“Do you think it’s that easy?” she asked.
“If we want it to be,” he said, lifting his hand up to stroke her cheek, but she shied away. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Let’s go inside.”
He opened the door, his hand finding hers and he took her through into a small sitting room, where a fire was laid. Bending down he lit it, blowing in the small flame as it struggled to catch the kindling. Then the fire caught and the flames danced, illuminating the timber walls of the cabin.
When he turned to her, she knew she couldn’t hide any longer. He rose up and covered the four steps that brought him to her side quickly, fluidly, and her body longed for him. This time when he reached up, she didn’t turn her head, but when he gasped, she wondered if he might be turned off by the purple bruises on her face.
“Who did this to you?” he asked, his voice harsh, rage barely concealed.
“It doesn’t matter,” she answered. “He looks a lot worse, I can tell you.”
“A fight?” Stunned, he dropped his hand to his side. “You were in a fistfight?”
She felt ashamed. He no doubt wanted a little woman who would stay at home and cook and clean for him, always at his beck and call. Bears. Mia did what she was good at; she became defensive.
“If your gang hadn’t stolen our stuff, it wouldn’t have happened. When I got back I was challenged. What do you want me to do, be a doormat?” Her fists were clenched at her sides, ready to fight.
“Hey, no, honey, that’s not what I want at all. I just wish I could be there for you and protect you.” He moved towards her, encircling her waist and pulling her close.
“I don’t need protecting, Joel.”
He growled deep in his chest, and the sound spread long tendrils of desire through her body. “You might,” he said, kissing her neck. “From me.”
The bruises on her face hurt him as much as they must have hurt her. Somehow, it affected his male pride. She was his; no man should dare to place a finger on her, let alone a fist. But he understood she had her pride, and her own life, a way of surviving before she met him. Damn, if it didn’t make him want to tear someone’s head off.
Consoling himself in her arms was all her could think of. If he turned his anger into desire, he could get rid of this pent-up emotion filling him. So he concentrated on the touch of her lips, of the taste of her, and the feel of her in his arms. He used her body to ground himself, although the sensations she evoked in him made it difficult for him to believe this was all real.
“Mia, are you sure about this?” He had to ask.
“Shut up and kiss me. I don’t want to talk. I don’t really want to know anything about you. But my body craves you.”
He laughed, a deep rumble in his chest. “That is never going to go away, honey. Believe me once I’ve made love to you, you are going to want to crave me all over again.”
“Modest,” she said, her hand going down between their bodies to squeeze and stroke his cock. “But I see you have some impressive merchandise of your own. So let’s see if you can live up to that promise.”
“I will, don’t worry about that. Tonight is all about how much pleasure I can give you. Right now, we ought to remove these clothes of yours, so I can kiss every inch of your skin.” He hoped his prowess in bed would be greater than his way with words; he sounded corny. Faced with his true mate, one so tough, at least on the exterior, he wondered if he might fail to impress her in any way.
He was sure going to try, though. First, he slipped her leather jacket off her shoulders, his hands sliding down over her skin-tight leather catsuit, feeling every curve of her body. Slipping a hand between her thighs, he felt the heat of her desire, and it magnified his, his cock growing harder in her hand.
“Bedroom?” he asked.
“I think that might be a good idea.”
He picked her up, nestling his body between her thighs as she straddled him. Her hands wound around his neck and she kissed his face, finally pressing her lips against his. Opening his mouth, he allowed her to slide her tongue into his, sucking on it hard and feeling her body jerk forward against his cock.
Damn, she was the hottest thing he had ever taken to his bed, and from this moment on, she would be the only woman he would ever make love to again.
She thought she would come right there and then. His teeth grazed her tongue, his mouth sucking on it as she pulled back from him. He excited her, made her feel alive. All the crap that was her life melted away, all that mattered was Joel and he was perfect. Her perfect mate.
