“Makes sense.” He pulled her flush to him and she settled against his warm flesh. They didn’t need a blanket, generating enough heat between the two of them. It was held there, so tender and wanted, that Jaelle slipped into slumber.
Chapter Fourteen: Realization
Sleep did not last long for Jaelle. She guessed that she had been sleeping far too much in the car and now she wouldn’t have a full night’s rest, but that was all right. She needed some time to herself to think things over.
The way she saw it, she had two options. Either she told Bradley all about Creed’s upstate plan and the whole group would rush up there to try to stop him and most of them would probably die because Bradley would never agree to what needed to be done to stop him, or she could go up on her own and pull off the greatest kamikaze stunt since World War II.
There were advantages and disadvantages to both. Her going alone would result in only her own death if she failed. And probably if she succeeded too. Going with the whole group could result in all of their deaths. Then again, if Creed won everyone was going to have to worry about losing their lives.
She tossed and turned, her mind chasing itself in circles.
Now that she was officially ‘with’ Bradley, could she really just abandon him? Sure, she had done it to David, but that had been different. He was human and had almost died because she had dragged him into a world he was never supposed to know about. Letting him go had been an act of mercy.
…but wouldn’t this be doing the same? Bradley had barely survived the last time he had actually come face to face with Creed. Then again, there had been a high-speed chase involved then. Something that certainly wouldn’t be happening in the prison.
She groaned and her fists came to either side of her head, gently pounding at the skin there. She was getting absolutely nowhere. This was where she could use a best friend or fairy godmother to bounce ideas off of until she felt less like a piece of shit.
Of course, there was always the thought in the back of her mind whispering that she wanted to leave Bradley behind because that was just what she did anytime she grew close to anyone. Because she was only meant for loneliness and desolation.
She sighed and decided to take a walk and let it clear her mind. It wasn’t like she had to worry about Hunters or Creed lurking in the darkness. Which was a bizarre change.
Jaelle unzipped the tent flap and stepped out. She figured since her romp with Bradley had been a bit unplanned, this would be a good time to brush her teeth and hair and wash her face.
She crossed to the Jeep, still holding onto the keys that Bradley had handed her and helped herself to her stuff. She could hear the steady breathing of the men through the night air and it was surprisingly comforting. In a strange way, they had become the family that she never thought was possible to have. She liked hearing them rest and heal.
Going through her nightly routine was also comforting. She hadn’t realized how long it had been since she had brushed her teeth and she shuddered at the fact that Bradley had had to kiss all that. Still, he hadn’t seemed to mind and he certainly hadn’t complained, so maybe her breath wasn’t that rancid.
She laughed to herself as she washed her face, pits, arms, and legs with paper towels in the sink. It was far from a luxurious bath, but it was nice, nonetheless.
The time to herself gave her an opportunity to look back on the entire journey that had brought her to the present. The good, the bad. The highs, the lows. The orgasms and the injuries. It was a harrowing, intense journey and she realized when all was said and done, that there was very little that she would change.
As she stepped out of the bathroom and let the night air wick away the remaining moisture on her body, she came to her decision. She would protect her new family no matter what. Even if that meant leaving them and facing certain death on her own.
Despite the grim reality, she found herself smiling at the thought. It felt good to have a plan. Especially one that meant the safety of the people she loved.
Nodding to herself, she walked back to her tent. She set her shower caddy to the side first, and when she laid back down, she found Bradley was looking at her with half-lidded eyes.
“Sorry, did I wake you?”
“Not at all,” he murmured, pulling her closer once more to press his lips against her. “I was dreaming when I realized right in the middle of it that if I woke up, I would have a beautiful woman in my arms.”
“Oh, that’s called lucid dreaming, ya know.”
He laughed and pressed another kiss to her. “I know what it is.”
“Well, how was I supposed to know you knew? I may be an Aberrant, but I’m not psychic.”
“Indeed, you are not. If you were, you would know exactly what I’m thinking right now.”
She nuzzled against his neck. “Did you just save a bunch of money on your car insurance by switching companies?”
He snorted at that, and she had no idea how, but he still looked handsome while doing it. “Not quite.” His tone lowered and his lips swooped down, stopping just before they made contact with her own mouth. “I was thinking this would be a good time for a round two.”
“Oh,” she murmured, looking up at him with a mischievous grin. “Well, why didn’t you say so?”
“Come here, you cheeky woman,” he said, pulling her to his chest. Jaelle allowed him to move her. She was more than happy to spend their last night/early morning together in his arms with him inside of her.
Granted, he didn’t know that it could possibly be their last night together, and she could only hope that he one day forgave her.
To Be Continued…..
Book 5: A Fading Future
Sarah J. Stone
Chapter One: Fond Remembrance
Jaelle looked behind her for the third time since she had left, as if she could still see the sleepy camp that she had abandoned. A large part of her was begging, pleading for her to turn around and go back, but she knew she could not.
