“You are so wet,” he growled.
The rasp in his voice only made me want him more, and I tightened my legs around his hips. Shane trailed his kisses down my collarbone down to the straps of my tank top and he slowly removed them. Shane moved his mouth down to my bra line as he used his thumb to slowly rub my clit and pushed his fingers inside. A rush of pleasure ran through my body as I rolled my hips onto his hand.
Shane moved his left hand around my back and unclasped my bra and pushed my tank top down to my waist. He cupped my breast and gently started to suck on my nipple. I let out a slight moan and heard him chuckle. He started to move his thumb and his fingers a bit faster inside of me, causing shivers to run through my body. I felt the tingling sensation start to build and knew that he would soon take me over the edge.
He grazed his teeth lightly across my nipple and added a second finger inside me.
“Oh God, Shane,” I said as I felt the tingling sensation explode across my body. I let out a loud moan as I she felt the release of my orgasm.
“Keep coming, Lydia,” he grunted as he pulled my body closer. He pulled his hands from me and unbuckled his pants and pulled down the zipper. He quickly pulled me off the dresser and turned me around so that I was facing the mirror that was attached to the dresser. I heard his pants drop to the floor and let out a loud moan when I felt his hard length push into me. I grabbed the dresser for support as he used my tank top, that was still around my waist, to pull my body toward his.
Shane pumped his hips into mine and with each thrust, I felt a pressure begin to grow. He tangled his fingers into my hair and gently pulled my head back, which pushed me toward my breaking point. With another hard thrust, Shane threw me over the edge and I let out loud moans as I felt my whole body release and melt into his.
Shane flipped me around again, and crushed his lips into my own. Shane then picked me up and wrapped my legs around his hips as he took me over to the bed. I threw my hands up and grabbed onto the headboard for leverage and tightened my legs around his waist. Shane grabbed my hips and started to pump inside me again. I felt the bed frame rattle, but I didn’t care. All I wanted was Shane deeper inside me.
I unwrapped my legs from around his waist and used them to push his hips up from the bed harder into my own. Shane let out a low growl and grabbed my body and flipped me around so that I was on my knees. I continued to hold the top of the headboard as I arched my back, thrusting my hips up to meet his. He pushed inside me and wrapped his right hand around my waist.
Shane used his fingers to rub my clit as he grabbed onto my round hips, guiding himself inside me. I felt the pressure start to mount again with his touch. His fingers started to move faster with his hips and I knew that I would not be able to last much longer. I turned my head back toward him.
“I want you to come with me,” I said. He let out a growl as he nodded and pushed his hips harder into me. I felt my whole body start to shake and knew that I could not hold the pressure in any longer. I felt him move faster behind me and let myself fall over the edge. Loud moans escaped my lips and I felt myself tighten around him. He let out a loud growl and I felt him release. My orgasm grew stronger as I felt him release along with me.
Once we were finished, we collapsed next to each other. I turned to face Shane and I felt my bear bristle underneath the surface. In that moment, I felt a strong connection to Shane that I couldn’t understand, but I knew it was something that I never wanted to let go.
Chapter 10
Shane
I squeezed my eyes shut as the sunlight shone into the room from the window. I slowly opened them and felt Lydia’s warm body snuggled up next to me. A slow smile spread across my face. God, she was fucking beautiful.
Last night had changed everything. After fighting my bear for the last few weeks, I had finally given in. Lydia was mine and nothing would change that now. I let out a sigh and felt Lydia stir slightly next to me.
I closed my eyes and breathed in Lydia’s scent. I felt my bear rumble inside my chest. There was something about her that completely captivated me and calmed my nerves. I was just about to fall back asleep when my phone jolted me awake.
“McAbbot.”
“Shane, it’s Marco.”
Fuck. There could be only two reasons why Marco would be calling me while we were undercover. Either everything had fallen apart, or they were ready for us to go into the hospital. I moved Lydia to the side and pulled my arm out from under her head.
“Hang on a sec,” I whispered into the phone.
I slowly moved out of the bed and tiptoed across the room to the bedroom door. I looked back at Lydia as I cracked the door open. She looked so innocent, and I hated that I was bringing her into all of this. I closed the door and walked down toward the living room.
“What’s going on, Marco? I know it can’t be good if you’re calling.”
“Another body of a shifter has been found dumped in an alley.”
I growled.
“Are we sure it was the hospital that dumped it?”
“We can’t prove it legally, but the guys and I all agree that the body came from the hospital. It seemed that they tried to burn it, so that he would be unidentifiable. The coroner is looking into his dental records now. However, after examining him on site, the corner was able to spot several puncture wounds on his skin, and several areas where incisions were made on his body.”
I gritted my teeth. The hospital seemed to have moved forward in their experiments. Instead of the strange side effects that Sarge in Seattle experienced, they seemed to now be doing a lot more than just putting shifters under.
“Have you found anything you can use?”
Marco let out a long sigh. “No. We’ve had a surveillance team on them since you and Lydia went undercover. They seem to be running like a completely normal hospital. However, there have been some more recent complaints to authorities about their treatment of patients.”
“What kind of complaints?”
