Polar Bear's Heart

by Jasmine Alexander

  Shea looked into Hudson’s room, and saw him fast asleep on his new bed that was big enough for the growing cub. Then she went over to Sasha’s room and found the lynx curled on her bed also asleep. Shea couldn’t help but smile. The little girl had come to mean just as much as Hudson did to her, and she was grateful for the instant family Logan had brought into her and Hudson’s life. Satisfied that the children were both fine, she went in search of her missing mate.

  Shea searched the entire downstairs and didn’t find any hint of Logan. She was beginning to get worried when she heard a small noise outside. Shea went to the back door and looked outside. There was an almost full moon, so there was enough light for her to see the area. When she didn’t immediately see anything, she continued to study the landscape. Then Logan came walking out of the woods toward the house. He was in his bear form. Before Logan walked onto the porch, Shea opened the door. Logan looked up at her quickly.

  Shea walked out and made her way to a bench on the porch. After she sat down, Logan walked over to her on his gigantic four legs. He sat at her feet, and Shea had a picture flash in her mind of a loyal puppy doing the same thing. She couldn’t help the giggle that left her, thinking about what she would look like with a huge polar bear for a pet. Logan looked at her quizzically, and she smiled at him. She really was happy. Logan had proven to love Hudson and Sasha, and take care of them all as a family. She was going to have his cub, and the only thing she wanted was a complete mating.

  Shea ran her hands over Logan’s bear head, and he laid it down on her lap. She pet him for a few minutes before talking.

  “Logan? Who are Sasha’s parents?” Shea knew they needed to talk about this, and she was ready to tell him about Hudson also. Logan picked up his head and shifted to his human form. He stood in front of her, naked, causing Shea’s mouth to water. She could feel her pussy clench at the thought of her mate’s extremely large cock entering her.

  As she stared, Logan’s cock thickened before her eyes. Shea let out an involuntary moan at the sight, and she licked her lips. Logan growled, causing her attention to go from his impressive erection to his face.

  “We should talk. And if you keep looking at me like that, there won’t be any talking.” The growl in Logan’s voice convinced her that he was right, and as much as she wanted him to touch her and to touch him in return, they needed to have this conversation. The internal part of her that was sick of waiting to touch her mate smiled and was determined that, as soon as the conversation was over, she was going to be all over her mate. Shea turned away from her mate as he pulled on a pair of jeans he must have left on the porch railing.

  “Okay, let’s talk.” Shea’s entire body warmed when her mate sat next to her and put his arm around her, pulling her close.

  “Sasha is the daughter of my best friend and a woman who was not his mate, but who he loved. James and I were best friends our entire lives. We grew up not far from each other and roamed the woods near our home together. He was a lynx, as was Mya. They were good people, and they loved Sasha with everything in them. There wasn’t anything sinister going on. It was just an accident. The roads were bad, and they crashed their car. The entire front of the car was crushed. James and Mya never had a chance to survive. But Sasha was in the back seat and, thankfully, safe. She knew that someone would come, so she shifted and curled up on the floor and waited. She was recovered a few hours later when someone reported seeing signs of a crash. They called me from the hospital, and I went to her immediately. She was only one. I took her home and never looked back. She isn’t my blood, but it doesn’t matter. She is my daughter. James would have done the same thing for me.” Shea sat quietly, taking in all of the information. She had known that Logan was a good man, and this just proved it to her.

  “Didn’t James or Mya have family that wanted Sasha?” Eira asked, and the laugh that came from Logan conveyed nothing happy.

  “James and I became friends because of lack of family bonding. His father was a mean drunk who didn’t care about anyone, and I grew up with foster families. All I ever knew about Mya’s family was that she said she would never see them again.” Shea was sorry for his childhood, but glad that he didn’t seem bitter about it, and that he could put it in the past and be the amazing father and mate that he was. Shea reached up and put her hands gently on his face. He looked down at her, and she pulled his head down to hers and gently kissed him on the lips.

