Page 97 of Not Your Ordinary Shifter

Before I could comprehend what was happening, Will’s arms were around me and he was tipping me back and kissing me as if his life depended on it.

A loud crash sounded out as I drowned in the sensations flooding my body. Will’s lips were soft yet firm. His hands ran up and down my back as his tongue plunged into my mouth. I was overheating, sparks shooting off anywhere he touched.

What made it truly bizarre was the fact that I hadn’t thought Will even liked me. When Will was ripped away from me, I let out a whimper, reluctant to end our impromptu kiss.

A roar and another loud crash snapped me out of my stupor. Mary shrieked. Jed waded into the middle of his brawling sons and yanked them apart.

“Enough,” he hollered. “We will figure this out. Fighting each other is not the way,” Jed said firmly.

The three brothers were all panting. Will’s nose was bleeding, Kato was holding his junk and Beck had obviously been hit near his eye, as it was bright red.

I rushed over to Mary’s side, and she immediately pulled me into her arms. “I think we all need to cool down. Jed, could you show Nova and I to where we’ll be staying?”

“Yes. I think that’s a good idea,” Jed said. “You three, clean up this mess and by God you will not say another word to each other till I return. I apologize for my sons’ behaviour. Follow me, ladies.”

Jed and Mary talked in low tones as I followed behind, not even paying attention to the beautiful architecture around me. I was in too much of a muddle over what had happened. When Jed ushered me into a large bedroom on the second floor, I snapped out of it.

“You can wait up here while my sons and I have a chat. Make yourself comfortable and someone will come get you in a little while. Feel free to shower, have a nap or watch some TV.” He turned toward Mary, and his gaze softened. “Come, mate. I will show you to our room.”

The last thing I saw of the couple was Mary’s blush as she reached for his hand. The door closed, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I fell backward and closed my eyes. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. A wave of exhaustion hit. I’d have a little rest and figure things out when I woke up.

Chapter

Seven

BECK

Dad had stomped down the stairs, his normal grouchy self, after showing the women to their rooms. He hadn’t been impressed with us duking it out in front of his new mate. His mate. I couldn’t get over the fact that everything we’d thought we’d known about our culture and the possibility of finding a mate had been so wrong.

We’d discussed the fact that other shifter species had shared mates. The killer whales in our shoal shared a mate. But it wasn’t something we’d thought of for ourselves. I loved my brothers, but that didn’t mean I wanted to share a woman with them.

I wanted a woman of my own. Someone special that would be my one and only, and I’d be hers. I’d imagined, when ready to settle down, that my mate and I would take time to explore the world, away from the island. Go on long cruises around the ocean, stopping to visit far-off lands. I’d never pictured my brothers along for the ride.

And eventually have children. Would Nova even want children with a shifter? And if she did, who’s to say any of them would turn out to be mine?

The need to see her was overwhelming. Dad had warned us away, telling us to give her time to settle in. And we’d been warned not to rush her. We had to be careful not to press too hard. We knew that severing a mate bond, an excruciating process, was always a possibility if she rejected us. Making her choose would be the worst thing we could do, so learning to adjust and live with our new reality was the best option.

My frustration grew the more time that passed. I grabbed a beer out of the fridge and guzzled it on my way to our indoor pool. Tossing my clothes on a chair, I dove into the warm water and swam lap after lap, trying to dispel the nervous energy flowing through my body.

When I felt more in control, I easily shifted into my mudskipper, then swam to the waterfall at the far end of the saltwater pool. We had placed rocks along the shallow end, so we had a place to relax in our mudskipper forms. It was one of my favourite places. The skylight allowed in the sun’s rays and the large windows showed off the scenery.

I’d been drifting to sleep when my fins popped up of their own accord. Nova was nearby. I could sense her. Not wanting to startle her, I kept still when she walked into the room.

“Wow,” she said under her breath. Her hand skimmed across some ferns that were hanging along a banister, then moved closer and dipped her bare toes in the water. “Hello. Which one are you?”

I startled, surprised she’d noticed me in amongst the rocks and plants. I leapt high into the air, the mating ritual of mudskippers. Looking back, I should have known right away what was going on when we’d first met.

“Beck.” She giggled and I preened. “How’s your eye?”

I jumped out of the pool, shifting midair to land on my human feet. “It would help if you kissed it better.”

A slow smile came across her face. “It would, would it?”

I nodded and stepped toward her, giving her plenty of time to back away if she wanted to. When she moved forward instead, I wrapped my arms around her waist.

Nova placed her hands on my cheeks, raised up on tiptoe, and gently brushed her lips over the spot where I had been hit. Once, then again. I could hardly hold myself back. When her lips trailed to mine and moved softly against me, I lost my self-control and pulled her tighter against me.

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