The Shifter's Mate

by Eden Cole

  Besides, her sexy lover deserved all the attention she could shower on him. She grinned over at him as they pulled out of the parking space. “Right, Jon?”

  He looked confused. “Right, what?”

  She laughed and began to massage his inner thigh. Jon grew out in a flash. “My sexy man deserves all the attention he can get, doesn’t he?”

  “Oh yes!” he declared. “Any attention you want to shower on me is welcome.”

  Inspiration struck her. “Let’s have sex in the woods, Jon. I’ve never done anything that wild. It feels public. I tend to be more cautious.” She checked his expression to see if she’d shocked him or turned him off. “Want to?”

  His eyes softened. “My love, I would partake of your lovely body any time, anywhere.” He lifted her hand from his leg and kissed her fingers. “In fact, I know the perfect spot.”

  Like two horny teenagers, they hurried back to his house, put the food away, and prepared a picnic basket with snacks in case they got hungry later. Jon assured her they would be back in time for him to cook the meal he promised. When the food was ready, Serenity went to their room to change into a light dress rather than the capris she’d worn to the market. Her body was almost singing a tune to be with Jon again, and she wanted him to have easy access to her most intimate places.

  Forgoing a bra, she tided the straps of her dress around her neck and arranged the two slips of material covering her breasts. Jon strolled into the room and stopped. The heat in his eyes told her he’d noticed she’d worn no bra. “Do you have panties on under that?” He nodded to her dress.

  “Yes, why?”

  “Take them off,” he commanded.

  She shivered, loving when he was like this. Lifting her dress, she reached under it and hooked her panties to slide them off. She stepped out of them and flung them on the bed. Jon licked is lips.

  “Much better.” He crossed to the dresser and selected lighter clothing for himself as well and changed quickly. Within minutes they were outside walking along a trail she hadn’t spotted yesterday. “Watch your step, baby. There are fallen branches from the storm.”

  “Hm, that reminds me. Maybe it will be too wet to lie on the ground.”

  “Not where we’re going,” he called back to her. “It’s out in the sun, and as you’ve seen, it’s a very warm day. The ground there is moister because of the water, but because of that, there’s lush grass.”

  “Water?”

  “There’s a lake not too far. You don’t mind making love in the water, do you?”

  “Not at all.” The trees opened to a beautiful lake with gently rippling water and lush green grass as Jon had said. Serenity caught her breath at the peaceful scene. “Now this is what I’ve been looking for.”

  “Is it?” Jon set the basket down and moved behind her to run his arms around her waist. She felt his hard-on against her back and grinned. He chuckled in response. “Since I walked into our bedroom and saw what were weren’t wearing, all I can think of doing is this.” He untied her dress and let the two trips fall to her waist. His hands moved to cover her breasts. “Mm, these drive me crazy. Do you know that?”

  “I had a small clue.”

  He let out a low growl and turned her in his arms. Within two shakes, he had her dress around her ankles. Jon dropped to his knees. He rested his forehead on her belly and then leaned in to kiss her pussy. She swayed closer to him, resting her hands on his shoulders.

  “See why I wanted no panties to get in my way?”

  “Yes.” She moaned when he snaked out his tongue and ran it along her slit. Serenity wanted to ask about others that might be out on the lake, but she didn’t want to interrupt what he was doing. She raised one knee to widen her legs, and he delved deeper into her. Her legs gave out, but Jon held her up. She fought to regain her balance. “I’m sorry. When you do that…I can’t help myself. You make me weak.”

  He caught and held her gaze. “You are precious to me, Serenity.”

  “Y-You barely know me,” she whispered. “I don’t know you.”

  “You know me.”

  A vision of the panther flickered through her mind when she closed her eyes. This was no time for such fantasies. She wanted Jon, all of him. He wanted her to fall in love with him, for her to forget her vow never to love a regular man. But that was her mom’s desire, wasn’t it? She was an independent woman.

