But all such philosophical thoughts fled from her mind as David tugged at the lacings keeping the center of her bodice tightly held together. It was a slow process, agonizingly slow, but he seemed to revel in each and every second of it. It was delayed gratification of the highest form and Jaelle almost wanted to rip the clothing from her body herself just so he could get one with it.
But she quickly reminded herself to be patient. This was her gift to him after a very hard foal season, and it wasn’t up to her to tell him how to unwrap it.
Somehow, Jaelle managed to survive until he finally loosened the silky fabric enough for her breasts to slip from the carefully constructed hold of the garment. The smile on David’s face could only be described as wicked, and he took the tender point into his mouth.
The Aberrant gasped, arching up into the farmhand. Deftly, his tongue rolled and flicked that peak with an expertise she hadn’t known known was possible. The world started to go funny, shrinking down to the two of us even with my enhanced Shifter senses, but I couldn’t care less.
David took his time, never rushing, never sparing a drop of worship. It seemed an age that his mouth stayed at her one breast, before magnanimous turning his ministrations to its twin. It was torture, of the best kind, and Jaelle could feel herself grow slick for him. Impatient, she tried to raise her hips to move against him. Since when had David grown such stamina? In the three months since they had been rolling around together, he had never been terrible, but he certainly hadn’t been the confident, patient lover he was now.
“Please,” Jaelle gasped, anxious to be filled, to be sated, to have her mind turned inside out and rattled within her.
“Just a few more minutes,” David murmured, rising off of her for a moment before determinedly continuing downwards. “I want to feel you. All of you.”
And holy hell, didn’t he. He licked and kissed down her middle, his teeth occasionally scraping at her sensitive flesh, until he came one of the buckles of her garter. He looked up over her body and the expression on his face was enough to open the floodgates of her lower half.
“Don’t tease me,” Jaelle begged, hands roaming her own body to replace the feeling of him touching her.
“Well,” he answered, voice low and barely above a growl. “Since you asked so nicely.” Without another work, he yanked the buckle so hard it popped, then it’s opposite, then the ones on the side before he finally could yank her panties down her legs. He paused there a moment, almost like he was appreciating the trophy he had earned, before he threw them to the far side of the room.
All heat and masculinity, he settled back down onto her. A man on a clear mission, he continued down her right hip, then right along to her inner thigh, then to the mildly ticklish back of her knee.
Then, he gave the other side the same treatment but in reverse, taking his time over several minutes. It was sensuous, it was delicious, and it was making her go absolutely insane. She wanted it to stop immediately and for him to thrust into her with abandon, but at the same time she wanted it to last forever.
Happy Valentine’s day, indeed.
Finally, her patience was rewarded as David turned his attention to her awaiting core. At the very first breath, Jaelle gasped, her hips lifting themselves from her thrifted mattress with anticipation. When his lips finally found her, she thought she would come undone.
She didn’t last long, finishing faster than she ever had before. Her climax was as quick as it was brutal. One moment, she was writhing under the work of his tongue and mouth, the next she was dunked into the utter bliss that was her end. Her whole body tensed, almost painfully so, until the wave was over and she collapsed back down to the mattress.
When she was capable of normal thought again, Jaelle was breathing hard. David looked to be quite satisfied with himself, staring at what his work had left of her, but she wasn’t nearly fulfilled yet. Oh, no, she had been planning this night for two weeks and they still hadn’t gotten to the best part.
“Please,” she whispered, pulling him down to lay against her. “I need you right now.”
That seemed to burst the damn of eternal reservation within the farmhand, because David was suddenly freeing himself from his pants. In less than a few second, he was aligning himself with her awaiting entrance.
And when he slid in, it felt like he was coming home, right where he belonged. Jaelle gasped, opening fully to him and letting herself become lost in the fulfillment.
After so much build up, it felt like her mind practically cracked in two as he thrust against her, hips practically slamming into her in such a scrumptious wave of pleasure pain. He had never been so rough with her, and after his tender, worshipful ministrations, it was like the purest high being delivered straight into her veins.
They moved against each other for goodness knows how long, wild and unrestrained, gasping and panting, alternating between desperate cries of pleasure and wanton groans. It was the perfect crescendo of a feral mating, and when David finally reached his end he let out a roar that would have made any Shifter proud.
“That,” Jaelle panted as they collapsed beside each other, thoroughly entangled within the silky sheets she had bought for this very occasion, “was amazing.”
“You’re welcome,” David answered, showing that rare, cheeky side of himself that didn’t usually get to see the light of day.
Things were quiet between the two of them for a long moment before David let out a contented sigh. “I noticed you made quite a bit of food out there…”
Now, Jaelle couldn’t help but chuckle. “In a minute. Let me just enjoy this moment together. You never know how many we’ll have.”
“What are you talking about?” David countered, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know,” Jaelle murmured, curling into his side.
‘But I might.’
