by E A Price
Oh, how she wanted this never to end. She had dreamed of it, fantasized about it for so long, and now it was here, she wanted to remain in this moment forever – forever joined with him, forever basking in the look of love and reverence being directed at her. But no, it couldn’t be. She knew as she delighted in the delicious sensations running through her body that it had to end, that as much as she wanted to stay like this, that something heavenly was coming and soon.
Maris breathed his name as she felt her body tightening. She could feel something coiling inside, winding tighter and tighter. Clay let out a growl as his thrusts became faster and more urgent.
Her body squeezed him, making it hard for him to move. Clay snarled as he took her with even more ferocity. She couldn’t keep up, could only hold onto him as he pushed them higher and higher towards their dizzying releases.
She could feel herself within reach, only a whisper away, and as Clay angled his hips, brushing her swollen nub, the tension within her exploded, her body jerking violently, clutching at Clay as she cried with happiness and relief. Clay howled as his own climax thundered through him.
Maris held him closer as they trembled and kissed and eventually fell asleep.
Twenty-One
“Wow!” gushed Maris, “You know I went to a herd resort in Florida, but it was nothing compared to this one.”
Clay smiled as Maris’ face lit up like the fourth of July. She danced around the lobby like it was the most exciting thing in the world. Her enthusiasm was infectious, as other guests laughed and smiled at her.
While Maris chatted to some of the other guests about the island, and things to do, Clay introduced himself to the manager and checked them in. Apparently, the photographer and her assistants were already there, as was their colleague. He assumed Lia had already liaised with the photographer, but once they were settled into their room, he would speak to her and see if she needed any help with anything.
Maris appeared at his elbow. “I have fourteen recommendations for amazing restaurants we have to try.”
Clay chuckled. “We’re only here for four days.”
“Hmmm. We may have to invent a few more meals to get through them all then.”
“Perhaps we will just have to come back one day.”
Maris cocked her head to the side, giving him a curious look. “Yeah, maybe we will.”
He slipped an arm around her waist. If anyone registered them as an odd couple, they didn’t show it. It seemed that he was the only one wary of their age difference. Perhaps it shouldn’t bother him. Plenty of couples had been happy with a much larger age difference. Take his sister, for example. When she mated the alpha, she was only nineteen, and he was already forty. Martha had never cared about that. If anyone had cared, both Martha and her mate shot them down – they were happy, and that was that.
Clay pulled her a little closer, and both he and his beast relaxed as Maris chatted about an amazing beach one of the other guests told her about. He allowed her sweet voice to flow over him and he was pleased to realize how happy he was. How could he not be? He was in paradise with a lovely woman who would undoubtedly be spending most of the next four days either in a bikini on the beach or naked in his bed. How on earth could he not be happy?
“Maybe after we finish shooting today…” Her voice trailed away, and she carefully moved away from his grasp.
Clay frowned at her, confused at her sudden coolness. Until he followed her eye line and saw the reason.
“Clay!”
Bella, decked out in a red sundress strode towards him.
“Bella? What are you doing here?” he asked rudely.
She wasn’t quite at the top of the list of people he would least like to see turn up and ruin his vacation, but she was fairly close.
Bella didn’t note anything amiss and gave him a hug. “Lia couldn’t make it, so I volunteered to come in her place.”
Clay disengaged from the hug. “I see.”
Bella looked at Maris. “Dear, you better go get ready, we have a lot of work to do today.”
“Sure,” murmured Maris.
Three of the hotel staff surged forward to help her with her luggage – which was only one bag, so it ended with the three of them trying to fight over it until Clay swooped in and took it from them. All three sagged.
“I’ll carry it.”
“We have a lot to discuss,” said Bella, “why not come with me for a drink and allow one of these young men take it?”
All three perked up, but Clay quickly dismissed that idea.
“No.” He glared at the young men. “I need to freshen up anyway. I’ll find you in the bar when I’m ready.”
“Okay,” she said, only mildly miffed.
He stomped toward their room with Maris trailing behind. They had one of the cabins on the beachfront. They were spacious and secluded and…
“Did you know she would be here?” asked Maris as soon as they made it to their cabin.
He dropped the bags. “No, of course not,” he snapped, but he softened when he saw her anxious expression.
Maris nodded. “I guess you’ll need to get your own room.”
“I don’t think so,” he replied quickly.
He had planned on a weekend away with his lovely lady, and he wasn’t about to change that because of Bella. He could understand Maris’ unease – that was down to his actions entirely, but while he wasn’t going out of his way to announce their relationship to the world, he wasn’t going to hide it like a dirty secret either.
Clay took hold of her hands and brought them to his lips to kiss them. “My darling, this changes nothing.”
Maris pursed her lips doubtfully.
“I mean it,” he insisted. “We should treat her no differently than if she were Lia.”
Though, he was tempted to find out if Lia really couldn’t make it or if Chelsea was behind this last-minute maneuvering.
