Sky woke up feeling the safety and warmth of Bas at her back, spooning her. And her first thought was to cry. She had never felt this way about another person.  She also never believed another person could make her feel as good as Bas had last night.  She could become addicted to this man.  Rolling over to face the man that was quickly becoming her addiction, Sky took the time to really look at him for the first time. 

His dusty brown hair seemed to have taken on a life of its own during the night; sticking out at odd angles some might think it was mess, but Sky found it sexy.  His skin was light, but the kind that tanned easily in the summer.  Bas also had the longest eyelashes she had ever seen, resting on his cheeks. But it was his soft lips that really caught her attention; the bottom one just a bit plumper than the top.  She was tempted to suck it into her mouth, but she had other plans on how to wake him up. 

In his sleep, he looked so relaxed and boyish. Sky knew he was anything but, so she tried to figure him out. Bas was loving and caring, but also domineering and brash.  He seemed to second guess himself all the time, but when it mattered, he was confident and quick.  He didn’t coddle her either like most men would.  He expected things of her, but also let her find her own way at the same time. 

Being raised around bikers, Sky observed the men often.  They either treated the women that were around like trash because that was what they were, or they cherished the ones that they choose to be a part of their small families.  The latter would keep them safe from harm and catered to them.  Bas didn’t cater to her, but he did show her that he cherished her in some way. 

Closing her eyes for a second, she sought out the bond, their unique connection, and it was still there, only stronger.  Bas was content, and that made her smile.  Sky had no experience with relationships, but she wanted one with Bas.  She wanted the forever kind of relationship with him, complete with babies and white picket fences.  It was all so crazy, quick, and out of this world.

She hadn’t lied when she told him he had the ability to break her.  Something beyond them individually connected them, and she was tired of questioning it. Sky just hoped he followed through and she didn’t break in the end.  Taking something from all her biker friends, Sky decided, for now, she would just enjoy the ride. If it ended and she ended up broken, she would just have to deal with it.  This time she had with Bas was important, and she didn’t want to let a moment of it slip through her fingers.

Wanting to give him as much as he had given her, she gently removed herself from his arms.    He grumbled a little but didn’t seem to wake up. Sky was grateful, she had never done what she was planning before and liked the idea of catching him unaware.  Taking a deep breath, she gathered all of her courage she had and decided to be bold. 

Reaching for the snap of his jeans, she managed to undo it without waking him. Taking another deep breath, she lowered his zipper, placing her hand within the confines of his jeans.  She was surprised and relieved to find that he went commando.  Tracing his exposed cock with the tip of her finger, Sky watched in awe as he grew and expanded just from her simple touch.  His cock was a contradiction; soft yet hard.  The skin was baby smooth, but the inner core harder than steel. Sky found the contrast extraordinary.  Getting bolder, she palmed him into her hand then tried to wrap her fingers around his girth, not quite making it. 

After pumping him a few times, she noticed a tiny pearl of cum had collected on his very tip of his penis.  Getting to her knees, she leaned over and took her first taste, surprised to find that she liked it.  Bas groaned. Sky looked up to see that he was watching her and it only increased her arousal.  He was awake and had been letting her play with him at her pace.  Deciding to continue where she left off, she licked the head of his cock once again, only this time Bas lifted his hips off the bed, pushing his cock into her waiting mouth.  He pushed a little further than she was ready for, causing her to almost gag, but one deep breath through her nose seemed to help. 

"Babe, that feels so good. Keep breathing through your nose."

Tangling his hands in her hair, Sky sucked him deeper.  She wanted so badly to give Bas the same feelings he had given her last night.  Knowing he needed control, she let him guide her head up and down his shaft. Using her mouth and tongue, she tried to give him as much pleasure as possible.

"That’s it, babe, suck my cock."

Encouraged by his words, she doubled her effort by gripping his cock just a little harder and taking him deeper on each push of his hips. 

Bas groaned, his breathing had become quicker and his pace faster.  "Babe, relax your throat, and when I hit the back, swallow."

He groaned, and Sky complied.  She almost panicked until she remembered to breathe through her nose.  Dang, she never thought giving a blowjob would give her so much pleasure, but the evidence was traveling down her thighs.  Bas’ grip increased on her head, and his movements became erratic and more forceful.

Sky opened herself to him and the sensations she was experiencing.  She could feel her own orgasm building. When the first spurt of cum hit the back of her throat, Sky swallowed frantically, trying to catch every drop. When Bas yelled out her name, she exploded.  Letting his softening cock slip from her mouth, she screamed out her release.  With her head lying on his tight stomach, they both fought to catch their breath.

"Sky, did you just cum from giving me head?" Bas said between pants.

