by Sable Sylvan
“It means you can’t blame the wine for the kiss,” said Jasper. He walked up to the stand. “Two bottles, with the silliest straws you’ve got.”
“You got it,” said the man behind the counter. He popped the corks on two of the chilled bottles of marionberry wine, and let the couple pick out their straws, which were held in a big bucket of candy.
“You’re getting...this one,” said Artemis, picking out a straw that had beak on it, so that when Jasper sipped, he’d look like a bird.
“Perfect, and you get this one,” said Jasper, picking out a straw with a mustache near the top, so that when Artemis sipped, she’d look like she had a mustache.
“Some pair we make, a bird and...walrus?” joked Artemis. “Does any other animal have a mustache?”
“Are you frikkin’ kidding me?” asked Jasper. “Half the droopy little dogs in Port Jameson!”
Jasper and Artemis walked together through the festival, joking, but they still acted as if the kiss hadn’t happened. Artemis took everything in, from the scents and sights of the festival to the sounds of laughter and vendors hawking their wares, but she was most focused not on the events, but on the reactions of people to the events. The demographics of Port Jameson were like those of the Midwest, and everyone here seemed absolutely thrilled to be at the Marionberry Festival. It was like a festive version of her first ride-through of Port Jameson. The whole community was there, families too, and various local businesses were supporting their town. That’s why Artemis had the best idea she’d had all week...
Chapter Eight
“Jasper...I have an idea, and tell me if I’m crazy,” said Artemis. “But...what if Asher Lumber didn’t hold a charity ball?”
“No charity ball?” asked Jasper. “We’re supposed to fix it, not abolish it.”
“Well, what if there was a better thing that the company could hold, something it could share with the community? Something like...this?” asked Artemis, arms wide and encompassing the view of Main Street, which was bustling and full of happy faces, shifter and human alike.
“A street fair?” said Jasper. “Sell it to me. How do you expect to get a bunch of big city fat cats...or fat bears, as the case may be, out into the boonies?”
“Okay, think about this. Asher Lumber could spend the money it would spend on the ball on local events instead, in rural areas, one festival in every town Asher Lumber has a big presence,” said Artemis. “All the food, all the fun, it’d be free, sponsored by the company, and the company would hire local vendors, which would stimulate the local economy. The blind auctions...well, we could sell stuff from stores like Spinning A Yarn, because rich people love rare stuff from rural towns. You said so yourself: all those tourists come up here for Port Jameson’s berries, rich people would go nuts over those, and they love to travel. The blind auction’s proceeds could go towards local charities, like scholarship programs.”
“And the rural towns would love it, they love festivals and community stuff,” said Jasper. “We don’t lose the money from the people who we’re trying to court at the charity balls, the money goes towards good causes, and it’s great for image. Plus, it’s going to be a great way for the Ashers to check in on their various branches.”
“You were right: getting out of the cabin did do us some good,” said Artemis. “I guess now, all we have to do is write it all down, come up with some plans, and Cedar can have the people in the charitable giving and event planning departments bring the events to life.”
“You really can spin anything into pure gold,” said Jasper. “There aren’t any mysteries left for you to solve down in Port Jameson.”
“Well, there is one,” said Artemis. “I think I’ve solved the mystery of your mate mark.”
“Oh?” asked Jasper, trying not to show his emotions on his sleeve. There was no frikkin’ way Artemis was going to be able to guess.
“Okay. I don’t know what your mate mark is, exactly, but I know who it refers to,” said Artemis, blushing. “And maybe I’m crazy, maybe I’m not, but...I think I’m your mate, Jasper.”
“And what makes you say that?” ask Jasper.
“Because I’m probably the only woman in the world that can put up with you and your pigheadedness, and you’re the only man I’d trust to fish in a river stark naked,” said Artemis. “Because...even though we started out this trip hating each other, or rather, I started it out hating you, I’ve become closer to you than to any other person, ever, and in a crazy short period of time. Because I...” Artemis mumbled something.
Jasper heard it, crystal clear. He couldn’t help but smirk. “Sorry, what was that?” asked Jasper.
