“Bon appétit,” she said, and then dug into her food.
Joel took a big bite, happy to have an excuse not to speak. But as soon as the food hit his tongue, he couldn’t help but speak.
“Oh my god,” he said as soon as he’d swallowed. “This is amazing. Poppy should hire you.”
It was a ridiculous thing to say. Poppy did all her own cooking, and besides, Anna would never move to a place like this, especially not for a job at a tiny diner. She probably had some fancy-pants job in some big city somewhere. Joel was suddenly overcome with the urge to ask her what she did, but he forced back the question. He wasn’t supposed to be showing any interest in her. He’d already said too much by telling her about his nickname, and joking about her working here.
But in the end, he didn’t have to ask. Anna launched into her own explanation of her career.
“Oh, I’m sure Poppy is a much better cook than I am. Cooking is just a hobby for me. I’m decent at it, but I don’t think I could actually work in a restaurant. Besides, I already have a job that I love. I teach elementary school children.”
Joel felt his inner bear claw at him again. This news did nothing to tamp down his desire. If she taught elementary school, then she must like kids. And if she liked kids, then she probably wanted a few of her own. If the way she was smiling right now was any indication of how she felt, then she must really like her students. If she cared that much for the kids at her job, then he could only imagine how much she would like a child that was her own flesh and blood.
Joel cleared his throat. “That must be a tough job.”
His voice sounded strained, and he coughed to cover up his awkwardness. But when he coughed, he choked on a piece of potato. He started coughing more violently, and Anna jumped up in concern.
“Are you okay?” she asked as she ran over to him and started whacking him on the back. He managed to choke down the offending piece of potato and tried to wave her away.
“I’m fine. Just swallowed wrong.”
But she still stood by him for a moment, and the concern in her eyes was almost too much to take. As they met each other’s gaze, some sort of unspoken acknowledgment passed between them. Joel knew in that moment that she was feeling something similar to what he was feeling. Neither of them could deny the chemistry between them. For several moments, they kept looking at each other.
This time, it was Anna who coughed nervously. She headed back to her seat and started to dig into her food once again. For several minutes, they both ate in silence. Finally, Anna started talking again, as though desperate to break the awkward silence.
“Anyway, like I was saying, I love my job. The kids are great. The only problem is that the principal is annoying. I also don’t really like where I live.”
“Oh?” Joel asked. He didn’t even bother trying to pretend that he didn’t want to know where she lived. The truth was that he was dying of curiosity.
“Yeah, I live in a suburb of Los Angeles. It’s a weird place. We’re close enough to L.A. that a lot of people are really caught up with seeking fame. But the town itself is in a bit of a depressed area. It’s like everyone is struggling to make a lot of money and be part of the rat race, but no one is really succeeding. It’s just a lot of stressed out, unhappy people.”
“Sounds like you’re not a fan.”
“I’m not. In fact, that’s part of the reason I came to Pine Springs. I’ve been thinking for a while about moving somewhere different. Somewhere with a little slower pace of life near plenty of good nature. I want to be able to get lost in the forest whenever I want to. There are a lot of beautiful beaches near me in California, but I’m not close to any big forests.
Joel nearly choked on the bite of venison he’d just put in his mouth. “You’re moving to Pine Springs?”
Anna shrugged. “Well, maybe not Pine Springs, exactly. But somewhere like here. I like the area, but I found the people in Pine Springs to be a bit too rude.”
Joel could only stare at her. He’d been sitting here thinking that there was no possibility that Anna was his lifemate, because there was no way she would ever move to Bear Mountain. But if she’d been thinking of moving to Pine Springs, she might be willing to move to the mountain. And if she was willing to move to the mountain, then was it actually possible that his inner bear was correct? Was Anna his lifemate?
As he finished his food, he couldn’t stop running the possibility through his mind. Admittedly, he didn’t know Anna very well yet. But so far, everything he was learning about her was proving his initial assumptions wrong. She might be from a city, but she wasn’t stuck-up. It sounded like she disliked the same things about cities that he did, and that she truly cared about the children she worked with.
Perhaps she’d been foolish to ignore him and everyone else by going up the mountain in a blizzard. But that didn’t mean that she was a complete idiot. He recognized now why she’d done it. She’d been desperate. He saw in her a little bit of himself. He saw the desire to buck the system, to forge her own path, and to taste true freedom.
Joel stood abruptly and carried his plate to the sink. He couldn’t look Anna in the eyes right now. If he did, she was going to see that his desire for her was consuming him.
This is crazy, he thought. Even if she were to move here, she’s a full human. She would probably run screaming in the other direction if she knew I was part bear.
Anna stood and carried her plate to the sink as well. She was so close that he could smell her shampoo and its lavender-vanilla notes. He clenched the side of the countertop tightly and willed himself to calm down.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
The concern in her voice once again sent his bear into a frenzy. How had he not seen it before? Anna wasn’t at all the type of person he’d originally judged her to be. At her core, she was kind and caring. She was also so goddamn beautiful. She was exactly what he’d been looking for in a mate. The only hiccup was that she wasn’t a bear shifter and might be a bit shocked to learn that shifters existed. But in that moment, with all of his alpha instincts rising within him and telling him to claim her, Joel figured that telling her that he was a bear wasn’t an insurmountable problem. If they were truly meant to be, then surely she would understand.
