by Jenika Snow
I reached behind me and gripped the counter for support. The very thought that he couldn’t control himself, that he could shift at any moment, that his bear wanted out, was such an aphrodisiac that I couldn’t help myself moaning.
The air left me on a soft whisper. I didn’t know what I was going to tell him, but inside of me, I was screaming for him to stay. I was yelling for him to take me.
“I’m trying real hard here, baby.” His voice was slightly distorted, as if he were trying not to shift in front of me, as if his animal was trying to take over.
Let it take over. Let your bear have control.
Those words played over and over in my head, and I was so confused by them, so confused on why I wanted that so much, why I needed it, that I couldn’t wrap my head around this reality.
“You have no idea how much I fucking want you,” he said and I felt my eyes widen. “But if I stay here, I’m going end up doing just that … taking you, claiming you, filling you up with my cum so it marks you, so you smell like me.”
My chest was rising up and down frantically, his words like gasoline on the inferno already raging inside of me. A part of me wanted to say that I desired all of that and more. But before anything could be said, before I could let caution be thrown to the wind, before I could give myself over to my needs, Maddix ran his hand over his face and shook his head.
“I’m not a fucking beast who can’t control his basic urges.” It was almost as if he spoke to himself.
And then he lifted his head and looked right at me, his gaze clashing with mine. It was silent for long seconds, but then he exhaled, that sound like this rumble of thunder bouncing off the mountains surrounding me, filling me.
“And as much as I know you want this right now, I want you to be sure before you give yourself over to me.” He took one step closer and lifted his hand, wrapping his fingers gently around my throat, his thumb tracing my jawline.
I was the one to inhale now, the scent of him almost making me feel drugged.
He leaned in close, our lips barely touching. I gasped, wanting to run my tongue along his mouth.
“But not tonight. Your inhibitions are lowered because of the mating, because of your confusion.” He leaned to the side and his lips brushed along my cheek before settling by my ear.
I closed my eyes and curled my fingers against the counter once more, trying to stabilize myself so I didn’t collapse right then and there.
Common sense told me this was insane, that my reaction to him wasn’t normal. But a stronger, almost volatile part of me told that common sense to shut the fuck up.
“And make no mistake, mate, I’m not walking away because I want to. I’m doing it because if I don’t, I won’t be able to control myself.” He pulled back just an inch, his lips sliding along my cheek. A soft moan left me. “Because when I finally spread these pretty thighs of yours—” He placed his hands on my outer thighs and I clenched my legs together to stem off the flow of arousal. “—it’ll be when I’m thrusting in hard and fully, burying myself balls deep inside your hot little pussy, and making you mine. There will be no going back then, Allison.”
He pulled back and I forced my eyes open to look at him.
“In fact, there is no going back.” He looked at my mouth and I knew he wanted to kiss me. I wanted him to kiss me.
Before I could lean in and do just that, Maddix was moving away from me and heading out the door.
And then I was left there alone, so damn aroused my knees were weak and my panties were soaked.
God, what in the hell was going on with me, and how would I survive?
Chapter Six
Maddix
I didn’t go back to the campsite, and instead headed straight home. I needed a cold fucking shower, needed to jerk off and relieve some of the pressure in my balls. The fact I’d actually left my mate without claiming her was fucking insane. The amount of self-control I had displayed should’ve given me a damn title of being a saint.
My mate.
Our mate, my bear growled in response.
I stalked inside my cabin, headed straight to the bathroom, and shut the door. I walked up to the shower, cranked the knob until the water turned on, frigid enough to hopefully ease some of my lust.
I all but tore my fucking clothes off and got in the shower, the water beating down my back as I rested my hand on the tiled wall, hanging my head and closing my eyes. I grabbed my dick, squeezing my fingers around the girth, and started running my palm up and down. I felt my balls draw up tight, my impending orgasm close.
Allison.
God, she was gorgeous. Perfect.
I clenched my teeth as pleasure lanced through me. I knew this wouldn’t sate me, wouldn’t calm the beast deep inside of me. In fact, this would probably make things worse. But I couldn’t help myself. I needed this, I needed this relief, this release.
I felt my pleasure rise as my climax started at the base of my spine. It took control of me until I was tossing my head back and roaring out as I came.
My jizz shot out of my cock, a sharp stab of pleasure that would have eased me on any other occasion, but today only made it worse. I let go of myself and rested both hands in front of me on the wall, my eyes closed, my mouth parted as I breathed heavily.
And even though I’d emptied my balls, even though I’d shot out a massive load against the tiled wall, my cock was still rock hard. It was like the fucker was telling me this wouldn’t do, that until he was buried balls deep in Allison’s sweet pussy, I’d be walking around with this fire poker between my thighs.
Better get around to claiming her, and really fucking claiming her hard.
The next day
I cursed and headed out my front door, slamming it behind me and taking the porch steps two at a time. I was striding toward Oli’s cabin, wanting to go to where Allison was, about to grab my shit to repair the door, only to realize it was missing. I growled low, my bear right there at the surface, wanting to kick someone’s ass, especially my brother Oli’s.
