by Zoe Chant
“Don’t regret anything you did today, Toni. You saved my life.”
Jack gestured toward the shooter Toni had knocked from his perch, who moaning in a way that suggesting he wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon.
“I should never have left the house without telling you what I was doing. If you hadn’t found me, who knows where I would have woken up. Or not woken up.”
He rubbed his shoulder absently, and Toni saw three small red marks where the shots had struck him. The puncture wounds looked old, almost completely healed over. She passed her own hand over them protectively. “That much tranquilizer should have been enough to kill you. I thought it had. I thought for sure that it knocked you out. What happened?”
Jack lifted her chin in both his hands, staring deep into her eyes. “You did, my love. My brave, beautiful Toni. I don’t know how you did it, but everything was going dark, and then I heard your voice. You told me to be strong, and suddenly I was. I could still feel the drug pulling me down, but I could fight it. I could protect you.”
He pressed his lips against Toni’s in a lingering kiss.
“I love you, Toni. And I’ll never stop protecting you.” A smile flickered over his face. “So long as you promise to keep protecting me, too. I can’t believe you ambushed the guy who was meant to ambush me! How did you find me?”
Toni felt a smile begin to grow on her own face. “You haven’t figured it out yet? I might not be a proper shifter, Jack, but some shifter things I definitely understand.”
Toni saw the shock of happiness sweep across Jack’s expression – and felt, too, the rush of joy that filled his heart. It filled her heart, too.
“I might not be able to shift, but I think today proves that I don’t need to be a shifter to – to be worthwhile,” she said, stumbling over the words.
“Toni, I—” He frowned, as though something had suddenly distracted his attention. Toni couldn’t hear anything; then she let her senses slip sideways to piggyback on Jack’s keener ones, and realized immediately what he had picked up on.
“Damn! I mean, obviously, good,” she said, quickly correcting herself. She caught Jack’s eye and blushed. “Look, you hear it too, right?”
“At least three vehicles,” Jack confirmed. “Here comes the cavalry.” Cavalry with sirens: for them, not de Jager and his accomplice.
Toni giggled. “This seems to be a habit with you. You do something heroic, but by the time someone else turns up all you’re doing is standing around with no clothes on.”
Jack swore and dove back to where his clothes lay in a shredded heap on the ground. His tiger was significantly bigger than his human form, and when he had transformed, the garments hadn’t put up much of a fight.
He picked up the remains of his shirt and looked at them hopelessly.
“I seem to recall the last time this happened, the person who turned up was very understanding about my nakedness,” he grumbled playfully, trying to match up split seams. “That’s probably less likely to be the case today.”
“Here,” Toni said, fishing his trousers out of the pile. “These are ripped, but if you use my belt…”
Between them, they managed to get Jack looking slightly presentable before the police cars roared into the clearing. The cops had followed the same road de Jager had come in on, and his van was soon surrounded by flashing lights. Doors swung open and Toni braced herself to answer an onslaught of questions, but the first person to leap out of the back of a car and toward her was no police officer.
“Ellie!” Toni gasped, then looked beyond her sister to see a heavyset man struggling to extricate himself from the same car. “And Werther! What are you two doing here?”
Ellie flung her arms around her little sister. “I got your message last night – all your messages – and we came as fast as we could. We got to the twins just as the police arrived, and you know there is no way we were going to be left behind.”
She squeezed Toni even more tightly, and Toni realized with a shock that her sister was crying. “Oh, god, Toni, I am so glad you’re okay.”
Werther finally managed to heave himself out of the car and walked sedately up to the trio. The reason for his trouble getting out of the passenger seat was clear – Lexi and Felix, both in human form, were clinging like monkeys to his back.
A police officer in what looked like a hastily-donned uniform ran up to belatedly flank the father and his children as they trampled over what was, after all, a crime scene.
“Toni,” Werther said, reaching out to squeeze Toni’s shoulder reassuringly.
Solid and reliable where his wife was fleet-footed and frenetic, Werther had the same sleepy green eyes in human form as he did as a Norwegian forest-cat shifter. He bore the weight of his twin children with apparent ease, and ignored the officer by his side the same way.
“And you must be Jack.”
Toni watched the four closest members of her family silently look over the tall, muscular man – wearing little more than rags – who was standing protectively beside her, his arm still around her waist even as Ellie claimed her own hugs. A silent understanding passed through the group.
CHAPTER TWELVE
TONI
Evening was falling over the forest. Toni stood at Jack’s living room window, watching the last rays of sunlight send brilliant orange and pink streaks across the sky. As the light finally disappeared, she marvelled at what a difference twenty-four hours could make. The evening before, she had been wracked with guilt and fear, her heart still thundering with terror from almost losing the twins; but now, she was at peace. De Jager’s mysterious boss, the man who had sent him after Jack, might still be out there, but with Jack at her side, and her family behind her, Toni had no reason to be afraid.
whispered Jack, standing behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Yes, we will,” Toni promised. “And with my family’s shifter networks, we’ll make sure every shifter in the country knows about the danger. No one will have to go through what happened to Lexi and Felix, ever again.”
