by Sammie Joyce
9
Amity
Never mind that this was nothing like anything I’d ever done before. Never mind that Wes was a human and I was a shifter. Never mind that I hadn’t even wanted to be on this first date. Never mind anything.
I was caught up in Wes’ arms, swept into a heady sensation of flying as his strong arms embraced my waist and drew me to him like we were one person.
Despite the thin material of my dress, I could feel every ripple of every muscle in his toned body, my heart racing in rhythm to his as we fell back toward the bed fit for a king.
My back impacted the thick, cloud-like mattress first, Wes climbing on top of me, his kisses growing harder and more fevered as I closed my eyes. I savored the feel of his breath, the sensation of his tongue dropping along the bare skin of my shoulders.
A sigh of pleasure escaped me, legs locking around his hips as my back arched upward, urging him lower.
Nothing mattered in that moment but the fact that I was finally succumbing to the desire I’d been trying to ignore since the moment he had surprised me by Fern Ridge Lake.
The only thing I could think was why I had waited so long, even though it had only been days.
My dress fell to the pristine wood floors, my naked frame trembling beneath his skilled mouth. I was ready for Wes in any which way he wanted to take me.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, his words short and breathless before he met my center, driving me to heights I’d forgotten I could reach.
With his hands cupped beneath me, I allowed myself to fall mindlessly into a spiral of passion, writhing as he hit exactly the proper spots and left me crying out.
Tears of ecstasy filled my eyes and when I thought I could take no more, he slid back up my body, his eyes level with mine. He was waiting for me to encourage him, to assure him that I wanted him inside me. I nodded, mouth parted to permit him another kiss as he maneuvered himself over me. Somehow, lost in what he was doing to me, he had managed to disrobe also and I was intensely aware of the way his flesh felt against mine.
“Take me,” I breathed, knowing nothing was going to stop us now. All the prejudices and doubts I’d had before were nothing but distant memories, concerns for another time maybe, but definitely not for tonight.
He slid into me, causing me to gasp aloud, my eyes popping open. He caught my expression and moved to retreat but my hands splayed against his buttocks and I drove him back, shaking my head slightly as I locked into his gaze.
“Don’t stop,” I urged him. It was all I needed to say and in seconds, we fell back into a frenzied beat, our moans ricocheting off the walls as sweat formed between us.
Incredibly, I was ready again in minutes, my climax building to an insane feeling inside me, and I cried out.
Wes grunted, his grip on my hips tightening, his strong frame tensing as a glaze fell over his face, and I knew he, too, had reached his breaking point.
With a spasm and another moan of resignation, we twitched in unison, our bodies flowing together in the purest way possible until suddenly, we were only a pile of arms and drenched legs.
I quivered, sure I would never be the same again after what we’d just experienced, but the guilt I’d expected never came.
Wes slowly rolled off me, his muscular leg still sprawled across me as he stared at my face questioningly. I knew he was half-anticipating a declaration of protest or show of shame but I had nothing. I met his eyes evenly, offering him a smile.
“Well,” I joked lightly. “I’ve never done that on a first date before.”
His brow raised in surprise and he chuckled too.
“I consider myself very special,” he replied, cupping a hand at his ear to prop himself up on his elbow. With his free hand, he brushed away a stray strand of hair and studied my face like he was trying to memorize it.
I should probably do the same, I thought regretfully. Despite the fact that I was still floating on the euphoric high of our lovemaking, I knew this could never work out between us… could it?
My mind traveled to the restaurant, before Anticlaw had come in and ruined an otherwise perfect evening. There had been so many human/shifter tables, acting natural, unperturbed by the fact that we belonged to completely different realms.
Maybe I’m just too hung up on old values. Maybe the Protectors are right and it’s time to shed the old traditions. This isn’t the same planet it was all those years ago.
I knew I was justifying something that was a pipe dream but at that time, I didn’t care. All I cared about was the way Wes was looking at me, his amber-green eyes still aflame with desire and adoration for me as he waited for me to speak.
“What are you thinking?” he finally asked as I clung to the remnants of our experience. I laughed aloud.
“Will you look at me funny if I tell you that I’m starving?” I asked. His beam widened and he shook his head, untangling his leg from mine as he sat up.
“Nope,” he replied. “I was thinking the same thing. I have all the fixings for a good Rueben in the kitchen. You’re not a vegetarian or anything, are you?”
I stared at him and he snorted, shaking his head.
“Of course you’re not,” he said. “Stupid question.”
I watched as he found a robe in the bathroom, returning to me with his hand extended.
“Want to keep me company or would you prefer a snack in bed?”
I was aghast at the suggestion.
“You think I’m getting crumbs in this room? No way,” I giggled, accepting his hand and allowing him to help me off the bed.
“Oh, thank God. I’ve known some women…”
He trailed off, embarrassment touching his face as I scrambled to find my clothes.
“Some women what? Are slobs?” I volunteered. He cleared his throat.
“I probably shouldn’t be bringing up other women on a date,” he said guiltily. I met his eyes with a wry smile as I slipped back into my underwear.
