SpringFever Shifters in Love

by Lia Davis, Milly Taiden, Kerry Adrienne, Vella Day, Andie Devaux

  “I kissed you? I believe you leaned in first.” Teasing her was just plain fun.

  She lifted her chin. “That’s not how I recall our first encounter.”

  The young vet tech entered the hallway. “Mrs. Galloway is waiting for you in room 2, Doc.”

  “I’ll be right in.” She looked back at him. “Sorry, but I’m a bit swamped.”

  “No worries. I understand.” He could spend hours sparring with her, but now wasn’t the time.

  “Can you come back on Monday? I’ve received word from another shelter that we’ll be receiving a Vizsla mutt who would be perfect for you.”

  How sweet of her to think of him. “Most definitely.”

  He couldn’t leave just yet. Behind him was the hallway to the kennel, so he grabbed the good doctor’s hand and dragged her inside. He kicked the door closed and devoured her lips. Storm had promised himself that the next time they were together he wouldn’t go all hormonal on her, but he couldn’t help it. Her eyes closed and she clutched his shoulders. It was the moan that nearly undid him. A dog barked, and she broke the kiss but then licked her lips. That was mean.

  Glancing toward her office, she said, “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you tomorrow at the ranch at noon. You still have the directions?”

  He wouldn’t lose those for anything. “Meet you there.”

  ***

  Chey was actually nervous. For starters, she was bringing Storm to her dad’s ranch where shifters roamed. Usually, the Clan stayed in human form, but she wouldn’t put it past a few of them to be asses and shift just to scare Storm.

  While Chuck hadn’t called or come begging for her to go out with him, she could sense a distinct change in the air as soon as she drove down the drive. Two of the ranch hands glanced her way then averted their gazes. Something was going on, and she doubted it was good.

  Once she parked, she gathered her food and marched into the stables to saddle the horses. She wanted to have a decent picnic this time, with things like strawberries they could dip in chocolate. At the last minute, she’d picked up a few eight-ounce bottles of wine for fortification. Today was about coming clean. She hadn’t told Storm she was a vet when he’d asked because she wanted to see if he liked her for who she was. Too often her dates were intimidated by her, despite her small size. Of course, being the Alpha’s daughter had its drawbacks, especially if they feared they might piss off her or her dad.

  The subject of shifters needed to be broached with Storm at some point. Chey was still in a bit of denial about her impending marriage to Chuck. Telling Storm she was kind of, sort of engaged might not go over well. But it wasn’t fair to him to lead him on—unless they fell in love and he turned out to be the one. As Tasha liked to say—stranger things have happened. The bigger question was whether her Clan would be willing to change their ancient rules and accept a human as their new leader.

  Whoa. She was getting way ahead of herself.

  Chey grabbed a saddle that would be comfortable for him and placed it on Buttercup. Storm would probably balk at the feminine name, but she wasn’t about to let him ride their black stallion, appropriately called Devil Wind.

  For herself, she always rode Angel Hair. The first time she’d seen her filly, she’d fallen in love, partly because of the horse’s soft, silken blonde strands, and partly because the animal was faster than shit, like she was. On occasion, the two of them would race—horse against cheetah. Of course, she’d win. She was smart enough to run for only a few seconds, as her long distance endurance sucked. Angel Hair had been spooked at first when Chey had shifted, but once her horse caught her scent, all was good.

  Chey led the horses out of the barn to wait for Storm, but as soon as she stepped into the sunlight, she halted. Oh, fuck. Storm was already there talking to her dad.

  She quickly patted their rumps to send the horses back into the barn. After wiping her palms down her pants, she jogged over to them. “Hey. What are you guys talking about?” And why were they chuckling?

  “Just finding out about this young man and what his intentions are.”

  Kill me now.

  If her dad messed up the best thing to happen to her in a long time, she’d make him pay. “I wanted to show Storm the property. I have some cold food and don’t want it to go bad.” That was totally lame, but she couldn’t think of a way to get the two of them apart.

