The Mating Season: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (10 page)

Keith felt her hand gingerly brush his crotch and he almost fainted as the blood rushed to his manhood. He gritted his teeth to keep himself from grabbing her and taking her right there. He wanted to wait to see where she was going with this.

Kim kept gently stroking the inside of Keith’s thigh, inhaling his musk and reveling in its erotic scent. She didn’t care about being a good girl anymore. She tipped her head up and nuzzled Keith’s strong neck, nibbling and kissing it as her hand rubbed the firm mound in Keith’s jeans.

He let out a deep purr as she stroked him through his clothes. He couldn’t believe this was happening; her kisses and nips sent shocks through his body and caused his manhood to twitch in response. She moved her lips up towards his ear and gave it a bit of a nibble as she moved her hand up his body and under his t-shirt.

The feeling of her soft hands stroking his torso drove him insane. As her soft, hot lips moved across his jaw line he turned his head and caught her in a fierce kiss. His tongue probed her warm velvet lips, eagerly seeking entrance.

Kim opened her mouth to Keith’s rough tongue and returned his kiss in kind. Their tongues danced together as they embraced and his arms wrapped around her tightly. Her heart started pounding and rushes of desire coursed through her veins. She pressed her body closer by straddling his hips. He unbuttoned her shirt without breaking their passionate kiss. He reached for her bra and undid the clasp that was holding her perky B-cup breasts in place and freed the tender globes from their lacy confinement.

Kim shuddered with anticipation as she felt his warm soft hands envelop her perky tits. She moaned into his mouth as she felt him gently squeeze her dark, erect nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. She ground herself into Keith’s clothed crotch, causing him to break the kiss and growl into her ear as he nipped it. She felt his teeth graze her tender neck as he hungrily kissed and nipped at it while his right hand clutched at one of her breasts. His other hand supported her as she leaned back to give him access to her topless body.

Keith’s lips traveled down her throat to her dark breasts, causing sparks of pleasure to jolt her body. She cried out as his hot, wet mouth found one of her nipples and drew it in. His rough tongue played over the sensitive nub, and she ground into him with more insistence as her desire mounted.

With every motion of her hips, Kim brought Keith closer to blowing his load in his pants, which was definitely not where he wanted it to go. So, to her chagrin, he removed his mouth from her tit and whispered in her ear. “Lay down, I can’t stand this anymore, stop teasing me.”

Kim looked at him with a sly smirk on her face. “Aww, puddytat doesn’t like to play games?”

With a growl, Keith turned his body to the side and shoved Kim onto the couch. “Don’t...try to test me. I have self-control, but I don’t know how long it’ll last. You get to me.” he hissed in her ear. “Now let’s get the rest of these clothes off.”

Kim was both a little frightened, yet quite turned on by the sudden change in meek Keith. She felt her pants being tugged off as he dove in to nuzzle at her breasts some more. Her moans got louder as he pulled harder on her nipple.

He succeeded in pulling her tight jeans off her round hips and tossed them off to the side of the living room. He noticed she wasn’t wearing any panties, and smiled to himself.

Kim felt his soft, strong hand move from her breast and down her body towards her neatly groomed womanhood. He gently teased her by stroking the outer lips of her dewy flower. She spread her legs as much as she could on the narrow couch to give him more access to her sex. She was eager for his touch, she craved it. This time, she was going to enjoy the enchantment he seemed to have over her. The pheromones were thick in the air as Keith’s arousal grew increasingly difficult to control. Her mind was overcome with lust, but now, she didn’t care. Deep inside, she understood she needed to be exposed to them to make a choice, and it wasn’t exactly an unpleasant sensation.

His fingers gently spread the outer lips of her hot womanhood and gently stroked within. Kim cried out as he teasingly avoided her pleasure center while stroking her inner folds. His hungry mouth moved from her breast up to her neck and nuzzled some more as his fingers deftly stroked her. “Are you going to run again?” he whispered. “I don’t want you doing anything you’re gonna regret later.”

“I won’t run. I need this. I really need this,” she panted.

“Good,” Keith growled as his finger finally found purchase on the hood of her clit. He wiggled it around causing Kim to cry out in pleasure as an orgasm suddenly ripped through her. She wasn’t prepared for such an intense experience right off the bat.

