It didn’t matter to either of us. Thorn kissed my skin as he exposed it, pulling the tank top down and then ripping it over my head. His hands were everywhere, teasing me.
“I want you to mark me. I want to do this.” I said it while gripping his hair and pulling his face up to mine.
Thorn kissed me senseless and yanked my skirt up to my waist. My panties were ripped off and his pants were undone. When he pulled back, his eyes were burning bright. “Forever?”
I tugged at his pants and nodded. “Forever. Do you-?”
He cut me off by rolling us and suddenly brushing the tip of his shaft against my slick folds. He held my gaze as he slowly pushed into me. “Completely.”
I wrapped myself around him and buried my face in his neck, feeling entirely overwhelmed with delirious pleasure. This felt different. Knowing he was my mate and that this was going to be forever took it to a whole different intensity than the first time. I could already feel my body tensing for a release.
Thorn thrust himself back and forth inside of me, slow and deep, taking me to levels that I didn’t know existed. He braced himself on his elbows on either side of my head, and when I tilted my head back, and our eyes met, I could see that he was just as affected as I was. My world rocked.
“Claim me, Thorn.”
He nudged my head to the side and lowered his mouth to my neck. I held my breath as his tongue teased me and licked the sensitive skin. Then he kissed me there. “Relax, Allie. I would never hurt you.”
I tilted my hips and he hit an even deeper spot, spurring the first ripples of my orgasm. I cried out and then felt it. Hot pleasure radiated from my neck as I felt his teeth sink in. My orgasm doubled, tripled as I felt Thorn give himself to me completely. A second passed and Thorns body spasmed as he climaxed with me.
Our bodies writhed together until we were both wiped out, exhausting everything in our mating. We were tangled together, our clothes pushed and pulled in ways that made it hard to move, but everything was perfect. I’d never felt so at peace as I did in that moment.
I kept my body wrapped around Thorn’s, even as he rolled to his side to hold me. I kept my body wrapped around his, even as I drifted into a blissful sleep.
26
Hawthorne
I watched my mate sleeping in my arms, both of us still on the floor. I glanced up at the door, unsure if we’d even closed it. It was pushed most of the way shut, so I ignored it and turned my attentions back to Allie. Her hair was rumpled and a piece clung to her lips as she made a gentle whistling sound. Her body was molded against mine so closely that I couldn’t see much but the curve of her waist. Even just that glimpse had me hard again.
Somehow, I hadn’t managed to fuck everything up. She still wanted me. After the way I’d been such a jackass to her, I couldn’t imagine why. I was grateful, though. She was everything.
After I’d moved past my own fear, it hadn’t taken long to realize that she was nothing like my father or my mother. I was nothing like my father or mother. I didn’t have to worry about their past becoming my present. I knew Allie, even from just watching her the past week. I was safe with her. And she was safe with me.
Talking to Abram, and some of the other mated guys in town, I’d come to realize that I hadn’t understood the mate bond at all. I was fucking lucky I’d found my mate.
She stirred in her sleep and I smiled like an grinnin’ fool down at her. Her skirt was still on and the boots she wore hadn’t been taken off, either. My pants were still caught around my legs and I’d somehow managed to keep my hat on. I should’ve felt ashamed for not making the claiming more special for her. But, I couldn’t feel anything but happy as a pig in mud that it’d happened. I had a lifetime to make things special. And I’d spend every day of it trying.
Allie stirred again and I pressed my lips to her forehead. When she opened her eyes, they were full of happiness. I grinned back at her. “Hi.”
She stretched, exposing the curve of her breast to me. “Hi, yourself.”
I rolled us over so she was on top of me and I caught one of her nipples in my mouth. I nipped it gently and then fell back with a groan as she lifted her hips and took me in her hot body again. “Jesus, woman.”
She braced herself on my chest and rolled her hips. “Eventually, we should talk more.”
I bucked my hips up to meet her. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk more once you move in here.”
She started to argue but I rolled us over and thrust into her again. “We’ll talk later”
With a wicked grin, she raked her nails down my back. “Later, then.”
I had a feeling she could talk me into anything. If she didn’t want to move in, I’d be staying in the too-small bed of a trailer with newly warped floors. It didn’t matter, though. Especially when she licked her lips and rolled us over so she was on top again. I was so lost in euphoria, I had no interest in being found.
THE END
WYATT
1
Georgia
I tapped the screen of my phone and groaned.“One bar. I have one measly, stinking bar of service. Is this just a dead zone or something? It gets better once you get to town, surely?”
The cowboy next to me, driving, grinned. “No, ma’am. Not really.”
I held the phone up, like being lifted higher than the car’s open top would suddenly make a difference. “Shit. I’m trying to send an email and nothing’s happening.”
He looked over at me, pushing his cowboy hat up on his head while holding my gaze. The road stretched on, straight as an arrow, in front of us and he held the car steady. “We could always find something better to do.”
If I hadn’t been dating bad boys since I was old enough to shave my legs, I suppose I would’ve appreciated the dangerous move. As it was, the cockiness of it only served to irk me slightly. Somehow, the possibility of ending up splattered on the front of a big rig, like the few that had passed us, just didn’t appeal to me now that I was in my late twenties. Not that it had in my early twenties, either.
