by Khloe Wren
He started slow, just a soft slide of his lips against mine. When he pulled back, I licked my lips, trying to get more of his taste. He growled again, a low, rough sound that came from deep in his chest that sent a wave of arousal through my body until it landed between my thighs. Unable to stand his teasing any longer, I lifted my hands and threading my fingers through his hair, pulled his face back to mine.
This time there was nothing gentle about the kiss. He devoured me. Slanting his head so our mouths fused together perfectly, I opened to him and allowed his tongue to slid in against mine. His taste filled my senses and with a moan I allowed my eyes to flicker closed.
By the time he pulled back, breaking the kiss, I was boneless. He was taking all my weight as I leaned fully into him. He stroked his knuckles down my cheek.
“I need you, Jolie, more than I need to breathe.”
“Bedroom.”
I couldn’t even speak in full sentences anymore, but I knew I wanted to have him in my bed. I tried to take a step forward, but he didn’t budge.
With a shake of his head, he reached for the bottom of my sweater, lifting it up as he spoke. “We’ll get there. Eventually. First, I want to see your skin glowing in the moonlight. I want to get my mouth on you. You’re so fucking gorgeous, Jolie.”
Before I knew what was happening he had me naked and leaning back against the wall. I wasn’t entirely sure how he did it so fast, but before I could say anything, he groaned and said, “So fucking pretty. And all mine.”
He tugged his shirt over his head and my breath caught at the sight of all his muscles without any clothing hiding them. The way his arms flexed as he tossed the clothing aside had my full attention until he dropped to his knees. Then my focus was on his sinful mouth, his tongue as he ran it over his lower lip. I slapped my hands against the wall for balance when he suddenly lifted one of my legs and put it over his shoulder. Then he ran his nose up the crease where my thigh joined my torso, inhaling against my flesh, making me shudder at the sensations that were flowing through my body.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Jolie.”
My breath hitched in my throat, catching, when he turned his face, and with a growl, covered my core with his mouth. He thrust his tongue inside me and teased me until my back was arched and my head was thrown back in bliss. I loved how he came at me like this, almost animalistic in his intensity. Once he started touching me like this, I was all his. I’d give him anything and everything he asked for. I lived for these precious hours where I gave in and let him have me. If only I were brave enough to chance it more often, to have a real relationship with him.
****
Neo
As I took my first taste of her honey for the night, I glanced up her body. The sight she made had my cock jerking for attention. Her bared tits were thrust out, her head tilted up with her eyes closed. Another growl escaped my throat when I saw how she was attempting to dig her nails into the wall as I kept up fucking her with my tongue. I loved how when I got her like this, naked and with my tongue on her, she dropped the walls she kept up. Once I got her stripped down, she bared everything to me. If I respected her less, I’d demand she allow me to claim her when she was like this, lost to the lust and passion. But I knew that wouldn’t end well for us. She’d hate me for taking advantage of her like that.
I kept up my assault on her pussy until she was writhing against the wall, on the verge of coming. I lifted my mouth from her and thrust two fingers deep inside her.
“Come for me, babe. Give me what I crave.”
It was so cliché, a bear craving honey. But it was the truth. I needed to get my fill of her sweet nectar. Lowering back to her flesh, I sucked on her clit as I continued thrusting my fingers within her until she screamed and came. Shifting my grip to her hips, I held her up as I lapped up the honey she gifted me. I kept my strokes gentle as she flew high then came back down. When she groaned and tried to tilt her hips away from my mouth, I turned my lips to press a kiss to her inner thigh before I rose to my feet.
I took her mouth with mine, letting her taste herself on my tongue as I reached between us and made fast work of undoing my pants. Once I had them shoved down, I toed off my boots and kicked my pants to the side, only then ending the kiss. Running my nose down hers, I locked gazes with her.
