“Clan leaders generally don’t like pregnant females to leave the safety of the clan after about the fifth month. That’s when they start to show in both their human and shifter forms. There has been a long history of poachers kidnapping pregnant shifters and keeping them until they birth the babies. Then they kill the mother and keep the cubs to train or sell into the underground slave trade.”
Claire frowned. “What? Since when has there been an underground shifter slave trade?”
Aidan shrugged. “Pretty much since the beginning of time. Much like the human slave trade, it doesn’t really ever get mentioned.”
She was curious to know more, but didn’t want to distract Aidan from his story, so she prompted, “So did Emily sneak out?”
With a sad smile, Aidan shook his head. “No, she wore me down and I agreed to take her to the safe zone, which is usually reserved for the teenagers to run around and play without fear.”
Placing her arms around his waist, she gently prodded. “Tell me what happened, Aidan.”
Idly, he rubbed her lower back. “While both in our cougar forms, we played chase at first, and then hunt and seek.”
“Is that like hide and seek?”
“Sort of. The aim is to test our tracking skills, so the target moves around rather than stay still.”
“And?”
“It was my turn to hide and evade discovery. While Emily was good and could usually find me within five minutes, fifteen minutes passed without so much as a sound. More worried than usual because of the twins, I stayed put so she could find me. After another five minutes, I knew something was wrong.”
Her strong shifter male closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Even after all these years, the memories had to be painful.
Yet if she didn’t hear it in this moment, then Claire wasn’t sure she could truly understand Aidan. And for some reason, she wanted to understand him. Not just because of the cover story, but because she truly wanted to know everything about the strong shifter soldier who hid his pain both for the sake of his daughter as well as for his clan.
Rubbing Aidan’s back in long, slow motions, she whispered, “I want to know, Aidan. Tell me.”
He opened his eyes and traced her cheek. “For you, Claire, I will. I don’t think I could deny you anything.”
She stopped breathing at the tenderness in his voice. She was honest enough with herself to admit she was falling for him.
Afraid her voice would break, Claire nodded for him to continue and he did. “After tracking Emily, I finally found her with a bullet in the chest. Judging from the bruises and scraps of material strewn about, she had fought the poacher and lost.”
Laying her head on his chest, she hugged him tightly. “I’m so sorry, Aidan.”
After a few seconds of silence, he continued. “I know she’s gone, but there are times when I wish she was here. Despite weighing about seventy pounds less than me, she never backed down. She wasn’t afraid to call me out on my shit. She brought fire to my life in more ways than one.”
Nuzzling his chest, she kept her voice strong. “I never will try to replace her. She actually sounds like someone I’d get along with. But I can certainly call you out on your shit. I think I already do.”
Aidan’s laugh rumbled beneath her ear and she looked up. Laughter danced in his eyes. “Yes, and don’t ever stop. It’s one of the things that makes me feel alive for the first time since Emily died.”
Raising a hand to Aidan’s cheek, she rubbed her fingers against his late-day stubble. “I can think of other things that make parts of you come alive.”
His gaze turned heated. “My cock is already standing at attention. Kiss me, Claire. I think we both need something to distract us from reality.” He leaned down until his lips nearly touched hers. “Besides, I think we need to practice our loving couple façade. Fucking you hard will definitely have you fawning over me later.”
Heat rushed through her body, making her wet. Aidan could probably scent her, but she was going to make him work for it. “I don’t know about that. It’s going to take some rather spectacular sex to make me fawn over anyone.”
Growling, Aidan drew her closer against his body. “You won’t fawn over any other male. Just me.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Oh, is that so? Then you better start convincing me.”
Without another word, he kissed her.
Chapter Twelve
Telling Claire about Emily’s death lifted some of the weight off Aidan’s shoulders. Sure, Dani and Kian knew the truth of what had happened, but this was the first time he had ever willingly shared the experience with someone.