He turned to look at her. When his eyes met hers, he saw the deep desire he felt reflecting back at him. She wanted him, too.
“No, I’m not okay,” he said in a husky voice. He reached for her hand, and took it in his. She felt so small, so soft and delicate. The feeling of that small hand in his made him feel stronger than he ever had before.
She blinked up at him, trembling slightly. “Joel?” That one word held a thousand questions.
And he answered them all with a kiss.
Chapter Nine
Anna’s mind screamed at her that she’d already done enough foolish things today. Did she really need to add sleeping with Joel to the list? She barely knew him, and yet her heart was somehow already tangled up in his. If she slept with him now, she knew she would never be able to forget him. She knew that her heart would be broken. She had to get off this train before it was too late.
Guys like Joel didn’t have serious, long-term relationships with girls like her. Joel had his life together. He had his cabin here and his job in the village, he had his community that he knew and loved, and he was settled. Anna was all over the place. She wanted to move, but she didn’t know where. And as much as she hated her life back home, she wasn’t sure she could just abandon her job. Those kids needed her.
In the panic of that moment, looking up at Joel, Anna came up with one thousand reasons why things between them would never work out. In the end, though, none of those reasons mattered. All that mattered was that Joel’s lips felt like fire on her lips.
When he kissed her, she felt herself come alive in a way she never had before. She’d heard others talk about feeling that “spark,” whatever that meant. But she herself had never felt anything before that she would have termed a “spar
k.”
That had all just changed.
She’d found Joel attractive from the first moment she saw him, and now that she knew he was attracted to her too, she felt that things had been put in motion that she didn’t have the willpower to stop. All she wanted was more of Joel’s fire.
And his fire was something he was happy to give.
A change seemed to come over him as he kissed her deeper. He’d been hanging back and hiding behind his gruff exterior since the moment they’d entered his cabin. But now, he wasn’t hanging back any longer. Now, he was lifting her in his arms and carrying her to his bedroom, growling “Mine” as he did.
Yours, Anna’s heart responded. If the tone of his voice was any indication, he was planning to take this all the way.
And Anna was planning to let him. One thousand electric butterflies fluttered in her stomach. A tingling hot sensation was filling her, and she knew she would not be happy until she’d experienced everything that Joel had to give. A day ago, she probably would have rolled her eyes if someone had told her that she would feel this way about someone. But now, as she looked at Joel, she realized that he was someone she’d been missing without even realizing it. And somehow, beyond all reason, here in his cabin in the middle of a howling blizzard, she felt like she was home.
It had been a long, long time since she’d felt at home anywhere.
“Mine,” Joel growled again. His voice was deep and strong, and his eyes were wild. They were filled with some sort of primal urge, and Anna shivered in delight at the sight. He wanted her in a way that no one ever had, and she would not refuse him.
Joel moved to pull off the ridiculously baggy pants he’d given her.
“I want to see you,” he said in a husky whisper. “Can I see you? All of you?”
His voice was both tender and authoritative at the same time. His words held a question and an order all at once. He was asking if he could have her, but he already knew she was his. He was telling her that he was going to take her.
And Anna was ready to be taken.
She was so overcome by the moment that she couldn’t quite bring herself to speak. So instead of words, she answered him with her actions. She started to wriggle out of her oversized t-shirt, even as he pulled off her pants. Within moments, she was completely naked before him. She shivered, but not from cold. The cabin was still cozy and warm, thanks to the fireplaces in both the main room and bedroom. But Anna’s body couldn’t contain all of the feelings within it. The fact that Joel now moved to run his finger down the side of her face did nothing to quench those shivers.
“My god,” he said in a reverent whisper. “You are perfect.”
Anna trembled. She’d never been told she was perfect before, and her initial instinct was to laugh off the comment. But the look in Joel’s eyes told her that he didn’t consider this a laughing matter. He was serious.
And so, with trembling hands, Anna sat up and began to unbutton his flannel shirt. He never took his eyes off of her as she worked. Under his intense gaze, she finished all of the buttons and pushed the shirt off. His bare chest was a sight to see. It was broad and strong, and his abs were sculpted to perfection. Above the hemline of his jeans, the v-shape of his muscles pointed down in a teasing way, beckoning her to see what she would find if those jeans were gone.
And yet, she hesitated. She’d never been good at taking charge when it came to relationships. Sitting before Joel now, naked and exposed, she wasn’t sure she was ready to take charge. Her hands faltered just above the button of his jeans.
Luckily for her, Joel had no problem taking charge. He grabbed her hands in his own and moved them back to the button.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said in a low voice. “This moment was meant to be.”
It seemed like a strange thing to say, but it was the right thing to say all the same. Anna nodded, and slowly began to unbutton his jeans. He helped her to push them off, and to push off his tight briefs.
When she saw his erection, her jaw dropped. She felt foolish for gawking so obviously, but she couldn’t help it. She’d never seen anything quite like him. He was huge.
