Her Christmas Bear (5 page)

“I know.”

They continued to stare at each other. “If you stay, I’ll take you to my bed. I’ll fuck you until you scream my name.”

“I know.” From the flare of his nostrils, she knew that he smelt her arousal. That was something else Patsy had shared about shifters—a little too late.

“Okay, then.” He turned and walked back toward the kitchen.

For a moment, she felt a little insulted. Maybe she’d thought he would sweep her up in his arms and ravage her on the spot. She wouldn’t have protested. But the longer she stood there, the more she understood what he’d done. Given her space. Let her know there was more to this than just physical satisfaction. He’d given her one last chance to change her mind. She snorted. As
if.

She’d found her a bear and she planned on keeping him.

FOLLOWING MARCUS INTO the kitchen area, Hope watched as he pulled a fresh pizza from the refrigerator already on a pan. “Did you make that yourself?” She admired a man who could take care of himself.

“Will it change your opinion of me if I say I didn’t?” His little boy look was as endearing as his sexier than thou physique was sizzling.

“No. But I should warn you, I’m not much of a cook either.”

He placed the pan in the oven. “Maybe we could learn to cook together.”

She didn’t have a witty comeback to that. Those words implied long-term commitment because what was more important to a bear shifter than eating?

Sex.
Again that deep rumble of sound floated through her head.
Mate. Cubs.

Okay, that was something she was going to have to ask Patsy about the next time she saw the woman.

“Drink?” It took her a moment to realize he was holding out a bottle of water and a plastic bottle of soda. She pointed to the soda. Filling a glass with ice from the refrigerator door, he sat it in front of her before opening the bottle and placing it next to the glass. She tried to ignore him as she poured out the frizzy beverage.

Marcus leaned against the counter, crossing his arms and legs, concentrating on the snow outside, the smell of the pizza cooking in the oven. Anything to keep his mind off Hope. His bear was eager to claim their mate. The day spent outside in the snow and the cold had cemented the bond as far as the animal was concerned. She’d been interested and inquisitive. And so damn beautiful with her red cheeks and rosy nose. His bear had wanted the man to shift and carry her off to the den he had set up high up in the mountains. After the Christmas rush, Marcus’s responsibilities and obligations slowed to a crawl and he usually spent some time up there to unwind and get back in touch with his bear.

“It smells good.”

“I got it from a restaurant in town.”

She tossed her hair behind her shoulder and Marcus noticed she’d tried to tame the silken locks. Even though she’d worn a knitted cap, the wind had whipped her cinnamon colored hair into a tangled mess around her head. He was pretty sure it would look the same way after a night in bed. His bed. “So what do you think of Riverton so far?”

“It’s wonderful. It reminds me of something out of a movie set.”

“Not your childhood?”

“No.” She traced the condensation forming on the side of her glass, refusing to look at him. He could tell immediately that her childhood had not been a happy one and his heart ached for her.

She took a sip of her drink. “What about you? Sisters, brothers?”

Marcus grew silent as he thought about his family. A family that was long gone. A fire had taken the lives of his mother and father and he’d been an only cub. They hadn’t been part of a clan, so he’d had no one to lean on after their deaths. Learn from. He’d almost turned rogue like Dirk, hurting from his loss and withdrawing from society. Of course, he hadn’t carried the weight of regret that Dirk had carried. Dirk’s family had been brutally murdered by a pack of rabid-like wolves.

Bears were not necessarily the most social of shifters. They were usually feared because of their size and strength. Most bears who mated formed a tightly knit family unit and managed to be part of a clan. Mostly for protection in case something happened to the male. All male bears were alphas by default and having too many alphas in one place was usually a recipe for disaster.

He watched as Hope took another sip of her drink. He’d been longing for her—his mate—for decades, ready to settle down and start a family. “My family passed away a long time ago.”

Her face grew solemn. “I’m sorry.”

He accepted her condolences with a nod of his head.

She was saved from trying to think of another topic of conversation by the ding of the oven timer. He turned away, taking out the pizza. When he turned back around a frown was on his face.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, forgot to the make the salad though.”

