“I… I guess so,” she replied. “That was always the plan. Back to work. Back to life.”
“Back to the dating agency?” he questioned.
She turned, raising a brow. He was staring at her intensely, that stare that made her tummy jolt.
“How do you know that?” she said.
“My name is Reinicke Best,” he explained. “Four of my cousins used to be on your books, before they found their happily ever after. You interviewed me once, two years ago at your office in LA.”
“What?” Karina asked in shock.
She looked him over. He was dressed in jeans and a polo shirt, muscles rippling. Reinicke was gorgeous, casual and placid, less argumentative than she had ever seen him before. Sure, she saw hundreds of people, thousands even in a year, whom she met and interviewed to decide if they went on her dating profile database or not. But Reinicke couldn’t have been on that list.
“No,” Karina said firmly, “I would have remembered.”
“Well, I remember,” Reinicke said. He stepped towards her, a ghosting smile playing on his lips. “You told me that I was the most miserable beast you’d ever met, and that you wouldn’t inflict me on the ladies on your books for all the tea in China.”
“Hmm,” Karina said thoughtfully. “That does sound like me… and it definitely sounds like you.”
He laughed then, a glorious sound.
“I’m a very misunderstood man,” he countered.
“That’s what all jerks say,” Karina teased.
Reinicke made another lunge forward. He rested his hands on Karina’s hips, towering over her as he broke into the first true grin she’d ever seen him wear. He could be an ass, sure, and he was very good at it, but there was indeed more to the man than Karina had realized. As a bear, he’d followed her and protected her, watching over her in the woods. He’d given her that radio without a moment’s hesitation, after only meeting her twice. Three times, if she counted the interview that she couldn’t recall.
“What are you doing?” she asked him, her breath hitching in her throat.
His hands were warm, and they slid round her hips to her back, fingers toying with the small, sensitive patch where her shirt ended and her shorts began. Karina let her arms travel up his body, fingers feeling the definition of those impressive muscles. She wished she hadn’t been so out of it during the fall. She could have had such a good view of him then. Yet, something told her, if she still wanted that view, it was waiting. She leaned on her tiptoes, tongue darting out to wet her lips.
“If I asked you to stay, would you?” Reinicke said softly.
“No,” Karina whispered with a wicked grin. “I’d consider it if you begged me, though.”
He returned her grin, and took her chin in his hand to guide her into his kiss. It was deeply passionate from the first moment, nothing false or tentative. Reinicke’s lips grazed hers with something akin to desperation, his tongue snaking out to toy with her own. She felt the smooth, strong mass of his tongue, another excellent muscle, pushing against hers as if he was fighting for supremacy. She let him win, allowing him to plunder her mouth as his hands began to wander all over her body.
As the kiss went on, Karina threw all caution out the window. She wanted Reinicke more than she’d ever wanted anyone, and the moment was there waiting for her to grab. She fumbled with her shorts, the cast on her arm making it tricky to get them down. When Reinicke realized what she was up to, he broke their kiss and stripped off her shirt for her. Then he dropped to his knees, unbuttoning her shorts and pulling them down with a sudden sharp tug. He held her legs, his chin resting just above the line of her panties. His breath was warm on her abdomen, coming in short pants.
“This is me begging you,” he explained, his gaze intense once more. “I… I think I might have loved you that very first time I met you, when you kicked me out of your office and told me never to come back.”
“I’m glad you did,” Karina told him. “God, I’m so very glad.”
“I’ll take that as a green light, shall I?” Reinicke replied in what was almost a growl.
He didn’t wait for an answer. He lifted Karina from her legs into a fireman’s lift, carrying her over his shoulder to the bed. Once there, he laid her down and took a step back, admiring the sight of her in her underwear before he stripped off his own clothes. The polo shirt went first, revealing that massive chest with its tempting trail of soft brown hair, then he shrugged out of his jeans and let his boxers go down with them. His cock was solid, springing forward eagerly and sending a sudden damp sensation into Karina’s groin. He was long and thick, waiting patiently for her. She watched him throb for a moment.
Slowly, she rose and unhooked her bra, letting it fall away to reveal her breasts. Reinicke’s golden gaze glowed brilliantly, burning into her skin as he watched her eagerly. Karina reached down, using one hand to tease her panties off, then she lay back on the bed and let her legs fall apart just a little. There was another long pause, the heat in the air palpable.
“Ugh,” she sighed playfully, “do I have to boss you around again?”
“’Fraid so,” Reinicke admitted, gently climbing onto the bed towards her. “I figure I might as well get used to it. Once this happens, I won’t be letting you go.”
“Is that a shifter thing?” Karina asked him.
“It’s a me and you thing,” Reinicke said, his face coming level with her own. “I always knew that I would know when I met ‘the girl’. You’re it, Karina. You’re mine.”
