Shifters Forever Worlds Epic Collection Volume 3

by Elle Thorne

  Eden shook her head, then turned back to the little girls that were pouting and demanding her attention.

  “Say it isn’t so,” Tessa demanded.

  “It can’t be.” Trista frowned.

  Eden knelt next to them. Sean stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders.

  Where did he come from?

  It was as though everyone had a special radar that guided them to this exchange between her and the little ones.

  “What’s that?” Eden chucked both of them under their chins.

  “You can’t be thinking of leaving us. We need you.” Their words came simultaneously, as though rehearsed from tiny rosebud lips. Old soul eyes started at her, their elemental colors and their bear shifter hues flashing.

  Eden laughed. “Did someone set you up to this?”

  “Do you think we can be manipulated so easily?” That came from Trista, her mouth was the one moving, but that voice was not Trista’s.

  It was her elemental. An ages old being that would be with Trista forever.

  Or so Eden hoped.

  But if she isn’t, I hope it works out as good for her as it has for Piria and me.

  Eden glanced up and caught Circe’s gaze on her face, and behind Circe’s dark eyes, a flare of red flames—Piria. Circe nodded, and inside, Eden was sure the nod came from Piria.

  A surge of joy ran through her, getting more validation that Piria and she had made the right move.

  “So,” Sean began. “What do you say, Eden? The girls are waiting for your answer.”

  Tears brimmed in her eyes.

  Damn. More tears. Seems all I do is cry around this family.

  Tears of joy.

  She nodded, fearing that her voice would crack and she’d begin to bawl from happiness.

  “You’re my family. I wouldn’t abandon you.” She held her arms open wide.

  The twins threw themselves into the embrace with gusto.

  Eden used her napkin to get barbecue sauce off Sean’s chin. “You liked it,” she said with a laugh.

  “Mhm.” His eyes glittered with love, and lust, and all sort of things that made her belly flip and her knees feel like they were made of jelly.

  The adults were outside. The children had gone inside to watch a show, attended by their favorite “uncle,” Griz.

  Circe rose, and silence fell amongst the merrymaking group. “If I could have a moment.”

  All heads turned toward her.

  She continued, “We were talking and considering the dangerous element that has been pursuing the girls, and that Amaranth is still alive, though the other two witches have perished…” She glanced at Cedric and Jenner with nod. “Well, several of us feel the girls wouldn’t be safe here. And the safest place I can think of is in Denver, at our place.”

  She looked at Sean and Tyler. “And with you two there, as extra security, and all the security we already have in place…” This time she looked at Eden, Sean, Camden, and Tyler. “I think it would be a good idea if you all wanted to consider it.”

  Eden looked at Camden and Tyler. They didn’t seem surprised by this. “You knew about this?”

  Camden nodded. “We talked about it earlier, when you were with Sean.”

  Eden glanced at Sean. “What do you think?”

  “I’m all for whatever will keep those two little ones safe.”

  Tyler nodded. “Agreed. Completely.”

  Eden set her napkin on the disposable plate. “Who am I to argue with the logic of this. It makes sense. And I don’t think Amaranth and her bunch are likely to quit looking for them. And with so many of us together, it seems like we’d have more eyes for looking out.”

  “Exactly.” Circe’s shoulders lifted, as though a great burden had been removed. “I’m glad we all agree.”

  “I have my own announcement,” Eden said. “It might seem hasty, what with the way things have gone down, but it’s what I feel I need to do.”

  Sean put his arm around her, completely in support. Over brisket and corn on the cob, she’d shared the idea she’d come up with while she’d been in the shower.

  Now it was time to tell the family.

  “I’m going to the Carpathian Mountains, where we first trained,” she added for the benefit of those who didn’t know. “I’ve got to find my role, what the Order wants or needs from me now. I feel rudderless.”

  Across the firepit, Circe nodded, clearly understanding.

  Camden reached out, and squeezed her fingers.

  “I’ll be going with her,” Sean stated, as if there were no other option.

  “I’m worried about leaving the girls,” Eden continued.

  “We’ll cover,” Tyler said.

  “Absolutely,” Camden agreed.

  “I think it’s a great idea,” Circe exclaimed.

  “I hope I won’t be gone long. I shouldn’t.”

  “We shouldn’t,” Sean amended.

  “Yes, we,” Eden agreed. “Thank you.” She kissed him. “For everything. For always.”

  “Always,” he whispered in her ear.

  “So, just fly back to Denver when you’re heading back to the country,” Linc said.

  Eden wasn’t sure she’d heard more than a couple dozen words out of the quiet shifter, but she was so very happy that her sister had met him.

  “We will.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Sean and Eden had taken a walk in the forest, just the two of them, getting to know each other, spending time, while Trista and Tessa hung out with Camden and Tyler. They’d be leaving tomorrow, it had been a week since Eden had decided she needed to go to the Carpathians.

  Now, they had returned to the back porch of the home on Sean’s side.

  He’d told her how sexy she looked in jeans and hiking boots, a shirt with a tank beneath it.

  The perfect vision of what a woman looked like.

  Luscious and sexy, curvy and delicious.

