by Liv Brywood
“Your mouth feels so good,” he groaned. If she didn’t slow down, he’d explode.
“How about this?” she asked as she stroked him in her fisted hand.
Before he could reply, she sucked him deep. Pressure sizzled from within him. No matter how much he tried to hold back, he couldn’t. Every muscle in his body contracted as he roared with the force of his orgasm. She clung to him, sucking and licking until she’d lapped up every last drop.
As her head fell back against the pillow, darkness threatened to pull him under. His cock throbbed as the last quivering remnants of orgasm curled his toes. But his bear wasn’t satisfied, and it wouldn’t be until he’d claimed her.
“That was fun,” she murmured.
She slid out of bed and set the bowl of chocolate on the dresser.
“Yeah,” he replied. It was all he could manage.
When she slipped into her white blouse, he tried to sit up.
“Wait, where are you going?” he asked as she buttoned her shirt.
“I have to get rid of the chocolate. We don’t want to leave any evidence, do we?” she asked sweetly.
When she turned toward the door, he wriggled on the bed.
“Wait. You can’t just leave me here like this,” he said.
“Oh, I almost forget you were still tied up.”
“Yeah, right.” He laughed. “Come back and untie me.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not quite finished with you.”
As she hummed an unidentifiable tune, she sashayed around the room doing a strip tease. His mouth went dry. She slipped the shirt down to expose each silky shoulder before pulling the shirt up to cover her skin. When she turned to face him, the front of the shirt hung open.
“Tell me what you want,” she said.
“Take it off.”
“You want me to take this off?” She ran her fingers down the front of her shirt.
“Yes,” he replied in a strangled voice.
As she shimmied out of the shirt, her breasts jiggled and swayed. She turned and bent forward, giving him a great view of her heart-shaped ass. Even though he’d just come two minutes ago, he started to get hard again.
She unbuttoned her tan pants and let them drop past her hips to pool at her feet. As she stepped out of them, she grabbed the edge of the bed and arched her back. He’d never been to a strip club, but he loved her private dance moves.
Without a single note of embarrassment, she stood before him in matching lingerie. A lacy red thong showed off her luscious hips. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her.
“Do you have any condoms?” she asked as she reached back to unclasp her bra.
“In my suitcase. In the corner.”
She grabbed the box and placed it on the night stand. After plucking one out, she tossed it onto the bed. It landed between his knees. She smiled and slipped her bra off.
Her breasts were magnificent. Twin pink nipples topped large, perky globes of soft, tanned flesh. She hooked her fingers into her thong and pulled it down to reveal a landing strip of soft, blonde hair. His bear roared in his chest. He couldn’t wait to fuck her like an animal. But Brody couldn’t let his bear get out of control.
As she crawled across him again, the tips of her full breasts grazed his skin. His eyes rolled back. The struggle to rein in his bear was overwhelming. He almost lost it when she straddled his thighs and slid the condom over his rock-hard cock.
She brushed her pussy against his cock before sliding down to take every inch of him deep into her molten center.
“Oh, God,” she whimpered. “You feel so good.”
She was warm, tight, and rocked in a rhythm that carried him closer to the edge of ecstasy. He never wanted it to end.
As she swirled her hips and rode him with wild abandon, he thrust up to recapture her heat again and again. Each time she landed, her full, voluptuous hips jiggled. She closed her eyes and her lips parted. Whimpers of feral need spilled from her lips as she pushed faster, harder, and with an urgency he felt all the way to the soles of his feet.
He tore one hand out of its binding and reached to scrape the pad of his thumb across her clit. She shrieked and pitched forward. Her pussy clenched with powerful waves of release. He followed her over the edge, fucking her furiously, holding her down with one hand on her ass.
When he came, he jerked into her again and again until he couldn’t move. She collapsed on top of him and clung to him with a desperation he couldn’t comprehend. She was such a mystery. There was so much he didn’t understand. But he couldn’t think about any of that right now.
