Grayslake: More than Mated: The Right Spot (Kindle Worlds Novella) (7 page)

The way he was tearing at her clothing told her the answer was an emphatic
yes!

She did the same for him, raising his shirt and whipping it off over his head as he rid her of hers. Then her bra disappeared and he slowed for a minute, his big, warm hands covering her breasts, then pausing to play with her nipples. She sucked in a breath when he squeezed just right, then gasped as he dove down to suck first one and then the other into his mouth. His very talented mouth.

She was panting for air when he finally released one of her nipples with an audible pop. His hands had been busy while she’d been distracted. He lifted her briefly to lower her pants and panties in one well-orchestrated move. He’d done this before.

She didn’t mind his experience though. She’d never had such an adventurous lover and she’d never done it anywhere other than a bedroom. She needed him to take the lead a bit here, on unfamiliar territory. And she like his dominance. Her bear wanted to bask in his strength and roll around in his luscious, sexy scent. He was all male. And he was all hers. At least for now.

He stepped between her bare thighs, his hands caressing her skin in ways that made the fire within her leap. She didn’t want to wait. She wanted him. Right now. She unbuttoned his pants and began working the zipper down.

“Do you realize what we’re doing here,
querida
?” His lightly accented voice came to her, a dark whisper on the air. She made herself listen despite her distraction. “This is for keeps,
mi amor
.”

That shocked her gaze upward to meet his smoldering eyes, lit emerald from within. The cat was very near the surface, as she knew her bear was too. Her eyes were probably black with the bear’s presence, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“Keeps?” she repeated, needing to know for sure that he meant what she thought he meant.

“You are my mate,” he said simply, his eyes flaring with certainty.

“I—” Her throat too dry to speak, she swallowed, then tried again. “I know. You’re my mate too.”

A grin split his face with satisfaction. “Then we are in accord,” he said, smiling from ear to ear. She felt herself smiling back. Their animals were in alignment, as were their human sides. He dipped his head to kiss her. “
Te amo, mi amor.
I love you.”

The kiss went on and on. When he finally let her up for air, he held her face cupped gently in his palms and rested his forehead against hers.

“I love you too, Mario,” she whispered, so glad to be able to say it aloud. “I don’t know how it’ll all work out, but I love you. Forever.”

“Don’t worry about the future. It will work. We’ll make it work,” he promised her. “But right now, I think I’ll die if I don’t get inside you in the next few minutes.”

“Me too,” she admitted with a wicked grin, pushing his pants down and off his hips, then wrapping her calves around him. “Take me now.”

“You wish…” he slid forward, joining them in one long, slick move, “…is my command.”

She couldn’t help it. She giggled.

But then there was no more time for laughter as he began a pace that was both frenetic and full of significance. This wasn’t just mating. This was a good, old fashioned frenzy. A mating for all time. A mating to mark the beginning of something new and sacred.

And when they reached their climax, she bit down on his shoulder, as he bit into her skin. The momentary pain only increased the pleasure as she realized the significance of the moment.

Mating marks. They were together now. Never to be torn asunder.

Chapter Twelve

After that first round in the kitchen, Mario found the energy to move them into his bedroom, where he gave her a much slower, even more powerful ride—or so she claimed. It was all a bit of a blur to him. It wasn’t every day he claimed his mate for the first time. In fact, he’d never done it before, and would never do so again in this lifetime. Today was special.

Now if they could just get this problem with her sister ironed out, they could then take the time to really enjoy their new relationship. Maybe go on a honeymoon or something. Or just spend a few weeks in bed, only coming out for meals. Yeah, that would be pretty awesome.

Patty stirred at his side, running her fingers over his chest and upward toward his neck, skirting around the slightly sore spot on his shoulder. He didn’t care about the pain. Bring it on. He’d suffer anything to wear her mark and have the world know that he was hers, just as she was his.

“Sorry if I got a little carried away.” Her voice was a sexy, low rumble that washed over his senses as he rotated his head to meet her sultry gaze.

“Honey, you can get carried away with me any time your heart desires.” He smiled at her and her luscious lips lifted in an answering grin that made him want to kiss her again.

“I meant your shoulder. I didn’t mean to bite you so…thoroughly.”

He sat up in bed, looking at her and brushing his fingers across the skin just below the mark he’d left on her. He examined it closely.

“Are you in pain from this?” His fingers skimmed close to the mark again.

“Not really,” she answered, her eyes sparkling up at him. “I’m sort of giddy about it, if you want the truth. I can’t believe this all happened so fast.”

“That’s the way it is when mates recognize each other. Or so I have heard. I, for one, am glad to learn it’s true.” He dipped his head to kiss her shoulder lightly. “I have searched the world over for you, and now you are here.”

“I didn’t go as far, but I’m so glad you found me,” she whispered back.

