by Vella Day
He lowered one hand and lightly brushed his palm over her belly. Removing his cock from between her legs, he slipped a finger between her folds and into her slippery hole. Sweet Jesus, but that one action had her breath coming out too fast, forcing her to curl her fingers on the wall and lower her head. The urge to press her hips back nearly undid her, but she remained still.
“What you do to me,” he panted. From the low, gravelly sound of his voice, he was barely hanging on too.
His finger disappeared from between her legs and was replaced by the head of his cock. This was it. The moment she’d dreamed about for years. The tall, muscular, hunky man slipped one hand up her belly and nabbed her breast, plucking and twisting the tip to the point that almost made her come again. But she wouldn’t. She’d wait this time so they could find release together.
The head of his cock found her entrance, and she sucked in a breath, tightening her inner walls.
“I need you to relax and to trust me to know just how much pressure to give you and when. Can you do that?”
Trust a man? Or relax? “I’ll try.”
Blowing out a breath, Elana concentrated on the bliss bombarding her and forced her mind to stop her incessant questioning. He returned his hands to her breasts and lowered his lips to her shoulder. “You smell so good.”
She’d been about to say it was probably the smoke from the campfire, but then she remembered she had showered before going to bed and then had rubbed in some scented cream.
Before she could comment, he pressed her tits together and plunged into her. Stars burst on the back of her lids as her breath whooshed out. Despite being slick inside, his huge cock stretched her to the max, sending sparks of pain mixed with delight in every direction.
“Fuck, honey. You’re so tight.”
She was tight because he was too damn big, but this time she kept her comment to herself. He withdrew and then forged his way down her channel again. He made it farther this time, and total joy nearly overwhelmed her. Elana hadn’t meant to moan, but he’d pushed her past her erotic threshold.
When he nibbled on her shoulder, bursts of pleasure shot down her side straight to her clit, and she couldn’t help it but tighten her hold on him. His teeth pressed on her shoulder as if he needed to bite her to gain control. Between his roaming fingers plying her breasts with pleasure, and his slow moving cock, she wanted to scream.
Kalan must have sensed her need, because he grunted, withdrew, and drove into her. Lust, passion, and desire filled her.
He slid his hands to her waist as he refocused his lips on her earlobe, tugging and nibbling on the sensitive shell. That alone was enough to drive her crazy with want. The man seemed to have a second sense about every erotic spot on her body, and if she wasn’t careful, she could become addicted to this kind of loving.
Kalan lowered his forehead to her shoulder, tightened his hold on her waist, and pounded into her again, lighting her up from the inside out. Without thinking, she arched her back, which caused her hips to press harder against his.
“You’ve done it now. I can’t stop.”
Neither could she.
She wiggled her hips, and he went wild. As he pummeled into her, she met his thrusts with equal power. Every time his cock reached the end, her climax came closer to exploding.
He reached up again, pinched her nipples, and drove into her until she swore he’d come out the other end. She could no longer hold back. The erotic sensations tossed her over the proverbial erotic cliff, and what sounded like a garbled scream erupted from her throat. Seconds later, Kalan’s cock pulsed and throbbed as his heated cum filled the condom. Right then and there, Elana realized there would never be another man in her life besides Kalan Murdoch.
He lifted off her back but didn’t withdraw. “That had to be the most intense sexual experience I’ve ever had,” he said in several breaths.
Tears of joy brimmed her lashes. “For me too.”
Kalan hugged her for a few seconds then withdrew and stepped back. Slowly, Elana straightened.
He turned her around to face. “What do say we shower? Then you’re sleeping with me,” he said.
Oh, she liked that idea just fine. “I am good with both of those ideas, but do you sleep as a bear?”
He wrapped his arms around her and looked into her eyes. “Not normally but would you feel better if I shifted and slept on the floor?”
“Only if I can pet you and ride on your back again,” she said, knowing full well that he’d never go for it.
“Woman, there is definitely going to be some riding going on but we are both going to be in my bed and fully human.” In a flash, he had her over his shoulder and did a quick swat to her ass. With both of them laughing he carried her off to the shower.
This had to be the best vacation place in all of Tennessee.
*
The next morning, Kalan had been awake for half an hour by the time Elana roused. He’d remained in bed and just watched her breathe. She was so beautiful and perfect in every way, but if he wanted to get anything done, he had to leave soon.
While he didn’t want to leave her side, especially after being snuggled up against her for the last few hours, finding who’d murdered her parents had to be his number one priority—once he made sure she was safe.
“Hey,” she said in a sexy morning voice before he could lift the covers and get up. Elana reached out for his cock, but he stopped her.
“As tempting as you are, if we start anything now, I won’t be able to control myself, and I really need to check out a lead in the case.” Giving her a soft smile, he ran his fingers across her forehead and then tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
“A lead?”
“It might be nothing, but I have to check it out. I can’t give you any details.”
She sighed. “It’s just as well you can’t stay. I’m not sure I could resist you.”
That made him smile. He tapped her nose. “Listen, I texted Dad, and he’s going to come over to make sure you stay out of trouble.”
“Me, trouble?”
