The Shifter's Kiss (6 page)

Chapter 9

He smiled as the weight of her on his chest registered
and her pleasant heat bathed his body.

He cracked one eye open and peered down, almost afraid that if
he woke, she’d vanish before his eyes.

But she didn’t. Instead she burrowed tighter and tossed her
thigh over his, pinning him to the mattress, murmuring a protest when he dragged
in a deep breath and stretched out a morning kink.

“Good morning,” he said, skimming his fingers up and down her
back.

She inched open an eye and stared up at him. “Hmm. Is it
good?”

Because he was already hardening beneath the smooth heat of her
thigh, it possibly was, but this morning he needed more than just her body.

“That all depends,” he said and shifted from beneath her to lie
on his side and gaze at her.

Nali seemed to understand what he wanted. She likewise shifted
to her side and faced him, lay her hand on his chest and tenderly stroked back
and forth across the thick muscle there before settling her hand over his
heart.

“You’re asking me for more than I can give.”

Victor smiled sadly and hooked his arm around her waist,
fearing she would bolt again as she had last night.

“Is it so hard to consider loving me, Nali?”

An indignant laugh escaped her. “Love. My parents had that, and
what did it get them? Death? Loneliness?”

“But you’re alone now, aren’t you? You’ve been alone for a long
time, whereas they had years and years of happiness.”

A rejoinder was impossible because in her heart Nali knew the
truth of his words. But she wanted him to understand where she stood.

“I will not leave the ocean to live on land.”

“I would never ask that of you. The ocean is the one place
where I also feel free.”

Nali narrowed her gaze. “Why? Why do you feel so trapped on
land?”

He shrugged. “After the accident, the pain from the burns and
broken bones was unbearable at times. Once I healed enough, the water was the
one place where that pain would go away.”

Nali moved her hand upward to trace the edge between smooth and
scarred flesh. “Your life before was ruled by fire just as mine has always been
controlled by water.”

He shook his head. “Just elements, like air and earth. They
might bind us physically, but what we feel in here,” he said and tapped his
chest, “is what truly sets us free.”

Not understanding, she glanced up at him and begged him with
her gaze to explain.

“It wasn’t just that the weight on my physical body was gone in
the water. It was the weight on my spirit. I finally recognized that being a
firefighter wasn’t really my dream, but my father’s. That’s when I decided to
change my life and do what I always wanted to do.”

Nali had never wanted anything other than the basics. That
simplicity of life had been the way of her people forever. But some had grown to
want more. Her father had wanted more, and up until Victor, she had not
understood that want.

Now she did.

“I want you, but I also want my life in the sea.”

“You can have both. I promise that.”

“I want to seal that promise,” she said and before he could
respond, she surged up and covered his mouth with hers. She sealed the promise
with a kiss from the heart he had awakened with his love.

Victor accepted her gift, letting her set the pace as she
explored his mouth, her lips skimming lightly before she deepened the kiss,
opening her mouth on his, accepting the slide of his tongue to taste her and
dance in celebration.

Over and over they kissed, sharing breath and life through that
simple connection until they were both breathing roughly and needing more.

He grazed the tips of her breasts with the back of his hand and
they puckered instantly beneath his touch. Smiling against her lips, he said, “I
love how sensitive your tits are. How they get tight for me.”

She chuckled and unerringly found him with her hand, stroked
him and said, “Your cock is just as responsive.”

When she ran a finger along the sensitive head of him, he
jumped from the overwhelming sensation. He sucked in a breath and held it,
reining in his need.

They had satisfied passion well in their short time together.
This time he wanted it to be about more. He wanted it to be about the promise
they had made to each other.

“Do you trust me, Nali?”

Wide-eyed, she nodded and he urged her to her back but gently
eased her thigh over his hip, his front to her side. The position let him bend
to kiss her mouth and her deliciously hard nipples. But it also let him slowly
slide into her vagina from behind while dipping his hand down to part her center
and find the nub buried there.