Sky nodded her head, still unable to catch her breath. She could feel the heat on her cheeks at the admission. Damn, if oral sex was this good, she didn’t know why people ever did anything else. 

"Bas, is it always like this?" 

"What do you mean, honey?" 

"I mean, is sex always this intense, this explosive?" 

"No babe, that only happens with you." 

"Babe, we need to talk,” Bas said. “You need to know everything before we leave. If something happens and we get separated, I want to you make your way to my team."

Sky didn’t like the sound of this conversation.  She didn’t want to separate from Bas, for even a second.  Now he was telling her there was a possibility of that happening, and it scared the crap out of her.  Maybe he was pulling away again.  Shit, this roller coaster ride sucked.

Sky got up on her knees, "What do you mean, if we get separated, Bas?  I thought we were in this together.  Now you are telling me, after probably one of the best orgasms of my life, that is not the case.  What is your deal? Pick a fucking stance, Bas, and stick with it.  Either we do this together or not at all, dammit, " Sky said jumping off the bed.

"Shit Sky, listen, it’s not that simple,” Bas pleaded.  “You just need to be prepared, just in case.  Look, I told you about all the people that are possibly after you, but I didn’t explain all of it.  I think you have shifter DNA, more specifically, if that picture you showed me and your memory is right, you might be the only female purebred Shifter of breeding age in the world.  Do you know how extraordinary that is?  Do you even realize how much of a target that puts on your back?  These marks could mean that we are mated, or they could be something else entirely.  We haven't had sex so none of it should even be possible.  Shifters bond thoroughly through sex and sex alone.  We haven’t had sex to cement the bond and create the mating, so it shouldn't be possible." 

Sky crossed her arms over her chest, pulling up her defenses.  She didn't want to hear any of the crap Bas was saying.  She was almost compelled to stick her fingers in her ears and yell, "I can't hear you," like a child, sticking her tongue out to emphasize the move like a two-year-old.  She thought, Shifters, mating’s, and mating marks, what the ever-loving hell?  She didn't know about or even care about that stuff.  She knew how she felt, and Bas was pulling away from her once again.

Bas was getting irritated. Sky needed to listen to him and listen well.  She was sitting there like none of what he was saying made a bit of a difference, and it pissed him off. 

"Do you understand where I am going here? All of this isn’t supposed to be possible.  My bear is calm around you, but if you are out of sight for even a minute, he goes nuts. That is another thing that should not be happening.  When we meet and mate with our fated mate, the beast within us settles completely.  The bond, the string linking our souls, it is another thing that should not have happened.  We don’t make sense."

Those words hurt. Sky had asked him not to break her and here he was doing just that, pulling away once again. 

Sky screamed, "Listen, Sebastian, I know what I feel when I am with you.  I don’t care if it is weird or wrong. I want it.  I want you. If you don’t feel the same way, then walk the fuck away now before this thing we have goes any further.  Take me to one your stupid facilities and let them have me.  But don't leave me on my own to find my own way.  We stick this out to the end, whatever that might be, together.  But I will tell you this, if you choose that route, don’t ever come back to me.  And when you finally come to your senses and realize this thing between us is genuine, don’t expect me ever to accept you with open arms."

"Shit, Sky, listen, The Association isn’t the only thing we have to worry about now.  Pandora and Davis Defense are also out there.  Someone could have manipulated your DNA to cause this reaction.  Pandora found out about Shifters years ago. They also learned that only male Shifters are born and that there is no guarantee that every child breed will be a Shifter.  In my family alone, I am the only child that is a Shifter. My brothers are fully human." 

Bas continued, "So, this organization developed a plan to infect Shifters with a virus, causing them to seek out medical attention.  Once there, the doctors and nurses took samples after isolating and then disabling the Shifter.  Pandora implanted those samples into women, genetically engineering female offspring.  They said their first attempts were a failure because the women couldn't Shift and the children contained too much Shifter DNA, more than one strand.  The project dropped, but a doctor within the group went off the rails and continued to run his own experiments, creating more children." 

"He kept track of some but lost others. We are finding out that many of the children ended up in the system.  How do we know that you aren’t one of those children?  What if your enhancements are causing this effect and it isn’t anything more than a chemical reaction.  We don’t fit the script, babe." 

"Fuck you, and stop all this ‘babe’ crap while you're at it.  You don't get to use cutesy endearments when you are planning on throwing me away.  Who are you? I mean really, you have got to be the most contradicting asshole I have ever met.  You think your reaction to having my mouth on your cock was chemical, or how about the fact that the moment I saw you I noticed your differences and craved you like no other man.  You think it’s still chemical, or maybe it’s just animal instinct?  Are you so fucking broken that you can’t see what is standing right in front of you?  What I am offering you?"

