Bearing His Sins

by Eve Langlais

  Having already shifted once today, Cole wasn’t replenished enough to do it again, but that didn’t mean he was useless. He grabbed the tiger around the neck and kept away from those jaws. But the claws were also a problem.

  He flipped himself so he straddled the tiger’s back, still holding it in a choke hold. He rammed the tiger’s head into the ground a few times, dazing it for the few seconds he needed to spring to his feet and bring his gun to a spot between its eyes. “The wedding is off, asshole.” Cole pulled back the hammer and was ready to fire, only someone else pressed a barrel against the base of his spine. Someone short, with no warning scent.

  He glared over his shoulder at Nonna. “I’m a little busy here avenging your granddaughter.”

  “I’ll handle the vengeance,” Matvei declared as he appeared from around the side of the church.

  “The same way you handled it before when you let him go after Anja?”

  “The boy served a purpose. I knew that eventually, if he bothered them enough, my granddaughter and wayward wife would come back to me.”

  “More games?” Cole shook his head. “You want him. You have him.” He drew back his gun, but Nonna didn’t remove hers from his back.

  “Back inside,” she ordered.

  Since Anja was in there, he didn’t argue. He also didn’t kill Anja’s grandmother. He knew his woman was fond of the old lady. Hell, he was kind of fond of her too. Especially her cooking.

  As soon as he stepped into the church vestibule, Cole found himself surrounded by Tygrov men—more tigers wearing a veneer of humanity—as they marched back in, Matvei leading the way. Nonna kept the pistol tight to his spine.

  “Is this any way to treat a future family member?”

  “You will not join this family. Anja needs a tiger,” growled the patriarch of the family, stepping through the doors into the church proper.

  “What she needs is someone to take the gun out of her face,” snapped Anja, who stood, arms raised and glaring down the barrel of a revolver.

  Cole groaned as he saw who held her hostage. “What are you doing here?”

  “You know that man?” she asked, not sparing him a glance.

  “He’s my uncle.” His uncle Barnabas to be exact, a big, burly bear of a fellow with a thick dark beard. And a gun. On his woman. This wouldn’t go well.

  “I thought you were an orphan.” Anja’s words held an accusatory note.

  “I am. My parents died when I was young, and then my aunts and uncles took turns raising me.” All nine of them. And only one had a job approaching legal, although some would say his uncle Abraam’s profession as a lawyer was the most crooked profession of all.

  “He enjoyed his time spent with me best,” boasted his uncle Barnabas.

  “Bullshit.” A figure dressed in a pale lilac pantsuit stepped out from behind a statue, another gun in hand. His aunt Dareia had also come. Cole had expected her, since he’d called her on the flight over to Russia. “I taught the boy what he needed to know to survive. Without me, he would have died on his first job.”

  “The only reason he didn’t die was that I dragged his ass to safety.” The newest voice appeared a moment before in the slim form of yet another uncle, his emergence from under a pew in the front row a credit to his ability to hide.

  Cole sighed. “Uncle Abrax, for the last time, the job was done, and all you did was save me from scoring with the redhead that night.”

  “Cockblocker.” His uncle Barnabas coughed.

  “Filthy Greek bears. Unhand my granddaughter,” Matvei ordered. “And get off Tygrov land. You have no sanction to come here.”

  “He’s here.” Cole’s aunt jerked a thumb in his direction. “That’s all the sanction we need.”

  “The last time bears came to Russia, it was war,” Matvei declared, his skin rippling. “Remember who won?”

  “Perhaps it’s time for a rematch,” snarled his uncle Abrax, tearing at his shirt.

  “I might be a heathen, but I draw the line at people stripping in church,” Anja yelled.

  “No shedding blood in the house of God,” declared the meek priest.

  But no one paid him any heed.

  “This is how we fight our battles,” stated Anja’s grandfather, also pulling off his shirt and handing it to Nonna. Cole had to wonder if the old lady noticed that the gun drooped in her grip.

