by M. L. Briers
Maybe he wasn’t a jerk! She stopped in place and groaned.
Maybe he wasn’t Mr Love ‘em and leave ‘em? She reached for her jacket…
Maybe he felt guilty?
Maybe he wanted round two and she was the only game in town?
No! She wasn’t going to think badly of him – she’d been doing enough of that.
She was going to take this at face value – not expect there to be a reason behind it…
Wait, that didn’t work, of course there was a reason behind it – he was male!
Sex… the reason was sex, and he wanted more… that was… Ok, because she wanted more too.
There, job done – she told herself – they were sex buddies. Christmas sex buddies.
“I can live with that.” She shrugged, just as the front door opened and he filled it again with his large frame.
“Live with what?” Aidan asked – his eyes eating her up from head to toe – those eyes paused for a long time at the deep cut of her shirt – the beautiful soft globes were in danger of spilling out over the material, and he swallowed down hard.
He wanted her. His cock fired hard like steel and it wanted out of his jeans…
For one long moment she was completely and totally lost for words… then her brain kicked her backside into gear and she thrust her hands towards the tree, dropping her jacket on the floor.
“Baubles, in the wrong places.” She lied and winced when she did it. He caught sight of that…
Then she bent over to retrieve her jacket and her breasts practically fell out of her shirt, and he caught sight of that too.
The deep, hungry growl that rumbled through his chest, up to his throat, and lodged there filled the air and her ears, and as she slowly raised her head up to look at him as she straightened – she understood why…
He looked!
She practically wanted to do a happy dance on the spot. Her plan was working… kind of.
He was still standing at the front door with an arm full of cut wood, and she was still standing upright and not flat on her back… So it was fifty – fifty.
Aidan let the wood fall to the floor. He took a step inside the heat of the cabin and back heeled the door closed behind him.
She noted the way that his eyes darkened. Noted the way that his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides, and boy did she notice when he stalked towards her…
A heartbeat later and he’d wrapped one big arm around her waist and was hauling her against his hard body, and by hard… yep, there it was, as hard as steel and pressed against her stomach as his lips came down on hers.
Tammy wasn’t about to play shy, coy, or anything else. She wanted him right back, and with a little help from his hand against her backside, she climbed up his body and wrapped herself around him like a vine, all to the sexy sound of a way more hungry growl.
Aidan had meant for things to go differently.
He’d done the tree, because it was a nice thing to do.
He’d made coffee, because everyone wanted coffee in the morning, and he’d started the fire so that she’d be warm when she got out of bed.
Then he was going to sit her down and tell her that she was his mate, answer her questions, because she would have a lot of them, and then, and only then, was he going to take her to bed and make her his…
That had been the plan. Now he was stalking into the bedroom with her wrapped around his body, hot and hungry for his kisses, and taking her down to the clothes covered mattress beneath him.
His hands were already tugging her skirt up over her thighs, and her hands were already freeing his cock from the torture of his jeans. He growled long and hard when she took him inside of her fist and stroked him…
That was it. The explanations could wait. He wanted her, she wanted him, and wild horses, or a bear clan couldn’t stop him from sinking his hard length deep inside of her…
That was exactly what he did. He could scent her arousal, and when she directed his cock to her channel – he thrust in – her hips coming off the bed to take him to the hilt…
“Damn… good… so good…” He growled against her lips, letting her gasp in a breath before he kissed her like a wildling again.
Her hips moved in time with his. The sound of skin on skin, of his balls slapping against her backside was like an erotic soundtrack to their loving – his growls and her moans were the damn vocals, and when he released her lips and started to nip and suck at her neck, boy was she vocal.
Aidan pushed back away from her, his hands were eager for the feel of her tempting breasts, and he reached into her shirt and scooped them out, cupping them, rubbing the pads of her thumbs against the hard buds…
He dipped his head and sucked, sucked hard until she cursed, in a good way.
She was everything and more. All that he could ever have imagined a mate to be, and she was on fire now, cursing at him, telling him what to do – he almost laughed at how different she was…
But when she practically begged him to take her from behind things got serious…
His beast rose up within him. The bear was desperate to claim her…
Her fingernails dug into the muscles of his abs, and she dragged them downwards, leaving little red welts in their path…
Aidan’s beast roared. He snatched her wrists and thrust them up over her head on the bed, and she didn’t resits, didn’t look scared, didn’t say no…
If anything – she became even more alive.
CHAPTER TWELVE
~
“Harder, deeper, faster – don’t hold back…” Tammy begged and he complied.
He could feel her inner muscles tighten around his cock, sped his hips against hers, took her right down his length, over and over until finally; her back arched and she cried out with the orgasm that swept through her…
Aidan tossed his head back on his neck. Every muscle in his body was straining as he took her like a wild man.
