Bear His Bond: Wylde Den Two (Alaskan Den Men Book 9) (10 page)
Read Bear His Bond: Wylde Den Two (Alaskan Den Men Book 9) Online
Authors: Talina Perkins
More whispered thoughts glanced across his mind and he opened himself to the wonderful feeling.
“Harder, take me harder.”
He did and her supple body danced beneath his.
“Relax, sweetheart. I’ve got you,” he crooned in a low voice to soothe her.
The planes of his stomach and the muscles of his back tensed in unison. Lust for his mate drove him forward. He didn’t dare stop. Couldn’t stop.
He rose above her and peered down to where their bodies connected. The fire returned to every cell in his body and he embraced it.
Everett’s hands sunk beneath Pepper’s ass.
“Make me come.” Her ragged plea tore into him. Her channel quacked and he couldn’t lose his chance. He reached over her head and slipped the knot free.
With a hand to her back, he pulled her up until he had her in his arms. Leaned back onto his heels, she locked her legs around him.
She buried her hands in his hair. “Take me. Take me now.”
The fiery heat of his own orgasm gripped him hard, and he rocked into her once more. Hot and cold threads wrapped around his mind to spiral down the length of his back until they buried deep in his gut. They didn’t stop there. Her channel clenched around him like a tight fist and milked him, her orgasm becoming his own. He watched through glowing slitted eyes as his magick seeped into her.
His incisors punched through his gums. In seconds he had his head bent over her neck and the sweet taste of her blood on his tongue. Her moan against his shoulder liberated a fear he held deep in his mind of hurting her.
Everything in his world clicked in harmony as the world fell into place.
He eased back, licking the bite and soothing it with soft kisses.
Her chest rose and fell in time with his, and he slowly pulled back. The second her eyes met his, the worry knotting his insides melted away. “Amazing.” Her eyes wide.
His breath came so ragged he could barely speak. “Yeah. Amazing.” He shuddered, laughing as he slowly eased her back into the soft confines of the pillows before resting his weight beside her.
He looked on as the marred skin of her shoulder mended to leave behind a pink mark that would eventually fade to a white scar, which would scare any reasonable thinking shifter away from her.
She felt the tender skin. “Do I shift now? Like you?”
The blanket of magick had absorbed into them the second he’d bitten her and bound them. “I honestly don’t know. My mother could shift after twenty-four hours of having my father’s bite. I think you will be able to do the same.”
“Aurora can’t, though.” He loved the curiosity of his little geek clicking away on the facts as her mind worked over every little intricate detail.
“No. She won’t be able to shift until after her firstborn. And even that isn’t certain. Sometimes it doesn’t take to every human that mates a shifter, but every child she has will be a werebear shifter. But it’s different with each race of shifters.”
“Oh. You mean the werewolves.”
“And dragons,” he added and almost cringed.
“Dragons.” She bolted up, her face alight with the mirth of a five-year-old that discovered her grandmother’s chest of hidden treasures. Maybe he should have kept that to himself for a while longer.
“Everett Wylde, don’t you dare.”
“Oops.” He laughed. “This mating thing took sooner than I thought.”
Her pouty lips ticked up in a half smile that looked way too much like his brother’s smart-ass grin. The family was rubbing off on her already.
“Will we meet one soon? I mean a dragon?”
“Undoubtedly. In fact, my brothers and I are heading to Sweet Briar soon. Our cousins seemed to have picked a fight with a few bad apples in the High Council of Magick. Nasty assholes.”
“The werewolves are your cousins? Gah, there’s so much to learn.”
“All Draeonians are linked as human, every race and color are linked. See, we’re not as different after all.”
“Touché werebear.”
“And us? What’s so different about us? You mentioned something in the kitchen to your brothers.”
Right. “I’m a twin, as you know. When Spencer died, the special bond I shared with him was severed and my bear was left without that connection. Think of it as losing part of your soul,” he explained.
“I can feel your pain when you think about it. Or what it used to be.”
He nodded and reached out to twine his fingers with hers. “With you, my bear saw the other half of my soul.”
“And now are you complete?”
“With you there isn’t anything I can’t face. As long as we are alive we’ll be connected.”
She tapped the side of her head. “From our thoughts to our emotions? Everything.”
He nodded, holding his breath.
“It’s okay, Ev. I’m more than okay with that. I don’t think there’s a man out there that could make me happier.”
“I hope not.”
She tapped the end of his nose with her finger.
“Can we go home now?”
“We’ll have to wait for the guys to get back they only have one car. But I think I can keep you entertained until then.”
“Yes, husband. I think you can too.” She rose above him as she rolled him onto his back. Straddling him, she leaned over, her beautiful breasts within reach of his hungry mouth.
“By the way, I lied about the plane ticket.”
“Did you?”
“Mmhmm. I canceled it. You think I was gonna let you get away that easy?”
He studied her face and traced the heart-shaped line of her jaw. “I surely hoped not. But I had a backup plan in place.” He gathered the tasseled scrap of her scarf and waved it between them.
Pepper gazed down at him. “Mmm. You did and I loved it.” She brushed the tip of her nose against his. “Your eyes are a beautiful mixture of gold and lava. I can’t stop looking.”