Maris’ body relaxed a little, and he pulled her into his arms. He fluttered kisses over her bare shoulders. Oh, how he wished she would always wear sundresses at home. Access to her shoulders was wonderful. He couldn’t help his urge to kiss and nibble at her supple, creamy flesh.
“Clay,” she giggled as his fingers found the zipper on her dress.
But just as he was making some headway, the room phone chirruped.
“Ignore it,” implored Clay.
It stopped after a few rings, and just as he had managed to divest her of the dress, it started again.
Maris sighed and answered it. She had a few brief exchanges before she put the phone down and looked at Clay with a displeased expression.
“That was Bella. Shooting starts in ten minutes. She has apparently given the schedule to the photographer, and I’m needed right now.”
Clay grunted unhappily as her blossoming arousal started to wilt. “Do you want me to talk to her? You’ve barely had time to unpack.”
Maris waved a hand. “No, don’t bother. It’s not like she actually interrupted me unpacking anyway.”
She gave him a bright look, and he returned it, upgrading his expression to a leer.
“It’s fine, and you’re right – Bella being here doesn’t make a difference, but I am here to do a job, and when it’s done, then we can have fun.”
“I suppose you’re right,” he said incredibly ungraciously.
“That’s the spirit, sweet cheeks.”
She pinched his rear – a quickly forming habit of hers – and started digging through her case for her new bikinis.
She moved to the bathroom to get changed, and she dismissed his offer of help. She was inclined to think that his help might be a little distracting. He was inclined to agree, given that he had not intended on helping her into new clothes, merely fully out of the ones she was still currently wearing.
“I guess I’ll just go talk to Bella then,” he said.
Maris’ sunny expression dimmed slightly, but she kissed him and said she would see him soon.
; He hoped she wasn’t worried about Bella – she had no reason to be. He had no intention of throwing her over for another. It was Maris who would one day leave him for someone she could mate with.
His inner reindeer huffed and stomped his feet. Probably best not to dwell on that for the moment. They didn’t need any other dampers on their island vacation. Nope, from now on, it was fun, fun, fun!
Twenty-Two
“Well, isn’t this fun!” trilled Bella.
Neither Clay nor Maris seemed inclined to agree. After a grueling day of shoots that had taken them all over the island, the photographer and her assistants had gone to their rooms to check their equipment and look over the photographs they had taken that day. Leaving Clay, Maris and Bella to enjoy a cozy little dinner – just the three of them.
Bella wasn’t interested in talking to Maris, and after trying to include her in the conversation numerous times without success, Maris no longer seemed to care. It had been a long day and she was yawning. Bella had worked out an unnecessarily long and tiring schedule for her.
“Why don’t you go to bed?” murmured Clay, cutting through one of Bella’s stories.
She had hundreds about how clever her children were, and how they were geniuses ever since they were still in the womb. To Clay they sounded average and ordinary, but then so did all kids to him. He supposed it would be different if they were his own.
Maris nodded. “I think I will. Good night all,” she mumbled standing.
Clay got to his feet and captured one of her hands. “I’ll be with you shortly,” he murmured and kissed her knuckles.
Maris’ eyelashes fluttered at him in surprise at his overt display, but she merely nodded and went on her way. He would go with her, but he wanted to make sure Bella knew where he stood, and his beast wanted to make sure that he would not tolerate any further meanness towards Maris.
Bella pursed her lips as he sat down again.
“Don’t pretend you didn’t know,” grumbled Clay, pouring himself another glass of wine.
She snorted. “The manager told me you were sharing a room with her but I thought that was just a mistake. I didn’t honestly think that you would…”
“That I would what?” he asked coldly, glaring at her.
“Oh come on,” hissed Bella, “everyone knows what kind of a girl she is.”
“What kind would that be?” he asked in clipped tones.
“Well, well, she… she’s just like her mother,” scoffed Bella. “She’s a slut!”
“Take that back!” snarled Clay, banging his fist on the table.
A few other diners jumped, but the waiters were quick to reassure them everything was okay. The workers at the resort were mostly shifters, and those who weren’t knew of shifters. They were used to shifter-sized outbursts from guests.
Bella affected a hurt look. “Clay!”
“Take. That. Back,” he repeated a little more softly, though no less angrily.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered, ducking her eyes in submission.
Clay breathed in and out and finally huffed. “We’ll say no more about this. But you better start treating her with more respect.”
“But she… she’ll just use you. She’s probably seeing other men. She’s only interested in your money!” babbled Bella, poutily.
“And what exactly are you interested in, Bella?” he asked pointedly.
Her face turned bright red. Yes, she had married two wealthy shifters – one of which was twenty-five years her senior, and was now looking for a third. She had half a mind that it could be Clay, but really, he was sure anyone who would pay her attention and give her money would do. She’d do what she always did. She’d find her rich male, quit her job, leave the herd, and when it all fell apart, she’d return, get a job again and start looking for her next husband. The fact that she dare look down on either Maris or Marla disgusted him.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” he said and got up and leisurely strode away.
He was eager to get to his room, to see Maris, but he wanted to be a little calmer for her. He didn’t want his anger affecting the way he spoke to Maris.
