by Alana Hart
Averting my eyes from the knife, my gaze ran smack bang into his groin, his cock loose and swinging as he walked toward me, completely not bothered by his nakedness. Oh, man! Even soft, he was packing. And perking up under my prolonged stare, thickening and lengthening before my eyes.
“If you want to do this—” he indicated the knife in his hand, “—then you need to stop looking at me like that. Unless?”
I ripped my eyes away reluctantly. “Give me the knife,” I ordered, holding out a hand, and he flinched slightly.
“Just, uh, be careful what you do with that thing,” he joked, kneeling down next to me.
I wet the cloth, wiping it over the first wound to clear away the dried blood and sweat. Biting my bottom lip in concentration, I angled the tip of the blade toward the puckered hole. My hands trembled a fraction as I hesitated. I had never done anything like this before! What if I did it wrong?
“Just angle the blade straight down, until you hit the bullet, then tilt under it to pull it out.” Ryan spoke in a low voice, reassuring and calm, his hand coming to rest on top of mine, guiding the knife.
I held my breath as the blade sunk in, his blood flowing freely again, then feeling the slight resistance against the tip, I dug past it, tilting and pulling back.
Sweat had formed on Ryan’s brow, but he hadn’t murmured, and when the bullet popped free, he just nodded. “The next one.”
One down, one to go. “I hope I won’t have to be doing this often!” I half-joked, sliding the knife back in. This one was deeper, the bullet having sunk into his pectoral muscle.
Ryan gritted his teeth against what must be agonizing pain. “No worries on that. This is only the third time I’ve been shot, ever.”
“Third?”
He nodded, his muscles rigid as I fished for the stray bullet. “First was poachers, second was a stupid kid playing with his dad’s gun.”
“Anyone I know? The kid, I mean.” I nearly had it, but the little sucker kept slipping just out of reach.
“Nope,” he grunted. “That’s one of the things I have to tell you, Amy. When a shifter takes a mate—”
“Shifters? Mate?” I replied, my mind focused on the task at hand. Nearly…
“That’s what we’re called. Humans that share a soul with an animal. We believe that the Mother of All created us, paired human souls with animal spirits. We were created as mated pairs, then separated at creation—”
“But I’m human,” I mused. There! I had it! I slowly started to pull it out.
“Your human soul is the match for mine, whether you have an animal or not. Maybe in another lifetime, you did. Who knows?” He let out a loud breath as I popped the last bullet free. “All I know, and care about, is that you are my true mate. The one my soul longs for, my heart yearns for.”
I watched in fascination as his skin started to heal, the wound closing up fraction by fraction before my eyes, then looked up at him, his words sinking in. My heart threatened to burst out of my chest. He loved me!
“But there’s more I have to tell you. And you might not like this part…”
***
Ryan
She had been so brave, digging the bullets out even though her eyes were wide with panic. My mate was fearless, it didn’t matter that she didn’t share her soul with a bear, she had the courage of a bear nevertheless.
And now I had to tell her everything. And she might turn away from me, leave me. I wanted to roar with frustration at the injustice of the world. Why was this happening to me? By telling the truth, I could lose her. If I didn’t tell her, I could lose her after the fact.
My bear just wanted me to pin her, to blanket her sweet body with mine and take her, rough and frantic. He wanted me to tear off her clothes and mount her, driving my cock deep inside, joining us together in the mating dance.
And, Sweet Mother, I wanted that, too. My hands curled into tight fists, trying to resist the urge to touch, to feel and caress.
“What is it?”
She trusted me.
I took a deep breath. “I am nearly one hundred years old.”
She gasped, looking confused, then worried. “But does that mean, will you live forever?”
“No, not forever. For a very long time.”
“What about me? Will you have to watch me die? Is this why you’re having second thoughts?” She blinked at me, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.
