Georgie swallowed hard. “That’s something, I guess. It’s pretty unfair, you know.”
Tarun glanced at her with an eyebrow raised. “What is?”
“You can turn into animals. You have enhanced senses. And now, you’re telling me you have supernatural gifts. So unfair. Y’all have a lot of advantages.”
“Maybe. But there are downfalls, too. Having to hide ourselves, our natures and abilities, from almost everyone. Being hunted by those who do know about us. And meeting people who, like you, are scared of us. We’re just people with feelings too, you know.”
Georgie cast her eyes down, looking embarrassed. “I can’t help it. Hopefully, I’ll get used to it one day. But for now, shifters make me nervous. I’ll never be able to be with one. Like, a relationship. But I think I can try to be a friend.”
Tarun smiled at her before turning her attention back to Luke and the others. “That’s all any of us could ask for. Don’t stop being our friend, because we’re the same people you knew as normal humans just a couple of days ago.”
She watched as Luke narrowed his eyes with a look of concentration, and she knew it was beginning. She really wasn’t worried about him permanently hurting someone. It was a valid fear for him, she knew, but she had faith in him. He wouldn’t let it go that far.
But she had her fingers crossed that he’d manage to achieve the level of control he wanted—the level that would let him relax and feel normal again. She wanted to give him the world, but that was one thing only he had in his power.
Sweat beaded on Luke’s forehead as he concentrated on Blake. He’d been using his gift, fighting to control it, for a good two hours. The good news was, he hadn’t killed anyone. The bad news was, he was using so much control, trying to make sure he didn’t kill anyone, that not only was it exhausting, but he hadn’t managed to make even one of them shift yet.
“All right. Time out. Fuck, Luke. What the hell is going through your mind right now?” Blake barked out.
Bending over with his hands on his knees, Luke shook his head helplessly, blowing his sweaty hair out of his face. He felt a hand on his back and straightened to find Tarun standing next to him, holding out a hair tie. He took it with a grateful smile, immediately pulling his hair back into a stubby ponytail.
“You got this,” she whispered with a wink before heading back to the bench she was sharing with Georgie.
Blowing out a breath, he looked back at Blake. “I’m thinking I don’t want to kill you.”
“Fuck that shit. Don’t be an idiot. What’s my gift, Luke?”
He was unable to resist rolling his eyes. “Causing pain with a look.”
“Exactly. I can do some damage with a touch, too. Know what that means? Unless I’m paying attention and work to block it out, I feel a constant electrical pain blanketing my body. And you know what else that means? My pain tolerance is off the charts high. I can withstand a lot. Even if you use the same amount of power in your voice as you used with Vynn, I won’t pass out, let alone die. So stop being a pussy and use. Your. Gift. There’s no point to this practice if you’re not willing to try.”
He’s right, you know. You want to learn how to control it better, but you never will if you don’t actually use it, his lion said.
Shit. They were both right.
Arching an eyebrow, he smirked at Blake. “You know, calling me a pussy doesn’t have the effect you think it does. I’m a lion. That means I’m literally a pussy.”
“Oh, for the love of—”
He never knew what the rest of Blake’s sentence would have been, because he focused on him and turned up his gift. Gasping, Blake bent over, his body subtly blurring in a way only Luke could see when he used his gift. Almost, but not quite. Kicking it up another notch, he smiled as a huge, dark brown grizzly burst out of Blake’s human skin.
Success.
Noah stepped up. “Me next. Don’t hold back. I’m not Blake, but if you use the same amount and I come out of it okay, then you know the exact amount to use. Don’t give me that look. I’ll be fine.”
Nodding, he took a deep breath and focused, using the same amount of power. Moments later, Noah’s lion was in his place. He looked much like Luke, except he had no black in his mane.
“My turn,” Liam said, his Irish accent thicker than usual, directing his attention.
