Chapter 12: Chapter 12

9

LARISSA

My big, bad alpha wolf looked uncharacteristically nervous about meeting my dad. “You do realize my dad’s bite is way less scary than yours since he can’t shift into anything, right? All human teeth, nothing for you to worry about,” I teased, cuddling into his side as he opened the laptop on the co ee table in front of us. I pointed at the screen and added, “It’s not as though he can reach through

the computer to get to you, anyway.”

“Let’s get this over with so I can get you back where you belong...in our bed,” Kace grumbled.

Getting turned on before talking to my dad sounded like a really bad idea, so I did my best to ignore the sexy beast sitting next to me and leaned over to start the video chat with my dad. He accepted on the first ring. “Hey, sweetie. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon after dropping you o at school. Everything okay?”

“Yup.” I grinned and blew him a kiss. “My classes were super easy this morning.”

“You need me to put extra money on your account for books?” he asked.

Thinking about the wad of cash he’d handed to me before he headed back home on Sunday, I laughed and shook my

head. “Nope, I’m all set on that front. I was calling because I wanted to introduce you to someone.”

“To who?” His eyes narrowed. “Has one of the girls at the dorm worked her way into your good graces and turned your threesome into a foursome?”

“Dad, seriously. You can’t call Allegra, Calliope, and me that.” I wrinkled my nose as though I smelled something bad. “It’s gross.”

“You damn well know I’d never say something crude about my baby girl and her friends.” He shook his head and sighed. “Now quit trying to stall and introduce me to whatever little friend you have waiting in the wings. Mac needs me over at the clubhouse soon, so I don’t have all day.”

Recognizing the serious tone in my dad’s voice and not wanting to irritate him, I leaned back so he could see who was sitting next to me. “I wouldn’t call Kace little since he’s taller than you.”

“And who exactly is Kace?” my dad grunted with a scowl. “He’s my…” I struggled for the right word. It wasn’t as though I could call him my mate. Dad would freak out and

drive up here to drag me back home.

“I’m her man,” Kace answered for me.

A muscle in my dad’s jaw clenched. “What the fuck, Larissa? You’ve been dating someone and didn’t tell me about it at Thanksgiving?”

“Watch how you talk to her,” Kace growled, flinging his arm over my shoulder to pull me close.

My dad tilted his head to the side, a speculative gleam in his eyes as he looked at Kace. “My girl knows I don’t mean anything by swearing. She grew up around that shit.”

“Maybe,” Kace conceded. “But my woman doesn’t need to hear shit like that directed at her.”

“That’s fair.” My dad nodded, his lips twitching in a way I knew meant he was fighting a grin. “You got a job?”

Kace gave me a little squeeze as he answered, “Yeah, I’m the mayor of Timber Ridge. It’s two towns over from Larissa’s school.”

“My baby girl hooked up with a politician?” My dad let out a bark of laughter, shaking his head. “Fucking priceless.” “I also own a bar, if that helps,” Kace added with a cocky

grin.

“We’ve got one down here, so I can relate. But that won’t stop me from hunting you down and killing you if you don't treat my daughter right,” my dad warned.

“That’ll never happen, but you’re welcome to try.” Kace grinned. “Although it’d be good to at least know the name of the man who’s threatening my life.”

“Oh, crap. Sorry,” I apologize. “I forgot that part. Kace, this is my father, Lincoln Nash.”

“Nobody uses my full name. Call me Link,” my dad corrected.

“It’s nice to meet you, Link.” Kace picked up my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. “I promise to take good care of your daughter.”

“You’d better.” An alarm went o on his phone, and he grimaced. “I’ve got to run, but I expect regular check-ins from you, Larissa. Now that I know you’ve got a man in your life, none of this a couple of times a week bullshit. Until I get the chance to meet him in person, I want to see your pretty face every day.”

Kace nodded, seeming to easily understand where my dad was coming from. “You’ve got it.”

“Love you, sweetie.”

“I love you, too, Daddy,” I replied a split second before he disconnected. Heaving a deep sigh, I collapsed against the couch. “Phew! That went better than I expected.”