  “More shape-shifters. Is the entire world an animal except for me?” Anja planted her hands on her hips, which drew attention to what she wore.

  A wedding gown. How propitious. It gave Cole an idea. “I know how we can stop a war between our families. Marry me, now.” Not exactly the most romantic of declarations.

  “I will not have you marry me because these guys can’t behave like men and would instead prefer to brawl like wild animals.” She crossed her arms over her chest, which only served to yank at the ill-fitting gown.

  “Nothing wrong with a good brawl,” announced his uncle Barnabas. “It’s not a party until blood is shed.”

  “Fighting saves verbal misunderstandings,” Matvei muttered.

  “And spares us the smell of piss,” added his aunt. “I swear, get a bunch of men posturing and all they want to do is drink and mark territory.”

  “What your aunt is trying to say, Nikolaos, is no need to marry the girl. You can do better,” said his uncle Abrax.

  “He could not,” sputtered Matvei. “She is a princess.”

  “With good birthing hips,” interjected Nonna. “It is he who is not good enough for her. Related to a family with ties to crime in Greece.”

  A sneer pulled Barnabas’s lips. “Says the woman married to the big pussy running the Russian black market.”

  And it went on and on, back and forth, but the good news was no one turned furry and attacked. The bad news was no one turned furry and attacked. It meant Cole couldn’t avoid what he had to do.

  He was nervous for the first time since his initial kill as a boy.

  Suck it up and get it done.

  “Aunt Dareia, did you bring it?” His aunt didn’t even look his way as she tossed him the small package. He caught it one-handed and then strode toward Anja, who currently scowled down at her dress.

  It was hideous beyond belief, but to him, she appeared beautiful.

  Because she’s mine. That certainty meant ignoring the arguing of the families as Cole did something he thought he’d never do. Something he’d always mocked other men for doing. He dropped to a knee in front of Anja.

  That drew a startled glance from her. “What are you doing?”

  “So, I know both our families are extremely annoying.”

  “Understatement,” she muttered.

  “And that I am perhaps not the ideal male, given I like to kill people for a living.”

  “At least you’re employed.”

  “But I need you, Anja. You are my true mate.”

  “Does this mean you don’t want to kill me anymore?”

  “I never did. Although I had difficulties perhaps expressing that. But if you want the truth, here it is. Unvarnished. You are the one I wish to spend my life with, however short it might be. It’s why I had my aunt bring this.” “This” being the ring that used to belong to his mother. It wasn’t a big ring, the band of gold simple, the ruby inset within bordered by the tiniest diamonds, and yet Anja’s eyes rounded.

  “Oh, Cole.” She sighed his name.

  “It was my mother’s, so you can blame my father for its small size. Which, I assure you, is the only small thing you’ll ever get from me.” Wink.

  “It’s perfect.” She held out her hand, and he slid it on, realizing as he did that everyone present had fallen silent, so of course, the priest chose that moment to wake up and shout, “Did the girl say ‘I do’?”

  “I do.”

  “And the boy?”

  “I fucking well do.”

  “Then, by the power vested in me, and the gun at my head by this very short woman, I declare you man and
wife. You may kiss the bride.”

  Cole did, vigorously and thoroughly, as their families continued to bicker in the background. Who cared? He’d claimed his mate.

  His bear was content. Now to please the man. But for that, he’d require some privacy.

  Tossing Anja over his shoulder, he strode from the church, not even pausing when Matvei shouted, “Where are you taking my granddaughter?”

  “For some well-deserved debauching.” And licking.

  CHAPTER 14

  I’m married.

  The realization stunned her as she stared at her pale features in the mirror. Cole had come to her rescue, and she didn’t mean just from Sergei.

  He’d rescued her from a future of loneliness. No longer would she have to settle when it came to affection. She didn’t have to hide who she was, or feel oversized, or too anything, because Cole had chosen her.

  But does he love me?

