Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume II)

by Sarah J. Stone

  Did he dare go up to them after the fiasco at his house this morning? He shouldn’t have said anything to Ebony about his feelings. He should have waited until he knew whether she felt the same way. That would be the smart thing to do.

  He never was big on doing the smart thing. He always led with his gut…and his cock. He wanted her, body and soul, and the words just sort of fell out by themselves. Well, he had her body. He could have that anytime he wanted, but it wasn’t enough anymore. He couldn’t stand by and watch her give herself to Hunter again, and he couldn’t touch Onyx to save his own life.

  Not that Onyx wasn’t hotter than Toffet, too. Holy bonanza, was Onyx hot! That girl could wring him out in bed. They both could, but Onyx didn’t stab his heart the way Ebony did. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life on his knees in front of Onyx. Ebony, though? That girl was everything to him.

  She occupied his every thought nowadays. He couldn’t wait to see her, and he raved and fumed the moment she walked out the door. Just thinking about her mysterious eyes made him hard as a rock. His nuts ached all the time now. He had to get hold of her one way or the other. He had to get her off in his room.

  He made a mistake taking her there with Hunter and Onyx. That’s how this disaster started, but he wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

  Even now, an unstoppable force drew him toward her. He could ignore Onyx grinning and batting her eyelashes at him. He fixed his gaze on Ebony, but she looked away. She stared sideways at the ground until he stopped in front of them.

  Before he could open his mouth to say anything, Onyx started on him, “Hi, Jordan. That was a great speech. You looked so hot standing up there.”

  He glanced at her and nodded, but he didn’t say anything. He wished she would leave so he could talk to Ebony alone.

  Onyx glided up to him. She murmured low in his ear, “Are you gonna be around your place again later?”

  “Huh? Oh, yeah, I’ll be there later. I always am.”

  Onyx jumped away with a little squeak. “Good. Maybe I’ll see you there.”

  He shrugged, and she sidled off to her house. She stuck her butt out and wagged her hips, but Jordan didn’t watch. He knew what her ass looked like.

  Ebony watched her sister walk away, but now that Jordan stood right in front of her with no one to distract him, his nerve failed. He shifted from one foot to the other. He looked all around the Archer family compound. She infatuated him beyond endurance, but he couldn’t look at her. He looked at everything else but.

  He swallowed hard and forced himself to start talking. “Umm…Sorry, I didn’t mean to block your way into your house.”

  Her head shot up. “You didn’t block my way.”

  “Yeah, well…I guess Cole blocked it. I mean, you know…everybody was standing around listening to me jabber.”

  “That’s okay. You did good up there. You made ‘em listen to you. That was good.”

  His eyes darted to her face. “Do you think so?”

  A flash of pink covered her cheeks, and she looked away. “Sure. Someone’s got to talk to these people. They can’t always listen to Cole.”

  He shrugged. “I just said my piece, you know…Anyway, it’s over now, so you can go home.”

  She frowned. Then she sighed. “I guess you want to go. You’re probably busy.”

  “I’m not busy. I mean…I’m not too busy to talk to you.”

  God, what was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he talk to her? He’d known her all his life. He knew every inch of her, inside and out, and he couldn’t even look her in the eye. What was happening to him?

  He focused on the minute detail of her flawless olive-tan skin. Under her tight, revealing clothes, that skin lay smooth and welcoming. His hands itched to touch her, but he dared not put out his hand. What if he offended her? What if she thought like her sister? What if Ebony decided she didn’t want to see him again after what he said about mating for life?

  She turned a half-circle toward her house. Then she turned back around the other way. She looked all around. She kept fidgeting from one foot to the other, just like he did. “I…You’re right. I guess I better go.”

  His hand shot out. “Hey, Ebony.”

  Her eyes widened, and her lips drooped open. “What?”

  He waved his hand. His face contorted into a grimace. He couldn’t stop himself from shrugging. “Will I…you know, will I see you again?”

  She snickered. “Of course, you’ll see me again. No one can get away from anybody on this Moraine. You know that.”