  “Be careful,” he telepathed.

  “Always.”

  His eyes twinkled at that promise. If he hadn’t picked such a jerk for a potential mate, she might have been a more cooperative daughter.

  “Come on, Storm. Ready for your riding lesson?” She really wanted to ask if her dad had spilled the beans about shifters or her theoretical fiancé, but she figured Storm would have said something already if he had.

  He wrapped a possessive arm around her waist, and she wondered what was going through her father’s head at this moment. He was probably pissed she was flaunting the ultimatum in his face.

  All she really wanted to do was enjoy a relaxing afternoon with a man who was hot. Jumping his bones was high on her wish list, but it had to be low on her priorities. He had a mind, too—one she wanted to explore.

  She led him into the barn. “I’ll get on my horse first to show you how it’s done, and then you can do the same.”

  He smiled and moved closer. “Are you sure you don’t need a hand up? You’re so tiny.”

  She shook her head and chuckled. “Been riding since before I could walk. We’re going to take our horses to a pretty spot near a stream and have lunch, but you have to promise me one thing, though.”

  “What’s that?”

  “No touching and no sex.” If they even kissed, she might not be able to control herself.

  His mouth gaped open. “No kissing? Not even once?” He frowned, then brushed a strand of her fly away hair from her face.

  She swatted at his hand, and tilted her head up to look into his eyes. “No. Be truthful. If I grabbed your cock right now and kissed you, could you honestly say we wouldn’t end up naked and fucking like wolves?”

  He laughed then looked behind her, probably to see if her old man was still there. He wasn’t. She would have sensed him. “I say, let’s test your theory.”

  Before she could tell him it wasn’t a good idea, Storm pulled her close and kissed her like a man on a mission. Damn him. The heat between her legs startled her in its intensity. She wanted to rip off his clothes right there in the barn, but she wouldn’t. Her father would be humiliated if any of the men saw her or smelled her arousal, and the last thing she needed was a bunch of angry cheetahs rushing toward them.

  Chey broke the kiss. “You are bad.”

  He grinned, and ripples of lust shot up her spine. “Only with you.”

  That was what she liked about him. He was defiant and headstrong like she was. With Storm, she might have met her match. “Let’s get you on this horse, and no more stalling. Now watch me.” Only he didn’t wait for her to mount.

  Instead, he climbed right on up and smiled. “It’s like getting on my motorcycle.”

  She supposed that was true. “We’ll take it slow.”

  “I appreciate it. So what’s his name?” He patted his horse’s flank.

  “Buttercup.” Chey worked hard to keep from laughing.

  His mouth opened, but she could tell he was only pretending to be offended. “A girl horse?”

  “She’s gentle. I want you in one piece when we get to the picnic area.”

  “I thought you didn’t intend to have your way with me.”

  “Storm, be good.”

  He laughed. “Lead the way.”

  Since he didn’t ask how to hold the reins or how to control the horse, she let him be. Chey deliberately kept it slow. The first part of the trip was up a gravel drive, and then the path entrance off to the right was down a rather steep slope. Both horses had been on this trail many times, so they didn’t s
pook.

  “You doing okay?” she asked over her shoulder.

  “Peachy.”

  She held in a chuckle. For someone into the outdoors as much as he seemed to be, Storm should learn to ride. “Low tree branch ahead. Be sure to duck.” When she didn’t hear any cursing, she figured he’d managed to avoid disaster.

  Once they reached the river, the trail evened out, but the path was too narrow to ride side by side. Fifteen minutes later, they reached a nice open area by the stream. Chey dismounted and once Storm did, too, she tied up both of their horses.

  “Can you get the blanket I put behind your saddle while I set out the food?” she asked.

  “Sure.”

  It took them less than five minutes to spread the blanket and unpack the meal. “The view’s not as nice as on top of the mountain, but there’s a good breeze down here.” She also liked the soothing gurgling of the water.