Hope smiled. “That’s okay. Unless of course, you’re not going to share any of the pizza with me.”

He laughed as she’d hoped he would, but his words set her heart to thudding. “Bears always make sure their mates are well fed.”

“Look, I don’t know—”

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Let’s just enjoy this delicious pizza I made for us, with my own two paws.”

“Sure.” Not that her mind hadn’t wondered what it would be like to be this bear shifter’s mate. She’d watched Patsy and her husband, floored by the love and affection that she could almost see flowing between them. They’d only been married a little over a year, but they were so in tune with each other it was amazing. Is that what it felt like to find the other half of your soul?

That’s how Patsy had described being married to her wolf. A completion that she would never have felt or found with another man. Something Hope envied with every fiber of her heart.

She bit into the slice of pizza Marcus put on her plate, watching him with an upsweep of her lashes. Would it be that way with him? What if something had gone wrong in the universe and he and his bear were making the wrong choice? What happened then?

“Good?” He smiled as he asked and Hope felt the flare of awareness pass between them—and straight to her core, wetting her pussy.

She didn’t know if this pull she felt for him, this hunger, was because he was a shifter, or because she was his mate. She didn’t know how much longer she could stay out of his bed.

Or how much longer she wanted to.

They continued the easy companionship they’d felt all afternoon, talking and sometimes simply sitting in silence. But as the day turned into night, the darkness brought forth feelings of love and lust. Want and need. Desire and passion. They finished their dinner and Marcus quickly washed what few dishes there were, trying to distract himself. Telling his bear that they need to proceed cautiously. Yes, she had agreed to stay with them and let nature take its course so to speak. That didn’t mean she’d given him permission to jump her bones like the animal inside him was urging him to do. Okay, so maybe part of his body was lobbying for the same thing.

Marcus had been more than ready, willing, and able all day long to take his mate to bed. His cock had been hard 24/7 since he’d laid eyes on Hope. Need for this dark-haired beauty had been invading his thoughts for days. Hanging the dishtowel up to dry, he walked back toward her, loving the look of her sitting at his kitchen counter, appearing happy and content. He thought how much better she would look, naked, sitting on the counter with him licking her pussy until she came.

“Would you like something else to drink? Eat?”
Like his cock?

“No.” He sensed her nervousness edged with excitement. He smelled her need. Was she having a few fantasies of her own? He stopped just inches away, afraid to get too close and lose his control. She looked at him and he lost himself in the pool of green staring back at him. Lifting her chin with his fingertip he said, “You take my breath away just looking at you.”

“You shouldn’t say things like that. They aren’t true.”

“Who says?” He remembered the first time he’d seen her trapped and hurt in a car and arguing with him then about how beautiful she was.

“I say.” Another stubborn toss of her head.

“Well, I say differently. Do you really not know how much I want you?” He wanted to tell her how much he already loved her. How much his bear loved her. But he knew it would be too much, too soon. He needed to forge a physical bond with her first and the emotional one would follow quickly. Real quick he hoped.

“Let me love you, Hope.” He lowered his head and kissed her cheek softly, then gave his attention to her eyes, her nose, finally to her mouth. Light lingering touches that caused her to lean into him and whimper in response. But it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. “I want you so much, baby.”

He bent his head again, his mouth caressing hers. Then, like a flame to tender, the kiss turned urgent. Desperate. He pushed his tongue inside her mouth, tasting her, devouring her, unable to get enough of her sweet yet exotic taste. He could kiss her forever.

His hand went to her hair, pulling her close, making the mating of their mouths as intimate as he wanted the mating of their bodies to be. She groaned and her hands lifted to his body, touching him as he so desperately craved. Her fingers left a heated trail up his chest, before tangling in his hair, pulling him close as if she too, could not get enough of his taste. He drew her to her feet, his fingers biting into the flesh of her hips, his body grinding against hers, trying so desperately to get to her, despite their layers of clothing.

