Military Matchmate

by Jade Alters

  Backing off, I started at her ankle and kissed my way down her legs, all the way back to her core, where I pressed a final kiss between her legs. “Ready to move on,” I asked.

  “Yes. Ready to have this massive cock inside me,” she bit back.

  The flush that spread over my body was impossible to fight.

  “You’re blushing,” she said. “But it’s true.”

  Arguing with that declaration would be stupid, and we had much better things to do.

  Cassandra

  My body was primed, but my heart hadn’t quite caught up. While Hunter was between my legs, I hadn’t had time to think, but now that he had paused long enough to crawl up on the bed, all the crazy in my head came rushing back in.

  In the past, I’d have said that Richard had been it for me and that I was fully prepared to be celibate for the rest of my life. I hadn’t expected to meet Hunter.

  If anyone asked me right now, I wouldn’t have been able to form words, because of what Hunter’s tongue had just done to my body.

  I’d have also said I didn’t miss sex, but I clearly hadn’t seen Hunter coming. A weird pang shot through my heart, and I realized it was guilt. Guilt that I was enjoying this, and regret that it wasn’t Richard making my body feel this way.

  Words didn’t exist for how bad it sucked, but Richard was gone. I’d mourn him forever, but I was going to share this with Hunter. How awkward would it be though, for Hunter to always be aware of how much I still missed Richard?

  Richard was always going to be a part of me. He was Jacob’s father, and I still loved him.

  Time to get my head back in the game. Hunter might have taken some time off to recover, but he clearly knew his way around a woman’s body.

  I hadn’t expected to want to date, and I sure hadn’t expected to get aroused like this again. My pussy hadn’t been wet like this in years. My core ached, desperate for a cock to slide inside my body.

  Hunter smoothed the hair away from my forehead as he hovered over my body. “Do you have a condom,” he asked.

  “No. This isn’t the sexiest thing to talk about, but after Jacob was born, I had to have a hysterectomy. So I can’t get pregnant. Throw in the fact that I get tested regularly for work, and this is the most action I’ve had in five years, and I’m a safe bet.”

  “I get tested too, through the military. Shifters don’t generally get STDs. I asked once, and the clan doctor thought it was because of our healing factor. I still wouldn't take my chances with you, except that it’s been two years for me, so I know I’m clean.”

  “You’re sweet like that. And I trust you.” Propping myself up, I ran one hand through his black hair. “Or have I jacked up the mood? I’m really good at that.”

  He kissed my nose. “You haven’t jacked anything up.”

  “Oh, but I have,” I said, wrapping my hand around his thick cock.

  He chuckled even as it pulsed in my hand.

  “Better not keep me waiting,” I said. I wasn’t sure my voice was ever going to be sultry, but I did my best.

  A low growl rumbled in his chest. Hunter crawled over me, and my stomach flipped over. Any remaining silliness I felt drained away as Hunter pushed my thighs apart and ran the head of his hard cock over my entrance.

  “Maybe I need to make you wait,” he said, teasing me with the tip of his cock. “You’re getting wetter and wetter.”

  I caught him around the waist with my legs. “Now,” I said, pleading with him.

  He angled his hips and slid into me. His huge cock stretched my sex, pushing my body open for him. Sparks ignited in my core, coursing through my blood as I lifted my hips to meet him.

  He thrust into me, increasing his pace as I clung to his arms. “I’m almost there,” I whispered.

  His thrusts continued, building momentum until I crested, coming hard. Sparks lit up behind my eyes as pleasure rolled through my body.

  “Oh,” I sighed. “That was perfect.” I lifted my hips. “Your turn.”

  He bowed his head down and moved his hips into me, never breaking his rhythm, not until his entire body went rigid. “Cassandra,” he said.

  It took us both a few minutes to come down, and we lay in bed, with Hunter stroking his hands through my hair as I lay with my head on his chest. “It’s going to look weird if we never come back out.” There was no way I was going to face my kid and Hunter’s aunt without a shower.

