by Layla Nash
He barely slept a wink but it was the best night he'd had in months. Years, maybe.
10
Zoe
Hunger woke her. Hunger like she'd never known, even in the days when her parents forgot to leave food on the table before they went on a binge. Zoe sat up in the hospital bed, her mind on one thing: food.
Something smelled delicious. Those shiny new super senses said fish. Fresh fish. Probably eggs. Her mouth watered as she eased out of the bed. She barely noticed Simon, snoring in a gentle purr next to her, and hardly cared that she was naked except for her underwear. Zoe tugged one of the blankets from under Simon's massive leg and wrapped herself in it after pulling all the tubes and needles and shit out. All she cared about was food.
She limped to the door in a daze, even though her leg and hip ached, and a little blood dribbled down her arm from one of the needles. She eased into the hall and the smell of cooking fish and eggs and meat made her so faint she had to brace herself on the wall for an eternity. Zoe staggered past the office and turned the corner into the kitchen, trying to inhale everything in the entire freaking lodge. She blinked at the four startled men in the kitchen, but all of her attention landed on the stovetop and the fish filets that crackled and popped in the skillet. She used the blanket to wipe some drool from her chin and edged closer to the food. "Can I have some?"
None of them moved, almost comical in their panic, and Zoe tried to care why they would be so afraid. It wasn't like she was naked. She shuffled closer to the fish and her stomach rumbled.
Ethan, poking the filets with a fork, took a deep breath. "Good morning, Zoe. Is Simon coming out soon?"
"I don't know." She chewed her lip and unconsciously reached for one of the filets. So hungry. So unbelievably hungry. "I'm hungry. Can I have some of that?"
Her brain stalled out as everything else in the world faded. Even Ethan giving quick orders to the other guys sailed right over her head; even when the other three retreated, she couldn't look away from the food. Ethan didn't move, though, and he didn't give her any of the fish. "It's not ready. Sit down."
She didn't want to. And that wild part of herself that she didn't know very well, since it only showed up a day ago, wanted to shove him out of the way and eat all the fish in the entire river. Something else grumbled and it wasn't her stomach.
Ethan cleared his throat but kept his voice even and calm and didn't look away from her. "Simon, she's growling."
"I am not," Zoe said, just as Simon said, "I know," behind her.
Zoe blinked but didn't budge as Simon moved close behind her and his arms slid around her waist. He pulled her back against his chest and nuzzled behind her ear. "I thought you wanted to sleep in."
Zoe frowned. Why the hell wouldn't they let her eat? But she didn't want to lose the warmth of Simon at her back, so she didn't leap forward to knock the skillet out of Ethan's hand. "I'm so hungry."
"I know," he said again, and moved to rub his cheek against the other side of her neck. "I'll feed you. But first you need to put clothes on."
"I want to eat now," she whispered, reaching once more for the fish in the pan and almost burning her fingers before Ethan pulled the skillet away.
Simon caught her hands so she couldn't do it again, and hugged her tighter. "This is your bear telling you what to do, Zoe. You need to tell her she has to wait. You'll get as much fish as you can eat, but you can't hurt yourself or come out here in just a sheet. What if there were guests, sweetheart?"
She barely registered the endearment, although it surprised the hell out of Ethan based on his expression. Zoe frowned and tried to fight through the fog of hunger to decipher what Simon said. The warm pressure of his hand around her wrists only distracted her. "All I had was a blanket. There weren't any clothes. What was I supposed to wear?"
After a moment, Simon chuckled. "You're right. I'm sorry. Tell you what — I'll take you upstairs so you can change, and Ethan will finish making breakfast. Then we can eat together."
"Can't I have a bite now?" She tore her gaze off the delicious, crispy fish and twisted around to look up at him. "Please? I'm so hungry."
The beard made him look stern, but he ducked to kiss her forehead. "Just a bite." He glanced at Ethan, who passed him part of a filet wrapped in a corn tortilla. Simon held it for a moment, watching her with a strange expression, then offered the food. "Here."