  Jon got into what he was doing to her body. He squeezed her thighs, reached between her legs to finger her, and then replaced them with his hungry mouth. Serenity forgot her fears and grasped his head to pull him tighter to her mound. She bucked her hips and rode his incredible tongue until she climaxed.

  Her lover stood up, tossed off his clothing, and then took her hand to guide her toward the water. When they were waist deep, Serenity hugged herself shivering. The sun had dipped behind the clouds. Jon frowned.

  “Never hide yourself from me, Serenity. I want nothing between us. Do you understand?”

  She lowered her arms so her breasts were bare to him but kept her hands pressed against her sides, arms still crossed. “It’s like you have a different personality when we make love. You’re dominant. I think I’m different too, because I feel like all I want is to obey you, to have you command me. I’ve never experienced anything like it.”

  Leaning into the caress he placed at her cheek, she closed her eyes. They drifted close to each other, their skin barely touching. Jon’s breath stirred her hair which hadn’t gotten wet yet. “Serenity, I never want us apart.”

  She gasped. “You speak as if you love me, Jon, and that can’t be. I-I don’t want you to feel that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because…” She was at a loss for words. How could she explain what she was to him, what all the women in her family were? “You don’t know what…who… I am.”

  “I know all I need to know,” he assured her. “I know that you were made for me. I know that I’m never letting you go.”

  She opened her eyes and looked at him. “What if that’s not what I want.”

  He smiled. “Can you honestly say it’s not? I see it in your eyes. From the moment we met, we connected, and that bond still holds. I see how you’re drawn to me just as I am to you. Your mischievous mother cannot undo it.”

  Serenity watched him for a long while trying to figure out if he had guessed or figured out that they were witches, that her mother was a ghostly pain in the ass. He was right though. She did feel drawn to him and didn’t want to lose what they had begun to build. If she had her way, they would either never leave this beautiful sanctuary or come back often. If factors didn’t stand in the way, their relationship could be permanent. But—and there was always a but in life—he didn’t know all her secrets, and revealing them to him might drive him away. The hurt she experienced just thinking of it said she was well on the way to falling for him.

  Maybe it was best for them all that she break it off now, and if she wanted a lover, she could choose one that she was a little less compatible with, as insane as that sounded.

  The Shifter's Mate

  The Shifter's Mate

  Chapter Eight

  Jon saw the change in Serenity’s expression and knew that she had come to a conclusion she didn’t necessarily like. The sadness that filled her beautiful eyes hurt him as well. He could guess what she was thinking, that they might be better off not being together. He also guessed it had something to do with her mother, the fact that the woman could be both spirit and flesh. He considered that fact. Maybe she could be flesh only at certain times being that he hadn’t seen her in a physical form since the night of the party.

  He recalled that night, wondering if there was anything special about it. Of course! The full moon. His patients were particularly restless during a full moon. The affects were not limited to wolves. Even he became a bit agitated three nights of the month, like he needed to run wild in his animal form, chasing an elusive prey.

  Well, his love might think she wa
s going to toss him aside, but he’d never stand for that. If he believed she wasn’t attracted to him or just didn’t want him, he’d walk away, but Jon didn’t doubt Serenity was his mate. He needed to prove that to her, or show her that her secrets meant nothing. She’d be free to choose him, and then he would share his secrets as well.

  He drew her close and bent his knees so his cock shifted between her legs. Her moan excited him. Pleasuring her drove his desires over the top. Yet, nothing was as good as dipping inside her tight little body and feeling how her muscles stroked him, caressed his shaft until he couldn’t hold his load.

  With gentle care, he eased himself inside of her while gripping her hips. It took all Jon’s concentration not to let his desires take the lead. He wanted Serenity to come again more than he wanted to find his own release. She wrapped her legs around him, and he guided her head to his shoulder. Squeezing her ass to push her closer, he lifted her weight and drove her down on him. The feeling was so intense, he could not help shouting his pleasure, and Serenity’s cries followed his own.

