The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 41: Chapter 41

“You mean to tell me your pussy-blocking brother is still at it?” Uzzi Stregovich’s expression went from amused to exasperated in under a second.
“I know, right?” Jessica rolled her eyes.
“Pussy-blocking?”
Elissa smirked. The Nari dissolved into a fit of giggles at the description of her mate as both Uncle Uzzi and Jessica looked on.
“Yeah, that big pussycat mate of yours does his best to ruin Jessica’s fun times. He is a pussycat, and he is always blocking, pussy-blocker, yes? Hasn’t Jessica told you?”
Uncle Uzzi stirred his tea, nodding at the two young women and seemingly content in his butchering of modern euphemisms.
“No, uh, she hasn’t,” Elissa said, wiping her eyes.
“However, I’m more concerned with why you didn’t bring me any of those sexy panty sets Uncle Uzzi told me about, Jess?”
Elissa growled at Jessica and looked through Uncle Uzzi’s stack of cards and flyers promoting the new Kisses By Kylie winter sets.
“Lissa, I love you, but ew. Seriously, if you want some slutty underwear to wear for my brother, you will have to just come to the shop yourself.”
Both Uncle Uzzi and Elissa laughed at Jessica’s faux shudder. She’d been surprised to see them both sitting together when she thought Uncle Uzzi’s schedule was full, but this emergency meeting of her brother’s meant the women had a chance to catch up.
“So, how are you feeling, dear?” Uncle addressed his question to Elissa.
“Fine. This little cub of mine is growing every day and I have never been so happy. Thank you so much, Uncle Uzzi!”
“Oh, it’s my pleasure, really. And the cooking?”
“Oh, my gods! So, these Tigers really love to eat, and I get to try out new recipes all the time. I have never been so happy,” she answered.
“I can see that. These butter cookies are to die for. I must have the recipe. And now, Jessica, why don’t you tell us what is going on with this Bear of yours? Have you decided to take him by the horn yet?”
Uncle Uzzi wiggled his eyebrows, and Elissa busted out laughing once more. The old Witch rose from his chair to get more hot water for the teapot, and Jessica shook her head at her Nari. She was incorrigible lately. But that’s what happened with the sudden appearance of a sex life, she supposed.
“OMG! Yes, Jess, please I need the deets,” Elissa said, mimicking holding on to another type of horn behind Uzzi’s back.
Jessica felt her cheeks heat and knew she must be the same shade as an overripe tomato. She squirmed in her seat under Uncle Uzzi’s and Elissa’s watchful stares.
“Well, um, we um sort of, almost well, I just don’t exactly,” she shrugged.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Elissa asked.
“I believe she means they have not had sex, correct?” Uncle Uzzi asked with his usual frankness.
Jessica’s face burned even hotter. She shook her head, refusing to look at either of them.
“You must not be embarrassed. I am a Witch and Elissa here is a Tiger now. Sex is perfectly natural and necessary for a true mating,” he added.
Still, she refused to talk. It was beyond embarrassing. How was she going to explain that Brayden had taken her to lunch, disappeared for two days, then kissed the hell out of her in front of the whole dang Pride House. Where was there time for sex?
It had been lunch, followed by two days of nothing, then he had his big old Bear snout up her behind all of twenty minutes ago. That was followed by his very human tongue ramming down her throat.
They’d admitted they were mates to each other, but then big bro had interrupted. Brayden had said they weren’t finished, but that was not exactly a statement that he was going to claim her.
Fucking hell.
Jessica shook her head. She was confused and frustrated.
“We haven’t had sex. This was only the first time he kissed me, so as for this Tiger taking any Bear by the horn, it just hasn’t happened.”
“Really? Hell, Hunter had me naked and bent over within minutes of meeting me,” Elissa said, then blushed furiously.
“We know, dear.”
Uncle Uzzi smirked and winked at the pregnant female. Jessica felt a zap of jealousy, quickly followed by a doozy of insecurity. She hated that, but it was hard not to feel kind of rejected.