Not only that, Claire didn’t dismiss Emily or show any jealously over his former mate. He believed her when she said she wouldn’t try to replace Emily. With time, Aidan might be able to share some of his happier memories with both Claire and Chloe. Chloe always asked about her mother. If Claire remained at his side, he could probably tell Chloe whatever she needed, even treasuring the good times.
Then his human teased about bringing other parts of him to life and another neglected part of his anatomy had spoken. Twice with Claire earlier hadn’t been enough for his cock. Hell, a million times probably wouldn’t be enough.
So he kissed her. Since the door was locked against any intruders, Aidan ran his hands under Claire’s top and grabbed one of her breasts. Pinching her nipple, the smell of her arousal grew stronger as she moaned into his mouth.
The sound made his cougar purr and demand more, much more.
Aidan agreed, and with a growl, he broke the kiss. “Foreplay can happen later. Right now, I want you naked and on your hands and knees on our bed.”
Desire flashed in her eyes, but there was also amusement. “Playing the part of a ‘loving couple’ doesn’t mean I do whatever you say.”
Maneuvering his hands, he took Claire’s wrists. “Just this once, I think you will.” Nuzzling her neck, he bit her gently and she sucked in a breath. “Why, you wonder?” He nibbled some more. “Because I bet you’ve been thinking about the ‘shifter way’.” He raised a knee and pressed it between her legs. Claire gasped as he rubbed her clit through her jeans and he continued, “If you want it, then undress and do as I asked.”
Pressing a little harder, Claire leaned into his touch before whispering, “You’re teasing me on purpose, you bastard.”
Chuckling, he rubbed his cheek against hers and lowered his leg. “Well, we do have a lot of planning to do. I can easily let you go and teach you self-defense moves instead.”
After a beat of silence, Claire answered, “I should, so that I can evade you next time.”
“Ah, but do you really want to evade me?”
He bit her earlobe and blew on her wet flesh. His cougar was all but snarling inside his head to fuck their human, but Aidan kept his cat in check. They were going to do this Aidan’s way.
Claire finally grunted. “Fine, but next time, you’ll have to catch me first.”
The thought of chasing their human in the forest before taking her under the stars gave Aidan and his cougar all kinds of ideas. She may be human, but they could still play chase. “Deal. Now, strip and bare that gorgeous body for me.”
He nearly added, “And only for me. Mine,” but decided against it. He didn’t want to argue; he wanted to fuck.
Releasing Claire, she turned and exaggerated the sway of her hips. Reveling in the sight of her full, plump ass, he nearly rushed over and ripped off her clothes. But Claire’s husky voice stopped him. “Aren’t you going to come watch?”
She disappeared into his bedroom. Unbuttoning his fly on the way, Aidan took his dick in hand and stroked. Watching Claire strip was going to be the ultimate test of his self-control, but one he would rather enjoy.
~~~
Claire tried her best not to blush. She had no experience stripping for men. Why she’d taunted Aidan, she didn’t know.
Yet as she stopped in front of the bed and Aidan entered with his cock in his
So don’t fuck it up. Okay, but where to start?
Aidan shucked his jeans and boxers. Her eyes zeroed in on his cock and she resisted licking her lips. One day, she was going to lick him slowly until he clutched the sheets and begged her to suck him hard. Yes, one day she would be the one with the power, teasing him.
She nearly started at that thought. Making plans for the future was risky. Who the hell knew what would happen a week from this moment.
Aidan growled, “I’m waiting, but not for much longer. I will rip off your clothes, Claire.”
Instead of sticking out her tongue, Claire decided to start. If he wanted to play dirty, she would play dirty.
Cupping her breasts over her sweater, she squeezed them as she leaned back her head. Closing her eyes, she pretended it was Aidan touching her as she pinched and rolled her nipples. The slight pain mixed with pleasure only made her wetter, so she pinched harder and let out a moan.
“Holy fuck,” Aidan whispered.
