Zanthe (Primal Impulse Shifters Book 2)

by Romi Hart

  That meant that I had a limited amount of time to steal a laptop, learn how to get a job doing research, and make some money doing it too. So much to do!

  Putting the laptop back into the drawer, she eyed me. “You know what I think?”

  “No, I do not.” I sat on the chair opposite from here. “What do you think, darling?”

  “Well, honey, I think that you are afraid that I will be better than you are at doing research and that I will end up stealing your jobs from you.” A smile broke over her lips. “And since I don’t wish to do that to you, I will forget about it. That’s your job, you don’t have to show me anything about it.”

  Thank goodness.

  “You have lots to do anyway with your own work.” At least I wouldn’t have to go through all the trouble now. I had far more important things to do anyway. “And I have more dates to plan for us. We can’t have all of our dates at your apartment.”

  Glee filled her voice as she clapped her hands, “Next time can we go to your home? I want to see it so badly. I bet it’s amazing. Is it big?”

  “It’s huge.” I had to think of a way to make a cave sound cool. “We have massive caverns. My father built it to resemble the caverns in the area. It’s very rustic and realistic. You feel as if you are in an actual cave.”

  “But there’s furniture, right? And hot and cold running water? Indoor plumbing too, right?” Getting up, she went to the kitchen, coming back with two more beers. Tossing one to me, she opened hers then fell back on the couch. “I bet your kitchen is crazy cool too.”

  Crazy cool in the fact that we didn’t have one. We didn’t have any of the things she had talked about. And now I knew that I couldn’t take her to our cave. “Well, there is some reconstruction going on at the present. We’re staying in a small cabin right now. And it’s rather run down. But we’re fixing it up.” I could fix the little cabin up a lot quicker than I could make the cave seem like a house.

  “A small cabin?” She seemed to like that idea too as she smiled. “Where?”

  “In the forest. Not far from where you and I met in the ravine.” I wondered if I thought to Freedrick if he could hear my thoughts from so far away. If he could get started working on the cabin soon, we could have it finished, then I could take her there for a date.

  “You mean the old trapper’s cabin?” She seemed to know about the place I was talking about.

  “So, you know about that place?” I should’ve known she would know about any place in the forest near where she worked.

  “I do. And I know that you can’t be staying there right now. I was just there today. And that brings to mind the other thing I saw near there. Blood. The beartrap. And some footprints.”

  “Yes, I stepped on the trap near there.” She must’ve thought the place uninhabitable. “I know the place is messy, but we have managed to live with that. I will clean up before I bring you over. Not to worry.”

  “That’s not what I’m worried about.” She shook her head as she changed her words, “I mean, I am worried about that place. It’s not a place to stay at all. I just told the tour group I had there that it wasn’t a place to stay overnight in. And here you and your brother are, staying in it. Zanthe, are you guys homeless?”

  “No.” We had a wonderful home. For bears, it was a wonderful home. Humans? Not so much. I could see that she wasn’t buying my lies. So, I went for the truth. “Okay. Listen, we live in a cave, not an underground house.”

  “Okay.” Somehow that made her feel better. “That makes sense. I knew there couldn’t be an underground house out there. So, what are you guys, really? I know you can’t be any type of internet worker. You would never get an internet connection in a cave.”

  I’d never had to come up with so many lies at one time. But I was getting quite good at it. “We are scientists. We study brown bears. And it helps to live in the cave.”

  “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Patting the seat, she bid me to sit down next to her. “I like the idea. And you being honest with me makes you so much more appealing to me. So, let’s talk about your work. It sounds fascinating.”

  Since I was already telling so many lies, I figured one more wouldn’t hurt. Sliding in next to her, I ran my arm over the back of the couch. “I would love to tell you all about our work. But we work for the government, so I can’t. It’s top secret. You understand, don’t you?”

  Touching her chin, I pulled her lips apart a bit as she nodded. “Zanthe, with you this close and being this honest with me, I’ve got the strangest feeling.”

