Chapter 9

Chapter

Nine

S he didn’t like the distance between them. The empty space was like a void and despite the aches and pains, she wanted more of him. She reached out to pull him closer again, but he caught her hand.

“We should stop before things get too heated.”

Her eyes narrowed and her bottom lip jutted out. “Suddenly you don’t want me?” She knew it wasn’t true. She could feel the need radiating from his body, almost like a physical force. Without looking, she knew he was hard as a rock.

“You—” He took a deep breath and blew it out. “You know that’s not true, but I think the bond is overriding how you feel about all of this. A minute ago you didn’t seem happy at the thought of it becoming permanent.”

It was hard to think with any coherency. And she frowned, remembering. He was right. She’d been angry about it, feeling trapped, but now it was different.

Lizzy wanted him the way she wanted air and water. It felt like something she couldn’t ignore and live. Her upset about the bond was still there, but muted, buried underneath the need. She hated being trapped. Had always hated it.

Her hand traced over his jeans, running up and down his thigh as he knelt next to her. “This bond… you didn’t cause it? There was nothing you did that made it happen?” She watched his face, holding her breath as she waited.

He looked her right in the eye and answered without hesitation. “No, it’s not something I can control. No one can make a bond appear if there isn’t meant to be one. There are couples who have been married for years, hoping for the bond to click into place. Believe me, if they could make it happen, it would.”

“Then… this isn’t your fault either. I can’t hold it against you, if it’s not your fault.”

“No.” He shifted a little, looked away and then looked back with a sigh. “But I won’t lie… I’m okay with it. I get that you aren’t, but I?—”

She lunged forward, caught his face in her hands and held him there as she pressed her lips to his. The aggression nearly knocked him over and he grabbed onto her for balance. She ignored the pain when his fingers pressed into sore places.

For a second, he held stiff, like he might pull away, but then he relaxed into it until they were both left panting and sprawled on the rocks. They were silent for a few minutes, except for the heavy breathing. Then he said, “If we do this…” He trailed off.

“I don’t care.” As she said the words, she realized they were true. Right now, it didn’t matter.

“It will be permanent. Geese in the wild don’t always mate for life, but geese shifters tend to when they are bonded.”

It scared her; she couldn’t deny it. She swallowed at the sudden hard lump in her throat, and tried to imagine being stuck with a man she barely knew forever. What if he was awful? What if he was abusive?

But he wasn’t either of those things. She couldn’t have said how she knew, except that she could feel it. The bond that connected them was filled with peace and welcome. If she just accepted it, she knew… without a doubt, that they would be happy.

It only took her a minute to decide, before she rolled over on top of him. He grunted, wincing as she sat up. The hard bulge pressing up under her ass made it clear how much he wanted her. “Let’s do it.”

His eyes widened. “ It ?”

She rolled her eyes. “Let’s fuck. Or mate, whatever you want to call it. I can’t picture myself feeling like this for months. Seriously, it’s been awful even for days. I could be stubborn and try to hold out, but I’m going to give in eventually. So let’s just… do it. Now. ” She ground her hips down for incentive.

“Right now?” He snorted. His mouth turned up at one side. “Just fuck on the beach? You know, my family does come down here to swim, and there are a lot of them in town right now.”

She huffed. “No, not here. I didn’t mean here . I meant…” She trailed off and frowned. “Oh, you’re visiting. You don’t have a place then.”

A laugh burst from him. “No, not unless you’re comfortable with having sex down the hall from my parents.”

“Uh… no thanks.”

“How about your place?”

That cooled some of the ardor. She wasn’t ashamed of her apartment, not exactly. It served its purpose, but she didn’t want him to see her minimalistic life and feel pity for her. She could handle a lot of things, but not pity.

“I… it’s also problematic. Thin walls.” That wasn’t the reason, but it also wasn’t a lie.

“Damn. Well, I could get us a hotel room. We could walk back to the house, and I could grab my wallet.” There was an unspoken ‘but’ as he stopped.

She tilted her head. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just… if we go back to the house it’s going to turn into a whole ‘meet the parents’ thing. I don’t think either of us are ready for that.”

Her stomach clenched and a queasy sensation rolled through her. Definitely not. “I’d rather—I’m not good with family.” After being dumped by two sets of parents, and then shuffled through the foster care system until she aged out, she had a lot of distrust.

