Bearly Hers: A Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (5 page)

She put a hand to the side of his face. “Trey, I was twelve, and I gave the watch back. I’m sorry, that was a bad example. I was trying to be witty—I’m not witty, I know.” So much for being drunk on passion and not caring what came out of your mouth. Even so, it seemed she was walking a hot/cold line with him and despite all the things she really liked about him, that wasn’t one of them.

Trey didn’t respond, just replaced his arm around her middle and kicked the horse into a run. She clung to the saddle for dear life as they came up a small hill dotted with purple and pink flowers. Then down to a valley with a creek winding through the land. Trey stopped the horse near the water and dismounted. He circled her waist with his hands and pulled her down, holding her arm’s length away. His chest rose and fell hard, his shoulders tense.

“Trey—“

“One question, Gia. One question. And it has nothing to do with bacteria.” A corner of his mouth pulled up into a shadowy smile. She couldn’t help but follow suit.

“Okay. One question.”

“Are you a thief?”

CHAPTER FIVE

He was only going to ask her once, and for the love of everything sacred, he hoped she said no. His body was calling out to her so hard, so potently that he was having a hard time restraining himself. The bear inside walked in circles, anxious to claim a mate. It wanted Gia. He wanted Gia. And maybe, if she admitted to the crimes, but shared a reason that he could maybe understand -- a reason he could overlook, help her overcome--then he could forgive. They could right what had been wronged, and start fresh.

Man, that was a lot of maybes.

She backed away from him, bumping into the horse and crossing her arms. “What did you just ask me?”

“The mixer -- a couple clansmen attended the same mixer and were robbed, drugged, by a woman matching your description.” He put his hands up, palms out as her mouth fell open and fury crossed those pretty eyes. “Now wait a minute, Gia. Hear me out.”

“You brought me out here to
accuse me
of theft?”

“No. No, that wasn’t the plan. I just… I just need to be sure, Gia.”

She sidestepped away from the horse and stormed past him toward the hill. Ah, hell. One minute, he’d been in heaven feeling her body, imagining all the things he was going to do to her. He dropped the horse’s reins, a sign to stay put, and spun on his heel to follow her. The buzz of her cell phone cut through the chirping of birds. She pulled it from her pocket, swore, and put it back.

“Gia. Gia!”

“I’m going back, Trey.”

“Just tell me that you’re not her. And if you are, then… then we’ll talk about it. Okay? Let me help you set things right.”

She turned to him and spread her arms wide. “If I admit that I stole from your men, you’ll
help
me?” Her arms dropped, her head tipping to the side. He moved to touch her, but she spun away. “Don’t touch me. What did I even do to bring on suspicion?”

He ran a hand over the back of his neck, his legs going wide in a firm stance. “At the mixer, you seemed so confident in flirting and getting men’s attention, and the way you implied someone special gave you the fossil—it didn’t set right with me. And watch thing. I just… it all came together in my mind.”

“You bastard.” Gia crossed her arms, trying to hold back a tremor. “My father gave me the fossil necklace a week before he died.”

Trey looked up to the sky and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry, Gia. Damn it.” Hands on his hips, he took a deep breath. “I want you. My bear wants you. You’re
her
. The one I thought I didn’t want.” Trey shoved his hands in his front pockets and looked to the clear, blue sky. “I never intended to actually find a woman at the mixer, at least, not one who speaks to my soul like you do. I can’t explain it, how you affect me. And I don’t think I’m meant to be able to.”

“It just is.” She confirmed, coming toward him. It was true. It was natural, effortless to want her, to feel like he could fall harder. Faster. Completely. She shook her head as she approached, her eyes soft yet filled with determined light. He was a fool. But the fading anger on her face gave him hope that he could beg her forgiveness and come out the other side, with her in his arms. 

“I’m not a thief. I’m just a boring microbiologist.” She was almost to him when her phone rang again. A blank look crossed her face as she reached for it. Trey grabbed it from her hand and pressed connect.

The sound of breathing came through the line. Irritation pumped through him. “Stop calling.” Two words edged in razors; he hoped they’d do the trick, or he was going to hunt down whoever kept calling her and set them straight.

Handing Gia back her phone, Trey tugged her into his arms. “I thought we’d settled the boring thing.”

