More Wicked Alphas, Wilder Nights: Sizzling Collection of Paranormal Romance (Wicked Alphas, Wild Nights Book 5) (21 page)

“A bit?” yelled a voice from the back of the crowd that Sarah knew belonged to Pretty Brandon. The crowd laughed in agreement.

“I’ve been searching for
the one
. The one person in all the world who would challenge me, make me laugh, intimidate me with her intelligence and steal my heart away.” People began darting their eyes to Sarah as comprehension slowly dawned on them. A thin blonde woman with the carefully sculpted appearance of a newscaster gasped audibly.

“And, my friends, I have found her.” Danny turned and swept Sarah off her feet in one smooth gesture, lifting her and spinning her around. Later people swore that flecks of gold shimmered off their bodies as they spun, but others thought it was just the wine or some elaborate trick with hidden projectors.

“Hi,” Sarah said, as she spun around. “It’s very nice to meet you, or to see you again!” she called over his shoulder. On the video chat screen, her mom was crying with joy and her dad was drinking wine straight from the bottle. “I’m not really a fan of crowds or even public speaking, but I’m making an exception for tonight, for you, and mostly for Danny. We’ve been friends for what seems like ever, and many of you know I have had a crush on him for just as long. I don’t know what you call it when your crush becomes real. Or what you call it when the person you wished you were with, and that you’d written of as a hopeless fantasy becomes yours. But I’m going to call it
fate
.”

The crowd was utterly silent, except for the happy sobbing of Sarah’s mother.

Danny took her hand and lifted it high, in victory. “May I introduce you to Sarah Honeywell, my fiancée. The one I’ve been searching for all my life.”

The crowd erupted in applause. Music roared to life. The magic in the wine hit some subtle peak and everyone danced like they were twenty-three again. Anna and Natalie and every other one of their friends surged forward, tears shining on their cheeks, hugging and congratulating Sarah and Danny in a happy throng. Good Boy hugged Danny tightly about the chest, squeezing so hard that Danny had to growl out a command to get him to let him go. Everyone was excited and jubilant and wanted to tell Sarah exactly how she was, or how lucky Danny was. Or how lucky they both were.

But with the crowd and the attention, came a ratcheting up of Sarah’s crowd phobia. Her heart raced. Her breath grew shallow. It was as if all the people at the party were sucking up all the air and there was none left for hr.

“Excuse us,” Danny said, sweeping Sarah off her feet and cradling her in his arms. He lifted her above the crowd and carried her through the party. “You look like you could use a breather,” he said. Concern shone in his eyes.

“Just for a bit. It’s getting too close in here.” Being in his arms, above it all, her anxiety fell away and she could enjoy the scene again. From her lofty vantage point, she could everything. A benign madness gripped the party. Sarah grinned widely at the dancing people, the clients downing wine, the friends stuffing themselves with delicious food. How had she gotten so lucky? Why had fate chosen her for such a blessing?

Danny carried her away, up the stairs to his bedroom. On the way they passed Rhett and Anna. She had her legs around his waist and he had her up against a wall. They were kissing and moaning and thrusting. Anna saw Sarah pass through half-lidded eyes. “I like your friend,” she said with a laugh that broke into a warbling cry of pleasure.

“Well, now I’ve seen my friend’s O face. That’s weird,” Sarah said.

“Come show me yours,” Danny said.

“Pretty sure you’ve seen it like five hundred times this week.”

“It’s true. But I love seeing you bite your lip and gasp my name and roll your eyes.”

“I don’t bite my lip. Or gasp,” Sarah said. He carried her up the stairs effortlessly.

“Wanna bet?” Danny grinned.

Danny’s bed was massive, but of course it was. He was a big bear shifter of a man and would need a big bed, but this bed was
big
. His bedroom stretched across the entire top floor of the building. The eastern wall was all windows looking out over the San Francisco bay. The water sparkled in the moonlight. Sarah felt exposed, but they were four stories up and there was no way anyone could see them. The Bay Bridge arced across the field of view, jumping from the city to Treasure Island and then across the field of stars that was Oakland and the East Bay.

