Second Chance with the Shifter

by Leela Ash

  “Speaking of the here and now,” Jax said, eyeing Layne with a gleam in his eye. “I’ve never wanted you more.”

  “We’d have to be really quiet,” she laughed softly. Jax was surprised. He was used to outright rejection.

  “Of course,” he said with a grin, pulling her shirt over her head and revealing her perfect body. She was glowing golden from the candles that were lighting the bedroom, and she gasped as his mouth hungrily found her neck, sending sensual shivers down her body. He cupped his hand over her breast, gently stroking her nipple before planting hot kisses down her torso.

  Her body filled with longing, a friend she had been missing in the first weeks of pregnancy. She felt bad leaving Jax unsatisfied, but she finally felt ready for him. She wrapped her arms around him and laughed softly as he briefly lifted her, scooting himself between her legs. He easily pulled himself out of his loose pajama pants, and she held back a groan as the head of his penis started massaging her middle, sending shivers all throughout her body. She bit her lip to keep from crying out as he gently stripped her until she was naked, splayed before him. It had been so long since she’d been touched that she was shaking. He rubbed her arms in his strong hands.

  “Are you cold?” his deep voice whispered.

  “No…”

  “Oh,” he said. “Good.”

  He lowered his mouth over one of her breasts and tugged it softly with his teeth. She moaned softly, despite her effort to hold back her noises, and squirmed beneath him. He slipped himself up and down her hot folds until his shaft was shimmering with the liquid testament of her longing.

  Every inch of her body was on fire as he pushed himself inside, and she gripped his shoulder tightly as his strong, capable thighs pressed against hers. She loved the way he felt. Even when she was mad at him, his body felt unbelievably good against hers. It was impossible to hold a grudge when he made her quake with desire and sent her to a state of bliss she had thought was purely fictional until she met him.

  She exhaled softly as he began dragging his shaft slowly in and out of her. It was as if he could sense her urgency, and her desperate desire to come just made him want to tease her more. She buckled against him, silently begging him to go harder, faster, anything that would take her to her climax, but he grinned confidently down at her, his handsome face flawless in the golden glow of the candle. His broad, muscular body paused inside of her for a moment and she closed her eyes. She could feel him pulsing inside of her, and she knew he enjoyed the feeling of her walls closing in on him. It was delicious torture, until finally he rammed hard inside of her and her body was electrified by an unexpected shockwave of pleasure.

  “Shhh,” Jax reminded her, a sly grin lighting his handsome face up. She stroked his hard abdomen, letting her fingers linger on his tight muscles as he paused inside of her.

  “You don’t mean that,” she said, moving her hips up and sliding herself along the length of his shaft. “You want me to beg and wake up the whole house.”

  “The thought had crossed my mind,” he whispered, holding back his own moan of pleasure as she moved her body against his stiff cock.

  “Not gonna happen,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Not if you just take what you want like that, no,” he replied, suddenly on top of her, pinning her wrists to the bed and pulling himself out of her. She squirmed underneath him, silently pleading for him to enter her again, but refusing to speak. The power was out of her hands and now she would have to wait for it.

  “Is this punishment for not putting out for so long?” Layne asked with a grin.

  “Nah,” he replied. He allowed his pulsing cock to hover lightly against her, and she pressed hard against it, inviting him inside. He wanted to see how long he could hold out, see if he could make her ask him for what she wanted.

  He lowered his hot lips over her nipple and sucked, sliding himself against her clit until she was moaning out loud despite her impressive self-restraint. Finally, her voice, clear and sweet, whispered into his ear.

  “Please.”

  That was all he needed. He plunged inside her with his full force, lifting her hips off the bed with his hands so he could hammer inside of her as hard as he could. She gripped his shoulders, biting one of them to keep from screaming as waves and waves of pleasure crashed over her body. She could feel every inch of him hard and unbridled in her body, and let him use her however he wanted to.

  He rammed his powerful hips against hers until she began to shudder under the force. His strong arms held her still as he felt the hot rush of her orgasm engulf his shaft.

  He was still going strong though, and flipped her over onto the bed so that he could see the curve of her back and enter her from behind. She moaned when he curled his arm around her waist and massaged her clit with his broad fingers as he began to slip gently inside of her once again. She hissed in pleasure as his cock burst into her, putting her immediately on the brink of another orgasm before she had fully finished the last one.

  She closed her eyes in bliss as he released the pent up frustration he’d felt over the past few weeks, punishing her body with his until she had quaked around his shaft again. Her body squeezed his mercilessly as she came again, until he couldn’t help but hiss. He squeezed her ass as his cock trembled inside of her, and she closed her eyes, uttering a deep moan as his orgasm burst inside of her, enhancing the pleasure of hers. He stayed inside of her, thrusting hard until every last drop was inside of her, and then they collapsed in the bed together breathlessly.

  “I really missed you,” Layne said.

  Jax kissed her forehead.

  “I missed you too,” he replied. “At least with Sam and Tobi here, it’s never going to be so lonely again.”

