by Amelia Jade
Even if that were true, it was still incredibly wrong.
“Good thing I’m going for a run,” she said aloud, bending down to tie her other shoe. As she did, her fitness tracker on her arm lit-up, displaying the time.
She was five minutes late thanks to her father. Hopefully Andrew was still waiting for her. She tied the other shoe swiftly and raced from the house, only slowing down a moment before she could see the bottom of the drive. She had plenty of hedges blocking anyone from looking in as they walked past. For a moment they also blocked her view of the bottom, and she thought that Andrew wasn’t there. But as she drew closer his familiar form came into sight, leaning against the pillar that marked one side of her driveway.
“I was wondering if you’d returned yet,” he said without preamble. “I almost was forced to come up to the house and knock on the door.”
She smiled and began to speak, but his face turned serious, creases forming on his forehead as he frowned at her.
“Something is wrong.”
It wasn’t a question at all.
“Is it that obvious?” she complained, bouncing up and down several times to get her body warmed up.
“Maybe not to everyone,” he said. “But to me, yes. I can see it.”
Karri shrugged off his odd phrasing. Why could he see things that others couldn’t? He talked like that sometimes, as if he could understand her better than others did. There’d been the occasional slip of his tongue while they jogged too, where’d make a statement as if something in the future was going to be a given, that they would still know each other. She’d let it pass, just figuring it to be the way shifters talked. They were a little different, after all.
“Just…” she started to talk, then shook her head and gestured for him to pick a direction. “Lead on,” she said.
Andrew looked like he was about to put up a fight, that he wanted to discuss whatever it was right then and there, but something in her tone must have told him she wanted to start running first. So he nodded once and set off down the sidewalk on his preferred route, though he let her set the pace. His ability to keep a speed was uncanny, and if she started to flag he would continue at the same pace, forcing her to keep up. It had increased her endurance more than she’d realized in just a few days, but now she was sort of dreading it after three days off.
“It’s nothing major,” she said as they ran on. “My father…ugh, where to even begin with this story.” She paused to order her thoughts, simply following Andrew’s hand directions indicating a turn or street crossing. “Basically, I had dinner with someone while there that I didn’t want to. That in itself wasn’t pleasant, but I managed to avoid it becoming anything worse.”
Andrew didn’t respond with more than a grunt, but she noticed that he had stiffened when she’d said she’d had dinner with someone, and had sort of become angry.
Was he jealous? Her mind replayed the last contact she’d had with him. The hug that they’d shared outside of her house. She could still remember the way his chest felt against her head, like it was hewn from marble. After the initial hesitation she’d flung her hands as far around his rock-hard body as she could, though they didn’t reach the whole way. He’d been so warm and delicious; in hindsight it would have been nice if she’d held onto him for longer than she had.
Maybe there was something there after all. Karri had operated under the assumption that just because she wanted something didn’t mean that he did. But now, based on his reaction to her description of the dinner she’d attended with Jacques, she was more willing to say that the attraction went both ways. Maybe her lack of traditional feminine wiles wasn’t going to keep him away after all.
“Anyway, when I got back,” she continued, looking at him a little closer out of the corner of her eye now. “My father, who very much wants me to marry one of these egotistical assholes he keeps setting me up with, sent me a message saying that he was disappointed to hear that the trip was a failure, on both business and personal terms.”
“I see,” Andrew said, in a way that made it very clear he didn’t.
“It’s just the way my father is,” she explained. “If you ever meet him, you’ll understand how he can say something like that and still be a jerk about it.”
Karri had a sudden inkling that if she told Andrew the truth, that her dad had effectively told her to prostitute herself for more business for the company, he would find him out and threaten him. Given her dad’s anti-shifter tendencies that would just be the worst thing ever. She vowed to prevent that from happening for as long as was feasibly possible.
That day would not be fun at all.
“So how was your time while I was gone?” she asked, changing the subject abruptly enough that she hoped it was clear she didn’t really want to talk about it any further. “Besides being unathletic I’m sure.”
Whereas his face had looked for several minutes like it was composed out of granite as he looked neutrally forward while listening to her discuss having dinner with another man, now it split open at her, teasing into a grin.
“I’ll have you know, I went for a run every day. Even this morning.”
She eyed him speculatively. “Really now?”
He nodded. “I’ve actually come to enjoy this jogging phenomenon. It’s quite stress-relieving, I must admit. I can see now why you took it up for that in the first place.”
“Well,” she said, trying to keep her breathing level after having spoken so much already. “It also helps those of us with normal metabolisms, who have to exercise to keep the food we eat from making us fat.”
Andrew just grinned. “You must eat a lot then.”
Karri giggled. “Boy, you have no idea!”
He turned to look at her as they ran. “Maybe I can find out some time.”
The directness of his question caught her so off guard that she looked up at him, missed the curb, and stumbled so hard she almost fell as her balance betrayed her and then disappeared completely. The only thing that kept her from face-planting was the pair of hands that closed around her waist, long powerful fingers squeezing as they lifted her clear of the sidewalk and pulled her back in against something warm and inviting.
