by Aubrey Rose
I swallowed hard, wondering if he was about to throw me out. Or else ravage me to the core.
“It's simple. I need you to be my real wife, or I need you to get out and go back to Tiger Bay. I don't give a shit what old deals between our clans say. I can't fucking handle living like this a second longer. Can't stand feeling your lips against mine one second, and then going through hell and high water the next to save your pretty ass when you regret it.”
His eyes blazed, and the same heat pulsed in his body, rubbing against mine. He paused, leaning in closer still.
“If I shove my tongue between your sweet lips again, are you gonna push me away?”
Our eyes locked in one long, lust charged moment.
“No,” I whispered. Actually, I wasn't sure I even made any sound, more like a silent ring with my lips.
His face remained hard, tense, expecting. It felt like a whole hour passed before I could say anything, trembling with wanton heat and uncertainty beneath his hardness.
“You're not the only one going crazy, James. I...I want you too.” I pinched my eyes shut. “It's so wrong, so stupid, so selfish...but I do. I panicked before, trying to get away from myself as much as I needed to escape you. But that won't happen again. I'm ready.”
I opened my eyes, facing him in all his rigid, masculine glory. The fires in James' eyes went higher, changing to infernos.
“You mean that? Don't be bullshitting me, little tiger. Nothing but truth between us now.”
I nodded again. “Yes. I really want you, in all the ways a good wife should.”
So help me, I reached out and grabbed him. My trembling hand curled around his big thigh. I took his cock in one fist and squeezed, the first I'd touched on any man.
He pushed his hands around my waist, leaned back, and grunted. To my virgin ears, it sounded like pleasure, and I was relieved I was doing something right.
He was hot as coal and wrapped in a fleshy sheath, his strong pulse thudding in my hand. I stroked him up and down, three times, feeling him grow unbearably stiffer as I explored his length.
“Fuck!” he growled. “You keep that up and we'll skip the fucking shower altogether.”
A weak smile pulled at my lips. James saw it, ignoring the delicious tension building between his legs, the electric burst between us as I stroked his perfect length.
He moved in for a kiss. I thought locking lips with him yesterday was incredible. But if that was just incredible, then this was fucking fantastic.
Instant fire arced through me, spreading deep and lapping at my most sensitive places. My nipples hardened, and I shifted up to add more pressure, rolling them against him.
I was hotter, wetter, and tenser than I'd ever been. All for him, all for this beautiful bear.
Muscles deep inside me clenched, craving the barbarian I'd resisted for so long.
This beautiful grizzly barbarian, I thought.
I seized up when his hands clenched at my ass. He pulled me closer, squeezing my flesh, deepening the wet and wonderful intrusion of his tongue. It was such a shock I let go of his erection.
He kissed me again, grinding into the new empty space between my legs. I moaned into his mouth, and he eagerly lapped the hot, sticky breath spilling into him, stealing my very essence from my lungs.
“Killing me, baby. You're killing me!” he growled, breaking the kiss.
I squealed as he lifted me high over his shoulder. Kicking my legs, I was halfway scared my wetness would trickle straight down my thighs.
He carried me like a caveman – cave bear? – down the hall. Inside the big bathroom, the door slammed, and it was just us and the shower.
“Come on. Time to clean up before things get a lot more fucking dirty around here.”
He was already in the shower, switching on the water. How could I say no to more than six feet of pure muscle waiting for me naked, stretching his tattooed chest to the water?
I stepped into the hissing rain with him. He enveloped me, wedging me to the wall and kissing me deep as the water beat down around us.
Only a matter of time until sheer desire had its run. But before it did, I reached for the fresh wash cloth laid out on the bar near the faucet. I savored his kisses, letting the water make the cloth good and wet.
Then I brought it to his big head, gingerly wiping at the cut there. He let me rinse away the caked blood and soothe his forehead, rendering a special care I'd never given anybody else.
