“Well, maybe,” he said, then gently pushed her towards the bathroom. “Go try it on.”
Once in the bathroom, she opened the box and pulled back the tissue paper, gasping when she saw the shiny black silk glimmering in the light. When she pulled the negligee out of the box, she couldn’t help but smile; it was perfect for her, would show just the right amount of skin while still leaving something to the imagination. Sliding out of her clothes, she pulled it over her head and looked at herself in the mirror, pleased with what she saw.
Pushing aside the nerves that suddenly sprang to life, she walked to the door and opened it. Justin was standing across the room in only his pants, his other clothes draped across a chair. When he saw her, he growled in appreciation, then let his eyes roam over her body, causing a familiar tingle to begin in her middle and spread through her body.
His eyes full of desire, he said, “Come here.”
She stood where she was and let her eyes roam over his body, then crossed the room and ran her hands up and down his bare torso, loving the way his muscles reacted to her touch. When a purr of appreciation escaped her lips, Justin chuckled then tipped her chin up, so that their eyes met.
“You’re so beautiful, a temptress in silk and lace,” he said, running his hands up and down her back until she was covered in goosebumps.
Feeling emboldened, Annabelle reached for Justin’s belt and unhooked it, a wave of desire rushing through her when she realized just how aroused he was. When she freed him from his pants and took him in her hands, he groaned with pleasure and gripped her shoulders. Sinking to her knees, she stripped off his pants, then ran her hands up and down his legs.
Justin was growling deep in his throat, anticipation making the blood rush through his veins, each touch of Annabelle’s hands making the fire inside him burn hotter. When she took him in her mouth, the growl turned into a purr, each stroke of her mouth bringing him pleasure like nothing he’d ever experienced before. When he threaded his hands into her hair and thrust his hips, Annabelle felt a rush of desire flood her, the knowledge that she could bring him such pleasure only increasing her desire.
Justin was close to climax, so he pulled her to her feet, unwilling to let go that soon. “That felt wonderful, but I think it’s your turn,” he said, picking her up and carrying her to the bed.
He laid her on the bed, then walked around the end of the bed and knelt between her legs. The silk gown was covering her legs, so he slowly began sliding it up, revealing her legs inch by inch, until it was bunched just below her hips. Unable to help herself, she spread her legs, the thumping in her core so strong, she was sure that if he didn’t touch her soon, she’d lose her mind.
Justin couldn’t resist her invitation, so he slid his hand up between her legs, pleased to find the moisture dripping out of her, he then slid one finger inside her and buried it deep. Annabelle was instantly on fire, the pleasure washing over her and stealing her breath, but then he dipped his head down and ran his tongue over her swollen nub releasing a wave of pleasure unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.
Her orgasm came quickly, a rush of pleasure so intense she cried out his name and dug her nails into his back, which only seemed to please Justin all that much more. As her body began to calm, he came up on his knees and pushed the gown over her head, then clamped his mouth over one of her breasts, nipping and biting at her swollen nipples until she was again writhing under him.
When he filled her in one hard thrust, she cried out his name and wrapped her legs around him. Thrust after thrust of his hips brought the pleasure rushing through her, building until she knew that another explosion wasn’t far away. She dug her nails into Justin’s shoulders and held on, the waves of pleasure increasing steadily until the feel of Justin’s orgasm sent her over the edge as he jumped and pulsed inside her.
Spent they lay together on the bed, a tangle of limbs, their hearts still racing. As she lay there listening to Justin’s heartbeat in her ear, the heady smell of the flowers and the gentle light of the candles made everything seem perfect as she knew that they’d had the night she’d so desperately wanted. There was only one thing missing, but almost as if he’d read her mind, Justin leaned up on one elbow and looked down at her.
“Annabelle, I know we haven’t known each other that long, but I think I’m in love with you,” he said, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “Is there any chance you might feel the same way?”
Annabelle couldn’t help the tears that sprang to her eyes. “I love you too, Justin; I think I have since that day at the barn.”
Chapter 16
***Justin***
The weekend flew by in a haze of passion and pleasure since Joslin and Penny had enough distractions to keep them out of their hair; they met for dinner but saw little of the pair the rest of the weekend. Justin and Annabelle spent their time exploring the forest around town, hiking and picnicking then returning to the room and falling into the big bed, surfacing only for dinner with their siblings.
By the time they got back to town Sunday night, they were all exhausted but happy, and although he hated to see it end, Justin knew that he needed to get home. Chloe would be waiting for him there, and there was the issue of the wolf shifters to deal with. His family needed to know what had happened, and if he was lucky, his mother might be able to figure out who they were.
He had nothing more than a name, but she had extensive contacts in the shifter world, so if anyone could figure it out, she could. Knowing who his enemy was could go a long way toward helping him beat the shifter who was challenging him for the family’s territory and livelihood. If he was lucky, he’d have some time to prepare for what was to come; there was still a lot of snow in the mountains, but that was no guarantee that the wolf shifters would wait.
