Chapter Nineteen
Two days later…
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Cruz woke slowly, gradually. Totally unhurried and totally relaxed. It was two days after the fight in the mountains, and Jody was in his arms. Two days after he’d discovered how wrong he’d been about humans, and two days after he’d confirmed how deep his love for Jody ran.
Like I didn’t know that from the start, his tiger grumbled.
He hugged Jody tighter. She was okay. He was okay. Everything was all right. Right enough that he could let his eyes ease open instead of snapping to attention the way he usually did. There wasn’t a nightmare in his mind nor a ghost rattling its chains in his head. On the contrary, the peace went deep enough to tell him his family would be glad for him, too.
Morning light filtered softly through the woods where every songbird in Maui seemed to be chirping and tweeting at the top of its lungs. Singing about the beauty of life and love because they believed. He smiled and let his eyes droop shut again, because that’s what civilians did. They snoozed, something he’d gotten surprisingly good at in the past two days. Jody called it catnapping, laughing at her own pun each time.
Catnap. Get it? She’d grin.
“I get it,” he whispered, kissing her bare shoulder.
“Hmmm?” she mumbled, still half asleep.
“Nothing.” He breathed deeply, scrubbing his chin against her skin.
So, okay, his version of sleeping in was still a few hours shorter than most people’s, but that was okay. He could lie spooned around Jody for hours.
His tiger chuffed, ridiculously proud of himself. I can do more than lie around with my mate for hours.
Cruz grinned. He and Jody had spent the better part of the last few days in and around the bed, and not too much of that time had been spent asleep. Why sleep when he could make love to his mate?
Make love? his tiger laughed. Is that what you did to her when you lifted her against the wall? Or when you laid her down beside the waterfall at the rock pool?
Cruz shushed the beast, even if he had to admit that he and Jody had sometimes veered over into desperate fucking territory. She had her wild side, too, and her appetite was right up there with his. Other times, though, they’d made slow, sweet love, staring into each other’s eyes the whole time. And each time brought him closer to the woman he loved. Each time made him feel more complete.
My mate, his tiger hummed.
Without thinking, he slid his hand from her belly to her breast.
“Mmm,” Jody murmured, nestling closer.
He’d done his best to explain to Jody about shifters over the past two days, and though his words came out clunky at times, it went a lot more smoothly than he imagined. Jody had made him shift back and forth a few times. She’d gulped and held very still the first time, but soon after, she’d petted him all over.
You look good in stripes, she’d joked when he came out of one shift, naked. But I like this look, too.
And off they’d gone into another round of frenzied sex just because they could.
The easiest part was telling her about destined mates. Jody had nodded right away, like she’d known all along.
“You knew you were my mate?” he’d asked, stunned.
“Sure.” She’d shrugged. “Just like my mom and dad. They just knew. Well, it took me a little while to realize that, but I think I felt it, deep in my heart. You don’t have to be a shifter to sense that.”
Humans were funny creatures, he decided. Unpredictable, irrational — sometimes, in the best possible way.
“Mmm,” Jody murmured, putting her hand over his. The only thing she wore was the bracelets that touched his skin, warm from her heat. “Time to wake up?”
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her shoulder again. “Only if you want.”
Jody chuckled sleepily and pressed her hand against his, guiding his palm over her breast. “I definitely want to wake up. But I could use some help.”
Oh, he’d help her, all right. He circled the soft flesh as his tiger hummed with approval.
“What did you say?” she mumbled.
Cruz cleared his throat. They hadn’t exchanged mating bites yet — a subject he hadn’t directly broached — but he swore she was already close to reading his mind.
Here’s a little test, his tiger said, thinking all kinds of dirty thoughts. Like taking her from the back on all fours while delivering the mating bite.
Cruz took a sharp breath because, damn. A hard-on that sudden hurt.
“I like the sound of that,” Jody mumbled, grinding back against him.
She was still half asleep, so he did his best not to run away with the thought. He did nip her neck, though, eliciting another hum of delight.
“Best way to wake up,” she sighed.
