by Harms, C. A.
When I hear the water turn off and the sounds of her moving about, I step back and moved through the hall. The last thing I need is for her to think I’m some type of creep trying to gain a glimpse.
My pulse quickens at the idea of climbing in the shower with her, feeling her body pressed to mine and the mixture of the warm water cascading over us.
I’m standing at the bar, sipping on a bourbon so lost in the idea that I don’t hear her enter the room behind me. It isn’t until she speaks that my body jumps in reaction. “Is every room in this house overly exaggerated?”
Spinning around I see the way she is looking around my office. I love seeing her in my space, but it is what she is wearing that has my full attention.
“What?” she asks, running her hands over the nightshirt she was wearing when I found her in the woods. It is clean now. “I’ll return these sweats,” she says as she touches the cotton material hanging loosely on her legs. “I thought I should wear something underneath. Walking through the woods may get pretty cold only wearing a nightshirt. I’ll return the socks too.”
“Where are you going?” My voice is low and husky. I want to march over to her, pull her into my arms, and never let her go.
“Should I go back to my own place?” I grip my glass tighter. “I’ve already been here two nights and you’ve looked around my place more than half a dozen times.” It seems Taryn is more observant than I’d given her credit for. “I’ve been thinking that maybe I over-exaggerated. It must have been a branch rubbing the cabin or even a wild animal snooping around for food. I think I was still overwhelmed with all the things you’d shared with me and I was exhausted.”
“No.” The word escaped me before I had the chance to stop it. Taryn tilts her head to the side slightly as she looks at me. “What I mean is,” I say, placing the glass on the bartop, closing the distance between us. I watch as she lifts her chin and looks up at me. “I don’t want you to go.”
She swallows so hard I see her throat shift, but she doesn’t look away. "I don’t want to go. It feels safe here, almost like I belong.”
“You do belong, Taryn. Having you here, having you this close, it's something I’ve dreamt of for years. I know this is all strange to you. I know that nothing I can say or even do can explain the pull I feel toward you. It is almost like when people say that they need oxygen to breathe, or blood to make their heartbeat. The difference is you aren’t the oxygen or even the blood flowing through me. You are my heart, my lungs—you, Taryn, are what I’m made of. What I am made for. You are the key to my world, you are the one I need, the one I cannot survive without. And I know this may all be too much, I know that I promised myself I wouldn’t do this to you. But I—” the words fail me when she steps closer and places one hand on either side of my face.
I close my eyes almost instantly because her touch takes my breath away.
“I need you, Taryn,” I whisper, “more than anything else.” I open my eyes. “I. Need. You.”
Taryn
I can’t speak, I’m frozen. Merick’s eyes shine so brightly. I watch my thumb as I stroke it back and forth across his cheek.
Is this…is he, what and who I’ve been waiting for? Am I able to cross that line? Could I stay and live here? Is this where I belong here with him? Today when he showed me his town I fell in love—with the people, with the charm, and the immediate sense of it being home.
I reach up with my other hand and do what the little voice inside of me is saying I should, and that’s to pull his face down to mine, but I don’t kiss him...yet. First, I ghost my lips over his. His breath smells like the bourbon he drank, and it sends an electric feeling racing through me. His chest grazes me so lightly it causes my nipples to harden.
He’s still not touching me other than that simple tease, but I feel him everywhere. I run the tip of my tongue against the seam of his lips. His flavor explodes on my tongue as an ache begins between my legs, a strong need, a desire I’m drowning in takes shape. Merick emits a low sound in his throat that almost resembles a purr. “I can smell how aroused you are right now,” he whispers against my lips, only igniting me further.
My cheeks heat up, but I ignore the embarrassment and full-on kiss him. Merick lets me control the kiss for about two seconds before he takes over. My knees go weak immediately, but I knew he wouldn’t let me fall because he grabs me from the back of my thighs, lifting me effortlessly.
