McKenzie, Cooper - The Billionaire's Lady [Sequel to The Billionaire's Mate] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  Matt walked several feet into the room before turning a circle, taking in the deep red wall paper and king-size bed before turning to Adam with a grin. “Is there a woman hiding in the closet to keep me company?”

  “No, but maybe you’ll meet someone at tonight’s gathering of my pack. There are a number of unmated women who might be interested in messing up the sheets with you. But if you don’t like this room, we can always move down the hall to the kid’s room that has bunk beds and teddy bears or across the hall to the jungle room.”

  Still grinning, Matt began shaking his head before Adam finished. “No, this is fine, just fine. Reminds me of those old cowboys movies where the hero and the whore were best friends but never slept together.”

  Adam knew he had to extend some gesture of peace. “I don’t want to be your enemy, Matt. I love your sister. She is my mate, and I really do plan to spend the rest of my life spoiling her. If you need to, I can show you my company books to prove my worth.”

  Matt studied him with a blank expression for a long moment. “I believe you. It’s just that even at her age, Margot is too trusting. Her ex was a complete ass who nearly crushed her spirit. All her life she’s had to scramble to make ends meet and never knew from one day to the next what her future held. I don’t want her to be hurt again. She’s too special.”

  “I agree. She is a very special woman, an angel in human form. You’re a good brother, but believe me when I say I will never hurt her, nor will I allow anyone else to harm her. Fate brought us together, and death is the only way I’ll let her get away.”

  Matt nodded with a wry smile. “We’ll see how you feel after she stops sleeping because she is overstressed with commitments and worries about things she can’t do anything about. I’ll warn you now, Margot’s biggest problem is she doesn’t know how to hurt anyone’s feelings. She can’t say no to anyone who says they need her help.”

  “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. The gathering starts at six. Feel free to take a nap or go for a run if you want. The mansion sits in the middle of fifty acres of fenced woodlands that’s protected from intruders.”

  Matt yawned. “A nap sounds good. Can someone wake me at about four so I can take a quick run before getting ready?”

  “No problem,” Adam said, as he retreated to the hall pulling the door closed behind himself. “And welcome to the family.”

  Not friends, but at least they wouldn’t be tearing each other apart during dinner. Heading down the hall toward his own bedroom, Adam decided he and Margot needed a nap as well. Or maybe a nice long bath for two would help her relax.

  Once he reached their bedroom, he used the house phone to call the kitchen. “Mrs. Nicholas, could you please tell Margot I need to see her upstairs? Thank you.”

  * * * *

  Margot’s knees wobbled as she descended the main stairs just before six o’clock. She wasn’t sure if it was the new high-heeled sandals she’d decided to wear or the fact she and Adam had spent the afternoon doing what they did best, making wild, passion-filled love before napping and taking a long bubble bath and making love again.

  “Wow, sis, you look beautiful,” Matt said as he stepped into the foyer from the living room. He looked surprised, like he hadn’t expected her to dress up to meet Adam’s friends.

  A moment later, Adam appeared next to him. “As always, sweet mate of mine, you look scrumptious.”

  The green dress she wore turned her sage green eyes mossy and brought out more of the red in her auburn hair. As soon as she’d seen the dress on one of the shopping trips Adam had dragged her on, she’d been pulled to it, even though she rarely wore green. The corset-like top with spaghetti straps showed off her broad shoulders and Adam’s bite mark beautifully. The full skirt hid her wide hips and not so flat belly while the just-above-the-knee hem showed off her shapely legs to their best advantage. It was a dress that made her feel almost as beautiful as Adam’s hungry, appreciative looks did.

  Margot studied both men with an approving eye. Though both were dressed casually in slacks and Oxford shirts, the effect was entirely different. Matt, dressed in black from his Santa Fe Police Department shirt to his black cowboy boots, looked rough and rugged, a bad boy ready for action. Adam, on the other hand, in a blue-green shirt that exactly matched his eyes with tan slacks and light brown dock shoes, looked refined and elegant and ready for a round of golf or cocktails on the yacht.

