13. Sofia

13

Sofia

I t was clear that something she had said upset Levi. He seemed to get agitated when they talked about Rhett.

That was unfortunate. She did not like to upset him. But it did not change her mind at all. She was going to meet Rhett and get a chance to observe his clan members who never shifted into their human forms. She wanted to see how they interacted with their fellow shifters.

She was reluctant to meet Kellan and his family. Especially after the way that they had first encountered her. But Levi insisted that it would be fine.

They were scheduled to leave to meet Rhett the following day. He and his crew were currently in Hot Springs, Arkansas. So, they were only about a six-hour drive away.

She’d been sleeping in the barn but finally Kellen came out himself. He didn’t come too close. She knew he wasn’t scared of her but trying to give her space. All these shifters had been so damn considerate. It made her wonder if they were the norm or if they were the anomaly. Was her clan just that fucked up? She was beginning to suspect that they were.

She thought that with time, Levi would get over whatever he was angry about. Or whatever he was upset about. But he didn’t get over it. His anger faded, but in its place was a polite coolness. He was still unfailingly kind to her, and considerate, but the warmth was gone. Why was he so upset? He barely knew her.

Yes, they’d kissed. But it’s not like he was in love with her. He couldn’t be.

She wanted the warmth back. But it wasn’t fair to push him, not when she was leaving. But she wanted to. Her few days with Levi had been some of the best of her life.

Don’t get sucked in. He doesn’t belong to you. This isn’t your clan.

He’d invited her to stay, but she was an outsider. She always had been, and she always would be. And a tiny part of her thought maybe she’d get trapped again and used for her magic. She didn’t think that was likely, but she hadn’t thought the wolves were doing that either. She had to stay alert.

The fact that he didn’t want her to leave alarmed her. The wolves hadn’t wanted her to leave either. Not that she thought Levi was evil, but she didn’t want to learn another hard lesson. If Levi let her leave, then she’d gain a little more trust.

Was she being paranoid? Maybe. She was okay with that.

The same was true with this Rhett shifter. She wasn’t going to give him her blind trust. She had spent her life far too naive. It was time for her to grow up and get wise to the ways of the world. She’d escaped, but that was only the first part of being independent. Once she’d escaped, she’d been lost, until Levi stepped in. If he hadn’t, where would she be now? Still cowering in Kellan’s field. But she couldn’t keep relying on him. She had to learn to take care of herself.

“Ready?” Levi asked. He held his hand out to her.

“Not one bit,” she said.

“It will be fine,” he said. “Kellan and his brothers are very laid back.”

She nodded. There were really no words that could reassure her that this would work out. “Too bad it’s cold. If you were here in April through October, we’d be having a pool party.”

That would have been a nice distraction. She knew nothing about dinner parties. She’d never been to one. From the few movies she’d seen, she thought she was supposed to take a dish, or a gift like flowers. But she had nothing. She couldn’t even pick wildflowers, because all the flowers already belonged to Kellan.

She didn’t even have any clothes that didn’t belong to Clara, Kellan’s wife. Earlier that day Levi had shown her the pool house which was equipped with a shower. It even had fancy shampoo, and extra toothbrushes. She’d indulged, scrubbing every inch of her body. She’d brushed her hair and let it air dry and then put on a fresh outfit of Clara’s.

She felt more presentable walking into Kellan’s house, even empty-handed. Levi’s hand in hers helped.

She’d pictured a scene from those movies she’d seen, with everyone seated around a long table, with ceramic plates and folded cloth napkins. Kellan’s house was certainly big enough to imply that the dinner would look like that.

But that was not the scene that greeted them. She didn’t even see a table. There were certainly no folded napkins or silverware lined up in a row.

Instead, there was a kitchen countertop absolutely covered in food. Meat, cheese, fruit, vegetables, cookies, and cake. There were drinks everywhere too—iced tea, sodas, beer, and juice boxes. And everyone was standing up and talking loudly. The kids that were there were darting in and out, grabbing grapes and orange slices and cookies in their hands.

“Hey, use a plate,” Quinn said, grabbing one of the kids by the shoulder. The kid laughed hysterically, ignoring Quinn.

“See,” Levi said. “It’s chaos.”

The next morning, they got ready to leave at daybreak. Levi was going to drive them in his truck, because it wasn’t practical for them to go as shifters. Levi couldn’t be seen by humans, and Sofia did not blend in in Texas. Levi appeared to enjoy himself during their dinner, and they’d slept curled up together in the barn. But now that they were driving away from Cedar Lake, he was tense and quiet.

Sofia had no idea what to say to make it better. If she complained, she’d look ungrateful. If she tried to cajole him, she’d look like she was badgering him. It was a lose-lose situation for her. So, small talk was her only choice. She shifted on his plush leather seat. His truck was really nice. “Have you been to Arkansas before?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said.

That was it.

She pressed her lips together and watched the scenery go by. The scrubbier grass got greener and soon the trees were thick along the side of the highway. They got to the Ouachita National Forest by 2:00 p.m.

“We’ll have to go the rest on foot,” he said. “They’ve got their bikes stored nearby, and they’re camping in the woods.” He parked the truck and locked it. “It’s the biggest forest in Arkansas, and the oldest national forest in the United States,” he said.

She wasn’t sure why he was telling her all those facts. Not that she didn’t want to know… But he’d said almost nothing for hours and now he was spouting off like an encyclopedia. “It’s beautiful,’ she said. And it was. In many ways, it reminded her of the forests in North Dakota where she’d grown up.

