Emerald City Shifters (Bundle)

by Kit Tunstall

  She trailed her hand around his hip, bringing it between their bodies to wrap around his thick shaft. He groaned against her neck, his pleasure obvious when she pumped her hand while stroking and squeezing him. His velvety soft flesh encasing his erection felt good under her fingers, and she moaned as well.

  Needing more, she broke away from his mouth at her neck so she could fall to her knees. She glanced up at him before taking his cock in her mouth, pleased to see his expression bordered somewhere between agony and ecstasy, and she hadn’t even put her mouth around him yet. She fixed that a moment later, slipping her lips down his length and keeping her cheeks taut around him. He grasped a handful of her hair, anchoring her against him as he slowly thrust his hips in time with the way she bobbed her head.

  She worked the length of him with an expert touch, having quickly learned all the places he liked best in the last few days. She cupped his balls in her hand, stroking and rubbing them lightly as she waited to feel them tighten. As soon as they did, and his cock started to twitch, she pulled away and grinned up at him. “Not yet.”

  His hand in her hair tugged her head up, and he glared down at her. “You’re a cruel woman.”

  She snorted. “Don’t you remember last weekend, when you tortured me for almost an hour?”

  He growled, a sound rich with frustration. A second later, his hand left her hair, and he knelt down to pick her up, carrying her to the bed, where he laid her roughly on her stomach, hips angled into the air. “I can’t wait an hour for you.”

  She laughed, not at all frightened by his rough movements. Truth be told, she didn’t want to wait an hour either, and she didn’t want to prolong his suffering or hers. She just wanted him inside her, though she was apprehensive about the mating bite. She knew he told her it wouldn’t hurt, but he’d never had one, so how did he really know?

  She forgot about the impending bite a moment later when he moved between her splayed thighs, the head of his cock nudging the opening of her pussy as he entered her from behind. She was soaking wet with need for him, so he slipped in with no resistance even at the deeper angle. She clutched a pillow, bringing it closer to bury her head in it as he gripped her hips and began to thrust in and out of her. The ridge of his cock hit her g-spot in a perfect way, making her cry out and cling tighter to the pillow as pleasure ratcheted up in intensity, sweeping through her.

  She strove to match his thrusts, pushing back against him each time he sank inside her sheath. They were completely in sync, both feeling the desperate need to come together. In an effort to hasten the explosion, she put a hand between her legs, stroking her clit as he bottomed out inside her.

  Seconds later, her sheath started to contract around him, and his cock stiffened inside her even more. He bent forward over the bed, completely covering her body with his, and she yelped with surprise when he bit the back of her neck, though she had known it was coming. There was no pain, but she was shocked to find it enhanced her climax, making her entire body shudder under the sensations and leaving her a writhing, gasping mess as his teeth left her skin, and his cock twitched inside her before the warmth of his cum filled her.

  Their joining was raw and primal, but it also felt somehow sacred, and as they lay together afterward, both recovering their breaths, she turned in his arms to face him, pressing her lips to his for a gentle kiss, because she couldn’t muster the energy for anything else at the moment. As she did so, she was certain she wouldn’t have felt more bonded to him if they’d had a wedding ceremony and exchanged rings and “I do”s. Lying against him, she had a glimmer of how he must feel with the mating instinct, certain beyond any doubt that Jensen was meant to be her mate, even without benefit of bear-shifter intuition.

  ***

  Tuesday evening, Olivia worked late in an attempt to catch up on the monthly reports. Bethany had made the mistake of entrusting too much to Lindsay, which had necessitated Olivia unraveling the whole mess. She wasn’t overly irritated with her friend, who had tried to honor Lindsay’s request for more responsibility, and she couldn’t really be angry with the intern either. The girl was working for them for a pittance because she believed in the charity, and she wanted work experience. It wasn’t her fault she had bitten off more than she could chew.