  “Thank you, kind sirs. You don’t look so bad yourselves,” she said as the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of the first of their guests.

  Chapter 6

  The pack members arrived in a steady stream over the next fifteen minutes. As they did, Margot met each one individually. Most stared at her exposed shoulder with its prominent claiming mark with interest, but no one questioned either the mark or what a human was doing at their pack gathering.

  The last to arrive, Leigh Kincaid-Thorne, followed an older couple through the door. Once in the foyer, she hesitated. After Adam introduced her to Maxwell and Eleanor Kincaid-Thorne, Margot understood why. The young woman didn’t want her parents to know there was tension between her and the alpha’s new mate. Only after the line cleared and her parents disappeared into the living room did Leigh strut across the foyer. Every pair of unmated male eyes within sight followed her, wondering if they would be the one to talk her out of the slinky crimson halter dress that was even smaller than the one she’d worn the week before during the evening of the bachelor auction.

  “Adam, it’s so wonderful to see you again,” she said in a breathless little voice as she wrapped herself around him like kudzu around a pine tree. With the confident smile of a woman who knew she looked like sex come to life, she leaned up to kiss him.

  Instead of returning her effusive greeting, Adam kept his arms at his sides and turned his head so her lips landed just under his ear and not on his lips. “Leigh. Glad you could make it.”

  When she realized he did not return in her enthusiastic greeting, Leigh released him but did not back away. “I’ll catch up with you later, okay?” she simpered before turning on one stiletto heel and strolling away. She ignored Margot, though did glance in Matt’s direction with interest.

  “Who is that?” Matt asked in a voice gone deep.

  Margot turned to look at her brother. “That is Leigh Kincaid-Thorne. She’s the spoiled bitch who tried to kill me last week. I would recommend you stay far away from her.”

  Matt watched as the woman in red entered the living room and joined several other young women. “I’m not sure that will be possible. I’m getting a drink. Can I bring you anything?”

  “White wine, please. And can you bring Adam a beer?”

  Matt nodded and headed for the bar where the bartenders was filling drink orders as fast as he could. Instead of waiting, Matt walked up the line and stepped behind the bar. Without a word, he began to help the other man.

  When no one else entered the front door, Margot looked at Adam. “Do you think anyone would mind if I took my shoes off? They may be beautiful, but they’re killing my feet.”

  Adam frowned as he looked at the sandals that were pinching her feet then his gaze slowly traveled up her body, setting off sparks everywhere it touched. “If they hurt your feet, take them off. No one will care.”

  “I doubt that, but at least I won’t be wincing with every step I take.” Margot stepped out of the shoes with a sigh of relief. She picked up the shoes and was surprised when a maid hired for the evening immediately stepped up to take them from her.

  “I’ll put these in the kitchen for you, ma’am,” she said softly.

  “Thank you, that would be wonderful.” Margot handed the shoes over.

  “Shall we join our guests?” Adam took her hand.

  “Are you making the announcement now or later?”

  “I thought we could mingle for a bit and then make the announcement right before dinner.”

  “Sounds good,” Margot agreed, wondering how she would get thro
ugh the next hour before dinner without retreating to the kitchen to hide.

  A half hour later, Margot was more than ready for the evening to come to an end. She’d wandered from group to group, pausing with each for a few minutes, trying to find one she might fit in with. Once the pack members realized she had joined them, each group stopped talking and drifted apart, leaving her standing alone once again.

  She thought about attaching herself to Adam’s side but knew their guests would see that as weakness. More than ever before, she needed to show strength, even if she did not feel it. Adam had explained during their bath earlier that as his mate she would be expected to be in charge of the females even though she was human. She was, after all, their alpha’s mate and as such would be expected to lead and guide and counsel the women.

  Pausing in the center of the room, she turned a slow circle, looking for Matt. When she found him, she had to smile. He had his hands full with several of the unmated women who had backed him into a corner. He looked bored as they each tried to capture his attention. Instead his eyes searched the room, as if looking for someone else.

