by Vonna Harper
These mountains had once been part of her world, but they no longer were. She had to remind herself of that, somehow.
But later. When her body no longer cried out for him.
She’d intended to beg for his help in finding out who had murdered her mother, not beg him for sex. As early as this morning, she’d believed, or told herself she believed, that her need for justice would see her through seeing Songan but not wanting to fuck him.
What a damnable liar she’d been.
Feeling as if she was drowning and flying at the same time, she yanked her flannel shirt hem out of her jeans waistband. Her fingers jabbed at the buttons, and she fumbled repeatedly before she managed to free all of them. An insistent inner voice cried hurry, hurry, hurry as she attacked her jeans fastening. To hell with that broken nail. She’d never cared about how her hands looked anyway.
Grabbing her shirt, Songan pulled it as far off her shoulders as he could, given her determination to get out of her jeans.
She felt no need to speak. Action said everything. Obviously Songan felt the same, because the moment she’d finished her task, he spun her away from him. Not asking permission, he tore off her top and hauled her jeans down over her hips.
Despite the hindrance, she crouched and clawed at her boots’ lacing. Songan unhooked her bra and started to pull it off her, causing her to stumble. Muttering something unintelligible, he gave her his legs to brace against. Once she’d succeeded in loosening the boots, she lifted a foot and tried to shake off her footwear.
Something moved in the nearby woods. Tense, she clutched Songan’s arm with both hands. With the veins at her temples pulsing, her ability to hear was compromised, but her sight was still sharp, wasn’t it? A little more time and she’d know who or what was out there.
“What?” Songan muttered.
“I’m not sure. Something.”
Chapter Three
Motionless, Songan looked in the same direction she was. The clouds were still darkening, but that wasn’t the only reason she was having trouble making out details. Being around Songan had always made her stupid. Stupid and horny. Maybe dangerously so today.
He tensed and let out a long, slow breath. Then he inhaled, and she guessed he was searching for telling smells. She tried to do the same, but Songan’s earthy scent was so strong.
“Bear,” he whispered.
Of course. Now that Songan had pointed out the obvious, she made out the large, dusky form among the equally dark tree trunks. The creature was down on all fours with his head high and nose up, looking at them.
“He didn’t leave.” She winced at having voiced something so obvious. Then because it was driving her crazy dangling from her shoulders, and certainly the creature didn’t care, she finished pulling off her bra. If this turned into a footrace, she didn’t stand a chance.
What was she thinking? Songan would protect her.
Except he was now in human form, naked and unarmed.
“My rifle.” She tried to determine how far away it was, but Songan’s form was in the way.
“You won’t need it.”
A shiver that might or might not be a reaction to the wind struck her. Still studying the bear, Songan drew her against his warm, strong chest. “You can’t know that,” she told him.
“He’s content to watch.”
Her lips went numb. “Watch?”
“Us having sex.”
The world suddenly became even less comprehensible than it had the day she’d learned her mother was missing, but as much as she needed Songan to explain how he could be so sure about the bear, she knew better than to ask because he understood the other creatures that called the forest home.
“We’re going to fuck,” he said. “Now.”
He was right. Until mutual need had been fed, nothing else mattered, not even justice for her mother. Thinking to hide her wanton response, she started to sigh, then swallowed the lying sound. Songan knew her too well for anything except honesty on her part. Her leaving hadn’t changed that.
Besides, Songan knew her body as intimately as she did, maybe more.
“Watch, then,” she silently told the distant bear. “You’ll do what you want, same as us.”
Relegating the grizzly to a quiet part of her mind, she watched and waited and trembled as Songan crouched and placed her left boot on his thigh. Running her fingers into his tangled hair, she balanced herself. He wasted no time pulling off her footwear, followed by her jeans, but left her practical panties untouched.
Palms together, Songan slid his hands between her thighs. Believing he intended to head for her pussy, she closed her eyes and held her breath. Her heart raced. His hands didn’t move.
“Songan?”
“I’m still elk.” The words came out low and rushed. “In rut. Don’t forget that.”
“I won’t.” Could she fully comprehend what that meant?
“I have needs.”
Leaning into him, she rubbed her breasts against his face. Her nipples were already hard, but they tightened even more, almost painfully so. Seeking both distraction and a way of responding to what he’d just said, she hooked her thumbs over the elastic in her panties and began a downward journey. Much as she wanted to go slow, she couldn’t. When her buttocks were exposed, she was forced to stop because his hands were in the way. Trusting him to finish what she’d begun, she straightened. As she did, she admired the strength in his legs that allowed him to crouch for so long.
Leaving the garment he must know she had no use for in place, he exhaled. His breath floated over her naked belly. Eyes unfocused and breathing ragged, she followed the warmth into her pubic hair and between her legs.
“Foreplay?” she managed. “I like. Oh damn, I like.”
He leaned into her and raked her belly much as she’d done to his neck earlier. Swaying, she clamped her fingers over his shoulders. The moment she did, she realized she’d set the stage for what she knew was going to happen next. Foreplay was for civilized men and women, not a half man/half elk and a wild woman who had spent much of her life outdoors.
