Authors: A. E. Jones
“My ribs are fine.”
“It’s not the only thing I’m worried about. Are you ready for this?”
His concern for me made me want him even more. “Yes. One thing, though. Do you have protection? I’m on the pill, but I’m a cautious girl.”
He shook his head. “I don’t have any condoms. Shifters don’t carry STDs, and I would have to be in my fertility cycle in order to impregnate you. Plus, with you being on the pill, it’s added protection.” He watched me for a second. “We can stop now if you want.”
“I want you so bad my teeth hurt. I just don’t want a shifter love child. I don’t even know what kind of animal you are. I mean, what if you’re an aardvark? Sorry, but aardvarks are just weird looking.”
He laughed. “I would never do that to you, and I’m not an aardvark.”
“Good to know.”
He hesitated, letting me make the final decision. I lifted my head and kissed him. He groaned before he settled on top of me.
I ran my hands over his butt, the silky pajama bottoms he wore sliding nicely over his muscled body. I was surprised Griffin wore pajamas. He struck me more as a sleep naked kinda guy. But the pants heightened the suspense, so I wasn’t going to complain.
I burrowed my hand under his waistband and wrapped my fingers around him. He moaned and pushed up against it. He was a glorious specimen, and I hadn’t even seen him fully naked yet. I tried to rip his pajamas off.
He caught my hand and grinned at me. “Oh, no you don’t. It’s my turn.” His fingers teased under the elastic of my panties and started playing. My eyes crossed, and I arched my back. He lapped at my neck, and I shuddered. He was an expert with his mouth, my thoughts turning lascivious about what he could do with it on other parts of my body.
As if reading my fantasies, he began a journey south, lips caressing my breasts until I was panting. But he wasn’t done yet. Next his lips skimmed my belly, and he reached down and relieved me of my panties and slid off his own pants before rising back up and pressing his body on mine. I could barely hold still while he teased me.
He looked into my eyes again, and I watched in awe as his pupils changed entirely to a burnt orange. He pressed into me slightly and grasped my hips as I tried to move against him to hurry things along. Shaking his head slightly, he continued his slow torture, his eyes never leaving mine. I wasn’t sure which was more powerful—him invading my body or my heart.
Finally he was fully within me, and he released my hips. We surged together, and I groaned as he nibbled the side of my neck. I clutched his back, trying to drag him closer to me if it was even possible. I needed to merge him with me, and as my nails scraped his shoulders, he bit my neck lightly where it met my shoulder.
I screamed and went over, my pleasure taking on a life of its own, hammering through me until I had trouble breathing. When I was finally able to draw air into my lungs again, Griffin growled, which set me off for a second round of
Holy Crap
.
After a few minutes, he rolled us on our sides, probably to avoid crushing me. I sighed when he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me close. “Are you okay?”
I grinned. “More than okay.”
He ran his tongue around the shell of my ear and mumbled something which sounded like, “That was worth the wait.”
I couldn’t have agreed more.
Chapter 35
Could too much sex make your muscles melt?
I lay in bed trying to motivate myself to move. I wasn’t sure I could even if I decided I should. It was as if my body had been absorbed into the mattress. I took a contented breath and watched the male sleeping next to me. He lay on his side, and with his eyes closed and his face relaxed, I was shocked at how beautiful he was. High cheekbones, strong nose, and a jaw that made me want to lick it. Of course, telling a man he’s beautiful is a no-no, but it didn’t make it any less true.
After a few seconds, his eyes opened. They were back to their normal, scrumptious, sea green, and they danced at me. “Are you watching me sleep?”
“Yep. Couldn’t help myself.”
He reached over and ran his fingers along my lips. “How do you feel this morning?”
I wasn’t sure if he meant mentally, emotionally or physically, so I went with the safest answer. “I don’t think I can move.”
“If I had my way, we would spend the day in bed, but we have things to attend to.” A shadow flashed in his eyes but just as quickly disappeared.
“I’m sorry.”
His eyebrows quirked. “For what?”
“I was too caught up in what happened to me yesterday to think about your feelings. I’m sorry about Nathan. It’s hard to lose someone.”
Griffin’s jaw tightened. “Nathan was part of my original security team and had remained with me ever since. I need to visit his wife Saundra today.” He glanced away. “They hadn’t been married long. He had just mentioned something about starting a family.”
I rested my hand on his chest. “Do not blame yourself for this.”
“Every shifter in my pack is my responsibility. I’m the one who sent him to his death.”
He was not doing this to himself. “What would have happened if you had tried to leave the house without your security detail?”
“He would have followed me.”
“Exactly. We stopped the poachers yesterday. Hopefully, no one else will have to go through what Trina did after this.”
He grimaced. “It’s not over yet. Someone else is leading this group.”
“And we’ll figure that out, too. Who was the shifter yesterday?”
“Simon worked for my brother, William, when he was alive.”
“Which is why he made the Cain comment.”
“Simon was adamantly opposed to having me take over after William died. He was convinced I murdered him.”
“Why didn’t you tell us about him?”
“Because I haven’t seen him in fifty years. He disappeared shortly after I took over.”
“Why would he show up now?” I persisted.
Griffin flopped over on his back. “I don’t know. Something has changed.”
“Why would he and the others help the poachers?”
His chest tensed under my hand. “To undermine my leadership. If I can’t even take care of poachers who are after my own family, what sort of leader am I?”
“A good leader, who cares about everyone in his pack. While you’re visiting Saundra, I’ll go to the facility and help interrogate Ken. We’ll find out who’s doing this and stop them.” He didn’t look reassured. “We saved Gil last night, and every other shifter the poachers would have targeted.”
