CHAPTER TEN
Mark leaned down and kissed her, just once. Moving only far enough away to look into her eyes, he spoke in an intimate tone.
“I’ve never been surer of anything else in my life. I want you for my mate, Shelly. I know you’re human—and magical, though you still seem to be in denial about that—but I hope you can feel the same need. The same draw. The same imperative that we must be together.” He held both of her hands in his, against his beating heart. “If you agree to be my mate, I will love you, and only you, for the rest of our lives. I will never stray, and I will be the best mate I can possibly be. I promise.”
Whoa. Her head was spinning again, and it wasn’t just from that light show she’d been part of yesterday. Mark was getting a little too intense for her. She was so confused about everything. She needed a little room to think.
She was saved from having to make a reply by the arrival of the security guy named Mario. He had a pained look on his face while he apologized for interrupting, but he brought news. The tigers had arrived.
Mark was suddenly all business. She realized how important this visit was to him by the way he reacted, and she vowed, then and there, to help him win over these shifter monarchs in any way that she could. Mark was a good guy, and his people deserved all the help they could get. Whatever little thing Shelly could do to help that, she would do.
“Is everything ready?” Mark asked Mario as they all headed back into the mansion.
“As ready as we can be,” came the quick reply. “Janice is setting up refreshments in the back parlor and said to tell you that, if they want to stay overnight, the best guest suite is ready and waiting.”
“Let’s see how this goes first,” Mark replied as they walked into the house. “I don’t want to jinx anything by thinking too far ahead. They may have a schedule to keep, which wouldn’t surprise me. Plus, it’s a first visit to unknown territory. They’ll be cautious.” Mark ran a hand down his shirt, as if searching for wrinkles, then he turned to Shelly. “Do I look okay?”
She thought he looked perfect. Of course, she always thought that. Mark was one of those lucky individuals who looked good in anything and always seemed to have stepped off the pages of a magazine. He was just that good looking. Male model handsome with an intellect matched by few. He was the whole package.
But she took his question seriously. “How formal is this?” she asked, wondering if his neat polo shirt and khakis were appropriate.
“Business casual, I’d guess,” he stated. “Any intel on what they’re wearing?” he asked Mario, quickly turning back to the other man.
“Golf shirt and jeans for the male. Jeans and a T-shirt for the female. A little less than business casual, but still neat, is what Lucinda reports,” Mario said, tapping a small earpiece Shelly just noticed as he drew attention to it. “They’re coming up the walk from the landing strip now. ETA five minutes. And you should know, Kensi is missing again. I think she got curious and went down the path to see what all the fuss was about. She’s been doing that more and more, according to Judy. She’s going down to try to find her now.”
“I don’t think the tiger king or his lady would harm her,” Mark said, then looked to Shelly as if for confirmation.
“They’re civilized people, aren’t they? And if they hurt a baby, these aren’t people you’ll want to deal with at all,” Shelly said immediately.
“We’d better get out there. Maybe we can avoid an incident.” Mark looked worried, and Shelly caught the tension in the air. She raced out of the house with him, Mario on their heels.
They took off down the path, slowing only at the bends in the path to peer out cautiously before they hit another straightaway. They didn’t want to look like they were rushing to intercede before Kensi possibly intercepted the newcomers, but they also wanted to get to her first, if at all possible.
They had just slowed for another curve when the approaching party came into view. A beautiful woman with big blue eyes and luxurious blonde hair was holding a familiar jaguar cub. Kensi had indeed found the royal couple first, but from the way the woman was smiling as she cradled the baby jaguar, they had been worried for nothing.
It was clear Kensi had captured another heart. It was also clear that the tiger couple was not going to eat the child. Far from it. They both seemed indulgent toward her. Both were smiling as she batted at the king’s tickling fingers. Shelly thought the image boded well for what was to come.
Mark breathed a sigh of relief and gathered himself before stepping forward to meet the tiger monarchs. His smile was broad and welcoming and perhaps a bit on the relieved side, but hopefully, the newcomers wouldn’t notice that.
“I see you found our little escape artist,” Mark said in a friendly tone as the two parties approached each other.
“She’s adorable,” the woman who must be the tiger queen said. “Is she yours?”
“She is mine the way all of my Clan are, but her parents should be along any moment, now that word is spreading that she’s been found.” Mark gestured toward the headset Lucinda sported. Apparently, the appearance of little Kensi on the walk up from the landing strip had already been reported, but Mark and Shelly were too far ahead of Mario to have heard the news.
