The Paranormal Council: Complete Series

Chapter 16

BJORN

Bjorn hated to admit it, but he was nervous. Ari had told her that her father was more of a beta male than an alpha one, but that hadn’t done anything to stop his worrying. After all, this was the father of the woman he loved. His approval meant a lot to Ari, and so it meant a lot to Bjorn too.

He glanced around the bar, trying to spot the man who held his future in the palm of his hand. He only had Ari’s description to go by, but as soon as the red-headed man entered the bar, he knew he was the right one. Bjorn gave a nervous wave and got a smile in return. He studied the man as he walked towards him. It was easy to see the similarities to Ari, it was there in his pale eyes and his auburn hair. Other than that, he didn’t look old enough to have a grown daughter, but that was typical of shifters. From what he remembered of his parents, they didn’t look old enough to have him either. He was fairly tall, and athletically toned, with an intelligent glint in his eye that betrayed his relation to Ari far more than his appearance did.

“Bjorn I presume?” He held out his hand and Bjorn took it, shaking firmly and successfully hiding his nerves.

“Yes, sir.”

“None of this sir nonsense, call me George. I have a feeling that we’re going to be in each other’s lives for a long time.” He smiled and motioned for the bartender to bring him a beer. They sat there in silence for a few moments. “So, what do you do, Bjorn?”

“I’m a private investigator.” George’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

“For paranormals?”

“Not necessarily, anyone can hire me.” He shrugged. He kept his job more through a necessity to keep busy. Technically, he didn’t need the money; he’d been the sole heir to his family, and they’d been beyond rich. But the loneliness that accompanied their deaths still haunted him, and so he’d become a PI. Hunting down cheating spouses and missing people gave him something to focus on.

“And that’ll be enough to support my daughter?” This time it was Bjorn’s turn to raise a questioning eyebrow. He had a vague idea of how much Ari earned, and he doubted she needed supporting financially. More than that, he couldn’t imagine her wanting to be supported financially. It’d go against everything he knew about her.

“I think that Ari can take care of herself, but it certainly won’t cost her to have me around,” he answered evenly, despite his inner bear having its hackles raised by the challenge. Luckily, his logical side was winning through, especially knowing just how important this meeting was; not just to him, but to Ari too. George chuckled.

“I see that you know my daughter well.” He clapped Bjorn on the back and pride swelled up within him.

“It’s hard not to, she’s a force of nature.” He smiled to himself, thinking of all the little ways Ari made her personality known. Most of those were also the little things he loved about her, even if her need for independence was sure to drive his inner alpha crazy.

“You’d better look after her.” George’s eyes fixed him with a heavy stare that left no doubt in Bjorn’s mind that, despite the fact that George was slighter than he was, if he hurt Ari then he’d be a dead man.

“With every part of my being,” he assured him, getting a deferential nod. The two of them moved on to safer topics, and Bjorn learned more about Ari’s family. George was clearly proud of all four of his children, and the way he talked about them made Bjorn long for one of his own. All he’d have to do was convince Ari to have one too, and that wasn’t something he was quite so sure of.

“I think it’s time to go.” George checked his watch, making Bjorn check the time on his phone, and he was surprised to see that three hours had passed. He was also surprised to see a message from Ari telling him that her Mum was at their place. She’d even used the word ‘theirs’ in her text, making him beam.

“Your wife seems to be at Ari’s apartment, I don’t have a car with me, but it’s not far.” He belatedly realised that George probably knew where Ari lived, but the older man nodded anyway and let it slip by. The two of them left the bar and made the short walk back to Ari’s flat in comfortable silence.

The sight that greeted the two of them when they arrived there had them both shell shocked for a few moments. It appeared as though Ari and her mother were both drunk, their giggles sounding loud even out in the hallway. The worst of it was that shifters couldn’t get drunk unless they wanted to, making Bjorn wonder what the hell had been going on.

“Ari?” he asked, putting more questioning into his voice than he should, but all it did was cause Ari to giggle louder.

“Oh, he’s even more handsome in real life.” Her mother ogled him, giggling along with Ari.

“Isn’t he?”

“I don’t know how you resisted him for so long.” She winked, and Bjorn looked away, not quite knowing what to do with himself.

“Come on, Diana. Let’s get you home.” George went up to his wife and helped her up to her feet.

“Don’t worry Georgy, you’re handsome too.” She kissed him, and it took George a moment to respond, though he pulled back quickly, clearly uncomfortable with her display of affection in front of their daughter.

