Batty for You (6 page)

After a minute or two, she began to relax into his beat and her hips shifted to his rhythm. When he stroked her clit while lapping at her, another moan broke free. The moment that he slipped two fingers inside her and applied that lapping tongue to her clit, she was lost.

Her rise to pleasure was shocking and surprising. She heard her high, gasping cries increase in pitch and then a low moan sounded as she bucked against his fingers and mouth.

Weller moved suddenly, and he thrust into her while she was still spasming. Her channel went from clasping his fingers to slowly gripping his cock.

She could see his neck flex as he fought for control. He thrust and retreated in small motions until he was fully inside her.

Bets wrapped her arms around him and stroked his back as sweat coated him. An aftershock of pleasure rippled around him, and she felt him tense even more. If he got any more rigid, he would shatter.

She murmured wordlessly and stroked the groove of his back between the taut muscles.

He nuzzled her cheek, and she turned to him, his kiss distracted her as he began to move in earnest.

The thrust and withdrawal felt strangely fascinating. Her beast rose to the surface and hooked her hands over his shoulders.

Their kiss went wild; Bets was sure sharp teeth were involved, and they rolled until she was riding him and then back so he was thrusting into her, but then, he leaned back—still inside her—and he pulled her onto the front of his thighs as he knelt.

Her back arched, her breasts bounced and the stroking on the inward channel of her sex was enough to send her back to the edge of pleasure. He stroked her clit again as he pounded into her, and she moaned, shaking helplessly as another release gripped her and shook her from the inside out.

Weller eased her back and lay on top of her, thrusting frantically for a few moments until he growled low and shook violently.

Sweat dripped from him, and he reached between them, gripping his cock as he retreated.

She blinked in surprise as he disappeared, and she clued into the fact that he had worn a condom.

Not that he needed it, but he just got another point in his favour.

He returned and flipped the covers back, tucking her into her bed and crawling in next to her.

He kissed her lightly. “So, tomorrow, your place or mine?”

She sighed. “Mine first. I want to get it over with.”

He chuckled. “You make it sound so appealing.”

“More appalling than appealing, but they will be happy to see you.” She snuggled against him.

“I am trusting you.”

“Good. I am very trustworthy.”

He pinched her backside and she squeaked, elbowing him in the ribs.

“Trustworthy but not defenseless.”

He chuckled. “Noted. Good night, Bethany.”

It was a moment she knew would be repeated over decades, and a warmth filled her soul. She smiled into the darkness. “Good night, Weller.”

Standing in the transporter’s office felt weird after being at the Crossroads. Bets felt like she had to pull herself back inside to keep the human seeming intact.

Weller was standing next to her, his bag and hers over one shoulder.

The transporter’s office was empty, so they simply left.

“Isn’t there supposed to be someone there?” Weller looked back as they closed the door behind them.

She chuckled. “Not twenty-four hours a day. Can’t you see the wards? It is a one-way door right now. It provides us a discrete place to land and the transporter won’t be alerted unless we try and get back inside.”

“Why did you have them send us here?”

Bets grinned, fished for her keys and started her car with the key fob. “I left my car here.”

Weller laughed and held the driver’s side door open for her before slipping the bags into the trunk. When he was seated beside her, she waited for his seatbelt to click, and then, she peeled out of the driveway and was on the road in seconds.

“Do you always drive like this?”

“What, two hands on the wheel, no distractions and buckled up? Yup. If you are talking about the speed, we are not actually going that fast. It is a spell that Teelion put on my car to make it feel like I am racing when I am doing the speed limit.”

He glanced at her dashboard. “That is disconcerting.”

She snickered. “I know. Fun though. Reggie loves it. Don’t worry; it is a ten-minute drive.”

Weller sat back and looked around as they passed the Night Star Diner. “I know where we are now.”

“The town is small, but it is perched on the edge of the city. It makes getting home for visits easy.”

“Where do you live?”

“Half a block from work. It makes the commute easy enough to do on feet.”

