I twist my lips. “My mom just got here.”
“And I’m a big girl,” she says. “You can’t pass up a little holiday with a man like this, Piper. You don’t really get that kind of offers very often sweetheart, do you?”
Ignoring her dig, I look at Addie. She’s the most level-headed of all my friends. But one look at her beaming face I realize I momentarily forgot she has baby-brain and has lost all reason.
“Come on, Piper, you’ve got to come. You promised,” Bennett says, wrapping an arm around my waist, kissing my cheek.
I hate that his touch sends a flare of want through me. And honestly, after only a few minutes with my mom, I’m ready for some distance.
“You’ll be okay, Mom?”
“Of course, Addie and Harley will show me around.”
My friends nod encouragingly. “Yeah,” Harley says. “It can be like old times when we were in college and you’d come to campus and take us out. Though we might not be as fun right now since we’re knocked up.”
I bite my lip, knowing if I speak it won’t be anything nice. I’m glad Harley remembers those weekends fondly when Mom would crash at our place after a night of drinking with frat boys. My memories are more filled with cleaning up my mother’s messes after she left.
“So, shall we, Piper?” Bennett asks. “I was coming here to pick you up.”
“Right. Just give me a second to finish packing,” I say, needing to collect my thoughts.
Bennett runs a hand over my spine. “Anything you need, sweetheart.”
I swallow, God, Bennett is smooth. In my room, I finish putting items in the suitcase, trying to process what I’ve agreed to. I’m not a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl, and I would have never agreed to this if I hadn’t been drinking so much champagne at the wedding.
But I did agree.
And Bennett is a nice distraction from my mother. When his lips brushed against my cheek, all I could think was how nice it would be to have all of him, all over of me.
I look at my suitcase, then to my dresser drawers.
On impulse, I grab a few pieces of lingerie from my dresser, shoving them in my suitcase.
I’m not saying I’m going to break my rules, but if I do - I want to be ready.
Chapter 5
Bennett
Kodiaks, Brown Bears, and even Grizzlies brush shoulders, talking amicably amongst each other. Bears are here from across the globe, to talk about current issues, and to put the names forward for the new chief and council members.
It’s an intimidating group, but Piper takes it all in with the poise and grace she always holds herself with.
For the past twenty minutes, I’ve been talking with a few elders from British Columbia, Black bears, who’ve brought their own nominee with them for the position of chief, but who seem genuinely dissatisfied with their own candidate. I listen and nod as they talk about issues from global warming to the current political environment in Canada and their ever decreasing dollar.
It’s all boring shit, but it’s stuff I need to know. Still, I can’t help my gaze from wandering across the room to Piper. She looks stunning. Normally, she wears jeans and sweatshirts around the bookshop, and I’ve seen her dressed up a few times, but today she’s wearing an elegant navy pantsuit that hugs her slim waist and hips, and her long hair has been pulled back revealing the long length of her neck.
She looks like she belongs here. A flute of champagne is in her hand and when she takes a sip, her gaze catches mine. I see the faintest color rise to her cheeks and she gives a small smile before turning back to the woman she’s talking with.
I’m still reeling from the shock that she’s my actual mate. What are the fucking odds my bear would mate with the first woman I kissed? But it’s not something I can deny. It is something I’m going to have to be honest with her about sooner rather than later.
I still might not know much about Piper, but I know one thing, she has some trust issues, and lying to her isn’t going to go over well. Still, I can’t do anything to mess this weekend up. Things are going well the way they are - pretending.
“What are your thoughts on the matter, Bennett?” Dale Skinner, the Canadian black bear asks, one dark brow raised in expectation.
Shit. Time for some fast talking bullshit.
“I agree with your stance.”
“See,” Victor says, smacking me on the back. “I told you. This is our man.”
I grin, not sure what I just agreed to.
Piper is out of my line of sight when I glance back to where she was. Unease claws at my throat. There are too many bears, too many alpha males, and way too many fucking grizzlies here, and my own bear stirs needing to know she’s safe.
