Page 18 of Bread by the Grim (Ghostlight Falls #4)

“I have Doux and Charlie boarded for the night at Ruff N’ Tumble. I’ve eaten, hydrated well, and even shaved for this, Grim.”

His face changes from worry to amused. “You shaved for this?”

“EVERYTHING.”

“So you shave for the gremlin and not me?” he teases.

I kiss him on the nose. “I shave for occasions, not people, love. Remember our anniversary? And the cabin in the mountains? This is a big occasion. I’m meeting someone for the first time.”

Tonight’s the night.

I’m finally going to meet the gremlin and see what he’s like when Grim’s not overwhelmed with breeding hormones.

Since his first one has passed, he’s had four more breeding cycles.

We’ve been fortunate that they seem to come at regular intervals—about once every four months.

We’ve gotten so good at seeing the signs that we can usually head them off by taking a day off and “breeding” before his body forces the shift and he becomes completely mindless.

It makes the whole experience a lot more enjoyable when it’s with Grim who can be reasoned with as opposed to the full on, hormone-addled gremlin.

It took me a while, but I finally convinced Grim to stop locking himself in his closet and to sleep next to me.

For months now, Grim has insisted on casting the spell overnight, leaving me to sleep next to a doll of sorts—a small version of him that honestly creeped me out at first. While I understand his desire to immobilize that part of himself, it feels like it’s keeping us from our future.

What kind of dad can he be if he has to be frozen every night?

How do I get him and the pets and any kids we have out if there is a fire?

It took a while, but my arguments finally wore him down. And today’s the day, or rather night I’ve been waiting for. The night he’s going to let me meet the gremlin .

“There’s still time to back out,” he says as he strips down to nothing. I’m already down to nothing—something I learned to do around Grim’s breeding cycles. I stand up from the bed and wrap my arms around him, my face just inches from him.

“Nope, it’s time, Grim.”

He sighs, and I do the only thing I can do to comfort him. I press his face to my neck and let him breathe in my scent. We stand that way, motionless, as the seconds tick by, until at last the clock on the microwave flashes 12:00.

I feel it before I can see it. The spikes begin to form along his back, and his posture begins to change. He goes from standing straight and tall to hunching over me as the overall structure of his body changes. Thick, corded muscles push to the top, beautiful scales begin to cover every surface.

“You smell…incredible, Phil,” his voice rumbles.

“I know,” I smile, bracing myself to see the gremlin once again. It’s been over a year, and back then, we didn’t spend much time face-to-face.

“Hmmm… you’re aroused…is it this body, love? Is the gremlin more appealing?”

I snort. “Grim, are you jealous of your gremlin?” I tease before I lean back to look in his eyes.

The gremlin’s solid black eyes hold intelligence this time, knowing. “You’re still Grim, at least, right now you are. ”

“Perhaps, but this body can do things my other one can’t.”

I grab his hand and hold it up to him. “I don’t know. I really like what the fingers on that other body can do.” I smile. He tilts his head and lets out a huff of breath.

“I really like that other body. I like this one, too.” I take his hand and pull him to the bed. “Maybe you could learn to appreciate both?”

“It’s not about liking, Phil. This is dangerous. I could hurt someone.”

I tug at his arm and pull him down on the bed next to me. Despite his annoyance, he doesn’t resist when I pull him close and tangle our legs together. “That other body can hurt someone, too.”

“Phil—”

“Grim, I love you. I want you to be the father of my children. But that means I need all of you, as present as you can be all the time. Nonshifters hurt people all of the time. Being stronger, having claws, doesn’t make you inherently dangerous.”

We lapse into silence as I begin to scratch his back, getting in between the spikes—a small peace offering.

He moans softly. “Gods, that feels good. How did you know it itches?”

“Just a guess.”

His eyes open, and he meets my gaze.