Setting her down on the bed, he knelt on the floor before her. She was sure his hands trembled as they reached for her zip and pulled it down, her breasts bursting out of her tight leather catsuit. Sighing contentedly, obviously happy with what he saw, he knelt higher, placing his hands on her leathers and slipping them off her shoulders, at the same time kissing her breasts where they swelled over her bra.
Mia wriggled, trying to help him get her clothes off, as impatient as him for her to be naked.
“Stand up,” he ordered, and she did, although her knees felt weak.
Joel pushed her catsuit right down over her thighs and realised he had to take her boots off. He placed his hand on her hips to support her and helped her step out of her boots, followed by the rest of her clothes. Now she stood before him in only her bra and panties.
Mia was confident in her own body, when that body was covered by her second skin, her leather catsuit. Like armour, it gave her confidence and protection—from what, she wasn’t sure. Yet Joel’s eyes on her soft curves made her nervous and insecure. What if he didn’t like her, yet was stuck with her forever?
Joel groaned, a sound of deep longing, chasing away her fears. “Damn it, you are so beautiful. I could spend a lifetime exploring your body, finding out what you like and how to make you beg me for mercy.”
“Joel, I … I’ve never done this before.”
“Had a man gaze at your fabulous body?” He smiled and her heart melted. She couldn’t have wished for a more laid-back mate. Now she wanted to see his fabulous body.
“You know what I mean. I never knew a bear could be such a tease. I thought you would be all grumpy and bad tempered.” She made light work of his jacket, and then he lifted his arms so that she could peel his T-shirt up over his head.
Only when she was stretched up, standing on her tiptoes, he pulled his arms out of his shirt quickly and placed them on her unguarded body, more particularly, her breasts. She giggled, his fingers tickling her, and she moved to cover herself up, but he leaned down and kissed her soft flesh as it swelled over her bra, and she found she didn’t want him to stop. Not ever.
Her sex ached, a fire spreading out from there to consume her body as his fingers unclasped her bra. Naked flesh fell into his hands. And he made good on his promise, kissing her skin, making her writhe beneath him when he finally claimed her nipple.
Explosions went off in her head. His tongue rolled over the tortured bud and then circled it, making the heat between her thighs grow until her panties were sopping wet. Lifting his head, he took in a long breath, smelling the sweetness of her sex, and something inside him snapped. His bear was close to the surface; she could feel it, and her wolf clamoured to join with him, to make their bond complete.
He took a deep breath, steadying himself, and then moved her backwards, the bed contacting with the back of her knees and she overbalanced, sitting down heavily. Whereas she thought he would make love to her, he instead knelt again, and peeled her panties down her thighs. Once they were removed, he parted her thighs, his hands gentle and encouraging on her knees.
Opening for him, she lay down and closed her eyes, trying not to think of him looking at her down there. Joel stroked her soft skin, kissing the inside of her knees, lifting her leg so that it rested on his shoulder as he moved inexorably closer to her aching need. Mia couldn’t help it, she had to watch. Craning her neck, she concentrated on the top of his head as he kissed her inner thigh. Slowly, he closed in his target, and the first warmth of his breath across her wet sex made her insides contract, an ache so deep it penetrated her soul.
A whimper escaped her when the first touch of his tongue on her clit registered with her brain. Lifting her bottom off the bed, she offered herself to him, only just managing to stop herself begging him for more. Damn, she had never expected this, and he had barely touched her. But what a touch, his tongue soft and then hard on her clit, before he spread her further and plunged his tongue deep into her sex.
She exploded. Her hands fisted the bedsheets, and she pressed herself back onto the bed and cried out as her first orgasm hit her. Joel didn’t stop his assault. He continued to plunge his tongue into her and then lick the length of her sex, finishing at her clit before starting again.
One orgasm swept over her, to be replaced by another. Mia, the president of the Wolf Valley Motorcycle Club, was being shown what it was to give power and control over to another person. He aimed to make her his. To knock down her defences and let him in. And as her second orgasm came to a shuddering end, she knew he had succeeded. But she didn’t want to be his little stay-at-home woman; she wanted to be his equal. So now it was her turn to bring him to his knees.