  When his eyes met hers, he sent her a warm smile and with the hand not holding his beer bottle made their childhood hand signal for “you okay?” She nodded then pointed back at him to ask, “and you?” Once he nodded, she turned and began to make yet another circuit around the room.

  Checking her watch, she saw they would not be called to dinner for at least another fifteen minutes. How would she survive until then?

  Looking around and feeling like an unwanted intruder no one knew how to deal with, Margot stepped through the open doorway that led to the dark and empty room just off the living room. She needed a few minutes to regroup and relax away from the probing, judging eyes of the pack members. As soon as she stood alone in the darkness, she heard a vaguely familiar voice.

  “What does Adam think he’s doing by claiming her? There’s no way I’ll bow down before that human bitch, mate of the alpha or not.”

  Shifting closer to the door while remaining in the shadows, Margot was not surprised to find Leigh holding court just a few feet away. The other women in the small circle did not verbalize their opinions, but she did see several of them nod as the overly obvious, over-processed, spoiled young woman continued her shrill tirade. She put down Margot’s age, size, and even her dress choice for the evening.

  When she started in on Adam’s mental state and judgment, Margot’s temper flared out of control. In seconds she reached the point where she could not tolerate another word. Taking a deep breath and hoping she didn’t end up dead from challenging a shape-shifter, she stepped out of the darkness and into the light coming through the doorway. She didn’t speak until she stood only an arm’s length behind the woman.

  “Leigh Kincaid-Thorne, I don’t know what high and mighty finishing school taught you that being a trash-talking bitch was appropriate behavior for a lady, but I suggest your parents should sue them.”

  Margot knew she would only hold the upper hand of surprise for a moment, so she spoke loud enough for anyone in their corner of the room to hear her. Hopefully Adam would arrive before Leigh tore her to pieces.

  “Yes, I am your alpha’s mate. If that makes me something special so be it. I don’t even care you’re talking bad about me, but I will not have you talking so negatively about Adam, especially while standing under his roof. In some societies, that would be called treason and is punishable by death. Here, in my home, it’s just stupid.”

  She stopped talking and waited for the other woman to respond. She thought she was ready for anything, until the woman spun around and growled at her. Leigh had begun to shift. Her lower face had elongated and her teeth had grown sharp and pointy. Her eyes flashed with fierce, angry, somewhat crazed fire as the pupils dilated to pinpoints.

  “You may be queen bitch now, but it will only be a matter of time before Adam comes to his senses and realizes he needs a shifter as his mate. Then you’ll find yourself dead. Until then, if you want me to bow to you then you’d better earn that show of respect.” With that the younger woman shifted, and a tawny brown wolf stood in her place, still wearing her scrap of a dress.

  “Oh no, you don’t.” Margot growled, quickly shifting to one side while the wolf tried to shake off the red dress that entangled her, making it impossible to move.

  Without her shoes, Margot was able to maneuver to the side. Lashing out with building anger, she kicked the wolf just behind the shoulder, catching her off guard and knocking her over. She followed the animal to the ground, her intent to hold the wolf down while trying to avoid her sharp claws and teeth. She wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to maintain her superior position, especially since there was a growing number of potential enemies turning their attention in their direction.

  Once she lay on top of the wolf, she worked one arm around Leigh’s neck so she could angle her head so she couldn’t move. Then, remembering some crazy movie she’d seen years before, Margot leaned in and bit the wolf’s ear. She clamped down on the thin triangle of furry flesh and held on long after the wolf stopped fighting her hold and instead began squealing in pain.

  “What the hell?” Adam’s voice reached her just before his hand stroked her cheek. “Let go, baby. You’ve proved your point.”

  It took a few seconds for her to relax enough to open her mouth to release the ear, but finally she did. Then the adrenaline her anger had given her drained away, and she began to tremble. “Adam?”

  “Yes, I’m here.”

  She looked up and found him kneeling on one side of her. Matt was on the other side, his gaze intent and focused solely on the wolf in her arms. “Um, how do I let her go without getting killed?”

