Bear Treble (Highland Brothers 4) (7 page)

H
e tossed
another log on the fire. It felt right to be here instead of the studio. Being a Highland was more than just sharing a last name with his brother and cousins. He shared the traditions of their clan—something he had fought his entire life. Highland House was the right place to tell Layla their destiny was forever interlaced. She was now part of a powerful bear family.

“Are you going to tell me?” She sat on the couch, her eyebrows arched high. “Start with the bear stuff.”

“I was hoping I could do it in a song, but I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Your music is amazing, Dylan, but sometimes real conversation is necessary.”

“It is. This is one of those times.”

“Just tell me. You got me back here with the last song you wrote. You know I’m debating whether I can even include it on the album.”

“Why would you say that?”

“It’s too personal. I think if I sang it, people would know it was about us.”

He turned to look at her. “They don’t know about us. No one knows there is an us.”

“Is there?” she asked. “Is that what this is about? Are you second-guessing the song? Are you second-guessing me again?”

“No, no.” He sat next to her on the couch, feeling an incredible urge to hold her and not let go until everything was ok. But it wasn’t ok, because of him. The only way he could fix it was tell her the truth.

“Layla.” He stroked the side of her cheek. “This is impossible. All of it.” He had to fight through the doubt. He had to do the right thing. “Layla, I’m a bear shifter.”

“You’re a what?”

“I want to be more man than bear, but sometimes the bear wins out. Like he did with you.” He tilted her chin with his thumb. “I—we—you—” Every time he tried to tell her his words failed him, all he could see were the notes that would explain it to her. The music would speak for him.

“Clearly something is going on. Just tell me,” she urged.

“I’m trying to tell you that I’m a bear. And you are my mate.” He searched her eyes for fear or disgust.

“A mate?” She smiled. “What century are you in?”

He shook his head. “I know it sounds strange, but we are bonded forever. The piano…” He let the words drift off, hoping she would be able to piece it together.

“You can’t be a bear. That’s not even possible.”

“Why not?” he asked.

“Because.” Her breathing was rapid again.

“Because you say so? Is that what you were about to say?” He chuckled.

“Come on, Dylan. You expect me to believe—”

He didn’t let her finish her sentence. He crushed his mouth against hers and twined his tongue along hers, sucking and kissing her until she began to purr those soft little sounds he loved. She wrapped her legs around his waist as kissed at the edges of her lips. As her hands flattened on his chest, he looked in her eyes and let his bear rumble.

His chest shook, while he held her hands against his muscles so she could feel every vibration, every deep shudder his bear growled.

She tried to pull away. “That’s what that is?” she asked.

He nodded. “You let him out, Layla.”

“I did?”

“I had so much more control of him until he laid eyes on you.” He rubbed a thumb over her lips. “But when two people are meant to be together I don’t know that there is much that can stop them. Even someone as stubborn as me who thinks he can get in the way.”

Her breath hitched as his thumb moved from her lips to her throat. “Is that why you always pushed me away? You were trying to control the other side of you?”

“Yes. I didn’t want to give in.”

“But why not? I think the bear in you is fucking sexy.” She bit down on her bottom lip, and he felt a sudden lurch in his chest. He was aching to take her again. “I didn’t know what that sound was, but I loved it the first time I heard it.”

“You did?”

She nodded, biting lightly on her lip. “It pulled me to you.”

“Do you have any idea how complicated our lives have just gotten?” He eyed her. “You have no idea what you’re in for.”

She locked her ankles against his back. “I have people to take care of things. I can do whatever I want.”

“Are you ready to stop touring and have our cubs?”

Her eyes beaded together. “Did you knock me up?”

He exhaled. “See? It’s not something you want. It’s not something you’re ready for.”

“Hey, wait. That’s not fair, Dylan.” She turned his jaw with her palm. “I didn’t know any of this. It’s not like we talked about it. I’ve never thought about being a mother.”

He closed his eyes. “Maybe you’re not pregnant. Maybe we can hold off and you can work out your schedule with your manager. Finish your album. Finish the world tour. Just because I claimed you doesn’t mean I have to do it again. I will respect what you want to do.”

Her hands left the side of his face, and he felt the coldness from where her touch had been. He knew she would leave. He knew she would find out about the animal in him and find a reason to push him away. His bear would have to listen to his mate. That part Dylan would have no problem controlling. It was the law of bear nature.

He jerked when he felt her hands on his chest, sliding beneath the hem of his shirt. Her nails tickled over his abs and along his sides.

