Grizzly Flying Home (15 page)

Emily doubled over with laughter so intense that her stomach hurt. She had lost track of the time, but she was pretty sure that it was dark outside by now. She’d been sitting here in the living room with Chance all day, cuddling on the couch, drinking wine, and eating delicious Chinese food takeout. They had watched a movie earlier, but for the last hour, at least, they had just been sitting here talking.

It felt good to reconnect. The longer Emily sat here with Chance, the more she realized what a tremendous amount of pressure he had been under. He told her all about feeling like he was coming home to a different place when he arrived back in Frost Peak, and how the elders had tried to make him feel like he didn’t deserve to resume his duties as second in command of the clan. He described in great detail the fake emergency meeting the elders had called this morning, and Emily’s eyes grew wider the longer the story continued.

She understood better how hard the last few weeks had been for him. Her anger slowly seeped away, although she did chastise him for not opening up to her about what he was going through. After all, she couldn’t support him if she didn’t know about his problems. Chance apologized profusely and vowed to do better, and Emily believed he was sincere. Once they had cleared the air, Emily insisted they change the subject. She didn’t want to spend their whole weekend rehashing unhappy events.

So, she and Chance had spent their time playing board games, talking about plans for the summer, discussing adding a patio to the back of the cabin, and gossiping about different people in town. Emily was getting to know the clan a bit better, and she loved to hear Chance tell stories about her new friends. She could hardly wait until summer, when Chance promised there would be summer evening barbecues almost every night. He said that someone was always having a barbecue somewhere in town when the Alaskan temperatures were warm.

And the jokes he told! Oh, the jokes. In her frustration over his long work hours, Emily had forgotten how funny Chance was. Now, she couldn’t stop giggling as he continued making her laugh so hard that she couldn’t even take a sip of her wine for fear of spitting it out.

As Emily set down her glass and wiped tears of laughter from eyes, Chance looked over at her and grinned.

“You’re so beautiful when you laugh,” he said. “I love the way your whole face lights up.”

Emily looked at Chance and made an exaggerated frown. “What about when I’m sad. Am I beautiful then, too?” she teased.

Chance laughed and reached over to pull her into his arms. “Yes. When you’re sad. When you’re angry. When you’re bored. When you’re sleeping. When you’re taking pictures. Pretty much just whenever. You’re always beautiful.”

Emily felt her heart beating faster as Chance’s warm, strong arms wrapped around her. She’d missed this feeling so much. She breathed in his familiar woodsy scent and let her whole body relax against his. He kissed the top of her head softly and squeezed her closer in to him.

“I’m so sorry for letting everything else get in the way of us lately,” he said. “I’ve missed this so much. I could have never lived with myself if I’d lost you.”

“Shhh,” Emily said. “No more apologies. We’re both here together now, and we’re happy. That’s all that matters.”

Chance pulled back a little to look into Emily’s eyes. “I don’t know how I got lucky enough to win your heart, but I’m going to try my damned best to be the kind of man you deserve.”

Emily tilted her head back in response and kissed Chance softly on the lips. “You already are a wonderful man,” she said. “No one is perfect. We’ll figure out all the nitty gritty details as we go along. The important thing is that we’re here now, together.”

Chance returned her kiss, letting his lips linger against hers and giving Emily plenty of time to drink in the sensation of her body against his. He kissed her deeply, and Emily felt the wonderful, familiar fire from his touch rushing through her. When he finally pulled back to look at her, his eyes were blazing with desire.

“God, I’ve missed this. I’ve missed you,” he said.”

“I’ve missed you too,” Emily said, her voice catching. “I’m so glad you’re here now.”

“Me too,” Chance murmured.

For one long, silent moment, they both looked deep into each other’s eyes, drinking each other in. And then, they were off. Chance pushed Emily down on her back onto the couch and kissed her fiercely while reaching for the button on her jeans. He fumbled with the button and the zipper while she wildly pulled at the hem of his t-shirt, trying to pull it over his head. She managed to get the shirt off as he pulled away to pull her jeans off. Then, with a low growl, he reached to pull her shirt off as well, leaving her in just her bra and underwear. He stood up, and pulled her up off the couch along with him. He started to reach behind her back for the clasp of her bra, but she pulled away from him before he could get it undone. She reached for the button and zipper on his jeans, unfastening them and pulling them down.

