by R. E. Butler
She rose to her knees and grasped the hem of her top as she eased away from the kiss. He watched her lift it over her head and drop it to the floor, leaving her clad in only her jeans and a lacy bra.
“Hold on,” he said as she reached for the bow between the cups. “Not here.”
He stood and lifted her into his arms, and she let out a soft squeak of surprise before laughing as he headed out of the living room. “Lead the way, sexy.”
“Our first time shouldn’t be on the couch.”
“Maybe the second time?”
He lowered her to the bed in the master bedroom. “I’ll be right back.”
He hurried from the room, leaving the towel on the floor, and picked up two candles and a book of matches from the counter. Returning, he set them on the nightstand and lit them. When he shook out the match, he looked at his mate, naked and stretched out on the bed, her features even more beautiful in the flickering candlelight.
His body, which had gone shamelessly hard the moment he’d woken up on the couch, hardened even further, a groan coming from deep within his chest. He grasped her crossed ankles and slowly uncrossed them, spreading her legs slowly to reveal what he’d most wanted to see. She bent her knees and reached for him, and he climbed between her spread thighs and kissed her.
Her body beckoned him, and he braced himself with one hand on the bed as he cupped her breast with the other, her nipple tightening as he rubbed his thumb over it. He tugged gently until she writhed under him with a soft moan, and then he played with the other nipple until she ran her toes along his calves and lifted her hips, brushing her heat along his cock.
He snarled and sucked on her tongue for a moment before he kissed down her jaw to her neck, finding his way to her breasts where he licked and sucked them to tight perfection as she fisted his hair and urged him on. Smiling to himself as she practically pushed him off her breasts and down her stomach, he licked his way to the apex of her thighs and wrapped his arms around her legs, holding her where he wanted her as he lowered his head.
He flicked her clit with his tongue, swiping it ever so lightly over the tight bud, teasing her for only a moment before he delved to her center and plunged his tongue into her. She arched up and he wiggled his tongue in her, feeling drunk on the sweet taste of her arousal. She gasped, her fingers twisting in his hair, and he growled as her pussy heated. He lifted his head and met her gaze; her eyes were glazed with pleasure, her lips parted as she panted for breath. He laid his tongue against her clit and growled, making his tongue vibrate. She let go of his hair and reached over her head, fisting the blankets as she moaned and thrashed under him.
She cried out his name as she came, her stomach fluttering and her legs tightening against him. He’d never seen a more beautiful sight.
Rising to his knees, he lifted her legs around himself and rolled her to her stomach, falling over top of her and spreading her thighs with his knees. She lifted her hips, looking at him over her shoulder as he grasped his cock and found her entrance, soaked with her pleasure. He plunged into her, sliding his hands under her body and cupping her breasts. Her nipples rubbed against his palms as he grasped the mounds, pulling away from her body before pushing back in again. She reached for him, curling her arm behind her to cup his head.
“Jack… oh, Jack,” she whispered.
He pistoned within her hot depths, loving the way their bodies came together with each thrust, her ass pillowing his hips as he fucked her hard and fast.
He slid a hand down her stomach to her clit, pressing his fingertips to the swollen bud.
“Fuck,” she groaned, spreading her legs a little farther.
“Come for me again,” he growled. “I want to feel you come on my cock.”
“Yes.” She punctuated the word with a moan that shivered all the way down his spine and lodged at the base of his cock. He played with her clit, fingering her in time to his thrusts, holding onto his beasts and his climax by a thread.
She bucked under him, her pussy locking down on his cock as she came, her cry of pleasure morphing into a moan that sent him over the edge. As his body spasmed and he came deep inside her, his fangs erupted and he sank them into her flesh, marking her as his. She hissed as he pulled them free, and he nicked his tongue and swiped his blood into the marks, which would ensure they healed quickly but scarred permanently.
Kissing the marks, and then down her back, he extracted himself from her snug pussy, and dropped to the bed next to her. She turned her head and brushed her hair from her face with a smile.
“Are you mine, Jack?”
“Forever, sweetheart. Are you mine?”
“Yes. Forever’s not long enough.” Her eyes went wide. “Oh shit, where’s my bag?”
He sat up as she hustled from the bed. “What’s the matter?”
“Hold on,” she called from the family room. He could hear her digging in her bag, and then she came back into the bedroom with her music workbook and a pencil, which was already furiously moving across the page. She climbed onto the bed and stretched out next to him, the pencil never stopping.
He rolled to his side and looked at the paper, which was illuminated by the candles. “Forever’s not long enough to hold you in my arms,” he read. “Are you writing a song?”
“You inspired me,” she said. “Give me a few minutes to get the words down, and then we have an appointment.”
He looked at her curiously. “An appointment?”
“For round two.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” he chuckled, “you have the best ideas.”
* * *
Three days passed as quickly as three hours in Jack’s opinion. He and Ivy had the best time, enjoying each other’s company in and out of the bedroom. He didn’t really want their time to end; he liked being away from everything with just the two of them, and he knew she felt the same way.
