by Jenika Snow
He took the winding road that ascended the mountain and turned off onto a narrower dirt path. He should have taken his Harley instead of his truck because he was barely clearing the evergreens that lined each side of him. When he came into the clearing that housed Ford’s two-story cabin he pulled the truck beside Bram’s pickup and cut the engine. Climbing out of the vehicle and making his into the cabin, Charlie couldn’t help but feel nervous. This was a new emotion for him, and one he didn’t know if he liked. Despite the unsure feelings swirling around inside of him, he couldn’t deny that he was excited to tell his brothers they would be uncles. Would they be more surprised that he was going to be a father, and that he was going to mate with an ocelot shifter, or that he was going against everything he’d ever said about how he wanted his life to go?
When he entered the cabin he saw Bram and Ford sitting around the dining room table with a bottle of whiskey between them. Their laughter lowered when they noticed him. “Isn’t it a bit early for the Crown, boys?”
Bram lifted his shot glass up in salute and downed it. “Hell no, not when we got some incredible news to celebrate.”
“Yeah?” He made his way to the table and sat beside Ford. “It can’t be as incredible as mine.” His brothers looked doubtful, but before he could tell them Bram started talking.
“We just got word that the CEO of Piefer Industries wants to contract Wylde Construction for a large condominium job in Denver,” Bram said with a large grin on his face.
“Yeah, they want us to leave next week to meet with the CEO, Allister Piefer, and go over the contract and blueprints for what they have in mind.” Ford threw back his shot and poured him and Bram another, as well as filling an empty glass for Charlie. “Charlie, man, we are talking about a multimillion dollar deal, and they want us, a small construction company from Sweet Water, to do it for them.”
Charlie ran a hand over the back of his head. This was incredible news, and as he looked between his brothers, he knew that his news still surpassed theirs. “That is great news.”
“Man, why aren’t you throwing the shots back and celebrating with us? This is a huge step.” Bram pushed the glass closer to him. “This is a huge step for the business. Mom and Dad would be drinking right along with us if they were here.” Silence descended around them, and they each looked down at the table. It had been a long time since they actually brought up the memory of their parents, but Bram was right that their parents would be excited and proud that the family business was flourishing.
“Didn’t you have some news of your own?” Ford said.
“Yeah, I do, and it’s even bigger than yours.” This had his brothers looking at each other than back at him expectantly.
“Well, spit it out.” Ford urged him to continue when he just looked at them.
“It must be huge if you think it’s bigger than Piefer,” Bram said right before he poured himself another shot. His smile was wide, and the excitement poured out of him.
“Yeah.” Charlie picked up his shot and tossed it back. The burn of the alcohol traveled down his throat and settled like a lead ball in the pit of his stomach. “You know the ocelot shifter I was telling you about, the one that I wanted to mate?”
“Ary, right?” Bram asked slowly and looked over at Ford.
Charlie nodded. “Well.” He cleared his throat, feeling his own joy and happiness grow to a monumental point inside of him. He was excited to see how his brothers would react. Ever since their parents passed away in the car accident years ago he had always looked after Ford and Bram, even though they were adults. The three of them stuck together, and always would, but he had Ary in his life now, and she carried his child. Things would change most definitely, and although he knew his brothers would be happy about this, he couldn’t help but wonder what the future held. He wanted to start a life with February, and not just because she was pregnant, but that little fact had every possessive instinct inside of him rushing to the surface and threatening to spill out. He needed to control himself and keep his bear in check, or he would surely frighten her away. “Looks like I’m going to be a father.” The heat in the room became stifling, and he shifted in his seat.
“Father? What do you mean?” Ford said the words slowly, but Charlie knew he had understood him just fine.
“You’re having a baby with the ocelot female?” Bram leaned back in his seat and started tapping his fingers along the table. It was a habit he had when nervous.