  “I’m sorry you had to deal with that. You have overcome so much. You are a good man, a great father, and a wonderful mate. I love you, Logan.” At her statement Logan, closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers.

  “You are amazing, and I have made so many mistakes. I don’t deserve to have a mate like you. But I can promise that I will love and protect you for the rest of my life. I love you, Shea.” Logan opened his eyes and stared into hers. Shea could feel the love coming from him.

  “I know you think that our first time outside the diner was bad, but it wasn’t. I enjoyed every moment. You need to stop being so hard on yourself.” The end was phrased as a command, and Logan chuckled.

  “Are you ordering me around?” He asked her playfully.

  “Yes, I am. I might be quiet, but I am mighty when I need to be. You need to get over it, because I thought it was hot, and I loved every second of it.” Shea cuddled into his side more, and he held her tight. They sat there, entangled together, quietly. Shea was glad that Logan didn’t push her to speak. She knew that she needed to take her time and he gave her that. After a while longer, Shea began her story.

  “I had a sister. Anna. She was two years older than me, and everything I wanted to be. We grew up in a regular middle-class neighborhood and had a good childhood. Our mother and father loved each other and us. We went to the same schools our entire lives and had a pretty ordinary life. We were close, and we stayed that way even when Anna went off to college two hours away. When it was my turn to go to college, things changed. Our father got sick, and I stayed home to help my mother care for him. Anna wanted to come home to help, but we insisted that she stay and finish college. The plan was for me to go after a couple more years. That never happened.” Shea paused and sat collecting herself for a moment. Logan’s soothing strength encompassed her, and she leaned into him before continuing. “My father died right before my sister’s college graduation. Anna came home for a little while, and we tried to console our mother. It didn’t help. She didn’t seem to have much of a will to live after our father died. Three months after we buried our father, we buried our mother.” Logan was rubbing his hand up and down her arm, and she enjoyed the comfort.

  “You don’t have to keep going right now.” Logan tried to soothe her, but she knew she needed to say it all. Even after all the years, it hurt some. But now she had Logan and their family, so it wasn’t so bad anymore.

  “I can do it. You should know. Anna and I remained close for one more year, and then she moved away. She met a man and said that his family was very private, and she couldn’t see me very often. I studied at a college for a while, but I couldn’t work full time to survive and pay for school, so I dropped out. A couple of years later, I got a call from Anna. She was in a hospital in Colorado. She asked me to come to her, and I didn’t hesitate. When I got to her she was almost dead. She had been beaten so badly that the doctors did everything they could and it wasn’t enough. She told me about Hudson and about Darius, her mate. He was the one who had done that to Anna, and he wanted the baby. She asked me to take Hudson and keep him safe. She also told me about Wild, and that’s how we ended up here.” Shea wasn’t sure what else to say, so she remained quiet. Logan held her tight, and she let him.

  Chapter 9

  Logan sat with his incredibly sexy and sweet-smelling mate, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could resist her. He thought that what he found in the woods would have killed his libido and strictly kept him in protection mode. But after finding evidence of another bear lurking around, all his bear was inter
ested in was claiming his mate. Another had dared to enter their territory, and, while his mate carried his scent from living closely and being swollen with his cub, she didn’t carry his mating mark or scent.

  The bear wanted to take their mate right there and claim her, so that when the other bear came, and he had no doubt that he would, the claim would be staked. After Shea told him, Logan pieced together all the signs and scents from the other bear. Logan had scented Hudson out in the woods, but knew that it wasn’t him. The bear lurking around his territory and family must be Hudson’s father. Logan was surprised it had taken the polar bear almost four years to find Shea and Hudson, but he vowed that nothing would happen to them. He would protect them and get rid of the other bear.

