Chapter 5
Hot Damn
Ciaro felt liquid fire course through his veins. This woman turned him into an inferno. He could only hope she was as hot and that they would set his sheets on fire. She didn’t seem surprised at his house so she must know where he lived. Had she gone through the trouble to find out? It was his hope she had. Right now he sensed she was holding back. Maybe she had second thoughts?
He pulled her into his embrace giving her a kiss that delighted him and she seemed to enjoy it as well. As his hands moved over her, she started to protest and opened her mouth. Now he had the access he needed to seduce her completely. His tongue roamed her mouth and slid against her own tongue. She tasted like a sweet treat, a previously forbidden one.
Now he pulled her into his bedroom and began to strip her as he kissed her to distract her. Once she was naked, her breasts made the perfect target as he cupped one then lowered his mouth sucking it in until the nipple was pebbled and sensitive. The other one needed the same attention so he gave it. Mairi’s soft mewling noises made him even harder. She pressed against him wanting more and he wanted to give her everything.
Lifting her, he laid her on the bed then stripped naked. Now he turned his attention back to her glorious and needy body. His hand moved between her thighs and his mouth continued the work he’d began on her lovely nipples. His female squirmed and moaned with need. Mairi was going crazy with need. He moved his mouth from her breasts so he could kiss her as his fingers slipped past her slick folds. He moved on top of her and her arms wrapped around his neck while her fingers slid into his hair.
She was ready for him and he could hold himself back no more. His hard cock drove into her slick depths. His arm went under one of her knees as he pulled it up opening her up better so he could plumb her sweet depths. He slammed home over and over until she screamed his name and she came squeezing his cock as tight as if she had it in her hand.
Unable to hold back, he filled her with his cum. He jerked into her until he had nothing more to give and it hurt. That was when he moved his body around her and they went to sleep together. When they woke up, he knew she would withdraw from him and regret the time they had spent together.
“We can be friends and we’ll just put this whole thing behind us now.” Mairi said.
“Are you sure we’ve both gotten all we want” Ciaro whispered in her ear making sure to blow his hot breath there and on her neck as he moved back. Now he looked her in the eyes waiting for her answer.
“Yes, I think we can settle down and be friends.”
They were both still in bed together and naked. “How about one more time to test that?” She started to move away, but he caught her.
Pulling her into his embrace, he kissed her until she melted against him. “One more time.” She whispered.
His need took over as he plundered her mouth taking pleasure and giving it. Pulling back slightly he slid his mouth down until it was on level with her breasts. Leaning on one arm, he took his other hand palming one breast as his mouth sucked on the nipple of her other breast. Mairi gasped and moaned, she was such a responsive female. Ciaro continued to suck and lightly nip her nipples until she moaned and begged for more. He slid further down, giving her more.
The delightful scent of willing female filled him as his tongue licked her from her channel to her clit. Her delicious flavor hit his tongue. Now he found her entrance driving his tongue inside to fuck her vigorously with it as his fingers played with her clit. She writhed and whimpered as her climax neared. Was he selfish? Maybe, but when she came he wanted it to be on his cock. Sliding up her body, he got into the best position with his cockhead at her entrance. Easily he pushed in as she pushed back against him to speed things up.
“No, Baby. Let me do this slowly. You’re so fucking tight I don’t want to hurt you.” She made a keening sound and he felt a rush of her juices coating his cock.
She was impatient finding it hard to wait, but he held her back. He pulled back before moving in again moving forward slowly and perspiration covered his forehead. Ciaro controlled himself with iron will because she was squeezing him so tight. Finally he was fully seated so he rested a moment to enjoy the pleasure being inside this female gave him. He started to push in and out once more, then he sped up steadily until he was pounding into her. Her channel squeezed his cock so tight he struggled to move. His back tingled, but Ciaro held back until she screamed out her climax clenching and clutching at him.
As he yelled her name, he realized he’d never done that before. Ciaro rammed into her filling her with his cum until he was dry. As he moved onto his back, he breathed hard surprised by what he’d just experienced. Mairi seemed to be stunned as well.
“That was incredible.” Nothing else came to mind. Ciaro couldn’t believe he’d told her that out loud. If he’d had any doubts at all that she was his fated mate, they had just been erased.
Mairi had shared his wonderful experience, he could tell even if she stayed silent. Being sexually compatible wasn’t the problem, it was that she was emotionally distancing herself even while she still lay in his bed.
He felt torn. As the leader of the panthers, he had to take care of his people. As a male, he needed his other half to feel whole. Right now, he watched as Mairi got out of his bed naked and beautiful.
