Chapter 11
Jilly left her still-lounging mates in bed and went to the closet to see what she had to wear for dinner. Because space was limited in the RV, she didn’t have a ton of clothes, but she didn’t mind. When she lived with the females, she hadn’t had much in the way of clothing and personal items, either, but that was because it hadn’t mattered to her what she wore. Now, she liked wearing clothing that made her mates’ eyes light up.
“Do you think the whole pride will be at Rhett’s tonight?” Fate asked.
“Except for those who work in the evenings, like Chase and Hunter. But I think pretty much everyone is going out of their way to go meet Treasure.”
“That’s what I love about the pride,” Wyked said. “They step up to the plate every time someone needs help or support.”
“They’ve had a lot of practice,” she said.
The pride had come under attack numerous times over the years, and it all started when a she-wolf drove into King and found her truemates with two mountain lions. They’d left King and started a pride of their own in Ashland, and Jilly’s family had followed. The females had meddled, even though they’d been in different states. They’d tried to get Sam, her uncles’ mate, fired from her job as school music teacher, then attempted to kidnap the younger kids and nearly killed Sam. They’d sent a dangerous group of bear shifters to town. Another time, they kidnapped Melody and Micah, with the intention of killing Melody and breeding Micah.
“I was just thinking that it’s been a while since we’ve heard from the females,” she said. “Maybe they’ve finally given up on trying to get back at the males.”
Fate hummed in agreement. “We don’t have to worry about them, since we’ll be on the road, but the pride can handle them if they ever do get a bug up their butts and want to come make trouble.”
“I never understood why they cared so much,” Wyked said. “I mean, seriously. They don’t want the lion males for mates, so they shouldn’t care who they actually mate with.”
“Yeah, but you’re forgetting that they also prefer purebred lions, and that only happens when both parents are the same sort of shifter.”
Fate joined her at the closet, kissing her cheek. “I’m thankful that we kissed you all better.”
She snorted. “It wasn’t the kiss. It was the blood sharing.”
“Right,” he said. “With our awesome kisses.”
“Well, I won’t argue with your awesomeness.”
Wyked grabbed a pair of jeans and tugged them on. “I promised Mom I’d help with the pig roast.”
Jilly kissed Wyked. “I love her roast pig. I can’t wait to have it.”
“Knowing how the clan loves to eat it, too, I’ll ask her to set aside a plate for you.”
“You’re the best,” she said.
“I know.”
“Hey!” Fate said.
“I’m doubly blessed to have two sweet mates who are both the best.”
Wyked picked up his phone, blew Jilly a kiss, and walked out of the room.
Fate brushed his fingers lightly over her jaw and whispered, “Shower, sweetheart?”
“Why are you whispering?”
“Because I want you all to myself right now.”
Goose bumps rose on her, and she bit her bottom lip. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
The bathroom in the RV had a glass-enclosed shower that was big enough for just one person, but she didn’t mind being squished in the shower to spend time with her mate. She turned on the shower and smiled up at him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she tilted her face toward his and closed her eyes as he kissed her. His hands slid down her back and curved over her bottom. He pulled her close so she could feel his erection against her stomach, and then he stepped into the shower. Their kiss continued as the water cascaded over them, soaking her hair and skin.
He pulled from the kiss and reached for the body wash on the shelf. She cupped her palms, and he squeezed a generous amount in them. He didn’t put any in his own hands: instead he let the line of pearly white soap drip over her shoulders and breasts, a cool counterpoint to the heat of the water. He put the bottle back on the shelf and spread the soap on her shoulders, and then lower, cupping her breasts and rubbing her nipples until they were tight and aching.
She played her soap-covered hands over his skin, marveling at how gorgeous he was. He was lean and well-built, with ropes of muscles that she loved to touch. The soap cascaded down his stomach and she followed the trail to his cock, which was thick and hard and oh-so tempting. She circled his length with her soapy hand, pushing up and down slowly and rubbing her palm over the head. He let out a growl and put his hand at the back of her neck and drew her to his lips. Fate wasn’t aggressive like Wyked; they were opposites in many ways, but she could feel some of his aggressiveness coming through, and she liked it.
He nipped her bottom lip, where three years earlier he and his brother had shared blood with her and changed her life forever.
