by Olivia Myers
Seeing Krista had caused feelings to flare up—feelings he hadn’t known he had—mostly for her, but also for the ranch. He’d been toying with the idea of becoming a rancher and settling down to raise a family now that he’d made all his money and could retire young.
The problem was, if he stayed here, and his attraction to Krista grew, then what would happen? Would it be fair to either of them to have his adoptive sister be the object of his desire, a woman that he wanted and shouldn’t want?
Scratching his head in mild confusion, he tried to figure out how to handle the situation. He hadn’t been raised with her for very long, so he didn’t have the brotherly feelings toward her even though they had a legal family tie. Deciding to get some food, he went downstairs to the kitchen and almost walked right into her. She was wearing bunny slippers and had on a fuzzy white bathrobe. She held a carton of ice cream in one hand, and a spoon in the other. She looked up at him guiltily.
“Hi,” he said, watching her lick the spoon with her tongue. He had to look away quickly. It was just too sensual of an action, and he wanted to press her against the cupboards and have her lick him like that.
“Hi, Leo. Any chance you want to put the tree topper on the tree?” she asked, setting the ice cream down on the counter. “I promise I don’t eat out of all the cartons, just this one. We have others.”
“Doesn’t bother me,” Leo said, laughing. She looked so young and innocent but there was a wariness to her face that gave him the urge to comfort her. Their parents had meant a lot to her, too, in some ways more, because she was chosen by them, not just given to them by the genetic lottery of birth. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m hanging in there, I guess. I miss them a lot. I’m glad you’re here.” She walked over and hugged him, surprising him. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her back. When she looked up at him, she had a smudge of vanilla ice cream on her upper lip and he wiped it off with his thumb.
Before he could stop himself, Leo lowered his mouth and kissed her. He wasn’t sure who was more shocked—him, or Krista. What surprised him was the fact that she started to kiss him back. Her arms reached up and wrapped around his neck and held him close. He let himself get lost in her warm embrace. Their tongues mingled as he deepened the kiss. When he finally pulled back, he stared at her, not sure if he should apologize, or kiss her again while she was still receptive to it.
“Leo?” Krista asked.
Cringing, Leo waited for her to blast him for stepping over boundaries that should never be crossed.
“Yes, Krista?” He waited for the tongue-lashing he rightfully deserved.
“I liked that. If you want to do it again, I promise I won’t say no.” Krista gently traced the stubble on his cheek. “I was attracted to you, too, from the moment you walked through the front door tonight. I’m glad it’s mutual because I thought I would go insane being this close to you and not able to touch you.”
Leo just stared at her for a moment and then dipped his head. They’d have to figure out the rest of the family business, and the ranch, but for right now, tonight, they weren’t brother and sister. They were just a man and a woman who’d been brought together by the loss of family and needed to be comforted by someone they trusted and liked.
Backing her up until she bumped into the kitchen counter he pushed her robe open slightly and put his hand inside of the fabric to touch her. Finding her with no shirt on, he closed his eyes and groaned softly. Her hot skin teased his fingers as he lowered his hand until he found one of her large, perky breasts. She was curvy in all the right places and it had him hot and hard. She had never seemed obsessed with clothes or makeup, or being supermodel thin. Krista was healthy and active and it showed.
Her soft moans were egging him on, and he pushed himself between her legs so that she could feel his arousal against her inner thighs.
Leo pulled back long enough to look at her; he wanted to give her a chance to change her mind. If they went through with where this was headed, there was no going back. When she looked up at him with big eyes, he forgot all his good intentions and covered her mouth with his again, this time giving no mercy. He devoured her mouth as his hands roamed her body, touching her intimately until she was gasping and grinding up against him.
“Leo,” she whispered. She pulled her head back to look at him, giving him a gentle smile. She reached down, pulled off his shirt, and then lowered her hands to work on undoing his belt to get his pants off. Leo didn’t stop her, but he did pick her up and set her on the counter so her pelvis was even with his.
Krista pulled his cock out of his pants and stroked it with her fingers. She looked into his eyes as she touched him, and it drove him wild.
After all the sadness and loss, seeing something so simple, primal, and exciting helped him block out all the pain of losing his parents, and he wanted to lose himself in her arms. Scooting her toward him on the counter, his hands dropped lower to touch her wetness between her legs. She tilted her head back, her eyes half-closed in passion. He touched her gently, working her up into an excited frenzy and then worked two fingers inside of her, stretching her out, getting her ready for him.
Leo let his cock press up against her leg, and rubbed himself against her soft skin. He knew that if he did this, he’d never be able to go back, or see her as family again. She’d be his lover, a woman he was physically attracted too, a woman he wanted to seduce. A woman who would be his. Realizing where his thoughts went, they’d need to talk about this after. This wasn’t a onetime thing for him; he wouldn’t risk his family on a one-night stand.
“Krista, before we do this, I just want you to know that if we go down this road, there’s no going back.”
“I know what we are doing, Leo. We’re both grown adults.” She wrapped her hand around his girth and squeezed him gently. “I need you, please, no more talking.”