“Keep your eyes on the road and I’ll consider finding something for you to do.” Lie. Nothing was going to happen with the cocky cowboy. He’d already blown his shot. I couldn’t even pinpoint when exactly it had happened, but one moment I’d been considering him, the next I’d already written him off. That’s just the way it worked for me.
My email finally went through a half-second before a message from my latest ex popped up. I didn’t bother to read it before pressing delete, then quickly dialing my best friend. Allie sure knew how to hide when she decided to run away. The town I was headed to was barely a hole in the wall. It sure didn’t matter enough to get its own spot on a map, apparently. Hence the cowboy driver in a convertible instead of a real taxi service. It was the best arrangement I could find to take me all the way down to Burden, Texas.
Allie answered on the fourth ring, out of breath. “Knock it off, I want to get this.”
I rolled my eyes as a low growl sounded from her end of the call and she burst into giggles. I knew what was happening. She’d been attached to her new man’s hip since they’d hooked up, and this wasn’t the first call I’d made ‘interrupting’ them.
“Allie, I’m about an hour away. You think you two can be done by then?” I couldn’t even pretend to be annoyed at her for answering in the middle of playtime with her big bear-man. She was in love and I was happy for her. She deserved it.
“She’ll be done and working the bar by then. Can’t wait to meet you, Georgia. Bye, now.” Click.
I laughed and slipped my phone back in my purse, content to ride the rest of the way without it. I’d hastily wrapped a silk scarf around my hair to keep it from beating me to death on the trip, but it wasn’t doing much. Long strands were whipping around, lashing my face and neck. I glanced over at the cowboy and noticed that his hair just seemed to blow easily around his forehead. Sexy.
Maybe I’d written him off too soon, I thought as I mentally put him back
on the court. Maybe he was still in the game.
I was tired both from the flight I’d taken and the going away party I’d thrown the night before, but I refused to give in to the urge to sleep. I’d be seeing Allie very soon for the first time in what felt like forever. I didn’t want to meet her new man with sleep marks on my face. If there was one thing my very southern, very belle-ish mom had taught me, it was that first impressions mattered.
“How long are you going to be in town? Maybe you can look me up on your way back through?” He side-glanced over at me through hooded lids, his lip caught between his teeth and I had the distinct impression that he’d practiced that look in the mirror several times before perfecting it.
“I’m not sure, actually. Could be a few weeks or a few days. It depends how Burden, Texas agrees with me.”
“I can’t imagine anything, or anyone, not agreeing with you, sweetheart.”
I stared at him for longer than it was comfortable for him evidently, because he turned back to the road, eyes straight ahead and steady for once. I couldn’t help picking him apart. It was just a thing I did. It was the reason no man lasted longer than a few weeks with me. I stared too much, had silent debates about them in my head, and just generally analyzed them to pieces until they, or I, ended it. Usually me. I seemed to always be looking for something that wasn’t there. Hell, I didn’t even know what it was that I was looking for.
“Lots of people disagree with me, sweetheart.” I threw the name back at him. “How much longer ‘till Burden?”
He glanced back over at me in time to catch the wink I sent his way. I didn’t want to seem like too much of a bitch. He could still pull the car over and kick me out, even if I was paying him a hefty sum to drive me.
“Still a good ways off. Why don’t you lean on back and get comfortable? I’ll get you there safe and sound.”
I let out a long, audible sigh. Without my phone, I was as bored as a puppy in a fenced yard without toys. “Okay. Just be sure you wake me in time to freshen up before we get to town. Maybe we can stop at a gas station or something before we get in?”
He laughed like I’d made a funny joke. “You must be thinking of someplace else. There’s nothing outside of Burden but more of what you’re seeing right here.”
I looked around. “There’s nothing between us and the town except—land?”
“Not a thing. The first place we’ll come up on is a bar called The Cave. I guess you can freshen up in there, if you want.”
I bit off a groan and tipped my head back to look up at the sky. Looking at the vast, bright blueness of it, I could almost forget that Allie had clearly found a town that was meant to be hidden away. It was tucked away with nothing around it and hardly any way to get there like a private oasis residents weren’t keen on sharing.
“Just wake me up when you pass the town sign. I assume there is one of those, right?”
He laughed. “Of course. Unless someone got drunk and ripped it down again.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Burden, Texas was going to be quite the adventure for this city gal.
2
Wyatt
Coming down from the mountain always made my bear restless. Leaving the wilderness to return to a more tamed life made us both a little uncomfortable. Things were better in the wild. As a man or a bear, I could run and swim and do whatever I wanted without any hassles. There were no rules. I’d always found that there were too many rules in town. No shoes, no service. No shirt, no service. No pants, you’re suddenly a criminal.
Hell, I couldn’t even walk barefoot into my Mom’s house without her yelling about it.
It wasn’t entirely my fault that I was more bear than man. Being raised at the base of a mountain and given free reign, I’d always done what I wanted. It wasn’t until I was old enough to begin considering females that Mom started the lecturing. She’d raised me to be the way I was, but she was the first to say I needed to act normal. She wanted a daughter-in-law and cubs to fawn over. Neither of which would happen if I didn’t start showering inside and wearing shirts with buttons, she said.
