Radiant Violets Book Four of the NOLA Shifters Series Read online

  He chuckled and leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Only with you.”

  Nikolai escorted her out to his car and they were off. Half an hour later, thanks to traffic, he finally pulled up in front of a house. From the corner of his eye he saw Casey frown.

  “Where are we?”

  “You will see.” He got out and went around to help her out of the car. Then he led her to the door and produced a set of keys. A moment later the door was unlocked and they were stepping inside. Nikolai reached out and flipped the light switch that was next to the front door, and the room filled with soft light. There was a minimal amount of furnishings inside.

  “I’m confused. Is this your home, Nikolai? It’s very, um…bare.”

  “Nyet. It is not mine. It is yours. If you want it.”

  “Mine? What? I don’t understand.”

  “I know you wish for a home of your own, for you and Jacob. I asked Sasha to help me find something you might like. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms upstairs, and a half bath downstairs, a decent-sized yard, and it is in a good area. It is my gift to you, Solnyshko. There are two others that Sasha thought you might like, if this one is not to your liking.”

  “You…this…oh, wow. I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say you accept it. There are no strings attached, as they say. I do not expect something in return for this. I simply want you to have it.” He reached out and caressed her cheek. “You deserve a place you can call yours.”

  “Thank you, for this. No one has ever done anything so amazingly wonderful for me before.”

  When a tear slipped out of the corner of her eye, Nikolai caught it with his finger. “Is this a happy tear?”

  “Very happy.”

  The smile that lit up her face made his heart stutter in his chest. She was so beautiful. And she was his. He couldn’t help himself – he lowered his head and claimed her mouth in a heated kiss. When Casey responded with the same heat and passion he growled against her lips. “Let me make love to you, Solnyshko.”

  “Yes.”

  It was just one word but it held so much meaning in it. Nikolai scooped her up in his arms and headed upstairs to the master bedroom. He’d purchased a queen-sized pillow-top bed for the master bedroom and now he was glad he did. Once there he put her on her feet and continued kissing her. His hands moved over her body but he wouldn’t undress her. No, he would let her do that when she felt ready. When she stepped back and her hands went to her dress, he knew she was ready.

  Casey

  She was nervous. She couldn’t help it. This was the first time she’d willingly gotten naked with a man. Well, technically, she’d never really been naked with a man. Having her pants pushed down while she was mostly unconscious didn’t really count as getting naked. Casey pushed those thoughts out of her mind and focused on the man in front of her. Nikolai’s pale eyes traveled over her body as it was revealed to him and the only thing she saw in his gaze was hunger. The need in his eyes made her shiver.

  A growl trickled out of Nikolai as Casey slowly undressed. “You are beautiful, Solnyshko.”

  She’d asked Nikolai what solnyshko meant and he’d told her sunshine. Even before they’d come together he’d called her that. “Thank you. The way you look at me makes me feel beautiful,” she murmured.

  When Nikolai trailed his fingers down her sides, Casey arched into his touch. Her own hands went to his shirt and she undid each button. She wanted to see him just as badly as he’d wanted to see her. As the ridges of muscles were revealed to her, Casey swallowed. The man was utterly gorgeous. Her fingers skimmed his chest before she pushed the shirt off his shoulders. Despite being a bundle of nerves, she wanted this. Maybe she even needed it.

  Nikolai’s head dipped and she felt his lips trail along her collarbone before he playfully nipped at her skin. A gasp escaped her and she gripped his shoulders to steady herself. “Nikolai.” His name was a whispered breath.

  “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  “Yes.” Such a simple word but it held so much meaning in it.

  Nikolai

  That one word was all he needed to lose control of the desire burning through him. With a growl, Nikolai scooped Casey up and carried her to the nearby bed. He was gentle as he laid her down and then he joined her. His hands roamed over her body as he kissed her. He teased and pinched her nipples, until they were hard nubs and she was mewling against his mouth, before he let his hand trail lower.

