by Elena Aitken
The teeth of the zipper caught, trapping her in her clothing. Nash growled, and fought the urge to tear the fabric from her body. “I need…I must…gone.” He was momentarily incapable of forming a complete sentence, but that was okay because Kira obviously felt the same way. Beneath him, she lifted her upper body up and shimmied the coat—and shirt beneath it—off and over her head, revealing a soft-pink lacy bra. The cups strained under the swell of her luscious breasts.
“Damn, girl.”
Whatever blood was left in his body rushed straight to his cock, which strained at the crotch of his jeans. Patience, Nash. He tried to talk himself down, and think of anything besides her beautiful breasts that were heaving against the delicate lace that was so completely unexpected from the tough, independent Kira. The contrast was hot as hell.
“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever feasted my eyes on.” He cupped his large hand over one perfect breast, squeezing and testing the weight of it. His thumb rubbed over her nipple until it stood, hard and hot, pressing through the lace. Nash lowered his mouth to the other breast, and pulled the nipple, lacy bra and all, between his lips. He sucked just hard enough to hear her moan, to make her back arch up off the ground. There was no doubt: if he reached into her jeans, he’d find her panties soaked with need for him.
But not yet.
His mouth worked relentlessly on first one nipple and then the other. She groaned when he used his teeth to bite just enough. He played with pressure, pushing her right to the edge of too much before he switched to a softer, almost delicate touch. Kira’s groans intensified and she wriggled beneath him, craving release. Nash knew exactly how to get her to fall over the edge of passion, but selfishly, he was waiting to share that moment with her for the first time.
“Nash,” Kira moaned and reached for him in an effort to pull him down. “I need you.”
“I know you do, babe.” With both hands, he squeezed her breasts together before he pressed a kiss between them. “But not as much as I need you.” And then there was no more playing. With lightning-fast reflexes, Nash’s hands moved to her jeans, tore down the zipper and tugged them over her hips and down to her ankles, where she kicked them off completely while Nash shed himself of his own jeans.
With nothing more between them, Nash settled himself between her creamy thighs and ran his hands up each one until his fingers reached the hot, wet apex.
With the slightest touch, Kira let out a noise and arched backward, pressing her hips up to meet him. “Nash…I….”
He swallowed her words with his mouth, kissing her hard as he slipped a finger into her wet heat. She gasped and tensed around him reflexively. Damn. She was so sexy, so responsive to his touch, so completely perfect.
She moaned for breath beneath him, and Nash knew if he let her up for breath, he’d be rewarded with the sexy sound of her passion, but that would be his undoing. He’d be totally unable to hold off from taking her and driving into her. And he wasn’t ready. He still needed more.
He needed to give her everything. All that she could handle and then some more. Nash needed to take Kira right to the edge of shattering before pulling her back again. He needed to control her pleasure and play her body until he was finally good and ready to sink into her and crash into the orgasm with her.
Slowly at first, he moved one finger and then added another. He swallowed the sound of need with his kiss as he quickened the pace of his hand. Her body tightened around him and he knew she was close. He pulled his fingers away. Kira groaned her displeasure and reached for him.
She was growing impatient, but that was okay because as stubborn as she was, he was more so. “Patience, babe.” He kissed her again. Slow and deep, it held the promise of everything that was yet to come and for the moment it placated her.
But it was only a moment, because Kira’s hands ran down his stomach to his hips, his thighs, and then her hands were wrapped around his hard dick and Nash wasn’t sure he’d ever felt anything so intense.
Kira stared him straight in the eyes. Even in the dim light, he could see the gleam of mischief all but overshadowed by thick passion. “When I know what I want, I only have so much patience, Nash. And I want you.” She squeezed and stroked her hand up and down. A shudder of pleasure ripped through him. He was only barely holding on to his control. “And I want you now.” She squeezed again, quickening her pace, and Nash knew he was lost.
Fuck it.
