My body wasn’t reacting in fear, though. I was feeling way more turned on than I should be, all things considered. “I’m not. You don’t scare me.”
He gently pushed me away from him. “Go home. I mean it. You don’t understand, Daisy. I’m not good. I’m not safe.”
I gritted my teeth and set my hands on my hips. “Do not push me away again. Come with me for a walk. Please. We can talk.”
He looked like he was going to argue again, so I leaned up and kissed him. One soft kiss and then I was back on my side of the conversation. “It’s just a little walk, Michael. What’s the big deal?”
He grunted. “Fine.”
Even though it was his land, I led the way. I walked down the little dirt road, past all of his brothers, who eyed us with curious gazes, and only stopped when we were at the edge of the property. The woods were across the street and a fenced in pasture on the other.
“This is going to sound crazy. I know it is. I have to ask, though.” I sucked in a big breath and blew it out slowly. “Are you a… werewolf?”
Michael laughed. “You’re kidding.”
I frowned at him. “I’m not.”
He actually bent over, he was laughing so hard. He slapped his knee. His deep belly laughs both surprised me and turned me on. “A werewolf?”
I put my hands on my hips and stared at him. “You don’t have to laugh at me, Michael.”
When he still didn’t stop, I reached out and slapped his arm. “You’re being a jerk. Stop laughing.”
He straightened and tried to get his face in order, but I could tell he still wanted to laugh. “I’m not a werewolf, Daisy.”
“Then what are you?”
There was a long pause while he looked out into the woods and all traces of his smile disappeared. “Nothing that you should be around.”
A chill went down my spine but still I moved closer to him. I just wanted him to wrap his arms around me, but he was holding strong to his conviction not to touch me. “I don’t agree. I may not understand it, but there’s something between us. I’ve barely said a hundred words to you, but I feel connected to you in a way I’ve never felt with any person before. I know it sounds insane, but I know that there’s something here, Michael.”
*****Michael*****
Hearing her say it didn’t help me any. Knowing that she felt the connection almost as intensely as I did made it feel like it was impossible to walk away from her. She was my mate. How was I supposed to walk way?
“I just need to know. I saw what happened. I saw your eyes change and I saw the fur. I’m not going to freak out.”
I turned away from her and looked back at my family. I could hear my brothers talking about Daisy chasing me down. They were also talking about me. They were worried about me. It’d been months since everything happened with Lucas and Sammie. Months since I’d killed a man.
My shifter hearing was excellent and with the light breeze blowing their voices our way, I couldn’t help but hear them.
“Should he be alone with her?”
“Dammit, I’m not sure. He’s been so different lately.”
“We’re going to have to do something soon if the chick is going to be sniffing around him.”
I growled in their direction. It pissed me off to hear them thinking my mate wasn’t safe with me, even if it was the same thing I’d been thinking. At least John wasn’t around to give me grief. Three of my brothers talking shit about me was bad enough.
“What are you growling about? Are you sure you aren’t a werewolf?”
I looked down at Daisy, into her sincere eyes, and made the decision to be truthful with her. I couldn’t have her thinking that we were some strange family of werewolves. “I can hear my brothers talking. They’re worried that you’re not safe with me.”
She rested her hands on my chest and stood closer to me. “You’re not going to hurt me.”
My dick was working against me. It hardened painfully at her touch. I could smell her arousal and all I wanted to do was bury my face between her legs. “You don’t get it, Daisy. I could. I’m not… I’m not just the man you see in front of you.”
She nodded and her blonde hair fell into her eyes. She blew it out of her face and frowned. “I know you’re something else. I don’t care.”
“Bear. Not werewolf, bear. I’m a bear shifter, Daisy. Not just a normal bear shifter. A bear shifter with issues who can’t control his beast. I’m a monster.”
Her eyes widened, but I still couldn’t sense fear. “A bear? Wow. A little bigger than a werewolf, huh?”