Outside the window, two small shadows darted to and fro across the wildflower-strewn yard. Ellie and Werther were sitting on the wide deck, her sleek black tail intertwined with his fluffy white one.
Jack kissed the side of Toni’s neck, lingering there to nuzzle the sensitive skin behind her ear.
“I told you I would protect you. And that means your family, as well. My business has taken me all over the world, and if there’s one thing I’ve learnt from it, it’s how to deal with poachers. I have contacts on every continent who make it their life’s work to track people who endanger innocent animals. It won’t be difficult to find people who take the same interest in protecting innocent people.”
“We can’t,” Toni said, her heart sinking. “It’s bad enough that some humans know about shifters. How can we trust that anyone else we tell will keep the secret, keep it safe, and not exploit it like de Jager?”
“I know some trustworthy people,” Jack reassured you. “And you don’t need to worry about betraying the shifter secret. The folks I’m thinking of aren’t human-shaped one hundred percent of the time.”
Toni let herself relax back against Jack’s broad chest, feeling his hard muscles against her back and shoulders. And lower down, something else was hard, as well. “That sounds like the sort of thing we can talk about more … later. Maybe tomorrow?” She tipped her head back and caught Jack’s questing mouth in a tender kiss.
She felt Jack’s hesitation in her own heart even before he paused and pulled away. “Toni—”
She put her finger over his mouth. “Shh. I know exactly what you’re going to say.”
“I doubt that,” he said promptly, his voice muffled by her fingers. Toni narr
owed his eyes at him.
“Oh, I do. And I know why I know, as well. So do you. Ellie and Werther recognized it the moment they saw us. I don’t know why it took me so long.” She groaned self-consciously at the thought of how dense she had been. It had almost been as though she had been trying not to see the truth that was staring her in the face. As though she couldn’t possibly believe she could be so lucky. “If I concentrate, I can feel what you feel, and not only your emotions. When I was tracking you down, before I even entered the forest I could smell the loamy soil under feel and hear the trees moving in the breeze around you. I thought it was just my shifter abilities asserting themselves at last, but it’s more than that, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Jack breathed, holding himself still as though pinned in place by her fingers on his lips.
Toni stepped closer as Jack’s affirmation washed over her. His eyes were thin rings of gold around deep black pupils, and she wanted nothing more than to sink into them, and leave the need for speech behind. But she knew this was something they both had to say aloud. She could feel the guilt still hiding in Jack’s breast. And she had her own reasons.
“You’re my mate. I didn’t think that was possible. I might be from a shifter family, but I’m not a shifter, so I thought … but it’s true. From the moment I met you, I felt a connection to you, I trusted you. And the longer I spend with you, the more – the more I feel like myself. Like a better version of myself. Like I’m whole, for the first time in my life.” She took a deep breath. “And that’s why I need you to know. I don’t mind that you kept your shifter self a secret from me at the riverbank yesterday.”
Jack looked away, shame in his eyes. “I didn’t know what to do. I knew you were my mate – but I could have dealt with it better. I could have talked to you, and not kept you away from the twins. If I hadn’t been so selfish—”
“—Then maybe de Jager would have grabbed both of us as well as the twins. We already know he and his people were armed. He might have used the threat of hurting Lexi or Felix to blackmail you into giving yourself up without a fight. Or you might have had to shift at the campsite, in front of witnesses. He would have used your fear of discovery against you.” She laid her hands on his shoulders. “Don’t feel guilty, Jack. You had no way of knowing what de Jager was planning. And everything’s turned out fine. We’re all alive. De Jager is in custody. And we have each other.” She leaned forward, nuzzling into his chest. “I never thought I would have a mate. I didn’t think it was possible. And now I’ve got you. What more could I ask for?”
At last she felt the guilt lift from his heart. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close against him. she stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss against his collarbone, and felt his hands drop down her back to clasp her waist.
“Toni…” he murmured.
“By the way,” she interjected before he could say more, “I want to make it very clear that I personally regret nothing about our little interlude on the riverbank.”
”No arguments here,” Jack said, his voice rough. He slid one hand down farther, caressing the curve of her ass. “Though, I would definitely be open to hearing more about what, precisely, it is you don’t regret. And I think I’m going to need a lot of detail.”
Toni giggled into the soft fabric of Jack’s shirt and gave him a playful push toward the door. He grabbed her hand and pulled her after him.
They fell against each other as they hurried through to the staircase that led to the bedrooms. Through the wall-length windows, the forest looked like a dark ocean, the house a single island of light in the wilderness.
Toni squealed as Jack picked her up and leaped down the stairs. She wrapped her legs around him and braced herself as he landed on the floor at the bottom, surprisingly softly.
Jack’s hands were running up and down her body, exploring and enjoying her curves as she knew he had longed to do since they had dispatched de Jager together. She let her feet slip to the ground and used that balance to press herself up against him.
