Inner animal. by Emily Zimmerman. (ebook reader for laptop .TXT) 📕

calm.
I cried out as he tried to pick me up, and he quickly revised his plan. “Okay, I’m going to need you to shift, Nina. I’ll carry you on my back; you’ll heal faster if you shift”
I nodded, in too much pain to argue, I shifted, growling as he reached out a hand and gently touched the shredded skin. He quickly withdrew his hand with an apologetic look and shifted. He lay down and looked pointedly at me, then to his back.
With every movement, I roared in pain, but I managed to climb onto his back. My legs dragged the forest floor as I lay limp on his back, he ran at amazing speeds, glancing back to check on me every once in a while. It was a smooth ride, with only a few roars a protest from me. Soon the others caught up, I recognized dad, his animal was a lion, and I had only seen it once, but I knew his eyes. He and mom flanked Bane, while two bears and two tigers ran behind us.
“Wait!” moms voice made Bane skid to a stop, and we all listened.
Mom cocked her head to the side, and everyone looked at her. “Bane, get her to the sanctuary. We’ll meet you there! Go, now!” she urged as the sound of running, huge paws got louder.
Bane took off twice as fast, and I tensed, the pain getting worse with each paw-print he made in the dirt.
My roar of pain was followed by several whimpers. “Sorry, Nina. But we don’t have much time” he grunted, going faster.
I didn’t answer, my mind focused on the excruciating pain in my side. I knew it was healing, but it was only slowly healing. We finally broke out of the forest, and he kept running, the sanctuary was close, I could smell it. And before I knew it, he was pushing the door open with his face and running as fast as he could down the hall. I growled softly, my vision was blurring and I started to get dizzy. I stared at the ground and noticed that blood was trickling down my foot and trailing on the floor, I was losing too much. I closed my eyes, slowly getting too tired to keep them open. The last thing I heard was Drake’s plea for me to stay awake.

