Savage Shifters Box Set, page 14
The sight of Jillian, alive and healthy, would have been enough to freeze Jack over. But no…that wasn’t the only sight he was seeing. His gaze took her in, from the hair in disarray to the painted red toes to what she was wearing.
Black lace lingerie, and nothing else.
The proper thing to do was to look away, but he was so stunned that he was just rooted in place, staring as she sat on the bed with her legs crossed. The black material outlined her dainty curves, even while he noticed that she gained some weight. Delicious, wonderful weight. She sighed, and the action had her cleavage almost popping out of the tight material.
His pants tightened instantly, and his mouth went so dry that he had to clear his throat. Words left him, scrambling in his brain as the desire to touch her took over. But he fisted his hands beside him, knowing he had no right.
He blurted out the first words that he could.
“Jillian…what…?”
She sighed again, then stood up, placing her hands on her hips. The action had the desire heightening, a dizzying sensation. The beast inside him called out for her, but he fought it back.
“You haven’t been very honest with me, Jack.”
“Honest?”
“Yes. About being imprisoned. About volunteering to protect me at the cost of your sanity. About making me think you left me because you didn’t care, when obviously you cared too much.”
There was passion in her voice, tinged with anger. It was anger at him, and he knew he deserved it. But the ringing hurt was also there, something she was trying to hide, and it was what had him stepping forward in a mix of emotions.
“Jillian…”
“Why? Why do all that?”
“Because the prison thing doesn’t involve you, and I didn’t want you to worry. My protecting you was my decision, and I couldn’t live with not doing it. And keeping you in the dark…it was for the best.”
“Is it?”
He shot her a frustrated look, forcing himself to just look at her face. “I don’t want you hurt, Jillian. Every time I’m near you, I risk your safety.”
“So by that argument, you’re risking my safety by guarding me, because you’re near me.”
He let out a breath. She had a point.
“That’s not…”
“So you don’t want to physically hurt me. I get it.” She stepped even closer until only inches of space separated them. “Have you ever thought how it would affect me emotionally?”
He kept quiet as she lifted her finger to touch his chin—then, to slide it down his chest, a fluttering motion that had his heart pounding.
“Jillian…”
“I’m strong enough to handle this, Jack, which is why I’ve accepted the job. I find it…exciting. And I know what I want. I know what’s good for me. Do you want to know?”
His blood was roaring and rushing down his groin, and it was hell to stand here and still not touch her. She was purposely teasing him, purposely trying to stir a reaction from him. Maybe saying yes would get her to step back, give him a little time to breathe.
“Sure…”
“I want things I’m not supposed to want, Jack.”
“Such as?”
She turned around, giving him a view of her tight butt beneath the lingerie, which hardly covered anything. He made a move to back away—
The action stopped when she moved in a blur, turning back to face him. Then she was coming towards him—she jumped into his arms and he caught her, limbs and body and all. The scent of her attacked him, and his cock hardened more in response.
Then she was kissing him.
Stunned didn’t even cover how he felt. Everything inside him roared, from his blood to his beast, and he tried to fight the feeling of those soft lips assaulting him. But he might as well be fighting air because he couldn’t get a grip and was slowly stumbling into that abyss that was bliss and pleasure.
That abyss was filled with everything Jillian.
Jack lost the fight. He lost it and kissed her back, hard, hungry, craving for the taste like he craved air itself. She slid down his front placing her feet on the ground and pulled him as she walked backward, placed her hands all over him as their tongues met in a hot collision. Then she was turning them around and urging him to sit on the bed, where she knelt down in front of him and—
“First off, I want this.”
His eyes practically boggled when she unzipped his trousers and slid her hand in. A weak protest came, but it died quickly when she shushed him and took his pulsing shaft out. Something dark sparked in her brown eyes, and she glanced at him with a slow, seductive smile.
Then she leaned down and slid the tip in between her lips.
He lost his breath. He lost his sanity, and he had to grip the bedspread when she started licking him. Jillian wasn’t an expert, but the sight of her pink tongue darting in and out, followed by those pretty lips sliding lower and taking him deeper, had him groaning out and saying unintelligible words—hot, dirty words, soft, slow words, everything that would express just how damn good it felt. Her hand wrapped around his base as she started sucking him, her eagerness making his balls tingle until he knew what was coming next.
Before it could happen, he urged her back. Then he lifted her up in one move, sitting her down on his lap. She gave out a soft protest, but it trailed off when his mouth closed over her nipple. The lingerie scratched his mouth, but he felt her pebble against his tongue and heard the moan that snatched his senses.
She ground against him, and he ground back. She removed his shirt. He might have shouted how hot and tight she was, and how he wanted badly to be inside her, because she was frantically nodding her head and lifting her hips up.
Jack ripped her panties off. Then he was burying his cock inside her wet heat, sinking and sinking until he was in so deep. She welcomed him willingly, wrapping her arms around him as his hands took her waist and adjusted her. Their eyes met, both snapping hotly.