The hard clench and release of her inner muscles was just too much for him and he slammed in to the hilt, bucked out his seed against her womb, again and again, until he was done, spent. Until he had nothing left…
No, that hadn’t gone to plan, but he certainly wasn’t complaining.
~
~
~
Aidan had her in his arms and he wasn’t letting go. She was warm, sated, soft, and glowing with the aftermath of their loving, and she was his.
She scented of spices and sex. Scented of his body and hers mingled together, and he revelled in that smell.
He was laid out on his back on top of her bed, and she was draped across his chest, cuddled just right against him. He’d never been the cuddle type, but now he liked it. Like it with her.
He’d listened to the sound of her breathing, ragged at first, and then slowly it evened out. Now she sounded normal again – at any other time he might have taken that as a cue to start the fun all over again, but his plan had already gone off track once – he needed to get it right back on the damn tracks.
“Sweetheart, we need to talk…”
His deep voice echoed in the silence of the room and made her pay attention. Her eyes snapped open and she was pushing up onto her elbow before he said another word.
“I thought about it and I think we can be sex buddies…”
She tried to cut him off at the pass.
She didn’t need to hear the speech about how it wasn’t her it was him – how he didn’t want to commit – wasn’t the settling down type…
“What!” He growled out.
His eyes went wide in shock and then narrowed to slits as he eyed her still flushed face – only that colour deepened when he’d berated her with just one word…
“Or not.” She shrugged, feeling a twang of something bad inside of her.
Was that disappointment?
Pain?
The next minute she was on her back looking up at him as he held above her. He looked… she didn’t know – it was as if every
emotion known to man was playing over his face all at once…
“Why would you think I would want that?” Aidan growled down at her.
Sex – damn – buddies. Did she pull that shit with other men?
No, he didn’t want to know.
Didn’t want to think about her with other men, because then he’d want to rip someone’s head off and the only other person on the mountain that he could do that to was his brother, and he might just need him.
“I…” She considered that for a long moment. “Your whole attitude.”
She gave a small shrug. His eyebrows almost met in the middle over his nose as he scowled down at her.
“Or not. Maybe I caught the wrong end of the stick.”
“What damn stick?” He growled.
“That’s… not important.”
“No, but you thinking I just wanted to screw you is.” He growled longer, deeper, meaner, and… she liked that too.
She pressed her lips together until they were white. Her eyes fired with amusement, but he found nothing even remotely funny.
She’d just offered him sex on a damn plate, and it wasn’t that he didn’t want sex on a plate, against the wall, in the shower, on the sofa, every damn work surface and floor in the cabin… he did.
It was that she didn’t want any damn strings attached to giving herself to him like that, and he did – he wanted every damn string…
He was miffed. She could see that. She’d said the wrong thing, but his reaction was just plain funny.
“You’re telling me you want marriage and babies.” She grinned.
“Yes, damn it!” He growled back… and then he saw the complete look of shock in her eyes and the way that her lower jaw fell open, and he grimaced.
Whoops.
That wasn’t the plan either…
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
~
“You wanna run that by me again?” Tammy’s eyebrows were trying real hard to reach her hairline and he knew that he’d screwed up, but – what the hell, he’d said it now and he couldn’t very well take it back – not when he meant every damn word of it.
“I want you not to freak out.” Aidan offered those words that made her roll her eyes back into her head.
“Why do people say that?” She snorted her contempt for those words.
“Because they don’t want people to freak out.” Aidan offered as if she was five.
“But just telling someone not the freak out is the best way in the whole world to get them to start freaking out.” She shrugged, took a quick breath, and started all over again. “Look at me, you said don’t freak out, so hey, here I am, frigging freaking out…”
He brought his lips down on hers. It was the only, and best way that he could think of to get her to stop talking – to stop freaking out.
The moment that she responded, he wanted to be back inside of her again…
That wasn’t going to happen.
“Ok. No.” He said, pushing up on his arms and practically vaulting from the bed.
Tammy twisted her head on her neck and eyed him as he tucked himself back inside of his jeans and zipped them up – she scowled – she liked looking at him, all of him, and where the hell was he going anyhow…?
He reached down for her and in one fell swoop he’d lifted her from the bed and put her on her feet, as if she was a feather. Ha! She liked that a lot.
“Ok, no, what?” She blinked hard twice as she adjusted to the world around her changing so suddenly.
“I need to talk to you, and I can’t do that while you’re tempting me.” Aidan growled and she scowled harder.
“I tempt you?” She twisted her head and starred up at him.
“Oh yeah!” He bit out, turning her on her feet and dragging her behind him as he stalked into the living room…
When he reached the sofa, he turned, put his hands on her shoulders and pressed her down into the cushions… She stared up at him all wide eyed and sexy like, and he could only imagine her taking his cock in her mouth and… Nope…
He yanked her back to her feet.
“Hey!” She chuckled.