There’d be time to show her who was in control later. The time to satisfy the animal in both of them was now. “Jesus, babe.” He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the magic of her touch soak in, and then he could no longer wait. A growl rose from his throat and his eyes were open. He stilled her hand, and used his strong thighs to push hers farther apart while he sat poised at her entrance.
She didn’t have to say it; the want was in her eyes. With one thrust, slow at first, Nash entered her. Her heat enveloped him and the feeling was almost too much for him to handle. She felt better than he’d even imagined. Perfect.
He gave her a moment to grow accustomed to his size, but only a moment before he pushed farther, seating himself deep inside her.
Kira’s head fell back, a moan of pleasure escaping her.
All Nash wanted for their first time, was to ride the tide together.
As if she knew exactly what he was thinking, Kira wrapped her legs around him and drove her hips up to meet his. Her fingers dug into the muscles on his shoulders as they set a perfect pace. It wasn’t long before Kira’s body tightened around him. Nash was ready for it; his own orgasm was only barely restrained.
He quickened his pace and looked directly into her eyes, daring her to look away. She didn’t.
At the exact moment she finally got her release, Nash felt his own climax spill forth. They each roared out in pleasure as they tumbled over the edge together.
His entire body vibrated with the aftershocks of his orgasm. At some point he must have closed his eyes or looked away, because Kira was no longer looking at him. Her eyes were shut tight, a small smile on her lips. Impulsively, Nash bent to kiss that smile. Her eyes still didn’t open, but the smile got wider.
Satisfied, he rolled off her, lay next to her and pulled her into his embrace. One thing he knew for sure: whatever demons she was fighting when it came to him and whatever it was that was going on between them, for the first time since they’d met, his wolf was satiated.
And that was both deeply satisfying and intensely problematic.
For both of them.
Chapter Six
Kira swore and her arm lashed out of the covers, ready to disarm the blaring alarm clock or hurl it across the room. Whatever came first. Her hand landed on the plastic and she smacked blindly until the blasting noise stopped. She groaned and rolled over, but it was too late. She wouldn’t be going back to sleep.
Although she could easily have used another few hours of slumber, she’d already taken the later shift in the office, assigning Sasha and Conner to opening, which meant she would definitely owe Sasha a favor. She loved her friend, but Sasha wasn’t known for her good mood in the mornings.
But she wasn’t going to think about Sasha or Conner or anyone else. At least not for another few minutes.
Kira stretched her arms over her head and reveled in her deliciously sore muscles. It had been a long time since she’d been with a man, too long. But that didn’t matter, not anymore. Because last night had made up for any dry spell she’d had.
More than made up for it.
She wanted to languish in bed all day, reliving the experience of the night before and how after, Nash had wrapped her in his arms and held her tight against his hard, hot body. Kira could still feel the weight of his arm draped over her, the way his hand lazily cupped her breast absentmindedly as he kissed the back of her neck and whispered stories of when he’d moved back to the park as a young teenager.
He told her about how he and his brother had spent their days running with the
rest of the pack, giving the tourists a show. They’d been taught from the time they were small the importance of being a wolf and the meaning they had to Yellowstone and the rest of their kind. Listening to him speak with so much love and fondness laced through his voice, Kira couldn’t help but remember her own youth, the time spent as a young cub with her brothers. She felt the flicker of pain knowing she wouldn’t see them again, experience that free and easy time with them again. Instead of shutting down the pain, she let herself feel it. Let it sit inside her and burn a glowing ember.
Thinking of Axel, Luke, and especially her twin, Kade, usually caused pain that not so long ago had been unbearable. Last night, in Nash’s arms, it had been different.
Not that it meant anything.
Nothing.
It meant nothing.
And she’d keep telling herself that, too. Because being with Nash had been amazing, but it wasn’t a solution to the problems in her life and it definitely wasn’t going to be anything more than what it was. He was a wolf. It could never be anything more than great sex.
