Wedding Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Enforcer Bears Book 3) (12 page)

“Logan?” he said, eyes wide with shock.

All of a sudden, the large bear behind Chris turned into another naked man.

“Steven!” Sidney said in surprise, and then, her voice still shaking, “My God! Is everyone but me a bear in this damn town?”

Chris and Steven ignored her. Instead, both men were now crouching before Blood Claw, who stared up at them with a bitter smile on his face.

“What a touching family reunion,” the wounded shifter muttered. “Haven’t seen you in years. Would have been content to die without you knowing what I’ve become. And here we are. Do me a favor and just let me die, and then pretend you never saw me again?”

“What are you talking about! You need a doctor,” Chris said, shaking his head in disbelief. Then he seemed to remember his surrounding and looked up to fix Kayden with an intense stare. “Let’s forget whose forest this is for now. You let me take him home, you don’t come after him, and we’ll find a way to talk all of this out.”

“Blood Claw is your brother?” Kayden asked, staring at the men before him.

He’d only briefly seen a glimpse of Chris in the car when they’d taken the shortcut through Mrs. Granger’s garden. But now that Kayden saw him up close, he could see the family resemblance to the man he’d known as Blood Claw, his alpha’s second for the past decade.

“Blood Claw?” Chris repeated, his brow furrowed.

“What trouble have you got yourself into?” the other naked shifter muttered—Steven, Sidney had called him, which meant that he was her cousin’s fiancé.

Kayden closed his eyes, suddenly feeling faint. When he’d wondered if human weddings were just as eventful as their clan meetings, he hadn’t quite expected they’d turn out even more dangerous...

Sidney made an alarmed sound. “Kayden, you’re still bleeding! You need a doctor as well!”

“I’ll be fine,” Kayden managed. “Shifters heal fast.”

“It was a good fight,” Blood Claw admitted, another cough interrupting his words. “Good end for me. Should have just... bitten down sooner and spared us the melodramatics.”

“There’s no way I’m letting you die after I haven’t seen you for a fucking decade!” Steven now hissed. “What sort of brother does that?”

Blood Claw groaned when his bleeding body was gathered up in his brother’s strong arms.

“Hey, tried to be a good brother,” he muttered. “Dad was in Iron Fang’s debt. Had to pay him. Iron Fang wanted soldiers. I... I volunteered. You guys didn’t deserve that life.”

“Yeah? And you just made that decision without us?” Steven growled. “We’ll talk about that once you’re healed.”

Kayden raised a hand to his head. Blood loss had made him dizzy as well. He could feel the tingling of his shifter healing kick in... but the wounds were deep enough that it would take at least a night and a day to fully recover.

“I’m not sure right now is a good time to talk this out,” Kayden murmured. “How about I let you guys take Blood Claw, and you and I talk later? My clan are good people. We don’t want wars. We don’t want violence. We just need a home. If you don’t want us in your territory, I promise I won’t challenge you, but—”

“Let’s talk about this later,” Chris cut in after a considering look at his wounded brother. “For now, he needs rest. And so do you. Sidney—”

“I’ll make sure that he gets his rest,” she said, tightening her arms around Kayden. “And then... then I want a list of everyone who’s a damn bear. Why are all my friends bears?”

Kayden tried to chuckle, but then a stabbing pain hit him, the first of the deep puncture wounds Blood Claw had left starting to heal.

“Should have known that this town was too good to be true... Had to be a bear’s home,” Kayden murmured, trying to give Sidney a reassuring smile before his legs gave out.

“Rest,” she said decisively.

For once, Kayden was glad to follow another’s order.

W
orriedly, Sidney watched Kayden sleep. He’d slept all day out there in that little camp in the forest. In the evening, he’d briefly woken, his wounds healed enough that they’d been able to return to Sidney’s house together. Sidney had hated the thought of him moving when not so long ago, she’d thought she’d have to watch him die—but Kayden had insisted. He hadn’t wanted her to spend the night outside in the forest.

Deep in her heart, Sidney was glad to be back in familiar surroundings. While Kayden had slept, his clan had introduced themselves to her. Any fear she might have felt at being surrounded by a large group of dangerous bear shifters had vanished as soon as she’d watched small children shift back between human and bear forms effortlessly as they played tag among the trees. With the adults, it was a little harder—but she hadn’t forgotten that Glory and Darrell had immediately stepped to her side to guard her when Blood Claw had attacked.

