Goldie [Pyrate's Treasure 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) (6 page)

Goldie growled in denial as he pulled his cock completely free of her pussy’s hold. “Need. All. Of. You.”

She was shocked to hear the whining, wheedling, begging tone in her voice. Never had she allowed anyone to have as much control of her body and passions as Caleb had taken. With past lovers, few though they may have been, she had always,
always
,
been in charge. But here and now, with Caleb, she did not mind that he was dominating her in ways she had never imagined before.

But would he want to be in charge out of bed as well? While she might be able to handle it, the pack would see it as her weakness if she submitted to him outside of the bedroom.

She cried out when Caleb eased back then thrust his hips forward even harder, filling her completely. He stilled with his pelvis pressed tight against her ass cheeks then leaned forward so he half covered her. His worn-denim-blue eyes were heavy-lidded and so damn sexy as they stared into hers, his expression serious but concerned.

“No thinking about other stuff,” he ordered gently.

“Mmmm, ’kay,” she answered just before all thought left her as he began a slow and easy motion of his hips.

She tried to move in counterpoint in order to fuck him back, but the position he had her in kept her from moving more than an inch or two in any direction. All she could do was try not to scream with a nerve-racking combination of frustration and arousal.

He stared down at her as his hips began to move faster. He looked so intently serious, almost angry, though she felt no negative emotions from him. All she felt from him was his arousal, which sent hers spiraling even tighter around her.

“More,” she whispered, her free hand lifting to him, needing more contact.

Instead of taking hold of it as he did her other, he guided her fingers to where their bodies joined. Without a word, he pressed her fingers into the valley between her pussy lips and over her clit. His hips picked up speed as he used her own fingers to stroke her sexual nerve center.

“Come again for me,” he demanded in a voice so deep she barely recognized it.

As if waiting for his order, her body responded at once. The orgasm that had been closing in on her broke, and she opened her mouth and silently cried out as every muscle in her body tightened in rhythmic waves.

She fought to keep her eyes open to watch him as his hips snapped several more times before he slammed deep into her and froze. His cock jerked and spasmed against her pussy tissues as he came, rolling her into another release, this one slightly less violent than the last.

She floated for a few seconds. Every muscle in her body slowly relaxed to the point she was not sure she could move even if the bed caught fire.

Caleb leaned completely over her and brushed a quick kiss across her lax lips. “Still with me?”

“Uh-huh,” she managed to voice after swallowing twice, licking her lips, and clearing her throat.

She moaned in protest when his cock slipped from her. He moved to her side and lowered her legs to the bed, causing her to gasp in half pain as the muscles and joints protested. Once she was straight, he fully reclined on the bed and pulled her over to cuddle against his side.

“Sleep, baby girl,” he murmured, brushing another kiss across her temple.

Goldie was too boneless and relaxed to argue. She snuggled closer, closed her eyes, and allowed sleep to carry her away.

* * * *

The ringing of a phone jerked Caleb from sleep, causing him to frown. His cell phone had a jazzy ringtone, not the harsh bell-like summons of an old-fashioned house phone. Opening his eyes, he looked around but did not recognize the room he found himself in. His body was relaxed and happy.

Then the warm body next to him shifted. “Answer the phone, Deputy.”

He looked at the woman with her head on his shoulder. Black silky hair covered her face, but memories flowed back. Pyrate Island. Goldie. The greatest sex of his life. And now an intrusive phone call.

Turning his head, he looked toward the side of the bed. There was an old-style black desk phone sitting on a nightstand that was obviously the source of the noise. Picking up the handset, he cleared his throat.

“Hello?”

“There are wolves running on the beach!” a high-pitched woman’s voice screamed into his ear.

Jerking the phone from his ear, Caleb stared at the phone, then at the dark-haired woman in bed beside him before looking once again around the room they were in. Was this all a bad dream brought on by a bad seafood casserole?

“Deputy! Did you hear me? There are wolves running on the beach!” the voice in the phone repeated loud enough for the woman to hear as well.

Bringing the phone back to his ear, Caleb asked the only question that came to mind. “Are you sure they’re wolves?”

“If they’re not wolves, then they are the biggest damn dogs I’ve ever seen,” the voice squealed, sounding offended that he should question her.

“Tell her to just ignore them. They won’t hurt her,” the woman in his arm stated.

“What?”

With a huffed sigh, Goldie lifted her head and looked across his chest. “Damn, it’s three o’clock in the morning.”

“What am I supposed to tell this woman about the wolves?” Caleb asked again as she dropped her head back to his chest.

“Gimme,” Goldie said, lifting a hand and reaching blindly for the phone.

Caleb placed it in her hand then had to grab the base before she pulled it off the nightstand and onto the floor. That dislodged Goldie from his side as she leaned up on one elbow. He immediately felt the loss all the way to his bones. That knowledge shocked him almost as much as the memory that he had actually demanded she stay after their last round of hot, hot, hot sex about midnight. Never had he felt such a need to hold a woman after sex.

What the fuck had she done to him?

“Miss, just ignore them. They won’t hurt you,” she said into the phone.

It took a few more minutes of assuring the caller that it really was safe for her and her new boyfriend to walk the beach after dark before the woman finally calmed down enough to hang up. Goldie finally handed him back the phone before settling her head on his chest again.

Caleb hung up the phone then angled his head to study the woman by his side. She seemed to be drifting back to sleep without a concern in the world.

“Sweetheart?” he asked, brushing the hair from her face.

“Mmmm,” she breathed without opening her eyes.

“Are there really wolves on the island?”