Kira stretched one more time, her smile stretched across her face.
It had definitely been that.
But she couldn’t lie in bed reliving it all morning. She had a job to do, so reluctantly Kira rolled out of bed and into the shower.
The hot water did nothing to erase the memory of Nash’s hands on her body, however. She was still turned on twenty minutes later when she’d showered, dressed, and walked into the kitchen to pour herself her first cup of coffee.
“Good morning.”
Kira’s smile when she saw Nash, who certainly should have been at work hours ago, stretched her face tight. She was sure that every muscle in her face would be sore for days just from the constant smile of the last twenty-four hours.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I’m full of surprises.” He handed her a cup of coffee, complete with a kiss on the cheek. “And quite honestly, I was a little worn-out after last night. Think the boss will mind?”
“Oh, I don’t think so.” She winked and laughed. “But I’m not really the boss.”
“I’m fairly sure that if we called up management and told them about the mind-blowing sex we had last night while we were on stakeout to catch the fish culprits, they might have something to say about it. Especially since we didn’t catch the fish culprits.” Nash kissed the sensitive spot under her ear. “Are there even fish culprits? Maybe we should have done our job better?” His tongue traced a line to her ear.
“Oh, I think we did our jobs pretty damn well last night.”
Nash laughed. “Maybe we should do it again tonight?”
“Maybe we should figure out what’s killing the fish.”
The mention of dead fish was the end of the kissing, and as much as Kira would have happily spent the rest of her day kissing Nash, the reminder of the dead fish plaguing her campground was a wakeup call to that fact. She slid away from his arms because the only way she was going to get any work done was by putting distance between them.
She took a sip of coffee. “I wonder if there are any new fish this morning? Maybe I should call Conner and find out what happened overnight.”
“Or…” Nash opened the oven and produced a dish of something that smelled amazing. “Maybe it can wait a few more minutes and you can sit and have a nice breakfast with me? After all, there’s a whole morning after procedure we should probably follow, don’t you think?”
At the moment, Kira could think of a lot of things that they should probably be doing, but Nash’s idea of a morning after procedure sounded pretty damn good to her. Plus, she was starving and whatever it was he’d prepared smelled amazing.
“Of course. Work can wait.”
Kira quickly set the table and topped up each of their mugs while Nash dished them out each a plate. “Frittata.” He presented the plate with a flourish and sat across from her.
She inhaled deeply, filling her senses with the aroma. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do this.”
Nash shrugged. “I wasn’t kidding when I said we should do it again tonight, Kira.” His smile did something to her insides. “Maybe without the stakeout part.”
She laughed. “As much as I’d love to, I think we should probably figure out the mystery, don’t you?”
He shrugged his consent. “Okay, but first, at least for this morning, can we talk about something besides dead fish? At least while we eat?”
“Of course.” She took a bite of the egg dish and let it melt in her mouth. “There was something I wanted to ask you about.”
“I’m all ears.”
Kira bit back a sharp retort about canine hearing, and instead asked the question she’d been thinking about since the night before. “Last night you told me about your brother.” He nodded. “I got the impression that you two are pretty close.”
Nash shrugged one shoulder but didn’t look at her. “We were once.”
“And now?”
Kira knew she was pushing, but she really wanted to know.
“Now we’re not.” Nash attacked his frittata. “It happens with siblings. Didn’t you say you had brothers?”
Surely, he was only trying to deflect from an uncomfortable question, but the question put her on the defense none the less. “I do.” It was all she would normally be willing to say. “And like you, I guess we just aren’t close anymore. It happens.”
“It can.” He shoved a bite in his mouth, chewed thoughtfully and asked, “Is that why you deny your bear?”
Kira almost choked on her coffee. “I…I don’t…” She swallowed hard. “How did you know?”
“That you don’t shift?”
Her shoulders sagged. Sadness and fatigue flooded through her, erasing her previous light mood. She nodded.