Keith felt a gush of wetness in the palm of his hand as Kim howled her pleasure. She whimpered as he took his hand away from her sensitive mound. Her eyes were closed so she didn’t see him sniff her scent and lick her juices from his strong, sensitive palm.

Keith closed his eyes and fought to keep his human form as lust washed over him. He knew that if he transformed during sex it would definitely cause her to run. His teeth began to grow and he felt hair sprouting along his back as his feral nature began to take hold. He took several deep breaths to get himself together again. They weren’t helping much because the sweet, spicy scent of Kim’s heat was thick in the air.

He ripped off his shirt and jeans. Kim was panting and mewling on the sofa, hoping for more. He covered her body with his, and whispered in her ear again. “I need you so bad, Kim. You have no idea what you do to me. It’s so hard to keep control when you’re around.”

Kim wrapped her arms around him and wrapped her legs around his thick waist. “Then fuck me. We both need it,” she whispered, the need to be filled with Keith’s hard manhood was driving her insane.

“Not yet,” he cooed in her ear. His mouth started kissing and nipping as he moved his head down her tan body. She noticed his teeth felt sharper than last time, and his back felt almost fuzzy when she embraced him. He must be fighting hard to stay human, she thought to herself. The longer she teased him the more control over his feral self he seemed to lose.

She should have been horrified over the animalistic transformation Keith was struggling to control, but she knew deep down inside it still was him. She just didn’t want him full-on mountain lion. That would be a bit on the weird side, but all that was pushed aside as she felt his rough tongue invade her wet pussy.

She cried out as his tongue lapped up her wetness, and teased her erect clit. She felt the tide of another orgasm rising deep within her as his tongue massaged her folds. Her hands grabbed at Keith’s shaggy black hair as he ministered to her sopping womanhood. Her mewls and cries of passion drowned out the movie that was playing on the television. Keith’s tongue found the little pearl of pleasure that was peeking out from beneath Kim’s folds and started licking it with the very tip of his tongue, causing Kim to buck her hips up in response to the intense pleasure she was receiving. Her body language encouraged him to keep doing what he was doing, and in no time, a howl of ecstasy rose from deep within Kim’s chest and escaped from her open mouth as a second powerful orgasm washed over her.

Keith opened his mouth and caught the second gush of sweet nectar from Kim’s flower. He lapped it up like a kitten at a saucer of milk. He purred happily as Kim moved her super sensitive womanhood away from his rough tongue. “Stop,” she panted. “It’s...give me a minute, I can’t...Nnnngggggg!!!!” as a third orgasm in as many minutes rocked her.

“Now I’m ready,” he whispered in her ear as he covered her limp form. She wrapped her legs around his thick waist as he pushed his rigid member deep into her well. She cried out as he filled her completely and began to move.

Kim rocked her hips in rhythm with Keith. They moved as one as they made love on the couch. She reached up and caressed his soft face and looked into his eyes. Instead of the usual black, they were golden, like a mountain lion. Her eyes widened and he quickly closed his eyes but it was too late. She saw.

Kim clutched at him, trying to reassure him through her body language that she didn’t mind. He bent down while thrusting deep inside her. “Fuck me...” she whispered. “Fuck me hard...I need it...please.”

With those words, Keith let out a feral growl and began to buck his hips wildly. Kim matched him thrust for thrust as her fourth and final orgasm built up inside her.

Keith felt the tension in his balls beginning to build as he pounded wildly deep inside Kim. She saw his eyes, she saw his tentative control, and from the looks of things she didn’t mind at all. Encouraged by her body language, Keith gave over a bit more control to his feral nature as he rode her.

She felt Keith’s body get a bit hairier, and his breath on her neck became hotter. Guttural growls came from his throat as he fucked her deeply. The wild nature of the shifter brought out a new level of arousal in her. She clawed at his furry back as her next orgasm ripped through her. She yelled out as the intensity tore through her.

That is what did it for Keith. He thrust one final time, deep inside Kim as he emptied himself within her hot, inviting depths. Waves of intense pleasure washed over him as he poured his seed inside her.

She felt that odd pressure inside her again as Keith half grunted, half growled in his release. It wasn’t unpleasant, but she did have to wonder what it was. Plenty of time to ask in a while, she thought to herself.

He pulled himself out of her and reached for a cloth to wipe himself off with. She limply lay on the couch, completely satiated from their encounter. The final credits of the movie they had playing on the TV were rolling by. Kim managed to pull herself up from her prone position and she reached for the glass of water that was sitting on the nearby coffee table. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“Nah,” Keith panted. “I think we’re good for sharing water,” he said with a grin, considering they shared considerably more than a few sips of water just now.