“If that was good, I’m not sure I want to know how you thought that was going to go,” he chuckled. “You might not see it because you love him, but your dad is scary for a human.”

“I didn’t say he wasn’t scary, just that you didn’t need to worry about him since you have the shifter advantage. You know how Allegra said I’d help her bury a body if she murdered someone?” Kace nodded. “If my dad thought I was in danger, I wouldn’t need to kill the person because they’d already be dead. And I’d probably never find out I was at risk in the first place.”

Kace brushed his thumb over my knuckles. “Now you have me to keep you safe, too.”

“I like being safe, but I could’ve sworn there was some talk about getting that call over with so you could take me to bed?” I reminded him.

“Forget that plan,” he growled, standing and pulling me up with him. “The couch will work fine for what I have in mind. Strip, baby. I can’t wait to get inside you again.”

I didn’t need convincing and started to toss my clothes o my body. Kace got naked faster than me and helped drag my panties down my legs. “You’re so fucking beautiful.” He ghosted his fingers down my chest to the tip of one of my breasts. His thumb flicked over my nipple, making me tremble. “I love how sensitive your tits are.”

His fingers drifted lower, finally coming to rest at my hip. With a gentle touch, he guided me around the couch. “Turn around and put your hands on the back of the couch.”

I followed his instructions, feeling vulnerable as I could practically feel his gaze travel down my body. He pressed his body against mine and murmured, “Easy, baby. You’re always safe with me.”

“I know.” My breath hitched in my throat when he licked the shell of my ear. “It’s just that I feel exposed like this.”

“You don’t need to be nervous. All I want to do is show you how gorgeous and sexy you are.” He kissed his way down my spine and nipped at my butt cheek to punctuate his statement. “By making you come and then fucking my cock into you until you fly apart around me and take me with you.”

It sounded like an excellent plan to me, so I tilted my butt up to give him better access to my body. Rising to his full height, he piled my hair up in a fist and traced his lips down my neck. His other hand glided down my back, over my butt, and moved between my legs. My clit throbbed, aching for his touch, but his fingers circled my entrance instead. “Please,” I whimpered.

He started kissing down my body. His tongue flicked over my back, trailed over my butt cheeks, then aimed for my pussy. “So fucking delicious,” he murmured against my damp flesh before sti ening his tongue and thrusting it inside me. My cries of pleasure turned to pleas when he stopped, but they quickly changed to moans when his fingers replaced his tongue, and he sucked my clit into his mouth. I flew apart, my hands clutching the back of the couch.

He finger fucked me through my orgasm, driving me back up for another one. With his digits still deep inside, he cupped my clit with his palm. “This is all mine.”

“Yes,” I gasped, my hips wiggling as I neared the edge again.

“This time, I want to feel what’s mine clench around me as you come.” His fingers left my body, to be replaced by his cock. With one powerful thrust, he filled me as one hand slid around my body to strum at my clit.

The pleasure was so intense, my eyes rolled in my head. “Kace!”

He gripped my hips, and he powered into me. Over and over again until a scream burst from my lungs. He anchored

himself deep, and a guttural yell broke from his chest as his cock jerked with the force of his orgasm. “Mine!”

I collapsed against the back of the couch, my legs barely able to hold me. Kace scooped me up and carried me around to stretch out on the couch with me sprawled on top of him. He ran his fingers through my hair while we both caught our breath. “Move in with me, and I’ll give you as many orgasms as you want every single day for the rest of your life.”

“I’m pretty sure you’d do that anyway.” I pressed a kiss to his chest.

“True,” he admitted. “Then move in because you hate the idea of being away from me as much as I do.”

“I really do want to be with you, but I’m worried about Calliope.” I stroked my fingers down his abs while thinking about her. “When we left for Thanksgiving break, she was living with her two best friends. One day after we get back, she's going to be stuck in our dorm room all by herself.”

“She can visit as often as she wants.” Kace’s arms tightened around me. “Hell, I’ll move her into a house on this street if that’s what it takes to make you worry less.”

