by T. S. Joyce
“He won’t hurt you ever again.” Tobias’s voice was filled with promise. “Vera, you don’t have to worry anymore. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her gaze to his. “Okay?”
She offered him an emotional smile and whispered, “Okay.”
His eyes dipped to her lips, and her breath caught as he leaned in. Her hand was on his chest, right over his heart, and the second his lips touched hers, his heart began pounding hard. Likely, it matched hers, because as his lips moved with hers, her heart raced, too. Closing her eyes, she gave into the moment. Sure, she’d imagined what it would be like to be with Tobias, but that was before she’d met him. She’d been in heat for a few days already and was hungry to be with a man, but this wasn’t about her needs. Here in the dark, with his admissions warm on his lips, being with Tobias was about her wants. He soothed something in her, and with every soft kiss, she melted more completely against him. Men weren’t to be trusted. Jonathan and then Clayton, all of the misfits…men were brutal, stepping on softer beings to get where they wanted—but not Tobias. She didn’t know how she knew, but Tobias was one of the good ones. He was trustworthy.
Gently, he cupped her neck, rubbing the pad of his thumb across her cheek as he pulled her more tightly to him with his other arm. And then she felt it. Just the brush of his tongue on the closed seam of her lips, and she was his. Vera parted for him and let off a satisfied sound as he dipped his tongue against hers.
He eased back with a sexy smack and grinned. “Did you just growl at me?”
“No,” she rushed out, the tips of her ears flushing with heat.
“Yeah, you did, and now I know what you are.”
“Are you disappointed?”
Tobias massaged the back of her neck and chuckled. “Of course not. I can’t wait to see her.”
“Yeah well, that feeling is not mutual. She’s a little beast. I dread her.”
Tobias rolled Vera on top of him and gripped the tops of her thighs as she straddled him. “You shouldn’t.”
“Tobias, Clayton put me on that island for a reason.”
“Are you wearing a muumuu?”
“No! It’s a nightgown and the sexiest one I own. I wore it just for you.”
He pulled the billowing fabric in for closer inspection. “Are those cartoon llamas?”
She swatted his hand. “I’m sexy. Don’t judge my nightwear.”
“Mmm,” he rumbled. “Take it off.”
Vera lifted her chin and gave him a challenging look. “You take it off.”
In the dim lighting that filtered through the blinds, Tobias’s pupils contracted to pinpoints in the moment before he leaned up in one smooth motion, pushing the hem of her nightgown upward and over her head. His lips were on hers the instant she was free of the fabric, more urgent than his first kiss.
“I’m not wearing panties,” she whispered against his lips with a wicked grin.
“Vixen.”
Tobias ran his hands up Vera’s back, and she shivered at how damned good his hands felt on her skin. So warm and strong. She wouldn’t admit it out loud, but she liked being petted. He brushed his tongue against hers one last time, then dipped his lips to her breast and drew her nipple in between his teeth. Vera arched her back with a gasp. She slid her hands behind his head and drew him closer, begging with a helpless sound in her throat as she rocked against his erection. His body tensed, and he sucked hard when she rolled her hips again. And on the third time, she lifted slightly and slid over the head of his cock. She took him slowly, inch by inch until she was filled with him.
She loved this. Loved that he had given her control. It showed his trust, and she needed that right now. Needed it after the secrets she’d exposed to him. There was a strange, warm spot in her chest that felt better the closer she was to him. A soft growl rattled his chest as she held him tightly and rocked her hips over and over again.
Tobias gripped her hair at the nape of her neck and kissed her harder. She bit his bottom lip in a feisty tease, and he pushed into her faster. So much pressure, and he felt so good inside of her. Big, but right. With a moan, she arched her head back so he could kiss and nibble his way down her neck. So close.
“Tobias,” she whispered, pleading. She dipped her lips to his neck and let off another soft growl because her animal was here. She was present and engaged, and Vera was losing herself.
