The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 172: Chapter 172

Maybe her animal was never broken. Maybe she’d just been eager to find someone to be with and that was why she’d set her sights on Stefan. Toni couldn’t hold a grudge.
Not any longer. After all, she and her Lioness had to live together. And if her kitty was making statements like that about Pierce, something she never actually did with Stefan, then maybe the beast was smarter than she thought.
Mine.
Yeah, he felt like hers. But she wasn’t about to shout it from the rooftops and scare him off. Not yet anyway. She was eager to spend time with Pierce, getting to know him, and showing him the real her, the one she kept hidden. Toni didn’t want to wear armor with him.
For the first time, she wanted to be herself, to allow her vulnerability to show. Yes, it was soon, but they were Shifters. This feeling of hope and excitement, this was what was missing with Stefan. This was what she’d been waiting to feel all her life.
Pierce held out his hand, and all manner of teasing fled from his eyes. He seemed to hold his breath, waiting for her to decide. She swallowed hard, then took his proffered hand, using it to leverage herself into the vehicle.
Her Lioness already recognized him for what he was. The she-beast knew it, and she purred with the knowledge. Yep. Even her kitty was eager to spend the day with him.
“Eek!”
Her foot slipped on the rail she was using to hoist herself up, but he had her waist, and he waited for her to regain her footing instead of just manhandling her. She was grateful even as she muttered, wondering how graceless she must have looked bumbling into the thing.
“There you go, pretty girl,” he said with a grin. “Get buckled and I’ll get you where we’re going, safe and sound,” he growled in reply.
Truth. Truth. TRUTH.
There was a path through the woods behind the shed where he’d pulled the ATV from, and Toni smiled in delight. She’d gone the other way on her hike that morning.
“I completely missed this trail this morning,” she said over the hum of the engine.
“Did you? This part of the woods is full of trails. Some we made when we were building up here. Others from years of the Pride camping up here, before we had cabins,” he replied.
“No cabins? Yikes. Well, I’m glad you all built them. I don’t really do camping,” she said, laughing at his shocked expression.
“You don’t camp?” he asked, his eyebrows raised to his hairline.
The man had gorgeous hair. Thick, straight, glossy, and dark with one lock falling perfectly onto his forehead. Sexy, hot guy hair was a total thing for her kind. All the Lion males in the Pride were going to be jealous of a Tiger, she mused, her fingers itching to muss it.
“Mmm hmm,” she told him. “No tents for me. I need a mattress and indoor plumbing. Non-negotiable.”
“You’re one of those high maintenance women,” he said, a teasing note in his voice. “So noted, fair lady.”
Toni laughed aloud and Pierce nodded his head, feigning seriousness. That didn’t last long, and he was chuckling right along with her a moment later. Gosh, this was easy. Easy and comfortable. She liked it. She liked him.
“So, where are you taking me, kind sir?” she asked, tucking her hair behind her ears.
It was whipping wildly in the wind as they raced through the trees. Normally, she would be up in arms over the state of it, but right then, she didn’t care. It felt good, letting her hair down literally and figuratively.
She must have looked a mess, with her hair flying around like that, but Pierce didn’t seem to mind. His lazy smile was sexy and complimentary as he raked her with that aqua gaze of his.
“Don’t worry. You’ll like it, I promise,” he said, and his smile went so bright it dazzled her.
Toni relaxed back into the seat and tried not to flinch at the speed with which they were moving through the forest. Traveling to Maverick Point from Blue Valley, Toni spent a lot of time looking at the peak of the mountain, but it was wild to think she was actually on it.
“We are on the mountain, right?” she asked.
“Yep. We are a few miles up the base of Mount Maverick. You can hike up to the top, but it’s not really for beginners. Our animals might get farther along than us, actually,” he replied.
After about twenty minutes, Pierce slowed the ATV down, rounding a bend that had been blocked from view by tall trees and bushy shrubs. She identified oaks and black walnuts, a few scraggly pines, but Toni wasn’t exactly nature girl.
“It’s a lake!” she shouted, pointing at the crystal clear body of water.
“Yep. We can swim in it, it’s naturally filtered by those floating rafts you see out in the middle there. The vegetation is good for the lake. Closer to the shore, we roped off the main swimming area, and there is another filter there to clear it even more for swimmers. The Pride mamas prefer it when their cubs don’t come out of the water looking like swamp thing,” he teased.
Toni grinned right along with him. She could just imagine how some moms, especially the young ones, felt protective and concerned over their young. She and her sisters had grown up pretty wild, though. Her own mother never cared about a mess, and she and her sisters and brother would have torn a lake up as cubs.
“Wow, so wait. Can you just do all that to a lake on a mountain? No consequences or permission needed?” she asked, curious about his Pride.
And wasn’t that new, too? Toni, though inquisitive by nature, was rarely concerned with other Shifter groups. But if the Fates had paired her up with a Tiger, well, it seemed the thing to do. Asking him questions, learning the ins and outs of his pride and his life.