“You heard me,” said Artemis, crossing her arms.
“What was that?” asked Jasper. “Because you...?”
“Because I love you, okay?” said Artemis.
“Artemis...I love you too,” said Jasper. He pulled Artemis close and kissed her lips hard. He’d missed her mouth for almost a week, and now, he didn’t care who saw them kissing, even if Beatrice would blow up his phone asking about wedding plans in mere minutes. Artemis was the woman he wanted to be with, mate marks be damned, and he wasn’t afraid who knew.
“So...am I right?” asked Artemis as they pulled away, looking to Jasper’s chest and then back up at Jasper.
“I can show you in less than twenty minutes,” said Jasper with a wink. “Come on...I have something else I want to show you first.”
***
Artemis and Jasper got back in Jasper’s SUV and rode up to the house...and then, further on the road, past the house. The road got narrower but Jasper kept driving until he got to a clearing in the woods. In the clearing was a log cabin. Jasper opened Artemis’s door before she had even unbuckled her seat belt and he swooped her up into his arms after she was loose from the seat belt straps.
“Carrying me over the threshold? Isn’t that a bit premature?” teased Artemis.
“Can you really blame a guy for wanting to hold the woman he’s in love with? Get the door, will you?” asked Jasper, passing Artemis his keys. Artemis reached down and unlatched the doorknob and let them into the cabin.
Jasper carried Artemis across the room to the only thing in the room: a big bed with fresh sheets. The room was a bit musty, clean but musty, as Jasper hadn’t been in the private cabin for months. Artemis looked around: there was a door presumably to a bathroom, a small kitchen set up, and a fireplace. In front of the fireplace was a couch, and between the fireplace and the couch was the thing that Artemis had been looking for during the whole trip.
There, in the middle of the room, was a large bearskin rug...and it was indeed rumpled.
“This is the rumpled bear skin?” asked Artemis, unable to hold back her laughter. The rug looked nothing like she’d expect. The rug was knitted and made of yarn in various colors and gauges. Honestly, it was the ugliest rug Artemis had seen in her life, but the longer she looked at it, the wider the smile on her face got.
“That’s it,” said Jasper. “I swear, it’s clean.”
“You’ve never...” started Artemis.
“On that? Never,” said Jasper. “My grandma knit that for me, Artemis. She used all her spare yarn, which is why it’s very...interesting looking. The women who I’ve...taken here, they’ve shared stories, and that faux-bearskin rug was the thing they talked about among themselves, which is how I got that stupid nickname, Rumpled Bear Skin, although none of them were done on that rug.”
Artemis couldn’t help but laugh. The rug was so unlike the initial perception she’d had of Jasper. She’d thought he’d be this big city snooty business man, but he was really just a Port Jameson boy who loved his grandma so much he kept her knitted goods as treasures in his man cave.
“Honestly, after what you told me about your father, I wasn’t exactly expecting you to have a real bear skin rug,” said Artemis gently. “But before I got to know you...I have to admit, I was imagining you had some kinky ski chalet, but I’ve learned that ne
ither those nor bear skin rugs are your style.”
“Never had them, never will,” agreed Jasper, unbuckling his pants and dropping them to the floor before he stepped out of them. “Less chatting. Get out of those clothes, Artemis. Don’t tell me you need me to help you out of them.”
“Says the man still wearing a shirt,” said Artemis, slipping her dress off over her head and kicking off her sandals. She was wearing a set of pale blue undies which hugged her curves.
Jasper put his hands behind his head, flexing muscles in his arms that Artemis sometimes forgot Jasper had. “Make me,” said Jasper slyly.
Artemis got off the bed and walked up to Jasper. It was the moment of truth: what would she find under his shirt? She pulled the shirt up and over his abs. It wasn’t too late for her to just let the mystery remain a mystery and have fun with Jasper...but she knew that she wouldn’t just be satisfied with fun. She needed something more from Jasper, something she had barely admitted she needed from him at the festival. Artemis gulped and kept pulling the shirt up, and finally, the shirt passed over Jasper’s pecs. Jasper pulled the rest of the shirt off as Artemis stared at the mark on Jasper’s chest.
