by T. S. Ryder
“Are you ready?” she whispered huskily.
“For you, always.”
Her face reddened a little at the compliment. Charity straddled his hips and, using one hand to guide him, pushed herself gently down. He entered smoothly, like they were two pieces of a puzzle clicking into place. She rolled her hips up and down a couple times to ensure maximum depth was achieved, then bent over him. Her breasts dangled and he rose himself up to suck on one before stretching his neck so that he could kiss her.
His hands were on her waist, supporting her as she leaned over him. With one hand she balanced herself beside his head while the other pressed against the headboard. The whole bed moved in time with their movements, both of them rocking and grinding. Everything was tight and hot inside of her. Bolts ran down her legs and coiled in her stomach. Her breasts tingled and she had to release the headboard to squeeze them. Devin’s hand met hers and he pulled her down, crushing her body to his.
Both of them thrust with all their might, staring into each other’s eyes. Devin’s breath came in pants. Charity thought hers must be too, but in that moment, she was far more aware of her lover than herself. The salty taste of his kisses, the darkness of his eyes, the intensity of his stares, the way his golden skin took on a red hue. She was so in tune with him that when he came, his head falling back and his eyes rolling, that she felt like she was him. She could feel every muscle in his body tense, then release. Could feel the exploding shockwaves rush up and down his spine, see the darkness wash over his vision.
Charity collapsed over him, crying out as her own orgasm took her. She buried her face in his chest, panting and whimpering.
They lay there like that for a long time, so wrapped up in one another that it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. After some time, though, they parted. Charity rolled off him and lay on the bed beside her lover. Her hand drifted down his arm till it found his hand. Their fingers twined, palms pressed together.
“I missed you,” she whispered. “Every day since I left, I have been wondering where you were – whether you were okay or Honor had gone after you. If I wasn’t so worried about something happening to our baby, I would have run back to the island. I would have stayed with you every second, Honor and her hatred be damned.”
Devin rolled over. He pulled her closer to his chest and pressed a kiss to her neck. He shook his head as he gazed into her eyes. “I’m glad you left. During the meeting with your geologist people, Honor and your parents came in. She looked disappointed. I think she was planning to . . . hurt you then. If you hadn’t left, she would have hurt you.” His hand drifted to her stomach. “I want you to be safe. Both of you.”
Charity’s arms tightened around her. She was surprised that a lump rose in her throat and her eyes flooded with tears. They were together. Honor wasn’t going to hurt either of them. So why was she so emotional?
A gentle kiss brought her out of her thoughts. Devin stroked her hair from her face and rested his forehead to hers. He pulled her flush against him again and with a grin nibbled at her collarbone.
“And you left the ocean for me,” Charity whispered. “Even though you can’t shift out here.”
“Charity, I would live in the middle of the desert if it meant I could be with you every day of my life.”
Her eyes widened. “I would never ask you to do that!”
“Love, I was trying to make a grand gesture.” Devin moved to her neck. “What I’m saying is that you are more important to me than anything else in this world. I will do whatever I need to as long as you and I can be together. Forever.”
Charity moaned as she started to tighten again, full of love and promises. Her fingers wrapped into his long hair, but a frown crossed her face. This wasn’t going to be as easy as that. Yes, she was thrilled to hear that he wanted her and wanted to be with her forever. But there was more than her in his life. His family and pack couldn’t just be thrown aside.
She pulled away from him. “We need to figure out what we’re going to do about Honor. I could go to the police and say that I feel like I’m in danger because of her, but as soon as they hear about you and me, they’ll think that I’m just trying to undermine her. Unless we get someone sympathetic to shifters . . . ”
A grunt answered her. Devin rolled up and grabbed his jeans. He started putting them on as he shook his head. “And we both know that there isn’t anybody like that. Not around here, at least. What I wouldn’t give for some proof . . . Right now, all we have is speculation that she intends to hurt you.”
Charity scowled. It was true. All they had was the fact that she was pregnant and that Hope saw Honor buy a gun. If it came to the police, Charity wasn’t certain that Hope would hold up. She had warned Charity, yes, but her lack of self-confidence and the fact that their family was the only support she had in her life would make it difficult for her to take any actual action against their younger sister.
“And your pack.” Charity retrieved her bra and slid it on. The fabric felt constrictive after the touch of Devin’s strong hands. She frowned. She was going to have to start buying new clothes soon . . . but that was the least of their worries. She continued to dress. “Honor’s going after me because I’m involved with you. She wants to make your pack leave the island.”
“Where we lived for far longer than humans,” Devin grumbled. “I know. She’s never been particularly subtle about that. I have to think about my pack, yes, but right now the threat is toward you. Whatever Honor is planning, I’m sure she’s wanting to drag my name through the mud as well.”
Charity flinched. “I forgot. How could I forget?”
Devin pulled his shirt on and stared at her. “What did you forget?”
“My parents. I called them and they have the police looking for you. They think that you raped me and have gotten the police involved already. We have to go to the police right now and get this taken care of before—
A scream pierced through the air. Both of their heads swiveled toward the door. Charity froze to the spot as another scream was cut off abruptly.
