The Right to a Bear's Arms (A BBW Shifter Romance) (Wolf Rock Shifters) (14 page)

Colson said nothing. Instead, he simply looked up at her, a searching look in his eyes. Zoe was assertive, even bossy at times, but this sort of
sexual dominance was new for her. She wanted, in this moment, to take full charge, and he submitted, his body, his cock, obeying fully.

Zoe put her weight onto her knees, pushing up enough to wrap her fingers around his thick shaft and to lift it so that its tip teased her opening, spreading her delicate lips apart. And then she came down on him, hard, piercing herself on his length. She moaned loudly, the pain of it exquisite. This was what she wanted; to have him as deep inside her body as was humanly possible. If she could have, she would have happily taken all of him into her. She longed to consume his flesh.

She raised and lowered herself rhythmically, her hands in her long red hair as Colson looked up at her. Tentatively her reached his own hands up and pulled the cups of her bra away, exposing her firm pink nipples. He flicked his thick, calloused thumbs over their hard tips as she groaned. Maddox smiled as his woman expressed her pleasure. He could feel it in her wetness as she came down on him, her clit rubbing against the short-cropped hair at the base of his shaft.

Zoe opened her large eyes again and looked down at him. She laid her hands on his chest as he continued to stroke her nipples and said, “Do you want me to come, baby?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

“I’m going to come around you,” she said. “Around your gorgeous cock. And when I do, I want you to shoot your hot cream inside me. Will you do that for me?”

He pinched her nipples now, pulling them outwards and watching them react to his touch. His cock wanted to burst already at the thought of her orgasm.

“I’ll come for you,” he said. “I’ll shoot for you.”

“I know you will.”

Her pace increased now as she drove him into herself and his pelvis began to follow her rhythm, hi
s ass pushing upward, pounding his cock into her tight opening. The flesh at the base of his shaft stroked her clit as his fingers caressed her sensitive nipples, and she felt her body respond, her muscles clenching around him.

At last, Zoe put her head back and cried out, claws jutting out and digging into Colson’s chest. As his flesh was pierced, he let out a yell at the delicious pain, his cock reacting by sending forth bursts of searing heat even as her pussy contracted violently around it, milking it dry, seeming to suck it with an astonishing force.

It was hard to say whose orgasm lasted the longest; both bodies seemed to continue in their ecstasy for minutes as neither wanted to relent.

Zoe held him inside her as long as she could before lying down on top of him, her bare nipples pressed to his wounded ch
est. His blood mingled with her sweat as their bodies pressed together.

She had left a mark on him. At the very least, he wouldn’t forget her until it had healed.

In the morning, Zoe rose to find
Colson making her a breakfast of bacon and eggs. She crawled out of bed and wrapped her arms around his large form from behind.

“You’re the greatest,” she said
, kissing his neck, which she could barely reach. She found herself filled with apprehension and sorrow. All that she’d come to enjoy might be on the verge of collapse. Her life with this man whom she was growing to love, or perhaps already loved, if she could find the strength to admit it to herself. Yes, of course she loved him.

And there was also h
er job, which fulfilled and healed her in ways that nothing ever had. She had a new life here, a new identity. And it was about to explode around her.

Colson
turned around and held her.

“I know
I’m the greatest,” he said, laughing. “And so are you. Remember what I told you last night. Anything you ever need. I’ll do it.”

Zoe kissed his shoulder. “I believe you, baby. But there are some things you can’t do. There are some things none of us can.”

“Zoe, what’s wrong?” he asked, pulling himself away and looking into her tear-filled eyes. “Tell me.”

“I can’t
tell you. But it’ll get better. I promise.”

“Okay. As long as you promi
se. Call me if you need me.”

“I will.”

Colson kissed her on the forehead and with that, he was heading down the tree. By now he was an expert climber, both in human and bear form.

Zoe ate her breakfast, pondering the day ahead.
She’d have to go about her routine and hope that this man—whoever her was—didn’t find her. The best-case scenario was that he would simply give up and move on. She didn’t want to consider the worst possibility.

That morning at school, Zoe had a private tutoring session with Conner, whose empathic skills were coming along nicely. He was learning to suppress them when he needed to so that he wasn’t constantly afflicted with the sensations of those around him, and to use his instincts in order to detect what Zoe called “irregularities,” meaning that if someone came along who was particularly troubled, Conner could pick him out and offer help.

As they sat in one of the new buildings, talking, Conner looked Zoe in the eye. His voice changed as it sometimes did, from the little boy innocence to something filled with the wisdom of an aged person.

“Someone is watching,” he said, leaning in and lowering his voice.

“Watching what?” asked Zoe, who found herself looking around at the rest of the students, most of whom were simply playing games with one another or drawing pictures.

“There is someone outside. He’s looking for you.”

Zoe’s heart was in her throat now. “Conner, you’re not playing with me, are you?”

“No, I’m afraid I’m not. I would like to help. I don’t think he’s a very nice man.”

“You can’t help, sweetheart,” said Zoe, resigned to what was about to happen. “Stay here, okay?”

Conner’s voice and face changed again, and he picked up a pencil crayon and began to draw.

“Okay,” he said.

Zoe rose and walked to the door, her hand shaking as she reached for its handle. She pushed it open and stepped into the cold.

“Hello, Annette,” said a man’s voice.

A pale, scrawny figure stepped out from
beside the building. It was the same man that Zoe had seen the previous day in the clothing shop. He was dressed in loose clothing and had no doubt shown up in his ferret form.

