Shaw blinked. “It’s not? Then what—Whoa, hold on a minute. How many different shifter forms are there?”
Riley’s grin was quick. “Quite a few.”
He shook his head, clearly overwhelmed by the onslaught of enlightening information. “So then, what are you?”
Eyes twinkling, she asked, “Want me to show you?”
Instantly, he pulled back, his gaze leery and untrusting. “Uh…”
She cleared her throat, hurt by his instant rejection to a part of her she couldn’t help being. “Never mind,” she mumbled. Suddenly feeling inadequate and wanting to cover herself, she turned away and asked, “Do you have some clothes I could wear?”
Chapter Six
Confusion filled Shaw.
He’d spent the past fifteen years hating shapeshifters. All shifters. They were monsters to him, no good or bad groups, just entirely evil.
But to so suddenly learn he’d been wrong all these years was a jolt he hadn’t expected. He wasn’t sure he could change on the drop of a dime with all this new information. He wasn’t sure he could stop hating just like that. Not until the naked woman in his compound turned to him, trying to cover her body with her hands and bow her shoulders inward to hide herself. Her eyes were full of hurt.
In an instant, the revulsion inside him died and shame took its place. No matter what he thought of every other shifter, he couldn’t hate this woman. And hurting her by loathing her kind mortified him.
He stepped toward her.
She watched him with restless anxiety.
“You don’t need any clothes quite yet,” he murmured, reaching for the hem of his own shirt.
Her gaze ate up his exposed abs and chest as he peeled the cloth up and over his head, her shoulders lifting as she sucked in a long breath. When he unzipped his fly, her attention snapped to his crotch. “What—?” She paused to lick her lips. “What’re you doing?”
He hooked his thumb into the waistband of his jeans and pushed them down his hips. As his thick, swollen cock sprang from the curls that had been cradling him, he kicked the jeans off his ankles and started toward her, just as naked as she was. “I’m going to do what I’ve been wanting to do since the moment you asked where my bathroom was. I’m taking you in the shower.”
* * * * *
As water pounded down on her pussy and Shaw’s cock pounded into her from behind, Riley came in a rush of pleasure. The glow from her eyes splashed crystals of light through the shower stream and illuminated the ceramic wall behind it in a rainbow of color.
Behind her, Shaw reached around with both hands to cup her breasts. He massaged the plump lumps, rolling her nipples between his fingers as their orgasm stretched on. Less than a minute after the explosion began, their high dropped and eased back to normal.
Closing her eyes, Riley rested her spine against Shaw, settling more comfortably in his lap. The lazy spray of water coated them with warm wetness. Her lips spread; she never wanted this to end. But that had been her shortest orgasm yet. The fever was definitely abating.
“It’s taking me longer to become aroused between each round,” she said just before she bit her lip, wondering why she was going to discuss this with him. It could only end with them separating. Right?
“I know.” His voice was quiet, sad, but his fingers were comforting as he stroked her hip.
Neither spoke again as they both thought about what this meant.
“What happens when it’s over?” he finally asked, breaking the silence. “When you’re not in heat anymore, do you still want sex at all?” He sounded worried.
Smiling, she rolled onto her stomach so she could rest against him loin to loin and prop her chin on his chest. “Of course. I’m not a virgin and this was my first fever, so I’m not limited to only fucking once a year or anything. My sex drive’s just not as intense, not as all-consuming as when I’m in heat. It’s just…” Shrugging, she finished, “normal.”
Grinning, Shaw leaned forward to kiss her. “I can’t imagine that your normal could be anything less than utterly amazing.”
Riley flushed, loving his praise. She met his next kiss, stroking her tongue across his. They mated, mouth to mouth, soul to soul, for minutes until he broke off with a gasp. “We should probably shut the water off and dry ourselves. You still want food, right?”
Her stomach answered for her, gurgling. They laughed together, then kissed some more. A while later, he finally broke off to peel them out of the bathtub.
