Ranger Knox (Shifter Nation: Werebears Of Acadia Book 1)

by Meg Ripley

  “Was Nicky that bad?” Mark smirked at me.

  “Get on the fucking bus,” I told him. Mark shrugged and he and Dan gathered up their things and jogged around to the entrance of the tour bus. “Sleeping with me was a mistake? Are you sure about that?” Olivia shrugged.

  “I don’t regret the actual sex itself,” she said slowly. “I regret the fact that I threw caution to the wind and had sex with you because I knew it would be great sex. I compromised on my principles.”

  “And now you’ve got a juicy assignment following a band on tour, which will look great in your portfolio.” Olivia’s eyes glinted in the morning light as she glared at me.

  “Yeah, and now also everyone is going to figure out that the reason I got this assignment was because I slept with you and you wanted to toy with me some more and probably get in my pants again. Really fantastic for my career there, Nicky.” I laughed.

  “Did you really just call me Nicky?” Olivia’s cheeks lit up with an even deeper blush than before.

  “Do you have a problem with me calling you that?” Olivia raised an eyebrow in challenge, and I grinned. Fuck she looks so cute like that. So goddamn cute trying not to smile, trying to look tough.

  “Nope,” I said. I shifted my backpack straps on my shoulders. “I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t a mistake.” I saw the blood leave her face and then return in a flush that crept up all the way to the roots of her hair. I took another sip of my coffee and walked past her, heading towards the entrance of the tour bus. I grinned to myself as I climbed up the stairs, picturing the look on Olivia’s face. It probably wasn’t the best thing I could have said in the moment, but I couldn’t help myself. Oh yeah. Whether or not she ever has sex with me again, this is going to be a fun tour.

  I threw my stuff onto one of the bunks and carried my coffee into the lounge. “Alex, the longer you take to say goodbye to her, the longer it is before you get back,” I said, throwing myself onto the couch carefully.

  “How does that math work out?” I shrugged at Dan’s question. “You didn’t already scare Olivia off, did you? Dude—she brought coffee!”

  “Yeah, and she’s never going to have sex with you again. It’ll be nice to watch Nicky actually have to try to get in a girl’s pants.” I rolled my eyes.

  “I didn’t scare her off,” I said. “If she scares off that easy she wouldn’t last a week on tour no matter what I did.”

  “Oh, are there wagers on how long I’ll last on tour?” Olivia appeared at the entrance to the lounge.

  “Who told her?”

  “I did,” Jules said, coming in behind her. “It only seemed fair, man.”

  “Can I get in on the betting pool? It’d be a nice bonus.”

  “Nicky isn’t in the pool,” Mark said. “Is it fair for you to be in it?”

  “You didn’t bet?” Olivia looked at me sharply. I took my pack of cigarettes out of my pocket and lit one.

  “Didn’t seem like the right thing to do,” I said. “Besides, if it ever got back to you, no matter what I bet it’d make me look bad.” Olivia continued to stare at me for a moment longer.

  “What did everyone else bet?” she asked, looking around the lounge.

  “One month for Mark, two weeks for Jules, the whole tour for Dan, and six months for Alex,” I told her. “Alex thinks that you’ll fall in love with me and we’ll last for two months after the end of the tour.”

  “Dan’s going to get the money,” Olivia said. She glanced at everyone else in the lounge and then looked at me. “Which bunks are open?”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “You’re playing me,” I told Olivia. It was sometime between one and three in the morning; the rest of the guys had mostly wandered off to the bunks. Olivia was busy working on something on her laptop.

  “Excuse me?” She didn’t quite look up from the screen, but one eyebrow rose.

  “You want me; I know you do,” I explained, licking my lips and taking another sip of the beer in my hand. “And I know you had a good time before. But you don’t want to get attached to someone who’s just going to wander off.”

  “I think I said that pretty much word for word,” Olivia said. “How exactly is that ‘playing you’?”

  “You’re testing me,” I said. “You didn’t text me once after you found out about coming on tour. We’ve been on the road for two days and you barely even acknowledge my existence. You want to see how hard I’ll work for this—for you.”