I focused on the small group of people following me down and gave them each a reassuring nod. I’d known they wouldn’t survive well in the wild. They were too soft. They’d given it a good try, though, and I respected them for that. They all looked rough around the edges, having faced just a little bit of what mother nature and her unyielding terrain could dish out. This group hadn’t had an easy time.
I’ve had groups that surprised me, and groups that left me wondering why the hell I continued to do what I did. Teaching humans to survive in the woods wasn’t exactly a cake walk. They didn’t come with the proper instincts and most weren’t made to last out here. This group had fought, though, and that was impressive in itself.
“Wyatt, are we almost there? I don’t think I can make it another step.”
I looked back at the younger woman named Sarah. She was pretty and I’d noticed her giving me more than a few steamy glances. I knew the trail we were on well. After the rock formation we’d just passed, there was still another half hour before we reached the bottom. “We’re almost there. If you don’t think you can make it, I can carry you.”
She gave me a coy smile, “I don’t think I can make it.”
Another job perk. Women sometimes came along on the trip and sometimes I had to play hero and save them. Those same women seemed more than eager to throw their numbers at the man who’d rescued them, and I didn’t see any harm in having a little fun with them. I was healthy and single. I bent over and easily lifted her in a fireman’s carry. She was soft and smelled like flowers, despite having been outside, in the heat, all week long.
As an unmated bear, I chose to enjoy most of the women who came onto me after these trips. I never mixed business with pleasure, so during the trip it was strictly yes, ma’am and no, ma’am, but afterwards, we were all free to do whatever and whomever we wanted.
Sarah’s not so subtle come-ons told me she’d be perfect for a little harmless fun. She’d at least help to take the edge off. I’d been wound tighter than usual since my best friend, Thorn, had bonded with his mate. Seeing Thorn and Allie together, I couldn’t help but feel like I was missing out on something amazing. I wanted what Thorn had stumbled into. Everyone did.
Prospects were few and far between for a guy who spent over half his life in the woods, though. I would just have to settle for quick hook-ups with women like Sarah. Both of us would get happy and then we’d go our separate ways. That was how it worked.
I bit back a sigh. Lately it felt like more and more work. I glanced back at my group and frowned. I wasn’t sure I’d helped any of them.
I led them the rest of the way down to their cars and watched them all leave. Sarah had made up some excuse about organizing her car so she could stay behind and it didn’t take any time at all for us to put my office to use. She was frisky, leaving bite marks and scratches that I hadn’t planned on and didn’t want. I tried to drive out that persistent itch that I couldn’t get rid of through her, but when it was done and I was buckling my pants and helping her up from my desk, it was still there. The hair on the back of my neck was even standing on end and my bear was more on edge than ever.
Sarah left her number on my desk and a lipstick kiss on my neck as she left. She winked and told me she’d see me soon, but I was so damn distracted by whatever it was that had my bear freaking out that I’m not even sure I told her goodbye.
As soon as Sarah left, I went out behind my office and shifted. I let my bear take over, leading me to whatever had it so worked up. I edged my way through the woods that surrounded the town and took my time, scenting out everything. It didn’t make any sense. I couldn’t smell anything odd. No one had been there who didn’t belong. There was nothing that should’ve been alarming my bear and sending me into such a tailspin.
By the time I hit the back door of The Cave, Thorn’s bar, I was so restless my bear couldn’t maintain control. He
gave a mighty roar that turned into a shout as I shifted back to myself.
Thorn came out a second later, glaring. “You trying to give my mate a heart attack? Why are you back here screaming and roaring like someone just cut your damn nuts off?”
I shuddered. “Do you not feel that?”
He frowned at me and shook his head. “Feel what?”
“There’s something in the air. My bear is about to claw my insides to shreds.”
He tipped his head back and took a big breath in. Halfway through, he choked and then laughed. “Wyatt, you smell like you just fucked a flower. Is that what I’m supposed to be smelling? I could have done without that, thank you very much. Go take a damn shower.”
I nodded, telling myself that it would help. “Sure, sure. I’ll see you later tonight.”
He shook his head and waved me off. “Get it together, man. We’ve got a game later.”
I headed towards the river and tried my best to calm my bear down. It wouldn’t do any good if I shifted in the middle of the game and mauled someone because I couldn’t remain in control of my bear.
3
Georgia
“How do I look?” I turned to face the cowboy and did a little spin. I’d woken up a few miles before the Burden sign and touched up my makeup. I’d even hopped in the back and changed from my casual traveling attire to a pretty white sun dress while sexy cowboy kept his eyes on the road—or so he swore.
“Delicious. Let me buy you a drink inside.”
I was standing next to his car outside The Cave, eager to reunite with Allie. I didn’t have time for a drink with the guy, but I didn’t want to be rude either. I pulled the scarf from around my head and gave my hair a toss with my fingers. “Sorry, cowboy. You’ve got to get back to the city and I’ve got a meeting with my bestie inside.”
Bears of Burden Complete Series Box Set Page 11