“What are you doing?” He breathed. He could feel his cock aching inside his pants. The pressure built with every stroke of her nails.

Her lips pressed into his. “I want to make music with you, Dylan,” she whispered. “And I want to make cubs.”

His eyes lifted to hers. “We can talk about it. Think about it.”

But Layla had always been a woman who made her own decisions. She was strong and powerful. Independent and confident. She pushed him back on the sofa as she slid her arms out from her shirt.

“I don’t want to think. I want to feel the way I did when you were inside me,” she whispered, unclasping her bra.

Dylan groaned when he saw the points of her nipples jut towards him.

“There’s no going back,” he warned. Climbing forward, pinning her under him.

“I don’t want to go back.” She looked in his eyes and Dylan knew he was lost, just like he wrote in song number six.

T
here was
a bear of a man hovering over her. A gorgeous man with broad shoulders and a smile that made her wet between her thighs. A man that told her he was hers forever.

She arched her back toward him, offering her body to him. She moaned as he lowered his mouth to her nipple and bit it between his teeth.

She forgot everything she was supposed to do in Seattle. She forgot about the tour and the album and the press events scheduled for the next five weeks. All she could think about was being in Dylan’s arms as they gave each other every pleasure.

While he continued to suck, his fingers worked the button on her jeans until it was free and he could slide his hand between her legs.

“So wet, baby.” He smiled as he pried between her folds. He began to massage and roll the pulsing nub between his fingers until Layla was panting hard against his touch.

Her head thrashed to the side as Dylan danced over the bud before diving in her entrance. She bucked off the couch, gripping his shoulders.

“Ohh,” she moaned. “Fuck that feels good.”

He grinned at her. “You know what else feels good?”

In one swift motion he jerked the pants from her legs and threw her ankles around his shoulders. He blew over her soft mound, before sliding her panties out of the way.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about how sweet you tasted.”

Her head thrashed to the other side. His tongue began to lap in feverish strokes until she was quivering and pulsing. Her thighs clutched against the side of his face, and her hips bucked into his tongue, sending it deeper inside as she came with utter abandonment, feeling his love for her as she was consumed by the orgasm he gave her.

Dylan smiled between her legs and kissed each of her thighs. “That’s what I couldn’t stop thinking about.” He lowered her hips to the couch and rose to slide the jeans from his muscular legs.

She whimpered when she saw his pulsing erection. She wanted him so badly.

“Dylan, please. God, I want you.”

He lowered himself on top of her, letting her taste her own juices from his lips. “I want you too,” he growled. “Hold on.”

He sat back on his heels and grabbed a blanket. He stepped off the couch and spread it on the floor in front of the hearth. In two steps he had Layla in his arms and nestled her in front of the fire.

“You’re so sexy and beautiful.” His hands trailed over her skin where the firelight glowed. “And mine,” he added.

“Yes.” She reached up with her hand. “All yours.”

He hooked his fingers under her panties and skirted them over her hips. He pushed her knees wide with his palms as he positioned the tip of his cock against her.

“Wait,” she whispered. “I want something too,” she teased.

She began to wiggle along the blanket, until she was underneath him, staring up at his rock-solid body and his shaft was at her chin. She reached out with her tongue and licked the tip. Dylan groaned and his hips dipped lower.

The more her tongue moved along his shaft, the deeper he pushed in her mouth. His skin was silky and soft and he moved in and out, filling her with drops of salty sweet dew. She sucked against him, loving how he felt, wanting him to come like this, wanting her mouth to give him the kind of pleasure he deserved. But just as his thrusts grew deeper his hand wrapped around his cock and he backed away.

His eyes glistened. “You are dangerous, Layla.”

She licked her lips, savoring the taste of him. “As dangerous as your bear?” she taunted.

“You tell me,” he said as he slid her back in front of him. “Because my bear wants to do all kinds of things to you.”

“Like what?” She wanted to know. She wanted to know how he wanted her. How he wanted to be inside her. She wanted to know if he wanted the same things she did.

“Like take you like this, until you’re singing for me to stop.” He smiled. “And flip you over on your belly and drive into you deep.” She felt the flutter in her core and a new wetness between her legs. “And he wants to lick and suck you until you’ve lost count of how many times you’ve come.”

Her nipples hardened with each word. Dylan slid a hand between her legs and his eyes lit when he felt the new heat there. “Which way turns you on the most?”

“All of it. I want everything single you said.” Her knees fell to the side, exposing every bare inch of skin she had. She wanted him to claim her this time while she knew it.

