by Vonna Harper
“Can’t—” she started. What had she been going to say?
“Yes, you can!”
Distracted by Songan’s unexpected voice, she tried to look back at the elk shifter. Just then Ber hammered himself at and into her. Branded her. Even with him anchoring her, she slid about a little. If she continued to move like this, he might lose his tempo and desperate strength.
Before she could think what to do, something clamped down on her shoulders and held her in place.
Songan’s hands! Songan helping Ber fuck her!
She even more trapped and helpless.
Was that an earthquake, maybe a hurricane, perhaps a blizzard? No matter. She’d become a feather tossed about by nature’s strength.
No, not tossed. Barely moving now. A home for Ber’s cock. Receiving his gift. Every time the man threw himself at her, a little more sanity bled from her. Trusting Songan to keep her in place, she repeatedly clamped her inner muscles around the life pulsing inside her.
Pressure here. And here. Her nipples knotted, and the blood drained from her uplifted legs. Feeling foolish and wonderful. Sensation increased, screamed at her. Something both familiar and overwhelming hurried her to the edge.
“Oh God! God oh God!” Gripping her breasts, she held on to herself with all her strength.
Ber let go, flooding her. His cock jerked again inside her while his fingers ran hard and fast over her thighs.
The bear shifter grunted and then snarled. Rising up off his haunches, he took her with him. Filled her until she swore she could taste him.
A threatened cramp in her left calf distanced her from her own nearly there release. Ber was leaning away from her and allowing her heels to slide off his shoulders. He was done, no longer needed her. Had better things to do.
Before she could accuse him of being more animal than human, he planted a hand over her mons and pressed down, massaging her there at the same time. Rough yet magical fingers glided over her clit. They retreated, then returned. Toyed. Rotated.
Screaming her delight, she climaxed. Ber kept after her with his all-knowing hands. Under his tutelage, her body jolted, spasmed.
At length, when there was nothing left of her except the need to breathe, she struggled to face the overwhelming task of trying to put herself back together. Ber’s now diminished cock remained in her. Their sweat-sticky bodies had fused, and her fingers pressed against his thighs. Songan had taken hold of her breasts while she was otherwise occupied. Massaging them, the elk shifter kept the nipples hard.
She looked up at Songan, stared out at Ber.
“Don’t talk,” Ber told her. “Just be.”
Songan hadn’t thought he’d ever envy the bear shifter, but that was before he compared Ber’s limp cock with his own aching one. He’d been able to ignore his painful erection while Rane and Ber had had sex. Anchoring Rane in place had made him feel as if he was a participant, but no matter how much he’d loved studying her writhing body and hearing her cries, those things were only substitutes for the act itself.
“So fast,” Ber muttered from where he lay on his side. Rane too was still on the bed but sitting with her knees folded in front of her while she lightly touched her reddened sex. “I didn’t think I’d come that fast,” Ber admitted.
“It usually takes you longer?” Rane asked.
“There hasn’t been a usual for months.” Ber rubbed his hand over his face. “All that need built up.”
“And soon you’ll be hibernating?” Leaving off with what she’d been doing, Rane studied Ber. She seemed to have forgotten Songan’s presence.
“Maybe,” Ber answered. “Maybe not. I haven’t decided.”
Moments ago Songan had acknowledged his resentment because Ber and not he had been the first to mount Rane. Now envy reared its head, because the bear shifter could make a decision that had never been his. Like it or not, his existence was dictated by the elk half of his nature. These days the need to pack back on the weight he’d lost during rut nagged at him. The herd had headed for lower elevations. He should be with them.
No! He couldn’t.
“Songan, you’re quiet,” Rane whispered. “What do you want me to say? Do?”
Studying her, he remembered the hours and nights they’d spent together. He hadn’t taken those nights—and occasional days—for granted, and yet he’d always felt as if he’d been standing back a bit, not quite connecting with her.
He didn’t want it like that now.
