Until I come against his cock, shaking in his strong arms, nails digging into him, pussy clenching against him, clinging to him like I’ve never done to anyone in my entire life.
Slower his hips rock against me as his orgasm chases after mine.
My temple rests against his as I try to think clearly for the first time in several moments. I can’t believe what I almost said to him just because he’s good at fucking.
“I love you too, Tamer.” He kisses me, silencing my words as emotion washes over me. He kisses me deeply, his tongue making sure I’m not able to reply for a long, long time.
Because it wasn’t just fucking. And we both know it.
I love him.
And someday I won’t be afraid to say it.
Five
A Simple Gift
“Arlow,you look beautiful this morning. Flushed and angelically pretty. Did you go for a run?” Helen’s big smile rounds her face even more as she beams at me.
Her son, Chaos, snorts with laughter looking from my messy hair to Rim’s relaxed posture. Rime appears just fucked. He seems like he’s a moment away from just rolling over on the couch he’s sitting on and falling blissfully asleep.
All that tension that usually lines his shoulders is gone.
And Chaos notices.
“Arlow is quiet the runner, Mom. You’d be really impressed by the things she can do. Really pounds it out. On the pavement. Pounds out the pavement.” Chaos’ brows rise and the mocking look he gives me makes me want to punch him in his dick.
“Aww you’re so fit, I just knew you were a runner.” Another sweet smile.
Not likely, Helen. Not likely.
My arms fold and I give an awkward smile. I have to force myself not to smooth down my hair or fidget with the hem of my shirt as I stand in front of her. The cluttered living room feels smaller with her obliviously happy attention beaming at me.
“I got you something today while I was at the swap market.” The ends of Helen’s long tan dress drag the carpet. She’s short in stature. Most of her boys tower over her just like their father. But they all have her smile. That genuine happiness that shines right out of them.
It’s infectious. I couldn’t dislike this sweet woman if I tried.
When she returns from the back room, a brown bag is in her hands. Chaos and Rime peer over the back of the couch at us when she hands the sack to me. Her house is larger than Myla’s but a bit more hectic. Where Myla doesn’t have a speck of dust out of place, Helen’s looks very much like it houses a dozen large shifter males. Stacks of books line the table, enormous shoes crowd the dark entrance hall, in the adjoining room a basket of laundry overflows on her kitchen table and honestly, it just feels … nice. Everything about Helen and her family feels nice.
The gift inside the bag doesn’t have hard edges. The shape isn’t a solid structure, and I can’t even imagine what it might be. I blink at it for a moment. My fingers trail over the smooth bag and all I can do is hold it in my hands.
No one’s given me a gift in years.
The last gift I ever received was on my eighteenth birthday. It was a Beast Tamer’s Guide to Curious Creatures. My father gave it to me. He said he knew it was my future.
My chest aches as I realize how right he was.
“Thank you, Helen.”
That smile pulls hard against her red lips. Inky hair makes the color alluringly brighter against her mouth. Streaks of gray shine along the black in the dim lighting of the living room.
“Sinister told me the nineteenth is your birthday, and I just couldn’t wait.” Her hand squeezes mine just lightly.
“Your birthday’s next week?” Chaos stands and makes his way toward us.
“Yeah.” My voice is small but it doesn’t stop the heavy attention of the room.
“The nineteenth is the night of the Autumn Fire Festival.” There’s this look in his eyes like his mind is racing a mile a minute but his words are cautious. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