“You have a point,” she said, taking a drink. “Did you have to toss my clothes so far?”

Keith chuckled as he got up to get them for her. “Sorry, got a little carried away,” he said sheepishly.

“Eh, it’s okay,” Kim reassured him. “I figure there isn’t much to do in the way of dating in this town, so the only way I can really get to know you guys is to come on over, or invite you over, or whatever.”

“So, you aren’t gonna regret this tomorrow?”

“You know, with all this bullshit with Smiley, I’ve come to realize, life is too short for regrets. Living for the now is pretty much all we’ve got right now. Why not enjoy it?” she said with a smile.

Keith’s earnest, soft face lit up with the biggest smile he could muster. He hoped deep within his soul of souls she would pick him, but, he thought glumly, she needs to give Tony a chance, too. Thing is, the fact that she came to him first boded well for her future choice. The more she’s exposed to him, over Tony, the more the pheromones will influence her choice. Keith tried to form a plan in his mind to be around her as much as he could, without seeming like a creeper.

CHAPTER SIX

The next day, Kim was getting ready for work and her cell phone rang. She picked it up and accepted the call, and found dead silence on the other end.

“Hello?” she asked. “Hello?” her tone getting more demanding. She tapped the hang up button and put it back down on the table. “Fucking telemarketers.”

She went to the kitchen and tossed some bread in the toaster and rummaged in the cupboards for some peanut butter. She swigged back her cooling coffee and waited for her breakfast to finish up. Her toast popped, she put it on the counter and started to spread peanut butter on it, when her phone rang again.

She went over to it and noticed the caller ID showed that it was an unknown number, so she answered the call. Silence. More silence echoed on the other end. She put her phone back down on the table and angrily ate her toast while glaring at the stupid device.

Kim got up and wiped her mouth with the dish cloth that was hanging over the kitchen sink’s faucet and turned off the coffee pot. She grabbed her phone and headed towards her front door. She felt it buzz in her back pocket, but she decided to ignore it. She was almost late for work.

She locked her front door and hopped down the stairs of her front porch. Kim looked over and saw Tony mowing his lawn that early Saturday morning. She waved at him with a smile as she jogged to her job at the general store.

She jogged through the orchard that filled the town square with the aroma of sweet, ripe fruit. The peaches were just about ready to harvest. The cherry trees had been stripped bare and were in the process of being canned by the residents of the tiny town. She missed the boat, but Keith assured her he would barter for some canned pie filling and jam for her from Betty, the wife of Rusty, the head shaman and her boss, the owner of the general store.

She opened the front door of the general store, causing the old cow bell to announce her arrival to the wizened Rusty who stood at the cash register preparing the drawer for the day. “G’morning, stranger,” he greeted her. “Back to the grind, eh? Good, been getting tired of covering for ya.”

Kim laughed. “I’m sorry. Kinda hard to want to work when you’ve got some creep show stalking around wanting to kill you.”

“True, that,” Rusty replied. “He won’t be around for much longer. One of the boys will catch him. That’s one thing both of them are good at. If Tony can’t figure out how to find him, Keith will. Keith’s got those crazy internet connection things going.”

Kim smiled warmly. “I bet he does. Anyway, I’d like to get started. At least this place isn’t a total wreck. I figured with Junior running the show it would have burnt down by now.”

Rusty snorted. “Nah, I keep that boy well away from the front of the store. He’s too simple to run the front end. Good for muscle, not much for keeping track of pennies. He loses count after three. Was me and Betty here for the time you were gone, sometimes Keith came in to volunteer. Jessica Pine’s boy came in to sweep the store one night; he was the lil gaffer you gave a fright to when you came in looking for work.”

Kim frowned. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to not scare him in the future.”

Rusty dismissed the apology, “Don’t worry about it. The lil mite is shy as a marmot. His mom coddles him to no end. He’ll get over it.”

Kim laughed. “Kids usually do, don’t they?” She headed towards one of the shelves with a dusting cloth in hand. “I’ll get to work; you go home and have a good day, Rusty. I’ll call if anything happens.”

“You better,” he said, pointing a wizened finger at her. “If that crazy ex of yours shows up, you call Tony, you hear? Junior can clobber him until Tony shows.” With that he left the store, the forlorn sound of the cowbell ringing in the empty place.

