“Oh,” I breathed, unable to process the raw carnality of that move. I stared at him, wide-eyed, as he dipped a finger into my pussy again, and then licked it once more.
Then, that intense blue gaze moved back to my face. “Can I taste all of you?”
I trembled at that. Nodded.
He shifted and slid down my naked body, moving lower. His face moved between my thighs, and I heard him suck in a deep breath. “You smell like both of us. I like that.”
And then his hands pulled my legs apart, and he pressed his mouth to my pussy.
I cried out, fists clenching at my sides.
He jerked away as if scalded. His anxious gaze met mine. “‘Lina? Too much?”
“No,” I sobbed, and my hand went to the top of his head and I shoved him back down again. “It’s good. Keep going!” God, I didn’t want him to stop. That had been the best thing I’d ever felt.
“Jesus, you scared me, screaming like that.”
“I’ll be quiet,” I told him, and obligingly bit down on one knuckle. If I had to be quiet to get him to put his tongue there again, I’d shut up even if it killed me.
He bent over me again, pushing my thighs over his shoulders until they were cradling his head, and he knelt between my legs. I watched, fascinated and trembling, as his mouth descended onto my pale blonde curls again, and then I felt his tongue slick between the lips of my pussy again.
And then it swiped over my clit.
My entire body jumped, and I groaned, biting down on my knuckle. Must be quiet. Must be quiet.
“Ah, damn, that’s so good,” he murmured, and I felt his tongue flick over my folds again. “I can’t get enough of you.” His mouth pressed to the top of my pussy, and I felt his tongue push against my clit, rolling it against his teeth like he had my nipples.
I bit down harder on my knuckle, keeping back the cries that threatened to spill out again. My thighs trembled in response, my body alive and aching with desire at his touches.
He continued to tongue at my clit, fascinated at playing with the small bud of flesh and the way I jumped in response. I felt his thumb press against my core, and then he began to move it in and out, even as his tongue rolled against my clit in teasing circles.
I bit so hard that the coppery tang of blood filled my mouth. My cheeks were moving like bellows as I struggled to breathe and retain control, but I was slipping close to the edge. I didn’t want to, though; I didn’t want him to stop.
It felt way too good for him to ever stop.
His hand reached up and dragged my hand out of my mouth. “Don’t hurt yourself, ‘Lina. If you need to cry out, I want to hear it.” And then his mouth descended again.
I screamed as the orgasm shattered through me again, as hard and violent as the one I’d had just a short time ago. As the pleasure spiraled through me, my thighs clenched against his shoulders, and I could feel my pussy clamping down on his thumb, trying desperately to milk it.
Then, I was left panting, the ache between my legs intensifying. I’d had an orgasm, but the heat demanded more. “Leif—“
That was all I needed to say. Leif surged forward, covering me again, and my legs remained trapped over his shoulders, my calves resting there as he leaned forward, pushing deep into me again, my body bowed like a V under him, my legs in the air.
I cried out again at the feel of him, seated deep inside me.
“Tell me if I’m hurting you,” Leif growled, and the feral edge was back in his throat. Oh, that just made me all the more aroused.
I bucked my hips in response. “More, damn you. More.”
He groaned, and then began to pump furiously into me, pushing forward. I was trapped under him, my legs in the air as he fucked me. There was no tenderness or carefulness with this second round; it was pure need and adrenaline. I screamed my pleasure every time he thrust deep, and with the angle we were at, he was so deep inside me that I felt impaled against him.
I’d never felt anything better. I clawed at the floors, the blankets, trying to find a way to anchor myself against his wild, frantic pumping that was driving me across the flooring. God, I loved it.
Then I was coming again, the force of it hitting me like a freight train. I screamed once more, the pleasure shooting through me like stars in the midnight sky, bursts of light flooding behind my eyes. Every muscle in my body responded, clenching and tensing as I came, and Leif’s movements grew more savage as he worked fiercely toward his own orgasm.
