Falling: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance Boxed Set

by Tessa Clarke

  “You look so hot tonight, Alissa,” he murmured.

  “Thanks,” she managed to stutter.

  “And you ski like a dream.”

  “Thanks. You’re pretty good yourself.” She tried to draw back a bit and put more space between them, placing her hands on his broad shoulders and smiling to make it look like she was pulling away so they could talk. She caught a glimpse of Cade through the sea of bodies. He flicked his gaze away as soon as her eyes met his and made some comment to his buddies that caused them to laugh. She smarted at the prospect of him making a joke at her expense.

  “Are you seeing anyone?” Jarod asked.

  Alissa drew her attention painfully back to Jarod. She shook her head. Then she realized her mistake because he drew her in tighter once again. “I find you really attractive. I wish we lived in the same city.” His hands slipped down the curve of her back and were now perched rather precariously just above her ass.

  Alissa just smiled and blinked. She had no idea what to say.

  Jarod gave a charming smile. He was so good looking, but her mind and heart were filled with Cade. His lips dipped frighteningly close to hers. “I’d hate to miss out on this opportunity to get to know you better. I was wondering if you’d be interested in coming back to my condo with me tonight.”

  Alissa jerked in surprise. “Umm, uh, I don’t know. We just met.”

  Jarod didn’t let up though. “You don’t strike me as a good girl, Alissa,” he murmured. “You strike me as a hot, red-blooded woman. If you want to let loose for one night, I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

  Alissa was trying to think of something to say when Cade’s large form appeared behind Jarod and tapped him on the shoulder. Jarod jumped and swiveled his head, his face turning temporarily dark before he smiled broadly.

  “Hey man, how’s it going? I’m just having a conversation with our girl Alissa here.”

  “I’m cutting in,” Cade announced.

  Jarod’s smile slipped a bit. “Oh you can’t do that. Alissa and I got something going on. She was just agreeing to spend the night with me.” Something about his eyes shifted slightly from olive to more of a brilliant ochre and Alissa stepped back a bit. Was it a trick of the light?

  Cade’s eyebrow lifted and his jaw tightened. “I see,” he said and turned his glance to Alissa as if to confirm.

  Her face had flushed into what was probably a very unattractive shade of vermilion and her tongue seemed fastened to the top of her mouth. She grasped for the right thing to say and found nothing.

  Cade shrugged, seemingly with effort. “Well, enjoy your night then.”

  Jarod went to gather Alissa back up in his arms, but she squirmed away.

  “Cade, wait,” she called. But he didn’t hear her. She turned to Jarod. She had to get control of this situation. “Listen, you’re incredibly hot and sexy, and I’m flattered, but I don’t sleep with men I’ve just met. I’ve had a lovely time with you, but this is as far as it goes.”

  Jarod’s face shifted from confused, to annoyed, to resigned. He gave a rueful smile. “Well can’t blame a guy for trying. Any time you’re in Utah you can look me up. I’ll take you on a date.”

  “Thanks,” she said. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cade’s buddies putting on their jackets. Where was Cade? “I have to go,” she said, and then turned and walked away from Jarod. She grabbed her own jacket and then fought her way through the crowd. Cade’s friends were filing out the other direction heading for the exit. Alissa’s heart pounded. Had Cade left too? Had she missed her chance?

  “Looking for someone?” a voice came over her shoulder. Cade. She whirled to see him leaning against the bar, another beer in hand.

  “I was afraid you were leaving,” she said.

  He shook his head and his eyes caught and held on hers. Her knees started to shake a little and it felt like all of the other people in the hot room had vanished, leaving just her and Cade.

  “Where’s Jarod?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. Over there, somewhere. For the record, I’m not, nor was I ever, spending the night with Jarod,” she announced.

  Cade pursed his lips and took a step closer and then, seemingly having made a decision, tangled his hand in her hair at the base of her neck and almost pressed his lips against her jaw. “That’s good,” he whispered.

