“Sawyer, you feel so good!” she whispered, her voice hoarse and throaty.
“You, too, baby. I can barely restrain myself, but I want to take my time with you,” he replied, flashing her a wicked grin, and began to kiss his way down her body, across her rib cage, all over the soft flesh around her belly button, and along the curves between her belly and her thigh. He wanted to savor every single part of this incredible woman, as this would probably be the last time they were together. Her hands were on the back of his head, eager and nervy, as he snatched at the waistband of her panties with his teeth and tugged them down. Her sweet, salty, musky scent filled his nostrils, instantly making his cock hard as a diamond. Claim her, his bear growled, over and over. But he wasn’t going to rush it. As his tongue flickered over her clit for the first time, she gave a wild cry, and her nail dug into his shoulder, hard enough to draw blood. He grinned to himself. He spread her thighs wider and licked her. She tasted like the sweetest spring honey, and he couldn’t get enough of it. He pushed his tongue inside as far as he could, before circling her clit, making her wriggle and mutter incomprehensibly.
Maintaining eye contact with her beautiful, green eyes, he flicked his tongue back and forth over her clit, languid and steady, until she began to pant, and then her head dropped back to the pillow.
“I need you inside,” she murmured. He slid one, two, three fingers inside her and moved them in and out, slowly, caressing her insides, as his tongue continued to beat a rhythm. Soon her hips began to jerk back and forth and her breath came short and harsh.
“Sawyer!” she screamed, and she exploded, spasming sweetly around his fingers, her body juddering and trembling all over.
At last her thighs slackened, loosening their grip on his head, and his bear let off a growl. In a second he’d stripped off his boxers and the head of his aching cock was easing its way into her. She clung to his back, her embrace fierce and her eyes dark with hunger. She looked more beautiful than ever, her eyes bright and her cheeks flushed. He was trying to be gentle, aware of how tiny she was, but she hooked her ankles around his hips and pulled him close, and almost before he knew it, he’d entered her, all the way to the hilt. Her pupils dilated and she cried out, raking his back with a particularly sharp set of nails. She was the only bear he’d mated and he felt her strength, the strength of a full-grown she-bear, as she demanded he take her hard. He arched over her, his cock thrusting into her as he gazed down at her beautiful face, her big, soft breasts. She felt so good – so tight and warm and passionate – that he could barely hold back. All he wanted was to flip her and mark her, and she’d be his, forever. But he couldn’t do it. he didn’t have the right. Instead, he turned them both, pulling her on top of him, watching her as she rode him hard, caressing her ass, her breasts, her clit, their bodies slick with perspiration, the sweet scent of her arousal thick in the air.
She came again, so wild and unrestrained, and the sight of her in the throes of ecstasy tipped him over the edge, and he gripped her hips and pumped into her until his orgasm tore out of him with a roar.
He lay back on the pillow, utterly exhausted, dimly aware that she was still sitting astride him, watching him. He expected her lips to be curving in amusement, but when he opened his eyes he was shocked to see her eyes full of tenderness. She leaned forward and kissed his face all over.
“Harlow, you’re so incredible,” he murmured. “How did a place like this produce someone as incredible as you?”
“My friends always mock me for seeing the world through a kaleidoscope,” she replied. He gazed at her body languidly, from head to toe.
“There’s something I haven’t figured out yet.”
“What’s that?”
“Turn over.” Uncertainty flickering across her features, she flipped herself onto her front and he let off a rumble at the sight of the creamy globes of her ass, and the full curve at the small of her back, with those cute dimples on either side. Then he gasped.
“You don’t have any tattoos!” She looked at him over her shoulder, eyes shining with mischief.
“Nope.”
“But why?”
“I’ve always said I’ll get one when I really find home.” He ran his hand along the length of her lovely back.
“I like that idea, Harlow.”
Gently, he rolled her onto her side and they lay in each other’s arms, legs entwined, her breasts pressing against his chest, whispering and kissing until they both dropped off to sleep.
There was a sound. He couldn’t hear it any longer, but it had awoken him. He disentangled himself from Harlow and sat up, adrenaline making his pulse race. And then he heard it again – a long, deep, rumbling growl, that seemed to shake the earth all around them. Vince. He leapt out of bed and landed on all fours, bristling with thick brown fur, then burst out of the door. As he hit the camp ground, he let off a roar – a drawn-out call that went on and on. There were answering calls and doors began to open as he sprinted over to the big top. His heart thudded at the sight of a long line of flaming torches. It was the townsfolk. They were bellowing things at Vince, who’d shifted into his bear form and was making sounds of annoyance and confusion. Sawyer skidded to a stop beside him. At the front of the line was Harlow’s father.
