by R. E. Butler
“Wow,” Novi said. “That’s pretty neat. I’ve only been working at the thrift store for a few weeks, so I’d be willing to work at the park and do the albums or whatever else needs to be done.”
Cael was thrilled that his sweetheart was going to be able to work in the park. He’d get to see her whenever they were free, and he’d know that she was in the security office which was one of the safest places to be.
“Then it’s settled,” Joss said. “We’ll need you to fill out an employment application for the files, it’s just a formality.”
“We’ll figure out something for you to tell your mom,” Alistair said. “That way you’ll know she’s safe.”
“Thank you. Thanks for everything,” Novi said.
“I’d like to show her my place underground and grab a bag of clothes to take to the apartment, and then I was hoping to let her see me shift,” Cael said.
“Sounds good,” Joss said. “Just be sure she’s wearing a uniform out in the paddock.”
“Of course.”
Marcus said, “I think your father is probably a polar bear.”
Everyone looked at him, and he shrugged with a smile. “Justus said he didn’t know what kind of bear you were, and Alistair asked me to join you for breakfast this morning, not only to meet you but hopefully to figure out what you are exactly. All bears smell similar, but each species has a different scent so to speak. So grizzlies smell the same and black bears do, but they don’t smell quite like each other. I met a polar bear through a mutual friend when I was in high school, and while your scent is light since you’re only half shifter, it reminds me of how he smelled.”
Novi hummed. “Are there are a lot of polar bears around?”
“None that we know of in New Jersey,” Marcus said. “Shifter groups keep to themselves mostly. Our situation in the park is pretty unusual with so many different groups living and working together.”
“My father’s home is in Iowa, but he’s been trying to find us for so many years, I’ve often wondered if his home base is still there or if it’s moved.”
“Bears like to hunker down in one area and claim it for a territory, particularly if it’s away from humans. I doubt he’s moved. He’s probably using his own people to hunt for you.”
“Hopefully once you get out of your place,” Cael said, “you and your mom won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“I hope so too.”
“We’ll continue to be vigilant, though,” Joss said. “We take the safety of everyone in the park very seriously. You’ll want to meet with Jupiter, since he’s head of park security. She’ll need an ID badge.”
“We’ll take care of that today, after the other stuff on our list.”
Joss nodded. Jeanie came around the table and gave Novi another hug and handed her a scrap of paper with her number on it. “Send me a text and let me know your number. You can call me anytime for anything you need.”
“Thank you.”
Novi tucked the number into her phone case and looked at Cael. “I’m ready when you are.”
“Excited to see a certain elephant?”
“You know it.”
After they said their goodbyes, he took her down to the private living quarters and to his home. She sat on the bed and watched as he packed a duffel. “It’s really nice down here,” she said. “I’m sorry you have to give it up because of me.”
“Even if we were mated, since you want your mom to live in the apartments, it would be hard to explain why she can live there but you and I don’t without her wondering where you were anyway. Besides,” he said, cupping her face and giving her a kiss, “I get you. I could care less where we’re living so long as we can be with each other.”
She reached for him, but he took a step back with a laugh. “Sorry sweetheart, you’re addictive and you want to see me shift. If we get distracted, we’ll never leave.”
“Good point. I can’t help it that you’re addictive too.”
They hit up the norm paddocks first, both donning uniforms. It took a few hours to feed and check on the animals, but he loved having her by his side while he worked. She was a hard worker and curious about everything he did, and he was happy to share his knowledge with her.
They finally reached the elephant paddock. He set his duffel on the worktable in the shed and turned to face her.
“I can’t wait to see you,” she said. Her tone hinted at sex, curiosity, and lust mixed up together.
He undid the top of the uniform as he toed off his boots. He put his thumbs inside the lower part of the uniform and grinned as her gaze dropped to follow his hands.
“Hey, my eyes are up here,” he said, pointing to his face.
She jerked her head up, her cheeks pinking. “You’re too sexy.”
“You are too. But if you keep looking at me like you want to lick me from head to toe, I’m not going to be able to shift because my human body is going to be fighting the change.”
She took a step to him, her body brushing against his. “I feel like things have changed between us because I know the truth now. Do you?”
“One hundred percent. I think you felt like I was holding something back from you, even though I really didn’t have a choice.”
“I did. And I couldn’t really explain why I felt so close to you so fast. Now I know that it’s in part because the bear side of me is crazy about you.”
“I like that you’re calling her your bear side.”
“I used to just think of myself as having a feral side, some weird animal traits that I couldn’t explain. I guess the human mind is good at making up excuses for that kind of thing and glossing over stuff that doesn’t make sense.”
He cupped her face and let out his elephant’s version of a growl, a low, grumbling sound. “I’m crazy about you too, Novi. I’m so glad you’re here.”
She wiggled her fingers between his uniform and skin, and twisted, undoing a button. Her breath fanned his face as she smiled. “Get naked, sexy man. I want to see your elephant, and then I want to go to our new home and lock the door for a couple of days.”