“I’m taking a quick shower if you don’t mind, then I need to go.” She said.
Ciaro nodded, even though he knew she was washing away the scent he’d made sure would be all over her. Maybe she’d miss some and others would realize she was his. Never had he felt surer of anything. She could run and she could hide, but she was his. She continued to the shower and he heard the sounds of her cleaning up.
He intended to leave her scent on him as long as he could stand to. Ciaro liked to be clean, but he needed her scent to comfort him. Maybe he could find an item to keep that would carry her scent. Looking around, he saw her panties and smiled. Slipping them under his mattress, he knew she’d never look there. In her hurry to leave, she would leave them behind.
Now she was back with a towel wrapped around her delectable body searching for her clothes her face red with a combination of exertion from her extended search and embarrassment because of what she was searching for. Would she ask if he’d seen her panties? He bet she wouldn’t.
Mairi stopped her search. “Can you drop me off somewhere?”
“Sure, Sweetheart. Anything you need.” He said it and he meant it. She knew it too and her face got pink again. Maybe he was enjoying that too much, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.
He dressed and they walked out to his SUV. For someone dressed in last night’s sexy outfit with her hair wild and unstyled and all the makeup washed off, his mate still looked hot as hell. She gave him directions, but he was positive this wasn’t her house.
There were several vehicles there almost like a boarding house or bed and breakfast. Once she was on the porch, she dug around for a key. When she unlocked the door and went in, he had no excuse to stay any longer. There was plenty of work waiting for him at home.
Besides, he knew she’d be working on one of her houses later. It would be the one for his brother or the house for his sister. He had addresses for both so if he wanted to, he could search her out. Heading back home, Ciaro made a plan for his day. When he got home, he would work his way down the list. Pulling into the driveway, he parked by the steps and went in.
First on the list was a shower and fresh clothes. When he was done he felt like a new male. Putting on a pot of coffee, he also started some food because he’d built up a hell of an appetite. Once he had his first cup of coffee and finished his breakfast, he knew it was time to get work done.
His laptop sat open in the usual spot. Turning it on, he cleaned up the mess from breakfast hoping it would be ready by the time he was through. Lately, his personal life had invaded his mind making it harder to do what needed to be done. Hopefully he could put that aside for now. The mess tamed, he sat down in front of his screen and pulled up his email first.
By the goddess, he was getting almost a thousand emails a day now as more of his people decided to join him and others just wanted to know more. Other emails were from those providing services. Some of those he’d ask about, others were opportunity seekers. Right now he needed an assistant desperately so they could compile a packet of information to send all these interested people.
Ciaro suspected less than a third would resettle. That was alright for now. More would decide to come later and by then, maybe things would be easier and organized better than now. It seemed more than half of those requesting information were single females. If his mating was a done deal right now, some of these requests might have been avoided.
Ignoring all the information requests for now, he began working through the service providers. Some he just deleted hoping they would go away. Solicitors he unsubscribed, he had almost a hundred of those and they seemed to send him the same requests from a new email every day.
Once he replied to those suppliers he needed, he searched for personal emails. There, his brother was coming now. As early as Monday or as late as Wednesday. This was the perfect excuse to hunt Mairi down and remind her how much she wanted him. As soon as he checked all the emails, he would head out.
There was one from an old friend he’d not seen in years. Albion was planning to relocate. He wanted to know if any hierarchy was yet established. It wasn’t, but Ciaro hoped some of his brothers would claim spots toward the top. He explained to his friend hierarchy would evolve as panthers arrived and fought for position. It was beyond the control of the alpha and Ciaro was sure there would be a free for all once enough party members were here.
Most panthers loved a fight so at least they would have endless entertainment. None of the panthers that he’d communicated with had expressed any desire to be alpha. They must have heard about all the work and no pay. Even the land was owned by him personally. At this time he was unwilling to let the control go. If some blockhead managed to beat him which was unlikely, he’d find the title held no value at all.
His party had no money at all right now and might never manage to build any wealth. Most of his panthers had lived solitary lives as singles or even as families. It wouldn’t be easy to get them to put their party first. Many of those choosing to come here were destitute and would have to live in housing provided by the party. In reality, that meant provided by their alpha. The money being used for everything was his personal fortune.
It had always been his hope to help his people and giving them some of the things his money could provide to improve their lives was a start. Now that he’d handled the most important emails, he could hunt down his mate. His mind went back to last night and his body filled with need. That wasn’t the smartest thing to do right now. Thinking about sex would be a major distraction.
