“Nay, you willnae catch me out that easily, my mighty bear.”
“I’m not your damn mighty bear.”
“Please, that is no way to talk to a woman, and your chosen one at that.” With a wink, she wagged a finger at him, her royal blue tunic cinched in at her tiny waist with a golden tasseled belt that swayed to her knees as she moved. Her black breeches, of the softest rawhide, molded her legs and that pert backside of hers, which he really shouldn’t have noticed, wiggled as she moved.
“I don’t see you as a woman, but as a lethal opponent.”
“Then raise your blade.”
“Training with me is a very bad idea.” Still, he slid his sword free of his scabbard and rocked from foot to foot, his beast always prepared for any form of fighting. Perhaps if he trained with her then she’d realize how dangerous he was, leave then hopefully never come back. It was a plan at least. He’d grump and growl a whole lot more as he battled with her, make sure she understood just how fierce and grizzly he could get. That should scare her away.
“I am my father’s daughter, born with a warrior’s heart even though graced with my mother’s petite form. Never underestimate my ability.” Her blue eyes lightened with mischievous determination, the golden sparks blazing bright at the edges. “I will leave once we are done and your temper has calmed. You need me right now just as much as I need you.”
“I have a raging temper right now because of you.” He’d never be able to calm it.
“Then allow me to un-rage it.” She swung and their two blades crashed dead center, steel ringing loud against steel and her full lips lifting so wickedly. “’Tis time to fight, my mighty bear.”
“Don’t call me that again.”
“Aye, you are most definitely my chosen one, whether you wish to acknowledge it or no’. Certainly if I could have chosen who my mate would be, I would have asked for a man such as you. One strong of mind and will, yet a man who also held a heart filled with love for his clan.” She twirled and struck again, her second hit harder than he’d expected and he shoved one foot back to brace himself against her next strike. She didn’t disappoint. She came at him hard, moving swiftly and gracefully.
Ignoring her last comment, he trained with her, she attacking and him ensuring he defended and nothing more, until sweat glistened on her brow and made her tunic cling to her breasts. Those heavy and full mounds of hers were far too big for her slight form.
“Cease looking at my chest, Alec.”
“I wasn’t.” A lie, but he’d never admit he had been. “Have you ever desired what women desire? Wearing skirts and such?” He caught her next blow and pushed her blade back with his own.
“I have only the one gown hanging in my ambry, but I do enjoy wearing a belted kilt with naught underneath it, just as the men of my clan do.”
His hand shook and he scrambled to find a breath. “Your breasts are swaying everywhere, likely knocking you off balance. You should contain or bind them to give yourself better footing when you train.”
“I’ve found my breasts distract my opponent somewhat, which they’re clearly doing with you right now. I shall leave them loose beneath my tunic.”
“Why on earth would your father teach you how to battle?” She might fight well, but every inch of her was still a woman, a woman who needed to be protected, not tossed into the middle of the battlefield.
“Because he loves me, knows my heart and all I desire.” She swept her sword toward his knees and he jumped her low blow then whacked her sword from her hand. It flew over the battlements and landed with a clunk on the gravel beyond the curtain wall where the forest surrounded them. “I realize I’m no’ like most women, but I do know how to follow an order, of which my father loves to issue them.”
“Then follow this order. Leave this minute and don’t return.”
“Have you ever desired what other men desire?” She gripped the crenellation, leapt over the side and in a swirl of wispy-white breezed down and landed on the gravelly ground.
“I ordered you to leave.”
“Answer my question first.” She snatched her sword and smiled at him. “Have you ever wanted a woman to warm your bed?”
“Never.” He flung himself over the wall and from one hand-and-foot hold to the next, scaled down the craggy stone and dropped in beside her. “Our shifter kind always waits for our chosen one. Lying with any other woman would never do. I have no desire to lie with you either, in case I hadn’t made that clear.”
