“You may have a point.”
“I do, but I think that, perhaps…” One more final step and her clothed chest was pressing against his, her head tilted up toward hers. “I might like to know you better.”
“You might?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s a tenuous ledge you’re suggesting dancing on.”
She stood onto tiptoes and pressed her lips to his neck before pulling back to look into his eyes. “I know that I’d like to finish what we started that first night together.”
“I’d like that,” he answered, voice a low rumble. “But only if you’re certain.”
“I am.”
“Good,” he growled, eyes glowing green. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
And then his hands were on her, hauling her bra over her head almost fast enough to give her fabric-burn. But she didn’t care. Slinging her arms around his neck, she pulled herself up to claim his lips with hers.
They battled for control, mouths moving against each other, breath growing heated and rapid. Exhilaration exploded within her and suddenly all trepidation was gone. She wanted this, whatever it was, and she wanted it right now.
His rough palm settled over her bare breast, his fingers focusing on the pink, pointed center. Breaking away from the kiss, she let her head fall back as she gasped in pure pleasure. John, emboldened by the sound, let his towel drop and she could feel his need pressing against her abdomen.
His ridged need for her was borderline intoxicating, and she reached between them to feel the slight beginnings of stickiness just at his tip. He shuddered at her touch, and she couldn’t help but smirk at how quickly power shifted in such a dynamic.
Catching his gaze once more, she knelt down until she was face to face with his member.
She could hear him hold his breath, and for a moment she reveled in the anticipation she left over him, but then it grew to be even too much for her, and her tongue darted out to lave affection against the hardened length waiting for her attention.
John’s resulting gasp was incendiary, licking along her nerves and making her hotter than ever. His fingers wound themselves in her thick, dark curls, pulling at her scalp in an utterly sinful and delicious way. He urged her on, with groans, gasps and subtle motions of his hand. She could feel him responding, rushing toward an ending much too soon.
They seemed to have the thought at the same time, and he gently pulled from him.
“Not yet,” he breathed, voice ragged and thick with desire. “I want to feel all of you.”
She nodded and stood, her legs a bit relieved to have blood flowing to them properly and her knees happy to be off of the hardwood floors. His hands on her hips, he walked her backwards until the back of her legs hit the bed and she sat down onto the firm mattress.
Now it was John who was kneeling in front of her, his fingers hooking into the waistband of the boxers he had loaned her and pulling them down her legs. Once more, she was completely bare to him, but this time, she wasn’t alone in her nudity.
She spread her legs for him, letting his fingers to find her and work her over once more. It didn’t take long for her body to respond, making her ready for him and coating his fingers in her slickness.
“I’m ready,” she whispered, her hands reaching for him to pull him closer to her. His lips found hers again, urgent in their need, and she felt him align himself with her waiting opening.
“You’re so goddamned perfect,” he hissed into her cheek, resting his forehead against hers as he pushed forward.
She gasped audibly, the thrill of being filled to completion never growing old. How long had it been since David and her embraced so passionately, with such a persistent need to devour each other? She had thought that she had been happy with their uneventful little arrangement and having the same sex once every few weeks – or months – but clearly she had been wrong.
John rolled his hips, sending illicit waves of pleasure shooting through her. God, he was good. It made her wonder why she had put off their inevitable tryst for so long. Was she afraid of being detached? Well, that was out the window. And with every heated, perfect, sinful thrust, it grew farther and farther away.
Her nails scored down his back right along the same tracks she had made before as they surged against each other. The rhythm was constantly accelerating, but her body adapted and even demanded more.
John’s calloused hands gripped the softness just above her hips, nails biting into the skin there as he powerfully guided her to take each of his forceful thrusts. And every time he slid out, that often-sought, illicit deluge of mind-numbing pleasure grew ever closer.
And, goodness, did she need relief. After everything she had survived, the Aberrant, the hunters, the fall to what should have been her death, all the way down to rescuing John from a stupid, human made trap. All that stress wasn’t good for her, and although she tried her best to keep it bundled tightly within her, she needed to let it out.
And what better way than in the salty, sweaty, primal dance that all of-age Shifters knew so well.
Abruptly, John repositioned his hips, which changed the area he was hitting within her, making her body re-alight with passion. As he bent down, his mouth found her neck, and she felt his teeth break her skin.
But she wasn’t alarmed by that, instead being aroused further -even if that seemed entirely impossible. Biting was a common part of all sorts of Shifter mating, whether used for marking, dominance or the primal need to connect with a mate on the most basic level. If she hadn’t gone with her stupid Aquarian backstory, she would be sinking her fangs into John just as readily.
However, fangs or not, she could feel John quickly reaching his own end. His thrusts were losing their steady rhythm and just devolving into feral thrusts that rammed her into the mattress. But she didn’t mind the primal-ness of it all. The hurt was delicious, in every sense of the word.