  Storm sat cross-legged. “The view’s just fine,” he said, his gaze on her.

  Don’t let him suck me in. A scar ran down his wrist and made an ugly twist between his fingers. She traced the line. “What happened?”

  He unscrewed the top of the wine and chugged half of the small bottle. “War wound.”

  “When were you in the war?”

  “Six years after I finished my residency, I enlisted. I was a medic on helicopter rescue missions.”

  This was a side of him she wanted to know more about. “What happened?”

  His eyes darkened, as if the experience had been emotionally painful. “We’d gotten a call that several of our men had been ambushed by a band of rogue Afghanis. We had the coordinates of the downed men, but the pilot could only hover nearby for fear of being shot if he landed. The crew jumped out and dashed toward the bunkers where our men were waiting. A few seconds later, one of the less injured men staggered out, holding his stomach. He was about fifty feet away when he collapsed.”

  She hissed. “What did you do?”

  “Since I was the only one onboard beside the pilot, I went after him. As I was dragging Nate toward the chopper, an Afghani rushed us. He raised his knife to stab the injured man, and I held up my hand to deflect his thrust. The scar is the result of the slice.”

  That must have hurt. “You were so brave.”

  He shook his head. “The brave ones were the men who were ambushed and those who risked their lives to save them.”

  When he turned to the side, she squeezed his hand. If Chuck Lord had ever enlisted, she bet he’d have hidden in the chopper. “You helped a lot of men.”

  “I’d like to think so.”

  Okay, that was a downer. Note to self. Stick to something more upbeat. In truth, she had wanted to learn more about Storm Durant, the man—and she had.

  As if he’d erased that painful war memory, Storm stretched out, looking sleek as a cat. Chey couldn’t help but do the same. In silence, they both munched on a bowlful of cut fruit. Storm then lifted an apple slice and pressed it to her lips. She sucked on it, munched, and then ate it.

  “You like to feed women?” she asked.

  “Only you.”

  He was a player. “That so?” She didn’t need to be flirting, so she sat up and crossed her legs. “Tell me how you’re settling into your new office.” Talking about his work would cut the sexual tension fast.

  Without thinking, she picked up one of the strawberries and bit off the end. She didn’t dare get out the chocolate sauce for fear that would lead to a sexual exploit.

  “Doc Rapello was totally disorganized, so I spent the whole morning redoing the patient records.”

  She forced herself to breathe. Doc Rapello had been her doctor since birth and wondered if he denoted a person’s Clan on the form, but she didn’t dare ask. “Do you think you’re ready to begin on Monday?”

  “I’d rather talk about you.” He grabbed an orange slice and popped half into his mouth and bit down. Juice dripped down his chin, but he did nothing to clean it up.

  She wanted to lick it off so badly. “What do you want to know?” Was he aware she was a cheetah?

  “Do you run into much prejudice in your animal practice because you’re a woman?”

  The pressure in her chest released. Something about the way he said it almost made her think he was worried people wouldn’t come to the office of an outsider. “At first, but since I’m the only vet, they don’t have much choice. They can go to one of the neighboring towns, but I’m good. Word spread, and now my practice is booming.”

  He grinned. “I bet the men come because you’re hot.” He picked up a napkin and dabbed his chin.

  Storm was so full of it. “Yeah, that must be it.”

  “I think the women come because they want to keep an eye on you. They don’t want you stealing their husbands.” He plucked the remaining piece of fruit from her fingers and popped it into his mouth. Then he drew her fingers to his lips.

  The first lick ignited her body. “We shouldn’t be doing this,” she said.

  “What am I doing?” His eyelids drooped as if some sexual cloud had descended on him.

  “You’re trying to seduce me, Dr. Durant.”

  “Damn. I knew I shouldn’t be dating a woman smarter than me.”

  Storm rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him. Like a moth to light, she pounced. God help her, but she was doomed to be in lust forever.

