Stone Bear: Sentinel (A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Stone Bears Book 1) (10 page)

Her lungs tightened and would not move as she shuddered, her climax pounding her with wave after wave of excruciatingly delicious pleasure that kept her frozen. Air became scarce as it went on and on, but there was nothing she could do about it. Her vision dimmed slightly, darkness creeping in around the edges, before snapping back into sudden clarity as her cries ricocheted through the kitchen, filling it with noise.

“Holy hell,” she gasped a minute or two later as full control finally returned to her outer extremities, allowing her fingers to move as she told them to.

Gabriel said nothing, though he did lean in for a kiss. She returned it with interest, her fingers threading through his hair and mashing his face against hers as her lips moved furiously, kissing him as passionately as she could, not caring of how it may have looked to anyone watching.

As she regained more of her composure, Caia went on the offensive, her one hand slipping between them as she continued to pull him tight to her with the other. Her questing fingers slid down his rock-hard stomach, barely pausing to feel his muscles flex under her touch before she descended lower. She wanted something, and wasn’t going to stop until she...

Gabriel grunted in pleasure as she found what she wanted, her hand wrapping around it dexterously before sliding her palm all the way to the base, where her fingers caressed the rest of him. Taking advantage of the strength in his arms, and using it to prop her up, she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of his compression boxers and pulled them out and over his cock.

“Wow,” she breathed. He was huge. She had sort of known that, from touching him, but to actually
see
him laid out in front of her was…something else.

“I’ll go slow,” he promised as she took hold of him once more and lined him up with her opening.

“You’re going to have to,” she said, her eyes going round as he slipped inside her. “Yes,” she squeaked. “Realllll slow.”

“I promise,” he said, dipping his head to hers and kissing her once more.

He was true to his promise. Although she was drenched with wetness, it still took time for her to adjust to his size. She almost told him to stop several times, but each time he withdrew slightly and waited, before pushing forward once more.

“Amazing,” she gasped, practically drooling all over him as their hips finally ground together. He was inside of her completely. Caia had never felt so
full
before, so
right.
It was an unbelievable sensation.

“No!” she cried out as he pulled back. The void he left behind ached with unfilled desire.

“I’m right here,” he told her, pushing himself back inside once more.

“This is incredible,” she whispered, “I’ve never felt like this before.” She looked into his eyes. “Can we go to the bedroom now?” The emotions of the moment were starting to take over, and she wanted it to happen in a slightly more traditional place.

Gabriel smiled softly and nodded, his arms picking her up, though he never withdrew from her. Then he paused and looked at her expectantly.

“What?”

“I’ve never been here before,” he said patiently, as if the weight of her in his arms didn’t bother him at all.

How strong
is
he?

“Right,” she said, her cheeks burning red. “Out and to the left, second door on the right.”

Caia lived in a bungalow, and while she sometimes wished for an upstairs, this time she was quite happy that was not the case. Going up the stairs with Gabriel buried deep between her thighs and her legs wrapped around his waist would
not
have been an easy task, no matter his strength.

The few steps it took for Gabriel to cross the distance to the bed, however, was another story entirely. The queen mattress would have a tough time fitting them side by side, but with him on top, it was much easier.

“This is better,” she whispered as he settled, his hips slowly grinding into her.

She bit her lip when he propped himself up on his arms. The muscles bulged and popped, flexing so hard that when she touched them, they felt like steel. It was as intimidating as it was sexy.

“I want it harder,” she told him as he continued his gentle movements.

His eyes flicked to hers, but seeing no hesitation in them, he nodded. His hips moved away from hers, drawing his cock out from within her. She whimpered, not liking the sensation.

Then he thrust forward quickly, and Caia’s world exploded. A remote corner of her brain knew that Gabriel wasn’t going as hard as he could, but it was enough. All she could do at the moment was hold on for dear life. Her throat felt hoarse as she yelled and cried out in pleasure as he thrust into her harder and harder, his huge cock slamming home inside of her. Fists tightened on the sheets as she snatched at the comforter, looking for something,
anything
to help keep her mind on reality.

“Gabriel, I’m going to—” she couldn’t finish as another climax exploded within her, racking her body with tremors. Gabriel’s hands shifted, pinning her hands above her head as he kept fucking her, not stopping his movement. The world blurred, refusing to come back into focus even as he slowed his hips.

