“Yeah. It wasn’t because of the weight or because we had to put it together. No, it came fully assembled. The problem was that every pack member had an opinion about where the tree needed to be. The only thing they could agree on was that it had to be in a common area and not my bedroom.”

  Pippa grinned. “So the wolves of your pack want access to the cat?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “And not because they’re planning to eat it or anything. Right?”

  “Of course not! We’re not savages.”

  “Sorry. Just had to make sure.” Pippa grinned.

  Jared scooped the kitten into his arms and stood again. “Anyway, my point is, your tree is way better than mine. So far, Chester has shown it no interest and I’m not entirely convinced the damn thing won’t end up being a very expensive dust collector.”

  “I’ve heard cats can be rather stubborn.” This had to be the weirdest conversation Pippa had ever had in her bedroom with a member of the opposite sex.

  Apparently when he’d asked to compare cat notes, he’d been serious!

  And here she’d been hoping to see some etchings.

  Jared couldn’t believe he was inside his mate’s bedroom.

  He’d figured out which window was hers based on scent alone.

  Then, the higher in the tree he’d climbed, the stronger that scent had become.

  By the time he’d pulled himself into her bedroom, his head was swimming.

  That first full breath he’d taken in her room had almost sent him to his knees. His blood had headed south, hardening his cock to the point of pain.

  Now he was rambling and he had no idea what he was even saying.

  He needed to stop talking!

  Clamping his mouth shut, he crossed to Pippa’s bed and settled on the edge with Hocus Purrcus in his lap.

  “So, do you want to have sex?”

  Jared’s head jerked up so fast, the room spun for a moment.

  He had to be hallucinating.

  She hadn’t really said that, had she?

  “Jared?”

  “Um, I’m sorry. Could you repeat that?”

  She smiled. “I was wondering if you’d like to have sex with me.”

  Jared blinked in surprise. “That’s what I thought you said, but I wanted to make sure.” He’d had no idea witches were so forthright.

  “If you’re not interested, that’s fine,” Pippa said.

  “Oh, I’m definitely interested. I just don’t want to go the way of the cougar.”

  A confused look flashed across Pippa’s face, then it cleared and she laughed. “Oh, I’m sure that’s not even a possibility. You’ve already managed to impress me way more than they ever did. Not one cougar ever climbed a tree for me.”

  Jared chuckled.

  “So, yes?”

  Jared set the kitten aside, stood and crossed the room to Pippa.

  He leaned down and murmured in her ear, “How about we start with a kiss?”

  Five

  “OH, MY GOSH, we are so good at this!” Soraya exclaimed.

  “We haven’t done anything yet,” Tivali said. “They’re progressing at warp speed, I can’t even keep up.”

  “True,” Muezza said.

  “The problem isn’t going to be getting them to kiss,” Bygul said. “Clearly they’ve figured that part out just fine.”

  “And more,” Muezza muttered.

  “Yes, the real challenge is going to be trying to convince the witch to let the wolf back into her bed,” Bygul said.

  One moment, Pippa was wondering whether Jared was even attracted to her, and the next, his lips were on hers and heat was rushing through her in an endless wave.

  Was she burning?

  She was.

  Everything inside her gathered and tightened, the flames that lingered deep inside pulsed and sizzled across her skin.

  Dear goddess, the wolf could kiss.

  He slid his hands under her bottom and lifted her.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist and writhed closer, rubbing against him.

  He fisted his hand in her hair and pulled gently.

  She whimpered and sucked on his bottom lip before letting go.

  “You want this?” he rumbled.

  “So much.” She strained to get closer.

  “Once won’t be enough,” he said. “You know that right?”

  “Goddess, yes, as many times as you want.” She buried her face in his neck as he whirled and strode to her bed.

  He set one knee on the bed and slowly lowered her, following her down, capturing her lips again on the way.

  They rolled across the bed, almost knocking into Hocus Purrcus, who leapt to his feet, letting out a low hiss and a grumble before jumping down to the floor.

  Pippa thought perhaps she should apologize to the kitten, but she was too busy kissing Jared.

  They rolled back and forth across the bed, tearing at each other’s clothes while stroking, rubbing and nipping at each other.

  Finally, they were skin to skin, and oh, goddess, they were on fire, burning alive.

  Pippa swore she saw sparks when Jared reared up, hitched his cock at her center and slowly pressed forward.

  The stretch and burn as he sank deep made her breath catch and her eyes roll back in ecstasy.

  Finally, he was as deep as he could go and the feel of him everywhere, pressing against her, filling her up, was almost more than she could bear.

  Then they were moving together, the heat building, so much wonder and friction, so much, too much.

  He pulled back, then drove deep again, setting off ripples that started deep inside, then exploded outward.

  The world disappeared in a shattering of stars.

  Pippa came back to herself, gasping for breath, and realized Jared was still hard inside her, waiting.

  She opened her eyes and stared into his, stunned.

  “Again,” he uttered and started moving once more.

  The hours passed in a haze of passion and heat.

  Neither one got any sleep as Jared proved he’d been right when he’d said that once would most certainly not be enough.

