The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 159: Chapter 159
You are reading The Maverick Pride Tales, Chapter 159: Chapter 159. Read more chapters of The Maverick Pride Tales.
“How could having hot, mind-blowing, coochie-breaking sex be a bad thing, AB?” Toni asked, using her nickname for Annabeth, while daintily chewing on a mouthful of cookie dough.
After Annabeth had hightailed it out of her hotel suite, she’d snagged some towels from the pool area and went back inside to inquire who EWLP had sent to the convention in her stead.
Lucky for her, it was her sister.
She’d known instinctively that Hank was still outside, having taken to the skies in his feathered form when she’d made it back to the lobby. Taking the chance, she had the hotel clerk give her a key to her sister’s suite, but first she went back and grabbed her things from her old room.
The delicious scent of Hank and the naughty, very naughty, things he’d done to her perfumed the air, and she’d been hard pressed to leave. But she could not stay there and accept the crumbs he offered. Not when she loved him like she did.
Stupid clingy kitty.
Forcing her feet to work, one in front of the other, Annabeth made it to her sister’s room. Once there, she’d collapsed on one of the beds, gut-wrenching sobs wracking her towel-clad frame, until Toni pulled out the big guns. Or in this case, the big menu.
Ice cream by the bucket, cookie dough, the edible kind guaranteed to not hurt her sometimes sensitive belly, and a bottle of tequila to boot. Once her sweet tooth had been sated, and she tossed back her tenth shot, Annabeth finally confessed everything that had happened between her and Hank.
“Because, Toni—I love him, and he was just servicing me. Like I’m a fucking car or something,” she wailed and buried her head in the pillow.
“Yeah, but Hank loves cars. He’s like cliterally a limo driver,” she said and grinned. “Like that? I just made that up.”
“OMG! Shut up, Toni. And really, maybe it was a heat thing, but I swear, I have never had sex feel like that before. He was just so, so,” she said and shook her head as words failed to describe what they’d shared.
Her Falcon lover had played her body like Elton John played a piano. He was, in a word, sublime, tending to every one of her hidden fantasies and desires. Every naughtily whispered direction, every erotic dream was fulfilled effortlessly. He’d made her wishes come true before she even knew what they were.
That last coming together had literally torn her heart from her chest. The heat cycle was over, but Hank had slid into her so sweetly, she couldn’t refuse. It was like he’d become her own personal blanket, covering her with his large, muscular body. He’d filled her so deep, loved her so good, and when she came. Fuck. It was fantastic. On and on, her endless orgasm had spanned centuries, countless miles, until all she could think, see, breathe, hear, taste, and feel was him.
Hank.
Mine.
Mate.
Only, he was not her mate. Sure, she’d sensed the time or three when he wanted to mark her during her explosive heat, but she would not allow it. How could she, under those circumstances?
No. He would hate or resent her in the end. Wasn’t that why her own father had left? After delivering four girls, her father had tried to stick it out. He’d mated her mother, who, following a fifth heat, finally gave birth to a son, but in the end, Patricia Golden had wound up alone.
Her mother was not one to mince words. She’d told her children quite candidly what had occurred between their parents. Never spoke ill of the deadbeat either, despite Annabeth’s resolve to maim the fucker if she ever saw him. But what it had taught the Lioness was priceless.
Love could not be forced.
If it wasn’t there, it just wasn’t, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. She might love Hank Garret, but the Gyrfalcon Shifter did not love her. That was as glaring a truth as any.
“Well, I mean, going into your heat couldn’t have been that bad?” Toni hedged.
Annabeth supposed she should have considered the fact that all of her siblings would experience the same sooner rather than later. Trying to smile, she faced Antonette. The female was absolutely beautiful. Had even modeled for an X-rated magazine if the rumors were true.
“I’m sorry,” Annabeth said. “Did I mention? Best. Sex. Ever.”
“Yeah,” Toni said and blushed. “You kinda did. But AB, what if you’re pregnant?”
Her breathing stopped at the thought. Hope filled her and crushed her heart at the same time. She would be so happy to have Hank’s young.
