by Ever Coming
“Not really.” Mariah closed her eyes as if to gather her thoughts. “More like you can raise the nearly dead and only from magical deaths.” Amber thought back to the tent and her initial thought that the poor woman was dead. She really had been nearly dead. “You are a very powerful Healer.”
“I didn’t feel powerful,” Amber confessed. “I actually didn’t know what I was doing.” The truth of that scared her. If she could heal as powerfully as it seemed, she had a lot to learn. How many people would suffer because of her lack of training?
“If you are this strong already, you are going to be an amazing healer.” Awe filled the woman’s voice.
“You really are.” Jason’s voice was close to her ear. His words were meant for her alone, and somehow that made them seem … more.
“Are you a healer?” Amber didn’t want to keep prying, but there was so much she wanted to know.
“No, my strength is more in weather, which is mostly banned and hardly useful.”
“It led us to you,” Jason interjected.
“That it did. I’m so glad. I never thought to tell Kit to leave the illusion down. My own lack of foresight almost caused her harm.”
“No, it meant that we found you and not someone who might cause you harm.” Amber tried to reduce the woman’s second guessing of herself. She really had done right by her daughter. It could have been so much worse. That thought formed a pit in Amber’s stomach. She already loved the little girl, and they had known each other for only a few hours. The thought of any harm coming to her kicked Amber’s protective instincts on high alert and seemed to bring her jaguar closer to the surface. Not much, but enough to let Amber know she was there. Interesting.
“Mama.” Kit was talking in her sleep. “Mama.” Adorable.
“I think we should head to bed. Show me the way?” Amber nodded and got up from her perch on the porch.
Jason snagged the dishes before she could. He was so domestic that for a split second she felt like flinging herself toward him and begging him to take her. Mariah shhing Kit back to sleep brought things back into focus. She led them to Rosemary’s old room. Amber told Mariah where the towels, extra blankets, and bathroom were before wishing them a good sleep. Goodness knew they deserved one.
Jason was at the front door waiting for her. He had a backpack over his shoulder and looked like the day was new instead of what had turned into an extremely long day. Amber smiled. That morning she woke up completely alone. In one short day’s time she met Jason, Mariah, and Kit. Even her jaguar seemed to agree with her on that. Amber allowed herself to hope this was the beginning of a new life. Hope never hurt anyone, right?
Camping Can be Fun. Who Knew?
“I think this is technically part of Rosemary’s estate,” Jason pondered aloud as they reached the campsite.
“I actually never asked her where her property ran. I assumed she was squatting, and that was part of the reason she stayed so hidden. It wasn’t until she was gone that I knew she actually owned the land.” Amber gave his hand a squeeze before letting it go. “You know I have never been camping. I have less than no idea how to take a tent down without breaking it.”
“Really?” Humor filled his voice. Her lack of camping seemed to tickle his funny bone. Come to think of it, it was odd for shifters to sleep inside all of the time.
“Unless you count discount hotels, really.” She playfully smacked his arm. “Let me get everything out of the tent, and then you can school me on all things camping, Mr. Horny.” Opps. She hadn’t meant to open that can of worms and briefly hoped he missed it.
Jason’s eyes darkened. Yep. Can of worms open. It was back on and they had things to do. Amber tried to regret it, but heck, just saying his peen’s nick name had her needing him just as badly as his eyes indicated he needed her. Jason stalked over to her. Yep, stalk was the word. She was his prey and Amber was perfectly happy with that. The way he moved, you would have guessed his animal was a predator. A fierce predator.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean—” His mouth was on hers before she could begin to finish the sentence. Not that she wanted to. In fact, if his mouth never left hers, Amber would be quite a happy gal. His mouth explored hers, as if on a mission, and just when she thought it couldn’t get any better, he allowed his kisses to migrate to the magical spot just below her ear. The spot that seemed to have a direct line to her pussy. Not that her pussy was unaffected by the rest of the kissing. Nope, her panties were already drenched.
