He instantly removed his fingers from her breasts and twisted them around to grab her wrists and put them back. “Don’t move them. Don’t… Just don’t, baby. Leave them here. I can’t…”
His words made little sense, but she grabbed the sheet in her fists and nodded. “Okay,” she whispered.
He returned his attention to her breasts, teasing her nipples before gliding his fingers down her belly toward her sex. Instead of touching her there, he wrapping his palms around her thighs and pushed them open so wide her knees touched the mattress.
She should have died at the exposure. She should have protested at the very least. But the way he looked at her…
Oh. God.
The desire in his expression. It was like he was an animal in heat and she had put off some sort of pheromone that called to his primal instincts.
He lowered slowly to his knees on the floor between her legs and brought his face toward her sex, inhaling deeply. “Heather… Baby…” Every word was soft. So reverent.
His tongue flicked out to taste her, dragging briefly across her lower lips. The noise that came from his mouth was indescribable, as if he’d tasted the best delicacy on the planet.
She emitted a strangled gasp herself when he lowered his face once more and firmly pressed his tongue against her clit. In the next instant, he drew the swollen nub into his mouth and suckled it.
She stopped breathing. The blood rushed from her face. She thought she might faint, though she hoped she didn’t. If she missed out on this intense pleasure, she would be pissed.
So close to the edge… And then he released her clit and thrust his tongue inside her channel.
Heather tried to lift her butt off the bed, every muscle in her body stiffening. She was going to come. Any second.
Isaiah’s nose pressed into her clit, and he rubbed it back and forth while he lapped at her pussy.
That was it. As if an explosion occurred inside her, she came. Her tight channel grasped at his tongue, pulsing with the same rhythm as her throbbing clit. Every bit of her body released the tight coil of need that had been simmering beneath the surface since the moment he found her on the trail.
She gasped for air as the tremors subsided. He began to rain kisses on her pussy and thighs, finally lifting one hand off her leg to wipe her moisture from his face as he rose to his feet.
Was it possible to meet someone and instantly be so attracted to them that the world stopped revolving? She would not have believed it, but whatever weirdness had descended was unmistakable.
Part of her was sated and limp, but another, larger part demanded that he take off his clothes and fuck her. Now.
Chapter Six
Heather drew her arms to her sides and rose onto her elbows, lifting her head off the bed. “I need you inside me.”
He shook his head, righting himself as he cupped her breasts and teased her nipples with his thumbs. “Your tits are so fucking gorgeous.”
“Isaiah, I’m not kidding. Take your clothes off. I’m going to implode.”
He smirked. “You just came. Hard. You won’t implode.”
“I beg to differ, and besides, you did not come.”
He winced. “I’m super aware of that, but I made a promise.”
“I didn’t accept your promise. I didn’t even ask for it. Now, take off your clothes before I develop a complex from being the only one naked.” He was starting to scare her. What kind of man would or could turn down her offer? It was beyond altruistic for him to go down on her and deny himself any sort of returned favor.
He set his hands beside her head next to her ears and leaned forward to give her a chaste kiss. “We had a deal.”
“No. You had a deal. I wasn’t in on the deal.”
He pushed off the bed and stood, no longer touching her with his hands, although the way he let his gaze roam up and down her frame felt like a caress. “I can’t, baby. Not until we’ve talked. There are things you need to know about me.”
“Fine. Tell me whatever you want, but do it naked.”
He chuckled. “Naked is not going to make it easier to resist you.”
“And I’m telling you to stop resisting me. Are you trying to be a gentleman or something? Because that ship sailed.” She watched him watching her. “Or are you hiding something? A scar? A mole. I know it isn’t that you’re lacking between the legs because I can see your erection from here.”
He smirked, adjusting himself with one hand. “Trust me, I’m not lacking.”
“Talk to me. You’re freaking me out.” Her voice sounded more high-pitched.
He stepped forward, grabbed her by the waist, and hauled her ass farther across the bed. While she was trying to figure out his aim, he climbed onto the mattress, straddled her legs with his knees, and clasped her hands with his to set them once again slightly above her head. “It’s not that simple for me, baby.”
“What’s not? Having sex?”
“Yes.”
“What the hell do you mean?” Her heart pounded. He was totally scaring her now.
“I mean I’m not like other guys you’ve dated. If I fuck you, I’m going to do it with the intention of keeping you.”
“Keeping me?”
He nodded.
“I’m not a stray dog.”
He smiled slowly. “You certainly are not.” He kissed her forehead and then released her hands to sit more upright, though he still pinned her to the bed with his enormous body straddling her.
Suddenly she felt naked. Too naked. If he wasn’t going to have sex with her, she wanted clothes on. On top of that, embarrassment crept in at how he’d played her body so well while giving her nothing. “Get off me.”
He flinched.
“Isaiah, get off me. I want to put clothes on.”
He swung a leg over her, but grabbed her hand as she scrambled to the edge of the bed. “Heather…”
She jerked her hand free, grabbed the towel from the bed, and wrapped it around her middle. Without looking at him, she put tentative pressure on her left foot. It hurt. Stung. But it wasn’t bad enough to keep her from hobbling to the bathroom. She limped across the room, tipped her suitcase on its side, and unzipped it.