Hope was barely aware when Marcus released her chin and wrapped both arms around her. His mouth heated quickly, sliding over hers with a sweet friction that curled her toes and made her pulse soar. Her arms circled his neck and tugged him closer as she tangled her fingers in his thick hair. It felt like silk beneath her fingertips. Dragging in a tortured breath, he shifted his stance.

“Up,” he ordered, grabbing the hem of her sweater and pulling it over her head. He unfastened the clasp of her bra, freeing her breasts. She felt the cool air touch her bare skin, followed by his warm tongue as it flicked over the sensitive peak, making the tip taut and nearly sending her into orbit when he closed his mouth around the center, sucking the nipple deep inside. She clutched his shoulders as he fed first from one breast then from the other. Too soon, he was moving, moving his mouth from her breast to the skin where her neck joined her shoulder.

“Right here, Hope. My bear will mark you right here. When I’m buried balls deep inside, filling you with my seed. We’ll make you ours.” He took her hand and pushed it against the front of his jeans, making her feel his rock hard cock.

“Yes. Yes, please.” She gasped from the sensation of him pulling the skin of her throat inside his mouth, temporarily marking her. She pushed away all thoughts of stopping. All thoughts of thinking she wasn’t enough. She had proof positive in the palm of her hand.
He. Wanted. Her.
She shivered, thinking of the hard length pushing inside her, filling her, stretching her pussy until the ache bordered on pain.

“Marcus.” Desperate, she pressed her mouth to the side of his neck, where a pulse throbbed. She inhaled his scent, tasted the tang of his skin. Her breathing quickened and her core flooded with moisture, preparing the way for this bear. For her mate?

Maybe. Maybe.

It was too soon to believe in fairy tales and happily-ever-afters.

Right now she was going to be satisfied with the here and now. Squeezing the thick girth of his dick, she knew she would be immensely satisfied with the here and now.

“Hold on.” He wrapped his hands around the backs of her thighs and pulled her close, forcing her legs to part as he placed her core directly on his thigh. With insistent strength, he moved her up and down his leg. The friction caused the fire in her pussy to burst out of control. One moment she was kissing him and the next she was begging him to make her come.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Picking her up, Marcus carried Hope to his bedroom. Later he’d take her by the fire, spread her out and lick her until she came, then start all over again. For their first time, he wanted to take her in a bed. Show her how much he loved her, wanted her. He wanted to worship her.

Placing her on the bed, he stepped back and quickly stripped. He took pride in the fact that she watched him. When he was done he stood there, letting her look her fill, as he did his. Her breasts hung heavy and lush against her chest, her nipples still wet from his mouth. She sat up in the bed and scooted to the edge, crooking her finger at him to come closer.

As soon as he was within reach, she traced a line from the top of his shoulder to the hollow at the base of his throat and down the solid plane of his chest. She placed her mouth on one small brown nub that beaded in anticipation of her touch. He couldn’t control the hiss of breath as she sucked on both of his hard nipples.

As she worked his flesh with her tongue and teeth, she took his cock in her hand and gave him a long, slow stroke. A drop of pre-cum slipped from the end. He felt her spread it over the sensitive slit and press firmly against the tiny hole. The sensation made his bear roar. She stroked him again and more pre-cum pumped from his body. She drew back, lowered her head and licked the liquid away.

Marcus’s bear went wild as soon as Hope wrapped her small mouth around the mushroom shaped head of his cock. The animal wanted to pull away and throw her on the bed and fuck. No more so than the man, but the man still remained in enough control to remember that Hope was human. That she deserved sweetness and tenderness. At first. Oh, he planned on fucking her raw by the end of the night. Taking her over and over again until all she could do was beg for release.

Plus, he craved the feel of her mouth on his cock. His hands tangled in her hair, holding her close. His hips bucked, making her take him deeper. She tried to take all of him, her hands clutching his waist as he thrust into her mouth over and over again. But he was too big. Too hungry. He pulled away, picking her up under her arms and tossing her to the center of the bed.