And then he came with a roar of my name that had been almost as loud as my own scream. I felt the flood of his come inside me once more and then he stilled, my hips pinned to his as he filled me.
This time, I didn’t miss the flash of possessiveness in his blue eyes. Were all males like this when they claimed a mate?
He groaned as he came down from his own orgasm, and slowly let my legs down before sliding down to rest his weight atop of me. He burrowed against my neck, and I felt his mouth lick at the mate mark he’d left on my skin, as if renewing his claim.
I clung to him, exhausted and pleased. “Thank you,” I murmured against his skin.
A soft chuckle escaped his throat. “Why are you thanking me?”
“Because that was…really good,” I said, feeling a bit shy. How could I possibly describe to him I think a supernova burst behind my eyes, I came so hard?
He lifted his head and grinned down at me, then pulled my hand to him, studying where I’d bit down and broken the skin. Then, he gave me a reproachful look. “You’re noisy when you come.”
“Excuse me,” I huffed. “I wasn’t exactly paying attention to what kind of noises I was making.”
Leif grinned. “I don’t mind. I’m just thinking the penguins are probably scared.”
I smacked his shoulder. “That’s not funny.”
He only kissed the marks on my fingers, but he was smiling his pleasure.
We had sex at least five more times that day, though after a while, the sessions began to run together. The heat was relentless. Every time I thought I couldn’t take any more, that familiar itching need would return and I’d touch Leif to let him know I needed more. He was always ready for another round. He couldn’t get enough of me either, and I liked that, liked the possessive flash in his eyes when I screamed out his name at my climax.
Eventually, we fell into an exhausted slumber that even the heat couldn’t disturb, and when I woke up the next morning, the fire in the fireplace was out, snow had risen to the ceiling in the small corner of the cabin where the roof had caved in, and the floor was freezing cold.
I was also sore in every muscle, and feeling a bit raw and abused between my legs.
But happy. I was so, so happy. So content.
Things had worked out beautifully. I had Leif, I’d had my heat, and inside me, our child was growing. I’d gone from having nothing overnight to having everything.
It snowed and stormed for three days straight. That suited me just fine, because it meant we were trapped in our cabin together. We had food in the form of protein bars, some firewood, and mostly we just snuggled under the blankets and let our shifter metabolism do the hard work of keeping us warm. When nights got too cold, we shifted into bear form and cuddled together. Every time Leif shifted, I was a little afraid that he’d up and leave, letting the animal take over his brain again. But he’d only nose me and protectively herd me into the warmest corner of the rickety cabin, and then curl up next to me.
It was as if we’d truly mated.
The days in the cabin were my favorites, of course. In human form, we’d frolic in bed, explore each other for hours, and just talk. I tried to fill Leif in on everything that had gone on for the past sixteen years, from advances in the internet to politics to which bear shifters recently married and had children. As I talked, Leif borrowed my knife and carved small things in wood, keeping his hands busy. I’d watch, fascinated, as the curve of a woman’s hip came to life under the blade, and I wanted to keep all the carvings he
made. They were all beautiful. But Leif would only laugh, claim that he was rusty, and toss them into the fire.
I managed to rescue a small wooden statue of a woman with a baby on her hip when he went out into the storm to relieve himself, and my heart warmed to see the woman had a nose piercing.
No way was I letting him burn that.
I was sad when, on the fourth day of our idyll in the cabin, I woke up to see the sunlight leaking in through the hole in the far corner of the roof. That meant the storm was gone and we could leave our cozy nest.
“I’m kind of sad to see the sun,” I told Leif from under the sleeping bag, my hands moving over his warm, delicious skin.
He grinned at me, and kissed my mouth. “This means we can fish, though. Don’t you want something to eat other than a protein bar?”
I made a face at the thought. Fish didn’t exactly sound appealing, but my stash of protein bars was getting low. “I suppose so.”
