Storm Bear

by Bianca D’Arc

  She let go, then, allowing her tears to mingle with the water drops as they rolled down over her cheeks onto Ace’s bare chest. She stood there a long time. Again, she had no idea just how long. This place seemed to have an endless supply of hot water, so there was no need to hurry.

  Ace held her through the storm, his presence the one solid thing in her world. He was her rock. Her port in the tempest of her fate. He was real.

  And, as she started to regroup, she realized he was also very much naked. Correction. Wet and naked. Slippery and hard against her own bare skin.

  Just like that, the last of the shakes fled and, suddenly, she was more concerned with more…um…carnal matters. From the looks of things—and the feel of his hardness rising against her—so was Ace.

  “How are you doing?” he asked her, speaking for the first time since he’d entered the bathroom.

  “A lot better, now, thanks.” She moved slightly away from him so she could dunk her head under the water, allowing her hair to stream back away from her face and the last of her tears to wash away. She opened her eyes to meet his soft brown gaze. He was such a special man.

  “Do you want me to leave so you can finish your shower?” The slightest note of uncertainty entered his tone.

  “No,” she told him quickly. “I’d already finished washing my hair. I guess it all just got to me. Thanks for the save. Yet again.” She smiled at him, moving the few inches back into his arms. “Is there anything I can do to show you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me these past days?” She had never been much of a siren, but she tried her best to put her unpracticed moves on him.

  She’d never had really good shower sex, and she suspected Ace would be the one man to show her what it was really all about. Just the thought of his hot, hard, slippery skin next to hers as he made love to her in the wide shower stall made her breath catch. Suddenly, she wanted that more than anything. She just had to make him aware of her desires.

  Sabrina trailed her hand downward, between their bodies, over his washboard abdomen, and then lower, to the long, hard staff that rested against her. She put her hand around him and squeezed gently, loving the low growl that sounded deep within his chest, rumbling against hers. He was definitely interested. Thank the Goddess.

  Feeling very daring, she reached for the bar of soap with her free hand. “While you’re here, do you want me to help you get clean?”

  He growled and thrust gently into her hand. “What if what I have in mind is dirty?”

  “Hm. Well, then. I’d say, let’s do that first, and we can always get clean again afterwards.”

  She smiled at him as he took the soap from her hands and worked up a bit of lather between his fingers before putting it back on the little ledge built into the side of the tiled enclosure. His soapy hands sought her breasts, cupping and shaping, sliding deliciously as the soap made her slippery. She pretended to pout as he fondled her.

  “I wanted to make you all slick,” she told him softly.

  “Later,” he promised. “If you do that to me, now, this could be over before it begins. I need you too bad.”

  Her breath caught. Really? He sounded like a starving man, which flattered her battered ego. No man had ever sounded quite so desperate to be with her. That the man saying it was Ace made it all that much more appealing. Damn. She liked being needed sexually. It made her feel like a femme fatale. And that was something she’d never felt before.

  “Then, let’s not wait. I’m ready. I’m willing. Take me, Ace.” She reached up and dragged his head down so she could match her lips to his.

  She felt bold. Almost invincible. Ace had done that. He’d given this gift to her. Moments ago, she’d been shattered. Now, she was high on the passion that rose whenever they touched. Whenever they kissed. Just like that, she was raring to go. Wanting him beyond all reason, because of the things he made her feel that she’d never experienced before with any other man. Ace was special. And, he made her feel special.

  Sabrina might have instigated the kiss, but Ace took it to new heights. She felt his arms come around her waist as he deepened the kiss, their bodies sliding together deliciously. The soap on her breasts made her slick against his chest. Her nipples quickly became hard little peaks, excited beyond all reason and sensitive to his every move.

  Then, he dipped, scooping his big hands under her butt, lifting her and turning her so that her back was to the tiled wall. It was a little cold, at first, but she barely noticed. She’d had to let go of her prize when he’d lifted her up, but he was aligning that glorious cock with her opening. She willed him to push deep, taking her hard against that wall and finally giving her what she wanted. What she needed. Him. Only him.

