Zodiac Shifters Aries Love's Warrior Read online

  Despite being stunningly sexy and kissing like a God, he refused to do more than kiss her goodnight on their dates. Jessica meanwhile felt like she was going to wear out her vibrator at this rate.

  After three months of dating, they were sitting in his Jeep outside her house. He refused to come inside or have her in his house.

  Meanwhile his hard cock outlined against his jeans was distracting her. She considered straddling him in the front seat. The thought of what else his tongue could do was making her panties wet.

  “Give me one good reason why you won’t fuck me.”

  “I won’t fuck you until we’re married.”

  “What?” Jessica gaped. Did he just say marriage? He was twice her age. No guys she knew wanted marriage. It was the generation of hook ups.

  “I plan to marry you. I wasn’t going to mention that until we’d know each other longer but things are harder to contain than I thought.” He glanced down at his crotch giving her a bashful grin.

  “Why would you possibly want to marry me?” Jessica understood Carson was a confirmed bachelor. But that didn’t make her want him less. If anything, she craved him more. Somehow he’d gotten under her skin.

  “Because you belong to me.” He said it simply and it struck a chord deep in her.

  “I don’t belong to you. I’m not like a houseplant or a pet.”

  “I know that. Believe me I know that. And I know I’m probably not what you had in mind for a mate. I’m a bit long in the tooth compared to your peers. I was hoping this discussion would happen a little farther down the road.” Carson rubbed his hand against his forehead. “We belong together. I knew it the second I sat down across that table from the asshole pointing a gun at your head. I never thought I’d find my true mate. Imagine my surprise at finding her that day.”

  “You’re serious.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Don’t you want to fuck me?”

  “I want all of you, every single part of you.”

  “What if I don’t like how you fuck?”

  “I believe that is one challenge we won’t have.”

  “Why not? Because you are so good at it?”

  “Because we’re meant to be together. And that’s why I won’t fuck you until we’re married.”

  “What if I don’t agree to marry you?”

  “Then I foresee a lot of frustration ahead for both of us. But that is your choice.”

  “I’m not a virgin,” Jessica cautioned.

  “Me either,” Carson said.

  After their wedding four months later, she’d been all for consummating the marriage in the closest private space---broom closet or car. But Carson, waited until the last guest left. She was ready to peel her dress off and plaster herself against him. Instead, he’d taken her to his cabin, carried her over the threshold, handed her a lavishly wrapped box and went out to chop wood.

  Seriously.

  Jessica poured herself a glass of wine. She took off her makeup, hung up her wedding dress and took down her hair from the intricate updo. She opened the box to find the white nightgown.

  It was perfect. He got her. She held it up to the full-length mirror then carefully repacked it in the tissue paper.

  In her suitcase, she removed a garment of a very different sort. She rolled on sheer black thigh-high stockings, stepped into the ridiculously expensive but oh so worth it stilettos, a lace black thong and a babydoll sheer black chiffon top.

  She brushed out her updo, letting the curls cascade over her shoulders. Her favorite deep red lipstick was her only makeup. Jessica twirled in front of the mirror. Butterflies of excitement flitted in her belly. And lower her lust stirred, knowing that soon the wait would be over.

  Her husband and she would be mated in every sense of the world for the rest of their lives.

  She took a deep breath before walking to the door. The shoes looked fabulous but were a bitch to walk in. Still, she was betting on not wearing them for very long.

  Teetering a bit on her way to the front door, Jessica spied her husband out the window.

  It was snowing again, steady enough for a fresh coating over everything. Even her husband. He’d removed his suit jacket and shirt. He wore no hat or gloves. Snowflakes landed on his bare skin and melted. Only his thick gray hair collected the flakes.

  Jessica opened the front door, leaned back against it. The cold air took her breath away. Maybe that was from the intensity of Carson’s gaze. Her nipples peaked.

  Carson stalked toward the cabin, ax in hand.

  “Don’t you want to put the wood away?” she asked. He’d left it scattered around the yard.

  “Later.” His pace quickened. He took the stairs two a time.

  “But it’ll get all wet. All your hard work.” Jessica protested half baiting him. Why the hell not? He’d made her wait long enough.

  She never got to finish her sentence.

  He pulled her inside the cabin, set the ax down and backed her up against the door.

  “Where’s the nightie I gave you?” His voice was hoarse.

  “In the box. Are you surprised?”

  “I am.”

  “Do you like this?” Jessica felt a momentary flash of panic. What if she’d been wrong all along? What if her husband, pray to the Goddess no, wanted a very different type of wife?

  “I can work with this.” He’d laid his ax inside the door. His hand, warm despite the outside work, cupped her breasts through the sheer fabric.

  The callus on his thumb lightly stroking her nipple.

  Jessica moaned. She might actually explode from sexual frustration.

  She leaned against him then wrapped her legs around his waist. Mostly out of lust but getting off her feet felt great.

  “You’re not disappointed?” She let her head loll to one side, offering him more access.

  “Nothing you could ever do would disappoint me.”

  Oh, she’d disappointed him all right with the divorce. It was the only thing she could do to get her coven to back off. Carson didn’t understand that they could harm him beyond what she was capable of healing. She loved him too much to let that happen.

