by Tessa Clarke
He wanted to crawl over to her and take her in his arms, but Marika had a needle in his thigh.
“I probably should have told you about this before. I was planning to tell you tonight, when we got back to my place,” he said.
She shook her head and seemed to come out of her trance. “It’s okay. I’m fine. Do you usually get attacked by packs of coyotes?”
Marika’s needle seemed to pierce his skin more painfully.
“No,” he said. “It’s not my fight,” he repeated, and then looked over to where Rowan stared into the fire, his face tight and dark.
“Did you grow up...” He could hear the hesitation in her voice. “Up here?”
Chance gave a low chuckle. “No, Rowan and I grew up in Missoula in a very nice suburban home. Our dad is a doctor and our mom is a lawyer. We both came to ski at White Peaks as kids and loved it here, for different reasons.”
Marika tied off the last of his sutures and placed bandages over the larger ones. Then she retreated wordlessly to the fire and Rowan, leaving Astrid and Chance alone.
He hoisted himself into a sitting position, his back against the wall. “You can come and sit over here,” he said, elevating his eyebrow and lifting his unstitched arm. “I don’t bite.”
Astrid grimaced a bit at his joke, but nonetheless approached and carefully positioned herself beneath his raised arm, sitting not too close and not too far from his naked torso. He could, he reflected, put his underwear and shirt back on, but there was the possibility that he would be called upon to shift suddenly in the night, if the pack came back, so best to stay naked. At least that was the rationale he was going with anyway.
He’d noticed Astrid stealing several glances at his body when he was fully exposed, and the prospect of her enjoying his nakedness made his cock even more erect.
“What does it feel like to shift?” she said. Then when he didn’t answer right away, dropped her head and looked away. “Sorry if that’s too personal. I’m studying biology at college. I’m just interested from a biological perspective.”
He stroked her neck with his finger and felt her relax into him a bit. “It’s okay. It just feels like my body is morphing a bit like modeling clay as my limbs and spine adjust, and my skin tingles where the fur is growing or disappearing. It only takes a few seconds.”
“But what do you feel like when you’re… in your animal form?”
Chance considered for a few seconds. “I feel wilder, stronger, freer, sharper, and more instinctual. It’s exhilarating to be a tiger. I can run incredibly fast, leap thirty feet from a standstill, and take in so much information through my senses. But I still like my human form the best.”
Astrid nodded. “Do you hunt?”
“Sometimes.” He was not going to deny this basic fact.
She turned and studied him, her eyes like limpid pools. “Do you remember who you are?”
He pulled her tighter to him. “Yes, I always remember who I am.”
They sat in silence for a few seconds listening to the crackle of the fire. Astrid placed a tentative hand on his thigh, and his cock and heart lurched.
“I’ve heard that shifters mate for life,” she said, finally. “Was Susie?”
Chance grimaced against the pain of hearing Susie’s name and tried to block out the memories of the accident that had taken her life. “Susie was my mate, yes. But she’s gone, and I’m moving on. Shifters can take second mates.”
“When Rowan introduced me to Marika, he called me your mate. Why?”
“Because he’s my twin, and he can sense how I’m feeling about a woman.”
Astrid jerked her head to look at him searchingly, her eyes wide.
“I don’t want to rush you into anything,” he said. “Let’s get through the night and go home. Then we can have a proper date, and I can convince you of my charms.” He gave her the grin that most women seemed to find irresistible, and hoped.
They settled themselves together on the pallet, which smelled of grasses and furs and was surprisingly comfortable. Chance lay on his unstitched side and cupped his hand around her head as his lips found hers. He had intended it to be a chaste kiss, but in the semi-darkness, inhaling her scent and feeling her body touching his almost naked one, he felt electrified, and he kissed her more deeply and thoroughly than he had planned. His cock leapt to attention and he pulled her to him firmly. She could not help but feel his arousal and leaned back a little.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’ll behave I promise.”
“Behaving is overrated,” she whispered. “But we aren’t exactly alone.”