“Here.” In an effort to avoid watching, Bjorn had gone over to the tap in the kitchen and poured a glass of water, handing it to George to give to his wife. He took it with a grateful smile, and Diana drank slowly under his watch.

“Thanks, I’d better get her home. Good to meet you, Bjorn. Night, sweetheart,” he called the last bit to Ari, who was still giggling on the sofa. The two of them began to make their way over to the door, with Diana staggering slightly and George supporting her weight.

“Night, Dad! Night, Mum!” Bjorn padded over to her and sunk down onto the sofa. Ari immediately crawled onto his lap and straddled him, causing Bjorn to look up sharply and breathe a sigh of relief when he saw that her parents had left straight after she’d called goodnight.

“I take it she’s come around?” he asked, curious as to what had gone on between the two of them.

“Mmmm,” Ari answered, kissing his neck and running one of her hands up inside his shirt.

“Ari…” he warned and she looked up, her big pale eyes surprisingly clear, given how out of it she’d seemed only minutes ago.

“Yes,” she answered throatily, the sound going straight to Bjorn’s groin, something he wasn’t able to hide given her position on top of him.

“You’ve drunk too much for this.”

“Have I?” Her eyes sparkled. “I’ve only had a few glasses of wine. I was just caught in the moment.” He wasn’t convinced, but at that moment she began grinding against him, and his ability to think rationally flew out the window.

“Ari…” he repeated.

“Fine,” she huffed, rising to her feet, the coy smile he loved so much still on her face. “You show me yours and I’ll show you mine.” He gave her a confused look, not quite sure what she was on about. If it was s*x, then they’d been heading there anyway, despite his better judgement. If not, then he really had no clue.

They no longer touched, and a pang of longing went through Bjorn even though she was standing mere feet in front of him. He may have realised that they were mates months ago, but he’d never expected it to affect him quite as much as it did.

Slowly, she unbuttoned her silk shirt, letting it fall to the floor in a messy pile. The moment that her suit skirt followed, Bjorn made to move towards her, but a shake of Ari’s head, and the mischievous look in her eye, stopped him. A low growl rumbled through his chest at the sight of her n***d in front of him. But he didn’t move.

Her expression changed fleetingly, and a moment later, a russet-coloured fox stood in her place. Her words finally making sense to Bjorn. He took a moment to admire her. She was a little bigger than a normal fox, but not noticeably so, and she’d probably go unnoticed by a human. Her fur looked soft, and he yearned to touch it, before remembering that she was his mate, and that she wouldn’t just let him, but would likely encourage it. She c****d her head at him and he reached forward, his hand shaking with inexplicable nerves.

Reverently, he stroked her head, enjoying the silky soft feel of her fur against his hand. She leant her head into his touch, her eyes closing in appreciation and soft yips came from her, letting him know that he was doing the right thing.

“You’re beautiful, Ari.” He wasn’t sure why he whispered, but he did. Her eyes flickered open in a surprisingly human movement, and she fixed him with her shrewd gaze, now completely devoid of the effects of the wine she’d drunk; shifting could do wonders when it came to things like that.

She nudged him, taking on an impatient air despite her current shape. It took him a moment to realise what she was after, but the moment he did, he stood and began to unbutton his jeans, all but ripping them off along with the rest of his clothing. He concentrated on the image of his bear, or at least what he thought his bear looked like; he’d never actually seen it, even in a reflection. In mere seconds, he’d shifted, his form taking up most of Ari’s living room.

She studied him for a moment, before shifting back into human form; completely n***d, with her auburn hair ruffled gloriously. He dwarfed her in size, but that didn’t phase her and she ran her hands through his thick brown fur.

“So are you.” She kissed the top of his head, causing a warm, fuzzy feeling go through Bjorn. Without even thinking about it, he shifted back and pulled her to him with a searing kiss. A kiss that felt so right that he wondered how he’d lived without her up until now.

Ari’s hands roamed over his chest, raking against his skin with her fingernails and making Bjorn’s breath shorten. His hands on her hips, he guided her movements, pulling the two of them back down onto the sofa. She sank down on him, not wasting any time, her head tilting back as he entered her in one swift move. Bjorn tried to focus on anything other than the feel of her around him in an effort to stop him finishing too soon.

The two of them moved against one another, incapable of anything more than moaning and grunting each other’s names. It didn’t take long for the pleasure to mount within Bjorn. He thrust his hips more furiously, and pulled Ari’s face to his, kissing her with unrestrained passion. Ari broke the kiss and threw her head back once more, letting out a long moan. He felt her pulse around him, breaking his concentration and the two of them finished in unison, collapsing into a sweaty heap on the sofa, satisfied and content.