“You made it clear, but you are also currently frustrated by what has occurred and no’ thinking straight, so I willnae hold anything you say against you.” She pressed one finger to his chest and swirled it down over his abs to his waist, her heated touch warming him from within and making his bear roll around and preen under his skin as he demanded a closer touch.
Teeth snapped together, he tried to tamp down his fierce other half. “Cease touching me.”
“Those are tough words, although I can see your deep need for touch shining bright in your eyes.” She leaned closer. “What have you to say about that?”
“You’re mistaken. The only deep need both me and my bear have right now is to bite you and rip you into shreds.” He caught her hand, held it firm against his chest, his bear growling with pleasure and demand for more. Stupid other half.
“Is that really true?” She blew a soft breath across his neck. “Because I sense differently. I can hear both you and your bear and although you both growl quite fiercely, ’tis also a hungry growl. Mayhap if you allowed yourself to get closer to me, both you and your bear might be a little less aggressive.”
“Getting closer to you is dangerous.” He dropped her hand and stepped back, his back brushing the stone curtain wall behind him. Moving away from her hurt, even if only the few inches he had. What was wrong with him? He should just walk away from her. He should climb the wall he’d just descended, return to his chamber and leave her behind. “I want you to go, to return to your own home and time. You’re not welcome here anymore.”
“I believe you actually want me to stay.” She sheathed her blade, stepped forward and planted her feet right on top of his booted feet then slowly, she curled her arms around his neck, her warm hands brushing over his nape as she raised up onto the tips of her toes. “I’ve no wish to fully ascend as my mother did and joining with you is my greatest chance of ensuring that does no’ happen. For a spirit-walker, we thrive on remaining in our spiritual form as I currently am, which means our physical body deteriorates when we dinnae return within an adequate time.”
“If your mother ascended even though wed to your father, then how would joining with me ensure you remained on this Earth?”
“Although my parents shared a great love, they were no’ soul bound and unfortunately their love wasnae enough to keep my mother from ascending.” She licked his neck, grazed her teeth back and forth over his skin and his bear fairly roared to do the same with her. “Your shifter kind, when you find the one who holds the other half of your soul, mate with only one woman. You’ve been waiting for me. Admit it.”
“I would never lie with any woman, let alone my chosen one.”
“Yet your shifter line nears extinction.” She sank her teeth into him, as fiercely as any woman did with her chosen one and blood pounded to his cock, made him go fiercely hard.
All he wanted to do was shove her to the ground and take her, to rub his chest across those full breasts of hers, grip her lush backside in his hands then thrust his cock inside her. Hell. He really needed to cease these unhelpful thoughts. Teeth gritted, he slammed his hands against the wall behind him and tried to force his fierce need for her down. “A number of newly mated couples have found each other. Extinction is still a possibility, but it’s becoming less so by the day.”
Panting, she drew back an inch, the gold sparks in her gaze flaring even brighter. “A shifter’s bite excites sexual desire, which is why you only ever mark your chosen ones. That I’ve learnt from Cher
ub and Kirk. You marked me first. ’Twas only right I get to mark you in return.”
“I still want you to leave.” She was strong, feisty, able to stand up to him and state her demands. She was everything he could ever desire in a woman, as well as everything he could never have. “Please, you must go. I don’t need a mate, nor do I want one.”
“You dinnae wish for children?” She rubbed the pad of her thumb over the mark she’d made on his neck then looked deep into his eyes. “I do. I dream of my children one-day running after my brother and swinging from my father’s shoulders. I want to hear their laughter, joy and delight.”
“Today, I thrust a dagger through your arm. Tomorrow, I might thrust a dagger through your heart.”
“That shall never happen.” She lifted her arm and rubbed the spot where he’d speared her then slowly, she returned her hands to her sides and looked deep into his eyes. “Do you wish to claim me as your mate, to join with me in all ways?”