Even if she hadn’t, this seemed an awkward moment to meet them, considering the circumstances. “What if I just wait here, while you run back and grab it?” She’d have offered to pay herself if she had the money.

“It’s just hard to get in and out quickly right now. Half of our relatives are over there, with the reunion and all. The moment I walk through the door they’re going to corner me.” His eyes narrowed and deep grooves appeared on his forehead.

She couldn’t imagine what that would be like. He sounded bothered enough that she believed it was a real problem though. It was starting to seem like, regardless of the bond, the world had other ideas about their relationship. “Maybe this isn’t?—"

“Wait, I have an idea,” he said, cutting her off in mid-sentence. “It’s not the most comfortable place. Rustic barely covers it, but it’s private.”

He got to his feet and pulled her along with him. In his enthusiasm, he wasn’t as gentle as he might have been. There were sudden pains everywhere as her body stretched and pulled at all the sore spots. She hissed a breath in through her teeth. “Damn, I’m going to be feeling this for a few days,” she complained.

“Sorry, I forgot you were hurt.” He frowned as he examined her for signs of damage. “Maybe we should put this off until you’re feeling?—”

Lizzy was absolutely not doing that. No matter how achy she was, she was going to satisfy this itch that had been driving her crazy all week. He was trying to be protective, and it was sweet, but not what she needed right now.

She shook her head with one firm jerk. “I’m good. So where is this place of yours?”

“C’mon, I’ll show you.” He took her by the hand, and they walked down the beach together. She limped a little but tried not to let the pain show.

It was peaceful, romantic even, although the pulse between her thighs drove her to walk faster, instead of enjoying the beauty of the moment. As they followed the curve of the lake, a large house came into view. It was a mansion really, though the wooden log exterior made it look more home than showplace.

Every window glowed with bright light and even from the distance she could hear the raucous cacophony of a party going on. She stopped short. “Wait… is this your house?”

“My parents’ place, yeah.” He flashed her a grin and tugged to get her moving again. “Don’t worry, we’re not going in.”

Her lips pursed and she shot him a suspicious look, but after a few moments, she let him pull her along. The tension slipped away when he took a turn that led them around to the side of the house, instead of the front door. The winding path was made of smooth lake stones, so even when they ended up in the trees, it was clear he had a specific destination.

One turn after another took them away from the light and noise, and finally they passed into a clearing and found a small cabin. It was rough wood and looked handmade, nothing like the extravagant polished wooden logs of the big house.

“This,” he said with a sweeping flourish, “is my father’s workshop, slash escape.”

She looked at him, one eyebrow going up. “Escape?”

Jacob laughed and let go of her hand as he shrugged. “He’s a quiet man and he likes to avoid the chaos sometimes. So, he built this. Dad comes out here to work, and sometimes he stays.”

He stepped onto the porch. “He also has a habit of losing keys, so it’s got a code lock, and if he hasn’t changed it…” Jacob tapped in a quick series of numbers and there was a click as the lock released. “There we go!”

“What does he do out here? For work I mean?” The interior was pitch black and even her extra keen eyesight needed some light.

“Wait.” He reached inside and flipped a switch. Soft light poured out of the cabin, and he stepped through the door, moving to the left to make room for her.

She followed him in and then stopped with a low gasp of surprise. It felt like she should say something, but in truth she was speechless. The open room was filled with polished wood carvings. Not the kind of amateur stuff people did as a hobby, but beautiful things that belonged in glass cases.

There was a flash of guilt, like she’d trespassed on hallowed ground, or invaded this man’s privacy, but she couldn’t resist the urge to explore. She moved around the room in silence, almost, but not quite, daring to run her fingers over the glossy wood. It was likely that each piece cost more than she made in a month.

Jacob didn’t interrupt her. Instead, he moved over to perch on a stool by the workbench, until she made a complete circuit and ended up in front of him. “Wow. This is…”

“Amazing right? My mom’s the loud practical one and my dad is the quiet artist. Such a stereotype but they really balance each other well. He’s a calming influence on her, and she pulls him into the real world, which I think he needs.”

They sounded wonderful and it was hard not to envy his childhood. “I’m glad you have—” She stumbled over her words, unsure of how to say it. “I’m glad you have a family who loves you.”