Songan surged to his feet, lifting her and heaving her over his shoulder as he did.
“What the—” she started.
“Putting distance between us and the dead elk.”
Lost in conflicting thoughts, she waited as Songan walked them away from the body. “Thank you,” she said at length.
“Don’t talk.” He slapped her bare ass.
“Hey, that hurts.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Planting her hands against his back to brace her upper body, she lifted her head and looked around. There the bear was, a large shadow barely distinguishable from other shadows and thinking thoughts she couldn’t comprehend.
Thoughts? Yes.
Songan stood with one arm looped around her middle. The other stroked her buttocks. No way could she call his touch anything except firm, hard almost. The pressure ate into her, going steadily deeper, claiming her. Caught in sensation, she let her head drop and pulled his scent deep into her. Running her nails over his back, she noted his spine, ribs and muscle.
When he slid his hand between her legs and ran a finger along her wet, hot sex, a mewling sound rolled out of her. Her breasts slid over his shoulder blades, prompting her to rear away and then fall back down, twisting her upper body as she did so her nipples stroked his flesh. There. Let him try to ignore that.
Perhaps he knew what she had in mind but was determined to stay in charge when he made a return trip to her pussy. This intimate exploration lasted longer and went deeper.
“Damn you.” Why did she have to sound so delighted?
“No talking. The only thing you need to do is experience.” With that, he lightly thumped her clit.
A hot wave rolled through her. With it came surrender. Everything else could wait, even vengeance and justice. What did she care whether the clouds continued to gather, at whose hands the young elk had met its death, why the bear was sti
ll around? The world beyond her body didn’t exist.
“My head—the blood’s rushing to it.”
“I like you this way.”
What way? Before she could pull the words together, he rolled her clit. She moaned like a bitch in heat. He liked her helpless and undone, down on his animal level, which was one of the reasons she’d convinced herself she needed to break free. Her pussy wept, and her nails left thin white lines on his flesh. Her panties were still around her thighs, holding her legs together and digging into her. Pleasure mixed with pain, confusing her and taking her even farther from reality. Her world blurred and swirled, colors melting into something indescribable. She was dizzy and half sick, helpless and lost.
Moaning and mewling, she fought the iron grip around her waist. Her nails plowed deeper, and she tried to kick him but was forced to stop thanks to the nylon around her thighs. He didn’t give up, damn him, continued his wonderfully wild assault.
“Damn, damn, damn,” she chanted. The next time he stroked her opening, she tried to pull him into her.
“Not yet.” He punctuated his order by trapping her clit under a rough, slick forefinger.
“Knock it off! Songan, this isn’t funny.”
“I’m not laughing. Neither are you.”
Shifting her higher on his shoulder, he gave up his claim on her clit and turned his full attention to her sopping channel. Over and over he fucked her with a thick finger. The sucking sound both embarrassed her and brought her even closer to the jagged cliff.
She didn’t want to reach the edge this fast! At the same time, she could hardly wait to catapult out into space.
“I shouldn’t—damn you, I shouldn’t…”
“Shouldn’t have come looking for me,” he finished. “Maybe, but it’s too late.”
Too late, all right. The point of no return was so far behind she was no longer sure it ever existed. Done in, she stopped fighting. Her spent and ready body sagged, and she tried to time her breathing with his finger’s long, slow invasion and retreat. She dimly comprehended that he knew how close she was to climaxing and was deliberately holding her back. Much as his power unnerved her, she gloried in it.
Songan knew her in ways no other man ever could. He’d awakened her virginal body, and together they’d explored the height and breadth of what sex could be.
And today he was using his knowledge against her.
For her.
“Songan, please. I’m going to be sick.” Had she really meant to say that?
On the heels of a sound she couldn’t comprehend, he leaned forward, and she slid off his shoulder. Her ribs and belly ached from bearing her weight while all but upside down. Her stomach was a little queasy all right, but that was inconsequential in the wake of the molten, melting sensation throughout her.
Looking down at her with a wary expression and wide-legged stance that seemed to be daring her to try to make a break for it, Songan folded his arms across his chest. Strange how she could both dismiss his nudity and be possessed by it at the same time.
“What is it?” she asked as she ran her less than steady fingers over the nylon roping her legs. “You think I’m going to run?”
He didn’t answer, but his gaze remained steady and alert on her. “I would,” she admitted. Pull her briefs back into place or rip them off? The choice she made would determine today’s direction. More than that, this single decision could impact the rest of her life.
“But I won’t,” she admitted.
“You know how I am.” Unfolding his arms, he held up a glistening finger. “Nothing subtle about that.”
Another woman might be embarrassed, but their relationship went too deep. She indicated the erect male flesh aimed at her. “You’re right, nothing subtle.” Feeling disconnected from her body, she stepped into his space and placed a hand over his cock. Blood pulsed against her palm, and her mouth filled with saliva. “That’s what’s in charge.” She stroked him. “For both of us.”
