by Bianca D'Arc
“After the past few weeks, I think I’ve pickled my insides enough. Juice sounds good, thanks.”
His crooked smile was enough to make her knees go weak. Especially in the dim light of the little solar lights that lit the path to the cottage doorway. She could see Urse’s influence on the décor now that she knew the place had been constructed just for her visit.
Moira unlocked the door and led the way in, flipping on the switch by the door that illuminated a small table lamp in the corner by the TV. She thought about Seamus’s words and the fact that she hadn’t seen him drink a drop of alcohol at dinner, even though the wine and beer was flowing freely. Perhaps he hadn’t had a drinking problem so much as a problem with not knowing what had happened to Eamon. Now that he knew, it really seemed like the need to drink had left him.
“Have a seat. I’ll get the drinks,” she invited as they walked into the cabin.
“I like the color scheme Urse chose. You’d never know this place was a garage two days ago,” Seamus said, looking around as he sat on the couch.
“Did you help with the building here too?” she asked as she poured juice for them both and then brought it over to the coffee table.
“Nah, there wasn’t really time. John did this one himself. There’s a bit of a building boom going on in town, if you hadn’t noticed,” he said with a wink, leaning over to pick up his glass. “It’s been all hands on deck ever since the mer arrived. Today was my first day off in two weeks.”
She frowned. “Passing out on the beach at eleven in the morning is how you spend your days off?”
“It was either that or spend my time thinking too damn much about what might’ve happened to the kid,” Seamus admitted. “I didn’t even want the time off. I’ve been working as much as they’ll let me, just to keep busy, but the materials didn’t arrive on time, so everyone took today off to deal with housekeeping issues and whatnot. Generally, all you would’ve heard in town is the sound of saws and air compressors, but the supply shipment didn’t arrive on time, so today was quiet, for a change. Tomorrow, we’ll be back at it, I suspect. If the driver of that delivery truck doesn’t get lost again.”
“I can’t believe I only just met you this morning. It seems like…” She didn’t finish the thought, not wanting to sound foolish.
“Like we’ve known each other all our lives?” Seamus said in a low tone, saying the words she’d been thinking. Did he really feel the same?
“Something like that,” she admitted, shy now that they were talking about important, personal things.
She had never been too comfortable discussing her feelings—or the feelings of the few men she’d been with in her life. It was easier just to enjoy the moments together without analyzing everything, but this time…with Seamus…everything was different.
“It’s kind of crazy, isn’t it?” She looked to him for confirmation.
Seamus moved closer to her on the sofa. She’d sat next to him after delivering the glasses to the coffee table, but she’d kept a respectable distance between them. A distance that was narrowing as they seemed to gravitate towards each other.
“It’s the very best kind of crazy,” he agreed. “And for the record, I’m feeling it too. It’s not something I can explain or claim to have ever felt before. It’s like everything’s new and, yet, familiar in a comforting way. You calm my restless spirit, Moira. And you make me want things I probably shouldn’t.”
“I do?” she whispered as he slid ever closer.
Seamus nodded, holding her gaze as he put one arm along the back of the couch. They were both angled toward each other already, but he moved closer until their knees touched.
“You do, sweetheart. You pull me in like a raging river.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Moira was glad she was already sitting down when Seamus laid it on the line. His words made her knees tremble and her belly clench. The look in his eyes was serious as he moved slowly closer. He was going to kiss her, and she was going to let him.
No, not just let him. She was going to kiss him back. With interest. She’d been wanting to kiss him again since that first kiss at the picnic table on the beach. In truth, she’d been wanting to do more than just kiss him. She wanted to taste him—all over—and find out what it felt like to make love to him.
Never before had she been so instantly and intensely attracted to a man. That he was a shifter unlike any she’d ever met before made her wonder if all koala shifters were this magnetic, but she dismissed the thought almost as soon as it formed. No other man could affect her like this. She just knew it.
Call it instinct. Call it fate. Whatever it was, she knew Seamus was, and always would be, unique in her experience. She wanted to know him intimately. She wanted to make love with him and carry that experience with her the rest of her life. Whether it would lead to some kind of future for them was still open for debate, but that didn’t matter. What mattered most was right here, right now. This man, this attraction.
She moved into his arms and met him halfway. Their lips joined, and then, all serious thought fled as she gave over to sensation and the amazing feelings Seamus’s kisses aroused in her body, her heart and her very soul.
When he advanced, she lay back on the couch, grateful it was a substantial piece of furniture, overstuffed and cushy enough to lay on without running out of room. It was probably built on grizzly bear scale, but was the perfect size for two more average-human-sized shifters like herself and Seamus.
What was even more perfect was the way he touched her, gently but with an urgency she felt too. She pushed at his shirt, wanting it gone, and he complied. Within moments, she was touching his skin. His warm, rough, hard-muscled skin.
He might have Irish ancestors, but the Aboriginal side of his family tree left him with a smooth creamed-coffee tone that was intensely arousing against her own much lighter shade of pale. She was freckled. His skin was tan, and the contrast made her want to move closer. Ever closer.
