They stood there, tasting each other’s lips, until Ella pressed herself against him, encouraging him to carry her farther, higher. He carried her to the bed and laid her down gently, then laid on top of her and moved his lips from her mouth to the smooth line of her jaw. Her skin tasted amazing, as he’d known it would. Her breathless gasp as he kissed her neck made him so hard that he wanted to fill her, to take her in a heated rush, but he forced himself to move slowly.
When he teased up the edge of her shirt she swiftly helped him to take off her clothes. He’d never seen anything more breathtaking than her body laid out before him. He took one of her nipples gently into his mouth, stroking it with his tongue until it formed a hardened peak before moving to the other.
Her hips started to move with the rhythm of his tongue, and he was helpless to control himself from moving against her.
Chapter 25
Ella could feel his presence behind her. He waited in the doorway, so close yet so unattainable. What future could they have, when her life wasn’t built here? She wanted him to stay, but she knew that one night with him would be enough to shatter her heart, to change her life completely.
Why couldn’t he just walk away, and make this easier for her? Didn’t he know this was tearing her heart in two? She turned from the window to tell him goodnight, to ask him to leave.
“Victor?” He turned to her, his eyes molten gold and his every movement making her want him more. Forgetting logic, she gave in to instinct instead. “Please…stay.”
She could feel her heart breaking already, with every step that he took toward her. Could one night possibly be worth the heartache that was sure to follow?
Ella felt lust well up inside her the second his lips met hers. Some distant part of her screamed to get out, to ask him to leave before her heart shattered so completely that she would never find all the pieces. But she couldn’t keep herself from returning his kiss any more than she would be able to keep the sun from rising in the morning.
She pressed herself against him, feeling the barely restrained power in his chorded muscles. She molded against him perfectly. Finally, a perfect fit. It was too bad that she wouldn’t be able to keep him.
He laid her on the bed carefully, like she was fragile and precious. His lips felt like heaven as they explored and nipped at her neck. He found every spot that made her go wild like they’d been together a thousand times. Meant to be, meant to change her…
All words left her as he reverently removed her clothes and his mouth found her breast. He gently teased her, and pleasure turned to longing, the need for him to fill her a delicious torture. Her hips started to move, looking for friction to relieve the need welling up inside her.
He moved against her, almost making her cum even though he hadn’t even removed his pants yet. He felt so big that she distantly wondered how she could ever hold him inside her, even while she longed to find out. His gentle exploration of her nipples turned more forceful as he sucked harder on one, nipped it lightly while squeezing the other.
She had to have more, needed to be filled. Ella reached for his zipper but he gently pushed her hand away, then slid down the bed and kissed the moisture between her legs.
Ella sighed and spread herself for him. He was just as thorough with this as he had been with the exploration of her breasts, starting with light kisses and licks that left Ella desperate for more.
She lifted her hands to gently twist her nipples as he licked her clit. She whimpered and moved against him, desperate for release. She could feel him smile against her as he stilled her hips.
“I’ve been dreaming of this for far too long, angel. Let me taste you.”
His tongue delved inside her and Ella struggled to be still as he’d asked, but couldn’t stop the needy whimpers that escaped her.
He stroked in and out before moving back to her clit. Finally, when the pleasure was so intense that it bordered on pain, he sucked her gently until he sent her spiraling to a place where there was room for nothing but desire, the desperate need to reach completion. Wave after wave filled her, made her tighten her thighs against his head in a silent plea that he never stop, even as wave after wave of bliss overtook her and left her shaking.
Finally, he rose and removed his clothes, then pressed the tip of his manhood against her entrance. Finally, he would fill her. He was even bigger than she’d thought, but he had made her so wet when he made love to her with his mouth that she was able to take him as he slid slowly into her.
“Jesus, Ella. You feel so good, so tight and wet.”
Ella had thought the strength of her orgasm would leave her exhausted, but when he started to move within her she felt pleasure building again. He started slowly, letting her body get used to his length.
Ella writhed against him, ready for a faster pace. He caught her nipple in his mouth and suckled it while he moved inside her, and once again filled Ella’s world with nothing but him. There wasn’t room for anything but this moment, the feel of him inside her.
An orgasm shattered her a second time, as his hips started to piston insider her, faster and faster. She felt his release pump into her womb through the aftershocks, and knew that never in her life had she felt so sated, so complete.
Ella sighed in contentment as Victor wrapped his arms around her, banishing the voice inside her that said that morning would come far too soon, bringing heartbreak along with it.
Chapter 26
Ella sighed as the plane touched down at JFK. She’d wanted to visit New York City since childhood, to experience its life and glamor firsthand. She just couldn’t seem to muster any enthusiasm for it though.
