His to Seek

by Elena Aitken

  When he looked in her eyes, he believed her fully and completely. For the first time since his father passed, with Natalia in his arms, he felt at home.

  They gazed at each other for a few moments before he smiled and kissed her softly. “Your turn,” he said. “Tell me everything.”

  She spent the next hour telling him about her business and how it afforded her to travel. She loved it, but was starting to feel restless with it. Her childhood, her two brothers, Ryker—whom he’d met—and Liam, who didn’t believe in their lifestyle. “He’s just like my grandfather, against any mating unless it’s pure. Grizzly to grizzly. My aunt, Tonia, was cast out completely. She returned to the clan when her mate was dying and Grandfather gave her a choice. She give up her mate and they all returned, or the children could stay.”

  “That’s terrible!” And not at all like his own family.

  Nat nodded. “It was. But she didn’t have any other choice. She left Axel, Luke, and the twins with the clan and went to be with her mate. They haven’t seen her since.”

  “Wow.” Cyrus shook his head, not fully able to wrap his head around how terrible it would be to have to make such a choice.

  “And your family?”

  “Well…” She wiggled her eyebrows and laughed. “Turns out there were a few skeletons in my perfect grandfather’s closet, too. My mother was actually the result of an unsuitable mate.” She made air quotes with her fingers. “And it wasn’t until my father died when we were really little that she showed up at his front door with the three of us.”

  “No way.”

  “Truth.” She shrugged. “But to his credit, he took us all in, gave us his name and here we are. I know he’s a hard man, and he has some really old school ideas about how things should be done, but…I love him. He’s my grandpa.”

  “I get that.” Cyrus traced a finger down her arm and finally slipped his hand in hers. “You shouldn’t have to feel badly about that.”

  “I don’t.” She smiled, but it didn’t fully reach her beautiful eyes. “Except I kind of do. A few years ago, Kira ran off with a man who she’d absolutely believed was her fated mate. Grandfather cast out Axel, Luke, and Kade when they failed to bring her back to the clan. He believes that mates should be chosen and suitable, and he was willing to give up his grandkids because of that belief. And for a while, Liam, Ryker, and I drank his Kool-Aid and believed it too. It didn’t take Ryker long to change his tune after he met Nina, but Liam made it pretty clear that he doesn’t agree with inter-species mating. And humans? Forget it. He’s not happy. To say the least.”

  “That’s a lot to take in.” Cyrus stretched his arms over his head and noticed vaguely that the sun was starting to come up. They’d spent the whole night talking and making love.

  And he still wasn’t ready for the day to be over.

  “So, basically, your grandfather wouldn’t be happy to know that there’s a big Kodiak in bed with you, ready to take you as his mate?”

  “You are?” She tipped her head. “Right here? Right now?”

  “I can’t think of a better time or place.”

  She laughed and flipped her hair back, causing her luscious tits to bounce and his dick to once again thicken in need.

  “The answer is no, he wouldn’t be happy at all. But…” She dropped her head for a moment, unsure of how to continue. It wouldn’t have been very long ago that Natalia would never have gone against her grandfather’s wishes. And as much as she still loved him despite the way he’d treated her cousins, her feelings for Cyrus were real. Very real.

  “The bonds of a clan are strong.”

  She looked up and into his piercing blue eyes. “The bonds of a mate are strong.”

  Was she really thinking of doing this? Considering mating him when she barely even knew him?

  Yes.

  Hell yes.

  Her bear roared inside her with the answer of her heart. Time didn’t matter. Not when it was fated, as it so obviously was. She was doing a whole lot more than considering mating him.

  “You’re only supposed to be a pretend boyfriend.”

  Cyrus tossed his head back in a laugh. “So much for that plan.”

  Plan.

  The word struck her.

  “What is the plan?” She sat back with the question. “I mean, you have a whole life. And I get you’re hiding from it right now, but—”

  “I can’t hide forever.”