Zoe inhaled it, almost dropping the blanket, and licked her lips as she glanced back at the skillet. She wanted another one. The first bite only whetted her appetite to a roaring furnace, but before she could plead for another, Simon picked her up and carried her up the stairs.
A growl bubbled up in her chest and Zoe blinked. "Is that me? What the hell is that?"
"Your bear." Simon squeezed her close against his chest before he put her down outside the door to her room. "She'll be wild to start with. You'll probably find it difficult to control her and her reactions to things, particularly basic things like food and fear and anger. Everything will be bigger until you get used to her — you'll be hungrier, and you'll get madder, and you'll want more of things, compared to you before."
He sounded wary. Zoe limped over to the suitcase, open on the floor, and dug around for clothes. She kind of wanted a shower but that would have to wait until after breakfast. She would knock Simon down the stairs if he tried to keep her from eating again. The blanket toga slipped as she straightened with a new pair of jeans and t-shirt in hand, and Simon made a hungry noise behind her.
Zoe glanced back, holding the blanket enough to cover her front even though it dipped low enough on her back he could probably see the top of her butt. "What?"
His gaze remained on her lower back, and naked lust sharpened his features. Zoe flushed, heat crawling up her chest and throat to her face, but a spark ignited in her core as well. He wanted her. She knew it, could see it in his face and parted lips and the way his fingers dug into the door jamb, as if he had to hold himself back from grabbing her. She loved it. Not so long ago, she thought a man like that would never chase her — even if she weren't so scared of confident men and stopped fleeing the moment one expressed interest. The wild part of her fluttered and growled, excited at the thought. Maybe he would chase her.
His eyes flashed gold as he lifted his chin and scented the air, and an impressive bulge grew in his jeans. Zoe held her breath, not daring to take her eyes off him, and let the blanket fall the rest of the way to the floor. She wanted to feel his gaze as he saw her, as the desire flushed through him and his hands flexed and the doorjamb came apart with the force of his lust. For the first time, she didn't care if someone saw her body, the ample hips and generous ass. She turned slowly to face him, almost wild with the desire to see him naked again when she was confident enough to touch him, and swallowed whatever remained of her nerves.
Simon groaned, then moved into the room and quickly shut the door behind him, but he didn't grab her. Didn't kiss her or touch her with those giant hands. She ached to feel his hands on her, to feel those long fingers moving over her sides. He looked wild, almost out of control, and his voice dropped. "Baby, I want you so bad it hurts, but this probably isn't a good idea."
"It's a great idea," she said, and the tenor of her voice surprised her. Deeper and husky, like a cabaret singer. She eased a step closer. Her breasts tightened with want and the cool air, her nipples peaked, and she touched her stomach. "Simon says it's a great idea. Simon says you should come over here and kiss me."
Simon grabbed double fistfuls of his hair, unable to look away from her breasts. "This is your bear. Your bear and my bear are — friends."
"I don't think she wants to be friends," Zoe said, soft and slow, and got close enough to drift her fingertips across his abs. She gazed up at him, a hint of uncertainty working its way through the fog of lust and a new kind of hunger. She couldn't live without his touch, without his hands on her. Zoe slowly undid his belt buckle.
Simon sucked in a breath and caught her hands
, though his hips jerked forward. He growled, trying to hold her away. "We should wait, Zoe. There are a lot of things we need to talk about. Things are different now. I don't want to hurt you, but you smell so damn good I'm about to lose my mind. My bear might not be able to hold back."
The thought that she had that effect on someone as competent and capable and impervious as Simon made her smile. She swayed forward, pressed full-length against him, and went up on her toes to kiss at the corner of his mouth. "I'm cold now, though. I need you to warm me up."
Another groan, a savage noise torn from his throat, then Simon seized her waist, lifted her until her legs locked around him, and carried her to the unmade bed. He growled and grumbled as he dropped her on the mattress, one hand pinning her shoulder to the bed, and his expression grew grim. "You tell me if it hurts, damn it. I don't want to hurt you."
Zoe tugged at the front of his jeans, the wild part of her practically singing in anticipation, and tried to drag him on top of her. "So don't hurt me."