He snuck his leg between hers and slid his hand from her breast to her belly and back up. “I think the rest of you needs waking up, too.”
She arched, reaching over her head to touch his hair. “You know what I think?”
“What do you think?” he murmured, reaching between her legs.
“I think we’re a perfect match.” The last word turned into a coo as he furrowed his fingers through her folds.
Her legs flopped open, and she pushed back against him, proving her point. She was always eager for his touch, and she loved to toe the line between submitting to his dominant tiger and asserting her own desires. She reached around and groped for his cock, stroking in time with his moves.
“Cruz…” she murmured, starting to rock.
“Minx,” he said, gritting his teeth. He’d assumed they’d start the day all slow and sweet, but she was rapidly pushing him over toward hard and hot.
She moaned as he slipped a finger inside her and started circling. “Not my fault you have magic shifter hands.”
Cruz pressed his mouth against her shoulder to suppress his own moan. She was so slick, so tight. His cock was going to explode, especially with her perfect ass pumping against him like that.
He scraped his teeth over her neck, then suckled the spot while his finger continued to circle around and around. It was going to be so hard to resist the mating bite.
His tiger groaned inside. How can I wait?
Jody cooed, wiggled, and moaned — then croaked an unsteady, “Wait.”
Cruz froze while his heart pounded away.
“I promised myself…” she started then stopped, taking deep breaths. She gripped his forearm hard, hugging it to her chest. “Damn it, I promised myself I wouldn’t get all carried away again.” She rolled in his arms, coming face-to-face, and pointed an accusing finger at him. “You, tiger, are too irresistible for your own good.”
He exhaled a little. Whew. Maybe there was no need to get all alarmed. He crooked an eyebrow at her, trying to ignore his burning erection.
“Um… I’m sorry?”
Not sorry, his tiger growled. Not one bit.
She shook her head and held a hand up, asking him to wait. As her chest rose and fell, the tips of her nipples tickled his chest. God, she was going to kill him. Ujjayi breathing again?
“Okay,” she mumbled, pulling away slightly. “When is this meeting again?”
He propped himself up on his elbow. Was she worried about meeting the other shifters of Koa Point? As of last night, everyone had returned to Maui — Boone and Nina, Hunter and Dawn — so Silas had called a meeting of all hands.
“It’s at ten o’clock. Plenty of time.”
Jody gulped a little. “Ten, huh? And everyone will be there? Dragons…bears…wolves…”
He held her tighter. “Everyone will be there. Don’t worry. You’ll do great.”
Her eyes drifted to the necklace hooked over a bedpost. “I guess we’ll talk about that then.”
He nodded, waiting for her to finish, because she’d trailed off and held her lip between her teeth.
“So, maybe…” she started again, haltingly. “Maybe you and I ought to talk first.”
His chest rose involuntarily, because this was it. The talk they’d been putting off all along. And a good thing, too, because it was becoming harder and harder to hold his inner tiger back. The instinct to claim her with a mating bite was so strong—
He cleared his throat and ordered his tiger — and his dick — to calm down.
“Yeah, I guess we should,” he murmured, letting her start. Left to his own devices, he’d blurt everything out in one breath. I love you. I need you. Please, please let me mark you with the mating bite and never, ever leave my side. Okay with you?
All that rushed through his mind. But on the outside, he held perfectly still.
Jody pursed her lips and cupped his face in her hands. “I love you, Cruz. I love you, and I want to be with you.”
His tiger danced around. She loves me! Wants me!
“But…” she added, making his heart stop.
Shit. She was going to tell him she couldn’t stay. That she was a free spirit and had to keep moving. Or maybe she’d say she had to stay in California to help her dad with his shop. Or that she’d had second thoughts about the whole shifter thing.
“…there are a few things I need to see through before we take the next step,” she whispered.
His blood barely seemed to move through his veins. Was she talking about taking a break? Humans might do that, but destined mates didn’t. Destined mates didn’t leave each other’s sides after finding true love. They devoted themselves to each other for the rest of their lives.
“Like what?” he managed.