“Give my daughter back to me!” he yelled. “You bunch of thieving animals! What have you done with her?” Just then, the entire clan arrived, all in their animal forms – a whole band of bears, lions, tigers, leopards, wolves, horses, zebras, goats and rabbits, forming a semi-circle around the intruders. The townspeople quaked and took a step back, terror showing on their faces.
“I’m not scared of you!” Harlow’s father persisted, his voice trembling. “We’re going to burn your damn tent down if you don’t give her back to us. Even if it kills me.” Sawyer saw the bones shifting in the man’s face, and he wondered how long it’d been since he engaged with his animal. He looked at his clan and looked at the townsfolk. He was confident that his clan could take down every one of them, flaming torches or not. Still, this wasn’t the way to do things. With a rumble of dismay, he shifted into his human form. Damn, it was cold. Harlow’s father looked stunned.
“Sir, your daughter is here of her own free will. We haven’t taken her. We have no interest in kidnapping anyone. We’re in the business of making people happy, not harming them.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s in my –” Just then Harlow ran up to them, wrapped in her winter coat, her face pale and anxious.
7
“Dad? Everyone? What’s going on here?” Harlow said, blinking at the scene in front of her in disbelief.
“Harlow! You’re safe,” someone called.
“Of course I am!” she yelled, her voice harsh with exasperation.
“Harlow, come back home!” her dad said.
“Stop trying to control me! And what are you doing here with all these torches? I’ve never seen you all so lively in my whole life.”
“We’re here to protect you!” someone else yelled.
“I don’t need protecting. Well, actually, maybe I do. From my own people, who seem determined to live desperate, unhappy lives.”
“Come back, Harlow. You don’t understand anything. Mixing with these people will only bring more suffering to the town.” Her father’s tone had become softer, pleading. Harlow groaned and looked around at the gathering of animals, which she currently felt much closer to than to her own people. And she looked at the townsfolk, torches blazing, eyes wide, as if they’d just awoken from a hundred-year sleep. Lastly, she looked at her miserable, beaten father.
“I’ll come home with you tonight, but on one condition – that you promise not to attack the circus again. No torches, no shotguns. Nothing. And you don’t set light to anything else again – whether it’s a poster, or a Christmas tree. Ever. Do I have your word?”
Her father dropped his gaze to the ground.
“Dad, do I have your word?” she insisted.
“Yes,” he muttered.
“All of you. If you agree, prove it to me by putting your torches out right now.” The townsfolk shuffled from side to side, shot each other sidelong glances.
“Do it,” her dad said. One by one, they murmured “yes”, and dropped their torches to the ground, rolling them on the grass until the flames went out.
“Thank you. Okay, now I’ll come back to town with you as proof of the circus’ cooperation.”
She waved to Sawyer, who was standing at the front of his clan, huge and muscular, like a Grecian warrior, the sight of his naked body stirring her again, and to the other shifters, standing strong together, so full of dignity and grace. And she led her miserable people back to Windy Hollow.
“I can’t believe you did this, dad!” she hissed as they walked a little ahead of the others.
“Harlow –” He broke off, and she was shocked to discover that he was choked with emotion. “You’re all I’ve got now.”
“You haven’t really treated me as if that mattered to you all that much,” she said, a little more softly.
“I love you very much. I – I’m sorry I haven’t always been able to show it. It’s the sickness in this town. It’s polluted everybody.”
“You know, I don’t believe in this magical sickness. I think everybody makes their own choices in life. And you and everybody else are choosing not to get over the past, but to wallow in it, until it’s ruined everything.”
“The wind didn’t use to blow like this, Harlow,” he said, as they climbed down the bank and it started up again, instantly chilling her to the bone. “It started up a good twenty years ago and it never stopped. And that’s how everyone knows that the town is cursed.”
Harlow snorted, way beyond words. She stalked back to their cabin and went straight to bed.
When she awoke the next morning, she felt like she hadn’t been asleep for very long. She’d anticipated waking up with Sawyer’s big, sexy body wrapped around her, and his soft comforter keeping them warm and cozy. Instead she was under a pile of moth-eaten blankets, her dad’s snoring rumbling through the walls. She felt sorry for him, for all of them in the town, and she wanted to help them. But she was also mad at their unwillingness to try and get over whatever had happened to them.
As she left for work, the wind was blustering as usual. She recalled her father’s words and muttered to herself. So now the wind was being blamed for the lot of them being miserable. It was all too much. She stormed into the bakery and Carly leapt out from behind the counter and grabbed her by the shoulders.
“You’ve been fucking the carny from the circus!” she snarled. Harlow’s anger boiled up and she jerked her arms violently, breaking free from Carly’s grasp. Carly stumbled back against the display counter, her mouth falling open.
