FOUND (3 page)

Ocean waves crashing over
the sound of a light breeze was the perfect greeting upon exiting
Zack's lush, silver Porsche. I carefully removed my Jimmy Choo's,
the same pair I'd worn earlier in the day, and tossed them
onto
the seat
along with my clutch. I was ready for my feet to meet the sand. It
had been far too long since I'd seen the ocean. I don't even
remember the last time I was down here, despite living so close.
Zack removed his shoes as well and placed them on the floor of the
driver's side, tucking the laces carefully so they wouldn't get
ruined. I admired the way he handled
them -
like they were glass dolls that
he didn't want to break. After he
shut
the door, he regarded me with a
playful look.

“
Somebody is eager, I see.” He
smiled and extended a tan hand, the empty space between us
electrified with mystery and exhilaration. I took his
hand.

“
It's funny. I live nearby, yet I
hardly come down to the beach. It's one of my favorite places to
be.”

Zack responded with a kind laugh
and said, “I'm glad I could be the one to bring you out here.” His
gaze never left my eyes when he spoke to me. I found it hard to
look away.

I inhaled deeply as we wandered
across the sand to a darkened pier a couple hundred yards from
where we parked. It hadn't dawned on me that I might not be safe
out here with Zack. In fact, I never once questioned his intentions
with me – I just automatically assumed my company was satisfactory,
but now I was starting to doubt everything. I paused.

“
Zack?”

“
Yes, Skylar?”

“
Uh. I'm..." I didn't know how to
say it without sounding like an idiot.

"You can tell me anything," he
said as he squeezed my hand.

"...afraid.” Yeah, I did sound
like an idiot.

“
Afraid of what?”

“
You.”

I expected him to be upset
or disappointed, perhaps even angry, but the features in his face
only softened further as his eyebrows drew together. He took both
of my hands in his and looked deep into my eyes. This wasn't the
same gaze from the club. This was much more intense than that
initial captivating glance. His eyes
opened
. His pupils blossomed
and
expanded,
and the blue surrounding them swirled into a paler shade.
Suddenly, I found myself inside a riptide, his eyes pulling me
deeper and deeper into their vast and expansive
waters.

“
Skylar Jones, I
would never harm you – I absolutely promise you with every fiber of
my being. If you no longer feel safe, we can return to the
car,
and I'll
drive you home. I will not be angry at all.”

His explanation was
surprising. Why
was he
being
so kind to me? I was of no real
significance in the world of Hollywood, and I certainly hadn't made
any huge impressions on anyone lately. So, what about me was
keeping Zack Rider interested? As if he could hear my thoughts, he
went on:

“
I'll admit that
it's been
torturous
to keep my hands off you the entire evening, but
I will not press forward unless you give me permission to do so. I
don't want to alarm you, but wolf shifters like myself mate for
life, and our encounter is no coincidence. I believe we were meant
to meet.”

The breeze picked up as he
went silent and I followed its path up towards the moon that was
glittering down upon the sand around us. Another wave crashed
nearby. My eyes traced our
footprints
up to where we were
standing,
and I
raised my eyes to meet his once more.

“
I'm not sure I understand,” I
managed to say.

He
simply watched me silently, peering deeper into
my eyes. I hadn't felt this way about anyone in a long time. Ever,
really. And I had no way of justifying this to myself. I had strict
rules about what I let happen on first dates, and that was usually
just sex. This... this felt like more. I couldn't explain it, but
there was something about this man that just totally and completely
consumed me.

"I believe we were meant to meet,"
he repeated, almost in a whisper.

My chest nearly exploded as
realization crashed down on me. He thinks I'm his
mate.
That can't
possibly be right. He's Zack Rider, and I'm... well, I'm the
farthest thing from the women men like him typically date. Let
alone
mate
with.
I could feel my heart beating so loudly, and
by the way
he watched me, I
knew he could hear it, too.

"Please say something," he said to
me, wrapping his hands around mine.

"I know this will sound
ridiculous," I whispered to him, as he pulled me closer towards
him, "but I have never felt this way before. I don't really know
what to do."

“
Nor do I,” he
laughed. His warm, boyish laugh loosened my nerves a little bit. He
pulled me in close, and I leaned
into
his chest, thankful for the excuse
not to speak for a moment.

He kissed the top of my head, a
sweet and comforting gesture.

“
I want to spend time with you.
Here. And I want to keep spending time with you,” I whispered into
his broad chest, taking in the smell of his expensive
cologne.

I couldn't see, but I could feel
him smiling. I noticed that as I stood pressed up against him, I
could sense so much of what he was feeling. Was that a shifter
thing?

“
That is by no means a promise to
be your mate,” I added quickly. “But I'm positive I don't want
tonight to end.”

He traced my arms with his fingers
and didn't stop until his palms were gently cradling my
face.

Someone once told me that
shifters can't choose their mates, they have no control over who it
is or when it happens. For many shifters, it's not an issue because
they take on many mates over their lifetime. Wolves are unique, in
that they mate for life - no exceptions. I never believed that
story about shifters, thinking it was their excuse to take who
they
wanted,
when they wanted. Now, however, I knew it to be true. I could
feel it, somehow. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same
time.

“
Skylar,” he whispered. “Do not
fear me. I will take care of you.”

