Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Wolf’s Secret Twins Chapter 14

Virginia

Slater didn't leave my side for a second. While he hid behind houses and trailed at a distance on my morning walks, he returned in the evening under night's forgiving cape. Evenings were spent wrapped up in each other. The hammock seemed to be a good spot for us to cuddle even when it made my muscles ache.

I didn't care about aches when I had Slater. In just a few more days, we would have freedom, and we would never have to worry about faking our interactions ever again. Without nosy bullies like Celia, our lives would improve and our love would grow. And then, when the dust had settled and the danger was clear, I would tell him the truth. I swore I would tell him the truth.

I rubbed the bite on my right shoulder. I have to tell him the truth.

Cool air tickled my chin and lifted my spirits, inviting me to look up at the sky. I was waiting for Slater to get here so we could take off for a midnight picnic. After all the work he'd been doing for our escape and the protection stuff-and the lying and sneaking around and hiding-I figured it would be nice for us to do something together.

Like the old days. Like when things were much less complicated.

Heat made a home in my cheeks and chest. Like when there were only two of us.

With my shifter bag that Francine had loaned me on my back and my heart swelling in my ribcage, I watched the well-lit path from the west, the one that led past the neighboring house that was empty. Slater took that path on his nightly runs. It was a good way for him to sneak back here without anyone getting too suspicious.

The moment he came into view, I broke into a sprint and jumped into his arms. He laughed and stumbled while catching me, tearing part of my long skirt as he cupped my bottom. He spun around with an even greater laugh and nearly toppled over from the sudden movement.

Dizziness made us pause. But there was happiness too. Everything felt okay for a minute.

"Ready to go?" I asked as he set me on the ground. I grabbed his shoulders. "I can't wait to show you what I've got."

His eyebrows went up. "What's with the bag?" He adjusted the strap of his own. "Why is it shaped like this?"

"I'm glad Laurencia got it to you."

"Yeah, she's a, uh..." He scratched the back of his head. "She's certainly an interesting character."

I chuckled. "Francine says she's awkward. But she sews these really cool bags that can shift with us."

"Oh, that's what it's for." His grin widened. "You taking me on a date, Ginny darling?"

"Well, somebody has to since you won't."

He faked a shocked expression. "In all my years, I've never been so offended."

"Race you to the clearing?"

"And tear that gorgeous skirt?"

Desire swarmed my entire body in half a second, a heat wave unlike anything I'd ever felt. Well, it had been a while since we'd hooked up. And we were on our way to a midnight picnic. Anything could happen.

A wink from Slater shook me up and made me step back. But not from bashfulness or fear. I just knew if I stood with him here like this any longer that I was going to rip off all his clothes. I set my bag on the ground and stripped off my clothes, handing them to him once he was nude.

The way the moonlight danced over his skin made my jaw drop. He tapped my chin with a chuckle and accepted my clothes. "Easy, Ginny darling. We haven't even shifted yet." "Hush."

"Make me."

Desire transformed into unmanageable lust, the kind that came to me on nights when I couldn't see Slater immediately after sunset. Gods, he was just playing with me now. Whatever obstacles were ahead of us would get annihilated if they dared get in the way of our path to the clearing.

Once my bag was secured properly on my back with enough room for me to shift, I closed my eyes and called to my wolf. She practically snapped my skin off with how fast she responded. It had been too long since I'd let her out, a whine breaking the silence of the night as I shook myself silly.

Slater nudged me with his nose. Feelings of pure bliss exploded in my side, propelling me to push right back with my snout and snort happily.

He pawed at my face. Would you quit that?

No, I replied playfully. We're supposed to race, remember?

I don't see you running yet, he joked. You seem to just want to play with me.

So what if I do? I posed, letting a little heat drift through our connection.

The way he growled told me he wanted me just as much as I wanted him. Without waiting for him to reply mentally, I darted across the yard and into the shadows, letting my wolf senses guide me through the forest. Damp earth cushioned my paws. Swampy scents filled my nostrils, reminding me of my old home, making me yearn for things that didn't exist anymore.

My parents had never approved of my relationship with Slater. That might have fueled my original intentions with him. But after that, we'd grown so close that it was impossible to keep us apart. Now that we were back together, now that we had finally shifted at the same time, I felt our bond explode with those memories, thousands of feelings resonating in a grand chamber where our connection had been hidden all these years.

Before that meeting, I had denied my feelings. I had tried to bite down on my desire to return to him. So many nights were spent wondering what would happen if I had gone up to his door, knocked, and thrown myself at his feet. Mercy would have been out of the question then, or I assumed as much considering the shock that tore through us during that meeting.

Stop thinking so much, Slater warned in our mind connection. If you don't, we'll never make it to the clearing. Hush, I warned.

