Ghost Wolf: Paranormal Shifter Romance (ComeShift Series Book 1)

by Sky Winters

  “You weren’t kidding! These are delicious!” she told him as they finished off the last of their shrimp tacos.

  “I know. Best in town. Listen I’m going to have to get back to the store, but I’d really like to see you again if that’s okay.”

  “I appreciate it, but I am only here for a short time and think that maybe it just would be best not to. I hope you understand,” she said.

  “Come on. Call it a casual fling,” he said with a sultry smile.

  “That sounds a bit forward,” she countered playfully.

  “That is because it is a bit forward. I know what I like when I see it. Let me buy you a drink later.”

  “Well, I suppose a drink can’t do any harm.”

  “I suppose that is exactly right. I’ll swing by and pick you up around eight, if that’s good for you.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” she told him as he paid their bill and dropped a tip on the table, walking her out.

  Outside, they went their separate ways on the sidewalk. Visiting a few more shops before returning to Ian and Randy’s place, she found herself a sensational little skirt and top to wear on her night out with John. She still considered that it wasn’t really like her to sleep with two men at once and told herself that she would not cross that line with him, no matter how attracted to him she might be.

  Chapter Five

  “Well, now . . . where is our girl headed out to tonight?” Ian asked as she came out of her room later that night, dressed to go out.

  “I got invited out for drinks while I was in town today. I thought I mentioned it at dinner.”

  “You most certainly did not. We would have remembered. Who is the lucky guy?”

  “Someone I met at the general store today. John Sebastian is his name.”

  The two men exchanged smiles and looked at her knowingly. She wondered what secret they were keeping that caused their bemusement and whether it was good or bad.

  “What? Spill it.”

  “Nothing honey. Only one of the biggest hunks in town. Half the girls here would kill to be asked out by him and the other half just can’t hope because they settled for less,” Randy said.

  “Oh, come on. He’s not all that.”

  “Please. He’s gorgeous and a business owner. Down to earth, friendly. He’s the total package.”

  “I guess he is kind of hot.”

  “Yeah, you guess,” Ian laughed with Randy quickly joining in.

  “Just be careful. There’s a full moon out tonight,” Randy joked.

  Goldie was happy to be saved by a knock on the door. Randy waved her toward it as if to say it was for her and she walked over, opening it to the smiling face of John.

  “You look gorgeous. Are you ready to go?” he asked.

  “I am,” she told him, turning to say her goodbyes to Ian and Randy.

  John stuck his head inside the door and greeted them as well before taking her arm and walking down the sidewalk toward a bar and grill called Dockside. It was well lit with strings of lights that hung along the wooden beams that made up the back patio that jutted slightly out onto the lake.

  “Have you been here before?” he asked.

  “No. I’ve only been in town for a couple of days now. This is my first trip up to visit Ian and Randy since they bought the lake house.”

  “I see. So, what brought you up here now?”

  “Just a vacation. I’m a costume designer and my show is on break until filming starts again in a few weeks. I thought I’d get out and enjoy a change of scenery.”

  “Wow, a costume designer, huh? That sounds far more interesting than running a general store. Which show do you work on?”

  “Stygian Stories,” she told him.

  “Really? I love that show. You design those really creepy costumes they wear?”

  “Not all of them, but quite a few, yes.”

  “I’m fascinated,” he told her just as they made their way into the front of the restaurant.

  It was hard to miss how the hostess fretted over him and the waitress wasn’t much better. Both of them flirted outrageously, despite his being there with an apparent date. Goldie couldn’t help but note how he was polite to them, but never took his eyes off of her, sending a clear message. He grabbed a seat for them outside on the deck where they could enjoy the water and the stars beginning to form in the darkening sky above them.

  “I wish I had gone to college. I wanted to, but after mom and dad died, I had my sister to take care of and the business to run. Life takes you where it will, I suppose.”