“Oh, Layla,” he groaned, hoisting himself up and pointing his cock at her entrance.

“Fuck me, Dylan,” she pleaded with a soft smile on her lips. “Give me your cubs. Let me hear your true voice.”

The deep roar reverberated around the room as he sank his shaft deep inside her. Layla screamed as the steel rod pierced her, sending a chorus of ecstasy through her limbs. The music echoed in her ears as he wildly pumped in and out of her. She’d never felt so full and whole.

He lowered his head to suck on one nipple while he pinched and rolled the other between his fingers.

“Oh yes,” she cried as the fullness of him spread her wider. She stretched around him knowing her body was meant for him. They fit so perfectly together, giving and taking from the other.

Dylan sat forward drawing his lips over her stomach, before flipping her face down. She wiggled back aching for him. His large hands settled on her hips, tilting them up before driving into her again, this time with sudden force.

Layla screamed as the new notes hummed through her. She rocked into the sensations as his hard cock slid in and out, over and over, until she was clawing at the blanket. Her orgasm built like a steady crescendo. The notes fevered by Dylan’s strength and power, driving pure pleasure into her.

He yanked at the back of her hair, forcing her to turn and look at him. He was powerful and graceful as he moved into her body. Her eyes locked on his, knowing together they were building toward the finale that would seal them together forever. She clutched harder at him, needing him inside her. With one hand on her back, Dylan roared back then slammed into her shattering both of them into a million pieces.

Her body rocked and convulsed as the waves pulsed through her. She panted as she felt his release deep inside her. It was like a blissful symphony how their bodies knew how to play the other. His strong shaft stroking her until she was ready to come with him like an electric duet.

Dylan kissed the small of her back. “You are amazing, Layla.”

She collapsed to the floor, feeling him slide out from her. “I need to tell you something,” she panted.

His hand traced the curves of her hips. The fire crackled behind them. “What?”

“I have a secret too.”

“Ok. And you want to tell me now?”

“I think it’s time you know who I really am.”

“Are you trying to scare me?” His palm rested on her thigh.

“My name isn’t Layla.”

She thought he was too tired to care, but Dylan propped himself up on his elbow. “What do you mean?” He sounded startled.

“It’s not Layla Love. That’s my brand. It’s the stage name we came up with when I first started out. I’m Leigh Smith.”

He blinked. “Leigh Smith?”

She nodded. “Thought maybe I should tell you now that you’re stuck with me forever.” Her head dropped to the soft quilt. She could lie like this forever. The warmth of the fire warming her back. Dylan’s hard body still pressed against her. She felt something humming through her body that awakened and soothed her.

He kissed her hip. “Hmm. Which one should I call you?”

She rolled onto her back to look at him. “I like how you say Layla.” She grinned.

He bent toward her to run his lips against hers. “I like how you say ‘fuck’.” He laughed. She slapped him on the chest.

“It’s true. I do.” He waggled his eyebrows.

She twisted her lips together. “Do you think we have any more surprises between us?”

His hand floated to the swell of her stomach and rested there. “I think there’s maybe one more.”

She smiled. She’d never been the motherly type. She couldn’t remember what her own mother looked like other than the pictures everyone seemed to drag out of a time capsule. But this was something she wanted. As much as she had wanted any album. Only more.

Lying here with Dylan she knew she would give it all up to be his mate. To be the mother of his cubs.

“Dylan?”

“Hmm?” He laid his head next to hers.

“Do you want me to stop singing?”

He popped back up on his elbow. “Hell no. You have the voice of the century. I wouldn’t ask you to do that.”

“Then how do we do this? You and me? Cubs? The public spotlight is the worst possible place to raise children.”

He drew a lazy circle around her navel, sending chills along her stomach and between her legs.

“There are artists with kids,” he stated.

“But not with cubs.”

He chuckled. “Maybe that’s true. But we can figure it out. When you’re far enough along we announce the pregnancy and you can take time off the tour. People will understand. You’ll have this album to push you along until you’re ready to get back out there.”

“And you’ll be here? You won’t leave?”

He kissed her forehead. “Layla, I’ll never leave. Forever means forever. You’re my mate. Mother of my cubs. My life.” He paused. “You’re my music.”

She sighed. Music had brought them together. It had dropped her on his doorstep. Music would always be a part of their lives, but she knew fate would never separate them.

Dylan rolled on top of her. “Ready to make another song?”

She eyed him. “Depends on which kind.”

But she already knew exactly which kind. She could feel him hard and ready pressed against her leg.

She smiled. “Make me sing.”