“I need to visit my family. After everything that’s happened…” She closed her eyes and held him tightly. “And I really want to finish the tour. Just this season. You know, to finish what I started and all that. Do you think you can handle that?”
He took a deep breath and tried to summon the strength to say, You bet I can handle it, even if he wasn’t sure he could.
“Of course, I may need a bodyguard,” she said, smoothing her hands over his shoulders.
His blood rushed, chasing away the chill in his soul. “You mean…”
She hugged him tight. “You think I could leave you?” She shook her head firmly. “No way. But I was hoping you might not mind hitting the road for a little while before we settle down here. I mean — if all that’s okay with you.”
Of course, it was okay with him. “More than okay,” he said, holding her against his chest.
Her next words were muffled but happy. “I just have three more months on the pro tour. Three months to try to crack the top ten. Even if I don’t, I’ll know that I tried, like my dad always says. It was getting harder and harder to motivate myself to do, but if you were there…”
Hell, yes. He’d be there. She’d have to chain him to the gate of the estate to keep him from following.
“Anywhere you go, I go.”
She touched his nose with one finger and pretended to be stern. “But no snarling at every bare-chested surfer dude who crosses my path. I’m not interested in anyone but you.”
“Can’t promise that,” he growled.
She laughed then grew more serious again. “It’s funny — all I could think of these last weeks was earning money to help my family. And now that it’s in my account—”
Cruz smiled, remembering the look on her face when she’d checked her statements. She hadn’t received the extra payment for the final photo shoot — after all, the photographer and camera had disappeared in the flood — but the first payment was big enough to make her whoop and start planning how to break the news to her family. Her father’s shop would be saved, and hopefully, her sister’s greatest wish would come true.
Funny, how it no longer seemed criminal to bring a child into the world.
My sister will get to be a mom, and my dad will get to be a grandfather, Jody had said, looking into the distance with shining, hopeful eyes.
And we’d get to be uncles, his tiger had added quietly, ridiculously pleased with the notion.
“—now that the money is in my account, I can finally think about what happens after I quit the tour. I was thinking I might be able to score an apprenticeship with Teddy Akoa. You know, shaping custom boards.” She looked around. “But I’m not sure I can ever live in a regular house again.”
He took her hands in his. “You never have to live in a regular house again. You can live here.”
“You sure that’s okay? I mean, the owner of the estate…”
Cruz made a face. He kept forgetting that the place wasn’t actually his.
“Who owns it, anyway? Can you tell me now?” she asked.
“No. I mean, I’d tell you if I knew, but I don’t.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. I don’t know.”
She thought it over for a minute. “My money’s on Silas.”
Cruz shook his head. “Every time I think it’s him, something happens to make me decide it isn’t. And what with that query out there…”
“What query?”
“There’s a rumor going around that someone approached the zoning committee about developing this property and the one next door. Silas says he doesn’t know anything about it, but I’m not so sure.”
Jody nuzzled her nose against his, helping settle down the worry in his gut. “I guess no one really knows what the future holds. And that’s the beautiful thing.”
He kissed her, keeping his lips pressed to hers for a long, long time. That was his mate. Always seeing the bright side of things.
“And you know what else is beautiful?” she giggled, sliding her hands down his back.
His tiger perked his ears.
“What?”
“Ten o’clock is a long way away. Plenty of time.”
He grinned, sneaking his hands toward her breasts.
“There is one more thing,” she said, gently holding him back.
Anything, his tiger said, lashing his tail intently. Anything you want, we do.
“You told me about, well…” Her cheeks grew pink.
He cocked his head. What was that about?
When she mumbled the rest, he leaned closer to hear. “What?”
She made an exasperated sound and play-slapped his chest. “The mating bite.”
He touched her cheek, hoping he hadn’t scared her off when he’d explained it the previous day. “Not until you’re ready. We wait as long as you want.”
She slid her hand from his chest to his neck, making every nerve tingle. “What if I don’t want to wait?”
His heart went from a steady beat to a heavy thump. Was she serious?
“You have to be sure, Jody.”
His tiger yowled. Don’t talk her out of it, idiot!
