The Apex Shifter Complete Set: Books 1 - 3

by Emilia Hartley

  Felicity reined herself in. Taking a breath, she reached down and pulled a beer out of the case beneath her stilettos. Thorn took it carefully, his eyes on hers.

  “I don’t know how bear shifters work things out. Cats arrange territories to avoid infanticide. We have for generations. Lands are kept for maturing shifters, in trusts, all over the world. We’ve understood human encroachment would make things difficult, unless we set this up. Despite our darkest instincts, we no longer kill our babies over mates and territory. I don’t know if bear shifters do the same, I’m not a bear.”

  Thorn shrugged. “I’m a bear, and I don’t even know.”

  Her eyes stole around the room. Items were broken, the coffee maker carafe, the microwave door, a crack snaked through the kitchen window, the fridge door was dented, the linoleum bore scores of claw marks. While she didn’t know what this dump looked like before, it had been trashed. She had no doubt Thorn was being called out. She pushed the folder over to him. He picked it up and read.

  Felicity watched his feelings play over his handsome face. Tense, hot eyes followed by a pulling down of his features; then knitted brows. The file was thin, but it seemed to run Thorn through an emotional gamut.

  “Why now?” he whispered, not looking at her. “After all this time.”

  “How long did it take until those deeds caught up with you?” she asked. Felicity moved carefully, ready to set the hook. “How old were you when that lawyer showed up?”

  Thorn closed his eyes. “About fourteen, I think.”

  “So ten years after your mother died.”

  “Maybe bears are just slow.”

  “Maybe.”

  She couldn’t read his expression, but his eyes remained closed. Her heart went out to him as she saw the boy who was left alone in the world. Her hand reached over and took his of its own accord. But no, stay steady, she told herself. She wasn’t here out of kindness or pity.

  “He tried to kill me when I was just little,” Thorn said, sitting very still. “He wanted my mother, my range. He would kill a little kid for that? He still wants to kill me. What kind of motherfucker is this?”

  Motherfucker. The word jolted Felicity a little with its offhanded accuracy. She didn’t know if the bear shifter would fly into a rage or break down in tears. He surprised her by maintaining his stillness, except for opening his eyes and his beer. Long moments passed before he knocked it back.

  That’s it, she thought, a little mental lubrication would make this go down easier.

  Thorn crushed the can, tossed it across the trailer. It landed in the kitchen recycling can. She handed him another. He emptied it as quickly as the first.

  “If it’s land he’s after, there’s an easy way to send him packing,” Felicity said quietly.

  Thorn made another basket with the empty. His face went placid. “Yeah. The deeds are easily transferrable. I could just sign them over to someone.”

  His words startled her. Thorn was definitely smarter than he let on. Hopefully not too much smarter. “That might be the easiest way, until you can sort this out.”

  “If I signed them over to you, it might put your life in danger.”

  Holy shit, was he actually offering the thing she came to trick him out of? “I would take that risk.”

  “That just makes me feel all the worse for hurting you, even if it is this evil motherfucker’s fault.”

  God, he sounded so sincere. Could it be true that he hadn’t boinked the bartender, to use his words? Either way, she had to stay the course. “I don’t want to talk about that.”

  She handed him another beer. His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t speak until the beer was gone.

  “Will you let me sign over the deeds?” Thorn looked at the stains on his carpet. “I don’t have anyone else I trust.”

  Ouch, that hit a little too close to home. No, he absolutely couldn’t trust her. “Yes.”

  Her hand was still on his, and now she gripped. After all this time, he was still a little boy alone in the world. He had no one. A solitary life was etched in his posture, readable in his blank expression. Felicity considered herself a coldhearted businesswoman, took pride in this. Never had she felt such pity for another.

  Thorn stood up. “I’ll go get the deeds.”

  “Wait.” She pulled him back down on the couch.

  He looked at her hand, and then into her eyes. That open face, those guileless blue eyes—before she could stop herself, she moved closer and kissed him. Big hands fell on her, drawing her into a tight embrace.

