And making love was the next thing on Trent Savage’s agenda.
Chapter Fifteen – Trent
Always a confident man, it was hard for him to accept the nervous feeling that came over him. He was about to make love to his true mate for the first time. His prowess in bed was well renowned; it was why so many women wanted him to sleep with them. Yet faced with his true mate, his confidence had vanished. He felt as though he was fumbling around like a virgin. OK, he had made her come with his fingers and mouth, but what if she didn’t like it when he actually penetrated her? He might be too rough, or not rough enough. Had his foreplay prepared her for what was about to happen? Or would he shock and hurt her?
She lay beneath him, looking up at him with trust; what if he betrayed that trust or couldn’t please her? What if she didn’t climax? A wave of insecurity swept over him, and he felt, for the first time ever, his erection fade.
“Make love to me, Trent,” she said, her hand stroking his cock. Her touch was like an aphrodisiac; his cock immediately came back to life, begging to be inside her. But first, he let her stroke him, enthralled by the sensations of her small hand on his bare flesh. He closed his eyes, allowing the sensations to flood his senses.
Her touch, her scent, those little sighs in his ear. They were parts of her that he would treasure, little signs that she was uniquely his. In danger of coming before he entered her, he stilled her hand, guiding his cock towards her. The first touch of his skin against her outer lips made him pause. Damn, he would have to fight for control. Easing forward again, he breached her outer lips, pushing deeper, feeling her slick heat around him, accommodating him.
“Ahhh,” he groaned as he pushed deeper, feeling her yield to him. Yet she was so tight around him, he could almost sense her stretching for him as he pushed inside her inch by inch. She gasped, and clutched him close to her, burying her face in the hollow of his collarbone. He had broken her, so easily, and yet she tensed around him. Slowly he moved back out of her, and then flexed his hips to plunge into her harder, wiping the pain away with pure pleasurable sensations, which made her gasp.
In and out, his hips moving in a slow steady rhythm. Once he felt her relax, he stroked her hair from her face, kissing her pale cheeks and then her red lips. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Here beneath him where she belonged, her black hair strewn across his pillow, while her green eyes sought his for comfort, for reassurance, he knew he was the luckiest man alive.
His hand stroked her breasts, his mouth found hers, and with every part of him he worshipped her body, bringing her to an orgasm which left her trembling around him. She cried out, her voice in his ear while he moved deeper and deeper inside her, his cock erupting to send his seed deep into her womb. His need for a little bear cub was almost overwhelming him. She was his, and she would be the mother of his children
Leveraging his body, he thrust into her, hard now as he let his bear free. His bear needed to take her in the most primal way, to jerk hard and deep into her, while her sex throbbed and pulsed around him. His bear wanted her to know who ruled her body, who it was that would accommodate her every desire, her every wish. And when her climax eventually subsided, leaving her breathless beneath him, he knew by the look in her eyes that he had finally made her understand that.
Chapter Sixteen – Willow
She woke up next to him. This time she didn’t try to move away from him, in fact she pressed her body closer to his. “Good morning,” she said, for once not scared of what the day might bring.
“Good morning to you.” He kissed her head and then sat up. “I hate to rush you, but the sun is shining. I think we could make a run for it.”
“You mean leave here?” Her good mood disappeared. “And go where?”
“I have to get back to Bear Bluff,” he said, then saw her worried face. “It’s my home, so now it will be your home.”
“But we could just stay here for a couple more days,” she pleaded. She knew it was stupid, but this was the only place she had ever felt able to be herself. As he had said, even in Bear Bluff she would have to keep her panther a secret. What if she lost control again?
“I have a business to run.” He sat down on the bed and kissed her on the mouth, igniting her passion once more. “Look, I need to go and arrange another delivery for Tony. It worried me that they won’t be prepared, if this is just a small break in the storm.”
“I understand. It was kind of you to offer to let him pay you later.”
“They are good clients,” he said, retrieving his clothes.
“Don’t sell yourself short, it’s more than that.”
“OK, you’ve got me, I have a soft heart for the cougars. That has to stay between us, though. If it got out, I would be bankrupt. Everyone would want credit.”
“Why special treatment for Cougar Ridge, but not your home town?”
“Because I like it here. I like that they are open about who they are. But it means that their economy suffers. Many of the other towns have tourists to bring in seasonal money. They have businesses that operate globally. But here, it’s a very close, tight community. Which means not so much money.”
“I see. Well, I never knew a bear could be quite the businessman.”
“You would be surprised.”
“So does that mean you will hire me?” she asked.
“You don’t need a job, you are my woman.”
She burst out laughing. “Isn’t a woman allowed to have her own money and not be reliant completely on her husband?”
He stopped, his sweater half on and half off. “You’ll marry me, then?”
“Oh,” she said, trying to back-pedal. “I’m not trying to force myself on you. Perhaps you don’t get married when you’re … one of us?”