“I can’t stop falling in love with you every minute you look at me.”
Three months had led to the most intense three days of his life. He could barely believe it. He needed to touch her. Hold her close to make his eyes and heart believe what his brain tried to tell him. Nothing would ever take them away from each other. He’d almost lost her but now she was his. Bonded forever.
THE END
***
Don’t miss a Wylde Den installment from Talina!
Wylde Den Book 1: Bear His Mark – Out Now
Wylde Den Book 3: Bear Their Secret – Coming Soon!
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading
Bear His Bond!
I hope you enjoyed spending time with Everett and Pepper. They make a fun couple and Pepper’s spunkiness with a touch of geek will keep Everett busy as we dive into the complicated relationship of Lorne, Kohl and Cherry next. Of course, Everett and Pepper will be back in coming stories as will Adam and Aurora. It’s going to take the whole Wylde crew to help Lorne and Kohl see love doesn’t follow rules.
While you wait, keep reading the first chapter of Adam Wylde’s story, Bear His Mark, and the first chapter of Hexing the Alpha, the first book in the Hex My Heart magickal series also set in the Wylde Den world.
I hope you’ll keep in touch! To stay connected and keep up with all the releases in the Alaskan Den Men Collection you can sign up for Alaskan Den Men’s
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Keep reading to meet all the Alaskan Den Men!
Xoxo,
Talina
Hex My Heart Series
Other Available Series
WYLDE DEN SERIES
(An Alaskan Den Men mini-series)
Sexy Siesta Series
(Military Romance)
Want more smokin’ hot
bear shifters?
Read on for a sneak peek
at the first book that kicked
off the Wylde Den Series
Aurora Starr stared at her father’s name. The chiseled strokes of his epitaph on the polished granite blurred and the once healed cracks in her heart splintered into tiny pieces. White light filled the mausoleum and complete silence reigned over her father’s service as the priest gave the final rights over the empty crypt.
Empty because her father refused to do anything the easy way in life, so why should he in death?
Thunder rumbled in the distance as if the heavens felt her pain. Tears welled along the rims of her eyes to wet her lashes, but she willed them away. Tiny nails pierced the tender flesh of her palms. Slowly, cautiously, she slid her eyes closed and focused on the pain. That she could handle.
She sniffled and dug into every last ounce of strength in her body, straightened her back as the final prayer for her father drew to an end. For the past hour dozens of eyes had been glued to her every move. Only now did she feel a small reprieve as everyone bowed their heads.
Tears never helped anyone.
We can learn a lot from the diamonds we pull from the earth. Cold and hard. Take a lesson and life will be easier.
That was her father all right. Cold-hearted and razor sharp.
But not always. Tears fell for that father. The one that loved the outdoors and loved life. Not the jaded and torn man he became.
Her father’s words ran chills up the length of her spine as though he stood over her shoulder, ready with one quip or another the second she showed signs of actually feeling something. They’d grown apart over the last couple of years. His bitterness toward her working for the
other kind
bled into her life until she had no choice but to sever ties. She’d asked for his understanding yet all she got in return was a note on corporate stationary each Christmas with a few crisp Benjamins tucked inside. As if his money would solve everything between them. But still, with him gone now, nothing would be the same.
As long as she could remember he always wielded a high hand over her life. He’d ruined it once five years ago on the cusp of her mother’s gruesome death. Maybe if she would have played the passive, obedient daughter they could have been happier. It all seemed moot now anyway.
“Will you be all right, darling? Why don’t you come home with us and stay a while? I’ll make up the spare bedroom.” Her aunt eyed the two trench coats flanking her, their grim faces half hidden behind black tinted glasses despite there not actually being any sunshine to speak of. The raised collars didn’t do much to conceal the earpieces and holsters.
She narrowed her eyes at them and mentally tacked on another thing to her massive to-do list.
“I know you love spending the spring there. It’ll help take your mind off of everything.” A soft, weathered hand to her arm brought her head around and the second Father Gracing slid his Bible closed, her unassuming aunt pulled her into a heartwarming bear hug. All five-foot, one hundred pounds worth of little old lady made everything better with her Aunt Bea worthy apple pies and kind soul. Don’t forget the chicken soup. A nice big bowl of that would be ten times better than what she had to do now.
Beyond the doors, limos lined the gravel road that led to the private Starr mausoleum. Another reminder of her arranged fate as the assessor of her father’s company.
Three generations of her family rested here. Uncles, aunts, her mother, and now her father. If only in spirit. All had a hand in building Starr Gem Global, the diamond empire that would be hers within a week whether she wanted it or not. From diamond princess to ice queen. Or, as her father would say, from the gutter with the animals to the leaders of the modern world.
Jaded and bitter didn’t begin to describe her father.
Butterflies brushed against the soft interior of her stomach. Her breath quickened.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a tall, stocky man who towered over several grievers, his eyes glued on her. News crews waited along the gate, their cameras at the ready.
It all came at her at once. He was gone. She’d take anything over the silence eating at her insides.
