CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

So this was Dayna.

Bailey hadn’t heard much of the conversation. She’d only come over to see what was causing people to gather near the bar. When she’d approached the crowd, she’d heard the unfamiliar female point out to Deke that he’d kept his promise for years, to which he’d replied: “And more fool me, Dayna.”

Surprise had slammed into Bailey, and her snake had done a double-take. The last thing they’d expected to find was his ex … whatever she was. Not quite a girlfriend, but more than a bed-buddy.

A hot ball of anger had swiftly formed in Bailey’s gut. Thatthe skank had turned up now, after staying away for so long, was full-on shitty. She hadn’t come to him when he’d wanted her to; no, she’d come when he wanted someone else. She hadn’t cared that this might hurt him, or that it was downright unfair to him.

Despite that Bailey had itched to step in and dish out some bitch slaps, she might have instead kept her mouth zipped and simply observed. But if Dayna felt like taking her on—and her demand to know Bailey’s whereabouts said that was exactly what she had planned—Bailey was all for it. Her snake was eager to bury her fangs in the little skank.

The redhead’s eyes flared as they dipped to the bite on Bailey’s throat. Fresh and deep, it made a statement that the feline couldn’t miss. Ha.

Well, it was hard to like this person for obvious reasons. More, knowing that the woman had kissed Deke, touched him, had him inside her, made icy blades of jealousy stab Bailey in the chest. The same emotion rubbed her snake’s nerves raw.

Feeling like messing with the redhead, Bailey chose to play dumb. “Who are you?” she asked, keeping her tone bored.

Rigid, the feline pinned her with a fevered glare. “Who am I? I’m Dayna.”

“Dayna …?” Bailey prodded, letting her brows squish together.

A low, cat-like hiss slithered up the bitch’s throat. “The woman whose man you marked,” she spat.

“Your man?” Ensuring she appeared appropriately confused, Bailey looked at him. “Does this female have a claim to you?”

“No,” he stated, his tone firm and unyielding.

Bailey slid her gaze back to the redhead. “Huh. I’m confused. Wait, are you the one who’s been in New Zealand for years?”

Her face flushing, Dayna’s fingers retracted like claws. “Australia. And yes, that’s me. He and I made a commitment to each other.”

“No, actually, you both committed to a promise,” Bailey corrected. “A promise you broke when you didn’t come back exactly when you swore you would.”

“I’m here now. And I’m staying.”

Bailey tipped her head to the side. “Funny how you only decided to do that after he branded someone else and told you he was done with you. Felt the need to come piss all over what you feel is your territory, did you? How cliché.”

“Deke isn’t territory to me. He’s someone I care about.”

“Maybe. But you’re not really here for his sake. You’re here because you can’t stand that he’s moved on—it’s written all over you in bold letters. I sure hope you’re not expecting me to step aside and let you have him. ’Cause yeah, I won’t do that. He’s mine now.”

“Yours?” Dayna snorted and notched up her chin. “I think not. He might have marked you, but he hasn’t been sharing your bed for long. I know him far better than you do—and not just in a biblical sense. We grew up together. We were friends for years before we were lovers. We have the kind of bond you can’t begin to understand.”

“If that’s true, why is this happening right now?”

Dayna’s head jerked slightly. “What?”

“If you care so much for him, this whole scene wouldn’t be playing out, because you’d have let him go years ago so he could live his life. Instead, you held him to you all this time. That’s pretty damn selfish whatever way you look at it.”

The redhead’s mouth flattened. “You know nothing.”

“I know that there’s no way you’re back for good. It would have taken you a lot longer to get your affairs in order if you honestly meant to relocate here after a long stay in a whole other country among a whole other pride. You’re here to win him back and convince him to move to Australia with you.”

Dayna blanked her expression. “You’re wrong.”

“You’ll swear that on your nephew’s life?”

The feline hesitated, her eyes blazing. “You don’t get to talk about my family.”

“Just did. Might do it again.”

“You’re a mouthy little bitch, aren’t you? I’m not understanding what he sees in you.”

“I suck cock really well.”

Dayna scowled as Aspen and Havana moved to stand a few feet away, both all smiley and casual.

Aspen waggled her fingers at Dayna in hello. “I’m just making sure I have a good view of Bailey wiping the floor with you.” She gestured at them to ignore her, adding, “As you were.”

