by T. S. Joyce
“Undefeated!” Drew yelled, pointing at Denison.
Denison flipped him off and drank another plastic cup of beer. “Rematch.”
Drew’s blond eyebrows arched high, and he spread his hands out, palm up. “Bring it, Denny boy. My team is undefeatable. We’re like a well-oiled machine!”
“Line up,” Denison called as he pointed to the start again.
Worried, Diem looked up at Bruiser. “Uh, this well-oiled machine has now had two beers in the last few minutes, and I’m feeling wobbly.”
“And that is the point of the game,” Bruiser said, then leaned forward and kissed her until she was even more unstable on her feet.
“That’s not helping,” she muttered as he laughed and pulled her toward the starting point again.
“Are you having fun?” he asked, sliding his arm over her shoulders.
Here at his side, she felt all glowy and safe. “Yeah,” she answered him breathlessly. She really, really was.
“That’s also the point of the game.”
****
After three consecutive games of Slip ’N Slide flip-cup, and after the sun had set over the Montana mountains that nestled the Asheland Mobile Park, Diem settled in with the others around the bonfire and watched fireflies lazily floating about on the breeze along the tree line. In an attempt to sober up, she’d downed a giant glass of water.
“You like your marshmallows burnt to a crisp, don’t you, D?” Bruiser asked, mischief dancing in his eyes.
She giggled and leaned back in the neon green plastic chair by the fire. “You know I do.”
“Alligator,” Denison said half-heartedly around an entire s’more. He’d been tossing out guesses all night.
“Nope.”
Brooke snickered from across the fire, and even Tagan was smiling.
“Man, Skyler already said she is a flier,” Bruiser said, shaking his head in disappointment. “Last time I checked, gators didn’t have wings. You suck at this.”
“I do not! And I’ve already guessed every flying shifter there is. Flying squirrel.”
“Nope,” Diem said. She’d tried to tell him earlier just to put him out of his misery, but Tagan had cut her off and told her to let him guess.
“There, there,” Danielle crooned as she sank onto her mate’s lap. She petted his head sympathetically and handed him another s’more.
It was a sad day to be Denison. Couldn’t guess Diem’s shifter, even though she’d already told him what she was on the first day she’d met the Ashe Crew, and then his team had lost three times in a row, a fact which Drew hadn’t stopped crowing about for the past two hours.
“You look happy,” Bruiser said as he handed her the gooey snack he’d so carefully made for her.
“I am.”
Bruiser leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Happiness is sexy on you.”
“Well, in that case”—her voice came out much huskier than she meant for it to—“I’m ridiculously happy.” She leveled him with a hint-filled stare.
Her heart pounded as she watched a sensual smile curve his lips. “Ladies and gents,” Bruiser said as she bit into her s’more. “My lady and I are done for the night.”
“Bow chicka wow wow,” Drew called.
Bruiser lifted her off the chair and tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He smacked her bikini-clad butt and called over his shoulder, “Shut up, Drew.”
“If I shut up, then we’ll all hear you boinking,” Drew said with a frown.
“Plug your ears,” Diem joked around the full mouth of marshmallows and chocolate.
Bruiser’s booming laugh under her warmed her from her hairline to her toes.
At his trailer, he set her down, then picked her up like a babe and carried her across the threshold. “You sobered up yet, woman?”
“Is that what you’ve been waiting for?”
“Hell yeah, it is. I don’t want our first time to be a blurry memory for you.”
“I’m mostly sober.”
“Mmm, shower first then. I’ll wash you up with that fruity body wash and hoity-toity squishy loofah sponge I found hanging in your shower this morning.”
She snorted. “Don’t hate on my bath essentials, Mr. Keller. I like to smell good.”
“Well, I like the way you smell right now.”
“I smell like dirt and beer,” she argued, pointing to a mud stain across her abdomen to highlight her point.
“No,” he said, sucking on her bottom lip. “You smell like s’mores and campfire smoke and piney earth.
