by Ruby Shae
His bear moved inside him, restless and ready to claim its mate.
***
You can trust him, he’s a good man.
Violet watched her brother leave and then fiddled with the hem of her sweatshirt. Warmth covered her face from Tobias’ teasing, and though they still sat side by side on the couch, she couldn’t look at Jase. What happened while she was sleeping? Could she really trust the bear? Should she?
“I have something to tell you,” Jase said.
“Okay,” she said, forcing her head up.
He stared straight ahead, his jaw tight. His dark blond hair was mussed, and as much as she wanted to see his light blue crystal eyes, he didn’t look at her. She studied his perfectly sculpted profile, and though the moment was serious, she longed to feel his mouth on hers.
She remembered how he pushed her away when she’d tried to kiss him earlier, and she wondered at her brother’s advice. Jase obviously wasn’t attracted to her, so why should she trust him? Had her brother convinced him to grant her a pity fuck?
She moved to distance herself from him, but Jase laced his fingers with hers and held her hand firmly.
“Until about a month ago, I was an Enforcer for my clan,” Jase started. “My partner and I were assigned to watch a prisoner, and we’d just finished lunch. One minute we were joking and laughing together, and the next everything went black. When another Enforcer came to relieve us, I woke with a splitting headache and a missing partner. An hour later, I was being interrogated for the death of my friend.”
“Oh, Jase,” she said, squeezing his hand. She wanted to comfort him more, but she didn’t know if her touch would be welcome.
“My innocence was proven, but the damage was done. Nearly everyone had believed my involvement, and when I was cleared to return to work, my confidence had suffered severely. I’d lost the ability to do my job effectively, so after two weeks of degrading assignments, I resigned and decided to take an extended vacation until I figured out what to do with the rest of my life. I’d been on the road for two weeks when I found Deals Gap. When I walked into the coffee shop yesterday, I knew I’d found home.”
“I don’t understand,” she whispered, too afraid to hope.
“I’m damaged,” he said. “I still have scars from the attack, both physical and mental, but you’re my mate, Violet. If you’ll have me, I’d like to stay with you forever.”
She’d waited years for someone to say the words, but her joy was quickly extinguished by a hefty dose of reality.
“I can’t be your mate, Jase.”
She finally understood why her brother told her to trust him.
“Why not?”
“I’m not normal.” When he tried to interrupt, she held up her hand and continued. “Most shifters’ DNA is made up of all the strong animal traits and very few of the human weak ones. I’m the opposite. I possess all of the weak human traits and none of the shifter ones. Changing forms is the only thing I can do.”
His wide smile caught her off guard and shame swamped her. Tobias had said to trust him, but he thought she was a freak just like everyone else.
“I think you should leave,” she said.
“The reason you didn’t jump me in the coffee shop is because you have no shifter senses,” he said, smiling. “That’s also the reason you didn’t look at me in the bar. You didn’t even know I was there.”
“No,” she said, leaping from the couch, “I didn’t know you were there. I didn’t even know you were a shifter until Dean and Gage confronted you in Sweet Retreat. Have you ever seen a fat shifter before? Don’t answer that because I already know the answer is no. I have no shifter metabolism, no shifter senses and no shifter strength to protect myself against assholes like that guy who attacked me tonight. I’m just a human who can shift into a wolf. A freak in a town of hybrids. You want to laugh at me? Please leave me alone and do it on your own time.”
She ran to her room and slammed the door as tears filled her eyes. She still didn’t know why her brother had said to trust him, but Jase’s smug smile had burned a hole in her heart. He’d been the first man she’d ever felt close to, and he’d turned out to be like everyone else.
She threw herself on the bed and hugged her pillow as she fought to hold in the tears. She didn’t want Jase to hear her crying again, so she strained her ears and listened for his departure.
Instead, he entered her room.
“Warm sweet apples and honey.”
“What?” she said, propping herself up on one elbow.
“It’s my favorite sweet treat, and it’s what you smell like to me.”
“Jase—”
“You’re not a freak,” he said, stepping closer to the bed, “you’re just different. Others may see you as fat, but I love your curvy body. My dick gets hard just thinking about your soft curves and I can’t wait to touch you and mark you as mine. I don’t give a fuck what other people think, and I certainly don’t care that you can’t hear someone open a soda can on the other side of the room. As far as that asshole from earlier, you shouldn’t have to worry about fighting guys like that off. That’s my responsibility. It’s my job to protect my mate.”
“Jase, I…,” she believed him, but would he still feel the same when he found out her last secret? She couldn’t bear to look at him as she whispered the truth. “What I have to say next might change your mind.”
“Nothing will change my mind.”
“I’m a virgin.”
Silence filled the room and wrapped around her, confirming her fears. Despite his earlier admission, he finally saw her as everyone else did. She closed her eyes and prayed he didn’t tell the whole town her secret before he rode off to find his real mate.
The bed dipped, and suddenly she was flat on her back. Jase covered her with his big body and laced his fingers with hers, pinning her hands on both sides of her head. She instinctually opened her legs and cradled him between her knees, and she could feel his hard cock pressing against her pussy. In that moment, she cursed the layers of clothes separating them. The look on his face was more intense than before, but she could still see the hunger in his eyes.
