The Bear's Hired Mate: A Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (14 page)

“Somebody start popping bottles!” a Young Were Society member said grabbing Jane’s arm. Jane wasn’t quite sure what the woman’s name was, but she believed in the sentiment.

“Yes! Keep the champs flowing,” Jane agreed with a laugh. The woman returned her smile and squeezed Jane’s arm before directing her to a VIP table with bottles and glasses. The women did a silent cheer to Jane’s engagement and her ring was passed around some more as her champagne flute was filled and refilled.

Eventually, the women started splitting up. Some headed home and others moved out on the dance floor, Jane included. She left Carrie behind to continue a conversation happening via text in the VIP area - it being far too loud to actually talk. As Jane shimmied and shook her way through hits of the 80’s, 90’s, and today she found that she had really missed having a close-knit group of women to get together with and hang out.  Carrie and the other tattoo artists were really great, but it was nice to be with people who’s entire lives weren’t art and ink.

Jane was feeling happily tipsy when she and Carrie left the bar, waving to her newfound friends. Carrie was laughing as she helped direct Jane to a taxi. “You my friend, are a cheap date.”

“I like to keep it classy,” Jane retorted and Carrie rolled her eyes. “Seriously, I don’t have your werebear ability to drink like a fish and still walk straight.”

“Jane, that’s not a secret ability - I just didn’t drink an entire bottle of champagne myself tonight!”

Jane’s brows furrowed. “I didn’t have my own bottle…”

“No, you had a little bit from a lot of bottles. However, I’m willing to bet that it totals a whole bottle of your very own, judging by your ability to navigate getting into a cab.”

Jane wanted to give Carrie the stink eye, but it was getting increasingly difficult to drop into the cab’s worn leather seats with the earth rocking like a ship. Carrie gave her a little push and she dropped with an “oomph” into the car.

Carrie laughed evilly as she slipped in with the unnatural grace all of the werebears seemed to have. “Vincent doesn’t know what he’s in for does he?”

Jane pulled out her phone and began texting the man in question. “He’s about to,” Jane said with an eyebrow wiggle and Carrie gave her a little shove.

“Eww, that is both gross and grossly unfair. Have some respect for my brother-like relationship with Vincent and the fact that I’m going home to an empty bed this evening. I don’t know whether to be jealous or disgusted.”

“You should definitely be jealous,” Jane confirmed with a smug smile.

CHAPTER TEN

Vincent looked up from his computer as Jane barged in the door. He’d been working on some financials for Midnight Ink and the other franchises that comprised Vegas’s largest tattoo company. Vincent had been working on forgetting yet another email from his father that had demanded they make the official announcement about Vincent and Jane’s engagement and the forthcoming wedding. Vincenzo wanted the event to happen in the space of a month and Vincent’s stomach churned just thinking about breaking that news to Jane.

Which was why he was incredibly relieved to find his fiancé swinging around the entrance to their bedroom, wearing nothing but a very expensive set of pink lace undergarments and a smile. Her scent was tinged with the sparkling effervescence of champagne and her flushed cheeks confirmed the situation.

His Jane was drunk as a skunk and turned-on to boot. All thoughts involving a serious conversation about the timeline of their engagement flew out of Vincent’s head. All he wanted to engage in right now was foreplay. As if she could read his mind, Jane smiled a sexy little smile and waltzed into the room, her curvy hips and ample breasts swaying with the movement.

“Guess what, Vincent? Tonight I made friends. I made friends, I drank champagne, and I got my groove on. It was awesome,” Jane said approaching Vincent’s side of the bed. “And you know how I want to end this night of kicking ass?”

The question was obviously rhetorical, but Jane’s eyes still flashed to Vincent’s in question. Gauging the level of Vincent’s interest, Jane raised an eyebrow and reached out to shut the laptop and move it safely out of the way. Pulling back the covers, she finally answered her own question. “I want to fuck you till you call my name. Because I’m going to be the First Son’s Mate and I deserve that kind of adoration.”

Vincent’s deep laugh rumbled out in response to the unexpected answer. Confidence looked good on Jane.

Jane leaned forward and drew Vincent up to standing, his over seven feet giving him the perfect view of her cleavage as her hands went to the buttons on his shirt. Vincent watched as her manicured fingers popped button after button and then spread the edges of his shirt wide. She seemed to take a moment to enjoy the view of his muscular chest and washboard abs. Jane ran her hands over the terrain and Vincent shivered in response to the touch of her cool hands on his warm skin. As her hands drifted lower to his waistband and her mouth dropped to the skin of his stomach, Vincent could feel his abs tighten reflexively in response to both the sensation and anticipation.

