A Bond to Bear

by Harmony Raines

  She swallowed, the lump in her throat, her desire, too much for her. That was her problem, she did desire him, and she wanted things to be different between them. Why had he offered her money, why hadn’t he simply asked her out on a date?

  Glancing out of the window, she watched the trees as they thickened, becoming a barrier to the outside world, the world they had left behind. Up here, they would be in a world of their own, cocooned from everything and anyone, and she decided to enjoy herself, let herself experience what he had to offer.

  If she could forget about the size of her bank balance, a thing she had agonized and worried over for so long, but for completely opposite reasons, then she might be able to fool herself and Jared into thinking she was girlfriend material.

  She could, after all, pay the money back.

  Couldn’t she? In the few hours since the money had transferred into her account, she had managed to feel free for the first time since her mom’s accident. To give it back would be to choose to go back to her old life of two jobs and no free time. Certainly that life would leave her no time for a boyfriend. Especially one like Jared Sinclair.

  She let out a small groan. Then immediately tried to cover it with a cough.

  However, he had heard her and asked, “What’s wrong? The thought of being in my bed not so appealing now we are nearly there?”

  She wasn’t sure if he was joking. As the trees grew thicker, the light filtering through became dimmer, and the interior of the car was only light enough to make out his profile, not his expression.

  “No,” she said too quickly. “I agreed to it, didn’t I?”

  “Then what?” he asked.

  “Nothing.” She shook her head.

  “If I give you another hundred, would you tell me?”

  It was as if he had slapped her around the face. “You bought my body for the weekend, that does not mean you own my thoughts.”

  “I’m sorry, that was a crass joke, and I didn’t mean it.” He swore under his breath, and the car stopped suddenly.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, letting the panic creep into her voice.

  “You are a distraction, Kelly. One I hope this weekend will purge me of.”

  “I don’t understand,” she said, trying to work out exactly what he saw in her that no one, especially another man, ever had. It wasn’t as if she was ugly, but she was no stunning high society beauty either. She wore minimal makeup, cheap clothes, and sensible shoes. There was nothing obvious about her that could tempt a man like Jared. Nothing at all.

  “I missed the turn.” He placed his hand on the back of her seat, his body swiveled towards hers, and she inhaled, taking in the scent of the man. Her mouth watered; his expensive cologne wasn’t enough to mask the pure maleness of his own unique tang. She closed her eyes and took in the musky scent of his skin, she could imagine him out here in the wild; he smelled of pine trees and grass, of fresh air and dark moonless nights.

  Her eyes flew open as the car turned sharply and they began the last part of their journey along a wooded track, filled with potholes. When she looked behind her, it was as if the whole world was closing in on them, blocking her escape.

  “Do you own the cabin?” she asked.

  “Yes. I bought it a few years ago for when I need some privacy and to get away from everything.”

  “I thought you were a workaholic.”

  “I am, at least I have been. But things change, people change, everyone needs an escape.”

  “I thought you would find your escape in fine wine and beautiful women. Not an isolated cabin … and me.”

  “I don’t always enjoy my life. I find business tiresome. Maybe I need to retire.” She thought he was joking, until he looked at her sharply and added, “I would appreciate your discretion in that.”

  “Of course.” He did know she had a lot more to be indiscreet about than his possible retirement. Didn’t he?

  “I’ve worked to build the company up since my dad left. I think in many ways you and I are the same, Miss Hanson.”

  “Is that why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why you’ve done what you’ve done … the money. Why you’ve brought me here. To what? Your private love nest.”

  They had reached the cabin now. It was situated in a clearing with wildflowers all around it, making it look like something out of a fairy tale. She could just imagine Goldilocks running out of it with the three bears chasing her.

  Tearing her eyes away from it, she turned to see him staring at her, his voice deadly serious when he spoke. “I have never brought any other woman here.”

  “I’m sorry. I just assumed.”

  “I need you to know that, Kelly. I need you to understand what you are to me.”

  “What I am to you?” she asked, her voice almost extinguished by the growing panic inside her.

  “Yes.” But before he told her exactly what she was to him, his hand was on the back of her seat, and he leaned across the small space between them, his mouth hovering over hers. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

  It seemed such a weird thing to say, and he hesitated, making her question whether he had changed his mind. Her eyes lowered to look at his lips, and she involuntarily flicked her tongue out to moisten her lips in readiness. She wanted to know what his lips felt like pressed against hers more than anything in this world, except maybe to feel him inside her.

  “This is the point when you tell me it’s what you want too.”

  “What?” she asked, sounding like an imbecile.

  “I am not going to force myself on you.”

  “You paid me the money.”

  “And if I hadn’t? Would you be here with me?”

  “Yes.”

  Chapter Nine – Jared

  Driving here, he thought over how he wanted things to work out. He knew how the fated mate thing worked, and it had never held much interest to him. Yes, of course he wanted to find his mate. However, after what had happened with his father, when Jared found out his own mate was a human too, he had decided that the only way to stop her straying was to have some kind of control over her. When he found out about her family, and how hard she worked to look after them, he realized this was how he could leverage his control.