  “Me too, baby.” Leaning in, I whispered, “You’re the only one I’ve ever told that to.” That was no lie. “I feel so close to you right now.” And that was no lie either. “One kiss, baby. Just one kiss. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you.”

  “Just a kiss, right?” She leaned in closer too. “I’ve never wanted to kiss anyone. And I want to kiss you really badly.”

  Her eyes closed as her lips quivered in anticipation. Then I too closed my eyes as our mouths touched, sending fireworks blasting away inside of my head.

  What magic she has over me!

  8

  Crina

  My body sizzled as lightning flashed through it over and over again. His mouth on mine made things happen inside of me that I had no idea could occur. My toes curled, my hands clung to his massive arms, and my entire body melted against his.

  His arms moved around me, and I slid my hands up until they were around his thick neck. His tongue moved past my lips, into my mouth, stroking my tongue in a way I had often thought would feel unpleasant. But I had been so very wrong.

  As my head went light, he lay me back on the couch, his massive body covered mine as our kiss became deep. I had never known passion, but this was it. This was what I had been waiting for and I was not disappointed.

  Nothing was as I had thought it would be. My body moved on its own, without me having to think about what I would do with my hands, my legs, my feet even. Every part of me moved, and all of the motions were meant to get me as close to Zanthe’s body as possible.

  My clothes and his clothes felt as if they were in the way of something. I ran my hands up and down his back, but the feeling of the material of his shirt beneath my palms wasn’t what my hands were looking for.

  Pulling his shirt up, I wasn’t happy until my hands touched his back. Even with the thin coating of hair that grew on it, I loved the way it felt. It was like I couldn’t get enough of that feeling. “I want to touch every last part of you,” I moaned as I turned my face to one side to interrupt our kiss.

  But that was brief as my head turned right back, locking my lips to his once more. Each part of my body was doing as it wanted to and my brain just sort of sat back and let it all happen.

  Not that my brain had shut down at all. It seemed to be hyper-aware of what all was going on with the rest of my body. It even pointed out things to me. That rubbing sensation he’s making down there feels pretty amazing!

  And my brain was right. It did feel amazing. And when Zanthe pulled his mouth off mine, to sit up and pull his shirt all the way off, he left me breathless and gasping.

  Running my hands over his muscular chest, I trailed one fingertip through the lines that separated his abs. “Zanthe…”

  He put a finger to my lips to stop me. “Call me something other than my name, baby. Something sweet or sexy.”

  I hadn’t used terms of endearment much. But with the thin hairs that covered his back and chest and his massive size, one term came into my head that wouldn’t go away. So, I tried it out to see what he thought of it, “Come back and kiss my lips, teddy bear, they ache for your touch.”

  One thick dark brow cocked as he grinned. “Teddy bear?” Nodding, he came back to me as I stretched open my arms for him. “Yeah, that’ll work. I’ll be your teddy bear, baby.”

  His bare chest pressed against mine which still had clothes covering it. Even though my hands could feel every part of his exp
osed flesh, more of my body wanted to feel it too.

  But I had on a dress. If I took that off, I’d be left in my bra and panties. And I’d worn a thong, so there wasn’t much panty there. My plump ass cheeks would be exposed. My chubby tummy would be seen by him as well. And the bra I had on pushed my already big tits up in a way that made tons of cleavage.

  I can’t let him see all my fat.

  As I tried to ignore my body’s pleas, Zanthe ran his hand up my leg as his kiss grew more demanding. The trail of fire it left behind had me pulling my leg up, resting my heel on the couch as he rested his hand on my hip.

  Why that action made my insides turn to water didn’t make sense to me. But it had happened. My body was weeping for him in a way that I had never known it could do.

  Now I really couldn’t take my dress off as my panties were soaked through. But then his hand moved off my hip, going slowly toward my very wet area. As embarrassed as I was of how my body had reacted to his touch and kisses, I didn’t want to stop him from touching a place only I had ever touched.