Hope. That was Hope. There was a yell, presumably from Leo. Devin smashed open the door, sending shards of wood flying through the air. Charity remained rooted to the spot. Her heart pounded in her chest and even though she screamed at herself to move, she couldn’t place one foot in front of the other. More shouts, more screams. A gunshot.
The spell over her broke. Charity raced from the room. She ran toward the sound of the gunshot. Another broke through the air, then another and another. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that running towards the gunshots was a stupid idea, but she couldn’t stop herself.
She rushed through the front door. Devin fought with someone. Honor. His hand clenched over hers, a silver gun gleaming in her hand. She kneed him between the legs and he hunched, giving a cry. He threw his whole weight on her, his mouth dropping to her arm. Jagged teeth flashed in the sun then sunk into Honor’s arm. She screamed and the gun dropped. It went off as it hit the ground. The bullet tore into Devin’s leg, making him cry out.
Charity rushed forward. She dove and grabbed the gun as Honor managed to wrest herself away from Devin. She kicked at Charity’s face, but Devin pounced on her again. Honor let loose a furious cry and punched Devin hard. He stumbled back as he released her. Charity raised the gun, but Honor took off, running the opposite direction.
Honor jumped onto a motorcycle. Furious, hateful eyes blazed at Charity. “This is your fault! I hope she dies. Maybe then you’ll see the truth!”
To say she wasn’t tempted to pull the trigger would be a lie. Charity’s hand dropped as Honor drove away. Her heart hammered as she slowly turned.
Hope lay on the grass. Leo knelt over her, his hands pressed against her body. Blood bubbled up through his fingers. Tears ran down Hope’s face. Her lips moved but no sound came from them. The gun slipped from Charity’s grasp; Devin was just able to catch it before it hit the ground again. Every inch of her b
ody felt like ice.
Hope’s eyes rolled toward her. Fear shone from her face. “Help me,” she whispered. “Help me.”
Chapter Twelve – Devin
His leg felt like it was on fire. The initial pain of the bullet ripping through it hurt enough, but everything that came after that was even worse. Sweat broke over his forehead when Leo had dug the bullet out, and his torn flesh knitting itself back together was incredibly painful.
Not, however, as painful as seeing the fear and worry Charity was in. She had been frozen as she stared at her twin, begging for help. It had been Leo who had finally jolted her out of it, yelling at her to phone 911. The ambulance had arrived shortly after, and the paramedics had allowed Charity to ride in the ambulance as they had taken her to the hospital.
Devin and Leo had arrived in time to find Charity in a small waiting room, sobbing. She’d thrown herself into Devin’s arms and he had feared the worst. But Hope was still hanging on. She was in surgery at the moment. It was impossible to know if she was going to pull through or not.
Now, Charity paced from one end of the room to the other, wringing her hands. Devin had to sit, his leg stretched out in front of him. Sweat still peppered his face, but the discomfort was starting to lessen. It was a clean shot, and the adrenaline from fighting with Honor was helping to encourage healing. He wished he could do something to comfort Charity, though. He wished he could comfort Leo, too. His brother sat beside him, staring at his hands and shaking.
How could anybody do this to their own sibling? How much hatred had to be seething inside of Honor’s soul to make her hate them so much that she would go after her own sisters? It was beyond reason, and his mind churned as the events played over and over in his mind.
All three of them looked up when a couple of police officers entered the waiting room. Devin got to his feet, eyeing them warily. They glanced around, and with an expression full of self-importance, headed straight for him. Both of them had their hands on their guns. Devin held up his hands to make sure they knew that he was unarmed.
That didn’t stop one of them from punching him in the stomach. They threw him to the floor. Charity screamed. Devin tried to tell Leo to go to him, but there was no air in his lungs. The cops twisted his arms painfully behind his back.
“Devin Luthor, you are under arrest for the assault of Charity Gatiss.”
“He didn’t do anything to me!” Charity screamed.
Devin couldn’t see anything that was going on above him, but the rough hands cuffing him paused.
“You are Charity Gatiss?” one of them asked doubtfully.
“Yes! Look, here’s my ID.”
A couple more cops came in. The ones arresting him dragged him to his feet while one of the newcomers went to Charity. Leo stood next to her. His face was very pale, but he didn’t speak. Devin caught his eye and shook his head slightly, trying to indicate that he needed to stay put and keep his mouth shut. Somebody had to stay with Charity to protect her.
The cops looked at Charity’s ID and grunted. “We’ve been looking for you. Your parents are worried sick.”
“My parents have no idea what is happening here.” Charity put her hands on her hips. “Devin is my boyfriend. He did not assault me or rape me or hurt me in any way, no matter what you were told. I left the island because of my younger sister. She’s trying to kill me because she’s against shifters and I’m pregnant with a shifter baby. She came after me just an hour ago and shot my twin.”
The cop frowned as he handed Charity’s ID back to her. He glared at Leo, who dropped his gaze but didn’t move. “Why would this sister attack your other sister, then? Is she pregnant, too?”
“She was helping me. That’s enough for Honor. She’s psychotic.”