She clung to his muscular shoulders as they kissed, removing her hands only when she needed to so he could free her of her clothing. Before she knew it, they were both bare, straining against each other for the first time, skin to skin. The most basic form of communication.
She was completely nude, but he still had his pants on. It didn’t seem fair. She wanted them gone. But just as she was about to protest, he began trailing kisses down her neck and onto her torso. He paused to lavish attention on her breasts, sucking and biting gently. Enough to tease, but not to hurt. Just the way she liked it.
When he moved lower, she gasped. Did he intend to…?
Oh, my. Yes. Yes, he did.
Seamus splayed her legs, supporting them with his strong hands, licking down the inside of one trembling thigh until he came to the spot that quivered in anticipation. And then, he was there. Stroking her clit with his skilled tongue. The wet warmth of his mouth made her pant as he explored her most intimate places with his tongue and lips.
When she could take no more, she moaned his name, coming against his tongue. She could feel him smiling against her sensitive skin as he kissed his way up her body a few moments later.
She was so lost in his kiss she didn’t realize he was moving until her head spun. He had lifted her clear off the sofa and into his arms. She opened her eyes, only to shut them again as the world spun. He twirled her in his arms, almost dancing with her, until they were facing the direction of the bed, and she hoped to the Goddess that was his destination.
After that little taste of heaven, she wasn’t done with him. Not by a long shot.
“Where ya going?” Moira was proud that she’d been able to string three words together into a sentence. Her mind was still caught in the whirl of delicious sensation he’d caused.
Seamus placed her on the bed, then stood and backed away. For a moment, she was afraid he intended to leave, but he smiled down on her with that crooked grin that made her heart go pitter patter.
“No place without you, sw
eetheart,” he promised.
She watched as he unbuttoned and unzipped his worn blue jeans. Was there ever a sexier garment worn by man? She thought not.
When he was revealed, she caught her breath. She didn’t know much about his shifter half, but the human half was…perfect. Hard where a man should be, and sculpted by the hand of a master, he was a masterpiece of the male form, come to life. She felt womanly and sexy when his eyes flared as he watched her…waiting for him…ready for whatever he might have in store.
She beckoned to him, and he didn’t wait a moment longer. He strode forward, leaving his clothing behind him on the floor of the cabin, and joined her on the wide bed. She was especially glad the bears had opted for a large bed in the guest cabin. She hadn’t expected to share it with anyone, but now that she’d met Seamus, she wanted to keep him with her—in her bed—for as long as he’d let her.
“Is it all right?” Seamus asked as he came down beside her.
“More than just all right,” she told him, smiling at the man who would soon be her lover. “Make love to me, Seamus,” she whispered, letting him know in no uncertain terms that she wanted him. She wouldn’t give him any cause to question her willingness again.
“Your wish is my command, milady,” he joked, dipping his head to kiss her playfully.
What started as something lighthearted and fun soon turned serious and sultry. One of his legs was between hers, and he stroked up her calf with his, widening her position while his hard-muscled thigh came close to rubbing against the spot that yearned for the pressure, the touch, the feel of him—any part of him. She was quickly becoming desperate.
The quick, hard climax he’d given her with his mouth had only set the stage for more. Her level of need rose quickly, making her grab onto his shoulders and practically demand that he fuck her. Right now!
She didn’t have to say the words. He seemed to understand. Their bodies were talking on a physical level. She was rapidly approaching the point where words would become impossible as sensation took over with his skilled fingers playing with her breasts, his body caressing her in ways that made her squirm to get closer. He made her yearn. In a way she had never thought she could yearn for anything or anyone.
It was all new with Seamus. New and intense…and a little frightening, if she was being honest.
She wasn’t afraid of him. Not at all. No, what alarmed her was the strength of emotion that making love with him caused to well up in her soul. It would only get deeper, she feared, as they came together, joining bodies and purposes, straining together toward a sweet oblivion from which she suspected there would be no going back. Once she knew what it was like to make love with Seamus, she worried she might be ruined for all other men…for all time.
But what a way to go…
She clutched at him, urging him silently to take her, to join with her and fuck her deep, hard, and without mercy. He seemed to get the message, thank the Goddess. Seamus moved over her, taking the place he’d prepared between her legs. One strong hand tested her readiness gently, caressing, rubbing and delving into the wet folds that were desperate for something harder, thicker, longer and much more satisfying.
And then, he gave it to her. Seamus joined his body to hers, taking possession with a strong forward thrust that was perfect in its timing, pressure and firmness. He took her over, overwhelmed her in the most pleasant possible way, and showed her things she hadn’t known her body was capable of feeling…or doing.
He stroked within her—long, slow strokes at first, then beginning to vary in rhythm, thrust and motion. He brought her to a precipice, only to let her slide down again before bringing her to yet another high point. Time after time, he built the pleasure until she was certain she would go mad with it before he finished.
“Seamus! Please!” She begged him for relief, for fulfillment, for…something indefinable.
Then, and only then, did he relent. It was as if he’d been waiting for her signal to finally let loose his monumental control. All the finesse he’d demonstrated to this point was lost in a timeless moment of pure animal lust that swept her along with him into a maelstrom of sensation unlike anything she’d ever felt before.
