“God damn, Jaycee,” he rasped, catching her hip with his hand as if he wanted to stop the torture. But instead of stilling her, he urged her on. “You’re going on to kill me.”
She grinned up at him. “And here all I wanted to do was make you come.”
He laughed, nuzzling his face against her throat in a cuddly puppy-dog kind of gesture. “Are all humans so amazing?”
Glowing from the compliment, Jaycee wrapped her arms around his shoulders and delighted in the feel of his face tucked against her hair. “Of course not,” she said, because this was her dream and she could be the best human lover if she wanted to be. “No one’s like me, baby.”
“Got that right,” he panted, his movements growing frantic as he pushed in and pulled back out, grinding with each plunge of his cock.
Sloppy and wet and raunchy, it was exactly the kind of sex she’d been craving. Jaycee undulated against him and grew hotter, the pressure building inside her.
“You gotta be kidding me,” she muttered, staring at the ceiling over his shoulder. “I’m gonna come again.”
“That’s the plan.” He picked up speed, the rhythm even more harried. “Just make it soon, would you? I can’t wait much…longer.” Even as he said the words, he groaned and began to quiver. “Fuck,” he gasped, holding her tight. “No. Wait, you’re not—”
But the orgasm caught hold of him, and he went off, plunging into her, his cock flexing and growing. The sensation was amazing. Jaycee threw her head back and screamed, overcome by his orgasm until it fed her own, the two mixing together and creating a maelstrom of desire.
Just as she reached the absolute peak of pleasure, her world went black.
She had no idea how long she was out, but when she came to, her dream lover was still there, cupping her face with trembling fingers.
“Jaycee? Jaycee, open your eyes and look at me.” Even his voice wavered, fear lacing each word.
Her lashes flickered open once but felt so very heavy. Head thick with fog, she licked dry lips and tried to talk. “Wha-what happened?”
“Oh, thank God,” he breathed out his relief. “Thank God. I thought I killed you. I’ve never been with a human before. I thought… Holy shit, don’t ever do that to me again.”
Finally, she managed to open her eyes. The fringes of her vision blurred, framing him with smudged edges. It took a moment for his words to rearrange themselves in her head and make sense.
“First human, huh?” she murmured, closing her eyes because the blackness seemed to drag her back under. “Then I must say you did well, grasshopper.”
With that, she passed out once more to the sound of his incredulous laugh.
Chapter Four
Jaycee felt downright chipper the next morning as she strolled through the Griffin’s back door. She’d woken that morning in the center of her bed, rejuvenated and so utterly alive, she’d been damn near tempted to burst into song.
The triplets’ father, Shaw, didn’t seem to be experiencing the same jubilation. He rushed around the kitchen, looking harried as he snagged toast from the toaster with one hand, poured orange juice with another, and talked on his cell phone with it tucked between his ear and shoulder.
“Yeah, we’ll discuss it at work. I’ll talk to you in a few.”
At the table, the children chattered above their father’s voice, arguing over who was going to sit where.
As Jaycee shut the door behind her and took in the chaotic scene, Shaw disconnected his call and sent her a desperate look. “Welcome to the nuthouse.”
Grinning, she set her purse on the counter, then faced the table and opened her arms. “Good morning,” she called.
Finally noticing her arrival, the triplets clambered from the table and hurried to her to give her their morning group hug. As they pulled back, she took charge of the situation and assigned seating, pointing each to his or her seat for the day. After handing each kid a plate full of breakfast, she marched them back to the table, and order reigned once more.
Shaking his head, their father set his hand on his hip and eyed her with wonder. “Jaycee, you’re a miracle worker.”
She preened. “That’s what I keep telling you all.”
As he grinned back at her, warmth spread through her system. Before last night, Shaw Griffin had been the sexiest man she’d ever met. But her new dream lover made the triplets’ father pale in comparison.
Shivering, she recalled her dream again. Ever since waking up alone in bed, she kept replaying each detail over and over in her head. She never remembered her dreams, but thank God she remembered this one. Clearly.
