Roaring for Him (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Wicked in Wilder Book 1) (24 page)

The two tussled, nothing like what she’d done with Phoebe earlier in the day. No, this was a joyous roll across the ground; Mitchell’s laughs echoed by Roman’s snarls and barks. And it was all fun and games until… the two men went rolling down the steps, her mate grunting and groaning as a sharp corner dug into his body. Damn, there went his coffee. Even Roman released a whimper or two. All the while, Tilly smiled, her lips parting in a wide grin and her heart lifted with their roughhousing. Despite the drama, they managed to find happiness. If only…

Mitchell gave Roman one last shove and then hopped to his feet, shooting her a wide smile as he held out his hand. “Come on.” He wiggled his fingers. “Let me introduce you to these guys.”

Tilly slowly descended the steps and moved to his side, leaning into him with a sigh when he placed his arm around her waist. The men approached, some wolves some not. Those in human form quickly introduced themselves.

Austin.

Cooper.

Jake.

And… Roman.

While Cooper—in wolf form—had only stepped forward to sniff her hand and licked her fingers in welcome, Roman had to go further. He padded toward her, stopping when three feet still separated them, and began his shift. The first snap of bone reached her, followed by a low crack, and then… Mitchell’s furious snarl.

“If you think you’re gonna shift and be naked in front of my mate, you’ve got another thing coming, asshole.” Mitchell released her and took a threatening step toward Roman. “Cut that shit out now, fucker.”

Roman shuddered once, a rolling tremble sliding through him from nose to tail, and then he gave her what she could only describe as a doggie smile. His tongue hung from his mouth and a teasing warmth filled his yellow eyes. He released a high-pitched yip, and danced in place. He rose from his sitting position to four legs, tail wagging, and seemed to beg her to come forward.

Tilly moved toward the teasing wolf before her mate could stop her. She outstretched her hand and scratched Roman behind the wolf’s ear. She smiled widely when Roman’s leg lifted and scratched at the air.

“He’s not a fucking dog,” Mitchell snarled.

Tilly looked over her shoulder, eyebrow raised and she challenged him. “And I’m not a fucking cat, but you like hearing me purr, don’t you?”

That earned them a round of snorts that even werewolf-shaped Cooper joined in.

Her mate glared, but she knew it wasn’t at her. It was more like the situation. And her assumption was proven when he growled low and ran the four men off until they were alone—mostly—in the backyard. There was no forcing them to leave fully, not when they still needed the vigilance and protection of others. But at least they had personal space once again.

Mitchell led her toward one of the deck chairs, his grip on her wrist keeping her captive and forcing her to follow him. He immediately flopped into the seat and dragged her into his lap. She barely managed to salvage her mug by setting it on the ground beside the chair.

Tilly sighed and leaned into him, taking comfort in his closeness as his scent and arms surrounded her. She lowered her head to his shoulder and let her eyes drift closed. She nuzzled his neck and wiggled closer, smiling when he grew hard beneath her ass.

“Quit it,” he traced her thigh and squeezed her hip. “I’m not having a hard dick while my men are hanging around.”

She smiled. “Really? It seems you are.”

“Dammit, baby.” He growled low and turned his head, rubbing his rough cheek against hers as he whispered into her ear. “If you don’t stop, I’m going to have you here. I’ll peel off all these layers, lay you out on this chair, and bury myself between your thighs.” His grip on her hip tightened, and she felt rather than saw his pointed nails. “And I don’t give a fuck who will be watching because then they’ll fucking know you’re mine.”

She wanted that. All of it. But now wasn’t the time. Not when they had trouble from Mitchell’s pack and her mother lurking on the horizon.

“Maybe next time,” she murmured.

Her words were immediately followed by a low whine from the darkness. And
that
was followed by a furious growl from Mitchell.

“Shut the fuck up, Roman. You’re not about to get your rocks off watching me and my mate.”

She snorted. “Isn’t that what happens when an alpha takes a mate? They, uh, get it on in front of everyone?”

His anger rippled through the air, the fury skated over her skin in an abrasive caress. “No.”

She pulled away and tilted her head back to meet his gaze, a single eyebrow raised. She knew the truth, but it looked like he didn’t want to accept it. “Oh, really? Because I’m pretty sure that’s what happens with lions, tigers, and bears.”

