Chapter Fifteen – Teagan

“So how was it?” Teagan asked. She was standing in the kitchen at the mansion, filling coffee cups for Carter and Caroline, who looked tired. “And how was baby?”

“Baby did not like the upheaval of hotel rooms,” Caroline said wearily.

“It was tough,” Carter conceded. “But the movie has already broken even and the studio is happy.”

“If there is a Space Monkeys Three, you can go and promote it without us,” Caroline told Carter firmly.

“I’m not planning on doing any more movies for a while.” He held out his hands and Caroline passed the baby to him. “I want us to settle down here for a bit. I want to watch my kids grow up, not watch them via Skype.”

“That’s a thing?” Teagan asked.

“One of my costars has missed his son’s birthday for the last three years. That is not the kind of family man I want to be,” Carter said, blowing a raspberry on his son’s cheek and received a loud raucous laugh in return. “I want to be a hands-on daddy. Yes, I do.”

“OK, before we all descend into baby talk, why don’t we catch up on the gossip?” Caroline said, pulling out a chair and sitting down at the table.

“Gossip?” Teagan asked. “Who says there is gossip?”

“Well, no one, until now.” Carter came and sat down too, bouncing his son on his knee, while he drank his coffee.

“Really?” Teagan asked, turning her back on them and pouring herself a cup. There was no point in trying to keep it a secret, and there was no reason to either. “I met my mate.”

“Teagan, that is fantastic!” Caroline exclaimed.

“It is,” Teagan agreed. “His name is Cal and he is a fireman.”

“Oh my.” Caroline fanned herself. “I always wanted to be with a man in uniform.”

“Does a Space Monkey uniform count?” Carter asked, earning himself a glare from Caroline, which their baby found hysterical. “Mommy is funny, isn’t she?”

“It already feels as if I have two children in the house.” Caroline fixed Teagan with a stare. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Teagan said.

“Then why aren’t we ecstatic? You’ve met your mate. Why aren’t you all smiles?”

“I also met my mom.”

“Oh, Teagan.” Caroline was out of her seat, pulling her into a hug. It wasn’t until times like this that Teagan appreciated just how strong and tough Caroline was. It was a crushing, but loving hug.

“It’s OK, she’s moved to Cougar Ridge.”

“She lives locally?” Carter asked. “I used to go there for groceries when food on the mountain was scarce.”

“She has been living there for the past couple of years. She apparently tried to make contact when I was eighteen, but they didn’t give out any information.” Teagan placed her hands on the counter for support as Caroline pulled away and went to sit down.

“What about your father?” Carter asked.

“That is a good question.” Teagan took a deep, shuddering breath. “You see, he doesn’t exist. Or the man my mom thinks he is does not exist. The name on my birth certificate does not have an owner.”

“Jeez.” Caroline shook her head. “And she’s sure about the name?”

Teagan shrugged. “She’s not all there. But why put the wrong name on my birth certificate? What would she have to gain? She wanted him in her life, she’s been searching for him.” Teagan winced, trying to fend off the sense of betrayal she felt.

“Teagan, you have to let it go,” Carter passed the baby to Caroline and got up. It was his turn to hug her. “Let it go.”

“She went looking for my dad. She searched for years. But she only came looking for me when I was eighteen. And even then, she didn’t search, she was told she couldn’t have the address and she accepted it and moved to Cougar Ridge.”

“You have to forgive her.” Carter rocked her in his strong arms. “You have to forgive everyone.”

“It’s hard,” Teagan replied.

“And you are tough enough and strong enough to do it,” Carter told her.

“For once Carter is one hundred percent correct,” Caroline said. “It does no good to hold onto these things.”

“Thank you. Both of you.” Teagan wiped her eyes. “OK, I have to go, I have a mate to meet.”

“Before you do, write down your father’s name.” Caroline fetched a piece of paper and a pen. “I have some contacts in the army, they might be able to look into it.”

“Look into what?” Teagan asked.

