Silvertip Shifters Boxset Bks 1-4

by J. K Harper

  She nodded, floating herself over to the chair. The buoyant feeling inside her, she suddenly realized, was partially from just being here, around Beckett, but also partially from her dragon. Her dragon, who was strangely calm and quiet. Watchful, but peaceful inside Pix. “She's quiet right now,” she said out loud, pitching her voice so Beckett could hear her.

  He'd been heading toward her, carrying two glasses filled with dark gold liquid. “Who's quiet?” He lightly clunked the glasses onto the table, one in front of her. Mm, whiskey.

  “My dragon.” Pix felt the slight flap of dragon wings inside her as she said that, and the usual fire, but not the agitation that had been more her companion for years now since she’d decided to become restless Pix. She liked this new calm.

  “Hmm,” he said, returning to the stove to bring back two plates heaped with spaghetti, the tantalizing sauce, enormous meatballs, and a tiny side of salad each. But instead of asking more about her dragon, he just put the plate down for Pix. “Eat, beautiful. I want to see you appreciating my food.”

  Her first bite of the amazing pasta dish he'd prepared for her made her happily moan in a way that did interesting things to Beckett's expression. "You definitely should open a restaurant. But you definitely have to be in the back of the house. You'd need someone much more cheerful for the front of the house. Although," she paused to take another big bite, closing her eyes as she savored every last taste sensation of the amazing sauce and cheese combination he'd put on it, "this food is so good, customers might forgive you for being surly."

  When she opened her eyes, Beckett was staring at her, the light in his eyes more pronounced. She swallowed a sip of the whiskey, then demanded, "What? Do I have spaghetti sauce streaks on my face?"

  He huffed a laugh. “I like that you can eat food in front of me and not care what you look like. Most girls aren't like that."

  She quickly shot back, "As you may have noticed, I'm not most girls. In fact, I really am different in that I have a dragon in me. I bet you don't have any of those living here in Deep Hollow."

  To her surprise, he said, "Actually, we do have one. If you think I'm surly, you should meet him. I've got nothing on his cranky old ass. He keeps to himself more than I do. But yeah, otherwise, no. Dragons seem to favor cities. Like Boston."

  Like Boston. The city she had been born into, and the city she’d finally left. Cocking her head, she carefully watched him over the rim of her glass as he dug into his own meal. “I know I told you I was on vacation. I am. Sort of.” She took another bite of food and swallowed. “But I'm also actually on a journey of sorts.”

  He contemplated that for a moment, then nodded. Ooh, she really wanted to reach out and touch the sexy stubble on his face. “You know who you are, but you're still trying to figure out where you need to be. That right?"

  She took a deep breath. "Yes. Part of why I didn't tell you about my dragon is because she's really wild. Hard to control sometimes." Her dragon smacked her wings against Pix's mind and screamed. She winced slightly. "Like that. She's pitching a fit inside me right now.”

  “Why does she do that?" He sounded genuinely curious.

  Pix swirled some spaghetti strands around her fork. “I don't really know. Growing up, I never felt like I fit in my own skin. I mean, I mostly do. I am happy with who I am. I wasn't lying when I told you you that. Since dragons are almost impossible to scent, I just stopped telling anyone that I'm a dragon shifter. But my dragon pushes back at me sometimes. She’s strong. Really strong.”

  “That sounds familiar.” Beckett took a slug of the whiskey, uttered a satisfied sound, then gestured at her fork. “Keep eating. I don't want you to do all the talking and not enjoy my best easy dish.”

  Pix started to shake her head, meaning to protest, but he nodded more firmly at her food. “Let's enjoy our dinner, Pix.” He sipped the whiskey, the color of his eyes matching the liquid in the glass. “I want you to have your energy.”

  She coughed, carefully swallowed her next bite, and gave him a look from under her lashes. “Mr. North, are you planning to seduce me?” Despite her light tone, she felt the sweet heaviness move through her limbs, pool into a flash of desire between her legs.

  He slowly smiled back in a Cheshire grin sort of way. “Anything's possible, beautiful.”