“Well, it seems that family members are staying in the hospital longer than people have originally thought.”
“How is that a complaint?”
“Well, for standard procedures, the hospital seems to be having a lot of patients with extended recovery times. The hospital has claimed that it was complications with surgery, and some of these families are not buying it anymore.”
Maybe this body was an extended recovery gone wrong. I knew that we had to get in there to get to the bottom of all of this. We had spent so much time building up our cover that we had to be solid by now.
“We need to get in there, then. Did you guys figure out how to pull that off yet?”
Marco let out an awkward laugh.
“Spill it,” I said.
“Well, we have to make it realistic. You can’t just fake an illness to get in. So, we’re going to have to poison you.”
I felt the blood rush from my face. Poison me? How the fuck were they going to do that?
“How do you fucking geniuses plan on doing that without killing me?”
“Don’t worry, man. We got that all covered. This stuff should just make you really sick. Sick enough for them to warrant you being admitted to figure out what’s going on.”
Fucking fabulous. How the hell had I gotten signed up to do this again? I dropped my head into my free hand. I felt a hand lightly brush my shoulder and jolted my head up. Lydia stood behind me and smiled.
“It’ll be all right,” Lydia said. A smile slowly spread across my lips.
“Okay,” I said into the phone. “When do you want us to do this?”
“We sent a package over to you last night. It should be dropped off at your doorstep now. Follow the instructions in the box and once you start to feel sick, head to the hospital. We will be tracking you the whole time that we are able. We’ll have a surveillance team set up outside, and if things go wrong on the inside, Lydia will be able to reach us.”
I looked up toward Lydia’s face. After last night, I hated
that I was putting her in harm’s way like this. My bear bristled underneath the surface with the need to protect her. My expression darkened and Lydia reached out toward my face. Her soft hand lightly brushed against my cheek. The simple comfort of feeling her skin on mine sent a sense of calm throughout my body. She slowly smiled at me. I stood up and walked toward the front door and opened it. There, on the ground, was a small white box. My bear was on high alert with the need to protect Lydia. My eyes shifted back and forth, looking for anything out of the ordinary to suggest that our cover had been blown. My bear only settled when I saw that the coast was clear.
I bent down and picked up the box. “All right, Marco. Let’s get these fucking bastards.” I ended the call and walked back inside. I placed the box on the table near the door and Lydia rushed into my arms. I pulled her body close.
“We can do this, Lydia.”
I felt Lydia’s head nod against his chest. My bear stirred restlessly underneath my skin. Fuck, I hoped I was right.
Chapter 11
Lydia
I sat down on the couch in the living room and placed my head in my hands. The last twenty-four hours with Shane had changed everything between us. Before, I had just seen him as the boss. A very hot and sexy boss, but a boss for this undercover operation nonetheless.
After last night, the pull toward him that I had been fighting this whole time seemed to have intensified, and my nerves were starting to get the best of me.
Shane sat next to me on the couch and placed his arm around my shoulder, pulling my body close to his. I leaned into him and let out a sigh. I loved how protected he made me feel. I chuckled to myself. It was a strange to have the feeling of being protected and enjoying it. Normally with Marco and my dad it was just a nuisance.
Shane placed his hand underneath my chin and pulled my face up to meet his. He lightly pressed his lips to mine. I felt a spark run through my body and tightened my arms around him. Shane broke the kiss and stared down at my face. I was completely captivated by his bright blue eyes.
“Before we do all this, I want you to know how much I care about you,” Shane said.
I felt a rush of butterflies soar through my stomach. Deep down, I knew that Shane cared about me, but to hear him say it aloud made my heart beat wildly in my chest.
“I care about you a lot too.”
Shane smiled brightly. “After we finish what we’re set to do, we will figure this all out, I promise.” Shane pulled me close to his body. I felt his muscles tense around me. He broke the hug and looked down at me with a serious expression on his face.
“Until then, I have to keep you safe, Lydia. Promise me that the second you feel that you’re in danger, no matter what’s happening to me, that you get out of there and go directly to your brother.”
The butterflies in my stomach turned into a knot of nerves. “I won’t just leave you in there, Shane. Not when they’re killing shifters now.”
A low growl came from Shane’s chest. I watched as he tightened his jaw, restraining himself. The knot of nerves in my stomach turned into anger.
“Shane, I can take care of myself if something happens. I’m not some fragile thing that you need to take care of.”
The tension in Shane’s face dissipated. “I know you’re strong, Lydia, but I have to protect you.”
Lydia smiled. “I’m not the one that they’ll be testing on. So I have to protect you.”
Shane smiled. “You have a point. But promise me that you will get out of there if you feel that you’re in danger.”
I stared up into Shane’s eyes. In that moment, I knew that I would never be able to leave him in there alone. My heart belonged to him now, and if something happened to him in that hospital, I would never be the same.
“I promise I will go get help,” I said. “But you have to realize that I’m not going to let them hurt you. I will call for backup way before that even happens.”
“I know you will.” Shane leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. A jolt ran through my body and my hands rushed up to his back and tangled in his hair.
