Page 36 of What A Croc
“Not at all,” I told him as we approached the water’s edge. A wolf howled in the distance, muffled enough to indicate it wasn’t close to us. We hadn’t encountered anyone, shifter or human, on the path, but it was rather late for people to be out.
Turning to face me, Jackson tugged his shirt over his head, dropping it at his feet. He didn’t look away from me, as his hands dipped lower, working his belt. Wide eyed, I stared at his broad, smooth chest and the outline of his abs.
Without blinking, he shoved his pants and underwear down his legs, then stepped out of them. He had already toed his shoes off when I wasn’t looking, too busy admiring his bare skin. His thick cock sprang up towards his belly, already hard, but I swore I saw it grow bigger before my eyes.
Scraping my bottom lip with my teeth, desire did a slow, easy roll through my stomach, heat flaring out in me in all directions.
Taking a step closer, Jackson leaned down and captured my lips with his. The kiss was slow, sensual, a slow glide of his tongue across mine. His hands worked the buttons of my shirt, while his tongue explored every dark recess in my mouth. The night air caressed my bare skin, as his hands spread over my naked chest. His fingers slid over my nipples, and I moaned at the sensation. They hardened intopointed nubs beneath his skilled fingers, until he removed them to slide my shirt off my shoulders.
Breaking the kiss, I took a step back, my eyes locked with his, my hands on the snap of my jeans. Boldly, because Jackson made me feel bold, I flipped the snap then carefully moved the zipper down, freeing my throbbing cock. Jackson’s hand caressed over my cotton covered dick, thumbing at the wet spot from my leaking precum. There was a similar situation on my backside, my slick flowing freely.
Sliding to his knees, he pushed the denim down my thighs, looking up at me with blown pupils. He mouthed at my still clothed cock, and I sucked in a breath at the feel of his wet mouth on me. Tapping my ankle, he indicated for me to step out of my jeans, then his fingers hooked in the waistband of my briefs.
When I nodded, he slowly, so fucking slowly, pushed them over my hips. His hands roamed over my ass cheeks, clenching them and pulling them apart, one finger dipping into my slick crease. Gasping when his finger ghosted over my hole, I dug my fingers into his shoulders to steady myself.
Standing straight, I peered down at Jackson as he finished undressing me, kneeling at my feet. It was a heady sensation, looking down at this sexy, powerful alpha, literally at my feet, as he slowly and deliberately undressed me. His eyes shone in the moonlight, the green muddiness ofthem reduced to pinpricks as his pupils dilated and filled out.
He nuzzled the brown and gray curls that nestled my cock, breathing in my scent deeply.
“You smell so fucking good,” he whispered across my bare skin, and in that moment I felt powerful. I felt worshiped. I felt deserving.
All thoughts of any extra weight I was carrying, or faded stretch marks from a long ago pregnancy, or my soft, jiggly belly fled. Instead I felt sexy, beautiful, and most of all horny.
Jackson had seen every inch of me there was to see. Had touched every inch of me with his fingers and tongue during my heat. He had tasted me, stretched me, been inside me, and he still looked at me like I was the most amazing thing he had ever seen.
I didn’t understand it. No one had ever looked at me like he did, not even when I’d been in the bloom of youth. It was amazing and wonderful, and…
“Stop thinking so hard,” he whispered, gracefully standing back to his full height without even using a hand to push himself up. I didn’t think I had ever had core strength like that.
“I’m not,” I lied, and he gave me a knowing, close-lipped smile.
“Mmmhmmm,” he hummed, moving to the water's edge, before tossing me a look over his shoulder. “Remember,it’s just me. I’m not going to hurt you or your gazelle. I promise.”
And with that, I watched in awe as his bones and muscles shifted and rearranged themselves, and a large crocodile flicked his powerful tail, and then he slid into the water. He had to be at least fifteen feet long from snout to tail, and I didn’t know how wide. But he was big. Terrifyingly so.
It’s just Jackson, it’s just Jackson, my gazelle mumbled, quivering beneath my skin.He won’t hurt us.
It might be Jackson, but he was still an apex predator, and I shivered as I watched the croc sink beneath the dark surface of the water and disappear, barely making a ripple on the water. A minute later, the top of his long, pointed vee shaped snout and head half emerged from the water, his beady eyes fixed on me.
But he didn’t move, just stayed as still as a statue, most of him still under the water. Honestly, if I hadn’t been watching for him, I might have missed him altogether.
Closing my eyes, I quickly shifted, my gazelle standing on sturdy hooves. My horns made me appear larger than I actually was, curving proudly from my head.
Glancing at the water, my gazelle took a skittish step back as Jackson’s croc surged forward, moving quicker than should be possible for someone his size. He seemed to sense my hesitation and stopped his advancement, instead turning his large body smoothly and swimming a laparound the length of the water. He would disappear beneath the surface, only to reappear a good distance away.
I had an unnerving feeling that even though my gazelle was super-fast, had he wanted to catch me that first day, he very well could have.
Jackson swam a few more minutes, and I watched him, appreciating the sheer power of him. Yet, he was surprisingly graceful and agile too. He truly was a thing of wonder. Though when he clambered out of the water, the claws of his legs digging into the grass, my gazelle hopped to the side, away from him.
He opened his mouth wide, showing off rows of gleaming sharp teeth, then clamped his jaws shut with an audible snap. Then he was back, just Jackson, standing there in all his naked glory under the moonlight, looking like some pagan God come to life. All long, hard, lean, chiseled muscles. Broad chest and back, flat stomach, and thick thighs.
Shifting back to my human skin, he held his hand out to me. “See, not so scary.”
“Oh, you’re plenty scary!” I told him, with a shaky, high pitched laugh. “But you're also splendid.” I ran my fingers up his arm to his powerful shoulder. “Powerful. Dangerous.”
The last word I breathed, my chest hitching, my fingers trembling as they trailed across his cool skin. They weren’ttrembling with fear though. No, they trembled with need and desire.
I wanted this man. Right here and now.
