by R. A. Boyd
No. God, no. She’d done everything right. Her existence made everything right with this world. He wanted to talk to her, comfort her, tell her to go back into the house and wait where it was warm.
He tried to speak but all that came through were a series of growls that rose from his throat like an unknown language.
Come on, beast, he thought to himself. Hurry up. We don’t like it when our mate is scared.
That did the trick.
A fast smattering of pops and rips filled the air as the saber-tooth tore through his skin and reshaped his bones. His roar tapered off as his lungs shut down from the pain. His body filled out, elongated, and bulked up in a matter of seconds. The exploding force of the change lifted him from the ground, and when he came back down with a heavy thud, he was no longer a man.
Long, curved, beige claws dug into the hard, cold ground beneath him. He stared down his long muzzle, huffing a laugh at his dark, short, spotted fir. He sent his rough tongue along his lips and could feel the long canines protruding from his mouth.
“Simon,” Charlie muttered. Her brown eyes were filled with love and amazement as she watched him. “Can I touch him?” she asked.
Hell yeah, she could touch him. She could jump on his back if she wanted to, and he’d take her strolling through town like he was her own personal mode of transportation.
“I’m taking that as a yes,” Damon said, chuckling as he wrapped his arm around Cass’s shoulder.
Simon realized he was purring as he watched his mate. His beast was utterly taken by her. He took a few steps toward her and almost tipped over.
“Guess you’re as clumsy as me now,” Charlie said as she took small steps toward him.
He closed the distance between them and sat down, inviting her to touch his course fir if she wanted. Her hand shook as she reached out to him, and when she finally made contact, Simon let go of the breath he held in his chest. She wasn’t afraid of him. His purr grew louder as her fingers stroked him.
“You’re beautiful,” she whispered. “In a manly way.” She laughed and wrapped her arms around his thick neck.
He buried his nose into her soft stomach and inhaled. She’d given him everything. His grace, his beast, his love, his soul. There was nothing Simon could ever do to repay her for this. Silently, he thanked the Creator. Not just for this moment, but for every moment leading up to this. He was alive and whole for the first time since he’d lost his wings.
Damon cleared his throat. “Want to go for a run?”
Yes. Simon wanted that so badly right now. He wanted to stretch the legs that hadn’t run in forever; to zig-zag through the wooded forest as he dodged huge trees that had been planted long ago. His sight was sharp and he wanted to explore and allow his saber-tooth time to become familiar with this new world. He longed to dig into the ground and fuck around with the small animals that found solitude beneath them. He was an asshole that way and never pretended to be anything else. But more than that he wanted his mate.
“Watch those teeth,” Charlie giggled as Simon turned his head to look at her.
Damn-it, he was being fucking clumsy. Forgetting that his voice didn’t work the same, he grunted and growled at her, asking if she would mind him running. He wanted to tell her that she would now and forever be the sunlight that illuminated his life.
Charlie used both hands to push him away from her. “Go on. I’ll be here when you get back.” Before she moved away from him, she draped her arms around his head and whispered, “I love you.”
She loved him. Her confession made it even harder for him to leave, but his beast urged him to run.
Cass raised her hand and shooed them off. “Have fun,” she said as she put an arm over Charlie’s shoulder. She raised one eyebrow and grinned. “I’ll keep your mate safe. I won’t leave her side.”
That was the final nudge he needed to leave. He waited as Damon stripped and handed his clothes to Cass.
“Put your dick away,” Audra whined right as Damon shifted into his beast. “We may be shifters, but I get tired of looking a dongs that don’t belong to my man.”
Chapter 12
“Thanks for going to the grocery store with me.” Charlie sat in the window seat of the kitchen at Cass, Damon, and Jax’s house, waiting for Simon to come back home.
Cass pff’d and clicked a few buttons on the oven. “Dude, you made me gumbo. I’ll take you to the market to buy the ingredients any time you want. I haven’t tasted a good bowl of gumbo in a long time. I know how to make it, but I haven’t had the time lately.”
