by Zoe Chant
“I’d love to have you here,” she said softly.
Ty kissed her. “I’d love to be here.”
Misty was instantly aflame. “God, you can never, ever kiss me in public,” she murmured.
Ty made a dissatisfied noise. “Why not?”
“Because I’m ready to christen every room of your new home right now, and—” he kissed her again—“it’s getting hard to remember if I was thinking about anything else,” she gasped.
“Sounds like a great plan,” he said into her mouth, and she wrapped her arms around him and stopped trying to remember anything but the feel of him against her.
Ty groaned, pulling her against him. “I love your body.”
Misty mostly only thought of her body in practical terms—whether it could do what she wanted, get her where she needed to go, subdue a criminal if necessary. But Ty was so obviously delighting in it, in the feel of her. His hands explored her, cupping her breasts, sliding down over her butt.
Of course—“Same,” she sighed, loving the way he was so tall and broad, the hardness of his muscles. She spread her hands on his shoulders and gloried in the fact that she couldn’t even come close to spanning them with her fingers.
“Mmm, yours is more interesting.” His fingers were busy on the buttons of her shirt—no, his shirt, from this morning. Suddenly, she understood what he’d meant about it being hot. The realization that she’d spent all day wrapped in his clothes...
Then it was a race to see who could undress each other first, clothes flying everywhere. Misty was arrested by a sudden thought. “Did we ever clean up our clothes from the hallway of Lynn and Stella’s house, last night?”
Ty laughed, his body shaking against hers. “I grabbed them when I stepped out to hit the bathroom.”
Misty sighed in relief. “Good.” That made sense. She had a feeling that there would have been a few more knowing looks if everyone had had to step over her uniform shirt to get to bed.
Then Ty got his hands into her pants, and her attention was abruptly returned to the matter at hand.
And of course, this was her house, and it didn’t matter if their clothes went everywhere.
Ty won the race, unsurprisingly, so Misty was naked while he was still in his boxers. “Wait,” she laughed as he bore her backwards toward the couch. “Just one more—”
“Nope, I won, so I’m claiming my reward,” he said, and plopped her down on the couch, nudging her thighs open and settling in between them.
“Oh,” Misty said in surprise. “I guess—I guess I’m not complaining.”
“Mmm,” he said, nuzzling the soft skin of her inner thigh. She shuddered and opened her legs, letting him lick right up until he was parting her lips with his tongue and licking a long stripe up her clit. “Oh, God.”
Ty made an appreciative noise and kept going. Misty clutched at his enormous shoulders and let herself go—for once, let herself just relax and appreciate the sensations in her body.
His tongue was hot and clever, catching every little twitch of pleasure and drawing it out, making her quiver. Misty had always thought of herself as slow to climax, but Ty was proving her wrong—she was feeling the edge already, and he’d only been licking her for a couple of minutes.
He teased at her opening with a big finger, and she lifted her hips for it, wanting. He slipped it inside, and then another—and then a third, thick enough to stretch her out, bring the pleasure in her clit to a sharpened point. He sucked hard, licked quick and deep from his fingers up to the tip, and then sucked again, and orgasm rolled through her.
“Up,” Misty groaned when she could form words again, “come on, up, get up here—” She hauled him up, tearing at the waistband of his boxers—she heard the fabric rip, and had a moment of smug satisfaction; Ty wasn’t the only one who could tear people’s clothing off. Shifter strength was good for a lot.
Finally, finally, the boxers were out of the way, and Ty was over her as she laid back on the couch, lifting one leg, setting her foot on the back of the couch, opening herself to the air. It felt deliciously transgressive to be naked out here on this couch—she was never naked out here; there was never any reason to be.
But now Ty was settling between her legs, his cock nudging at her opening where she was wet and ready, already thrumming from her orgasm, open from his fingers. She made a desperate noise, and he thrust in.
