She giggles as I lead her to my truck. “I’m sure you’re not that bad.”
I cock a brow at her. “According to my Bear Valley High yearbook, it’s the truth.”
“Well, I’m actually pretty good, so maybe I can teach you a few moves.”
Opening her door, I help her out and grin down at her. “I’m hoping you can.”
I see her cheeks turn pink before I shut the door and walk around to the driver’s side.
“So, tell me about your life in…?” I ask, turning on the ignition.
“Seattle,” she offers.
“What made you all decide to pack up and move here?”
She shrugs. “Sometimes you just need a change, you know? Haven’t you ever wanted to live somewhere else?”
“No,” I say honestly, glancing up at the white-tipped mountains lined with green furs, and the purple and orange sky above us. “Can’t imagine being anywhere else. I love this land.”
“I used to love it too.”
“Used to?” I glance over at her.
“I guess I still do, it’s just, there’s so much danger here.”
“There’s danger everywhere, Adelaide,” I say a little too gruffly, guilt creeping into my words. “I’m sure there are worse things than bears roaming Seattle’s streets.”
She’s silent for a moment. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
I reach for her hand without thinking, but once it’s in mine, I’m not willing to let it go.
“You didn’t.” I pull the car into the parking lot of the Red Barn. It is a local spot that hosts a dance about once a month in the summer. Perfect place for a first date. I didn’t want to take her to the local dive bar. I wanted her to remember this night as something special.
My brothers will all be here, most everyone under the age of forty comes here for a good time when the big barn doors are opened. The long winter nights come hard and fast in this part of the country, so when the sun still shines, we live it up with bonfires and barn dances. Seems old fashioned, but there are worse ways to spend a Friday night than with the woman of my dreams in my arms.
I clear my throat, wanting her to understand that I know parts of her history. “I know what happened with your grandfather. But that’s not a common occurrence around these parts. You don’t have to be afraid.”
“I’m not.”
Except I’d heard her screams, saw the fear in her eyes when her gaze had first landed on me in bear form. Even now, her bottom lip trembles as she looks at me. But I have a feeling that it’s caused by something other than fear. It’s desire, and if I stay here a moment longer, I’m going to end up kissing her and seeing just how right I am about her being my mate.
With a heavy sigh, I open the truck door, then walk around to help her out, placing a hand on her lower back as we enter the barn, which is already booming with live music.
I know everyone here and I’m not surprised when more than a dozen curious looks are directed at Adelaide and me. We mingle for a bit, and I try to divert the many questions she gets.
My twin brother, Weston, approaches, handing both of us cups of beers, before starting the interrogation.
“Leave her be, Wes,” I mutter. “And find your own date.”
“But I want to meet the mystery woman who finally pulled our reclusive brother out his shell is.”
Adelaide looks between us, before sticking out her hand. “I’m Addie Spencer.”
My brother frowns. “Spencer, huh?”
“Yeah, my grandmother owned the bookstore over on Main.”
Weston gives me a hard look that I read as, What the fuck, man?
Ignoring him, I take Adelaide’s beer and set both of ours down on a table, then grab her hand and lead her to the dance floor, whispering, “You promised to show me some moves.”
She giggles as I swing her around, one hand on her waist, the other entwined with hers.
“I think you were lying to me about not being able to dance.”
“Maybe it’s just my partner.” I wink at her and the smile she gives me is full of uncertainty, especially when her gaze drifts back to Weston, who’s now talking to my youngest brother, Bennett, and frowning at us.
“I don’t think your brother likes me.”
“Weston likes everyone. My family is just a little overbearing at times.”
She looks up at me, curiosity flashing in her eyes. “They’re protective of you?”
“I had an accident when I was younger.” I pull her closer, not wanting to wreck the moment with talk about the past, especially not that day.
“What kind of accident?”
I sigh. “I was shot.”
“Shot?” Her brows shoot up, and she sucks in a breath. “And you said it wasn't dangerous here.”
