by Maia Dylan
Tearing his lips from her, he quickly stripped off his clothes, as she helped to wrestled herself out of his jacket. No words passed between them, the need to feel alive and be together making their movements hurried and jerky. In less than a minute, but to Ryan it felt like a decade, they were both naked and wrapped within each other’s arms again. The heady scent of her arousal perfumed the air around them and had his cock leaking.
Both of them were breathing heavily as he pulled back slightly and placed his forehead on hers. “I was damn scared, baby.”
“Me, too.” She whispered as she lifted her right leg over his hip and reached between them to grip his dick, making him moan and roll his hips forward. His cock steadily leaked pre-cum as she placed it against the hot, wet swollen folds of her pussy, and with a quick roll of his hips he gave them both what they needed. He buried himself to the hilt within her.
“Ryan!” She yelled, and he pressed her harder against the tree, careful to keep his hands behind her to stop her back from making contact with the unforgiving bark. He rolled his hips forward rhythmically, fucking into her slowly, building the passion that rose quickly within them.
“Fuck! Goddamn, Ariana, you feel so hot and tight around me.” Ryan’s voice sounded harsh as his breath rate increased. He was spiraling out of control, and loved every fucking minute of it. He basically had his mate pinned between him and the tree, and she took everything he had to give her. He growled deep and low when she lifted her left leg around him and locked her ankles behind his ass.
“Claim me, my wolf,” Ariana panted in his ear as he slammed into her. Ryan knew he was out of control, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop. When he felt her pussy flutter around him, he knew she would take him with her when she finally surrendered to the pleasure. He felt his canines drop forward, and just as she started quivering in that delightful way that told him she was coming hard around him, he bit down on the juncture between her neck and her shoulder.
He growled at the taste of her blood in his mouth as it exploded on his tongue and, he groaned against her as he reached the precipice of his own release. He released her gently and threw his head back as he drew breath to shout his pleasure to the world, and reached out to embrace his release.
His eyes flew open, and he roared, his orgasm ripping from him harder and stronger than anything he had every felt before, as his mate – his claimed mate – sunk her own teeth into his shoulder. He jerked into her uncontrollably as a second orgasm ripped through him, and felt her explode for a second time. They had claimed each other, both baring the bite mark of their mate, announcing to the world that they were one.
* * * *
Ariana sighed as she snuggled closer to Ryan’s side. They were back in her parents’ house and were all sitting around the lounge drinking champagne, or in her case tea, celebrating the fact that they had been victorious again. Ryan had yet to let her go, and she had no problem with that. No problem at all.
Since they had entered her parents’ house, she had been dressed in warm clothes then secured beneath his arm, tucked into his side on the couch, and they hadn’t moved. The others had served them, making sure they had everything they needed, seeming to know that what they needed most was each other.
“So, what are we going to do for Christmas?” Casey asked as she sipped her champagne. “It’s only three days away, and I haven’t even been shopping yet!”
“What do you mean, what are we doing for Christmas?” Maggie harrumphed and placed her hands on her hips in a move that mothers around the world had mastered from the moment their children were placed in their arms. “We will be having a full family Christmas, right here, in our home, with our family. We will eat too much food, and spend the afternoon mooching in front of the television, and celebrate the fact that we are all together. Happy, healthy, and together. Is that understood?”
A happy murmur of “yes, ma’ams” and “okay, Mum’s” echoed through the room.
“And that goes for you, too, Liam Barrett! I will expect you in this house for breakfast, and you will be allowed to leave after Christmas dinner.”
Liam tipped his head and grinned from the armchair he sat sprawled in. “Yes, Maggie.”
Ariana had been casting furtive glances in the man’s direction since they left the Pagan Stone earlier that night. She had questions, and she wasn’t sure how—
“I can see you have questions, Ariana.” Liam grinned in her direction. “Just ask them.”
Ariana grinned sheepishly. So her glances hadn’t been as furtive as she had thought. “Okay, let’s start with the biggie. Am I now your mate, too?”
“What!” Liam asked incredulously, but the sound was almost lost beneath the roar of the same word from the man beside her.
“Why in the fuck would you think that?” Ryan snarled, and Ariana reached up to gently pet her wolf to calm him. He immediately settled, but a growl still rumbled constantly from his chest.
“No! No way!” Liam shook his head emphatically. She felt Ryan slump slightly in relief, and if she wasn’t mistaken, there was another feminine sigh of relief in the room, too. “That was not a claiming bite! We would have to be, well, I would need to be, ah…” His hands came together two times like he was clapping but never making contact. “Um, well, you know, we would have to, ah—”
“You finish that sentence, and I’ll be gifting my mate with a new bearskin rug for our bedroom,” Ryan snapped. “We get what you are trying to say.”