“Did we?” She asked innocently, tipping her face up. His heart pounded with the hope that she forgave him for confronting her, while he kicked himself for not going with his instincts. From the beginning, he’d had a hard time accepting that Gia was truly the culprit. Now, he just wanted to make it up to her.

“Do I need to remind you?” He meant to be gentle, but as his mouth took hers, the kiss was urgent. He cupped the back of her head and she leaned back into his support, her body pliable to his will as he arched her back and delved his tongue deeply into her mouth. His free hand made a desperate sweep of her body, from breast to the curve of her waist and hip to the rise of her ass.

He needed this, the nourishment of connection with a woman he couldn’t get out of his head. Spinning her, Trey walked her carefully back to the horse, his forward steps in sync with her backwards one, never breaking the kiss. Her hands wrapped around his neck, holding him close, the needy little sounds coming from her throat threatening to unleash him.

He broke free long enough to grab the blanket from the back of the saddle. Taking her hand, they went a bit farther down the creek bank, to a flat stretch of grass footed by the trickling water. He spread out the blanket, and with ease, pulled her effortlessly down onto it. Her breasts heaved as she stretched out on the soft cotton, her legs parting eagerly as he knelt between them.

Trey ran his hands up her ribcage to her lush breasts, loving the softness of her body, the ripe femininity that he couldn’t wait to expose. Taking her wrists in one hand, he lifted her arms above her head. The movement pulled the hem of her shirt up over her belly, baring a strip of pale, creamy soft skin. He dipped his head and kissed her there. Gia arched up against his mouth, the simple movement flaming his need. Her scent wrapped around him, engrained in his senses. With controlled slowness, he kissed along her belly, nibbling the soft rise of flesh and leaving his mark behind.

He worked the hem of her shirt higher, kissing his way up until her bra stopped his progress. Urging her to lean up, Trey whisked the shirt over her head and off her body. Her fingers twined together, arms still outstretched as he loosened the front clasp of her bra. It popped open, her breasts spilling free. Trey captured them in his hands.

“So perfect, Gia.”

He palmed her breasts, kneading them as he loved each rigid peak until Gia arched and cried out. She lowered her arms, but he urged them back up, giving her a steady look.

“Keep them up.”

Her cheeks were flushed, her lips swollen from his kiss and Trey swore he’d never seen a woman so beautiful. Finding the button at her jeans, he unfastened it. Slowly, he pulled the zipper down as he lightly pulled her nipple between his teeth. Gia lifted her hips, her head lolling to one side. He worked the jeans over her full hips, pulling away from her chest to watch as each downward inch of denim exposed her body. The bear inside went wild at the sight of innocent white panties captured between full, pale thighs, her long legs shapely and strong. Smooth… so smooth, her skin was silk and fire beneath his fingers.

Trey worked back up her body, pausing between her legs to place a kiss at the waistband of her panties. The scent of her arousal was like a flavor to his palate, the heady, delicious taste boiling his blood, teasing the bear, making his need hard to control. He pressed his fingers at her center, loving the simultaneous feel of her soft, warm flesh beneath his touch and the pleasured gasp that flew from her lips.

He wanted to take this slow, but rational thought wasn’t an option. Primal desire ran though him, driving his need to take and take, to hear her scream her ecstasy as her body pulsed around him.

“Gia,” he murmured against her belly. “I’ll hold back if that’s what you want, what you need.” His mouth moved down, replacing his fingers at the line between her pussy lips. He parted his lips wide, closed them slowly, absorbing her heat as he pulled her panties with his teeth.

“Trey!” Her hips bucked against him. “Please, let me touch you.”

“No.” He couldn’t bear to have her touch him, to feel his scars. Not yet. With little bites, he worked down her center and then back up, relishing her hard breathing. Then, with one rough move, he pulled the panties at her hips. The fabric dug into her flesh before it tore, falling apart easily in his hands. Spreading her legs farther apart with his hands, Trey quivered with the need to take her. Spread out before him, exposed in the most intimate way, Gia was his deepest dream come to life.

He gently parted her, finding her tight little nub and pressing a finger there. Her thighs clenched around his hand and then relaxed, opening wider, encouraging him. He began to stroke her clitoris while kissing his way up her torso. Suddenly, her hands were in his hair, pulling, kneading.

