by R. E. Butler
He pulled his hands away and arched under her, shoving his jeans and boxers past his hips and freeing his erection. Then he pushed her skirt up to her waist and pulled her panties to the side, exposing her pussy.
He looked at her, his gaze searching. “Your eyes are so beautiful.”
She smiled and gripped his cock firmly. She pressed it to her entrance and lowered herself down on him slowly. Letting go of his cock, she linked her hands at the back of his neck and let out a gusty groan as he surged up and buried himself entirely within her.
He grasped her hips and lifted her almost entirely off him, and then lowered her. She relaxed into his hold and pressed her cheek against his, loving the way that he felt inside her. Just as quickly as he’d begun to move them together, he let go of his grip on her, and placed his hand on her abdomen and grazed her clit with his thumb. She gasped and he tightened his hand on her hip, keeping her in place.
He rubbed her clit, up and down at first and then side to side, until her breath caught when he rubbed one side and she knew he’d found her sweet spot. He played his thumb against that spot, rubbing fast and then slow, alternating until she was panting hard and shivering.
“Devlin,” she moaned.
“Come for me, sweet thing,” he whispered in her ear.
He rubbed her clit faster and she threw back her head as her toes curled and the center of her body turned to molten liquid. She cried out, biting her lip against the roar that threatened to break free as her climax thundered through her. Devlin grabbed her hips with both hands and began to fuck her, moving her hard and fast on his cock, prolonging her climax until it seemed like an endless wave of pleasure. His fingers dug into her flesh as he came, spasming inside her.
Just as she thought she couldn’t be any happier, he kissed her neck and gave her a gentle nip. It wasn’t like a real marking. He didn’t have fangs, like a male shifter would. But all the same, she fell a little bit in love with her soulmate right then.
“You are perfect, Jenni,” he said with a rough voice, “every inch of you.”
“You’re very sweet. And perfect, too.” She rested her cheek on his shoulder, content to be in his arms for however long they could manage.
After several quiet minutes, he hugged her a little tighter and said, “I want to take you back to the hotel with me. Stay the night with me, Jenni.”
How she wanted to, but she knew she couldn’t.
She sat up and kissed him. “I can’t.”
He let out a short growl, which was adorable. “Tomorrow?”
“I have to work, of course. But after, I’m free.”
“I’ll pick you up.”
She shook her head. It would be easier to get home if she drove herself. “I’ll meet you for dinner.”
He wiggled under her and pulled his phone from his back pocket. “Are you really going to let me see you again?”
She blinked in surprise. “What?”
He fiddled with the phone and said, “I mean, I’m trying to take you home and rock your world in a real bed, and you won’t even let me pick you up tomorrow. Are you secretly married?”
With a snort, she started to laugh and shook her head. “I promise. Let me come to you, okay?”
He turned the phone to face her and she saw that he’d made a contact for her. She entered her cell number and then texted herself so when she got back to her place she’d have his number, too. He dropped the phone to the couch and cupped her face, drawing her close and kissing her. She could have stayed there with him for hours, but she knew she needed to get back to the party. She wasn’t even sure how long they’d been gone and was glad that no one had come looking for her.
“Ok,” he said. “I guess we should get back, even though I don’t want our time together to end.”
“Me, either.”
She slipped from his lap and straightened her clothes. She knew that every shifter in the zoo would be able to smell him on her skin, but she was proud to have such a strong male for a mate. Now, though, she had to deal with the fact that her mate was human and she couldn’t just come right out and tell him the truth of her shifter abilities. She needed to talk to Caesar and get his advice. Most likely, he would tell her to take her time and not tell Devlin until they were in love, and with the new law forbidding unmated shifters from staying out of the park overnight, she wouldn’t be able to know what it was like to wake up in her mate’s arms for…however long it took.
She stifled a deep sigh that welled inside her. It was easier for shifters because they could be trusted to keep the secret. But with a human mate, the shifter had to be cautious not to share the secret too early. She didn’t like not telling Devlin, but she knew it wasn’t the right time.
He stood and tucked himself back into his jeans, and then she watched him button his shirt. It was a shame to cover up all that glorious, sexy skin.
“I like your tattoos,” she said. “I was just wondering if there are many tattooed finance guys out there.”
He grinned. Damn, he was gorgeous.
“I keep my sleeves rolled down so the tattoos aren’t visible. I suppose there are some visibly tattooed finance people, but for me the tattoos are personal and not relevant to my business life.”
She liked them. They were sexy.
He drew close and pressed his lips to hers for an all-too-brief moment. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to come back to the hotel with me?”
She pressed her lips into a thin line and mentally shoved her eager lioness. “Another time, maybe.”
“I have to go back to Rhode Island on Sunday.”
She’d known from Trina that he didn’t live in New Jersey, but the idea that he was several states away hit her suddenly and she wanted to grab hold of him and never let go. It would be difficult to get to know him if he was so far away.
“We have the weekend, though,” she pointed out.