  She emerged from the bathroom into the room he’d rented in town after getting them away from that church. As soon as she noted the washroom, she’d claimed it so she could shed the hideous dress. She also bathed and, yes, peed. Now, dressed in only a towel, she stepped into the room to find Cole lying atop the four-poster bed, his hands laced behind his head.

  “Do you love me?” she asked. A blunt question and yet that was who she was.

  “I married you, didn’t I?”

  “Sergei wanted to marry me. It didn’t mean he loved me.”

  He bounded off the bed, tall and domineering. He stood before her, a man of imposing size, a man who could kill with his bare hands.

  Yet he touched her gently, his knuckles brushing the skin of her cheek. “Are the words that important?”

  “No.” It wasn’t the words that mattered but rather how he made her feel. How he treated her. His soft caress turned into a rub of her lower lip with his thumb. Her lips parted, and he slid a finger in. She sucked the tip, watching his face. His eyes locked with hers, the expression intent.

  “Show me your tits.” Trust him to lighten the heavy moment with his words.

  “Tell me you love me,” she teased.

  “Why don’t you tell me first?” he retorted.

  So she did. “I love you. Husband.”

  His nostrils flared, but instead of a reply, he crushed her to him, smashing his mouth against hers. Instant arousal swept through her, a wave of sensation that deluged her senses. Need hit her, fast and hard, along with a hunger for more of his touch. She wanted his hands on her. His tongue. She wanted him inside her.

  I want him.

  The hair on his head proved perfect to grab as she devoured his mouth. As always, a simple touch from him ignited her.

  A soft sound came from him as she accidentally nipped his lip. So she bit him again, and this time he growled as he crushed her closer.

  Their kiss slowed from frantic to caressing, the lingering sucks and strokes of his mouth and tongue fanning the flames of her passion. Her open mouth allowed his tongue easy access, and she trapped it with her teeth, sucking on him and knowing when he groaned again that he remembered the last time she’d closed her lips around a part of him.

  Cool air hit her backside as he tugged the towel free, baring her body to him. Lifting her off the ground, his hands at her waist, he carried her to the bed, laying her upon the fabric duvet. He broke away from her lips, and she opened her eyes to protest, only to have her breath hitch when she saw him stripping his shirt, baring his torso.

  What a view. She couldn’t help but admire Cole’s wide shoulders. His arms bulged with muscle, and his chest held a slight fur. He drew near, and she reached up to drag her fingers through his soft pelt. She couldn’t wait to feel the friction on her skin.

  She pressed her palms flat on his chest, feeling the hard muscles tense beneath them. Her fingers tweaked his nipples, loving how they reacted to her touch.

  He unbuttoned the top of his slacks, revealing the black briefs that contained him. Barely contained. His erection strained, and the sight of it brought even more moisture to the throbbing spot between her legs.

  “Keep looking at me like that and you’ll be wearing pearls.”

  “Maybe later. Come here.” She gripped his upper arms and pulled at him until he dipped his head. His lips found hers for a torrid kiss as his body pressed against hers.

  She was right. The fur on his chest did tickle and tease as he lay against her. But more interesting still was the hot and hard heat of him pressing against her.

  And then he pulled away, taking his delicious weight with him, but only so his hands could roam her skin, touching her, cupping her breasts, his thumbs swiping over her erect buds.

  She caught her breath and then arched off the bed as his tongue flicked against her nipple. Using his lower body, he pinned her to the bed while he teased her nipples one by one with his mouth. Every time he sucked her breast into his mouth, his teeth applying pressure, she felt a zing of pleasure shoot through her. She began to gyrate her lower half against him, the ache in her sex a throbbing demand for more.

  And Cole wanted to give her more. He moved down her body, letting his lips lead the way, peppering kisses and licks over her belly and down through her trimmed mound.

  “Yes!” was the only coherent word she managed before his tongue lapped her.

  So intense.

  So good.

  And he seemed to enjoy it just as much as she did, his soft grunts of pleasure a sweet vibration on her flesh. And when he thrust two fingers into her, adding them to the bliss?

  She came. Came hard. Came with a body-bucking intensity that almost broke the creaking bed.

