Bear's Match (Bear Heat Book 6) (4 page)

Softly, she stopped him by
placing a hand on his arm. “I'm clean,” she whispered.
“And I'm on the pill, to regulate my period. So...”

Luke's eyes widened as he
understood her meaning. “I'm clean too,” he said at
last. “I haven't been with anyone since my last checkup, which
was...”

She nodded and pulled him to
her. She had never ditched the condoms the first time she had sex
with a man. But this felt different. She wanted to feel Luke skin
to skin, have him close to her. She wanted to feel their connection
at the most intimate level, physically and emotionally.

“Are you sure?”
Luke asked again.

“I'm sure.”

Luke's blue eyes seemed to
glow and she thought she saw something primal and predatory behind
his eyes. She shivered but not with fear.

Luke loomed over her, his
body hot and throbbing with raw lust and want. There was a sense of
dark danger about him, and Nicole loved it. She wanted to be taken
by him, and she wanted to shatter and scream beneath him.

Kicking off his pants, Luke
came to her and enveloped her in his powerful arms. He kissed her
face and kept moving his mouth down her writhing body.

Nicole cried out when he bit
and sucked her hard, aching nipple, giving her the most intense pain
and pleasure. Heat exploded in her core and pooled between her
thighs.

With a growl that sounded
more animal than human, Luke slid his hands under her knees and
spread her wide for him.

CHAPTER
EIGHT

Luke pushed Nicole's long,
slender legs apart and inhaled her erotic, feminine scent. She was
wet and ready for him, her pink folds glistening with her juices.

Luke slipped her engorged
clit into his mouth and she bucked off the mattress. He swirled his
tongue around the swollen nub, tormenting her relentlessly.

Nicole thrashed her head and
begged, as he laved his tongue down her sweet, sticky pussy. She was
so wet, and the taste of her was intoxicating and addictive.

He wanted more, needed more.

Going down on her, Luke
plunged his tongue deep into her quivering pussy. Nicole made a
keening sound as he fucked her with his tongue. Her juices spurted
into his mouth and he swallowed every sweet drop of her.

He rubbed his thumb in slow
circles around her clit as he licked and sucked her. When she began
to pant, he thrust his tongue faster and harder into her as he
massaged her clit. He kept his mouth on her even when she screamed
and shivered, making her come again even before her first orgasm had
subsided.

The taste and feel of her
coming on his tongue almost made him lose control.

Luke pulled himself up and
kissed Nicole deeply on the mouth, letting her taste herself on his
lips. Their tongues tangled and Nicole thrust her tongue deep into
Luke's mouth. Her hunger for him was fierce and palpable.

“I need you inside me,
Luke,” she whispered. “Take me...now.”

Breathing hard, Luke hooked
her legs over his shoulders and grabbed her hips. He couldn't wait
any longer. He had to have her.

With one forceful thrust, he
buried himself to the hilt inside her. Her walls rippled and
tightened around him immediately and he had to take a deep,
shuddering breath just to hold on.

She squeezed down on him
again, and his eyes almost crossed. “Nicole, I'm not going to
last if you keep doing that,” he grated.

“Then don't.”
She lifted her hips and whispered, “Just make sure you can go a
second time.” She winked and added huskily, “Or a third
time.”

Luke growled low. He was
going to have her the whole night, again and again and again.

He began to move, sliding in
and out of her hot, lush body. She was so tight and wet, and he
loved the look on her face as she came. He wanted to see her come
for him, again and again.

Nicole's nails dug into his
biceps as she sighed, “Luke...”

He bent down and kissed her
eyelids as he rocked into her. “You are so perfect,” he
whispered.

Nicole cupped his jaw and
gazed deeply into his eyes as he made love to her. He moved slowly,
savoring every movement, every stroke. Lacing his fingers through
hers, he listened to her quickening breaths and watched her lovely
face flush with pleasure.

Nicole was beautiful, and she
was his.

Luke surged into her, taking
her deeper and harder. He wanted to pound into her, bring her over
the edge and feel her throb and climax. He wanted to hear her scream
his name as he claimed her. He wanted her deliciously sore the next
morning, so that she could feel him with every step she took and
every little movement she made.

The headboard hammered the
wall in time to his thrusts. He stretched Nicole's long slender arms
above her head and watched her breasts bounce as he took her
furiously. Her eyelids fluttered as she begged, “Don't stop,
Luke. Don't stop...”

Arching her back, she let out
a scream of ecstasy as he slipped her hard nipple into his mouth and
sucked. He flicked his tongue over her erect peak and thrust faster
and harder into her clenching body.

Nicole screamed and shattered
beneath him. Her walls clamped down on him and milked him greedily.
Luke roared his release and grabbed her. As he pounded into her, he
bit down on her shoulder and held her tight.

He held her in place until
her shudders subsided and she could open her eyes again.

“Hey,” she said
hoarsely.

“Hey.” He
blinked at her.

“Wow.” She
smiled shyly before saying, “If I'd know you were this good in
bed, I would have jumped your bones earlier.”

“The last time we saw
each other, we were eight,” he pointed out.

At that, she threw back her
head and laughed. She turned to him and said, “I should have
hunted you down, Luke Keller.”

“You can't get rid of
me now, Nicole,” he said, keeping his tone light and playful.
But his eyes were serious. “I'm not letting you go.”

Nicole gave him a lazy,
satisfied smile as she snuggled up to him. Looking like the cat that
got the cream, she yawned and said, “I'm not planning on going
anywhere.”

CHAPTER
NINE

Nicole snorted as someone
shook her gently. “Go away,” she swatted the hand away.
When the hand refused to go away, she buried her head under a pillow.
“Shoo! Leave me alone. Let me sleep...”

