Shifter On Ice (Shifter World - Book Two) (Series of 13 Short Stories)

-While Lyvia is off with Raj for his games-

Sharissa set the pan on the counter and smiled. She’s been having the strangest cravings. She looked at the brownies that were filled with peanut butter and strawberry jam. Okay, so it’s not the best combination, but fuck, she wanted a piece of it. She cut into it and lifted a piece—burning her fingertips.

“Damn it,” she cried as she dropped the square of brownie. The gooey center oozed over the top of the other brownies, and her eyes brightened. “Perfect!” she screeched.

When Dustin walked into the kitchen, she was spreading the strawberry jam over the (once again perfect pan of brownies). He stopped and stared at the pan.

“What in the world did you bake this time?”

His voice had her jumping. She turned around and grinned at her mate, the butter knife she’d been using to spread the jam in her hand—which had automatically come up in self-defense. The jam slid down her fingers, but she didn’t notice as she stared into her mate’s eyes. She’s so in love with this man, her shifter.

Dustin grinned when he saw the look of pure lust in his mate’s eyes. He also saw love and his heart swelled. Dustin walked over to Shar and took her hand into his. She continued to stare into his eyes as he pulled her hand to him and sucked one of her jam-covered fingers into his mouth. He moaned, and she shivered.

When he let her finger go, her cheeks were almost as red as the jam still dripping from the knife.

Dustin smirked as he brushed his finger against her hot cheek. “Strawberry jam, my favorite.”

She smiled as she leaned her cheek into his touch.

He looked at the pan again and shook his head. “What have you baked this time?”

Shar shook her head and cleared her thoughts. “Peanut butter and jelly brownies.”

Dustin choked out a laugh. Her odd cravings have given them plenty of strange new things to try.

“You don’t get any,” she said, pointing the knife at him. “If you laugh at me.”

He looked at her and shook his head. “I’m not laughing at you, Mafilia. I am laughing at your odd cravings.”

She snorted. “Same thing.” She went back to spreading the jam across the brownies.

Once she was through, she lifted one out and took a bite. She closed her eyes with a sigh.

“Good?” he asked, watching her.

She opened her eyes and nodded. “Best thing I’ve come up with,” she said, offering him a bite.

Dustin grinned as he leaned forward and took a bite. He chewed it for a minute, the flavors fighting in his mouth for dominance. It actually wasn’t too bad.

“So?” Sharissa asked, watching him chew the bite of brownie.

Dustin smiled. “Better than the fish lasagna, but not as good as the pumpkin meringue pie.”

Shar grinned and took another bite of the brownie. He hadn’t liked her lasagna. She’d had to eat it all herself—not that she complained.

“Mom is coming over today,” Dustin said as he leaned his hip against the counter.

Shar looked at him, then at herself. “When?”

He looked at his watch. “In about an hour.”

Shar’s eyes opened in horrification. “I’m a mess!”

Dustin chuckled. “I don’t think she’ll care.”

Shar grunted as she shoved the rest of the brownie into her mouth. “Put that away for me,” she said through the chocolaty goodness in her mouth, pointing to the pan of brownies.

Dustin grinned as he watched his mate run from the kitchen. They have plenty of staff who could fix her anything she wanted. When they refused to make some of the dishes she craved, she started making them herself. He didn’t blame his staff. Some of the things she has asked for would make anyone run for the hills. All except for his beautiful mate. He sighed as he lifted the pan of brownies and placed them in the fridge.

He knows she’ll have them finished before tomorrow. She was getting a shifter’s appetite with the pregnancy. He chuckled when he thought of the other day when they were thrown from yet another buffet. His little pregnant mate had cleaned them out of almost everything in less than an hour.

“Do you need anything, Mr. Kraftman?”

Dustin turned to the maid and smiled. “Can you please clean up after my mate?”

The woman smiled and nodded, happy to have something to do. Since Shar moved in, there was less and less for his staff to do—because Shar can be a neat freak.

He’d thought about letting his staff go, but they’re all shifters who need work, and with Sharissa pregnant, they could use the help. They stay out of sight and out of mind. Which Dustin appreciated, but he knew they were there because the house stayed clean. Luckily, they’ve always given him his space, or he and Shar would have been caught more than once fucking in one room or another in his mansion.

The doorbell rang, and he rushed out of the kitchen to answer the door. When he opened the door, his mother stood on the other side, beaming at him. She threw herself into his arms, and he chuckled as he hugged her.

“You’re early, Mother.”

Amirah Kraftman smiled as she hugged her second eldest. “I couldn’t wait to see you and your lovely mate.”

Dustin chuckled. He knows why she’s here. Because Shar is pregnant with her first grandcub.

