Page 24

Harper

It was only the mornings I was running late for work that shit went down.

First, I slept through my alarm. Getting multiple orgasms, even if they were in a dream, would do that to a girl. I was simmering in a warm haze of pleasure when Daria staggered into my room to wake me up.

“Your bloody alarm has been going off all morning!” she grumbled, because we had very different hours.

The bar had her working nights when I worked mornings, so this was the equivalent of me being woken up in the middle of the night.

With a mumbled apology, I turned off my alarm and stumbled into the shower, right when I saw what time it was.

I had the world’s fastest shower, dragging my still damp uniform on before making a run for the door, only to find my mother standing there.

“Mum!”

She frowned as she looked me over and then pushed her way inside.

“So you are still alive.” With a cursory eye, she took in my kitchen and living room, then sniffed. “Which doesn’t explain why you haven’t answered my messages.”

I looked down at my phone and then scrolled with it, my heart sinking as I saw all the messages. Had I left my phone on do not disturb or just silent? They got more and more hysterical in tone as I scrolled, but that was something I’d need to deal with later.

“Sorry about that,” I said, “but I’ve got to go. I’m late?—”

“Why did your grandmother tell me you were dating three men?” she snapped, instinctively moving to place herself between the door and me.

“Why am I only just finding out you rejected Brendan for…” My eyebrow jerked up as my mother looked around, as if the neighbours were eavesdropping on this conversation. “For a pack of animals.”

There was so much in that statement. Prejudice, fear, concern for me, but I shook my head, knowing I didn’t have time for any of it.

“I have to go,” I said firmly. “That means I’m leaving the apartment now. If you want to, stay behind here and have a cup of coffee with Daria when she wakes up.”

“That girl.” Mum waved a hand. “She’s probably the one that talked you into this ridiculousness in the first place. Always been a bad influence, that one.”

Do not engage, I thought furiously. That’s what she wants. I snatched my car keys off the kitchen counter and then made a beeline for the door, which drew my mother after me.

“You can’t do this,” she said. “These… shifters. They’ve been hiding in plain sight for all of these years doing god knows what.”

“Mm hmm…”

I took the stairs two at a time, forcing Mum to run after me.

“This is why you didn’t give Brendan a chance, isn’t it?” she said. “These… animals have filled your head with thoughts of being destined mates.”

“Fated mates.”

Talking, even to correct my mother, was always a mistake. I paused, watching her fluff up to twice her size.

“They have, haven’t they?” She poked a finger in my direction.

“For goodness sakes, Harper. You can be a smart girl when you try. I was watching a segment about these shifter creatures on Today Tonight , and they talked about the girls that have been scammed by men like this. That’s what this is.

People aren’t fated to do anything. They choose to be together based on mutual goals and compatibility.

You need someone sensible, who’ll look after you?—”

“Like Barry?” He was one of Mum’s first boyfriends after she broke up with Dad. Her face went white, because she knew what was coming. “The guy that came into my room at night to talk.”

He didn’t do anything else thankfully, but it took until I was an adult to realise how dodgy that was.

I’d hated him on sight, behaved pretty badly when Mum and he got together, and for some reason, he thought it was a good idea to have a ‘chat’ with me in my room while Mum slept next door.

I hadn’t told anyone about it until I got older.

Mum asked quietly if anything else happened, but it hadn’t.

Honestly, the chat was enough to reinforce the feeling of being unsafe, even when I was asleep.

To have a grown man that wasn’t related to me sitting on my bed, talking to me in a low voice so my mother wouldn’t hear us.

The secrecy, it was weird enough, without something worse happening.

“You’re never going to forgive me for that, are you?”

I hated the very real pain in her voice, but it felt like we couldn’t have a conversation without someone hurting, and I voted not me.

“It isn’t a matter of forgiveness, Mum.” I unlocked my car and jerked the door open. “It’s a matter of boundaries. I won’t bring up the past if you butt the hell out of my life. Who I date, what I do, is not up for discussion. Now, I need to get to work.”

“Harper…” She rushed towards the window as I started the car. “I just want you to be safe. You’re my daughter.”

But it was too late for that. By the time she decided to step up and be a mother, I had years of looking after myself under my belt. I wasn’t going to relinquish that autonomy for anyone.

“That’s not an outcome you can guarantee, Mum,” I told her as I pulled my foot off the brake. “No one can. Look after yourself and I’ll do the same.”

So much for post-dream sex afterglow. I frowned so damn hard on the drive to work I arrived with a headache.

Work was a relief. What people wanted from me all day was easy to provide and explicitly stated.

I wrote up orders, took them to the kitchen, then delivered guys their food and processed their payments.

Didn’t have a chance to think about anything until my break.

When I was doom scrolling, I saw that more than one person had messaged me.

Beyond Mum’s hysterical texts, now amended with some sulky ones, was one from Kieran.

Somehow, I still felt an ache deep inside me from where his dream fingers had worked.

Apparently, he was equipped with a G-spot attachment that promised to rock my world.

That alone had me opening his text to see that I had another invitation.

He’d followed up the initial one with a flyer for a school fair that was on tonight to raise money.

