by Jenika Snow
And then I lunged forward, about to make things right where India was concerned.
Chapter Eleven
India
I stared at Oli, seeing the dried blood on his face and chest, his dark hair matted together where it had stuck to the strands. I covered my mouth with my hands and just shook my head, not even sure if I wanted to ask more.
He’d come to my place about twenty minutes ago, this intense air about him, almost frighteningly so. He hadn’t kept me wondering about why he looked the way he did. He’d told me everything, how he’d found the men who’d trashed the van and hurt me, how he’d hurt them.
I dropped my hands to my sides, feeling my eyes wide as saucers. “And you’re sure you didn’t kill them?”
He made this low, almost frustrated sound and lifted his hand to scrub the back of his neck. “I should’ve killed them. I wanted to.”
“But all the blood.” It looked worse than it was, I was sure. He wore a white shirt, so the red splatters seeped, spreading out on the material.
“They each felt some pain, superficial wounds for the most part. They hurt you, India, left marks on you.” The sound that came from him was distinctively animal. “What I gave them wasn’t even what they fully deserved. They’re crooks, abusers. They’d been talking about robbing an elderly man when I came upon them. They’re lucky I let them live.”
Even in this moment, I couldn’t help but stare at his biceps, at the way the muscles bunched under his tattooed flesh. This shifter, my mate, was fiercely protective, and although maybe I should’ve felt something akin to disgust given the fact he’d hurt the men who’d trashed my van and left marks on me, I felt nothing but relief.
I felt nothing but myself growing closer to Oli.
I cleared my throat and looked away, not sure what to say in this moment, how to react. My arousal seemed misplaced given the circumstances, but it was there, front and center, something I couldn’t deny.
“You’re more than welcome to get cleaned up in my bathroom. I don’t have anything that would fit you...” I felt my pulse quicken and my face heat at where my thoughts were going. Here was Oli, covered in blood, yet all I thought about was him with nothing on.
“I actually have a bag of extra clothes in the truck.”
I glanced up and saw he was grinning, no doubt able to sense exactly where my thoughts were, exactly how my body was reacting.
He left out the front door and was only gone a few minutes to grab his bag before he came back inside. I showed him where the bathroom was, leaning against the doorframe as he set his bag on the ground and turned to face me. For a second neither of us moved or spoke.
He came up to me and I tipped my head back so I could look into his face.
“The very thought of not being able to protect you...” He trailed off, not finishing his sentence. He held my cheeks in both of his hands, leaned down and kissed me soundly. I was shoeless, so when I curled my toes they rubbed up against the cold tile floor, sending shocks of sensation up my legs.
“Are you mad at me?” he murmured against my mouth and I found myself shaking my head right away. “Because the last thing I want is for you to be upset with me, but I had to do this, India. I had to avenge you.” He pulled back and ran his thumb along my bottom lip. I opened my mouth involuntarily.
“I’m not upset with you.” I said those words honestly. “But what if you hadn’t found them at the grocery store? You would’ve had to let it go, right?”
He shook his head. “I would’ve found them eventually. It was something I had to do, avenging you, making things right. It wasn’t something my bear would allow me to let go of.” He leaned down and kissed me again and I moaned, the sound leaving me at the feel of him pressed up against me.
I wasn’t thinking about anything but being with Oli. I found myself wrapping my arms around his neck and rising up on my toes, kissing him back just as feverishly.
“Come into the shower with me, India.”
Chills raced up my arms and legs and disappointment filled me when he pulled back. But that faded as I watched him start to get undressed. He lifted his eyebrows, raking his gaze up and down my body, silently telling me to do the same thing.
And then I did, taking off my clothes and tossing them beside his. He’d already turned the shower on, the steam from the hot water filling the bathroom. I shut the door with my foot and he grinned, reaching out and pulling me up against his body.
The hard length of his erection pressed against my belly and a gush of wetness slipped from between my thighs. Oli lowered his head and kissed me, ran his tongue along my lips before dipping inside my mouth. I let him fuck me there, thrusting that muscle in and out, something I desperately wanted him to do between my thighs.
He slid his hand down my back and gripped my ass, squeezing the mounds, his blunt nails digging into my skin. And then he lifted me easily. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he held me as if I weighed nothing.
He stepped into the shower with me in his arms, the warm water moving down my back a second before he pressed me to the chilled tile. He broke the kiss and started licking at my mark, causing me to moan, to need more.
“I need to be inside of you, India.”
I nodded, unable to form words.
“I need you in my life always.”
“God yes.” I tipped my head to the side to give him better access. “Fuck me.”
He made this deep sound, one that vibrated right to my core. “I’ll never get enough.”
“Me either.” And I meant that. I meant it so much I felt the truth in those words.
“I’ll never let you go. If you run, I’ll follow. Always.”
And as fast as this mating was, that’s exactly what I wanted with Oli. I’d finally found my home with him.
