“Then harness your inner grizzly and get a move on. We have about…” she checked her watch and a did a quick calculation, “three minutes to land and pull the dinghy ashore before we get a wild ride to Japan, or sucked down a whirlpool to China.”
His squint was full of teasing humor. “You really do have a flair for the dramatic, don’t you?”
“No joke,” she laughed, “but I’m also not kidding. Move!”
The rest of the ride was spent in silence, with the exception of her occasional direction, as Chet hauled ass to a tiny beach on the island. It wasn’t so much an island as a huge rock with some trees and greenery growing on it, and not many people wanted to risk the trip out to it. Miss the window by a few minutes and you really would get swept away, though she might have been exaggerating about Japan and China.
Andy had loaned her the boat with precise instructions on when exactly to transit safely. “Don’t go getting yourself killed, got it?” he nagged as he helped her offload the boat from Pop-Pop’s pickup earlier in the day. “You’re a good worker and hiring new employees is such a pain in the ass. Besides, you’d be a tough act to follow.”
Her heart warmed toward him. He was really a teddy bear deep down and he’d grown fond of her. He was a good boss and she was going to be sad to leave him, but it was time to start her new life with Chet. And that meant leaving Port Numas.
The dinghy skidded up on the loose rocks that made up the beach. Northern beaches sure were different from those farther south. For one thing, the sand was bigger. Much bigger. Like, gravel. For another, the cool weather wasn’t conducive to wearing bikinis. She smiled at the irony, knowing she’d be wearing her birthday suit very soon.
“Now will you tell me what’s going on, Crystal?” Chet asked as he dragged the dinghy as far as he could up the small beach, tying it off on a tree hanging out over the water.
Crystal slipped her hands into his, loving the way their fingers intertwined and fit like they were made for each other. Which, of course, they were. Their gazes locked…literally. She couldn’t have torn her eyes away even if she wanted to. She could swim in his eyes for a lifetime, and that’s exactly what she planned to do.
“Haven’t you figured it out yet, Tubbs? I thought we could see if this rock really vibrates.” She pressed in close to him, his musk enveloping her and once again making her dizzy. God, she was glad he was hers. And vice versa.
She let her hands wander up his arms to his chest, smiling inwardly at his hardness pressing against her belly. It was all she could do to keep herself from stripping him naked right there, but there was still some light in the sky and this was not their final destination. Of course, she couldn’t resist stealing one tiny kiss.
Reaching up on her tiptoes, she offered her mouth to him and he took full advantage, cradling her face as if it was a precious jewel. His lips were warm and tender, soft and hungry. His tongue just barely peeking out to tease her before drawing back. His gaze was firmly fixed on her mouth, like he wanted to devour her.
Not yet.
As much as she wanted him, this wasn’t the place. Gathering every ounce of self-control she could muster, she smiled and licked her lips in what she hoped was a seductive manner. Apparently so because Chet’s pupils dilated and he dove in for more, but she pulled away, leading him toward a rough path.
“Almost there, big guy,” she trilled, snickering at his groan of protest.
They scrabbled up the massive rock, using the thin scrub and scrawny trees that managed to eke out an existence there as handholds. Her rubber boots weren’t great for traction but Chet’s Italian loafers were even worse, with their slick leather soles. If she’d been thinking, she would have packed a different set of clothes for him, but she’d been too excited to start her life with him to think about what he might be wearing to his initiation ceremony.
“You okay, Tubbs?” she asked after his fifth or sixth slip. His trousers were dirty and torn in a couple spots and his shoes were wrecked but he didn’t seem bothered by that. In fact, he was wearing the goofiest grin ever.
“Never been better, mate,” he grinned up at her as they climbed. Every now and again, she’d feel a hand whisk across her calf or her butt cheek, not in an effort to mess with her climbing ability, but merely to touch her, to claim her. She was his and she loved it!
