Chapter Fifteen – Suzie

“What an exciting day this turned out to be,” Suzie stated as she climbed into bed next to Kit. She was telling herself she had chosen to stay because it was better than trying to get home in the snow, but truthfully, she would have found some excuse not to leave, even if the dragons had offered to drop her off at her front door. She had only one twinge of guilt, and that was about her mom being home alone for a second evening.

Not that her mom had made her feel guilty about not going home. Although she did sound worried. Suzie had blamed work commitments, but she was certain her mom had seen through her thinly veiled lie. However, she did not want to tell her mom about Kit over the phone. This news had to be relayed face to face.

Suzie tried to push her fears to one side. How would her mom feel about Suzie moving out and leaving the town her mom was so attached to? Her mom suffered anxiety and battled to make herself leave the house. When Suzie was a child, she hadn’t noticed it so much, but as she grew up and became more aware, she realized her mom only went to certain stores and only visited a handful of places and people.

Slowly this awareness had led Suzie to understand why. Her mom had a birthmark on her face; it covered the lower part of her left cheek, and made her mom very self-conscious. New places and new people, who might stare at her, were situations she avoided as much as possible. To Suzie, her mom was beautiful, but her mom could never see it, especially when she looked in the mirror.

“It turned out better than I hoped,” Kit replied, getting into bed and resting his head on the pillow beside her.

They lay side by side, looking at the ceiling. Louise was in Kit’s guest room, with baby Storm in her crib by her side. Since they had been reunited, Louise had refused to let Storm out of her sight, except to visit the bathroom, and only then because Suzie had insisted on her leaving Storm with her or Kit.

“I hope Louise gets the rest she needs,” Suzie said, listening for the sound of a baby crying.

“She needs Storm more than rest right now,” Kit replied. “She needs to know she’s a good mom.”

“Do you think she’ll cope?” Suzie asked, her voice no more than a whisper.

“I think so.” Kit turned to face her, propping himself up on one elbow. “People can do remarkable things when they really want something.”

Suzie thought of her mom and how she had coped bringing up her child alone, while living with an intense need to hide her face away from strangers. “My mom proved that to me.”

“Your mom?” Kit turned to face her, resting his chin on his hand. “You’ve heard about my family. I know nothing about yours.”

“There is not much to tell.” Suzie pressed her lips together, trying to decide what she wanted him to know. But surely, if they were going to make a life together, he should know everything.

“Tell me what you can,” Kit coaxed, as if he knew how hard this was for her.

“It’s just me and my mom.” Suzie thought back over her life. “She’s always been there for me. Always supported me. But it’s been tough for her.”

“No family?” Kit asked.

“She has family, but her experience mirrors Louise’s in so many ways. My mom met a guy, thought she was in love. Her parents warned her he was only after one thing.” She let the meaning go unsaid, sure Kit would know what she meant. “When she got pregnant, he dumped her, and all she got was an I told you so. And then they told her they would not support her and the baby.”

“They kicked her out?” Kit asked.

Suzie nodded. “She was seventeen.”

“What did she do?” Kit asked.

“Survived.” Suzie looked up at his perfect face and lifted her hand to stroke his cheek, his stubble prickling her fingers. “She was so brave. All her life she tried to stay in the shadows.”

“Why? Is she shy?” Kit asked.

“She is, because she has a birthmark.” Suzie pressed her hand to the place where her mom’s cheek was red, the skin not quite smooth.

“I’m sorry,” Kit said, his voice tight with emotion. “I’ve seen similar in kids. Usually, they fade.”

“I don’t notice it, but from what she says, it was very obvious as she grew up. She said her parents never really loved her. She was never as pretty or popular as her sister. She liked to hide behind books, to avoid the taunts from other kids. They thought she was awkward and anti-social.” Suzie stopped talking, letting go of the anger she felt inside every time she thought of how her grandparents abandoned their daughter when she needed them the most.

“I can see why you chose the career path you did,” Kit said, taking hold of her hand and raising it to his lips. “And when I meet your mom, I am going to congratulate her on raising such a remarkable woman.”

Suzie laughed. “You and my mom should get along well. She always says that having me was the best thing she’s ever done. I know she would have loved to have more children, but she never met the right man.” Suzie’s expression changed to sadness. “I think, deep down, it was because she could never allow herself to trust another man.”

“That’s sad.” Kit gazed into her eyes. “What will she do when you come and live with me?”

“I’m trying not to think about it,” Suzie said. “It’s going to break her heart. And mine.”

“Why not ask her to move to Bear Creek too?” Kit asked.

“She won’t.” Suzie was certain her mom would never move away from her comfort zone.

“She might for you. And you never know, she might meet the shifter of her dreams.” Kit put his hand on Suzie’s waist, sending thrills through her body. “Just like her daughter.”

Suzie laughed, wanting to shake off the melancholy mood that had descended on her. “Have I met the shifter of my dreams?”

“You called me perfect,” Kit replied, humor dancing his in his eyes.

“On the outside. But I don’t know what is underneath that perfect exterior.”

“Is that a challenge?” Kit asked, his voice thick with emotion.

Suzie’s breath caught in her throat as she tried to fathom the meaning in Kit’s words. On the surface, they were innocent enough, but if you scratched deeper, and she wanted to scratch a lot deeper, they meant so much more.

“What if it was?” Suzie asked, her face flushed, her eyes dilated. She was lost. Lost to this man beside her. Suzie curled her fingers around the sheets and tried to force air into her lungs. Kit was a stranger to her, and yet lying in his bed was the most natural thing in the world. They were connected on a deeper level, a level that was out of time and space.

“Then it would be my solemn duty to rise to that challenge, just as I have risen to every challenge throughout my life.”