She just wasn’t sure how to do it.
Sitting up, she stroked his back, feeling the warmth of his skin, while he kissed her stomach, and moved further up her body. He tucked his hand under her body and moved her onto the bed, then hovered over her body.
“I wanted to … you know … return the favour.”
He smiled, his eyes soft, yet filled with longing. “I would rather be inside you right now. The thought of you wrapped around me is hard to shake off. Anything else can wait until later.”
“OK,” she said and swallowed her nerves. He was about to make love to her, and she was scared. Her bruises were a badge, showing her bravery when she had something to defend, but here with him, what did she have to offer?
Her curvy body that was aching for him
. Would it be enough?
Joel kissed her cheek, right where her bruise was worst. “I wish I could kiss away your pain,” he said. “I’ll go slowly. If I hurt you, tell me and I’ll stop.”
Turning her face to his, she kissed his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck, while he moved forward to enter her. The head of his cock brushed her outer lips, and then he was inside her, stretching her. She tried to breathe and relax. But her brain refused to work, to concentrate on the things vital for life; instead it honed in on him and every micro-movement he made, for now he was her life.
Deeper he pressed, slowly filling her. Mia’s inner walls stretched to accommodate him, however, just as she was getting used to the fullness, he paused. What was wrong, didn’t he want her, didn’t he fit inside her?
His hips moved back, and then he thrust forward and she felt a stinging sensation. She tensed, but he soothed her, as though she were a wounded animal in his arms. Wasn’t that what she was, battered and bruised, but still strong, still able to match him stroke for stroke?
Relaxing, she lifted her legs and hooked them around his body, spurring him on. Joel moved, in and out, filling her with long lunges. Resting on his elbows, he watched her as her orgasm crept up on her. As she felt the tension slowly building, she wanted him to climax too.
Lifting her head off the bed, she kissed and nipped his neck, her hands sliding across his chest, exploring the contours of his body. His nipples were taut buds and she tweaked those, feeling him jerk hard into her. She captured one in her mouth, mimicking the way he had rolled his tongue over hers. What was good for a woman had to be good for a man, right?
Right. He exploded, his seed spurting deep inside her. Grinding his hips forward, he surged forward, until she thought he would split her in two. He cried out, his voice rising and then dropping in pitch as his bear roared inside him. The excitement passed from his body to hers, and her sex pulsed around him, gripping him tightly as she came.
Digging her fingers into his back, she urged him on. They rose together. Joel buried his face into her shoulder, kissing her, nipping her skin, and telling her she was his. Mia believed him. This changed the way her world worked. And she realised fully that being a bonded mate was not something you chose. She was his, he was hers, and nothing could ever change that. Even if they wanted to.
Bear and wolf mated for life. For better or for worse.
He held her close, trying not to think about the bruises on her face, but he couldn’t help it. She was his to protect, and he had to know what was going on with her life.
“Mia, will you please tell me who you fought with?” She lay face down, looking away from him as he stroked her back, feeling her soft smooth skin under his fingertips.
“It doesn’t matter. I put him in his place, he won’t bother me again.”
“Was he one of your own?”
“Yes. Like I said, they were pretty pissed you got the merchandise we were trying to sell. I needed the money, Joel. I know we were on your territory, but only because that’s where the buyer wanted to meet.” She turned to face him. “When I got back, I was accused of deserting them. I couldn’t exactly say I ran off because my mate was there. It’s one thing to be accused of cowardice; it’s another to tell them I’m mated to a bear.”
“Would it be that bad?” he asked, kissing her skin, breathing in her warm scent.
“What do you think? I guess you never told your clan either?”
“True. But that’s more because they would have wanted to know all about you and I didn’t want word to get back to Wolf Valley. Not until we are ready to tell everyone.”
“I don’t think that’s ever going to happen.” She sighed and he knew she wasn’t joking.
“I am not going to run around behind everyone’s back like we have a guilty secret.”
“We do have a guilty secret.”
“Hal and Fiona worked it out. She was from Wolf Valley.”