Mate Not Wanted (9 page)

Her vaginal walls fluttered as her panties became soaked with desires. She swallowed as he uttered fantasies and dreams she’d never considered.

“No, I don’t,” she denied quietly, hoping, praying it wasn’t true. The swathe of arousal fogged her thoughts and increased her desire. “Besides, you’re not man enough for me.” Madison figured that using her annoyance as a buffer would help her ignore her body’s responses.

“Not just man enough, sweetheart,” he answered, “
tiger
enough. Which makes me more than enough. No lion could compare to me. Do you want me to blindfold you? Fuck you with my tongue and then my fingers? Make you beg for my cock? Or perhaps you’d like me to bring in another partner for your pleasure. But make no mistake: you’ll only need me—
ever
.”

Her legs trembled as her pussy grew heavier and her clit became more insistent. “It all boils down to sex for you, doesn’t it?”

His answer was a deep, rich chuckle filled with midnight cries and dark urges. Madison shuddered. There was nothing else to say or do as far as she was concerned. How could she truly counter his notions? It only emphasized her need to visit Shadows and try some of the things he suggested, even if she wasn’t doing any of those things with him.

“With you…?” he paused.

She hung on that gap, waiting for his answer. The moment stretched on and the silence grew until she wondered if he really was thinking about her question seriously.

“Not everything,” he continued, at last. “But the fantasy of sex with you does keep my mind and my hands active at night. I can’t help but get aroused when around you. You push buttons in me that I never knew existed and make me think of things that I’d never considered before.”

His words tickled her brain. Before she could stop herself she asked, “And what buttons and things have you never considered before?”

The question came out in a rush. It was awkward and made her cringe inside just hearing it, and yet she refused to repeat or rephrase it. He couldn’t induce her to continue her humiliation.

Again he chuckled, only this time it was lighter and less sexual in nature. “You really want to know? Have dinner with me.”

She blinked and sat up, jostling Zoe, who let out a yawn, got up, circled, and settled back down.

“Dinner? Only dinner?” She would have laughed if the offer wasn’t so damn tempting. Not once did her lioness sit up and push her forward, but her curiosity was piqued nonetheless.

A feminine voice called out to Pierce in the background. Reality crashed through Madison’s growing arousal like a wrecking ball, severing any threads that had woven around her body. She went cold. Zebras can’t change their stripes, so why did she expect anything different from a tiger? His reputation had preceded him, and now she was reminded of why she’d kept her distance.

“Don’t worry about dinner,” she heard herself say. “In fact don’t worry about me ever.”

Madison hung up before he could respond. For a moment, all she could do was lie there and allow the death of any attraction to Pierce burn away to cinders. Rather than dwell on what had just happened, she sat up, rose from the bed, undressed, and headed to the bathroom. Once she had showered, she’d take the cupcakes out of the oven and let them cool down in the fridge overnight.

Pierce was now only a small irritation in the back of her mind.

* * *

Pierce swore as he put down the receiver. He’d forgotten that he wasn’t alone. A glance over his shoulder revealed the cause of his annoyance. Mack had two women, one sitting on each leg, with drinks in their hands, laughing and smiling. The blonde beckoned him over. He had no desire to see what she wanted. Repulsion shivered down his spine. All of his fears about his reputation and those rumors reaching Madison had come true in a matter of seconds. Whether she’d thought him a playboy, incapable of settling down, or if it was some personal animus toward him he doubted he’d ever know.

Damn Mack for insisting on taking the party back to Pierce’s mansion. Since Mack and most of the players hadn’t settled down completely in the community, a lot of them were living in the hotels, inns, motels, and rental cottages around town. Laughter floated around the room as Jess drifted hither and yon, refilling cups and serving more of her baked goods. Somehow, word had gotten to Alistair and he’d arrived, ready to flirt his way into a date with Jessica, who seemed far more interested in the players.

The success of the night had turned to ashes, all because he’d let his dick do the thinking for him. Loneliness had possessed him to call and check in on her. Just the sound of her voice had slid the situation from simple concern to something dark and possessive. He didn’t want her to be hurt. Yes, she was a shifter, but that didn’t mean she’d already healed from the bar incident. His mornings and strenuous workouts were testament to that. Every day he seemed to be getting slower and slower at struggling out of bed. His doctor was sure that with a bit more physical therapy, some time in tiger mode would chase away the leftover injuries that still lingered from his years on the pitch.

