Derek, page 10
She touched my face, a soft smile on her lips. “It’s okay. We don’t have to take our time if you’re not ready yet.”
She’s the perfect mate. I’ve never had someone take care of me like she does. But I wanted to take care of her too. That’s what good mates do. I kissed her hard once before moving down her neck to her tits. I love her tits. They’re big and bouncy and spill over my hands. I pulled her nipple into my mouth and she gasped, thrusting her chest out. I switched back and forth until she was pleading with me. When I started kissing down her belly, she whimpered, lifting her hips and silently begging.
Dragging down her shorts and panties, I breathed in her scent. The scent that was unique her. Liv. My Liv. I shoved her knees apart and buried my face against her and she cried out, jerking and writhing under my assault. I’d barely gotten started when she arched her back and came screaming my name. I exhaled harshly, nearly coming myself just from listening to her. She really seemed to like it when I went down on her. But I wasn’t done tasting her yet. I lapped up her cream and she moaned wildly.
“Derek! Please!”
A snarl ripped through me and rattled her sex and her eyes went wide. I did it again just because I was curious at her reaction and she fell apart, her hips jerking and a flush working its way down her neck into her chest. I was going to start again but she sat up and put her hand under my chin, guiding me back up and kissing me roughly. I felt her hands skim under my shirt and I sucked in a breath, helping her pull it off. She broke the kiss to look over me.
I’m not cocky about it but I do have a lot of muscles. Bear needs the exercise to stay sane and I have to push hard to feel like I’m accomplishing anything. Liv seemed to like the way I look. Her eyes lit up and she ran her palms down my chest and over my abs.
“Holy shit, you’re a work of art.”
I snorted. “It’s just muscles.”
She shot me a look. “Not for women, it’s not. These are like little dents of happiness.” She poked at my abs and I grabbed her hand, kissing her fingertips. She grinned at me and I pulled her arm around my neck to draw her closer. Doesn’t matter where I’m kissing her, I like all of it. I settled my mouth on hers and she sighed, parting her lips to let me explore.
While I was focused on her tongue, she was unbuttoning my jeans. She wrapped her hand around me and I groaned, thrusting against her palm. She pulled her mouth away and purred at me. “Come on, come inside.”
I ripped off my jeans, wanting to feel all of her, before rolling between her thighs and grinding against her. She moaned, wrapping her legs around my waist, and suddenly I stilled as Bear threatened to take over. I needed him to leave her be but he snapped and snarled and I squeezed my eyes shut.
Soft warm hands cupped my cheeks and I felt her forehead against mine. “Hey. It’s okay. I trust you.”
All the rage melted immediately. She trusts me. She trusts us to keep her safe. And I wasn’t going to let him hurt her. And he seemed more willing to listen after her soft confession. For a second I thought he might push the issue but he bared his teeth and my voice dropped as I snarled, “Don’t give me your back.”
She looked surprised but I didn’t have it in me to fight any longer. I reached between us, guiding myself to her entrance, and pushed inside. She arched, her eyes wide, and I couldn’t hold back my groan.
“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.”
I forgot how good it felt. How good she felt. And I was already close from touching her. I snapped my hips, shaking my head to try and stop the tingles as they spread up my spine, but I wasn’t going to be able to hold back for very long.
“Harder. Keep going,” she breathed.
I gritted my teeth, slamming against her roughly and she somehow tightened around me. Gripping the sheets tightly, I tried to think of anything else to stop me from finishing too quickly but it was too much and I couldn’t see straight. I roared as it slammed into me and kept moving as long as I could. She followed after me a minute later, pulsing around me and making me breathless. I dropped to my elbows, panting and embarrassed as hell.
I felt her brushing the hair off my forehead. “What’s wrong?”
I scowled, looking away. “You were supposed to finish first.”