Even as she took her shower and glanced down at her body, completely changed, she felt as if every minute with her wolf-boy had been real. Even the scent of sex perfuming her bedroom this morning had made it all seem so genuine. Of course, going to bed masturbating had caused that, but still. She liked to imagine otherwise.
Gaze transforming from friendly to thoughtful, Shaw tilted his head and squinted his eyes as he kept watching Jaycee. “You look…” His voice trailed off as a dark flush stained his jaw. “…different today.”
Jaycee quirked her brow at his unusual observation. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say the man was blushing. But Shaw never blushed.
Glancing down to find nothing was out of sorts—she wore the same comfortable shirt and jeans she did most days—Jaycee turned back to Shaw, who continued to study her with a slight crinkle of his brow as if he couldn’t figure out what had changed.
Before she knew it, she was blushing too. Her dream last night had refreshed her, body and soul. She woke up rested and sated with a confidence that amazed her. But could that vibrancy inside her be shining outward as well?
“Did you change your hair?” Shaw finally guessed.
Jaycee shook her head. “No.”
“Hmm.” He shrugged. “I don’t know what it is, but you look really good.” Then he did it again. He blushed. Tough, back-down-to-no-one Shaw Griffin was actually blushing; there was no doubt in her mind. “Not that you don’t always look nice,” he rushed to say. “It’s just, this morning—” Coughing into his hand, he faltered.
Quirking a brow, Jaycee studied him, interested to hear his thoughts. Never—not even once—had he looked at her as anything other than his children’s nanny. He looked at his wife, Riley, like he wanted to consume her whole, strip her naked and fuck her without a thought or care who might be watching. Jaycee had long ago decided he was blind to every other woman who crossed his path. She thought it was kind of sweet.
But to have him so suddenly looking at her as a woman boggled her mind. Her dream really must’ve boosted her confidence.
Still looking stiff and uncomfortable, Shaw reached for his briefcase. “I need to get to work,” he mumbled, ducking his head and refusing to make eye contact. “Riley should be home at her usual time. Have a good day.”
After calling a goodbye to his children, Shaw rushed out the door. Jaycee stared after him, a huge smile lighting her face. She had caught the attention of a complete hunk like Shaw. Maybe she wasn’t totally hopeless after all.
Beaming, Jaycee accredited her joy to one totally amazing dream.
* * * * *
Absolutely miserable, Knox skulked the woods outside the jaguars’ house. He never stayed long in one place, scavenging for food and moving on. He tempted fate occasionally and broke into human homes when he knew no one was around. Human food held some interesting flavors, so he liked to go through their kitchens and come up with a snack before he was off again, disappearing into the woods like a phantom.
But after last night, he couldn’t make himself move on. He’d never crept into a human house to fuck the lady of the manor before, never known what he was missing. After sinking inside Jaycee, though, he didn’t see how he could ever lie with anyone else, wolf or human.
Panicked by what this meant, he growled low in his throat, glaring at the jaguar home that continued his female. She was ins
ide; he could hear her, smell her. He wanted to break down the door and drag her out, taking her again and again.
His female.
Body quivering with need, Knox nearly missed the scent of approaching humans—males—before he jerked his attention to the left, focusing on their smell and voices. They were following his trail, hunting him.
Eyes narrowing, he glanced one last time at the house containing Jaycee, then whirled away, dodging deeper into the forest, changing from wolf into stag as he moved. Deer were more indigenous to the area, plus rare in the shifter world. If the hunters were looking for a shapeshifter, they’d scan right past a deer. If they were merely scouting out local game for sport, he might be in trouble.
His senses told him these hunters were of the shifter variety, however, following his specific trail and talking in code the shifter hunters he’d had close encounters with before had used.
Fuck, he knew he should’ve moved on. Shifter hunters were a blight on his existence; he had a scar on the back of his thigh to prove it. They’d yet to get close enough to finish him off, but he’d never been stupid enough to stick around an area after raiding it either.
