by Ava Hunt
The look on Rayner's face changed as he evaluated her. "Are you serious?" He said. "What about the Council?"
"Fuck the Council. Let's do it. I'm tired of the back-and-forth. If it will get you off my back and make you leave me alone, I'm ready."
Rayner took her hand, and led her away from the crowd.
They took his truck, and rode in silence. Jeneva stewed with anger. He had always ignored her advances. Why was she so important now? Why was she suddenly on his radar? Whatever the reason, she was going to take advantage of it. He pulled up to his trailer on his isolated land, and opened her door for her. But he didn't wait until they got inside. He pulled her into a rough kiss that sent a shock through her from head to toe. She jumped him, and they tumbled to the ground.
Roughly, he lifted her shirt over her head and embraced her bosom. She moaned, and pulled him closer to him, desperately. She ripped his flannel shirt open, and pulled it off of his muscled arms. He smelled like pine and musk. The scent drove her wild. They rolled in the grass, undressed each other, and embraced.
A pale red flush spread across her chest as his hand went down her body, fingering her lightly, his raw animal lust taking over. She was dripping wet for him, wanting him everywhere.
His lips fluttering everywhere on her, his tongue licking slow trails from her breasts to navel, until finally it flicked over her clit, sending pulses of energy throughout her body. Her thighs were twitching from anticipation and she was panting from want.
"Please, Rayner," Jeneva whispered into his hot skin.
"Please what?" he growled at her.
"Please fuck me," she said, her voice barely audible as she looked into those steely eyes of his. It is then she felt him, his hand fishing out his rigid cock, plunging it deep inside her for the first time. The intenseness is too much as he holds the base and fucked her with it as if it were a toy.
His rhythm changed; sometimes just teasing the head of his cock in and out of her tight hole, and at other times plunging the full mass of it in, stretching her. Every time she got just to the edge of cumming, he slowed, making her wait. Making her beg for it. He still had her held in one position, using her as he'd always wanted. One hand binding her hands above her head, unable to touch him or herself, as his other hand worked his massive cock inside her.
"Please," she whispers again, as he continued to work the tightness that was there, stretching her fuller and fuller, until she's dripping with need. He unwrapped his hand and plunged his entire length inside her, filling her even fuller than before as that hand goes to rub her clit in circles.
Finally, before either of them could think about the consequences, his inner bear roared to life, sinking just enough of his teeth in to hold her in place. The intensity of the act proved too much for Jeneva, her thighs give, her lips part in a moan, and she cried out with the force of the orgasm as she felt her body pulse around his cock.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized what happened, but clinched her eyes tight together and holds on even harder.
"Oh God yes, Jeneva," she heard in her ear, as he slammed intently into her, over and over.
Chapter Six
Jeneva and Rayner lay naked on the grass under the stars in Reserve Park. Rayner's body was wrapped around hers. They were mated now. It happened so suddenly. He belonged to her. And it felt wonderful, much better than she had expected. But it was wrong, wasn't it?
Jeneva looked over at Rayner and felt waves of peace and calm rush through her heart. He wasn't wrong. This was the right thing to do.
Rayner noticed her looking at him. "What?"
"So now what? Are we going to have cubs?"
Rayner was tracing a small circle on her shoulder with his finger.
"Should we?" He was silent. "I want them with you, Jeneva. But maybe the time isn't right now. Soon, though. I want you to carry my cubs soon."
Jeneva hugged him tight and laid her head on his chest, feeling it rise and fall with his breath. She wanted his cubs too. She wanted to grow them in her body and feel his love grow for her everyday. But what about her defect? What about the Council? None of it seemed to matter. His arms around her felt tense, and his heart was racing. She sat up quickly, "This bothers you? Us being together like this?"
Rayner lay back, looking up at her. The stars were bright over her head in the darkness. He could just make out her eyes by the light of the moon. He couldn't explain to her just how much he wasn't bothered. This was what his heart needed. She was what his heart needed. He wanted to make her understand that her place was with him. He took one of her hands in his and placed it on his heart. "This has been really hurt."
"I know. Lorna left you and killed off your cubs."
Rayner stroked her arms, "I couldn't go through that again, Jeneva. That was the worst moment of my life. Knowing that the woman I loved didn't want a part of me growing inside of her? Knowing that she could break that trust so easily? It almost broke me. If it happened again... "
"I wouldn't do that to you, Rayner. Never." Jeneva felt confident in the words as she said them, knowing them to be true. He was filling a part of her that she hadn't known was empty and needing. He was right after all. There was a huge part of life that she knew nothing about. She realized that now she was about to start learning about it. The good, the bad, and the ugly. "I'm yours, okay? We mated and there's no turning back now. I want you, and I want your cubs inside my body. When you're ready, I'm ready too."
