by Amy Lamont
He lifted his head. “I got you, baby.”
His mouth returned to my breast and he nipped the bud of my nipple at the same moment his hips surged forward and he sheathed himself in my body to the hilt.
I cried out and held on tight as a stinging sensation shot through my body. So many feelings hit me at once, I was on sensory overload. I couldn’t tell if the pain came from my breast or my throbbing sex.
But it didn’t matter. The pain was quickly replaced with a profound pleasure as Kaden started moving inside me. He didn’t hold back, pulling out of me until just his tip remained and then surging back in to the root.
He was right. I felt like my body was made just for him. Any discomfort quickly dissipated, leaving nothing but heat and need and rolling swells of pleasure.
“Can you feel how your pussy was made for me?” His words whispered so close to my ear, sent desire flooding through me and my hips bucked up to meet his next thrust hard.
“Yes, yes.”
My movements urged him on and he picked up his pace. I did my best to keep up with his pounding thrusts, matching the movement of my hips to his.
“You were made for me.” He slid a hand down my leg and pushed my knee up closer to my chest, causing him to delve even deeper. “Your sweet little pussy is mine.”
My neck arched and I pressed my breasts against his chest so I could feel the chafe of the light sprinkling of hair there against my over-sensitized nipples. His hips surged, plunging back and forth and I was lost, no longer capable of coherent thought as he brought me closer and closer to something just beyond my reach.
“Please, Kaden.” The words left me on a moan and I couldn’t contain the little mewling sounds that escaped my throat as my whole body moved with his rhythmic, pounding thrusts.
“I’ve got you, baby.” His words sounded like a vow I couldn’t even begin to fathom. But they were enough to bring me to a clawing, screaming orgasm that rolled through my body in wave after wave of pleasure so intense, I lost all sense of myself.
Just as I hit the pinnacle, Kaden’s hips jerked erratically and his mouth returned to the spot at the juncture of my neck and shoulder. As the last shock of my orgasm bowed my body, he bit down hard with a growl as he let go of himself inside my body.
He collapsed on top of me and I welcomed every hard, muscled inch of him. As reality wiggled its way into my consciousness, I began to run my nails in a tickling caress over his shoulder blades.
After several minutes while I listened to his breath go from harsh pants to normal and even, he pushed himself up and looked down at me. He scanned my face and whatever he saw there made him smile.
The smile felt like a gift. I couldn’t help but offer him a silly grin back. He leaned down and kissed me quickly on the lips and then pressed a more lingering one on my forehead.
“As much as I hate to move, I need to get rid of this condom.”
I nodded and reluctantly unwound my arms and legs from where they still held him against me.
“Be right back.” With one more swift kiss, he rolled away from me and walked naked and unashamed to the bathroom.
I enjoyed the view until he disappeared behind the bathroom door. Then my eyes drifted closed. A deep, satisfied fatigue hit me and I dozed while I waited for him.
In minutes he returned, sliding me over the comforter and maneuvering us both underneath it. He tucked me into his side, my head cradled on his shoulder.
I burrowed into him, inhaling his warm, male scent. I floated along in a fog somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.
Just before sleep claimed me completely, he pulled me closer and pressed a kiss on the top of my head. One word drifted to my ears.
“Mine.”
Chapter 8
Alyssa
My eyes fluttered open as the sound of banging pulled me reluctantly from sleep. I blinked as bright sunlight hit my gaze.
Weird. I always made sure the curtains were pulled closed against the sun before I went to sleep.
I turned onto my side and became aware of an odd soreness throughout my body. My hazy mind grasped for the reason my muscles felt so rubbery and the spot between my legs...
I bolted straight up in bed as memories of yesterday seeped into my consciousness.
Holy crap. I’d had sex. I’d had sex with Kaden Black, the werebear I’d wanted to avoid above all werebears. Multiple times.
I did a quick scan of my studio apartment, suddenly very happy my entire living space took up only one room. With the bathroom door open and the light off, I could tell at a glance I was alone.
I flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling tile above my head, eyes wide as it flooded back to me. Every last detail.
Kaden and I had spent the entire day in my bed. I lost count of the number of times he’d wrung an orgasm from me somewhere after number five.
Lunch came and went with little notice from either of us. But when dinnertime rolled around at the same time Kaden had run out of condoms, we got up to forage for food.
Coming up empty in my sadly stocked fridge and pantry, Kaden offered to go pick up dinner. And restock his condom supply.
I’d been caught somewhere between sheer astonishment at his stamina and humiliation at not even having something to offer him to drink on hand.
He hadn’t seemed to care, though. He took a quick shower and went out for food while I had a mini freak out over the idea of Kaden Black being the man who claimed my virginity. Then I had a not-so-mini freak out wondering if dinner and condoms were just the excuse he used to get out the door without a big scene. Maybe he had no intention of coming back.
After I’d wallowed in my anxiety for a little while, I took myself in hand. I had no control over Kaden, but I certainly had control over myself. At least I did when he wasn’t around and touching me or kissing me or whispering dirty little descriptions of all the things he wanted to do to my body in my ear.
