Authors: Shelley Munro
Tomasine glanced at Felix, taking in his stern face and dark good looks. “I…” She swallowed and tried again, her heart beat in double time. It was all she’d ever wanted. Security and a family. A man who loved her. It was hers for the taking if she had the courage to say yes. Tomasine took a deep breath. “I…okay.”
Felix tugged her chair around so she faced him. He gripped her shoulders and stared intently into her eyes. “Really?”
A slow and sexy smile curved across her lips. She knew he was asking for more than her agreement to live at the secluded station. Tomasine nodded but didn’t want any misconceptions from anyone. “I will be your mate and become Tomasine Mitchell.”
Felix hauled Tomasine to her feet and yanked her into his arms. Seconds later his mouth slammed down on hers. There was a clash of teeth before their mouths aligned and then it was absolutely perfect. Tomasine put everything she had into the kiss while thanking the fates for arranging their collision outside the post office. Gradually the sound of applause registered and Tomasine pulled away from Felix. To her consternation, a blush suffused her face.
“Are you sure, Majesty?” Lucas asked.
“Queen Augustus no longer exists. Call me Tomasine, and yes, I’m very sure.” She bowed her head and slowly lifted it, well aware of the weight that had disappeared from her shoulders.
“This calls for champagne,” Saber said.
“But it’s still early,” Emily protested.
“I don’t care.” Saber stalked to the fridge and pulled out a bottle. He opened it efficiently and Emily produced glasses.
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“He’s been hoarding that bottle since he first thought up the harebrained scheme to marry all his brothers off,” Felix said. “Let him have a moment to gloat.”
Saber nodded and started filling the glasses. A pleased grin wreathed his lips.
“Damned straight,” he said. “One down and three to go.”
* * * * *
It was late when Felix finally ushered Tomasine into their bedroom.
“This is your last chance to change your mind,” Tomasine said. Felix snorted. “Isn’t that my line?”
“Not in this case. I’m the one with assassins after me. Remember? I don’t want you to have regrets later.”
“Tomasine, I’m not going anywhere. I love you.”
“Are you sure we’ll be safe on the station?”
“Yeah. I wouldn’t suggest it otherwise.” Felix brushed a lock of hair off her face.
“We have more important things to do.”
“Sex.” Tomasine chewed on her bottom lip to stop throwing herself at him. She didn’t want to appear too eager. It was difficult given the way her breasts rubbed against her bra, her nipples sensitive and needy for his touch, his mouth.
“Damn right.” Felix peered at her suspiciously. He touched his hand to her forehead. “You okay? You’re feeling a bit hot even for a shifter.”
Hot. That was an understatement. Ever since she’d said yes, her body had hijacked her, sending “hurry up and mate messages” to her brain. Goose bumps prickled across her arms and legs and each delicate brush of his fingers brought another wave of arousal to dampen her panties. “I’m fine.” It was a big fat lie. “No, I’m not,” she said, determined to have truth between them now instead of secrets. The driving needs of her body had blindsided her a little, taking her unawares since she’d never felt this way with Bernard. Never.
“What’s wrong?”
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“Nothing some sleep won’t cure.”
“Sleep. Right. Let’s get you to bed then.”
“Yes please,” she purred.
Felix’s eyes gleamed with sudden comprehension. “Better take your clothes off. Don’t want you getting too hot.”
Tomasine bit back a laugh. “That might be best.” She stood still while he unbuttoned her pink shirt. He seemed to do lots of touching—unnecessary contact in her opinion and it made her ultra aware of her body, the way her clothes fitted to her form. Finally, he smoothed her shirt from her shoulders baring her overly warm flesh to his gaze. Tomasine smiled up at him and licked her lips with careful precision. Felix growled at the back of his throat and her smile heated up to a grin. Loving Felix was fun. He was a caring, generous lover who reveled in her pleasure. His knuckle grazed the curve of one breast and a shiver worked down her body.
“Can you go any slower?”
“I can,” he said. “Do you want to have more children?”
Tomasine thought about it for a split second. A child or children with dark hair and green eyes like Felix. Children who made discipline impossible because their killer grins caused her to go soft and gooey inside. Siblings for Sylvie and Gina. “Yes.” Her heart did a quick pitter-patter on seeing the elation in his eyes. “I would like your children as soon as we know it is safe.”
