by Julia Mills
“Et tu, Peace, et tu?” was all the Guardsman said as he tried to hide his location from the others. But they already knew and rounded the corner of the clinic just to catch him dead to rights waiting to catch a glimpse of Annie.
“And there he is,” Lenn chuckled, punching Declan, the medic and Joe Friday of their clan, in the arm while adding, “Which means you owe me a fifth of MacAllens. Told ya’ he’d be here waiting for his mate to return from physical therapy. The boy is just plain love struck.”
Jumping up from the picnic table while adamantly objecting, Brannoc had spat, “Can’t a guy get some fresh air while he’s working without being harassed at every turn?”
“Harassed?” Lenn laughed out loud. “Is that what we’re doing?”
Opening his mouth to speak, Brannoc’s defense was cut off as Pearce jumped in with, “And the only fresh air just happens to be behind a certain clinic that a certain bear shifter is presently calling home?”
“Sounds like love to me,” Rory added, rounding the corner sporting a sly grin. The youngest of the O’Reilly brothers had been a serious pain in the butt for most of his life. He was always the jokester of the bunch and never took anything seriously, but since he’d found his mate, a beautiful Phoenix named Claire, he had been positively insufferable. If possible, love made him even cockier.
“Shut up,” Brannoc growled, sensing Annie’s approach and wanting nothing more than to disappear and take his brethren with him before she heard what his brethren were saying.
Pushing his glasses to the top of his head, the Guardsman slammed his laptop closed, tucked it under his arm, and had just stood up when his mate appeared in bear form, shaking the leaves from her fur and chuffing at Calysta. Just the sight of her stopped Brannoc in his tracks. He could only stand and stare as she walked past, changing back to human form, in a pair of jeans that perfectly cupped her amazing bum, before reaching for the handle to the back door of the clinic.
His fingers tingled with the need to feel her long dark hair as it fell down her back gently brushing the small of her back. His heart ceased to beat when she paused, looked over her shoulder, and smiled a breath-taking smile. Annie was everything he’d ever dreamt of and so much more. Now, all he had to do was get up the nerve to do more than stand around like an awkward teenager and gawk at her.
Unfortunately, his brethren had once again witnessed his lack of suave as Lenn called it, and were laughing so loud there was no doubt Brannoc was the butt of yet another joke. Unable to deal with them for another second, the Guardsman took his work home and spent the next few days in seclusion.
Decoding the files detailing the O’Baoill’s experiments was a slow, tedious job but one Brannoc was glad to do. There was no doubt the information would lead to helping shifters less fortunate than his mate; those still dealing with the traumatic effects brought on by their time as lab rats at the hands of psychopaths. File after file, photo after photo of the inhumane torture shifters of every species endured, made both man and dragon glad that the O’Baoills were all dead and buried and most of their followers along with them. He worried about the hunters who’d escaped but had faith he and his brethren would hunt them down and gladly deliver their own brand of justice.
The sound of his phone ringing had the Guardsman taking off his reading glasses and stretching as he pulled his cell phone from the pocket of his jeans.
“Brannoc, it’s Calysta,” the Grande Priestess’ whisper came in response to his hello.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“I just wanted you to know that Niall and Camille have given Annie the okay to return to her family.” There was a slight hesitation and then, “I haven’t seen you in a couple of days and wanted to make sure you knew what was happening.”
“Oh,” was all he could say as the air rushed from his lungs and his heart skipped a beat.
She’s leaving…
“I’m probably overstepping my boundary here, but I know Annie will want to see you before she goes. She hasn’t said anything, but I can tell she’s been looking for you.” Calysta cleared her throat. “She needs you, Brann.”
“Yeah, but…”
“But, nothing.” The Priestess’ whisper had turned into a scolding tone as she went on. “Yes, you are going to have to spend time apart. She needs her family, the woods she grew up in, and familiar surroundings without the distractions of a mate around to complete her healing, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t need you. It simply means you have to wait a bit longer. Now, get off your butt and get over here. Don’t make me send Maddox to get you.”