She gasped against his mouth at his possession, but he
whispered, “I want to take it slow this time.”

Nali heard his words through the haze of desire gripping her
body. Her head rested on his arm and as he leaned over her to suckle her
breasts, he rubbed her clit while filling her with his thick length. There
wasn’t an ion of her that wasn’t aware of him and his possession.

Every part of her ached for the sensations he was creating to
never end.

When he bit down gently on one hard nub, she called out his
name and fisted her hand in his hair, dragged him forward so she could sample
his mouth again, nip at his full lower lip and savor the spill of his warm
breath.

“Nali, you are so lovely.”

She yanked on his hair again, pulling him away so she could see
his face and gauge the truth of it because she wasn’t used to such man-woman
things. All she saw was love and honesty.

Skimming her hand down his arm, she twined her fingers with his
and said, “You’re beautiful, too, Victor.”

He smiled and it reached up into those sea-blue eyes that
glittered as if kissed by the midday sun. “I’m glad I please you.”

She dipped her gaze to where they were joined and playfully
drew their hands there, a lighthearted laugh escaping her as she teased, “Then
please me some more.”

His broad, unrepentant grin filled her with warmth as he bent
and whispered against her lips, “That will be my pleasure and yours.”

With a sure hand and his gifted mouth, he proceeded to show
her, bringing her to the peak and then dragging her over with the first powerful
thrust of his hips. Her body trembled around him as her climax nearly swamped
her, but then he kept up his kisses and caresses and started a steady,
determined stroke of his hips that had her clinging to him. Her back arched away
from him as her release became a long, never-ending stream of pleasure so
intense that for a moment her eyesight wavered.

“Easy, love. Easy,” he urged as she held onto him, her nails
digging into his flesh as her world reeled.

Victor gritted his teeth at the force of her climax, which
threatened to pull him under like a riptide. Her vagina caressed and held him,
the friction of it almost unbearable at the shift of his hips at her center, at
the musky smell of her rising up and the delicious salty-sweetness of her
nipples beneath his lips.

At the bite of her sharp nails into his skin, he grunted as
that pain melded with the pleasure, reminding him that would be his life with
her. Pain at her absence and this rapturous love with her presence.

He could deal with it, he thought and, nearly light-headed from
desire, he stroked harder into her, faster, until she bucked off the bed with a
long powerful release that he could no longer battle.

With a harsh grunt, he came, spilling his seed into her.
Savoring the way her muscles milked him and she rose up to kiss him again, the
whisper of her lips a benediction.

Gently he lowered himself to her side and wrapped his arm
around her waist. She shimmied near and lay a hand on his thigh possessively.
Neither one of them was going anywhere, he thought as long minutes passed and
their tender, soothing caresses restored some semblance of sanity and calm.

“Will it always be like this?” she asked, that touch of
innocence he had sensed earlier back in her voice.

“I hope so,” he answered honestly.

That earned a small smile from her as she closed her eyes and
said, “I’m tired. I’d like to sleep now.”

She didn’t wait for him to do just that, dropping off almost
immediately.

She was funny that way, so basic in her needs. Maybe because
her life until now had been that straightforward. Food and rest. Night and day.
Uncomplicated and simple.

Until he had interceded in her life and changed everything.

He grinned at that, not in the least bit upset with how he had
shaken up her existence because she had done the same to his.

Lying there, he let his mind wander to what their life together
might be like. He considered what they would do next.

Besides eat, he thought as his stomach rumbled noisily.

Not wanting to wake her, he slipped from the bed and over to
the long counter along the far wall of the shack. He busied himself with cutting
up ripe fruit he had picked from the nearby trees and plants. Luscious mangos
and papayas. Ripe bananas. Then he scrounged around in the icebox, which still
had a small chunk of ice in it. He pulled out a hunk of a native white cheese
and sliced it up for some protein. Maybe later he could visit Saila or the
nearby village for something more substantial, he thought as he finished
prepping the meal.