  When her legs parted willingly, invitingly, he didn’t hesitate. He slid a hand up her inner thigh, teasing her skin, before he slid a finger along her slit. “So wet already,” he growled. He teased her clit with his finger until he had her writhing and whimpering on the bed. “Tell me what you want, Solnyshko.”

  “Please…I want…everything. I want you, Nikolai.”

  “You have me.” He kissed her deeply and slid a finger inside her. She was tight and he knew then he needed to take care to make sure he didn’t hurt her. His thumb stroked her swollen clit as he worked another finger into her. “That’s it, Solnyshko, just let go. I’ve got you,” he murmured and watched, as her entire body tensed before she cried out, and her inner walls spasmed around his fingers.

  “Oh my God.” Her voice came out in heavy pants.

  “That is only the beginning.” Nikolai kissed a trail down her body before he buried his mouth against her sex. She tasted like heaven and he lapped at her like a cat with cream. One finger worked its way inside her while he circled her clit with his tongue. Each stroke, each lick, pushed her ever closer to the edge. When her fingers slid into his hair and gripped, he growled against her. That must have been all she needed to send her crashing over into a second orgasm. He eased her through it before he moved up to kiss her again. After quickly donning a condom, he locked eyes with her. “Ready?”

  “God, yes.”

  He’d planned to go slow. He really did. But as soon as her heat surrounded him, Nikolai surged forward and buried himself to the hilt. Then he froze. He’d heard the soft, pained noise she’d made.

  Casey

  She’d had no idea that sex could feel so…overwhelming. She’d thought she’d had good orgasms before, with the aid of her own fingers, but they paled in comparison to what Nikolai did to her. Then he was inside her. She’d not expected him to bury himself so quickly and the stretching was a little uncomfortable. And yet it felt so right. “Oh God, don’t you dare stop, Nikolai.”

  “I hurt you, Solnyshko. That is not what I wanted to do.”

  “No, not hurt. It was a shock, that’s all. Please, Nikolai. Please make love to me.”

  “I can do naught but what you ask,” he replied with a growl.

  Casey clung to him as he began to move. He withdrew until he was almost completely free of her body and then slid back in, burying himself each time. With every thrust, her fingers dug into his shoulders, and soft noises escaped her. She didn’t know if sex felt this good with everyone or if it was just Nikolai. Not that she cared. She had no desire to ever share her bed, or her body, with anyone but him. That thought should have startled her, and maybe it would have had she not been so caught up in how good it felt to have him inside her.

  As he pushed her body toward climax, Casey’s hands moved from his shoulders to his back. Her nails raked his skin and she arched and writhed to meet every hard thrust of his hips. When he slid a hand between them to tease her clit, her body arched and tensed, and she cried out her release. Her inner walls clenched around him, urging him to follow her, and moments later he did. She felt his entire body shudder from his own release, and the growl that escaped him made her feel warm all over, even as he half collapsed atop her.

  They stayed like that for several moments before Nikolai rolled off her and removed the condom. Casey curled against his side and rested her cheek on his chest. When Nikolai’s arms tightened around her, she draped one leg over both of his and got even closer. The purr that slipped past his lips made her preen. It was the sou
nd of a very content male tiger. Not just any tiger, but her tiger.

  “I wish we could stay here all night.” She nuzzled him and sighed softly.

  “As do I.”

  His arms tightened around her and she closed her eyes. “Would you mind getting my purse? I’ll see if Lily minds.” She’d left it downstairs when things got heated between them.

  “I will be right back.”

  Casey blinked as Nikolai made his way, naked, out of the bedroom. Only a shifter would be comfortable walking around naked. Well, a shifter or a nudist.

  When Nikolai returned with her purse, Casey dug her phone out and made the call. When Lily told her not to worry about Jacob and to have fun, she thanked her and hung up. “That was easy.”

  “Mm, it was. I am glad. It means I can make love to you over and over again.”

