Queen Alpha (NYC Mecca #2)(59)

“What happened?” I asked, because I never saw him again until that day in his garden.

His face darkened, and I was confused for a moment until he said, “I found you in the park. You were crying.”

Crying? I thought back to when I was fifteen, after the summer festival.

Oh. Yes. My mother died right after I kissed him. She gave birth to Winnie and didn’t make it. I was distraught for weeks. He must have come in that timeframe.

Kade stroked my cheek as a tear I didn’t realize was there began to fall. “I then heard about your mother’s passing and knew the timing wasn’t right. So I waited.”

I nodded. “But then I moved,” I finished for him.

He nodded as well. “You were an heir, I had found out. You inherited the Bronx and I couldn’t travel there. Then my father discovered I was going to the city to check on you…”

“Stalk me,” I said, and he smiled.

“After my brother disappeared, everything changed for me. Circumstances changed for both of us, but I want you to know that I intended for you to be mine back then.”

My hands were curled around his biceps now as I pulled myself closer to him. The hot nub of emotions in my chest, all about Kade, swelled until it felt like mecca and energy and life was going to literally burst from me. His declaration was the full circle of our life together. It would be what I held on to no matter the fallout of our love. He had claimed me when I was fifteen, and even though it had taken five years for us to finally be together, it was worth the wait. It was funny how life worked, like no matter what, things would turn out as they should. It just took time and patience.

“I love you,” I whispered. “I’ve been in love with a damn bear since I was fifteen years old, and even though I promised I would never sacrifice anything for the crown, you are worth that much to me. You are more than my duty. You are everything.”

Kade’s eyes were aged whiskey again, his hands on my face and tangled in my hair. “Say it again,” he murmured against my lips. “Tell me.”

He was awfully demanding tonight. “I’m in love with you, damn bear,” I said, my voice growly.

He threw back his head and laughed then. “How long have you been calling me ‘damn bear?’” he finally said, flashing all those white teeth at me.

I grinned back at him. “Not long enough. I think I have a few more years of insults in me.”

The laughter eased and the flare of heat between us increased. “I’m very glad to hear that,” he said. His hands snaked down to cup my butt, and then he was lifting me up. My legs went around his waist like they had been made to rest there. He held me with ease as our lips crashed together. A deep throbbing was clenching my lower half, my belly filled with heat and butterflies. The emotion of the kiss was everything, it was so much. I had never known this love before and somehow I knew I never would again. This was a once in a lifetime.

He sucked on my bottom lip and I moaned as he gently lay me on the bed. I breathed him in then: wood, soil, home. He was mine and I was willing to die for this love. I just hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

The bed engulfed me, softness cushioning my body as Kade rested against me, his weight solid, his bare skin touching mine. Seriously, though, we had too many clothes on. I wanted to feel all of him. I needed the contact.

As if he’d heard me, Kade’s hands slowly skimmed up the side of my body, then my shirt was gone. Pants followed soon after and I was clad in nothing but black lingerie. Not particularly sexy, but you’d never know it by the heat in his gaze. The masculine planes of his face were extra pronounced as he stared down at me, sending my body into a sexual-need overdrive.

I pushed back on him, needing to be in charge as I ran my hands down his bare chest. His eyes lazily following my movements, lips turned up a little in the corners. He was indulging my show of dominance. Damn bear. Reaching for his sleep pants, I drew them down in one easy movement, taking my time to brush against him. The smirk fell from his face, and now he was staring at me with bear in his eyes. Throwing his clothes to the side, he was naked. Holy heck he was naked. I paused, taking a second to stare, because as always, Kade was worth staring at.

“Ari, you’re driving my bear crazy.” Kade’s voice was deeper than usual. Rumbly.

My wolf started howling inside, urging me forward. I needed no urging. I pushed him back down to the bed, straddling him, my hands running across his hard body, caressing his skin, touching wherever I could reach. He lifted himself slightly and cupped my breasts, curving his palms around to take my bra off. My underwear bottoms followed, and then it was nothing but heat and kissing. Hot, drugging, kisses.

Kade let me stay on top for longer than I expected, but as the heat built between us, as our bodies fought for more closeness, his dominance kicked in hard and he flipped our positions. He paused briefly, hands tenderly caressing my face, before he kissed me over and over, my lips swollen and plumped by the attention. Then Kade trailed down further, across my jaw and along my throat. My hands clenched the bed sheets, my body wound up tight and ready to fall apart. We had waited five years to be together, we weren’t going to waste one second of tonight apart. Ten minutes with him and I already could tell … Kade had been worth the wait.





Chapter Fourteen


The best things in life are furry.