by Elena Aitken
There was no trace of sarcasm in the other man’s voice, a fact that Cyrus appreciated very much. Most people he met laughed at him if he ever mentioned how much he hated the media attention and teased him about just how hard it must be to be as rich as he was. They didn’t get it.
Maybe the Jacksons did.
The cabin was small, but cozy. The Jacksons had recently spent some time fixing it up and outfitting it with new bedding and accessories as a potential retreat for guests at the ridge who really wanted to get away from it all. It was almost thirty minutes away from the main buildings, and with no electricity, it was a pretty rustic experience for sure.
Definitely not what Natalia had in mind when she’d agreed to go home for Thanksgiving, but then again, nothing in the last twenty-four hours had gone according to plan. Why start now?
She glanced out the window at Cyrus and Luke as she put the supplies Harper had sent with them on the counter. She didn’t even bother to pretend not to notice his hard chest and sculpted shoulders as he pulled his shirt back over his head. Just the way she hadn’t bothered to hide her admiration for the rest of his naked body when he’d finished his run around the property.
Damn.
Cyrus Steele was more than just a pretty face and a massive bank account, that was for sure.
Outside, the men exchanged a few words before Luke returned to his truck and drove off. When Cyrus turned around, he looked directly at her through the window and grinned. Natalia couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head. She was still laughing a little to herself a moment later when he came through the door of the cabin.
“Did you like what you saw?”
His question had her laughter dying on her lips, replaced instead by a flare of desire that raced through her and straight to her core, where it exploded. Natalia turned slowly and leaned back against the rough wooden counter.
“I did.” Never one to be shy, she thrust her chest out in a way that she knew would strain the buttons on her blouse as she let her gaze travel the length of him. Reflexively, she bit her bottom lip.
Cyrus walked slowly across the small space toward her. “I thought you were going to start a fire.” He nodded in the direction of the fireplace that was laid and ready with kindling.
“I think you already took care of that.”
He took another step until they were only inches apart. “Is that right?” He reached up and with a quick move, unclasped the clip that held her hair up in the bun she always wore when she traveled. Her long black hair fell around her shoulders in soft waves. “I’ve been wanting to do that all day.”
Nat’s breaths came faster, her chest heaving with the desire racing through her. From the moment she’d laid eyes on him in the airport—had it really only been that morning?—she’d wanted this. To be close to him, to kiss him again, to have him. But it was more than want. It was need.
She needed him. With a ferocity that came from deep inside her and was like nothing she’d ever experienced before.
Cyrus threaded his fingers through her hair, letting the silky smooth strands slip through his fingers, before he cupped her cheek and pulled her close. “But that’s not the only thing I’ve been wanting to do all day.”
His lips crushed hers, kissing her with a heat that she returned.
The kiss at the airport had been hot, but this…this was an explosion, and it was never going to be enough.
Nat’s hands slipped under his shirt so she could feel each hard ripple of muscles beneath her fingers. Cyrus groaned with her touch and tugged her hair to the side to expose her neck, where he began kissing and sucking.
A rush of heat and moisture pooled between her legs and her knees buckled with the attention.
“You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever laid eyes on,” he whispered between kisses and with a growl, lifted her easily by the hips and placed her on the counter. “I need you, Natalia.” He nipped at her neck.
“Yes.” She tugged at his shirt, off and over his head.
Without the fire roaring in the hearth, the cabin was cold but Nat didn’t feel the cold with Cyrus’s body pressed to hers. She was pretty sure as long as he kept his mouth on her, and his hands on her body, she’d never be cold.
He needed her. He’d needed her from the moment he’d laid eyes on her and that need had only grown with every single second that had passed.
“Cyrus, I—”
He cut her off with another kiss and moved to the buttons of her blouse, but his fingers fumbled. Frustrated, he tore the fabric away, exposing a red lacy bra. Red.
She moaned and dropped her head back, giving him just the access he needed to those luscious tits, and he didn’t hesitate. Cyrus buried his face between her ample cleavage and inhaled her sweet scent.
This woman….she was everything. Gorgeous, funny, smart, unbelievably sexy. All the things.
But there was only one thing that his bear cared about and that was the undeniable reality that she was his.
He pushed the red lace down and lifted each heavy, full breast out into the open. Her nipples pebbled with the cold and his cock twitched in his jeans. He was already so unbelievably hard, it was almost painful.
But he could wait.
He took one nipple into his mouth, suckling and nipping just enough to make her squirm beneath him. With his free hand, he cupped her other breast and rolled the peak of her nipple between his fingers.
Natalia’s legs locked around his waist and she thrust herself forward against him. Through her thin leggings, Cyrus could feel the wetness of her desire for him, and instantly an image of what it would be like to sink his thick, hard cock deep inside her almost made him come on the spot.
Instead, he pinched her nipple to make her cry out before pushing back from the counter.
He took one step back. Just enough to look at her with her breasts bared, her head thrown back, and her breath coming in heaving pants. Her legs still spread for him, she was a vision of wanton desire and the sexiest fucking thing he’d ever set eyes on.