“I’m not having second thoughts,” I growled, grabbing her hands, frustrated that she would even think that. “When a shifter takes a human as a mate, their life-force is shared and a bond is formed, soul to soul. You would feel my emotions, and I would feel yours. You would also share my longevity.”
“I wouldn’t die?”
“Not until I did. Which is not going to happen for a very long time, I promise.” I waited, knowing she would catch up, and dreading the next part.
“But…what about Luke?” Her eyes widened, horror streaking across her face. She snatched her hands back. “I can’t! I won’t watch him die!”
“I know, I wouldn’t ask that of you. There’s got to be a way, the Mother of All wouldn’t match us together, just to tear us apart. Mom mentioned that she knew of another shifter mated with a human. The human already had a child. If I could just track—”
“You say this Mother of All matched us together, bound us soul to soul?”
I nodded, frustration welling up inside. She was right. I couldn’t ask her to—
“Soul to soul?” She repeated thoughtfully.
“What are you thinking?” I wracked my brain, trying to figure out the connection, then an idea sparked, glittering with possibility.
“The souls have to be bound, linked together, to share your longevity?”
“Are you thinking—?”
“That maybe Luke might be already bound!”
A mother’s bond. Why didn’t I think of that?
She frowned, looking distressed. “But, how would we know? I couldn’t— Not if I didn’t know, for sure.”
I thought about how I was bonded with my mom, and to Pa. It was different from the mating bond, but it was there, as was the bond between brothers. Blood formed the bond between our souls. That, and love. But would blood bonds link through a mating bond? And did humans have the bond to begin with?
“I could look for it—”
She looked up at me eagerly.
“—but, I wouldn’t know, for sure, until I formed my half of the bond. You would be able to feel me, and I would be able to search for the bond linking you to Luke. See if it connected us all, as a family.”
She searched my face, sensing that I was holding something back. “What’s the catch?”
“If I don’t find a link with Luke, then we wouldn’t be able to complete the bond.”
“So, you would be linked to me, but I wouldn’t be linked to you?”
I nodded. I would be half-mated. In a constant state of need and arousal, my soul reaching out for the other half, unable to find satisfaction. It would drive me mad. Feral.
And Amy would feel everything through the bond, driving her mad, too.
She stared at me, weighing my words, trying to understand. “But there’s a chance that we will be linked, all of us?”
There was, I really believed it. And it was our only hope. But I wouldn’t force the mating on her. I nodded warily, weighing my next words carefully. “If, when I search for the bond, it’s not there, I’ll tell you. You’d then need to run, and get the hell away from me. I’ll hold back my bear for as long as I can. But you have to promise me that you’ll run.”
“Will it hurt you?”
Like a motherfucker! Every cell in my body will be demanding that I finish it, empty myself inside of her, claiming her and making her mine. To let her go…
“A little,” I lied smoothly. A white lie, just like what I was omitting to tell her. If things didn’t work out, then one of my brothers, or Pa, was going to have to put me down. But I wa
s praying it didn’t get to that.
“So, what do we need to do?” she asked innocently, and I shoved all doubts to the back of my mind. My mate was asking for me, offering herself to me, and I was going to make damn sure I enjoyed each single second, exploring every inch, tasting everything she had to offer. I wanted her moans in my ears and her pussy clamping tight around my cock as she exploded, dragging me with her.
Because it might be my only chance to have her.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Amy
Ryan looked at me like he wanted to eat me, his eyes narrowing, silver swirling in their depths.
Heat pooled between my thighs, the thought of him reaching over and pushing me to the floor, pulling me against his hard body and taking what he wanted starting a quivering clenching deep inside.
His large body tensed next to mine, muscles straining as he sniffed the air, a predatory gleam flashing across his face. “You smell so sweet,” he growled, leaning toward me. “Like vanilla laced coffee, freshly ground.” His breath whispered across my lips as he darted his tongue out, tasting. “I want to taste you, all of you. Every single nook—” his tongue danced back across my lips, “—every single crease—” his tongue darted in, past my parted lips, “—every single fold,” he growled, claiming my mouth, his tongue sweeping deep.
