Shifters Forever The Boxed Set Books 1 - 6 (37 page)

S
ara put
her fingers over Ivan’s lips. They were still on the couch, where she’d fallen asleep. “Shhh. Don’t say a word.”

She picked him up and carried him to the front door. She opened it slowly, careful not to make any sounds, then slipped out and pulled it just until it touched the jamb, without letting the latch click.

She released a slow sigh of relief that she’d made it outside without detection. Then came the longer sigh. The sigh of heartbreak. She’d never see Joe again.

It’s for the best.

Her bear grumbled, disagreeing.

In the night’s cool air, she made her way through the trees, using the slight moonlight to guide them, though she didn’t really need it.

When she’d judged they were far enough away, she put Ivan down on the ground.

“We need to be bears again.”

“Always? Like before?” His voice was sad.

“I’m afraid so.”

T
hey’d traveled
for what felt like forever. Ivan looked tired, his little bear eyes drooping, his legs shuffling, struggling to make the journey.

She’d shift and carry him. She stopped and sat on her haunches. Ivan stopped and looked at her, a question in his eyes.

She shifted into her human form. He followed suit.

“I know you’re tired.” She hugged him. “I’m sorry.”

“Why do I have to be in my bear?”

“It’s safer for us that way. No one questions seeing a mama bear and her baby in the woods. But they’d question seeing humans. You understand?”

“I do. But why are we leaving Joe? And Uncle Kane and Uncle Teague? They said I’d get to see Dominic this afternoon, Mama. Did they lie to me?”

She was crushed. She sat on a log and heaved a breath, her shoulders slumped. She pulled her little son, who was way too perceptive for his age, into her lap.

“Oh, no. They would never lie to you. Never.” She hissed the words with vehemence.

“Is Mama mad at me?” Ivan wrapped little arms around her, pressed his lips to her cheek. “Mama? Why are you crying?”

“I’m sad.” Christ. She couldn’t keep yielding to her emotions like this. She’d never be able to take care of her son if she was an emotional mess, for Pete’s sake.

“I’m sad too.” He sniffled.

“Why are you sad?”

“I don’t want to leave my new family.”

A sensation gripped her heart, pushing her into an abyss of wretchedness. She held on to him fiercely.

“Mama. Too tight.”

“I’m sorry. We should get back into our bears and get on the road.”

“Why are we moving again?”

To think she’d been thrilled when he’d first shifted into his human form. Now she couldn’t deal with the questions that came from him.

“It’s safer for our friends. Our family that we’re leaving behind.”

“Joe, Uncle Kane and Uncle Teague?”

“Yes, and Doc, and Astra, and Kelsey…”

“And Dominic?” His voice was choked up. He clearly had been looking forward to meeting another little shifter like himself.

I’m denying my child happiness.

Her bear grumbled.

But I’m assuring his life. And I’m protecting our friends. And Joe.

Her bear snarled.

I know. If they can knock me out like that again, they can take Ivan from me.

She screamed inside her head, furious with her bear for pointing out the flaw in her plan. Furious with herself for coming up with such a flawed plan. But what else could she do?

She heard a sound. Faint. But not far away.
Damn.

She wished she had learned how to sync so she could shift and talk to Ivan silently. She put her hand over his mouth and a finger over hers, ordering him to silence with her gestures. She pushed him low, parallel and against the log.

Rising quickly, she lunged for a tree, ready to shift into her bear.

She found herself facing a tomahawk, inches from the point right between her eyes.

She gasped.

“It’s me, Sara. Chill.”

“Joe.” She whispered his name, relieved. Then she shoved him. “You could have killed me with that thing.”

“You shouldn’t have left.”

“What the hell are you doing out here?” She kept her voice low. In her peripheral vision she noticed Ivan had risen and was watching them.

“I can’t make you stay.” Joe took her hand in his. “But I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you and Ivan leave my life.”

Ivan came running toward them and wrapped his arms around Joe’s leg. “I missed you.”

Traitor.

Then again, Sara’s heart and Sara’s bear were being just as traitorous as Ivan, for they had leapt with joy when Joe appeared.