***
I watched nervously as Shane opened up the box that was delivered to us. Inside the box were a small vial and a sheet of paper. Shane set the vial on the table and picked up the sheet of paper. I stared at it with a confused expression on my face.
“Is that chocolate?” Shane nodded and continued to read the paper.
He let out an awkward laugh. “Haven’t you heard that chocolate is poisonous to animals?”
“But part of us is human. Why would just two pieces of chocolate send you to the hospital? With the amount of chocolate I have eaten over my lifetime, I should be dead by now.”
Shane set the paper down on the table and let out a laugh. “This isn’t just normal chocolate, it’s pure theobromine, which is the chemical that’s harmful to animals. By eating this, I will get sick enough to warrant going to the hospital, but not so sick where it will kill me.”
Realization washed over me. I did remember not feeling so great when I had eaten too much chocolate. At least this was chocolate and not something lethal. “Well, I’m glad you don’t have to take some strong poison then.”
Shane smiled, but it never fully reached his eyes. I could tell that he was nervous.
I walked toward him and wrapped my arms around him. His arms tightened around me and he kissed the top of my head.
“Let’s get this over with,” Shane sighed. He broke our embrace and reached for the vial. He popped off the top and dumped the contents into his mouth and swallowed.
I watched him nervously. At first, Shane looked like he felt fine. Then suddenly, Shane grabbed his stomach and let out a loud groan. I rushed toward him as he collapsed onto the ground. Was he supposed to be reacting this quickly to it? I reached for his face and realized that he had passed out. His skin felt cool underneath my touch. Panic coursed through my veins. Please don’t let this be something more serious happening.
“Shane, wake up!” I pushed my fingers to his neck to feel his pulse. It beat against my fingers, which made me feel better, but it felt weak. Weaker than it should be for a bear. I jumped up quickly and rushed over to the phone and dialed Marco’s number. He picked up on the first ring.
“Marco, get the ambulance over here now!”
“It’s already on the way, Lydia. Don’t worry, Shane will be fine.”
I looked over at Shane’s body on the ground and prayed that my brother was right.
Chapter 12
Shane
My eyes fluttered open. My vision was blurred so I squeezed my eyes shut to gain some focus. I turned to the side and recognized Lydia’s curvy form in the chair. She was fast asleep. A slow smile spread across my face. Even when she slept, she was beautiful.
I turned my head to take in the rest of my surroundings. I was on a small bed. The sheets felt rough against my skin. There was a gentle beeping sound in the room and I quickly realized that we had made it to the hospital. I reached my hand up to rub my forehead and noticed an IV tube in my arm. I was about to yank it out when I heard Lydia stir in the chair.
“Oh, thank God, you’re awake!” Lydia stood up quickly and rushed over to my bedside.
I smiled at her. But my smile faltered when I tried to remember how I had ended up here. “What happened?” My throat felt scratchy as I asked.
Lydia looked around and leaned closer to my ear and whispered. “You ate the pure theobromine and you collapsed. I called Marco and the ambulance came and picked you up.”
She leaned back up from my ear and continued. “Once the ambulance came and got you loaded inside, you had a seizure on the way to the hospital.” I watched as tears formed at the corner of Lydia’s eyes. “After your seizure, they were able to stabilize you. I was so scared on the way over, but the doctors here have been amazing. They admitted you right away, and they’re running blood tests now to see what happened.”
I could read between the lines that Lydia was giving
me. We arrived at the hospital fine, and were admitted, which was the plan all along. Now we would have to wait and see what else they would do to me. Once I saw Marco again I planned on punching him in the gut for making me take that stuff. Lydia squeezed my hand and I smiled up at her.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“I’m feeling a lot better than I was.” Taking the theobromine was a terrible experience. I had always felt a little off when I had regular chocolate, so I usually avoided the stuff. However, having the pure chemical that caused the reaction had set my insides on fire. It felt as though my whole body had been fighting to get it out of my system as quickly as it could, and I felt weak now because of it. I tightened my jaw. Now was not the time to be weak. I needed to somehow suck it up so that I could figure out what was really going on and make sure that Lydia was safe.
I moved over and let Lydia sit down on the hospital bed. She leaned down and pressed a light kiss on my lips.
“I was so worried about you,” she said honestly.
I felt terrible for putting her in this position. Deep down, I knew I needed someone else to be there to see what was happening, but I hated that it had to be her. I never wanted to make her frightened, like she was in the ambulance, ever again.
“I’m so sorry I scared you. I hate that you had to experience that. It was the last thing I want to do to you.”
She gave me a genuine smile and leaned down to whisper in my ear. “I know that if there was any other way, you would have done it. This is the only way to figure out what’s going on here.”
I stared up at her in amazement. Lydia was truly an amazing woman to understand that we had a mission to accomplish. I would have to tell Marco that she is a lot stronger than he thinks.
“I love you,” I blurted without thinking. The moment the words passed over my lips though, I knew that it was the truth. I loved Lydia more than anything. She was mine. My bear growled underneath the surface and said mate, and I knew the bear was right. Lydia was my one true mate. The person I was supposed to be with for the rest of my life.
Furever Always (Furever Series) Page 48