Cimmerian Shade: A Limited Edition Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy Collection

by Kiki Howell

  He slid his hand up my leg from my knee to my inner thigh and then caressed just the outside of my dripping core. “You’re so wet,” he whispered in shock.

  I didn’t want to explain that it had been a while since I’d had sex, so I just nodded. He picked me up, carried me to the living room, set me on the couch, and then dove straight down, sucking my clit into his mouth while plunging his finger inside me. I gasped and arched into his hand, following his motions. His tongue flicked back and forth across my clit, building pressure at the same time that his finger worked inside of me. He withdrew his hand and then inserted two fingers.

  “Yes,” I gasped and ground against his hand.

  He laughed against me and began sucking on my clit harder and faster. I orgasmed within seconds, screaming his name as he continued to finger me.

  “Please,” I begged breathlessly.

  He withdrew his hand and straddled me, his tip pressed lightly against me, dripping and ready.

  I opened my mouth to beg again, but he pushed into me and stole my breath. He moved inside slowly until he was completely buried in me. I ground against him and moaned loudly.

  “You’re so tight,” he growled and slowly pulled back.

  He thrust into me and I screamed out.

  “You sure?” he asked with a smirk as he withdrew.

  “Tysen,” I growled, “don’t tease me.”

  He chuckled, gripped my waist right above my hips, and pounded into me. I orgasmed instantly, screaming his name and squirting against him.

  “Yes,” he growled and increased his speed, using his hips and dancing skills to thrust in a rhythm of perfection.

  “Jess,” he whispered as his movements began to falter.

  I orgasmed again and a moment later he did as well.

  He lay down on top of me, breathing fast and sweating slightly.

  “Shower?” he asked.

  I nodded, not able to talk yet. He went upstairs to start the shower and I lay in euphoria. It didn’t last long though as I remembered that it had only been one day since I left Jon.

  “I’m awful,” I whispered.

  “Jess, the water is warm,” he called.

  I walked up the stairs on wobbly legs and into the shower where he was standing underneath the water. He moved over so I could let the warm water roll down my shoulders and back. Tysen’s warm hands began spreading soap over my shoulders.

  “Mm,” I moaned softly, “That feels great.”

  “When was the last time you were washed by someone?” he asked me, raised my arm and began sliding the soap bar up and down my arms.

  “Last time I was in your shower,” I admitted softly.

  His hand stilled a second, but he resumed applying the soap. He pushed me back so the soap could rinse off. I took the soap from him and began washing him. His abs were hard, and I realized after a moment that I had spent far too long soaping up his abs. I pushed him until his back was pressed against the wall and said, “Stay.”

  He smiled, but obeyed.

  With slow, circular strokes, I soaped his chest and stomach. Then, I reached down and cleaned his dick. He hissed through his teeth and soon was erect again.

  He stepped forward, rinsed himself and then spun me around so my back was to him. “Just say, ‘no’, and I’ll stop,” he whispered into my ear.

  “Don’t stop,” I begged.

  He pushed my upper back forward so I was bent over and thrust into me. I cried out and set my hands on the shower wall so I could prevent my head from smashing into it. He withdrew slowly and then slid back into me one inch at a time. When he was buried fully, he paused and gripped my hips. I ground my butt against him, making him growl.

  He slid his hand up between my breasts and pulled my upper body up until I was almost standing up straight. He held my upper body upwards and began thrusting in and out of me. He reached down and stroked my clit with his fingers.

  “I’m good down there,” I told him and pulled his hand away.

  He nipped my throat and thrust into me hard. “You sure?”

  I gasped and arched my butt into him.

  He moved faster and faster, his strokes fast and deep. He pushed me up against the wall, my chest pressed into the cold tile and nipped my throat and bit my shoulder. I cried out as I orgasmed and he moved faster. I was wetter than I had ever been before and each thrust made me even wetter.

  “Jess, I’m close,” he grunted in my ear. “I don’t have the stamina I used to. It’s been too long.”

  “Finish,” I ordered him. “Cum inside me.”

  “Don’t have to tell me twice,” he chuckled and slammed into me.

  “Yes!” I screamed.

  He turned me around, lifted my right leg up and slid inside me again. His fingers wrapped around the base of my neck and pulled me into a long kiss. His movements faltered and he groaned into my mouth as he finished.

  “I, uh...” I stuttered.

  “I guess we have to wash again,” he said and chuckled.

  We washed quickly and then dried off.

  “You’re thinking negative thoughts,” he told me as he got dressed.

  “Maybe,” I admitted and clasped my bra.

  “Talk to me.”

  “One day,” I said. “I have been away from him for one day and slept with someone else.”

  “Not some random guy,” he argued as he pointed at himself.

  I looked at him and smirked. “I know, I wasn’t trying to insult you.”

  He pulled me into a hug and asked, “Does it feel like we’ve been apart two years?”

  I shook my head.

  “No, because we are good together.”

  “I just...”

  “No,” he interrupted me. “No serious thoughts. We had sex and it was amazing. End of story.”

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  He was right.

  He walked me over to my duplex, the one attached to his. “Here is your new home,” he said and opened the door for me.

