Alpha Bear (15 page)

“Then it’s true what they say about bears
liking honey?” she teased as he nibbled his way down the sensitive
column of her throat.

“Oh, I don’t just
like
honey. I
love
honey.” He nipped and sucked a particularly responsive
spot on her neck, down in the bend by her collarbone. Urse had to
bite back a whimper.

Then his fingers were on her clothing,
unbuttoning buttons, unzipping zippers, and unhooking hooks. She
was all for getting rid of the fabric that separated them. She
pushed at his shoulders, wanting his shirt off. She didn’t care
where it went or how. She just wanted it gone.

Once again she wished she was more like that
old time witch on TV, and could make things disappear with a wiggle
of her nose, but sadly, magic didn’t work that way. At least, hers
didn’t. Instead, she tugged at the hem of his shirt, pulling it out
of his pants while he worked on her clothing.

She probably hindered more than helped, but
her foggy mind didn’t quite realize it. Never before had she been
so eager to share pleasure that she almost stopped thinking
altogether and just…felt.

John did that. Only him. He overpowered her
conscious mind and sent her into a realm where only sensation
mattered. The scents, sounds and feel of him against her were the
only things that registered. Thoughts of the past and future were
banished, and all that existed was the now. A delicious now that
included a hunky grizzly shifter in man form, who knew exactly how
to drive her wild.

John did his best to hold in the growl of his
bear as he shed his clothing and helped Ursula out of hers. The
bear was very much present in his mind as he made preparations to
join with her for the first time.

That was new.

Never before had his bear side taken much
notice of the women he fucked. Sure, it pushed him to take pleasure
where he found it, but it hadn’t been interested in the women
themselves, only in the end result. This time was different. This
time, the bear side was well aware of the magical woman beneath its
alternate form, and it was encouraging John’s human side to take
her and make her theirs.

The bear was thinking
mate
. John had
thought about that for the past day or two, and had come to terms
with the concept, though neither his human side nor his bear side
would know for sure until they had claimed her. It might’ve been
different had she also been a shifter, but Ursula had only the
faintest traces of shifter blood in her ancestry, and John had no
idea if she felt the mating pull as strongly as he did.

Time would tell. Time, and actually being
inside her, learning her body and touching her soul. Only then
would both halves of his nature be satisfied and know for certain
whether or not she was the one woman destined for him.

He had a strong suspicion that she was,
though. This was probably just going to confirm it, and Lady help
them both when he knew for sure.

It would change everything. Both for the
better and possibly for the worse, if his people couldn’t accept
their mating and he had to give up everything he’d worked for here.
He would, though it wouldn’t be easy, but his true mate would be
worth it. If that’s what she was.

And he was about to find out.

He’d wanted to take his time undressing her,
but it was impossible. Not this first time. Maybe…after he’d taken
the edge off…in a few years, maybe…he’d be able to take his time
with her. But for right now, the passion was rising and driving him
hard. Luckily, she was with him. The way she tugged at his
shoulders and sank her flat, human teeth into his lip—not to hurt,
but to encourage—told him that she was as eager as him.

Within moments, they were both naked, and
heaven help him if he broke her flimsy little bed. He supposed it
was what regular folk called a
double
bed, but it wasn’t
anywhere near big enough for him, much less both of them. Hell, if
he managed to break the thing, he’d just have an excuse to make her
a real bed, out of sturdy pine, and big enough to hold them both
and more importantly—hold
up
to anything they might get up
to in it.

The thought made him grin. He liked the idea
of making a bed especially for them. A little love nest. A place
only they would ever use.

But he was getting a little ahead of himself.
Again.
Dammit.

He tried to slow himself down and really
appreciate the moment, but it was hard. Actually,
he
was too
hard to go slow, but he owed it to Ursula to give her more to
remember than a blur from their first time together.

He made himself look at her. Her luscious
curves made his mouth water, and without conscious thought, he
began to work his way down her neck, over her collarbones and onto
her chest. His hands sought out the soft weight of her full
breasts, offering them up for his lips, tongue and the gentle
pressure of his teeth. He was careful of her delicate skin, but he
knew she liked what he was doing when she shivered in his arms and
moaned in delight.

He could really get used to hearing that
sound.
Damn.
That made his dick even harder, which was
something he’d thought impossible only moments before.

Her skin tasted like honey, and her scent was
that of the cool, green grass of a spring meadow. Fresh. Pure.
Magical. Little sparks of her energy zinged him gently, adding a
sparkle of sensation everywhere they touched. It wasn’t unpleasant.
In fact, it was almost addictive. The tingle made him feel more
alive and brought a certain amount of joy to the proceedings, which
was a new one for him. Her magic sparked against his in a happy way
that he felt right down to the soles of his feet. Interesting.

John ran his hands down over her ribs,
framing her waist, which made her squirm a bit.

“Ticklish?” he asked, raising up enough to
meet her gaze. Her cheeks were flushed with arousal…and perhaps a
bit of shyness?

“A little, I guess.” She looked uncomfortable
admitting to it, so he didn’t tease her. Why would a woman as
beautiful as Ursula not be used to men touching her waist? Maybe
there hadn’t been that many before him? Maybe she was shy about her
body?

She had nothing to be shy about. Ursula was
built solid. Bombshell solid. Nicely rounded hips, generous
breasts. Maybe she wasn’t the waif-thin skeleton many humans aimed
for nowadays, but John didn’t want a scarecrow. He wanted a woman.
Specifically, he wanted
this
woman. The way she was put
together only drew him more, if he were being honest. He liked the
way she looked, and he’d spend some time convincing her of that
little detail as they got to know each other better.