When I was finished, he stepped behind me, running his big hands up my body, starting at my thighs. The sweet water ran down around my breasts in rivulets, flowing into his hands, obscuring the parts where I ended and he began.
He got to my breasts and cupped them in both hands. I almost lost my mind when he locked his fingers around my nipples and squeezed. I pushed my hips into him, rocking against his cock. It hadn't softened at all, even with all the interruptions.
“That's it, baby. Let me feel those curves. I'm gonna burn you into me with every sense I have, human and animal. You understand?” One more firm twist of my nipple reinforced what he meant.
“I think so!” I said with a shudder, words slurring into a moan.
“Think so doesn't cut it. Let me tell you. I'm gonna claim you with everything I've got until I remember exactly how your sweet skin feels in my dreams. These lips, these fingers, these eyes, and this really big hard cock are all set to explore and conquer. I'm gonna own you, Laura, inside and out, until we're inseparable as the animal constellations in the stars.”
Another surprise! Besides his words shooting straight sex through my veins, I had no idea he could be so damned poetic.
He squeezed, steady and firm, so many times I lost track. His stubble scratched pleasantly at my neck as he kissed me from behind, running his mouth up the hook of my neck.
One hand found its way between my legs. I rocked against his fingers, realizing how ready I truly was.
I wasn't just comfortable with this sweet bear. I was ready to give it up, surrender what he wanted, my virginity and my heart.
It didn't matter what Daddy thought or how terrible the tigers would be when they found out. Our bodies betrayed us, turning away from our own people and to the flesh instead.
But Gods! Just now, betrayal felt damned good, and there was no double crossing the raw need surging in our bodies.
He found my clit, hooked his fingers around it, and began drawing circles. I knew he could move harder and faster than he was, but he wanted me to move with him, jerking myself around and around his sweet fingers.
“Come for me, little tiger. Give my cock something to stay hard while it's waiting to get deep inside you...”
Gods! The filthy mouth on this man...
I lost it. My spine tensed and I curled into him. If he hadn't been there for me, I would've went crashing down into the shower, but he held me with all his strength, tripling the frantic circles around my clit.
In the hot, wet, firm friction, I came. Hard.
My tiger found her release with me. All the pain and uncertainty and fear of the last few days came surging out in a ferocious growl. Shrill passion spilled out my throat as the spasms came, dense waves burying me in pure, blinding pleasure.
He gingerly stroked me back to life. I opened my eyes, feeling the gentle water on my head.
Everything below my waist was mush, but I felt his hands on my torso, soaping up a nice lather. When he saw I recognized the rinse, he brought his lips to my forehead and kissed me hot, leaving his impression.
“You came beautiful, baby. That's just the beginning. I won't be fucking satisfied until I hear you growling in my ear over and over and–“
“Are we finished here?” I hissed, pushing myself deeper into the water to wash away the soap. “There's a better place to do this.”
I turned around to face him, matching his broad grin with my own smile.
“Greedy tiger,” he growled. “Good thing I like greedy.”
With another strong p
ull of his arms, he lifted me up. We stopped briefly on the tile to towel off, and then he lead me upstairs, past the kitchen where we'd shared our first tense meal.
The big master suite down the hall smelled just like him. A deep musk with hints of spice, a heavier scent than any tiger man had. My nose wasn't supposed to be receptive to a bear's scent, but it was just like the rest of me, reveling in its confusion.
James slammed the door behind us and threw me on the bed, covering my body with his muscular bulk a second later. He grabbed my wrists and pinned me down.
“You understand there's no going back after I claim you? A Denali man's bite goes deep, just like everything else. Think you can handle that, Laura?”
He gazed deep into my eyes. The frigid little girl inside me was screaming no, no, no.
I didn't hesitate. There was no more turning away. I let my tiger loose on her, and the beast tackled her to the ground, giving me complete freedom to finish the strange and marvelous thing we'd started.
My wrists twitched in his hands, squirming against him, as far as I could push my body up against his. Rolling my head to one side, I offered my neck.
