by Kate Hill
His arms around her felt good, right. She closed her eyes and let her face settle against the rough curls on his chest, drawing in his scent, his warmth.
“Are you all right?” he murmured.
She nodded. The memory of what had happened last night was clear, but not clear, as if it had been a very vivid dream rather than an actual occurrence. But she could still feel the aftermath on her body—as if Nadia and Brice both were still inside her.
“It was strange,” she whispered, and he smiled a little, the expression not so much amused as understanding.
“Yeah. For me, too, believe it or not.”
He stroked a hand over her hair, smoothing it, combing through the length of it. His fingers touched her lips, tracing the line of her mouth as she smiled. “I love you,” he said. “Always.”
“I love you. Always.”
Barely aware of where she was, that Brice and Nadia still lay sleeping only inches away, on the other side of the big bed, Piper leaned against him and kissed him gently, then more thoroughly, exploring the familiar landscape of his mouth. He kissed her back, his mouth opening hers, tongue exploring carefully.
She let her hands move over his body, the lines of his shoulders and arms and ribs, reminding herself of his shape, his smell, all his lines and textures. Reminding herself of him, reacquainting herself. Brice had been fine, satisfying, and that encounter would likely give her a child. But Trey was home.
She rolled into him, pressing him back into the pillow, kissing him, stroking his body. Strong, wide shoulders, solid chest, the tight, springy hair, firm, erect nipples thrusting against her fingers. Smooth abdomen, the textures and firm shapes of the well-formed muscles twitching a little under her touch, as if she might be tickling him.
His arms went around her, hands sliding down her back, cupping her ass, pulling her close. She spread out on top of him, letting her body cover his, feeling every inch of his skin against hers. His cock rose, hardening against her stomach, until it lay thick and hard between them.
His fingers dug into her ass, tilting her hips so she rubbed against his hard shaft. Looking down into his face, she let him maneuver her, grinding herself into him. His cock rubbed into her, the shaft pressing between wet, open labia, the head dragging over her clit.
She breathed out her arousal, softly, trying to keep the sound under control, aware of Nadia and Brice next to them. What did it matter though, really, if they woke up? They’d all been fucking each other last night—so what if they woke to find Piper and Trey in flagrante delicto?
Trey pulled her head down, kissed her hard, his tongue stabbing into her mouth, his fingers taut on the back of her neck. Her legs opened further over his abdomen, and he tilted his hips. The head of his cock slid inside her and she reached down to grasp his hips, adjusting him, bringing him in deeper.
He shifted, pushing inside her, pressing hard, thrusting while she held herself steady on top of him, clenching him tight with her inner muscles. He was a hard brand deep inside her, thrusting, releasing, claiming her.
This felt right. Brice had felt good, but this felt right. This was where she belonged. Trey shoved up hard into her and she pressed down to meet him, enveloping him, molding to him.
“I love you,” she whispered, and he smiled.
Movement in the bed next to them distracted her momentarily. She glanced over to see Brice watching. Nadia still had her eyes closed, but Brice had reached over to touch her breasts, fondle her rising, brown-pink nipples. If she was asleep, Piper doubted she would be for long.
Piper smiled at him. And tightened herself on Trey, drew him in deep, and looked back down into his eyes as he came.
Trey slipped his fingers between them, nudging her clit, rolling it, and Piper rose and burned and slid over the edge herself, her body clenching and tightening on Trey’s cock as the waves of ecstasy flowed through her.
Brice drew in a sudden breath. Piper looked over to see him on his back, hands splayed over the bed, while Nadia sucked his cock into her mouth, laving it with her tongue. She looked up to meet Piper’s gaze, and smiled.
Still holding Trey inside her as best she could, Piper leaned over and laid her hand on Brice’s. He looked at her, startled, then smiled.
Piper looked back down at Trey. Trey, too, smiled. Piper felt his cock shift and reconfigure inside her—a shapeshifter trick to sustain an erection, by effectively constructing a new one. His hips began to pulse again, and Piper held Brice’s hand as an orgasm built inside her again, rising, the fire taut and intense…
She exploded, and her hand tightened on Brice’s, and Trey bucked into her and came, and Brice let out a gasp and lifted his head, his back arching. Nadia’s head shifted and she looked into his eyes, smiling a little. Piper saw her throat bob as she swallowed, Brice coming down her throat.
Nadia drew back after a moment, and Brice took hold of her waist and rolled over, positioning her above him. He pressed his face between her legs, his tongue separating the pink lips of her pussy. He shifted her a little so Piper could watch.
Piper couldn’t tear her eyes away. She stared, unabashed, watching Brice’s tongue dart and tease amidst the soft golden curls between Nadia’s legs, toying with the pink, soft tissue of labia, flicking at her clit. Saw him lap up the white cream of her arousal, watched him push his tongue deep into her sex, until she arched her back and shivered through a long, sustained orgasm.
Piper turned to look at Trey, amazed, in a way, at what had just happened. He smiled and ran a hand down her arm. Piper looked back at the others. Nadia had settled down into Brice’s embrace, and she smiled.
*****
The rest of the weekend was quiet. They went hiking, fished a bit in the nearby river. Watched movies, ate popcorn, talked. They didn’t discuss the sexual interlude, though no one seemed uncomfortable. It was as if it had been a normal, everyday thing, something expected, like a good morning kiss, or breakfast, that didn’t need to be talked over afterward.