“It isn’t if you follow the laws of the land. I was...careless. I learned the hard way that one reckless mistake can change everything.”
I see her swallow hard, and memories seem to drift over her eyes before she says, “Yeah, I get that. I...I’ve made some mistakes too. It’s why I made sure to get the gun when I came here.”
The music slows and I pull her closer. I get why she feels the need to have the weapon, and in all honesty, I’m glad she has it.
“Just try not to put yourself in a position where you need to use it.”
“I don’t actively go searching for wild bears to kill.” The words are meant as a joke, but they send a flash of warning through my system, and she must feel me tense. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No.” I press my forehead to hers and inhale her scent. If she is my mate, then at some point, I’ll have to tell her the truth about what I am. “Just promise me you won’t go up in the mountains alone.”
“Why would I when I have my own mountain guide?” Her smile lights up her whole face.
“You wouldn’t be flirting with me now, would you, Miss Spencer?”
Her whole face turns a shade of red. “Would that be a problem if I was?”
“I was hoping to hell you were, because I’d really like to kiss you.”
She swallows hard, and her lips part slightly, before her tongue darts out, and she whispers, “Yes, please.”
I don’t hesitate. My mouth drops to hers in a crushing kiss that has every cell in my body exploding in sensations. When my tongue sweeps into her mouth, I taste it. Taste her. Cinnamon and apples. It’s so much more than that though. It’s...the mating.
Not caring about anything or anyone around us, I revel in the moment, unwilling to let her go.
Mine, my bear growls deep inside of me, and I answer the call against Adelaide’s lips, “Mine.”
She pulls back slightly, eyes wide, and I can read the mix of shock and desire in those green depths.
I can feel my brothers watching me, feel their heavy, critical gazes, and I know I need to get her alone. I can’t do this with them watching.
“Let’s go,” I growl against her lips.
“Where?” she asks breathlessly.
“Anywhere but here. There are things we need to talk about.” Things that could change everything. I just hope she doesn’t hate me when I tell her the truth.
Chapter 6
Adelaide
Gunnar parks the truck on the edge of a lookout. Staring out at the wilderness in front of us, his profile takes my breath away. Ruggedly handsome, with eyes so pure I believe everything he says, I know this man will be my undoing. And I’m more than ready to unravel in his arms.
I swallow, knowing that whatever comes next, we will go there together.
Closing my eyes, I remember his word, Mine. Even now, the thought of his deep growl against my ear causes my core to awaken. I’ve never wanted a man like I want him.
When he kissed me at the dance, I knew I was falling hard for him - but now, as he kills the engine, and we stare at one another in silence, at what seems like the edge of the world, I know that this is more than falling.
This is untamed desire and I
don’t care where I wind up as long as I am in his arms at the end of it.
My friends gave me a pep talk before I left with Gunnar. Harley says to go all in, Piper says to take control of the situation, and Kate tells me to follow my heart. I gave them quick hugs and told them not to wait up, which had them all howling with laughter. Apparently, the idea of sweet little Addie losing her V-card was pretty exciting for them.
They showed up at the dance not long after Gunnar and I did, and I have no doubt they saw the kiss. Pretty sure I heard their squeals of delight when Gunnar pulled me off the dance floor. My friends were still drinking from red Solo cups, energized by being at a barn dance so unlike anything we’d ever find in Seattle as I left, and I know there will be an onslaught of questions that will greet me when I get home.
The entire night was magical, a reminder of why I loved this place as a girl.
There were kegs of beers and a bluegrass band. The men are from town, or here to work on the pipeline or picking up summer work in a mine. All raw and real and ready to have fun - just like us.
The women were friendly for the most part, but I noticed a few scowls when Gunnar ran his hand over my arm, held his palm on the small of my back. But I didn’t care. It was exactly where I wanted to be. The most unexpected start of this new life adventure that I could have dreamt up. Yet here it was, mine for the taking.
