by Sky Winters
The other guard looked at his partner’s remains, then back at Kieran, then at Marcus. A sharp gasp arose from the crowd. The guard was still for a moment before rushing out of the room.
“You motherfucker!” shouted Marcus, darting for the blade that glimmered amidst the pile of ashes.
He snatched it up and pointed it toward Kieran, his stance awkward and his arm crooked at the wrist, as though the blade and his arm were a strange approximation of a scorpion’s tale.
“This is madness, Kieran! You think this bitch is worth killing your own kind?” he scoffed and tossed his hair from his face. “I always knew you had a soft spot for the cattle. But you should know that such sentimentality is a liability in our world. And now you will learn.”
With that, he lunged toward Kieran, who sided-stepped out of the way. Marcus stumbled for a moment before recomposing himself. He looked at Kieran, who stood like an immovable pillar across from him, and realized that he was outmatched. After shooting a brief, side-eyed look took toward Nora, he extended his hand, grabbed her by the hair, and pulled her into close to him. Wrapping his arm around her chest, he pressed the blade against the curve of her jugular.
“Okay, enough of this!” he shouted, moving backward through the crowd, toward the broken window of the balcony, still howling with wind. “I take the girl, we leave, and we figure this all out later. There is nothing here that can’t be looked past.”
Anger surged through Kieran. As Marcus stepped back, he closed the distance with each step.
“No. You let her go, we both leave, and I give you a quick death for what you’ve done to her,” said Kieran, his voice a growl.
“Ha! I am afraid that is not going to work,” Marcus said, stepping with Nora through the broken glass and onto the balcony, their feet crunching over the shattered window. “I will leave you to the crowd!” he said, yelling over the wind.
Kieran. Look at me if you can hear me. Nora focused her words in her mind.
Kieran heard Nora’s voice in his mind with perfect clarity, and looked toward Nora with surprise.
When I give the signal, kill him.
Kieran’s face steeled. He was perplexed by this, by hearing Nora’s voice in her head as he had before, but braced for the next move.
It came seconds later.
Nora clasped her hands together, extended them away from her body, and drove her elbows into Marcus’s stomach. He half-collapsed from the impact, the air rushing from his lungs with a deep “oof.” Nora took advantage of the distraction to break free from Marcus and run toward Kieran, who then dashed toward Marcus, struck him in the throat with a quick jab, and wrested the blade from his hand. Closing his fingers around it, he pressed the pointed end against the ivory flesh of Marcus’s throat.
Then, with a sharp, firm stab, he shoved the blade up, through Marcus’ skull.
Marcus had a split second to see what had happened, then looked at Kieran, a murderous fire burning in his eyes.
“You… you fucker!” he said, before exploding into ash.
Kieran stepped away from where the form of Marcus’ stood, and Nora ran to him. He wrapped her in his right arm as they watched the ash that was once Marcus swirl and dissipate into the cool, evening wind.
Kieran and Nora turned, and faced the crowd of men, all shocked into silence by what they had just witnessed.
“I think this is our cue to leave,” said Kieran, wrapping his arm even tighter around Nora’s waist.
“I’m ready when you are,” she said, grabbing onto this arms.
And with that, he lifted off, carrying Nora up and off, swooping through the air like a bird of prey.
Chapter 18
Kieran’s lips were wet and warm on her neck as he kissed her. His hands moved down, from her breasts to the soft curves of her hips, and she shuddered with pleasure as he moved inside of her. Nora let her body fall deep into the soft blankets that she lay upon, and moved her fingertips along the sweat-sheened skin of Kieran’s back.
“I’m so happy to see you again,” Nora said in between pleasured gasps.
“We don’t have to be apart ever again,” he said, thrusting his hips to a slow, deep rhythm.
Nora closed her eyes, feeling Kieran’s cock slide up and into her. She felt more sensitive to her touch than ever, and each press of his hard stomach against hers was like heaven.
