“How many rooms?” she asked, looking upstairs and then around her, to gauge how big it was.
“Two, but with plenty of room for an extension.”
“You know Tony would have to live with us?” She wondered if that might put him off them living together, but she had to be honest; she wasn’t prepared to abandon her brother just because she’d met her mate. They’d been through too much together for that to happen.
“I know. And we’d make it work. He’s a good kid, and it wouldn’t be forever: once he’s trained as a carpenter, he would make enough money to move out.”
She pulled a face, which he caught as she moved in front of the big windows, the light of the moon illuminating her as if she was an angel. His angel. “What? He’s not going to want to live with his sister for his whole life. Is he?”
“I guess not.”
“And by then you’ll have a child in your belly.” He came to her, and lifted her, so she was perched on the windowsill; he nestled his body between her thighs, resting his hardness against her mound. “I want you, I want a family. Tell me they aren’t what you want too.”
She raised her face to look at him, her lips red against her pale skin. “I’m not sure what I want anymore. Coming to Bear Bluff, I only wanted Tony to settle down and make a new start.”
“He’s getting there.” Caleb ran his fingers through her hair, feeling the silky strands slip through his fingers. Her hair was light, almost translucent as the moon shone down on her, and for a fleeting moment he thought she might not be real; instead, he had conjured her up out of mist and longing.
“Thanks to you,” she said, her breasts rising and falling. He wanted to strip her clothes off and look at her, naked in the moonlight.
“Don’t take anything away from yourself. You gave up your old life to bring him here. Your belief in him got him this far.” He moved his body, bending his knees and then rising up very slowly, pressing against her mound with his hardened cock. Zoe arched her back, making the contact firmer, making him harder. “Let’s forget about our future, and just concentrate on our now.”
His mouth claimed hers, hot, hungry, desperate for her, in a way he’d never known. She responded, her arms going around his neck, fingers curling into his hair, and pulling him to her. Caleb slipped one hand under her bottom, and held her closer, his cock rubbing against her, until she squirmed, her need matching his.
Lifting her, he carried her up the stairs. He’d looked around the house earlier in the day; there was a double bed in the master bedroom. Sheets had been draped over everything when the house had been shut up, so it was clean, clean enough for him to lay her down on.
That’s exactly what he did, and then he climbed on the bed beside her.
They kissed again, tongues entwining, lips moving against each other as their need to be a part of the other grew. Unable to bear it any longer, Caleb broke away, standing up and stripping his clothes off while she watched. It was his turn to be bathed in the moonlight, and he cast his clothes aside and stood for her to see the effect she had on him.
Zoe moved toward him, sitting on the edge of the bed, her eyes beckoning to him. He did as she bid, closing the gap between them, looking down and watching her hand reach out and touch him. His breath hissed through his teeth when her hand curled around his cock. It was incredible, her touch sending shockwaves through his body. He’d wanted to feel her touch him all day, but this was more than he imagined.
Then she lowered her head and sucked the head of his cock into her warm, wet mouth, and his world exploded.
Caleb rested his hands on her shoulders, his knees weak as she moved her head up and down his shaft. Her tongue circled around and around, probing him, sending delicious sensations through his body. Did she have any idea of how she made him feel? Did she have any idea of how much he wanted to please her in the same way?
In response to this thought, he slipped his hand down from her shoulder and stroked her breast through her clothes. Her nipples were taut buds, and he longed to suck them into his mouth and roll his tongue around, making her writhe beneath him.
His hips jerked forward when her teeth grazed the shaft of his cock. He was close to coming, and as much as he craved that release, he didn’t want to come inside her mouth, he wanted to come inside her sex. To plant his seed in her womb.
Caleb pulled back, his cock sliding out of her wonderful mouth. “I think it’s time.”
She didn’t ask what he meant, she didn’t have to; neither did she disagree. Instead, she stood up, and began to strip off her clothes. A big bear’s dream was about to come true.
Chapter Eight – Zoe
A lot of things she’d encountered in her life made her nervous. Taking her clothes off in front of Caleb wasn’t one of them.
She didn’t take it slow, she didn’t do the whole striptease thing, maybe because she didn’t want to tease, she wanted him too much. Although that didn’t stop her fingers trembling as she undid each button of her blouse. Her sweater was already on the floor, discarded as soon as she had pulled it over her head. She hadn’t given much thought to whether the floor was clean and if it would get ruined; she couldn’t give much thought to anything other than Caleb.
“Need a hand?” he asked, closing the small space between them to stand so close their thighs touched. She could feel his heat, could feel his arousal, and she wanted to rip the damn blouse off her back so she could stand skin pressed against skin.
Caleb’s fingers trembled too, she was sure, as together they undid the last of her buttons. While they worked, they touched, fingers entwining, as if every part of them that could join together was compelled to. There was joining that both of them needed, and fast.
Infuriatingly, slowing her down, the zipper caught in the fabric of her skirt, she tugged at it, not wanting to rip it, but wanting it gone. Caleb’s strong fingers closed around her and wordlessly he eased the zipper down, allowing her skirt to fall to the floor. She stepped sideways to step out of it, and he moved too, their actions mirrored.