Charlie loved Cajun and Creole food. Her brother used to love when she made Shrimp etouffée and corned bread. She’d taken him to New Orleans for his twenty-first birthday. He’d loved the city almost as much as she did.
“The girls and I were planning to take a trip their together before this new episode of our craptastic life started.” Cass paused for a moment, and Charlie looked over to make sure she was alright. She shook her head, making her coily mane of hair bob around her shoulders. “What am I talking about? Our life isn’t craptastic. It’s wonderful. I have Jax and Damon and my new sisters. This is living. I’ve been trying to get my sister to come visit, but every time she sees Cole her pheromones go into overdrive. It’s disgusting.”
“You have a sister?” Charlie asked, turning in her seat and putting her back to the window. Even though everyone was open and free when they spoke with her, she didn’t know everyone’s story. “Older or younger?”
Cass took a deep breath, taking in the scent of the sweet corned bread that cooked in the oven. “Please give me the recipe to this corned bread,” she said, rubbing her stomach. “Anyway, my sister is older. She used to live here in New Rose but her job transferred her to Michigan, which made her happy because my niece, Laurel, goes to school in Indiana. I’ve been to visit her a few times since she left. I think my sister wanted to get away from me.”
Oh-oh. More family drama. Seems like no one can get away from it.
“Why?” Charlie asked, fluffing her hair and then smoothing it down. Being curled up on the floor under Simon’s kitchen table really did a number on it.
“I think I was too happy for her. Too happy in a situation that didn’t make sense to her. Jax and Damon love and accept me for who I am. A boring big girl with too many curves. She’s skinny as a stick and always wanted me to lose weight. Couldn’t understand why I didn’t hate my size.”
Her sister must be out of her freaking mind. “Are you serious? You are sexy as hell. Ladies like us have ass and tits for days, and the lucky bastards who get to bury their face in all this sexy are, well, lucky bastards.”
They both broke out in a trill of laughter. Charlie was bent over from laughing so hard she partially slid out of the chair and had to stop herself from falling.
Cass sucked her teeth and checked the oven. “She was never the nicest person growing up, but when she and her husband divorced she went on a freaking rampage. I think that’s why Laurel left. She saw her mother changing before her eyes and didn’t want to be part of it. I don’t blame her. My niece is a bolt of walking destruction, but she’s happy. My sister had gotten better, but she still needs to work on herself.”
“I’m sorry. Seems like all of us who came here have families that aren’t all that sweet.”
“You’ve got that right. My sister, your douche of a dad, Paige’s godfather. We’re not even going to get into Riley’s ex-husband.”
Charlie liked this. The easy banter that went between them. It was there with Audra and the rest of them. Even the guys were friendly. Rough, but friendly.
Heat blasted in Charlie’s direction as Cass opened the oven, put on an oven mitt, and pulled the cast iron skillet from the oven.
“I think it’s done,” Cass said, using the handle to shake it from side to side, watching to see if it jiggled in the middle. “When everything was happening with Simon, did you have his soul?”
“Yeah.” Charlie inhaled so deep
ly, it puffed out her chest and cracked her back. That felt good. “Miri said someone was after her, trying to get Simon’s soul. She gave it to me and left, said she would lead them away. I sure as shit hope she's okay.” She glanced out the window and then back to Cass. “Simon told me that ghosts only hang around when they have unfinished business and that Miri’s unfinished business was keeping his soul safe. Do you think she’s gone now? I never got to thank her.”
Charlie jumped as a clang sounded through the kitchen, scaring the bejesus out of her. She grabbed her chest but instantly knew what the all too familiar sound was. It happened almost every time she baked something.
Cass had dropped the skillet on the counter. “Biscuit beaters. That hurt!” she whined. She ran to the sink and turned on the cold water, holding her hand under the faucet. She blew on her fingers as she checked them, and then put them under the running water again. “I always forget not to touch the handle when I put the skillet in the oven. I grabbed the dang thing without putting the mitt back on.”