“How’s your ankle?” he asked as he picked her up and gently set her on the bathroom floor.
She glanced down and lifted her foot to examine the trap mark. The bathwater had rinsed off the blood so she could see the nasty scabs and bruising. But the wound wasn’t killing her with pain. “I think sex heals it,” she said. “It smarts a little when I step on it, but other than that, I keep forgetting I hurt it.”
“I’m sorry, by the way,” he said, his voice rich with apology, “for setting a trap that hurt you.” He knelt in front of her and dabbed at the ankle with a towel, drying it. Afterward, he kissed each scabbed-over indention.
Riley sighed. He glanced up at her as he remained kneeling at her feet, his blue eyes intense with longing. Keeping his gaze on her, he kissed the side of her knee, then licked the inside of her thigh. Then he focused his attention on her leg as he moved his administrations north.
Body humming, she could only watch. “I can’t believe I was afraid of this.”
Barely pausing, Shaw glanced at her just before he nipped a very sensitive pocket of flesh with his teeth. “Afraid of what?”
She quivered under his mouth. “My first fever. I’ve seen some females after they’ve been in heat, permanently impaired from demanding so many men and wanting it so rough. There are always orgies in the middle of my jamboree village, horny males killing each other to sink their dick into a fevered cunt. It can turn into utter chaos in a matter of seconds, especially over a female going through her first cycle.
“The human half of me was absolutely petrified of what I might become, of what horrible male I’d let inside me. I’d heard of this sanctuary, a place where female shifters can go to get away from males during their fever. They dope you up on drugs until the fever passes, and you don’t have to fuck a thing. I was trying to reach it when I got caught in your trap.”
Shaw grinned. “Too bad you didn’t make it.” He set his mouth against her pelt to ease his tongue through the curls and stroke her clit.
“Mmm,” she moaned, grabbing thick chunks of his hair and holding on for dear life. “Yeah. Too bad.”
* * * * *
“I’m afraid our selection of food is limited. I haven’t stocked up in a while and—”
“I’m not picky,” Riley cut in, grinning as she watched Shaw’s ass bend over while he dug inside the refrigerator. “Right now, I’d eat a—”
Well, maybe she shouldn’t go there. He paused to throw her a look over his shoulder like he knew exactly what she was going to say. But instead of grimacing at the reminder she could turn hairy and eat raw meat, he grinned at her.
“So, the idea of peanut butter and jelly doesn’t turn you off?” He pulled a purple jar from the fridge and sent her a rueful smile.
Her innards melted. He was so adorable. Okay, maybe adorable didn’t cover his total hotness, but the fact that he wanted her to sit there as he fixed her a meal was downright sweet.
He’d found another tight black t-shirt—she had a feeling he had a lot of those in his drawer. And he wore another pair of sexy blue jeans. But his feet were bare and his dark hair was still damp from their shower. Wet locks spiked down his forehead as he eyed her from the bluest eyes ever.
Dressed in nothing but one of his shirts, she tucked her feet up under her on the kitchen chair and rested her chin on her knees as she watched him. The old shirt fell down well past her thighs, but with her knees propped up, she exposed everything from her waist down.
His gaze dropped to h
er pussy, and she moved her feet, which were crossed in front of the area, just enough to give him a peek. His gaze glittered with hot intent.
She radiated pleasure. God, she loved being with him. He made her feel sexy and delicious.
And speaking of delicious…
“I love PB&Js.” She licked her lips. “They’re, like, a staple at my place.”
He nodded. “Peanut butter and jelly it is then.”
Once again, he turned away, and Riley entertained herself by watching his back. Her gaze strayed up to his shoulder blades. His muscles bunched and moved, pulling the fabric of his shirt taut as he lifted his arm to open a cabinet door and draw down a loaf of bread.
Her mouth watered, both of her appetites roaring to life. The need for food and sex swirled through her.
Oh, this could be fun.