“Reality sucks,” she said as she carried her bag from the bedroom and set it by the door.
He laughed. “Oh?”
“Yeah. We were in our own little bubble here, and now we have to go back to reality. Back to the bar and the stage and, ugh, social media.”
He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “We can stay longer.”
“It’s tempting. It’s been amazing. But Holly needs us back there. Do you think anything happened between them while we were gone?”
“Maybe. You hope so, right?”
“Yeah.” She smiled sweetly. “I want to be able to talk to her about being fated mates. I don’t like keeping things from her, so I hope she’s gotten her head out of her butt about Vaughn while we were away.”
“I do, too, sweetheart. I believe it’ll happen between them, one way or another.”
She sighed and looked around the cabin. “Yeah. Can we come back here?”
“When?”
“I don’t know, but soon. It’s magical here. I think we could make this our getaway place. Plus you’ll need to shift from time to time, right?”
“Yep. I’d love to come back here with you.”
“Good.” She stared up at him, her eyes glittering with emotion. He could hear her heart beating faster as she stood before him in silence before finally whispering, “Jack, I love you.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart.” He cupped her face and kissed her. “Why did you whisper?”
She rested her hands on his hips and smiled. “It seemed like a momentous thing to say.”
“So you whispered?”
“Yeah. Nothing says ‘declaration of love’ like whispering the words.”
He laughed. “You’re precious.”
“Back to reality?” she asked.
“If we must.”
“We’ll just set a date to come back here. How’s a month sound?”
“Perfect.”
“And we should celebrate Valentine’s Day here, too. Just so you know, I hope you’re very romantic.”
“I’ll do my best.”
He opened the door
for her, and she picked up her bag and stepped out onto the porch. He joined her, closing and locking the door before placing the key under the terra-cotta planter. “Ready to go back to civilization?”
“Not remotely. But I’ve got a song to put to music, and some more videos to make.”
They got into the truck and he started the engine. “You’re feeling okay about everything?”
“Yeah. Getting away was the right choice. I needed time to come to terms with everything, and nearly losing you to a bear put things into perspective for me. Those assholes can be as jerky as they want to be. I don’t have to let it affect me, and they don’t deserve my tears or my thoughts. I’m beyond them because I’ve moved on with a wonderful guy.”
“You’re an amazing female, Ivy. I’m so glad you’re mine.”
“I’m glad, too. Whatever tomorrow brings, we’ve got each other, and that’s all that matters.”
He was a lucky, lucky male.
Chapter 13
Ivy stretched out next to Jack in her bedroom and watched him sleep. He was still the sexiest guy she’d ever met in her life, and she was so glad he was hers. She touched the mating mark on her neck, which had healed and left a scar behind that he said would tell everyone in NPC that she was mated. The term mated was still foreign to her, kind of caveman-ish but growing on her.
They’d been home from the cabin for two weeks. The whole time, she’d been feeling like something was different, but aside from becoming Jack’s mate in official terms, she was still her and he was still him. Something was nagging at the back of her mind, though she couldn’t really place it. She felt unsettled, especially at the bar.
At first she’d thought it had to do with how her former bandmates had come to gloat and then gone after her online. But after some careful consideration, she realized she didn’t care if they were successful. She was feeling pretty darn successful all on her own, and she didn’t need to do well publicly to show anyone she was okay. Her former bandmates hadn’t come back to the bar, and no one had attacked her online through vicious comments, so she was hopeful that she wouldn’t hear from them again. Even if she did, though, she knew it wouldn’t really matter; she’d found happiness with Jack and with her music, and no one would take that from her.
Her gaze roamed around the ceiling and the way the early morning sunshine created patterns through the blinds. As her mind wandered, she suddenly realized that it was the middle of January, and she was late.
Late late.
Sitting up, she grabbed her phone and opened the calendar, finding the date of her last period in December. Counting forward, she gasped as she realized she was two weeks late.
“Everything okay, sweetheart?” Jack asked, punctuating his question with a yawn.
“Yeah. I need to go to the pharmacy, though.”
He sat up abruptly with a concerned growl. She pressed her hand to his bare chest over his heart, feeling the rumble of his polar bear. She would never forget how his bear sounded when he was being protective. It was quickly becoming her favorite noise. The bear was the most vocal of his animals, but she’d occasionally heard the others, and she was looking forward to meeting them personally.
“Why? Are you okay?”
“I’m very okay. I’m late, though, and I think I might be pregnant.”
His eyes widened and then he pulled her close, his eyes going molten chocolate dusted with gold. “Really?”
“Maybe. I’m two weeks late. I could be wrong, but I should get a test and see.”
He kissed her so sweetly that it made her eyes sting with tears. “Oh, sweetheart, are you happy?”
She sniffled and smiled. “Of course! I might be carrying a little you inside me.”
“A little you and a little me.”
“Are you happy?”
“Are you kidding? I’m over the moon!” He slipped from the bed and grabbed his jeans, tugging them on. “Where’s the nearest pharmacy? I’ll pick one up for you.”