  He wasn’t done. Tremors still racked her as he moved back up her body, kissing and mumbling against her skin. “You’re mine. All mine.”

  “Yes, yours,” she whispered against his lips, tasting herself on him but not caring because the tip of his shaft pressed against her.

  Her thighs fell open, wide and welcoming, as he poised himself at the entrance to her sex.

  “I love you,” was his soft whisper before he drove himself in.

  She cried out, her sheath still rippling and clenching. It gripped at his cock and held him tight as he thrust, short strokes meant to simply push himself deeper, deep enough to hit her sweet spot.

  They fell into a rhythm, their bodies rocking in time, his hardness throbbing and thick inside her, triggering a second climax. This time she screamed. And he yelled with her as he pumped, his hips pistoning until he thrust one last, deep time and went rigid.

  Heat bathed her womb and her heart as he, once again, whispered against her lips. “I love you, Anja. I will love you forever.”

  She just hoped that forever would last a long time, even if their families seemed determined to make him snap.

  The whispers a few hours later woke her, and yet she kept her eyes closed.

  “Staying at a hotel.” Utter disgust by her grandfather. “Unacceptable. I shall have the master bedroom in the west wing renovated for them.”

  A snort from a woman. “Now that he is married, he will return to Greece and take his place in the family business.”

  “Like hell. He is married to my only granddaughter. He stays here. It’s not as if you bears”—said with such disdain—“need another heir.”

  “Would you both shut up?” Cole grumbled. “There is only one person who gets to say where I’m going, and I’m going to bet she tells me to get under these covers to show her once again why she’s mine.”

  He was right. Anja wouldn’t mind Cole paying a visit down there, but “Not while they’re here,” she whispered. “I don’t need our families giving us pointers.”

  “As if the boy needs pointers. He’s a bear.”

  “No, he’s annoyed.” The gun came out from under the pillow and pointed at the group huddled at the foot of the bed. “Leave. Now. Or I will start shooting.”

  “Ungrateful cub,” grumbled his uncle Barnabas.

  “Disrespected in my own
city,” lamented Matvei.

  “He will make strong babies,” cackled Nonna.

  “Very strong,” agreed his aunt.

  And then they left. She waited a moment before venturing to say, “Is this the wrong time to say I love you?”

  “Of course you do. It’s only natural, given my awesome nature and good looks. Just like it’s inevitable I love you.”

  “Because I’m your mate.”

  “Because you are the most incredible.” Kiss. “Exciting.” Nibble. “Sexy.” Lick. “Woman to ever walk the face of this earth, and just so you know, I’d eradicate both our families if they ever tried to keep us apart.”

  “Oh, Cole.” A phrase repeated later when he licked her, then again when he found her fresh pastries, and one last time when he smuggled them out of the city and out of Russia under both their families’ noses and took her on a honeymoon around the world.

  EPILOGUE

  A few weeks later, when the shine of travel wore off, Cole took Anja home, and she’d never been happier to see the cow that hated her—cared for by Garoux’s men during their absence—and those damnable chickens, who showed more respect after Cole wandered into their coop as a bear.

  Traveling was nice, but there was truly no place like home, especially since they had the place to themselves. Her nonna had elected to stay behind in Arkhangelsk for the moment in order to slap some sense into her grandfather. But given the number of times Anja called via video chat and caught her nonna looking disheveled, her grandfather usually close by and shirtless, more than talking was happening.

  Shudder.

  During the past few weeks, Anja had learned that her mother had been an only child, raised by a distant cousin who worked for the Tygrov family. It was how her parents met. So cliché, the maid and the lord’s son. And it seemed Nonna truly was right to fear for Anja’s life because the woman who should have married her father went on to marry another after his death and then proceeded to kill all his brothers and their children, that her husband might inherit. It seemed Cole knew all about her father’s old betrothed, given he was hired to kill the woman.

  Anja called him an avenging hero. He’d spanked her in reply. She spanked him back, and a good time was had by all.