With a nod, he repeated the process. And just like before, the shift happened without knocking him out or killing him. Liam was a flight shifter, and he flapped his gigantic white wings, soaring into the sky. Liam was a white raven—the only one Luke had ever met—and watching him in flight always left him feeling a little in awe.
“Do you need our help?” Dmitri asked quietly, flicking a quick glance toward Georgie.
Luke shook his head, a little overwhelmed by the offer. Dmitri and Damara kept their animals’ existence a closely guarded secret. Only the other Enforcers, and now Tarun, knew what they were. The fact that they were willing to expose themselves in front of a human, all in the name of helping him, meant more than he could express.
“I appreciate the offer, I really do. But I think I have it now. I’ll force the others back into their human bodies just to make sure, but I think I’m good.”
He could have sworn he heard Noah groan, and he looked over with a grin he’d be the first to admit was a little on the sadistic side. It seemed like he really had found the right balance, and since he wasn’t worried about maiming or killing them, he was looking forward to it.
One by one, from Noah to Blake—only pausing long enough for Liam to land so he didn’t plummet to the Earth when he shifted—Luke forced them back into their human skins, leaving them all, Blake included, panting from the pain of their shifts.
The sound of running footsteps came to him, and he turned just in time to catch Tarun as she threw herself into his arms. Holding her closely, he spun her in a circle as she threw her head back, laughing with abandon.
“Look at you,” she said breathlessly as he brought them to a stop. “I knew you could do it, but you got the hang of it so quickly once you believed you could do it. I’m so damn proud of you.”
He eased her down until her feet touched the ground. “Couldn’t have done it without you.”
Before she could reply, he kissed her with every ounce of everything he was feeling—surprise, elation, relief, and, most importantly, love. They kissed for what felt like forever, until everyone else had gone back inside and they were the only ones left.
When he pulled back, her lips were shiny and swollen from his kisses, and the look in her gorgeous hazel eyes stole his breath. Her gaze roved over his face as the green rims slowly overtook the hazel, and when she met his eyes again, the look in hers stole the breath he’d just gotten back.
“You dropped a bombshell on me earlier and then just walked away. You didn’t even give me a chance to say it back. I love you too, Luke Carlisle. Sometimes I have a hard time believing just how much. It’s almost impossible to comprehend. You mean absolutely everything to me.”
Fuck, what those words did to him. He shook his head silently for a moment, trying to find his voice. “I think this might be the best day of my life so far. I found the control I need for my gift, and the most amazing woman in the world just declared her love for me. I can only think of one other thing that could make it better.”
She cocked her head, a small smile playing on her lips. “What’s that? Because if it’s in my power to give, it’s yours.”
A grin stretched across his face as he leaned down and scooped her up in his arms. She squealed, laughing as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“What are you doing?”
Winking, he leaned down and grabbed the door handle, managing to get it open, then took the stairs two at a time. “You said I could have whatever I wanted if you could give it.”
“Well, yeah, but what—” her words trailed off as he reached their bedroom and opened the door, letting her slide down his body once they were inside. “Oooo
h, okay. I think I get it. I’m totally on board with that plan.”
“And I’ll make sure you don’t regret it,” he murmured against her lips.
He kissed her for a long moment, easy and chaste, before slipping his tongue inside her mouth. Fuck, what a simple kiss with her did to him. It was unreal. He’d always heard that everything was better with a mate, but the fact that she could make his blood boil and his knees weak with the simple press of her lips to his was mind blowing.
Her body was plastered against his, making it hard to touch her, but he didn’t let it slow him down. He trailed his hands down her back, slipping them easily underneath the waistband of her stretchy yoga pants. He kneaded the soft skin of her ass before squeezing it and pulling her into him. His dick thumped against his thigh as he felt her pressed so intimately against him, and he groaned deep in his throat.
He hadn’t had a chance to replace the clothes he lost in the fire yet, and he was still wearing borrowed sweats. It’d been aggravating, but in that moment, he was thankful. Between his sweats and her yoga pants, there was no stiff, scratchy material between them, and they were both feeling each other better than they would have otherwise.