  Shea stirred next to him, curled closer, and made a sound of contentment. That was all it took for his half-hard dick to go completely hard. He cursed himself for being such an asshole. His mate was going to have their cub any day, and all he could think about was laying her down and kissing, licking and nibbling every inch of her body. Then he would lick her creamy slit until she came three or four times and begged him to stop. He would stop only to push his hard dick right into her soaking pussy. He would be gentle, of course. She was pregnant with his cub. The rougher taking of her body could wait until she was healed from having the baby.

  Logan tried to keep a lid on his dirty thoughts and was desperate to will away his raging hard-on. Then his mate, the little minx, made him crazy. Shea rubbed her hand lightly against his jeans, where his dick was threatening to push through the material. Logan sucked in a breath and reached his hand down to still her movements.

  “Baby, stop…” But he didn’t get to finish his protest, because she blew his thoughts from his head by squeezing his dick. Logan’s hand loosened from hers, as she began rubbing up and down his jean-covered dick and applying pressure. Logan was losing his mind and couldn’t think of why he was supposed to be stopping this. Soon he was moving his hips in time with Shea’s hand.

  “Damn, baby! That feels so damn good,” Logan moaned when she stopped and squeezed again. Then, his shy little mate got up on her knees next to him and kissed his neck. Logan breathed in and caught her musky scent that held her desire for him. To him, she smelled like honey, and he fucking loved honey. After Shea kissed him a couple of times and ran her tongue from his collarbone to his ear, she spoke softly but firmly in his ear.

  “Take me, Logan. Make me yours. I don’t want to wait anymore, and I ache for you.” Logan was ready to do just that, when the swell of her belly bumped into his arm. Logan cooled his raging hormones and calmed the bear before considering his options. Shea wanted him, and, from her scent, needed him. The man and the bear wanted her like nothing they had ever wanted before. She was pregnant, and the rough against-the-wall sex that had occurred at their first meeting was not an option.

  Apparently, Logan’s lack of a quick response sent the wrong message to his mate. Shea got up from kneeling on the bench and began waddling toward the back door. Man, did that woman have a sexy waddle. As soon as he thought that, Logan called himself all kinds of stupid, and remembered that his mate was walking away from him.

  “Stupid men,” he heard his mate grumble, as he got up from the bench to follow her. Before he reached her, she turned around at the back door and had a hard glare on her face. “You know if you don’t want me anymore, all you have to do is say so. I didn’t ask to be your mate, Logan Dahl, but I fell in love with you, and you say you love me, too, but you won’t touch me? What in the hell is wrong with you?” Before Logan could say a word, Shea’s hand dropped to her belly. She seemed to think of something else and continued glaring at him. “Or is this the problem? I know I’ve put on some weight, and my belly is rather large, but it won’t be that way forever.” The last was said in such a defeated tone that Logan felt like a huge tool. He immediately pulled her into his arms and held her tight. He expected her to get mad and push him away, but she surprised him by leaning into his touch. He knew that he had to tell her the truth so she didn’t think he wasn’t attracted to her.

  “Sweetheart, you are the sexiest, most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I want you like I have never wanted anything.” Logan kissed the top of her head, and she pulled it away from his body to look at him.

  “Then why won’t you touch me? Why won’t you make love to me?” Logan moaned at the feel of her pressed against his body. His body wanted to make love to her all night long.

  “I don’t want to hurt you.” At his confession, she studied him further. Logan reached his hand down and laid it on her belly. “You are carrying our cub, and I don’t want to hurt you or the baby.”

  “Logan! For crying out loud, you are the gentlest person with children and people in general. You aren’t going to hurt me. Yes, we have to be careful, and I know it probably won’t be as satisfying for you as the first time, because of the belly, but…” Logan stopped her with a kiss. It was gentle but firm and left no room for doubt. He wanted her, and her body was not a deterrent for him but a major turn-on. She parted her lips, and Logan slipped his tongue into her mouth. He was demanding, and she loved every second.

  “Shea.” He breathed her name like a promise as he separated their lips. When he didn’t draw away from her and stayed a breath away from her lips, she was hopeful that he would continue his attentions. “We have to be careful. If I hurt you in any way, you have to tell me.” He sounded so worried that Shea couldn’t help but comfort him. She squeezed her arms tighter around him.

