Page 9 of Ayden (House of Frazier #3)

Waking in the middle of the night, Summer made her way to the bathroom. She’d been getting up more through the night and thought that it had to do with her being home more and drinking a lot more tea. She didn’t know, but this getting up in the cold of the night was for the birds. She thought that right up until she got back in the warm bed with Ayden, he was just the right temperature for her to get right back to sleep.

He asked her if she was all right, and a sudden thought occurred to her. She wanted him. Not in the morning or a quickie during the day, but right now. Smiling at him, she was thrilled when he smiled back.

“I would like to ride you now.” She moved up his body, narrowly missing his balls before she settled over him once. When she wrapped her fingers around him again and slowly lowered herself over him, he didn’t move. Didn’t so much as breathe it felt like to her. Afraid that she’d hurt him if she moved too fast, she rode her hips over his groin and moaned each time that he surged upwards. “This is the best way to have sex. In the middle of the night with only us two hearing us.”

His shirt came open, and she pulled it free the rest of the way. Just since the girls were around had he started wearing jammies to bed. She had, too, always keeping her robe close at hand in the event that one of them needed her in the middle of the night.

However, her body moved in jerky movements at first, so Ayden wrapped his hands around her waist and showed her how to move so that they both enjoyed it. He was also nibbling on her breast through her gown, and Summer was enjoying that very much.

She was an incredibly fast learner, and soon, she was hanging on so that when he came and, there was no question that he wouldn’t, but when he did, she didn’t want to shatter into a million pieces without something to hold onto. Ayden was the best sex she’d ever had, and she couldn’t wait to do more exploring sex with him.

“I’m coming.” Her shout of release caught her by surprise, and when she stiffened over him, throwing back her head, she knew that he watched her orgasm take her. He was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, and she couldn’t wait for him to join her. When she collapsed over him, he lifted her head by her hair and looked at her dark eyes.

“I’m not nearly finished with you.” She grinned at him. “I would love to take you against the wall and take you there, but I need to finish what you teased me to. This was entirely too quick for me to enjoy all that much. I want epic, and you cheated me.”

“I would love that very much. Next time, I’ll make sure that I last a bit longer.” Before she could say anything more, he rolled her to her back and settled between her legs. “My, but you are very fast.”

“Nope. Not with this. I’m going to go as slow as I can, but I’m telling you right now, I want to pound you until you can’t walk.” She loved that idea and told him as much. “Good. Both of us might be walking funny tomorrow, and I don’t care who notices it.

She hummed her approval. “That sounds very nice. What do I need to do for a good pounding? Or do I need to be really bad for you? I can do that too, you know.”

Summer stopped moving. Not because she wanted to, but suddenly there was no blood in any other part of her body but her pussy. She’d heard that men would think that. That there wasn’t any blood in their body but their cocks, but right now, she was sure that she’d pass out if she were to move around much more than to have him inside of her. She could see him now, her down on her knees and him behind her. She rolled around so that he was right here at her ass and ready for him to do it to her. Do whatever he wanted right then and there.

“On your knees and lower your head to the floor.” The urgency was evident in her speed, she thought. She was in the position she’d imagined, and her ass was right in front of him. “I’m going to fuck you like this, then I’m going to come deep in your pussy.”

“Oh yes. I would like that very much.” His cock was straining almost to reach her, and he fisted his cock as he moved up behind her. She could feel the thickness of his cock, almost feel the strain it was costing him to now take her right now. Backing up a bit more, she felt his balls at her pussy and nearly came then. Christ, her need was out of control right this minute.

Sliding into her heat, she felt herself tighten around him. It wasn’t enough, and she needed him now. Grabbing her hips, he pulled her flush to him. Christ, she wasn’t going to last long if he kept this up.

Moving in and out of her, she watched her breasts swing to and fro. Wishing he could pull one of her hard nipples into his mouth and nip at her, he leaned down and laced her fingers into his as he took her nearly to the floor.

“Ayden, please. Help me please to come. I need to have a release.” He moved his hand down her body and then into her soaking curls between her legs. One touch of her clit and she screamed out his name.