  What she didn’t count on was how much it hurt to be separated from him. She thought doing the right thing would make her feel better. Pretty quickly she discovered being righteous wasn’t going to keep her warm at night.

  There were several unfortunate incidents with her warrior sisters posing as witches and the local ice bear shifters beyond the teddy bear incident. Her sisters didn’t even bother to hide their threats.

  Amazon warriors didn’t marry. Ever. Having a temporary lover was fine. Having children was permitted only with human men. No commitments above those to Aries and their family were permitted. Jessica suspected her family feared any offspring she and Carson might produce might threaten Aries and her sisters.

  Jess assumed the fuss would die down. She was only one warrior in vast family network. But it didn’t. If anything, the tension built.

  Fairbanks wasn’t that big of a town for a conflict like this. Besides someone was going to get hurt and Jessica feared for Carson’s safety. He snickered at her concerns but she didn’t doubt that her sisters would follow through on their threats.

  Setting Carson free seemed the only thing to do. Peace was restored. Her heart was broken. Carson was furious. Jessica ached so badly that it was difficult for her to get out of bed. She tried potions and tonics by the bottle but nothing made her feel better.

  She made it to work most days but she avoided going anywhere that she might possibly run into Carson. That meant she was pretty housebound outside the lab. Jess really didn’t care. She was welcomed back into her family but she stayed away.

  Finally, as a last resort she came to Icy Cap. The research project was going to be a fresh start. Ha! Now she was suspected of two murders, was lying in bed with her ex-husband and her lab had been trashed.

  Who knew about her advances with the frost lavender? She’d not told
anyone but someone figured it out enough to trash her lab. Did they figure out there was nothing to find? She never wrote down the quantities she used. Any trained witch knew that spies were everywhere especially from your own coven.

  Jessica woke the next morning to find Carson gone. She’d slept fitfully. He must have slipped out early this morning. Really, he was in no shape to do anything but rest. He wouldn’t do that though. He and that vamp would be tracking down any leads to the murders and now the break-in.

  She was ready when Luanne showed up at 8:00 a.m. to escort her to her lab.

  “Everything ok?” Jessica asked Luanne. The fox shifter was twitchier than usual.

  Luanne scanned around them, checking over her shoulder on the way to the lab. Something was making that fox shifter jumpy.

  “I’ll be back with your breakfast. Don’t let anyone in but me.” The fox shifter was still edgy. She cracked her knuckles in her puffy mittens while they walked to her lab.

  “I don’t think that will be a problem. Not many people want to spend time with a suspected double murderer.”

  Even before Jessica reached her lab, she’d made the decision. After Addy’s next feeding finished, she gave her a thorough examination. She dreaded releasing Addy but it was time. It was best for the animal’s safety. Addy would have better odds being with her flock than some psychopath that could hurt her.

  Of course, there was the added benefit of taking Addy away from the Station for release would get her away from Carson. Her plan was simple—leave her lab with Addy, borrow a snowmobile and head toward the sea ice. Most likely she’d encounter a puffin flock before she reached the edge.

  With Luanne gone, Jessica slipped out of her lab with Addy. Luckily, she encountered no one on her way and the transport garage was empty. She was busy checking her gear and securing Addy’s padded kennel for the ride.

  A bundled figure exited the building heading toward her. Crap. She was hoping to make a clean getaway.

  She paused. There was something familiar about how this figure moved.

  Carson.

  “Miss me?” he whispered into her hood. His lips brushed her ear. She shivered. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Ready?”

  “You’re coming?” Jessica blinked.

  “Here’s your helmet, already wired with the latest in microphone cordless technology. We’ll be able talk to each just fine.”

  Her mind whirled. How on earth had Carson known about this trip? He’d only been on Station a few days.

  “How? No forget that. The last thing you should be doing is getting on a snowmobile with that injury.”

  “I couldn’t let you leave the Station without your husband/jailer.” He grinned. A heart-stopping sight to be sure.

  But back to slipping away without him. Yeah, that’s exactly what she thought.

  Shit.

  He thought he’d out-maneuvered her?

  Nope. He’d just upped the stakes.

  Jessica slapped on her helmet and climbed on the snowmobile. She tested her grip on the handlebars. Right acceleration, left brake.

  “Can I drive?” he asked.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Jessica said. She adjusted her helmet. Sure enough his breathing transmitted clearly. Anytime she wore a helmet on this trip he would be in her head. Could this get any worse?

  “Suit yourself.” He climbed on behind her.

  Bad idea.

  Now she nestled between Carson’s thighs with his groin pressed behind her. His grip around her waist tightened when she accelerated. She inched up the seat trying to put some space between them. His legs squeezed hers.

  The temperature was well below freezing not to mention the wind chill. They needed the headlights to see in the darkness. Jessica drove along the marked path toward the sea, following the brightly colored flags staked in the snow. Once they got onto the sea ice, crevasses lay hidden under fresh snow.

  Though she’d deceived him by taking this trip, she felt duped. Did their marriage matter this much to him? Or did he dislike failure more? Jessica assured herself Carson’s presence changed nothing. Her purpose was releasing Addy to her colony. His seduction opportunities were zip. Even Carson couldn’t compete with layers of Arctic survival gear.