“Yeah, I am. I asked her to have lunch with me because I wanted to talk to her about taking the next step in a relationship. Turns out she had her own reason for agreeing to come, and that was telling me that the broken condom ended up with her being pregnant.”
“Shit, man.” Bram sounded stunned. “I mean I don’t know the girl or anything, but I have to play the devil’s advocate here. She did go home with you willingly after you two just met. You don’t think maybe there is a possibility that she got knocked up by a different guy she let take home?” Charlie knew Bram meant well and was just looking out for him, but just hearing those words had his inner animal on the verge of breaking free. He felt his muscles start to swell with the imminent release of his bear. The fact he was having a hard time restraining his animal scared the shit out of him.
“Damn, Charlie, I meant no disrespect. I was just making an observation.” Bram and Ford stood at the same time and took a step back. Charlie’s whole body shook as he tried to control his bear. All it had taken was for him to hear something negative about Ary, even if it had been from one of his brothers, and his bear wanted to taste blood and feel flesh ripping beneath his claws.
“What the fuck is happening to me?” His voice was distorted, sounding like an animalistic growl. He curled his fingers into the table, heard the sound of cracking wood, and knew he needed to rein himself in or he’d end up hurting his brothers. Closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths, he did the only thing he could think of that might make his bear refrain from coming out: he thought of February. He pictured her lush body beneath his, the spearmint scent of her flesh as he ran his tongue along every dip and swell. He pictured her crying out his name as he buried himself deep inside of her and marked her with his seed. He wanted her smelling like him completely, and wanted his claw marks on her succulent body so every male, shifter and human alike, would know she was his. Slowly, the bear inside of him calmed and backed down enough that he could take control. He let go of the table, felt pieces of wood fall from his hands, and lifted his eyes to Ford and Bram. They stood several feet away, both having the same stunned look on their faces.
“Holy fuck, Charlie. That was the most intense fucking thing I have ever seen.” Ford picked up the Crown off the table and drank right from the bottle. He started chuckling and handed the bottle to Bram, who drank it in the same fashion. “I thought for sure you’d lose it and tear out our throats.”
“I’ve only ever seen something that intense at Slater’s, and only when other shifters wanted blood on their hands as sport. I mean, damn Charlie, she really is your mate, yeah?” Bram took another drink and handed the bottle to Ford again. They did this back and forth until there was nothing left.
Charlie ran a hand over his face, felt the sweat that had accumulated along his brow from his near shift, and breathed out. “I am so fucking sorry. Shit, I have no damn clue what in the hell is happening. I feel like I’m losing myself to my bear. It wants out so damn bad, and every passing day it is getting harder to control him. We should be one entity. I feel like my human is trying to control an animal intent on taking over.” Was this how Bram felt? His youngest brother was more bear than human, had been for as long as he could remember. Did Bram always feel this wild and untamed? If so, Charlie could see why he did bare-knuckle fighting so often. A glass of water was placed in front of him, and he thanked Bram. “And to make matters worse, ever since Ary told me about the pregnancy I have been feeling so damn territorial and possessive.”
“Charlie, why are yo
u even trying to fight it?” Ford asked. His brother sat in the spot across from him and set a brand new bottle of whiskey on the table. “What do you think will happen if you shift? You think you’ll hurt your girl? Not likely. Damn, dude, your bear wants to claim her. I say go for it, let him mark her, and then you can go on being one person again instead of feeling pulled in two different directions.”
“Well, damn, Ford. When the hell did you get all philosophical and shit?” Bram chuckled and cracked open the alcohol. “I think we are all in need of some more liquor.” Charlie didn’t bother agreeing with Bram on both accounts. Ford was right, which left the burning question of why was he trying to hold himself back? If his bear wanted to mark her as theirs, then so be it.
