Sliding his hands upward, he unclasped her bra before cupping her breast in his palm and lowering his head to suck her nipple into his mouth. She sighed in contentment as he rolled his tongue around the taut bud and flicked his tongue back and forth. He listened to her breath, learning what she liked from the build-up of tension in her body.
“Make love to me,” she whispered in his ear before she nipped his neck and raked her fingers down his back.
Joanna awoke the primal beast in Marcus. It was a deep-seated need to claim her that was as old as the mating bond itself. He needed to be inside her, to feel her climax around him.
Pushing her onto her back, he slipped his body between her thighs. Joanna parted her legs to accommodate him, her fingertips pressing into his skin, urging him on. There was no doubt that she wanted him. Was her own need as strong as his?
He pushed her panties aside and guided himself into her. She tensed as he entered her. Marcus flexed his hips and thrust deeper. Her body sheathed him, her inner muscles gripping him tightly with each deep thrust.
Marcus closed his eyes, inhaling her scent as he lunged forward, before pulling back out. His steady rhythm increased in momentum as she urged him harder, faster. Joanna wrapped her legs around him, holding him close as her fingers explored his flesh. They moved as one, their destination the same.
As the night darkened around them and the stars came out one by one over their heads, they made love. Long, lingering kisses where they lay unmoving as the cool breeze tickled the hairs on their skin gave way to heated moments of ecstasy as they explored each other intimately.
The mountain cocooned them, a bear and his mate making love surrounded by nature.
Marcus pulled out of Joanna and then thrust forward, impaling her fully. She whimpered as he repeated the motion over and over again, taking them to new heights. Joanna kissed his neck, nipping his sensitive skin, while she stroked his arms and back with her hands.
She excited him. He’d made love before, countless times, but never like this, never with such a deep connection. They were joined together, never to part and if he had his way, they would be joined together in their lovemaking forever, too.
Okay, not totally practical, but this was so right, so incredible he never wanted it to end.
But end it did with an earth-shattering orgasm that rocked him to his core.
Marcus exploded inside his mate, the tension in his body stretched to the breaking point as he neared his release. He groaned and jerked into her, his essence filling her as she reached her own climax. Together they shared a moment of complete ecstasy, two people who were destined to be together soaring above the mountain and into the night sky.
Bliss. There was no other word for the sensation that covered them. Total bliss.
“Are you okay?” Marcus asked as he finally pulled out of her.
“Yes. Absolutely, perfectly okay.” They held each other close, neither speaking as their flesh cooled. She sighed. “However, as much as I would like to stay here with you, I have to get back to the children.” She sat up and then turned to add, “Not that I don’t trust Luke and the rest of your family to look after them.”
“I get it.” He ran his hand down her back, and she shivered before turning to him and lowering her head to kiss his lips.
“I have to learn to let them go. But since I am the one solely responsible for them I feel doubly responsible.” She frowned. “If that makes sense.”
“It does. You’re a good mom.” Marcus got up and began retrieving their clothes that were scattered along the ledge.
“I try.” She pulled her shirt on and then half turned to him. “When Julian first left me for his new lover, I was scared he might try to take custody of the children.”
“But you are their mom and he’s the one who left,” Marcus reminded her.
“I know, but he could offer the perfect family unit and I was a single parent trying to cope.” Joanna looked down at her missing buttons. “I don’t suppose anyone will notice.”
“I could scour the grass for them.”
“Would you do that for me?” Joanna asked as she fastened her pants.
“If you asked me to.” Marcus dragged his T-shirt over his head and ran a hand through his hair. “I’d do anything for you,” he added coyly.
“That is a lot of power to give another person.” Joanna cocked her head to one side. “But you mean it, don’t you?”
“I do.” He walked toward her and lifted his hand to stroke her cheek. “You and the children. Whatever you need, I’m there for you all.”
A small sob erupted from her throat. “I can’t believe how lucky I am. I keep thinking I need to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.” She shrugged. “It’s difficult to put your trust in someone once you’ve been let down so completely.”
“I won’t ever let you down. I’m yours.” He lowered his head and captured her lips in a brief kiss. “And you are mine.”
“I also belong to Reece and Winnie,” she reminded him.
“I know. But they are mine, too, now. In a good way,” he reassured her.
“Do you mean that?”
“Yes, even when we have children of our own they will be as much a part of my family as our children.” Marcus watched as her face clouded with uncertainty.
“There is something I should tell you.” Her voice shook as she spoke.
“Hey, whatever it is, it makes no difference to me. We are mates. There is nothing that can change that.” Marcus pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “Nothing.”
“What if we can’t ever have children of our own?” she asked, her voice jagged around the edges.
He didn’t hesitate when he answered, “Then we’ll enjoy the children we have. Or maybe adopt more.”
“Your family has been here at Chance Heights for generations.” She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.
“Sage is about to give birth, so the Chance family will still be here.” He tilted her chin up so he could look in her face. “It’s okay. Truly.”
She gave a sad smile. “A shifter doesn’t lie to his mate.”
