by Rosanna Leo
“No,” she answered. “I think I stopped loving him long ago. A part of me will always care and worry about him. I’m the mother of his child, but I never felt mated to him. Not like I do to you, Soren.”
“You’re mine,” he growled into her ear. His rumble of a voice reached inside her, pulling at every piece of her that was still human, laying claim to her. “And it’ll give me great pleasure to mark every luscious inch of you so no one forgets you’re my mate.”
Gioia regarded him, startled by the feral determination in his voice and in his eyes. She was clad only in an old T-shirt, her standard loungewear. Soren smirked at it. He tugged at her collar and, in one clean swoop, tore it from her body.
“What are you doing?” she was barely able to stammer, so gripped by fierce lust.
“Making it so you’ll never want to run from me again.” While he grinned at her, his lips curled in a distinctly evil smile, he reached into his pants pocket and produced a couple of silken ties.
Her jaw dropped. “You are not tying me up.”
He leaned in and nibbled her earlobe, his breath hot against her skin. “I am going to tie you up. And spank you. And leave my claw marks all over your body. And when I’m done, you’ll beg me to do it again.”
If she weren’t so hot for him, she might be a little scared. Titillated, she baited the bear on a whisper. “You wouldn’t dare.”
His quiet laugh sent the most delicious chills fluttering down her spine. Soren grabbed her hands and held her in place. Before she could react in any way, or even think, he’d tied her hands in front of her naked body. She tried the bonds. As silky as they were, she couldn’t budge them. He turned her away from him. As she strained, not with the greatest effort, she had to admit, she listened as he quickly disrobed behind her. As he removed each garment, as she heard his shirt and pants drop to the floor, her anticipation climbed and made her skin erupt in goose pimples. He ran his hand slowly from the top of her back, tickling her spine, until it came to rest on her bottom. He cupped it and squeezed, his fingers grazing the edge of her pussy, and then slapped her there.
Gioia jumped and sucked back her moan, not wanting to show her need. Not that it mattered, for her need was already coating her lips.
He bit the top of her spine and growled. “Don’t think I can’t smell you, little owl. I smell every last, precious drop.” He slapped her ass again and let his fingers glide toward her wet pussy, plucking gently at the labia that were already so swollen for him. “I can’t wait to taste you again, Gioia.”
With that, Soren took her by the shoulders and led her to the closet door, which he opened. On the opposite side of the door was a hook hanging a foot above her head level. He took her bound hands and eased her ties over the hook, leaving her hanging but with her feet still comfortably on the floor.
“Soren,” she cried. “I’ve never done this sort of thing.”
“I know. But you will with me.” He crouched and captured her nipple in his mouth. As pleasure shot through her, Gioia’s back arched against the door. She knew she had the ability to leave. It wasn’t as if he’d tied her so tightly she couldn’t move. She just didn’t want to move. Ever.
Tweaking and twirling, licking and biting, he continued his sweet assault on her breasts until her knees were ready to buckle. By then, she was ready to thank him for suspending her from the hook because she knew she couldn’t stand. Soren bent lower and got onto his knees, kissing his way over her abdomen and nibbling her hip bones. Her skin was a riot of feeling, a mess of heat and pulsating need. He situated himself between her legs and spread them wider. Crouching right under her, he insinuated his face into her pussy and licked.
Bucking against the hard surface of the door, she bit her lip so she wouldn’t scream. He dug his fingers into her ass, bringing her closer to his face, and his nails scraped against her tender skin.
“Oh,” she cried, her eyes wide. “Do that again.”
He looked up and grinned. “This?” His nails raked her bottom again.
“God, yes!”
With a laugh, he buried his face in her pussy and swirled his tongue over her clit. That was all it took. Gioia came apart in his hands and in his mouth, stifling her orgasmic shout. She squeezed her eyes shut and banged her head on the door behind her.
“Careful, baby,” he murmured as he slid his tongue through her lips.