There was no resistance, no tightness, just a smooth slide and a rush of pleasure, wet and warm, like falling into a bath. She closed her eyes and drank it in. Ty’s breath in her ear, his hot skin against hers, the shift of his muscles under her hands, the drive of his cock as he started to move.
“Oh,” she heard herself saying on a long, throaty sigh. She hadn’t known her voice could sound like that. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” Ty said, deep and close. “Just like that. Misty, God, you’re so beautiful—”
She’d never thought herself beautiful in her life, but right now, caught in their rhythm together, she believed him. She lifted her face for a kiss, and he gave it to her. Their tongues slid against each other as she panted for air, and his cock drove deeper and deeper into her—reawakening her pleasure, reminding her body that she’d only come once, and she could go again.
“Oh, God,” she managed as he started to speed up. Whenever he bottomed out, he’d pause for a second deep within her, rotating his hips so sensation shot through her clit. It was simultaneously dirty and profound—the deep grind of pleasure combined with the knowledge that they were as close as two people could possibly be.
She realized her eyes were still closed, and opened them just in time to catch Ty’s mouth falling open, his face twisting in pleasure as he bottomed out one last time and came. Misty felt the surge inside her as though it were own pleasure, tipping her right over the edge into her own climax.
It seemed like it lasted forever.
***
Misty was woken up by her phone ringing.
She always kept the ringer on in case there was an emergency, and middle-of-the-night calls usually qualified. Eyes snapping open, she grabbed it and answered. “This is Sheriff Dale.”
“Sheriff,” said a woman’s voice, rough with emotion. “My boy’s in trouble.”
Misty sat up in bed. Next to her, Ty had come silently awake; he watched her alertly, no doubt able to hear every word of the conversation, with shifter hearing.
“Who is this?” Misty asked.
A sniff. “It’s—it’s Diane Bigelow. I need you to come down here. Ryder came by, he says he and Zeke were up in the mountains, and Zeke fell, and—and he doesn’t know if—”
“All right, ma’am, we’re going to get out there right away,” Misty said, in her calmest voice. “Were they in the Park? We can mobilize the rangers right now.”
“No—Ryder says no. They were out further east.”
“Okay. We can get the rangers to help anyway, I know, and I’ll wake up the deputies. If we have to, we can get the whole town to help. Meanwhile, I’m coming down right now.” Misty got out of bed, fumbling in her closet for her spare uniform jacket. Her other one was still in the Davidsons’ guest room, she remembered. “I’ll bring help. Is Ryder still there with you?”
“Yes, he is.” Diane’s voice turned sharp. Misty had the sense that Ryder wasn’t the subject of Diane’s good graces right at this moment. “Should I keep him here?”
“Please. I’m going to need him to show me where he left Zeke. I’ll be there in just a few minutes, all right, Diane? Stay calm and I’ll see you soon.”
“All right,” Diane said in an airless voice, and hung up.
Misty set her phone down and went back to getting dressed. Ty was already up, pulling yesterday’s clothes on. “Am I coming with you?”
God, she loved this man. He was completely calm, ready to help at—she checked the time—3:37 in the morning. And he wasn’t even trying to take charge of the situation. He trusted her to know where he’d be the most help.
“Got it,” Ty said. “Let’s get going, then.”
They finished pulling on their clothes and went out to their cars; it made more sense to drive separately, in case they needed to split up to get more help, but Misty felt a pang as they turned away from each other.
Ty must have felt the same, though, because he hesitated at the door to his rental, and then turned back and caught her swiftly up, planting a kiss on her mouth. “I’m glad to be here with you,” he murmured.
Misty smiled helplessly. “Me, too. There’s no one’s help I’d want more, when going to rescue a dumb teenager at four in the morning.”
“Right here with you every step of the way,” he said solemnly, and they turned away again. But this time Misty had a warmth in the pit of her stomach that lasted until they pulled into the Bigelows’ drive.