Dayna returned her gaze to Bailey, a glint of dark amusement now dancing there. “They really think you have a shot against me? Oh, how precious.”

Gerard rounded the bar fast. “Dayna, how about we go sit down,” he proposed, crossing to her. “It’s been a while since we’ve talked in person.” He didn’t look very surprised to see her, so maybe he’d known she was coming.

The redhead didn’t even look his way. “Maybe later, Gerard. I need to deal with this slut first.”

Bailey’s snake whipped her tail as she hissed long and loud.

“Uh,” began Therese, materializing beside Gerard, her eyes wide, “he’s right, Dayna, you two should go catch up. I’ll come along, we can all have a drink and—”

“Maybe later,” Dayna repeated. “I’m busy here.”

Deke cursed. “Dayna, take the out your friends are giving you and walk away. Whether you see it or not, they’re trying to do you a favor. You’d be a fucking fool to take Bailey on, and they know it.”

Bristling, the female pallas cat fired him a glare. “You should worry about her, not me.”

Sighing, Deke gave a half-shrug. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Dayna blinked. “You’re not going to forbid me from touching her?”

“The last thing Bailey needs is for me to protect her,” he replied. “And she’d ream my ass if I tried anyway.”

Bailey cast him a smile, glad he wasn’t pulling the dominant male overprotective routine. “You understand me so well.”

Rolling her shoulders, Dayna settled her gaze on Bailey again and took two confident steps toward her, leaving mere inches between them. “You have no claws, so I’ll be fair and keep my own sheathed.”

“That’s pretty thoughtful of you,” said Bailey, her voice dry. Her inner snake reared up, more than ready to take this bitch down.

“Not thoughtful. I simply don’t need that extra edge. I’ve fought snake shifters before.”

“But not me.” Bailey snapped out her fist and connected hard with Dayna’s face, shattering her cheekbone, making her head whip to the side.

Shocked into stillness, the feline stayed like that for long moments. Then, slowly bringing her hand to the injured side of her face, she righted her head to once more glower at Bailey.

With a snarl, Dayna made a grab for her hair.

Bailey threw up her arms, blocking Dayna’s own, and then headbutted her. Hard.

Bone cracked. Dayna cried out. And the fight was officially on.

For Deke, there was nothing easy about hanging back while his woman went head-to-head with another shifter. The fight was not pretty. Both females had abandoned technique in favor of fighting dirty and catty.

Fists flew. Palms slapped. Feet kicked. Teeth bit. Nails dragged across skin. Hair was fisted and yanked.

Even as he stood tense as a goddamn bow, Deke couldn’t help but join his cat in admiring how Bailey moved. She was fast. Fluid. Sinuous. As if her bones were malleable and bendy.

It made it hard for Dayna to both land and avoid blows, so his mamba quickly dominated the fight. And he had to admit, it gave him a surge of pride that clashed with the primal need to take that flowed through him. Yeah, he got off on watching her brawl.

Around them, the pride kept their distance, all looking on the verge of their proverbial seat. Many tried staying neutral, but others egged on whoever they were backing. Neither Havana, Aspen, Blair, Bree, or Elle made any bones about yelling at Bailey to “fuck that bitch up.”

Even Camden shouted an occasional—and somewhat sadistic—piece of encouragement, such as “Punch her in the tit, Bailey! Right in the tit!”

The mamba didn’t need to be told twice. She did as advised and then delivered a harsh punch to her opponent’s jaw.

Staggering backwards, Dayna spat out a glob of bloody spit that nearly landed on Therese’s shoes. Panting, she then scowled at Bailey, her split upper lip curling, revealing a couple of blood-stained teeth. “Are cheap moves all you—”

“No smack talk, please, it bores me.” Bailey went at her again.

He knew Dayna. Could read her well. So he spotted the slight gleam of uncertainty in her eyes that told him she was inwardly scrambling. A strong fighter, she wasn’t used to being outclassed by her opponent. But Bailey was showing her up big time, and she wasn’t even going full-throttle.

He’d seen his mamba fight before—not only in mere barfights, but in life-or-death battles. She was a master at various combat techniques. She could very quickly disable a challenger without breaking much of a sweat.

