by T. S. Ryder
Charity turned from the orcas, excitement in her eyes. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. My grandmother would tell me and my brothers stories when our mother was off gathering clams and oysters to sell. She said that our ancestors were sharks. They were hunted by orcas and driven onto the land, where they took human form. At that time, they didn’t have intelligence and kept going back to the water. They were naked, and many froze in winter.”
“It does get pretty cold here.”
Devin nodded. He grinned at her, loving the light in her eyes. “Well, after some time, there came a pod of other whales. Humpbacks, I think the first ones were. Seeing my ancestor’s human forms, they breathed intelligence into them. Then another pod came and they taught them how to speak and sing. Then another pod taught them how to use tools. In the end, the orcas came back and taught them how to hunt and feed themselves. But my ancestors, remembering how the orcas used to hunt them, started to hunt the orcas. And they have never forgotten about it.”
Charity laidback down on the blanket beneath her. She shook her head. “Well, it was rather ungrateful for them to start hunting the orcas. Understandable, though. I mean, I would want revenge in that situation, too.”
Devin chuckled. “It must seem very silly to you.”
“Not at all. I love hearing stories like that. Origin tales, tales of heroes, gods, and demi-gods. It’s all so fascinating. Makes you wonder what’s real and if they all are, in one sense or another.”
Maybe it was just the firelight, but her eyes actually glowed as she looked at him. A soft smile curled her lips and he brushed a bit of sand off her cheek. Her skin was so soft and warm that he let his touch drift down her neck to rest on her shoulder. The glowing of her eyes increased. She shifted slightly and put her hand over his. His heart beat very fast as she slowly, achingly slowly, moved his hand across her collarbone. There, he felt her pulse beating hard against his fingers before she pulled his hand lower.
Her breast was full and soft beneath his fingertips. His throat dried as he found her nipple, hard and pointed, beneath the layers of clothing. His eyes remained on hers as she arched her back, pressing herself into his touch.
“Charity . . . ” His hand moved again, without her guidance this time. His fingers drifted over her strong abdomen to come to a rest on her hip. He felt . . . shy, almost. Even though he wanted it and it was clear she did, too. “Charity, I want to kiss you.”
A soft smile spread across her face. “I want you to do much, much more than that.”
His breath caught in his throat.
Charity’s face turned red. “I mean . . . if you want to, of course.”
“Oh, do I . . . ”
He leaned over her, pressing his mouth to hers. Her lips were soft and supple, eagerly accepting him. She rolled slightly toward him, her hands moving to explore his body. Her touch was as light as a feather and left trails of heat just under his skin. Devin teased her lips open as he slanted his mouth first this way then that on hers. He rolled himself over her, pulling her legs over his hips. She lifted her jean-clad hips to grind against him. More heat. He hardened at the contact and moaned into her mouth.
The orcas continued to sing in the ocean. The firelight flickered lower as the heat between their bodies increased.
Devin slid his hands beneath her tank and lifted it to her shoulders. He was surprised to find that she wore a lacy bralette underneath. Though he ran his hand over every inch of it—pausing to knead her beautiful breasts—he found no fastener, so he lifted that up of the way, too. Charity let her arms lay out flat over her head, and he worked the clothing off of her.
Her breasts spilled to either side of her body and he took them in his hands, squishing them together. Charity giggled as she tangled her fingers in his hair.
“You like that, then?” He squished them again.
“I was just imagining you between them. Have you ever done that before?”
Devin’s brow arched. He couldn’t say he had. But then, he’d never been with a woman with such big ones before. “That doesn’t seem like it’d do much for you.”
Charity smirked, then shook her head. “You don’t know me, then. I love having my breasts played with. I’ve wanted for a long time to . . . ”
She trailed off, but she didn’t need to continue. Devin stripped off his shorts while her hands still coasted over his stomach and thighs. The look in her eyes, like she was the luckiest woman in the world, made it difficult for him to control himself. He knew what he wanted to do, but he wasn’t certain that he was going to have the control to do it. So, first he tugged her jean-shorts off and tossed them into the pile with the rest of their clothing.