“Yes,” she breathed. “But they really are harmless. I’ll introduce you to them tomorrow. Now go back to sleep.”

Not sure he could, Caleb lay back and allowed her to settle back where she had been. Closing his eyes, he marveled at how right it felt to hold a woman, this woman, in his arms as she slept. Though she was smaller than the women he had dated in the past, she fit just perfectly in his arms. That made him wonder abstractly how well they would fit together on the dance floor.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed away the other questions the middle-of-the-night phone call brought to mind. With a sigh, he allowed sleep to carry him off.

When he woke again, long after the sun had risen, he found himself alone. Goldie had left at some point. If not for his überrelaxed body and the smell of her all over him and the sheets, he could have dreamt the whole thing. But she had been here, and there was something strong and good between them that he wanted to explore more fully.

So why had she left without a word?

Goldie walked through the village feeling as if someone was staring at her. Since there was no one else in sight, she shrugged off the feeling of shame at walking home in the same clothes she had worn the day before. She had woken just after dawn, cradled against Caleb’s side as if they were two halves that fit perfectly together.

It had taken a half hour and every ounce of strength she had to leave her sleeping mate. But she needed to shower and change her clothes before the meeting with Caleb and her grandfather. She only hoped that her mate would forgive her for disappearing.

She slipped into the large family house on the other side of town from Caleb’s cottage, sending up a silent prayer that she would not see any of her cousins before reaching her room.

Just feet from her room, her sister, Emerald, emerged from her room next door to Goldie’s looking entirely too happy for so early in the morning.

“Good morning, Sister. Where’s your mate?”

“Morning. He’s sleeping at his cottage,” Goldie mumbled as she finished the trek to her room.

She was not surprised when Emerald followed her into her room and settled on the bed.

“How did he take it?”

“Take what?” Goldie stripped off her clothes and tossed them into her hamper before crossing to her dresser for clean clothes.

“The news that he’s mated to a shape-shifter. A shape-shifter who will be the first female to be Alpha of a pack ever.”

Goldie did not answer as she took out clean clothes and carried them to the bathroom the two women shared. She was not surprised when Emerald followed and sat on the toilet as she climbed into the walk-in shower.

“You didn’t tell him, did you?” her sister guessed.

“Not exactly,” Goldie admitted before turning on the water and adjusting the water to as warm as she could stand it.

“So what did you tell him?”

Goldie ducked under the water, trying to block out her sister’s presence as she washed up. She hated the fact that she had not told him everything before claiming him. Caleb had the right to know everything and make his own choice even if the Fates had declared they were destined to be together for the rest of their lives.

Emerald did not take the hint and waited as Goldie finished her shower. It wasn’t until she was dressed and combing the tangles from her hair that her sister moved from her seat. Standing, she crossed the bathroom and wrapped an arm around Goldie and looked at her in the mirror.

“Tell him. As soon as possible. He needs to know. Before Grandfather makes his announcement at the pack meeting tomorrow night.”

Goldie frowned at her sister’s reflection. “Grandfather’s making an announcement? What’s he going to say?”

“No clue, but now that you’ve found your mate, maybe he’s going to step down and name you his successor. In any case, you need to tell him everything before anyone else gets to him. I can’t wait to meet him.” With that, Emerald kissed her cheek and walked out.

Goldie dried her hair then took a few minutes and put on a light coating of the makeup she normally did not wear. With a sigh, she realized her sister was right. She needed to tell Caleb everything as soon as possible.

Instead of going straight back to the cottage, she stopped long enough to pack her favorite clothes in a suitcase to take with her. Though she would eventually be named Alpha of the Pyrate Pack and live here, in the pack Alpha’s residence, her gut told her that for now she and Caleb needed to stay at the cottage where they could be alone.

Heading back through the house, she dropped her suitcase and the carryall she used as a purse at the front door. Then she made her way to the kitchen. She needed a cup or three of coffee before she faced Caleb again and tried to explain the realities that were Pyrate Island.

“Good morning, Goldie,” her grandfather said as soon as she stepped into the kitchen. He was sitting at the table reading a book and enjoying a cup of coffee as he did every morning.

“Good morning, Grandfather,” she returned as she crossed to the industrial-size coffeemaker and poured herself a cup. She added the sugar and cream she always drank with it.

“Did you claim him?” Edward asked as she sat down in the chair across the table from him.

“Yes, sir.”

“And have you told him?”

Goldie hesitated by taking a long sip from the cup and savored the dark, sweet taste. “Not everything, but I will before the morning is out.”

Edward nodded. “See that you do. I don’t want to upset him by saying something out of turn at our meeting.”

“Yes, sir.”

With that, Edward returned to the book he was reading and Goldie drank her coffee as fast as she could. As soon as the cup was empty and she could feel the caffeine begin to circulate through her system, she rinsed out her cup and left the kitchen.

Taking her bag, she headed back to the cottage, determined to share the secrets of her life and family. With each step hesitation and fear grew in her.

What if he did not believe her?

What if he refused to accept his position as her mate?

By the time she reached the back door that she had left unlocked earlier, her stomach had tied itself in nervous knots and she wasn’t sure she could face Caleb. Instead of going inside, she set her bags down and settled on the top porch step.

“You are an Alpha. You should not be afraid of anything, especially your mate,” she scolded herself as she watched the clouds pass overhead. “He is your mate, the other half of your soul. It is Fate’s blessing that you found him. He will understand when you explain everything to him. He will understand. He will accept the situation and his place as the pack Alpha’s mate. Now go inside, wake him up, and talk to him.”