by Juniper Hart
The establishment was filled with too many people and tasteless yet expensive beverages. Even wine cost sixteen dollars a glass, and that realization alone kept Sierra from chasing the drunk she had been hoping to achieve that night. She’d been nursing the same drink for over an hour and catching no buzz whatsoever.
Looking about, Sierra realized that the mostly Enchanted patrons looked as sober as she felt.
Why do we do this to ourselves? she wondered with some amusement. She had lost her resolve to get wasted and party three dive bars ago, but she hadn’t called it a night for some reason she didn’t claim to understand. The music was too loud, Sierra was wrestling with a headache, Simone wanted to leave, and no one was having a great time.
Then what were they still doing there?
Simone laughed, shaking her stylish dark hair and casting Sierra an almost pitying look. “Donut fest—look at the male to female ratio in here. It’s all women. How are we ever going to get you laid in this climate? Unless you’re playing for the other team these days.”
Sierra grunted at Simone’s bluntness, but she idly wondered if she was still straight. It had been so long since she’d entertained the company of a man, who could say?
“Who said I wanted to get laid?” Sierra asked. “I’m just here to get out and enjoy myself.”
“Uh-huh,” Simone snickered in disbelief. “Sure you are. You’re going stir crazy. I can read it all over your face.”
Sierra had to snort. Still, she wasn’t ready to leave, not when she had just spent thirteen dollars on a double… well, she wasn’t certain what the Lycan bartender had thrust at her, but she wasn’t leaving until she had finished, no matter how much of a headache it caused. She was ninety percent sure she had the right herbs to counteract the morning nausea if need be. If not, she could always start drinking again at dawn. She reminded herself to pick up a bottle of something on her way home—just in case.
“Let’s feel it out,” Sierra replied, reaching a slender hand toward the bar. “Ten more minutes, and we’ll see where this goes.” She had no idea why she was beating that dead horse, but for some reason, she wasn’t willing to give up the pulsating music and strobe lights quite yet.
“I can already see where this is going: home to bed with a massive hangover in the morning,” Simone groaned shortly. To her credit, she made no move to leave. Instead, she signaled the bartender for another drink.
Sierra moved to wrap her fingers around her own lukewarm drink, and as she did, someone grabbed her wrist. The gesture wasn’t rough, but it startled her all the same, especially when words accompanied the motion.
“I believe that drink belongs to me.”
Sierra turned her head to the side, curling her upper lip over her even, white teeth into a sneer, but the expression froze on her lips as she found herself lost in a set of cobalt blue eyes that seemed to have taken on a life of their own. The strobes pulsated around the club, and the glowing orbs melted around her, leaving only the stranger holding her wrist as if the world had disappeared around them.
“It isn’t,” Sierra said, her words seeming to slow as she spoke them, like time had fallen into half its pace, even though her heart was racing in her ears. “The drink is mine.” She refrained from adding a sarcastic commentary to the assertion. She was never one to shy away from a proper tongue lashing, but somehow, she couldn’t muster the harsh words to say to this captivating soul at her side.
It was not just the ethereal eyes which had her captivated. In those parts, the supernatural were a dime a dozen. That was why she and Simone had chosen the area that night—to be among the Enchanted and not be troubled by the trite problems of the mortals. That meant dazzling eyes and mystic auras were commonplace.
However, it was not simply the stranger’s eldritch manner, nor the way his shifter bearing was all but hidden within a contained mass of ebony curls framing his regal cheekbones. Perhaps it was the full mouth of blood red which seemed to monopolize her gaze, or the fact that he towered over her, his broad shoulders blocking the view of all behind him. Not that Sierra was looking at anyone else. He had her full attention.
There was something else, something elusive and cunning, something that Sierra wanted to possess—or be possessed by. She felt sluggish all of a sudden, like his mere gaze had hypnotized her, though that didn’t stop her from pulling the drink forward and taking a defiant gulp as she continued to stare at him. She didn’t immediately notice the strange burn it caused down her throat, her mind occupied elsewhere in that moment. The stranger’s coy smile broadened, his irises gleaming beneath the flashing lights of the club, rising to some unspoken challenge.
