17
Larz
I couldn’t let Ilona know just how worried I was. Although they’d never find Stellan’s body, it didn’t mean we were safe. Well, it didn’t mean I was safe.
At first, I thought Stellan might have just been jealous. But, knowing her father was a cop, it was very possible that she was a descendant of one of the original hunters and knew exactly what I was.
The law enforcement of Cutwood had always known more about the creatures in the woods than they let on. To the townspeople, the shifters of the forest were just legends. But a select few would gather a few times a year and set out into the woods to hunt.
As the last of my kind, I was fairly safe.
Able to move around the town in my human form without detection.
But the others, those with no shifting abilities, weren’t so lucky.
I’d tried to be smart about it, hiding in the woods for decades at a time before emerging again with a totally different look.
I’d been back in town for a few years before Ilona came, the tattoos and permanent tongue split were part of my new disguise.
“So,” Ilona’s voice cut through the memories, “where do we start?”
“I’m the last of my kind. Of the shifters,” I tried to start subtly, but there wasn’t really a way around it. “But there are other creatures all over the forest.”
Her eyes widened, shifting where she sat in my arms. “But your kind were the only ones in the history book.”
“Well, the discovery of my kind, hundreds of years ago, was spread all over town. The massacre exposed us. The tale of us is still passed down to children to this day. But the others have remained hidden. Mostly.”
“Mostly? And how was your kind discovered? What happened?”
“Love,” I sighed. “It's a simple story, really. A woman fell in love with one of my kind and they were caught. The hunters attacked before we even had a chance to make peace.”
“That’s terrible, but sounds just like humans. Destroying things they can’t understand.”
“Some people in town definitely know or have suspicions about the creatures. I’d guess law enforcement and city officials. Every few years, a hunting party is formed; they say it's for deer, but more and more of the creatures of the forest disappear every time.”
“So, Stellan. Her dad is a cop, so it’s possible she knew and was suspicious of you?”
I nodded, “Yes. I may have used my shifting to scare her a little bit.”
“Larz! Why would you do that? Do you want to get yourself killed?!”
“I couldn’t help it.” My skin prickled with heat. She cared.
“Couldn’t help it?” Her tone was skeptical, “couldn’t help what? Your jealousy? Was that really worth your safety?”
The heat rose into a raging fire, burning all of my resistance to ash in my bones. I closed the space between us, her small kitchen pressing in around us as I towered over her. I pulled her into me, the feeling of her soft body on mine threatened to drive me crazy.
“Yes, Ilona. You will always be worth my safety. Worth my life.”
“But, why?” She looked up at me like she couldn’t believe anyone would give her the time of day. It broke my heart and boiled in my chest.
“Because that’s my job,” I tucked a curl behind her ear and laced my fingers in her hair, tugging her closer. “You are my responsibility. My life. My mate.”
Fuck. I didn’t want to tell her about us being mates so soon. I was afraid the claiming ritual would freak her out. But having her so close to me altered my brain function. So before she could respond, I pulled her in, claiming her with my mouth.
She huffed in protest, but as soon as my tongue passed her lips, she sighed into me. We fell into a natural rhythm and before I knew it, I had Ilona in my arms, carrying her up the stairs.
She stared up at me with desire as I tossed her on the bed and ripped off my clothes. The need was growing and I couldn’t wait another second to have her.
Pieces of her clothing hit me in the chest one by one as she tossed them off.
“You’re trying to distract me, aren’t you?”
“Is it working?”
She perched at the end of the bed and crossed her legs, shrugging with a cute, little smirk.
I took a step towards her, and she craned her neck to look up at me.
“Open for me,” I demanded.
She obeyed, lying back on her elbows and letting her knees fall to the side. The way she listened was dangerously arousing.
“Keep your eyes on me.”
Her eyelids fell, hooding her eyes with a dark desire as she nodded.
“Now, play with that pretty pussy like you do when you’re alone. When you’re reading one of your dirty books.” I took another step forward so I was standing between her open legs. “When you’re thinking about me.”
She pressed light circles onto her clit, keeping her eyes on me just like I’d asked.
“That’s good, baby.”
The little, breathy moans that past her lips emboldened me.
“Now, I want you to think about the other night, when you were reading Into the Fire and you were moaning my name.”
Her eyes widened, but she didn’t stop. Instead, her fingers disappeared into her glistening cunt. The sound of her pumping into herself filled the room.
My own fingers found my throbbing clit, “Did you know I was watching you, little stinger?”
She gasped, thrusting into herself faster, moans drifting through the air and kissing my ears like a spell. I let my eyes roll back as pleasure overtook me. I could come off the sound of her alone.
“Did you feel me right outside your window, fucking myself alongside you. Did you feel the pull when we came together?” The confession that I never planned to reveal fell from my lips as easily as a breath.
Instead of scaring her off, it only seemed to fuel her. She pumped her fingers faster inside herself, keeping her eyes on me.
“Fuck, daddy. I need you. Please.”
“Tell me, baby, how do you want me?”
She pointed to her nightstand, “bottom drawer. I need you inside me.”
“Come for me first, and I’ll give you everything that you want.”