When they got to Annabelle’s, he carried her luggage to the front door but didn’t go in. Standing with her in his arms, he knew that he couldn’t wait any longer to tell her the truth. “Let’s have dinner together tomorrow night,” he suggested, “I’ll call you at lunch, and we can make plans.”
“That sounds nice,” Annabelle said, resting her head against his chest and listening to his heartbeat, wishing that he didn’t have to go home, but knowing that Chloe was waiting for him. “You’d better get home to Chloe; she probably misses you.”
“I don’t want to go, but I better,” he said, giving her a kiss before opening the door for her and watching until she was safely inside.
When he walked through the door of the ranch house, he knew immediately that something was wrong. Everyone was gathered in the kitchen, and from the raised voices he could tell that they were having an intense discussion: never a good sign. When he walked into the kitchen, he was surprised to see all his brothers there gathered around the table.
Silence fell over the room when they saw him, his mother broke it, “Your brothers have been up to the high country. I sent them up there to check on the snowpack.”
“We found new wolf tracks; looks like a group of at least four but there could be more,” Steve said, “They made it as far as the top of the pass, then it looks like they turned back. We’ve been trying to decide what to do: go after them or wait for them on this side of the mountain.”
Justin sighed; he’d hoped that they’d have some more time to prepare, but clearly, the meeting in Breckenridge had stirred things up. “I’d better tell you what happened in Breckenridge,” he said, sitting down at the table.
Half an hour later, they’d come up with a plan to send rotating groups of shifters to the top of the pass to try and intercept the wolf shifters. There were only a few places where they could cross with the amount of snow that was left so it would be easy to spot them. Justin hoped that by the time they came, he’d know who he was dealing with and would have an idea what was fueling the need for revenge.
He stayed in the kitchen with his mother as everyone filed out of the house, his mind was so crowded with thoughts of Annabelle and the shifters that h
e knew it would be hours before he could sleep. The feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong wouldn’t leave him, and he was frightened that his time with Annabelle was going to come to an end and soon. That thought was more upsetting than the thought of facing the wolf shifters, who had nothing but the destruction of his family on their minds.
His mother, sensing his mood, came over and sat down next to him. “You’ve got something on your mind, and I think I know what it is,” she said. “You haven’t told Annabelle the truth yet, have you?”
“I just can’t find the words. I’m scared she’ll take it badly, that she’ll walk away from me in disgust or disbelief,” he finally said, after a long pause. Then when he saw the look on his mother’s face, added, “I’m going to tell her tomorrow night.”
His mother nodded her head. “It’s for the best, Justin; you can’t go on hiding this from her, especially with the threat we’re under. You have to warn her. I don’t think they’ll come after her since she’s in town, but she was with you, and that makes her vulnerable.”
“Do you think I haven’t thought about that? But telling her isn’t going to make that go away,” Justin said, knowing he was just making excuses.
“But it is going to make things right between you. I’ve gotten to know Annabelle over the last few months, and I think she’ll eventually understand. I’ll be honest with you; I was against this relationship in the beginning, but I can see how much you two love each other and I think you owe it to that love to tell her. It’s the only way it will last,” his mother said, then got to her feet. “I’m going to bed; I’ll start making some calls in the morning and see if I can find out who we’re dealing with. You should get some sleep too; brooding isn’t going to make what you have to do any easier.
***Annabelle***
When the bell rang at the end of the school day, Annabelle looked up at the clock, shocked. The day had flown by, and only now did she realize that she hadn’t heard from Justin. Her lunch hour had been monopolized by a parent who was sure that their child was gifted and needed special classes, classes the school didn’t offer. Then the afternoon had been a difficult one; the kids, distracted by the warm weather and sunshine, had been difficult to keep on task.
As she walked home, she considered stopping by his house but decided against it and instead headed straight home, assuming that she’d hear from him soon. Chloe had been in class, as usual, this morning, and had peppered her with questions about the weekend but hadn’t mentioned anything about her dad, so she had to assume that everything was fine.
But as afternoon turned into evening, she began to worry; it wasn’t like Justin not to call her when he’d said he would. It was doubly frustrating because she’d made her mind up the night before that she was going to tell him at dinner that night, that the time had come to test the love they had for each other. She knew that it was a long shot that he’d understand what she was going to tell him, that he wasn’t going to turn away from her in either disbelief or revulsion, but she couldn’t wait any longer to find out.
She’d told Joslin her plans and asked her to disappear for the evening, but now she wished that her sister was there, if only to keep her distracted. Anxiously, she paced around the house, cooked a dinner she wasn’t going to eat, and tried Justin’s phone over and over only to have it ring and ring. When Joslin finally came home hours later, it was to find Annabelle practically in tears.
“What happened? What did he say when you told him?” she asked, putting her arm around Annabelle, who was so relieved to see Joslin she couldn’t speak for a second.
“I didn’t tell him. I haven’t heard from him all day; he’s not answering his phone, and neither is Penny,” she said, the tears streaming down her cheeks.
This wasn’t the answer Joslin expected. “Well, maybe they had a family emergency,” she said, wondering if she should use her powers, something Annabelle had made off limits while she was in town. “Annabelle, I think this might be one of those times when it would be okay to use our powers.”
