by Erin Havoc
Because it’s Dorian. I can feel his presence licking at my body. Singeing along my skin.
It’s him. And he’s come to save me.
9
DORIAN
MY MATE.
MY. MY MATE.
My bear roars so loud inside my chest, the sound claws up my throat and bursts from me. I let him take control and I scream into the wolf’s face, the sheer strength of it making him stumble back. It’s a fucking shifter, I can tell. We smell different. And this one smells like trouble.
This wolf’s too big to be a regular wolf. And he was sniffing my mate.
Her arousal. I can tell exactly what was going through his mind, and I’m ready to rip his head from his shoulders. How dare he? How dare he think of putting his dirty paws on her smooth, perfect skin?
He’s dead. He’s fucking dead.
Baring my teeth, I roar again. Pulling back, raising to my hind legs until I tower over the wolf, then dropping back down, I slam both front paws into the ground. The wolf shoots a glance sideways, and I know he’s frenzied for a way out.
He hasn’t howled yet. Odd. Wolves are never far from their packs… So he’s a lone wolf. They’re rare and I don’t even remember the last time I saw one, but he’s in our fucking territory, messing with my mate, and he won’t get out of this one easily.
He makes to dart to one side and all I have to do is stretch an arm. He slams into it, full force. I’m much stronger and much bigger, and I have a mate to protect. Nothing makes a shifter angrier and more powerful than having to protect the one he loves.
The wolf looks up at me with wide, desperate eyes. He seems to want to tell me something, but I don’t give a shit about it. My teeth bared, I advance with hefty steps.
My mate. Say your prayers for you’re dead for messing with my mate.
Several footfalls thunder closer, and I know I’ve caught my brothers’ attention. They’re running this way after hearing my roars, ready to take on whoever has invaded our territory. The wolf hears it too and shoots me a glance as if to apologize.
Tilting my chin up, I huff, giving him the chance to run. He hurtles away without a second thought.
My brothers dart up after him, and I finally turn to look for Bella. My heart’s been hammering inside my chest ever since I smelled her so close. Ever since I smelled a wolf close to her.
I have never run that fast in my life. The idea that I have put her in danger, that I wasn’t paying enough attention, or that I might not be close enough… They all collapsed and burst inside my head, and my bear kept yelling at me for not having marked her sooner.
If I had done it, no other male would have approached her.
Bella has crouched at the base of a large tree, her wide eyes riveted on me. I approach slowly, my bear anxious, impatient. Bella gets up, trembling, and I curse myself for having scared her like so.
Nevermore. Never again.
She stares at me and her eyes soften. “Dorian,” she breathes, her voice barely a whisper.
I nod. I’m a huge bear, but I’m not the size of a regular human if I’m on all fours. It’s oddly interesting to look at my mate from below. Her breasts look even bigger.
Bella stretches a hand in my direction, carefully. I crane my neck to touch my forehead to her fingers. She breaks into laughter, running her hand up and down my fur.
“It’s so soft,” she breathes out, touching me with both hands and scratching me behind an ear. One of my eyes twitches and I rumble in delight. “Oh, you’re sensitive back here.”
I huff a laugh and our eyes meet. And I see it in her orbs.
She’s made a decision.
With a deep breath, I let my body shift back into my human form. The bone-crunching of my ribs and legs will never cease to make me gasp in pain, but I clench my teeth as my jaw diminishes into my face and don’t let a single sound escape. My muzzle disappears as my spine straightens, and after a moment I’m back.
Kneeling naked in front of the woman I love.
I circle my hands around her ample hips. “Are you all right? I’m so sorry. I should have been faster. It’s never happened before, we never have shifters around that we don’t know…” The words burst from me as if I had opened a dam, and I press myself closer to her.
She smiles, running her fingers around my shoulders. “I’m okay. It was my fault, after all. I’m the one who decided to walk into an unknown forest on my own.”
“But you’re supposed to feel safe here. I promise we’ll double the security, Bella…”
“Dorian,” she murmurs and I look up to meet her eyes. Her gaze comes down my body and heats up with unmistakable yearn. “Take me home.”