When I finally reached Oli’s place, I could hear classic rock pumping out through the garage. I walked around the back of his house, saw the four-car garage, the twin bay doors open, and Oli standing inside.
He’d built the place five summers ago, not stopping until it had been finished. I narrowed my eyes when I saw him working on an engine suspended from the ceiling. Grease covered his hands and arms, and his longer dark blond hair was pulled back into what he called a man bun. At times, I thought he looked fucking ridiculous, even if I knew he was probably one of the better looking out of all of us.
He stood, facing me as he clearly sensed my presence. Grease was smudged in between the tattoos that covered his arms, hands, neck, even his chest. He wore a white tank, the color long gone as stains from working in this garage took over.
“Dude, I thought you were camping for the weekend?” Oli had to shout to be heard over the roar of music.
I tipped my chin toward his stereo, but he stood there and continued to clean off his hands on a dirty-ass red rag, one that probably hadn’t been washed since he bought it. I narrowed my eyes at him and growled low even though he couldn’t hear me.
I walked up to the stereo, turned that bitch off, and faced him. For a moment, we just stood there staring at each other, and finally he lifted an eyebrow, silently asking me what the fuck I wanted.
“Where’s my shit?” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. I wanted to go to Allison, but having to hunt down my tools because my fucking brother had taken them without asking, and then didn’t put them back, was sucking up time I could be with my mate.
“Your shit?” Oli walked over to his workbench and tossed the dirty rag on it. He looked over his shoulder at me. “You’re acting weird. Testier than normal.” He stared me right in the eyes for a moment, trying to read me, but I was like a fucking bank safe.
No way was he getting through the thick wall I’d erected around myself.
Alth
ough I had no problem telling my brothers I was mated, was looking forward to it even, I wanted to wait until I’d fully claimed Allison. I wanted her to be in just as deep with this mating as I was already.
Oli faced his workbench again and started jotting down some notes, presumably materials he needed to fix up that engine he’d been working on for the past month.
Oli had always been the easygoing one out of the bunch, the brother who looked like he should be on the beaches in California with a surfboard under his arm. But he wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all me.
I knew he craved his mate just as much as all of us did. He just hid it better than the majority of us. He found shit to do, engines to work on, time-sucking activities that kept his mind off of what he wanted the most. His mate.
“Where’s my tools? I have things to do.”
“What kind of shit?” Oli asked without looking at me.
I growled low and felt my bear rise up with impatience. “Oli, I need my tools because I have work to do. Where the fuck are they?”
Oli faced me and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against his workbench. He smirked. “Where at? I can come help you if you want.” The thing with Oli was, even though I knew he was sincere about helping out, he also knew how to push my buttons.
He could see I was impatient, in a hurry, and he was dragging this out.
I found myself stalking toward him, stopping when I was a couple feet away, letting him see I was serious. I glared, letting him see my bear, letting him know that I wasn’t fucking around.
“I mean it.” I said those words so deep, so focused, that for a moment the air was thick with my aggression. I wouldn’t fight one of my brothers, not normally. We were family, blood. But when it came to my mate, she was the priority. She was what mattered.
I watched as Oli inhaled, taking in my scent, my emotions. His eyes widened just a bit.
“You found your fucking mate.” He grinned and before I could brace for what he was about to do, he pulled me in for a hug, smacking his hand on my back, his genuine happiness for me filling the interior of the garage.
He pulled back and I took a step away, rubbing the nape of my neck, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to hide this from my brothers. They were bear shifters, for fuck’s sake. They could scent emotions, read people as if they were open books, as if a neon flashing sign was stationed above them.
“Well, who is she? Where is she? Damn, you and Zakari finding your mates. Another one bites the dust.” He grinned wider, but I picked up the slightest aroma of regret, of jealousy.
Oli played a good game, but he couldn’t hide what he desperately wanted the most.
His mate.
Like we all did.
For a shifter that was the one thing we craved, our life’s mission.
Working in this garage day in and day out, trying to keep himself busy, wasn’t going to cut it forever.
Oli didn’t say anything for several seconds, then finally lifted his hands up in surrender. “Why you’re trying to fucking hide that you’re mated is beyond me. But your life, your decision.” He walked past me toward the shelving pushed to the side, rifled through boxes, and produced a toolset. “For the record, I didn’t take your tools. But you can use these.” He handed over the box of tools and I took it.
“If you don’t take it then who did?” I stared into his blue eyes, the same shade as mine.
“Could’ve been Cayson, or maybe Asher, hell, even Damon. Any one of those three assholes could’ve gone in there and borrowed your tools.” He shrugged. “Have fun fixing shit today. And when you’re ready, I’d like to meet the woman who will finally calm the grumpy grizzly.”
I flipped him off, but Oli was smirking.
I left the garage and headed back to my place. I’d take my truck down to the cabin. It would be faster that way.
Shit, I was nervous as hell. My bear was being a bastard, trying to get out, wanting to be the one who had control.