He slid down her body, pausing to suck on both her breasts before making his way to between her thighs. As soon as he found his target, her back arched. He worked her quickly, not bothering with playing games. They were here on the beach, just the two of them. They had time to go more leisurely after this first time.
When her legs were trembling, he stopped. Charity moaned breathlessly and smiled at him as he moved up again. She pressed her breasts tight around him as he laid himself between them. He began to thrust gently, and she responded by bending her neck so she could lick him every time he pushed through. It felt better than he could have imagined, and soon he was so hard that he was afraid of hurting her if he hit her chin too hard.
Charity’s hands moved to his hips and pushed gently. He allowed her to guide him back to between her legs. Her knees bent to her chest and she gave him another grin. She was still wet from earlier, but he gave her a little rub to fire her up again before he entered. It took a couple of times to seat himself fully. His heart was so full that looking at her almost made it burst. She was so beautiful, so alive, so full of beauty.
As he began to move, her breasts bounced with every thrust. But he found himself unable to keep his gaze on that lovely view. Instead, his eyes were on her face. Memorizing the way her eyes widened, the way her lips gaped, the red flush creeping up her cheeks. Her fingers tightened around his shoulders, pulling him down.
He kissed her, hard, and kissed her again. A surprised cry burst from her as he felt her shudder. She clenched down on him and that was it for him. Muscles seized as heat swept through him. Pleasure blinded him and all he could do was keep thrusting as he kissed her again and again.
When he could see again, Devin held her tight. He kissed her bare shoulders and neck. His muscles trembled with the desire to pull her every tighter. Ever deeper.
The orcas continued to sing as she rolled over him.
***
Devin wasn’t certain if he slept or only dozed. He only knew that the night had passed in a haze of heat and tangled bodies. It had been glorious, working his way into his dreams when his eyes shut. When morning broke, the fire was dead and reality came slipping back, like a fog over his mind.
Charity stirred and opened her eyes as he started to ease himself out of her arms. A sleepy smile crossed her face. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” He couldn’t make himself smile back. He brushed her hair from her face as he sighed. “How are you today?”
“I’m good.” Her smile slipped away. “Is something wrong?”
Devin glanced over the waves lapping at the shore. “Yes, and no. Last night was amazing. I don’t want it to end.”
She slid her hand up his chest. “It doesn’t have to.”
“I’m afraid it does.”
“Why?”
Devin kissed her forehead. “Because I’m Romeo and you’re Juliet. And they died. More than that, they were doomed before their story even started. We have our lives, Charity. I can’t leave and you can’t stay. I’m sorry. Last night was all we can have.”
He began searching for his clothes as his heart sunk heavily into his stomach. Charity was silent until he had pulled his shorts on. Then her hand reached out and she caught his wrist. With a small smile, she shook her head.
“We’re not Romeo and J
uliet, Devin. We’re you and me. It doesn’t have to end badly.’
“You’re right.” He nodded. “And that is why it ends now. So that we can remember our time together fondly. Thank you, Charity. But I can’t have distractions right now. Not when my pack needs me.”
After a moment she withdrew and nodded. “I understand.”
His heart was even heavier as he looked away. This was for the best . . . so why did it feel like he was making a mistake?
Chapter Five – Charity
Going from spending almost every day all day with Devin to go back to daily life was an insufferable switch. Not just because after her time with Devin her family was even more awful than ever. It seemed like Honor took every opportunity she could to make some snide comment about shifters. She had even gone on a rampage about shifters seducing human women with pheromones, making them helpless against the physical desire.
It didn’t matter how many articles Charity pulled up debunking everything Honor said, she wouldn’t believe it. It ended up that every day there was a fight, and in the end, Charity just couldn’t handle it anymore. Her sister was too full of hatred and anger to be reasoned with.