After what seemed like hours, but was probably only ten minutes, they reached the top of Tremble Rock. Just as Andy had said, the top was fairly flat with a spectacular view of the churning, swirling waters around them.
Huffing and puffing, she plopped her ass down on a nice big patch of thick moss to rest. It didn’t escape her notice that, when Chet eased down next to her, he’d barely broken a sweat. She had a feeling she’d be getting plenty of cardio workouts very soon so she probably didn’t need to go sign up for Jazzercise to build up her endurance. Chet would help her with that.
“Wow,” was all he could manage as he looked around them, though his fingers managed to entwine with hers.
It really was breathtakingly beautiful. Fjord-like channels were etched into the granite mountains surrounding them, choked with the greens and blacks of old-growth forests. The sky was darkening, changing from a pale blue to a pale orange, becoming deeper and stronger as the minutes ticked by. Bald eagles soared overhead, their screeches piercing through the rumble and roar of the tide change.
The base of Tremble Rock had shrunk since they landed. The tide was rising and soon several feet of the rock would disappear under the raging waters of Hardy Channel. They would be lucky if their dinghy managed to stay tied up to that tree, but she had other things to focus on right now. Like the gorgeous hunk of man snuggled up next to her.
“I knew the whole time.” Her whisper was barely audible, even to her.
“Hmm? Knew what?”
“That we were, um, mates.” The word was still weird for her to say. “I really did know, from the second I sat down next to you on the ferry. I didn’t want to admit it, though. You see, my mom—“
He silenced her with a kiss she felt from her lips through every fiber of her being to the very tips of her toes. Pleasure rippled across her skin and burrowed its way deeper until it came to a fine and burning point deep inside her chest.
“You can tell me all about it another time,” he murmured against her cheek as he pulled her into his arms. “We have the rest of our lives to get to know each other.”
~ * ~ * ~
Chet meant it, too. He wanted to know everything about Crystal, but this was their time to bond, to consummate their love, not to talk about their families. There would be time enough for that later. Right now, he needed to make her his.
His need was made all the more urgent by his bear, which was straining at its internal enclosure, struggling to claim its mate. They’d both been waiting to take Crystal for what seemed like an eternity and as desperate as they both were to be inside her, to feel her wet heat engulf them, Chet wanted this to be perfect.
They had a good start with the incredible setting. Even better, no one could disturb them. They had a full six hours before the tide would slacken enough to allow them to row back to shore, and he planned on making the most of every single minute.
Shrugging out of his stupidly expensive jacket, he laid it down behind Crystal before easing her back onto it. It meant less than nothing to him compared to her comfort. He propped himself on one elbow and simply gazed at her beauty. She laid back, graciously allowing him to, though he could sense it made her uncomfortable, self-conscious even.
With his free hand, he started by brushing his knuckles against the smoothness of her cheek, a fingertip trailing an angle here, a hairline there, skimming across her lower lip, slipping in ever so slightly when her lips parted in response. The flesh there was hot and supple and so, so wet. He wanted to learn every inch of her, inside and out.
Her eyes fluttered shut as he explored her, but he barely wanted to blink from taking her in. His palm smoothed down her n
eck to the flat of her chest, where her heart beat like a jackhammer. The connection there was intense, and was almost enough for him.
Almost.
Dextrous fingers made quick work of the buttons on her blouse, exposing her mounds of bare flesh to his feasting eyes. Her breath hitched as his hands caressed her skin, pushing away the fabric as an excuse to brush across her breasts, coming back to cup each in turn.
Her nipples responded instantly, tightening to hard buds he couldn’t resist. Lowering his head, he let his hot breath caress one before circling it with his tongue, his lips enclosing it gently. She arched into him, sighing with pleasure.
While his mouth was busy, his hands continued exploring, skimming the sweet curve of her waist and gentle swell of her abdomen until he reached the waistband of her jeans. He didn’t have to look in order to unfasten them, which was a good thing because he couldn’t seem to stop kissing her breasts. And judging from the fistfuls of his hair in her hands, she didn’t want him to.
