“I love her,” I grumble like it’s some dirty secret.
Blaine laughs then and smacks me on the shoulder. “Now that’s a better fucking reason to marry her.”
Yeah, but I’m pretty sure Piper isn’t going to think so.
Chapter 10
Piper
“Wow,” I say, coming into the kitchen where Bennett is working on replacing the electrical for the bookstore. “This looks complicated.”
I’m glad he made good on his promise to help me here - it helps soften the sting of our fake engagement. Red and yellow wires twist around one another and Bennet’s focused on what he is doing. He wipes his palms on his jeans and stands, coming over to me and wrapping his arms around my waist. “Don’t worry about this mess, it’ll be worth it when it’s done. This electrical work is ancient.”
He runs his fingers over the small of my back, drawing me closer. “Damn, Piper you smell good.”
“My mom’s gone,” I say when he nuzzles my neck. “You don’t have to play it up.”
“Who says I’m playing?” he growls in my ear, sending a shiver of need racing through my body.
“You, when we made this deal.”
He grunts. “I’m starting to think we need to revise some of the rules.”
“Ben—”
His mouth is on mine, stopping my protests and turning my brain to mush so that I can’t remember why I want to push him away in the first place.
“How long is your mom gone for?”
“She’ll be gone all afternoon, but—” Air leaves me as I’m being scooped up, and carried upstairs two steps at a time. “You’re such a Neanderthal,” I say, smacking his chest, but loving the way I feel in his arms.
“Actually, I’m a bear, and I need my—” He tenses slightly, then says, “Three days of not being able to touch you is killing me.”
In my room, Bennett places me on the edge of the bed and then drops to his knees. I’d protest, but he’s shimmied up my skirt and pulled down my panties. I inhale sharply. I wasn’t expecting to have my body devoured today, though I certainly want it.
Bennett’s strong hands spread my knees, and he pulls my legs over his shoulders, growling playfully. I laugh, feeling both exposed and delighted. “Three days felt like an eternity,” I manage to say as he begins to lick my warm pussy. I whimper as his tongue runs along my entrance, teasing me, taunting me. Making me squirm.
“Sit still, fiancée,” he demands, raising his eyes to mine. “Wouldn’t want to have to give you a spanking for not following the rules.”
I bite the side of my lip, my hands gripping the blanket as Bennett returns to my pussy, his beard tickling my thighs as he begins to suck me nice and hard.
“Ohhh,” I moan, the pleasure within me mounting. He loves to get me going and right now, I am all his. A spanking from him sounds delicious, to be honest.
His mouth moves over me, his hands on my thighs, my hips, my ass. Every inch of skin he touches heats up, like my body is consumed by the fire he brings.
I feel myself pushing past my limits as he gets me off, I’m panting with want as he presses two fingers to my pussy, and I draw him to me, needing his cock inside my body, needing his strength to tower over me, to be under him and taken by him - to be his in every sense of the word.
“Fuck me, Bennett,” I moan as he pulls off my skirt, my shirt, my bra. He undresses quickly and my mouth waters as I take in his long thick cock so ready. Ready for me. It makes me feel beautiful and powerful and like I am his and his alone.
He rests his elbows on either side as my pussy begs for relief, he draws his thickness to my willing pussy, and I close my eyes, my chest heaving and my core ignited.
God I want him to make me come, to scream his name. And he does. He fills me up, hard and fast as I drag my hands over his bare back, feeling his hunger for me as he rocks against my body in a desperate, needy way.
I feel his bear, the one buried deep inside him as he takes me. It’s reckless, the way we roll around in the bed, a frenzied fuck that has me begging for more.
“OH hell Piper,” he groans as he thrusts his cock so deep inside me I scream in pleasure.