Smiling, she opened her eyes and moved her hands to the hem of her top. Inch-by-inch, she revealed her skin, until her breasts, enclosed in a simple cotton bra, were exposed. Quickly, she tugged her sweater off and scooped out her breasts. They were still high because of the underwire, but they would draw Aidan’s eye.
She placed one bare foot on the bed and leaned over to run her hand up her calf, then her knee, and then her thigh. Peeking at Aidan, she moved her hand to the seam of her jeans and pressed against her clit. She was tempted to rub some more, but resisted. She wanted to orgasm with Aidan, not alone.
Aidan took a step toward her and she raised an eyebrow. “I’m not done yet.”
His voice was hoarse, not to mention his eyes glowed amber. “Claire, baby, with your boobs out and you rubbing your clit, I don’t know how much longer I can hold back. My cougar is close to taking over.”
She gave what she hoped was a sexy smile. “But I’m having so much fun.”
He took another step closer. “Later, my human, you can tease me later. If I’m not inside you in the next minute, I’m going to explode.”
“In more ways than one?”
Groaning, he squeezed the head of his cock. “When my animal is this close, innuendos only make things worse.”
Noticing the cords of his neck, no doubt straining against the urge to toss her to the bed and rip her clothes off, Claire unzipped her jeans. “You had better make this worth it, Aidan Scott.”
His eyes latched onto her pointed nipples. “I intend to make it worth it at least three times.”
Shucking her jeans, and then her panties, she stood naked but for the bra holding up her boobs. “Four.”
With a voice deeper than normal, he growled, “Fine. Now take off the damn bra and get on all fours on the bed. You have thirty seconds.”
Normally, she would challenge him to draw it out. But between his gravelly voice and glowing amber eyes, she didn’t want to taunt his cougar. Despite working so long for shifter rights, she knew little about what happened when you pushed a shifter’s animal-side too far when it came to sex.
Quickly, she slipped off her bra straps and unhooked it. Just as she kneeled on the bed, on her hands and knees, she felt Aidan's hands caressing her ass. Any doubts she’d had about him wanting her, ass dimples and all, vanished. Each stroke of his hand warmed her skin.
She had expected him to thrust his cock into her pussy and piston away. Yet after petting her butt, he ran his hands along her back and around to just below her breasts. His hands were close enough she could feel the heat of his body, but he didn’t touch her.
Widening her legs, she arched her back, but the bastard moved his hands away. Looking over her shoulder, she narrowed her eyes. “What happened to ‘I’m going to lose control’? You seem pretty fucking in control right now.”
His eyes flashed as a smile touched his lips. “That’s because I have you naked and at my mercy.”
“So you made up the ‘shifter way’ just to get me on all fours?”
Leaning down, his breath was a hot whisper on her lower back. “This is just part of it. With you spread wide for me and my cougar, wet and ready for my dick, my cat is content to play a little. I need to make sure you’re ready, because I plan to fuck you hard.”
With Aidan behind her, mentioning wanting to fuck her hard, she was close to dripping down her leg. “I’m ready and more than curious.”
Running his hands up her back to her shoulders, he leaned against her ass. On instinct, she wiggled against him. At his hiss, she smiled. “That is minor compared to what I plan to do to you later.”
One of his hands left her shoulder. “I look forward to it, my little human.” He cupped her right breast, loving the roughness of his palms. “Because, after all, you’re mine.”
Before she digested his words, let alone responded to them, he positioned his cock and thrust into her.
~~~
Inside Claire’s tight, wet pussy, Aidan nearly came right then.
The vixen wiggled her hips and clenched his cock. With a hiss, he grabbed her hips and ordered, “Stay still or I pull out.”
Her glare was meant to threaten, but the way her eyes flashed as her brown hair tumbled over her shoulder only made him want to claim her all the more. “Then hurry up. I’m ready.”
Smiling, he ran one of his hands across her back. He loved the warmth of her skin.
Massaging her full hip with his other hand, he loved how soft she was. Most shifters were all muscle and long limbs. Claire might be short and plump, but fuck; he wouldn’t change a single thing about her body.