Tobias’s hand gripped the back of her head, pulling her tighter against him as she trailed her kisses down the curve between his neck and shoulder. His breath came in pants, and his body contracted in the rhythm she’d set. He was getting close, too, and now her teeth were on him. So tempting. So…
She rolled her eyes closed as the pressure became blinding.
“Do it,” he demanded low.
“Mine,” she murmured just before she bit down. Orgasm exploded through her as she tasted iron.
Tobias grunted, holding her head tight against him, and froze, his body rigid. With a snarl, he pulsed inside of her as he released hot jets that warmed her from the inside out. Ecstasy throbbed through her, and she closed her eyes to the world just to give herself completely to this moment with Tobias. She released him and moved slowly over him, milking every aftershock.
Only when they both relaxed did she clean his wound, licking slowly. She hadn’t meant to hurt him, but it was a necessary and temporary pain. A bite for a bite, as her inner animal required.
Tobias claimed her out on Perl, and now she’d repaid him in kind. Now they were bound. Not by contract, but because they’d both chosen each other.
And no matter what muck came now, they would be in this together.
Tobias rolled back onto the pillows, taking her with him. He pulled the covers over them and cradled her. His heart wasn’t racing anymore as she rested her cheek on his chest. He was steady and calm, just how she felt. Secure in what they’d just done.
“I can’t have daughters,” he said softly, brushing a strand of hair off her forehead. “Only sons.”
“I know. We don’t have to worry about cubs now, though. As soon as I went into heat, I started taking birth control to stop it.”
“You did?”
She swallowed audibly in the dark. “On Perl, there was the risk that one of the misfits wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
He ran a thumb over the uneven scars on her arm. “What was Jonathan’s last name?”
“Greene. Why?”
“No reason.”
She huffed a soft laugh. “I can hear a lie, too.”
“When I was growing up, my mom wasn’t around, and my dad hibernated in the winters.”
With a frown for the turn in conversation, Vera lifted up enough to see his face. Her elbows on his chest, she rested her chin on the heels of her hands. “It won’t be like that when you have sons, Tobias. You won’t have to sleep the winters away anymore. I’ll make sure of it.”
He combed his fingers through her hair and sighed. “In the winters, one of my dad’s friends would take care of us before we started our own hibernations. He was this old, crotchety man. Grumpy, cussed every other word, and was about as affectionate as a rabid mountain goat. He never hugged me or my brothers, but he was the steady part of our lives.”
“What was his name?”
“Gus.” Tobias gave a distracted smile. “He used to call me Boy-Boy.”
She giggled and clamped her teeth onto his muscular chest, then released. “I like that nickname.”
“I still visit him. I don’t think my brothers cared for him much, but I go up to his cabin a few times a year, cut his firewood and give him money for supplies. He’s gnarled as an old tree and still cusses at me half the time, but I know it’s just his way of letting me know he cares. I want to be a Gus for our cubs someday. Not a Clayton.”
Vera’s lip trembled as she smiled and nodded. “Then you will be.”
He brushed his knuckle up her cheekbone. “Vera?”
“Ye
s, Boy-Boy.”
“You’ve done terrifying things to me.”
The smile slipped from her face. “What do you mean?”
“In a day, you’ve made me question everything and want things I’ve never hoped for before.”
“Like what?”
“Like you. Like a family and a better life. There are these moments when I feel panicked, like I’m changing too fast. The world feels like its spinning, and I’m just holding on.”
“Hold onto me then.”
The corner of his lips turned up. “Strong mate. You’ve been through so much, and you’re still steady in the hurricane. Clayton never had a shot at breaking you.”
“He never had a shot at breaking you, either. By the way, I totally bit you.”
He chuckled deep in his throat and rolled over on his side, taking her with him. “I know. You’re a bitey little thing.”
“You better hope it scars, or you can bet your sexy butt my animal will do it again.” She clacked her teeth and made a chomping noise.
“I like your llama muumuu.”
