by Ruby Madden
Their truck was surrounded by a sea of black SUVs. It would have looked like a drug bust, except there was a noticeable lack of humans. The reassuring sight of shifters being led away in cuffs, convinced the bears the good guys had indeed arrived.
“Ryker? Ryland?”
A large wolf shifter broke away from the group and approached them. It took a moment for Ryker to recognize the man. Liam Hart, head of the Shifter Council. The man looked older, more worn. “Liam?”
The man held out his hand. “I’m sorry we didn’t get here sooner.” Ryker shook it, but didn’t have any idea what the man was talking about.
The wolf gave a small smile, but it looked as if his face might break from the tension.
“Why would you come here at all?” Abigail spoke from the safety of Ryker’s side. “The Council has known about the Panthera for years.”
A smile did reach his eyes as he looked from one set of double twins to the other. He couldn’t tell either set apart. “Abby and Emma?”
Both bears chuffed and the wolf acknowledged the males’ claim to the females.
“I’m sorry to say we didn’t know all that was going on. It wasn’t until we had a visit from a very determined human male that we—”
“Daddy? Daddy’s alive?”
The other curvy woman being carried wiggled, wanting to get down. The bear glared at her, but let her down when she glared right back. The shirt she wore fell to the top of her thighs and Liam couldn’t help but take in the curvy legs left bare.
“Where is he?” She scanned the area before turning back, frowning. “He’s not here.”
“No. He’s recovering with my pack. He was very badly injured.”
The women’s faces crumbled and the bears roared at the wolf.
“Whoa, boys. Don’t shoot—or maul—the messenger.” He held up his hands, a gesture totally at odds with the innate power one sensed about the wolf. He was an alpha through and through. “He’s doing to be okay, ladies. I had to threaten him to keep him away tonight.” He grinned as the cat shifters snarled, even though they were cats, they were kind of cute. “As soon as my healer gives the word, he’s all yours.”
“Don’t worry, Emma, you'll have him back in no time. I promise.” Ryland glared at the wolf one more time for good measure. He pulled Emma back in his arms and smoothed his hand down her tangled head of hair, needing to touch her.
“He’s in good hands.” Ryker was doing the same thing to calm his mate.
The bears drove all night, again, but finally arrived back at Ryker’s home in the woods. The girls had refused to stop along the way and rest, and the bears had been in agreement—for once. They were on edge. The events of the past forty-eight hours had hammered home the cold, hard truth. The bears needed to claim their mates.
“Abby, say goodnight to your sister.” Ryker issued the order as soon as they stepped over the threshold, swinging Abby up into his arms.
“What?” The cat shifter looked at him as if he’d grown a second head. “But we just got here. I want to hear—”
“Say good night, girls.” Ryland followed his brother’s lead and swung Emma up in his arms.
The women exchanged a look and remained silent. Ryland felt a tendril of unease whisper through him. That had been too damn easy. When he looked at Ryker the other bear shrugged his shoulders. Without another word, Ryker headed up the stairs and Ryland carried Emma across the floor to the downstairs bedroom.
Once inside the master suite, Ryker dropped Abigail onto the bed. He didn’t bother turning on a light. He didn’t need it with his shifter vision. But he did walk to the window, pulling open the curtains. He wanted to see his mate bathed in moonlight. Next, he made short work of removing his clothes. He toed off his shoes and pushed down his pants. With her eyes roaming over his body as he stripped, stroking him with her gaze, he felt all-powerful, made of pure male strength. In her he had his perfect counterpart, soft, feminine warmth.
He felt desperate to feel her around him. The sweet, indescribable moment when he was completely inside her, surrounded by her wet warmth.
He needed this night to be special. For her to know just how much she would claim him. She’d take his heart. His body. His very soul. As quickly as he had divested himself of his clothing, he went to work on hers. Her shoes dropped to the floor, followed by her jeans.
“This has got to go.” Allowing one sharp claw to appear, he held her shirt away and cut it smoothly from her body. Her bra was simple, providing coverage and support. The only thing remotely sexy about it was the pinkest hue to the fabric. “And this.”