I tilted my head to stare at him with wide eyes. “Really?” “If she wants to live closer to you and Allegra, we’ll have

to tell her about shifters. She’ll have to keep our secret,” he warned. “But from everything you’ve told me about her, I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

“It won’t. Calliope will keep it in the vault along with everything else Allegra and I have confided in her,” I promised. “The hardest part for her will be getting to and from campus for her classes because she’s way more serious about school than we are. She’s studying to be a fashion designer, which has been her dream forever.”

He flashed me a sexy grin. “We’re two for two so far, so maybe we’ll luck out and Calliope will turn out to be the fated mate of one of my pack members, too. That’d solved

everything because he’d move heaven and earth to make sure she has whatever she needs.”

EPILOGUE

LARISSA

Kace growled in frustration when there was a knock on the door. He stopped nibbling on my neck at the spot where he’d marked me as his, causing a small mewl to escape my mouth. His eyes had already been smoldering with desire, but when he heard the sound, they flared into burning embers. “Don’t tempt me, baby. I’m a heartbeat away from ignoring my responsibilities, ripping o your

clothes, and fucking you right here on the couch.”

I held my tongue since the only thing I wanted to say was, “Yes, please.”

He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s Tane, baby. He’s back from his trip, and he’s here to meet you and show his support over our mating. If we don’t talk to him now, we’ll have to do it later. And I have plans for you that require days of uninterrupted time.”

I felt my cheeks heat, even as a wide smile spread across my face. He held out his hand, and I immediately placed mine in his waiting palm. When he pulled me to my feet, he gently tucked me into his side and kissed my temple. He was so sweet. A word I was sure no one else in his pack would use to describe him. Over the past few weeks, I’d seen the beast inside him nearly unleashed to protect me, watched him deal

with disputes among his pack, and had my world constantly rocked by his insatiable appetite for my body. Kace was a freaking badass. But with me, he was nothing but gentle and loving. And it was all for me. Only me. Which made me feel cherished and...loved. He hadn’t said it yet, but he constantly showed me.

Not that I’d worked up the courage to say it either. I mean, jeez, we’d only known each other for a few weeks. It was a flimsy excuse, though, because I knew I was madly and hopelessly in love with Kace.

Kace called out for Tane to enter, and the door opened, revealing a tall, blond man with brown eyes. He stepped in and smiled warmly at me until my man growled. The smile disappeared—mostly—from Tane’s face, and he immediately dropped his eyes and bent his head to expose his neck.

“Welcome home, Tane,” Kace finally grunted. “Glad you’re back.”

When Tane lifted his head again, the smile had become a slight smirk, and I noticed that he avoided looking in my direction. “I guess what they say about the power of the mating in the beginning is true.” He chuckled and though his eyes sparkled with humor, I caught a flash of longing.

Hmmm...I’d been bummed when Calliope came to visit and none of the males in the pack had been her fated mate. But there was one shifter she hadn’t met.

Kace glanced down at me, and I wiggled my eyebrows with a conspiratorial smile. He chuckled and shrugged, before turning back to his packmate.

“Tane, this is my mate, Larissa,” Kace introduced us. “Larissa, Tane, my third.”

“I’m happy for you both,” he replied. “I’ll leave you to...whatever I interrupted.” He smirked again, and Kace rolled his eyes.

“Everything good in New York?”

Tane nodded. “Yeah, my dad fell and broke his hip. He shattered it so badly that they needed to do surgery to reset it immediately. Which was probably for the best anyway, if his shifter healing had already kicked in, the bone might have healed wrong. Even though my sisters were there, I wanted to be at the hospital. He came through it like a champ.”

“Happy to hear it. Now get the fuck out of here so I can be alone with my mate.” Tane laughed and spun around, quickly exiting and shutting the door behind him.

Kace maneuvered me around until I was cradled in his arms with my hands on his very impressive chest and his even more impressive hard on digging into my belly. “Now,” he murmured as his head lowered, “where were we?”

I raised my lips to accept his kiss, but my mind was a little distracted. I pulled back and grinned up at Kace. “Calliope is still staying with Allegra for a couple of more days. We should get her and Tane together. Maybe she’ll be his fated mate!”