Sliding off the bed, she came over to where he was leaning against a wall with his heavy cock trying to rip free of his body, making him wonder what she might say if she knew what he was thinking. The things he wanted to change about himself.
“You’re having trouble expressing yourself. Again.” Moving to the side and avoiding his cock, Rane rose onto her toes. She kissed his chin. “Maybe you’ll never have the words, but that’s all right. I’ll take you the way you are.”
A sigh compelled him to look past Rane at the bear shifter. Ber no longer looked as satiated as he had just moments ago.
“What is it?” Songan demanded. Too bad if it bothered Ber that Rane had a history with him.
Frowning, Ber stood and looked toward the window. “I’m not sure.”
“You hear something?” Rane asked.
Ber’s frown deepened. “I’m not sure.”
“It’s probably the wind,” Rane said. “It’s pretty intense.”
“Maybe.”
Propelled by Ber’s expression, Songan turned his ear to the wall. The wind sang to him, and he heard occasional raindrops. Dismissing the other shifter’s concern, he wrapped his arms around Rane and turned her so his erection prodded her naked belly.
“Words don’t matter to us,” he told her. “We have other ways of communicating.”
“Yes, we do.”
She sounded what, disappointed? He ran his hand down her right arm until he reached her hand. His first thought was that he wanted her to take hold of his cock and acknowledge it even more. Instead, he wound up drawing her arm behind her and pressing it against the small of her back much as Ber had done.
“You like to do that, don’t you,” she said, amusement and something else in her tone. “Exerting control over me.”
“You’ve never complained.” Had she?
“No, I haven’t.” Arching her back, she looked up at him so her breasts grazed the base of his chest. “You can’t force a cow elk to do something she isn’t ready for. Try and you risk getting kicked where no male of any species wants to be kicked. Getting yours during that brief window of opportunity is a hell of a lot of work. Frustrating too.”
He didn’t care what she was talking about but wouldn’t tell her, yet.
“So,” she said, “it leads to this.” She halfheartedly struggled to free herself. “Where are we going with this today, Songan? What do you want from me?”
Before he could point out the obvious, a twitch at the corner of her mouth told him she was teasing.
“Sorry.” Tilting her head, she raked her teeth over his collarbone. “I know you don’t always get my sense of humor, but I had to say that. Confession time, big man. Right now I feel more than a little as if I’ve been hung out to dry. Wiped out. It might take me a few minutes to get back on track.”
Rane had a habit of using figures of speech he didn’t fully understand. Fortunately, many times they had no need to talk. Drawing her captured arm in front of her, he pushed her back toward the middle of the room while still holding on to her wrist. Just like that, she no longer looked as if she found what was happening amusing.
“I know you pretty damn well,” he said. “Maybe more than you realize.”
Eyes smoking, she ran her tongue over her upper lip. “Is that so?”
“Yeah. Needing sex has a way of sneaking up and biting you. You want people to think you’re collected and professional, but beneath the surface, you’re as much an animal as I am.”
Lowering her lids so he coul
d barely see her eyes, she grunted. “Just because I have a healthy sexual appetite doesn’t mean—”
“Yes, it does.”
Not waiting for her response, he hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her to the bed. Instead of planting her in the middle of it as Ber had done, he lowered her so her buttocks were barely on the mattress and her feet on the floor. When he let go of her, she tried to balance herself by grabbing hold of him.
“No.” He pushed her arms aside, then planted a hand between her breasts and shoved. She fell back onto the bed, angling her body to the side so she could look at him.
With a this is how I do it look at Ber, he folded his arms over his chest. Nudging her legs apart, he settled himself into the space he’d created. Bending his knee, he placed it against her sex.
“Who’s the animal here, Rane?”
“You tell me,” she said.
