A Shifter Christmas (2 page)

"Jaxson!" Kate gripped at his back, her hips
rolling beneath him.

He felt her nails pierce the skin on his back
as she let out a final cry and her sex pulsed around him. He
strained, his entire body taut, as he groaned and sent his seed
deep within her core.

He met her eyes once more as they continued
to share their breaths. He saw no hint of regret in her eyes as he
rolled over, keeping his hold on her hips so that he remained
inside her.

Kate placed her cheek against his chest,
listening to his heartbeat as it finally slowed to a normal rhythm.
Why don't I feel guilty? His arms held her securely, possessively.
It did feel nice to be the object of such sexual passion again.

They made love twice more before they
slept.

Morning came and it was freezing on the
living room floor. Kate woke alone, wondering if it was all a
dream, until she heard the water running in the bathroom. She
stood, wrapping her arms around her stomach to keep from shivering,
and she found the shower curtain closed as steam wafted around the
room.

Not waiting for an invitation, she slid into
the back of the tub, and he whirled around to face her. His strong
arms grabbed her before she could fall.

"Bloody hell, Kaitlyn, you're freezing." He
slid his arms around her and pulled her into the flow of hot water.
She shivered against him before finally warming.

"Fire's out," she wrapped her arms around
him, enjoying the hard muscles that held her.

"And yet, you've started another," he
murmured against her ear, his hands trailing down her back. He
lifted her by the ass and pressed her against the tile wall. "What
if I never get enough of you, Kaitlyn?"

She ignored his words, too caught up in the
pleasure as his head teased at her entrance. She wrapped her legs
around his waist, but found no traction on his wet backside. He
kept a firm hold on her ass, her arms wrapped around his neck, and
she trusted him not to drop her. Why do I trust him? was a fleeting
thought as he pushed his way inside her folds, eliciting a moan
from both their lips.

~*~*~*~

When Kate finished her shower, she pulled on
a robe she'd left hanging on the bathroom door and walked into the
living room. Several small logs were now blazing in the fireplace
and she smelled bacon cooking. She pulled the curtains open and
gasped at the amount of snow that blanketed the ground. It was as
deep as the second porch step, and still falling. They were, for
all intents and purposes, snowed in. Why is that not a scary
thought?

She jumped as his now familiar arms wrapped
around her waist and pulled her back into his chest. "I see you are
working on your stealth skills," she grinned as she said it.

"How do you like your eggs?" He shifted her
wet hair to fall in front of her right shoulder as his mouth slid
along the left side of her neck.

She could not help the shiver that tickled
her spine. "Scrambled is fine. Where did you learn to cook?" Her
hands cupped his over her stomach, and she realized how tiny her
hands were in comparison to his.

"I learned out of necessity. I am by no means
a chef." He gave her one last kiss on the neck before pulling
away.

She heard what she assumed was the whisking
of eggs in a bowl as she set about readying the table for
breakfast. She poured their wasted tea from the night before down
the sink, and pulled out glasses, silverware, and napkins, before
setting two plates beside the stove. He was wearing the barely-used
sweatpants again, and she appreciated him leaving his delicious
chest bare. As she leaned against the kitchen doorjamb, giving him
plenty of space to move around, she noticed a few faint scars on
his back.

"How were you hurt, Jaxson?" He visibly
stiffened at her question and she wondered if he was angry with her
for asking. It did not seem as though the question was too personal
to ask after they shared so many intimate moments the previous
night, and again less than an hour ago. "You don't have to answer,"
she finally said as he remained silent. "I have orange juice, or I
can make coffee."

"Juice." His response seemed clipped.

She was surprised when he suddenly began to
answer her question.

"Twelve years ago, I was a Bobbie. Or rather,
a police officer as they are called here. I…I was shot several
times when I stopped to check on my partner. That was the end of my
career."

His eyes were looking at the eggs but she
doubted he actually saw them, he was too caught up in old memories.
He jumped when she gently gripped his hand to help stir the eggs
before they burnt on the bottom. He looked down at her and smiled,
kissing her forehead.