He cocked a brow. “You did go into work when I asked you not to.”
“There were extenuating circumstances.” She wrinkled her nose. “Didn’t you say your dad was really strict?”
Kalan chuckled. “At times, he can be, which is why you need to do as he says.”
“I’ll be good.”
“If he bores you with his stories, just tell him to shut up.”
She tapped her chest. “I would never do that. I’m a good girl.”
“You weren’t a good girl last night.” He winked.
She laughed as she waggled her eyebrows at him then pushed up on her elbow. She leaned in and gave him a light sensual kiss, and when he looked into her eyes, the sleepy haze that was there before had disappeared. Her new look screamed danger—like she wanted to devour him. As much as he would have preferred to stay and lose himself in her, he had to go to work.
Kalan gave her another quick kiss as he crawled out of bed and tried to forget the way her tits were exposed and there for the plucking. As he drew on his pants, hair sprouted on his body. Kalan couldn’t believe that his attraction to her was even more intense after having made love with her. Here he was hoping it would diminish with more exposure.
Fool.
A knock sounded on his door. Normally, he kept his place unlocked, but he had to secure his home now that Elana was here. “That’s Dad. I’ll try not to be long,” he told her.
With that, he rushed out and opened the door to his father’s smiling face “So where is she?” Dad tried to look behind him.
His father was dressed in jeans and a nice button-down shirt. Apparently, he wanted to make a good impression, for which Kalan was glad.
When he’d told his father that Elana was his mate, he thought his father would say it was impossible for a bear shifter to be with a human. Instead, he said it would be an honor to welcome her into the family.
“She�
��s still in bed so be quiet, and for goodness sake, don’t tell her about all my stupid mistakes as a kid.”
The smile never left his father’s face. “Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure she stays safe.”
That was all he could ask. “I’m heading up to Changeling territory, so I’m going to see if Rye will come with me.”
“Just be careful. I had to tangle with those sons of bitches a few times in my day. It wasn’t pleasant.”
He needed to speak with his father about whether he knew anything about the Changelings having more powers—magical ones—but he didn’t want to further delay his investigation.
As soon as Kalan left, he mentally contacted Rye. “You free today to check out the lead I received from James?” He’d given Rye the brief rundown from yesterday’s discussion with the immortal. He’d also shared James’s words of wisdom about being there for them merely to provide a nudge.
“I don’t have to be at work until five. When do you want to go?”
“Now?”
“Come on over. I’ll be ready.”
Kalan hopped in his Jeep and drove the few hundred feet to Rye’s house where his Alpha was waiting outside. Even if he had been on duty, he bet Rye would have found someone to cover for him at the fire station. Protecting their Clan was his main focus—besides Izzy, of course.
Rye slipped in and closed the door. “You have the address?”
Kalan handed him his phone. “I put it in here. You can navigate with the GPS.”
Rye took it. “How do you want to handle this?”
That was the hard part. Changelings could be vicious and uncooperative, or pretend to be your best bud so that you’d basically leave them alone. Another difference was that several lone wolves and bears lived in the same area, so it was impossible to tell which wolf was a Changeling and which one wasn’t. If only they could sense a Changeling from a regular shifter, life would be much easier. At least the red moon wouldn’t occur for another few weeks, so they were safe from some of their shenanigans for now.
“I plan on telling him we know he tried to buy some sardonyx from the Stanleys, and then ask him where he was the night of their murder,” Kalan said.
“The best we can hope for is to catch the guilt in his eyes. If he runs, between the two of us, we can take him.”
“I’m not here to kill him.” Sometimes his Alpha didn’t think about the consequences. When Rye had killed the Changeling from Scotland, Kalan had broken more laws than he’d wanted to think about covering Rye’s ass. Doing so again, might be harder to hide.
Rye shrugged. “I guess you’d have to clean up the mess if we do.”
Some things would never change. “Too true.”
After a wrong turn, they located the address. Up in the hills, the signal cut in and out, making the GPS unreliable. Kalan parked at the end of the driveway to stay hidden from sight of the house and for a quick escape should they need it. They both exited the car, and from the way Rye was glancing around, he was trying to detect other shifters and potential traps.
“I’m not sensing anyone here,” Kalan said.
Rye glanced over at him. “It’s early. He could be at work.”
Because Changelings caused so much trouble in Silver Lake, it was hard to think of them as having integrated themselves so seamlessly into the human world. “I say we knock anyway.”
“I’ll go around back,” Rye telepathed.
The house was a one-story clapboard style home in disrepair. He knocked. “Chris Darden?”
Kalan had been smart enough to wear his civilian clothes. A uniformed cop in the mountains was asking for trouble. He waited a beat but when he received no answer, he knocked again.
“You see anything?” he telepathed Rye.
“Ah, Kalan, I think you need to come here.”
From the serious tone, it wasn’t good. Kalan rushed around to the back of the house. “What is it?”
“Look inside.”
Kalan pressed his way through the hedge and peered into the window. “Well, fuck.”
A man, who he assumed was Darden, lay dead on the kitchen floor. Some of the kitchen chairs were knocked over or out of place, implying the fight had been rather violent. The fact he was naked indicated he might have been in his shifted form when he died, and the gash on his throat said another werewolf had ended his life.