Leo took a deep breath and kissed her hard, accepting her feelings on the matter; they matched his own. He hoped they wouldn’t have regrets for doing this, but right now in the heat of the moment, he wanted her. He picked her up in his arms and took her to the living room. She clung to him with her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs around his waist holding on so he wouldn’t drop her. He grabbed a blanket off the couch and tossed it on the floor before laying her down next to the Christmas tree.
Looking down at her, he smiled. The lights of the tree lit her skin up in a way that had him tracing the shadows with his fingers as he lay next to her.
He rolled up against her, his lips against hers, and spread the sides of her bathrobe further apart. He let his hands glide up and down her body, cupping one breast, then the other. He put his hands between her legs and stroked her until she soaked his fingers. He played with her clit until it was swollen and she was grinding her hips up against his hand.
Getting on his knees between her legs, he pushed her legs apart so they were bent up. Looking down at her and making eye contact, he entered her with one hard thrust. He watched her arch her back and saw her hands grab handfuls of the blanket under her as she wiggled against him. He threw her legs over his shoulders and used one hand to brace himself by holding her hip as he started to move inside her.
Using his other hand, he continued to stroke and play with the swollen nub that had her nearly screaming as a climax tore through her. It caused her to squeeze his shoulders with her legs, her stomach muscles to shudder, and her inner walls to tighten around his cock so hard it almost pushed him out. Pushing himself deeper inside her, he fell on top of her. He pressed her legs up towards her chest, and thrust into her fast and hard now that she’d reached her peak. She was slick and hot around him in a way that had him burning for her. Taking her faster, he quickly built his own climax up. He thrust his tongue inside her mouth as he let himself go over the edge, filling her deep. He shuddered against her body as his cock jerked with his release and her walls continued to milk him, squeezing his length.
Leo collapsed on top of
her, and pressed his forehead against hers for a few minutes, trying to catch his breath. He’d never had anything feel so good before in his life, and he felt guilty afterwards. It was almost as if he’d taken advantage of her, because her emotions were running so high. Concerned, he helped her up helped her back into her robe.
“You want to go take a shower?” he asked in a way that wasn’t a question.
“Um, sure.” She looked at him uncertainly, as if trying to gauge his mood, and he forced a smile.
He cleaned up the evidence of what they’d done and put the blanket into the wash.
Oh, crap. They hadn’t been careful, or used protection. He couldn’t leave until he knew if there were consequences of what they’d done. Rubbing his hand on his face, he knew he should have been more careful, but he hadn’t come here prepared to be seduced by Krista. Or had he done the seducing? He wasn’t even sure how it happened, he just knew it did…and he knew he didn’t feel nearly as bad about it as he should.
Going outside, he dumped his clothes on the porch and shifted to his bear form to go for a run to help clear his mind. He needed time to think and straighten out his own coiled emotions. He was hoping that he hadn’t just made one of the worst mistakes of his life.
***
Krista showered, and finished getting ready for bed. She knew the minute Leo had left. She wasn’t sure why, but she could just feel the lack of his presence in the house. She peeked out the window and sighed a breath of relief when she saw his car still there. So he hadn’t been escaping her. He’d probably just shifted and went out for some alone time.
Bears could be solitary creatures. She knew this from living with them growing up. Krista had learned to give them the space they needed. Leo was no different. He’d always required time to think before making any big decisions, or to cool off if he got angry.
She had no regrets about what she and Leo had done, but the big question was…did he? She debated whether they should pretend like it never happened, or if they should talk about it.
Going downstairs, she finished wrapping the last couple of presents and stuck them under the tree. Then she went to make some hot cocoa and coffee, in case Leo wanted anything when he came back. He found her in the kitchen an hour later, cleaning up the dirty dishes by hand. The house had a dishwasher, but Krista found the repetition of handwashing the dishes mind-numbing. It kept her mind off of all the reasons to be sad.
“Hi,” he said quietly when he came into the kitchen and sat down at the table. His hair was tousled and he had a calm expression on his face.
“Do you want some hot chocolate, or coffee?” Krista held up a mug.
“Coffee would be fine.” Leo thanked her when she set a cup in front of him and poured it fresh. “Sit down, Krista. We need to talk.”
“About?” Krista asked, her hand tightening around the coffee pot handle.
“You know what about. Sit down, please?”
Sitting down, Krista set the pot on the table and gazed at him. “You’re not upset, are you?”
“No, but we can’t pretend this didn’t happen, which means we need to actually talk about it.” Blowing out a sigh, he looked at her. “I’ve never really seen you as my sister. As far as I was concerned, you were the maid’s daughter. The girl who got dumped with my parents because your father couldn’t handle another kid. My parents raised you and loved you, but I barely remember you as a child. I know that’s not really a fair thing to say, but it made it so when I came back here, I saw you all grown up and you were a beautiful woman. I reacted like a man. A man grieving the loss of his parents and family. A man who knew you’d understand and relate to those feelings…and what I feel for you has never been brotherly.”