Through the back of her mind, Sierra heard Simone call out a silent warning. Careful. He’s a bear.
Why would Simone possibly care about that? Not only was her mate a bear, they were no threat to witches. Sierra didn’t ponder the cautionary words, her eyes trained on the too-handsome face as if Simone had already disappeared. For all she knew, the mental warning had been her own and not her friend’s at all.
The stranger raised a manicured hand, and for an unsettling moment, Sierra thought he was going to shatter her dreamlike illusion by striking her, thereby leading to a magical mess of chaos. She readied herself, conjuring the darkness inside her on standby. Even though he was undoubtedly stronger, she wouldn’t go down without a fight.
She was Sierra Collingwood. She bowed down to no one.
But instead of lunging for her, he reached across the bar and grabbed another glass, a drink which had been sitting in the spot between her and Simone, untouched. Her drink.
An unfamiliar emotion shocked Sierra’s body as she realized her gaffe, her cheeks flushing with humiliation.
That’s why the other drink tasted so weird, she thought, stifling a sigh of regret. She gaped at the bear with sheepish, apologetic eyes, but he spoke before she had a chance.
“My mistake,” he told her, a bemused smirk covering his perfect face as he raised the glass to his lips. “This must have been my drink.” With that, he took a swig of her concoction. Instantly, his face twisted into a scowl of disapproval. “I don’t remember ordering such a sweet-tasting drink,” he continued, obviously determined to keep up with his embarrassment of her. “This tastes—”
“Girly?” Sierra offered, and he chuckled.
“I was going to say ‘disgusting’, but I’ll defer to your description.” His gorgeous eyes traveled over her shoulder, and Sierra found herself following his gaze. Simone scowled at them, her arms folded over her chest, and she tapped her foot impatiently. “Your friend seems to be unimpressed.”
“She’s not easily impressed,” Sierra replied, grinning impishly at Simone.
“She looks like she wants to go.”
“Yeah, well…” Sierra turned back to look at him. “She’s a big girl. She can go if she wants.”
“She’s a big girl, huh? And what about you?” A slow smile formed on Sierra’s rosebud mouth.
“I can take care of myself,” she said, turning her head slightly to cast Simone a warning look, green eyes narrowing dangerously. Simone met her gaze evenly but did not speak again—not even silently.
“Tobias,” the stranger offered, extending a hand toward her. “My friends call me Toby.”
Sierra slipped her hand into his, her small palm disappearing inside his. Her grip matched his as they shook, eyes melding into an almost familiar look now.
“Am I your friend?” she asked slyly.
Maybe I’m drunker than I thought, she mused, hearing the flirtatious words escaping her lips. It was uncharacteristic of her to act so boldly with a stranger, but Toby seemed to have possessed her in some way she couldn’t understand.
“That depends,” Tobias answered. “Are you going to tell me your name?”
Her grin widened as she realized he still held onto her hand. “Sierra Collingwood. And my friends don’t call. They text.”
He chuckled at her silly joke, and Sierr
a was embarrassed at her lame attempt to flirt. It had been a long while since anyone had grabbed her attention, and it had been never since anyone had had a hold on her like this. What was it about this guy?
She decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Whatever it was about him, he was apparently feeling it, too, and an attraction like this wasn’t easy to come by.
“This doesn’t seem like your scene,” Tobias commented, reluctant to release her hand. Sierra didn’t pull back. She knew the heady feeling swimming through her body had nothing to do with the shifter-poured drink she had sucked back moments before. The only shifter affecting her mind was Tobias. She was entranced by this entity, his movements, the line of his face. She could not stop staring at him, trying to memorize each detail.
A spark of panic formed in her heart, a glimpse of the future fluttering through her mind, but she stopped it from manifesting. She cast aside her powers, wanting to feel the moment the way it was meant to be experienced: genuinely and without mythic influences.