  They stood there, inches apart, for several seconds, and Alissa wondered if he could feel the jolts of electricity that were shooting through her legs and spine. Then he set his beer down on the bar, took her jacket and handed it to the bartender, who seemed to be waiting for it, and led her out onto the dance floor.

  A slow number was playing again, and when Cade pulled her into his arms, Alissa felt almost dizzy with desire and relief. He swayed gently to the music, his fingers fitting perfectly into her spine, and without thinking, Alissa tipped her lips to meet his, and he took them and kissed her completely, the hardness of his arousal pressing against her inner thigh.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Cade said. Alissa nodded. She accepted his hand in hers and after Cade had collected her jacket, they slipped out into the crisp night air. Snow still fell from the sky and the resort looked like a sparkling fairyland. Away from the loud music, Alissa found herself again tongue-tied and doubtful that Cade could really want her. But they didn’t even make it across the parking lot before Cade was pulling her into an alcove and kissing her and letting his hands fall magically to the curve of her ass, sending shockwaves of arousal through her body.

  “I want you so much, Alissa. I’ve wanted you all day. When you were falling today, I thought I’d lost you, and then I thought you were going to go off with Jarod,” he said between kisses, his hands roving her body and finding thrilling curves and crevices.

  “I want you too, Cade.” There, she’d said it. Cade’s kisses intensified and Alissa was almost breathless with desire.

  “What’s going on here?” Jarod’s voice cut through Alissa’s bliss. “I thought you didn’t spend the night with men you just met.” Alissa flicked her eyes open to see Jarod, Leif, and Sam standing in falling snow. At least Leif and Sam had the decency to look sheepish at Jarod’s interruption, but they still stood firmly behind him. A trill of fear slid up Alissa’s spine, and she nearly tottered backwards on the too high heels.

  Cade turned, his large shoulders hunched. He easily outweighed each of them, but together they might be able to take him as a group, if it came to a fight.

  “Last time I checked, a woman has every right to decide who she spends her night with,” Cade said evenly.

  Jarod’s eyes gave that flash again and his canines looked somehow longer. Cade let out a low growl.

  “As long as that’s what’s happening here,” Jarod said, glaring at Cade.

  “It is, but you’re welcome to ask Alissa yourself.”

  Jarod ignored Cade’s suggestion. “I’ve heard about you Cade Danforth. Your reputation with the ladies precedes you.”

  Cade and Jarod were circling each other now, their backs arched and fists clenched. A shot of fear stabbed at Alissa’s heart, and she tried to sort through the maze of emotion and lust that she’d just been experiencing and get her practical brain back on line. Was what Jarod was saying true? Was Cade just going to use her and hurt her? She pulled her ski jacket closed over her exposed neck and chest, suddenly chilled in the night air.

  Cade suddenly dropped his fists and shook his head, reaching back and lacing his hand through hers. “Don’t do this Jarod. You of all people should know not to interfere when someone has found their mate, and I have. So back off.”

  Mate. What was Cade talking about? Alissa’s head spun with confusion.

  Cade’s words, however, seemed to have an effect on Jarod. A new look washed over his face and he eyed both of them up and down, his face still stern. “You’re a lucky man,” he said finally, and then he gave Alissa a nod and he, Leif, and
Sam turned and faded into the heavily falling snow.

  Cade looked down at Alissa, his face almost stricken. “I’m sorry about that. Our instincts and tempers...” he trailed off. “They sometimes get away from us when it comes to a woman.”

  Alissa pressed her back against the hard wall of the alcove distancing herself a bit from Cade. “Do you have a reputation with women?” she said.

  He went to pull her in, and then paused, realizing that she’d leaned away. “I’ve known my share of women,” he said with a little half smile. “And I assume you’ve known at least some men. But I assure you my reputation is mostly good, if a little more extensive than it should be, and none of those women meant a thing to me.” He raked a hand through his dark hair as if considering that this might not be the right thing to say. “Well, I mean they were nice women, and I cared about them, but they weren’t my mate.”