  “What I mean is…you know…will I see you later?”

  She knit her brow. “See me later?”

  He motioned toward her house. “I mean…Do you think…would it be all right if I saw you later?”

  She opened her mouth and closed it again. “What could be wrong with it? You see me all the time.”

  Man, she didn’t make this any easier, did she? “What I mean is…would you be willing to meet me later…just you and me…you know, by ourselves, without Hunter and Onyx?”

  Her face broke open in a brilliant smile. “Oh! I see what you mean. Yeah, sure, that would be nice.”

  Now that he got that out, he started to relax. He laughed off all his tension. What was he doing, stuttering like a teenager? Hadn’t he shagged this woman dozens of times, from every angle? What was he getting all embarrassed about now?

  He put out his hand, but he let it drop before he touched her. Some magnetic force dragged him toward her, but when he tried to touch her, the same force repulsed him. What changed between this morning and now? He hadn’t had any trouble touching her then.

  He started babbling, “Don’t pay any attention to what I said before. I don’t know what I was saying.”

  “What did you say before?”

  “About mating for life. Don’t give it the time of day.”

  Her eyebrows flew up. “Why not? If that’s the way you feel, you should say it. No reason you should keep it to yourself.”

  “Yeah, well, your sister doesn’t think so.”

  “Forget about her. She’s just touchy. That’s all.”

  He stole a peek at her face, but couldn’t get a clue to the question bothering his thoughts. Did she feel the same way about him? Did he have a hope in heaven of getting together with her?

  “I’m serious, Ebony. If you want to…I mean, if you think you could…I’d really like to…Oh, cripes! I don’t know what I’m saying. Don’t listen to me.”

  She waited for him to make some sense. “You want to mate for life?”

  His heart leapt out at her. “I want towith you.”

  She hitched up one shoulder and turned sideways where he couldn’t see her face. “Well, you know, we’re Midnight. We’re supposed to be fluid. That mating for life stuff doesn’t really fly around here.”

  “Other Midnight mate for life. Things are changing. They could change for us, too.”

  She shook her head. Now she wouldn’t even face him, much less look at him. “That’s all alien stuff. That comes from the Bruins. It’s not part of who we are. You know that. Keep it fluid. That’s the best way. It’s the only way, really.”

  She took a step toward her house. Jordan’s blood raged in his veins. He couldn’t let her slip through his fingers. Bottomless dread seized his heart. He couldn’t let her walk away. If she walked away right now, he would lose her forever.

  He darted in front of her. He couldn’t let himself hesitate or he would lose his nerve. Without thinking, he lunged forward and planted a quick kiss on her lips.

  She froze stone still. She stared straight in front of her. Jordan stepped back to survey the damage. Had he blown his only chance? Her eyes crept down to his mouth. Her lips twitched, and her pupils dilated. He couldn’t stand the suspense.

  All at once, a burst of primal energy forced its way out of her. She leapt at him so fast he didn’t realize what was happening until she hit him hard. Her mouth collapsed against his face, and he s
tumbled backwards. By the time he recovered from his surprise, she was kissing him, kissing him so madly she tore his breath away.

  This was it. It was happening just the way he always imagined it would. Her supple arms crushed his neck, and her round breasts smashed his chest. Her perfume mesmerized his brain so he couldn’t see straight.

  He drank in those magnificent kisses. It was never like this before, not all the times he kissed her in his room. He never tasted her, not really. He never drank in her very soul through that rose-bud mouth, or dripped his soul into her mouth.

  His heart thumped into her blessed breasts. His blood thundered in his veins. He was kissing her, and he would go on kissing her until he dropped dead in her arms. Nothing could be better than that.

  All of a sudden, she gasped. Her mouth popped off his, and she started back. Her velvet limbs stiffened around his neck. Jordan stared into her wide eyes. What was wrong? He never felt anything so right.

  She searched his face. “Did you feel that?”

  He felt so much in that moment, he couldn’t tell what she meant. He felt the universe ring with a thousand chiming bells. He felt her arms infusing his body with their warmth. He felt her kiss shooting sparks into his brain. “I felt it.”

