Shifter Starter Set

by Candace Ayers

  At twenty-nine, trying to raise two teenagers felt an awful lot like an insurmountable task on the good days. Today was not one of the good days. I didn’t have a choice, though. They needed me and I loved them. I would never abandon them. So, I held them tighter and took deep breaths to calm myself.

  Finally, Nick pulled back. “We have to get to school.”

  Casey wiped his eyes and pulled away, too. He didn’t say anything to me, just grabbed his backpack and walked out the door. Nick squeezed my arm as he hurried past me to follow his brother.

  “I love you guys.” As usual, I received no response. I slumped against the counter and blew out a ragged breath. I was at a loss when it came to them. I wanted desperately to make their lives better, but I was afraid I was just messing things up for them up even more.

  “You are sad.” Beast heaved a big sigh and moved towards me. “I’ll fix it.”

  I looked over at him and forced a smile. “If you suggest killing them or eating them one more time, I’m going to scream.”

  He cupped my face in his hands and stared down at me with a sincerity that took my breath away. “No. No killing. The young males are okay. I don’t like when they aren’t kind to you, but that will change. I will make sure.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “I told you. You are mine. Do you think I would find you simply to let you go? Is that how do humans do it?”

  When he asked about humans doing it, my face burned. Lord ha’ mercy, I was acting like some hormone-ravaged teenager. The fact was, I couldn’t tell him how humans did it. I didn’t really know. I’d never done it. I was, embarrassingly, a twenty-nine year old virgin. Not exactly by choice. It had just happened.

  It had been years since I’d dated. I hadn’t had time since the boys arrived. And, for several years before that, I’d been so completely immersed in tracking them down, both living with different foster care families. Then, once I found them, there was the struggle of trying to gain custody of both of them. Dealing with lawyers, the courts, not to mention working extra shifts to pay for it all, ate up all my time and energy. There was never time for romantic relationships. I was lucky if I had time for a full night’s sleep.

  He lowered his mouth and pressed his lips against my cheek. “You are warm. Are you okay? Why is your face heating like this?”

  If there was ever a time for a hole to open up in the floor, it was then. “I’m fine.” Who was this sex-starved hussy taking over my body every time Beast was near?

  He easily lifted me and put me down on the counter, stepping between my thighs and wrapping his arms around my waist. “I don’t like you being sad. I want to make it change. Tell me how.”

  I put my hands against his chest, intending to push him away, but nothing happened. My wrists refused to put any power into the movement and I ended up just caressing him. “Sometimes, people are just sad. Overwhelmed is a better word, I guess.”

  “I will fix it.”

  “You keep saying that.”

  He nodded, his unusual eyes intent on mine. “I am a strong warrior. If I can’t defeat your sadness, then I don’t deserve you as my mate.”

  I let my head fall back to rest against the cabinet. “This is too much.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You. You thinking you’re some kind of warrior dragon. The boys. I’m too young to parent them and too old to believe you.” I finally managed to push him away and hopped off the counter scurrying out of the kitchen, heading to my bedroom. “You have to go. As interesting as this, uh, visit, has been, I have the real world to get back to. I have a job. I have bills. Real life isn’t a fairytale with castles and imaginary dragons.”

  “You’re starting to frustrate me again.”

  I spun on him and threw my hands up. “Are you serious? I’m frustrating you?”

  “Yes!” He grabbed my arms and yanked me against him. “You’re acting like you don’t know that we are meant for one another, as though you don’t feel it throughout every morsel of your being. Every time I look at you, my cock hardens, my heart races and my mouth waters. You know why I react that way, little one? Because you are mine. I am yours. You know this. I can scent you. You are wet for me. Even now, you are aroused—for me.”

  Equally horrified and turned on, I yanked away from him and stalked into my bedroom. “You are completely bonkers!”

  He was there, grabbing me again, only this time it was his front to my back. “Why are you fighting this?”

  Breathing heavily, I felt my whole world caving in to just that moment. It didn’t make any sense, but his hands on me, him touching me, it made everything stop. All the questions and concerns I had about some psychotic stranger just inserting himself into my life and grabbing me like I belonged to him, all of the worries I had, all the responsibilities, they all just faded. Everything melted until all that remained was his touch, just Beast, just him.

  “You’re mine, little one.” His words were barely more than a growl in my ear before he spun me around and his mouth descended on mine, his tongue parting my lips.

  It wasn’t my first kiss, but it was the first time I’d really been kissed, a kiss with truth and passion behind it. He held my head with one hand and my hips with the other, keeping me where he wanted me as he tasted and explored with his tongue. Slow and intense, it was a kiss meant to make me forget everything, including my own name. I knew that I was being seduced with a kiss, and I was all in.

  I gripped his shirt at his waist, trying to ground myself otherwise I was going to float right away. His hard body under the shirt was just more temptation, though. His tongue tangling with mine had my feet leaving the ground.

