by Eve Langlais
I’m happy. The feeling was unmistakable and shocking. It made her realize something; it was too late. If something were to happen to separate her and Ark, she’d hurt.
Oh hell no. She backed away from him and he turned a puzzled glance her way. “What’s wrong?”
“I care for you.”
“Is that your happy face? Because you look kind of horrified.”
“Because I am horrified. I care for you, which means you could hurt me.”
“I won’t hurt you.”
“You could.”
His brows drew together. “I wouldn’t. Unless I accidentally stepped on your foot on account when I mix tequila and beer I get a little clumsy.”
“Don’t you see what’s going to happen? You’re going to knock me up a few times and then leave.”
“Why would I leave?”
“Because who wants to be a family man? It’s a lot of responsibility.”
“Yes. It is. And? I am waiting for the negative.” He spread his hands and took a step toward her. “I think the idea of having a family is the best thing. Even better than my great-aunt Frieda’s crusted seasoned side of beef au jus.”
“Did your stomach just rumble?”
“It’s the best meal ever. Makes me hungry each time I think of it, and yet, do you know what makes me even hungrier?” He stepped close enough that she could reach out and touch him. “You are a temptation I can’t resist.”
“Until you get bored.”
“Is that a challenge?” His lips curled. “I accept.”
“This isn’t a joke, Ark.”
“I wasn’t laughing. I will make you happy, koukla, and I won’t ever leave.”
“Do you really think it could last?” Could she hope for the kind of happy she saw within his family sleuth? Was it possible to have a happily ever after?
“I know it will last. I dare you to try.” He dared her to trust.
And she had to wonder, should she let fear decide her life? Her mother had lost love and then chose to mourn that instead of finding herself a new partner in life. Her mother wasn’t lonely because her dad left. She’d spent her life lonely because she feared trying again.
I don’t want that to happen to me. Being brave and taking control of her life started now by taking a risk. By jumping in eyes wide open and with two hands grabbing him by the shirt, and kind of tossing him.
Okay, maybe not so much toss as heave to the side, and being a smart bear, he grinned as he hit the mattress. He brought Jade down with him. She landed atop with a squeak.
“Ark!”
“Shhhh.” His lips pressed against hers. Pure heat. She melted but, at the same time, was resolved to even the score. Last time it had all been about her pleasure. Poor Ark never got a turn. And the man had saved her. Surely that deserved a thank-you.
How about the real reason she wanted to pleasure him? Because I want to.
From the first moment she’d met him, she wanted to maul him. To—she reared back and held herself upward with one arm extended. The tip of a finger on her free hand traced down his body, bumping over the ridges of muscle. She stopped at his waistline.
“Think we could get caught?”
“Possibly. Are you going to let that stop you?”
Snap. She tugged at his jeans and popped the first button. “Nope. But try to be quiet, would you?” She said it low and teasing, and she inched down his body, putting herself on hands and knees, ass up, facedown, her chin dragging down his torso, her lips nipping at the fabric of his shirt, clipping the flesh underneath.
She reached his partially unbuttoned pants. She nuzzled the exposed skin but was foiled by the edge of his briefs. Tight black briefs.
She wanted to see them and rose on her haunches. Her fingers nimbly took care of the remaining fastening to his pants. She worked the fabric open and then tugged it down. He helped her by hoisting his hips. His hands were laced under his head. He regarded her with hooded eyes.
A big man. Straddling him only made that fact glaringly obvious. For the time being, he still wore his shirt, but it couldn’t hide the breadth of him, the corded strength. That was a definite quiver down below in her girly parts.
“Take off the shirt.”
He didn’t argue, just stripped it before lacing his fingers again under his head. It pulled the muscles of his upper body into sharp definition. Her fingers lightly pressed against his flesh, dragged down, the nail tip a pressure on his skin.
A tremor went through him and she smiled. Then smiled wider as he said, “You are so beautiful.”
And she was still fully clothed. He didn’t look at her body, but at her. That deserved a reward. She removed her shirt, leaving her in only her bra and jeans.
A low growl rolled out of him. The deep vibration caused another quiver.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m getting close, koukla.”
“Close to what? Unleashing the beast?” She grinned as she leaned down, lips close enough to blow hot air against the thin cotton that hid him from her. “I’m ready.”
Her fingers gripped his underpants and tugged, stretching the tight fabric further to release him. There was so much of him to release.
A cock like his deserved a moment of admiration. He wasn’t circumcised, which gave him excellent size. He was long, so beautifully long, and thick. His shaft projected straight with only a slight curve at the end.
She couldn’t wait to feel it. Quiver.
The mushroomed head beckoned, fully blushed. She leaned forward and dragged her tongue over the head.
Grawr.
Another rumble went through him. And her next lick tasted sweet.
Like honey.
She sucked at the head, hard strong pulls, and he groaned. His fingers found her head and cradled gently. So gently he was taut with the strain. He wanted to take control. This was a form of torture for him.
Good.
She licked down the length of his very long dick, and she circled his sack as she reached the base and squeezed.
