by R. A. Boyd
Cass was strong. She was powerful and she didn’t even know it. She would make a powerful third in their Triad.
He wanted to touch her. Wanted to comfort her, but he was afraid that if he did touch her he would somehow transfer this hurt back to her. He looked up at Jax and with words he didn’t need to speak his Alpha nodded his head.
Jax reached down and put a hand on her shoulder. “Come here,” he said, gently grabbing her by the arm and pulling her to him.
She hesitated at first, but when she let go she crawled into his arms and cried. For hours it seemed, Cass sat there with her face buried in his neck letting go of everything she’d been harboring. She wailed. Her body was wracked with sobs. Damon wanted to make it stop but he knew this had to happen. She had to let go. She had to heal.
Once she went quiet, they thought that she’d cried herself to sleep. Cass lifted her head and looked at Damon, shining eyes full of tears almost breaking his heart all over again.
“Where is he?” she asked, her voice so soft his shifter hearing barely caught it.
Damon looked around and the spirit of her late husband stood near the Christmas tree. “Over there,” he said, motioning with his head.
Cass got up and walked to where he stood. Andrew moved so that he was standing in front of her, and the look of love was so evident in his eyes that Damon felt as if he were intruding.
“Andrew,” she said, her voice thick and her eyes looking through him. “I love you so much. I always will, and I’m sorry I kept you here. Please forgive me.” Her voice kept threatening to fail her but she fought to keep it steady. She went to raise her hand but stopped. “You were the best husband and friend anyone could ever ask for. I— I release you. Go. Do what happy ghosts do,” she said with a chuckle, raising her shoulders to her ears like a shy little girl. “I’ll be fine. I promise. Yeah, I might cry sometimes, but it’ll be okay. I’ll be okay. I think these two are going to help me. And I’m going to help them.”
Damon watched as Andrew leaned in and tried to place his forehead against Cass’s.
“No matter where I am, Cass, and no matter where you are I will love you forever. You’ll always be my girl,” Andrew said.
And then he was gone.
Chapter 5
Sunlight filtered into the room through the slits in the darkened curtain. As Cass began to stir, Jax quieted himself. He didn’t want to wake her. He stilled his body as hers moved against his, and she whimpered something about pancakes. He smiled and kissed her forehead.
The sun peeking through the curtains was almost to her face, and the brightness from it let him see every color of her coily mane. Her hair was beautiful. A brown so rich and dark it was almost black. Natural highlights of auburn streaked through her tresses, and he leaned in to smell it again. From this day forward coconut and peppermint would make his dick hard. He loved that it wasn’t the harsh fragrance of artificial scents. It was natural and reminded him of the warm and rich currents he used to feel against his face when he was able to take to the skies. When he still had wings. He may never be able to experience the beauties of Heaven as he did when he was an angel, but being here with this woman was pure paradise.
Damon left before sunrise to take their groceries home, and to let the other members of the clan know that it was starting. Their Alpha and Omega had found their mate. Once they bonded it would trickle down through their clan and the rest of them would find peace.
They would be happy. After they’d all bonded and fully changed they would be like any other group of shifters. They’d never be angels again, but they would no longer straddle the line between whatever the fuck they were, human, and shifter. Yeah, he missed being an angel but he grew to love being human. He got to choose what to do with his life. Where to go, how late to sleep. That reason alone was the thing that made him not beg one of his brethren to kill him centuries ago. Take his heart and his head, and be done with it.
Ghost shifters would be no more.
Maybe they could revive him now. Jax still wouldn’t think his name. It was too hard. But if they’d found Cass and she’d helped them before they even had a chance to claim her, then maybe he could be helped, too.
It was too soon to think of that.
This woman lightly snoring next to him was who he’d been waiting for, who he and Damon had wished for. She’d suffered, and that had made her strong. He couldn’t feel her pain like Damon could, but he could see it in her face last night. He could see it in the way her body tried to close in on itself to escape their pity. She was strong and she was theirs. And she owned them completely.
