As her excitement climbed to a peak, Jason plunged inside hard, bringing her to a screaming orgasm that milked his own release from him. He almost collapsed but caught himself before crushing her. Gently, he removed himself from Samantha and eased her onto the bed.
Jason quickly disposed of his condom and crawled back into bed. Breathing a sigh of satisfaction, he pulled her closer and spooned her from behind as he drifted into sleep.
Chapter 10
Samantha breathed the cold winter air deeply as she hurried across the forest floor. She didn’t know what time it was, but she figured she had at least another hour before she needed to head in for work.
Last night was the first night in weeks she hadn’t spent with Jason. He was visiting another shifter community to lend a hand to their new leader. Jason had asked her to come with him, but it seemed silly since he would only be away a couple of days at most. However, after tossing and turning throughout the night, she had quickly realized her body had become accustomed to sleeping with her wolf.
The realization worried her. What would she do when he finally tired of her? Granted, he didn’t seem to be tiring at all. If anything, his desire seemed to grow. The other night he had practically attacked her in his kitchen as she was cooking them dinner. They’d ended up having passionate sex on the table and the pasta had burned. But life had taught Samantha to never let her guard down, because the moment she did, life would throw her to the ground and stomp on her.
She’d decided to go for an early morning run before work to clear her head. It had been a while since she’d given her fox free reign and she’d started feeling itchy in her own skin. She’d gotten the same feeling in larger towns where her fox wasn’t able to connect with nature. If she wasn’t able to immerse herself in the wild every now and then, her fox grew anxious.
A slight movement caught her attention, and she snapped her head to the right and froze. Her gaze scanned the area until she caught the movement again and saw a mouse scavenging for food underneath one of the trees. She licked her lips in anticipation of a hunt.
Slowly creeping forward, Samantha kept low to the ground, trying to blend in with her surroundings, and inched forward. The mouse looked up and, for a minute, she was sure it had seen her and was going to take off before she got close enough to catch it. But after a moment it went back to digging in the snow.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Samantha crawled closer and got ready to pounce. The mouse must have sensed her presence, though, because the moment she pounced, it took off running. Her animal instincts wouldn’t let her give up on her prey that easily, and she took off after it, chasing it through the woods and in between trees, turning left and then right, blindly pursuing the mouse. She thought she had it until suddenly it disappeared into the snow. Samantha put her head to the ground but she couldn’t sense any movement. She tried digging and met only with the hard earth.
Huffing in frustration, Samantha decided it was time to head back. She’d grab a muffin for breakfast as she opened the coffee bar. It wouldn’t taste as satisfying as something she’d hunted herself but it would have to do. She didn’t want to be late.
She raised her head and looked to the right and then to the left. Panic started to overtake her as she realized she didn’t know where she was. The mouse had taken her farther than she intended to go, and she didn’t know which way she had come from. Her nose couldn’t detect any hint of the wolf town she was beginning to think of as home. But there was something in the wind. Deciding to test her luck, Samantha headed toward the smell and prayed she could somehow find her way back home.
Jason was in the shower when the shrill strains of his cellphone broke into his thoughts of Samantha. Grabbing a towel and throwing it around his waist, he looked at the number. Books and Crannies. It looked like Samantha couldn’t wait to talk to him, either. Maybe a little time away was just what the doctor ordered. Jason smiled at the thought.
“Good morning, little heart,” he said into the phone. Silence was the only response. “Samantha?” Jason tried again, starting to get worried. A prickling unease crept up the back of his neck.
“She’s not with you?” Laurie’s voice sounded strained.
“Laurie? What’s wrong?” The unease spread, causing his stomach to drop like a lead weight. Whatever Laurie had to say, he knew he wasn’t going to like it. He sat on the edge of the bed.
“Samantha didn’t come in to work this morning. I figured she was running a bit late, but she wasn’t in her apartment either. I was hoping she went with you and just didn’t mention it.”
“Where is she?” Jason all but shouted into the phone. Things had been going well. He couldn’t understand why she would leave him. This had been the first night in weeks they hadn’t spent together, and he thought she might be beginning to love him. But now he wondered if everything had gone to shit.
“Her car’s still here, Jason. She might just be down at the diner or something and lost track of time. I’m sorry I worried you.” Laurie wasn’t telling him everything. He could sense the lie even over the phone. Besides, it wasn’t like Samantha to be late for work. She took her responsibilities seriously.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Jason put every amount of authority he had as Premier into his voice. If there was a problem with Samantha, he needed to know. He was anxious to find her and take her back in his arms. Nothing but the feel and scent of Samantha, the sound of her lyrical voice, would appease his wolf right now.
“I called the cellphone you bought for her,” Laurie said hesitantly. “I heard it ringing upstairs. Wherever she is, it’s not with her.”
Jason closed his eyes, barely reining in his panic. He’d find her. No matter what. He had to get home. “I’m on my way. Call Ethan and Danny and have them ask around. Call me if anything happens before I get there.”
Jason hung up the phone, gathered his clothes and flung them into his suitcase. He ran out to his car and jumped inside it. The only thought running through his head was I have to get home. I have to get to Samantha.
Shit. All she could think was…shit. Samantha kept under the cover of the trees and glanced at the town she had stumbled into. It was another shifter town and smelled familiar enough that she was willing to bet they were foxes. What the hell was she supposed to do now? She could shift, explain herself, and ask for a phone to call the bookstore. Of course, if she shifted she’d be naked, so that plan had some pretty major drawbacks. But what could she do as a fox? Nothing.
Closing her eyes, Samantha rethought her options. If she stayed in fox form, she’d blend into the snow, hopefully enough to allow her to get close enough to town to find some clothes before anyone noticed her. There was no way she was going into a strange shifter town naked, but if she could find some clothes, she could find a payphone, call Laurie and be gone before they even knew she was there. Hopefully.
Taking a deep breath, Samantha crawled out of the shadowy forest and started inching toward the closest house. She was halfway across the snowy expanse when she sensed someone watching her. Her ears twitched as she cautiously looked around. Not ten feet away stood a gorgeous male red fox watching her with one foot raised. It appeared to have been following her since she left the cover of the forest.