She reached up to release his other hand and he rolled her onto her side. Still inside her, he traced the trail of sweat between her breasts. To finally touch her was enough to reignite his desire. He pushed her onto her back and pinned her beneath him.
“It’s my turn now.”
Chapter 5
As he pinned her wrists over her head, Donna arched a brow.
“I never suspected,” she said.
“Suspected what?” he asked.
“That you’re just as naughty in bed.”
“Mm...”
When he leaned down to nuzzle her neck, she smiled. But as his lips burned a trail of fire down her neck and across her collarbone, her mouth went slack. She closed her eyes. He slid one hand down to grip her hip while the other continued to hold her wrists.
After nibbling a trail down to her breasts, he flicked his tongue against her nipple. She gasped and sighed before tangling her fingers in his hair. As he reached down to cup her soft mound, she ground against his hand, silently begging him to continue.
Liquid arousal drenched his fingers as he slid them into her. First two fingers, then three. One more and she’d be stuffed. In an effort to encourage him, she arched her back and lifted her hips slightly. He took the bait, slipping another finger in to join the others.
“You’re so damn sexy,” he murmured.
“Stop talking and kiss me,” she demanded.
He teased her with breezy kisses before returning to her taut nipples. As he took one hard peak between his lips, her body clenched around his fingers. Her breath hitched. She was on the brink of exploding when he pulled back.
“Don’t stop,” she whimpered.
He skimmed the tip of her clit with spiraling circles before lifting his fingers to his lips. As he tasted her sweetness, he closed his eyes and moaned.
“You taste like wild honey,” he murmured.
He slid between her thighs and hooked his hands around her hips. Before she could make sense of what he was doing, he bent to kiss her delicate lips.
Her eyes fluttered shut. She’d read about this in books, but her ex had never kissed her there. When he pushed his tongue against her, she tangled her fingers in his hair. If she didn’t hold onto something, she’d float away.
“Oh, God. Yes,” she whimpered.
It was all the encouragement he needed. He parted her slick folds and curled his tongue around her clit. She shivered against his mouth as his tongue swept up and around to capture every inch of her.
Within seconds, she cried out. Her feet arched and rose up until only her toes touched the chocolate-smeared sheets.
“Don’t stop,” she begged.
He didn’t.
He licked and sucked and lavished her with sensual kisses until she screamed. Her legs clamped together around his head as she twisted to one side. Pulsing orgasmic waves of ecstasy racked her body. She shuddered and half-sobbed as the orgasm captured her in its grip. Starbursts exploded behind her eyelids, and for a second she thought she was going to faint.
When she was finally able to catch her breath, he kissed the inside of her thigh. He wiped his drenched lips across the soft patch of hair over her pussy. Her sensitive flesh quivered beneath his touch.
“Brody,” she groaned. “Oh my God.”
“Yes?” He had the self-satisfied grin of a man who knew he’d just rocked her world.
“I haven’t come that hard since I got my last vibrator.” She covered her mouth with her hand. A horrified expression crossed her face. “I mean…”
“I take it your ex wasn’t satisfying you in bed?” he asked.
“Not even close.”
“That’s too bad,” he whispered. “Come here.”
He lay on his back and offered her the crook of his arm. She snuggled into him and sighed as he wrapped her in a tight embrace.
“I feel so alive right now,” she whispered.
“Good, because I don’t sleep with corpses.”
She laughed and playfully slapped his chest. As she settled down beside him, a sense of peace filled her soul. Her limbs felt like spaghetti and she couldn’t move a muscle. Not that she wanted to. She was perfectly happy lying in his arms.
Within minutes, he drifted off to sleep. She turned to watch the soft rise and fall of his chest. He was a good man, someone who didn’t deserve to be taken advantage of, which is exactly what she’d done. She’d barged into his room with chocolate and then had proceeded to seduce him without a second thought.
