The Mate Challenge (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Sassy Mates Book 4) (9 page)

“That’s better than good, sweetheart.” He slid a hand around her hip and between her legs, spreading her pussy lips open and flicking a finger on her clit. “Let’s make it amazing.”

He tapped her clit, almost tugging the tiny bundle of aching nerves. She gasped, her back curving as the tension unraveled inside her to the speed of a derailed train. She choked on a scream, gasping at the force of her climax. Her pussy squeezed his driving cock in a tight grip.

“Ah, baby. That’s what I like,” He groaned. “Your pussy sucking me deep.”

He growled by her ear and struck, biting deep into the fleshy back of her shoulder. Another wave of pleasure assailed her to the point it left her shaking.

His bite on her hurt, but he didn’t let go. Instead, he bit again and slowed his thrusts. Then he tensed completely, filling her womb with his seed. He continued coming longer than ever before. Her body softened, dropping down to the bed once he was done.

He moved them on their sides, still embedded in her pussy and not appearing to want to get out. She sighed, leaning into his embrace and closed her eyes. Her shoulder burned and hurt like a bitch. Mason placed kisses on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry I had to hurt you,” he said softly.

She yawned, closing her eyes and wincing. “It definitely hurts, but I’ll be okay.”

He kissed the back of her neck and pulled her closer, cupping her breasts with his hand. “You’re mine, brat. I’m not going anywhere. I’m always here for you.”

She smiled at the way he said the words. A promise to her. She’d known Mason wasn’t going to leave her side, ever. Even if she hadn’t mated him. This just gave them a deeper bond. At least he wasn’t talking marriage. That was a whole different can of worms.

Emma woke up with a smile. Mason had once again managed to outdo himself. Her memories of the previous night came back with aches and pain of too much loving. She could hear him in her kitchen. Excitement rushed through her and she stood to go to the bathroom.

She glanced at herself in the mirror looking for something, anything different. Nothing. She frowned at her reflection. How long would it take for her to know if she was going to change or not? He’d bitten her twice and from what she knew that was once more than most people did to mate.

Nothing felt different. She didn’t look like her friends with that golden rim around her eyes. What if it didn’t take? What if she was going to be the only one who stayed human? Fucking hell!

She sighed and took a shower, worrying about whether she’d turn or not was not productive. Besides, she and Mason had to talk. Having been so emotionally distraught the previous night had stopped her from telling him about what he did.

Once she’d dressed, she headed for the kitchen and found him making toast and coffee.

“You messed up my surprise,” he said, pulling her to him for a kiss.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him, taking his warmth and loving how protected she felt. “What surprise?”

“I was bringing you breakfast in bed.”

She raised her brows and stared at the half-burned toast. “I could have sworn your mother praised all her boys for knowing how to cook. I don’t think you paid any attention when she gave classes.”

He grinned and her heart melted. Stupid hormones again. Ah, fuck it. He was a sexy god and she loved staring at his face.

“I did pay attention but I haven’t had much time on my hands to really practice. So I sort of forgot most of it.”

She squinted, giving him a suspicious look. “Is that why you always want us to go out. Or for me to cook?”

He nodded, his shoulders slumping. “Yeah. I didn’t want you to know I’m the only one that can’t cook out of the four of us.”

“Great. How do I end up with the mutt that isn’t domesticated?”

He grabbed her ass and squeezed. “Careful, or I might have to show you my animal side again.”

Ah hell. Why did she have to go to work? It was so overrated. “I would love nothing more than to start doggy training you,” she laughed at his frown, “but I have to go to work.”

She kissed him again and stood there for a second just enjoying him holding her.

He kissed the top of her head and mumbled. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”

She pulled away and picked up her bag. When he offered her a piece of the burnt toast she shook her head and scrunched her nose. “No, thanks. I’ll get something on the way to work.”

At the door, she turn to glance at his hot body one last time. “Don’t pee on my carpet, mutt.”

“Don’t play with fire, Emma. Unless you don’t want to make it to work.”

“And don’t bite any of my good shoes!” She added to mess with him a little more.

“Emma!”

“Later, mutt. Be a good boy.” The last thing she heard was his growl as she walked out the door, giggling.

* * *

Emma was half-way through her work day when she got a text message from Aria.

I must see you. It is important.