  As if he heard her desires, Ace slid home within her, allowing her body to slide just slightly down the wall so that she rested at the perfect height for his penetration. He stilled, watching her carefully, as if gauging her reactions. Sabrina placed her arms over his shoulders, loosely around his neck, one hand reaching into the damp strands of short hair at the base of his neck, the other feeling his shoulder muscles ripple as he held her in place, his body hard in all the ways designed to drive her senses into orbit.

  “Okay?” he asked, his breath coming hard as if holding back was difficult.

  “Better than okay,” she told him truthfully. “Do me now, Ace. Take me hard.”

  In answer to her request, he began to move. The growl was back, low and intense, as he moved slowly, at first. He was holding back. Probably, he was trying to make sure she had time to adjust, to build up to a crescendo. What he didn’t know was that she was already halfway there. They’d only just begun, and already, this was one of the sexiest, most earth-shattering experiences of her life.

  “Go faster,” she begged him. “Feels so good.” The word was too weak to describe what she was really feeling, but communication was quickly moving beyond her capabilities as he gave her what she wanted. She moaned as he moved faster and harder, just as she desired.

  She keened as he took the pace up another notch. She couldn’t take much more. He was pounding into her, now, giving her everything she wanted. Taking her and making her feel wanted, needed…cherished. It was what she needed, right now. Hard, fast, intense lovemaking that only Ace could give her.

  When her climax hit, she blanked out for a moment, her eyes closing, her muscles clenching against the onslaught. It swept her away and brought her back as Ace stiffened against her, his own release happening in time with hers. They were in tune. One, for that brief moment out of time.

  The water rained down around them, steaming up the room and misting their bodies with cleansing hot water. She’d cried out as she’d come, and her throat was raw now from the strain, but she felt oh-so-good. Her bear-man had growled in that sexy way that she was completely addicted to, now, after only a short time together.

  The thought crossed her mind—would she ever have another lover like Ace? Nope. Not in a million years. When the Goddess had made him, She’d broken the mold after. There was only one Ace, and for right now, he was all Sabrina’s. She was going to enjoy every moment she had with him for as long as this lasted.

  They ended up eating dinner sometime in the middle of the night in between even more pleasurable sessions on the wide, comfy bed. After the intense joining in the shower, she had, indeed, helped him wash off. They’d laughed and played with the soap suds, exploring each other’s bodies and probably using way more water than they should have. They enjoyed drying each other off just as much as they’d enjoyed soaping up and rinsing off. Then, they moved the party to the bed and spent a long, leisurely night making love in many inventive ways.

  When the food had arrived, Ace had accepted the delivery and then parked the tray on the table, returning to bed to pick up where he’d left off. It was some time later before they started investigating the contents of the tray, feeding each other tidbits and acting silly.

  Laughter and sex filled their night, helping Sa
brina come down from the anxiety of the past days. Ace was the best medicine of all, and he seemed to know just what she needed to bring her back to Earth. They slept, finally, entangled in each other’s arms, and knew nothing more until morning.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The next day, Sabrina and Ace walked down Main Street to have breakfast at the bustling bakery where the sisters had set up tables for the folks who wanted to eat on premises. When they got there, the place was mostly empty, except for a few people picking up orders to go, so they claimed a table near the window.

  The selection of pastries and the freshly cooked egg sandwiches Nell brought over a few minutes later were fantastic, and Sabrina dug in with renewed hunger. It felt like her system was running a little hotter than usual, and she was burning a lot of calories. Of course, that might just be because of the sexy bear shifter in her bed, driving her to distraction and firing her hormones on all cylinders every minute of the day. Or, it could be magic. Or, maybe, a little of both.