  She thought he was teasing but Nikolai made good on those words. By the time they fell into an exhausted sleep, the sun was starting to lighten the sky.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Casey

  A week after Nikolai surprised her with the house, Casey was all moved in. It was Saturday morning and she was up bright and early. She’d decided to have a little cookout to celebrate both the house and the gallery showing from the week before. The goal was for it to be small – some of the Pack and Pard – but she was preparing for the possibility that more would filter through than she expected.

  By the time afternoon rolled around, the house and yard were filled with people, food was being cooked, and everyone was having a good time.

  “I can’t believe he bought you a house. Without even knowing if you’d like it.”

  Casey turned to Lily with a soft laugh. “Well, he enlisted Sasha’s help in looking. She called me one night and we talked about houses. She said she was thinking about buying a house but didn’t know what she wanted and wanted some suggestions of what to look for. I thought it was weird but you know me, I’m always willing to help a fellow Pack member. She did a really good job with finding something I would love.”

  “Ahh. Now that makes sense. I just didn’t see Nikolai out house hunting on the sly.”

  “Definitely not. Nikolai might be good at hunting bad guys, but houses? No, I don’t think he would have done as good a job as Sasha did.” Casey glanced to where her mate stood talking with some of their Pack members. They’d not had much time together since she’d moved into the house, and part of her wondered if he was avoiding her. Maybe she’d not done as well, sexually, as she’d thought, and his interest was waning already.

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  Casey swallowed at Lily’s question. “Yeah. Just thinking. I should go check on Jacob.” She needed to get away from her friend before Lily realized she was full of shit.

  As she was walking past Nikolai, their eyes met and Casey’s heart skipped a beat. He looked so good in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Any other time she’d seen him, he’d been in dress pants and a button-down shirt. The laid-back, casual look was new but it looked good on him.

  “What is wrong, Solnyshko?”

  Casey was startled from her thoughts by his question. She hadn’t even realized he’d followed her into the house where her son was in the middle of a game of Monopoly. She opened her mouth to say ‘nothing’ but that wasn’t what came out. “Did I do something wrong? Or was I just really that bad?” Her hand flew up to cover her mouth and her eyes widened in shock at her own boldness.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Not here.” She moved through the house and up the stairs to her bedroom. She waited until the door was closed behind them. “After last week, I don’t know, it almost feels like you’re avoiding me. Anytime I’ve come into Pack Central, you’ve suddenly had to be elsewhere. If I did something wrong or I just wasn’t any good, at least have the decency to…” Her words were cut off when Nikolai’s mouth crashed down on hers.

  Nikolai

  When he heard his mate doubting herself he couldn’t help it, he kissed her. She was crazy if she thought she’d done something wrong. “Nyet, Solnyshko, you have done nothing wrong. I did not mean to make you feel as such. I am a full-time employee of Ghostpoint Security which means I am often working.”

  “Okay, I can understand that but…even when you arrived the morning to help set everything up, you barely kissed my cheek before you made yourself scarce.”

  Nikolai growled. “Oh, Solnyshko, nyet. You have no idea how much I want you. You looked so beautiful this morning; if I’d allowed myself anything more, we would have still been in this room when everyone began to arrive.” The way her cheeks pinked and her eyes widened made him chuckle. He pulled her close so their bodies were flush against each other. “Does that feel like a man who does not desire his woman?” He knew she could feel the obvious sign of his arousal.

  “Oh. Well. I stand corrected. I’m sorry. I don’t know how to do this whole…dating and relationship thing. I mean, you’re the first, and only guy I’ve actually dated.”

  Nikolai dipped his head and nuzzled her. “It’s all right, Solnyshko. I do not have as much experience with it as you may think, either. I decided, soon after I became an adult, that if I could not have my mate, I did not want to be in a relationship. Forgive me for not realizing you were having such doubts.”

  “There’s nothing to forgive. We should probably get back downstairs.”

