Christmas Kisses: A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance Anthology

by Zodiac Shifters

  "More, sir. Please—" Weak in body and will, Hannah clutched his legs for support. Her whole body trembled with the intensity of her arousal. In Silver's esteem, she truly was divine. No other man had ever made her feel so special or cherished.

  "Like this?" He slid paired digits into her, stretching her. She gasped. Her pussy clenched, drenching his hand in cum. His thumb rested on the hood of her neglected clit. All he had to do was move ever so slightly and she'd be in heaven.

  "Yes, like that, sir." Hannah panted and grasped at her final shreds of self-control. The rules meant remaining still. If she took, he couldn't give.

  "Tell me something—the truth—and I'll give you everything you want and more." Silver eased out of her and then returned, fucking her with his hand. Still not hard enough to satisfy her, it gave her a taste of what she craved with such desperation.

  "Anything, sir."

  "Why did you panic like that?"

  "What?" Hannah jerked her face up, momentarily forgetting her manners. No punishing swat followed her lapse.

  "I've been with you in all kinds of stressful situations, but I've only ever seen you panic twice. The first time we met, when I handcuffed you, and then tonight," Silver continued in a quiet voice. He pumped his hand in and out of her, providing a distraction that made it damn near impossible to think. Beyond a doubt, it was deliberate.

  "I don't know. Why does it matter?" Hannah asked in her usual sassy tone. Pure impertinence. She gave into temptation and bucked her hips, impaling herself fully on his fingers. It gave her a brief burst of relief... but not nearly enough.

  "I almost lost you tonight." Silver raised the hand he'd been using to pleasure her; it descended in punishment. He smacked her ass far harder than ever before—real anger behind the strike.

  "I'm sorry, sir!" She wailed the apology and clung to Silver's knees. Tears gathered behind her lids, and she squeezed her eyes shut to hold them back. Right then, she'd have prostrated herself at his feet to avoid what came next.

  "Too late." Silver slapped her buttocks again, placing the stinging lash squarely across the fleshy part of her cheeks.

  Hannah yelped and lurched. She didn't have time to recover before a third fell and yet another. He rained a spanking on her backside, the likes of which she'd never known. As a child, Hannah's swan-shifter grandmother had never raised a hand to the girls, even when they'd been outrageously naughty.

  "I don't know, sir. I'm sorry," Hannah said, lying through her teeth. She knew exactly why she'd panicked, but she didn't want to tell him.

  "You're lying. I can smell it." His vehemence blasted over her in a wave. Through the mate bond, she perceived the depths of Silver's fear and anger, and understood he needed to vent more than she did. The ferocity of the next lash that crossed her bottom made her thankful that he only had his bare hand to work with.

  "I screwed up. It was a mistake." Hannah snuffled and wept. Tears poured down her cheeks. She tucked her face against his thighs and sobbed.

  "You don't make mistakes." He whacked her ass again.

  "I did this time." She sobbed, incoherent. She expected him to stop. Silver had never shown the slightest inclination toward sadism. He didn't, though. The spanking continued. Her bottom burned, throbbing soreness, and for the first time in ages she gave serious consideration to using her safe word. Before pumpkin passed her lips, Silver would halt and her torment would be over.

  She didn’t. She needed this every bit as much as he did.

  "The first time you kissed me, I lost myself in you. That's why I panicked. I only ever panic when I'm not in control," Hannah blurted out through her tears, desperate to win even a brief respite from the punishment.

  Perhaps recognizing the truth, Silver ended the spanking. She gasped in relief and then abject eagerness when he caressed her pussy. He pushed into her entrance and rubbed the pad of his thumb over her clit. Hannah moaned and convulsed, on the verge of a climax.

  "Damn, you're soaked," Silver said in a song-like exclamation of awe. She groaned—he sounded way too impressed for her comfort. Her coyote-lover learned fast and never forgot a trick.

  She was doomed.

  "I need you, Silver. Fuck me, please."

