Free License to Shift by Kathy Lyons Page B

place. So pretty. So lush. What he wouldn’t give to see her like this every morning, year after year.
    She smiled at him and pushed herself upright. “Mark,” she said, and there were layers of meaning in his name that he hadn’t the brainpower to understand. He heard tenderness and longing, maybe. Or maybe he just needed to hear it.
    Swallowing, he stepped into the sunlight. Her eyes widened when she saw him. No part of him was small.
    “I’ll go slow.”
    She blushed a fiery red. “Don’t hold back for my sake.”
    He grinned as he stepped to the edge of the bed. And when they kissed, he felt an urgency from her that startled him. As much as his blood thrummed in his ears, demanding faster, harder— now —she seemed to want it, too. And now. And…
    Wow.
    His hands were shaking when they separated. And when he looked in her eyes, they were dark with hunger, the air spicy with lust.
    “Don’t be gentle, Mark. I don’t want gentle.”
    Thank God because at that moment, his bear broke free. He kept his body human, but only barely as he flipped her on the mattress and lifted her to all fours. Then he pushed his hand between her thighs. She was slick as she opened for his penetration.
    “Cant. Go. Slow,” he panted.
    She arched her spine, offering herself to him.
    He impaled her. A single deep thrust and her silken heat surrounded him. Her passage squeezed him—gloriously tight—and he leaned down to scrape his teeth across her shoulder.
    “Mine,” he growled.
    She keened, high and tight. Not in pain, but in that prelude to orgasm he’d learned a few minutes ago. He wanted to touch her as he had before, but the bear was in charge. It was pounding into her, thick and hard. His hands gripped her hips, holding her in place.
    So good. The slide and the pull. Squeezing inside. Drawing deep. All to the sound of her gasps. Shorter. Tighter. Higher.
    She bucked beneath him, writhing in pleasure. He rammed as deep as he could before doing it again and again.
    And then she did it.
    A high squeak that became a scream.
    She convulsed around him.
    He exploded inside her. All of him pouring into her.
    Wild. Primal.
    Julie!

Chapter 8
    J ulie was floating on a sea of happy afterglow. She’d had sex before. She’d made love with men she thought she’d spend the rest of her life with. And once, yes, she’d gone to bed with a man she’d guessed wasn’t the right one but wasn’t exactly sure. Oddly enough, that had been her best sexual encounter…until now.
    Now there was a whole new bar for excellent sex. Like in a whole new galaxy.
    They were spooned together with his arm wrapped around her while she tucked tightly back against him. She’d probably passed out there for a bit or been catapulted to a new universe. Either way, she was barely conscious except for her state of satisfaction. And the way he kept pressing sensuous licks to the back of her shoulder made her smile from the inside of her soul.
    Didn’t men fall asleep after sex? Apparently not Mark, who punctuated his licks with a kiss while gently stroking her arm. Long, petting strokes. She purred in delight. Wow, a whole bunch of new noises had come out of her this morning. She might have been embarrassed, but he’d seemed to enjoy her every sound. Which had, in turn, encouraged her to let herself go without restraint or self-criticism.
    How freeing was that?
    She sighed happily, stretching her fingers out to entwine with his. He caught her easily, then tugged on her thumb for some unknown reason. She giggled, and he did it again while rubbing his chin stubble across the back of her neck.
    Rough and exciting.
    “Aren’t you sleepy?” she asked. After all, he’d been up all night.
    “And miss this? Hell, n—”
    His word was abruptly cut off at a clanking noise from outside. It was quick and quiet, but he went rigidly still.
    “What?”
    “Perimeter,” he whispered.
    He gently rolled her off him and padded to the window. She didn’t hear anything