Authors: Charlotte Swanpol
ROMANCE: Paranormal Romance: The Valley (Book One) (Fun, Sexy, Mature Young Adult Vampire Shape Shifter Romance) (34 page)
Chapter 7
Delilah
“Shane… I don’t understand what just happened…” She finally said, the realization of what had just occurred, crashing into her. Had she just seen men turn into wolves and then fight to the death? Was the wolf that now laid dead on the ground, really the man with the plethora of scars on his chest?
Shane sighed, taking a moment to answer. “I’m a werewolf…” He finally whispered, looking away, unable to meet her gaze. She was shocked and stared at Alpha who barked at her.
“Can you… um… change again for me?” She asked suddenly, her eyes bright with curiosity. She couldn’t understand what it was, but she had this urge to witness it again, to see him as a wolf once more and make sure she wasn’t just hallucinating or something. Delilah watched amazed as Shane nodded, stepping back and shapeshifting once more into a giant wolf.
The two canine creatures stood before her now. Alpha looked like a miniature version of Shane’s beast form and she smiled, thinking it was actually pretty cute. She moved forward and hesitantly touched his fur, wondering what it felt like. As she did, their eyes locked, and she knew deep down, that Shane was telling the truth. He was a werewolf, but one that would never hurt her.
“Well, I guess I have two Alphas now…” She chuckled, hugging Shane’s neck, smiling at the feeling of his soft fur. Alpha barked loudly and wagged his tail, before nuzzling Shane, indicating that he still had wounds that needed treatment. Delilah noticed them and frowned. “I’m not much of a vet… but I am a nurse.” She offered her help.
Shane shifted back and nodded. She helped him, supporting some of his weight as he limped out of the forest with her. Soon they were in her car, as she drove back home. “I can’t bring you to the hospital can I?” She asked, looking over at him, seeing the blood seeping from the makeshift bandages, made out of some old scarves she had in the trunk.
“Well unless you want to explain that a werewolf attacked me…” He chuckled, wincing a bit as it caused him pain. Delilah frowned but nodded, driving a little faster as she felt the urgency of the situation. She had to get his wounds stitched up before he bled out.
When they got to her home, Delilah’s whole mood shifted. She instantly got into her role of a nurse, doing everything she needed in a highly efficient matter. She was quiet as she worked on stitching him up, but even then, there was a chemistry brewing between them. She could feel a strong attraction whenever her fingers brushed against his skin. But she couldn’t think about it right now, all she could worry about was taking care of him.
Countless stitches later, he was finally patched up. She looked at him for a moment, before leaning forward and kissing his cheek. She blushed crimson when she realized the extent of her action and quickly busied herself with putting stuff away, to try and forget about what she had done. She knew, deep down, that she liked Shane, but wasn’t sure if he liked her.
Shane was amazingly handsome and she was just some girl, with a bit too much meat on her bones. Countless guys had passed her up for the skinny model types and she feared Shane would do the same as she watched him out of the corner of her eye. He had been quiet during this whole process and as the silence continued her fears increased. She bit her lip in an attempt to keep her emotions in check. She didn’t want to seem pathetic, but at the same time, her self-confidence was slowly being injured as she thought of him with some girl in size zero jeans.
“Hey… what’s wrong?” He suddenly asked. He had walked over to her, despite his injuries and despite the pain it had given him. She looked up at him, her eyes a little watery. To her surprise he leaned forward, kissing her hard for the first time. Their lips pressed together passionately and Delilah found herself melting against him. Her arms soon wrapped around his neck, letting herself be consumed by his lips.
The kiss was over all too soon and he pulled away, looking into her eyes. She searched his, seeing the iciness of his stare now gone. She smiled. Even though she knew little about him and even though he was some sort of a werewolf, Delilah knew, deep down, that she wouldn’t be able to let him go. He was the man of her dreams, the one that had swept her off her feet.
“You’re beautiful, you know that?” He whispered in her ear as he caressed her cheek gently. She blushed slightly, before looking down, a little embarrassed.
“No…”
He placed his fingers under her chin, tilting it up for a moment. “Would I lie to you?” He asked in a serious tone of voice. Delilah hesitated for a moment, before shaking her head. This man had risked his life for her, she couldn’t even fathom the thought that he would lie.