“Aw, did you worry Mommy and Daddy?” the tiger queen spoke in a soft voice to the baby jaguar still held in her arms. “You shouldn’t do that, sweetheart. You should always tell your parents where you’re going so they can watch over you, okay?” She waited until the little jaguar head nodded up and down before snuggling the child close once more, calling her a good girl.
Right then, Shelly decided this woman was all right.
To say Mark was thrilled with the meeting wouldn’t be overstating his reaction to the tiger monarchs. They were very nice people, in addition to being good rulers over their Clan. Mark had a chance to discuss Clan affairs in more detail than he’d expected with the tiger king, who’d asked Mark to call him Mitch.
Likewise, the queen was also on a first name basis with Shelly and Mark within the first five minutes of meeting. Mark knew she was a medical doctor in the human world and was known as Queen Gleda among the tiger Clan, but she’d asked them to call her by her nickname, Gina. Mark liked them both, and the feeling appeared to be mutual—at least as far as he could tell on first meeting. He thought, though, the relationship had begun on firm footing and would grow from there.
One thing that had surprised him was Mitch’s knowledge about the geological foundations of the island. He’d come right out and asked if the volcano was still active. Funny thing was, he had directed his question to Shelly, which had struck Mark as odd.
“I only just came here yesterday for the first time,” Shelly had replied. “I don’t know all that much about the island yet.”
“As far as we know, the volcano has been dormant for centuries. Our shamans say we should not have any trouble for many years to come, which is why I chose this place,” Mark added.
The Tig’Ra looked at him strangely for a moment, then seemed to make up his mind about something before he spoke again. “I suppose you know our place of power is in Iceland, right?” Mark nodded in answer as Mitch went on, “Thing is, our palace is built on the side of an active—a very active—volcano. I’m actually connected to it in some magical way that I don’t completely understand. That’s how I recognized the echoes of that power here. You might be able to tap into that, somehow, to help protect your people.”
Mark was nonplussed. He’d never heard that about the tiger king, and he’d thought he had excellent intel on the tiger Clan in general. Apparently, there were still some secrets they’d managed to keep from the other cat shifter species. Mark realized a moment later that he shouldn’t have been so surprised. His own Clan had many secrets, as well.
He bowed his head. “I’m not a mage,” he replied, honestly.
“You may not be, but she is,” Mitch nodded toward Shelly, who had a deer-in-the-headlights sort of expression on her face.
“Uh…” Shelly stammered a bit, but Mark couldn’t help but come to her rescue.
“If she is, that’s something that’s only just come to light. Shelly grew up human. If she has mage blood, it’s news to her,” Mark told them.
“I grew up among humans,” the Tig’Ren put in, patting Shelly’s hand in a sympathetic way. “I’ve lived a normal human life most of the time, but I always knew I was a shifter. I had a firm foundation. I can’t imagine what it must be like for you to have all of this happen to you at once.”
“It’s a bit much to take in. I only found out about shapeshifters a couple of days ago,” Shelly admitted. “The sparky thing that happened yesterday was…” Shelly trailed off, seeming unable to complete her sentence.
“We were up at the caldera.” Mark decided to come clean. If the tigers knew about volcanoes and the magic the way they claimed, they might just be the only people who could help. “Something happened, and red sparks came from Shelly’s fingers. They seemed to be absorbed by the obsidian rock up there. I swear it looked and felt like the rock was welcoming the sparks.”
Mitch eyed Shelly with a speculative glance. “You might just be a fire mage. In which case, you would be amply suited to commune with even a dormant volcano.”
Shelly’s eyes grew wide in a mix of denial and fear. Mark didn’t fully understand why she was so afraid of the idea of magic. She’d seemed to handle the news about shifters pretty well, and her entire family line had worshipped the Goddess, just like him and his Clan, but ever since magic had become a topic of conversation, she’d been in denial. There was something more to it, he was sure, and he made a note to meet with her father at the earliest opportunity to see if he might know more.
The tiger royals didn’t stay the night because, as Mark expected, they were on a tight schedule. Even stopping at the island for a few hours had set them behind, but if Mitch was to be believed—and Mark did believe him—the possibility of forming an alliance with the jaguar Clan was as important to Mitch as it was to Mark. The groundwork had been laid, and Mark expected good things to come of this first meeting. In fact, they’d already scheduled time to get together for a more in-depth discussion of business interests next week, when Mitch and Gina planned to be back in New York.