A voice drifted from the darkness. “
Oh my.
”

Mitchell snarled and Tilly rolled her eyes and stared into the backyard, directing her voice toward where those two words emerged. “Really? As if I haven’t heard that one.”

“I’m gonna…”

“Do nothing. We’re out here to check in with our wolves and talk about our issues. Chill out.”

A new voice came from the darkness, this one familiar to her. “About that…”

They both focused on the male coming around the corner and then slowly climbing the steps.

“Hey, Kade.”

Unease coated him like a sticky blanket, the scent staining the air around him, and it slowly crept into her nose. “Tilly,” he tipped his head at her. He tilted his head to the side and bared his throat. “Alpha.”

She furrowed her brow, attention flicking from her mate to the beta and back again. “What’s going on?”

“That’s what we needed to talk about,” Mitchell murmured, but said no more.

“And…” And of course neither male said a word. “Hello? Would someone like to tell the rest of the class?”

Mitchell sighed. “It’s about one of the wolves who fucked with your bakery.”

“Oh, so you figured out who the other three were?”

That had both males staring at her intently, their gazes unwavering. “What? Darcy was there, but who else?”

Her mate glared at her. “You knew?”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course, I knew. Not right away, but it finally came to me. I may not be a wolf, but that doesn’t mean I don’t remember scents. Anyway. Who else was it?”

“No one recognized them. We’re assuming they’re from Darcy’s birth pack.”

“
Nice.
” That earned her two confused frowns. Aw, poor puppies. “That was sarcasm,” she drawled. “So, what are we doing about them?”

Mitchell was the first to respond. “Increased patrols and we’re calling on our allies.”

“Meaning…” Gah, men could give orders but sure as hell couldn’t seem to give her any type of explanations.

“Meaning we’re letting a few tigers and bears use our land to run in exchange for assistance when it’s needed. We’re opening up the territories. Well, parts of them.” Mitchell’s scent changed, telling her without words that he wasn’t too happy about it.

She refocused on him, not caring his guards lingered nearby or Kade stood not ten feet away. “You don’t have to do that. Not for me.” Over the years she’d learned more than one thing about alphas. They hated sharing. Period. “Not for us.”

“You still don’t understand, do you?” He cupped her cheek with his right hand. “I’ll do anything, give up anything, to keep you safe and make you happy. This is your safety. And when we mate, when I chase you through the forest, it’ll be because—when I catch you—I’ll make you very, very happy.”

Tilly groaned. “Really?”

“It’s gonna be very, very real.” He gave her a sexy smile.

“Oh, God.”

“The name’s Mitchell, but I’ve been told I fuck like a god.”

That had her lioness rising hot and fast, fury lining every sleek line of that animal, and her fangs burst free before she had a chance to stop them. “Mine.”

“Damn, baby, you make my dick hard when you get all possessive and shit.”

Kade coughed. Loudly. “Uh, can we not fuck on the porch? ’Cause that’d be great. I wouldn’t mind seeing Tilly’s tits because they look banging, but I could do without seeing Mitchell’s junk.”

Mitchell growled and shifted his weight, grip tightening as if he was about to set her aside. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and tugged him closer. In one swoop she captured his lips with hers, stealing a passionate kiss.

She delved between his lips, lapping at his flavors and she sighed as he took control. His tongue dueled with hers, dominating her with his rough kiss, and she reveled in his attentions. She accepted what he gave and didn’t resist when he took from her. His hands stroked her, fingers squeezing and caressing her as their embrace continued on and on and—

“I really meant it when I asked about the fucking,” Kade’s voice sliced through them both.

Tilly pulled away, her face hot with embarrassment, but Mitchell… Her mate bared his teeth at Kade and growled low.

Kade sighed. “For the love of… Five minutes, man. Maybe less. We gotta talk about Verity and her continued bullshit.”

That snared her attention and took them both from hot and bothered to purely pissed off.

“What?” She whipped the word out before Mitchell. “Has something happened?”

“Yeah. Found this in the mailbox.” Kade nodded and dug in his pocket. He handed over what he withdrew, only coming close enough to hand it to Mitchell before retreating. A glance at her mate’s face revealed the reason he was so jumpy. Her mate looked furious, eyes yellow, and gray fur peppering his cheeks.

He looked scary as hell. And that got her hot as hell.

She was a twisted, twisted woman.

She wasn’t sure she cared all that much.

