by Kit Tunstall
The last scar led her to his pubic bone, and she paused only to straddle his thighs before returning her mouth to the end of the scar, trailing her tongue lower, to the side of his cock. He stiffened when she blew lightly on his heated skin, her lips hovered just beyond his erection. His cock convulsed with anticipation as her lips grazed the side of his shaft, zeroing in on his thick head. When her mouth closed around him, he groaned with pleasure, swearing his cock hardened even more, if that was possible.
Last time she had sucked his cock, Grant had been too consumed with trying to maintain control to fully appreciate her talent. This time he surrendered to the sensations, giving voice to his pleasure with small moans and grunts as she worked with enthusiasm.
Her tongue made broad strokes around his head before tracing the corona. When she reached the bundle of nerves at the V, the hand he’d had balled at his side instinctively reached for her, his fingers plunging into her short, kinky hair in an attempt to hold her there forever. Her breathy giggle sent electricity arcing through his body, and his cock convulsed.
When she scraped her teeth across the corona, it shouldn’t have been as pleasurable as it was. The contrast of satisfaction and slight discomfort had him pumping his hips, anxious to bury his cock as deep into her mouth as he could. She accepted the length of him with some effort, taking a moment to adjust to his size before resuming sucking.
Zinsa’s head bobbed up and down as soon as she was used to him, maintaining constant suction. Grant swore she was sucking hard enough to draw his balls through his cock, but it was so amazing he wasn’t going to protest. Every molecule in his body was threatening to come apart, his control was nonexistent, and the beast was rising, but he couldn’t muster the will to care. All that mattered was her mouth on his cock, her legs around his thighs, and the heady scent of her arousal hanging in the air.
She concentrated her efforts on the head of his cock, and Grant’s eyes blurred. His cock spasmed and release almost rushed over him. At the penultimate moment, Zinsa withdrew, and he groaned, caught in a gray world between pain and release. “Zinsa.” Her name was a raspy plea torn from his throat.
“I’m not cruel,” she said, lifting her body higher as she spoke, until their pelvises aligned. “I want to be with you this time.”
Somehow he managed a nod, though all he wanted to do was plunge inside her pussy. With gritted teeth, he held out long enough for Zinsa to position herself and sit down slowly, sinking onto his cock. As soon as her velvety folds encased him, Grant put his hands on her back, pulling her down across his stomach, even as he flipped their positions, needing to be able to delve as deeply into her as he could.
Zinsa cried out when he sank fully inside her. He lifted one of her legs and she curled it around his upper back, allowing him another inch of penetration. Sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes, obscuring his vision, but not to the point that he couldn’t see how excited his lover was. Her need clearly matched his, and they pounded against each other in frenzied waves, meeting as if determined to absorb each other, and breaking apart to recover before trying again when their attempts failed.
He was too close to climax to make it last long, but she was right with him, bringing her hand between their bodies to rub her clit as he increased his thrusts even more, trembling on the edge. When he fell over, the cry that left his mouth blended with hers, and he couldn’t tell where the spasms in his cock ended and the convulsions in her pussy began. For that instant, they were one being, their hearts thundering in unison.
Blackness swept through him, rising so quickly he barely had time to pull out of Zinsa and roll off the bed. Huddled on the floor, he tried to regain control, but failed as the beast claimed him and the fire of transformation raged through him.
When he was fully transformed, Grant’s sense of self was vague, but he knew who Zinsa was. When she got out of bed and knelt on the floor beside him, his tail twitched. Peace filled him when her hands stroked his fur, and his memories stirred. His mind cleared, becoming sharper in a matter of seconds, and before he knew it, he was human again. It was the fastest he had ever found his way back from being immersed in the beast.
Lying on the floor, with Zinsa’s hands on his stomach, Grant fought against the shame trying to overtake him. It took every vestige of courage to meet her eyes, and his heart stuttered when he saw nothing but acceptance. “Zinsa?” Every ounce of his uncertainty resonated in uttering her name.
With a tender smile, she leaned forward to kiss his forehead. “My love.”
He sniffed, filtering out the scent of their mutual passion hanging in the air, looking for any hint of fear from her and finding none. His brow furrowed, and he regarded her with confusion. “How can you be so accepting?”
Zinsa shrugged before sitting cross-legged on the floor, her thigh pressed against his stomach. “You are what you are, Grant. I’ve waited too long to find someone to complete me to throw it away because of fear.” She brushed a curl off his forehead. “I’ve been cursed, you know.”
For a moment, he had no idea what she was talking about, but then the memory surfaced. “Your family curse?”
She nodded, grinning widely. “I’ve found my soul mate and knew him instantly.”
“There’s no curse in my family, but I know you’re the other half of my heart.”
“Darling, I’ve decided it’s not a family curse.” Zinsa stretched forward, her mouth hovering against his. Just before kissing him, she added, “It’s definitely a gift.”
About the Author
Kit Tunstall lives in Idaho with her husband and dog-son. She started reading at the age of three and hasn’t stopped since. Love of the written word, and a smart marriage to a supportive man, led her to a full-time career in writing. Romances have always intrigued her, and erotic romance is a natural extension because it more completely explores the emotions between the hero and heroine. That, and it sure is fun to write.
