by Moxie North
“Rain!”
As his name left her lips, her pussy that had been caressing him so sweetly now felt like a vise. If he hadn’t been wearing the condom, she would be squeezing his seed out, filling her pussy with his cum. Taking part of him into her, marking her in a way that every shifter would know. He wasn’t going to tell her about that, at least not yet. But his animal rumbled happily knowing that in the future, she’d smell like she was bonded.
Tucking his face into the crook of her neck, kept pounding into her as her body tried to milk him dry. When he felt the first flutter of her pussy releasing his cock he allowed his animal to enter his mind as they both claimed their mate. Continuing to thrust into her as her arms relaxed still holding onto him but no longer digging into his skin.
Rain felt a tidal wave of pleasure cascade over him as his body locked and his cock jetted out hot spurts of come. He knew he called her name, he knew that he roared, but he had held himself back for so long that his restraint was finally lost. Thank goodness this hotel room had thick walls. His hips continued thrusting into her as he held out for every drop of pleasure.
He hadn’t opened his eyes, as he knew it would have been a blur of colored sparks. He was afraid that if he had seen his mate as he was coming he wouldn’t have been able to control his inner animal. His bear had been so close to the surface for so long, that by denying himself the vision of her was like a temporary Band-Aid to his fragile control.
Rain did his best not to collapse on her as he fell to the side of the bed regrettably sliding out of her. He wanted to lie there, luxuriating in the fact that his mate was in his arms. That he’d been able to taste her sweet pussy, and touch her soft skin. Instead, in one quick move, he rolled away from her disposing of the condom before rolling back, pulling her into his arms and kissing her hard on her mouth.
“Mine. You’re all mine now, Quinn.”
She gave a soft sigh. “Shit, I think I might be.”
Chapter 26
Quinn was having a complete and total out of body experience. She’d never actually experienced one until this moment. She wondered if this was how you felt when you did drugs or got ridiculously drunk. Two things she’d never actually done.
One thing was certain, there could be no assumptions when it came to Rain. She wasn’t quite sure what she had been expecting from him, this being his first time and all. What she didn’t prepare herself for was the fact that Rain was either completely lying about his previous experience or he was very gifted in the bedroom department.
Quinn had found in her experience that most men were selfish lovers. Not always intentionally, just by the nature of what they were. They were men, football, beer, bro’s. That was the majority of what they thought about.
She didn’t think less of them for it; it was the nature of the beast. Rain wasn’t anything like any of the men she had met before, so why did she think that she could begin to guess what he would be like in bed?
She was used to finishing herself off after sex. Younger guys didn’t have the stamina to hold out for a woman to find her own climax. She was great at making herself come. Quinn didn’t blame the men she had been with, women were tricky. Maybe not so much tricky, as they were exceptionally unique in every way. Women had it easy in her opinion, men had to work hard to figure out each woman’s hot buttons, especially when it came to sex.
Somehow, Rain seemed to know all of her buttons, he hit all of her likes and avoided all of her dislikes. Either he was incredibly lucky, or it was something else. Something she still wasn’t sure she was willing to fully accept.
Honestly, Quinn was proud of herself for not laughing in his face when he had dared to tell her that he wasn’t completely human. There weren’t many women in her circle that wouldn’t have mercilessly mocked him for saying such a thing, or run screaming from the room.
Quinn had been trying to figure out Rain. Everything that made him so different and new to her didn’t have an easy answer. So his explanation actually made sense. With every touch and every kiss, she felt closer to him.
A strange ache in the center of her chest had started, the ache had turned into warmth, and then into a heat that spread through her body that had nothing to do with his touch or his kiss. It was coming from somewhere deep within her, like it was reaching out to touch him.
Now she lay wrapped in his arms, their sweaty bodies pressed together. She had never been one for cuddling after sex. And she was loath to admit it, but this didn’t feel anything like plain old ‘get it done’ sex. She wasn’t sure what to call it, if it had a name, or one that she wasn’t ready to use, but all of it had felt right. The feeling of safety in his arms was new. It felt like she was home. It was a strange sensation considering she’d never really felt that way before in her life. She’d never had a stable home, or even a place to call her own. Her mother had always moved them too much to ever label one place as home. The closest she’d ever come to it was her dorm room, but even then that was shared so it wasn’t truly her own. But laying next to Rain, she felt like this was her own version of home, her own man. It was scary and left her feeling vulnerable.
She was trying to think of what she should say as she drew circles with the fingertip against his chest. Before she could think of anything deep or possibly meaningful to say, Rain pressed a kiss against her forehead and wrapped his legs around her, pulling her tighter towards him making sure there was no space between them.
“My girl, my beautiful girl. I don’t think I’ll ever let you out of this room.”
“We do eventually have to go back to school, Rain. I’m quite content where I am, though. At least for now.”
“You hungry, thirsty?”
“Just sleepy, oddly happy and sleepy.”
“Oddly?”