His chuckle echoed through my skull. I was happy to hear it, to welcome it into my brain. That was a sound that my wolf had longed to hear again. She had been dying to have Slater back. Why had I denied her for so long?

The trees broke open ahead and I skidded to a halt in a small clearing with a few patches of grass. Slater tumbled in behind me and crashed into my side, knocking me onto my back. I stared up at him for a while with my maw open and my tongue hanging out as I panted to catch my breath.

He huffed into my face and then licked my nose. I groaned as I wiggled out from under him. As soon as I was in my human form, I set my bag on the ground and zipped it open.

"What's all that?" Slater asked while retrieving our clothes from his bag. "More clothes?"

I smirked. "A picnic."

"And you're setting it up before you get dressed. You must love me."

Of all the things Slater had ever said to me, I couldn't recall if he'd ever mentioned the L word. Yeah, he loved burgers. He adored working on bikes and cars. He slammed down a damn good cup of coffee every morning. But love for people? For, or from, me? That hadn't been on the table.

Guilt wavered around the edge of my aura. Sweet gods, if he thought I had love for him, then he would be very angry when I finally told him about the twins. As I rose and spun around to let the truth spill, he caught my waist and dipped me. The trees tumbled out of sight. The moon sputtered through the clouds above. The wind picked up.

Peace came over me, the kind that had settled in right after I had gotten my kids situated in our cabin built into the corner of the neighborhood by Blake's father. Our previous alpha had died too suddenly for me to express my gratitude, so I made sure to show it to Blake by keeping my head down and not making any noise.

But right now? I wanted to howl my affection for Slater to the skies. Whether it was true love or simply infatuation didn't seem to make a difference. It was a strong feeling-and I didn't want to let it get destroyed by anything. Not even me.

Slater kissed me so hard that my vision went black. If this was me passing out from being dipped too hard, I didn't care. Kissing Slater was one of the best things in the world aside from taking a nice hot bath after a long day. The truth could wait a few more minutes, right?

But a few minutes turned into twenty when he released me and helped me set everything up. Wine, cheese, cherry pie-there were so many treats and snacks, delicious things made by Francine and Laurencia with love. Baked goods never were my thing. My kids were better at it than me, so I'd left it up to someone else to do the food.

The idea, however, was entirely mine. When Francine had offered to take the twins for part of the weekend, I knew having a break was just the thing to help Slater. He'd done so much for us.

I adjusted my skirt and my top, feeling awkward for wearing clothes, but feeling awkward without them. Geeze, my body just wanted to be conflicting, didn't it?

I gestured to the blanket. "Dig in."

Dusty onyx-blue skies stretched over our heads as I kicked back and rested a plate of pie on my stomach. Slater looked amused, but I knew that look, and I wasn't about to ask him what he was thinking. I had a good feeling.

I let my skirt bunch up around my thighs and dropped the straps of my tank, letting the bite mark soak up the moonlight that peeked from behind the floating clouds. This felt like the only place we could be ourselves. If I showed off this mark in town or-gods forbid-in the neighborhood, then we'd never hear the end of it.

Slater would get rejected too. And I didn't want that to happen to him. When his family had to break away from the Frostcrown pack, they had to give up their status as a powerful shifter family just like us. Though our paths had led to different places. Ours had gone into the shadows while theirs had taken them to golden fields.

A slice of anger cut through my gut. I adjusted the plate, plucked a piece of pie from it, and popped it into my mouth. Despite its delicious sweetness and decadent flavor, I longed to tell Slater about what had happened after our pack fell apart.

He touched my shoulder. Tenderness took hold as he set the plate aside and hovered over me, blocking the rest of the light. His hair created a blanket. We were in our own little world. So, what did it matter what happened outside of this clearing? Technically, it didn't exist. Things from the past were dead and gone. There was no use digging them up.

Deceiver.

I blinked away the horrible thought. "Slater, what are you doing?"

"I want to taste the cherry on your lips."

"You're weird."

He grinned mischievously. "You like it though."

"So, what if I do?"

He traced my chin with the tip of his finger, drawing a long and contented sigh from my lips. Damn him for being able to do that. Arguments could never last long with Slater when he was this talented with his hands. As he caressed my cheek with his left hand, his right hand dipped out of view, trailing along the fabric of my clothes to replace my skin.

Goosebumps exploded across my stomach. Bingo. He found an available patch of flesh. He teased the waistband of my skirt, trailing beneath it to tug at my panties, drawing shapes across the cloth covering my slit. Every bit of my attention rushed to that point, and I found myself clawing at the ground on either side of me. I couldn't move. And yet I didn't want to move.

A grim chuckle echoed from his lips. Alarms went off. Desire tripled. Everything seemed to change in a singular moment, heat coiling in my core and causing me to prop my legs open. For him, of course, because he silently commanded it. Not a word needed to pass between us for him to take control.