“You’re mad,” he stated. Luckily he didn’t approach her.
“You think?” She grabbed a pair of jeans, panties, and a T-shirt. She had no idea where a bra was, but the T-shirt would cover her enough. Two hops to the left and she was in the bathroom. She shut and locked the door before he could stop her with more weird words.
The first thing she did was drop the clothes and lean against the wall. “Fuck,” she muttered. What the hell was going on? How could she possibly have allowed someone to ravage her so thoroughly? Although, how could she possibly have expected him to not return the favor?
No man in his right mind would give that much and take nothing without a frightening reason.
“Heather.” His voice sounded from the other side of the door. “Please. Talk to me. Let me explain.”
“Give me a second.” She forced herself to sound far chipper than she felt.
A soft thump hit the door, and she imagined him leaning his forehead against it.
Fearing he might get frustrated enough to break the door, she scrambled to get dressed and then found a comb to run through her tangled hair. With a deep breath, she opened the door to find him standing in the frame.
“I’m sorry. I can explain.”
“Excellent. You can do it with my clothes on.” She bent to duck under his arm and then rummaged through her toiletries to find a band for her hair. When she stood, gathering the heavy length into a messy bun, he winced. “What? Now you don’t want my hair up either?” she joked.
He bit his lip.
“Seriously? I was kidding.” Why did he care if her hair was up or down? He wanted her naked and her hair down. Illogical.
Before she fully had the bun secured, he bent low, tucked his shoulder into her belly, and lifted her off the ground.
/> She squealed. “Isaiah. Jeez. Put me down.”
He ignored her as he carried her out of the bedroom and down a short hallway until he reached the great room. With one hand on her ass and the other on her thighs, he leaned down and set her gently on the couch. “Don’t move. I’m going to grab you some water. You have to be thirsty.”
She was. Incredibly thirsty, now that he mentioned it.
She watched his sexy ass as he strode from the room toward the attached kitchen. The two rooms were mostly connected in the enormous space. She continued to watch as he bent over and grabbed two waters from the fridge. And then he was back.
He handed her one and set the other on the coffee table. “Drink. You’re hot. You need fluids.”
She was hot. Like she had a fever. Could he feel it? Other than that, she didn’t feel sick. After a long swig of the cold water, she leaned back, turning sideways to lean against the arm of the couch and drawing her legs onto the cushion. She was careful not to jar her ankle too badly, but when she lowered her gaze to her feet, she could hardly see the swelling from earlier.
“Is your water some sort of fountain of youth? My ankle is way better than earlier. This morning I couldn’t have applied enough pressure on it to avoid death by a mauling bear, and this afternoon it’s significantly better.”
“Something like that.”
She jerked her gaze to his. “If you make one more cryptic comment, I’m going to leave this house and walk down the mountain, sprained ankle or not.”
“You can’t leave, Heather.” He lowered himself onto the couch next to her, turning to face her while lifting her legs to set them over his lap.
“Pardon?” She stiffened. Among his strange statements, occasionally he said something downright frightening.
He sighed. “You need to let me speak.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Fine. Go for it.” She pursed her lips.
“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to blurt it all out.”
“I’ll believe that when I hear it.”
A few moments passed while he didn’t look at her and seemed to be gathering strength to speak.
Several thoughts raced through her mind. Maybe he and his family knew she would die from the scratches. Or get rabies. Was that a thing? But that was irrational. People got attacked by bears and lived all the time.
Nothing made sense. If she hadn’t met his parents, she might worry he was a rapist or sex trafficker or murderer or something. But they were such nice people. She didn’t buy that.
He faced her, his hands gripping her knees where they rested over his thighs. “I’m not fully human.”
She inhaled slowly, narrowing her gaze, trying to figure out what he might mean by that. “You think you’re an alien? Like from another planet?”
He shook his head. “No. But if that’s how farfetched you want to launch the conversation, my work will be easier than I thought.”
“What then?” Maybe she should jerk out of his grasp and run from the house. She glanced at the front door and the view out the enormous window next to it caught her eye. That wasn’t all that caught her attention, however. Two bears were pacing back and forth in the front lawn.
She sat upright, gripping the back of the couch. “Oh my God.”
“What?” Isaiah twisted his head to follow her line of sight.
“There are bears in your front yard.”
“Yeah.” He relaxed. “It happens.”
“Shit. I mean I know we’re pretty far from town, but I wasn’t expecting to look out the window and see a pair of bears. How the hell do you get to your car? What keeps them from attacking you when you step outside? I didn’t think they liked to wander so close to humans.”
He sighed. “You’re right. Bears don’t usually approach humans as long as they aren’t provoked. Those two are not bears any more than I’m human.”
She twisted back to face Isaiah. The fear that had crept up her spine morphed into terror. If she could, she would jump from the couch and run, but she had two problems. One, her ankle was sprained. And two, her body wasn’t currently accepting messages from her brain. She felt like a bimbo from a horror film that stands still and gets killed while movie watchers scream at the television.