Mitchell unfolded the page and held it as they both read the words.

“…revoked…

…effective midnight tomorrow…

…unless you pay…”

Tilly’s stomach clenched with unease, and panic had her heart fluttering, the beat uneven. Her mother really was gonna do it. She was gonna take Phee away from her and—

“Easy, baby. Easy.” Two strong arms encircled her. They closed in around her, caging her in and comforting her. “What’d I say before we came out here?”

What was this, twenty questions? Seriously?

“Tilly?” he persisted.

Right.
Right.
He didn’t want to only be her mate. Or not
only
her mate. He wanted
her
—everything.
He wanted her to lean on him, need him, turn to him when shit hit the fan and there was nowhere to go but down. Because… because he’d catch her. She just needed to trust in that. “Sorry. I’m fine. Just…” She pretended Kade didn’t exist and instead gave Mitchell her undivided attention. “I don’t want her taking Phee. I need help. I need you, Mitchell.”

“You have me, baby.” He stroked her cheek and he caught a tear on his thumb. Was she crying? God, she hadn’t even realized… “You have me and I’m gonna take care of it for you.”

“I’m not a child. I can—”

“No, you’re not a child, but you’re not a heartless bastard, either. Let me fight for you. Let me show them why they don’t fuck with Mitchell Blake’s mate.”

There was only one answer she could give him. “Okay.”

Mitchell was in
Bless Your Tart
’s kitchen baking penises.

Pe. Nises.

Plural. A quick glance told her he had a good three dozen spread out before him. He held a decorating bag—way too tightly—as he bent over one of the treats. He was intent on the cookie, grip tightening ever so slowly and Tilly saw disaster just waiting to happen. Not because he was squeezing too hard—which he was—or had the wrong tip in place—which he did—but because… he hadn’t twisted the end enough. A quick twist of one end of the bag ensured the icing would go out the tip and not back on him. So
because
he didn’t do that and
then
attempted to ice a cookie he ended up with a face full of Tilly’s prized icing.

Face. Full.

And she wasn’t going to laugh. Really. Especially when the pretty beige color that covered his features matched the color of
his
penis. Look at her not laughing.

Okay, she snorted and sniffled in an attempt to hold back her chuckles, but she decided those didn’t count.

“What the fuck?” Mitchell reared back as if he’d been bitten, and held the bag out at arm’s length. Look at her, still not laughing. Except her next snort was kinda-sorta-really a laugh and it drew his glare. “What the hell?”

Tilly swallowed her next laugh and pressed her lips together. “You have to hold it…” She padded forward and reached for the bag and quickly prepped it for him, making sure the icing was pressed to the bottom, twisted the end and then held out her free hand. “Here, lemme show you.”

Again.

“What happened? What’s wrong? I got your back.” Phee raced into the room, pepper spray in hand. She’d been grounded from shifting and they’d both vetoed her request to carry a baseball bat. Or rather, the school decided it was considered a weapon. A werebear wandering the halls was fine, but heaven help them if she carried a
bat
.

Phoebe
was
a weapon in her entirety. Allowing her to carry something to protect herself, even if it wouldn’t be as effective as her bear, calmed her. But whatever, she was not addressing the ignorance of Wilder High School’s principal. Her sister slid to a stop. “Oh.” She blinked. “You have penis on your face.”

Tilly should get an award for remaining quiet. The Annual
Didn’t Laugh When Her Mate Was Covered in Penis Icing
goes to…

“I don’t—” he bit off the word, “—have penis on my face.” He snatched the icing bag from Tilly’s hand. “This stupid thing—”

“You’re working on Dudeless Dongs, the bag is christened the
Great and Powerful Dong Maker
when in use.” Phee nodded and Tilly still stayed quiet.

Mitchell glared, beige icing
still
covering his face.

The bell at the front of the shop tinkled and Tilly cleared her throat. “Uh, Phee. I’ll…” she glanced at Mitchell, at the mess he’d made of himself, “take care of this.”

“Uh-huh.” Phoebe rolled her eyes. “Just don’t lick him clean. People expect their cookies to be spooge and
Want-a-Man-Juice
free.” Spooge.
Want-a-Man-Juice.
Oh God, Phee was spending way too much time with Emma. Before she could say a word, Phee was gone, her tinkling laugh flowing in her wake. Then that sound abruptly ended. “Oh, it’s you.”