She leaned down to kiss him, a feather-light touch meant to tease. But he took it deeper, higher, and it wasn’t long before they were both moving—her sliding down and him thrusting up, the rhythm perfect for their needs. He slid her lingerie down until it pooled around her waist, paid lots of attention to her breasts that he’d missed so terribly. All the while, he never stopped kissing her, never stopped memorizing her taste and scent until they were all that mattered.
Slow turned fast, and he rolled her flat on her back and kept pounding inside her. The bed rattled, and her body bucked. Then she cried out as her orgasm took her, and the muscles clenching tightly around him had him groaning out loud as he spilled his seed inside her. He slumped against her after, crushing her with his weight but realizing she could take that, too.
Jillian was everything strong and kind and beautiful, and she wanted him.
How was he supposed to resist?
“Stop thinking,” she admonished, flicking his shoulder.
Jack nuzzled her neck, then rolled to his side and took her with him. They stayed like that for a while, sweaty and breathing hard. “I wasn’t. Except about for your red toes. Did you know I got turned on by your toes when I first kissed you?”
That made Jillian laugh, the pleasant sound filling the air. He turned to quietly look at her. “Jillian, are you sure?”
In response, her eyes softened. Then she leaned forward to kiss him again, and in that kiss, he felt the sincerity of her next words. “Yes. I’ve never been surer of anything. That is…if you’ll take me.”
“That’s not even a question.”
Her eyes lit up, and the smile that followed was the brightest he’d seen. His heart stopped before it beat again, and the certainty that followed was one he knew ages ago.
It beat for her. It would always beat for her.
“Oh, Jack. I’m glad I dared do this.”
Jack playfully bit her neck, making her giggle. “I’m glad, too. Is Yeri returning soon?”
“Not until tonight.”
“Work?”
“I demanded a day off.”
Jack’s eyes gleamed. Then he was rolling her back on the bed with a grin.
“Good. We’re going to make good use of that.”
Jillian laughed again.
Then she pulled him closer, and everything was right in the world.
Part Two
Chapter 21
“So what do you eat other than food?”
The words were blurted out before she could think about it, and it was only belatedly that Yeri realized it wasn’t even a normal question. The puzzled stare from the man in front of her confirmed that, and she tried to backtrack and cover it up with a smile.
“I’m sorry?” the man finally asked. He was pretty cute, in a formal, corporate kind of way. Not her type, but she had an open mind and wanted to try things out.
At least, if she managed not to scare the guys off.
“I mean other than rich food,” she corrected, flashing her teeth for distracting purposes—her normal teeth, not her sharp ones. It didn’t work, because the man still looked at her like she might have hit her head on something. It was a look she was used to, considering how she got so many of those since she moved in SoHo and started exploring the neighborhood—and in turn, started interacting with the people.
There was nothing she could do about it, really.
“Why would I just eat wealthy food? What kind of question is that?” the man asked, and she could detect a hint of something in his voice. Yeri tried to figure it out. “Is that some kind of insult?”
Like a cloud parting, she figured it out. He sounded insulted. The delight of finding out was followed by horror as she realized she said the wrong thing yet again.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it to offend,” she said, trying to be sincere. “You look rich, so I thought you were rich, and I know rich people eat rich food.” Case in point: all those high-class restaurants that served tiny portions of food and demanded more money than was normal. Rich people had money, therefore rich people could eat there.
“Are you for real?”
“Yes, I am,” she said honestly. “So what kind of food do you eat?”
There was that odd look again, followed by a shaking of head. The man responded by listing down food that she only heard of but never really tried, and by the end of their conversation, she was grasping at straws and feeling like a lame loser who just didn’t know what to talk about.
The buzzer sounded, and the relief on the man’s face was obvious. He got up from his chair and sat on the right one, while another man from the left occupied the empty seat in front of her. Yeri eyed this one, feeling the beginnings of dismay set in as she realized that she just wasn’t cut out for this.
It was her human friend Jillian’s idea for her to attend this speed dating thing—mostly because it was Yeri herself who insisted that she wanted to try out meeting new people. She could meet new people on the streets, but that seemed a lot of work, especially since most of them had places to be and generally didn’t want to talk to strangers.
But this…this meant talking a lot, and she wasn’t just the one who would be asking the questions. Yeri would also be asked questions, and she couldn’t exactly tell them the truth.
So yes, she hadn’t prepared for this at all.
“Where are you from? You have an unfamiliar accent,” the next man who sat in front of her asked, tilting his head. Another cutie, this time in a more laidback kind of way. Casual clothes, windblown brown hair. She found herself relaxing.
“I live in SoHo.”
“SoHo? But I’ve been a New Yorker for a while now. You don’t sound like any of the accents I’ve encountered here. Where did you come originally?”
Matsa.
“I’m from…Massachusetts,” she blurted out. She didn’t know a single thing about Massachusetts, only knew her friend’s sister lived there. But now the man was looking at her oddly, too, and she tried to cover it up with another smile. “So what’s your favorite food?”