Who did that? Especially knowing that he wanted a nice woman to be his wife. She wasn’t the kind of woman he wanted. She’d accepted it the moment he’d told her all the ways she’d be completely wrong for him. But it hurt.
He was right about some of it. She was high-maintenance, but she’d been raised that way. She didn’t know how to walk out of the house without having perfect hair and makeup. Maintaining the best possible appearance had been drilled into her by her movie-star mother for as long as she could remember. Her mother had told her over and over that a woman’s worth only lasted as long as her beauty. Falling from a position of most-wanted starlet to has-been actress, coupled with her parents’ divorce, had turned her mother into a bitter, beauty-obsessed shrew. And as much as she tried not to follow in her mom’s footsteps, she recognized that she was on the same path.
She couldn’t drag Brody into her insanity. It wouldn’t be right. He deserved someone better, someone who knew how to be a good wife and mother. Someone other than her.
“Brody?” She gently shook him awake.
“Hmm?” he mumbled against her hair.
“I think we should talk. I’m not looking for anything more than a week of fun here and I don’t want you to get the wrong impression. Okay?”
“Mm-hmm,” he said in a sleepy tone.
“I’m not ready to be tied down again,” she said. “I just finalized my divorce and there’s so much that I want to do—alone. I want to live my life on my own terms. And I know that’s selfish, but I need to see what I’m like when I’m not in a relationship. I’ve never really been single before, and I’m not even sure I ever want to get married again.”
His formerly deep breaths grew shallow. As he rolled onto his side to face her, he brushed her hair away from her eyes.
“Don’t worry, I understand,” he said. “I’m not expecting anything, and to be honest, I’m kind of glad you aren’t either.”
“We’re not right for each other,” she said softly.
“But we’re dynamite in bed.” He waggled his eyebrows.
She laughed, grateful that he’d broken the tension.
“We’re only here for a week, so let’s enjoy it for what it is—a break from reality.” His tone was light and casual, relieving her of her guilt.
Glad that they were on the same page, she snuggled against him. But she still couldn’t fall asleep.
Hours later, she stared at her reflection in the mirror above the dresser. She was surprised to see herself in another man’s arms. As much as she tried not to question it, she couldn’t help but wonder—would she be willing to give him up at the end of the week?
***
Brody rolled over and patted the space beside him. He cracked one eye open and found his bed empty. He yawned and opened his eyes. She was gone. The only trace of her was the wadded-up, chocolate-stained sheets on the bathroom floor. She was definitely keeping up her side of the bargain, so why did that make his chest hurt? They were supposed to be keeping their relationship simple, no strings attached, right? So why did it feel like there was an empty space in his heart?
He took a quick shower, making sure to scrub her scent off of him. Although some of the other guests had probably heard her screaming in ecstasy, he didn’t want to parade her scent through the B&B. When he spotted bits of chocolate around the drain, he smiled. It had been one hell of a night.
As he stepped out of the shower, his phone jingled with his best friend Duke’s ringtone. He quickly wrapped a towel around his waist and hurried to answer it.
“Hey man, how’s it going?” Duke asked. “Have you learned how to flambé a canape?”
“It’s been eye-opening, to say the least.” Brody ran a comb through his wet, tangled hair. “I’ve been enjoying the cooking lessons, but that’s not all I’ve been enjoying.”
“Oh yeah? What else is going on?”
“I met someone.”
“Hot damn, tell me everything,” Duke said.
“She’s a wealthy divorcee and she’s drop-dead gorgeous. But she’s also really sweet and totally unpredictable,” Brody said.
“And?”
“And we agreed to a friends-with-benefits type of arrangement while we’re here.”
“Please tell me you’ve already cashed in on this arrangement,” Duke said.
Brody didn’t normally kiss and tell, but he couldn’t hold back.
“Last night she walked into my room like she owned the place. She tied me up with my own damn belts. Can you believe that? It was wild, man.”
“Holy shit, Brody.” Duke let out a whistle. “Congratulations. But I didn’t think you did one-night stands.”
“I don’t.”