“Take me. It's all yours, James. All of it. You wanted honesty? Well, it's right here.”
He didn't need another word. Before I could urge him again, he crashed toward me with a growl.
The big hands around my wrists smashed my arms deeper into the soft mattress. Most shifters claimed their mates with love bites, usually on their wedding night.
It was a little late for that, but James was making up for lost time.
His body shook. I felt soft hair prickling on his flesh, and caught a flash of his deep dark eyes, turned to a bear's black and gold.
He let go, giving the lust freedom to change him one degree to beast. His teeth were bigger and sharper than an ordinary man's as he bit into my flesh.
It stung, but I pushed myself into it, raking my skin against his teeth. He sucked deep, tonguing the circle around his teeth gently, even as they pressed deeper, deeper. I sensed the tiniest break of blood surging past his lips.
Snarling, he broke the angry kiss and rose, licking his lips. Every part of me was electrified now, jolted with lightning or else dripping wet.
I didn't even tremble as I saw the monstrous look in his eyes. But there was something else too, an admiration behind the primal desire foaming out, warming my naked flesh with his powerful light.
“Fuck, baby. I never knew a female could taste so sweet. Wish I could slow down to savor the flavor...”
We both looked down. His swollen erection pressed up along my stomach, throbbing with a hunger that was long overdue to be fulfilled.
I arched my hips, wedging myself against his length. Everything inside me was shaking to hell, but I was ready to give it up, so damned ready to give this bear my virginity and my pleasure.
James bared his teeth. With a gruff snort, he kissed me one more time, fondling my breasts before propping up his arms for maximum support. His hips rolled forward, and I thrashed as his swollen cock glided over my clit, wet and hard and ready.
His tip poised at my entrance. He looked up, his face tense with the same fire lashing through me, drawing us together with an inevitable and fierce magnetism.
“Do it,” I whispered. “Make me yours!”
I couldn't believe what I'd just said. But I believed the intense and electric sharpness splitting me in two a second later.
He pumped his hips into mine, ripping up into me, sliding his whole length to the very edge of my womb in a ferocious jerk. I threw my head back and screamed. It wasn't as bad as I expected – more like a severe stretching sensation as my slick walls rearranged themselves around his length.
His whole hard body shuddered with pleasure. James opened his gorgeous eyes and bathed me in his light again. His forehead was lined with sweat, slick with the realization we were really one.
“Gods! It's really your first time,” he growled. “You're tighter than anything I've ever had, baby, and I'm gonna treat you real good.”
Real good.
The words echoed in my head as he started to thrust. Each stroke inside me was a storm, electrifying muscles deep inside my body, mild pain and surging pleasure twisting together.
Real good.
His tempo increased. My hips moved instinctively against his, drawing him deeper, swallowing the hard length fused to my depths, inviting him deeper still. My whole body opened for him.
Real good.
It wasn't just a phrase anymore. I started to feel it, from head to toe, pleasure in its purest form.
James leaned in and kissed me deep, not missing a beat with his thrusts. His body pinned me to the bed, binding me in ecstasy. His marauding lips stole what little breath I had.
I hissed when he drew away his kiss. The explosion building was coming like thunder, and coming soon...
He sensed it too. His thrusts grew sharper, shallower. He drove into me, power fucking me until I wrapped my legs around his. My toes curled, helpless to the gasket about to go off inside me.
“James, James! Don't stop, don't let go, don't let me–“
I was going to say fall, as if such a thing were possible, but orgasm stole my breath and split my brain. I rocketed up into pure ecstasy, screaming as my core overloaded fire.
My sex sucked at his length, burning and gushing all over his pistoning cock. James drowned my vicious catcalls in his own loud growls, rocking his hips to mine so hard the bed rattled on its springs.
I bucked and thrashed and came on him. Somewhere high in the nirvana he'd shot me to, I wrapped my arms and legs around him, holding on tight as he turned to pure volcanic steel.
