He did that little head tilt again, and his nostrils flared. “Did you have a good time at the show?” Michael said.
“Yes!” she said, enthusiastically.
“But?” he said.
“But what? It was fantastic,” Nicole said. “The crowd was so into it.”
“I didn’t ask about the crowd. I asked about you,” he said, rocking back on his heels.
“Look, I’m not a musician. I don’t know what it’s like to be up in front of thousands of people and just, you know, bleh…” Nicole said, making an unflattering gesture with her arms.
“We didn’t puke on the audience, Nicole. We should’ve gotten you better seats,” he said.
She punched him in the arm. “You know what I mean. You get up there and give it your all. You lay it all out there for thousands of people to judge,” she said. “Except…” She instantly regretted the word coming out.
“Except what?” he said.
“Nothing. Never mind,” she said, wishing she were somewhere else.
“Trust is a two way street, Nicole. If you want me to open up and trust you, you have to be ready to do the same,” he said, his voice taking on a hard edge. He turned to walk away.
“Wait,” she said. “I…I felt tonight that you were holding something back.”
He turned back to face her. “How the hell would you know if I’m holding something back or not?”
“I just…” she said. “You were great up there, but it wasn’t passionate. You were holding back.”
“And so what if I was? I’m not a robot. I can’t just ignore distractions and turn off…” Michael bit back his last words. “Honestly I don’t know what happened and I’m kinda freaking out.”
Nicole reached out and wrapped her arms around him, putting her head against his chest. “It was a great performance. Even if it wasn’t your best, it was still great. The girls all got their money’s worth, trust me.”
His arms wrapped around her, pinning her against him in a wonderful warm embrace. “Sometimes I think that if people get too close a look at me, they won’t like what they see.”
“If they’ve seen what I’ve seen, they’ll like you just fine, Michael,” she said.
Nicole felt his hand lift her chin and suddenly the hot press of his lips were crushing down onto her. A bolt of lightning ran from the soles of her feet straight up through her spine. His smell was earthy and clean. She reached up to cup his face in her hands, his stubble scratchy and incredibly sexy. She kissed him back, her lips spreading for his insistent tongue. She pressed against him, feeling his urgent need for her stretching down one pant leg. A rumbling growl escaped from his chest, reverberating against her.
“Shit!” he said, breaking off their kiss and turning away from her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that!”
Nicole stood there awkwardly. “It’s ok. It felt right.”
“But it wasn’t. This…this wouldn’t go anywhere. I’m just drunk and tired. Long day, you know?”
“Umm, yeah. Sure.” Nicole straightened her hair, giving her something to do with her shaking hands. “Long day.” She walked back towards the vans, with Michael following shortly.
Seven.
They got back to the mansion around four in the morning. Nicole’s brain was in that horrible state that wanted to sleep but was too wired with adrenaline. The show and, more importantly, the kiss with Michael had her all mixed up. I have a career I need to respect. She stomped up to her room after wishing everyone good night. Laying down in bed, she closed her eyes, but she just stared at the back of her eyelids.
Being warm in the bed felt good, but not as good as being warm in Michael's arms. The warmth of his body, the strength of his embrace. She imagined what those hands could do, how they could grab at her, grope her, pull her hair and hold her down. No point trying to stop this train. She sent a hand south to her mound, finding it slick with her excitement. She arched her back, her other hand grabbing her breast roughly.
“Mmmmphmmm!” she moaned, biting her lip.
She thought about how his hard member pressed against her stomach when he held her. The length and breadth of it, snaked down his pant leg and engorging second by second. To feel the head slip past her entrance, to stretch her out and fill her up. She grunted as she bucked against her hand, needing him. Needing his big stupid body and the weight of him pressing down onto her.
But no matter what she did to herself, it wasn’t the same and she knew it. She released her breast and clit, the sexual tension still strong but sinking under her other needs. Her stomach rumbled and she threw the covers off. She pulled on a pair of panties and a t-shirt, knowing the house would be fast asleep. She tiptoed out of her room and made her way down the hall towards the kitchen.
Passing by Michael's room, she froze. His door was open a tiny crack, and the dimming moonlight cast a blue glow to his room. Michael was laying naked on his bed, one arm over his face. But he wasn’t asleep. His other hand was working his hard manhood. Proudly defiant in the night air, it stood ten inches at full attention, veiny and thick. The head glistened with his pre-cum, and Nicole could see his heavy ballsack tense and release with each stroke.
Nicole had to remind herself to breath as she watched this spectacle. The way his taut stomach sank as he exhaled, the way his legs flexed as if he was ramming himself home with each downstroke.
“You’re welcome to come in,” he said from the bed, almost a whisper.
Before Nicole knew what she was doing, she was already stepping into his room. Despite her brain protesting the impropriety of this, her body’s primal needs were not to be denied. This virile specimen in front of her would bring her much needed relief. And, well, you couldn’t blame a girl for being curious.
