He decided then. No matter what it took, he was going back to Oregon. Back to Whitney.
18
Whitney
Whitney leaned over the railing. The ocean was calm today. Calmer than usual. She inhaled salt air, letting it fill her nose and lungs. Soon the house would be sold. Soon she’d have to move on. Find a job. Find an apartment. Maybe open another restaurant.
She peered at the horizon. It had been a month since Kyle left, but some days it felt like she had just spent the night in his bed. He had burned something inside her so hot she’d never forget it. It didn’t help that he was in all her dreams.
She pivoted on her heel, when she saw the Jeep.
It was flying down the driveway, kicking up dirt and rocks as the tires spun out of control.
She steadied herself against the railing. No. This couldn’t be happening.
Kyle jumped from the Jeep and walked up the stairs, his eyes locking on hers.
“You’re here?” she whispered.
He nodded, walking toward her. His eyes set in determination, his hands reached toward her. “I’m here.”
She didn’t know if she should punch him or hug him. Scream or cry. Run or throw herself on him, but he didn’t give her room to decide.
His mouth landed on her lips hot and heavy, forcing his tongue deep in her mouth. He kissed her, sucking and biting at her lips, wrapping her into his arms until she felt he would crush her with his embrace.
She tried to wiggle free, but he held her kissing her breathless. Her legs turned to jelly, and she grasped at him needing him to hold her upright. How was this happening? Where did he come from?
He looked in her eyes, but the only answer she saw was his desire for her.
She had questions and she needed answers, but the look he gave her spilled open the memories of the last night they had together. Her core began to melt and all she could think about was taking him inside.
He grasped her face between his palms. “I came back for you.”
She nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck as he lifted her to his chest. She kissed him wildly, sucking at the corners of his mouth, tasting the mint on his tongue, inhaling his male scent. He carried her up the stairs, shoving open her bedroom door.
Her room was packed. Boxes lined the walls, but she still had a bed. He lowered her feet to the floor and began stripping the clothes from her body. He wasn’t gentle or easy. There was nothing else to say, only to let the desire take hold and show them the way back together.
She matched his desperate tugs while she urgently piled his clothes on the floor next to his. His naked body was standing in front of her, but before she could do anything, Kyle lifted her in his arms and dropped her on the bed.
She took him in. The beautiful smoothness of his chest and the ridges of his hard muscles. His hardness eager to fill her. Her hands flattened against his chest, trailing over him until they landed between his legs.
She wrapped her fingers around his thick cock, watching as he jerked at the contact. She settled back on her knees, licking her lips. She had wanted this the last time they were together, only she didn’t know how to tell him. Everything in the barn happened so quickly, she let him take control. She wasn’t going to end this day with another regret.
Slowly she lowered her mouth against his shaft, letting her tongue lick at the bead of dew on the wide head.
“Fuck, Whit,” he groaned, grabbing the back of her head.
She’d dreamed about this. How he would taste. How soft and silky his skin would be against her mouth. She licked him up and down before sinking her mouth over him.
She smiled when she heard the guttural moan erupt from his chest. She wanted all of him in her mouth, but he was too big. She began to move over him, each time taking him deeper. Her tongue swirled around his shaft, relishing the taste of him. Her eyes darted up and she saw him staring at her. Hungry and primal for more.
There was a deep ache between her legs and she whimpered. She kissed the tip, eager to please him.
Kyle pushed her back on the bed. “My turn,” he growled. “Are you going to give me what I want?”
“Oh yes,” she moaned as he hiked her legs over his shoulders, gripping her ass in his palms.
There was nothing gentle and easy about the way his tongue plunged between her legs, but she immediately opened for him, needing it, desperate to feel the heat he could give her.
His tongue darted between her folds, licking and tasting before stopping to suck on the bud that was pulsing with want.
She whimpered. “Please, Kyle.” Although she didn’t know what she wanted. She wanted him inside of her. All of it, his hot tongue, his magic fingers, his thick cock.
“I came back to claim you, Whitney.” He kissed the inside of her thigh.
Oh yes. That sounded good. She wanted that. He settled her ass back on the mattress before his hands pushed her knees wide again as his tongue lashed against her entrance. She knew she was dripping wet, but she didn’t care. He was doing this to her. Making her lose control. Make her want everything.
“Tell me you want me to take you right now,” he growled kissing her stomach.
“I do.” She nodded her head.
She waited for him to grab a condom, but before he moved off the bed, he flipped her on her stomach, sending her ass high in the air.
“I wanted to make you mine before I left, but I couldn’t.” His hand flattened against her back.
The want and need for him hurt. She wiggled her bottom toward him, finding pleasure when she felt his tongue lick against her entrance.
“I wanted it too,” she moaned, knowing she couldn’t hold off her orgasm much longer. It was building at a frenzied pace, burning her from the inside out. One thrust and she knew she would spill into the rush of sensation.