“I’m not a teenager, Wes,” I reminded him. “I know you’ve been with other women. In fact, I hope you’ve been with other women.”
Relief colored his face and he cocked his head to the side slightly.
“I don’t think age has anything to do with insecurity,” he said as we moved into the hallway. “Some people are just… jealous? Possessive?”
“First off, if you can’t trust your partner, you shouldn’t be with them,” I began, meaning every word I said. “Secondly, I’m not some people.”
Wes paused and faced me, an appreciative smile forming over his handsome features.
“No,” he agreed. “You definitely are not.”
The affirmation flooded me with warmth and I felt a rash of goosebumps flood my body as we continued through the horseshoe-shaped hallway toward the kitchen.
I could get used to this, I thought, again taking in my surroundings with impressed eyes. A stable man with a good job and a mouth to set my insides on fire. Why does he have to be human?
Yet even as I thought it, I realized that I sincerely didn’t care. Others had overcome this obstacle before and as I’d just said to Wes, I wasn’t like other people.
If they could do it, so could we.
10
Wes
I caught Amity staring at me throughout the night, mostly when she thought I wasn’t looking. It was hard to read what her expression was telling me but I could guess what she was thinking.
She’s wondering if we can make this work between us.
I knew this because I was thinking the same thing myself. I hadn’t stopped wondering how we were going to make it happen.
We nibbled on sandwiches that I made and I popped open a bottle of wine, the two of us settling into the living room with my playlist on softly in the background. The combination of the alcohol, food, and company was making us both lightheaded and chatty. I felt like I could ask her anything and I did.
“Can you always control your shifting?”
She seemed amus
ed by the question.
“Are you asking if I’m like the Incredible Hulk?” she teased and I blushed.
“Well, no… yes… I don’t know,” I mumbled, feeling foolish. She reached across the suede sofa and squeezed my hand reassuringly.
“I’m just busting your chops,” she told me. “I understand what you’re asking. Yes, shifters can always control our morphs but sometimes it’s hard. We’re not unlike humans in that way.”
I cocked my head to the side, waiting for her to elaborate.
“Surely you have hotheaded friends, ones who lose their tempers and do stupid stuff like punch walls or someone else,” she offered. I nodded.
“Not so much anymore but I knew a lot of guys like that in college.”
I didn’t add that my father was one of those men too. It was one of the reasons I’d always struggled to keep my composure.
“That’s because they’re reacting with their primitive brain, lashing out in anger. Shifting is essentially that, the ability to morph into an animal for our most primal desires.”
I sank back against the couch cushions and shook my head.
“It’s just remarkable,” I sighed, still trying to reconcile how it had all come to pass. “I have a hard time understanding it all.”
“Most humans do,” Amity replied quietly. “And when humans don’t understand something, they react with hate.”
“Hey, that’s not fair!” I protested. “I think it’s incredible and I’m trying to understand.”
She smiled patiently.
“I didn’t mean you,” she corrected. “But how many of your human friends know about us?”
I shrugged.
“A lot,” I conceded. “If only the rumor of you.”
Amity nodded.
“And how many of them are terrified of us?”
I didn’t want to answer the question but I saw her point.
Dan is sure I’m going to get murdered. Brigit seemed more concerned about the shifters at the restaurant than Anticlaw when they were the bigger threat.
“Is the solution to keep us segregated, though, or is that only fueling the fire?” I found myself asking aloud. The question was more for me than it was Amity but she answered all the same.
“Without segregation, we have groups like Anticlaw springing up and playing vigilante.”
“You have rogue shifters too, don’t you? I mean, surely you don’t think that all humans are bad because of Anticlaw.”
Amity was quiet for a long moment, her silence making me apprehensive.
Obviously she doesn’t or she wouldn’t be here with me right now, I reminded myself but her pause was giving me anxiety.
“I think that there are more ‘rogue’ humans than there are ‘rogue’ shifters. We’re peaceful by nature whereas humans thrive on war and suffering.”
“That’s a little harsh,” I mused dryly. She eyed me.
“It’s just the way it looks to me.”
“I think there’s blame on both sides,” I offered, suddenly worried that I might be walking into an argument that I started, but as I stared at Amity’s face, I realized that she wasn’t taking my words personally.
We’re having a civilized, adult conversation with opposing viewpoints. I never thought I’d find this with a woman.
“I agree with you there,” she replied, reaching for her glass of wine and downing the rest of the liquid in the glass. I sat forward to refill her glass and she accepted, her cheeks taking on a rosy glow.
“But for every problem, there’s a solution,” I insisted. “What hasn’t been tried?”
Amity sighed deeply.
“Killing all the humans?” she offered. I was aghast and she snorted. “It was a dark joke, Wes. I would never endorse that.”
Her eyes lightened as she met my gaze and I relaxed when I saw she was teasing me.
“After all,” she purred, inching closer to me, her breath washing over my face. “I happen to like some humans.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked innocently. “Like Brigit?”
Instantly, the coy expression on Amity’s face vanished and she sat up.