“Bennett, take me, yes, yes, oh God.” My words are incoherent and dizzy and so demanding. “Fuck me harder,” I insist and he does. He takes me further than I have ever been before, his cock penetrating me so completely that I forget to breathe until my climax peaks, until his hot come surges inside me. Until we finish, rolling apart, staring at the ceiling as we try to remember how to think. How to speak. How to be.
How to be in this … without getting too attached. I close my eyes, not trusting myself to say a thing.
I’m scared of the desire sweeping over me. It’s about more than the quickie. About more than the need to be filled by him.
It’s Bennett, as a man and as a lover.
I want what isn’t mine.
It’s the wanting that scares me the most. Even if Bennett wanted me as more than a fake-fiancée, am I ready to let a man into my heart in such a real and intimate way? The last thing I want is to be burned and broken by a man I’ve given my heart to.
Now, lying in Bennett’s arms, it feels so right, even though I know it’s wrong. There is no way I’m walking away from this man unscathed. Already, I can feel the tension building in him, his muscles tightening around me, his sigh heavy, when he shifts in bed to meet my gaze.
“Piper, we need to talk.”
And here it comes.
As much as it’s going to hurt - it’s better this way. To end things before we get too attached. Before I get too attached.
“I know what you’re going to say.” I try to move away from him, but he pulls me back.
“I don’t think you do.”
“Look. The sex is great.” Better than great, it’s the best I’ve ever had. “But we need to stop. It’s getting...confusing. I don’t know what’s a game and what’s—”
“I’m not playing a game, Piper.” His brows are drawn down, features tight. “Maybe it started out that way, but it’s not anymore. I really need to tell you something.”
“Then just tell me.”
“You’re going to be pissed.”
“What is it?” I roll my eyes and joke, “Let me guess, now we need to be married.”
He flinches, and I know I’m right.
I scoot off the bed. “Oh my God, Bennett, you’ve got to be kidding me?”
“That’s not what I was trying to tell you.”
“But it’s the truth? We need to actually tie the knot for you to be chief.”
“Yes. But if you let me explain, I think you’ll feel differently—”
“Nothing you can say will make me want to marry you.” A man who doesn’t love me, who’s only using me for his own agenda. Sure, I care about him more than I want to admit, but I can’t keep doing this.
There’s a flash of something that looks like hurt in his eyes. “Piper—”
“No.” I start pulling on my clothes. “This is too much. It has to stop. Being fake engaged is one thing, but to actually marry you, no freaking way. I’m sorry if you can’t become chief or whatever because of it, but maybe you’ll find your real mate and—”
“Piper.” He grabs my arm, turning me to look at him. “Just listen to me.” He scrubs his hands over his face. “Shit. This is such a mess.”
“No kidding.” I cross my arms, feeling tears burn my eyes, because I don’t want this to end, but it has to.
Men are complicated enough. And Bennett Koleman is even more so. I can’t be a pawn in his game - in no man’s game.
“Bennett?” someone yells from downstairs.
“Damnit,” Bennett mutters, grabbing his jeans and shoving his legs into them. “That’s Blaine.”
“Why aren’t you answering your cell?” Blaine growls when we come downstairs.
“Not a good time, brother.”
Blaine looks between us, gives me an apologetic nod, then says, “We’ve
got a problem. There were two grizzly sightings this morning up on the ridge. Two different bears.”
Bennett frowns. “I spoke with the alliance at the conference, there’s a peace treaty—”
“When have you ever known the grizzlies to follow the council’s rules? Gunner’s cabin was vandalized, and Kate thinks she saw something in the woods behind their house.”
“You think they’re after Finley again?”
The grizzlies have been after Bennett’s niece since the moment her mom, a grizzly, died giving birth to her. I know how protective they all are of the little girl.
“I don’t know. Gunner and Weston are already scouring the hills.”
“You should go,” I say.
Bennett frowns at me, and I see the struggle in his eyes. Finally he sighs and says to his brother, “All right. I’m coming. Just give me a second.”
Blaine nods before heading out the door.
