by Roxie Ray
“Shit,” he muttered. “Wait.” He reached over and grabbed his wallet, pulling out a condom and sliding it on as fast as he could.
Jury wiped his thick dick in the liquid I’d produced, then slid his hands over it a few times, spreading it on the condom.
With a grunt, he positioned himself at my entrance. “I’ll go as slow as I can,” he said in the same deep, hard voice.
I nodded and watched him push forward, then the sensations were too much and I threw my head back.
He stretched me, for sure, but in the best way. One orgasm after another washed through me until my head rocked back and forth on the pillow. I screamed his name as my body tried to clench around him, but he was so thick that it wasn’t easy.
His slow progress wasn’t enough. I jerked my hips, digging my heels into his butt so he pushed all the way in.
“Bite me,” I begged. I wanted him to claim me but was too chicken to ask for it. I’d already had some of the best orgasms I’d ever experienced, and he was just now pushing all the way inside me.
Jury lowered his body over mine, resting close without putting his weight on me. “Are you okay?” he whispered. He still hadn’t moved his dick.
I raised my head and glared at him. “If you don’t fuck me, I’m going to explode.”
He let out a relieved sigh and finally began moving.
Relief spread through me as he gave me what I wanted. The stretch faded, but his head kept my G-spot inflamed as another orgasm built, the slow, deep vaginal kind.
“Bite. Me.” I said to the rhythm of his thrusts.
So he did, and the combination of his teeth in my shoulder and his cock fucking me took me over the edge of the orgasm. I cried out and clung to him, belatedly realizing I’d scratched his back in my fervor.
When my mind came back from the insanity of the orgasm, I realized he’d stilled. “Did you finish?” I asked.
He propped up and looked down at me, then pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “I’m sorry, yes. It’s been a while for me, too.”
I cupped his face and tried not to cry from the overwhelming emotions of affection coursing through me. “It’s more than okay. I lost count of how many orgasms I had.”
He chuckled and got up, then walked out of the room, presumably to throw the condom away. When he came back, I watched him walk and realized he was definitely a shower, as well as a grower. Even though he’d had his orgasm, he was so long it slapped his thigh as he walked.
I tucked my legs up and pulled the blankets out from under me. We weren’t in the bed I’d been sleeping in, but I didn’t care at all. After Jury put his boxers on, he slid in beside me. I normally slept in panties, but they were shredded, and I wanted to cuddle up with him far more than I wanted to go find more.
“Are you okay?” Jury slid his fingers across my skin as I snuggled in to sleep on his shoulder.
“I’m perfect,” I whispered. Sleep was already tugging at me. The orgasms had worn me out.
“Goodnight,” he whispered back.
When I was nearly asleep, in that place between reality and dreams, I thought I heard him whisper again, “I love you.” But I wasn’t sure. It might’ve been wishful thinking.
14
Jury
Waking up after a night sleeping with Abby in my arms was the best I’d ever felt in my life. I had a wide smile on my face when my eyes opened. “Hey,” I whispered, when I realized she was also awake. “Good morning.”
Abby moaned and rolled onto her back and out of my arms. The blanket fell away as she moved, exposing her naked body. I’d ruined her bra and panties.
“Sorry about your undies,” I whispered as I watched her stretch. Damn, I’d bitten her a lot last night. I’d been so frantic to claim her, it had been the only way to keep from it. I would’ve thought biting her would’ve been too much of a temptation, but it had the opposite effect.
I leaned over and pressed a kiss to the closest bite mark, on her ribs. “Does it hurt?”
She rolled her body a little, clenching her muscles and taking stock. “No. A couple of spots feel a little sore, but it’s a delicious kind of pain.”
I knew exactly what she meant. And the fact that she was so happy this morning gave both me and Nyx a burst of pride. “I’d like to stay with you today,” I said.
She hummed. “I would, too, but I can’t. I told Harley I’d go walking around the mall that’s close to the hospital with her today. That way if she goes into labor, at least we’re nearby.”
I chuckled and continued pressing kisses to the bite marks. “I understand. Can I see you again? You leave soon.”
“I know.” Her voice sounded sad. “Then back to Texas.”
“Don’t be sad,” I said. “I’ll come to visit you. And we’ll see where this goes and decide what we want to do.”
She nodded and threw her arms around me. “Okay.”
“We have no rush, right?” I asked.
Abby pulled her head away from my shoulder and looked me in the eyes. “No, I guess we don’t. I’m just surprised at how much I’m going to miss you.”
I chuckled and pulled her close again. “I’m a lovable person when I’m not being a total dick.”
Her laughter danced in my ears. “I’m beginning to learn that. How about I make dinner tonight?” she asked.
Oh, could I get so lucky as to have a mate that cooked? “I’d love that. But let me buy the ingredients, okay?”
She shook her head. “No, it’s not a big deal.”
“I insist. You cook, I pay, and I clean. It’s a package deal.”
With a snort, she rolled her eyes. “Fine. But don’t be surprised if I hide the money somewhere before I leave.”
“You better not,” I warned. Money was no problem for my family. Abby and I had talked enough that I knew she was doing fine but definitely wasn’t in the position to be paying for trips up here and big meals too.