“Nicole, wake up. Your
phone's been ringing non-stop. It might be important.”

With a grunt, she threw the
pillow aside and opened her eyes. Luke was sitting at the side of
the bed with her phone in his hand. He pushed the buzzing phone into
her hand and turned on the bedside lamp.

“What time is it?”
she asked drowsily.

“Five-thirty,”
Luke said.

“I start work at nine,”
she grumbled as she stared at the number on her phone. It was one of
her clients. Scowling, she answered the call. “Hello?”

“Nicole? Nicole, is
that you?”

“Yes, what can I do for
you, Anna?” Nicole said, sitting up. She had handled Anna
Ward's divorce a few years back. More recently, she had helped Anna
adopt a baby boy from an orphanage. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, I...no! No! I
don't know what to do. I need your help, Nicole! I'm really
scared...please…I can't think of anyone...”

“Anna, calm down,”
Nicole said. Anna sounded like she was crying. “What's going
on?”

“I don't know, I don't
know who they are and what they want. I just need to keep him safe.
Please, can you come out and meet me? Now?” Anna was speaking
in a frantic, urgent whisper as she hiccuped another sob. “Oh
God!”

“Okay, just calm down.
I can see you at about...eight?” Nicole peered at the clock on
the bedside table. “Can you come down to my office and...”

“No! No, I can't. I
can't let them see me there. He won't be safe...”

“Who won't be safe?”
Nicole frowned. The woman wasn't making any sense. “What are
you talking about?”

“I can't...I just
can't...” Anna's voice broke. “Please, please just meet
me out here.”

“Out where?”

A pause. “Do you know
the diner at the corner of Sixth Street? It's open round the clock.”

“You mean Kit's
Kitchen?”

“Yes! Can you meet me
there?”

“Sure, how soon...”
Nicole jumped out of bed and began to search for her clothes. She
heard the desperation and fear in Anna's voice and decided that this
wasn't a hoax. Anna Ward was a responsible, composed bank manager.
She had never been hysterical and unreasonable. She was a good
client, a good person. But the same couldn't be said for her
cheating ex-husband. The scumbag was a cheat through and through.
He had cheated on Anna and even tried to cheat her of her share of
the house. But Nicole had made sure that Anna Ward got every cent
that belonged to her.

And Anna was a wonderful
mother to her little son. After the adoption, Anna had dropped by
Nicole's office bearing a big box of chocolates and cuddling her
precious son. Nicole saw the genuine and deep love Anna had for the
infant, and wished her well. They made a lovely family.

Nicole was about to get on
her hands and knees to search for her underwear when Luke tapped her
on the shoulder and calmly handed over her bra and panties.

Thank you
, she mouthed
to him as she dressed hurriedly.

Over the phone, Anna was
trying to muffle her sobs as she cooed something to her son. Nicole
could hear the baby squalling in the background.

“Now.”

“What?” Nicole
pressed the phone to her other ear as she tried to do up her buttons
with one hand.

“Can you meet me now?”
Anna whispered.

“Eh, okay. Yes, I'll
see you at Kit's Kitchen. I'll order pancakes and coffee for you.
Everything will be fine, Anna,” Nicole assured her.

“Thank you, Nicole.
I...I'm sorry to...”

“It's okay. I'll see
you in ten minutes.” Nicole clicked off and turned to see Luke
coming into the room with her jacket. He was wearing a pair of faded
jeans and an old t-shirt, and he had his car keys in his fist.
Nicole made a face at him. How could someone look so good at five
o'clock in the morning? She was still rubbing the sleep out of her
eyes but Luke looked rested and relaxed. It wasn't fair. She bet
she was a hot mess with her hair in knots and drool at the corner of
her mouth.

“Something came up with
a client?” Luke asked, helping her into her jacket. He did it
so naturally, like she had been getting out of his bed to dress for
work every morning.

“Yeah. She's...”

“I'll give you a lift,”
he said. “Is there time for breakfast?”

“I'm meeting Anna at
Kit's Kitchen.”

He quirked a smile. “Their
pancakes are legendary.”

“Can I use your
bathroom? I need to...”

“Yeah. I just left a
new toothbrush beside the sink.”

“Thanks, Luke!”
Nicole rushed into the bathroom, and freshened up as quickly as she
could. She scrubbed her face and applied just a coat of lip gloss.
She retied her ponytail and she was done. She never wore much makeup
and she rarely took more than twenty minutes to get ready in the
morning.

As they took the lift down to
the parking lot, Nicole commented, “You're pretty cool about me
rushing out of your bed even before the sun is up.”

“Clients call all the
time,” Luke said simply. “The Black Bears office is open
twenty-four hours. We work shifts and we're always ready, for
anything.”

Nicole quirked a smile at
him. Gosh, could he be any more perfect? He would make a perfect
partner for her. He understood the pressure and demands of her work,
and he knew how to handle emergencies and urgent, unexpected
situations. He wasn't easily flustered and his calm, easy-going
manner steadied her.

She felt really good around
Luke. She could just be herself around him. She could be fun,
flighty and flirty with him, but when she snapped into work mode, he
was right there with her. For the first time, she understood what
her happily-married friends and colleagues meant when they referred
to their partners as their other halves. They were a team, a whole.

Sex with Luke was not just
intense, mind-blowing and explosive. It was also fun and warm and
playful. He was her friend, but she didn't want them to be just
friends with benefits. Perhaps they could have a first date, only it
wouldn't really be a first date because…

They had already gotten into
the car, and Luke was peeling out of the parking lot. He broke into
her whirling thoughts by saying, “Hey, I messaged Jade, and she
said she's so excited to meet you tonight. Dylan will be coming
too.”