Yep, this is going to be fun! He yipped at her and took off across the yard.
Twenty-Eight
Ariana
She had never felt so free in her life! Chasing after Gray’s fox with the wind ruffling her fur, she was truly happy. Not one worry entered her mind. His fox was beautiful, all the mix of colors blending together. Jay’s tiger wasn’t anything to sneeze at either, in her fox form he was twice as large as she was. His muscles bunching and releasing with his stride, his tiger was massive yet agile. Ariana knew he was powerful from the first fight she had seen him in his animal form. Has it really only been three months since they first showed up out of the blue?
Avery was hollering at the top of her lungs in delight. Her shouts of joy dragged Ariana from her thoughts, and her heart soared to see her daughter so happy and carefree. Seeing Avery riding Jayden’s massive tiger in the saddle he had made specifically for her, she tumbled just a little more in love with him. She decided then and there that she was ready to make them her mates, fully and completely. One at a time to start, and they could work up to more later.
Now all she had to do was get Roman on board. How, she had no idea, but she would think of something. Just because she wouldn’t tell him about the second part to the curse didn’t mean she didn’t want him and wouldn’t fight for him. But she wouldn’t allow him to be influenced by the curse and its consequences. That didn’t mean she couldn’t try a different approach. She saw the little glances he gave her when he thought she wasn’t looking. The way he still found an excuse to touch her, the way he took care of and acted with the girls. He wanted to be with her, to be a father to them. Ariana knew he didn’t mean what he had said that night, that something was holding him back. She would find out one way or another what it was and discover a way to fix this. She was a fighter, dammit. She wasn’t one to roll over and pretend everything was fine. She had some dark shit in her past too. If he could get over her past, she could get over whatever it was in his that made him tell her no. Her heart started to race, and tears stung her eyes. Not wanting thoughts of Roman to ruin this happy moment, she pushed them to the back of her mind. She’d worry about that later. For now, she was content to run and play with her daughter and two of the six wonderful men in her life. Even if Roman was being a stubborn ass. Shaking her head, she focused on where they were heading.
Everything looked the same to her, but she could tell her eyesight was sharper, and so was her hearing. She sniffed the air. She could smell water somewhere nearby, and soon she heard the sound of running water. Ariana tried to frown, but found it was difficult to frown with a fox’s face. Jayden and Gray slowed to a trot, with Ariana following their lead and slowing down as well. The sound of running water was close now. What are we doing here?
You’ll see. Came Jayden’s reply along with a chuckle. Ariana wasn’t normally a fan of surprises, but she went along with his knowing they were safe with the guys around. It still amazed her how fast they had become such an integral part of her and her daughters lives.
As they stepped out from the forest, Ariana was greeted with a stunning sight. In front of her was a massive waterfall that fell in sheets to a large pond. Hell, it was bordering on being a lake. The water was clear and inviting on the hot summer day, and wildflowers grew along the shore in a brilliant burst of color, scenting the air with their fragrance. Avery squealed and jumped off Jayden’s back, running towards the water. Stopping at the edge to kick off her shoes and dip her toe in.
“It feels great! Not cold like you would think! Come on, Mom!” Avery yelled and gestured widely to her.
Laughing, Ariana changed back to her human form. She had been practicing in her room, and Ariana could now change forms at will and still have all her clothes when she shifted back. She chuckled at the guys whose mouths hung open. It was funny to see on a tiger and a fox. She had changed into a black one-piece bathing suit that had a little red skirt attached and red swirl patterns on top. With a twirl of Ariana’s hand, Avery was suddenly wearing a hot pink hello kitty one piece with arm floaties wrapped around her arms. Squealing again in delight, Avery wasted no time in jumping into the lake. She quickly made her way out farther, stopping when the water reached her chest. Avery tipped her head back and spun in a slow circle.
Ariana waved her hand in the direction of the guys. “Come on. You can change to human. You’ll be covered, I promise.”