While he finished dressing, she gave him directions and told him which test to get. He gave her a quick kiss and rushed from the room, and she couldn’t help but laugh at how eager he was. She laid back with a sigh and put her hands on her stomach, wishing her parents were still alive so she could share the possibly wonderful news with them.
Jack returned a half hour later with a pregnancy test and a box of donuts.
“Donuts?” she asked as she took the test and headed to the bathroom.
“It seemed like a good way to celebrate. And if you’re not, then we’ll commiserate and eat donuts. So win-win.”
“A sugary win-win,” she said.
“I’ll be waiting,” he told her, sitting on the bed.
She wrinkled her nose as she shut the door. “You and your extra-good shifter hearing.”
He laughed.
“I know you heard me,” she retorted.
“So you want me to pretend I can’t hear well?”
“Yes! But only when I’m peeing.”
“I could leave.”
“No, that’s okay. Just act like you can’t hear everything I’m doing in here.”
There was silence and she grinned. He really was the sweetest guy.
She opened the test and read the directions, then used the toilet and set the cap on the test. After washing her hands, she grabbed her robe off the back of the door and joined Jack on the bed.
“How long do we need to wait?” he asked.
“Three minutes.”
He turned his wrist so she could see his watch as he set a timer, then kissed her temple and pulled her close. The minutes passed by quickly, and when the timer beeped, Jack hopped off the bed and practically ran to the bathroom. She followed and stood next to him, looking down at the test.
Clearly in the little window was the word ‘pregnant’.
Happy tears stung her eyes again, and she looked at Jack to see glistening tears in his eyes as well.
“Oh, sweetheart,” he said, pulling her close and kissing her. “I’m so happy for us.”
“Me, too,” she said, resting her head over his heart.
He swung her into his arms and she laughed as he carried her out of the bathroom and climbed onto the bed. “This calls for a celebration.”
“With the donuts?”
He tugged on the tie of her robe with a devilish smile. “Eventually.”
* * *
Ivy’s mind was a jumble of thoughts, all centering around the fact that she was pregnant and walking into a bar.
Jack stopped at the bottom step and faced her. “What’s wrong?”
She blinked in surprise. “You can tell something’s bothering me?”
He nodded and tapped the space over his heart. “I can feel it deep down because of our connection. I’m uneasy because you’re not happy.”
She cupped his face and ran her thumbs along the days’ worth of stubble on his chin. “I’m very happy. It’s just that I haven’t really felt right since we got back from the cabin. I thought it was because I enjoyed our time there so much, but I actually think it’s because I was starting to feel uncomfortable being in the bar.”
“Because you’re pregnant?”
“Yeah, I think so. I know it doesn’t matter right now because it’s so early, but in a few months, I’ll be showing and our baby will have ears. The first things our baby hears shouldn’t be the clinking of bottles and drunks cursing.”
He chuckled and slid his hands inside her coat to rest them on her hips. “What do you want to do?”
She exhaled. “You might think I’m crazy.”
“Never.”
“We should leave.”
“Leave?”
“We can’t talk about this out here,” she said, grasping his hand and hurrying back up the steps and into the apartment. Holly was already down in the bar getting ready for the night, so she and Jack were free to talk.
She sat on the couch and Jack joined her.
“Our baby is going to be di
fferent, right?”
“Yes. He or she will be half human and half shifter. There’s no way to know whether our baby will take more after you or me. We don’t know yet if the boys born to quads with human mothers will be able to shift or not. And it’s also possible that a child of ours could have pointed ears, especially if we have a girl who takes after me.”
“You don’t have pointed ears.”
“Only elves have pointed ears. There aren’t female shifters. One of the mates in NPC is half shifter, and she was born with pointed ears like a female elf. One of the quads, Arian, and his human mate had a little girl named Hope, and she didn’t have pointed ears. I’m just explaining that it’s possible that our baby could look entirely human or might have pointed ears. There’s just no way to know. Is that what you were worried about?”
He gave her hands a gentle squeeze and she smiled. “Yeah, a little.”
“Well, one of the quad’s mates, Dreama, is the daughter of Sandman, so she or her father might know of a midwife or doctor who knows about supernatural creatures and would be willing to help us. I’ll call her.”
Ivy blew out a breath, some of the tension leaving her.
“There’s something else, though,” he said, giving her an appraising look.
“Yeah. I don’t want to be here anymore.”
“Where?”
“In the bar. I’m only a little pregnant right now, but in a few months that’ll change. I can’t imagine being visibly pregnant and singing in the bar.”
“Momma-bear instincts are kicking in already, I think,” he said with an amused smile. “So what would you like to do about it?”
“I want to go to NPC to live.”
“What about Holly?”
Ivy shrugged. Her heart hurt a little at her train of thought, but she had to think of her baby. Growing up in a bar was no way to live. “I know NPC isn’t open until Christmas Eve morning, and that’s almost a year away. Holly has to make her own choices with Vaughn. I don’t want our baby to grow up here. I want him or her to be where your people are. I’ve never been there, but it already feels like home to me.”