I think about pushing into her head, but I know it is another thing that she would hate if she ever found out. Me reading her thoughts without her knowing. So I try to focus instead on the conversation in front of me.
“So when is the wedding?” Dale asks, making me cough on the sip of champagne that gets stuck in my throat.
“The wedding?” I ask.
He raises a brow. “If your name is to be entered for chief, then you know you’ll need to be married before the signing in ceremony.”
“You mean mated?” I say. “Marriage is a human construction—”
“Which we take very seriously,” Dale says. “Your bear has made the decision to mate, but you also have to make the commitment to honor it.”
I rub the back of my neck, knowing fake mating is one thing, but how the hell am I supposed to convince Piper to marry me?
Shit.
“We just recently mated,” I ask, searching the room for Piper, and finally finding her speaking with one of the grizzlies’ wives. “I’m not sure she’s ready for marriage yet.”
Victor smacks my back again. “Good thing you have a few weeks to convince her.” He leans in and says. “But you better get a ring on that girl’s finger as soon as possible. A chance like this doesn’t come around very often.”
I know he’s right. It could be decades before the next election for chief.
This is my shot. And I’m not going to screw it up. I’ve wanted it for too damn long.
And honestly, when I take Piper in, see her tilt her head back and laugh, her smile brightening her whole face, I know if I have to marry her, she would be a good partner.
My bear already chose her.
The chemistry between us is undeniable.
And she’s smart as a fucking whip.
Which is why I know she’s going to figure out this game. A game I don’t want to play with her.
Just be honest, a voice in my head says.
And have her break off the deal before I’ve even got my prize? No way.
I’m just starting to doubt what prize I’m after now.
I excuse myself and go to the bar, ordering a double Scotch neat.
“Everything all right?” Piper asks, coming to stand beside me.
“Yeah,” I lie. Wondering how a self-proclaimed eternal bachelor went from craving his independence to wanting, no scratch that, needing to make a lifetime commitment to a woman who couldn’t stand being in the same room with him a week before.
You want her, my bear growls.
Yeah, I’ll admit it. I want her. To consume and possess. Energy snaps and sizzles in the air between us. Blistering heat that could make a man forget his motivations, his ambitions.
“Come here,” I growl, taking the champagne flute from her hand and putting it beside my glass, then wrapping an arm around her waist.
She lets out a shaky breath when my mouth is inches from hers. “More show?”
I grunt. “Maybe I just want to kiss you again.”
“Tha-that’s—” She swallows. “Probably not a good idea.”
“Why not?” I brush my lips against hers, just barely, enough to make her tremble in my arms.
“The rules,” she whimpers.
I flatten my palm on her lower back and
press her to me so that she can feel the hard length of my cock against her stomach.
“Kissing isn’t part of the rules,” I whisper roughly in her ear. “And I want to kiss every inch of your body.”
“Ben—”
“When’s the last time you had a real orgasm?”
Her palms go to my chest, and she leans back, eyes wide, and I know I’m probably pushing too hard.
“That’s none of your business.”
I chuckle. “You haven’t been with anyone since you’ve been in Bear Valley.”
“How do you know?”
“I’d have known.”
“You were watching me?”
I shrug, not wanting to admit to her or myself that I’ve had my eye on her since the first time I saw her. But then a man would have to be blind not to want a taste of Piper Bancroft. And here I was, her mate, and one stupid rule stood between taking what I really crave - her.
“You were,” she says, a smile on her cherry red lips. “That’s sweet.”
“Sweet? Oh, Piper, I’m not sweet.”
“No?” She bites the side of her lip, looking around the reception hall at the resort. I see her eyes dart over to the exit.
“Not sweet at all.” I lean in and whisper in her ear. “I’m filthy, Piper. Untamed.”
Her eyebrows raise. “Is that the bear in you talking or the man?”