  The sun was just starting to streak across the sky when Pippa fell into an exhausted sleep, thinking she should kick him out, but unable to harness the energy to even try.

  ***

  Pippa woke much later in the day alone in her bed.

  A note was propped on the pillow beside her.

  It said, “Thank you for an amazing night.” No phone number was listed and there was no mention of getting together again.

  She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

  On the one hand, it was good Jared wasn’t harboring any illusions about there being a repeat performance.

  Except instead of feeling relieved, Pippa found herself feeling a bit put-out.

  It was a new sensation for her, feeling as if she might have liked a second round in bed with a man.

  The moment she had that thought, another one followed, a truly horrifying one.

  It wasn’t possible though.

  No way would her mate be a wolf, let alone an alpha one.

  She’d been horrified when Natalie mentioned that Jared was the pack alpha.

  She’d immediately made a vow not to get involved with him, but then he’d shown up under her window and she just couldn’t resist all that sexiness.

  But imagine if it had turned out he was her mate.

  What a nightmare that would have been!

  Alphas were born dictators and there was no way Pippa would ever put up with someone trying to tell her what to do all the time.

  She didn’t even listen to Natalie, so it was probably best they never did this again.

  Still.

  It was an awful shame.

  The man had a truly beautiful cock and the best part about it was how good he was at wielding it.

  “What did you do with the wolf’s note?” Tivali asked.

  “I recruited Hocus Purrcus,” Bygul said. “The kitten stole the note and hid it in his basket of cat toys.”

  “Then where did the note she found come from?” Soraya asked.

  “I used a tiny bit of goddess magic to create a different note in his handwriting,” Bygul said. “It barely took any magic at all. I’m sure Freyja won’t even miss it.”

  “If you say so,” Tivali said.

  “Are you sure this is going to work?” Muezza asked. “It could backfire if the witch decides to hold a grudge.”

  “Maybe,” Bygul said, “but she was already set to turn him down. This way, she thinks he’s not interested, so maybe she’ll be more receptive when he inevitably comes back for more.”

  “Humans are so weird,” Muezza said.

  “They really are,” Tivali agreed.

  Pippa spent the rest of the day with Hocus Purrcus, practicing her magic.

  The coven practiced with them.

  Hocus Purrcus definitely helped stabilize Pippa’s magic which also stabilized the rest of the coven.

  However, when any of the other witches tried to do a spell on their own, without Pippa’s involvement, any advantage they’d had disappeared.

  “Imagine if all of us had familiars,” Tempest said. “Our coven would be so strong if everyone’s magic was stable.”

  Pippa snorted. “That’s the kind of thinking that got us all banished from our previous covens. They believed a coven could only be as strong or as powerful as its weakest members.”

  “Good point,” Natalie said. “It doesn’t matter how stable or unstable our magic is, we’re here for each other. Powerful or not, witches or not, we’re strong because we’re together.”

  “Hear, hear,” Amaryllis said softly.

  “Hear, hear!” everyone echoed.

  “So, Pippa, I hear you had a visitor last night,” Morana teased.

  “Oooh, was it one of the cougars?” Tempest grinned.

  “Not if all the howling was anything to go by,” Jo said.

  “Stop making things up,” Pippa exclaimed. “There was no howling involved.”

  “Really?” Rowan asked. “I’m pretty sure you guys were doing it wrong then.”

  “Don’t listen to Pippa,” Morana said. “My room is right next to hers and I’m telling you right now, the wolf was howling.”

  Pippa rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

  “Is he your mate?” Annika asked. She hadn’t gone home the night before and had been hanging out with Jo and the rest of them all day.

  More evidence, as far as Pippa was concerned, that the wolf was not her mate.

  After all, he hadn’t chosen to stay like Annika had.

  Thank goodness.

  “No. Just really good in bed.” Pippa grinned.

  “Oh. But you’re going to see him again, right?” Annika asked.

  “Probably not. It’s always best to leave things on a high note.” Pippa tried to ignore the strange feeling she got at the thought of never seeing Jared again.

  Well, of course, she’d see him. They lived in the same town, so it’s not like they couldn’t be friends.

  She frowned at the thought.

  The truth was she didn’t want be his friend. Or not just that anyway. What she really wanted was to drag him back to bed with her.

  She sighed.

  “What was that sigh for?” Tempest demanded.

  Pippa shrugged.

  “I bet she was mooning over the wolf,” Morana said.

  “I’m not mooning,” Pippa growled. “Just remembering his glorious cock, that’s all.”

  “Oh, that’s just rude,” Natalie said. “Please try to remember the rest of us haven’t managed to break our enforced celibacy quite yet.”

  “If you’re done with the wolf, maybe he’d be willing to help the rest of us out,” Tempest said.

  A wave of fury swept through Pippa at even the thought of one of her sisters—or any woman, for that matter—touching what was hers.

  Wait.

  What?

  “This isn’t possible,” Pippa whispered. “I refuse to accept it.”

  “What’s she going on about now?” Amaryllis asked.

