Falling Hard

by Shelly Bell

  Mitch’s eyes widened and then relaxed. He shifted on his feet. “Listen, I thought you didn’t want to be with me. I thought it was too dangerous for someone like me to be with someone who is . . . like you. It’s risky. And based on what Hazel says, you aren’t exactly in the best place either. So I called someone and tried to move on, but I didn’t do anything because I don’t want her. I want you.”

  “I’m not in the best place. You’re right, it’s very risky. But how can I believe you?”

  “I don’t think you understand. I’ve always been able to go from one person to the next without as much as a thought. That’s not happening for me anymore. Because you showed up.”

  The slow crawl of the elevator to the fourth floor finally ended and the doors opened. The dim light was replaced with bright sun from the hallway windows.

  “Should I come with you, Aurora? Or am I wrong about your feelings for me?”

  Aurora stepped into the hallway, holding the doors of the elevator apart to keep them from shutting. After all, if they closed, they may be ending something she’d never even known she’d wanted until he walked into her life.

  “C’mon, Mitch,” she said, letting the doors go.

  As they began to close, he grabbed them, his strong hands slamming them back. She loved the shaggy hair that sprouted everywhere on his head. The look in his eyes that read determination. Aurora backed up to allow him into the hallway.

  Turning because she couldn’t bear to look at his face any longer without kissing him, she started down the hallway to her room.

  It was the fastest they’d walked all morning. She’d sensed him near her dorm and had known when to go out. She’d hoped for just a glance and her heart had danced when she’d seen him. She needed him. The chance at just a glimpse of him had made her jump from her bed to find him.

  When they reached the room, she jammed the key into the lock and walked in. He followed and leaned against the door once inside.

  She tossed her keys on the bed and sat facing him, hoping he’d follow. When he didn’t, she asked, “So, what now? Are we supposed to start fresh? Pretend we’re perfect for one another?”

  “No. We’ll have to figure out how to not get one another killed. Whenever supernaturals come together to form couples, the Seekers find us easier. If they know who our mate is, they can use it against us,” he said. His eyes clouded over as he spoke.

  “You sound like you have experience,” she said.

  “My mother and father. When they killed my dad in the street, she had to walk away to save me,” he said.

  Aurora wanted to reach for him. Hold him. His stoic face and shaky voice didn’t match. “She sacrificed the love of her life for you. You have to take heart in that. I guess in a lot of ways, my mother did, too. She loved him as much as you could a demon. But when he wanted to take me back to Hades, she wouldn’t stand for it. You see, when you’re a demon or chambion, or whatever the hell you wanna call it, you have to choose. At seven years old, I should have been allowed to pick between life on earth or life in Hell, but my mother chose for me. She put me in a Catholic boarding school and left me there. The priests knew. They tried to force the demon out of me. I honestly don’t know which would have been worse . . . going through that or being with my father. They kicked me out during my teen years and I had to move back home. And, now, here I am. My father has found me though, and now I don’t get to choose. He wants me to come with him. If I don’t go willingly . . . he’ll kill me.”

  Aurora spat it out before she lost her nerve. The only person who knew her whole story was Hazel. She’d sworn her to secrecy and begged her to enchant the Pont d’Amour with some spell or another. She hadn’t wanted to. She’d blessed the bridge for her sister, and it really didn’t sit well with her to have to place another spell on it. Aurora hadn’t had the heart to ask Hazel to do it when the bridge meant so much to her. Perhaps it could have helped, but it wasn’t worth risking her first real friendship over. They would just have to deal with whatever came next.

  “Would he really kill you, Aurora? I can’t imagine a parent being that heartless, even if he is a demon,” Mitch came to sit next to her.

  His warmth radiated to her body and wrapped around her, the feeling of home and safety shrouding her. “I think so. Are you always warm?” She asked, hoping to reroute the discussion.

  “Yes. Lycan body heat is about four degrees warmer than a human. It’s our DNA,” he responded. “Don’t change the subject. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s happening.”

