Shifters Forever Worlds Mega Box: Volume 1

by Thorne, Elle

Callie stared at the tiger, thrilled he had crossed the moat, not in the least scared. His light-blue eyes gazed at her, intelligence behind them. Even emotion—yes, that had to be emotion in those light eyes.

  She should feel foolish for not being afraid of him, but she didn’t. This was her tiger. They had a bond. It was unbreakable. And she’d never see him again after tonight. The moment she quit, she’d never be allowed to see him again. She could always come as a guest, but then she’d never have one-on-one time with him.

  Tears filled her eyes.

  She buried her face in his chest. “I’m going to miss you. You have no idea how much.”

  Her tiger placed his head on hers, tucking her under his chin. She sat there, tucking her legs under her chin, safely ensconced under the tiger’s mighty head. His heartbeat was strong against her body, his fur and body heat a source of warmth and comfort.

  When she heard the creaking sound, cracking, light, barely audible, she thought the tiger was stretching his back legs. When the tiger moved, she nestled closer, shivering slightly because he’d pulled his fur away from her.

  She hoped he wasn’t leaving her. She opened her eyes.

  Vax!

  She jumped back.

  “Where’s—What—How—”

  She stared at him. He was here. Her boss. Her tiger was gone.

  One minute I’m holding the tiger, the next… this. She looked into Vax’s eyes. They shone the same intelligent blue as the tiger’s.

  No. She was losing it. She shook her head to clear it, knowing damned well that wouldn’t change a thing. Vax was here with her. Not her tiger.

  “I think you know.”

  It hit her with the devastation of a wrecking ball. She raised her fists and pounded on his chest. “How could you? How could you?”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Vax was confused. He caught Callie’s wrists and secured her hands to keep her from striking him like a helicopter gone awry. What had gotten into her?

  “You leave town with her after kissing me and now—”

  He burst into laughter. This was about Natalya? Not about Rafe? Not about his tiger? She wasn’t rejecting him and his tiger or his shifter ways? She was just jealous?

  She jerked one hand free from his and raised it to punch him. If he hadn’t been as quick as he was, she’d have caught him in the face. He captured her fist midair, just before it clipped his jaw.

  “Wait. Callie, baby. Wait.”

  “No! You bastard. You must know how I feel about you.” Her eyes were wild. Dark flames of fury burned in their depths.

  “I do. I wasn’t out of town with her. It’s a long story. Please listen.”

  She yanked on her hand, clearly intent on striking him again. He only had one option. He took both wrists and held them tight with one hand, pulling her body close.

  He brought his head down and locked his lips onto hers, branding her mouth harshly and brooking no argument. He claimed it as his as surely as he had claimed her heart the first time he met her. He claimed it with the desperation his tiger had felt at the threat of losing the only mate he had ever wanted.

  His tongue took her lips and mouth with the same intensity he fully intended to take every part of her. Their tongues danced an ancient dance, one that would precede the ultimate taking and giving.

  A moan rose, coming from her mouth, flowing into his. He growled, pulled back, and twined his hands in her hair.

  “Done?”

  Her reply was throaty. “I haven’t even started.” She freed her hands and wrapped them around his neck. Raking her fingernails over his scalp, she pulled his head down, locking her lips onto his. “All these weeks, all the stuff I’ve shared with… That was with you?”

  He nodded. “That’s when I fell in love with you. That’s when I knew you had to be with me. You had to be mine. Come with me.” He took her hand and led her toward the door the shifters used to enter Sanctuary.

  * * *

  Callie followed Vax into a cave. He pressed a button, and a part of the cave’s wall moved, allowing them entrance to Sanctuary.

  “No tigers in here?” The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them.

  “Other than me?” His bright-blue eyes glistened with amusement in the darkness.

  “You really are him. You are.” She put her hand on Vax’s cheek. “You’re the one.”

  “I am the one. The only one.” He pulled her close to his chest. His arms were steel bands, locking her in the only place she’d ever really wanted to be.

  She heard his tiger growl deep within him. His eyes glowed blue with a hint of amber flames.

  There was no dimming his tiger’s intensity, no controlling his emotions.

  He took her face in his hands, cupping her cheeks. He locked eyes with her. “You know what I mean when I say that?”

  “I know you’re the only one I want. The only one I’ll ever want. And you feel the same for me. And you have a tiger inside you that loves me, too.”

  He nodded, an amazed look on his face.

  “I don’t have to lose you. I thought you would fire—” A tear made its way down her face, aiming for the corner of her mouth.

  He touched his lips to hers gently, tasting the salty tear. “What did you think?”

  “I thought when Martin told you about what I did…” She licked her lips.

  His eyes were glued on her tongue as it traveled over her lower lip.

  “He didn’t tell you, did he?”

  “He told Veila.” Vax shrugged. “But I already knew you’d been sneaking into Sanctuary.”

  “I thought Natalya—”

  “She’s no one. There’s never been anyone else since I met you. There never will be anyone else. Tell me you feel the same way.”

  “You know I do.”

  “I need you, to be in you, to be one with you.” His voice was gruff, coming from deep in his throat. “Now.”