In fact, in the last few months she hadn’t been able to muster enthusiasm for anything about her job. It seemed like she’d quit experiencing life after she’d left New Orleans, like she was watching it but not actually a part of it anymore. Another town, another review…another hotel room with a bed that was heartbreakingly empty. There was no desire to find pleasure with another man. Ella knew, deep in her soul, that after Victor another man would never be enough to take the edge off her pain. She’d begun to think, much to her dismay, that maybe she was one of those people who could only find it in them to love one man…and one of those people who could never truly recover and live again after losing him.
Yes, she realized now that, improbable as it seemed with them only knowing each other for a short time, she loved Victor. She loved him, and felt shattered and empty without him in her life. She could still see his face as she’d packed that morning, carefully blank but with heartache showing from his eyes. But if he’d truly wanted her there, surely he would have said something. One word from him, and she would have stayed.
He had been gentle, sweet, maybe even sad as they spent their first and last morning in each other’s arms, but he had not asked her to stay, or even mentioned it as a possibility. The only thing that brightened her days was knowledge of the life she now carried inside her, the child that her love with Victor had created. She ached some days to pick up the phone and let him know, but it hardly seemed fair to end his freedom because they’d shared one night together.
She pressed a hand lovingly to her stomach, determined to love her child enough for two parents, to fill his or her life so much that they would never feel like just one parent hadn’t been enough. Eventually the plane stopped moving, and the passengers began to disembark. Ella made her way toward the bustling airport. She tried to keep an open mind, to see her first glimpse of New York without any expectations so that her review would be authentic, not just the recycled views of others.
As she left the security checkpoint, she saw the one thing that she never, in a million years, would have expected. She blinked, sure her eyes—or her lovesick heart—were playing tricks on her. But even after she blinked, he was still standing there.
“Victor?” She couldn’t stop the smile that filled her face, or the happy tears that filled her eyes. “How…why…how did you even know I was here?�
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He wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her lips. Home. Here, in a city she’d never seen before, she was home, as long as she was in his arms. He held her again, giving her a firm hug, before he answered her question.
“Well, once I bought the magazine it wasn’t too hard to convince them to give me a list of journalists, their assignments, and their locations.”
“You…bought it. The entire company.”
“I knew you wouldn’t stay with me because it would mean leaving your job. There’s no way they can fire you now. Come home to New Orleans with me. Just…say you will come home to stay.”
“You silly man. Now I’m going to have to quit.”
Victor looked crestfallen.
“I can’t have people saying the only reason I’m successful is that my man owns the company.”
Victor picked her up and spun her around. “Do you want to tour New York first, or do you just want to go home?”
“Home…I like the sound of that. Let’s go home. But I have something important to tell you first…”
The next morning Ella smiled to herself as she stretched out in Victor’s bed. She would be waking up here for years to come, and somehow she knew it would never get old. She’d finally come home.
* * *
FIN
The Baby Shift: Massachussets
The flight from Long Island to Massachusetts should have left Beryl feeling more exhausted than she did when her plan finally touched down. She has heard stories of Constance, Massachusetts and the exhilarating atmosphere it dispelled but never before had she experienced it firsthand. At least not until her first night in Old Constance, the southern half of the city.
As her taxi drove her through the streets of Old Constance, she witnessed a sight unlike any she had ever seen before. There was a rave in the streets and it would seem every inhabitant of the city was outside for the festivities. All over the place, people gathered around in small groups dancing, drinking, smoking pot, and engaging in activities she believed would have been better off in the bedroom.
"What's happening here?" she asked her taxi driver, a middle-aged man with a thick beard and a red cap on his head.
"Why, it's the annual Constance Rave. First time in Constance?" he asked.
"Yes, it is. You mean to tell me this goes on all around the city?" she asked.
He replied, "It used to, back before Constance was divided. These days, the folks up north feel such revelry is beneath them."
"Are you talking about New Constance?"
"Damn right, I am. It's filled with a lot of high-class know-it-alls. No offense, ma'am, I'm not suggesting you're like that because you asked me to drive you there."
She smiled. A familiar feeling washed over her. This was the same way she felt when she was in college, minutes before she led a group of students to protest against racial discrimination.
"Stop the car. I'm dropping off here," she said.
Surprised, the driver turned to look at her, "Are you sure? The area is a little too charged for a newcomer, don't you think?" he said.
Beryl was a wedding planner, and her new client had made it clear that all she needed within the next week, including clothes, shoes, food, and work materials, would be provided for her once she arrived. Hence, the only belonging she took were her passport, license, and a few belongings which she carried in her black leather handbag.
She said, "I'll be fine. Just drop me off here. I'd like to see what the Constance Rave is like, first hand."
"Alright, ma'am," he said as brought the car to a halt.
She got out of the taxi, her handbag swung across her right shoulder as she walked through the busy and noisy streets of Old Constance. All around her people were partying like there were in the confines of a club rather than out under the open night sky.
Another thing she could not help but notice was the sexually charged atmosphere. There were couples of different orientations making out and gyrating in dark corners around the streets. It was almost as if somebody sprayed a gaseous aphrodisiac in the air. Beryl could feel herself getting turned on, too.