  “That it does, but it’s not too late. You could always go now that your sister is leaving the nest,” she replied.

  “No. The general store does okay, but not well enough to pay two college tuitions. I do take a class here and there online. I’m almost a sophomore. Plus, I have obligation here,” he laughed.

  “That’s progress. What are you studying?”

  “Geology. I’ve always been fascinated with any kind of earth-based science.”

  “Not something I know anything about, I’m afraid.”

  Their conversation was briefly interrupted as the waitress brought their drinks and they sipped at them for a moment, regrouping the conversation. It wasn’t as if it was hard to talk to him. In fact, he might just be the easiest person to talk to on the planet. She wondered if he knew Joshua, though she didn’t dare bring up his name. Though they were a part of the same club, they seemed so different. Joshua was bold, sexual, but not a brilliant conversationalist. He did his talking with his body, for the most part.

  John was more of the guy next door type. He liked to read and explore the land when he could. He gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling that didn’t make her want to ravage him across the table at which they sat, but it did make her long to go home with him and make love to him for hours on end. That was not a good thing considering her admonishments to herself to refrain from just that. As the hours flew by, she found herself only wanting him more.

  “It’s getting pretty crowded here and late. It might be time to head back toward the house,” he said as the deck around them filled to an uncomfortable capacity.

  “I think you’re right,” she said, disappointed to be ending the evening, but tipsy and knowing it was most likely for the best.

  John paid their tab and they headed back the way they had come. Halfway around, he pulled her off to one side and in to him, holding her tightly against his broad chest as he kissed her. Though her brain told her to resist, her body told it to fuck off, returning his kiss feverishly.

  “I don’t suppose you’d consider coming home with me?” he said.

  “Wouldn’t that be awkward with your sister there?” she asked.

  “She’s sleeping over at a friend’s house tonight,” he said with a smile.

  “I could probably come over for a bit,” she said coyly, dismissing all the promises she had made to herself early this morning.

  “Good enough. It’s not far from where you are staying,” he told her.

  An awful thought occurred to her that perhaps he lived near, or even with, Joshua, but it fell away as he stopped at a house they had passed on their way to the bar. Whereas Joshua lived south of Ian and Randy, it appeared that John lived north. She breathed a silent sigh of relief and went inside with him. From there, all cautions fell away as she gave in to her own urges.

  Unlike Joshua, John went for the lips rather than her neck, kissing her deeply as they lingered just inside the door. It wasn’t a quick kiss and move on either, he seemed to really enjoy kissing as much as she did, teasing her tongue with his own as he explored her with his hungry mouth. His hands roamed down her body, touching her softly, almost delicately with his big, rough hands. She felt like she might actually be floating slightly above the floor rather than planted firmly on it.

  “You are so beautiful. I was watching you walk through the store long before you stopped to look at the chair,” he told her, pulling away to look into her eyes.
/>   “You were not,” she said, flushing.

  “I was. The chair only gave me an excuse to talk to you,” he said with a slow smile that made her feel weaker in the knees than the kiss had already made her.

  “I’m glad I stopped to admire it then,” she told him, reaching up to touch his handsome face.

  “I’m glad you did too,” he replied, pulling her hand from his face and softly kissing the palm.

  Then his lips were on hers again, drinking her in as if they were connected in much more than just the physical sense. It was amazing how in tune to him she had felt since meeting him only at lunch today. Once again, she had to caution herself not to make any more of this than it was. Just fun, nothing but fun.

  His hands found their ways to the buttons on her shirt, slowly opening them one by one and peeling it away from her shoulders to slip softly down her body. She stood there in the see-through lace bra and matching boy shorts she had been wearing beneath her skirt, her three-inch heels pushing her up almost to his height. She had always been a tall girl and gravitated toward men that were of above average height. His six-foot-four muscular frame was perfection.

  “You’ve an amazing body, curves in all the perfect places,” he told her, kissing his way down her neck.