The comfortable atmosphere surprised Piper. It felt good, as if she were among friends, or family, which she supposed in a way they were, now. Provided all went well, in nine months they would all be bonded by blood, made into a family by the presence of children of shared parentage.
In the meantime, she was pleased to discover they were friends. She could sit and talk with Brice without embarrassment, could make off-color jokes with Nadia without worrying she might take it the wrong way. Trey seemed equally at ease.
The sex from their first night seemed real enough in her memory, but dreamlike in its way, and that helped. What seemed almost more real to her was the sensation in her belly, a sort of heaviness, that persisted throughout the weekend. Her body perhaps telling her the attempt at conception had been successful. It seemed unrealistic, though, to think that could be the case.
The drive home was quiet. Trey pointed out the window from time to time, bringing her attention to colorful leaves, or a deer at the roadside. She responded, smiled, looked at his quiet expression. There was no tension between them. She could feel his affection, soft and warm, and wondered if what she felt now was anything like what he felt all the time, the superficial reading of her emotions.
At home, he opened the car door for her, touched her back as she got out. He walked her to the apartment door, but stopped before he put the keys in the lock.
She looked at him questioningly as he took her by the shoulders and turned her around, looked into her eyes.
He smiled. “I love you, Piper,” he said.
She smiled back, and folded her hands against his chest. “I love you, too.”
Nine Months Later
“Almost there, love.”
Trey squeezed Piper’s hand, kissing her fingers. Piper barely felt it, concentrating on the intense, fiery pain between her legs. The baby’s head crowning, the doctor had said. It was just another flavor of pain to her, at this point.
The contractions had started twelve hours ago. At first it hadn’t seemed bad, but
it had gotten gradually worse and worse, intensifying until she could hardly bear it. She’d refused drugs, somehow terrified of an epidural, of anything that might harm the baby.
Now, finally, she’d hit the home stretch. Wave after wave after wave of brutal pain, and now, finally, she could push, do something actively to bring the baby into the world.
“Push,” said the doctor. She had been there for quite some time, supervising, her gentle voice and quiet manner keeping Piper from descending into panicked hysteria. Trey had been rock-steady as well, calm and quiet, holding her hand, holding her, doing whatever she asked.
Piper pushed. Pain flared, an intense burn, and she felt the small body rush out of her, the wetness of amniotic fluid flooding after.
“He’s beautiful,” Trey breathed, and Piper mustered a smile.
A few minutes later, she held her son, his face scrunched up in displeasure at having been dislodged from the womb so abruptly. With a little encouragement, the little boy took her nipple and began to nurse.
Trey watched, smiling, and touched the baby’s head. “Matthew,” he said.
Piper nodded. “Yes.” She brushed the tiny cheek, then looked up at Trey. “It’s not fair, you know.”
“What’s not fair?”
“Nadia had such an easy time of it.”
“Yeah. It’s a shapeshifter adaptation.”
Nadia’s body, able to transform its appearance, had also been able to shift and move in such a way as to allow the child to be born with minimal effort. The downside being that the little girl was a shapeshifter baby, with features blank and unformed, that would remain that way until she grew old enough to learn to control her transformations. The birth had taken place in a tiny facility, owned and staffed by shapeshifters, so the child would not be diagnosed as abnormal.
Piper wasn’t sure who’d gotten the better deal. It would be hard for Nadia and Brice, sheltering their child for a year or more, until her instincts kicked in and she created a human face.
She looked up at Trey. “Is he here?”
“Yeah. He’s in the waiting room.”
“Bring him in.”
Trey nodded. He stood and left the room.
Piper sat quietly, actually feeling a little nervous. She looked down at the baby’s face. He seemed to have fallen asleep. His face was round and soft; she wondered if he would someday have Brice’s razor-sharp cheekbones.
Trey returned a few minutes later, Brice right behind him. Brice looked tense, eager, and when he saw the baby a bright smile spread over his face.
Piper smiled back. “Come and see him.”
Brice came to the bed and sat gingerly on the edge. Hesitant, he reached toward Matthew’s face, then paused, looking at Piper for permission. She nodded.
She watched as he touched the baby’s cheek, a look of reverent awe on his face. He’d followed the pregnancy throughout, as Trey had followed Nadia’s. Now he had the look of a proud daddy, and it warmed her heart.
She looked at Trey, who was also smiling.
“Matthew?” Brice asked.
Piper nodded.
“He’s beautiful.”
“Yes, he is.” She touched Brice’s hand. “Thank you.”
Brice nodded. “You know, if anything ever happens, if you ever need anything, or if he does, I’ll be there.”
Piper smiled. “I know. Same goes for you.”
He turned his hand, curling his fingers around hers. Piper looked up into his face, then looked at Trey. It seemed incomplete somehow, without Nadia.
“You were right,” she said to Trey, her voice quiet, not quite steady. “Everything’s going to be all right.”
About the author:
Elizabeth Jewell is new to the world of erotic romance, but has been writing paranormal and contemporary romance for several years. On the personal front, she is married with two children. She is a voracious reader who also watches far too much TV!
Elizabeth welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora’s Cave Publishing at P.O. Box 787, Hudson, Ohio 44236-0787.
Also by Elizabeth Jewell:
6 Enchanting Princesses
Lady of the Seals
Legacy of the Snake
More Than Skin Deep
Shifting Faces
The Regan Factor
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.
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