But here and now, Bailey wasn’t bringing out any fancy moves or aiming to end the fight. Nope. She was dragging it out, quite clearly enjoying herself.

Especially right at this moment, as she ragged an actual chunk of hair out of Dayna’s head. Hair she then shoved into the mouth Dayna opened in a cry of pain.

His cat bared his teeth in approval of his female’s viciousness, but he didn’t like that she was wounded. A bruise was forming beneath one eye, and she had a wicked cut above one brow. There was also a crimson stain on a patch of her hairline, and a matching stain on her top from when Dayna had very briefly unsheathed her claws in a rage after Bailey tore out her earring.

Her wounds had nothing on Dayna’s. The feline honestly looked like she’d gone a couple of rounds with a feral alley-cat. Vicious scratches crisscrossed over her face, including over the eyelid that was swelling courtesy of her broken cheekbone.

Her nose was also broken, as was a rib or two—he’d heard the distinctive cracks; watched members of the crowd flinch while others grinned. Her mouth was almost grotesquely swollen, and her hair looked like a bird’s nest.

She was also tiring and breathing hard. It had to be sheer pride that kept her from backing down. Both Gerard and Therese were yelling at her to concede the fight, but she was ignoring them.

Sweat beading her forehead, Dayna sliced out her claws again.

Bailey snorted. “Thought you didn’t need the ‘extra edge.’” She bent backward, avoiding the clawed hand that swung at her. But she wasn’t able to avoid the kick to her knee. If she’d been standing straight, she might have done no more than wobble. But due to her position, the kick knocked her flat on her ass.

Bailey didn’t jump to her feet as he’d expected. She crouched, planted her palms on the floor, twisted her hips, and swiped out a leg … taking Dayna’s own legs out from under her in a smooth, superfast move that the pallas cat stood no chance of evading.

Bailey snatched Dayna’s stiletto off her foot and rammed the heel right into the feline’s thigh. Dayna all-out wailed in pain.

Deke winced. “Fucking Jesus. Wasn’t expecting that.”

Beside him, Tate grunted. “Your mamba always does something in a fight that I don’t see coming.”

Her jaw clenched, Dayna kicked out at Bailey with her other leg, making her rear backwards to avoid the spiked heel. Dayna then leaped to her feet. So did his mamba.

“Finish the little hoe bag, Bailey!” Aspen shouted. “Stop playing with her!”

His woman sighed at the bearcat. “You always want to spoil my fun.” Refocusing on Dayna, she twisted her mouth. “Another person would advise you not to fuck with them again. But me? I personally will welcome any future challenge from you. So keep ’em coming. They’ll all end the same way, of course. You’ll lose in a spectacular fashion. But it’s the participation that counts, I think.” She lunged, shifting in mere milliseconds.

Her snake dove between Dayna’s legs, sprung up behind her, and coiled around the feline’s body superfast—pinning her arms to her sides. The hissing mamba then bit into the unswollen side of Dayna’s face.

Many of the crowd sucked in a breath while others chuckled. Deke exhaled a sigh of relief, glad it was over; tired of watching his woman take blow after blow.

A cursing Dayna stumbled around, striving to free herself from the serpent’s hold—to absolutely no avail. Soon enough, her struggles weakened and her steps slowed.

Apparently satisfied that her foe was no longer a threat, the snake unwound her slim, gunmetal-colored body from Dayna as she slid down to the floor. Dayna dropped to her knees, swaying and mumbling as Gerard and Therese rushed to her side. The mamba paid them no attention; she slithered over to Deke and began to climb his body.

At one point, such a thing would have made him tense. Not now. She was his, just like Bailey.

Once she’d twined the lower half of her slender body around his arm, she settled the rest of her weight over his shoulder. Deke reached up and gave her coffin-shaped head a brief stroke.

“Aw, how cute,” said Bree, her lips curled.

“You could have stopped it!” Gerard shouted at Tate, crouched beside Dayna. “You saw that Bailey was playing with her. You saw the extent of her wounds. You did nothing.”

Tate frowned at him. “Interfering in a fight between shifters is simply not done—you know that. You wouldn’t have wanted me to do it if Bailey was losing.”

Gerard gestured at Dayna, who was now unconscious. “Look at her, she’s a mess!”

