Shifting Destinies: A Paranormal Interracial Story (HIdden Hills Shifters Book 3)

by Day, Vella

  She smiled. “Come on in.”

  Focus on anything but her. The walls were white and the furniture plain. Her place reminded him of his first rental unit. As much as he wanted to check out where she lived, he couldn’t help but bring his gaze back to Emmaline.

  Hug her, stupid.

  Wade gathered her in his arms and placed a kiss on her forehead. Any more contact, and his body would go berserk. He leaned back. “How have you been? You look awesome, by the way.”

  Color flitted up her face. “Good, now that you’re here.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  She grinned then stepped out of his grasp. The pulse at her neck was beating fast as if she, too, was highly affected by being near him. Wade inhaled her scent again and his groin tightened. If he didn’t know better, he’d say she smelled a bit like a bear, though that was impossible—unless her mother was one. He was too polite to ask, but at some point, he’d have to.

  He cleared his throat, needing to put an end to his lustful thoughts. “You ready? I’m starving.” For you.

  “Yes. Let me get my purse.”

  She sounded defeated, so he reached out to stop her. “Is everything okay? Did you have a bad week?”

  He swore there was a hint of fear in her eyes. “No.”

  When she moved in front of him, probably to retrieve her purse from the table, something inside him snapped. The draw between the two of them astounded him though it shouldn’t have since they were mates. “Maybe if I greet you properly, you’ll feel better.”

  Not waiting for Emmaline to answer, he wrapped his arms around her waist, bent down, and kissed her. But it wasn’t an ordinary kiss. The moment their lips touched, it was as if someone had set a bonfire under him. Every hormone rushed through his veins, replacing all thought. He needed to slow down, but he seemed to be incapable of doing so. Her moan, along with the way her tongue darted around his mouth as if she couldn’t get enough, spurred him on.

  He reached between them and twisted his wrist to cup her breast. At that touch, his cock turned to steel. Everything told him to slow down, that she’d think he was some kind of horny pig, but he couldn’t let her go.

  “I want you, Emmaline,” he whispered. “I can’t get you out of my head.” This wasn’t what he should have admitted, but every shred of being a gentleman disappeared.

  Please say you want me, too. She bit down on his lip, and the animal in him beat on his chest from the inside.

  “Me, too, but if we start, I might not be able to stop,” she said.

  This was too good to be true. “What do you think we should do about it?”

  “If I allow myself one little touch, perhaps I can get you out of my system,” she said as sweetly as could be while nodding at his bulging cock. She then giggled.

  “One touch will do it?”

  “I don’t know, but how about I try?”

  Wade laughed, loving her flirtatious manner. He stepped back, unbuttoned his jeans, and lowered them a few inches. His need was so great, it was as if he were back in high school again.

  With her gaze on him, Emmaline lowered her red lace panties from under her skirt and dropped them on the carpet. “Just one suck.”

  She’d taken off her panties; she wanted more. Her actions, and then her words, were like wicked flames to his hot body. “Okay, but don’t stay too long down there, or I’ll have to ravish you. Just being around you is making me crazy.”

  She ran a finger down his chest. “Oh, yeah?”

  He had to look at the ceiling and grip his hands to stop himself from slamming into her. When she leaned over, her full breasts practically popped out of her top. No man—especially a mate—would have been able to resist her.

  She reached out and dragged a finger up his length. “I’d forgotten how big he is.”

  “Once your mouth gets on him, he’ll grow even bigger, so you better hurry.”

  “Okay.” He caught the smile that quirked her lips.

  Lightly, she let his balls rest on her right palm. With the other hand, she grabbed his dick and squeezed. Shit. Her touch sent him spiraling. When he threaded his fingers through her long, caramel colored hair, and tugged, the silky strands altered something inside him.

  Her tongue rimmed the tip of his cock and he had to close his eyes to keep from coming. He’d let her have her way with him for a bit, but then he’d have to stop her since he wouldn’t last.