  “The one right next to you, huh?” I asked with a smirk.

  “It was the best one available,” he said with what was supposed to be an innocent smile.

  “Sure, it was,” I said and rolled my eyes at him. “Guess I’ll just have to tell my suitors to keep it down,” I teased.

  He growled at me as he followed me inside, but didn’t reply.

  The duplex was relatively empty. The living room area had a couch, television, and two pictures on the walls. One picture was a copy of the one from Tysen’s house, my favorite one, and the other was a picture of the pack as wolves. I had taken the picture when we were out late one night.

  I had stopped to stare at the pictures and Tysen rested his hand on my shoulder. “Everyone missed you.”

  “I worked with almost half of them every day,” I whispered.

  “You know you weren’t here really. Your mind has been elsewhere.”

  I turned and looked up at him. “Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

  “I couldn’t,” he said adamantly. “The possibility of you pushing me away completely was too great.”

  “I would never push you away completely,” I said breathlessly. How could he even think that?

  “You were pulling away from me more and more every week. When was the last time we spoke?” he asked.

  As I thought about it, I realized that he was right. I had not spoken to him in over two months. Without speaking, I stepped forward and rested my forehead against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close.

  “I was worried I would lose you,” he admitted.

  “I’m a terrible friend,” I mumbled into his shirt. God damn, he smelled amazing.

  “Promise me something?” he asked softly while smelling the top of my head.

  “What?”

  “Wait a bit before you start looking for suitors.”

  Laughter burst from my mouth and I had to grip my stomach as I laughed hysterically. “I was joking,” I gasped. �
�I’m not going to be looking for suitors.”

  “Well, I mean you should look for a partner eventually, but give it some time.”

  Did he not want to try to date me again? Was our sex really just sex? Not that I minded, it had been amazing and something I had desperately needed.

  “Yes, sir,” I replied and saluted him.

  We continued to the kitchen, then to the upstairs where my bedroom was. I expected to find my boxes, but everything was put away and there was a comfortable looking bed on the far side.

  “Before you say anything, no you can’t pay me back for any of this. Yes, I will allow you to pay rent, but nothing else.”

  “What’s happened to you this past year?” I asked him curiously. “You’ve changed...a lot.”

  He headed out the bedroom and over to the office where a desk and laptop were set up. “Things have happened that required me to really decide what I value most.”

  “What happened?” I asked curiously.

  He didn’t respond.

  “Thank you, for sticking by me,” I said. My chest throbbed, my fist clutching at my breastbone in pain.

  “Jess?” he asked and turned, rubbing his chest in the same spot I was.

  It was becoming harder to breathe and the pain was increasing.

  He rushed to me, pressed his hand to the center of my chest and exhaled slowly. His magic wrapped around me and our bond opened, but for the first time, I could not hear his thoughts.

  “Easy, Jess. I’m here,” he rasped as he held me.

  The pain wasn’t stopping. I groaned in pain and he sucked in a deep breath. His power increased and more pressure wrapped around me. The power changed, I wasn’t certain how I could tell, but he was trying something different now.

  “Come on,” he growled. “Work!”

  The pain slowly ebbed and all of my senses returned, bringing me back to the living room with Tysen holding me against his chest.

  “What happened?” I gasped.

  Tysen dropped to his knees and then sat back on his heels, still holding me. “Your soul,” he groaned, “it was getting worse for some reason.”

  “Why? I wasn’t thinking bad thoughts.” I was actually happy, so why was it getting worse? Before he could order me not to, I climbed out of his arms and knelt in front of him. He was in pain. How much, I wasn’t certain, but enough that his eyes were pinched.

  He shook his head and grabbed me, pulling us down to lie on our sides on the ground, spooning. “Don’t know. Need to rest.”

  “The couch is right...”

  He growled softly and I closed my mouth. If he was not able to make it to the couch, he was in more pain than he was letting on. I snuggled back into him so that our bodies touched as much as possible and rubbed his arm where it lay around my waist, just under my breasts.

  Time past, I had no idea how much since there weren’t any clocks and neither of us had on a watch. Tysen’s breathing evened out and then he began to snore. Had I almost died? Why had it hurt so much? They had said it was getting better, so why did this happen?

  “Jess,” Tysen whispered in his sleep.

  “Tysen,” I whispered back to let him know I was still here.

  His arm tightened around my waist and he nuzzled his nose into my hair at the nape of my neck. Warmth, happiness, and joy filled me as he held me and I knew what it was to be loved again. His body twitched and then he shifted into his wolf form, pulled me closer to him and wrapped his furred body around me, resting his head right beside mine on the ground.

  Someone knocked on the door sometime later and Tysen rose, still in wolf form, and padded towards the door silently. It always amazed me that such large animals could move so quietly. He bumped his nose against the door twice and then stepped back. The door opened and Marco walked inside. He frowned down at me where I was still lying on the ground.

  “You two alright?” he asked.

  Tysen walked back over to me and flopped on the ground beside me with a sigh.

  “I’m fine,” I answered, “but Tysen used a lot of energy to heal my soul.”