She smiled, pulling me down for a kiss. “I did! Twice! Just because you finished first when you were inside me doesn’t mean anything. And I still did afterwards too. It was awesome.” Suddenly she frowned, narrowing her eyes at me. “Why do you know so much about sex? I thought you said women didn’t let you touch them.”
She looked jealous and I fought off a grin. “Watched porn to get off for years. I learned some stuff.”
She flushed and giggled, dragging me down for another kiss. “Okay, I can live with that.”
She didn’t have anything to be jealous about but I liked it anyway. I’ve never had anyone care that much and I reveled in it. Brushing my lips down her neck, I smirked when she sighed happily and wrapped her arms tighter around my neck. Good mate.
We eventually dragged ourselves out of bed. Liv stole my shirt and was walking around in it and I kept having to readjust my dick. It was long enough to cover all of her but if she bent over I could see her behind and I was practically drooling. She nudged me onto the couch and disappeared into the little kitchen to make us some food. I wanted to follow her but I didn’t want to come on too strong or whatever.
Her place is small for a two bedroom, only a little bigger than mine. The kitchen was on the left of the door and I could see her through a small pass through as she bustled around, humming quietly to herself. The living room was pretty simple, a couch and a small TV on a little stand, but there was a lot of color. A bunch of those little decorative pillows and a few blankets tossed over the back of the couch. There was a fluffy rug and art on the walls and a few plants on a little shelf in the corner. Her room was just as colorful. Liv likes color. From her hair and clothes to her home, she covered it in colors. If I wanted her to stay with me, I’d need to update my place because I don’t have a lot of color. I never really bothered to decorate.
Her arms wrapped around my neck from behind and I leaned into her.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about?”
She's affectionate, always seems to want to be touching me, and I almost begged her to move in with me right then and there. I don’t like living so far from her. That nap we took was the best I’ve slept in forever. And after so long of not being touched, I was almost starved for her attention.
“I was thinkin’ your place has a lot more color than mine. I need to add more so you’ll come visit.”
She giggled, nuzzling her face into my neck. “I don’t need you to decorate for me, silly. I’ll come visit anyway. I have a busy day tomorrow so maybe Friday?”
I frowned, a deep rumble rolling through me. She never commented on it and I wanted to ask why but Jackson said not to bring up Bear and if I started talking, I’d probably end up spilling the beans by accident.
“Can’t on Friday. I gotta go home for a family thing.” My mood soured and I hunched in on myself. I hate going home. Between half of them being afraid of me and half hating me for being more dominant than them, I always end up leaving early, pissed off and on the verge of a shift. The only reason I went was because Mom kept inviting me and I didn’t want to disappoint her. She’s already scared of me whenever I get riled up, I didn’t want her to hate me.
Liv leaned around me, her eyebrows drawn together tight. “Why does it seem like you’re really unhappy about that?”
I lifted a shoulder but she wasn’t happy with that answer. She came around the couch and plopped herself into my lap, rubbing her forehead against my chin until I relaxed a little.
“My family… they aren’t any different than anyone else. They don’t like me. I don’t like goin’. I usually bring Jackson or Theo as a distraction but they’re busy so I gotta go alone.”
She looked sad and I wanted to kill everything that put that look on her face. Drawing me closer, she pressed her lips softly to mine.
“Did you want me to go with you?”
My eyebrows went up. “You wanna meet my family?”
She blushed and lifted her shoulders, turning away. “You don’t have to tell them about me, you can just say I’m your friend. I just wanted to help.”
She moved to climb off my lap but I tightened my arms around her, keeping her close. “I don’t want to tell them you’re my friend. You’re more than that. I just… You don’t like it when people aren’t polite and some of them aren’t nice. I didn’t want you to have to see that.”
Her embarrassment disappeared and anger took its place. “Are you saying they’re cruel to you?”
Me not answering was all the answer she needed, I guess. She launched out of my lap, pacing in front of me, fury coming off her in waves. I was awestruck watching her as she ranted about people being not nice to me. I was used to it but she wasn’t and she didn’t like it one bit. A smile spread across my face and when she noticed, she paused, frowning.