He was about to go in for a deeper kiss when the quiet of the bedroom was shattered by the ringing of a phone. Both of them stiffened. That had to be the call they’d been waiting for.

“Looks like we’re back on the clock,” Mario said, giving her a peck on the cheek before jumping out of bed. He grabbed his phone, answering the call before it could ring for a third time.

As expected, it was Escobar. Everything was in position. Mario talked to his old friend for a few minutes, firming up the details of what they all expected to go down tonight. He saw Patty climb out of bed and head for the bathroom. She was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen, but he had to—somehow—keep his mind on the business at hand.

Everything was set. Now all he had to do was make the call that would release the two hitmen, then sit back and watch everything happen. With any luck, they could wrap this all up within the next few hours and then he and Patty would be free to start their lives together.

If the Goddess of his ancestors was smiling on them.

Patty took the fastest shower of her life, toweled off and re-dressed in the clothes she’d worn earlier. She was going to have to start keeping a change of clothing with her if they were going to be doing this kind of thing. What was she thinking—
if?
They were mates. She was going to be jumping Mario’s bones for the next fifty years or so.

She almost hugged herself, basking in the enormity of that thought.

“Almost ready in there?” Mario’s voice came to her through the door to the bathroom.

She was just finishing up, so she opened the door and went out to find him standing there in his black fatigue pants. Rawr. He looked sexy enough to bite. But wait. She’d already done that.

She couldn’t help the smile on her face as she walked right up to him and wrapped her good arm around his neck, sliding close for a quick kiss. She would’ve liked it to be more, but they only had time for one quick kiss before they both had to get their butts in gear.

They’d agreed that she would make the call to the station, since it wouldn’t look odd at all for a junior officer to be calling her place of work if anyone ever checked the phone records for any reason. Mario was handling the Spanish connection for obvious reasons, but Patty had already sworn to herself that she was going to learn the language at her earliest opportunity. That wouldn’t be fast enough to help with this situation, but she wanted to take an interest in her mate’s life and background. Learning the language of his homeland seemed a good place to start.

He stepped back, ending the kiss. He held out her cell phone and she took it. She knew what was supposed to happen next.

“I guess it’s show time.” She took a deep breath and punched in the numbers that would connect her to the station. She delivered the short message to Van and hung up. “They’ll let the two men out in about fifteen minutes.”

“If they come straight here, like I expect, we should see them in thirty,” Mario said, sending a quick text using his own phone. When he put away the phone he moved closer. “The ball is rolling now. We’d best prepare.”

Thirty minutes later, almost to the second, they heard noise coming from the house next door. They were already in the backyard, looking down on the house next door, each from separate trees. Bears were almost as good at climbing as cats, and it seemed to make the most sense for them to observe the action from above.

They weren’t supposed to engage the bad guys this time. They were only there to verify capture and act as backup, if necessary. Escobar’s men were going to do the dirty work of capturing the two ruffians.

When the time came, Patty was amazed at the stealth with which a team of heavily armed, green-clad men melted from the trees and shrubs that bordered the backyard next door. They had the house surrounded in what seemed an instant. Silent. Stealthy in a way that humans seldom were.

Son of a gun. Those soldiers were shifters. Had to be. The scents were drifting away, the slight wind blowing in the opposite direction from Patty’s position, but she’d bet her lunch that those guys were all shifters of one kind or another. They moved too fluidly and too silently to be human.

She got a shock when one of the men closest to her looked up into her tree, directly at her, and winked. Of course, her scent was carrying in their direction. That clinched it as far as she was concerned. That one, at the very least, was some kind of shifter.

She watched as two of the guys infiltrated from the roof, sliding into a couple of the upper story windows. She hadn’t even known there was anyone on the neighboring roof. These guys were good. Really good.

But the fools inside the house didn’t go quietly, according to the plan plan. No, they ran out the back door and tried to hop the fence into Mario’s yard. Something had spooked them. Both men were gibbering in Spanish and their eyes were almost as wild as they had been when they’d seen Patty running at them in bear form. She almost smiled at the memory as she watched the soldier who had winked at her and another guy grab the two thugs from behind.

Before they knew what hit them, the two men were on the ground, their hands zip tied behind their backs. It had all been done with super efficiency.

The wink-meister hopped over the fence into Mario’s backyard at almost the exact moment Mario dropped from his tree and sauntered over to meet the other guy, slapping him on the back like they were old friends. Mario casually gave her all-clear signal they’d worked out beforehand and she climbed down a little more slowly, her bear making her only a tiny bit less nimble than Mario’s cat.

She walked over to the men, examining their body language as she approached. They were definitely comfortable in each other’s presence. As if there was a long history between them.

“You guys used to work together, didn’t you?” she said, speaking her mind as she walked up to them.