“I need to check on how he’s doing as well.” He reached for the covers.
I pressed both hands on his chest. “Stay here for a few more minutes.”
He nestled me against him and rubbed his hand over my back. “You are amazing,” he murmured in my ear.
“I know.”
He chuckled and leaned back enough to look at my face. “Modest too, I see.”
“If I acted modest, you would just sniff me and tell me I was lying.
Oh, God
.”
“What?”
“We had sex.”
He smirked. “Yes, we did. More than once.”
“And we’re in a house full of shifters with bloodhound noses.”
“I’ve told you before shifters are not caught up in humans’ puritanical notion of sex. It’s second nature to us.”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Are you calling me puritanical?”
“No, definitely not. There’s a bathroom over there. You can take a shower if it makes you feel better.” He sat up and looked around the room. “Have you seen my pajama pants?”
“I think I tossed your fancy pjs in the corner over there.”
He walked over and picked them up, and I had trouble breathing for a couple of seconds while I drooled over his butt. But all too soon the show was over. He pulled the bottoms on and turned to me.
“Bea bought these for me. With Tim and his family moving in, I couldn’t very well sleep in the nude.”
“I knew it!” I exclaimed.
“Excuse me?”
“My gut told me you usually sleep naked.”
He sat down next to me. “You’ve been thinking about me in bed?”
“I think about most men in bed.”
He frowned, and I plowed ahead.
“Don’t get primitive on me now. I don’t mean I think about sex with them, just what they sleep in. Boxers, briefs, commando…you know.”
“Enlighten me.”
“I don’t have any proof of this, mind you, but I would say Jean Luc, if he slept, would sleep naked. Misha is a boxers man. Jason wears those combo boxer-briefs.”
“You’ve thought a lot about this, I see. What about Bruce?”
“Bruce is a tough one. I think he may be a boxers kind of guy, but I also get the commando vibe from him.”
“Stephen?”
“Your security chief? Definitely pajamas, buttoned up to his neck.”
Griffin laughed. “I don’t want you thinking about other males without their clothes on.”
“Sorry, it’s too late, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“We’ll just see about that.” He reached for me and kissed me, hard at first, then settling down into a sensuous dance of lips and tongue. When he pulled away, my eyes could barely focus on his smug grin. He was right, I wasn’t thinking about anyone else anymore.
* * *
I hurried into the dining room to grab a quick bite of breakfast and found Bea sitting at the table sipping tea. She looked up and then away quickly. I frowned.
What was that about?
Did she know I’d had sex with her brother last night?
She nodded toward the sideboard. “I had the cook make extra food for breakfast. Thought you might be hungry after last night.”
“Excuse me?”
“Yesterday was a bit stressful, and unless I’m mistaken, you didn’t have dinner.”
She didn’t appear to be teasing me. Instead, she was acting more reserved than normal. And then the light went off in my head. Was she worried I wouldn’t accept her now that I had seen her animal form?
I smiled. “Sorry if what I’m about to say is a shifter-faux pas, but you are one beautiful, kick-ass tiger. You were amazing yesterday. Thanks for saving us.”
She bowed her head slightly. Was she embarrassed?
“I won’t tell anyone what your animal is.”
She looked up at me and smiled. The old Bea was back in play. “I was afraid I might have freaked you out. I should have known better.”
I sat down next to her. “Can I ask you what it feels like to change? Does it hurt?”
“Once you know how to change, the best way I can describe it is if you’re submerged in warm water and multiple people are massaging your body, pushing your muscles into new shapes, kind of like clay.”
“And when you first change?”
“The experience is a bit more stressful. As much as you might have been taught about shifting, it still can be scary and painful. Kind of like how reading about sex doesn’t completely prepare you for it as well as you think it will.” Her mouth broke into a grin, and her eyes danced.
I closed my eyes and dropped my head. “Shit.”
Bea giggled. “I’m not one to say ‘I told you so.’”
“Right. I’m going to get some food.” I stood and loaded a plate with eggs, potatoes, and fruit. I grabbed a mug and poured a cup of coffee. “Are Bruce and Jason still here?”
“I believe so. Sabrina had Bruce stay overnight after she stitched him up, so Jason stayed as well.”
“Doc did say Bruce is okay, right?”
“Yes, she said he’s fine. The only worry she has is infection, so she gave him some antibiotics.”
“Are you worried about Bruce knowing you’re a shifter? After everything he went through for us, I don’t feel right erasing all of his memories, but I could make him forget about you, if you’d like.”
Bea sat quietly for a few seconds before replying. “I don’t think it’s necessary. He risked his life to help us. Now eat before your food gets cold.”
* * *
I peered through the door window. Ken was sleeping peacefully. I scowled. The man was a menace to society. Misha stood next to me.
“Any luck getting him to talk?” I asked.
“He hasn’t said anything, other than spouting about his rights.”
“Moron. This isn’t a police station. I think I should push him a little bit. Is Jason around?”
“Yeah. He and Bruce are in the other room changing. I brought them some clothes.” He held up a bag. “Brought you some too, in case you want to get out of those scrubs.”
“Thanks. Bruce is still here?”
“Yep, said he has a vested interest now. Wants to make sure no one else at the shop is involved in this.”
“It might make sense for both of us to talk to Ken, really push him over the edge.”
“I like the way you think, little one.”
Twenty minutes later, I walked into the hospital room, and Ken jerked upright, flinching. He snarled at me, “Bitch.”
“Hello, Ken,” I replied sweetly. “I have a few questions to ask you.”