“Are you wet, sweetheart?” he murmured huskily, kneading his fingers at the back of her neck.
She pumped his cock and smiled. “Do you want to find out?”
“Minx,” he declared, kissed her hard and then pushed her shoulders until she leaned back through the shower spray and rested against the cool, tile wall. He pulled her hand from his cock and pressed her palm to the side wall, placing her other hand on the glass so her arms were spread. He gave her a sweet and sexy look: his lips curled into a smile, but his eyes sparked intensely with heat.
He pushed his foot against hers until she spread her legs as wide as she could, her whole body on display for her mate, as the water sprayed her stomach, adding another sensation to her already aching body.
His fingers played down her stomach, trailing circles and aimless patterns over her skin until he reached her pussy, which he skirted to touch her inner thighs. He rested one hand on the tile next to her head and leaned through the spray until he reached her, giving her a light brush of his lips before he kissed her ear.
He stroked her pussy lips, grazing the tingling flesh with just the tips of his fingers.
“Do you want me to fuck you hard and fast, sweet cat? Slow and sweet? Make you come on my tongue until you can’t talk anymore because of how good you feel?”
She shivered despite of the hot shower. “I want everything.” Her fingers curled with her nails scraping against the walls. “I want you.”
He surged two fingers into her pussy, and she banged her head against the wall with a groan.
“You have me,” he whispered, tugging on her ear lobe. “You have all of me. Anytime, anyplace forever.”
“Fate,” she whispered, letting the word slip into a moan as he moved his fingers faster within her, in and out, rocking her body with a tempo faster than her heartbeat. He curled his fingers, rubbing her inner walls with each pass. A single spot made her gasp as heat shot through her, and he growled and bit her neck, sucking her flesh into his mouth as he rubbed that place harder and faster, drawing her body to the edge of pleasure.
Her knees weakened as she came; the pleasure too strong for her to do anything but moan. He pulled his fingers free and lifted her leg, angling his body until the fat head of his cock pressed to her entrance. He pushed inside her, the waves of pleasure making her pussy tight.
“Fuck, Jilly,” he snarled through gritted teeth. He thrust in all the way, their bodies meeting and filling her completely. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried out her pleasure as he fucked her hard and fast, their bodies moving together. She heard things clatter to the floor, but she didn’t care. She buried her face in his neck and flexed her hips to meet him, her toes curling as the sweetness of his possession claimed her entirely. When he came, shouting her name with a roar from his cat, she smiled, knowing that she’d driven him so crazy that his cat couldn’t help but share in the feeling.
He trembled for a moment and let out a gusty breath, and then he kissed the place on her throat where he’d bruised her with his teeth. “Sorry, love,” he said. “I really did a number on your neck.”
“I love your bites,” she promised.
They rinsed off in the water that was no longer hot and then they dried off, laughing as they bumped and jostled each other while they tried to get dry.
“I have an idea,” she said as she rubbed at her hair with another towel.
“If it’s another shower, I don’t think my dick’s going to be on board with cold water again.”
She laughed. “No, not that. I think we should invest in a bigger water heater.”
“We have the biggest on the market.”
“Oh. Well, damn.”
“Next time, we’ll start out here.” He lifted her onto the counter, and she squeaked in surprise.
“Oh?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.
He hummed and pushed her thighs apart. “You’re just the right height for a lot of fun things.”
Wyked stopped in the doorway. “One of the downfalls of living in an RV is the small bathroom.”
She smiled at him. “Close quarters living has some negative aspects to it, like the lack of space, but it’s also got all the closeness that I love. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, even if it did mean a bigger bathroom.”
“We’re fortunate to have such a sweet mate, don’t you agree?” Wyked asked.
“Whole-heartedly.”
* * *
Jilly, Wyked, Fate, their parents, and uncle rode in the SUV to Rhett and Lisa’s for the big dinner to welcome Treasure to the pride. Even though they weren’t technically part of the pride, they were family, and John had made sure to let Jilly know that he hoped her in-laws would join the celebration. They’d been happy to attend.
Jilly sat in the third row of the SUV between her mates. The dark night coupled with the dark interior made it feel intimate, even though their family was there.