Chapter Seventeen
Studying her, Songan increased the pressure a little. Her mouth sagged open. Amused and even more turned on, he watched as she pressed her heels against the floor and pushed, trying to increase the distance between them. All that accomplished was to bunch the bedspread under her back and buttocks. She dug her fingers into the fabric and tugged, but as far as he could see, that did nothing to straighten it under her. Then, as he knew would happen, he came to the end of his patience.
Wanting her to anticipate, he held up a hand while staring at her sex.
“Think you’re pretty damn sure of yourself, don’t you?” she challenged.
“More determined than sure, not that you mind.”
Lowering his hand, he swiped two fingers over her pussy. Shuddering, she curled her body into itself a little more.
After dampening his fingers in her juices and what Ber had left in her, he coated his cock. Standing, he was too far above her for sex. Still, he loved the sight of her helplessly waiting for him. Waiting and maybe wanting as much as he did.
Maybe?
Jaw clenched, he turned his attention to Ber. The shifter had left his discharge inside Rane and satisfied her. Not needing him.
No! Rane had always wanted him.
Reassured, he rewetted his fingers and deposited the mix of come and her sex juices on his erection. Lifting her ass off the bed in what he had no doubt was invitation, Rane stared at him.
Bull elks sometimes fought each other for control of a harem. He couldn’t fight Ber today, not while they were in human form, but he could take the woman they shared and make her scream.
Glad Ber was watching, he eased a finger into Rane’s opening. She’d started to lower herself back onto the bed, but the invasion had her rising up again. Her sweet sex smell filled his nostrils. Judging by his expression, Songan had no doubt the bear shifter was inhaling the same scent.
Ber took a step that brought him within two feet of the head of the bed, then stopped. Keeping his finger in Rane, Songan met the other man’s stare. No words passed between them. Maybe Rane wasn’t aware of what was going on.
I’m watching, Ber’s expression said. Just watching, same as you did when it was my turn.
“I understand. She brings out the animal in both of us.”
“Songan?”
Rane’s sex muscles closed down around his finger, effectively ending the connection between him and Ber. Still, he no longer thought of the other man as competition. The enemy.
He wasn’t sure whether he ever had.
“I’m here,” he told Rane. He waited for her muscles to relax before pulling out, but only so he could place his middle finger next to the first and spread her even more. His cock throbbed and his balls ached. Damnation but waiting was going to kill him!
“I’m here,” he repeated. “Doing what you love having done.” Turning his hand so his palm faced up, he reached for the spot that, when stroked, made her crazy. Placing his thumb against her groin, he pressed.
“Shit!” Planting her elbows against the mattress, she lifted herself off it. Her pelvis tipped as if offering itself to him.
Another wave of sex-scent tore through him. Groaning, he clamped his free hand around his cock. Glorious agony blurred his vision. Determined to distract himself from the pressure so he wouldn’t come right here and now, he ran a third finger into Rane’s channel. Watching her twist about while sweat coated her throat, he let loose with a bugling sound.
“Don’t change!” she gasped. “Damn it, don’t!”
“Too late.”
Barely recognizing his voice, he commanded the fingers within her to rest. That done, he forced himself to concentrate on the world beyond the cabin. Snow had started to fall, a few fat lazy flakes sliding down the window. What had taken place and was about to happen in here was separate from reality, a kind of collective madness. Acknowledging he could think like that surprised and pleased him, but now wasn’t the time to share his insight.
Ber. Yes, he was part of this.
Standing on the edge of control, Songan concentrated on finger-fucking Rane. His fingers glided back and forth, never completely leaving her and hopefully suspending her in doubt. He rocked a little, which made his balls bounce, adding even more tension to wonderful pleasure. A sideways glance told him the bear shifter’s erection was returning.
“Damn it, Songan, you’re driving me out of my mind.” Rane reached for his arm but missed.
“Am I?” he teased.
