Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
Daddy’s Innocent Mate Chapter 13

Elias

All I could think about when I got home was how close that rafting accident had been. Isaiah had knocked his head on a boulder, and I'd been pinned under the raft for longer than humanly possible. While my shifter powers gave me an edge, I knew I had much

more than flirted with death-I had basically given him a b*****b.

Fran was more than patient with my care. Since I had managed to avoid serious bodily injuries, I was able to walk and talk. But my lungs burned like hell was aflame inside my chest. I had to keep rubbing my sternum to get my organs to relax. Even my heart was still attempting to process the cortisol leftover in my system.

There was no one else left in this world who would have done what Fran did for me. She silently went about caring for Archie without appearing inconvenienced, stepping into a motherly role like she had always been in it. Granted, being a schoolteacher came with certain qualities. She was probably using her knowledge to care for Archie.

Yet it wasn't that either. The way she touched his head delicately like she had more affection for him than for her own life told me that she was more than fit to be his mother-and more than fit to be my mate.

Maybe what I had let slip wasn't a slip at all. Did my bear know something that I didn't?

I've been running on high alert for so long that I've forgotten what it's like to check in with my animal side for more than just danger, I thought. I braced myself against the couch, clutching my side as pain radiated through my core. Fran was at my side in seconds.

She cares about me. My features sagged with relief. I don't have to pretend it doesn't hurt anymore. I can just be myself.

As soon as she got me to the bedroom, she posted me up in the bed and gently draped a blanket over me. The jeans and shirt I wore were from the bags I had packed. Thankfully, Jada was able to collect our things from our cabin rental. With Isaiah under Dr. Windsor's watch for the night, it made me worry about his mate and how she would fare.

"Oh, that's my phone," Fran whispered as she fluffed my pillow. She stroked my cheek. "I'll be right back, love."

Love. That was such a beautiful word to hear from her lips. I closed my eyes for a while, listening to the shifting sounds of the house, to the dishes clanking in the sink with the water running, and to the footsteps pattering up the hallway. Archie's bedroom door clicked shut seconds later. He must have gone to bed.

Light filtered through the room. In another instant, it was gone, leaving me blinking through the shadows to figure out what was happening.

Fran trailed her fingers over my shoulder. I turned toward her hand, seeking her palm and urgently trying to get lost in her fingers. Peaches, that delightful scent, took flight in my skull, trickled into my body, infected me in ways that I knew nothing else could. She was as pervasive as wildflowers. She was as precious as gold.

"You scared me, Elias," she whispered as the outline of her figure took shape in the darkness.

Soon, I could see her gorgeous face and her soft peachy pink eyes flashing iridescent from the gentle moonlight casting through the window. She could have been an angel.

I licked my lips and swallowed hard. "I'm sorry."

"I need you. Do you know that?"

"Now I do."

She whimpered as she leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to my nose. "Don't do it again."

"I'll never do something like that again. I'm off the adrenaline stuff for good."

"You swear?"

I hugged her tight to my chest and nuzzled into her neck, the delicious flavor of her scent taking over my senses. The soft patch of skin just beneath her jawline called to me. I kissed it. Then I kissed lower. Then I decorated her collarbone. "I swear," I rasped between kisses. "I promise..."

Heat coiled around us, encasing us in a thick cloud of desire that drove me to kiss wherever I could plant my lips. Moments later, I shoved my nose under her blouse, exploring the soft flesh of her breasts that beckoned for me to worship them. One twist snapped her bra out of place, revealing her sensitive nubs that were quickly hardening under my care.

My right hand swept under her skirt and parted her thighs, exploring the decadent flesh that guarded her inner legs. Those secret places drove the softest moans from her lips, quivering and bashful sounds that coated my ear with hot waves. She was trembling now. I had her right where I wanted her.

But not because I was trying to do anything except give her what she rightly deserved. Care, affection, love. Francine meant more to me than most people in this world. Her place in my life was magnificent-and I knew she took her role with Archie seriously. It was what made my attraction to her all the more palpable.

No comparisons rose from the mire as I lapped her nipple, slurping it eagerly into my mouth while her thighs clamped around my hand. A husky chuckle encouraged her to part her legs, and then she guided my hand to her slit where I gladly rubbed circles into her engorged c**t. Each circle completed around her c**t prompted her to buck, the tide of breath lengthening as I switched attention to her left breast.

