Destiny's Shift (17 page)

yet.

He threw his bag on his bed and sat down, putting his head in his hands. He had to

get his mind off Liberty and on to the mission that would take place tomorrow morning.

Instead, he thought of the first time he had been with a woman when he could feel

her emotions and hear her thoughts. It had been twenty years ago.

He was at a club in Chicago. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were blasting through the

speakers as he sat at the bar with Hudson. Two women came up to them, one latched on

to Hudson, the other to him.

An hour later he was back at her small apartment, pumping into her, and that was

when it hit him. Behind her moans of delight, deep pain rolled in. Not physical, but a

despair so deep, so heart wrenching, he stopped. He felt the sadness within him as if it

was his own, his heart clenching, his breathing constricted.

“What are you doing?” she had yelled at him in desperation.

He continued, and a moment later he felt her contractions around his cock, which

led to the most unsatisfying orgasm of his life. He rolled off her, never taking his eyes

from her face, while she stared up at the ceiling.

Her thoughts came through to him, plain as day. She had picked him up at the bar

and brought him home because she felt so alone and unloved. And now that the deed was

done, she felt dirty. She didn’t feel any better about herself, and felt even more alone than

she had before.

“You can go now,” she had said, never meeting his eyes.

Her face was a stone mask, devoid of any emotion. He longed to talk to her about

why she felt so alone and unloved, and assure her that she wasn’t dirty.

“Seriously, quit looking at me and go. Lock the door on your way out.”

She turned her back to him, and he got up, slipped on his clothes, and did as

instructed.

As he walked back to the bar that night to get his bike, he had sworn that he

would never sleep with another woman again. He couldn’t deal with the emotions, or

thoughts, of others.

And he had kept that promise to himself.

Hearing a door behind him open, he turned. Liberty stood in his room having

come through the bathroom.

“It appears our rooms share a restroom, Jovan,” she said, smiling.

Jovan looked her over. She had on jeans that hugged her thin legs, a white

turtleneck sweater, and a pair of high-heeled boots. Her ringlets framed her pretty face

that lit up with her grin.

“Don’t worry, though. I have learned the proper etiquette, thanks to you. I will

make sure to knock before entering.”

He smiled. Yes, she had come a long way. No longer did she barge in the

bathroom and catch him trying to get a little relief from his need to be with her.

As he stared at her, he knew he couldn’t fight it anymore. If Liberty would have

him, he would take her. He knew he wouldn’t lose his SR44 form because she was one of

his kind, and he wasn’t in love. He felt like an absolute cocksucker for taking her

virginity, but if she was offering herself up . . .

He stood and went to her, stopping directly in front of her. She crossed her arms

over her chest and lifted her gaze to his, tilting her head.

“What is it, Jovan?”

“Come here,” he whispered, and he took her in his arms. Her body was so small,

he felt like she would break if he squeezed too hard. She laid her cheek on his chest, and

her arms snaked around his waist.

Holding her close, he felt nothing at all, and it was a wonderful feeling. Well, he

felt nothing but his cock getting hard. There were no emotions from her, no thoughts, no

nothing.

He lifted her chin. “I can't fight you anymore, Liberty.”

"I wasn't aware we were arguing, Jovan."

What in the world was he about to do? "You're driving me crazy, Liberty."

“I’m so sorry, Jovan. What have I done? And what can I do make amends with

you?”

He smiled, while thinking of all the things she could do to make amends. “Well,

you could start with letting me kiss you.”

Her breath hitched, and he watched shock march across her face. “Jovan, I don’t

know what to say.”

“How about yes?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

He bent his head and gently kissed her. And he was pretty certain that someone

had infused the stuff they used to propel rocket launchers through his system.

Her lips were soft and unsure of what to do, and he could feel her hesitation. His

tongue slid out, and he gently caressed her lips with it. She gasped, and he brought his

head up.

“No,” she whispered, “more.”

He was down with more.

Starting where he left off, he softly coaxed her mouth open with his tongue. When

she finally acquiesced, he found hers and started the dance.

The girl was a quick study. Her tongue was smooth and silky as it tangoed with

his, and within seconds he was jacked so high there would be no turning back.

He pulled away and thought about what he was doing. Noah would be pissed

beyond belief, and Jovan had no doubt that he would end up in next Thursday after the

beating if Noah found out. The only way Noah would accept this was if Jovan made

Liberty his mate.

And he wasn’t going there.

So next Thursday it was. Nothing stayed a secret within the Six Saviors. They

were worse than a bunch of gossipy, old women, especially when the alcohol flowed.

However, he would have to make things really clear with Liberty on where they

stood. He took her hand, led her to the bed, and sat down, pulling her down next to him.

“Liberty, we need to talk before anything happens.” And with the erection he was

sporting, he planned on making it a very quick conversation.

“What is it, Jovan?”

He met her gaze. Her lips were red and a little puffy; her dark eyes glittered.

“Look, if we’re going to do this, there has to be some things said.”

She tilted her head and looked at him. “By this, you mean us doing the sex.”

The sex. Oh God. What was he getting himself into?

“Yes.”

“And what needs to be said?”

“That if this happens, it doesn’t mean . . .” He stopped short of saying “anything.”

Because it did mean something. She was a virgin, so it meant a lot. But he

couldn’t have her thinking that they would move on to a mating ceremony and a happy

ever after.

He tried again.

“We won’t be mated if we do this, Liberty.”

She looked at him a moment, put her hand on his arm, and started to laugh. He

didn’t see what was so funny, but she continued to giggle until there were tears in her

eyes.

“Oh, Jovan,” she said between gasps. “I don’t want to mate you. I have too much

living to do.” She wiped her eyes and stared at the floor as if she were trying to pull

herself together.