“I love your lingerie,” he said, bending his head and pressing his lips to where her breasts swelled in her lacy bra. “But it really has to go.”
The clasp was undone, and her breasts spilled out into his hands. Before she had a chance to register this, he had captured her left nipple in his mouth, sending jabs of desire through her body. He wasn’t gentle in his torture of the taut buds; instead, he sucked and licked, his teeth grazing her skin, until she was so wet her panties were sopping.
Taking the initiative, she moved, breaking their contact, and pushed her panties down over her thighs. Caleb saw the action for the invitation it was. Taking her hand, he led her to the bed, and she lay down, moving across the bed until she was comfortable. Caleb stood and looked at her for a moment, and then joined her. Their foreplay over, he moved between her thighs, and guided himself into her.
It all happened so fast: one minute the head of his cock was pressing for entrance, the next he was buried inside her up to the hilt, giving her body little chance to yield to him. But the way he stretched her inner walls was divine, and she arched her back to meet him stroke for stroke when he pulled out and then lunged back inside her.
This was no polite lovemaking. When he had refused to kiss her at the yard, he had made the right decision, because now he was unstoppable, his need to claim her taking over, the look in his eyes telling her his beast was close to the surface, that they were together in this claiming.
Looking inside herself she sensed her other side too, as if they were all coming together in this moment. And coming was exactly what she was about to do.
It happened so fast, too fast, but her arousal had built up inside her for the last hour or more and now it was ready to explode, she was ready to explode, and when Caleb came inside her it set off a chain reaction.
He cried out, his voice filling the room, a sound akin to a roar emanating from his chest. The sound excited her, it was so primal in its need,
and it was all for her. She might be a small creature on the inside, but she had tamed this beast: he was hers, this big bear of a man was her man, her mate, her protector, and as his seed spurted hot inside her, he might very well soon be the father of her child.
When they were both spent, they lay together in the light of the moon, neither of them knowing what to say. It had been incredible, almost too incredible if that was possible, and they were both having to readjust where they fit into this world, because for Zoe at least, her world had shifted on its axis, just as she feared it would.
Yet she wasn’t filled with fear now, she was filled with hope. Caleb was her partner in everything she did from this moment onwards. He’d already proved himself a noble and honorable man; now he was her noble and honorable man.
“I should get home,” she said, breaking the spell between them.
“Already?” he asked, kissing her softly.
“Yes. You said before midnight.” She looked at the moon in the sky, noting how high it was over the mountains. “It has to be way past eleven.”
“I said that before we made love, before I realized I don’t want to spend another night without you in my arms.”
She laughed. “That is so corny.”
“Tell me you don’t feel the same way?” he asked, pulling her back down beside him when she tried to get up.
“It wouldn’t matter if I did. We still have lives to live, we have to make arrangements before we can spend every night together.”
He kissed her again, his arms tight around her, and she worried for a moment he wasn’t going to let her go. Had her honorable man gone in the light of their mating bond; would he force her to stay if that was what he wanted?
“Let’s get you home, Cinderella,” he said, releasing her and rolling off the bed, where he began to retrieve their clothes. He passed hers back to her, shaking them first to get rid of any dirt from the floor.
“Are you really thinking of buying this house?” she asked, when they were both dressed.
“Yes. I am. I’m moving back to be near to my parents. My mom had a health scare and it brought it home to me that I’ve spent years working away, only seeing them for a week or two each year.” He looked sheepish, before he added. “You know, I was becoming broody. I hoped to move back and maybe meet my mate one day and raise a family here. It’s important kids know their grandparents, don’t you think?”
“I’m not so sure my parents, or at least my mother, would agree.” Zoe adjusted her skirt, giving her hands something to do and her eyes an excuse not to meet Caleb’s.
“Want to tell me about it?” he asked, coming back toward her and folding her in his strong arms. She breathed in his scent, storing it in her memory.
“There’s not much to tell.”
“It might have some bearing on how Tony behaves. He’s insecure.”
Zoe homed in on Caleb’s words. “Is that what he says?”
“No, but when I listened to him today, it was obvious he doesn’t cope well around others. Maybe it has something to do with your mom.” He stroked her hair, and kissed the top of her head. “I think you’ve been more of a mom to him.” She pulled back, but he wouldn’t let her go. “Tell me, let me help you both.”
“It’s tough to talk about, because she’s our mom and it’s not her fault.” Zoe rested her head on his broad chest, happy to be in his arms. He had a right to know what he was getting into. Especially if there was a chance Zoe would go through the same thing when they eventually had kids. “She suffered from post-natal depression. Only it never went away. I think, perhaps, she was depressed before she met my dad, but the excitement of being with a shifter lifted her spirits.”
“And then?” he asked.
“Then she had me, and she was still OK. But when she had Tony, she flipped; she closed down on so many levels. That’s why he blames himself, he used to say we would all be better if he had never been born, but that is not true.”
“And you brought him up?” Caleb asked softly. “What about your dad?”
“My dad worked hard to keep things going, he picked up the slack as much as he could. But there were days when Mom couldn’t even get out of bed, so I would get Tony up and get us to school. As I got older, I’d cook the evening meal. I didn’t mind, I just wanted my mom back.”