No, the thought of bear shifters living among them was still strange, but at least for now, Sidney was no longer afraid. After all, children were children—even if they could change into bear cubs. Apart from that, they’d been no different at all to the sticky-fingered, adorable little monsters that she entertained with story times in her library.

But now they were back home. Kayden had slept all night in her bed, the deep, bleeding gouges Blood Claw had left turning into scabbed over scars at first. Now, they were changing into red welts.

Kayden was really healing as fast as he had promised.

Gently, Sidney rested her hand on his chest. She spread out her fingers. Beneath her touch, his heart was beating steadily, and she could feel the incredible strength of those powerful muscles. She traced a line downward, not quite touching the scar that ran across his skin there, still awed that the bleeding wounds had knit so quickly.

“Morning,” his hoarse voice rumbled at her after a moment.

When she looked up with a smile, she found Kayden watching her.

“How do you feel?” She kept stroking him gently.

He was so fascinating to touch. Beneath her fingers, the hills and valleys of his abs rippled and shifted. He stretched with a satisfied sound, content to let her explore.

“Much better. As good as new, really. I’m sorry I scared you.”

Sidney shook her head. “You didn’t force him to attack you. But I’m still glad that Chris and Steven appeared when they did.”

“Hey, I already had him beaten at that point!” Kayden protested playfully.

Sidney gave him a quick grin. “No one’s denying that! Your clan were celebrating you while you were out cold, you know. I hear that no one has ever beaten the fierce and magnificent Blood Claw. Until now...”

Kayden made another satisfied sound. “He knows he’s lost. He won’t be back. I doubt he’ll slink back to Iron Fang either. Iron Fang would have his hide mounted on his wall.”

“So that means that you and your clan are safe?” Sidney creased her brow.

It was still difficult to try and wrap her mind around all these new things—clans, alphas, mates. But Kayden had said that he wanted a real home. And those adorable little kids she’d seen deserved a home as well.

Kayden nodded, then caught her hand to draw it up to his lips for another kiss. “We’re safe.”

Her eyes lit up with hope. “And you’ll stay?”

“If Chris will let us share his territory,” Kayden said a little ruefully. “I didn’t know these lands were already claimed by other shifters. I caught a scent sometimes—but I thought it meant that Blood Claw was sneaking around. In any case, if he wants us to leave, we can settle somewhere nearby. If... if you don’t mind a bit of a commute to work?”

Relief and joy flooded through Sidney at those words. “You want me to come with you?” she asked, her heart beating faster.

“You’re my mate,” Kayden said simply, his eyes filled with warmth and pride as he looked at her. “I’m not leaving you. I told you, I’d do anything for you. I’d even challenge Chris, if I have to—”

“No,” Sidney said quickly, and then bent down to press a tender kiss to his lips. “That’s sweet. I mean, I imagine that’s sweet, coming from a bear! But I don’t want you to fight anyone anymore. Especially not the bridegroom before the wedding!”

Kayden gave her a little grin. “That would go over worse than a thunderstorm during the reception, huh?”

Sidney laughed. “Exactly. So don’t challenge anyone. I’m sure Chris will see reason. And if he doesn’t—I think I could be very happy with a house outside town. As long as you’re there with me.”

“I’ll build it with my own hands for you,” Kayden said promptly. “A palace. With a huge patio. An orchard. And—”

Tenderly, Sidney covered his lips with her fingers. “A sturdy bed will do, I think,” she whispered.

Now Kayden’s grin turned decidedly more wicked.

“Is that so?” he purred.

His hands slipped beneath the silken negligee Sidney had worn as she watched him sleep. She’d bought it on a whim one day when she had visited her sister in the city. She’d felt embarrassed ever since, because who did she have to wear such a thing for? But now she was glad she’d found it in her drawer.

The silk was white, with pink cherry blossoms embroidered on it. It clung to her curves, drawing attention to her generous breasts that strained against the fabric. As Kayden’s hands drew upwards she smiled, feeling like a goddess when he groaned with appreciation and leaned forward to mouth at one of her nipples through the silk.