She frowned at Joe, crossing her arms over her chest. “So this is it? You’re just going to follow me? That’s your plan?”

“Forever. Wherever.”

“We need to talk.”

“No. you need to come home with me, where the Bear Canyon Valley shifters and I can make sure you’re safe.” His face was impassive in the dark, but his pulse sounded a strong primal beat and was already synchronized to hers.

She looked at him. His eyes were indiscernible, blending with the night’s dimness.

“No strings,” he added.

“I have strings.” She pulled him closer, taking his other hand in hers. “If you think I’m going to be a submissive, little Miss Betty Crocker…”

He laughed, his teeth white in the dark, his face the same sexy face she’d fallen for. The same face she loved watching in the heat of passion.

“Not a damned chance.” His lips touched hers with the gentleness of a summer breeze, then he pulled away. “I think you’re going to be a handful, and I can’t wait to try containing that handful. It’ll be more fun than herding cats or balancing Jell-O on a butter knife.”

Ivan tugged on her dress and Joe’s pant leg at the same time.

“Does this mean we’re going home?”

“It does,” she said, looking directly in Joe’s eyes.

“There’s one more matter,” Joe added.

She nodded. There sure was.

S
everal days later
…

Sara woke in the crook of Joe’s arm, cradled, the way they always slept, her back to him. The silence of the night air greeted her. It was still except for the sound of his pulse and hers. Ivan was spending the night at Marti and Tanner’s with his newly discovered cousin, as he called Dominic.

Joe’s defined abs lay against her lower back, his hard chest on her spine. His treasure trail, that sprinkling of hair that led from his navel to his cock, tickled her back. Joe didn’t wear anything to bed.

His sinewy, muscled leg was thrown over her, as always. He made sure he was protecting her, even when he was asleep.

A hardness pressed against her ass cheek, insistent and in need, even while her man slept. She felt the pulse of his cock, even through her panties, as it pressed against her ass. She moved slightly, allowing his hardness to settle between her ass cheeks.

Joe’s breath was warm on her neck. She held her breath, half from anticipation, and half from desire. She should go back to sleep. She shouldn’t disturb him.

Tell that to the wetness in my panties.
She’d felt the moisture seeping out of her, a telltale sign of her desire. And here he was, right behind her, with the one thing that could completely cure her desire. The muscles in her channel began to flex and release on their own, responding to the ache.

Sara budged again, just a bit, for it was hard to lie still with this level of desire rushing through her body with the speed of a river she’d gone white water rafting on.

As if responding to her restlessness, though still asleep, Joe moved his arm from her waist to her breast, cupping it, his thumb resting on her nipple, creating a current of electricity that traveled clear to her clit and left her buzzing. Her head felt like it was filled with cotton, like it couldn’t concentrate on anything but the pureness of the longing she had for him.

Her dark, rosy peak instantly responded, hardening under his thumb. She couldn’t control the slight movement of her hips as she pressed herself against his cock. She moved, raising her hips, dislodging her panties, working them down her legs until they were off.

Tilting one hip, she raised her thigh and allowed Joe’s cock to drop between her thighs, resting on her. When she lowered her thigh, his hot hardness was captured between her legs, nestled in the crux of the moisture.

Sara dropped one hand between her legs, touching the velvety smoothness of his mushroom head. The tip of it was slick with his nectar. She rubbed her thumb along the slit, enjoying the pungent, earthy scent of him. She explored his cock’s head, feeling the slick, velvety texture.

She pushed her lips apart with her fingers, allowing his cock to part her lips and rest there, like a banana in its peel. As she drew her fingers back, she brushed the top of her clit, still hidden in its hood.

A small gasp escaped her at the sensual feeling. Sara let her finger rest on her clit, moving in slow, hard circles as she pressed against her cleft, every so often letting her fingers slide down to caress his engorged head.

On the third pass over his cock, she felt his breathing pattern change. His fingers, earlier resting on her breasts, now took firm hold of her nipple, pinching and rolling it while his hips moved slowly, his cock going back and forth, fucking the inside of her thighs, using her moisture to ease his efforts.