The proposal she had sent in for researching the geological features of the islands had been approved, though, so Charity found herself still sticking around the island. Give the giant rift that had grown between herself and her sister, she didn’t want to stay on the island. Instead, she got an apartment on the mainland and ferried over every morning.
Her relationship with Devin remained . . . interesting. Even though they had both agreed that there was too much in their own lives for them to make a go of it as a real couple, they kept being drawn to each other. For the next two months, they met every few days and went out to what Charity had started thinking of as ‘their’ island. She wouldn’t call it dating. She wasn’t sure what exactly it was between them.
Whatever it was, she didn’t want it to end.
Which was how she ended up with a positive pregnancy test in her trash basket.
Charity wasn’t certain how she felt about being pregnant. She didn’t know what she was going to do now. She knew that she needed to tell Devin, but a week and then two passed after she found out without seeing him. At night her fingers hovered over her cellphone, wanting to call him, but she always held herself back.
How would he react to this? Yes, they had a lot of fun together, but he was the one who kept pulling away. If he didn’t want her, how would he want their baby, too? One way or another, their relationship was going to change, and she didn’t know if she could handle that.
Charity shoved the thoughts of her pregnancy out of her mind as she rushed around the apartment early one morning. Her team would be waiting for her. If she missed this ferry, the next one wasn’t for an hour. They would be heading out to the shifters’ land today to ask permission to start taking samples from their beaches. She’d see Devin for certain.
She couldn’t be late.
A sudden banging on the door made her jump. She paused, her heart pounding. “Who is it?”
“Hope!” her sister’s voice called through the door. “Let me in. You have to let me in.”
There was such panic in her voice that Charity rushed for the door at once. She threw it open and Hope dashed in. She slammed the door behind her and turned to Charity with wide eyes. Her chest heaved and her face was red, like she had run up the stairs to get to her.
“What’s wrong?” Charity grabbed her sister’s shoulders. She searched Hope’s face, looking for some sign of a bruise. If her husband had hit her—
“You have to leave,” Hope blurted. “You have to get out of here. Right now. I’ve never seen her so angry. I don’t know what she’s going to do.”
Charity blinked, then blinked again. “Okay, I need you to calm down and start from the beginning. Who and what are you talking about?”
Hope made a strangled noise in her throat. She pushed past Charity and raced into the bedroom behind her. She threw open the closet and grabbed a suitcase. Charity followed after her, still utterly bewildered. Hope started to throw clothes into the suitcase, and Charity followed suit. Something had to be very wrong for her to be in his much of a frenzy!
“What is happening?”
Hope shook her head. “No time. You just have to leave.”
“I need more than that.”
Hope stopped. She closed her eyes and pulled in a deep, shuddering breath. Her whole frame trembled and Charity put an arm around her. Even though Hope’s panic threatened to make her panic as well, she forced herself to stay calm. She couldn’t just leave in a flurry of fear, not knowing what was happening. After several moments, Hope opened her eyes again.
“Honor found out. I don’t know how, but she knows.”
“Knows what?” Charity’s fears started to rising, creeping, up her throat again. There was only one thing there was for Honor to find out . . .
“You’re pregnant. You’re pregnant with the baby of one of those shifters. Honor knows and she told Mom and Dad. They’re all furious.”
Well, it was bound to happen eventually. It wasn’t as though she and Devin had been sneaking around. They met in plain view of everybody. While their more intimate activities didn’t occur until it was just the two of them, everybody on the island would know that they spent time together. That would account for a lot of Honor’s comments . . .
The real question was how Honor found out she was pregnant. Had she broken into the apartment? Used the ‘I’m her sister’ ploy to get the superintendent to let her in? Charity had told nobody and hadn’t even seen Honor in over a month.
“Okay, so they know. I’m not talking with any of them anyway. It’s not like I’m going to miss out on anything with having them furious at me.”