  Goldie had always been a bit sensitive about her size, because the men she had encountered always made such a big deal of it. It was nice to find someone who seemed to not mind that she was a big taller and thicker, but didn’t seem to be fetishizing it into some form of freaky obsession. She’d had more than her fill of those types.

  “Thank you. You aren’t so bad yourself,” she replied.

  “I’m not very curvy. All hard angles,” he said playfully.

  “Sounds just right to me,” she told him.

  His lips fell on hers again, kissing her slowly and softly until her head began to spin. Pulling away, he took her hand and led her to his bedroom. He sat her on the bed to watch as he undressed. Her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of his sizeable cock. What were they feeding the men in this area? She licked her lips seductively as he stood naked in front of her.

  “See something you like then?” he asked.

  “I certainly do,” she told him, leaning forward and slipping her tongue along the bulbous head. It jumped against her tongue as she made contact and he moaned a little, which she took as an encouragement to proceed.

  Goldie took her time, enjoying the way his cock felt against her tongue and the way he tasted. Wrapping a single hand around his shaft, she began pumping up and down, meeting her lips as she slowly toured his hardness. His hands tangled in her hair, watching as the head of his dick disappeared in and out of her mouth. Moving her hand down toward the base, she began taking more of him in her mouth until she could feel him hitting the back of her throat, tickling her tonsils.

  “Oh, God, that feels so good. You have an incredible mouth,” he moaned.

  Goldie responded by picking up the pace, bobbing up and down the length of his cock as he whimpered with pleasure above her. She felt hungry for his cum, wanted to taste it running down the back of her throat, but her greed was circumvented as he pulled free of her, pushing her back on the bed and slipping her panties off.

  “Mmmm,” she moaned as he softly kissed his way up her legs to her thighs, pushing them apart to access her already soaked pussy. He lapped gently at her juices, his large tongue dipping in and out of her folds and tangling around her clit as he took his time teasing her with his mouth. Her back arched upwards, pushing against his face, wanting more.

  Then he was pulling away, moving upward, his fingers replacing his mouth as he explored her folds with his long, rough fingers. His mouth covered one of her nipples, causing her to gasp a little as she realized how sore it still was from the night before with Joshua. It felt soothing to have him take such care licking and sucking at it before moving to the other side. She could feel herself getting wetter, the more he fingered her and caressed her breasts with his mouth.

  “God, you’re incredible,” he told her as he brought her face up to hers, watching her reactions as he fingerfucked her with longer strokes, simultaneously rubbing her clit with his thumb. She bit her lip as he smiled down at her, bringing her to an explosive orgasm with his talented hands before finally slipping his throbbing cock inside of her.

  “Yes. Perfect,” she managed to say between panting and whimpering. Though he was extremely gentle, he was also massive. She felt like he might tear her apart slowly from the inside as he pulsated against her inner walls. Her fingers dug into his back as he drove into her with slow, heavy strokes, filling her in a way she had never felt before.

  “You’re so tight. It feels like you are squeezing my cock. God, it feels amazing,” he whispered in her ear, taking his time to let her feel every inch of him as he sank in and out of her.

  “Ahhh, I’m cumming,” she almost sighed, her body trembling with the force of the orgasm that seemed to overtake her entire frame. It was quickly followed by a series of equally powerful explosions that shook her to the very core. Feeling weak and shattered beneath him, she could see no signs of him stopping anytime soon. Instead, he bent forward to kiss her deeply. She felt overwhelmed with emotion, but refused to give into anything she might be feeling in a moment of passion.

  “Beautiful,” he mumbled against her hair, pulling her legs upward and over his shoulders as he sank even deeper inside her. She gasped as he seemed to hit her very womb. It felt incredible to have someone so gentle inside of her. He felt like someone in love with her, though she knew that wasn’t true. Still, it made it all feel even more amazing.