It had been almost a week since she’d spoken to Aria. Emma knew that whatever it was would be helpful toward her search for Maria. The rest of the day dragged and she wished she could skip out early in order to go meet the vampire. Much good that would do. Aria couldn’t be out in the day time anyway. So even if she could have gotten out of school, Emma would still have had to wait to see her.

By the time evening rolled around, she was chomping at the bit, counting the minutes. Aria had asked Emma to meet her at the same spot she’d parked by the mansion. She’d readied to leave her house when Barbara showed up.

“Barbara, hi,” she said, wondering what Mason’s mother was doing there.

Barbara smiled and pointed to her car. “Ready to go?”

Emma frowned, trying to figure out what Barbara was talking about. “Where are we going?”

“Wow. I wouldn’t expect you to forget. You’re usually the one on top of everything. We’re supposed to go to dinner tonight.”

That’s right! Barbara had called her a few weeks back and made the date so they could spend some time together. She felt Emma needed to get out and relax because all the previous wedding planning had stressed her out.

“Um,” now what? Barbara was a wonderful person and Emma knew she could trust her to know what she was doing. “I was just going out, but why don’t you come with me?”

Interest sparked in Barbara’s blue eyes. “Sure. Where are we going?”

They got in Emma’s car and she started driving before she finally told her. “Don’t freak out.”

“Uh-oh. Usually when people say that it’s because they know you’ll freak out.”

“Yeah,” she laughed. “That’s what I’m afraid of. We’re going to see a new friend of mine.”

She glanced away from the road to catch Barbara’s brows lifting in surprise. “Oh?”

“As you know, I’m trying to find out what happened to one of my students. I requested someone’s help and she might have some information for me.”

They reached the area where Emma had last seen Aria. She shut off the engine and sighed.

“Is there anything else you want to tell me about your friend, Emma?”

She bit her lip. “Like what?”

Darkness fell around them. But once her eyes adjusted, she was able to make out the area.

“Oh, I don’t know. Like the fact she’s got killer curves and can suck you dry in a manner of minutes?”

Emma jerked her gaze up from her cell phone to look out of her windshield. Aria stood in front of her car.

Barbara opened the passenger side, hopping out quickly. Emma followed suit, hoping the two women wouldn’t find it hard to get along. She knew that vampires and shifters didn’t mix, but when it came to it, there were lives at stake and she hoped they could put their species differences to the side.

“I see you brought another pet,” Aria sighed. She folded her arms over the top of her black T-shirt. Tonight, she’d worn hip-hugging jeans that Emma had to admit looked amazing on her and a set of spike heeled boots. The vampire knew how to dress. “What is it with humans and dogs?”

“I’d watch that pretty mouth of yours, little girl. This
dog
bites,” Barbara growled.

Oh, shit. “Aria, please. This is Barbara Wolfe, mate to the Alpha of the Wolfe Pack and a wonderful friend of mine. She’s just as worried about finding Maria as I am,” Emma said, hoping her words would cut the tension between the two.

Aria nodded. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Wolfe. I have had a very trying day and it’s showing in my lack of manners.”

“That part, I can understand. Try having five kids to drive you insane and then you can talk about having a trying day,” Barbara muttered.

“Barbara, I’m sorry for this change of plans, but you know I’m trying to figure out what could have happened to Maria.” She turned to Aria. “Tell me you found out something?”

“Yeah. Quite a few things. One of them being I am almost sure someone in my clan is keeping things from me. I can’t say that your girl went to Embraced, but that’s a high possibility right now.”

“Any way we can find out?” Barbara asked.

Emma tapped the side of her car with her nails. “I went by the club with Nic the other day. You hardly see anyone going there.”

“That’s because a lot of the dealings happen via the back entrance,” Aria stated. “Feel like taking a ride?”

“No need to tell me twice, let’s go,” Barbara exclaimed, jumping back into Emma’s car.

“So who runs this place,” Emma asked Aria as she drove.

“Technically, it’s supposed to be a free sharing of blood and sex between my clan and one located further south,” Aria said in the quiet car. “Back in the time of my parents, they’d tried to find a place for the vampires to congregate.”

“Do you know anything about this other clan?” Barbara asked, shifting sideways in her seat to glance at Aria in the back seat.