  After Icy Cap’s sprawling landscape diminished to a spot on the horizon, Jessica slowed the snowmobile to marvel at the landscape’s pristine beauty. It felt good to be away. She was doing the right thing by releasing Addy and Carson. They were better off without her in the long run. Lately all she did was bring harm and death to those around her. Yes, she was doing them a good turn. Settling into her thoughts, she relaxed her rigid body posture slightly against Carson. They rode in silence.

  After a few minutes, he shifted his weight forward. He slid his hand under her parka at her waist, pushing aside her thermal layers. Jessica jerked in surprise at the contact of his bare hand to her skin. She almost fell off the snowmobile. His thighs held her fast. His hand dipped lower, rubbing the front of her panties. Pleasure strummed through her as his fingers rubbed against the silky material.

  “Needed to warm up my hand,” he said.

  Jessica’s brain objected to this outright lie. From his skillful activity, it was clear he’d not lost sensation in his extremities. Her body ignored her brain’s ranting.

  After a few strokes, she strained against his fingers.

  Don’t stop.

  Carson pushed her panties aside, sinking a finger inside her. Distracted by the pleasure coursing through her, Jessica released the accelerator.

  “If you stop, I stop,” Carson’s voice whispered in her ear. Damn, that cordless technology was good.

  He pulled his finger away. “Do you want me to stop?”

  Absolutely not.

  Jessica rotated her right handlebar forward, accelerating the snowmobile.

  Carson waited.

  She increased the snowmobile speed.

  He didn’t move a finger.

  She let it run flat out, zipping them across the ice.

  Carson slipped one finger inside her, stroking her. She craved his touch. He added another finger, quickening the pace.

  In and out of bed, this man was always good with his hands. Jessica pressed her lips together. Part of her didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. Part of her never wanted him to stop touching her.

  “Come for me. Now.” He growled.

  More.

  More.

  More.

  “I’ll drive.” Carson took over the accelerator.

  Her body bloomed with pleasure as she climaxed. Heat sizzled through her followed by little aftershocks of desire.

  He slowed the machine. Jessica leaned against him, her eyelids heavy. He cut the engine, his own rapid breathing reverberated in her ears.

  “I almost lost it. I love how wet you are.”

  Jessica slid off the snowmobile. Her legs felt like jelly. Fucking Christ. She hadn’t allowed herself to think about what she was missing with Carson.

  Only Addy throwing herself around in her carrier stopped her from begging Carson to fuck her long and hard right here.

  No, she was going to be strong. She was going to release Addy before she hurt herself. Down on the beach below, the puffin calls echoed even in the night. Someone was always awake complaining about something.

  “Thanks for the ride,” Jessica mumbled. She raised her head to him though he would see her blush. That arrogant man—there was no stifling that. Did she even want to?

  “My pleasure. I’m happy to give you a ride anytime. Just ask.” Carson winked.

  Jessica pressed her legs together. Oh, holy fuck did she need to get laid. Now she was even more acutely aware of Carson’s proximity. Any chance of her avoiding him was going to be ridiculously difficult in this remote location. She was trained as a warrior. Above all else, discipline guided her. She just needed to focus on her job. So how come this independent woman wanted to chuck it all for some thorough fucking by her silver-haired ice bear
shifter?

  11

  It took all of Carson’s willpower not to drag Jessica into the field hut nestled on the other side of the ridge and bury himself deep inside her. Pleasuring her like that was what he should be doing as many times a day as she wished.

  Why was she so stubborn?

  She loved him. He knew it. But she kept pushing him away because of her family. He didn’t understand why they were so damn possessive of her. He was a fucking Ice Bear and he was willing to share her. Couldn’t her sisters share the same courtesy?

  Apparently not.

  He had to make her see reason and before it was too late. Getting her away from the Station was the best thing he could do. He didn’t appreciate her sneaking away and not telling him. But luckily, he knew her well enough that this was exactly the kind of thing she’d do. The look on her face when he met her at the transport garage was priceless. He restrained himself from kissing her right there.

  Mariko was going over all the information again. He believed the two other deaths were distractions. But for what? He didn’t believe it was the Rumpelstiltskin project. It had something to do with Jessica though. She was the only common element.

  Did she have the ability to murder? He was sure she possessed the know-how but she wasn’t a killer. It went against everything she believed in.

  Carson mulled all this over while he unpacked the snowmobile. They were staying at the Station’s remote field hut, which was a weather-beaten wooden cabin with a bright red tin roof. It was situated on a bluff. The cries of the nearby seal and bird colonies dotted the shoreline below them.

  He set about settling them in the field hut. There were vents and gas lines to open, carbon monoxide testers to be checked along with standard safety and first-aid supplies.

  The windowless one-room hut held a table and chairs. Boxes of radio equipment and spare canned food stacked the corners. Carson left the door open, airing out the slight musty odor. Although Icy Cap was a desert, this cabin’s proximity to the water was revealed in the briny smell. A set of bunkbeds lined one wall. Carson sighed.