Rayner closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the weight of her words sink into him like a protective balm. She was his strength. Jeneva lay back beside him. He hugged her tight, protective of her, and a jolt of fear went through his chest. This was a huge mistake. The thoughts raced through his mind. She was wonderful, but she was too fragile. Her brother would have words to say too, and worse. The Council would probably punish them severely. Everyone would know that he was a cradle-snatcher. But this feeling running through him made it all not seem to matter. It was puzzling. His heart felt so joyful and full, and right. This felt right. But it was definitely wrong.
How could he have not recognized that he was making her his mate? He groaned internally, kicking himself. The urge came too fast. Only after he bit her did he realize what he had done. And Jeneva was right: there was no turning back from this point. What was done was done.
Jeneva's body fit perfectly with his. He felt himself desiring her again, heat running through his chest. Again, he tried to bring himself out of it, this possessive feeling he had, this urge to be with her at all times, now. He wanted to keep her safe from the other Bears, but what about him? He wasn't easy to get along with. He didn't want to hurt her either.
In the morning, Rayner took Jeneva back to her place. They held hands on the ride back, and hugged before she went inside.
"Don't worry, Jaime won't beat you up too bad," Jeneva said. She went inside. Rayner waited on the porch, hands in his jean pockets. It only took a few moments to hear Jaime yelling inside, "He WHAT?"
The door slammed open, and Jaime was at his throat, his hands wrapped in Rayner's collar. "What the hell did you do to my sister?" Jaime snarled menacingly, inches from Rayner's face.
Rayner tried to stay calm, tried not to shift to where words wouldn't matter. Jaime was bigger and more dangerous than him when he was a Bear and he wasn't in a good mood. Jeneva watched the two men from the doorway.
"I'm sorry, Jaime," he said, meaning it. "I had to, she's my mate."
"Your what?" Jaime released his shirt and stepped back in shock.
"Jeneva, is this true?"
Jeneva nodded, "It's true, Jaime. He bit me. We're mated."
"I didn't want it to happen like this," Rayner started.
"You shouldn’t have wanted it to happen at all!" Jaime raged. "She's my baby sister, and you're my best friend. How am I supposed to trust you now?"
"I don't know, Jaime. You don't. But what's happened, happened. I'm in your family now. We're brothers."
> "Fuck," Jaime ran a hand through his hair. The color was calming down in his face. "The Council is not going to like this."
"We'll talk to them," Jeneva said, and came out of the doorway towards Rayner. Rayner took her hand, and felt that now familiar surge of joy course through him. "They'll have to accept it."
"Fuck what they think, I don't like it," Jaime looked at the two of them. "But, what's done is done. Welcome to the family, Rayner."
Rayner sighed with relief and hugged his Alpha. "Thanks, Jaime. Thanks for understanding."
"I'm not being understanding," Jaime laughed. "I just know when I'm beat. Jeneva, George called earlier to check on you. I think he'll be by in about five minutes."
Rayner and Jeneva exchanged a look. "I'll clear out," Rayner said. "I don't want to cause any more problems today." He kissed Jeneva on the cheek. "Call me when you're finished."
Jeneva smiled. Rayner headed off to his truck and drove away. Jeneva followed Jamie into the house.
"I was wondering where you two disappeared to yesterday," Jaime mumbled. "I should have known something like this would happen."
"Why?" Jeneva took her shoes off and relaxed cross-legged on the sofa.
"I saw the way he looked at you. Even the way he punched Tommy a month ago. I tried to tell myself he was just protecting you."
"He was protecting me."
"Yeah, but for his own, selfish reasons. I never imagined he would think of you that way. But, I guess you did grow up to be kind of hot. Damn, why was I so blind!"
"Shut up!" Jeneva threw a pillow at him. Jaime caught it and threw it back. "I'll give you and George some space to catch up. He hasn't seen you for a month, either. But he called the house nearly every damn day looking for you."
"I know," Jeneva said. "I talked to him yesterday. It was... awkward."
"Well, I'm going to head out for a while. I feel the need to take all this aggression out on somebody. Since I can't kill your new mate, guess I'll go kill us something to eat for dinner."
"See you," Jeneva rolled her eyes.
George pulled up on the property just as Jaime was pulling away. He parked in Jaime's spot.
"Hi, George..." Jeneva let him in. "I have something to tell you."
"Me too," George sat down on the sofa beside her, his eyebrows were tight and the corners of his mouth turned down. "Look, about yesterday. It was bad timing. I wanted to tell you here, in your home. I didn't want to tell you in the middle of a crowd like that."
"George, it's okay..."
"No, Jen, listen. I've loved you for a long time. I can't even remember how long anymore. Every time I sleep I see you. Every time I wake you're the first thing on my mind."
Jeneva groaned internally. Why was he making this so much harder?
"Look, George," she cut him off. "My mate is Rayner. Not you."
George stared at her, his mouth moving. Finally he said, "Are you kidding?"
