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“I’d love that.”
“I kind of want to just go home,” she confessed.
“Waiting will make it better. I think.”
“I guess we’ll find out,” she said.
He pulled onto the street. “We might not have time for dinner, but I’ll get you all the popcorn you want.”
“Deal. And then you’ll make me yours and I’ll make you mine?”
“Yep.”
She rested her head on his shoulder. “This was by far the craziest date.”
“Yeah, for any future dates, let’s just keep the danger to a minimum.”
* * *
Later that night,when they made love, he sank his fangs into her neck while he drove her from one high peak of pleasure to another. The connection as truemates strengthened and grew even stronger when she also marked him as her mate. He told her they’d be able to find each other no matter what now, and she loved that.
She loved him.
Her sweet tiger, Romeo.
ChapterTwenty-Six
One Month Later
Ashley yawned and took a sip of coffee while several female tigers milled around in one of the spare bedrooms in Midas and Maya’s home. She’d already taken a bath in hot water scented with Moon Orchid oil and her skin smelled amazing. The tigers used the oil in the bathwater because it was said that were-tigers originated in Indonesia and they liked the mates to smell of their homeland.
She’d spent the night with Maya and several other females while the males took Romeo out for a bachelor hunt. Even though they were already mated, tonight the ceremony would join them officially in the eyes of the ambush, as well as Midas officiating their marriage ceremony. After she’d saved those kids from being abducted by Brent’s asshole minions, and she and Romeo had marked each other, Midas and Maya invited her to join the ambush. They said she’d more than proved herself to them, that she had nothing but good intentions when it came to their people. She’d thought it would take longer and hadn’t been worried about it, but she knew that Romeo wanted her to be part of the ambush and officially his mate.
Romeo had stayed in their home last night, and he’d made her promise not to come over because he’d decorated the master bedroom for their mating night. She couldn’t wait to see what he’d done.
A handful of tiger females were helping her get ready, including Maya, who was the last female to be mated.
A pale blue gown was laid on the bed. Mari, one of the mates and a wiccan, helped Ashley step into the satin dress, which was long enough to fall to the floor and fit her like a glove. Ashley sat on the bed. Tera, a wiccan and also mated to two tigers, tied delicate sandals on Ashley’s feet while a tigress named Lacey brushed Ashley’s hair and pinned it up in a simple twist.
Maya came over with two golden cuffs. She slipped them onto Ashley’s upper arms and said, “It’s tradition for the last female to be mated to pass these on to the next one. It’s my honor to gift these to you. You’ll give them to the next female to be mated in the ambush. The symbols inscribed in the cuffs are ancient were-tiger, wishing you a long and happy life with your mate.”
“They’re beautiful,” Ashley said. She stood and looked at herself in a long mirror hanging over the door. “I look like a Greek goddess.”
“I think that’s what our people had in mind when they decided what females would wear for the mating ceremony,” Gina, a tigress, said with a smile. “You look beautiful. Romeo’s a really lucky male.”
“I’m lucky too,” Ashley said.
Tera handed Ashley a bouquet of colorful orchids tied with a wide, white ribbon. “The color of the orchids represents what we all hope for your mating. White for honesty. Pink for happiness. Blue for peace. And purple for passion.”
“Midas is going to escort you to Romeo, and then he’ll officiate the ceremony,” Maya said. “He’s waiting at the back door when you’re ready.”
The females hugged her and wished her well, and then she was alone in the bedroom, staring at herself in the mirror. What a long, strange journey to get to this place.
She’d suffered a terrible loss, been deceived by her family, gone on a murderous rampage fueled by an anti-shifter fanatic, and then she’d tumbled into the arms of her truemate, who’d found out all her secrets and stood by her when he should have run screaming in the other direction.
They were building a life together in the ambush.
He’d stepped down from his number two position into the ranks of the security team, and she’d joined up with the tech department that monitored the security feed and ensured all the technology used by the ambush worked correctly to keep them all safe. She’d found a purpose in serving the ambush, making up for all she’d done to erode their safety. She finally felt like she was making amends for her part in the destruction she’d caused, and her heart was at peace.
