“That you will.” He marched off, carried his woman a furlong or two farther downstream of the meadow, to a place where he was assured not one scent of another lay and they’d have all the privacy he right now needed. With great care, he laid her down next to the stream, set their bags on the grass and ducked under the bower of a bush, one which would provide them with a cozy amount of secluded area. He cleared the ground of any small twigs and the odd bit of debris then assured only the lush grass would be their bed, spread out his plaid, gently lifted her up and laid her down inside the warm cocoon he’d created.
Overhead the dark clouds separated and moonlight sprinkled through the bushy canopy of the bower. Weapons unstrapped and boots kicked off, he settled on his knees between her spread legs, his hands planted on the ground either side of her head as he gave himself up to his mate and the depth of their mated bond. She’d come to him a month ago in his dreams, visited him each and every night since and in doing so, swiftly weaved her way right into his heart. Unable to hold back, he kissed her again, this time a sweetly soft caress over her plump lips. “I want forever with you, my annoying sprite, only I’ve spent my entire lifetime protecting others by maintaining a certain distance from them. You keep hammering right through that distance and my defenses as well. I can’t keep holding those walls in place against you forever. Come back to me now. Give me tonight, and I’ll try to give you tomorrow too.”
With a sudden gasp, her back arching off his plaid, she returned. “What did you say?” She blinked her sooty lashes open, her bewitching blue eyes with those mesmerizing sparks of gold at the edges glinting as she glanced about the bower. “I found Ronan, tried to leave his cell and discover all I needed to, but I heard your call and returned first. What’s wrong and where are we?”
He desperately wanted to hear of her trip away, but so too he needed to explain his current actions. “We’re within calling distance of Cherub and Kirk, but still far enough away to ensure our absolute privacy.”
“Privacy?” She arched a brow. “What for?”
“I want to complete the bond with you, to have the merged link of the mind and be able to reach you at any moment, only I can’t promise anything beyond that point.” He loosened the ties of his leather jerkin, shrugged it over his shoulders then hauled his tunic over his head and tossed it aside. “I also have an admission to make, but first, tell me about Ronan.”
“He’s alive, although restrained within Duncan’s brother’s stronghold, deep within the dungeons. There is so much I have to tell you, but I also want to hear this admission you want to make.”
“You’re everything I could ever desire in a mate, ever hope to have and I’m clearly hurting you by withholding who I am. Are you willing to take small steps? I need to make certain I don’t pose a threat to you before we go any further than this one night.”
“I can accept small steps even though I know you’ll never pose a threat to me.” She spread one hand over his heart, drew a slow circle around it with her fingers. “I also clearly need to leave you more often if this is what it takes to make sure you hear my plea for more.”
“You’re truly willing to accept the bond with the proviso I’ve offered?” He’d give her only one more chance to back out.
“I’m beyond ready, and if you kiss me, then you’ll find out exactly how ready.”
Euphoria rose within him and he seized her mouth with his. Nay, Ronan. Did her brother need her to return? He had to let her go again if he did. “Your brother. Tell me more.”
“I awoke him and I was about to search farther afield from the dungeons and locate the entrance, but there is no way for me to return to him now until he once again sleeps. The guardsman keeps him from his rest. I am all yours at this moment.”
“As I am all yours.” He kissed her again, with all the desperate need he’d held back. Wildly, fervently, he got lost in the intense emotions rushing through him. She tasted so sweet, and he’d missed her, in the worst possible way. He had to make her his, to complete the bond and tie her to him in all ways. He’d have the right to touch her, as freely as any man did with his woman, and he couldn’t wait. Didn’t have to wait any longer. He tore her buttery-soft tan vest over her head.
“All I ask is that we take this slowly.” She grasped his hands as he reached for the hem of her tunic. “I’m no’ going anywhere at present. My body is yours, whether you wish to take small steps or no’. You are my mighty bear, always mine.”