Loading up, he decided to go by and see his mate now. She probably thought hiding at the house she was fixing up for his brother would prevent him from finding her. As he pulled into the property, he saw the crew truck Ariel let her use in the driveway. The sounds of construction was coming from the house. A new metal roof had already been put on and the windows looked new too. Even the trim looked recently replaced. The exterior was old native stone. At least he thought it was. It was a medium gray color.
He heard Mairi’s voice giving directions, but he was certain she was in the middle of the work as well. As he carefully entered, someone came by carrying old sheetrock. It turned out to be good that he was careful. They would have mowed him down had he not been alert. The more he saw of the house the more he liked it.
Unfortunately, they were in the middle of the work and his brother would have to stay with him for a short while. As he entered the kitchen, he saw his spitfire nailing in sheetrock. He saw signs of smoke damage on the torn up pieces being pulled down and carried off.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Mairi asked.
“Just checking the progress on the house. My brother will be here soon. Maybe in the morning if all goes well.” Ciaro explained.
“It will be ready by Friday. I contracted out and had a company from Branson come in for the work. The upstairs is done and I suppose in an emergency someone could live there. Four bedrooms, a bath, and a bonus room are up there.”
“What’s a bonus room?” He asked feeling dumb.
“It’s a room that can be anything you want. It could even be a bedroom if he wants it to be, but I didn’t set it up as one.”
“Okay. Is it a large room?”
“It’s slightly smaller than the bedrooms upstairs but still a decent size. Maybe an office or a playroom, it could work for that.”
“This is a large house.”
“It was large before the last owners added the master suite. That’s a big addition to an already large house. I heard they had eight kids all within a year of each other.”
“That’s amazing. I’ve never heard of any shifters having cubs so close together.”
“They have more time to spread their kids out. Humans don’t live as long.” Mairi replied.
“Will it hurt your business to contract out so much work?”
“Not as much as I thought. I got a sweet deal because I contracted for more work. They’re already working on your sister’s place. I have two more places they’ll be on this month. It will help my stress factor too.” Mairi explained.
“Is it worth it to them to do all this work?” Ciaro wondered.
“Yep. It’s not that far from home for them and this is a new team being trained. They are doing well.”
“I can’t deny it helps to get these places ready for my people. There will be an apartment house once the party house is done. Most of my people relocating, eighty percent or so will be singles. They wish to build a new life on a strong foundation.” That’s what he wanted too. Mairi would be his strong foundation. It was amazing he’d gone from having no desire to mate to having no greater wish than to mate her.
“This is a good place to put down roots. If they work hard, it can be everything they want or need.” Mairi said. It was clear she thought a lot of this area. So far, Ciaro had liked it too.
It had the lure of the lakes that surrounded them in any direction they headed. The population was small, the opportunities there for anyone willing to grab them. Tourism was also everywhere and would give his people jobs if they wanted them. Moe, Tyne’s mate was already spearheading those possibilities. She might be crazy, but she had a head for business.
“Would you go to lunch with me?” Ciaro asked hoping she might.
“Why not? But we need to bring the guys some food back.”
“I would be pleased to help you with that.” He was amazed she’d agreed and looked up just to be sure the sky wasn’t falling.
She followed him out and they both climbed into his SUV. He drove to Sara’s, because it was the closest and he really liked her food. “Sara will be happy to see us. I think she likes you.”
“Me?” Ciaro stuttered. “She doesn’t know me.”
“You’re wrong. Sara knows everyone if they eat in her diner at all.”
It was true he’d eaten there, but how could that be enough? Was this a white wolf power? If she knew he was after Mairi, would she help, hinder, or stay neutral? He decided not to worry about it until it became a problem if it ever did.
The diner was close and they pulled into the lot. Sundays looked to be busy. “Sara originally closed on Sundays. Then she realized it would be her busiest day.”
“That’s why she closes Mondays and Tuesdays?”
“Yes, she can’t keep help and if she didn’t close, she’d never have a day off.”
“Then she’d be like an alpha.” Ciaro teased even though it was true. They made their way in and the place was packed, but Sara gave them a table covered with silverware after she cleared it off. It was a table for six as many of the ones in the diner were and Mairi used it to put distance between them.
They had just ordered lunch, when Ciaro got a call. He looked and saw it was Fiaro and was sure he was close. “Hello, brother.”
“Ciaro, I’m at your house and you’re not.”
“That will teach you to surprise me.”
“We’re tired, hungry, and in need of a shower.”