His thick shaft stood at attention, pointing directly toward her. Anna could hardly believe this was real. How could a man possibly be so large? And yet, the proof was right in front of her. This mountain man was definitely that large.
And he was definitely planning to put that huge erection of his inside of her.
Anna whimpered with excitement as Joel moved closer to her. He gently pushed her back onto the bed, so that she lay naked underneath him. As he looked her body up and down again, Anna felt herself growing wet between her legs. The juices of her desire ran freely as Joel moved his face so that it was directly above her breasts. He pulled one of her nipples into his mouth, and Anna was instantly in heaven.
Joel ran the hard nub back and forth under his tongue, then used his teeth to nibble on it. He started out gently, but he quickly ramped up the intensity. Anna felt tingles of delight as his teeth teased first one nipple and then the other.
And just when she thought things couldn’t possibly get any better, he reached down and slipped one of his large, long fingers between her legs. She gasped as the combination of his mouth on her nipples and his finger deep inside her slick entrance sent a fresh rush of electric heat across her whole body.
“Joel,” she moaned. It was the only word she could manage to get out, but it seemed to please him.
“You like that, huh? Good, because I’ve got plenty more to give.”
He rammed his finger deeper, rubbing it against the most sensitive parts of her. She squeezed her eyes shut as a deep, hot pressure began to build within her core. Her nipples tingled, and her legs trembled. She couldn’t help but moan at the sensation, and every little moan she made spurred Joel on more.
“That’s it,” he whispered in a savage voice. “Come for me. Show me what I do to you.”
The pressure within her exploded into a cascade of delicious spasms. Her inner muscles clenched around Joel’s finger over and over again as he let out a long, satisfied growl.
Her release seemed to go on forever. Wave after wave of pleasure washed over her, and Joel knew just how to keep that pleasure going. He kept his finger inside her, rubbing it against her inner walls as she arched her back against the pressure. She had never known an ecstasy like this.
But Joel was just getting started.
As her body slowly began to return to normal, Joel pulled his finger out and shifted his body so that he was hovering over her.
“Are you ready for more?”
Anna couldn’t imagine how anything could possibly feel better than what she’d just experienced, but she was willing to experiment and find out.
“Give me more,” she breathed out.
A satisfied smile spread across Joel’s face, and he wasted no time in lowering himself into her. Anna squeezed her eyes shut as he filled her. She’d thought his finger had felt incredible, but nothing could have prepared her for what it felt like to have his dick inside of her. He moved slowly, pushing first just the tip past her entrance, then gently sliding into her. His thick shaft pushed against her inner walls, making room for itself. He went so deep into her that Anna felt like they were truly one in that moment.
Her heart beat faster at the thought. She was one with her mountain man. How had she gotten so lucky? She’d found someone who had not only saved her life, but saved her heart as well.
She didn’t have much time to contemplate the answer to that question. Joel was beginning to move within her, sliding back and forth. With each thrust, the tingling, electric pressure was returning to Anna’s core. She felt herself growing wetter and hotter as Joel drew her close to the edge once again. He pushed deeper into her each time he slid his hips forward, and she whimpered in delight as his fire rushed through her.
She tried to hold back her release. She wanted to enjoy this moment as long as possible. But she couldn’t hold back for long.
Her passion for Joel was too intense, and it soon consumed her completely.
She arched her back and let out a cry of pleasure as her release found her again. The pressure in her core transformed into a series of tremors that rocked her body with an unbelievable heat. Anna grasped the bed sheets beneath her, desperate for anything to hold onto. She felt like those tremors were going to rock her right off the bed. The ecstasy of the moment filled her unlike anything she’d ever known. The heat in her core seemed to grow hotter with every second, until Anna thought she would burn up from the inside out. But she loved the way that heat felt, and she would have given anything to keep feeling it forever.
Joel followed close behind her in finding his release. He let out a loud roar, and then thrust hard and deep one last time. He stiffened and pulsed into her, and Anna felt like she had never known a joy like this.
She also felt loved, which was crazy. She and Joel hadn’t known each other long enough to fall in love, had they? There were rules about this sort of thing.
But in that moment, it didn’t matter what the rules were. Anna knew she loved him, and that he loved her. She wanted nothing more than to spend every minute of every day with him, but that idea was a fantasy. Their real lives were much too far apart.
Weren’t they?
Chapter Ten
The blizzard lasted two more days, but Joel would have been glad if it had gone on forever. Suddenly, being stuck in a cabin with Anna didn’t seem like such a bad thing. They spent their time alternating between making love and eating the venison from his freezer.
Joel felt a keen sense of disappointment when the storm finally broke, but he also felt a sense of excitement. He’d known for sure after the first time he slept with Anna that she was his lifemate. He’d felt the warmth of the lifemate bond forming in his core as they made love.
Now, he just had to figure out how to tell her. He’d heard humans talk about the concept of a soul mate, so he didn’t think the lifemate concept would be completely foreign to Anna. But he wanted to explain it to her in a way that would be special.
Rescued on Bear Mountain Page 6