The Hunt: Paranormal Shifter Romance

by Milly Taiden

  Willow dipped a finger in the bowl of freshly battered icing. Dax tracked the movement as she lifted the icing-covered finger all the way to her mouth. Sucking the sweet, white substance between her lips, she closed her eyes and moaned her appreciation.

  The entire view was too much for Dax and his animal. Fuck being slow. He wanted her. Needed her. If he didn’t kiss her soon, he’d forget how to breathe.

  He closed the space between them and kissed her. As his tongue delved into her mouth, the taste of strawberries and vanilla exploded in a very erotically charged moment. His cock, which had already been at half-mast, was now painfully erect.

  Willow moaned into his mouth, and she returned the kiss in like. It was a crash of lips, tongues melting together as each wanted to be closer. Feel more. Her breasts were crushed onto his hard chest, and she moved her hips against him. It left him unable to think clearly.

  The only real thought pounding into his head was his desire for her. For Willow. For his mate.

  With an effortless movement, Dax set her on the counter and planted himself between her opened legs. Willow squealed her delight and wiggled her ass to the edge. He looked down into her eyes, and he saw lust there, and admiration. He could smell her desire. It mixed into the air with the scent of vanilla. It was the most erotic odor he had ever encountered.

  He watched as Willow pulled her shirt off and reached back to unclip her bra. The sheer little number fell to the floor. Dax wasted no time. He dipped his head down and captured one of her nipples in his mouth. His tongue flicked the hardened nub while he sucked ever so gently. Willow’s hands tangled in his hair as she arched her back into the embrace.

  Willow dipped a finger in the frosting and brought the digit to her lips. She licked her finger seductively. This time, she fully knew what she was doing. Dax groaned against her nipple. She was teasing him.

  “Oh, two can play that game,” he rasped. “If you’re going to tempt me, I’ll give as good as I get.”

  “Prove it,” she said, her voice breathless with anticipation.

  Getting to his knees, Dax pulled down her pants. Damn. She wasn’t wearing any underwear. She was laid bare in front of him like the most appetizing dessert he’d ever seen. He dropped kisses on the inside of her knee, down her thigh and just below her belly button.

  Willow squirmed on the counter.

  “Fuck, Willow. You’re so wet, it’s dripping down here. I need to taste you again.” And he did, sealing his lips to her drenched folds.

  Holding Willow’s hips down, he ran his tongue from her ass all the way to her waiting clit. He circled the nub, once, twice. Willow panted, pleading with him. With a chuckle, he sucked the little hood into his mouth and plunged two fingers into her welcoming core.

  She bucked off of the counter, a cry of pure pleasure echoing off the walls.

  “Dax,” she called out, her voice heavy with desire.

  “That’s it, baby. Lose control. Squeeze my fingers with your tight pussy. I want to see you come for me. I want to taste it on my tongue.”

  He dove back down, lavishing all of his attention on the center of her pleasure. His fingers curled inside of her. With a few more strokes of his talented tongue, Willow screamed his name. Her pussy clenched, milking his fingers as her climax ripped through her.

  “Oh god, Dax,” she kept repeating. “I wanted to come with you inside me.”

  Her sweet confession nearly put him over the edge.

  “Bed,” he growled.

  She closed her legs around his waist as he lifted her off of the counter. Willow giggled against him, and the sound made him want to beat on his chest. It was one thing to have her willing and in complete desire for him. It was another thing entirely for her to be happily laughing in his arms. His wolf purred mate and paced animatedly. The animal knew where this was going to lead.

  Dax did, too. He lay Willow on his bed, her hair spread over the pillows, her creamy, smooth skin completely bare to him. With quick movements, he stripped down and knelt onto the bed.

  “No,” Willow said, “it’s my turn,” she whispered, pushing him onto his back.

  He watched in fascination as her small hand closed around the base of his shaft. Her lips closed around the mushroomed head of his cock, and her tongue swirled around the engorged flesh. A giggle escaped her, making it impossible for him to focus. His eyes rolled back inside of his skull, and he held his breath as her lips rolled all the way down. He felt his cock hit the back of her throat.