At the thought of Calysta’s mate, the Guardsman they called the mad dragon, appearing at his door and literally dragging him to the clinic, Brannoc quickly agreed and within the hour was striding toward his mate. They spent a beautiful day together walking in the woods behind the lair, talking about absolutely anything and everything, and getting to know one another better.
At the end of the day, when it was time for Annie’s last treatment, Brannoc had reached down to hug her goodbye only to find her soft hands on his face and her lips pressed to his. His bear had said with her kiss what neither one of them had been able to articulate all day. Answering in kind, the Guardsman let his mate know how much she already meant to him and that not even time and space could separate them.
Breathless and never wanting to be without her, Brannoc had pulled back, looked deep into her eyes, and whispered, “Take as long as you need. I’ll be right here waiting.” He brushed his fingertips along her cheek and into her hair, where he laid his index finger on her temple and added, “Remember, I’m only a call away.”
They had kissed again and when he finally walked away, the Guardsman knew she would be taking a piece of him with her. The next day as they said goodbye and he watched her walk into the forest, Brannoc had faith they would be reunited. Fate would not be denied. The dragon would have his mate; it was the waiting that just might kill him.
“Are you going to moon over my sister the whole way to the cave?” Tabitha’s words pulled Brannoc from his memories back to the reality of the present.
“I’m not mooning over her,” Brannoc quickly denied. “I was just thinking about the last time I saw her.”
“Well, you’re thinking so loud you’re giving me a headache.” The bear stopped and looked over her shoulder, the setting sun highlighting the blonde streaks in her hair and making her look even more like Annie. Motioning forward with her thumb, Tabitha continued, “We’re less than a mile from the caves, so, if you don’t want the older bears hearing everything you’re thinking, you better cool it. They have like super-mondo mind reading abilities and don’t give a hoot how or when they use them. I guess when I get to be three hundred and forty, I won’t give a shit either, but it’s damned unhandy for keeping secrets, if you know what I mean.” She grinned, the expression making her look a bit less angry. “I remember the time…”
But he never found out what she remembered as a scream tore through the quiet of the forest, followed immediately by the shaking of the trees as a male grizzly roared with malicious intent. Acting on instinct and blowing past Tabitha, Brannoc raced toward the ruckus, bellowing, “I’m coming, Annie!”
Chapter Two
Momentarily stunned by the sound of her mate’s voice, Annie barely missed the swipe of the huge grizzly’s paw in his bid to trap her in his grasp. She saw her mother and grandmother beginning to shift and her sisters running to light torches in the fire but knew there was little they could do to save her from the male bear’s attack. He had smelled the scent of her heat and had come to stake his claim.
Twisting to the right, the female bear used the small handholds and rocks to climb the rock wall while avoiding her attacker’s treacherous claws. Struggling onto the outcropping just beyond the male bear’s massive reach, Annie stopped cold as Brannoc raced into the cave. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of her mate. His light green eyes burned with rage as he took in the scene before him. Sh
e could hear his thoughts as if they were her own; the need to attack, to defend his mate, was a living, breathing entity within him.
Their eyes met at the exact moment the scent of her heat reached Brannoc’s senses. Shock painted his aristocratic features as his pupils dilated and his nostrils flared. Swaying on his feet, her dragon involuntarily took a step forward. Visions of their naked bodies intertwined as her mate soothed the ache deep inside her burst through Annie’s mind. Her already needy body burst into flames. Her nipples pebbled. Her heart raced. Her body readied to be one with her mate. Of their own volition, the bear’s thighs clamped together in an attempt to stop the flow of her arousal as her scent filled the cavern, driving the rampaging bear into a frenzy of snarls and claws that had him tearing at the stone wall beneath her.
With a shake of his head, Brannoc’s focus immediately switched to the grizzly. Annie watched in awe as he raced forward and, from one breath to the next, her man became dragon. Prisms of blue splashed upon the cave walls as the sun danced off his glittering scales. His impressive body filled the space between the outcropping she occupied and the mouth of the cave as the mighty beast lowered his snout and nudged the growling bear in the behind with the tip of the ferocious horns covering his muzzle.