“Nina. Nina can you hear me? Wake up!” I knew that pleading voice, but I couldn’t put a name to it. It was someone important to me, someone who meant a lot to me, I knew that…so why couldn’t I remember his name?
“Nina. Please, if you can hear us, wake up” it was another voice, a softer, female voice, but I still couldn’t remember who it belonged to. I worked to open my eyes, but I couldn’t, it felt like my eyelids were too heavy.
“Nina, Love, Please, wake up” that voice brought my memory back, I knew that voice, my heart sped and tingles shot up my spine when I would hear that voice, that was Bane’s voice. I felt a soft touch to my face, brushing my hair back, and I longed to open my eyes and see the owner of that voice and those hands, but they were so heavy!
I worked with every ounce of strength I had to open my eyes, but I could only get them to flutter, not open. “She is waking up. I know how it feels though, it’s hard to regain control of your body after the poison of the Jaykoren wears off” someone else said, a deep male voice.
I tried, again, to open my eyes, working on tightening them first, and then relaxing them. After I finally got that down, I tried opening them again, and they weren’t as heavy as before. I slowly opened my eyes to stare into piercing blue ones, I knew those eyes.
“Nina” Bane sighed in relief, his thumb stroking my temple.
From the corner of my eye, I registered mom, tugging dad and the doctor out of the room, that’s who those voices belonged to. I stared up at Bane, the love that I had been denying flooding through me. I reached up with a shaky, heavy and hand touched his cheek, it was wet, “have you been crying?” I croaked.
He smiled slightly, his eyes taking in my face, as if he’d never seen it before “when I got you here…you’d lost a lot of blood and…the doctor didn’t think he would be able to save you. I could hear your heart slowing and I just…” he struggled with his emotions for a moment, his eyes filling with unshed tears “I couldn’t fathom losing you. You were dying and I couldn’t do a thing about it. And then…all of the sudden…your heart rate normalized and you started healing normally, the doctor couldn’t figure out what had happened, he suspects the poison from the jaykoren’s claws had passed through your body, and it was over, I can’t tell you how…relieved and…sorry I was to you. Nina, I never wanted to lie to you, ever” he leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead, letting them linger.
“Then why did you?” I asked when he pulled back.
“I didn’t. I didn’t tell you about Valery because I didn’t want to upset you. She was our job. She was the one we were there for. Her power is…distracting men. She uses that… distraction against us, my father was immune, that’s his power, being immune to mental powers; powers that mess with the mind. He kept trying to get me to remember our job, and every time I would come to my senses, she would suck me back into her little…seduction” his face scrunched up in disgust “the only thing that broke me from her distraction and kept me from it was my father’s mention of…you. Your face was the only thought in my mind from then on. I’m ashamed of myself that I didn’t think of you before, and I don’t think I can forgive myself for even thinking of another woman. I love you, Nina, and no one else” he vowed, staring fiercely into my eyes.
I opened my mouth to speak, but he suddenly leaned down and captured my lips with his, my arms wrapped around his neck without my permission and they used my strength to pull him on top of me. A low growl came from deep in his chest, making me shiver. He straddled my hips and grinded into me, making me gasp and moan quietly. He slipped his tongue between my lips and explored my mouth with it. I had lost all train of thought, my mind was running on backup power now, and even that was too faulty to help.
I gripped the back of his shirt with both of my hands and leaned my head up as he tried to pull away. “Nina…I have to stop” he groaned as I wrapped my legs around his waist.
“Why?” I gasped between kisses.
“I don’t think you want me to take you on a hospital bed” he said breathlessly.
“Then take me to your room” I couldn’t help it, it slipped out before I could stop it.
He pulled back and stared into my eyes, measuring how serious I was about this. I stared bravely into his eyes, tracing circles on his back. “You really mean it” it wasn’t a question, he was stating a fact.
“Yes, I do” was all I could get out.
He picked me up without another word and started toward the door “wait! What if our parents are out there?” I panicked.
“They left to their rooms. It’s fine” he said.
I nodded as we practically ran toward his room. My excitement and nerves were getting to me as he threw open his door and threw me playfully on the bed. I giggled as he half fell on top of me and his lips met mine with a new passion. I was unsure of what to do, so I let him lead. I am a virgin, so I have never even been…down there. I gasped as his hands went under my shirt and he pulled back, staring into my eyes.
“Are you sure about this, Nina?” he asked me softly.
Was I sure? Was this just some spur-of-the-moment-I’ll-regret-this-tomorrow- thing? I was unsure. I stared into his eyes, they were concerned…for me. He didn’t care about anything else, he wasn’t going to force me. That is when I decided. I was sure, as sure as the sun rises.
I nodded, not having to speak. Without another word, he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine, his hands continuing their climb. My nerves were being overrun with passion; his hands left a burning trail up my stomach. Suddenly my hands worked on their own accord and flipped us over.
Chapter Eleven:

I lay awake staring at this exquisite creature. Nina lye asleep in my arms, her breathing even and her face peaceful. I stroked her cheek softly and she let out a content sigh in her sleep. How I loved her. There were no words for how wonderful it felt to make her mine in every way, to have her say my name. She was not experienced in that sort of thing, but she was ferocious as her inner animal. I leaned up on my elbow and played with her hair. It was short, but not too short, about shoulder length.
I couldn’t stop grinning as I stroked the tip of my finger down her cheek, loving the feel of her soft skin. She cuddled into my chest, making a small noise in her sleep. I wrapped my arm around her back and pulled her tighter against me, lying back down with her half on top of me. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled softly, letting her hands trail up my chest “good morning, Nina” I murmured in her ear.
Her smile widened slightly and she shifted so she was lying fully on top of me, resting her chin on her arms which were on my chest and straddling me with her legs.
“Good morning” she murmured softly.
I entwined my fingers with hers, lifting our hands to kiss hers “sleep well?” I asked her.
“I don’t know…how late were we…?” she asked, blushing deep red.
I chuckled deeply “we were up until about four” my grin widened.
She shifted and let out a light groan “I’m a little sore. But I slept fine” she murmured.
I nodded, giving her an apologetic look “it’s – regretfully – part of the first time” I sighed.
She groaned again and rolled off of me, bouncing slightly as she lay with her arms over her head. The blanket covered most of her, stopping just over her chest, but it was only a thin over-sheet, and it hugged her body tightly.
“I’m not going to say the cliché line that everyone says. I’m just going to ask, how was it for you?” she asked suddenly, making me chuckle “this was