Slowly opening his zipper, Jane followed by placing one whole hand on each of his hipbones and pulling his jeans down, while simultaneously feeling every curve and hollow of his legs. She kissed the tip of his erection as she dropped to her knees on the floor. Going commando had it’s benefits, Vincent thought on a growl.

Vincent had closed his eyes thinking that Jane would immediately stand up after the full-body depantsing was done, but his eyes flew open as Jane’s warm mouth returned to the tip of his manhood. Placing another chaste kiss on its tip, Jane smiled and actually nuzzled the throbbing erection. Kissing her way down its length, she pulled her dark hair into a messy knot on top of her head. Vincent felt himself pulse as Jane prepared to get down to business. When her lips parted and drew him into her mouth, Vincent thought he would perish right there on the spot.

He felt the muscles of his back and ass tighten with the need to hold himself in place. Ever so slowly, Jane drew him back out of her mouth before bringing him in again like sucking down a popsicle in summer. Vincent stared, mesmerized, as he watched her cheeks suck in with the effort of pulling him back in and letting him slip back out. He was just getting used to the push and pull of her technique, when Jane changed it. Bringing a hand to the soft skin of his balls, she massaged the tender area in her hand while pulling back up and flicking her tongue around the head of his erection.

Vincent groaned so low he swore he felt the bed behind him shake with the base of it. Nothing in this world felt as good as her mouth at this moment. He looked down to find Jane staring up at him from beneath her lashes. She oozed sexuality and looked like a damn goddess on her knees. Vincent decided to end the practice before he lost control, but Jane switched it up again, now pulling him in and out of her mouth while moving her head from side to side. The twisting sensation made Vincent see stars and he could only endure the motion for a minute before he pulled himself from her delicate grip and dropped to his knees himself.

Jane’s face was a surprised “O” that was accented with a gasp as Vincent tore the expensive lace from her skin, simply shredding the delicate fabric. Vincent looked at her hungrily before lifting her up and throwing her on the bed. With no warning and no holds barred, he went down on her with abandon, the werebear in him needing to taste his mate.

As Vincent licked up and down the folds of Jane’s womanhood, he devoured both her salty taste as well as the moans that were freely escalating. Vincent judged that Jane was enjoying the figure eight motion his tongue was completing, and decided that slipping two fingers into the warm wetness of her could only improve matters. When Jane almost jumped off the bed with the first flick of his fingers, Vincent knew he’d done well.

Grinning at her with satisfaction, Vincent pushed her high and fast. Jane’s pleasure wasn’t his only motivation, he wanted fulfillment of his own. By the time Jane was begging for release, Vincent felt his own control slipping. He stood up and moved between her legs, draping her ankles over his shoulders. Gripping her hips, he lofted them into the air and drove into her swift and hard. Again and again and again, he slammed into her, the smack of her ass against his skin the soundtrack for their lovemaking.

Beyond the point of no return, Vincent reached down and gave Jane what she needed to fall over the edge of her orgasm. A press of his thumb to her most sensitive area ended in a scream of release from Jane. Vincent, too, rushed toward his own orgasm, and when he felt Jane’s hand snake between their bodies to fondle his balls, he came in a rush, shouting Jane’s name just as she demanded.

Jane smiled, satisfied on so many levels, before allowing her hand and body to melt into the bed. Boneless, satisfied, and still quite tipsy, Jane was drifting off to sleep before Vincent had left her body. Reaching down, Vincent scooped her body into his arms and moved her to the middle of the bed before sliding between the cool sheets himself. As he wrapped her body in his own, he promised himself that tomorrow he’d speak to her about the official announcement before they left for Midnight Ink. Then he breathed in her gardenia scent and let himself follow her into their dreams. 

---   ---   ---

The next morning, Vincent made sure to wake up first and order breakfast in. He tried to wait for Jane to wake up and join him, but as his eyes tracked the progress of the clock, he started to worry that she wouldn’t be up in time to have a conversation before they headed off to Midnight Ink - and he had a client coming in as soon as they opened. Going back into the dimly lit bedroom, Vincent gently shook Jane awake and into a hangover. He watched her as she stumbled to the bathroom to drown her regret in having consumed too many glasses of champagne in the hot steam of the waterfall showerhead.

Vincent hedged his bets by handing in a cup of coffee to Jane as she sat on the teak bench of the shower in the warm humidity. Her eyes looked clear if a bit tired, and her smile boosted his confidence that the morning's talk would go well. Vincent left her to the soothing spray and opened his email to run through a little correspondence before he had his talk with Jane.

