by T. S. Ryder
He knew the feeling. He felt the same.
Tyrell snarled as he dragged his teeth across her collarbone, his bear demanding more, to taste every inch of her. To have her so tightly wound in him that there was no end between them. He panted, hands roaming her body, a sharp desperation aching in the pit of his stomach. Every time they were together, it was like he was some insatiable beast. Every time, he couldn’t get enough of her.
“Cynthia,” he moaned as he dropped his head to her breast.
The spray of the jets hit the back of his head and neck as he took her nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it. It hardened, although from his touch or the chill in the air sent up from the cold water he wasn’t sure. He found her other breast, finding the nipple soft, and rubbed his thumb over it. A shiver ran down Cynthia’s body as her fingers moved down his naked back, tracing the rivulets of water. Her nipple pearled under his thumb, and he moved from the right to suck on her left. Another shiver, another moan.
“Oh, God,” Cynthia moaned. “Yes, that’s it… harder.”
He increased his suction and her whole body jerked forward. When he pulled back, hands bracing himself against the clear glass behind her, she followed him up. Her hands wrapped around the back of his neck and she attacked his mouth with hers. Hungry, greedy slurping sounds filled the space between them as she sucked on his lips, ending the passionate kiss with her teeth nipping at his chin.
Tyrell grunted, pulling her hips forward. He could smell the scent of his own sweat in the shower, the dampness from the jet increasing the dusty, sunburnt scent of his skin. And her scent. It drove him crazy. Every day it seemed like her scent was different, a new layer beneath the previous one that he hadn’t known before. Yesterday she had been peppermint, today she was chocolate. All sweet and bitter and as rich as life itself.
“Mmmm.” Cynthia licked one of his pecs, her hands roaming over his thighs and ass. “You taste like sunshine.”
Tyrell laughed throatily. “Sunshine, huh?”
“Yeah.” She licked his other pec, letting her tongue flick over his nipple. Then she closed her teeth around it, biting just to the point of pain before releasing him. “Sunshine. Dust. Work. Pure man, you are. What’s your secret?”
He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her hard and deep, thrusting his tongue into every crevice of her mouth. She grasped his wrists, using him to pull herself up to her tiptoes so she could answer him just as hungrily. Seized by an idea, he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun around. Cynthia shrieked as the cold water hit her body. She flung herself at him, legs circling his waist as she all but climbed up his body.
“Stop! Cold!”
Tyrell laughed as she pressed closer, and reached behind her to adjust the temperature. She shuddered and glared at him.
“Jerk,” she shook her head at him. “What was that for?”
“To make you want to be closer to me.”
She opened her mouth, and he swallowed her protests in another kiss. He turned her again, pressed into the tiles rather than the glass this time. Gripping the thigh in his hand, he parted their bodies just enough so that he could rearrange himself, to be pointed up between their bodies. Now when he ground against her, the length of him rubbed directly against her clit. A shiver ran down her spine and her head fell back. His loins tightened at the contact and soon he was gritting his teeth and panting against his arousal.
Cynthia gasped breathlessly, clinging to him while rocking her hips, making it awkward to keep holding her. He dropped his mouth to her neck, licking and sucking on her creamy skin. His bear snarled with desire, wanting to sunk his teeth into the back of her neck and claim her as his mate, marking her for all to see.
“What shall I do with you?” Tyrell continued to rub against her, so tight that he needed a release; if he didn’t bury himself in her and soon, he was going to go crazy. His lips skimmed her collarbone and throat on his way back to her mouth. “What the hell am I going to do with you? Tie you up and keep you all for myself, ravish you every night until my brain bleeds from my ears?”
Cynthia gave him a startled look, then burst out laughing. Tyrell stopped his movement, staring at her with wide eyes. She shook her head and covered her face with one hand.
“Sorry,” she gasped. “That was just... decidedly not sexy. Let’s try that again, shall we? What will you do with me? Tie me up and ravish me every night until…?”
Tyrell reached between their bodies and found her clit with his thumb. She was wet and ready for him. He growled under his breath and set her down. A flash of disappointment in her eyes was interrupted by a groan as he pushed a finger into her. Working her with one hand, he spun her around, so her breasts were against the tile.
“Ravish you every night until you’re screaming my name with the first touch,” he hissed in her ear. “Claim you every way possible until neither of us can move for the pain and pleasure, until you’ve erased all the women I’ve ever had, and I’ve erased all the men you’ve ever had.”
God, he was getting in too deep. He bit her shoulder, eliciting a small cry. He throbbed, hard and ready, but there was something missing. He looked down and frowned. Right. The condom. He kissed the mark he’d just made.
“Wait here,” he murmured and stepped out of the shower.
Quickly, he rustled around in a drawer to find a condom, which he ripped open. Cynthia remained where she was, but he could see her fingers sliding between her legs, her mouth open slightly. It made everything tighten more. He quickly slid the condom on, rejoined her in the shower and pressed her against the glass.