The word snaps at me. Has she tired of me? Has it been too much? “Home?”
She nods. “The cabin. Take me there.”
With a sigh of relief, I get to my feet and pick her up in my arms. As soon as her face’s close enough, I kiss her sweet, pillowy lips.
Home. She’s home.
10
BELLA
Inexperienced, yes. But I’m not a fool. I can recognize the heat coursing through me. This fire running through my veins as I take in Dorian’s muscular frame.
He looks like he’s been chiseled from stone. The way Dorian’s eyes flick as he studies my face and comes down to stare into the swell of my breasts makes unbridled lust curl low inside me.
Heat pools between my legs as he strides back to the house. He hasn’t gotten dressed and I don’t care. I don’t care because soon enough I’ll be as naked as he is. My dress scratches against my skin, and I’m itching to feel his warmth against me. Nothing between us.
The mate thing had me confused and unsure. But now, as I feel my heart ballooning in his presence, as I understand the deep connection, I know we’re meant to be. I know he’s saved me and he’s going to keep saving me from every problem in my life.
I know he’s here to stay. All my walls crumble in his presence. All uncertainty is undone with his fierce devotion. I want to give it a chance.
Inside the cabin, Dorian puts me down. I press my body to his and lift myself to my toes, arresting his lips with mine. His member engorges and twitches against my lower belly and I don’t dare to look down at it. I’m afraid I might explode with desire.
“Dorian,” I breathe as we break the kiss. His throat bobbles as he grips my hips. “I want this. So much. But about the mate thing…”
His pupils shift and he shakes his head. “Whenever you’re ready. It doesn’t have to be now.”
I nod with gratitude. Dorian captures my face in his big palms, tilting my head back, and taking control of the kiss. He’s luscious but demanding, and I love it. Our tongues clash and sweep over one another, our bodies are so close together there’s no space to breathe. I gasp against his lips, raking my nails up his strong back. Dorian grunts, picking me up again and taking me to his bed.
He’s stunning. Wide eyes committing it all to memory, he takes the sight of me in, and his pupils darken. I shift, arching my back as I run my hands down his arms.
“You are the most beautiful woman that’s ever been created, you know?” He says as he adjusts himself between my legs.
Hair curls down his stomach to the V of his hips, down and around an incredibly thick member. My pussy clenches, and at that moment I know Dorian will spoil me rotten. No man would ever look or feel like him. No man would ever taste as he does.
“I didn’t know that,” I tease, opening a smile I hope is coy and seductive, but probably comes out trembling.
“You are.” He lowers himself over me, his hands bringing my dress up around my hips. He kisses me again, stealing all air from me. His fingers trail up and down the external sides of my thighs, his kisses bringing me high. His lips are addictive, and he gobbles me up with so much hunger I can’t doubt his words.
At that moment, I do feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. At least for him. And that’s what matters the most.
Dorian takes
a handful of my backside and grips me with bruising strength, devouring my moans as he keeps on savoring my lips with his. My nipples pebble against my dress and, soon enough, his mouth hovers down the column of my throat to kiss the mound of my breast. He nibbles on my nipple over the fabric, and I cry out in blind desire.
“Fuck, I can’t wait to have you naked,” he grunts against my breast as he reaches up and cups it.
I’ve never felt anything like this. My body is aflame, my core molten, and I’m still dressed.
“Please,” I mouth, shifting beneath him to part my legs wider. “Please, take this off.”
He pulls my dress over my head so quickly I wonder for a moment if I’ve ever worn it. My bra takes a second to follow, and before I can even gasp his name, Dorian closes his mouth around my exposed nipple. He sucks hard, willing more lust, more cries from me. I claw at his back, circling my hips, seeking attrition in that neediest part of me.
Dorian comes up to kiss me as his cock pats my covered pussy. I buck, breathless, eager to have him.
“I’m sure your pussy will taste like heaven, won’t it, baby girl?”
A shiver runs down my body. “I — I don’t know.”