  They were about halfway through the mountain of food when the little bell above the door signaled a new arrival. Sabrina looked up to see two women enter. She recognized the Alpha female immediately, but the second woman seemed to light up when she saw Ace sitting with Sabrina. She came right over and called his name.

  A little tendril of jealousy sent a twisting breeze stirring around Sabrina’s body. The moment she realized she had lost a bit of control, she squelched the power, but it was too late. Urse had noticed. As had Ace, if his smug smile was anything to go by. He was returning the greeting of the strange woman when he turned to introduce Sabrina.

  “This is Thea, Ezra’s mate,” he said. “Thea, this is Sabrina.”

  “It’s good to meet you,” Thea said enthusiastically.

  She seemed genuinely friendly, and Sabrina realized her jealousy had been misplaced. Thea felt like a bear to Sabrina’s magical senses, and she was mated to another bear—Ace’s friend. Mates were for life among shifters. There was no question that Thea had any designs on Ace, so Sabrina’s fit of jealousy was ridiculous, given the facts.

  “Ezra told me you were in town. You have to come over for dinner one night, if you can,” she told Ace. “Both of you,” she added, including Sabrina in the invitation.

  “Thanks, I’d like that,” Ace replied politely. “Sabrina needs to see how we bears live,” he chided, apparently on easy terms with this woman, though there were no possible romantic leanings because Thea was mated.

  Thea smiled at Sabrina. “We just finished our new place, and I’d love a chance to show it off,” she enthused. “Ace and his brothers were so helpful to Ez and me,” she explained to Sabrina. “How are King and Jack?”

  Ace started talking about his brothers, and Sabrina was intrigued, but Urse came over to speak with her while Ace was talking with Thea on the other side of the table. The Alpha female seemed intent on speaking with her privately, so Sabrina couldn’t be rude. Hearing about Ace’s brothers was interesting, but she would be foolish to disrespect a woman with so much power in this town. Plus, she’d liked Urse when they first met, last night, and wanted to talk more with the powerful witch.

  “How are you feeling? Fully recovered?” Urse smiled at her over the cup of coffee she’d secured from the bakery counter while Thea had been talking to Ace.

  “Much better, thanks. The sleep helped a lot,” Sabrina told her. “I’m sorry I was so dazed yesterday.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Urse told her kindly. “We’ve all been there. Using strong magic takes it out of you, sometimes.” She smiled and shook her head. “Speaking of which—are you free today? I’d like to take you up to the stone circle. We have a local shaman, and he is the caretaker of the sacred space. I’ve invited a few others to meet you, and it’s probably safest to explore what you can do up there, away from the town. The circle can help contain your energies if things go awry,” she explained. “Maybe we can figure out a little bit more about what you are and what you can do.”

  Sabrina liked the idea and said as much. “Ace hasn’t really said what we’re supposed to be doing today. Probably because he figured you all would fill up our dance cards quick enough.” Sabrina chuckled and looked over at Thea still talking with Ace. “Looks like you’re doing that, right on schedule.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ve got a message for Ace from my mate. The guys want to talk to him while we do our magic thing in the circle.” Sabrina felt a little pang at the idea of separating from Ace, even for just a short while. “I assure you, it’s nothing bad,” Urse was quick to say, probably misunderstanding whatever look passed over Sabrina’s face, betraying her thoughts. “He’ll be okay.”

  “I have great confidence that Ace can handle whatever comes his way,” Sabrina said in support of her escort. “I’m just being chicken because I’ve somehow gotten used to having him around.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t be. I’ve always been alone. Before I met him, I mean. And we’ve only been traveling together a couple of days, but…”

  “But you’ve come to depend on him,” Urse whispered, her smile kind as she shook her head ruefully. “These bears. They have a way of insinuating themselves into your life, and before you know it, you can’t live without them.” She winked, even as she chuckled. “But, like I said, don’t worry. He’ll be okay with the guys, and you’ll be well taken care of by the folks I’ve invited. Two grannies, me and my sister, and the local shaman. Some of the mer might show up, as well, but I can’t be sure about that. They tend to keep to themselves more than I expected they would when they moved into the cove, except for the few who’ve found mates here.”

