Kelley (Were Zoo Book Six)

by R. E. Butler

  They carried their bags into the camper which was even smaller than he remembered. He could pick up the scent of cleanser and knew that his mom most likely cleaned up. Someone had put a vase of wildflowers on the little kitchen table, along with a folded piece of paper with their names on it.

  He opened it and read out loud, “Welcome to the circus! Dinner is at five under the staff tent. The fridge is stocked. See you soon. XOXO, Mom and Dad.”

  “That’s so sweet,” Rhapsody said.

  “Tour of the circus?” he asked. “I can introduce you to everyone. We’ve got an hour before dinner.”

  “That would be great.”

  They walked around the circus, stopping at every tent and booth so he could introduce his mate to his family. Uncles, aunts, cousins, and other extended family members all worked hard to keep the circus running. They were kind and friendly to his mate, not that he’d expected any less. Elephants weren’t the sorts of shifters who cared what people shifted into, or even if they shifted at all.

  Rhapsody’s stomach growled as they neared the staff tent. The smell of roasting meats made Kelley’s mouth water and he picked up the pace, hurrying toward the food.

  “I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I smelled the food,” Rhapsody said.

  He laughed. “Me too.”

  “There you are!” his mom said. She approached them wearing one of her show costumes – a sequined bathing suit with a short skirt. She hugged Kelley and then Rhapsody. “It’s so wonderful to finally meet you.”

  “Thank you,” Rhapsody said, “it’s nice to meet you, too.”

  “Where’s dad?” Kelley asked.

  “Right here,” his dad said, joining them. He wore a classic ring master costume, with black pants, knee boots, and a fitted, red jacket covered with gold fringe and buttons. “Lovely to meet you, dear, welcome to the family.”

  Rhapsody grinned. “The circus is amazing. Thanks for inviting me.”

  “Wait until you see the show,” Rowena said. “Maybe one of these nights, your mate will be willing to perform so you can see what he used to do.”

  Rhapsody’s eyes went as round as dinner plates. “Oh, Kelley, would you?”

  He rolled his eyes at his mom. “You did that on purpose.”

  “Who me?” she batted her eyes in faux innocence.

  “Of course, I will. But not tonight. I want to see what the show looks like now.”

  “You’re in the VIP section,” Donovan said, “so you’re in the best seats in the house.”

  They got into the buffet line and filled their plates with steak and chicken roasted over open flames, potato salad, coleslaw, and large wedges of cornbread topped with honey butter. He followed his parents to a picnic table and sat down, waving at some of his cousins who were seated at another table.

  They ate and talked about the circus and the zoo, his parents asking Rhapsody about her childhood and how she liked being at the zoo.

  “Is everyone here an elephant?” Rhapsody asked.

  “Not quite,” Donovan said. “Our memory has twenty in it, which makes it one of the largest in the states. But we have a bear den who travel with us. They do the acrobatics along with some of our people, and we have a trio of wolves who lost their alpha in a battle and needed a place to call home. They’re clowns.”

  “It’s hard to imagine wolves being clowns, they always seem so serious,” Rhapsody said.

  “I agree,” Kelley said, “but these guys are hilarious to watch and not at all like the wolves at the zoo. If you like clowns, that is.”

  “Who doesn’t like clowns?” Rhapsody asked.

  “Some people just don’t.”

  “Scary clowns give good clowns a bad name,” Rowena said.

  The time moved quickly, and before long they had to say goodbye to his parents and the other performers who needed to get ready for the 7 p.m. show.

  “There’s another show at nine,” he said as he twisted to the side and straddled the bench. “We can watch both if you’d like.”

  “Are they the same for each show?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “I think I’m going to love seeing the show so much that I’ll want to watch both.”

  He smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”

  “I’d really love a caramel apple,” she said. “Do we have time to run to that booth that was selling them?”

  “You bet,” he said.

