Mating Dance (6 page)

Deciding a change of topic was in order, he
led the way back into the house. The grill was warming up. It was
time to bring out the meat.

Ashley helped him retrieve the platters he’d
stashed in the fridge the night before. He had marinated some
steaks overnight, as well as a platter of chicken.

“I wasn’t sure what you liked best, so I
figured I couldn’t go wrong with a little variety,” he
explained.

“This is great. It all looks delicious.” She
helped him carry things back outside, and they worked together as
if they’d done so a million times before.

Ashley was comfortable to be with, yet her
mere presence stimulated his senses in ways that made him think of
long-term togetherness and commitment. He’d never thought of such
things before with any other female, which argued for the fact that
she might just be his mate.

He figured he’d know for sure after they
made love. If his bear was still on board the Ashley forever train
after that, then there was no doubt about it. They were meant to
be.

There was a large round wooden table at the
center of the patio, with a few cushioned chairs around it. Ashley
set the table and arranged the condiments they’d brought out. She
also poured the wine and brought him a glass as he stood over the
grill.

“To a lovely evening,” she said, raising her
glass to chime with his.

“To a lovely companion,” he echoed, holding
her gaze as they sipped the wine. He’d pulled out one of the
special bottles for this evening.

Ashley’s eyes widened when she tasted the
vintage. “Oh,” she exclaimed softly. “This is delicious.”

“Remember those vampires I was telling you
about?” Tom put his glass down so he could attend to the chicken,
flipping it expertly with his tongs. “The only thing they can
actually ingest is wine. It has healing properties for them, so
they say. As a result, some of the best vintners in the world have
been perfecting their craft for a few centuries, if you know what I
mean.” He gave her an exaggerated wink that made her smile.

He flicked on a small radio, and soft music
spilled out. Setting her wine glass down, he took her into his arms
and began dancing around the patio in a slow, swaying rhythm.

“You like wine?” Ashley asked in a tone that
was casual, but the question seemed important to her.

“I do. You saw the wine fridge in the
kitchen, right? I have a little bit of a wine cellar under
construction right now. Every season, my colleague at the Maxwell
winery sends me a few cases of their best.”

“A colleague?”Ashley seemed intrigued. Tom
liked that she was interested in his life.

“Their lawyer is some kind of big cat
shifter. I helped her out a few times after she graduated from law
school, since there are only a few of us who are both shifters and
attorneys. We all know each other, and help out where we can. This
girl, though, she was practically raised by vampires. She doesn’t
know much about shifters, but we worked together via email a time
or two, and for that, her boss put me on the VIP list when he found
out I truly appreciated his work. Maxwell’s is one of the finest
wineries in the States, and Maxwell has been at his craft for a
very long time.”

“Seems so odd to be talking about vampires
working in actual businesses. In fiction, they’re all mega-rich and
don’t ever have to work.”

“Oh, Maxwell is mega-rich too. He’s had
centuries to amass his fortune, but the money has to come from
somewhere and has to go somewhere too. If he just rested on his
laurels, with the rate of inflation, he’d be broke in no time flat.
Like anybody else, he has to make his money work for him. In his
case, he puts it to work doing something he enjoys and can actually
benefit from himself. It’s a good situation for him.”

“You sound like you admire the man,” Ashley
observed.

“I do,” Tom admitted. “I only met him once,
but he’s a very charismatic fellow. Personable. Even friendly,
after a fashion. We talked wines after the business part of our
meeting was over, and I hear he’s experimenting with bringing
shifters in to work in his vineyard. He’s not a snob. He treats
people fairly and seems willing to try new things.”

“A paragon,” Ashley agreed wryly. “For
someone who drinks blood.”

Tom laughed outright at that. Ashley had a
dry sense of humor he was only just beginning to discover. He liked
it. Just as he liked pretty much everything about her.

He spun her around, back toward the grill.
He dipped her, stealing a quick kiss before letting her go. It was
time to tend the meat on the grill, or else they’d be eating
charcoal.