Annabelle nodded her head; she’d been so close to doing just that several times that evening but stopped herself. “I guess that would be okay,” she said, taking down the walls she’d put up to block her powers as Joslin’s flared, filling the room with energy.
The first thing she felt was a feeling of impending doom, quickly followed by the sense that Justin was in trouble. Gasping, she turned to Joslin, whose face had gone white. “We have to find Penny,” Joslin said, getting to her feet and pulling Annabelle to hers.
“What did you feel? Did you see something?” Annabelle asked, following Joslin to the front hall.
“I’m not sure, but Justin’s in trouble; get your keys and put on a jacket,” Joslin said, grabbing her own jacket and heading out the front door.
It took Annabelle only a second to absorb what her sister had said, then she grabbed her keys and was out the front door. It only took them a few seconds to get to Penny’s, as they’d all begun to call the family home in town, and to their relief, there was a light on in the kitchen. When the truck came to a screeching halt in front of house, Annabelle jumped out and headed up the front walk, then banged loudly on the front door.
Now that she’d let her power loose, she knew that Justin was in trouble, but the first thing she thought when Penny opened the door was that something was different about her friend. Thanks to her powers, she could sense something different, something that spoke of magic, but she pushed the thought away when another powerful wave of dread spread through her.
“Where’s Justin? I need to see him,” she said, offering no other explanation.
Penny took one look at Annabelle and began to worry, knowing that Justin had been on a scouting mission that day just as she had. He’d been in the high mountains miles from where she’d been, and instead of going to the ranch, she’d come straight to town to check on Annabelle like Justin had asked her to that morning. She’d just been plugging in her phone to call Annabelle when she’d shown up at the door.
“I don’t know where he is. I’ve been gone all day, and my phone died. What’s wrong?”
Annabelle’s heart sank; she’d been hoping to hear that Justin was at the ranch, that he was just fine. “I’m not sure, it’s... um... just a feeling I have, and he’s not answering his phone. He said that he’d call me, and he never did; that’s not like him; he never misses a call,” Annabelle said, hoping Penny wouldn’t pursue the part about her feeling that Justin was in trouble, knowing she couldn’t explain any better than that.
“I’m sure he’s fine; he had something he needed to take care of at the summer ranch, something probably held him up, and he’ll call soon,” Penny said, trying to sound convincing, but just as the last word came out of her mouth, a searing pain ripped through her middle, and she doubled up in pain.
Chapter 17
***Justin***
The wolf came out of nowhere, knocked him off his feet and sent him tumbling. The burning in his leg told him that either his claws or his teeth had done some damage, but he sprang back to his feet and faced his attacker, his body already healing the gash in his leg. He didn’t recognize the wolf staring at him with glowing hazel eyes, knew instantly that it wasn’t the leader, but that didn’t make him any less dangerous.
They circled each other, Justin trying to buy enough time for his body to heal, the wolf a bit wary of the huge mountain lion facing him with eyes so green they glowed in the moonlight. He’d never faced an opponent this strong and suddenly wished he’d listened to the pack leader and gone back for him, but he was here now and would fight to the death if necessary.
When Justin sprang, he knew that he had the advantage over the smaller wolf, who was forced onto his back from the force of Justin’s body. In only seconds, Justin had his teeth against his neck, but before he could close his powerful jaws, another wolf slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. A bit stunned but unharmed, he sprang to his feet, letting out a cry of anger
; he looked from one wolf to the other, instantly recognizing the leader.
Their eyes locked and Justin again sensed the hate and anger seeping out of the wolf, that need for retribution that fueled him, making him stronger. He thought he was ready when they attacked, but even with all his strength, he was no match for the two of them and in only seconds he lay on the ground, a gash in his belly that burned like he’d been set on fire. As he lay bleeding, the wolves looking down at him, his blood dripping from their teeth; all he could think about was Annabelle and what wasn’t going to be.
He closed his eyes and brought her memory to the surface, wanting his last thoughts to be about her, but the final blow didn’t come, so he opened his eyes. The shifters had changed back into their human form. “If I had even a little bit of kindness in my heart, I’d finish you off right now, but I don’t, not for you, so I’m going to let you die a slow painful death,” he said, then changed back into a wolf and loped off into the forest without a backward glance at Justin.
The pain in his belly had faded a bit, but he knew that the wound was bad, that his only hope was to find help. But when he tried to signal his brothers, the effort made the pain in his gut unbearable, and he blacked out for a minute. When he came to again, he knew that the only way he was going to get help was to find it himself, so he got slowly to his feet and began the long trip down the mountain. If he was lucky, he’d run into someone before he got far, but howling in the distance and the sound of a mountain lion’s cry told him that he wasn’t the only one who’d been fooled by the wolves.
***Annabelle***
Annabelle and Joslin were instantly at Penny’s side; they helped her to the couch and sat her down. After only a few minutes, the pain seemed to ease, but Penny was panting and white as a sheet. “Penny what’s wrong? Do we need to take you to the doctor?” Joslin asked, concern on her face, her powers flaring.
Fairplay Shifters Boxset Page 10
