The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 79: Chapter 79

“Mikey!” someone called his nickname from around the Pride House.
He could not see the person since the huge party tent that he and the others had just finished putting up in the massive back yard, was blocking the way.
The thing looked pretty damn good, if he did say so himself. The company they’d rented it from was run by some Lion Shifters over in Blue Valley, a neighboring town where the Blue Valley Pride was located.
Typically, he stayed away from those hair-crazed felines, but they’d needed a tent. The other men were working on moving several large tables inside, along with chairs, but he had just finished draping white cloths over the tables. The head table had needed two, which he supposed made sense since that was where the happy couple were to be seated during the shower.
“Mikey!” the female yelled again.
Sounded like Jess, he thought, wondering why the Beta’s mate was yelling her head off for him.
Pierce was busy hooking up a generator to run the portable air conditions, fans, and lights, all of which were necessary due to the heat. July in New Jersey was hotter than Hades, and the Nari had made it quite clear she wanted to be nowhere without a little AC.
Not that he blamed her. Sometimes the temperature soared to triple digits, and more often than not humidity followed. Oh yeah, Pierce could surely take his time and do his thing. The AC would be greatly appreciated. Especially by their very pregnant Alpha fem.
It was some set up, he mused, grabbing a water bottle. A far cry from the tiny get together he’d envisioned when the ladies of the Pride had approached him to help. And he had the aching back to prove it.
“Mikey? Are you ignoring me?”
“Not at all, Jess. What’s up?” he asked, frowning at Jessica’s use of his childhood nickname.
He was still respectful and friendly in his response. She was mated to the Pride Beta, a big ass Black Bear Shifter that no one fucked with. Not that he was afraid of Brayden, he simply preferred his nose right where it was. His Tiger snorted at the insinuation that he’d be so easy a target, but Michael hushed his inner beast.
There was no sense baiting the bear. Literally or figuratively.
He turned and smiled at Jess and waited for her response. No matter what he did, he couldn’t get her to stop calling him by his old nickname. Might as well stop trying, though it pained him.
Grrr.
He was the official Pride Healer now and had even finished his residency. The plaque on his door sported a real MD after his name too—and his name was Michael Turner. Mikey was a cub’s name, and he had not been a cub for years.
“Mikey! There you are,” she said at last, using the hated moniker again.
Jess stood there breathless and glowing. She looked happy, he supposed, and he was glad for her, truly. Glad, and maybe a little green with jealousy. Not because he wanted her, but because he wanted his own mate.
Ugh. Whatever.
"Aww, Mikey, why the frown?”
His Tiger chuffed at the lack of respect his Neta’s sister showed him, but as always, he kept his cool. He was raised to be polite, especially when talking with one of the Pride’s few and very cherished females.
“No frown. What do you need?”
“Will you help me hang up the banner we made?”
“Of course,” he said, and followed her across to the other side.
He didn’t see a banner in her hands, but assumed it was in the tent somewhere. This party was sure to be the Pride event of the year at the rate things were progressing. How they had escalated from a small brunch to this, he had no idea. He just hoped they had enough food. A problem that could quickly end in bloody fisticuffs for Shifters.
There were seats enough for more than double the invited guests, and he imagined more would show up. Shifter parties, especially within the Pride, had a habit of growing on the spot.
The rest of the extras would probably just lounge outside the tent, likely on or near the Adirondack chairs surrounding one of the firepits that were set up in the Pride House’s massive year. That was how most of the Pride get togethers went.
Their numbers were small compared to the Wolf Shifters, but Tigers loved their get-togethers, and their space in equal measure. Food, music, laughter, and reconnecting with his Pride mates would be good.
Michael had been burying himself in work lately, ministering to the needs of the community. He was grateful for the distraction. Humming to himself as he went about seeing what Jess needed, he almost missed a step as the scent of wildflowers invaded his nostrils.
Damn it, why hadn’t he prepared himself for the possibility of running into her?
Too late now. She was there, the one female guaranteed to make him lose his mind. The she-Cat was determined to torture him but what could he do?
He was not a pushy guy, and if she did not recognize him as hers, then maybe he was wrong.
Grrrr.
His Tiger nearly flipped out at the mere suggestion of such a thing. The great striped beast pushed against his skin, begging to be set free. There was no doubt about it in his animal’s mind. Kylie McNaughton was his.
Shit.
He closed his eyes and grabbed his beast by the ruff, pushing him down and taking full charge of his person. It was not an easy feat, but he managed.
“Are you alright?” Jessica asked.
“Of course,” he replied.
Michael sucked in a fortifying breath, determined not to do anything untoward—like grab the vexing female, bend her over the closest table, and take what he knew in his heart of hearts was his. Maybe she would be more amenable to what the universe was clearly telling him after he made her come a time or ten.
Fuck.
He really should stop thinking about Kylie coming if he was going to be in a room full of Shifters who could undoubtedly scent his arousal.
Growling, he ran a hand over his face. Michael had an image of respectability to maintain as the Pride Healer, but all thoughts of pretense went out the window when his eyes found Kylie. He should have been prepared for the way his body reacted the second he caught sight of the beautiful female.
Predictable, he thought.
Mine, his Tiger insisted.
Michael’s muscles tensed. His heart pounded. Beads of sweat formed on his brow. Even his mouth went dry.
Of all the members of the Pride, the golden-haired beauty was his own particular weakness. His animal stared out from his eyes, focusing on his quarry like the single-minded predator he was.