  The temperature in the room raced up. She forced herself to focus on the food—which was easy to do, really—and the moment. As they relaxed into more casual conversation, Pix felt her body humming with awareness. But it was an easy, light awareness, not the tenseness she often experienced with her dragon. Letting laughter bubble up out of her as easily as breathing, she let herself enjoy this dinner with Beckett just as she'd enjoyed skiing with him.

  Eventually, the dishes were carried back to the sink and Pix got a little tour of Beckett's house. The sitting room in particular was her favorite. Huge windows ran from the ceiling to the floor, showcasing a dark sky filled with stars and the rounded tops of the pine trees outside still covered in fluffy snow. The ceiling by the window domed up, creating its own nook complete with a wide, long buttery leather couch, a few plush easy chairs, standing lamps that cast a soft golden glow, and a fireplace that was ridiculous. “Tiny fireplace you've got there,” she observed in a droll tone, craning her head to see the top of the stonework that made it up, which towered over her head by an easy ten feet.

  Beckett laughed again, but this time there was a small edge to it that she caught immediately. She glanced at him, feeling a skitter of tension roll up her spine as well. He looked at her for a long moment, his expression once again hard to read. Finally, “Come outside with me, Pix,” he said in a low voice, extending a hand toward her. “I need to show you something.”

  She raised her eyebrows but didn't hesitate. Putting her hand in his, she let him lead her outside. As they left the house, the sharp cold slapped against her face. He stepped out onto his wraparound deck, then turned around so he faced her, letting her hand slide away from his. His expression had gotten more intense. More wild.

  Suddenly, she knew exactly what he planned to do. “Beckett, you don't have to show me.” Her voice was quiet but steady as she looked at the sexy mountain man, the surly man people in town sometimes skirted with a wide berth, the man who'd already slid into her heart. “I can handle your bear.”

  He shook his head as he went down the stairs. “I need you to see all of me, Pix. You need to know my bear, too. If he can't handle you, I'll know right away. He won't hurt you,” Beckett added with a ferocity that glowed in his eyes.

  “I know he won't. Trust me, he can't.” Her soft voice sounded loud in the quiet of the night.

  Beckett nodded, then closed his eyes. With an enormous sigh, he abruptly let the shift drop over him, letting his bear burst out of him while Pix watched, unmoving. Oh, he was enormous. And stunning. He had a glorious golden brown hide, the huge hump of his shoulders indicating his power and strength. Quietly, calmly, he stood in the driveway, dark eyes trained on Pix. Opening his mouth, he bellowed out a call that echoed through the woods, shaking snow down from trees and probably freezing the blood of tiny animals burrowed into their little winter dens. His huge claws clicked on the driveway when he slowly backed up, his head swinging down, snorting at Pix.

  She smiled and walked down the steps. Straight for him. “You don't scare me, Beckett North. Your bear is stunning. Strong, and beautiful”—his outraged snort at that made her chuckle—“and fierce and protective.” That part she said with sheer admiration. “But trust me,” she added softly, still slowly walking toward him before she pulled up with a good amount of space still between them. “I can handle you. I just hope you can handle me.”

  Pix opened her mind and let her eager dragon flood through it, take over. She burst out of Pix's skin with a bellowing roar of excitement, crying out to the quiet forest that she was here. Pix spread her enormous silver wings, luxuriating in the feel of them. The freedom. Eagerly, she turned her head. There was space here.
So much space. She could fly, and dive, and hunt, and play out here over these mountains. She could swoop freely above them, claiming them as her own. Her own place.

  Opening her mouth, she shrieked out a wild burst of elation, calling out again and again, flapping her wings and creating mighty downdrafts of air.

  A bellowing cry answered her, cutting her short. She swung around her head, and looked at him. At Beckett. The huge bear, standing on his hind legs, roaring out his own call. His own claim to these woods. His own strength and vitality.

  Calling out his invitation to share the mountain, the forest, his home—with her. Pix flung her head back, letting the chilly air ripple over her silver hide with a delightful sensation of aliveness. She cried out in answer, her bugle ringing through the forest, answered by his own roaring bellow. Their voices mingled, together.

  Beckett was inviting her to be here. To stay here with him. Accepting her into his home.

  Yes. Oh, yes.