Without hesitation, I leaned
into his lips as a signal of agreement. I hardly knew what my own
emotions were telling me, but I felt no bad energy. He didn't seem
manipulative. He wasn't trying to pull some typical suave moves
like most Hollywood shifters. He was just holding me under the
moonlight with the cold sand pressing against our bare feet. The
particles of our skin melted into the surrounding
wind,
and we
became one with the sand, the ocean, the sky, the moon, and even
the cars zooming across the highway in the distance. I felt their
tires rattling the ground with their electric vibrations. This sort
of energy could shatter the earth, but we sustained it between our
lips as they continued to play.

“
Let's walk further. I love the
view from this pier.” He nodded towards the wooden structure just a
hundred feet ahead. I agreed, gently tracing the veins in his hands
as we walked. What a strange night this was turning out to
be.

Our footsteps echoed
underneath the pier as we made our way to the end, way out from
where the water broke upon the shore. Long, rolling waves crashed
in the distance as the wind whipped salty bits of water against our
exposed skin. Water lapped at the posts holding the
pier,
and I
looked down through the darkness to watch it shimmer under the
light of the moon. I shivered. Zack removed his suit jacket and
draped it over my shoulders and then returned his arm to my waist.
The warmth was comforting, so I leaned into his body and rested my
head against his chest. I finally recognized his cologne to be
Armani, a robust scent that filled my nostrils and stirred the
emotions sitting at the bottom of my stomach. My sense of smell was
getting better – interesting. I nuzzled his neck with my nose which
elicited a soft moan that was barely audible above the sound of the
wind, the waves, and the
warring
of my heart against my
brain.

Zack's fingers found my neck and
traced circles up to my ears while his lips gently decorated my
throat, a motion that immediately caused my knees to buckle. He
caught me and laughed.

“
I didn't know I could do
that.”

I laughed. There was nothing
else I could do.
He
was perfect. This was perfect.

Instead of pulling me back
up, he lowered me carefully to the ground and positioned himself
between my legs with one hand on my hip and the other cradling my
head. His lips trailed down my throat to my chest where they paused
as his eyes asked for permission to continue. I nodded yes and
moaned into the breeze, as he bit down on the fabric of my dress
and tore open the front buttons with a s
light
jerk of his head. He slowly
kissed my skin as he worked his way down my chest until he reached
the mounds of my breasts. With clever hands, he nimbly unclasped my
bra as if he'd done it a thousand times before. I tried not to
think about that.

His tongue plunged beneath
my dress to my nipples where he deliberately devoured each one as
if tasting something sweet for the first time. His hands smoothed
my straps off my shoulders as he playfully sucked and bit at my
soft flesh, moaning
adorably
with delight. I carefully
unbuttoned his shirt, doing my best to steady my arms from the
pleasure I was feeling. I trailed my nails across his broad chest
as he lifted the hem of my dress to massage my legs,
working
his
hands up my thigh as I moaned into his neck.

The anticipation became
too
much,
and he tore his shirt off as I fumbled with his belt and
zipper. His shirt disappeared into the distance with the breeze as
he kicked off his pants. I lifted my torn dress over my head as I
watched him undress. I shivered again, but not from the chill of
the wind. His body was absolutely amazing, a fortress built from
years of running and switching between forms. His tanned skin had
traces of freckles, and only the smallest amount of hair trickled
down below his belly button. I noticed a scar above his left nipple
that ran from his shoulder blade down to the center of his chest. I
traced it. I didn't want to break our moment and ask, even though I
was curious. As he leaned down to kiss me, I tucked the thought
away for later and became lost in his hot breath against my
skin.

"Please, Skylar," he
breathed into me. "Be mine. Oh please god, just be mine." He
plunged his tongue deep into my mouth with desperation, yet his
hands held restraint. He was waiting for me to answer and give him
permission. For a man who was lying nearly naked on top of a
girl
on
a
public beach, he still managed to be a perfect gentleman. I would
have given him points for that, but his chivalry was getting in the
way of him being inside me, and I was ready to explode with
physical starvation.

"Yes," I nearly shouted at
him. "I'm yours. I'm all
yours
if you'll have me. Oh fuck me,
please take me."

A loud moan escaped my lips as
Zack one-handedly tore off my thong and spread my thighs, his
thumbs tracing along my pink flesh, exposing the wet warmth that
was aching to be touched. He gently pushed my chest back with his
free hand until I lay down on the damp wood of the pier, as he
lowered himself down between my legs and masterfully plunged his
tongue deep inside me, bringing forth sensations I never thought I
could experience. His tongue worked in and out and in circles, and
he alternated back and forth between sucking on the outer folds of
my flesh, and plunging deeper and deeper inside of me with his
tongue. My legs began to spasm from the pleasure as he withdrew and
nibbled curiously on my labia, his large fingers replacing his
tongue inside my throbbing, wet cavity.

I laughed in delirium, never
having
experienced
anything quite like this before. It felt as
though my senses had been heightened. I wondered if that was a side
effect of mating with a shifter. I made a mental note to ask
him
later,
although I questioned my mental capacity at this moment. Mating –
what? No, what a ridiculous thought. I easily pushed it from my
mind as I became utterly consumed with his physical
presence.

His fingers inside of
me
slowed,
and my
breath
returned to me. I reached down and grabbed his
arm, pulling him back up to face me. Our eyes locked together, and
as we peered so deeply into each other's
souls,
I knew then and there that
no physical experience could ever rival the closeness we
felt at
that
moment.