“It doesn’t?” she laughed, mildly amused that he could read her so well. “Is this more your scene, then?”
Tobias chortled again, and it was one of the most lyrical sounds Sierra had ever heard. It was deep and rumbling, like the rain she adored so much, the storms which kept her living in Seattle despite her ability to go anywhere in the world.
“I don’t think this place is anyone’s scene,” he countered, and Sierra had to nod in agreement.
“But what choice do we really have if we want to avoid mortal drama, am I right?”
“I can think of a place that is free of drama,” Tobias offered. His face was so close, she was overcome by the musky scent of his cologne, and it made her weak. His heartbeat was strong, consistent, and seemed to sync with hers.
“That sounds intriguing,” she purred, leaning in closer to him. Even without looking, she could feel Simone’s eyes burning into her back. “If not a bit dangerous.”
He laughed again and shook his head. “I’m harmless,” he assured her. “Just adventurous.”
“Adventurous?”
“I’m always open to trying new things,” Tobias told her. For a moment, Sierra was not certain that he had even spoken. His voice seemed to fill her endlessly, as if it were everywhere but coming from nowhere.
“In that case, we should get out of here immediately,” she said before she knew what she was saying. Again, she was struck at how unlike herself she was acting, but she couldn’t be bothered to question it. She had come out to have fun, and that was what she intended to do.
It wasn’t her style to suggest such a brazen thing, and she entertained that he had her under a spell, but she didn’t believe it. Something else was happening between them, something even the gods of the underworld couldn’t combat: a mutual, pheromonal attraction between a witch and bear.
Sierra hadn’t set herself up for rejection, not when Tobias was staring at her precisely the same way she was examining him, their bodies rising in synonymous heat, their fingers enlaced from what had begun under the pretense of a handshake. They still clung to one another.
“Your place or mine?” he asked, his breath teasing her ear. Goosebumps flooded Sierra’s body, and she tilted her head back slightly to peer at him before answering.
“Judging by those thousand-dollar shoes, I bet mine is closer,” she giggled.
The door to the flimsy apartment had barely closed at her back, her mini skirt in the hallway, a stiletto on the threshold, but Sierra didn’t notice as their lips meshed, a sensuous combination of mouths and tongues. She danced Tobias’ huge body backward, tripping over the obstacles in the way, but he held fast to her, their forms melding together in an erotic rhythm.
Sierra couldn’t say how he had lost his own attire, just that his shirt and pants were long gone before they hit the small bedroom. Tobias kicked the door so hard, the unit reverberated, and his naked back landed on the unmade bed. Sierra kicked herself for not having cleaned up before heading out, but it was too late for regrets now—and Toby didn’t seem to notice or mind the mess. She was on top of him, her full breasts in his face, flat stomach against his chin. Tobias latched onto her nipple, his strong hands embracing her full rear, massaging with his mouth and fingers simultaneously.
“I… don’t usually do this,” Sierra breathed, unsure of why she felt the need to explain herself to him. She simply wanted to make sure he didn’t see her as some easy girl who often picked up men in bars.
Tobias’ head propped back, his gleaming eyes meeting hers. He didn’t need to speak. She could sense that he knew what she was trying to say, and he believed her. Whatever she was feeling in those moments was far more than the surge of heat, the racing of her pulse, and the beads of sweat accumulating between them. There was raw emotion there, something deep and fierce like she had never experienced.
She positioned her hips above him, wanting to feel him inside her center, but before she could move, wistfulness filled her. This is going to be a one-night stand, her inner voice warned her. He’ll be gone in the morning, and he probably won’t even remember your name. Sierra silenced that voice and pulled her voluptuous frame back to stare into his eyes before lowering herself onto him.
They gasped in unison. Sierra was breathless as their gazes met again, and Tobias arched up to fill her entirely. She was swept up in a wave of pleasure, her fingers splayed against his bronze skin.