“You’d better claim me then,” she said, reaching up to pull his face down for a kiss.
Reinicke entered her whilst their tongues were fighting, his thick shaft filling her so sharply that she felt her whole body shiver. He was quick and precise in his movements, thrusting deep then pulling back to tease her clit with his fingers. His tongue snaked down her neck and round her earlobes, his hips pushing her legs wide apart. Karina let them rise, wrapping them around his muscular back as he pressed deeper still into her waiting body. She was panting, the burn of orgasm already making her abdomen ache. She knew what he meant about just knowing. Perhaps she had known all week, trying to hide the truth from herself.
After so long making other people happy in love, Karina had almost forgotten what it felt like.
But Reinicke was there to remind her. He let his thumb flick over her swollen clitoris until she moaned with ecstasy, then he really went in to show her what he could do. He held her hips firmly and made his thrusts as deep as he could, sending shockwaves of electric pleasure into every nerve. Karina felt herself arching, her eager body pushing against him as she begged inwardly for release. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading, asking for what she knew he could give her. Reinicke grew faster still, harder and sharper as he rocked their bodies together.
“Oh!” she exclaimed as the first throes of the orgasm reached her, making her body tense up and shake.
Karina felt the rush and the pleasurable pain, knowing her climax would be a big one. When it came, she felt it shake her whole body, forcing her to make sounds she didn’t even know were in her throat. Her quivering legs fell back down when Reinicke let them go, and she was still riding out the tingles of her own breathless pleasure when she felt him shudder and push those last few thrusts into her. He kissed her neck, his voice low and growling when he whispered to her.
“Mine,” he reminded her. “Mine forever now.”
And she wouldn’t ever have it any other way.
One month later.
“Reinicke, where on earth have you been?” Anina demanded.
Karina had been forewarned about the Best clan before she met them. Reinicke was accurate in his descriptions, and she recognized his elderly grandmother at once by her milky amber gaze and admonishing tone. Her gaze snapped to Karina, then down to the place where she and Reinicke were clasping one another’s hands. Anina appeared to relax a little at that.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said politely. “I didn�
��t realize you, uh… Reinicke, who is this lovely girl?”
There were other people assembled in the room, and Karina had never met any of them. But she was pretty sure she could guess who they all were. There were two brothers, Reinicke’s older cousins, who were named Dietrich and Ben. Dietrich was cradling a girl called Elise in one arm, and she held their little baby boy, Isaak in hers. Ben had a baby on his lap too, a girl with beautiful cocoa-colored skin named Lily, and his wife Layla stood with one proud hand on his shoulders. That left the two blonde cousins, Kurt and Hart, with their partners Stacey and Jane. In front of Stacey there was a buggy with two tiny twins sleeping peacefully, and Jane had a fully round belly that made her look as though she was due to give birth at any moment.
Clan Best was a quite a family to join, but Karina, as in all things, was confident that she could make it work.
“Sorry, we’ve been in Vegas,” Reinicke explained.
“No,” Dietrich said at once, his voice hitching in shock. “You don’t mean…”
“May I introduce Karina Best, my wife,” Reinicke said with all the pride in the world.
There was an explosion of shouts and disbelieving cries of joy, then suddenly Karina and Reinicke were surrounded by the clan. The flurry of people showered them in congratulations amid the sounds of babies cooing and waking from their sleep. In the eye of the joyous family storm, Karina held onto Reinicke, looking up into the proud expression of her new husband.
“You know what comes next right?” she asked.
She patted her tummy as if to explain. Reinicke raised a brow, a genuine grin on his face.
“Well, you’re the boss,” he reasoned.
“I am,” Karina replied.
And in that moment, she realized that she hadn’t seen Reinicke pull that long, sour expression in weeks.
Beck
120 Proof Honey IV
by
Becca Fanning
Harmony reached out to grab Aiden’s hand. He kept pulling away and wandering off to look at other things and she had to keep a tight hold on him. She couldn’t lose him here, in the middle of the county fair where there were so many people. She’d be fired in a second.
Connor and Hunter wouldn’t stop fighting with each other. Hunter pushed Connor for walking too close. Then Connor pushed him back for pushing him. Why in the world had she thought taking the boys to the fair was a good idea? She’d really thought they’d be so excited and distracted by the sights that they’d behave.
She already had a headache and after a few hours, was more than ready to leave. But the boys were just getting started and wanted to ride the rides. Which would surely be a hassle because the older boys couldn’t handle waiting in line, and Aiden wasn’t tall enough to go on the big-kid rides. Hunter and Connor wouldn’t want to go on the little-kid rides with him, either.
