Authors: Jessica Coulter Smith
After cleaning their plates, Cain
paid the check and left a generous tip before ushering Allie out of the diner.
He helped her into the truck before sliding in behind the wheel, sitting in
silence a moment, gathering his thoughts. There was a lot to accomplish today
but, God, how he wanted her! Maybe he could hold himself in check until they’d
looked at the houses. Other than him mentioning the flyers, they hadn’t really
discussed the whole house issue. He hoped she was open to it.
He pulled the flyers out and set
them in her lap. “These are the houses I mentioned. There are five, but I
wasn’t sure you’d like them all. Flip through them and see if there are any you
want to look at. If you don’t like those, I’ll ask Matt to find others. Those
are his listings so he said he could cut us a deal on one, as a mating
present.”
Allie turned one page after
another, until she reached the end, then she went back through them and pulled
out two. A cute yellow house with white trim and doghouse windows on top and a
white one with black shutters that had a porch across the front. Both were
cute. The yellow had been his favorite of the group. He took them from her and
pulled out his phone to call Matt. When Matt answered, Cain told him they’d
chosen two to look at and rattled off the addresses. Matt promised to meet them
at the white house in ten minutes.
Cain disconnected the call and
headed in that direction. They were closer than Matt was so he took his time,
taking in the scenery along the way. The street the house sat on was filled
with Bradford Pear trees and several homes had flowering azalea bushes in
front. When he stopped in front of the white house, he noted the jasmine
climbing up the left side of the porch and the snowball bushes on either side
of the steps. It was cute; definitely something he’d like coming home to every
night.
Allie leapt out of the truck
before he could stop her. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with her. She
was determined to do reckless things. If she didn’t slow down, she was going to
give him a heart attack. Yes, plenty of women carried babies all the time and
carried on with their typical lives, but this wasn’t your average pregnancy.
Since they didn’t know if the baby would be a tiger or a wolf, they needed to
err on the side of caution.
He followed her up the steps and
peeked in the windows. A car pulled up in the driveway and Matt climbed out,
smiling at them. When he stepped up onto the porch, he jingled the keys.
“Ready to see the house?” Matt
asked.
Allie smiled and nodded
enthusiastically. Cain was happy to see she was really into the whole house
hunting thing. It seemed he’d worried for nothing.
Matt opened the door and ushered
them inside. There was a small entryway with the living room off to the right.
Cain could see the kitchen at the back of the living room. To the left lay a
small hall with three bedrooms and a bathroom. It was the smaller house of the
two and Cain wondered what Allie thought of it. It was bigger than the wolf
dorms or Allie’s apartment, so they’d be moving up even if they took the
smaller home, but he wondered if she would be happy in the long run. When the
baby got older, and possibly had a sibling or two, the sound of the kids would
be deafening in such a small space.
Allie wandered through the house,
touching the kitchen counters, opening the cabinets, inspecting the bathroom
fixtures. She hadn’t said a word yet and Cain wasn’t sure if that was a good
sign or not. Did she like it so much she was speechless? Or was she mentally
calculating what she thought was wrong with it? Matt had assured him that it
had passed inspection just the month prior when he’d bought it so, hopefully,
they wouldn’t have any repairs or broken appliances too soon after moving in.
He had mentioned the roof needed to be replaced in a year or two, but Cain
could easily do that himself. Well, if his job allowed him the time. Speaking
of… he really needed to drop off that application. He had it in his truck,
ready to go.
“What do you think?” Matt asked.
Cain looked at his mate. “Allie?”
“It’s cute.”
“But?” Cain asked.
“I think I’d like to see the
other one before I decide on anything. Get a feel for both places and see which
one feels the most right.”
Matt smiled. “If neither of these
is to your liking, I can pull some other local listings. I just won’t be able
to give it to you at a discount because they won’t be my listings. The five I
sent Cain are all I have right now that meet his requirements, except for a few
rentals. I’m guessing you don’t want to rent right now.”
Cain shook his head. “I want my
mate and baby to have a stable home environment. If we rent, we’ll eventually
have to move. I want a place where the baby can grow up, knowing it’s his/her home
and will always be home.”
“Unless you outgrow it.” Matt
smiled. “Take it from someone with five kids; you’ll want a bigger place the
more children you have. Maybe one with a playroom so they’ll stay out of your
hair for a while each day.”