His elephant couldn’t decide what was better—showing her their shift or staying human so they could take her to bed. But he won that argument, because she wanted to see him in his shift and it was important to him that she know what it really was like to change. Because she was only half shifter, she’d never have the ability to change forms. But she could commune with him and that’s what counted.
She undid another button, her smile slipping from sweet to sultry. He let out a laugh which came out sounding a lot more choked than he’d planned, and extracted her nimble fingers as they attempted to slide farther inside.
“You’re dangerous, sweetheart,” he said.
“Only in the sexiest way.” She winked, and he shook his head as he finished stripping.
“I’ll remember this teasing later.”
“Uh oh.”
“Ready?”
She nodded, her eyes alight with curiosity. It took a moment for his human side to settle from the illicit thoughts traipsing through his brain, but his elephant took over and his shift came over him. He didn’t take his eyes off her as he changed forms, from two legs to four with a huge trunk and white tusks. He shook out his ears and bumped into the table behind him, rattling the items on it.
“Holy shit.”
He let out a chuckle, a blast of air from his trunk.
“You’re...oh my gosh. You’re an elephant.” She reached out a trembling hand and he didn’t move, letting her come to him and lay her warm hand on his trunk. She grew bold quickly, stroking his trunk and moving to his side where she touched his front leg. He lowered his head and hooked his trunk around her waist lightly, and she laughed.
“I mean, in my head I knew you were an elephant, but seeing this in person is...holy shit. I think I said that already, but it’s really the most apt phrase I can think of. Incredible. You’re just so amazing.” She came around to the front of
him, and he could see tears glistening in her eyes.
He made a curious sound, and she sniffled. “I’m okay, I promise. I’m just so amazed. And honestly, I feel so connected to you right now. It’s like seeing you change forms has opened up something inside me. I feel at peace and happy. My bear does too.” She pressed her forehead to his trunk and let out a trembling breath. He was fully humbled by her words and wished he could tell her he felt the same way.
And he would, when he was back to human.
She moved to the big doors and pushed them open. They were heavy, so he helped, swinging them wide so he could lumber out with her. He looked down at her, and she lifted her face to his.
“I guess we can walk around?”
He nodded.
She lifted her hand and he hooked his trunk around it, smiling inwardly as they slowly walked the perimeter of the paddock, finding shade under a tree. He settled down on the ground, and she curled up against him.
“In my wildest dreams I don’t think I could’ve imagined being in this place, but it feels so right. I feel at home with you. I feel like I’m finally where I’m supposed to be.”
He murmured in agreement.
“Well, I’m not going to say any more serious things until you can speak again.” She snuggled down a little deeper and yawned. “This is so kick ass.”
It totally was.
Chapter Eleven
By the time they were walking back to the maintenance shed where Cael could change back into human, Novi was fully head over heels for him, and also crazy turned on. She couldn’t wait to see him back in his human form again.
Pulling the doors shut once he was inside, she flipped on the overhead light and watched as he quickly transformed from huge elephant to sexy human.
He rolled his neck with a sigh and then turned to face her. She’d had a good time ogling his butt, but she liked the front of him a whole heck of a lot too.
He gave her a curious smile.
She had a hundred things she wanted to say to him, but she couldn’t decide what to start with, so she simply closed the distance between them, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. He let out a happy hum and she grinned, kissing her way from his lips across his jaw.
He lifted her up and set her on the counter, their lips meeting again. He pulled her flush against him, his fingers flexing on her knees. She could feel the hard, hot length of him between her legs, and she ached all the way to the center of her being.
Their lips parted and their tongues slid together, her stomach twisting pleasantly.
Her breath heaved in her chest as he eased back and smiled, his eyes flashing from gray to brown. “The others will be up here soon to shift and be out in the paddock for the group tours, so we can’t do anything here.”
“I don’t want to wait anymore,” she said, wrapping her hands around his wrists. “I want to be yours.”
“You are.”
“I mean, I want to be your mate. Officially.”
He gave her a long, quiet look. “Are you sure? Once we go forward physically, once we make love, I won’t be able to be apart from you at night. You’ll need to move in with me.”
“I know. I’m ready for that. I don’t want to be away from you. Once we figure out what to do about my mom, I know she’ll move in here. But even if she doesn’t, I still want you. I want to build a life with you, here, and stay.”
“Then let’s go down to my house. It’s closer.”
She grinned at his eagerness. He hurriedly tugged his uniform on and grabbed his duffel from the table. She hopped to the floor and followed him down the stairs to the elephants’ private living quarters.
He opened the door to his house and let her in. He locked the door behind them and set his duffel on the floor.
“I have a question for you,” he said as he took her hands and gazed at her with adoration in the gray depths. “Would you be my mate, Novi? Would you move in with me here in the park?”
She grinned. “Yes.”
He hooked an arm around her and drew her against him. “I’ll ask you to marry me too, but for now you’re mine and I’m yours, and that’s what matters. After this, there’s no going back.”
