Shifting Hearts

by Ivy Hayes

  Squeezing me, ever so slightly, “I’ve never bothered to bathe with anyone in the past.” Trying not to feel stung, after all, I knew he had to have past lovers based on all we did last night, but the irrational part of myself finds being one of many irritating. When I don’t respond, he adds, “Ash, I haven’t had many past lovers. I have courted other women, but I never felt anything for them. I wasn’t drawn to care for them like I am with you.”

  I stay silent, still thinking. That lessens the sting, at least a little. I sat up, forcing him to release his hold on me. I turned to face him and placed my hands on his toned stomach, “I know it’s crazy, but the idea of you holding someone else as you are holding me, immediately irritated me.” He brushes some hair from the side of my face, then holding my head, he says, “I have never held anyone as I am holding you.” Moving his hand behind me, he strokes my back then pushes me towards laying on his chest. I follow his lead and lay my head down, “Now, just relax. Enjoy the bath my sweet-eagle.”

  So, I do. I stay curled into his chest and he begins massaging his hands all over me. I hadn’t noticed how tight I was until he starts working the tension out of my back. He uses the ideal pressure, pushing just hard enough to work out the kinks. He started low in my back, where I held the most pain from our night of love-making. He alternated between kneading and rubbing, and I don’t know how he could tell, but he stayed working on my lower back until it felt completely rejuvenated. Only then did he work his way up the rest of my back. His hands were magic on my skin. When he made it up to my shoulders, I made an audible moan and moved my arms, untucking them from under me, to grasp him around the waist.

  Gregory broke the silence, “Were you planning on going to Westhaven?” My head did a lazy nod against his chest, “Bigger villages are better. They are easier to hide in and they tend to get news before any of their smaller neighbors.”

  “What are you hoping to hear?” he asks, then starts massaging my ears.

  “Mmm, that feels good. I hope to hear of people being afraid because a bunch of shifters evaded capture. I would settle to hear anything though, even if it was bad and I find out no one made it out alive.”

  “What would you do with the news?”

  I hug him, tighter, “I don’t know. I am sure our safehouses are compromised, so I wouldn’t be able to find anyone. If anyone made it out, they are bound to be in hiding, as I am. If they are dead, I will just have to move on.”

  “You won’t have to do either of those things alone.” He stops his massage then wraps his arms around me and pulls me in closer to him. I feel crushed, but I don’t fight it.

  “I will have to, it’s not going to be safe for me to stay.” At this, he crushes me more. “I didn’t make myself clear, my love. I will not let you handle this on your own. I am going to be here for you.” He said it again, my love…that phrase buried him deeper in my heart. His affection is overwhelming, and I gasp out, “I can’t breathe.” It’s less from the squeezing and more from his words.

  He releases me and I sit up. His eyes are twinkling with laughter, “Sorry, I got carried away. Stay right here, I am going to change out the hot stones.” His departure from the bath was the least graceful thing I have ever seen. Somehow, he managed to both kick me and step on me. When he finally got his feet under him outside the bath, he was standing in a puddle of water and I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe. Trying, but failing to hide his embarrassment, I hear him let out a low laugh, joining my voice in a chorus.

  I felt lighter after laughing and he busied himself with changing the hot stones. As soon as the first new one was placed in, the felt the water temperature rising. We must have been in for a long time, allowing it to get that cold in the first place. He places in three more rocks, and the bathtub is close the sauna it originally was. Instead of fully joining me back in the tub, he sits on the ledge and says, “Lean against my legs, I am going to wash your hair.”

  Yes, please. I do as asked, and I am rewarded by his hands in my hair a second later. Using his skilled massaging, he works the pine soap into a lather on my scalp.

  “So, where do you come from,” he starts our conversation back up.

  “Naven, it’s south of here. Have you heard of it?”

  “Yes. That’s weeks away on horseback. No wonder you haven’t heard any news yet.”