  “Suck on him. Hard.” He shouldn’t have said that. He must be a masochist, or else he feared this might be the last time he’d experience her. After tonight, she might conclude he only wanted her for her body, and he hoped like hell that wasn’t true.

  Her tongue encircled his cock one time before she drew in at least half of him. A roar from his chest bubbled up and escaped. Emmaline jumped back, her eyes wide.

  “Oh, shit. I’m sorry.” He’d never be able to explain that she’d almost made him shift. He pulled up his pants.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I thought—”

  “That I was afraid? I wasn’t, so please don’t deny me the rest.”

  “I thought you only wanted one lick.”

  “I lied.”

  Wade had no words to answer her. “You can have anything you want.” He’d meant that in the broadest sense.

  “Then I want you.”

  Men did not swoon—especially bear shifter men—but he was about to. “You want to get me naked?”

  As long as she didn’t ask him to take off her clothes, he’d be good, because if his fingers settled on her tits, he’d be lost. Then she really would have reason to be afraid of him.

  She stepped closer, bolder now, lifted his long sleeved shirt over his head, and dropped it on the floor. “Wow. In the light, you look even better.”

  Her grin had his ego soaring. “Thank you.”

  So as not to delay the inevitable, he stood on one leg and tugged off his boot. He must have been over zealous because he lost his balance and had to hop to regain it. Emmaline pressed her lips together.

  “Don’t you laugh, girl. I’m trying to be debonair here.”

  She tilted back her head and guffawed. “If you say so.”

  Christ, she must think he was a bumbling fool. It had been bad enough in the truck when she’d had to straddle him. He concentrated, and pulled off the other boot, which then allowed him to discard his jeans and briefs in one fluid motion. Her gaze latched onto his dick, and it jerked in appreciation and anticipation.

  “Your turn,” he said, his throat suddenly dry.

  Her top was the stretchy kind that she easily removed. She toed off her sandals, and when she unzipped the back of her skirt, his bones nearly broke through the skin. If he shifted, he’d never be able to live with himself, but hot damn, what this woman did to him.

  Wade wished he knew if his reaction to her would always be this powerful, but only time would tell.

  As soon as her skirt fell to the floor, Emmaline stepped out of it and stood before him naked except for the bra that matched the panties already on the floor. He licked his lips, lust soaring through him so fast he had to suck in a deep breath. “You are gorgeous.”

  She smiled and his heart nearly folded in on itself. Slowly, Emmaline reached behind her and undid the clasp. When she lowered her arms, her breasts pushed out the material.

  Wade pounced. “I can’t wait any longer.”

  With one quick tug, he stripped her of her bra and let it join her panties on the carpet. With both hands, he cupped her breasts. As he lifted them, she grabbed his cock and grinned. Heaven help him. She was a devil, and here he’d thought she was some innocent.

  “You are such a wolf,” he whispered.

  “That I am. Thankfully, you aren’t all wooly, like I thought you’d be.”

  “Only when I shift. Am I the first bear you’ve been with?”

  Her brows pinched. “Yes.”

  He smothered his face in her tits and inhaled. Her scent was different—muskier—t
han he remembered. Something stirred deep inside him and he gathered her in his arms and hugged her tight.

  Not able to stand another second apart, he stepped back, yanked his wallet from his pants, and retrieved a condom. “I have to have you. Now.”

  Chapter Five

  Emmaline never intended for things to get this out of control, but the moment Wade walked into her house looking so tall and hot and sexy, her body forced her to give into him. Had he not kissed her with such overwhelming passion, she might have been able to resist him. He was a bear, for wolf sake. She shouldn’t find him attractive, and yet she did.

  As soon as he sheathed his cock, he grabbed her waist and walked her backward until her spine hit the front door. The kiss that followed curled her toes, probably because the blood had clearly left her brain. She could barely breathe, the intensity of her reaction to him insane. There was no reason for any of this to be happening. He was just a guy—albeit a wonderful smelling, beautifully sculptured one.