  “How in the world do we act?”

  “Debra’s going to know.”

  “I think it’s pretty obvious. I’m just glad Jacob isn’t older. I think my face would catch on fire.” “You said Debra would know. Do shifters... “ How could I possibly say this? Oh well. I’d just been naked with him, I could ask the question. “Can you smell it? If someone’s together?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Oh cool,” I said. “That must be really weird.”

  “It can be, especially during deployments, in close quarters.”

  “That sounds informative.”

  “It is illuminating, and makes it really hard to lie.”

  “Let’s just act naturally,” I said. “Maybe your aunt will pretend not to notice.”

  “Never in a million years,” he said. “I’ll shower in the guest room.”

  I started to tell him to join me, it was his bathroom after all, but I sensed he wasn’t ready to ditch his leg in front of me. That was fine; I had no idea how I’d feel if it was me dealing with that kind of injury.

  Drying my hair took a few minutes, but there was no way I was going to answer Jacob’s questions about why my hair was wet.

  I put my sundress back on and snuck down the hallway to the room where I was staying to grab a clean pair of panties.

  By the time I got back to the kitchen, Hunter was already there. He wore jeans and a nicely fitted t-shirt, a gray that looked great with his black hair and his blue eyes. We’d just finished, and I wanted him again. Jeez, could he smell that too? I stood with my legs closer together. I’d have to find a way to ask.

  Hunter looked at me from where he was washing the dishes, and his gaze was solemn. Did he regret what we’d done already? Had I rushed him? Oh hell. He was a grown man. If he couldn't figure it out, I couldn't do it for him. I had someone who depended on me, and that was my priority.

  “Hey,” I said, but before I could get to him, Jacob and Debra came crashing through the backdoor. “The fireflies showed up during the movie,” Jacob shouted.

  “Yes,” Debra added. “Not as productive as bees, but delightful all the same.”

  “How was dinner? Did you like it? We saw you kiss!” Jacob clapped his hands over his face. “Oops. I wasn’t supposed to say that.”

  “It’s fine sweetie. Dinner was amazing. And we did kiss.”

  “It was very mushy looking. Ew. I don’t know how people do it.” He brightened. “Did you like the movie we picked out?”

  Hunter’s face was flaming. And Debra had turned her back to us, shoulders shaking.

  “Um. We didn’t watch the movie.”

  “What did you do? Play a game?”

  “We just talked.”

  “Adults are so boring.”

  “Come on, bedtime for you.”

  Hunter stepped forward. “Thank you for the meal, Jacob. It was such a nice treat.”

  Jacob beamed back up at him. “You are welcome!” He frowned. “Are you guys mad at each other?”

  That got Hunter’s attention. “No. I’m happy.”

  “You don’t look happy.”

  “We aren’t mad at each other sweetie. And if we were, it would be between us, okay?” I ran my hands over his hair, which was even shaggier now. “Not your concern.”

  Jacob didn’t appear to buy it though. His face clouded over and the corners of his mouth turned down. He stomped off down the hallway.

  “Excuse me, and him,” I said. “He’ll be apologizing later.”

  Hunter grimaced. “He’s fine.”

  “He absolu
tely cannot stomp off like that, just because he’s irritated.”

  Debra nodded. “Someone else used to march off like that when he was mad,” she jabbed her finger in Hunter’s direction. “Seems like it was around that age.”

  Hunter didn’t interject to defend himself.

  “How’d you get him to stop,” I asked.

  “I told him it hurt my feelings. Which was true.”

  “He must have been a very sweet little boy. I don’t know that Jacob is too aware of my feelings or even thinking they could be hurt in any way.”

  “Hunter was a very sweet boy, that’s true. But Jacob is too. And he adores you.”

  “You’re right.” I sighed. “I shouldn’t get frustrated.”