Havana sighed. “She’s also being healed by Helena as we speak. Don’t be so dramatic.”

Standing, he slammed his gaze on Deke. “This is your fault. All you had to do was give Dayna ten minutes of your time. Then there would have been no fight.”

Bailey’s snake hissed at the other male in warning—a move as protective as it was territorial.

Gerard froze, his mouth snapping shut. Well, no one wanted veins full of venom, did they?

Deke met the mamba’s gaze. “You gonna shift back?” She flicked out her tongue and settled her head on his shoulder. “That’s a no, I take it. Stay still while Sam heals you, then.”

He thought she might ignore him, but though she watched the healer with her unblinking stare, she didn’t make any aggressive moves when he rested his hand on the lower half of her body.

“She’ll need to shift,” said Luke. “You can’t walk down the street with her like that.”

True. But no amount of urging from anyone—or even orders from Tate—made the snake budge an inch, let alone subside.

Havana snickered, amused. “You might as well give up. She’s in protective mode. She won’t shift until she’s sure Deke is in a place of safety.”

“It’s kind of sweet,” said Aspen.

Luke rubbed at his nape. “Meet me in the back alley, D. I’ll bring a car around and then drive you back to your complex.”

Tate nodded. “We’ll take care of this situation. Go. Get her out of here before she goes for Gerard’s throat.”

Happy to leave, Deke gave a curt nod and accepted Bailey’s purse and balled-up clothes from Blair.

When he slid into a car a short time later, the mamba didn’t alter her position, so he had to be careful not to hurt her with the seatbelt. It wasn’t until he was in his apartment that she moved. Having slithered down to the floor, she shifted in a flash.

Standing a mere foot away, Bailey stared at him, her gaze inscrutable. “You mad at me for hurting her?” Her tone was carefully neutral.

“Not in the slightest.” Tossing her purse and clothes on the sideboard near the front door, he drank in every naked inch of his female, feeling his dick stir. The patches of dried-blood that covered her now-healed wounds pissed him off even as they brought to the surface his earlier and very primitive need to take her. Because they reminded him of how magnificently she’d fought.

What fueled that oppressive need to be inside her was the memory of how she’d staunchly refused to stand aside for Dayna. Bailey had instead firmly stated her own claim to him—a claim she’d defended; fought for. That meant more to him than she could know.

And now he had to have her.

His hands aching to grab her, touch her, stamp his fingerprints on her, he lowered his zipper. “Come here.”

Surprise bloomed in her eyes—a surprise that was quickly drowned out by the sexual heat that bled into them. A flush swept up her face. Her nipples peaked. Her breathing picked up.

The atmosphere between them quickly became thick. Hot. Electrically charged.

“Now, Bailey.” He whipped off his tee. “I want in you.” The words were guttural. Barely human.

She didn’t make him wait. She launched herself at him. Literally.

He caught her, slamming his mouth on hers, licking his tongue inside. She curled her limbs tight around him as they feasted on each other. In no mood to go slow or gentle, he roughly spun and backed her against the front door. He swallowed the breath that gusted out of her as he closed his hand around her breast.

In the biting grip of a lust so carnal it burned, he ground his cock against her clit over and over. She dug her nails into his back, feeding him soft, greedy moans that fisted his shaft.

Feeling like he might explode with how desperately he needed to be deep in her body, he tore his mouth free. “This is going to be fast.” He slid her upwards and sucked a nipple into his mouth, liking her sharp intake of breath. He released the taut bud with a flick of his tongue.

And dropped her on his dick.

A zap of dark pleasure shooting up her spine as his long, thick cock abruptly stuffed her full, Bailey felt her head fly back and hit the door. Mother of all that was holy.

His eyes liquid pools of raw lust, he held her thighs up and open as he drilled into her. Every heavy, upward roll of his hips tunneled his cock impossibly deep.

Tucking her face into the crook of his neck, she gripped his broad shoulders and pretty much hung on for the ride. And it was a rough ride. Unrestrained. Explosive. Heart-pounding.

Already she could feel her orgasm building—a gathering heat in the pit of her stomach that threatened to sweep outward and consume her at any moment.

Her senses were filled with him. With his warmth. His weight. His scent. His pounding thrusts. His grip so blatantly possessive she wondered how she could have worried that Dayna might sway him to choose her.