He wanted her.
“I hate the fact that the jerks in this town never opened their eyes to your beauty, but I’m not going to lie. Knowing you’re untouched is driving me crazy. You’re my mate, Vi, and I want to mark you, claim you, and make sure I’m the only man who ever gets to bring you pleasure.”
Holy hell! Yes!
His admission brought on more tears and she nodded her agreement.
“You have to say the words, sweetheart,” he said, his lips hovering just above her own. “Will you be my mate and stay with me forever?”
“Yes,” she whispered, blinking the tears away. “Mark me, Jase. Make me yours.”
He ground his cock against her core and kissed her.
When his soft lips met hers, a bolt of electricity seemed to crackle between them. She gasped and Jase growled as he plunged his tongue inside her mouth, seizing the opportunity to explore. She met him with her own, stroke for stroke, and liquid heat dampened her panties. His kiss set her on fire, and she wanted more. She locked her legs around his lower back and pulled her hands free from his grasp. She smoothed her hands over his shoulders, back and abs, marveling at the way his smooth, taut skin felt under her fingertips.
Jase broke the kiss and left a trail down her neck. He growled again when he reached the fabric of her sweatshirt.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” he said.
“Help me take them off.”
He grabbed the sweatshirt by the neck and ripped the fabric down the middle. More liquid heat gushed from her pussy and he inhaled deep. She hadn’t worn a bra, and the look on his face was primal. He sucked one of her nipples into his mouth, and she ground her pussy against his hard length. She had nothing to compare it to, but his cock felt huge through his jeans and she briefly wondered if she’d made a mistake. Something that big couldn’t fee
l good inside of her…could it?
“Stay with me,” he said, blowing on her hard, wet nipple. “I promise it will only hurt this time, and only for a little bit.”
He licked her other nipple and sucked it into his mouth. She arched her back as his tongue swirled around her areola and his teeth scraped the hard pebble. She cried out, desperate for more.
He let go of her nipple and kissed a trail down to her belly button. Her stomach jiggled between them, but she couldn’t bring herself to care about anything except his mouth and where he would put it next.
He hooked his thumbs in her pajama bottoms and pulled them off. Her face heated when she remembered the boring white cotton panties she’d put on after she’d shed his t-shirt.
“I like these,” he said, gripping the cotton surrounding her hips in both hands.
“They’re not se—”
“I like them,” he said firmly.
She nodded and he leaned forward and kissed her cotton covered mound.
“You know what else I liked?”
“The mini skirt?”
“You looked sexy as hell in that skirt, but I preferred the way your jeans hugged your round ass,” he said, ripping the cotton and throwing the scraps across the room.
He stared at her shaved pussy and groaned, and her exposed, wet pussy fluttered, craving his touch.
“You’re so wet for me, baby. I can’t wait to sink my cock inside you.”
He slid one finger inside her channel and she grabbed onto his forearms and arched off the bed. Her pussy clenched around his digit, but it wasn’t enough. Jase added a second finger and leaned forward to lick her clit.
The pleasure combination caused her to explode.
The orgasm ripped through her body, and she screamed his name. In that moment, nothing else mattered except Jase. His touch stole her breath and sent her flying.
When her breathing returned to normal, he leaned back and removed his jeans and underwear. He kissed her knee and left a trail up her inner thigh, and then gently licked her cunt. She moaned and threaded her fingers through his hair, tugging on the short strands. Whether she wanted his tongue or his cock, she wasn’t sure, but she didn’t want him to stop touching her.
Jase continued moving up her body until his mouth met hers.
“The boots,” he said, giving her a chaste kiss.
“What?”
Every inch of her body tingled, and she felt as if she would die waiting for him to make love to her. She didn’t understand how he could be talking about boots, and his seemingly calm demeanor disappointed her. She knew she lacked experience, but she’d always hoped her mate would go crazy from her touch.
She tried to push him away, but he wouldn’t budge.
“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” she said, quietly.
“What? Why? Have you changed your mind?”
“No, but I’m going crazy waiting for you to do something and you’re talking about boots. It’s obvious I don’t turn you on.”
“Baby, I want you more than anything,” he said, kissing her gently. “I’m talking to distract myself from fucking you hard and fast. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t,” she said. “Please fuck me.”
He positioned himself at her opening and slowly slid inside her warmth.
“Fuck,” he groaned. “So tight, so perfect, so mine.”
This was what she wanted.
When he reached the barrier stopping his decent, he pulled back and thrust into her hard. Pain raced through her body and she cried out. Her claws extended and sank into his flesh, but he didn’t move. He stayed buried deep inside her core until the pain disappeared and her hunger returned.
“Okay?” he asked.
“Yes,” she nodded.
He smiled and moved in and out of her slowly, as her pussy stretched and molded around him. Fire raced across her skin and ignited every nerve ending. Her orgasm lingered just out of reach, and she wanted more.