A gasp escaped her at the touch. Her nipple tightened at the sensation, and arousal singed along her nerves, as hot and as blinding as lightning.

“Your wounds,” she said in breathless protest.

Kayden’s teeth rasped gently against her taut nipple, sending a new wave of arousal through her.

“As good as healed,” he murmured, and then looked up at her with a blinding grin. “Want me to prove it to you?”

“It’ll take a lot to convince me,” she teased, then giggled in surprise when Kayden’s hands clasped her waist.

As easy as that, Kayden rolled them over to smirk down at her. He’d been naked beneath the covers. Now he’d come to rest between her thighs, and she could feel how hard he was already.

She moaned in approval when Kayden’s fingers slipped beneath the negligee once more. Slowly, he drew it upwards so that she gasped at the sensation of the silk dragging across her sensitive skin. It felt like she was on fire. Between her legs, she pulsed with need and readiness for him; she was wet, and the feeling of his iron-hard erection brushing against her thigh made everything inside her clench with hunger for him.

“Is this what it means to be a shifter?” she managed to gasp. “Everything is so...
intense
with you!”

His laugh was low and pleased. “That’s because you’re my mate. No one else will ever know me as well as you do. And I... I want to protect you. Pleasure you. Spend every single day with you because you drive me crazy.”

She shuddered at his words, more wetness dripping from her folds.

“I never knew that bears were such romantics,” she managed to tease back, although her voice was already breathless with desire.

Kayden laughed again, his eyes darkening with his answering need for her. “Want me to teach you what it’s like to be a bear?”

She’d tidied the room while Kayden had slept. She’d piled his clothes onto a chair near her bed. Now, Kayden leaned over, and with a thoughtful look, he drew a silken tie from the pile.

“You trust me?” he asked, his eyes intense.

“With everything I am,” she breathed back, swallowing as she stared at him.

His powerful body gleamed in the light of the morning sun. The red welts that were all that remained from the deep wounds gave him an air of roguish danger. There was a shadow of stubble at his chin, as he hadn’t shaved yet, and she released another shuddering breath of want.

Kayden crawled over her with another small smirk. “Feathers and blindfolds, you said last time. Think you can do without the feathers?”

“I’m sure you can make up for those in other ways,” she managed to reply, struggling to speak when the desire within her seemed to rise to ever greater heights.

He kissed her gently. Then he wound the tie around her head like a blindfold, tying it carefully in place.

“The thing about being a bear shifter,” he said, his voice dark, his breath ghosting across her lips, “is that we are made for surviving in the forest. Which means that our bear’s senses are so much stronger than human senses.”

She shivered, every nerve in her body aflame. The low sound of his voice seemed to echo deep within her body. The heat of his breath on her skin made her want to arch into his touch. She couldn’t see him—but she knew exactly where he was.

Every sensation seemed amplified a hundred times, now that sight had been taken from her for the moment. But she wasn’t afraid. Her other senses seemed to make up for the loss. And when his hand trailed downward again, she spread her thighs eagerly, every brush of his fingers against her sensitive skin sending an electric sizzle through her.

“Can you feel it?” he murmured. “You can’t see me, but—”

“I can hear you,” she gasped, trembling when his lips brushed the inside of a thigh. “I can feel you. I can—oh!”

Her folds were drawn apart. His strong hands, which she’d seen turn into cruel paws, were unbearably gentle with her. His touch was careful, so careful that the need for more was nearly painful.

“That’s what it’s like to have the senses of a bear,” he whispered.

This time, the heat of his breath rushed over her clit. Helplessly, she arched up with a moan of need, everything inside her aching for him.

Then his tongue circled her clit. For a moment, it felt like she’d ceased to exist. All that was left was a burst of pleasure so intense that it overpowered every other sense. She was helpless, overwhelmed, trembling as he slid a finger inside her. His tongue kept teasing her swollen clit, again and again while she arched beneath him as the waves of a seemingly endless orgasm raced through her.

Gasping and out of breath, she finally felt her heartbeat calm after a moment. His finger slipped out of her. She could feel him move to rest next to her. Then he kissed her, lingering and gentle despite the large hardness that she could still feel pressing against her thigh.