“What?”
Snagging her hand, I pulled her back into my lap, hugging her tightly. She wrapped her arms around me and leaned her head against my shoulder.
“I love you.”
She jerked back, surprised. I hadn’t meant to say it, it slipped out, but it wasn’t a lie. She means everything to me and coming on too fast or not, it didn’t change the way I felt about her.
Her eyes searched mine and I held my breath, waiting for her reply. Eventually, her face softened and she bumped her forehead against mine. “I love you too, Derek.”
Yanking her against me, I held her tight. I’d have to ask Jackson how to tell her about Bear because I’m not letting her go. And I’m done lying to her.
Chapter Eighteen
LIV
Derek’s confession has been rolling around in my head since the day he came over. I never expected him to say it, especially so quickly. We haven’t known each other long. But I knew I felt the same way the minute it came out of his mouth. I went to a birthday party at an amusement park and somehow managed to find my mate. And now I had to tell him about my animal and hope he accepted it.
My stomach turned over at the thought and I swallowed hard. The type of animal I am aside, I’ve been lying to him since we met about being human. I should’ve come out and told him before we ever slept together but I kept thinking if I wait just a little longer, the perfect opportunity would come up to tell him and I could make an excuse on why I kept it a secret. Now that he said he loves me, I felt like it was a betrayal to keep it from him. He hasn’t mentioned his bear to me yet but it was different. Telling humans you’re a shifter is a big no-no unless you’re absolutely sure you can trust them and Derek doesn’t know me that well. I understood why he kept it a secret from me. I was the one who was lying.
Pushing off my bed, I peeked out the window in my room again. I had a view of the parking lot and I kept waiting for Derek’s truck to appear. He was picking me up today to meet his family. Another wave of guilt slammed into me and I started pacing. Meeting the family is a big deal. I mean, yes, I’d almost demanded to go so I could protect him but still. He seemed really excited and the lie was starting to eat at me. I was going to tell him yesterday but he left before I was fully awake, kissing my temple and slipping out before dawn. He said he had to get moving in order to get home with enough time to get dressed before work and I was so exhausted, I couldn’t force myself out of bed to follow him.
The rest of the day ended up being so busy, I didn’t have time to call him and he still hadn’t gotten his phone fixed so he only managed to leave me a message from Theo’s phone saying he was going to pick me up this morning and to sleep well. I debated calling Theo to try and talk to Derek but I didn’t like the game of phone tag and I didn’t want to tell him over the phone anyway. And I couldn’t ask him to come back over. He lives over a half hour away and it was late by the time I finished up with my last client.
So here I was, pacing my room and panicking over meeting Derek’s family and finding time to tell him about my animal and how I’ve been lying to him since the moment we met. He’s going to hate me.
I peeked out the window again just in time to watch his big black truck pull up out front. Spinning on my heel, I raced toward the door, grabbing my purse on my way out. I normally didn’t bother with stuff like that, I just stuck my wallet in my pocket and called it a day, but I was meeting his family today so I tried to look nice. I spent the morning with Gigi going over every outfit I owned until I picked out a simple black sundress with little sunflowers all over it. I paired it with strappy sandals and kept my makeup light. I refused to make my hair plain though so it was bright pink with purple tips and I pulled it halfway back to keep it out of my face. With some silver bangles and some bigger hoops in my ears along with all my other piercings, I felt like I was a good combination of myself and girly enough to meet the family.
Gigi waved at me as I hustled out the door and down the stairs. I was just throwing the door to the building open when Derek came up the path. He froze, his eyes wide, and I slowed, tipping my head with a frown.
“Is everything alright?”
Slowly, he looked me over and when he finally locked eyes with me he looked stunned. “You look–” He shook his head. “Holy shit.”
I glanced down and back up at him. “Do you not like it?” Damn, I tried to go for appropriate but maybe it was still too loud.