Jayden and Gray glanced at each other, then changed. As they looked down at themselves and then over to each other, Ariana burst out laughing. They had such incredulous looks on their faces. They kept looking down at themselves and each other for a minute or two. Finally, their gazes snapped to her, where she was now holding her side in laughter.
“When the hell did you learn that!”
“Who taught you that?”
“Is that your power or a stronger version of Easton’s?”
“What else can you do?” The guys were firing off questions in rapid succession, stumbling over each other’s words until she held up her hand, effectively quieting them.
Smiling softly, she told them, “I’ve been practicing in my room at night.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Since I started training my powers, I seem to have grown stronger. I can do a lot of different things now.”
“Holy Fu… err… crap.” Jayden quickly changed his words when she shot him a glare then pointedly glanced at Avery, who was jumping in the water and splashing around.
“Wow. Dam… dang. Angel, you are seriously powerful.”
“Angel?”
Gray grinned. “I found the perfect pet name for you. You’re my Angel.”
Ariana walked to Gray and kissed him, and then stepped out of his reach before it could go any further. Grinning, she took off for the lake at a dead run. They didn’t know the half of what she could do. They thought a parlor trick like changing clothes was good… wait till they see this. As she hit the shoreline she bent her knees and launched herself into the air.
She could hear Gray’s and Jayden’s shouts as she soared some sixty feet up. As she started to come back down, she flipped and held her arms straight in front of her. The water rushed up to greet her fast.
Jayden
What the fu…? His brain shut down, and he started running, acting on instinct. He had no idea how high up a person could dive into water and still survive. But he was not about to find out now. What the hell was she thinking? How the hell did she jump that high? Holy fuck, she really is the perfect woman! His thoughts were tumbling in his brain, and he couldn’t focus on a single one. All he saw was Ariana falling towards the lake at a rapid pace. He didn’t have a fear that she would hit the bottom and break her pretty little neck as the lake was deceptively deep, just a little ways past where Avery was. Avery was staring up at her mom and clapping, urging her on.
Just as he was about to run into the lake, Gray caught his arm. Before Jayden could swing around and tell him to get the fuck off, Gray whispered, “Look! Just watch and look. Our girl has got this.”
He watched helplessly as she hit the water. For the umpteenth time that day, Jay was left stupefied by this spectacular woman. She had barely made a splash when she hit the water, slicing through it like an eel. A curvy, beautiful eel. He let out the breath he didn’t even realize he was holding when her head broke the surface, and promptly lost it again as a dazzling smile lit up Ari’s face. The shear brilliance of her was astounding. Ariana was the bravest, most stunningly beautiful, fearless woman he had ever known. She had her moments of terror, of freezing in place. But from what he knew of her past, he was more surprised that she could still smile and still find joy in life. She might have been prickly at the beginning, and still was sometimes, but in these last two weeks at her house and then here, she had really opened up. He loved watching her blossom like the flower she smelled like. A combination of apple blossoms and roses, they were now his favorite flowers. He had tried to convince Aiden that they needed to plant as many as they could here, but Aiden had shot it
down saying the apple blossoms wouldn’t grow in the Illinois climate. Jayden was determined though, even if he had to get Easton to use his magic. He would get those trees here.
Gray roughly slapped him on the back. “See, I told you to just watch her. She’s fantastic!” With that he ran into the water, diving in when he was far enough out.
“She definitely is,” He whispered to himself. Jayden ran into the water, splashing Avery and making her giggle. Ariana was doing somersaults and swimming around Gray.
“Who wants to play chicken in the water?” Ariana swam over to where Jay was playing with Avery.
“I do! I do! Gray, I’ll get on your shoulders since Jay brought me here!” Avery swam over to Gray and nimbly climbed onto his shoulders, hooking her feet around his chest towards the back to anchor herself. “Come on, Mom! Hurry!”