  I pulled back with a start as I realized my feet actually were leaving the ground. Beast held my ass cheeks in his hands and stared at me through heavy-lidded eyes. A hungry look, as though he wanted nothing more than to devour me whole. My legs were wrapped around his waist, my ankles locked tightly behind his back. I didn’t even know how that happened. What was I doing…

  “Come back, mate. Don’t allow your mind to leave us.” He moved back and sat on the edge of my bed. Then his mouth was on my neck and he was stretching out my shirt to kiss down my collar bone. “You taste even better than I imagined.”

  I tipped my head back, white-hot desire shooting through me and I was eager to feel more of what he was doing. That had never happened before. I’d read about sizzling passion in romance books, seen a few soft-porn movies that tried hard to depict it, but I’d never felt it. It was fucking amazing. His lips were soft and hot and demanding, his beard stubble, rough. The mix of it had me wiggling on his lap. Suddenly a thought popped into my head and I laughed. “You thinking about me, too, huh?”

  A deep rumbling laugh from him had me blushing as I realized what I’d boldly asked. He tilted his head back and grinned. The sight was breath-taking. His straight teeth parted as his tongue brushed over his lips. “Nonstop.”

  I didn’t want to open my mouth and say anything, but I had to before things got too far, and I had a feeling this might just go too far. “I’ve never… I’ve never done it before.” I shuddered. “I’ve never done anything before…”

  “Good. You were not made for other males. You are for me. For the one who will protect you, cherish you, and adore you. For the male who treasures you.”

  9

  Beast

  I knew she was a virgin. A dragon’s mate always is. Still, hearing her say the words ignited an even hotter flame in me. I was going to be hers and make her mine. She’d wear my mark and carry my scent, identifiable to anyone else who ever drew near her. No other male would ever dare lay a finger on her lest they lose their arm. I would fight to the death to defend her, and it would not be my death.

  “I shall pleasure you, little one, and I will savor every moment.” I bit down harder on her shoulder, leaving a temporary mark. She responded like magic.

  When I dragged her hips harder into mine and my cock pressed against her
, she dug her nails into my shoulders and threw her head back. “Beast…”

  I growled and ripped the shirt off her. “Say it again.”

  She gasped as the shredded fabric fell to the floor in pieces and she was revealed to me in just a simple beige breast covering. It was slightly darker than her skin and held her heavy breasts in a way that I envied. I wanted to cup them like that. With one slip of a claw, I removed the contraption and it sprung open.

  “Beast!” That time my name sounded more accusatory than I liked. Sky wrapped her arm over her breasts and checked out her breast covering with the other hand. “Bras aren’t cheap, you know? This was my last good bra. What were you thinking?”

  “Remain calm. I have all the money we could ever need. I shall buy another. I shall buy you whatever you wish.”

  I knew it was the wrong thing to say when she shoved my shoulder and climbed off my lap. I sat pouting, wondering what I had done.

  She kept her breasts covered as she stalked to the other side of the bedroom, still gripping the torn covering. Her bare back was smooth and lovely. The curve of it was more than enough to keep my eyes riveted and my cock painfully hard. I wanted to run my tongue down the ridges of her spine and dip lower to taste every part of her.

  “Stop looking at me like that. You can’t just ruin my undergarments and think that it’s okay.”

  “I’ll buy you new ones. I’ll buy you all the breast coverings in this world, if you’ll just come back here.”

  “This is crazy. I’m crazy for letting myself getting carried away with you.”

  I wasn’t having that kind of talk. I got up and stalked over to her, lifting her into my arms and bit my lip as she exposed her beautiful breasts to me. She responded by catching me around the neck. Her legs came up around my thighs, trapping me against her.

  “There is nothing crazy about wanting to give yourself to me. There is nothing crazy about us.” I pressed my lips to hers and felt the tension leave my chest as she didn’t resist. I’d never been a fan of kissing before. It didn’t seem to make much sense. Why press mouths together as though pretending to be some species of strange, sucking fish? With Sky, I couldn’t get enough. The feel of her silky smooth lips, velvety tongue, the very taste of her, sent passion soaring to a whole new level.

  Her arms clung tightly to me; her chest pressed into mine. Her hands gripped at my hair and tugged. “Beast. What is this?”

  I kissed down her throat, tasting her sweet, soft skin and lifted her higher as I trailed my mouth down her chest. Capturing one of her small pink nipples in my mouth, I stroked it with my tongue before biting gently and sucking.

  Sky arched in my arms, thrusting her chest into my face. She cried out and tugged harder at my hair. “Beast!”

  I moved to her other nipple and worked back and forth, making her squirm with pleasure until I couldn’t take anymore. The smell of her arousal surrounded me, intoxicating me. I felt drunk yet needed more. I dropped to my knees and shredded her pants and underwear. This time, she said nothing about it. Lifting her thighs onto my shoulder, I was helpless to stop, unable to give her time to adjust to what was happening before I buried my face into her core.

  She tasted so indescribably delicious that I licked her over and over savoring her sweetness, then buried my tongue inside her. More of her juices flowed and I lapped it up. It was my duty, my honor, to pleasure my mate. I sucked her little bud into my mouth and gently stroked it while slowly circling her entrance with my finger.

  Mere seconds passed before she tightened and cried out. Her essence leaked onto my finger and I growled with the urge to stand up and thrust my cock into her. I buried my face into the crook of her thigh and then sank my teeth into her soft flesh, leaving another mark.