“C’mon we’ve had a rough day… shall we get some sleep?” He asked. She nodded. To her disappointment, he suggested they sleep in different rooms. He lied down on the couch, while she crawled under her bed covers, thinking about him. She tried to sleep, but in the middle of the night, she felt something nuzzle her. She woke up, seeing Alpha there, whimpering at her, trying to get her attention.
Delilah furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, trying to figure out what her dog was trying to tell her. Sighing, she got out of bed and followed him into the living room. As she did, she saw Shane sleeping there and she couldn’t stop herself from walking up to him.
Chapter 8
Shane
As Shane slept, all his wounds began to heal at an impossibly fast rate. His alpha blood, the one he didn’t know he had, surged through him, bringing him back to a state of full health. Now as he slept, all his wounds had closed up and there wasn’t a scratch on his body.
All of a sudden his eyes opened up as he felt something soft brush against his hand. He looked down seeing Alpha standing there, looking at him, before making a small noise in his throat and looking in the direction of his owner. Shane sat up without a problem, seeing Delilah.
“Careful… you don’t want to hurt yourself…” She whispered, looking concerned as she walked over to him, sitting down on the couch.
“It’s alright… I’m better now.” He saw her taking a closer look and the shocked expression appearing on her face.
“How in the world…”
“Wolves heal quickly. Catnaps are our best medicine.” He chuckled at the horrible joke. She smiled and hugged him suddenly, taking him by surprise. As he felt her body pressed against his, he blushed slightly, but then wrapped his arms around her. He looked at her, taken away by her beauty. He couldn’t hold it back anymore. She was the one. She was his mate.
In a flurry of emotions, he kissed her lips hard, pushing her down until she was laying on the couch. Quickly, he got on top of her, looking down at her beautiful eyes. He kept kissing her as his hands roamed her. She had the supplest of bodies and his member sprung to life between his legs at the sensation.
Soon a moan escaped her lips, driving him wild. He was dying to be with her and as he saw the excited look in her eyes, he knew she felt the same way. Without wasting time, he started to peel off her clothes, until she was completely naked. He admired her for a moment, smiling, “You’re beautiful.” He whispered, making her blush.
He leaned down, his lips pressing against her neck, covering it with kisses, making her shiver with the sensation. His hands moved over her every curve, her every inch, excitement growing inside of him.
To his surprise he felt her unbutton his pants, taking them off before she pulled off his boxers. They looked at each other a moment before his hands reached out squeezing her large breasts. She moaned out, a little louder this time, and his member twitched in response.
He couldn’t take it anymore. Letting his instincts run wild, he rammed himself into her before beginning to move. He was hard and fast in his thrusts as his mouth pleasured her breasts, making her feel amazing. She moaned out loud, sending a shiver down his spine.
He quickened his pace, wanting to hear her moan even louder as his hands squeezed her just a little harder. He had never felt this good before. As he was about to explode, he leaned down, kissing her neck, before biting down hard. His teeth shifted slightly, to a more canine form, leaving his mark. He pulled away and looked at it, a permanent mark that would forever claim her as his mate.
He smiled with pride, before exploding in ecstasy, right after feeling her quiver around him, the tightness of her pussy driving him insane. But he wasn’t done yet. Quickly, he moved between her legs, before placing her thighs on his shoulders. In an instant, his tongue was on her slit, making her moan out his name, her fingers tangling in his golden hair.
He smirked at her reaction, knowing she was loving it. He continued his assault, wanting to make her feel even better as his tongue slowly slithered inside of her, twitching around slightly. It was slightly longer than average and he knew that came to his advantage now. His tongue explored her slowly until she was begging for more, he answered her pleas by adding a finger to the mix.
His thumb started to rub small circles against her clit, making her arch her back. His tongue pulled out, now lapping at her juices, before making its way back inside again, teasing her with the constant in and out motion. When he felt her quiver, he grinned, knowing she was close. A few minutes later, with the introduction of another finger, she was screaming in pleasure, climaxing for the second time that night.
In the end, they found themselves laying in her bed together, completely exhausted. They had no idea how they had gotten there, but at this point, he didn’t care. He had found his mate and now they would be together for the rest of their days.
He smiled, rolling over and looking at her, his hand running over her body, admiring her figure. She was beautiful. “I love you.” He blurted out, catching her off guard. She looked at him a moment, making him feel nervous, thinking that she wouldn’t return the sentiment. Maybe it was too early for a human to express such strong emotions, but he didn’t need more time, his instincts were telling him she was the one.
