“Yeah!” Sarah cheered along.
I heard Alexei’s low, strong voice next. “I suggest you leave now of your own volition. If not, I will make you leave—now. One of those options ends with you in traction, eating your meals through a straw for the next six months. Your choice.”
I listened with strained ears, but I couldn’t hear anything. I couldn’t figure out what was happening until the door slammed and people cheered. Then Sarah’s head appeared over the top of the bar and her grin stretched as wide as her face.
“They’re gone.” She reached over and stroked my hair.
Mimi rounded the bar and stood in front of me. “You okay, honey?”
I shook my head and then nodded. “Yeah. No. I don’t know.”
“I think the hottie has a real thing for you! Did you hear him?” Sarah sighed, still hanging over the bar. “He said you’re his.”
Mimi’s hand flew to her chest. “He’s not the type a girl should let slip through her fingers. Trust me on that. I know. I’ve been married five times.”
I forced a smile and pulled myself up. She was right. No more hiding. I had to talk to Alexei and at least thank him for standing up for me. When I turned, though, he was gone.
Sarah sighed. “Where’d he go?”
I looked around the bar. People were staring at me, but the looks were curious rather than cruel. The vibe in Mimi’s Cabana quickly returned to normal, the drama forgotten, but Alexei was nowhere to be seen.
“I should thank him.”
Mimi snorted. “You should marry him.”
I groaned. “Things are more complicated than that.”
“Oh, really? A man that beautiful wants you and is willing to fight for you and it’s complicated? Okay. Complicated. Sure.”
I stood up taller and scanned the place once more hoping to find him. “It’s more than just that. He…he did some stuff.”
Sarah’s eyes widened. “He cheated?”
“No.”
Mimi crossed her arms over her large chest and coconut bra. “He’s abusive?”
“No.”
Mimi nodded knowingly. “He’s only into anal.”
I jerked around to face her. “No! What’s wrong with you?”
She laughed. “Then, it sounds like whatever he did is forgivable. Go, get him.”
“I…” I blew out a shaky breath and looked for him again. “It’s—”
“Take a chance,” Sarah said. “You’ve lived like a nun the entire time you’ve been here. It’s time for you go a little wild.”
I looked at the door and wondered where he’d gone. “I don’t like the consequences of living wildly.”
“Maybe the outcome will be in your favor this time. How will you know if you don’t take that chance? Now, go. I can’t stand here and convince you to do what’s best for you all night long. I’ve got tables to wait.”
As I stood there after Sarah went back to work and tried to think through what I was going to do, Mimi took over pouring drinks. I could stay and let him get on with his life. We could both go back to the way things were. I’d forget him eventually, no matter what Megan and the other women said, and live the rest of my life the way I had been.
So, things weren’t exciting? So, I was lonely? At least I was safe.
Or I could step out of my comfort zone and go after him—let him explain. We might even be able to work things out. Maybe the women were right and he was my mate and things would never be fine again because they’d be amazing.
“Two beers, please!”
I climbed over the bar, and ran out the door amidst cheers of the patrons who had been side eying me, second guessing what I was gonna do. Well, what I was gonna do was hear Alexei out. But, that was all. I deserved an explanation. Yeah, that was the only reason I was chasing him down.
25
Alexei
I crossed Main Street and walked to the beach. I was barely holding myself together, anger getting the best of me. I wanted to lash out and rip someone’s head off. I wanted to hurt everyone who’d ever hurt Heidi, including myself.
The image of her crouching behind the bar, hiding, was scorched into my brain. I couldn’t unsee it. She was hurt. She deserved better. I wanted to be the one who made it all better, yet I’d only made it worse for her.
I shifted, not concerned about my shredded clothing, and padded into the water. My bear was mourning the loss of his mate, his sorrow audible as he cried. We were both mourning. It was my fault. I hadn’t taken things seriously enough and I’d ruined everything.
“Alexei!”
I turned towards the sound of my name being called and froze. Running toward the water was Heidi. She stopped at the water’s edge and stepped out of her shoes before wading into the water.
“We have to talk. Right now.” Out of breath, she was waist deep in the water, the bottom of her dress floating up around her hips.
I swam closer, still keeping my distance, and just waited. Had she really chased after me?
“I want to hear what you have to say. I need to hear it. Can you shift back?”
My bear retreated, leaving me there to face what I’d done. I swam closer to our mate and felt my stomach twist painfully. “I’m sorry.”
Her eyes were wide and she blinked a few times. “Wow.”
“I know. That doesn’t really cut it, does it? I am, though. I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you. I should’ve told you right away. I should’ve shown you and let you decide what you wanted to tell me. It was yours to decide and I took that away from you. I know how wrong I was.”
“You make it look so easy.”
“What?”
She stepped closer. “Shifting. I saw Roman do it, but it’s not the same. It’s amazing. You’re a bear one second and then you’re…you. Wow…it’s so…beautiful.”
I stilled. “You think it’s beautiful?”