“I’m going to kiss you, Grim. ”

He says nothing, but his eyes hold mine as I press my lips to the thin slit of a mouth he has in this form. His tongue snakes out and presses against my lips. It’s longer than a human’s but feels very similar. I let him explore my mouth, slowly, carefully, until I feel his cock twitch between us.

“I can smell everything, Phil. You…want this? You want me like this?”

“I want you, always, Grim. Whatever you look like for as long as you’ll have me.”

“I don’t know what I’ll be like…during…”

“There’s only one way to find out, Grim.”

His eyes grow wide. He rolls us until he’s on top. “I want to taste you, Phil… I want…” he licks his lips, “…to fuck you so hard we break the bed.”

I pull his mouth down to mine and kiss him hard as his cock grows harder and harder against my belly.

When he finally pulls away from my lips, breathless, it’s with a snarl.

He turns his head and digs his snout into my shoulder, his nose pressed directly to the artery running down my neck.

His face turns away, and I feel teeth graze against my shoulder.

I know what’s coming, but I’ve learned since then how much better it is if he can fight the urge to sink his teeth into me until we’ve gotten things started.

“Not yet,” I tell him, pushing his head away from my shoulder. “Soon.”

He growls but dutifully moves away from my shoulder.

He pushes up on his forearms and runs his long tongue down my neck and through the valley of my breasts until it hits my belly button.

His eyes look up at me, asking for permission to continue his journey, just as my sweet Grim usually does.

I nod, and he wastes no time, exploring every inch of my pussy with his incredibly long tongue.

Just when I feel as if I can’t take it anymore, his tongue flattens, and he begins circling my clit with it.

He watches me, just as Grim always does, checking, I’ve come to realize, to make sure he’s doing his best to make me fall apart.

My brain takes a detour as my heart swells with love for this man who always does so much to make sure I’m always happy.

He pauses for a moment and leans his head against my thigh. He takes a deep breath in. “Phil… I can smell… tears. Are you crying?”

“No…” I sniffle.

He sighs. “I told you this was a bad?—”

I pull at him until he’s returned back up to me and kiss him hard, the taste of my own arousal making this all the more exciting. “I was just thinking about how much I love you, if you have to know. It’s not sad tears.”

Grim pushes up a little more and kisses me on the forehead. “I love you too, Phil.”

I have to stop thinking so hard. I’m ruining this. I reach for his cock and guide him to the spot. “You were saying earlier… something about breaking the bed?” I remind him .

He grins. “I don’t know if you want all that.”

“I think I do.”

He grabs my wrists and holds them down to the bed as he presses into me in one slow smooth motion.

We groan at the same time as I lift up to meet him.

He leans between us and captures my breast with his mouth, his teeth sinking gently into the skin.

I groan with the feeling of his warm breath on my flesh as his tongue plays with my nipple.

He rocks into me, harder as he releases my breast and licks his way back up to his favorite spot, my neck.

The sound of his breathing is all I can hear, all I can focus on as his cock works its way in and out in a rhythm that grows faster and faster.

“Grim—” I cry out, not even sure what I’m asking for as the pressure in my core grows into something pleasurable. It radiates out through my entire lower half as he moves faster, the bed beginning to creak with each thrust of his hips.

He lowers his face closer to mine, and suddenly I know he’s about to bite me. I can feel it in my bones. For once, I’m able to do what I’ve wanted to do this whole time—bite him back.

It’s a silly compulsion—biting is obviously important to Grim’s species—it’s not like he can even really control it, but humans don’t do that.

Yet here I am, dying to sink my teeth into his flesh.

My teeth aren’t likely to do much—I won’t leave him with a mating mark like he’s left me, but I can’t help biting the only thing I can reach in this position—the flesh of his upper arm as he leans over me.

Just as his teeth sink into me I reach up and dig my own into his flesh.

It’s strangely satisfying to finally bite into him.

He groans as I dig into his flesh, and suddenly I’m incredibly disoriented.

Everything is spinning, and then I can see myself for a moment as if I’m above looking down, before it all goes away and all I can feel is the electricity of an orgasm that’s so close all I can do is hang on.