  Soon they hit a rhythm and rode through several orgasms on Serenity’s part and a couple for him. When he had worn her out, he lifted her off his cock and set her down in the water. Caressing her body with each touch, he washed her, savoring the part when he put a hand beneath the watery surface to wash her pussy. His cock stiffened just parting her folds with his fingers to rinse away the residue of their loving, but he knew better than to try to enter her now. She needed rest.

  With such sweetness she leaned into him half asleep. He held her up to complete her cleansing, and then he lifted her in his arms. By the time he reached shore, she was out. Jon laid her in the thick grass with the sun beaming down to dry her skin. He would watch to be sure she didn’t burn while he prepared a snack for the two of them.

  Before she drew close, he sensed the woman coming. “You will not disturb us here,” he announced.

  The woman gasped. “How did you…”

  “I’ve always been able to see spirits.”

  She hissed. “So you’re one of those. You knew I was there when the two of you had dinner. Did you know I entered her?”

  “I did.” Jon continued to peel an apple for Serenity. They both understood the peel was healthy, but neither of them cared. Jon ate well overall and wasn’t given to fatty sweets. Serenity’s appetite matched his in that respect. He smiled to himself. Everything he did or thought, it seemed, brought him back to how well they fit.

  “Just what she needs,” the woman stated without sincerity, “a human male who is not altogether useless.”

  He didn’t bother to correct her on the human part but began to speculate if that was the problem. Human. Would Serenity’s mother have called him human if she was also human? He didn’t think so. He glanced in Serenity’s direction. She smelled human. That had been clear from the start, but was she something more, some DNA flowing through her that made her beyond an ordinary woman? Now that intrigued him.

  “Human, huh? Are you saying Serenity isn’t human? That you never want her with one?” He held his breath waiting for an answer, but none came. When he turned around, Serenity’s mother was no longer at the tree line, and he didn’t sense her nearby. A sigh escaped him. At least she wasn’t going to make trouble, and given he didn’t sense her near the house, the iron had worked. He determined they would enjoy their last day without interruption.

  Jon finished up preparing Serenity’s plate and set it aside to wake her. For a few moments, he stared down into her face, enjoying the sight of her long lashes curled against her cheeks. He imagined having a son or daughter, maybe both, with her features, that flaming red hair. A grin split his face. Would she or he have their mother’s disposition as well? He only hoped his daughter would not be like the interfering grandmother or man crazy like one of the sisters. Being shy wouldn’t be so bad.

  He laughed. “Look at me considering what my kids will be like just as women tend to do.” He shook his head and ran a finger over Serenity’s lips. She murmured. He kissed her.

  “Wake up, my love. Time to eat something. We expended a lot of energy.” Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked pained. He grew alarmed. “Are you hurting, baby? Maybe I should take you back home so you can soak in the bath.”

  “No, I’m okay.” She seemed to mutter something, and he leaned closer to catch the words, but she smiled. He knew whatever it was, she didn’t want him to know. He sighed, wanting to the secrets to end. Perhaps he should begin by telling her his secret. He’d been giving her hints by feeding visions of his animal form. To communicate by telepathy came with the ability to change, since as a panther he couldn’t speak out loud. Over the years, he’d learned to retain the skill even in human form. While he should tell Serenity that he was a shape shifter, he hesitated. Telling her too soon, when she wasn’t sure of her feelings for him, might be disastrous. He would just have to be patient—easier said than done.

  “Mm, this fruit is sweet,” she commented.

  He agreed. “Would you like to return to the house or stay out here longer?”

  “Longer. I don’t want to go back for a while.”

  He grinned. “Ah, an outdoorsy woman, huh?”

  “I didn’t think so, but I’m loving it. I was going to ask you about the chance of people floating by seeing us naked out here, but well, I got caught up in what we were doing.” She winked at him.

