The Wallflower

Chapter Five

Max woke with the most incredible feeling of well-being he’d ever experienced in his life. Emma was

curled up against him, his arms around her protectively as she slept. Her luscious backside was nestled firmly against his morning erection, a situation Max totally approved of. Her scent was all over him, as his was all over her. His hips bucked forward involuntarily and he moaned as her hot, slick flesh stroked the head of his penis. God, he hoped she liked morning sex. And afternoon sex. And evening sex…

“Morning, Max.” Her voice was amused, rough from sleep and sexy as hell.

“For the love of God, please tell me you aren’t sore,” he whispered, practically begging.

Emma leaned up on one elbow, twisting around to stare at him. She wound up partially on her stomach, and Max’s eyes immediately zeroed in on that incredible ass of hers. “Not much, but honestly, other…issues…need to be taken care of first.” She blushed slightly.

Max looked at her uncomfortable face and grinned. “Bathroom’s that way.”

She was up and out of the bed before he’d finished pointing, sprinting naked across the room. Max leaned back and enjoyed the brief view he was given before the bathroom door shut behind her. He snickered when he heard her sigh of relief. He was grinning as he climbed out of bed and snagged his jeans.

“You want coffee?” he yelled through the bathroom door just as she flushed.

She opened the door, peeking around the edge. “You have tea?”

He thought for a moment, frowning, running a mental inventory of what his mother may have left behind on her last visit. “I have Darjeeling, Earl Grey and Spiced Chai.”

“Spiced Chai, sweet, with cream?”

“Coming right up. Borrow my toothbrush; we’ll pick up your stuff from your apartment later today.” He ignored her sudden frown and walked out of the room. He slipped his jeans on once he was in the hall and made his way to the kitchen. He whistled cheerfully as he began making her tea and his coffee, setting both machines to working as he contemplated what to make his prickly little mate for breakfast.

He pulled out the eggs, knowing he could at least make scrambled eggs and toast without looking like a total idiot in the kitchen.

“You owe me a shirt, Lion-O.”

He turned, his cock hardening as he saw his shirt on her. It practically swallowed her whole, and she looked damn fine in it. It didn’t hurt that she wasn’t wearing anything beneath it. Her tousled hair and kiss-swollen lips completed the just-fucked look.

Then he looked into her eyes and nearly dropped the eggs.

Her eyes gleamed gold, full of heat and passion. He felt his own flare in response, his gaze raking her from head to toe as he prowled towards her, the eggs left behind on the counter. “Emma,” he purred, wrapping his hands around her waist.

“Hmm?” She stroked his chest with her small hands, fingers tangling in the hairs on his chest.

He leaned down and lapped at his mark, groaning when she bared her throat. “You’re changing.”

“What?” she asked absently, her hands moving towards the snap of his jeans. “You taste so good,” she whispered, licking his neck with a tongue turned raspy.

Max shivered. “Emma,” he groaned as her teeth nipped at his neck. Her canines had grown in. “You’re changing, sweetheart.”

“Thought you said I had two days,” she muttered as her hand worked its way inside his pants. With a happy sigh she stroked his shaft, pulling it out of his jeans to run her thumb over the head.

Max moaned, ready to push her down on the table and take her swift and hard. That could be a problem if she shifted before they were done. “Emma, you have to stop.”

“Who says?” She knelt in front of him and took his cock in her mouth, sucking lightly on the head, her tongue rasping along the slit. “Mmm, you do taste good.” She licked her lips, teasing and seductive.

Max stared down at her, fighting his own instincts. He wanted to thrust between her lips, hold her head in place while he fucked her there, make sure she swallowed every last bit of him.

But she was changing. It was up to him to act responsibly He was Alpha, it was his job to protect her, and…

She’d wrapped her lips around his cock again, licking up and down the shaft, her head bobbing in a steady rhythm that would soon have him coming down her throat. With a snarl, the Puma took over as he grabbed the sides of her head and held her in place for his pleasure.

