by Juniper Hart
Of course, there was always the reception.
In the reception hall, Lisa headed straight for the bar.
“What the hell happened at the wedding?” Angie hissed as the brunette chugged down a glass of champagne with one sip.
“He was there!” Lisa whispered, her eyes darting around. “I saw him there, but then he was gone!”
Angie stared dubiously at Lisa. “Are you sure? Why would he come here if he wasn’t looking for Brian or for me?”
Lisa shook her head, since she had no answer for her friend. As the party continued, she could not let go of the sensation that Avison was still nearby.
That’s ridiculous, she chided herself. He’s not here, and it’s not like you can feel his presence or anything crazy like that. Just forget about him. Angie and Brian are married now, and the crisis has been averted. There is security here if anything happens. I can finally exhale and enjoy the party.
“You look very gloomy, considering you’re at a wedding,” Jasmin commented, approaching her. “Come on and dance. I love this song!”
Reluctantly, Lisa followed the bridesmaid.
Dancing always makes me feel better, she thought, and the two headed onto the floor, the effects of the alcohol beginning to make their way into Lisa’s body. She allowed the music to take over her, and she was soon rocking her slender body to the music, closing her eyes to embrace the feeling.
Someone snaked his arms around her waist, pressing his frame against hers, and Lisa allowed herself to melt back into the arms currently holding her, partially turning her head to look up at the stranger’s face.
She immediately stepped away, putting as much distance as she could between herself and the stranger on the crowded dance floor.
“You are more beautiful than I thought you would be in person,” Avison said, smiling gently at her.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Lisa muttered through clenched teeth. “I won’t let you ruin this wedding.”
Avison rolled his eyes. “I’m not here for Brian or Angie, and I’m not here to ruin anything.”
Lisa glared at him. “So why are you here?”
He smiled again, and his expression made Lisa feel like she had nothing to worry about, like he hadn’t come here with the purpose of getting back at his old friend and his now wife.
“I’m here for you, Lisa,” Avison answered.
Something about the way he said her name sent shivers down Lisa’s spine. She suddenly wondered if Avison being there was really as bad as Angie had made it out to be. Lisa kind of wanted to keep dancing with him, like she had been before realizing who he was, but the promise she had made to her friend was still in her mind. She had to make sure neither Angie nor Brian saw Avison here.
I need to get him out of here, Lisa thought.
“C’mon,” she told Avison, grabbing him by the arm and leading him away from the dance floor. He followed her without complaints, and soon they were standing in the far end of the hall, away from all the other wedding guests.
Lisa turned back to Avison, but whatever words she was going to say died in her throat when she saw how close he was standing to her. Seeing him this closely, she realized how attractive he was, and she vaguely recalled what Angie had said yesterday about wanting to introduce Avison to her.
Avison took a step forward, closing the distance between them. He lifted his hand to gently caress Lisa’s cheek with his knuckles, and Lisa almost melted into the contact.
“I have been waiting for you,” he murmured, once more sending shivers down Lisa’s back. Avison’s gaze bore into hers, and Lisa trembled beneath the depths of his iridescent blue eyes.
She felt drawn to him, like she was meant to meet him at some point, and circumstances had forced them to find each other here.
When Avison leaned forward, Lisa did as well, and when his mouth touched hers, Lisa threw her arms around him as sparks ignited within her, setting her body on fire. Her lips parted to let his tongue lick into her mouth, his hands gripping her hips and squeezing at her flesh beneath the fabric of her dress.
Lisa moaned as Avison pulled away to kiss at the soft, exposed skin of her neck. Goosebumps erupted over Lisa, and Avison’s palm peeled her dress up along her thigh. He embraced her more tightly, and Lisa’s head fell back, sighing softly as his kisses on her skin grew more urgent.
Avison’s other hand still gripped tightly at her waist, but the one on her thigh made its way between her legs, and his fingers teased at the pulsating nub at her center through her thong. Lisa moaned aloud, jerking forward to try to rub against his crotch, feeling his erection through his pants. She grew lightheaded from the erotic sensations flowing through her.
When his first digit slid beneath her underwear and entered her, Lisa gasped, her arms tightening around his neck. She leaned back against the wall, pulling him with her, and Lisa cried out as his one finger became two, his strokes becoming more deliberate. They were entangled in a passionate embrace as Lisa’s body began to shake with pleasure.
“Let yourself go, sweet Lisa,” Avison whispered, his mouth brushing hers, creating an instant flow of her release between her legs and over his thrusting fingers.
Still breathing heavily after her climax, Lisa’s hands reached for his pants, fumbling to undo them. Her legs buckled underneath her, and she fell to the ground, Avison following right behind her. The hand he had been using to grip at her waist moved to her back, his fingers playing with her wet middle.
Lisa got to her knees, spreading herself wide as she felt Avison mount her from behind, his erection rubbing against her bare buttocks. She pressed her face to the coolness of the floor, pushing her hips back against him.
Avison plunged inside her, deep and fast, keeping with the pace of her already fired desire, and she knew that she would climax again within seconds. As she suspected, she spilled against him, and her body was about to collapse against the floor when Avison wrapped an arm around her and pulled her up to press her back against his chest, his other hand firmly holding her hips, determined to finish as hard as she had.
