Page 17 of Eager Beaver
It was hard to ignore the fact that the dining room was much emptier than it had been our first morning here. And the couples who were there seemed to be in a similar state as Fable and I were—namely carelessly dressed and smelling of sex. The other shifters in the room didn’t seem to care, though; they only had eyes for their new mates. I was starting to put together a picture of how we all came to be here. Fate had clearly been working double-time this holiday season.
“Seriously!” Fable whined, poking me in the thigh as I slowed the car and turned into a narrow track. “Why the secrecy? You’re not taking me out to the middle of nowhere to kill me and dump the body, right? Let the wild animals deal with the carcass?”
I pulled a face, disgusted by the imagery. My beast was more confused about what a wild animal would want with his body. “Mon dieu, you must watch too many true-crime documentaries.”
He pointed a finger at me. “I do, but that’s not what we’re discussing right now. I will not let you distract me from the question.”
Laughing, I pointed out the windshield. “No distraction necessary. We’re here.”
Ahead, there was a break in the trees, and the road emerged into a clearing, barely large enough for the car. Fable gasped as he took in the scenery, and I parked the car and turned off the engine, listening as the silence closed around us. Off to the side, the moonlight shimmered off a small mountain lake, bordered by a pebbled shore. The tall pine trees that grew close and thick kept this place a secret from the world outside.
“Guy, this is beautiful! How did you know this was here?” he asked.
“Would you believe I know a guy?”
He narrowed his eyes on me. “Hmm, do I have a choice?”
“No,” I said, pulling my toque over his head and passing him my gloves. “Bundle up, I don’t want you to get cold yet.”
“Yet? What do you meanyet?” he called after me as I climbed out of the car, not answering his questions. In truth, I couldn’t entirely explain where we were or how I knew. This land belonged to a local wolf pack, and I’d overheard a couple of the shifter staff talking about it. When Fable had gone to the bathroom, I’d requested permission to bring my mate.
I ran around the car and opened Fable’s door, offering him my hand. He took it and let me pull him from his seat. “Come with me,” I told him, leading the way. I’d never been here before, but I could scent our destination without trouble, the minerals tickling the back of my sinuses.
There, steaming in the night, was a hot spring. The surrounding tree boughs were laden with heavy snow, bowing under the weight, but the rocks lining the hot spring were warm and wet. “Care to take a dip with me?” I asked seductively, peeling off my coat and letting it fall to the ground.
“But I didn’t bring a swimsuit,” he said. Oh, my beautiful, innocent mate.
I raised an eyebrow and waited for him to catch on to what I was suggesting. “Oh!” he gasped after a few seconds. “Like, skinny-dipping? Here?” He glanced around as though expecting a crowd of spectators.
“I promise, there’s no one for miles.”
He seemed reluctant, and I wouldn’t push if this wasn’t something he wanted to do, but as I watched, he sucked his lower lip into his mouth as a seductive smirk grew. “You’re sure?” he asked, but he was already unzipping his jacket.
“Positive.” I would hear anyone long before they got close.
I stood, transfixed, as Fable performed a slow strip tease for me. First, off came the toque and mitts, jacket, then his shirt, his skin pebbling with goosebumps, nipples pinched tight. He fumbled quickly with his belt, unsnapping the button and jerking down the zipper, but I tsked. “Slower,” I said, enjoying the show. “There’s no need to rush.”
“Says you, the guy with the parka!” But he paused for a second, thumbs tucked into the waistband. “Don’t judge me; it’s cold out.” I laughed, but he still turned away to pull everything down. I had no problem with this view either.
As soon as his clothes were off, he slid shivering into the water, then let out the most erotic moan I’d heard outside of the bedroom. “Ohhh, Guy, this is incredible.” He turned to glance at me, standing here, still fully dressed. “Are you going to put on a show for me too?” he asked coyly, leaning on the edge of the spring, chin cupped in one hand.
When my mate was naked and waiting for me, he expected me to take my time?Pas une chance. I was out of my clothes with superhuman speed, with zero tease and even less grace. Speed was of the essence. I practically cannonballed into the water, earning me an eyeroll from my beaver.Hewould’ve been more graceful.
Fable ducked from the splash and then scowled playfully at me. “No way! I want my strip tease! Get back out there and do it again,” he griped.
I glided closer, hands finding his waist under the water to pull him close. “You would have me freeze?”
“Mm-hm, if it got me a better look at this…” he drawled, his fingers creeping down my abs to encircle my length, the water adding friction to his strokes.
I groaned, claiming his mouth in a searing kiss that quickly had us both panting. Pressing Fable into the side of the spring, I tried to shield him from the rock ledge with my arms. Finally,I simply spun us around so he was on top, the rock ledge at my back. I would heal from any scrapes much more easily than he would. Besides, I was currently feeling no pain. No, instead, I was drowning in my mate. Nothing existed but the two of us.
Fable gripped my hair and tugged my head back, immediately going for my neck. He seemed obsessed with licking and nipping at my shoulder with his teeth, right where a mating mark would go. It was driving me absolutely wild. Human or not, Fable must’ve felt something of what being mates meant. He hadn’t broken the skin yet, but if he did, I wasn’t sure I could stop myself from marking him in return. A half-formed bond was the worst kind of torture.
“Guy, I need…” he moaned, angling my cock so he could sink down on my lap. His thighs clamped down on my hips as his tight heat, warmer even than the hot spring, enveloped my shaft.
I would watch him all day, every day, if I could. The way his eyes drifted closed on a moan, his head tipping back in bliss as I filled him to the brim, the moonlight highlighting his features in silver. He was ethereal, and fate saw fit to make him mine.
Fable whined, wiggling his ass as he adjusted to my girth and making me see stars. And as much as I loved to watch him, my eyes closed of their own volition. Feeling him like this, so close and yet somehow nowhere near close enough, it was too much. I flexed my hips, fucking up into him, using my hands on his hips to press him down against the water’s buoyancy.