“But that didn’t happen?”
“No, she was better, but somehow vacant. Then when I began to shift, she lost it. I have spent a lot of time thinking it all through.” She took a long, shuddering breath. “My dad never shifts. I mean, I cannot remember him ever changing in front of me. I’m not sure if it’s because my mom found it all a bit weird.”
“So he lives a normal life, keeping a low profile around your mom. And then suddenly your mom is confronted by the fact her kids are shifters.”
“That’s about it. She seemed to distance herself even more. I wanted to move out, but I couldn’t leave Tony. Then he started going out with his friends on evenings, and I’d stay late at work. Mom seemed happier, as if she could pretend we didn’t exist for most of the day.”
“That’s tough.”
“It got tougher when Tony came home with a police officer in tow the first time.” A tear slipped down her cheek as she remembered that moment. “My mom went a little crazy, saying Tony wasn’t her child, and couldn’t the police officer see he wasn’t her child.”
“Were you there?” Caleb asked.
“Yes, Luckily, I told Mom to go and make a cup of tea while I dealt with it. My mom said to make sure the police officer took that child with him.” She wiped her tears. “I told the police officer that my mom was not feeling herself. He gave Tony a stern warning, and told him if he got caught stealing again, they would press charges.”
“And that’s what happened?” Caleb asked.
“Eventually. It went on for months: I slowly lost my brother, and he lost his sister as I became the adult who nagged him about everything. Our roles changed and I was like the mom he never had, and he rebelled against that.”
“Wow, that’s messed up.”
She pulled back from him, going to dig around in her purse for a tissue to blow her nose on. “I think you’re right, though. He wanted our mom’s attention, he wanted someone to take notice of him.”
“We can work it out. It’ll be OK. Between us—you, me, and Dylan—we can help him. Today was a breakthrough.”
“I hope so.” She looked at her phone; it was 11:45 p.m. “We have to go. I just hope when I get home, he’s still there.”
If not, she would be just about ready to wash her hands of Tony. But when she let herself in, after a long lingering kiss from Caleb, she found Tony asleep in bed. Zoe stood and watched him, as she had so many times through the years. She only hoped her brother would find happiness, and she would find a way to make everything work out so they were all happy.
Chapter Nine – Caleb
“You look better today,” Caleb said to Tony. He was in Zoe’s kitchen, drinking coffee, while waiting for Tony to get dressed and ready for work. If he happened to be kissing Tony’s sister while he waited, well, that was just a perk of the job.
“Thanks, I feel better.”
“Here,” Zoe said, thrusting some toast at her brother. “Eat. I’ve also made you a packed lunch.”
“Thanks, Zoe,” Tony said. “Are we going back to the house we were working on yesterday?” Tony asked Caleb.
“We sure are. I thought I’d let you have a go with the lathe.”
“Really?” Tony said. “I thought you only trusted me with the hammer.”
“If you had gone out last night and caused your sister any more trouble, I wouldn’t even be trusting you with holding my hammer, let alone using it.”
Tony looked from Caleb to Zoe and then back again, a small frown creasing his face, which fortunately Zoe didn’t notice, she was too busy grabbing Tony’s lunch off the counter. It was a good job she hadn’t seen it, because Caleb had the feeling they were busted. He
wasn’t sure how Tony knew; they had come home in separate cars, although Caleb had insisted on following her back to make sure she arrived home safe. Oh, and kissing her on the doorstep.
But Zoe said Tony had been asleep, so how did he know?
“Those days are behind me,” Tony said, and with lunch in hand, he headed out of the door with Caleb.
“Thanks for the coffee,” Caleb called.
“My pleasure.” Zoe’s voice held a hint of amusement, and he smiled, liking the way things were turning out. It seemed that if Tony did know about them being mates, he wasn’t against the idea.
“OK, let’s get this job done. I want to have the spindles back in place today and the handrail measured and cut. Then we can spend some time getting it right. These old houses don’t exactly conform to measurements, so we may have to adjust the rail to get it to fit properly.”
“So being a carpenter takes patience?” Tony asked. They were leaving the outskirts of town and heading out along the road, through fields filled with cattle and sheep, and up toward the lower slopes of the mountains. It was here where houses dotted the landscape, close enough that they didn’t feel lonely, but far enough apart that they were private, away from prying eyes. It would be bliss living here after his years in the city. Him and his bunny. He smiled to himself before turning to answer Tony’s question.
“Patience, yes. You can’t rush it; it takes a calm mind.”
“How do you keep your mind calm, when it’s so easy for thoughts to crowd in?” Tony asked.
“I learned aikido,” Caleb said, turning the work truck onto the road that took them up to the house that had been a scene of so much passion last night. Keeping calm and having patience might not be so easy today. Not when thoughts of Zoe were never far from him.
“Aikido, I’ve heard of it, isn’t that like karate?” Tony was genuinely interested, and Caleb was ready to have his mind taken off his mate. If he didn’t focus, he was going to be useless today.
Who Bears Wins: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Return To Bear Bluff Book 4) Page 4