Cain laughed and Allie gripped
his hand. He wondered if she was nervous about the baby, or the thought of
having more than one child. If they had more than one, he would be thrilled,
but he wouldn’t push her. If she only wanted this one, then he’d be content
with that.
“Follow me over to the other
house,” Matt said. “It’s a little bigger than this one.”
The yellow house was only two
subdivisions away so they arrived quickly. There were colorful rose bushes
growing along the front of the house and he noted there was a privacy fence,
something that had been missing from the white one. When they walked inside, he
watched Allie’s face. She looked down at the hardwood floors and smiled before
moving through the house.
The living room was huge, running
the length of the house, and lay to their left. The master bedroom and a full
bath were to the right. Straight ahead were stairs to the second floor and the
kitchen laid beyond that. The eat-in area was a good size and there was a built
in desk where Cain could set up a computer and a house phone.
They climbed the stairs and
wandered through the two spacious bedrooms and small bathroom. It had a
shower/tub combo, a sink and a toilet. No cabinets, but Cain could also do a
little renovating to add a new sink with a cabinet under it. The walls were
painted vibrant colors, so he’d definitely have to repaint before they moved
in. Allie moved back to the living room and ran her hands over the hand carved
fireplace mantle. A smile lit her face.
“This one. I want this one,” she
said.
“Are you sure? The baby would be
upstairs,” Cain pointed out.
“I’m sure. We could always put a
bassinet in the master bedroom until the baby was a little bigger.”
He smiled and nodded. “All right.
Matt, it looks like we’ll take this one.”
Matt rubbed his hands together
and smiled. “Great! Well, as you saw on the flyer, the list price is
ninety-thousand. I know it seems like a lot for such a small house, but this
neighborhood is in high demand. However, I’ll give it to you for
eighty-thousand. Does that sound doable?”
Cain nodded. “Just get the
paperwork together and let me know when and where I need to sign.”
“I’ll get on that as soon as I
get back to the office. I have to meet two more clients today though, so you
may not hear from me until late tomorrow.”
“That’s fine.” Cain held out his
hand to shake Matt’s. “Thanks for this, we really appreciate it.”
When they were back in the truck,
Cain started the engine then turned to Allie. “Is there anything you want to do
while we’re out?”
She shook her head.
“Good. Because I’m ready to
celebrate.”
“Celebrate?”
He grinned. “I have a mate, who
is also my
fiancée
, a baby on the way, and now a new
house. You don’t think that requires a little celebrating? Maybe of an intimate
nature?”
“Oh. Oh!” She smiled as she
caught his meaning. “By all means, let’s go celebrate.”
Cain smiled the whole way back to
her apartment.
Chapter Nine
They had barely cleared the
apartment door before Cain started removing his clothes. With a heated look, he
told her to strip. She looked a little nervous, but excited. As she removed her
clothes, she backed toward the bedroom. Cain followed and, once she was bare,
toppled her to the bed. He claimed her mouth, kissing her deeply, as he fisted
her hair in one hand. He felt her nipples pebble against his chest and couldn’t
resist tasting them, lavishing attention on first one then the other.
“Cain, I don’t think I can handle
slow right now. I want to feel your cock filling me.”
He chuckled and kissed her belly.
“Patience.”
Shouldering her legs apart, he
parted the lips of her pussy. God but she was pretty, all pink and swollen with
her need for him. She was dripping she was so turned on, and he couldn’t resist
a taste. His tongue stroked the slick flesh, gathering her essence. As he
stroked her clit, he let out a purr, making her gasp and lift her hips for
more. He’d figured she’d like that. Sucking the bud into his mouth, he palmed
her ass, pulling her tight against his lips.
Allie moaned and gripped the
covers, her body trembled. She was so damn responsive it made his cock hard as
a steel post. He lashed her clit with his tongue and she came, crying out so
loudly he wondered just how many neighbors heard her. He couldn’t help smiling
in satisfaction, knowing he’d been the one to bring her such pleasure.
Crawling up her body, he settled
over her, his hips resting against hers. He gave her a nip on the neck before
slowly sinking into her wet heat. She felt like silk, clasping his cock tightly
in the haven of her body. Joining with Allie was unlike anything he’d ever
known. He hoped the joy he felt when he was with her would never diminish.
Taking up a slow but steady pace, he angled his hips so that he rubbed against
her G-spot with every stroke.