“Well, that’s good! I know there is more I will need to know, and I know you’ll be around to show me and help me, but I have one last question.” Ariana paused and watched as Liam’s expression became wary. Then she grinned and asked, “Do bears shit in the woods?” The room broke out into laughter. It felt normal and good, and Ariana was just so thankful to be alive.
Kingi announced he was making coffees, and Ariana settled her cheek against Ryan’s shoulder, listening to him smack talking with his brothers. She watched as Liam excused himself for a moment and slipped out the door. Ariana smiled softly as a sense of déjà vu descended when she saw Neve slip quietly out behind him. Neve had the final chapter to deliver of this prophecy, and she would need all of them beside her to finally end this. And bring Olwen home.
Ryan pressed a kiss to the top of her head, then nuzzled his cheek against her. “You getting tired, my love?”
“Yeah, I think I’ll be wanting to head home soon. It’s been a bitch of a day,” Ariana said on a sigh. Ryan barked a short laugh.
“That would be an understatement!” Ryan sighed. “I think we’ll crash here tonight. I’ll run you a nice hot bath and tuck you into bed. Then I’m going to hold you all damn night. Sound good, baby?”
Ariana frowned and pulled back to stare at her mate. “What the hell are you talking about? That is not how this night is going to end.” She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “We are going back to our place, because we are going to need some privacy. The first thing you are going to do is fuck me into oblivion and claim me again.” Ariana heard his heart start to beat faster, and she could scent his arousal. Damn, there were benefits all around to being a shifter. “And once you’ve done that, I’m going to pin you down, fuck you into oblivion, and claim you, again.” She bit his earlobe gently.
“Fuck!” Ryan groaned. His brothers all started to rib him at the same time, and he shot her an evil look. “Damn it, Ariana! You can’t just say things like that.”
“Ryan,” Ariana said, her eyes flashing with joy, “bite me.”
“Oh, baby bear, I plan to.”
Chapter 12
Neve watched quietly from the shadows as Liam stood leaning over the railing at the edge of the porch. He was staring intently out at the rain. The evenings were stretching longer, the days shorter, and there was a hint of ice in the air. The temperature was forecast to drop below zero overnight, and Neve could feel it in the air around her.
Liam sighed deeply, and Neve longed to walk to him and
wrap her arms around his waist. She wanted to press her face against his broad back and soak in his warmth. But she didn’t think it would be appreciated.
“Neve.” Liam’s voice sounded clear even over the sound of the rain on the porch roof. “It’s getting really cold out here. You should probably head on inside.”
Neve felt an ache in her chest at the thought that this man, this beautiful man, didn’t want to be around her.
“Liam,” she whispered, her voice filled with need. She saw Liam flinch, so knew he heard it in her voice as well. “Can’t we at least get to know each other? Perhaps you might find we could even become friends, or…something.” A friend wasn’t exactly what she wanted. It was a million miles away from being what she wanted, but she could at least be around him if they were friends. And she knew that she needed to be around him.
When she had left Virginia two months ago, she had no idea what was drawing her to Freedom Springs. She had simply known that she needed to be here. As soon as she met Ariana, Casey, and Fiona, they quickly became the family she had longed for all her life. When she laid eyes on Liam, she knew he was hers. Everything in this man called to her.
“Sure, Neve.” Liam turned to look at her as he spoke, but the look on his face was almost a resigned determination, and confused her more than anything else. “We can be friends. But only friends. I know you have this idea that we can be more, but you need to understand something. We will never have what the others have. For some reason the Fates have decided that we must all come together and fight in this godforsaken war for the protection of life as we know it. But, we are not mates. My bear and I know that you are not our mate, and even though I think you are hot as hell, I can’t start something with you. Not knowing that you think there is something between us that just isn’t there. There is no happily ever after for you and I.”
Neve felt each word like a physical blow. She recognized him as hers. She had dreamed of him and his bear all her life and had always held strong to the belief that she would find him. Oh God, perhaps she had let herself read more into what Liam did today than she should have. When he had stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, she had thought it might have been because he felt for her what she felt for him. He had laid claim to her in front of Aeron, the same way the others had laid claim to their mates. She had assumed that he had meant it.
But he had simply been protecting a woman as he would protect anyone he believed was in danger.
“I’m sorry, Liam.” Neve’s voice was steady and without inflection. She was pretty damned pleased with herself for that. “If I have made you feel uncomfortable in any way, I apologize. Perhaps I am only seeing things I want to be real, instead of reality itself.”
Liam dragged a frustrated hand through his hair, and Neve had to clench her fist to stop herself from reaching out to sweep the lock of dark hair away from where it had fallen across his face. “For fuck’s sake,” he said through gritted teeth. “I don’t want you to apologize, Neve. You haven’t done anything to fucking apologize for. Jesus, you don’t make me feel uncomfortable. Not in the way I think you mean. I just don’t want you to get hurt, and falling or feeling anything for me will only lead to you getting hurt.”
