by Ruby Shae
For the first time since she’d become fully conscious, she really looked at her mate. He looked tired, wary and dark circles marred the skin under his eyes. She wasn’t the only one who’d been through hell, and she vowed to make it up to him if it took the rest of her life.
After dinner, her father went back to her apartment and left them alone. Drew cleaned up the garbage, tidied up the room and made sure she was comfortable.
“I’m sorry,” she said, when he was about to leave her for the night.
“It’s not your fault,” he said, incredulous. “You couldn’t have known that those men were monsters.”
“Not about that,” she said, sitting up. “That was just stupid. I’m sorry about leaving you without an explanation. I…I found something I shouldn’t have, and I thought you were only stringing me along until you found someone else. It wasn’t until I was lying face down in the gravel that I realized the words I read were written for me.”
“It was the ad then.” It wasn’t a question, and she didn’t answer him. “I didn’t figure it out until the night of your date. I know it was inappropriate, but it wasn’t meant for anyone but you.”
“No, it was perfect, and I should have trusted you.”
“Yes, you should have, but I can see your point of view, too.”
“Can you forgive me, Drew? Will you give me another chance?”
“It’s forgotten. Goodnight, Lily.”
He flipped the light switch, leaving her in the dark, and she listened as he walked down the hall to the kitchen. After he disposed of the trash, he walked to his room. She heard him move around for several minutes before all the noise stopped, signaling he’d gone to bed.
She stayed awake for hours, staring at the darkened ceiling and replaying their conversation over and over again. Joe had said he would need time, but he hadn’t answered her question and she needed more.
She needed everything.
She carefully padded down the hallway toward his room and pushed the cracked door fully open. He lay sleeping on his back, and she crawled on the bed and nestled herself into the crook of his arm.
His arms came around her, and he kissed the top of her head.
“Everything okay?” he asked, his voice groggy.
“You didn’t answer my question,” she whispered.
She scooted closer and wrapped her free arm around his waist, but she wasn’t brave enough to look at his face. If she saw disgust or censure, her heart would break in two.
“I will give you another chance,” he said, “but if you run from me again, I’m hauling your ass back here and cuffing you to the bed until you’ve learned your lesson.”
“Oooh,” she said, giggling. “That sounds like fun.”
“Lily,” he growled.
“I won’t ever run again,” she stated honestly.
“Good, now sleep.”
He patted her ass gently, as if to soothe a whining baby, and silence filled the room. A few minutes later, his deep breaths alerted her to his slumber, and through she wanted to do more than actually sleep with him, her eyelids drooped, betraying her.
She stayed in his bed the rest of the night, and never slept alone in the guest room again.
Chapter Six
Lily studied her face in the mirror and frowned.
It had been two weeks since her attack, but some evidence still remained. The area around her eyes and nose had lightened to a dark yellow, and she had a small, permanent bump on her nose.
Was that why Drew hadn’t marked her yet?
Not only had he not marked her, but aside from a few kisses, a few hugs, and lots of hand-holding, his touches were anything but sexual. They slept in the same bed every night, but they hadn’t made love again, and she was beginning to think he didn’t want her anymore.
She stepped back from the mirror and studied her figure.
The first week after her attack, they’d both taken time off from work and they’d mostly stayed in and talked, read and watched movies. The second week, they’d both gone back to work, but they ate dinner out most nights and Drew had bought her chocolates three times. She’d shared the boxes with him, but she knew she should probably cut back.
She turned and stood on her tip-toes to try and see the backs of her thighs. Most of the marks had disappeared, but two lingered and she thought they might leave permanent scars.
Luke flashed in her mind and she ached for what her brother must have felt when he looked in the mirror, before he found Caroline.
“Everything okay in there?” Drew asked from the other side of the door.
“Yeah…I’ll be right out.”
The puppy nightshirt just barely covered her ass, and when she raised her arms or bent over, it fully displayed her light blue lace panties. A robe she’d never seen Drew wear hung on a hook on the back of the door and she pulled it down and slipped her arms into it.
It was heavy, big and bulky, everything she hated about robes, which was why she never wore one, but it covered her body completely. She tied the sash and left the restroom.