Slowly, she lifted her head and looked at him with heavily lidded eyes.
“I could take you right here, right now.” He barely recognized his own voice, so thick with need. “Or, I could throw you on that mattress and take my time with you.”
The tip of her pink tongue slipped out and slowly, teasingly licked her upper lip.
“Why limit yourself with such choices?” she said after a long moment. Her plump lips turned up in the naughtiest of grins and the decision was instantly made.
First, he’d take her hard and fast, quenching the need in both of them. And then, while their bodies still vibrated with the aftershocks of their lovemaking, he’d lay her out on the bed and get to know every inch of her delectable curves.
Cyrus was no longer in charge. His bear rose to the surface and let out a low growl as he took a step toward her, unbelting his jeans and shoving them to the ground in an instant. He didn’t miss the look in her eyes when she took him in. He’d let her have a look earlier, but this was different. He was hot and hard with his desire for her, and she knew it.
“Damn.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet.” He tugged at her leggings and pulled them down off her ankles before he discarded them on the floor. Half naked, with her legs spread, her sex wet and ready for him, she looked every bit a sex goddess. “Come here,” he growled as he scooped her up by the ass and lifted her easily. His cock throbbed as it pressed up against her belly.
Natalia responded by pulling his mouth to hers and tangled her tongue with his. He groaned into her mouth, and despite the fact that the bed was only a few feet away, Cy knew he’d never make it there. Instead, he turned and, as gently as he could while passion coursed through him, pushed her up against the wall.
He could feel her grin through the kiss and knew he was on the right track, which was a very good thing because there was no way he wanted to stop. In fact, he knew he wouldn’t be able to slow down. “I need you right…n
ow.” The words were a growl as he lifted her just a little before slipping her down right on to his hot cock. She gasped as he entered her and Cyrus forced himself to hold still, but only long enough for her to grow used to him. The moment her fingers dug into his shoulders, he started to move again.
Their coupling was hard and fast.
“Cyrus…you’re…oh my…”
“I know the feeling, love.”
Holding himself back with her was an exercise in extreme focus, but he was up to the challenge.
With every thrust into her, Nat moaned, and her muscles clenched around him, squeezing him tighter, until he wasn’t sure he could hold back much longer.
“Nat, you’re killing me,” he groaned into her ear. “I need to—”
He didn’t bother finishing the statement because around him, Natalia’s body started to quiver and tighten as her orgasm began to crash through her. Cyrus held his head back, just enough to watch her face as pleasure shattered her. Only when he felt her body relax a little did he increase his pace and take his own release.
Chapter Six
At some point in the night, it had started to snow. Not that Natalia and Cyrus cared. After he’d taken her up against the wall, Cyrus had carried her effortlessly to the bed, where they’d laid cuddling and stroking each other until he was once more ready to go again.
The sheer strength and stamina of the man took Natalia completely off guard. But she liked it. She’d spent her entire life raised among grizzlies, who were the strongest men she knew. Until now. Cyrus Steele was in an entirely different league. She wasn’t a small woman by any means, but he lifted her as if she weighed no more than a feather pillow. He made her feel safe and protected in the way that only a big, strong man could. But, at the same time, he empowered her and gave her even more strength than she had. Never in her life had Natalia felt stronger and sexier than she had that night.
“You are something else.” She traced a finger down his thick arms while she lay propped up on one elbow, facing him. Her body still vibrated from her last orgasm, but instead of feeling wrung out and exhausted, she was invigorated with an energy level she hadn’t felt in years.
“I could say the same thing about you.” His grin was lazy and sexier than sin. “Love, you are…” He reached out and gripped her hip to pull her closer to him. “Too far away from me.” He ended the sentence with a kiss on her neck.
His touch sent immediate shock waves through her body.
After that first kiss in the airport, Natalia wasn’t sure she’d ever experience something as hot. But then there was the kiss in the cabin, followed by the extremely hot sex. And then…well, needless to say, she’d been wrong. And she was quite happy for Cyrus to continue to prove her wrong again and again.
But first, judging by the loud protesting of her stomach, she needed something to eat.
Cyrus laughed. “Okay, I get the point. Let’s see what those cousins of yours packed for food.” He rolled over to the edge of the bed and stood so Nat had a full, completely delicious view of his hard, naked body.
The sight had her licking her lips with a hunger of a different kind. He was sculpted and hard in all the right places and from what Natalia could see, they were all the right places.
She watched as he made his way across the small room, stopping first to stoke the fire he’d started earlier in the night.
One of many.
“How does cheese and crackers sound?” Cyrus pulled out a selection of items, found a plate, and created a little charcuterie plate before bringing it back to the bed, where Nat had sat up and pulled the covers up to cover herself.
“Looks delicious.”
He slid into bed beside her, and glanced at the sheet covering her chest. “Are you shy all of a sudden?”
She laughed and blushed a little because suddenly now that they were finally just sitting and talking, she actually was a little shy.