Jasper’s chest had a crescent moon on it. The moon was plain, and across the moon, there was a bowstring, pulled tight, pulling an arrow back. The moon was white and pale, the bowstring was gold, the arrow’s shaft was brown, and the fletching and the point were black. Artemis ran her fingers over the mark gently: the moon and bow string almost seemed embossed into Jasper’s skin, like a deep stretch mark, while the arrow felt like tough scar tissue.
“This whole time...you knew?” asked Artemis.
“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to scare you away,” said Jasper. “The moment I heard your name in Cedar’s office, I had an inkling you were my fated mate, Artemis. You know how many girls named Diana or Selene I’ve been on dates with though? I’ve...earned my playboy reputation, which did precede me. I had to get to know you before I was ready to get my hopes up, because every single time I’ve met a woman, and gotten my hopes up in the past...she’s ended up not being my fated mate in the end.”
“I would’ve understood,” said Artemis softly.
“When the office playboy tells you his mate mark has to do with your name, you’ll believe him?” asked Jasper. “You’re not stupid, Artemis...you’re too smart for that sort of a pick up line. With you, there was something about you that made me want to do this all...right.”
“But after this, we’ll know, right?” asked Artemis.
“Something happens during the first mating,” said Jasper. “Something amazing and special, but only if a shifter finds their mate.”
“Will I get hurt?” asked Artemis.
“Not if I can help it,” said Jasper. “I’d never hurt you, Artemis.” Jasper pressed the crook of his finger under Artemis’s chin like he had that first evening on the porch and pushed her face up while he leaned down to meet her lips, his lips pressed against hers, hard, before he opened her lips entirely and plunged his tongue into her mouth. Jasper sat Artemis back down on the bed, undid her bra deftly, and slipped it off over her arms. With her arms prone, he pushed her back down, onto the bed, and slipped her underwear off using just one hand, exposing Artemis’s wetness, her honey pot practically singing to him with the bouquet of scents it let off.
Jasper pulled himself onto the bed so that he had Artemis underneath him, protected, as he pulled off his own underwear, kicking it off as his erection throbbed against Artemis’s belly. “I want that so much,” said Artemis.
“There’s nothing I want more than to give it to you...but first, I’ve got some business to take care of,” said Jasper, kissing Artemis in a trail from her cheeks to her neck and down her curves to her hips, then, around her soft thighs before he reached the crux of her legs. Jasper pressed his mouth against Artemis’s sex and Artemis wrapped her legs around Jasper’s shoulders, bringing Jasper closer as she pushed his head down with her hands.
“You taste as amazing as you smell,” said Jasper, licking at Artemis’s honey pot and savoring every drop of her luscious juice.
“Let me taste you too,” said Artemis, pulling Jasper away as she got ready to get on her stomach to try him out.
“No, if you do, I’m going to explode in there,” said Jasper. “Let’s take this slow...I’ve been wanting for this for longer than I can remember.”
“Sex with me?” asked Artemis.
“Sex with my mate,” said Jasper.
“Don’t talk about that now,” said Artemis, shushing Jasper with a kiss. “Just...enjoy this moment for what it is. Us. Coming together.”
“Oh, babe, coming together? That’s the kind of stuff I like to hear,” said Jasper, pulling Artemis onto his lap, his hardness slipping between her legs and rubbing against her entrance, back and forth, before he finally pressed the tip at her hole.
Jasper finally entered Artemis, slowly, from the front, watching her mouth form a small ‘o’ as he slid straight home, entering his whole length into Artemis before pulling it out again, slowly, taking the time to savor her inner texture’s every sensation. “How’s that feel, babe?” asked Jasper.
“So good,” moaned Artemis. “Oh, Jasper...” Her voice trailed off as he entered her again. She wanted nothing more than for that moment to never end. Jasper’s shaft felt amazing inside of her, filling her, making her feel complete.
