Cougar's First Christmas (9 page)

“Sneaking humans onto our land isn’t exactly legal, baby.”

“I know.” Someone cleared their throat to her left and she saw Kian. He must’ve climbed the stairs to the dais during their kiss. “Is there something we’re supposed to do next?”

DarkStalker’s leader shook his head. “No, but if I don’t guide you out of this room right now to the one where your parents have gone to wait for you, you’ll have hundreds of shifters trying to congratulate and tease you about your honeymoon period and you won’t see your parents until well after midnight.”

She leaned against Sean’s shoulder and his free hand went around her waist. She said, “Thanks, Kian. All of this is probably a shock to my parents, and some privacy will be good.”

Kian nodded. “Okay, then let’s go. Mating ceremonies are celebrated hard in our clan, and the sooner you talk with your parents, the sooner you can join in the fun.”

She wasn’t sure everyone would be celebrating. A few of the cougar-shifters were skeptical of her presence. Only because of their love of Kian did they accept her, but she hoped it would change in time.

As they maneuvered through the crowd, Kian deflected everyone who tried to talk with them. Well, except for when Sylas Murray and his mate, Kaya Alexie, managed to shove him aside. Sy grinned and squeezed the tall, beautiful woman frowning at his side. Kaya said, “Sylas, Kian is clearly trying to get them out of this room. Despite what you may think, you are not the most important person in the world.”

Sy looked to Lauren. “Pay no attention to my mate. In private, she acknowledges how awesome I am. Usually, she’s naked and does so in many creative ways too, not just with words.”

Kaya smacked his side and Lauren smiled. She looked to the wolf-shifter clan leader and remembered what Kian’s mate had told her to say when meeting Kaya for the first time. “While I know you’re Kaya, we haven’t officially met. I’m Lauren Spencer-Fisher. And just to let you know, Sy was very close to flirting with me when we first met. What was it he said? Ah, yes, that if he didn’t have you as a mate, he might try to steal me away.”

Sean growled. “He said what? You never mentioned that.”

She bit her lip. “You were recovering.”

“Sylas Murray, if you hit on my mate again, I’ll challenge you to a fight.”

Kaya raised an eyebrow. “Sean is the least of your worries, Sy. You hit on Lauren again and you won’t like what I’ll do to your favorite appendage.”

As Sy tried to dig himself out of the hole he’d created, Kian rolled his eyes and said, “Forgive my stupid twin and follow me.”

Sensing Sean’s possessiveness, she leaned against him as they moved toward the far exit. “Sean, babe, it’s okay. I’m yours and only yours.”

He grunted. “I know, but with the baby and the mating, my cougar doesn’t like the image of charming Sylas Murray hitting on you.”

“I’m yours, babe. Sy might be charming, but you’re my mate. I love you.”

Sean relaxed at her side and she knew her words were working. Wrangling a possessive cougar was no easy task, but since the possessiveness would worsen as her pregnancy progressed, this was good practice.

Of course, as they approached the far exit, Sean’s jealousy paled in comparison to the flips her stomach was doing. While she’d chatted with her parents over the phone and via webcam with Sean at her side, this was the first time they’d be meeting in person. Getting them onto DarkStalker’s land had been hard enough; now she had the monumental task of ensuring they’d want to come back, especially once the baby came.