  “Don’t worry, Margot. I’ll take her,” Matt said. He moved forward, laying one lower leg across her ribs, just behind Leigh’s shoulder. He held her head pressed to the floor with one large hand wrapped around her muzzle.

  The wolf made a hungry, whining sound as its attention turned from the woman to the man.

  Margot didn’t understand when Matt leaned closer to the wolf and took a deep breath before growling deep in his chest. The harsh sound caused the wolf to freeze and then make another sound that didn’t sound like pain, but more like need. But then Margot’s attention turned to the man picking her up from the floor. Adam set her on her feet then wrapped himself around her and held her securely for a moment. Once her shivers eased, he released her but held her at arm’s length so he could visually inspect her to make sure she really was all right.

  “She didn’t hurt you?” he asked as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her again.

  “No, I didn’t give her a chance,” Margot replied, her voice still quivering with reaction.

  “So, are you ready to make our announcement, baby girl? Or do you want to wait until after dinner?”

  He combed his fingers through her hair then brushed kisses over her temple as he waited for her to answer. Hot electricity shivered through her, turning the last of her anger into the simmer of arousal she had lived with constantly since Adam had entered her life.

  “I guess so,” she responded in a soft voice. “But don’t you think they’ve pretty much figured it out without a formal announcement? Can’t they all just go home now so we can go upstairs and get into mischief?”

  “A couple more hours, mate.” He tilted her head back for a long, deep kiss that he broke much too quickly for Margot’s liking. “Then we’ll get into all the mischief your heart desires. By the way, you did a very good job of proving your status as queen bitch.”

  Stepping away she broke his hold, then took his hand and laced their fingers together. Her hunger for him had exploded like a summer storm, and she wasn’t sure she could be this close to him again until it cooled. “Don’t kiss me like that again unless you want me to drag you to your office and mess you up.”

  Adam chuckled as he lifted their intertwined hands to his lips. While holding her gaze, he brushed
a kiss over her knuckles. “Maybe after dinner,” he murmured, his turquoise eyes gleaming down at her with the sexual heat she loved.

  He winked before leading her to the front of the room. A moment later, Clyde and the rest of the council joined them to form a semi-circle just behind and around them. The hum of animated conversation that had begun once Adam and Matt stepped in and stopped what could have been a deadly fight ceased, and the room grew unnaturally silent. Someone had even stopped the soft jazz music that had been playing in the background.

  Margot saw her brother at the back of the crowd near the doorway that led to the empty room she’d stood in just moments before. The unmated women stood in a group nearby. Their attention was divided between the alpha and the handsome stranger who stood guarding the door to the empty room. Matt winked at her and smiled, but seemed distracted. Leigh was nowhere in sight.

  “Good evening. Thank you all for coming. I hope you all had a chance to meet and talk to Margot Jackson and her brother, Matt Brady.” Adam paused as the crowd nodded though only a few smiled in response. “I stand before you to announce, if you haven’t already guessed, that I have claimed Margot as my mate.”

  That announcement sent a flurry of murmurs through the room before someone began to clap. In a few seconds everyone in the room joined in.

  As the applause died away almost a minute later, Leigh emerged from the empty room and pushed her way to the front of the crowd until she faced Margot and Adam. “I don’t know about the rest of the females, but I refuse to acknowledge a human as my queen bitch,” she announced with a threatening growl.

  When no one else came forward to back her up, she turned to look at the other women. No one moved a hair. The older women looked horrified while the younger, mated women looked confused. The unmated ones dropped their gazes to the floor.

  Margot turned to look at Adam. “Can she do that?”

  Adam didn’t answer. His fingers tightened on hers as he focused on the troublemaker. “Leigh, you were just put down by your queen, or is your memory really that short? Margot is my mate, and you will pay her the respect due the alpha’s mate or you can find a new pack that will take you in.” Then he turned his attention to the rest of the room. “And that goes for anyone else who thinks a human should not be your alpha’s mate.”