“Not on the sofa.” He growled, leading her into the kitchen and turning her to sit at the table. He retreated. Nodded, and sat down opposite her.
“Better?” She grinned and he nodded.
“Table between us…” He smiled, nodded, and then his eyes flicked to the wall where he’d taken her the first time. His face dropped, and he groaned out a growl.
She turned to look at the wall, another frown, and then she realised.
“You know that wall will always be my favourite wall in this…” She teased, but he was up on his feet and reaching down for her again.
“Damn it.” He growled out. Stalking back into the living room, he yanked open the door next to her room and the shower practically invited him in…
Oh what he could do to her in there.
He slammed the door and turned towards the front door.
“Outside it is.” He informed her and she snorted.
“I’m not having sex out there. It’s freezing.” She berated him and he grinned.
“Good place to chat then.” He said, yanking her jacket off the rail and thrusting it at her. Tammy pulled on her boots and jacket while he yanked, hat, gloves, and scarf from the rack… “It’s cold.” He said when she eyed his cash.
“You don’t say!”
“You need to stay warm.” He growled.
“Shocker.” Tammy offered back and got a grunt for her troubles.
Aidan yanked open the front door and yanked her out in the snow with him.
“What about you staying warm?” She asked as the crisp snow crunched under her boot clad feet, and he finally stopped stalking and turned back towards her.
“I’m naturally hot.” Aidan growled.
“You’re fishing for compliments.” She chuckled.
Then he reached up and yanked the hat down on her head, wrapped the scarf around her neck, and started to thrust the gloves onto her hands…
“You don’t have to dress me, I’m not a child.” She chuckled, teasing him by pulling her hand back as he tried to put the glove on it. He grunted.
“Children do as they are told.” He growled.
“You don’t know much about kids, do you?” She laughed.
“Stay still.” He growled harder.
“I’m fine…”
“It’s cold. You’re human…” He scowled and growled. It was nice to see that he could multitask.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” She chuckled.
“You’re my mate.” He bit out, and then gloried in the fact that her hand stopped moving long enough for him to get that last glove on.
There was a long wheeze that came from her lips and he flicked in eyes up to hers… She stared back at him, unblinking, unmoving – not breathing… at least, not properly.
Aidan bit down on his stupid lack of forethought. He hadn’t meant for it to come out like that. He tossed up his hands and sighed…
“Ahhh, damn it.” He ground out, wincing.
Tammy couldn’t feel her legs. Either they’d gone numb or her brain just wasn’t making the connection, and little wonder – it had so much else to think about.
Then she just collapsed downwards in the snow – landing on her backside as his body jerked towards hers. She saw his hands come out to save her, and yet, he was too late – she was already sitting in a heap of shocked silence.
“Whoa…” Aidan squatted down. His large hand caught under her chin and he tipped her head back, bringing her eyes to his – she stared… “That was – not meant to happen. I was going to be more…” He looked for the word.
“Tactful?” She whispered back and he grunted.
“Are you…?”
“Spinning wildly out of control like someone spun the planet.” She tipped her head to one side on his hand and blinked. “Kind of, yeah.”
“I’m s…”
“
It feels like someone just jumped out and yelled surprise.” She lifted her hands and waved them in front of her – then they dropped back down to her knees like a lead balloon.
“Let’s get you up. It’s cold.” Aidan reached for her and brought her to her feet as he pushed up.
“I can’t feel my legs.” She looked down as if she wanted to make sure they were still there.
Aidan swooped and brought her up into his arms like some swashbuckling hero. She wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about being carried, but right then, it wasn’t really an option that either one of them had.
Her brain had disconnected, and as he carried her back to the cabin she snorted a wry chuckle.
“Looks like outside was a bad idea too.” She said.
Aidan had to agree.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
~
“I didn’t think you’d take it this badly.” Aidan looked kind of sheepish.
“Oh, this isn’t badly. Inside my head there’s a little mini me screaming what the frecking hell is going on?” He grunted at her words again, and kicked the door closed on his way back in.
Aidan stalked towards the sofa, turned in place, and sat down with her still in his arms. She eyed him for a long moment, and he eyed her right back again.
“It’s hot in here, right?” She started to fan herself with her hand.
“You’re dressed for outside.” Aidan started to pull off her outdoor clothes.
“Are we going to have sex again, because I don’t think I could feel it?” Tammy half whispered and he grunted at the thought.
“Not right now.” He growled, that wasn’t to say his mind hadn’t gone down those lines too as he stripped her down to her indoor clothes. She nodded.
“Are you going to bite me? Because I hear mates get bitten-”
“Not right now.” He felt his beast rise to that challenge. She nodded again. Then she became more animated.
“What the hell kind of a dumbass way was that to tell me?” She spat out and he grimaced.
“I know–”
“You could have tried breaking it to me gently.” She huffed, looking anywhere but at him directly, although she did watch him out of the corner of her eye.