I disentangled our arms and rolled out of bed. “Here,” I said. My wallet was still on the bedside table, so I pulled a fifty out and dropped it there. “I’ll get going and shower at home so you can get ready.”
As I leaned over to give her one last kiss, she raised her eyebrows. “If you leave that fifty beside the bed like I’m a prostitute, you’re going to get arsenic in your dinner.”
I looked from her to the money and back in shock. “That’s not what I—”
Her laughter cut me off. “I know! I’m teasing.” She sat up and pressed a kiss to my lips. “Get going.”
She had me fooled for a second. But still, even though it was a joke, when I turned and grabbed my ruined shirt and slid my shoes on, I snatched the fifty off of the table and took it to the living room instead. I set it on top of her purse, then locked the door on my way out.
The entire ride home, I whistled. It hit me as I turned onto our driveway that I’d never been a whistler.
I couldn’t ever remember being this content either, so that was something. I parked in front of the house and hopped out of the cab, throwing my keys in the air and catching them on the way up the porch steps.
With a quick two-step, I opened the front door and slid in with my hands in the air. I heard someone in the living room, so I knew they’d ask what had made me so happy.
And depending on who it was, I’d either tell the truth or lie through my teeth.
But when I looked up, I saw it was the whole damn family. The men, anyway. And Mom. “What’s going on?” I shut the door and joined them in the room. “Who died?”
A garbled voice answered me. “Nobody, we hope.”
I looked at Maverick in confusion, and he pointed to the table where someone’s cell phone was on speaker.
“Grandfather?”
“Hello, boy. Sorry to interrupt what sounded like a jaunty whistle.”
“No problem.” My heart sank. “Is it Rico again?” I really wasn’t in the mood to have to track down my idiot cousin again.
“Yes, but this time it’s no
t of his own volition. I’m about to board a plane to you. I’m hoping you can help us track him again.”
“No.” My dad was pissed. “You’re putting Jury at risk of being found out as a tracker if you take him on another rescue mission.”
“I still don’t see how! He’s a young, capable dragon. Why aren’t you worried they’ll think Maddox is a tracker?”
My father threw his hands up. “Because he’s not! And when you point it out that way, now I do worry about it. If they think either of them are trackers, they’ll kill them. Or take them.”
Maddox snorted. “Good luck.”
Maverick quieted him with a look. “Don’t get cocky,” he murmured.
“I won’t let Jury be risked,” Gramps said. “I have no intention of losing my favorite grandson.”
“Hey!” Axel and Maverick said at the same time. I just beamed at them.
I looked at Mom, but she looked supremely frustrated. She wasn’t allowed a vote about these sorts of things, but I knew Dad would’ve discussed it with her. He always wanted her opinion and guidance, as a good mate should. But since she wasn’t an actual dragon, she didn’t get to argue with my grandfather about it. He was very old school.
I knew I’d never treat the women in our family that way. Just because they didn’t shift didn’t mean they weren’t capable and knowledgeable.
Mom was probably more worried about me than her ability to speak up right now, though.
“Let me play you the voicemail,” Gramps said.
Dad threw up his hands and sighed. I sat in the only empty chair and leaned my elbows on my knees toward the phone.
Rico’s voice came through really faint. Gramps probably had the mouthpiece of his phone on the earpiece of another. I shook my head and chuckled. He didn’t get technology.
“I’m being followed. It’s the same crowd that I left when you guys found me. They wanted me to go do some sort of job with them, but I told them I couldn’t. Now I can’t shake whoever is behind me. I think I’ve put some distance between us, but I don’t know for how long. I’m headed out of town to hide. I’ll call as soon as I can.”
Sounds of shuffling and static came over the line, then Gramps’s voice was strong again. “We have to go after him.”
I sighed and looked at my Dad. He had his lips set in a severe line. He really didn’t want me to go. “I’m sorry,” I mouthed at him.
“I’ll help, Gramps. What do you want me to do?” Going to the cops wasn’t an option. We were the cops in Black Claw, and half of the cops in Gramps’s town were family, too.
“I’ve got some friends here getting the last location of Rico’s phone. We have to assume they have him, because the phone isn’t being answered. But it has moved locations. We’re hoping they don’t realize it’s on him so we can use it to track closer to him. I’m coming to you and bringing Perry. We need all hands on deck. We should have the information by the time he gets there, and you guys can get on a plane.”
“We’ll get ready,” I said.
“Thank you, son.” Gramps hung up the line, and I looked at my mom and dad.
Yep. They were pissed. “If they’re able to track his phone, there’s no reason for you to go,” Mom said.
“It’s Rico, Mom. We’ve been friends forever. I have to go.”
“I’ll go with you,” Maddox said.
Maverick gave him a hard look but didn’t argue. “You can’t take Stefan,” he said. “Not with the baby due, what, three days ago? And Dad and I have to work.”
“I’ll make your grandfather stay and help at the station,” Dad said. “You go with them.”
Maverick nodded. Even though he was the alpha of the pack, Dad was still Dad.