Allie’s hips rose to meet his
every thrust, taking him deeper within her. Her hands gripped his forearms as
her legs hooked around his thighs, giving her better leverage. Their bodies were
slick with sweat as passion consumed them. Cain felt like liquid fire was
pulsing through his veins and settling in his balls. He moved faster, wanting
to watch her come apart beneath him. It would be the first time he got to see
the passion flare in her eyes right before she climaxed and he wanted to
cherish the moment.
Driving into her with enough
force to make the bed move, he felt his orgasm building and knew he couldn’t
hold out much longer. He reached between their bodies and stroked her clit, the
little bud begging for attention. As he circled the bud, he tunneled in and out
of her harder and faster, until her body tensed and she squeezed his cock. Her
body jerked as she came, her nails bit into his arms and her legs tightened
against his. Allowing himself to let go, he leaned forward and sank his teeth
into her other shoulder as he came, his hips bucking twice more before settling
against hers.
Cain removed his teeth from her
skin and licked the wound. He had a feeling she would be pissed about being
marked twice, in two different places. He hadn’t been able to help himself. The
tiger inside had demanded they mark their mate again. The beast, just like the
man, wanted her to belong to them in every way possible. Cain didn’t want there
to be any doubt that Allie was his mate, his other half. And if she called him
an overbearing ass, he’d accept the title graciously. After all, he was one.
“That was intense.” Allie panted.
“The next time we’re together, I
want it to be our wedding night. I may go insane waiting that long to have you
again, but I want that night to be special.”
She ran her fingers through his
hair. “You know, I was thinking. It’s going to be expensive getting a wedding
venue, a dress, flowers and all that crap. What if I just bought a nice dress
and we eloped?”
“Eloped?”
“Yeah, you know, have a Vegas
wedding. You have to admit it would be exciting, and something no one in the
pack has done yet.”
“You don’t want the pack present
when we say our vows?”
“I suppose it would be nice, but
it isn’t necessary. As long as there’s someone to snap a picture or two of us,
I’d be content. Besides, you may be starting a new job soon. You won’t be able
to take off for a honeymoon and, if we go to Vegas, we can kill two birds with
one stone.”
“You’re serious about this?” He
narrowed his eyes, assessing her.
“Dead serious. I knew someone who
got married there before. She said that she filled out a pre-application for a
marriage license online, and then was moved through an express lane in Vegas to
get her marriage license. You can use it the same day. The hotel might cost a
bit, and the flight, but I think in the long run we’d save ourselves some
money, and a lot of headaches. I’ve only been around a few brides; they always
seem so frazzled and have a never-ending list of things to do. I don’t want to
be like that. I want to enjoy my wedding.”
“Vegas, huh?” He grinned. “Well,
all right. If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do. Why don’t we rinse
off in the shower, get dressed, and sit down to do a little research on Vegas
marriage licenses. I know you have to have one to get married, but I don’t know
how it works in Vegas.”
Allie pushed at his shoulders and
he rolled off her. She rose on unsteady legs and walked toward the bathroom,
pausing to look at him over her shoulder.
“Well, are you coming?”
Cain laughed and followed her.
They took a quick shower and dressed, then pulled out Allie’s laptop. It seemed
you had to apply for a license in person, but there was a pre-qualification
application you could fill out online. Then you got to move to the express lane
when you showed up for your license. Being Vegas, the license was ready the
same day. All they’d have to do was find a chapel that had an opening, or they
could call ahead and schedule an appointment. They filled out the
pre-qualification form, printed off their reference number, and researched
chapels and hotels. It took about an hour, but they finally got their flight
arranged for the day after tomorrow, booked the Planet Hollywood Bay Spa Suite,
and set up an appointment at the Little White Chapel for their wedding the
night after they arrived. Cain arranged to have the suite for three days so
they could have a mini-honeymoon and promised to take her somewhere nice after
he’d settled into his new job.
“If we’re going to make that six
A.M. flight, I’d better stay here tomorrow night,” he told her. “We can both sleep
in the bed and promise not to touch each other, or I can take the couch.”
Allie eyed the sofa they were
sitting on and shook her head. “You won’t fit. You’ll have to stay in the bed.
I’m sure I can keep my hands to myself for a few nights.”
He laughed. “All right. I’ll
bring my bag over here tomorrow night. We can order some pizzas and veg out in
front of the TV until bedtime.”
“Sounds great.”
They parted ways, with Cain feeling
more excited than he ever had before. This was really happening. In a few days,
he’d be married to one Miss Allie Jenson. Life just didn’t get any sweeter than
that.