Short, hard digs brought her to the highest point yet, and she screamed his name as she fell off the edge of the world, held safe in his arms, sliding into the most incredible ecstasy of her life. With Seamus. And only with Seamus.
He shouted her name as he joined her, and she held him, loving the tense quiver of his muscles as he strained in completion. She loved that she’d brought him to this point. She loved that he’d given of himself so freely. She loved the open, honest communication of their bodies.
Could it be that she loved him too?
Confusion clouded her mind for a moment, but the aftershocks of pleasure were still running up and down her nervous system. This was no time for deep thoughts. Right now, there was only time for bliss. Deep and delicious, utter bliss.
Seamus held her throughout the climax and its devastating aftermath. He was her safe harbor in the storm of sensation. When they had both caught their breath, he kept her close, shifting them on the bed so that he was on his back, his arm around her as she nestled into his side, her cheek resting over his heart. The reassuring thump-thump of his heartbeat made her drowsy, but how could she sleep when the earth had just moved?
“Damn, Seamus. That was pretty damn awesome,” she whispered, needing to speak her mind to the man she felt closer to than any she had bedded before.
But how could that be? She’d only known him a handful of hours.
“I guess I don’t need to ask, then, if it was good for you.” He squeezed her shoulders, a simple sign of affection that meant the world to her in that moment. “In case you’re wondering, you just blew my mind, sweetheart. I’m having a hard time forming coherent sentences.”
“That good, huh?” She smiled, placing little kisses on his chest. “I think I like the sound of that.” She levered herself over him and straddled his hips. Smiling at him, she felt his renewed interest against her thigh. “Shall we try something a little different for round two?”
“I’m at your disposal, Moira,” he agreed with a wide grin and a devilish twinkle in his eye. “Do your worst, sweetheart.”
She took him at his word, and this time, she fucked him, taking control of the situation from beginning to end. It was a heady feeling. None of her other lovers had ever let her lead the entire way. She could tell Seamus was holding back, letting her go at her pace, trying not to rush her, and she appreciated that he would give her that control.
Even if it was only just this one time, his patience showed her that he was a kind and considerate lover who gave as well as took. He was one in a million. Or perhaps, one of a kind.
He let her control their passion, and when they came, they came together, at her direction. It was a unique experience for her. Not one she would demand often, but it was good to know that Seamus was willing to give her whatever she wanted. Including himself and control over their shared intimacy.
That was more than most of the male shifters she’d been with were willing to allow, and it just pointed out to her again that Seamus was different in the important ways that mattered. With him, she could be herself and ask for control, and he’d actually give it to her, not just some facsimile of what she wanted, to be rescinded at whatever point he chose.
Maybe Aussie men were just more secure, or had more control. She wasn’t sure if it was an Aussie thing, a koala-shifter thing, or just a Seamus thing. Quite possibly, it was Seamus who made all the difference, and she decided then and there to keep him around until she solved the mystery—at the very least.
Eventually, she slept, a great big sappy grin on her lips even as she faded into the oblivion of sleep with Seamus a warm presence at her side.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The next morning, one of Moore’s mercenary shifters arrived by helicopter. There really wasn’t any place to land in town, so the newcomer
rappelled down a rope in a rather showy display of physical prowess. The chopper then flew off toward the south.
The commando show had taken place right in front of town hall, just as Moira and Seamus approached the bakery. He said he’d drop her off there for her breakfast with the ladies, and then, he’d go over to town hall for the meeting John had set up for him with a representative of Moore’s mercenary group. The message had come through by text on Seamus’s cell phone around midnight, along with a warning not to keep their guest up all night, so the Alpha definitely knew Seamus was still in the guest cabin with Moira.
She didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or feel a bit triumphant. Shifters seldom gave a damn about things like nudity or others knowing who they were sleeping with, but Moira had spent her time passing as human more often than not, and some of their ways had rubbed off on her a bit. Still, she was among shifters now, and she saw no reason to hide that fact that she and Seamus had hit it off.
Certainly, they might have rushed to bed a bit quickly, as these things go, but everything felt so right with him she couldn’t find it in herself to have any regrets…or embarrassment. The fact that the women of Grizzly Cove hadn’t realized what a considerate man and great lover stood in their midst was to Moira’s benefit. She had him now, and she was going to keep him for a good long while. The other girls were just out of luck when it came to the sexy Aussie.
That’s where the triumphant feelings came in. She’d discovered his hidden talents, and she wasn’t about to share him with anyone. He was hers for the duration.
“I guess that’s the mercenary bloke,” Seamus said with a grin, shaking his head as they looked at the man dressed all in black now heading into the town hall. The helicopter that had brought him was long gone, off like a shot heading back the way it had come as soon as the commando was clear.
“Maybe it’s just a scout selling cookies,” she offered, laughing with him as he snickered at her joke. She looked at the bakery just behind them and saw the ladies at the window. “Looks like my meeting is about to begin, and judging by that show, yours is too,” she told him.