"A very noble profession." Kate walked to the
other side of the kitchen, retrieved the juice from the
refrigerator, and carried it to the table before pouring it in the
glasses. "I doubt you will believe me, but as a teenager, I did a
high-wire act in a traveling circus."

"Why would I not believe that, Kaitlyn?"
Jaxson plated the eggs and bacon, putting the plates on the table
before sitting down across from her.

"Most people think I am making it up," she
conceded with a shrug.

"Can you still fit in that tiny outfit?" His
eyes had taken on the mischievous twinkle he got when he was
teasing.

She giggled, feeling her face flush.

"You're beautiful, Kaitlyn."

She watched his face, trying to see signs of
teasing. He appeared to be serious. "Ehm…what shall we do
today?"

"A snowball fight?"

Okay, now he was teasing again. How odd was
it that she could read him so well after one day? "I was thinking
board games. I play a mean game of Monopoly."

"I am terrible with money," he said. "I will
play your game, but I believe we should have higher stakes than
play money."

She raised a brow. "Such as?"

"When I win, I want a kiss," he said with a
smirk.

"And since I will win, I want a back rub,"
she replied.

"You have a deal." Jaxson picked up a piece
of bacon and ate it.

"And I am not talking about five seconds
either, a minimum of ten minutes." Kate picked up her fork.

"Agreed."

Why do I have a feeling I am being
played?

~*~*~*~

Three hours later, after a very hard fought
battle of wills, Kate had to concede he was the victor at Monopoly,
this time. Bad with money…my ass!

"I do believe I got played. You're a Monopoly
ringer," she grumbled.

"I did not cheat, if that's what you are
implying." Jaxson helped her sort the fake money and put the game
back into the box.

"I'm not suggesting you cheated, but I am
suggesting this isn't your first time playing the game."

"I never said I didn't play it before."

That twinkle was back in his eyes and she
smacked his hand. "You are terrible."

"No. I am a man that wants a kiss, so I was
determined to win." He swept up her hand and kissed it.

"Wouldn't you rather have oral sex?" She was
unsure why she was wary to kiss him. How could a kiss be too
personal when we have touched and caressed every other part of each
other?

"I am a man, I would never turn that down.
But I won a kiss, and that is what I want."

"You're impossible," she said with a roll of
her eyes.

"I prefer determined, or…how about
irresistible?"

"Really?" She raised a brow.

"Seems to describe me quite well, don't you
think?" Jaxson stood and pulled her out of her chair. "Would you
rather I be inside you when this kiss takes place?"

"No, I most certainly would not!" She
realized he was teasing when his eyes sparkled. She slapped him on
the bicep, and then once more. Damn him! How did I lose? "On second
thought, yes."

"I'm taking you up on that." He picked her up
in his arms and carried her toward a messy bed he'd spotted
earlier. She squealed but held on to him. Since the other bedroom
looked as though it was never touched, he had to assume she slept
in this one. He put her down on the floor and she shrugged out of
the robe while he ditched the sweatpants.

She pulled the covers to the foot of the bed
and climbed in. He quickly settled his hips between her legs,
kissing her breasts before nibbling her taut nipples as they moved
against each other.

It only took a few minutes before he hardened
to the point of pain, and he slid his erection against her slick
folds, readying them both for their joining. On an upward stroke he
entered her, hearing her cry out. He remained buried deep,
unmoving, as he surprised her by sliding his tongue inside her open
mouth.

When their tongues met, tasting each other,
the underlying attraction was suddenly clear. He was fifty-seven
years old, and he'd finally found his mate. A shifter knew his
intended mate from first taste. Kaitlyn was his, and he was
hers.

She moaned and angled her face, her hands
gripping his hair as the kiss turned frenzied. Their bodies writhed
and thrusted, melding together in one cataclysmic orgasm that
echoed between them.

Jaxson felt a sudden piercing of his skin
just above his ass, and he roared in completion before sinking his
teeth into her right shoulder. He did not have long to bask in the
moment when she smacked him upside the back of his head.

"You marked me!"