Roaring, the grizzly stood on his hind legs and spun around, his claws at the ready to battle whoever dared interrupt his mission. The acrid scent of burnt hair filled the cavern as the bear’s rage turned to unadulterated terror. A high-pitched yelp echoed through the chamber as he stood motionless, taking in the dragon who not only made his nine-foot height look petite, but outweighed him at more than four pounds to one.
Backing away, the male bear pushed his hindquarters into the stone wall as the claws on his back paws ground into the cavern floor in his bid to escape the apex predator before him. Annie stood motionless, holding her breath as Brannoc’s dragon lifted his head, opened his enormous jaws, and with a roar that shook the very rock she stood upon, blew a thin fiery stream of dragon fire at the bear’s feet.
Jumping straight into the air to avoid the flames, the grizzly landed on all fours to the right of where he had started. No sooner had his paws hit the ground than he was little more than a blur of dark brown fur speeding through the dragon’s legs and out the entrance of the cave.
Deafening silence echoed throughout the chamber as Annie watched the impressive blue dragon once again become the handsome Guardsman who had stolen her heart all those months ago. She couldn’t help but smile at the look of satisfaction and pure male bravado on his face as he looked her in the eye and whispered, “See what happens when I leave you alone,” directly into her mind.
Unable to resist the pull of her mate with the hormones of her heat overloading her system, Annie jumped from the outcropping, closed the distance between them, and without a word, slammed her lips to his. Demanding entrance, she sighed when Brannoc did as she needed. Her tongue invaded his mouth, tangling with his, wanting, needing to devour him. Climbing his body, she moaned low in her throat as she wound her legs around his waist and his fingers gripped her ass.
His denim-covered erection teased her center as she ground her body against his. Her fingers wound through his short dark hair, holding him close as she ate at his mouth. Her dragon denied her nothing. He allowed her to take control, eagerly following her into the fiery depths of the arousal her body demanded be quenched.
Goose bumps rose all over her body as Brannoc’s calloused hands slipped under the soft cotton of her T-shirt. Annie tore her mouth from his, gasping, “No, not here.”
Switching to the mind speak that was unique to Dragon Guardsman and their mates as the need to be one with Brannoc once again became overpowering, Annie panted directly into his mind, “Passageway on the left, last grotto on the right,” as she also showed him the map etched in her memory.
The sounds of her family as she and her mate rushed by were mere whispers in the distant as desire unlike any she’d ever known set her aflame from the inside out. What had been a small ache for the last week was now a mass of undeniable wanton desire and the need to feel Brannoc moving within her, filling her as only he could.
No sooner had his feet crossed the threshold than Annie pulled her lips from his, unwound her legs from his waist, and slid down his body, the tips of the claws of her bear tearing through the skin of her fingertips and ripping the shirt from Brannoc’s chest. Scratches, marks of her possession of the man she not only loved but desired above all other, slashed across the granite planes of his torso. Her fingers fumbled with the button at his waist while he tore the clothing from her body as his jeans and boxers finally puddled around his ankles.
Brannoc’s hands left fiery trails of longing down her back and across her hips as he relieved her of her bra and panties and pulled her naked body to his. Stepping out of his boots and kicking his clothing aside, her dragon lifted her into his arms, took three long strides and once there, tossed her into the middle of her king-sized bed piled high with pillows and blankets.
Moving as he joined her, Annie got on her knees, and after throwing her long dark hair over one shoulder, looked into the light green eyes of her lover and demanded, “Take me like you own me, for I am yours and you are mine, now and forever.”
Needing no more persuasion, Brannoc was immediately on his knees behind her, his hands on the cheeks of her ass with his cock pressed against her wet, throbbing pussy. Pushing back, the bear growled as she tried to force her mate’s erection into her needy body. Her dragon’s fingers pressed into her heated skin as he ordered, “Slow down. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“But I need you. I…” Her words were cut off as Brannoc shoved three fingers deep inside her and began thrusting in and out with powerful strokes, bending the tips of his fingers in order to tease the sensitive bundle of nerves at the top of her channel on every swipe.