  “What did you mean when you said that Jarod of all people should know not to interfere when someone has found a mate?”

  “Jarod, Leif, and Sam are shifters too. Wolves, if I’m not mistaken. But they know to respect another shifter’s mate.”

  “And who is your mate?” Alissa’s voice was unsteady and thin, although she already knew the answer to her question.

  Cade’s hands flew to her face, cupping it gently and lifting her lips to his. “I didn’t want to scare you, but you are my mate. I’ve known it since I first saw you, although I’ll admit, I was a bit deep in denial before our first run.” He gave her that lopsided smile that she already adored. “You don’t have to do or say anything about that yet. I know it probably seems crazy. Just let me take you back to your condo and show you how I feel about you.”

  Alissa hesitated. This all seemed like too much.

  He stroked his finger along her jaw. “If you’re not ready. I understand. I’d never do anything to hurt or rush you, and we haven’t even talked about the fact that I’m a shifter, and whether that bothers you. Just tell me what you want to do. If you want to wait, I’ll respect that.”

  Alissa thought of the wild and blind passion she’d been feeling for Cade just a few short minutes ago, how much she’d wanted him to take her to bed and have his way with her, and have her way with him.

  She mustered up a crooked little smile of her own. Or was it a wicked one. She wasn’t sure.

  And she didn’t care.

  “No. I don’t want to wait. I want you to take me back to my condo and make love to me,” she said. “You’re just going to have to be patient while I try to walk across the parking lot in these stupid heels.”

  His laughed and then lunged in to kiss her before sweeping her off her feet and running with her across the parking lot, down the path and into the lobby of her building. In the elevator, their passion intensified, his hand teasing her hard nub of a nipple and her hands caressing his cock through his pants. Anyone watching the camera would have gotten quite a show, and it was all she could do not to jump him and ride him then and there.

  Their jackets, shirts and shoes came off between hurried kisses and touches as they moved from the entrance into the bedroom, dropping items as they went. His cut abs and pecs were mind-blowing, and Alissa ran her hands over them again and again feeling their solidity. Cade let out a sigh of pleasure when he unclasped her red lace bra and his lips and tongue fell first to one breast and then the other as he licked and nipped her hard nipples while his hand slipped into her jeans to find her slick wetness. Alissa moaned and spread her legs, wanting him further inside her as she struggled with the zipper on his jeans so she could feel the length of his shaft.

  He withdrew his fingers from her, making her almost yelp with need, and placed them in his mouth. “You taste divine, my love, but we are both wearing far too many clothes.”

  When he slipped out of his jeans and underwear, she nearly fainted at his size. He took her hand and cupped it around his cock and started to move against her bare stomach. She moaned with need and he deftly stripped her of her jeans and red panties, pausing to tickle her clit tantalizingly with his tongue, which made her moan more and practically leap on top of him. But then he stood back and surveyed her, a cat-like lopsided grin on his face, his cock at full attention. Her eyes flicked open. What, what was he doing? Now that he saw her entirely naked, with every damn curve and fold of her body, was he turned off? But before she could go very far with this train of thought, he came back, wrapped his arms around her and spun her around gently so that they both faced the full-length mirror in the bedroom. How many times had she stared at this image—her large breasts and rounded hips—and hated it? But Cade’s face was filled with wonder and desire.

  “This,” he said, gesturing at their reflection, and slipping his fingers back down the crevice of her thigh so that they hovered just outside her wet pussy. “This is perfection. You are so beautiful, Alissa. You are my mate. I know it with every shred of my being. I’ll love and cherish you forever, and I hope you can do the same for me. I hope that me being a shifter doesn’t change things for you.”

  The surge in her heart was unmistakable. Did she actually love him already? Was she ready to say for always and forever? How was that possible? She looked at his face, shadowy, but so handsome, behind hers, and turned. Maybe her shifter blood meant she too knew her mate instinctually. “Oh Cade, I already do, and you being a shifter just makes it twice as good. I have shifter blood too. My dad was a shifter, and I can’t believe I’ve been lucky enough to find a shifter man of my own.”