If I could freeze time, I would do it right now. With Jolie naked and pressed up against me, her eyes burning with lust, and her hands gripping my shoulders, holding me closer to her. I could live forever in this moment. But I knew it wouldn’t last, as soon as I sated her, she’d push me away again, and the cycle would restart. Ranger was right. This was slowly killing me. But I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. She was my mate, the center of my universe, and I loved her. If only she’d love me in return.
Jolie had mostly stuck to herself since moving to Serenity three months ago, but having her working in the office meant I got to spend a fair bit of time around her. She was sweet and kind to everyone. I’d never seen her treat anyone cruelly, and she rarely cursed. So fucking sweet and innocent. But she was hiding a whole lot of pain. I could feel it radiating off her every time I got close to her. Someone had hurt her and badly. Bad enough she was on the run. I knew she’d tried to leave town twice. I’d felt it deep within me both times. It had been like someone was clawing out my insides. Each time I’d raced to find her, panicking that someone had gotten to her and hurt her. I hadn’t approached her either time, just stayed back and kept watch as she struggled to continue out of town before giving in, turning around, and coming home. Then, in my bear form, I stayed in the trees behind her place and kept watch over her. It hurt to see her suffering, but the only way to ease both our pain was to claim her.
I wish I could find a way to explain what I was and about who we were to each other. If only she’d let me claim her, bond with her, she wouldn’t suffer like she was. It would also help her fight whatever it was chasing her, as it would make her physically stronger. It would also give her the backing of the entire clan. Well, she had that anyway, she just didn’t know it yet. Maybe I should just put it all out there. Tell her straight and see how she handled it. I mean, it couldn’t be any worse than what I had now, right? She could run for real. Ignore the pain and leave, never to return. And it was that thought that kept my mouth shut on the issue.
Biting back a growl, I pushed all those thoughts aside. I needed to make the most of the next few hours I had with her while she was all soft and submissive, before she recovered and shoved me out the door again. I ran my hands down her body until I had her sweet little ass in my palms. Then I lifted and without me having to utter a word, she tightened her grip on my shoulders as she wrapped her long, lean legs around my waist. Her hot, slick pussy pressed against my cock, and it twitched with the need to get inside her. After giving her another hard, fast kiss, I pulled back and lifted her a little higher up the wall. With some careful and quick maneuvering, I had her thighs slung over each of my arms which spread her pussy open wide for me. Keeping my eyes on her center, I lowered her down over my length, entering her to the hilt in one slide.
“Oh, Neo!”
I looked up into her eyes as I slowly slid in and out of her a few times. Her eyes were hooded and her lips were slightly parted as I took her. She wrapped her arms around my neck as she leaned forward, forcing me to take all of her weight. She was so damn light, even if I wasn’t a shifter, I wouldn’t have had any trouble holding her. With my hands on her hips, I easily moved her up and down my length. Every slide inside her hot, slick core had sparks flying through my system, the beginnings of the mating claim. My gaze zeroed in on where her throat and shoulder met as my gums ached. That’s where I’d bite her, right there where all shifters would be able to see she was taken and claimed. But not tonight. I pushed my bear down as far as I could, him growling at me the entire time.
After a few minutes, I needed to take her harder than I could standing up like we were. I moved so her thighs were no longer over my arms
, and she wrapped her legs around my waist as I slid a palm up her back, pressing her tight against my front. I buried my face in against her throat, kissing and licking at where I so desperately wanted to bite while I enjoyed the fuck out of her heat gripping my cock.
I started walking us toward to the rear of the house, to where I knew her bedroom was. Keeping her pressed against me, I kneeled on the bed before lowering us both down onto the mattress. Pushing myself up on one arm, I used the fingers on the other hand to stroke her face and down her chest, tweaking her nipple as I stroked over her skin and took a few moments to stare my fill of her. Looking down at her, my heart ached at the sight she made. Even though I could have seen her easily without the aid of the ceiling light, I’d turned it on as we’d entered the room so she knew I was looking at her, seeing all of her, while she could see all of me. Since entering her front door, I’d been doing my best to ignore how barren her house was and stay focused on her.