  His offer had been generous, he knew that. He also knew that the money would soon be gone on the debts the family had accrued and on medical help for her mom’s bad back. If he could make her see that if she played things his way, he would keep her as his mistress, then he would never have to worry about her straying. He would become like a drug to her; he would be her addiction.

  Yet as he sat there, with her lips only an inch away, he understood that it was he who was addicted. That was something he couldn’t afford. He had to be strong, although when he tried to be, he had failed. The words that had come out of his mouth, those talking about a future together, and hinting about giving up work had come from a stranger.

  Or from his bear.

  Of course, his bear wanted them to be together, their lives intertwined, for her to be always in his bed. But Jared knew that this relationship was one-sided; only half of it knew the desperate need to have a mate in their life. And that half wasn’t Kelly.

  Maybe he should have backed off, told her he had made a mistake, and driven her straight back to the city. She could have kept the money; it meant nothing to him. Even if she blabbed about the whole thing, he didn’t care, his ego could take it. However, as hard as he tried to summon up the strength to turn her away, he just didn’t have it in him.

  So it was with defeat in his heart, not triumph that he eased forward, closing the distance between them, and kissed her for the first time. It took only a split second for him to know that the taste of her, the scent of her, would bind him to her. If he wasn’t careful, he was about to be completely lost to a woman who had no idea what she meant to him. Or even what he was.

  The softest of sighs escaped her lips, and his cock hardened in his pants. He wanted to make
her more than sigh, he wanted to claim her as his mate and damn the consequences, he would deal with them later. Right now he wanted to live in the present, not the past, and most definitely not the future.

  He moved his tongue along her lower lip, pressing for entrance into her soft, warm mouth, and she granted it. Seeking out her tongue, he flicked his over hers and then led her on a dance, their tongues entwining. He felt her shiver, and hoped it was desire, not disgust she felt for him.

  Kelly moved, her hands going to both of his arms as if for support, and she grasped at the fabric of his shirt, pressing her body forward. He took full advantage, his right hand sliding along her thigh, and then dipping down between them seeking out her heat, and her need. She eased her thighs apart, allowing him access, allowing his him to press his fingers against her mound, and rub her there until she whimpered.

  Breaking off their kiss, he lowered his head and nipped her breasts through her clothes, his teeth grazing the hardened bud of her nipple. Kelly threw her head back and offered herself to him. He hadn’t anticipated her wanting him so much. Jared had assumed he would have to coax her into his bed; instead, she was filled with a need that seemed as great as his.

  Perfect mates, his bear said.

  Jared reluctantly agreed, although he still would not admit to actually wanting her in his life. His bed, yes, his life, no.

  Pressing the button of his seatbelt, and then hers, he freed them both. Then he opened his car door, kicking it wide, and lifted her across the seats and into his arms as he straightened. Effortlessly, he carried her over to the small cabin he used as an escape when he wanted to run as his bear, free of his human life.

  When he told her he had never brought a woman here before, it was the truth. This was his special place, a place of escape, but it seemed right to share it with Kelly. She rested her head on his chest as he opened the front door, and went inside. He didn’t stop, but took her straight to the bedroom and laid her on the bed.

  For so many nights he had lain awake imagining this moment, and now it was here. A surge of confidence rushed through him, he was going to make sure she never wanted another man but him. He would make sure she never strayed, that no man could ever satisfy her like he could.

  Those words came from deep inside him; his bear was talking again. Shutting his four-legged beast out of his thoughts, he moved to kneel on the bed, wanting this to be between him and Kelly. He wasn’t in the mood for sharing.

  His hands made swift work of removing her clothes. Kelly had to lift her bottom up for him to drag her skirt down over her thighs, and he only felt a moment of hesitation in her when he hooked his fingers through the elastic of her panties and yanked them off as well.

  She lay naked before him, and he had never seen anyone more beautiful, nothing so desirable. It hurt, just how much he wanted her.

  Leaning over her, he pressed his lips to the soft flesh of her stomach, and slipped his fingers between her legs to feel her heat. He didn’t know how long he was going to be able to hold on without fucking her, but he wanted her to know her pleasure was paramount in his mind.

  However, when her hand closed around his cock, still encased in his pants, things got a little bit jumbled.

  Chapter Ten – Kelly

  He had the mouth and fingers of a god, but she wanted to see what else he had, and how out of control she could make him feel. It only seemed fair since he was driving her wild. His fingers moved in and out of her sex, grazing her inner walls, making her arousal so intense she knew she would come soon. When his mouth moved up, over her fleshy belly, reaching her voluptuous breasts, the intensity of her emotions raged through her, and her hand grasped him harder.

  She felt his breath hiss against her skin, and this urged her on. Sliding her hand higher, she covered the head of his cock, stimulating him, moving her hand until his hips thrust forward as he tried to fuck her hand. Wanting to feel his silky flesh, she undid his zipper, and then pushed her hand inside, grasping him firmly, wanting him to know that she could keep a cool head, even when Jared was licking her nipples with the flat of his tongue, before grazing his teeth across them.