When I stood to go pack a bag, the phone rang again. It was Gramps. “It’ll be morning before you can leave,” he said. “Some problems at the airport. No flights out. It’ll still be faster for you to fly and leave in the morning than drive, though. The last location makes it seem like they’re heading to Texas.”
“Okay,” I said. “We’ll be ready.”
I had my dinner date with Abby to look forward to. She was supposed to leave the next day to go home, so at least we’d have tonight. And I’d be damn careful while looking for Rico.
Now that I had someone to be careful for.
15
Abby
“I’m sorry,” I said with true sympathy. We’d walked around the mall three times and Harley’s feet were starting to swell even more. “I think it’s time to give up.”
We’d stopped at the food court for drinks. Harley sighed as she looked at her extremely large ankles. I’d grabbed a chair for her to prop them up as soon as we sat down.
“You’re right,” she admitted. “This baby doesn’t want to come out.”
“How many days overdue now?”
“Four,” she said flatly. “Five if you count my due date itself.”
My phone pinged the sound of a calendar notification. I didn’t think I had anything set, so I checked it before gathering our trash and bags to walk Harley to the car.
As soon as I saw the note, my heart sank into my stomach. “Oh, no,” I whispered.
“What is it?” Harley looked instantly alarmed.
“Nothing bad, not like that.” It was bad all right. “I messed up my times,” I said.
“What do you mean?” She put her feet on the floor and winced as she leaned forward to look at the notification as I held out my phone. “What? Your flight home?”
Her face changed from confused to shocked and upset when she saw it. “It’s tomorrow morning?”
“I thought I had all day tomorrow,” I whispered. Tears pricked at my eyes. “I must’ve booked the wrong time.”
“Maybe you just put it in your calendar wrong. Check your actual ticket.”
Hope made my heart beat faster. It was amazing how excited I felt over one more day in Black Claw. “Good idea.”
I pulled up the flight email and looked at the return flight info. My hope disappeared and heartache replaced it. “No. It’s tomorrow morning.”
Harley’s eyes filled with tears. “I know I’m emotional, but I really, really hate that.”
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get you home. I’ll stay as long as I can before I have to go cook dinner.”
She leaned on me on the way out of the mall with her head on my shoulder. “You could just live here. We’ll find you a place. And you can work at my salon until you find a job.”
I laughed and squeezed her arm. “I can’t even put makeup on like a real girl, much less do someone else’s hair or nails.”
“You could clean and manage while I’m on maternity leave.”
I considered her offer. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.” We walked to the car in silence. “At least tell me you’ll think about it.” She walked around the car with her eyes on me and a serious expression on her face.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Good.” With a curt nod, she got in the rental car.
And I did think about it. The whole way home.
We went inside and Nana had just gotten up from her nap, so we sat with her and visited while she had lunch. I gave her the bad news about my flight.
“Please come back,” she said. “Come visit soon.”
“I promise,” I replied. And come hell or high water, I knew I’d find a way.
“I was going to wait until we had dinner together tomorrow night, but Harley and I have been talking.”
Harley beamed at me, and Nana’s face got more excited as she spoke. What were they up to?
“You should’ve been in my life all along, and I should’ve been in yours. I hope you believe to your very bones that if I’d known about you, wild hogs wouldn’t have kept me away.”
I moved to sit beside her chair and took her soft hand. “I do believe that, Nana. I wish I’d known you, too. You raised Harley, and I can’t imagine a better childhood.”
&
nbsp; She nodded. “Good. I don’t have a lot in this world, but I do have the house and a very small savings that not even Harley knew about before last week.”
Harley nodded and winked at me. Nana didn’t see and continued. “I’d been saving it for my funeral, but I made a risky choice and invested it, and it was doubled. I’ve changed it and put it into a nice safe account now where it can’t be risked. Harley and I talked about it, and previously it was all being left to her. I’ve changed my will, and now you each get half. It’s not enough to set you up for life, but you’ll sell the house and split all the money. And as a surprise for you both, I’ve arranged for you to receive the investment I made now instead of waiting for me to die. You both are starting out in life and need all the help you can get.”
She nodded and looked from me to my sister. Both of us stared at her in shock. “Nana,” Harley whispered. “That’s $10 thousand each.”
Holy shit! Ten thousand dollars. What would I do with that much money?
The answer hit me like a ton of bricks. I’d move. Away from Texas. Away from my mother. Out of my shitty apartment and shitty life. I’d come here where I would have a real family. A sister and a grandmother.
A mate.
Before I knew it, I was sobbing in Nana’s living room again.
I eventually got my tears dried after many thank yous, and then Nana was ready for her afternoon nap. I said my goodbyes. My flight was early the next day, so I’d have to leave the house straight for the airport.
Leaving Harley was emotionally draining. By the time we finished hugging, she told me she’d figure out all the details about the money and we’d be together again soon.
Then I proceeded to cry all the way back to the rented house. When I pulled into the driveway, I remembered I hadn’t shopped.
That was how Jury and I ended up sitting in my living room eating pizza. I called Charlotte from the driveway and explained the situation. She gave me the number of a pizza place and Jury’s money bought us a pizza, with money left over.