The pleasure began to build all over again, softened by the hands that roved over her body. He touched her like he was trying to remember the shape of her. The fire that she’d tried to contain turned to molten metal, oozing and pouring through the lines left behind by his hands on her skin.
Aimee never knew that this was what it was supposed to feel like. Sex before had been fun. It had been almost quaint. This was something else. This was earth shattering. It was the only thing she would ever want again.
Dom slammed into her from behind, sending a small tremor through her body. Her muscles tingled with pleasure. It repeated with each thrust until she thought she might shatter into a million pieces. She was being broken apart and remade by him, by the love she felt through his body.
Dom might not want to admit how he felt, but she could feel it in the way he touched her. She heard it in the low growls and moans that escaped him. Never again would she want anyone the way she wanted him. She’d been made for him, and now that she knew, nothing would ever be the same.
She pressed her warm face into the cold ground just as he shuddered behind her. Another orgasm swept through Aimee’s body. Her legs shook, and she screamed into the earth. Pleasure ran rampant through her body. No longer was it small stars that danced through her muscles and along her bones. Now, it was a wave that swept her away. She drifted on it, afloat in a sea of emotion and sensation.
“Well, then. I’m going to go…in this direction.” Morgan fumbled over his words. “Yes. This direction. Good bye.”
With her fingers and toes still tingling, Aimee scrambled for her hoodie. Dom snarled and put himself between her and Morgan. Beyond Dom’s shoulder, she caught the wine-red flush of Morgan’s face. Aimee realized that she and Dom had just made love right outside the front door of their cabin.
Her face flushed with the same embarrassed heat Morgan probably felt. She pressed herself to Dom’s back and waited for Morgan to disappear while laughter bubbled through her. It came unbidden and uncontrollable, perhaps released by what they’d just shared.
“I, uh, need to go inside.” She tried to speak through her laughter. They’d made a mess and she could feel it.
“Huh?” Dom peered over his shoulder.
She lifted her brows and pointed down, trying to say what she meant without actually speaking. Morgan couldn’t be far away, and she didn’t want him overhearing. She was already embarrassed enough for the both of them.
“Oh!” Dom’s eyes flashed wide. There was no trace of the gold. His beast must have quieted after he’d came. “Let me help.”
He lifted her in his arms. She was careful to keep her legs together while he kicked open the front door and carried her to the bathroom. There, she was able to clean up some of the evidence of their lovemaking. The marks they’d left behind on one another disappeared before her eyes.
She felt him slipping away as they faded. He retreated toward the bathroom door, like he might run. She swallowed, unsure of what to say that would make him stay. She thought that he’d committed himself to her. She’d thought that’s what they were both doing.
But Aimee had been wrong.
Before she could finish, Dom darted out the door without another word.
“Stupid bear,” she grumbled.
She was done with bears. Even though her heart ached, and her body throbbed, she wanted to curse bears. For years she dealt with the uppity bears of the Den, reminding her that she was too small and inconsequential to mean anything to them. This group had been better. They treated her like an equal, but she wouldn’t be able to stay if she had to watch Dom run from her every time she got too close.
Her heart would break, and her mind would slowly chip away until she was nothing more than an old longing. She would give him a little longer, but Aimee didn’t want to be a shell of herself. She had dreams and plans.
Chapter Ten
Dom knew he would only destroy the things he touched. Being with Aimee had been a mistake. He’d let himself go too far. The beast had pushed him and together they’d fallen down a hole that would only lead to more pain.
The look on Aimee’s face when he left the bathroom had been filled with betrayal. An anchor weighed him down, pulling him back toward her. It made every step heavy until his feet dragged along the floor like two boulders.
A sound at the door brought a snarl to his lips. His head snapped up, hands already curling into fists. It was only Morgan. The other shifter stood with an inquisitive look on his face. He hesitated in the doorway, taking in Dom’s aggressive stance.
Dom’s mind was wild, the beast thinking of how vulnerable Aimee was in that moment and how they needed to protect her. From everyone.
This is Morgan, Dom tried to reason with his beast. He is our friend.
Still, the beast’s growl rumbled through his ribs and past his clenched teeth. Dom shook himself, trying to break free of the beast’s ferocity. It clung to him with invisible claws. The beast’s need to protect Aimee was overwhelming. He couldn’t ignore the beast’s roar in his mind or the way it slowly echoed in his own thoughts.
Morgan was dangerous, a threat.
He needed to leave.
Dom took a step forward, shoulders hunched.
Morgan threw up his hands, lips parting in surprise. “Hold on, buddy. I didn’t mean to interrupt. If you didn’t get to finish…”
Dom’s roar cut him off. A few more steps and he’d be close enough to throw the man out of his house. Then, he heard the soft pattering of footsteps rushing toward them. A small form cut in between him and Morgan. Aimee’s familiar scent mingled with his and softened the beast’s screaming in his head.
