by Godiva Glenn
“I hope I didn’t fuck up your chance with your soul mate.”
“You better hope not. Because if that happens, I won’t even have a chance tear you a new one, since Gerri would beat me to it. She seemed damn proud of her perfect match guarantee, and I wouldn’t want to be the one to break her winning streak.”
Chapter Nine
Troy
In all of his years living in the city, Troy could never have imagined that there was a shifter resort tucked less than an hour away, nestled in the edges of what he’d thought was an undeveloped forest. Yet here he was, and even as he walked with Chell by a picturesque lake, realized that the birds flying overhead were likely shifters as well, here to relax and fly in peace.
A shadow crossed their path and his jaw dropped. He took hold of Chell’s arm and pointed up. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Dragon,” she said. The calm tone in her voice suggested it was a sight she saw regularly.
“I didn’t know we had dragons.”
She chuckled softly. “Well, I don’t know if you actually do. Most of the dragons don’t live on Earth, but they visit.”
Her words stopped him short, so sharply he almost tripped. She turned back to face him, a smirk on her full lips.
He glanced up but the dragon was gone. “What are you saying?”
“I forgot how clueless humans were,” she mused. “You still think you’re the only planet with intelligent life.”
“Last time I checked, that was the overall consensus,” he said. “I think I would remember the news or scientists stating otherwise.”
She took his hand and pulled him to walk beside her as she explained. “It’s a secret, and it’s for the best. Other developed planets exist. Many, in fact. The shifters that live on Earth are the result of interplanetary travel.”
“Then shifters are actually aliens?”
“No, they’re shifters. Ages ago, shifters came here from the planet Nova Aurora and settled. Many of them mated with the early humans, resulting in more shifters, of course. But also, a slightly different blend of human. More advanced.” She looked at him. “Of course, the shifters here aren’t exactly the same as those that still inhabit Nova Aurora. The purer shifters are stronger and much more impressive.”
Troy found that difficult to imagine. “Shifters are already impressive. Look at you.”
She smiled softly and looked away. They came to a bridge over the narrow end of the lake. “Soon after that group of shifters left Aurora for Earth, another group left as well. Except they didn’t seek human life. They sought wilderness. Untamed mountains. Pure waters unsullied by pollution. They searched the galaxy to find an empty world, with suitable atmosphere and enough similarities to feel like home.”
“To make another shifter planet?”
“Yes. Nova Aurora is incredibly advanced. I can’t even begin to explain their technology, but this new planet voted against large cities and chose to model their world after a simpler time. Technology exists in limited quantities, managed by a select few. As such, the shifters are more feral. Political when necessary, but overall, governed by instinct and tradition. It’s also host to latent magic, which suits the shifters well. And now, they even have a fae queen.”
“Fae? As in fairy?” His jaw dropped. If he’d ever had a lucid dream before he would have pinched himself now to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.
“From a fae world, which yes, has fairies and many magical beings. She’s an aspect, a goddess would be the closest explanation. She adds to the power of the entire planet.”
He noted how her voice had an underlying tone of respect, and an idea occurred to him. “You’re from that planet, aren’t you?”
She looked up at the clear blue sky. “Nova Solara.”
He stared up with her, trying to imagine that past the clouds and deep space, her planet was hiding among the stars. “According to what you say, my ancestors are part shifter?”
“Most likely. The shifter trait didn’t always end up on top with early breeding. That’s the history as I know it, at least.”
“Wild,” he breathed. “I guess you have to travel by what, spaceships?”
She snorted. “No. I mean, they still exist, but no one trying to actually travel uses them. Between planets, portals are the easiest mode of transportation.”
He placed his hands atop his head, still staring up. The scene hadn’t changed, but his perception of it had. He’d always thought he had a narrow scope of the world because he’d been in the same city since he’d been born. Now he was learning that narrow was too gracious a word for his previous knowledge of existence.
In his defense, he’d never needed to go any farther. Sure, he thought of traveling when his life wasn’t as busy. Family vacations, for example, something he’d never had but always wanted.
“What’s Nova Solara like? You said it’s wild.”
A breeze came by, blowing hair into her face. She growled and pushed it behind her ears. “It’s more colorful, for starters. Our trees are like the deep violet shades of a rainbow and our oceans are a blush pink. Our atmosphere is enchanted and when snow gathers from the clouds, it falls blue.”
“And where do you live? Houses? Huts?”
“My clan lives in buildings of wood, like most of the shifters. The dragons have a castle, but stone is damp and chilly to the rest of us. There are caves, but most of us have moved past that sort of dwelling.”
The image of a strange medieval world with dragons and primal shifters entered his mind, though try as he might, he couldn’t imagine the colors or even how it all came together. He wanted to ask why she’d left, but she hadn’t volunteered it.
“Do you like it here?”
She propped her elbows on the railing and shrugged. “It’s fresh and new. Unpredictable in ways I wouldn’t have imagined. Nothing I read or watched could have fully prepared me for it. I enjoy the adventure, though there are parts that are less pleasant than the rest.” She slanted towards him and brushed him with her shoulder. “Other things much more pleasant than the rest.”