Shaw opened the plastic bread bag and groaned. “Shit.”
“What?”
Turning, he showed her the infestation of mold coating the bread. “I’m so sorry, Riley. I thought—”
“Shh,” she said, her eyes lighting as she crooked her finger and beckoned him.
He shifted a step toward her; she urged him even closer.
Confusion marred his brows as he took another step and glanced down.
Reaching out, she hooked one of his belt loops with her hand and jerked him to within inches away. Glancing up, she murmured, “I just so happen to know where to find a nice thick slice of white bread for my sandwich.”
She unzipped him.
His cock sprang out of his fly, almost level with her mouth. The perfect height. Reaching for the peanut butter he’d set by her on the table, she unscrewed the lid and dipped her whole hand inside.
Shaw’s breath caught as she grinned and took his dick in her peanut butter grip. She could only stroke him from base to tip, so that’s what she did. Base to tip, release. Base to tip, release. He sucked in a breath every time her hand unclenched from around him. Once he was sufficiently slathered, she leaned forward and sucked the entire length of him into her mouth.
He groaned and buried his hands in her auburn hair, gripping tight. When he prodded the back of her throat, she purred. The vibration obviously pleased him, because his hips jerked and his hand clenched even tighter.
“Oh, God, Riley. That feels so…that feels so…”
She knew. So, she did it again. He pushed deeper into her mouth. When she clamped around him and swirled her tongue up over the vein that ran down the top of his dick, he cursed and convulsed.
“I can’t…can’t stop it,” he rasped, coming in her mouth, twitching his hips to spear between her lips.
She swallowed the thick cream, the flavor of peanut butter and cum coating her taste buds. His semen rolled down her throat, making her esophagus tingle. She could tell when it hit her stomach because her belly contracted. Then the most amazing thing happened. She came. His flavor seemed to soak into her bloodstream and zip through her veins to burst out the ends of her fingers and toes, zapping her cunt and nipples with an electric jolt.
She screamed from the intensity and the pleasure. Groaning as he pumped into her mouth, Shaw glanced down. When she saw the reflection of her glowing eyes in his gaze, she knew he’d figured out what was going on, too. It strengthened his orgasm; he squirted more into her mouth.
Afterward, he collapsed forward, catching hold of the table behind her to rest his entire weight on his hands. “How…” he paused to pant. “How did you come without me being inside you?”
She licked the last dollop of peanut butter off his cock and rested her head on his thigh. “Well, that was a neat experiment,” she mused. “I think swallowing your semen stimulated an orgasm.”
He shook his head in amazement. “This shapeshifting mating shit just keeps getting cooler and cooler.”
She nuzzled her nose in the dark hair ringing his glistening dick. “Maybe I’m so different from the other females I’ve talked to about their fevers because I’m only half.”
“Half?” He yawned. “Half what?”
“Hmm? Oh. Half shifter. My father was fully human. My mom fell for him and tricked him into thinking she was pure human, too. But one night when she fell asleep, she reverted to her natural state. And since she was fully shapeshifter, her natural state was her animal, so my dad woke up in bed with a—”
Shaw lifted his hand to pause her. “Wait. Humans and shapeshifters can breed together?”
She wrinkled her nose and looked up to send him a well-duh look. “Of course.”
“But…” He shook his head. “You’re in heat. Isn’t that when an animal is fertile?”
Riley’s mouth dropped open. Oh, shit. He had a point. “Yes,” she said in a small voice.
He moved back to gape at her. “So, you could be—”
A harsh, guttural alarm cut into his question. Behind a cover of wire mesh, a red light on the wall blinked on and off.
Both Riley and Shaw popped to their feet.
“What the fuck is that?”
“Another one of my traps has been tripped.” His face was grim as he strode to a table full of technical devices to slap a button and silence the strident noise.
Riley’s mouth sagged open. “How many traps do you have?”
He shrugged, not making eye contact as he moved away. “About a dozen.”