“Oh,” she said, eyes wide. “I will do what Mom did. I will raise my cubs with all the love I have in my heart, and besides, they will have the best aunts and uncle ever, right?” she asked with a watery smile.
“They sure as fuck will,” Toni said and grabbed her in a fierce hug.
“I just didn’t expect to love him, I guess.”
Foolish, foolish girl.
“Oh AB, the heart wants what it wants, and all that jazz,” Toni replied, sniffed, then flippantly bounced off the bed and hurled a shopping bag at Annabeth, “Come on, get dressed.”
“Dressed? What for?”
“The con ends tonight.”
“With the ball? Fuck, Toni, I don’t want to go.”
“Too bad,” her sister snapped. “You know, I did all this for you. Took over and all, the least you can do is come with me tonight. Besides, it’s not just the dance. First, the New Jersey Convention for Quality Food Products, which, as you know, is secretly Shifter run, is giving an award to their newest members. Second, I hear Mason Lane sent a new batch of his latest whiskey flavor, Rose Bite, to the con.”
“Oh, yeah?” Annabeth feigned interest as she stood up and opened the bag.
Toni loved to shop. She was a clotheshorse, and everything looked great on her. But her sister also had a natural eye for what looked good on others. Without thinking too much about it, Annabeth resigned herself to getting dressed and listening to Toni ramble on about whiskey and shoes—her only true passions. It was the least she could do.
“Well?” Annabeth asked a while later and twirled in front of her sister.
Toni was resplendent in a red strapless dress that highlighted her long, sleek legs, and killer figure. Annabeth would probably hate her if she didn’t love her so much.
Rawr.
“That looks gorgeous on you,” Toni said and grinned like the cat that got the canary, reaching out to snag the tag Annabeth had accidentally left on.
The dress was a dream with fluttery sleeves, a cinched waist, plunging neckline, and a skirt that flared out gracefully, ending just above her knees. It was perfect, except for the color.
The jewel tone made her want to cry. It was the same cobalt blue that reminded her painfully of Hank’s brilliant, piercing gaze.
“You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be, sis,” Annabeth replied, smile trembling as she forced herself to go numb.
Normally, she loved going out with one or all of her siblings. Lionesses loved to party. But not tonight. Annabeth’s emotions had been through the wringer the past few days. She wanted to curl up in fetal position and stay there for a day, or a month, or a year—just until the ache in her heart went away.
“Isn’t this place beautiful?” Toni asked, spinning around like a supermodel on the runway.
Heads turned and growls sounded, but Toni was oblivious as she took in the decorations of the hotel’s beautiful ballroom. Annabeth giggled as a few males close enough to witness Antonette’s graceful spin developed an immediate case of broken-neck syndrome.
Idiots.
“Yeah, it’s nice,” Annabeth said and shook her head at Toni’s what expression.
“Oh, look,” she pointed to the dais where one of the convention representatives was speaking.
“What?”
“They are inducting the new members now.”
Annabeth followed her sister to the edge of the crowd to listen to the speaker. Her heart wasn’t in it. But she supposed it was better than crying over spilled milk. Her heart being the milk in this scenario.
Ugh. That metaphor sucked.
Whatever, I’m mourning the loss of my love. Gimme a break, kitty!
Rawr.
Annabeth rolled her eyes at her inner Lioness. Her Cat was pissed at her, and really, she could not blame the creature. Annabeth had fucked this whole thing up. But, she was paying for it. Boy, was she ever.
“Good evening, everyone. We have a special announcement, folks. After some debate, and a sizeable donation, we are adding a Guest Services and Hospitality section to our convention this year,” he said, and a smattering of applause broke out among those gathered.
Annabeth accepted the glass of champagne from a passing server. She feigned interest, tried to walk away, but Toni pulled her back. Apparently, her sis was invested in this whatever the hell it was.
Whatever.
“As a thank you to our new partners, we offer this award on behalf of the New Jersey Convention for Quality Food Products to the owner of Falcon Limousine Services, Hank Garret.”
The announcer handed a small plaque to the familiar tall, handsome man dressed in an impeccable black tuxedo, who stood beside him on the dais. Thunder roared in her ears as Annabeth took in his wide shoulders encased in ultra-fine black fabric.
