She ran her hands over his exquisitely muscled shoulders and through his tousled hair. When he looked at her, his eyes were blazing. He ran kisses down her neck and over her chest. His gorgeous mouth enveloped her rose pink nipples and sucked them between his teeth, nibbling playfully on one, and then the other, as he held her breasts in his hands.
Slowly he kissed down her round stomach and dipped between her porcelain white thighs. He took a long draw of her scent as he gazed at her sex.
"You are the most delicious thing I've ever smelled," he said.
Thorian kissed her sex ever so gently before he thrust his tongue through her folds and licked up the slit of her core. He pressed the flat of his tongue against her clit and made it roll in waves over her pleasure point. She groaned loudly as he gripped her thighs and spread them wide for his mouth. Cici gasped and ran her fingers through his hair, loving the feeling of his mouth devouring her.
She pulled him against her as he sucked and licked and nibbled at her core. Thorian’s fingers bit into her thighs as he pushed them up and open. His mouth played on her body relentlessly, forcing her toward the brink of climax. The pleasure was so intense she could barely contain it inside her mind.
Looking away from the sight of his gorgeous face between her legs, she gazed up at the ceiling. She took a deep breath and let it out, closing her eyes and arching her back. The desire barreled through her like a freight train speeding down the track. Her climax was growing closer and closer with each flick of his tongue. Thorian slipped two sopping wet fingers between her folds and pushed them into her core as he sucked her clit and flicked it with his tongue.
His fingers sank inside her, curled in just the right way to press her inner pleasure point. She erupted with orgasm instantly and the flood of desire erupted like a geyser from within, gushing frantically to the surface. She groaned as her body clenched on his fingers, throbbing relentlessly over and over as he continued to push her into another mind-blowing release. She let go of his head and gripped the sheets on either side of her as he held her thighs open and continued to eat her with ravenous abandon.
"Oh my God, oh my God," she groaned as he pushed her to another release.
He looked up at her with those dark brown eyes and kissed her stomach, rising over her to claim her mouth once again. The rough denim of his pants rubbed against her wet core as he rested his hardness between her legs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him desperately, running her hands down his waist and gripping his taught behind in her hungry hands.
She wanted to feel him closer, have him inside her, but he sank between her legs again. He opened the drawer on the side of her bed with a wicked grin and found her toy inside. He licked her core and chuckled as he held the vibrator to her slit, pushing her so quickly to another orgasm as he fingered her core and made her erupt with mind shattering pleasure for a third time.
"What are you doing to me?" she demanded playfully.
"I'm pleasuring my mate," he said with a growl.
His shift was so close it gave his eyes a bright yellow tint. His sharp teeth descended in his mouth and the sight of it scared her just a little as he nibbled on her breasts.
"Your luscious curves make me so damn hard," he said, adjusting his manhood inside his jeans. She reached out to him and began to stroke the hard mound inside his dark jeans.
"Nope," he said, shaking his head. "Today is all about you."
"But I want to," she said.
"Something that we shifters all know is that you don't make love to your human mate on the first day," he said.
"That's nonsense," she said, leaning up on her elbows.
"Terrible things have happened to shifters and their human mates when they don't follow that rule. You're feeling all your instincts to mate, but you're still human. It's not normal for you. If you do something you normally wouldn’t, it could have terrible results."
"That's the silliest thing I’ve ever heard," she said, stroking his cock with her thumb.
"Well, that doesn't mean that I can't pleasure you," he said, crawling back between her legs.
He licked her pussy with the flat of his tongue, wetting her core until it was sopping. He pushed the sleek toy inside her and continued to lick her clit, pushing in and out of her pussy like he was fucking her with it. She groaned as she came again, her whole being throbbing with pleasure. The fourth orgasm shattered her mind and clenched her entire being with release.
He drew away from her and discarded the toy back in its place and lay down beside her, wrapping her in her bathrobe and holding her in his arms.
"I don't think you can take any more today," he said, caressing her face with the back of his fingers.
"You're killing me," she said, reaching down and rubbing his erection again.
"It will just make you more satisfied when we’re finally together," he said, nuzzling into her neck. “Because once I'm inside you, I don't think I can hold back. I'm going to have to claim you and maybe put a cub inside that gorgeous belly of yours."
"You're making me hot again," she teased.
"Well, my darling, you're going to have to wait because it looks like I've got a service call,” he said, taking his phone out of his back pocket and reading the text.
"Do you really have to go?" she asked.
"I do, but I want to take you out tonight. Somewhere nice. Would you like to go to the resort for dinner?" he asked.
"I would love that," she said.
"Hopefully everything is all cleaned up after last night. I'll make us a reservation and pick you up at seven."
"That sounds wonderful," she said.
He climbed out of bed after giving her one last kiss and pulled his shirt back on. He went to the door of her room and stopped, turning back to her.
"I'll see you tonight at seven, my dear.” He winked and blew her a kiss before disappearing down the hall.