  “Exactly.”

  “And my family,” she said. “I still feel a sense of duty.”

  He reached forward and stroked a strand of hair back from her face. “Those are all details,” he said. “We’ll work it out.”

  And she believed him. They would work it out. They had to. Because she might not know what the future held, or even what the next twenty-four hours held, but she did know that there was no way she could turn her back on these feelings she’d only just started to feel.

  She got it now. She understood. Finding a mate, a fated mate, changed everything.

  “Did you mean what you said?”

  He tilted his head in question.

  “About right here, right now?”

  The smile that took over his handsome face melted her heart and hit something deep inside her.

  “Every. Last. Word.”

  “Good.” Natalia pushed the sheets aside and crawled across the bed to him. “Thank God.” She kissed his neck and cupped his cheek. “Because I don’t want to wait until the day after we met.” She laughed from a mixture of excitement, lack of sleep, and mostly, from complete happiness. “This will be a better story to tell our kids one day.”

  With an ease and strength she still couldn’t completely believe, Cyrus picked her up and easily flipped her so she was on her back and he hovered over her. Thrills of desire shot through her, directly to her core. She’d lost count of how many times they’d made love, but this was going to be different. Her body and her heart knew it.

  “I hate to be the one to tell you this,” Cyrus said, his voice husky with a need of his own. “But it’s already tomorrow.”

  She shook her head. “Not until we sleep. That’s my rule.”

  He chuckled and kissed at her bottom lip, sucking it gently into his mouth. “I like your rules but you need to know something about me.” He kissed her again all too briefly, leaving her panting with need beneath him. “I’m an alpha Kodiak.” With one hand, he swept her arms up, over her head, and pinned them there. Her breasts lifted and she didn’t miss the way he looked at her, taking all of her in. “And because I’m an alpha, I have a need for control.” As he spoke, he moved over her, lowering his body so they were only barely touching. Natalia’s entire body vibrated with the need to have him inside her. “Do you understand?”

  Did she ever!

  She’d always been a strong woman, independent and never afraid to take what she needed when she needed it, but this…having an incredibly sexy man who wanted her the way he did, and her bear all but clawing to get out…it was next-level hot. “I do.” She barely recognized her voice.

  With her acceptance, she felt him press against her wet core.

  He looked into her eyes, the unspoken question there.

  Do you want this the way I do?

  In response, Natalia lifted her hips to meet him, but Cyrus, true to his word about needing to be in control, beat her to it. He entered her hard and fast. He filled her so completely that it took her breath away. She wanted to close her eyes, to absorb every sensation, but something in Cyrus’s gaze kept hers locked open. She stared directly into his eyes as he moved inside her. With one hand still pinning her arms solidly to the bed, he used his other to cup and squeeze her breast. His fingers flicked the hard nub of her nipple, creating a flood of sensations throughout her. She couldn’t focus on one thing, everything came at her so fast. Pleasure overwhelmed her and her orgasm began to build deep inside her almost at once.

  “No.” Cyrus’s voice stopped her as she was about to close her ey
es and give in to her climax. “Not yet. Look at me.”

  She did as she was told, but there was no way she could hold off. Her body was about to explode.

  “Cyrus…I…”

  “I need to make you mine.”

  “Yes.”

  Something sparked in his eyes, and he quickened his pace; his thrusts inside her came stronger and harder than before. Her orgasm was imminent. There was no way she could hold back, but somehow the look in his eyes stopped her from letting go completely.

  He released her arms, but she hardly noticed; she was too focused on holding back the sensations that wanted to tear through her body. Cyrus slipped his arms under her and lifted her, just a little off the mattress, without breaking his relentless pounding into her. Finally, he blinked and told her, “Come for me, baby.”

  Natalia’s body responded instantly. The orgasm broke free from the dam only barely holding it back, and at the exact moment her body exploded, Cyrus lowered his head to the swell of her breast and bit down. The pain of his bite mingled with the pleasure crashing through her body in waves, and she screamed out.