Not that he wanted to hurt her. On the contrary, Michael wanted to give Kylie nothing but pleasure. All of his love and devotion were hers. She owned his heart, and that was putting it mildly.
Kylie was his fated mate. He’d known it for some time now. He’d felt the truth of that statement down to his marrow, but the sweet, sumptuous female still refused to acknowledge him.
He watched her through half-closed eyelids, not really listening as Jessica prattled on with her instructions. Too aware of her to give the pregnant she-Cat any more than a casual ear. Michael could tell the moment Kylie realized he was there. She must have caught his scent, her nostrils flared, and her mouth formed a small o of surprise.
Her back had gone ramrod straight, but she did not turn around. Just kept right on ignoring him, as if he were nothing to her.
The thought stung, but he was a patient man. If it was time she needed, he would give it to her. What else could he do?
She stood on a ladder with one half of a banner that read “Congratulations to the Proud Parents” in her hands. The “o” in the word proud was a Tiger’s paw.
Cute.
From where he stood, it looked like she was trying to thread a piece of glittery twine that someone had put through one of the tent’s ceiling poles through the grommet in order to hang it. Only, she couldn’t reach.
“Let me,” Michael said, a plan forming in his brain.
He moved right behind her, stepping on the rung just below the one where her feet rested on the ladder.
“Ooh, um, maybe I should get down first,” she said, but it was too late.
He had her good and pinned. And was already reaching for the twine.
“Nah. The ladder can hold us both,” he replied easily.
“Really?” she muttered, and he could practically hear her hissing.
Ha! Good. Mad was better than indifferent. He leaned over, more than necessary, enjoying the feel of her curvaceous ass pressed against his front.
“Jess aren’t you in charge of the signs? I’ll just go⁠—”
“Actually, Kylie, I was gonna make sure the karaoke machine was working okay. Did you wanna test it out with me?”
The redheaded traitor grinned and held up one of the songbooks that went with the horrible torture device.
“No!” Kylie replied, shaking her head, and almost sending the two of them toppling to the ground.
“Steady,” Michael whispered in her ear, staying them both.
Her body trembled slightly against his, and fuck, his dick got hard immediately. There was no way to hide it, and honestly, he did not want to. He reveled in the sensations she caused.
Okay, so he was behaving like a dog. He would apologize.
Later.
Maybe.
Fuck.
Truth was, Michael was desperate. Catching her unawares on a ladder seemed like a good idea. After all, she was always dodging him. Running away whenever he got near her. How else was a man supposed to get near the woman he coveted?
Fine. So, it was not a good look for a majestic Tiger, but he was running out of options. She wouldn’t give him the time of day. But maybe if he got her used to him—Kylie sucked in a breath, holding it, and Michael frowned. The Healer in him concerned for her well-being.
Fuck.
He didn’t want her passing out. He leaned a bit more on the pretense of tying the twine, touching her waist in the process, and she gasped. The tiny shudder that ran through her body accompanied by her heightened pulse told him all he needed to know about her true feelings, and if that wasn’t enough, the scent of her body’s arousal would’ve done the trick.
Kylie wanted him.
The awareness made him practically explode with need. She couldn’t hide it, but she refused to acknowledge it!
The little minx vexed him to no end. How was he going to get her to talk to him about it? Every single time he’d approached her in the past, she ran. The woman simply refused to let him get a word in.
It was as if she was afraid to be alone with him. But why? He had never done anything untoward, and he sure as heck was one of the more polite Shifters he knew. Plenty were rounders, since Shifters had large appetites in all things, sex included. But not Michael.
Fucking hell. It was all he could do not to just pick her up and throw her over his shoulder, take her to the nearest bed, and love her until she was too weak to stand.
Good plan, his beast grunted.
Shut up, he told his furry side.
Michael had to concentrate on the task at hand otherwise risk tipping them both off the ladder. His mind was still whirling even as his beast pushed him to press closer to her curvy little bottom. It took all his strength not to.
He wasn’t about to dry hump the woman, but hey—he’d take what he could get.
Seeing her up on that ladder all cute and curvy—a feast for his eyes—was tempting enough. When he saw his opportunity to get close, he took it. It would just have to suffice.
For now.
Things were bound to come to a head sooner than later. Michael was still hoping Kylie would come to accept him as her fated mate on her own—maybe even be a little happy about it. Men had egos too, whatever the world might think.
Not that Michael thought of himself as particularly egocentric, but he wanted his mate to be happy to have found him. He wanted her to desire him—maybe even love him.
Perhaps not the way he loved her. Not yet anyway, but he was willing to settle for a crumb of affection at this point.
Pathetic, groaned his Tiger.
What-fucking-ever.
He took the banner from her hand and relished the way her breath caught at the seemingly platonic touch. She was not indifferent to him, despite everything she would like him to believe.
Steeling himself against any acts of stupidity, he looped the twine through the grommet, noting the subtle increase to her breathing, and the delicious scent of her growing arousal. His awareness of her was heightened and desire flared to life between the two of them.
Jess had walked away, something else having caught the she-Tiger’s eye, and he was grateful. Michael did not want anyone else to have the pleasure of scenting the intoxicating floral sweetness that was Kylie’s desire.
She wants me too. It's mutual, he realized, and that was really fucking good to know.
Thank fuck.
His Tiger chuffed and growled, he pushed one word at Michael. Always the same one when it came to Kylie.