A deep quiver began within her. With every movement, it grew and her body became less and less her own. Control left and a new wave of feelings overtook her.
Another gasp dragged through her throat. Virgil's rhythm changed to match her rising intensity. Emmie's eyes locked onto the pure gray of his eyes as her body lifted and an explosion burst through her cells.
Virgil’s mouth opened part way as his body contracted and the two froze together, barely moving as surges of energy ran through them.
It was a few minutes before Emmie remembered the cold around her, her clothes lying chilly beneath her. She turned and curled her body into Virgil’s not ready to give herself up to the reality of the cold that was even now moving in.
Chapter Six
Emmie got no sleep after Virgil dropped her safely at the Ward Ranch. She couldn't stop seeing his gray eyes and feel his hands on her. The prospect of Virgil leaving and her body and mind continuing without him seemed an impossible thing.
The day dragged on. She made her rounds and thought she saw the same pack of coyotes or wolves that she’d seen before, but they were gone before she even remembered her missing rifle.
Every moment was filled with thought and she couldn’t manage to keep her mind focused on any task for more than a few seconds. She wondered where Virgil was, how far away, if he’d made up with Max or if something bad might have happened to him. When she finally crept into bed that night her head was so foggy and her eyes so heavy that she slipped into bed and into a full sleep within only a few minutes.
She was so heavily and deeply asleep that she could not understand what was happening as she woke in the middle of the night. There was a pounding sound, it was dark, and she could barely make sense of it until she looked out her window and saw Virgil’s face.
It was a moment before she could conceive that she wasn’t dreaming and was able to get up and open her window. Her smile disappeared when she saw the serious look on his face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Max, Otis, and Levi are on their way over. I tried to reason with them earlier, we even made it out of town, but Max is stubborn and dangerous.”
Emmie put her hand on Virgil’s arm, “It will be ok. We have another rifle inside, and another in the barn, we’ll be safe here.”
“No,” Virgil’s face went tight and Emmie watched him closely. “There’s something you don’t know about me… about the four of us.”
Emmie felt a sinking feeling creep through the pit of her stomach. The way he said it and the look on his face were telling her that any or all of her worst fears were most certainly true.
“Emeline,” Virgil braced himself on the side of the house. “You know how I told you that the cattle were taken by animals?”
Emmie nodded waiting for further explanation but nothing came.
"That was you? You're telling me that you did steal the McGilligcuddy cattle?”
“Yes, and the other morning too,” Virgil squinted his eyes.
“Other morning?”
“The morning you came out—”
“—No,” Emmie interrupted. “I saw wolves remember?”
“Exactly,” Virgil exhaled the word slowly.
“I don’t understand,” Emmie’s face screwed up. Whatever her worst fears had been they hadn’t revolved around Virgil stealing cattle and for a moment she had felt vaguely relieved.
“Remember you shot one in the leg?” Virgil lifted his brows as if this would be the final clue, but Emmie shook her head without understanding. “You shot Levi.”
“But I didn’t… I shot…” Emmie’s thoughts drifted by as she saw the look in Virgil’s eyes. She was looking at two pieces of a puzzle that made no sense. Unless…
“You are telling me—”
“—Yes, that is exactly what I’m telling you. That is why they are so dangerous, why we need to get you out of here.”
Emmie stared at him for another long moment.
“Emeline, please.” Virgil’s voice was so full of conviction and momentum that she felt she had no choice but to move.
“Ok,” She nodded at him before running to get her boots.
“You should get the extra rifle too,” Virgil turned to look out over the land behind him.
“I can’t leave Silas without one, I’ll get the one in the barn,” Emmie instinctively understood that there was no time for more explanations, no time for changing out of her night dress, no time to think twice.
Emmie shimmied out of her window while Virgil gripped her arm, then the two of them made their way down to the dirt and grass below.
As soon as her feet hit the grass she knew something was wrong. When she turned, she saw all three of them before her. She had no weapon, only Virgil and they didn’t stand a chance against three.
Emmie tried to calculate how long it would take her to get to the barn but it was impossibly far.
“You’re becoming rather predictable these days,” Max looked at Virgil.
“You should leave,” Virgil’s voice was strong and Emmie guessed that his voice was showing a strength his mind could not be so sure of.
“I’ll leave when I get what I came here for,” Max walked forward with an arrogance he certainly hadn’t earned from his last fight with Virgil.
A crack came from Emmie’s left. The front door of the house swung open, slamming against the wood behind it. Silas stood in the doorway with a shotgun lifted to his shoulder.
“You should stop right there,” Silas spoke slowly and Emmie watched as Max’s smile grew larger.
“Dad,” Emmie had to warn her father that at any moment a wolf could be attacking him but just as she finished the word Max shifted with a leap into a full-grown wolf. A crack rang out into the night and Emmie began running toward her father.
A shriek came from her other side and she turned her head to see Virgil shift and pounce on Otis. As her head spun back to her father another flash of color moved in front of her and Emmie found herself rolling on the ground, long, sharp teeth snapping at her face.
