“I’m going to take your tunic off. Is that alright?”
“Yes,” she gasped, impatiently reaching for the hem of the garment herself. I seized her hands in both my own, ceasing her movement.
“I want to do this part. It’s only fair, right? You did take my pants off.”
“Only if I get to take your tunic off after,” she grumbled, glaring at the tunic that still clung to my sweaty frame. I suddenly wished I’d had access to a shower.
“Deal.”
I released her from my grip and lifted her tunic, my gaze savoring every inch of her I bared. She wasn’t as patient as I’d been, and immediately yanked my tunic over my head when I’d finished. Her hands were everywhere, tracing the contours of my chest.
I pulled back, amused when she protested. “I’ll be back. Just let me return the favor.”
I slid the cotton breeches down her long, shapely legs until she was revealed in all her glory. Her sex glistened in the low light. I needed a taste of her.
I pushed her legs apart, settling myself between them. Her scent was heady. I slid my tongue between her folds, biting back a grin when her hips arched off the ground in surprise. Ah, this was heaven.
She tasted as good as she smelled. The sweet tang of fruit combined with the spicy kick of cinnamon. I couldn’t get enough of her. Her hips continued to shift restlessly, and soft, pleased sounds fell from her lips. I grabbed her hips and held them still, so I could circle her clit with greater precision.
Her body tensed and her back came completely off the carpet of furs. Her legs trembled around me, and she threw her head back, nearly sobbing with the intensity of her release.
The magic surged through my veins, and I knew even this small exchange would be enough. I’d be fine by morning. The flesh of my thigh tingled as the tissue began to work overtime to repair itself.
“Thank you,” I breathed, sitting back on my haunches. This small favor was more than I’d asked for or expected to receive.
She tilted her head to look at me. “What are you thanking me for? You didn’t get off.”
I gave her a small, lopsided grin. “Maybe another time. You were right before. We do need to be at full strength tomorrow. We should sleep.”
Her lips turned down into a scowl. “If you’re giving me a rain check on sex after all of that, and after I gave you the go ahead no less, I will smack you silly.”
“Do you want–”
“Yes,” she said impatiently. “Now fuck me, Luke, or I swear I’ll watch next time someone tries to kill you.”
I stared at her, trailing my eyes over her tight, fuckable, little body. I wanted to sink my cock into her to the hilt. It twitched a little at that thought.
“Turn over,” I ordered, voice dropping into a low growl. She appeared stunned for a moment before she finally complied. She rolled onto her stomach, presenting me with a lovely view of her ass.
I gripped her hips once more, yanking her backwards. I ground my very evident arousal against her. She whimpered.
“Oh God, Luke,” she breathed. “Please….”
I didn’t need to be asked twice. I spread her legs further apart and drove into her. Her warmth enveloped me by inches, sending delicious spikes of ecstasy through my groin. I took one hand from her hip, bracing it on the small of her back, sinking my cock in as far as I could.
“Oh God,” she moaned. “Luke you’re so–”
I never did find out what the last word of that sentence was going to be. I thrust, shallowly at first and then with greater force as I found a rhythm. She moaned and bowed her head forward. It was a struggle not to fist my hand in her hair. I wanted to see the pleasure as it played across her face. I wanted to see her expression when she came.
I kept a steady rhythm, hips slapping against hers audibly. Her words were mostly unintelligible, but the tone of approval was unmistakable.
I gritted my teeth as my own pleasure peaked higher. I wasn’t going to leave her unsatisfied. I leaned further over her, pressing my chest to her back as my fingers sought her clit.
I knew when I’d found it because she physically bucked and gave a particularly loud cry. I drove myself into her hard, again and again until she was convulsing around me. Her whole body trembled, and her shuddering walls clamped down on me hard.
It was nearly torture to tear myself away from her, to let my seed spill across her back and not in her warm, wet cunt.