She nodded. “Can you do it again? Right now?”
I wasn’t going to tell her no. I shifted into my bear and chuffed at her. I was amazed when she smiled and held her hand out for me to come closer. I eased closer, but I let her decide if she wanted to touch me. I was done presuming things.
She scratched behind my ears the way I liked. “Again, please.”
I shifted back and stared down at her. Her hand cupped the side of my face and I pressed my cheek into her palm greedily. “I’m sorry, Heidi.”
“Did you mean to trick me? Was it supposed to be a joke?”
I shook my head. “I never meant to trick you in a bad way. At first, before I realized you were my mate, I thought it would be funny for a polar bear to be on a beach in Florida. But after that, it was just…me…hanging out with you any way I could. It was wrong of me, though, not to provide you with full disclosure.”
“You think I’m your mate?”
I held her gaze. “I know you are. Everything about you calls to me. I meant what I said about fate. I understand you being angry. I knew I wasn’t making the best choices, but I was so desperate to be with you that I didn’t care. I should’ve thought things through.”
“Megan told me that shifters need their mates. She said that you would be in physical pain without me.”
I just nodded.
“And you were just going to leave and let me shut you out?”
I nodded again. “I’m not going to force you to be with me. I’ve done enough.”
“So, what? You just suffer?”
“It’s fine, Heidi. You don’t owe me anything. Don’t worry about me, okay?”
She stepped closer, the water up to her chest then. “You said you’re sorry.”
“I am. Very much.”
“I forgive you.” She came even closer. “I think…”
“What? What do you think?”
She let out a shaky laugh. “I’m terrified. I’m terrified that you might hurt me again. I want to believe all of the mate stuff, but it’s not easy. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to believe the best o
f something.”
Too eagerly, I moved closer to her. “I can show you. I can show you that you’re bound to me and that we’re meant to be together.”
“How?”
I trailed my finger down her neck. “The mark. You’ll feel what I feel. You’ll know that this is real. It’s serious, though. It’s forever after that. There’s no going back.”
“You want to mark me?”
“So badly that my bones ache from it. If you’re not ready, though, it’s okay. We can go slowly. We can—”
“Alexei?”
“Yeah?”
“Stop talking and do it.” She closed the gap between us and put her finger to my lips. “But then we both let it go. I forgive you. You have to forgive yourself, too. I’m not fragile. I don’t need you apologizing and treating me like I’m going to break. I want you the way you are.”
My hands went to her waist and I sucked in a sharp breath. “Can I talk?”
“I guess.”
“I want to mark you as mine. I want to claim you so there’s never a doubt that you belong to me and that I belong to you. No games, no jokes, just you and me, together.”
She sighed and swayed into me. “Forever?”
“If there’s anything longer than forever, then that.”
“You won’t change your mind?”
“Heidi?”
“Yeah?”
“Stop talking and let me do it.”
26
Heidi
I gasped as Alexei pulled me into his body and kissed me. God, the man could kiss. He made love to my mouth in a way that I’d never experienced. His lips moved over mine slowly and deliberately, tasting and teasing. He moved from my bottom lip to my top lip before running his tongue over them, seeking entrance.
I was a puddle as he stroked my lips and then my tongue. Short and teasing strokes built up to strong, deep strokes that drove me crazy. I couldn’t get enough of his kisses.
I wrapped myself around him, longing for more. Locking my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, I felt the thick ridge of his erection press against my core.
Alexei growled against my mouth and pulled back to look at me. “Fuck, you’re beautiful like this, with lips red and swollen from my kisses and your pulse beating like crazy at the base of your throat.”
I kissed his neck and ran my tongue over his skin, tasting him. “When are you going to mark me?”
He groaned and I felt his erection pulse against me. “Are you sure, mate?”
I liked hearing him call me that. I liked it a lot. “Yes. I want you to mark me. Will you be able to see it? When you look at me, will you see that I’m yours?”
Another pulse. “You’re killing me. It’ll be visible. All shifters will know. I’ll feel you, too. We’ll feel each other—through the bond.”
“Do you know what you’d feel right now? If you could feel me?” I ran my fingers through his hair and peppered kisses on his lips. “You’d feel that I don’t want to wait anymore. I want you—now.”
He swore and his mouth descended over mine again as he pivoted us. The pier where we’d first met was behind him, and he pressed my back against it. We weren’t immersed so deeply that the water covered us completely, but we were far enough out that were cloaked by darkness.
Alexei pinned me to the thick wooden pillar with his lower body and slid the top of my dress down over my shoulders and even farther, taking my strapless bra with it. As the waves rolled in, the cool water kissed my bared breasts seconds before his mouth did.
With lingering strokes of his tongue and deep, hungry, open mouthed kisses to them, he only stopped when I pulled his head up and silently begged him for more. The blue of his eyes were glowing a bright sliver in the moonlight. “What’s the magic word?”
I dropped my head back as his hand trailed down my side and worked its way between us. When my panties were shoved aside and his thick finger was easing into me, we both moaned.