He didn’t want to talk her out of it. But he couldn’t live with her having any regrets. “You’re so new to all of this…”
She smiled a crooked grin. “It’ll be an adventure.”
He took her hands in his. “Seriously, Jody…”
“I am serious. And you ought to know by now that when I’m in, I’m all in. Got that from my dad, I guess.”
He smoothed her hair back into place. Someday, he was going to shake her dad’s hand. And someday, he hoped to hell he’d get the chance to be as good a father as Ross Monroe. But right now…
“You’re sure?” His voice was all scratchy and rough.
“I’m sure.”
“The change initiated by the mating bite will take some time, but eventually, you’ll be a shifter, too.”
She looked deep into his eyes, looking wary but resolute. “Will you help me?”
He nodded so hard, it hurt his neck. “You bet I will.
Her eyes dropped to his neck, and her fingers played over his skin. Was she imagining it right now?
One way to find out, his tiger murmured.
He leaned in slowly, peppering kisses from her ear to her neck, inhaling the scent of her desire. The air was thick with the sweet aroma, even stronger than that of the surrounding woods and tropical flowers.
“Mmm,” she murmured, lying back as he tiptoed his fingers over her chest.
He kissed her jaw, her collarbone, her neck, getting drunk on her scent.
She cooed, arching as he touched her breast.
She’s ready. She’s sure, his tiger assured him.
He caught a nipple and rolled it between his lips. The pure taste messed with his mind until he couldn’t see straight. When he slid his hand between her legs, touching her again, his groan was nearly as loud as hers.
“More…” Her hips rose, forcing his hand deeper. Her legs split and hugged his, begging for more.
Mate, his tiger hummed. My beautiful mate.
He circled her entrance then slid a finger in, still kneading her breast with his left hand. Nipping and suckling more insistently. Slowly losing control.
“Yes… Yes…” She put her hand over his and pushed him deeper. Faster.
His rock-hard cock pulsed against her hip, and when she grasped it, his vision flared. She tapped on the tip, torturing him.
“Jody,” he rasped, at the end of his self-restraint.
Her eyes locked on his, wide and blue as the sky, and she reared up to kiss him hard. Then she rolled onto her belly and popped up on her elbows the way she popped up on her surfboard, ready to tame the wildest wave.
“This way. Please. This way…”
Before she’d so much as wiggled her rear, he kneeled behind her, knowing just what she meant. He dragged her hips against his, exercising just enough restraint to drag his cock through her slick folds. Once. Twice…
“Please…” She pushed back, making it clear he wasn’t the only one about to explode with need.
When he took firm hold of her hips and slid home, Jody threw her head back and cried out. When he withdrew, she moaned and dropped her chin.
“Need you…”
He needed her, too. Desperately. But he wasn’t all animal, and he wasn’t going to hammer away until she was absolutely ready. She was still tight inside, deliciously tight, and each steady thrust was a slide through the best kind of pleasure-pain.
“Soon,” he panted, pausing just long enough to push her hair to one side. His eyes narrowed, focusing on her bare neck.
Mate, his tiger chanted. Make her mine.
“Yes…” she panted as he started thrusting into her again. Edging deeper and deeper. Everything blurred away — the dappled sunlight around the tree house, the scent of the woods, the call of songbirds — until his world funneled down to Jody and nothing else. Pure tunnel vision, pure ecstasy as he rocked back and forth.
“Yes…” Jody cried, bracing her arms. Her back glistened with a mixture of his sweat and hers, making his tiger growl.
Yes. Mark our mate with our scent.
He plunged harder and harder until his balls were so tight—
“Please,” she cried, turning her head to offer her neck.
He ran his tongue over his teeth, letting the canines extend. His heart hammered in his ears as he sniffed along her neck, letting instinct guide him.
There, his tiger howled. Right there!
He inhaled and thrust deeper still, then exhaled, relishing the burn in his cock. And on the next inhale—
Jody made a choking sound as his teeth sank into her neck. For one brief instant, he panicked that he’d done it wrong. But a heartbeat later, her thoughts exploded into his mind. A flood of ecstasy, a high that bridged over to him and rushed through her body. He saw rolling tropical waves and brilliant sunsets. He heard laughter and squinted at the sunlight shining in her soul. His nostrils went wide as all her favorite scents surrounded him, and he gripped her hips tighter as her ecstasy rose higher and higher.