  He’d told her several times.

  She’d laughed and blushed and pushed his attentions away, but now he had one plan. He’d show her how desirable she was.

  Sean wrapped his arms around Eden and crushed her to his chest, holding the nape of her neck in one hand to keep her in place while his tongue probed and licked.

  She opened her mouth eagerly and met his tongue with hers. The way she responded sent a surge of blood southward, making him thicken and lengthen.

  He didn’t hold anything back, but neither did she.

  She panted and groaned and acted like she wanted to tear him apart. Her panther flashed amber in the depths of her eyes. No flames from an elemental shone there. Not anymore.

  She moaned low in her throat. All it did was make him want her more.

  Eden’s arms slid around him and clamped down like a vise, pulling and squeezing, holding on as though her life depended on him. The way she wanted him made him want her even more.

  “Damn, woman.” He thrust his hips toward her and she groaned when she felt his urgent hardness pressing against her stomach.

  “I need you,” he whispered.

  He lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. When he felt her heat against his straining hardness, he practically ran to the privacy of the room they shared, far from prying eyes. He ran, even as they kissed and panted and groaned into each other’s mouths.

  He didn’t waste a single second when they reached his room, either. Kicking the door shut, he carried her to the bed and tumbled onto it with her. Both of them laughing between pants of desire.

  She was beneath him, her legs still around him, and he ground himself against her as his mouth traveled over her jaw, then her throat.

  “Yes. Sean, please, more…” Her whispers were frantic, breathless.

  He worked at the buttons of her top as his lips made a journey across her chest.

  She wore a tank underneath and sat up a little to yank her arms from the restraining straps, then pulled the tank over her head and tossed it aside.


  She fell back, and he went with her. Her skin was so sweet, almost begging him to kiss, lick, and suck, on and on until he had his fill. He would never get enough—she was already an addiction. His addiction. His bear’s addiction. His heart’s and soul’s addiction.

  One hell of a delicious addiction.

  “Ahh,” she groaned, followed by a gasp when his tongue swept over her breasts, just beneath the cups of her balconette bra. Tight, pebbled, dusky rose nipples stood out against the satin and lace.

  He took a second to look, to enjoy the sight of her, to drink in the magnificence.

  Taking one nipple between his lips and sucking through the fabric, he made her hiss and moan.

  She ran her fingers through his hair. Her hips rolled like waves—he worked her jeans over her hips and cupped her satin-covered mound with one hand. She cried out in surprise, then let out a long, haunting moan.

  He could hear her panther in that moan, almost sounded like a howl.

  She ground her hips, raising them, pushing them into his body.

  He pulled one of the cups aside with his teeth and dragged his tongue over her pink nipple. She let out a whimper that seemed to come from deep down inside her.

  Sean sucked, gently at first, then increasing the pressure as she grew louder. He watched her face, contorted in pleasure, eyes squeezed, lips parted, mouth open, head rolling from side to side on the pillow.

  Her hands ran all over him, squeezing and clawing, scratching and scoring.

  Eden was lost in pleasure—pleasure he was in control of. Heady. Sexy. Amazing. There was nothing sexier than knowing he could completely control the pleasure that was tearing her apart.

  Her hips flexed, over and over, as she struggled to press herself against his hand.

  So, he pushed harder and rubbed up and down.

  Eden cried out and dug her fingers into his shoulders. “More!” she gasped, rolling her body against him. “Oh, Sean, please!”

  He moved further down her body and slid the pants over her legs, then took off her hiking boots.

  She was frantic with desire, something he could completely relate to. She was gasping for breath, urging him on.

  Once she was down to her panties and bra, he pushed apart her thighs and settled himself between.

  Her scent was intoxicating, even through the satin still covering her mound. His bear roared in Sean’s head, eager and ready to claim Eden as his mate forever.

  He lapped over the fabric, and she growled, deep and low.

  Her fingers were in his hair, nails biting into his flesh while he pulled and held his head closer to the center of her heat.

  She was so eager; it matched his own enthusiasm. Sean was almost painfully hard by now, desperate to be inside her. Her pleasure meant more to him, though.

  He’d wait. He would have his turn. Later.

  He slid his fingers under the waistband of the panties. She lifted to let him slide them over her hips, then raised her legs until her feet pointed upward.

  He ran his hands over those smooth, soft legs, then back down again. She whimpered, and their eyes met just before he dove back between her thighs.

  “Mmmm…” she whispered.

  He ran his tongue over her slickness, just once, and that was all it took to send her into throes of ecstasy.

  She yelped and clutched at the back of his head and bucked her hips in time with the waves of pleasure rolling throughout her body.

  He didn’t stop. No way. He wouldn’t stop. Instead, he dipped further in, tormenting himself with her taste and smell and the sound of her pleasure building and climbing, reaching a crescendo, even though that first burst hadn’t ended.

  The pleasure went on and on, her cries, gasps, and other sounds filling the air around them. He could’ve stayed there the rest of his life, licking at her while she climaxed, wave after endless wave.