“Then we’ll go slow.” He gentled his touch, lifted her tunic over her head with far more care than he had her vest. Her breasts bobbed free, her pink nipples beading tight and making his mouth water for a taste. “I want you, more than I could ever express with words.”
“I dinnae need the words, only your touch.”
Trailing one finger down her neck and between the valley of her breasts, he tried hard to give her the “slowly” she’d asked for. Only as she arched her back and thrust her breasts out farther, his thoughts completely scattered. He cupped the creamy fullness of both mounds then dived onto one sweet tip and sucked the luscious treasure deep inside his mouth. He ravaged the tip, flicked it with his tongue until it was wet and shiny and hard then he tortured her other nipple just as he’d done the first.
She whimpered and grasped his face, pulled his head up to her lips. “I feel so much.”
“I need to feel even more.” He kissed her, plundering the intoxicating recesses of her mouth. Touching her, having her body pressed against his was sheer heaven, a sensation he never wanted to be without. Hell, he couldn’t wait to strip the rest of her clothes from her, for them to be skin on skin. He stroked over her leather-clad hips, ripped the laces of her breeches open and hauled the tan leather down her legs and shucked them to one side. Golden curls covered the juncture between her thighs and he groaned at the mouth-watering sight. “You are the only one I want, always and forever, within my time and yours.”
“Slowly, remember?”
“Going slowly is about to kill me.” Although he’d try, or die trying. More kisses as he ravaged her mouth, his fingers sliding along the wet seam of her lower entrance. Her honey scent rose and smothered him and he lifted his head high and roared, his beast pushing for dominance. Fur rippled across his chest and down his arms, the dark pelt there one moment then gone the next as he shoved his bear back down. No more slowly. He shucked his pants and sensations stormed through him, his blood rushing hot and heavy straight to his painfully hard cock.
“Oh goodness.” Her breath whooshed out as she eyed his shaft standing at full attention.
“Got to have you.” He needed her, desperately, wasn’t sure how much longer he could wait. Aye, taking her and making her his right now was imperative.
Chapter 9
Annella lost her breath as Alec all but ripped his clothes off in his eagerness to join them together. She hadn’t lain with a man before and they needed to take things slowly and carefully, otherwise he’d hurt her when they joined together for the first time and if that happened, he’d blame himself and then she’d never get the chance to come together with him again in this way.
She pressed one palm to his bare chest where fur had rippled across his flesh only moments before, giving proof of just how very close his bear was to rising and taking over. “I’ve never been with a man and I want to experience only pleasure at your touch.”
“Help me.” He panted, chest heaving and his claws slicing out and back in.
“Mayhap you need to shift first.” She tried to push him back but he shook his head and closed the distance between them.
“No, what I need to do is kiss you again.” He growled under his breath, snatched his wrist dagger and pressed it into her hands. “Use this on me if you need to.”
She’d never be able to take a blade to him. She dropped it down beside her then gently, she stroked his shoulders and arms, the breadth of him so thick and strong and below the planes of his wide chest, his abs rippled, layer upon tight
layer. Itching to touch more of him, she tiptoed her fingers along the delicious trail of dark hair narrowing down his rigid belly then halted where it thickened around his manhood. Sweet heaven. He was far bigger than any man should be, although she’d find a way to fit all of him inside of her. She looked deep into his eyes, ran her thumbs across his warm lips and a whole lot breathless, murmured, “Be gentle with me.”
“Cut me or kick me in the balls if I’m not. That should at least get a response out of me that I won’t be able to miss.” He caught her hands, pressed them back against the plaid behind her head then rubbed his chest against her breasts. “You feel so good, your skin so soft and smooth.”
“Let me touch you, to try and calm your other half.” She drew in a deep breath, tugged on her trapped hands to free them but made not one dent in securing her release. “Let me free my hands or else I’ll kick you in the balls right now.” Something she’d never be able to do, but telling him so, would hopefully be enough.
