Jay pushed her behind him and was on the other man in a second. His fist met with her stepbrother’s stomach, sending him flying into the nearest wall. Tommy bounced then lay sprawled in a weird position on the floor.
Her mate knelt down to check out the other man, swearing when it became quite clear he was out of it. “Shit!”
Alexa bit her lower lip hard enough to draw blood. Her shoulder ached, but she didn’t even look down at it. She knew she’d messed up. Bad. But they’d touched her mother! Her lioness was so upset, she felt on the verge of losing it inside her.
Liquid pooled down her arm and plopped onto the linoleum-covered floor.
Drip, drip, drip
. It was the only sound in the room, bar Jay’s anger-laden breathing and her mother’s tears.
She could feel everyone’s gaze on her, some accusing, some wondering. It was a cowardly thing to do, and yet she couldn’t stop herself from whirling around and striding out of the house. She’d thought she was this strong woman, all too aware of her new status, drunk from the power her lioness gave her…and yet, she was just as she’d been before.
Weak.
“Go take care of her. I’ll deal with them.”
His father’s words echoing in his mind, Jay thought he might snap as he stepped outside and went looking for his mate. She’d disobeyed him. No, it was even worse than that. She’d clearly acted without thinking in front of their Alpha and his lieutenants, and had gotten hurt in the process. Somewhere inside him, he knew why she’d done it. He almost understood it. After all, he probably would have acted the same if someone had threatened his mother. But she wasn’t Alpha! She was his mate, and he’d told her to behave, but no, she’d had to go and… He growled, the scent of her blood turning him even angrier. “Alexa!” he called out.
He followed her scent to the back garden, growing more and more agitated as seconds passed. When he found her, however, he realized he couldn’t reprimand her. Not right now. She was sitting on the cold ground, her eyes unseeing, her shoulder still bleeding. “Alexa, baby.” He knelt down behind her and drew her against his chest.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured as she closed her eyes, avoiding his gaze. “You should go back inside.”
“My dad sent me here. You need to get this cleaned up.”
“It’s fine.”
“If it’s still bleeding, darlin’, it obviously isn’t.”
She shrugged. He stared down at her, at the obvious trail tears had left on her face. His heart squeezed within his chest. So, that’s what having a mate felt like. He was still mad at her, but he also wanted to make her feel better, to shelter her from the world and everyone else. He brushed curls away from her face, wiped away those tell-tale trails, and bent down to kiss her lips.
It was a short kiss, but when he pulled back, her eyes were open and she was staring at him in shock. “Jay?”
“It’s going to be okay,” he reassured her, or himself; he wasn’t sure.
“I messed up.” Her voice was so low, he had to lower his head to hear her.
He nodded. “You did. But you’re new at this, Alexa. They’ll understand.”
“I… He touched my mother. I thought he was going to harm her—”
“And your lioness reacted?” he wondered.
“Yes. No. I don’t know. I felt so close to shifting. I was just so, so mad. So really angry.”
Was her lioness even more dominant than he’d thought? Could she be an Alpha? Was that even possible in one who’d been dormant for so long? Thoughts whirling through his head, he still managed to get up and pull her with him. “Let’s go. We need to look at your shoulder.”
“But…” She stopped in her tracks. “What about the interrogation?”
“My dad will deal with them. Come on, Alexa. The scent of your blood is driving my lion nuts.”
That seemed to do the trick. She followed him to the car, then sat there, lost in thought as he drove to his house. The one she’d never been in. The one she was now going to share with him. God, he couldn’t wait.
* * * *
Alexa stared at the bright white tiles behind Jay’s head, trying to focus on something other than the pain lancing her shoulder. He’d already cleaned up the deep lacerations Tommy’s nails had left in her skin, and now he was suturing them, the needle sharp and fast, but still undoubtedly there. Each time it pierced her skin, she flinched. Each time she flinched, he growled. His eyes had gone dark again, his lion assessing her, almost as if he was afraid for her. She wanted to pet him, wanted to tell him she was all right. Of course, for that she’d have to stop being such a girl about it all.
“Okay,” he finally said as he grabbed a large bandage from the shelf on his right. “I’ll just put this on you, and we’ll be done.”
“Thanks.”
He looked down at her and smiled. “My pleasure.”
She rolled her eyes, all too aware his attention had now shifted to her bare breasts. She’d taken off her blood-drenched top and bra earlier. Now that he’d finished taking care of her, however, he could clearly see the way her nipples had puckered from the cold. Okay, or maybe it was also because his hands had been on her. Turns out her lioness was easy where her mate was concerned.
“You have a one-track mind,” she finally said.
He chuckled and bent down to kiss her. “You’re the one half-naked.”
“There was a good reason for that!”
“Which we’ll address once we’ve eaten something. Come on.” He tugged her up from the stool she’d been sitting on and pushed her until they were standing in his bedroom. “Here, you can wear this.” He handed her one of his shirts and helped her to put it on, her grimace the only sign her shoulder still hurt.
She followed him to the kitchen soon after, knowing they were going to have to talk…and really not looking forward to that conversation. But she knew she’d been wrong, so she’d take the consequences, whatever they may end up being.
It was a good thing she trusted her mate though. Otherwise, she might have flown had she known what was going through Jay’s mind right then.
Chapter Eleven
“Will you let me do something?”
Alexa looked up from her plate, a frown sliding into place on her face. “What?”
“Will you let me try something? I’d like you to shift, darlin’.”
“Now?” He nodded. “Why?”