Oh. Well, that actually sounded kind of nice with him saying it all low like that.
“And arousal,” he added.
“That’s embarrassing.”
“Why?” he asked against her lips as he reached into the front of her bikini bottoms.
A slick sound filled the air as he pushed his finger slowly into her.
“And anyways, that’s your fault for walking around all night in your swim trunks that show off those creases of muscle over your hips bones, your eight-pack abs, sexy chest, and muscly arms. The arousal smell is unavoidable if you set out to seduce me like that.”
Bruiser’s lips turned up in a smile against her neck as he kissed her. “You think it’s been easy for me?” he murmured against her skin. “Watching you in that sexy two-piece, the outline of those perfect tits right there for me to see, and all that creamy skin I can’t get enough of? I’ve been rockin’ a boner since you came out of the trailer in that swimsuit, D.”
“For me?”
“Of course, for you. You’re sexy as hell. You’re beautiful, yeah, but it’s more than that. Your personality makes me want you even more. Confidence sure looks good on you, woman.”
Diem slid her arms around his neck and tried to steady her shuddering breath. “I don’t want to take a shower.” Before she could talk herself out of her boldness, she leaned up on her toes and kissed him.
And when he leaned into her to deepen that kiss, she brushed her tongue against the closed seam of his mouth. That soft growl she was growing to love rattled his chest, and she pulled her hand down across the warm, smooth skin to feel it against her palm—that small sound of satisfaction. She’d done that.
He opened his lips and allowed her to brush her tongue against his. With a helpless sound deep in his throat, Bruiser lifted the backs of her knees until he was nestled between her thighs, then he walked her backward toward his bedroom.
Desperate to feel all of his skin against hers, Diem untied the drawstring of his swim trunks and pushed them down his legs. Bruiser seemed just as thirsty for her skin when he tugged the string of her bikini, then plucked her bottoms off and tossed both pieces to the floor. For a moment, he seemed stunned, staring wide-eyed at her body. There wasn’t much light in here, only the soft illumination from the kitchen, but her skin was pale and glowed like a bug light in the dark. She used to be self-conscious about it, but reflected in Bruiser’s dark eyes, she looked quite different. Pretty, even.
“I don’t know how I got so lucky,” he murmured, settling over her.
And she understood. He’d made a deal for her hand in marriage, and by all accounts, this shouldn’t have worked. They shouldn’t have clicked like this. Father had made a mistake giving her to the Ashe Crew for protection because now, she had for a shot at living a happy life, and there would be no more dragons.
It seemed fate had slapped his hand for mistreating his kin.
“I’m the lucky one,” she whispered.
Bruiser’s eyes pooled with such adoration she was filled with a warm, funny feeling from her middle outward. Her limbs tingled with it.
Bruiser’s smile faded, then returned slowly. “Do you feel that?”
“What is it?” she asked on a breath.
“Our bond. Are you sure you choose me forever, Diem? After this, we’ll be bound and there is no going back. This feels…big.”
Stretching up, she kissed him softly. With a happy sigh,
she relaxed under him and said, “I’m not scared. Not anymore. I choose you for always.”
He reached for the end table drawer where she’d told him she’d stashed the condoms. The rip of foil sounded loud in the quiet of the room, but seconds later, his attention was back on her. He leaned forward and drew her nipple into his mouth, sucking gently until it was drawn up tight. Her skin was sensitive there, and she arched up to encourage the affection. His hand slid under the curve of her back and held her there. And by the time he paid her other breast equal attention, she was rolling her hips against his just to feel him against her. Knees spread wide, she moaned and gripped his hair as he trailed kisses up her neck. He nibbled her earlobe and touched the slick opening of her sex with the thick head of his cock.
“Relax for me all the way so I don’t hurt you,” he whispered, and she made the conscious effort to do so.