It took her a moment before she clued in that she was once more pressed up against his body, but this time from behind. His hands stayed glued to her waist, though he relented just slightly on how hard he gripped. Karri found her mouth hanging open as she inhaled sharply at the abrupt proximity to him. They hadn’t been quite so close before, even when they’d hugged. That could have been brushed off as just friendly.
This though, the way his touch set her skin ablaze, the rise and fall of his chest, it all signaled to her that they had suddenly become more than just friends.
“Karri,” he breathed, his taut voice sounding in her ear.
She swallowed, trying to dislodge the nervous lump in her throat. “Yes?” she asked, her voice hoarse from the tension she felt strumming through her entire body as each of them tried to figure out just what it was they were going to do next. Did she turn around in his arms, right there in the streets? Perhaps a more discreet manner would be to jog back to her place first.
Would I still want what I want right now?
Andrew’s hands slid up her waist slightly and she shivered. Well, that answers that question. Yes, yes I would.
“Should we—” he began, stopping as she nodded abruptly.
“Yes, yes we should.”
“Are you su—”
He didn’t finish his question. Karri turned in his arms, grabbed the collar of his shirt, and pulled him down to her. The shifter was caught by surprise, but he quickly altered that and bent down to accept her kiss. Although she’d taken the initiative, Andrew quickly took it back. He lifted her clear of the sidewalk, holding her aloft easily enough that she didn’t feel the need to wrap her legs around him, though the temptation was there.
His lips were softer than she imagined as they explored each other hungrily, the fin
al layer between them having been ripped away at last. Hairs all across her body stood on end as he kissed her there on the street without a care about the world around them, about who might see. It was so intense she actually made a sort of happy whimpering noise. Andrew tightened his hand slightly around her waist in response.
“Ahem.”
She slipped from his arms at the sound, composing herself, tugging her jogging tank top lower so that it covered her stomach that had become exposed. Feeling slightly more presentable she looked past Andrew to see who had made the noise.
“Sorry to make you pause,” the old lady said, “but could I get by?”
Karri gaped as she realized they were blocking the road for the elderly woman with her rolling walker.
“Oh certainly,” she said, her face exploding with heat as embarrassment set in. “Come on,” she said, tugging Andrew out of the woman’s way so she could carry on.
Once the woman was past them she came to a halt and looked back at them. “Don’t be shy now. You can kiss him again; he’s okay with it,” she said with a wink, then continued on her way.
Karri stared after her for a moment, marveling not for the first time at the openness of some old people who simply did not give a damn about what they said anymore.
“She’s right you know,” Andrew said from above her.
Craning her head to look way up at him, she lifted her eyebrows with a little moue of her mouth. “Right about what?”
The shifter grinned. “I’m okay if you kiss me again.”
Karri shook her head. She should have seen that one coming of course. “I’m sure you are,” she said dryly.
“Just making sure you’re aware. In case you have any desire to do it again,” he teased.
She bobbed her head from side to side, pretending to think it over. Then, without waiting any longer, she took off down the street. They’d actually taken a roundabout course, and if she cut through the park a block back down the street, it was just a short run up the street to her place.
“If you want it again, come and get it,” she called over her shoulder. Then Karri put her head down and ran. The question wasn’t whether or not Andrew would catch up with her. It was more of a where. How far could she get before he—
Arms grabbed her from behind as the shifter lifted her from the ground, holding her tight to his chest. She gasped at the sudden movement, and then again as he accelerated. The world around her blurred as they moved at speeds she’d only ever experienced in vehicles, or perhaps roller coasters.
“They weren’t kidding when they said shifters could move faster,” she said, holding on tightly to his neck, though she didn’t really think he would let her fall. His feet slapped hard against the pavement as he moved unerringly through the forest. “How do you know where you’re going?” she asked when it became apparent he knew exactly where to go.
“This is how I get to your house in the mornings,” he explained.
“Oh,” she said, then fell silent. She watched his face as he concentrated on getting them to her house as swiftly as possible. It didn’t take long before they were coasting to a halt at the bottom of her driveway, the curving asphalt leading up and away from the street. They paused there, though he didn’t set her down.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, puzzled. Up until then he’d shown no reluctance. Was he getting cold feet now that they were actually at her house, the destination in sight? She shrugged herself out of his arms, settling down onto her feet as she looked up at him, waiting for an answer. Mentally she prepared herself for any sort of excuse that could come out of his mouth.
“Um, nothing, really.”
“Then why the pause?” she wanted to know.
“You never invited me up,” he replied, looking and sounding sheepish. “Sorry, it’s just a personal thing.”
Karri grinned. Okay, so she hadn’t been prepared for any excuse that he could make. Stepping off the sidewalk and onto the black asphalt, she held out her had to the oddly old-fashioned shifter. “Would you like to come up?” she asked, pointing up to her house, several hundred feet back from the road.