I wrapped my arms around her waist and brought her into my body. I knew what I should do, but it didn’t matter. “You keep ignoring the part where I tell you that I’m no good, that I’m dangerous.”
She reached her hands up and grabbed me by my hair pulling me down to her level. “I don’t care if you’re a bear or a gosh darn unicorn. You are good and you won’t hurt me.”
“How are you just accepting all of this without blinking an eye?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. Maybe I’ll freak out later, but I just… Being next to you makes me feel alive, Michael. Colors are brighter, sounds and scents are enhanced, everything feels electric when I’m near you. Like suddenly someone flicked on the light switch to my life. Are you doing that? Is it some sort of bear power?”
I shook my head. “We’re mates. We’re fated to one another.”
“I want you now, Michael.” Her, soft, sweet, full lips pressed into mine and she forced her tongue into my mouth. Her taste exploded on my lips and I had her ass in my hands in a second. When I lifted her, she wrapped her legs around my waist and locked on.
“Don’t freak out this time, Michael.” She held my face in her hands and peppered kisses all over it. “I need you.”
I wasn’t strong enough to walk away from her again. Her taste and smell enveloped me and I couldn’t control my overwhelming desire. I crossed the road, headed for the trees. I ran with her in my arms, bouncing up and down against my dick with every stride. When I found a secluded spot deep in the woods, I stopped and dropped to my knees.
“I’m sorry this isn’t a better place.”
She was already tugging her cardigan off. “I don’t care. I just need you.”
I yanked it off of her shoulders and threaded my hands into her hair. It was so soft it reminded me of silk. I ran the strands through my fingers and watched it slip over my rough hands. “Beautiful.”
CHAPTER 6: Michael
Daisy grabbed the bottom of my shirt and pulled it up. I expected the hiss of air that came out of her mouth, but I didn’t expect the rush of her arousal that hit my nose.
I ripped the shirt off and then grabbed her hair again. “I was in an accident when I was younger.”
I knew that what she was seeing wasn’t pretty. I was covered in scars. Not just the one on my face. There were multitudes of the faint white and silver lines covering my body, some thicker than others. I usually kept myself covered because no one had ever seen my scarred body without becoming a little unnerved.
“What?” She trailed her mouth across my chest and raked her nails across one of my nipples. “What are you talking about?”
I pulled back and looked down at my chest. “The scars.”
Her blue eyes were heavy with longing, but as she traced the scars, her eyes became heated. “Did someone do that to you?”
I swallowed around so much desire that I didn’t think I’d ever be the same again. She wasn’t repulsed by me. She was angry for me. She looked like little bear herself as she met my gaze. “Yes.”
“I hope you gutted the sonofabitch.” She leaned forward and flicked her tongue over my throat. “No one else will ever look like you, Michael. There are probably millions of blonde haired, blue eyed girls out there, but no one on this planet will ever come close to you. You’re special.”
An unexpected wave of emotion hit me and I looked up at the sky as I blinked away tears. Then, Daisy�
�s little hands were on my belt buckle and I was sucked back to the present with a narrow minded focus. Mine.
She fumbled with it and growled. “Come on!”
I grinned at her eagerness and worked at removing her little dress from her shoulders. She wasn’t wearing a bra and I got an eyeful of beautiful, pale breasts. I dipped my head and took one of her nipples into my mouth. The little pink bud hardened to a peak and pushed its way into my mouth even more when she arched her back.
I growled and as she whimpered, I felt my control slipping. I tried to pull back, but Daisy caught my head. “Don’t. Stay, Michael.”
“I don’t know if I’m going to hurt you. I don’t want to lose control.”
She pushed her dress down, as far as it would go, and then placed my hand into her tiny panties. My fingers stretched them out and I almost felt bad for ruining them. Her hot wetness coated my fingers immediately and as the top of my thumb brushed against her clit, she cried out.
“Don’t leave me, Michael. I feel like I’ll die if you don’t screw me right now. Is this the mate bond?”