Pierce didn’t care so much when he was out and about and moving around. Sex was still possible, which was a relief. His appetites in the bedroom could strain the body a bit more than usual. His doctor had been encouraging the idea that sex could help relieve the stresses and tensions that helped keep his body from recovering fully. The only problem was that the woman he wanted didn’t want anything to do with him.

With a sigh, Pierce rose and joined the party, but his mind was elsewhere. His tiger didn’t care that she was mad at them. It wanted him to go over to her place and check on her in person, maybe make a plea that dinner with him wouldn’t be so bad. He knew that dinner had just been an opening gambit. Pierce wanted dessert, damn it. He wanted breakfast, lunch, dinner, and every meal in between. Irritation soured his mood. He wanted to go over to Madison and make his plea.

His tiger scratched and clawed at the walls between them, sending ripples of pain through his body. It wanted to go to Madison too, only it wanted to force her to accept the fact that they were mates and make her take Pierce whether she wanted it or not.

“Stop it,”
he ordered the big cat.
“She’s mad. Let her cool down.”

The feline went silent.

With a growl, Pierce got up, downed his Scotch, and left the room. He needed space and fresh air to think. He wished that Ryan were there. His friend would be able to give him some advice, but knowing him he’d found a man and woman to celebrate the success of the first game with. Pierce strode out onto the patio and tipped his head back to look up at the night. Stars shone overhead, glittering dimly against an indigo expanse.

“You hating the party as much as I am?” Al asked. He walked out onto the patio with a beer in his hand a tired look on his face.

“Yeah, but I can’t kick them out yet. Let ’em celebrate.” Pierce didn’t want to put a damper on the party just because Madison was mad at him again. “Let me guess. Jess isn’t as taken with your presence as you’d hoped?” Pierce turned to study the man and smirked at the open look of annoyance on his face.

Al nodded. “Might as well be gushing all over the players. If I’d known she wouldn’t go for cops I would have tried harder to be a jock in school instead of a nerd.” Al took a swig of his beer. “Gah, I hate beer. Got anything harder? Maybe some red wine?”

Pierce grinned. “A cowboy that drinks vino. How cliché. Yeah, should have some. What’s your fancy and vintage? I’ve got a wine cellar that would make most vineyards green with envy.”

He and Al made their way down the back steps into the garden. They walked around the house to a set of aged oak doors with Pierce’s initials scorched into the wood. Pierce punched in a code and pulled up the worn iron and oak doors. He led the way into the darkness of the cellar. The lights came on automatically.

“We have the whites over there.” Pierce gestured to the right. “And to the left we have the reds. Take your pleasure.”

“Thanks. Now, tell me about your lady problems.” Al drifted over to the left side of the cellar.

Pierce swiveled around to look at his friend. “That obvious, huh? OK, she hates me and thinks I’m a man-whore, which I’m not. She misconstrued the situation.”

“And what was the situation? You drunk?” Al looked up at him from beneath his dark lashes, speculation in his gaze.

Pierce snorted. “No. One of Mack’s women that he brought back with him called out to me. She thought I was having an orgy, which only makes me think that she believes all those blasted rumors about me and my sex life.”

Pierce wandered round the room but didn’t take in anything. His heart ached at the thought that he’d possibly lost Madison, all because of his reputation.

“Don’t worry about it. That’s what I do when Jess tortures my thoughts. What I’m going to do at the bachelor auction is revel in the attention thrown my way, have a damn good date that may end in sex, and focus on my job. Let her come to me.” Al’s chuckle bounced off the wall and back to Pierce.

Pierce thought about Al’s plan of action. “That does sound good.” He thought about the last time he’d gotten laid that didn’t involve his hand, and he grimaced. “Could help me focus on something other than Madison.”

Al pulled a bottle off the shelf. “Nice vintage. I’ll take this. As to your plan, it sounds good. It’ll help your tiger too. A bit of sex will calm it down nice and easy. I’ll be off. Got an early start. Thanks.”