They hiked for hours. “Do you mind if I stop and look at these plants?” she asked.

“This is your trip,” he said. “We can do whatever you want.”

He didn’t say it in a sarcastic way, but it still stung. However, it was true. They weren’t here because Levi found the forest fascinating. They were here because she wanted to explore a life as a full-time shifter.

When the sun set, Levi paused. “I need to hunt,” he said.

She was hungry too, but she assumed the metabolism of a dragon shifter was even faster than hers was. They folded their clothes into a neat pile and shifted. She quickly found a small brown rabbit and a gray squirrel. Levi found a deer. They ate their quarry, and then rinsed off in a clear stream.

Levi transformed back into his human form and pulled on his jeans. “We’re still a few hours from their camp. We should rest.”

She was not looking forward to any more awkward silence, but he had gone out of his way to come with her, and she didn’t want to be difficult.

“I think I’m going to stay human for the night,” she said. She wanted to be able to talk to him if he wanted. This could be their last night together. Ever. Her throat burned. She didn’t want to walk away from him forever.

“I will too then,” Levi said.

He’d brought a backpack and he laid a blanket out on the ground. She lay down first, and then he joined her, not touching her. They lay there in silence. He rolled to his side, and his back was to her. The trees were so thick that the stars weren’t visible, but she found she only wanted to look at Levi.

If this was the last night they’d spend together, then she wasn’t going to squander it. She inched closer to him. With a tentative hope, she put her hand out and slowly let it rest on his shoulder.

He didn’t pull away. She got braver and moved closer. She pressed her body against his back, having no idea what she was doing.

He flipped over, rolling her to her back, and hovering above her, caging her in with his arms.

“What do you want?” he asked. His gaze nearly burned her up. Gone was the polite male she’d spend the past two days with.

“I want you,” she managed to say. She could be bold. She could go for what she wanted, if it was what he wanted too. They could have one night together, then part ways forever.

“You’re sure?” he said.

“Yes.”

He kissed her then, with more passion than she’d felt from him before. He lowered his body, and she could feel his erection pressing into her hip. She sucked in air, nearly gasping. Did she want to take him inside her body? Yes. She did. She wanted him to be her first.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes. This is just…” It was tough to say the words. She’d been an adult for years, and yet she’d never had a lover.

“Are you having second thoughts?” His voice was gentle, and he brushed her hair away from her face.

“No. I’m not. But this is my first time. I’ve never done this before.”

“Never?”

“No. Never.”

He started to move off her, but she grabbed his biceps and held on. “I want you,” she said, mustering all her courage. She’d escaped a malicious group of wolf shifters who killed people. She could make love to a gorgeous shifter.

“I’m glad you told me,” he said. “I’ll take this slower.”

She couldn’t argue with that. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer. He dropped his mouth to hers again and kissed her. His tongue licked over her bottom lip, and she bucked her hips up, waiting to feel that massive erection again.

He finally let his cock rest against her body. Her head swam. The space between her legs ached. They’d done almost nothing, and she was already so aroused. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like when he was finally inside her.

He tugged her shirt off and buried his face between her breasts. He kissed over the swell over her breasts and pulled her bra down, exposing her nipples. He sucked on one and she screamed. The feeling made her pussy throb.

He inhaled. “You smell so good.” He pressed his hand between her legs, over her jeans. “You’re already wet, aren’t you?”

She nodded frantically. She wanted to be wet for him. She wanted to please him. She was so glad her body was cooperating.

He popped her jeans open and shoved his hand inside. “I have to touch you. I have to feel your wet pussy.”

She shuddered as her stomach flipped over. Her gentleman had said something so crude, and she loved it.

His large hand pushed inside her panties, and then his fingers were rubbing over her entrance. He parted her folds and thrust one finger into her pussy.

“Oh Levi!” She yelled his name, hoping there was no one close by. But when he rubbed his thumb over her clit, she didn’t care if there was someone near enough to hear her. Bliss took over her body. Electric shocks blazed through her nerves. If this was what sex was like, then she understood why everyone wanted it so much.

He took a second to yank her jeans off. She struggled, trying to help him. Once they were off, he left her panties on, but shoved the fabric aside.

“Is it always like this?” she asked. She’d never wanted a man to touch her before.

“No,” he said breathlessly. “It’s not.”

So maybe it was the combination of the two of them together. She inhaled his scent. He smelled like the evergreens around them, and a little bit like cedar, just as he’d smelled back in Texas. He spent long minutes with his fingers inside her channel, stretching it, and rubbing his fingers over her g-spot. When she was a writhing mess, he pulled his fingers out.

He reached over to his bag. “I need a condom,” he said. He rolled it on and moved back on top of her. He rubbed his massive cock over her entrance. “I’m going to have you now,” he said.

She arched her back, encouraging him. Finally, she felt his hot length pierce her body.

She squeezed her eyes shut. It hurt, but it was a delicious pain, one that she wanted to relish forever. He slid all the way in, breaching her virgin pussy.

“I’m inside you,” he whispered, which made her shudder all over.

He rocked his hips, thrusting into her. She moaned as he put his fingers on her swollen clit. She was already close. “Come for me,” he said.

How could she not? She let go, letting the orgasm rip through every nerve. He came right after her, spilling his seed with a shout.

He immediately pulled her close and didn’t let her go.