The first email stopped him in his tracks. It was an unofficial request from the Mezzanotte Board to complete the mating process with Jane.

Vincent felt sick to his stomach. The email was time stamped at 9 am and mentioned that Jane herself had confirmed her engagement with a group of were women the night before and they were recommending that the wedding happen as soon as possible so as to fully protect Jane from the advances of other Werebear Clans.

The second email was from his father, which coldly chided him for allowing the engagement to get out before the official press release and wedding date. Vincenzo moved on to iterate all of the ways in which this had opened up Jane to enemy attack. Vincent slammed the laptop shut as Jane walked out of the bedroom dressed in a pair of skinny leather pants and a cropped blazer over a plain white t-shirt, though the rhinestones on both her necklace and stiletto pumps made up for the ostensibly casual attire. She was obviously sporting a fair amount of make-up, because she looked far fresher than she had a half an hour ago.

Vincent took a deep breath of his mate’s scent and reminded himself to stay calm. This conversation had to go well. “Pour yourself some more coffee. I ordered up eggs for you, though the other tray is pancakes and you can switch me breakfasts if you like.”

Jane took a deep sip, finishing off her first cup of coffee before lifting the lids on both plates and sitting down to the eggs. Vincent walked over and kissed her before sitting down to the pancakes. “I thought you deserved a breakfast fit for the mate of the First Son after last night,” he teased.

“I had hoped you would be impressed with my performance,” Jane retorted with a blush.

“Hmm, I was more than impressed, though I might have to see a repeat of the show before confirming my opinion. A matinee perhaps?”

Jane brushed him off. “Not today my friend. I need to rebuild my strength,” she said taking a big bite of eggs.

“Speaking of being the mate of the First Son,” Vincent said taking Jane’s hand and worrying at the engagement ring, “we have to set a date.”

Jane took a sip of coffee as a stopgap and told herself to stay positive. “Well, I thought we’d have a longer engagement, so I’m not sure it makes sense to pick a date right now. Would they be happy with a month and a year perhaps? I always liked the idea of getting married in the fall.”

Vincent shook his head. “Actually, my love, we need to pick an actual date.”

Jane gave a half frown and picked up her cell phone to sift through the calendar app. “I mean, I guess we can pick one at random...if we need to change it later when we pick a venue it can’t be that big of a deal, right?”

Vincent squeezed the hand he still held. “Jane, look at me.” Vincent waited until her green eyes locked onto his. “Jane we need to get married sooner than I know you wanted to.”

Now Jane fully frowned down at the app before looking back to Vincent. “How much sooner?”

Vincent took a deep breath. “As soon as possible. In fact, if you were open to getting married in private and holding a reception later that would be best for all involved.”

Jane’s eyes narrowed. “Who all is involved in our wedding besides us?”

Vincent became aware that he had made a critical error in mentioning other people. “Well, you are marrying into the ruling family of the Clan...there are a lot of people to consider when it comes to our marriage.”

“No, I don’t want to consider anyone else when it comes to our big day. I joined meetings and societies and causes for everyone else, I said yes to an engagement ring for everyone else, I’m studying day and night for everyone else. This wedding is mine. It’s mine and it’s yours and I refuse to consider anyone else when it comes to celebrating our mating.” Jane finished by crossing her arms over her ample chest, a sign that there was going to be very little that would move her to change her mind.

But Vincent had to try. “Jane, traditionally, matings happen very fast. When both parties are werebears they don’t need to take the time to integrate like you’ve been doing. This isn’t abnormal.”

“Actually, Vincent, it is. Last night at the Society Meeting, all of the women were saying that they needed time to get to know their mates before they actually married them. This is normal, my feelings are NORMAL.”

“Nothing about this is normal, Jane,” Vincent spat. “Being the mate of the First Son and future leader doesn’t give you the grace period enjoyed by normal werebears.”

Jane sucked in a breath. “So you’re saying there’s no room for my own feelings and opinions in this conversation? I have to bow down, yet again, to tradition, the board, and you, to find happiness in life?”

“You need to listen to what I’m saying, Jane if you want a life. Things aren’t as they seem. There are things going on politically that you aren’t aware of.”

Vincent was grasping at straws, trying so hard not to tell her about the threat that had been made on her life. On top of all the stress, he didn’t want to add that, but it was looking like he had no other choice. He was about ready to let it slip, when Jane suddenly stood up.