She collapsed when I released her, rolling onto her back. It was a few minutes before either of us could say anything. When she finally recovered, she propped herself up on one elbow and leaned in so she could see my face.
“Why did you do that?” She murmured, moving a stray lock of hair from my face. Maybe Lucy had been right. Maybe I did need to cut it. “Pull out, I mean. I wanted….”
“Even if you were using the pill or the shot, it’s not really effective against one of us, or at least that’s what Chance tells me. We sort of have super sperm. Biological imperative, I guess, since shapeshifters only make up about ten percent of the population in any given generation.”
“So, you’re saying….”
“If I came inside you, I almost certainly would have gotten you pregnant. I really shouldn’t have slept with you at all, if I were being safe. The point is, you’re still not sure about the mate thing. I’m not going to trap you with an unwanted pregnancy.”
First realization and then gratitude flashed across her face. “Thank you,” she whispered. “That’s very…decent of you, Luke. I think we should use condoms after we get out of here, at least for a little while.”
I couldn’t help but feel happy about that. Not an outright no. Perhaps I wouldn’t be returning to my cave alone, after all.
“Good idea,” I agreed easily.
“How’s the leg?” She asked.
“Perfect, thanks to you.”
She curled into my side, her breasts pressed into my chest. “Good. Tomorrow, we need to win this thing. I’m not losing you, Luke Elmsong. You hear me?”
“Yes ma’am,” I said with a smile. I buried my face in the soft cloud of her hair.
I wasn’t about to go anywhere.
Chapter 6
Audrey
I wasn’t expecting Luke to be dragged along to my meeting with Thor. Honestly, from the look in his eyes when he’d addressed me from the top box, I’d expected it to take place in a private venue.
I hadn’t expected to be brought before the God smelling strongly of sex and blood. The former had been my choice, the latter merely a necessity. I still didn’t understand why Luke insisted he cover his face, but I hadn’t thought the mud alone would satisfy the crowd we’d faced that morning. He had a reputation as ‘The Bloody-Faced Bear’, after all. ‘The Muddy-Faced Bear’ didn’t sound nearly as frightening. I’d cut my forearm shallowly and spread the blood across his face before we’d left. It still stung somewhat, and I wondered if the tantric healing would work both ways. Could it heal me as well?
I was in danger of being distracted by that line of thought. Images of what we’d done just the night before flashed vividly through my head, and I rubbed my thighs together to soothe the ache I could feel building.
I glanced around the room. I hadn’t expected the God’s quarters to be so…plain. Where was the feel of divinity? His quarters didn’t appear too different from ours, though it was bigger and had a bathroom. There was one full-size bed in the middle of the room, a side table and a pitcher of water resting atop it. The God’s fur cloak lay draped across the bed.
Thor somehow managed to squeeze his impressive bulk into the chair across from mine. Luke, who I generally thought of as massive, looked puny next to the God’s immense frame. I was beginning to think my plan to kill him was impossible. I couldn’t attack him head on, no matter what weapon I used. I doubted I’d ever get access to enough poison to kill this meathead. He was half the size of an elephant.
He smiled bro
adly at the pair of us. “Welcome, warrior and lady.” He swept his arms out to indicate the room around us. “My personal quarters, as you requested, Lady Audrey.” He inclined his head to me and then flashed me a very saucy smile. I glanced over at Luke. His expression was stormy, his jaw set to keep him from shouting the God of Thunder down.
“I thank you, my lord.” I said, lowering my eyes demurely. This was probably the only opportunity I’d have to be so close to him. I had to think of something. I folded my hands into my lap and stared at them, as if they could somehow provide the answer.
“Why are we here?” Luke asked, no hint of patience in his tone. I wished I’d thought to tell him my plan before we’d been dragged up here. At this rate, his motor mouth was going to ruin everything.
Thor tilted his head towards Luke, examining him. It was a surprisingly bird-like motion for someone of his size.
“Lady Audrey requested the use of my quarters, if you recall. I am honoring that request.”