“Don’t stop,” she begged an unknown amount of time later as he remained still for a moment.

“If I keep going, I’m going to lose control,” he murmured in her ear.

“Yes,” she gasped, her lungs still working hard to keep up. “Do it. I want you.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, to which she nodded and then kissed him fiercely.

Gabriel began to fuck her once more, this time with his hands on her hips as he pulled her into him, all of his weight resting on his knees. She cried out some more, but her attention was focused on him now. She could see his face contorting, and deep within her, he seemed to grow bigger.

He cried out her name just as he erupted inside of her. She could feel the warmth rushing out of him as he turned her name into a long groan.

The two of them collapsed onto the bed next to each other as they enjoyed the high of the moment. Caia found the strength to speak first.

“We are so fucked,” she said into the comfortable silence.

At first she thought Gabriel hadn’t heard her, but then his shoulders began to shake, and she realized he was holding in laughter, which began to sputter out from between his clenched lips. Then the realization of what she had just said and its double meaning came to her.

“Well, that too,” she said with a laugh of her own.

“How do we handle this?” Gabriel asked, propping himself up on an elbow.

“Carefully.”

He nodded. “I think we should have some good news for the Kedyns, before they discover what’s going on between us.”

“Such as what the fuck is going on in the Valley lately?” she asked mildly.

“That’s what I was thinking. If we piss them off now…” he trailed off, then shrugged as best he could from his position.

“Exactly.” He hadn’t needed to articulate his thoughts for her to understand them.

“So I suppose I should probably head home then,” he said with a grimace.

“Unfortunately,” she said dourly, not at all interested in relinquishing his body heat.

Then she felt something press against her side.

“Think we could get away with another thirty minutes?” he asked demurely.

Gabriel

“Morning sleepyhead,” he called through the open window of his truck as she exited the house slowly, pulling the door closed behind her.

There was no response while she fumbled with her keys before finding the right one to insert in the lock. He couldn’t help but laugh as she turned around. The woman walking down the path now was nothing like the put-together woman he had picked up the night before. She looked showered and fresh, but the slow trudge and eyes as thin as slits indicated a lot.

“You aren’t much of a morning person, are you?” he asked jovially as she yanked the passenger door open. “Well that’s not very ladylike,” he said, laughing in response to the rude gesture she bestowed upon him. “Look, I even got you coffee!” He pointed toward the cup in his dash. Steam swirled up through the flimsy plastic lid, indicating it was still hot.

“You did?” Caia brightened immediately as she realized he was telling the truth. “Well, you might just get laid again now,” she said as he went to take a sip of his own.

Gabriel, thankfully, had excellent control over his body, or else he might have spit it all over himself. He looked over at her in astonishment. “I
might
?” he asked incredulously. Then he paused while she slowly turned to give him a death stare. Completely unfazed, he continued talking. “I’m pretty sure you were the one who insisted I stick around for a third round last night. Or am I remembering that wrong?”

“If you don’t stay quiet until I drink some more of this, it’s going to be the last round,” she threatened.

He laughed and put the truck in gear.

“Think we’re going to have any luck today?” she asked a few minutes later.

“I hope so,” he muttered angrily.

The two of them had been following Evan for over a week and a half now, without anything incriminating.

“I thought we had a break last week when he left Garrett’s wedding,” she said, shaking her head.

Emma had called Gabriel in a rush the past Saturday when Evan had left their wedding reception in a hurry. The two of them had hopped in Gabriel’s truck and raced off to find him, but Evan hadn’t done anything. He had simply gone to a bar and had some drinks. They had waited outside in hopes of seeing someone go inside, but after a while they had called it a dead end.

Today the Jade Crew was not scheduled to be up in the mountains, and Gabriel was hoping that they might be able to catch Evan doing something.

“According to Emma, Evan left a few minutes before I picked you up, heading in the direction of town. We should be able to get to a position to watch him and follow,” he told her as they made their way across town as rapidly as possible.

As it turned out, they barely made it. Evan came barreling along the road before they’d even had a chance to pull off and wait. Gabriel saw his blue truck go flying by in the opposite direction, and he waited until it was around a bend before he pulled his own truck through a sharp U-turn and sped off after him.