I chuckle. “Both, wanna go upstairs and let me show you?”
She licks her lips. “The rules.”
“Right. The thing is, Piper, I want to be the Chief. That means I always play by the rules … but that doesn’t mean I can’t bend them.”
“Bend them how?” she whispers.
The man in me stirs for her, I want my mate against me, her warm body rocking against my own. I press my mouth to her ear, blowing hot air. A shiver runs across her, I feel it. She lets out a shaky breath, her palm pressed tight to my chest.
“I can kiss you, Piper. Everywhere. Lick you like you deserve. I can spread your legs and I can—”
She pulls back, her hand on my wrist. “Now, right now,” she says, dragging me from the room.
In the elevator, she presses floor six, and then I press her against the wall. I drag my hands over her body, her round ass and her perfect breasts. This proper suit she’s wearing has got to go. I need her naked, in our bed. Knees spread, pussy mine. Now.
I kiss her with abandon, my cock hard for her, and I pull her mouth closer to mine, my palm on the base of her neck, claiming her as more than my mate. Tonight she will be my lover.
My cock aches for her, but I am a man of my word. She doesn’t want to fuck - that’s fine, but God do I plan on making my mate come.
The elevator stops, and I pick Piper off the ground. Her arms wrap around me, her legs do too as we crash down the hall into our hotel room. I don’t care if other bears see. This woman in my arms is my mate, and I want the whole council to know.
In the room, I place her on the bed, then I reach for the buttons on her pants, sliding them off along with her heels. I tear open her blouse, the buttons popping as she whimpers with delight. She may be put together in the real world, but this isn’t the real world anymore. This is our hotel room, and no one is here but us. Now it’s time to show that I’m not a sweet little playboy who likes to fuck.
I’m a man who is ready to claim what is mine.
She’s in nothing but a lacy bra and a tiny thong, and I look her over, growling in pleasure. God, her skin is silky, her eyes bright with desire.
“What’s come over you?” she asks, panting as I ease off her panties, her knees in my hands, pulling them down.
“I’m more than you think, Piper Bancroft.”
“Looks like it.” Her eyes are on my thick cock, aching beneath my pants.
I growl, running my hand over my covered shaft. “I’d give it to you, Piper, but you have rules remember?”
She swallows hard, nodding, as I kneel before her pussy. “Right. Rules.”
“I wouldn't dream of asking you to break them, not when we’re just starting to get along.”
“Of course not,” she whimpers and I breath more air against her, this time on her sweet pussy lips, the ones that are nice and wet with want.
“I think you’ve gone too long without an orgasm, whether you’ll admit it or not,” I tell her, running my fingers over her slit as she wiggles beneath me. “A pussy doesn’t get this hot and bothered unless it is desperate. Is that what you are, Piper?”
“This is torture,” she moans as I lower my mouth to her pussy and lick her up and down.
I smile as I run my tongue over her swollen clit, sucking softly against her tender spot, knowing it’s driving her crazy. Her knees buckle against my body, but I use my elbows to lower them.
“Shhh, Piper,” I tease. “You have to follow my rules now. Knees down and relax. And come when I tell you to come.”
She sinks into the bed as I begin to tongue fuck her tight little pussy. She’s dripping for me, her warmth against my mouth, her sweet release a goddamn treat. She tastes like cherry pie, like whipped cream. I breathe in her sugary sweetness and lick her up and down as if I can’t get enough. And I can’t. I press a finger in her tightness, wanting to make her come for me, gush for me. I know Piper can do it, she’s a woman who can do fucking anything.
Her back arches as I begin to move my hand against her harder, kissing her thighs, licking her skin, fingering her as her hands clench the sheets, moaning, tits bouncing as she moves against my hand nice and easy.
I add another finger, wanting her to get a sense for what is to come. When I give her my cock, in a day or two, she’s not gonna know what hit her. I have a reputation for being a good fuck for a reason. My cock - it was made for pussy. It’s hard and thick, and big enough to make my mate forget that this is all supposed to be pretend.