She scanned over the room. Not one person beyond her aunt and uncle looked familiar, but everyone knew her. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for this.
With a gentle squeeze, Aurora pulled back from her aunt and looked down on the icy blue eyes of the woman that helped raise her after the passing of her mother. How long before she’d leave her too?
“I... I have to go. I’m sorry. I can’t right now.” No matter how tempting hiding out from the ugly world appealed to her, she had a promise to keep before... before whatever happened after losing her father and gaining an empire in the expanse of a week.
“Are you sure, darling? Your father would be so disappointed.”
Aurora dragged out a smile and slipped it on for her aunt’s sake. “I have to do something for him.” And herself, depending on how you looked at it. Either way, it would take her away from here if only for a little bit. “You know how Father is—was—with a promise.” She swallowed hard. The time away would help clear her head.
“Child, you’re too hard on yourself. Is it something I can help with?” The understanding and kind heart her father lacked, her aunt made up for in spades.
Something warm and wet hit her hand where her aunt clasped her close. Oh! One more teary-eyed plea and she’d have no more willpower to say no or leave her aunt to grieve the passing of her brother alone.
Rumbling split the skies once again, this time promising to make good on its threat.
“I won’t be gone long. A day or two, tops. Promise.”
“Things are about to change, Aurora. You have to be ready.”
Her aunt’s eyebrows shot up and her eyes turned a shade of blue that denoted determination. All the Starr women had it. Her father called it the Starr-pointed look.
Aurora crossed her heart and tucked away the invisible key in her pocket like they used to do when she was a little girl. That seemed to do the trick. Her aunt graced her with a smile and patted her hand.
“Go, child. I’ll cover for you.”
Bless her sweet heart.
A familiar, deep, level voice carried over the crowd. Angling her body toward the parked cars, Aurora took a step back one last time.
Shit.
Her uncle was headed their way, most likely to take her aunt home and with him came another set of stiff, by-the-book trench coats.
“I’ll call you when I land.” Her aunt shoved a set of keys into her hands. With a quick peck on the cheek, Aurora waved at her approaching uncle and ducked around a few distant relatives huddled under several black umbrellas on the steps. From the few words she caught, someone thought the tainted past of the late Starr and his troubled daughter served as a hot topic to whisper about. The chilled wind carried faint notes of
one of them
and words like
untrustworthy
and
tainted
.
Anger bubbled in the pit of her stomach until a bitter taste entered her mouth. Not that she wanted to give any excuses, but at least her father had a reason for hating otherworldlies—humans born of both shifter blood and human.
She might only have human hearing, but even the dead could pick up on the shameful tone tossed at her for being a
shifter lover
. Once tainted in the eyes of the high and mighty of her father’s inner circles there was no going back. Money didn’t make you a decent human being. These people were more savage than the shifters they held prejudice against.
Trying not to catch the tip of her heel on jagged bricks of the walkway, she didn’t bother to acknowledge any of the old hens mixed up with a few well-creased suits. No one had time for that crap or the fake sentiments. She risked a glance at her watch as she reached the graveled road.
With a double click, the doors to the Town Car flicked open and she slid in and not a moment too soon. Several trench coats were already weaving through the crowd to catch up. “Sorry.” She hit the lock switch and turned over the motor. “Not this time, boys.”
Having Starr as a surname and being a top executive assistant for the second highest precious gem mining company made bodyguards, one more thing she had to deal with on a regular basis.
But not today. Aurora hit the little green button on her cell phone before the first full ring finished. “Ms. Donavan’s—” she quickly caught her slip. “Excuse me. I apologize. Ms. Starr speaking.” Breaking the habit of answering the phone as an
elite
Donovan assistant for one of her father’s competitors would take a little bit. A long pause carried over the speakerphone. “Hello? Can I help you?”
“Yes, Ms. Aurora Starr, I’m calling about your travel arrangements.” Curt and to the point. Her father’s secretary never cracked a smile or, God forbid, exchanged pleasantries.
“Yes, Ms. Chadwell.” With the phone tossed to the passenger side, Aurora craned her neck around to check for passing cars, not that there would be many on a single lane cemetery road, but hey, one tended to be a little more careful when the view out the windshield was acres of stone slabs in a variety of sizes.
“I’m calling to confirm your flight times. I have you for an eleven-thirty departure.”
How could she forget? “I’ll be there. Thank you for the reminder, Ms. Chadwell.” With a flick across the smooth glass, she ended the call and stuffed the phone back into her coat pocket, mentally adding a note to pick up something on her trip to smooth the rough edges of her soon-to-be assistant.
Just the thought of dealing with Chadwell on a daily basis made her pulse plummet.
She had one more stop and then she could be on her way. Executing her father’s last wishes in secrecy took some finagling, but the end was in sight.
The drive passed in a blur and within minutes of stowing her single carry-on, the skies opened up and drowned out the shrinking skyline of New York City.
(End of sneak peek)
To continue reading make sure to pick up the first Wylde Den release,
Bear His Mark
.
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here
.
Wylde Den Book 2: Bear His Bond - Out Now
Wylde Den Book 3: Bear Their Secret - Coming Soon!