“What do we have here?” she said, quietly closing the door behind her. “In here pleasuring yourself like some dirty teenager?”
“Let’s just say I was inspired,” he said, his hand still slowly stroking himself. His arm still covered his face. He inhaled sharply through his nose. “I couldn’t ignore you.”
“What do you mean?” she said, sauntering over to stand next to his bed.
“I could…smell you,” he said, licking his lips.
“What?” she said, an air of embarrassment coming over her.
“No, you don’t understand. You smell wonderful. Like the most precious flower petals unfurling,” he said, his voice taking on a deep rumble of bass that wasn’t there before. “I just can’t ignore that,” he said, taking his hand off his cock to gently touch the outside of her leg.
Nicole sucked in air as his hand brushed along the front of her thigh then found the warm space between her legs. His rough hard hand ran upwards until it found her panties. He gingerly stroke along the indentation of her slit, his thumb rubbing tiny circles on the fabric against her clit. “Mmmm…” she said, pressing herself against his hand.
“This is such a bad idea,” he said, his hand getting more aggressive against her sex.
“Shut up,” Nicole said, leaning down to silence him with her mouth. Their lips met, their tongues dancing in the space between. The push and pull of his wet hot tongue made Nicole moan into his mouth.
The hand across his face pulled her body down on top of his, trapping his prick between them. It went down and squeezed her ass, one cheek then the other. His cock strained against her t-shirt, needing her in a primitive and brutal fashion, the same way she needed it.
She reached down between them and grabbed his length, shocked that her hand couldn’t close around it. She stroked him, feeling her hand grow damp as more of his pre-cum seeped out down her knuckles.
Michael growled and grabbed her arms, pulling her upward with alarming strength. Her knees landed on either side of her head and she found herself straddling his face. He pulled her panties aside ferociously and began sating his hunger on her.
Every lick of his tongue sent spasms through her body. Every flick against her clit pulsed warm elect
ricity from her toes to her core. She cried out, hands planted against the wall at the head of his bed to keep balance. Not that she had the choice to fall: his hands pinned her pussy against his mouth, and he was not relinquishing his prize.
She reached one hand down to grab a fistful of his hair, then she rocked and pivoted her slit against his eager mouth. The rumbles that escaped his lips vibrated through her sex and sent her spinning out of control. She squeezed her eyes shut as she came, something breaking loose deep inside her. She felt her juices run down her lips, right into her lover’s mouth.
Michael didn’t miss a drop, taking in her full essence in every way he could. His fingertips dug into her hip bones painfully, his desire for more of her growing with every second.
She reached down to pry his fingers away, falling to the lie beside him. “I…” she panted, “Whoa…I need a second.”
He pounced on top of her, his cock like a spear poised at her most vulnerable place. His hands pinned her wrists to either side. Another growl escaped his lips, and this time he looked down at her, locking eyes with her.
Golden eyes.
Nicole’s eyes went wide with astonishment, trying to process what she was seeing. Was he…was he a Shifter?
Michael froze, his eyes going wide with realization. He jumped off her and stood in the middle of the room. “Umm, I…”
“Michael, what’s going on?” Nicole asked in a soothing tone. She knew Shifters were incredibly private, but the idea that the lead of a rising country music band could be…wait. They were brothers. That meant. “Oh…”
“You should, uhh…I have to take a shower. You should sleep in your room, you know?” he said, walking into his bathroom and shutting the door.
Shit! This whole thing is fucked! She thought about the past few days, all the secrecy and walking on eggshells around her. The sunglasses and contact lenses. She got up off Michael's bed and walked back to her own room, completely torn.
If they were Shifters, this was the biggest news since the Unification back in the 1970s. Before then, Shifters were myths, but since then they’ve been slowly coming out and integrating into society. But they were so fringe that even one coming out in a big city meant paparazzi following them day and night. Instant overnight celebrities for people who just wanted to live normal lives. And now we have one of the hottest bands around that just happen to be a family of them.
Nicole lay awake, watching the room slowly get brighter as the sun rose outside.
Nicole needed to clear her head, so before the rest of the house woke up, she got dressed and went out for a walk. Mist rose off the trees in the valley below, the overnight dew evaporating again to join the clouds overhead. She pulled her wool shawl over her shoulders. No matter how warm the temperature was on this mountain, it was always just a touch too cold.
She walked briskly along the gravel road that switched back and forth up the side of this range of peaks. Her foot hit a small stone and it flew, skittering over the edge and plummeting hundreds of feet below. Nicole walked over to the edge to peer over. An ocean of green tree tops stretched as far as they eye could see. A strange sound had her spin on her heels.