  She smiled at the thought. She really seemed to be hitting it off with Sam, and it was nice to see Jax loosen up around his old friend. Things had definitely just gotten a lot more interesting.

  THE END

  Love and Survival in the Time After: Book 4

  Leela Ash

  Copyright ©2016 by Leela Ash. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Chapter One

  “Good morning.”

  Layne heard the smooth, gentle voice of her lover as he dropped gentle kisses up and down her body. She moaned as his touch roused her from what had been a deep and comfortable sleep.

  She remembered a time when she would have resented him for touching her, however gently, until she awakened. A time when waking life was nothing but stress and danger and her only escape from it was sleep. The virus that had wiped out the rest of the world had caused nothing but trouble for its survivors, and although Layne had done her best to work toward a cure, the sad fact of the matter was that she had wasted her time.

  But now, Layne could hardly wait to come back to her life from her dreams. Somehow, with Jax at her side, she didn’t want to miss a moment of their world together. Things had only gotten better since they found the little piece of land that had been designed for off-the-grid living.

  Whoever had claimed that place before the virus had brought an end to most of humanity had certainly known what they were doing. The little house had running water and everything the two of them might need to thrive. It was miraculous. To up the chances of survival before they met it was almost necessary to join one of the dangerous tribes that roamed the wilderness, desperate for whatever scraps they could find of the world that had left them behind. Although the mindset was that there was safety in numbers, it took no time for the humans to turn on themselves and battle violently for resources.

  “Did you sleep well?” Jax asked, stroking her cheek lovingly. Layne’s eyes met his and the two of them smiled at each other. How did he never look disheveled, even after eight hours of sleep…and a few
hours of other things? It was miraculously sexy.

  “I did,” she said, running her hands through his jet black hair. It reached his shoulders now, and the combination of his hair’s length and his soulful brown eyes gave Jax a sort of spiritual look. She liked it, even though it was much different from how he looked when they had first met. He used to keep his hair cropped short, with fighting in mind. He wanted to have no weaknesses. Nothing for an enemy to grab onto. And it was for the best, because she had quickly learned that Jax was a powerhouse.

  Layne’s fingers twisted around a thick, dark lock of his hair. She wasn’t an enemy to him, thankfully. Not anymore. Jax hadn’t seen a real enemy since he had gone out to get help for her. But if he left the safety of their little paradise, she knew he would waste no time in chopping off his hair. Layne shuddered.

  “Stay here with me for a while,” she said.

  “I thought I had,” Jax replied, grinning lovingly at her. “But you know I have to get you breakfast…the baby…”

  Layne’s heart panged sharply in her chest. She had almost let her condition fall under the conscious awareness of her mind. In this dangerous, unpredictable world, somehow they were expecting. Layne would have to set to work once again on the prospect of a cure to the virus. The people with the green-tinged skin, who wandered the world in agony and guilt, were still spreading the virus to people who were vulnerable to it. A baby who might not have their immunities could easily die if exposed to these people. The only way to protect her child was to find a way to fight it.

  “That’s not what I meant,” Layne said, but she smiled the thought away. “Although that sounds really nice, too.”

  “Does it?” Jax asked, sliding on top of her and planting a lingering kiss on her lips. She couldn’t help but buckle as her body was overtaken by a deep longing. They couldn’t get enough of each other. Even now. Even with –

  “Jax, get it before it starts burning!” Tobi’s husky voice called from the kitchen.

  Jax bowed his head in defeat and Layne chuckled. She knew exactly what he wanted. But he gathered his morale and beamed down at her.

  “We were making you something special today,” he confided, slipping out of bed and pulling a shirt on. “Something with vitamins.”

  Layne watched him disappear quickly from the bedroom. A few moments later, he was beside her again, holding a tray with a little flower sitting on it.

  “Look what Sam found,” Jax said, glancing at the flower as he handed Layne the tray. “She says it’s a good omen. Things are looking up.”

  Layne smiled up at Jax, her heart full. Tobi and Sam were still clattering around in the kitchen. The sounds of their cooking and flirtatious laughter made the house feel warm and lively. So much different than the way things were even just a few months ago, when it was just Layne and Jax struggling to make ends meet. It had been a blessing to find the perfect spot to make a home together, where she had been able to cultivate a garden and truly bring the best of herself out for the sake of their happiness.

  Jax settled back in bed beside her and they ate in peace, the sun streaming in on them from the window beside the bed. Things were coming along fine, and together, they would make it work.

  Chapter Two

  “You really think that will work?” Layne asked.

  She was sitting outside on the porch with Sam, Tobi’s girlfriend, and their puppy Gilly. The two of them had been secretly meeting to discuss possible cures for the virus. Most people had given up already, but now that Layne was pregnant it had inspired both of them to return back to the drawing board. Layne hadn’t told Jax about their plan yet. It would only worry him or get his hopes up needlessly. Worse, it might show her that he didn’t have confidence or faith in her ability to achieve the impossible. It just seemed better not to bring it up, either to Jax or to Tobi.

  “I think it just might be what we need, but the problem is getting the supplies. If we had met each other sooner, maybe…”

  Sam’s dark eyebrows furrowed against her coffee colored skin and she looked suddenly vulnerable, as if she were about to cry. Layne hugged Sam’s shoulders. She knew exactly how Sam felt.