“I have waited so long for you, Lisa,” Avison moaned. “Oh, you were worth the wait. Every painful moment—” His words trailed off as Lisa felt him release inside of her, quivering in jerking, hard movements.
Avison slowly pulled out of her, nuzzling his face into the back of her neck, softly kissing her skin. Lisa shivered against him, and he helped her to her feet so that she could turn around and stare at him.
A small part of her couldn’t believe what she had done, but the bigger part of her mind wondered why she hadn’t done it before. She remembered the words Avison had spoken in the midst of their passion, as well as the ones he had said earlier.
“You were looking for me,” Lisa muttered. She meant for her sentence to be a question, but she didn’t need to ask to know the answer.
“I was, and I’ve finally found you,” Avison said, lovingly cupping her cheek. He smiled tenderly at her, his eyes alight with desire. “Unfortunately, now I must go.”
“What?” Lisa demanded.
She was about to ask him why, but then she recalled exactly where she was, and the answer became obvious: she was in Angie and Brian’s wedding, where neither the groom nor the bride wanted Avison to be there, and he should probably leave before either of them encountered him.
But Lisa didn’t want him to go, and she couldn’t find the words to express why without sounding silly and unbelievable.
Avison seemed to read her disappointment. He grasped her hands in his and kissed the back of her palms.
“I will see you again very soon,” he said.
“Will you?” Lisa pressed.
Avison nodded his head.
“Now that I’ve found you, it won’t take me as long to do it again,” he promised, kissing her cheek. His fingers trailed across her face, and then he disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving Lisa to stare after him, her mouth agape.
“Lisa!”
; Lisa turned toward the source of the voice to see Jasmin running up to her.
“Oh, my God!” she squealed when she was in front of Lisa. “You just vanished from the dance floor! I could’ve sworn you were right behind me, and then you were gone!”
Lisa let out a small laugh, holding her head with her hand.
“Sorry,” she replied. “I just… needed some fresh air.”
Her eyes scanned the room, as if she expected to see Avison. But she realized that he had indeed left, and she had no idea of when she would see him again.
She would, though. He had promised her as much.
“Oh!” Jasmin gasped suddenly, her mouth parting in worry as the smile faded from her lips. “What happened to your neck?”
“What?”
Jasmin reached out to touch the spot where Avison had been sucking on her skin, and Lisa cringed at the feeling. Her own hand flew up to touch, and she could feel two puncture marks at the base of her throat.
The women stared at each other, with Jasmin waiting for a response while Lisa could only hear Avison’s words echoing through her mind.
I have been waiting for you. I have waited so long for you, Lisa, he had told her. Now that I’ve found you, it won’t take me as long to do it again.
That was why she had felt so drawn to him as soon as they were alone. They had been meant to find each other, and now they were bound together, ensuring that he would keep his promise to her.
Lisa turned away from Jasmin, dizziness flooding through her as a small smile formed across her lips. When she moved, she felt her gums begin to throb, and her eyes grew sharper against the dim lighting of the hall.
Senior year is going to be epic, she thought, striding toward the bar. I wonder if Kappa Mu Pi has ever had a president who is immortal.
THE END
Click Here to Read the Entire Shifter Pursuit Series
7
Shifter Pursuit: Small Town Girl
Erica bobbed her head rhythmically, barely noticing the looks of the other passengers as she muttered along to the lyrics of Diddy in a lone tone.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and Erica peered back at the stern-looking gentleman in the seat behind her with inquisitive blue eyes.
She popped her earbuds out. “Yes?” she asked sweetly.
“Miss,” he said curtly. “Would you mind not swearing? My wife finds whatever you are mumbling very distressing.”
Slightly embarrassed, Erica cranked her neck further to the man’s wife, who wore the same reproving expression as her husband.
“Of course,” she replied, sighing as she sat back against the seat, sinking slightly lower as if to disappear.
You’re back home now, she reminded herself, gazing around at the townsfolk riding the bus with her through Camden. Gotta remember to keep the big city out of here before someone drops into cardiac arrest by use of the word “damn.”
In all fairness, “damn” was not the word she had sung repeatedly through their trip along I-13 toward Dover Marketplace.
Erica sighed quietly, leaving her iPod off as she stared out the window, wondering how it could only be July.
Two more months in cursed Delaware, she thought mournfully, but the sentiment was not genuine agony. Despite being a big city girl born in a small-town girl’s body, Erica loved her family.
Over the past years, she had been invited to her friends’ homes in various cities throughout the United States for summer vacation, but she always passed, knowing that she would regret not having spent time with her sister and parents.
They already hate that I go to school so far away, Erica thought ruefully as the bus steered toward the mall.
She rose, ready to meet her sister for lunch, skipping down the steps onto the platform.
Pausing to readjust her wide-brimmed hat, she glanced down at her chic minidress to ensure her belt was still securely sashed against her flat stomach. She nodded at herself in satisfaction before wandering toward the entrance of the mall to find Hailey.