Chapter Twelve
India
Two weeks later
I couldn’t help but laugh as I listened to Zakari and Maddix start to argue about who made the best mashed potatoes. It seemed so mundane and ... normal.
Yet here I sat, the massive table occupied by six bear shifters and two of their human mates. It seemed so strange, yet so right at the same time.
I looked over at Oli and saw he watched me, the look of adoration on his face so genuine and powerful that my breath actually caught. I reached under the table and took his hand in mine, a zap of electricity traveling up my arm at that light contact.
I didn’t know what the future held, but I did know I had Oli by my side always. I felt that truth deep down in my bones, to my very marrow.
“So, Oli told us you own a mobile medical van?” Bethany was the one to ask, her smile sweet as she picked up her glass of lemonade and took a drink, watching me over the rim.
I cleared my throat and nodded, feeling everyone’s focus trained on me. I just couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable, a little bit awkward. This kind of atmosphere wasn’t something I was used to, but they made me feel like I was at home.
That’s not something I’d ever experienced before.
I wanted to absorb it all, as if I were basking in the sunlight, tipping my head back and closing my eyes, just letting that warmth wash through me.
“Yeah. It’s not anything big, just something to take up and down the coast, trying to help the less fortunate.”
Bethany smiled at me, and the men grumbled in approval.
I didn’t know how I knew that, but the sound felt familiar to me. Maybe it was because of Oli, because of our mating, of the change I felt in me. I felt like I’d been dropped into another world, another reality. I felt like this was where I was supposed to be, as if I’d been plucked out of it before I could remember and placed elsewhere.
“But eventually, one day, I’d love to have more medical vans, ones that can be more use than just being stationed by the coast.”
For the next half hour we sat around just talking, me learning about the family, about the bears’ backgrounds, their lives, and the mating of Z
akari and Maddix.
“Let’s get out of here,” Oli said softly, his mouth by my ear as he whispered those words, his lips brushing the shell.
I nodded, not trusting my voice. He had my hand in his and was helping me to stand before I could even say anything. He grumbled something to his brothers about needing alone time, and then he led us outside.
I didn’t know where we were going, where he was taking me, but before I knew what was happening, he was leading us through the woods, this well-worn path in front of us, twisting and weaving through the trees. It was so beautiful, with the trees surrounding us, the sounds of birds in the distance, of little animals scurrying on the forest floor.
Oli held my hand the whole time, taking his time as we walked down the path. After a while, I realized he was taking me to a clearing, the sound of a creek and the smell of fresh water filling my head.
It wasn’t just any creek, but one that was fed from a large pool, a trickling waterfall attached to that. It was gorgeous, with rocks surrounding it, the light feel of mist filling the air. It was relaxing and peaceful, but when Oli turned and faced me, and I saw the heated look on his face, I knew this wasn’t going to be a moment where we just sat and contemplated life.
He took a step toward me and I took one back, this tango of moves, my body seeming to know what he wanted me to do.
A tree stopped my retreat and I reached back to place my hands on the rough bark, my breathing increasing as I looked up and into his face.
He looked positively … hungry for me.
“I am,” he growled low and immediately buried his face in the crook of my neck.
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, holding him close, wanting so much more.
“I need you, India.”
I rested my head back on the tree and made a soft sound of desire. “I need you too, Oli.” Never in my life would I have thought I’d be about to have sex in the middle of the woods with my bear shifter mate. But I’d found a whole other part of me had opened up since meeting him.
“Let me make you feel good.”
I felt like I was finally being myself for once.
Oli started kissing and licking a path down my neck, along my collarbone, and stopped right at the top of my shirt. Could he feel my heart beating underneath my skin? It felt like a freight train behind my ribs.
He ran his tongue over the swell of my breast, the part that rose gently above the hem of my shirt. And then he gripped the edge and pulled it down, exposing the cotton-covered mounds.
He groaned deeply and latched his mouth onto my nipple, right over the material. A soft sound of need escaped me, and I reached up and grabbed his head, curling my fingers into his hair, keeping him close.
“That’s it, baby. Pull it until it hurts.”
I gasped when he gently bit at my neck. I pulled the strands hard enough he hissed and then moaned. He pressed his lower half into my belly and I felt how hard he was.
I reached down for the button and zipper of his jeans, but he shook his head, gently pushing my hand away. Oli pulled back and I forced myself to open my eyes, this hazy feeling washing over me as desire clouded everything else.
“This is for you, not for me.” He whispered those words, his voice harsh even though it was soft. And then he went to his knees, undid the button of my jeans, pulled the zipper down, and pushed my pants down my thighs.
He left my panties on, my pants now pooled at my ankles, the look he had as he stared up at me intense, feral.
I saw a flash in his eyes, the blue turning to yellow as his bear came forward. God, that was so hot, so attractive that his animal wanted a piece of me as well. He leaned in and ran his nose along the lacy edge of my panties, and I heard him inhale. I couldn’t help but close my eyes and rest my head back on the tree.