  “Hey, I’m not going to have to worry about this, am I?” Tobi asked, popping her head out the doorway. Sam looked up at her, smiling and shaking her head, though her eyes were glittering with tears.

  “Whoa, I was just kidding,” Tobi said, rushing to Sam’s side. “I don’t think Layne has a gay bone in her body. We’ve heard her with Jax. What’s wrong?”

  “I’m just a little bit frustrated, that’s all,” Sam said, quickly closing the notebook that had been spread open on her lap just moments before. “I wish we could do more for the babies about to be born.”

  “Yeah,” Tobi said solemnly. “I know.”

  Layne glanced down at the notebook, wishing that Tobi hadn’t interrupted. She needed to know what her options were. If she could just look over the data for a few minutes… But the book was closed. It was full of medicinal information and notes Sam had been scribbling about the potential vaccine. Tobi seemed clueless about the intention of their conversation and hugged Sam, not pushing the subject any further.

  Layne sighed. So neither of them had wanted to get their partner’s hopes up. Or hear their doubts. It was a secret project they were dealing with together. But it was one she would dedicate her everything to. Her baby’s life was at risk.

  “You guys up for a walk or something?” Tobi asked. “I’m getting restless.”

  “You know Jax likes it if we stick around here,” Layne said. “He’s worried something will happen or someone will see us.”

  She couldn’t help but let a little bit of bitterness slip into her voice and she quickly closed her mouth. It seemed like Sam had picked up on it though and turned to Layne, eyeing her swollen abdomen critically.

  “And I agree with him most of the time,” Sam said. “It’s better to stay put.”

  “I just feel like a sitting duck all the time,” Tobi sighed, voicing Layne’s own thoughts. “I’m not used to being all cooped up like this.”

  “Well, I’m kind of relieved, you know?” Sam said. “I like being where I can keep my books and notes safe. I don’t want anything to happen to them.”

  “It’s important, yeah,” Tobi sighed. “Anyway, I guess I’m just gonna go weed the garden or something. I’m anxious. I don’t know why but I have a bad feeling. I probably just need to get some exercise or something.”

  “Okay.”

  Layne and Sam watched Tobi bound to the back of the garden and exchanged looks.

  “All the weeds have already died, haven’t they?” Layne asked in a low voice.

  “Yeah, but let her hack away at something,” Sam said with a smile playing her lips. “She needs that.”

  “Well anyway, tell me more about what you figured out,” Layne pressed. She was thrilled by the prospect of being able to really do something to cement the future of her child. No matter what it would take.

  “We really shouldn’t keep talking about this over here,” Sam said, her eyes fixed on Tobi as she slammed a hoe into the frozen earth. “I don’t know what Tobi would do if she knew what we were thinking. She’d probably say I’m crazy. Maybe it is crazy. I probably just got ahead of myself.”

  “The flower you found though,” Layne said, looking into Sam’s caramel colored eyes. “You said it’s a good omen.”

  “In my family it was,” Sam said, wringing her hands nervously as she stared out at Tobi, whose wild golden hair was all they could see behind tall stalks of corn. “But we would have to do something pretty dangerous to make this a possibility.”

  “But it’s a possibility?” Layne asked, perking up. Sam didn’t seem to realize how serious she was. Anything she could do to make this terrifying and dangerous world a better place, she would risk anything for. Everything. Maybe even Jax.

  “Yeah, that’s what I came out here to tell you. After thinking over the idea you had last week I was a
ble to take it a step further. Now that I think I know what we need to do, we’re going to need supplies.”

  Layne’s heart thudded painfully in her chest as Sam nervously opened the notebook and pointed out a sentence.

  “No way,” Layne breathed.

  “Way,” Sam whispered. “And I think I know exactly where we need to go.”

  Chapter Three

  “Layne?”

  Jax looked into the bedroom, confused when he didn’t see Layne sitting at the small desk where she had been spending the majority of her time lately. He wasn’t sure what she was doing exactly, but he was glad that she had something to do to keep herself occupied. The pregnancy had been unexpected, and he could tell that it was taking its toll on her. But she was holding up remarkably well.

  It made him feel better to know Layne was spending her time doing something constructive. She had been really depressed for a while, not to be able to do the same kind of physical exertion that she had originally been used to doing when she tended to the garden. But since it was winter, there wasn’t as much to do anyway. Still, the woman he loved was the restless, energetic type, and if she wasn’t busy occupying her mind with new ideas, she was doing something physical and innovative that proved just how intelligent she truly was.

  Jax had never met anybody so intelligent. He was surprised daily by things that she said. Off-handed remarks that seemed to be of no consequence to her at all left Jax in awe of her incredible gifts. She didn’t think anything of herself, but he knew that Layne was remarkable. The fact that somebody so smart, so beautiful, was able to survive the apocalypse was nothing short of incredible. But the fact that they were so ridiculously compatible just blew him away. The very fact that they were together was a miracle as far as Jax was concerned.