Grim’s teeth stay in me, but I can’t hang onto him.

My mouth is far too small. I release him, and he growls.

His movements grow jerkier, and I feel myself chasing the pleasure that grows stronger and stronger with each thrust until at last it feels like a dam breaking, and I’m screaming Grim’s name.

Everything in my lower body is spasming over and over, and it doesn’t want to stop.

He pulls me close as I shake. I cannot let go of the uncanny feeling that I’m the one releasing the fluids that soaks the bed underneath us.

It makes no sense, and yet at the same time, I don’t care.

The room starts to spin, and suddenly everything is black.

I wake to Grim’s worried face, staring down at me.

“I’m not dying, Grim,” I mumble as I open my eyes.

Panic and doubt fill me, but I can’t figure out why.

“You passed out,” he rumbles. “I was worried I’d?—”

“Hurt me? Killed me?” I shake my head. “You did say you wanted to break the bed.”

He rolls his eyes.

Why isn’t she taking this more seriously?

“Why isn’t who taking this more seriously?” I ask aloud, repeating the thought that just crossed my mind.

“You,” Grim rumbles. “It’s obviously?—”

“—not safe for us to have sex while you’re in your gremlin?” I finish.

He looks annoyed. “How did you—” he starts and then closes his mouth.

“I’ve totally messed up everything now. I should have believed the doctor ? —”

It’s not my thought, I realize. It’s someone else’s thought. I meet Grim’s eyes. “I think I can hear your thoughts. What did the doctor say?”

“ Fuck.”

“ What aren’t you telling me Grim?”

A million emotions pass through Grim—fear being the strongest—but underneath is something that makes me sad. There, underneath it all, is this feeling of not being good enough.

“He said there was a possibility we could bond. Some shifters do?—”

I don’t let him finish the sentence before I’ve tackled him to the bed.

“We’re bonded? Hold on, let me see if it works the other way around.

” I straddle him, close my eyes, and picture myself sucking his cock.

Not a quiet, calm blow job either, but a sexy, messy, sloppy blow job with every sound I could possibly imagine.

I feel him twitch underneath me and open my eyes with a laugh.

“It works. You could see that, couldn’t you?”

Grim nods and grabs my hands, the look of worry still on his face. “Phil, this means we’re?—”

I roll my eyes. “Stop using the word stuck, Grim. We’re bonded! We should celebrate. With food and more sex.”

He huffs a laugh and shakes his head. “Are you sure? Is this really what you want?”

“What do you want?” I ask him.

He squeezes my hands. “I want you to be happy.” My insides are a mix of emotions as I try to decide who is feeling what. This is going to take some time. I lay down next to him, pull him close, and close my eyes, doing my best to concentrate on what I want.

For a moment there is silence, and then Grim groans. “Phil—” he starts.

“What? You asked me what I wanted.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he says with a laugh.

“I didn’t realize there were limitations.”

He shakes his head. “My cock is not—” he starts.

“It’s the best answer, and we both know it.”

I pull his face down to my neck and throw my leg over him. “Grim, can you just be mine? Forever?” I close my eyes again and focus on that desire, hoping he can feel it too.

He sighs. “I can. I will. I’ve always been.”

“Good.” I tell him, with a kiss to his ear, the only part I can reach as he holds me tight. “Then let’s get back to the bed breaking. We’ve only got a sitter until 9 am.”

“Phil—” he starts to say something but then stops.

We’re bonded now so words are unnecessary, and I can feel it as sure as if it was my own thought.

There in the back of my mind is an overwhelming sense of love and peace and comfort and something more—something that brings tears to my eyes again. Safety.

Grim feels safe with me.

The thought takes my breath away.

I’ve never felt so honored in my life.

He catches my eye and winks. “I just wanted you to know how I feel…before we do the bed breaking.”

I smile as I blink back the tears. I have no words, but thankfully, I don’t have to know what to say anymore.

We’re one.

THE END