Our kiss turns urgent before he nips my lower lip, licking away the sting. I feel him moving and then we’re going down with my back hitting the sofa. Merick is careful with his weight on me but I want to feel all of him.
I moan into his mouth as our tongues meet in what feels like the most familiar dance. Like a rhythm I’ve been performing on repeat in my mind. A dream I’m finally living and it's perfect. I lean away from him, wanting to see his eyes, feeling what he is feeling. I need him to understand I trust him with my heart and my body. “You’re not going to hurt me,” reaching behind him I grip his rock hard ass in both of my hands and use them to pull him toward me.
The moment his erection comes in contact with my pussy I arch my back and moan. Even through his denim and my sweats I can feel his size and while it’s a little intimidating, it’s also intriguing. The small fraction of worry escapes me in a hurry when his lips come back down on mine and I rock against him.
Moving my hands up his waist I start working them under his T-shirt. He’s warm to the touch, his body is hard yet soft, and his scent is wafting around me, cocooning me, comforting me.
Merick moves his lips to the sensitive spot right behind my ear. “You’re so beautiful.” He leaves a slow tantalizing kiss behind as he continues, “everything I’ve ever hoped for.” Licking the space where his lips were, he says, “you have no clue the power you have over me, already.” He nips the sensitive flesh and a whimper slips from me.
He pushes his cock against me, hitting my clit over and over. “Touch me please,” I whisper hoarsely, more of a beg really.
“If we start I don’t know if I’ll have the strength to stop. Are you sure?”
I nod. “I’m sure.”
I seem to unleash the beast because suddenly my nightshirt is ripped off of me and his lips are wrapped around my nipple, sucking hard.
My fingers fist into his hair, holding him to my breast. He nips the tip before switching to the other side and gives it the same attention.
I grind against him, feeling the dampness between my legs. My orgasm starts to build, it’s so close I can taste it.
Bam, bam, bam!
Merick freezes above me and my eyes widen. “Um...were you expecting someone?” I ask.
He shakes his head before tipping it back and inhaling loudly. “Fuck me.” He gets up and helps me off the couch. “Get your shirt on, okay?” And then he is gone.
Fully clothed and a little disappointed by our interruption, I join Merick in the entryway just in time to see him open the front door. I am surprised to see a beautiful, statuesque blonde on the other side. I didn’t expected to watch him smile widely at the woman and then pick her up in his arms in a huge hug.
I’ll never admit to anyone that I had been super jealous because she looked like she was ready to rock the runway. After their embrace he smiled at me, holding out his hand. “Come here, Taryn.” Momentarily starstruck by her and her beauty and the familiarity they shared my body jerks in response to his words. Quickly recovering, I move toward him and he pulls me into his side. “This is Rowan, our mothers were best friends. She is the baby sister I never wanted.” She gives him a playful jab to his rib and he laughs. “Ro this is Taryn.”
I hold out my hand to her. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.”
“So you’re the one. Huh.” She shakes my hand, but seems watchful, eying me curiously.
“Um...I guess I am.” I look at Merick wondering whether I should have agreed or acted puzzled by her declaration. “Should I go? Give you guys a chance to catch up?”
; He kisses my forehead. “No baby, stay.” Feeling pleased by his endearment, especially in front of someone he’s known for so long, I can’t help my grin happily. I am sure I look like a fool.
“Okay.” I pushed up on my toes, kissing his chin before reaching up and stroking his cheek with my thumb. It’s so easy with him, to fall into this comfort zone. He makes me feel like it’s natural for us.
“Holy fucking shit,” Rowan whispers and when I turn to her she is smiling. “Come on, girlie let’s get to know each other.” Rowan yanks me away from Merick, looping her arm through mine and leading me to the high back chairs at the kitchen island. She is smiling knowingly. Merick chuckles as he follows sedately behind us, as if he knows what her plans are.