“You got it.” He took her hand and led her back down the mountain.
Of course, he’d always imagined having a child of his own. But if it didn’t happen, there were plenty of children out there who needed a home and family. Family wasn’t about what blood ran through your veins, it went deeper than that. Much deeper.
Hadn’t Nana proved that to them time and time again?
Chapter Fifteen – Joanna
“Luke was not kidding about the bear races, was he?” Joanna asked as they reached a clearing about half a mile away from Chance Heights. Marcus has brought her here instead of going back to the campsite.
Now she knew why. The scene before her was not one you saw every day.
“Reece and Winnie look like they are having fun,” Marcus commented as they reached a small group of people made up of the Chance family and the Caulfield family.
“Where’s Tabitha?” Joanna asked Kylie.
“Over there.” Kylie pointed toward a low, scrubby bush to their left. “She’s been practicing shifting for an hour. She’s exhausted but she’s determined to get the hang of it.”
“She will,” Marcus assured an anxious Kylie. “It takes time to get confident in both skin and fur.”
“That is a weird concept to get my head around,” Chuck admitted.
“You’re doing great,” Sage complimented. “This has been an incredible shock for you all. Including Tabitha. You’ve all coped incredibly well.”
“We sure are glad it happened here and not back home,” Kylie admitted. “At least you were there to explain it to us. Otherwise, I don’t know what we would have done.”
“Which is why we have decided to move here.” Chuck looked happy with the decision.
“We’ll give you all the support you need,” Patrick assured them. “So will everyone else. And it would be
good for Tabitha to be surrounded by other kids who know what she’s going through.”
“Reece and Winnie want to move here, too,” Stu told Joanna.
“I bet they do.” The idea had already been floating around in Joanna’s head. She could move here in a heartbeat if she wanted to. Her work was flexible, and relocation would not be a problem since most of the time she worked from a home office.
“It would be one way to keep in touch,” Kylie agreed enthusiastically.
Joanna leaned back against Marcus. “I suppose it’s something we should talk over.”
“It should be your decision.” Marcus slipped his arm around her shoulders.
“That’s not fair,” Joanna protested.
“It is. I’ll go wherever you want me to go.” He was trying not to pressure her and she appreciated it. She knew without asking Marcus wanted to live here on the mountain for the rest of his life and raise their kids here where he grew up. Well, she might not be able to give him kids…
That thought cut her in two. She and Julian had tried for kids for years, and never conceived. Concerned he was firing blanks, Julian had taken it upon himself to get some tests done, which had proved he was a virile male capable of making babies.
His words, not hers.
The saddest part of the whole affair was that after a barrage of tests, the doctors could not figure out why she couldn’t conceive. Which was why they had adopted.
“I’d like to move here. If it’s okay with the kids and social workers.” Joanna nodded as the sound of her children laughing filled the air.
Two bears ran toward them at full speed, their strides perfectly matched as they covered the uneven ground. Of a similar size and color, the only thing that marked them as different were the silvertips on the ends of the fur of the bear nearest them.
“That’s George,” Marcus pointed to the silvertip bear. “The silver hair appears when we get older.”
“George is winning,” Joanna commented.
“Not for much longer,” Kylie said excitedly as the darker of the bears lengthened his stride and closed the space between them.
The bears were very close to the makeshift finishing line, which was no more than a line of twigs in the dirt when a white blur of fur ran alongside them.
“Wow, look at her go,” Jude said in awe as Tabitha, in the form of her snow leopard, caught up with them and then raced across the twigs.
“She is just amazing,” Stu said in awe.
“You are all amazing, never forget that.” Kylie hugged her sons and then released them as they ran to meet Tabitha.
“Happy?” Joanna asked Kylie while the children all gathered around the shifters. They were arguing that the race had been a draw between the bears, but Tabitha had run the fastest out of all of them.
“I am.” She threaded her hand into Chuck’s. “We all are.”
“This trip certainly surpassed our expectations.” Kylie wiped a stray tear from her cheek. “Happy tears.”
“I like happy tears.” Chuck kissed Kylie on the lips and they gazed adoringly into each other’s eyes.
“I hope you only ever cry happy tears from now on.” Joanna took Marcus’s hand. “Come on, I need to get these bear jockeys into bed. It’s way past their bedtime.”
“I’ll walk you.” Marcus and Joanna went over to the bears and the children.
“Hey, you two, thank Luke and George for the races, we need to get back to the tent.” Joanna took a moment to thread her fingers through Tabitha’s soft fur. “You were so fast, Tabitha.”
The snow leopard turned and looked at her with unblinking eyes. For a moment Joanna thought she’d offended Tabitha by stroking her as if she were a pet cat, but then she wound herself around Joanna’s legs and rubbed her face on her leg.
“She likes you,” Winnie informed her mom. “That’s what she does when she likes someone.”
“When she doesn’t like you, she uses her claws and meows.” Reece petted his friend on the head. “Luckily she likes everyone here.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Joanna said jokingly.
