As a result of said choice, they were now left to struggle to figure out which one of their friends could be trusted with their daughter, a thing that seemed to also concern El, but not as much as it did Ryan—as he supposed, was the nature of Lion shifter females.As shifter females were capable of having multiple cubs and would always have the chance to mate in society, they didn’t tend to loom over their children quite like men did.Or at least that’s what Ryan told himself; truth be told, he wasn’t exactly sure if that was true, considering the fact that his mother had been pretty hands-on with him and pretty hands-off with Adam…
Also, he made it so that she was the last on the list of potential sitters that he would consider.Knowing his mother, it was all too likely that she would find some way to sacrifice Destiny in order to ensure her own place in the pride.Ryan's mother had proven time and time again that when it came to life, she chose herself.He tried not to take it to heart, but obviously, his mate did, considering the fact that she shot him a look so skeptical that he knew for sure she had to know that his mother's face had flashed through his mind, and he had considered it for even a second.
But it wasn't like they could just leave Destiny with Adam, not when Adam was forced to come along with them to the dinner from hell, being the head of both Ryan and El’s security detail, which Ryan refused to be rid of, despite his mate’s protest, because he didn't exactly trust the world to be as kind to her as he and his brothers were.After all, she was a very important person in the world of shifters, the mother of a prophesied child.It only made sense to protect her to the best of their ability.
Even if she insisted time and time again that she was capable of caring for herself, a slight annoyance showed on her features whenever Ryan so much as brought up the idea of protecting her from harm.Someday, she would learn to appreciate her mate’s overprotective nature, but until then, “It’s either Willow or Persia,” Ryan groaned, hating that I had come down to those two women, the women who he trusted the least in this world.They were the ones who had stolen his mate not all that long ago, lying to her about the state of her health and putting everyone's lives in danger.
He could only imagine the overly pleased look that either of the women's faces would take on once they were informed that they were to watch the prophesied child.He was pretty sure that Willow would practically pee herself with excitement, And even though his brother Adam had insisted that he learned to trust Adam's mate a little more, Ryan was still skeptical about spending any time with her, looking at the woman as the least trustworthy member of his pride, but also the one person that he couldn't afford to send away, lest he loses his most trusted right-hand man.
… It would probably be good strategically to allow Willow to watch Destiny, considering the fact that it would prove to Adam that Ryan was finally over her slight, or at least convince him that he might be, and therefore ensure that he had fewer gaps in his security clearance.But…
“My dad,” El said finally after a period of silence, obviously coming to the same conclusion that he had.It was better for their child to be left with someone who was still ignorant of the ways of shifters than the people they knew who were only too well versed.At least at the end of the day, he knew that the businessman wasn’t going to steal his granddaughter, largely on account of the fact that just about every single time they handed her over to him, he looked terrified.
Not that Ryan could blame him, considering the way that just about everyone else looked at and spoke about his daughter.
He sighed, giving a nod of affirmation to El as he continued to examine his suit in the mirror, wondering whether the day truly could call for a baby blue or if he should change into a far more serious-looking black to get the point across to El’s mother that under no circumstances would she be the one wrestling control over the situation.
But the moment that he had begun to really in-depth debate the merits of different suit colors with himself, he had become momentarily distracted, unfortunately allowing his eyes to slowly roam over to the side of him and take in the sight of his mate.
Ryan hated to admit it to himself but in a culture such as his, where nudity was pretty much the norm, the sight of a woman in a fancier state of dress could be arousing.Case in point, at the moment, El was currently choosing from amongst an assortment of designer labels, clad in nothing more but the lacey lingerie and garter belt set that Marcus had bought her during his last trip to Europe, claiming to have seen it amongst the wares in a small Dutch shop.
Anyone with eyes could see that was a lie—it was custom-made and hugged El perfectly, highlighting all of her beautiful curves and making her already supple-looking flesh all the more tempting to grab onto.But, since El never seemed to be one to overly enjoy presents, they let her pretend that it was just a coincidence that Marcus had found such a thing—better than having her explain that they needn’t spend money on her.
What was the point of having all that money if they could never spend it, Marcus had asked, only to receive little to no response from El as she chose to ignore the man instead, obviously not willing to buy into his con and allow him to spoil her as he pleased.At the time, Ryan had simply dismissed Marcus's restoration, stating that whatever she wanted them to pretend to do, they would pretend to do.After all, there was no way that she could expect them to actually follow through on not getting her any gifts.
But now that he was allowed to sit there and fully appreciate her and all of her beauty, wearing that custom lingerie set that so tightly hugged her body and made everything about her pretty much impossible to ignore, Ryan almost wanted to kiss Marcus on the lips for picking up such a set.Mentally, he noted that he had accidentally stumbled upon a similar piece as a thank you to his brother.After all, spreading the wealth was only proper in situations such as this.
But that would have to be later, considering the fact that at that moment, he was confronted with the sight of his mate in a tight-fitting lingerie set, her hand moving slowly as she diligently applied lipstick to puckered lips, reminding Ryan how much he wished to bite those lips at that moment and claim her mouth as his own.There was something about the side of her and smeared lipstick, her hair askew, and the lingerie set practically off of her that struck Ryan as being particularly enticing—an image that he would very much like to replicate.But, unfortunately, at the end of the day, his mate was no wanton woman.She was a lioness, after all, and immediately knew exactly what the man was up to the moment that he stalked behind her like she was his prey.