I didn’t know. I was just as lost as she was. My bear was raging in my head, trying to push forward. It took everything I had to keep it together. I couldn’t stop. I’d passed the point of no return and I couldn’t leave Daisy. I had to be in her.
I slid two fingers into her tight body and groaned at the noises of pleasure she made. Her body squeezed my fingers like a vice grip, and I knew if I didn’t get her used to a bigger size, I’d rip her apart when I entered her.
Daisy’s nails raked down my chest as she came apart in my arms. I could tell her orgasm surprised her by the look on her face. She screamed and then shoved her own hand into her mouth to quiet herself.
“Let it go, baby. I want to hear you.” I pushed another finger into her and then kissed her open mouth.
I looked down at myself and found that I was covered in a thin coating of fur. My bear was screaming at me. He wanted our mate. Mine. I fought him back and withdrew my fingers from Daisy. I stood up to take my pants off, desperate for her. I didn’t know how much more control I had, but I needed to be inside of her.
“Michael?”
I stripped my clothes off and picked her up. Her dress fell to the ground at her feet and I easily ripped the already ruined panties from her body. “I’m not leaving.”
I could smell that she was aroused by the way I manhandled her. Her juices were coating the insides of her thighs and I swore to myself that I’d taste her soon. First, I had to be inside her.
I turned her around and she put her hands on a thick tree trunk. “Stay there.”
She arched her back and pushed her soft, round ass out at me. “I need you to fuck me, Michael. Please.” My demure goddess was a sex kitten!
I grabbed my dick and poised it at her entrance. I knew I should go easy, but my control was slipping fast. I thrust into her in one stroke and didn’t stop until I was balls deep. She screamed out, in pleasure, and clamped her body down around mine.
I reached around and cupped her breasts in both hands as I started fucking her. It wasn’t soft or romantic, like I knew she deserved. It was rough, hard, she’d be walking funny when we were done. The animal in me wanted that. I wanted everyone around to know she’d been given one hell of a ride and that she was mine. She was mine. My bear agreed with me for the first time in as long as I could remember. He settled down and let me take our mate.
Daisy screamed my name and pounded her small fists against the tree. In just a few seconds, she was coming again. Her body was so damn responsive to me. She shuddered and convulsed.
I tilted my head back and roared, unable to use words to express how goddamn amazing it felt to be buried in my mate. I pulled out until just the tip of my dick was in her and then slammed back inside. Her walls squeezed me, almost painfully.
“Michael!” She rotated her hips in a figure eight pattern and I saw stars.
My balls tightened painfully and I knew I was close. My thrusts got even wilder and I slipped one hand between her thighs to caress her clit. I grabbed her hair with my other hand and bunched it together so I could tilt her head to the side.
With her neck exposed like that, my bear roared louder than ever. He wanted us to bite her. I recoiled at first, regarding him as the monster he’d proven himself to be, but then I realized what he wanted. He wanted us to mark her, claim her as ours.
Daisy’s pussy started spasming right then, her strongest orgasm yet, and I knew I was done for. I couldn’t hold off my own climax any longer, just like I couldn’t leave her neck bare. I needed to mark her and stake my claim to her just as much as my bear needed it.
I tilted my head back and roared at the darkening sky. My bear came forward just enough and that we sank our teeth into her neck. The enchantment that flowed through that bite finished me off. I came harder than I’d ever come in my life, filling Daisy with my semen until she overflowed.
She screamed and her knees gave out as her orgasm intensified. Her body sagged and I caught her and pressed her body against mine as the last waves of our orgasms washed over us.
I didn’t know if I’d ever breathe normally again. My body trembled as I slipped from her, spent and exhausted. Her whimper had me scooping her up and hugging her into me as tightly as I could without hurting her.
Daisy mumbled something incoherent, so I released her slightly and looked down at her. When she met my eyes, she gave me a satisfied smile and moaned. “What. Was. That?”