Troy rubbed the last bits of sleep from his eyes and listened as the echoing thump of his heart finally slowing to a normal pace. This morning, he’d woken to the sweetest, hottest blow job ever. He and Chell had only been together three days now, but they’d made them count.
He brushed a hand through her tangle of curls and caressed her cheek. Nothing had managed to take his mind off work until he’d first set sight on her, and now she was all he thought about. Their chemistry was off the charts. They hadn’t had sex yet, but he could tell it was going to leave him limping.
The only frustrating thing was that Chell was hard to read emotionally. She had three moods. Alert, hungry, and horny. He shouldn’t complain, but Gerri had made it clear that she was in the business of love. Yet he was feeling like an extended booty call.
Guys would kill to be here. Maybe he was overthinking it. Lust was quick and easy, after all. It took time for feelings to develop. It wasn’t fair for him to worry about hers when he still didn’t have a handle on his own.
All he knew so far was that she was unlike any other women he’d met, and she felt his in a way that seemed archaic.
“You smell nice,” she murmured.
“I smell like sweat,” he said exhaling heavily. “You ambushed me.”
“I couldn’t help myself. I woke and you were so hard. It seemed painfully rigid and I sought to ease that discomfort.”
“By making me even harder?”
“By kissing it,” Chell said wickedly. “And licking it. And sucking it. You taste nice, too.” Her hand traveled underneath the blanket and took hold of his cock.
Troy groaned. “Fuck… woman. I swear your touch is magic. One finger on me and I’m hard enough to break a wall with my dick.”
“Is that bad?”
He sat up and scrubbed his hands across his damp face. A cold shower is what he needed. He didn’t think it possible, but he was g
oing to overdose on Chell if he didn’t watch it. “I just think we need to spend more time vertical before we both forget to walk.”
“You can stand. I can kneel. Or the other way around,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Not what I meant.”
She laughed, rich and throaty. “I know. What else would you like to do? There are trails to run, the lake for swimming. Or… anything. What do humans do with their time? Show me.”
“Anything?” His mind drifted to his backpack. He’d packed more than clothes.
“That’s what I said.”
“Shower first.”
“Shower first,” she agreed. She rolled out of the bed and walked away, stark naked.
She’d gone to bed with pajamas. At what point had she stripped? He shook his head and crawled out of bed. His dick bounced with each step. Walking with a hard-on was awkward work.
He grabbed towels and joined her in the massive bathroom. It seemed more like a spa room, with more than half of the space being taken up by an open shower stall. In case the visitor chose to enjoy the shower while shifted, Chell had pointed out.
He set them on a table out of the range of the water and stepped into the steamy spray which she already enjoyed. Soap slid down her body in white bubbly trails. Inch after inch of toned flesh. He’d worked with two women firefighters in his time, and neither had looked as strong as Chell.
What was strange was that he’d never had a preferred body type before. Short, tall, thin, curvy, he just needed an honest smile to get it up. But Chell made and sealed his type. A woman who could kick ass and take names.
He moved up behind her, tucking his aching cock against the gentle curve of her ass. “You are incredible,” he said gripping her hips. “I keep waiting to wake up and find this is just a dream.”
“Do I feel like a dream?” She squirmed back against him.
“Not any I’ve had before.”
She passed the shower pouf over her shoulder to him so he could scrub her back. He squeezed it in his hands until his palms and fingertips dripped with dense lather. The plan was to shower and find other things to do besides each other. But plans fall apart.
He dropped the pouf to the floor and cupped her breasts, pulling her body to lean back against his.
“What are you up to?”
He pinched her hard nipples and slicked large circles around each mound. They sat heavy and soft in his palms, and he’d learned that they were incredibly sensitive. “Getting you clean.”
“Those are clean already.”
He dropped one of his hands and palmed between her legs. She moaned as his middle finger circled her clit. His fingers spread and he slid them down the creases around her slit, massaging the smooth skin. “And is this clean?”
She didn’t reply, only relaxed her head on his shoulder and let each of her soft, breathy moans echo through the room. He slid his fingers up and down, exploring her folds until the soap was gone and she was slippery with arousal.
Slipping two fingers into her heat was enough to make her shake against him. His other hand held her tight, keeping her steady as he pumped in and out of her tight pussy. Her walls clutched at him, eager as ever. She was dripping wet, and even the warm water cascading down on them couldn’t wash it away.
He shoved a third finger in, and she squirmed. Something told him this was more her speed. She seemed the type to push her limits, and he looked forward to entering her with his cock and testing those limits together.
He nibbled her neck as his hand worked, plunging deep and curling to touch the spot inside her walls that would make her fall apart. Her staggering breath told him she was close, and he closed his eyes to further enjoy her sounds.
“Yes,” she hissed finally.