Diane met them, looking simultaneously terrified and furious. “Sheriff,” she greeted her. “You think you can find my son?”
“We’re going to do our absolute best,” Misty said sincerely. “Where’s Ryder?”
“In here.” Diane led the way to the front room, where Ryder was sitting miserably on a couch, shoulders slumped, hands dangling between his knees. He looked up when they arrived, and winced when he saw Misty.
“All right, Ryder,” Misty said. “Do you remember where you left Zeke?”
He hesitated, and her heart sank a bit. “Sort of.”
“Sort of?” she asked pointedly.
“I mean, we were just out running in the mountains—”
“They’d been drinking,” Diane put in, with a vicious look. “Pair of little idiots.”
“Is that true, Ryder?” Misty asked calmly.
Slowly, he nodded. He didn’t seem like he was still drunk, but shifters tended to metabolize alcohol more quickly than regular humans did. “It’s all kind of—we were just messing around, you know? Shifting, hunting some rabbits, running around. We were way up in the mountains. And then Zeke fell, and I—I just ran down until I knew where I was. I don’t know exactly...”
“All right, Ryder. We’re going to call the Park rangers and get them out to help,” Misty said, “and the sheriff’s office, and they’ll all have search-and-rescue equipment. But first, since Zeke might be really hurt and time is of the essence, you and I are going to head out ourselves.”
Ryder’s eyes flicked behind her shoulder, where she knew Ty was looming. “Him too?”
Misty turned to Ty. “You seem pretty good at bringing things with you when you shift. Could you take my radio?”
Ty nodded. “Pretty sure. It doesn’t work a hundred percent of the time, but it’s pretty reliable. I’ll put a cord in my pocket just in case it doesn’t work, so we can tie it around my neck while I’m shifted if we have to.”
Misty handed it to him, relieved. Silently, Diane disappeared into the house and returned with a length of twine, handing it to Ty. He thanked her sincerely.
“All right, Ryder,” Misty said. “We’re going to drive out until we reach a point where you think we should leave the road behind. You’re going to shift with us and lead the way. We’ll shift back and check in as we go, to see what you remember. If we can’t find him, we’ll radio the search-and-rescue teams and let them know they need to start running a search in the general area where you were. Okay?”
“Okay,” Ryder said, almost silent.
“All right,” Ty said, and the kid looked up. “Let’s get going, son.”
He stood up, still hunched and despondent, and followed them out to the car. Ty said, “I can drive if you need to make calls.”
“Good idea,” Misty said, handing him the keys to the Jeep. She motioned Ryder into the front, the better to give directions, and got in the back, already dialing her phone while Ty started the Jeep, talking quietly to Ryder as he pulled away.
Misty placed her first call to Laura, the night desk worker at the station, telling her to send out the deputies on duty and be ready to roust everyone out of bed if they had to, and secondly to Cal.
“Sheriff,” he answered, sounding tired but alert. “What can I do for you?”
“Cal, I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“Up with the baby, already awake,” he said, unbothered.
“We’ve got a missing teen up in the mountains somewhere, possibly injured, definitely was drinking. His friend ran back for help and can’t remember exactly where he left him.”
Next to her, Ryder hunched down even further.
“Got it,” Cal said. “Does he know if it was within Park boundaries?”
“He says further east. Can you get your people together to help?”
“Absolutely. You have a radio frequency?”
Misty gave it to him, and told him to rendezvous with the deputies. “Ty and I are headed up with the friend right now, since we’re the closest. We’ll be shifted, but we’ll check in periodically by radio, give you our location, let you know if we find him.”
“Good. We’ll be in touch.”
Misty hung up and turned to Ryder. “How’s it coming, kid?”
“It’s definitely this way,” he said tensely. “We headed out from behind my house. You can turn off into the woods from there, the road’ll take you part of the way.”
“Good,” Misty said.
“All right if I speed up?” Ty asked over his shoulder.