While Rowan and I drink wine and she talks to me as if I’m a part of the family, my earlier jealousy quickly fades. There are most definitely no unresolved feelings between the two of them. No untold love story, no longing for more. They were in fact, just as Merick had described, close friends, more like siblings. We talk and laugh while watching Merick cook dinner. She’s a talker that’s for sure, but I’m okay with that, she makes me feel welcome.
“How did you know to come, Ro?” Merick asks while he stands at the stove, looking back over his shoulder.
“Amelia called me when she saw you walking around town with her.” She shrugs, “I was coming home already to prepare for...you know...stuff.” Rowan looks at me when she says it and then turns back to Merick. “It was time to stop running.”
He comes around the island and pulls her into his arms, hugging her. It’s definitely a brotherly and sisterly hug, but it made me long for a big family. Something I’ve longed for since I was a small girl.
My eyes begin to burn. I excuse myself and escape to the privacy of the bathroom. With my back to the door, I wipe at the tears that spill over and run down my cheeks. I wish they would stop, but they keep coming uncontrollably.
They seem so sure I’m the one, I’m afraid that I’ll end up disappointing them somehow. Merick says I’m important, but what if I’m really not? God, my brain is so scrambled right now.
Once I get myself under control I open the door, letting out a little squeak when I find Merick standing there looking troubled. “What? Is everything okay?” I ask.
“I was coming to check on you. You’ve been crying...why?”
I gaze up at him and shake my head. “Nothing, I promise. I got a little overwhelmed, but I’m good.”
He looks me over closely. “Okay, if you say so.” Merick wraps me in his arms, leans down, and kisses me softly on the lips and then opens my mouth with his. He pulls me to him so I’m plastered against his chest.
All too soon the kiss is over, but by the look on his face it would seem it was a difficult task for him. He seems troubled too, unrestrained maybe, like he is struggling. He grabs my hand and leads me back to the kitchen. After I take my seat once again next to Rowan he kisses me one more time before going back to the stove. He certainly isn’t shy about showing affection.
When it’s time to eat Rowan and I set the table and Merick brings out the plates of food. He sets my plate down in front of me and I swear I salivate immediately. He made stuffed pork chops, roasted sweet potatoes, and peas. They both have twice the amount of food than I do…and it instantly triggers a number of questions in my mind.
”Rowan? Are you a shifter too?” I feel my cheek heat after I ask the question and I regret being so intrusive. Only she doesn’t seem to mind at all.
“I am.”
Wow, are all shifters gorgeous? “How many other shifters are in Stone Ridge?”
Merick reaches out and grabs my hand, “I’ll tell you everything you want to know, but let's wait until tomorrow. I’ve given you a lot of information already. Tonight we’ll hang out, relax, and tomorrow we’ll talk.”
I wake sometime in the night as I feel the bed shift. Merick slides in behind me, wrapping his arm around my waist. I’ve slept alone since I’ve been here and this is the first time he’s gotten into bed with me. His body heat immediately warms me and a contented sigh slips past my lips as I snuggle in close. In no time at all, I fall back asleep.
Merick
Love. In love, I am in love with Taryn. My heart beats for her, my world is surrounded by her. I breathe for her. I spend the evening holding her, imagining doing those very things for years and years to come. Visions of waking up with her in my arms, seeing her smile, hearing her laugh, a lifetime of those things could never be long enough. I’ve never been content, never felt a peace like I feel when she is near.
Taryn is my calm, she is everything I could ever dream of.
I feel her body shift against my own and I wait for her to wake. I held her all night in a warm cocoon I created for her. I want her to feel safer and protected than she has ever been before. I’d held her as close as I possibly could without crushing her. Her body pressing against my own gives me my own sense of security. Taryn is the most precious thing to me, she is my future, my purpose.
She shifts in my arms, turning her body to face mine. I see the surprise on her face when she finds I am fully awake and staring at her. “Good morning,” the gruffness of my voice makes her shiver though she tries to hide it.