Simon scooted her closer to the headboard and ran his palms down her sides. He sat back and surveyed her, taking in every inch of her, and Zoe squirmed a little under his attention. His eyes remained gold, like liquid heat, as he leaned down to kiss her. She drowned in the kiss, melting under his passion as Simon stroked her side and maneuvered his knee between her thighs. She linked her arms around his neck and sighed, murmuring into the kiss as he retreated. Simon kissed her throat and shoulder, down her chest, then her breasts. Zoe's breath caught as Simon squeezed her waist and continued a slow trail down her chest and stomach. She didn't want an inch of space between him, wanted to touch as much of him as she could.
His beard tickled against her thigh and she jumped, watching with parted lips as he eased her legs apart and breathed against her slit. Simon made that grumbly bear noise and ghosted his fingers along the back of her thigh, kissing just above where she really wanted him to. "You taste amazing."
She flushed, about to close her thighs on his head, but he didn't give her the chance to think. His mouth sealed to her sensitive flesh and he teased her entrance with one large finger. Zoe moaned and rolled her hips, grabbing handfuls of the sheets to try to anchor herself. Fire spread through her in a rush. She'd only had one boyfriend, and he'd never done anything like that.
She melted and burned under Simon's expert mouth and hands, and as desire crested higher and higher, she wailed. Cried out. Froze as her muscles convulsed and seized but Simon kept up the delicious torment.
The wild part of her growled and grabbed his head to pull him closer and he chuckled as he grumbled in response. He kissed a slow trail back up her body and nuzzled behind her ear before taking her earlobe in his teeth. "Are you ready?"
She pushed her hips up at him, desperate to feel him, and locked her arms around his neck. "More than ready."
Simon squeezed the back of her thigh and eased her leg up and out, until his hips sank closer and the blunt head of his cock pressed against her slick channel. Zoe sighed and stroked his sides, gazing up at his intense expression. That wild part of her anticipated, waited.
He nudged into her and Zoe moaned, the sound echoed by Simon as he paused. Zoe's head fell back on the pillow as he stretched her, split her open, and all of her muscles seized up. Simon kissed her again, though he sounded tense. "Relax, baby."
She felt so full already. Felt like he'd invaded every inch of her. But she pulled her knees up until she could wrap her legs around him. Her fingers stroked the back of his neck and she kissed him back. "More."
Simon pressed forward, slow and inevitable, and she shattered. Every nerve ignited until she was lost. Zoe clung to him as Simon started to move, slow and steady, and wave after wave of ecstasy rolled through her. The wild part of her wanted to bite him, to mark him as hers, and for him to bite her. She cried out and moved to meet him, desperate for more. Hunger consumed her and she sank her teeth into his shoulder.
11
Simon
Simon lost control when she bit him. Whatever restraint he'd managed to hold onto disappeared as her bear growled and his bear growled and then lust consumed them both. The soft welcoming warmth of her drove him insane as her channel drew him in, tightened around him. Between her climax and the desperate noises she made and the bright spark of her bite, he was lost. Utterly addicted.
He couldn't stop. Not even if the roof came down around his head. He thrust, driving through the tremors of her orgasm, until his sweat dripped onto her and marked her. Until her scent curled through his brain. Until the feel of her under him, around him, branded onto his body that she was his. His. Always and forever.
As pressure built and he careened toward his own finish, Zoe arched underneath him and her breasts crushed against his chest and she cried out again. Her dark hair spread across his pillow in a tangled mess. Simon groaned and froze above her, filling her, and bit the soft point where her neck met her shoulder. He moved slowly, and collapsed on top of her. Her bear grumbled as Zoe lay still and quiet, eyes half-closed.
Simon loved her with a desperate intensity. His odd little criminal. He kept his weight off her chest as he tried to catch his breath, letting his forehead fall against her shoulder so he could kiss where he'd bitten her. She shivered, her fingers trailing down the small of his back, and she sighed.