This felt good. Safe, yet exciting. New. It felt new, and that was good.
“The Pride owns this land. Actually, this lake was put here by us,” he said, putting the ATV into park along a strip of gravel.
They did not exit the vehicle right away, and she was glad. She wanted to finish this conversation. Toni was learning so much about him, she was too engrossed to stop.
“So, you all just made a lake?” she asked, totally shocked.
“Yeah, people do it all the time. We put this in right about the time we built the cabins. This place is a retreat for the Pride, and for other Shifters who get our Neta’s permission,” he explained, surprising her further.
“Wow. This is really wonderful. I mean, I did not know this even existed, and I lived in New Jersey my whole life.”
“Well, communication between Shifter groups is all but nil. We’ve been working with the Shifter Council to increase talks between different groups. This place was designed with the idea it could serve as host for different groups to come together, explore relationships, discuss business in a peaceful, friendly, and safe environment.”
“Wow. Your Neta must really be incredible. I mean, this is really a wonderful idea,” she said, looking around with newly opened eyes.
“Hunter Maverick is the best man I know, but uh, well, actually, I made the plans for this retreat,” he murmured, and his cheeks went all ruddy.
Sweet, sexy, bashful, too. What other surprises do you have in store for me, Pierce McDowd?
“You mean the architectural plans?” she asked, confused.
She knew he worked for Maverick Development, which was a construction company. She was not sure exactly what it was he did there, but if it involved building this place, she was definitely impressed.
“Sure, I helped with part of the design, but I meant the idea of using this retreat for peace talks as neutral ground for different Shifter groups was my idea. Maverick Development is really the only Shifter run company of its kind in this area, as such, it makes sense to negotiate contracts with other Shifters who would not be surprised by the speed or size of the work we can actually do. But those kinds of deals need privacy to work through. This place offers that,” he stated and hopped out of the ATV.
He was around to her side, hand extended, before she had a chance to even get unbuckled. Gods, he had good manners. She loved that, loved the way he treated her. Toni’s cheeks were burning by the time she got awkwardly out of her seat.
“Thank you.”
“Anytime, pretty girl,” he murmured, touching her chin before turning to get their things.
“So, you came up with that whole thing for your Pride’s company? I mean, wow, Pierce. That is really something,” she murmured, surprised, and even more impressed.
“Thanks. It’s part of why I went to law school. To handle the contracts and negotiations,” he told her nonchalantly as he grabbed the cooler and the bag from the back.
“Hold the phone. Law school? You’re a lawyer? Wait, I thought you worked construction,” Toni said, following him.
She offered to carry the bag, but he shook his head and winked. A lawyer and a gentleman. Ha! It sounded like one of her romance books. The man was just full of surprises.
“Can’t a man do both?” he asked, and his cheeks went a deeper shade of red.
Oh, he was good. Secretively smart, sexy as sin boy.
“Come on. Let’s set up the picnic,” he murmured.
Toni felt dizzy with all this new information she was gleaning about him. Dizzy and intrigued. Very, very intrigued. She took a moment to fan herself when he wasn’t looking.
Yowza.
The man was doing things to her she’d never experienced with barely a touch. Kindling fires of desire, that’s what he was doing. Every glance, every light brush of his fingertips as he guided her down the graveled path to the sandy shore.
“We drive up sand at the start of every season here, to fill in where the weather or animals eroded it,” he told her as he set the bag and cooler down.
“Oooh, so soft sand. I was worried about mud and twigs hurting my butt,” she said, only half-teasing.
“I promise if anything hurts your butt, I will kiss it and make it better.”
“I bet you would, dirty boy,” she tsked. Pierce chuckled and shrugged, clearly not refuting his statement.
“Anyway, it’s really great,” she replied honestly as she helped him spread open a blanket.
They sat down, side by side, and even that surprised her. She thought he would sit opposite her, but the big, sexy man just sprawled out like the big Cat he was right beside her. Every time he moved, he touched her.
Oh, nothing blatant. He was not groping or acting leery in any way. They were tiny touches. Just a light brush of his leg or his hand against her skin. Enough to send her system into hyperawareness mode. Those almost touches were driving her mad, amping up her desire for him.
Pierce was just so damn cute. He talked to her, listened when she spoke, and made her dish without hesitation. He was relaxed, charming, going into the basket he had packed for food when her stomach growled. He handed her a cup of fruit salad and a big, bready bagel loaded with lox and cream cheese.
“This is delicious,” she said, taking hearty bites.
Toni was never going to hide that part of her, and Pierce seemed to love the fact she ate with gusto. They ate and shared stories. It was like he was really interested in everything she had to say. That was something she never really encountered.
“You did all that for Annabeth and her mate?”
“Well, I volunteered for the assignment to check on her. She’s my sister. Besides, her heat was coming at the most inopportune time. She needed help. We Goldens stick together.”
“That’s awesome. You must be the best sister, hands down. I bet your sisters say so all the time.”
“Hardly,” she snorted.