"I need a drink," she told herself. There was a small makeshift bar on the sidewalk. She walked towards them and took a seat on one of the stools in front of the bar where a young bartender was busy mixing drinks for those seated beside her.
As Beryl slowly sipped the martini she ordered, she noticed a man staring at her. He was in his early thirties, good-looking, heavily built, and sitting on the stool next to her right. Beryl knew how beautiful she looked. Her long dark hair, large breasts, and shapely buttocks provided her with her fair share of attention. However, there was something about the way his man looked at her that creeped her out.
Her heart sank when he picked up his stool, dropped it a few inches from hers, and sat on it. When he spoke, she could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Hello, beautiful."
"Hi," she replied. She decided she would finish her drink and move on.
"I must say, I don't think I've ever seen you in this neighborhood," he said.
"I just arrived from New York," she explained.
He grinned. "That's perfect. I'm the right person to show you around. I'm Billy. My apartment is only a few blocks away. We could start the tour there," he said.
She shook her head. Forcing herself not to tell him how much of a drunken idiot she was, she rose from her seat, leaving her drink unfinished. "Thanks, but no thanks," she said as she grabbed her handbag.
She felt his strong hand grab her wrist. "Now you hold it right there. No one walks out on good old Billy."
As she struggled to pull her wrist free, she sensed someone else behind her. Turning around, she saw a tall, slim man who looked no less sober. Her eyes caught the little pocket knife he was holding in his hand. Glancing around, she realized the bar area was empty. Even the barman was nowhere to be found.
The slim man smiled and said, "Now, now, beautiful. Let's not make this hard for any of us You'll follow us to that dark corner over there."
The heavily built man was already dragging her forward. By now, Beryl's heart was in her mouth. What were these drunken perverts planning to do to her? Her eyes roamed the streets. People were still busy partying and no one even bothered to look in her direction. She could not scream for help and risk getting stabbed to death. All of a sudden she regretted her decision to get out of the taxi.
Just then she heard a loud crash from behind her. She and her captor turned in time to see the slim man slump to the ground, unconscious. Standing over him with a broken bottle in his hand was another man she had never seen before. There were broken pieces of glass all over the ground. The stranger was just over six feet tall with an athletic body and his dark hair was tied behind his head in a ponytail.
"Who the hell...?" the man holding her wrist said.
"I'll advice you to let go of the lady's wrist now," the stranger said, dropping the broken bottle.
His voice was deep and menacing. There was something in it that told her he wasn't joking. Her captor must have felt it too because he let go of her wrist, took one look at his fallen comrade, and sprinted off into the darkness.
The stranger walked up to her. She suddenly realized how incredibly handsome he was. "Hello," he said. "I'm Nicholas Archer." He held out his hand to her.
Shaking his hand, she said, "I'm Beryl. Beryl Moore."
"We're not usually like that," Nicholas said as they walked hand in hand through the noisy streets. The rave was gradually coming to an end, but people still littered the area here and there.
"Like what? Drunk and horny, or dangerous and perverted?" Beryl asked.
"Dangerous and perverted. The Constance Rave gets as wild as they come, but nobody got hurt before - not until the segregation," he said.
"I heard about that, but how does that have anything to do with the security around here?" she asked.
He looked away from her so she could not tell his expression. "It's a long story. Let's
just say no one cares much about the security of this part of Constance anymore."
In a way, she felt she understood what he meant. She shrugged. Right now, politics was the last thing on her mind. She could not stop staring at the muscles rippling under the arms of his t-shirt or the perfection of his chiseled jaw.
She said, "Apparently you care about the security over here. You saved me, didn't you?"
He smiled, and she felt her heart beat faster. He said, "I was only looking for a drink when I saw what was happening. I had to do something."
"Well that was very brave of you," she said. "You deserve a reward, don't you think?"
"Oh, do I? What kind of reward?"
Biting her lips seductively, she glanced at a dark alley a few feet away from where they stood. "Follow me over there and I'll show you."
He considered her suggestion for only half a second before nodding. "After you, gorgeous."
Beryl led him towards the alley. They were soon thrown into pitch darkness and though she could just make out the outline of his body in the dark, she was certain no one walking on the street could see them.
Nicholas pushed her gently against the wall and pressed his hard body against her soft one. Her nipples began to harden she felt his chest on her breasts. Their mouth came together in a deep kiss that literally took her breath away. Already she could feel her bag slipping off her shoulders.
Beryl felt Nicholas' lips press hard against hers and she urged him on by running her hands underneath his shirt, feeling as much of his skin as she could. He took his mouth away from hers and planted soft kisses on her throat. She moaned loudly as his lips traced a path down her neck to the soft flesh that was her cleavage.
"This is crazy," she said under her breathe. "I can't believe how much I want you."
Shifter Babies of America Box Set 1 Page 13