“Me too.” He reached out and pulled her to stand between his legs. “But my family isn’t really who I want to be thinking about right now. We came here for a reason, remember?”

It occurred to her that he intended them to have sex here , in this place filled with gorgeous works of art. “Jacob, we can’t—there’s too much breakable stuff in here. There isn’t even a couch or...”

Jacob laughed and turned her in his arms, so her back was pressed against his chest. He wrapped one arm around her, and used the other to point at a ladder tucked in the corner. “I told you; my dad stays out here sometimes. That ladder goes to the loft, and there’s a bed up there. It’s not fancy, but it’ll work. That is, if you still want?—”

She looked up. There was no wall to hide the loft from the ground floor. Just a railing and through it she could see the bed. “Yes, yes I want.” With a silent apology to the man she’d never met, she tugged free of Jacob’s arms and headed straight for the corner. She didn’t wait to see if he was following.

She knew he was.

Climbing the ladder hurt. She could feel every place the rocks had bruised or scraped her, as she hauled herself up each step. And once she got to the top, she had to take a minute to push through the pain before she got a good look around.

It was bigger than she’d expected. Taller too. She’d been picturing a mattress on the floor, like her own apartment, and just enough room to crawl onto it. But the ceiling was arched high enough that she could stand, though there wasn’t much clearance beyond that.

The bed was low, but it was a real bed, with a carved wooden headboard and everything. It was covered with an old-fashioned piecework quilt, and every square was different. She was moving over to take a look, when Jacob made it to the top of the ladder.

“What do you think?” he asked. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the rough-hewn plank wall.

His presence was distracting. Her attention got stuck on him and she had to force herself to look away as she took a seat on the bed. She let her head fall back, inhaling the sweet scent of wood as she stared at the thick beams above. “It’s perfect.”

There was something about a cabin loft. Something mysterious and romantic, and a bunch of other adjectives she was too horny to remember. “Are you going to come over here and touch me? Or are you just going to stand over there and stare like some kind of pervert?”

“I’m starting to think you’d enjoy a little perversion.” He laughed and joined her, perching on the side of the bed with only a few inches between them. He didn’t touch her though, not yet. “Last chance to change your mind, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth, not Lizzy. Not many people had ever called her Elizabeth. She considered for a second and then decided that she liked the way he said her full name.

She drew in another deep breath and let her head fall forward so she was looking at him. “I’m not going to change my mind. Not about sex anyway. About the rest… I don’t know. I can’t think about anything else right now. I feel like I’m in heat or something.”

“I guess you could say it’s similar.” He shifted and his hand settled on her thigh. “It’s the same for me.”

“I feel like there are questions I should ask. There’s so much I don’t know, but all I can think about is my pussy and how much I—” She cut herself off, feeling a flush rising up her neck. It wasn’t like her to be so blatant, so bold.

Lizzy wasn’t a prude or a virgin, but she’d never demanded a man fuck her before, or talked about her pussy like it was the special of the day. “I need you,” she said, finally. “I need you inside of me before I burn up. Now. Not later. Right now .” Her tone was one of command.

He looked at her as one eyebrow slowly rose. “Is this a good time to tell you that I’m dominant in the bedroom? I’m not used to taking orders.”

That didn’t decrease her excitement. Her panties were soaked and all he’d done was make her pussy clench in desperate desire. “Then dominate me, but do it now .” She drew in a shuddering breath and added, “Please?” when he continued to stare at her.

The idea that he might refuse made her insides churn. She preferred dominant men, always had. She loved it when they took charge, but right now she couldn’t handle any edging, or teasing. That kind of dominance game… would have to wait.

“ Please , Jacob? I can’t wait anymore.” She stared at him, mute and pleading.

He drew in a deep breath and his eyes closed for several heartbeats, as if he were considering. When he opened them again a slow grin crawled across his face, and she realized he’d just been gathering strength and control. There was a hard glint in his eyes, that made her shiver.

“You said you liked a little pain?” He tilted his head, not in question but like a predator watching his prey.

She swallowed and nodded. “Yes.” He was so hot.

“Okay, Elizabeth. Let’s do this, but unless you want to go home naked… I suggest you strip. Quickly. Because I can’t guarantee your clothes will survive if they get in the way.”