It went on for a while, with most of the guys starting off interested—then, obviously changing their minds the moment she started to open her mouth and say the most random things. She tried, she really did, and she even hoped being pretty would pass her off and make them overlook her oddness. But that hope was dashed as the night wore on, and the relief was huge when the last buzzer finally sounded, indicating the end of the speed dating event.
They were asked to list down the names of the ones they thought they had a connection with, so the organizers could match it up. Yeri scribbled down the name of one of the guys—not as cute as the others, but so much more understanding when she rambled on. She looked up from her note and found the others already mingling, and she was pretty sure some of them would already end up going out without waiting for the matches.
With a sigh, Yeri crumpled the paper up and stood up from her chair, heading straight for the building’s exit. She spotted the guy from earlier, the not-so-cute one who liked talking about comic books and computers, waiting by the building door. His eyes lit up at the sight of her, and the pleased expression she saw there had her tilting her head.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hey.”
“Did you list down anyone?” she asked.
The guy hesitated, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and giving her a shy look. “I actually listed your name down. Are you going home?”
“Yes, I was about to head home.”
“Oh.” He looked down. Then he squared his shoulders and looked back up again. “Would you mind if I walk you home?”
The curious feeling in her chest turned pleasant, and excitement bubbled in. Finally.
Someone who didn’t think her odd enough to not talk to her again.
“I would love that.”
*****
The man’s name was Joseph Yuri, and he was a sweet, very talkative type who just wouldn’t shut up about his comic books and how so bad the movies portrayed each and every one of them.
The walk home was long—and perhaps the most boring Yeri had ever had yet since she’d been here. Because she was trying to concentrate on what he was saying and trying to come up with something to say, she missed looking at her surroundings and seeing things she never saw before. It was an activity she thoroughly enjoyed, as she discovered how much new detail went in this world that was so very different from hers.
“Have you watched any of the movies I mentioned?”
Yeri blinked, trying to focus again. She wanted to say that she did watch some of them and had quite a laugh, not because she thought they were bad but because she found the effects very fascinating. Despite that, she still actually preferred what humans called the old classics, especially the romantic ones, because it made her heart…ache.
And she didn’t know until she watched Roman Holiday that fairy hearts could ache.
“I did. They’re okay,” she said, finally settling for something neutral. Joseph accepted that as a yes and began to make comparisons again, at which point he lost her as she couldn’t understand half of what he was saying.
By the time they got to her building, he still hadn’t finished talking about his topics, which now ventured into the best gaming computers. It amused Yeri so much and she tried to figure out how to interrupt him without being rude. An idea popped in her head, one that she’d seen in so many romantic movies that it had to be plausible. It got her excited, and she decided there was no point in waiting. She stared at him, waiting for a minute pause.
Then she leaned in and pressed her mouth against his.
It was a soft, polite kiss, mostly because Joseph froze the moment their lips touched. It was cute, but she wanted something else—so Yeri opened her mouth and deepened the kiss, trying to capture that tingling feeling whenever two people fell in love in the movies and kissed their hearts out. She waited for the same tingling feeling to encompass her, waited some more when he finally responded and kissed her back.
There was no tingling feeling. There wasn’t even any feeling at all.
Puzzled, Yeri broke the kiss. Joseph was breathing hard, his eyes a little dazed, but her…she couldn’t feel anything. The amusement shifted to frustration, and she opened her mouth to suggest that maybe they should do a bit more.
Someone cleared their throat. Yeri looked to the side.
“This is interesting.”
There was a tall, dark and handsome man leaning against her apartment building wall, with his arms crossed and amusement glittering in his dark gray eyes.
“Jack! What are you doing here?”
Jack Bruno, her friend Jillian’s life partner and also her friend, smiled. Like her, he wasn’t human. Unlike her, he had more years living in SoHo and had adjusted pretty quickly to this way of life—something that she deeply envied. “Any chance you’re free? The gallery needs you.”
Her interest in the kiss fled instantly at the words—or code words, to be exact. Yeri was beaming at Joseph before she could stop herself.
“Thank you so much for walking me home,” she gushed. “Goodnight!”
Eagerly, she kissed him again, not even mad anymore that it made her feel nothing. When she broke the kiss, Joseph was still looking dazed and pretty speechless. But before he could say anything, she was already grabbing on to Jack’s arm and pulling him in the direction of the gallery, wanting to get there as soon as possible.
“Your date seems confused,” Jack commented, a smirk forming on his mouth. “Are you sure it’s okay to leave him?”
“It wasn’t a date,” Yeri said.
“Not a date and two kisses?”
She shrugged. “What can I say? I’m free with my kisses. Except taken men.” She gave him a cheeky grin, one that had him chuckling. Then she was pulling at him again, walking as fast as she could.
Jack didn’t need to know that it was his connection with Jillian, in particular, and the look in their eyes when they gazed at each other that got to her. She wanted something like they had, and so far, she couldn’t find it here in SoHo—not even in the kisses. The place itself was beautiful—iron-cast buildings, close to the Hudson River where she could freely smell the sea breeze, and beautiful art and paintings scattered all over. SoHo was art itself, and she loved that.