Kit welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora’s Cave Publishing at 1337 Commerce Drive, #13, Stow, OH 44224.
Also by Kit Tunstall
A Christmas Phantasie
A Matter Of Honor
Beloved Forever
Blood Lines 1: Blood Oath
Blood Lines 2: Blood Challenge
Blood Lines 3: Blood Bond
Blood Lines 4: Blood Price
By Invitation Only
Dark Dreams
Eye of Destiny
Heart Of Midnight
Pawn
Phantasie
Playing His Game
Hidden Heart
Kate Steele
Chapter One
“Lindy, your two o’clock is here.”
“Thanks, Cin, I’ll be right there.”
Lindy released the button on the intercom unit and turned back to her work table. “Well, big fella, you’re going to have to wait for that nose after all.”
Her comment was addressed to the large teddy bear that sat on the table in front of her. His eyes conveyed an expectant air as he patiently awaited the stitches that would complete his nose and mouth. Lindy smiled, not at all bothered by the fact that she was talking to an inanimate object. She’d long ago given up feeling silly for doing so and now realized that teddy bear lovers around the world talked to their favorite “friends”.
She automatically put away her tools and moved her new creation back from the edge of the table. Tapping the end of his muzzle, she instructed, “You wait right here, I’ll be back in a little while.”
With a smile she stood and walked to the closed door. Before opening it she stopped to straighten her clothing. She reached under her shirt, grasped the bottom edge of her bra and pulled it down, then did a little shimmy movement designed to shake everything in place. Pulling the hem of her shirt down, she grimaced as she thought, for what seemed like the millionth time, how much she hated having large breasts. Although firm enough, they never seemed to want to remain where she put them. It was as though they were e
scapees in the middle of a jail break and she was forever recapturing them and sending them back to their cells.
Lindy sighed and opened the door which connected to her office. She walked in to find her two o’clock appointment perusing the glass case that held some examples of Timberlane Teddies’ most popular lines.
“See anything you like?” she quipped, then grinned at her use of a line so often used as a double entendre.
“Actually, I see some familiar faces here,” he answered and turned to face her, his own smile in place as he indicated the displayed teddy bears. “My niece is quite taken with Jethro and Sam.” He walked across the room extending his hand. “Ms. Timberlane, I’m very pleased to finally meet you in person.”
Lindy took the offered hand. “Call me Lindy, please. Won’t you have a seat, Dr. Walden?”
“Thank you, and it’s David,” he replied, sitting in the indicated chair.
Lindy walked around her antique mahogany desk and took her own chair. “So, it’s that time of year again,” she commented as she pulled a checkbook from the top drawer. “How are things going at base camp?”
“Very well, thanks in part to your generosity. We’ve made great strides in determining how the grizzlies use natural resources and just how important certain things like the white-bark pine trees are to their existence.”
“The white-barks provide the last wild food source for the bears before they go into hibernation, is that right?”
“That’s right,” David answered with a pleased smile.
“I try to keep up on things, even though the teddy bear business keeps me pretty busy.” Lindy took up her pen and began making out the check. “So, will you be returning to camp after your business here in town is completed?”
“In about a week, yes I will, and that brings up the reason I came to see you, instead of having you mail the check as usual.”
Lindy looked up curiously. “And that reason would be…?”
“I’ve come to issue an invitation. Over the last few years you’ve been so generous in your contributions—the added funding has allowed us to really step up our research. We, as a group, would like to invite you to come and see how your money is being spent. We thought you might enjoy a couple of weeks in the woods to get to know the group and see in person just exactly what it is we do.”
Lindy was filled with stunned delight. “I’d love that! So I’ll have a week to organize things then return with you?”
“Will that be enough time?”
“Definitely. For this I’ll make it enough time. You’re going to have to tell me what I need to bring as far as clothes and things.”
“My wife, Nancy, is way ahead of you there,” David replied as he reached into his jacket pocket. “She sent this note and a list.”
Lindy laughed. “I see she anticipated my acceptance.”
“Nancy’s the voice of practicality and reason in camp, she always looks ahead and seems to have an uncanny ability to see what things we might need in the future. Knowing your deep dedication to our project, she was fairly certain you’d want to come.”
“Well, she certainly was right there,” Lindy said as she finished writing out the check to the foundation. She handed it to David who looked at it, then did a double take. “The business did quite well last year,” she explained with a sheepish shrug. “I’ve increased our other donations as well.”
David shook his head in amazement and beamed. “I can’t tell you how much this means to us, but then, you know that without all the research we’re doing, animals such as the grizzly bear and the wolf might be extinct by now.”
“I know,” she answered. “And that’s something I want to help prevent. My grandparents, especially Grandpa, had a great love for the outdoors and all its inhabitants. They instilled that same love in me. When they died and left their estate to me, I started this business. Between my inheritance and the success I’ve enjoyed, I’ve got more than any one person needs.” She smiled. “So I decided to spread it around.”
“Well, we’re certainly grateful you’ve spread it in our direction.”
“Believe me, David, it’s my pleasure.”
