The Snow Leopard's Christmas Surprise

by Emilia Hartley

  “I want to tell you something,” He whispered.

  “Anything,” she replied, immediately. Whatever he had to say she knew she’d cherish it for the rest of her life. Nothing, no one, could stop her from holding everything he did, was, and would be dear.

  Tom swallowed hard, Savannah feeling his heart quicken as a hint of nervousness crossed his eyes. “I—I think I’m falling in love with you.” He said softly, little more than a breath of air on the wind that washed over the lakes surface. “I mean, I don’t really know what it is, but if I had to give this a name, that’s what I’d call it.” He averted his gaze. “I know I said something similar earlier, but I wanted you to know. I’m conscious, I’m here, I’m saying it while knowing I’m saying it, and there’s no room for misinterpretation. I’m falling in love with you, Savannah.”

  Savannah sighed, tears flooding her eyes. Leaning forward, she rested her cheek against the hard plane of his chest, her fingers playing lightly with the water droplets on his chest as she basked happily in his scent and confession. “I feel the same way,” she whispered, voice watery with unshed tears.

  They remained like that for a while, just marinating themselves in the sheer weightlessness of their confessions that were finally out in the open with no doubt and little fear between them. This was what happiness felt like.

  S0on enough, that telltale sign of sexual tension began to build between them, never sated for long, and this time Savannah wasn’t keen to stop it. Breath quickening, she lifted her head, her eyes trailing along Tom’s strong chin and upwards to the soft lips that lay above. She ran her lips lightly across the curve of his jaw, reveling in his gasp. His body reacted to every nip, lick and kiss that she laid across his skin, building the pheromones between then until she could practically choke on Tom’s arousal.

  He growled low in his throat, his chest rattling under Savannah’s hands. His desire filled her nostrils as his eyes flashed with the need for more. She watched him intently as he threw his head back, gasping and panting as she licked her way across his collarbone. Slowly, she allowed her hands to twirl and slip lower down his torso, deep into the water.

  The moment her fingers brushed against the solid mass of his erection, his breath shuddered out in a ragged groan. It spilled heavily from his throat and shook his entire body, making Savannah glance upward to make sure he was okay. Their eyes met briefly, and his mouth worked to form words, but he wasn’t saying anything. Slowly, she slid her fingers down his shaft, and a louder, more ragged growl tore from his throat. That noise was definitely a good thing.

  Savannah bit the edge of her lip as she worked him, growing a bit more confident with each stroke as he whimpered and moaned his pleasure directly upward into the night sky. He tensed when she squeezed and quivered when she stroked, licking her lips ravenously as she changed speeds to keep him on his toes.

  Tom’s eyes shot open with a guttural roar, fixing Savannah with a fierce glare. His eyes were intense, gleaming brightly in the moonlight as they stared deeply into her. She felt like he could read her entire soul like tealeaves in the bottom of a cup. She was suddenly vulnerable, undone, shattering into a million pieces as he watched her fall still.

  “Savannah,” Tom whispered before pulling her close once more. His lips crushing against hers, and harder still she pressed back against him. His hands moved slowly and purposefully, over her shoulders and down her back as if he were carefully memorizing every part of her and never wanted to forget.

  “Please,” Savannah gasped as Tom began to feather kisses along the side of her jaw. “Please, Tom.” She didn’t even know what she was asking for, but that she wanted more. More of Tom. More of him. All of him.

  And that she never wanted him to stop.

  With only a low warning growl, Tom grabbed her hips, lifting her legs up and guiding them around his waist. He held her body tightly and strongly, moving in two small strides to press her firmly against the bank. Before she could react to the cold chill of the bank against her back, she hissed a gasp as he laid a gentle kiss on her nipple.

  He pulled away, letting her rest there still partially submerged in the water. He gazed lovingly downward at her, his eyes filled with a shadow of that awe he’d held earlier, and it made Savannah feel like butterflies fluttering in her stomach. He looked at her as if she were the most beautiful person on earth, trailing his hands lightly over her curves like one would touch a priceless artifact. He coaxed small moans from her lips as he played over her nipples, gently cupping her breasts in anticipation of her reactions.

