“Nope, it’s so strong I am having trouble resisting the pull of it right now.”
“Then don’t resist,” she said, but he saw the uncertainty on her face. Their mate was brave, she was courageous, and he wanted to kiss her so very badly.
Stepping forward, he placed his hand on her cheek, stroking her skin just as she had stroked his fur. In the same way he sent shivers through her body, he felt the tremble of her excitement and smelt the scent of her arousal. She wanted him.
Leaning forward he pressed his lips to her, tasting her, as if she was the finest of wine, so sweet, an elixir that made him complete. Sliding his tongue along her lower lip, he then pressed to open her mouth and their tongues entwined. Her knees went weak, and he wrapped his arms around her to keep her upright.
Then with a groan he bent down and picked her up, carrying her further up the hill until he found a grove of trees where they could be private. There he laid her down on soft fallen leaves, and moved to lie beside her, his body touching hers.
He was going to ask her if she was OK, but instead, she placed her hand on his cheek and then pressed her lips to his. This bear was not complaining. He kissed her back, his hand going to her bottom and drawing her close to him, letting her feel his arousal.
Her hands stroked his chest, setting his soul on fire. This was what he wanted, her lying next to him. Scrap that, he wanted to be inside her, for them to be joined together, two mates moving as one. Joshua’s hands moved to the hem of her thick sweater and lifted it up. She struggled out of it, shivering in the cold mountain air, but he would warm her up, and he tore his shirt off, pressing himself closer to her body.
But she still had her shirt on, and so he quickly took that off too, staring at her perfect breasts as he did so. He wanted to taste those too; damn it, he didn’t know what he wanted first. He settled for unclasping her bra and letting her breasts spill out, his hands cupping them gently, his thumbs brushing over her nipples.
She squirmed, and he released her right breast, using his hand to slip down between them, and he stroked her mound through her jeans. She gasped, pressing harder against him. With his thumb, he put the right amount of pressure on her clit, and she lifted her leg, placing it over his thigh so that he had better access. But the access he wanted meant he was going to have to strip her naked.
Sitting up, he moved to unbuckle her belt, but she asked, “Here?”
“Why not? Or are you too cold?” Was he being selfish wanting to make love to her here in the cold air?
“What if someone sees?” she asked.
He lifted his head, letting his sense roam, “There’s no one around for miles. I can tell.”
“Just like that you can tell?” she asked.
“It’s a bear thing,” he said. “And something else that’s a bear thing is my body heat, I can keep you warm.” He undid her belt, then her jeans and inched them down over her thighs, kissing her stomach, and then lower, as he took her jeans off.
“These will have to go too,” he said, and pulled her panties down, before kissing her inner thighs.
“Oh, I am not used to this,” she said, and then he kissed her clit, and she added, “But … I sure could … get used to it.”
Her hands fisted his hair as he licked and nipped her clit. He spread her thighs wider, and dipped his head down, inhaling her sweet, sweet scent before kissing her clit and then probing her sex with his tongue.
“Fuck,” she said, drawing her knees up. He pushed them back down, using his weight against her knees to keep her thighs apart while he indulged himself in making her come. She writhed under him, her hips bucking as he drew every last drop of her climax from her. He licked, kissed, nipped, and probed her sex until she could bear it no longer and she cried out, her voice high like a wounded animal.
“I need to be inside you,” he said, as her orgasm subsided. She urged him to lie between her thighs, not speaking, but they didn’t need words at this moment, it was just the two of them in the world, and they were connected; he thought she felt it too.
Inching into her, he breached her outer lips, and then the head of his cock was fully inside her and he thought he had died and gone to heaven. She was so tight, and her inner walls gripped him like a warm, wet sheath. Deeper he pushed, and she yielded to him slowly, but she was so tight and the friction was so intense he wasn’t sure how long he could keep himself together.
Clamping his mouth around her nipple, he sucked and licked it until she raised her knees up, tilting her pelvis forward, creating a different angle, one that seemed to increase her arousal, and he knew she was going to come too. In and out he moved, penetrating her completely with each stroke of his cock.
Her hands clutched at his back, her nails scratching his skin as she let go and came around him.
Joshua plunged into her, his body tensing as he jerked his seed into her, filling her with his essence. He called out her name, promising her the earth, the sky, and a future where they would always be together, until he collapsed down, utterly spent.
Chapter Seventeen – Olivia
“I am so pleased everything worked out for you and Joshua,” Chloe said.
“Me too, Chloe,” Olivia looked up and smiled at her friend. “There, perfect.”
“I’m so nervous,” Chloe whispered.
“You’ll do great, and now I have a mate of my own, I can tell you will be in safe hands and even if you mess up every line, he will love you forever anyway.” Olivia thought of Joshua and how happy they were now, with everything resolved.
“And Joshua is going to move here, to Bear Bluff?” Chloe asked.