"That’s just it, Sky. I am fucking broken.  I had to leave my base because my bear was ripping me apart just because my sister mated to my best friend.  My bear didn’t like it, didn’t want to her anywhere near him.  Wanted to bleed him, the same man that has been my closest confidante and friend my entire life.  And before you ask, no, I don’t have any feeling for her other than brotherly love.  My bear is fucked up.  If Shifters don’t find their mates, they eventually go rogue, causing them to destroy everything and anyone in their way.  That is what is happening to me, and I won’t let you get caught up in that madness.  Get me?"

"No, I don’t get you, but I can tell there is no talking you out of it.  Do what you have to do, Bas, just remember my words." 

Sky stormed off to the bathroom.  Damn, she was totally getting her bathroom fix lately. Maybe next time she should take off to a closet for space and to clear her head.  At least then there wouldn't be a mirror, and it would probably smell better.  It seemed like every time the chips were down she found herself standing in a random bathroom trying to figure out what the hell was going on with her life.  Maybe she should take that as a clue and just flush all the crap away.

Sky sat in the bathroom on the edge of the tub fuming about all that Bas had just laid on her.  The bathroom was gross, again, not surprising. One of these days she deserved to have a meltdown in a nice bathroom. After all, was good to have goals.  Sky heard Bas moving around in the other room, presumably getting ready to dump her ass at the next stop.  Bas pounded on the door "Sky, get out here. We have company."

Motherfucker, did this shit ever end?  Sky opened the door and saw Bas standing by the window with the curtain slightly pulled to the side.  She heard at least two car doors slam.  How did these people keep on finding them?

"Babe, get dressed quick. We have three cars in the parking lot, and the fuckers are breaking down doors looking for something.  They don’t look familiar, but I’m not willing to take the chance that what they are looking for is us."

Getting dressed quickly and quietly, Sky asked the question that had been bothering her. "Bas, how do these people keep on finding us?" Her voice was heavy with despair.

"I don’t know, babe, but we need to figure it out pretty quick.  These guys are new, but I recognize one of the cars from last night. The other two cars are different.  Sky, do you know how to hotwire a car?"

Giving him an annoyed puzzled look she said, “I’m a mechanic, aren’t I? Of course, I know how to hot wire a car, why? "

"Babe, I think our best chance of getting out of here in one piece is to get to one of their cars," Bas said as he was surveying the scene in the parking.

"How are we going to do that with them outside watching?" Sky questioned. “Did you see how many guys there are?" 

"I counted at least six. Listen babe, I’m going to cause a distraction, drawing them to the back of the motel.  I want you to watch out this window.  Once they take the bait, I want you to do your magic with one of their cars and drive down the road about a mile.  Wait for me for about 15 minutes, if I don’t show up, get to a phone and call this number."  Bas handed her a piece of wadded up paper.  "Don’t wait to get yourself to safety, do you understand?"

Bas saw the fear in her eyes, but also resolve too.  He was going to leave her. She knew it and so did he.

“Babe, you need to trust me. This is the best way,” he said pulling her into his chest for a hug. 

Sky nodded her acceptance, and Bas pulled back, kissing her quickly.  He couldn’t resist just one last kiss because it would have to hold him for a very long time.  Bas would follow Sky to safety and call in the guys.  He would make sure she was safe and then call Senior.  No way was he going to put his death on Jacks or Cash.  But he knew now that he would never be able to leave Sky alone, and the risk wasn’t worth the reward.

That man was full of mixed signals, Sky thought. But Sebastian Frost had another thing coming to him if he thought Sky would quietly accept what he said and moved on.  She knew he was planning on leaving; she felt it through the bond.  Sky figured he would stay close but out of sight.  This whole thing with him seemed too important, and she had never been a quitter. She wasn’t about to start now.

Sky noticed that he had left the duffle, so she put it on.  They might need it after this.  Going to the window that Bas had been standing at just a few moments before, Sky cracked the drapes and waited for Bas’ distraction.  She noticed that there were three cars like Bas had said, all sedans in standard colors, nothing to bring a person's attention to. There were millions of these types of cars on the road today.  One of the cars, a blue Corolla, seemed to be her best bet for a getaway car.  It looked like it was in better shape than the others, and it was newish.  It didn’t take long to hear glass breaking and loud cursing coming from the back of the motel.  The six men took the bait, running past the room that Sky was hiding in and around the corner. 

With trembling hands, Sky opened the door and ran to the closest vehicle in the lot.  Deciding to adjust Bas’ original plan, she made sure to disable two of the cars.  She laid down next to the tire and sliced the break-line with the small knife she had found in the duffle bag.  At least this way they had a fighting chance of getting away. Then again, if those guys could Shift it probably wouldn’t matter all that much.  Bas had been super-fast in his bear form, and Sky could only assume other animals might be quicker. 