When he arrived at the room, he heard the shower running. Feeling a boldness that he may not have had if he weren’t so annoyed at that moment, he stripped and made his way into the bathroom.
“Is that you, Clay?” called Maris through the steam and water.
“Would you be half so calm if it weren’t?” he teased. The tension in his body was already starting to ebb.
“Well, if you were a burglar, I’d consider getting dressed.”
Clay slipped into the shower and pressed his body against hers. His growing hardness nestled against her soft buttocks.
“Glad to hear it,” he breathed.
Clay snaked one arm around her shoulders, and another round her stomach as he kissed her slick neck.
“I’m surprised you told her,” murmured Maris.
“If she didn’t already know, she would have found out. I could hardly tell her we were just roommates.”
Maris clutched at his arms, wriggling her hips. His hardness grew and pushed against her.
“I thought you didn’t want anyone to know.”
“I didn’t want anyone to gossip,” he mumbled in between nips and kisses. “I don’t care about them knowing, but I don’t want them saying hurtful things about you.”
“Hmm, I’m used to it,” she sighed.
“You shouldn’t be,” he growled almost possessively. Fury laced his words, but it wasn’t for Bella. No, it was for himself. All these years he had ignored her, ignored how much he wanted her, ignored how he felt about her, because of his own guilt. But he should have been protecting her, should have been there for her.
He stroked his hand down her stomach, questing through her curls to find her entrance. Maris let out a small whimper and his hand stilled.
“If you’re too tired…” he started, moving his hand away.
“Don’t you dare,” she scolded.
Maris twisted to face him and grasped his wrist, pushing his searching fingers to her sex. His digits delved inside her as she moaned and arched her back. Her inner muscles clutched and suckled at his fingers as he teased and stroked her.
She leaned against the shower wall as he knelt in front of her. Pushing her legs apart he brought his mouth to her sex, inhaling and growling. Maris shivered at the feel of his hot breath against her. He realized her reaction and blew on her clit. Maris trembled and he chuckled.
“Tease,” she chided, threading her fingers through his short hair.
He looked up, briefly smirking before pressing his lips to her tight channel, his tongue delving inside. Her body rippled as he pushed his tongue in and out of her, taking her as he had and would do so again with his manhood.
Maris moaned as pleasure flowed through her body, as he devoured her, eagerly tasting her honey. Her hips jerked and he gripped her thighs, keeping her where he wanted her. She was so responsive, so receptive to his touch. He wasn’t sure he would ever get his fill of her. His desire for her only grew and grew. She was always on his mind before, but now he was downright obsessed with her. How could he concentrate on anything so mundane as a staff meeting or brushing his teeth, when all he could think about was getting this perfect creature back in his arms?
“Clay,” she pleaded, her fingers curling more fiercely into his hair.
He could feel her muscles tightening around him. She wanted release, but she needed pushing over the edge. He moved a hand and pressed a thumb to her nub, caressing that tiny bundle of nerves and sending her careening over the edge.
Maris cried out in delight and bucked against him. Clay gripped her and rose to his feet, pressing his swollen length inside her, pinning her to the wall, enjoying the way she clutched at him as she rode out her pleasure. When she was finally coming down, whimpering and panting, he drove himself inside her, over and over until he wound her up to another climax and she fell apart in his arms agai
n.
He took her over and over until they were both exhausted, but it still wasn’t enough. He wasn’t sure he would ever have enough.
Twenty-Three
The following morning, nothing could dent their shared good mood, not even a breakfast with Bella.
Maris slipped her hand into Clay’s. He smiled at her and squeezed while trying to read a newspaper and sip at his coffee single-handedly. She would remove her hand but… she didn’t want to.
She drank some orange juice as a waiter appeared and slipped Clay a note, which he managed to open and read with just one hand.
He frowned and then shrugged. “Bella has gone home.”
“Oh?”
She tried not to look too pleased.
“She apologizes and says she had a family emergency.”
Humph. Maris didn’t believe that for a second, but she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Not when it was the horse that just kept on giving and giving.
“I’m sure we can manage without her.”
She was sure everyone would be a lot happier without her. The woman missed her calling as a dictator.
“You look pleased,” commented Clay in amusement.
“I am,” she admitted, “I want you all to myself.”
He smiled and kissed her hand and returned to his newspaper. She most certainly did.
*
Some weeks later
“Good god, I barely recognize you,” said Martha wondrously. “I’m wondering whether I should walk out and come back in again, but last time I did that I just forgot what I wanted.”
“Is that a compliment?” asked Clay smiling at her.
“Definitely.” She tilted her head to one side and squinted at him. “I’m trying to see what’s different about you.”
“New clothes?” he suggested and did a twirl to show her his new suit.
Maris had taken him shopping, citing that he really should buy new clothes more often than once a decade. She had made suggestions, and naturally, he had merely purchased the clothes she liked. Well, he was trying to look sexy for her anyway – so he may as well just buy whatever she wanted.
“So I see, very nice, but that’s not it.”