Stop it, Lauren. They’ll love him like you do.
Repeating that thought in her mind, they exited the great hall and entered a nearby room.

~~~

Sean’s cougar was pacing inside his head. Partly because of Sylas Murray’s actions, but also because of Lauren being out and exposed in public while carrying their baby.

He sent soothing thoughts to his inner cat.
It’s not like we can lock her up for the next eight months. Calm the fuck down.

Since all his cougar did was snarl, he pushed the beast into the back of his mind as they approached the door to one of Kian’s private meeting rooms.

His mate’s heartbeat was racing, so he squeezed her waist. “Don’t worry, baby, it’ll be fine.”

She glanced up at him and smiled. “It’d better be. I faced a group of cougar-shifters on my own and won them over, surely two humans can’t be that hard.”

He winked. “I’m not as charming as Sy, but I’ll try my best.”

Leaning into him, she whispered, “Just don’t make any sex jokes or innuendos. That won’t go over well.”

He barked out a laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Kian shot them a glance before opening the door and ushering them inside. The clan leader half-turned away as he said, “Sean knows the way, so come join us when you’re ready.” He looked over at Lauren’s parents. “We’d be honored if you joined us too, Mr. and Mrs. Spencer.”

The tall, middle-aged man with skin darker than Lauren’s nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Murray.”

Then Kian was gone and they were alone.

Giving his mate one last squeeze, he approached the middle-aged couple and put out his hand without the mating cut. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Spencer.”

Lauren’s father was nearly as tall as Sean and had a sprinkling of gray mixed into his short, curly hair. His eyes, however, reminded Sean of Lauren’s, and right now, those deep brown eyes were assessing him. Her father finally took his hand and shook. “Did you mean what you said, during the ‘mating ceremony’?”

He stood tall. “Yes. I would give my life to protect your daughter. She is my everything. Well, at least until the baby comes; then they both will be.”

Lauren’s whisper of, “Oh, Sean,” reached his ears and he barely resisted returning to her side. He needed to sort out where he stood with her parents and wouldn’t use his female to hide behind.

Mr. Spencer then looked to his daughter. “Baby girl, all I need to know is if you’re truly happy with this man. Because if you’re not, then just say the word and I’ll knock him flat on his ass. I may be out of practice, but in my army days, I was a pretty good boxer.”

Of course he had been.
Sean knew about the army side of things, but not the boxing.

Still, for Lauren, he’d fight anyone if it would make her happy.

Lauren cleared her throat. “Daddy, how many times do I have to tell you I love Sean? Imagine your life without Mama. I’d feel the same way without Sean.”

Lauren’s mother rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. “Give it a rest, James. Our baby could send you fifteen texts a day saying she loves her shifter, and you’d still not believe her.” The plump woman pushed aside her husband and surprised Sean with a hug. Her voice was muffled against his shoulder. “Welcome to the family, Sean. Seeing you with my baby up on that stage, there was no denying the love shining in both of your eyes.”

As Sean gave an awkward pat to Mrs. Spencer’s shoulder, Lauren’s father grunted and said, “For now, welcome to the family, but if you hurt our little girl, my son and I will hunt your ass down and make you pay.”

Rather than argue how Sean would probably win, he merely said, “Yes, sir.”

Mrs. Spencer released him and patted his cheek. “Okay, now that my husband has gotten his threats out of his system, how about you and my daughter introduce us to everyone? I’ve never seen so many shifters in my life, and I must admit, it’s a little exciting. They’re all so tall and attractive.”

Lauren was at his side. “Mama!”

Mrs. Spencer shrugged. “What? Surely you’ve noticed how good-looking they all are.” She turned to her husband. “None compare to your father, of course.”

Glancing down, Sean could tell Lauren was fighting a laugh. “Of course.”

Mr. Spencer grunted again. “Let’s go back to the party. Your mother hasn’t stopped talking about the shifters, and I’m hoping she’ll get her fill so I don’t have to hear about it all the way home.”

Mrs. Spencer clapped her hands, much like Lauren did when she was excited. “Michael couldn’t come today, but I’ll bring him soon. Then I can maybe see more of their land.”

Lauren laughed and Sean finally let loose his smile. As her parents bantered, he reached out and pulled his mate close so he could whisper, “I think your mother likes me for my hotness.”