Jumping into the third car, it turned out she didn’t need her hot wire skills. The keys were already in the ignition and the car was even running.  Just when she went to back out of the parking spot, a large man appeared from one of the hotel rooms.  He didn’t make any move towards her, but she saw his intent. The asshole raised a gun and pointed it right at her.  Sky didn’t need any more encouragement. She gunned the car and sped out of the parking lot like the hounds of hell were on her heels.   Now she just had to hope that Bas made it out as safely as she had. 

Sky waited well past the time she knew it would take a man as physically fit as Bas to make it the mile. She was determined to continue to wait until he showed up.  Thankfully that was only about 15 minutes longer.  Bas jogged up to the driver side of the car.

"Move over, babe, we need to get out of here." 

Throwing the duffle bag to the floorboards, Sky climbed over the console to get into the passenger seat.  It wasn’t until she settled into the passenger seat that she noticed the blood covering Bas’ arm.

"Holy shit, you’re hurt," Sky gasped.

Fumbling for something to staunch the blood flow, Sky opened the duffle bag.  She had already looked inside of it early to find the knife, so the contents didn’t surprise her.  There was cash, weapons, clothing, and a first aid kit.  That was what she needed. 

Bas tried to make light of the situation. “Every good soldier has a go bag, babe.” 

She was not amused.  He had attempted to leave her. Bas just wasn’t admitting to it, but she knew.  Getting the first aid kit out, she made quick work of what she was assumed was a graze from a bullet on Bas’ upper arm.  She might have pressed a little too hard and used a bit more alcohol than necessary to clean the wound, but he deserved the pain.

“Bas, what happened, why did it take you so long to get to the car?” Sky probed.

“Well babe, one against seven is pretty bad odds.  Not to mention, I thought I told you to take off and not wait. So imagine my surprise when I found your ass waiting right out in the open.  But next time I will be sure to hurry my ass up,” he said sarcastically.  “We need to get going. They aren’t going to be that far behind us.”

Putting the car in drive, Bas moved down the country road quickly but not fast enough. The two vehicles from the parking lot approached at backbreaking speeds.  Sky knew Bas was going to order her down to the floorboards. Before he could issue the command, she had one of her own to relay. 

“Bas, if it looks like they are going to try and come up on either side of the car, let them.  Then hit the brakes and start going the other way.” 

Bas tried to placate her. “Babe, that isn’t going to help. We need to get to the interstate, and this is the fastest way.” 

“Bas I know what I am talking about. Please do what I say.”

Bas reluctantly executed the plan she laid forth. When the two cars sped past them, Bas reversed their direction and watched in the rear-view mirror as the cars came closer and continued to keep going until the driver lost control and they crashed into one another.  Shocked, he looked over at Sky and asked, “How did you know?” 

Sky shrugged her shoulders. "I cut their break lines back at the motel. I figured we might need a little extra time to get away," she said like it wasn’t a big deal. 

What surprised her was Bas wasn’t happy; he was pissed.  I should turn you over my knee and spank you till you can’t sit down for a week.  When I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it. You put yourself in an even more dangerous situation by improvising. 

Now Sky was getting furious. Her improvising helped them. She decided pretty darn quickly not to tell him about the guy that spotted her, or about the gun he aimed right at her. She wasn’t stupid. 

“Bas, I don’t mind taking direction, but you have to realize my need to protect you is just as strong as your need to protect me.  I took a chance and nothing happened, and it has given us a bit of a reprieve.  I will gladly take the spanking if you think my actions caused you or me any harm.  But if after you have thought about it for a while, you see that it did neither, then I will expect an apology.” 

Sky continued, “I also want a fucking apology for the fact that you were going to leave me back there.  You and I both know it’s true. I felt your resolve before you left that room.  Know one thing, Sebastian; I don’t let go of the thing I love.  I hold on tight with both hands until it proves to be a useless situation, and then I still hang tight just a little longer hoping it with change. If that makes me stupid, then it is my burden to bear."

She had said her peace, now the ball was in his court.  Sky wasn’t anyone’s puppet; she had a mind of her own and she planned on using it.  Wanting him, no needing him, did not mean she would roll over and let him make every decision.  Decisions about her health and wellbeing in this situation or damn, maybe even in life, yeah.  The bedroom, hell yeah, he could have that. She kind of liked those demands. That was, if he ever decided he wanted it.  But if she could use her skills and abilities to make their lives better, she would, whether the big, doofus alpha male liked it or not. 

Bas was seething. How could she have put herself in further danger like that? This mating shit wasn’t going to work if she couldn’t give him the control he needed, and that was that.  Shit, now he was even thinking about a future that didn’t exist.  What the fuck?