Kim busied herself with restocking and dusting the shelves for the majority of the day. Junior made himself useful by bringing out boxes for her to unpack and place the product on the shelves. He smiled shyly at her whenever he came into the front of the store with a fresh box for her to open. He didn’t speak. He wasn’t able to. He communicated through an improvised sign language which Kim picked up rapidly, and he wasn’t as dull as Rusty made him out to be.

Junior was born deaf and mute, but in a rural culture, many people equated it with being mentally challenged as well. Back in the 1970s when Junior was born, there were no proper social services for rural First Nations bands, so the parents of disabled children were left to fend for themselves in the best way that they could. Rusty and Betty loved their son, but, due to his deafness, he couldn’t find a mate nor could he hunt. He explained all this to Kim through his special sign language. The pain of being constantly excluded was etched all over his face.

“When I first shifted,” Junior motioned, “My parents were upset. My coloring wasn’t what it should be. It wouldn’t blend in to the forest. I couldn’t hunt. Mix that with my deafness, and the band wrote me off.”

Kim felt bad for the man. The fact he chose to teach her how to communicate with him, made her realize how much trust he had in her. After years of being shunned and abused by the local community, Junior had shut himself away from everyone both emotionally and physically. He lived in the basement of his parent’s house, and when he wasn’t working, he was reading all the books he could get his hands on.

Junior stood over six feet seven inches tall, dwarfing the petite five foot three Kim. They worked together and chatted as they did their jobs for the day, and began to form a budding friendship. Junior was adept at lip reading, unbeknownst to the community, so he was well aware of the stinging contempt they threw at him.

The low ring of the cow bell announced the first customer of the day. It was almost three in the afternoon, an unusual time for the first customer to arrive. There was usually a slow trickle throughout the day beginning at opening. Kim got up from the floor and strode towards the cash register. Junior silently moved to the back, where he was most comfortable when customers were around.

Kim stopped short. On the other side of the counter, with the biggest fake smile on his face, was her ex. Smiley. The stench of his unwashed body filled the store. His lank black hair hung in greasy straggles behind his dingy baseball cap.

“A pack of Number Sevens, please,” he requested with a smirk.

Kim trembled behind the counter, eyes wide, absolutely afraid to turn her back to the man who wanted to kill her. If she turned away would he shoot her in the head? What was she to do? The phone was a few feet away, her cell phone was tossed in the break room because it wouldn’t stop buzzing and it was distracting her at work.

“Umm... could you repeat that, please?” she shakily asked, her voice quavering in terror.

“I said, you dumb bitch, a pack of Number Sevens. I can’t believe you don’t remember the brand I smoke. I was going to be merciful and shoot you in the back of the head so you wouldn’t see it coming but...”

Smiley was cut off as a huge black and white mountain lion pounced on him. Kim ran for the phone and punched in the number to the police station. “Tony, Tony! Smiley’s here in the store, Junior has him tackled...well, I think it’s Junior...”

Smiley hammered at the giant feline with the handle of the 9mm he had in his hand. Junior, not used to the pain, backed off, while shaking his head. Smiley scrambled to his feet and bolted out the door. Junior regained his senses and bolted after him before the door to the store slammed shut. Junior used his superior scent of smell to pursue Kim’s ex but was greeted by the smell of exhaust fumes and the vibration of an engine rumble through his paws.

Damn, Junior thought to himself, bastard must have had a four wheeler or something. He padded back towards the store, shifting back to his human form as he reached the door. He opened the door and noticed Tony was there taking down Kim’s statement. Junior looked at Tony, nodded in greeting and went back to the storeroom to read his book.

Kim was hyperventilating at the counter. Tony put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll get him. It looks like he’s getting bolder. With boldness, he’ll start to get reckless. Just keep coming to work. He knows Junior is here and you aren’t alone, so he won’t risk that again.”

“Yeah. Junior saved my life,” she replied. “Just that, now I really don’t want to walk home alone tonight.” She looked at Tony, pleading with her blue eyes. “Mind if you walk me home again?”

Tony perked up. “Sure. If it makes you feel safer, I don’t see a problem. I’ll be here at closing time. I need to go file this paperwork.” With a grin and wave, he jauntily stepped out of the store and practically skipped to the police station.