Nali woke to the sound of his moving about. As she opened her
eyes, she noticed him standing naked by the counter, working on something.

He had a beautiful ass. She had noticed that about him one time
when he had skinny-dipped while out by the reef. As he turned with the tray in
hand, she appreciated the other side of him and the cock that hung down his
thigh.

“Like what you see?” he teased and sauntered over, a brash
swagger to his gait.

Chapter 10

Nali refused to let him get a swelled head. “The food
looks great.”

He chuckled, but instead of returning to the bed, he set the
tray down on the hand-hewn table off to one side of the room. It sat beneath an
open window, which faced the ocean, and he took a seat and gave her a come-over
jerk of his head.

She supposed they couldn’t spend all their time in bed, as
pleasant as it might be. Rising, she grabbed hold of her dress from the chair
where he must have neatly folded and placed it. She eased it on, hiding herself
from him.

At the table, she took the spot adjacent to him. The table was
so narrow their knees bumped beneath its surface.

Snagging a piece of mango, she was about to feed him but then
remembered what that had led to last time. Popping the fruit into her mouth, she
chewed on it thoughtfully before trailing her fingers along the bandage at his
side.

“How is it feeling?”

He shrugged. “I barely notice it.”

“I’ll have a look at it and change your dressings after we
eat.”

“Thanks,” he said and then fell silent while he ate the fruit
and cheese.

Nali was not so inclined. “You said your father was a
firefighter.”

“My dad and his dad and every Edwards going back to the first
one who set foot in New York. What about your family?”

“My father is—was—like me. My mother was Kuna. Her family came
here when the Kuna fled the Spanish in Panama.”

Victor treaded carefully because he knew of Nali’s conflict
with her parents and their relationship. “Your mother must have been very
special.”

A broad smile erupted across Nali’s lips and remembered joy lit
up the dark grey of her eyes. “She was. She was a wonderful cook and so funny.
She could always make me laugh.”

“So the way to your heart is with food and jokes?” he teased,
trying to keep the conversation from getting too serious.

“Definitely food, as long as you don’t feed me fish. I am so
tired of eating fish,” she said with a laugh and a shake of her head.

Victor joined in her laughter but murmured, “Damn, there go the
dinner plans.”

“Baba—”

“Baba?” he asked.

“My father. He usually goes to town for meat when I come to
shore.”

Victor nodded. “I’ll go see him when we finish.”

“No, I’ll go. I need to spend some time with him, but first,
let me check your side.”

Without waiting for his reply, she popped out of her chair and
back to the cupboards above the counter where she had stored the medical
supplies. She removed them and then walked back.

He eased the chair away from the table and waited for her,
moved by the sight of her, by the ease with which she moved, as comfortable on
land now as in the sea.

It was impossible to fight his arousal nor did he wish to. She
had told him it was as natural as breath and maybe it was, at least with
her.

She said nothing about his state as she kneeled beside him to
examine his side. With calm efficiency she removed the wrappings and gauze and
examined the wounds.

“They are closed. It won’t be long until they are completely
healed.”

She popped up again and returned to the counter to fill the
basin with water and grab a clean towel. Once she was kneeling beside him again,
she tenderly washed away the healing paste and he noticed the stellar-shaped
wound where new skin was already knitting closed.

“Chicks dig scars,” he said, recalling what one of his
firefighter buddies had told him as he lay all bandaged up in the hospital.

One side of Nali’s mouth tilted in a smile. She rose to her
knees and brushed a kiss across his lips.

“Chicks dig heroes,” she said and then returned to her task,
cleaning and drying his side, then applying a different kind of ointment before
binding him up once more.

She set the supplies on the table behind him, and as she did
so, her breast grazed his arm. The touch, innocent as it was, tightened his
balls and made him ache as his cock swelled.

As she stepped back from the table, she didn’t fail to notice.
But she didn’t act on it either. Instead she surprised him by saying, “Are you
up for a walk?”

He was up for something totally different, but he didn’t want
her to think all he wanted from her was to fuck.