She reached up and held his arm as her climax tore through her. Her body trembled around his fingers and her lips fell open with a blissful smile. He slowed his movements to a crawl, delighting in the way she squeezed at him. One-night stands were hot, but having the opportunity to learn Chell’s body was a gift.
He embraced her and held her until her legs steadied.
“I should return the favor.”
“Not now,” he said. “It can wait.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded and bent down to retrieve the fallen pouf. The next time he came, it was going to be in her. Not on her lips, but deep inside the heat he longed for.
“You’re running into a corner,” Troy laughed.
Chell pouted and tapped on the space bar repeatedly. “I don’t understand.”
He placed his hand over hers on the mouse and spun her character around. “Now go. Follow Gabe.”
Her character sprinted forward—right off the ledge. Chell sighed. “It’s fun but it’s incredibly demanding.”
“You don’t have the reactions yet. Your hands will get used to the controls and then you’ll rule this game.”
She resurrected her character and ran off again in search of Gabe. So far, the multiplayer adventure he’d introduced her to seemed like a definite hit. She got to play a sword-wielding warrior and he got to watch, which was exactly as entertaining as he’d expected.
“Do you two play this often?” she asked.
“Not really. Usually, work keeps us busy. When we play, we usually play something else, a different type of game. But that one drives Gabe insane, and you wouldn’t enjoy it. Not on the laptop, at least.”
“Hmm.” She stared intently at the screen and finally tracked Gabe down. “There!”
“Yeah. Now follow him to the next map.”
Her character walked through the blue swirl and she looked over at him. “You and Gabe do everything together.”
“Pretty much.”
“You fight fires, you play games. You live together. Like brothers.”
He pursed his lips. The things he and Gabe did together were not sibling behavior. “Not really like brothers.”
“Should we invite him here? If he’s just sitting alone at the house?”
Troy rubbed his chin and focused on the screen. Though he’d been ready to ask her about Gabe the moment he’d first arrived at the retreat, it fell to the back of his mind. Chell wasn’t the type to hide an offense out of fear or shame—that much he knew. Gabe hadn’t hurt her. Maybe not even offended her. Troy still wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
He couldn’t deny noticing her eyes on Gabe that first night.
“You’re distant,” Chell said.
“Hmm? Oh.” He looked up and found her staring at him. Now seemed as good a time as any to address the elephant in the room. “The other day, back at my place… something happened between you and Gabe. I mean, he touched you. Wrongly.”
Her hands slid from the keyboard and into her lap. Her gaze narrowed and she nodded slightly. “There was an encounter.”
“And?”
“It was early, and we were both of unsteady minds.”
“But you didn’t tell me. I didn’t know if I was supposed to kill him or what.”
She arched a brow. “And that is why I said nothing.”
“I’m sorry he did that. I can’t say exactly what he was thinking except that we usually have the same taste in women,” Troy said. “At the same time.”
A moment of surprise crossed her face but quickly vanished. “I see.”
“I think he assumed that I’d—"
“I understand.” She straightened her shoulders. “As for my reactions, at that point you had not—still have not—stated your full intentions to me. Your friend is attractive and showed interest in me. However, as I had just left your bed, I didn’t think it was the appropriate time to pick up another suitor.”
He blinked at her. “Intentions?”
“If you have designs to be my mate, you have to be clear with me about it.”
“Of course I want to be your mate. Isn’t that what we’re doing here?”
“So far what we’ve done is have fun.” She smiled softly. “But I have en
joyed our fun. And… I suppose I can accept your interests for now.”
“Just for now?”
She looked away. “The needs I have of a mate are complicated. There have been no human mates on Nova Solara.”
He wanted to argue but there was another matter. “And Gabe?”
“I believe that interest was fleeting. But perhaps he would enjoy Mara’s company? I’m certain she would enjoy his.”
“Your cousin? She seems preoccupied.”
“She has a task, but she is allowed personal time. Besides. She is Solaran and before this week had never seen a human. It would be of interest of her to bed one.”
There was no dishonesty in her tone. He wasn’t sure if he was glad she was over Gabe, or disappointed. He’d heard of wolf shifters sharing a woman and had rather hoped bears were the same, but Chell had given no such indication.
Moreover, could he share her? He liked her. Not in a shallow way, but in a growing way that threatened to pull him deeper and deeper. Chell could be the one. If he tried to get her to welcome Gabe into their bed, however, she could be gone.
Chapter Ten
Gabe
“You don’t have to rush over.” Troy’s voice echoed through the speakers of Gabe’s truck.
“There’s no food in the house anyways,” Gabe said. It was the truth, but mostly Gabe was bored out of his mind. A secret shifter resort sounded like the perfect vacation. He’d practically run to his truck to head over. “Unless you don’t really want me to come by?”
“Nah. I’m just sort of… processing.”
“The alien thing?”
“No. I’m mostly over that, and you’re handling it surprisingly well, by the way.”
“I never assumed we were alone in the galaxy,” he lied. Actually, he’d never even thought of it. Now he was fixated on the thought of hot alien shifters. Or one specific one, rather.
