Falling for the Shifter Box Set, page 5
part #1 of Falling for the Shifter Series
I turn my head and look over to see him fastening a belt around his waist full of tools. He’s wearing shorts and boots. I’m still not used to seeing him wear clothes, it seems somehow wrong on him.
He looks up at me and smiles. “Did I wake you?”
“No. What are you doing?”
He points up at the ceiling and I follow where he’s indicating, but I can’t see anything.
“Working on those pipes,” he says. “Have to climb up into the ceiling cavity so I can dig out the layout. Might even get the run made this weekend so I can finish it up next.”
“You’ll have the shower finished next weekend?” I’m still too sleepy to follow the conversation coherently.
“Yep, looking forward to getting you all soapy and slippery next weekend.”
I grin and lay back on the pillow. “Who says I’m coming back next weekend?”
His face falls and immediately I feel bad.
“I was joking,” I say, quickly. “I’m coming back alright.”
The corner of his mouth turns up in a smile. “I know. I was teasing you.” He lifts his hand and rakes it through his hair. “I knew you were joking, I just wanted to see your face.”
God, he’s hot.
“When you’re fully awake you should head down to the campground. They’ve opened up a small store near the car park. Doesn’t have much yet, but I’m sure they are more stocked than mac and cheese.”
“Do they have coffee?”
“You like coffee?”
I nod enthusiastically.
He looks thoughtful for a moment. “I’ll get a coffee machine later this month.” He looks over at me. “If you want.”
I smile. “I want.
He fixes up his belt and grabs a flashlight. I remain in bed as he walks over and kisses me on the forehead. “I really like you, Jade.”
“Likewise.” I can’t stop smiling.
He disappears out the front door and I take a minute to wake up fully before swinging my legs out of the bed and placing them on the floor.
I sniff my shoulder and wrinkle my nose. I smell sweaty and like I’ve had sex all night. I’ll be glad when the shower is installed, but for now I really need to freshen up in the stream. Then I’ll head down to the campground and go searching for the coffee. God, I hope it’s good coffee.
I get dressed quickly and pull on my boots. I make sure to grab my purse and walk out the door. I can hear Tarben in the roof but can’t see him. I leave him to his work as I leave.
~
The stream is deserted. I knew it would be, it’s too far away for the regular campers, they prefer to use the facilities at the main grounds or swim in the stream closer to their tents.
I think about this as I strip off and wade into the water. When did camping and roughing it become so luxurious? Now they even have a store to purchase extra comforts. Not that I mind; I could definitely do with coffee this morning and besides, I’ve got the best creature comforts than any of them.
I smile to myself as I think about Tarben as a creature comfort. He’s definitely that.
When I feel refreshed I get out and dressed, and head down to the main campgrounds.
~
The half an hour trek invigorates me. The air temperature is pleasant and the gentle breeze cools any chance of getting hot and sweaty again.
I begin to see tents as I get closer to the main grounds, but I don’t see anyone until I’m just outside the main area.
A motor home the size of a bus is parked in between two trees. There are three people sitting at a table. Two men and one woman. They look young, perhaps college-aged. The table is like a regular dining table rather than a fold up camp table, and they are all typing furiously on their laptops. There is a small satellite antenna in the middle of the table, which I presume is so they have internet access. Maybe they are studying. It’s certainly a nice place for it.
One of the men looks up at me and nods his head in a friendly greeting. I wave but don’t go over. I continue walking toward the shop since I’m not here to make new friends. Coffee beckons, and I have all the friends I need with Tarben.
I reach the store and see Tarben was right - it’s small and doesn’t have much, but I grab some fruit, bread and two coffee’s to go. The clerk places everything except the coffees in a bag.
I take a sip of my drink and close my eyes sighing as I do. It is good and just what I needed this morning, given my lack of sleep.
The campground is busy this weekend, but that doesn’t surprise me since we are getting closer to summer. Most of the sites will be full in a few weeks as people book for their summer vacations.
I wonder what Tarben does when this many people begin to fill up the grounds. At half an hour north, he’s still far enough away for most of the regular crowd, but surely there are people that like trekking up the paths deeper into the woods. I make it a point to ask him when I get back. Perhaps I could even persuade him to come visit me in the city while everyone is here.
I take another sip and begin my journey back to his home.
“Hey there.”
I look up to see one of the men from the motor home standing in front of me. He has short hair and glasses and looks only a year or two younger than me.
“Hi.”
“Are you camping up ahead there?” He points up the path I’m on.
“Yes. Got a tent up ahead. Don’t like being with the main crowd.”
He looks down at the two coffee’s I’m holding. “With someone else?”
“Nope, I’m alone. These are both for me.” I take a sip. “I like my coffee in the morning.”
He grins and nods his head. “Good. I’m single too.”
I glance over at the other two people. “But not alone,” I point out. I grin. Is he trying to hit on me? Is that a thing now? Come to the woods and hook up?
