by Reina Torres
She nodded and decided to see how far she was willing to go.
“Conor?”
He covered her hand with his. “Yeah?”
“Take me to your home. I want to see what it feels like.”
She felt his thumb sweep over the back of her neck again.
“I want to kiss you right now, Hollis, but I don’t trust myself.”
Conor removed his arm from the seatback behind her and settled it back onto the steering wheel. “The good thing is that we’re less than a mile from home.”
“Home,” she smiled as they pulled back onto the road. She liked the sound of that.
How they got to his home.
What the outside of his home looked like.
She had no idea how she would have answered those questions. Her focus was entirely on Conor.
And the sensations that were flooding through her body. That he was inspiring within her.
Her fingers itched to touch him and she drew her hands down his chest and tugged his shirt from the waistband of his pants before slipping underneath.
Oh, his skin felt like sin under her hands. Hot and tight, she couldn’t see the banded muscles that her hands slid over, but she felt them tense and flex against her palms. One of her fingertips grazed the hard nub of his nipple and she licked her lips.
Nudging it with her finger she felt Conor’s breath on her cheek. When she traced a light circle around it and felt the tiny little bumps circling it, she slowed her touch and earned a deep growl from her mate.
“Ticklish?” She asked the question and then felt a flush of heat over the tops of her breasts. She wasn’t a teasing woman by nature, but with him she was quickly learning to stretch her limits. “If it’s too much,” she swallowed, “I’ll stop.”
She felt him move, ever so slightly against her hands.
“Stop if it’s what you want, little one.” He drew in a deep breath and she felt his nipple scrape against her fingertip. “But I warn you, turnabout is fair play, and when the time comes and I have my hands on you… I will remember how you touched me and I will return the favor.”
Lord help her, she felt his words like a caress. Felt the heady sensation of his erotic promise as a physical touch.
And down, between her legs, she ached for him to do that… and more.
She dropped her hands away from his skin and ignored his growling displeasure, reaching for the hem of his shirt.
Held tightly in her hands she lifted it and felt him release the window frame long enough to reach his hand behind his head and pull the shirt up and off his body.
Later, she would wonder where exactly the article of clothing landed, but at the moment all she saw was the chiseled muscle of his chest looming over her as Conor leaned forward to place his hands back against the window frame.
Waiting.
And she took a moment to look and wonder.
He was a wonder.
So very strong. You don’t live your life among a bear clan that encompasses nearly a hundred bears and live in a valley surrounded by other valleys and clans and not have a very learned eye when it came to muscle. They were forever on display.
But Conor.
Her mate. And oh, it felt so very good to say that.
Was extraordinary.
He could withstand the attack of a shifter bear, hardly reeling under the powerful blows. He could shift with an ease that even the strongest among her people were unable to match. And as strong and as savage as he could be, she knew that he was different with her. His guard was down. His manner relaxed.
And it both thrilled and humbled her to know that this amazing man was hers.
And his bear.
She smiled. Yes, and his bear.
Her hands were back on his chest, sliding higher and higher until her fingers curled over the sleek muscle of his shoulders. Her thumbs tracing along the base of his neck.
Hollis paused when she felt his thundering pulse under the pad of her thumb. Looking up, she saw the tight bob of his Adam’s apple.
“Is this where you’ll mark me when the time comes, Conor?”
His throat convulsed once and then again.
“Is this where you’ll bite me and make me yours?”
His chest rose and fell with a painfully tight succession of movements. Breaths pushed in and out of his lungs.
“Will you take me like this, face to face?” She felt her whole body alive with sensation, with need. “Or will you pull me against you and take me from behind?”
His body tensed under her hands and she felt a rustle of movement under his skin that wasn’t about muscle. His bear…
Your bear, too.
… was dangerously close to the surface.
She should know better than to rile a bear. Even one bound to her by fate could rise up and come through his human form if provoked enough.
But she knew. She even felt it deep down inside where her insecurities haunted her. She was safe with Conor.
With both of them.
And it was that belief that helped her lower her own inhibitions.
She released him from her touch and she felt an almost palpable relief rush through him as he regained some of his control.
Reaching under the long length of her blouse she grasped the waistband of her skirt and pulled it down.
She heard the rustle of fabric and knew that Conor heard it too.
He probably heard the skip in her pulse as she dropped the skirt to the floor and the way she kicked it away from her feet.
Straightening, she reached a hand up between her breasts and even with her loose blouse still covering her chest, she undid the clasp of her bra.
“Fuck.”
Feminine pride warred with her own hunger as she reached up and slid one strap free through the sleeve of her blouse and quickly followed with the other.
When she dropped the bra on the floor a moment later, she heard his indrawn breath.
“What about the shirt?”
She heard his question and shook her head. “Later. Right now, I’m testing out those choices you gave me and I’m not sure I’m ready for you to see me yet.”