“Come to Sara’s and you can eat with me and take food back to your group.”
“Okay, I have the address on my phone.” Fiaro admitted. “Be there in a second.”
He was there fast and he brought everyone with him. “I said to just come yourself. They haven’t the room for all your crowd.” Ciaro said. He didn’t like the look his brother or the two males with him sent Mairi.
“We’ll have the others sit outside and I and my two friends will sit with you.” Fiaro suggested. He sat next to Mairi with one of his friends on her other side. Ciaro was across from her and not impressed at all.
Fiaro leaned in close and took a deep breath of Mairi. A small growl came from him which set off a growl from Ciaro. “We’re getting too much alpha around here.” Mairi said.
“Ain’t that the truth.” Sara agreed as she set their food on the table. “Can I take your order?”
“All these females smell wonderful.” Fiaro observed.
“It’s the food.” Sara insisted.
“Just give them the special, Sara.” Ciaro said. “You’ll excuse Mairi and me if we eat since we have our food.”
“Of course. The lovely female here is Mairi?” Fiaro asked.
“This is Fiaro and I don’t know his friends.” Ciaro explained.
“They are Albert and Ferris.” Fiaro said.
Sara brought their food quickly and Ciaro was glad. He wanted these guys away from his mate. But until then, he wanted them busy. They all ate without speaking much. Mairi put in a large order and it arrived before they were done.
“Do you want your brother to look at his house now?” Mairi asked and Ciaro wished he could kiss her to shut her up.
“My house? Is it nearby?” Fiaro asked.
“It is and near enough to completion a few days will see it done.”
“That’s way ahead of schedule. How did you manage this brother?”
“I asked Mairi nicely so she sped things up.”
“This is the contractor? Lovely and talented.”
“Also kickass.” Ciaro whispered.
“What?” Fiaro asked.
“Nothing. Some things you must discover for yourself.”
He could tell Fiaro misunderstood. Hopefully, Mairi would correct his thinking. If she didn’t. Ciaro would. Mairi gave Fiaro the address and Ciaro took her back to the house. When they returned, while the guys ate, she toured Ciaro though the house. It was one he’d like for himself.
“I like it too.” Mairi admitted. He must have said that out loud. They weren’t back long before his brother pulled up.
“This is nice.” Fiaro said as they met him outside but his eyes were on Mairi the whole time. The other males just followed behind him.
They all went upstairs with Ciaro last. When Fiaro followed her into a bedroom, there was a suddenly loud screech. Ciaro smiled. His brother would now keep his distance from Mairi, he was sure of it. Mairi led them through the house with Fiaro never getting as close as he had before.
“That woman is a wild cat. Why didn’t you warn me?” His brother asked.
“She’s mine. Now you know to leave her be. These women aren’t like those you are used to.” Ciaro explained. If he were honest, he felt better about his chances with Mairi now. Many of his past lovers had moved on to Fiaro when they’d broke up.
“So what do you want to do?” Ciaro asked.
“I’m ready to buy the house and move in upstairs. The guys can share a room. I’ll take the bonus room for now and the others can fight over what’s left.”
“What about Jezzie?” Ciaro asked.
“She wants to stay with you especially since she plans to take the job you offered her.”
“That will work fine.” He was thrilled to have his niece working with him. She was a sweet and lovable young female. “What do we need to do to make it happen, Mairi?”
“We can run by Ariel’s and do the paperwork.” She suggested.
“Let’s all ride in my SUV.” He suggested.
Mairi grabbed shotgun which surprised his brother. The two friends sat in the back leaving Fiaro the whole middle seat. They made it to Ariel’s in no time and she was sitting in the kitchen nook taking a break. She allowed them to use Blake’s office and Mairi had the paperwork done in minutes. His brother clearly had no idea who Ariel was since he gave her the once over and a come hither look.
They left as soon as they were done. “Fiaro, how have you lived as long as you have?”
“What do you mean brother?”
“You just tried to hit on the white wolf.” Mairi broke out in laughter.
“Are you joking?” Fiaro asked.
“No, I’m serious. Her mate would have killed you had he been there.”
“You should have warned me.”
“You need to be more careful who you hit on. There is no doubt she scents as mated. Why would you want to lure someone’s mate away?”
“You mean like someone did to me?”
It was true Fiaro’s faithless wife had left him for another. But why spread that unhappiness to others? There was work to do to help his brother heal from his broken mating. He’d not thought it had affected him so bad since they weren’t fated mates, now he knew better. Fiaro had only had email and phone contact with other members of their family. It seemed he needed more support from them than that.