Laughing, Ariana turned towards Jayden. With her hair wet the red was darker, sticking to her face in places. His heart sped up, beating rapidly in his chest. Thinking about having her sitting on his shoulders and getting to touch her had his dick hard in seconds. Jayden was glad they were in the deeper part of the water and hoped no one would be able to notice. His damn dick had started acting like a fucking teenager again, constantly jumping to attention whenever Ari was near. Jayden had the worst case of blue balls he had ever had. He had been trying not to take care of it himself, wanting to wait till Ariana came to him, but he was out of patience. He would have to take care of it tonight, and maybe then he could get his unruly cock to simmer down.
Smiling wickedly at Ariana, he grabbed her around her waist and hoisted her onto his shoulders with her feet facing his back and chuckling at the little squeak she made. Ariana grabbed onto his hair tightly while she looked down at him and he stared up at her.
Laughing, she had heat in her eyes. “Umm… you seem to have me facing the wrong way, Jay.” Ariana’s voice was husky and soft, making his cock jump again. He had her right where he wanted her. Making sure Avery couldn’t see anything, he kissed her right at her core, never once taking his eyes from her. She gasped, and her fingers tightened in his hair deliciously. Her face heated with a delightful blush, her eyes darkening with desire.
“Right you are! My bad. I forgot how to play this game.” He winked at her. Lifting her up, he lightly tossed her in the air making sure she spun around. Jayden easily caught her around her waist once more, her firm ass right in front of his face. He couldn’t resist, nipping it a little and grinned widely at her strangled gasp. He quickly set her on his shoulders. Jayden loved hearing her gasp; he tried to get her to make that sound every day. It was his favorite new game to play. How many times could Ariana gasp in a day?
“Ready when you are!” Gray called out with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Jayden knew Gray liked to play dirty at times. He didn’t think he would with Avery on his shoulders though.
“Let’s go kick some honey buns!” Ariana fist pumped the air. Jayden launched them through the water. Avery started pushing at her mother’s body trying to knock them off balance. He had great balance though, so it wasn’t going to be easy. Until Gray swept his foot out from underneath him.
As he and Ariana fell backward with a splash, Gray and Avery were congratulating each other. Not above playing dirty himself, Jayden quickly swam and knocked Gray’s feet from underneath him, jumping on Gray’s back when he surfaced and pushing him back down again. He grinned at Ariana and Avery, who were laughing.
This was the most fun Jayden had in awhile. He knew it was because he was with two of the most important females in his life. They had been shining a light into the guys’ darkness, slowly brightening every one of their lives. Jayden couldn’t wait until they got rid of this stalker and Ariana and the girls could be free. But for right now, he and Gray could give them this—they deserved this and so much more. Jayden knew that every one of the guys were determined to give these wonderful females a better life. A happier life filled with love and laughter every day. Even the pig headed fool Roman.
Twenty-Nine
Ariana
They had played in the lake for hours, only stopping because they were all getting hungry. Now back at the house, Ariana was in the kitchen making dinner. She had the radio on like she always did and was dancing along when Roman walked around the corner, stopping when he saw her. Ariana sighed, she hated that they felt like strangers now. But she didn’t know how to breach the canyon Roman had jumped across. As he continued to stand there and stare at her, Ariana couldn’t handle the hurt that flashed through her body. Turning around to stir the ingredients for a cheeseburger calzone she was making that night, Ariana waited for him to say something. Anything. But Roman just left without a word.
Ariana tried to stop the tears that gathered in her eyes. How in the world could she convince him that she wanted him? She was too afraid to show up at his bedroom at night. Afraid he would turn her away; afraid he wouldn’t. Her head was such a mess. As tears dripped down her face, she quietly started to fill the pizza dough she had already prepared. How could her heart feel as if it was breaking? She barely knew him, yet she also felt like she had known all of them her entire life. Everyday her past slipped further and further from her mind.