  My stomach got tight as he inched his way closer and closer to the promised land. Then he flattened his palm over my hot cunt, moving it in a circular motion that sent me into a state of desire that made fireworks go off inside my head. “Um…” I groaned.

  The other hand came into play too, slipping his thick fingers around the side of my panties, then jerking it quickly, snapping it in two. He did the same to the other side, leaving me bare within seconds.

  The touch of his bare hand on my bare – previously private area - elated me. The fireworks in my head enhanced into explosions of astounding proportions.

  Pulling my mouth away from his, I had to ask, “Is it supposed to feel this good? Or am I just really, really horny?”

  As he looked into my eyes, I saw him in a much different light. He looked even better to me than he had before. His features seemed more rugged, more manly, and he even appeared more handsome. “It’s supposed to feel good.” Lifting my hand to his lips, he kissed a line along the back of it. “You’re making me feel very good too. So far, so good? No turning back now?”

  Shaking my head, I had no intention of turning back now – whatever that meant. “Zanthe.” He raised one eyebrow at me and instinctively I knew what he meant by that. “I mean, teddy bear. You know I’ve never done anything like this before. And I know I shouldn’t even care about this. But am I any good?” I had to know if I was crappy at making out or not. It hadn’t ever been a thing I’d thought much about doing. But now that I was doing it, I didn’t want to suck at it.

  “You’re very good at it. You kiss with your heart and soul. You leave it all out there for me to pick up. You have a giving nature and that’s apparent with the way you move your body.” His lips grazed along my arm until he got to my elbow. “You will be a remarkable lover; of that I am sure.”

  Another inferno blazed through my body with the thought of being anyone’s lover. But being Zanthe’s – the manliest man I’d ever laid eyes on – lover made my toes curl with something I could only describe as lust. Not that I’d ever felt that much lust before then, but now I knew it to be that feeling and I sort of loved it.

  A small amount of doubt crept into my mind. “Are you just saying that, so I’ll have sex with you?”

  “No, I am not.” His head moved to the right a bit as he seemed to be thinking. “You know, we could do a practice run if you’d like. Being that you’re a virgin and you haven’t even made out with anyone before tonight, we should probably do a bit of practice before the real thing occurs. I would hate to frighten you with how it goes once we’re in the throes of passion.”

  “Why?” I had to wonder what he meant. And I had to wonder what would happen to me. “Will I be different in some way?” What we’d done so far certainly had me acting very different. “Will I become even more easy with my body?” I had never let anyone do to me what he had.

  “I certainly hope so.” Pulling me to sit up, he picked me up as if I weighed nothing and placed me on his lap.

  My ripped panties lay on the sofa where he’d left them and I quickly grabbed them, tossing them behind the couch. “Unsightly.”

  His deep chuckle made my body shake as I sat on his lap. “Not at all, my sweet.” A soft kiss pecked my cheek then he nuzzled my neck. “I think you and I need to take a break from what we’ve been doing so that I can let you calm down a bit. I don’t want you going into this thing too fast and regretting it later.”

  “Very nice of you.” And not at all what I had thought he would do. “Sweet even.” I was on the hot side. But the absence of my panties and the way my dress had bunched up when he’d put me down on his lap had my bare ass resting against his slack-covered male lump. With that going on, the chances of me cooling off were slim to none.

  Stroking the hair off my face, his eyes sparkled as he gazed at me. “One day we will look back at this night and recall each and every little detail. I want us to speak about things in a positive way.”

  “You speak as if we’re going to be together for quite some time into the future. But you can’t know that to be true. You will most likely find a woman who better suits you one day. I may grow into a woman who you don’t even like.” I had ways about me that my family had said were hard to take.

  “We can learn to suit each other, Crina Loveanu. Even those who meet, date, then eventually fall in love and marry have to learn how to coexist. It’s a dance of sorts.” He kissed the spot behind my ear.

