“Finish that sentence,” Brooke snarled, determined hazel eyes shining. “I dare you.”
Connor swallowed, dick growing hard in his slacks. He could get used to her looking at him like that. He pushed off of the doorframe, eyes never leaving hers. They looked so familiar.
“My bad, I’ll shut up,” he murmured, voice low.
Brooke huffed but her posture relaxed slightly. Her gaze flashed away from him and then back again, the corners of her mouth softening. “You do that.”
He looked down, a small smile creeping onto his face. They were still fighting, but it was a vast improvement on sitting in silence. They were making progress.
She was still looking at him and Connor raised an eyebrow, gesturing to the first aid kit unopened across her lap.
“Are you going to use that?” he quipped.
“What happened to shutting up?” she shot back, then paused before opening the little red box. “Why am I even here? I’ve got all of this stuff back at my apartment.”
Connor raised a brow as she rooted around for the antibacterial gel. “Because you yelled at me in the middle of the dining hall and, as your boss, I couldn’t just leave you bleeding and crying in my lodge.” He meant it as a joke but Brooke tensed up again, gritting her teeth.
“I wasn’t crying.”
He sighed, suddenly feeling tired. He made his way across the room towards her, swallowing around the lump in his throat as she watched him warily.
The air felt heavy as he sat on the tub’s edge beside her and reached for the first aid kit in her lap.
“Let me help-”
“I told you, I don’t need your help-”
“Your wound has to be cleaned. Either get on with it or let me do it for you.”
“Like I have a choice,” she huffed, and something snapped within him.
“Jesus, Brooke, of course you have a choice!” He raked his hand through his hair as they glared at each other, breathing hard. The alpha in him was snarling, demanding to be obeyed, but Brooke stared right back at him, a challenge in her eyes.
“Fine,” she ground out eventually, turning her back on him. Connor ripped open an alcoholic wipe with more animosity than he should, but made sure to be as gentle as possible as he dabbed at the wound.
They once again lapsed into silence as he worked, air tense with unspoken anger as Connor struggled for something to say. He finished cleaning the wound and wrapped it firmly in bandages, suppressing the urge to press a kiss to her shoulder.
He had always been good with his words, but there was something about Brooke that made him hot-headed and tongue-tied every time he tried to say anything meaningful.
So, he settled for a joke. “Where would you be without me?” He watched Brooke hopefully for her response. Nothing. Connor sighed. “Look, I don’t know what happened downstairs, but I’m here for you if you ever want to talk, or-”
“God, you’re so stupid.”
It was only a murmur but it sent anger flaring through him and Connor twisted her round by the shoulder, immediately wincing in regret as she curled up in pain.
“What the fuck is going on Brooke? Because I can’t remember a goddamn thing I’ve done to make you hate me this much!”
“You can’t think of a goddamn thing?” Her voice rose and she jumped to her feet, whirling on him. “Well that just shows what an asshole you really are, huh? You waltz around here thinking that just because you own the place and you never have to worry about anything that you’re God’s fucking gift to the world!” She jabbed him in the chest with almost every word, eyes burning.
Connor stood up, a low growl rumbling from his chest up his throat, but Brooke didn’t seem to care. Her finger jabbed his chest again and he stepped closer, crowding into her space as she yelled.
Fuck he was hard. This was the closest they’d ever been and she smelled so good. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly and Connor’s attention was drawn to the movement. She hadn’t picked up her sweater; there was only a thin layer of lace between him and her bare breasts.
“You have everything you could ever want-”
“What I want is you,” he said and pulled her in sharply for a kiss. Brooke growled low in her throat, he could feel it as he reached up to cup her jaw, and he thought for a terrible moment that she was going to push him away. Then she kissed him back, all but launching herself at him as she licked the seam of his lips with her tongue.
Connor groaned. It wasn’t how he’d imagined their first kiss; Brooke was still angry, and there was a bite to her kisses, a hunger that made Connor achingly hard. He felt like laughing, of course this is how it would go, and he wanted more.