He coughs to clear his throat and I can tell he’s nervous. “Yes, well, I just wanted to let you know that we are tracking bears in the area. Don’t want to panic you or anything, but there have been reports of a few around here.”
“Reports of bears?” I bite the corner of my lip.
“Yes, have you seen any?”
I quickly shake my head. “No, I haven’t seen any. They usually don’t come this close to where human’s camp.”
He reaches into his pocket and hands over a business card. I look down and read it. Desnicka Enterprises. Clark Milton. Snr Researcher. “If you see any, be sure to let us know. You can call me anytime, I won’t mind. See, my number is there, down the bottom.”
“What’s a senior researcher doing tracking bears, Mr. Milton?” Especially when he looks more junior than senior.
I look up at him and he seems flustered. “Oh, we don’t want to harm the bears, it’s for science research.”
“What for?”
“Are you interested in science?” He’s changing the subject and it makes me suspicious.
“I love science,” I say. “It’s the reason we have so many wonderful inventions today. Where would we be without science?” I pretend to go along with it since it’s clear he’s not going to tell me exactly why he’s tracking bears. Maybe I can talk him into telling me, or use whatever attraction he has to me to my advantage.
“Really?” He looks nervously back to where his motor home is parked. “Well, I guess I can let you know. We are tracking bears because we want to introduce a breeding program to the area. We’re hoping to find a male and female and, ahem, help them along in their mating cycle. It’s romantic.” I almost expect him to waggle his eyebrows as he says it.
“You want to breed bears? Out here?”
He nods. “Too many hunters and fear campaigns want to eradicate them because they think they are dangerous, but we think all creatures are important to the eco-system. Don’t you? Make love not war, and all that jazz.”
I smile and nod. These people aren’t a threat after all, just overzealous hippies, and this one is too forward for his own good, although I still wish they all weren’t here at all. I’ll need to let Tarben know so he doesn’t change into a bear while they are here and they decide to use him in their breeding program. No one else, including a female bear is going to have him.
“Good luck with your research, Mr. Milton. I want to get back before my coffee gets too cold.”
“Oh right, yes, good to meet you. And call me Clark. Call me anytime.”
I don’t answer as I walk away amused.
Chapter 5
There’s a smudge of dirt on Tarben’s forehead, just above his left eye and I reach over and try and wipe it away but it’s embedded into his skin. He’s going to need a dip in the stream soon, and I can’t wait to watch him do it.
“The coffee’s cold,” he says, placing the cardboard cup down on the bench top without taking a drink.
I know it is. I should have drunk it myself on the way, like I told the nerdy guy I was going to. “What did you expect? The grounds are half an hour away.”
He’s already kicked off his boots and now he unbuckles his tool belt and places it on the floor. “I didn’t expect you to bring me anything back. But it’s nice that you thought of me.”
“I’m always thinking of you.” It’s true, although most of my thoughts are of the naked salacious kind. “Also, there’s something else you need to know.”
“Oh?” He undoes his shorts and lets them drop to his feet. I’m momentarily distracted as his dick comes into view and I have to blink a few times to regain my composure.
“It’s probably nothing, but there is a bunch of scientists camping just outside the grounds.”
At the mention of the word scientist, Tarben freezes.
“I talked to one of them,” I continue. “Says they are tracking bears. For a breeding program or something.”
“You don’t breed bears in summer.” His voice is cold and I can see all the muscles in his body tense.
“I was thinking the same thing.” I place my hand on his shoulder for support. “So no changing while they’re here and you should stay out of sight.”
“I need to see them.”
I shake my head. “That’s not a good idea.”
“I need to make sure they aren’t the men that took me.”
I take a deep breath. I understand his concerns but I doubt that these are the same people. For a start, they are too young, and they look harmless and misguided. Although I can’t stop Tarben from needing to find out himself. “You can’t go as a bear, though.”
“Jade, you don’t understand.” He’s breathing heavier and I can tell that whatever haunts him from his past is threatening to rise to the surface. I’ll need to defuse the situation if I’m to have my fun, sexy, Tarben back for the rest of the weekend.
“I know,” I say quietly. “I know I don’t understand. But I want to.”
He walks over to the bed and sits down on the edge, burying his face in his hands. I can almost feel the fear and anger mixing into a ball of tension around him.
“Let’s just stay here. I doubt they have anything to do with you, but even so, they can’t track you in here, especially not as a human.” I sit down next to him and place my hand on his cheek turning his attention my way. I caress my fingers over his face tracing the contours. “They look like a bunch of college-kids with a overeager sense of bravado. Besides, they’ll be gone once the weekend is over.”
He takes a breath. “And so will you. That doesn’t make things any better.”
~
I follow Tarben to the stream. He’s looking around nervously which will just draw more attention to us if anyone is watching. Not that I think they are, he’s just being paranoid.
I begin to wonder about what sort of equipment that you would use to track bears. It didn’t look like the group had any camera’s around, the three people I saw were all looking at a their computer monitors. Maybe they had some sort of aerial tracking device, maybe a drone or something. That would make sense given the satellite aerial I saw on the table.