  Aurora shifted on the bed, swinging her legs away from him and staring toward the window. “Mitch, you can’t get involved. I feel horrible that Hazel’s involved. He’s not playing around. If you get in his way, he’ll kill you.”

  “The Seekers got their weapons from the demons. In a lot of ways, they’re just as responsible for my father’s death,” he said. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he rubbed down her arm.

  Aurora closed her eyes, allowing his words to wash over her. “Doesn’t that make me responsible, too?”

  Chapter 11

  Mitch could have kicked himself. “No. You weren’t even born. I wasn’t born. My father was killed while my mother was pregnant. I was stupid for saying that. I wasn’t thinking,” he pleaded.

  “It wasn’t stupid. But do you at least see the differences between who we are? It’s something we’ll have to deal with if we date each other,” she said.

  Mitch wished she would look at him. He needed her to see him. She had to know he was sorry for hurting her. Aurora was the last person he wanted to hurt. “Aurora, turn around,” he commanded.

  Slowly, she acquiesced. When he finally saw her, her face was streaked with tears. “Oh, baby, don’t cry. I’m so sorry. I keep hurting you and you don’t deserve it,” he said. Reaching for her, he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into his chest.

  It was then that the dam broke free and she cried so hard her body shook.

  “Shhh, it’s okay. I’m a dickhead around you. It’s because I don’t know what to say and this has never happened before. I’ll get better. I promise,” he said.

  Rocking back and forth, he cradled her petite body in his arms and stroked her back as the sobs wracking her body subsided.

  “I just don’t know if we can really handle this. It’s so much, between my father and the Seekers. It’s too much,” she said.

  “It’s always been too much. That’s what makes it worthwhile. The harder you have to work for something, the more valuable it is.” Mitch reached for her chin and tipped her head up. Her face was streaked with tears, her eyes lit up in a sultry, brilliant silver. “Why do your eyes do that?”

  “It happens when I’m emotional. I’m sorry. I can usually control myself better, but this makes twice with you,” she said, beginning to pull away.

  “Damn. I hope you get emotional around me all the time. You’re so damned beautiful,” he said. Pulling her back to him, he kissed her. Her head tipped back and she sank into him, opening her mouth wide for him to explore her with his tongue.

  The taste of peppermint from her mouth made him want to devour her. Mitch closed his eyes, losing himself inside her. She was the most incredible woman he’d ever met. Running his hands down her body, he found the sides of her shirt and lifted it over her head. He broke their kiss to get the shirt off her. “You’re like a mood ring. I can’t wait to fuck you in a bed.” He smiled and tried to make himself look irresistible.

  “I can’t wait to fuck you anywhere, Mitch,” she said in a throaty whisper.

  Leaning back from him, she placed her hands behind her back and in seconds, removed her bra. Her ample breasts spilled from the cups and Mitch focused in on the tight buds perched on their peaks.

  Aurora leaned forward and slid her fitted running pants down her legs. She was a vision. Her body was curvy, luring him to her. He reached for her. Mitch’s hands landed on her hips and pulled her down onto his lap. He was still fully dressed but
couldn’t wait to touch her. He ran his hands over her smooth skin, from her shoulders to beneath her breasts, holding them up and nibbling on their tips.

  His phone vibrated in his pocket, but he ignored it. It wasn’t as if he could stop himself. Aurora moaned softly, whispering his name and the scent of her arousal intoxicated him.

  “It’s Hazel,” she whispered.

  “I’ll call her back,” he mumbled. It was a little unnerving that she knew things without him having to tell her, but now that he had her, he wasn’t planning on keeping any secrets from her.

  Flipping her onto her back, he pulled at his hoodie, T-shirt, and jeans. His shoes came off in the struggle, and the rest followed. Laying on top of her, he kissed her. The plan was to render her speechless, but it had the same effect on him. He bit at her lips and then kissed away the sting. Sliding down her body, he used his fingers to spread her glistening sex. His tongue lashed at the swollen nub. Using his arm, he managed to press her hips down to stop her wild escape from his mouth. He assaulted her sex, her essence as sweet as her mouth.