He bit softly at her full lower lip and was rewarded with a high breathy whimper that went straight to his cock. Her hands found their way into his hair and pulled. Hard.
Connor broke the kiss as Brooke angled his head back, baring his neck. His bear snarled at the submissive position but Connor found himself leaning into the sensation, watching those eyes as they devoured him.
“Fuck,” he breathed. Brooke’s gaze shot from his mouth to his eyes and they stared at each other for a long moment. She was magnetic, eyes half lidded and mouth swollen and red. Warmth coiled in Connor’s belly. He arched, pressing his growing erection into her thigh and grinned in satisfaction when her breath hitched.
“Fuck me,” she said. His dick twitched but Connor hesitated, still not fighting her grip despite being suddenly unsure.
“Your arm-”
“Goddamnit, Strauss, I don’t care about my fucking arm!”
It was probably meant to sound menacing but Connor could hear the desperation in her voice and grinned. He knocked her hand from his hair and scooped her up in his arms, pressing another hungry kiss to her lips.
He walked them towards the bed, dropping her down onto the sheets and crawling over her, only pausing to rip open his shirt, sending buttons flying in all directions. Brooke groaned underneath him as he settled between her thighs, running his hands up and down her bare legs.
“Tell me what you want, Brooke,” he rasped, reaching for the hem of her skirt and dragging it purposely up her legs. Please, let me take care of you. Brooke writhed beneath him, head thrown back against the sheets as she bucked up into the teasing touches. Satisfaction coiled in Connor’s belly, a dark voice he usually kept locked away in the recesses of his brain snarled a claim.
Mine.
“Come on, sweetheart, I want to make you feel good, but you’ve got to tell me.” He pulled the skirt down her legs, lifting one ankle and then the other until he could pull the silky fabric away completely. “You’re so beautiful.” He couldn’t look away, the matching lingerie set stood out against her creamy skin. A dusting of freckles lined her shoulders and across her stomach. He wanted to kiss every single one of them. Mine. His hands continued running up and down her legs, each pass getting closer and closer to the line of her panties.
“Connor,” she gasped out his name like a prayer.
He growled. He wanted to hear her say it again. “Yes, love?”
“Stop teasing. Touch me- ah!”
He slipped a finger under the lace, grazing her clit. “Now, now, ask nicely,” he told her. He pulled the fabric to one side, marvelling at the soft red hair at the top of her pussy. “I know you can be nice.”
“Fuck you,” she huffed and Connor laughed, leaning down to rake his teeth across the sensitive skin of her neck and twisting one finger into the wet heat between her legs.
“Connor - oh God,” her voice wavered, and she reached for him. Connor was having none of that, pressing her hands back into the mattress so she wouldn’t pull and aggravate her shoulder. She whined, the high noise sending a jolt down his cock, and babbled as she bucked her hips. “Connor, Connor, God, Connor please, want your fingers, thought about it so many times.”
His cock throbbed almost painfully and he shoved a hand down to undo his fly, pressing the heel of his palm against it with
a hiss.
“Tell me,” he growled, sliding another finger into her tight heat. Brooke arched off the bed beneath him with a loud moan.
“Oh God- every time you came in to Cole’s I would - ahh! I would imagine what it would feel like if you fucked me in one of the dressing rooms.” She let out sweet little whimpers and moans, canting her hips to meet his thrusts as she spoke. “Thought about how your cock would feel inside me, what you’d sound like when you came-” Connor inhaled sharply, pulling his fingers away from her dripping core. Brooke whimpered. She went to grab him, pull him back, looking so bereft that he would have given her anything right then and there without hesitation. “Why did you stop? Connor, please-”
“Hush, sweetheart. I’ve got you, it’s - fuck, you’re so gorgeous.” He stroked her hair away from her face and watched the way her body quivered, pale skin flushed and pretty under his fingers. “And the things you say…” He got up, reluctantly pulling himself away from the angel in his bed to pull off the rest of his clothes, unable to stop the groan that left him as he finally closed a hand around his cock. “Could listen to filthy things from that pretty mouth all day.” Brooke watched him stroke himself, opening her legs impossibly wider and letting one of her hands drift down her body to rest against her clit.
