“This is my mom Olivia,” Grady said. “I was going to put her to bed,” he told his mother.
“Well, in that case, I’ll look after the baby while you take care of Sage.”
Before Grady could say anything, his mom took the car seat from him, then placed it on the floor so she could unbuckle Josh. She squatted and took the baby out and managed to take off his snowsuit.
She stood and smiled. “He’s gorgeous. How old is he?”
“Six months,” Sage answered. “You don’t mind looking after him?”
“Of course not. I love babies.” His mom lifted Josh and gave him a kiss.
The baby’s little hand came up and took hold of his mom’s cougar head pendant, which was identical to Grady’s. It’d once belonged to his father. All male cougar shifters were given one once they reached puberty. The pendant was made with a bit of magic inside. When a male met his mate, the cougar’s ruby eyes glowed. It didn’t necessarily happen right after the couple met. It could take days, weeks, even months. It was triggered once the male could accept the female as the one he loved and wanted as his, be it consciously or subconsciously.
Once that happened, he would only be able to think about her, being unable to eat and sleep. He wouldn’t be able to stop thinking of making love to her, using sex to help convince her to claim him. And it was the female who decided to claim the male as hers by taking his cougar head pendant from him and putting it around her neck, thus having the mating bond form as their souls joined.
“You have the same pendant as Grady,” Sage said. “Josh liked his, so I guess he likes yours as well. I’ll take it from him.”
His mom laughed. “It’s okay. He can hold on to it if he wants. He can’t damage it.” She looked at Grady. “Sage looks about ready to fall over. Go take her upstairs. I have everything under control here. I’m sure Jase and Katrina will be down soon as well. They’ll want to meet Josh.”
“All right,” he said as he took the bag Sage carried from her and placed it with the other one. “We’re going up now.”
Grady guided Sage up the stairs and down the hallway to his bedroom. Once they were inside, he closed the door behind them. He walked her over to his bed and tugged down the covers, then stepped aside.
“In you go,” he said. “I’ll wake you up in a few hours.”
“Stay.”
He looked at her. “What?”
“I want you to stay with me.” Sage closed the distance between them and put her hands on his waist.
“You need to sleep. If I stay I might get worked up, if you know what I mean?”
She met his gaze. “I want you to make love to me. I need it. Right now I feel as if my whole world has been knocked off its axis. I want the connection sex will give me. I’m about ready to break down, and I can’t. Please. Stay with me. I promise I’ll go to sleep after.”
“Are you sure? You’ve been through so much.”
In way of answer, Sage went on tiptoes and kissed him. She pushed her tongue past his lips and thoroughly tasted him. Her grip on his waist tightened as she tugged him closer so their bodies met. Some guys would have done their best to stop what was about to happen based on principle, but Grady wasn’t even going to try. If it was something she needed from him, then he’d give it to her.
He wrapped his arms around Sage and took over their kiss. He licked and sucked, pushing inside her mouth. It didn’t take much to have his cock fully engorged. What they’d shared at her house before she’d been informed about her sister… He remembered all too well what she’d looked like as she’d come apart in his embrace. He wanted to make her come again, but this time while his cock was buried deep inside her.
Grady slowly stripped away her clothes one at a time, learning her body with each inch of skin he exposed. Once he had Sage completely naked, she helped him undress. Now as naked as she, he pulled her close again. The feel of her skin-to-skin caused his cock to jerk between them. He sucked in a sharp breath as she reached down and put her hand around it. She pumped up and down, squeezing tight.
He let her stroke him a few more times before he gently pulled out of her grasp and lifted her onto the bed. He came down beside her, running his hand down her body until he reached her pussy.
Purrs rumbled out of him. “You’re so wet.”
“I don’t want to wait anymore. I want you inside me. Show me I’m not alone.”
Grady gently kissed her as he shifted to lie between her thighs. “I’m right here for you.”
He nudged the head of his erection into her pussy. He pulled back, then sank a little deeper until he’d worked his full length inside her. Sage moaned as he set a pace that was sure to bring them both to release. She lifted her bent legs to either side of his hips and matched his strokes. Her inner walls tightly hugged his shaft as he surged in and out of her.
Grady purred again, unable to hold it back. Making love to Sage didn’t compare to other women he’d been with. He was more in tune with her, wanting to make this good for her, to show her this was all for her.
He thrust into her faster, loving the feel of her taking him. She panted and moaned, clutching his biceps after he lifted his upper body off her. He sank deeper, his cock growing even harder.
As her pussy tightened around his plunging shaft, then clutched and released it as Sage climaxed, Grady’s point of no return rushed to the surface. He growled like the cat he was and surged into her one final time before his orgasm overtook him.
Once he’d given her all he had and she’d settled beneath him, Grady lowered himself on top of her, bracing on his elbows so she didn’t have to take his full weight. He kissed her gently. He pulled out of her and rolled onto his back, bringing Sage up against his side with her head resting on his chest. He ran a caressing hand up and down her back. She slowly, by degrees, relaxed. She reached for his pendant and closed her fingers around it.
Grady kissed Sage’s forehead and saw her eyes were shut and her breathing had evened out. He’d lie there with her for a while to make sure she stayed asleep, then he’d get up and see how Josh was doing.
Chapter Five
Grady gave Sage one last look before he headed out his bedroom door. She was sound asleep. He’d gently eased out from under her and gotten out of bed without waking her up. Now dressed, he went downstairs to see how his other guest was doing.
He found Josh being showered with attention from his mom and Katarina in the living room. They had a thick blanket on the floor, which the baby lay on as the women sat on either side of him, smiling and laughing at what he did. Jase and his father were on the couch watching them.
“You two are going to spoil him if you’re not careful,” Grady said as he went to join Katrina and his mom.
His mother looked at him and smiled. “You can’t pay too much attention to a baby. Is Sage asleep?”
“Yes, but I have to wake her up in a few hours. She has to go to the funeral home with her brother-in-law’s parents to make arrangements for Macy and Hank.”
“Will you go with her?” his dad asked.
“If she’ll let me. I already know none of you will have a problem looking after Josh for us.”
“Of course we won’t,” his mom said. “Jase and Katarina were telling your father and me how you met Sage, and that she’s a police officer.”
“Yes, she’s a cop. And I suppose you also know Caleb got the jump on me.”
His dad nodded. “And Jase told me about your assumption of what he could have been doing meeting a human in the middle of the night in a parking lot. I have a feeling if we don’t capture him soon he’s going to leave the country and we’ll be lucky if we find him again.”