  Chapter Six

  When Storm’s large palms clamped down on her ass, heat seared her. Something about this man undid her resolve to keep her distance. Chey’s body was telling her that she needed him to satisfy something inside her—deep, thrusting, and powerful. Resistance was futile.

  “I don’t care if we should or shouldn’t be doing this, I need you too bad,” Storm said through gritted teeth as if he couldn’t last another second if he didn’t touch her. “How about getting naked and beneath me?”

  Commands challenged her. “How about if I want you naked and beneath me instead?”

  He cocked a brow. “Then I guess we might be flipping a lot to accommodate both of our wishes.”

  She loved how he was able to come up with a solution that satisfied both of them. On the off chance they both fell prey to their urges, she’d come prepared with a few condoms. No telling how long they’d be staying there—through several rounds of hot sex, she hoped. Her only fear was that her dad might send more of his men to spy on her. But fuck, if they did come, they’d get an eyeful. Now that she’d decided to be with him, she wasn’t stopping for Satan himself.

  “That works for me,” she said, “but what’s this about me getting naked?”

  “Hmm,” he said as he rolled her off him. He then unsnapped her jeans before she could take her next breath.

  She did the same to him. “Boots need to go.”

  They divested themselves of their footwear at the same time. Not able to contain herself any longer, she slid off her jeans. Today, she’d picked out a yellow thong and wisely left her bra at home. Even on a racing horse, her tits never moved.

  He whistled. “I can see I’m behind in the getting naked part.” Storm then tossed off his shirt and removed his pants.

  Only when they were both naked did Chey raise a finger in remembrance. “Chocolate!”

  He laughed. “You’d rather eat than make love with me?”

  “No, silly. I want to put it on your cock and lick it off.” His dick visibly twitched and she smiled.

  “You will be the death of me, Cheyenne Snow.”

  She doubted that, though he did seem desperate. Getting up on her knees, she picked up the jar of chocolate, and dipped her finger into the goo. “Now for dessert. Can you lie back, please?”

  “You’re playing with fire, you know.”

  She grinned. “I have faith in you. Doctors are bred for control.” She then smeared the chocolate on the tip of his dick. “You are a tasty looking thing. Hmm. Where should I begin?”

  He grabbed h
er wrist. “Remember, turnabout is fair play.”

  “You wish.”

  With that, she grabbed his thick cock and licked the chocolate from the top, using slow, even flicks. She added a moan with each tongue swipe to drive him crazy. When she finished eating every bit of chocolate, she drew him deep into her mouth and sucked on him hard.

  He pulled out of her hold. “That’s enough. You’ve had your fun.”

  She then held out a condom. “Open this. And hurry.”

  He nabbed it. “You aren’t on the pill by any chance, are you?”

  “Hell yeah. I’ve learned my lesson.” If Chuck had succeeded in taking her that day, she might have gotten pregnant. Yuck. That was the moment she decided she had to make sure something like that could never come to pass.

  Storm stilled. “What happened?”

  “Nothing good.”

  He set her down and cupped her face. “Tell me.”

  Fuck me. Why did I bring that up? She needed to think before speaking.

  Storm probably wouldn’t let it go, so she might as well tell him. It would also give both of them time to settle down. “About a year ago, I was at my dad’s when a bunch of his workers came over to watch a soccer game. They drank quite heavily, but since I was having a good time, too, I stayed. Halfway through the game, Dad wasn’t feeling well and went to bed. The next thing I knew, this guy Chuck Lord decided I was more interesting than a bunch of sweaty soccer players and tried to take me by force.”

  Storm’s hands gripped her face. “I would have fucking killed him.” He lowered his arms then clenched his fists.

  Storm might have tried, but he wouldn’t have succeeded. “One of dad’s foremen, Harmon Anderson, nearly did. He stopped by to ask Dad something, and when he saw what was happening, he pulled Chuck off me.” She wouldn’t mention that they were both in their animal form at the time or that the man still had scratches from their fight. So why had Chuck agreed to this sham of a marriage? That was easy. He thrived on power. Bastard.