  By the time she walked to her car, her eyes felt blurry, and her head was pounding from hours of staring at numbers, trying to decipher exactly where Lindsay had gotten off-track, and how she’d made such a spectacular series of mistakes. Finally, it was sorted, and she was able to file the report. All she wanted to do was get home, have a glass of wine, a soak in the tub, and perhaps eat something. She was too tired to really care about food at the moment, though if Jensen tempted her with something, she could probably stir an appetite for…all kinds of things.

  It wasn’t dark yet when she left the building, but twilight was definitely approaching. She made her way to her car, using the fob on her keychain to unlock the doors before she reached it.

  As she approached the car, her scalp prickled, and she was certain someone was watching her. She paused in mid-step, about to look around, when a sharp pain exploded in the back of her head. She staggered forward, falling to her knees. The gravel on the parking lot pressed into her bare palms as she crouched on her hands and knees, struggling not to lose consciousness.

  The person who had hit her leaned against her back, and gloved hands went around her neck. She was still dazed, but somehow managed to lean back enough to keep from toppling onto her face and hands so she could pull at the ones wrapped around her neck. She wasn’t certain if she would have managed to pry off her assailant, but lights on a car turning into the parking lot made the other person against her stiffen before releasing her and running away.

  She let out a small sob of relief when she recognized Jensen’s truck in the parking lot as he pulled it to stop, not bothering to shut it off before he jumped out of the cab and ran to her. Her vision was blurry, and the warm trickle of blood down her neck was worrisome, but she still felt safe and secure when he wrapped her in his arms. “You have great timing.”

  He didn’t show any sign of amusement. He simply pressed his lips against her temple as he carefully eased her to her feet. “I was worried about you, since I was certain you hadn’t eaten yet. I knew you were going to work late tonight, but I figured you weren’t taking care of yourself, so I brought your favorite deli sandwich from Bindle’s.”

  Even in the circumstances, her stomach rumbled. “That sounds delicious. Let’s go home so we can eat.”

  He let out a small sigh of exasperation. “You’re going to the hospital, and we need to contact Jason—Detective Strand,” he clarified that her blank expression.

  She shook her head, and then winced, recalling it was a bad idea to move at all. “I know who Jason is, but why do we need him?”

  He was frowning at her, and his concern was evident. “We need him because someone just whacked you over the head and tried to strangle you.”

  She swayed on her feet. “Really? I don’t remember that.” Before she could say anything else, she suddenly collapsed forward, absolutely certain Jensen would be there to catch her when she fell.

  ***

  The hospital checked her out and released her to Jensen’s care, and he was determined to care for her as needed. Her memory of the incident was fuzzy, but she had finally recalled someone hitting her over the back of the head, but she couldn’t provide any helpful details for Jason. It was on file as another attack, and it was starting to paint a picture he didn’t like it. Someone was after his mate.

  Blake Michaels.

  He was clearly escalating in his desperation for answers. Jensen had pushed the other man to the back of his mind, even though he’d intended to talk to him after the car incident. Instead, he’d ended up focusing on his mate and losing himself in the newness of the relationship. If he had followed through to start with, she wouldn’t have been hurt.

  He was angry with himself more than Michaels. H
e had a strong share of rage reserved strictly for that man too, not understanding how he could risk hurting an innocent woman, no matter how desperate he was for answers. But the lion’s share of his anger was directed squarely at himself for allowing this to happen. After settling her in her apartment, and tucking Olivia in, having opted to avoid the boat that evening in case the gentle rocking motion aggravated the nausea from her concussion, he left her bedroom and went to the living room, removing his phone from his pocket.

  Dialing Harris Shaw’s number from memory, he quickly reached the head of the Meade family’s security. After a brief explanation of what had happened, he asked Harris to find Michaels, but didn’t want the other man to approach him. That job, the job of scaring away the man from his mate, belonged to him and his bear. After hanging up, he paced the apartment as he waited for a call back, hoping Michaels hadn’t fled or gone to ground to plan something else even more sinister.