“I’m the lead singer in this choir, Preacher,” she joked, holding up her hands. “See. I do it all the time. See this right here?” she asked, pointing at a thin line that ran the length of her pointer finger. “I was using a potato peeler to skin some carrots. Sliced a two-inch patch of skin and fat right off. Took three stitches on each side to fix it. I love cooking, but most sharp or pointy kitchen tools hate me.” The memory of seeing her skin hang off still made her cringe. Out of every fall, slip, and accident, that was the one that was the worst. It looked like a scene from a horror movie.
Cass's lips turned down in a frown as she leaned over to look at the healed cut. “That’s horrible,” she said, her face drawn up in a painful frown as if she could feel Charlie’s pain.
The sound of the front door closing boomed through the house and they both looked toward the kitchen door. Damon walked in wearing only a pair of pants. He held his shoes and shirt dangling from his hand. His yellow eyes glowed as his hungry gaze landed on Cass. Charlie could see a tent growing in his pants as he watched Cass. She smiled and winked at him, and her eyes lit up like fireflies
“Gross,” Charlie said, standing and going to check Cass’s hand. After watching the red patch begin to fade from Cass’s burnt fingers, Charlie walked toward the front door, waggling her fingers over her shoulder. “Have fun doing grown-up stuff,” she muttered.
“Will do.” Damon’s voice was low and raspy as he stalked toward Cass.
Charlie couldn’t get out of their house fast enough. She toppled into the corner of the front door as she lost her balance, trying to put her shoes on. It was cold outside. Daylight Saving Time was in two weeks, and the Sun just realized it was time to shine longer. She wrapped her arms around herself and ran her hands up and down her bare arms. When she and Cass brought back their groceries, Charlie was still worked up from watching her mate change into a lean, muscled-up, scary as hell saber-tooth. She’d left her coat draped on the hook beside the door in Simon’s house. She was paying for it now.
For a split second, she started searching her pockets for a key. She snapped her fingers together when she remembered. They didn’t lock doors around here. And for what? Anybody dumb enough to break into one of the Ghost shifters houses was asking for their ass handed to them on a silver platter. Might be pretty cool to see.
She pushed open the door and was instantly surrounded by the warmth from the central air moving throughout the house. To warm up faster, she hopped up and down in an unflattering dance that used to cheer up her brother. He called it her llama mating dance. Did llamas dance when they wanted to get it on?
“What are you doing?” Simon’s playful voice asked from behind her.
The chill hadn’t left her body yet, so she kept dancing. Goosebumps still lined her arms but were slowly smoothing away as she generated more body heat. “I’m cold so I’m doing the llama mating dance to warm myself up,” she said, shimmying and gyrating her hips, but when she turned to face him a whole new set of gooseflesh popped up.
Charlie stopped dancing and blinked at what she saw. Simon was naked, and beads of water clung to his chest and arms. And cock. For the past few days, she had imagined what it would look like. His cock was gorgeous, just like the rest of him. It was long and hard, and even from where she stood she could see the veins that ran the length of him. With no shame in her at all, she didn’t even attempt to look away. His body was beautiful. Masculine. Defined muscles covered the length of him. Smooth, flawless skin covered his broad shoulders and powerful arms, leading down to abs that you could wash a ton of clothes on. Strong, thick, muscular thighs held him up. Her eyes ate at him as he stood there, watching her take him in.
“You’re naked,” she said, curling her hands into fists. She couldn’t wait to grab hold of the head of his cock and take it into herself.
“You’re not.”
“Yeah,” she said, rocking from side to side. The small movements caused friction between her legs and sent a chill up her spine. “I don’t think Cass wants me over there with no clothes on.”
She was nervous now. All she had wanted to do over the past few days was have Simon fuck her silly. Her naughty thoughts had fueled most of her time as she watched him cook, walk, sleep, and everything else he did without realizing he was the sexiest man on the planet.
He took two steps toward her, heavy cock swinging from side to side. “Come here.” He inhaled and rolled his eyes closed. When he opened them, they were nothing short of predatory. “I can taste your lust from here.”
“Oh.” Okay. She couldn’t stop herself from wanting to touch him, but she’d been waiting for this moment for what seemed like years.
