by Olivia Gayle
Humans, by contrast, were so fragile, so achingly mortal.
As tempting as it was to simply Change her, she needed to know the truth first. To do that, she needed to trust him. He’d done a bang-up job so far, cuffing her and throwing her in the back of his car.
God, he’d been an idiot. He just hoped it didn’t bite him in the ass any more than he expected.
Settling onto the pillow beneath him, he pulled the blanket up over both of them and switched off the light. Even in the darkness, Aidan could see the furrows that had lined Ever’s forehead were gone. He rubbed his cheek against her hair, pulling her back against him, and closed his eyes.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Something was beating near Ever’s head, thumping softly like a slow clock.
The pillow was warm, and harder than she remembered, but comfortable. Super comfortable. She snuggled up to it, burying her face to block out the nearby light. That soft thump was hypnotizing, lulling her back into slumber.
Her bed shifted, the pillow rocking slightly. Annoyed, she sleepily clung to it, not wanting to get up just yet. The movement stopped and Ever sighed with contentment, settling back. The thumping in her ear grew quicker, and a delicious smell reached her nose. It wasn’t food or cologne, but drew her like a moth to a flame.
Touches, feather-soft, moved down the side of her face then across her lips. A burning started in her belly, her sex aching, as the movement was repeated. Belatedly, Ever realized the pillow beneath her wasn’t fabric, but flesh. That discovery didn’t even faze her however; she took it in stride, moving her hand under the thin fabric and across the soft skin. It quivered beneath her fingers, muscles working beneath her palm at her delicate ministrations.
Sleepily, Ever moved down the body beneath her, pushing up the shirt and straddling a wide thigh. She ground herself down on it, giving a sharp sigh as her swollen clit rubbed against the thin cotton of her panties, sending shivers through her body. Her hands pushed at the shirt, trying to tear it up and away, then it was gone and she had free rein.
Her eyes peeked open, first one, then the other. Ridges of muscle lay before her, and she set her mouth to the skin, running her tongue lightly between the creases. She gave a little “Mmmm” as she made her way higher, enjoying the taste and feel of the body beneath her. The muscles trembled, hands grabbing at her upper arms, but nobody was making her do anything. That just made her bolder, and she latched onto one dark nipple with her lips and teeth.
Above her, someone hissed, a sharp jet of breath. Ever ground herself down on the thick thigh, the sensations making her squirm, but it wasn’t enough. She looked up to see amber eyes watching her, the familiar (beloved?) face staring back at her, and she didn’t think. She just crawled up Aidan’s body and latched her lips onto his.
The touch was like lightning, and suddenly Ever couldn’t get enough. She darted her tongue inside his mouth, desperate for a taste. Hands pulled her leg across narrow hips and Ever ground down, moaning at the thick pole she felt there. It had been too long, and she needed everything, all at once. She clawed at his shoulders, wanting to melt into him, and moaned again as her partner pulled her tight against him, his mouth going to her neck.
She gave a cry as one hand wedged itself between them, pressing up and toward her core. It massaged her clit, making her tremble and moan, and suddenly she needed more, more. Almost as if he’d read her mind, her pants were unfastened with nimble hands, and fingers slipped inside, gliding across the moist folds of her sex.
Ever shuddered, clutching at wide shoulders, as those fingers slid in and out of her. She didn’t protest as her pants were pushed down and off her hips, down her knees and off her ankles. She helped as best she could, and when the fabric was gone she again straddled his hips, riding the tight bulge there.
The kisses, oh, she’d never tasted anyone so wonderful. Hands tangled in her hair as his hips surged upwards, nearly propelling her into the air. Ever clung to wide shoulders, raining kisses over Aidan’s face as he repeated the movement once, twice.
Beside them a cellphone rang.
Both of them froze, Ever with her hands on the buttons of Aidan’s pants, Aidan with his around the globes of her ass. She stared down at him in shock, and saw his eyes were glowing amber in the low light. The need in her body wouldn’t relent, but her brain was finally shouting What the fuck are you doing?
They stayed that way, staring at one another, unmoving, as the phone rang and rang, then grew quiet.
And started again.
Aidan slid a hand up Ever’s back, his fingers dancing against the skin, but he didn’t seem surprised when she pushed against his chest with both hands. Ever crawled backwards, almost falling off the bed before catching herself against his knee. She let him go as if he burned her, levering herself up onto trembling legs. Turning her back to him, she searched for her jeans, struggling to regain control of her senses.
She heard Aidan’s low voice as he answered the phone but ignored it, her thoughts too scrambled up to process anything effectively. What had she been thinking, climbing up a man she barely knew? Okay, sure, so there was some chemistry; that much was blatantly obvious. But to jump his bones before they’d both even woken up fully? And anyway, wasn’t he supposed to be sleeping on the couch or floor or something?
Oh no, Ms. McHussypants, you don’t get to shift blame that easily. She’d been the aggressor here, and while he hadn’t kept his hands to himself, he’d let her go the minute she’d pushed away.
Not all men in her experience did that.
“We have a lead on your sister.”