“Oh shit! Brigit and Dan!”
At once, I realized what she was thinking. We’d been so caught up with one another, we’d completely forgotten my cousin and his date.
“Where is my phone? She must have been calling like crazy.”
I had the same thought and together we scoured the house, looking for our respective cell phones. In the end, we found them both in my car. As we’d anticipated, there were a barrage of texts and calls from both parties.
“It’s one o’clock in the morning,” Amity moaned. “I hope she didn’t tell the police I was there.”
“I’ll call Dan and see what’s happening,” I offered, knowing my relative would still be awake, despite the hour. Amity worked furiously, sending a text Brigit.
To my surprise, Dan didn’t answer when I called and Brigit didn’t respond to Amity’s text. I pursed my lips together as I stared at the call list, realizing that I had two missed calls from someone else too.
“We know they got out all right,” Amity reasoned. “I bet they’re off together somewhere.”
She gave me a knowing look and I chuckled, nodding in agreement.
“It’s late,” I agreed. “We’ll find out what happened tomorrow.”
With that, I turned off the phone, worried that it might ring again and be Veronica. She was the last person I wanted to deal with that night.
I’ll never have to deal with Vero again, I realized with a surge of optimism. I can tell her it’s over tomorrow too.
It was something I should have done a long time before but Veronica had filled a tiny piece of the void of loneliness inside me for so long, she’d become like a security blanket. It was high time I let her go. What we had been doing wasn’t fair to either of us, not when there was no future and we both knew it.
“Where did you drift off to?” Amity asked, reeling me back in toward her. I forced a grin and shook my head.
“I think the wine is taking its toll on me,” I replied, stifling a yawn. “I’m about ready for bed.”
I eyed her suggestively. She nodded and rose.
“I’ll get going, then,” Amity said, the words stunning me.
“No!” I cried before I could use an ounce of decorum. “Don’t go. Stay.”
Her eyes grew with pleasure and a small smile twitched at the corners of her lips.
“Well, when you put it like that…”
I got to my feet and pulled her into my arms, my eyes boring down on her with such intensity that she flushed.
“You can stay as long as you want,” I told her without any reservation. I hoped she’d never leave.
“Let’s start with tonight,” Amity breathed. “And see how that goes.”
11
Amity
I was finding it difficult to breathe, the walls of the room closing in on me as I listened.
It was bad enough that the Council had called a sudden meeting in an unusual location, but I couldn’t help but feel like everyone was staring directly at me.
“…be so careless and stupid?” Nia was in the middle of a rampage, one that she had been on for over ten minutes. “What the hell were they thinking?”
“They weren’t,” Lorna growled, jumping up from her chair to pace around the conference room. It was odd seeing all the shifters in a hotel boardroom but for some reason, that was where we were meeting. I could smell the desire of everyone in the room to run and be free away from human eyes, in our natural animal forms.
“Fern got a good rate here,” Homer mumbled at me even though I hadn’t asked anything. The bear councilman was just as ill at ease as everyone else and oddly, I found that fact comforting.
“He was staying here anyway,” Bula added. “We’re interrupting his and Lorna’s holiday.”
They’re interrupting the fleeting sense of peace I was feeling after that night with Wes, I though
t, gritting my teeth.
“I can’t get a clear answer from anyone who was there,” Jackal offered. I cast my councilmate a scathing look but he didn’t see my expression. It wasn’t his fault, not really. He had no way of knowing that I had been at the restaurant.
“I can’t even get a clear read on who was there!” Nia hissed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “All we know for certain was that there were shifters there and Anticlaw arrived.”
The information gave me a modicum of relief. That meant no one was talking, despite the mess we’d all left behind.
“Why would they shift and attack? Why wouldn’t they just get out of there?” Jack mused. “Someone might have been directing the shifters.”
My relief was short-lived and I felt my spine snap up.
Someone like me?
The memory of how I’d called for the attack was still fresh in my mind. I could see the flash of fur and fangs in my psyche, the blood spraying as we fought for our own safety.
“You said yourself that Anticlaw was there,” I heard myself growl before I even knew I was speaking. “You’ve seen what those bastards have done to us in the past.”
Now all eyes really were on me, a wave of surprise settling through the room. I dropped my gaze guiltily.
“The humans are already turning against us with Anticlaw,” Homer sighed, shaking his head. “A mass attack like this is only going to cause more of a rift.”
“So what would you have had the shifters do at the restaurant?” I snapped back, not caring now that I was speaking when I usually remained silent. “Sit around and wait to be maimed or killed?”
“If we had a better idea of what happened…” Lorna started to say, her tone changing slightly as she caught my defensiveness. “But by the time the police arrived, the shifters had disappeared.”
Good for them. Smart thinking.
I’d since been in touch with Brigit who had been relieved to know that Wes and I were safe and unharmed. She and Dan had left after the police arrived, not wanting to get more involved than they already were. I told Brigit that was why Wes and I had left so abruptly. To her credit, Brigit hadn’t asked about me being a shifter or why I didn’t leave with her and Dan when Anticlaw let them out.