“Where is she?” Amirah asked as she moved past her son and into his large mansion.

“Taking a shower. She was a bit of a mess after making another of her concoctions.”

Amirah turned to her son with a chuckle. “Is she at the crazy cravings stage?”

Dustin chuckled and nodded. “She is.”

“What did she concoct today?” Amirah asked as she walked over to a couch and sat down.

“Peanut butter and jelly brownies.”

Amirah’s left eyebrow raised. “Inside or on top?”

“Both,” Dustin chuckled. “Peanut butter and strawberry jam inside and jam over the top.”

Amirah nodded. “I hadn’t put jam on top. I covered it with peanut butter.”

Dustin stared at her, his mouth gaping open.

Amirah chuckled. “Your cub has the same cravings you did when I was pregnant with you.”

Dustin’s mouth closed, and a grin spread across his face.

“Amirah,” Shar squealed when she entered the living room and found Amirah sitting on the couch talking with Dustin.

Amirah looked up at Shar and smiled. “You look absolutely gorgeous.”

Shar blushed. She knows she doesn’t. Her hair is wet and lying straight down her back, and her clothes are sticking to her damp skin.

Amirah walked over to Sharissa and pulled her into a hug. “Motherhood looks divine on you.”

Shar smiled as she hugged the woman back.

Amirah stayed for a few hours. She told Shar stories of when she was pregnant with each of her sons, especially Dustin. She ate lunch with them and sat out back while they discussed the playground Dustin wanted to build in the backyard. When it was time for her to leave, Shar was sad to see her go.

“I’ll come for another visit, I promise,” Amirah said with a grin. “And I will see you this weekend for family night. You’re not missing another one.” She turned to Dustin and gave him the evil eye.

They hadn’t been to a family dinner since they’d discovered Shar was pregnant.

“Promise,” Shar confirmed.

Amirah nodded, then pointed to Shar’s stomach. “Take care of my grandcub.”

Shar nodded. “Count on it.”

Amirah grinned. “I’ll give you the recipes I came up with while pregnant with Dustin. It seems your cub has its father’s appetite.”

Shar chuckled. “I’d love that.”

Amirah hugged them and then left.

Shar looked at Dustin. “What now?”

Dustin grinned. “Bedroom.” he lifted her into his arms and carried her up the stairs.

Shar giggled as she held onto him.

~🐈~

Shar was in the kitchen going through the cookbook Amirah had given her at the family dinner last night when she heard a loud noise outback. She set the book down and walked toward the door.

A loud growl and a hiss had her pulling the door open. She found Symone hovering over her kittens as she hissed and swatted at a dog, trying to get to the little ones.

Shar walked down the stairs faster than she should have and stopped when the dog looked up at her with a feral growl.

“Evil mutt,” Shar growled at the dog.

With the dog distracted by Shar, Symone jumped onto the dog’s head, hissing, and clawing.

Shar noticed the blood dripping into the dog’s eye and almost screamed when the dog shook his head, tossing Symone across the yard.

“Symone!” Shar cried out. She headed toward the cat, but the dog turned to her and growled, foam dripping from his mouth. “Ah fuck,” she whispered.

The kittens meowed and scurried over to Shar. As if they knew she would protect them while their mother was down.

“Get out of my yard,” Shar growled at the mut.

The foaming mutt moved toward her. It stopped when Shar crouched in a defensive position and snarled. The dog snarled back and shook his head, spit flying everywhere. He moved to jump at her and stopped with a small whimper.

Unknown to Shar and unseen by anyone, her eyes flashed silver for a split second.

The mutt growled and jumped at her again. Shar prepared for the pain but was shocked when a wolf came out of nowhere and took the mutt down. She watched the wolf take hold of the mutt’s neck and shake his head. She heard the snap of the mutt’s neck and placed her hand to her throat as she stood from her defensive crouch.

The wolf turned to her, and she could see the kindness in his silver eyes. He shifted to his human form, and Shar sighed with relief. It was Dustin’s gardener.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner, ma’am,” he said with a slight bow.

Shar smiled. “You got here just in time, Fredrick.”

Fredrick grinned. “You know my name.”

Shar nodded, and before she could say anything else, Dustin burst from the house and stopped at the top of the stairs, taking in everything in his backyard.

“Fredrick?” he asked his gardener.

“It’s my fault,” Shar said, smiling up at her mate.

Dustin looked at Sharissa, his left eyebrow raised.

“I will take care of this,” Fredrick said as he picked up the dead mutt and walked into the woods to bury him.

The kittens’ mewing caught Shar’s attention, and she remembered Symone. She ran to the cat, who was still lying on her side, not moving.