  Fuck. She was humming, sending waves of pleasure through him. He was going to seriously embarrass himself.

  “Baby, you’ve got to stop. I want to be balls deep inside of you when I blow.”

  With a wicked smile, she crawled forward and straddled him. She wasted no time closing her hand around his dick. As she slid down every inch, her eyes didn’t leave his. When she bottomed out, a gasp made her quake. She rolled her hips, a hand going to cup a breast. She rolled a nipple between her fingers. Willow’s head dropped back in euphoria as she used him, chasing her release.

  It was a beautiful sight, but Dax needed to be the one who made her lose control. He wanted his mate to know he would always be there. To hold her, to make her come.

  “Willow, I want you on your hands and knees. I want to plow into you,” he cupped her cheek in his hand as he said it, giving the words an impossible sweetness.

  She rolled her eyes at him, but a smile lit up her face, and lust made her eyes twinkle.

  “Is this what you want?” she asked, a teasing edge to her voice.

  “Fuck, baby. Yes.” It was exactly what he wanted. His mate looking back at him, fire and desire burning in her eyes.

  Dax fisted his cock and lined it up with her sheath. With one hard thrust, he filled her. His hands gripped her hips tightly as he thrust in, then eased out slowly. Willow clenched her pussy, desperately trying to keep his erection nestled inside of her.

  “Please, Dax,” she pleaded.

  “Tell me what you want, baby.”

  “I want to come,” she murmured.

  “You will. You’ll come all over my cock,” he shifted his hips, and she gasped at the sensation. “I want to fill you with my cock. I want to come deep inside of you.”

  “Dax,” she breathed. “Harder.”

  He augmented his pace. He could feel she was close. With every thrust in, he could feel Willow getting tighter. His own release neared, his spine tingled with it. But he needed to make her completely his.

  “Willow, beautiful. Tell me you want to be with me forever. Tell me you’re mine.”

  “I am, Dax. I am so completely yours.”

  “Forever?” he asked.

  “For however long you give me,” came her response.

  Dax would show her what forever felt like. He plunged in, out, in, out. He leaned onto her back, one hand anchored onto her hip, the other going to her folds. He flicked her clit and nuzzled her neck. She arched back into him with a moan.

  “Mine,” he growled, letting his teeth graze on the smooth curve of her shoulder. When he felt Willow begin to quiver on his length, he bit down. Her orgasm burst out of her, and she screamed out his name. With a few more lunges forward, he came, his seed spurting deep inside of her.

  Dax dropped a kiss over the bite, tracking more kisses down her spine and nipping at a luscious ass cheek. He gathered her in his arms and lay back onto the pillows. Willow put her head on his chest and palmed the skin over his heart. The organ was beating just as erratically as hers. They were one now.

  “Why did you bite me?” she asked.

  “We’ve mated now. You’re mine forever, just like I’m yours.”

  “Is that a shifter thing?”

  “Yes.” His hand was splayed possessively on her back.

  “Oh,” she whispered. “So I guess that means you’re my boyfriend now?” Her laughter was a nervous one.

  “I’m a hell of a lot more than that, baby. We mate forever. Only to one person. You�
�re it for me.”

  Willow was quiet for a few long moments, but Dax wasn’t nervous. He felt their connection deep inside himself. He knew she felt it, too.

  A few moments later, when they kissed, his cock hardening again, he wanted to tell her loved her. He kept the words tucked inside of his heart for now, but said them with each new thrust inside of her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The first thing Willow was aware of was that the bed was cold. Cracking one eye open, she saw she was alone. Damn it, she really wanted to snuggle into Dax’s arms. His skin was always so hot, and she really enjoyed being all wrapped up in him.

  Willow’s body wasn’t necessarily ready for another round of the most intense sex she had ever had in her life. She needed a bit more time to recuperate from a night of endless orgasms. But some cuddling would have been welcomed. She turned her body to put her head on Dax’s pillow, wanting to smell him.