That was, until the news report came on over the radio. “Another body has been found mutilated like the last five.” Ariana gasped, spinning around to stare at the radio as if she could see the anchor telling the news. “The Chicago Mutilator has struck again. Sources say the woman was found early this morning in the alley behind the well-known nightclub, Club Solstice. The authorities have yet to release the latest victim’s name stating the family has yet to be notified. Authorities are asking all redheaded woman to stay indoors at night, or at the very least never be alone on the streets.” Ariana felt numb. She could hear the anchor still talking, but she was trapped in her own head.
Five? There’s five women now? Did the guys know about this? Why didn’t they tell me if they did?
Reaching blindly behind her for the counter, she hissed in pain as her hand touched the hot pan instead, but the pain helped pull her out of her panic attack. Ariana bent over and put her head between her knees and took huge gulps of air to calm down. I’m a fighter, I can handle this. She would simply ask one of the guys later if they knew. Ariana didn’t want to spoil the wonderful day they all had been having by running off and accusing anyone of keeping things from her. With that set in her mind, she attempted to push the rest back and continue making dinner. She tried to figure out who she would ask. Aiden she was likely to get into another fight with. Roman wasn’t speaking to her. Easton was too busy with his research, and he barely poked his head out of his books these days. It was Mateo’s night to go into the city and scout for anything new. Grayson would just tell her not to worry, that they were safe. So, Jayden it was then. He would be straight with her if she pushed, but only if she remained calm about it.
Good thing she had a couple of hours to get that way.
Later that night Ariana made her way to Jayden’s room. Not wanting to give him the chance to turn her away, or tell her they would talk in the morning, she didn’t bother knocking. Opening the door, she stopped and stared. Maybe I should have knocked. Instead of covering himself, Jayden laid on his bed naked. His impressive dick was hard and in his hand as he stroked himself. His eyes were hot and needy as he raked his gaze over her. She was only wearing panties and an oversized shirt for bed, and seeing him laid out so blatantly before her, heat flooded her body—her panties were soaked in seconds. Ariana had never felt desire this strong before in her life.
“Did you need me for something, Ariana?” Jayden’s husky voice snapped her eyes from his hard cock to his face. The way he had phrased the question made her nipples harden into points. Ariana nodded as shivers racked her. She did need him for something, she just couldn’t remember what that something was.
“Close the door and come closer, Sugar.” In a daze Ariana complied; it was as if her brain had taken a backseat to he
r body. Her body knew what it wanted and wouldn’t allow her brain to get in the way. As Jayden stood up from the bed, Ariana raked her gaze over him. The hard tanned muscles of his chest gleamed in the soft light of the bedside lamp, his ripped abs tapering down into a v, leading to his hard cock standing at attention. His cock was nestled in a neatly groomed patch of blonde hair. As she continued to watch, he once again took his cock in his hand, stroking all nine inches of it.
He groaned as he walked close to her, never once taking his hand off his erection. “Keep looking at me like that, Ariana, and I might get ideas.”
“Like what?” she breathed. Ariana didn’t know if she was asking about the way she was looking at him, or his ideas, but she desperately wanted to find out about the latter.
Jayden chuckled darkly as he took the final step towards her. Reaching out, he grabbed ahold of her hand, bringing it slowly to his erection. “Touch me Ariana. Please. I need you.”
Those words were her undoing. With her heart pounding in her chest, she slowly stroked his cock. She had never felt a man like this before. His cock was hard steel wrapped in soft velvet, and Ariana was amazed by it. Jayden sucked in a breath and threw his head back on a groan as she gripped him a little harder. She had watched him as he pleasured himself before, but this was so much different. She thought she would be afraid. Fantasizing about touching the guys was one thing, but following through was another.
Ariana felt no fear and had no flashbacks as she stood there stroking Jayden. He was breathing heavy now, and she thrill went through her. She was able to do this to him, to give him pleasure. Jayden’s hand shot to her wrist, holding her in place, and still she felt nothing but desire for him.
“If you keep that up, I’m going to cum,” he panted.
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