  They cleared their plates and thanked the cooks for the delicious food, and then they walked through the midway to find the wooden stall that sold candy and caramel apples, along with bags of colorful cotton candy.

  “Oh gosh, I could go for a funnel cake, too,” she said.

  He looked at her. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “Sure,” she said, asking the attendant for a caramel apple rolled in peanuts. The attendant, one of his cousins named Mickey, offered to slice it for her and she accepted.

  “You’re just eating a lot of sugar suddenly.”

  She took the paper box with the cut apple in it and then blinked up at him in surprise. “Huh. I guess I am. I think it’s being around all this kind of junk food. I don’t normally eat like this. It all sounds really good to me.”

  “Well, you’re in the right place for junk food,” he said with a chuckle.

  He shared the tart and sweet apple with her, and then split a funnel cake topped with powdered sugar and fresh strawberries. After stopping at the trailer to wash up, they found their reserved seats in the big top with a few minutes to spare. The big top could hold several hundred people, and it was packed.

  The main lights went out and then a spotlight illuminated his father, who didn’t need a microphone to be heard in the crowd. His voice boomed throughout the tent as he used the traditional circus greeting that had started every performance for as long as his father had been ringmaster.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, new friends and old friends…welcome to the spectacle that is the amazing and astounding London Family Circus. We’ve got it all right here tonight! First up, my favorite, the great Russian brothers – The Asimovs.”

  The show was as amazing as Kelley expected, and a trip down memory lane, too. It was even more thrilling for him to watch Rhapsody’s reactions – her wide eyes and big smiles, her gasps and cheers. She was especially happy to watch the elephants as they paraded around the main ring with colorful headdresses and riders decked out in sequins. When the show was over, she leaned against his shoulder and hugged his arm.

  “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

  “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”

  She peeked up at him. “I’m glad you left because otherwise we wouldn’t have met, but still…this is amazing. I don’t think I would ever want to leave if this was home.”

  “We could join the circus if you’d like.”

  Her brows rose and then she smiled sweetly. “You really don’t want to, though, do you?”

  “I’d go wherever you wanted. You’re home for me, sweetheart. The location is just details.”

  Her eyes flashed briefly to the gold of her cat and he caught the scent of her arousal. He loved that he could affect her that way. His body responded instantly, his cock rubbing against his fly and making him stifle a groan.

  “I still want to watch the other show,” she murmured. “But I can’t wait to get back to the camper.”

  “Oh?” he teased. “I’m pretty tired myself. You know, from the long drive.”

  “Then I guess I’ll just have to think of a creative way to wake you up.”

  His mother joined them, resting her hands on the railing. “How’d you like the show?”

  Rhapsody winked at him and then turned her sweet smile to his mother. “It was so awesome! I can’t believe you get to do this for a living.”

  “It’s a lot of work,” Rowena said, “but doing the shows and making people happy make all that hard work worthwhile. I couldn’t imagine doing anything
else.”

  “What was your favorite part?” he asked Rhapsody.

  “The elephant parade! And the acrobats. Oh, and the clowns!”

  He laughed. “I think you liked it all.”

  “Oh yeah. Hey!” She waved at a male carrying a tray of cotton candy.

  “Are you still hungry for sweets?” he asked.

  “Definitely,” she said.

  A male, one of the memory’s young elephants named Percy, stopped and said hello. “What can I get for you two?” he asked.

  “Nothing for me,” Kelley said, “but give my sweetheart whatever she wants.”

  “One pink and one blue.”

  “They taste the same,” Kelley said.

  “Nuh uh,” she said. “Blue tastes like raspberry and pink tastes like strawberry.”

  “It’s just colored sugar,” Percy said, “but everyone always says the colors taste different.”

  “I had yellow cotton candy once that tasted like lemon,” Rowena said.

  “Oh,” Rhapsody said. “That sounds very cool. Do you have yellow?”

  Percy shook his head. “Sorry. Just the classic colors.”