Easing his mouth away from hers, he made his way to the soft skin of her neck. He knew it was a trigger spot for her, and he loved the way it felt against his lips and tongue. He started suckling on her skin, reveling in the way her breath stalled before she heaved for air.
Her hands reached out, tugging the hair tie from his hair, and he felt her fling it aside as she tunneled her fingers in the strands, holding him to her neck as she arched her body even tighter to his.
“I want to claim you. I want you to claim me. I want us to claim each other.”
Freezing at her softly spoken words, he reared back to search her eyes. They were fully green now, her tiger showing through clearly, and hazy with desire.
Swallowing hard, his lion, his body, hell, his whole being yearning to give her just that, he forced himself to speak, not surprised in the slightest when the words came out husky and strained.
“Are you sure, Tarun? We haven’t had a chance to talk about any of the logistics. You live in Colorado, I live in Nevada. I travel constantly for work, and hell, I don’t even know if you’re okay with what I do. Being an Enforcer is dangerous, and—”
She placed her fingertips gently against his lips, halting the rapid flow of words spewing from his mouth. “Shhhh. We can work all that out later. The important stuff—the only things that really matter—are that we’re mates and we love each other. If you want to wait, I’ll understand, but for me, nothing else is important.”
Just the barest hint of insecurity flashed through her eyes, and he hated it. He shook his head, staring deeply into her eyes, willing her to feel his words. “Tarun, baby, there is absolutely nothing I want more than to claim you and have you claim me in return. Nothing. I love you more than anything and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I just want to make sure you’ve thought this through, and that you want it like I do. Because I can wait if it’s what’s best for you.”
“It is what’s best for me. I can’t imagine ever wanting anything more than I want to be yours—officially. No more talk of thinking it over more. No more questioning or doubts. Just give me the one thing I want the most. You.”
“Fuck, baby, you already have me. Always.”
Reaching up, he hooked his fingers into the neckline of her top and tugged hard, ripping it down the back. She gasped, but he didn’t regret it, even though he knew her wardrobe was limited at that moment. He’d buy her another later.
But he had to feel her skin under his fingers—not frustrating material keeping her from him.
With a laugh, she eased away a bit, her arms reaching behind her to unsnap her bra. “This is one of my favorites. I’d hate to lose it to your impatience,” she said with a wink.
He chuckled, taking the moment when they weren’t touching to yank his shirt off. When he got his first look at her, his mouth dried and his lungs emptied of oxygen. Fuck, she was beautiful. Her light caramel skin was gleaming in the faint light from the window. She was curvy in all the best ways, and her breasts were more than a handful.
They weren’t perky, not really. They were large, heavy and round, and her nipples—that gorgeous cinnamon color he loved so much—were the perfect size for their shape. The buds were hard, and he could practically hear them calling out for his touch, for his mouth. He forced his gaze away, following the curves of her body where her waist nipped in before flaring into generous hips.
She wasn’t the typical, super thin ideal that many men, especially humans, seemed to think was the right shape. She had all those curves, her breasts hung from their weight rather than perked up, and her belly boasted a slight slope rather than flatness.
But, to him, she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. Every inch of her called to him with a song he couldn’t resist, and his heart and body both reacted. She might not be society’s ideal, but she was his ideal—perfect in every way.
Unable to resist any longer, he yanked her to him, filling one of his palms with her breast while his other hand slowly trailed down the satiny skin of her stomach. He kissed her hard before stooping down to suck one of her nipples in his mouth, reveling in her gasp and the way her hands tightened in his hair.
Rolling the stiff bud in his mouth, he flicked it with his tongue while mimicking his actions on her other nipple with his hand. He trailed his mouth to her other nipple and sucked it into his mouth, suckling hard, as his hand trailed back down her stomach, delving into her pants and under her silky underwear to cup her center.