Chance shifted his eyes to where Rowan and Marika sat staring at the flames and pulled Astrid’s body against his, pressing his lips against her forehead.
Tonight, they would sleep. In the morning, he would take her back to his house and fuck her, gently and perfectly. Then he would convince her to be his mate.
Chapter Five: Astrid
Astrid tried to sort through her emotions as Chance wrapped his arms around her and held her close. His body was like beyond a wonderland. Broad shoulders, ripped abs, and tight buttocks. Her heart felt like it might accelerate right out of her chest. She’d also surreptitiously checked out his package and found it to be very satisfactory, more than satisfactory. It was absolutely huge.
She wanted to fuck him, very definitely. She wanted to feel that cock inside of her pussy, feel him driving into her, tasting her. She could hardly think straight when she was this close to him. He was still naked, for god sakes. Her fingers were pressed against his washboard stomach. If she just moved her hand down, she could…
But he was a shifter, and she should tread carefully. What did being a shifter mean, really? Did he expect to dominate her? Did he go off in rages? Would he need to be alone and in his animal form for days at a time? Could he control his instincts?
Chance was such a nice guy. He’d always been a good friend. Why would she think he would be anything else just because he was a shifter?
She inhaled deeply and smelled the fresh scent of his skin.
She should sleep. It must be three or four in the morning. But every inch of her body felt alive. Every inch of her body was calling out for him.
His breathing grew heavier. He had fallen asleep. She curled into him and tried to sleep too.
The fire had grown lower when Astrid startled awake to the sound of Rowan and Marika’s murmurs.
She glanced over at them and saw Rowan’s naked buttocks rising and falling over Marika’s groin. They weren’t talking. They were having sex, right there in the cave, only twenty or so feet away.
She could see Rowan’s giant cock sliding in and out of Marika’s pussy, as Marika let out low moans of approval and lifted her large pert breasts to meet her mate’s lips. Skin on skin, their bodies glowed golden in the firelight. Rowan started to thrust harder.
Astrid’s arousal hit her like a ton of bricks. She wanted Chance now. She ached for him.
She tried to close her eyes, to not watch Rowan and Marika. Her own pussy was already wet and throbbing. She arched it a little at Chance’s leg.
Rowan had flipped Marika over and was rocking into her rhythmically while she knelt in front of him, her breasts bobbing.
Astrid felt like she could come right there, just from watching. She resolutely turned away.
“They don’t mind, you know.” Chance’s voice was husky in her ear. “They’re wild ones. This is part of their culture. It’s okay. They aren’t swingers or anything.”
She sprang back as if to deny seeing anything, deny looking, but Chance caught her forcefully and rolled her over onto her back. His lips took hers and his cock, already hard, hovered above her slick cunt, which was still covered in all of her ski clothes. She arched her back and lifted her hips into him, and he obliged, pressing his hardness against her. His tongue devoured her mouth and she reached around to cup his perfect muscular ass, spreading her legs and wrappin
g them around his waist. He thrust against her. He was so big. How was she going to take him?
Chance snaked a hand up her shirt and beneath her bra, caressing one of her little breasts. She turned away slightly, ashamed that she was so small, that she did not have the beautiful breasts that Marika had.
But Chance let his lips fall to her neck and ear. “I love your gorgeous little perfect titties,” he said. “I want to see them, and taste them. May I?”
Astrid nodded, almost in a daze of desire. Her pussy clenched at nothingness, and she bucked against his groin. She wanted him inside of her so badly. She did a half sit up and Chance pulled her shirt up and over her neck so she wore only her white lace bra. He snapped it open deftly and then his lips and tongue fell to her nipples.
She reached her hand around and ran it up the length of his shaft. The smooth skin was almost steely against her hand and the tip of his rod was already slippery.
“Your hand feels so good on my cock,” he said, his voice low. “I can’t wait to be inside you. Do you want me inside of you, Tris?”
Astrid could only let out a moan of anticipation in response.
“Stroke that cock then, while I undress you.”