  “Or—and here’s a crazy thought—I want to put the sex behind us and focus on doing the best job I possibly can so that I get more work at the magazine.”

  “Do you really want to put the sex behind us?” I grinned. “It was pretty fucking awesome sex, you have to admit.”

  “I don’t have to admit anything,” Olivia said.

  “It was awesome though. Has anyone ever told you how hot you look when you come?”

  “Guys say things like that all the time,” Olivia said with a shrug. “They say it to everyone. What’s hot isn’t the girl coming; it’s the fact that she’s coming. Makes you feel all badass and manly.” I laughed out loud, nearly spilling my beer before I could get it onto the fold-up table next to the couch.

  “Okay. Okay, that’s fair,” I said once I could breathe enough to talk. “But some women look hotter than others. You look like—a fucking nova, it’s so hot.” Olivia snorted.

  “Not going to work, Nicky,” she said. I heard the keys rattling.

  “It’s just the truth,” I said, shrugging. “You’re hot as hell—whether you’re coming or not.”

  “I’m not testing you,” Olivia said. I finally got what I wanted: she looked up, meeting my gaze. “I just don’t want to risk getting feelings for you, and then finding out that I’m nothing more than a notch on your bedpost.”

  “No bedposts on a tour bunk,” I pointed out.

  “If I have sex with you on the bus, everyone is going to hear it.” I smirked.

  “So, you’ve thought about having sex with me on the bus.” Olivia closed her eyes and I watched her tits straining at the fabric of her tee shirt as she took a deep breath.

  “Of course I’ve thought about it,” she said finally. “You’re hot, and yes the sex was great. But it would be just as much a mistake to have sex with you on the bus—or anywhere on the tour—as it was the first time. More of a mistake, really.”

  “First of all,” I said, picking my beer up again and taking a drink from it. “Play some music loud enough and no one’s going to pay much attention to the moans going on underneath. Second: how can getting off possibly be a mistake?”

  “Getting off with the guy who helped me score this assignment is a mistake. Getting off with a guy who’s never been interested in a serious relationship is a mistake.”

  “Why does it have to be a serious relationship?” I took another sip of my beer and lit a cigarette to go with it. “Why can’t it be a—a comedic relationship? Or a fun relationship?”

  “I’m not really into casual sex so much these days,” Olivia said. “You’re about three years too late for that.”

  “You’re a busy, involved reporter,” I pointed out. “I’m guessing you don’t really have much of a dating life in general, right?” Olivia scowled at me and then pretended to go back to her work. “I get it—you’re putting career first. So am I.” I shrugged and took another sip of beer. “But obviously, I look at you differently from how I look at other girls,” I said.

  “I guess,” Olivia said. She caught up her bottom lip between her teeth; it sent a little tingle through me just to see it.

  “I didn’t sneak out of your house the morning after. I made an effort to get you on the tour bus, on the tour, to spend more time with you.”

  “I’m still puzzling through that,” Olivia said. She looked at me once more. “I swear to god I’m not just—like—playing hard to get, Nick.”

  “If you were, you’d have encouraged me along the way,” I said, shrugging. “Jus
t enough to keep me coming back.”

  “And I haven’t; yet you’re still pursuing me.”

  “Maybe I just like you. Maybe sex with you was insanely awesome and I’d like to try it again.”

  “That’s not your M.O., though,” Olivia said. “Why are you doing this?”

  “I want to be with you,” I said with a shrug. “Whether it’s for the duration of the tour or something longer.”

  “Why me?” Olivia frowned. “I mean—I’m not fishing for a compliment here. I’m just wondering what it is about me specifically.”

  “It’s not just you,” I said. I pressed my lips together. “It’s Alex.”

  “That’s…not the answer I was expecting.”

  “I’m not gay for him or anything like that,” I said quickly. “Not that I have a problem with people being gay. But I’m not.” Olivia snickered. “It’s fucking dumb, but I see what he’s got with Mary, and…” I shrugged. “I kind of envy him.”

  “You can screw around with any girl you want,” Olivia said.

  “Just because I can doesn’t mean I have to,” I pointed out.

  “But why wouldn’t you?”