He rubbed his fingers down the inside of her leg while propped up on a locked arm. As he pushed into her, he held her gaze. Inch by inch, his long, thick shaft filled her. The stretch burned, but she kept her face neutral and waited for the pain to subside. She’d read books on sex, and a little burning pressure was to be expected, especially since her mate was large. It wasn’t until he filled her completely and brushed her clit that it felt good. Really good. He slid out of her slowly and pushed in again. When he touched that sensitive spot again, she dug her nails into his back.
Bruiser clenched his jaw, and the muscles in his arms flexed and tightened, as if his control was slipping. Diem forced herself to relax further, and he slid in easier, faster this time. She gasped at how good it felt and held onto him tighter.
“Right there,” she panted.
“Fffuck, woman. You’re so sexy when you tell me what you like.”
She leaned upward and kissed his earlobe. Softly, she whispered, “Faster.”
Bruiser’s hips bucked against hers, and now the pleasure greatly outweighed any discomfort. She smiled and grazed her teeth against his neck. “Harder.”
He thrust into her again, this time slipping his arm under her hips and pulling her closer as he pushed into her. A quiet moan escaped her lips, and he captured the sound with his, kissing her as he filled her again. His tongue thrust against hers in rhythm to the penetration between her legs, and she was gone. Pressure building, sex tingling, rocked by utter pleasure.
His control was no more as the muscles in his stomach flexed with every powerful thrust. The growling in his throat grew louder as she bowed against him and ran her nails down his back.
He slammed into her, faster and faster until the pressure was too much. “Bruiser!” she cried out as he clamped his teeth against her shoulder and slammed into her hard enough to move her backward on the bed. She detonated around him, crying out as the pleasure became blinding. She closed her eyes to the world as her mate froze inside of her, swelling as he growled out her name. Throbbing pulses ripped through her, but she was helpless to decipher between her orgasm and Bruiser’s. He bucked into her sporadically as he swelled again, warming her from the inside out.
“Shit,” he muttered, eyes intent on her shoulder. “You’re bleeding.”
Warmth trickled into the hollow at the base of her throat, and she turned her head and stared at the stinging bite mark he’d made.
“Will it scar?” One could hope.
“How fast do you heal?”
“Not as fast as you would.”
“Then yeah, it’ll scar. Fuck, I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I did that.” Bruiser backed off her and pulled out, then ran his hands through his hair like he was pissed off at himself. “I hurt you.”
Frowning, Diem said, “I’m not complaining. This is a claiming mark, right? The other women here have them.”
“Did you want one? I should’ve asked you first.”
Diem sighed in relief and pulled him onto the bed. Rolling him over, she straddled his hips and tucked her arms under her breasts, then lay against his chest. “I secretly wanted one, but I didn’t know how to ask. I know it’s different if it’s not a bear-bear pairing.”
“You aren’t mad? You aren’t hurt?”
“No, and not really. It just stings a little, but now I’ll bear your mark for always. You claimed me.”
Bruiser huffed a little relieved laugh and wrapped his arms around her back. For a long time, she stayed like that, safe and warm in her mate’s arms. And he was her mate now, in all the ways he could be. They had a paper that bound them by human laws, and their animals had accepted each other. Now, she had Bruiser’s mark on her shoulder that said he chose her back.
Nothing in the world could touch this feeling of elation.
“Tell me about the picture.” She was drowsy but wasn’t ready for sleep yet. Not when she wanted to enjoy every moment here tonight with the man she was falling in love with.
Bruiser inhaled deeply and rubbed her back in a distracted sort of way—little circles here and there with his fingertips. “The Ashe Crew is the family I created for myself, but that picture is a photograph of my blood family.” He made a ticking sound behind his teeth. “Kind of.”
“What does kind of mean?”
“I didn’t meet them until I was ten. That photograph was taken a few months after Ma Keller found out about me.”
Diem frowned at the wall as she snuggled her cheek against his chest. “Explain.”
“Diem, this isn’t something I enjoy talking about.”
“Tell me once and be done with it. And then you can ask me anything, too.”