She sighed and sank back down on her pillow. That had been the most mind shattering pleasure she'd ever experienced in her life. Her body was still throbbing with excitement. She’d felt how hard he was, seen the shifter glowing in his eyes, and his teeth descending from his mouth. He had shown so much self-control. What a gentleman. She groaned and stared at the ceiling, her heart pounding in her chest and the smell of his skin still lingering on her body.
Chapter 7
Thorian left Cici’s house, feeling more than a little frustrated that he had held back. He knew it was the right thing to do, but that still didn't make it any easier. His grizzly growled relentlessly inside him, admonishing him for not taking her and claiming her at the soonest possible opportunity.
But Thorian had heard the stories of what could happen to a shifter if they tried to mate too quickly. There were articles about it on Mate.com. And he’d heard the tales since he was a child. It wasn't something that you should rush into. A human would often feel the mating impulse as strongly as the shifter, and then later regret jumping into it. Humans had a fickle nature that couldn't always be trusted. He trusted Cici, and could tell she was ready for love, but he wasn’t taking any chances.
He drove down the road toward the Talbot estate, feeling nervous that he had to go back out there after Vicki’s death. After parking outside, he grabbed his tools and started toward the door. As he walked up the steps of the porch, the cool winter air nipping at his cheeks, the Talbot's son came storming out of the house. He almost knocked into Thorian as he charged past.
"You saw, didn't you?" the boy said.
"I saw what?" Thorian asked.
"You saw my mother charred to death."
"I'm afraid I did.”
"Whoever did that to her is going to pay. I don't care what kind of reputation she had, that’s no reason to stuff a woman full of explosives and light her on fire."
"I'm sorry for your loss, son," Thorian said. "Did your mother have any enemies?"
"Of course she did. She was a wealthy woman with a husband and everyone knew she had boyfriends.
Not to mention the women she hung out with, I don't trust a single one of them."
"What do you mean?" Thorian asked.
"Her friends were all back-stabbing bitches," her son said with a shrug.
"Can you elaborate?" he asked.
"Her best friend wants to sleep with my dad. It's completely obvious."
"I didn't know that."
"She's been trying to get her hooks into him for years. I think they dated back in high school or something."
"Why would a woman want a married man?"
"Her husband ran off with his secretary a couple years ago. Ever since, she's been trying to get my dad to notice her. But he only had eyes for my mom. Honestly, I think he’s always been kind of obsessed with her. I've heard them talking late at night sometimes. Some of the stuff I've heard, well, let me just say, a kid my age should never have to hear that."
"Oh? I’m sorry. That sounds terrible."
"My dad was a very jealous man." The kid picked up his phone and looked at the screen. "I've gonna go. My girlfriend’s waiting for me. I'm going to stay at her family's house until this blows over. I can't deal with my dad right now."
"Good luck, kid," Thorian said, watching the teenager walk away and climb behind the wheel of his car.
Thorian approached the front door, but before he reached it, it swung open and Mr. Talbot stood in the doorway.
"It took you long enough. We don't have any electricity in the kitchen again.”
"I just replaced the fuse," he said. “But I will check it out.”
He followed Mr. Talbot down the hall and into the basement where the fuse box was located. He opened it up and checked the fuse again. It was blown again. This time he’d brought the correct fuse with him in his bag. When he was done, he closed the fuse box and walked up the stairs to the kitchen to check the lights. Mr. Talbot walked into the room, his eyes dark and his arms crossed over his chest.
"I fixed your problem," Thorian said.
"You were sleeping with her, weren't you?" the husband asked.
"Pardon me?" Thorian said, thinking maybe he meant Cici.
"Vicki. You were her type."
"I can assure you, I would never sleep with your wife.”
"She took a fancy to you the moment she saw you. I saw you talking in the hallway. Were you planning a date?"
"Absolutely not." He could smell waves of anger rolling off of Mr. Talbot and it made him uncomfortable.
"If I find out that you were sleeping with Vicki, I will kill you myself," he said, clenching his fists.
"Are you threatening me?" Thorian asked.
"Do I have to?"
"Your wife just died. You should save your energy for your son.”
The man let out a long sigh and rubbed his temples with his hand. Tears streamed down his face and he leaned over on the counter a sob shuttering from his chest.
"I loved her so much," he said. He gritted his teeth angrily and looked up at Thorian. "Who was she sleeping with?"
"I don't know anything about anything except electricity and fireworks," Thorian said.
Mr. Talbot slammed his fist onto the granite counter. "It was Jake Martin, wasn’t it? I've seen them talking. I thought she liked them younger, but he was her type. I should've taken care of the both of them.” Mr. Talbot’s eyes were glazed over in thought.
"Taken care of both of them?" Thorian said, growing nervous.
"I should've fired him," Mr. Talbot said.
"Well, hindsight is always twenty-twenty," Thorian said, grabbing his tool bag and sidestepping around Mr. Talbot. He inched his way out of the kitchen and made a beeline for the front door.
"If you find out who she was sleeping with then I want you to tell me," Mr. Talbot yelled through the house.
Thorian stopped as he made it to the front door and turned to the furious man. "Sure thing," he said as he gripped the door knob.