  Felicity opened his shirt as rough palms stroked her skin. It’s just a pity fuck, she told herself before consuming him with her lips.

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  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Could this be real? From the worst day ever to the best. Felicity had solved nearly all of his problems. Plus, she was horny. Had she forgiven him? He didn’t get that impression at all. Yet, she was all over him. Thorn had no problem getting all over her. Maybe she wanted to impress upon him that he belonged to her. He had no problem with that, either. With one motion, he yanked the T-top over her head and kissed her neck.

  Her skin tasted sweet—perhaps all the sweeter because he thought he’d lost her. He unhooked her bra and buried his face in the valley between her breasts. Felicity breathed in his ear as she pulled the shirt from him. She sank her teeth into his shoulder. Thorn’s dick beat at the door of his jeans, begging to be set free.

  Felicity’s skirt hit the floor at the same time his pants did. He gazed at her, thigh-highs and black panties, black fuck-me pumps and nothing else. “You are beautiful.”

  Without a word, she grabbed him by the meat and pulled him to her. Felicity’s legs wrapped around him. He felt her sharp heels in his flanks. Then all sensation vanished, save the slick grip of her as she took him in. She cried out as she opened, nails biting into his back.

  Their mouths met, melding together, a fiery tangle of lips and tongue. Thorn found some leverage on the couch. Slowly, he pumped into her. He went deeper, deeper, Felicity’s little cries urging him. Sheathed in velvet pleasure, he didn’t know long he could hold back.

  Felicity wouldn’t let him.

  “Come inside me,” she whispered in his ear. “I want to feel you explode.”

  Tempo increasing, Thorn plunged into her. He gripped the elastic of her stockings, ramming into her with all his strength. The couch moved across the floor with tiny barks, back and forth.

  His eruption began deep within, tensing his muscles, arching his back. Felicity clung to him fiercely. Fireworks went off behind his eyes. Release down below was sweet, almost painful. Thorn shouted as he came inside her. Felicity echoed his voice, muscles gripping in a sudden spasm.

  For a moment, all thoughts vanished from Thorn’s mind. Overwhelmed by the ecstasy, he collapsed on top of her.

  They lay together, panting. Thorn ran his fingers through Felicity’s damp hair. Could anything feel more right? He inhaled the scent of her, her shampoo, her sweat, her perfume, the combination making him feel high. Thorn realized he wanted to be with Felicity forever.

  It took a while, but Thorn finally caught his breath. He reached down and fumbled two beers out of the case. Opening the first, he handed it to Felicity. Thorn didn’t think she was a beer drinker, but, like him, she was probably thirsty as hell. She hammered down two big gulps and gasped in appreciation.

  Untangling from her, Thorn rose. If he wanted to be with Felicity forever, he had the chance to prove it right now. He padded to the bedroom. From under the bed, he pulled a fireproof box. It was nearly empty, save five sheets of very brown paper. Deed was printed at the top of each in Old English letters. The rest was written in a spidery hand. A waxy red seal marked the bottom right corners. Each spelled out the ownership of a four hundred acre plot, two thousand acres all together.

  Thorn searched around until he dug up a pen. He flipped the pages over and signed on the backs.
r />   “You sure you want to do this?”

  He craned his neck to see Felicity standing in the doorway. She was still mostly naked. He held them out to her as an answer. She took them without reading, placing them on top of the dresser in the hallway.

  She scooted past him into the room. The queen sized bed took up nearly all the space. “We could try something really novel in here.”

  “What?”

  Felicity knelt, crawling across the mattress, her perfect ass facing toward him. She still wore nothing but thigh-high stockings and naughty shoes. “We could actually have sex in a bed. Sleep together, even. Wouldn’t that be weird?”

  Despite his recent orgasm, Thorn’s penis stirred. Heart-shaped bottom, stockings, shoes, and nakedness drew his focus. He moved behind her, one hand sliding over the smooth curve of her flank. Soft, yielding skin sent a charge through him.

  Felicity crossed her arms on the bed and lowered her head atop them. She gazed back at Thorn with lidded eyes. That was all it took. Thorn was sprung again.