She tried to hold a severe look but failed. “Nightgown. I also have one with penguins in winter hats, so prepare thyself for mega-boners tomorrow night.”
Tobias kissed her forehead and pulled her tighter against his chest. “I can’t wait. Sleep now, Vera. I’ll keep you safe.”
Safe.
She let off a long exhalation, releasing the rest of the tension she hadn’t realized she was carrying. Tobias was willing to go head-to-head with Clayton—his own father—for her. She didn’t know how she’d lucked into a pairing with a man like him, but she wasn’t one to question gifts like this.
Perhaps this was the balance being restored to her life.
Perhaps Tobias was her sunshine after years of rain.
And for the first time in a long time, she drifted off to sleep, completely unafraid.
Chapter Eight
The woods were freedom. Freedom from pain and human emotion. Free from the misfits who could never run as fast as her. The woods were home for a monster like her.
Trees blurring by, her nails digging into the rich black earth with every stride, mouth open in a toothy smile, the wind whipping through her thick coat. Happy. Yes, that was the word for the woods. They were synonymous with happy. This was the best part of the animal. Perhaps it was the only good part. The smells, the tastes, chasing, running, circling, claiming her territory because Perl was hers.
Harlan thought he was king, but he was wrong.
She was.
Riiiiiiiing.
Vera skidded to a stop, the pads of her paws sliding against the soft earth. She turned and narrowed her eyes at the wilderness behind her. The sun was too bright, saturating everything in eye-scorching yellow light. The noise had been an abomination in her woods. A grating human sound that didn’t belong.
Riiiiiiiing.
Vera gasped and sat up in bed, her head spinning. For a moment, she didn’t know which body she wore, human or animal. The dream had seemed so real, and she could feel her now—the animal that the medicine had tucked away for so long.
Chest heaving, she blinked hard as the phone rang again.
Yanking it off its cradle by the bed, she answered in a rush. “Hello?”
“Good morning. You requested a wake-up call.”
“I-I did?”
“Mr. Silver did, ma’am.”
“Oh okay, thank you.”
Confused, she hung up and turned to Tobias’s side of the bed. “Did you…” She frowned at Tobias’s empty side of the mattress. “Tobias?”
Even if the silence hadn’t told her he wasn’t here, her instincts would have. She could sense a lot more now than she could yesterday.
She looked around the room for clues to where he was. When her attention landed on the small table near the mini-fridge, she smiled. In a glass mason jar was a bouquet of bright orange Gerber daisies. And beside it was a folded piece of paper. Vera bolted out of bed, bare boobs bouncing as she skidded to a stop in front of the flowers. With rushing fingers, she unfolded the letter. A wad of cash fell out. Stunned, she read the scrawled handwriting.
Thistle,
I have an errand to run today. I’ll be back by tonight. I imagine you won’t do well sitting around waiting on a man, though, so I did some research and made a couple of appointments for you. I hope you don’t mind.
Yours,
McBeefcake
p.s. your bite will definitely scar.
There was an itinerary below that.
11:00 – Haircut at Vonda’s Hair right down the street. Take a left on Main.
1:00 – Nails at Next Door Nails. It’s actually next door to Vonda’s. Ha.
I asked the front desk about places to go clothes shopping for women, and they said Beek’s Boutique and the Treasure Chest, but when I walked past TC, that store looked like all lacy thongs and shit. Don’t feel pressure to buy panties. I like you just fine without. I have a feeling you’ll balk at spending my money and not the stash you have hidden in your coffee can, but this is my gift. Girly shit, just like you like, as a thank you for last night. And yesterday. And the rest of our lives. So don’t balk, just go have fun.
You deserve it.
A tear splatted onto the letter, smearing the ink on one of the words. She gasped and blotted it dry because she would keep this letter for always. Wiping her damp lashes, she leaned forward and sniffed the daisies. Orange was her new favorite color.