I gladly gave it to him.

Nimble fingers darted beneath my skirt, traced the outline of my slit, rubbed around until he found a loose spot to plunge beneath. Arousal slicked his fingers as he swept through my folds, causing my hips to buck as he slid my tank top down, down, down... He kissed my left nipple, setting me aflame.

I whined when he tore off my panties. He returned to my slit, eagerly plummeting between my folds with one finger while his thumb massaged irregular shapes into my clit. Wet heat coated his plunge and grunts capped each slurp. He sucked my nipple into his mouth, sheer pleasure cutting me right down the middle, whole pieces coming undone from his attention.

Without warning, he stopped. I wiggled in place, trying to replace his hand to put it back where it belonged, his lips turning up into an evil smile as he tore open my skirt. He slid off his pants and then guided my hand to his cock, excitement dragging the moans right out of me as I got on my knees and pushed him back.

He grabbed my hips and planted me on his lap, sitting up to hold me in place. "You better ask nicely, Ginny darling."

I bit my lower lip.

"Go on," he urged while teasing my entrance with his cock. "Ask me to fuck you."

Words failed me. Thoughts raced. If there was any inkling of control left, I wasn't sure I could wrestle it into submission. The smile grew on his lips. "Ginny..."

"Please, please," I blurted. "Fuck me, Slater. Fuck me like you own me."

A hot wave crashed through me when he slid inside. Gods, he was just toying with me, wasn't he? And I was loving every second of it, totally engrossed in the tease and denial, utterly abandoned to the game we played-and played so well. My head tilted back and I unleashed my power, rolling my hips hard enough to pop them out of place, but falling into a sweet pace with him instead.

He caught every thrust and granted me each kiss I requested. He clutched my hips, lifted me up in the air, let me ride back down as fast as I wanted. My lower back would suffer tomorrow, but I didn't even care. I just wanted to wear myself out with him. I wanted to get so much of him that I would feel sick in his absence.

No one but a true mate could do that to me.

He gripped my upper back and held me close. Which meant he was close. And that meant I was close.

I dug my fingers into his hair. "Don't stop."

"Come for me, Ginny."

"Slater, I-"

He kissed me into silence. He bruised me with his affection. His weight was a comfort as I rode myself into oblivion, nails puncturing his skin as I found that fleeting high and let it drop me from the heavens. I rolled and wiggled, gyrated, and wailed. I felt the whole world collapse and rebuild anew. I climbed him like a mountain and didn't stop until he stopped, until our fluid was a mess between us.

I collapsed on the blanket. Pie stuck to my stomach with cheese on my hip. I burst into giggles when I noticed the wine had toppled over. Slater lifted the bottle, held it over his mouth, and then frowned when nothing came out. That just made me laugh even harder. The way he tossed the bottle aside shut me up quick. I clamped my hand over my mouth and stared at the bags, trying to figure out why I had suddenly gone from giggles to glum. Was it the s*x? The wine? I couldn't figure it out.

Slater touched my upper back. "Badass princess."

That helped. But not by much.

I smiled weakly. "Thanks."

"You alright over there?"

"Yeah, tired."

He scooted toward me. "You always use that as an excuse when you're thinking about something you don't want to talk about."

Anger stabbed my gut. "If that's the case, then why do you push me?"

He frowned. "I'm just saying, Ginny darling. You get upset and you shut down. You don't ever let me in. I have to tear down the walls just to get you to tell me anything."

"I'd be inclined to share more if you didn't push so hard."

"And I wouldn't push if you would just confide in me. Jesus, girl." He stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants. "Let's pack it in. I don't feel like sleeping outside again."

I huffed while hopping up to my feet. The anger was taking over. I couldn't stop the way it tumbled through my system and picked apart all my insecurities. S*x was what Slater wanted. I had to get that through my thick skull eventually. Everything he did was for himself, not for us.

With enough time, he'd become just like Dirk. Men did that. They disappointed me with their fast desires and slow ghosting. I hadn't even seen the car that Slater claimed to have found. I didn't even know the spot he was going to hide it, or whether he had already hidden it. He barely shared much with me.

"Nobody asked you to sleep on the porch," I snapped. "Nobody asked you to protect us. Or did you forget?"

"Don't catch an attitude with me."

I shoved shit into the bag, not caring whether the blanket was folded or whether the food containers were sealed. "Whatever. Let's get back before somebody sees us out here."

"Whatever you say."

Gods, I hated this. I hated arguing. I hated that we fell right back into it like it was just what we did. Neither of us deserved to be like this, so why did we do it? Was it the family crap? Was it the pressure from hiding our relationship?

Or had we made a monumental mistake by trying to mate when fate hadn't dictated it?