  He pulled her close, but in a flash, she wrenched out of his arms and bolted for her house. She burned his skin with her passage, but he couldn’t catch her. She was gone.

  Chapter 4

  Ebony slammed her bedroom door and fell back against the wall to catch her breath. She clamped her eyes shut. That did NOT just happen. She did NOT just kiss Jordan Faulkner like that. He felt it, all right. He felt that and a lot more.

  What was he thinking, kissing her like that? A kiss like that could mean only one thing. Then again, what was she thinking kissing him like that? How could one kiss be so different from another? She’d kissed him a thousand times if she kissed him once, but the others paled in comparison to this.

  Onyx looked up from the other bed. “So?”

  Ebony let out a shaky breath and sat down on her own bed near the door. “So what?”

  “Are you ready?”

  “Ready for what?”

  “Ready to divide and conquer.”

  “Divide and conquer what?”

  “Jordan. Who else?”

  Ebony stared at her. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about Operation Screw-Him-Into-Submission. He needs some good old-fashioned sex medicine, and there’s not a woman alive who can give it to him better than we can. We’ll bring him to his senses if we have to hog-tie him in the woodshed.”

  Ebony shook her head. “Listen, Onyx, I don’t think…”

  Onyx waved both hands. “Don’t argue. I’ve got it all worked out. We’ll go over to their place. I’ll take Jordan and you’ll take Hunter, just the way we used to. It’s the perfect setup. We won’t let either of them out to go to the bathroom until they admit defeat.”

  “This is a bad idea. You know that, don’t you? You heard Jordan in front of the crowd just now. He’s out there telling the world he wants to mate for life. Hog-tying him in the woodshed can’t change that now. I’d be surprised if he goes after us again at all.”

  Onyx narrowed her eyes at Ebony. “You’re acting weird lately. Ever since he started shooting his mouth off about this stuff, I could almost believe you’re going along with it. I don’t see you going after Hunter, either. Don’t tell me you want to mate for life, too.”

  “I never said that. All I said was it’s not a good idea. Me screwing around with Hunter won’t change Jordan’s mind. It will just make him mad.”

  Onyx’s mouth fell open. Her eyes flew open, and she pointed an accusing finger at Ebony. “You’re doing it! You’re going along with his lunatic nonsense. You want to mate for life, too. Don’t deny it.”

  “I don’t want to mate for life. I’m just as fluid as you. I just don’t want to…”

  “You just don’t want to what? You don’t want to screw Hunter? Is that it? That means you want to screw Jordan. You want to mate with him for life.”

  Ebony couldn’t stop her cheeks burning. Why should her sister’s ridiculous comments fluster her so much? Still she couldn’t get over that kiss. That kiss said it all. He wanted to mate with her for life. He said so himself. She couldn’t kiss him like that if she didn’t feel the same way.

  She willed herself to stay calm. How could she explain to Onyx why she didn’t want to mess around with Hunter anymore? Wasn’t he a fine, studly man, just like his brother? Didn’t he make her weak in the knees when he looked at her like that?

  Sure, he did, but something changed since this morning. How could one kiss change everything? It wasn’t just the kiss, though. Seeing Jordan on that stump, addressing the crowd and commanding their attention—that changed things, too. Ebony could never go back to Hunter—not ever.

  Onyx already turned away. “Forget all that. You want to be fluid? This is the way to do it. Those boys have always been slackers. They sit around and wait for something to come along and grab them. They always have. They’re perfect targets for a couple of black widows like us.”

  “I don’t know about Hunter,” Ebony replied, “but Jordan’s not like that anymore. Didn’t you see him outside? He’s on fire. I’m guessing he’ll back up what he says with more energy than anyone has seen in him in a long time.

  Onyx chopped the air. “Forget it. I’m doing it, with you or without you. I won’t believe you’re really fluid if you don’t come with me.”

  “Hang on, girl. It doesn’t work that way. I can disagree with you and still be fluid.”