Slowly, he slipped his hand down her jeans and simply rested it on her mound. Her heat and dampness throbbed against his palm, and her hips pressed into him eagerly, but he stayed still. Little grunts of frustration reached his ears with each suckle and kiss against her breasts. She wanted more but he wasn’t giving in. He loved torturing her this way.
With her worked into a frenzy, he moved his way down her belly, his tongue trailing along her valleys and curves until he could go no farther. Shifting so he was straddling her legs, he tugged at her boots and jeans until she was lying nearly naked before him.
He’d never been so hard before in his life. It felt like he might rupture at any moment if he didn’t have her right now. Before he even realized it, his clothes were in a pile next to them. His love for her oozed from every pore, pounded out of every heartbeat. After waiting for so long, he could barely control himself.
Not yet. There’s still so much to see and do…
His hands never stopped slicking against her skin, never stopped moving. He wanted to touch every inch of her body tonight, and if he didn’t catch it all this time, they had at least two more times to go before they could leave this rock. If they spent the whole night, it would be more. His bear grumbled its approval of this plan.
The skin of her inner thighs was the softest thing he’d ever felt and his lips had to double check. The moment they touched her, he was overwhelmed by her delicious, needful musk. His mouth watered and he couldn’t resist the urge to sample her.
The thin layer of silky fabric that separated his lips from her sensitive skin was already damp as his lips covered her mound. She moaned and lifted her hips, giving him the opportunity to hook his fingers into the elastic of her panties and ease them lower until they were even with his mouth.
It was so erotic the way her hips swiveled and she gave these tiny little grunts of impatience that he wasn’t removing the panties, but he was having too much fun teasing her. Slowly but firmly, his mouth moved and tongue prodded against her heat, driving her to a frenzy.
“Oh, Chet,” she breathed. “Please…”
“Please what, baby?” he murmured into her, a shiver rippling through her.
“Please take them off. I need you. I need my mate.”
Those words coming out of her sweet plump lips nearly did him in. His bear reacted almost violently and he was surprised to see her shredded undies flying across their rock and into the churning waters below. Before he was even aware of it, his mouth was on her, lapping at her, drinking her in, consuming her.
Her shout of pleasure urged him on. Sliding his hands up the back of her thighs, he pushed them forward until she was completely and totally open to him. Nothing had ever tasted sweeter to him and he’d never get enough.
His tongue roamed and prodded and swirled over every nub, ridge and crevice, urging her forward to the edge of sanity. She was close, he could sense it, and he wouldn’t stop until she’d fallen into the depths of bliss.
Supporting her rump with one hand, he let her legs fall over his shoulders as his other hand joined the fun, slipping in and out and around all the places his tongue had already explored. When her body jerked in response to a certain touch, he repeated it until she cried out from the sweet torture.
“Oh, God, Chet,” she panted, her hips rising of their own accord. She was nearly there. Slowly, one finger slicked inside her, searching for the spot that would give her that final push. He added a second finger when she started writhing under him, her movements frantic.
He could feel it building inside her, tightening everything to a solid mass of tension that needed to be released. There was nothing more that he wanted than to please his mate, to bring her the ultimate pleasure, and his tongue and fingers worked their magic until she was panting his name.
A third slippery finger came into play, but didn’t join the other two. He had different plans for this finger. When it pressed against her tightness, she sucked in her breath and moaned. Gently, while he continued lapping at her throbbing core, he continued the pressure until he felt her opening to him.
The instant his fingertip was inside her, her entire body clenched and spasmed, and cries of sweet torment rang in his ears. She bucked uncontrollably under his mouth as wave after wave rolled through her. And still he continued. He wouldn’t stop until he’d drawn every ounce of tension from her body.