Hope shook her head, eyes welling with tears. “If that was it, I wouldn’t be telling you to run. I saw Honor buying a gun from a man off the street. You don’t know how much she hates shifters, Charity. And she’s been ranting about how you’re a traitor to humanity. When she told Mom and Dad, she said she wanted to cut the baby out of you.”
Her body was suddenly so cold that she wouldn’t have been surprised to see her breath misting in the air. Charity was too frozen to move. She wasn’t sure how much time passed as she stared into the eyes of her twin. It seemed impossible. Honor was high-strung and bigoted, yes, but to actually commit violence against her own sister?
She and I were never close. They’d fought ever since they were kids, and once Charity left and started learning about the actual facts of the world, those fights had only gotten worse.
Hadn’t Honor been arrested multiple times for destroying property belonging to shifters? Hadn’t Devin told Charity that Honor’s editorials in the local newspaper had spurred violence against the shifters? Hadn’t she done her best to make their lives more difficult? Who’s to say that she wouldn’t harm her own sister for ‘betraying’ her by getting pregnant by a shifter?
Charity’s hand drifted to her stomach. She swallowed hard. “I’m leaving. And you’re coming with me. I’m not leaving you here.”
Hope’s eyes widened. “But my husband—”
“He’s an ass who doesn’t deserve you and you know it, Hope.” Charity took her twin’s hands. “You want to know why I chose here to do my research? It’s because I love the island, but I also wanted to rescue you. I made my escape and I’m stronger for it. You deserve so much more than the lot you’ve drawn in life. Come with me, and—”
“I’m coming.” Hope trembled but she nodded. “I’m not leaving you alone. Not at a time like this.”
“Good.” Charity hugged her tight, then threw the rest of what she needed into the suitcase. They hurried out of the apartment and jumped into Charity’s car. They left Hope’s car, an old, beat-up junker, behind. As soon as they were out, Charity gave the phone to Hope.
“Call Devin. He needs to know.”
“What’s his number?”
�
�It’s in my phone.”
Hope nodded. Her eyes widened when she opened the phone’s log. Charity glanced at her from the corner of her eye, but fortunately, Hope didn’t make any comments about how often she had called Devin. She pressed a couple buttons, then held the phone to her ear. After a moment, she shook her head.
“No answer.”
“Then leave a message.”
Hope hung up the phone. “I’ll call again. What do you want me to say?”
Charity let out an annoyed huff. She reached for the phone, but at that moment, it started to ring. Hope quickly pulled away and glanced at it. It was Charity’s team, and Hope answered quickly. Charity told her to put it on speakerphone, and soon her colleague’s voice came over the line.
“Hey, Gatiss. Where you at? The Ferry’s almost here.”
Charity cursed under her breath. She had forgotten all about that. “A family emergency came up. I’m not going to be there for a few days. Just go ahead without me. You’ve got everything you need.”
“Yeah . . . Hope you get things sorted soon.”
“Me, too,” Charity mumbled. “I’ll call you when I can.”
Hope hung up. Charity inhaled deeply as she wove through the traffic. This early in the morning, things were very congested. Being forced to go through a crawl was nearly enough to make her go crazy. She opened her mouth to tell Hope to call Devin again, but at that moment, the phone began to ring again. Hope threw herself back against the seat as though the phone was about to burst into flames. Even as Charity started to ask what it was, Hope had rolled down the window and threw the phone out.
“Hope!” Charity slammed on her breaks, causing the car behind them to nearly hit them. A loud honk blasted through the air. Cars zipped by them on either side. “What the hell did you do that for?”
“It was Honor!”
“I needed that. I don’t know Devin’s number!”
Hope turned to her with a perplexed expression. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. It’s wrecked now. We’re not going to be able to get it. But that was Honor, and she wants to hurt you. I panicked. I’m sorry! But we’re not going to get anything done sitting here blocking traffic.”