He hurried outside away from the insanity and tossed his tools into the backseat. As he turned he found the Jake Martin pushing a wheelbarrow of hay toward the pasture for the horses. Jake dropped the handles and came storming over to Thorian.
"It was you, wasn't it," Jake said.
"Me, what?" Thorian asked.
"You were in a jealous rage, so you tied her up and burned her to death because she was in love with me."
"You people are all insane," Thorian said.
"I loved her,” Jake said. "We were going to run off together and finally be happy."
"Why didn't you then?" he asked, inching toward the driver’s side door.
"Because she didn't want to leave her husband's money. She didn't want to live on a stablehand’s salary."
"Well, you know what they say, true love conquers all," Thorian said, gripping the handle of his truck. Jake leaned against the door, preventing him from opening the truck.
"Are you saying she didn't love me?" he said, anger burning in his eyes.
The smell of rage rolled off the man. Thorian didn't have a clue what was going on. These people were all deranged. Why were they so obsessed with Vicki Talbot? She must have had some special skills in the sack or something because she had a crummy personality. Her body wasn’t very nice either. Her curves were all artificially enhanced, just like her face.
"I didn't have anything to do with Mrs. Talbot. I don't know if she loved you or not. Maybe she did. Maybe she didn't. I only met her one time. Maybe you should find yourself a nice girl who isn’t married. Just a little bit of life advice from a complete stranger," Thorian said, yanking the door open.
He climbed behind the wheel and turned on the engine, pulling out of the driveway and driving away as fast as he could. If he never saw these people again, it would be too soon. He had never met two more psychotic men in his life, both obsessed with an orange-skinned, bleach blonde, facelifted socialite who was obviously spoiled and as shallow as a puddle. But, to each their own.
He continued driving down the road, thinking about his beautiful raven-haired Cici, her luscious curves, her funny laugh, her quirky smile and her silly sense of humor. He loved everything about her. He couldn't wait to make her breakfast in bed and watch her eat his food while he licked her toes.
His inner grizzly growled at the image. And he squeezed his eyes closed as he stopped at the end of the Talbot’s driveway before he turned out onto the main road.
There would be time enough for that tonight after their date. Then he would let his inner grizzly come out and claim his curvy, gorgeous little mate. He didn't think he could hold back anymore, no matter the protocols. He sure hoped his little Cici was ready, because after this morning, his grizzly wasn't going to be contained.
Chapter 8
Cici pulled up in front of the Fate Valley Resort for the Fate Valley Wives’ Club’s New Year Day Luncheon. It was an event her mother had talked her into going to every year for the last fifteen years. She didn't relish this meeting, but she and her mother did together. Cici loved her mom so she always agreed to go.
She didn't like most of the women who were in the Wives’ Association and wished that she could get out of it this year. A lot of them were snobs and many of them disliked shifters. Her mom liked the fact that they did charity fundraisers. Cici he had to admit, that part appealed to her as well.
She climbed out of her sedan in her freshly pressed pink dress and walked to the front entrance of the resort. Inside, the ladies were already gathered in the restaurant. The whole thing had been reserved for the lunchion. Cici found her mother sitting at a table with her friends. She sat down beside her and said hello.
"Cici, you look positively radiant," her mother said, leaning in and kissing her on the cheek.
"Thank you, Mom," Cici said, giving her mom an affectionate hug.
Her mother poured her a cup of coffee, and Cici stirred in cream and sugar and took a sip.
"We were just talking about what happened at the New Year's Eve party," her mother said.
"It was positively dreadful,” he
r mother’s friend Constance said. “Vicki Talbot was the chairperson of the Children's Hospital fundraiser this year. I just can't get over the fact that someone killed her. If Vicki could be murdered then any of us could.”
"I just don't know how we can sleep at night,” said woman in a white pillbox hat, sitting across from Cici.
"I heard that you were seen with that pyrotechnician from the night of the murder," Constance said. "The police questioned him about it, you know."
"I know," Cici said, not sure how much to divulge. She didn't want to hide the fact that she was with Thorian, but at the same time, she wasn’t sure how much information she wanted to give these ladies today.
"What were you doing with the pyrotechnician?" her mother asked.
Cici let out a long sigh and bit her lip. She and her mother were close. Everything had happened so quickly with Thorian that she hadn’t had a chance to tell her anything. Cici knew her mom didn't have anything against shifters. Her family wasn’t like a lot of the women in the Wives’ Association.
"The truth is," Cici said with a sigh, "Thorian is my mate. We were matched on Mate.com just a few days ago. New Year's Eve was our first date.”
"Cici," her mother said with a gasp. "You didn't tell me. We tell each other everything."
Cici knew that her mother was hurt and that was the last thing she wanted.
"I know, mom. It just happened so fast. And then Vicki was killed, and I forgot to tell you."
"You don't think he had anything to do with it. Do you?" her mother asked.
"Of course not. Thorian is the sweetest, kindest man I've ever met. Besides we were together when Vicki was killed.”
A woman dressed in a black suit walked over and leaned over the table.
"Are you talking about what happened to Vicki Talbot?" Mrs. Green asked.