“I love you too.” She finally said, smiling big and kissing his lips. He smiled back, pulling her closer.
“Delilah?” He looked at her.
“Yes?”
“Well…” He whispered before his fingers moved to the bite mark on her neck. As he touched it, she moaned out softly her eyes growing large.
“What did you just do?” She asked, breathing hard.
“I marked you… as my mate.” He said, hoping she wouldn’t get mad.
“Mate?” He nodded. “Explain.”
“Well… I guess it’s kind of like calling you my girlfriend… but wolves mate for life.” Delilah’s eyes went big again, but she smiled, kissing him hard. Shane smiled. Who needed a pack anyway?
The End
Chapter 1
The day had felt longer than most. Winter was fast approaching and that meant darkness was beginning to fall sooner each week. Even if it was not factual, it was beginning to feel as though there was less time -- especially those few rare hours I could take for myself.
With the soldiers coming through, it had been a busy few days. Nothing a tired and overworked man wanted nearly as much as a long massage and attention from a woman. They should never admit it, though. Their business with us was their business and they preferred it stay that way.
I was accustomed to the rules. It was just a part of the job. One that I had possessed long enough to know that you play by those rules or you suffer the consequences.
There were days that I loathed my job. Other days, I was okay with it. Not that it would change anything either way. I had to make a living and there were not a lot of opportunities for someone like myself.
This had been one of the loathing days. My first three clients had been difficult at best-- feeling that it was acceptable to treat me as though I were their servant. Clients did not have many rules, but they were required to adhere to some. One of which was to treat us fairly. If we actually told someone they would be removed, few of us ever did. It would take money out of our hands and food off the tables in front of our families.
I was among the few that did not have a husband and children at home relying on my work. That did not change the way I behaved. It was important that I fit in and that meant acting as the others did.
Yet that day I was ready to go home. I had enjoyed my fill of overbearing and hard headed soldiers venting their frustration on their masseuse. Not that I had my choice in that. The day was far from over.
I heard my friend Patty say my name and assumed that I
had a new client. Taking a few deep breaths, I steadied myself and tried to calm my mood before he walked in to my small room.
The creak of the old door let me know that he had arrived, so I plastered a fake smile upon my face and turned to face him—hopeful that it would not be yet another eager and angry soldier.
“Hi,” his smile hit me long before I noticed anything else.
“I’m Joseph. Nice to meet you.”
His outstretched hand took me by surprise. It was not
often that one of the clients would actually shake my hand and introduce themselves. In fact, most never gave me a name. It was the nature of the business.
“Gloria,” I managed to stumble through the handshake,
still surprised by his friendliness. “I hope your day is well,” I continued. “But if not, I’m pretty sure I can solve that.” I gave him my best flirtatious smile in the hopes it would work.
Truth be told, the man had me dazzled and that didn’t happen very often. My job was to take the clients and offer them a massage they would never forget. Which I had learned within a day wasn’t always a standard massage. I was expected to make sure the client left happy—which meant adhering to their requests.
Most of the everyday clients really did want a massage of sorts. Not to say that it was all innocent, but it really was about touch. Lately, the soldiers had shown different ideas. It happened occasionally, but not as often as I’d endured in recent days. They’d been off and away from contact with their families for a long time. As Marcel, the bossman, told us -- they are lonely and need to be treated with kindness. Yes, the same kindness they had failed to show us. But again, nature of the job.
It wasn’t like I had a choice in the matter. At least I was compensated for the additional effort.
This guy -- Joseph -- he seemed different almost immediately. I couldn’t put my finger on it. I just knew.
Maybe because he asked my name. The others didn’t care. I was a woman of color that was being paid to make them happy. Names were not important as they would never think of me again.
“Well,” he stepped back a couple of inches. “You just jump
right in, don’t you?”
As my eyes dropped from his in embarrassment, it
allowed me to take in the rest of the soldier standing in front of me. He had to be about six feet tall, which was rare. His hair was a messy dirty blonde and his eyes a bright blue. But nothing compared to the body. Even under his uniform I could see how hard and tight his chest and stomach were. For a brief moment, I felt an urge to touch him.
That never happened at work.