Jasper’s eyes flashed as his bear roared, the sound of Artemis saying Jasper’s name filling him with even more need than he’d had before. “That’s right, babe, say my name,” said Jasper, clutching Artemis’s love handles and pressing into her, hard, her softness enveloping him as he pulled out, as if her body refused to let go of his, as if they were meant to be together.
Jasper gently pulled Artemis up and down, her hips against his, before he lay her back down on the bed so he could use his hands to feel her every soft curve. “I love this,” said Jasper, running his hands over her breasts. “All of this. It’s so perfect, Artemis. You’re so perfect.”
Artemis ran her hands over Jasper’s body in kind, paying special attention to his mate mark, although she’d wanted to avoid the mate topic. The mark looked like a tattoo to the naked eye but it was so much more than just ink. It wasn’t ink at all: it was something that couldn’t ever be lasered off of Jasper’s skin, the symbol that meant that he’d been branded by fate.
“I can’t hold back much longer,” said Jasper, the urge to explode inside of Artemis growing stronger with every slow thrust. He couldn’t get himself to go any slower. It was impossible.
“So don’t,” said Artemis, bucking up against Jasper’s quivering cock to see if she could make him cum.
“No, you don’t get it,” said Jasper, pushing Artemis’s sensual hips back down against the bed. The minx was sabotaging his efforts and the sly smile on her face betrayed her motive. “I have to, for you...or else, we won’t know.”
“You mean I have to...” started Artemis. A different smile crept across her face, one of self-satisfaction. This was one more shifter thing she could get behind.
“That’s right, babe, you’ve gotta come or we won’t know for sure,” said Jasper.
“Well, why didn’t you just tell me before?” teased Artemis. “Hold on, cowboy, this is gonna be one wild ride.” Artemis rubbed herself up against Jasper so that his shaft was rubbing against her clit while it was outside her body. This sensation, of her small but firm and moist clit against Jasper’s cock head, sent Jasper wild.
“That’s making it even harder to hold back,” said Jasper. “It feels so good.”
“And it feels, oh...” started Artemis, as she rubbed the head of his cock back and forth as if it were a vibrator. “It feels...so much better for me...quick, get it back inside me!”
Jasper slipped back into Artemis and he used his fingers to rub Artemis’s clit, using the rough parts of his fingers, the paw pad marks, to press against her clit the way that she’d pres
sed his cock against it. He felt Artemis pulse beneath him, at first once, and then, twice in a row, until she was getting tighter and tighter with each pulse, and then, she stopped pulsing...and got tighter and tighter...
And all of a sudden, Artemis exploded around Jasper, holding him tight with just her body as she gripped the sheets and moaned, “Jasper, Jasper...it feels so good...”
Artemis felt the most immense pleasure she’d ever felt in her life and her back arched as her hips bucked up against Jasper’s, as if they were at a private two-person night club and she was a dancer putting on a private show. Jasper felt himself let loose: there was no way he could hold back, and he too went past the breaking point and crashed into Artemis with a big, creamy thrust.
As Artemis’s parts fluttered around Jasper’s shaft, the most extraordinary thing happened. Parts of the mark on Jasper’s chest started to glow: the crescent moon, glowing bright white, and the string of the bow, glowing bright yellow, the colors shimmering in the light, making the mark look like liquid silver and gold. The light filled the space between Artemis and Jasper with the mixed colors, which illuminated the silver crescent moon first, then the gold bow string, starting in the center of the crescent moon and emanating towards the moon’s top and bottom before the light spilled into the bow string, until the entire sigil was lit. The arrow’s shaft, in brown, faintly glowed an amber color, but that was overtaken by the strong silver and gold of the string and moon.
Artemis reached out and touched the mark. The white parts felt cold, while the gold parts felt like burning lines against her palm. Even though it hurt, she kept her hand on the mark, savoring the moment as Jasper came inside her, with a twitch, before he pulled out, the mark starting to fade but still glowing.
Jasper’s bear roared at Artemis’s touch and the roar made Jasper’s eyes flash, bright and green, the color of the forest around them when it was lit by only the light of the rising sun. The bear was proud of Jasper for finally getting it together and getting with the woman he was meant to be with.