“Let me just get some clothes.” He began to rise, but she lay a
tender hand on his shoulder.

“You’re fine the way you are.”

He skimmed his gaze up and down her loose, flowing dress and
then arched a brow. “Seems kinda unfair, doesn’t it?”

“It does.” Grinning, she quickly ripped off her dress and
tossed it on her chair.

The beauty of her slammed into his gut once more. He had never
seen such a gorgeous woman, much less one who seemed to be so comfortable in her
own skin.

Her human skin, he thought, although she had been just as sure,
maybe more so, in the water.

Rising from the chair, he slipped his hand into hers, lacing
his fingers with hers. Together they walked out of the shack and into the late
morning sun, which was already strong enough to burn if you weren’t careful.
They kept to the shade provided by the palm trees and underbrush not far from
the shore, strolling away from the shacks, talking once again about their lives
and what had brought them here.

Nali listened, lightness in her heart and soul as he regaled
her with a story from his days as a firefighter. When he finished, she said,
“You loved your friends there.”

Victor smiled and shook his head. “I did but not the job. This
is where I was meant to be,” he said and opened his arms wide.

She stepped to him and tenderly ran her hand over his scarred
shoulder and arm, her breasts barely grazing the hard wall of his chest. “I’m
glad you’re here.”

He cradled her waist with his hands. They were so big they
almost encircled her. Big, but gentle, she thought as he used tender pressure to
draw her near.

“I’m glad, too,” he said and brought his lips to hers, his kiss
light at first as he traced the edges of her mouth and nipped at her lower lip
with his teeth before opening his mouth on hers.

She sighed, her breath mingling with his as they kissed, but
there was something different in this interlude. Something far more lasting than
the spark of passion that flared so brightly before burning out. As the kiss
went on and on, it kindled warmth deep in her heart. A heat far more enduring
when love kept it banked.

Love.

She hadn’t expected it. Didn’t want it, but standing there
beside him, experiencing emotions she never had before, she didn’t think she
could live without it now.

She didn’t think she could live without him.

She pulled away from him then, knowing now why she had been so
restless after her headlong rush back to the sea that was her home.

He was her home now.

And he had promised to let her be who and what she was. She had
to believe in that promise; otherwise she was lost.

A gust of wind kicked up then, pulling her from her
thoughts.

She glanced upward and noticed the roiling clouds, smelled the
storm that was about to strike. A second later the first fat raindrop plopped on
her upturned face, but she didn’t run. She stood there, arms outstretched,
reveling in the sensation of the cool water sluicing down her body. The chill of
it against her sun-warmed skin caused her nipples to pucker.

He was there suddenly, wrapping his arms around her body,
laughing as he twirled her around in the rain until the storm had passed as
quickly as it came.

But the storm inside them had only begun, she thought as he
guided her to the shade beneath some palms and sat on the bank of low wild
grasses. He pulled her down with him and she went willingly, straddling his
legs. No hesitation in her as she guided his cock to her center and sank down on
him.

Their satisfied sighs filled the air and they just sat there,
joined, peaceful for long moments until he cupped her breasts, his hands slick
from the rain. Leisurely, he caressed her tight nipples until she had to move on
him to satisfy the ache caused by the tug and pull of his fingers.

Between her legs, his dick warmed and filled her. The friction
of him and the length butting up into her had her dripping wet. Her movements on
him grew faster, harder, as she sought release, and when he bit down on her taut
nipples, she came in a long rush of pleasure.

He joined her, his breath rough against her breasts. His arms
encircled her tightly as she rode him, drawing out the pleasure of their union
until she could no longer move.

Cradled together, they lingered until some semblance of calm
had returned and they ventured out into the sun to dry off.

Holding hands, they returned to the shack.

Saila must have stopped by in their absence. More fresh fruit
filled the bowl on the counter, and when Nali peeked in their ice box, she saw a
new chunk of ice and as an assortment of meats. Nali smiled at her father’s
thoughtfulness, and together she and Victor prepared a meal before falling into
bed and into each other once again.