The delicate part of dealing with a Changeling death was explaining to a human how a man inside his own house would have his throat ripped out by a wolf. Yup, Kalan might have to leave the body for the Changelings to deal with.
“You want to check inside?” Rye asked. “You said James told you the man was supposed to buy some sardonyx from the Stanleys. It’s possible whoever killed Darden killed the Stanleys.”
“The murderer might have believed Darden received the sardonyx, and he wanted it for himself.”
“Could be.” Rye pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and jiggled the handle to the back door. Kalan was pleased he’d listened to his many warnings about leaving no trace and did the same.
To his surprise, the back door was open. “That was lucky, or else the killer was careless. We need to be sure not disturb anything.”
Rye speared him with a glance. “Sometimes I think you having a job on the force does more harm than good for me.”
He and Rye had been round and round about his desire to follow the law. “It helps more than it hurts.”
“Maybe, and by the way, where’s your weapon?”
“In my glove compartment. I’m not carrying because I didn’t want him to figure out I’m a deputy.” Rye shrugged and stepped inside. Kalan followed and inhaled, detecting the usual stench of death. “From the lack of bloating, it doesn’t like he’s been dead for long.”
“I’ll look around the living room,” Rye said.
“You have any idea what you’re looking for?”
“Nope.” Rye disappeared around the corner while Kalan searched some the other rooms.
The doors on the wooden kitchen cabinets were half off their hinges and the linoleum had several burn marks on it. The kitchen table was metal with a Formica top that looked as if it hadn’t been cleaned in ages.
The search of the two bedrooms and one bathroom didn’t take long nor did it provide him with anything useful. Rye called to him. “Come here.”
“What did you find?”
“See for yourself.”
Sometimes Rye was too dramatic for Kalan’s tastes. “Coming.”
Chapter Fourteen
‡
Elana wasn’t about to stay in bed with Kalan’s father in the other room, so she slid out from under the covers and quickly dressed. The only conservative top she had was the long sleeve shirt she’d worn last night, and that still smelled of smoke from their cookout, which meant she’d have to go with the T-shirt with a pink rose on it. It had a hole in the sleeve, but the other ones she’d packed were too risqué. Thankfully, in her befuddled state, she’d actually grabbed some jeans without the rips in them.
Even though she was in the customer service business, she wasn’t sure what to say to his dad. Hi, Mr. Murdoch, sorry I was still in bed when you arrived. Your son spent the night boffing me into another dimension. Ah, no. Kalan probably told him she was here only because she needed his protection.
Here goes. She stepped into the living room. “Hello.”
An older version of Kalan looked up, whipped off his glasses, and stuffed them in his shirt pocket. He then jumped up. Oh, my, he was even taller and bigger than Kalan—though not as muscular—but didn’t look a day over sixty.
“You must be Elana.”
“Yes and you must be Kalan’s dad.” She reached out and shook his hand. “I appreciate you taking the time to watch over me, Mr. Murdoch.”
He waved a hand. “Nonsense. It makes me feel useful. You want some breakfast? My son never really learned how to cook, but I’m quite good.”
Clearly, Kalan had inherited his self-confidence f
rom his dad. Mr. Murdoch wasn’t being all that fair to his son though. Kalan’s hot dogs had been cooked to perfection. “I’d love some.”
She followed Kalan’s dad to the kitchen and sat down on one of the padded stools at the island. He yanked some food from the fridge as if he’d been in this kitchen many times. “How do you like your eggs?”
“Scrambled is good.”
He retrieved a metal bowl from under the island and set half a dozen eggs next to it.
“Coffee’s ready if you want some,” he said.
“Thanks.” Elana poured a cup then returned to her seat. She wasn’t sure what topics were appropriate, but dads always liked to talk about their kids.
“Kalan said he cut up a lot in school.”
“He told you that?” She nodded. “It was just teenage stuff. I bet Kalan didn’t tell you about all the good things he did.”
“No.” We were too busy tearing off each other’s clothes.
“Mind you, my boy could be a devil, but he always had a kind heart.”
She leaned on the counter, interested in hearing details about Kalan’s life. “Do tell.”
Mr. Murdoch glanced at the ceiling. “When Kalan was around ten, he and his friends believed it was their job to protect the neighborhood. Guess it was because I was in the security business myself, and Kalan always wanted to do what I did—up to a point. Anyway, each night they’d ride around the streets carrying pads of paper, jotting down anything that looked out of the ordinary.”
She could picture Kalan doing that. “What did they take note of?”
“If a window was broken or some family had too many newspapers out front. Much to their disappointment, homes around Silver Lake didn’t have much crime, so that’s why they had to settle for small disturbances.”
That was cute. “What was Kalan like as a kid when he was home?”
Mr. Murdoch cracked open the eggs and then tossed the shells in the sink. “Let’s just say he didn’t take many things seriously. He believed the purpose of life was to have fun. He has changed, though. Believe it or not, it took pulling teeth to get him to clean his room.” Mr. Murdoch waved a hand. “Look at him now. He’s a neat freak.”