"You marked me first," he replied, confusion
causing his forehead to wrinkle.

"Still! Get off me!" she demanded.

"I don't understand," he muttered, rolling
off her to the side. "What is the matter, Kaitlyn?"

"Don't call me Kaitlyn!" she snapped. "You're
probably getting blood on my sheets." She rolled off the other side
of the bed and stood with her hands on her hips.

The sight of her shoulder where he'd marked
her caused an instant erection. So that was why mates routinely had
a dozen children. Wow. "You are gorgeous." He reached for her, and
she evaded his hand.

"And you are delusional!" Kate promptly
stomped out of the bedroom.

At least she was still naked. He climbed off
the bed and stretched. He could not help but check his back out in
the mirrored closet door. Her marks, plural, were two half-moons
from the back of her hooves biting into his skin. He smiled. It was
perfect…she was perfect, even if she was a little grumpy.

He found her making a bunch of noise in the
kitchen as she tossed their breakfast silverware and dishes into
the sink. It surprised him that nothing broke. He slid in behind
her, his erection pressed against the middle of her back. She
stiffened. "Why are you so upset, Kaitlyn? We've finally found each
other. You're my mate, love."

"I'm married."

His hands dropped in surprise and he took a
step back. "Where is he?" She had no ring on her hand, and there
were no pictures of a man anywhere.

"He's buried in the back field." She turned
on the hot water and poured in soap to make the water sudsy.

"You're a widow," he muttered in sudden
understanding. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"Do I look like I want to talk about it?" She
turned toward him and tears were filling her eyes.

"Shh." He wrapped her in his arms and held
her as she cried into his chest.

When she finally quieted, she peered up at
him and took a step back. "You should leave."

"No," he replied simply. "You are mine, and I
am yours."

"It takes two to tango, and you just lost
your dance partner, buddy."

She ran out of the room and he heard a door
slam in the distance. "Are all mates this troublesome?" he muttered
to himself as he turned off the water in the sink.

~*~*~*~

About mid-afternoon, tired of staring at the
fire and the snow falling, he finally stood up and went to the
kitchen. He was starving. He knew his mate had to be as well,
though he hadn't heard a peep as she remained hidden in the bedroom
in which they'd marked each other earlier.

He made two sandwiches, ate his, and then
ventured to the closed bedroom door. He knocked softly and knew she
heard him when she yelled 'go away.' He tried the knob and the door
swung inward. "I thought you might be hungry, love." She was in the
bed, the covers pulled up to her neck, her back turned to him. He
placed the plate on the nightstand and sat down beside her.

He dared to place his hand over her covered
hip and felt like he'd made progress when she didn't snap and shrug
out of his touch. "I was married once."

She peered over her shoulder at him before
turning her face away again. "Uh huh."

"Her name was Barbara. Everyone called her
Babs."

"Is she dead?"

"I…you know, I don't know. That was decades
ago. She was human and apparently the idea of me shifting was nicer
than the reality. We divorced," he admitted.

"Not the same thing," she huffed, covering
her head with the blanket.

"Well that is hardly fair. It broke my heart.
Tell me how long you were married," he suggested, pulling back the
covers on the empty side of the bed. He slid into the bed with her
and hoped she had bad aim if she tried to hit him in the
midsection.

"Fifteen years."

He heard a sniff and gently slid his hand
over her waist. She jumped but did not attempt to hit him or pull
away from him. "How did he die?"

"Brain tumor. We didn't know he had it. He
was mowing the lawn and just dropped to the ground. The doctor said
it was instantaneous."

Jaxson kissed the soft skin on her back and
tightened his hold on her, figuring no words were needed.

After a while, he heard her stomach growl and
he chuckled. "Would you like that sandwich now?"

"Maybe." She sat up and he handed over the
plate. For such a tiny woman, she had quite an appetite.

"You realize I'm not leaving," he said. The
way her mouth dropped open in surprise, it did not seem as though
she realized that. "If you would like to live somewhere else, we
can move. If not, we'll live here. Whatever makes you comfortable,
love."