“Shit,” he said on a breath. The massage circles stopped, and he hugged her real close. His hands shook against her back. “My dad stepped out on Ma Keller, who was his wife. They had four boys together, Gage, Cody, Boone, and Dade. My dad fucked up. Cheated. Nah, it was more than that. He had an affair. Ma Keller had no idea. Dad was a firefighter and worked odd hours, and she didn’t even suspect he was shacking up with my mom whenever he got the urge.”
Bruiser got quiet and puffed air from his cheeks before he continued.
“When I was born...well…you know how it works with dragon females better than I do. My mom didn’t make it, and my dad had a newborn bastard kid he didn’t know what to do with. So he hid me away. Hired a full time nanny to live out in the boonies with me. She raised me, and I thought she was my mom for a long time. No one ever told me otherwise, and I had no idea about the scandal that surrounded my birth. Dad was always weird around me. Distant. He said I looked just like my mother, and I think that hurt him. I don’t know. I wanted to go to parades in town with him. Wanted him to take me to movies and let me go to public school, but he said I couldn’t because I was special. I wasn’t fuckin’ special, though. I was a blight on his name. His darkest secret. He died in a fire when I was ten. Or at least I thought it was a fire that took him. There was some confusion around his death. Chemical burns to his neck, which didn’t make sense at the time because he was still wearing his fire suit when his crew pulled him from the wreckage of this old blazing building. It had to be IESA. They detonated these trackers filled with acid in my brother Dade’s neck when I went to help them last week. Same type of chemical burns. Anyway, my nanny had instructions on what to do if anything ever happened to my dad, so she dropped me off at the Keller’s house with a single suitcase and an envelope that had Ma Keller’s name on it in dad’s handwriting. That’s when I found out I was the half-dragon bastard secret of the great and honorable Titus Keller. Or so his letter to Ma Keller said. Dad was a bit of a legend in Breckenridge, so when word got out around town, Ma Keller was shamed just as much as I was. She took me in, but she couldn’t seem to get over my parentage. She kept me separate from her boys for a while. They all looked just like her, and I was living proof that her husband had led a secret life for a decade that didn’t include her. I can’t blame her, really. I understand why she never bonded with me, but it was an uncomfortable home situation for the eight years I lived with the Kellers. I grew up never fitting an
ywhere, watching this amazing, happy family going about their lives from the outside. I grew resentful. Packed my bags the day I turned eighteen and never looked back. Not until last week when my older brother Cody called me, telling me the family was being pressed on by this asshole IESA agent named Krueger. I knew the man because he’d been after me for a while, too, but I think your dad had been keeping him at bay. I knew if Cody was desperate enough to call me, they were in trouble. Like end-of-their-entire-crew trouble, and they had three cubs to protect.”
“You have nieces and nephews?” she asked.
“Two nephews and a niece, all towheaded Keller stock through and through. Cute as shit, and I couldn’t stop playing with them when I was there, but I sure was in a rush to get back here where I belonged. Being back in that town where everyone knew about where I’d come from just felt like it was going to suffocate me.”
“How did your brothers treat you when you were growing up with them?”
“Half-brothers. And they were upset at first. It’s a lot for a kid to accept they have this brother they’ve never heard of, and that he’s there because their father was a rat bastard of a man and not the hero they’d always thought he was.”
“Do you ever talk to them on the phone or write letters?”
“They call from time to time. I think they want a relationship, but I’m not ready. Not after everything, and not after finding such easy relationships here.”
“But they’re blood, Bruiser. Having a relationship with your half-brothers doesn’t have anything to do with how much you love being a part of the Ashe Crew. If they are reaching out to you, you owe it to yourself to respond. You were put into that family for a reason.”
“Yeah, and what about you?” he asked, his voice defensive. “You think it’s fair you were given to your dad? You can’t choose family, Diem. Not blood family.”
“Are they murderers? Are they terrible people?”
A snarl of frustration rattled against her cheek. “No. They do what they have to do to protect their crew, same as we do, but no, they aren’t murderers. The Kellers are good to the bone. I just didn’t fit in with them.”