Chapter 17

The wedding was a blur to Holden. The only thing he cared about was that at the end of the ceremony, Honor was wearing their wedding bands and giving him the sweetest kiss ever. She was a vision in a pale pink dress, her hair swept up at the sides to reveal the mating marks on her neck. She looked like a goddess, deserving of worship, and he was a damn lucky male to be her mate.

Hope was the maid of honor, and Eli had walked Honor down the aisle. Bradley was adorable in his little tux, and Sophie looked like a mini princess in her dress. The ceremony had taken place outdoors, in the backyard of the boarding house. Now that they were officially married, and the photos had all been taken, the chairs and tables were set while Lisa and the other females put out a spread that rivaled the largest buffet he’d ever seen.

Honor leaned on his shoulder and sighed happily.

“Did I tell you I love you today, Mrs. Whitman?”

She tilted her face to smile at him. “You did, but I never get tired of hearing it.”

“Love you, beautiful.”

He kissed her, and his cat purred, the sound joined by the rumble of her lioness.

“I love you, too.”

Jax cleared his throat noisily from where he sat on her other side. She grinned and broke the kiss, turning to kiss him, too.

Hope smiled and waved at him from where she sat with Treasure and the other pride kids. The two girls had become fast friends. He was glad to see both females find a new friend in each other.

Bradley toddled up, his white shirt untucked and his bowtie in one hand. He waved it around like a flag, giggling as Holden lifted him onto his lap.

“Hey kiddo,” he said, giving the little boy a hug.

“The wedding was so beautiful,” Melody said as she came up to the head table. “I wish Dad could’ve been here.”

“He’s here in spirit,” Holden said. “And namesake. I can’t tell you how much your son reminds me of him.”

“I have some of dad’s old baby pictures. I think Bradley is the spitting image of him.”

“Definitely,” Jax said. “You just better hope your son didn’t inherit his lack of singing ability. He could make paint curl.”

“Aw,” Melody said with a laugh. “I hope that’s not hereditary, too.”

“While we’re still here, we’d love to watch Bradley so you and your mates can go out on a date,” Honor said.

“Oh, that would be wonderful, thank you.”

“Plus, we’ll get some time with this kiddo. He’s growing up so fast,” Holden said.

He put Bradley on the ground and watched as Melody took his hand and walked him back to the table where his fathers were waiting.

When the meal was finished, Holden and Jax danced with Honor and then Hope, while Honor danced with Eli. The pride joined in, and the music switched from romantic ballads to dance music. Eventually most of the adults sat down and watched the younger kids making fools of themselves and having a ball.

The evening passed quickly. Before long they were saying goodbye to Hope and Eli, and the pride members who didn’t live at the boarding house. After they waved goodbye, Holden took Honor’s hand and kissed it.

“Ready to go upstairs, Mrs. Whitman?”

She smiled sweetly, her eyes flashing with heat. “Absolutely.”

They climbed the stairs to the second floor, where Jax stopped in front of his bedroom door. He opened it, and Honor gasped as she stepped inside. When they’d woken up that morning, they’d decorated Jax’s room for their wedding night. Every flat surface held electric candles, and they’d topped the comforter with rose petals. A vase of white lilies stood on the dresser, lending a light fragrance to the room.

Holden loosened his tie and pulled Honor close as Jax opened the champagne and poured three glasses.

Honor took hers and asked, “What should we toast?”

“Our new life together,” Jax said.

“You finally making honest males of us,” Holden teased.

Honor giggled. “How about we toast to how lucky we all are?”

Jax lifted his glass. “To luck.”

They clinked glasses, and each took a drink. The cool, bubbly liquid did little to soothe the heat that rose within him. Jax took their glasses, while Holden led Honor to the bed.

She pushed Holden’s jacket off his shoulders and tipped her face to his. The jacket dropped to the floor, and he cupped her face with one hand, tilting her head and kissing her. Her skin was warm and soft. Holden stroked his fingers down her throat and around her bare shoulders to the zipper of the dress. It slid down slowly, the sound loud in the quiet room. She shivered as she pulled away from the kiss and shrugged out of the dress.

Beneath the soft lace dress, she wore only white panties.

Holden glanced at his brother. “She wasn’t wearing a bra. I think we missed a few opportunities to feel up our mate during the reception.”

Jax let out a snarl and circled her, his fingers trailing around her stomach. “Naughty little kitten.”

“Just for you two,” she murmured.