“That’s the plan, I think he wants to hatch some kind of business with Nate.”
Chloe sighed. “That would be good.”
“We might even go into the wedding planning business together. I can see now why Marjorie wants to set a dating agency up for shifters. Must be hard when they have to find their perfect mate, you know, their fated mate.”
“Yes. And you can handle the weddings, because you know all about their other sides.” Chloe sighed again. “I think we are all going to be happy.”
“Yes. We are.” Olivia handed Chloe her bouquet. “All ready. Your dad is waiting downstairs.”
They left Chloe’s bedroom, with her friend taking one last look back at it, before pulling the door shut. “I can’t wait to be Nate’s wife.”
“Then let’s not keep him waiting.” They went downstairs together, and there was Chloe’s dad looking all misty eyed at the bottom of the stairs.
“You look stunning,” he said. And then through tears, he added, “Your mom would be so very proud.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Chloe said, and went to him and gave him a kiss.
A knock at the door drew Olivia away, with the worst kind of feeling that it was going to be the caterers or something with a problem. If today went wrong, then this might be the end of her wedding planning career. But when she opened the door she was shocked to see the two people standing there.
“Yvonne.” That was about all she could manage to say, before she collected herself and added, “If you’ve come here to upset Chloe, then please go back down the drive and out of her life.”
“I haven’t driven for hours to make trouble. Not on my niece’s wedding day. No, I’ve come to give her this.” Yvonne opened a small box and showed Olivia the pearl choker that Chloe’s mom had worn on her wedding day.
“Really!”
“Yes. My daughter, Clara, pointed out I was being a stubborn old fool. I want to make Chloe happy. You were right, none of this was her fault.”
“I think you should come in and give it to her yourself,” Olivia said, knowing how happy Chloe would be, but not sure of how things would go between Yvonne and Chloe’s father.
Awkward. That was the best way to describe it. Awkward but civil, neither wanting to spoil Chloe’s special day. So they could act like grownups, after all.
“Aunty Yvonne,” Chloe threw her arms ar
ound her aunt and hugged her. “This is wonderful. How did you know? Oh, I am so sorry I didn’t invite you.”
“No matter. Your friend here came to see me; she said you wanted to wear something of your mother’s on your special day. I was too pigheaded at the time to say yes. But Clara gave me a bit of a talking-to. It comes to something when you are put straight by your own child.” She opened the box and showed the choker to Olivia, who promptly burst into tears.
“Oh, my makeup,” she said.
“Don’t worry. I made sure everything was waterproof, it shouldn’t run.” Olivia fetched a tissue and Chloe dabbed at her eyes. “Now, I hate to rush you, but we have a wedding to get to. So if you wouldn’t mind helping Chloe put this on.”
“Of course, it would be an honour.” Yvonne took the choker out of the box and went to stand behind Chloe, doing the clasp up. “There.” And then she caught a glimpse of her niece in the mirror. “You are so much like your mom.”
“That’s what Dad said.” Chloe threatened to burst into tears again.
“Well then, we agree on something,” Yvonne said, and the ice seemed to break.
“I can’t thank you enough,” Chloe’s father said.
“Yes, well, I wouldn’t want Chloe to be unhappy on her wedding day. Right, we need to get to the church.”
“And so do we,” Olivia said, ushering them all out of the house with one last look at her own reflection, making sure her sky-blue dress was perfect and her hair wasn’t out of place.
Then they got into the cars and headed to the church, where Nate was waiting for Chloe with Joshua standing next to him. Olivia felt her heart lurch. She only had eyes for her big old bear, whose blond hair was combed back from his face; his blue eyes twinkled with mischief, and with a large dose of love too.
For her.
A man loved her, and as Nate and Chloe said their marriage vows, she only hoped that one day it might be her and Joshua standing here together, promising each other their love and loyalty.
***
“I thought it went well,” Joshua said, they were dancing together, a slow dance, after a long day of celebration.
She rested her head on his shoulder. “Me too.” Stifling a yawn, she said, “I am ready to go to bed.”
“Sounds good to me,” he said, and his hand stroked her back, touching her naked skin, sending shivers down her spine. “Although I’m not sure I want to go to sleep yet.”
His touch woke her senses. “I don’t think I’ll be up for anything else by the time I get to bed. It’s still another hour until the bride and groom leave. They are saying their goodbyes now.”
“Then that gives us some time.”
“For what?” she asked, but he took her hand and led her off the dance floor. “Where are we going?”
“When we were outside in the garden earlier, I saw this little arbour, hidden from view.”
“You’re not suggesting…” She let the words hang in the air.
“Why not?” He turned to look at her, and then pulled her into his arms, kissing her fiercely. “I’ve wanted to do that all day.”
She swayed a little, and then decided it was time to live a little, to reward herself for the effort she had put into the day; no one would miss them for a minute, or twenty. “You are a bad influence.”