  “Do me from behind,” she said, voice a rasp.

  With both hands on her hips, he yanked her backward sharply. Felicity let out a playful yelp. His legs were long enough to make this the perfect angle. He slid in slowly. Her hands fisted in his sheets. Digging his fingers into her thighs, he began moving in a languorous rhythm.

  Felicity buried her face in the bedclothes, arching to meet him. Her figure was so perfect from this angle, from the flare of her hips to the breadth of her shoulders and the narrowing trunk between. Everything about her turned him on: the spread of hair covering her face, the leather straps around her ankles, the ripple of her muscles and bones beneath the tawny skin.

  He tightened his grip, thrust hard from the knees. His pelvis slapped into her ass cheeks. Thorn increased his thrusts until it sounded like applause. Below him, Felicity groaned and thrashed on the bed. She lifted her head, letting out a long “Oh!” as pleasure overtook her. Limbs shaking, breath held, she dropped to the bed, out of breath.

  Thorn might be hard as hell, but he was still a long way from a second orgasm. Felicity rolled over.

  “Lay down, Lumberjack.”

  He crawled beside her, and her hands fisted in his long hair. Her mouth devoured his. Thorn’s fingers teased and petted her full breasts, the nipples at full attention. Still locked in the kiss, Felicity straddled him.

  She rose above him, hands on his chest. Thorn looked up at her, admiring this view as much as the view from behind. Above her tits, her face glowed, lips slightly parted, eyes half shut. She gripped him, maneuvered his manhood. Hips swaying, she scabbarded his dick inside her. Thorn gasped as she put her full weight on him, wrapping him painfully tight in her pussy.

  “Yeah.” She half-smiled as she rocked her hips. The pressure was intense. Felicity bounced up and down, bed springs singing, tits bobbing. “That’s good,” she whispered.

  Thorn moaned as Felicity’s left hand moved to her own breasts, toying with her nipples. Her face opened, an expression of pain, a groan of desire. Her right moved down her belly to her sex. She fingered herself as she rode Thorn.

  It was almost more than he could take. His hands moved around her waist, giving him leverage for thrusting. She surprised him by slapping his hands away. Her eyes met his as her hands went back to playing with herself.

  That agonized, pleasured expression danced over her features again as she rocked harder. Thorn was slammed so deeply inside her, there was hardly any motion. Still, the grip, the pressure, the steady throbbing pulse ignited him. Felicity threw her head back. Thorn growled as he exploded inside her like a rocket.

  She let out a syllable of desire, squeezing with her inner muscles, milking him. Their muscles shuddered as one. A stab of light and heat sizzled through Thorns brain as he loosed his seed. Felicity fell on top of him. For a few moments, he lay, unable to move, save his heavy breathing. Finally, he was able to move his hands. He held her close.

  “Felicity, I think I’m in—”

  Her hands touched his lips. “Shh.”

  With that, Thorn fell into an exhausted sleep.

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  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Thorn’s breathing deepened, and Felicity lightly rolled off him. Suffused in afterglow, she studied him. His face was untroubled in sleep, carven features relaxed. She played with his long hair, light brown, but almost blond at the tips.

  He had wanted her badly, but any man would. Was he being truthful about Sally? Thorn didn’t seem capable of deception. At the same time, he was a man, and Felicity was well aware that, like most men, he frequently thought with his dick.

  Did it matter if he had been unfaithful to her? She glanced at the dresser in the hallway, the deeds on top. She didn’t even have to ask him to sign them over. Now, they could live happily ever after. Felicity would have her project. Thorn would lose the threat hanging over him. Maybe, they could still maintain some kind of relationship—

  She stopped herself. Felicity didn’t want to think about not having Thorn in her life. She wanted to think about her bright future. With the deeds in her possession, these things were mutually exclusive.

  Thorn snored lightly, her cue. She slipped out of bed. The deeds were truly basic documents, dated from the 1850s, hand-written. As basic as the language was, they definitely spelled out that Felicity was now the title holder on two thousand acres of undeveloped wilderness.