  He lowered his mouth to the soft top of Savannah’s breast once more, running his tongue over her nipple and shuddering against her as she cried out for him. His hands moved lower, caressing, pinching, and stroking every curve of her soft skin. As he plunged his fingers deep inside of her for the first time,

  Savannah felt as if stars had burst across her skin, igniting her entire body in a fireworks display of passion. She didn’t have time to be embarrassed by the sounds that Tom pulled from her. His hands, his lips, his tongue, they all were beckoning her to do something different, building up a slow sweetness within her that drove her insane. She arched her back into his strokes, tilting her chest closer to his tongue. She did everything she could to keep as much of him touching as much of her as possible without hindering the expert work of his fingers inside of her. It wouldn’t be long before she found release.

  She had a sudden urge to get out of the water, to see all of him pleasuring all of her beneath the shining moon, as she’d wanted to do from the moment she’d met him. Wrenching herself away, she pushed backward up and onto the bank, the soft grass tickling her skin. Water washed down her body, soaking into the creases of her skin as she sat up to beckon him forward.

  “What are you doing,” Tom growled, eyes hungry as he drank in her naked, soaking wet body.

  “Come here,” she panted, crooking a finger in a come hither motion. “Out of the water.” He didn’t need any further encouragement. Pulling himself free of the water in one smooth move, he crouched in the grass, water cascading from his body as he took in all of Savannah. She sat back with no shame, watching as his eyes darted feverishly over her skin.

  She took in the strong, bulging muscles of his tightly coiled body, a testament to just how strong a bear he truly was. A sizzle began deep in her belly, and suddenly she wanted… needed nothing more than his hands on her once more.

  He must have seen something in her eyes as she watched him; something switched on in his gaze, and he began a slow creep toward her. Desire was written on every inch of his face, anticipation drawing every muscle in his stalking body taut with need. Watching him restrain himself from losing control made Savannah dizzy with passion.

  “Tom,” she whined and he stalked ever closer. “Please, Tom, I need you.”

  A shiver wracked his body, making him pause for a split moment before throwing caution to the wind. He was on top of her in a flash, their lips locking in a ravenous embrace as Savannah pressed eagerly against the hard length of his cock. Using a quick hand to guide him, they both cried out in unison as he finally sheathed himself deeply inside of her.

  Tom’s breath was ragged, his fingers digging deep into the soil beside Savannah’s head as he adjusted himself to the feel of her. She was tense beneath him still basking in the euphoria of his first thrust, nails already digging orgasmically into the flesh of Tom’s back. She floated down from the high of it, shuddering against his body and beckoning with her hips for him to continue.

  “You’re so beautiful, Savannah,” Tom gasped, his mouth pressing against the side of her throat as he pulled slowly out of her. He began to work his hips slowly, pushing himself in and out of her at a rhythm that they could both follow easily.

  Savannah couldn’t speak; she could barely breathe as he thrust in and out of her. Her mind was in a state of sensory overload as the feeling of him deep inside of her built up the heat of the hottest volcano, beckoning it to erupt
within a moment’s notice. His hands worked expertly over her breasts, teasing her sensitive nipples to peaks as he trailed nibbles across her collarbone. He remained carefully gentle, making sure he slowed down when she cried out too loudly, or caressed her if he grabbed her too tightly. She couldn’t admit it in the moment, but the feeling of his gentle caresses on the raised skin or his rougher grabs created sensations she couldn’t even begin to describe. She knew she wanted more of it.

  Throughout all of his coaxing and coercing of moans, gasps, and whimpers from her lips, Savannah noticed that he never lost that look of wonder in his eyes. It hid just beneath the torrent of hunger and need that he’d obviously felt for her, but was lying in wait like the smallest part of him just couldn’t believe that this moment was finally here. His frenzied glares as he thrust into her were tinted with amazement; his eyes as he took in her body when it arced beneath him were glimmering with love. In a word, he made her feel beautiful.