She retrieved her wine glass and sat at the
table, watching him cook. Everything was nearly done, so it
wouldn’t be long now.

They shared a companionable dinner,
discussing topics ranging from wine to art to politics and
religion. Tom liked the way Ashley asked what she wanted to know
directly. She’d learned from her sister’s mating with Brody that
shifters worshiped and served the Goddess, and he was gratified by
the open mind she kept when he explained a bit more about his
beliefs. She wasn’t rejecting anything right off the bat, which
boded well for the future.

When time came for dessert, Ashley unpacked
the bakery box she’d brought with her. Honey buns and other
delicacies the bakery had become known for came out of the box, and
Tom wasn’t above devouring two of the pastries in short order.
Ashley laughed at him as he licked sticky honey off his fingers,
but he didn’t mind.

“I guess it’s true about bears and honey,”
she observed, watching him with a little flare of heat in her gaze
that made him sit up and take notice. His inner bear was ready to
get on with the rest of the evening—especially if it included
shared pleasure with the enticing female sitting across from
him.

“Oh, it is most definitely true. Just about
everyone in town loves honey—except maybe Sven. Polar bears are
weird.” She laughed as he finished licking his fingers. “One of the
main factors in favor of your business was the box of samples you
brought when you made your presentation to the town council. The
fact that you used natural ingredients—including a lot more honey
than most commercial bakeries—is what sold everyone who tasted
those first samples.”

“So, honey was our ticket into town, eh?
Tina will get a kick out of that. She’s the one who first started
tweaking our recipes and led us down the back-to-nature path. She’d
have us go totally organic, if we let her, but the costs are just
too high right now to make it worthwhile.” Ashley began gathering
the used plates together, naturally organizing things to take back
inside. “Tina’s the one who came up with the idea for our roof
garden too. We all helped build it, but it was her idea. It’s been
great for us. Saves us money on produce, and considering how far
off the beaten path this town is, it’s allowed us to have fresh
greens whenever we want them rather than whenever the delivery
truck shows up.”

“Yeah, not many of us are salad lovers,” Tom
admitted. “So, we didn’t place that high a priority on that sort of
thing. We all can hunt our own game, though we can also have beef
and chicken delivered. Just like my wine. We pool orders and have a
truck drop off a whole load every couple of months. Everybody’s got
a big freezer to stash their supply.”

“I heard someone was starting up a ranch up
the mountain that is supposed to be able to supply the town with
chicken, turkey, pork, beef and even bison, eventually,” she said
as they worked together to clear the table, moving in and out of
the patio doors, brushing each other from time to time as they
carried things.

Tom’s mind wasn’t really on the
conversation. He was thinking more about what would come next. Was
she cleaning up in preparation for leaving? Or was she cleaning up
because she was just a neat person who wanted to have everything in
order before they sat and drank more wine…and maybe did other
things? Tom was eager to find out.

“Yeah, that’s the plan, but it’ll be a while
down the road yet. Livestock tends to be nervous around us, so
we’re looking into outsourcing the labor, but every applicant has
to be vetted. As we learned from you and your sisters, we’re not
very good at keeping our secret yet. We have to be careful who we
allow access to our town.”

“I’m surprised you have such control. I
mean, I thought people could come and go wherever they wanted in
the U.S.”

“Technically, we’re only partly in the
U.S.,” Tom explained. “Much of our land is on the outskirts of the
reservation. We have a good relationship with the elders, and they
know we are excellent stewards of the land. Native Americans are
some of the only humans who are raised to believe in us. The local
shaman knows what we are, and he trusts us to do right by the land,
and by their people. In fact, that ranch will probably employ a
large number of the tribe’s younger folk, when it finally gets up
and running. We have a few other irons in the fire to create
employment opportunities, and the tribe gets a percentage of our
art sales. It’s our way of giving back to their community, since
they welcomed us so warmly. We’re even looking at constructing a
new building on Main Street for the tribe’s artists to run, where
they can sell their own work.”