Gia threw her head back as a slow tremble worked down her limbs. He felt each shake and quiver as he played between her legs. Watching her, he plunged two fingers inside. His brain went foggy at the wet, tight feel of her. She cried out, pulling his head to hers for a wild, open mouthed kiss. Alternating between methodical strokes that made her body tense and coil, and gentle thrusts that forced cries from her throat, Trey teased her until her back arched and she began a nonsensical whimper.

He could sense her impending release, felt it inside his own body, rumbling along his skin and over his nerves. His erection pressed painfully against his jeans, each pulse of her body making his own beg for release. With a pace of long and slow, and fast and wicked strokes, Trey meshed their mouths as Gia’s body coiled and she broke free from his kiss.

“God, Trey!”

Satisfaction flashed through him. “That’s right, baby. Give it to me.”

Her fingers tugged his hair again, pulling, holding his head, finally falling away as she cried out, her legs tensing, her clit swelling and pulsing beneath his touch.

Tipping his head to his chest, he smiled, feeling a sense of rightness he hadn’t had in a long time. Gia didn’t allow him to dwell on it long as she reached for him, desperate to pull him up. Her legs wrapped around his, her hips tipping up.

“Trey, please. Please, now.” She reached for his shirt, but he stopped her. Bringing her hands to his lips, he trailed kisses over her knuckles, hoping it was enough to say what he couldn’t. She relaxed, moving her arms above her head again, submissive and willing.

He barely remembered fishing the condom from his wallet, or pushing down his jeans. But he heard her gasp of surprise loud and clear, as her hand wrapped around his thick cock. She swept her thumb back and forth over the tip. Trey closed his eyes to focus on the sensation… the warmth of her palm, the loving grip that promised so much pleasure. She began to stroke, an appreciative sound from her mouth making the act more erotic. A black curtain started behind his eyes, threatening to pull him into bottomless pleasure—a place where Gia controlled his desire, his release.

As good as it was, he needed all of her. Gently brushing her hand away, Trey gripped her hips and pulled her down to him. Their eyes caught as he gripped his cock and placed the tip at her entrance. Her eyelids fluttered as she opened for him, her legs finding his again as he made a slow, gentle breech.

“Oh my God.” He wasn’t sure who said it first—maybe both at the same time. Trey guided into her, letting her body adjust before he plunged deep. Her inner walls gripped him, teased him. Promised him. The black curtain was back, erasing everything in his mind but the primal need to take her.

“Hang onto me,” he growled, barely holding back. One sign from her, one indication that she needed him to slow down, and he would. Her face found his neck as she gripped his shoulders and her legs tightened around him.

“Don’t hold back!”

How could she be so perfect? Bracing himself on his arms, he thrust hard before pulling back and plunging in again, her slick channel stretching and hugging and urging him deeper. Gia’s nails bit through his shirt into his flesh as he found his rhythm, pushing her body to higher pleasure, reaching it himself with each thrust. His shoulders strained, the pulse in the sides of his neck beating staccato. Each thrust was better and better, their matched breathing keeping pace with his movements. Time and awareness simply stopped—everything except the blazing sensation of their connected bodies. Her cries sounded far away and close to his heart as a sweet ache started at the base of his spine, blossoming into the pleasure-pain edge of release.

Forcing his eyes open, Trey gazed down at Gia to find her eyes on him, watching. She looked drugged, joyful. Gorgeous. And he couldn’t hold it back. Now would be the time to mark her—just as his release claimed her, so could his incisors—making her his, completely.

Knowing it wasn’t time, Trey straightened and grabbed her hips, urging her pelvis up higher. Three swift strokes and he pulsed hard and long into her, lowering so their chests meshed before the last of his orgasm faded away. Gia threaded her fingers into his hair, held him close.

He should say something. But his mind was a jumble of nothing. Several long minutes passed, the dampness of his shirt beginning to cool even as his body kept its post-sex warmth. Gia held his head to her breast, her other hand making lazy circles over his bicep. He almost heard it, if falling completely could have a sound.

Didn’t matter. He felt it. To his very bones. For the first time in years, the bear and the man were happy. And he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it except get used to it and let it happen.

“I’m sorry, Gia. For what I said.”

She ran a hand over his chest and curled her body around him with a lazy smile. “I know you are.”