She stopped in her tracks at the view. It was breathtaking. To see this every night, what a treat that would be. But that was going to be her life from now on, wasn’t it? How could she possibly get used to it? Would she get the wind knocked out of her every time she looked to the east?

Danny vanished into a free-standing closet and removed his suit. When he emerged he was naked. Sarah saw his reflection in the windows and watched as he padded up behind her wordlessly.

“You look amazing,” Danny growled. In the reflection, Sarah saw golden fire spark in his eyes. The heat within her had been at a critical level all night, but the anxiety had made her numb to it. Now, alone with her mate again, her fear was gone and all that remained was the heat. Seeing Danny’s eyes, she knew he felt the same primal need.

“I know I should want this to be all slow and romantic and full of candles and long baths and champagne and all that,” Sarah said. “But really I just want you to take me as hard as you can right now. I’ve been burning for you all night. This feeling, it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt.”

“It’s the mating ritual. We’re going to feel like this for a while,” Danny whispered while planting kisses on her neck. Each kiss unlocked something within her, something incredibly wet and hungry. “It takes a year and a day to complete. We aren’t officially mates until then. We can’t get married or have kids until then.”

“Kids!” Sarah blurted out, then laughed. They hadn’t spoken about it at all, but they’d need to soon. “Holy crap, kids.”

“We’ll have time to talk about it.” He ran his fingers up her arms, sending delicious chills down her spine to war with the heat. “But this is going to transform you. At the end of it, you’ll be more than human.”

“Will I be a shifter?” Sarah couldn’t even imagine sharing her body with a bear, or having a bear in her heart, however Danny phrased it.

“Not exactly. You’ll be bear-blooded, a shifter-mate. You’ll be strong and healthy. You’ll be attuned to the magic of the world. There will be other gifts, little things. And you won’t age anymore.”

Danny’s cock was harder than ever and pressing up between her thighs. He rocked behind her, rubbing it against her cotton-covered sex. It wasn’t hard to believe his claims. She’d seen him become a bear, seen his eyes glow with honey-gold fire. The magic of their mating swirled within her and within him, pulling them close.

“Are you telling me I’ll be immortal?”

Danny took the top of her dress in his fingers and ripped it in half in one motion, leaving her nearly naked and trembling. Her reflection in the window looked indescribably sexy. Was that how she really looked? Was she becoming more sexy as a result of the mating process? Danny seemed even hotter, too. It was like they were becoming more of what they were supposed to be.

His fingers found her nipples and rolled them deliciously, pinching and tugging them. She couldn’t help but gasp and bite her lip at the sensation, totally losing the bet with Danny.

“What I’m saying is, after we’re fully mated, we’ll have all the time in the world for sensual baths and candles and oral sex that lasts a day and a night. I want to make you come in every way conceivable. But right now,” he said, “I need you.”

Danny’s hands moved down her body and ripped her bra and panties to pieces. Tomorrow they’d talk about it and she’d explain to him how effing hard it was to find a bra that fit decently well, but in the moment the heat was so overpowering that she didn’t care at all. It was their engagement party and she wanted to celebrate it in the best possible way.

Sarah braced herself against the window with her forearms. The glass was shockingly cool. She spread her feet wide and looked back over her shoulder to watch Danny as he slid his big cock inside her. His face made this expression when he entered her that she loved more than anything. It was like her cunt was so overpowering that it took away all his control. All of the tension in his muscles eased, his mouth dropped open, his eyes unfocused, and he groaned quietly. It was beautiful. She had so much power over him with such a simple thing. She wished she could just watch his pretty face as he fucked her—watch all of the emotions flash in his golden eyes—but as soon as she felt herself opening for him, she was gasping and begging and murmuring for more.