  “You’re not screwing just any guy, right?” Olivia rolled her eyes. “You’re hot, smart, funny, and an incredible lay—and believe me, guys can practically smell that in a girl. But you’re not just tumbling into bed with any guy you feel like sleeping with.”

  “That’s not where my head is at,” Olivia said, shrugging.

  “And now it’s not where mine is at either,” I said. On instinct I sat up and rose to my feet. “Right now, my head is on the subject of having as much sex with you as I can—as you’ll let me have. I’m not going to fuck up the chance to have you around just because there’s a cute girl.”

  “That sounds nice,” Olivia said. I walked the few steps from the couch to where she sat, at one of the tables along the other wall of the lounge. “What are you doing, Nick?”

  “Just coming closer,” I said, smiling a bit. “You’re not scared of me, are you? You already know I won’t bite.”

  “There was a hickey on my neck that says otherwise,” Olivia murmured.

  “I didn’t break the skin. I didn’t even hurt you. I’m not going to hurt you.” I reached out and tousled her hair. Olivia stiffened, and then relaxed. “Come on, Liv. I can’t be the only one who’s spent the last three weeks horny as fuck.”

  “How is it my fault you’re horny?” Olivia’s lips twitched in the start of a smile.

  “Because you’re the reason I’m horny.”

  “Lots of other women out there.”

  “There’s also my hand,” I pointed out. “Neither of those options is the same as getting what I want.” I let my hand slip to the base of her skull, cradling the back of her head. I leaned in and just barely kissed her forehead, her nose, and then her lips. Olivia didn’t stiffen, didn’t resist in any way; as soon as my lips touched hers, she gave into it, kissing me back, and I felt her move; I heard the muted clink of the laptop on the table.

  I pulled her up out of the chair and pressed her body against mine; she was every bit as soft, as warm as she’d been the first night we’d hooked up. I moaned at the feeling of her tits crushed against my chest—she wasn’t wearing a bra, and her nipples hardened almost instantly. I deepened the kiss, sliding my tongue past her lips, letting my hands wander all over her body. I cupped her ass cheeks and gave them a squeeze, and Olivia moaned against my lips, her hips pushing back against my hands. I brought them up and around and kneaded her breasts through the thin fabric of her tee shirt, and felt her shiver against me, letting out a needy little noise from the back of her throat.

  I broke away from her mouth panting. “Tell me to go away and I’ll stop right now,” I said. It was the stupidest thing I’ve probably ever said in my life—my cock was like hot lead in my jeans—but I meant it. I knew I couldn’t just push Olivia into it again. I had to make it her choice—I had to give her the power to say no. I let my hands fall to my sides; I took a step back, giving her some space. “Say the word and I’ll leave you alone.”

  Her cheeks were flushed almost the same color as her hair; her eyes were wide and dark. “You asshole,” she said, shaking her head and half grinning. “You are such an asshole.” I raised an eyebrow. “You know for a damned fact that I’m not going to say no at this point.”

  “You can,” I insisted. “I won’t bother you at all. I won’t try and argue it.”

  “You get me hot and then make me be the one to say stop,” she said, shaking her head. She looked for a second like she might say something else; but then she stepped forward and stood on the balls of her feet, reaching up to pull me down for another, deeper kiss. I pawed at her clothes—I wanted them off, I wanted her body pressed against mine with nothing between us at all. Olivia pulled back. “Not here,” she murmured, panting slightly. “Anyone could walk in.”

  “Your bunk,” I told her. Olivia nodded, breathless, and turned towards the bunks. The bus was quiet for the night; I figured it was safe enough, as long as we played a little music to cover the noises. “Do you have a speaker?” Olivia looked at me over her shoulder, confused.

  “No.” I stopped her at the bunks and reached up into my own bed space. I groped around until I found the Bluetooth speaker I’d brought with me. I turned it on and looked around. “This one’s mine,” she murmured, gesturing to the next rank down.

  In a few heartbeats, we were both climbing into the bunk together. I took my phone out of my pocket and linked it with the speaker. I put on the first Strokes album and set it to random, and tweaked the volume until it was just loud enough to cover up any noises we might make. “There,” I said, turning to Olivia with a grin. “Now your secret’s mostly safe.”