She looked over her shoulder as he pushed the tip of his cock against her. He was gorgeous and sexy. His body dominated hers with power and control that was so incredible it made her feel feminine and delicate. As if she was made for this man to pleasure and fill. He was everything solid and strong, and she could give him everything soft and light. She wanted that feeling like nothing else.
Everything in her was pulsing for him, aching for him to fill her like he did a month ago. Only this time she wanted more. She wanted the heat of his seed. She wanted him to fuck her into oblivion. Erase the past month. Erase the hurt and the loneliness.
He reached forward grazing her nipples between his fingers. It shot a bolt of electricity straight to her bud. “Ohh, Kyle. I need you.”
“I need you,” he growled, thrusting deep and hard inside her.
She screamed and bucked as he gripped her hips and plunged farther. But she closed her eyes and felt the delicious hum take over her body. The pain turned to ecstasy as he pumped strong and urgent strokes against her.
The month apart made her need for him desperate and raw. His powerful thrusts took her to the peak of her orgasm in seconds. The heat flooded her as she convulsed and vibrated in his hands. His shaft sank into her once more before she heard him unleash a roar over her back. He pulsed, forcing his hot release to spread through her. She clenched around him, needing it deep inside her to soothe her. To bring them back together.
“Fuck,” he groaned, lowering her hips to the bed.
She rested her head on the pillow, feeling the exhaustion cover her body. Kyle’s damp and warm skin pressed against her as he pulled her into his arms.
“Are you ok?” he whispered.
She nodded. Everything was better than ok. She stroked his arm, draped over her waist.
“I wasn’t going to speak to you again,” she murmured.
He kissed the back of her head. “I know.” His fingers swirled over her stomach. “And I was going to show up with roses and an apology. But…” his words trailed off.
Her skin tingled and her body hummed. She felt the hot stickiness seep between her legs and felt an ache. Suddenly she needed him again. One
time wasn’t enough.
She rolled toward him, her breasts rubbing against his chest.
“I love that you give me your body the way that you do.” His hand slid to her ass, squeezing it in his large hands. “You know exactly how I need you, don’t you, Whit?”
Her knee fell to the side when she felt his hand move over her hip and down her thigh. She looked in his eyes, biting down on her lip when she felt his finger trail around her bud.
“It’s because I need it the same way,” she moaned. Her eyes locked on his while he began to stir the want for him.
“I didn’t want to leave you.” He curled a finger deep inside her, bowing her off the bed.
“I know.”
His mouth came down on hers, this time tender and slow. His tongue twined along hers, taking time to taste and kiss. She felt the fire in his touch. Her hips rocked against him and she felt his hardness come to life against her thigh.
“Can we?” she breathed. “I need it again. I need you again.”
He kissed along her throat and behind her ear. “I need to fuck you all night.”
She whimpered not knowing if her body could take it, but she would try. She would let him lick and suck her. Kiss her. Put his hands where he wanted. Move her body so they could make each other feel alive. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do with him now that he was in her bed.
He rolled her on her back, hovering over top of her. His broad shoulders blocking everything from her view. She was sore and her body ached and she knew the minute he pushed inside her it would sear from the inside out, but nothing else mattered.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles against his back. He slid his cock against her folds, covering himself in their wet heat before pushing deep inside her.
“Ohh,” she clutched at his back, her nails digging into his skin the deeper he hit her inner walls. It was like fire lighting through her.
He breathed into her ear, his rhythm slow and deep.
She looked into his eyes. The same ones that had broken her heart. The ones that had walked out of her life. But now she saw her future staring back at her.
He drove into her with a powerful thrust, grinning with achievement. “I’m going to make you come like this.”
She nodded. Please. As long as he was inside her the world was right again. He was alive. What they had was real. It wasn’t just a memory. She meant everything to him that he meant to her.
“Will you come for me, Whitney?”
But she knew she didn’t have a choice. Her body was already seized with the fever of her orgasm. She clenched around him, feeling the vibrations take hold of her. Kyle wrapped his arms around her, his mouth covering hers as he pumped again, releasing his essence inside her.
“Come, baby,” he whispered as she gasped and clung to him.
The waves crashed around her until she felt the soothing feeling stretch through her body. He was home. Finally she slept.
19
Kyle
He buckled his jeans and crept down the stairs. She would need sleep. He left Whitney under the covers.
He saw the boxes in every corner of every room. It might take some time, but he’d help her unpack them. She wasn’t going to have to sell this place. It would be their home. The perfect place to raise their cubs.
He smiled. His bear had been right. This was what he should have done all along. He never should have left her. It took almost dying in the ambush to realize the most important thing in his life was Whitney.
He opened the fridge in search of food. He was starving.
The wind howled outside and the wind pelted the windows. It was too dark to see which direction the storm came from. Kyle had lost track of time. He had taken one look at Whitney on the porch and his bear took over for a while. All the lust and primal need for her broke free until she had been claimed.
The second round was for her. She needed to know he could take her to bed in more than one way. Rough and wild wasn’t always his style. He could love her with slow strokes, pushing her to her limits in a whole new way.
He grabbed some butter and cheese before searching the pantry for bread. He wasn’t a cook, but he could whip up a few grilled cheese sandwiches.