With a happy squeak, she jumped, spun mid-air, and landed on the unmade bed. She kicked her legs as she clutched the letter to her chest. He liked her. He really liked her. No man would go to this kind of trouble to give a woman an amazing day if he didn’t care deeply for her. And this wasn’t just their animals choosing each other either. Tobias the man was showering her with sweet gifts.
The clock on the bedside table read 10:00, so she rushed to shower and ready for a day of pampering. Girly shit, ha! Tobias probably didn’t understand her need to feel like a human woman again after those hard, rugged years surrounded by crazy men on Perl, but he’d listened—really listened—and then went to the trouble of planning a day for her. She could imagine his face stricken with mortification when he made the appointments and asked the front desk about clothing shops. Tobias was a big, tough, growly, bear-shifter, enforcer, mountain man, but he had no problem accepting her feminine side. He encouraged it, even.
She liked that he hadn’t tried to change her. He’d even called her a strong mate. She didn’t feel like that very often. Most of the time, she felt like a plastic bag in the wind—helpless. But Tobias must have seen a vein of inner strength she hadn’t given enough credit to.
Flowers! She’d never gotten flowers from a man before. Not even Jonathan-the-Pretender. She was glad no one had gifted them before because Tobias’s flowers were special now. For the rest of her life, Gerber daisies would hold a special meaning. She would dry them before they wilted and keep them forever.
Tobias had left a bag of sugary bear-claw pastries on the table, so she scarfed down two of them and then walked down the street to her first appointment, hair still wet and limp down her back.
She got her hair cut just below her shoulder blades and styled with soft curls. At her next appointment, she asked her nail technician to paint her fingernails and toenails a bright red to match her penguin nightgown. Vera smiled as she imagined Tobias’s grin when she showed him tonight. It wasn’t until mid-way through her nail appointment that she began to feel sick. Or not sick exactly, but unsettled, as if something was clawing at her insides. Waves of nausea took her as everything began to sound louder. Her head hurt with the noise of the nail salon, and after she’d paid and stepped outside, the sun blinded her, making her squint until her eyes watered. But despite a few concerned looks tossed her way from the passing strangers as she stumbled down the sidewalk, within a few minutes, she was back to her normal self again. Weird.
Shaking her head to rid hersel
f of the last remaining ache behind her eyes, Vera made her way to Beek’s Boutique for a shopping spree. She had so much fun picking out clothes that fit her and that she thought Tobias would like. A harsh life on Perl Island had demolished her figure, making her waist too thin for her liking, but she had big plans on getting all of her curves back. She ate a crepe from a roadside vendor and then a full lunch at the taco stand before she meandered over to the Treasure Chest, which was, in fact, a lingerie store. It was surprising that a town so small could support one of these, but she was happy it was here because her undie drawer wasn’t flattering. Not if she intended to seduce Tobias on the reg. Not that he would be hard to seduce. The man had made love to her even though she’d worn llama pajamas, but still. She couldn’t wait to see his reaction when she showed him her new negligée.
While she waited in line to pay, the headache and nausea came back even worse, doubling her over. A store attendant asked if she was okay.
“I’m fine,” she gasped, holding her head like it would keep her brain from exploding. “Just a headache.” Or perhaps a migraine? She’d never had one before, but that sounded right.
A high pitched whining sound rattled her eardrums, and Vera clapped her hands over her ears, dropping her wares. She was horrified to look up and see it was the cashier’s voice causing that awful noise. She paid as fast as she could, eyes watering at the pain, then took her bags and made her way back to the hotel.
By the time she closed the door and fell into bed, she was reeling, barely able to move into the fetal position. A long growl rattled from her throat. She should call Tobias. He was good and strong and level-headed. He would know what to do to stop the pain. But she didn’t have his number, and really, she didn’t even know if he would hear a phone in the cockpit of his plane. He must be on a delivery that had been scheduled before she’d shown up. The clock read a blurry 4:00.
She was dying. No one could endure pain this bad and survive. Tobias would find her curled up on the bed, cold and dead, and there was tragedy in that. She’d only just gotten him, and she was going to leave him like this?