  Rhapsody tore open one plastic bag and pulled a tuft of blue fluff out. She tickled it against Kelley’s nose and said, “Tell me that doesn’t smell like raspberries.”

  He took a bite of it and said, “You bet.”

  “Liar,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “But you’re just trying to make me happy, so I’ll let it go. We can’t have our first fight be about cotton candy. That’s absurd.”

  “It sure would be,” he said with a chuckle.

  Rowena said, “I need to get ready for the next show. Would you like to join us for smores’ and hand pies around the campfire afterward?”

  “What are hand pies?” Rhapsody asked in between bites of cotton candy.

  “Little hand-held pies we make with bread and different fillings. We have cast iron pie makers that we fill and put into the fire. They’re wonderful.”

  Rhapsody said, “Man that’s tempting, but maybe tomorrow night. It’s been a long day.”

  “I’ll bet,” Rowena said with a smile. “If I don’t see you later, I’ll see you at breakfast.”

  When they were alone, Kelley put his arm around Rhapsody’s shoulders and kissed her, tasting the sugar on her lips. “Do you want anything else?”

  She balled up one empty bag and opened the other. “Just you.” She gave him a sweet smile. “And maybe a soda and another caramel apple.”

  He laughed and waved one of his cousins who was carrying a tray of drinks. “Whatever you want, it’s yours.”

  “I’m so glad we came here,” she said.

  “Because of the sweets?”

  “No!” She nudged him with her shoulder and scoffed. “Because I feel like I know you a little better already. This place is amazing, and your family is great. No wonder you’re the wonderful person you are. I’m so lucky.”

  “I’m lucky, too, sweetheart. The luckiest guy in the world.”

  * * *

  When the second show was over, they waved to his parents and headed out the back of the big top and over to the camper. Rhapsody’s hand was tight in his as they walked.

  “It’s such a nice night,” she said. “This place is really magical.”

  “I think so, too. When I was a kid and I’d get to feeling kind of homesick and wanting to put down roots, my parents would take me out at night to show me the stars. My dad would say that the stars are the same everywhere, so you’re really home no matter where you are.”

  “That’s sweet. It’s funny to think that we were looking up at the same stars but worlds apart.”

  They reached the trailer and he opened the door for her, following after and locking it behind him.

  Rhapsody took his hand and led him to the bedroom, through the door that was narrow enough he had to turn sideways to get into it. She toed off her shoes and climbed onto the bed.

  “Can you even fit on this?” she asked.

  At most he was looking at a full-sized bed. He was fairly certain that his feet at least would be hanging off the end.

  “We’ll make it work.”

  “I know,” she said with a smile. “My sexy, tall mate.”

  He grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head, smiling in approval as she followed suit. Under her top, she wore a pink lace bra.

  She crooked her finger at him and he joined her, towering over her as she knelt on the bed. He cupped her face and brushed his lips over hers, thanking his lucky stars that he and Rhapsody had crossed paths.

  She sighed happily and opened her mouth, their tongues touching and tasting. She tasted like sugar, and he chuckled as he nipped her bottom lip. “You taste sweet.”

  She giggled and reached for the waistband of his jeans as he toed off his boots. She undid the button of his jeans and lowered the zipper, reaching her hand inside and cupping him. “I know you’re sweet tasting, too.”

  “Definitely not as sweet as you in this case,” he said, grasping the fastener on her bra and undoing it, stifling a groan at how good her hand felt on him. She released him long enough to rid herself of the bra, and before she could wiggle her hand back into the denim, he hooked his arm under her butt and laid her down on the bed, lowering his head and kissing her nipples. He licked and sucked on the tight little buds, enjoying the way she writhed under him, her hands twisting in his hair.

