Fighting for her Mate: Shape Shifter Paranormal Romance (Sassy Mates Book 5) (12 page)

TWENTY-THREE

Operation Shitty No More had begun.

Raymond was the man for this mission. He looked down at the two babies lying quietly on the bathroom floor, intensely staring at him. Damn that freaked him out. It’s like they knew what was going on and would zap him with lightning bolts from their eyes if he messed up. He shook it off. He had to focus.

Dressed in a full apron, backward baseball cap, clothespin on his nose, and yellow latex gloves securely fastened, Ray approached the tub holding the enemy within. The tiny face giggled and gurgled at him, waving arms and legs. He focused on the bottom half of the body—the enemy’s stronghold.

Open trash bag in hand, he knelt and bent over the tub’s edge. The clothespin pushed up, snapped together, and fell, leaving him defenseless to the smell. He quickly snatched it back up and stuck it on, clipping his nostrils closed.

He studied the diaper fit snuggly under a bulging baby belly. Two strips across the top front looked like a good means to access the enemy. Ray’s gloved hands reached down and pulled the strips to the side. They easily pulled away and lay against the tub’s bottom.

The critical moment was just ahead. The success or failure of Operation Shitty No More depended on his next move. Slowly, carefully, he lifted the front section of the diaper and pulled it away.

He saw the enemy. Ewww. Shit. Shit was the enemy.
Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up.
Seconds mattered.
Don’t throw up.
He pulled the diaper up (
don’t throw up
) and into the trash bag with one sweeping motion. He quickly tied a knot in the bag and tossed it into the hallway. Enemy camp destroyed. Mission complete.

The first part of the operation had been a success. But the enemy clung to the baby’s skin. Ewww.
Don’t throw up
.

Ray shed the thick yellow gloves and turned the tub handles to get the right temperature of water. Removing the handheld nozzle for the showerhead, he pushed the knob to redirect the water flow from faucet to hose. A soft rain pattered over the tub’s drain. He aimed the hose toward the naked baby now giggling harder. It seemed the warm droplets tickled. The two others on the floor laughed probably because the infected body in the tub did.

After the enemy was washed away, he put the handheld head into its holder. Then, lifting the happy ex-hostage over the tub, Ray turned the baby, making sure of complete shit removal. He placed the saved child on the towel on the floor and dried him off. Now came the scariest and most difficult part of Operation Shitty No More: putting on a clean diaper, for all three.

Free to remove the clothespin, he kept the backward cap and apron on for security reasons. The enemy could sneak out at any time during this deployment. He laid Baby One on the bed, then retrieved Boy Two and the girl. All three, once again, stared up at him, happy little grins shining.

He was suddenly nervous. He’d seen those grins before, just before Baby One burped from the wrong end. He had to be fast. He looked at the bedside table and the containers on it. Tonya’s list said diaper stuff was in the bedroom.

There were wipes, white creams, powders, moisturizer, ointments, petroleum jelly, cotton balls, Q-Tips, toys, and binkies.
What the fuck
? Was he supposed to use all this?

Okay, he got what the baby wipes were for, but the Q-Tips? Was he really supposed to clean inside
that
area? He’d leave that for when Tonya got back. No way was he doing any cleaning of the kind.

Baby One already had a shower, so he was clean. Enough. Ray pulled out a diaper and he laid it next to the boy. Shit, the diaper’s top was at the babe’s chin. He looked at the pack to see what size they were. Nobody told Tonya how old the babies were so she purchased a case of multi-sized diapers. Great.

He put the current diaper to the side as too big, for now. Fishing around in the plastic surrounding the sizes, he pulled out the smallest one. It looked right.

He stuck half of the open diaper under the baby’s bottom and folded the top half up. He searched for the tab of tape that held the front and back together. He finally found it on the inside of the top half. What a stupid place for that to be. It was hard to get to. He pulled the tab covering off and had to pull more diaper to the side to get the tab to reach the back half.

When he went to do the other side, he found there was no way the tab would reach the back piece. There were about four inches of tummy between taper and tapee. Well, shit. This one was too small. It sure looked like it would fit. In taking the diaper off, he had to pull and tear the strong plastic the tab was stuck to. He didn’t remember having to do that in the bathtub. That would’ve been an enemy disaster.

Next he pulled out a size between the two already tried. This time went much quicker because he knew the tabs were on the top piece’s backside. Still he had trouble getting the tape to sit right. After the diaper was attached, Ray lifted the baby to take pride in his first-ever baby change.