It can’t be him.
After Annabeth had hightailed it out of her hotel suite, she’d snagged some towels from the pool area and went back inside to inquire who EWLP had sent to the convention in her stead.
Lucky for her, it was her sister.
She’d known instinctively that Hank was still outside, having taken to the skies in his feathered form when she’d made it back to the lobby. Taking the chance, she had the hotel clerk give her a key to her sister’s suite, but first she went back and grabbed her things from her old room.
The delicious scent of Hank and the naughty, very naughty, things he’d done to her perfumed the air, and she’d been hard pressed to leave. But she could not stay there and accept the crumbs he offered. Not when she loved him like she did.
Stupid clingy kitty.
Forcing her feet to work, one in front of the other, Annabeth made it to her sister’s room. Once there, she’d collapsed on one of the beds, gut-wrenching sobs wracking her towel-clad frame, until Toni pulled out the big guns. Or in this case, the big menu.
Ice cream by the bucket, cookie dough, the edible kind guaranteed to not hurt her sometimes sensitive belly, and a bottle of tequila to boot. Once her sweet tooth had been sated, and she tossed back her tenth shot, Annabeth finally confessed everything that had happened between her and Hank.
“Because, Toni—I love him, and he was just servicing me. Like I’m a fucking car or something,” she wailed and buried her head in the pillow.
“Yeah, but Hank loves cars. He’s like cliterally a limo driver,” she said and grinned. “Like that? I just made that up.”
“OMG! Shut up, Toni. And really, maybe it was a heat thing, but I swear, I have never had sex feel like that before. He was just so, so,” she said and shook her head as words failed to describe what they’d shared.
Her Falcon lover had played her body like Elton John played a piano. He was, in a word, sublime, tending to every one of her hidden fantasies and desires. Every naughtily whispered direction, every erotic dream was fulfilled effortlessly. He’d made her wishes come true before she even knew what they were.
That last coming together had literally torn her heart from her chest. The heat cycle was over, but Hank had slid into her so sweetly, she couldn’t refuse. It was like he’d become her own personal blanket, covering her with his large, muscular body. He’d filled her so deep, loved her so good, and when she came. Fuck. It was fantastic. On and on, her endless orgasm had spanned centuries, countless miles, until all she could think, see, breathe, hear, taste, and feel was him.
Hank.
Mine.
Mate.
Only, he was not her mate. Sure, she’d sensed the time or three when he wanted to mark her during her explosive heat, but she would not allow it. How could she, under those circumstances?
No. He would hate or resent her in the end. Wasn’t that why her own father had left? After delivering four girls, her father had tried to stick it out. He’d mated her mother, who, following a fifth heat, finally gave birth to a son, but in the end, Patricia Golden had wound up alone.
Her mother was not one to mince words. She’d told her children quite candidly what had occurred between their parents. Never spoke ill of the deadbeat either, despite Annabeth’s resolve to maim the fucker if she ever saw him. But what it had taught the Lioness was priceless.
Love could not be forced.
If it wasn’t there, it just wasn’t, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. She might love Hank Garret, but the Gyrfalcon Shifter did not love her. That was as glaring a truth as any.
“Well, I mean, going into your heat couldn’t have been that bad?” Toni hedged.
Annabeth supposed she should have considered the fact that all of her siblings would experience the same sooner rather than later. Trying to smile, she faced Antonette. The female was absolutely beautiful. Had even modeled for an X-rated magazine if the rumors were true.
“I’m sorry,” Annabeth said. “Did I mention? Best. Sex. Ever.”
“Yeah,” Toni said and blushed. “You kinda did. But AB, what if you’re pregnant?”
Her breathing stopped at the thought. Hope filled her and crushed her heart at the same time. She would be so happy to have Hank’s young.
“Oh,” she said, eyes wide. “I will do what Mom did. I will raise my cubs with all the love I have in my heart, and besides, they will have the best aunts and uncle ever, right?” she asked with a watery smile.
“They sure as fuck will,” Toni said and grabbed her in a fierce hug.