Leif gave me another long, seeking kiss before dressing in his patchwork clothing. I can’t say that I was displeased to see that. It would have been much easier for him to shift to bear form and fish that way, but staying human was for my sake. It showed he was trying, that he didn’t want to be what he’d become for so long - a mindless animal.
He was also extremely protective of me. I wasn’t used to the snow and the cold, he argued. Not like he was. So I was to stay inside and tend the fire, and melt some snow for drinking water while he went and fished us a meal. It was a new experience for me to be coddled and doted upon, and I wanted to protest, but when Leif argued that he knew the island better than me, I had to agree with him.
Tomorrow, though, I’d suggest we fished together. Everything seemed like it’d be better with Leif at my side. I smiled at the thought and pulled one of our last logs out to feed into the fire. As I did, a different scent caught my nose, just as Leif came storming back into the cabin, a look of concern on his face.
“Someone’s here,” he said. “Were-bears.”
I lifted my nose, scenting the air. “I smell my father…and Mikkel.”
And Jokkum, but I cringed at the thought of that. If my father had come after me, he’d brought Jokkum for ‘just in case’ I was still in heat. A small part of my soul shriveled at the thought of crawling all over fat, elderly Jokkum like I had my sexy Leif. I turned to Leif and looked over at him, masking my unease. “Mikkel’s back early.”
Leif picked up one of the heavy branches and began to brandish it like a weapon. His teeth were bared in a protective snarl. “I’ll chase them away. I won’t let them take you from me.”
“What? No,” I said, tugging at his sleeve. “You misunderstand. They came to retrieve us. You and me.” My hands soothed down his chest. “It’s okay.”
I didn’t like the wild look that had returned to his eyes, but I couldn’t do anything about it. Leif would have to get used to more people eventually, if we were going to move back to the bear clan together…though at this moment, I wasn’t sure if that was what he intended at all.
Uncertainty swept through me as the scents of the others grew stronger, and I pulled my body closer to Leif’s, pleased when his arms encircled me and pulled me close. “You’re coming back with me, right?”
His hand smoothed over my thick braids, his gaze searching my face. “I won’t leave you.”
I exhaled in relief and hugged him close, just as the door to the cabin flew open.
Mikkel stepped inside first, an apology written on his features. He was bundled up for the storm, and his scanning eyes lit on me. I watched his nostrils flare, no doubt smelling our thick scents - and the aftermath of my heat - in the small cabin. “Good, you’re here. Both of you. Everything…okay?”
I gave him a silent thumbs up. “My father?”
“About two minutes behind me, with Jokkum.” Mikkel grimaced and rubbed his jaw. “I’m sorry, Niko. I tried, I really did. But they’re the elders. I couldn’t refuse them when they said they were coming after you. They made me tell where you were.”
“It’s okay,” I said softly, still clinging to my new mate. “Everything turned out fine.”
“I see that,” Mikkel said, and his gaze moved over Leif. “You found him after all. Look, I think I should tell you—“
“Daughter,” my father roared from a distance. “Daughter, come out here!”
I winced, pulling out of Leif’s arms. “That would be me.”
To my surprise, Leif put his arm around my waist. “We’ll confront him together.”
I shot him a look of gratitude and offered him my hand. He took it, and we headed out of the cabin, Mikkel trailing behind us with an unhappy look on his face.
My father stood some distance away, snow up to his knees. Behind him stood Jokkum, and both men were heavily bundled. They watched me with frowns on their faces, assessing me. I wondered if they were staying distant because they were worried I was still in heat, but that didn’t explain why Mikkel had come in.
Leif’s hand tightened on mine.
I raised my free hand to shield my eyes from the sun glinting hard on the snow. “Hello, Father. You came a long way to find me.”
“Yes,” my father said in a displeased voice. “And I’m very unhappy with you. Come here.” When both Leif and I stepped forward, he raised a hand. “Just my daughter.”
I frowned and looked over at Leif. He was unshaven this morning, and his hair was messy from sleep, but it was much better than before. He no longer looked like a wild man. His clothes were a bit ridiculous, but they were just clothes. Why was my father treating him so coldly? “Father, Leif is my mate now.”