“My council deals with them more than I did, but I think the idea was that one day I would unite both by marrying their clan leader. His blood-line is muddy and he’s looking to clean it up by uniting with me.”

“I don’t understand,” Emma mumbled. “Muddy?”

“I am a direct descendant, blood born, of Miralla Abarca. The original Queen of the night. He’s not. He was turned by someone who was turned. The strength and powers decrease when you are not directly linked to a clean blood-line.”

“Oh.”

They neared the club when Aria told her to turn down an alley and park.  They left the car and walked to the mouth of the alley, where they could see the back entrance to the club’s building. A group of people were entering the door so they stood back and watched.

“Why do they use the back door and not the front?” Emma whispered. She wiggled in her stretchy pants. They were the most comfortable pair she owned and she wasn’t sure what the night would entail so decided to go for comfort.

“Those that are regulars use the back door, but visitors from out of town or newer vampires are scanned and tagged in the front.”

Emma threw a glance over her shoulder at Aria. “Scanned and tagged?”

Aria grinned, showing off her fangs. “Non-vampires should not be able to get in there.”

The sound of a van coming down the street in front of them got their attention. Wheels screeched as the vehicle came to a sudden stop. Two big, buff men jumped out of the front of the van and opened the back door. One of the guys was bald, wearing a white T-shirt and black jeans. Multiple tattoos and piercings covered his face and arms. The other guy, much shorter, with short dark hair but just as muscled, wearing all black followed.

Emma gasped as she watched two young girls leave the van.

“I don’t know about this,” a blonde girl, no more than fifteen said. “We should go home and not into any vampire clubs.”

Aria hissed behind Emma.

“Yeah,” the young brunette girl said. “We changed our minds. We want to go home.”

The two men grabbed the girls by the arms and laughed. “You can’t change your minds now.”

“They’re shifters,” Barbara growled softly.

Then, to add to their surprise, the back door to the club slammed open and a short blond man walked out to meet with the shifters.

“Are these our blood donors for tonight?” Blond guy asked the men.

Bald headed guy snarled. “Don’t get too close to me, bloodsucker. Rocco sends these with his regards. Said he expects payment when the time comes.”

Emma glanced over her shoulder at Aria. The vampire was silent and unmoving, but the fire in her eyes spoke volumes. Deathly volumes. She whispered really low. “Does he look familiar?”

Aria shook her head. “Must belong to the southern clan.”

A second guy came out of the club wearing full body leather. His hair was slicked back to show a widow’s peak on his pale face. “I’ll take one.”

Emma couldn’t wait any longer. She motioned for everyone to move back toward her car.

“Look,” she murmured. “We have to get those girls out of there before they make it into that place.”

Aria nodded, her lips pressed into a tight line. “If they do, they’re as good as dead.”

“I’m ready. I just kicked some of the enforcers’ asses at the training center yesterday,” Barbara said. “But Emma is human and can get hurt.”

Emma took that moment to pull out her shotgun from the trunk, along with a piece of metal tube pipe she carried on her driver’s side. “I like to keep these handy. For close encounters of the supernatural kind.”

“Okay,” Aria said, her fangs peeking, “leave the vampires to me.”

Emma blinked and Aria was gone. She rushed to the alley entrance where Barbara zoomed past her toward the two shifters holding the girls hostage.

Aria jumped through the air, landing on her heels in front of the two vampires. She hissed, baring her fangs and backhanded the leather-clad guy to the building across from the club. His back hit the concrete wall and he slid down with a groan.

The blond vampire’s eyes went wide at the sight of her. He worked his mouth, but nothing came out. He jumped back, his body flying through the air. He pulled out a gun from the waistband of his pants.

“You idiots!” Aria hissed. “Haven’t you ever been told not to argue with a mistress?”

Barbara knocked the two shifters from behind.

Emma took that moment to motion the two girls toward her. They ran for Emma at the same time the shifters jumped to their feet. She shoved the girls behind her, all the while holding the shot gun ready in front of her. She didn’t want to leave in case they needed her help, but it seemed Aria and Barbara had kicked things off with a bang.

Barbara growled, her body shifting and twisting into her white wolf. She jumped, knocking one of the men down again. Barbara bit at the guy’s thigh, but he slammed an elbow into her side. She whimpered and let go of him. The second guy returned, trying to kick Barbara.