She moaned and her tiger purred, and he heard his lion answer as his dick hardened painfully. She was so hot and wet under in his palm, and he was drowning in the sensations she was calling forth in him. He could play there forever, and he wanted to know what she tasted like. Yearned to know the feel of her against his tongue.
Hell, what was he waiting for?
Pulling back, ignoring her protest, he jerked her pants down and urged her out of them before backing her up to the bed. Pushing her down to sit on the mattress, he eased her back until she was lying down, her legs dangling off the side. Kneeling down, he stared at her core, the dark curls at her center glistening with her desire.
Fuuuuuck.
He put his hands on her knees and pushed her legs farther apart, settling down between them. Slowly sliding his hands up her thighs, he paused at their juncture, leaning in to blow softly on her core.
She gasped, her hips jerking, and he didn’t make her wait any longer. He thought if he did, the desire inside him would combust and incinerate him. Leaning in, he ran his tongue up her folds, collecting the moisture there, and savoring the taste.
It was fucking amazing, and he almost busted a nut, right there in his pants, as he tasted her.
Using his thumbs, he eased her folds apart and took a moment to drink her in before running his tongue around her clit. Slowly at first, just teasing her, although it nearly killed him to do so. He slowly gained speed, applying more pleasure. She had one hand buried in his hair, tugging at the long strands, and the other on his shoulder, her nails digging into his skin.
Pain had never felt so good.
By the time he licked her nub, long and slow, her hips were undulating almost violently. Wrapping one of his arms around her waist, he held her down, flicking her clit lightly with his tongue and then applying pressure.
It hadn’t taken long at all, but she was almost there. She just needed a little something extra. He eased first one finger, then another, inside her, pumping slowly. She let out a growl from deep within her chest, and he paused, glancing up at her in surprise as she looked down, glaring at him.
“If you want to live, you’ll get on with it, and you won’t stop again.”
Eyebrows raising, he couldn’t help his grin. “Yes, ma’am.”
Lowering his head, he continued torturing her
with his tongue, and then he hooked his fingers, searching for her special spot. He finally found it, and it only took a few quick rubs against it before she was convulsing in his arms.
He let her waist go and her hips went wild again, undulating as she rubbed herself on his face. He couldn’t breathe, but he didn’t care, because what fucking better way to go.
When she began jerking every time her clit brushed him—far too sensitive—he eased his fingers out of her and stood. But before he could reach the waistband of his sweats, she was there, her fingers already hooked in and tugging them down.
He let her, stepping out of them and then swallowing hard when he saw she was on eyelevel with his straining dick. Seeing her so close really did make him feel like he was going so combust, and he searched for something to say to break the tension.
“Tarun, meet your biggest fan,” he joked, gesturing at his dick.
She glanced up at him, laughter in her eyes, before looking back down. Lips quirking up, she said, “Biggest is right. The sentiment is returned, though. I think I might just be his biggest fan.”
Holy. Fuck.
He couldn’t take any more of the tension arching between them. He absolutely had to get inside her before he made a fool of himself—all over her pretty face.
But before he could move, she reached out and grasped him in one of her fists. Eyes slamming shut, he couldn’t resist thrusting into her hand a bit. He was on a hair trigger, and the fact that Tarun was touching him—fuck.
She tightened her grip a bit, holding him firmly, and he cracked his eyes open to watch her. There was a look of concentration and awe on her face that shot through his blood, and he jerked a little in her grip. Glancing up at him, she laughed breathlessly, then looked back down as she raised her other hand.
Still holding onto the base of his dick with one hand, she gently touched the fingers of the other to his veins, tracing them lightly, so lightly he thought he might lose his mind. Slowly, gaining confidence, she ran her fingers over his length as she firmed her grip, pumping him slowly.
The pleasure was so intense, and made more so by watching her, that he didn’t know how he held on. He wanted to spill in her palm, on her face, watch his come drip down to her chest, and he was holding on by a thread. He wanted to let her explore and have her fun, though, so he called on all his control to keep himself in check.
Control (Blood & Bone Enforcers MC Book 1) Page 13