“Don’t play dumb,” he snapped. “You know exactly what I mean. Why are any of us here? You’ve got your personal guards and all of Valhalla, right? What’s the point of any of this?”
He had a point. Why hadn’t I thought of that? Wasn’t I supposed to be the mythologically-savvy one? I’d gotten the impression that aside from pop culture references he’d seen in books and movies, he knew next to nothing about myth. Which was weird, now that I considered it. He was a were-bear. Norse were-bears were steeped in tradition from the time they could toddle around, generally speaking.
Thor steepled his fingers. “You’re quite correct, Mr. James. We would normally have access to the soldiers in Valhalla. But a little over a year ago, the hall was sealed by Freya before her capture. We are working to undo the spells she cast on the hall. Meanwhile, her brother Freyr has unrestricted access to her hall, Folkvang, and all of her pet soldiers. We’ve been forced to get creative.”
I struggled to keep my poker face firmly in place. That brief explanation had been a regular gold mine of useful information. One, that Thor and his ilk had practically no backing in the war with their enemies. The fact that they’d conscripted random were-animals was proof of their desperation.
“Though the competition isn’t merely about recruitment, as you may have already guessed. It is good for weeding out the weaklings, but that’s not its primary purpose.”
“What is it about, then?” he demanded, leaning forward in his chair. I could sense the rage roiling just beneath the surface. It frightened me more than a little. I’d been near that sort of simmering anger for too many years. I flinched when he shifted in his chair, expecting a backhand on reflex. Though it cost me something to do it, I laid my hand over his, hoping his hostility wouldn’t be misdirected at me.
He twitched visibly, and I prepared for the worst. Instead, he took a shaky breath and then slumped back into the chair, scowling at his lap rather than at me.
“That is precisely the reason,” Thor said with a laugh. “The purpose is to form bonds of unity between our new recruits. Nothing unifies quite like war.”
It was my turn to be furious. I was aware that I was doing a rather unflattering impression of a fish, but I couldn’t seem to close my mouth.
“Excuse me?” I finally spluttered. “Since when? War has done nothing but tear people apart since time immemorial. Families split, enmity sown between countries, chaos and anarchy in the streets–”
“Men and women discovering courage and valor within themselves,” Thor interjected. “People reaching greatness they would have never dreamed possible. The proud legacy of protector handed down from parent to child.”
“This isn’t patriotism!” I nearly shouted. “Cut out the jingoistic bullshit, Thor! Casting innocent women and children to the literal wolves isn’t heroic.”
“Nothing bonds like war,” he repeated. “Do you know how wars are won, shield maiden?”
“With weapons?” I replied acerbically. I wanted my spear in the worst way. It might not kill the bloodthirsty son of a bitch, but it might make him squeal if I shoved it up his ass.
“Superior numbers,” he said, one meaty hand clenching into a fist. “Nearly half the females with the capability are now pregnant.”
My disgust rose to choke me. There were no words foul enough that I could think of to accurately describe my thoughts about him in that moment. Fortunately, Luke managed to express the sentiment well enough.
“You sick fucker,” he growled. “This is a fucking, breeding program? Is that all we are to you? Cattle?”
“Of course not. You are our subjects. We exist because you do. We are preparing you for what is to come.”
“By having us kill each other?” Luke cried.
“It’s a civil war,” Thor said gravely. “You will be fighting against your kind. More than that, you will likely be fighting humans, as well.”
“Going to draft them, too?” he snarled. “Going to drag their women away to birth your next army?”
“Keep a civil tongue in your head, boy,” Thor growled. It sounded like the crash of distant thunder. “We do what we must in these troubled times. The humans will turn on you because you are not like them. Because you worship different Gods, because they fear your strength. You are superior to them, and they will try to kill you for it.”
The God sat back in the chair, and it creaked ominously. I secretly hoped it splintered.