Her mind continued on with the part of her thought that she wouldn’t… couldn’t say out loud. That she didn’t want to see disappointment in his eyes. There was entirely too much light in the room and she wanted to play the seductress.
She was going to tease him and thank goodness teasing allowed her to keep most of herself under the loose hip-length blouse.
And she was determined not to overthink the opportunity.
Her hands reached for his jeans. The button on the waistband was hers for the taking and she opened it with a twist of her wrist.
She’d been in the dressing room when he’d quickly pulled on his clothes so she knew that beneath the worn denim he was bare.
Your bear.
Yes, my bear.
She gave the zipper a tug and was surprised when it pulled from her fingertips and slid an inch down on its own.
No, it wasn’t magic or some otherworldly force.
It was pure shifter biology.
As she reached for the zipper-pull again she saw the darkened head of his cock touching the open flap of his jeans.
“Looks like he wanted out,” she laughed at her ridiculous joke but Conor didn’t join her. Before she could worry over the fact, he spoke.
“He wants you, Hollis. He wants to be deep inside of you, but right now, most of all, he needs your touch.”
And what’s a girl to say to that?
Nothing!
Conor was her mate and she knew that deep down in her soul.
But, she also knew that he was giving her a choice again, making her love him even more.
Love.
Wow, that was unexpected.
Her lax hold on the zipper-pull made her struggle for control as it slid down again.
Her overhead view was magnificent. Not only was the head of his cock thick and full, but his shaf
t was as well. Veins traced along his length and as she traced the path of one of those veins with her eyes, she caught a wink of light from the corner of her eye. A pale, pearl-like drop was perched on the tip of his erection. The light from the lamp in the room shone across its surface like sunlight across water.
Smoothing her thumb across the tip, she felt it coat her skin.
When Hollis looked up, she saw him looking back. Conor’s eyes were hooded in shadow but what she could see gave her a rush of power. Feminine wiles were never something she had a claim to. Being raised by her father meant she understood what it took to lead a clan and what was important to him, but that didn’t tell her much of anything about being a woman. No one had ever joined their family to give her any maternal guidance.
But this? This heady rush of emotion and the heat of her arousal made her bold.
Gave her a rush of courage to reach out for what she wanted.
And she wanted this connection to Conor.
So, with her eyes focused on his, her body tingling with a dawning realization of her power over this amazing man, she brought her thumb to her mouth and licked it clean.
The wooden frame of the window above her head creaked and groaned. The tension in his arms, the way his muscles shook, told her how hard he was holding on to keep his hands off of her.
Oh yes, the rush she felt standing there before him, knowing how much he wanted her, had her flying high.
Could she do what she pictured in her head? Could she allow herself to take her fantasy and act on it?
“Hollis?”
Her breath rushed from her lungs, but she couldn’t answer him with her voice. She kept watching him, her eyes wide and open.
He smiled, but the line of his jaw was tight with the effort it took him to remain still. “However you want to touch me,” his voice rumbled deep in his chest and echoed off the wall and glass behind her, “do it.”
“You sound like it’s causing you pain, Conor. If that’s the case, then I’d rather wait-”
“If you make me wait, Hollis, I’ll lose my mind,” he leaned closer and she saw his eyes had darkened like the night sky, the scent she drew into her lungs carried the unmistakable warmth of fur and forest, “save me.” She could hear the naked plea in his words. “Touch me, little one. Save us both.”
Chapter Five
His words allowed her to free herself. To give an honorable explanation for the deep-seated need that had twisted her up inside.
“Save us both…”
Oh, she could do that, all right.
She had come a long way. Not just leaving her home. Not just the distance. Taking the chance to reach out for something that she wanted for once.
To take that chance now and reach out for someone she wanted?
Yes. She could do that.
She was going to.
She did.
Hollis wrapped her arms around him, hugged him close.
She heard the frantic pounding of his heart within his chest. Turning her head, she felt her nose trace over his skin, scenting the pure arousal of his human form. Sweat and fresh air mixed with pine and she felt as if she was running beside her mate through the trees as her heart thundered along with him.
And then, before she realized it, she heard a third heartbeat.
Pounding a counter rhythm to Conor’s, it brought a mist of tears to her eyes when she felt the warmth of his bear add to that of her mate. She felt accepted and wanted, and that was more of an aphrodisiac than anything else could be.
Hollis could have remained there for any length of time but she felt a nudge of movement against her belly.
All of the warmth she’d gained from the impromptu embrace raced south to pool between her legs.
Oh yes.
That’s what she needed.
Conor had been right, and likely he would be for many, many years to come. She wasn’t ready to have him inside of her body, but she needed his touch in other ways.