She’ll take my cock and forget why she made rules in the first place.
“Come, Piper. It’s time to come,” I growl.
“Oh God, ooh Bennett, oh, ohhh,” she cries, her pussy pouring with desire, I lower my mouth, licking up her cream, my beard tickling her into submission all over again. Her body relaxes under me as a rush washes over her skin.
“I’m coming so … so … hard.” She pants for breath as I press my mouth tight against her clit, sucking her as she reaches the peak, falling over the edge.
My mate has nothing to worry about, I’ll be here, waiting to pick her up and carry her to the top of this mountain all over again.
Chapter 6
Piper
Letting Bennett kiss me was probably not one of my smartest choices, especially now as I lay in the large king-sized bed beside him, his body spread out, the early morning sun streaming through the window and casting a glow over every bulging muscle. Including the one between his legs.
Oh god, the man is delicious. And I want a taste. It’s only fair considering last night he tasted all of me. But then he’d gone into the bathroom and turned on the shower, and by the time he’d come back, I’d been fast asleep, exhausted from the day’s events.
But now, I’m wide awake, and the man beside me is a temptation I really don’t want to resist.
Fake boyfriend, my brain reminds me. Fake mate.
But there was nothing fake about the way he made me feel last night.
And that’s the problem. Because Bennett Koleman is a playboy, and he wants one thing from me - to play the game. Well, maybe two, because there was no denying the hard wedge of his cock pressed against me last night, or the lust I’d seen in his eyes.
Sexually, there’s no doubt we’re compatible. But where does that leave my heart when it’s time to end this charade. And it will end. It’s just a matter of time.
Two weeks until the election. Surely I can keep my hands off of him until then.
But damn, under the sheets I can see the morning wood he’s sporting, his size more than a little impressive, and I lick my lips thinking about what it would be
like to feel him inside of me. Every delectable inch.
I moan.
“Enjoying the view.” Bennett gives me a sleepy, but cocky grin as he stretches beside me.
“Yeah,” I admit on a sigh. “You’re not bad to look at.”
“You sure that’s all you want to do? Just look.”
I grunt. “The rules.”
“We established last night that the rules don’t include kissing.”
Except that I know if I let him touch me again my self-control will wither away completely. But that doesn’t mean I can’t touch him.
“I want...” I swallow, my core clenching, my desire building to see him - completely.
“What do you want, Piper?”
“I think it’s only fair that you saw me...kissed me...that I get to do the same.”
He groans.
“No touching,” I warn when he reaches for me. “Hands stay above your head.”
“Jesus, Piper,” he mutters, a pained sound, but he obeys.
I shift, pulling the blanket down, and getting a glimpse of his perfection. His cock is already granite, straining toward me, a drop of precum on the tip. And without touching him, I lean down and lick it away.
“Fuck,” he growls, and when he says my name there’s a warning in it, “Piper—”
I wrap my fingers around his hard shaft and it throbs in my hand, all his muscles straining and tensing. And when I take his length in my mouth, the noise he makes is feral, primal, and it gives me the confidence to take him deeper, cupping his balls, stroking my tongue across the tip, I suck him until I can feel his release ready to rupture.
“My god, woman, you’re trying to kill me.”
I pull back slightly, and lick the tip of his cock before saying with a smile, “You made me come now it’s time to return the favor.” I suck him again, and it’s only a few seconds before warm spurts of cum are sliding down my throat, and Bennett’s fingers are tangled in my hair, his body rigid with his release.
“Holy fucking shit,” he mutters, pulling me up toward him and kissing me hard. “I think I like these rules.”
I chuckle against his mouth. “Me too.” And I do, even though I know we’re walking dangerously close to the edge of something I don’t understand.
Untamed Fiance (Mountain Men of Bear Valley Book 4) Page 3