David rose, pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and ran a hand over his tousled brown hair. Lindy studied him briefly, deciding she liked him. He seemed a sensible and sturdy person, just the sort who should be in charge of a research team. There was also an air of gentle humor about him, something that made her relax in his presence. He has kind eyes, she mused.
“Well, I’d best be going so that you can get back to work,” he commented, putting the check she handed him in an inner jacket pocket. “I’ll deposit this right away, so as not to lose it. Nancy would scalp me if I did, and I don’t believe I’d look quite right bald.”
Lindy smiled appreciatively, he did have a sense of humor.
“I’ll contact you toward the end of the week to see how you’re progressing in your preparations and give you our travel information, flight times, etcetera. If you should need to contact me before then, I can be reached at either of these numbers,” he said, handing her a card.
“Thank you, David. I really appreciate this opportunity to spend time with your team,” she told him, shaking his hand.
“It’s our pleasure, Lindy. And thank you again,” he said, patting his jacket pocket. “Goodbye.”
Lindy watched him head for the elevator, sighed and closed her door. A big grin spread over her face. “Grandpa, I wish you were here,” she murmured. “I’m going camping with the bears!”
*
A week later Lindy found herself unpacking in her very own cabin. She had been pleasantly surprised to find that the base camp was made up of cabins and not tents. David Walden and his wife Nancy, a wildlife conservationist, shared one, Sandra and Paul DiAngelo, both wildlife ecologists, shared a second, and Rafe Kutter, a wildlife biologist, was in yet another.
The cabins were all of similar makeup. The main room contained the bed, a dresser and a table with a couple of chairs. There was also a tiny closet and a small bathroom. The bathroom was equipped with a shower stall, toilet and sink.
In addition to the cabins there was a larger communal building, the Lodge, that housed a combination kitchen-dining room and several other rooms. One was designated as the library and used to store the research data, another was used for equipment storage and a third was dominated by a large fireplace, and had thickly padded sofas and chairs which one could sink into and spend a dreamy hour or two contemplating the fire. Everyone had to go further afield to actually find their research subjects, but there were tents and other equipment to make overnight or longer trips possible.
Putting the last of her things in the dresser, Lindy straightened and looked at herself in the mirror. She shook her head and through critical green eyes watched locks of her long, honey-blonde hair settle into place. They framed a face she wished could be termed beautiful, but cute was closer to the mark. She turned her head first this way, then that, studying her even, average features. Wrinkling her nose, she stepped back and examined her clothing.
Following Nancy Walden’s advice, she’d packed plain, sensible clothing that could be layered for any changes in the weather. At the moment, she wore a pair of her favorite well-worn blue jeans, a smoky-blue Henley topped by an open olive-green chamois shirt and low hiking boots. She turned sideways, liking the way the shirt fell, as it hid some of her more obvious curves.
Standing five-foot-ten-inches tall, Lindy was grateful for the height that gave her size eighteen body a well-proportioned look. Even so, she’d spent her life very conscious of the extra pounds, and had done all sorts of diets in an effort to reach a weight that in the end had proved to be unattainable and truthfully unnecessary. At thirty-five she was ready to admit that this was it, she was never going to be glamour-girl thin, but at least she was healthy and finally comfortable with herself.
She ate reasonably well-balanced meals, walked two or three miles a day, worked ou
t with weights and even had a heavy punching bag installed in her apartment. It was great for those days when the frustrations of work had her tense and on edge. It was especially effective when she pictured it as her ex-fiancé, Richard, who’d turned out to be a two-timing fortune hunter. There was something quite savagely satisfying in pretending to pulverize those haughty, patrician features.
With a wry smile she stepped away from the mirror, walked out of her cabin and headed toward the Lodge. The building was fairly large, with a front porch that was reached by climbing up two steps. A soft breeze whispered through the boughs of the trees that shaded the clearing and brought the fresh scent of pine to her appreciative nose.
Lindy crossed the porch and opened the front door. Peering in, she quickly ascertained that no one was there. She walked in, closed the door behind her and looked around the room. It was very rustic and oddly welcoming. She sighed and relaxed a bit. Running her own business, she’d learned the niceties of meeting new people, unfortunately it didn’t make the doing any easier. She was, by nature, a more solitary creature.
Drawn to a pile of papers laid out on a low table in front of one of the sofas, she sat and curiously perused those that were visible. They were obviously someone’s research notes and were written in a strong, bold script. A large, open sketchbook lay by the notes. The two visible pages each held a photograph of a grizzly bear, accompanied by a number, a name and statistics. It was what the rest of the pages held that fascinated her.
Beautifully detailed drawings had been rendered of each subject bear as it was engaged in various activities. The drawings were so intricate and realistic one almost expected the bear to move. The artist had captured the very essence of his subjects.
She sat and slowly turned the pages, totally entranced. Lost in her study of the drawings, Lindy didn’t notice that she was no longer alone.
“Do you always snoop through other people’s personal property?”
She gasped and started guiltily. The question came from behind her, expressed in a deep voice, a silky growl that sent a shiver coursing down her spine—a shiver that unexpectedly caused her nipples to pinch tight.