“I’m almost there,” John groaned breathlessly before pressing his lips to hers one last time.
It was surprisingly tender considering their powerful movements against each other, but she welcomed it before answering in kind.
“I’m with you.”
And then, everything was happening.
John moved against her body with unrestrained vigor, before he reached a frenzied peak and she felt his member spasm within her. He roared, his eyes glowing and his teeth flashing in the light, and then she was being filled by him.
The heat of it all, and the intrinsically primal act was exactly the catalyst she needed to send her toppling over her own edge. She wasn’t sure if she was gasping or crying, but what she did know was that every muscle within her was responding, coiling and loosening in rapid succession until she was drowning in the unbelievable sensation.
The euphoria lasted much longer than it probably should have, and when she was finally back to earth, they both collapsed to the sheets, covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Breathing hard, she rolled onto her side and sent the man an appreciative look.
“That wasn’t half-bad,” she murmured between pants.
“Your compliments are as lavish as ever.”
She laughed, albeit breathlessly, and curled into his side. “I can’t have you getting a big head. After all, it barely fit this time.”
It took him a moment before he half-groaned, half-chuckled. “Really? You want to end such a great experience with a terrible pun like that?”
She shrugged, their flesh sticking and unsticking to each other in their blissful anecdote.
“I always like to end on a high note.” She pressed a kiss to his shoulder before feeling sleep tugging insistently on her again. “No more late-night runs for a bit, okay?”
“I think that can be arranged.”
“Good.”
Without any further ado, they let sleep claim them, their slowly steadying breathing marking their descent into peace.
Chapter Seven: Persistence in Strange Places
She was dreaming blissfully, her mind filled w
ith pleasant depictions of a town barbeque where she was being presented with an entire rack of slow cooked ribs, when an obtrusive sound cut through the happy scene.
At first Jaelle couldn’t place it, her mind panning around the dream to try to figure out exactly where it was coming from.
In that stereotypical slow roll of consciousness, she realized that the sound was coming from outside of her dream and she slowly opened her eyes.
She didn’t see anything at first, her gaze fuzzy and unfocused, as it often was right when she woke up. So naturally, the first thing that hit her was a familiar scent.
Oh. It was just David. What happened? Had he locked himself out or…
She sat up with a jolt, horror gripping at her stomach. What was David doing here!?!
Jaelle shook John, rousing him from his sleep. How he could snooze from someone pounding at his door, she didn’t know, but this wasn’t the time to be caught unawares.
“What is it?” he groaned, not even cracking an eye for her.
“It’s my ex,” she hissed.
That got him up and his eyes snapped open. “Your what now?”
“My human ex. Who kinda had a part in my whole jumping off a cliff to avoid a bunch of gun happy humans.”
“Do you want me to kill him?”
Her eyes went wide. “God, no! Just answer the door, pretend you’ve never seen me and let him go about his way. Anything else might have him come back or get suspicious. And his father is the chief of police so the last thing you want is for him to get suspicious.”
“Really? Of all the people you could date, you chose a human son of a police officer?”
“So, I’ve made some poor decisions, like you’re some saint? Just get to the door.”
“All right, all right. I’m going.” Finally, he slid out of bed and pulled on his pants once more. He was out the bedroom door before she could tell him that one of his pant legs still had blood on it. She tried to follow after him, but then she heard her new lover reach the front entrance and open it up.
“Can I help you?” he asked, less than amiably. Thankfully, his tone could be reduced to being upset that he was yanked from his sleep and not some sort of automatic dislike forged by the bogus story Jaelle had thought up in her panic.
“Yes, I’m looking for a missing person. She disappeared a little over a week ago, and I think it was some sort of river accident.”
“Well, I live here alone and I haven’t seen much of anybody lately.”
“That’s unfortunate, but please keep an eye out for her. She has an allergy to several antibiotics and chocolate. Here’s the most recent picture I have of her with her contact info.”
“Thanks,” John said tersely. “But have you ever thought that maybe she wanted to get away from you and all of this is futile?”
“Of course,” David answered softly. Yet, as quiet as his words were, she could hear the pain underlying each syllable. “And if that’s true, I could live with that. She always was a free-spirit with a past I never bothered to learn. But the thought that she might be out there, cold, hurt, or alone is unbearable. So, I’ll paper everywhere I can for miles to make sure she’s all right. I’ll go to every home I can and every single hospital until I find her or—” His voice hitched and Jaelle’s hand went to her mouth. He was so upset, so hurt! Once she would have been able to shrug and dismiss it as part of life, but she felt her stomach dropping and her heart aching as her abandoned boyfriend poured his heart out to a stranger. “—remains. So, please, if you spot anything, give me a call.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Then the door closed and silence reigned in the cabin. For a moment, neither of them did anything, sitting and listening until they heard him slam a car door and then drive off.