Up ahead she saw the building that had bees and honey products. Maybe the boys would stare at the live bees for a while and give her a minute to breathe.
“Wanna see some bugs?” she asked them.
Hunter and Connor both said, “Yeah!”
But Aiden looked scared. “What kind of bugs?”
She leaned over to whisper to him. “Bees, but they’re all in a glass case where they can’t get out and hurt you. Okay?”
He nodded and they walked toward the building.
Inside, they did look at the bees for a little while, then they wanted honey.
“I’m sure there’s a booth somewhere that sells honey sticks.” She looked over and saw a large banner that read “Bear Natural Honey.” The table below had many honey-related products, including flavored honey sticks. And behind the table was one of the hottest men she’d ever seen.
Big and muscular, he was tall and had enchanting eyes. She couldn’t help but stare at him. His blond hair fell into his eyes and he brushed it away.
“I see some,” she said, and dragged Aiden over to the table. Hunter and Connor followed, pushing each other again.
When they got to the table, she told them, “Each of you can pick out two.” She smiled at the man. “Hi.”
He smiled back and she almost melted. The boys started pawing through the honey sticks and finally chose their flavors.
“We’ll take six,” she said. She handed him two dollars.
“How do I get this thing open?” Connor asked.
Harmony looked at the stick. She didn’t see any place to open it. She tried squeezing the ends, but that did nothing. She looked over at the man. “Help?”
He took the stick from her and pinched it in his thick fingers just below where she had tried to do the same thing.
“You have to find just the right spot.” He winked at her.
He looked like he would find just the right spot, indeed. Her face went warm at the thought and she looked away.
Then Hunter and Connor, like they always did, started fighting.
“That one is mine!” Hunter said.
“No, I had the cherry one,” Connor said.
Hunter pushed him. “You had strawberry. The cherry one is mine!”
The man pulled another cherry honey stick from the display and handed it to her. “Here. Just take another cherry one.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
He waved it off. “No problem. Better than hearing them fight.”
She handed the cherry honey stick to Hunter.
But then Aiden said, “Hey! He got three! I only got two.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. Of course it couldn’t be that easy. “Just charge me for three more.”
Then Aiden and Connor went back to the display and pulled out two more sticks.
“I guess they get to be a lot, huh?” the man asked. He looked like he was somewhat horrified at their fighting.
“Yeah. They really don’t pay me enough. Some days I can’t wait to get home.” Maybe if she made it clear that it bothered her, too, it wouldn’t ruin her chances with him.
He pulled his eye brows together. “They’re not yours?”
“No.” She chuckled. “Thank goodness. I’m their nanny.”
“Oh.” He laughed, too. “I thought you looked too young to have three kids that old.” He looked relieved, which made her feel relieved, as well.
She smiled. “Thank you.”
Harmony kept her head facing the boys, but she could feel him watching her. She needed another reason to talk to him, to keep things going between them.
“So, are you having one of your own soon?” he asked.
Her face went hot and she looked down at her top. It was loose fitting. Did it make her look pregnant? “No, why? Do I… look like I am?”
“Oh no,” he said, shaking his head. His face went pink. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Oh.” She let out a relieved sigh.
“I just meant, umm…” He scratched the back of his neck. “Is there someone in the picture? Someone you’re seeing? Like a boyfriend?”
“No, there’s no one.” Not yet anyway, but if he wanted the job, she’d gladly give him the title.
“Harmy, I have to go pee,” Aiden said, holding himself and wiggling back and forth.
“Sorry,” she said. Why did he have to go right now? If she didn’t get him to the bathroom soon, though, he’d wet his pants and she’d have even more of a problem on her hands. “I better get him to the bathroom. It was nice meeting you.”
“Wait,” he said, following her a few steps. “Could I maybe get your number? Maybe you’d want to go out sometime? You know, without all the kids.”
She smiled and her heart jumped for joy. “You wouldn’t want to help me wrangle these wild kids all night?”
“Uhh…”
“I’m kidding. I’d love to.”
He took out his phone and she gave him her number.
“I’m Harmony,” she said. Aiden tugged on her hand and she walked a few steps toward the door, looking back at the man.
“Beck!” he calle
d after her. “I’ll call you!”
Meeting Beck had been the highlight of the fair by far. By the time they got back to the car, the boys were tired, still fighting incessantly, and Aiden was covered in cherry water ice stains. Next time, it didn’t matter how much their parents gave her to take them, she wouldn’t do it.
She wondered when Beck would call. There was the standard three-day wait, but was he that type of guy? Maybe he was so into her that he’d call sooner. She thought about what she’d say when he called and what she’d wear on their first date.
Breakwater: Leo (BBW Bad Boy Space Bear Shifter Romance) (Star Bears Book 1) Page 13
