Fast and the Furriest (8 page)

“Perfect.” He blew a soft puff of warm air across her sensitive flesh and a tremor overtook her.

“God yes.” The words left her with a long sigh.

“How about
Ares yes
.” He smiled and pressed a soft kiss to her inner thigh.

“That too.” She released one of her breasts and beckoned him. “Make love to me. Missed you.”

“I’d love to.” He lifted his head and rose to all fours. “Want to make you mine.” He crawled over her, his lips raining kisses on her body as he eased forward. “Claim you.” Another kiss followed by a nibble. “Make sure everyone knows—”

“Alpha?” Braden’s voice came through the solid door.

With a sigh, he slumped, forehead resting between her breasts. “Yeah?”

This wasn’t the first time they’d been interrupted during their lovemaking. It was just the first time Ares was called by his true title. It didn’t make the interruption any less annoying though.

“The, uh, alpha fem has a visitor.”

That had Ares raising his head and shooting her a glare. Dammit, what the hell had she done? He’d had plenty of visitors in the past who’d stomped on their sexy fun times.

“Who?” he growled.

“A Veronica—”

“It’s
Ronnie
, you overgrown housecat,” her best friend in the whole wide world snapped at Braden.

This would not end well.

Then Braden hissed, Ronnie growled, and Braden’s hiss turned into a growl.

This would not end well at all.

“Ronnie, play nice with the tiger before he eats you for breakfast.”

That had Ronnie shutting up for all of a second. “What kind of eating?”

Ares didn’t think there was much that could surprise him. But finding Veronica—Ronnie—Barrington sitting at his kitchen counter flirting with his second while fighting with his PR rep was definitely a surprise.

One reason was because she was a wolf on tiger land—in their den. Oh, a few canines had come to town but very few ever crossed the threshold.

Then there was the knowledge of where exactly she fell in the werewolf hierarchy. Or rather, where her father fell.

He led Zoe down the wide stairs, gratified to see that most of the tigers from the previous night were gone, only the weakest still hanging around in their fur. The rest were strong enough to shift back to two feet and head off to work while he dealt with the legalities of coming out. It was past time to deal with Cadman and DoPE.

They stopped at the base of the stairs, him turning his attention to the kitchen and the slap fight that was about to break out. Chicks fighting could be hot, but he didn’t think his mate would be keen on him getting off on what was about to go down.

“Baby, there something you wanna tell me?” he murmured and pressed a soft kiss to Zoe’s forehead.

She nuzzled him and breathed deeply, releasing her breath with a soft sigh. “Huh?”

“About your friend being a wolf? Her daddy?”

“Hmm…” She stilled and jerked away from him. “Oh, right.” She shook her head. “Ronnie’s here. Where is she?”

“Touch me again, and you’ll be pulling back a bloody stump.” The words ended on a growl and were followed up by a hiss from Darcy.

Zoe chuckled, and the scent of her happiness tickled his nose. “There she is.”

Ronnie changed her tune on a dime, switching from threatening violence to… bacon? And flirting with Braden. With
bacon
?

“And this is some delicious
bacon
. I really wanna taste more of your…
bacon
.” What she did to the bacon should be illegal. And he definitely didn’t want to see any of it. From the look on Braden’s face though, he wanted to see it all and more.

“Ronnie! Quit sucking the bacon like a dick. I heard you fighting with Darcy. You can’t pretend you weren’t.” Zoe wiggled free of his grip and shuffled toward the kitchen.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides, I’m a like a Hoover, baby. Don’t be hating on my game.” Ronnie smiled at Ares, winked at Zoe, and then focused on Braden. “A super deluxe model, at that. Don’t be jealous.”

Ares shuddered. Definitely not a visual he wanted to have. Ever.

Apparently Darcy didn’t like being ignored because that woman—the world’s biggest idiot based on what she did next—grabbed at Ronnie once more. He shoulda stopped it, coulda stopped it, but didn’t. After her behavior last night in the middle of trying to keep the pride safe, along with her loudly voiced opinions about Zoe… Darcy needed to be put in her place.

Darcy wrapped claw-tipped fingers around Ronnie’s bare forearm and tugged. The thing was, Ronnie didn’t move an inch. She did slowly tear her attention from Braden, the smile falling from her lips as she focused on the fingers digging into her flesh. Her attention followed the length of that arm, slowly raising her gaze until the wolf’s eyes met the tiger’s.