She needed to fall, to collapse to the floor, but was stuck on the damn hook. “Soren,” she pleaded, her voice shattered.
He stood up after swallowing the last of her wet throbs. While keeping his gaze locked on hers, he unhooked her arms from the door.
“Thank you,” she whispered, smiling.
He smiled back. “Are you sure about that?” He spun her around so she faced the door and hooked her back up again.
“Soren, no! Not again.”
His laugh brought her no comfort, but succeeded in coaxing yet another flood of moisture between her legs. “Oh, I think again.”
Once again, he knelt at her feet as if worshipping her. He spread her legs and ran his hands over the globes of her ass. He kissed the spots where he’d scraped her, setting off another chain reaction of goose bumps and shivers. Soren made a low noise of approval at her body’s reaction to him. He kissed her cheeks, gently sucking and biting. As all the blood seemed to rush out of her head and into her crotch, Gioia struggled not to drool.
He caressed her thighs, letting his thumbs tease her quivering seam. “Hmm,” he purred like a big cat rather than a bear. “Where should I bite you? That is the question.”
Bite? The bite?
“That’s right, gorgeous. No more fooling around. We’re doing this thing. My bite on your cheek was just meant to scare the other men away, but we need to mark you properly.” His hands were all over her, roving and feeling, and she got the sense he was trying to find the spot he not only liked best, but that would hurt her least. His fingers danced over the spot where her ass met her thigh. He hummed his approval. “Yes. Succulent and mine.”
Gioia braced herself as his teeth met with her skin. She took a breath, and Soren bit down hard. As the sting of pain made her tense, he smoothed his tongue over the area, and she knew he was cleaning the wound.
Christ. Now whenever I wear a bathing suit, people will see his teeth marks on my ass!
He laughed. “That’s the idea, baby.”
“Soren Snow, I hate you.”
He stood, unhooked her hands from the door, and turned her around. His smile was full of tenderness, not quite as devious as before, but the naughty glint was still in his eye. “No, you don’t, Gioia. But nice try.” As he eased the ties off her wrists, smoothing her skin with his fingers even though she wasn’t chafed, he kissed her on the mouth.
She tasted the slightest tang of blood, her blood, and knew she was inside him now, just as much as he was inside her. She couldn’t hate him. How could she hate her mate? Her bear man had taken complete possession of her, and she’d loved every demanding, ruthless moment of it.
And from the determined set to his lips, he wasn’t done.
Soren picked her up and carried her over to the bed. He deposited her on her knees and dragged her to the edge of the bed. While she adjusted herself on all fours, waiting for the most delectable invasion of all, she presented him with her marked ass. Soren growled and positioned his thick cock at her entrance. She gulped, and he sank inside her. There was no slow buildup as he fucked her, no niceties or gentle words of seduction.
He just took her.
Soren slammed into her over and over, an unrelenting machine. And all Gioia knew in that moment was the intoxicating sensation of being stretched time and again as her pussy clamped onto his length. He’d never felt bigger, had never touched her more deeply than this. Now that they were truly mated, he let his guard down and allowed his bear to alleviate its own hunger. Like an animal, Soren thrust into her, and her inner animal rose up to meet him.
Something changed inside
her, something shifted. There was a growl deep in her soul, and it built in intensity until it poured from her throat in a voice she didn’t know.
“Oh, fuck, baby,” Soren spat, panting behind her. “Let it out, Gioia. Let it out!”
He reached around and tapped her clit. Everything tightened inside her and exploded in a wild release. And still he pumped, clearly determined to make her insane with ecstasy. The bed shook, and it seemed the whole room shook with it. She buried her face in the mattress and screamed into the plush bed. And as her body sang and wept, Soren cried out with his own orgasm. His hot cum shot into her, branding her even further, and he held her so hard her legs were lifted off the bed.
He’d helped her to fly.
When she finally lifted her head off the mattress, she realized she’d never taken her glasses off. She reached for the specs even as Soren withdrew from her body and fell onto the bed next to her. Rolling over, she looked at her glasses.