  In a gasp of eagerness, Savannah thrust against Tom in ecstasy, beckoning for him to do more. She whimpered as he slowed down, pressing his hands against her gyrating hips until she stilled. Her gaze locked in a vice around his, holding his attention. “You don’t have to be gentle with me, Tom,” she breathed, eyes flashing with heat. “I need more. Please, don’t stop.”

  Tom rattled a dark grown. “I can’t promise I’ll be gentle,” he bit out, and she could almost feel the bear pressing against him. “I’ve been waiting for this for… a while,” he struggled apologetically.

  “I don’t want gentle!” Savannah declared boldly. “I want you. All of you until I can’t think of anything else.” She gazed deep into his eyes, watching the war raging within him, within them. He truly was afraid of hurting her. “Please, don’t hold back, Tom. Do everything you want to do to me. That’s what I need right now.” A sudden shift clicked in his gaze, and she could tell the bear had won.

  With a roar of heat, and need, and hunger, Tom bit deep into Savannah’s shoulder, pumping rapid-fire thrusts faster and faster into her as he held her hips into place on the bank. Starbursts of pleasure and pain exploded across the back of her eyelids as she clamped her eyes shut, crying and screaming her exhilaration into the night sky. Soon, she began feverishly rocking her own hips, eager to push him even deeper inside of her body. His fingers dug hard into the flesh of her buttocks, holding her close to him and branding her body with his white-hot embrace.

  “Tom, I’m close” Savannah barely gasped, clutching tightly to him as the volcano inside of her built up heat to the point of being nearly unbearable. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.” Her fingers curled in pure elation, every fiber of her body coiling tighter and tighter with each quick thrust of Tom’s hips. He sank into her over and over, nudging her close to the precipice each time.

  With a long, ragged cry, Savannah yanked Tom’s neck downward, biting hard into his shoulder as one last delicious thrust finally sent her careening over the sweet edge of release. That boiling volcano erupted deep within her, lighting her on fire from within. The sensations drowned her in molten lava, sparks flashing in her vision as she convulsed against him.

  Gritting his teeth, Tom watched eagerly as the last tremor shook Savannah’s body before he found his own liberation. She watched up at him as he rocked and shuddered against her. His face contorted in the rawest form of peace.

  Slowly, Tom slid lazily into the grass beside Savannah. He pulled her close and she snuggled instinctively against him, completely satiated.

  “I love you, Savannah,” Tom panted, breath ragged as he held her close. “I love you.”

  His words covered her like a salve, soothing against her flushed skin and refreshing like the coolest drink on the warmest night. “I love you too,” she whispered, cuddling closer to him. No longer was she a slave of the Northern Wind. She would never be Lucas’s. In his place, there was only Tom.

  Only love.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Savannah awoke exhausted, but happy. She didn’t know how many times they’d made love the night before, but she’d fallen asleep with no complaints. Her body ached in all the right ways, reminding her just how pleasurable Tom truly was. She remembered changing lazily so they could lope back to the mechanics. The food had been cold and, and the ice cream she’d brought, not surprisingly, had melted, but she was much too exhausted by then to care much about it. She’d fallen right into Tom’s bed, slipping off into a slumber in the warm embrace of his open arms.

  “Morning,” she heard a warm voice greet. Tom entered the room with a bright smile on his face, brandishing a tray that was topped with a mountain of breakfast.

  Savannah’s stomach announced itself almost immediately as she lifted her hands towards the tray with wiggling fingers. “Morning,” she murmured, eyes fixed on the tray.

  Tom bit back a chuckle as he took in the sight of her. “You are beautiful, do you know that?”

  “I’m also hungry,” she added, ignoring the nervous flip-flop her stomach made at his compliment. Those would take a while to get used to.

  He lowered the tray into her hands without further ado. “I figured you would be. No dinner and all that exercise on an empty stomach. You must be famished,” he said with a grin, winking when she looked up at him with pink-flushed cheeks.