Jaelle let out a long breath, but it didn’t quell the tumult of emotions within her. She felt guilty. Why did she feel guilty?
David had always been just someone to pass the time with. A fun boy-toy and nothing more. He knew it. She knew it. Hell, even the whole town knew it. She was the mysterious stranger that had swept in a storm and would disappear on one as well.
And yet… her feelings were what they were.
“You all right?” John asked, coming around the corner where she had pressed herself against the wall.
She nodded weakly before pushing past him. “I think I’m going to go get dressed and go for a walk.”
“Sure, if that’s what you want.”
“Yeah. Just need to clear my head a bit.”
“Gotcha. But don’t go far, okay? We don’t need a repeat of my little incident yesterday.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” With that, she retreated to the bathroom, trying to keep down tears that shouldn’t be there.
She couldn’t care for David because that meant she was getting soft, and getting soft meant she was going to die. To care was to open herself to weakness and therefor death.
“Steady,” she hissed to herself, leaning against the bathroom door. She would get through this. She just needed to calm herself down and forget all these silly sentiments that were muddling her mind.
And yet, no matter what she told herself, that terrible feeling was still growing within her.
She just hoped she could get over it before things got awkward with John.
*
At first, her walk had consisted of just worriedly lapping the cabin, unwilling to go further in case David reappeared or her feet accidentally caught any other cleverly disguised traps. But eventually she realized that she needed more air and space to figure things out.
She had never been much of an introspective person, and yet she found herself locked in her own thoughts. Determined to get her mind settled, she set out for the same beautiful clearing that John had shared with her.
It helped… kind of. As she stared out at the amazing view, she felt herself settle slightly until she was ready to go back. Sure, her emotions were tightly compressed within her to the point where they might explode at any moment, but it wasn’t like she had any alternative.
Besides, if she got too overstressed she was sure John would let her work off some steam. That was the handy things about boy-toys, they liked to play as much as she did.
She smiled to herself as she headed back, her pace quickening as the front door came into sight. There was the slight chance that it would be too soon for him to go again, but she was sure with a little encouragement she could get him in fighting shape just fine.
Satisfied with her plan, she allowed herself a contented sigh.
Except that happy draw of air contained smells that it absolutely shouldn’t.
She froze mid-step, her brain supplying her with facts and labels that could not be true. And yet, they were. She was picking up a myriad of creatures just beyond her sight. Bears. Wolves. Some type of fowl.
No. It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t!
Panic flooded her system and she dashed in, slamming the door behind her before barricading it with the couch.
“Whoa, what’s going on here?’
“I have to go.” She gasped, heart lodged firmly in her throat. She left the door to run and get her dash-sack, cursing to herself the entire time. How could she be so stupid? How could she think this place was safe? She knew they would come for her and yet she had stayed for… what? Some sort of overcomplicated booty call?
“Ah, I see,” John said absently. “I guess that’s going to be a problem.”
Only then did she pause, the hair at the back of her neck rising. “Why’s that?”
“Because I’m the one that called the hunters here.”
All the warmth drained from her body as she took in the cold expression on his face. Gone was his easy smile and his warm expression, leaving only a calculated look that she had seen many times in her life.
He knew. She didn’t know how, but he knew.
“Why’d you do it?” She whispered, voice cracking. She knew why, but she needed time for her eyes
to dart around and find some sort of escape.
“You know why. Look, you’re a nice girl and I’m kinda amazed you’re still sane, but we both know what happens when someone like you goes unchecked.”
“Someone like me,” she repeated bitterly. For a little bit, she had been able to forget her other-ness. Her genetically ingrained difference that automatically sentenced her to death since birth. “You think I asked for this?”
“Of course, you didn’t. Do kids ask for cancer? It sucks but you we have to look out for the health of the whole rather than the individual. Your parents were selfish, and made this a lot more painful than it had to be.”
“Easy for you to say from your side.”
“Yes, definitely.” He crossed over to the couch she had shoved in front of the door and nearly threw it out of the way. In response, the door opened, and six other Shifters walked in.
She drew back in surprise. It was most likely strange, but she had been expecting Bradley and his crew. However, the little group in front of her didn’t contain him or any of the faces she remembered being in his little gaggle of followers.
“Who are you?” she asked, eyes narrowed.
“I think that much would be obvious.”
“That’s not what I meant. Where’s Bradley?”
“Still out hunting your sonofabitch partner. But when we got the call from your friend here, we decided we couldn’t wait for them to catch him then mosey their way back here.”
“What? You think that monster is my partner?”
“How else would you explain two Aberrants in the same town?”
“He was in my town for less than a day, I was there for two years! How could you possibly think we’re in cahoots.”
The Aberrants Box Set (Books 1-5) Page 6