  The crinkling sound of paper stopped her. A note was tucked against his pillow. Willow unfolded the small piece of paper and read it.

  Pack emergency. Be back as soon as I can.

  As future alpha, he must have to help his father deal with certain pack affairs. She would have to ask more details on his role so she didn’t feel so dejected if she woke up alone again.

  Willow stayed in bed, lounging like the well-sexed woman she was. The bite mark on her neck was a bit sore, and she wasn’t too sure why he had broken the skin. Dax mentioned it was a shifter thing, but she would have to get some clarifications about it. She didn’t mind sexy nips, but this seemed a bit extreme.

  Even if he had said it made her his. Forever.

  A thrill went up inside of her. No man had ever wanted her so much. She had never felt more desired or as sexy as she felt when she was with Dax. She was lost in all of her fantasies of more sex and a life with Dax when the cabin door burst open.

  A woman walked straight into the bedroom. Willow covered herself with the crumpled sheets. She didn’t even have time to demand what the woman was doing in Dax’s house.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” the woman sighed heavily and shook her head. “You’re still here.”

  “Who are you?” Willow could hear the confusion in her voice, though she would have liked being sterner at the intrusion.

  “I’m Dax’s girlfriend, Melanie. I’ve been out of town for a bit. Did he not mention I was coming back?” She walked around the bedroom like she knew it well. She opened the closet and took out a fresh set of sheets. “He always picks a human to fuck while I’m gone. Poor guy has a hard time sleeping alone. It’s a shifter thing.”

  “But…”

  “Let me guess,” Melanie rolled her eyes. “He told you that you were his mate? He bit you, didn’t he? Said you were the only one for him?” The woman’s eyes went straight to Willow’s neck and sighed again.

  Willow couldn’t bring herself to say anything, but her hand went to the bite mark. It was clearly on display. Melanie pointed to it.

  “Do you know how many times I’ve come back from a business trip with a maimed woman in our bed? Now, if you’d just get your ass out of here, I can change the sheets.”

  Embarrassment and anger battled it out for Willow’s reaction.

  “Dax didn’t tell me he had a girlfriend.”

  “They never do, do they? When they trick you into fucking them? But seriously, you’ve worn out your welcome. Scurry away, little human whore. I’m back, and I can take care of all Dax’s needs.”

  Willow couldn’t bring herself to move.

  “I want to talk to Dax,” she said, trying to swallow the sob threatening to bubble out of her.

  “Oh, have it your way. Make it all awkward for both of you. No skin off of my back. It’ll just make him that much more appreciative of my acceptance of this little tryst.”

  Melanie shrugged and left the room. The loud bang of the front door slamming made Willow jump.

  Fuck, what had she done? She’d let herself be had by a bad man who was just looking for a way to get off while his girlfriend was out of town.

  She deserved the pain ripping through her. She was stupid to think she was special enough to make a man fall for her in such a short amount of time. Dax had clearly seen how sad, vulnerable, and self-conscious she was, and she had played right into it. Well, fuck him. She would be long gone by the time he got back from his fake pack emergency.

  Willow had made a big enough fool of herself. She didn’t need to add an awkward confrontation to it. Her skin burned with shame, and she wanted nothing more than to rush home and shower for days. As she gathered her clothes from the kitchen, she grabbed her cell from her purse.

  “Amy, I need you.” Willow tried to swallow the sob clawing at her throat once her friend picked up the call.

  She really didn’t want to cry over some asshole who had used her for sex.

  No matter how gorgeous he was. No matter how special he had made her feel. No matter how amazing the sex had been. His actions this morning spoke for themselves.

  Not only had he just left her in his bed alone again, but he had also sent his real girlfriend to kick her out of the house. So Willow now knew she wasn’t special to Dax. She’d just been a disposable piece of ass while his shifter girlfriend was out of town.

  That piece of shit. She tried to stop herself from getting worked up, but it was hard. Fucking jerk. Willow would never be okay with her man seeking sex elsewhere while she was gone. Open relationships were so not her bag. And really, she should have expected this.