Some would call her idiotic for not letting Bradley in on her plan, but those people didn’t understand. After the whole prison stint, Bradley would never allow her to go into the fray alone, but running in head first would absolutely get all of them killed.
It was far too easy to see the outcome of that battle, bodies splayed out on either side of the line and too many innocents bathed in the blood of the dead. Mothers, fathers, young, old, there would be no one spared from Creed’s mad plan.
And as for Aberrants? Well, they would go down in Shifter history as nothing more than monsters. Every Aberrant who was still in hiding, or even the ones who were yet to be borne would all be doomed for generations to come.
Jaelle knew that the upstate prison was the last line in the sand for her kind. If she didn’t stop there, war would be upon them and it would be too late for anyone.
Briefly, she wondered if she could flee to another country. Maybe Australia? France? While Europe didn’t exactly have the greatest track record when it came to the Romani people, she was ethnically ambiguous enough where she probably wouldn’t have to worry. Unless that was a decidedly American thing. It wasn’t like she had a thorough education on foreign culture while living most of her young life as a fugitive.
She shook her head, banishing those thoughts from her body. She was not going to run. She’d spent so much of her life fleeing and those chapters were over. She was taking a stand and she would either stop Creed or die trying.
Besides, death couldn’t be so bad, could it? She’s traipsed across the thin line between living and sleeping for eternity several times. And if she was dead, she didn’t have to worry about the complications from her or Creed’s actions. Really, it was a win-win situation.
She would miss some things, however. The smell of a fresh fire, roaring to life for the first time within a camp circle. A particularly delicious burger with extra pepperjack cheese and dripping in grease. And, of course, Bradley.
She didn’t know when she had allowed
herself to become so smitten, but she was terribly, terribly inebriated with sheer admiration from him. The man who had once been a horrifying figure in her nightmares was now the center of his dreams. From the way the morning light drifted over his strong features, to the specific curl in the corner of his lips every time he said a particularly terrible pun. His hair, thick and full of his forest-like scent, his broad shoulders and even broader strides. The way he cared for his men and tried to lead them to the best of his ability.
And, perhaps most importantly, the way he looked at her. When his intense gaze settled on her, she felt like she was the only person in the world. She was important, cherished, worshipped, even though he knew the truth about all she was and all she had done.
Thinking about him made her recall the moments they had shared less than a couple hours previously. It was perhaps the last time they would ever share their bodies with each other, and her mind played the scene like a movie.
She had just returned from her walk and after some talking and cuddling, they had quickly found themselves craving each other again.
Jaelle’s body was still a bit sore from their last time just hours previous, but she was plenty wet enough for the endeavor. But as much as she wanted him inside of her, her urgency no doubt amplified by her decision to leave, Bradley was content in taking his time.
He had slid his hands along her skin, tracing scars, fine hairs, and muscle lines. He treated each movement as if it was some reverent part of a ceremony, worshipping her body like it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
How could she not melt into such a touch? After so much time telling herself that she was nothing but a monster who deserved the worst, he was doing his best to erase every second of that.
What could she have possibly done to deserve this? Even joining this mad mission to stop a madder Aberrant didn’t seem like enough of a good deed to warrant someone like Bradley.
But when his lips gently touched her skin, pressing against the sensitive area over her ribs, all of her thoughts of why and how and deserving or not fled her mind like grains of sand in the wind.
Still, he did not hurry. He worked his way up until he reached her right breast, which he lavished with affection. She arched into him, appreciating his efforts and mewling her encouragement. It seemed like an eternity until he moved onto her waiting mound and its rosy peak, which brought on a whole new wave of pleasure.
“Ow!”
Reality snatched her back when something sharp stabbed into her ankle. Looking down, she saw an inch-long thorn had managed to get between the top of her boot and her jean leg, piercing the flesh there.
That what she got for daydreaming and hiking, she supposed. She needed to concentrate and hurry along, but it was hard when so much of her heart lay behind her.
Ugh. When had she become so cheesy? She didn’t know. But she wasn’t entirely sure she minded. Sure, it would be embarrassing if someone else knew how sappy her thoughts had become, but as long as she didn’t verbalize them, none would be the wiser and she could still keep her persona as the tough as nails Aberrant who avoided capture for a record number of years.
Still, she couldn’t help but smile to herself as she knelt down and yanked the bramble from her leg, reaching in to hike her sock up to the edge of her boots. When she stood, she started jogging again, but her thoughts soon drifted right back to Bradley.
Where had she been? Oh, right, the kisses. There was no scientific explanation for how they felt so good or soft against her body. Little pecks had absolutely no right to leave her feeling hot and heavy, and yet when he finally reached her mouth, she was panting wantonly.
Her fingers itched to get at him and her own mouth wanted to be pressed against his tanned skin and taut muscles, but she was distracted as his lips ravaged her own, pouring every bit of desire and passion they had for each other through that one focal point.