Emmie put both feet up to the belly of the wolf then pushed with a great effort. It didn’t last long but just long enough for Emmie to see the place where she’d shot him a few days before.
Gathering all her strength Emmie kicked at the back leg of the animal. Her foot made contact and a yelp of pain went up.
She looked up again to see Virgil jump on Levi as Otis lay in an unmoving heap on the grass.
A loud growl issued from the front porch and Emmie turned to see Max as he took notice of his brother’s lifeless body.
Max turned from Otis to Virgil and lunged at him. Just as Max made contact with Virgil, Levi also turned to make it two against one on Virgil. Emmie stood and ran with all her might at the injured wolf. They tumbled over closer to the front porch where Emmie could vaguely see her father’s body laying broken. She looked up as Levi lunged for her.
She saw the movement as if in slow motion, the seconds drawing out, Levi jumped for her and Virgil turned from Max striking out at Levi with such force that the injured wolf flew through the air and thudded unmoving against the house.
Max jumped again but Virgil was ready for him this time. Within a few seconds, it was over. Emmie ran to her father's body trying without success to find a pulse. Her eyes filled over her only parent, now dead.
Emmie turned toward Virgil who had just changed back into himself. His eyes were full of everything she felt.
“He’s gone,” Emmie looked at Virgil pleading for him to contradict her.
Two heavy tears rolled down her cheeks, then without a moment’s thought, Emmie picked up the discarded gun still on the porch, cocked it, and fired. Virgil swung around to see Max sprawled out on the ground just as he’d been before Emmie had taken her perfect shot.
Chapter Seven
The graveyard in Cool Water Gap was not in the center of town with the church. It was out ways but Emmie had always gone there regularly to visit her mother's graves
ite.
Now as she stood over her mother’s grave she looked at her father’s grave too.
“I miss you,” She whispered the words to both her parents who now, after all these years, were together again.
Pushing a tear off her cheek she turned back toward the ranch. Virgil stood with his serious eyes and mouth, his body tense and set, waiting for her, watching over her.
He walked her out past the small makeshift gravestones, some good and some rudimentary. Red was just outside the small enclosure and Emmie swung herself up onto his back in one fluid motion.
The sun was shining down on her skin and she lifted her face up to it, closing her eyes for a moment.
When she opened her eyes again she turned them to Virgil.
"I'll race you home," Before she'd finished saying "race" she'd given Red a signal and begun off toward the ranch. Red was strong beneath her, his hooves thundering along the ground. The wind brushed across Emmie's face and she looked back over her shoulder to see the sleek gray wolf easily keeping pace with her.
She shook her head wishing that for once she and Red stood more of a chance to win. When Emmie pulled up to the ranch first she shook her head at Virgil.
“What?” He raised his hands. “You won. You must be happy with that.”
Emmie pushed her lips together and studied him, “No. You let me win. That’s not the same thing.”
Virgil feigned ignorance of his rigged race and Emmie walked past him into the house to set the table for dinner.
They slept with the windows open as the summer came on and their bodies intertwined as the easy summer breeze flowed over them both.
As the sun began to break, Emmie woke. She walked free and naked to the window, standing in awe at the beauty of something that happens every morning. She leaned her head against the windowsill and breathed in the fresh air of a new day.
Emmie turned to watch the man sleeping soundly in her bed. His body was strong and lithe, his face perfect in the grip of a deep and dreamless sleep.
She felt an overwhelming sense of love flood her senses as she watched him. She walked to the edge of the bed and looked down into his face, wishing she could see his gray eyes once again.
“I love you,” Emmie whispered down to the sleeping man.
She crawled back into bed and pulled herself close to his body.
Emmie’s mouth found Virgil’s and they fit together perfectly.
“Good morning,” Virgil smiled a sleepy smile as his hands slid over Emmie’s warm skin.
“It is a good morning,” Emmie smiled back. She rolled herself on top of him, her thighs fitting around him as if they’d been made for just that purpose.
Emmie bent down but before her lips could touch his, Virgil lifted a finger to them.
“What?” Emmie stopped, her eyes locking with his.
“Just wanted to say,” He whispered close to her face, “that I love you too.” Virgil released his finger and lifted his head, no longer willing to hold himself away.
*****
THE END
Shifter Romance: Sheltered by the Alpha Bear
Description
Love brought them together. The world tried to tear them apart. But a Bear won’t be denied…
I’ve tried to fight it. The passion, the danger, the raw sexual attraction—it is all wrong for me to feel this way about an unavailable man. But I can’t help myself. The Christmas season is about giving and receiving, not taking. This is so not like me to feel this way, but when I’m around Tony I just can’t help myself. The very fact that he is here right now… it has to be fate… right?
The past year has been so hard. I lost a promising career that was just taking off, blackballed from the industry so no one will hire me, and I was infected with the bear shifter curse.
And sweet Derek, helping me through it all has been wonderful, and of course, I know he would like to be much more than friends… but I've never seen him that way really. But I'm so glad he invited me and my one-year-old son, Devon to vacation with his family at a beautiful ski resort for Christmas.