  But by God, there was only so long he could last before he burst through the front of his pants. His desire was sheer agony. He finally raised his head and looked down at her. She was spent, arms and legs splayed, her breasts rising and falling in time with her panting breaths.

  “Oh, Sean,” she moaned.

  “Are you all right?”

  “More than all right,” she said softly. She opened her eyes and looked at him. Her face was rosy, a sheen of perspiration made her shimmer.

  “Come here.” She held her arms out, and he advance, lowering his body over hers.

  His straining hardness was so close to her, pressing against her through his pants, he couldn’t stand it.

  Her hands slid beneath the fabric his shirt and pulled it over his head. He watched her face closely and saw the way her eyes widened when she looked at him, tracing her fingertips over his shoulders, his arms, his chest and abs.

  “Beautiful,” she whispered, sitting up just enough to run her tongue over his abs.

  He held her head close as he groaned. Her hands worked at his buckle, his zipper, then pulled the waistband down enough to free him.

  “Fuck,” he hissed as her hand closed over his shaft. “Fuck, yes, Eden.”

  “So beautiful,” she whispered, making tempting circles that teasingly traveled lower and lower on his abs.

  Sean ran his hands through her thick, dark hair, lost in the sensations.

  When her tongue flicked across the head of his shaft, he groaned, and held her hair more fiercely.

  “Back,” he grunted, pushing her onto the bed.

  She wrapped her legs around him without saying a word, and he positioned himself against her seconds before pushing into her slickness.

  She cried out when he entered her. He groaned and held her tightly, filling her.

  She was perfect. Their bodies fit together as if made for each other. He withdrew, then pushed forward again. Hard.

  Again.

  Harder.

  Slowly at first, finding the depth and tempo. She urged him on with her little cries, her grunts and moans, the way she gasped every time he went as deep as he could.

  He couldn’t hold back for long, though, and soon, he was pumping urgently.

  She expressed her pleasure with low moans, which only made him take her harder, faster, with long, sure strokes. Their bodies slapped together in a brisk rhythm, and when she started tightening around his cock, he knew she was close to climaxing.

  “Give it to me,” he growled, gritting his teeth and plunging into her, sending her into shudders of pleasure that urged him closer to releasing.

  He felt the familiar build-up inside his core and groaned against the side of her throat as he exploded.

  “Yes, Sean, yes…”

  She seemed to sink into the bed, totally spent, and he stayed there for a second before rolling off her luscious, delicious body and into the bed, next to her.

  He didn’t know what to say.

  At the moment, everything in the world made sense. It all came together perfectly, had even seemed inevitable. Like they’d always been meant to be.

  It was at this moment he realized the fate Piria had chosen had really been chosen for her by life and circumstance. There’d been no way he could live without Eden, and somehow, it had all worked out.

  The room was quiet except for the sound of their breathing, and it stayed that way for a long time. They both relished the tranquility and the togetherness.

  She turned her head to look at him, surprised. “This was so much more than I ever thought it could be. Than anything could be.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose, drinking in the way her flushed skin glowed. “You’re beautiful. You’re mine.”

  His bear roared agreement.

  She blushed and looked away.

  He tipped her chin so she’d have to look at him. “I mean it.”

  “Sean, I never thought I’d have something like this. I didn’t think this existed.

  “I know. Same.” He covered one of her hands with his. “Beyond perfection.”

  Epilogue

  E
den and Sean took a long leisurely tour of Europe, one that lasted three plus weeks, and now they’d finally reached the end of the tour, and were outside of a nondescript and unassuming cottage at the base of the Carpathian Mountains.

  There they’d secured a ride to a monastery that the Order had control of so Eden could speak to the monks. She had so many questions.

  They’d be leaving in the morning, but for now, had been given a private cottage in the back of the property and Eden was pacing the room.

  “You’re here. It’s time to relax. Now you’ll get the answers you’ve been looking for.”

  She smiled at him. “I know. Do you have any idea how much I love you?”

  “I know that if it’s like my love for you, it can’t be measured.” He pulled her closer until she was pressed against the hardness between his legs.

  Just the feel of it took her breath away, and their kiss deepened.

  His fingers worked at the buttons of her top while she worked at his. Nothing in the entire world mattered as much as getting their clothes off and being together, then and there.

  She pulled her arms from the sleeves and wrapped them around him again once she had him down to his T-shirt. With his arms still around her, he stood and took her with him.

  He pushed her back against the wall and she gasped, his mouth still moving over hers.

  He took both of her wrists in one of his big hands, then used the other to trace a path down the inside of her bare arm.

  When he pinned her wrists above her head, she shivered in anticipation.

  “When did you want to tell me?” Sean tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

  “Tell you?”

  “You don’t know?”

  “Sean!” She squealed, half in frustration. “Stop playing games.”

  His expression grew somber. “About the baby.”

  Eden did a doubletake. “No way.”

  He looked at her, a confused expression on his face.

  “One of the monks I talked to yesterday said that I shouldn’t be worried about Piria or my role with the Order or anything else for now. He said I’d be busy in a few months.” She gasped, then began to jump around as realization hit her. “Oh my God! I’m pregnant! We’re pregnant! We’re having a baby!”