  “I know, it’s been a frustrating time. On one hand, it’s good, since they won’t have found any trace of me yet, or even know which direction I went. On the other, it’s challenging not knowing anything.”

  Keeping his fingers working, “That explains why you collapsed when you landed that night. How long did it take you?”

  “Three nights, I didn’t stop at all.”

  “That’s remarkable. I have never tried to cover that much distance, I almost can’t believe you did it.” He pauses his message, “Lean forward, so I can get my legs out.” I obey, and he steps out of the tub and grabs a pitcher. “Now back, so I can rinse the soap.” I do, and he starts to pour the water over my head. It’s cold, but thankfully, it doesn’t take long and he is done before I have a chance to shiver. I sink back, letting the water wash over me and my hair, instantly warming me back up.

  “Thank you, Gregory. I feel so much better.”

  Setting down the pitcher, “Can I get back in, I have one more remedy for you?”

  “I don’t see why not,” I lean forward, giving him enough space to step in behind me. Once he is settled, he reaches forward and grabs a breast in each hand. “Lean on me.” As soon as I do, he starts massaging my mounds with the same skill he had been showing all day. Where he was patient earlier, he is excited now. As soon as he starts in on my breasts, I feel him grow against my back. I start to grind against him, and he mutters a quick yes, encouraging me.

  He slides one hand down from my chest and starts to pleasure my clit. He starts slow, applying a slight pressure and circling over it. I am torn between grinding against his erection and his hand. Needing more, I plead, “Gregory, please, you’re teasing me.”

  “That I am. Don’t try and rush me, but keep grinding your sweet ass against my cock and I promise I will make it all worth it.” And he continues his slow assault on my pussy and breasts. It’s so frustrating, all I can think about is needing more of him, right now. I whimper out, “More,” and he blessedly obliges. Keeping the same slow pace, he slides the first finger in my slit. I move my hips up to meet him, but he growls out, “Keep that ass pressed up against my cock.” I slam my hips back down. As a reward, he starts rubbing the palm of his hand on my already sensitive clit. At the same time, he starts moving his finger in and out of me, still slow, but god, it is more than enough. I moan and grind harder over his raging appendage.

  He increases pressure on my clit while adding a second finger inside me. He starts to move faster and harder, bringing me closer to a sweet release. I am moaning loudly now. He grasps my nipple hard in his fingers and twists, causing a pleasurable twinge, and I almost come then, but he pulled his fingers out of my pussy. Before I have a chance to complain, he is back in, but with a third finger. He twists my nipple again. I grind against his cock, which only seems to have gotten bigger.

  Gregory meets my moans with his own and starts to increase the speed of his fingers. As soon as he presses against my clit, I explode. In the middle of my ecstasy, he extracts his fingers, lets go of my breasts and groans out, “Grab the other end of the bath and raise that plump ass in the air.” I do as I am told. I am a quick learner and when Gregory asks for something during sex, I am better off after listening.

  The second my hips are in the air, he positions himself behind me and plunges his entire length inside me. It happened so fast that I am still coming and I clench around him. Holding on tight to my hips, he brings his cock out, then slams it back in. Much rougher than anything that happened last night and I can’t get enough. I move with him, meeting each thrust with one of my own. Our moans are mingling together. Water is sloshing everyw
here, but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is each thrust. I feel my orgasm building again and I cry out, “Harder.” That was all Gregory needed to hear and he increased everything, pushing harder and deeper. Pounding faster. His grunts get louder and closer together. I can tell he is close to finding his release, which gets me ever closer to mine.

  He reaches towards my pussy and starts rubbing my clit. That is all it takes and my pussy starts clenching around his length. Any sound I made was drowned by his yell, “Ash, oh god, yes.” He gives one final pump and empties himself inside me. At that moment, I didn’t have a care in the world that he had came inside me three times already. I was addicted to his pleasure and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

  Gregory all but collapse out of me and back into the tub. He half lifts me, to lay on him again and my stomach chooses that moment to grumble loudly, effectively ruining the moment. Gregory chuckles, “You’re probably half-starved from all of this action. In a second, I will go get you some food.”