It looked a little strange. Sagged a bit. The material narrowed at the backside and gapped. Maybe these diapers didn’t have the same coverage area as the previous ones. But it sure needed to be wider in the back—wait a minute. He glanced at the diaper Boy Two had on. The tape tabs were on the opposite side. He put the damn thing on backwards. Shit.

He ripped at the tape, again stuck to the stretchy plastic. What a dumb idea. They needed a piece of slick paper to attach the tab to; this tearing was ridiculous. 

The third attempt was successful. And they did have a plastic tab to attach the tape to. Plus the tape was much easier to find this time. It was on the
back
piece. Who knew? Yes, Baby One was a success.

Since the girl was laying quieter than the boy in the middle, he’d take care of her next. After removing the old diaper, he had to get the trash with the enemy in it to put this one with it. He held his breath when opening the bag but kept his eyes open. He saw the enemy.
Don’t throw up
.

Bag retied, he plucked the same size diaper from the case and quickly whipped it on the girl. He lifted her and the diaper slid down her legs and hung onto one foot, swinging. She smiled and made a noise, slapping her arms up and down. What the fuck? Comparing her to the first baby, she was much smaller than he was. Shit.

He laid her down and reached into the bag for the smallest size again. Finally, second baby finished.

He tried to slide the diaper that fell off the girl onto the middle boy, but the waist was taped to tightly. Should’ve known when he had to wrap the tape around to the back of the diaper that it was too big for her. Live and learn.

But at least he knew the diaper size for the boy was right. Ray discarded the old diaper and as he bent to slide the diaper under the last tiny butt, warm liquid shot up and hit him in the face.
What the fuck?
The kid peed on him. Shit.

He raced to the bathroom and scrubbed his face with soap and water.
Don’t throw up
. Fuck, this was gross. How did women do this stuff all day long? He returned fresh and clean to the three babies wiggling around on the bed. Thank god they couldn’t crawl. That would’ve been a disaster.

Ray finished up the third diaper but didn’t lift him. He didn’t want to know if it fit or not. He had an idea to ensure the size worked.

Thirty minutes, six diapers, and three yards of duct tape wrapped around three small waists later, Operation Shitty No More was completed.

Ray lay on the bed next to the babies. He was pooped. No pun intended. This was just too much for him. He took a deep breath and quickly dozed off.

TWENTY-FOUR

Ellie sat in front of the computer in her father’s office keying an email to the entire pack about the challenge in a few hours. Her brothers were calling everyone they could to join in the fight. She hoped many would show their solidarity and pride for the pack and its leaders.

She realized this was practice for her responsibilities to come. Nerves were getting the best of her. What if she wasn’t good enough to handle the position? What if everyone hated her because she was from the enemy’s side?

Caleb’s calming scent surrounded her. She breathed deeply as soft lips touched her neck. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Are you worried about the fight?”

“It’s nothing.”

“I believe I’ve learned that
nothing
means something, and I need to found out right now what that is.”

Ellie smiled, remembering the earlier conversation. It felt like days ago, but it had only been hours. “Hold on a sec.” She wrapped up her email and clicked send.

Caleb took her hand. “Let’s go outside for a minute.” Ellie smiled wider remembering what happened the last time they went outside for a talk. Not a whole lot of talking.

Her mate guided her to the picnic table on the shaded side of the house, opposite of where those inside were. He straddled the bench seat and pulled her to sit in front of him. His hands squeezed her shoulders. “You’re too stressed, sweetheart. Let me relax you.”

Ellie laughed. “Translated to you want to cop a feel.”

“Maybe.” Ellie heard the smile in his voice. “With your permission, of course.” His massaging hands rubbed her upper back.

“God, that feels so good.”

Caleb kissed the side of her neck. “I know what else that will make you feel good.”

“You do, do you?” Her grin grew, heat starting in her lower stomach.

His thumbs circled between her shoulder blades while his fingers slid sideways, brushing her breasts. Slowly, his fingers glided to her nipples, teasing and pinching them taut. God, he knew just how to touch her. Every time.

Ellie sighed and leaned into his hot body, letting his lips skate down her neck and the top of her shoulder. Each nip of his fingers on her breasts sent a line of fire straight to her pussy. Her heat quickly built, releasing her mind from the stress of reality. This was what she needed. His touch. Something only he could give her. Her mate.

Rough fingertips slipped under her shirt and skipped over her skin, then pushed her breast up and out of her bra cup. The flesh-on-flesh tingled to her clit. Oh, good god!

His other hand slid beneath her waistband, seeking her swelling button. The pad of a finger stopped on her clit and rubbed small circles.
Fuck
. It felt so good. His hand dipped to her core, spooned out her wetness, then returned, leaving a slick trail up her pussy lips. Her belly fluttered and need spread through her like hot lava.