A sharp slice and the bra was history. He licked his lips. Her breasts were full and heavy. Mouthwatering. The tips already hard and begging. There was no point in denying himself a taste. It would bring her pleasure. Bending down, he lowered his mouth to suckle one nipple while he pinched and pulled at the other. He watched the flush steal up her throat to stain her cheeks.
He stopped touching her and stretched out beside her, trailing his fingers along her body. She’d closed her eyes as he’d sucked on her nipples. Her lashes were a fan of coal across rose-petal skin. His voice was a deep seductive order. “Look at me, Abigail.”
Abigail opened her eyes with great effort. She’d watched as Ryker had peeled off his shirt, sitting there like a guilty voyeur. Like a bitch in heat. Or a sex-starved woman. She felt her breath leave and enter her body. In and out. Damn, that brought on a whole reel of images. He brushed his thumb across her cheek and pressed across her slightly parted lips. Holding his gaze, her tongue tasted him, licking the calloused tip of his thumb.
Ryker hissed in pleasure. And pain as his cock swelled. He wanted to feel those lips and that sweet little tongue on his body, licking and kissing him wherever he ordered.
Later. He’d have time for that later.
Now was for her. Her pleasure. Her needs.
Abby had to bite her lip to keep from crying out, suppressing the keening sound of her cat as Ryker touched and tasted her. She couldn’t suppress the whimpering sounds that escaped her throat. She had never imagined it could be like this. That a man could draw such powerful responses from her body. She thought herself frozen inside and now every time he touched her with those callused male hands, he brought her to life.
She did cry out when his teeth closed over a nipple again, scraping the tender bud as he moved on to the other breast. One hand tightened around a fistful of hair and pulled her head back to expose her throat. She’d known, just as Emma had, that their mates would mark them tonight. That their cats would demand it as well. She smiled a little, remembering the confusion on the bears’ faces when they’d succumbed so easily to their orders. Her pussy clenched at the thought of mating, being mated. She wanted to wear his mark, show his bite of possession to the world.
Her body trembled with need. She might not be a match for a bear in a fight, but she could certainly let her mate know what she needed in bed. She stretched, arching her back and thrusting her breasts into the air.
“Please.” Both the woman and the cat longed for his possession. His power.
“Soon, baby. Soon.” He pulled away after leaving a trail of kisses up and down her exposed throat. Teasing her with the anticipation of being marked.
He held himself above her and she stilled, waiting.
“You are my life, Abigail Sorenson,” he whispered. “I will love you and honor you and respect you for the rest of my days.”
His words brought tears to her eyes. He pressed a kiss of promise to her hungry mouth. A declaration of that sort shouldn’t have made her feel this way. She felt dizzy and languorous. And horny. All at the same time. It was a mind-blowing feeling. She knew it was the call of her animal to his. He moved, placing his hands by her head. She parting her legs and he was covering her body with his. He smiled down at her, borrowing a grin from his wolf brethren. “But don’t think for a moment, I won’t spank your ass if you disobey m
e again.”
“Disobey you?”
Ah, there she was, Ryker thought. That sassy, spirited woman who had first stolen his heart.
He wanted to shout her name to the stars. He kissed her again, unable to resist her alluring lips, her smart, beautiful mouth. But he was dying of hunger for another taste. He rose until he knelt between her thighs. Running his hands down the length of her legs, he grasped her ankles and opened her to his gaze. He groaned at the lovely sight opening before him. Her pink pussy glistened with her desire, the lips plump with her arousal. He ran his hands up her inner thighs and brushed the dark crown of hair covering her mound. She moaned as he slowly bent his head and kissed the top of her slit, right on her nub. It was just the beginning of her torment.
He stroked his tongue between her pussy lips, savoring the taste of his mate. She writhed beneath him, her fingers clenching around his head, trying to guide him. She should know he liked the bite of her fingers pulling at his hair. Kneading her rounded bottom, he angled her to him so he could take a deeper drink. As she continued to groan at his administrations, he plunged his tongue deep into her heat.