“Be careful,” I say, remembering my conversation with Abby at the conference, her warning. “Your brothers are right to be concerned about the grizzlies. I think they’re planning something.”
Bennett huffs. “So now you’re an expert on bears?”
“No. But I know people.” I glare up at him. “They don’t want you to be chief, and maybe they’re right—” I stop mid-sentence when his gaze turns dark. I was just going to say that the position seemed dangerous, that even if he could get past not being married, that maybe it wasn’t worth it.
“You don’t believe I should be chief?”
“That’s not—”
“I get that you want this whole thing to be over, but I’m just asking you to...” His lips thin and his jaw clenches a few times before takes a step forward and places a hand on my shoulder. “Can we talk about this when I get back?”
“Yeah.” But I already know there’s nothing to talk about. I’m only his fake fiancée. Somewhere in this world, his mate is waiting.
Bennett Koleman isn’t mine, and even if I was desperate enough to marry the man, there’s someone else out there that he truly belongs to.
Chapter 11
Bennett
In the woods, I follow my brothers, my paws crunching in the freshly fallen snow as we scour the area. The scent of the other bears still lingers, but the pattern doesn’t make any sense. We’ve tracked it all over the hills, but it just continues to lead us in a damn circle.
At one of our family’s cabins, I shift back into human form and go inside, dressing and then starting a fire as my brothers do the same.
“Whatever they were up to they’re gone,” Gunner says, pulling a sweater over his head.
“Not likely,” Blaine grumbles.
“I agree with Blaine,” Weston says, crouching in front of the fire to warm his hands. “This was all a game.”
“Or a trap,” Blaine says, features tight.
“You think they’re after Finley again?” Gunner asks, dragging a hand over his beard.
“Fin and Kate are fine,” Wes says. “I just checked in on her. Plus I have the Callister’s scouting the area.”
There are a few muttered agreements and the way my brothers grow quiet I know they’re all having silent conversations with their mates.
Damn, but I want that with Piper.
As if reading my thoughts, Wes nudges me, “Is Piper all right?”
“Yeah, fine,” I say, standing.
More silence, until Blaine breaks it. “Shit, Bennett. Have you still not told her? How the hell do you explain reading her thoughts, and—”
I shake my head. “Not sure I even can.”
The other men’s brows raise.
“What?” I growl out.
Blaine shakes his head. “You’re walking on fine line is all. I know you never wanted a mate. Maybe you not telling her is your way of pushing her away.”
“You’re right,” I say. “I didn’t want a mate. Not sure I do now. But I know what I do want. Piper.”
Wes sighs. “Then you better tell her the truth before—”
“Shit.” An intense pain shoots through my head, making me buckle over and sweat bead on my forehead.
“What’s wrong?” Gunner is beside me.
I dig my palm into my temple, the ache so intense I feel nauseous.
Something is wrong.
Piper, my bear growls.
“She’s in trouble.” The words tear from my chest.
I don’t even realize I’ve shifted until I see my brothers’ expressions, and they’re backing away to give me space. It’s Wes who opens the door, allowing me the freedom to charge down the hill toward the bookstore.
Piper, I push into her thoughts. What’s wrong?
But I’m met with nothing, just silence.
Shit.
I run, ice and rocks slicing through my paws as I barrel down the hill.
As I race toward her call, my bear begs her to answer. I heard my mate call for me. And I won’t let her down. Not now, not ever.
Chapter 12
Piper
My head feels like it’s been split open, and my vision is blurry as I try to open my eyes. I don’t know what happened, only that one second I was stocking the bookstore shelves and the next I’m lying on the ground with the metallic taste of blood in my mouth.
I groan and try to sit up, but I realize that my hands have been tied behind my back.
The scream that starts in my throat is muffled by a large hand over my mouth.
“Keep your mouth shut, or I’ll shut it for you.” The man crouching in front of me has a ski mask over his face and his voice isn’t familiar.