The tentativeness was gone almost instantly as he took her hand and followed her up to her place. “I would love to,” he replied, his voice almost a purr, putting action to word.
The short walk seemed to take three times as long as the entire run back to her place. Karri felt like she was in a dream world, the air so thick with anticipation that she was forced to swim through it. The trees and shrubs on either side sort of floated by as her nerves grew tenser the closer they got to the single-story building. Would he kiss her the instant she opened her front door, perhaps? Or would he want to come in for a drink and wait until the proper moment before he kissed her again? Karri wasn’t sure she wanted to wait that long, but perhaps it would be good to see him in another environment besides that of jogging or sitting at a coffee shop.
Almost as soon as she’d thought it, the realization that she’d never really talked to him in any other sort of way hit home. Now she was willing to sleep with him! What kind of crazy hold did he have on her? Maybe she should wait. Maybe they should take things slower.
Andrew’s grip on her hand tightened and he pulled her back to him, bending at the waist so that he could kiss her once more, this time without anyone to see. She hissed at the connection she felt with him. Kissing was supremely important to Karri. If she and any potential male could not sync up their kissing habits and tendencies, then nothing was going to work out. It was as simple as that.
Which is probably why it scared her that Andrew was able to turn her on as instantly as he did from just a single kiss. It scared…and excited her immensely. If he could do that with just a kiss, what could he do if he was given free rein of her body? Thinking about giving herself to him filled her with trepidation and anxious excitement. It had been coming for some time now she realized, even if she’d been blinded to the fact.
“Inside,” she said through the kiss, tugging him along. Karri wasn’t much for PDA, and their intense makeout session on the street earlier had about used up her quota.
There was no resistance from his magnificent body, he followed her along easily, though he did ask her if she was sure she wanted to do this.
“Yes,” she answered. “I’m giving you my consent now under one condition,” she said as the front door opened up in front of her after several failed wobbly attempts with her key to find the hole.
“Name it,” he said earnestly.
“That’s the last time you ask if I’m okay with this. I’m an adult. I know what I’m doing, okay?”
He chuckled. “Understood.”
“Good. Now kiss me and take me two doors down that hallway on the left,” she said, pointing in the direction of her bedroom.
He could get the royal tour of her house later. Right now she wanted—no, needed—to feel him against her, to have his touch. It was a craving, a yearning that threatened to impede her thoughts. If she’d been any less iron-willed, it would likely have overwhelmed her. Even now she could barely control it as Andrew her shifter lifted her at the waist once more. His hands just felt so good as they gripped her tight. There were a million more words she could use to describe the sheer blistering heat that he brought to life within her, but they were lost in the surge of excitement that came with them entering her bedroom.
Andrew deposited her on the bed so suddenly she almost yelped, but the noise died immediately on her lips as he reached over his head and tugged his shirt off by the collar.
Swoon. Why can’t all guys take their shirts off that way?
It didn’t matter. Not all guys had the incredibly cut body that he did either, so the effect wouldn’t always be the same. She wouldn’t see a flat washboard set of abs crunched up as he bent slightly forward to take it off. Other guys’ chests might not also ripple and settle the way his broad pecs did as he tossed the shirt to the side. Only Andrew’s shoulders and arms could look the way they did as he
leaned forward, putting one knee, then the other one either side of her as he lowered himself to her.
“Hi,” she murmured a moment before he kissed her.
She’d seen him running with her for almost two weeks now. Every time he’d worn the same golden-brown colored jogging shirt that adhered to his body. Karri had known, had known that he had a body most women would drool over. Yet now that it was here, now that her fingers were running down the sides of his spine, feeling his taut muscles as he held himself aloft, she still couldn’t believe it. This man, this Adonis sculptured being wanted to be with her.
“Hello,” Andrew replied, interrupting her train of thoughts as he kissed her neck.
Karri nearly lost it as his lips seared her skin, his touch so hot she felt branded by him. The effect was staggering as the room seemed to almost fog over around the edges, leaving only her and Andrew in a clear bubble at the center, the only two things in focus. Their bodies ground against each other, and she thought about sitting up to take her top off. There wasn’t much for him to see, but it would be the next step in what she knew was going to come.
Before she could though, Andrew sat back just enough to balance himself so he could use both hands to lift the edges of her shirt.
“Can shifters read minds?” she asked as she removed the garment, revealing the gray sports bra she wore underneath.
“Um, not that I know of,” he replied. “Though the dragons have some pretty neat tricks.” He looked confused. “Can I ask what that has to do with…” he gestured one hand up and down at their two half-clothed bodies.
“You went to do what I was going to do at almost exactly the same moment,” she said. “You beat me by a fraction of a second.”
He grinned. “Maybe I’m just eager to see you naked and refrained until now, to make it an appropriate amount of waiting.”
Adrenaline swiftly pumped through her. He wanted to see her naked? The smile suggested it, but the truth in his voice told her he wasn’t lying. This man—sorry, this shifter—wanted to see her body naked. Even though she lacked much of what his kind normally went for, he was still excited to see her without clothes.