  After one last bellow, Pix curled in on herself, flowing back down into her human form. She stood on her two human feet, utterly naked and vulnerable in front of him. In half a heartbeat, Beckett shifted from his bear back to human, striding toward her on his long, strong legs. Also wonderfully, gorgeously naked. He scooped her up into those arms she'd imagined holding her and cradled her close to his broad chest as he leapt up the stairs two at a time, back into the house.

  “Yes,” he growled with soft, insistent intensity against her hair as he carried her toward the sitting room and that giant, soft leather couch. “Yes, my beautiful Pix. You can handle me. Now, let's get to know each other even better.”

  11

  Between her legs, the delicious pressure ached, feeling full to bursting as Beckett gently set her down, his hands lingering on her body. He was completely silent, his eyes drinking her in. She was so keenly attuned to his presence she could sense his undeniable need as loudly as if he were yelling it.

  He pulled in his breath, then breathed out her name in a reverent whisper. “Pix.” The intensity in his eyes touched Pix on an equally deep level. Her dragon stared back at Beckett through Pix's eyes with an avid, bright hunger. With acceptance, excitement, joy. Pausing only for a second, Pix let go. She let her dragon lead this most instinctual of dances.

  “Oh, yes,” she breathed back, nodding her head once. “Beckett. Please.”

  As a groan spilled out of her huge, sexy bear’s mouth, he crushed her to him in an embrace that tangled their lips and tongues into an erotic dance. Pix felt electric tingles shiver up and down her limbs as Beckett's mouth descended on hers, demanding an entrance she eagerly granted. His wild, purely masculine scent catapulted her senses into overdrive. She moaned in helpless bliss as his tongue explored her, her legs shaking as her dragon flooded her in a delighted response to the sexy bear shifter ravishing the hell out of her.

  Beckett slid one large hand down her back, cupping her ass and squeezing. She gasped, letting her wild dragon side take over, guiding her movements with a sensuous thrill. He tilted his head forward and lightly bit at her neck, his teeth skimming over her skin and sending more jolts of desire skittering through her.

  “Oh, fuck yeah, Pix. I like it when you make noises like that. I had a feeling you might make some interesting, sexy sounds.” His voice rumbled against her throat, the sound of it seeming to vibrate through her.

  “Did you now?” Her voice came out as a jagged whisper. Thinking wasn’t happening now. Sensation and being purely in the moment were her top priorities.

  “Hell, yeah. Ever since the moment you threw your drink all over me at the bar.”

  Her eruption of giggles at his words stopped quickly when his lips traveled up her neck, slowly exploring. Each tiny kiss, each small nibble, caused more of the sweet, almost unbearably pleasurable sensation to ripple along her skin. She'd never before realized her neck was so sensitive. When Beckett's mouth found her ear and gently played with it, the exquisite sensation made her tremble in his arms. Quivering desire pulsed between her legs with such strength she thought she might come right there. That would be fine. So fine. So damned good.

  “Pix,” he murmured, sounding almost awed. “I fuckin’ love the way you respond to me.” He growled those words, pulling her tightly against him. “Sweet woman,” he groaned, his entire body taut against her. “Sweet, sexy, powerful dragon,” he whispered, tracing the words on her skin with his lips.

  She let her head loll back as Beckett kissed her all over, the feeling of it like being set aflame in the best way possible. The huge, hard length of his dick pressed into her thigh. She let expectant shivers rattle up and down her spine, whimpering a bit from her sheer need for this man. A wave of lust rolled through her, seeming to melt her bones, her mind, her entire self into a heated coil of pure sensation.

  Still trembling, she felt emotion that was more than just lust rocking her entire body. Oh, this man. This sexy-ass bear shifter. This man she'd just barely met but who had already seen right into her soul. Who'd greeted her dragon with an equal strength.

  “Beckett,” she whispered, watching his eyes light to the bright amber shade of his bear. This impressive, stunning man she was about to get very naked with. With her breath catching in her throat, she rubbed her hands up his huge arms. He shivered in response, making her smile with pure female satisfaction. He could hold her so easily, keep her safe in those huge arms. She lightly ran her fingers up to his shoulders, experimentally squeezing. An equally satisfied male groan told her how much he enjoyed it when she did that.