Even with Aimee between them, the beast did not let him lower his gaze. He kept his eyes on Morgan. Dom knew Morgan wouldn’t hurt her, but the beast wouldn’t listen. She was their only priority. She was all that mattered. If she was hurt, if anyone touched her, then everything was over.
There would be no point to anything.
It struck him how quickly his beast’s motives changed after he’d lain with her. Where the beast once wanted to be the strongest, to have the respect of those around him again, it now only worried for the small otter shifter before him.
“Quit your grumbling and go upstairs.” Aimee’s voice was firm, holding none of the emotion she might have felt earlier. There was no affection, only a command.
Finally, he looked down at her. Her lips were set in a grim line, a muscle in her jaw pulsing from fear or tension. The desire to gather her in his arms was strong, but Dom knew she would push him away. This was not a moment for cuddling or affection. She was staring down his beast in a dominance contest.
The shifter was half his size as a human and a quarter his size as an otter, and yet the beast chose to listen to her. Dom huffed, the sound coming out gruff with his beast so close to the surface, and spun away from them. Aimee made a small sound that had him spinning around again.
Her shoulders had dropped, no longer bunched, yet her eyes were wide as she looked up at him. He couldn’t stop himself. The beast poured itself into his human form and stole the reigns. He ducked and lifted her from the floor, each step away from Morgan with her in his arms becoming lighter, easier.
As long as she was away from Morgan, away from any other male shifter that could hurt her, Dom could breathe again. He turned toward the long hall and found his bedroom. Closing the door behind him, he set Aimee on her feet.
She didn’t run for the exit like she should have. Instead, she threw her hands in the air, a growl emanating from her lips as she began to pace the floor.
“I really thought that you would calm down after that. Instead, it feels like things have become more…charged. What happened back there? Morgan didn’t even get a chance to set a foot inside the cabin.”
Dom didn’t have an answer for her. None that wouldn’t scare her. He didn’t want to tell her that he couldn’t control his beast anymore, though he suspected she knew. Aimee was his mate. Th
ere was no hiding anything from her anymore.
When those dark eyes looked up at him, they saw through every wall he tried to throw up between them. She saw his soul, broken and scattered in the wind. He wanted to ask her how he could get it back, but he didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on his mate. He wouldn’t make her fix him.
That would only add a strain on their non-existent relationship.
Dom wanted to leave her locked in the room, or at least his beast did. His beast also wanted to carry her to the bed and curl around her. Feet glued to the floor, he didn’t know what he should do. He was tugged in every direction. Guilt, shame, lust, fear, and wrath tugged at him. They tried to direct him, but all they managed to do was remind him how broken he was.
He was a risk, dangerous to be around. The beast feared anyone too close to Aimee, but he should have feared himself most of all.
Despite her small size, her footsteps thundered as she closed the space between them. He expected her to slap him. Instead, her hands were gentle when she touched the sides of his face. She brought his eyes down to her level. A long moment passed, no words exchanged while she studied his face.
Finally, she sighed. “What do I have to do to convince you I’m in this for the long run?”
“You shouldn’t want that. It will only lead to pain and hardship.”
“Screw yourself,” she grumbled. “Life is full of pain and hardship no matter which way we turn. Do you think I want to deal with that alone? I’d much rather take on whatever you’re going through than walk through this world on my own. Do you hear me?”
He did, but he didn’t know how to tell her she was wrong. Everything she’d said was wrong. Her life would be so much better without him. She couldn’t see it because the bond between them was so strong. He could see the truth for what it was. If he could save her the trouble of having to deal with him, he would.
He pulled away from her hands and moved toward the door, but she caught him. Her tiny hands grasped his wrists.
“You’re still naked,” she said with a laugh. “Let’s put some clothes on you before you leave.”
He looked down at himself. He could have told her that he planned on shifting again, but he let her begin gathering clothes while he lingered near the door. Every so often, she cast a glance in his direction as if making sure he was still there and hadn’t snuck out already. When she was finished, she led him by the hand toward the bed and the clothes she’d laid out.
“You’re playing a joke on me. Right?”
“Why would I do a thing like that?”
He looked between the flamingo shirt on the bed, a gaudy Hawaiian tourist shirt that had been a gag gift from Orion years ago, and his grinning mate. She jumped to sit on the edge of his bed. The way she watched him, that grin on her lips, made him step forward and reach for the clothes. The flamingo shirt was scratchy against his skin, but he did it for her because the smile that split her face after he finished buttoning was as bright as the sun. He couldn’t look directly at her for long.
She tossed the sweat pants at him. Once he was finished putting them on, she yanked him onto the bed with her. He hadn’t expected it, though he knew he should have. She was clever, his otter. Instinctively, his arms wrapped around her. She snuggled into him and pressed her face against his chest.
His heart beat a syncopated rhythm beneath his ribs. This was wrong and yet so right. He belonged in her arms and she belonged in his. He knew that, in time, this would fall to pieces, but the urge to savor it while he could kept him in place.
Aimee ran her hand along the pink shirt, along the muscles beneath it. She seemed content. Had she been a kitty shifter, he would have expected her to purr.