His hips bucked, and she made a humming sound of pleasure. Squeezing his sack, she licked back to the ridged head. She sucked the tip before taking him into her mouth, pulling that long, hard cock of his as deep as she could. It wasn’t deep enough. He was much too long. She let go of his balls and wrapped her hand around him. She needed two hands. And still her fingers couldn’t touch. So much man.
She started squeezing and releasing, a rhythmic caress to go with the sucking. That caused him to lose his cool. His fingers threaded almost painfully, but she welcomed the sharp tugs as he helped her to rhythmically bounce her lips up and down. The force of her suction grew harder, and her hands fisted him tighter.
Down she slid, her teeth grazing the length. Back up, the flat edges of her teeth dragging over the edge of the head. Down she bobbed again, and his whole body rumbled, shivered, tensed.
She watched him, her gaze fascinated by the play of sensations on his face, his mouth open, his breath panting, his whole expression showing him on the edge of ecstasy. Contorted features as he held on to that edge, not losing himself yet in the bliss.
She wanted him to stop holding back. Eyes locked to his face, she devoured him, pushing herself far, farther than before, and then sucking harder, and harder on the way back up. Her cheeks hollowed as she suctioned, and his body shuddered and shook.
He was still holding back.
And she was so incredibly horny now. As in pussy wet and throbbing, in need of him inside her.
Her hands went to the waistband of her jeans. “Help me get these off.”
Rip.
She blinked, and her pants were gone. “Did you just seriously ruin my favorite pair of jeans?”
“But you said to remove them.”
“In one piece.”
“I’ll be careful with the last layer.” His fingers tugged at the elastic on her panties.
Her lips curved wickedly. “Those you can rip.” And they were gone
before she’d popped the “p” on “rip.”
She was also flipped onto her stomach, facedown in the pillow and her ass yanked into the air. He nuzzled her, the tip of his tongue swiping her already swollen lips.
“There’s my favorite honey,” he grumbled against her flesh.
To her disappointment, she was only treated to one lick. Apparently he had other plans for her. Harder plans.
The head of him nudged her sex, teasing her. A short tease as he simply dipped his head a few times before pushing into her, stretching her with his thickness, delighting her with his length. He kept sinking and sinking inside her, and she couldn’t help but moan into her pillow as her fingers curled into the blankets, looking for purchase. He stopped. She could have cried.
She trembled all around him, her channel having mini spasms of delight. Deeper. She needed him deep deeper. She rocked back against him, drawing him farther into herself.
Yes. Oh yes.
She let out a whimper as he pulled out, slowly leaving her, only to then slide back in, faster, deep, bumping against that sweet spot inside. Out. Then in again. A pumping rhythm that drove him deep. His fingers dug into her ass cheeks, spreading and holding her so that he might slap his body in and out.
The orgasm coiled in her, each thrust, each grind, tightening her pleasure. Until it was too much. She crested, her lips parted in a scream with no sound. A wave went through her, a clenching and releasing of her muscles. Especially in her sex. Her body squeezed him so tight. Over and over. And he let out a sound as liquid heat bathed her channel.
He shuddered against her and in her. He drew her up against him, their bodies intimately joined. He pulled her bared flesh against his and pressed his lips against the curve of her neck and shoulder. Soft kisses, a rumbled, “You’re mine.” Then he bit her.
CHAPTER 15
“What do you mean because that’s how it’s done?” Jade held her shoulder and glared at him. She looked glorious.
And naked.
All naked. Mine.
“I marked you.” Said with some smugness.
“No kidding. Am I going to need a rabies shot now? Tetanus?”
“I’m not diseased.”
“Says you. You’re not the one with a giant hole in your body.”
The skin had to be broken to make a proper claim. “It doesn’t hurt that much.”
“How would you know? You weren’t the one bitten.”
“Yet. I am ready for my turn.” He canted his head to the side, exposing his neck. “Make it nice and high so everyone sees it.”
“I am not biting you.”
“You’re not?” He might have pouted. He didn’t jut his lower lip for long though, as a pounding came at the door.
“Cousin, is your mate in there with you?”
“Is he serious? Who else would be in here?” she hissed as she dove for her open suitcase and some clothes. “And how did he know you were here?”
“Where else would I go when they caused that diversion?”
“They had a food fight so you could have sex?”
He grinned. “They did. You’ll have to thank them.”
Bang. Bang. Bang. “I can hear you in there. We have a problem. It looks like the pregnant one is gone.”
Jade froze, leg in the air over her pants. Horror turned her features ashen. He, on the other hand, found himself dealing with disbelief. Surely no one was brazen enough to attack Ruby here.
He hopped out of the bed and went to the door, opening it to see his cousin Antoine. “Where is Ruby?”
“Gone. Apparently she wandered away and made it outside the ranch gates at the end of the driveway. She caught a ride with a guy driving a Lincoln Navigator.”
A rich vehicle like that, Jade could think of only one person Ruby might agree to meet. “Xavier took her. He took my sister. You said she was safe.” The accusation in her tone stung.
“She should have been.” He glared at Antoine. “How the hell could that have happened? I thought you and the boys were watching her.”