“One moment.” He lifted up a touch, let her hands go then dug his claws into the ground to keep himself from trapping her again. “Done.”
“I have an admission I’d like to make too since we’re being brutally honest.” Looking deep into his eyes, she cupped his hips and stroked over his backside. “Having lived amongst so many warriors there have been times I’ve accidentally stumbled across them coupling with maids in the woods. Once, I wasnae nearly quick enough to leave and I witnessed far more than I should have.”
“What did you see?” He dipped his head and kissed her, with breathless urgency, his desire still clearly beating at him even though she’d tried to distract him a touch with their conversation.
A whole lot breathless, she broke their kiss and murmured, “The warrior dived in under the lass’s skirts and she fairly screamed with the pleasure he bestowed upon her.”
“Even though I’ve never slept with a woman, not when our shifter kind always waits for our chosen one, I’m not unaware of what happens either. I can’t wait to dive under your skirts, that’s if you ever wore them, which I’m not asking you to, and by the way, if you’re trying to slow me down with this kind of talk, then I can tell you right now it’s not working. I have to touch you, Annella. All of you.”
“I’ll find a way to tame your other half. I want this joining to be the first of many between us, for you to never fear hurting me, and I promise I’ll wear skirts for you at some point in time, just so you can dive under them.”
“For now you’re not wearing anything at all and I say let the diving begin.” Claws extracted from the ground, he stroked down her body, caressed her arms and her sides before he scooped her bottom and licked along her inner thighs. He rumbled his pleasure, his eyes ablaze with the shifter gold as he locked gazes with her. He separated her folds below, appeared ready to devour her, as if he intended to leave not one inch of her body untouched and liquid heat rushed through her and pooled in her core. She arched into him and he moaned and licked his lips. “There is a feast awaiting me right here and I’m about to lose my mind at just the sight of you.”
“Then feast as you please.” Clearly there was no slowing him or his other half down. Longing, desire, and a complete and utter need for him consumed her as well, a myriad of intense emotions that tumbled one over the other within her. No more would she live centuries apart from him. No more would she visit him within the dream realm when she’d rather be standing at his side each and every day, whether that be in her time or his. Alec was hers and tonight, she intended to forge a new future, one in which they lived only at each other’s sides. She wouldn’t tell him yet though, not when he’d asked only for small steps, but she would share her hopes and dreams with him when the right time presented itself.
“Thank you, my sprite.” Fingers firm on her legs, he hooked them over his shoulders until her bottom lifted right off the plaid and she lay completely and fully exposed to him, his silky midnight-black hair brushing sensually against her skin as he bent his head between her open thighs. “There is nothing more tempting and beautiful than what lies before me. You’re so pink and lush, and weeping. It’s all for me, only me. Are you ready?”
“Always.”
“Good answer.” He eased one finger inside her folds then went deep, his delicious, carnal touch making her wriggle down against him for more and he obliged, stroking inside her channel then rubbing his thumb across her nub. He touched his tongue to the place where her mounting pleasure stemmed from and she grasped his head and moaned as he sucked her nub between his lips and devoured her.
Such intense sensations stormed through her as her chosen one knelt between her legs, his balls drawing tighter and higher into a thatch of black curls covering the apex of his groin. He was beautiful, big and sexy, sinfully scary and all hers. Feasting her gaze on every inch of him, she took in his very large cock, the plump head darkening and a drop of his essence leaking from the tip. She reached down, gently palmed his balls then stroked his length.
“You taste incredible.” With one low growl, he lifted up a little, pushed her knees farther apart then dived back and consumed her. He thrust his tongue inside, rumbled as more of her heat pooled at her core then lapped, greedily. He devoured her and she wouldn’t have been able to stop him for the world, didn’t wish to either.
She bucked as he stroked harder and faster and she clutched his head as he spread her legs even wider and continued to take and take. He licked her flesh in the most intimate way, increasing her pleasure with every swipe of his tongue. ’Twas such exquisite torture, her desire for more rising to a staggering height. He sucked and she arched, could no longer hold on to the here and now.
