The Bear’s Chosen Mate

by Vivian Arend

“Go slowly. That makes sense.” She swallowed. Dipped her chin. “Can I touch you?”

  Oh, hell yeah. He reached over his head and grabbed his T-shirt, stripping it off and tossing it aside. “Be my guest.”

  Since this was supposed to be a slow seduction, he didn’t insist she do the same. Instead, James waited as Kaylee placed her palms against his chest. Such a gentle touch as she began to explore, but every nerve was sensitized and alert. Anticipation built as she scratched her nails lightly, not even aware her breath had hitched a notch.

  She stroked again, her eyes widening as a low growl he couldn’t control rumbled up from deep inside.

  He watched her. Breathed deep and took in as much of her scent as possible. Felt every tremor that stole up her body, leaving her fingers quivering.

  James lowered his hands to her hips, gentle yet possessive. Anchoring himself, more to make sure he didn’t grab her so tightly that he hurt her than anything else—

  He’d regained his control, but it was a tenuous thing.

  The edge of her T-shirt had ridden up and his thumbs brushed bare skin. As her palms drifted over his chest and shoulders, her gaze fixed on the point of contact between them, he tortured himself by sneaking his fingers against her. Skin-to-skin contact. The smallest bit.

  She dragged her palm over the stubble on his chin, a small smile twisting her lips. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

  Sadness still haunted her eyes, and he needed to do something, stat. Needed to get her to stop tormenting herself before the protective instincts inside him let the bear loose again.

  “You’re thinking too hard,” he told her. “Let’s do something about that.”

  He eased forward just enough that she had to move closer to meet his lips in the middle. When she did, it was him who felt the shudder rack his body. His skin came alive as he took her taste into his mouth, happiness and joy in the motion as if the lightness that was her soul was dancing on his taste buds.

  He’d said she was perfect, and as the kiss deepened and Kaylee slid her hands over his shoulders and down his back, bumping their torsos together, he knew it was true. He’d never felt this before. Never felt this deeply or fully.

  Sexual craving and the urgency to be inside her was like a white-hot coal in his gut, but the realization his best friend was smooching with him, with flashlights providing ambience, made him smile against her lips.

  It was sexual but also fun. Just like them.

  Their torsos were close enough her nipples poked against his chest, the hard tips blatantly obvious.

  Kaylee twisted her head enough to break contact, dragging in a breath before letting it out in a soft sigh against his cheek. “Not thinking so good anymore,” she informed him.

  “More,” he demanded.

  She reconnected their lips, but at the same time, she reached down and took hold of his wrists. The kissing was a nice distraction, but he hated letting go of her hips.

  The tugging of her hands was too insistent to ignore. Still, James was about to grumble when Kaylee reached her destination, and his mental circuitry fried out.

  She’d pressed his palms against her breasts.

  “Goddamn it, Kaylee.”

  Even to his own ears his voice sounded one step shy of begging. He understood completely when Kaylee laughed. “I thought you said you wanted more.”

  Challenge fucking accepted.

  He touched her, and she groaned in pleasure, head falling back as her fingers tightened, nails digging into his wrists.

  He rolled his finger and thumb again, teasing her nipples like he’d done a moment earlier. “I did. So do you.”

  Her breathing picked up a notch, a pulse beating frantically at the base of her throat. The entire time James pinched and tugged, holding the heavy weight of one breast in his hand as he tormented the other.

  The agenda said go slow, but it was impossible to not do the next thing. He shoved her T-shirt up, exposing her skin. It only took a second to jostle her into position to wrap his lips around the tight peak.

  “James.” His name was a moan of need.

  Pulling off with a gentle pop, he licked the tip then blew across it.

  Kaylee wiggled in his arms, rising up on her knees. Helping put herself into a position where he could play more easily.

  Awesome. Like magic, her T-shirt was gone, and he had both hands and his mouth on her. Kaylee let out a squeal, clutching his head.