Within minutes the kitchen smelled like grilled cheese and he heard footsteps overhead.
“Hey.” Whitney appeared in the doorway.
“Hungry? It’s not gourmet but I was starving.” He grinned at her.
She crossed the room, throwing her arms around his neck. The sobs were light at first, but as he wrapped his hands around her waist her body began to shake.
“What’s wrong? What is it?” He felt the panic. The fear was spreading through him. He didn’t know what to do.
She sniffed, trying to regain control before she could look at him. He looked down at her. The tears rolling down her cheeks. “I woke up and thought you were gone.”
“Oh, God.” He pulled her to his chest, pressing her against the skin on his chest. “No. I’m not leaving. Never.” He tipped her chin toward him. “You’re mine, baby. You couldn’t get rid of me if you wanted to.”
She smiled. “Never leaving?”
“No.” He kissed her lips gently. “You’re mine. I’m yours. It’s a forever thing now.”
She loosened the grip on his neck. “What do you mean?”
He had learned a lot as a Ranger. He had learned how to read his enemy. How to anticipate danger. How to train. How to prepare his body for combat. But it took losing his best friend and almost dying a second time to learn time was fleeting. Nothing was guaranteed.
He had hidden his true identity from Whitney long enough. They needed to start their future now. She had to know the truth about who he was.
“We need to talk.”
Her eyes widened. He could sense the fear.
“I’m not leaving. That’s not it.” He led her to the kitchen table.
“All right. What is it?” She waited for him to answer.
“Here’s the thing.” He rubbed at the scruff on his jawline. “I have no doubt you want all the same things I do.” He pulled her into his lap. “I want a future with you. I want to live here with you. I want to raise our children here.”
She swallowed hard.
“You want all that don’t you, Whit?”
“Yes. It’s everything I want. It’s all I could think about when you were gone. I thought it would never happen.” Her voice was quiet.
He squeezed her to him. “I knew you did or I wouldn’t have taken you the way I did.”
She looked confused and he knew he had to explain.
“Baby, you’re mine now. Upstairs in your bed, I claimed you and made you mine for life.” He felt her pulse quicken. “You’re my mate. The one woman made for me. The only one I’m supposed to spend my life with.” He inhaled. “I knew it the minute I laid eyes on you. But I had to leave again. And I couldn’t promise you I’d make it back.”
“I was scared you wouldn’t come back.”
She lowered her eyes and he felt the sadness from the memory. It was enough to bring any man to his knees, but separating a bear from his mate was a living hell.
“Hey.” He tilted her gaze to him again. “I didn’t want to leave you. I hated it. But my mission wasn’t over. I made a commitment to those men that I would get them out alive, and I had to do it. I had to do for them what I couldn’t do for Sam.”
His heart pounded. All the pain was still there. The pain of watching Sam die. The pain of leaving Whitney. It never left him.
“Keep going,” she whispered. “I want to understand.”
“You and I couldn’t be together until I finished the mission. I swear I wouldn’t have left you if I hadn’t given my word. But I don’t break a promise. I never break my word.” His throat tightened. “The past month was absolute hell without you. But I’m back for good. I won’t leave. Not you. Not our children.” His hand moved to her stomach.
She gasped. “Children
? We didn’t use protection this time.”
“No. I had to give you my magic.” Just talking about it stirred a sensation in his cock. He wanted her again. He didn’t know when it would be enough to leave him satisfied.
“What I’m trying to tell you is I’m a bear shifter, Whit. And you’re my mate. And we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.”
“Holy shit,” she whispered. Her eyes darted back and forth across his face. Her grip on his shoulders tightened.
“Yeah. Exactly. Holy shit.”
He waited for a question. A comment. A slap. But she stared at him.
He had faced burning buildings. Gunfire. Kidnapping. But nothing scared the shit out of him like the silence he was holding in his arms.
20
Whitney
She wished she had been drunk or could pinch herself into an awakened state. Clearly, she was delusional. She had just had the most fucking amazing sex of her life. The man of her dreams had walked out of nowhere, declaring his love for her, but the perfect dream was an illusion. Some kind of psychosis she had conjured in her loneliness.
Maybe if she held her hand over the frying pan she would wake up. She stood from Kyle’s lap and walked toward the stove.
“What are you doing?” He rushed over, drawing her back from the frying pan.
She looked into his eyes. Those deep pools of blue that mesmerized her.
“I have to wake myself up,” she replied.
“You’re awake. I promise.” He gripped her shoulders.
“I can’t be. You just told me you’re a bear.” She blinked.
“I am a bear.” He placed her palms flat against his chest. She felt the smooth planes, warm under her hands. “I’m real. This is all real.”
“How? How is that possible?”
But she almost didn’t need his answers. The pieces began to fall in place. His strength. The way he could survive when no one else could. The power in his hands. The way he made her feel. It wasn’t just amazing sex, it was actual magic coursing through her.
Ranger Bear (Rogue Bear Series 1) Page 6