They’d snapped in half, right between the two lenses.
“Oh, no,” she murmured.
Soren looked at her, took the broken glasses from her hand, and grinned. “Look at me.”
“I am looking at you. Look what you did to my glasses, you beast. I can’t afford to replace these.”
His smile grew wider. “Gioia, stop worrying about the glasses. I said look at me. What do you see?”
It hit her. Gorgeous blue eyes, the likes of which she’d never seen. She could make out each of his soft, dark-blond lashes. All of a sudden, the curl of his flared nostrils was as clear as day, as were the line of his jaw and the God-given highlights in his hair. “Oh my God. I can see you! I can see you, Soren.”
He pulled her into his arms and embraced her. His laugh was joyous. “I’ve heard of fucking someone until they can’t see straight, but I’ve never heard of fucking someone until they could see straight!”
“This means…”
He kissed her, gliding his tongue between her lips, drinking her in. “It means you’re like me. Shifters have no need for glasses.” He tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. “You’re my lady bear, Gioia.”
“Soren…”
“I love you, angel. And I’m never letting you go.”
And as they snuggled under the sheets together, as she buried her face in her bear man’s strong chest and marveled at her ability to discern each of his golden chest hairs, she knew she wasn’t going anywhere.
Chapter 13
Soren awoke for the third time that night, needing her. Only this time, he decided to let the poor woman rest. The two previous times he'd reached for her and woken her up in ways he hoped she'd never forget. In one pulse-pounding instance, he'd teased her sweet inverted nipple with his tongue until she was roused into grateful consciousness. The second time, he'd ripped the sheets off her body and had licked at her warmth until she awoke, crying his name.
This time, he took in the cock-teasing sight of her naked form, splayed across the bed, her marked arse facing up. Christ, she was gorgeous.
His woman, now and forever. And as his mate, Gioia was now a part of him and just like him. She would likely shift for the first time soon, and he’d be there to help her through it.
The idea gave him inestimable happiness, a glee he never assumed he’d experience.
As he brushed a finger over her soft shoulder, a musical phrase tickled his brain, a passage that seemed a perfect climax to the composition he’d already begun for the Philharmonic. Soren slid out of bed and searched for pen and paper. Finding some resort stationery, he hastily scribbled out line upon line of musical staves. Once his homemade staff paper was complete, he glanced at Gioia and began to record the piece in his head.
As his gaze traveled the sensuous curves of her lower half, a melody took shape in his mind. He could hear the poignant oboe as it cut across an invisible orchestra. The line, its lilt so similar to her throaty voice, was so haunting it made him want to weep with joy.
He wrote a few more passages, filling in parts for woodwinds and strings. She turned in her sleep, and her pretty nipples puckered as the air conditioning waved over her body. Soren picked out a cloying counterpoint section in which the violin vied with the flute in a sensual dance of soprano tones. She kicked in her sleep, exposing her pussy to him, and a relentless drum beat sounded in his core. He closed his eyes, recalling the rhythm of her heartbeat as he’d made love to her. Memorizing the pattern, with all its driving energy, he wrote it down for posterity, underpinning his score with a sense of power and movement.
Soren watched his beloved roll on the bed for the next couple of hours, making small changes to his composition, perfecting it. He didn't need a piano to pluck out the tune as he went along. It all unfolded naturally in his head, and thanks to his perfect sense of pitch, he was able to justify each note. By the time dawn cast its hushed glow into the room, he’d etched out the notes of his heart-breaking final chords.
His symphony for the Philharmonic was complete, and it was all because of Gioia, his inspiration. His Muse. If he hadn't come to Gemini Island, he never would have met her and finished the work which had proved such a labor previously. He made a mental note to buy his brother a very expensive beer next time he saw him. Hell, he'd buy Ryland a second resort, he was so appreciative.
Smiling, he christened the work Journey to Joy, in honor of her name. Gioia meant "joy" in Italian, and he couldn't think of a better name for her or for his symphony.
