Chapter 2
Lily sighed and snuggled her face deeper against the warmth as she slowly drifted awake. Taking a deep breath, she moaned as the scent of clean forest and healthy male filled her lungs and triggered her pussy to dampen. She tried to roll over to get more comfortable but couldn’t move.
That was when she realized she was not lying in her bed.
Or any bed. Then it hit her that whatever she was rubbing her cheek against was not a pillow, a mattress, or a bus window.
Whatever it was, it was warm, hard, fuzzy, and moved under her.
There was also a steady thump-thump-thump under her ear.
Opening her eyes, Lily frowned when she did not recognize where she was. Looking to the left, she saw a stone fireplace. On either side of it was what looked like the wall of a log cabin.
Gazing to the right, she found her face pressed up against a chest. A deeply tanned, very masculine chest covered with black hair. Looking downward, she stared into Percy’s black, plastic eyes.
She tensed when the man holding her chuckled. “I know you’re awake, little flower. So why don’t you sit up and talk to me?”
The deep voice vibrating through his chest against the side of her face sent a shiver through her body. Moving slowly, Lily pushed herself up, not stopping until she stood in front of the couch. Without looking at the man beside her, she turned a circle and confirmed they were in a log cabin.
The cabin contained a living room, dining room, and kitchen.
An open doorway along the back wall showed the bedroom.
She hoped there was an attached bathroom, and she wouldn’t have to go outside to pee.
Turning around, she looked out the window on the same wall as the fireplace, but all she could see was forest.
Her next thought was, where was this cabin in relation to the Bratburg Institute? Then another, even more important question pushed to the front of her brain. Where was the gorilla she’d seen before she’d apparently blacked out?
Spinning to face the man who must have rescued her and brought her here, Lily asked, “What happened to the gorilla?”
It took another few seconds before her brain caught up with her eyes, and she actually registered the man’s appearance.
Tall, dark, and yummy was the only description her addled brain could come up with.
His black hair was in need of a serious trim, though the shaggy hairstyle made him look like a sexy cover model on the cover of one of those smutty romance novels.
Especially with his dark-brown eyes staring at her as if he were stunned by her appearance.
His face made her want to spend a day or two tracing every line and curve.
Her fingertips tingled with the need to brush them over the scruff that covered his cheeks, jaw, and throat to see if it was soft and silky or rough and stiff.
Her body reacted to the sight of the man, her nipples beading and her pussy clenching with an instant need she’d never experienced with any other man.
When he did not answer her question, she asked it again. “What happened to the gorilla? Did you chase it away? What is a gorilla doing around here? Did it escape from a zoo or something?”
Realizing she was rambling without giving him a chance to answer any of her questions, Lily snapped her mouth shut and forced herself to hold back the rest of the questions that were zinging around her brain like a swarm of bees hopped up on a double espresso.
She began to nervously twist her fingers together to keep herself quiet.
When had she become such a Chatty Cathy?
If she wasn’t careful, she would blurt out why she was here and get escorted back to the highway without ever actually reaching the institute.
That was the last thing she wanted or needed.
She had ten more days to complete her mission.
Ian, the governor, and her job were counting on her.
The man did not speak, but his expression lightened, and one corner of his mouth twitched, as if he was amused by her interrogation.
“All done?” he finally asked after she had been silent for a good ten seconds.
“For now.”
“To answer your questions in reverse order. The gorilla did not escape from a zoo. He lives here at Bratburg. He is one of the guards who keep the institute safe and secure. I did not chase him away because he is me. Or I am him.”
Lily froze at his last sentence. “So shifters really do run Bratburg? It’s not just a story made up to scare Little girls into behaving properly?”
He nodded. “Yes, shifters are real. They own and run Bratburg, and I am one of them. I am a gorilla shifter. They call me Sailor. And you are?”
“Lily Knight,” she said automatically, forcing herself to stop with just her name and not add what she’d been doing walking into Bratburg.
She needed to keep that secret to herself for as long as possible, though she had no idea how.
She shifted her gaze to stare at the fire. “So where are we?”
“I brought you to my cabin so we could get to know one another before I told the others of your presence. Are you hungry?”
Before she could answer, her stomach rumbled loudly.
“Well that answers that question. How about soup and a sandwich while we talk some more?” Sailor scooped her off the couch and carried her across the cabin to the small dining table with two chairs.
“Um, okay. I guess. But I do need to get to Bratburg.”