“Is there anything special you want to do before we leave town?” Wyked asked, his voice a low caress against her skin as his lips brushed her cheek.
“I can’t think straight when you talk like that,” she murmured.
He chuckled. “Sorry.”
“No, you’re not,” she admonished with a smile. “But that’s okay.”
“Anything special?” he prompted.
“I’d like to eat at Cherie’s. I want to babysit for Callie, Ethan, and Eryx. And I want to have a girls-only sleepover at Lisa’s, so all the females in the pride can be together one last time.”
Fate kissed her hand. “That’s totally doable. Of course we’ll miss you terribly.”
“I’ll miss you, too, but the females and I were talking about having a girls night for a long time, and it’s just never happened.” She looked at her mates. “Do guys have sleepovers?”
“Um, no,” Wyked said.
Their dad laughed from the front seat. “Some guys do, I’m sure, but they don’t call them sleepovers.”
“What do you call a sleepover that’s not a sleepover?” Jilly asked.
“I don’t think it has a name,” Wyked said. “Just a guy crashing at another guy’s place.”
“A crash over?” she offered.
Fate laughed. “You’re adorable.”
“Well,” she said as she wiggled her eyebrows, “I try.”
Vehicles were parked on either side of the long driveway that led from Rhett and Lisa’s back to Callie and her mates’ home. Dag parked, and they climbed out.
When they walked into the house, Jilly wasn’t surprised to see all the pride members, including their youngest additions, milling around Rhett and Lisa’s spacious home. Jilly hugged Callie, and then she greeted her cousins Evan, Elliott, Cameron, and Sophie.
Jilly stood with Sophie in her arms. “I’d love to babysit one more time before we leave.”
Callie’s eyes widened. “Like right now? Let me grab the guys.”
Jilly laughed. “Another night, I mean, before we leave.”
“I know,” Callie said with a chuckle. “It was tempting to just race the heck out of here, though. Four kids means we don’t get a lot of alone time.”
“I bet.”
“I’ll text you and let you know when. I’m sure they’ll rearrange work schedules for a date night.”
Ethan said from across the room, “You know it!”
Callie shook her head with a laugh. “Insatiable. But I love it.”
Jilly kissed Sophie on the cheek and gave her back to her mother. Then she made her way with her mates to the family room, where a wide-eyed Treasure sat on the couch and looked around.
“Oh, Jilly!” she said, jumping up and rushing over. “I didn’t know when you’d come.”
“Hey,” she said, giving her a hug. “How are you doing?”
“Really great! Lisa and Rhett gave me a bedroom, and I have a really nice, big bed. Do you want to see my room? It’s pink and blue, my favorite colors.”
“Sure,” Jilly said, winking at her mates as Treasure tugged her toward the stairs.
“I like the pride. They’re all so nice,” Treasure said.
“I don’t think you’ve met everyone yet,” Jilly said, thinking of who she greeted on the way in. “Uncle Grant, Uncle Aaron, and Aunt Sam aren’t here yet with their kids. There are five boys. And I heard from my dad that Chase and Hunter had to work tonight, but I’m sure you’ll meet them soon, along with Dylan and their shared mate Cris, and their adorable kids.”
“They stopped by earlier.”
“Oh, cool.”
“I like Callie’s kids, too. They wanted to see my wings when they heard I was a fairy.”
“Do you like the term fairy or is fae better?”
“My mom said that humans call us fairies, and it’s disrespectful, but I’m not part of that realm anymore, and I like the word fairy. It sounds prettier than fae.”
“Agreed.”
“Ta do,” Treasure said when she stepped into her bedroom.
“What?” Jilly asked.
“Ta do. It’s what you say when you unveil something.”
“I think you mean ta da.”
“Oh.” She giggled. “I’m learning your realm’s language.”
“We both speak English.”
“Yeah, but not like the fae. It’s very proper in the fae realm. Did you know there’s a thing called a cell phone? You can just push a button and talk to someone?”
“I did,” she said, stifling a smile. “I didn’t know the fae realm was so different.”
“They call each other with portals. I can kinda make one. Aunt Georgette was teaching me. But there’s no one for me to portal-call anyway, so I guess I don’t have to worry about it.”