She could feel Drew’s stare as she walked across the room to the other side of the bed, but she didn’t glance in his direction. She slipped out of the robe, tossed it into the chair in the corner, and then laid down facing away from him with the covers pulled up to her neck.
“Okay, what’s with the robe?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she shrugged. “I just wanted to try it out, and I didn’t think you’d mind.”
Drew got out of bed and left the room, and she closed her eyes and prayed for sleep. She knew they had to talk, but she dreaded hearing the truth of his changed feelings.
Suddenly, her covers were ripped away and Drew grabbed her arm and slapped one handcuff around her right wrist; the other was already attached to his left. He’d handcuffed them together.
“Oh my god, Drew,” she shrieked. “What are you doing?”
“Stand up,” he said, pulling her to her feet. “I told you what would happen if you tried to run from me. You hate robes, so what are you hiding?”
He stood back and scrutinized her body from head to toe, and her face heated with embarrassment and rage. How dare he inspect her like she was a piece of livestock?
“I’m not hiding anything, you jerk,” she spat. “Let me go.”
“No, I don’t think I will.”
He crawled into the bed and she had no choice but to join him. They both lay on their backs, their cuffed hands between them. Her shirt had risen up to her waist, and she tried to pull it down with little success.
She sighed and used her feet to move the blanket within reach, and then pulled it over her uncovered legs and waist.
“How come you don’t want me to see your body?” he asked, rolling on his side to face her.
God, she wanted to die, but she faced him as well.
“These past two weeks…,” she couldn’t look him in the eye, and stared at his chest instead. “My face is still hideous, it looks like a couple of those lashes on my thighs might scar, and I’ve gained some weight. I know you’re no longer attracted to me sexually, so I thought I should cover up more until we officially end things.”
“Whoa,” he said, rolling on top of her and pinning her to the mattress. He sat across her hips and pinned her arms above her head with his own, bringing his face inches from hers. “I think this is the reason they say nice guys always finish last.”
The weight of his body pushed her into the mattress, and she loved every minute of it.
Please kiss me!
“Um…what?”
She couldn’t think clearly with his face so close to hers.
“First of all, your face is not hideous. You’re beautiful, just as you always have been, and that won’t change with a few lingering bruises. Second of all, I don’t give a fuck about some scars on your thighs. If they bother you, we can see about getting them removed, but they don’t bother me at all. Third, I’m sorry, but I haven’t noticed if you’v
e gained weight or not, but if you have, then fantastic. It means you’re eating more, which I have noticed, and actually enjoying your food. That makes me happy because I’ve always thought you should eat more.”
Say what?
“Now, about me not being attracted to you sexually? That’s bullshit, and I fully admit that this is where I fucked up. I was giving you time to heal, and I stupidly thought you would come to me when you felt ready to let me touch you again sexually. My mistake. It won’t happen again. I love you, Lily, I always have, and that’s not going to change. Once we mate, and we will mate, it will be easier for you to believe in me.”
She had no idea what she’d done to deserve him, but she wasn’t about to question fate.
“Mark me, Drew.”
“It will be my pleasure, baby doll.”
***
Drew slid down Lily’s body, careful not to twist their cuffed wrists uncomfortably, and placed both of their arms across her belly to hold her in place. He used his free hand to rip her panties off, and growled when he saw her glistening, wet hole. He swirled his tongue around her pussy slowly, licking up her honey and savoring the taste of his mate.
He hadn’t wanted to push her after the attack, so instead he’d waited impatiently for her to come to him. He should have known he’d need to make the first move. Lily didn’t fully trust him yet, and he didn’t blame her. It would take more than a couple of months to erase four years of avoidance.
When he jabbed his tongue inside her cunt, her hips came off the bed and she threaded the fingers of her free hand through his hair. He moved his tongue in and out slowly, enjoying the moans and growls that escaped her lips.
He abandoned her pussy and dragged his tongue to her clit, and then sucked the hard nub into his mouth and flicked it with his tongue several times. She cried out, and he shoved two fingers into her wet channel. He pressed the flat of his tongue against her swollen clit and she convulsed around his fingers, coating them with her honey.