Nostrils flared, she started to pant. Despite the throbbing weight of his cock, he studied her reaction to his renewed assault on her pussy. Rane would never be helpless. She was too liberated and self-assured for that, yet at times like this, she had no choice but to surrender to her body’s sexual demands. Studying her expression for the battle he believed he’d find raging inside her, he was surprised to see only joy. Helpless joy.
“Pretty much love this, don’t you?” He made his point by lifting his hand and bringing her pelvis up with him. A moment later he released the tension. He rubbed his forefinger over the top of her channel and was rewarded with a breathless squeal.
“What was that you said?” he demanded. “What was that agreement?”
Going by her contorted features, he surmised she was loath to admit anything. Much as he’d love forcing the admission from her, the top of his head was about to explode.
Dropping to his knees, he turned slightly so he could keep his fingers inside her. Her gaze followed him, yet he knew she was lost. Full of anticipation. Nipples looking like rocks and her sex lips red, swollen and wet.
Intent on economy of movement now, he drew his fingers out of her and wiped her juices and Ber’s come on her belly.
“You’re a river.” He aimed his cock at her gaping opening.
“Do it!” She sounded as if she was drowning. “Just do it.”
He did. Despite its size, he believed his cock had been created to fit inside her. The biting tension that had driven him half out of his mind eased as her hot, wet tissues stroked his length.
“Thank you,” she muttered.
“No, thank you.”
He thought she might have said something else but didn’t care enough to ask her to repeat herself. Casting aside the question of whether she preferred his cock to Ber’s—he hoped she was above making comparisons—he took hold of her hips and guided her to the edge of the bed. With the world outside darkening, he entered a world of shadow.
Nothing existed beyond this small place. Rane’s mind had been stripped clear. She cared for nothing except pleasing and being pleased.
Still holding onto her, he looked into her eyes. They were at half mast, void of everything except the need for sex. Sex with him.
Fucking Rane would never become ordinary. Neither was it an instinctive act designed to insure that a species would continue to exist. He wasn’t sure he loved Rane, not because of anything in her, but perhaps he hadn’t been designed for the emotion. Still, these moments weren’t only about spilling his seed inside her. There was also pleasuring her, hearing her cry out.
Bonding.
Strength flowed through his muscles and veins, yet he held back from climaxing as he rocked back and then forward, plowing into her. His balls slapped against her. Trembling from the jolt, he forced himself to retreat a little. Not waiting for his body to calm, he came at her again, maybe harder this time, certainly faster. His ass cheeks jiggled.
“Oh Jesus, Songan. Jesus!”
He tried to bring her features into focus, but the cabin was getting darker by the moment. No way could they find what she’d come to Wolverine for today. Better she stay in here. With him. With Ber.
Something hot and electric pressed against the base of his spine. Determined to ride the sensation, he thrust into Rane.
“Yes! God, yes.”
She wanted this. Needed.
A sound like drums pulsed inside his head. Embracing the cadence, he repeatedly powered himself against her. Running his hands under her buttocks, he again lifted them off the mattress. Her fingers trailed over his forearms.
It didn’t matter that he’d spent the last few weeks breeding. Today he was a man. A man having sex with the only woman who accepted him for what he was.
The bedsprings groaned. Ber was climbing onto the bed.
Unwilling and unable to slow let alone stop, Songan continued tunneling into Rane. Inches away, the bear shifter knelt beside her head, facing Rane. His cock jutted alive and full from his solid body, inches from her face.
He could touch Ber’s cock. He’d have to stop fucking to do so, but maybe it was worth it. They had, after all, shared things he never had with another man.
No, not now. Maybe after he’d flooded Rane’s channel and his terrible need had ended.
She lay on her back, her cheeks flushed, and her belly sucking in and out with each hurried breath. In contrast, a mix of peace, power and potential dominated her expression. Her total existence was locked on him. He’d become her reason for living, her escape from what had brought her here.
Wanting to deepen her escape, he struggled to slow down. That accomplished, he ran his fingers over her thighs, ribs and belly. She made a mewling sound that resonated throughout him.