“That’s it, baby, use your tongue,” he growled, watching her pleasure him as his hips moved slowly, sliding his shaft between her lips. She curled that wicked tongue slightly, rasping it against the throbbing vein, catching the flared edge.

One of his hands moved to the back of her head, gently bunching her hair in his fist in a show of dominance as the Alpha in him took over. He could feel chills run up and down his spine as his climax neared, but he kept his rhythm steady, trying not to choke her while forcing her to take everything she could. He crooned to her, telling her how wonderful her hot mouth felt against him, how beautiful she was to him.

He moved the hand not holding her hair to just under her chin as he felt her incisors turn sharp. “Suck, Emma,” he commanded, his power flowing free as he lost control, his climax almost on him.

She gave him a teasing flick of her tongue before she obeyed, her cheeks hollowing out as she sucked on the head of his cock, pulling the orgasm out of him as she increased her purr at the same time. He erupted into her mouth, back arched, head thrown back as his cry of completion came out more like the primal snarl of his Puma. His mate took everything he gave her, swallowing him down as he held her head in place.

With a final, rumbling purr, she licked him clean then stood. She gently tucked his softening cock back into his jeans, zipping and snapping them shut before she gently patted his chest.

“You still owe me a shirt, Lion-O.” With a wicked grin, she sauntered off to the bedroom, her ass swaying beneath his shirt. Max grinned, eggs forgotten, and followed her into the bedroom.

Emma felt edgy all day. She’d had yet another fight with Max, insisting on going to work that afternoon and giving Becky her allotted evening off. She could feel the Puma crawling under her skin, trying to break free; Max had warned her what could happen if she allowed the change to occur without him present. Like she wanted to change into a mountain lion in the middle of her store! He’d grumbled all the way to her apartment, the entire time she changed clothes, and all the way to Wallflowers. By the time he dropped her off, she was ready to bite him, and not in a good way. She felt caged, pacing the storeroom when she wasn’t waiting on customers. She’d managed to keep her eyes from changing, a trick Max had taught her quickly when he realized she wouldn’t give in. He’d also told her he would be picking her up after work. She agreed with him that she was in no condition to drive.

She barely made it through the day, closing an hour early and leaving the receipts for Becky. She needed more room to pace, more room to…run.

Emma walked the six blocks to Max’s office. Both Adrian and Max were there, as was the receptionist, Lisa Pryce. Emma waved hello to a puzzled Lisa before sitting in the waiting area, tapping her foot impatiently.

Adrian Giordano walked out of one of the examination rooms, talking quietly to Livia Patterson. She looked thoroughly disgusted, completely ignoring the hunky doctor as he tried his best to get her to pay attention. Adrian spoke to the receptionist as Livia, without even a glance at Emma, flounced out of the office.

“Emma?”

“Hi, Adrian.” Emma smiled tightly. “Was Livia upset she got you instead of Max?”

Adrian grinned. “So Max told you about her attempts to get to him?”

Emma had a hard time not baring her teeth. She wanted to rip Livia’s heart out. It took all of the self-control she had to keep her eyes brown instead of gold. “Yup.”

Adrian coughed, turning away abruptly. “Max? Emma’s here.”

“Emma?” She could hear his muffled voice from behind one of the examination room doors. It opened abruptly and a frowning Max stepped out, followed by the elderly Mrs. Roman. “Why didn’t you wait at your shop for me?”

Emma grinned at him, her expression tight, her body strung out. Her foot jiggled impatiently. It felt like the worst caffeine high she’d ever been on. Her skin itched and crawled, her gums ached, and her eyes hurt with the effort to keep them brown.

“Oh.” Max sighed and turned to Mrs. Roman. “Here’s your prescription, and a copy for your records, Lena. Why don’t you have Lisa help you pick out a pair of frames? We can see to it that they’re sent off to the lab first thing in the morning.”

