Cash [Pyrate's Treasure 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Cooper McKenzie Read Free Book Online

emotions. She squeezed his hand in return. He took a deep breath and sighed, and the nearly painful hold on her hand eased.
    Glancing toward the head of the casket, she met Luka’s eyes. He looked troubled, and not just because he was saying good-bye to an old friend. Something was going on between the king and his mate…or rather not going on, Zoe suspected to be truer.
    Had Diamond denied his claim that they were mates? Or was she hiding from the most powerful shape-shifter alive for reasons only she knew? Why would she do that? As mates, they were destined to be together for the rest of their lives.
    Once the service ended, Zoe gently pulled her hand from Cash’s and followed the pack members and other guests outside, giving the family time to say their final good-byes in private. A few minutes later Cash, Silver, Luka, and three other men appeared in the doorway carrying Edward’s simple wooden casket between them.
    Earlier she had learned that Edward’s body would now be taken by boat to the mainland. After cremation, his ashes would be returned to Pyrate Island in a few days, and during the next full moon, the six cousins would scatter them over the pack lands. It was a family tradition that went back as far as Pyrates had lived on the island.
    After the casket passed through the crowd, Zoe followed Goldie and the other female cousins as they fell into line behind it. The procession worked its way through the village and to the docks, where a boat decorated with black bunting waited. Once the coffin was loaded onto the large fishing boat, Cash joined her on the dock. She slipped her hand back into his, needing to touch him as much as he needed to feel her. They watched in silence as the boat left the dock and headed across the harbor to the open waters between Pyrate Island and the mainland.
    The crowd remained silent until the boat was well away from the dock. Then quiet conversations began as they dispersed and headed to the bar to catch up and share memories of their dead Alpha over beers and refreshments. Cash remained behind, watching until the boat moved out of sight. Only then did he turn to her. His arms came around her back as he rested his forehead on her shoulder. He breathed deeply, as if trying to keep himself from crying.
    “Gods, I’m going to miss him,” he said, his voice thick with unshed tears.
    “I know you will. But a fast, painless death is better than being ill and lingering for months,” Zoe assured him as she began to run her hands up and down his sides in a soothing motion.
    Cash’s head moved up and down in agreement, but he said nothing else for several long minutes. Finally, he took a deep breath and released it on a sigh.
    Lifting his head, he met her eyes. “I need you.”
    “You have me,” she returned gently, not quite sure what he meant.
    “No, I need you,” he repeated as he leaned in until his lips were next to her ear. He dropped his voice to a whisper so no one could hear him, though there was no one in sight. “I need to be buried so deep in your pussy I can’t tell where I end and you begin. I need to lose myself in the taste and touch and smell of you. I need you right now.”
    Zoe’s pussy clenched, and her nipples beaded in instant response. “Whatever you need, my mate,” she assured him.
    Her words seemed to ignite something in Cash. Keeping one arm around her shoulders, he turned and guided her down the dock away from the bar. “I promise you that one of these days I am going to romance you properly. But today doesn’t look to be that day.”
    They reached the end of the wooden dock, but Cash kept going through the grass. Zoe wanted to point out that she did not need romance. All she needed was him, but she was too busy focusing on walking the uneven gravel path in stiletto heels.
    When several rocks shifted under her heel, she tripped and began to fall. Cash caught her and once again swung her up into his arms. Once she was secure, he continued