“Go ahead,” Misty said, and was startled at the burst of speed the Jeep put on.
“Combat driving training,” Ty explained as he hurtled along the road. His reflexes were shifter-fast, and he handled the Jeep as though he’d been driving it since it was brand-new. Every move he made was precise; it seemed like he started turning before anyone could even see the road start to curve, and never had to make a single abrupt swerve, despite the way the trees were blurring outside the window.
“Turn’s coming up,” Ryder said quietly, and Ty sent them off the main road and into the forest with a smoothness Misty couldn’t have managed yourself.
“Much call for combat driving these days?” she asked him, fascinated. “You seem to have kept your skills up.”
“Only avoiding Los Angeles drivers on their cell phones,” he said dryly. “I’ve done some offroading in the mountains here and there, but mostly it’s just something you don’t easily forget.”
“I guess not.”
Misty wondered how many more occasions she’d have to be grateful that Ty was here with her, ready to bring his considerable skills—and considerable brains, kindness, strength, and love—to any problem she faced.
She had a feeling it was going to be a lot.
***
Ty
Ty wasn’t sure it was right to get any enjoyment out of the situation—a kid might be seriously hurt, after all—but there was a certain exhilaration to be had in using his reflexes to the full extent of their capacity, for the first time in a long time.
His job in Los Angeles was challenging, but it was challenging on a mental and emotional level. Almost never did he have to exercise any physical effort—and if he did, that usually meant that something had gone very, very wrong.
Out here, he was starting to realize, the very day-to-day life would be partly outdoors, and the job of keeping the community safe could be hard on the muscles as well as the mind.
He was looking forward to it. He’d forgotten the pleasure that could come from this kind of exertion. If he could use his body as well as his mind to help stranded kids, well, that was just one more reason to belong up here in the wild instead of in the citified streets.
“We’re coming up on where we turned off into the woods,” Ryder said quietly, and Ty slowed.
Ryder was much, much more subdued than he�
��d been the other day. Which was understandable, but also reassuring. If his rulebreaking was more bravado than anything else, then there was still a good chance that they could get through to him, show him how he could turn his trajectory around from the destiny of petty crime he currently had stretching out in front of him.
He pulled the Jeep to a halt at the spot Ryder pointed out, and they all piled out of the car. “Okay,” Misty said. “We’re all going to shift, and you’re going to lead the way, Ryder. If at any point you get confused, or you’re not quite sure which way to go, stop and shift back. Don’t keep going if you don’t know exactly that you’re going in the right direction. Understood?”
He nodded.
“All right,” said Ty. “Let’s go.”
Ryder shifted first, into his lanky adolescent wolf form—gray with white markings, with the beginnings of a powerful frame. He’d have to grow into those bones, Ty thought, and hoped that one day the kid would be the sort of man his wolf form hinted he could be.
Misty shifted, too, into her deceptively delicate doe form. Ty had wondered, at first, at how his jaguar—who tended to turn his nose up a little at prey animals, to Ty’s exasperation—had had instant respect for the doe.
Fast and strong, the jaguar thought now, reiterating his earlier sentiments. Powerful even without claws and sharp teeth. A worthy mate.
Ty could only agree.
At first, Ryder was unerring. They ran swiftly through the woods after him; it was clear that he was scared for Zeke, and wanted to get to him as quickly as possible. Another point in his favor.
After they’d been running for a while, though, Ryder hesitated and slowed. He paused in a close thicket of trees, sniffed the air, looked right and left, and then shifted back to human. Ty and Misty followed suit.
“I don’t know—we wandered around for a while after this,” he admitted. “Back and forth—we weren’t paying attention to where we were going. I don’t know what’s the right way.”
Misty nudged Ty and reached for the radio; he handed it to her, and heard her reporting their location in a low voice. Ty focused on Ryder. The kid’s breath was getting faster, and Ty needed to make sure he didn’t work himself into a panic attack.