  Before I knew it, Debra’s arms were around me. “It’s okay to get frustrated. It’s been just you and Jacob for so long. He wants you to date, but it’s still a big adjustment, not to mention all this craziness with the smugglers in your own house!”

  Leaning into the hug, I let her hold on. Over my shoulder, I saw Hunter watching us with that same blank look on his face he’d had when I met him. What did that even mean? Was he pissed off that I was getting close to his aunt? Happy she liked me? Completely uninterested in all of it and wanted us the hell out of his house? He might say he liked us being there, but we were way more rowdy than two extra people should be. He had to be missing having some peace and quiet at the end of the day.

  Whatever his problem was, his blank expression would have to wait. I had to go deal with my pouting child.

  I knocked on the guest bedroom door.

  “It’s open,” came Jacob’s sullen voice.

  “Hey. What’s up?”

  He shrugged.

  “Hey,” I said, putting my hand on his knee. “I know this has been a wild ride. First, you saw crazy people breaking the law on our property, then missed the birthday party you were really looking forward to. Then you couldn’t go back home, and then you missed the last week of fifth grade. That’s a lot to take in. I’m sometimes freaked out by it too.”

  “It’s not all that.”

  “Is it me dating? It’s okay if it is. You might have thought me dating Hunter sounded like a really fun thing, but now the reality isn’t as fun.”

  “No.” He bunched the sheet up in his hands. “You don’t get it. I want you to date Hunter. You’re taking way too long about it!” He flung himself backward. “I want a dad. But not a lame dad, a good one.”

  My throat burned, big time. “You have a dad.”

  He pushed himself back up. “He’s dead, mom. Dead! He’s not here. I know that makes you sad, but I can’t help it. I wish he wasn’t dead, but he is. I want Hunter as a dad.”

  My eyes joined my throat in burning. I swiped at my eyes and tried to regain my composure. When Richard died, I never dreamed Jacob would be able to move on. Maybe I was the one holding him back. My son was ready to move forward, but I was still stuck in the past, and I was keeping him there too.

  “Sorry,” he said, sniffling.

  “You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” I said. “I can’t promise you that I’m going to want to date or get married again. That’s something that I have to decide for myself. But I can do a better job of making sure you have some guys to look up to. We can go visit grandpa, and I bet Hunter would be happy to hang out with you, no matter what.”

  “You think?”

  “Yeah, I do.” It would be weird as hell if Hunter and I never got serious about dating but Jacob still wanted to hang out with him, but I would do everything in my power to make that happen. If Hunter was serious about liking having Jacob around, then maybe he’d be up for continuing to be a mentor to him.

  “I’ll talk to him about it. For now, let’s get some sleep. I love you.” I held his head in my hands. “So much.”

  “Love you too, mom.”

  Hunter

  As soon as Cassandra disappeared down the hallway, my aunt whacked me across the head with a dishtowel. “What is wrong with you?”

  “Ow. What did I do?”

  “That lovely woman -- and her even more lovely son -- are here after a traumatic event and you stand there like a lump of coal!”

  “A lump of coal? What are you talking about?”

  “I realize what you two got up to earlier, and I approve.” She stopped in her ranting to pat my shoulder. “But some hanky panky, no matter how nice, is not going to cut it with her,” my aunt said. “That woman has been through a lot, and she just picked up and kept going. She was an RN when her husband died. And she went back to school and became a PA. She never missed a beat as a mother. She didn’t get the luxury of lying in bed or feeling sorry for herself. You’ve been through plenty too. So pull your head out of your backside, and get it together.”

  My aunt had never spoken so harshly to me, not even during my teenage years, which were pretty mild. Shifters didn’t tend to indulge their adolescent tantrums nearly as much as humans did. “She told you all that?”

  “Don’t act so surprised.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say you’ll get your act together.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “You know I love you.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re an amazing man. You deserve to be happy. Sit.” Debra forced me into a stool. “You like them being here, don’t you? I can tell by the look on your face when you think she’s not looking.”

  “Yes. I like it when they’re here.”