The bedroom window was open, and as the soft wind blew the curtains would dance, letting in moonlight that glowed in slivers across their bodies. They moved together in unison, their palms seeking different parts of their bodies. Nora felt Kieran move in her at a faster pace and slid her hands down the small of his back until they came to a rest on his ass. Grabbing the bottoms of his cheeks she squeezed, the feel of his skin heating her with arousal. He responded in kind, moving his hands out from under her back and resting them on the bones of her hips, holding them in a firm grasp as he thrust harder and harder.
Nora felt the flower of orgasm make its first blossoming, and she closed her eyes and let her head sink farther into the pillow, happy to let Kieran do his work. She squeezed his ass again, his flesh warm and soft under the press of her fingertips. At this last squeeze, Kieran lifted up from her and flashed her a small smirk.
“Someone’s feeling extra spunky today,” he said before moving is head down and licking her nipples.
“Yeah,” she said, in between sharp intakes of breath, “I think I’m getting back into it.”
Kieran answered this by increasing the tempo of his thrusting. Instead of moving in and out of her inches at a time, he was now moving the full length of his cock in her, finishing each thrust with a firm slap of his hips against hers. Nora closed her eyes shut even tighter, letting herself get lost in the tempo of his pounding.
“Don’t stop, don’t stop,” she repeated over and over, feeling orgasm draw closer with each collision of his hips against hers, each full sheathing of his cock into her.
“You like when I fuck you like that?” he said, grunting with each thrust.
“Yeah, keep fucking me, just like that, like that,” she said, her voice trailing off.
Kieran took a firmer grip on her hips and thrust harder and harder, building up to a steady, firm pound. Nora’s face tightened more and more, her hand held in front of it, and pulled her legs open further, wrapping them tight around Kieran’s hips. His pounding was relentless, and Nora felt herself move closer and closer to orgasm the longer it went on. Kieran lifted himself above her, resting on his now-straightened arms, his muscles hard and tight with the stress of holding up his weight. In this position, he found a steadier rhythm and continued his pounding. Nora’s eyes were fully shut, only opening a bit in order to take in the sight of Kieran’s flawless, hard body doing its work on top of her. Her upper body felt cool from the soft night air, while her hips felt warm from Kieran’s skin against hers.
“Oh god,” she said, her voice breaking, “I’m almost there.”
He didn’t stop, he kept his pace, feeling himself move to the brink of his own orgasm. His cock began to feel consumed with pleasure inside of her, and he soon reached the point where he couldn’t stop himself from coming.
“Oh, baby, I’m gonna come in you,” he said, his voice gripped with pleasure.
“Do it,” she said, almost at her own orgasm.
Then, with a heavy grunt, Kieran let himself loose inside of her. His thrusting slowed down, and Nora felt his cock pump into her. Her own orgasm came soon after, and exploded through her, starting at her lower body and moving outward until the tips of her lips were boiling with ecstasy. Kieran’s pace slowed as he finished coming into her, and with one final thrust, he was done, having spent himself in her. He bent his arms and let himself drop onto Nora. She took his head into her arms and brought it next to her neck.
They lay like this for several minutes, their breath slowing from a frenzied pace to a slow and measured intake. Nora listened to the gentle sounds of the city wafting up along the length
of their building and in through the window.
Nora finally broke the silence. “So, what now?”
“You live here now.”
Nora laughed. “I figured. But, I mean, what about your people? Won’t there be consequences to what you did. What you did for me?”
“Yes, there will be a price to pay. What that will be, who’s to say. Tensions between the Irish and the Italians have been brewing for a while, and this just might be the thing that sets them off.”
Nora looked at him with worried eyes. “And you’re okay with that?”
“Of course not. But maybe it will be for the best. Sometimes a conflict needs to be out in the open, so it can be dealt with. Besides, if it weren’t because of me, it would’ve been because of someone else. And maybe someone less deserving to die than Marcus would’ve paid the price.”
A moment passed.
“But it doesn’t matter. I’ll keep you safe; I promise you that.”
“You’ll keep both of us safe,” she said, her hand moving to her belly.