Neve wanted to scream, “It’s too fucking late for that!” But she simply wrapped her arms around her middle and nodded. Fighting to keep her face neutral and not the let the pain of his words show, she employed every tactic she had learned growing up. A girl didn’t survive knowing that no one wanted you, and that you had been left in a Dumpster as a baby like a piece of trash, without growing a thick skin. You didn’t grow up in the foster care system in this country without learning it was better to simply pretend you weren’t in pain than get mocked, hurt, or beaten for showing weakness.
“I understand. I appreciate you looking out for my feelings like you are. No one has ever really looked out for me before. So thanks, I guess. I’m, ah—I’m gonna head inside.” Neve’s voice sounded small and hollow even to her own ears, and grimacing slightly, she turned to walk back inside the house.
“Neve.” Liam’s tone was tortured, and when she turned, he was reaching out a hand toward her. This time the look on his face had her heart pounding. This look spoke of deep longing. It was the look of a man who was reaching for someone he wanted more than anything else in the world. And he was reaching for her!
Neve stood still, her mind reeling at his complete 180-degree turn. She had no idea what to do next.
“If things were different”—Liam lowered his hand slowly to his side—“if there was even a chance that we were fated, then I want you to know, I would grab that chance with both hands and never let you go.”
Neve stared at the man in front of her like she had never seen him before. What in the hell just happened here?
“I have no idea what that means, Liam.” Neve threw her hands in the air. “In the past couple of minutes, you have fucking destroyed me. I don’t actually think you have any idea how much! But hearing that you and your bear don’t recognize me as yours felt like you just ripped my heart from my chest.”
Liam flinched at her words and stepped toward her. She hurriedly stepped back, and Liam froze.
“If you had left it at that and simply let me walk away, then I would have been okay. I would have gone upstairs, probably cried over you in the shower, but I would have been okay. Fuck, you wouldn’t be the first person in my life to reject me. But, to then have you tell me that if there were any chance that we were fated, then you would never let me go? That feels like you’re pouring acid in the open wound!”
Rain began to pour from the heavens. The sky became alive as thunder rolled and lightning forked across the sky, lighting the world around them in brilliant flashes of light.
“Why!” Neve stepped forward and slammed her hands against his massive chest. He was so huge he didn’t even budge, and she felt a twinge of pain radiate through her right wrist. Neve knew she was screaming, and that she was probably out of control, but she just couldn’t stop herself. Tears streamed down her cheeks. The harder she cried, the harder the rain fell. “What is it that makes you believe we aren’t mates?” Liam shook his head, and Neve could see a sheen of moisture in his eyes. “What is it that makes it impossible for you to love me?”
“Because my mate died!” Liam roared. “My bear recognized her as ours. We claimed her, and we lost her on the same damn day!”
Neve stumbled back in shock, her anger and tears dropping away almost immediately. The rain stopped just as abruptly, and the silence it left behind was broken only by Liam’s harsh breaths. He had already found his mate and then lost her. Oh God, how that must have hurt. Neve suddenly became aware of the pain that rocketed through her body, and she realized she knew exactly what that felt like.
“Bear shifters only get the one mate, Neve. I’m sorry.” Liam said softly, and Neve bit back a sob at the pain she heard in his voice before he turned, stepped off the porch, and walked into the darkness of the forest.
He took her heart with him when he left.
THE END
WWW.MAIADYLAN.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maia Dylan lives, loves and works in beautiful New Zealand. She married her best friend, and they have two adorable, but stubborn children who obviously take after their father.
Maia’s career has featured a lot of travel, and she has filled her time at airports and in the air with books, books, and more books. Her love of erotic paranormal romance has seen her amass a huge library. She has been an avid reader and lover of ménage romances since she read her first book in this genre about three years ago.
In January of 2015, Maia submitted her first ever manuscript to Siren Publishing. She wasn’t at all confident that it would be accepted, and in fact she was expecting a nicely worded email with a resounding no! Much to her surprise, less than two weeks later, she had an acceptance and a signed contract in hand, and since then she hasn’t looked back.
Outsid
e of writing, Maia loves to eat, so she loves to cook! Her herb garden is legendary, but she still has issues getting tomatoes to grow. She’s been a performer for years, and has even sung on international stages. She would love to own a classic Ford Mustang one day and of course have the opportunity to race it on a racetrack without fear of a speeding ticket.
Although ultimately her dream is to be able to write full-time on a sandy beach with a Mai Tai in hand, she is quite happy to fit her writing in when she can. As long as someone reads her books, gets a laugh, and maybe comes to love her characters as much as she does, then she feels that she is living her dream no matter what!
For all titles by Maia Dylan, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/maia-dylan
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