  “Beast…shit!”

  She wasn’t ready for me to enter her, yet. She was small and tight and I was very large. It was my privilege to have such a fine and beautiful mate, and it was not only my obligation, but my sheer delight to prepare her in every way.

  I looked up at her and licked my lips. “You taste fucking divine. I could feast on you all day long, little mate.”

  She gave an uncomfortable laugh and attempted to slip her hand over herself to hide from my view. “Put me down, please.”

  I nipped her fingers and grinned up at her. “I am not done with you yet.”

  “I already came. That’s enough, Beast. You don’t have—” Her voice cut off when I lowered my mouth to her bud again. Then, it rang higher when I pushed my finger into her, stroking the hot, velvet walls of her core as I did. “Beast!”

  I sucked harder and pushed in another finger, stretching her. I sensed her already close to coming apart on my tongue and fingers again. It filled my chest with joy. My mate was responsive and opening herself to me, allowing me to pleasure her and the pride I felt was like nothing I’d ever experienced.

  When she climaxed that time, on my fingers, her body tensed and shuddered, squeezing me. Her muscles milked my fingers in a pulsing rhythm that made my mouth water.

  I gave her another break, leaving my fingers inside her, lightly stroking my tongue over her bud every little bit, just keeping her on the edge for as long as possible. When she regained enough of her senses to speak, I started all over again. Another finger, a different pattern with my tongue. Curling my fingers, sucking on the sensitive little bud. Thrusting slow and gentle, lightly scraping her with my teeth. Thrusting hard and fast, sucking harder. Another finger, stretching her until her nails scratched my skin, drawing blood to the surface. Pumping in and out through her orgasms. Stroking the little rose at the back of her slit, drinking her come as she fell apart again and again.

  I didn’t know how long I’d been tasting and pleasuring my female. Time was of no consequence to me. Sky was the most amazing female I had ever seen, and I could not get enough of her incredible flavor. But, when she finally went limp, I knew that she’d had enough for the time being. I tenderly licked her clean while her body shuddered against me, and then lifted her into my arms and held her close while I carried her into her bathroom.

  Her tub was small, but after filling it with hot water, I squeezed us both into it. I held her and stroked her body, just enjoying the extraordinary mate this world had granted me with.

  My cock ached and I wanted very badly to bury myself in her, but she was delicate and it was up to me to care for her needs before my own. I would not rush her. I had forever with her. As much as it hurt to ignore my throbbing dick, I desired her pleasure more than my own.

  Unable to contain myself, I reached my arm around and stroked her to another orgasm in the bath. She was too alluring. She awakened every instinct in me and drove me fucking crazy. After I’d had a taste, I knew that I’d never get enough of her.

  10

  Sky

  Amie’s eyebrows raised questioningly when I walked in three hours late with Beast trailing behind me. Her look wasn’t so much a question as it was an astonished expression of pure amazement. I wasn’t sure if it was because of me, or because of Beast.

  He’d insisted on coming to work with me. After countless orgasms, washing me in the bath, and watching me as I got dressed, staring at me with so much heat and intensity in his gaze that I almost melted, I couldn’t argue with him too much. I’d lost my ability to speak. I’d almost lost my ability to walk.

  I could still feel his mouth on me, his fingers in me. Orgasms with my vibrator had never been so amazing. If I’d only know what I’d been missing. Although, something told me that Beast was different from other men. In so many ways.

  Beast caught my arm and tugged me back against his chest. Looking down at me, he trailed his eyes down to my chest and gave a little growl. “Your heart is racing the same way it does when I touch you. Are you sure you don’t wish to go back home and finish what we started?”

  I felt my face go fifty shades of red and put my hand on his chest. Under that shirt, he’d had deep scratches. Scratches that had healed by the time he p
ut the shirt back on. I still didn’t know what was up with that. “I have to work.”

  He bent down and kissed me. “Too bad.”

  I stumbled back a step as he let me go and watched him walk over to an empty booth. Settling into it, he picked up the menu and looked it over.

  I turned to Amie who was staring with wide eyes. Seeing her really cemented the fact that since the last time I’d been here, not even twenty-four hours prior, my love life, or lack of it, had done a complete one-eighty. I was on someone else’s rollercoaster ride.

  She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the back. “What the fuck is going on?”

  I opened my mouth and found that I didn’t know what to say. I closed it and then opened it again. “Um…”

  She gestured towards the front of the café. “Who the hell is that gorgeous morsel of stud muffin and what are you doing with him? Last I checked, you were single.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean you don’t know? He just kissed the shit out of you and the look he gave you melted my panties.”

  I dizzied a little and leaned against the counter behind me. “Yeah… He does that.”

  “You look like you’ve just been fucked good and well for hours. I need to know everything. Details, chère.”

  Marcus stepped out of his office and glared at me. “You’re late.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I was…” I couldn’t think of anything to say other than I was having multiple orgasms at Beast’s hands and mouth.

  “Getting fucked.” Amie whispered behind a cough.

  “I don’t want to know. Don’t let it happen again.” He scowled and shook his head. “Now, get to work. And stop smiling so damn much.”