My Hero Bear (6 page)

But he knew he had to. With every ounce of self-control, he gently moved her hand down to her side before releasing it.

“It wasn’t just that he didn’t approve. He was right to tell me to stay away. I’m no good for you.”

“What are you talking about?”

Dylan growled in frustration. He’d never been good with words. Not like Noah or Xander. It had always been harder for him to express himself, at least when he was face to face with someone. It’s why the letters between him and Aurora had deepened the relationship in a way it never could when they were together.

Still, he had to try.

“You don’t understand what I’ve been through. You don’t know what I’ve done. All the fighting. All the killing. I’m not the man you used to know.”

“You’re still the man I knew. You’re still the man I
loved
.”

“You wouldn’t be so quick to say that if you knew the things I’ve done. The things I had to do to survive. I’m corrupted inside.”

Aurora placed a hand on his arm. “I’m sure you went through hell.”

“That’s just it. War
was
hell, but
I
was the devil. The devil, the boogie man, and the grim reaper all wrapped into one. Everyone thinks I’m some kind of hero, but the truth is, I was the villain out there on the battlefield. There’s no forgiveness for the things I’ve done.”

Tears welled in Aurora’s eyes. “You just did what you had to do. You did what you needed to come back home.”

“Yes, and I have to live with all the things I’ve done. I have to live with the fact that I’m a monster.”

“Don’t you say that. You’re not a monster.”

Dylan shook his head. “But I am.”

She grabbed his face in her hands. “Then you’re my monster, and I love you anyway.”

He pulled away. “You can’t mean that.”

“I can and I do.”

He searched her face for the truth. Her dark eyes blazed at him. She seemed to mean every word, impossible as it was for him to believe.

How did she not see the evil man standing before her? Clearly, she had no idea who he really was or what he’d really done. She might believe the things she was saying, but he didn’t believe them.

But he could let himself believe, just for now. Just for a moment. Just long enough to do the thing he’d been aching to do for the last four years.

He kissed her.

His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her soft body against him. He savored the feeling of her curves as he parted her sweet lips with his tongue.

She moaned into his mouth, and the sound was like gasoline on a fire. The heat within him blazed into an inferno. All those years dreaming of this moment and it was finally happening. He never thought it would happen. He sure as hell didn’t deserve to taste her lips ever again.

But for now, he didn’t care. Right and wrong, guilt and betrayal, none of it mattered the moment his lips touched hers.

He plunged his hands into her damp hair, running his fingers through it like he needed to touch her to make sure this was really happening.

The whole thing felt like a dream. It had been so long since he’d had anything good in his life, something this sweet and this pure felt like fantasy. He kept waiting to wake up. He’d be alone in his house, or even worse, still out in a war zone somewhere.

If this
was
a dream, Dylan intended to take advantage of it before reality set back in and the nightmares found him again.

He trailed kisses down her cheek and her neck before nipping at her soft ear lobe. Aurora moaned at the sensation.

“Dylan,” she breathed. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted this.”

“I thought about this every day,” he said, pulling back to look into her eyes. “Ever since we shared that first forbidden kiss.”

She smiled, her eyes dancing with mischief. “That was the second best kiss of my life.”

A pang of jealousy stabbed at him. “And what was the best kiss of your life?” he asked in a growl.

“This one,” she said and kissed him. “And this one, and this one, and this one,” she said, kissing him each time.

Emotion overwhelmed him. He’d forgotten what it was like to love and to be in love. All he’d known for the last nine years was hate. Aurora was like the sun shining on his darkest places, banishing the black clouds around his soul.

Dylan lifted her easily in his arms, like a groom carries his bride.

“What are you doing?” Aurora asked, laughing.

“Moving this to the bedroom.”

***

Rory felt a thrill at Dylan’s words. She wondered exactly what he had in mind. She’d never been with a man, not since Dylan had broken her heart. Although if he was suggesting what she thought he was suggesting, she was ready. This was Dylan. She’d been ready for him longer than she could remember.

He whisked her through the house, carrying her like she weighed nothing. She felt like she was floating in his arms. It wasn’t a feeling she was accustomed to. Rory wasn’t exactly petite. But Dylan was so strong, so powerful. Being held by him was exhilarating.

She could hardly believe Dylan was holding her in his arms. Dylan Sinclair. She’d cursed that name so many times she’d lost count. All she’d ever thought about after he left was how terrible he’d made her feel.

She’d never thought about how much
he’d
suffered. It never occurred to her that he’d been torturing himself over all the things he’d seen and done. She never considered all the guilt he felt.

Rory herself was feeling guilty, too. She’d come to Dylan’s home because he was a warrior. She hadn’t seen him in the last four years but she’d heard his name plenty, whispered in hushed tones like a legend.

The man cast a long shadow through the shifter community. If Dylan the Peacekeeper showed up somewhere, the bad guys would run and hide. It always sound like exaggeration to her, but she’d seen the reaction of the man who’d attacked her yesterday. The bald man almost wet himself with fear at the sound of Dylan’s name.

Rory had come to Dylan to use him for her own selfish reasons. She wanted the myth, not the man. But he
was
a man. A man she loved, and a man who needed her as badly as she needed him. All those years she cursed him for never coming back to her. It never once occurred to her to go find him. That he needed her help.

