Island Stripe Pride - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

“Come on, Violet, easy now. You know me,” he said trying to get that scared look off her lovely face.
“But I don’t know you, Dean. Not enough for this,” she said and gestured between them, “I don’t usually jump guys who rescue me from car wrecks!”
“It’s alright. Look at me. You are okay, little one, you are safe with me,” Dean said, trying his best to calm his mate down.
Shit. He shouldn’t have kissed her back. But how was he supposed to react when she’d jumped on him?
His cock throbbed inside his pants at the image of her slamming him down onto the area rug with that gorgeous, half-dressed body of hers.
Holy fuck.
Dean had growled lustfully when he found himself sprawled out with his arms full of his luscious mate. Her soft, sugar cookie flavored lips devoured him upon contact. Tongues tangled, teeth nipped, Dean growled and wrapped his arms around her, crushing her full breasts against his chest.
For a first kiss, it was hot, smolderingly so, and he was hard pressed not to flip her over and tear the robe from her incredible body.
Good idea, his Tiger had growled inside his mind’s eye.
Patience, he’d returned and slowed the kiss, even as she’d straddled his hips and pressed her hot core over his rock-hard cock.
Fuck, it was a trigger reaction, he knew this, but it was the best he’d felt in forever.
“What the hell is going on?” she ended the kiss abruptly and scooted off of him, slapping her hand over her mouth.
He scented her embarrassment and fear, and his Tiger didn’t like that. Not one bit. His mate should be comfortable around him, and never ever should she be embarrassed of her natural attraction to him.
She was dynamite, a firecracker and he was going to hold onto her no matter what. One thing Dean knew for sure, he was not letting Violet Martinez go anywhere but with him.
After she’d basically told him to back the fuck off, Dean found himself sitting crisscross applesauce on the area rug like a fucking toddler at story time.
Whatever. That was all fine with him. As long as he could be near her, he was perfectly happy. So was his Tiger, who right about now, was acting more like a lovesick tomcat, belly up and purring softly in his throat vying for her attention.
For fuck’s sake, have some pride!
He scolded the animal gently, but it was no good. He was already head over heels for her, and if that wasn’t love, he didn’t know what was. Had there ever been a more beautiful woman on the entire planet?
With the glow from the firelight dancing across her warm bronzed skin and the stark white snow falling outside, she looked beyond beautiful. And she was his, er, well, she would be. As soon as he told her the truth.
“Okay, let’s talk,” he began, “First, you can kiss me whenever you want. Second, you are not going crazy-”
“Well, something is wrong,” she interrupted and he could see tears glisten in her dark brown eyes and it made his heart constrict, “I don’t usually do things like that,” she tried to explain but he could only imagine how confused she felt and that was all his fault.
Shit. Time to pay the piper.
“Listen, Violet, I have to tell you something but I don’t want you to get upset,” he began.
“Well, don’t start like that,” she mumbled.
“What?”
“You can’t tell me not to get upset, I mean it’s like a red flag just went off now and of course I’m going to be upset,” she quipped back.
“Oh, um, well then I guess I should apologize,” he said and ran a hand through his hair, “You know, I run a global conglomerate, and I would prefer walking into a boardroom full of those corporate bastards than having to tell you this, but here I go,” he couldn’t believe how difficult this was.
He was the Neta for fuck’s sake and he couldn’t tell this woman that she was his mate and he’d given her his bite to save her life, which in turn had started the Puspa.
The magical process literally meant “change” and was seen as a blessing by Tiger Shifters. It was granted by the Fates to those couples whose hearts and souls were so perfectly aligned that they would only benefit from the gift of becoming a Shifter.
“You run a global conglomerate?” she interrupted his thoughts, which was good, because Dean, Pride Neta and President of the huge international corporation, was about to have a panic attack.
“Uh, yea,” he said, “ever hear of ISP? Inc?”
“ISP? I think I’ve seen that stamped on some of the boxes my employer gets shipped to her warehouse. She manufactures organic beauty creams, shampoos and stuff and a lot of her ingredients are imported from all over the world.”
“Who is your employer?” he asked distractedly.
“Sherry Morgan-McAllister,” she replied, “she has a few salons in New Jersey and New York, I think, but I work for the one in town. I’m a nail technician. Well,” she blushed and tucked her hair behind her ears and he found himself fascinated by her story, “I’m a writer, aspiring anyway, but doing nails pays the bills.”
“I see,” he grinned, “I’d love to read something you’ve written sometime.”
“Oh no, I’m sure you wouldn’t,” she blushed a dark shade of pink that he found ridiculously charming.
“I am serious,” he said, “what do you write about?”
“Oh, well, actually I write some romance and fantasy. I have a few short stories that I self-published, but I am trying to get some eyes on a longer book I finished recently.”
“And?” he said enjoying the conversation immensely.
“Well, it’s about an alien planet where the majority of the population is made up of supernatural creatures, Shifters to be exact, and they come to Earth and perform abductions. They use humans for sport, to be hunted and experimented on until the main character is kidnapped by an alien scientist who happens to fall in love with her, then of course together they bring about peace and equality for all species,” she cleared her throat and looked away, but he tilted her face back to him.
“That sounds amazing,” he said and meant it, “in fact, it might make what I am about to say a little easier.”
“How so?” she
“Well, love, you see, I’m a Tiger Shifter and when I found you in that car crash, it was bad. You’d hit your head and lost consciousness almost immediately. I brought you back here, but I knew you had a concussion and with head injuries, well, it was touch and go. I did the only thing I could think of to save you,” his voice grew quiet as he watched her.
She was oddly still. Just listening as he told her incredible things, fantastical things that no normal would ever believe, but maybe, maybe she would?
D
ean could not be sure, he simply knew he had to take the chance. Everything rested on her acceptance of his claim. Without her, his Tiger would surely die, as is what happened with most rejected mates, but he refused to believe that his Violet did not want him.
He’d felt her need, her desire, tasted it, smelled it. She was aroused by him, and if his words could not woo her, his body could. It was a dirty trick, but he’d do anything to secure her as his mate.
Sigh. Not true. If she wanted to go you would let her, his Tiger growled sadly.
Maybe, he told his beast, but not until I tried to make it work.
He already loved the woman. That much he knew. Maybe, just maybe, she would fall in love with him too if he was patient enough. For now, she deserved to hear the truth.
But would she believe him? Encouraged by her continued silence, Dean continued.
“You see, Violet, I knew the moment I found you that you are my fated mate. I gave you my mating bite to save you, knowing that our matebond would allow you to borrow from my supernatural abilities and you would be able to heal. But something happened that I never anticipated,” he couldn’t stop a grin from splitting his face as he spoke, “the Puspa.”
“The what now?”
“The Puspa, the change happened. That voice inside of your head that has been whispering to you and telling you things is real. It is still you, Violet, it’s just a new side to you. You see, little one, with my bite I gave you an incredible gift, you are a Shifter now too.”