7.

A KSEL

I slowly came awake with memories of the night before flickering through my mind. When I opened my eyes, I realized that the sun was just peeking over the horizon, which made it my favorite time of day.

Years of darkness without ever being able to see the sunlight still affected me now, and I enjoyed every sunrise I could catch and let the heat of the sun’s rays warm me whenever I got the chance. I knew Stassi loved the outdoors, although the sun had never been a problem for her, and I attributed that to her shifter nature as an animal who was made to live outside.

I reached out to find her in the bed beside me - probably as far away as possible since the woman was a furnace and had explained to me last night that there was no way she’d ever be a cuddler for long.

With that in mind, Stassi and I laid in bed together and talked about everything and nothing specific at the same time after our interrupted lovemaking.

I told her about the boys I considered my sons - Gabriel, Angel, Santiago, and Diego - and explained that the four of them had chosen to come together to Mereu for their change - a time when immortals would disappear before the people around realized they weren’t aging so they could come back later as a relative or a descendant. I considered those four young men my children which helped fill the void in my heart that losing my own children all those years ago had created.

When Drasil turned me, I was happily married with three children of my own - two boys and a girl, all under the age of five. Almost twenty years later, after I’d learned to control my powers and navigate the world in the dark, I was able to escape his hold, so I went back to the village where I was born and raised to see if I could find my family. I wasn’t sure what I would do or say when I arrived, considering that, at that time in the world, witchcraft or anything akin to it was feared and punished. I just had to know that they were okay.

What I found when I went back both broke my heart and gave me joy at the same time.

My wife had succumbed to a fever the year before, so I wasn’t able to reconnect with her. My children, however, had thrived and created families of their own. I was able to speak to them and even convinced them that I was a long-lost relative of their father who, because of the blood their mother had found in our home the morning after I was taken, they thought had been stolen by marauders.

I kept in touch with them and saw them as often as I could, popping in now and then to check on them and their families who should have grown with my help and watchful eye. Luckily, my children lived long and fruitful lives - or as long and fruitful as life could be in the 1700s. They had children and then grandchildren of their own before they passed, and I got to know all of them during my visits.

Through the years, I’d kept an eye on my descendants, mostly from afar, but occasionally, I would insert myself into their lives to get to know them and see how they were faring. I’d made many good friends over the years that way, and even though they had no idea I was their relative many generations removed, I knew.

There had been one or two times when I’d encountered a black sheep or even worse, and when I couldn’t steer them down the right path, I took steps to make sure their poison didn’t infect the rest of the family. When I found a relative who was striving to do good in the world and working their fingers to the bone to raise their own family - or in several cases, raising children who needed a good home, I made sure they experienced an unexpected windfall in the form of an inheritance from an unknown relative that would help make their lives a little easier.

I had loved my wife and children so much that it nearly killed me to lose them, but I had no control because Drasil had made me his little pet. No matter how hard I tried, he wouldn’t let me die. Through the years, I’d fallen in love, but it wasn’t ever a lasting love - either because they were mortal and I didn’t have the heart to change them or because they were already immortal and we both knew that our relationship wasn’t destined for eternity.

But things with Stassi felt different - much different - than any of the relationships I’d had before. I could imagine forever with her, as maddening as she could be and as irritated as she could make me with just a look. She stirred emotions within me that I hadn’t felt since I married my wife hundreds of years ago. I’d watched her raise children over the years and knew that she possessed all the qualities of a great mother. She was caring, warm, loyal, and protective, and I wished with all my might that she could be the mother of my children.

However, last night at dinner, she had mentioned that she wanted to speak to Blair about fostering children who needed a temporary home and even possibly adopting some who needed a forever family. The thought of doing either of those things with her made me happier and more hopeful than I’d felt in years.

I just needed to make sure she felt the same way before I opened my heart to the idea.

And since she wasn’t lying in bed beside me, I would have to find her to see if I could convince her that we should explore the idea of spending our lives together. That thought would have been laughable fifty years ago or even ten, but now, it seemed to be all I wanted. I couldn’t shake it no matter how hard I tried.