Chapter Eight
One week later
The sound of Charlie’s Harley pulling into her driveway was a loud rumble that she seemed to feel all the way to her bones. It had been seven long days since she had seen him, although they talked on the phone several times a day. He ended up having to leave with his brothers to Denver concerning some big contract. Everything was still so surreal, right down to the fact that Charlie wanted so much more with her. Even their conversations over the phone had her feeling so much closer to him. The connection was frighteningly strong, so much so that her ocelot wanted to rub up on him and purr in approval. He couldn’t see her watching him through her living room blinds, and she took that moment to appreciate the view. It had only been seven days since she had seen him, but it felt like far longer than that.
He knocked on the door, and she grabbed her purse and gripped the handle to pull it open. She only had a moment to appreciate the view of him in his trademark distressed jeans and white button-up shirt before he was charging in the house using his upper body to press her against the wall. A gasp left her at the feral intensity of the action, but he clamped his mouth down and swallowed the noise.
Their tongues tangled together, and the flavor of everything that was Charlie bathed her taste buds in spicy maleness. Their plans had been to ride up to the mountains to take a non-stressful hike along a path that followed a small creek. She had been there before, loved being out in the wilderness as did all shifters, and wanted to show Charlie a hidden alcove that overlooked Sweet Water Lake. Apparently this bear had different plans for them. The hiking shorts she wore were modest, and that was clearly something Charlie didn’t appreciate since he muttered against her mouth something about too many clothes before undoing the button and pulling the zipper down. In one frantic motion he had her shorts and her panties down her thighs and thrown to the side. The low, rumbly growls that came from him vibrated through his chest and went straight to her clit. There was something definitely different about him, like he couldn’t control himself and needed this more than he needed to breathe. She inhaled deeply, smelled the scent of his alpha bear surrounding him, and knew right now he wasn’t Charlie the human, but a wild animal.
“Charlie, what’s gotten into you?” Her words stuttered out of her from the rhythmic way he thrust his hips back and forth against her. His dick was hard and thick, and brought back the erotically delicious memories of their night spent together. Not that she was complaining, and if she had thought he was alpha personified before, she was starting to realize there was more of it hiding inside of him. He trailed his mouth down her neck, and licked and sucked at every exposed inch until she begged him for more.
“I want you so fucking bad, Ary.” He slammed his hands on the wall on either side of her head. She swore the picture frames right above her head shook from the force of his actions. Through the corner of her eyes she could see his nails had turned into claws and were currently digging into the drywall. “I’ve tried so hard to control myself around you, but it’s just too fucking hard. I want to claim you, baby. I want the damn world to know you’re mine.” His voice was gravelly and no longer human sounding. “I’m not going to curb the animalistic need to mate with you. Not now. Not ever.” The air was charged with electricity, and the hairs on her arms stood up. It didn’t take her shifter senses to tell his bear was close to breaking free, not when she could see the swell of his muscles beneath his shirt, or feel the aggressive arousal pouring off of him. His huge body blocked out the light from the partially open doorway, and the heat that poured off of him was like a sauna. At the first touch of his fingers on her swollen, soaked pussy lips, Ary let her head fall back against the wall and moaned out. How could one week make her feel so needy and desperate for him? Using his knee to force her thighs wider apart, she gripped onto his lean, yet rock hard waist for support. Taking his index and middle finger and placing them on her inner labia, he spread them apart.
“Fucking hell, Ary. I can smell you, feel how wet you are for me, and know I won’t last five seconds once I have my cock shoved deep inside of you.” Before she could respond, or at least make a noise that she was just as desperate as he was, Charlie had two thick fingers pushed inside of her. Nails digging into his skin, and mouth parting as the stretch from the penetration consumed her, all she could do was hold on as he started to fuck her with those digits. In and out he pumped them into her pussy, all the while keeping his eyes locked with hers. They were no longer blue, but a dark color that seemed to swallow his pupils whole. It was a testament to how close he was to shifting. The fear over that fact should have left her immobile and not aroused, but it had a far different effect on her. Her nipples swelled beneath the now too rough shirt, and as if he sensed that discomfort he reached between them, placed one of his claws at the base of her throat, and started dragging it down until it reached the collar of her shirt. The material parted beneath his touch like a warmed knife going through butter. Every so often she could feel the very tip of his claw press against her flesh, not hard enough to hurt, but with enough pressure to let her know it was there regardless. It was a reminder that there was no more Charlie Wylde in front of her. The male that touched her let off a scent of ownership, one that had her wanting to submit to him in every way possible.