  Marco nodded. “We felt it.”

  “Can I get up?” I asked Tysen.

  He grunted approval, but stayed where he was.

  “Is he going to be okay?” I asked Marco as I headed towards the stairs.

  “Yeah, he’s just tired,” Marco replied and then sat down cross-legged in front of Tysen.

  I left them to talk and went upstairs to use the restroom. I walked to the window and looked out over the subdivision. Something was different. Was it just from being healed? I was happier and felt more like myself again.

  Tysen came up a few moments later, in human form, and watched me.

  “What’s up?” I asked him without turning around.

  “How do you feel?”

  “Good.”

  “Can you...can you feel our connection still?” he asked softly.

  The connection had opened during the healing and I had not realized that it had stayed open. Normally we could hear each other’s thoughts, but I could not hear his despite it still being open.

  “Yes, but I can’t hear your thoughts,” I admitted.

  “You don’t feel anything else? Do you feel any different?” he asked.

  “Not really. Just happier,” I mumbled as I did a mental inventory of myself. Everything felt the same.

  His magic surrounded me and I felt like he had wrapped a blanket around me. “I feel that,” I whispered. The blanket tightened slightly and then disappeared.

  He released a long sigh. “Okay.”

  Three more of the pack headed towards our duplexes. “Something happened, didn’t it?”

  “Focus on our bond,” he whispered. “Can you feel Marco?”

  Feel Marco? Why would I be able to feel Marco?

  I obeyed, closed my eyes and focused on the bond. I felt Tysen behind me, his presence strong and bright, but then I felt the others. I could feel all of the pack. They were not as strong as Tysen, but I could sense them and where they were.

  “I can sense them, but not their feelings or anything. Why can I sense them?”

  “The amount of power I used to heal your soul, increased our bond.” He didn’t say more, but I could sense there was more.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” I asked and turned to face him.

  His eyes were focused on my feet and his shoulder muscles were tensed. Something had happened.

  “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I was just trying to heal you,” he whispered, eyes still downcast. “I thought you were dying and...”

  “Tysen...” I whispered.

  Slowly, he raised his eyes until they met mine and said, “We’re mated.”

  When werewolves mated, they became tied for the rest of their lives. It wasn’t as simple as having sex and you being mated. There was a process involved and side effects to the mating.

  “Oh,” I responded smartly and stared blindly out the window.

  “Tysen,” Marco called up to him.

  “Give me a moment,” he growled. Warm arms encircled me. “Jess?”

  “Hm?”

  “Jess, talk to me,” he begged.

  I didn’t have anything to say. I was too shocked.

  “Tysen,” Marco called again.

  “I’ll be right back,” he promised before leaving the room.

  Mated. Tysen and I were mated. Not dating...mated. Permanently.

  I should have been upset or scared or something, but I just felt happy. Did that make me a terrible person? Or desperate? Part of me thought it made me a bad person. Most of me was excited and happy to be Tysen’s mate. I loved him more than anything and I had always wanted to be his mate.

  Chapter Three

  TYSEN DIDN’T COME up for several hours, so I made my way downstairs to get some food. The pack was gathered in the living room, sitting on the couch and floor. They watched me silently as I passed by them to the kitchen, a move very unlike them. Normally they woul
d have gotten up and greeted me with hugs and smiles. Tonight, they didn’t move a muscle.

  It didn’t take me long to whip up a snack, but for some reason I didn’t want to go back upstairs. The nights were warm, so I went into the backyard where Tysen had a gazebo with a small table and a couple of chairs. The warm wind blew gently against my skin, warming me and relaxing me. There was one tree in the entire subdivision, growing right in the center of Tysen’s backyard. The large oak was gorgeous and one of the few spots that calmed me down. After I finished my food, I climbed up into the oak tree and leaned my head back against the truck while one of my legs dangled off the side of the branch I sat on.

  Being Tysen’s mate wasn’t a bad thing. We’d had a connection since the battle against the large demon, Beleneth. We had both almost died, Tysen was so badly injured that his lycanthropy wasn’t able to heal him fast enough to avoid leaving scars on him.

  “You’re scowling,” Tysen whispered as he leapt up to the branch I was on. He let both legs hang around the branch and smiled at me.

  “Memories,” I responded and closed my eyes.

  Tysen rested his hand on my cheek and whispered, “We are both safe.”

  Leaning into his warm hand I whispered, “I know.”

  “Are you mad at me?” he asked.

  I opened my eyes and smiled at him. “No. I’m not mad. I know you didn’t do it on purpose. You wouldn’t have done something like that without my permission.”

  He exhaled a long breath of relief.

  “What did the guys call you in a meeting for?” I asked curiously.

  “They felt you join the pack and were worried that I’d somehow turned you instead of just formed a mating bond,” he explained.

  “I thought it was impossible to turn humans?”

  He nodded. “It is, but our connection was unique to begin with.”

  “The two oddballs, that’s us,” I said with a laugh.

  He laughed too and I felt the tension ease out of him. He was so handsome when he laughed.

  “Come on, let’s go inside,” he said and leapt down from the tree.