I need to get away from Bennett before I make an even bigger fool of myself.
“Hey,” he says, reaching for my hands and not letting me go. “Don’t run. We still have things to discuss.”
“I just put my foot in my mouth. Or maybe feet. Sorry Bennett.” I drop my head back, but Bennet has his arms around me, and I’m forced to look up, into his eyes. They are so green I could get lost in them, deep like a forest and dark like one too. Promises of pleasure swirl in those depths, making my knees and resolve weaken.
“Truth is, you don’t know anything about me,” Bennett says, not loosening his grip. “And I don’t know much about you. I know you think I’m nothing but an untamed man - but I’m more than that.” His voice has gone serious, and I see the determination in his expression. “I want to be chief. And I’ll make a damn good one.”
I bite my bottom lip, realizing he’s probably right. I don’t really know him beyond the surface level gossip in town. I’ve never seen this side of him before.
Maybe I was wrong to peg him as just a player.
I chew on my bottom lip and study him, knowing his proposition won’t end well, but also craving something I don’t even understand.
“So,” he says, his eyes locked firmly on mine, and I feel a heat run up my spine. “Is the fake mating still on?”
I nod. “As long as you still promise to help with—”
He cuts me off. “Yes, with the electrical work. Got it.”
“And you’ll play by the rules?”
“Yes, Piper Bancroft, I promise.” He runs a hand up my arm, sending prickles of desire over me.
I swallow, noticing that my friends, the Chief, the whole freaking town is watching us.
“Oh god, Bennett, this is happening. Like now.”
He nods, equal parts business and pleasure sweeping through both of us. I feel it, and I know he does too.
“I’m going to kiss you now, Piper,” he says, the crook of his finger under my chin.
I shake my head, though my body is screaming yes. “The rules.”
He grins. “We said no sex, nothing about kissing.”
I close my eyes, intoxicated by his close proximity as his lips close in on mine.
Chapter 3
Bennett
One kiss. One taste. And my whole fucking world explodes around me. The pleasure is incredible, mixing with an ache so intense I feel my control unraveling.
Electrical.
Mind-blowing.
A pleasure that defies logic.
Son of a bitch.
I want to deny it. Need to deny it. But my bear growls inside me with the truth.
Piper Bancroft is my mate.
I should stop kissing her, but I can’t. My tongue slips over her lips, licking at them, tasting her, vanilla and strawberries, and her scent wraps around me like her very presence is latching onto me, filling me.
“Shit,” I mutter, finally gaining some common sense and pulling back.
Piper is staring up at me, wide-eyed, and I can feel her trembling under my touch.
I can also feel people watching us, or rather gawking at us, and while the kiss was meant to do just that, I need to get Piper out of here now. Need to clear my head and figure out what the hell just happened.
You know exactly what happened. You’re mated, asshole, a voice inside my head screams.
The one thing I’d always avoided like the damn plague. Because that’s what this is. A death sentence. Or at least a life sentence.
But even though I should be mourning the loss of all the chicks I’ll never be with, all I can think about is the woman in my arms that has my whole body humming with a need I’ve never felt before.
“We need to get out of here,” I mutter, taking her by the elbow and leading her away from our friends and family’s open mouth stares.
She lets me lead her out of the building, into the cool night, but despite the cold Alaskan air whipping around us, my skin is on fire with lust and desire.
Once we’re alone, I have her up against the wall, my mouth and hands on her. Desperate. Needy. Hungry.
She whimpers against my lips, a sound that goes straight to my balls and makes my already rock hard cock, strain painfully against my pants.
This is not good.
It’s so fucking wrong.
But I can’t stop myself.
“Ben-Bennett...” she stutters my name, shaking as she pushes me away. “What are you doing?”
I take a step back and drag my palms over my face and beard roughly. “God, Piper, don’t you feel it?”
She hesitates, and I see the confusion in her eyes before she gives a hard shake of her head and straightens, running a hand over her dress.
“This is all pretend,” she reminds me. “If you can’t play by the rules then I can’t do this.”
Except there’s nothing pretend about what I just felt.
The woman is mine.
And hell, I’m hers...completely. My bear made sure of that. Claiming her.
“Fucker,” I growl low, feeling my animal give a satisfied grunt.
“Excuse me?” Piper is giving me one of her looks now. The one that says I better step up quickly or she’ll walk away.
“Fine,” I say through gritted teeth, knowing not having sex with my mate will be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.
But it’s not like I can just blurt out that she’s mine. Knowing the woman the way I do, she’d take off running. And that’s not going to happen. At least not until I get what I really want - to be chief.
“We’ll follow your rules.”
Her lips are pursed, and her brows are drawn down. “I mean it, Bennett. I’m not looking for...” She rubs her hands over her bare arms and shivers. “I’m not looking for anything. Especially not meaningless sex with Bear Valley’s official play—”
“Before you finish that sentence and insult me for the second time tonight, I get it. No sex.” I move closer again, shrugging off my suit jacket, then wrapping it over her shoulders. “But part of keeping up facades means I’m going to have to touch you.” I place my hands on her waist and draw her against me, lowering my head toward hers and holding her almost horrified gaze.