“Wha-what do you want?”
With a bruising grip, he holds my jaw. “You. You’re coming with me.”
“Why?”
I can hear the smile in his voice as he pulls a syringe from his back pocket. “Leverage. You’re going to send your mate a little message for me, then we’re going to take a ride.”
Oh God.
He thinks I can communicate with Bennett through our thoughts. And of course he does, because we’ve convinced everyone that we’re mates.
“I-I ca-can’t.”
His grip tightens, and he flicks the cap off the needle. “You can and you will, or I’ll make this a lot more painful for you.”
“No, I can’t. Because...” Do I tell him the truth? If I don’t this man is going to take me, and there’ll be nothing I can do. I will be at his mercy. It kills me to say it, but I have to protect myself. “I’m...we’re...not mates. It was a lie.”
He jerks me toward him. “If this is some kind of trick—”
“It’s not. I promise. Bennett Koleman isn’t my mate. I can’t—”
Piper, a voice roars in my head. What’s wrong?
I feel the blood rush from my face, not understanding what’s happening, because I know in the deepest part of my soul that the voice belongs to Bennett. But I have no idea how he’s communicating with me now.
The man has released me and is pacing, his cell phone against his ear, and I barely hear the words he barks out, “She says she’s not his mate...I don’t fucking know...what do you want me to do?”
All I can focus on is Bennett’s voice as it continues to boom into my head, Dammit Piper, answer me. Tell me what’s going on.
How are you doing this? I push back, hoping he can hear me.
Silence stretches for a moment, then his voice is in my head again, you’re my mate.
His mate?
It’s not possible.
But it is, and I realize that he would have known the first time we kissed.
Lies and secrets have consumed this fake relationship and tears fill my eyes as I realize how much it might cost me.
Hurt and betrayal twists in my chest, because there’s only one reason he would have kept it from me, because he didn’t want it, doesn’t want me.
Piper, tell me what’s going on.
The immediate danger is the only thing that snaps me out of the self-pity party th
at wants to take hold of me.
There’s someone here. I glance up at the man who is barking into a phone, and I recognize something familiar about him. A tattoo on his forearm, the same one I’d seen many of the grizzlies with. He’s a grizzly. He said he has a message for you, that he plans on taking me.
I feel rather than hear Bennett’s panic.
“I don’t know if I believe you,” The man says harshly, shoving his phone in his pocket, crouching in front of me. “But if you’re lying, tell Bennett Koleman this. If he doesn’t want your blood on his hands, then he needs to withdraw his name.”
“He won’t—”
“You better hope he does, princess.” He holds the needle in front of my face, pressing slightly on the plunger so a small squirt of liquid comes out of the needle. “Because your life depends on it.”
Bennett, I cry out, fear wrapping around me like a blanket of ice.
I’m coming for you. Those words are the last I hear before a syringe is plunged into my arm, and my world becomes dark again.
Chapter 13
Bennett
“They have her,” I roar out, slamming my palms on the current chief’s desk. Adrenaline has been coursing through my blood since my mate was taken, I’m exhausted and need sleep - but I need to find Piper more. “They took my mate. They’re holding her hostage unless I pull my name out for chief.”
“Do you know who took her?” The older man, whose face is gaunt with age and illness asks, concern blazing in his blue eyes.
My brothers are behind me, and I can feel their own tension mixing with mine and the members of the council who have been called here. The room is full of men, and I know many of them are my enemy.
“Grizzlies,” I grit out.
“This is outrageous,” the leader of the grizzlies says, dark, beady eyes trained on me. “You have no proof—”
“My mate’s words.” I hold his gaze. “She told me it was a grizzly before...” Before I lost her. Two days and I haven’t been able to break through the darkness. I can feel her though, know she’s still alive. But it’s like wading through muddy water to reach into her mind.
Untamed Fiance (Mountain Men of Bear Valley Book 4) Page 6