  He slid his fingers into her heat, lifting from her breasts as her back arched and she let out a deep moan. Sliding his fingers from her, he pressed them to her clit, rubbing it swiftly as he leaned forward and captured her lips with his. He ate her moans as he drove her to the edge of pleasure, his elephant trumpeting in his mind as she jerked from his mouth and sank her teeth into his shoulder to muffle her scream of pleasure. He shoved his jeans down his legs and drew her close, pushing inside her hot sheath. She gripped his length so perfectly that he could have come on the spot.

  “Fuck, sweetheart,” he groaned, clenching his teeth together.

  She released the hold on his shoulder and dropped her head back to the pillow, her eyes blazing bright gold and her fangs peeking from her parted lips. He grabbed the headboard with his free hand for leverage and began to fuck her with long, hard strokes. Their bodies moved together, her legs around his waist and her hands on his back, her nails digging into his flesh.

  She lifted one leg higher up his side and let out a cry, and he knew she was close. He stroked into her in time with the movements of his fingers on her clit, and as soon as she started to come, writhing under him and chanting his name, he followed her into bliss, his muscles pulling tight to his bones and his cock spasming so much that he was certain he wouldn’t have a drop of moisture left in his body.

  Careful not to crush her with his weight, he slipped his arms under her and rolled to his back, bringing her with him so her body splayed over him like a blanket.

  A purring, well-loved blanket.

  Chuckling at the thought, he brushed the hair from her face, tilted her chin and kissed her lips. Her skin was dewy and glowing, her eyes still the shiny gold of her cat, and nothing had ever felt as good to him as the way she felt when she came around his cock.

  “Love you,” he murmured.

  “I love you, too.”

  Chapter 12

  Rhapsody woke sprawled over Kelley just as she’d fallen asleep, the steady beat of his heart under her ear. He yawned and stretched, and she kissed his chest and then sat up, straddling him.

  “Good morning, gorgeous,” he said, giving her a sweet, crooked smile.

  “Morning.” Her stomach rumbled, and she laughed. “I’m starving!”

  “I heard,” he said, joining in the laughter. He checked the time on his phone and said, “Let’s clean up and go eat. I’m starving, too.”

  She climbed off the bed and walked out into the kitchen area where they were using the table to store their bags. She unzipped hers and pulled out what she n
eeded.

  Kelley joined her. “As much as I’d like to shower with you, the stall is so tiny that it would be impossible. So, you go first.”

  “Aw, too bad,” she said, rising onto her toes and kissing him. “I like showering with you.”

  “Me, too.”

  She grabbed her toiletry bag and hurried into the bathroom which, as Kelley had promised, was hardly big enough for her. The small room had a toilet and a shower stall.

  “There’s no sink,” she said.

  “You have to brush your teeth in the kitchen.”

  “I guess it’s good we’re only here for a week.”

  “At least we’re not living in tents,” he said, coming to the door of the bathroom and smiling. “When I was a kid there was a memory like ours that was nomadic, and they lived off the land entirely, tents and everything.”

  “You’re saying I should be thankful we’re even inside at all?”

  “Yep.”

  She rolled her eyes and closed the folding door, using the toilet and then turning on the shower, which spit and sputtered for several moments before finally working. The water heated fast, and she wasn’t sure how long it would last, so she washed her hair and body as quickly as she could so Kelley wouldn’t have to take a cold shower. She dried off and then wrapped the towel around her head. When she’d dressed, knocking both elbows into the walls and letting off a few curses, she opened the door and stepped out.

  “Are you okay?” Kelley asked.

  “Tight quarters. I don’t know how you’re going to manage, but good luck. I tried to leave hot water for you.”

  “This bathroom isn’t all that much smaller than the one in the trailer I grew up in. You get used to it.”

  “I like the big bathroom in our house.”

  He wiggled his brows. “Me too.”

  When her hair was dry, she applied some makeup and found her sandals buried in the bottom of the suitcase. Kelley showered and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. She noticed he was wearing work boots.

  “Should I put different shoes on?” She wiggled her painted toes in her strappy sandals.