by Lola Kidd
“Please,” Addison begged. It was right there; her whole body was one tense ball of pleasure teetering on the edge. She was desperate for release. She twined her fingers in his hair and pulled. “Put your finger inside me.”
As commanded, Chet pushed one thick finger inside of her and sucked hard at her clit. That was enough. She screamed as her orgasm raced through her. Her toes curled, and she pulled hard on Chet’s hair.
When she quieted down, he kissed her on the thigh. “You can boss me around any night, beautiful.”
She was going to answer, but something over his shoulder caught her attention. There was something bobbing in the water. She pointed to it and asked, “What is that?”
He looked behind him and then got up on his knees. “Oh, damn.”
Seven
Chet walked to the water and pulled a small dingy onto the shore. The small boats had been found along the coast of Safari Island before, and every time it had been protesters. He was going to have to talk to security and PR as soon as possible.
“We’re going to have to go back,” he told Addison sadly.
Those protestors were going to be in for a world of hurt. There was nothing he wanted to do less than stop right now. Addison’s dress was bunched up around her hips and she was completely blissed out. Her eyes had a sexy, dreamy quality to them now that she’d come hard. He wanted to climb back up between her legs and do it all again.
“Are you sure that’s what you want to do right now?” Her eyes traveled down to his painfully hard cock.
“Hell, no, it isn’t what I want. But I think the island has some intruders. I can’t risk someone hurting the animals or any of our guests.” He went back and kissed her. “But I’m not nearly done with you. As soon as this is all worked out, you better believe I’m going to be kicking down your door.”
“Promise?” She nipped his lower lip playfully.
“I promise. And make sure you’re waiting for me wearing another pair of these cute little thongs and nothing else.”
She bit her lip. “Okay.”
The shift was painful since he was still so aroused. It was even worse for his rhino. Addison lay on top of him just like before as they made their way back. He could smell her dripping wet pussy, and all he wanted to do was bury himself deep inside her. The company had better hand him a huge bonus for this sacrifice, he decided. He was putting the park over his own needs.
His clothes were right where he’d left them. He pulled his phone out and called island security while he dressed. He told them about the dingy he’d found and they asked to speak to him right away.
“I’m really sorry about this,” he told her when they got back to the theater. She’d texted Lily that they were outside. There was no point trying to sneak back in so close to the end of the performance. “I thought this night was going to go differently.”
“I had fun.” She smirked. “We aren’t leaving for a few more days. We have lots of time to see each other.”
Chet nodded, but he didn’t want a few more days. He wanted a lifetime. Addison belonged at his side. He wasn’t sure how he was going to tell her that, since there was so little time. She seemed to like him just fine now, but how would she feel once the afterglow wore off? Would she go back to scowling at him?
“We should go out tomorrow,” he said. “Where do you want to go?”
“Don’t you have to work?”
“Not all day. After we spend some time in your room alone, we’ve got the whole night.”
“We could go back to Club Safari. Lily was dying to go, anyway. That way I won’t feel like I’m ditching her on our girls’ vacation.”
People were exiting the restaurant. He wanted to wrap up their plans quickly. It wasn’t going to be a fun drive home, judging by Finn’s face. “What about the bar in Safari Town?” he suggested. “I don’t like the club that much. You guys can dance at the bar and we won’t have to deal with all the club guys.”
“That sounds great! We wanted to check out the bar in town. I’d love to see how you guys are living out here.”
“You can take the six o’clock bus out. I’ll meet you at the drop-off point.”
“Perfect.” Addison’s face fell as Lily and the twins walked up.
“Glad to see you again.” Lily’s voice was colder than a polar bear’s living room. She looked at Chet like he was something she’d scrape off her shoe.
They rode back in silence to Addison and Lily’s room. There, Chet gave Addison his number, then he pulled away from the curb.
As soon as the tires hit the road, Finn exploded. “What the hell was that? You left us by ourselves with that woman.”
“I thought you guys liked her.”
“We did.” Finn crossed his arms. “She’s just not what she seemed. Way too uptight and whiney.”
“Kind of boring, too,” Max added. “But hey, no big. Plenty of fish in the sea.”
Finn didn’t talk to Chet for the rest of the drive, which was fine by Chet. He had a lot on his mind, and he wanted to be clear-headed when he talked to security. At least his lust had receded during the tense car drive. He didn’t want to get drawn into Finn’s and Max’s drama. They didn’t have to date Lily. He didn’t have a horse in that race.
Once he’d dropped them off, he headed home, where he found Shane waiting on his front step.
Shane stood up as Chet parked. “Hey, we got the boat. Can we talk inside?”
Chet nodded. “What did you want to know?”
Shane sat down on the couch and took out a small pad. “Did you guys see anything unusual?”
“Nothing besides the boat.”
“You didn’t smell anything or see any unusual footprints?”
Chet shook his head. “Nope. Can’t say I did.”
“Okay. Thanks for telling us so quickly.”
“This has to be one of the stupider groups,” Chet said as he saw Shane to the door. “How do they think they’re going to get off the island?”
“With the tourists, I guess.” Shane shook his hand. “Thanks for the help, man.”