“Brayden is a tough nut to crack, Jessica. I’m sure it won’t be long until he has you screaming his name,” Uzzi said gently.
“Uncle Uzzi, I don’t know whether to be horrified or comforted by your words,” Jessica responded, covering her face with her hands.
“You know what,” Elissa piped in.
“I read in this romance book that Bear Shifters, especially drop-dead gorgeous ones like our hunky Beta, are known for giving some of the best damn oral this side of the universe. So the question is, besides that overprotective mate of mine, how do we get Brayden to jump your bones?”
“OMG! Lissa, not in front of Uncle Uzzi,” she whispered.
“Dears, I know this will come as a shock, but I know all about sex. DO not forget my clients are almost ninety-five percent Shifters. Please, you can discuss anything with me. I swear it does not leave these lips.”
“Thank you, and of course, I didn’t mean to say I did not trust you⁠—”
“That is perfectly fine my dear.”
“The truth is, well, I think I must be lousy at sex,” Jessica confessed.
“Nonsense!”
“Oh honey, why?” Elissa asked, brows furrowed.
“I don’t exactly inspire great passion in men. I never have any way. What if I don’t turn him on?”
“Jessica, you need to start thinking positive. You are beautiful and just as sweet as honey. If you are mates, you turn him on, alright. You just need time alone together. Hmm,” Uncle Uzzi said.
He tapped the table with his blunt fingernails, the sound loud in the suddenly quiet room.
“I don’t know. What if he doesn’t want me like that? He was engaged before, the situation was complicated, but it ripped his heart out. Maybe he doesn’t have anything left to give,” Jessica’s voice hitched at the end.
That possibility terrified her more than anything else. Her inner feline chuffed and shook her head. Her beast refusing to allow doubt to creep its way inside of her brain. Not now when everything she had ever wanted was so close.
“Look, I think you will get to the physical aspect of mating soon enough. It is your heart you must consider carefully,” Uzzi replied.
Jessica nodded. She had no doubt he was right. After all, Brayden was a Shifter, and the mating fever would hit him, eventually.
But what about love? There were some things having sex, even great sex, would never fix. Jessica wanted to climb the mountain of a man and experience the kind of intimacy she had only ever dreamed about. But deep down in the secret, or not so secret, recesses of her mind, Jessica hoped for love as well.
“I agree with you, Uncle Uzzi. Sex is fine, and it is important, don’t get me wrong, Jessica. But tell me something, you keep talking about how he feels. What about you?” Elissa asked.
“Yes. That is a good question, Elissa. Jessica, do you know how you feel about the Bear?”
Uncle Uzzi leaned forward.
“What do you mean?” Jessica hedged.
“You said the Neta interrupted your first kiss. Well. How was it?” Uncle Uzzi asked.
“The kiss?”
“Yes. When you spoke to me the other day, you told me a lot about what you have spent hours imagining your mate’s kisses and what they would be like. You’ve kissed the Bear. So, what was it like?”
Warmth flared inside her, spreading from her core and through her belly, racing inside her veins till it reached all her limbs. Of course, she remembered the heated kiss she and Brayden had shared. It was only a short while ago.
“It was, um, it was nice,” she said, settling for something bland.
“Nice?” Elissa spat the word out, as if Jessica had said it was gross or something.
“Yes,” she repeated.
“It was nice.”
For some reason she did not want to reveal just how deeply his kiss had affected her. Nice did not begin to cover it, but it was so new, so raw. How could she share it yet? Even with two of her most trusted friends.
No, she had not known either for very long, but she had immediately categorized them both as trustworthy. Jessica cared very much for the old Witch and her new sister-in-law. But was this something she should talk about so soon?
“Oh dear, you can do better than that, can’t you?”
Uncle Uzzi’s mischievous smile should have tipped Jessica off, but her Tiger remained at ease. Then she realized he was not looking at her. Tingles of awareness rippled down her spine and she tensed.
“Yes,” a deep voice spoke up from behind her.
“We can do better than nice.”