Closing the distance between them, he lifted a hand to her face and cupped her cheek. Running his thumb over her lips, he leaned in and kissed her. “I love you too, Charlie. So very much.”
She swallowed thickly and leaned into his touch. He kissed her again, and she released a moan that sounded nothing short of helpless. Liquid heat flooded her core as she lifted her hands and smoothed them up and down his ripped abdomen. His hot flesh beneath her fingers felt divine. His thumbs stroked the skin of her neck as he angled her head to the side, deepening their kiss. She wound her arms around his neck and scratched the skin of his scalp, digging her fingers in to keep him close.
Simon’s large hand roamed her body, squeezing and palming her ass and tits. His fingers played along the bottom of her shirt, and as he pulled the fabric up and over her head, she shivered and blew out a long sigh. His hands skirted along the strap of the bra and glided along her back.
“Front clasp,” she muttered through their kiss.
She felt him smile as he used one hand to cup her ass and pull her close and used the other to undo the little catch between the cups of the bra. Her heavy breasts tumbled out and rubbed against his rock hard chest. Her nipples were so tight they ached, but the feel of him against her sent an erotic shot to her pussy. His thumbs brushed the stiff peaks, and she drew in a deep breath.
In all her life, she’d never felt anything as beautifully sexy as his touch. His hot lips trailed away from her lips and to her ear. Air pounded out of her lungs as he gently bit and sucked the lobe of her ear, thumbs still caressing her nipples.
She reached down and grabbed his long, thick shaft, using her thumb to spread the small bead of moisture that sat there around the tip of his cock. He let out a moan as she squeezed his dick, pumping and rotating her hand around him.
“Fuck, Charlie,” he said.
His teeth skimmed along her jaw. His chest rose and fell so close to her and abraded her breasts. She smiled as he moved his hips, sliding his cock through her hands as she jerked him over and over. The velvety skin around his cock was warm and heavy in her hand. His groans and pants made her insides rejoice. She pouted when he pulled away from her touch.
“I won’t be slow or gentle,” he said, bending down as he pulled at the waistband of her leggings and pant
ies. He licked down her chest, stopping to take one nipple into his mouth as he held the other in his hand, kneading and pinching, sending delicious spasms to her core. He switched and sucked the other nipple into his mouth and weighed the other in his large hand. “I’m going to take you hard and deep.”
His cock was big, and she wondered if she could take him rough the first time they made love. No matter how hard he tried to take her, she knew he would never hurt her. Charlie watched him lick and bite her breast as one of his hands pulled the rest of her clothes off, taking her socks with them.
She gasped and arched her back, groaning as he slipped one finger and then another into her pussy, coating the outside with her juices. She panted and held onto him, digging her nails into his shoulders.
“So fucking wet for me,” he said as the beginning of an orgasm built low in her belly. His voice was rough, more animal than human. “Are you going to come for me?” His thumb made tight circles around her clit, sending trembles all through her. “I can’t wait to feel your pussy suck my dick deep inside you as I take you, as you come for me.”
With her head rolled back as he pushed her closer to orgasm, she held on to him for dear life so she wouldn’t fall over. She tried to focus to keep standing, but her knees were going week.
“Let go,” he said, hands and mouth still working her over. “I won’t let you fall. Come for me.”
In a flash of lightning that brought bright stars to her vision, she came hard and threw her head back as the spasms sent shockwaves through her body. Her breath trembled as Simon pulled his fingers from her core, and she looked down just in time to see him take his fingers into his mouth to suck off the wetness he had drawn from her pussy.
Butterflies danced and fluttered in her chest. She would never get over how sexy and shocking it was to watch him do that.
He stood and picked her up, holding her in his strong arms like he was carrying her over the marriage threshold. She bit her lip at the thought of marriage and rested her face in the bend of his neck, breathing in his masculine scent. She sniffed harder and smelled is deodorant. Whatever it was should be marketed as the panty dropper. Or at least a brag that your woman would want to sniff you all day long.