Antoine held up his hands. “I was. Swear on Nana’s tombstone. She said she had to pee. Next thing I know she’s gone and all I’ve got is surveillance footage.”
“She can’t be gone. You don’t understand. He’s obsessed with her. Once he finds out she’s pregnant and it’s not his, he might hurt her or the baby. You need to find her.” Jade turned a pleading gaze on him. “Please, Ark. Help me.”
Of course he would. That went without saying, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t twist this to his advantage. And yes, he knew doing this while she was vulnerable was wrong. So fucking wrong, but … he never claimed he was a good bear.
“I’ll find her if you promise to bite me when I bring her back.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” She pushed away from him and planted her hands on her hips. “My sister is in danger and you’re going to blackmail me into scarring you for life?”
“Yup.”
A shoe came winging his way and he swerved to the left. Antoine got it in the chest.
“If you won’t help me, then I’ll call the cops. It’s what I should have done in the first place. I don’t know what possessed me to come here. I should have stayed home.” She spun to march off, to where he didn’t know.
He grabbed her before she realized she couldn’t leave. “You came here with me because you know we belong together. Because you know you can trust me.” He pulled her close. “I will help you find your sister.” His head lowered until his words practically stroked across her lips. “But first a little kiss.”
As if anything between them thus far could be called little. And she might have muttered a brusque “Fine,” but her lips were soft and pliant as they pressed against his. Her touch explosive. The scent of her divine and the taste even better.
He might have groaned a bit. Possibly growled. He definitely grabbed her in a bear hug. He lifted her off the ground, and she wound her arms around his neck while her legs wrapped around his waist. Her mouth devoured his with as much insistence as he showed. Her breath panted hotly into his mouth. His hands palmed the fullness of her cheeks, and he ached to throw her down on the bed and sink into her glorious depths, pumping and—
“Ahem, if you two are done practically fornicating in front of me, shouldn’t we find Ruby?”
It was at this point, given Jade’s pink cheeks and averted gaze, that he realized he was still kind of naked. He took care of that while asking a few questions of his cousin. “You’re sure it was Xavier who took her?”
“The gate cameras are pretty high tech. They capture a lot of detail. You know a lot of dudes who sport a completely white Mohawk with a giant tribal tattoo of slashing claws wrapping up his neck?”
That certainly sounded like Xavier. Ballsy, given they’d confiscated his plane from him already and sent him home to his pride—on a bus.
“Is he trying to start a war?” Antoine asked.
“If she’s his mate, he’ll do anything.” Ark knew it was what he’d do.
“We have to get her back.”
So, for the second time in less than a day, the bears mobilized and converged on a place downtown. A motel to be exact, where they found a very naked couple. One of whom was very pregnant.
Only one person was truly shocked.
Jade planted her hands on her hips and uttered a very indignant, “Ruby, how could you? He was engaged to another woman.”
“I love him.”
“He stalked you.”
“Only because he loves me too.” Ruby bestowed a sappy smile on him.
Ark could have gagged.
“What about the fact you’re pregnant with another man’s baby.”
“No, she’s not.” Xavier leaned back completely at ease, and laced his hands behind his head.
Jade’s gaze narrowed. “Someone better explain.”
“So here’s the funny thing, turns out he was at that party too, and you’ll never guess what he was dressed as.” R
uby couldn’t help but grin as she tossed the biggest irony of all at them.
“You mean he … But…” Jade couldn’t seem to form a coherent sentence.
Ruby beamed. “The man I slept with was Xavier.”
“But he never called you?”
“Because he lost my number. The lipstick smeared and since we were in disguise and never exchanged names, he didn’t know who I was.”
Xavier took over the narrative. “But I looked for her. It took me a while but I found her.” Xavier laced his fingers through hers.
“Then why didn’t you tell her it was you at the party?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t see the need. Not to mention I didn’t want Ruby to think I was the type of man who casually indulged in sex. From the moment I scented her, I knew she was mine. So when I found her again, I didn’t say anything lest she think I was crazy for hunting her down.”
“I would have thought it romantic,” Ruby said.
This time Jade gagged.
“We were together and happy. Until my ex-fiancée got involved.” Xavier scowled.
“He really did dump her, but she’s crazy Jade. You should see the texts she keeps sending.”
But Jade didn’t appear ready to accept things. “Why did he wait so long to find you?”
Xavier replied. “Car accident. A bad one. Totally my fault too. I was so upset at Ruby’s leaving that I had too much to drink and got behind the wheel. I paid the price. I shattered a good number of bones in my body when my car hit the tree. The doctors put me in an induced coma for a while. But as soon as I was released, I went looking for Ruby. And found her.”
More sappy smiles and nose rubs only served to turn Jade’s lips farther down.
“So that’s it? You guys are together.”
“And we’re getting married. Hopefully before the baby is born.” Ruby flashed a diamond so big, it was a wonder she could lift her hand.
Ark made a mental note to get a bigger one.
For some reason their happiness snapped something in Jade. A good thing the motel kept everything bolted down because Jade did her best to find something to throw.
Ark let her rant and rave as he carried her out and sent his family home to resume celebrating.