by Tara Gill
“You know expectant mothers are supposed to be active,” I teased him.
“Right now, you look knackered, from the trip through the forest. If you need to stay active, you can garden. We’ll see what the healer says. What do you want to do now? An afternoon nap sound good?”
I chewed on my lip. “Can I have a hot shower? I think bits of that tree are still stuck to me.”
“Oh, did the bark hurt you?”
I touched his face and said in a soft voice, “No, Reuben. I loved what we did, but a shower would be nice.”
Reuben rushed me up to his airy bathroom. In a hurry, he shucked off his clothes and then undressed me as if I was made of porcelain. “Your skin seems fine. Does it hurt anywhere?” He turned me so my lower back faced him and checked to make sure there was no damage from the bark.
“Naw.” I wrapped smooth arms around his neck and kissed his shoulder. Taking a washcloth and wetting it with my vanilla body wash, he soaped me up. I leaned into him, my face buried in his shoulder, and closed my eyes, revelling in being taken care of. It’d been so long since anyone except me took care of me.
Reuben’s touch wasn’t lustful, just tender and exploratory. But as the rough washcloth brushed over my tender nipples and in between my sensitized pussy lips, I grew hot and flushed.
Not seeming to notice, Reuben quickly soaped himself clean and washed the both of us under the hot spray. Stepping outside, he wrapped my hair in a towel and dried me. Nudging me to the mirror, he used the hair dryer to dry my hair.
“You don’t have to do this,” I murmured through half-closed eyes. I loved his touch on my mane, but I protested just to be polite.
Reuben was absorbed in drying my locks. “I love your hair. It’s so beautiful. I could do this for hours.” Once my hair was dry, he finger-brushed it until it lay untangled and thick across my shoulders. He arranged it the way he liked, then gazed at me with an appreciative smile.
“The day we met, I thought of you as an angel and imagined you in my home. Seeing you here like his…you don’t know how many times I’ve dreamed of you here, just like this.” His gaze roamed my face lazily and he brushed my cheek.
I didn’t smile back. I was horny. Who knew Reuben grooming me would be a turn on? But Lord was I turned on! I wanted to push him to the floor and ride him like a stallion. Not wanting to shock the poor man, I said nothing.
He frowned at my flushed face, at the way I chewed my lip and contemplated him the way I might an especially delicious bacon sandwich.
“What is it, Jasmine? Is it the hot flushes? I’ve read about those.”
“Hot flushes?…no, it’s nothing like that.” I stammered. “Um, I need to sit down.” I exited the bathroom and collapsed on the bed, feeling dizzy and hot. Maybe I did have a hot-flush going. But weren’t those something older women went through? Maybe I just needed to open the windows.
Reuben followed me out, all but naked in a skimpy towel. The pulse in my throat started thundering. His gaze was drawn to it. His eyes narrowed as the true situation occurred to him. “Jasmine, are you turned on?” He sounded incredulous.
“Uh-huh.” My voice was a croak.
He looked smug.
Hurrying to disabuse him of his smugness, I said, “It’s this pregnancy. All of a sudden, I’ll get so needy that there’s nothing to do but….” I stopped before I said anything incriminating.
He looked interested. “Nothing to do but…?” he repeated, encouraging me to finish.
I looked down at the rug and mumbled something.
“Speak up, I can’t hear.”
“I said, there is nothing to do but take matters into my own hands.”
“Ah!” His voice grew raspy, and when I glanced up his gaze was hot and speculative on me.
“I want to see how you took care of yourself when I wasn’t around.” His eyes burned into me. “I promise I’ll take care of you afterwards. Pregnant or not, don’t be ashamed to share your sexual needs with me. It is my honor to satisfy those needs. Now show me.”
“Okay,” I murmured, caught by his devouring stare. Somehow, I found myself opening up my legs, so he had a good view. At home when I was unbelievably horny, I’d often imagined Reuben was with me, watching me, encouraging me while I got myself off.