“Of course we do. It’s just I haven’t got you a ring. I never expected this.”
“That’s OK. I never expected you to carry one around in your pocket or something. But I would like that. I think.” She sat back and thought about it, not sure where that had come from. “I think I need to know that when we have children, and I know we didn’t take precautions last night, that they won’t grow up without parents.”
“Of course they won’t. We will both be there for them.”
Tears pricked her eyes and she wiped them away. “One day, do you think it would be possible to track mine down?”
He came and sat next to her. “I will do what I can when we get back to Bear Bluff to make enquiries as to where the panthers might be. I don’t know if they are scattered or if there is a panther town, but we’ll look, I promise you. And our kids will always know who they are and the gift they have.” He wiped her tears away and kissed her lips. “I’m sorry, I’m rushing you. If you want we can stay a while. Things won’t fall apart if I’m away for one more day.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you, Trent. I think I’m ready to leave now.” Perhaps it was time to face her fears; with Trent by her side, she could do anything. But she was going to insist on that job, or find something else to do.
“I will meet you out front. I have to talk to Tony and then check the truck before we go. Take your time.” He kissed her quickly and, with only a brief backward glance, left her alone.
Willow flopped back down onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. Her life had completely changed in the space of a day. Instead of being lonely and friendless, she was going to go and live with, and probably soon marry, a man who could change into a bear. She giggled, her laughter erupting and taking over her as if she had hysterics.
Maybe she had died out there in the snow and she was living in a make-believe world. But when she closed her eyes, she could feel the panther under her skin, wanting to run free. No, those feelings were real. This was her life, and for the first time since she had learned she was adopted, she actually felt as though she was going to belong to someone, and somewhere.
“Bear Bluff, here I come,” she said, as she jumped out of bed and headed for the shower.
>
Only twenty minutes later she was out in front of the bar, her pack filled with her belongings, ready to go back down the mountain. “You’re sure it’s safe?” she asked.
“Absolutely. Marv sent a couple of his men down to check the road. The sun did its job. There are a couple of slushy spots, but apart from that, it’s clear. We’ll take it slow and be back in Bear Bluff by lunchtime.”
“Let’s go then,” she said. “Thanks for everything.” She shook hands with Marv, who had come to see them off. Willow was surprised to see Trent had attracted no young women this morning.
“They all know he is spoken for,” Marv said, reading her thought as she looked around. “Heard the great old bear roaring yesterday evening. The women here know what that means.”
“I can’t say I’m disappointed,” she said, “I don’t know if Trent feels the same way, though.”
“I am relieved.” Trent came up behind them and joined in the conversation. “All I have to do now is let them know in Bear Bluff, and the sooner the better. I am looking forward to a quiet life.” He opened the passenger door for Willow, and helped her inside his truck. Nerves took hold of her; she was about to go and meet all of Trent’s friends. Would they be disappointed she wasn’t a bear?
As Trent got in and smiled at her, she realised it didn’t matter to him what she was. He loved her all the same and that was all that really mattered. Surely, his friends would be happy for him.
But she had to ask, “What will they think of me? Will they accept me?”
“A panther. You will be the one and only, so expect some questions and challenges.”
“Challenges?” she asked uneasily.
He laughed. “Yes, they will no doubt take bets on who can outrun the panther. But it’s all good natured.”
“I’m still going to be the freak, then?”
“Not at all. Many people like me marry ordinary humans, and Hal over in Bear Creek married a wolf. Now, that has to be worse than a panther.” He wrinkled his nose in mock jest. Then said seriously, “There’s no discrimination; you will fit in just fine.”
“Especially when I get a job and make friends.”
“I thought you were going to work for me?”
“You didn’t seem too happy about the idea.”
“I gave it some thought. Nothing would make me happier than having you at my beck and call 24/7.”
“So I’ll be your PA?”
“If that’s what you want to call it.”
“I’m serious, Trent. I don’t want a token job. I’m good at advertising.”
“Really?”
“Yes. What did you think? I was some airhead who just made coffee?”
“No. But it occurs to me I know nothing about you.”
“Tell me about it. In any normal world, when do two people move in with each other within days of meeting? The fact that you are going to take me home and no one is going to ask any questions is kind of bizarre.”
“That’s just how things work here. I look forward to sharing my home with you; goodness knows I’ve waited long enough.”
But what they didn’t know was that there were going to be questions asked, and answers to be given.
Chapter Seventeen – Trent
Trent had built his business with pride. Even outside of bear country, he was recognised as one of the best value and reliable haulers. It had given him all the material things he could need, but it had never provided him with the thing his heart desired. His mate.
Yet now all of his hard work and dedication was about to pay off. The house he had designed and built himself, with the prospect that one day he would bring his woman home, was the perfect place for a family. And when he saw the look on Willow’s face as they made their way up the drive, he knew he had been right.