She had felt his frustration as first her sister and brother-in-law, and then the police, had kept them with their interminable questions. But now, with the police gone and Toni’s family considerately keeping to the other end of the house, he let his inhibitions go.
Still kissing her, Jack reached around to grab Toni’s ass. He lifted her again without a grunt of effort. Toni gasped and wrapped her legs around his waist to steady herself, feeling the huge bulge at the front of his pants rubbing against her own throbbing center.
“Oh, Jack…” she moaned, and rubbed herself against him. “We’re not even in the bedroom yet…”
She giggled as Jack theatrically rolled his eyes and, with exaggerated care, strode through the master bedroom door and closed it with a careful click. Just as she thought he was going to carry her to the super-king bed, he paused, and turned back to the wall.
“On second thoughts,” he murmured, his breath hot in her ear, “let’s not go to bed just yet.”
“Don’t you dare,” growled Toni. “You can’t bring me down here with your promises and then – oh…!”
Toni gasped as Jack leant her back against the wall, planting a line of rough kisses down her neck to her cleavage. And then lower. She steadied herself on his shoulders as he knelt in front of her, tearing her shirt from her body as he went. Every inch of skin he uncovered, he teased with his mouth and his hands, until Toni was quivering with desire.
When he got to her trousers he took his time over the fastenings. Toni could feel his fingers through the heavy fabric of her jeans, working tantalisingly slowly. She moaned and pushed herself toward him, and he understood immediately, cupping her mound in the palm of his hand. He pressed upwards against her, the heat and pressure of his hand bringing Toni’s pleasure to an exquisite point. She ground against his hand. The seams of her jeans, caught between her flesh and his, send jolts of white-hot pleasure through her as she rolled over them. Toni flung her head back, eyes staring blindly at the wall and plaster ceiling—
Then the rough, impersonal denim was replaced by hot flesh. Jack pulled her jeans down to her ankles and slid two fingers into her, the sudden intrusion into her slick folds making Toni almost scream with liquid lust. She kicked off her trousers and almost collapsed as Jack’s curled his fingers inside her and brushed against her g-spot. She struck out blindly with her hands and grabbed on to his hair and one shoulder, steadying herself before her legs gave out and she fell on top of him.
Jack grinned up at her. He slid his free hand slowly up her leg, leaving her skin goosebumped in its wake. Then he began to stand up, still maddeningly slowly, still gently stroking inside her.
Toni’s breathing was ragged. She was close, so close – but she didn’t want to come before he was inside her. She wanted to feel his long, thick cock thrusting into her, deeper and deeper, grounding her and pushing her over the edge at the same time.
With that he rose up against her, fumbling at his own clothes. First his shirt and then his pants joined hers on the floor, thrown off and as quickly forgotten. Then he was on her, both hands on her hips, pinning her to the wall. He shifted his grip down and back behind her, lifting her against him again. This time, there was no fabric separating their bodies. His skin was hot against hers, and she could feel the rock-hard head of his cock pressing against her, between her legs, as he lowered her onto his thick length. Her slick folds parted willingly for him and she moaned as he entered her.
Jack groaned into Toni’s hair as he plunged deep inside her, burying his cock to its full length on the first smooth thrust. He pulled her away from the wall and she wrapped her legs around his waist, gasping as the motion shifted his cock inside her.
hands and kissed him, running her tongue along his lower lip.
“I’m not going to answer that,” she whispered back, her voice catching as he lifted her hips and then lowered them again, pumping his cock in and out of her. “You’re going to have to … oh-h…”
“I think I have my answer,” he murmured wickedly, his tongue flicking out to taste her skin as he nuzzled her neck. “Though perhaps I should make you elaborate on it?”
He put one hand out to lean on the wall behind Toni, his other still holding her ass firmly in place as he thrust his thick cock into her, harder and harder, deeper and deeper until Toni’s whole world was whittled down to the pleasure of touch, the ever-larger waves of hot desire that were flooding her body.
When her orgasm came it burst out of her in a scream, every muscle in her body straining for pleasure. Toni clamped her legs tight around Jack’s body, grinding herself against his cock to make the exquisite moment last as long as possible. Her whole body was slick with sweat, and it was only Jack’s strong hands that kept her held tightly against him. She felt him come just as she had crested her own orgasm, and the feeling of his cock twitching inside her brought her to another peak. As the last throbbing echoes of her orgasm faded away, so did the last of her energy, and she let herself relax utterly on her lover’s strong, muscular body.
Still panting with exertion, Jack wrapped his arms around her, holding her as gently as though he was afraid she would break, or just disappear. She planted a tiny kiss on his shoulder where her head had fallen. “I’m not going anywhere,” she murmured.
“Hmm?”
“Mmm.”
There was a moment’s silence. Toni could almost feel Jack’s mind ticking over, even without the mate bond. She giggled into his shoulder.
“What’s so funny?”
“Go on, say it.”
“Say what?”
Toni drew lazy spirals on Jack’s back with her fingertips. “Say, ‘Oh, you don’t want to go to bed, then?’” she said, mimicking the impending joke she had sensed rising to the surface of Jack’s mind.