Charles was wide-awake. He climbed out of bed and wandered to the window, letting Reese settle back into sleep alongside Jessica.
What demons plagued this ordinarily strong-willed, stubborn, intelligent woman? And how was he going to break her shell and get her to tell them about her past? Something had happened. Something had frightened her to the point of never wanting to shift.
His skin crawled with unanswered questions. He needed to run. With a glance back at the now calm, peaceful tangling of Reese and Jess, Charles silently pushed open the window and climbed out into the early hours of the morning. Reese would protect her from whatever villains ruled her dreams while Charles ran through the woods working off the pent-up frustration of the last few days.
Charles pulled the window almost shut and shifted quickly to avoid freezing his human feet off in the snow. He charged for the trees, heart pounding, feeling freer than he ever did in human form.
Now they’d had sex, everyone would know. Their scents would be mingled. No amount of soap or shampoo could erase the smell of Reese or Charles from Jessica’s skin, her hair.
The night was crisp, the air freezing cold, but the sky clear for the first time in twenty-four hours. The snow crunched beneath his paws, a testament to the fact sleet had fallen during the night, coating the packed snow and creating a layer of crispy ice everywhere he stepped.
The air smelled so fresh and clean after a snow. Invigorating. And he ran faster, relishing the time he had to do so.
Questions plagued him. What would his family think? God, what the hell were they going to do about Alyssa? They’d made a promise. She deserved better than what she was going to wake to. As soon as Reese and Charles returned to his parents’ house in the morning, all hell was going to break loose. Figuratively.
No one would actually be angry—well, except perhaps for Alyssa—but eyebrows would rise. Questions would fly. Questions he couldn’t even answer. Most of them chased him through woods right now, between the trees, over roots, past the brown bare branches devoid of their summer leaves.
He ran hard, and he ran fast, searching for answers. But they hid among the foliage, evading him.
He and Reese now had two women in their lives. And both of them were a giant package of mysteries unsolved. Neither seemed willing to speak. Both were going to be pissed.
Great. With his head hung low, Charles returned to the open window just before dawn. He pushed it open and jumped through the opening before shifting this time.
Now freezing in his human form, he glanced at the two people he would spend the rest of his life with, still lying in the exact same place he’d left them, as though he’d only turned his head for a minute instead of traipsing off through the forest in search of answers for several hours. Even as cold as he was, his dick sprang to attention. Reese had one arm wrapped around Jessica’s middle, her breasts pushed high on her chest under his forearm.
He tiptoed past them, careful not to disturb the much-needed sleep he was sure Jessica at least was desperately in need of. With the softest click, he shut the bathroom door and flipped the shower on to its hottest setting. Not bothering with lights, Charles climbed in and let the water run down his body, thawing his freezing limbs.
As soon as his fingers flexed freely, he took his cock in his hand. There was little doubt he’d be horny and hard nearly constantly for many days to come, but at least he could take the edge off for now.
Picturing the look on Jessica’s face when he’d first entered her, it took him only a few strokes to bring himself to orgasm, his pulsing shaft sending long spurts of cum down the drain.
*
Jessica was dreaming. She had to be. And the dream was so wonderful she had no intention of interrupting it by opening her eyes. On some semiconscious level she knew it was morning, but still prayed she could hang on to the fantastic dream.
She was naked, deep under the covers, warm and secure. It had to be a dream because she never slept naked. Nor did she sleep wrapped in steel arms with a hard body pressed against her rear. Fingers were grazing over her breasts until she squirmed in her sleep, wishing the dream would get on with it already so she could orgasm.
If the sexy dream man would just let his hand drift a little lower … right there … oh, yes… She arched into the imagined touch, loving how vivid her imagination was this morning.
But then those fingers pinched her clit, and her eyes flew open with the realization she wasn’t asleep at all. It hadn’t been a dream. The object of her pleasure was staring at her, two inches from her face, a smirk curling up one half of his mouth.
“Reese.” She could barely utter the word with her heart pounding in an attempt to beat out of her chest.