Fairy floss, rides, games, and multiple orgasms sounded a helluva lot more interesting than what I had planned for tonight, so I tapped out a reply.

Love to. Where did you want me to meet you?

No leaving me on read for hours here. A reply came in almost immediately.

Your place , Kieran wrote back. I’ll come and pick you up.

No pressure to wear something sexy and I was willing to bet he wouldn’t beep his horn, expecting me to come running.

I finished up my lunch and then headed back inside to finish up my shift.

A few hours later, I was home, dressed in a cute pair of shorts and a nice but casual top when I heard a knock at the door.

Opening it and finding Kieran there did something for me. It sounded pathetic when I put it into words, but guys who did what they said they would were so damn sexy. No guessing games, no bullshit, I grinned when I took him in.

“Um… hey. Come in.”

Damn, how had I missed how big he was? He had to duck his head under the door frame to come inside.

“So—”

“Can—?”

We both snorted at the fact we were both trying to speak at the same time.

“You first,” he said, waving a hand in my direction and that just had me remembering.

For two guys who said they’d never been with a woman before, they were pretty focussed on making sure I got off first before they even thought about doing something else.

That, of course, had me wondering if we could see if lightning would strike twice.

But as my eyes slid down his chest, I smiled.

“I was just going to ask if you wanted something to drink.” I opened the fridge. “Or eat. I’m pretty sure Tor’s parents sent me home with enough food to feed a horde of bears.”

“Sleuth.” His voice was all deep and rumbly as he stepped closer.

I froze to the spot, feeling the cool air of the fridge contrasting with the burn of his fingers as he pushed the hair away from my neck.

It wasn’t an especially sensitive spot, so why was I shivering? “A group of bears is called a sleuth.”

“Like a group of tigers is called an ambush?” I asked, turning around and letting the fridge door fall closed. Pretty sure a group of Harpers right now would be called a splash. My underwear was getting all sticky the longer he stood this close to me.

“Mm hmm.”

There was something slow and methodical about Kieran, and right now I wanted to explore that in my room extensively.

“So how important is it that we go to this fundraiser?” His abs were rock hard when I fanned my hands across them. “Like I would happily make a donation in both of our names if rather than lining up for rides with all the kids, I could ride you, here.”

He picked me up like I was a doll, placing me on the kitchen counter and then stepped between my thighs. Yes, that was exactly what I wanted. My thighs parted, wrapping around his waist, so that big lump started to rub right where?—

“You’re trouble, you know that?” he said, smiling as his arms went around me.

“I have been told that before.” I leaned in, breathing in the spicy scent of him.

Pretty sure no cologne could match that.

My lips landed on the hollow of his collarbone and started to move their way down.

The way he sucked in a breath, I liked that a whole lot.

“Want to see how much trouble we can get into? My bedroom is just down the hall.”

“Harper.” I was tugged closer, and yes, that was exactly what I needed. I could feel how turned on he was and that was even better in the flesh. My hips moved on automatic, seeking what I needed, but his hands gripped me, stopping me from moving. “We’re not doing this.”

“You might not be…” I hadn’t meant that to come out this breathy, but here we were. “But I’m pretty damn close.”

And why the hell was that? I didn’t usually go all cat in heat at the sight of a hot guy.

“Harper—”

I clawed at his back lest he pull away, my eyes flicking up to meet his.

“You guys have been teasing me from the moment we met,” I said, reaching for his belt. “I liked that night at the pub way better. We can scratch this itch until we’re done and?—”

“Harper.” His hands covered mine, stopping me from pulling his belt free before he shook his head.

“That’s not how this works. I want…” He shook his head, fangs grinding together.

“There is nothing more that I want than to carry you down the hall and toss you on the bed, then sink to the ground before eating you out.”

“See, I want that too! Win win, Bear Boy. Let’s make this happen!

I’m not totally selfish. We can sixty-nine this shit…

” I paused, then frowned. “Hang on, will your whole baculo-dong tear my throat out?” My hand shook slightly as it wrapped around my throat.

“Because I kinda like having an unshredded oesophagus.”

“Harper.” He kept saying my name, but each time in a completely different tone.

This one had me looking up at him, seeing eyes that looked like molten honey.

That cute little smile helped lessen something inside me.

I was melting, all tension leaving my body.

“I can never harm you, ever. I would, however, love to escort you to the school fair and watch every damn bear shifter there swallow his tongue with jealousy when he sees how beautiful my mate is.”

“Shit.” My teeth started to worry my bottom lip until his thumb intervened. “Making a whole bunch of shifters jealous does sound cool. Was there a girl bear shifter that you always liked but never gave you the time of day? We could strut past her, make her question her life decisions.”

“No.” His fingers stroked through my hair, then he cupped the back of my head. “Only you. So…?”

Was I going to go to the fair with him? That was his silent question. I sighed and slipped from the cupboard.

“Fine, we’ll go, but multiple orgasms afterwards?”

“However many you need.”

His arm was a comforting weight as it wrapped around me. That and the promise of sexual bliss had me heading from my apartment with Kieran.