  Onyx whirled away. “Nope. It’s this or nothing.”

  Ebony watched Onyx gather up her handbag and a tight-fitting sweater. Onyx dropped a few condoms in her handbag before she headed for the door. At the last second, Ebony put out a hand to touch her sister’s arm. “Don’t you think there might be a better way to do this?”

  Onyx raised her eyebrows. “I’m listening. If you’ve got a better way to drill these two studs into the mattress, I’m all ears.”

  Ebony’s pulse beat in her ears. “I’m not talking about that. I’m saying there could be a better way to live than sleeping with everything that moves. Did you ever think of that?”

  Onyx smacked her lips. “That’s more of Jordan's claptrap coming out of your mouth.”

  “Maybe Jordan’s got a point. Even if he doesn’t, you ought to at least respect his decision, even if you don’t agree with it. Let him go, if he makes you so mad. Heaven knows there’s plenty of other fresh meat on the Moraine.”

  Onyx yanked her arm away. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you. I thought we were sisters.”

  “We are sisters. We’ll always be sisters.”

  “Not if you change, we won’t. You said you were fluid, but you obviously aren’t.”

  “I’m still fluid, but my feelings are changing. I can’t explain it, but I have to do something different—maybe not with Jordan, but with anyone I get with in the future.”

  “Something different, like what?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s all about self-respect. Maybe it’s about being able to look myself in the eye every morning. I don’t want to throw myself in the dirt in front of every man I take a fancy to.”

  Onyx’s eyes blazed. “Is that what you think I’m doing? You think I’m throwing myself in the dirt?”

  Ebony put out her hand again. “I was talking about me.”

  Onyx smacked Ebony’s hand way. “Don’t you ever talk to me about self-respect again. Don’t you ever talk to me about anything again. I never want to speak to you again.”

  “Onyx, please.”

  Onyx yanked the door open. “You’re not my sister anymore. I don’t know who or what you are, but you’re not anybody I want to be sisters with.”

  Ebony bit her lip to stop it trembling. “Please don’ t say that. We can work this out.”

  Onyx turned back on the
threshold. Her voice cracked with emotion. “You know something? I always loved you most of everybody in the whole world. I counted on you to back me up in all our crazy projects. We’ve shared more guys than I can count, and I always thought you had my back. I can see now how wrong I was.”

  Ebony moaned under her breath, “Onyx, please. I’ll always have your back.”

  The first tear trickled down Onyx’s cheek, but she compressed her lips to hold herself together. “Nope. Not anymore. Not only are you turning your back on everything we ever had together, you want me to turn my back on it, too. Well, I won’t do that. I won’t change. I’ll stay fluid, even if I have to do it alone.”

  Ebony swung her legs off the bed to confront her sister, but Onyx jumped away. Sobs choked her, but she forced the words out through her constricted throat, “I’ve lost the only sister I ever had. We can never get back what we lost. You might as well be dead to me.”

  Onyx darted through the door and vanished down the hall. Just before the front door slammed, Ebony heard moaning sobs follow Onyx out.

  Ebony sank back on her bed and groaned. Another casualty tumbled before the train wreck piling up all over the Moraine. Another life-long connection destroyed. She never thought a guy would come between her and Onyx. How could one guy be that important?

  Chapter 5

  Ebony strolled through the woods. Her ears and nose traced the path of dormice scuttling under the trees and rabbits poking their noses out of holes. She took in a thousand details without taking her eyes off the starry sky overhead. She watched the stars pivot in the heavens, but she couldn’t stop her thoughts running back to Jordan.

  What if he was right? What if the Midnight could be better off mating for life? His ideas sounded right to her. They struck a resounding cord in her soul. When he kissed her like that, nothing felt so right as spending the rest of her life kissing him, gazing into his eyes, holding him, and letting him hold her.

  How could something so against the Midnight way of life speak to her heart and soul? How could she turn her back on everything she thought she believed? In her heart, she agreed with Onyx. People who mated for life did turn their backs on everything the Midnight held sacred. They ought to be drummed off the Moraine.