She jerked and shook as pleasure overtook her. “Ryker,” she cried. “Please…”
He didn’t stop. He alternated between stabbing her with his tongue and licking the sweet juices from her folds. His mission was to bring her pleasure over and over again.
He moved one of his hands from her warm butt cheek. With his thumb, he dragged her juices to the dark, puckered star of her ass. “More, Abby. Give me more.” He continued to stroke her perineum until she was trembling with her third orgasm. When he sensed her peak, he plunged his lubricated thumb in and out of the clenching pucker. He continued to fuck her with his tongue, holding her as close to his face as he could.
As she came back down, he licked away her sweet response.
“Ryker.”
His name was a growled command. He knew what his woman needed now. He ran a hand over his mouth and climbed back up her glorious legs. He stopped to taste the thick areolas of both breasts. His fingers dug into the soft flesh until she arched into his touch. He grazed the puckered tip with his teeth until she arched into him. “Good girl,” he praised her. He’d soon be teaching her all the exquisite feelings she could achieve with a bite of pain.
“You’re driving me crazy,” she growled again. Her cat so near the surface he could smell the animal. His bear was the same. Soon they would mate. Take each other to that place no one could go except true-mate. Heart to heart. Soul to soul.
He shifted higher and poised above her. Her legs had already found purchase around his hips, holder him tight. His cock bumped against her clit, making her jerk with each touch. She arched up to kiss him. He groaned into the kiss. The flavor of her body mixing with the sweetness of her mouth. Their tongues stroked against each other, building the fire that was threatening to consume him alive. His body ached for hers, needing to meld with hers, his heart desperate to beat with hers.
“Love me,” she whispered into his mouth.
“Always,” he promised. He took her hands and raised her arms above her head, holding her still as he grabbed his cock and aimed it at the entrance of her body. He thrust into her, too desperate to give her the slow, loving slide that drove her nuts and him insane. His body was hard and his possession even harder. They needed it though. They need to let their animals out.
“Take me, baby,” he ordered as he continued to pound into her, his balls slapping her ass. He felt her body open, allowing him to go deeper, deeper than he’d ever been before. His cock bumped against her clit with each downward thrust. The head rubbed against the group of nerves deep within her pussy.
He wanted her wild with need.
“Oh, yeah,” he growled when her inner muscles clenched as he stroked back out. He plowed back through the flesh struggling to take his width and his length. He knew she’d be sore in the morning, knew she’d remember this night forever. He looked down, not at all surprised that she was watching him. Not the least bit embarrassed that she saw his own need flickering across his face. His bear rumbled inside him, pushing toward the surface. He could feel her cat ready to pounce.
“I’ve got you, Abby. Let go.” His bear did break through then, commanding its mate. Almost instantly he felt her release wash over her. Her body arched. The muscles of her pussy rolled over him, trying to force him to join her. Not yet. Not just yet.
He waited until he felt it; the moment her soul started to sing. Then he bent his head, finding the spot on her neck where the scent was the strongest and allowed his fangs to descend. He bit through the flesh, swallowing her blood, bonding with her forever. He continued to pump his cock in and out of her, drawing out her releases, her pleasure. Taking care of his mate. It was all he ever wanted to do.
She was still riding the wave when he ordered to open her eyes. “Abby, look at me.” When she did open them, her eyes were a deep navy surrounded by gold “Take me, Abby. Make me yours.”
Her full pouty lips parted, revealing her sharp little fangs. He pressed into her hard, stilling the movement of her their hips as he cupped the back of her head and guided her mouth to his neck. His cock was throbbing, full to bursting and he knew as soon as the sharp teeth sliced into his skin he would release his seed inside her.
He felt the rough texture of her tongue as her cat purred against his skin, but he was too impatient. “Bite me, Abby. Bite me now.” He wanted to move again, he wanted to plow into her depths, go so fucking deep he didn’t know if he’d ever come back out. Her cat hissed and sank deep into his flesh, marking him so no other woman would ever doubt who owned him heart, body, and soul.