A better alpha would step in.

Ares just wanted his cup of coffee.

Ronnie sneered. “Listen, little cunt—”

“Ronnie,” Zoe hissed, but Ares moved forward and tugged Zoe out of harm’s way.

“What?” Ronnie glanced over her shoulder, meeting Zoe’s gaze and then transferring that stare to him. Her amber eyes traveled over him from head-to-toe before focusing on his mate once more. She wiggled her eyebrows, a smile on her lips. “Momma likes.” That had Zoe truly hissing like the feline she was becoming. “Touchy this morning. Coffee’s brewing. Lemme get rid of this, and then we can chat, m’kay?”

Zoe sighed, and he realized he liked this side of her. The one that was laid back and relaxed even though surrounded by growing tension. “We agreed not to use the
C
word.”

“Only if it wasn’t appropriate and pertinent to the conversation.”

Ares fought his smile. Hell, he saw that Braden was fighting his own as well.

“And it is appropriate now because…”

He couldn’t wait to hear the answer to that.

“Oh!” Ronnie smiled widely. “I’ve been waiting to use this one for forever.” The she-wolf went to clap her hands and frowned when Darcy didn’t release her. Darcy seemed to be trying to decide between confusion and anger. “Holding onto me when I’m trying to talk is rude, B.T.W.”

“Can Internet acronyms not be part of this conversation?”

Ares imagined this was a typical exchange for the two women, and he decided he wanted to get comfortable for the rest of the show. He led Zoe to the breakfast table, his gaze remaining on the two women at the counter. He tugged out a chair and lowered himself before pulling Zoe down to sit on his lap.

“Fine, no acronyms. Bitch,” she grumbled, but since Zoe didn’t get pissed, he didn’t either. Ronnie glared at Darcy. “Holding onto my arm while I’m talking is rude.” Then the wolf glared at Zoe. “
By. The. Way.
Ahem, as I was saying. Cats are sometimes called pussies. And pussies are sometimes called cunts.” Ronnie winked at him. “You know what I’m talking about. When you get all growly and—”

Zoe got growly and jolted from his lap, the sting of her jealousy smacking him in the face. He barely managed to hold her back with an arm around her waist. “C’mon, baby. If I let you eat Ronnie, you’d be really pissed at me.”

Besides, keeping her around would make life interesting.

“An-ee-way. Cat equals pussy. Pussy equals cunt. Thus, cat equals cunt, and it’s totally living in the world of social acceptability.” She nibbled her lip. “Or something.”

Zoe turned her attention to Ares, her eyes wide, and he was pretty sure she attempted to look apologetic, but he saw the laughter lurking beneath her expression. “I’m sorry?”

Ares cupped the back of her head, holding her still as he leaned forward. He couldn’t resist the temptation of her mouth and brushed his lips across hers in a soft kiss. He nibbled her lower lip, nipping it and then laving the plump piece of flesh with his tongue. He could have happily kissed her all day, every day.

Until he heard the gagging.

Zoe eased away from him with a soft, annoyed sigh. “Really, Ronnie?”

“Alpha,” Darcy snarled, “are you going to let this dog bitch—”

“That’s a bit repetitive. I mean, if you’re tossing me into the dog category, and I’m a female, then calling me a dog and a bitch is just… yeah, repetitive.” Ronnie focused on him. “Are all of your cats this dumb or is it just her? I can see why our past interactions were kept to email. She sounds much smarter in type than in real life.”

Right. He’d forgotten the two women had worked together as PR go-betweens when the wolves decided to emerge. Every time a group of shifters came out, it involved them all.

Now, with them side by side, he wasn’t gonna laugh. He wasn’t. But damn, this was what he needed—what
they
needed—after last night.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t let it go much further. “Darcy, Ver—” he corrected himself when Ronnie shot him a glare. “Ronnie, that’s enough.”

“Alpha,” Darcy hissed.

“Darcy,” he snapped, and she jerked as if he’d struck her. “We,” he included Zoe. “forgive you for last night because of the moon’s pull. Emotions were high. But the moon can’t be your excuse for denying me right now.”

He hoped Zoe forgave her. When his mate didn’t speak up, he was relieved, though he was sure there’d be more discussion later.