I look up into the sky almost expecting to see something flying above us. But I don’t.
Since Tarben is already naked (even though I insisted he wear something), he dives straight into the deep part of the stream as soon as we reach the edge. I can tell the water is soothing him and I know just the thing that will help take his mind off things even more.
I strip off and place my clothes neatly on a rock. I can see the lust and hunger in his eyes as I wade into the water and walk toward him. There better not be any aerial cameras or drones watching us now.
When I reach him, I wrap my arms around his neck and draw him into a long slow kiss.
His dick begins to get hard almost immediately.
“Not here,” he says.
“I’m trying to relax you.” I kiss over his cheek and gently bite his ear. I hear him moan gently which spurs me to bite harder.
“That’s hardly going to relax me,” he says. “Quite the opposite in fact.”
“You’ll be relaxed afterwards, at the end, once you come.”
“You’re insatiable,” he growls softly.
It’s true. When it comes to him, I am. “Then fuck me. Give me what I want.”
He groans again. “I want to, but I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t.” I nibble down his neck and reach under the water with my hand stroking up and down his hardness. “Looks like you can after all.”
“I need to keep a clear head. We’ll fuck when we get back to the cave.”
“Promise?” I bite his neck again for good measure. I’m disappointed but I understand his need to remain vigilant. If it were me, I’d be the same, wanting to make sure that any danger is gone before I indulged in outdoor sex no matter how good it might be.
“Pinky swear.”
I pull back and grin. “Did you just say, pinky swear?”
He laughs. “Yep. You should see your face.”
I’m glad he’s smiling again.
~
“Banana sandwiches.” He looks pleased with himself with the mashed banana he’s spread over two slices of bread and is offering me for dinner. I wonder if they have cooking lessons for bear shifters. I also wonder how he keeps such a fit, hard body when he eats such weird food.
“I’m going to have to start cooking,” I offer. “When was the last time you had chicken breast sautéed in sage butter?”
“Are you trying to seduce me with your talk of breasts?” He jokes as he leans in close. “Because I’m already a sure thing.”
I can’t help it, I laugh out laugh. Who knew that the introverted strange man I met last weekend is turning into someone funny, hot, and the best sex of my life. Marry me now.
I pull back. The idea that marriage has popped into my head has surprised me. I only met this guy a little over a week ago and now I’m jumping that far into the future? What the hell is wrong with me? I’m not that girl.
The idea rocks me. I’m falling too fast and too hard. I can already tell it has become more than just the sex and I’m not sure how to respond to that. I’m going to have to temper myself. Maybe all the sex we’ve been having is messing with my mind.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“Huh? Oh yes, sorry.”
“Where’d you go? You blanked out on me.” He tips his head to the side and studies me closely.
“Mild emotional panic attack,” I say truthfully. “Nothing serious.”
He looks at me quizzically and raises an eyebrow.
“Seriously,” I say. “I just forgot myself for a moment. I back now.” I hope.
“Is this about the scientists?”
No, it’s definitely not about them. “Forget about it.”
I can tell he’s not going to.
“I’ve got an idea,” I say.
“Yes? What?” he asks.
“Why don’t you get hard, let me suck you, and then come down my throat.”
“Fuck, Jade,” he says. “I’m never going to want to give you up if you keep saying things like that.”
Chapter 6
I’ve always found giving guys head to be incredibly empowering and erotic. They become putty in your hands as you pleasure them with your mouth. The tough guy becomes a teddy bear ready to do anything for you.
Tarben is no different, in fact, with my lips around his hardness, it’s turning me on more than I can stand, and I reach down and gently caress my fingers up and down my folds, pretending that each time I suck him into my mouth he’s entering my sex.
He grabs hold of the table to steady himself as I draw him further into my mouth as far as I can without gagging.
“You’re beautiful,” he says.
I can only nod as I swirl my tongue around the head of his cock licking up his precum.
I reach up and glide my hands over his hard balls as I suck him into the back of my throat. He groans and rolls his head back. I can hear the familiar growl of enjoyment as his breathing increases.
He’s getting close.
His hips begin to thrust slowly and involuntarily the more aroused he becomes. It won’t be long now.
I wonder how strong he’ll be when he comes. I’ll need to brace myself and pull back so I can hold just the tip in my mouth otherwise it’ll be too much.
He’s groaning louder and he reaches down and begins to stroke my hair. “I’m going to blow,” he says.
I’m ready for him.
He cries out and jerks forward as his seed shoots into my mouth and down my throat. It’s a lot, but I can take it.
I wait until he finishes before pulling away completely.
“Holy fuck, Jade,” he says. “Holy hell. No one has ever done that.”
I stand up, walk over to the small sink, and turn on the faucet to get myself a glass of water. “No one has ever given you head?” I find that hard to believe.
“Yes, No. I mean since I changed. No one has swallowed since I changed.”
I narrow my eyes. “How many women have you been with?” I try not to feel jealous of someone else with him, by reminding myself I’m not that girl and take another sip of water.