Tomorrow, he would go back with Shelly and arrange a meeting with her father, the elusive William Howell the Fourth. Before that, though, they had another night here on the island to enjoy.
This time, they ate dinner with the Clan. Everyone was welcoming and jovial. Those who had seen the tigers had been uniformly impressed by them, and word had gotten around that they had all parted on good terms. Things were looking up, and everyone knew it.
That, plus the Clan’s reaction to Shelly—which was more positive than Mark could have hoped for—made for a raucous meal shared among friends. Mark and Shelly might be sitting in places of honor in the room—Mark couldn’t quite get his people to give up that tradition—but the camaraderie was strong between them all. Mark wasn’t one to stand on ceremony. He didn’t style himself a monarch. He was just an Alpha who happened to have a lot more authority and recognition in the human world than most. That was all. He was responsible for his people, and he liked it that way.
He also liked the way they accepted Shelly. Though she was human, they didn’t treat her any differently. They welcomed her as if she was already one of the family. It was his deepest desire to make her that in truth. As far as he was concerned, he was already committed. He just needed her to agree to be his mate. That was all that was needed among shifters, but he’d go further and take all the steps necessary to bind them legally together—in her world, and in his.
Besides, the society pages would pay well for pictures of their wedding. One of his people routinely brokered deals with various newspapers to get them secret photos. The photos weren’t all that secret, but a calculated way for Mark to earn a little extra money for the Clan by bartering some of his unexpected celebrity.
He didn’t really understand why ordinary humans wanted to follow his comings and goings so closely, but if people would pay him—through back channels, of course—for images of his public life, he didn’t mind feeding the beast from time to time. Sometimes, he wondered what they’d pay if they knew he was a jaguar at heart, but shifters lived in secret for safety. It hadn’t always been that way, but in this modern age, it was better to be prudent than dead.
At least by supplying the photos, he already knew what was in them. And the market for paparazzi was quelled. If the papers could get images of Mark anytime they wanted from an inside source, they wouldn’t pay top dollar to stalkers with cameras. Win-win, as Shelly would have put it.
Conversation was lively, both at dinner and after. Mark and Shelly sat with a number of his closest friends, enjoying dessert and coffee for a couple of hours, until he noticed Shelly politely trying to hide a yawn. He didn’t want her to be too tired. He had big plans for that night—the last they’d share on the island for a while.
He whisked her away from the gathering as nonchalantly as he could, taking her to his suite, not her guest room. When she didn’t protest, he smiled. Oh, yes, he and his mate were definitely on the same page.
Shelly felt all tingly when Mark took her by the hand and led her up to what had to be his room in the mansion. It wasn’t the biggest, nor the most luxurious. Actually, it was about the same as the guest room they’d given her down the hall, but it definitely had Mark’s personal stamp on it.
He’d lifted her into his arms and carried her over the threshold, eliciting a gasp as he caught her off guard. The man made her breathless a lot—in a really good way.
There were mementoes of his youth displayed in a corner cabinet and photos of him and his friends hanging on the walls. The furniture was solid wood and sturdy. Oak, stained and polished to a loving luster. The fabrics were dark blues and hunter green with golden accents here and there. It almost had the look of a color scheme developed by a professional decorator, but she suspected Mark had chosen everything in here for himself. She got a quick look around the room before he started kissing her, and then, all thought fled as he lowered her to the big bed with the soft bedspread.
His kisses drugged her into wholehearted compliance with his every wish. The fact that he followed even her slightest direction made her happy too. When she tugged at his shirt, a moment later, it was gone, and she could place her hand directly on his solid, muscular chest. Mmm. He was a deliciously built specimen of manhood…shifter-hood…whatever. He was just lovely, whatever he was. The specifics didn’t matter. He was her lover, and that was all there was to it.
When her hands went to his waistband, he lifted away momentarily, and when he came back, he was bare to her touch. Yes. Exactly what she wanted. She let herself explore, her hands finding all sorts of interesting things that had been hidden beneath his clothing. Especially a hard rod of iron covered in velvet heat that she wanted deep inside her as soon as they could manage.