Kace kept right on kissing, his lips sliding down my neck, but he mumbled what sounded like an agreement. Then he grabbed my butt and lifted me, wrapping my legs around his waist. As he headed toward our bedroom, I asked, “You really don’t mind that I’ve been trotting out your pack like a meat market to see if they are fated with my friend?”

Kace snickered, and I shivered when I felt his canines scrape gently along my throat. We reached our room, and he walked to the bed and took a seat, keeping me straddled over his lap. His hands came up to cup my cheeks, and his eyes roamed my face hungrily, making me feel sexy. When our eyes met, though, there was a serious note to them. “I’ve told you, baby. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. Besides that, why would I take away an opportunity for

someone in my family to find the love of their life? Now that I’ve found mine, I understand their acute desire to have what we have.”

I sucked in a harsh breath and froze. A couple of heartbeats later, I blew out the air that had been stuck in my lungs and gasped, “Love of your life?”

Kace’s expression softened, and I felt warm and fuzzy all over. “Yeah, baby. How could you possibly think anything else? You’re the center of my world, and I love you more than my own life.”

The smile that stretched across my face was almost painful, and my heart was bursting with joy and love. “I love you, too,” I breathed.

“Damn straight,” he growled before kissing the heck out of me. To my surprise, he released my lips after a few minutes and didn’t make a move to remove my clothing. Instead, when his hands slid under my shirt, they rested on my belly. “And I already love our little cub.”

My jaw practically dropped into my lap. “What?” I shrieked. “I’m not—um—how could I possibly be?”

Kace raised an eyebrow and looked at me knowingly. I hu ed in annoyance because he had a point. Okay, so we hadn’t exactly been careful, but it had only been a few weeks! Besides… “How could you know before me?” I asked indignantly.

He laughed and put his hand on my hips to urge me up onto my knees. Then he raised my shirt and pressed his lips against my belly, setting o a storm of butterflies. He inhaled deeply, and a grin split his face when he dropped his head back to look up at me. “I can smell it. You have a di erent, but no less delicious, smell now that you’re pregnant.”

I was still getting used to the heightened senses thing, so his explanation threw me for a bit of a loop. Still, I had

trusted Kace from the moment I met him, and that hadn’t changed. If he said I was preggers, I had no reason to doubt him. Other than freaking out because my dad was going to kill him for knocking me up before he married me.

“Don’t worry, baby. You’ll have my last name before our cub arrives.”

I eyed him suspiciously. “I thought you couldn't read my mind.”

He smirked and drawled, “I don’t need telepathy to read your mind, baby. You wear your thoughts on your face.” Then he nuzzled my stomach before adding, “I love that you're only that way with me.”

Sighing, I melted into him. He really did say the sweetest things.

“That’s how I know you’re also excited about our little one.”

I smiled happily and hugged him close. “I can’t deny that. I love you, and I’m ecstatic to be starting our own little family.”

“Love you too, baby.” In a split second, I found myself flat on my back on the center of the bed with Kace looming over me. “Now,” he growled playfully, “let's practice making the next one.”

EPILOGUE

KACE

“Baby, we need to have a talk with our daughter.”

My wife stopped dropping cookie dough onto a tray and turned to face me. “A talk?”

I growled as I prowled over to my gorgeous mate, struck by the beauty she’d passed down to our five-year-old, Brea. “She’s decided that she doesn’t want to wait until she grows up to find her mate.”

Larissa snorted with laughter and buried her face in my chest.

“This isn’t funny, mate,” I grumbled. “Zeke just called to tell me that Jake caught Kyla walking Brea and Alena all over the neighborhood, knocking on everyone’s door to see if their fated mate lives there.” Alena was Calliope and Tane’s oldest. She was two years older than Brea and Kyla, but they were thick as thieves.

Now, Larissa doubled over with laughter, and I scowled. “She’s five, Larissa. She shouldn’t be thinking about mating until I’m dead.”

Just then, our seven-year-old, Talon, came strutting into the kitchen with his little chest pu ed up. “Don’t worry, Dad. Jake and I threatened all the boys at school. They won’t go near our sisters,” he stated proudly.