“I don’t want to wait,” he whispered, tracing his thumb across her lips. The heat in his eyes brought a shudder of awareness, of wanting and passionate need. “We’re safe. I promise nothing will happen to you or the girls. We won’t let anything go wrong.”
Tomasine believed him. She’d felt safer with Felix around and knowing there were other shifters watching out for them brought a lump to her throat. She opened her mouth and sucked his thumb inside. She rasped her tongue across his skin in a 144
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seductive and taunting move, bathing the tip of his thumb. She ran her tongue into the gap between his fingernail and thumb tip.
Felix pulled away with a hiss. He stepped back from her and started to unbutton his shirt. “Undress,” he ordered in a tight voice. “Now.”
Tomasine smirked, knowing she’d pushed him with that little move. It was good to know he was as strung out as she was, that he wanted her so badly. It was as arousing as hell. She reached behind her back to flick her bra open and stripped it down her arms, tossing it aside. Tomasine wriggled out of her jeans and panties, giving an extra seductive sway of her hips. A masculine groan told her he’d stopped to watch her strip. She stepped from the last of her clothing and shimmied her shoulders. Her breasts jiggled. Yes! A successful attempt to gain his full attention. She suppressed a chuckle and said in an innocent tone, “You’re not getting ready for bed now?”
“No,” he said in a dark voice as he shucked the last of his clothes. “I’m not intending on sleeping much tonight.”
Her brows shot up in an expression of innocence while she suppressed the need to snigger. “Do tell.”
“I’m going to make love to my mate,” he growled, prowling toward her with clear intent.
Tomasine backed up until the bed stopped farther retreat. She giggled. “Come get me.”
“I intend to.” His green eyes were dark and mysterious and they held passion. For her.
Tomasine’s laughter fell away, replaced by something else. Urgency. Her gaze drifted across his face and down his chest. She leaned forward, dragging the tips of her breasts across his broad chest. Tomasine glanced up to catch the raw need in his face. He grunted when she rubbed against his groin and moved a fraction. “Now is not the time to tease, not when my control is hanging on by a sliver.”
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Tomasine knew what he meant. She slid her tongue across her canines and found them partially extended already. “Kiss me. Please.”
“Yeah. I can do that. I need to touch.” His laugh was ragged and his hand trembled when he reached to cup her cheek. “Hell, my skin is prickling like it does at the start of the change.” Felix didn’t give her time to respond. His mouth settled on hers, taking. Demanding a response. She opened for him and he savored the faint taste of coffee and the brandy they’d drunk after the celebratory dinner Emily had cooked for them. The underlying sweetness was pure Tomasine. Addictive.
His
. Their tongues slid together with the faint rasping characteristic of shifters. Her canines had lengthened, as had his, bringing lurking danger from sharp teeth. Felix crowded closer, his hand tangling in the hair at her nape. God, he loved this woman. In his mind, she was his mate already. All he needed now was to make her his in fact. With a quick move, he scooped Tomasine off her feet and placed her in the middle of the mattress. Before she could move, he covered her with his body, pressing her down so she couldn’t move. Smirking, he stared deep into her eyes before scanning her face and lingering on her lips. “I have you. Now what are you going to do?”
“Love you,” she said.
Her words were like a sucker punch. They floored him with their simplicity and tugged at every one of his emotions.
Love
. Hell, that was so easy where Tomasine was concerned. And knowing she loved him in return—that was the biggest reward of all. Felix kissed her again and rubbed against her in a full body rub. When she purred, he grinned and set about exploring her body. He nuzzled behind her ear and gave in to temptation and licked. One long lick across luscious, silky skin. Felix breathed deeply, smelling her excitement along with the delicate scent of wildflowers and grasses. He heard the racing of her heart and a ripple of awareness that preceded the shift to cat shot the length of his body. His swollen cock jerked, the sensitive head rubbing against her flesh. Felix controlled the change, letting his body hover on the fringe instead. 146
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“I can hear the rush of blood through your veins. The beat of your heart,” she murmured.
“I know. I wanted to go slow this time, sweetheart. I can’t.” Felix nuzzled the plump curve of one breast and breathed moist, warm air across the tip.