Chapter Two: Forlorn Awakening
Jaelle rolled over, feeling for the warmth of David. She was surprised, however, as her hand just hit rough, slightly vibrating fabric. And for that matter, the scent in her room was totally of—
Oh.
Right.
She had left him behind.
Slowly, Jaelle opened her eyes, almost hoping that the past few days had just been a dream and she would find herself somehow magically cuddled next to her human lover. But they weren’t and she found herself staring up at the canvas ceiling of Bradley’s roof.
“You all right back there?”
She looked toward the sound of the voice to see that it was none other than the leader of the Hunters.
Well… she supposed that title was less than apt now, considering he had effectively gone rogue.
If someone had told Jaelle that a man whose whole life was dedicated to wiping out her kind would eventually be the one to turn the tides and possibly help save her and all future Aberrant, she would have assumed they were mad. And yet… that was exactly what had happened.
It had been three days since the meeting where Bradley’s men had parted ways, and Jaelle still found herself sometimes wondering if it was some sort of elaborate rouse to make her drop her guard. She certainly hoped not, but part of her said that what was actually happening was too good to be true.
Belatedly, she realized that Bradley had asked her a question. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You sure, you need us to stop?”
“I said I’m fine,” Jaelle retorted, sitting up. “You don’t need to baby me.”
“You say that,” Dannon added from the front. “But your ketones are pretty nasty right now.”
“Oh, right.”
“Dreaming of him?”
Bradely didn’t have to specify who him was. Jaelle nodded, looking out the window and then that was that.
Another thing she could be grateful for was that none of the men seemed to judge her for how broken up she was over David. No one called her a baby, or told her to get over it, or rolled their eyes when she couldn’t eat. They
either understood, or went out of their way to leave her alone.
Jaelle knew she had done the right thing, but it certainly didn’t feel that way. She missed David. She wondered how he was. She wondered how much he had healed and if the hospital staff was being nice to him. But as much as she wanted to turn around and find out, she knew she couldn’t go back. To do so would be selfish, and would undoubtedly end in his death.
But still… it didn’t make it any easier or hurt any less.
“So,” she said, breaking herself out of her melancholy, “what’s on the docket today?”
“The same plan that we’ve had for the past two days since we camped in that gully.”
“I haven’t exactly been paying attention,” she countered. “Remind me.”
“We’re driving through the rest of the day and most of the night. By halfway through tomorrow we should reach a Shifter outpost.”
“And what’s the significance of this outpost?”
“Probably nothing. But possibly something.”
“That’s annoyingly vague,” she said, raising her eyebrow at him through the rearview mirror.
But Bradley and Dannon were all smiles. “Do you really not remember? Man, you must have been zoning out harder than I thought.”
“It’s been a long couple of days.”
“Right.” He sounded almost guilty at that. “There’s a medic at that outpost that usually just treats the simple sprains and breaks that come from small town living, but they once worked in the treatment facility we’re trying to hit up. Hopefully, they might be able to give us some vital information, or even a way inside.”
“And how long has it been since you talked to this medic last?”
“Uh, about three years.”
“Huh. So, chances are they won’t be there at all.”
“Yup. But it’s the best lead we have so far. We can’t exactly break into the most secure, off-grid Shifter testing facility with teeth bared and claws ready.”
“No, I suppose not.”
It was funny. She had spent all of her life trying to run as far away from any form of the loose, Shifter government that stretched across the entire nation and now she was barreling right for it. She wondered what her mother would think of all these heroics. Would she be proud? Was she yelling down at her daughter from the heavens to go back to running once again?
Who knew? Jaelle certainly couldn’t say. Sometimes she wondered that she didn’t really know her mother at all, and that only the idealized memory of her remained.
What a strange mix of terrible and poetic at the same time. In order to save all the Aberrants to come, she had to give up what little she had of herself. Very hero’s sacrifice in an old timey sort of way.
What a strange transition. All her life she had always thought of herself as the selfish villain, or at very best the misguided anti-hero. Her very living was spitting in the face of all that was good or decent.
But now… now things had changed. She didn’t think she was guilty for just being alive anymore. She didn’t think she was some hideous beast doomed to insanity and violence. She could be the hero, even if that path killed her.
How dramatic.
Jaelle sighed and looked out the window. They still had quite a ways to go and thoughts like that were going to wear her out. Instead, she tried to let her mind drift and just think of happier times.
Too bad all her happier times all featured David.
This was going to be a very long ride.
****
Two a.m. rolled around and the greatly downsized convoy pulled off the side of the road and onto what looked like a small hunter’s pass. Human hunters, that is. The kind that sought after wild game and not mutated Shapeshifters or rogue criminals.
Most of our tents and supplies had gone with the Hunters who had decided to stick to the mission and separate from Bradley, so they had all taken to sleeping in their vehicles. Two Hunters slept in the bed of their truck not unlike David and Jaelle had upon their first reunion and then Bradley, Dannon and the Aberrant all shared the Jeep.