Chapter Two
Jolie
My breath caught in my throat at the sight he made, towering over me. He was so damn big. Broad shouldered, his pecs and biceps bulged with muscle as he leaned forward and caged me in beneath him. Reaching my palms up, I cupped his face between them, and he stilled instantly, letting me have a moment to explore and caress his features. Every touch between us had sparks flying through my system. I didn’t understand it at all. It wasn’t arousal exactly, more like an awareness. Like my very cells were recognizing who he was and buzzing in excitement at having him near. He turned his head to the side and pressed a gentle kiss to my palm, melting my heart even more.
“You are so beautiful.” I breathed out the words, in awe of how he put up with my shit when he could have easily moved on and had any woman he wanted. Yet here he was, his dick twitching deep inside me, wanting to fuck, but he was holding himself still for me to have this moment of calm in the middle of the storm.
“My sweet angel, you’re the beautiful one.”
Before I could utter another word, he pulled his hips back and with a powerful thrust, he drove his thick erection home in one slide, making me arch and gasp beneath him. Our gazes stayed locked as he started thrusting into me over and over again. He was so big, but it wasn’t more than I could handle. Nope. In fact, he filled me perfectly, as though he’d been made for me.
I’d had plenty of sex in my life, what with having a pimp as a foster father, but never had anyone made me feel like Neo did. Tears pricked my eyes, blurring my vision as he made sure to grind against my clit with each of his down strokes. Neo was the first man to give a shit if I got off or not. And he noticed if I attempted to fake an orgasm. I’d only tried it once, that first time we were together. He’d growled and doubled his efforts to give me a real one. Afterward, he’d told me to never pull that shit again. The feral look on his face had me agreeing in a heartbeat.
Not that it had been an issue. That first time taught me he could make me come several times whenever we were together, so there was no need to fake things. I only tried it that first time because the feelings he stirred up inside me had me running scared, and I wanted it over so I could run away. Yeah, like he would ever let that happen.
When he sped up his movements, I tilted my hips up against him on each of his down strokes. Sweat beaded on my skin as I gripped his biceps, hanging on as my body heated and prepared to go over the edge again. His grip on my thigh tightened as he ground against my clit.
“Come, now.”
His words were little more than a growl and between their roughness and the hit to my clit, I obeyed and threw my head back with a scream as I blew apart again for him. His face dropped to my neck and I tilted my head to the side to give him more room. A shiver ran through me when he licked up my throat before biting down on the tender flesh. I didn’t think he broke the skin, but the action had another orgasm rocketing through my body. It left me shaking and crying out while his cock kicked inside me, filling me up with his seed. If only it would take. Tears filled my eyes and trailed down my cheeks at that thought. I’d give anything to be able to be the woman Neo deserved. I should tell him about my infertility, but I didn’t want to lose him. Which was plain crazy since I knew I couldn’t keep him and had one foot out the door anyway. If I could send him running, it would make it easier to leave. But I hadn’t told him. Instead, I’d lied and told him I was on birth control. I’d told him I was clean so we didn’t need to worry about condoms so long as he was clean too. He’d promised he was and we’d never bothered with condoms. I had to admit I liked that he took me bare. With nothing between us, I could feel every twitch clearly.
“Shh, baby, it’s okay. We’re all right. That was some powerful stuff, huh?”
I couldn’t respond as sobs took me over. He pulled me in against him, and I went willingly, taking the comfort he was offering. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me firmly against him. Without a second thought, I pressed my face against his warm, solid chest while I continued falling apart. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head before resting his cheek there. He softly hummed a soothing melody as he ran his palms over my back, keeping up the movements until my body gave in and with a shudder my tears ran out and I fell asleep against him.