  It was more than an hour later when Harris called him back, and he answered before the first ring could finish. “What did you find?”

  The other man gave him an address. “That’s where he lives, but I haven’t had a chance to investigate his activities and movements. Do you want me to do that?”

  “Tail the bastard, but don’t approach him. Give me a report as soon as you can, and I’ll proceed from there.”

  Harris sounded slightly uncertain when he asked, “Hey, you aren’t planning on killing this guy, are you?”

  Jensen shrugged before realizing the other man couldn’t see him. “I hope it won’t come to that, but he’s threatening my mate.”

  “I was going to give you a lecture on being sensible and allow the cops to handle it, but in light of that information, let me know if you need help disposing of the body.”

  Harris was a difficult man to read, and it was impossible to tell if he was joking or serious. Jensen didn’t expend the energy trying to figure out which. He simply hung up with a word of parting, knowing what he planned to do tomorrow, once he was certain Olivia was safely at work.

  Chapter Seven

  He’d known he couldn’t talk her out of going back to work, especially when the doctor had cleared her for it at the ER, provided she had nothing more than a mild headache. She woke up with sharply focused eyes, complete coherence, and nothing more than a lingering ache at the back of her head. He wanted to keep her in the apartment, where she was safe and under his watch, but he knew she’d never go for that.

  Besides, he needed to talk to Michaels while she was occupied with her job, because she was unlikely to approve of him doing so. Like Harris, she would’ve likely told him to go to the police instead. He had tried that route, but Jason could do nothing without proof. He wasn’t as bound by rigid rules, and he could certainly warn away the other man and put a little fear in him at the same time.

  The man had caused enough problems, and he’d crossed the line when he had gone after Olivia. The sympathy he had for Michaels had rapidly dwindled, and now all he felt was anger as he drove across town after dropping off Olivia at her office. Her car was still in the parking lot where they’d left it last night, and she waved him off after a brief, gentle kiss.

  Blake Michaels lived in a converted Victorian about six blocks from the hospital and the university, so traffic was heavy, but not as bad as it would be if he had to go closer to the medical center and university campus. He found a spot on the street and parked, engaging the lock on his truck after getting out. He paused long enough to drop a couple of quarters into the parking meter, surprised to see they hadn’t converted to the credit card machines yet in this neighborhood. That was likely coming soon. They’d probably targeted more affluent areas first, though this was no rundown neighborhood, by any means.

  He didn’t have to consult the text Harris had sent him with the address after telling it to him. The digits were burned into his brain, and he took the stairs two at a time to the third floor, not bothering to see if there was an elevator. He doubted it with the way they had renovated the old Victorian mansion. A railing and balcony ran along the front of each floor, and he got off the stairs at the third level, walking until he came across apartment three-oh-four. It was the one he was looking for, so he stopped and lifted his hand, pounding firmly on the door.

  It took only a few seconds for Michaels to answer, which was probably because he worked from home, according to Shaw. It was one of the reasons he had decided to approach Michaels at his house in the middle of the day.

  As soon as the door opened, Jensen pushed forward, shoving his way inside and slamming the door before grasping Blake Michaels by the throat and lifting him a few inches off the floor. The other man had a solid presence and well-built frame, but he didn’t have the shifter strength Jensen possessed, so he couldn’t offer much resistance as he dangled with his feet off the floor and his back pressed against the wall. Jensen kept his hand firmly on his neck, somehow resisting the temptation to tighten as hard as he could. He’d come to warn off Michaels, not kill him.

  That reminder made him loosen his grip slightly, though he didn’t return Michaels to his feet. “You crossed the line, and you’re going to stay away from Olivia.”