Jax crawled onto the bed behind his mate and pulled Honor with him until she lay on her back between his parted legs, facing Holden. Holden undid his shirt, his fingers flying down the buttons as he dropped to his knees on the floor in front of their mate. He took off her sandals and set them aside, then grasped her panties and pulled them down her legs. Jax pulled her back farther, and she parted her thighs, letting her legs fall over his knees on opposite sides of her, until she was spread wide before Holden’s hungry gaze.

They’d been together for a while. They’d made love many times, as couples and as a threesome, but there was something very new and exciting about their time together right now.

“Fucking love you, sweetheart,” Holden said, looking up at her.

She bit her lower lip and slid her hands through his hair. “I love you, too.”

Holden leaned forward, bracing one hand on her thigh and pushing it open a little further. Then he inhaled the sweet scent of her arousal. He pushed a finger inside her slowly, feeling the wet heat suck him in. Twisting the digit as he pulled out and pushed it in again, his touch slid along her hot walls, working to find the spot to send her into orbit. As Holden played with her, adding a second finger and curling them inside, he sucked lightly on her clit, flicking his tongue along one side. She let out a sharp gasp and her hips bucked, her hand fisting in his hair. He rubbed his curled fingers faster inside her, his tongue rapidly flicking her clit, until she cried out and he felt the sweet heat of her climax on his fingers.

Jax slid out from under her and moved up the bed to give them this time together. Honor stretched out on the bed, her arms over her head and her eyes bright with passion. Holden rose to his feet and undid his pants. He dropped them, crawled onto the bed and grasped her knees, sinking into her to the hilt. He groaned at how good she felt, how perfectly she gripped him, and pulled out.

Holden plunged in again, setting a fast rhythm to drive them both to completion. Her pussy began to clutch him rhythmically. Honor groaned, sliding a finger to her clit and rubbing it until she came, her back arching and Holden’s name on her lips. He followed her into bliss, barely stifling the roar of happiness from his cat. Releasing his tight hold on her knees, he leaned over and kissed her deeply and sweetly. She shivered under him, a purr stuttering in her chest, and he smiled, giving her bottom lip a playful bite.

“I’m so yours, Holden,” she said, cupping his face.

“And I’m yours, Honor.”

“Love you,” she whispered, her eyes bright. “Love you so much.”

“I love you, too.”

He eased away, climbing onto the bed as Jax joined Honor and she reached the heights of pleasure again with her second mate. The night was young, and they had a lot of love to make.

 

* * *

 

By the time they made their way back to King after spending time in Ashland and stopping for their honeymoon, they were happy to be home. They returned to King with wonderful news – Honor’s pregnancy. Hope was excited to have a little brother or sister.

After the summer was over, Hope moved into their home full time. Their entire family spent Sundays together, as a way to recharge and connect with each other before starting another week. Holden couldn’t believe how different their lives were, and how far they’d come in such a short amount of time.

When they welcomed their daughter into the world in the spring, the King pride helped them celebrate the new era of full-blooded mountain lion females being born, without threat of being changed by cursed females. Their beautiful daughter, Faith Renee, was a little sweetheart who had both of her fathers wrapped firmly around her tiny fingers.

Time moved in that funny way that it sometimes did, both utterly too fast and entirely too slow. All at once, Faith was a year old and Hope was a senior in high school, planning to go to college to become an elementary teacher. Every summer they traveled to Ashland for a week to spend time with Melody and her growing family, as well as the pride. But King was their home, and they’d decided after Faith was born that they were going to stay in Pennsylvania. Although they missed the Ashland pride, they all felt at home in King, and staying put for the rest of their lives seemed like the right thing to do.

A tiny hand touched his knee, breaking his reverie. Holden looked down from staring out the kitchen window to see Faith, pacifier in her mouth and her arm wrapped tightly around the soft-bodied doll that Hope had given her on her birthday.

He lifted her into his arms and gave her a kiss.

“Hi little one,” he said. She babbled at him. Her words were muffled by the pacifier, but the grin on her face put dimples in her chubby cheeks and warmed his heart. Whatever she was saying, she was happy, and that was all that mattered.

“The future’s all yours, Faith,” he said. “Are you ready for the next chapter of our lives?”

She blinked big blue eyes at him and gripped his collar with her free hand, saying her favorite word, which she used for pretty much everything.

“Cookie.”

He chuckled and gave her a hug. “Darn right, little one. Cookie, indeed.”