He half-smiled. “A hundred weekends wouldn’t be enough.”
She went onto her toes and kissed him. “Let’s get back to the party.”
“Right,” he said, exhaling sharply. “Lexy saved me some of my favorite dark chocolate caramels with sea salt.”
“Oh, I like those! But my favorite candy is peanut butter cups.”
They left the building, and she was happy to see that no one had come looking for her. Not that she would have cared if anyone in her pride knew she’d had sex in the barn, but she didn’t want to deal with them just yet. They still had time that night to get to know each other.
Not nearly enough time, though.
Chapter 4
Devlin had been unable to sleep, spending most of Thursday night tossing and turning. His skin still smelled like Jenni. A sweet and wild scent that reminded him of jasmine and thunderstorms. He’d hated leaving the park and had lingered as long as he could to spend time with the irresistible woman. He’d never been so thoroughly enchanted with anyone before, but he was bespelled by Jenni.
Which had its own problems, chief among them that he didn’t live in New Jersey. He had three days with her and then he was back to Rhode Island and his promotion. Oddly enough, the job that had meant everything to him now paled in comparison to how he felt about her, even after just a few hours together. It was crazy to think about walking away from his job and moving to New Jersey for a woman he’d met less than twenty-four hours ago, but that was exactly what his heart was telling him to do.
The last time he’d been in a serious relationship, things had fallen apart because he’d been busy with school and work and had neglected his girlfriend. He couldn’t even think about treating Jenni like that. He’d hate to work nights and weekends, letting his job – which had at one time been everything to him – ruin things with Jenni.
After he’d been in bed for a couple hours last night without being able to sleep, he’d gone down to the twenty-four-hour gym and lifted weights, hoping to tire himself out, but it hadn’t put a dent in the insomnia that not having Jenni with him caused.
Sitting up with a groan, Devlin rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands and mentally smacked himself. He was running head first into a future that he wasn’t sure Jenni even wanted. If she’d wanted to start something serious with him, he would have thought she’d come back to the hotel with him so they could spend the night together, but she’d been adamant that she couldn’t. Their time in the apartment building had been hot as hell. She made the sweetest sound when she fell apart, and her body had positively glowed after her climax. He was even certain that her eyes had changed from blue to gold, but after their time together they were blue again and he wasn’t sure he hadn’t imagined the change.
His phone chirped and he saw a text from his mom asking if he was joining them in the hotel restaurant for breakfast. He wasn’t in the mood to eat. All he wanted to do was go to the park and find Jenni, but she was working and he knew that wasn’t appropriate.
Answering that he’d be down shortly, he walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Images of the time with Jenni in his arms flashed through his mind and his body sprang to life. It was going to be a damn long day if he walked around with a hard-on the whole time. He showered and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and headed down to the restaurant where his parents were already at the buffet loading their plates with breakfast items.
He checked in with the hostess and picked up a plate and filled it with scrambled eggs and toasted a whole wheat bagel, before joining his parents at their table. A waitress came over and filled his coffee mug, and he added a spoon of sugar and then took a sip.
“How did you sleep?” his mom asked.
He grunted.
“That good, huh?” his dad asked with a chuckle.
“Oh, I bet you wished you’d had more time with your little friend.”
“Mom, geez,” he chided.
She grinned. “Just teasing, sweetheart. She was quite the smitten kitten.”
His brows lifted. “Do you think so?”
“Of course. She couldn’t keep her eyes off you all night. Did you meet her family?” his mom said.
He shook his head. “Her mom lives somewhere else, and she doesn’t know her dad. She said she lives in a development with her friends, and Caesar took her in after her mom left. She thinks of him like a dad and his sons like brothers. Her and her friends run the security for the park, except that she started working for Lexy a little while ago.”
“That’s so sad she doesn’t know her father,” his mom said. “You and Trina were very lucky to have such a great dad.”
“I think so, too,” his dad said.
“You’re a great dad,” Devlin said.
“So, you like her,” his dad said.
“Yeah. I really do. It’s complicated, though.”
“Love always is,” his mom said.
“Especially,” his dad said, “if you’re already thinking about the future, which I think you might be.”
Devlin nodded. “I never thought I’d meet a woman and immediately be able to picture the house and white picket fence and kids. It’s crazy fast, but it feels right.”
His mom smiled. “What’s complicated about it, then?”
“She lives in New Jersey and I don’t.”
She shrugged. “So, fix that.”
“What, ask her to move to Rhode Island the day after meeting me?” Even though it seemed impossible, he wanted that. Wanted her to be with him so they could be together. “But she likes her life here.”
“It’s early, though. She might change her mind – or you might,” his dad said as he picked up a piece of bacon from his plate.
“Change my mind about what?”
“Living in Rhode Island.”
He settled back in his chair and hooked his arm over the chair next to him. His parents were eating their meals as if they hadn’t just suggested he chuck his whole career in the toilet because he happened to meet the woman of his dreams in a zoo on a random Thursday night.
“Seriously?” he asked.