  His face broke into the sunniest of smiles and she thought he might spring away from her and actually bounce around the room with joy, but there was the matter of his erect cock between them and a burning need that they both had to satisfy. Instead, he dropped his lips to hers and slipped his fingers inside her again, stroking her with such precision that she thought she might cry out, while his other hand circled her nipple. He brought her right to the edge, and then over it, until she actually screamed with pleasure, jerking her pussy on his fingers as she came, while she stroked his hard slick shaft.

  Then she bent and took him in her mouth, tasting his sweet saltiness and feeling the smoothness of his skin. He let out a growl of pleasure and thrust deep inside her. She wrapped her hands around his hard ass and took as much of him as she could, her pussy still throbbing with desire to come again and again. She glanced at their image in the mirror. Cade’s head was thrown back and his eyes were closed, his hands tangled in her long dark hair, while she sucked his cock. His ripped abs and muscular thighs were breathtaking and if she could have smiled at that moment, she would have.

  After a few seconds she felt his thrusting intensify and she knew he was close. “Ughh,” he said. “That feels so good, baby. So good. But you need to stop, because I want this cock in that sweet little pussy of yours.”

  Alissa stopped sucking, running her tongue down the length of his shaft. Then she rose and watched while he slipped on a condom, one hand on one of her breasts and the other on his cock. Then he gave himself a few strokes while he pushed her gently down on the edge of the bed, her legs spread wide and pussy on full display in the mirror, which turned her on even more.

  She looked at him again. He was so big. Was she going to be able to take him? He placed three experimental fingers inside her while he continued to caress his rod. Then with a tender, but roguish, smile he slid into her, filling her completely and making her cry out in pleasure. He started to move slowly at first and then faster, his groans and sighs joining hers, his lips and hands dancing across her breasts and face.

  “You are so tight and wet,” he murmured.

  She felt like a bucking bronco wanting to rise off the bed and slam harder and harder into him, to come again and again. He was carrying her over some edge where she’d never been and when she finally came, she was pretty sure her cries were keeping the entire hotel awake.

  “I love to watch you come,” he murmured before driving into her with an almost ferocious in
tensity until he threw back his head and groaned as he jerked his cock hard into her and then pulsed with his own pleasure, which almost made her come again, and then fell onto her on the bed.

  Alissa’s pussy was still clenching with waves of ecstasy when Cade rolled off of her, and they just lay entwined for a few seconds, the sweet scent and sweat of their sex between them, while Alissa marveled at the sensations still rocking her body. Then they crawled further up the bed and under the covers, their arms around each other. After a day of hard skiing and a night of perfect sex, Alissa was sated and content to drift off with Cade’s lips on her neck and breasts.

  Chapter Eight: Cade

  They awoke several times in the night to slake their hunger for each other. Each time Cade marveled at the alabaster of Alissa’s skin, her tumble of mahogany curls, and the perfect rosy nubs of her nipples that rose to attention like his cock when he played with them.

  She made no objection when he pushed the knob of his cock gently against the rosebud of her ass, and when she writhed in anticipation, her own fingers in her pussy, he guided her over so they were sitting in front of the mirror, her glorious cunt and breasts on full display while he fucked her ever so carefully, nibbling on her shoulder and watching her reactions in the glass, controlling his own urge to slam against her until he erupted. There would be plenty of nights for that, he hoped. When he was close, he slid his own fingers into her channel, replacing hers, stroking and teasing with more intensity until he felt her clench and buck, and he let himself come with mind-blowing force, while he placed his wet fingers into her mouth and let her lick and bite them.

  The third time they roused, the faint suggestion of pre-dawn light crept through the heavy drapes. He flipped her over on top of him, his cock already hard and sheathed with anticipation for her hot slick slit. Then she rode him fiercely, her lush breasts bobbing while she ground deeper and deeper onto him, slippery and wet with desire, one hand snaked back to gently cup his balls and her mouth open in a half snarl.