Even though he hadn’t rushed to his unconscious ex’s side, a part of Bailey had thought he might be mad at her for what she’d done. Because she hadn’t merely defeated Dayna, she’d toyed with her. And the redhead had been part of his life since he was a kid—it would be normal for him to feel so protective of her that he’d be unhappy with Bailey for wounding her.

But he hadn’t been angry. Hadn’t admonished her. Hadn’t even scowled at her. And now he was fucking her like need was a fever in his blood. His shaft chafed her clit again and again just as his sleek, hard chest rubbed at her taut nipples.

“Look at me, Bailey.”

Drunk on feel-good chemicals, she lazily lifted her head.

“That’s it,” he said, staring at her intently. Hungrily. Possessively.

Feeling his cock throb and thicken, she knew his release was close. So was her own. It was a wonder she hadn’t yet fractured.

He groaned. “Yeah, mark me.”

It was only then, as a faint scent of blood drifted to her, that she realized she’d dug her nails deep enough into his skin to break it.

He stole her mouth with a hotly sexual kiss that went right to her core. A core that heated, spasmed, tightened. And then it contracted as wave after wave of almost unbearable pleasure engulfed her so intensely it trapped a scream in her lungs.

Deke’s growl poured down her throat as he slammed harder, faster, deeper. He broke the kiss with a curse as he planted his cock deep and exploded, filling her with hot bursts.

As their orgasms subsided, he dropped his forehead to hers while they strived to catch their breath. Trembling, she said nothing, her mind blissfully empty.

Finally, Deke pulled away from the door and carried her to the bathroom. Only then did he withdraw his cock from her body. He cleaned her up, ignoring her offer to do it herself, and then perched her on the counter. Having grabbed and dampened another cloth, he began to clean the little streaks of dried-blood from her skin, gentle and thorough.

“It offends me that she blooded you,” he said, his jaw hard. “If I hadn’t known you’d be pissed at me for interfering, I’d have stopped the fight before it could start.”

Bailey shrugged. “If it hadn’t happened tonight, it would have happened some other time. You heard the way she talked. She considers me someone who stole you from her. She no doubt had every intention of confronting me at some point.” Idiot.

He dumped the wet cloth in the hamper. “You’re probably right about that.”

“What exactly did she say to you before I made my way over? I didn’t hear a lot.” She felt her blood pressure go up as he relayed it all to her. Her snake slapped the floor with her tail, wishing she’d bit the woman twice. “Ballsy little skank, isn’t she?”

He rubbed at the corner of his brow. “Maybe I should have expected her to do this. But considering she’d managed to go two and a half years without seeing me in person, I didn’t think she’d turn up and declare she was here to stay and wanted us to be together.”

“She shouldn’t have bothered. You’re mine.”

His eyes gleamed with something soft and warm.

When he just stared at her for long seconds, she frowned. “What?”

“I like hearing you say it. That’s what.” Snatching her off the counter, he took her to the bedroom, where he then roughly dumped her on the bed with a teasing smile that made her chuckle.

“Do you think anyone knew that Dayna was coming?”

“She talks a lot to Gerard and Therese. Neither seemed shocked to see her, so I think they knew.” He dug his cell out of his pocket and placed it on the nightstand. “Or, at least, they knew she might turn up sometime soon.”

Bailey twirled her hair around her finger. “If Therese did know—or at least suspect that it might happen—it would explain the stuff she said to me yesterday about how you’d sling me aside if Dayna ever showed up.”

He snorted and began shedding the rest of his clothes. “I suppose it’s my own fault that they’d believe that. I stuck to my promise for too long.” A long exhale left him as he lay beside her on the mattress. “She’ll go back to Australia when it hits her that this was a waste of time.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Bailey warned, leaning into him as exhaustion crept up on her. “I really don’t see her letting go easily.” The feline had declared before the entire pride that, in so many words, Deke would be hers. That she’d had no qualms about doing it so publicly meant she was quite confident that she could win him to her side—why else would she have risked being rebuffed in front of everyone?

“I made it clear that I’ve moved on.”

“I don’t think she believes that you truly have. I think she believes as Therese does—hell, it might have even been Dayna who first tossed out the theory. I think she believes you marked me to spur her into coming home.”