Now he was really in front of me. My eyes drank him in. He was riveted to my pussy. “You’re so pink and wet,” he groaned. “Now put your finger inside you.”
He’s going to instruct me to get myself off? Hot! I grew wetter, touched a finger to my opening and slid right in.
He came close and stood between my open legs. “Yes, like that. Legs wider.”
Seated on the bed, I parted my thighs wide and braced a hand behind my back. My entire body was flushed, and my breath stuttered.
“In and out, fuck yourself with your finger.”
I obeyed. His towel now on the floor, he was jacking himself, erection red and inflamed. The tip held a drop of liquid and my mouth watered for it. “Fuck! The look on your face!” he ground out. “Use your thumb to rub your clit. Good girl, just like that. Fuck yourself faster. Faster!”
My thumb massaged my clit and my finger drove in and out of my drenched pussy. Wet noises echoed in the room. Reuben inched closer, avid eyes captivated by the intimate view I was providing.
“Reuben I’m gonna come…”
“Me too. Come with me,” he gritted out.
I cried out and came, shuddering. Reuben yelled out my name and jets of his come landed on my breasts. He kept jacking himself until all his come was on me.
I fell back on the bead, exhausted. He leaned over to kiss me ferociously. At first, I was passive, letting him kiss me; then, when the tone of the kiss changed to sweet and loving, I kissed him back.
“You must be tired. Rest, love.” He left the room, returning with a clean washcloth and wiped me clean. Drowsy, I said nothing as he arranged me under the bed covers and curved around me. His bed was so comfortable, and Reuben was so warm…I dozed off.
Crash. I bolted upright.
“Jasmine!” A female wail.
Was that Max?!
There was another crash and a feminine screech. That was definitely Max. What was she doing here?
Chapter 11
Jasmine
Reuben and I hurried downstairs. Reuben had on his jeans and I wore the wrinkled yellow sundress from earlier. We’d both pulled on whatever was at hand.
The sight that met us outside Reuben’s home defied description.
“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Jazz, are you even alive? This bush is trying to kill me!”
Max was here. Obviously, she’d tried to peek into the house through the glass panes beside the door. Only she tripped and fell into the rose bush ass-first. As I watched open-mouthed, she struggled to extricate herself from it, getting scratched all over in the process. “Max!”
“Jazz, is that you?” Max’s spectacles were askew, and she blinked at me.
I reached to pull her out. Maybe I pulled too hard, but Max yelled, “Jesus!” as she landed on the paved tiles before me. There was a small scrunching noise, and I winced. Her glasses were in pieces. This was probably the twentieth pair she broke.
Reuben rushed forward to lift her up. He placed her on her wobbly feet.
“Are you all right? Did you break anything?” I darted my hands all over her, brushing away twigs and leaves. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to have any broken bones or large wounds. Just painful-looking scrapes everywhere, including a big, bleeding one on her lip.
“That rosebush attacked me!” She blinked at me with indignant, myopic eyes. My heart melted at her wounded expression.
“Aw, I’m sorry Max.” I hugged her.
Reuben held the door open for us. “I’ll check her car. Bring her belongings in.”
I pointed to her handbag. It lay on the ground near her glasses. "Okay. Get those as well."
“Sure.” He appeared concerned. “Does she need a doctor?”
�
�I don’t know for sure. I’ll let you know?”
“You do that.” He kissed me and vanished outdoors.
I led Max to the downstairs bathroom and helped her undress. Her outfit was torn in places and without her glasses, she wouldn’t be able to evaluate any wounds by herself. “Take off your clothes. Let me see the damage.”
I couldn’t help but be curious why she’d driven all the way here. “What are you doing here, Max?”
“I was worried about you,” she said, speaking weird as she tried to avoid pressure on her split lip. “Last night you didn’t sound yourself. I tried to call you all morning, but your phone was switched off. So I said to hell with it, told my boss I was taking the day off, and drove over!”
A lump grew in my throat. “You came all the way here because you were worried about me?”