Larissa hu ed and glared at our firstborn. “Seriously?”

I grinned shamelessly and gave Talon a high five. Larissa smacked my arm. “You guys didn’t need to scare o the boys. It’s not like any of them can be physically interested in the girls anyway.”

“There are human boys in their school,” I growled. Timber Ridge was a small town and was almost completely shifters or human mates. But there were a few human families in the area who were aware of shifters, and their kids attended our schools.

Larissa rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted when our two-year-old, Izac, came toddling into the room.

“Dwink, Mommy?”

“Of course, baby,” she said, then threw me a warning glare as she walked over to get a sippy cup from a cabinet.

She pulled it down and started to fill it when Izac piped up. “No, Mommy. Bowl.”

“What?” she asked as we both watched him curiously. “Bowl. Izac be doggy. Bowl.” Then he got down on his

hands and knees and imitated lapping up water from a bowl on the floor. “Be doggy, dwink bowl.”

Talon giggled, and I narrowed my eyes at him. Izac hadn’t shifted yet, so I had no doubt this turn of events had something to with the older boys.

“Why does your brother want to drink from a bowl on the floor?” Larissa asked Talon suspiciously.

He shrugged and tried to look innocent, but he ruined it when he giggled again.

“Talon,” I growled.

He giggled again. “We might have told him if he wanted to shift, he had to eat and drink like a dog.” I pressed my lips together and frowned...to keep from laughing. It was exactly

the type of things my brother and I had done to each other, but I didn’t want to encourage this type of behavior.

“Good grief,” Larissa muttered. She put the sippy cup together and leaned down to pick up Izac, propping him on her hip. “Izac, baby. You can drink from your cup. You’ll be a wolf someday.”

“No,” he pouted, pointing at the ground. “Dwink bowl.” Larissa raised her brow and gave me a “it’s yours turn”

look.

I scooped him up and looked him in the eye with a serious expression. “You’ll be a wolf soon, buddy. I promise.” Izac watched me with a dubious frown for a minute, then nodded his head solemnly.

“Okay, Daddy.” He held out his hand, and I put the cup in it. He popped the straw in his mouth and started sucking happily and wiggling to get down. I set him on his feet, and he wobbled out of the kitchen.

I noticed Talon began to edge that way, and I raised an eyebrow, staring him down. After a couple of beats, he dropped his head and muttered, “Sorry, Dad.”

“Stop messing with your siblings, cub.” He nodded reluctantly. “Kay.” “Love you, bud.”

Talon perked up and gave me a bright smile. “Love you too, Dad!” Then he walked proudly out of the room, just as he’d entered.

“Brea and I are barely outnumbered in this house, yet the level of testosterone makes it feel like there are a hundred more of you than us,” Larissa grumbled as she turned back to her cookies. She sounded put out, but the corners of her lips were tipped up, and she threw an a ectionate glance toward the door.

I came up behind her and slipped my arms around to rest my hands on her flat belly. I fucking loved seeing her round

and swollen with our cubs. “Maybe the next one will be a girl,” I murmured into her hair before sweeping it to the slide so I could kiss her exposed neck. When a shiver skittered down her spine, I grinned and did it again.

“Next one,” she gasped. “Am I pregnant again?” Her voice was filled with indignation. It irritated her to no end that I knew she was pregnant before she did. I could have pretended and let her “surprise” me, but what was the point?

“No.” I pressed my hands against her belly and brought her back flush with my front so she could feel my big cock begging to get inside her. “But you will be when I’m done with you tonight,” I growled.

“OH, FUCK, BABY,” I groaned, my eyes sliding closed as my body pulsed with pleasure. Fur rippled along my skin as my wolf shuddered with need. He wanted to be dominating our mate, but it was my turn. “Suck it hard, Larissa. Oh, yeah. Fuck!” I forced my eyelids up so I could watch my mate take my cock to the back of her throat. Holding her hair in one fist, I helped guide her head up and down, fucking her mouth like I was gonna be doing to her pussy real soon. She raised her eyes to mine, and I almost lost it right then. She looked so damn gorgeous on her knees with her pretty lips wrapped around me, and her eyes filled with desire.