“Easy there speedy,” Caia urged from the passenger seat.

“I just want to get him back in range, that’s all.” True to his word, once Evan was within visual range, Gabriel backed off. They followed Evan as he headed through town. At one point, he went right, and Gabriel went straight.

“Where are you going?” Caia asked, peering over her shoulder as she tried to watch Evan for as long as possible.

“Hunch,” he said.

A few minutes later, he pulled up in front of a building.

“This is the Sapphires,” she said uneasily as she recognized the back of the building.

“Yes it is, isn’t it?” he said mysteriously, smiling when she glared at him.

“Now what do we have here?” he asked. Down the street, Evan had appeared around a corner, making a beeline straight for the Sapphire building.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Caia breathed. She clearly hadn’t believed that his “hunch” would play out.

If he was honest, neither had he, but it felt great to be vindicated.

“So now what?” she asked as they waited in the truck.

“Think he’s upstairs yet?”

“Probably. It doesn’t take all that long if you don’t have to flirt with the lookout,” she said sarcastically.

“No flirting today,” Gabriel said, and his voice had gone as hard as stone. “Follow my lead,” he told her, getting out of the truck.

“What?” Caia yelped, hopping out of her side and trying to intercept him. His legs were too long, however, and she was forced to run to keep up. “Gabriel, what are you doing? This isn’t the way we were supposed to do things! We need a plan, an idea of what we’re doing before we go storming in there!”

“I have a plan. Catch them in the middle of it,” he growled. He wanted this to be over and done with so that he could come out into the open with Caia. The sneaking around at night and pretending that they were just coworkers whenever anyone was around was getting to him. He just wanted the trouble to be solved, and this time he intended to bash a few heads in if it sped the process up.

“This is ridiculous!” she yelled, getting in front of him and trying to stop his momentum.

Gabriel simply picked her up and carried her with him to the door as she beat on his chest, trying to get him to stop.

Just before he opened the door, he looked down at her. “They likely have no idea that we’re still interested in them. We haven’t touched or talked to any of the Sapphires since the last time we were here. No surveillance, nothing, we’ve let them go. They probably think that they’re in the clear. So we go in there without warning, knowing that the two of them are up to something, and we find out what the hell it is.”

Caia stood back, blinking rapidly. “You put some thought into this,” she said slowly.

He smiled. “Me smash,” he said, mocking her gently for her immediate assumption that he hadn’t thought anything through.

“I still don’t think this is a good idea, but there is a possibility it might work,” she admitted.

“Good enough for me,” he said, blowing her a kiss before pulling the door open.

Across the lobby, the newly repaired lounge area for the Sapphire on lookout duty gleamed. A head popped up into the opening in the wall.

“Touch anything and you’ll regret it,” Gabriel said as he covered the distance between them in a handful of swift steps.

“Hey man, I don’t want any—”

Gabriel’s fist closed around his shirt and he bodily hauled the shifter over the counter and tossed him on the floor. “Shut up,” he said stonily.

The shifter’s jaw snapped closed, his protest dying abruptly.

“You’re coming with us,” he said, pointing to the elevator that Caia had already summoned.

The Sapphire guard nodded meekly and preceded Gabriel into the elevator, followed by Caia, who punched the fifth floor button.

“Don’t,” he growled as the Sapphire opened his mouth once more. “Trust me, it’ll be easier if you just don’t say anything.”

Teeth clicked as his jaw closed quickly.

The door opened, showing them an empty hallway. Caia exited first, followed by Gabriel, who then turned and pushed the Sapphire back inside. “Go back to your post. Stay there.”

The shifter nodded jerkily and the doors closed around him.

“Which way?” he asked Caia as they stood in the hallway.

“This way,” she pointed. “I can hear yelling.”

He heard it too now, as he listened to try and make out the words. They were too muffled through the walls, however, but it was clear that two people were likely rather mad, possibly at each other.

Without waiting for an explanation, Gabriel turned the handle for the door nearest the yelling. It was locked.

“This is gonna come out of my paycheck,” he muttered, before throwing his body into the door.

The flimsy latch gave way easily under his assault, and the door burst open.

“Hello gentleman,” he said with a smile, strolling into the room.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Ben snarled from where he was standing opposite Evan. The two of them had obviously been in a heated argument. Their faces were already flushed as they turned toward him.