Chance growled again, and Emily felt a shiver of excitement go through her. He pushed her up against the wall, putting his hands on her hips as his mouth met hers again. His tongue slipped past her lips, and he ran it across her teeth and the roof of her mouth. He pressed his stiff erection against her body as he continued to kiss her, and Emily trembled with desire. She could feel herself becoming wet between her legs with the anticipation of that erection being inside of her. She let out a little moan, and Chance intensified his kiss in response. As he did, he slid his hands up to reach behind her back and finally remove her bra, tossing it aside as he brought both of his palms around to cover her breasts. He ran his thumb back and forth across her hard, erect nipples, stroking gently at first and then squeezing them tightly to send a fresh wave of shivers across her whole body.

He dipped his head down and used his teeth to tease her nipples even more. He didn’t even bother to start out slowly now, but went directly to an intense bite stopping just short of truly painful. He was so damn good at that. Emily’s chest heaved up and down as her breathing increased and the tingling sensation shooting through her body became almost too intense to bear. Just when she was about to scream out that she couldn’t take anymore, Chance pulled back and lifted her up in his arms, holding her like a child with one arm across her back and the other arm under the back of her knees. He let out a long, low roar, and then carried her toward the bedroom. His eyes blazed with hot passion as he growled again and dropped her onto the bed.

“Get in my bed,” he said, his voice husky and laced with desire. Just the sound of it sent a fresh wave of heat across Emily’s body. She looked up at Chance, who was tearing off his boxers, letting his erection spring free. His body was magnificent. He was standing at full height, looking down at her with his broad shoulders spreading wide. His biceps bulged, and his chest rose and fell as he breathed heavily. His perfectly sculpted abs ended in a v-shape that pointed down to his groin, where his dick stood stiff and ready, waiting for its chance to make itself at home inside her body. After a few moments of gazing hungrily down at her, Chance reached for her black panties and pulled them off her body in one quick, smooth movement. He climbed onto the bed over her, his knees straddling her hips as he paused once more just to look at her.

“I love you, Em,” he said. “So much. And I always will.”

“I love you, too,” Emily breathed out. She was overcome with a feeling of joy as Chance gently tilted his head down to kiss her lips. Her bear was home. They’d had a rough patch, but those things were to be expected. Now, she was here, safe in his arms, and nothing else mattered.

Chance closed his eyes and gently, slowly slid into her. Emily’s eyes closed as well as he filled her. The heat in her body became an inferno, sending thrilling flames burning throughout her entire body. Chance moved tenderly, sliding up and down and occasionally planting a kiss on her forehead. He slowly built up speed, and the heat and pressure in Emily’s body slowly built as well. She loved this slow burn, this slow building up to the point of no return. For several beautiful, intense minutes, Chance moved inside of her. She groaned and panted as the pleasure she was feeling grew stronger, until finally, she couldn’t hold back anymore. She gave in, letting the waves of her release wash deliciously over her. Her inner muscles clenched around Chance over and over. In response, he gave one last, powerful thrust before finding his release as well. He came into her, their bodies truly one in that moment as they held each other and rode the tsunami of pleasure together.

Emily breathed in and out deeply, savoring the moment. When Chance finally rolled off of her, she shivered at the blast of air that hit her sweaty skin. Chance pulled her close into his arms and kissed her face over and over again.

“You’re amazing,” he said. “Thank you for loving me.”

Emily was about to open her mouth to reply when a loud banging sounded at the front door of the cabin.

“Chance!” a deep voice called out. “Chance, are you there? Open up the damn door!”

Chance sat up in surprise. “It’s Sawyer,” he said, his eyes immediately filling with concern. “He wouldn’t be here unless it was something important.”