He pushed inside of her without another word. He didn’t bother being gentle and Cynthia pressed her ass against him, crying out a soft ‘yes’ to let him know that she wanted this as much as he did. He gripped her hip with one hand while flicking her clit with the other still as he began to thrust. Both their bodies slammed into the side of the shower, again and again, Cynthia’s cries drowning out the sound of the shower. He bit her shoulder again and she clamped down on him.
His knuckles were white where he held her. Washes of blackness started to come in at the sides of his vision as heat washed through his body. He threw his head back as Cynthia cried out, thrusting her hips in time with his. His bear growled once more, and he threw himself forward, pinning her in place. His teeth clamped over the back of her neck and everything exploded. He felt himself filling her as he lost all control of his actions.
They ended up leaning against the side of the shower, gasping for breath as the water ran from hot to cold around them. Slowly Tyrell came back to himself. He winced when he saw the mark he had left on her and moved back slowly. Cynthia’s legs trembled, but she pulled herself back around. Her hair stuck to her neck and she gave him a brilliant smile.
“Wow,” she breathed.
There were more bite marks on her shoulders. He touched one of them and shook his head, sick with himself. “I’m sorry. I was too rough with you.”
Cynthia shook her head. “Okay, maybe I could have had a little warning but that was amazing. Don’t you dare start ruining it for me.” She glanced at where the tips of his fingers brushed over another of his teeth marks and she giggled. “Guess I’ll be wearing sleeves for a while, huh?”
The tension in his shoulders eased as he saw her smile. They showered properly after that, being gentle with one another (or at least, he was gentle with her) until they were both dressed again. Then, Cynthia declared she was going to lie down for a while and he headed for town. He felt as light as air, the relaxation of sex still coursing through him. At the same time, though, there was a tremor of unease. That had been intense—far more intense than any of their other lovemaking. And what was with his bear? It had never reacted that way to a woman before.
A frown crossed his face. Was he getting in too deep? While he was inside of her, feeling that connection, physical and sexual and somehow something even more, he had known he was. Now, he tried to scoff at the idea b
ut wasn’t quite able to do it. Cynthia was… different. She was special. He had never thought of himself as the kind of guy to settle down with any one woman. He didn’t need that one-on-one sort of relationship. Emotional intimacy made the physical intimacy too complicated. Just look at what happened with Angela!
Angela… Was he the reason why nothing had developed there? She had been so… wonderful. Sweet, bright, beautiful. Full of excitement for life, full of passion and compassion. She had been the most desirable woman on the island. Everybody wanted her, and she had chosen him. If he had accepted that as being enough, would she have died? If they had been together, if she hadn’t gotten on that boat, where would they be now?
He pulled the truck to the side of the road just before he got into town and rested his head against the steering wheel. He knew, in his heart, that he and Angela would never have made it. If they had declared that they were mates, they would still be together but only because that was what people did. But they had been too young, and more than that, too much in lust and not enough in love. Maybe it was different for her, but he knew how he felt. If she had lived, he would have just continued to break her heart.
And that was why he had to be careful that nothing would develop between him and Cynthia. He’d hurt her if it did. That was the last thing he wanted. She made his life better. She made Tamara’s life better. He couldn’t jeopardize all that. But… but was he? Was he jeopardizing the comfortable routine his family had settled into by becoming sexually involved with the nanny?
She worked for him. If it didn’t work out between them, what would happen to her? It wasn’t like he was paying her enough to build up a good fallback. Sure, she was supplied with a lot of the basic necessities… but wouldn’t that just put her in an even worse position if something went wrong?
Tyrell let out a shaky sigh. She was the one who started it… right? Even if he had been gazing lustily after her, she knew what she was doing. And if it did go wrong it wasn’t like he’d just kick her out on the streets. He’d make sure she was able to stay on her feet during the transition.
He smacked his head against the wheel. What was this? He never worried about these things. Was Ruby right? For years now, his sister had been telling him that he needed to get a mate. Not just for himself, but for Tamara, too. After all, a girl needed a mother. An aunt was all well and good but she wasn’t a mother.
But I’m doing just fine on my own, Tyrell thought desperately. I don’t need to turn my life upside down for someone else. Besides, Cynthia isn’t looking for anything. She said so herself. She just wants some fun.
His bear growled. That same growl that told him to mark her, to claim her. She didn’t even know what she was getting into. He couldn’t suddenly get all possessive of her. Even if his feelings were getting too deep, she didn’t want forever with him.
Good God, what am I doing?
Tyrell sighed as he pulled the truck back onto the road. He had always dreamed that one day he’d fall in love. Have his whole world consumed by one person. There wasn’t room in his heart to put someone else first. Or at least, that was what he had thought. Then Tamara had come into his life. His daughter brought him more joy than he thought was possible. Along with the worry, the heartache, everything he had feared, came so much joy. He wouldn’t give her up for anything.
But since Tamara was there, there wasn’t room for anybody else. Any potential lover, girlfriend, wife, mate… she would come second. His daughter was his first priority and would always be. How could he ask a woman to always be second in his heart? How could any woman be okay with knowing that if it was ever a choice between her and his daughter, if for some reason a killer came in and told him to choose which one to keep alive, his choice would always be Tamara?