He licked his fingers clean as her breathing returned to normal, and then he laid down beside her and pushed his shorts and boxers down his thighs. He kicked them off, and they flew into the hallway.
Lily laughed, but it was cut short with his next words.
“Ride me, baby doll.”
He smiled when she scrambled on top of him in desperation, and sat on his cock in one smooth motion, pushing him balls deep. She still wore her t-shirt, but he wanted to see her breasts bounce as she rode him.
“Take your shirt off,” he instructed.
She obeyed, and it slid down her cuffed arm and landed on his hand.
He rubbed one of her hard nipples between his finger and thumb and she swirled her hips and moaned. He repeated the action on her other breast, eliciting the same response. Her moans were wild, and the way she moved drove him crazy. He’d waited too long to do slow and sensual.
Smack!
He spanked her ass and then pressed his thumb against her clit.
“Fuck me, my mate.”
Lily placed her free hand on his chest and moved up and down his cock hard and fast. Her platinum blond hair swung uncontrollably in every direction, and her breasts bounced wildly between them.
Smack!
He spanked her ass again and her pussy tightened around his cock. He felt the familiar sensation at the base of his spine, and he knew he didn’t have much time. He felt his upper and lower canines elongate, and when he flashed them at Lily, she slowed and bit the air, showing off her own remarkable set of teeth. He’d never seen a she-bear with such an impressive set, and his cock throbbed uncontrollably.
He sat up and wrapped his free arm around her waist.
“Let’s do it together,” he said, and she nodded. “One…two…three.”
He felt her teeth pierce his skin and he forced himself to follow through with her mark before the pain stalled him.
The mark was made with both sets of canines, and extended from the collarbone to the shoulder blade. It served no purpose other than to brand the receiver as the mate of the giver, but it was an important part of a proper mating.
They held onto each other and growled as pain spread throughout their bodies.
A minute later, the pain subsided, replaced by white hot primal lust. The new sensation pushed them both over the edge, and they came together with no warning.
Drew retracted his canines and licked the wounds she’d have permanently. Lily did the same and then rested her head on his shoulder.
His cock was still buried deep inside her cunt, and their wrists were still bound together with the cuffs, but he couldn’t muster the energy to move. He laid back down and pulled his mate with him, listening to her deep satisfied breaths.
“Any questions about the depth of my love, my faithfulness, or whether or not I’m sexually attracted to you, baby doll?” he asked.
“None,” she said, shaking her head. “I love you, Drew.”
“I love you, too, my mate.”
He smiled and drifted off to sleep, content in the fact that they were bound together by their bears for the rest of their lives. Tomorrow he’d give her a ring, and they’d exchange vows in front of their family and friends as soon as possible.
His beautiful mate had given him her heart, and a piece of her soul, and he planned to spend every day making sure she never regretted it.
The End
From the Author
Thank you for purchasing this book. Your support allows me to continue doing a job I love every day. If you liked this story, please consider leaving a review so more people can find and enjoy my books.
Hugs,
Ruby Shae
About the Author
I write sizzling, sexy, shifter romance.
Until I find my own tall, muscle bound, alpha shifter…I’ll keep writing about them.
Visit my website to learn more about my books (and me!)
www.rubyshae.com
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Also by Ruby Shae
Bear Mountain
(Stand-Alone Romance Novellas)
Lone Bear (Book 1)
Brother Bear (Book 2)
Double Bear (Book 3)
Idle Bear (Book 4)
Lost Bear (Book 5)
Bear Canyon Brides
(Stand-Alone Romance Novellas)
Bear Seeking Bride: Travis (Book 1)
Bear Seeking Bride: Tyler (Book 2)
Bear Seeking Bride: Trent (Book 3)
Bear Seeking Bride: Luke (Book 4)
Bear Seeking Bride: Drew (Book 5)
Bear Seeking Bride: Thorn (Book 6) – June 2015!
Bearlicious Singles
(Stand-Alone Novellas not part of a Series)
Bear Security
North Pole
(Stand-Alone Holiday Romance Novellas)
Jingle Bear (Book 1)
Silent Bear (Book 2)
Shadow Bears
(Stand-Alone Holiday Romance Novellas)
Bear in Love (Book 1)
Bear in Trouble (Book 2)