He felt his lion come to the fore. Again. Instead of pushing him back, though, he let him shine through. “Now, Mate. I promise I won’t hurt you.” He placed his hand over hers on the table and added, “You trust me, don’t you?”
He could see when she decided to do as he’d asked, probably helped by the fact she was still thinking on how badly she’d acted earlier. He remained immobile as she stood up and took her clothes off, the impromptu striptease making his cock harden to full-mast. He gulped but didn’t let any emotions seep onto his face, knowing far too well he needed to stay in control for what was going to happen next.
He kept on watching as she knelt on the floor, her head hanging down, her fingers lengthening seconds later. God, she was quick! Her body was soon covered in that golden fur so reminiscent of her hair. She turned to face him, sniffing the air as if she needed to reassure herself it was really him.
“Come here, Mate.” He stretched out his hand and motioned her over.
Her ears drew back, her clever gaze assessing him for a moment too long.
“Alexa. I said, come here!” His voice took on that Alpha tone he knew she hated but was definitely necessary right now.
She stared at him for a little while longer before advancing toward him, her tail swishing behind her. His lion purred in pleasure inside him, appreciating his mate’s show of bravado. That, and she really was a beautiful lioness.
Once she was in front of him, she rubbed her head against his jeans, marking him with her scent and making him grin. “Darlin’, you’re something else all right,” he couldn’t help but say.
She rumbled in reply, her muzzle brushing against his erection.
This time, he laughed out loud. “Feeling frisky, are you?”
The lioness looked up, her slanted green eyes capturing his gaze.
He scratched the fur between her ears as he stared down at her. “You’re mine, aren’t you, Alexa?”
She opened her mouth, her fangs glistening in the low lights. Then she snapped it shut, and he realized she’d been about to speak. Or rather, that she’d wanted to speak and had forgotten she wasn’t in human form. He smiled and said, “You can shift again, baby.”
Her tail slapped his shin. Hard.
“I’m sure. Shift whenever you’re ready, Alexa. I’ll be in the lounge waiting for you.” And with that, he left the room. He had important things to mull over…
* * * *
“I don’t understand.”
Jay looked up to find his mate, naked as the day she was born, standing in the threshold. “What don’t you understand?” And why hadn’t she gotten dressed again? His cock twitched. He winced, knowing he wanted to talk to her first and foremost… And yet, feelings were already swamping over him. His hands itched to grab her and pull her to him.
“Why did you ask me to shift? You wanted to try something, you said, and yet you didn’t do anything!” She came to a stand only feet from him and crossed her arms over her chest.
Except from his standpoint, it looked like she was pawing at her own breasts. He exhaled and tried to focus on the conversation. “I wanted to check something.”
“So?”
“So, what?”
“What was it?”
He brushed his palm over his face. “You know you’re a dominant, right?”
She blinked. “You mean, as a lioness?”
He nodded. “Yes. Even as a human, darlin’, I guess. You’ve got such a strong personality.”
She was frowning and shaking her head by the time he finished his sentence. “No. No, I’m not like that. I’m weak, really.”
He let out a short laugh. “Are you kidding me, babe? You disobeyed me! You ignored your Alpha’s orders!”
“I know, but…”
She clearly didn’t understand. For the first time, he really understood the way she’d been brought up, so cut off from her own origins, she had no idea what he was hinting at. “Alexa, you’re this close to being an Alpha,” he motioned with his fingers. “Your lioness is so strong, she can butt heads with me. You know who I am, don’t you? I’m the second most powerful lion in this Pride, darlin’. Do you see what I’m trying to say?”
“I’m not sure, no.”
“If we weren’t already mated, you could challenge me.”
“For what?”
He laughed, the sound dry this time. “For my dad’s position.”
“As the Alpha? Are you crazy?”
“No. No, I’m not.”
“Did you drink or something, Jay? That’s entirely preposterous. As if I could ever do such a thing. I just found my lioness, for pity’s sake!”
She wasn’t taking him seriously. He could understand it. After all, she was right. She’d thought she was a mixie all these years, and now here she was, so strong she didn’t really have a place in the Pride. But she did. She was his mate. Maybe he should remind her of that…
The thought burst through his brain, and an instant later, he’d pulled her to him. She cried out in surprise, the sound cut off by his mouth. He kissed her like he’d wanted to earlier. A rough kind of kiss that took no prisoners. His hands found her ass, his nails biting into her soft skin. She moaned into his throat and moved up on her toes, fitting her body against his.
Her breasts were pressed against his chest, but the cotton of his shirt lessened the sensation. Before he could take it off, her hands were there. It was almost as if she’d heard him, as if she’d known what he wanted before he’d even formulated it. Growling, he attacked her mouth for an even harder kiss.
He was going to remind her how mated lions made love. Oh yes, he was.
Chapter Twelve
Alexa wondered what’d gone through her mate’s head to suddenly become this frenzied but so very sexy man. Not that she was complaining, of course! He’d taken his clothes off and sat back down on the sofa, tugging on her hands until she was on his lap facing him. Her sex was exposed that way, and he’d growled at the sight of her wet folds.
He’d turned her on with one kiss. He was that good. She wasn’t planning on telling him that, but it was true. One kiss from her mate, and she’d turned pliant in his arms. Even now that his lips were currently taking a very long, and slow, detour of her neck, she was nearly vibrating.
She wanted him. So, she told him.
He growled. “Fuck, baby.”
She grinned. He bent down and nipped her shoulder in retaliation. She opened her mouth to tell him off when she realized it hadn’t hurt. Putting a hand on his cheek, she stopped him. “Where’s it gone?”