He opened the station door and sat down at his desk. Tony pulled open the cabinet that held Kim’s file and added the latest complaint to it. He closed the folder and put it back in the desk, leaned back and thought for a minute.

He wasn’t going to take advantage of her this time. Hell, he didn’t even plan on it the last time, it just happened. At least Rusty explained to him why she was so easily influenced by the pheromones. Since he and Keith have gone unmated for so long, they have become more and more potent as they aged. She needed to choose between them, so, if she took the lead this evening, why not.

He sat down at his desk and wondered if Kim was going to want him to spend the night. In a way he wanted to, in a way he didn’t. He really needed to settle down, but he did secretly hope that she chose Keith. He loved having the freedom of a wandering tom.

He surfed the net while waiting for the general store to close. He sat and played some Facebook games and was jarred by the ringing of his desk phone. He picked it up and greeted the person on the other end.

“Constable Tony Underhill, how may I help you?”

There was dead silence on the other end of the line. Tony guessed it was Smiley trying to scare him. He smiled to himself and leaned back in the chair as he kept the receiver to his ear.

“You know, Smiley, one day you’re gonna fuck up and I’m gonna be there when it happens.” He growled to the man on the other end of the phone. “You keep poking around these parts and you’re gonna get bit.”

A ghostly chuckle rang out from the other end of the line before a click closed the connection. Tony slammed down the receiver as he stood up. He looked at the clock on the wall and noticed it was getting near closing time for the general store. He grabbed his keys, walked out of the door and locked it behind him.

He walked towards the general store and watched the lights in the window blink off one by one as Kim shut down for the night. Rusty strolled up to the store to do the final cash count for the night, and he looked up in the clear night sky.

He looked down, saw Tony and waved as he approached. “The stars are looking good tonight. We need to start preparing for the mating ceremony soon. The younglings who are about to go through their first shift need to go through their purification rituals in the next two weeks.”

“I thought the mating ritual wasn’t for another few months?” Tony asked.

“Ah yes, well you know, each youngling needs his or her own night with the elders. We need seven days to recover from the ritual, so it will be skirting the time of the mating ritual. We have plenty of time. I need to focus on the younglings. Betty is preparing the girls. Luckily, we have two this year. Maybe we’ll keep them.”

Tony frowned. “Let’s hope. I don’t want Trevor Wildhorse and James Pine to be stuck in limbo like Keith and I have been.”

Rusty nodded. “Let’s hope. Betty is doing a good job with the girls. I need to get in here and get the cash sorted. I guess there was some sort of ruckus here earlier, eh?” Rusty’s white braid almost glowed from the quarter moon shining down.

“Yeah, Junior chased him off. I need to keep a better eye on Kim,” Tony replied grumpily. “That Smiley jackass is becoming too bold.”

“Yep, he is. He’ll get bolder, too. It’ll all end up alright. Don’t worry.” Rusty reached up and patted Tony on his shoulder. “We’ll talk soon.” With that, Rusty entered the store to count the cash for the day’s sales.

Tony decided to wait outside for Kim in the clear night air. He listened to the love songs the crickets belted out to attract a mate of their own. Tony began thinking to himself as he waited for Kim. Maybe settling down wouldn’t be such a bad idea, he mused. He did enjoy the bachelor’s life a little too much. Sometimes he’d head on down to the nearest big town, rent a hotel room and grab a woman for the night after hitting the bar and getting completely wrecked. It wasn’t behavior becoming the head of the band police, but sometimes, he needed to let loose. Being one of the few rocks the band clings to in times of trouble starts to wear on a person, and he needed a safe place to let it loose.

His reverie was broken as Kim exited the general store. “Hey! Thanks for coming.” She greeted him, her face beaming from ear to ear.

Tony’s grim face lit up. “Hey! Yeah, not a problem, that’s what I get paid for.” Even if he didn’t get paid for it, he’d still walk her home.

They strolled through the cool night air. Being located so far up in the Canadian Rockies, the air was thinner and didn’t retain the day’s heat as well as in the low lands. Kim timidly reached for Tony’s hand, still somewhat shaken from the events that transpired earlier that day. She needed reassurance and comfort. She hoped Tony would give it to her. Keith was out of town for the weekend for a tech seminar to learn to improve the band’s online connectivity. The simple duplex satellite modems were beginning to frustrate the town. So she had none other than Tony to turn to during Keith’s absence.