“Do all men suffer from morning wood?” Cass asked, moving her arm across his waist.
Jax huffed a laugh and ran his large hands up and down her back. “I can’t speak for every man but it’s a worry that troubles me daily.”
The heavy, sleep ridden sound of Cass giggle filled the room. She bit his chest and then snuggled in closer. “You get alone time with me now? We get to talk and get to know each other? I hope so.”
To Jax, she sounded different this morning. More self-assured and more comfortable. Maybe letting go of Andrew was exactly what she needed to come alive again. Shit, he didn’t know. He had no idea what she was like before he saw her hand grab the can opener last night. Something told him that she was waking up again after being asleep for the past two years.
“Damon went to check on the clan. To tell them about you.”
She sighed and held the breath in for a long time. She was torn. “Jax, I don’t think I’m your person. You need someone special. You were a freaking angel of the Lord, and you were personally cursed by God for what you did. How many people can say that?”
Jax grinned against her hair. She was trying to be serious but she was just so fucking cute. He wanted to sully that innocence in her and make her do things she’d probably never even imagined doing; wanted to mount her like the animal he held deep inside him and make her scream. He wanted her to curse and beg for him to claim her. He paused and the muscles in his face relaxed. For just a few seconds he felt like grit for even considering taking that sweetness away from her.
No. He didn’t want to do that. He wouldn’t dare think of changing one thing about her, but he couldn’t wait until he and Damon claimed her. Together. They’d shared women before, not all of them, but they weren’t like Cass. Cass was power, humility, kindness, and soul all bundled up in one ball of cute sex-kitten. He knew she had it in her when she did something so small as taking her teeth to his chest just a few moments ago. It was playful, but he could smell her passion expand when she did it.
“Jax, why is your penis trying to get out of your pants?” she asked.
Shit. He should have worn jeans yesterday instead of sweatpants. He looked down and saw his cock jumping at the smell of her want for him.
“My penis?” he said, taking his fingers and pulling her chin up so she could meet his gaze. “You sound pretty technical. Can you say the word ‘dick’?” He tickled her ribs and even more blood rushed to his already rock hard cock as she writhed against his body.
“I don’t say words like that.”
Jax leaned in and kissed her gently on her lips and let it linger. “Say it and I’ll give it to you.”
She wasn’t expecting that. Her eyes widened and her grip tightened on his arm. “You gonna take it off and give it to me so I can take it with me?” She grinned, and licked her bottom lip.
“Hell no, woman. You know what I mean.”
He leaned down and took her lips again, this time using his hand on her back to guide her closer to him.
“I haven’t brushed my teeth yet,” Cass said, pulling away from their kiss.
“Don’t care. Neither have I.” He licked the tip of her nose and she erupted in laughter. “I adore every part of you. Morning breathe and all. Does mine bother you?” He hoped to hell it didn’t.
She shook her head and then bit his chin. “Nope.” Taking a deep breath, she pull
ed away from him with a look of regret on her face. “I’m not on the pill and I don’t have any condoms.”
With a wicked smile, he reached down and untied the ribbon on her pajama bottoms. “Until Damon and I claim you we are both infertile. Have been since the curse.” He didn’t mind, really. Some of the others in their group did, believing that they’d never find their mate but still wanting a part of them to live on. What would happen with a half angel/half human part shifter offspring running around?
She stared at him, chewing on her bottom lip. Dipping her head once, she shoved her pants and panties down her thighs and pulled her shirt over her head. She laid there next to him, looking as if she was doing everything in her power to keep looking into his eyes.
A low rumble took over Jax’s chest, and his eyes lightened from their morning blue to that of a burning star. He took his hand and brought it to her breast, feeling the weight of it in his palm. He loved her breasts. They were heavy, and her nipples were perfect. They were large and round and hard and he couldn’t wait to have them in his mouth, between his teeth. Jax wouldn’t hurt her, but he was going to make her scream from the pleasure of his teeth.
