Shifting the Night Away (36 page)

“Same here, chica.”

Once I hung up the phone, I could hear the sound of Riker’s shower running.
I’ll have to thank him after he’s done cleaning himself off.
Suddenly I felt like rushing through my shower to reunite with my long lost roommate. Peeling off my dirty clothes, I jumped into the scalding water and hurried as fast as I could.

***

It was so simple to relax into the hot water; minutes after I stepped under the amazing water pressure in Riker’s bathroom, I realized I’d be taking my sweet time.
Showering in the dormitory stalls is going to be impossible after this,
I thought.
I never knew how bad I had it until now.

My right foot was bothering me. Glancing down, I saw a wide strip of red skin stretching from my big toe to my ankle bone.
That’s strange.
I rubbed at it, but it wasn’t a stain, and the mark didn’t hurt.
I must’ve just brushed up against something, like poison ivy.
To make sure, I washed it off thoroughly, then relaxed back into my shower.

The minutes ticked by long after I’d washed the shampoo from my hair and the grime from my skin. A light knock at the door got my attention and I turned the faucet off.

“Sorry, am I taking all the hot water?”

Riker stepped inside, fresh from his shower and wearing comfortable sweats. He gazed at me for a long moment, his eyes drinking up my naked body. I reached for a towel as I stepped out of the shower stall.

“Don’t cover yourself up so fast.”
 
He reached out towards me, grasping my arm in his hand.

“I’ll get you wet,” I protested as he pulled me against him.

“Fuck it.” Leaning down, he kissed the water droplets off my lips. His arm bent me gently at the waist, his clothed hips brushing against my skin. I braced myself against his shoulder, enjoying the soft feeling of his worn sweats against my bare skin.

“Let’s get reacquainted,” I said, staring up into his star-flecked eyes. “Not here. In the bedroom.”

He smiled. “I can think of nothing better. In fact, I don’t even know why I bothered getting dressed.”

Sweeping his arm behind me, he picked me up off the ground and carried me out of the bathroom. Echoed memories of our first night together danced in my head, but I knew this time would be much more. We were connected, no matter what.

“Alright, princess,” he said, laying me down on top of his bed, “it’s time to make you mine.”

I squirmed at the stark naked look of desire in his eyes. “I already am yours. I thought today made that clear.”

Reaching out, he stroked my cheek with his hand. The irises in his eyes had turned completely yellow, and they pierced into me like nothing else.

“I want to claim you as my mate, so that any shifter who sees you knows better than to touch you. It’ll keep you safe.”

“Claim me? How?”

He smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Just a little bit of magic. Nothing painful. You won’t even be able to tell it happened. The only thing you might notice is the ability to tell when I’m coming into a room; before you see me, you’ll sense me, like a premonition.”

“That sounds spooky,” I said. “Are you sure you need to do something like that?”

“I’m sure that from now on, I want to keep you safe. I’m all in for us, Mara, and I hope you are too.”

“I am.” Reaching up, I played with the fringes of his still-damp hair. “So claim me. I want the world to know I’m yours.”

A sound came out of him, low and animalistic. It wasn’t a growl, though; to my surprise, he was purring. The sound thrummed through me where our bodies touched, making my skin vibrate and tremble.

Reaching down, he tore the clothes from his body and threw them on the ground. Then he clasped our naked bodies together, his lips like fire on my own.

I gasped into his mouth, hips canting up to press against his naked erection. I opened my legs to let him rest cradled against me, my thighs pressed against his muscled sides. He kissed across my cheek and down to my jaw and throat, sucking lightly on the side of my neck.

With eager fingertips I traced his shoulder tattoos, drawing the edges of black ink soaked into naked skin.

“Someday, I’ll tell you all the stories of how I got those,” he said.

“I want someday to come today.”

He smiled, kissing my mouth with a feather-light touch. “Later this evening, then.”

With a twist of his hips he brushed his cock against me, pressing the head against the sensitive lips around my entrance. I moaned at the feeling of our bodies rubbing together, wishing for more of him.

Grasping his hips with my legs, I pulled him closer. “I want you inside me.
Claim
me, Riker.”

“So impatient,” he teased, drawing little circles on my thigh with his erection. “Haven’t you heard about foreplay?”

I groaned. “Save the foreplay for later. I
missed
you.”

“I can tell.” Drawing his fingers up between my thighs, he pressed the first two inside me and crooked his knuckles. “You’re so wet already.”

Like magic, he hit the right spot inside me and sent me twisting in the sheets. Leaning down, he continued his campaign of pleasure by drawing one of my nipples into his mouth and sucking on it delicately.

“Riker!” I cried out, pressing myself against him. His teeth nipped at my flesh, the purr in his throat making me wild. A moth to a flame, I needed his touch, and I couldn’t wait for it any longer.

So I did what I knew he wanted me to do: I begged for him. “Please fuck me.
Please
.” His purr grew louder at the sound of my wanton pleading. “I want to feel you inside me.”

His fingers slipped in and out of me, his thumb pressed against my clit. I bit my lip as he lined his cock up with my entrance, slowly trading his digits for warm, hard flesh.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured as he entered me, working his hips until he filled me up.

I gasped at the sensation, my back arching up towards him. Twisting his fingers in my hair, Riker
pushed
inside me and slowly glided back out, working his strokes up to a rhythm that made me see stars.