“Let’s find out then.” His hands explore every inch of my body before he sits back on his haunches and latches his fingers on my panties. He pulls them off, my legs coming up to aid him.
His jaw slackens as he takes the sight of my wet center in. I’m gasping for air and trying to close my knees as he lowers himself on the bed. Dorian approaches his face from my aching pussy. His breath touches me for a moment, then he takes a deep sniff. I shudder, curling my toes with how much lust takes my being.
“Fuck, you smell so good.” He sticks his tongue out and takes a long lap of my center. I jerk up, the sensation electrifying me.
“Dorian!” I fist the sheets between my hands, arousal leaving me with every lap he takes. Dorian drinks of me, then closes his lips around my bundle of nerves and sucks longly.
That’s all it takes. With one suck, he takes me so high air rushes out of me, pleasure slamming so hard into my body I scream his name and burst at the seams. The orgasm rushes through me like wildfire, and I ride that wave, my body moving on its own. Unashamed, I fuck his face, my head flailing from side to side as I lose control and seek more.
Dorian takes me there again, his lips treating me like he knows exactly how to make me feel good. Once I’m done, my body limb and sensitive, he crawls back up, settling each of my legs around his waist.
His cockhead touches my entrance. I buck automatically. Exhaustion drains from me at the same moment, my eyes snapping open to meet his.
Dorian’s eyes are full of admiration and affection as he brushes a thumb down my cheek. He opens a side-smile. “I’ve never been happier.” His voice is hoarse with how hard he’s holding back. “I finally have my mate.”
“Not yet,” I tease, circling my hips.
“Tell me if it hurts you.” He presses a shaky kiss to my lips. “I’ve never done this and I’m afraid my bear is going to make it wild.”
I bite my lower lip. “I’ve never done it either, but I want it, Dorian. I want it so hard.”
He swallows and moves so our hips are pressed together. With his lips on my pulse, urging shivers from me, Dorian bucks once.
There’s pressure, and pain, and for a moment I think it’s not going to happen. But he keeps pressing and pops in, the head stretching me to his pleasure. I cry out, slinging my arms around his neck.
“Does it hurt?” He asks in a strangled voice, his forehead puckered.
“No!” I move, desperate, desperate to have him. The sensation clogs my throat, so much pleasure I can’t feel anything other than him. “More, more!”
Dorian slides in another inch and pulls back, sliding yet again. I look up to meet his eyes as I buck against him and he enters me to the hilt. We cry out in unison, my eyes widening.
I feel it. A click. It’s the strangest thing. As if I’ve spent my life trying to remember something and it has finally come to me.
“Mate,” I say against his lips.
“Mate.” He kisses me, and his careful manners drop.
The kiss is furious, starved, and his hands burn as he touches my waist, my breasts. He grips my bottom and pulls me flush against him, slamming his member deeper inside. I cry out and move, and the two of us find a powerful rhythm between our bodies. Mine supplicates for more and his howls for control.
I watch as his bear fights with him, his cheekbones enlarging and diminishing, his shoulders broadening. Curling my fingers around his jaw, I meet his eyes. “Dorian. It’s okay. I want you. I want all of you.”
The way his eyes gleam tells me he understands my meaning. So he pulls me up to sit on his lap, grips my hips, and takes control. His nails turn into claws, pointed against my flesh, and his teeth sharpen. The cheekbones and jaw elongate, but he doesn’t turn into a bear. He stays there, in the middle, both his natures exposed.
His cock thickens, stretching my inner walls, and Dorian bounces me on top of him. My breasts jiggle, hitting his chin, and he takes turns lapping at my nipples and my pulse, sniffing in the scent of our mixed arousal, baring his teeth in primal roars.
My eyelids flutter and I teeter on the edge of another roaring orgasm. I can feel it coming, crawling its way up my body, shivers bumping along my skin. Dorian seems to notice it too, and his efforts double. His member slides in and out easily, and he uses me to reach both our climaxes.
He kisses me, his sharp teeth raking over my lower lip, and I grip him for balance. I topple off the crest of the wave with a moan so loud I’m sure all his neighbors listen. And I don’t care.