The throbbing between her legs became unbearable. Her breathing hastened, and small pants escaped from her lips. She pushed her hips against him.

Joe pushed her thigh up, and rose behind her on his knees, then he lowered himself while she lay on her side. His cock slid in, guided by his hand around his hard shaft, eased by the amount of moisture she’d created. He sank deep into her, grunting as he stretched her out.

Her tightness had just wrapped around his thickness when he pulled out and pushed back in, holding on to the leg she’d raised, practically hugging her thigh.

“You’re too damned fuckable,” Joe groaned between thrusts.

He slid a finger along her moist folds, then slipped it into her, joining his cock.

She whimpered at the new intrusion, then moaned with pleasure as he moved his cock in unison with the finger he’d hooked in her and was pressing against her g-spot.

“I can’t get enough of fucking you. I want to fuck every bit of you.” He rubbed her lips with his thumb, hooking it and gathering her juices.

He put his thumb on her lips, rubbing her juices in, then pressed, parting the seam of her lips.

“Taste the sweetness of your pussy.”

She closed her mouth, savoring her own rich, earthy taste.

Joe groaned as she sucked on his thumb the way she’d suck on his cock, twirling her tongue around it, licking it from side to side.

He took his thumb out and put it back on her pussy, rubbing her clit, grabbing more moisture while he pumped her over and over.

Sara flinched and did a small jump when she felt his thumb making tiny circles near her ass, but the intensity of his driving deep into her channel, constantly pushing her toward an orgasm, made anything else he did irrelevant for a moment.

“One day, I’m going to brand this part of you too.” His voice was hoarse.

Sara pulled her body away, pushing him out of her, and with her hands on his chest, she pushed him down and climbed onto him, straddling his hips, his cock resting between her folds.

She took his shaft in her hands and guided him in, her eyes closing so she could enjoy the sensation of being filled. Sara flexed her muscles, clenching herself around him, making a tight sheath.

She thrust against him over and over again while he held her hips and thrust his pelvis upward, driving himself deeper and deeper.

“Fuck. You know what this is doing to me,” Joe groaned.

“The same thing it’s doing to me,” Sara panted.

Her muscles tightened around him while he became more engorged and swollen, his body tensing. Sara felt her orgasm building, taking control of her. She started to scream. Joe covered her mouth with his, taking her scream in.

He stiffened and groaned, and Sara felt a hot stream pulsing in her as he began to come undone.

Burying her face in his neck, she sank her canines in deep, taking him as hers, bonding with him.

He groaned his pleasure when she began to lick the wound, her mouth providing a heightened sexual sensation, taking the pain away, healing his wound.

“That’s to make sure you’re always by my side,” she whispered against his chest.

Their couple bond would heighten his senses, giving him some of the perception that a shifter had. Most importantly to Sara, it would give him the longevity to always be her mate. That mattered more to her than senses and the ability to see better, smell better, hear better. She already knew Joe had strengths that were paranormal in that area, strengths he’d gotten from his grandfather. The thing she valued the most, the longevity.

She couldn’t imagine life without Joe. Ever. A thought came to mind. “Joe, I need you to make me a promise.”

“What’s that?” He stroked her hair, wrapping a lock around his fingers.

“You need to promise me you won’t try to retaliate against Crossroads.”

“I can’t promise that. Not with all I know.”

“Not good enough. I won’t risk losing you by having you seek them out and hunt them down.”

“Best I can say is I won’t go looking for a fight, but I won’t back down if one’s brought to me.”

Sara raised her head and looked into his eyes. The steely glint in them let her know there was no backing down for Joe on this one.

If that was the best he could offer, she’d take it. She knew his motivation. She planted a kiss on his jaw.

“I love you,” he whispered, a vulnerability in his voice that his stoic face would never give away. It was nice to hear it. “I’ll never let you go,” he added.

“You’ll never need to.” With her head on his chest, she listened to the strong, rhythmic beat of his heart, beating in time to her own.