  Aurora cried out, her legs closing around his neck so tight, he nearly stopped. But he didn’t. The goal was simple. He wanted to give her an equal amount of pleasure to offset whatever pain he’d caused. He swore it would be like that for her for as long as she would have him. Even if it was just for one more morning, he would have gladly accepted it as long as she was happy.

  The tremble was his first clue she was coming. He pressed forward, running his tongue along the length of her closely shaved slit. Pressing his tongue inside her hot, wet canal, he used rapid movement to simulate his cock.

  Her hands in his hair clued him in on her inability to contain herself. To make the moment last, he slowed his pace, another slow lick up the middle and her hands relaxed, the fistfuls of his hair sliding from her fingers.

  A few seconds was more than enough. He drove into her again, his tongue stiff and rigid, the friction making her quake. “Mitch,” she cried out. There was no ‘stop,’ no pleading for him to cease his assault on her body.

  Aurora raised up from the bed. When Mitch looked up at her, her eyes were nearly radioactive. Aurora’s pupils looked as if they’d crystalized from her pleasure.

  Mitch flicked her clit twice, three times, then a few more before removing his mouth to finish her with his fingers. It was a devious plot. He wanted to watch her walls came tumbling down.

  Aurora shattered on the bed. Her legs flailed and she convulsed. Her mouth stretched open in a moan that couldn’t quite come out. She shuddered and shook, her wonderful breasts shaking and nipples so pursed, they looked like pebbles on the beach.

  When she was done, she was panting. A gentle hum arose from her, twisted up with sensuality and agony.

  “You ready for me, baby? Is your pussy wet for me?” Mitch asked her, his voice foreign to his own ears.

  “Yes, please . . .” Aurora cried out, her words finally escaping her.

  Mitch obliged, quickly pulling a condom from his crumpled pants on her dorm room floor. He discarded the wrapper, not sure and not caring where it landed, and rolled the latex down his rock hard cock.

  It wasn’t as good as when she’d done it with her mouth, but it was his turn to please her. Mitch slid his manhood deep inside her. Once he could go no further, he extracted slowly from her tight walls then pushed back in again. Aurora spread her legs so wide he had access to every part of her. Taking one of her legs, he rested it on his shoulder.

  They were nearly on their sides in the tiny bed, but he used the footboard to secure himself for the significant pounding he wanted to give her.

  For five more strokes, he took it easy. Aurora pecked at his bottom lip, then nipped, then bit, pulling at it, then she sucking it into her mouth, rolling her tongue over it. Mitch fought against the urge to release. It took everything he had to contain himself. But she deserved at least one more orgasm. He needed to hear his name ring from wall to wall and then into the ceiling.

  Chapter 12

  It was more than she could bear. Aurora felt the stretch of her sex, the sensation a heartbeat away from pain, but closer to pleasure. Aurora dug her nails into his flesh, hoping it would provide some sense of control while the rest of her rode the waves of ecstasy. She lost herself in him.

  The coolness of her orgasm started at the top of her head and ran the length of her body. She quivered in his arms, her ragged nerve endings near the surface of her skin. She was open and raw.

  Mitch wasn’t holding back anymore. He pounded into her with jackhammer speed and held her so tightly, she thought she would crumble. The heat of his seed inside the condom warmed her sex.

  His howl emitted into the air and shook her. It was animalistic, primal, and arresting. Aurora did the only thing she could. She pulled him close to her and rocked him. He’d done the same for her moments before. Mitch was on the edge of shifting and in the middle of an orgasm. Her sensory perception fired from every part of her. She comforted him, holding his head close to her bosom and whispering to him. “Stay with me, Mitch. Don’t shift.”

  His body was growing larger with each breath. A blood-curdling wail emitted from a place inside of him she was sure she’d never touch. A change in her dorm room in the middle of the day was exactly what he didn’t need.

  “Mitch, don’t. It could hurt me,” she said. She shifted to face him, and wondered whether he’d heard her. “It could hurt us, Mitch. Don’t change. Stay here with me,” she pled.