  He leaned down and laid a gentle kiss on her lips. It was sweet with the taste of orange juice he must’ve drunk earlier in the morning. He went in for another kiss, this one deep and thorough, Savannah’s lips parting instinctively as he dipped his tongue into her mouth. It took her breath away. “Delicious,” he murmured, finally pulling away. “But if I start now, I won’t stop.” He ran a thumb across her bottom lip. “And you’d be late for work.”

  “Ah, then we better not.” She feigned worry. “I don’t want my boss to fire me,” she teased.

  Tom chuckled. “He’d never do that,” he assured, voice tender as he caressed her cheek. She leaned into his hands, relishing in the feeling of him. She couldn’t get enough after last night; it had been so perfect. She hadn’t wanted it to end.

  “You’ve got about an hour or so until Jo, Nick, and Dan arrive. No new clothes, but I managed to gather up the ones you came in. You only had those on for what, a couple of hours maybe?” He flashed a grin at her. She flushed yet again, hiding her face behind a bit of toast.

  His gaze turned soft. “Shower’s right around that corner and your clothes are already in the bathroom. Help yourself to my toothbrush if you need one.” She wrinkled her nose instinctively at the thought and Tom laughed. “Hey, it’s your only option until you start slowly moving things in here like couples do when they start dating. Not that I’d mind,” he grinned.

  “I love you Savannah.”

  She would have replied, but she had a mouth full of pancakes. She really was famished. With something that passed as a smile, she settled for a thumbs up.

  Tom left with mirth on his lips, closing the door behind her so she could eat in peace.

  And eat, she did. It was a large breakfast, but one she appreciated. He might have been joking, but all the activity last night paired with the botched food they’d let ruin while they cavorted through the words, she truly was underfed.

  As expected, everything was delicious as it smelled. Savannah had to resist the urge to lick the syrup and butter off of the plates as she shoveled the last bit of the hash browns into her mouth. Now she was well rested, full, and in love. She didn’t think she could be any happier. Leaving the Northern Wind behind was the best decision of her life, she was sure of it.

  “But it’s not over yet,” she muttered to herself, setting the tray aside so she could stand. She arched her back into a full body stretch, reigniting all of the sore spots from the night before. It felt amazing on her skin and deep in her body.

  Reluctantly shaking the pleasure from her mind, she went right back to business. Moving forward with a life of peace was her number one priority now. Tom would always be there to refresh her on the finer
points of pleasure.

  What was Dan’s plan for dealing with the Northern Wind? If two alphas were beginning to struggle against the sheer numbers of Lucas’s pack, what could two ex-members do to stop them? Savannah had no sway because she was new, had no friends or even acquaintances to call her own in the pack, and to top it off, she was fairly weak for a bear. Dan had been written off as dead, but ostracized regardless. Did he leave friends behind that he might be able to contact? Did he think some might hear him out simply for being the ex-second of the pack? She doubted any of that would work. If there was one thing she was certain of, it was that in Lucas’s pack, fear reigned. He had that in spades.

  She’d have to speak more about it with Dan when they had time alone, which probably wouldn’t be often, she lamented internally. Sneaking around would be difficult, which brought up an entirely different issue.

  What about Tom? Didn’t he deserve to know the truth? After the night they had shared. She felt unclean keeping things from him. The lies and half-truths would build up and she’d never be rid of them, even if she walked away from the Northern Wind and never saw them again. Her heart sped slightly at the guaranteed risk. Tom had spent so much time distrusting her, and just when she’d finally worked her way into his inner circle, she would have to tell him that he was right all along.

  Just the thought of that conversation set dread into her heart like a lead weight. She didn’t know if she could do it. “But I have to,” she muttered quietly to herself. He’d told her everything, even about Dan. She didn’t want to be the reason there was a shadow hanging over their relationship, even if it meant having no relationship at all because she’d ultimately chosen honesty over deceit. If she chose the latter, she’d be no better than Lucas and the Northern Wind.

  “I’ll do it after I speak to Lucas,” she proclaimed to herself, staring out over the toiletries in Tom’s bathroom before settling on his toothbrush. With a small grimace, she slid a bead of toothpaste on top and popped it in her mouth.