He held her still as he probed her slick entrance with the head of his cock. Grady purred at the feel of her wetness bathing the tip of him. He stroked her pussy without entering her, rubbing her clit with each pass. Sage pushed back and moaned.
Grady kept hold of Sage as he pushed forward and seated himself to the hilt inside her with one stroke. He stilled as her pussy spasmed around his length. After it ceased, he stroked in and out of her. She took more of him in this position, and his balls slapped against her with each thrust.
He reached around her and found her clit. He rubbed it as he surged into her. It ended up being enough to send her into another orgasm. She moaned with her release and that pushed him over the edge. Grady pumped his hips faster, then with a groan that bordered on a growl, he climaxed, filling her with his cum.
With no more left to give, Grady wrapped an arm around Sage and took them down onto the bed on their sides. Both of them were breathing as if they’d run a marathon. He was satiated and didn’t know if he could move again. All he wanted to do was hold his mate in his arms.
After what had just happened, there would be no getting around telling Sage about him being a cougar shifter later that night. He should have had that conversation with her once the ruby eyes in his pendant had glowed, but he’d wanted to see if she would take it from him. Hopefully she would accept him for what he was and not get too angry with him for not telling her before the mating bond formed between them.
Sage and Grady arrived at his house twenty minutes after they’d made love at her place. She helped him haul all the things they’d brought inside. Olivia had greeted them and informed Sage that Josh had gone down for a nap and that she’d put him upstairs on the bed in the master bedroom with pillows around him so he wouldn’t roll off. Olivia had then asked how everything had gone at the funeral home.
“Good,” Sage answered as she set down the bag she carried.
“And will Josh’s grandparents be coming for dinner?”
“Yes. They asked me to thank you for the invitation.” Sage shrugged out of her winter jacket.
“Oh my goodness,” Olivia said as she looked at Sage, then at Grady and back to Sage again.
“What?” Sage asked, not sure why Grady’s mother looked awfully happy all of a sudden.
“You’re wearing Grady’s pendant.” Olivia’s smile grew even bigger. She then gave her a hug.
Sage tentatively hugged the other woman back. “Ah, yeah, I am. I didn’t realize it was that big a deal.”
Olivia let go of Sage and looked at her son. “You didn’t tell her, did you?”
Grady gave his mother a pained smile. “It happened really suddenly. I sort of didn’t want to spoil the mood. I’d already decided we were going to have a talk with the rest of you. I figured it would be easier that way.”
“Be sure you do, but I have to say I couldn’t be happier. Now I get my wish.” Olivia gave Grady a kiss. “I have to go tell your father, Jase and Katarina.” She then headed up the stairs to the upper level.
Sage turned to face Grady. “What was all that about? The way your mom talked, you’d think we’d just gotten engaged or something.”
“I’m going to leave it at you taking my pendant is a bigger deal to my family than you know. The rest I’ll tell you later tonight once Josh’s grandparents leave.”
“Okay, I think.”
She wasn’t sure what to make of what had passed between Grady and his mom. It was obvious they were keeping something from her for some reason. They didn’t appear to think it was bad, since Olivia had been happy about Sage wearing Grady’s pendant. That could stem from the fact the other women of the house wore the same necklaces as well. Maybe in their eyes Grady giving her his pendant was tantamount to him asking her to marry him, and she, not knowing the significance, had accepted while in the dark about the whole thing. She guessed she’d find out one way or the other later.
Sage spent the rest of the afternoon taking care of Josh. Since they were eating dinner in the early evening shortly after the baby went to bed for the night, she made sure she had him bathed and in his pajamas before Hank’s parents arrived.
Bathing a six-month-old was a new experience for Sage. She probably would have done a quicker job of it if Grady hadn’t offered to help by getting into the whirlpool tub with Josh to hold him while she did the washing part. Her nephew had a ball splashing them both, and he moved around so much Grady said it was like holding on to a slippery fish.
After Hank’s parents arrived, they took turns passing Josh between them. It’d been a month since they’d last seen their grandson. Hank’s mom Kate got a little teary over the fact Josh looked more and more like his father the older he got.
Once Sage got the baby upstairs to bed in Grady’s room, the adults sat down to dinner. They talked about the services for Macy and Hank that would take place in two days. Much to Sage’s surprise, all of Grady’s family said they would be attending. Even Jase and his dad stated they would be around to help with the heavy lifting when the time came for Sage, Kate and Max to empty out Macy and Hank’s house.
That was something Sage still dreaded, but it had to be done and put on the market. There was no way she could keep both her house and the other one. And she couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage for Macy’s with only her income. And Max and Kate had their own place in Fairbanks.
Hank’s parents said their goodbyes once it grew late and promised Sage they’d talk to her the next day. After they left, everyone else headed back into the living room. She couldn’t help noticing how nervous Grady looked all of a sudden.
They all sat, spreading out on the couch, loveseat and armchairs. Sage and Grady ended up on the loveseat, which was across from the couch. At first, Sage wasn’t sure anyone was going to start the conversation since the others all seemed to be waiting for something.
Grady cleared his throat. “I guess I’d better be the one to get the ball rolling.” He cleared his throat again and took hold of Sage’s hand and looked her right in the eyes. “What I’m about to tell you, I’ve never told anyone like you before.”
She gave him a confused look over the “anyone like you” comment. Was he referring to her being a cop or was it something else entirely? “Okay.”
“I’ve been told it’s best if I just come right out and say it without easing into it too much. So here it goes.” His face grew serious, not showing any emotion. “Sage, I’m a cougar shifter. You set off the magic in my pendant and made the cougar’s ruby eyes glow, which means you’re my mate. When you took it from me and put it around your neck, you claimed me as yours and the mating bond formed, joining our souls.”
Chapter Seven
Grady watched Sage’s face carefully to see what her reaction would be to his confession of being a cougar shifter and what she was to him. At first, her expression remained blank, as if she really hadn’t heard what he’d said. Then it switched to one that was guarded, almost as if she thought he wasn’t all there in his head.
“You’re a cougar shifter?” Sage asked. She looked around the room before focusing back on him. “And your family already knows you think of yourself as being one?”
“We’re all shifters.”
“Except for me,” Katarina said. “I’m just a regular human like you, Sage.”
Sage shook her head. “I’m sorry, but do all of you think you’re doing Grady any favors by playing along with his delusions? And that’s what it has to be.”