He let her go, her lips still tingling from their kiss. “I hope I am very bad.”
“Big bad bear,” she teased.
They reached the arbour and he leant her against the back of it, and lifted her up, pushing her dress up around her thighs. Then he slowly pushed her panties aside, and slid a finger into her sex.
“Oh,” she said, as he slid it back out before pressing deeper, this time with two fingers.
In and out, he brought her arousal to its peak, while her legs gripped him and her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. She humped his fingers, trying to get them deeper inside, but then he whispered, “I’m not going to let you come. I want to be inside you when you do.”
She heard his zipper undo, and her sex clenched in anticipation of him impaling her on his thick cock. His hand brushed her clit as he guided himself into her, the head of his cock breaching her outer lips, and then stretching her as he thrust forward, one quick, slick movement.
Joshua wasn’t going to take it slow; he wanted her, hard and fast. Feeling awake, and alive, she let the thrill of the threat of discovery take hold of her while he lunged in and out of her. Every little sound making her worry they would be discovered.
But no one came, no one except her and Joshua anyway. His teeth grazed her nipple though her dress, while he pressed his thumb against her exposed clit. It was too much, and she came, her sex pulsing around him, and she bit his neck, as she tried to stop herself crying out.
The sharp pain made him jerk forward, and then his cock spurted its seed deep inside her, his orgasm covering him, owning him here in the garden of the hotel.
“Damn, I needed that,” he said, and she giggled.
“You make it sound as if I was an alcoholic beverage.”
“You are more intoxicating than anything I could ever drink,” he said, letting her slide down to the floor and then kissing her gently. “And so much sweeter on my lips.”
“A girl could spend her life listening to those kind of things and never get tired,” she said.
“I hope so.” He kissed her and held her close, before taking her hand and saying, “We should go back inside.”
“Yes, we should, they’ll be leaving soon, and then I am definitely going home to bed … to sleep,” she added when she heard him groan with desire.
“Pity,” he said, kissing her neck, and then pulling away. “There’s always tomorrow.”
She laughed, happy to be here with him. He had chased all her fears away; she had dreaded feeling lonely today. Dreaded being here without a boyfriend. Now she had got something better: she had got a mate.
As they slipped inside, Nate and Chloe were just finishing saying goodbye to their guests, and when they saw Olivia and Nate, they headed towards them. “There you two are, we were looking for you.”
“We needed some fresh air,” Joshua answered. “It was getting hot in here.”
“We are leaving, and we just wanted to say thank you to both of you. For everything,” Chloe said, hugging first Olivia and then Joshua.
“Have a great trip,” Olivia said.
“We’ll be back in a week, I’m sure you two can keep busy while we’re away.”
“I’m sure we can,” Joshua said, putting his arm around Olivia and pulling her close.
“Right,” Chloe said. “Time to throw the bouquet.”
She walked across the dance floor, and all the single women gathered around. “Aren’t you going to try to catch it?” Joshua asked.
“No, I don’t need to, I’ve already got you.”
“Isn’t catching the bouquet supposed to mean you are the next to get married?” Nate asked.
“Yes, it is,” Olivia said, but she felt kind of stupid, as Declan had told her the bond between her and Joshua was stronger than any marriage vows could ever be. Still, she would have liked to have worn his ring on her finger.
A cheer went up. The bouquet had been caught and Nate left them to go and talk to Chloe. Joshua moved in behind her and put his arms around her.
“You know what?” he asked.
“What?” she said, leaning back on his shoulder.
“I think I might have your next wedding lined up. If you want to plan one,” he said.
“Of course I do.” She turned around in his arms. “Is it someone I know?”
“Yes,” he said and kissed her softly. “Olivia, would you do me the honour of being my wife? I don’t have a ring yet,” he added quickly.
“Yes, a million times, yes.” And then he kissed her, and the world erupted into flashes of bright light and she knew he was the man for her, and that fate had stepped in to make sure they found each other.
“Fated and
Mated,” she said as their lips parted.
“What?” he asked.
“That’s what Marjorie should call her dating agency!”
“I like that,” he said. “Now, can we get out of here? I think you need to be mated again tonight.”
“You know, I think you’re right. I’m not so tired after all,” she said, her body brimming with excitement at the thought of being Joshua’s wife. The big polar bear took her hand, and she was thankful for everything she had, and that everyone was happy; and she knew she would be for the rest of her life, with Joshua always at her side.
Fated and Mated
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Chosen by the Karal
Deceit
Love
Power
Hunger
Devotion
Warriors of Karal
Stranded
Found
Taken
Shifters Prime
Sleeping Lions
Living a Lion
Bear Creek Clan and Bear Bluff Clan
suggested reading order
Complete Bear Creek and Bear Bluff Box Sets: Including brand new exclusive book Best Man Bear Page 89