  "Soon, we're not quite done yet." He rocked his hand and drove deeper into her channel. Exquisite, but she longed for his hard cock, still trapped between their bodies. "Tell me, why you were you out of control tonight?"

  Hannah hiccupped. She wanted to scream and demand to know why he wouldn't let this go. So she'd lost control? So what? It wasn't that big of a deal... except she'd almost gotten decapitated. Silver would've died with her before he'd have abandoned her. And there—she had her answer without asking. Her mate had been completely honest and upfront right from the start. Time for her to do the same—she owed him that much. The epiphany granted her the strength she needed to break through her last internal barrier. Gathering her will, she smashed through the walls she'd erected to protect herself.

  Silly fox—she didn't need to guard against Silver. She ought to know that lesson by now... Maybe someday, she'd learn.

  "I was distracted. I wasn't focused on the job so I made an amateur mistake, allowing my hair to get caught like that," Hannah said, talking too fast. Now that she'd decided to confess, she just wanted to get it over with so they could get onto the fun stuff.

  "Distracted by what?" He settled his hands, sticky with her fluids, on her hips and gripped her firmly.

  She narrowed her eyes. Silver knew damn well why, but she supposed it was good to say it aloud. Clear the air—everything aboveboard and all that. "Our argument," she admitted. "I can't stop thinking about it."

  "So this was my fault," he said, grim with self-recrimination.

  "No, Silver. It's mine." Hannah bowed her head in shame, resting her forehead upon his thigh. Her throat constricted. She would've wept except she'd already shed her last tear. "You assumed my hang-ups about having a baby were about you. The truth is—I'm not sure I'd be a good mother."

  "What—why?" Silver lifted and settled Hannah on his lap. Proudly erect, his dick banged against her belly. She glanced down to admire the thick shaft which jutted from a nest of dark curls at the base.

  "You're not the only one who had a terrible father. My dad is hardly a candidate for Father of the Year. A part of me is terrified of the responsibility of having someone be completely dependent on me. What if I'm an awful mother? What if I feed our kids nothing but chicken tenders or yell at them... or cut and run like my father did—"

  "That didn't even occur to me."

  "I know. I let you think the worst because I was too much of a coward to admit the truth. I'm so sorry, Silver. I believe with all my heart—you'd make a wonderful father." She wrapped her hand about his girth and guided his plump cockhead to her sex. The throbbing length lodged against her entrance like a promise and a threat.

  He swallowed audibly and flexed his hands about her waist. "I don't have a condom with me, and right now I don't have the self-control to pull out. We'd be taking a risk."

  "That's a risk I'm willing to take with you." Hannah impaled herself as Silver rocked his hips and sheathed his cock within her. Their union left them both gasping and grasping.

  Power flooded their mate bond like a star gone nova. It opened psychic pathways between them, bright light illuminating all those shadowy corners sneaky creatures cultivated naturally. She sank onto him; he divided and completed her. Hannah had never been one to get poetical about sex—a man's cock had never been the center of her existence.

  Until now.

  "Oh fuck." Silver sang the prayer, strong and pure.

  "Yes, fuck." Hannah echoed, wistful over her lack of harmonic perfection. If they had a child, she hoped their baby inherited its daddy's voice.

  "That's it, Vixen. You're so damn tight. Take the rest." Roughly, Silver tugged down and Hannah submitted, even though she would've sworn there wasn't a spare inch anywhere in her loins.

  There's more?
How the hell did he manage that? Did he have a couple spare inches of dick he kept hidden except for special occasions? Hannah parted her lips to ask just as Silver seated her fully. Her smart, sore ass slapped against his thighs.

  She yelped, threw her hands into the air, and shouted, "You bastard! I swear I'll get you for this!"

  "I can't wait." Silver snickered, and spanked her again with his lap.

  Chapter 6

  The climax slayed Silver.

  His orgasm rolled through him like a tsunami, obliterated everything in its path and saturated his soul to completion. In the aftermath, he slumped against Hannah with his chin resting on her shoulder. His chest to her back—they propped each other up.