At the same time, he had a primitive sort of
moment thinking that she hadn’t let too many other men touch her
like this. He wanted to growl in satisfaction. Not that he’d
begrudge her anything in her past, but he was just possessive
enough to want to be the one to show her all the delights he knew
they would find together. He liked that it would be new to her. Or
at least, not old hat. If that made him a bit of a caveman, then so
be it.

“Don’t worry, honey,” he whispered, moving
his lips back into contact with her skin, pausing to dip his tongue
into her navel. “I’ve got you.” He reveled in the shivers that
overtook her body as he worshiped her with his mouth.

He had more in store, but he’d have to move
this along if he wanted to keep from embarrassing himself. When he
came, he wanted to be inside her, not jetting into the sheets like
some untried kid.

Urse couldn’t believe the way John was making
her feel. She’d been with a few guys, but every encounter with John
so far had been something completely new in her experience, and
tonight was no exception. She was glad he wasn’t teasing her about
being ticklish. She couldn’t help it. She wasn’t really used to
people touching her body so intimately, so she was still a bit more
sensitive than she probably should be at her age.

So sue me.

But John seemed to understand. Rather than
double down on the teasing and making her super uncomfortable, he
simply went on touching her gently, careful of her more sensitive
areas. He kept the mood going flawlessly, without triggering her
embarrassment in any way. He was a gem, and he made her feel
cherished.

That was new. Exciting. Enticing. She’d never
felt so special in a man’s arms before. She’d never felt like the
man she was with wanted to be with
her
—and not just a
willing female body. With John, she was sure he knew exactly who he
was with and that he’d made the deliberate choice to be with her,
even though his people might object.

She didn’t like the idea that he might get
into trouble with his Clan over this, but by the same token, she
was powerless to deny the attraction between them. It was bigger
than Clan politics. Bigger than societal prohibitions. Bigger than
the two of them combined.

It felt…important. And necessary.

She’d figure out what that might mean later,
but for now, she was just going to enjoy the moment. Their one
night together that might be all they were allowed. If that were
the case, then by the Lady, she was going to enjoy these stolen
hours with everything that was in her.

She squealed a bit when John’s hands slid
between her thighs and pressed outward, presenting her most private
place to his gaze. She looked down and saw the way he was gazing at
her, studying her body. He licked his lips, and she shivered in
anticipation.

Was he going to…? Sweet Mother in heaven!

Urse’s hips came off the bed when John’s
mouth covered her clit. And when his tongue roved downward and
inward…
Holy moly!

His hands framed her hips, holding her,
guiding her. His mouth remained fastened below, his talented tongue
teasing and licking, flicking and pressing. She nearly swooned as
she came under his ministrations, crying out his name as her hips
bucked in his hands.

He rode her through the small orgasm,
gentling her with his strong hands, rekindling the flames of her
arousal when she’d really thought she’d need some kind of break.
But there were no breaks. Not with John still so ready, so hard and
obviously eager to join with her. And she found, after only a few
moments, she was just as eager. She wanted to know what he would
feel like inside her, claiming her, possessing her.

She wanted it with all her heart.

And then, he moved over her, slotting his big
body between her legs and holding his chest just a few inches above
hers. He was leaning on his elbows, careful not to crush her, but
the way she was feeling, she wanted to know what his weight would
feel like against her body, covering her completely.

He was big though. Built on the massive side,
even for a shifter. So she’d follow his lead and let him decide
what she could handle, for now. She didn’t want any sort of
disagreement—even a silly one—to interfere with this first joining.
She trusted him to take care of her, which felt like something his
beast half would truly appreciate.

She’d ask him about it later, if they could
somehow make this work long enough to actually have a
later
.
For now, she was just going to go with the flow and live in the
moment, trusting John’s protective instincts to see them both
safely through to the end.

Had she ever trusted a man this much
before?
Sadly, she realized she hadn’t. No one had ever been
like John. Quite possibly, no one ever would again.

When he pushed inward, claiming her with his
thick cock, she held her breath. He went slow, letting her body
become accustomed to his size, but when she figured she’d taken all
she could, he kept pushing. Surprisingly, her body accepted more
than she’d thought she could. There was no pain, only the slight,
scintillating burn of her body stretching to take in something of a
size it had never had before.

Long, thick, hard. John was amazing.

He began to move. Just a rocking motion, at
first, while her body got used to him. He rubbed up against her
clit on each push inward, and she was soon clutching at his
shoulders, begging him silently to go faster, to push deeper.

And then, he did. She met him thrust for
thrust, both of their bodies moving in time. Her fingers wrapped
around his shoulders, and she felt the fine edge of control in his
muscles as he strained against her. Faster, he plunged, and she
heard a rhythmic moaning sound coming from somewhere. It took a
moment before she realized it was coming from her. She was moaning
in time with his thrusts.

When the pleasure swept her up and cast her
among the stars, she screamed his name, pouring out her rapture to
the heavens. She felt John’s body tighten within her, joining her
in ecstasy.

It was perfect.

And it was devastating.

Why would the Mother Goddess let her touch
such perfection on earth, if she wasn’t meant to be with him? Would
the Lady be so cruel? Or would some solution to their little magic
problem show itself and allow them to be together?

Urse didn’t know what to think. All she could
do for now was hold on tight…for the rest of their stolen
night.

*

At the appointed hour the next day, Urse cast
her circle on the other side of town. As before, John was at her
side and stayed in the circle with her while she worked. Unlike the
day before, she now knew what it was to be with him, and that
knowledge flowed through her every action. Just standing next to
him as she worked seemed somehow more intimate now.

Everything about being around him was both
more comfortable and somewhat exciting. Even the most innocent
touch made sparks run up and down her spine. Sparks of magic? Or
sparks of desire? And with him—unlike any other man she’d ever
gotten close to—were they one and the same?