She’s scared of this. The chemistry between us. That much is obvious. And shit, if I’m not terrified myself. And maybe after the election is over, after she’s played the part, and I don’t have to worry about her blowing our whole cover, maybe then I can tell her the truth.
But right now, at least in her mind this thing between us is fake.
“Bennett,” she warns.
“Piper.” I smirk down at her. “I’m a man of my word. But if we’re going to pull this off, then I’m going to have to do this every once in awhile.” I press my mouth against hers again. This time soft, holding back the feral need to possess all of her.
A small whimper escapes her lips, and I feel her soft body melt against mine.
“But Piper,” I mumble against her lips. “Don’t forget the other rule.”
“What rule?” her voice is breathy with need.
“No dating other people.” Something possessive stirs inside of me. And maybe it’s not fair to demand it, but she’s mine, even if she doesn’t know it.
“Piper? It’s freezing out here.” Harley is standing at the door, and she glares at me when I look over at her.
Apparently my reputation has made my sister-in-law more than a little wary of me with her friend.
“We’re coming in.” I say when Piper hesitates. “We actually have some news to share.” I keep an arm around my mate’s waist as I lead her back inside, and grin down at her, searching her face for any signs that she’s about to back out. “Don’t we?”
Piper just nods, but Harley keeps frowning at me like I’m a reincarnation of Satan himself.
Inside, my brothers and their wives are gathered in the front entrance, each one with matching looks that say they know I’m up to something.
�
�Victor Pushkin is spreading an interesting rumor,” my brother Gunner says.
“What the hell are you up to?” Blaine, the oldest of us growls out, suspicion in his grey eyes.
“Shit,” I say, pasting a cocky grin on my face, and trying not to let them see how disconcerted I truly am. “Thought you jackasses would be happy for me.”
Weston narrows his eyes. “You’re saying it’s true. You two are mates?”
“Yeah,” I say honestly, a knot thick in my throat.
Silence stretches around the group. Awkward and tense. And I know what each one of them are thinking - that’s she’s too fucking good for me.
I know it’s the truth.
It’s my mom who finally breaks the moment, by rushing into the foyer, past my brothers, and wrapping Piper in a hug that I can tell knocks the wind out of her.
“Oh my dear sweet girl.” She places her hand on Piper’s cheek. “I had a feeling it was you.”
I want to say, I wish you would have given me a heads up, so I could have kept my tongue in my mouth, but instead, I just grin down at them both, ignoring the uneasy looks and murmurs coming from my brothers and their wives.
Thank god, this night is almost over. Because with the way my bear is pacing, ready to claim my mate, and the ache in balls that I have a feeling isn’t going away anytime soon, mixed with the clusterfuck of emotions going through my head, I need to get out of here.
After more awkward conversation that finally leads to my brothers accepting my claim, and the women pulling Piper away for a chat, I’m ready to leave.
I find Piper with a flute of champagne in her hand, listening intently to something her friend Addie is saying, but she pulls away from them when she sees me approaching.
“Oh God,” she murmurs so that only I can hear. “I don’t think I can do this. I hate lying to them.”
“You’re not lying,” I say, a little too quickly, causing her frown to deepen. “Let’s just get you home. We can talk about it tomorrow.”
“I’m not going home with you.”
I raise a brow at her. “If I walk out of here without you, it’s going to look suspicious.”
“But everyone will think...” She chews on her bottom lip, her cheeks turning a shade of red.
“They’ll think exactly what we want them too.” I lean in and brush my mouth against the shell of her. “But don’t worry, beautiful, as much as I’d love to tear that dress off and ravage you, I promised to keep my paws to myself. And unless you break one of the other rules, I won’t break mine.”
No matter how difficult that will be.
Chapter 4
Piper
“Okay, now that we’re alone, spill,” Harley says, leaning on the kitchen counter, and rubbing a hand over her baby bump.
We’ve been in Bear Valley for only eight months and all three of my friends have managed to get themselves mated and knocked up. And here I am, lying, pretending that my future will be filled with the same things they want.
Babies.
Marriage.
Fairy tales.
And while I’m happy that they’ve gotten all those things, it’s not what I want. It never has been. I don’t need those things to be happy.
Because I will not become my mother. A woman who goes through men like a bag of potato chips, never satisfied with just being alone, desperate for attention, and needing someone to take care of her.
It’s exactly why she’s coming here next week. Her most recent boyfriend Bob, or was it Rob, whatever his name is, broke up with her, so now she’s on the prowl, and worse, not only for herself this time, but for me.
It’s been two days since Kate’s wedding, and she’s the only one missing from our group since she’s off to the Caribbean with her new husband. The two of them looked so damn cute together as we waved them off earlier today, and there were tears in her eyes when she broke the news to us that she’s already expecting.
Soon, there will be babies everywhere. Bear babies. I’m still not sure I’ve really come to grips with the whole shifter thing, and not sure if I’d even believe it was possible if I hadn’t seen Gunner shift in front of my very eyes.