“You are.” It was his turn to laugh. “Natalia…” Cyrus took a finger and gently pulled the sheet down to reveal her ample breasts, both of which each sported one or two little love bites from where Cyrus became intimately acquainted with them. “You’re absolutely the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.” He leaned forward to press a kiss to her lips. “And I’ve already seen all of you.”
“True.” She took a piece of cheese from the plate and left the sheet where it was.
They ate their snack in silence for a moment before Nat looked at him and shook her head in wonder. “Is this crazy?”
“What exactly?”
“You know what.”
He winked at her and her stomach flipped.
“How is it that we’re like…” She gestured between them. “You know…like this. I mean, we just met.” She reached for her phone to check the time. It was three in the morning. “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours. How is that even possible?” She tossed her phone back down. “I feel like I’ve known you forever. This is just…”
“Fate.”
Nat laughed and flipped her hair back, but when she looked back at him, Cyrus wasn’t laughing.
“I’m serious. What are the odds that we were both in the Bahamas and in that airport at that exact time and that you—”
“Kissed you?”
“Yes.” He took her hand and held it until she looked him in the eye. “It was more than that, and you know it.”
She did know it. From the moment she’d met Cyrus Steele—hell, maybe from the moment she’d seen his photo on the cover of the magazine—she’d known it. There was something there. Something that wasn’t normal. Something that was…fated?
“Do you believe in fated mates?”
He nodded. “I do. Absolutely. On Kodiak Island, it’s pretty rare, but I’ve seen it.”
“Your parents?”
His gaze dropped and shadows crossed his face. “No.” He shook his head. “I never knew my mom. It was just my dad and me growing up.” She could see the pain on his face when he mentioned his dad, but before she could ask him more, he turned the questioning to her. “Do you? Believe in fated mates, I mean?”
She didn’t even have to think about it. She’d seen it too many times recently to believe anything but. “Of course.”
“Do you believe that about us?”
Again, she didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
Somehow, Cyrus had expected Natalia to be reluctant to the idea that they were fated. After all, there was the whole we’ve only known each other a day thing. But she didn’t even hesitate with her answer and if he’d had any doubts—which he didn’t, having lost those around the third time they’d made love—they would have been gone in that moment.
“So you agree?” he asked. “We’re fated?” He took her face in his hand and she leaned into it, closing her eyes for the briefest moment before opening them again and smiling.
“Without a doubt.”
He kissed her then, slowly and sensuously. His body reacted instantly and even he was impressed with how this woman could spark so much desire in him. But there’d be time for more of that later. Soon. But later.
“So what do we do about it?”
She laughed and tossed her long hair back over one creamy white shoulder. Damn, she was beautiful. “Well,” she said slowly. “I think we should probably start with getting to know a few things about each other. Don’t you? I mean, if we’re fated mates and all of that, I should know exactly what I’m getting into, don’t you think?”
Cyrus sat back with a grin. “And what is it you want to know that Business Time hasn’t already told you?”
He could be annoyed by the magazine and hate the publicity that it had brought him, but at the same time, it had brought him Natalia.
Natalia sat up in bed and crossed her legs. “I want to know everything.”
He grinned. “I’m an open book. Shall we start with my childhood?”
He would tell her anything she wanted to know, and more. The truth was, there wasn’t a lot of very exci
ting things to tell. At least not until the last ten months since his father had died, leaving him in charge of everything.
Up until the time he became an orphan—could you say that when you were an adult?—his life was boring. Great, but boring.
He spent his time on Kodiak Island, and would’ve been quite content to spend every day of the rest of his life there. But fate had other plans.
Cyrus talked for a few minutes about his childhood, and what it had been like growing up in the wilds of Alaska, where he spent his days hunting, fishing, and camping, and basically living outside as much as he possibly could.
“It sounds a lot like our childhood here in Montana.”
He nodded. “I imagine it was. But you had all these cousins and brothers to play with.”
“You didn’t?”
He didn’t want her to feel sorry for him; he never felt as though he’d missed out. Not at all. He just didn’t know any different. Although, seeing Natalia with her brother and the obvious bond between them, let alone the huge extended family of the Jacksons, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel a flicker of envy.
“No, it was always just me.” He shrugged. “Single child and no cousins. Not really. I mean, I know my dad had a sister, but she went down to the Lower Forty-eight before I was born. And, truthfully, no one knows where she went.”
“Really?” Nat sat up. “Did she run away with a mate? Or before she was mated? That was a pretty common theme in our clan. At least, it used to be.”
“Honestly, I don’t really know. Dad wouldn’t talk about her much.” He looked down at the sheets and picked at a thread.
Cyrus always thought it would get easier to talk about his dad, but he was still waiting for that day.
“You miss him.” She pressed her hand to the top of his.
“I do.” He nodded and looked up. “He was a great man, a strong leader. But fair. And an excellent father. It was always just the two of us and now…” He let the thought trail off.
“You’re not alone.” Her voice was soft, but strong. “Not anymore.”