With a twist of her nipple and squeeze to her tight button, Ellie arched her torso and came hard. Her mate kept up the delicious torture as she rode the wave. A finger fell to her core, sneaking in and out in perfect rhythm to her orgasmic spikes.

“Fuck, Ellie. I need inside you.” He unbuttoned her slacks, then unsnapped his pants and slid them low enough for his hard cock to stand proudly.

“Caleb,” she started hoarsely but stopped. What could she say? She wanted him inside her, too. “Hurry up.”

He was beautiful. Every time she saw him even a little naked, her heart tripped. He leaned her forward, still straddling the bench seat, and slipped her pants down as far as they would go. She clung to him for support.

He lifted her ass off the bench and buried his cock in her dripping core.

“Ah, baby. This will never get old,” he grunted, pressing his pelvis flush to hers.

She gasped with the sudden fullness, loving the sensation. This. He knew exactly what she needed.

“Do you feel that, sweetheart?” he groaned, his cock gripped tightly by her pussy. “Your tension melted the moment my dick was inside you.”

She cleared her throat. “So you’re saying you have a magic cock?”

He chuckled roughly by her ear. “No, baby girl. What I have is the touch you need.” His hands found their way under her shirt and around her breasts, pulling and tweaking the nipples. He slammed in and out of her pussy. “Now,” he snarled, fucking her to the point she could barely breathe, “I just need to make sure your pussy’s squeezing my cum soon.”

Ellie met his every thrust, driving herself higher and higher. “Squeeze me, Ellie. Tighten around my cock.” She focused on her Kegel muscles, clasping them. “That’s it, baby. Fuck, that feels great. Tighter.” Her face scrunched with effort. “Get your hot little pussy sucking my cock tight!” She gritted her teeth, trying to crush them together. His pounding increased. “More.” The growl in his voice and the effect of her Kegels sent her exploding into orgasm.

She rent her scream into her sleeve to not draw attention. Caleb lifted from the bench, arching as he came.

Breathing heavily, she sat back, his cock still pulsing inside her. His chest heaved against her. “Damn, sweetheart. You sure know how to relax.”

* * *

Emma frowned at the computer screen. The stupid search results were not telling her what she needed to know. Were she and Mason officially married? Maybe she could find someone to marry them tonight or early tomorrow morning, just to make sure.

Being Sunday, all the government offices were closed, so finding another justice of the peace wouldn’t do any good. She was sure none of the local religious ministers would marry them on the spot. She’d have to go another route. Weren’t boat captains able to marry people? She googled for area captains.

The only site she found that said the captain worked on Sunday was Bubba’s Shrimp Boats and More. She was not getting married on a shrimp boat. She didn’t even know such boats were around there. Shrimp certainly weren’t.

Emma wracked her brain for possible others who could marry them. There were Native Americans nearby. She wondered if a Shaman would marry them. Then she remembered a story she read where the bride and groom had to sit in a sweat lodge for hours. That would ruin her hair and makeup for pictures. That wasn’t an option.
Shit
. This was looking hopeless.

Mason came up behind her and kissed the top of her head. “Whacha doing, sweetheart?”

Emma let out a deep sigh and said nothing. Mason stiffened around her then pulled away, headed for the door. She twisted in her chair to look at him. “Where are you going?”

His eyes were wide with worry. “It’ll be okay, babe. I will get you sweets and make some spaghetti and you’ll be happy again.”

What was he talking about? “Mason,” she stood, “I don’t want spaghetti. I need you.” She couldn’t help the tears stinging her eyes. If she lost Mason because of some dead person’s administrative fuck-up, she wouldn’t be able to cope.

He swept her into his arms. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? And don’t say nothing, because I forgot what do for that.”

She didn’t care what his crazy talk was about as long as he was with her. “I’m worried about the Central pack taking you away from me. I will kill them before that happens. I can’t, won’t, live without you. Not after all the shit we’ve been through. And don’t you even suggest that I be your mistress. You’ll die first.”

He chuckled and kissed her pout. “Sweetheart, I would never suggest that. You are my heart, my mate, and we are married whether paperwork is filed or not. Either we both go to the Central pack as a couple or we don’t go at all.” He lifted her chin and laid a soulful, hot kiss on her.

Mason rubbed his hardened cock against her soft flesh and they came up for air. He said, “Just to be on the safe side, can’t ship captains marry people?”

Emma scowled, ready to pommel him.

He laughed. “I’m kidding, brat.” She punched him in the stomach for good measure.