Astrid’s hand was slick on his cock and she moved it faster and faster, feeling the unbelievable weight of him.
With one hand, Chance inched her long underwear down, his lips leaving a trail of kisses down her abdomen, along the curve of her inner thigh and finally her calf as he removed the last of her clothing. Then he ran his lips back up her leg, pausing over her throbbing cunt.
He breathed in deeply, smelling her, and then his tongue found her clit, and Astrid thought she might die of arousal. He slid two fingers into her wet slit and started to stroke while he sucked and licked every part of her pussy. She thrust blindly up into his face, her fingers tangled in his hair, riding euphorically on the edge of an orgasm until she found herself coming wildly, and had to bite her lip to keep from screaming out.
He was back up on top of her in seconds, his lips back on hers and his cock pressed against her waiting slit. She could taste her own sweet saltiness. He entered her fractionally, which made her jerk against him, wanting to feel him, all of him, inside of her.
“Are you good with this?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Yes. Now. Please.”
Chance watched her intently as he slid all the way into her, his huge cock filling her in a way she’d never experienced before. Her legs felt all hot and cold and she wanted to writhe against him, but he pressed his lips softly against hers.
“Just wait for a few seconds while your pussy expands.”
When he started to move, it was with the greatest of care, stroking his cock in and out of her, watching her the whole time, mesmerizing her. How was it possible that a man this hot wanted her? Astrid felt like she was floating on a warm ocean of desire that was expanding and carrying her. She dug her fingernails into his ass and pulled him tighter, jerking her hips up into his groin and biting his lip.
Chance smiled. “You’re like a tiger in bed, my love.”
Astrid laughed, but didn’t stop what she was doing. Chance began to move more quickly and forcefully, thrusting her back, filling her again and again while she arched back and pressed her hips into him, wanting to feel that cock as deeply inside of her as possible.
He still watched her with the intense gaze of a predator, consuming her with his eyes, but every so often he would close his eyes, lost in pleasure, and she would watch his strong jaw and perfect lips.
She was conscious of Rowan and Marika’s eyes on them occasionally as they pursued their own satisfactions. But it didn’t bother her. In fact she spread her legs a little wider, allowing them a better view, nearly fainting at her own daring. She must be totally drunk, or high on Chance, but somehow being watched was almost as titillating as being fucked.
Chance sped up yet again, and drove into her, his cock slick and wet. It felt like he had pushed her to the edge of consciousness and if forced to talk, she would be a babbling idiot, wanting to spend forever in his arms, forever under his naked body.
But a second orgasm was building inside of her, and she wanted it. Chance grunted softly as he began to reach his own climax. She launched her hips into the air and stiffened her body. As his cock pushed deep inside of her, she felt her pussy clench around it with rhythmic jerks, just as he threw his head back and gave a loud groan, exploding in her cunt with hard final strokes.
She felt almost bereft when he pulled out of her. A glistening sheen of sweat covered their bodies. Chance pulled the fur rug back over them, took her in his arms, and nuzzled his lips against her ear.
“A voyeur and an exhibitionist. I knew you were perfect, Tris, but I didn’t know how perfect.”
Astrid felt a well of laughter rise up in her. “Don’t tell me you expect me to spend every night up here in this cave fucking you. Not that I don’t like fucking you. I like it a lot,” she said.
Chance nipped her ear. “No, but I hope you’ll spend most nights somewhere fucking me. But no stages or caves are required, I promise.”
She nestled against his broad shoulder. “Do you really mean that? This isn’t just one night for you? I mean I’m just Astrid, and you’re Chance, the super-god freeskier, and tiger.”
His hair tickled against her forehead. “I certainly hope this isn’t just one night. I hope it’s the first night of many nights for the rest of our lives. And you are not just Astrid. You’re Tris, super-biologist, ski-patroller supreme, and goddess in bed.”
Astrid snorted and closed her eyes. She wanted to believe him. It was just hard. He was so hot. Susie, Chance’s fiancé, had been a stunning and statuesque blond and a champion freeskier. Astrid must seem like the booby prize in comparison.