“Cold?” she closes her eyes and I can almost imagine her rolling them as she has so many times before. I know the way I affect her, I get beneath her skin with a simple smile, or a phrase. It’s an uncontrollable reaction she has to me and I love it.
“I think you already know I’m not cold,” lifting her hands upward she places them to my bare chest and carefully glides them over me. I don’t take my eyes off hers just allow her to explore while fighting myself to remain in control.
“You are frisky this morning,” I whisper with a smile. Instead of responding, she shifts in closer to me and kisses along the base of my neck. My body grows tense. “How did you sleep?” Distraction, I need to distract her.
“Taryn,” her name is more of a whisper as I try to remain calm. But she doesn't stop. Slowly she nudges me onto my back. As soon as I’m flat on it she crawls over me. She straddles my waist, and I can feel her heat pressing against me. I have never in my life been so desperate to feel a woman, to be buried inside of her. I swear that Taryn is already a part of me. “Baby, we shouldn't” I am trying to be an admirable man, but my words are stopped when her lips collide with mine.
Shifting her hips against mine I get lost in the friction she’s creating. I can feel her growing wet and it pleases me. I moan against her lips as our kiss intensifies. My hands roam over her body, palming her breasts, pinching her nipples. She pushes down harder grinding her pussy against me and suddenly my hands are at her waist.
My own hips lifting to meet hers, matching her thrust for thrust. The way she moves only solidifies the fact that this woman will be the most amazing lover. “I want you,” she practically begged which only made it harder to resist.
“In time.” I realize the second she feels disappointed because her movements stop. I reach up and cup the sides of her face with my hands. “The first time I have you, we won’t have a guest in the house. I don’t want to hold back Taryn, and I don’t want my friend to hear you crying out from the pleasure I give you. Those cries are for me. When you scream my name and in turn, I express how unbelievable you make me feel that will only be for us, no one else gets the privilege of knowing those things, but us.”
She stares at me, her body so wound up with need that it's next to impossible not to go against everything I just told her.
“Then kick her out.”
I chuckle, my girl is needy. “Today we talk.” I can’t take her unless she knows all there is about my life. “I need you to know everything, and then if by the end of that you still want me the way you want me now, you’ll have me.”
The aroma of coffee lingers throughout the kitchen as I continue to cook breakfast. It is the nerves coursing through me, the need to do something other than wait that had me makin
g practically everything I had in the refrigerator. Rowan sits at the bar beside me, both of us pondering over the magnitude of the impending conversation. Today I tell Taryn everything, which means today is the day that I could lose her, or have her forever. It's terrifying, crippling even.
“Do you think she’ll stay?” Rowan asks.
“She stayed when she found out I’m a shifter.” I pause, remembering how she hid out in her cabin for a couple of days but eventually she accepted it. “I guess I’m optimistic that the rest will be okay too.”
“Optimistic my ass Merick, you’re terrified.”
Rowan is right, I am scared out of my mind.
“But you can’t put it off any longer. The fifteenth of February is only a couple of months away.” Taryn’s birthday. “She’ll be twenty-five and—”
I see movement in the doorway and my heart feels as though it sinks in my chest. Taryn steps out of the shadows and the way that she is shifting her eyes back and forth between Rowan and myself I know she heard everything we’d said to one another.
“What happens on my twenty-fifth birthday?”
I shoot an irritated glare at Rowan. “Taryn, come sit down.”
“What happens on my birthday?” She ignores the way I motion toward the chair on the opposite side of the bar.
My fear grows more intense.
Suddenly Rowan is on her feet moving to Taryn.
“Ro,” I walk around the island and pause when I hear Rowan begin.
“Legend says that the chosen one must conceive her first child, a gifted child, by her twenty-fifth birthday. Our world was destroyed and so many were lost that very few of us are left. Those that held the greatest gift, the ability to recreate our world, are gone. The only one left, the only one that holds that key is Merick, and you, Taryn, are the chosen one.”