My orgasm was fast approaching, but I wasn’t about to come in her mouth. I hadn’t been joking around when I vowed to knock her up tonight. With a gentle tug, I pulled her o my dick. It took everything in me to stop her from continuing when she let out a disappointed little mewl.

“On the bed, mate,” I ordered hoarsely. Every muscle in my body was rigid as I tried to push back my orgasm. She

scrambled up from the floor and jumped onto the bed, bounding on her knees a couple of times before flopping onto her back in the middle. Shaking my head, I chuckled as I joined her on the mattress. It amazed me that she could be so fucking sexy and completely adorable at the same time.

I crawled between her spread legs and licked my lips at the sight of her dripping, swollen pussy. She widened the gap and raised her hips in o ering. “You want my mouth on your sweet pussy, baby?”

She whimpered in response, and I slid a finger down her slit as I contemplated what to do next. My mouth watered to taste her honey, but my cock was about to explode, and I was pretty sure he wouldn’t make it through. I bent over her and braced my hands on the bed on both sides of her head. I kissed her deep and wet, leaving both of us breathless. “I promise to give your pussy my tongue, but I need to come inside you first.”

“Please, Kace,” she moaned. “I don’t care how you fuck me, just do it.”

“My pleasure,” I growled. I grabbed her ass and lifted her up to the perfect angle, then plunged deep inside her waiting womb. We both cried out at the acute pleasure, and when her walls tightened around my cock, I abandoned myself to the instinct to breed my mate. I yanked out of her and flipped her over, raising her ass into the air. My wolf growled with satisfaction, barely keeping beneath the surface of my skin as I let him take charge. I slammed into her again and she screamed, her ass thrusting back to take all of me. “That’s it, baby,” I grunted. My fingers dug into her hips, and I pounded in and out. They were going to leave a mark, and my wolf growled in frustration. He wanted to mark our mate.

Bending forward, I moved my hands to her tits and twisted and plucked her sensitive nipples while I licked a path to her neck. When I reached the place where I’d made

her mine, my canines descended. I was a heartbeat away from coming, and my wolf went fucking crazy. Quickly, I glided one hand to her pussy and pinched her clit just as I sank my teeth into her warm flesh.

“Kaaace!! Yes!!” Larissa threw her head back and screamed as she flew apart. I planted myself as deep inside her as I possibly could and finally let my orgasm barrel through me, ending at my dick, pushing out my come out in a massive explosion. “Fuck yes, baby!” I shouted. “Squeeze that pussy. Take every drop. Fuck! Fuck!”

After our orgasms receded and our breathing had returned to normal, I cuddled her close. Her body was sprawled across mine, and my dick was still snug inside her. “Good thing the kids are at Calliope’s,” she mumbled.

I snorted. “You think that wasn’t by design?”

Larissa’s head lifted, and she looked at me with narrowed eyes. “How long have you been planning this little baby making session?”

I grinned without an ounce of shame. “Since you had Izac.”

She tried to look put out but ended up laughing and giving me a sweet kiss. “I love you.”

“Love you, too, baby.” I grabbed her hips and began to drag her up my body until she was straddling my face. “Now, I believe I promised to give this pussy some attention.”

It was rare for us to be able to be uninhibited in bed with three little ones in the house, so I took full advantage and spent the whole night listening to my mate’s loud cries of pleasure as I gave her round after round of orgasmic bliss.

Three months later, Larissa grumbled good naturedly about more testosterone when the doctor broke the news that we were having another boy.

Her Tiger, Tane & Calliope’s story, is up next! Join us over in Fiona’s Smutaholics on Facebook for sneak peeks before it releases.

If you’re in the mood for more shifters while you’re waiting, Rochelle Paige (the Davenport half of our writing duo) has the first book in her shifter series FREE (as of June 8, 2020)! And Elle Christensen (aka: Fiona) has some great Fae romances, starting with Protecting Shaylee!