“Both of you?” he said.
There were no more words after that. The two lovers remained in each other’s arms through the night, their eyes holding softly on the curved shape of the moon as it hung over the amber lights and hard angles of the city beyond their window.
READ THE ENTIRE NYC VAMPS 4 BOOK BOX SET
ONLY 99 CENTS OR FREE WITH KINDLE UNLIMITED
Bear Mountain Shifters Book 1
CHAPTER 1
Tessa Henderson never grew tired of the way the morning sunlight streamed in through the windows of her cabin on Bear Mountain. Even after a year, when she and her husband Lucas decided to finally leave the city behind and spend the rest of their lives in peaceful seclusion, she still loved waking up to the gentle dappling of sunlight at the end of her and Lucas’s bed. First, it would play through the leaves of the trees that shaded their cozy cabin, the light shifting as the wind poured over the branches. As the morning went on and the sun rose above the tree line, the sun would flood in on brilliant golden beams.
Tossing the earth-toned blanket from her body, Tessa rose from the bed to open a window and let the pleasant, warm air fill the room. The subtle scent of lavender mixed with the clean, fresh morning breeze. This was her favorite time of year, when the last frost of winter became a distant memory and the sunlight grew warmer by the day, the plants and trees coming out of their long hibernation- spring was almost here. She pulled at the hem of a thin, white t-shirt that showed off her full breasts and barely covered her pair of black lace panties. This was her favorite outfit to sleep in.
Tessa looked at the bed with longing, wishing that Lucas was still in it. Something about these warm, sunny mornings made her want to waste the hours away in bed with her husband, but he rose even earlier than she did. More and more, Tessa found herself waking up alone in bed, her arm moving longingly over the sheets where Lucas would lay.
A thud sounded through the cabin, snapping Tessa out of her morning daydream and alerting her that Lucas was home. Checking her phone on the nightstand, she saw that it wasn’t even eight yet.
“Baby, is that you?” asked Tessa, calling through the open bedroom door.
“Yeah, it’s me,” Lucas said, his gruff, manly voice carrying through the home.
Tessa smiled, happy that he was back. She moved with slinky steps towards the living room, her long chocolate-colored hair mussed from sleep. Entering the kitchen, she saw Lucas, his large, muscular body bare from the waist up, and his tanned, sculpted torso glistening with sweat from his morning’s work. His sandy blond hair hit his strong, defined jaw and his light blue jeans hung from his hips, showing off the full span of his strong, tight abs.
Upon seeing Tessa, his green eyes widened slightly and Tessa watched as his gaze tracked along the curves of her body.
“Where were you?” Tessa asked, crossing one slim ankle over the other as she leaned against the door frame.
“Nowhere,” he said, as he poured himself a tall glass of water at the sink, his tone suggesting that he didn’t want to discuss the matter.
But Tessa did. She knew that Lucas had always been an early riser, but throughout their marriage, there was a reason. He used to rise early to work on one of his wrought-iron sculptures. But since they moved, he was becoming more and more cagey about where he had been and what he had been doing[T3].
“Nowhere?”
“Just into town to get some supplies- nothing you need to worry about.”
He took a long draw from the glass of water, the soft-pointed triangle of his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down with each swallow.
“I just don’t know why you need to go so early.”
“To get it done, that’s why.”
Lucas set the glass in the basin of the stainless-steel sink.
“What difference does it even make?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” said Tessa, winding a delicate finger through her hair and coiling it, a playful smile spreading across her face. “I thought we could spend the morning together.”
Lucas leaned against the counter, taking another look at Tessa.
“Oh yeah?” he asked, getting the hint. “What’d you have in mind?”
“I think you know.”
With that, Tessa turned around and slinked back into the bedroom, pulling her shirt off and tossing it out into the living room, her nipples hard and taut. As she sat down on the bed, she heard Lucas’s heavy footfalls follow her into the bedroom, and within seconds, his tall, broad-shouldered frame was darkening the doorway.