  Aurora reached to pull up the blanket and cover them. All of the bed linens were rumpled at the bottom of the bed, but she maneuvered the mass with her legs until she could pull the blanket over their naked bodies.

  He looked so vulnerable.

  “Mitch,” she said, directly in his face, their eyes locked, “don’t change. You can’t. Not here. There’s a campus full of people.” She wasn’t lying. There were girls in the hallway and during the early morning hours, people were filing out to work, or to get breakfast, to the library, and everything else.

  Aurora breathed a little easier when Mitch’s sporadic breathing patterns leveled off. After a few more minutes, the monotone growl subsided.

  “I need to get you to Hazel, don’t I?”

  She waited for his response, not really needing it. Mitch was having a hard time controlling his shifts.

  “Yeah, I need to go there now,” he said in a voice that was still shattered and worn.

  “I’ll take you. I think you need me to . . . help . . . if the urge comes back,” she said, wiping his hair, moist with sweat, from his forehead.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  “C’mon. I don’t think we should wait.” Aurora rose from the bed and climbed over him to get onto the floor. Their skin on skin contact sent remnants of electrical charges through her body and over her skin. She stood up and pulled him up to a seated position. He was so incredibly heavy, he surely was helping her with the haul.

  “I know, Rory. I’m coming,” he said.

  “What’d you call me?”

  “Rory. You don’t like it?” he asked.

  Aurora stood still. Her heart leapt in her chest and she felt weak and stupid at the same time. “I’ve never had a nickname before.”

  “Well, I fixed that for you. And, Rory . . . thank you. I’ve never stopped a shift before,” he said. He stood, towering over her. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close. The fine hairs of his chest tickled her face.

  “I’m here for you, Mitch. I don’t want to go anywhere,” she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

  “I’m afraid you can’t go. Whatever we have to do, we’ll do.” Aurora began to pull away, but Mitch held tight. “One more second, baby. You feel so good.”

  “I know, it does feel good. But we need to get to Hazel. She has to find something to help you,” she said.

  Mitch released her, though she could see the resistance in his eyes. They gathered their tumbled up clothing and dressed
themselves. The question that had been burning in the back of her mind since Mitch nearly changed into a full-on wolf wouldn’t leave her alone. It was niggling and biting. Completely none of her business, but the past wasn’t something she could usually see. With Mitch, there wasn’t any exception to the rule.

  One the sidewalk, they milled through the droves of kids rushing about. Even on the weekend, there was no shortage of activity. The crisp morning air cut into her skin as they headed down the path. Aurora ran her fingers through her tousled, curly mane. The wind whipped it around her head and she leaned into Mitch, allowing him to be her human shield.

  Mitch grabbed her hand, intuitively walking in front of her. His body heat shrouded her, warming her freezing face. They nearly sprinted, just as everyone else did to get wherever they were heading and out of the biting elements.

  The deceptive sun was out, but ironically seemed to make things colder. Aurora followed him, realizing wherever he went, the outcome would be the same. The blend of their footsteps clomping over crackling, multi-colored leaves on the ground and the sweet smell of autumn reminded her of what she loved most about Hayvenwood. But Mitch eclipsed it all. He was what she loved most.

  Finally reaching Hazel’s home, which was a bit off campus, even Mitch’s warmth wouldn’t help. The twenty-minute walk had been exceptionally uncomfortable, but the primary objective was worth it.

  Mitch led her up the stairs of a small, renovated house, stepped up to the door of the apartment and pressed the doorbell. He was still in front of her.

  The question. It was back. With a vengeance. “Have you ever shifted during sex before?” Aurora blurted it out before she changed her mind.

  “No. You’re my first,” he said. He didn’t look back at her. His eyes remained locked on Hazel’s closed front door.

  Chapter 13

  The door of Zee’s apartment was brightly colored and the least witchy thing on campus. Witches weren’t really like they were on television or in movies. At least Zee wasn’t.