He scowled. “You walk home?”

“Teelion or one of the others walks me home. I have only had two incidences and those men never appeared at the Dark Knight’s Club again.”

“Did they kill them?” He growled it.

“I don’t know and I don’t really care. The Drow have been taking excellent efforts to watch my back, so I make sure their guests are comfortable and attended. It is a good relationship.”

“Would you come to work for me?” He narrowed his eyes.

She glanced at him as she turned down her parents’ street. “It depends on the benefits package. Write me an offer and I will decide.”

“You aren’t kidding.”

“Nope. I have lived my adult life on my own, and I am sure that we will have enough issues in cohabitating rather than us spending all day every day together.”

He still wasn’t looking very happy when she pulled into her parents’ yard. She made the introductions; her parents were suitably impressed and her brothers and sisters were called in from around town with their spouses in tow.

It took a bit of deep breathing to get through the improvised dinner, but when they left, Weller was glowing with the effusive acceptance that he had been given.

She got behind the wheel and sighed. “So, where do we go next?”

“You said you lived in the city?”

“Yup.”

“Then my place. It is closer, well…closer than heading through the city. I live in Noring Cross.”

She whistled softly. The homes at Noring Cross were expensive, elegant and exclusive.

“I know. I didn’t want to tell you earlier, but the pack has acreage there, and it was divided among the children, even me. I built the house on the land I was given, it just happens to be in Noring Cross.”

She glanced quickly at him as she got on the highway. He was embarrassed.

“How long a drive is it?”

“About half an hour, or forty-five minutes, depending on the route you take.”

She nodded, getting a little nervous. “Tell me about your family?”

He chuckled. “Right, I forgot that it is your turn. My parents were married forty years ago, have five children and my youngest brother is just thirteen. According to my mother, he was a bit of a surprise but much beloved for all that. He will be your harshest critic.”

She nodded. “How do you think they will adjust to me? I mean, what I am. I am not exactly a predator unless you are hanging from a tree.”

“It will be fine.” He did what he always did to calm her—he lifted her hand to his lips.

She sighed when she actually did feel calmer. He asked her if he could make a few calls, and she agreed, wincing when he spoke to his parents and told them to have everyone meet at his house in an hour.

Whomever he was talking to must have asked why, because he looked at Bets and smiled, “I just got back from the Crossroads.”

Bets muttered, “His mother.”

The shriek on the other end of the line had been very audible with her hearing.

Suddenly, Bets wasn’t as optimistic as she had been a few minutes earlier.

Despite the fact that he had asked for an hour, there were vehicles waiting in the large rotunda in front of the expansive house.

“I thought you said your house wasn’t a big deal.” She muttered.

“I never said that. I said I got the land and built a house on it.” He winked. “Come on. Face the pack.”

She waited and he opened her door for her. She had forgotten to unbuckle her seatbelt, so it caused a moment of confusion and embarrassment.

His family was looking on with a tense excitement. She felt like a small animal before the dogs were set on it. The thought startled her into smiling. That was exactly what she was, but she wasn’t something small and helpless.

Weller put his hand on her back and he walked her toward his family whispering, “It will be fine.”

“I know.” She smiled and stood still for the introduction to his parents.

Wendy Umbridge was a smiling woman, and she embraced Bets immediately. “Welcome to the family, daughter.”

Daniel Umbridge gave her a gentle hug. “Welcome to the family, Bethany.”

The eldest brother and sister with their mates also greeted her warmly, but the youngest sibling stood to one side and scowled.

Bets nodded, “And your other brother is on his honeymoon.”

Weller nodded. “Correct. This is the youngest, my brother Tristan.”

Bets looked at the young wolf calmly. “Hello, Tristan.”

He jerked his chin up and stalked toward her.

Bets tapped Weller’s thigh when he would have stepped between them.

“You don’t smell like a fox.” The teen was pugnacious.

“Probably because I am not a fox, though that is the common name for my beast.”

He blinked and leaned back. “What?”

“I am a flying fox. A bat.”