  There might’ve been a bit of teeth involved this time.

  “Oh, James. Yes…” The word echoed as she hissed in pleasure. He sucked again, hard enough to draw a gasp from her lips.

  He could do this all day, and sometime, he would. But the way she was squirming over him said his woman needed something more than this playing, as delightful as it was.

  He buried his face between her breasts and took a deep breath, catching hold of her hips again.

  A little sound of need rose from the back of her throat.

  “It’s okay, Kaylee Kat. I’ll take care of you.” Another promise. One he was desperately looking forward to keeping.

  He pressed her legs farther apart until she was spread wide over his thighs. Then he caught hold of her hips and dragged her closer. Watching as her eyes widened again and her mouth pulled into a small O of pleasure.

  “Feel good?” he asked with a grin.

  What came out of her mouth wasn’t coherent, but it was understandable. He rocked her again, dragging the core of her sex over the lead pipe bulging in his jeans. When he leaned in just the slightest bit, their torsos rubbed as well, her nipples dragging over the hair on his chest.

  Kaylee caught hold of his shoulders, biting down on her bottom lip as she joined in and rocked against him, helping drive their pleasure higher.

  He took her lips, possessing her mouth greedily even as the pressure on his cock stole up the back of his spine. A tingling sensation that was familiar and yet brand-new. Her tongue tangled with his, her fingernails digging into his shoulders as she pulsed frantically, trying to reach the pinnacle.

  He released one hip so he could bring his hand up to her chest and catch hold of a breast again, squeezing one tight tip between his thumb and forefinger. His other hand pressed firmly against her lower back as he ground himself against her.

  All finesse vanished. This was a frantic, wild motion between the two of them that was perfect and dirty and desperate.

  Kaylee’s head dropped back as a cry escaped her lips. Her body pulsed against him, heart racing loud enough to be a drumbeat in his ears.

  He pulled back far enough to stare into her eyes, and that’s what made him come. The carefree, absolute pleasure on the face of the woman he wanted to be his forever.

  9

  K isses brushed across her cheeks and jaw. Hands stroked her breasts lazily before dropping to caress her thighs. Her brain wasn’t working very well, but all the other parts of her body were in tip-top shape. It didn’t matter that some of the bits and pieces hadn’t seen a lot of use lately.

  They all had worked just fine, thank you.

  James pressed his lips against her temple. “How’re you doing, Kaylee Kat?”

  He expected her to be able to speak? “Huh.”

  A long low chuckle escaped as James stroked his finger along the side of her neck. Tracing downward until his hand rested on the swell of her breast. “Me too,” he agreed.

  “If we have to be stuck in an elevator, I guess it’s not so bad.”

  His laughter increased. “Are you saying you’re suitably entertained?”

  “Well,” she began thoughtfully. “It’s not quite as entertaining as the Marvel marathon you promised, but it’ll do in a pinch.”

  A small shriek escaped as he literally pinched her butt and murmured a teasing warning. “Behave.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” Kaylee pressed her palms to his cheeks, examining his face carefully. “Are you okay? I don’t know what to expect with the fever and all.”

>   He shrugged. “I’m not too sure myself, but we’ll be okay. Now that you’ve stopped avoiding the inevitable.”

  She’d stopped fighting him, but the worries remained. Temporarily boxed up because everything inside her still screamed it wasn’t fair for James to be stuck with her.

  But timing was everything. Once the truth became clear, they’d have to deal, but right now she was going to do everything she could to make sure he didn’t suffer, to make sure he knew exactly how much she cared about him. It was the only thing she could think of to help ease the coming trouble.

  Kaylee stroked her knuckles over the rough bristles on his cheek. “If there’s anything else you need, let me know.”

  He cocked a brow. “Even though we’re still trapped in an elevator?”

  She sighed. “Like you said, we could be here for a while. I don’t want you to suffer.”

  “Me neither. I think we should go find a hot shower and a soft bed for the next round.”