  The reaction in her body was instantaneous. It was as if someone had plucked a guitar string that connected her brain to her nipples, to her clit, to the core of her. Her channel began to weep moisture, dropping the slickness in its haste to make ready.

  She reached for his shirt and unbuttoned it, pulling on the fabric, as desperate to have him inside her as he sounded like he was.

  * * *

  Vax wasn’t waiting for further invitation. He groaned, shredding her clothing with his claws before he could contain the tiger. He tugged on her body, bringing it close to his while her hands ripped at his shirt and pants.

  His lips met hers, frantic, eager, and hungry. His tongue wrapped around hers then found hers taking control of his, coaxing it with a caress that was hot and sexy.

  He dropped to the soft undergrowth, pulling her body on top of his. Her thighs were open, and his length rubbed along her sex, feeling the moisture and heat she had for him, deep inside, making him want her even more.

  Her moan pulled on him, gripping his tiger fiercely. He fought to breathe while his hands cupped her breasts, allowing their fullness to overflow, pushing them together while she rested on his cock. He needed more than this. He needed much more than this. His fingers plucked at her nipples, and she pushed up to a sit. She moved her hips, making her pussy spread, her lips practically cupping his cock.

  “Callie.” He groaned. “You’re too much. You’re soaked. God. You’re so wet for me you’re dripping on my cock.”

  She wriggled on top of him, her slickness rubbing him, making him crave to drive himself deep inside. She leaned forward, her hands on the ground on either side of his chest, her breasts like ripe fruit, tantalizing his mouth. He flicked his tongue at one of her nipples, enjoying the feel of the bud hardening even more. Raising his head, he sucked it in, pulling at it, nipping it with his teeth while he took her other nipple between his fingertips, tugging, pulling, pinching it, rolling it between his fingers.

  “Oh, yes,” she moaned, trembling under his touch. He released her nipples, put his hand
s under her ass and raised her. His cock, released, sprang to attention, rubbing at her entrance. He pushed her down a notch, feeling her heat and the entrance to her core against his head. His cock and his tiger both strained to be free of his restraint.

  Driving her down swiftly, he raised his hips with a sudden thrust, piercing her body, filling her with his hardness, stretching her to accommodate him.

  She gasped, her head flew back, and a primeval moan escaped from between her lips. Her nipples were offerings to the heavens as she leaned back and propped herself with bent knees and an arched back. Her tightness clenched him, not releasing. Using her hands, she raised and lowered herself over and over, impaling her body with his cock, sucking him into her slickness, rocking her hips, rolling her body.

  He reached for the little hooded nub housed in her red velvet, uncovered the tiny pleasure core, pinched it then, placing his fingers on it, moved it in furious circles. She dropped lower on him as her legs spread more and her nails raked stripes down his abdomen, tiny scars on top of the scars he had from fighting.

  Passion flaring in the deepness of her dark eyes, she pumped herself on him.

  A hiss escaped him as his cock filled to a painful, engorged state. His tiger was roaring deep in Vax’s soul and mind.

  “I have to make you mine. Forever.” He barely managed to get the words out before he flipped her over, and, without bothering to pause, he drove himself deep into her.

  Her channel began quivering around him, fluttering, clenching, pulling, and milking his passion to the surface.

  “Are you mine?” He roared the words out.

  * * *

  “Forever,” Callie gasped. She couldn’t have answered him any other way. It wouldn’t have covered her feelings as well as that one word did.

  A searing sensation gripped her neck, followed by the sweetest pleasure as she realized he’d driven his teeth into her. The unraveling of her passion was sudden and unexpected. She yelled his name out, and it seemed a part of her soul flew out and above her as she climaxed in a tidal wave of desire and screams.

  He shoved his hardness in deeper, pumping, and the final time he gripped her waist and buried himself to the hilt. His flesh against hers, melding into her as one.

  A fierce growl erupted from his throat as his heat filled her. He licked at her neck, where he’d bitten her.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Callie picked up her shredded clothing from the floor in Sanctuary. “I don’t have anything to wear,” she giggled, brushing the leaves from her body.

  “There’s a secret way to my place. And you can borrow my T-shirt until we get there. It’s long enough. After that, you’ll have two options. Maybe three.” He ticked them off on his fingers. “One, you can wait until I send someone to your place to get clothes. Two, you can borrow some clothing from one of my sisters. Three, you can never leave my bed.” He pulled her close to him, kissing her lips, his blue eyes gleaming and his tongue capturing hers.

  “How about I take option number three.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, enjoying the way his large body made hers feel. She was completely unselfconscious with him, enjoying the way their bodies fit together. She turned serious. “I have a dress in the—OhMyGod! I’m late for work!”

  “You’re the boss’s mate. You don’t have to worry about that. In fact, you don’t have to go to work at all. Ever.”

  “I won’t quit my job. Anyway, I need to cover my shift tonight. I don’t want to screw the rest of them over.”

  * * *

  Vax kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re not really late. Maybe I’ll make an announcement at the meeting today.”