“But you did this time. So why her?” Duke asked.
“Ask my bear,” Brody said. “The beast hasn’t been able to stop harassing me about her since I met her. I thought he was going to claw me from the inside out.”
“So she’s a shifter too?”
“No. That’s the thing. Somehow she found out about this class even though it was only open to shifters,” Brody said.
“Does she know?”
“No. And I don’t think she’d appreciate knowing that a thousand-pound grizzly can come ripping out of me at a moment’s notice,” Brody said.
“That’s crazy. Too bad, because your bear never chases after women like a bitch in heat. It’s pretty surprising that he picked her,” Duke said.
“Oh, hold up right there. He didn’t pick her. He just wants us to sleep with her.”
“No way. Your bear doesn’t do that. He’s not like the rest of us. He doesn’t want to roll around with any willing woman. Your bear is looking for a mate,” Duke said.
“A mate?” He pictured Donna’s perfectly coiffed hair and painted-on face. “I hate to break it to you, but she’s nothing like the kind of woman I want to marry.”
“Why? What’s wrong with her?” Duke asked.
“She’s high-maintenance, self-absorbed. She’s a princess without the crown. Although she does have $100 million, so I guess she’s more like a queen.”
“What?” Duke sounded like he spit his beer out. “Say that again.”
“She’d divorced. Apparently her ex-husband was loaded.”
“Maybe you should get to know her better,” Duke said. “That money would go a hell of a long way toward making sure Lizzie would be taken care of if anything happened to you.”
“You’re supposed to take care of her if anything happens to me,” Brody snapped.
“I know, and I will,” Duke said. “You have my word. But damn, $100 million? And she’s smoking hot too? Have you lost your mind?”
“She doesn’t want a relationship. She’s still getting over her divorce.”
“Well then, you just need to do your best to convince her that she needs a big strong man to carry her off into the sunset,” Duke said. Although
he tried to sound serious, Brody could hear the humor in his tone.
“Anyway, how are the horses?” Brody asked, eager to change the subject.
“Stella’s recovering well. I’ve been walking her and making sure she’s eating. Her appetite is still not that great, but she’s doing better. The others are doing great. Packer is as ornery as ever. He even tried to buck me yesterday. Damn horse.” Duke laughed. “But nothing to worry about here. So just keep your eye on the prize over there and keep me posted on your rendezvous with Princess Loaded-Hottie.”
“All right. I’m taking off. I promised my bear we’d go for a run. I think he’ll turn me into ribbons if I don’t get outside right now,” Brody said.
“See ya,” Duke said.
After disconnecting the call, Brody pulled an old pair of sweatpants on. He slipped into a jacket, but didn’t bother putting a shirt on. He’d have to leave his clothes in the woods while he shifted, so there was no point in putting a bunch of them on since he was about to take them off anyway.
“I hope you’re happy, bear,” he muttered as he hurried out into the freezing woods.
He walked well into the tree line. Although he highly doubted she’d be walking around the forest alone, he didn’t want to take any chances. To be on the safe side, he sniffed the air. He detected her scent drifting over from near the lake. Perfect. She was a safe distance away.
As he shifted, fur sprouted from his skin. His bones snapped and twisted, elongating and forming into a long, strong back and huge, furry paws. When the shift completed, he roared. His bear took over, bounding through the woods with excitement.
Before he could register what the beast was up to, he burst through the tree line. He skidded to a stop and sniffed the air. In the distance, Donna stood at the edge of the lake. Fortunately her attention was directed at the water, not at him.
He battled against his bear’s will in an attempt to get him to return to the forest. He only managed to make him lumber into the tree line so she wouldn’t spot him.
After plopping down on his butt, his bear gazed at her with a forlorn expression. Regardless of how he or his bear felt about Donna, he couldn’t tell her that he was a shifter. It was completely against the shifter rules. Aside from that, he couldn’t imagine the look on her face if she ever found out. She’d be horrified and probably disgusted too.