Finally she looked at him. “I am sexually attracted to you. I’m not in love with

you. It is . . . a physical response to you. Who knows, maybe someday I will experience it

with another male as well. I don’t want to mate you, Jovan.”

He was surprised by the sting of her words, as well as the trail his thoughts were

taking. Liberty with another male? He would rather be dragged behind a truck through

shards of glass than see that.

Putting his head in his hands, he took a deep breath.

Okay, so she had absolutely no intentions of mating him, and she was thinking

down the road to possibly being with other males.

Honestly, that was the response he wanted, so why was he feeling as though he’d

just been stabbed?

“You look ill, Jovan. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Liar.

“Well, then, I would like it if you kissed me again. That was very pleasurable.”

Right. Back to the whole getting-into-Liberty’s-pants thing.

He leaned over, and she met his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck,

pulling him down on top of her.

Propping himself up on his elbows, he let his hand run through her soft ringlets,

down the side of her face, over the slight swell of her breast, down her ribs, and to her

waist.

He hitched her leg up so that he could bury his hips deeper into her pelvis.

As she threaded her hands through his hair, letting her fingertips trail from the

roots to the ends, he marveled again at how good it felt not to have to fight someone

else’s feelings trying to penetrate his brain. He could simply enjoy the act of getting busy

with Liberty—no bullshit to distract him.

After a few minutes, she pulled away from him. “Jovan, I find these fabrics . . . I

mean clothes, cumbersome. I would like to remove them. And you remove yours.”

Okay. That was cool.

He helped her to a seated position and lifted the turtleneck above her head. Her

small breasts were covered in a lacy skin-colored bra. He pushed her back down to the

bed and ran his tongue over her nipples through the soft fabric.

She gasped, then moaned. “Oh, Warrior, I do like that.”

Jovan grinned and took a breast in each hand. They were so small and firm, and

he loved the way they fit in his palms. “And I do like these,” he said.

He flicked open the bra’s front clasp, pushed the silk triangles to the sides, and

brought his mouth down to her left breast, his tongue circling her taunt nipple.

“Oh my word,” she whispered.

He looked up at her, and her eyes were wide as she watched him.

“Did you know your heart is right here?” he asked, kissing her there.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“I can feel it beating so fast beneath my lips when I kiss you.”

“Yes, yes it is. You make that happen.”

He took her hand and laid it over his heart. “Do you feel mine?”

She nodded. “It is beating very strongly as well.”

“Yes. You do that to me, Liberty.”

She smiled. “Can you please take off your shirt? Your human form is so pleasing

to look at, and I would like to touch it as well.”

Skin-on-skin with Liberty? Hell, yeah.

He sat up and whipped his t-shirt over his head, then lay back down on top of her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, her tongue more assertive this

time. He always liked aggressive women in the bedroom.

Letting his hands roam up and down Liberty’s small body, he felt the fire of lust

rolling through him.

A few minutes later, things were heated, both of them in a frenzy of desire. Jovan

grinded his pelvis into her while her legs wrapped around his back and she fisted his hair

so tightly he couldn’t move his head.

With his chest tight and his breathing heavy, he disengaged from her grasp and sat

up to his knees, his raging erection painful in his jeans. He took off her boots, then

popped the buttons of her jeans, the need to get them off her making his hands shake.

With a yank, he pulled them to her ankles and threw them on the floor.

Her sex was covered in a little triangle of purple silk.

He knew that once he got rid of that, it was over. Looking at Liberty, he simply

said, “Are you sure?”

Without hesitation she nodded, and he reached down and ripped the string on the

sides, exposing her sex. It was easier than bringing them down her legs.

“Jovan! I liked those!”

“I’ll buy you more.”

Kissing her again, he spread her legs with his. His mouth moved over her breast,

to her ribcage, down to her hip, and then to the inside of her thigh.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

He grinned at her and brought his mouth to her core, her heady essence engulfing

him.

She shot up to a sitting position, but he held on and didn’t stop suckling her.

Gently, he pushed her back down. He closed his eyes as he became light-headed, her

intoxicating smell channeling its way up his nose. She tasted like nothing he had ever had

before, and he decided that he could go on for hours.

A moment later, he inserted a finger into her slick core, and her hips undulated off

the bed. He put his hand over her hips to keep them where he wanted them.

As he slowly slid his finger in and out and licked and suckled her, he could feel

the tremors of an orgasm beginning. She fisted the comforter, her eyes closed, her

breathing heavy.

“What is happening to me?” she whispered.

“Go with it, baby. Go with it.”

A minute later, he felt the contractions around his finger, and he fought to hold

Liberty’s hips down. Her eyes widened, and she stopped breathing as her body pulsed.

When she settled, he ran his tongue up her sweet channel one more time, and she

gasped and giggled while kicking her legs.

He stood, licking his lips, and began to unbuckle his belt. He couldn’t wait to get

into bed with her, to get inside her and to make her orgasm again.

There was a knock at the door. “Jovan, let’s go.”

Fucking Rayner.

Liberty looked up at him, her eyes wide.

Damn it all to hell and back.

Rayner knocked again. “Are you in there, Jovan?”

Jovan pinched the bridge of his nose, wanting to kill Rayner. But the fact of the

matter was that they had planned to go over their strategy immediately, but Jovan had

obviously been sidetracked.

“Come on, Jovan. Let’s move.”

“I’m coming. I’m coming.” And how he wished he was.

“I have to go,” he whispered to Liberty. “I’m sorry.”

He grabbed his shirt and put it on, then bent down and kissed her lips. “We’ll

continue this later, if you want.”

“Oh, yes, Jovan. I would like that.”