“I’m afraid my name’s not Annette,” said Zoe, attempt
ing to sound confident. “It’s Zoe.”

“You’re a lot of people and things, from what I hear. So let’s keep this simple, shall we?”

“What do you want from me?”

“Well, it’s not what I want so much as what my client wants. There’s a little matter of ten thousand dollars. But it’s fair to say that he would also like an explanation.”

Zoe snorted. “An explanation? For what? For why I dug my claws into him? For why I left? How about that he tried to kill me? And that was only after working pretty damn hard to break my spirit for months.”

“That’s between the two of you,” said the man, who sniffled, his nose wrinkling and his beady eyes watering in the cold. He really was a very unattractive specimen.

“So you’ve come to take me away.”

“Mr. Simmons
hired me. I work as a private detective,” he said. “And he’s paying me handsomely to return you to him.”

“How did you find me?”

“A man in a cell phone shop told me about a redhead called Zoe who could shift into other human forms. He was very helpful, that one.”

Zoe thought of the poor guy she’d slighted. But she was certain this wasn’t some act of revenge; he probably simply didn’t know any better.

“What’s he paying you? I’ll double it if you fuck off and tell him you haven’t found me.”

“I’m afraid that my
staunch ethics dictate that I can’t do that, Zoe,” he said, his voice annoyingly calm.

“Well, I’m not going anywhere. It’s typical
Drake to send someone else to do his dirty work. So I’ll just say good-bye to you and…”

With t
hat, the man extracted a small piece of paper from a small bag which hung from his neck, and handed it to Zoe.

She studied
the paper, which was simply a photo of a small, round woman.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“That is Colson Danforth’s mother. She lives quite far away, but not out of our reach. Drake wishes to inform you that even now she’s being watched, and if you don’t return to Terrence with me immediately he’ll have her severely injured.”

“What? You can’t...”

“I assure you that we can,” said the man.

“So your code of ethics covers duty to your client but not basic human kindness.” Zoe was filled with rage now, her inner cat wanting to rear its head and take this man’s smug face off.

“Let’s just say,” said the detective, smiling, his crooked yellow teeth on vile display, “that it’s all part of the job.”

“I need to get some things,” Zoe said. “And say good-bye to people.”

“You are not to say good-bye to anyone. If you need to fetch anything, I will accompany you to your house.”

“What about work? I need to deal with the children.”

“Tell your boss that you’re not feeling well and that you’re going home,” the ferret shifter said. “And then you leave for Terrence.”

Zoe found Kyla, who greeted her with a concerned expression. Her eyes darted to the detective, who in all likelihood didn’t know of her skills.

“I’m not feeling well,” said Zoe, “and need to go home to bed.”

“Okay, honey,” said Kyla, putting a hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “You let me know as soon as you feel better. Understand?”

“I understand.”

With that, Zoe and the detective left to head back to her house in the trees.

When she’d arrived at the house, supervised by the rodent-like man who seemed unwilling to let her out of his sight, Zoe pulled her lightest dress out of the top drawer of a dresser that her mate had built just a week earlier, and folded into a small square. She inserted it into a small cotton bag which she’d been using recently as a purse. It was light and could be concealed under clothing, but more to the point, it would be easy to transport in any form. This and the money were all she’d be able to carry.

When she was sure that she had all that she could take from her home, she climbed the tree to her knotty hiding spot, which she hadn’t done in some time. It had been some time since she’d checked to make sure that her plastic bag was still tidily stashed in the hidden opening, and she found it exactly where she’d left it, complete with its stack of bills. She removed the bag from the tree and squeezed it in next to the dress which now occupied her purse.

“I’m ready,” she said, turning to the detective. “I’ll head for Terrence.”

“Fine. I’ll await confirmation that you’ve arrived. And remember—a word to anyone and your boyfriend’s mother will be in for a world of pain.”

With that, the man shifted and crept back down the tree. Zoe grabbed a pen and a scrap of paper on which she scrawled a note, which she laid on Colson’s pillow. She slid a hand over the bed, tears welling in her eyes as she thought of all of the moments they’d shared, which were now at an end.

Zoe knew that her panther would not suffice for today; on this day she’d have to fly to reach her destination. Leaving behind a trail which would lead anyone with a good nose to her wasn’t wise. And she needed to make sure that Colson would be safe, which meant keeping him away.

Zoe put the thin strap of the bag around her neck, wrapping its length a few times around before she shifted into the form of a golden eagle.

The bag hanging inches below her body, she took off and headed east, leaving the snowy peaks of Wolf Rock behind her. She didn’t have the courage to turn her head and look at the sight for fear that she would lose her strength and her will. Instead, she looked ahead, towards her destination and resigned to whatever fate now lay ahead.

***

Around two p.m. Colson’s cell phone rang. His hands were covered in engine oil, and after he’d wiped them with a damp cloth he grabbed the phone off a nearby counter.

“Hello?” he said.

“Colson. It’s Kyla. Have you seen Zoe?”

“Yeah, I saw her this morning. I left her at the treehouse
. She was getting ready for work.”

“She went home sick. Colson, she was with someone. A strange man. I didn’t like the vibe I got from him.”

“Who was he?”

“She didn’t say. She didn’t say much of anything, really. All I know is that I’
m worried.”

“You don’t think it was her ex, do you?”

“No. Months ago, I had a vision of a man. But this wasn’t the same guy. This is someone else. I don’t have a clear idea of who he is, but I think she’s in danger. Colson…how much do you know about her ex?”

“I know that he was pretty awful to her. I’m glad she got out of there.”