“I don’t talk about my life all that often. When Callie asks, I tell her it began the day she picked me up and carried me home like a puppy on the side of the road.” Aimee tensed, as if battling with what she was about to say. “I didn’t have any of the things that you had as a child. Even if the Den was a hive of assholes, they were there to tell you what you were. They made sure that you understood what bear shifters were.
“My mom had a one-night stand with a guy she barely knew. She didn’t use protection and ended up with me. When I turned four, she found an otter in the bathtub instead of her baby girl. When it’s quiet, I can still hear that scream. If I close my eyes, I can see her searching for me. I was trapped inside myself, trying to tell her that I was right in front of her.”
Dom pulled her closer, trying to protect her from not only the world but the life she’d once lived. His beast wanted to tell her that she was right where she belonged, that he would never lose her like that. Dom stayed quiet and let her finish her story.
“I was too young to know how drastically things changed. Maybe I blocked some of that out. Instead of holding onto the bad memories, I threw them away. I have memories of standing on a chair next to my halmoni, my grandmother, while she cooked. She’s the reason I love being in the kitchen. It might have been the only time I felt anything like a familial bond. It wasn’t until I was a pre-teen that I could see the difference in the way I was treated.
“My younger cousins were given so much, while I was hidden. Mom didn’t let me out of her sight. When I felt the need to shift, she would pinch me and tell me I was bad. She would remind me that none of the other kids did it.
“By all rights, I should be dead right now. At fourteen, I gathered all my savings and booked a flight to Alaska, so I could find this magical place filled with people like me. How I managed to survive on my own is a damn miracle. Maybe it was meant to be, but maybe I’m a survivor.”
She bent to look up at Dom, making his heart flutter when their eyes met. She was so small and yet burned with an intensity he’d never seen before. He didn’t want to be the reason that light died, but the words died in his throat.
“I can handle a lot, Dominic. I have lived through rough times. I’ve even lived among bears for the better part of a decade. I’m not going to break under the pressure or become food for another bear. There’s little that can hurt me at this point. The only thing that has hurt is the way you have treated me.”
The last sentence sent an arrow through his heart. It pierced him, struck him immobile. He’d never meant to hurt her. If anything, he’d been doing his best to protect her. To hear that it had backfired threatened to destroy him.
***
Aimee didn’t know how else to get through to him. Spilling her life story had not been comfortable in the least, but he needed to hear it. The truth that she unfolded for him was that she would not be beat down by anything in this life. If anything, she would rise to the top of any situation.
Dom kept pushing her away, making it difficult for her to get through to him, but as long as he held her there was a chance he was listening. There was a chance they could begin working to make things better.
“Have you thought about finding them? Your family, I mean.” His voice rumbled in her ear once she laid her head back on his chest.
“They tried to reach out to me. Mostly distant cousins trying to figure out why I left. I never felt the urge to return. There was nothing that pulled me back.”
Aimee knew it was because she’d always been meant to find herself here, in Dom’s arms. Everything in her life had led her to this moment. To him. And she didn’t want to lose him just yet. There was time to make things better. He could find the man he once was if he would only try.
“It’s your turn to open up,” she reminded him with a poke to the chest. “Tell me something personal.”
He swallowed, the sound audible in the quiet room. Her body pulsed this close to him. Her core warmed, remembering the way he’d touched her outside. They were meant to be, but it would only work if he tried.
If he wanted this.
When he said nothing, she realized he wouldn’t put in the work. It hurt, the knowledge that Dom refused to give her what she so desperately wanted. All she asked for was a little bit of effort
. Determined as ever, he held back. She couldn’t tell if he was afraid to hurt her or if he truly did not want this relationship.
Outside, it had been clear that he was at least attracted to her. His beast craved hers in a way that had driven them both to carnal pleasure. Even after, he’d been so sweet and gentle with her as he carried her inside. She’d thought that they’d finally overcome the last obstacle until he left her alone in the bathroom.
He was still running. What they’d done outside had only been a stumble in his race to escape her.
Aimee’s fists clenched at her sides. Anger made her lungs seize, her stomach clench. She couldn’t shake it. Not while they were this close.
“I could save you!” She pulled back to sit on her knees, throwing her arm wide in frustration.
“I’m not asking you to save me. Don’t you see that?”
The tiny beast in her refused to give up. Even if he refused to ask, she would keep trying. Trying until it destroyed her. She saw what he was trying to prevent, but she didn’t want to acknowledge it. There was a possibility that she could have all she ever wanted if only he would give it to her. If only he would let her in.
But he wouldn’t.
Dominic didn’t want to put anything on her shoulders and so her arms would remain empty, too. It was unfair, but she didn’t know how she could change it. Life would continue. No matter what either chose, life would go on.
She didn’t know how to tell him that she was tired of being alone. The story she’d told him should have been enough, but it didn’t seem like the message got through. Aimee had been alone since she was a scared little shifter in a bathtub trying to tell her mother that she was right in front of her.
To Tame a Bear Page 7