I tried to keep my feelings bottled up, but the flirty glances, the sweet conversations, and the way Tony looks at me when no one else is around makes it so hard…but he is with Beth, Derek’s sister. It’s so wrong.
And now someone at the lodge has been murdered. By what appears to be some sort of vicious animal… in a house full of bear shifters, I have to wonder. Could my baby and I be living with a murderer? And is the man I’m falling in love with who I think he is?
Chapter One
“To Jackie Banks! The fastest rising star of Pierce, Montgomery, and Thorn!”
Everyone in the room raised their glasses of champagne and took a drink before breaking into a thunderous applause and praises of “Way to go!” and “I knew you could do it!”
"Thanks, everybody!" I said taking a sip off my own champagne. I actually hated champagne; I was much more of a wine kind of gal, but when in Rome…
I could not stop the smile that was spreading across my face as groups of people—partners, associates, legal aides and secretaries, and even file clerks.
I thought eventually I would start to get used to all of the attention and the accolades, but I was till embarrassed to death when everyone made such a big hoopla over the newest case I had just won for the firm.
I’d been with Pierce, Montgomery, and Thorn for five years and I’d dug my way from the bottom where all new Associates start winning case after case, working ninety hour weeks sometimes and rising through the ranks until I finally started to land some top clients. And finally a few weeks before, I had been asked to work the Simmons case, which meant a huge payday for the firm if I won.
I had not slept more than three hours a night for the past two weeks, but it all paid off and now our client was going to get millions in the insurance settlement they deserved and our firm was going to get a huge chunk of that money as well.
And there was talk floating around that I, Jackie Banks, was on my way to a nice slot as a partner of this firm. I could not have been more elated. Of course, that was just heresy at the moment and nothing had been spoken to me about it at all, but I was keeping my fingers crossed. I figured it was highly probable that I might have to knock a few more out of the park before I was officially offered a spot as a partner, but a girl could certainly dream. It felt like I was dreaming for so long that finally, my dreams were about to come true.
Ever since I applied to law school on a whim and got in I’d been focused on rising to the top of a lucrative legal career. It had become an all-out obsession for me.
I'd studied political science and psychology as an undergrad and received Bachelor's degrees in both. I thought I would go on to get a Master's or a Ph.D. in Psychology. I wanted to be a grief counselor and help people, but I'd always been fascinated in government and the law. And the more I got into my political science studies, the more interested I became. So, at the urging of my mother and one of my favorite professors I took the LSAT’s and applied to law school.
The rest, as they say, was history. But even still with all of my dedication and hard work I could not believe that I might actually become a partner of one of the best personal injury law firms in town. It was a dream come true. The work was great, the money was getting there, and I was helping people who needed it.
Of course, my romantic life had been suffering a bit.
I have always been a strong, fiercely independent black woman. My mother instilled in me a strong sense of who I was and that I could be and do anything I ever wanted to do in this world, and she made sure I knew it at a young age. My mother never put up with crap from anyone and neither have I, especially when it came to men. That went for men I was interested in and men I wasn’t.
Being such a strong willed, ambitious woman inadvertently scares off a lot of men, but I see it as a good thing because if a man isn’t man enough to let me be myself then he isn’t man enough to waste my time on.
<
br /> There were a few men around the office I’d kept my eye on as potential romantic interests, but no one special. Besides with all the work I was putting in romance was the last thing really on my mind.
If it was meant to be then it would happen.
I grabbed one of the mini quiches that were sitting on the buffet table. They were the most exquisite things I'd ever put in my mouth. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a few female associates sneering at me. I had to smile to myself.
When you were a successful, up and coming black woman who also happened to be a BBW then you were bound to get some jeers and dirty looks. It was just par for the course and I reveled in it. It just meant that I was doing well in life. I knew those women were thinking that if I didn’t put good food in my mouth then I would lose weight and be anorexic like them. Well, that isn’t how I roll. Life is too short to waste on doing something you don’t enjoy. I work hard and I play twice as hard. And I thoroughly believe in indulging in all of the pleasures that life can offer.
I’ve dealt with that sort of thing my whole life about my size, but I’ve never been ashamed. Despite what most people think I work out regularly, I eat fairly healthy overall, and I don’t sit on the couch eating donuts all day. But I don’t deprive myself and I don’t worry about being a size six.
"Way to go, girl!" Stephanie Powers, a paralegal in the firm, and fast becoming one of my best friends. Stephanie was a character; she was smart as a whip, had great instincts, and she had amazing people skills and the best sense of humor. She would have been a great lawyer but every time I tried to give her the nudge to go for it, she just rolled her eyes and said it wasn't for her. I was not going to stop trying. I mean ultimately it was everyone's decision to do what made them happy, but I had a feeling Stephanie was denying the world her special skills by refusing to further her education.
“Thanks!” I replied freezing still as she insisted on hugging me. Yea, Stephanie was a bit of a hugger.
Beta's Destiny (Rocky Mountain Shifters Book 2) Page 55