Hold tight, his tiger grunted.
He kept his lips firmly sealed as his hips pumped furiously.
“Yes…” Jody groaned in one long syllable as she clenched down hard. Every muscle in her body flexed, claiming him as hers.
Cruz slammed into her one more time before his cock jolted and emptied inside her. He saw rainbows dancing over waves. Sunshine sparkling off the ocean. A sky so blue and clear, it made his heart swell.
Mark her forever, his tiger chanted wildly.
They’d already given up on condoms, and the skin-to-skin rush drove his tiger wild. But he didn’t let up on the bite until her head sank into the pillow.
Slowly, carefully, he retracted his teeth, keeping his tongue over the bite marks. The skin sealed under his touch, and some instinct from deep in his soul told him it was all right to let go. He fluttered kisses over her neck as a thick, satisfied weariness filled his muscles, letting him relax at last.
Jody shuddered, milking him throughout her high, then slowly dropped to her stomach. He sank down over her, pinning her down with just enough pressure to make her murmur once more.
“So good…” she said, melting into the sheets.
“So good,” he echoed, holding her tight.
He closed his eyes, breathing in her scent. The heat radiating from her body, the satisfied sighs. Each reminding him that life was beautiful. Love was beautiful. He just had to believe.
And damn, did he believe. He’d believe every day for the rest of his life.
They lay against each other, counting heartbeats, feeling at peace. Eventually, Jody rolled to face him with sparkling, satisfied eyes. Then she grinned and tried a little roar.
He laughed. “Not bad.”
“Not bad?” Her brow knitted. “You better watch out. I’ll be out-tigering you any day now. I just need a little practice.”
He didn’t doubt it. Not one bit. “You can practice on me all you want.”
She chuckled, putting a finger under his chin. “Wait. Are you getting a sense of humor?”
He shrugged. “Not my fault. You seem to have infected me.”
They grinned at each other like a couple of teens who’d just scored for the first time, but then they gradually grew serious. The good kind of serious, like a couple of adults who were done messing around. Looking into the future and liking what they saw.
He smoothed her hair back into place. It was mussed and wild — probably like his. He sniffed the air and grinned, finding their scents wrapped so tightly together, he could barely tell what part was hers and what part was his. When they met with the other shifters of Koa Point, there’d be no mistaking how he and Jody had spent their morning.
Good, his tiger said firmly. Let everybody know she’s mine.
He thought back to the day Kai and Tessa had come to a similar powwow after the dragon duel in which they’d secured the Lifestone. Boone and Nina had come hand in hand to their first formal meeting, smelling distinctly of sex and joy. Hunter and Dawn had covered each other with their scents after three days ensconced in his cottage, and who could blame them after so many years of holding back?
Well, now it was his turn — a day he’d never thought would come — and he damn well was going to show off his mate. He was in for some ribbing, for sure, especially about the human part. He still couldn’t quite believe that Vasco had made it look as though the local villagers were to blame for the deaths of his family or that he had bought into the lie for so long. Now he realized that humans were just like shifters — there were good and bad of each. He’d be vigilant for the latter, but he’d also do his best not to drive himself crazy with anger or hate.
Life is for living, his tiger agreed. Loving. Laughing.
Jody slid closer, brushing her finger across his lips. He closed his eyes as the touch turned into a long, deep kiss. A kiss he never wanted to end. She rolled closer, letting their chests touch, getting him all heated up again.
“Good thing that meeting isn’t till ten,” she murmured, pulling back slightly. She tipped her head to the right. “Because there’s a rock pool with your name on it not too far away.”
He kissed her deeper, stirring her up the way she stirred him. “You been thinking dirty thoughts again?”
She nodded through the kiss. “You’ll have to wash me well. Really, really well. But first…”
He arched his eyebrow. “First?”
She grinned from ear to ear. “First, we get to be dirty all over again.”