Tristan looked at Weller with horror. “Did you know that?”

He nodded. “I did. I knew it the first hour I arrived at the Crossroads.”

Tristan narrowed his eyes back in her direction. “So you are a teeny little bat?”

She cocked her head. “Not exactly.”

Weller whispered, “You are going to need to show them.”

“Really? My family took it for granted that you were a fox and not a human or an elf.” She snorted.

“Did you know he was rich?” Tristan was still pursuing it.

Bets sighed. “No. I didn’t know anything about your brother other than he liked to flirt and smelled nice. We took it from there.”

Weller snickered. “Let’s all go inside, and if we ask politely, Bethany might show us her beast.”

With his hand on her back, he steered her toward his home, fished keys out of his jacket and opened the door. The inside was even more elegant than the outside.

The bulldozer effect was getting old, but she didn’t know where she was going, so it was to her advantage to let him decide where they were going.

The bedroom had double doors and a balcony that looked out over the wild beauty of the backyard, an immaculately groomed space bordered by trees, shrubs and a national park. That park was the reason for the expensive neighbourhood. No one could build in the area who didn’t already own property there.

“I know it is awkward, but my family needs to see you to understand.” Weller wrinkled his nose. “Do you mind?”

She looked sideways at him in surprise. “Of course not. I am guessing that the amount of flying mammals in your family tree is nonexistent. If they don’t see, they will guess, and if they guess wrong, they will get insecure. A quick shift is just easier. Go and wait in the living room, and I will be there in a moment.”

She waved him on. “Oh. Open a door or window down there. It will be easier if I have an escape route.”

He turned and bowed low. “See your furry magnificence in a moment.”

Chuckling weakly, she held onto her bravado and stripped, moving away from the window just in case.

Once she was naked, she listened for the window opening. The door to the backyard opened instead. Perfect.

She shifted and flew through the wide-open bedroom doors, down the stairs and into the living room, hanging upside down from a lamp embedded in the ceiling.

Tristan pointed, “Holy crap, it’s Dracula.”

Weller laughed. “No, she is a fruit bat. A giant golden-crowned flying fox in the megabat category.”

She tasted the scent of fear, but it faded rapidly. Tristan came closer, but there was honest curiosity in his gaze.

“Cool.”

She squeaked and Weller held out his arm. She flew to him and rested on his shoulder, nuzzling his ear with her muzzle.

Wendy came toward her. “She is adorable. I swear, I never thought I would see a shifter cuter than Weller’s fox, but this is amazing.”

Wendy extended her hand carefully, and Bets rubbed her head against the fingers. They began to scratch delicately behind her ear and Bets was happy.

The family gathered around, and they all touched her before sniffing their fingers. She blinked. They were scenting her so they didn’t mistake her for prey.
Aw, how sweet.

Daniel held up a blanket in the shifter secret code, and she crawled down Weller and onto the floor. When the blanket came down, her human form came up.

She held the blanket around her. “So? As creepy as you thought?”

Tristan grinned. “I have never met a bat before. Do you drink blood?”

“Nope. I eat fruit. My body doesn’t manufacture vitamin C.”

“Is that all you eat?”

“No, my human form eats normal dinners, and a lot of fruit. I still have to take supplements, but I am used to it.”

“Do you eat anything else as a bat?”

“Yes, flower nectar, but it takes a bit of doing to get my tongue in there, so I normally stick to fruit.”

Weller had a coughing fit on the other side of the room.

Tristan scowled. “What is wrong with him?”

“Trifle flashback. Anything else?”

“Did you meet at the Crossroads?” Wendy asked that one.

She shook her head. “No. We met the night of his brother’s wedding. The one that isn’t here. He was the designated driver for a local alpha who was coming to retrieve his brother.”

“Josh. He was messed up. What did happen to Jerry?” Tristan piped up.

Apparently, the entire family had been there. She smacked herself. Of course they were; it was their brother.

“Jerry and his buddies picked a fight with an elf and left their pants behind.”