The image of Cynthia at breakfast that morning, drawing a smiley face on Tamara’s pancake came to his mind. Would she mind that? Would she demand to be the first in his life, in everything? Or would she, like him, put Tamara first?
Could there be a future for him and Cynthia?
“No,” he told himself firmly. “No, there can’t be a future there. I’m a shifter. She’s not. She doesn’t even know about us. And if she finds out? She’ll probably go running and screaming.”
His bear grunted, clearly not happy with how he was taking this, but he shoved it down. He wasn’t going to go there. He wasn’t going to start wondering what if he fell in love with Cynthia, or what if she fell in love with him. No. Their relationship was purely sexual. The moment it became anything else? He’d have to fire her. Send her back to the mainland.
So there was nothing but lust between them. Simple as that.
Chapter Nine – Cynthia
Due to Tamara’s melancholy at being left on the island when Tyrell went to the mainland before, Tyrell had promised to take her to an amusement park on the mainland. Cynthia was more than happy to tag along. She had never gotten to go to amusement parks as a child and was eager to see if they really lived up to the hype. She found that they did. By the time the three of them headed back home, they were exhausted. Tamara fell asleep on the boat, and Cynthia herself dozed a bit.
When they got to the island, Tyrell got a call on the radio from Ruby saying that she was planning on stopping by a little later.
“Tell her to pick me up in town before she comes over,” Cynthia said to Tyrell as she buckled up Tamara in her car seat. “I’ve got some shopping I want to do.”
Tyrell arched his brows at her. “Really? We’ve been out all day and you want to go shopping?”
Cynthia shrugged. “I want to be able to do some sewing tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
He radioed Ruby, who said it was no problem to pick up Cynthia on her way to the farm, and dropped Cynthia off in town. Cynthia waved them off. The air was clean and fresh, the sun bright. A beautiful day all around, and not just because of how much fun she had had on the mainland. Cynthia adjusted her hat and wiped a bit of sweat from her brow. She smelled like sunscreen, but she didn’t care as she adjusted her pack. As she headed for the fabric shop she wondered if this had been a good idea after all, but then thought about riding her bike all the way to town the next day and trying to bring back bolts of fabric. No, thank you!
She hummed as she first went to the bathroom to wash up her hands and arms, to avoid dirtying the fabric, and then went back out. The man who ran the store smiled at her but let her do her browsing.
It was quiet in the shop. There were a couple of men, but no women. Come to think of it, there really weren’t a lot of women on the island. She frowned as she looked at a paisley print. Other than herself, Ruby and Diana, she had only seen a handful of women while she was on the island… Odd. Maybe that was why she got so many stares when she was out and about. It had unnerved her when she first arrived, but maybe it had less to do with the fact that she was an outsider and more with the fact that there were so few women on the island.
Of course, there was always the glares that James Smith gave her whenever they ended up in the same location. She hadn’t seen him for a while, but whenever she did he gave her the creeps. It was like he was just waiting to catch her alone.
She pushed the thought from her mind. Tyrell would warn her if there was any danger from Smith. There was no reason to worry about it.
A bold blue plaid caught her eye and she went over to it. The blue would accent Tamara’s hair nicely. While Cynthia had plans to get more into sewing in order to start selling stuff online, she wasn’t there yet. First, she wanted to make Tamara a dress, designing the pattern herself. It would be good practice, and Tamara had been bemoaning the fact that “all” the other girls in her class had fancy dresses to wear to school.
As Cynthia gazed at the fabric, she was reminded of how, throughout the day at the amusement park, people kept commenting on what a lovely family the three of them made. So many people said it that by the end of the day, Cynthia had stopped correcting them. It was funny, but it also made her heart light up
in a way that it hadn’t for a while.
She wanted to be a mom. To have a child in her arms who loved her and called her Mommy. She’d wanted that all her life. In fact, if she thought about it, it was one of the reasons why she’d let herself fall for Michael so badly. Sex was one thing, babies were another.
It was one thing that she was grateful for, though, that she didn’t end up having a baby with him. It would have made the decision to part with him all the harder. Now, though, she was finding herself drawn to baby things more and more often—she could just imagine how cute it would be to make matching dresses for Tamara and a new baby.
With a sigh, she moved to find a cheaper fabric. She was getting in too deep with this. Not just her relationship with Tyrell. That only sealed the deal. She was starting to think of them as a family. And she needed to stop that because she wasn’t Tamara’s mother. She was just a nanny.
A hand closed around her elbow, making her jump and gasp. She whirled around, finding that it was Rex. He stared at her with the eyes of a kicked puppy. Cynthia ripped herself away from him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she snapped at him.
“Cynthia, please. Just let me explain.”
Cynthia glanced at the store owner, who was watching through narrowed eyes. Not wanting to cause a scene, she grabbed Rex by his elbow and dragged him out of the store. Once they were on the sidewalk, she turned to him. Anger built tight and hot in her chest. Explain? He thought that he could just explain away that horrible sexist, crude remark he had made about her?
He reached for her hand. “I know that you’re angry—”