He closed the distance between us faster than I could blink, yanking me into his arms and capturing my lips roughly. I gasped, heat pooling in my belly. His hands were everywhere and I felt myself burning up under his attention.
“Don’t ruin her hair before she meets your family!” Gigi called. She was walking to her car to head to the shop, chuckling to herself.
Derek jerked away, a confused look on his face, like he didn’t realize he’d basically attacked me. I beamed at him, cuddling close, and some of the tension I’d been carrying all day melted away. He slowly released me, pulling one hand out of my hair and the other off my butt. I snickered as his face turned red.
“So I guess you like it?”
He cleared his throat, moving to run his fingers through his hair before reconsidering and dropping his hand by his side. He’d gelled his hair again and he was trying not to ruin it.
“You look perfect. I, uh, was going to meet you upstairs. Theo said gentlemen meet women at the door. They don’t wait in the truck.”
I giggled, shaking my head. “Sorry, I was excited to see you so I was watching for you. Next time I’ll wait.”
Taking my hand, he slowly pulled me closer and brushed his lips over mine. Butterflies exploded in my stomach and when he stepped back, I swayed on my feet, blown away by the sweet kiss.
“I was gonna get you flowers but Jackson said I shouldn’t because we were gonna be gone all day and they’d wilt. You like food so I got you a treat instead.” He pulled me to the truck and opened the passenger door where a plastic bag full of candy waited. I burst into giggles, leaning into his arm. He looked nervous about it but a smile crossed his face and he ran his fingers through his hair.
“Yeah, maybe I did too much.” He glanced at his hand with a frown and scowled. “Damn.”
Shaking my head, I pulled a tissue out of my purse for him to wipe off the gel while I fixed his hair. He caught my hand and kissed my wrist before I pulled away and I fell harder for him. I couldn’t decide if it was better to tell him the truth before or after the party but before I had a chance to say anything, he helped me into the truck and shut the door and when he climbed into his seat, he immediately started poking at the radio.
“I got a new phone and Theo taught me how to use it for the radio but I can’t remember now,” he grumbled.
Pursing my lips against a smile, I helped him set up the music while he got on the road. He seemed nervous and I didn’t want to make things worse so I decided to wait until afterwards.
His grip on my leg was tight and the farther away from town we got, the deeper his frown got. I rubbed his arm, trying not to let my face betray my thoughts. I was worried about him but I didn’t want him to feel like he had to hide his emotions to keep me happy.
“Do you wanna play a game?”
He glanced at me before focusing back on the road. “What kinda game?”
I tipped my head, trying to remember the road games that I used to play. “Um… we could play the letter game.” He frowned at me so I explained the rules. He nodded slowly and after a few rounds, he seemed to get the hang of it. “Okay, your turn. Pick a category.”
“How about animals?”
I nodded. “Animals are good. I’ll start. Anteater.”
A small smile tugged at his lips when he said, “Bear.” I bit my lip, wondering if maybe now was a good time to say something but he urged me to continue and I lost my nerve.
“Cat.”
The drive to his mom’s house was long. She lived on the other side of the mountains. I kept us busy with games so it wasn’t such a bad drive but the closer we got, the more he struggled to come up with words. He was so tense when we pulled into the driveway that it felt like the dominance was going to suffocate me. His bear was riled up and I knew it was going to cause problems if I didn’t get him to settle.
When he put the truck into park, he didn’t move. He only stared out the window at the field in front of him. Carefully turning him to face me, I pressed my lips to his, drawing his focus out of whatever was running through his head. He relaxed by increments and eventually released the wheel to pull me closer. When I pulled away, I rubbed my forehead against his.
“Whatever happens, I’m right here beside you, okay? If you want to leave, just give me a signal and I’ll make up some kind of excuse. I’ve got you.”
He let out a heavy breath and nodded, pulling me in for a hug. It was rough and I almost couldn’t breathe but I hugged him back tightly until he was ready to let go.