Shadowing his every step, she hurried after him. “What are you going to do?” The pitch in her voice rose as he grabbed his gun off the wall and slung the strap over his shoulder.
Glancing at her, he sent her an unreadable look. “I’m going to check the trap.”
“But—”
“Stay here,” he said, his voice uncompromising. “Keep the door locked.” Striding toward her, he grasped the back of her head and tugged her close.
His lips were warm and compelling. She started to melt toward him just as he pulled back. “It’s probably just a squirrel. I’ll be right back.” He kissed her again gently on the forehead before turning away.
“But—”
He closed the door behind him and locked it.
Riley frowned. Oh, no he didn’t. She was the shapeshifter here. If anyone should check the trap, it should be her.
And squirrel, her ass. She knew deep in her bones, there was no squirrel in that trap up there. From the way she’d been running all willy-nilly through the forest, she’d probably left a mating scent trail even a human could follow. She’d probably led a whole horde of horny shapeshifters here, and some dumb lust-crazed male too intent in following her smell to pay attention to where he was going had more than likely landed himself in one of Shaw’s traps.
Surging toward the door, she yanked on it, but the damn thing wouldn’t open.
He’d locked it from the outside. Gritting her teeth, she wrenched again, putting all her muscle into it. The hinges groaned and protested before they popped off the frame. She shoved the useless door aside and hurried into the stairwell just as Shaw closed the hatch back over the top.
Her jaw dropped. For a human, the man could move fast when he wanted to. She stepped toward the stairwell, and her bare toes tread through broken glass. Glancing down, she found the broken remains of the flashlight, which only lifted her level of anxiety. Enough time had passed, it was night again. Dark outside.
He was charging out into the night without a light.
Stupid, fool man. He was just begging to get hurt, wasn’t he? Any predator he stumbled across would see him coming, where he wouldn’t be able to see shit.
And though she hadn’t lied when she’d told him most shifters were as normal as humans, that didn’t mean they were a huge fan of humans, especially if that human had just caught them in a trap.
With the need to protect him surging through her bloodstream, Riley leapt up into the ladder cage and shifted into her animal. She reached the top in seconds, where she shifted back to human so she could throw off the hatch and climb through. She stormed her way out of the tree and burst into her animal
, diving into the forest at top speed.
Chapter Seven
It took Riley a few seconds to catch up to Shaw. Her initial plan had been to charge after him and order him back down to the compound so she could check the trap by herself and free whatever was inside. But when she caught sight of him in front of her, gliding through the forest, she fell to an amazed stop.
He was beautiful. She’d never seen a human move so silently, so stealthily. Sure, she could see him as bright as daylight and he obviously didn’t sense her behind him at all, but his skills were frankly impressive.
When he paused to crouch down and listen, she paused, too, keeping his flank covered as he looked around, glancing directly at her without seeing her. His breaths were even and quiet, but she could still hear each draw of his lungs as clearly as if she were pressing her ear to his chest.
God, he had to be the bravest man alive. Or the stupidest.
Awed by his determination, she stayed back as he straightened and trudged onward.
Riley heard the commotion at the trap before he did. Obviously. He kept moving forward, unaware. She was about to call out a warning when he finally paused.
Definitely not a squirrel.
By the low growl, she guessed wolf.
Closing her eyes, she issued a silent curse in her head. Of course, it had to be a fucking wolf. Her poor Shaw, having to face a demon from his past right after learning they weren’t all bad. She wanted to warn him to be careful. But she didn’t want to give away her own position in case she needed to surprise an attacker. Wolves typically didn’t travel alone, unlike her kind.
And sure enough, she spotted movement from the corner of her eye. A mangy wolf crept toward Shaw from the left. The smell wafting off him was rotten and putrid. Bloodlust.
Oh, shit. Only Shaw would encounter two packs of wolves under the influence of bloodlust in his lifetime.
Caught in Heat [Half-breed Shifter Series Book 1] Page 6