  I pinned her to the mattress, pressing my hips against hers, kissing her again and again. My cock ached and throbbed in my jeans; it was torture, knowing that I had to wait, that I had to hold back until I’d gotten Olivia right where I wanted her. I took a deep breath and went to work, stripping her clothes off bit by bit. Olivia kissed me on the lips, along the column of my throat, grazing me with her teeth, nibbling playfully at my earlobe, even as her hands found the hem of my tee shirt and tugged it up.

  In minutes, we were both naked. No panties on her either, I thought as I peeled her pants off to reveal nothing but bare skin. I reached up between her legs and cupped her pussy with the heel of my palm, rubbing against the already soaking wet folds. “You’re not going to call this a mistake later, are you?” I asked her quietly, smirking to myself as I heard the soft moan leave her lips. I slid my fingers between her labia and stroked her up and down, barely missing her clit, teasing her. I rubbed my cock against her thigh; I needed some kind of relief from the pressure I could feel building up in it every time my heart beat in my chest.

  “I’m not talking about that right now,” Olivia murmured. “If you try and make me I am going to shove you out of the bunk.” I chuckled, finding her clit by touch and stroking the little bead of nerves until she moaned. I kissed her, swallowing down the moans as Olivia twisted and writhed underneath me. She was so wet, so hot—I couldn’t stand it.

  “Fuck, Liv,” I murmured, sliding one finger inside of her, “Fuck. I need you. Are you ready for me?” I worked my finger in and out of her as her muscles flexed around me, tightening. I was already covered in sweat, my heart pounding in my chest.

  “Y-yeah,” Olivia replied, her breath catching in her throat as I added another finger. I kissed her again and shifted down between her legs, bringing my hand away from her hot, wet pussy for just a moment. I guided my cock up against her slick folds and Olivia wrapped her legs around my waist, pushing her hips down just as I thrust up into her. I groaned as her muscles flexed around me, clenching my teeth and struggling to hold back. She felt so good—so fucking good—it was almost impossible not to lose it right away.

  I took a deep breath and focused down, rocking my hips against Olivia’s. I kisse
d her everywhere I could reach: her lips, her face, her neck, moving down to bury my face against her full, firm tits. I found each of her nipples in turn and latched on, sucking and licking as she moved underneath me and all around me, moans leaving her lips over and over again. I tried to go slow, tried to savor the moment, but she felt too good. I could feel the orgasm building up inside of me, the tension deep down between my hips, in the pit of my stomach.

  Olivia fell into my rhythm like she’d known it all her life, and in minutes we were both going at it as if we were the only people on the bus, panting and gasping for breath, sweat mingling together on our bodies. I started thrusting faster and faster, kissing her more and more desperately, holding back by sheer force of will—I had to feel her come first.

  I heard Olivia gasp; I felt her muscles all lock down at once. And then she moaned, her lips pressed against my neck, and her whole body shuddered. I gave into the climax, thrusting into her mindlessly as wave after wave of pleasure washed through us both, driving out every last thought in my head except for how good she felt, how good it felt to come inside of her.

  I kept moving until the spasms started to abate. By the time I sagged against her, half-crumpling onto the mattress, Olivia was done too, panting and trembling in the aftershocks. “Trying Your Luck” swirled around us; it sounded exactly like the sex we’d just been having, the guitar runs wild and probing, the rhythm low-slung and caressing. “This was not a mistake,” I told Olivia quietly, wrapping my arms around her and burying my face against her neck. “You know it just as well as I do.”

  “That really hit you hard, didn’t it?” I met Olivia’s gaze and shrugged.

  “It bothers me a bit,” I admitted. I felt too good to even try and think of a lie. “Wouldn’t it bother you?”

  “Probably,” Olivia said after considering it for a moment. “Okay fine, none of this was a mistake. It was a bad life choice.”

  “You get to come this hard, get a great assignment out of it to boot, and it’s a bad life choice?” I shook my head. “What can I do to please you, woman?” She grinned slowly.