Emily sighed, and Chance looked at her uncertainly. “Do you mind if I just go check real quick?” he asked.

Emily gave him a gentle push. “Fine. Go,” she said. She was annoyed at the interruption, but she knew Chance was right. Sawyer wasn’t the type to come around unless something urgent was happening.

She watched as Chance threw on a pair of sweatpants, then rushed to the door shirtless.

Emily slowly climbed out of bed and started putting on fresh clothes of her own. She was just reaching for a t-shirt when she heard Sawyer’s voice carrying down the hall.

“Dude, I’ve been trying to call you all day,” Sawyer said. “I know you were annoyed about this morning, but you can’t just ignore fifty calls from your best friend!”

“I put my phone away and ignored it,” Chance said. “I was trying to pay attention to Emily.”

“Well, you missed out,” Sawyer said. “Lexi went into labor!”

Emily immediately perked up. Lexi was Anderson’s wife. Had the new baby been born? Emily finished getting dressed with lightning speed and ran out to the front door.

“Is Lexi okay? Is the baby here yet?” Emily asked, interrupting whatever Sawyer had been saying to Chance.

Sawyer turned and looked at Emily, pausing for a moment with an amused look on his face. Emily realized too late that with her flushed face and rumpled hair, she probably looked exactly like someone who’d just had sex. Especially since she was standing next to her shirtless boyfriend whose hair was also in disarray. But Emily didn’t have time to be embarrassed right now. She wanted to know how her friend was doing.

“How is Lexi?” Emily demanded again.

“She’s great,” Sawyer said. “Everyone’s great. Amanda and I have been there all day, offering moral support.”

“How’s Anderson?” Chance cut in.

“Anderson’s great. He was a mess the whole time Lexi was in labor,” Sawyer said, then paused dramatically for effect. “But now that his baby boy is here and mama and baby are both doing well, Anderson is over the moon excited.”

“The baby’s here?” Emily squealed. “And he’s a boy? Chance, let’s go see! Can we go meet him?”

Sawyer laughed. “Lexi sent me over here to find out why you guys weren’t answering your phones. Anderson and Lexi both want you to come meet Sebastian.”

“Sebastian,” Emily repeated letting the name roll around on her tongue. That’s a cute name.”

“Bash for short,” Sawyer said. “And you better hurry to come meet him before Silver gets back from her aunt’s house. She’s already declared that she’s the only one allowed to hold her baby brother. Amanda’s on her way to get Silver and bring her to the hospital right now.”

“Let’s go,” Chance said. “Just let me grab a shirt and jacket.”

Twenty minutes later, the group walked in to Lexi’s hospital room, where she was cooing over the tiniest little baby Emily had ever seen. Lexi looked up happily when Chance and Emily walked in, and then smiled down at her newborn son.

“Bash, your Uncle Chance and Auntie Emily are here to see you,” Lexi said.

Emily leaned over to see the tiny bundle. His little red face was scrunched up into a scowl, even in his sleep. Chance looked at the tiny baby’s expression and laughed.

“Looks like he takes after you, Anderson,” Chance said.

Anderson rolled his eyes, but couldn’t keep a silly grin off his face. He was obviously very proud of his newborn son.

“He’s beautiful,” Emily said to Lexi. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good,” Lexi said. “Tired, but happy. I had a good support team around me.”

Just then, the door to the hospital room opened and Silver ran in, followed by Amanda, who was holding her sleeping daughter, Storm, in her arms.

“Silver, slow down,” Amanda admonished. But Silver ignored her and ran straight to the bed, standing on her tiptoes to look up at her new baby brother. Emily smiled and lifted Silver onto the bed next to Lexi.

“He’s so tiny,” Silver said.

“He is,” Lexi said. “But don’t worry. He’ll grow. One day he’ll be bigger than you.”

Emily felt Chance reaching for her hand just then, and she looked over at him and smiled. She felt lucky to be a part of this group now. There was more love and happiness in this room than she had experienced in her entire life before this. Anderson looked over at Chance and grinned.