"No, I'm not," Jeneva set her jaw. "We left the cookout yesterday, and we mated."
George turned from her and clasped his hands. "I just made a fool of myself."
"No, you didn't," Jeneva started to say.
"Don't try to make me feel better!" George said. "So, where did you guys go?"
"To his place."
"And you just left us there without saying goodbye or anything?"
"We were kind of in a rush," Jeneva felt her face growing hot, remembering the moment. She was relieved when the house phone rang. "Uh, wait here, okay? Let me go answer that."
"Sure," George said, looking at his hands. Jeneva went to the kitchen to answer the phone. George sat, looking at the things on the table. An ashtray for smokers, her house keys, and her cell phone.
George looked over his shoulder, and grabbed her phone. He opened up her text messages and sent himself a text on his phone. Then, he replied back from his phone. He sent a last text message to himself from her phone. He erased the messages from her phone and set it back on the table.
Jeneva came back into the room.
"Who was that?" George pocketed his phone.
"Zula Bell from the Council. Rayner visited them today."
"What did she say?" George asked, hooking a hand around his knee.
"Well, a lot. When Rayner and I have cubs..." Jeneva's cheeks tingled. "… I'll have to have a special obstetrician for the cubs. They want me to come in the morning. It turns out Rayner has the same defect as me, the one that's been plaguing our kind. They just want to make sure the cubs will be born healthy."
"Did Rayner get in... trouble or anything?" George asked.
"No," Jeneva smiled. "It sounds like everything's going to be okay."
"Okay. I mean, that's good, Jen. Real good. I'm going to take off now so, see you around soon I guess. You're not leaving for Brazil anymore?"
"Oh no, definitely not," Jeneva stood. "I'll have to call down there and tell them I'm not coming."
"Okay. Well, goodbye then."
"Bye, George," Jeneva shut the door behind him.
Chapter Seven
Jeneva woke up feeling refreshed and happy. The first thing she did was make a long-distance call to Father Mallory in Brazil. He understood, but her spot would be open if she changed her mind again. She reassured him that that wasn't going to happen. She did a load of laundry, folded the clothes and put them away, changed the linens, and swept her room. When everything was clean, she made breakfast.
"You're energetic this morning. Is it that good?" Jaime picked up a piece of toast and smeared butter on it.
"Having a mate is really good. I feel happy all of the time. I don't know why."
"That's because you don't remember health class. In school, they taught you, 'Your mate is your health and your happiness,' remember?" Jaime sat down and watched her cook eggs and bacon.
"No, I don't remember that," Jeneva said.
"Well, let me fill you in, since you're so forgetful," Jaime took a piece of cooked bacon. Jeneva stuck out her tongue at him. "'Your mate is your health and your happiness. Biologically, your body floods with oxytocin, to keep you in a bonded state. Your pleasure will increase and it will double when you become pregnant with cubs to ensure you remain a lifetime pair.'"
"That's interesting," Jeneva made her brother a plate with bacon, eggs, and toast. "It's just natural? I feel amazing."
"Of course, it can be interrupted. Like if one mate leaves for example," Jaime said. "It's rare because the bond is strong. But if one mate leaves, it becomes like torture. For both of them. The body will torture you until you get back together. That's probably why Rayner had such a hard time after Lorna left and aborted her cubs. It could still be a problem, you know."
"What's that?" Jeneva chewed on the eggs.
"Well, mate loss leaves scars. Those scars don't ever fully heal. I think he knows that. That's probably why he held you at arm's length for so long."
"So what should I do about that?" Jeneva shrugged. "He should be happy now, right?"
"I hope so. But having you now, might make things worse instead of better. At least for a while. If I remember science class right, all those old pleasure points are going to be flooding with feelings again. It's going to take some time for him to adjust to it. He may push you away or act out. I don't want you getting hurt and I can't always be around to protect you."
"I don't need protecting, Jaime. I'll be fine."
"Okay," Jaime helped himself to more toast. "Just be careful, sis. Have you all made plans yet? As far as cubs go?"
Jeneva's face heated up. "We're going to go slow."
"That's for the best. Give yourselves time to get used to each other. Then add in that extra joy. The cubs will be pretty cute, just like you."
"Yeah... speaking of that, I think he went to see the Council yesterday, because Zula called here. They just want me to go to the doctor today."
"That's it? You got off light with them."
"Rayner must have had a good argument. They weren't mad at all, they'r
e just concerned about the health of the cubs since we have the same genetic defect."
"What time do you have to go to the doctor?"
"Um..." Jeneva looked at the clock. "About now."
"Alright," Jaime took his car keys off the table. "I'll drive you over. Come on."
The medical office was based in the same building as the Council. Jeneva bristled, remembering how unpleasant it felt the last time she was here. But this time was going to be different.
"I'll wait here," Jaime said. "Go on. Call me when you're finished and I'll wake up from my nap."
