Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Runa

I couldn’t remember the last time I kissed someone. Years probably. It became harder and harder to trust people as I got older. I was always worried I’d forget myself in the passion haze and do something to tip my partner off to what I was. I didn’t have to worry about that anymore, and when Nate shoved his tongue between my lips, I tangled mine with his.

He groaned, rolling himself until he was cradled between my thighs. I dug my fingers into his hair, meeting him head-on until it was an all-out battle. My skin felt too hot, the layers of clothes between us frustrating me to no end. I yanked at his pullover sweater, pulling it over his head with his help. His t-shirt went with it, leaving him shirtless and just as greedy for naked skin as I was. I wore a lot of layers, though, and he was too drunk to be that coordinated. I had to help him, and I kept laughing because we were getting in each other’s way. Finally, too frustrated to care, he yanked my skirt up and went after my panties instead. It was easier that way.

We were in such a rush, I was almost dizzy with it. Or maybe that was the alcohol. Either way, I didn’t care. For once, someone wasn’t flinching away from me or demanding something of me. I was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

His pants and boxers got as far as the middle of his thighs before he repositioned himself. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him closer until the head of his dick glided against my sex. We both groaned in unison and when I tightened my legs again, he reached between us, repositioning himself to slide inside me.

“Oh, fuck…” he groaned, pressing his face into my neck.

I hummed my agreement, lifting my hips to meet his. He was taking too long. My skin still felt too hot and the heat of it had sunk into my lower belly, swelling to every inch of my body.

“More,” I demanded, my nails digging into his back. He didn’t argue, his hips snapping roughly. Like at the start of a race, the moment he began, we were in a damn hurry, bucking and grinding against each other. The room was filled with pants, moans, and growls, the smell of sex filling the air. Nate’s lips were inches from mine, but we were in too much of a frenzy to close the gap for a kiss.

The heat swelled to where I almost wanted to stop, sweat beading on my temples, but it felt too good to do anything about it. Nate seemed just as affected, his face slack and his eyes squeezed shut. It looked like he was as close as I was, and the knowledge of that pushed me precariously closer to the edge.

“Ah, fuck. You feel so fucking good,” he murmured.

I could only moan in response. My body was protesting the activity, my limbs growing heavier. I wouldn’t be able to keep up with him in a minute. I just needed…

“Yes! Yes! Oh, goddess!” I cried. He’d reached between us, rubbing tight circles on my clit, until my whole body shook with pleasure.

I wasn’t sure who came first. It all seemed to happen at once. His hips stuttered and bucked harder, my lower half tightened, and then we were both screaming. It felt like it went on for ages, wave after wave of heat and pleasure blasting through me. It wiped out the rest of my energy, and I let my head fall back as darkness swept through me.

Nathan

I woke up groggy and confused. The night before was a blank. I didn’t remember most of it. I didn’t remember falling asleep there either. I woke up next to the woman I’d stumbled across the night before, both of us haphazardly sprawled across her bed. My head screamed and my stomach roiled, threatening an uprising if I sat up too fast. Unfortunately, shifters weren’t immune to hangovers. I sat up slowly, moving until I sat on the edge of the bed, my hands cradling my pounding skull.

What the hell happened last night?

I could make a guess since I was shirtless and my pants were undone, but the woman, whose name I couldn’t remember, was still dressed, and I saw no used condoms on the floor. I had to assume we got drunk and tumbled into bed, but we passed out before we could do anything. I was too hungover to consider the alternative.

“Nathan!”

My dad’s voice sounded far enough away to not make my head ache, but if he got any closer, it was going to hurt. I buttoned my pants, yanking my shirt and sweatshirt back on. The woman was still asleep, and I couldn’t decide if it was more rude to wake her to face a hangover just to say an awkward goodbye or to abandon her without saying anything. A throb of my head decided for me, and I grimaced, stumbling out the door. I closed it quietly behind me, picking my way through the garden out front and into the line of trees. I looked back once, my tiger protesting leaving the woman behind, but I shrugged off the feeling. It was just paranoia, demanding I watch over her like he did with all my friends. I wouldn’t consider the woman a friend, but a night of drinking together seemed to make my tiger feel that way.

“Nate!” Dad yelled again. I grimaced, heading towards the sound of his voice. When I finally came into view, he was just cupping his hands around his mouth to call me again. I cut him off before he could stick another knife through my skull.

“I’m right here. Stop shouting.”

He spun around, startled, then barked out a laugh. “Son, what in the world did you get up to last night? You look like you stuck your keys in a light socket.”

Growling, I made a poor attempt at flattening my hair. A vague, almost hazy memory of the woman pulling at it flashed through my head, but it was gone like water through my fingers before I could get any more. I shook it off.

“You been drinkin’, boy?” he asked, clapping my shoulder as I fell into step beside him.

“Yeah. What are you doing out here?”

“Lookin’ for you. I figured you needed some time to cool off, but I didn’t think you’d be gone all night. You alright? Probably shouldn’t mix substances in the future. You never know what kind of mischief you might get up to.”

Yeah, no shit. I still didn’t know. My mind swept to the woman I woke up next to. I almost regretted not going all the way with her. She was gorgeous. Curly auburn hair spread across her pillow, creamy skin, a light dusting of freckles across her nose. What little I remembered from talking to her, she was sarcastic, her tone a little biting, at least until she had a few drinks. Then I remembered her slow smile, the way her soft lips curled up on the sides, and her drowsy half-lidded eyes watched me with amusement. Like I wasn’t a complete mess to her. I almost wanted to go back, maybe bring her some water and aspirin to stave off the hangover. That’s what polite people did, anyway. But when I stepped back into that massive house, my hackles went back up and that uneasy feeling settled over me again.

“How long are we staying, Pops?”

Dad looked over his shoulder at me, letting out a slow breath. “I was gonna make a weekend of it, at the very least. But I don’t think it’s a good idea if you’re still this suspicious. We may need to look into some therapy, boy. You ain’t copin’ like you should.”

I never told Dad what broke me. I never told anyone. The only people who knew were the people on the team with me. They were the people I trusted the most, and they were the ones who watched that job break me without saying a word. I lost all my trust in them, and when it looked like I was on the verge of becoming one of the ones we hunted, they sent me home with only a final paycheck and a warning to get myself back under control. I knew they were watching me. I just couldn’t see them.

“Maybe we should head on home, yeah?”

Every inch of me wanted to do that, but I also saw how disappointed Dad looked. He wouldn’t say it, he wanted what was best for his kids, but he’d been putting his needs on the back burner long enough. It didn’t feel right to let him keep taking the hit. I was an adult. I could face the dragon and not panic or attack him.

The memory of that woman’s smile drifted across my mind again. It helped, thinking of her. It kept me calm enough to speak the words out loud.

“No. We should at least stay a few days. Let you two get reacquainted. I’m good.” And maybe, if I wasn’t, I could go see that woman again. It seemed like a good enough reason to stay.