“That’s really impressive. I didn’t realize
the reservation boundaries were so close. I mean, I knew they were
nearby, but I didn’t realize…” Her words trailed off as she went
back into the house for a moment to drop off the last of the
dishes.

When she returned, Tom watched her to see
what she would do. Much to his relief, she poured more wine for
them both and moved over to the padded bench that faced the water
at the far end of the patio. Tom joined her there, sitting next to
her as they sipped their wine and watched the dark waves rippling
in the moonlight. The dim light from the patio behind them didn’t
interfere with the stillness of the night all around them.

Tom reached over and put his arm around her,
gratified when she moved closer, snuggling into his side. They sat
there for a while, watching the stars twinkle and the water wash
against the sandy shore. It was a peaceful night, the sound of the
water soothing, even while the feel of Ashley against him heated
his blood.

Chapter Eight

Ashley was about to scream in frustration.
If Tom didn’t make a move in the next five seconds, she was going
to jump him.

Oh, to hell with five seconds!

Ashley got up and rearranged herself so that
she straddled Tom’s thighs, her hands sliding around his neck as
she lowered her mouth to his. And then, she was kissing him. Thank
God.

She couldn’t have taken one more quiet
moment without jumping his delectably handsome bones. Tom’s only
fault—if it really could be called a fault—was that he was too
polite. Any other guy would have been all over her by now, but
something was holding Tom back. He seemed a little nervous, maybe
even a little shy, but Ashley didn’t mind showing him that she was
ready. More than ready. She had been going a little nuts just
sitting there, next to him, feeling his warmth, and breathing in
his enticing scent.

Things were better now. She could taste him
and feel him under her. She liked the way his cock stood to
attention as she introduced her thighs to his, rubbing all over as
she squirmed on his lap. Tom’s arms went around her waist,
supporting her, then subtly moving her in the direction he wanted
her to go…right against his hard cock.

She could feel him through the layers of
clothing, and he was…impressive. Oh, yeah. Impressive was
definitely the word for him.

Her head swam when he whirled with her in
his arms, changing positions as he put her beneath him on the wide,
padded bench. He was so damn strong. It was a total turn on. He
lifted her as if she weighed nothing at all. She felt petite next
to him, which wasn’t something she normally felt with guys. She was
the tallest of her sisters, and though none of them were waif-thin,
she was built a little more…uh…substantially than her sisters.

Her height and curves had made her feel
self-conscious with a lot of guys, but it seemed none of those old
insecurities plagued her when she was with Tom. He was a big man.
Taller than she was, his body was coated in hard, rippling muscles.
He treated her like she was a goddess, and with him, she felt it.
Just a little.

Make that a lot.

He undressed her, moving faster now that he
knew she was eager for more. She urged him on, helping by tugging
at his clothes, undoing the small buttons on his shirt and his
dress pants. He dressed very urbanely for a bear, she thought,
smiling.

And she’d give anything, right about now, to
see him in nothing at all.

Apparently, that’s what he wanted too
because he didn’t stop stripping her, even while he was kissing the
breath from her body. He let her up for air, only to begin a new
assault as his mouth trailed hot, wet kisses down over her skin,
pausing at all the interesting places.

He laved her nipples with his tongue, making
her moan. He nibbled his way down her ribcage and over her tummy.
And then, he was there, between her splayed thighs, his mouth
giving her the most intimate kiss imaginable while his hands roamed
over her thighs, caressing and squeezing, holding them far apart
for his pleasure.

She felt mastered and cherished, all at the
same time. Never before had she felt this way with a man. Tom knew
what he wanted, and he made it exactly what she wanted too.
Anything. She’d give him anything by the time she came apart under
the powerful influence of his tongue on her clit and up her
channel. He knew just how to play her to make her scream.

And scream she did. His name echoed through
the trees around the patio a split second before he rose up and
slid into her quaking body. He held her thighs high and wide while
he took possession of her spasming channel, his gaze holding hers
while her orgasm went on and on…to heights she’d never visited
before.