  “No, you won’t. I will eat as soon as I get back to Nash’s. I need to find him and explain why I have been missing all day, anyway.”

  “I forgot to tell you, he already knows. He was worried sick when he discovered you were missing, especially after finding your note. He came by, enlisting our help to track you down when I stopped him. I told him the attack freaked you out so much, you ran, but I intercepted you on your way out of town. Told him I brought you back here because you were too scared to be alone and that you were still sleeping.”

  “Great, now he is going to think I am fragile. But, at least he won’t start questioning me.”

  He squeezed me, “He shouldn’t. You aren’t in this alone anymore.”

  “Right,” brushing that comment off, “I am starving though, I should be going.” I push off him, rising. I really have been here too long, I need some time alone to process everything.

  “You can stay here.”

  “No, my home is at Nash’s and I miss it. Besides, I am working the afternoon shift.”

  “And I won’t be able to convince you that he will manage without you tonight?”

  “You won’t,” I say as I climb out of the tub, “Working will be a good distraction. Besides, I don’t want to miss any possible news.”

  Grabbing a towel, I start to dry off. I am ringing out my hair as Gregory climbs out. Oh my, he is still hard as a pole. How distracting. I hand him the towel and busy myself getting dressed, trying not to think about his insatiable stamina. We dress silently. When he sees me struggling, he helps me lace up the back, without my asking. A girl could get used to this treatment. After I tie up my boots and stuff my cloak in the travel bag, I turn to find Gregory watching me. I walk over and give him a quick kiss on the lips, “I will see you later?”

  “Yes, my love.” My stomach clenches, and I turn to leave. Pausing at the door just long enough to say a quick goodbye. I head out of the house as fast as possible, hoping no one sees me leaving his room.

  EIGHTEEN – GREGORY

  I hate to watch her leave but I am calmed knowing she will be safe at Nash’s. He will keep a watchful eye out for her, especially since he thinks she is scarred from the prior day’s events. I try not to dwell on the fear that if an entire band of Ridders shows up, they don’t stand a chance. That shouldn’t happen though, after all, there is a lot of ground in between here and Naven and I doubt they have any idea how far she flew.

  My biggest hope is they find one target too small to bother tracking, thinking they will find her eventually with another clan. I doubt that would be the case, Ridders are relentless. Now that shifters are rarer, they have plenty of resources for searching. I am going to prepare as if they are already aware of her location and on their way here. It’s better safe than sorry and I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe; which leads me to my next task. The one I am dreading.

  The more I think about it, the more my stomach turns. There is no point dwelling on a conversation that hasn’t happened yet, or trying the guess the outcome, but this will be the scariest thing I have ever done. I need to find my brother and get the truth out there. I need his help in keeping Ash safe and that help would be useless if he didn’t know what we were up against. I don’t think he will hate me when he finds out, though he might freak. Worst case scenario, he runs me out of town – which I would take Ash and find somewhere new, and safe. Best case, he doesn’t care and is willing to help me protect her.

  I prepare for the worst case. Grabbing my travel sack, a slightly larger one then Ash had last night, I start stuffing it with valuables. I take all the coins I have in my room, we will need them if we start over somewhere else. I have some silver furnishing, but they are too big to bring, which is unfortunate. I don’t bother with food, I can grab that when I pick up Ash, but I grab my water skin and toss it in. I don’t bother with warm clothes, it is almost summer, so the weather should be fair enough. I do grab my thick cloak, it will come in handy for sleeping. I stash it all by the window, figuring I could always fly in and grab it if it came to that.

  I finish dressing and head out in search of my brother, heading first towards his room. My hopes that he is there are dashed when I see the door is open. He always leaves it open when he is not in there. Trying not to lose my nerve, I head towards other parts of the house. I move to check the kitchen first, we both are always hungry so there is a chance he is in there sneaking a second lunch. It would be easier if he is, not busy with my father doing something.