  The moment went on forever, and her cries of ecstasy only seemed to fuel Cyrus, whose mouth was locked to her breast as he took his own release inside her. Finally, he lifted his head and roared out as he came hard.

  Vaguely, Natalia registered a dull, throbbing pain where he’d bit her. Mated her.

  Cyrus took his time laying her back down on the bed, where Natalia practically melted into the bedding. Her body was wrung out, completely spent in a full body exhaustion like she’d never before experienced. He moved around her, pulling the blankets up over her before lying down next to her and pulling her gently onto his chest.

  “I…that…”

  “Ssh.” Cyrus kissed the top of her head. “Don’t try to talk. I’ve got you,” he whispered in her ear as she slowly drifted off into a deep sleep. “I’ll always have you.”

  Chapter Seven

  Cyrus was torn.

  He didn’t want the night to end, because although it had been a ridiculously long day, he’d never had a better one. But on the other hand, he knew that the start of a new day was the start of the rest of his life.

  With Natalia.

  Which was how he managed to convince himself to close his eyes and fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  When he woke up the next morning, he knew he’d made the right decision by allowing himself to fall asleep because waking up with Natalia—his mate—in his arms, was by far, the highlight of his life.

  She slept soundly, her lips turned up in a small smile. The knowledge that he’d played a part in putting that smile there made his own grin take over his face. He stroked her hair back from her face and the motion caused her to stir. But instead of waking up, she snuggled closer, pressing her naked breasts against him.

  Resigned to staying exactly where he was, at least for a few more minutes, Cyrus settled back into the pillow and started slowly caressing her soft skin. He’d done a pretty damn good job the night before at getting to know every inch of her, but there was still so much he needed to learn.

  Like, was she ticklish anywhere?

  Did she like massages or back scratches? Or both?

  He already knew about the heart-shaped beauty mark she had on the underside of her left breast. Were there more he hadn’t discovered yet?

  There was still so much to know. But he wasn’t worried. They may have moved quickly, but in the shifter world, when it came to fated mates, time didn’t matter the same way it mattered for regular people. At least it didn’t matter for Kodiaks. Maybe it was different for grizzlies? He had no idea. There had to be some differences.

  He remembered the way she’d cried out when he’d mated her. Was that different? He’d never heard of a mate being hurt by a bite. But he was stronger than her. Bigger and maybe his bite had—

  “Hey.” Nat moved against him. Her eyes fluttered open and looked directly up at him. “You’re awake?”

  “I am.” Cyrus leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. “Did you sleep well?”

  She’d fallen asleep almost immediately after they’d mated. Another thing that had alarmed Cyrus. He was sure it was because he was a stronger alpha, that the mating act had taken too much out of her. But still, he hadn’t expected the aftereffects to be so dramatic.

  “I did.” She nodded. “I don’t even remember falling asleep.”

  He shifted in the bed so she could sit up a little. When Natalia lifted herself, his eyes went at once to her breast and the angry, red bite mark he’d left there. She followed his gaze and let out a little gasp when she saw it. Her fingers fluttered over the mark, but didn’t quite touch it.

  “You do remember that, don’t you?” Cyrus moved so he, too, was sitting.

  Nat nodded. “I do.” She looked up at him. “I definitely do. It was…”

  “Too much?” He swallowed hard. Dammit. He knew he’d hurt her. “I’m sorry. I should have warned you. Or taken more—”

  “No.” She pressed a hand to his chest. “It wasn’t too much. I mean, yes, it was…it was intense in a way I didn’t really expect.” She shook her head and smiled softly. “But it was definitely not too much. It was perfect.”

  Her answer sent relief racing through him. “I didn’t even think,” he said. “Kodiaks, we’re…a little bit…well, we’re a little more when it comes to mating. When it comes to everything, actually. Maybe I should have warned you.”