That got her immediate attention. Aidan was watching her, his face blank. “Marshall’s sending me the coordinates now.”
“You know,” Ever said, grabbing her shirt and pulling it back down over her body, “you told me yesterday we were going to see your father. So why is your brother the one sending us information?”
He didn’t answer for a moment, then sighed. “My family situation is complicated.”
“Isn’t everyone’s?”
His lips tipped up in one corner, although his face lacked any real humor. “Mine’s a little weirder than most.”
Ever hitched her shoulder, pulling on her shoes hurriedly. Being in the same room as him was temptation incarnate. Her heart had melted at the tiny smile, and she’d wanted to jump his bones all over again.
Seriously, what was wrong with her?
“Meet you out in the car,” she said over her shoulder, pulling open the door and stepping outside without waiting to hear his reply.
Their hotel room was on the far side of town from her house. She still wasn’t sure how he’d convinced her that this was a safer place than her house. Probably because she’d completely nixed his suggestion of staying at his place, despite his assertion he’d be a perfect gentleman. One simply didn’t go into another man’s home territory, especially a stranger’s; she’d learned that the hard way before, but the lesson stuck with her.
The hotel had seemed an acceptable compromise, but now in the light of day the similar stupidity struck her like a smack to the face. She wasn’t thinking clearly, that had to be it; her sister’s disappearance was playing havoc with her sense of safety. That’s the only reason she’d share a hotel room with a man she’d met the day before—Ever knew better than that.
Their room was on the first floor, the Sheriff’s car parked nearby. On the other side of the lot was a small forest of evergreens, likely marking the northern edge of town. A metal playground stood nearby, with the swimming pool attached, but she couldn’t see anyone around.
Ever had gone maybe three steps toward the car when something small and furry came ambling out from around their vehicle. She froze, staring wide-eyed, as the bear cub sniffed something on the ground, caught sight of Ever, and galloped toward her almost happily.
She turned tail and ran back inside the hotel room, slamming the door closed and leaning against it.
Inside, Aidan was on a
lert. He’d put his pants on but not the shirt yet, and his hand was on the gun at his hip. “What’s wrong?”
Ever jerked a thumb toward the door at her back. “There’s a bear outside!”
Contrary to everything she would have expected, the infuriating man actually relaxed, pulling his hand away from the gun. “Did you see what kind of bear?”
What the hell kind of question was that? A bear was a bear, right? “A baby bear, but you know the mama has to be around someplace!”
“True enough.” He shrugged on his shirt, not bothering with the buttons, and then moved toward her. “Let me look.”
Protests died on her lips. If he wanted to ignore her advice and look for himself, fine. Maybe he didn’t believe her. Oh look, the little woman thinks she sees forest critters. Isn’t that adorable?
That thought got her pissed enough that she hoped the mama bear did eat him. “By all means.”
Her change in tone made him frown at her, but he eased the door and poked his head outside. He looked around, then leaned back to look at Ever. “I don’t see anything.”
“What?” She pulled the door open and peered out, looking both ways. “It was just here, I swear!”
Nearby, a child giggled, and Ever looked over by a nearby truck to see a little girl, no more than two or three, grinning up at them. She was naked as could be and didn’t seem at all concerned about an audience.
“Amanda Lynn Priestly, you get your sorry buns over here this instant!”
A frazzled-looking woman came hurrying down the parking lot, heading straight for the little girl. Ever saw disappointment at being caught flash across the child’s face before she was swept up in her mother’s arms. “You do not go running away like that, you hear me?”
“Morning Carly,” Aidan said, sounding amused and relieved at the same time.
“Hi Sheriff.” The other woman puffed out a breath. “I swear, this one is an escape artist. Sneaky little thing too, especially when she shif—”
“Carly,” Aidan interrupted her firmly, “this is Ever Jackson. She’s in town for a while looking for her sister.”
The other woman cut off whatever she was saying, looking over at Ever. Suspicion clouded the mother’s eyes almost immediately, and she clutched her daughter closer. Confusion overtook Ever.
What did I freaking do to these people? The collective reaction from the town’s occupants was starting to annoy the hell out of her.
“I’ll leave you to it then,” Carly said, licking her lips nervously and hurrying away.
Ever turned to Aidan. “Am I flying some giant freak flag I can’t see?” she asked, throwing her hands up into the air. “Do I stink? Because just about everybody in this town but my landlady has treated me like I’m some flipping boogeyman!”
“We’re a small town,” Aidan said, shrugging and buttoning his shirt. “Takes a while to trust outsiders.”
“Outsiders?” Ever stared at him incredulously. “Is this… Are you some…” Cult? She couldn’t finish the sentence, and just made another angry sound. “Come on, let’s go find that lead.”
The faster Ever put this stupid town behind her, the better.
CHAPTER NINE
The woman beside him was a distraction, more so because Aidan’s mind kept going back to earlier that morning and his delicious wake-up.
“Are you even watching the road?”
The waspish question from the woman beside him made Aidan realize he’d been driving over the bumps on the outside edge of the road for a while. He pulled back into the middle of his lane and murmured, “Sorry.”