  When I enter the kitchen I get lucky, I see Grant shoving a biscuit in his mouth.

  Approaching him, I grab one as well and take a bite, “Hey, do you have a minute? I have something important to talk to you about.”

  “Sure, what about?” He takes another massive bite. Postponing, I stuff the rest of mine in before replying. When I finish chewing, “It’s about Ash, she is in danger.”

  “Still?” he asks, sounding confused, “because those guys won’t be coming back anytime soon.”

  I shake my head, then start heading towards the door, “There’s more. Do you mind if we talk in the library, I don’t want anyone else to hear?”

  “No problem,” he starts to follow me, but detours just enough to grab a leftover sausage roll. “Sounds like you got the whole story out of her.”

  “I did. It was a long one.” We walk in silence, and he finishes his food. As soon as we step into the library, I check to make sure no one else is hiding in there, then lock the door. The last thing I need is anyone overhearing this or barging in.

  “Before I can tell you what’s going on with Ash, I need to show you something. You have to promise not to leave the room until I can explain?”

  “Alright,” he shrugs so I start undressing. You can shift while still wearing clothes, but for some reason, they don’t reappear when you shift back and I rather like this outfit. I am busy folding my shirt when he adds, “And you have to be naked to show me? Did she do something to you while you were having sex?”

  “No, nothing like that.” I would have laughed if I wasn’t so tense. With my pants folded, I say, “Don’t freak out,” then shift to my owl form. I make a quick flight around the room, then settle back where I was just standing. Grant doesn’t say anything, he just stares at me. The silence terrifies me and I shift back to human. The whole display took less than ten seconds.

  My heart is beating frantically in my chest. Until last night, no one has ever seen me shift and now two people have.

  Silently, I start to dress. Not wanting to meet his eyes, I keep looking down. Once I finally have all my clothes back on, he breaks the silence, “What does this have to do with Ash? Are you implying that she is a shifter as well?” I look up to him and what I see in his eyes is troubling. I wince.

  “That is why she is here. Her clan was attacked by Ridders and she barely made it out alive. She is in hiding, trying to stay under their radar while awaiting news if any of the others survived.” I say as fast as I can. I need t
o get the explanation out before his anger closes his ears off from anything I have to say. I am terrified, I didn’t think Grant would have so much hate when he found out.

  Standing very rigid, he asks, “What are you hoping to gain, by telling me all of this?”

  I start to feel defeated, “I wanted your help in protecting her. It sounds crazy, but I love her and want to be with her. To do that, I need to keep her safe. I can’t do it alone.”

  He shifts his stance, as if he is preparing to fight, “So, the only reason you revealed yourself to me, is because of her?”

  I don’t want to answer, but his eyes are drilling into me. “Yes.” He lunges at me, and I fully expect to be thrown to the ground, but instead, he wraps me in a tight hug.

  “Well, it’s about bloody time. I’m upset you never told me on your own, but at least the truth is out now.

  “You’ve known?” I stutter out.

  He pulls back and grins, “For years.”

  “How?”

  He let’s go of me and backs up a step, “I went to your room one night, and you weren’t there. I was curious, so I stayed, waiting to see you return. You can’t imagine my confusion when you climbed in the window naked.” He punches me lightly on the shoulder, “I thought you were sneaking off to meet a crush. A plan hatched, and I wanted to catch you. The next night, I camped outside your window, waiting for you to climb down so I could follow. Do you know what I saw instead?”

  I ran my hand through my hair, “You saw me climb up, instead of down.”

  “Yup! Then next thing I know, an owl is flying off the roof. Didn’t take much thinking to figure out what was going on.”

  I exhale, “You scared the hell out of me, brother.”

  He laughed, “I wanted to mess with you after you jumped me yesterday. Thought you deserved a little bit of payback.”

  “I wish you had told me you knew. I have been terrified all these years, worrying what would happen if any of you found out.”