“No,” said my father succinctly. “He is not.”
I heard Mikkel sigh unhappily behind me. “I tried to tell you,” he muttered in a low voice.
My stomach clenched with worry. “What do you mean, Leif isn’t my mate?” I moved one of my braids aside, showing my mate mark. “He’s claimed me. I’m going to have his baby. He—“
“He’s exiled,” my father said flatly. “Just like Ramsey.”
I sucked in a breath and looked over at Leif. He’d never said. The glare in his blue eyes as he stared at my father was cold with anger. “What? Exiled? Why?”
“I would have told you if I’d have known of this ridiculous scheme of yours,” my father said in a cold voice. “But you ran away before I had the chance.”
“What was I supposed to do?” I cried. “I didn’t have many options.”
Leif’s hand tightened on mine. He pulled it to his mouth and kissed my knuckles. “It’s all right, Lina.”
“It’s not all right,” I said, upset. Why was this happening? “I don’t understand.”
“Leif abandoned the bear clan sixteen years ago, so he was exiled,” Jokkum said, finally speaking up.
At my side, Leif gave a wry snort of derision, and hearing that actually made me feel better. So he hadn’t known he was exiled when we’d come together? The absurdity of the rule struck me. “Wait. He left and so you decided to exile him after the fact?”
“If he wants to come back, he’ll have to petition the elders,” Jokkum said.
“I’m not leaving ‘Lina’s side,” Leif said quietly. “I don’t care what the two of you think.”
“You will have to formally petition the elders,” my father said sternly. “Once you have, we will meet and decide your fate.”
“His fate?” My voice rose a hysterical note. How had things gone from so perfect to so wrong so quickly?
“Come, Niko,” my father said, and gestured for me to come to his side. “You can’t stay here.”
I looked at Leif, utter terror in my eyes. I’d just found him and now I was losing him again? This couldn’t be happening.
Leif saw the panic on my face, and he cupped my cheeks in his warm, callused fingers. “It’s all right, ‘Lina,” he told me softly. “Your father is right — you can’t stay here. There’s nothing on this island but penguins and snow.”
“There’s you,” I choked out.
He smiled, and his smile was beautiful. “I’m coming with you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Wherever you go, I’ll go,” Leif told me, and his blue eyes were warm. “I won’t leave your side.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, and pressed my cheek to his chest. His arms wrapped around me in a comforting hug.
“Come,” my father said again, clearly impatient.
So we went. Together.
Chapter Five
Once we were back on the small ship that had brought me to the Antarctic, my father insisted on talking to me alone. I gave Leif a worried look, but he nodded that it was okay. Leif didn’t plan on going anywhere, it was clear, and he took the bag of my remaining supplies. “I’ll get our cabin set up.”
I liked how he stressed our. My father noticed it, too, and frowned. His hand clamped down on my shoulder and he steered me down to the galley of the ship, where we could talk privately.
Once we’d both sat down, he lashed into me. “What were you thinking, Nikolina? Running away like that at such a crucial time? Do you have any idea of the chaos you’ve caused?”
“I couldn’t stay, Father.” I crossed my arms over my chest, hugging myself. “You know I couldn’t. I was going into heat.”
“We had a plan for that—“
“I heard your plan,” I said bitterly. “Give me to Jokkum? Let one of the married men ‘take one for the team?’ Maybe ask Ramsey to forget his wolf mate and make a ‘donation?'”
He looked surprised at my words. “So you were listening in?”
“I should have been in the meeting,” I told him. “It’s my body. My life. My choices.”
“The elders would decide the best plan for you,” he said stiffly. “We have the clan’s best interests at heart.”
But what about my best interests? I wanted to ask. “Well, I didn’t want to be anyone’s charity fuck —“ It made me feel good to see him wince at my words — “So I took matters into my own hands.”
Bear Naked (Midnight Liaisons) Page 7