He pulled her against him and she lay there listening to his heartbeat and breathing in the scent of his skin. The rise and fall of his chest evened and deepened, and his hold on her slackened slightly as sleep took him again.
She closed her eyes and fell into a world of sweet and crazy dreams about tigers and hot men.
Chapter Six: Chance
Chance awoke to the sounds of coyotes howling outside the cave. Astrid lay asleep in his arms and he instinctively tightened his hold on her, wanting to protect her. The coyotes wouldn’t dare come in the cave with two tiger shifters inside. In fact for the most part, even in a pack, they probably could not seriously injure he or Rowan. But their persistence was beginning to become annoying, and he knew that Rowan feared for Marika. He could understand his brother’s fears. There was no way Chance wanted them to harm his new mate.
His mate. It was so odd and wonderful to be able to say that again. He’d needed to be with her, to feel the complete connection of their bodies to know, but now he was sure. He wanted her to be his for life. He just hoped she’d want the same thing. But although she’d been divine in bed and her usual upbeat self last night, she’d seemed oddly skittish. But him being a shifter and the attack by the coyotes had probably been a lot to take in.
The faint light of dawn illuminated the cave. Chance studied the curve of Astrid’s cheek and shoulder. He brushed a lock of her nut-brown hair away from her jaw. She was so gorgeous, not in a showy way, but in a well-structured, natural way. She oozed aliveness, and she almost always had a flash of fire in her eyes. The funny thing was, she seemed to have no idea how beautiful she was. She was as lively a lover as he’d hoped, and their bodies fit together perfectly. His cock already twitched against his leg, wanting to be back inside her.
She fluttered her eyelashes and started to see him staring at her.
“Sorry,” he murmured. “I couldn’t help myself.”
She ran her fingers up over his hip and onto his ass, pulling him to her. He felt a surge of need.
“What are those coyotes doing out there?” she said.
“Just trying to irritate us out of here,” Chance replied. “They’ll
leave soon. They don’t like to be out and about in the daylight. The mountain will be swarming with skiers seeking fresh pow in a couple hours.”
Astrid almost jerked upright at this, and he pulled her back down, stroking circles in the small of her back.
“What’s up?”
Astrid gave a wry grin. “I was just imagining my walk of shame, having to ski through the base lodge area in the same clothes I wore to the wedding last night. But I have my ski suit. So I’m fine.”
“Isn’t it only a walk of shame if the sex was bad?” Chance asked with a wink. “I’m going to be doing the walk of pride. I was thinking of writing, ‘Tris is super hot in bed’ in jiffy marker on the back of my jacket. What do you think?”
Astrid rolled her eyes, but gave him a gorgeous little smile. “I think you’re crazy, in a good way.”
He kissed her, and then let his hands fall to her pert breasts. He felt her breathing quicken, and her hand clasped around his buttocks tightened, pulling him more firmly into her groin. They moved against each other for a few seconds, and then Chance traced his fingers down her abdomen and slipped them inside her already wet slit.
His cock leapt even more to attention. But Astrid gave him an impish grin, and rolled away from him. He thought maybe she was trying to say no, but she flipped over and pressed her round ass against his cock, which made him ramrod straight and even harder. She wiggled her butt around and his cock slapped against it.
“I need you,” he whispered. “Now.”
“Good,” she said. “Take me.”
He was inside her in seconds, nearly faint with his own desire as her tight pussy surrounded his cock. He began to move gently against her. If he thrust too hard, he’d come immediately.
Astrid let out soft moans and sighs of pleasure as she arched her back and pressed into him, her full red lips parted. He reached around and caressed her tits with their hard nubs of nipples. Then he braced himself with her hipbones and started to pulse more intensely, listening to her moaning rise in volume. He was riding that edge of euphoria where one stray thought or deep thrust would bring him to climax, his cock poised so precisely and precariously on the threshold of coming. He couldn’t wait to get her alone where she could scream as loudly as she wanted.