Ignoring her pleas for mercy, he coaxed more spasms, more convulsions from her until she was utterly spent, a panting puddle of love. Only then did he ease out from between her legs and begin the slow journey up her stomach, pausing at her delicious breasts long enough to eke out a few more jerks of pleasure from her.
They were both breathless when he reached her mouth, his still tasting of her. He wanted her to know how good she tasted, that he could live the rest of his life on her honey alone. Accepting his kiss eagerly, she wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him toward her.
“Please, Chet…” she moaned into his mouth. “Take your mate. Take me now.”
He didn’t need to be asked twice. With a growl, he pushed himself into her slick heat and found home. His entire universe coalesced, his soul was complete. Everything he’d ever wanted in his life paled in comparison to what he now had. All the parties, all the glitz, all the girls were memories of memories. The future was only about her, about them, forever.
Her inner walls pulsed around him, massaging him, teasing him and he twitched in response. His rhythm was slow at first, steady and easy, but his baser instincts took over when she dug her heels into his ass, urging him deeper.
Part of him was afraid of hurting her but she wasn’t a frail little thing who might break in two. She was strong and solid, built for his insatiable need. He was determined to put her to the test.
Inside him, pressure built, tightening low in his belly as he and his bear claimed their mate. Crystal clamped down on him with each thrust, her own climax building quickly.
Swiveling his hips slightly on each stroke hit all the right spots to make her shiver and grunt. The tension in the air was thick as they both rode the flow of their pleasure to the end. Mist swirled around them, cooling their feverish skin, and the roar of the waters below were barely audible above the roar of the blood pounding through their veins and into each other’s soul, connecting them through all time.
Chet was nearly at the precipice but he wouldn’t fall over the ledge until Crystal came with him. He’d waited too long to hurry things now, and he wouldn’t leave her behind. They would take that leap together and for the rest of their lives.
As if on cue, her cries grew louder, more frantic as she clung to him. “Ah! Ah! Ah!”
The whole world started trembling as they reached the pinnacle. White light pulsed behind his eyelids and they stepped off the edge into oblivion, riding the tide of mutual bliss, their love surging between them on a river of invisible energy.
As their shudders eased, Chet collected her in his arms, pulling her to his damp chest. “I
’m still shaking,” he panted, a trickle of sweat tickling its way down his neck.
Sighing happily, Crystal snuggled into him. “Me, too,” she breathed.
A moment later she burst out laughing. He felt so good, so absolutely perfect in that moment, he didn’t even take offense. Chuckling at her giggles but having no idea what she was laughing at, he asked, “What’s so funny?”
“We’re such dorks. We’re not shaking, the rock is!”
She was right. Tremble Rock had lived up to its reputation and was vibrating under their naked bodies. He could almost feel it in his teeth. The sheer power the water that was able to make this massive piece of granite quiver was awe-inspiring.
As was the love he felt for his mate. Pulling her tighter, he smiled into her hair, breathing her in. “I will never stop loving you, Crystal. It’s you and me forever, right?”
Her answer was just a whisper but it had the strength of a nuclear blast. “Forever.”
EPILOGUE
Seattle, 1992
A ray of light burned orange behind Chet’s closed eyelids, waking him gently. Stretching out every which way, he reached all four corners of their queen-sized bed without touching Crystal. She was up already.
That wasn’t unusual these days. Every day that brought her closer to delivering their baby, the earlier she woke up. He was worried at first but she calmed his fears.
“I like watching the sunrise,” she insisted. “Maybe you should start watching it with me, Tubbs.”
He loved that she still called him Tubbs after all these years. The silly nickname was such a part of their relationship that he knew she’d be calling him that when they were old and gray. They’d have to explain who Tubbs was to their grandkids, but it would be a fun tale to tell.
He lay there for a minute, basking in the sun, thinking back on their life together so far and wondering what the future would bring. If the last six years were just a taste of what was to come, he couldn’t wait to find out.
Bearly Hanging On (A Werebear Shifter BBW Romance) (Laid Bear Book 3) Page 11