When he gave her a puzzled look, she said, “Every time your cock speaks, you heed it. If I so much as see a bulge under your jeans, I have to have you.”
The skin under her fingers was like silk. Beneath that lay strength and the essence of what made him a man. No matter how many times he’d filled her over the years, she always lost her mind. Her body. Sex between them tore her apart and glued her together. And climaxing—oh God, that was like dying and being reborn in the same breath.
Trembling, she ran her hand around his cock. At the same time, she tugged one-handed on her panties and brought them down to her knees. Several shakes of her lower body had them down around her ankles. Still holding on to Songan, she stepped free.
Placing his hands under her breasts, he slid his big, workman’s fingers around and down them so his thumbs and forefingers gripped her taut nipples. The unspoken message was clear. No matter what happened today, he was in control.
“What now?” She hoped she sounded lighthearted. “Standoff?”
“I don’t think so.”
A sudden shockwave in her breasts brought her onto her toes. What she could see of her nipples was turning white. Distracted, she let go of his cock.
“Hands behind you,” he said.
They’d done this before. Rough was nothing new. Unless she protested, which she almost never did, he took her hard. Hard and mind-stripping. Off-the-chart explosions.
He’d backed the pressure off a little, but her nipples were getting numb. No way could she get free if he didn’t want her to. Despite the months since they’d last done this, she knew what was going to happen. He’d order her down on her knees. She’d obey, not because she was afraid but because she wasn’t the feminist the world believed she was. In her heart of hearts, she wasn’t so different from the female elk he and his fellow shifters forcefully mounted each fall.
“You know how it’s going to be.” His every word was clipped. “How I want you.”
Staring down at her trapped breasts, she spoke through clenched teeth. “Yeah. Like I’m an animal.”
She’d said what she had in an attempt to reach the compassionate and caring man who sometimes emerged from the beast, but when he gave no indication he’d heard, let alone cared, she leaned away so her breasts stretched out. A burning sensation ripped through her; then suddenly she was free. Newly restored circulation made her nipples pulse, and she lightly rubbed them. Songan watched.
“Tell me something,” she said. “Have you had sex with any women since the last time between us?”
“No.”
No? Thank you. She nearly shook her head at the double standard she’d set up. Yes, she’d been celibate since her last visit, but she could hardly expect that of him. It wasn’t as if they’d promised themselves to each other. Still, knowing he’d mounted only female elk helped. Instead of telling him that, she looked around for a spot where the grass was particularly dense. Getting in position should be simple, right? Her pussy throbbed in anticipation, and her legs were losing strength by the moment. But—
A chuffing sound shattered her disjointed thoughts. The bear. “Make him leave! Who or whatever he is, I want him gone.”
“Who?”
“Maybe I don’t know what I’m saying, but there’s something about him.”
“What is it?”
Facing Songan was easier than acknowledging the grizzly right now. The creature’s behavior unnerved her more than she wanted to admit. “I don’t want him here.”
It doesn’t matter.
Shocked by the words inside her head, she pressed herself against Songan and wrapped her arms around him. His cock served as a reminder of what had nearly happened and what she still needed from him with every fiber in her.
“Did you hear that?” she asked. “You—you didn’t just say something did you?”
Songan’s arms against her shoulders and back felt like life. “What something?”
“I heard—I thought I heard someone say, ‘It doesn’t matter.’ I…ah…I’
d just said I didn’t want the bear here.”
Songan hadn’t changed his mind about fucking. As long as their bodies spoke to each other this way, sex was going to happen. She’d become one with him.
Gathering her courage, she turned from Songan until she glimpsed the bear out of the corner of her eye. She couldn’t be sure but thought he was closer than earlier, and yet there wasn’t anything aggressive about his stance. He was part of his surroundings, simple as that. Waiting. Watching.
“What do you want?” she asked the bear.
Chapter Four
The beast didn’t answer. She heard no response in her head. Despite that, she had the unnerving sense that the bear was trying to communicate with her.
“I want to leave,” she told Songan.
“I don’t.”
“Oh? And if that thing attacks, you’ll throw me at it? Protect yourself?”
“That won’t happen.”
“How can you be sure?”
“How?” Songan pushed her back so she had no choice but to look into his eyes. “I’m as much of an animal as it is.”
She couldn’t argue with that. Hell, she couldn’t do anything except press herself against his cock.
“Down,” Songan commanded her. “Now.”
Feeling disconnected from everything—including their silent audience—except for Songan, she sank to her knees. Her hands and cheek slid over the elk shifter’s athletic form as she did, and once she was in place, she parted her lips and brushed them over his cock. His taste and texture flooded her. Moaning, she wrapped her arms around his legs. “I’ve waited so long. Wanted this so much.”
“Rane, now.”
Just like her, Songan was trembling. She didn’t think he had since they were teenagers. Did that mean she’d weakened this man who ruled the forest when he was in elk form? Admitting vulnerability was beyond him, not that she’d try to force the words from him, and yet seeing the mortal beneath the potent exterior made her fall in love with him.
Just for now, she told herself. Only until we’ve had sex.