“No. Yes. No.” He thumped the back of his head against the wall. “No. Definitely no.” He thumped his head again for good measure, and primarily to make certain that last answer stuck. “I want you to go.”
“Are you certain?” She dipped her head, her brow furrowing deeply.
“Bedding you would only tie you intrinsically to my side, something I’d never do.” He grasped her around the waist, spun them and shoved her against the wall. “For the last time, leave, and don’t ever look back. Do it. For me.”
Chapter 3
Within Ivanson Castle’s gatehouse security control room, Cherub switched off the camera mounted to the northern corner of the curtain wall and gave the newly mated pair their privacy as they fought. She’d left one of the maids watching over Annella’s body then found Kirk and brought him straight with her through a portal into this time. These two would clearly need their aid, particularly given how stubborn Alec was being. At least Annella had seen that their bond had taken form and now tried to persuade her mate to accept her.
“She’s strong, not one to take no for an answer, no matter how many times Alec tells her to leave.” Kirk eased into the gray-padded metal chair before the monitor.
“We’ll need to bring them together as often as possible.” She slid onto Kirk’s lap and fluffed her skirts. “Are you ready for the challenge, my tempting bear?”
“Always, although let’s not forget that Annella is needed elsewhere, her search for Niall and Ronan taking precedence over all else. We can’t retrieve them without her finding their location first, which she needs to find within the dream realm.” Kirk buried his nose in her hair and breathed deep.
“We’ll be going with her on her journey when she leaves to find her loved ones, and we’ll also be taking Alec with us along the way.” ’Twas imperative they did.
“Then we’ll need a solid plan if we’re to achieve that means.” He stroked her bottom through the mountainous folds of her skirts. “You speak to Annella, and I’ll work on knocking some sense into Alec. He needs to come around to the mated way of thinking, as soon as possible.”
“Be careful when you speak to him. I’ve never seen one of your shifter kind so against the thought of joining with their chosen one.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, rubbed the entire length of her body against his until every inch of her longed for more. “I also wouldnae mind joining with my chosen one right now.”
“I wouldn’t mind that either, not one bit.” With a sly smile, he captured her mouth with his. He kissed her, swept his tongue across hers, their breath mingling as one and his desire pulsing so very hot and needy along their merged link toward her, just as strongly as her desire pummeled back to him. “I need you, right now, my love.”
“As I need you.” And with the magnificent glow of the magical blood moon beaming through the gatehouse window, she gave herself freely over to the depths of their mated bond and the intense love they shared for each other, a bond she too wished for Alec and Annella to hold as well.
Soon. Very soon. She and Kirk would ensure the two embraced their bond and all that it entailed. She’d make certain of it.
Chapter 4
Annella gasped as Alec shoved her back hard against the castle’s outer curtain wall and loomed over her. Her mate clearly intended to remain stubbornly ignorant of their bond, yet even she sensed the soul-deep threads between them weaving tighter together. “Cease asking me to leave.”
“I can’t ensure your safety unless you’re gone.”
“There’s no need to deny either you or your bear what you want.” She hooked one leg around the back of his legs, her arms around his neck and touched her nose to his. “Kiss me.”
“Even I struggle to keep my beast leashed.”
“Kiss me.”
“No.” A fierce growl rumbled up from deep inside him. “I’ve asked you to leave this place and you must.”
“I dare you to kiss me.” She lifted her mouth to his, licked his lower lip and smiled at the sheer joy of touching him so freely. More. She needed more.
“You clearly have no self-preservation.” He rubbed his body against hers, seized her lips and kissed her with such a wild abandon. Moaning, he probed her mouth with his tongue then growled and dove deeper, his warm and fresh pine scent surrounding and saturating her.
Her mate certainly knew how to kiss. She wriggled against him and a surge of heat flared through her body and pooled in her core, right between her thighs where his manhood jabbed into her. “I like how you kiss,” she murmured against his lips.