Opening her lips, she placed an open-mouthed kiss on his chest, earning her a growl that seemed to come from two sources at once.
“I want you to remember,” she whispered against his skin, “that you made the offer.”
“Wha-”
He’d managed just the one syllable before she raised her arms and removed the clip that had held her hair back from her face.
It was a vanity, but she reveled in the feel of her hair against her skin and loved the thick waves that fell about her face when it was unbound.
A quick look up at Conor said he liked it too.
Hollis drew the fullness of her bottom lip between her teeth as she touched the cool panels of glass with her open hands.
A moment later Conor’s eyes slid closed when she pressed back against the hard curve of his cock.
She heard him hiss out a breath. “You’re so wet.”
Pride.
Add that to vanity and lust… she was likely to work her way through half the sins in one night.
Instead of pulling away or falling back into her normal demure behavior, she swiveled her hips and then bent her knees slowly, teasing herself along his erection.
She moaned and heard an answering sound from his throat. “That feels like heaven.”
“It’s torture,” he countered and curled against her.
The friction was indeed torture, but the kind she would beg for again and again later.
Instead she flattened her body against the window and shook her head. “Hold still, Conor.”
“I-”
“My choice, you promised.”
He heard her words and his silence told her that he’d regained control.
Good, because she really wanted to lose control.
Again, she pressed back against him and the thin layer of material between their bodies felt like a wall. She wanted it gone.
Flicking the hem of her blouse out of the way, she reached for the waistband of her panties and heard his indrawn breath.
“Yes.”
“Yes?” She paused and tried to catch his eyes in the glass, but his gaze was focused between them. “Like what you see?”
#
He heard the flirtatious lilt in her voice and sensed how much she was enjoying herself. And he was too, when she wasn’t driving him close to the edge of his sanity.
More.
More.
His bear loved it, inching closer and closer to the barrier between them.
“Like what you see?”
Hell. He was going to-
Nope, already there.
With her thumbs hooked into her panties and the hem of her blouse flipped up onto her back, he was treated to the agonizingly beauty of her full heart-shaped ass, lovingly cradled by cotton-candy pink cotton panties.
And laid between the sweet curves was his cock. Hard as stone and aching to touch her bare skin, the sight of his erection against her inviting curves was going to kill him.
Tightening his hold on the frame he felt splinters of wood break free.
“Fuck.”
She laughed, a full-throated burst of sound that ran over his skin like her physical touch. “So that’s a yes?”
He groaned and growled out his words. “I might die when I finally get inside of you,” he drew in a ragged breath, “but I’m okay with that.”
Before he could speak another word, she inched her panties over the curve of her ass working it between her body and his.
Just the touch of the cotton against his shaft had his balls drawing up tight against his body, his cock thickening even more.
“I’m glad.”
He heard her voice and shook his head a little to clear it. She’d said something, but he couldn’t recall a word.
“Because, I really want that too, but until I’m ready to have you inside me, this will have to make do.”
Conor only had a vague notion of what her words meant. His ears were roaring with the sound of his blood pulsing through his veins.
Hollis
leaned forward and her panties fell away down her thighs. Where they ended up, he didn’t know.
And probably couldn’t care less, because all of her slick heat was pressing hard against him. The hem of her blouse fluttered around the swell of her hips and the silken fabric swept over her backside and the tip of his erection as Hollis arched her back, stroking him up and down with her hands planted flat against the glass.
“More,” he growled and caught her smiling reproach in her reflection, “please, more.”
“You’re in luck,” her voice was barely a whisper, “because I want more too.”
Again and again she led him on a merry chase. Her heat trailing over his skin. Her breathy moans that would fog the glass if it had been winter.
And the way his fingers dug into the wood, tearing more and more from the frame, feeling the splinters jam into the flesh of his fingers. It was the only thing that kept him standing in place.
The only thing making him hold onto his promise.
The pain kept him from dropping his hands from the window and touching her. One hand in her hair, the other on her back, bending her over until he was so deep into her, he’d never find his way out.
When he had the chance to mark her, he’d never let her regret the choice. Not ever.
“Oh.”
There was hitch in her movements. A stutter of breath and twitch in her knees. The sudden change pushed her so hard against him he felt her folds spread around his shaft like an open kiss against his skin.
“Oh, yes.” He could hear the building need in her breathy cry and he squeezed his eyes closed as she began to push back against him in a building rhythmic thrust of her hips. “Conor… oh, yes.”
More he’d wanted, and more he got.
“Closer,” the demand in her voice was heated and made him even harder, more needy, “come closer.”
Come. He didn’t need that word banging around in his head, especially the way she said it. Reality was a poor companion when he was wallowing in his hunger.
He moved his feet, bringing him a few inches closer, and heard her moan as she moved against him stealing more of his control.
“Hollis,” he said her name like a prayer and a curse.