  They stayed like that for a long time, concentrating on the paramount task of breathing. Eventually, Silver gathered an iota of energy and raised his head. He dropped a quick kiss on his mate's nape. The salty sweat from her skin stung his lips and left him thirstier than before.

  In a lithe motion, Hannah twisted around to face him. "Come to work for me."

  "Sorry?" Silver blinked.

  "Well, not for me—with me. You could help me with break-ins just like you do now, but it'd be official," Hannah started out slow but picked up speed fast, demonstrating that miraculous capacity women possessed to recover from sex immediately. It baffled and annoyed him all at once. At the moment, Silver craved a warm bed, his mate curled in his arms, and about twelve solid hours of sleep.

  "You'd be my boss?" Silver shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. He wasn't firing on all cylinders, but he possessed enough clarity to have certain reservations about having Hannah as his superior commander.

  "I'm your wife. Me giving you orders at work wouldn't be any different from how things are now." She grinned and swatted at him.

  Silver frowned. Somehow, that sounded... reasonable.

  "Seriously, I was thinking about expanding and taking on a full-time partner anyway. The business is getting to be more than I can handle alone. Your help—and the band's—are the reason my business is going great. And we work together well as a team."

  "I'll think about it," Silver said, throwing up what he suspected was an insubstantial barrier. One look at the determined light in Hannah's eyes, and he could tell—protests were pointless.

  "Please? I promise I'd be a good boss. The work won't interfere with your music and there will be... fringe benefits." Hannah fluttered her lashes. She smoothed her palms over his pecs and brushed her nipples over his chest, but general exhaustion came to his defense. It'd be a while before his dick was ready to soldier on.

  "I said I'll think about it," Silver said, deliberately surly even though he acknowledged the war was already lost. He would offer resistance before he gave in. The first protest that came to mind—he didn't want to be her underling, outside of the occasional bedroom game—should buy him some time. Of course, in the end he'd give in and Hannah would have her way. He desired nothing more than her happiness.

  Her joy made his possible.

  "Okay, fine." She pursed her lips and surged upright, standing as straight as a board. She swooped to recover the sack that contained their clothing and gear. Her quick, business-like manner signaled that playtime was at an end.

  With a regretful sigh, Silver hauled himself to his feet. He grasped his pants, but hesitated to dress. "Do you want to finish this heist?"

  "Why?" Openly questioning, Hannah looked to him for answers.

  "We could go back. It would be a miracle if no one heard us, and we're both exhausted and sweaty. All I really want right now is to shower and sleep—"

  "And eat," Hannah said. "I'm starving."

  Silver's stomach rumbled in agreement. "So, forward or back?"

  Hannah's lovely face worked with indecision. "So, here's the thing... I bet the owner of the casino twenty-five grand that we could break into his vault."

  "That's a lot of money." Silver rubbed his chin.

  "If I lose, we'll have to sell your Christmas present to settle the debt."

  "I really love that guitar." He winced at the thought of losing the vintage Les Paul before he'd even had a chance to play it.

  Hannah smirked and cracked her knuckles. "Well then. Let's get to work."

  The End.

  Thank you for reading A Very Foxy Christmas. Read Out Foxed to share more adventures with Silver and Hannah.

  About the Author

  Melissa Snark is a paranormal and romance author with a particular interest in werewolves and Norse mythology. Her Loki's Wolves series combines elements of both in a contemporary fantasy setting. She lives in Northern California with her husband, three children and a glaring of cats.

  Join Melissa Snark's newsletter to be notified of new releases.

  For more information…

  www.melissasnark.com

  melissasnark@melissasnark.com

  Afterword

  Thank you for reading Christmas Kisses, a Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance anthology. We hope you enjoyed our stories and wish to discover more about our books.

  A shifter’s mate is in the stars... Welcome to Zodiac Shifters, a collection of books with an astrological spin on love. From Aries to Virgo... discover all-new tales of paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Zodiac Shifters features New York Times, USA Today, and other bestselling authors. Each month expect new releases based upon the twelve astrology signs. Happily Ever After... it’s our promise to you.

  Learn more at Zodiac Shifters.com.