Connor’s bear was going crazy. He let go of his cock and stalked back to the bed, leaning over her to grab a condom from the bedside drawer. Brooke trailed her free hand down his chest, pinching at his nipple as she continued to finger herself. Connor shivered, drawing back to settle once again between her spread thighs.
“Hands off, Brooke,” he teased. “I’m going to fuck you now.”
She moaned, loudly and roughly. Connor felt another wave of arousal spike beneath his skin. He pulled her into a bruising kiss, tongue claiming every inch of her mouth he could reach as he guided himself into her.
He almost came then and there. She was so hot and wet around him and something shifted in his chest, a relief he’d never felt in his life settling over him. He pulled back from the kiss, loving the way Brooke chased his lips and leaned his forehead against hers. Their breath mingled and Connor could have sworn he felt like they were one person. It was intoxicating.
A few blissful moments passed by when Brooke shifted her hips, driving him deeper into her and he growled low and guttural. Brooke whined.
“Connor,” she sobbed, “Please. Need it. Need you.” The desire in her voice broke his resolve and he picked up the pace, rocking Brooke further up the bed.
“Yes!” Brooke gasped, crooning as her fingers wound into his hair again, pulling hard enough to send a flash of pleasure-pain sparking down Connor’s spine.
“I thought about it too, you know,” he whispered into her ear, licking along her throat and feeling her shiver against him. “I thought about what you would look like squirming on my tongue as I ate you out. I’ll do that, next time, if you’ll let me. Would you like that, Brooke? Want me to lick into you, curl my tongue around that pretty little clit and take you apart with my mouth?”
She was trembling beneath him and her legs tightened around his hips, drawing him in impossibly closer as she whined.
“Connor, ah, oh, Connor…” she moaned his name over and over and Connor kissed her, infinitely softer than their other kisses, as he thrust into her. He’d never felt like this before, like something missing inside of him had been found. He tightened his hold on her, never wanting to let go.
“Brooke.” He kissed her neck, sucking at the juncture between her neck and shoulder and Brooke tensed below him. “Mine,” he whispered the vow into her tender skin.
Brooke screamed, clamping down on him as she came and Connor let himself go, cumming inside her with a loud groan. They stayed there for a few moments, clinging to each other as they shook.
“I think-” Brooke started, voice horse and sleepy, “you might need to wrap my shoulder again.”
64
Vince
Vince watched from the treeline as the last few guests from the ski slopes walked back up towards Black Bear Lodge. His claws scraped angrily at the forest floor. Fucking bears think they own everything. The pack had been in the area for months now and they were still begging on the outskirts of bear territory, waiting for scraps with their tail between their legs like common dogs. He didn’t deserve this, he’d followed Brooke all the way from Nebraska because she’d told them all how amazing Colorado would be.
“We’ve decided to make Brooke the new alpha.”
Vince froze. He was breathing heavily, clutching at his side where Brooke’s claws had raked across his fur. The bitch had beaten him. He couldn’t believe it.
He was strong, stronger than most of what was left of the pack. Their numbers had dwindled the more they moved around. It had been everyone’s idea that a new alpha might finally be able to give them some stability and move them forwards into prosperity. It was meant to be him, he was sure of it, but now he was bleeding and Brooke stood to one side, unruffled with her hands jammed into the pockets of the ratty old coat she always wore. Vince glared at her. She’d cheated. There was no other way, he refused to believe she could beat him. One moment she was standing across from him, tensed for the fight, and the next she was behind him. One pounce onto his back and he’d hit the ground like a cub falling on its ass. She wasn’t even breathing hard.