Slinking deeper into the forest, he ran until he could no longer smell them on his trail or hear their hushed voices. Pausing at a brook about five miles from where he started his retreat, he ducked his head to sip at the cool water, wetting his parched throat.
He knew he should keep going, vacate the area completely. But as he glanced back in the direction of the jaguar homestead, everything inside him rebelled. His female was back there; he couldn’t abandon her.
Chapter Five
When Riley made it home from work to relieve Jaycee from her nanny duties, Jaycee still felt revived and energetic. She and the children had spent most of the day playing.
But the triplets’ mother had barely knelt down inside the doorway to scoop up her three children in a group hug when she paused, lifted her nose and then veered a wide-eyed look Jaycee’s way. A startled expression plastered to her features, she gawked until Jaycee squirmed under her intense inspection.
Finally, she couldn’t take it any longer. “What?” she demanded.
Shaking her head, Riley jerked her gaze away. “Nothing. Sorry for staring?”
“No,” Jaycee said, setting her hand on her hip. “That was definitely something. What’s going on?”
“She can smell the wolf—”
Flinging out her hand, Riley covered Brynn’s mouth in a smooth, motherly way. But Jaycee had heard enough.
Crinkling her brow, she frowned. “Wolf?”
Sighing, Riley turned to her children and ushered them away. “To your rooms. Clean them. Now. I’m going to come inspect them in half an hour, and the cleanest room’s owner gets a surprise.”
As the three scampered off, Jaycee moved closer to their mother. Riley watched her children until they disappeared at the top of the stairs, and still she stared as if purposely keeping her back to the nanny.
Jaycee was having none of it. “What’s going on? What did they mean, you could smell the wolf? The wolf from yesterday in the yard?”
Slowly, Riley swiveled to face her. “Children,” she said with a nervous laugh and a wave of her hand. “They were fascinated all night long, demanding I tell them wolf stories. I got so tired of repeating the same one, I finally made some up. One was about Jack and the Beanstalk, but I made him a wolf, so the giant said ‘fie fie fo fum, I smell the blood of a wolf in the room.’ I can only guess that’s what they’re talking about.”
Squinting her eyes, Jaycee stared at Riley a second longer, pretty sure she could read a lie in the depths of the beautiful golden-brown eyes that gazed back, trying and failing to look innocent. “So why did you stare at me before that?”
Riley shrugged and sent her an airy smile. “No reason. You just look…different today.”
Jaycee pulled back, patting her cheeks with a frown. “Really? How strange. Shaw said the same thing.”
Face blooming with adoration at the mention of her husband, Riley gave a soft smile. “Did he? I always knew he was too intuitive for his own good.”
Utterly confused now, Jaycee opened her mouth to ask more questions, but Riley cut her off. “So, how’ve you been lately? We haven’t really chatted woman to woman in quite a while. After talking some with you yesterday, I realized how much I missed our bond.” Reaching out a warm hand, she clasped Jaycee’s arm. “Have you met anyone new since Donald?”
Snorting, Jaycee rolled her eyes. “Not unless you count the hunk I dreamed about last night.” Then she blushed from simply thinking about him and everything they’d done together.
Riley leaned closer, frank interest lighting her eyes. “Really? A dream man, huh? Tell me all.”
She led Jaycee toward the couch where the two women sat. They had grown close over the years. Despite the fact Riley was supermodel gorgeous and Jaycee envied pretty much everything about her from her successful job to her perfect house, children and husband, she was too likeable to hate. So they’d become best friends instead. Still, Jaycee’s cheeks heated with embarrassment as she repeated her dream to Riley. Before she knew it, every delicious detail spilled from her mouth.
The triplets’ mother listened with rapt interest—more interest, in fact, than Jaycee could remember Riley displaying about one of Jaycee’s dreams before. By the time Jaycee finished, Riley sat back on the couch, smoothing her fingers over her mouth with a look of deep concentration.
“Did he say anything to you before he left? Tell you whether he’d be back or not?”