“I. Need. You. Now.” His words were heady and raw with kisses and nibbles between each one of them.
“Yes,” slipped from her lips, barely a whisper between her labored breathing. This man had her breathless. “Now.”
“Need to get you ready first.” He reached for the bottom of her shirt, and she grabbed his hands.
“Ready now. Let’s do fast and hard now. We can do all things later. I need too badly.” Great her sentences were not actually complete.
“Did I say I was taking requests?” His hands were on the button of her pants, so her guess was that yes, he was taking requests.
“No,” she teased back. “Are you?” Her hands were now working his jeans, and she was rewarded with a groan.
“Today is your …” She slipped her hand down the front of his jeans, and he momentarily lost his train of thought. Amber relished the feeling of knowing she could make him feel this way. “Today, I am taking requests.” He had her hand out of his pants, her pants down, and Amber facing a tree before she could come up with a witty retort. “Hand on the tree.” She immediately obeyed. There was something about a man taking charge in the bedroom, or in this case the woods, that just did it for her, even if it was technically her request. “Lower. That’s my jaguar.” At that her jaguar did pop up and this time she actually stayed.
“Whoa.”
“Whoa indeed, now lean forward. She wants this.” Amber wanted to savor the moment with her shifter, but Jason realized what she didn’t … the jaguar came out to play. “Oh my, your ass is a sight to behold. Oh, the day I pinken it will be a day of much pleasure.”
“Yes,” she gasped. She had never been one for spanking, but heck, with Jason wielding the smacks, she knew it would bring her to whole new levels of hot.
“Greedy jaguar. You already gave me your request. No changing now.” He leaned over her back. She missed him removing his pants, and his rock hard cock was now pressed against her ass as he reached around front. “Oh my, you are ready for me. I really want to make you come with my hands first, but a promise is a promise.” He circled her clit as he spoke, and Amber squirmed trying to get him to hit the target she had in mind. “Behave,” he teased.
“Need.” Great she was now a beggy chick like in her novels. Eh, fuck it. She was going in for all it was worth. “Need now.”
“Yes. Yes, you do.” His agreement was returned with her grinding her ass into his cock. His groan leaving no room for doubt that he needed too. When he pulled away, Amber whimpered. Oh goodness she was a goner. “Hold on, sweet one. I wouldn’t leave you like this. I am just grabbing a condom.”
“Leave it.” She was happy he remembered one because being cock blocked by a lack of condom would have been pretty much made of evil, but he could leave it where it was. Thank you very much.
He was back within seconds. “Are you sure? It is here. Will only take a second.”
She adamantly shook her head no. “Leave it.” Amber was proud that she sounded less needy and more demanding, especially since it worked.
The condom in his hand didn’t reach the ground before he slammed into her the first time. Oh yeah. He was taking hard and fast at face value. She almost came the moment he entered her. This man was made for her, to be sure. In and out and in and out he slammed with his hands on her hips. She was fairly sure he would leave marks where his hands were, and she would wear them proudly.
Jaguars bit their mates to mark them, but unicorns were not predators so she wasn’t sure he would of
ficially mark her at all. Her jaguar perked up even more at the thought of a mating mark. Goodness gracious, was this why she had been hiding all along? Was she waiting for a mate?
“Stay with me.” Jason broke her from her thoughts. “I feel her too, but stay with me. That’s it.” He reached around front and found her clit. He circled it twice before giving it a quick pinch. That was all it took and she was exploding. “You are squeezing me so tightly. It feels like you were made for …” His own explosion ended his thought.
“That …” Amber was panting. Yes, panting. Again.
“It was, love, it was.” She knew he couldn’t possibly love her, but the term of endearment filled her with contentment nonetheless. “I hate to break the moment, but I feel people coming.” She scrambled to get herself dressed, yet he stood there as if he hadn’t mentioned an audience at all.