She must have cheated.
She didn’t even look grateful! She was smiling, sure, but it was a small careful thing. He could feel pure rage filling him up, threatening to spill over. He’d said, over and over that he wanted to be alpha. He was one of the original pack members; he was strong and quick on his feet.
And he was better than her.
She looked back at him, hazel eyes steely with determination and Vince knew she was waiting for him to bow his head, to submit and show that he accepted her leadership. He wanted to rip her throat out. He could do it. He was fast, but the rest of the pack were staring at him, waiting and he knew he might be able to take her down but they’d never accept him as alpha. Reluctantly, he lowered his head stiffly. Satisfied, Brooke turned her attention to the rest of the pack and Vince slipped in behind them, still clutching his side.
“We’ve been kicked around for too long,” she said loudly, eyes glancing over all of them. “I think we should go to Colorado, set up a more permanent base. It’s not very far, but the forests there can give us a much bigger hunting ground than we have right now.”
The trees rushed past him in a green blur, the stink of bear filled his nostrils and he growled. Bigger hunting ground, yeah, right.
In the old days bears and wolves were natural enemies, back then he’d known where he stood. All this peace bullshit made his fur crawl. It would have been so easy the other day to rip out that bear's throat, but Angela had held him back with a warning snarl.
“Remember what Brooke said,” she’d growled as they turned tail and ran. Vince snarled. Brooke. She was a weak alpha, she knew nothing about running a pack and it showed. She was sloppy, she lacked a backbone - it should be me in charge, he thought furiously and I should be running that lodge. He was easily the better choice. He was older, wiser and he wouldn’t back down just because of a few bodybuilder wannabe bears. He needed a plan to take over. And for that he was going to need backup.
He already knew the rumors that were going around the pack, he’d started most of them himself - Brooke spends an awful lot of time up at that lodge don’t you think? I heard she was planning on selling us out, think about it - how little of this territory do we actually have a claim to? And how long before we get kicked out of here too?
Vince grinned. It really was too easy. The pack was twenty strong and growing and the number of them that were starting to listen to him instead of Brooke was close to half. He’d asked them to meet him just outside the lodge grounds, already deep in the bears’ territory. What was that saying? The best offense is a good defense? Yeah, screw that.
The meeting place was
a well-hidden clearing, so well hidden in fact that Vince almost didn’t find it. He broke through the trees too fast and almost went flying. He skidded to a stop. The semi-circle of wolves turned to look at him and he growled in warning when a few of them laughed.
“What are we doing here, Vince?” Lucas asked. “This is way too close to the lodge, if Connor Strauss and his brothers find out we’re here.”
“Let them find out!” Vince interrupted. “I know none of you give a shit about what those bears think of us. They need to be taken down. I know it and you know it.”
Silence. Good.
“For years we’ve been tossed from one territory to another. We’re predators! And here we are clinging to the edge of these forests like dogs begging for scraps.” Vince felt a rush of power as the others watched him pace back and forth. He could definitely get used to this.
“Angela and I got chased off of unclaimed territory the other day.” Several of the wolves bared their teeth, shifting agitatedly from foot to foot. He could see Lucas nodding; Vince remembered what he heard about the trio of youngsters being chased off unclaimed territory as well, not that long ago. He grinned. Wolves really are pack animals. Vince smiled to himself. A few choice words and they were eating out of the palm of his hand.
“We are a proud pack and I know with the right alpha we can take back what is rightfully ours.”
He looked at each of them in turn, it was important to make them feel heard after all. If he was to gain their support, he would need to be clever. “Brooke is weak. She doesn’t care about us; all she cares about is kissing up to Connor Strauss and his sleuth. And they’ve made it clear they don’t care about us. It’s time we took over and to do that, Brooke has to go.”
Looking at the semi-circle of wolves around him, teeth bared, Vince’s grin widened.
Brooke was as good as dead.
Billionaire Bear Shifters: A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset Page 41