Less than a foot away from her, a pile of leaves was vibrating loudly. Her mind instantly went to those novelty chattering teeth that skittered around. The sound was like that, but faster. Once her eyes focused the pile of leaves became a five foot long rattlesnake, poised to bite her. This is how I die.
She forgot everything. She forgot her name. She forgot who she was. She forgot where she was. Some tiny primal instinct kicked in, something that took control of her limbs for her. She leapt backwards, right over the edge of the mountain.
Nicole saw the gravel road and the horrible rattlesnake sink out of sight. Her vision was filled with the light Georgia sky, a fitting final vision before she became a journalistic pancake. Instead of her life flashing before her eyes, it was a small In Memoriam, published by her boss in the magazine.
She expected to see the mountain rush past her, for the sky to get farther away as she fell like the stone moments before. But it didn’t. She was in stasis: nothing moved. Her back hurt, and a burning scraping sensation told her that she was caught on a branch. I’m not going to die! Then the branch creaked and bowed, threatening to crack.
“Help!” she screamed. Full lungfuls of air rushed in and out. If these were her last, she had better make them count!
A rush of boots came down the gravel road, followed by a clear, “Fuck!” as a boot came down heavy on the gravel. The rattling stopped immediately.
“Help!” she said, tears coming down her face.
Michael's face peered over the edge above her. “Jesus,” he said, barely a whisper. “Just hang on, Nicole. Don’t panic!”
“Don’t tell me not to panic! That’s what they tell people who are going to die!” she screamed.
“You’re not going to die!” he said, his eyes scanning the space between them.
“That’s the other thing they tell people who are going to die! You’re terrible at this!” she said, her eyes wide.
“Do you trust me?” he asked, running his hands through his hair.
“What does that even-“ she began. The branch she was laid out on top of creaked again and it bent further.
“Hope that was a yes,” Michael said as he leapt off the mountain.
“What?!” she barely had time to say before Michael crashed into her, knocking the air out of her lungs. The branch that dug into her back was gone, and they were falling, spinning.
“Herrrld errrrrrrn!” he screamed in her ear, his voice changing into something bestial, inhuman. Michael's skin exploded with long soft bristles of brown hair. Where his face had pressed against hers, there was now a massive snout, with whiskers that poked into her ears. The arms that pinned her to him became thicker, and his fingers receded into paws the size of dinner plates.
The last thing Nicole saw was the side of the mountain rushing up behind Michael. Then everything went black.
Nicole’s eyes cracked open, taking in the brightness of her room.
At the foot of her bed, Michael was pressing an icepack to his side and grimacing. He saw her eyes open and let out a pained chuckle. “I’d heard of taking a lady for a quick tumble, but that was ridiculous.”
“Like, do you know how corny you are?” Nicole said, her jaw shrieking in protest. She hand a hand up to her face.
“Here.” Michael handed her the icepack.
“You sure?”
“It’s just some broken ribs. They’ll only rupture my lung and kill me,” he said, gingerly touching his side. “But the real concern is that you can’t yell at me for saving your life.”
A knock came at the door. Greg's head popped in. “Hey, you’re up!” he said, softly stepping into the room. “Girl, you gave us one hell of a scare!”
“Mmmhmm,” Nicole said, pressing the icepack to her jaw. “Stupid rattlesnake. Stupid mountain. Stupid band.”
“Now, now. That’s just the near-fatal collision with the earth talking. Do you need anything?”
“Codeine,” she said.
“Hmm…we might have some aspirin. No guarantee on the expiration date, though. I’ll, uhh, leave you two alone,” he said, leaving the room.
Michael sat on the bed next to her, his hand gently stroking her knee through the blanket.
“Michael,” she said, “why didn’t you tell me you were a Shifter?”
He looked away, then down at the floor. “It’s complicated.”
“Try me.” she said.
“It’s just…I don’t know. Some humans are fine with it, or at least they think they are. Until Mr. Growly comes out, then it’s all guns and pitchforks.” He ran his hand through his hair. “It’s not my fault I am like this. I was born this way.”
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” she said, putting her hand on his arm.
He gave a small shake to his head. “It’s easy to say that. It’s easy to think every
thing is going to be fine. It’s the 21st century, we’re a sophisticated society, etc. I had a girlfriend a few years ago. I kept it from her. I know that was wrong. But after a few months I told her. The next morning she leaves her phone in my room. It turns on when I pick it up,” he sighed. “She looked up silver bullets on the internet.”
Nicole gave his arm a squeeze. “Not everyone is going to think that.”
He spun to face her, his eyes golden and wet. “How do you know? It’s my life. It’s my family’s life. This was all a terrible idea. All of it. You…”
“Me? What about me? What did I do?” she said.
“It’s not about what you’ve done. It’s about what you’re going to do.”
Luke (BBW Country Music Bear Shifter Romance) (Bearly Saints Book 3) Page 65