Even after a decade-and-a-half of marriage, Tessa still found Lucas to be the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. His sandy hair was wild and unruly, his green eyes were brilliant and always seemed to be narrowed in mischief, his nose was strong and slim, and his jaw was wide and square, set just below a set of sensual, full lips. A passionate, talented artist, he always had his pick of bohemian girls who invariably fell under his spell, and Tessa still couldn’t believe that she was the one he actually chose to wed.
She looked at him with ravenous eyes as he stepped out of his heavy, brown boots.
“Come here,” said Tessa, curling a finger towards him, her face half-obscured by a thick tress of hair.
Lucas stepped towards her, nothing on his body but his jeans. When he closed the distance, Tessa placed her hands on his tight skin smooth and taut over his muscles. She began kissing his stomach, taking sweet pleasure in the feeling of his abs against her soft lips. Moving down, she paid special attention to his hip bones; she’d always loved the way they jutted out. Tessa inhaled while kissing him, taking in his rich, manly musk. As she continued, she moved her hands down and around, slipping her fingers underneath the waistband of his jeans and dragging the backs of her nails against his skin. She looked up at him with smiling eyes, building the anticipation for what was to come next.
He moved one hand to the back of her head, running his fingers through her hair, the backs of his nails dragging against her skin, sending shivers along the length of her back. Tessa worked open the brushed gold button of his jeans, unfastening it and exposing the skin just above Lucas’s cock. She moved her lips down, kissing this newly visible skin as she pulled his jeans by the waist, moving her head back and away from his cock as it sprang free.
Tessa couldn’t help but smile every time she saw Lucas’s cock. It was long and thick, smooth and delicious. She found herself often thinking of the first time they fucked that night long ago in the back of his car, a black Porsche Roadster that he inherited from an uncle and still drove to this day. She still remembered the feeling of him sliding into her after what seemed like hours of foreplay, the length of his cock entering her fully, forcing a long sigh from her lungs. And what she remembers most was thinking how perfectly he fit into her, as though his cock was made just for her.
She never grew bored of it and now was no exception.
Taking a long, hungry look at Lucas’s prick, Tes
sa began by stroking him along the base of his shaft with her fingertips. She wanted to take all of him into her mouth right then, to let his length slide down her tongue and into her throat, but Tessa had long ago learned the value of making a man wait. Wrapping her fingers around his shaft, she tightened her grip, gently squeezing his balls as she stared up at him. Watching his face tighten, Tessa knew that he was ready for her to begin. And as she felt her mouth water as she looked down the length of his organ, she knew that she was ready, too.
She began by kissing the head of his prick with gentle presses, her lips glossy and wet. Tessa focused on just his head at first, kissing along the ridge of his prick, paying special attention to his most sensitive areas as she continued to squeeze his balls. A quick grunt emerged from Lucas’s throat, and Tessa took this as a sign that she was on the right track. After years of learning just how to make this particular cock cum, she knew that she’d better be.
Tessa kissed him along his substantial length, now moving her hand up to the head of his organ, caressing him as she kissed the taut skin of his erection, stopping only at his balls to suck and lick them before moving back up. After repeating this a few times, she knew that she was ready to taste him- to really taste him.
Moving her lips back up to the tip, she opened wide, the corners of her lips pulled upwards in a smile of anticipation, and took him into her warm, wet mouth.
Lucas groaned with pleasure as his cock slid into her, Tessa flicking his length with her tongue as she took him deeper and deeper into her mouth. She stopped before she took his length fully down her throat, wrapping her lips into a tight seal around his shaft. Then, she began sliding her lips along his cock, gently lashing him with her tongue as she sucked, flashing her big, blue eyes up at him with a sensual gaze as she worked.
Gradually, her pace quickened, the soft sounds of her sucking and licking mingling with the birdsong that floated in through the open window. Tessa made sure to lick his head hard when she was about to slide her mouth along his length, pressing her soft, wet tongue against the head of his cock and the skin just below. Moving one hand along his side, she could feel his body shudder with pleasure and as she sucked, his breath quickened.