The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 173: Chapter 173

“Agree to disagree, but really, I see what you are saying, and I get it, really. The females in our Pride have to deal with that as well. You know, there is talk of a human scientist who is mated to a feline Shifter, they are part of some elite Shifter group, I forget which. Anyway, he’s said to be making advances in a sort of tonic to help stave off a heat cycle.”
“Yes! His mate is one of the Guardians of Chaos. Tough group of supes. Unfortunately, the tonic requires each patient to come in and do a blood panel. There is a waitlist for consultations a mile long. I was lucky to have mine over a year ago,” Toni said, then froze.
Oh shit. She had not meant to confess so much at once, but maybe this was a good thing. She cleared her throat and tucked her hair behind her ears, not meeting his eyes just yet.
“So, you got in? That’s good. So, you are taking the heat suppressant?” he asked, curious but not judgy. “Shit. I’m sorry, Toni, that is none of my business,” he added quickly.
Interesting. Most males had views about this sort of thing, but Toni would be damned if anyone was going to tell her how to take care of her own body. That was her business. No one else’s.
“No, it’s okay. I brought it up. And yes, to answer your question, I am taking the heat suppressant they made for me.”
“You don’t have to say another word about it, pretty girl. Your body, your choice,” he murmured, and she heard it in his voice.
Truth.
Pierce told her nothing but the truth. He smiled at her then, and it was so bright it was blinding. That smile said a lot to her. It told her he was okay with her choices. Even more than that. He did not judge her or question her choices. And he sure a shit didn’t try to mansplain her own body to her—thank fuck.
He just listened, picked up his bagel and offered her a bite, which she took. He’d added EVOO to his food, and it really brought out the flavor of the salmon. Seeing her nod, he poured a drizzle across hers, and continued to eat while she spoke.
“I don’t mind talking about it,” Toni said. “Humans go on birth control all the time, and it is no big deal. But when a Shifter does, the whole supernatural community goes in an uproar.”
“Double standard,” he said, nodding.
“Yep. When Logan Wells, that’s the scientist’s name, brought his discovery before the Council of Shifters, they were angry. They said he was interfering with nature. Then female Shifters started coming forward and explaining what it meant to them to be able to choose whether to go into their heat cycle, and after a while, that changed their point of view.”
“I remember those talks. I was there,” he said, surprising her further. “And I agree with you. Women should have a choice in who they mate and have young with. My own mother went into her heat cycle when she was barely out of high school. She wound up mating the boy next door, and lucky for her, they fell in love,” he told her with a small smile.
“Sounds like a dream, unfortunately, that’s not the norm,” Toni replied with a sad smile.
“I know. I had a cousin who wasn’t so lucky,” Pierce added darkly. “Her heat cycle hit her when she was away on a tour of Europe and the male who serviced her, well, he was not kind to women. He refused to let her return to the states, to her family and pride, and she, uh, she ended her life,” he whispered.
“Oh no, Pierce, I am so sorry,” Toni said, her heart hurting for him.
“I was very young. We weren’t close, but still. It does something to you, having someone close to you hurt by something beyond your control. So, Toni, I am not judging you for your choices. I applaud them and I am glad you can make those decisions for yourself,” he told her, and she saw more truth gleaming in his aqua-tinted gaze.
“Thank you. I appreciate that. You see, I didn’t want to be at the mercy of biology for a few reasons,” she said, opting for the whole truth. “I mean, I was just getting a promotion at work. But that wasn’t the whole reason I wanted the suppressant. I wanted it, well, because of the man I was dating.”
“Why? Was he pressuring you into having cubs?” he asked, and his voice had deepened.
“Yes, well, he wanted to claim me, and he wanted me to have cubs right away. He had this whole plan you see, and when I balked, he told me no one else would want me because I was so focused on my career.”
“Name and address,” Pierce growled.
“No,” she laughed, stopping when she saw he was serious. “I mean, he was kinda right, Pierce, in a way. I worked eighty hours a week. Weekends, unpaid overtime, I mean, look at all I gave to EWLP. And for what? At the slightest hint of scandal or something off in my work, they send me packing. They wouldn’t even let me help with the investigation into my activities. So, what good did I really do, working all those hours?”
Toni shivered. She frowned, staring out at the lake without really seeing it. Was this going to hurt them before they even started, she wondered. And it surprised her to realize she feared that. Toni didn’t want to lose him.
“Did you love him?” Pierce asked.
Toni paused before answering. She was not expecting that question. Did she love Stefan? Her Lioness had wanted her to. At the time, Toni thought she might. But the answer was clear as a bell now.
“I thought I did, for like a minute, but no, I never loved him,” she confessed, and damn, did that feel good letting that cat out of the bag?
“Did he love you?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. That admission came easy and fast. Too easy.
“I don’t think he is capable of love, and I am not saying that to be mean,” she explained.
“I didn’t think you were,” Pierce said softly.
“Actually, he made me feel like shit for not loving him. Like it was just a choice or something. He said I wasn’t trying. But I was. I did try. It just wasn’t there on either side. Finally, I asked him how could he love me and make me feel like that? Anyway, he did not like my answer.”
After a pause, she went on, feeling it necessary to say the whole thing.