I’d picked myself up and headed for the shower.
Freak out number three came when I got out of the shower and contemplated what to put on. What did a woman wear when the guy who relieved her of her virginity would be returning any minute? Especially when the guy was sexy, capable, and totally drool-worthy like Kaden Black.
Other women he’d been with probably had a draw full of frilly undies and lacy nighties to tempt him with. I bought my underwear in sensible packages of three. I had the choice between white cotton or black cotton. And once I solved the underwear issue, should I dress again in my jeans and T-shirt? My pajamas were as utilitarian as my undies, flannel and threadbare in spots. I couldn’t see donning those to entice Kaden back to my bed.
Yikes! Did I even want to entice Kaden back to my bed? What the heck had I been thinking of?
Kaden put a quick end to all my freaking out. He’d strolled back into the apartment, his arms full of bags, while I stood there still in my towel from the shower.
Before I could pull anything on, he’d dropped the bags by the door and had the towel tugged from my body in an instant. He’d then pulled me to the floor and taught me how much I liked being on top while riding out my pleasure.
We’d managed to stop to eat before crawling back into bed again. Which led me to now, waking up a little sore in new places and completely alone.
The banging stopped for a second and then started back up again. I realized the sound came from right outside my door at the same time the scent of coffee teased my nose.
As if hypnotized, I slid out of bed and threw on the first thing I found—the black Henley Kaden had been wearing yesterday—and followed my nose straight to the coffee pot.
I found it about three quarters full and quickly poured myself, doctoring it liberally with milk and sugar. Taking a long sip, I waited for the caffeine to hit my system and then turned my attention to the door.
I walked slowly across the room and took a deep breath before I eased it open. I held it just wide enough to peek outside.
“M
orning, beautiful.” Kaden smiled at me from his spot squatted on the staircase leading up the door. He wore his jeans and the white T-shirt he’d had on underneath the shirt I was currently wearing. I couldn’t help but admire the way it stretched across his chest. I’m not sure how long I stood there, my eyes devouring him, before I realized he held a hammer and a box full of nails sat open on one of the steps next to him.
I tipped my head to the side. “What are you doing?”
“Fixing your steps.” His tone said what he managed to refrain from saying—duh. What else would he be doing?
“Why?”
“Didn’t like the feel of them yesterday. Your landlord should have taken care of repairing these awhile ago.”
A small snort escaped me. “You’ve got to be kidding me. If I asked my landlord to check the steps, he’d use it as an excuse to jack my rent up another hundred dollars a month. And believe me, this place isn’t worth what I already pay for it.”
His brows drew together. “This the place you’ve been living since you moved out from the house with your mother?”
My mother moved out of the house before I did, but I didn’t take the time to correct him. I just nodded.
His gaze shot over my shoulder into the apartment. “So your landlord keeps the interior maintained, but you don’t want to ask him to take care of this?”
I shook my head. “My landlord doesn’t take care of the interior.”
“It’s freshly painted.”
“I painted it about nine months ago.” I’d fought with myself over the expense, but the place had needed it. Besides, one of the ways I cheered myself up when I was feeling overworked and like I’d never have enough money saved for school was to change the color of my apartment’s walls. “It needed freshening up.”
“You’ve been keeping up the inside.” His words were a statement, not a question.
I shrugged. “I guess. I like it homey.”
Understatement of the year. That little apartment was my haven. The one place where I can hide from the world and the community of shifters that always made me feel like a little kid pressing her nose against the glass bakery window but never allowed inside.
He grinned at me and his eyes, already warm, got even warmer. I stood there basking in his gaze for several long moments before I came to my senses and realized I was sporting a goofy grin of my own.
Good. Lord. I needed to get out of this town fast or I was going to be in major trouble.
The thought brought a weight crashing down on me. So relentless was the feeling, I didn’t know how I stayed on my feet. Suddenly the thought of the one thing I’d been planning and working toward for years made my stomach churn. And not in an excited, butterfly fluttering kind of way.
“You okay?”
I nodded absently and pulled in a shaky breath. To hide my confusion, I questioned him again. “So really, what made you decide to fix the steps for a rental unit? You’re spending your time and effort fixing up someone else’s house. And believe me, my landlord won’t be appreciative. If anything, he'll figure out a way to charge me for it.”
Kaden’s eyes flashed and I fought the urge to take a step back at his expression. “Might be someone else’s place. But it’s my woman using these steps. I’m going to make sure it’s taken care of.” His eyes narrowed. “And if your landlord gives you any trouble, you let me know. I’ll take care of that, too.”
Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. There was so much there I didn’t even know where to start. He’d take care of things? And I was his woman?
No, no, no. I needed about seven more cups of caffeine before I turned that one over.
Spotting his empty coffee cup on the railing, I snatched it up. “I’ll get you a refill.”
I scurried inside, grateful for the excuse to hide inside for a few minutes. I tucked away the thought of “my woman” and what those words might mean for another time. Like maybe when I was old and gray and rocking my grandbabies on my lap.