  He dropped his gaze to her breasts. For sure he didn’t want another man to see her naked, but there was something primal about the two of them as they were. When he was out here alone, he often went about naked. No one had ventured onto his property to discover him that way, and at night he ran through the trees in animal form. He’d met Lena out there once. She was like him but a cougar. She’d thought they would pair, but he knew right away, she wasn’t the one. At the time, he didn’t know why he felt that way since she was his kind and pretty. Of course after he’d met Serenity, he knew why.

  “I don’t usually go naked down here, but I do know the closest neighbors who might happen by. Most of them didn’t come this weekend. Those who live in the area full time live farther away. The risk is minimal.” Jon put his plate aside and held his arms out to her. “Come here. The ground is hard, and I don’t want you to hurt your pretty little ass.”

  She smirked. “You just want me to sit on your dingaling.”

  He burst out laughing. “Dingaling? I’ve never heard that term. It’s funny.”

  She agreed with a chuckle. “I heard it from Sky. She kept repeating it over and over like she got a kick out of saying something naughty. She was nine at the time. You can imagine my mom about blew a gasket when she learned what it was slang for. Too bad for her and good for Sky that she couldn’t punish her at the time.”

  “Couldn’t punish her?” Jon asked with a casualness he didn’t feel. He hoped Serenity was not alert to what she had just let slip. “Why couldn’t she punish her?”

  “Because it wasn’t the full…uh…I mean just because. I don’t remember the reason, just that Sky wasn’t punished. Later, she forgot all about the word and had moved on to something else.”

  Jon held in a grunt of frustration. He’d hoped Serenity would admit that her mother wasn’t in a physical form when she couldn’t punish Sky. Then again, he was sure Serenity had been about to say it wasn’t a full moon, confirming his theory. To think the woman had been stuck in spirit form most of each month for so long.

  Serenity put her empty plate aside and raised her arms over her head, causing her breasts to rise. Jon grew stiff, and his mouth watered. He watched her stand, walk down to the water, and stoop to rinse off her fingers. The view was more than he could bear. He laid down to place his hands behind his head, watching Serenity return. She sashayed with sensual grace and didn’t look the least bit sore. He wished it was true.

  She stopped beside him. “I’m feeling much better.”

  Delight filled him. “Is that right?”

  Her gaze
moved from his face to his erect staff. She tapped a finger to her lips. “Look at that, all alone. Maybe it needs company.” She parted her legs and began to stroke herself.

  Jon growled. “You’re tormenting me, my love. How can you be so cruel?”

  “You want some?” she teased.

  “You cannot imagine how much!”

  Without warning, she dropped to her knees and then extended a leg over him. Poised above his cock, she paused and rubbed herself some more. Jon didn’t move his hands from behind his head. Let her please him as she wished. She stroked and stroked, her lids drooped and her moans stirring his lust. While he watched, her fingers disappeared up her channel and came back slick and wet. Jon’s balls clenched. His shaft twitched.

  When Serenity cried out, she also fell forward, catching herself on his thigh. He felt the shudder that passed through her, and she met his gaze. “I went a little too far. I couldn’t stop and having you watch me turned me on even more.”

  “Don’t worry, my love. I want you pleased in every way.” He lifted his hips toward her. “Are you ready for me?”

  She grinned, taking hold of his cock to stroke it from base to tip. “Have you been a good boy?”

  He grunted in answer.

  She tugged lightly on him, ran a thumb over the slit in his cap, and tasted the precome. Jon was ready to release before he even entered her, but she lifted up enough to position him at her entrance. When she parted her folds and came down on him, he gritted his teeth and swore.

  Serenity balanced herself by bracing her thighs against his, and she rode him hard, bucking up and down his cock until he knew he’d never last. Tantalizing him, she lifted her hands to push her hair back over her shoulders. She kept her arms up, raising her breasts and giving him full view as they bounced.