“You can have a cell phone, though. I can give you my number, and you can call me. We can even video call, too.”
“Oh! Really? That would be really resh.”
“What’s resh mean?”
She rolled her eyes in thought. “I guess good? Resh is my realm’s word for good.”
“Then it would be totally resh for us to stay in touch.”
Jilly looked around the room. A pink and blue blanket stretched over the bed, and blue curtains with pink ties adorned the windows.
“It’s a lovely room.”
“I’m glad you like it. I wasn’t allowed to have a window in the fae realm. My parents were afraid someone would try to steal me away if they saw me.”
“That’s so sad. Were you scared?”
“My dad was a dragon. I wasn’t afraid of anything when he was alive. But now he’s gone, and so is my mom and aunt. I feel kind of afraid a lot but also like I shouldn’t feel that way.”
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “Ashland feels safe. Safer than I felt at my aunt’s.”
“I’m glad. I know that your aunt and your parents would want you to feel safe and be safe. That’s why the pride wanted to meet you tonight, so they could get to know you and keep an eye on you.”
“Good. Does this mean I’m a pride member?”
“Yep.”
“I didn’t belong to anything special before. The pride is special.”
Jilly’s heart panged a little as sadness poked her mind. “Yeah, they really are.”
Treasure let out a little blast of fire suddenly, and Jilly took a step back as the young girl clapped her hand over her mouth.
“Are you okay?” Jilly asked. “Was that like a dragon hiccup?”
“No,” she said pulling her hand away slowly. “My dragon…oh gracious.”
Her wings sprouted from her back, visible through the tank top she wore. Then she raced from the room, the scent of sulfur lingering in the air.
“Treasure? Are you okay?” Jilly ran after her, following her down the stairs and into the family room.
“What’s going on?” Lisa asked as Treasure pushed through the crowd, threw open the front door, and leaped outside.
“I don’t know!” Jilly said. “She blew out a bit of fire and then her wings came out, and she was down here in a flash.”
“Hey!” Jilly’s Uncle Grant yelled in surprise.
Jilly, Lisa, Rhett, and the other pride members hurried to the door, and Jilly stopped on the porch and watched Treasure hugging Kevin and Brian. The young males displayed their fangs and purred, and Treasure’s wings beat furiously.
“My cats,” Treasure said. “I knew I’d find you.”
“What the ever-loving hell is going on here?” Aaron asked.
Wyked and Fate joined Jilly, both putting their hands on her shoulders. “I think we figured out why Brian and Kevin asked about her. They’re mates,” Fate said.
“Wow,” Lisa said. “How’s that for strange?”
Jilly glanced at Lisa and nodded. It was strange. Not only had she gone to see Georgette and accidentally felt Treasure, but they’d been there to help keep her safe when the fae soldiers attacked.
“Maybe it was all to bring her here, for her mates,” Wyked said.
Rhett cleared his throat, and it sounded a lot like a growl. “Treasure, I know you’re excited to meet your mates, but you’re only twelve, so let’s settle down and come in and eat dinner.”
Treasure took the tiniest of steps away from the boys. She turned slowly and faced them as her wings disappeared into her back. “Sorry, Rhett.”
“Don’t be sorry, little one,” Rhett said with a chuckle. “It’s a good thing to meet your mates, but you’re all young, and there isn’t anything that will fix that but time.”
Brian and Kevin each took one of Treasure’s hands and followed her into the house.
“This is why my dragon made the fire burp thing,” Treasure said to Jilly. “She sensed our mates.”
“Lucky girl,” Jilly said. “And doubly lucky boys.”
Kevin grinned. “Dad was surprised.”
“But you weren’t?” Jilly asked.
Brian said, “Not really. We felt a strange connection to you after you came back from your trip and told us about Treasure. We wanted to come here to meet her earlier before it was a full house, but we weren’t able.”
“Well, I’m glad you’ve found each other now,” she said.
“I’m so hungry I could eat horses,” Treasure said. “Like two of them.”
“Eat like a horse,” Kevin said.
“Oh, ew. Why would I want to eat like a horse? They eat grass.”
“It’s just a saying,” Brian said.
“Well, whatever the saying is, I’m hungry.”
Lisa laughed. “You heard her, let’s eat!”