she moaned as he licked her deep and hard. His fingers replaced his tongue as his tongue moved to her clit to give her even more pleasure. Her body arched as she groaned in pleasure so he held her in place as he continued to lick circles around her little bundle of nerves as his fingers fucked her channel.
Faster and faster he licked as his fingers moved deeper and harder. He could feel her body tense as her release loomed closer. “Oh, my God!” she screamed as she came undone completely.
Her body bucked and thrashed as her orgasm overwhelmed her. Titus held her so she wouldn’t hurt herself or him as he continued to lick up her honey. Once he was satisfied he had it all and Beth was wriggling with need under him, he slid up her delightful body firmly planting his length inside her.
“Goddess, you’re so tight!” He exclaimed as he began to move. His speed picked up until he was hammering into her.
It wasn’t long before they were both on the edge of their climax. He licked her neck feeling an urge he could barely fight. This woman was his mate, he knew that deep inside. Titus also knew that he had to wait until she was ready even though it was hard on him. His body shook with the need to bite and claim her, but he held back as her orgasms hit her and his followed.
His gums itched as his fangs extended then retracted. The cat inside was sending the message that he wouldn’t wait long. Pushy feline.
This woman meant everything to him so he would wait until she was ready. She continued to buck and thrash, but she slowed until finally she stopped. He rolled them over so she was spread over his chest already going to sleep. They hadn’t had supper yet, but they’d just have breakfast early. If she was this tired, his mate needed her sleep. It wasn’t long until he was asleep too.
Beth was moving over him restlessly. Opening his eyes, he saw the sun had come out. He slid out from under her somehow managing not to wake her. Looking at the clock, he saw they could run over to Ariel’s and catch an early breakfast or fix one at home. Breakfast at Ariel’s won. Titus took a shower and woke Beth before he dressed. She shot him a look as he stood there with a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Sex or breakfast at Ariel’s.” Beth hopped out of bed running to the shower. “A guy could feel bad about your choice.” He yelled after her.
When she came out, she was dressed and ready to go. “You know I’m hungry. You’ll get a good breakfast too.”
Titus shrugged and grabbed the keys. He thought about grabbing his laptop, but he had a desktop at the house he rented which was between the streak house and the building Beth had bought. Titus figured he needed to go there once in a while. Knowing housing would be an issue, he’d prepaid the rent for a year. He’d have let his sister have it, but it had no space for a shop.
They made it to Ariel’s fast in the big crew cab. Today Beth would be working again, but on the building for his sister while they waited for the foundation to be completed. She would check on the foundation work and be available by phone for any problems. After breakfast was done, she took most of the crew to the site. Titus went in to get a look at it. Someone had done demolition, but that was all.
“Did you get started?” Titus asked.
“No, the previous owner did, but they ran out of money.”
“That sounds like a common problem.”
“It is. Ariel gets places part way through remodeling all the time.”
Beth went on to divide the crew between upstairs and downstairs. She’d hired outside subcontractors to do the windows, refinish the floors, and put a new roof on. Her crew started on the walls because the old wood ceilings looked good. The plaster walls needed patched in spots.
The day progressed and Beth was happy with the progress. Titus left for a while to go home and check on his emails including sending his sister an email back. He stopped at Sara’s diner and picked up lunch for the whole crew. Yeah, he was a great guy. Sara had picked the meals for each worker on the list since all of them ate at the diner often.
As soon as the meals were loaded into boxes, Titus carried them out filling the back of his SUV. Then he headed to the house being remodeled for his sister. He still thought the location would have suited Beth’s new business better than anything else available in town, but she’d made her decision and it would benefit his sister.
He arrived at the location shortly and they were still hard at work. There was an old table someone had cleaned up that he began setting the boxes he brought in on. The countertops also filled up. “Titus. When did you get back and what have you brought?” Beth asked.
“I just got back and I brought everyone lunch.”
“Thank you.” Beth said as she began searching through the boxes. She called out names and they came to get their lunch. It worked out much easier than he’d expected.
Everything seemed to be going well until an unexpected visitor arrived. He looked up at the sound of a door closing. His eyes widened at the person coming into the kitchen. “Saria, what are you doing here? How did you find me?”
“I thought I’d surprise you by coming early. Your second, Morris, was able to direct me here.”
“Morris?” Titus was ready to rip Morris to shreds. The tiger should know better. Sure, Saria was convincing, but Morris was a warrior. Female persuasion shouldn’t influence him as far as his work went.
“I told him you were expecting me. Apparently, he was aware you were. I told him I came early to surprise you because we’re so close.”
“You lied to my second?”
“Lied? You wound me brother. We were close before we were called in different directions and we’ll be close again. Who are all the humans?”
“This is my girlfriend, Beth. The others are part of her construction crew.” Titus explained.
Saria laughed. “You have a human girlfriend?”
“I just told you I did.”
“You’re not planning on mating her, are you?” Saria asked.
“I am.”
“And I am right here. It’s rude to discuss someone like they aren’t here when they are.” Beth pointed out. Her crew was crowding into the room to listen in.
“Sorry. I have no manners at all. I’ve been living among tribes where things are done differently. It may take a while for me to adjust.”
She smiled sweetly. Saria was an exotic beauty and all the men stared. “I understand.” Beth said.
“So what is this place?” Saria asked.
“It’s the building I told you about.” Titus explained.
“Can you show it to me?” Saria asked.
“Certainly.” Titus agreed. “We’ll be back in a few minutes.” He leaned in and kissed Beth.
Titus took Saria upstairs to the farthest room from the stairs and he closed it. “This will be your bedroom if you take the house. Now, what are you trying to do? I’m having a hard time convincing Beth I’m the right male for her and you didn’t help me any. You never used to blunder in like that without understanding what was going on.”
“A human wouldn’t make a good mate for you if you’re alpha. Even a wolf or a bear would be better.”
“Stay out of what doesn’t concern you.” He pulled his alpha power out to use on her. Her head dropped to the side baring her neck. “You don’t know Beth. I would be lucky to call her mate.”
He opened the door taking her to the room that was the bathroom. It wasn’t overly large, but it was well laid out and luxurious. There was another room that worked for a living/dining room and finally the small compact kitchen. A tiny storage area that could be accessed by ladder had been fixed up with shelves in the attic.
“It’s nice considering how small it is.” Saria observed.
“She could sell it ten times over or keep it for herself. She’s doing you a favor because of me. Never doubt that.” Titus explained. “Take it or don’t, but it is all the help you’re getting from me.”
“Okay, okay, Brother. I get it. Big favor from human. I have nothing against humans, I just foresee a lot of trouble for her when it comes to ruling at your side.”
“I think she’ll have less trouble than you think.”
“I’ll admit, she looks rough and tumble. She’s probably strong, but not too smart.” Saria expressed.
Titus laughed and almost doubled over. “Take some time to form opinions in the future. Meanwhile, stay the hell out of my love life.” His sister would be eating crow. He acknowledged she meant well. An average human would be eaten alive by his tiger shifters. There was nothing average about Beth and if she didn’t turn tiger, she would definitely become a wolf.
“Let’s go downstairs and Beth can tell you the plan for that area so you can have some input if you buy.” Titus almost hoped she’d pass and not find anything.
He led the way downstairs where Beth and her crew were cleaning up after they’d finished eating. A chorus of thank yous met him. “You’re welcome. I appreciate all your hard work.”
The others got back to work while he asked Beth to wait.