The air sawed in and out of me, my lips pursed, the very idea that if he just touched my clit I’d come for him. But he kept his head resting on my belly, his nose perilously close to the place that ached desperately.
The slight pressure of my underwear being pulled against my hip pierced the foggy haze of desire right before I heard material being rent, torn clean from my body.
He helped pull my jeans off and then slid his hand up the back of my thigh and lifted my leg up and over his shoulder. I felt the cool air tease my folds and panted harder.
“So fucking perfect.” The way he spoke had wetness slipping from me. “You’re so fucking pink and swollen for me, India.” He groaned and leaned in to swipe his tongue up my center, right through my cleft until he reached my clit.
“God, yes.”
He sucked on that bundle of nerves until I was gripping his hair again, tighter, harder this time, pulling at the strands until he groaned against me. The vibrations went right to every erogenous zone in my body.
He was skilled as he ate me out, as he brought me to the brink of completion before edging away and starting the process all over again. I kept hold of his head, needing him to stay between my thighs, to feel the heat and warm wetness of his mouth on me.
I felt that climax start to rise once more, felt myself almost falling over the edge when he slowed his licking, his sucking.
“Oli, please,” I begged, whined.
“God, India, baby. I could be between your thighs for the rest of my life.” He licked up my slit. “You taste so sweet, so … mine.” He intensified, doubled his actions until I was grinding myself against this face, trying to find that release.
“Oli,” I moaned, so close to coming.
“Come on, baby. Let go for me.”
And as I came for Oli, as I leaned against this thick, old tree, my bear shifter between my thighs, holding me as he drew out my pleasure, I knew there was no other place in the world for me.
He’d always be here for me. He’d always hold me.
“Always,” he said as he gave my pussy one last lick before standing and pulling me close to his body. He just held me, whispered soft things in my ear, and made me feel whole.
Completely. Utterly. Whole.
Asher
I leaned against the banister and crossed my arms over my chest, watching as Oli and his mate disappeared into the forest. I grumbled to myself, and then heard Zakari, Maddix, and their mates laughing, which put me in a sour, jealous mood.
I was happy for my brothers, pleased they’d found their females. I’d long since come to the conclusion that I’d never find my other half.
As one of the older of the six of us, I figured I should have found my mate already. And seeing brother after brother find their happily ever after had hardened me, resolved me to focus on work and leave behind the hope that I’d ever be happy as well.
So, I worked my ass off doing home repairs, buying properties and flipping them. That was what I did, put my blood and sweat into creating perfection because I didn’t have that in my life.
And having my family was all well and good, but that didn’t make a shifter bear complete. Only my mate could do that.
I found myself even more pissy than before.
Cason and Damon stepped onto the deck, their presence drawing me out of my thoughts.
“We’re hitting up the bar,” Damon said gruffly. “All this mating is getting under our skin.”
Cason, the quietest one out of all of us, had a toothpick between his lips, his baseball cap pulled low, so it obstructed the view of his eyes.
“You up for going with us?” Case said in a low-pitched voice.
I looked back at the woods, continuing to hear Maddix and Zakari with their mates, and nodded.
“Yeah, I need to get the fuck out of here, too.”
Finding a mate was overrated ... at least that’s what I told myself because the very idea that I’d always have this little piece of myself missing was just too fucking painful to even think about.
Epilogue
India
Eighteen months later
I sat on the porch and closed my eyes, the sun peeking through the
trees, a sliver of light washing over me. I found myself smiling, still not believing that I was here, living with Oli in his cabin, having left my life in California behind.
Over the last year and a half, a lot had changed. Not only was I still doing the mobile medic van, but I’d been able to get two more vans, one for Colorado, and the other for Seattle.
Never would I have thought I’d have three medical vans under my belt, let alone within an eighteen-month time-period.
But it helped to have a supportive partner, and that was what Oli was, through and through. He backed up every decision I made.
So, I’d made the decision to leave California, to have a trusted member of the team manage and handle the Californian mobile medic station and set up one in Colorado.
Where I now lived. Although there weren’t a lot of needy people in the town where Oli and I lived, I was able to travel to the surrounding cities, bigger areas where poverty and need were more prevalent. And it made me feel good to help, that I was bettering the world one small piece at a time.
Seattle had been my next stop. It had taken a little bit more time and planning, finding someone I trusted who wanted to manage that area. But now that it was all said and done, I felt pride that we were making a difference in the world, albeit a small one at first.
And as the years went by, I knew I’d set up more vans, help more people. I realized that was my mission in life. That, and being the best mate I could to Oli.
I watched as he stepped out of the tree line, a few rabbits in his grasp. Dinner.
I’d never been much of a meat eater but being mated to a bear shifter had certainly changed that.
And as I watched him come closer, saw the sweat glistening off his temples, knew he’d tracked and hunted our food tonight, all I felt was this intense wave of desire.