“Slow is for later,” she whispered. “Once we’ve burned away the mating lust.” Her eyes were golden and more catlike than he’d seen them before. A queen. He, Felix Mitchell, was mating with royalty.
“You know, I’ve never done it with royalty before.”
Tomasine made a scoffing noise. “Yes, you have. Yesterday. And the day before that.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t know I was doing it with a queen.”
“I’m still the same shifter I was before. Being royal doesn’t make you a better person,” Tomasine said in a stiff voice.
Felix knew he’d pressed a hot button for her. Being of royal blood had brought her problems but they couldn’t exactly sweep them under the nearest pile of schist and forget them.
“Do you want to rule?” she demanded. “There won’t be much left. Traitors and debts most likely.”
“Me?” Felix said in clear horror. “Hell no! I want to live on the land and farm like my forebears. I don’t want to rule over a clan and worry about them constantly. All I want is a quiet life with you and the girls. Besides, if you think I’m getting in one of those metal tubes and flying through the sky, you can bloody think again. Shifters weren’t made to fly.”
“What if I decided to return to Africa and take control of the remains of the clan resources?” Tomasine asked.
The question drew Felix up short. As much as he disliked flying, he wasn’t intending on losing Tomasine now that he’d found her. He took a deep breath and 147
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smoothed the hair away from her face. “I guess I’d have to organize a passage on a cruise ship.” Not that he liked the thought of being on the ocean much better but they were discussing Tomasine. His mate. Where she went so did he.
“Relax. You’re safe.” Her golden eyes twinkled at him. “I like New Zealand. I’m not going anywhere.”
The wretch had been teasing. Felix growled and stopped fighting the change as he had been. A light coating of dark hair formed on his chest.
“Ohh,” Tomasine cooed, smoothing her hand across the smooth pelt.
“Remember what I said about teasing?”
She contained her merriment but he saw it in her beautiful eyes. “Traditional?”
“Yeah. Please.” Felix stroked her cheek with his strong fingers.
“Are you going to let me bite you?”
“Of course. I want a true mating.” He studied her carefully before letting his breath ease out in enlightenment. “Your husband mated with you to ensure your cooperation but wouldn’t allow you the same power over him.” Bastard. No wonder she’d been so wary.
“A true mating. Really?”
“Nothing else will do.” Felix kissed her and ran his tongue over her teeth. Her canines were pronounced. Sharp. He lifted his head. “You will mark me first.” The minute he’d said the words, he knew he’d done the right thing. An expression of awe and blinding love seared across her face and it humbled him.
“Felix, I love you,” she whispered, her fingers massaging the fleshy part of his shoulder, the place she’d mark.
“I know it, sweetheart.” His cock jerked hard in reaction and it seemed as though every bit of blood in his body crowded into his groin. Felix’s skin prickled and more dark hair formed on his arms, legs and torso. A shimmer of golden light glowed around him and the light coating of hair started to flash.
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With serious intent written on every inch of her face, she reached up and licked across the fleshy part where shoulder and neck met. Her tongue was rough and abrasive and it sent desire pumping through him. Every one of his senses intensified, working overtime and bombarding him with messages of passion and sex and loving. Felix swallowed, wallowing in the carnal images flickering through him like a blockbuster movie. Tomasine sighed and licked again, then without warning, she bit down. For an instant, he felt her sharp canines pricking into his flesh then there was nothing but blinding-white pleasure. The enzymes in her saliva mixed with his blood and each swathe of her tongue brought a wave of sensation to his cock and balls. Painfully tight and needy, the slit at the end of his cock oozed pre-cum. Finally, she pulled away. A bead of blood welled and he watched her lick it away. The delicate flicker of her tongue pushed past his control. Felix grabbed Tomasine and flipped her over on her belly. She didn’t panic at his abrupt move but glanced over her shoulder at him. Her sultry gaze and the faint golden luminosity around her petite body severed the last of his control. Felix arranged her on hands and knees and paused to admire her curvy body, presented for him. Felix fought the primal demand to surge between her legs and clamp down with his teeth. Despite the urgency thrumming through his body, he wanted this to be an occasion they’d remember with fondness, with happy memories and most of all with blinding satisfaction. His eyes caressed every part of her while the sound of her racing pulse sought to distract, to make him hurry.