****
Neo
I wasn’t sure what the fuck had upset my mate, but my heart broke for her, for the agony she was suffering. Once she fell asleep, her body finally relaxing, I carefully shifted her away from me enough so I could slip out and pull the covers up over her without waking her. I fully intended to come back and join her in a few minutes, but first I needed to check that the house was safe and secure before I could rest peacefully.
With my enhanced vision, I didn’t need lights, so I turned off the few we’d left on as I made fast work of checking her small home. It was only a single bedroom place, so it didn’t take long. Another shot of pain drove through me as I took in exactly how little she owned. I knew she rented this house with the furniture in it, and there wasn’t much else here. My poor mate didn’t have much at all to her name. Not even many clothes.
Once I’d checked all the doors and windows, I made my way back to her, slipping under the covers and pulling her against me. My heart just about burst when, without waking, she curled up against me, her head on my pec and her arm over my waist.
This was a big step forward. It was the first time I was sleeping with my mate. She normally booted me out the door before the sweat dried on our skin. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off into sleep. But it wasn’t peaceful. Being so close to Jolie, I knew there was a chance I’d get a sense of her dreams. I’d heard rumors of it happening between mates, but I hadn't expected the horror show I got. I was within her dream, but not able to do anything about what was happening. It was like I’d been strapped down, restrained completely, and was being forced to watch her life flash past in stops and starts. Like a lot of dreams, it skipped around from one event to the next and my connection to her was strong enough that I knew this was her remembering, not her simply experiencing a nightmare.
It started with what looked like a group home. She had to be only thirteen or maybe fourteen years old. Looking scared as she sat huddled in a corner, her hair and clothes were a mess, and I caught a glimpse of a blackened eye. Three other bigger and older girls surrounded her and were kicking and pulling at her as she sobbed. I roared, trying to break free of my bonds to go to her. On some level I knew I was witnessing the past, but she was mine and she was being hurt, dammit. It was my job to keep her safe.
“It’s okay, Neo. This happened a long time ago.”
A ghostly form of Jolie, as she currently looked, floated beside me. As I stared at her, she stroked her hand down my face. The touch was light and made my skin buzz.
“How’d you end up there?”
I knew she’d never tell me in reality, so I needed to make the most of this opportunity. I was hoping Ghost Jolie would be more forthcoming.
“My parents were
killed in car crash. There was no one else to take me in, so I got handed over to state care. I was told that no one wanted to foster or adopt teenagers, so I was put in this group home.”
Her voice was void of emotion, just stating facts like she was telling me the weather report or something.
“How long were you here?”
My voice wasn’t like hers. It cracked with emotion as my heart bled for what she’d suffered through.
“Not long. Only six months. Turns out some teens do get fostered…”
The room swirled around us and reformed to show an older man in a suit guiding her out of the group home and into a car.
“By monsters. I had no idea the beatings I was getting from those girls would seem like heaven before long.”
My body was still held firm, unable to move. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see what was going to happen next. I could guess. Even back then, before her body had finished maturing, she was fucking gorgeous. Another swirl and I watching the car pull up to a large mansion. Fuck, this guy was loaded. That meant he most likely had power in the town, power he could use to get away with shit he should never have done.
He opened her door and helped her out of the vehicle with a smile. She looked so fucking innocent and nervous but put her hand in his and let him lead her inside the house. The second the door was shut, he spun her roughly up against the wall, his hand around her throat.
“You are here for one purpose, girl. To earn your keep. Pretty little thing like you will make me some fucking bank.”
A growl rumbled up my throat as once more I tried desperately to break free. This fucker was going to rape and pimp out my mate! He tore off her clothes until she was naked and sobbing. Her hands pulled at the fingers wrapped so tightly around her throat.
Ghost Jolie moved to stand in front of me, her form solidifying so I couldn’t see through her anymore. She cupped my face in her palms, holding my gaze with hers so I wasn’t focused on the horror taking place around us.