  He swallowed audibly, and his Adam’s apple bobbed against Jensen’s thumb as he did so. “I haven’t—”

  Jensen realized he was still holding him a little too tightly, so with a sigh of regret, he lowered Blake to the floor, so they could stand nearly eye-to-eye. “It was bad enough when you tricked her into doing the dinner thing, and I’m not even sure what the office rearrangement was about, but the car was already over the line, and now a physical attack? How could you ever think I’d help you or give you answers after you hurt my mat—girlfriend?” He substituted the last word as quickly as possible, not wanting to explain why he was calling her his mate to this man.

  Michaels looked confused as he rubbed gingerly at his neck. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t seen Olivia since that night at the Palisades when I tried to get her to convince you to tell me the truth.”

  It was his turn to frown in confusion. “That was why you lured her to dinner?”

  Michaels nodded, and he seemed sincere. Jensen inhaled deeply, confirming for himself there was no hint of deception and no sour odor of lies or fear clinging to the other man. “If your intent was to persuade Olivia to help you, why have you continued harassing and scaring her?”

  His frown deepened, and he shrugged. “I really have no idea what you’re talking about. Has someone been after Olivia?”

  He wanted to think Michaels was just the best actor he’d ever met, but it was almost impossible for a human to lie to a shifter and control one’s pheromone levels at the same time. He would have needed years of practice, and since he didn’t seem to know anything about shifters, it was unlikely he’d had the opportunity to practice his deception and hone it to an art. “Are you saying you didn’t vandalize her car last week, and you didn’t hit her over the head last night and try to strangle her?”

  His eyes widened, and he gasped softly. “No, of course not. Is she all right?” At Jensen’s nod, he said, “I’ve been staying away from you and her. It rattled me that I was willing to drag her into this fiasco, and though I was desperate for answers, that was no excuse for tricking your girlfriend into dinner with me in hopes I could persuade her to get you to open up. I haven’t laid a hand on her, and I certainly didn’t want to scare her or terrorize her. That would only alienate you, and then I’d never get any answers.”

  Jensen believed him, though it created more questions for him, chief among them who was harassing Olivia? He ran a hand through his blond hair before nodding at Blake. “I believe you.”

  Blake inclined his head. “I guess I thought about it, and I realized there aren’t any answers to find. I’ve just been clinging to the hope Vanessa is still alive, though I have to accept she isn’t. I might not feel that she’s dead, but I’m fooling myself by thinking I could really tell whether or n
ot she was gone. I’m sorry I bothered you, but I definitely had nothing to do with Olivia’s misfortunes.”

  Jensen stared at him for a moment before nodding. A compulsion he couldn’t explain rose in him, and he had opened his mouth before he thought better of it. “Paraguay.”

  Blake frowned, his confusion obvious. “Paraguay, what?”

  “It’s a good place to find answers. Just be prepared for what you find, because it probably isn’t what you expect.”

  He was still frowning, but there was a hint of hope shining in his eyes. “Is Vanessa alive?”

  It was a complete betrayal to his team member and friend, but he had never agreed with her decision to walk away from everything, including her mate. “She isn’t dead, but she’s not the woman you remember either. She went through hell. We all did, and though I didn’t necessarily agree with her decision to hide away, I understand it. If you really want to find the answers, start your search in Paraguay, but be prepared for what you find.”

  Blake frowned at him. “Why are you being so cryptic? Just tell me what happened.”

  He’d already betrayed Vanessa enough. “That’s not my story to tell. I’m just telling you that it could be hard finding her again, and maybe you’re better off letting her go.”

  Blake gritted his teeth, shoving his face closer to Jensen’s in his anger. “I refuse to believe there’s ever an existence that would be better without Vanessa.”

  He gave the other man a small smile, unable to summon anything beyond that. “Then you should go find her.” Without another word, he turned and walked from the apartment, rushing down the stairs and back to his truck, sitting behind the wheel and staring for a moment as he tried to piece together what was going on with Olivia. It was obvious he’d been looking at it the wrong way, thinking it was Blake going after her to get to him. Instead, it must be someone else who had a grudge with Olivia personally. The only person she could think of who hated her that much was in prison, so who could it be?