“Hey.” Nash’s voice was softer. “I wasn’t trying to upset you.”
“It’s okay.” And oddly, it was. Sure, thinking about her family, and the way she denied her true self, was hard, but it needed to be done. She couldn’t avoid it. Not forever anyway. Besides, it was exhausting, holding it inside all the time. “You’re right. I do deny my bear. I deny everything about myself and my past. It’s easier that way.”
“Easier?”
“It hurts less.”
“Kira…talk to me.” He put his fork down, crossed his hands in front of him on the table and stared into her eyes.
She sighed, letting the air leave her lungs before she looked up into his gray eyes. He was a wolf. She had no business telling him her secrets. From the time she was a cub, she’d been taught to stay away from wolves. It was family first, or not at all. And definitely not dogs. But he was watching her with real care and concern in his eyes. He wanted to know. She could see that. Besides, dog or not, not even twenty-four hours ago, he’d been inside her. And even if that had never happened, there was something about him. Despite herself, she felt closer to Nash than she’d felt with anyone. With the exception of her twin brother. But that was different. And it’s not as if she’d be able to vent to Kade anytime soon.
What was the point of keeping it all in?
“Almost two years ago I made a choice that my family didn’t agree with.” She started talking. “I chose an unsuitable mate.” Just thinking of Ryan and the word mate in the same sentence made her shudder now that she knew it was as far from the truth as she could get. “There was a group of young grizzlies traveling through my home territory and my grandfather forbade the females of our clan to go anywhere near them. Of course, I took that as a challenge.”
Nash raised his brow. “Of course you did.”
“Well, I fell for one of them.” Nash’s face twisted as he realized the direction her story was taking. “His name was Ryan Dixon and he was smooth, charming, and handsome.”
“A deadly combination.” Nash winked and for a moment, Kira smiled. And then she remembered.
“Ryan was also a liar, and a con. He convinced me that we were fated mat
es and meant to be together. He quickly wormed his way into my heart in a way I couldn’t even begin to describe. The worst part was I believed everything he said. All of it. I fell for it.” Remembering her naiveté stung, but it was part of the story, so she told it. “He said all the right things, telling me I was beautiful and sexy and how he couldn’t stand to be apart from me for even a moment.” She laughed, the sound harsh. “The craziest thing was we’d only known each other for a few days, so we didn’t even have a chance to actually be apart. But I couldn’t see that. I couldn’t see anything except Ryan. He convinced me we were fated. Fated. And I fell for that. Do wolves have fated mates?”
It couldn’t only be a bear thing, but she’d never thought to ask before. She’d never needed to know. But now, for reasons she didn’t fully want to explore, it seemed very important.
“This is going to sound kind of stupid,” Nash said. “But I don’t really know if we do or not.”
“How can you not know? Surely you know people who have fated mates? Or at least talk about it.”
He shook his head and stared at her blankly. “I mean…maybe? Mates are chosen where I come from.”
That was sad. To know that wolves would never feel the burning pull of a fated mate, it was just so…sad. But what was sadder? Never being able to experience it? Or to be fooled into thinking you had it, just to be humiliated? Kira’s face burned hot with shame.
“Well, if wolves don’t have fated mates, you’re lucky. Because at least you’ll never have to worry about what it’s really supposed to feel like.”
“What does that mean? What’s it supposed to feel like? It seems that it would be a good thing.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Kira said sadly. “I mean, I thought I did. I thought I had it with Ryan. But it was just lust and excitement and…make-believe. He made me believe it was true, but it wasn’t. We weren’t fated and by the time I realized it, it was too late.”
If she was honest with herself, it was probably too late the moment she disobeyed her grandfather. Her brothers had known it, too. She was never the type of bear who was going to sit around and wait to be told what to do, and who to mate and how to live the rest of her life. She’d been yearning to go out on her own and experience life from the time she was a young cub. She’d never been cut out to lead the type of life her grandfather wanted for her.