The cop pulled her away from Leo. When Leo opened his mouth to protest, another of the cops roughly grabbed him and threw him into one of the chairs. Devin’s first reaction was to snarl and try to throw himself forward. He managed to curb it to only a grunt and a twitch. He couldn’t be arrested for resisting arrest.
With any luck, Charity would be able to resolve this. And if they weren’t lucky? Well, then he’d have to figure something else out.
“Miss Gatiss,” the cop whispered in a low voice he probably thought that Devin wouldn’t be able to hear. “If you’re afraid of what the shifters might do to you in retaliation, we can offer you and your family complete protection.”
Charity’s nostrils flared. “What I need protection against is people who attack me and my boyfriend. And from my bigots of parents who decided that because I’m sleeping with a shifter, that means that he’s raping me. If you want to help me, then you will find Honor and make sure that she can’t attack me again!”
“Look, there is no call for that attitude.”
“My boyfriend is in handcuffs because you’d rather believe my parents at their word than bother asking me what is actually going on. I think that’s call for a bit of attitude.” Charity’s voice lowered. “If you’re interested in actually doing your job, you will release him and apologize to all of us.”
“We can’t just assume that he’s innocent—”
“Because that’s how the justice system works, isn’t it?” Leo interrupted. He didn’t move from where he was sitting. His eyes burned, though. “You’re talking with the girl who was supposedly assaulted, but you’d rather assume the shifter is guilty than listen to what she’s really saying.”
Devin was grateful that his brother was standing up for him, but the last thing he wanted was for his brother to be arrested with him. As the cops turned toward Leo, he shook his head.
“Leo, that’s enough. Charity? If they are going to arrest me, I’m going to go quietly. You need to stay here for Hope. Okay?”
Both Leo and Charity looked shocked. One of the cops started to pull him away, but another stopped him. He was pushed into one of the chairs, and the cops gathered together. In low, angry voices, they started to argue with one another. Devin was surprised that they were actually discussing it. To his relief, in the end, reason won out.
The cop who had cuffed him removed the cuffs, glaring the whole time. “Don’t think this is over, shifter,” he muttered in Devin’s ear. “I’m going to get her to tell the truth, and then you’ll regret ever going after a human.”
Devin was silent at that. The cops got a description of Honor and left the hospital. Charity dropped to one of the chairs and hid her face in her hands. Devin put an arm around her. He found himself trembling, but focused on getting himself back under control. That could have gone a lot worse. At least they had listened to them . . .
“Why were you going to just let them arrest you?” Leo looked at him over Charity’s head. His gaze was troubled and betrayed. “You were just going to let them . . . Where would the pack be then?”
“Better off than if I had more charges added to it. Or worse, if they had decided to shoot me in the middle of a hospital.” Devin kept his voice low. “It wasn’t the time to fight back.”
He put an arm around Charity. Part of him wondered if it would have been better to fight back from the beginning, to demand his rights be listened to. The other part knew that him being a shifter, it was unlikely that it would have done anything but escalate the situation. They were lucky that Charity had managed to get them to listen to reason. If all the cops had been like the first two that came in, chances were that all three of them would have ended up in jail, if not worse.
Life was a constant battle. It sucked, but it was the truth. They barely listened to Charity, the human. There was no way they’d have listened to the shifters.
It was several hours later before they got an update on Hope’s condition.
“She’s going to pull through,” the doctor said.
Charity let out a cry of relief and threw her arms around Devin. She buried her face into his shoulder as her whole body trembled. He held her tightly, whispering reassurances into her ear. The doctor went on with some technical
language about Hope’s injuries that Devin didn’t understand and finished up by saying that they had contacted Hope’s husband and parents.
The doctor left and Charity pulled back. Tears streaked her face, but she held Devin’s hand tightly. “Hope is alright. We should leave. My parents are going to be coming, and I don’t want you to have to deal with them on top of everything right now.”
“You have to stay with your sister.”
“She’s going to be fine. You heard them.”
He pressed a finger to her lips. She still trembled, and he wondered how badly all this stress was going to affect the baby. “You will not be satisfied until you can see her and know that she’s fine. I know that you want to stay. So we are going to.”
Charity hesitated a moment. “Then you have to go, at least. My parents . . . they already nearly got you arrested. If you’re here, it’s just going to end up with more accusations thrown around.”
Devin shook his head. “Look, it doesn’t matter what they think or say. I am going to stay here with you. We don’t know where Honor is, and I’m not going to leave you alone here.”
“I’m in a hospital and a couple of the cops are still hanging around. I’ll be safe here. I promise.” Charity cupped his face in her hands and kissed him lightly. “I’m just afraid that my father will attack you and you’ll get arrested for it.”
Devin glanced over at his brother. Leo didn’t meet his eye. Clearly, this was for him to decide on his own. He kissed Charity again. As much as it pained him to be taken from her, she had a point. Her father had already all but attacked him once. Now, with Hope having been shot and Honor being the shooter, chances were that her parents were not going to be in a forgiving mood. No, they would be looking for any way to lay the blame for this on his feet.
Charity would be safe here. She’d be protected in the hospital. But him and Leo? The cops were probably just waiting for an excuse to arrest them. He couldn’t protect Charity from jail.