And then, as she awakened and whispered his name, needing him as much as he needed her, Soren joined her in bed and welcomed her into his arms.
* * * *
Gioia waited in her room while Soren left to arrange a meeting between them and Paul. As awkward as the situation was, she was eager to settle it, especially now. There was no denying she was meant to be with Soren, but there were complications. Gunnar deserved to have a relationship with his father, and Paul needed to understand she loved Soren. She poked her head into Gunnar’s room and smiled at the sight of his drooling face.
“My baby bear,” she whispered. Let him sleep all he wanted. He’d be facing the music soon enough.
As she closed the door, she looked at her hands. They appeared normal, womanly hands, and yet she knew they possessed the ability to shift into furry paws. At some point, her new bear would want to come out and play. What sort of bear would she be? Would she take on the characteristics of Soren’s bear, becoming a polar? Or would she be a brown bear like her son? The very idea was staggering.
Already she could feel the pull of the animal inside her. It huffed and moaned when Soren left the room, much as Gioia felt like doing. And from the love-stricken look he’d given her, he felt the same. She needed to see him, needed to be connected to him. A part of her felt she might die if he weren’t in her line of sight. She’d never felt quite so helpless and so empowered at the same time. Her eyesight was as close to 20/20 as it had ever been, and probably better. And she knew other changes would occur in her as well. Strength, agility, and superior senses would all now be part of her bodily arsenal. Waiting for them to take effect had her on pins and needles.
She’d have to talk to Lia. Ryland’s mate would no doubt be able to share a wealth of information on making the change to shifter life.
But right now, they had to deal with Paul. That was why she’d asked Soren to set up a meeting, so they could discuss their dilemma as calm adults and create a plan for Gunnar together. Well, it wasn’t so much that she’d asked him to do it. Gioia had been ready to arrange the rendezvous herself, but Soren had insisted on talking to Paul. He didn’t feel comfortable with her talking to her ex alone, and after experiencing the depth of feeling shifters possessed, she couldn’t fault him.
Since Soren had marked her, her heart had been on fire for him. Yes, she’d felt strongly before, but this new emotion had her reeling. She couldn’t shake the sense that she’d die if they weren’t together. That’d he’d die too. She drew such comfort in his proximity,
in the warmth of his smile and of his touch. When his hand was on her body in any way, harmony infused her being, making her want to smile and sing and rejoice. And when he pulled his fingers away, the world seemed a colder place.
With a flutter of her eyelashes, Gioia wondered if she should audition for one of those reality shows that staged interventions for drug addicts.
Soren Snow. The most potent drug in her world, and she was more than happy to inject him into all her veins.
There was a knock at the suite door. She forced her heartbeat back down from its elevated heights and walked over so she could look through the peep hole.
Marci. What on earth?
Her movements slowed by hesitation, Gioia opened the door to Ryland’s customer service clerk. The two women eyed each other, and she wasn’t sure which of them was more embarrassed.
“Hi,” Gioia said softly, looking her up and down. She was wearing a lot more clothes than the last time she’d seen her.
“Can I come in for a minute, please?”
Gioia motioned for her to enter and stared at Marci’s easy grace and long, perfectly built limbs. Jesus, would this shifter business transform her into such a goddess? She doubted it. “What can I do for you?”
Marci turned to face her. “I want to apologize. I had no idea Soren was your mate. If I’d known, well, things would have turned out differently.”
Gioia bestowed a small grin on the anxious girl. She really was no more than a girl, even if she was just a few years younger than Gioia. Marci just seemed a whole lot younger. Motherhood, as rewarding as it was, had a way of aging women. “It’s okay. Hey, in your position, I may have taken a crack at him too.” She let out a laugh that Marci did not return.
“No, you have to understand,” she said, moving closer and clutching one of Gioia’s hands. “I don’t do those sorts of things. Damn, I’m still a virgin! I’ve barely had three dates in my life. I’ve never been so forward with any man.”
“Soren has a way of making one want to be forward.”