Now, Gunnar wordlessly gets out of the car and reaches for my hand, helping me out of the driver’s side door. I follow him around the truck, looking upward into the dark expanse of sky. There are so many thousands of stars sparkling down on us that I’m at a loss for words.
The moment we crawl into the bed of his truck, I know there is no turning back. I giggle as he spreads a quilt out for us.
“Do this often?” I ask, the question both meant to break the silence and crack the ice because there is one thing ringing in my ears. I need to tell him I’m a virgin.
And I’m terrified once he knows, that he’ll stop…pull back…turn the truck around. I’ve heard that some guys don’t want the pressure of being someone's first. I hope like hell he isn’t one of those guys because I want him to take my virginity more than I’ve wanted anything in a very long time.
“Honestly?” he says, in that low gravelly voice of his. “I’ve never done this.”
He is on his back, his head on some cushions, and I am in the crook of his arm. I look up at him, knowing my face is written in surprise. “Never?”
He tenses, his arms around me go still. “I’m a virgin. Does that change things for you?”
I move out from under him, sitting on my knees, wanting to get a better look at him. “Yes,” I say with a half laugh. “It does.”
All the air seems to go out of him. “Shit,” he sighs.
“No.” I shake my head, pulling him up to kneel next to me. Eye to eye, I run a hand over his chest. “It changes things for the better. I’m a virgin too.”
His shoulders fall and I hear him mutter hot damn under his breath before he pulls me to him, pressing his mouth to mine. This kiss is so different from the one on the dance floor. This one is deep, needy and so desperate that all I can imagine is him swallowing me whole. I want that, so badly, for him to take all of me. To inhale me.
Make me his.
Mine.
“Oh, Gunnar,” I moan as my hands slide under his shirt. I run my hands over his corded muscles, the ones I salivated over since the day we met, when he leaned into my car window, the heat from the sun causing a trail of sweat to pool between my breasts. Now my breasts, my entire body, is needy, pulsing with want, and his body is too. I feel his hard cock pressing against his blue jeans and I want to touch his skin, feel the weight of his length in my hand, feel him inside of me.
“Fuck, Adelaide,” he groans, lifting the hem of my sundress, pulling it over my head. I’m in a tiny white thong and a lace bra, and I want it off. To be naked, bare, seen. “I don’t want to mess this up,” he admits and I shake my head.
“Impossible.”
It gives him the courage he needs because he unhooks my bra and I reach for his belt loop, unzipping his pants and shoving down his jeans as his hands run across my hard nipples, over my full breasts. My body is primed to be taken and God how I want to be taken by him.
“You are perfection,” he tells me, not seeming to notice the physical flaws I see when I look in the mirror. A muffin top. Thighs with stretch marks. Lips that aren’t as full as I’d like. None of that matters when Gunnar looks at me. He sees me as the woman I wish I saw when I look in the mirror. It’s like he sees me as the best version of myself and it makes me feel vulnerable and safe, like I fit perfectly here in his arms. Just as I am.
“You aren’t half bad yourself,” I say gasping as I take in his cock. He’s hard and big and I reach for him, unable to stop myself. Not wanting to stop myself. Isn’t this the very moment I’ve been dreaming of my entire life?
“I can’t believe we’re both virgins,” he says, as my fingers wrap around his stiff length.
“It’s like, fate,” I say with a smile, then I lick my lips because when I run my hands up and down his thick shaft, my body is alive and it’s like this moment, this exact moment, is meant to be.
“God,” he growls, pulling me to the quilt, on to my back, and he leans on top of me. I see a hunger in his eyes, an animalistic need, and I want to satisfy him.
I spread my legs, letting him in closer, and he runs his hand over my now wet slit, under my panties, then pulls them off. He lowers his head, licking my pussy. “You taste and smell so fucking good.”