She rubbed one hand over the back of his head, and pulled him down for a kiss.
“Oh shit!”
He pushed deep inside her core and stopped moving.
“What? What is it?” she asked, alarmed.
“Rub my head again,” he said.
She furrowed her brow, but complied. This time she moved her hand slower, and outlined the hidden scar. Jase trembled and pushed himself deeper. His cock throbbed wildly and he held himself rigid above her.
“Fuck,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’m sorry, baby, but I’m going to come.”
“Fuck me hard, Jase. Let the bear claim his mate.”
He pumped in and out of her wildly, and she reveled in his primal state. Another orgasm came without warning and she screamed and moaned with abandon. Her friend’s stories of sex had been tame in comparison, and she’d never expected to experience something so wild, crazy and perfect.
Sweat covered Jase’s brow, and she knew he still tried to hold back, even as her pussy contracted around him. His face shone with love, and she wanted him to bring him the same pleasure. She rubbed the back of his head a second time and his canines elongated.
“Bite me at the same time,” he said, his words garbled between human and bear.
She forced her canines to elongate and when he sank his teeth into her neck, she screamed and latched onto his shoulder.
A flash of light filled the room, and gold sparkles rained down on them, disappearing before reaching the bed. Jase’s soul seamed to reach out and wrap around hers, and for the first time in her life, she knew she was right where she belonged.
Chapter Five
Jase squinted as the afternoon light broke through the curtains and pulled him out of the deepest sleep he’d had in over a month. He turned toward his sleeping mate, tightened his arms around her, and smiled. Violet was everything he’d ever hoped for, and when the mating was complete, he knew he’d been right to trust his bear.
After their first time together, they made love again in the shower, and then cuddled and talked until they both drifted off to sleep as the sun began to rise.
They’d discussed everything from the patent leather boots he wanted her to wear while riding him, to the differences between their mating and those of others in the community.
He found out most males don’t bear mating marks, and Vi had never heard of a couple sharing a soul bond. Whether it was because he was a bear from far away, or because she was so unlike all the other shifters in town, he didn’t know. He was just glad they’d tried it.
Next to him, Violet stirred. She reached her arm up to stroke the back of his head, and his cock sprang to life. Before they’d fallen asleep, he’d told her about his phantom pains and what her touch did to him. Since then, she’d tried to test the theory more than once, but he’d stopped her every time. He hadn’t been as gentle as he’d hoped their first time, and he knew she needed time to heal.
Violet pushed him onto his back and crawled on top of him.
“Hi,” she said, smiling.
“Hi,” he said, planting a chaste kiss on her lips.
“I want you,” she said, kissing him harder.
She slid her tongue inside his mouth and he forgot why fucking her again so soon was a bad idea. He wrapped his arms around her and smoothed his hands down her curvy body. When he reached her ass, he grabbed one globe in each hand and positioned her over his cock.
Her slick entrance guided him inside, inch by inch, but her muffled hiss brought him back to reality. He pulled out of her channel and settled her around his waist. Her pout would have made him laugh if he hadn’t wanted her so bad.
“You’re still sore,” he reasoned.
“My mouth is fine,” she said, kissing a path down his chest, “and I’m starving.”
Her stomach took that moment to growl in protest, and they both laughed. He sat up and kissed her again, pulling her back up beside him.
“You’re hungry and your brother is waiting to bring us lunc
h,” he said between kisses. “Get your cell-phone and text him.”
“Aww…you take away all my fun,” she said, mock pouting.
“After we eat, you can suck me anytime you want,” he said, teasing.
He meant it, she could touch him whenever she wanted, and he relished the thought. He had a feeling his insatiable mate was about to make up for lost time.
“Mmm…I can’t wait,” she said, teasing him right back and rolling off the bed.
She disappeared into the living room and came back with both their cell-phones.
“Your phone made a noise, so I brought it with me,” she said, her smile gone. “It looks like you have a lot of text messages.”
He clicked on his phone and several alerts filled the screen. Logan, Mason and Jacob must have gotten their days mixed up because all three had texted him both last night and this morning.
“They’re all from my old team,” he said, showing her the screen. “It looks like everyone is doing double duty on the texts because I didn’t check in last night.”
“Wow, you weren’t kidding,” she said, handing him back the phone. “How long will they keep it up?”
“Probably until we go back to get my stuff.”
“Well, then we’d better make a plan.”
“You read my mind,” he said, leaning in for a kiss. “For now, I’ll send Logan an update.”
They both started texting, but Vi finished in seconds.
In a small town of hybrid shifters called Deals Gap. I met my mate, and I’m staying. Will clean out my apartment soon. I’ll keep you posted…
He pressed send and waited for Logan’s response.
You met your mate? Really?
He knew the man wouldn’t believe him.
Yes. Her name is Violet, and she’s a wolf hybrid. I think her brother may be an asset to the team. Got to go, I’ll text you in a few days.
“Do you really think Tobias will fit in there?” she asked.
“Yeah, I do,” he said. “I got the impression he’s ready to settle down, and they could use someone with his skills.”