His brows snapping together, he gently hauled her closer, his hold protective … as if to shield her from any hurt that that viewpoint might cause. “That’s bullshit, baby—I made that clear to you yesterday.”

“I know it’s bullshit. But I think Dayna believes it’s true.”

He shook his head. “If she thought I’d only done it to get her attention, she wouldn’t have been jealous when I confirmed via a video call that I’d marked you.”

“Just because she was jealous doesn’t mean she thought I meant anything to you. No female would ever be blasé about their sort-of-man branding another woman.”

His gaze turning inward, he absently smoothed his warm hand up her thigh, over her hip, and up her side … only to then backtrack in yet another smooth glide. “You might be right that she didn’t take it seriously. She seemed genuinely shocked just now when I told her I was truly done.”

“Of course she was. You were slowly pulling away over time, but she didn’t sense it. She had no idea you weren’t in the same mental place as her. For Dayna, you backing out of the vow has come out of nowhere. She probably thought that her turning up here would be enough to change your mind; that you’d feel she’d proved you’re important to her.”

He sighed, put out. “She couldn’t have just texted me and said she’d made arrangements to come home?”

“It wouldn’t have had the same impact. Nor would turning up at your apartment to speak with you alone. She wanted to make a statement—not just to you, but to anyone who thought they could take her position in your life.”

“She always was a little dramatic,” he griped.

Snuggling into him, Bailey lazily skimmed her fingers through the small tufts of his hair. Her eyelids were going heavy, but she kept them open, wanting to finish their talk. “I don’t believe she’s here to stay.”

“Neither do I. When you challenged her to swear on her nephew’s life that her plan wasn’t to lure me to her side and then talk me into going to the land down under with her, she evaded it.”

“For her to come all this way, she must have been confident that her plan would pay off; that she’s so important to you that you’d choose her over anyone else.” Bailey’s mouth thinned at the thought.

“She’s wrong.” He gave Bailey’s hip a little squeeze and snared her gaze with his, silently insisting she heed him. “Even if there was no you, I wouldn’t have been interested in starting something with her. But there is a you, and you’re who I want.”

“Understandable. I’d want me, too.”

A slow smile curved his lips. “You were fucking magnificent earlier, all vicious and merciless. The way you move when you fight …” He nuzzled her, grazing her pulse with his teeth.

Bailey couldn’t control her grin. “I knew you liked watching me fight.”

“My cat likes it, too.” Deke met her gaze again, tucking her hair behind her ear. “He approves of how fierce you are.”

“Typical pallas cat.” When he nipped at her jaw just because, she nipped him right back. “You really do like to bite, don’t you?”

“Not usually. But you have very markable skin.” He breezed his finger over the bite on her throat. “I like this one most of all.”

As it happened, so did she.

Hearing his cell chime, he retrieved it from the nightstand and swiped his thumb over the screen. “It’s a message from Tate. Havana wants to check that you’re good—she apparently texted you a few times. Oh, and it turns out that Gerard scooped Dayna up off the floor and whisked her away after we left.”

“Really?” asked Bailey with a yawn, watching as he rattled off a quick text, likely confirming that she was fine.

“He’ll do his best to convince her that she’s better off without me. I hope he succeeds.”

“If he does, it won’t be something that happens overnight.”

“Maybe not.” Deke placed his cell back on the nightstand and then moved back to Bailey, curving an arm around her. “But she won’t approach me to declare her feelings again. Dayna is a proud creature. She won’t come begging for scraps from my table. Particularly after I embarrassed her tonight by rejecting her so firmly in front of God and everyone—she wouldn’t give me the satisfaction of thinking she’s broken up over it.”

“If she’s really so proud, she won’t scuttle away with her tail tucked between her legs either. She’ll do something.”

“Probably. She’s not a bad person. Not even close. But if anyone lashes out at her ego, she has to lash back. She’s always been that way.”

“I’m just as big on revenge, so I get it.” Bailey couldn’t fight the yawn that cracked her jaw. “Damn, I’m wiped.”

The set of his mouth softening, he dragged her closer and dropped a kiss on her nose. “Then sleep. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

“’Kay.” She let her eyes close. “Night.”

“Night, baby. Sweet dreams.”