I kicked my jeans into something resembling a blanket and sank onto them. I pulled her on top of me and held her. “Are you okay?”
CHAPTER 7: Daisy
Was I okay? Was that even a real question? I was so far better than okay that I didn’t think I’d ever come down to Earth again. Michael had just sent me soaring to the heavens. I’d never had rough sex before, but if that was what it was like every time, I’d been missing out. Truly.
“I’m fantastic.”
He leaned down and ran his tongue over the spot he’d sank his teeth into. Wild chills of arousal washed over my body at the sensation. He grinned down at me and did it again. “I can smell what that does to you.”
I played it coy. “What it does?”
He reached down and slid his finger over my slick core. I moaned, unabashed, and kissed him. I was helpless. My body was sore and exhausted, already, but it was still willing to go another round with him. Him, a bear.
“If I’m dreaming, don’t wake me up. I want to stay here and keep having the best sex of my life.”
Michael grinned, pleased, but then his face turned serious. “I’m sorry if I hurt you. I… It was hard to keep myself in check.”
I sat up and giggled as his eyes lowered to my bare pussy. I’d never been so bold with anyone else I’d ever slept with, but I felt so safe with him. For whatever insane reason. “You bit me. Did you leave a mark?”
He winced and nodded. “A big one.”
I tried to catch a glimpse of it. “I have work in the morning. Am I going to be able to hide it?”
Another wince. “It’s…permanent.”
My eyes widened. “What? What do you mean, permanent?”
“I mean that… well, it’s a claiming mark.”
“Ok-ay, a claiming mark?”
“A shifter will usually mark his mate. To show that she’s his, that they are mated. The urge to claim you was so strong… I… Normally, a couple will discuss the marking before it happens. I’m sorry. I just…lost control.”
I was hearing a lot of stuff that amounted to him basically peeing on me. “What does the claiming mark do?”
“It makes the connection stronger. A bond. It’s also like a homing beacon. I’ll always be able to find you.”
I swallowed. “It lasts… forever?”
He winced yet again. “Yeah.”
I took a deep breath in and rolled back onto his chest. His arms immediately wrapped around me. “You’re sorry as in, you regret
it?” Please say no, please say no.
He tightened his arms and grunted. “No. You’re my mate. We were made for each other.”
“You were so scared at first. You kept running away from me.”
“Yeah, well, no one ever said I was brilliant.”
I took a deep breath. “Are you going to continue to run?”
“I don’t think that’s an option anymore.”
*
We laid like that for a while, in the woods at twilight, listening to the sounds of nature, our naked bodies warming one another against the chill. We were both lost in our own thoughts, each processing what all of this meant. It was peaceful and comforting to be lying next to him and I needed that while trying to figure everything out. He was my mate. He was a bear. He’d marked me with a bite that meant he’d claimed me as his. I squeezed my eyes shut and took deep breaths. My body got it. My body was all kinds of on board. My brain was the hold up. As much of a connection as I felt towards him, I didn’t know what to think about all of this. I was tied to him forever, if what he was saying was true. Had we just more or less gotten married?
It was overwhelming, but with his arms wrapped around me, everything felt right. The world made sense. For the moment.
Eventually, we stood up and got dressed. Michael shot me heated looks the whole time I clumsily slipped into my dress, trying not to let on that I was aware of his ogling. I still wanted him. Despite the aches in my body, I craved him.
He walked me back to my car and I handed him the chicken and dumplings while trying to avoid his brother’s stares. I didn’t feel awkward being with Michael, but I felt awkward thinking that his brothers could’ve heard us. And knowing they were bears too, probably.
“Thanks. It smelled delicious earlier.”
I leaned against my car and sighed. “I’m confused.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and then put the food down on the roof of my car before leaning in close to me. “I know.”
Rancher Bear Complete Series: PLUS NEW BONUS BOOK: Rancher Bears' Merry Christmas Page 17