She was sweeter than honey, hotter than a volcano erupting, and more enticing than the dark depths of the ocean. With every wave we crested together, my cock grew harder, painfully throbbing under my sweats. She cupped my shaft as if she knew I was getting antsy and then rubbed vigorously, dragging my focus away from her tits and locking me back into place on the bed.

"Vixen," I teased.

She purred while straddling my lap. "Can I...?" She swallowed hard. "Can I take care of you?"

Good gods, there was no way in hell she could get hotter. The way my cock hopped to attention at the sound of her bashful voice shoved my response from my lips before I could even think about it. "Only good girls can take care of me." "I'll be good."

A growl rumbled through my chest. "Show me."

She hiked her skirt up to her hips, slid off her panties, and then yanked my sweats down. My cock flopped out and smacked my lower stomach. I hissed when she gripped the head. Through the shadows separating us, I felt the tension thicken, heard the sharp click of her throat releasing air. "Good girl," I rasped. "Kneel over this way-that's it-now put Daddy in your mouth."

She bowed obediently and swallowed me whole, sending a thread of signals crackling through my body. With her bent like this, her slit was exposed for the taking, inspiring me to sweep my fingers through the slick mess of her arousal. She bucked and fumbled my c**k, releasing me too soon. My free hand flew to the back of her head and pushed her back into place.

I growled. "Be good and take care of Daddy-that's it-keep going, my little Fran."

Soothing vibrations echoed from her throat as she sucked me into her mouth and gently bobbed her head. What I loved about Francine was her commitment to patience. She didn't rush while pleasing me. It was a welcome change of pace that I gladly entertained. And not just because it got me off harder than my first jerk session.

She wiggled her bottom. Taking the hint, I slid two fingers through her slit, keeping pressure on the back of her head to keep her from surfacing again. She choked and then groaned through a long slurp that made me thrust into her mouth. Another choke cooled my [**t for a second. I didn't hurt my baby. I knew she had a sensitive throat.

I also knew she was more than willing to choke me down if it meant getting rewarded.

When she wiggled again, I rubbed around her c**t, feeling her folds quiver around my fingers. Just a few strokes encouraged her to suck harder, creating a silent competition where we fought to please faster than the other. Her head bobbed against my hand, pushing the resistance of my clutch and challenging my hold on her.

I wouldn't give in. Not just yet.

Once my fingers were thoroughly soaked, I slipped one inside her, delighting in the surprised moan that vibrated my cock. Her pace broke for a split second as I explored her entrance, slowly diving and surfacing with long thrusts that prompted her to match my rhythm. The faster I thrust, the faster she bobbed. Soon, our movements became a frenzied haze, a rush to the finish line.

Curling my fingers into her hair just made her more ravenous. I pumped my finger generously, sliding in time with her twerking hips. Muted moans signaled her eruption that she could hardly contain, sounding almost mournful as she came with hard bucks while trying to stay on task with my c**k.

It was adorable how she tried to keep up. She lazily bobbed once more, twice, and then huffed with agitation as she wiggled on my fingers. Her slit contracted while I pulled out, a long whine following after me as I doubled down on my grip of her hair. She obediently resumed, her commitment renewed as I swept my fingers through the soaked folds of her slit, causing her to twitch all over.

Soft slurps echoed in the space between us while I rubbed her clit. Her bottom bounced as she sucked the life right out of me, coaxing me to bust in just a few long sucks. Rubbing my soaked fingers over her slit and clit forced another explosion from her, this one popping her mouth off my cock as come shot from the tip. I took over stroking and enjoyed the wild ride of us coming at the same time.

Seconds later, we were a messy heap on the bed, spent from the pleasure we traded as easily as we did jokes. The way she made me want to dominate her was unreal-yet it was real all the same with every encounter. I always wanted to take her over. And I hoped that for a long time she would want it to keep happening.

Though that was another thing that I kept forgetting to ask.

Why didn't she want me to fuck her? Any woman from my past would have been desperate to have me between her legs. Of all the sexy things that my little Fran did, with all her bashful naughtiness and obedience, she hadn't once requested to ride me or to have me f**k her. Was she worried about getting pregnant?

Exhaustion railed me. I relaxed into the pillows and hugged my girlfriend to my chest, ignoring the soreness and stale doubt that attempted to creep back in. It didn't matter how we made love. All that mattered was that she wouldn't ditch me because of my hobbies.

Which meant I had to make sure my hobbies never got in the way of our relationship ever again.