Passersby cast Erica curious glances, not recognizing the attractive, stylish woman to be a part of their tiny community of three-and-a-half thousand people.
It was not that Erica wasn’t proud of her roots; quite on the contrary. She loved everything about the small town—she simply knew she did not belong there.
As she approached her sister, her platform shoes stomping against the ground, Hailey saw her and ran to greet her, pulling her into a hug.
“Oh, I’m so sorry I couldn’t come and get you!” she breathed. “I wouldn’t have had enough time to go and come back.”
Erica waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, I enjoyed the ride! I offended a bunch of old people with my music choices,” she replied, and Hailey laughed, her cheeks growing pink with familiar embarrassment.
Hailey was exactly the opposite of Erica: shy, reserved, and very much country.
Still, they were closer than any two sisters could be, and Erica desperately missed her when she was away at school.
“You must be bored out of your mind,” Hailey said, leading Erica toward the only restaurant in the mall, a Waffle House. She looked at her nervously. “It’s all right if we eat here, isn’t it?” she asked worriedly. “I mean… I don’t know of any nicer place where we can go quickly before I have to get back to work.”
Erica smiled patiently at her sister and reached for her arm to link hers through. “You know I’m still the same sister you’ve always had, right?” she asked, laughing.
“I know,” Hailey said, exhaling slowly. “It’s just that you’re so fancy now.”
Erica scoffed. “I’ve always been fancy,” she retorted as they waited to be seated. She lowered her voice dramatically. “Remind me to grab some spray cheese. Mom and Dad don’t have a single can, can you believe that?”
Hailey burst into laughing and shook her dark hair, so alike her sister’s. “For as healthy as you eat, I can’t believe you still indulge in that crap,” she teased.
Erica shrugged. “Everyone needs a vice,” she said, winking one of her blue eyes at her.
The hostess sat them, and the sisters fell into an easy chatter.
“So, what’s going on with you and Kevin?” Erica asked, raising an eyebrow. “Is he going to get off his butt and propose already?”
Hailey flushed and stared down at the table, making Erica laugh. If anyone was shyer than Hailey, it was her boyfriend, Kevin.
“I hope so,” Hailey whispered, and now Erica arched both of her eyebrows.
They had been dating for two years, and as far as Erica knew, their relationship was solid. She wondered if there was anything holding Kevin back from proposing to her sister.
Might be worth investigating, she thought wryly. Especially since I have nothing but time on my hands while I’m home.
“How about you?” Hailey asked, apparently eager to change the subject. “Any boyfriends?”
Erica thought back to something she and her sorority sisters had been told some time ago: something about strange creatures and finding a mate. Erica hadn’t known what to make of it all.
She shook her head. Now was not the time to think of such nonsense. “A few,” Erica joked, grinning, but Hailey looked aghast.
“Who?” she demanded, and Erica reached into her purse for her cell. Her face lit up with interest as Erica opened a dating app.
“Well,” Erica drawled, holding out her phone for Hailey to see. “There are these three guys back at home whom I’m going to meet when I get back in September—provided they aren’t all married by then.”
Hailey giggled.
“And then,” Erica continued, “there are two here in Delaware whom I’m hoping will fill my days while you and Mom and Dad are at work.”
Hailey’s blue eyes widened in disbelief. “Five guys?” she gasped. “Wow! How do you do it, Erica?”
Erica cringed. “I technically don’t have any guys right now,” she reminded Hailey. “Only potentials.”
>
Hailey nodded her head. “So, when do you meet the ones here?”
Erica studied Hailey’s face and realized that her older sister was living vicariously through her.
I got to leave Camden and go to college while she is stuck here, answering phones for a mall lawyer.
“I think I’ve been putting it off,” Erica confessed. “But I should get on it.”
“Yes!” Hailey agreed enthusiastically. “You should message them right now and tell them to meet you this week!”
Slowly, Erica nodded and pulled up her messages. “You’re right,” she conceded. “There’s no time like the present.”
Walt was devastatingly handsome.
It was the first thing Erica noticed when he sauntered into the café where they had arranged to meet, a few blocks away from her family’s home.
Once she laid eyes on him, her heart stopped for a fleeting second, blood rushing to her face.
Woah! He is much better than Jerry from yesterday, she thought, recalling the boring date with the IT nerd from Harrington. Sure, Jerry had been nice, but Walt was the epitome of everything sexy. And he knew it.
It was apparent in every move he made, from the way he opened the door to the café, right down to his swagger at the table. He grinned down at her cockily, his bronze face accenting brilliant white teeth and glittering hazel eyes.
“Wow,” he declared, flopping unceremoniously onto the chair in front of him. “Your pictures don’t do anything for how hot you are in person.”
Erica was sure she had never been more turned off in her life. All of Walt’s appeal vanished right then and there.
“Emily, right?” he continued before she could even utter a word, and she gaped at him.
“Seriously?” she snapped. “You can’t even get my name right? It’s Erica!”
His smirk didn’t fade as he shrugged his broad shoulders and puffed out his chest, snapping his fingers for the nearby server.