“Uh…” Mouth hanging open in blank shock, Jaycee blinked at her boss. “No, he didn’t. He, uh, well, I don’t remember him leaving at all. We sort of just…passed out, arms and legs all twisted together. Why? Do you think there was some kind of symbolism there?”
She’d never known Riley was a dream interpreter before. Hmm. Strange.
“Well, dreams about a…a…werewolf usually indicate something in your life isn’t what it seems. Like a repressed feeling. Anger. Fear.”
“Lust,” Jaycee answered. “A bunch of repressed lust.” Throwing up her hands, she said, “That’s it. I’m horny and can’t hide it. I’m even dreaming about it in symbols.”
Riley’s smile was tense yet amused. “That must be it,” she murmured.
* * * * *
Knox spent most of the afternoon winding his way back to Jaycee’s house. He waited until he was close enough to smell her before he shifted from his buck back into his natural state: wolf. His wolf could smell better, smell inside her house, cooking some kind of garlicky supper. He licked his lips, already anxious to taste leftovers off her tongue later tonight.
So absorbed in watching for signs of her moving past her window, he missed another approaching him from behind almost until it was too late. Spinning around with a snarl, he faced the female striding toward him, wearing slacks and a prim button-up blouse. The jaguar mother.
“Put your claws away, mutt,” she said, not even faltering as she approached. “I’m not here to kill you. Yet.”
Shifting into his human form, Knox leaned against a tree and crossed his arms over his chest. “Then why are you here?”
Finally, the jaguar paused, her gaze skimming with detached precision down his naked body. The stare of a female had never left him so cold. In fact, it was possible his cock shrivel just a bit more, tucking in as close to his body as it would go.
Returning her inspection to his face, she let out a disinterested sniff. “You visited my nanny last night.”
Knox lifted one shoulder, neither confirming or denying, though they both knew he had.
“I want you to leave her alone.” Her tone of voice and the arch of her eyebrow demanded she be obeyed.
Knox wouldn’t have been intimidated even if he had wanted to leave Jaycee alone. “Why?”
Crossing her own arms over her chest, the female narrowed her gaze. “Because the whole idea of you visiting her at ni
ght under the guise of a dream is deceitful. I don’t approve.”
He sketched a brow. “You don’t approve, hmm? Well, I don’t give a damn whether some human-wannabe jaguar approves or not.”
The female’s anger rose with a torrent of aroma, filling the air around them. “She doesn’t know what you are,” she growled from between clenched teeth, a part of her jaguar snarling through the words.
Kitty had a temper. Knox didn’t particularly care about that either.
“How does that matter? I’ll wager she doesn’t know what you are either, jaguar. Or your precious cubs.”
“But my children and I aren’t fucking her without her knowledge.” The jaguar’s jaw went hard as she glared at him. “Humans call that rape.”
Knox shrugged once more. “Never heard of it.”
“Well, I have. And I will not let you take one of my closest friends without her consent.”
His smile was smug and arrogant. “Trust me, sweetheart. She consented.”
“Under the guise of a dream, yes. If she knew anything that happened was real, I guarantee you she wouldn’t have been so willing so quickly. And I bet you didn’t even use protection. Human females cycle monthly, unlike shifters. What if you got her pregnant? She’d have no idea when the child was conceived. Or who the father was, much less what he was.”
A rush of warmth spread through Knox. Pregnant. The idea of a pup growing inside Jaycee made his chest feel tight. He imagined a dark-headed babe suckling at her breasts, and the sensation swelled even bigger. Dear Lord, was this…joy blooming inside him?
But—
“Human and shifters can’t procreate.” He glared at the jaguar for even putting such a dream in his head.
She snorted and rolled her eyes. “I take it she’s your first human, bonehead?”
Advancing on her with a snarl, he demanded, “What do you mean by that?”
The female stood her ground. “Think about it, wolf. My husband—my mate—is fully human. What do you think my children are? They’re half-breeds.”
Dreams of Wolf [Half-breed Shifter Series Book 2] Page 4