She nodded. “For both of us.”
He lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.
As he set her on the bed, she pulled him with her, twisting until he was underneath her. She straddled his waist with a mischievous smile and leaned forward to kiss him.
He slid his hands up her sides slowly, curving them around to the front of the uniform. The kiss deepened and she let out a soft moan as he undid the buttons and pushed the garment from her shoulders. She eased from his lips reluctantly and wiggled out of the top of the uniform. Letting her fingers glide down the front of his uniform, she undid his buttons and spread the material apart, smiling at the taut muscles that were revealed. He was so sexy, even in a drab uniform.
She slid from the bed and took off the rest, her gaze hungrily taking in Cael’s motions as he maneuvered the material off his own body. A moment later, they were back in each other’s arms, clad only in their undergarments, and she sighed happily at the contact. She straddled his lap, letting her fingers roam over his shoulders and down his arms as they kissed again. She kissed her way down his throat, nipping at the pulse that thundered under her tongue. She had the sudden desire to bite him there, and she paused, thinking about the strange urge. Fairly certain it was her bear telling her to bite him, she pushed the thought from her mind.
He settled on his back at her urging, and she made her way down his chest, kissing and licking and tasting every inch of him. His cock peeked from the waistband of his boxer briefs, and she scooted down and tugged the thick length free from the soft material.
He sucked in a hard breath as she slowly licked around the head. She slowly took him into her mouth as far as she could, and his back bowed as he let out a grunt and tangled his fingers in her hair. She eased him from her mouth with the same deliberate slowness, keeping her gaze locked on his as she dove down once more.
He clenched his teeth together, his eyes flashing to the brown of his elephant. His whole body shuddered as she let him slide from her mouth.
He stopped her, letting out a harsh breath. “I don’t want to come without you. It’s too good, too much. Come up here, let me take care of you.”
His finger crooked and she grinned, kissing the tip of his cock and wiggling from her panties. She climbed up his body, and he grabbed her hips and lifted her over his mouth. She settled her knees on either side of his head and grabbed the headboard for balance.
Looking down at him, she wanted to tell him how much she cared for him, how right this all felt.
Then he swiped his tongue up her folds and every single thought in her mind fled.
He parted her with his fingers, finding her clit and flicking his tongue over it a few times, just enough to ratchet up her desire. He tongued her core, sliding his tongue in and out. She groaned as heat flooded through her. Her body tingled, her breath coming out sharp and loud. She buried her fingers in his hair and clenched them, pleasure seeping through her as he closed his lips around her clit and sucked. His tongue moved over her, finding all the spots that made her feel like she was going to melt from the inside out.
Heat swelled within her, her body locking up as her climax struck. She threw back her head and shouted his name, the bear part of her wanting to growl in happiness. That sound spilled from her lips as he pushed her to another climax, his fingers slipping into her wet heat and driving her wild. Her body clenched hard around his fingers, and she couldn’t do anything but hold onto the headboard for dear life.
He moved so fast that he was underneath her one moment and behind her the next, his hands curling around her hips as he placed his cock at her entrance and drove home.
Her teeth clicked together as her head kicked back. He filled her so completely, so perfectly.
Cael kissed her neck, his warm bre
ath skirting over her skin.
“Fucking perfect,” he said hoarsely, his fingers digging into her skin.
She would’ve agreed, but her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth and her body was still spiraling with pleasure.
Pulling from her slowly, he plunged back in, setting up a fast rhythm. The headboard banged against the wall as she gripped it tightly.
He slid his hand up the front of her body, tugging her bra down to release her breasts. He played with her nipples, tugging and pinching them gently as he drove her to another great height of pleasure.
She chanted his name, her gums tingling and her fingertips aching as her bear grew loud and demanding.
She didn’t know what the beast wanted.
No...wait...she did.
She gripped his head and pulled him forward, turning to place her lips on his neck.
“Yes, Novi, yes,” he said, groaning.
She bit his neck. Hard. Her gums tingling even more, her head filled with the desire to mark him so everyone would know that he was hers.
He let out a shout as she released his neck, thrusting into her a few more times before he stilled, buried deep inside her.
She felt his cock spasming, felt the heat of his come.
Her whole body felt electrified, her heart pounding and her bear content.
Cael kissed her neck and groaned as he pulled from her depths. He dropped to the bed, taking her with him. She curled up in his arms, her skin tingling and her heart soaring.
“I love you,” he said, at the same time she said it to him.
They both laughed, their gazes locked together, and their hearts aligned.
“I do, sweetheart,” he said.
She lifted her head to brush her lips against his. “I do too. Mate.”
“Mate.”
They made love a second time, and then decided that it was too late to go to the apartment. She was happy to be in the house underground. It felt so safe and so much like home. Her whole life, home had been a relative term. She thought of her mom as home, that wherever her mom was...that was home. But now that she was with Cael, she knew home wasn’t just a person, because for sure Cael had her heart and was home for her, but it was a place too. A place of warmth and love and security.