Queen Alpha (NYC Mecca #2)(60)

The first brush of sunlight warmed the bed and woke me from my dozing. There was a heavy weight across my body, and on instinct I snuggled closer to the heat. Pack. Mate. Last night had been more than I could have ever expected. I’d had sex before. Great sex. But nothing like Kade. Bears did not love the same way wolves loved. Nope, they wrapped you up tight and caressed every part of your body. They were everywhere, touched everything, and … holy crap, there needed to be a word greater than orgasm, because I had surely surpassed that multiple times.

I wanted a lifetime of loving like that. I would never be satisfied with anything less. I hadn’t gotten much sleep, so it was easy to drift back into a nap, pressed tightly to the huge body beside me. Of course, that was right around the time I thought of my advisor. Dammit. Calista was going to kill me if she found out I was with Kade. I was going to have to sneak back in and pretend I was…

Kisses started trailing down my spine and all thoughts were gone. The scrape of his beard against my skin was literally the most erotic thing that had ever happened to me. I was completely at his mercy. He could have asked for anything in that moment and I would have agreed.

“Good morning.” The rumbly voice was a close second on the erotic scale, and as I rolled over to see him, his amber eyes moved right into third place.

The way this man looked at me … holy shifter babies.

“Waking with you is a life I’m already used to, Ari.” Kade kissed me as he spoke. I arched my body like a kitten, shifting closer to him. “I’m not sure I’ll ever let you go back to your own room.”

“You can … deal … with Calista then.” My breathless words had him chuckling.

“I like her,” he said, and went back to kissing me.

I moaned and then there was a knock at the door. I froze.

“Go away!” Kade grumbled, pulling me tighter as if he sensed my instinct to flee.

A male voice spoke through the door: “It’s your mother, sir. She’s waiting downstairs.”

The word “mother” was all it took to have me ripping out of Kade’s arms and shooting out of bed like I’d been stung. “Crap, Kade, your mother’s here. Does she know about us?” I had no idea how the bear matriarch felt about her son’s relationship with a wolf shifter.

My eyes scanned the room for my bra and finally spotted it hanging on his lamp.

Kade was still sitting in bed, the sheets piled across his lower half, which was still very distracting. “She’s been on vacation. Must have come back after learning about the attack, even though I called and told her everything was okay.”

We couldn’t use cell phones, tablets, or computers without short circuiting them, but landlines were okay. That would have been the only way he could have reached her.

I was fully dressed now, feeling much more in control. “Do you think she’s angry about me being here? Do you think we should leave?” What if she’d heard about him firing his council over me and was here to straighten him out? Why hadn’t we just gone to a hotel. This was not the way to ease his people into the idea of a wolf-bear relationship.

Kade was out of bed now, the sheets falling away to give me a glorious glimpse of his body. All of a sudden I wasn’t sure we needed to leave the room yet. Maybe I could avoid meeting his mother for a few more minutes. He strode across to me, his eyes pinning me in place.

“My mother knows all about you, Ari. She’s excited to meet you.”

Okay, then. My mother would have killed Kade on sight. And let’s not even get to the Red Queen, although she’d been with a fae, so there was no room for her judgment.

I was having trouble concentrating on Kade’s words with his huge body right in front of me. “Meet us downstairs for breakfast?” he said.

I cleared my throat. “Uh … what … oh, yeah, sure.” With great difficulty I turned, ready to descend to my room. Kade stopped me, wrapping his hand around my wrist and spinning me around.

He pulled me back into his warmth, his lips gently caressing my own. My hands found their way to his hard stomach and my legs went all weightless as the kiss deepened. When he pulled away, he said, “Even if my mother didn’t approve of us, that wouldn’t stop me. You’re mine now. No matter what.”

I might have been an heir for my entire life. Queen for a brief period too. But I was still like most women and shifters, insecure, lost, searching for pack and home. Kade’s reassurance wrapped around me, sank into the darkest recesses of my insecurities, to the place where my father disappeared and my mother was distant to me. It filled in some of the cracks in my soul. I had Kade now. Forever. He was my family, my mate, and I wasn’t going to let anyone jeopardize that.



After sneaking downstairs into my room I quickly messed up my bed so Calista wouldn’t suspect anything, considering I hadn’t made my bed in my entire life. Heir perk. Then I showered and put on a nice dress. I was going to meet Kade’s mom. I needed to make a good impression. Luckily I was pretty well trained in etiquette and small talk. I could do this.

I knew Kade had said that she was okay with us being a couple, but sometimes men don’t see the truth. Especially sons. She might be secretly plotting my death. I would know after this first meeting. I could size someone up in about sixty seconds.

After throwing my long hair into a braid and finishing my makeup, I made my way downstairs. It was still early, just after 7 A.M, and Calista’s door was closed. That was good. I would rather not have a crowd for this meeting, I was nervous enough as it was. Damn, I missed Violet so much. I wish she were here to calm my nerves, or at least make fun of me. Three days. Three more days and I could get her back.