“I like how you respond.” He stroked down her back and over her hips, nipped her lower lip then nibbled along her jaw. With dedicated attention, he trailed scorching kisses across her skin until he reached the sensitive hollow where her neck and shoulder met, where her pulse pounded the strongest. There, he halted, drew her flesh deep between his lips and released a low rumble. “The urge to bite you again is strong. Say aye. This time I willnae do so unless you give me your agreement.”
“Bite me, however and wherever you please.” She swayed forward and he captured her mouth in a deliciously fierce kiss, his big body so heavily muscled and gloriously powerful. His heat made her melt against him and she reveled in the moment, her very soul crying out for his.
She sucked his lower lip into her mouth and nipped it, welcomed the hunger roaring through her and his incredibly delectable taste. Never would she experience this kind of raw intimacy with another, only her soul bound mate. He was destined to be hers, just as she was destined to be his, that’s if he was prepared to take the risk and accept their bond. She leaned into him and his breath whispered softly across her tongue, an incredibly sensuous caress that had her deepening their kiss to capture more of his fierce essence. His very soul had shone within the dream realm, his star so brightly lit and drawing her directly toward him, time and time again.
“We have to stop.” He caressed her sides, roamed down and scooped her bottom then ground his hips into hers. He plundered her mouth once more, so deeply, so wildly, and she gripped his shoulders and rubbed against the hard length of his erection almost spearing through his leather pants.
“Bite me again, Alec.”
“Is this truly what you want?” With her trapped against the wall, he ripped her tunic ties open along the deep V at the front and exposed both her breasts. He lifted one free of the ravaged neckline and grazed his teeth along the upper swell until she arched into his touch. “You truly want a man who’d tear your clothes from you and not care where he did so?”
“You are my mate, the man who holds the other half of my soul. You could tear my clothes from me wherever you pleased and I’d gladly allow it.”
“I’m a beast you need to be running in the other direction from.” He squeezed her breast, plumped her nipple up then sucked it deep inside his mouth.
A scorching heat shimmered through her and she yanked his billowy white tunic away from his neck on the other side where she’d first marked him then latched onto his skin. She
bit him again and his bear growled and thrashed for dominance. She sensed his other half’s need as greatly as she sensed her own. “Do it,” she whispered in his ear. “Give your bear what he wants. Me.”
“He’ll hurt you.” Fierce longing flared in his eyes as he gazed at her neck then he pressed his lips to her flesh and bit down.
Arousal hit her hard, swift and with fierce intensity. She clutched his shoulders, her nails digging into his flesh then he switched to the other side of her neck, sank his teeth into the hollow where her heartbeat pounded the hardest then grazed down her body and nipped all around her breasts, dotting bites all over and naught could have satisfied her very soul more. She sighed with delight, her skin so flushed even though not one of his bites had marked her flesh.
“Are you all right?” He pulled back, his golden shifter eyes ablaze with passion.
“I am perfectly fine.” She cupped his face in her hands, tenderly ran her thumbs over his lips. She wanted to kiss him all over again except something pulled at her. Her heart skipped a beat and her breath came harder. Something was wrong, her physical body demanding her return. Gasping, she clutched her chest.
“What’s wrong?”
“I must leave. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” He stepped away from her, brushed his hands against his sides. “I never wanted you to stay, remember? Nothing would please me more than if you left.”
All she wanted to do was remain right here, to convince him that they needed to be together. Giving up went against her nature.
“No more last chances, Annella. Go. I can’t wait to be rid of you.”
“You’re lying, and hurting us both by doing so.” Yet go she would, before something happened to her true body and she could no longer return to her physical self. She dissolved her form, pain spearing through her as she shimmered away through the endless dark of the dream realm, her heart throbbing at his decree. His words hurt, which only cemented her belief. Those who were soul bound should never be separated, not even by the two within the bond.
Highlander's Sword: Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Clan Matheson Book 3) Page 4