“You didn’t say it yet,” he said.
She let out a pathetic human growl of frustration and threw one hand in the air. “Why do you want me to?”
He bent forward and pulled her nipple into his mouth. He suckled her and loved the needy cries she made deep in her throat. Quick as a fly he bit down on her aching bud and then soothed it with his tongue.
Cass liked that. She called out his name, arching her back and pushing more of her into his mouth. “Do that again.”
“Say it.”
“Why?”
“I want to hear the way the word rolls around in your mouth.” He kissed up her chest, giving her sucking, biting kisses. “You cuss when you come.”
He’d listened to her last night while Damon tasted her. Jax wanted so badly to be the one to comfort her, but he knew where his strength lie. Being there for her was something that he’d already vowed to do, but last night she needed someone who could tap into her emotions and help her through them. If there was anyone on the face of this planet that could do it, it was his Omega and best friend.
The sound of Cass dragging out the word ‘fuck’ last night was like music to his ears. He imagined what she looked like, how her body tensed, what she tasted like. And now, he was going to get to find out.
“Did you know that?” he asked.
She nodded her head and brought her hand to the back of his neck. “I know. Don’t mean to.” Cass cleared her throat and he knew she reveled in the feel of his lips on her. “Dick,” she whispered.
Jax pulled away and looked at her, a teasing grin playing at his lips. “I don’t think I heard you.”
She swatted at him and laughed. “You heard me.”
With a graceful movement of his arm, he pulled his shirt over his head and settled back down. Looking at her body was like gazing into the heavens above. She was soft, full. Her wide hips and ample ass made his mouth water. He wanted to grip the extra skin at her middle while he rammed his cock into her dripping pussy, or while he took her sweet ass from behind. Listen to her whimper as he nibbled on her clit. Watch as she played with her nipples while he tasted every inch of her body.
“Come here.” He wrapped his arms around her and brought her body over his. “I want to taste you.”
Cass looked confused but then made a high-pitched squeal as he grabbed her by her waist. He moved so fast that he knew her mind hadn’t caught up until her hips were straddling his face. She tried to get off of him, saying that she didn’t want to suffocate him. His strong arms held her in place, and just when she shifted to move he took her sensitive nub into his mouth.
Her body relaxed above him and he took his time as he ate her. His warm tongue stroked up her center. Her body quivered against his mouth. Nuzzling her flesh, he sucked, and tugged, and flicked the apex of her seam, using his entire mouth to give her pleasure. For a quick moment, his teeth were on her clit, and her body jerked against him.
She ground her pussy into his face and said, “Please, do that again.”
Ohh, his mate liked pain with her pleasure.
He dug his fingers into her thighs to keep her to him and gently bit her clit again, three times in a row, and then soothed her boldness with sucking the now throbbing bud. Reaching down, she grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him to her as she found a rhythm with his mouth.
Plunging his tongue into her slick sex he took his finger, first coating it with the sweet juices from her pussy, and then slowly slid it into her ass. She stilled for a moment, but when he nibbled on her nub again she bucked against his face and pulled him closer.
“Oh, God. I’m gonna… Don’t stop. Please…”
He watched as she splayed her hands against the headboard and tried to grab on to something as her body was preparing to orgasm for him. The sound of the beast inside him rippled up his throat and through his mouth, and he could tell that the vibration was doing something to her.
With one hand she let go of the headboard and ran it up her full belly, ending at her breast. She took her nipple and played with it, and the sight alone almost made him come. He slid two fingers inside of her ass this time, bit her sopping flesh hard enough to make her scream, and then sucked on her clit with force.
Cass threw her head back and let out a long groan of satisfaction as her hips bucked into his face. He could taste the sweetness of her in his mouth. Down his throat. He had done this to her. Made her scream. Made her sweet honey flow just for him.
He wasn’t done yet.