“What gave us away?” The man who had winked at her turned to face her fully, his eyes sparking gold in the fading light. They glowed for a moment. Yep. He was a shifter all right. But his eyes weren’t the yellow of a wolf. This was gold. Something she’d never seen before. What was he?

And his accent wasn’t one she could place. It wasn’t strong, but there was something definitely different about the way he spoke English. His looks could’ve been from anywhere in the Mediterranean. Or maybe the Middle East. Or South America, even? She just wasn’t sure. He had one of those faces that could come from one of any dozen nationalities—or none at all. He was a chameleon, regardless of what his true beast turned out to be.

“I’m Seth,” the man said, holding out his hand.

Patty took it, returning the friendly gesture, though she was reserving judgment on the man himself. She wanted to know more about how he knew her new mate.

“Patty,” she replied, keeping it cordial for now, even as her inner bear bristled a bit.

“Keep your paws to yourself, Seth.” Mario put his arm around her waist and tugged her close in a caveman display that oddly, settled her bear right down. “She’s mine.”

“Is that right?” Seth smiled as he cocked one hip. He was definitely a sexy beast, but she had her own and she wasn’t interested in any others. Mario was more than enough for her.

“Oh, yeah,” Mario answered his friend, though he looked down into her eyes. “I’m all hers.” He reached up and tugged aside the neck of his shirt, showing off the mating bite that had already begun to heal. “You’re the first to bear witness.”

“Seriously?” Seth sounded both shocked and happy, the tone of his voice doing wonders for Patty’s opinion of him. He seemed genuinely pleased for them.

Patty tugged aside her collar too, showing off her matching mark. “Very seriously,” she answered, grinning at her new mate.

“Oh, man. I’m happy for you, Wildcat. You deserve every bit of happiness. I thought you were crazy when you said you were retiring from the field, but now that I see what you have found here, I’m honestly a little jealous. Congratulations to you both.”

“Thanks, man,” Mario said, shaking the other guy’s hand. “And thanks for handling our little problem next door. This op is very important to my mate and her family.”

A significant look passed between the two men. It was as if they were able to communicate without the use of actual words. Seth looked at Patty and back to Mario, then nodded once, with finality.

“Rest assured then, my old friend. This will be completely settled in the next twenty-four hours. You have my word. I’ll call to let you know when it is done.” The golden-eyed man rested his hand over his heart in a very old world gesture.

“Thank you,
mi amigo
. I’m glad you’re the one our mutual friend called to solve this,” Mario replied.

“Leave it to us. All will be well. And when we’re done with this op, we’ll come back and throw you both a party to celebrate your mating.” His golden eyes sparkled with good humor.

Patty wasn’t too sure Ty would welcome a group of mercenary shifters back to Grayslake for any length of time, but it was nice of Seth to suggest a party. While she was sure her family would celebrate with them, she wanted some of Mario’s friends there for him too. They’d figure out a way to make it work.

“Look, the guys have our packages wrapped and ready to go. That’s my cue to leave too, but I’ll be in touch shortly. I promise.” Seth was already heading back toward the fence to the other yard.

“Thanks, Seth,” Mario repeated. “I look forward to hearing from you. Safe travels.”

The mysterious shifter faded away over the fence, making not a sound. His men were already gone, their prisoners with them.

“Those guys are impressive,” Patty said, almost under her breath, but Mario must’ve heard. He tucked her into his arms, holding her from behind.

“This turned out even better than I thought it would. Seth will keep me informed of what happens now. And if he’s handling the mop up, you can be sure it will be thorough. We won’t have to worry about Lopez anymore.”

“How can you be so sure?” She’d been impressed by the military men, but a lot of other things still had to go right to get her sister in the clear.

“That’s my old unit,” Mario revealed. “If it can be done, they’ll do it. I was one of them for many years. I know how dedicated they are to their jobs—and to each other. If they know this is for me, they’ll make sure it all goes right, whatever they have to do to make it happen.”

Patty was glad he had such good friends in his life. Although she’d never served, she thought she understood the brotherhood that sometimes formed between those who faced danger together. She felt that way about some of the cops she’d worked with in the past.

“You’re going to miss them, won’t you?” She felt bad if she was the reason he’d lose touch with his friends. “I mean, you really are retired, right? You don’t wish you could go back to that life, do you?”

“And leave you behind?” He sounded outraged. “Never.” The adamant tone made her a believer and settled her nerves. “I came here to find you and now that I’ve got you, I’ll never let you go.”

“Same goes for me,” she whispered. “But what if they ask you to come back?”

“If I counted right, they still haven’t replaced me,” Mario admitted. “I guess Seth didn’t really believe me when I told him I was quitting. He’ll believe it now.” Smug satisfaction sounded in his tone and Patty had to chuckle.