Chapter 10 #2
Shelly’s eyes grew wide in a mix of denial and fear.
Mark didn’t fully understand why she was so afraid of the idea of magic.
She’d seemed to handle the news about shifters pretty well, and her entire family line had worshipped the Goddess, just like him and his Clan, but ever since magic had become a topic of conversation, she’d been in denial.
There was something more to it, he was sure, and he made a note to meet with her father at the earliest opportunity to see if he might know more.
The tiger royals didn’t stay the night because, as Mark expected, they were on a tight schedule.
Even stopping at the island for a few hours had set them behind, but if Mitch was to be believed—and Mark did believe him—the possibility of forming an alliance with the jaguar Clan was as important to Mitch as it was to Mark.
The groundwork had been laid, and Mark expected good things to come of this first meeting.
In fact, they’d already scheduled time to get together for a more in-depth discussion of business interests next week, when Mitch and Gina planned to be back in New York.
Tomorrow, he would go back with Shelly and arrange a meeting with her father, the elusive William Howell the Fourth. Before that, though, they had another night here on the island to enjoy.
This time, they ate dinner with the Clan. Everyone was welcoming and jovial. Those who had seen the tigers had been uniformly impressed by them, and word had gotten around that they had all parted on good terms. Things were looking up, and everyone knew it.
That, plus the Clan’s reaction to Shelly—which was more positive than Mark could have hoped for—made for a raucous meal shared among friends.
Mark and Shelly might be sitting in places of honor in the room—Mark couldn’t quite get his people to give up that tradition—but the camaraderie was strong between them all.
Mark wasn’t one to stand on ceremony. He didn’t style himself a monarch.
He was just an Alpha who happened to have a lot more authority and recognition in the human world than most. That was all.
He was responsible for his people, and he liked it that way.
He also liked the way they accepted Shelly.
Though she was human, they didn’t treat her any differently.
They welcomed her as if she was already one of the family.
It was his deepest desire to make her that in truth.
As far as he was concerned, he was already committed.
He just needed her to agree to be his mate.
That was all that was needed among shifters, but he’d go further and take all the steps necessary to bind them legally together—in her world, and in his.
Besides, the society pages would pay well for pictures of their wedding.
One of his people routinely brokered deals with various newspapers to get them secret photos.
The photos weren’t all that secret, but a calculated way for Mark to earn a little extra money for the Clan by bartering some of his unexpected celebrity.
He didn’t really understand why ordinary humans wanted to follow his comings and goings so closely, but if people would pay him—through back channels, of course—for images of his public life, he didn’t mind feeding the beast from time to time.
Sometimes, he wondered what they’d pay if they knew he was a jaguar at heart, but shifters lived in secret for safety.
It hadn’t always been that way, but in this modern age, it was better to be prudent than dead.
At least by supplying the photos, he already knew what was in them. And the market for paparazzi was quelled. If the papers could get images of Mark anytime they wanted from an inside source, they wouldn’t pay top dollar to stalkers with cameras. Win-win, as Shelly would have put it.
Conversation was lively, both at dinner and after.
Mark and Shelly sat with a number of his closest friends, enjoying dessert and coffee for a couple of hours, until he noticed Shelly politely trying to hide a yawn.
He didn’t want her to be too tired. He had big plans for that night—the last they’d share on the island for a while.
He whisked her away from the gathering as nonchalantly as he could, taking her to his suite, not her guest room. When she didn’t protest, he smiled. Oh, yes, he and his mate were definitely on the same page.
Shelly felt all tingly when Mark took her by the hand and led her up to what had to be his room in the mansion. It wasn’t the biggest, nor the most luxurious. Actually, it was about the same as the guest room they’d given her down the hall, but it definitely had Mark’s personal stamp on it.
He’d lifted her into his arms and carried her over the threshold, eliciting a gasp as he caught her off guard. The man made her breathless a lot—in a really good way.
There were mementoes of his youth displayed in a corner cabinet and photos of him and his friends hanging on the walls.
The furniture was solid wood and sturdy.
Oak, stained and polished to a loving luster.
The fabrics were dark blues and hunter green with golden accents here and there.
It almost had the look of a color scheme developed by a professional decorator, but she suspected Mark had chosen everything in here for himself.
She got a quick look around the room before he started kissing her, and then, all thought fled as he lowered her to the big bed with the soft bedspread.
His kisses drugged her into wholehearted compliance with his every wish.
The fact that he followed even her slightest direction made her happy too.
When she tugged at his shirt, a moment later, it was gone, and she could place her hand directly on his solid, muscular chest. Mmm.
He was a deliciously built specimen of manhood…
shifter-hood…whatever. He was just lovely, whatever he was.
The specifics didn’t matter. He was her lover, and that was all there was to it.
When her hands went to his waistband, he lifted away momentarily, and when he came back, he was bare to her touch.
Yes. Exactly what she wanted. She let herself explore, her hands finding all sorts of interesting things that had been hidden beneath his clothing.
Especially a hard rod of iron covered in velvet heat that she wanted deep inside her as soon as they could manage.
While he’d undressed for her, he’d also been undressing her.
She was as naked as he when he swept the bedspread aside, placing her squarely in the center of the enormous bed.
This bed had been built with someone Mark’s size in mind, but it dwarfed Shelly a bit.
No matter. There would be plenty of room for both of them to be comfortable, which was the important thing.