  “Not at all.” She reached out for him.

  Before Cyrus kissed her, he bent his head and left a trail of soft, tender kisses on her mark. “It will heal.”

  “I know.”

  He kissed her, and pressed her backward into the pillow again. The taste of her had him hard and ready in an instant, but somehow he managed to control himself and use restraint. His mate needed nourishment. She needed to rest. He hadn’t been kidding when he told her that Kodiaks were a little more when it came to mating. With great reluctance, he pulled himself up and off his mate.

  “You need breakfast.”

  “I need you.”

  Cyrus laughed. “You have me, sweetheart. But right now, you need food. And I could use a coffee.” He hopped out of bed into the cold room. He made quick work of stoking the fire before going to the windows and pulling back the thin cloth curtains to let the outside world in. He let out a low whistle at what he saw outside before turning to face the bed. “Looks like we might miss turkey dinner. There’s a lot of snow out there.”

  She pretended to pout, but then laughed. “I’ll miss all the turkey dinners in the world if I can stay snowed in up here with you. How bad is it out there?”

  “A couple feet at least.” He left the window and turned his attention to the box of supplies in search of coffee or some other suitable caffeine source. “Enough that we can stay cozied up in this cabin for a few days, that’s for sure.”

  He set his attention to fixing breakfast and tried not to think about what would be waiting for him when they did finally get out of the cabin. Because as much as he would like to, Cyrus knew they couldn’t stay snowed in forever. They’d touched on it the night before, but hadn’t really come to any conclusions.

  What would they do when they weren’t living in a bubble in the Montana mountains? Whether he liked it or not, Cyrus had a multi-billion dollar company to run, and more charitable organizations than he could currently count. His family had made their fortune in gold mining decades ago, and through careful investments had amassed a fortune. One that Cyrus intended to put to good use. His father had a few causes that were close to his heart, but as far as Cyrus was concerned, he had more money than he’d ever know what to do with, and the only thing he knew to do with it was give it away.

  He loved what he did. Helping people filled a spot deep inside him that had been empty for too long. Especially in the weeks after his father’s death. But it was a lot of work, and he needed to get back to it eventually. Especially
because Phillip would be expecting him in New York.

  Cyrus pulled the kettle off the burner of the ancient stove and filled the French press he’d found. He glanced over at his new mate, who was stretching and languishing in bed, the covers kicked back, leaving her naked and exposed and looking oh so delicious. But he quickly looked away again.

  He’d figure out how to manage both parts of his life. He had to, because there was no way he could live without either.

  “Den to Cabin.” The radio crackled to life, startling Natalia awake. After a morning full of a hearty breakfast followed by an even heartier lovemaking session, she’d dozed off again. With the fire crackling in the hearth, the cabin was beyond cozy and the very last thing Nat wanted to hear was her brother’s voice over the radio. She pulled the covers over her head and cuddled in closer to her mate.

  Her mate.

  It sounded so good, even when she wasn’t saying it aloud, and her bear agreed. Never in her life had her bear been so content within her. Almost as if she were purring inside. She would be quite happy to stay in that little cabin forever, especially if it meant she could feel just like this.

  “Cabin. Cabin. Come in.”

  Still, Nat ignored the radio that sat across the room on the counter. Beside her, Cyrus groaned and rolled over, pulling her close. She cuddled in and pretended that she couldn’t hear the now almost continual crackling of the radio.

  “Nat. Nat. Come in.”

  She groaned.

  “Is everything okay up there, Nat?”

  Beneath her, Cyrus vibrated with a chuckle as she once more groaned.

  “Natalia. Come in. Natalia!”

  She shook her head against his chest.

  “You better answer them before they send a search party up here.”

  Reluctantly, she lifted her head and looked into his bright-blue eyes. “You have a point. I really don’t want them up here.”

  Before they could send out a search party, Nat slipped out of bed. Naked, she padded across the room and picked up the radio.