“Good to see you too,” Gabriel replied, wandering around the apartment, inspecting various things.

“You’re on my territory,” Ben growled.

Gabriel turned and in the blink of an eye his face was an inch from the angry Alpha’s. “No fucking shit? Am I on
your
property? Because, and now correct me if I’m wrong, but all of this belongs to the LMC. Am I wrong in that? I don’t think I am, but feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.”

Ben’s lip curled back in a snarl, but he didn’t say anything.

“That’s what I thought. So why don’t you tell me what you two were just arguing about? We had a noise complaint from next door, so we’re here to check it out.”

“A noise complaint?” Evan said with a nasty laugh.

“Yes. We might have ignored it,” Gabriel said, leveling his stare at Evan. “But just before that we received complaints about a smell. We figured perhaps we should come by and help take out the trash.”

Evan bristled at the polite insult. Unfortunately Evan was too smart to engage in a fight, Gabriel thought. Shame. The Stone Bear was really hoping to be able to smash some heads together, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen, much to his dismay.

“Did you have a reason for being here Gabriel?” Ben asked, his voice more exasperated than angry as the shock of being interrupted faded.

“Just checking in on things,” he said with a smile, heading for the door. “Enjoy your day.”

“Go to hell,” Ben told him as the door closed.

For fun, Gabriel gave it a sharp kick, which broke the door off its hinges and sent it flying into the room. The two shifters still inside yelped and dodged the flying object.

Gabriel smiled and began to whistle a tune as he sauntered back to the elevator behind Caia. He knew she was going to tear him a new one as soon as the doors closed, but that didn’t make what he had just done any less satisfying.

As it turned out, Caia waited until they were outside.

“Well that was just amazing,” she muttered as they pushed open the doors to outside.

“Absolutely,” he told her, but his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about everything, and something was nagging at him. His brain was trying to tell him something about what was going on, but he couldn’t quite focus on it.

He heard Caia snort in frustration as they got in the truck, but it didn’t really register.

“What do all of these have in common?” he said, interrupting her as he pulled the truck out onto the street and headed back for the mansion. The idea was starting to form in his head, but he wanted a second opinion.

“All of
what
have in common?” she asked dangerously.

“The initial Onyx-Amethyst fight. The Opal crew, the general existence of the Sapphires.”

Caia stared at him, her eyebrows raising in confusion as he glanced over at her.

“Arrogance. Extremely quick to anger. Violence beyond the norm. A lack of sense of restraint. Disregard for their own well-being.”

“Where are you going with this?” she asked.

“If I told you someone who was generally normal but with a bit of a temper suddenly started exhibiting all of these traits, what would you say that sounds like?

Caia’s jaw dropped.

“I would say they were on something, a drug of some sort.”

“Exactly,” he said, pounding the steering wheel in exultation. “A fucking
drug
. That’s what we’re looking for Caia! Someone is making, or buying some new drug that we didn’t know was out there. One that works on shifters, and turns them into maniacs.”

Caia looked at him thoughtfully as she thought it all over. “That doesn’t explain the Sapphires though,” she said slowly.

“Lower doses, or a tolerance,” he said after thinking it over. “It would fit with our thoughts that they were at the center of this too. That would mean they’ve been exposed to it longest, so they can either handle the effects, or they take it in weaker doses.”

“And Evan?” she prodded. “He hasn’t done anything of note as far as we know since that fight. How does he figure in to it?”

“I don’t know,” Gabriel admitted. “Perhaps he took it once to try that night his crew went crazy, and now he sells it for them? That would explain why he’s seen with them. Hell, maybe today he was yelling at Ben for a larger cut? I’m not sure.”

“That doesn’t quite sound right, but it would make sense,” Caia said, then sat upright.

“What is it?”

“I wonder if we did autopsies of the Opal crew,” she said. “If we did, there should be something left in their blood, some sign of it.”

He watched as she pulled out her phone and called in. The medical section at the mansion wasn’t overly large, but it did have several full-time staff, just in case. Shifters healed remarkably well on their own, but sometimes the bones were too destroyed or out of place for them to be set without surgery. Because they could heal so fast, the doctors had to be available 24/7 to perform surgery before any deformities set in.