Sailor ignored her as he pulled packages of meat, cheese, and a loaf of bread out of the refrigerator.
“What do you know of shifters?” he asked as he laid out several slices of bread.
“I now know that they’re real, and they own and run Bratburg Institute. What else should I know about shifters?”
“All shifters are male. Most of the time, their mates are female. When a shifter finds his mate, it’s an instant lifetime commitment.
Once a shifter finds his other half, they tend to be very protective of their mates, especially during the courting and claiming period.
Gorilla shifters take that protectiveness to an extreme.
Gorillas are known to isolate themselves and their mates during the time between when they meet their mate and the time they claim them.
They do this instinctively because otherwise they might kill anyone who gets too close to their mate. ”
Lily frowned and nodded. “Okaaaaaay. So what does that have to do with me?”
“You are my mate.”
Sailor tensed as he waited for Lily’s response. He half expected her to either deny there was a bond between them or try to run away in fear. What he did not expect was for her to burst out laughing.
She began with a chuckle, but it was not a happy sound. It was more like the crazy lady kind of giggling he used to hear from Ilsa, the homeless woman who should have been safely ensconced in a care home instead of living out in the wild.
Not sure what else to say, he remained silent. Sooner or later, Lily would realize he was not joking.
It took another few seconds before her laughter slowly trailed off. Then she wiped away her tears and looked at him through wide eyes. “You’re not kidding, are you?”
“No, little flower, I’m not kidding. I am a gorilla shifter, and you are my other half. We’re at my cabin so we can get to know one another before I claim you as my mate, which is a connection that will last the rest of our lives.”
“But … but … I can’t be your mate. I’m only going to be at Bratburg for a few days.”
Lily looked so distraught that Sailor wasn’t sure what to do.
The last thing he wanted was to let her go, but if being with him made her this unhappy, maybe he would have to.
From now on, her safety and happiness would be his biggest priority.
If she really wanted him to, he would back away and learn to live with the heartbreak of finding and losing his mate all in the same day.
That was, if he could allow her to walk away.
His gorilla side continued to demand that they claim her, mate her, and be done with it. Once they mated, she would have to stay.
Gritting his teeth and forcing himself not to give in to his animal side, Sailor turned back to the counter. Even if she refused to be his mate, he still needed to feed her before turning her over to Kodiak.
He also had questions of his own that needed to be answered.
After plating their sandwiches, he cut up an apple and added slices to both plates.
Carrying the plates to the table, he noticed Lily wore a faraway lost look, her eyes staring at something only she could see.
When he set the plates down, she blinked and focused on him once more.
“What is involved when you claim your mate?” she asked softly, like she might be interested in staying.
Sailor studied her as he picked up half of one of his sandwiches and took a bite. He wasn’t sure whether to give her the abbreviated version or the full down-and-dirty one.
Taking a breath, he decided on the short explanation. “After a short period of getting to know one another, and once they both agree to the mating, the shifter and his mate have sex. The shifter bites his mate, taking her life essence into himself at the same time he fills her with his.”
He watched Lily closely as she thought over his simple, yet blunt, explanation.
“So if I agree to become your mate, we’d have sex; you’d bite me and drink my blood while coming inside me.”
“Blunt but yes, that’s what would happen.”
“Then what happens after that?”
“I spend the rest of my life loving you and caring for you and keeping you safe. My goal in life would then be to make sure you’re happier than you’ve ever been in your life.”
“And we would live here?” She waved her hand around the cabin.
“There are several new houses under construction closer to the Institute. We could stay here and add a room or two or move into one of the new houses. We’d just have to talk to Lonergan first. I’m sure he would agree with whatever you want.
I know you’ll need a playroom, and having a bigger kitchen might be nice, though I usually eat in the dining hall when I’m not out on patrol. ”
“A playroom?”
“Somewhere you can color and play and read books and be your Little self,” Sailor explained before a wild thought hit him. “You are Little, aren’t you?”
Lily blinked and slowly nodded. “How did you know?”
Sailor sighed as relief filled him. “There’s a trend here at Bratburg. All the mates have been Littles, so it stood to reason that you would be, too. Which works out well since I’m a Daddy.”
“You’re a Daddy?” Lily whispered as an expression of hope filled her face. “Really?”
“I am. And even more importantly, I’m your Daddy. And you are my mate, and my Little girl. Kind of cool how that works out, huh?”