Dylan kicked the bedroom door open so hard it slammed against the wall. Rory thought the door would shatter. Liquid heat rushed through her veins, knowing how badly he wanted her.

He threw her onto the bed. She bounced with a yelp. The movement loosened the towel on her body. It opened up slightly, exposing more flesh to Dylan’s hungry gaze.

Rory felt her skin go hot. She sat up on the bed.

“I just realized something,” she said. “You’ve never seen me naked before.”

Dylan grunted in surprise. “No, I guess not. That’s my own damn fault.”

His hands grabbed the edge of the towel and lifted her to her feet. Then he ripped the towel from her body, revealing her bare skin. She inhaled a sharp breath, surprised at Dylan’s eagerness. He was so dominant, so forceful. Rory couldn’t believe how much it turned her on.

She’s always been attracted to Dylan’s strength, his power. For years, she wondered what he would be like in a more intimate setting. She was finding out, and so far, he was better than she’d imagined. Now that he’d stopped fighting his desires, Dylan had taken total control of the situation. Rory couldn’t have been more excited.

He looked down at her, passion blazing in his eyes. “It was worth the wait,” he groaned, his voice thick with desire. “You are gorgeous.”

He grazed his fingertips down her cheek, sending shudders through her. His hands trailed down until they found her breasts. She bit her lip and sighed as he cupped her breasts gently with his strong hands. His palms were rough against her skin, scraping maddeningly over her nipples.

She moaned, helpless to hold back the sounds of her arousal. She felt an intense ache between her legs. Her thighs clenched together to still that wild, pulsing desire.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Rory said breathlessly.

“I can barely believe it myself.”

“It feels like an impossible dream.”

“Then let’s never wake up,” Dylan said, and planted a kiss on her lips.

Rory grabbed at the hem of his shirt. They broke apart just long enough for her to pull the shirt over his head. She ran her fingers over the hard lines of his abs, marveling at how solid they were. The man was made of steel. Every part of him, including the thick length straining against his jeans.

Rory reached out to touch him. He grabbed her wrists and gently, but firmly pushed them behind her back. He leaned his head close to her, so close his warm breath tickled her ear.

“Not yet,” he whispered, his voice low. “I’ve waited so long for this. I want to feel you first.”

She wasn’t sure what he meant by that. With one hand, he pinned both of her wrists behind her. With the other, he caressed his fingertips up her thigh, trailing slow, lingering circles over her skin. The feel of it made Rory’s legs quiver.

She moaned, and Dylan smothered the sound with a tender kiss.

His hand slid slowly up her leg, letting the anticipation build. Rory could feel the heat building up inside her, aching with need. Her hips squirmed, desperate for sensation. All the while, Dylan kept her hands trapped, unable to move.

Dylan was in total control of her body, dominant and sure. Every tender graze of his fingers along the sensitive flesh of her inner thighs made her need more.

Finally, he brushed his finger along her lips and she almost burst right then and there. Her knees quaked with the feeling of his strokes.

He dipped a finger inside her and she groaned with pleasure. Rory shifted her hips against his hand, eager for more. Her body leaned against his, needing support. She savored the feeling of her skin against his, feeling closer to him than she’d ever felt before.

“This feels amazing, Dylan,” she breathed.

“
You
feel amazing,” he said, his voice low and enticing. “So hot and wet for me I can’t stand it.”

He pressed his palm against her clit. The pressure sent her pleasure soaring to dizzying heights. He continued to stroke her, rocking his palm against her with every movement, pushing her ever closer to the delicious edge.

“Kiss me,” she begged between ragged gasps of air.

Dylan slanted a kiss across her lips. She felt so connected with him, so loved. It was exactly what she needed for that final push.

White light exploded in her brain, erasing all rational thought. Pleasure pulsed through her like stunning waves of light, filling her with intense satisfaction.

Dylan released her hands and gathered her up in his arms, holding her close to him as pleasure quaked through her body.

When she could think again, she looked up at the man she thought she’d never see again, still amazed that she was standing naked in his bedroom being cradled in his arms.

“That was so much better than anything I imagined,” Rory said. “I need more. I need all of you. Make love to me.”

***

Dylan looked down at her, naked, beautiful, and unashamed. It was an image he’d pictured for years. Although after everything that had happened, he never imagined it would become a reality.

He never imagined she could feel anything but anger towards him. The affection she showed now was sweeter than honey. The urge to take her right then was overwhelming, but what she was asking was too much. It was too soon. He wanted her with every fiber of his being, but he didn’t want to rush anything. Especially with the guilt of his last secret still weighing on him.

“Make love to me,” she whispered again. “I’ve waited all these years for you. I want you to be my first.”

Her big dark eyes looked up at him, desperate and needy. But all he could think of was the shocking admission that she’d never been with a man.

He’d wondered about that. A part of him had always hoped she had waited for him and that she was still untouched. Not that it would have mattered to him. Dylan had been with plenty of women. None of them had meant anything to him. In fact, all it ever did was remind him that he could never be with the woman he actually wanted to be with. And it always reminded him how perfect Rory was compared to other girls.