He moved to the side, not wanting to lose contact with any of her body, but fearing he would crush her. The sheets rucked up at the foot of the bed, and Simon dragged them up to cover her. He kissed some of the sweat from her forehead, her lip, her cleavage. Loving that some of it was his sweat and she smelled like him. He traced shapes on her stomach, under the sheet, and studied her sated expression. "You're so damn beautiful."
It slipped out before he could think, and he almost regretted it. He should have come up with something poetic or at least not profane.
But a hint of a smile touched her lips. Her green eyes glinted at him in the dim room. "She likes you."
"Who?"
"The bear." A hint of unease drew her eyebrows together, and Simon smoothed his thumb over her forehead.
He wanted to hold his breath after asking his next question, but forced himself to concentrate on her only. She could cut him low with a single word, and that terrified him. "And what about Zoe?"
Her eyes drifted closed but the smile returned. "Zoe likes you too."
"I'm glad." Relief eased the band around his chest and Simon relaxed next to her after making sure she had enough pillows and another blanket to keep her warm. He pulled her close to his chest and pressed his nose in her hair, inhaling her.
Her nose wrinkled as she wiggled next to him, then she yawned and stretched. "But we're both still really, really hungry."
Simon laughed and squeezed her close before beginning to untangle himself. "Then I'll feed you."
He pulled on sweatpants after he tucked her in, and headed for the door. He braced for four sets of raised eyebrows in the kitchen, but only Ethan waited downstairs. And Ethan knew better, though he couldn't quite hide a smirk as he slid a pair of steaks into the skillet. "Just going upstairs to get clothes, huh?"
Simon frowned at the giant platter of fried fish, tortillas, avocado, scrambled eggs, and salsa on the island. "This for me?"
"Of course. When you didn't reappear after a couple of minutes, I sent the guys off to work. And then the moaning started, so I took a nice long walk." Ethan gave him a sideways look. "You might have to speed up the timeline for building the cabin out back, friend, or none of the guests will get any sleep."
Simon refused to be embarrassed, but a bit of heat gathered in his cheeks as he dug through a drawer for some utensils. "I'll get right on that. Maybe mind your business."
"Maybe gag the girl," Ethan said under his breath, then dodged as Simon aimed a kick at him. "Or at least invest in some soundproofing for the walls and door."
"Are the guests still scheduled to check in tomorrow?"
"Yes. Cooper will pick them up in town an
d drive them up." Ethan frowned at the steaks, flipping them before he leaned back on the counter to face Simon. "And the wrecker dragged the Land Rover back up here so we can try to fix it or chop it for parts. Luckily it was Mel, not his cousin, so he didn't blink when we told him the girl survived. He just assumed she's like us."
Simon ran his hands through his hair. Great. Because Rosie met the girl at the bar and knew perfectly well Zoe wasn't a shifter. If Mel ended up back in town and mentioned it to the bartender, Simon would have a great deal of explaining to do. Shifters policed themselves, and the community wouldn't like someone being turned without giving permission first. But he only picked up the platter of food. "We'll be down later. Maybe."
Ethan snorted and returned to the steaks. "Don't worry about it. We're going to town for dinner. Coop'll stay the night so he doesn't have to drive back down tomorrow for the guests. So you and the girl can be as loud as you want."
"Great. Maybe you should all stay down there. Call when you're headed back, though. So we can clean up." Simon took the stairs two at a time, already thinking of laying blankets in front of the fireplace and spreading Zoe out in the flickering firelight. Lust surged at the mental picture of her smooth skin and soft curves on display on the soft sheepskin rugs.
He definitely needed to build that cabin.
Simon managed to shoulder the door to her room open and kick it closed without dropping the food, and eased through the dim room to sit on the bed next to Zoe. Her green eyes reflected the light at him as she stretched and sat up, the sheets falling away until her round breasts distracted him still more. Simon cleared his throat as he offered her the food. "Eat, Zoe. It's all for you. I'm going to take a quick shower."
All of her attention went to the food and she didn't even bother with the utensils, instead using her hands to start filling a tortilla, so Simon edged into the en suite to clean up. He didn't want to wash away any evidence of her, but at least if they used the same soap, they would smell alike without the hint of sweat and sex.