Not today, asshole. Today my human side was spending time with our mate.
Chapter Seven
Allison
The hammering should’ve been a distraction, but it wasn’t, not with Maddix taking up my entire view. He was on his haunches fixing the hinge to the back door, his dark gray T-shirt stretched across his muscular body.
I let my gaze travel along the tattoos that covered his biceps, forearms, even his hands. He was certainly all male, that was for sure.
I found myself biting my bottom lip as I watched the play of muscles bunch and contract on his bicep. His jeans—Lord have mercy, his jeans fit him to perfection. He was a big man, easily nearly six and a half feet tall. Being next to him made me feel so feminine, so small.
He stood and I could see his abdomen clench underneath his shirt, that six-pack so defined a hot flash moved through me.
I should’ve turned away, but I couldn’t stop watching him, couldn’t stop following his fluid movement, or the way the power just poured off of him. Maddix bent slightly to put his tools away and my gaze landed right on his ass. His jeans molded perfectly to him.
I swallowed, my throat tightening, my tongue feeling thick. He straightened, but my gaze was still locked on his body, at the ridges and hills of his muscles under his T-shirt, of the way his forearms flexed, his hands so big and strong. Every part of him screamed male.
It was then that I felt someone watching me. I lifted my focus off of his body and looked in his face. He was staring at me. He’d caught me.
I cleared my throat and turned away quickly, feeling my face heat. I was so embarrassed that he’d caught me checking him out. No doubt my face was as red as a tomato. I found myself in the kitchen, busying myself, knowing he would be coming in the house to tell me he was finished. As if on cue, I heard the back door open and his heavy footsteps coming toward me. I kept my back toward him and cleaned counters, my hands shaking, my body and mind at war with each other.
The truth was, I wanted to turn around and go to him, to throw myself in his arms and tell him to take me. I wanted to just say forget about anything and everything that didn’t have to do with us.
It was so insane, so crazy that I felt this way about a virtual stranger.
But I knew enough about being mated to a shifter to know that this was unavoidable, undeniable. I couldn’t fight it. Because if I did it would just get stronger, my need fiercer. I had to accept this, although that was no hardship.
Walking away from Maddix wasn’t an option I wanted to take.
Humans were taught about shifters in school. Everything had been explained to us so we accepted it, knew that this was the world. And my species was fine with that. We lived together in harmony. Although shifters were stronger, faster, and healed quicker in their human forms than my species did, they weren’t violent, didn’t take advantage.
In fact, most shifters preferred solitude, wanted to live away from everyone and everything.
I thought about that day in school all those years ago when we’d learned about the mating of shifters and humans. I had to assume it was this intense whether it was two shifters, or two different species. But maybe it was even more intense, more consuming.
Maybe it was different for each person.
My body lit up again as I thought about how we’d talked about the need, the desire. How it was something that would only get stronger the more time we spent away from our mate.
God, no truer words had ever been spoken.
Here I was, thinking about high school at the age of twenty-three because I was standing in front of my mate, because I was trying desperately to control myself and find a distraction for the way Maddix watched me.
My bear shifting mate.
“I can see you’re thinking pretty hard there, Ali.” He moved closer, his head slightly downcast as he watched me, stalked me.
And that was exactly what he was doing right now as he moved closer. Once he was a foot from me he stopped, didn’t speak, and just stared right in my eye
s. I don’t know how much time passed, but the air grew considerably thicker, the heat increasing. I felt beads of sweat lining the valley between my breasts, felt my panties become even more saturated.
“The door is fixed,” he said huskily.
I nodded. “Thank you,” I whispered, although I didn’t know why I was thanking him seeing as he broke the damn thing.
He smirked, as if he’d read my mind.
“Well, I guess that wraps this all up then?” I hadn’t meant to phrase it like a question, but it came out that way, as if I was fishing for him to spend more time with me.
Because this mating is unavoidable.
“No, Ali. This is far from wrapped up.” He was as still as stone, as hard as it too. “Have dinner with me, let me cook for you.”
Inside I was screaming yes, already thinking of all the dirty things we could do together once we were done with the meal. But outside I was trying to be collected and calm, not show how interested I actually was.
And in just a short twenty-four hours, I had been trying to come to grips with the fact I was indeed mated to a bear shifter. I was surprised at how easily I accepted it, but it also helped the fact that it was as if my body knew Maddix, as if we were drawn together and it was undeniably real.
I felt like I had known him my entire life, like he could look right in my eyes and see my needs and wants. So, I licked my lips, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.
“Dinner?” My voice came out breathy, a little bit lust-filled. He nodded, and I saw this flash of something behind his eyes, as if his bear had sensed my acceptance already. He was trying to break free.
God, how intense that would be, to have him deep inside of me and see his bear rise to the surface? I shivered, feeling goosebumps move along my skin.
“Ali, baby, it’s real hard to keep my control when I know how aroused you are.” His voice was so deep, so gruff. The way he had given me the nickname shouldn’t have turned me on as much as it did.