“You’re mine.”
Oh God. His voice, gravel under the tire of a car, was loud, slightly distorted, and like nothing she had ever heard. The sound had her toes curling, her breathing increasing, and her heart pounding so fast and hard it felt like it was lodged in her throat and moving into her ears. She had wanted him like a fiend before, but seeing the possessive gleam in his eyes, feeling that crackling energy that at this moment he was more bear than man, and having his fingers still moving in and out of her, had Ary realizing that she wanted his mark, and she wanted him to claim her hard.
Everything became deathly still and quiet. Seconds later he removed his fingers from her, brought them up so she could see how wet they were, and proceeded to suck her juices off his index and middle finger. The sight was highly erotic and like nothing she had ever witnessed before. It had her blood boiling and her knees weak. He leaned forward and ran his tongue up her throat, over the corner of her mouth, and along her bottom lip. Parting her lips and sucking his tongue into her mouth had them both groaning. Their flavors mixed together until it was all she could think of. Suddenly his hands were framing her face, and his fingers were tunneling in her hair. He used his leverage to tilt her head to the side and take control.
For long drugging minutes they did nothing but kiss. He dominated her without bonds, controlled her without words, and promised her with just the touch of his fingers on her flesh. He slid his hand down her hips, over the curve if her ass, and gripped the mounds in an almost bruising manner. Ary loved it, and moaned for more. He gave her a light squeeze before moving lower until he curled his fingers around the back of her thighs. In one swift move he had her lifted up, and she was forced to wrap her legs around his waist. The hard cock that pressed right between her thighs was huge and brought back wave after wave of remembrance of their night together. It had been far too long since they had been together, but that was going to be put to an end right now. He turned around with his hands now back o
n her ass, spun her around so she wasn’t pressed against the wall anymore, and started striding down the hall.
“Where is it, baby?” He murmured against her lips, but then went back to kissing her. He didn’t need to elaborate on what he was referring to. It was strange that this was the first time he had been to her home, and only the second time they would be intimate.
She broke the kiss long enough to answer. “Up the stairs, first door on the right.” He turned around and started heading back the way they had come, and she couldn’t help but chuckle at the humor in it all. Right before he headed up the stairs she said, “Wait, the front door.” In their lust-filled haze they had left it open for any and all her neighbors to see. In just two long-legged strides he was in front of the door, kicked it closed with his foot, and made his way back to the stairs to ascend them. Before she knew what was happening they were in her room and she was on her back in the middle of her modest full-sized bed. The sound of ripping material filled her hazy brain, and she realized it was from Charlie tearing her shirt off. He took a step back, and his chest heaved up and down with the force of his breathing. Not bothering with the buttons of his shirt, which she found highly carnal, he ripped the shirt from his body, tossed it to the ground, and went to work on his belt. Ary was so aroused her wetness slipped in the crease of her ass.
“Spread your thighs for me, baby.” Once the belt was free and the button undone from his pants he stepped out of them. The fact he wore no underwear was like a hot poker to her clit. Doing exactly as he said, she loved that she was the one that brought out the harsh grunt from him. His dick was just as impressively frightening as before, and when he took a step closer and knelt before her, her heart stopped. Seconds ticked by with only the sound of his breathing and the feel of his breath along her labia. A hand on her inner thighs had her jerking with awareness. As he lowered his head until she knew there couldn’t be an inch that separated his mouth from the very center of her, Ary waited for his next action with anticipation.