I moaned into his mouth, fighting to keep up, but he was in control, leading me in a dance of tongues and teeth.
Urging me to my feet, he unzipped the bulky jacket, pushing it off my shoulders, his mouth still fused with mine. Releasing my lips for a second, he dragged my top over my head, throwing it across the room, then reached for my jeans.
Impatient, I tore the button and zipper open and shoved them down my legs. Hopping from one foot to the other, I kicked off my boots and the jeans quickly followed.
Ryan leaned back, his hands smoothing down my back, and looked at me, his eyes traveling the length of my body, the silver sparking and growing. “You are stunning.” The husky murmur sent a shiver rippling down my spine.
No man had ever looked at me like that before, with wonder in his eyes. Will had always looked at me in disappointment.
Ryan tilted my chin up, his thumb stroking my jaw. “You are perfect, just the way you are.”
It was as if he had known what path my mind had taken, applying a healing balm to wounds I hadn’t realized were still fresh.
Grabbing my hand, he tugged me across the room, his cock bobbing and swaying in front of him, leading the way.
I just needed to— I snaked a hand around, palming the warm length, the skin silky soft in my hand.
He ground to a halt, his back bowing, his groan echoing in the silent room. “Keep that up and we won’t make it to the shower. I’ll end up taking you right here, on the floor.” He thrust into my hand, his thighs bunching, stomach tensed.
The thought of him bending me over and thrusting into me, right here…
“You little minx!” he ground out, panting as I pumped him once, then twice. “Take off your bra and panties. I need to see you.”
Not letting go of him, I peeled my panties down and off, then reached around to unclip my bra. Once released, my breasts hung, heavy and ripe, but the bra still obscured my aching nipples.
Grinning, Ryan reached over and hooked his finger under a strap, slicing through the lace with an extended claw. The claw retreated, leaving a masculine, definitely human fingernail in its place.
“Handy,” I said dryly, shrugging out of the now ruined lace.
“Sometimes,” he muttered, groaning and pulling me to him. “You’re a wicked minx, winding me up. Let’s see about getting you all soapy and wet.” Shoving open the door to the bathroom, he reached inside the large stall, fiddling with levels and knobs, until hot spray pounded the bathroom tiles. Tugging me inside, he pressed me up against the wall, the ceramic tiles cool against my back, a sharp contrast with the steaming, hot water sluicing down my head and dripping down my chest, and his hot, hard body slick against mine, his hands gripping me firmly, exploring my hips, moving down to my ass.
I lifted my leg, wrapping it around his hip, grinding myself against his length in mounting desperation. A needy cry fell from my lips as he licked and nibbled his way down my throat, his hands kneading my buttocks, pressing me even closer.
Letting my head fall back, I gave him access to my throat, my chest rising up to meet his hungry mouth, my nipples hardened into stiff peaks that he sucked, one by one, into his mouth, moving between them, teasing and taunting, until I felt like I could take no more.
Shifting, I reached between us, griping and stroking his steely length, rubbing the head with my thumb and guiding him between my legs.
“Not so fast,” he rumbled, breaking away from my breast. “I want this to last,” he muttered, sliding down my body, his hands holding me in place around my hips. Crouching before me, he slung one of my legs over his shoulder, spreading me wide before his eyes. Giving me no time to gather my thoughts, to prepare, he leaned forward, swiping his tongue through my folds, tasting the deepest part of me.
“I could spend the day down here,” he growled before burying his head between my thighs, his hands leaving my hips moving to work in tandem with his tongue, stroking and kissing, rubbing and licking.
I grabbed onto his wide shoulders, my nails digging deep into his skin as a strangled sound echoed around the bathroom, bouncing off the tiled walls. From me, I realized with a start as Ryan dragged the sound from me again, his tongue burying deep into my pussy, stabbing and licking relentlessly, driving me higher, my legs trembling, struggling to hold me up.