She felt her milking him and try as she could, he couldn’t have any more stopped from joining him than if she’d had a gun to her head. When his release came, he threw back his head and howled. Then, he lowered his head to her shoulder and bit.

He’d bitten her before, of course. Not every time they had sex but often enough that she looked forward to it as much as having his cock deep inside of her. When his teeth sank deeper into her flesh, she screamed out his name and begged him for more. She had to hold onto her vision or pass out when he growled low against her flesh.

When he tore at her flesh, his teeth going deeper into her shoulder, she held onto the bed as he growled again and again. This time was different, she didn’t know how it was different, but it was enough that she was slightly afraid of him. Then he let her go.

Falling into the bed, she lay there. When his tongue moved over the tender skin of the bites, she whimpered a bit. As soon as he pulled her into his arms, she didn’t want to be held. She wanted to get as far away from him as she could. But he held her tightly as he made sure she was all right.

“What did you do?” he said that he was sure that he was changing her. “Into a wolf? Are you sure?”

“I’m not, but my wolf wanted to hurt you badly enough that you would need to be changed. I’m so sorry, love. I didn’t know that I was going to do that.” She thought of all the implications that meant. She’d be a wolf. “Are you all right?”

“I am. Better than all right. Are you all right too?” he said that he was sorry that he’d hurt her. “I’m all right. I swear. But I’m bleeding.” He picked her up in his arms and held her, taking her to the bathroom. She could see that the wound was already healed up. Washing off all the blood, she was back in bed with him in twenty minutes. After getting warmed up, she fell into a deep sleep and felt better than she had in years.

By the next morning, she was feeling great. Her body seemed to hum with good health and her mind was clearer than it had before meeting Ayden. She didn’t worry about anything. Her mind was clicking off things like it was a well-oiled machine. After getting another shower, this time washing her hair twice, she was in the kitchen with her family and enjoying the day. Christmas had never been so wonderful to her.

By the time all the gifts were opened, Ayden having gotten her a beautiful emerald bracelet and ring, she was ready to see what the other family members had to say about this new her. As soon as she walked into the house, Lica smiled at her.

“Welcome to the pack, Summer. You’re a wolf.” She wanted to giggle but acted like she’d known it all along. The others noticed it as well, telling her how much they were happy for her and Ayden. The girls wanted to know how they were to become one as well, and sadly, Lica told them that they’d have to wait until they were older. Or met their own wolf. She hadn’t given any thought to her daughters being mates to wolves but was thrilled to no end that they might have the same love life that she did.

After everyone opened their gifts that were special for the day, they sat around feeling full and enjoying watching the big screen television. As they were all snacking around on desserts, she took a look at Brandy. She looked like she was in pain, and it occurred to her that the woman might well be in labor. It took twenty minutes to get her convinced that she needed to get to the hospital and then ten minutes more before she was giving birth. It was all that quick.

Baby boy Frazier weighed in at just over eleven pounds. He was nineteen inches long and had coal-black hair like his father. The streak of white running through the front was a clear sign that he was going to be the next alpha. He looked so much like his father that no one was surprised that he was named Lica Edward Fraizer. He’d go by Eddy.

~*~

There wasn’t a sound in the house as he made his way to the bedroom. Guy didn’t want to be at home but spend more time watching over his new nephew, but the hospital was telling them all that they needed to get home. He thought it was because they’d been carrying the little man around and showing him off to everyone. Who wouldn’t on their first of many children born into the family?

“What are you doing?” He nearly shifted to his wolf when he heard someone speaking behind him. “Did you hear me? I asked you what you were doing?”

“Going to bed.” He didn’t move when he looked in the direction of the voice. “How did you get into my house?”

“This is my house. Now that the others are gone, I can finally come out of hiding.” He looked harder at the woman standing there. “What are you staring at? I have shit that needs to be done, and you’re not helping me by staring at me.”

“You’re dead.” She just clicked her teeth at him. “I mean, you’re really dead, and you’re in my house.”