“This might have been your first time, Rain. But this is all new to me too. This,” she gestured between them, “I’ve never done this before. So I don’t know the rules. I don’t know how I should act, or what we should do next.”
“That’s what’s so amazing about being fated mates, Quinn. There are no rules. We’re exactly as we’re supposed to be. And even if we aren’t together physically, we will always be together, our souls are now connected, and someday in the future when you choose to be with me forever, that connection will be set in stone.
I can’t tell you how happy I am right now. I don’t think there are words for it. But I will tell you this, and then I’ll let you go to sleep. This wasn’t a one time thing. This isn’t a fling, this is our future. Mine and yours, whatever we make of it.”
Quinn felt her eyes start to well up. She had never been much of a crier, but around Rain it was different. Her emotions felt raw and exposed, even as she relished the new sensations of caring for someone that wasn’t herself. It wasn’t lost on her that everything that Rain was offering came with a price.
It was true that she could easily take everything he was willing to give her even if she offered very little in return. Her instinct told her that he would take it, gladly. But it wouldn’t be fair to him, it wouldn’t be right for her.
Quinn was only good at thinking of others when they were acquaintances. Yet Rain did it so easily, like it was second nature to him. Maybe that’s what it was like growing up in a big family, taking care of siblings, being taken care of by those that were older than you. What must it have been like to have uncles and aunts, grandparents, cousins, all being part of your life from day-to-day?
She didn’t know if she could be that for him. What if she failed even before she started? What if he needed something and never asked her and she failed to give it to him. Would that break what they had? She had already grown accustomed to the feeling of belonging with someone. It was a sneaky feeling that was wiggling its way into her heart, and she worried that it was making a permanent spot that if it ever left, she would feel its absence for the rest of her life.
“Rain, what if you need something from me and I didn’t realize or recognize you wanted
it? What would you think of me? How would you feel if I took more than I gave? That’s a possibility because I’ve never had anyone need anything from me before.”
Rain pressed his lips against her forehead and breathed out a deep sigh then said, “Don’t you understand yet? You breathing, you being alive is the greatest gift I’ve ever had. I’m strong enough for both of us. I don’t need you to support me. I’ll gladly take anything you give, because you being with me is more than I could have ever hoped for. As soon as you spend any time with my family, you’ll learn to smother like the best of them if that’s something you want to do. But what I need from you? I need you happy, I need you healthy, I need you loved and protected. That’s what I need from you, Quinn.”
Quinn wanted to believe him. He made it sound so easy, such a simple thing. Why he thought giving yourself, your mental wellbeing over to someone else’s care was easy, she clearly didn’t know. Of all the scary things she could think of in her life, like bungee jumping or swimming sharks, this was probably more terrifying.
Then again, Rain had grown up differently than she had. He made it sound like he had never worried as a child, never doubted his future. It seemed like all she had ever done was doubted or dreaded what the next challenge was going to be. Now there was a man lying next to her that was promising to take away that worry and the fear of the unknown.
She was struggling to figure out what to say to him, what wouldn’t sound ridiculous, or worse, make her sound fragile. She had never been fragile with anyone, except him. Rain had made so many dents in her armor, that she wasn’t sure it would hold up to much more of his attention and affection. The real question was whether or not she wanted that armor when she was with him. Letting him in was scary, but the idea of letting him go was much worse.
“Rain, I need more time. I need to think this through. I like you a lot, but it feels so unfair because I think you have stronger feelings about me that I can’t reciprocate. How can two people be together when one person loves the other and they don’t know if that level of love will be returned?
What if I say yes right now and two years or three years from now my feelings change? You have so much faith in this thing you call your true mate, but I’ve never had any faith. I don’t even know what it would mean to put so much faith in something that is unknown, unseen. What if I end up hurting you because I can’t feel the same way?”
Quinn searched his face trying to see if he understood that she wasn’t being flippant, she wasn’t trying to be hurtful; she was actually baring her soul to him. Something she had never done with anyone else.
“Quinn, my sweet, complicated Quinn. Don’t you see? We have all the time in the world. And I have all the patience in the world because I have everything I need right here in my arms. There isn’t anything else that could get between us that would make me change the way I feel about you. So you can take all the time you need to figure out how you feel about me because I’m not going anywhere, I’ll never leave you. I don’t need an answer right now, because I’m so confident that I can win you over, or at least make myself so indispensable that you can’t live without me,” he said with a grin.
Quinn returned his smile, it was no use debating him, and she decided to stop the conversation and appreciate the fact that she’d just had two orgasms, she was warm, comfortable, and for the first time in her life she was in the arms of a man that loved her.
Chapter 27
Quinn slowly opened her eyes, blinking into the dark room. Outside, twilight was setting over the water. It took a moment for her to remember where she was. The bed that she was lying in was ridiculously comfortable, like a giant fluffy cloud. The strong muscled body lying next to her was just as comfortable, but in a different way. She almost didn’t want to look up to see his face.