Sometimes, she worried that they were trying to be nice by giving her the back seat to lay out across, but they insisted that there wasn’t enough leg room in the back and that she was the only one small enough who could fit comfortably while still allowing them to recline their own seats all the way back.
Although she had napped plenty, she could still feel exhaustion lapping at the edges of her mind. She was always exhausted nowadays. Maybe it was just the depression and its vice grip on her spine, maybe it was so much sitting on her ass and watching the days go by. Either way, she didn’t see it improving anytime soon.
“Hey, what’s going on back there?”
Once more, she looked to the front to see Bradley regarding her through the rearview mirror. God, he used that thing like a third eye. “What do you mean?”
“I may not have known you for long, but I know dark and sullen isn’t exactly your style. You haven’t let out a quip or told me some flaw about myself in at least a day.”
“I guess I’m not in the mood.”
“I know.” He let out a sigh before handing her a water bottle from the mini-cooler at Dannon’s feet. “Just trying to break some of the tension. It’s not good to wallow in it, if you can help it.”
“I know. But that’s easier said than done.”
His reflection’s grin was quite sardonic. “Isn’t it always?”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“Yeah, but for once, I wish I wasn’t. Try to get a good night’s sleep, if you can. And remember, you did the right thing.”
Jaelle settled down in the backseat, cocooning herself in blankets. “For being something that everyone talks about all the time, doing the right thing sucks.”
He didn’t argue with her, and neither did Dannon. Instead, they both let out a dry laugh and then silence fell over the car. Still feeling a gnawing ache within her, Jaelle let herself fall right back down into sleep.
Chapter Three: Worse than a Ghost Town
“I thought we were supposed to reach the outpost about halfway through today,” Jaelle said, peering out the front window. “I may be new to this, but it seems to me that we’re nowhere near civilization.”
“We’re actually pretty close,” Dannon said from the back.
Jaelle craned her neck to look at the blind man and she was beginning to buy that the men were too tall to sleep there comfortably. In order for him to be flat on his back he had to have his knees bent toward his chest and his feet rest on the door. It was one of those positions that looked like it might be comfortable for a bit before cramping set in and it became entirely uncomfortable.
“How do you know? Looked at the map lately?”
“A blind joke, really?”
Jaelle shrugged before realizing that the man wouldn’t be able to see the gesture. “My creativity isn’t at an all-time high lately.”
“I would say so.” He laughed and sat up. “I smell gas. And waste.” His nose twitched. “A lot of waste. We should check their septic tank while we’re there.”
“What, so you guys are handymen now, too?”
Bradley laughed, his first addition to the conversation in quite a while. Jaelle got the feeling he was puzzling something over, but he hadn’t let any of them in on his thoughts yet. “You pick up a thing or two in our line of work. I’d say we can do a range of things from clearing wells, to clearing roads to fixing busted piped, and yes, even digging up and repairing a flooded septic system.”
“Huh. I did not know that,” she murmured, sitting back and trying to wrap her head around it.
So, to the rest of the Shifter world, Hunters were harbingers of help and rescue. If one was in trouble, they would hope – maybe even pray – that one of the specially appointed Shifters would come to save the day.
How different from her own experience, where Hunters were the boogeymen that haunted the edges of her mind. Always lurking with their s
inister promise.
“Funny you should say that,” Dannon cut in, abruptly sitting up and affixing her with his kind gaze. Well… almost affixing her. His gaze hovered somewhere over her shoulder, but she always admired how much he put in the effort to turn his head toward her when he spoke. “You’re a Shifter who’s been raised almost completely outside of Shifter culture. It’s obvious you know some fundamentals, but I’m willing to bet a lot of what seemed like a matter of course for us is anything but for you.”
“Yeah, I would say that’s a pretty accurate statement. I know enough about Shifter rules and regulations to not get caught. If it wasn’t vital to my survival, I didn’t learn it.”
“I’m… sorry,” Bradley murmured. “Sometimes it’s easy for me to forget that for most of your life you’ve been a fugitive.”
Jaelle sat back, turning her head so that she was looking out the window instead of at either of her riding partner. “I wish it was easy for me.”
The conversation died there, but she didn’t much feel like picking it up. She was somewhere between the lines of wanting to go on a diatribe about how unfair Shifter laws were and telling them that it didn’t matter so they could move along to a more topical discussion. But every time she opened her mouth, her brain wouldn’t supply her with what to say, so she just stayed quiet.
The minutes ticked on, the outpost still nowhere in sight. Jaelle kept her gaze glued to the outside and she couldn’t make out any signs of paths through the forest, hunting spots, or anything really. Could they just be ridiculously off course?
“Stop the car,” Dannon said, leaning between the two up front.
“What?”
“I said stop the car!”
Bradley hit the brakes, slowing them down a bit quicker than he probably should have. Thankfully, the rest of their mini-convoy managed to stop without any sort of collisions.
The Aberrants Box Set (Books 1-5) Page 25