  “It’s just a guess,” Jo said cheerfully, “but I’m thinking she’s had an epiphany.”

  “Looks rather painful,” Rowan said.

  Pippa groaned.

  There was no way the wolf was her mate.

  No way.

  Probably the only reason she was feeling so possessive was that last night had been the first time she’d had sex in way too long, and she hadn’t quite gotten the unintentional celibacy out of her system yet.

  So, all she really needed to do was find someone else to work off all that pent-up sexual energy with and everything should go back to normal.

  Right?

  She cast her mind back to some of the other eligible men she’d met the day before.

  There were several wolves, a couple chameleons and a number of vampires.

  Unfortunately, the thought of touching any of them left her completely cold.

  Not acceptable.

  Jared regretted leaving Pippa’s bed almost as soon as he left it.

  He wrote her a note asking her to call and gave her his phone number, but he had a sinking feeling she wouldn’t bother.

  She hadn’t acted like she knew they were mates, which he supposed wasn’t surprising since she was a witch and witches typically found their mates the same way humans did—through trial and error.

  Jared loved being a shifter for many reasons, but recognizing one’s mate almost from the start was a huge perk in his opinion.

  Thank goodness he wasn’t a bear. They were the exception that proved the rule when it came to shifters recognizing their mates right away.

  Jared spent the day taking care of business for the pack and checking in on Chester, who had apparently hidden the night before and had only come out of hiding once the packhouse fell silent.

  Jared’s mother had found him sleeping in the cat tree this morning, so he was calling that a win.

  Maybe the tree wouldn’t just be a dust collector after all. It could collect cat fur as well.

  “I’m surprised you’re not with your mate today,” Corwin said when he stopped by Jared’s office that afternoon.

  “Too much to do.”

  “And you didn’t want to risk her giving you the cougar treatment, right?”

  Jared growled, annoyed at the memory of Tempest’s glee that morning when she’d caught him leaving Pippa’s bedroom.

  She’d taken great joy in informing him that none of the cougars had ever been allowed to spend the entire night in Pippa’s bed, and in fact, that Pippa never let anyone stay, or return for a second round, once the sexy times were over.

  Jared should probably count himself lucky that Pippa had fallen asleep in his arms, but mostly he was annoyed at the thought of all those one-night stands.

  Corwin chuckled. “You’re completely gone for her, aren’t you?”

  “Of course, I am. She’s my mate!”

  Jared should never have mentioned the cougar story to Corwin.

  Unfortunately, he’d been in a piss-poor mood when he’d arrived back at the den and Corwin had caught him at just the right moment.

  “So what are you doing hanging around here? Go get her!”

  “I’m giving her time to miss me.”

  Corwin grinned. “How much time do you figure that’ll take?”

  “More time than I want to give her, that’s for sure,” he grumbled.

  “Since you’re mates and all, I bet it won’t be as long as you think. In fact, it’s probably been long enough already.”

  Jared narrowed his eyes and glared at him. “Are you messing with me?”

  “Not at all. I just don’t know how you can stand being away from her right now, especially since she hasn’t even acknowledged that you’re mates. I’d be worried some slick cougar would come along and snatch her up.”

  Jared let out a growl of pure frustration. “That’s not gonna happen. Besides, there are no cougars in Zero.”

  “Actually, that’s not true,” Becca, one of their pack mates said as she walked by on her way down the hall.

  Jared bolted from behind his desk and stepped into the hallway. “Becca, what are you talking about?”

  She turned and walking backwards, said, “I ran into a couple cougars at the diner. They said they were here to visit one of the witches.”

  Jared’s wolf lunged for the surface and it was all Jared could do to keep from shifting.

  Becca’s eyes widened. “Are you okay, Jared?”

  “Do you know who they’re here to visit?” Corwin asked.

  She shrugged. “Not a clue. I didn’t think to ask.”

  Jared didn’t hear the rest of the conversation because he was too busy hurtling down the stairs toward the front door.

  Pippa, Jo and Annika, who had slid seamlessly into the rhythm of their household, were carrying food from the kitchen to the dining room, and the rest of the Coven was filtering in to sit down for dinner, when there came a knock at the front door.

  “I’ll get it.” Tempest, who had just entered the dining room, spun around and left again.

  A moment later, they heard the door open and a voice growl, “Where is she?”

  Seconds after that, Tempest appeared in the doorway with Jared at her side.

  Pippa’s jaw dropped. “What are you doing here?”

  He strode toward her, grabbed the platter of garlic bread from her and set it on the table, then cupped her face in his hands and kissed her breathless.

  For one moment, Pippa was frozen in shock, then she was clutching his shoulders and kissing him back.

  Heat blasted through her and sparks winged across the room, catching the drapes on fire.

  “Shit!” Morana yelped.

  Everyone scrambled around her, but Pippa was entirely consumed by the wolf currently sending her up in flames.

  “Jared,” she gasped, trying desperately to get closer.

  He pulled back, settled his forehead against hers and stared into her eyes. “Pippa,” he growled, the wolf so close she could see him peering out at her from Jared’s eyes.

 

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