“Alec.” She cried out his name as she flew, her core pulsing as wave after wave of wild pleasure barreled through her. She soared and a stunning display of vivid colors burst behind her closed eyelids. Her body thrummed until she slowly came back down.
“That was beautiful to see.” He kissed her mound, nibbled upward, over her belly until his nose brushed the underside of her breasts. He cupped both mounds, thumbed the peaking tips then sucked one nipple before moving languorously to the other.
“You seem to have calmed a touch.”
“Feeling you come around my tongue helped tremendously.” He caught her hand, nuzzled her palm then bit the center and soothed the bite with his tongue. With his gaze lifted to hers, he smiled. “I feel less on edge, would feel even less so if I could make you come on my tongue all over again.”
“I’m no’ sure if I could move if you did that a second time.” Her limbs had turned to jelly.
“Please?” He twined their fingers together. “You’re mine to make love with, mine to devour, mine to consume. Heart, body and soul, I want all of you.”
“What happened to your small steps?”
“Try and walk away from me right now and I’ll tackle you to the ground.”
“I see.” Tears misted her gaze and she sniffed. “Try and walk away from me right now, and I’ll tackle you to the ground as well.”
“I need to embed my scent into you, and for yours to be embedded in me.” He licked higher, over the tops of her breasts, her neck then along her lower lip. “Your intoxicating aroma is settling my bear.”
“There’s no stopping this bond or what is to come.” She rubbed her breasts against the wicked heat of his chest then traced one finger over the mark she’d placed earlier on his neck. The need to bite him again, to ensure her mark was brought back to vivid and blazing life, rolled fiercely through her.
She stroked his bulging biceps then down his sides and back up again over the solid breadth of his back. His body, all superbly honed muscle and rippling strength, was all hers to touch and adore. Gently, she cupped his face in her hands, his delicious mouth and fevered gaze drawing her ever deeper into him. This was the most beautiful place, right here under this bower, the moon shining high above and the stream trickling only a few feet away. The lush grass underneath her made the softest bed
and the man on top of her, the most heart-melting covering. Never would she relinquish him or their bond. “I love being here with you.”
“I need to bite you again, to stamp my mark on you so everyone knows you’re mine.” He tipped her head to one side and licked her neck, sucked her skin deep inside his mouth then with his teeth firm on her flesh, he bit down and marked her.
Her core rippled with pleasure and she opened her heart fully to him, her need to meld their lives together consuming her. “Bite me again,” she whispered as she sank her fingers into his hair. “Now.”
“I will, over and over until you tell me to stop. Bite me the same time as I bite you.” He palmed the back of her head and drew her mouth toward his neck while he settled his own mouth once more against her flesh. He licked over her skin and she nibbled the sensitive hollow where his shoulder and neck met. His pulse throbbed under her tongue and she scraped her teeth back and forth. She needed to brand him completely and fully as hers.
“Alec, I wish to be yours, to hold you deep within me, to be a part of you, just as you will be a part of me. Forge the merged link of the mind and ensure we need never be parted again. Take me now.”
“I can’t take away the initial pain of our joining.” He stroked down her sides, nudged her legs farther apart with his knees. With his shaft in hand, he rubbed the thick head against her wet folds below. Hot and slick, he continued to caress her tingling flesh with his cock alone and she rocked, her hips moving of their own accord.
“Then you’ll need to make it up to me later.” Hungry for more, she sucked on his neck, clamped down on him and bit him and as she did, he bucked and moaned against her. A low rumble vibrated in his chest and she hooked her legs around the backs of his legs and gripped his butt. “Make us one.”
“Aye, no more shall we be apart.” Determination flared in his gaze and he grasped her hips, thrust deep inside her and tore through her barrier below in one fast move.
Highlander's Sword: Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Clan Matheson Book 3) Page 12