“We’re shifters,” he continued. “Those two out there, me, my family, even the bear that attacked you. All of us are shifters.”
“Shifters?” Her mouth was dry.
He met her gaze. “We can change forms at will.”
“Change forms?”
“I can become a bear. Those two out there can become human.”
“Are you trying to scare me, or are you certifiably insane?”
He cringed. “Neither. If you hadn’t gotten scratched, we wouldn’t be sitting here having this conversation, and you would have gone on with your life without ever knowing what I’m telling you.”
“It’s a damn scratch, Isaiah.” She held out her arm. Maybe showing him how inconsequential it was would help him understand his insanity.
He reached forward with his far arm and traced one claw mark from her shoulder to her elbow. “If it had been a regular bear, you’re right, you would be fine. You would never know the difference. You also wouldn’t be alone in my home, and I wouldn’t have just tasted your pussy.”
She flinched. Was now a good time to discuss having his mouth on her? She was mortified at the mere thought of having him between her spread legs now that she knew he was insane. Would he hurt her?
More importantly, there was still the matter of how many people knew where she was. No way were both his parents and his siblings all as certifiable as him. She wouldn’t buy that everyone in his family let him take her to his house alone if they knew he believed he could transform into a bear.
Crazy got crazier.
“Heather, I’m sorry you have to hear this. I know it sounds bizarre to you, but I need you to understand.”
She gripped the side of the couch, tugging her legs, but he held them firm. “Bizarre? You would describe this as bizarre?” She’d had enough. She needed to get out of there fast. She’d take her chances with the two bears out front.
Yanking her legs free, she swung them around and pushed off the couch. She bolted toward the front door, not giving a shit that her ankle screamed out in pain or that she didn’t have shoes on. She would take her chances barefoot in the cold against two of the largest bears she’d ever seen.
Isaiah was faster than her, however. He reached the door first, flattened himself to it, and grabbed for her, hauling her against him with an arm around her waist.
She screamed.
He covered her mouth with his hand. “Heather, please. Stop. You need to listen to me. You have no idea how much trouble you’ll be in if you open the front door.”
Her eyes widened as her adrenaline reached a new high for the day. He held her so tightly, there was no escape. He was too big. She could not out power him. She also couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
He held her tighter, flattening her to his front, one arm snug around her waist, the other covering her mouth.
She lifted a knee, hoping to nail him in the groin, but he dodged her at the last second. In a flash, he picked her up off the floor to cradle her against his chest as he had several other times that day.
This was different, though. This time she knew he was insane and intended to hold her hostage until he was finished with her. Would he kill her? Rape her?
Wait. Why did he not have sex with her earlier when she was still a willing captive? Was he waiting for her to fight him? Maybe he only got off when his victim struggled. Getting her naked and making her orgasm against his mouth was just cruel. Deep, insensitive, psychological games.
Without a word, he stomped through the house back to his bedroom and kicked the door shut. He nearly tossed her on the bed, climbing over her to straddle her once more. He also grabbed her wrists again and held them over her head.
At least she was clothed.
Why did the expression on his face not match the excited one she would expect from a serial rapist?
“Stop fighting me. I’m going to hold you here until you listen to everything I have to say and understand. I don’t care if it takes fucking three days. You mean too much to me for me to let you walk out the door.”
She stopped struggling, mainly because there was no sense in it. He was too large for her to escape at the moment. She needed to conserve her energy for a real opportunity.
“Everyone in my family is a bear shifter,” he started. “Our last name is Arthur, and that’s our pack’s name. The man who attacked you is from the neighboring pack, the Tarbens. We’ve been in a feud with them for a hundred years over land and water and boundaries. When I followed you this morning, I was weaving back and forth from my pack’s land to the Tarbens’.
“I knew it was risky. They get fucking angry when we cross onto their territory. But the spot where I found you was on their land. The man who wandered up was Jack Tarben. Turns out he was unbalanced and already in trouble with his people.”
Heather hardly moved while she tried to focus on this insane tale. She had no choice. And information was power. She needed to listen to him so she could use anything he said against him later.
“Attacking a human is strictly forbidden. It hasn’t happened for decades, and it’s been even longer since anyone intentionally went out of their way to maliciously attack a human like Jack did you. I tried to talk him down, but he wouldn’t listen. And then Wyatt showed up—”
She couldn’t stop herself from interrupting. “Wyatt showed up? When?”
“He was the other bear that raced past you to confront Jack. I’ll kick myself until the day I die for not stopping that asshole from clawing at you. I didn’t really believe he would do it, and we were two against one. But he got by us so fast, and it was too late. I can only hope someday you’ll forgive me.”
As a hostage, she thought it might be best if she was agreeable. “Don’t beat yourself up over a tiny scratch. It’s nothing.”
Isaiah’s head hung lower for a moment, his gaze on her stomach or his own. Finally, he lifted his face and spoke. “The reason my parents were so distressed and why I brought you here at all is because you’re going to become one of us now. It’s unavoidable.”
Grizzly Mountain (Arcadian Bears Book 1) Page 7