Caroline’s face wore her I mean business expression. As an ex-soldier, she knew the workings of the world in a different context to Teagan. “What if he was lying for a reason?”

“You mean a reason other than because he wanted sex with no repercussions?” Teagan asked.

“Something like that.” Caroline handed her the pen. “What if he couldn’t tell your mom? What if he was undercover?”

“A cop?”

“Or a criminal. A terrorist. The list of reasons people lie is long. Or he could simply be an asshole who wanted sex.” Caroline shrugged. “Do you really want to know, Teagan?”

“Yes. I do. I want to give myself and maybe my mom some closure.” She wrote the name down on the piece of paper and handed it to Caroline. “Thank you.”

“You are welcome, goodness knows you have helped this family out enough.” Caroline hugged Teagan. “Now, you go and find this mate of yours while we crash.”

Teagan checked her watch. “He’ll be finishing his shift.”

“Then go get him. We’re going to want to meet him, you know, and check that he’s a good guy,” Carter called as she left.

“He is a good guy, but we’ll come by and see you once you’ve recovered.” Teagan grabbed her bags; she’d packed everything, her decision made. She was going to move in with Cal, he just didn’t know it yet.

Running down the steps, she dashed across to her car, opening the trunk to put her bags inside before slamming it shut. She took one last look at the mansion, taking in a deep breath and then letting it out. This was a new phase of her life. And she was going to enjoy it. If she never found her father, it didn’t matter, but she was going to forge a relationship with her mom, no matter how long it took and how slow she had to go.

Teagan also decided to visit her foster parents in the next week too, and take Cal along for them to meet. While she was there, she would offer to help them with their latest foster kid. It would be a way to give back, a way to show her gratitude. As she started the engine and drove across town to Cal’s house, a sense of peace settled around her. She’d become bogged down in the details, and that was not where she wanted to live.

When she arrived at his house, Cal’s truck was already there, and her heart beat faster at the thought of being with him. They didn’t have to have all the answers right now; they had months, years, to work it all out, neither of them were going anywhere, Teagan knew that as a fact.

She knocked on the door, but he must have sensed her closeness and he opened it before she had lowered her hand to her side. “You don’t have to knock. What’s mine is yours.”

“I like the sound of that, although the only thing of yours I want right now is here in front of me.” She stepped forward, and pressed her body close to his. He still had his uniform on, and he smelled delicious. “I want you.”

Cal didn’t need to be asked twice, he lifted her into his arms and carried her up the stairs. Teagan kissed his neck, and whispered in his ear, “So this is what they call a fireman’s lift.”

He kicked open the bedroom door, and deposited her on the bed, tearing off his T-shirt to reveal his amazing chest. As his hands tugged at his belt, and his pants dropped to the floor, he said, “And this is a fireman’s hose.”

Teagan collapsed into giggles that rippled through her body. “I love a man who knows how to make a woman laugh.”

Cal dropped his pants, and strode across to the bed, kneeling down next to her, looking very serious. “That was not supposed to be funny.”

“Oh.” She tried to keep her laughter inside but it insisted on erupting. “Sorry.”

“You will be.” His face was deadly serious as he leaned over her, his hands on the buttons of her shirt and she held her breath wondering what his next move was going to be. Had she upset him? Had she dented his male ego?

His fingers inched lower, and then he tickled her. The kind of tickles that were the right mixture of pressure and movement. He played her, making her laugh and writhe under him until she was breathless. Then he kissed her into further submission.

Teagan wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. “I am in love with you, Cal.”

“The feelings are reciprocated.” He kissed her again.

“Say the words,” she whispered in his ear.

“I love you.” He moved to straddle her, his fingers finally undoing her shirt, and pushing it back so he could run his hand along her stomach, teasing her. There was no giggling this time; her body longed to feel his skin against hers, to be one with him, to call out his name in the midst of her orgasm.

Cal took her hand and pulled her to a sitting position. Then he pushed her shirt off her shoulders and unclasped her bra. With his hand on the small of her back, he held her close, ducking his head to suck her nipple into his mouth, and roll his tongue around it again and again.

