Page 66 of Not Your Ordinary Shifter

But he wasn’t either of those things. She couldn’t have said how she knew, except that she could feel it. The bond thatconnected them was filled with peace and welcome. If she just accepted it, she knew… without a doubt, that they would be happy.

It only took her a minute to decide, before she rolled over on top of him. He grunted, wincing as she sat up. The hard bulge pressing up under her ass made it clear how much he wanted her. “Let’s do it.”

His eyes widened. “It?”

She rolled her eyes. “Let’s fuck. Or mate, whatever you want to call it. I can’t picture myself feeling like this for months. Seriously, it’s been awful even for days. I could be stubborn and try to hold out, but I’m going to give in eventually. So let’s just… do it.Now.” She ground her hips down for incentive.

“Right now?” He snorted. His mouth turned up at one side. “Just fuck on the beach? You know, my familydoescome down here to swim, and there are a lot of them in town right now.”

She huffed. “No, not here. I didn’t meanhere. I meant…” She trailed off and frowned. “Oh, you’re visiting. You don’t have a place then.”

A laugh burst from him. “No, not unless you’re comfortable with having sex down the hall from my parents.”

“Uh… no thanks.”

“How about your place?”

That cooled some of the ardor. She wasn’t ashamed of her apartment, not exactly. It served its purpose, but she didn’t want him to see her minimalistic life and feel pity for her. She could handle a lot of things, but not pity.

“I… it’s also problematic. Thin walls.” That wasn’t the reason, but it also wasn’t a lie.

“Damn. Well, I could get us a hotel room. We could walk back to the house, and I could grab my wallet.” There was an unspoken ‘but’ as he stopped.

She tilted her head. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just… if we go back to the house it’s going to turn into a whole ‘meet the parents’ thing. I don’t think either of us are ready for that.”

Her stomach clenched and a queasy sensation rolled through her. Definitely not. “I’d rather—I’m not good with family.” After being dumped by two sets of parents, and then shuffled through the foster care system until she aged out, she had a lot of distrust.

Even if she hadn’t, this seemed an awkward moment to meet them, considering the circumstances. “What if I just wait here, while you run back and grab it?” She’d have offered to pay herself if she had the money.

“It’s just hard to get in and out quickly right now. Half of our relatives are over there, with the reunion and all. The moment I walk through the door they’re going to corner me.” His eyes narrowed and deep grooves appeared on his forehead.

She couldn’t imagine what that would be like. He sounded bothered enough that she believed it was a real problem though. It was starting to seem like, regardless of the bond, the world had other ideas about their relationship. “Maybe this isn’t?—"

“Wait, I have an idea,” he said, cutting her off in mid-sentence. “It’s not the most comfortable place. Rustic barely covers it, but it’s private.”

He got to his feet and pulled her along with him. In his enthusiasm, he wasn’t as gentle as he might have been. There were sudden pains everywhere as her body stretched and pulled at all the sore spots. She hissed a breath in through her teeth. “Damn, I’m going to be feeling this for a few days,” she complained.

“Sorry, I forgot you were hurt.” He frowned as he examined her for signs of damage. “Maybe we should put this off until you’re feeling?—”

Lizzy was absolutely not doing that. No matter how achy she was, she was going to satisfy this itch that had been driving her crazy all week. He was trying to be protective, and it was sweet, but not what she needed right now.

She shook her head with one firm jerk. “I’m good. So where is this place of yours?”

“C’mon, I’ll show you.” He took her by the hand, and they walked down the beach together. She limped a little but tried not to let the pain show.

It was peaceful, romantic even, although the pulse between her thighs drove her to walk faster, instead of enjoying the beauty of the moment. As they followed the curve of the lake, a large house came into view. It was a mansion really, though the wooden log exterior made it look more home than showplace.

Every window glowed with bright light and even from the distance she could hear the raucous cacophony of a party going on. She stopped short. “Wait… is this your house?”

“My parents’ place, yeah.” He flashed her a grin and tugged to get her moving again. “Don’t worry, we’re not going in.”

Her lips pursed and she shot him a suspicious look, but after a few moments, she let him pull her along. The tension slipped away when he took a turn that led them around to the side of the house, instead of the front door. The winding path was made of smooth lake stones, so even when they ended up in the trees, it was clear he had a specific destination.

One turn after another took them away from the light and noise, and finally they passed into a clearing and found a small cabin. It was rough wood and looked handmade, nothing like the extravagant polished wooden logs of the big house.

“This,” he said with a sweeping flourish, “is my father’s workshop, slash escape.”

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