The tigress struggled with his words and while thinking, just had to be an idiot and tighten her grip on Ronnie. The coppery tang of wolf blood filled the air, the air conditioner blowing the scent through the room.

That’s when it all changed. Ronnie’s amber eyes flared brightly, and her fangs lengthened, peeking past her upper lip. The female wolf’s attention slowly turned from him and Zoe to Darcy. Darcy, who still glared and hissed at the wolf she held.

Ares carefully set his mate aside, not looking forward to breaking into a catfight, but he couldn’t have a wolf killing one of his tigers either. “Darcy, I need you to back off.”

There was no way he could order a wolf and expect her to listen, alpha or not.

“Alpha,” another hiss from the female. No wonder she sucked at PR. She couldn’t even navigate a fucking conversation in the damned kitchen.

A huff came from Zoe, the sound filled with annoyance, and then he was surprised once more when his mate darted past him, snatched up the newspaper, rolled it and then… whacked Ronnie on the back of the head with it. “No. Bad dog. No treats for you.”

Ronnie turned her glare on Zoe. “What kind of treats?”

Darcy’s attention bounced between his mate and Ronnie before finally landing on him. “Alpha, they’re crazy.”

Yeah, they were, and one of ’em was his. With luck, he wouldn’t get stuck with Ronnie forever. He’d really hate having to talk to the national wolf alpha every time his youngest daughter broke a nail while on tiger land.

Zoe wanted to sit on the back deck with Ares and take a minute to breathe away from the pride and Ronnie. Oh, she loved her best friend and cared for the other tigers, but she had no doubt the day was going to be long and grueling. All she wanted was five minutes of space to connect with her…mate?…before they were dragged into politics and posturing.

For now, she had to be happy being in the same house with him. It would have been the same room, but Darcy had dragged him off for some sort of strategy session. Ronnie had gone with them, to make sure Zoe’s “pussy” didn’t stray and try to sniff some other chick’s ass. Plus, Ronnie had experienced some of this drama when the wolves came out and could help guide the two tigers onto an easier, public relation-y path.

Around the same time, Ares ignored the offer of PR help and went right to the insult. He told her cats didn’t sniff asses. That was all dogs.
“You know, your kind.”

Smiling to herself, Zoe reached for another plate, rinsing it off before taking a soapy sponge to the slick surface. Yeah, there was a dishwasher right beside the sink, but washing things by hand gave her time to think of nothing while still looking busy. So, she scrubbed away the remnants of breakfast and absently listened to the sounds in the house.

A few tigers still lingered, their low purrs and soft snores reaching out to her—contented cats. There were other noises, the house creaking as it settled, the trees whispering with the breeze, and the occasional growl from the direction of Ares’s office. She recognized one as Ronnie’s, and that had her smiling.

Then she jolted, as a low, familiar murmur reached her ears. “What put that smile on your face?”

“I didn’t hear you coming. Where are Darcy and Ronnie?”

“Arguing about font sizes for the press release. Don’t know what it’s gonna say but for some reason, we have to start with Times New Roman or Book Antiqua first.”

Thick, strong arms wrapped around her waist, and a warm chest pressed against her back as he fitted them together. She leaned back, resting her head on his shoulder. When he brushed his lips across her temple, she bared her neck for him, silently encouraging him to slide them down her throat. She shivered when he did as she asked, his mouth leaving a burning trail of kisses on her skin until he got to the juncture of her neck and shoulder.

He grasped her flesh between his teeth and bit down, increasing the pressure until a simmering pain wrapped around her, and she released a low whimper. Her pussy clenched, nipples hardening, even as the ache grew and battled her arousal.

A sound built in her throat, not quite a hum but not a groan either. It was more like a… purr. Yes, she
purred
for him.
That
was something they needed to talk about.

“How about you tell me why I’m purring and feel the need to claw any woman’s eyes out who looks at you too long?”

Ares moaned and released her, nuzzling the still throbbing spot. “Do I have to?”

She snorted. The big bad alpha whined. God, that’d been another bomb dropped on her. Instead of answering his question right away, she rinsed the last plate and placed it on the drying rack before snagging a clean dishtowel. Once she’d dried her hands, she slowly turned in Ares’s arms until they were chest to chest. She mirrored his hold, sliding her arms around his waist and resting her hands on his lower back. He held so much strength, so much power, and yet he was gentle with her. He was gentle with them all, unless he was pushed—as she’d seen last night.