I reached up and behind me to grab the pier, trying desperately to brace myself against something firm and solid. I was light-headed and had the feeling that I was floating away. “Alexei, more.”
He slid another finger into me and ran his tongue over my breasts again, sucking and nibbling. He was purposefully driving me crazy. “Say the magic word and I’ll take you right now. I’ll make you scream my name and mark you as mine. All you have to do is say it.”
“Please!”
He grinned, resting his forehead against mine as he pumped his fingers back and forth and his thumb swiped over my clit sending shivers of pleasure through my body. “That’s a good one and we may use it later, but it’s not the magic word I want to hear from you.”
And suddenly, I knew exactly the word he was waiting for. He was waiting for a concrete confirmation. “Mate…you’re my mate. You’re mine, Alexei, and I want you in me.”
He groaned and then his fingers were gone and in their place a crushing emptiness. But, before I could voice a protest, his cock was there instead, slowly filling me until I thought I couldn’t handle another inch.
He gripped the pier, his hand partly over mine, and his other hand cupped my ass. His forehead pressed to mine, eyes focused on me, as he slowly moved. His hips gyrated with the gentle rocking of the waves, pumping in and out of me in a rhythm that sent me reeling.
I watched the strain on his handsome face, the way he held back, and wanted desperately to see him let go and lose control. I arched my back and met his thrusts harder. I used my hands, locked around the pier, to give me leverage to increase the friction between our bodies.
My move seemed to have its intended effect. He swore and thrust into me harder and faster, matching my pace. His grip on my ass was bruising. “I’m not going to last long like this, Heidi.”
“Good. I want you to come with me.” I shuddered, my body close to coming apart for him. “Mark me. Mark me, mate.”
That was all that he needed. He used his chin to nudge my head to the side and then his tongue stroked over my exposed neck. I held my breath, but he just licked me again.
“Mate.” I moaned. “Please!”
He let out a wild snarl and then sank his teeth into my neck. It hurt for only a split second before the pleasure hit full force. It seemed to come from all directions and all at once. My body tightened… and then snapped with an orgasm unlike any I’d ever felt flowing over me, I trembled like an earthquake, the contractions rocking me to the core. The pleasure radiated, going out, coming back in, rolling through me. Everywhere.
And I screamed, lost somewhere in a blissful euphoria, not caring who heard, I screamed Alexei’s name.
Alexei thrust a few more strokes and then went still, buried in me to the hilt. I felt his seed filling me, as another orgasm started up for me, even stronger, as though his climax had triggered mine. The sounds I made were helpless cries of surrender to a passion more powerful than I thought possible.
I wasn’t sure how long we hung onto the pier like that, but the moon was higher in the sky when I was able to think clearly again. I opened my eyes to find Alexei watching me, a crooked grin on his face. “What?”
He bit his lip and that smile grew wider. “You’re mine.”
I couldn’t help but smile back. I felt…him, his emotions toward me. An overwhelming sense of pride and warmth and joy…and love. I could feel through our bond the depth of his feelings for me. I held his face in my hands and tasted his lips, hoping he also knew through the bond what I thought of him.
Fate had given me a gift, for whatever reason, and I wasn’t one to be ungrateful.
“Alexei, let’s go back to my house. I want to hear you say please. Magic words work both ways, you know?”
He laughed and pulled me away from the pier. He insisted on carrying me up the beach and then up the stairs to my house. Anyone looking out their window would’ve gotten quite the view.
“You’re not into just anal, right?”
He stumbled. “What?”
<
br /> “Sorry, sorry. It was something that Mimi said.” I hesitated. “I’m willing to experiment, just as long as it’s not all anal, all the time.”
“Stop saying anal.”
“I’m just checking.”
“Okay, well, no, I’m not into all anal, all the time.”
I laughed as he tried to carry me into the bathroom while looking for the bedroom. “Next room on the right.”
He found it and dropped me on the bed.
I pulled him down on top of me and kissed him. “Wait.”
He stiffened. “What?”
“Why was Mr. Zoo just accepting a random polar bear into his animal sanctuary?”
“It’s a long story.”
“No wonder he was so rude to me.” I laughed. “I kept bringing him an animal that he didn’t want.”
Alexei buried his face in my shoulder and growled. “Enough talking about another man. In fact, let’s stop talking altogether.”
I tangled my hands in his hair and shifted my hips so he brushed against my entrance. “I could talk about anal some more.”
He laughed and sank into me in one deep thrust. “Heidi?”
“Yeah?”
“Please.”
THE END.
NEXT BOOK IN THIS SERIES
Parker is fighting extinction—
Of her own shifter species!
She’d already be mated.
If not for those bullying polar bears.
They've scared away all decent prospects.
Maxim has met the one
But, she’s an activist with silly notions.
And she wants nothing to do with him.
As a Tactical Bear, he’ll need all his strategic skills.
Not for military advancements,
But to win over his mate!
Get Tactical Bear HERE
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