“You feel so good!” Sierra moaned.
They fell into an almost fanatical beat, her nails digging into his toned chest, his grunts escaping ferally. She watched his lips part, his eyes glazing over to match hers, and she allowed herself to get lost in the sensation of his thrusts, the desire to climax overriding all else.
Sierra screamed out, green eyes bulging in passion, but Tobias did not slow, his movements growing harder, almost violent beneath her. She reached out to brace herself, but she was too late, her bosom falling to smother him as he, too, lost control.
Sierra willed herself to stop trembling, and they lay entangled in one another for a long moment, a mash of sweat and heavy breathing. She didn’t want to move, knowing that she’d succumbed far too easily to the bear shifter. Still, she couldn’t regret it, not when her body still quivered with the euphoria he had just instilled in her.
If she had to do it again, she would have, without hesitation, no matter what her supernatural awareness had tried to forewarn. Never had she encountered such a connection with another being, mortal or immortal. Could Tobias be her mate?
Tobias smiled at her, and she swallowed the swell of emotion in her throat.
“You’re incredible,” he said, gently rolling her off his body to lie her at his side. His eyes reflected the earnestness in his words, and Sierra found herself doubting her sixth sense as his fingertips traced the still-prickled skin along her clavicles.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” she replied, brushing a thick strand of auburn hair from her eyes. It fell against the base of her neck in an unruly wave, just above the Algiz rune tattoo.
“Who are you?” Toby asked. Suddenly Sierra was taken aback by the question.
“In the existential sense?” she chimed lightly, shifting her eyes away. She felt as if he could read her darkest thoughts, and not because he was more powerful, but because she was so vulnerable around him. What would he say if he knew who she really was?
It was a difficult question. He wasn’t a mortal, after all. He did not operate by the same moral code as them. He might even embrace her criminal enterprise. Sierra, though, felt that was more a second date discussion. If there would ever be a second date.
Tobias caught her face between his finger and thumb. A shiver of excitement coursed through her, catching a whiff of herself on him, and she stared at him, biting on her lower lip.
“I don’t know what it is about you,” he murmured, his tone flooding her with gooseflesh again. “I’ve never been so drawn to a stranger in a bar, let alone a witch.”
> “Have you had bad experiences with witches?” Sierra joked. “Some of us give the others such a bad reputation.” She wanted to dismiss his words as post-sex flattery, but she couldn’t deny the honesty in them or the intense attraction between them. Even as she lay at his side, recovering, she felt another burst of heat slide through her, and she blushed, knowing that she wanted to feel him inside her again. And again.
“You don’t trust me,” Tobias announced, and Sierra’s eyes widened, a laugh escaping her lips despite the fact that her ears burned.
“Should I?” she teased innocently.
“Of course not,” he answered, his own smile growing. “But I can tell you this, Sierra Collingwood…” He trailed off, and she waited, her breath catching in her throat, knowing that his next words would be prophetic. “Now that I’ve found you, I’ll never let you go.”
A wave of relief flooded through her body, and Sierra sank back against the lumpy mattress, closing her eyes as Tobias’ mouth found her throat. There was no reason for him to say that. He owed her nothing, no more than she owed him. She had already given herself to him, he needed nothing else from her. The only reason that he would bother telling her such a thing was because he felt it, the same way she did.
They were mates. She had found her mate in a bar. Oh, the stories they would tell their children.
Sierra knew it defied reason or reality, but she would not resist it, not when everything aligned so perfectly. His mouth traveled along the soft skin of her chest toward her navel, and her fingers curled into his dark curls yearningly.
Her vision was wrong. Toby wasn’t going anywhere.
They made love four times that night, each occasion bringing Sierra to new heights, her body experiencing a high she never knew it could achieve. She fell asleep in Tobias’ arms, exhausted and spent, listening to the sound of his hot blood firing through his veins. When the pale light of morning peeked through the cracked blinds of her dilapidated apartment, Sierra blinked slowly, a smile still on her face.