“Of course I’m dead. I’ve seen you around. You’ve been moving your things in since the others moved out.” He asked her if the others had seen her. “No. They were too wrapped up in their own lives to notice someone like me about. Why can you see me anyway?”

“I have no idea.” He made his way to the kitchen then, thinking that with a ghost in the house, a female one, he needed to be more careful of the things that he’d been doing. “I was hit in the head a few weeks ago. Could that be it? I don’t particularly care for people, and I doubly don’t care for dead ones.”

“I’m not human. Or at least I wasn’t. I was a tiger. I was killed about ten years ago when someone broke into my home and robbed me. They still don’t have any idea who did it, and I’ve been working with the police since then.” He asked her if the police could see her. “Don’t be stupid. You’re the only one who can see me. Why is that?”

“I said I don’t know.” He put away all the things that he’d brought home in the way of leftovers. Brandy had wanted to make sure that he had enough to eat since he was living alone. He’d been living alone before, and no one had given him food to take home. Of course, it could have been because he’d not been to any of their homes long enough to get food, but that was all on him. “Why are you at this house if you were killed at your own home?”

“I liked it here. No one bothered me until you came around.” He pointed out that this was his home. “For now, it is. Before you get too comfy, remember that I was here first.”

“But I paid for this place.” He ignored her for getting himself another piece of apple pie. Of course, she had to take objections to that as well. After he put the pie away and washed up his dish, he went to the living room, knowing that he was never going to get any sleep now. “Where do you sleep or whatever you do? For that matter, what’s your name?”

“Belinda Gross. Who are you?” He told her, and she nodded. “I’ve heard of your family. Especially your parents. They’re not all that nice, are they, or at least they weren’t. I heard that your father died. Is that right?”

“Mother killed him.” She seemed satisfied with that, and he continued to watch television. “She’s in prison. Why don’t you go and visit her? She might be a hoot to have around. She wasn’t when I was a kid.”

“I saw your father once. He’s gone now, good riddance. He wasn’t a great ghost. I can imagine that he wasn’t all that great of a dad, either. They were both bastards if you ask me.” He told her that no one did, but he agreed with her. “You’re not terribly nice, are you? Did someone shit in your oatmeal?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I am what I am.” He wanted her to go away, but he couldn’t make himself tell her again to leave. Like she had said, she’d been here before him. “The people that lived here, they never mentioned anyone haunting them.”

“I didn’t bother with them. They had enough trouble on their own. Couldn’t hold a penny between them. If not for their daughter, I believe they would have had a pact together and died by suicide together. I’ve never seen such a couple like them. To think that I liked them when I first moved in here.”

The two of them talked most of the night. It was just coming up on four in the morning when he made his way up to his bed. Tomorrow, he was going to find himself some furniture at the stores with after-Christmas sales and see if he could find himself a good bed. Not that he minded sleeping on the floor with a sleeping bag, but it, like a lot of things that he was out of in the house was getting old.

She knew almost everyone in town. The good and the bad about them. Just because he was running out of things to say to her at one point, he asked her about the old alpha. She had a pinched look on her face, but she asked him what he wanted to know.

“We were wondering if he had any dealings with the school.” Belinda told him that he’d had a lot to do with a lot of people around town. The banker, too. “I wondered about that. How the banker knew who was shifters and who wasn’t.”

“There was a book. I long since stole it. I have it if you want it.” He asked her what was in it. “History about things going on. Who was into who’s pants. I kept notes on everything. I think that’s why I was killed. I was too nosey. It hasn’t stopped me, but I know more now because no one can see me. Expect for you and that little girl. She’s nice. Related to you?”

“My niece. And she is nice. Please don’t hurt her.” Belinda said that she’d not, but she had been helping her a little here and there. “There is a man that used to live in my brother’s home. He’s wanting to make amends about things that he’d done when he was alive. He’s been telling them where the treasures were that he stole.”

“I bet if you were to ask him, he didn’t steal them until the people were dead. I have a stash of things, too. Little things that I’ve kept around in the event that I find something I want to be a part of. I just realized that you might have been part of the school being torn down. That’s wonderful. That school had secrets that are better left untold.” He asked her if the kids had been hurt. “Too many to count. But like I said, it’s good that it’s gone.”