  To her surprise, something that sounded much like the growl of an animal seemed to come from him as his passion rose. When she looked up into his eyes, she could see that same darkness that she had noted in Joshua’s last night. Was it possible that there was something to the rumors? The thought fell away as the sounds began to give way to more of a groan.

  His hands cupped the cheeks of her ass as he plunged into her very core until she wasn’t sure how much more she could handle. As if perfectly in tune with her, his fingers dug into her backside as he erupted into her center, filling her with a heavy load of cum before pulling free and slipping her legs away from his shoulders. Rather than dropping onto one side of the bed and falling asleep, he curled up next to her, wrapping one arm around her so that she could curl into the crook.

  “I’m glad you came home with me. You’re truly amazing,” he told her, kissing her lightly on the forehead.

  “Not nearly as glad as I am,” she told him.

  “I hope so. I know you aren’t here for very long, but I really hope we can spend some more time together, get to know one another more than just sexually.”

  Goldie smiled up at him, her emotions running the gamut. Ordinarily, she would be elated that someone like him wanted to spend more time with her, but that was not at all what she had intended when she came here to Bear Lake. There was no hope for a relationship and so why start something she couldn’t finish? Still, she couldn’t bring herself to just shoot him down.

  “That would be nice,” she told him, knowing she didn’t mean it. She’d love to mean it if the circumstances were different, but it was what it was and she wouldn’t be here next week, so why bother?

  “I think so,” he told her, kissing her on the cheek.

  Goldie thought it might be best to change the subject to something that didn’t concern what they might or might not be come morning. This might be the only time in her life that she had ever felt awkward with after sex cuddling and she suddenly understood why men like Joshua didn’t like it. It was intimate. By cuddling, you were creating an intimate bond with someone you didn’t feel emotionally connected to and that was the very problem.

  “So, you grew up here in Bear Lake?” she asked.

  “Yes. I was born here, went to high school here. Between growing up here, school and the store, I know pretty much everyone in town. It’s li
ke your friends, Ian and Randy, I meet them when they first came to town. Randy was fussing over everything in the store and Ian was just watching him fret, smiling and nodding. I could tell they were a couple and knew they were going to have a hard time fitting in with so many small town, small minded people.”

  “I didn’t realize they ever had a problem with that,” Goldie said, feeling saddened that someone might take an unfortunate view of them based on their private preferences when they were such good guys.

  “As it turned out, I was completely wrong. They are such great guys that people seemed to just accept them without issue. Between Ian’s quick wit and Randy’s sarcastic zingers, they always have people in stitches wherever they go. Plus, they are the first to jump in to help anyone who seems to be in need.”

  “Yes. They have always been like that. They are one of the nicest couples I know. I’ve seen people take advantage of that and find it unfortunate, but they seem to just chalk incidents like that up to poor judgment and move on.”

  “That sounds like them. What about you? Were you always a big city girl or did you move there later in life?”

  “I have always lived in the city. We sometimes went on road trips to see how other people lived when I was growing up, but the city was home, still is. I don’t know if I could live in a place like this long term. It’s nice and quiet when you need that sort of downtime, but I think I would miss the lights and parties. There is always something to do there.”

  “I’m sure there is. I think that would just make me tired after a while. I love the outdoors and just sitting under the moon and skies. Sometimes, the urge to just get out and run through the woods strikes me and I can do that freely here. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t get by with how I live in a big city anywhere. Too many people, too many questions, too much noise.”

  “I suppose we tend to grow into the places where we grow up. We become as much a part of it as it does us.”

  “I can agree with that,” he said.

  They talked into the wee hours, until she fell asleep, still in his arms. Another odd dream came to her. This time she was not running, but lying by a river in the sun, enjoying the way it felt beaming down on her face. Once again, she was startled awake, this time because she was dreaming a storm was afoot. A loud crack of lightening caused her to bolt upright and John to stir beside her, but he didn’t wake up. Looking out the window, the night was clear, but morning was breaking.