“I can honestly say that while I think some of that might hurt my feelings if I took the time to think about it, I can relate a little bit. I’ve never seen you as my brother. I’ve always had a crush on you, found you attractive. You showing up here, like this, had me wishing for more than…I don’t know.” Krista shrugged. “I like what we did. I don’t regret it. I know in a small town, here, we’ll be judged if we went public at any point with our relationship.”
“I wouldn’t be able to be in a long term relationship with someone and not be open about it.” Leo told her bluntly. “Which brings me to my next point. I was, and still am, in a relationship back home with another woman. We break up and get back together all the time. Right now we’re technically apart, but I owe her a face to face break-up. I also need to make decisions about my company. I had considered selling it to retire and take over the ranch. I’d be happy to buy you out if you didn’t want to stay here.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Krista asked him, shocked. She wasn’t sure if she was flattered by the offer, or offended.
“Neither. I know living here can’t always have been easy for you, with assholes like Cory Boyd in town. I was going to offer you a way to start a life anywhere you wanted.” Leo put his hand over hers and searched her face while trying to find the right words. “I care about you, Krista. What we did here, I don’t know if it was a mistake, or something that was destined to happen between us. But we weren’t careful, and there could be consequences. Lifelong consequences.”
“You mean pregnancy?” Krista asked him and tilted her head, being blunt. Her bluntness often got her in trouble, but in situations like this, it had a place.
“Yes. I’d need to know if there was a pregnancy and what you plan on doing about it. I don’t think repeating what we did without taking precautions is a good idea. We played with fire once, and that’s all it takes.”
“I’m aware of how babies are made,” Krista informed him, her tone acerbic. “I do work on a ranch and we breed plenty of animals.”
“I didn’t mean to imply you didn’t,” Leo said and let out a sharp laugh that didn’t quite sound real. “I just meant…well…you know. Between us. Okay, I’m totally blowing this conversation. I just mean that between us, if we stayed involved long term, I’ve always wanted kids. But not like this, not today. I’d need to sort out my business, where I was going to stay, what to do about the ranch. I need to pick a woman to settle down with. I just don’t want you trapped here, either.”
“Are you done?” Krista asked him. The urge to pull her hand away from him overwhelmed her, but she forced herself to stay put.
“You’re angry?” Leo asked, sounding shocked.
“Angry may not be the right word. But I don’t appreciate you cheapening the experience we had together, or diving into a panic. I’m on birth control, so relax. Do you really think me so irresponsible that I would have slept with you without taking precautions?” Krista was offended by the idea that he thought she’d be so careless and reckless with her body.
“It’s not that, Krista. It’s just, in the heat of the moment, you turned my brain to mush. I would assume that you were caught up in the moment, too, so it might not have occurred to you, either. I also didn’t assume you were so sexually active that you were on something to prevent it.”
“It’s not always to prevent pregnancy. Sometimes, it’s to regulate hormones.”
“I’m sorry.” Leo gave her an apologetic look. “Maybe we should just start over.”
“Maybe we should,” Krista muttered. “I’ve known your secrets my whole life—do you really think me so careless I couldn’t be trusted with something as simple as sex?”
“No, I’m sorry, I just really didn’t think any of this through. My issue isn’t really the idea of a possible pregnancy from what we did, but more that I want to do it with you again. Soon. Now, even though this was the most uncomfortable, awkward conversation I think I’ve ever had in my life. I’m still thinking of you spread eagle and naked on the kitchen counters and all I want to do is bury myself inside of you again.” Leo rubbed his chin and then stood up and put his coffee cup in the sink abruptly.
Krista watched him. She wanted to do it again, too.
Leo continued, “I just c
an’t quite wrap my head around whatever is going on between us. Shifters mate for life, Krista. We can’t control our urges around our mates, and looking at you, I lose all sense of reason. This shouldn’t be right, but the only urge I really have is to claim you and never let you out of my sight again. It’s nerve wracking for me and I’m not handling my feelings well.”
“Well, that makes more sense than you freaking out about something that’s not even an issue. You could have just asked.” Krista stood up, walked over to him, and put her arms around his waist. “Look, whatever is going on between us is mutual. I am not a shifter. I don’t have animal instincts, or whatever mate feelings you claim to have as a bear. But I know I feel something. Something strong, something that makes me want to spend Christmas with you and open presents under the tree. The thought of you leaving and going back to California has my heart breaking in half.”
Leo looked down at her thoughtfully . “How about we spend the next couple of weeks together, and see how it goes over Christmas? We should see if we can get us out of each other’s system. If not, we’ll re-evaluate by New Year’s and talk more about what to do then.”
“I’m game for that.” Krista put her head against his chest to listen to his heart beating. Despite her earlier agitation with him, right now holding him close felt right. She needed this, she needed him. Whatever chemistry the two of them had, it was instinctual for both of them. There was no fighting it, and Krista was tired of fighting about everything. She wanted life to be calm. For it to make sense. Nothing made sense to her anymore.