She told him too about the teachers and what they did to the kids. Steal their lunches or money. Never kept records of who paid what fees and would charge them several times when they could get by with it. There were other things, too, things that he didn’t like hearing about but only reinforced his dislike of humans, or in his case, people in general.

Lying in his bed, he wondered how much of the information that he had now that his brother would need. There were wolves in his pack that were still taking advantage of his good nature that needed to be stopped.

Rolling to his side, he thought of other things that he’d learned by talking to the dead. So far, she was the only one that he could see, and he wondered none too happily what he’d do if he saw anymore. It would be just like him to have to deal with the dead and the living while living around town.

Closing his eyes, he thought of his family. They were all having such a wonderful time with the holidays that he almost wanted to join them. But Guy really didn’t like being around people. Sometimes, his own family would bother him to the point where he wanted to run away. Getting up, knowing that he wasn’t going to be getting any sleep, he made his way to his computer. The only real thing that he’d set up.

Opening the tab that he needed, he looked over the paperwork that he’d been doing. His latest contract with his publisher. He’d been writing books since he’d been old enough to spell, and it had gotten better as he’d gotten older. Now, he was on his ninth book, and he was excited to be able to put it to bed. Tomorrow, he was going to go over the contract again and then send it off. Having to fill one out with every book made him take notice of the way things were worded. He should have gone to college to become an attorney like his brother Devlin. Or a vet like his brother Ivan. No matter, he was making good money now, and that’s all that mattered to him.

His phone was ringing at eight, just as he was ready to go to bed and try to sleep again. Picking it up, knowing that only one person had the number, he greeted Alex with a grin. He was wondering if the next book would be out on time and then asked about the contract.

“People are really eating up the crime novels that you’re doing.” He said that he had nearly finished the one that came out in three months. “Good that’ll give us plenty of time to get the advertising down as well as the flyers made up. Also, did you remember to look over the contract from Hollywood Firms? They really want to make your books into a movie or two. The fact that Dana Fisher is someone that you’ve entirely written your career based on has drawn a great deal of attention. People really want to meet you, too.”

“I told you, I’m not going to do any book tours. I don’t do commercials at all.” Alex told him what they were called. “I’m not going to do a book signing either. I don’t like people all that much.”

“You hate them, and we both know it. But I’m all right with that for now, but if we have them making a movie, you might have to do a little PR work from time to time.” He told him that he wasn’t going to do it if that’s what it would cost him. “I promise you, Guy, we’ll get this worked out so that you don’t have to meet your public.”

Alex was the only person in the world who knew his real name when it came to his books. Not even his family knew that he had a different name than the one he had now when it came to getting out there. Just two weeks ago, he’d seen one of his books on the shelf at his brother’s house, and wanted to ask him what he thought. However he didn’t. Guy didn’t know what he’d do if someone were to tell him they were good. Or bad, for that matter. He just wrote them and then wanted nothing to do with them. It was a good way for him to relieve stress. And he had a lot of it avoiding people.

It was noon before he got off the computer. After getting the contract read and signed, he went shopping. He had more than enough to get himself some household items. He really didn’t need all that much, and then it was well after two before he had gotten any lunch and was out the door. Shopping wasn’t something that he really wanted to do, but it was a necessity if he wanted to be able to sit in this living room anytime soon.

Belinda was in the kitchen when he arrived back home that evening. Having spent the day with people, he was in a foul mood. But for whatever reason, she would perk him up. Getting himself some dinner, he talked to her about the deliveries that would be coming in the next couple of days. One of them being a bedroom suite for his room.

“I got myself a big bed. I didn’t care all that much for the extras that came with it, but I couldn’t make the person understand that I didn’t need a dresser because I didn’t have that many clothes.” Belinda said that she only had three outfits that she could change herself into, and they were the things that she’d had on the day that she’d died. “I’ll have to remember that. To have better clothing on when I’m thinking of dying. I guess I should think about that daily.”