“Like it?” he asked, opening the car door for her. They had gone back to his yard and dropped the truck off. After half an hour of answering calls and rescheduling work because of the snow, he had allowed himself the rest of the day off. He had been relieved to get back into his car and drive home. Wanting to savour every moment with Willow on her first day in Bear Bluff.
“It’s … awesome. This is all yours?”
“Yes. All of it. I bought the plot of land and built the house some years ago.”
“You started young.”
“Willow, one other thing I should tell you, is that you will start to age slower as the years go by. I can’t see it wouldn’t be the same for panthers as it is for bears. I am a couple of hundred years old.”
She stopped, her mouth open in shock. “What?”
“Yes. My first yard had a horse and cart.”
“How? I mean the town and stuff?”
“We blame it on the water.” He grinned. “Most humans don’t live here their whole lives; those that do, well, they get to the point where they know something is different, but they can’t ever put their finger on it. Those we trust know about us anyway. We muddle through, is what I’m saying. But you should know.”
She touched her face and he knew that this was one of the biggest shocks so far for her. “So my parents are how old?”
“No idea. You are young, but they could be hundreds of years old. Might make them hard to trace. But later I’ll run and talk to the sheriff. Declan is a good man, he will help as much as he can. I can always ask our clan leader, Stuart McCormac, too.”
“A clan leader. Is he like the mayor?”
“Something like that. But don’t worry; we will have little to do with him. Except the day we get married. He officiates over all Bear Bluff weddings.”
For a moment, she turned from him and looked up at the mountain, which stood silent and unmoving above the Bear Bluff skyline. “Do you know how preposterous this all sounds? That if I didn’t know this was real, I would think I was insane.”
He came and put his arms around her. “I don’t see it like that, because I have known what I am all my life. I know it will take some getting used to. But later, once we’ve had lunch, we’ll go up onto the Bluff and run in the snow.”
The snow had not melted up on the peaks; he wanted to introduce her to the thrill of running free. They could head out soon, safe in the knowledge that no one from Bear Bluff, apart from others like them, would be anywhere near the mountain. Declan would have put up warnings about how dangerous it was to venture up there in the cold weather. It kept all but the hardened explorers at bay. And those he could usually sense long before they came into view, and in that way avoid them.
“I’d like that. I want to practice changing as much as possible so that I can control it better.”
“Then I will show you around quickly, before we go and let off some steam.”
“I thought your idea of letting off steam would be sex.”
He held her close, pressing himself against her. “That comes afterwards. When your adrenaline is pumping and the blood is quick in your veins.” He couldn’t wait. In reality, he might prefer to go inside now and make love to her in his bed first. But he could see by the way she looked longingly at the mountain that she wanted to explore the wilderness around them. And he wanted her to be happy.
Chapter Eighteen – Willow
“So it’s definitely safe here?” she asked.
“Yes, there is no one around. And if there is, they can’t see us in here.”
They were standing in a small thicket of trees. It seemed a little close to town, to Willow, but Trent insisted it was fine. Maybe for him. What if she made a mess of things and ran the wrong way, back into town? Her nerves made it harder to imagine her panther. Which made her panther upset, it paced along the edges of her mind, desperately wanting to be free. She felt like telling it to behave, but if she spoke the words aloud, he might think she was crazy.
“Relax,” he said smiling and taking her hand. “Just let it all go.”
“I’m trying. But so much tries to come in. Thoughts of Ollie, my parents, you speaking to Declan—it seems to have set off
my paranoia.”
“It’s all fine. Take a deep breath. Concentrate. See your panther and then go to meet her.”
With his soothing words in her ear, she managed to keep the image still long enough to be able to step into it. Instantly the world around her shimmered as if in a heat haze, and then there was nothingness for a split second before she came back to the world where Trent was waiting for her.
“Wow, so much better.” With that, he shimmered out of existence and then she sensed the bear appearing. When he was standing, whole and complete in front of her, she turned to take her first tentative steps up the mountain. She knew the tail would take a little to get used to, but she had anticipated having to learn how to walk again like a baby.
Behind her, she was sure that if bears could laugh, then Trent was laughing. It gave her the drive to conquer her panther in every way. Soon she was jogging along, so light on her feet. Then she managed to jump onto a boulder. Pouncing back down and batting him with her paws, just like a cat.
Soon they were running up the track, Trent loping along by the side of her. The ground disappeared so fast, although her breathing became a little laboured. She needed to get fit, but this body was so much lither than her human form, even in her present state she felt on top of the world. Especially when they stopped and looked down over Bear Bluff, which was now like a small toy town beneath them.
If only she could speak, tell him of her joy at this moment. They had travelled so far up the trail and the snow was under her paws, the cool wind in her fur and the late afternoon sun disappearing in the distance. This moment, standing with her mate here on top of the mountain, took away all the bad things that had happened to her. Maybe he was right; this was what fate had wanted for her. It was almost as if she had gone through a trial by fire just to get here. It made her enjoy the moment so much more.
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