The more Chet thought about it, the more nervous he got. The only good reasoning he could come up with was that they didn’t plan on leaving anytime soon. The protest groups that had come to the island before had been pretty harmless. They’d stash a boat, sneak onto the island, and leave some banners hanging everywhere. Another team came and left pamphlets on everyone’s doors. It wasn’t ever anything big, and it didn’t do much harm to the island.
That didn’t make him feel any better. Maybe this was a group they hadn’t seen before or heard about. There were a lot of groups that didn’t care for shifters keeping animals in a zoo. There were both humans and shifters who found the whole resort/theme park island idea repulsive. It was all a load of crap to Chet. They took great care of all their animals and never exploited any shifters. The people who worked on the island loved the animals and their jobs.
He couldn’t understand the sentiment the protesters shared, but he didn’t begrudge them their right to protest if they played it safe. This didn’t feel the same way, though. His instincts told him that this group had other plans.
He went to speak with Ward Langston before his shift and found Ward on his back porch having breakfast. He grabbed a cup of coffee for Chet before they sat down to talk. “What can I do for you this morning?”
“I’m worried about the boat that washed up last night.”
Ward nodded. It had only been a few hours, but he had likely been notified as soon as it happened. As the public relations man on the ground, it was his job to keep on top of this stuff. He and Chet were close acquaintances who shared a respect for each other. You wouldn’t ever find them partying together on the weekend, but they both took their jobs very seriously and were proud of their work.
“Why do you think that?” Ward asked.
“It doesn’t make sense for them to come all this way and not have a way to escape. They won’t be able to get a pl
ane off the island easily.”
Ward nodded. “You’re right. We found two men from an anti-poacher group in the rhino pens this morning.”
“That was fast.” Chet was relieved. His worst fears were confirmed, but at least nothing had come of it. “We aren’t going to get that lucky again.”
“I don’t think so either. We’re going to be doing a major security overhaul. It isn’t my area, but I’ll be working with them on the best way to inform our guests of the change.”
“That sounds great. I’m glad we’re going to be doing more. These guys are getting crazier and crazier. I mean, poachers? Who the heck would mistake us for those guys?”
“People who want to make a name for themselves.” Ward sighed. “If anything goes wrong here, we’re screwed. We’re the biggest shifter-owned entertainment venue in the world right now. The parks would take a major hit if anything happened to a human. But that group would get a lot of publicity.”
“We’re not going to let that happen, are we?”
“Nope. Not on my watch, anyway. I don’t want to have to do that kind of damage control.” He took sip of coffee. “You have good instincts, Chet. This is why I wanted you to take a bigger role on Safari Island. We could really use your knowledge, and you’re a great public speaker.”
“You know I’m thinking of leaving the island.” Chet didn’t mention that it would be sooner rather than later. He didn’t think Addison would want to stay on the island.
“I heard you were out with my new models,” Ward said. “Rumor has it you ran off from the show with the little blonde hottie.”
Chet shrugged. “So?”
Ward put his cup down and leaned forward. “You know we’ve been talking about making the new resort a prime honeymoon destination.”
Chet groaned. “Come on. You’re not going to pitch this to me right now.”
“Just hear me out. This girl shoots so well. She’s just a vision in pictures. And you’re a very handsome man. The two of you would make a great commercial for the island.”
“Sure. Of course we would. First, I have to get her to believe that she’s my mate. And then I’ll get right to work on convincing her to do more modeling for you. That’s exactly what she’s looking to do.”
“If I remember right, she has no real job yet. She has a college degree and a shitty part-time job at a grocery store.”
“Sounds about right. But that doesn’t mean she wants to live on the island. There are no jobs for her here.”
“Oh, but there are.” Ward leaned back in his seat, satisfied. “She’d have a ready-made job here with Safari Island. We like to keep things in the family here. What better place to raise a family than the most fun place on Earth? We have a great school in Safari Town, too.”
Chet stood up. “I’m going to be late for my first tour. I’ll talk to you later.”
“You sure will,” Ward called after him.
It was a very attractive offer. Safari Town was getting more family-friendly by the day. It was hard to get good veterinarians and doctors to join the staff without good schools and the other amenities their families would need. While the majority of the staff was single, the tides were turning—but that didn’t mean Addison would go for it. That was a lot to ask of a woman.
He would take it one step at a time. First, he had to convince her to stay with him, or at least date him long distance. He’d worry about the rest later.
Eight
“Breakfast.”
Addison set the tray down over Lily’s legs in bed, then she climbed in next to her friend and took her plate off the cart. She’d ordered every breakfast item they made. Lily loved breakfast in bed and wouldn’t be able to stay mad much longer. Most of her anger was gone as soon as they got away from the twins, but Addison still felt bad. She shouldn’t have left Lily without at least telling her first.
“Now you like Chet,” Lily said. “You hated him, but now magically you like him.”
“Yup.”
Lily raised an eyebrow. “So, how good was the sex?”
“We didn’t…I mean, I didn’t do anything. Per se.”