The next few days passed in that same pleasurable mix of
passion and coming to understand one another. It was because of that
understanding that he knew she had to leave. He walked to the water’s edge with
her.

“I will be waiting,” he said as he kissed her, sealing the
promise.

“I’ll be back,” she replied and then waded out into the deeper
water, diving down and through the tangle of reef until she was safe to morph
into her true form and disappear into the yawning waters.

As much as she wanted to come back in her shark form and play
with him in the shallower areas in the reef, the incident a week earlier had
shown her the insanity of it. She would not risk her life or his for those
playful moments.

So she prowled the ocean depths, restless as always, only now
she knew the reason for it. Knew there would be an end to it shortly.

The days passed, possibly too slowly, but she bided her time,
aware that she had to be strong enough to morph and maintain her human form.
That would only come with time or with sacrifice.

Like her father’s sacrifice. He had used up all of his powers
to become human, but she couldn’t. As much as she was missing Victor, she would
miss her life in the ocean possibly as much.

When the day finally came, she moved back toward the reef,
transforming as her sleek body reached the shallower waters. She rose from the
surf to find him sitting at the water’s edge, waiting.

His bright smile filled her with warmth greater than that of
the sun’s rays as they touched her body. He jumped up and strode into the water,
unwilling to wait. He grabbed her in his arms and hugged her close.

He kissed her hard and with such longing her insides twisted
with both guilt and want.

“I’ve missed you,” he said between kisses.

“And I, you,” she confessed.

He sank down with her in the waist-high water and reached
between their bodies to cradle her breast. He swiped his thumb across her
nipple, which was already tight with need.

“I can’t wait,” he said and to prove it, he used the buoyancy
of the water to lift her and replace his hand with his mouth. He sucked on her
nipple and she wrapped her hands around his head and held him to her.

She couldn’t wait either.

She wrapped her legs around him and accepted the slide of his
cock deep inside. He filled her, physically and emotionally, and she wasn’t sure
she could ever get enough of how he made her feel.

Victor groaned at the warmth of her surrounding him and the
salty-sweet taste of her breasts against his mouth.

It had been a difficult week without her. Lonely and
frustrating. When he had seen her rising from the surf, the real-life Venus from
his dream, he hadn’t been able to wait to have her.

He suckled her, loving her tits with his mouth, biting and
licking and savoring the response of her body, the soft cries and the way she
clenched his cock with her pleasure.

He loved the way her body worked his dick, the way her vagina
squeezed and caressed him. Her hot wetness was a temptation impossible to
refuse.

But soon that wasn’t enough and he had to move in her, had to
take them higher, push them over the edge.

He rose with her, her strong legs still wrapped around his
waist, his erection buried deep, and strode through the surf until they were
almost out of the water. Almost, but not quite, he thought as he carried her
down into the gentle wash of the sea.

The water caressed her body as the waves ebbed in and out
gently. He moved in her, made love to her breasts and mouth, pulling her ever
higher toward a release. He shifted his hips in and out of her until she cradled
his hips and arched her back to deepen his penetration. Her body bowed tight
with her passion as the wash of the ocean spilled around them.

He was on the edge, reaching for their completion. He found the
mark with one powerful thrust that shifted them upward on the sand and had them
both shouting out their pleasure.

He dropped down on her, spent, his cock jerking and spilling
his seed as she drew him in with the final contractions of her climax.

She rubbed her hands up and down his back, soothing him. Her
gentle touch was so welcome after their week of separation.

When some semblance of strength had returned to his legs, he
swept her up into his arms, surged to his feet and hurried with her into the
shack where he had prepped the makings of a steak dinner for her.

“How did you know I was on my way home?” she asked as she
glanced at the counter and he let her slide down his body.

He shrugged. “I just knew.”

She smiled and twined her fingers with his and rubbed her other
hand up and down his forearm with gratefulness.