Bright lights flashed behind Cass’s eyelids as she came down from the high that was Jax. He was still sucking on her clit, wringing every aftershock of her orgasm through her. When she came back to herself she let out an ‘oh’ of surprise.
She was holding onto his hair for dear life and amazed she hadn’t ripped out a few strands. “Did I hurt you?” She massaged his scalp and then scooted down his body.
“No ma’am,” he said, kissing her ample flesh as she moved down. “Finish me,” he said.
When they were eye level, she placed her lips on his and could taste her own passion. She thought she would kill the poor man when he picked her up and put her on his face. She’d never done anything like that before. No man had ever asked her to sit on his face, let alone picked her up and put her there.
Ohh, and when he growled… The vibrations made their way through her core and zinged right up her spine. She couldn’t wait to do that again.
She began to kiss her way down his body, but Jax grabbed her by her wrists and pulled her back up. “No,” he said with a slow shake of his head. “I would love to see my cock in that lovely mouth of yours, but I want to last.”
Cass pursed her lips in a pout. Well, that was no fun. She wanted to see how much of him she could fit into her mouth. He was big. So big she wondered how much of him she could take during sex before she considered tapping out.
Nope. Cass wasn’t a quitter. Even if she had to take yoga classes and use special breathing techniques she was going to have his thick, hard length buried deep inside her. Was Damon just as big? Could she take both of them at the same time? She couldn’t wait to find out, and the thought of them moving inside of her as one dumped even more liquid heat between her thighs.
She reached out and grabbed his cock, gliding her hand up and down the large shaft. With her thumb she used the drops of his seed and spread it around the swollen head of his cock, teasing him. He surged his hips upward, pushing more of him into her hand.
“Take me, Cass.”
Settling her hips above his, she guided him toward her slick opening and coating the wide head of him with her passion. With such ease he raised his hips toward hers, his sinuous body testing her slit to slowly fill her.
It was now or never. If she went as slow as Jax was trying to take her, he would always be careful wit
h her. She wanted him rough and hard, and sweet and slow. Every way she could get him. With arduous determination, Cass closed her eyes, bit her bottom lip, and sat down hard on his cock, taking every inch of him deep into her body.
“Oh, God,” she screamed as she took him in. “Fuck, fuck,” she said over and over again, a lazy smile tugging at her lips.
A powerful growl made its way past Jax’s lips, and he breathed as if he’d just finished a long race. He bared his teeth and a low hiss sounded from him, and Cass watched in awe as his incisors lengthened to sharp peaks. With eyes the color of the glowing ocean during a full moon, he grabbed hold of her waist as if to hold her there, allowing her body to absorb the shock of his large cock and adjust to his size.
Cass felt deliciously stretched and the walls of her pussy trembled at his invasion. She looked down at him and saw the tripping pulse in his neck. His eyes were so bright now, almost too much to look at. But he was gazing at her. Even with no pupil showing, she could tell that he was watching her, adoring her. She put both of her hands on his chest and slid upward, letting the fruits of her orgasm coat him.
Her head fell to the side as she came down on him again, slowly this time. She licked the skin of her shoulder and moved to a rhythm that was beautiful and so good it should have been sinful. His fingers dug into the soft flesh of her thighs.
“You’re so fucking tight,” Jax said, gliding his hips forward to meet hers. His fangs were gone now as if they’d never been there to begin with. “Feels like your pussy is sucking my dick. Are you going to come for me?”
Hell yes, she was. She could already feel a tightening in her core that heralded her oncoming orgasm. “Mmm-hmm,” she moaned, unable to form words. She dug her fingers into his chest and rode him like a professional. She let out a string of curse words as he reached up and pinched one of her nipples.
When she was teetering on the edge of coming, Jax took his hands and grabbed her ass, spreading her cheeks, and moved her up and down on his cock. As Cass went to play with her nipples he sat up and sucked one of the hard peaks into his mouth and bit down.