I wrapped my arms around her. Max wasn’t the best driver and tended to drive slower than a tortoise because she was so terrified she’d crash. She must have been on tenterhooks all day and then she fell into a thorny bush…Max wasn’t having a good day.
“I’m so sorry I worried you! But I’m fine. Reuben is great. You may not have noticed, but he was attacked while trying to protect his family and the bad guys disfigured him. The poor guy thought I wouldn’t be interested in damaged goods, and that’s why he stayed away. We talked it out, and we’re together now.”
Max’s mouth fell open as she shucked off her skirt. “Well then, he’s an idiot who doesn’t know you very well. You’re the most loyal person I know, and you’d never let something insignificant like pretty looks put you off! Especially when it seemed like Reuben was trying to do the right thing.” She frowned. “Maybe he should sue those bad guys! I know a good lawyer that could help him with that, if he needs one!”
I calmed her down before she got too fired up. “I think he’s got people to help with that. And now he’s got me as well. Don’t worry. Now let me check you over.”
I winced at her legs which had borne the brunt of the rose thorns. Luckily, she wore a full sleeved suit and jacket, so her upper body fared better. I cleaned and disinfected the scratches saying, “I don’t know if you can go to work like this.”
She shrugged. “I can wear pants, use concealer on my face. Jasmine,” she added in a small voice, “Can you get my purse? My spare glasses are in there.”
“Sure. For now why don’t you freshen up? I’ll get something to change into.”
In the foyer, I saw Reuben coming in with Max’s clunky bag and her overnight case.
“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.”
He dropped the bags. I walked into his arms which closed around me. It was heaven. I nuzzled his chest.
“No problem. Is your friend all right?”
“She’ll be fine. She just needs a change of clothes and her spare glasses. She’s blind as a board without them.”
“Yeah, I had to clean up the glass pieces. The frames are pretty much unrecoverable. Do you know why she came? Any bad news from home?” He stroked my hair.
“I spoke with her last night, when I was half out of my mind with exhaustion. Plus, I forgot to charge my phone today. She got worried when she couldn’t reach me and turned up. I hope that’s all right.”
Reuben’s eyes softened. “It’s fine. I’m glad you have someone in your life who worries about you. She can stay here if she likes. I’ll go put her car in the garage.” He handed over the bags to me and turned for the door when someone knocked. We exchanged glances, but I shook my head.
“I’m expecting no one else.”
Reuben pulled open the door to show a blond giant with a hand raised to knock again. “Easton.” Reuben looked puzzled. “You were supposed to visit next week.”
“Something came up. I have to head out of town this weekend, so I thought I’d drop by earlier. I tried calling you and left a voicemail.”
Reuben and I shared a rueful look. Both of us were lost in each other and forgot the outside world, but it hadn’t forgotten us. Reuben ushered his cousin in and slipped his arm around my waist. “Easton, this is my mate, Jasmine.”
I shook Easton’s hand. It was warm, like his smile. As big as Reuben, Easton had golden-brown hair and penetrating blue eyes which smiled but also held a hint of darkness, as if he had been through things that lesser mortals would balk at. I liked the look of him at once. His eyes flashed to the bite at my neck. “Hello Easton. Any family of Reuben is family to me,” I said.
Easton grinned. “I was going to say the same. Welcome to the family!”
“Did you get my glasses, Jazz?” Max entered the living room, wearing a thick full-length robe. Her steps were cautious as she tried not to bump into anything. She squinted at us, possibly trying to identify me.
“Oh! I have them here!” I fumbled into Max’s purse, knowing where she kept the spectacle-case. “Here you go!”
As she opened the case, my gaze happened to fall on Easton. He was staring at Max. Easton looked pole-axed at the sight of my friend.
Meanwhile, she put on her glasses. “Hey, Reuben, I’m sorry if I broke anything. I’ll be happy to—you’re not Reuben.” She broke off, gawking at Easton.
Easton shook himself from his trance and said with an easy smile, “No, I’m his cousin, Easton.” Although he appeared smooth enough, I noticed the signs of strain and shock on his face.