  She should suggest they go into her bedroom, but she couldn’t wait that long. Emmaline clutched his waist and pressed her belly and breasts against his rock hard body. Wade moaned and deepened the kiss, his insistent tongue dominating her mouth to the point where she would do anything for him.

  His palms cupped her rear, and he lifted her up. He broke their connection for only a second to say, “Hold on tight, sweetheart.”

  His nickname made her pulse race. She pressed her heels onto his thighs and leaned back to let him thread his cock into her. When his thick shaft slipped between her folds, she closed her eyes, yearning to be transported to another place and time.

  She pictured them together, running through some sun-drenched field—her in her wolf form and him as a bear. She’d be tiny next to him, and together they’d romp and play until the sun set.

  His cock edged into her, bringing her back to the present. His eyes were closed and his jaw tight as if he was trying hard to be gentle.

  “You won’t hurt me,” she said, hoping he’d understand that she wanted it fast and furious.

  With her back firmly against the door, he rubbed his thumbs over her nipples, causing sparks to fly across her chest. Taking things into her own hands, she lifted and then plunged down hard on him.

  Holy howls. The friction set her on fire. Her pussy stretched and her breath caught. That little taste was enough to drive her mad with need. As she tightened her grip on his cock, she lowered her head and sucked on his shoulder.

  “I’m so close already,” he said, taking a breath between words.

  She pressed on his thighs to lift off him. “So am I.”

  As if she’d waved the red cape in front of the bull, Wade charged into her. With each thrust, she dug her teeth into him, trying not the break the skin. It was as if he’d possessed her soul. She’d lift and drop, and then he’d take his turn, thrusting into her, their rhythms and breaths matching. He kissed her shoulder, then her neck, and finally nabbed her earlobe.

  She leaned back, needing one more kiss. The second their tongues touched again, she lost it and went off like a hand grenade without its pin. Heat swamped her as her climax stole her mind. Em kept groaning while Wade grunted. His cock pulsed and throbbed as the condom caught his hot seed and sweat beaded on their bodies as he held her tight.

  “I can’t get enough of you, Emmaline.”

  Me neither. Which was why she had to tell him they could never be.

  * * *

  How Wade had convinced Emmaline to join him for dinner was anyone’s guess. She should have booted him out the door after he ravished her like that. She had to think he was only interested in sex. He couldn’t help it that his body kept betraying him.

  After they cleaned up, Wade wanted to talk about their mating connection, to see if she’d been as moved by the experience as he’d been, but he then decided to give her some time to get used to the fact they were meant to be together. Sure, she’d said that if she started, she might not be able to stop, but she hadn’t come out and said the attraction had overwhelmed her.

  As they drove to the restaurant, he asked her about her volunteer work since she’d mentioned she went to the women’s shelter every Monday. She said much of what she did was confidential, and since he respected that more than she could ever know, he let it be.

  Once they were seated at Carmelita’s, she ordered a glass of iced tea. Emmaline must want to show him she wasn’t a lush—that her alcohol consumption at the wedding had been a one-time event. He ordered coffee, not wanting to be the one who drank too much this time.

  He needed to set the tone of the evening, to show her he could be a good listener, and not just some playboy. “Why don’t you tell me about your family?”

  Only then did he realize he rarely asked a woman about her home life. Instinctively, he must have sensed he and his dates hadn’t been destined to be together for long.

  “Seriously?”

  He chuckled, then quirked a brow. “Too personal?”

  “No. I’m surprised you want to know, that’s all.”

  “Ouch. Emmaline, I’m sorry that our relationship got off to a rocky start. Trust me, I want to know you as a person, but every time I get near you, my mind tells me to head in a different direction.”

  She chuckled and leaned close. “I think you mean your brain lives in your dick.”