  It wasn’t very ladylike, but she couldn’t stop from snorting. “Sure. Let’s get right on that.”

  A second later she was in the air again—damn bear—before being settled on her feet. She reached into space to catch her balance, but James was there, holding her tight until she was steady.

  “Wait here,” he ordered, sliding her hand to the solid metal of the elevator.

  She leaned against the wall.

  He scooped down and rummaged around in the backpack for a moment before moving to the elevator doors. He slid an oversized screwdriver into the slim slot between them and applied pressure until the narrowest gap appeared. With sheer brute strength, he slid the doors apart, darkness looming on the far side.

  Kaylee stepped tighter against the wall. “Do fail-safe double redundancies still work when you open the door and—oh my God, what are you doing?” she shrieked as James scooped her up in his arms.

  The low light from the flashlights in the corners cast eerie shadows on his face as he grinned, carrying her toward the deathtrap of an opening. “Heading for a bed.”

  She screamed as he stepped off into nothing—

  A second later he absorbed the shock of landing, and she opened her eyes to discover they were standing in a dimly lit hallway. Behind them, the elevator doors stood open, the floor level with James’s waist.

  Kaylee lifted a fist and smashed it on his chest. “You bastard. You scared me to death.”

  Only she was laughing, and so was he as he reached back into the elevator. He grabbed one of the flashlights and passed it to her. “I really wish the security cameras were working, because watching your face right then would’ve been priceless.”

  “You’re lucky I didn’t pee my pants,” she muttered.

  A loud burst of laughter escaped. “You’re hysterical, Banks.”

  “I should be hysterical,” she said, resting one arm around his neck and extending the other arm forward so the flashlight illuminated the hallway. He strode toward the emergency exit with her cradled in his arms. “This is all moving a little quickly, and you did just throw us out of an elevator. I thought we were about to plunge to our deaths.”

  A low growl escaped him, and Kaylee shivered.

  Good grief, what was it about his growling? Or more to the point, what was it was doing to her libido? Sure, there was tons of lingering sexual tension between them, but the sound drove her way past anticipation as fiery heat slid over her skin.

  She glanced at his face.

  “Since we’re going back to my apartment to continue to enjoy the mating fever, I hardly think I’d do anything stupid to mess that up. I want you, Kaylee, and now there’s nothing to stop us.”

  Not even, it seemed, nine flights of stairs.

  “I. Can. Walk,” Kaylee said between bounces as he rushed upward.

  He ignored her, running with her in his arms at a pace that far outstripped anything she would’ve been able to do. So…win?

  They reached the top floor, and he shouldered opened the door to his suite without letting her go. There were signs everywhere of her rapid escape, including soggy jeans abandoned on the floor.

  James stepped over them and headed straight for the back of the apartment. When he stepped into the bathroom, she laughed.

  “I feel as if we’ve done this before,” Kaylee teased. “Maybe even earlier today?”

  He put her down. “I hate to admit my memory is a little foggy.”

  Oh. “The mating fever.”

  He turned on the shower and steam began to rise. “It’s funny. I can tell it’s there, but it’s not muddling my brain like it did earlier.”

  “Your bear was pretty hard in charge,” she told him. “And while I like that side of you…” Oh dear. There wasn’t really any polite way to say this. “You’re not always the sharpest tool in the shed when you’re in that form.”

  He was stripping away her clothes, and his, then bringing her into the shower with him. “It’s not an insult. I don’t think many polar bears get smarter in their animal form. Better at scenting, yes. And fighting, if it involves brute strength. I think most shifters are smarter in their human forms.”

  I’d disagree with that, her cat commented even as she purred smugly, gloating at the heated contact between James’s naked body and Kaylee’s.

  Be quiet, Kaylee scolded.

  Then all conversation, internal and otherwise, was over. James had something on his agenda other than talking, and in a matter of moments, Kaylee was breathing way too hard to be able to speak.

