She really might have smacked him then, but he kissed her so thoroughly that the impulse completely disappeared from her head. The only thing she could think about was the blossoming heat between her thighs and the thrilling little shivers of anticipation running over her skin.
Morgan tangled one hand in her hair, and with the other he explored her body, palming her breast and giving a satisfied hum as she arched up against his hand.
His fingers moved lower, exploring, and Valerie winced and gave a sharp intake of breath when he pressed against the tender spot on her ribs where she'd been thrown against her seatbelt.
Morgan pulled back, his expression concerned. "You told me you weren't hurt," he chastised her.
She took his hand and placed it back on her breast. "It's nothing," she reassured him. "Just a few bumps and bruises. It's lucky I'm well-padded."
Morgan dropped a soft kiss on her lips, then his fingers went to the buttons of her blouse. He slipped them from their buttonholes one by one, exposing her lace-clad breasts. The intentness of his expression made her ache, and she felt slickness between her thighs. Morgan peeled her blouse down her arms, careful not to brush the seatbelt-graze on her shoulder, then unfastened the front clasp of her bra and tossed the garments onto the floor, leaving Valerie naked from the waist up.
He bent his head and brushed his lips over the scrape near her collarbone, a touch so gentle that it felt like little more than a whisper of breath. She sighed as he moved down her body to kiss her breasts, cupping them with his palms and tweaking one nipple and then the other with his lips. It sent arousal coiling down her body, making her core clench with desire.
He put his big hands above her hips, fitting them into the curve of her waist, and bent his head again to kiss the bruised skin on her ribs. The blossom of purple felt tender under the slight pressure of his lips, but the small pain was welcome, anchoring her to the moment, reminding her that this was real. Morgan wanted her to stay with him forever, as his mate. Her heart, throbbing fast with anticipation, seemed to miss a beat.
Morgan hooked his thumbs under her waistband, pulling down her slacks and her underwear, kissing each inch of flesh he uncovered as he pulled the fabric over the plump curve of her belly.
Valerie let out a squeak when he parted her thighs, which turned into a moan when he placed his mouth against her pussy and gave her a long, slow lick that ended with a sweet, swirling pressure on her clit. A pulse of arousal so sudden that it made her gasp and shudder had her twisting her fingers into his hair, pulling him up to lie over her, desperate to have him inside her.
He lay between her thighs, rolling his hips against her, the hard, hot length of his shaft a sweet friction against her slick folds. Shudders and flutters raced through her body while sparks of electricity seemed to dance over her skin. His big, hot shifter body pressed down on her, hard with smooth, toned muscle, and she wrapped her legs around his lean hips, urging him inside her with squirms and moans, far too turned on for words.
Morgan obliged her gladly, eagerly, plunging inside her with a fevered desperation that mirrored hers. His thick cock stretched and filled her, driving the breath from her body in a low, long moan of absolute pleasure. She placed her hands flat on his back and felt his muscles flexing against her palms as he began to work his way in and out of her wetness in a steady rhythm that with each thrust drove them both higher.
Their skin was sheened with sweat, their breathing ragged as they moved together, oblivious to everything but each other, their bodies meeting and parting and meeting again. Exquisite sensation pooled between her thighs, building higher and higher. She clutched at his shoulders, urging him on, and when he thrust even harder and deeper, something inside her shattered into a million sparkling fragments that drifted blissfully then settled like falling snow.
Chapter Fifteen
Downtown Silver Peak was bustling with shoppers. A fresh layer of snow blanketed the cars and hedges, and the air smelled clean and crisp.
Morgan had taken Valerie, Arthur, Nelda, Teddy, and his siblings out to shop – after Arthur had once again checked under his car.
Teddy was unrecognizable. She'd been scrubbed clean, her cheeks were pink, and she wore a puffy down coat, cashmere sweater and corduroy slacks, and matching Ugg boots. She clung to Nelda's hand and talked nonstop.
It was a weekday, and Morgan had decided to take the day off work. They had wandered from shop to shop – poor Arthur was now staggering under a load of packages. They had stopped for breakfast, then for coffee and pastries. Morgan had held Valerie's hand the whole time and hadn't rushed anyone. Not once.
"You sure you're not itching to get back to work?" Valerie asked Morgan. "You're my mate. Don't lie to me."
"Maybe the teeniest bit," Morgan said. "You?"
"Possibly a tad," she conceded. "I don't think I could have worked with you all these years if I didn't have a little workaholic in me. We'll have to keep each other in check."
"Oh, I'll make sure that we have plenty of downtime together," Morgan said, his eyes glinting with mischief.
Honoria loudly cleared her throat.
"Hey, big brother. You're not being crabby. It's freaking me out. And Mom isn't nagging me about studying. I'm not dying, am I?" she asked him suspiciously.
"What about me? Maybe we're both dying," Homer said. "Maybe we have twin tumors." He clutched dramatically at his chest.
"Your mother is too busy teaching Teddy to be a snob to worry about your study habits. And as for me, can't a shifter just enjoy Christmas vacation with his family?" Morgan grinned at Honoria and tousled her hair. She stepped away, patting her hair back into place with annoyance.
"Because if I was dying," Honoria continued, "Silver Peak is nice and all, but I'd want that trip to Paris I've been subtly hinting about all year."
"Japan," Homer coughed into his hand.
"About as subtle as a baseball bat to the kneecap," Morgan mused.
"There's my mother," Teddy said, pointing across the street at Dudley's, a tavern owned by Joyce Dudley. Joyce was a human whose husband, Paul, was a shifter and the sheriff of Silver Peak.
"No, Teddy, she's at the springs today," Valerie said. "I talked to her on the phone this morning, I wanted to let her know where you were. She said she would be there all day because she wanted to make sure she gets better for you."
"Nope, that was her. I saw her in the window," Teddy said, but then Nelda led her into a candy shop and Honoria and Homer followed them in. Arthur staggered after them, desperately clutching at his pile of packages.
Valerie glanced over at the tavern. "I need to go check," she said.
She stalked across the street with Morgan following her.
Teddy, of course, was right. Liane was half-sloshed, sitting at a table, making out with some shifter Valerie didn't recognize.
Morgan walked over and pulled the guy off her by his collar. "Get out," he snapped. The shifter started to protest, took one look at Morgan, and squealed in fear. He ducked his head in submission and ran for the door.
"Hey!" Liane cried out in protest, her voice slurred. When she realized that it was Valerie standing there glaring at her, a vague, confused expression crossed her face. "You. I know you, right? What's your name again?"
"Drop the act, you lazy, self-centered bitch. You never had early-onset dementia," Valerie said furiously. "You just used your family history as an excuse. All those times you wandered off and left your daughter alone, you did it with a clear head."
Liane straightened up and glared at her sullenly. "Easy for you to stand there and judge me, princess," she said, her tone turned nasty. "You don't have some snot-faced little brat attached to your hip and driving off every decent man."
Valerie's lip wrinkled back in disgust. "The fact that she drove them off means they weren't decent."
"She's not right in the head, you know," Liane whined. "She asks weird questions all the time. She never stops asking questions. And she bites people. Who does that?"
"Me," Morgan said, looking at her with hard, glittering anger in his eyes. "And I'm tempted to take a chunk out of you, but I don't think I'd like the taste. My family will be sending lawyers over to your house so that you can sign custody of Teddy over to us."