  *

  An hour later, Ace was sitting at a conference table in the town hall, looking out the window at a magnificent view of the cove. A meeting, of sorts, was just getting started, at which he seemed to be the star attraction. Ezra was sitting next to him, with Zak on the other side. Arrayed around the table was the core group of badass retired Spec Ops soldiers that made up the so-called Town Council.

  Bear shifters, one and all, these guys were the brain trust that had followed John Marshall’s dream, creating this town from the ground up. Ezra was a calming presence, but Ace couldn’t help but feel a bit odd about this command appearance before the group that effectively ran the town. Were they about to read him the riot act or something? Were they going to grill him? Or maybe ask him to leave town? Only one way to find out.

  Ace did his best to appear calm, but inside, his bear felt like someone had stroked his fur the wrong way. He wanted to scratch the itchy feeling away, but he repressed the urge. He was a grown man. He didn’t need to feel like he’d been called into the principal’s office—even if that was exactly what it felt like.

  “Thanks for coming down here on short notice,” John Marshall said, taking his seat at the table. The low conversations that had been going on while they were waiting for him ceased, and the room came to order. “Thing is, Ace, you’ve been to see the Lords recently, and we’d like to pick your brains about that, and what you encountered up north.”

  Ace was surprised by the statement but willing to humor the Alpha bear—as long as he didn’t ask Ace to betray any confidences. He didn’t see how that might happen, so he felt relatively comfortable in nodding his agreement.

  “None of us have been to the Lords’ compound in recent years. Some, not at all,” John said, looking around at his men, some of whom were nodding. “And contact with Rocky—our main grizzly contact with the Lords—has dropped considerably in the past year. Did you get to see him when you were there?”

  “I saw him when I rode in,” Ace told him. “But he passed me on to the Lords pretty quickly, and I didn’t really see him after that much.”

  “But you did see him,” Zak asked.

  Ace nodded. “Yeah, he looks good. Happily mated, with that same smug look a lot of you mated guys have on your faces,” Ace joked. “But he did seem a little preoccupied. I figured the Lords keep him busy, and I know the
y’d asked him to send me over to them, so I didn’t think it was too strange.”

  “They wanted to see you about the job up north?” John looked very interested in Ace’s report.

  “Yes,” he replied. “I didn’t go there looking for a mission, but they were happy enough to give me one. I think this was the kind of thing they normally would’ve sent Rocky to take care of, but I suppose he was busy with whatever they had him working on in Montana, so they asked me to fill in, seeing as I was a bear, and a friend of Rocky’s.”

  “They specifically wanted a bear shifter on this job?” one of the other men asked.

  “Seemed like it. They wanted someone who could withstand Sabrina’s magic. When I got there, she was chasing a snow squall she’d spawned down Main Street.” He knew the corner of his mouth hitched up in a small grin, but he couldn’t help it. “I suppose they wanted someone both big enough to take a buffeting and magical enough to help her get back to them—or, at least, someplace she could get better help.”

  “Can you give debrief us on what happened after you got to her?” John requested, and Ace knew this was the old commander speaking, wanting to gather all the intel he could regarding possible threats to his people.

  Ace was happy to comply. He filled the group in on the entire story from the time he first saw Sabrina to the moment they all met up on the highway. He didn’t leave out any details pertaining to the enemy that he had observed. He got asked a few pointed questions, and he gave them what information he could from what he had observed. He didn’t feel the need to tell them every last thing that had passed between himself and Sabrina. Some things, these busy-body bears didn’t need to know.

  When he was done telling them everything he knew about the enemy he and Sabrina had just faced, the town council thanked him for his time and sent him on his way. The meeting went on behind him as he left, and he felt like a man who had just given testimony in a court case—both relieved it was over and intrigued to know what the verdict would be.