While he’d undressed for her, he’d also been undressing her. She was as naked as he when he swept the bedspread aside, placing her squarely in the center of the enormous bed. This bed had been built with someone Mark’s size in mind, but it dwarfed Shelly a bit. No matter. There would be plenty of room for both of them to be comfortable, which was the important thing.
He came down over her, but he was lower on the bed than she’d expected. When he lifted one of her feet to his shoulder and began nibbling on the inside of her leg, she giggled. When he moved lower to lick the back of her knee, she trembled in reaction. And when he moved to her thighs, she held her breath.
Was he going to…? Oh, yes. Yes, he was.
She just about lost her mind when his tongue reached out and licked her clit, exploring and laving, arousing and electrifying. Then, his lips moved on her, giving her the most intimate of kisses, his talented tongue invading and retreating, driving her into blissful delirium.
She couldn’t take much of that treatment and shuddered, coming hard against his mouth. She could feel him smile against her most sensitive skin and felt the purr of his satisfaction rumbling through his chest as he rose to settle more fully over her limp body.
She felt boneless. Sated for the moment but still interested in what he had to offer.
When he rolled her onto her side, she went with him, unsure where he was leading but willing to follow. He hadn’t steered her wrong yet, and her famous instincts said she could trust him in all things. All things.
He positioned himself behind her and lifted her top leg back and over his thigh. It was a bit awkward at first, but she was intrigued by what he evidently had in mind.
He slid into her from behind. It was a shallow penetration, but the position made it tighter than she’d expected, and new sensations flooded her body, making it perk up instantly in interest. Forget the lovely climax he’d just given her. She was greedy for more.
As he moved, she adjusted to the odd angles, shifting into each thrust as he supported her, his big hands positioned at her hip and around her midsection. She felt the tempered strength in his fingers, his excitement in the tremble and strain of his muscles. He pushed her ever onward toward another magnificent climax, and she went willingly, wanting him with her, this time, when she blew.
She strained backward against him, and they came together in harsh, fast motions that grew in intensity until the pressure was off the charts. She screamed his name as she climaxed, feeling his fingers dig into her body in a way that might’ve been painful at any other time, but felt amazing in the here and now.
She flew to the moon, but he wasn’t done. He kept moving throughout, pushing her higher, harder, faster, deeper, until she reached the nearest star and exploded for a second time. Then, he did something—shifted her leg, or his, or something she couldn’t see behind her back—and she started climbing again. She’d never experienced anything like this before. Multiple orgasms. Two very lame words that stood for one of the most amazing experiences of her life.
Then, Mark moved his hand from her hip down to the apex of her thighs, and she sucked in a breath. His finger zeroed in on her clit, and she went supernova this time, out among the galaxies, firing the stars and suns.
In the real world, sparks flew around them, but she was lost to reality for a few minutes while her spirit flew.
When she came back to earth, she was relieved to note that she hadn’t actually burned anything. Her sparks had been a visual show only. She thought. She blinked her eyes open to find Mark staring at her. He’d positioned them facing each other, both reclining in his big bed, on their sides.
“Did you see the sparks?” she whispered, her brain not really fully functioning just yet.
He brought one of her hands to his lips. “Saw them and felt them. They energized me and gave me strength I didn’t know I had.”
“Really?” she squeaked, surprised.
“Really.” He nodded, sucking one of her fingers into his mouth and making her gasp.
“Did they burn?” Her voice was breathless, but whether from the exertion they’d just completed or the way his tongue was dueling with her finger, she couldn’t tell. Was it possible she could become aroused again so soon? Could he?
She looked downward at his body and realized he could, indeed. Wow. Perhaps that was another benefit of being a shifter. Or maybe that virility was something special to just Mark, himself. Either way, she was a lucky, lucky girl.
“It tickled,” he said, letting go of her finger so he could speak. “I thought, at first, it might cause a fire in the room, but I didn’t really care at that point. As it turned out, the sparks were showy but not damaging. They were sort of little zaps of energy against my skin that sent my arousal higher. Quite the talent there, my little love,” he complimented her, and for some reason, she blushed.
“I didn’t know,” she stammered, embarrassed for some reason.
“I know, querida,” he whispered, drawing her close to kiss her sweetly. “Rest now. I can give you a few minutes before I need you again. You are a fire in my veins that will never be quenched.”
That sounded serious, but she was too confused by everything that had just happened, and still a little muddled from the amazing multiple orgasms she had experienced to really think about it. There would be time to think later. Judging by the way he was stroking her skin…much later.