Beside him, Ever sighed. “No, I’m sorry for being snappy. I’ve just got a lot on my brain.
Join the club. “You and your sister weren’t close?”
She shook her head. “Once upon a time we were, but time and different circumstances pulled us apart.” She peered gloomily out the window. “Life sure enjoys its curveballs.”
The need to ask questions and get to know her was strong, but Aidan kept his mouth shut. He could interrogate a suspect for hours on end, but every time he opened his mouth with his mate he only shoved his foot deeper. As much as he wanted to tell her, there was never a right time.
After all, how did one go telling a human from the mundane world that there were such things as shapeshifters?
“Tell me though, what’s up with this town? Why is everyone so weird?”
Well, there was as good an opening as Aidan could expect. Still, he stalled. “How do you mean?”
She gave him a dirty look, but answered anyway. “When I went looking for a house, the first four places I visited shut me down hard. Like, I’d step out of my car and barely say hello before they’d tell me the house was taken, or otherwise unavailable.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t that…”
“Four times,” she interrupted over his excuses. “In a row, one right after the other. They’d look at me, screw up their noses like I stunk, and send me on my merry way. And then there’s that woman at the hotel, Carly, her reaction when you introduced me. Seriously, do I like have a wanted posted plastered around town? She looked almost scared of me.”
“Some people in Arcadia like their privacy.”
The scathing glare Ever gave him could have peeled paint, and Aidan knew he had to tell her. She’d get to the bottom of it eventually, or see an errant child Shift. It had been close with little Amanda, and perhaps that would have been easier.
Ever seemed like a realist. Even if he told her the truth, she’d probably need physical proof. A child was one thing, but having her see him turn into a giant bear might scare her off. Permanently.
He couldn’t risk that.
“So where are we going anyway?”
“To talk to the owner of that house your sister lived in. Well, what’s left of it anyway.”
“We should have gone last night, that information must have been found easy enough.”
“It was after eight when we left my father’s house.”
“I don’t care who I have to wake up if it means my sister OH MY GOD!”
The last words were screamed as a truck right in front of them suddenly moved fully into their lane. Aidan hit the brakes, and as the last minute swerved to the right. The truck followed, clipping the front bumper and sending the patrol vehicle into a tailspin.
Straight into the deep embankment alongside the road.
All the airbags deployed the moment the bumpers collided, but that didn’t help at the car tipped sideways, then they were rolling. Aidan heard Ever’s scream over the shattering of glass and metal, then he blacked out.
When he came to, they were stopped but top down in the thick wet grass. Aidan groaned, blinking his eyes blearily and touching his skull. It came away bloody but he knew his name at least so hopefully that would heal up quickly. He moved around, testing his body, and found that his legs were pinned beneath the dash. Putting his hands on either side of the steering wheel, he pushed and heard plastic crack, but the damned console wouldn’t budge.
The smell of gasoline and oil surrounded him, as well as grass, mud and blood, not his own. The last one startled him, and with a rush he remembered his passenger. His fragile human passenger.
“Ever,” he wheezed as smoke filled the cab. He looked over to see her passed out in the passenger seat beside him, a red gash on her forehead dribbling blood into her hairline. One cheek was puffy, likely from where she hit the airbag, but she wasn’t responding to his shakes. Gas and oil had been lit somewhere nearby, and it was only a matter of time before it engulfed the car.
The dash wasn’t budging, even when he pushed at it with his free leg. His seatbelt held him inside the vehicle, and unhooking that he lowered himself gently to the roof. His leg wasn’t broken, just stuck, and nothing he did seemed to help.
More smoke was billowing inside the cab, choking Aidan. Ever began coughing, although her eyes stayed closed. He’d need to do something fast or neither of them might make it.
The door was nothing to the bear; he pushed it out onto the grass and climbed out of the car, coughing in bear form. He didn’t waste any time however, shuffling quickly to the other side of the car. Grabbing the passenger door, he tore it off its hinges, tossing it out toward the street as he reached inside.
As carefully as his form would allow, he pried the opening free and cut the belt holding Ever in place before pulling her out. She was limp in his arms, and he didn’t wait to change back into human form. Tucking her under one arm, he ran on three legs away from the car, putting as much distance from it as he could.
Just in time, too. There was a loud explosion, and the shock wave made Aidan stumble. He fell sideways, pulling Ever into a bear hug, and rolled over to his side, shielding her from the blast. Bits of metal and burning shards hit him but nothing horrible, so he dragged himself a little further and looked back.
The car was on fire, the blaze scorching the overhanging trees. Aidan needed to call it in, then realized that his belt radio, along with his phone, had been shed along with the rest of his clothes, and was on fire with the rest of the car’s belongings. They were out in the middle of nowhere, with no way to call for help.
Lying Ever down on the wet grass, Aidan stood on his hind legs and scanned both directions of the road. The truck that had hit them was nowhere to be seen. That didn’t mean the danger was over, but at least he wouldn’t have to deal with more enemies. The bear was ready to do battle, enraged that its mate had been hurt.