His dad looked up at him, his forkful of hashbrowns halfway to his mouth. “I know all about your five-year-plan, son. I’m just saying that you could chase your career dreams anywhere. And you work a helluva lot. It would be hard on a new relationship to be in the demanding job you’re in right now.”
His mom jumped in. “We’re not saying walk away, we’re just saying maybe be open to the idea of your life going in a different direction. It worked for us.”
His dad had been an architect in New York when they were married. The hours had been terrible and she’d been lonely. He took a job in Rhode Island with a small architecture company. The pay had been less, but he’d had more time for their marriage and family.
“I never regretted that step down,” he said. “I was on track to become partner. It would have meant a boatload of money for the family and success for me, but I hated coming home late at night and seeing dinner on the table, your mom asleep because she couldn’t stay up long enough to greet me.”
Devlin shook his head. “I don’t think I can walk away from my job. I’ve worked so hard to get to this place.”
“I’m sure she’d be willing to move. You’ve only just met, anyway. Give it some time and see where your future takes you,” his mom said.
He wanted his future to take him directly to Jenni, and he couldn’t bring himself to care whether it was Rhode Island or New Jersey, or somewhere else entirely. After only a few hours together, he already wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and part of him was really scared by those feelings.
* * *
Devlin opened the delivery containers and began to separate the meals onto the paper plates that the restaurant had included in the bags. He wasn’t much of a cook, unless you counted protein shakes which he made for himself every morning. And he didn’t think that Jenni would be impressed with his blender skills. So, he’d ordered dinner from a local place and also picked up a good bottle of wine and candles to make the hotel room more intimate feeling.
He texted Jenni after breakfast and hadn’t expected to hear from her until her break, but she’d responded right away. It had kind of floored him how much he enjoyed getting the text from her, and when she said she would be at his hotel at seven, he’d been over the moon with excitement for their date. His original plan had been to take her to dinner, but when he’d called to make reservations at the local hot spots, everything was booked, so he’d done the next best thing – made a restaurant just for them. It was far more intimate, and he’d be lying if he said it hadn’t crossed his mind that the bed was just a few feet from where they’d be eating. He’d had a taste of her and it hadn’t been enough by a long shot.
There was a knock at the door as he finished lighting the candles. He blew out the match and set the book aside, brushed his suddenly sweating hands on his trousers, and walked to the door. Pulling it open, he knew his jaw hit the floor because of the gorgeous woman in front of him. Jenni wore a short black dress and heels. The dress hugged her curves and made him want to slaughter every guy who laid eyes on her.
He grabbed her around the waist and drew her into the room, kissing her as he let the door slam. She pressed her body against him, her hands linking at the back of his neck as their tongues touched and teased, and every inch of him was ready to take her right there in the middle of the room.
Putting the brakes on his libido, he pulled from the drugging kiss.
“Hi,” he said.
She smiled, her lips swollen from their kiss and her eyes glittering with humor. “Hi yourself.”
“I wanted to take you somewhere nice for dinner, but everywhere was booked, so I brought dinner here. If that’s okay.”
Her gaze flitted to the bed and then the coffee table.
“It’s wonderful. I’ve never had anyone do this kind of thing for me.”
“I’m happy to be the first one to treat you right.”
He led her to the couch and sat next to her.
“I have
bottled water if you don’t like wine, but this is a favorite of mine and it goes great with Italian food.”
“I don’t know anything about wine, but I’d love to have a glass.”
He poured a glass for her. “I don’t know much. I go by what I like, and not what the label says.”
He filled his glass and set the wine on the table.
“Should we toast?” she asked. “Or is that only for champagne?”
“I think people can toast with whatever they’d like. What should we toast to?”
She chewed on her bottom lip in thought and then said, “The park.”
“The park? Why?”
“Because it brought you to me.”
Immediately, he thought of his job. And then he thought of Jenni, and how much he’d missed her all damn day. The hours dragged as if someone had attached weights to them. Without the park, he’d never have met her. But he had met her. And she clearly liked him if she was suggesting that he was ‘brought’ to her. If he believed in fate, he’d think that they were made for each other.
And maybe they were.
“To the park,” he said, pushing away all thoughts of his job and concentrating on the beautiful woman before him. She deserved every ounce of his attention. He’d think about the future tomorrow.
Their glasses clinked, and they both took drinks and set their glasses on the table. He picked up the plate he’d arranged for her, of chicken marsala with egg noodles and roasted carrots. She took it and set it on her lap with a smile, lifting the knife and fork from the table.
“It looks delicious.”
“I wasn’t sure what you’d like and I didn’t want to ruin the fact that I hadn’t been able to get a reservation anywhere.”
“I don’t mind. It’s nice to just have the two of us. And I love chicken marsala.”
He put his plate on his lap and cut into the chicken, taking a bite of the tender, slightly tangy meat and noodles. His gaze flew to her face when she groaned happily, the sound traveling straight to his cock, which had gone shamelessly hard the moment he’d seen her.