ChapterOne
Earlier at the ball
Gryffin
My tiger thrashes around inside me as I watch Colbie walk away. I could see how angry she was when she found out I was the tiger in the stables last night, but she didn’t want to hear any of my excuses, and I don’t blame her. No one at the breakfast table said anything to her this morning either.
He pushes hard, trying to force me to shift, but I grit my teeth and clench my fists, refusing to concede control to him. I have no idea what his fucking problem is. He has never shown so much interest in a shifter apart from Gem, and he was always happy to wait for our mate to appear before we even contemplated starting something with him, so this behavior is completely unexpected. He’s acting like she’s our mate, and it simply can’t be possible. I should probably keep my distance, but it’s going to be hard with us guarding her and teaching her how to control her shifts.
“There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” A silky finger brushes across my shoulder, and I spin around to find Isla Tideman fluttering her eyelashes at me. My tiger snarls, and it’s all I can do to stop it from escaping my mouth. “Now that you don’t have to pay attention to the queen, I can have you all to myself.”
She holds her hands up, waiting for me to lead her in a dance across the ballroom. It’s the last thing I want to do.
“But it’s my turn. I’ve been waiting for ages.” The petulant voice comes from my side, and Gianna appears in my eyeline.
Isla loses her flirty grin and glares at her. “And you’ll keep waiting, Gianna. Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been doing with Liam. You’re not exactly subtle about it. Stay away from Watch Team One. If anyone is going to be marked as their bond mate, it will be me.”
“Like fuck it will. I have a relationship with all of them. I’ve been working with them at the watch while you’ve been nothing but useless eye candy doing luncheons and tea with your mother and her friends.” Gianna pushes me out of the way and gets in Isla’s face. Both of them are tall and willowy shifters, so different from Colbie’s curvier, slightly shorter frame, and neither of them are backing down. Isla shoves Gianna and snarls, and I see fur sprout up her arms.
“Whoa. Easy girls. No one wants you shifting in the middle of the royal welcome dinner.” Gem slides between the two women. “And neither of you can dance with our boy here. He is needed elsewhere. How about you head to opposite ends of the ballroom and cool down before you both get banned from future royal engagements, or worse, kicked out of the palace. Just because your parents live here doesn’t mean you have to,” Gem cautions, and reality seems to hit the girls.
Both of them look over to where my parents are watching with narrowed eyes, looking very unimpressed. Without saying a word, the girls slip into the crowd and disappear. I know exactly how they feel, because I want to do the same thing when that glare is leveled at me by my parents. Thankfully it doesn’t happen very often.
“Thanks for the save,” I tell my friend as my eyes sweep over his form. His suit fits him like a glove, and he looks fucking incredible. It’s becoming harder to rein in my attraction to him, and I know he feels the same way. My tiger stops finally thrashing to get to Colbie, his attention turning to our immediate companion. He chuffs and rolls onto his stomach, exposing his belly, and I know he wants me to shift so Gem can run his hands all over him. I internally roll my eyes at his behavior. What is his problem? He’s becoming a hussy.
Gem steps into my personal space, close enough that if I put my arms around him, we would be slow dancing, and I’m tempted. My hands twitch, and I start to reach for him. “Anytime. I’m not even sure how Gianna managed to attend. I know she lives with her parents, but she was banned from all royal functions. The thought of those nasty bitches’ hands or mouths on you makes my phoenix scream with anger and want to burn them to ashes.”
I frown, not surprised by his response one little bit. My tiger feels the same way about any female or male putting their hands on him, despite our previous need to go slowly, but that’s all starting to become too hard.
“How did he feel when I danced with Colbie?” I ask, curious about how his animal reacts to our new queen.
He tilts his head to the side, and the flames in his eyes blaze higher, like his phoenix is paying attention to our conversation. “Not maiming jealous, but like he wanted to squish her between us and make her scream with pleasure.”
I brush my hand over his back, and I feel him shiver beneath it. “Yes, my tiger felt the same way.”
Gem pushes even farther into my space so our bodies rub together, his pelvis grazing mine. “Doesn’t feel like only your tiger felt that way. How about you let me take care of that not so little problem?”
Feeling guilty about my reaction to him, I go to step away, but his hand snaps up and grabs my chin, not allowing me to move. His grip is just on this side of bruising. “Stop running, Gryffin,” he hisses. “I respected your wishes for a long time now, but there is no sign of our mate, and do you really think it would be a problem for her if you and I started something? Hell, do you think your father would be upset if your mothers decided to have a sexual relationship with each other?”
I grimace at the thought of my parents doing anything sexual, but I know he’s right. Even though my mothers don’t have that kind of relationship, I know my father wouldn’t care, and there are many bond groups who take pleasure with one another before their mate is marked. I’m also sick of resisting him. There’s no difference between us being together and us having relationships with people outside of our bond until our mate appears.
He must see the moment I decide to give into the attraction, because the flames in his eyes blaze even higher, and he drops my chin, picks up my hand, and drags me out of the ballroom. He doesn’t stop even when I hear Brodie call our names.
“Brodie,” I start, but Gem hisses, his phoenix’s agitation all too clear.
“I’ve waited too long to let the wolf distract us.”
“What if it’s important?”
“They can go without us long enough for me to wrap my lips around your cock and show you how good I can make you feel.”
Just like that, all thoughts of my team members, the girls fighting over me, and the queen leave my mind, and my cock twitches behind my zipper.
The dark corridor we are in leads to the family wing, but we don’t get as far as our suite. A small alcove off to the side is nice and private, and that’s where Gem leads me, pushing me against the wall. He cages me in between him and the hard surface at my back. The only lighting in here is from the hallway and the flames burning blue and orange in his irises. Without another word, he kisses me, his lips conveying all the built-up sexual tension between us. I melt into him, our bodies molding so closely together you can’t see where one starts and the other ends. I groan as his teeth scrape over my lip, his tongue pressing for entrance, and I give him free rein, allowing his mouth to devour mine. He tastes smoky and wild, and I can’t get enough of him. I wrap my arms around his lean waist, pulling him closer to me, his hard length brushing over mine with delicious friction.
I gasp for breath, dazed when he finally pulls away, my lips throbbing from his punishment. I know Gem is going to make me pay for making him wait so long before giving into this thing between us. When I gain control of myself, I find him smirking at me.
“Now don’t you wish we were doing that all along?” He arches an eyebrow but doesn’t wait for an answer. His hands slide to my belt buckle, and he makes quick work of popping the button on my pants, unzipping the fly before he slowly sinks to his knees in front of me. I moan as he slides his hand into my pants and pulls out my throbbing length, giving it a sharp tug.