  Well, mostly. The deeds would still have to be notarized. It had been so easy to get them, she couldn’t foresee any problem with making them legal. She glanced over at the sleeping Thorn, his face almost angelic—and definitely gullible.

  In the dark, she located her clothes and dressed. Where had she left her coat? It took her a while to find it. She had needed Thorn to walk in on her looking all sexy and not a woman wearing a trench coat. Of course, she could have been naked beneath, but save that for another day.

  If there would be another day.

  The thought, at once, took her breath away and stung her eyes. Felicity looked at the deeds in her hand through blurred eyes. No. She wasn’t going to feel guilty, she wasn’t going to feel sad. Her future was too bright for that. Possession of these deeds alone made her a millionaire. The leverage they could provide was priceless.

  She drove away, through the winding mountain roads and the intersection that was Ripple. A sign hung on the bar - closed. It added credence to Thorn’s story of her having been turned. He could be telling the truth. No. She wasn’t going to feel guilty, she wasn’t going to feel sad. Felicity drove on.

  Thorn could have his fling with the little tramp. He could fling with whomever he wanted. Felicity had much larger matters on her mind.

  The matters were so large, that four hours later, she paced her dark apartment, looking out at the lights of the city. Two thousand wild, undeveloped acres. The things she could do.

  Yet anything she might do with the land would stab Thorn in the back. He said he trusted her. Felicity fully planned on betraying that trust.

  So why couldn’t she sleep?

  She didn’t really want to examine her inner thoughts, fearing that they would sidetrack her from her goals. Felicity hadn’t gone to that little backwater to meet a man, she had gone to build a project. It was to be the biggest one she’d ever been involved in. Now, it could be bigger than she had imagined.

  Felicity should be happy that she took the target off of Thorn’s back. The big dumb lug was safe now. Why didn’t that feel like it was enough? She felt worse now than when she’d found the naked bartender in Thorn’s trailer.

  Her cat knew, had known long before her human consciousness did. Felicity was in love with Thorn. Perhaps wild felines had the luxury of succumbing to fate. Humans in the real world had jobs to do, lives to live, goals to pursue, bills to pay, and destiny was something to control, not fall victim to.

  Yes, she was fully attracted to the Lumberjack, yes the sex was th
e absolute best, yes she wanted to be with him, yes, she was starting to believe in his professed fidelity. No, she couldn’t let any of that sway her. She was a professional, and her profession was real estate development. Surely, the deeds in her hands were as much a product of destiny as her meeting the bear shifter.

  In the east, the sky colored. Felicity sat in a chair on her balcony, looking from the gray dawn to the brown vellum sheets. Only a few hours remained before her meeting with the investors. What was she going to do? The property in her hand gave her options. Options were limited by the fact that the documents weren’t fully legal. Further limits existed in the form of her guilt. How far would she let herself go? More problematic, even though she was in partial possession of a lot of land, the closest it got to Ripple was four miles.

  Coffee. She needed coffee to think this through.

  Felicity worked the espresso machine in the kitchen, building herself a pint-sized latte. Caffeine seeped into her brain. She made mental lists, separating the emotion from the business. In the steam shower, she continued to think, to scheme.

  By the time she was dressed in her best power suit, the gray one with the bold pinstripes, she thought she had a plan.

  ***

  Scrunched up on one side of the bed, Thorn reached out in his sleep. When his hands found nothing, he woke up, wondering why the hell he was scrunched up on one side of the bed.

  Felicity. She wasn’t there. Was it already time for work? He squinted at the digital clock over on the dresser. It was only four a.m. While it was a long haul to the city, her side of his bed was cold. Thorn inhaled hugely. Her scent was faded. She’d been gone for a while.

  Thorn was usually the one to sneak out after an evening of sex. That would’ve been tough, since he lived there. Still, Felicity didn’t seem the type. She would’ve kissed him goodbye or something.

  Right?

  Unless she was still pissed off. Thorn didn’t know too many women who would have had sex with him after he had pissed them off. Thorn would have no problem having sex with a chick he was mad at. Women were different. Of course, as a man his understanding of women was extremely limited.