  “Sexy man.” She whispered the words, watching him closely as she let her hand travel up to his neck, curving around one side of it. His pulse jumped under her touch. “I need to feel you right against me. Just like this.” She pushed herself up against him, nestling into him as hard as she could. They both gasped from the feel of it.

  Beckett gently pushed on her until she let herself lightly tumble into a lying down position onto the couch. He leaned on his arms above her, looking into her eyes with a savage urgency she knew her own eyes matched. Silence wrapped around them the entire time, although Pix's heart beat so loudly she was positive he had to hear it.

  “Pix,” he finally murmured.

  “Mm-hmm?” She said it breathlessly, wondering if her heart might not bang its way out of her chest.

  He groaned, the rich sound of it stealing her breath. “I can't hold back anymore.”

  She arched herself into him, her desperate need for his touch driving her every word. “Then don't. Don't hold back with me, Beckett. I can take everything you've got. I'm strong enough for you. And you're strong enough for me.”

  As he let another small groan ripple out, Beckett kissed her shoulder, then gently bit it with his teeth. Pix gasped, instantly flooded with a wet heat between her legs, her core pulsing with her desire. Beckett gazed down at her breasts. Muttering a low, “Fuck, you're beautiful,” he reached down to cup one of them in his hand.

  Pix uttered a wordless cry as her nipple stiffened just from the touch of his fingers. Swirls of hot sensation made the nipple tighten even more as he began to play with it.

  “Pix, my beautiful, powerful woman,” he muttered. She closed her eyes, spinning in the sensations his light touch caused. “Look at me,” he suddenly demanded.

  She opened her eyes, feeling her dragon cascade fire throughout her body.

  “Too much, too soon?” He swirled a finger around her other nipple, drawing more gasps from her.

  “No. It’s perfect,” she gasped. “I want more. Much more.” She reached up her arms to him, pulling him down to her for another long, deep kiss.

  Beckett tasted just like his scent: wild bear, deep forest, luscious and powerful and hers. All hers. His hands explored her body, one lingering on her breasts, exploring first one, then the other. His other hand traveled down her hip, tracing her leg. He slowly swirled his fingers, heating small infernos under her skin and pulling more small cries from her throat.

&
nbsp; Mine, she thought in a firm rush of possessiveness. Her dragon roared in agreement. He is mine. My mate.

  12

  Beckett pulled back to look at Pix with an intensity she felt dive deep into her soul. “Beckett,” she said, her voice low and needy. Reaching her hand toward him, she dragged her fingers down his sculpted chest, which made him gasp. In a low, urgent voice, she said, “I want you. Right now. Don't you dare hold back with me.”

  With a sharp inhale, he slowly grinned. It was purely devilish, with a hint of worship in it that made her heart explode with desire and joy. Abruptly, he stood up on the couch, putting his legs on either side of Pix's body. “Anything you say, my sexy, stunning woman.”

  Oh, holy wow, she thought as she stared up at Beckett standing naked above her in all of his glorious maleness. Her brain completely stuttered to a halt at the sight of his huge, strong legs, his chest covered with rippling muscles, and that gorgeously huge part of him she was suddenly desperate to touch. Reaching out to him, struggling to sit up, a tiny gasp tore out of her throat when Beckett suddenly jumped back down to stretch his body along hers. His hard dick pressed up against her inner thighs, which she parted with a needy moan. But Beckett shook his head at her, letting just a touch of that teasing grin still play at his lips.

  “No. Let me lead you now.” His voice tipped at the edge of control.

  Oh, yes. With a quick nod, she eagerly waited for his next move.

  Beckett caught both her hands and pulled them over her head, where he lightly held them together. Pix gave a token struggle to test his strength, then another. He tightened his grasp in small increments, still watching her carefully despite the roiling need she saw in his eyes. But she let a pleased smile linger on her face so he knew how she felt about being held down by him.

  She loved it. She wanted nothing more than to let him claim her in a way she'd never before allowed. Never before had known she wanted. She’d never wanted a man to control her—but Beckett North, her mate, was the sole exception. She absolutely wanted him to hold her, to possess and cherish her, in a way she’d never thought she would.