Higher and higher her arousal grew. Mindless, Annie was lost to the lust created by her dragon. The need to climax became overwhelming as she met Brannoc’s hand stroke for stroke. Panting, sweat covering her body, the bear rolled her hips at the same time her mate pushed his thumb against her swollen clit. An orgasm unlike anything she’d ever known burst from inside her. Stars filled her vision. Her own screams echoed throughout the grotto as Brannoc pushed her higher and higher, only stopping his sensual assault when her head fell forward onto her hands.
Tiny shivers racked her body as her mate slowly removed his fingers and teased her opening with the tip of his cock. Once again, desire bloomed within her. It was as if the last few minutes had never happened. Her body longed to be one with its mate; needed to feel him filling her as no other ever could.
Brannoc’s fingers bit into her waist. His breathing became little more than pants as he slowly, inch by inch, worked his erection into her contracting body. Annie’s arms shook, her legs quaked, and her pussy pulled her dragon deeper and deeper into her body until finally, she felt the tip of his cock against the mouth of her womb.
Sighing as one, the couple held still for several heartbeats, savoring their connection. Annie had never felt so complete, so loved, so fulfilled in all her years. Her heart soared as Brannoc’s emotions mirrored hers and he whispered, “Ta’ mo chroi istigh ionat, mo iompróidh beag.”
Pulling back until only the head of his erection remained within her, her dragon thrust back into her over and over and over again until only the sounds of the flesh loving one another could be heard. Annie screamed Brannoc’s name again and again like a mantra to the Universe who had seen fit to create him just for her.
Leaning forward, Brannoc covered her body with his while his hands cupped her swaying breasts, kneading her already hardened nipples to almost painful points as his cock drove in and out of her. Pain mixed with pleasure. Annie was lost to all that they were together. She felt another climax roaring to its completion.
Brannoc’s cock buried deep inside her, his hands on her breasts, and his lips at her neck all sent the bear into sensual
overload. She wailed, “Bite me! Mark me! Make me yours!”
Meeting her dragon thrust for thrust, Annie screamed her orgasm to the Heavens just as Brannoc’s canines broke the tender skin at the base of her neck and he roared his release against her skin. It was nothing short of explosive and all together miraculous. The world around her went from bursts of colorful lights to total darkness that only the feel of Brannoc kissing away the sting of his bite awoke her from.
Moaning at the loss as he let his still semi-erect cock slide from her body, Annie immediately sighed as Brannoc’s strong arms lifted her from her knees and placed her head on the pillows. Finally working up the strength to open her eyes, the bear smiled as she gazed into the eyes of her dragon. The tips of her fingers traced the gentle curve of the satisfied smile that graced his kissable lips.
Her body tingled where his fingers danced across her cooling flesh as for the moment, the fire of hormones had been slaked. Annie touched the mark Brannoc had left on her skin. Her eyes slid shut as the scent of their love making filled her senses and her bear purred within the confines of her mind to have been claimed by its dragon.
Only Brannoc’s soft masculine chuckle shook her from the euphoria. “Don’t go to sleep just yet, mo stór. Although what we just shared is nothing short of miraculous, and I look forward to repeating it many, many more times throughout our lifetime together, I think we need to talk. Why was that bear trying to claim you? Our bond has already been opened. Our mating is a foregone conclusion. How did he even know you were in heat?” He stopped, and then with a furrowed brow, quickly added, “Wait, how are you in heat?”
Deciding to go with humor and pray that her dragon had a sense of humor, Annie propped her head on her hand and grinned. “Did I forget to mention that I’m the next Matriarch of the Golden Bear Sloth and the only one in history not to be mated to another bear?”
Seeing the usually light green of her mate’s eyes darkening and his smile turning to a frown, Annie pulled the sheet around her naked body, hopped off the bed, and after taking three steps backward added, “And…that the males of our sloth have decided to screw Fate and take me by force?”