It would have been so easy to drown in the euphoria that way, and she felt as if she could lay there, being kissed by the Hunter forever. But a more rational voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she had made the decision to leave and only had a few hours at best. It was time to keep going if she wanted either of them to reach some sort of climax.
She tightened the muscles in her abdomen, and managed to roll him over so she could climb on top. His chest was so broad that she could barely straddle it with her thick thighs, but her muscles stretched as she settled into it.
Bending down, she took his mouth once more, this time, leading the kiss. Bradley let her take over just as readily as he had taken over himself, and responded to her mouth’s demands.
As he was still naked from their previous romp just hours before, she could already feel his need pressing against her lower back, wanting to be inside of her. As much as they liked to tease each other, she wasn’t interested in drawing out connecting with him again.
When their kiss eventually broke, she sat up, and his hands went to caressing her once more. Pleasure licked at all of her senses, so she reached behind her and gripped his hardened length.
She hesitated for just a moment, the realization that this could be their final coupling weighing heavily on her mind. Was she ready to never see him again, especially since he was the first Shifter to ever make her feel so whole, so complete?
Well, it wasn’t like she had a choice.
“Is everything okay?” Bradley asked, looking up at her curiously.
How silly of her. Of course, he could sense her trepidation. If there was anyone who understood what she was feeling, it was always Bradley. She would have almost thought him an empath, if such things existed.
“I’m fine,” she murmured, letting go of him to shower his faces with tender little pecks. “Just made the mistake about thinking of the future.”
“It’s a scary place,” he answered with a crooked grin. “But thankfully we’re in it together.”
Ow. What a way to phrase it.
“Yes, yes, we are.”
She needed to hurry. While it was true that the men wouldn’t wake up for another half hour or so, and Bradley even later, she needed to get as much distance as she could. If the loyal Hunters did manage to catch up with her, they would never let her go on alone and her whole plan would fall apart.
She picked up from a jog to a dead sprint. She could hear water rushing up ahead, and if she made it across, no doubt even Dannon would lose her scent for at least a while.
How fitting. Her story with these Hunters had started by falling into a river and would end by passing through another body of water. Her life had come full circle.
But she wasn’t the same Jaelle as she had been in the beginning. That desperate, lonely Aberrant who had thought she was less than the most vile of criminals was now just a quiet voice in the back of her head.
She deserved good things. She deserved people who cared for her, both as friends and romantic partners. Perhaps that was why it stung so badly that she had abandoned the kind, faithful people who had come to mean so much to her.
Once more, her mind returned to their leader, the one who would no doubt ache the most from her betrayal.
She couldn’t do any more talking without risking losing her mood entirely, so her hand went to his manhood again, gripping the thickened, ever-so warm skin there. Tilting it forward, she guided it into herself with a practiced sort of ease.
Bradley hissed as he slid home, the efforts of their former roll in the hay easing his progress. It took several seconds, as it always did, but eventually she was able to take him in his entirety.
“God,” Bradley breathed, his head falling back into the sleeping bag.
She had to admit, it felt pretty amazing to see him so lost in pleasure from her actions. While her feral side had always loved sex, even demanded it, she had never experienced fulfillment like she did now.
She started moving almost immediately, gliding forward, then back. Bradley’s hands continued to rove her body, pinching here, caressing ther
e, scratching, soothing. He cycled through perfect counterpoints of both pleasure and pain, which heightened her ecstasy even further.
Jaelle could feel her end coming much more quickly than usual, threatening to arrive in mere minutes rather than the normal fifteen to twenty with a whole bunch of foreplay involved. She supposed that was because this was their second time in one night, but it had been far too long from her last double-sex night to remember if that had happened before.
In fact, she realized as she rode atop him with abandon, that she was having more sex now than she had ever had in her life. Even during her honeymoon phase with David, even with how badly her feral nature took over in her later teenage years when puberty was in its final stages. What had once been an every week or so affair was now almost daily.
She would definitely miss that.
The water was cold and biting, forcing out all thoughts of more pleasant times and warmer sensations. But Jaelle welcomed the bite. It made her that much more aware as she fought to get across the speeding water without slipping and dunking her head under the waves. She debated changing form for a moment, but she didn’t know any forms that would be at home in the chilled, fresh body of rapidly moving water.
She reached the shore without calamity and continued on. There were plenty of rocks to find hand and footholds, although she had to pay attention to where the slippery moss grew over the stones.
When she was finally upright again, she decided it was time to take flight. Shivering slightly, she cycled through her bird form before settling on the bar-tailed Godwit, the current recordholder species for longest flight. She had learned that particular tidbit from the zoo when she was younger, and as far as she knew, that fact hadn’t changed.
It took her several moments to get into the air and where she could soar properly, her grey body and long, long beak meant for long distances and not so much for rapid tak- off. But soon, she was in the skies where she belonged, and her mind returned once more to the same recollection that she just couldn’t shake.
The Aberrants Box Set (Books 1-5) Page 47