Mrs. Roman grinned wickedly. “Hot date, Max?” She waggled her eyebrows at him when he merely smiled smugly. “Taking Emma out, eh?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Max smiled and winked at Emma, who had to bite her lip to keep from snarling.

“Well, you take good care of her, you hear? From what Jimmy said, she’s a keeper.” Max’s grin froze on his face. “You mark my words, if you haven’t snapped her up by the time he gets back this way, he’ll steal her back out from under you.”

“Who’s Jimmy?” Max asked. His tone was pleasant, his expression wasn’t.

“Jimmy was Emma’s boyfriend until about four months ago when he had to leave town to deal with some family issues. Rumor has it he’s headed back this way any day now. Who knows? He might give you some competition!”

Emma groaned and put her head in her hands as Max’s attention swung back towards her. “We broke up two months before he left town, Mrs. Roman.”

“Not to hear Jimmy tell it, you didn’t,” Mrs. Roman replied with a laugh.

“I’ll just have to make sure Jimmy knows Emma’s taken.” Max’s hands went to his hips as he took in Emma’s red cheeks and guilty eyes.

Mrs. Roman cackled with glee; she was the biggest gossip in town, and Max had just handed her a prime piece to chew on.

“Can you do me a favor, Mrs. Roman? Can you wait to tell anyone that Emma and I are together until the masquerade party on Saturday? We want to surprise a few people.” Max smiled down at the elderly woman, using all of his not inconsiderable charm.

“Those few people being Olivia Patterson and Belinda Campbell?” When Max merely shrugged, Mrs.

Roman grinned. “Max, anything that will make Livia and Belinda squirm is okay by me. But…” she wagged her finger under his nose, ignoring his little boy grin, “…you have only until Saturday!”

She was so happy she forgot to wait around and pick out the frames for her new glasses, heading straight out the door with an absent wave good-bye. Emma knew the story of Max’s declaration would be all over town by mid-afternoon Saturday. She stared right at a smug Max, torn between laughing and screaming. “Happy, Captain Caveman?”

Adrian’s choked laugh and Lisa’s snort of amusement broke the tie. Emma laughed up at Max, who was still grinning like a schoolboy.

“You okay to close up, Adrian?”

“Can you give me just five minutes before you head out? I have a question about Mr. Davis.”

Max looked over at Emma, who was practically dancing in her seat, and back at Adrian. He nodded, clearly torn. “Hey, Emma? Can you wait in here for me? I’ll just be a few minutes, okay?”

Emma huffed and followed him into an examination room. He kissed her quickly and closed the door behind him. The room was typical of eye exam rooms everywhere, with a black examination chair and all of the equipment surrounding it. A desk sat in one corner of the room off to the side of the chair. A mirror on one wall showed the letter “E” when she turned the lights off.

Emma paced, her skin twitching. She rubbed her arms briskly, trying not to scratch. She felt like she

could peel her own skin off. Sure enough, when she looked down at her hands she saw claws where her nails should be.

“Ah, hell.” She ran to the mirror and looked in it. Gold eyes stared back at her. She licked her lips, feeling the edges of fangs as her tongue went back in her mouth. Scenes from Teen Wolf were going through her mind as she desperately tried to stay human.

She gave up when the fur started sprouting.

Max entered the examination room, not terribly surprised to see the Puma in his examination chair. The cat was sitting in a pair of blue jeans and a red lightweight sweater, the same clothes Emma had been wearing when she entered the office. It looked adorably pissed.

Max leaned against the doorjamb and sighed, desperately trying not to laugh. “I told you not to go into work today.”

She snarled at him. She kept snarling at him as he untangled her from her clothes. She quietly snarled at him as he led her to his SUV, which he pulled in behind the office so he could sneak her into it. She snarled the whole way out of town.

She was still snarling at him when he led her into the woods. She stopped snarling when he got naked.

When he changed, she began purring.

With a playful flick of her tail she invited him to chase her.

She purred loudest of all when he caught her.