Let them know I’m his, and he’s mine. Let them know we’ve found each other.
It takes Dorian no time at all to twitch, gasp, and erupt his seed inside me. He comes hard, filling me to the brim.
He lays me down and shifts us so he doesn’t have to slip out of me. Lethargy hazes my mind, my body numb with so much pleasure.
Dorian runs a hand up and down my back. “I want to say something. You don’t need to say it back,” he murmurs into my ear. “I know it’s early. It’s gone so fast...” He kisses my earlobe. “But I love you. I love you so much I could die of happiness right now.”
I smile and snuggle closer to him. And before I notice, I’ve slipped into a deep, dreamless slumber.
11
DORIAN
ONE WEEK LATER
Pausing the tray on the bedside table, I sit down on the edge of the mattress as gently as a man my size is able to.
Bella lies belly up, the covers climbing up to her stomach, her perfect tits spilling out. Her nipples aren’t peaked, but I’ll solve that in a second.
But first, I want to watch her a little. The slamming curves of her body, and her gorgeous she looks. God, I can’t even remember how it was to live without her.
There are no words to describe this huge, bright love inside me. It burns, keeping me warm and at the same time setting my teeth on edge. I want her, and I want to protect her. She hasn’t been marked yet, but I’ve been keeping her so full of my load no shifter would dare approach her. No shifter without a death wish, at least.
At all times, I’m worried about her. She takes the entirety of my brain. She moved in a couple of days ago after she noticed I wouldn’t be able to survive parted from her. Just imagining her taking a cab by herself, or walking down the street to go to the bank makes my hairs stand on end. Exposed. Unprotected.
No, it couldn’t be. I would die if anything ever happened to her.
This perfect, beautiful woman.
Bending, I run a finger up her arm as I close my lips around one nipple. I suck long at the peak until it pops, hard and ready. Turning to give the other the same attention, I feel her shifting beneath me.
A soft moan leaves her. “Am I dreaming?”
I chuckle against her breast. “I know I’m not. No dream can be better than this
sweet reality.”
She laughs, a hand coming up to the back of my head. She holds me in place, pressing both her breasts against my face. My cock hardens in an instant, not that it ever goes totally limp around her. Cupping her mounds between my hands, I inhale her scent as I tease her tits, reveling in the sounds of her pleasure like the perfect symphony they are.
Bella kicks the sheets away and I climb on the bed to kneel between her legs. Her pussy lips part for me, her dewy flesh beckoning. My mouth waters and I whisper thanks to the heavens. Fuck, I can’t believe I’m even allowed to touch this pretty thing.
Sticking my tongue out, I take long laps off her center, drinking from her juices like a parched man. My bear grumbles in delight, my balls heavy, waiting to be emptied deep inside her belly.
“Yes, Dorian…” She sighs, rolling her hips against my face. I hold her up, bracing her, letting her do whatever she wishes to my mouth. Bella gasps and moves, using me for her pleasure. Her juices run down my chin and I close my lips around her sweet nub to suck on it.
She curls her toes and comes apart. Hard, fast, with an ear-shattering scream that makes my bear struggle for control. I’m out of my clothes next, almost ripping them off in the haste. Finally, I flip her belly down. Bella tilts her ass up, offering herself to me.
“Do you like this, baby? Being taken from behind as if we’re animals?”
“I do.” Her cheeks are flushed as she looks over her shoulder at me, her eyes wild with lust. “Take me as you will, Dorian. Fuck me rough.”
My cock twitches hard, and I feel my bear celebrating inside me. This woman. She’s the perfect one.
Aiming at her wet center, I buck once and the head pops between her tight muscles. Her core works around my girth, slowly, inch by inch as the first time. Soon enough, her wet warmth encapsulates me and I roar, letting my bear come as close to the surface as possible without shifting. My jaw elongates, my cheekbones protrude, and I feel the itch of fur trying to grow, but I hold it back. My limbs become sturdier, my shoulders broader.