  The more he thought of the idea, the better he liked it. There was no better way to smash that archaic code to pieces than by making his relationship with Callie fully public. Let any visiting shifters spread the rumors. Let the Old World Tiero shifters come to him if they had an issue with it. He had no plan to go to them to ask for permission for this. Callie was his mate. If they didn’t like it, they could try to wrestle control from him. That included his father.

  He escorted his sexy, flushed, bootilicious woman to his apartment, using the back way that only he had access to.

  “I’m not going to quit working. I mean it. I like this job. I want it.”

  He smacked her ass then grabbed her hip and pressed her against the wall, his cock nestled between her ass cheeks. “That’s what I love about you. That independence, that fierceness.”

  She’d make the perfect alpha’s mate.

  “Fine. You keep your job.”

  “As if you have a choice.” She turned her head and laughed low and sexy, close to his ear. His cock and his tiger sprang to attention, ready for more of their mate.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Callie hustled out of the meeting, her cheeks red, redder than her dress, she just knew it. She hadn’t anticipated Vax would actually do that, pull her out in front of everyone at the meeting and tell them all.

  Anna and Sophie had clapped the loudest. Thankfully, Veila and Lila hadn’t seemed upset. In fact, their smiles had seemed genuine.

  Natalya was noticeably gone. Callie had asked Vax where she was in a whisper.

  He’d grimaced. “Gone. For good. Thankfully.”

  She rounded the corner and ran right into a wide chest. And it wasn’t the chest she’d left scratches on when they’d made love the second time, against the wall.

  “Rafe.”

  She glanced around for Vax. She didn’t want Vax to think there was anything, anything at all between her and Rafe. “Rafe, I have to tell you. I-I just can’t. It’s your brother. I can’t. You’re an awesome guy. Seriously. But—”

  “I get it. I already put that together. I was just coming to say good-bye.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve already told my sisters, now I’m telling you. It’s time I went home. There’s really nothing here for me.”

  She felt sad for him, but his life and his relationship with Vax weren’t anything she could control. She couldn’t force the two brothers to have a relationship.

  She hugged him. “Thank you for being a friend when I needed one.”

  His eyes flashed a darker color, one she couldn’t define, didn’t understand, but also one that didn’t matter. She was Vax’s woman. Forever. And that was exactly how she wanted it to be.

  Rafe walked off and was out of sight, lost in the crowd that was quickly filling the entrance.

  * * *

  Vax heard every word. There was no way he couldn’t have. He heard Callie’s affirmation of their love. And he heard the pain in his brother’s voice.

  Veila had been right. Rafe had fallen for Callie. Vax understood that completely. Callie was one of a kind. But she was his one of a kind.

  He tried to feel empathy for Rafe, but he wasn’t sure he could. One thing Vax did feel—Rafe had redeemed himself by not trying to seduce her now that she and Vax were together. He’d done the right thing and had stepped away as soon as he’d realized she and Vax had bonded and she carried Vax’s mark.

  He watched Callie greeting the guests, and his tiger sighed deep in Vax’s chest. They’d both found what they’d always missed.

  Epilogue

  With the top down on the convertible, Vax pressed his foot on the gas pedal, eyeing the speedometer. He chanced a glance at Callie, appreciating the way she filled out her dress, while at the same time wanting to rip it off her and plunder the treasures within.

  “I really would like to take you to Europe, to see the places I grew up. But we only have a few days off, so I was thinking I’d introduce you to my cousins in New Orleans.”

  “I didn’t know you had cousins in New Orleans.” She pushed her hair away from her face.

  “Neither did I, until recently.” His phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out.

  She reached across, taking it from him, “No, Vax, we’re on vacation.” She looked at the screen, then handed it back.
“You should take it. It’s Veila.”

  He tapped the wireless bud in his ear and smiled at Callie. “Hey, sis.”

  His smile vanished as he listened to her. “Who? What?” He sighed, and his fingers tapped a concerned beat on the steering wheel.

  At the end side of the line, in Dallas, he could hear Veila tapping on something, her nails making the usual rat-a-tat-tat. Odd how they both had the same habit.

  “Tell you what.” He looked at Callie again. There was no way in hell he wasn’t taking these few days with her. “Why don’t you have Lila look into it?”

  Tapping the bud to turn it off, he turned to Callie. “A shifter was trespassing on our territory. Gavin’s contained him. He’s not going anywhere. Lila can handle it while Veila runs After Dark.”

  She leaned across and kissed him, her hand moving down his chest and over his abs.

  “We’re crossing the state line,” he announced, his voice gruff with desire.

  “I’ve never been naughty in Louisiana,” she said as her hand traveled south.

  Territory

  Trespassing on Tiero territory is begging for trouble.

  Shifter Cy's sister is missing. He shouldn't be crossing into Tiero territory to look for her. He should follow proper channels and notify the Tieros, starting with Vax. But Cy can't. He doesn't have the time to wait around for niceties and permissions.

  Until he's caught. Damn the luck.

  It doesn't help that one of his captors is a beautiful curvy tigress named Lila.

  He needs to escape to find his sister, but he hates the thought of leaving the stunning bootilicous tigress behind.