So, being the man of action that I’d always been, I decided to break down those iron walls that beautiful woman had erected over the years and settle myself deep in her heart where I planned to stay.

I just needed to figure out how to get her on board with my plan.

A quick shower pepped me up enough to make it into the kitchen so I could start a pot of coffee and warm a bag of blood I kept on hand. By the time I finished my morning repast, the dark brew was ready, so I poured two mugs. Once I fixed Stassi’s coffee to her liking, I grabbed the second bag of warmed blood and carried the mugs outside. I knew she’d probably find me before I had a chance to look for her because if she was in her shifted bear form, she’d smell my scent the second I walked outside, and if she was in her normal form, she’d be able to sense I was close by the sound of the door opening and closing in the still morning.

I walked around the corner of the house to my favorite area of the garden and was surprised to see a gorgeous white bear swinging in the hammock that I liked to relax in each morning as I planned my day. I made a mental note to check the cameras and find the minutes leading up to her settling in the hammock because I could tell by the trampled grass around it that it had taken her a few tries.

As if she could sense my plan, she huffed at me and narrowed her eyes.

“Don’t eat me, Grizzy. I brought coffee and breakfast to tame the wild beast within.”

“What did he just call me? Who the hell is Grizzy? I’m not a grizzly bear.”

“I know you’re not a grizzly. It’s a pop culture reference, sweetheart.”

“Holy shit! He can hear me? No, he can’t.” When I nodded, she tilted her head in curiosity and asked, “Can you really hear me?”

“Loud and clear which terrifies me because you know how it makes me feel when you talk too much.”

There was a loud growl, and I realized I should be careful. Since I had stopped just a few feet away, I was close enough for her to swipe at me with those huge paws of hers that had what could only be described as ‘talons of death.’ Even though I was immortal, I could still very much feel pain, and I wasn’t ready to experience being mauled by a bear even knowing it wouldn’t kill me and my recovery would only take minutes.

“Do you want this?” I asked, waving the bag of warm blood toward her. “How does that work? Can you be all three things at the same time?”

Suddenly, she transformed right in front of my eyes, and I saw my beautiful Stassi wearing nothing but my shirt. I realized she didn’t have anything underneath it when she moved and the hammock flipped. She tried to maintain her balance by sprawling her legs and arms out as if to hold on, but it didn’t work, and she tumbled over so that she was face down in the grass, giving me a quick glimpse of naked ass and that gorgeous pussy I loved so much.

I cleared my throat a few times to try and stifle my laughter but realized she wasn’t fooled when she lifted her head to stare daggers at me. Suddenly, the coffee mugs in my hand were hot enough to burn my skin, and I yelped before I bent forward to set them down on the grass.

I didn’t even comment on that little punishment. Instead, I asked, “How are you feeling this morning?”

“I’m a little bit better now and probably will be for a few minutes. For some reason, it lessens the pain a bit when I shift for a while, but it always comes back.”

“What are we going to do about that?” I asked, wondering about my upcoming trip to Washington and where exactly I would need to start looking to confirm or deny our suspicions.

“Well, I was thinking we could have morning sex wild enough to disturb the wildlife and then go have a cinnamon roll for breakfast before I make my way to pack.”

“What are you packing for?”

“Our trip.”

“You’re not going with me, Stassi. Cas, Ramses, Genji, Neema, and Adair are going to help me on our search for answers.”

“I happen to know that there is more than enough room on that fancy plane of yours for little old me,” Stassi said as she got up and started brushing the grass from my shirt. “And if you think you’re leaving me here, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“Not negotiable,” I said firmly, not that it would make any difference if Stassi had her mind set to join us, but it was worth a try. Even knowing full well it wouldn’t help, I decided to attempt another angle and go with reason. “If there is someone out there trying to make more beings like you, then it’s too dangerous for you to be that close to them. You’d be safer here.”

“Hmm,” she said as if she was considering that. When she smiled at me, I knew exactly what her answer would be and wasn’t surprised when she said, “No.”

I handed Stassi the blood bag and then retrieved my mug from the grass. Luckily, it had cooled enough that it didn’t burn my fingers, but I was careful to blow across my coffee before I took a sip. I was surprised to find it was still piping hot and looked down into my mug in question.