  “You won’t hurt me. I love you, Logan. Take me upstairs to our bed, and make me yours.” She was firm in her statement, not wanting to give him any reason to think that this was something that she was unsure of. The doubt she once had was gone. His constant attention and caring had made her realize that he was worth the risk.

  Logan growled at her statement, and Shea’s pussy started pulsing with need. He drew in a deep breath, no doubt scenting her desire for him, and did something he had never done to her before. He smiled the most seductive smile she had ever seen. It was so self-assured and filled with promise that she shivered with anticipation. Then she was suddenly in his arms, and he was carrying her through the house and up the stairs. Shea didn’t want to break the mood that had been set, so she didn’t say a word.

  When they reached the bedroom, he closed the door and set her carefully on the bed. Shea reached for her pants, but Logan’s hands stopped her. She was about to protest when he spoke.

  “No, love. Let me take them off. I want to unwrap you and take my time with you. Savour every moment of this like I didn’t get to the first time.” His voice was firm and turned her on even more.

  “Logan, I already told you…” Shea didn’t get to finish her sentence. Logan silenced her with his lips pressed firmly to hers. When he withdrew, she wasn’t sure what she had been about to say.

  “I know you don’t regret how our first time went, but I want to show you that not only can I be aggressive and demanding, but caring, gentle, and demanding.” The last part made her smile.

  “Okay, Logan. Make me yours.” Her words caused a growl to slip through from him, and she shivered. Logan stood next to the bed, and she relaxed back into the pillows, watching his every move. His eyes never left hers, as he unzipped the jeans he had put on after his shift and peeled them down his legs. He stepped out of them and was standing before her, completely naked and completely hard. Every inch of her mate was perfection. Because he was so tall, he had eight-pack abs that made her want to kiss them all day long. His muscles were defined, and there was no doubt this man was as strong as, well, a bear. She knew his shifter strength was present when he was in his human form as well, and it made her feel safe. Logan reminded her of a Norwegian god. All six foot eight inches of him was hard-packed muscle, and his platinum blonde hair was long enough for her to run her fingers through it. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on him.

  As if reading her thoughts, Logan smiled playfully at her
and palmed his erection. He glided his hand up to the tip and back down again. Shea didn’t even realize she was licking her lips until Logan’s growl distracted her. She looked up into his eyes.

  “See something you like, mate?” His voice was very gravelly, and she knew it was because the bear was coming to the surface to see their mate. Shea had never spoken to a man the way she wanted to speak to Logan, and it frightened her a little. But she took a deep breath and told the truth of what she wanted to do to him.

  “Yes. I–I want to suck you.” The words made her cheeks heat, but she never let her eyes move from his. She wanted him to know that, while she might be new to some of this, she wanted everything he could give her.

  “Come here.” Logan waved a finger and pointed in front of him. Shea crawled to the side of the bed where he stood, and looked up at her mate. She sat back on her knees and waited. She didn’t mind him being in charge. She really liked it, based on her heightened arousal. Logan’s hand came up and caressed her cheek.

  “We go at your pace. If there is something you don’t like, you tell me.” Shea nodded her acceptance to Logan. He stepped closer to her, and her gaze was drawn to the hard cock in front of her now. Shea wanted to touch it, but waited for Logan to inform her of what to do. “Touch me. You want to, so do it.” His voice just made her even wetter, and she was sure her pants were going to be soaked soon, just as her panties were.

  Shea reached out and grasped Logan’s cock. The soft steel of his erection made her moan. She squeezed him and slid her hand up and down him.

  “Mmmm. Yeah, baby. Just like that.” Logan’s words spurred her on, and she got a rhythm going. “Damn.” He cursed again, and Shea felt powerful and sexy. She was making this huge, sexy man moan in pleasure. She licked her lips and continued to stare at her hand, giving him pleasure.