“Get out.” Lily shoved Addison in the arm, almost upending the tray over her lap and Addison’s plate. “You dirty girl. Nice job, lady. At least one of us will get lucky this trip.”
“Want to come with us to the bar in Safari Town tonight? I told Chet we’d meet him. It’s supposed to be a blast.”
“Will the twins be there?”
“They won’t be coming with us.”
“I’m in, then.” Lily hummed as she cut up her food. “But seriously, you changed on a dime. You’d think you were his mate or something.”
Addison laughed. “What?”
“Yeah, you know about shifter mates, right?”
“Uh, vaguely. They mate for life and basically know their true mate on sight.”
“Basically. Except it’s not on sight, really. The shifter will have an inkling, but not until they kiss their mate do they know for sure, usually. It’s all very romantic.”
“I guess. But isn’t that shifters only?”
“Oh, no. It happens to humans too. You can always tell too. The guys are all pussy-whipped once they get mated with a shifter female and the ladies go all gaga. Just like you with Chet now.”
“Not like me and Chet. He’s just a nice guy I feel comfortable around.”
Lily waved her fork around excitedly. “But less than twenty-four hours ago, you thought he was a meatheated pig. I bet you’re his mate. This is so amazing. First I win this trip, and now you’re mated to a rhino. He was right, you do love him. I bet you guys can get a cheap wedding package here since he works for the company.”
“No talking about marriage. We just met. I’m not into him like that.”
Lily bounced on the bed. “I can’t wait to start planning the wedding. This is going to be so cool. An island wedding. Your colors can be tropics-inspired.”
Addison just laughed it off and let Lily continue her imaginary wedding planning, but it stayed on her mind all day. She had a great time at Safari Park, but she was distracted. Could she be Chet’s mate? This kind of change of heart was rare for her. She didn’t hold grudges, but she didn’t change her opinion of people easily. Chet hadn’t done much besides give her a mind-blowing orgasm.
When they got back to the bungalow, after she’d showered, she looked up human/shifter couples on the internet. After fifteen minutes of reading, she was properly freaked out.
It sounded like how she felt about Chet, but the feelings didn’t make sense. She was much too excited to see him for the night. The thought of leaving at the end of the week made her feel panicky and anxious, but he hadn’t given her any indication that he was her mate.
There was a knock at her door, and Chet poked his head in. “I thought you said you were going to be wearing a thong only?”
“What are you doing here?” Addison closed the search page on her phone.
“I said I was going to come and finish what we started. Plus, I can drive you guys to the bar myself.”
He came to the bed and lay down next to her. She wanted to say something, but instead found herself kissing him. They pulled off each other’s clothes and got to business quickly. Addison had never wanted anyone more. She had to have inside of her.
Chet pulled off her towel while she made quick work of his pants and shirt. His cock was already hard and ready. Addison lay back on the bed and pulled him on top of her. “I want you,” she whispered.
He positioned himself between her legs and hesitated. “Are you sure? We can have a little foreplay if…”
She put her hand around his cock and squeezed him tight. “Now. I need to feel you inside me now.”
Chet nodded and rubbed himself against her folds. She was slick and ready. He eased himself into her and sighed when the base of his cock rubbed against her. His arms were trembling as he paused to regain control.
Addison wrapped her legs around his waist
and arched up into him. “Move. Unless I’m too much for you.”
She nipped at his lip and held on to his shoulders. He put a hand on the wall behind her and leaned low. From the glint in his eye, Addison knew she was in for a rough ride.
Chet pistoned his hips hard and fast. Her mouth was stuck in the open position and she couldn’t catch her breath. After two agonizingly wonderful orgasms, Chet pulled out of her and flipped her over. He put her hands on the wall behind the bed and covered them with his.
He entered her again from behind and resumed his punishing pace. Addison hung her head and pulled her knees together. She was covered in sweat.
The bed pounded against the wall as he made love to her. She tried to keep her voice down as she came again and again. She pushed back against Chet and met him at every thrust.
Finally, he bit down hard on her shoulder and emptied himself deep inside of her. Panting and sweat-covered, they both lay down. Addison fingered the teeth marks on her shoulder. “Is this you marking me?”
Chet looked embarrassed. “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I don’t normally do that. I didn’t hurt you too bad, did I?”
She shook her head. “So…do you think I’m your mate?”
Chet looked at her. “Huh?”
Addison covered her face with her hands. “Oh, gosh. I’m sorry. Forget I said anything.”
He pulled her hands off her face. “No, I didn’t hear you. I’m pretty tired and floating in the clouds.”
“Do you think I’m your mate?” she asked sheepishly.
Chet sat up. “I do. I don’t want to freak you out. You don’t have to move to the island or anything or say you love me. I just want you to know before you leave. Yes, I think you’re my mate.”
She let out a shaky breath. “Is that why I like you so much so quickly?”
“Maybe.” He sat back and looked at her curiously. “That doesn’t always happen with human partners.”
“But it would explain a lot. I’ve never felt this way about anyone so fast before.” She laughed. “Oh, man. I thought I was losing it. Loving a guy I barely know is crazy, but if I’m your mate, it’s cool.”