After giving a mock slap, Lauren said, “I don’t need to hear about my mother lusting after you.”

“Oh, I don’t know; it’s kind of funny to watch you when you’re embarrassed.”

Lauren stood on her tip-toes and murmured into his ear, “The sooner we get them back to the party, the sooner we can sneak back to our room.”

Sean had done a pretty good job of keeping his lust in check, but now all he could think about was his mate naked under him, moaning his name.

His inner cat perked up at that fantasy, and Sean knew his time was limited. He whispered, “Then let’s get back to the party, ASAP.”

Lauren laughed before herding her parents out of the room. As he watched his mate walking between her parents, he couldn’t stop staring at her ass. He needed her naked, and he needed her now.

Chapter Nine

Sean did one last sweep with his eyes before he whispered, “Now’s our chance.”

He moved out of DarkStalker’s grand meeting space, tugging Lauren behind him as he went down one corridor and then another. Smart female that his mate was, she had her heels in hand so she could keep up with him.

After what seemed like forever, they finally reached their new quarters inside DarkStalker’s living area. He opened the door and said, “Shifter tradition decrees we kiss before entering and then spend the next three days having wild, kinky sex.”

Lauren raised an eyebrow. “Decrees? Really? That word tells me all I need to know. I call bullshit.”

He shrugged as he gave her body a long, slow once-over, loving how the silky, cream-colored dress fit her breasts and hips. “Hey, I’ve spent the last two hours imagining every way I could get you out of that dress. Making up a shifter tradition was just my first strategy.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “And what was the second?”

He tugged until her body was pressed against his. He nuzzled her cheek as he said, “Toying with my prey until she begs me to fuck her.” He nipped her jaw and his mate’s heart rate kicked up. “You’ll be squirming before long, all but begging for my tongue and cock. At that point, you’ll forget all about your mating dress.”

He felt her softening, but his mate would never give in easily. She ran a hand down his back until she gripped his right ass cheek. “I have a better idea.”

“Oh?”

A slow, sexy smile spread across her face. “How about you unwrap me like you did on Christmas?”

“Baby, my first step in unwrapping you at Christmas was to take you against the wall while you were still dressed. There’s no way I can fuck you in that tight dress and not rip it.”

She ran a hand up from his ass to the skin at the back of his neck and whispered, “Then improvise, but save the dress. I might pass it down to our baby.”

At the mention of their child, Sean squeezed her tighter. “You’re so sure the baby is a girl, but if it’s a boy, I’m not sure he’d appreciate the dress.”

She laughed. “Then we’ll just have to keep trying until we have a girl.”

“I think we need lots and lots of practice, just to make sure we know what we’re doing. The first time might’ve just been a fluke.”

“I’ll deconstruct that excuse later. For now, if it’ll make you kiss me faster, I’ll go with it.”

He grinned before he cupped her face and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “There. How’s that?”

“If that’s all you’ve got, then maybe I should see if there’s a shifter-equivalent of an annulment.”

The thought of Lauren leaving him made his inner cougar growl.
Don’t hesitate. Fuck her hard and brand her.

Rather than argue with his cougar about how she already carried his scent because of the baby, he cupped Lauren’s cheek and whispered, “You asked for it,” before he lowered his lips to hers and pushed his tongue into her mouth.

He distantly heard her heels drop to the floor before she laced her hands behind his neck. The feeling of her soft skin against his made him growl, and he continued to nip her lips and devour her mouth as he walked them into the room.

The hard points of her nipples were pressed against his chest, and all he could think about was sucking them deep into his mouth. But some small part of him remembered his promise, so he broke the kiss. His voice was husky when he said, “Take off the dress while I lock the door.”

He moved to the door, shut it, and locked it. As he turned around, he yanked his tie over his head, stripped off his jacket, and moved to the buttons of his dress shirt. Why the fuck had he agreed to wear a suit? He needed to be naked and inside his mate.

Deciding the shirt wasn’t anything special, he ripped it open, the buttons flying every which way, before he shucked off his shoes. His pants quickly followed suit.

When he looked up, Lauren was leaning over the back of the couch, her breasts dangling in front of her. She raised an eyebrow. “I’m waiting.”