  “So tell her.”

  “I told her she was welcome.”

  “After she apologized for some normal kid-mess, you told her she was welcome. It sounded like something a hotel owner would say to a paying customer, not what you’d say to a friend. Have I not taught you any hospitality?”

  “She’s human.”

  “You think humans are less deserving of our welcome?”

  “No! You know I don’t think that.”

  “Good. That’s the first time I’ve seen any emotion from you all night.” “And I’d hate to think I’d allowed prejudices to fester in our home. The rest of our kind may hate humans, but I don’t, because it’s not right. Now tell me what’s going on.”

  It had been a long time since I’d been lectured by my aunt. “It’s not just one thing,” I said.

  “So start with the first.”

  “She saw me shift. She had no idea we existed,” I explained. “It’s a lot to process.”

  “Is she having trouble with you being a shifter?”

  “No. But most people would.”

  “We’ve already established that she’s not most people.”

  “She still loves her husband.”

  “And? If I wasn’t approaching seventy, I’d date too. It doesn’t mean I’d love your Uncle Charles any less.” She waved her hand at me. “Next.”

  “My leg. It’s got to affect how she sees me.”

  “Have you talked about it?”

  “Yes. She says it doesn’t bother her.”

  “Well. Honey. You already have all your answers. No relationship is going to be perfect. Talk to her in the morning. Tomorrow will be a new day.”

  The next morning I had a text from Sergeant Lorne that they’d picked up on some activity with the smugglers. One of them was spotted on the highway that led to Cassandra’s house, near a rest stop.

  The house was silent. I left a note on the kitchen countertop that I was called into work and I left. How nice would it be to do that every day? Debra was right. I had to get over myself and talk to Cassandra. If she was willing to try dating, I would do my best to make her happy.

  As I drove to the rest stop, Lorne called back to say they’d spotted a man near Cassandra’s property. I took a left and headed to her cabin. By the time I got there, it was abandoned. I could pick up a faint trace of a human male who reeked of stale bread and salt, but it was hours old.

  I walked the edge of the property, rescanning the ground for pr
ints. I had to have missed something. The sun was bright on my face, and I was no close to solving this case.

  Swimming always helped clear my head, and it was one type of exercise that hadn’t changed much at all with the loss of my leg.

  On the dock, I folded my clothes into a neat pile and laid my leg on top. I dove into the lake, savoring the feel of the cool water against my skin. I swam laps, going over the evidence in my head. Even with my unit, and the assistance of the FBI, we still had two dead suspects, and no new arrests just hints here and there. Day after day had passed, and Cassandra and Jacob still weren’t safe.

  This kind of detective work wasn’t my normal assignment; I was usually assigned more of a physical infiltration role, with the intelligence work already done.

  Time to get back to it. On my last lap back to the dock, I caught Cassandra’s lemony scent. I looked up, and there she sat, cross-legged on the dock, wearing an orange top and white shorts that showed off her tan legs. She was staring right at me.

  I swam to her. “Hey. You really shouldn’t be here,” I said. “I was here to check out possible activity from the smugglers. There’s still an active investigation.” The risk was pretty low. If someone was near, I’d hear them, or smell them, but I wanted her to start being aware of possible danger.

  “I know. Sometimes I act on my bad ideas, you should know that.”

  “And what bad idea do you have right now, besides being here?”

  “This,” she said, as she uncrossed her legs and dangled her leg into the water, skimming her smooth skin of her calf against my cheek.

  Inhaling her natural lemon scent, plus whatever suntan lotion she’d rubbed into her skin, sent pulses of arousal straight to my cock. With the lotion, she smelled of coconuts, reminding me of long summer days spent in a lake just like this, first in human form, then as bears as we learned to shift and chase each other through the woods.

  Her blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail, with about half the hair escaping to cling to her neck. Her sunglasses hid her eyes, but her mouth held a playful expression.

  “Coming in?” I asked.

  “Is that an invitation?”