“Get dressed,” she hissed, hearing the people he had mentioned for the first time. They were close. He just smiled at her as a group of townspeople entered the clearing. Fuckity fuck.
“Oh, sorry.” He reached down and yanked his pants up as if they startled him out of the blue. What game was he playing?
“Oh,” came from the one woman in the small group. “We were … never mind.” She at least had the decency to blush. Jason was a genius. Getting caught gave them all the alibi they would need.
“Meeting?” Amber asked as if speaking in code, shielding her eyes from their flashlights. Not that any of them really needed them. She didn’t want to out Jason, and she wasn’t sure if they could tell what he was. They all nodded. “We haven’t seen anything, but as you can see, we were kinda busy.” She looked down, feigning embarrassment.
“And you are?” One of the townspeople she had yet to meet asked.
“I’m Amber and this is Rosemary’s heir. I was showing him the … property.” Jason choked on a laugh. He was having great fun watching her fake embarrassment.
“I … ah … see,” the woman replied, never meeting either of their eyes.
“I’m Jason.” He held out his hand, but no one stepped forward to shake it. They all looked beyond embarrassed. Suits them right for having a modern day witch hunt. “I was planning to build a home here. My cousin and I were thinking of moving my business.” That seemed to peak their attention and filled Amber with warmth. He was not only staying, he was making sure Mariah and Kit were safe and taken care of.
“Well, isn’t that wonderful.” They were now no longer all looking at the ground, and a man came to the forefront. “What kind of business?” She could see the dollar signs in the man’s eyes. He must be on the town board. She just shook her head with mirth.
“I am a coder.” Oh yeah, he was vagueing them out. Smart man.
“Coder?” the woman asked. It annoyed Amber that none of them introduced themselves, but she was probably a bit to blame since she lived such a secluded life.
“Computer stuff.” They nodded at that response.
“I see. Well, be sure to stop by town hall to get all of your permits before you begin.”
“Absolutely, sir.” Jason began to fidget. “So, ummm, we were kind of …”
“Oh yeah, sorry, we will be on our way.” With that they left, and she watched the woods making sure they were gone.
“Faker,” Amber teased as she turned to face Jason.
“Absolutely.” She walked into his waiting arms. “Does that plan work for you?”
“Plan?” He gave her butt a quick smack. “Oh, that plan. Yeah, I think that plan is fabulous.”
“Minx.”
She pulled back to look him in the eye, reaching for his cheek as she did so. “Yes, to answer your question. I like the plan very much. Do you think Mariah will agree to stay?”
“I hope so. I think she needs to be here.”
“I agree.”
“Your jaguar came out.” He flicked her nose playfully.
“She did.” She retreated the second the townsfolk appeared. It didn’t feel like fear that drove her away, but more of a fun time is over best go home kind of thing.
“I think she likes me.” He bent down and kissed her deeply. Her engines were already revving.
“She is not the only one.” Still out of breath from his kiss.
“Was it her or you who was driving you to mate?” Oh crap. She hadn’t expected this conversation. Which was it? She had to be sure before answering.
“You felt that?”
“I did.” He gave her a quick kiss. “I liked it.” She could have sworn he puffed out his chest as he said it. He was as hooked on her as she was on him. Perfect.
“You pulled me from it, though.”
“I never want you to make a decision about me in the moment. I want everything we do to be regret free.” Considerate Jason.
“I have a feeling it will be. Do … ummm … do—” Amber knew she shouldn’t be embarrassed to discuss mating acts with someone she had gotten naked with numerous times, but this felt more intimate somehow and was brand new territory.
“Do unicorns mate?” Jason put her out of her embarrassed misery. He was a keeper, and it sounded like he wanted to be kept.
“Yeah, that.” Her face was burning up. Even in the dark, she was sure he could see her bright red cheeks.
“We do, but I won’t bite you when I do.” Interesting. Not unexpected, but interesting.