With a growl, Ryan rocked forward, pressing closer, his thumb rubbing over my clit. The growl finished me off, the vibrations hitting me like a tuning fork, rocketing me over the edge into oblivion.
I would have sunk to the floor in a puddle of bliss had Ryan not held me up, his strong arms supporting me. Sliding back up my body, his face smug and satisfied, he growled in my ear, his still-hard cock prodding against my stomach, demanding satisfaction. “I think we’re clean enough. Are you ready for round two?”
Not waiting for my answer, he lifted me, his chest muscles bunching, his abs straining in deep rivulets, and I had no choice but to wrap my shaking legs around him and cling on. Latching onto my lips, his mouth tangy with my taste, he proceeded to kiss me in the same way he had tongued my pussy, his tongue thrusting deep.
Shoving the shower door open, he strode across the room, his cock rubbing relentlessly against my core, the pressure that had just been released starting to build again.
I needed him inside me. Now! I wriggled in his arms, trying to coax him in, trying to angle just right…
Throwing me on the bed, he swiftly followed me down, covering me before I had even finished bouncing on the soft mattress. Kneeling between my thighs, he drew back, then I felt him probing at my entrance, the thick head stretching me wide. I was slick from my earlier passion, and he slid straight in. I was suddenly grateful for my earlier orgasm. It had relaxed me, preparing me to take him, and even now, he stretched me, filling me.
But it was not enough. I needed him to move! I grabbed his ass, urging him on, and tilted my hips up.
“With pleasure,” he grunted, and swiveling his hips, pulled back, then thrust forward again.
His cock dragged against my nerve endings, the angle catching my clit on the downward thrust, and I shuddered, wondering how the hell I was going to take any more. If I could take any more.
Then he sped up, his hips pistoning in and out, steamrollering me towards my next orgasm, the familiar tingling creeping down my spine, the tension rolling inside my belly, the sudden need to clench him tight and never let him go.
Gritting his teeth, he reared back, bracing on his arms, and stared down at me.
My rasping breath caught in my throat. His mouth was open, jaw tight with passion, yet he looked at me like I was the most important person in the world. Like I was his world.
&nb
sp; “I choose you, Amy Greenway-Taylor, to be my true mate, the other half of my soul. I will run with you, live with you, share my heart with you, and be true to you.” He spoke the words with love, but sadness shone in his eyes. Before I could react, he lurched forward, his teeth biting down into the soft skin above my collarbone.
Sensations flooded me, not my own, yet like mine, only amplified and mirrored. Sadness, raging lust, the need to mate, to claim, to protect. I felt it all, sweeping through me, sinking into me. One emotion eclipsed them all. Love, in its purest form. He loved me. And he loved Luke. I knew this like I knew my own heart. Loosing us would devastate him. But he would do it to protect us, to protect me.
I had to know. Now. “Is it there?” Please, please, please… “Ryan! Is it there?” I nearly screamed when he didn’t answer.
His face was scrunched up in concentration, his eyes closed tight.
My heart stuttered. I was going to lose him! I couldn’t lose him, not when I’d just found him!
Then he opened his eyes, the swirling silver staring down at me.
He opened his mouth.
***
Ryan
Her body fit me like a glove, her pussy welcoming me in, holding me tight. It took everything in me not to continue pumping, to erupt inside of her and fill her with my seed. The need to finish the mating clawed at me, dancing across my nerves like fire flickering across my skin.
But I needed to check, to see if the bond reached far enough, whether it included Luke.
I found the bond where I had left it. Stronger now, but not complete, it hung between Amy and me, linking us together, soul to soul. I swallowed hard, her taste still sweet on my tongue. I wanted more of that, I needed more of that. To never taste her again?
Stop being a big pussy then, and see if Luke’s bond is there, I lectured myself.
I could hear Amy pleading with me to tell her, so I gave myself a mental kick up the ass, and opened up my mind’s eye wider.