  “Mm, da, we should.” He kissed her once more before he let her go so they could make their way back down to where everyone else was.

  “There you two are! I was getting ready to start yelling for you,” Lily said as she came rushing up to them.

  “What is wrong?” He cocked a brow at Lily seconds before he realized it was very quiet.

  “Oh, nothing’s wrong, per se. We just have a birth we need to get to. Emelise is in labor. They’re on their way back to the Pard compound so we need to get a move on!”

  “Oh my gods! This is so exciting. Okay, um, I need my keys and my purse. Crap, Jacob. Where is he?”

  The excitement in his mate’s voice made him smile. “I’ll drive us to the docks, Solnyshko.”

  “He’s already outside waiting for you,” came Lily’s reply at the same time Nikolai spoke.

  “Then we must go.” He slipped his hand to the middle of Casey’s back and, once she had her purse and keys, escorted her out. He watched as Lily joined Declan in his truck and they drove off before he helped Casey and Jacob into his new SUV to follow them.

  “Oh, this is nice. When did you get it?”

  “Yesterday. The insurance finally approved the new vehicle and I wanted something more sturdy than the car I had before. I have the safety of more than just myself to think about now.” The blush that stained her cheeks had him leaning over to give her a quick kiss before he drove them to the docks where the boat waited to take them out to the compound.

  Hours later, everyone was milling around Caine and Emelise’s house, just waiting for some news. Nikolai watched as Casey helped to keep the children entertained so they wouldn’t be bored. Seeing her with the children, it made him secretly mourn the fact he would never be able to give her children of their own. With her being a wolf and him being a tiger, he just didn’t think it would be possible.

  “You look like something’s weighing on your mind.”

  Nikolai turned to look at his Alpha. “Da. Seeing her with the children, it saddens me to know we can never have our own.”

  “As Lily would say, the Fates have a reason for the threads they entwine. Maybe you two are supposed to open your hearts, and home, to orphaned shifter children. Or, you know, just because you’re different species doesn’t automatically mean no children, Nikolai. It’s possible one gene would be stronger than the other and you could have a child who is a tiger like you, or a wolf like her. Or hell, one of each. Don’t just assume it’s not possible.”

  Nikolai studied him a moment. “Perhaps you are right. It is something to think about and discuss in the future.�
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  Moments later a roar of joy came from inside the house, quickly followed by a second. Within minutes of Caine’s roars of joy, the entire compound erupted. The voices of lion, tiger, bear, leopard, jaguar, and wolf echoed across the bayou.

  Once the noise died down, members of the Pard went in first to congratulate Caine and Emelise and then the Pack followed suit.

  Nikolai slipped his arm around Casey as they entered the bedroom where Emelise and the twins were resting.

  “Oh, Eme, they’re beautiful.”

  Nikolai heard the longing in Casey’s voice. He didn’t know if she was aware it was there, though. Again, he felt that pang of guilt that they would never have children of their own. “Da, they are beautiful,” he agreed.

  “What did you name them?”

  “Josette Aurelie and Bastien Armand. Mama’s middle name was Josette and Caine’s mama’s name was Aurelie. This way we can honor both of them. I’ve always liked the name Bastien and my grandfather’s middle name was Armand. I don’t know, it just seemed right to honor those we’ve lost.”

  “Oh, I like those. They’re different but sound like names you’d expect in a Cajun family.”

  “Dat dey are, cher,” was Caine’s reply.

  “We should let Emelise rest, Solnyshko,” Nikolai murmured. They said goodnight to Caine and Emelise, and he escorted her back outside where the celebration was just beginning.

  “Looks like it’s going to be a long night.”

  “Da. We can leave whenever you wish.” He hushed as he leaned down close to Casey’s ear and nibbled it a moment.

  “I think we should stay. Jacob is having fun playing with the other children. I think I need to bring him out here more often. This is the happiest I’ve seen him since we moved to New Orleans.”