  He touched her delicately. Reverently. As if she were a precious gift he hadn’t expected to receive.

  As the heat flared in his eyes, his touch became more possessive. His fingers gripped a bit harder, his caress got a little needier.

  James loomed over her, her shoulders pressed hard to the tile. He had one arm over her head, his gaze fixed on hers.

  “We’ve never done this before,” he reminded her right before sliding his hand down to cup her sex possessively.

  The squeak that escaped was embarrassing, but a little less so than the moan that followed hard on its heels as he slipped his fingers between her folds. She was wet—and it had nothing to do with the shower.

  His smile was beyond cocky.

  “You smell delicious,” he informed her.

  Her response was stolen away on a gasp as his thumb pressed hard against her clit and he slipped two fingers into her core.

  Kaylee wrapped her fingers around his forearm, not to keep him away but because—

  Oh my God, she didn’t know why. She needed to hold on to something or she was going to melt away and disappear down the drain.

  “So wet. So slick and tight.” James hummed happily as he pulled his fingers back then plunged in again.

  She really had no say in the matter because telling him she didn’t want this would be a lie, and it was obvious stopping was the last thing on his agenda. The look of delight in his eyes as his gaze remained fixed on hers was as amazing as the pressure building in her core.

  “James,” she whispered, her legs trembling so hard only the fingers inside her were keeping her upright.

  “It’s okay,” he assured her. “I’ve got you. I need this.”

  That made two of them. Under her fingers, the muscles of his forearm continued to flex. Bands of steel rotating like a mechanical fucking device made specifically for her pleasure.

  He sped up, fingers going deep and finding the perfect spot inside her to send her shooting off into space. Her core clutched his fingers, while the sounds and scent of sex rose into the steam around them.

  Her legs were still shaking when he dropped to his knees, and suddenly it was his tongue on her, teasing her clit as his fingers continued to torment her, and what she thought was an end became the start of a whole new orgasm. Faced with too much pleasure to keep still, her thighs rattled against the wall behind her.

  James pressed a hand across her belly to hold her upright, but he didn’t stop and neither di
d her orgasm.

  He ended up catching her as she slipped toward the ground, swinging her into his lap in a repeat of the position they’d been in earlier that day. Only now, they were both naked, and the thick length of his erection pressed against her clit.

  A hard pulse struck inside her core. A continuation of her earlier orgasm? Kaylee didn’t think she’d stopped, but as mindless as she felt, she knew what she wanted right now.

  There was little doubt that he’d enjoy it too.

  No need for a condom—with no sexual diseases amongst shifters, and her birth control, there was nothing to do but rise up on her knees and reach between her legs to catch hold of his thick length.

  James swore and then his fingers were on her chin, lifting her gaze to meet his. “Kaylee.”

  She angled him backward, rocking her hips to cover the tip with her slickness. “I’m very glad you didn’t do something stupid like tell me it would be okay to wait.”

  “You hate it when I lie,” he said bluntly.

  Then he was roaring because she was sliding over him, his cock pressing into her sex. Filling her to the brim and setting off another round of explosions.

  She’d been staring at him as she moved. His eyes squeezed shut and his face contorted into the most pained expression she’d ever seen. “You okay?”

  Hot water beat down on them, and steam filled her lungs with every breath, but as he opened his eyes, it was all James. He was the cause of the heat rolling over her body. Igniting her senses and sending pleasure soaring.

  He wrapped his arms around her, taking hold of the back of her neck. “Never been better,” he assured her. “Never.”

  He kissed her, tangling their tongues, stroking into her mouth as he stroked into her body. The arm around her tightened, and he lifted her enough so he could move back then plunge deep. Intimate connection, bodies sliding together. He filled her senses.

  He filled her.

  Not just physically—although, whoa, nelly on that one—but he was touching her in a way that said he cared. As he kissed his way along her jaw and nibbled on her ear, he murmured soft words that said he knew exactly who he was with. That he wanted to be there.