  “Dance?” I wondered how much this man would eventually teach me. “I’ve never danced either.”

  “Then I shall remedy that as well.” Picking me up again, he lay me back on the couch, then used his knee to spread my legs. “But first we shall make a practice run on what it will be like when we truly make love.”

  Even though his body was above mine, not even touching me yet, I already shook with anticipation of him pressing himself to me. “Okay. I’m ready. Show me what happens. Don’t sugarcoat it either. I don’t want to be surprised when this really happens to me.” Part of me knew that it might not be Zanthe who actually took my virginity.

  Sure, he was rocking my world at the moment. But it would take getting to really know him and his personality before I gave myself to him completely. If there were things about him that I couldn’t get passed, I didn’t want to give him the one thing I had been keeping to give the man I fell in love with.

  Fairytales or not – I had definite ideas of what I wanted, and love was part of it.

  His chest was bare, and my bottom was. The other halves of our bodies were clothed. That made for an odd combination. But I wasn’t going to let him take my dress off or I would be clad in only my bra. And I wasn’t going to let him take his slacks off, or he’d be only clad in his boxers – if he had any on. Not that I was going to find that out that night.

  Taking my wrists in one hand, he pulled them up over my head, holding them down. “You will be at my mercy. It’s important that you trust me, Crina. I won’t hurt you. I will only bring you more pleasure than you ever knew you could have.”

  My heart pounded as I tested his grip on me. “I can’t move my arms at all. That’s how you want it?”

  “If you’re holding onto me, you’ll limit my movements. You will want me to be able to move the way I want to. It’ll only serve to please you more.” His free hand ran along my side, then he grabbed the hem of my dress. “Shall I do this with your dress in between us, or without it?”

  Sucking in my breath, I knew if he pulled my dress up that he would see my naked pussy. “You need to know that I can’t have actual sex. No penetration. I am not on any sort of birth control. And I am not about to take the chance of getting pregnant. I don’t even know you, for one. And I am so not ready to be someone’s mommy.”

  “No penetration.” His smile was so sexy it made me sigh. “I swear that to you. If you really need it and begin to beg for it, I will only insert my tongue. Okay?”


  My stomach fluttered as butterflies swarmed inside of it. “K.”

  My legs shook as he pushed my skirt up. His eyes never left mine as he pressed himself against my naked pussy. “So far, so good?”

  “Yes.” Once again, I tested his hold on my wrists and found he still held them tight. It occurred to me then that I really was at his mercy. He could literally take me all the way if he wanted to and I would be powerless to stop him. “I can trust you, right, Zanthe?” Before he could answer, I realized that I didn’t even know his last name. “Wait. You haven’t told me your last name. I should know that before – well, you know.”

  His eyes went blank, absolutely blank. His jaw went slack as well. “My last name?”

  It was an easy answer and here he was acting like it was the hardest question he’d ever been asked. “Your last name. Everyone has one. Everyone.”

  “I know that,” he said with a sharp tone to his deep voice.

  The tone, the odd expression, and the weight of his body when he was only halfway on top of me had me thinking that this was just about the stupidest thing I had ever gotten myself into. “Off.”

  The other expression faded as confusion took over. “What?”

  “Get off me. This was a mistake. I cannot trust you.”

  How can I trust a man who is obviously hiding his last name? And that means he’s hiding who he really is!

  9

  Zanthe

  Stupid, stupid, stupid!

  It didn’t come to me until I was halfway home that I should’ve just told Crina that my father’s name was my last name. “Boris! I am such an idiot.” Smacking myself upside my head, I couldn’t believe how slow-witted I’d been.

  A testament to how smitten Crina had me, I supposed. Her beauty was only surpassed by her strength of character. She was right to throw me out when I couldn’t produce a surname for her.

  Although, she should’ve asked me that and probably much more before we started messing around. I had to blame my exuberant charm for that lack of judgment on her part. Being irresistible was part of my biological makeup after all.