“Hey.” His lips curved up at the edges, and I wanted to nibble on the bottom one.
Trinity whispered, “Oh, my gosh.
You two are too cute.”
Large hands glided down my back to cup my butt. “I think that’s our sign to get out of here.”
“C’mon, you can’t be all grumpy anymore, Cason,” Trinity complained. “Not only did I give you a niece and a nephew last night, but I also brought Peppa practically to your doorstep since I’m the reason she’s in Timber Ridge in the first place.”
“I’m the furthest thing from grumpy, Trin,” Cason assured her as he lifted me off my feet, urging me to wrap my legs around his waist. “I just want my mate all to myself now that I’ve found her.”
He carried me out of the room, marching past his mom standing in the hallway with a huge grin on her face and tears streaming down her cheeks. Twining my arms around his neck, I stared at his gorgeous face while he carried me all the way out to the parking lot and deposited me in the passenger seat of his car. I shivered when his knuckles brushed against my breast as he buckled my belt for me.
I kept my gaze on him as he circled the car, got into the passenger seat, and started up the engine. He pulled out of the lot so quickly that the tires squealed, making me giggle. “I think you might’ve left skid marks back there.”
His dark eyes were full of sensual promise as he turned his head and scanned down my body. “Are you surprised that I’m in a rush to get you back to my house?”
“Nope.” I rubbed my thighs together to try to ease the unfamiliar ache between my legs. “In fact, feel free to drive faster.”
He pressed on the gas, and we hurtled down the street. “That trip my brother and Trinity took to Chicago, it was to meet with you?”
“Yeah.” I told him about my old job at Castagna and why I’d jumped at the chance to move to Timber Ridge when Trinity offered me a job.
“That explains it,” he muttered, gripping the steering wheel hard enough that his knuckles turned white.
I pressed my palm against his thigh, fur rippling under my skin when I felt the muscles bunch under my touch. “Explains what?”
“Why my wolf has been such a pain in the ass the past few months.” He dropped his right arm and threaded his fingers through mine. “Trinity must’ve still had a trace of your scent on her clothes or something when she came home.”
I wondered if that was why my lioness had settled into Timber Ridge so quickly. Obviously, it was because she’d caught Cason’s scent but kept it a secret from me until he returned. When he turned onto my street and pulled into a driveway, I wanted to kick my butt for not catching on sooner. “Is this your place?”
“Yeah.”
“No wonder it’s been empty since I got here.” I gestured toward the house next door. “That’s mine.”
“You mean it was yours. Now your place is with me,” he growled as he threw the vehicle into park in his driveway and wrenched his door open.
He swept me off my feet and carried me toward his house as soon as I climbed out of the passenger seat. I didn’t try to get out of his hold as I complained, “I really like my house. I’ve gotten comfortable since I arrived.”
“If you want to stay there after the memories we make at my place today, we’ll move all my stuff over.”
I loved how his promise made me feel, especially the first part. I had zero experience with sex, but I was really looking forward to what was about to happen.
4
Cason
Getting my mate inside my house took the edge off my wolf, but not by much. He was urging me to sink my cock inside her tight pussy, marking her with my come so I could sink my teeth in her soft skin and finally mark her as ours. I needed her upstairs in my bed, and it had to happen right away since I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to maintain my control.
I was happy as fuck that crime was nil in Timber Ridge because it meant that I hadn’t bothered to lock my door when I headed over to the hospital. I was able to keep Peppa in my arms as I turned the knob and shouldered the door open. Kicking the hard surface shut behind me, I headed straight for the stairs and our room. When I dropped her onto my mattress, my wolf eased even more. “I never thought I’d be this fucking lucky.”
“I can’t be that much of a surprise.” Peppa got up on her knees and arched a brow. “Every shifter grows up hearing about how magical the moment is when you find your mate.”
I kicked off my shoes and ripped off my jacket and shirt before I explained, “Not me. I grew up listening to stories about the awful luck the males in my family have when it comes to finding their mates.”
Her plump lips curved down at the edges, and her golden eyes filled with sadness even as her gaze stayed glued to my bare chest. “But Damon and Trinity found each other and just had twins. Didn’t that give you hope?”
“Nope.” I shook my head as I undid the button on my jeans and slid the zipper down. “Before me, there hadn’t been a generation where more than one male Kemp ended up happily mated. I thought I’d end up like our brother Aaron, destined to be alone for the rest of my life. But then I walked into the hospital, and there you were. My miracle. My mate.”