“Bye, Luke, bye, George.” Winnie hugged both the bears and kissed them solemnly on their large foreheads. The bears seemed to like the attention, but then according to Marcus, all shifters loved children. Or cubs as they saw all youngsters.
Joanna and Marcus waved goodbye to the others and headed back to the campsite. Even in the dark, Marcus knew the way.
“If we live here, will we be able to learn to see in the dark?” Winnie asked. “Or is it because you are a bear shifter?”
“You’ll get better at it,” Marcus assured her. “You’ll learn all the trails. You’ll learn the landmarks that can guide you and you’ll also learn to navigate using the stars.”
He pointed above their heads as they reached the gate leading into the camping field.
“Like sailors used to use the stars to navigate.” Reece tilted his head back and walked without looking where he was going across the open field. “That would be amazing.”
“Can you teach us about tracking, too?” Winnie asked. “I want to know the difference between bears and wolves and cats.”
“I can teach you all that.” Marcus glanced sideways at Joanna and winked.
He really was willing to take on her children as if they were his own. Warm gratitude filled her. Before they came here she’d been focused on raising the children alone and not letting anyone into her life. Now, the most incredible man wanted to share her life with her. Her family life.
In so many ways, Julian had let her down. Yet here was a man, one with unique abilities, who would be there for her forever.
Joanna laced her fingers with his as they approached the tent. She would love to invite him in and spend the night with him in her small sleeping bag, but that was not going to happen.
“Thank you for a wonderful day.” She leaned across and kissed his cheek.
“No, thank you for a wonderful day.” He grinned and kissed her on the cheek.
“Are you going to stand there all night and thank each other?” Reece asked. Joanna could feel his eye roll even though she could not see it in the dark.
“We could.” Joanna reluctantly let go of Marcus’s hand. “Goodnight, Marcus.”
“Goodnight. Sleep tight, all of you.” He watched as she unzipped the tent and the kids ducked inside. Then he winked at her and began walking away.
Joanna went to him one last time. However, before she could touch her lips to his, a voice called her name.
“Joanna. There you are.”
“Julian?” Her disbelief was palpable, so too was Marcus’s anger as he turned to face his mate’s estranged husband. “What are you doing here?”
“He came with me,” Karen said brightly. “We thought we would surprise you.”
Julian sauntered over to Joanna and pulled her possessively into his arms. “I missed you. I missed the kids.”
“Julian.” Joanna put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him away. “You can’t just turn up like this and expect everything to be as it was.”
“Why not?” Julian actually sounded surprised Joanna wasn’t happy to see him. “You were the one who begged me to stay.”
“I did.” She nodded her head and then held her hands out. “But you left anyway.”
“And now I’m back. It took me a while, but I figured out what I really wanted.” He opened his arms and stepped forward to embrace her once more.
“It was my idea to surprise you,” Karen said apologetically. “When Julian called to see if I knew where you were, I told him I was coming to join the event and offered to drive him.”
“We thought that a meeting on neutral ground might be the best idea.” Julian grinned at Joanna, who wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole.
“It was a nice idea,” Joanna began.
“Great, then I’ll go get my things and we can sort out the sleeping arrangements.” Julian turned around to walk back to th
e car. “It’s been a long day and even though I’d prefer to take you to a hotel, I guess I’ll have to sleep in the tent.”
“No,” Joanna spoke firmly.
“What do you mean, no?” Julian asked.
“I mean you can’t just walk back into our lives and expect to pick up where you left off.” Joanna felt Marcus at her shoulder, his body tense like a coiled spring.
“Dad?” Reece’s head popped out of the tent followed by Winnie’s.
“Hey there, Reece. How are you doing?” Julian exaggerated his enthusiasm.
“Good. We’re having a great time.” Winnie and Reece left the tent and came over to meet him, although none of them hugged.
“Ah, a happy family.” Karen smiled benevolently. “I’m sure Joanna just needs a moment to get over the shock. You know, to adjust to the situation.”
Joanna raised an eyebrow and was about to tell Karen having Julian back in her life was not something she would ever adjust to when Julian invited himself into the tent. “Why don’t you show me where you guys are sleeping?”
Karen’s smile grew wider. “You see.” Before Joanna could answer, Karen had turned her attention to Marcus. “Karen Sayer. I don’t think we’ve met.”
“Marcus Chance. I think you met with my sister, Sage, when we were making arrangements for the event.”
“I did. And your brother, Luke.” Karen cast an appraising eye over Marcus. “I don’t know if it’s your family genes, or if there is something in the water, but you and your brother are quite something.”
Was Karen flirting with Marcus? A wave of jealousy hit Joanna. She wanted to tell Karen to keep her hands, and her eyes, off her man. “Maybe you and Julian could share a tent?”
Marcus glanced sideways at Joanna and smothered a smile. “I could help you and Julian pitch a tent.”
“Oh…” Karen looked longingly at the house. “I wondered, since I was the coordinator, whether there was room for me inside.”
Marcus chuckled. “Sorry, the house is full, and all coordinators normally like to experience everything we have to offer.”
Second Chance Bear Page 12