Her head had been resting on his shoulder enclosed in the circle of his arms, and their legs were still wound together. She felt strong hands at her back pressing her close to his body. She was sure she had never slept like this with a man. She always thought that couples who slept face-to-face were odd. Who would want to breathe someone else’s air for eight hours? But here she was tangled around Rain Rochon like a greedy octopus.
His breathing was steady. The heat coming off his body felt a little warmer than average. There was a little voice inside her that urged her to just go back to sleep. But her curiosity was too great. She tipped her head back searching for his face in the fading light of the room. She shouldn’t have been surprised at all when she saw his bright eyes with a soft golden glow around the iris staring back at her.
“Good evening.”
“Good evening? Really, we’re going to be formal now?” She shouldn’t have been surprised that her voice was scratchy and dry. A trip to the bathroom wouldn’t have been out of order either. But it was the age-old dilemma of fulfilling your body’s natural needs versus the hedonistic pleasures of being cuddled up to someone warm.
“Not formal. Just respectful. You’ll find that out about me. I’m always respectful. If I wasn’t, my mother would find out about it. The only place I might lose some of my hard earned etiquette will be when I’m in bed with you.”
“Are you saying you’re holding out on me?”
“I’m very much holding back my bear. He has very specific ideas when it comes to sleeping with our mate. Besides, if I showed my hand now you might fall in lust with me before you fall in love.”
“How do you know that I have any feelings like that? Maybe I’m holding back on you, did you ever think of that?”
“If that’s the case then I’m looking forward to it. I don’t think there’s anything in this world that I can say no to you about.”
“Excellent, so you’re all for the whips and chains?”
“Only if it’s something you very much desire, and like I said, babe, I would do anything for you.”
“You’re one brave man. You don’t know anything about me. I could have all sorts of freaky tendencies. Maybe I’ve just been hiding them all this time waiting for some poor sap to let me in.”
Rain brought his hand up to her jaw and dragged his thumb across her jaw and then placed a soft kiss on her mouth pulling back just a bit to whisper, “Then I’ll be your sap.” He followed that with another kiss.
Quinn gave his chest a little shove. Not that she really wanted to, but nature called. “I need a moment.”
Rain didn’t ask, he just released her from his hold. Quinn got up and padded towards the bathroom, knowing that his eyes were on her the entire time. Quinn closed the door with a soft click. She felt along the wall for the light switch. The soft lights over the vanity clicked on, illuminating the white and silver bathroom that was larger than her dorm room. There were stacks of large white fluffy towels piled in the corner of the deep soaker tub.
To one side along the counter there was a silver tray full of toiletries with brand names that she could barely pronounce. Definitely not like the no name brands of the little bottles she had snatched from motels when she was a kid. Opposite the sinks was a large glass enclosed shower that could easily fit four people. If you were into that kind of thing.
Past the shower and tub, there was a small room with the toilet that even had its own door. Quickly making use of the facilities, Quinn came back to the counter and looked at herself in the mirror. Standing naked in a beautiful room in a four-star hotel was not where she expected to find herself. Ever.
Spying a white robe hanging off the back of the bathroom door she slid it on and had to hold back a moan. She didn’t know what the robe was made out of, but if she could, she’d live in it. Going to class and work wrapped in a Four Season’s robe sounded like a reasonable life choice.
Lifting the lid of a small, mirrored box that sat next to the row of expensive toiletries on the counter, she found a new toothbrush and toothpaste. She scrubbed her teeth and ran her fingers through her hair trying to tame it. Luckily, with her layered hairstyle she always looked like she had bedhead, there
wasn’t much she could do with it so she gave up with a sigh.
Part of her really wanted to hide out in the bathroom for a while. Maybe curl up in a ball in a corner just to think. But that wasn’t Quinn Sutton. She’d always resisted the urge to wallow in her emotions. More importantly, she didn’t think she needed to wallow. Logically she had nothing to complain about.
Being with Rain this afternoon was not something she had done on a whim. It was a conscious choice that she was fine with. Or at least she was telling herself she was fine with it. Good sex, a comfortable clean room, hot guy, and maybe more of all three once she finally left the confines of the bathroom. Then why was she still trying to find something wrong with the situation that she was currently in?
Reaching for the doorknob, she paused to see if she could hear anything on the other side of the door. Maybe Rain had fallen back asleep or more likely, when she opened the door, those eyes, those beautiful eyes, would be searching for her.
Opening the door, Quinn’s gaze went directly to the bed, but it was empty. She scanned the room and stopped when she saw Rain standing in nothing but a pair of jeans with the top button undone near the window. She took in the hard muscles of his bare chest. Remembering the feel of that firm wall of muscle made her pussy clench and she noticed Rain’s hungry glance. He was speaking to someone on the phone, but she clearly had his attention now.
She took a few steps and sat on the corner of the bed waiting for him to finish. She wasn’t sure who he was talking to, but it made her a bit nervous the way his eyes stayed on her. But it wasn’t a bad feeling, she was nervous in a totally delicious way, like the second he hung up that phone, she might just get round two.