It was like there was a second Sarah in her that awoke when they made love. A second Sarah with a louder voice and a much more colorful vocabulary.

“Oh, your cock. Your fucking cock. Give it to me. Give me all your cock,” she groaned, pressing back against him. Where did these words come from? She’d never been vocal with any lover before, at least not in the same way. Was this a mating thing? Was there some magic that gave control over her voice to her pussy?

He plunged into her slowly, moving back and forth, opening her up. Sarah clawed at the windows and slapped the glass uncontrollably. “Did you get bigger?” she gasped. Her cunt was fluttering around him, stretching and sucking and stroking. He pushed all the way inside her, burying himself deeply, and Sarah let loose a growl of her own.

“The bed,” she said. “I need the bed.”

It was big enough for four people to sleep in. He must have had sheets specially made, Sarah found herself thinking as she slipped off of him and leapt into it. She landed on her belly giggling, and then rolled over and Danny was there on top of her. Her legs parted for him and wrapped around his waist, and before she knew it he was inside her again, deeply inside her.

It was different this time, the sex.

At the cabin, their weeklong affair had a timeless feeling, like they were escaping from life and having a fun little romp. It was a break from reality. A getaway. One of those “What Happens in Bearfield, Stays in Bearfield” kind of moments. It felt real enough, but they were separated from all familiar context.

That had all changed.

They were together now. Engaged and mated, or at least starting the mating process. This wasn’t day eight of Sexfest 2016, as she had been referring to their escapades in her head. No, it was literally the first day of the rest of her life. Danny wasn’t going to vanish in the morning. He wasn’t going to sneak away and never call. He wasn’t going to dump her by text. He was hers, forever and ever. She could feel it in her blood.

The thought was terrifying and indescribably thrilling. No matter what she did or said, he’d stand by her. She’d have to strive to be the best partner she could, but also she could relax around him.

Danny took her hands in his and held them above her head, pinning her to the bed.

“Where are you right now?” he asked.

Sarah wriggled her hips in answer. “Right here,” she said.

He bent his head and kissed her, and slid almost all the way out. “Your eyes went far away. Are you okay with this? I know it’s sudden, but I couldn’t wait to tell the world we’d found each other.”

“You’re not going to leave me, are you?”

“Never,” Danny said. His cock slammed deep into her as he said it, like an exclamation point.

“You’re not going to get bored of me?”

“We’re going to grow together. Challenge each other. I’ve known you for years and you’ve never bored me for a second.” He thrust into her in time with his words, and Sarah had to focus to actually hear what he was saying.

“How is this possible?” Sarah asked. The heat was spiraling out of control inside her, twisting the world to pieces.

“It’s magic.” He kissed her again and released her hands. Sarah clutched his big strong back and clawed at him as he took her harder and faster than ever before. At the party below they must have thought it was an earthquake.

The fire inside Sarah swept through her, burning up traces of her old life, of her anxieties. There was no room for any of that anymore. It was holding her down, so she jettisoned it. Dumped it all overboard.

Danny was growling above her. His eyes blazed with golden fire. He licked one of his thumbs and brought it between them, rubbing her clit in rough circles until the heat inside her became lava. It erupted from her and poured out over the world.

Later, when comparing notes with Anna, she found out that everyone at the party could hear her screams of “I’m coming” and “oh fuck I love you” as clear as church bells.

She didn’t even remember
saying
 them.

She started coming and kept coming, until Danny growled again and sank his teeth into her shoulder while his cock swelled within her and flooded her with sticky heat. The bite should have hurt, but it didn’t. It felt amazing. It was a mating mark, another step on the long road to joining Danny forever.

Thank you for reading
How to Mate Friends and Influence People
. Read more about Danny and Sarah in
Fake It Til You Mate It
, part of the Bearfield series by Jacqueline Sweet.

Check out the
Bearfield
series
here
.

Want to get in touch or learn more
about my books? Find me at:

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