“Oh, fuck! Fuck, baby, I'm gonna fill you, gonna own your sweet little cunt.”
And own it, he did.
His cock bulged inside my pulsing walls and exploded. Seed rushed into me, fiery and hot, all the way up to my womb. It was hotter and thicker than anything I expected, jets so powerful they burned, feeding the devilish pleasure possessing us both.
I howled, sinking my teeth into his shoulder as I lost my mind. My whole body convulsed, and I tasted bear blood. Inside me, my tiger went wild, chasing her tail with frenzied snarls.
We rocked together again and again as he emptied himself inside me. We were truly one, just one extended mass of bear and tiger, man and woman, fused together while our spasms fucked and licked their way through us.
I was still shaking from head to toe when he let me down gently on the mattress. James held himself in me, milking the last of his pleasure, moving in for a powerful kiss.
“What the hell?” he said. “Never heard of a female biting her mate.”
I smiled at him. “And nobody prim and proper ever heard of a tiger and a bear doing this. Guess there's a first time for everything, right?”
I ran my tongue over my lips, still tasting the faint essence of his blood and sweat.
“Whatever, baby tiger. All I care about is making you so hot you sink your little teeth into me like that again. You can bite and scratch any time if it means feeling this pussy meltdown around my cock.”
He inhaled a deep breath, ending in another kiss. I thought he was getting softer and ready to pull out, but I was wrong. Less than a minute later, he was getting harder inside me, slowly thrusting through the hot wet mess he'd pumped deep in my womb.
Before I knew it, we were fucking again, insatiable as the fiery blood rippling in our veins.
“Gods, little cat! What are you doing to me?” He growled his last words, reaching the tempo that made the bed scream.
He didn't know the half of it. A few seconds later, I exploded for the third time, screaming my shrill pleasure and bucking up his rock hard length.
I didn't have a clue what either of us were doing, what sort of wild magic had possessed us. All I knew was it felt amazing.
Amazing and right.
We must've lost half the night in pleasure. When we were finally spent, every
muscle begging for relief, I collapsed with my head on his chest in the deepest, darkest sleep of my life.
No!
I woke with a start. My whole body twitched – thankfully not sharp enough to wake him up.
Rubbing my eyes, I threw my legs over the bed and tip toed out of the bedroom. It was late morning. A pale, wintry light shone through the windows, giving the cabin a melancholy feel.
Everything ached. Muscles, bones, hair, nails. Yes, even hair and nails.
My tiger looked up from having her face buried in her paws and growled at me. Go back to sleep, crazy girl.
The sharp aches in my body told me I'd been on quite a ride, and of course, I had. Yesterday tested me to my limits as the day flipped from hell to heaven.
I paced toward the big bay window looking over the forest. Our footprints were still in the half melted snow. In the distance, the mountain near the lake look disturbed, and a steady swath of trees had fallen where the flood swept in, pillaging the land.
I fixed myself some breakfast and fed my poor belly. It had been so long since I'd eaten that I wasn't even having hunger pangs anymore.
Chewing on eggs and caribou meat, I couldn't shake the feeling of doom. It hung over my neck like an invisible ax, ready to fall at a moment's notice.
It wasn't James and I that worried me anymore. The two of us were solid. Heck, solid as mountain stone after last night.
I saw what worried me.
My father's sinister smile appeared in my mind. I dropped my fork when the painful realization I'd been trying to push out of my head all morning hit with full force.
“Oh, Gods. He can't do this...I can't let him.”
In a matter of weeks – or maybe sooner – tigers were going to march on Denali and savagely chase the bears off their land, or die trying. And I was the tip of the spear, a lance aimed directly at James to rip the heart out of the bear clan.
I pushed my plate away, unable to finish my breakfast. I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer.
Somehow, someway, I had to get back to Tiger Bay and stop the total disaster threatening to rip me away from the happiness I'd finally found. If it came, it wouldn't stop until I was torn away from him forever.