Suzie giggled again, which was unusual; she’d never been a giggler before. But at least she was breathing. Oh yes, she was breathing, chest heaving, as she stared at Kit’s lips, wishing he would kiss her.

“I’d like to see you rise to this challenge,” Suzie admitted, her cheeks reddening. Placing her hand on her heated skin, she added, “This isn’t who I am. I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“Don’t you?” Kit asked, taking her hand and pulling it away from her cheek. Lowering his head, he pressed his lips into the palm of her hand. Heat flooded her body, along with a desperate need to be with this man for always.

He made her feel safe, he made her feel loved, and he made her feel as if she had a new home, a place where she would always belong. Not a physical location, an emotional location. Kit’s arms were the place she wanted to call home.

Pressing her body forward, she went home, into his arms, telling him with her lips that she accepted the challenge too.

Kit groaned, a deep need emanating from him, and he pulled her closer, his arms wrapped around her body, holding her tight. Her breath left her once more, but she didn’t need air, she didn’t need food, she simply needed Kit.

Like a lovelorn fool, she gave herself to him, because it was right. Because it was meant to be.

All thought of fate and the meaning of life left her as his lips claimed hers.

Kit’s hands roamed her body, his touch awakening her arousal, despite the barrier of her clothes. Each stroke of his hand, each kiss of his lips, left her wanting more. Much more.

“I’ve never been a first-date kind of a girl,” Suzie whispered into his ear.

“Well, technically, you aren’t, since we still haven’t been on a first date.” He pulled back from her, brushing her hair off her face. “If you want to wait, take it slow, I understand.”

“Do you?” Suzie asked.

Kit chuckled and shook his head. “I’ve been waiting for this moment since I knew about the birds and the bees.” Then his face sobered. “That doesn’t mean I am going to pressure you into anything. I want this to be special, for both of us.”

“Birds and the bees, huh?” she asked, kissing his lips.

“A medical term.”

“What about bears?” Suzie slid her hand down between their bodies, slipped it inside his boxers, and curled her hand around his hardened shaft.

“Oh, bears, they are…a special case.” He kissed her, words no longer needed as she stroked his cock up and down. He groaned, his hands tugging at the shirt she had borrowed to sleep in and lifting it up above her head. She let go of his cock and lifted her arms up. Kit dragged it off her, and threw it to one side.

Pausing, he stared at her breasts while he ran his hands over them, his touch light, but it drew an incredibly strong reaction from her body. Her nipples hardened, her clit throbbed and an ache in her core grew to a point it could not be ignored. She wanted him. Now.

Tearing at his T-shirt, which along with a pair of shorts was all he wore to bed, she stripped it off his body. Her hands pressed against his smooth chest, and followed the trail of fine hair down to his hardened cock. Suzie wrapped her hand around it and stroked him, watching his face for his reaction.

“You know how much I want you, Suzie,” Kit said, struggling to keep his voice even.

“I think I’m getting a good idea,” Suzie answered.

He stroked her skin, the palm of his hand rubbing her hardened nipple, before he lowered his head and sucked her other nipple into his mouth. Suzie gasped, her hand tightening involuntarily around his cock, making him suck harder. Her knees went weak, and the ache between her thighs was so intense it impossible to ignore.

“Touch me,” she whispered in his ear.

Kit slipped a hand between her thighs, and drew his fingers upwards, until they brushed against her clit. Suzie opened her legs wider, and his fingers explored deeper, while his thumb tortured her clit. He moved his thumb around and around in small circles that caused a tremor in her body. Feverish with desire, she moved to lie down, and urged him to slide between her thighs.

With her hand still wrapped around his cock, she guided him inside her sex. Kit moved where she asked him to: he let her guide him, allowing her to be in control. Until he could stand it no longer.

As if a dam had burst, he slipped his hand under her bottom, and held her to him as he inched inside her, impossibly slowly, impossibly deep. There was no doubt in Suzie’s mind that she had handed control over to him, and he was going to make sure she was completely satisfied.

Moving deeper, he pulled back before thrusting into her again. As he built up a steady rhythm, he lowered his mouth and reclaimed her breasts. The onslaught of sensations sweeping over her made her senses reel. He was everywhere, his hands, his mouth, exploring her body, touching her where no man had touched her before.

“Dr. Malvern, you certainly know your way around a woman’s body,” Suzie gasped, as he stroked the sensitive flesh on the inside of her arm, while his teeth grazed her earlobe.

“I excelled at anatomy,” he teased, and slipped his hand under her back, and then stroking her thigh, then lower, his fingertips working their magic on her inner knee.

“You have a magic touch, that is for sure.” Suzie bit her lower lip as she tried to keep control of her body, which was fighting to reach the heights of pleasure and throw itself off into oblivion.

“Only for you.” Kit kissed her neck, his hips keeping a steady rhythm as he made love to her.

Suzie cried out, there was no way she could hold on. Kit’s body tensed too, and his cock erupted, his seed filling her as he came. With a bone-shaking shudder, she let her body go, let her senses fly and rode the wave of pleasure that swept over her.

Kit flexed his hips, burying himself deep inside her, and in that moment they were one. Bodies, souls, and minds.

“I think you got it wrong,” Kit whispered in her ear.

“Got what wrong?” she murmured sleepily, her spent body needing to fall under the spell of sleep.

“You are the perfect one.” He kissed her shoulder and pulled her into his arms.

“We are all perfect in our own way.” She snuggled back against him. “That’s what my mom taught me.”

“She is a wise woman,” Kit replied.

“She is, she just needs the confidence to believe her own words.” Then sleep took her and if Kit spoke again, she did not hear him. But she felt his presence all through the night.