“Just like that,” I whispered, whimpering softly in the back of my throat. “That’s it.”

He smiled softly, his fingers drawing strange patterns on my neck.

“I think I’m falling in love with you, princess,” he said, his voice surprisingly soft. “I can’t imagine my life without you.”

My heart melted. “Me too. On both fronts.” Our lips met in a satin soft kiss, his thrusts slow and measured inside me. Together, our bodies said what words failed to say completely.
Mine.

Pressing deep inside me, Riker shuddered as my flesh enveloped his. “I’m going to claim you now.”

“Do it.” Drawing his head to my neck, he pressed bare flesh against my flesh. I gasped. A dizzying sensation passed through me, like the floor was buckling beneath my feet; seconds later it was gone, but the skin on my neck felt hot where two sharp teeth had barely nipped me.

“That was easy,” Riker said, his voice full of surprise. “It’s meant to be difficult to claim a human.”

I smiled, pressing my fingertips against his love nip. “Maybe we were meant to be.”

Drawing him towards me, I urged him to claim me with his body, too. He complied, his hips picking up rhythm as Riker lost himself to animal thrusts and moans. Arms around me, he picked me up and pressed us together, his panther purr soft against my belly.

With expert precision, he aimed his hard thrusts to maximize my pleasure. I groaned, my hips meeting his as warm sparks ignited inside me.

“Come for me, baby,” he said, his yellow eyes fierce on my face. “I want to hear you scream.”

I gasped, soft little exclamations falling from my lips as the bed squealed in protest beneath us. I closed my eyes. Lost in pleasure, I let myself go, muscles contracting around the hardness inside me. Riker moaned, his thrusts frenzied inside me. My orgasm poured down over me, my voice crying out in wonder and pleasure.

“Riker!” His name came out of me over and over again. “Ah, Riker, yes!”

He
growled,
ramming himself inside me faster and faster. I felt his balls draw up against my skin as he neared his own orgasm, his muscles spasming tightly.

“Mara.” He groaned my name against my shoulder, his brand hot on my skin. “Ah, I’m coming.”

I threaded my fingers through his hair, still lost in the edges of my own orgasm. “Come inside me. Please.”

My voice set him off, his thrusts stuttering as warmth flowed from his body to mine. Hot wetness spilled out of me, our hips twisting and shaking as he plunged in and out. I gasped, touching two fingers to my clit and rubbing myself to another small, light orgasm around his flesh.

“You feel so good,” he murmured as he relaxed against me, kissing my neck. “My Mara. My mate.”

Lips curving at his declarations, I fell back onto the bedsheets, bringing him down beside me. We curled against each other, our bodies filling a silence that needed no words. We fell asleep with matching breaths and hearts that beat as one, mated together for eternity.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Nevermore

Cool night air brushed at my forehead. I opened my eyes, confused about the mysterious breeze touching my skin. Beside me, Riker rolled over in his sleep, mumbling softly and then falling back to dream land.

Now that I was awake, I felt restless. Sliding carefully out of bed, I did my best not to disturb Riker as I strode on soft feet out of the bedroom and into the living room.

The view out the floor-to-ceiling windows was breathtaking. Belmont City was beautiful at night; though smaller than its big city counterparts like New York and Chicago, the skyline seemed to come alive on a clear night like this.

I glanced back to make sure Riker still slept. Carefully, I opened up the balcony door and slipped outside, propping it open with a potted plant so I wouldn’t get stuck out here.

There was something strange in the air tonight. Maybe it was just my anxiety after being taken the night before, but I could almost feel static electricity dancing across my arms. I rubbed them with my hands, staring out into the city and the far-away ocean tides.

Who would’ve thought I’d wind up here.
My simple life at school felt like nothing next to the revelations of the last few days.
I thought I was moving to a college town, and now I’m claimed by a man who turns into a panther.
I’d never feel normal again.

The thought made my lips twist up in a smile. It should’ve scared me; it should’ve made me want to run far away, to some normal town in the middle of Nebraska or Ohio, where people drank tap water and thought that paranormal legends existed only in TV shows. Instead I felt like something had been missing from my whole life, and now I’d found it.

Closing my eyes, I lost myself in the sensation of the wind on my face.

Wind that felt almost like feathers. Wind that sounded like the caw-caw of black-feathered birds.

Opening my eyes, I stared around in shock at the ravens perched on the balcony railing. Dozens more were free-falling in my direction, talons out as they hurtled themselves at every perch around me. They landed at my feet, their beady eyes staring up at me inquisitively.

“What—what is going on?” I tried to remember if I’d seen any raven shifters at the cave, but all I could recall were predators, their teeth gleaming at me. “Why are you all here?”

I backed up and reached for the door behind me, but in all the mayhem it’d slammed shut and was locked. Heart pounding, I knocked on the glass, hoping Riker would wake up in time.

We’re here to warn you.
Their voices were a hundred echoing thoughts in my head; only the quiet sound of their soft
caw-caws
let me know they were also speaking aloud.
We’re to tell all witches of what is to come.

Eyes wide, I shook my head in denial. “I’m no witch. Neither is Riker. You’re at the wrong apartment.”

In eerie unison they cocked their heads.
Those marked are witches. They hear our voices.

I swallowed heavily, lost for words. “Okay. You’ve warned me. Now go.”

The warning is not the end. You must know–