“This lipstick isn't smudge-proof,” El warned Ryan, and he inwardly groaned, the desire to lick it straight off of her lips growing with the admission, but the glint in her eye made it all too clear that there would be consequences if he dared to do such a thing.
Today truly was torture, Ryan concluded, faced with both the nightmare of seeing his mother-in-law and of being denied of something by his mate, who was normally more than willing to entertain the far too frisky male.He grumbled, wrapping his arms around her waist anyway, if only so that she was tormented by the sight of him in the mirror, reminding her of exactly what she was turning down.
It’d worked before, Ryan reminded himself, knowing that the sight of anyone in a suit did things to El, especially when their hands roamed her body and their lips played upon her neck.He barely even heard the growl that escaped from her lips as his hands moved downward quicker and quicker, seeking out the warmth of her heat.Not when it was followed by her allowing him further access to her neck as she continued to apply her lipstick, acting none the wiser to the assault that Ryan was playing upon her smooth, subtle skin.
But if there was one thing that Ryan didn’t like, it was being ignored, and his lion roared at the challenge of her, his fingers slipping to the edge of her lace body suit and relishing in the way that she tensed beneath him, a soft sound escaping her as his fingers traced a line-up and down the curvature of her hips, dipping closer to her heat and yet never touching her as his head turned up, gracing the side of her jaw with a soft, beaconing kiss.
“Ryan,” she sighed, her voice low and breathy as her eyes softened, her whole body seeming to sink into his as he slowly began to torment her, reminding her of what she could have if she only gave him the time.“My mother...”She trailed off, and he could tell by the sound of her voice that she wanted nothing more than to give up for the day and just stay there with him, allowing him to do nothing more than toy with the various sensations that blossomed across her skin.
Good.
“You’re right,” Ryan said, knowing that he was being nothing but frustrating as he slowly pulled his hands back from her, trailing them up against her skin until he removed them.A smile flashed on his face, making it clear that this was the plan from the very beginning.“I wouldn't want us to be late for a meeting with your mother,” Ryan teased, knowing that the glint in El’s eyes made it all too clear that now her mother was pretty much the last thing on her mind.
A chuckle escaped him as he stepped away from her entirely, knowing that he had tormented her just as much as she had tormented him.She'd probably be thinking of him all night, her mind lingering on the thousands of different ways that she would get him back for this slight.Good, he invited it.The one thing that Ryan liked more than El was a frustrated El when she was tormented and had had enough.The El who emerged when he had teased her and who was so determined to get him back for his earlier slights.Never before had he enjoyed struggling for power with a woman this much, but Ryan supposed that never before had he happened to be with his mate.
Being with your mate changed everything, as any young shifter would tell you.
“We'll have to find an excuse to get out of there early,” El groaned, obviously already turned on by his ministrations and planning out how the night would go.Whatever it was that her mother had in store for her, it was obvious that it was important, considering the fact that she hadn't somehow found yet another way to cancel on her.“We'll just show up, talk to a few people, get a few numbers, introduce our causes to them,” El began, averting her eyes as she undoubtedly spotted the raised brow of Ryan in the background.
They had more than enough money to fund whatever pet causes she was after; he wasn't sure why she felt like she had to hunt down new donors.His face must have made that pretty apparent, considering the fact that she turned away from the mirror to address him.
“It’s about getting more people to care,” El admitted, knowing that while the triad had the funds, there were some things that money couldn’t buy.“We can pump these causes full of money until their pockets are overflowing, but that’s not going to change anything so long as no one cares.Cozying up to rich old men and convincing them that supporting child literacy or ocean cleanup will somehow benefit them, however, will.They have connections to politicians and a certain way of speaking to others that we don't.There's no way that we can expect to make a systematic change if we don't have people with systematic power.We need to be associated with old money families.That's the only way that we're going to be able to actually implement the programs and services needed in order to change the world,” El said, still so determined to make the world a better place, even though she had found out that half of the world that she knew wasn't as it appeared.
Most people would shift their concerns in life after finding out that shifters were real.They'd likely put a lot more emphasis on things to benefit shifters upon knowing that they were shifters themselves, and while Ryan and El had, in fact, discussed various ways in order to improve the lives of shifters with the upcoming merger, a lot of that lying in various scholarships and financial support that they could offer to the merged clans once the Pantera and the pride became one, she still wanted to focus on fixing the human world as well.Perhaps that was because she was still half-human, or maybe it was because she had a massive heart and seemed to feel like it was her job to change the world.
Whatever the case, he loved her for it, being unable to deny the fact that, at the end of the day, there was something that was just so enchanting about someone who genuinely wanted to do things for the good of others.Ryan ignored the way that she pushed against him and let out a little yelp of protest as he pulled her down with him to sit on his lap as he perched upon the bed, brushing her hair away from her face and impressing a soft, tender kiss to her lips.
“You have to be one of the most determined, empathetic women I have ever met,” Ryan complimented the moment that he pulled away from her, smiling up at her as, against all odds, he felt himself falling somehow even further in love with the beautiful young heiress.“Every single day, you continue to surprise me.”