She’d not had much character, she’d left all the cubs behind not caring for them either even though they were hers as well. It seemed the alpha duties were presenting themselves already. An alpha looked out for the wellbeing of party. That meant physically, mentally, and emotionally. He was worried that many of his people might be broken emotionally as his brother seemed to n be.
“Why didn’t you let me know how things were?”
Fiaro didn’t pretend not to understand. “Our kind aren’t touchy feely. There was nothing you could have done anyway. Even had I killed the male it would not have made her a good mate.”
“Why didn’t you kill him? That is our nature.” Ciaro pointed out.
“That’s true and she knew it too. He was gone and waiting for her far away. Good riddance I say.”
They’d both forgotten that Mairi was there until she snorted. “I would have had a cousin hex him. Maybe make his pecker stay soft.” She said with a giggle.
Ciaro chuckled. “Magic? Shifters and magic don’t mix.” Fiaro said.
“Not always true. I know several witches mated to shifters.”
“White wolves maybe. They are different.” Fiaro declared.
“Really? How?” Mairi asked.
“Don’t you know anything?” Fiaro asked.
“I guess not. Educate me.”
“White wolves are like the daughters of the goddess. They have special powers and should be worshipped.” Fiaro explained.
“You don’t say. If that true, why were you so coarse with Ariel?”
“I didn’t know who she was.”
“Around here, there are many white wolves and their friends.” Mairi said.
“That’s right. You are Ariel’s friend. How did you become a friend of the white wolf?”
“How does anyone become friends?”
“I was just curious because I’ve heard so much about white wolves. Our people think highly of them.”
“That’s why you need to be aware they are everywhere.” Ciaro said hoping to end this conversation.
“I’ve heard there are many of them.”
“Wait until you settle in to learn more.” Ciaro directed. His brother finally got a clue. He dropped Mairi off at the house with Fiaro’s two friends.
“Is she truly yours?” Fiaro asked as they pulled away.
“The little white wolf is mine even if she doesn’t know it.”
“She is a white wolf?”
“An unchanged one. You need to learn to keep your mouth shut brother. I don’t think she’ll hold it against you. She might tease you though. It is hard to say what Mairi will do.”
“What will you do if she denies you?” Fiaro asked.
“I will keep pursuing her until she admits she’s mine.”
“I wish you luck. She clearly had no interest in me.”
Ciaro dropped him at his truck and went back to his house where his niece waited for him. “Uncle Ciaro!” She yelled as she ran and jumped into his arms.
His niece was beautiful, the perfect combination of her parents. Her eyes were a golden green, her skin the color of coffee with cream, and her hair was an unusual shade of red. She had the confidence in her beauty her mother had without the devious and cruel character traits.
“I’m glad you’re letting me stay. Dad isn’t any fun these days. I hate to listen to all the females crying as he breaks their hearts.” Jezzie said.
“You should have let me know. I had no idea he was this bitter.”
“He wouldn’t have appreciated being snitched on. I didn’t believe you could help anyway. I hope this move will help.”
“Maybe it will help all of us. We need to come together in the way we did in old times. Some changes aren’t good and we’ve had too many of them.”
“Wow, Uncle! You’ll be a good leader if you can bring all that about.”
“I’ll have help now that you’re here.”
“We’ll start tomorrow. Right now I just need to eat, take a shower, and sleep until tomorrow.”
“Didn’t you stop along the way?”
“No, we came from California and everyone took a turn driving. All the sleep we got was when we fell asleep in our seats. He was in a crazy hurry to get here once he made up his mind.”
“Let’s go inside and we’ll see what I have in the kitchen.” He led Jezzie into his house and she rummaged around and ended up eating cereal. Quick and easy he supposed. Once she was done, he led her to a guest bedroom that was next to the guest bathroom. “Need anything brought in?”
“Just my bags for now.” Jezzie said so he got them and dropped them in her room.
It would be great to have her here, but for now he needed to get back on his emails. Tomorrow she would be able to help him with those. Not that he’d trust just anyone with his emails, but Jezzie was family.
Fiaro was too, but he needed to help him work through his troubles. He also wanted to find out more about those guys he hung around with. They were panthers, but he didn’t know them. Not that he knew every panther, but he knew most of those his family members knew. He’d know all about any of the ones close to his family in no time. It was a benefit of running a security firm.
That was something else he needed to work on. Roger had sent him an email. He’d found a good building for him to put his firm in. Ciaro made an appointment for tomorrow. Jezzie could come with him to look at it. She often had good input for him.