Or maybe not even then.
I completely ignored the surge of longing that prickled under my skin at the thought of being Kaden Black’s woman.
After I brought Kaden his refill and rushed right back inside and after I’d taken my time getting showered and dressed and after I drank the last cup of coffee from the pot, I stared forlornly into the refrigerator. What did I expect? That the food fairies had stocked up while I slept last night?
I wish. I shut the door with a bang and sighed.
A chuckle came from behind me and I whirled around, a hand to my chest. Kaden leaned against the breakfast bar that separated the little kitchenette from the rest of the apartment.
“You scared me.” Nothing like stating the obvious. My gaze traveled over him. Nobody wearing yesterday’s clothes who had spent his morning engaged in manual labor should look that good. No fair.
He offered me a knowing grin as he stepped past me to rinse his coffee cup in the sink. He turned it upside down and left it in the dish drain when he was done.
I think I was having an out of body experience. That’s the only way I could explain the fact that Kaden Black stood in my tiny little kitchen doing domestic tasks and drying his hands on my lemon and basil dish towel. Why did it seem almost harder to accept Kaden in my kitchen than in my bed?
“I’m taking you to breakfast.”
I blinked, my mind trying to shake off the surreal feeling that had stolen over me. “What?”
“Breakfast. Most important meal of the day? Ringing any bells?”
“But you bought dinner last night. And you fixed my stairs.”
“And now I’m going to take you to breakfast.”
I shook my head. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask. You need to eat. I’m taking you to breakfast.” His voice said case closed.
I pressed my lips together and debated the merits of arguing. Before I could decide, he continued in the same tone. “And after that I want to take you to my house.”
His house. “Why?”
“Well, I’m going to need a change of clothes at some point. And...”
I don’t know why, but the pause before he continued that sentence caused fear to stab through me.
“...I’d like you to see my home.”
And there it was.
His words hit me like a blow to my solar plexus.
Home. That word sounded so simple. But Kaden's home was a Home. With a capital H. His invitation wasn’t like me inviting him to my rinky-dink little apartment that I’ve been planning to move away from since the day I moved in.
I pulled my brows together. Not that I even remember really inviting him here. How did that happen?
I shook my head and went back to my panic attack. Kaden’s home was a real home. Something out of a sitcom. Only with people who sometimes shifted into bears and took long runs in the forest. That wasn’t something that had quite made its way to television yet.
I’d never been to where Kaden lived. In fact, it was a spot that was circled in red on my internal map of Kodiak so I’d remember to avoid the place like the plague.
But everyone knew everyone in this town, so where Kaden lived was pretty common knowledge. The locals referred to as the Lodge. From the sounds of it, though, it was more like a family compound. Several generations of Kaden’s family lived on the property out in the woods, including his parents, his four brothers, and his sister.
Oh my God. Kaden wanted me to meet his family.
“Breathe, Alyssa.” Kaden walked over and folded me into his arms. Despite my confusion about what was going on between us, I accepted his comfort. I face planted in his chest and slid my arms around his waist. Then I did my best to take his advice. I pulled a deep breath in through my nose.
He shook me gently. “What’s going on in that head?”
“You want to take me home.”
“Yes.” His voice rumbled beneath my ear where it rested on his chest.
“And meet your family.
”
“Yes.”
“That seems like...” I wracked my brain for the best way to describe it,
“...like a pretty big step.”
I could feel the vibration of his quiet laugh under my cheek. I wanted to be outraged at his laughter, but at this point, I was beyond outrage. If he felt like laughing, let him laugh. The longer that went on, the longer it would take for him to take me home with him. The longer he chuckled, the longer I had a reprieve.
And I wanted a reprieve. I wanted a timeout. I wanted to suspend time indefinitely.
I liked the part where I got to stand here in the circle of his arms. And I didn't want to examine too closely just how much I liked it. Or whether or not liking it so much meant I was like my mother.
More than that, I wanted to avoid going home with Kaden. Because something inside me was screaming that whatever was happening between us was big. That going home with Kaden would upend my life in ways I couldn’t imagine.
I’d already broken one of my cardinal rules—no dating werebears.
Wait. Could you call what we did a date? I thought back and held in a groan. I hadn’t even made him buy me dinner first. I was just like my mother.
My head was screaming at me to run. To pack my stuff, take my savings and head to Oregon, see if I could start school in the fall instead of the spring. That was my plan. That was my plan since the moment I’d realized college was my ticket out of Kodiak, away from the looks of my neighbors that made me feel like trash, away from my mother who cared more about picking up her next shifter boyfriend than she cared about picking me up from school. My whole life had revolved around escaping from this place for as long as I could remember.
And something told me that if I went home with Kaden, all my best-laid plans would come crashing down around me.
Kaden shook me gently and I realized his quiet laughter had stopped.
“Let’s get you fed,” he said. “And then we’ll head out to the Lodge.”
Well, crap. Reprieve over.
Chapter 9