She gasped, startled into whipping around so fast she almost fell off her chair. Even Shifter Cats could be clumsy, and she would have fallen too, if not for the pair of enormous, strong arms that wrapped around her. The owner of that voice pulled her to her feet and dragged her closer until she was flush against his hard, hot body.
“I can do better,” Brayden whispered, and his words drew a whimper of need from her open lips.
Black eyes glittered down at her and his chiseled face was further defined by the short-cropped beard he wore. It seemed longer than it had been that morning, signs his Bear was present.
The color of his hair was lighter than his Bear. The brown was streaked in front with sun-kissed golden waves probably from his time outside during work. The beard was darker still, but Jess didn’t mind. She liked facial hair on a man. No, not just any man.
Her man.
The temperature inside the room rose a few notches, and she felt as if everything else faded away under his stare. Brown eyes bled to black, and Jess licked her lips hungrily. She loved his Bear was so close, and that she was the one to push him that way. It made her feel desirable, powerful, and just a little bit sexy.
“You are all those things, kitten,” he whispered so lowly only she could have heard him.
“Okay, well, if you would excuse us. Come Elissa,” Uncle Uzzi said.
“We’ll just, um, be going,” Elissa replied, taking Uzzi’s outstretched hand.
The Nari needed a little help rising to her feet. Her pregnant belly protruded in front of her, and she laid one hand on the babe that grew inside her womb. Giggling, she hurried out of the room with Uncle Uzzi. Undoubtedly to find her own mate.
“You smell good,” Brayden said, capturing her attention.
Time stood still as he rubbed his nose over the exposed skin of her right shoulder. She was gonna feature that fucking sweater on her website under the section things to wear to drive your man gaga.
Seriously, he did not seem able to stop himself from nuzzling her skin, and Jessica loved it. The feel of his warm breath as he just breathed in her scent made her shiver with desire.
As if he knew just what it did to her inside, Brayden repeated the gesture. But this time, he added his lips, tongue, and teeth to the mix. If she wasn’t desperate for him before, she was getting there now. And in a hurry.
“Don’t stop doing that,” she moaned as his pliable lips latched onto her earlobe.
His Bear growled while he nibbled. Big, rough hands ran up and down her body, sending little sparks of desire throughout. He was wearing sweats now, and a shirt, the casual attire Hunter kept stocked around the Pride House for anyone needing a quick change.
Shifters did not typically care about nudity, but ever since Hunter had mated Elissa, he’d been pretty easily riled by naked men strutting around his mate. Jessica did not mind the material, but she wanted to feel all of him, hot and hard against her skin.
Brayden growled and her body responded. Heat pooled between her thighs and her nipples hardened into tiny pebbles. She ached, actually fucking ached as he ran his amazing hands up and down her back, over her wide, round hips, until he was firmly cupping her ass.
His nimble fingers found the tear in her jeans and Brayden’s growl grew louder. He teased her skin, sliding his hand inside the material to knead her plump flesh. Her breath hitched as his fingertips teased the patch of lace that covered her cheeks.
“These fucking jeans are making me crazy,” he groaned and flexed his hips, pressing the steel rod of his cock against her belly.
“Yeah?”
“Most definitely,” he said, teasing her lips with his own.
Never quite meeting, just soft brushes of his impossibly nubile lips over hers, like short glimpses of the kiss they shared. Jessica wondered if a person could die from longing.
Brayden’s delicious mouth hovered close, so close to her own. His breath tickled, mingling with hers as he left whisper soft touches on her mouth and cheeks, even her nose.
“Brayden,” she moaned his name.
The moisture between her thighs increased. Her stomach contracted. She desperately wanted him to close those few millimeters between them. To feel his soft, warm mouth against hers.
“What is it you want sweet Jessica? Tell me.”
“Your mouth,” she demanded.
“Gods, I want your mouth. Please.”
“That’s all you had to say,” he replied and smirked.
She could’ve kicked him. She would too. Later. After he finished kissing the fuck out of her mouth.