  After all, the night of the party, she had seen group sex happening everywhere on Dax’s family property. Clearly, that meant shifters weren’t monogamous.

  Well, fuck that. Willow was a one-man kind of woman, and she definitely expected her man to return that sentiment. She would never let herself fall for a man who couldn’t keep his dick away from any available woman.

  Her heart thundered at the thought. The dumb organ actually thought that Willow was developing feelings for Dax. No way. It hadn’t been long enough for any real attachment to form. Her heart was getting lust and love confused. It had to be.

  “Why? What happened? Your last text message seemed so happy. You were off with your sexy dude, about to get all sexed up.”

  “Ugh,” Willow grunted, remembering how stupidly happy she had been just a few hours before. “Turns out he is the biggest prick in existence. I’m going to need a stack of pancakes with all the chocolate syrup and whipped cream you can track down.”

  “Oh, shit. Then this is real bad. I’ve got you, girl. Come home. Fuck that guy. We’ll get you all tangled up in a carb coma, and you’ll be okay.”

  Willow doubted it. She knew something inside of her had changed, even if she tried to deny it. No amount of pancakes or any other delicious foods would make the ache inside of her lessen. Dax had managed to hurt her.

  It was odd that after knowing Dax but a short time, his betrayal hurt more than anything Brett had ever said or done to her. The realization made her skin itchy, like she wanted to take a break from her body for a bit.

  “I’ll be over soon. I just have to track down my clothes.”

  Willow’s eyes darted across the room. She couldn’t find her underwear. Where the hell had Dax thrown them? Had she even been wearing any?

  “I’m going to pretend that I’m not super interested in what you’ve just said. But once you feel better, I want to know all of the details.”

  “Doubtful,” Willow mumbled, looking under the bed.

  “Whatever, get your ass here.”

  Willow ended the call and searched the cabin high and low for the rest of her clothes. She was missing one sock and her panties. She wasn’t too sure how that could happen. With a resigned sigh, she left the cabin. She was going to burn all of the clothes she’d been wearing with Dax anyway.

  She didn’t ever need to remember their time together. With angry, annoyed steps, Willow made her way down the winding path in search of the main road. She coul
dn’t call the ride-sharing service if she didn’t have the exact address.

  As she continued down the lane, prickles of awareness made her skin tingle. Not in a good way. She was being watched. If it was Dax hiding in the woods, waiting for her to leave, he was an even bigger asshole than she had previously thought.

  Without all of the other people around and without all of the lanterns that had been decorating the path the night of the Hunt, Willow didn’t know which direction to go. The forest seemed to be swallowing her whole just as she needed to get the fuck out of there. She felt trapped.

  Tears stung her eyes. She wiped them away furiously. She refused to cry over some dude who had used her for sex.

  Her last thought was cursing Dax. Then the world went dark.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Dax jumped out of bed and rushed to his cell phone. The damned thing was beeping as a stream of text messages were being received. He didn’t want the noise to wake Willow. His mate was exhausted. He had worn her out, and he wanted her to rest. Not because he wanted to wake her with a cock sandwich, but because her wellbeing was important to him.

  Though, morning sex with Willow would be the most delicious kind of breakfast.

  Come now.

  Eddie problems.

  Seriously, Dax. Get your ass here.

  The messages were from Ella, Ghost, and Siege. All were panicked about Eddie’s reappearance on pack lands so soon after his latest warning.

  As quietly as possible, Dax grabbed a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved thermal shirt. He made sure to leave a note for Willow. He didn’t want to leave. This would be the second time he had to leave their bed because of Eddie.

  Enough. The rogue wolf would pay for making him leave his mate’s side twice.

  Dax’s mad dash to the big house only fueled his anger. How many times would the pack need to warn Eddie away? The time for words was long past, and now it was time for actions.

  “What’s going on?” Dax growled, coming into the large study he shared with his father for all pack related things. The walls had dark oak wood paneling, giving the entire room the gravitas it deserved.