Teagan lowered her hand into his lap, and wrapped her fingers tightly around his hardness, pumping her hand up and down, up and down, slow and fast, until he squirmed where he sat, his legs still astride her. The first drop of precum stickied her hand, she wanted to taste him.

Shuffling backwards, she lowered her head and took him in her mouth, the angle was awkward but she coped, one hand cupping his balls and fondling them as her mouth sucked and licked his whole length from root to tip.

“Fuck, that is good,” Cal ground out, his hands fisting her hair and then running down her back to circle around to cup her breasts, and tweak her nipples. The heat inside Teagan grew to the point she thought she would explode, without him even touching her core. He groaned, his hand pulling her hair harder as he lost control.

His seed spurted into her mouth and she swallowed it down, his essence like the rest of him, unique. With her right hand fondling his balls, she milked him dry, while his cries filled her ears. She had promised herself she would be an equal in every part of their life and with his growls of pleasure in her ears, she had accomplished that.

Cal slumped forward, his arms around her as he recovered himself. When his breathing finally returned to normal, he kissed the top of her head and then slid down her legs, and off the edge of the bed. He knelt on the floor, taking hold of her feet and dragging her toward him.

Her stomach clenched, she knew what he intended and she knew how good he was going to make her feel, how hard he was going to make her come. Cal placed his hands on her outer thighs, and moved her closer, positioning her body so that he could gaze on her intimately, then he dipped his head and kissed her clit, making the world spin around her.

His mouth covered her clit, and all of her awareness centered on that one place where he nipped and sucked until she whimpered with built-up emotion. Moving his right hand, he caressed her thigh, trailing his fingers across her skin, moving ever closer to where she needed him to be—inside her. Deep inside her.

One finger, then two, stroking, probing, moving to graze her inner walls, questing for that spot inside her that acted like a button, setting off a chain reaction inside her. Small explosions started deep inside her, spreading out in bursts as her nerve endings caught fire. She gasped, arching her back, pushing forward wanting more, even though it all felt like too much. Her vision blurred, and stars sparkled across the inside of her eyelids. She was flowing in the heavens on a cloud of pleasure, made perfect by her mate.

As the sensations passed, he moved. Cal circled his arm under her and pulled her back up the bed until her head rested on a pillow. In one fluid movement, he lay between her thighs and guided himself into her slick, wet depths. One hard thrust and he filled her, his cock sliding against her inner walls. Then he stopped.

“Fuck,” he cursed, moving to pull out.

“What’s wrong?” She wrapped her legs around his body, holding him close.

“The condoms are downstairs. I didn’t expect this to happen so fast.” He moved to pull away again, but she held him close, while her head and her heart fought for dominance. She wanted a career, but she wanted to make beautiful babies with her mate. Watching their children grow up and become shifters, teaching them everything about who they were and where they came from was so important to her.

“It’s OK.” She relaxed. “If we have babies, we’ll find a way to make it work.”

“Are you sure?” Cal asked, and the light in his eyes showed his excitement.

“A bear needs cubs.” Teagan cast off all her doubts. Moving her hips in a circular motion, she stretched herself around his hardness. Cal grunted, biting his lower lip as he fought for control.

“Is this because you want kids, or because you think it’s expected?”

“I wouldn’t commit to something so huge if it wasn’t what I wanted.” She lifted herself up to rest on her elbows. “I want to be a family. I want to raise my kids and nurture them the same way my foster parents nurtured me. And maybe one day, we might foster or adopt. Bear Creek is the best place in the world for a bear cub to grow up.”

He kissed her, no more words needed as he pulled out of her and then thrust forward to fill her. Teagan rose to the challenge, using her hands, her body, and her mouth to drive him wild, until he erupted inside her, his essence flowing into her. If they made a baby tonight, it would be welcome. It would be loved, and wanted, and cherished, in the same way she cherished Cal and he cherished her in return.