  Her orgasm raced towards her. She tried to deny it, but when he hit the magic spot inside her sex at the exact moment his thumb rubbed the sensitive nerves of her clit, she came. In response, her hand squeezed his cock hard. Kelly tried to maintain a rhythm, but she was lost.

  Round one of self-control to Jared Sinclair.

  He took her into the abyss and made sure she could not escape. His fingers moved roughly inside her sex, while he sucked on her breasts. Her hips bucked as she tried to ease the tension in her body, and then the wave swept over her, and she was left stranded on the shore. This was his first conquest of her body. It would not be the last. She sincerely hoped it would not be the last.

  As if to answer her question, he pulled back, moving away from her, to strip his clothes off in a blur. She only had a couple of minutes to recover, before he was on the bed next to her, lifting her to kneel in front of him.

  Kelly felt the press of his cock against her sex, and then he thrust forward, filling her completely. He stilled, and she looked behind her, wanting to see his face. His eyes were closed and a look of intense rapture covered his face. She had thought he was trying to make her feel better by telling her how much he wanted her, but if his expression meant anything, he was telling the truth.

  Confused, she watched him pull back out of her, the sense of emptiness hitting her, before he thrust forward again. Each powerful stroke swept over her, and she had to brace herself, to stop herself spilling forward onto the bed. Jared moved his hands to her hips, and held her in place as the thrusts grew more intense.

  In and out, he lunged, hard, rough, circling his hips to stretch her, his need intense, sweeping her along on a tide of emotion. He wanted her, he wanted to bury himself in her and lose himself. Until this moment she hadn’t been able to believe it. His mouth might lie, but his body didn’t.

  In one last thrust, he came. Filling her with his seed, he cried out, an agonizing sound, primal in its need. Then he slumped forward, his mouth kissing her back, his hands stroking her skin. Her orgasm was unspent, and she ached for more.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I lost control.”

  “It’s OK. You paid for the pleasure, after all.” She closed her eyes, wiping those thoughts away.

  “That’s not why I paid you, Kelly.”

  “Then why?” She moved away from him, but he caught her, his hand going around her waist and he lifted her so she sat in his lap, facing away from him, her legs tucked around his thighs.

  “Not now,” he said, kissing her neck softly.

  “Why not now?”

  “Because I didn’t satisfy you. And that was selfish of me.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she said, trying to wriggle free, but he held her close.

  “It does to me.”

  Holding her tightly, he rocked his hips, and she felt him harden inside her, swelling to fill her sex. Jared kissed her back, his lips sending shivers down her spine, and her arousal grew to match his.

  “You are beautiful,” he whispered in her ear, his breath the softest of caresses across her skin.

  She closed her eyes. She wanted to be beautiful, wanted to be the person he saw when he looked at her. Kelly wanted this all to be real: so much it hurt.

  Jared stroked her stomach, and then his fingers moved down to cover her mound, a light touch across her clit, but he drove her wild. Using his other hand, he cupped her breast, and brushed his thumb over her nipple, until her hips bucked as the sensations became too much.

  Moving up and down on his cock, she closed her eyes and leaned back against him for support. Every nerve ending in her body was on fire. As she moved, her body settling into a hypnotic rhythm as she sought out her climax, she began to whimper, which became a cry, it was all too much.

  His hands, mouth, and cock were instruments of torture and pleasure combined. She wanted
him to stop, but she needed him to go on, to take her to the edge and throw her off, to let her drown in his touch, in his scent, and in the words he whispered in her ear. Words he couldn’t possibly mean, but words she would hold onto forever; even when this was over and she was back at home, surrounded by her old life.

  When she came, it was a release: a letting go of the tension in her body, of her fears that he was some kind of madman intent on hurting her, and of the sense she wasn’t worthy. The last one took her by surprise. She allowed the sense of pure pleasure to wash over her, her sex gripping his hardness, tensing around him, until he thrust upwards, hard into her, and she felt his seed fill her again.

  Only when he was utterly spent, did he let her lie down on the bed. He tenderly covered her with a warm blanket, kissing her bare shoulder.

  Then he left her, going out of the bedroom, leaving her feeling used and dirty.

  Chapter Eleven – Jared

  Grabbing his clothes, he left the room, and headed to the kitchen. There he placed both hands on the counter and leaned over, feeling lightheaded. What the hell was wrong with him? He had let her get under his skin; he had allowed her to make him want more.

  The first time he fucked her it had been hard, raw, and he had left her wanting. In an effort to make up for it, he had made love to her. Love. That wasn’t part of the deal. Yes, he wanted her to want no other man, but not because of love, he had seen what that did to a person. He had seen it firsthand in his mom.

  Shaking his head, he got dressed, and then filled the kettle with water and placed it on the stove. He needed coffee, that was his problem; he needed caffeine to flood his brain and make him focus. The day had been stressful, and unexpected.

  Excuses, his bear told him.

  Whatever, was his reply.

  Could he feel any worse? Yes. He could. If he let her in, let her get under his skin, and then she walked away like his dad had, he would feel worse. So much worse. He remembered only too well the deathly look on his mom’s face, how she struggled to go through the motions of daily life for months after he had left.