Max frowned. “Oh.” She blinked at him for a few moments and ran her gaze over him, eyes widening with each pass. She licked her lips. “Nice to meet you. I’m Max.”
My head spun, matchmaking instincts whirring to the fore. Easton was everything my friend liked in a man — sunny with a side of broody. Max dated a lot, but the men didn’t last long. She liked male company, but I knew she didn’t sleep with most of the men she dated. Though she wasn’t a virgin, she was choosy. Honestly, though, she never let men see the real her. If she did, they’d love her and never let her go. She feared opening up, being vulnerable. It was understandable – at least to me. Her mom was a perfectionist and poor Max always fell short. It scarred her and undermined her confidence in relationships.
But I think she might have met her match. As I watched, Easton ran his eyes over Max’s short form. His gaze heated, a determined expression settled on his countenance. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too,” Easton said in a husky, low-pitched voice, edging closer to her.
Max gulped and sidled towards me. She undoubtedly felt vulnerable, minus her professional clothes and make-up, with the way Easton stared at her like a hungry wolf contemplating his meal.
I glanced over at Reuben, wanting to see what he thought, but he was glaring at how close Easton stood to me. “Easton, could I see you in my office for a moment?” Reuben said abruptly.
“Excuse me ladies, I’ll see you shortly,” Easton said with a wink at Max.
We watched the men retreat: me, with a sigh at how Reuben’s faded jeans hugged his tight ass; Max, with her mouth in an ‘O’ as she followed Easton with her gaze. Eyes wide, she said, “What do they put in the water here? The men are all super scrumptious!”
A giggle escaped me. If only she knew. “Easton isn’t from Clearwater. He lives in the next town, I think. He only came to help out Reuben with something.”
That reminded me. I had something to say to both the men. “Max, here is your bag. You can use the bedroom I showed you. Get changed. Have a lie-down — I know the drive down here must have been stressful. Raid the kitchen if you’re hungry. I need to have a word with Reuben.”
“Okay, I think I will have a lie-down. My whole body hurts, especially my ass,” Max said with an expressive grimace. “You have fun with your man.”
I knocked on the closed door of the study and marched in without waiting for a response.
Done up in dark brown and touches of light green, the office was masculine and roomy. Reuben sat in a black leather chair behind a massive wooden desk upon which rested a desktop computer. To his right, another small table held printers, scanners and a phone.
A large file cabinet was on one side of the room, and opposite to it a black, leather couch hugged the wall. A large picture window behind Reuben framed the peach orchard. Photos of people — likely family — were mounted on the walls, and to either side of the window, bookshelves held paperbacks and a few hardbound books.
Easton sat across Reuben and they conversed in low tones, but broke off when I entered the room. Reuben looked unsurprised to see me.
“Jasmine, it’s good you’re here. Reuben tells me you know the current scenario. Your friend seems great, but she needs to leave. I need privacy to perform the spell that’ll get rid of Reuben’s marks,” Easton said, pushing a hand through his hair.
I squared my shoulders. “As Reuben’s mate, let me ask you this: have you ever performed this spell on a full-shifter? Can you guarantee there will be no side-effects for Reuben from the spell?”
Easton hesitated. “In the past, the spell has worked for witches. Shifters have innate magic, but different from that of witches. We can’t say for sure how the shifter magic will react with the spell. The effects may even be beneficial.”
“But it could also turn out to be not so beneficial, right? This is blood magic we’re talking about.” I cocked my head to the side. When blood magic went wrong, it was said that the consequences were catastrophic, often involving mutilation of the body, of the soul or even death.
Easton’s lips tightened, but he said nothing. Reuben joined the tips of his fingers on either hand and regarded me over them, a smile in his eyes.
I smiled back at him. “Reuben, I don’t want you to do this. This is an unnecessary risk, in my opinion. You — just the way you are right now — are perfect. More than enough for me or any woman. Please don’t do the spell.”
Reuben came to me. Cupping my face in his hands, he asked, “Are you sure? Side-effects or no, I’d still risk it for you.”