“It’s science. Cream is thicker than coffee, and when it’s heated, it adds to the viscosity of the liquid and forces it to take longer for the heat to evaporate therefore keeping your drink warmer for longer.” I could only blink at her in shock, and she laughed before she took a long sip of the blood I’d given her. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m smart.”

“I never doubted that, but I also never expected a physics lesson in my backyard.”

Stassi took a sip of her blood and then a sip of her coffee and hummed. It was such a sexy sound that I found my cock waking up to say hello. I glanced over Stassi’s shoulder at the hammock and considered the probability of staying in it once we got involved or flipping out like she had and then ending up with grass and dirt in awkward places.

“I lived in Washington for years. You can’t be that close to the center of the coffee universe and not pick up at least a little knowledge.”

She took another sip before she lifted up the blood bag and drained it. She smacked her lips in pleasure and asked, “Where did you get that? It was delicious. Very sweet.”

“The blood bank where I buy my supply serves donuts to each donor while they wait for their appointment,” I said without thinking, my focus on the hammock causing my own blood to rush to my cock. I watched Stassi take a sip of her coffee, and the second she swallowed, I reached out and took the mug from her hand and tossed it aside along with mine. I heard the mugs thump onto the grass as I snatched the empty bag from her other hand and tossed it aside too. She looked at me in shock when I reached out and grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled her closer. She wrapped her arms around my neck when I kissed her, and for the next few minutes, my hands roamed up and down her sides while I devoured her with my mouth, appreciating the taste of my second and third favorite flavors. Blood and coffee couldn’t compete with the taste of Stassi, either her mouth or pussy, but right now, I only had time for kisses because I needed to be inside her as soon as possible. To help that along, my hand trailed down between her legs, and I found her clit with my thumb. I rubbed it gently and then slowly inserted my finger to make sure she was wet and ready for me. I pulled my hand away at the same time as my mouth and said, “I’ve fulfilled requirement number one. Now, onto number two.”

“What are you . . .” Her sentence was interrupted by a squeal of shock when I picked her up and started walking. As her legs wrapped around my waist she said, “These caveman tendencies you’ve developed lately are very . . .” I straddled the hammock and then reached between us to free my cock from the lounge pants I’d put on after my shower. I then sat down on the hammock but left my feet on the ground to steady us. “Oh, hell no. This piece of shit is dangerous.”

“Trust me.”

“As if,” Stassi scoffed, but she didn’t try to climb off my lap, so I considered that a good sign. Instead, she settled her knees next to my hips and lifted herself up a fraction so I could align my cock at her entrance before she slowly lowered herself until she was fully seated. “Damn, that stretch I feel every time you’re inside me will never get old.”

I hoped that it wouldn’t because I wanted to do this with her at least once a day for the rest of my time on earth - but I knew better than to voice that out loud or an argument would ensue that would end this pleasant interlude.

Stassi hissed and then grimaced as she shook her head. “You’re gonna have to do some work, lazy bones. I can feel a cramp coming on, and if . . .”

When I thrust my hips upward, she almost fell to the side, but I caught her in time to help her get her balance. I gave her just a second to brace and then did it again, using the motion of the hammock to go deep as I kept my feet solidly on the ground to hold us steady. Stassi used my motion to bounce on top of me, and the second I strummed her clit with my thumb, her entire body tensed and she let out a loud scream of pleasure. As her body clutched at mine, squeezing over and over, I lost all control and came in a rush that left me lightheaded.

As soon as I was still, Stassi fell forward onto my chest with a sigh and shifted her body to get comfortable. I had just opened my mouth to say something I’d probably regret when I heard the first soft snore and then smiled when the next one was a little louder.

I wasn’t offended because this was not the first time my girl had fallen asleep on top of me while I was still inside her. That seemed to be her pattern, to take a short nap before she woke up and started moving again, ready for round two. Or three. Or possibly four, depending on how long the current interlude lasted.

But this one was different. Last night while I talked to her in bed, I could tell she felt it, and I hoped that when she woke up again this morning she’d feel it just as much as I could.

Things had changed between myself and dear Stassi . . . and I loved it.