“He’s not a carny. He’s an amazing, courageous, good-hearted man, who has a passion for making people happy. And yes, we have been mating. And I had no idea sex could be that wonderful until now!”
Carly’s mouth worked silently for a few seconds.
“You’re a traitor!” she said at last. “You shouldn’t be mating outside your own people.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Harlow stormed into the back and yanked her coat off. But neither do I, she thought. The idea that Sawyer could be related to anyone here seemed more and more ridiculous.
At lunchtime, Harlow went out without waiting for Carly. She walked straight over to Rebecca’s store.
“Hey, girl,” Rebecca said. “You’ve got a sparkle in your eyes today. Does it have anything to do with that sexy ringmaster?” Harlow giggled.
“It might do.” She looked at her friend with warmth. Rebecca was the one person in town that she knew would be happy for her.
“Maybe you could put a word in for me with his gorgeous friend.”
“Flint? Sure thing. I think you two would be good together. But right now, I need a favor.”
“What’s that?”
“Could you help me chop a tree down in the woods?” Rebecca’s expression darkened.
“Do you mean a pine tree?” she nodded. “Didn’t you see what happened last night? Someone doused that pretty Christmas tree in gasoline, for christsakes. It looked so sad I just about burst into tears.”
“Yup I know, but I have a plan. Were you at the campground with the others last night?”
“No. I heard a hell of a commotion, and decided to stay out of it.”
“Well, I stayed in Sawyer’s trailer, and in the middle of the night, the whole town basically turned up and demanded that he gave me back.” Rebecca gasped.
“Wow. I didn’t think they had it in them.”
“Me neither. They had flaming torches too. I think they were fixing to burn the big top down.”
“That wouldn’t have ended well.”
“Not at all. Anyway, in exchange for me being returned to them – like I’m their property or something – I made them promise not to attack the circus or destroy anything of theirs again. So I’m going to call them on it.”
“You’re going to put up another tree in the square.”
“Exactly.” Rebecca’s brown eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Let’s do it!”
They bounded into the woods and selected another big tree. With Rebecca’s expert skills, the tree was down fast, and they gathered some dead wood and carried it all out to the square. Harlow stood the tree up and Rebecca hammered a base together, and made sure it was secure.
“Good job!” They high-fived each other.
“I’ll come by after work, and if it’s still standing, I’ll put some lights on it. Maybe the circus has some I can use.”
“And if it isn’t standing?” Harlow sighed.
“If it isn’t, I think I may seriously consider running away with the circus, just like they feared I would.”
At 6pm, Harlow returned to the square. The tree was untouched. It was standing proud, a light dusting of snow on its branches. She allowed herself a small smile.
“Maybe we’ll make it,” she murmured, encircling one of its branches in her fingers.
“It’s still here!” Rebecca said, coming from the opposite side of the square. “And look what I found in the back of the store.” She was carrying a string of LED lights. They hauled a trash can over and Harlow stood on it while she wound the lights around the tree from top to bottom. Rebecca flicked the switch on the battery compartment, and the tree was instantly illuminated in blue and silver.
“Beautiful!” they exclaimed.
“It makes the square look so different, doesn’t it?” Harlow looked in the direction of the campground.
“I hope Sawyer will see it over there,” she said. Then she frowned. “Hmm, actually, it looks awful dark at the circus. I can’t see the lights from the big top.”
“Maybe they haven’t set up for the night yet.”
“But it’s their dress rehearsal tonight. They’re performing their Christmas show for the first time ever.”
“Perhaps they’re taking a nap. They’re probably exhausted after last night’s shenanigans.”
“I don’t know,” Harlow said. “But I guess I should get home and check on dad. Thanks for your help, Rebecca. You’re the best friend a girl could have.” Rebecca hugged her tight.
“Same to you, Harlow. You make living in this place bearable.”
Harlow’s dad wasn’t home. She cooked dinner, as usual, cleaned the place up, as usual, all the time looking anxiously for lights beaming from the big top. But there were none. The distant sky remained inky black. She ate dinner by herself, as her father still wasn’t back. But she had little appetite, worry tightening a knot in her stomach. Something was wrong at the circus. She felt it deep in her bones. What if that townsfolk had come back and done something to them? She cleaned up, left her dad’s dinner in the oven, and headed out in the direction of the camp ground. As she crossed the square, she bumped into her father. He was dragging his fee
t, the smell of beer on his breath.
“Something’s happened at the circus. I’m going to check that everything’s okay. The town better not have done anything to them!”
“Harlow, come back!” He caught at her arm, but she pulled away from him.
Shiftr: Swipe Left For Love (Nash) BBW Wolf Shifter Romance (Hope Valley BBW Dating App Romance Book 10) Page 18