“When you do, what will you do?” Her voice came out much more sultry than she expected, and by the way his eyes flashed, he liked it.
“That will be for you to find out.” He gave her but another quick smack. Good thing he was an ass man because she had plenty of ass for him to enjoy. “Now let’s get this packed up and go home.”
Little Jaguar, Little Jaguar, Where are You?
Amber snuggled into Jason, keeping her eyes closed trying to recapture her sleep only to be startled awake when she realized she was snuggling against a pillow, no Jason to be found. Reaching with her hand, she felt the coldness in his spot. He had been gone a while. Peering at her clock, she saw it was near ten. She never slept past seven, but with the long day she had, it was no surprise. Goodness, she had grand plans for when they went to bed, but they fell asleep before she could enact her plan of naked fun.
Bang.
Someone was cooking, or attempting to cook in the kitchen.
Bang.
Amber decided she might as well get up and wiped the sleep from her eyes. No sense staying in bed if she was alone. She popped out of bed and dressed quickly before padding down to the bathroom. As she closed her door, she was greeted by a bouncy and very energetic Kit.
“Mama’s making breakfast.” The little girl hugged her. “She’s all better now. Thank you.”
Amber bent down and scooped the girl up, twirling her around as she did. “I’m so happy your mama is better.” She placed Kit on the floor and pointed to the bathroom. “I’ll be right back to help Mama out with breakfast.”
“She doesn’t need help. Mama can do anything.” With her hands on her hips, Kit was spunky to be sure.
“I’m sure she can.” Amber leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, “I was just being polite.” She was met by mass giggles. It was nice to have the house filled by more than just memories and clutter.
When Amber finally joined them in the kitchen, she was amazed. Not only did the aroma of pancakes greet her, but also empty counters and a cleared off table.
“It is so … clean.”
“I woke early and thought it was the least I could do. I saw your file boxes and kind of went to town. I can show you what I did a bit later and can change it if you don’t like it.” Mariah was avoiding eye contact as she spoke.
“I’m impressed.” Mariah looked up, now sporting a huge smile. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to get this all done for far too long. Thank you.”
“Can I eat now, Mama?” Kit was practically bouncing in front of her mom.
“Sure. Amber, how many would you like?”
�
�Three, please.”
They smelled delicious, but Amber’s mind was really focused elsewhere. “Where did Jason go?”
“Uncle Jason said it was a surprise and to distract you with food.”
Jason opened the front door and walked in just as she finished her sentence. “Shhhhh, don’t give away all my tactics, little one,” Jason teased as he went and hugged his niece. “Now I need to come up with a new means of distracting her in the future,” he faux whispered.
He is going to be a great dad one day.
Amber looked around to see a wink from Mariah. She was a very powerful young witch if she could communicate that clearly from across the room.
“So, where were you that you needed to distract me with pancakes?” Amber was sure her face was bright red from the father comment. Not that Mariah was wrong; he really would be.
“I was checking out your motorcycle. It’s actually a pretty good machine. I can have it fixed with only a few parts.” He smiled at her expression. Her mouth was hanging open, like a fool.
“You fix motorcycles?”
Jason closed the gap between them and brought his lips to her ear, “I’m full of surprises.” Darn man had her thinking inappropriate thoughts in a place where she should not.
“Mama says secrets are bad.”
Amber burst out laughing and was immediately joined by Jason and Mariah.
“Your mama’s right, little one. No more secrets.” He rubbed her head before grabbing two proffered plates of pancakes. “Let’s eat. There’s much to decide.”
The pancakes were delicious. It felt so right having the four of them squeezed at the table that had only ever held two. Amber knew Jason was going to ask them to stay, and she really hoped they would. He went into their story from the evening before, leaving out details that were not meant for young ears. From the glint in Mariah’s eyes, she knew very well what was left out. After Kit left to draw on the front porch, Jason jumped in with both feet.