“Son of a bitch,” he roared at the sharp sting of pain. Then he was biting her again, sinking his fangs into her sweet flesh. Her blood ran into his mouth as he felt his leaving his body to flow into hers. It was a moment out of time. He felt disconnected from everything in the world except the woman in his arms.
His hips moved of their own accord pounding into her hot little pussy over and over again as she fed upon him. It took only seconds for him to reach his climax and when he did his back bowed over hers as he released himself into his mate’s womb. The marking complete as his seed splashed into the heart of her. He felt her contracting around him, taking every last drop of him.
For a movement, a vision overcame him. He saw the future. A sweet little girl laughing and playing with two grizzlies cubs. Quinn’s sons. Then another little girl, the same age with the same smile ran toward them, throwing herself into the mix. His twin’s child. Born on the same day.
He continued to rock into her, the hunger of his body stated for the moment. He knew the hunger would never be quenched. He felt her fangs retract and her healing touch as she sealed the wound. He tried to think if he’d done the same for her, but everything was blurry, out of focus, yet so sharply defined it hurt his mind.
“Ryker?” At some point he realized he had released her hands. They were cupping the sides of his face and he heard the worry in her voice. He couldn’t move though. He couldn’t reassure her he was alright. Not yet. The vision still played his mind. So sweet. So damn satisfying he didn’t want to miss a second. Eventually, it faded until only the echoes of the little girls’ laughter were all that was left inside him. It was a sound he would still have with him when he left this world.
“Ryker, you’re scaring me.”
He eased his upper body away from her until he could see her face. Her eyes were once again that beautiful bright blue he loved so much. He smiled, wondering how she was going to take the news that he’d just made her a momma.
“It’s okay, baby. Everything is going to be wonderful.” He fell to the side taking her with him and keeping their bodies joined. Her pussy still pulsated around his hard cock. The night was still young and he was by no means done loving his mate. He kissed her, nibbling at her lips, trying to ease her worry. When he felt her relax, he moved his mo
uth to whisper in her ear.
“I need to tell you something, Abigail. Something wonderful.”
~*~
“On the bed, Emma,” Ryland ordered as soon as he put Emma on her feet in their bedroom.
Emma hesitated, hearing the anger in his voice, knowing he was one pissed off bear.
“Yeah, I’m angry Emma.” He stepped closer. “But I’m hurt, too. Why were you so willing to sacrifice yourself—sacrifice us—so easily? I love you, Emma. You are my heart. You are my life.”
“I couldn’t let anything happen to Abby. Or Ryker. Or you.” She stroked the side of his face, her fingers catching on the rough stubble covering his jaw. “Especially you. I knew it was just a matter of time before he came after us, me, again. And then you would have been the one in danger.”
He growled and bent his knees until he was looking her straight in the eyes. “It is my job, my duty, my destiny to protect you. Always.”
Emma let herself smile a little, even though he spoke in such a harsh tone, the underlying love of his words warmed her. “It wasn’t my intention to let him kill me.”
She moaned when his fingers bit into the flesh of her upper arms. “What the hell did you think would happen? Something worse? Like him trying to breed you?”
“No, I thought I’d just kick his ass and call it a day.”
“Oh, Emma, what the hell am I going to do with you?” Ryland’s anger didn’t fade away at her sassy comment. It did, however fade to the background. Oh, they would discuss her behavior—in detail—later. Much later. After he’d taken her a dozen times or so.
Sensing the change in his mood, her hands dropped to the waistband of his jeans and lowered the zipper. With one quick pull, he ripped the t-shirt he’d given her down the middle. His gaze met hers. Glowing hot. His mouth captured hers, his tongue plunging past her lips. He managed to rid himself of his jeans and her shirt without breaking the kiss. Once naked, he wrapped his hands around her waist, pushing his leg between hers, wedging his thigh high against the core of her body. His eyes were glowing as they looked down at her. His bear on the surface. She felt her cat rising as well.