Well, except maybe one day she would grow rounder when she carried his child.
His hand stilled at that thought, but at his cougar’s urging, he pushed it away. The cat was tired of waiting. They needed to fuck the human. Aidan was more than willing to comply.
Taking hold of her hips again, he pulled almost all the way out and then thrust in hard, his balls slapping against Claire’s skin. He ordered, “Lean down on your forearms so I can fuck you deeper.”
For once, she complied, or mostly so. Claire wiggled her hips as she adjusted her position, clenching as she did so.
He murmured, “Payback is a bitch,” before pulling out and pounding in.
Claire squeaked and he repeated his movement, increasing his speed with each thrust. Claire’s breasts moved in time with him, her squeaks slowly growing into moans.
Ah, but this is just the beginning. Lifting her hips higher, he changed the angle and Claire screamed his name, making his inner cougar purr.
Yet his cat wasn’t nearly finished. The shifter way meant owning her pussy until she begged.
Flesh slapping against flesh filled the room, and soon sweat trailed down Aidan’s back. It was taking every ounce of control he had not to come inside Claire. Unlike most human males, shifters always took care of their females. Satisfied females would never want to leave.
Claire whispered, “Please, Aidan, I’m so close.”
He smiled. Outside of the bedroom, Claire would never ask him for something in a voice so close to begging.
Since his female had done well, he moved one hand and brushed her clit, eliciting a, “Yes, harder,” from her.
So, of course, Aidan kept his touch gentle as he teased her tight bud. He’d stroked, paused, and then ran his thumb back and forth. The way Claire arched into his touch made him smile.
He looked forward to teasing her a lot more in the future.
His cougar growled and said it was time. She wouldn’t forget their cock any time soon. They could play more later.
Pressing harder against her clit, he rubbed in circles as he thrust. Claire clenched her hands in the sheets and screamed as she came hard, gripping and releasing his cock. The tightness of her pussy was too much, and he pulled out before he came.
Claire demanded, “What the hell, Aidan?”
Gripping the head of his cock and squeezing, he willed his dick to behave. “That was just the warm-up round. You need to come again before I do.”
Some of the irritation eased from her eyes. “Does this mean listening to you again?”
He grinned. “Oh, yes, my human. If you want another orgasm, lay on your side.”
For a second, he didn’t think she’d obey. Then Claire lay on the bed and muttered, “This had better be fucking worth it.”
Chuckling, Aidan released his cock and ran a hand up the back of her thigh, her buttocks, and then her back. “Your skin is so soft.”
“While I appreciate the compliment, I’m getting cold.”
His cat urged him to fuck her again. Keeping a female waiting wasn’t good. She might leave.
He brushed the back of her knees before lifting her leg up. Using his free hand, he lightly traced the lips of her swollen pussy. “Let’s make sure you’re wet enough.”
Raising her leg higher, he thrust two fingers into her pussy and began to finger her. At Claire’s moan, he smiled. “I think you’re ready.”
“I’m going to repeat that payback will be a bitch the next chance I get.”
Swirling inside her, Claire moved against his fingers. “If that’s supposed to deter me, it has the opposite effect. Just thinking of your plump lips around my cock makes my balls draw up tightly in anticipation.”
Moving position, Claire nearly screamed. Good. He’d enter at that angle.
He removed his fingers and straddled Claire’s bottom leg. Positioning his cock, he murmured, “Now this is the shifter way.”
Entering hard, she moaned his name. With a cocky smile, he rocked his hips, careful to hit the spot that drove his female crazy.
As he increased his pace, it became harder and harder not to come. The tightness of her pussy at this angle was fucking incredible.
Claire twisted her hands in the sheets. “Touch me, Aidan. I’m so close it hurts.”
“Begging twice in less than twenty minutes. I like it.”
She started to growl but as he swirled his hips, it turned into a moan. She finally answered, “Fine, I’ll beg. Just make me come. Please.”
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