“I’m sorry, Toni. That sounds hard,” Pierce said, brushing his finger against hers where they touched n the blanket.
“Staying would have been hard. Leaving was easy. Stefan, that was his name, said I was a cold fish and would never have a better offer. He wanted me to let him mark me with his bite, to get off the heat suppressants so my cycle would get my she-Cat more involved, but I refused. I wanted to wait. But in a way, I guess he was right. I cared more about my job than him. So, there it is. My big red flag. Workaholic.”
“Hey,” Pierce replied, reaching out to touch her cheek with his fingertips. “First, I am sorry about whatever this whole thing is going on at work. Second, you being dedicated and hardworking is hardly a red flag. That asshole, Stefan, whose last name and address I would really, really like to have, had no right to make you feel bad about any of that. He had no right to tell you what to do with your body or how to do your job.”
“Yeah? You think so?” she asked, feeling pretty raw at that moment.
“I know so, pretty girl. Any real man would have supported you and your efforts. And trying to bully you into accepting his claim? Fuck that guy, Toni. He wasn’t worthy of you.”
Toni could not even muster a reply. She gasped, eyes wide at the fierce confidence in Pierce’s gaze. He believed every word he said, and he was right. He was so fucking right. And up until just then, she hadn’t realized it.
“And last, about you being a cold fish? That guy didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about.”
“He didn’t?”
“Hell no. All you have to do is look at me, and bam, instant boner. You light fires in my body with a glance, Antonetta Golden. Anytime you’re ready to next level this, you let me know. I’ll be waiting right here,” he admitted.
Pierce gifted her with that sexy, lopsided grin that made her body positively ache with longing, and she inhaled slowly. Hot damn. She was flustered, hot and bothered, and he barely touched her. Was she ready to next level this, she wondered.
Maybe she wasn’t a cold fish. Maybe Stefan really was an asshole.
“Damn straight, pretty girl. Nothing cold about you.”
Fuck.
She must have said that part aloud. Toni glanced down at her hands, currently wrinkling the shit out of the blanket they were sitting on. She smoothed it out and nodded slowly, willing herself to calm down.
“Good to know,” she whispered, her heart soaring with possibilities.
He was so smart and funny. Open and honest with her. She still couldn’t wrap her head around everything she was learning about him. Lawyer, architect, construction worker. How many more interesting facets was Pierce McDowd hiding from her? She couldn’t wait to find out.
After they finished eating, Toni walked to the edge of the lake. The sun was high in the sky now, the hottest time of day. She bit her lip and reached for the hem of the tank top she’d tossed on over her bikini.
“What are you looking at?” she asked, eyebrow raised as she paused mid pull.
“The sexiest damn woman I have ever seen in my life,” he replied, eyes unblinking.
“Well, don’t. I never took off my clothes for an audience before,” she said with a breathless sort of giggle that was so not her.
“Why not?”
“Excuse me? Are you implying I should strip?”
“Hell no, I mean, yeah, if you want to. Shit. I have nothing against strippers, and if a person chooses to take their clothes off for whatever reason, more power to them. What I meant was you have absolutely no reason to hide from me,” he growled, cheeks going ruddy again.
“I’m not sure what you are saying, Pierce, but I would really like you to explain,”
Toni held her breath, her hands still on the hem of her shirt. She wasn’t fishing for compliments, but damn, he was on the verge of telling her something and she wanted to get it right.
Stefan had savaged her pride. Made her feel unwomanly and just plain unattractive. His lack of interest went beyond her own pleasure or needs. The male was a taker, and Pierce was his polar opposite.
Pierce was a giver. And maybe, just maybe, Toni was ready to receive.
“What I am trying so ineloquently to say is, look, if you want me to turn around, I will. But if I may, I would give my eyeteeth to watch you pull that top, and anything else you want, off your body,” he murmured.
Toni blinked slowly. Without another word, she pulled the tank top completely off, next came her shorts. Pierce exhaled long and slow, his eyes eating her up, and she shivered in response to his hungry stare.
Standing in her two-piece, she felt too confined, too covered up. Her pulse raced and blood roared in her ears. She wanted him to see all of her.
So, what are you waiting for?
Her hands crept up to the strings around her neck, and holding his gaze, she tugged. The entire mountain seemed to go quiet as she let the bikini top drop and moved her fingers to the ties on either side of her bottoms. When that too had fallen, Toni stepped backwards, allowing the cool lake water to lap at her legs.
The moment was ripe with tension. She heard birds and animals skittering through the forest, but even those sounds fell away until all she could hear was the beating of her heart. She was about two seconds from tucking tail and running, but she held her ground.
Toni held Pierce’s glittering gaze until the water reached her waist. Then, she sunk down, immersing herself in the aquatic paradise. The sound of fumbling footsteps followed by a loud splash reached her supernaturally enhanced auditory senses beneath the surface of the lake, and she grinned.
One second later, Pierce’s hard mouth was pressed against her lips as his body crashed into hers with all the force of a hurricane. It was turbulent, scary, and sexy as fuck. Toni didn’t have to worry, he had her.
Gods, did he have her as he turned them around in the water, his hard, muscled body wrapped around hers. Her lungs burned with the need to breathe, but this was more important than air. Pierce was more important than anything.