“Oh, Symone, please be okay. Lyvia will never forgive me,” Shar cried.

Dustin followed his mate and the kittens to where the mother cat lay motionless.

“What happened?” he asked, standing behind her.

Shar moved the cat and sighed with relief. She was still alive. But was she okay?

“We should take Symone to the vet,” Shar said as she lifted the cat into her arms.

Dustin frowned. “What happened, Sharissa?”

Shar looked at her mate and frowned, then told him everything.

Dustin sighed. “Remind me to give Fredrick a raise.” He wrapped his arms around her and walked her to the house.

They situated the kittens in a room, then headed to the car to take Symone to the vet.

~🐈~

The vet gave Symone a clean bill of health. She had a few bruises, but nothing was broken. When they got home, they placed Symone in the room with her babies, then headed to their room.

“Now for your punishment,” Dustin growled as he walked up behind his mate.

Shar spun on him, her eyes open wide. “You wouldn’t dare.”

He frowned. “Sharissa. You almost got yourself and our cub killed.”

Shar frowned. “I was protecting Symone and her babies.”

Dustin sighed. “Their lives aren’t more important than you or our cub.”

Shar’s frown deepened. “They aren’t any less important, either.”

Dustin growled. “Sharissa.”

“Dustin.”

Dustin pinched the bridge of his nose. “What punishment should I give you for your recklessness?”

Shar shrugged. “I didn’t know he had rabies until after I joined Symone and her kittens.”

Dustin sighed. “Exactly. Recklessness.”

Shar looked down at her stomach. He was right. She shouldn’t have jumped in like that without knowing what she was getting into.

Dustin pulled her into his arms. “Your punishment will be torture.”

She stared up at him, her eyes open wide. “T-t-torture?”

He grinned. “Don’t worry, Mafilia, it will hurt me as much as it will hurt you.”

She blinked. How the fuck will her torture hurt him?

~🐈~

She found out that night. Every time she was about to orgasm, Dustin would back away from her pussy. Then he would go at it again, bringing her to a boiling point, then releasing her before she could cum. He did it for hours, and she was about to commit murder.

She could see in his eyes that it was hurting him as much as it was hurting her. And she smirked.

After three hours of torture, Dustin finally had enough of the torment and figured it was enough punishment. He let her orgasm, then slammed into her so hard she screamed. He grinned as he slammed into her again and again. The tension from not letting his mate orgasm was too much for him. He came so hard that if she wasn’t already pregnant, he knew she would be now.

“What the fuck was that?” Sharissa cried out.

Dustin snorted. “I don’t think this was a good punishment.”

She chuckled. “Why? Because you were punished as well?”

He grunted. “Because I don’t think it has taught you a lesson to behave.”

She groaned. “Well, that was the best sex we’ve ever had. Maybe I’ll be bad more often.”

Dustin chuckled. “I love you.”

Shar grinned. “I love you too, Mafilio. More than words could ever say.”

He smirked. “Even after your punishment?”

She chuckled. “The after-effects were worth it.”

He shook his head. “You are one crazy woman.”

Her eyebrow raised. “Didn’t you already know that?”

He nodded. “Sadly, I did. Because who else but a crazy woman would so easily give herself to a man like me?”

Shar placed her hand to his cheek. “Our union may have been fast and crazy as hell. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I love you, Dustin, and nothing will ever change that. You’re my other half, my soulmate.”

Dustin smiled. “And you are mine. For now, and all eternity.”

“How many cubs do you want?” Shar asked out of the blue.

Dustin looked at her, his eyebrow raised. “How many do you want?”

She scoffed. “I asked you first.”

He grinned. “At least four.”

She smiled. “I think we’re a perfect match, Dustin Kraftman.”

Dustin leaned down as best he could (he was still knotted inside her) and kissed the top of her stomach.

“You and our cub are my everything, Sharissa. I love you both so much.”

Shar smiled. “And we love you,” she said as she slid her fingers through his hair. “Even if the Goddesses hadn’t thrown us together, I think we’d have found each other one way or another.”

He chuckled. “You did come to us to help you get away from your crazy ex.”

She nodded and closed her eyes. If that man hadn’t mentioned the Kraftman brothers, she would have never thought of them… Was that the Goddesses’ way of throwing them together?

Dustin’s cock made a noise when it popped out of her, and she giggled.

Dustin chuckled as he moved to the head of the bed and laid down. He pulled her against him and sighed heavily.

“Thank you,” Shar whispered.

Dustin pressed his cheek to her head. “For what?”

“For being you,” she whispered, then fell asleep.

Dustin sighed. “No, Mafilia.” He kissed her forehead. “Thank YOU.”