Al left Pierce alone, standing in the cellar mulling over the idea. The more he thought about it the better he liked it. It was a short-term solution for a long-term problem. He grabbed a bottle of white and headed back to the party. Rather than join in, he bid them goodnight and headed off to bed alone.

Chapter Five

When Madison had handed out the last cupcake, she sank down into a chair, letting out a deep breath. Her feet ached, but she’d managed to get to everyone who worked in her father’s company, from the mailroom on up to the execs. Each person looked like they were in heaven when they bit into the confection, which pleased her immensely. She loved making people happy, even if she had difficulty finding joy for herself.

Despite the busy morning, snippets of her conversation with Pierce filtered through her mind, dampening her mood. She could still hear that rough tone and those sexy suggestions. Arousal would start to coil in her gut only to be dampened by memories of that woman’s voice in the background. A thousand explanations sprang to mind, but she shoved them all aside. No matter what he’d been doing when he called her, he was still off limits.

Now that she sat at her desk, allowing her body to rest before she headed out to lunch and to look for Help Wanted signs, her brain was blissfully silent. Her lioness seemed to have given up on trying to get her to forgive Pierce and cut him some slack.

Madison checked her phone and found five missed calls from Lea in the span of the last half hour. Worried that something had gone wrong with her grandmother, she called her friend back immediately.

“Mads? Thank God! I need help. I don’t know what to do. Can you get over to Shadows ASAP. I’ll provide lunch. I need your help bad and Alec is in class. Thanks!”

Lea hung up before Madison could reply.

With a shrug, she slipped her phone back into her pocket, grabbed her purse and coat, and left. She drove through midmorning traffic. Billboards and posters for the para-football league were everywhere. Pierce’s ice-blue eyes gazed at her with a fierce expression no matter where she looked. By the time she arrived at Shadows, her mood had turned foul. She just wanted some space. Now there was no escaping, at least not while in the downtown area.

She got out of her car and headed into the building only to be confronted by the membership keypad. It took a moment for her to remember her PIN. The lock clicked and the door slid open. She entered the club and found Lea waiting for her in the lower level dance-floor area, sitting at a polished dark wood bar. Chairs were stacked on round tables. The glass DJ booth was empty. Servers milled around, but other than that it was quiet. Deeply imbedded pot lights cast a dim glow on the tan, tiled floor. Black-and-white erotic photos decorated the whitewashed walls. Tall palm fronds brushed the exposed dark wood beams.

Lea already had a drink in front of her with a pile of papers next to her elbow. It had been far too long since she’d been in the building. Her body heated as her mind turned over all the things she could do in this private sanctuary of sensuality and sex. Again, the plan she’d thought out last night came back to her. She would update her profile and see what interested her. Pierce’s words came back to her as well: spanking, ménage, bondage, forced submission. The heat turned up and her pussy filled with desire.

“There you are, thank gods! Sully is gonna kill me. The caterer for the event canceled and I don’t have any servers and I’m just overwhelmed planning, like, three events back to back. Help!” She shoved a glass of amber liquid that smelled strongly of Scotch at Madison.

Madison settled down on a stool and grabbed Lea’s hands and gave both a squeeze. “OK, slow down and explain. Tell me what’s going on.”

Lea took a swig and then a deep breath. “OK, we’re booked for the dinner for after the bachelor auction. Sully arranged everything without telling me. Anyway, the staff was given the night off and the kitchens only handle the basics unless there’s an event, so I don’t have anyone to help and I don’t want to call in the staff because it’s their night off.”

Madison winced at her friend’s whiny tone. A gentle pulse started in her temples. Time to be a cold bitch. “Lea, snap the fuck out of it, first off!” Lea stared at Madison in shock. Madison had never spoken to Lea like that before. “Now, call in the staff. Tell them you’ll pay overtime and they’ll get bonuses. Call in the kitchen crew. Get the original menu from the caterers and call in the DJ. Tell Sully about what’s going on so you
don’t
lose your job and he’s kept in the loop. I’ll help make the calls and organize things. What about decorators? Do you have them in place?”