“Which is why I called you here, as well as Lady Audrey. You have won enough matches to have joined our ranks twice over, and yet you hesitate at the end. We want to extend you an offer. Kill one human companion, it can even be a male if you like and you will be free to go. You may rejoin us in Roanoke in a month’s time.”
I hated that there was a part of me that wanted him to do it. No matter how far I’d come, there was still a small, screaming part of me that remained a scared, little girl hiding beneath the bed, hoping that the monster living in my house wouldn’t find me. I doubted I’d ever lose that survival instinct that told me to put my own safety first, above all else, even morals.
“No,” Luke ground out. “I’ve taken enough human life already. I’m not adding more names to my list.”
Thor tsked reprovingly, looking for all the world like a disappointed father. “I’ll leave you to think on it.”
He wiggled his way free of the chair and made his way to the door. Luke glared after him. I was certain that none of the luxuries left to us would sway him.
He turned the reproving scowl to me as soon as the heavy footfalls faded into the distance.
“I suppose you want me to take the offer?”
“No,” I whispered. “I want to win this the right way. We’ll defeat the opponent tomorrow, and we’ll be free, right? Then we can get the hell out of dodge.”
“Together?”
The trepidation in his voice nearly broke my heart.
“Yes, together.” I couldn’t look him in the eyes. Tears threatened to choke me. If I saw relief or worse, love, in his eyes I’d cry, and I wouldn’t be able to stop.
I cleared my throat, trying to dislodge the knot of unshed tears. “How about a shower? It’s been too long. I must smell God-awful.”
I risked a glance up and saw a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. The look he was giving me was pure male, the sort of look that crossed a man’s face when he had just one thing on his mind.
“Together?” He asked again, though this time his voice was light and teasing.
“Sure,” I agreed. “If you agree to a game of twenty-one questions. We still have so much to learn about each other. I think all secrets should be out the window if we plan to see each other naked with any frequency.”
He hesitated. “I may not be able to answer everything you want to know about the were-bear stuff. I’ve only been one for a little over a year.”
No, surely not. His shift was so easy and graceful. His bear was massive, and he seemed to act in
tandem with it. How had he mastered his shape in such a short amount of time? Norse shapeshifters, from what I’d been able to glean from friends, had the hardest time reigning in their beasts, given their origins as the berserkers of old.
*I let my armor drop to the floor, savoring the clean scent of the washroom. You sort of took having a shower for granted until you no longer had access to one. I watched him strip from the corner of my eye. Maybe bathing together wasn’t the brightest idea after all. I was bound to get distracted if he was pressed close to me. But I’d made a bargain. I turned away, forcing my thoughts into some semblance of order.
“What were you doing in the Blue Ridge Mountains?” I asked, pulling my tunic over my head. Behind me, I could hear him testing the water temperature.
“I live there. What were you doing in the Blue Ridge Mountains?”
“You live there?”
“Ah, ah, ah. You answer first.”
I frowned. I hadn’t exactly agreed to quid pro quo, but it was probably churlish of me to refuse to answer. Especially since he was trying to accommodate my human objections to the mate situation we’d found ourselves in.
“I’ve been travelling across America collecting folk tales as a part of my thesis paper.”
“What story were you trying to track down in the mountains?” he wondered.
“I answered, now you answer.” I tried not to sound too smug, throwing his rules back at him.
He slid the door open, and I climbed inside the standing shower. The warm spray felt heavenly on my back. Luke stepped in after me, and it didn’t take the enclosed space long to get steamy—in more ways than one.
I turned away from him, reaching for the delicate soaps resting on the ledge. Either Thor was a lot more metrosexual than I thought, or he had a woman stashed around here somewhere.
“I’m outcast.” His voice had a dull, droning tone that made me think the information had been drilled into him often. “I’m not meant to interact with other were-bears. If I do, they can challenge me and kill me without provocation.”
Defending the Bear (Blue Ridge Bears Book 2) Page 8