  He cracked up. “Touché. Where have you been my whole life?” She was so refreshing.

  She stared at him for a few seconds. “I grew up in Hidden Hills, but my mom home schooled me until I was thirteen, and then my parents sent me to boarding school.”

  That wasn’t what he’d meant, but he was delighted she’d shared something of herself. Actually, he was glad they were finally on a topic other than sex. “I think I would have hated going away to high school.” His parents had kept both him and Holly around. “What was that like?”

  She shrugged. “It had its good points and its bad. The good was that I got to be away from my three older sisters, but the bad was that I was the only shifter in the whole school—unless I hadn’t developed the ability to tell if someone else was.”

  “It takes some maturity to know. I had it easy. I’d say about a third of those at Hidden Hills High were shifters.” He leaned forward, curious about her childhood. At least it explained why he hadn’t known her when they’d both grown up in the same town. “Why didn’t you get along with your sisters?” Emmaline was so sweet.

  “We had nothing in common. Fredericka is two years older than I am and was into organized sports. She couldn’t understand why I hated them. Millicent is four years older. She lives in town and teaches fourth grade. When I dropped out of college at the end of my sophomore year because it didn’t interest me, she emotionally cut me off.”

  “That had to be tough.”

  “It was. The worst of the three is Elizabeth. She’s thirty-six, married with two kids, and is richer than sin. She has no use for anyone other than humans and wolves. In fact, she’s married to a human. She could turn him, but she likes the idea of being married to such a superior person.”

  She had to be kidding. Wade tamped down his frustration. “I detect a hint of prejudice on her part against other species.”

  Emmaline looked away. “You could say that.”

  He was surprised she’d been able to stay so open-minded. “What about your parents? They’re both wolves, right?” He was still curious about the small hint of bear he smelled on her.

  “Totally. Trust me, if they weren’t, they wouldn’t be married to each other. They’re both as bad as Elizabeth. As for who they are as people, my dad worked all the time when I was growing up, so we weren’t close. He opened his first dry-cleaning store when he was twenty–two, and by the time he married Mom, he had four stores in the vicinity. When I was born, he was so involved in his success that he found it difficult to relate to me.”

  “What about your mother?”

  “What about her?”

  “Do you
two get along?”

  “Let’s just say she wanted me to be like her, and I wasn’t.”

  Bitterness and hurt poured off her. Wade reached out, and when he ran his thumb over the back of her hand, he was thankful she didn’t flinch. “You have a good job and a good life. Doesn’t that count? Does your mother even work?” He failed to keep the disgust from his voice.

  She cracked a smile. “No, but the standards she holds for me aren’t the same ones she lives by.” Emmaline withdrew her hand from his and fiddled with her silverware. “What about your family?”

  It was only fair to share. “I have one sister, Holly, who’s five years older than I am. She lives in Kansas City with her partner, Lynn. Growing up, we had quite the idyllic family life, other than the usual sibling rivalry.”

  Emmaline leaned forward, appearing quite interested. “What does your dad do?”

  “He’s a realtor, and Mom is a housewife who loves to bake.”

  Emmaline smiled. “Sounds wonderful.”

  “It has its ups and downs.” He patted his stomach to let her know that if he stayed at his folks’ house for long, he’d have to increase his exercise time.

  “Why did you leave Hidden Hills if you liked it here so much?”

  He was wondering when she’d ask. “I went to college in Pittsburgh, got a job there after I finished school, and the rest is history. I’m considering moving back here.” He probably should mention the home he was building but thought he’d leave that to another time.

  Her brows rose. “Why?”

  “Dad needs help around the house. Besides, I have good friends here.” And hopefully a mate.

  “Sounds good.” A twinkle filled her eyes. “What’s your favorite memory growing up?”

  He laughed, thankful she didn’t probe further. “Favorite? That’s a hard one. Perhaps my most memorable one was when I was a stupid ninth grader. Burke was with me in fact.”