“I just didn’t expect to love him, I guess.”
Foolish, foolish girl.
“Oh AB, the heart wants what it wants, and all that jazz,” Toni replied, sniffed, then flippantly bounced off the bed and hurled a shopping bag at Annabeth, “Come on, get dressed.”
“Dressed? What for?”
“The con ends tonight.”
“With the ball? Fuck, Toni, I don’t want to go.”
“Too bad,” her sister snapped. “You know, I did all this for you. Took over and all, the least you can do is come with me tonight. Besides, it’s not just the dance. First, the New Jersey Convention for Quality Food Products, which, as you know, is secretly Shifter run, is giving an award to their newest members. Second, I hear Mason Lane sent a new batch of his latest whiskey flavor, Rose Bite, to the con.”
“Oh, yeah?” Annabeth feigned interest as she stood up and opened the bag.
Toni loved to shop. She was a clotheshorse, and everything looked great on her. But her sister also had a natural eye for what looked good on others. Without thinking too much about it, Annabeth resigned herself to getting dressed and listening to Toni ramble on about whiskey and shoes—her only true passions. It was the least she could do.
“Well?” Annabeth asked a while later and twirled in front of her sister.
Toni was resplendent in a red strapless dress that highlighted her long, sleek legs, and killer figure. Annabeth would probably hate her if she didn’t love her so much.
Rawr.
“That looks gorgeous on you,” Toni said and grinned like the cat that got the canary, reaching out to snag the tag Annabeth had accidentally left on.
The dress was a dream with fluttery sleeves, a cinched waist, plunging neckline, and a skirt that flared out gracefully, ending just above her knees. It was perfect, except for the color.
The jewel tone made her want to cry. It was the same cobalt blue that reminded her painfully of Hank’s brilliant, piercing gaze.
“You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be, sis,” Annabeth replied, smile trembling as she forced herself to go numb.
Normally, she loved going out with one or all of her siblings. Lionesses loved to party. But not tonight. Annabeth’s emotions had been through the wringer the past few days. She wanted to curl up in fetal position and stay there for a day, or a month, or a year—just until the ache in her heart went away.
“Isn’t this place beautiful?” Toni asked, spinning around like a supermodel on the runway.
Heads turned and growls sounded, but Toni was oblivious as she took in the decorations of the hotel’s beautiful ballroom. Annabeth giggled as a few males close enough to witness Antonette’s graceful spin developed an immediate case of broken-neck syndrome.
Idiots.
“Yeah, it’s nice,” Annabeth said and shook her head at Toni’s what expression.
“Oh, look,” she pointed to the dais where one of the convention representatives was speaking.
“What?”
“They are inducting the new members now.”
Annabeth followed her sister to the edge of the crowd to listen to the speaker. Her heart wasn’t in it. But she supposed it was better than crying over spilled milk. Her heart being the milk in this scenario.
Ugh. That metaphor sucked.
Whatever, I’m mourning the loss of my love. Gimme a break, kitty!
Rawr.
Annabeth rolled her eyes at her inner Lioness. Her Cat was pissed at her, and really, she could not blame the creature. Annabeth had fucked this whole thing up. But, she was paying for it. Boy, was she ever.
“Good evening, everyone. We have a special announcement, folks. After some debate, and a sizeable donation, we are adding a Guest Services and Hospitality section to our convention this year,” he said, and a smattering of applause broke out among those gathered.
Annabeth accepted the glass of champagne from a passing server. She feigned interest, tried to walk away, but Toni pulled her back. Apparently, her sis was invested in this whatever the hell it was.
Whatever.
“As a thank you to our new partners, we offer this award on behalf of the New Jersey Convention for Quality Food Products to the owner of Falcon Limousine Services, Hank Garret.”
The announcer handed a small plaque to the familiar tall, handsome man dressed in an impeccable black tuxedo, who stood beside him on the dais. Thunder roared in her ears as Annabeth took in his wide shoulders encased in ultra-fine black fabric.
It can’t be him.
End of The Maverick Pride Tales Chapter 159. Continue reading Chapter 160 or return to The Maverick Pride Tales book page.