I bite down on my lip, my fingers threading through his hair as his mouth presses against me, licking me up and down. I’ve never had a man so close to me before and I’m glad. Anyone else would have been a disappointment. But this is - oh, oh, yes. This is what everyone's first time should be.
I moan as he sucks on my clit, as he runs his tongue over me, his thick beard tickling my sensitive skin. I feel myself grow wetter and wetter as he rides against my pussy and I need more. I need to touch his cock and move against him, but before I can say so, he presses a finger inside of me and is flicking my G-spot with such lust in his eyes, I would never ask him to stop.
In fact, I can’t think at all. My eyes are fixed on the night sky, on the stars above, and I’m holding on to the blanket beneath me for dear life as Gunnar strokes my pussy with his fingers, making me so wet, so horny, so close to being entirely undone.
“Ohhh, yes, yes, ohh, don’t, I can’t...I...” Then my words are lost as an orgasm washes over me, and my skin is covered in tiny pinpricks of pleasure. “Oh Gunnar,” I whimper, reaching for his cock, pressing it closer to my entrance.
I can’t wait anymore, and by the feel of his rigid length, he can’t either. He enters me slowly, his hand on my cheek. “God, you taste so good, Addie,” he tells me and I pull my mouth to his, my hand around his neck, needing my forehead to touch his, needing to be closer than humanly possible.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispers in my ear and I close my eyes.
“You won’t,” I tell him, knowing it’s true. He may have a dark streak deep inside him, but there is a gentleness to him that is coming out as he holds me. As he begins to fill me up. He was a stranger before this week but now he is opening me up in a way no one ever has before, and the crazy thing is, in this moment, I want him to see every part of me. I want to be known by this wild mountain man.
“You’re so tight,” he murmurs, sending a chill over me and he cradles me in his arm, filling me up deeper and deeper.
We begin to rock slowly, together we silently decide that we want to savor our first time together. First time together...does that mean I am already planning on more?
I don’t say it aloud, but I can feel the truth as Gunnar moves against me, as my legs wrap around his strong body, as my pussy is taken and filled, as I give my virginity to him in its entirety.
As he gives his to me, right back.
“Oh, yes,” I whimper against his shoulder, burying my head against his neck. “Make me yours.”
And in that moment, he does.
Chapter 7
Gunnar
I’m in a type of trance as I roll on my back and pull Adelaide against my chest, then pull the blanket around her shoulders. Even my bear has quieted in contentment. Everything just feels right.
What we just shared was more than sex, more than our virginities - it was a deeper connection than that.
I have no doubt who she is for me. What she is.
My mate.
Addie’s head rests on my shoulder, and I can feel her breath on my chest as her fingers feather across my abs, beneath my shirt, then stop when they touch the knotted scars that zig zag from my side.
I’d been so relaxed, enjoying the sensation of her touch, that for a moment I’d forgotten the scars.
She pulls back slightly, and I flinch, knowing the questions that are coming, and also afraid of the disgust I’ll see in her eyes when she sees the full magnitude of my injury, the mutilated flesh that never healed right.
But I also don’t want to hide from her. I can’t. She’s my mate. So, I resist the urge to pull away and button my shirt, and just lay still, my soul lays open and exposed to the woman as she pushes the fabric back.
“Is this...” It’s a small whisper, and I wonder what she sees in the pale moonlight. “This is from being shot?”
I swallow hard. “Yes.”
“But how?” Her breathing is a little ragged, but it’s not revulsion I see in her eyes, just concern. “How did you survive?”
“I almost didn’t.” I’m not sure I would have if she hadn’t been there that day. It was my bear that had fought to stay alive, to protect the child with the soulful green eyes.
The few times I regained consciousness, I’d managed to crawl toward her, needing even in my pathetic state to keep her safe. Maybe even then my bear had known that she was my mate. That Adelaide Spencer was mine.
Untamed Virgins (Mountain Men of Bear Valley Book 1) Page 4