I wonder what Bennett looks like in bear form.
The last two days I’ve been wondering a lot of things about him. Things I really shouldn’t be thinking about.
And I especially shouldn’t be thinking about his mouth on mine, the way his touch had sent a million shockwaves through my system, the way his hard body pressed against mine had made my core clench in longing.
“Hey,” Addie says, placing a cup of tea in my hands. “I know this whole mating thing is hard to understand.”
She has no idea - since technically I’m not mated. Though I can’t tell her that.
“It’s a lot to take in,” I agree.
“Okay, but aside from that,” Harley says impatiently. “You and Bennett? Can we just discuss how this happened?”
I shrug. “It just did.”
“And you’re okay with it?” Addie asks, with much more compassion. “Bennett’s got a good heart, but he’s...” She bites her lip.
“A playboy, impulsive, cocky,” Harley offers, chuckling, which gets my defenses up.
“He’s also got ambition, and he’s not as immature as I thought.”
Both Addie and Harley raise their brows at me.
“What?”
“You like him.” Harley is grinning.
Do I?
I guess I don’t dislike him. And over the past few months, we’ve become sort of friends. I’ve just kept my distance because the man is...well, hot. And the last thing I need right now is a sexy, alpha male complicating my life.
But isn’t that exactly what I got?
“It’s not that I don’t like him. I just wasn’t looking to be mated. I want my independence, you know I’m opposed to a long-term thing.”
Addie bites the side of her lip. “Is it going to be weird then? Being at the Summit with him?”
My fingers run over the hem of my sweater, and I look down, not wanting to meet their gaze. “It feels fast, but at the same time, I feel like I owe it to him to play this out. And he’s a really good kisser. So if I’m really his mate ….” My words trail off. I hate sitting here acting like the thing between Bennett and me is real when it isn’t.
Still, I’m not lying when I say he can kiss.
God, my body still trembles when I think of the way he devoured my mouth outside of the reception hall.
“Well I’m jealous,” Harley says. “The resort where the Summit is held is seriously bananas. A spa, soaking tubs, gorgeous water views. I told Blaine he has to take me there on our baby-moon.”
“Your baby what?” I ask.
“Baby moon, like a honeymoon except its a trip before you give birth.”
I raise my eyebrows. When we first came to Bear Valley, we were twenty-something single ladies without a care in the world, looking for an adventure. Now all three of my best friends are mated with babies on the way.
Everything is changing so fast.
“Uh, Piper,” Harley says looking out the window. “When did you say your mom was arriving?”
“Next Tuesday. Why?”
Harley winces. “Looks like she took an earlier flight.”
“Shit.” My stomach twists when I follow Harley’s gaze and see the woman who birthed me struggling with three oversized suitcases. “I’m leaving this afternoon with Bennett.”
I’m not at all prepared for her being here. I’m still not sure how I’m going to pull off this fake relationship.
But one thing that does go through my mind is his last promise to me.
I promise to keep my paws to myself. And unless you break one of the other rules, I won’t break mine.
My body warms at the memory, but my heart skips a beat when I rush to open the door and find Bennett there, helping my mom with her bags.
“What are you doing here?” I ask - not even knowing who I’m directing the
question too. They both have explaining to do.
“Oh, darling!” Mom wraps me into her arms. She looks just the same. Bleached blond hair, four-inch heels, tight jeans and a wrap-around top that gives her recently purchased “girls” the attention she believes they deserve.
“I thought you were coming in—”
She cuts me off. “I wanted to surprise my baby girl. And look,” she says, pointing to Bennett. “I found this hunky mountain man to help me with my bags.”
Bennett seems to love being here for this family reunion. The cocky grin on his face makes me squirm. How is this going to go down exactly?
“I’m more than a mountain man,” he says to my mom. “I’m your daughter’s boyfriend. Ms. Bancroft, I’m Bennett Koleman, pleased to meet you.”
“What?” Mom’s eyes go wide, and she points a finger at me admonishing me. But the smile on her face tells me she’s more than a little pleased. “You didn’t tell me!”
“You didn’t tell me you were coming early, either Mom.”
Mom waves her hand in the air. “Fair enough.”
Bennett carries her luggage around the bookstore to the back entrance and my mom and me follow. Addie and Harley greet my mother warmly, giving hugs and cheek kisses.
“It’s so good to see you, Claire,” Addie says.
“Look at you!” My mom rubs her hand over Addie’s round belly. “You’re gonna pop any day.”
“Harley isn’t too far behind,” Addie says. Harley, Mom, and Addie spend a moment buzzing about the pregnancies, and I pull Bennett aside.
“I can’t go to the Summit,” I say. “I can’t leave my mom here—”
Mom leans over. “Can’t leave me where?”
“There’s this thing,” I say. “This conference that Bennett has. I was going to go with him—”
Harley cuts me off. “You have to go. That resort is insane. Do it for me so I can live vicariously through you.”
Untamed Fiance (Mountain Men of Bear Valley Book 4) Page 2