“That’s not funny.” He told her he was sorry that he’d been going for a joke. Then he told her that he wasn’t all that good at them. “No, you’re not. Just stick to what you know, and you’ll be fine. Right now, I’m making you a list of people that you need to tell your brother about. Some of them are pack, but others are taking advantage of the elders in his pack. Also, I would like for you to do me a favor and contact my children. They don’t know that I’m dead.”

“I’m sorry you said you were dead for ten years.” She said that was right. “Then I don’t know how your children wouldn’t know you were dead.”

“I have a stepdaughter that I need to have notified. My kids, the ingrates, are taking advantage of her too. She knows that I’m dead, just not that I left her everything. They’re keeping her from getting it.” He asked her how that worked. “When I was killed, I had an insurance policy that I’d taken out about six months before. She was the benefactor. They haven’t told her about it, and they’re not telling the attorneys that she’s around. In a few months, the money will go to them if she doesn’t claim it.”

“I don’t like people.” She said that he had to do this for her as she needed her to inherit the money. “Why can’t you go and bother her or something?” He thought of what he was saying. “All right, I’ll help you, but I’m not going to be happy about it.”

“I didn’t know that you were ever happy.” She laughed, and he decided that he liked it coming from her, even if she was making fun of him. After giving him all the information, he decided that there was no time like now to get it finished. If he put it off, he knew that he’d keep doing that until there wasn’t any money left for her.

Finding the attorney was easy enough. But after a couple of calls, he realized that the place was shut down until after the new year. Making notes so that he’d remember, Guy realized that he was thinking of another book he could write with a murder to be solved. He’d solve Belindas and even put her daughter in it, with changing the names, of course. As soon as he sat down to start on an outline, he was ready to go. It was nearly midnight again before he was able to get up from the desk and get him something to eat.

He wrote for three solid days. It was flowing better than he’d had a book flow in a long time. Usually, he had to keep making corrections on it, going back and forth over details that he didn’t care for. By the time he was finished for the night, he not only knew how the book was going to end but he had an idea who had killed Belinda too.

After talking to her about it and getting things set up, she asked him questions. He was all right to go get them answered as she wasn’t like real people; he actually enjoyed spending time with her, but with her answers, he also knew who had set things up to look like she’d killed herself, too. It wasn’t her kids, where he’d been going in the book, but someone else. He couldn’t wait to figure it out with her and tell the police to get up off their asses and get finished with solving the murder. Christ, he really hated people more and more daily.

By the time his furniture had arrived, he had things going in the right direction to get things resolved at the pack, too. The way things were going right now, he knew that his brother was going to be having a lot more of the pack arrested than he thought he might. Not only was Lincoln still profiting from the pack, but he was also still running things from behind the wall of being retired. Not only was he in on it, but his wife and four sons were too. Things were set up the way they were now, and if something happened, it was going to fall back on his brother, and the others wouldn’t even be in the spotlight. Mother fuckers had been messing with the wrong group.

It took him over an hour to talk with his brother. After giving him everything that he had, not telling him how he’d gotten it, he made notes on the questions he had. Getting with Belinda to make sure that he had the information that was needed. Lica wanted him to go with him, and that pissed him off, but he said he’d do it. Belinda said that she could go with him, but she wasn’t going to be made a fool of. The only one that he could think would be made a fool was himself, as he was the one who was going to talk to people who weren’t there. He asked her if she knew his niece.

“I do. Do you think that she’d help us? Be the go-between your brother and I?” He said he didn’t know why not. That’s what she did. “But how are you going to explain you knowing the information and she doesn’t? I mean, you’re going to have to come clean sooner or later.”

This was working out to be more complicated than he wanted. However, he did want to help the elderly in his pack. As soon as he agreed to tell his brother what was going on, she flew into him at full speed and knocked him back. Whatever happened, he felt like he’d been hit in the head again and didn’t care for it. As he was passing out, his head hurting worse than before, he knew that this was going wrap him up with having to deal with more people than he wanted.

Damn it all to hell. All he wanted to do was to be alone and write books. Why didn’t people—dead or alive just leave him the fuck alone?