by Bianca D’Arc
The small climax hit her out of nowhere, the pleasure intense but short-lived. She wanted more. So much more. And she knew, without a doubt, she would get what she needed from Trevor. Only from Trevor.
He must’ve taken off his pants while she floated in the mist of ecstasy, because the next thing she knew, he was naked. His cock jutted out proudly as he retook his place between her thighs.
“I’m sorry this is so fast,” he said, and only then did she realize his shoulders were trembling just the tiniest bit. He was holding back, needing her as much as she needed him.
“Not fast enough, Trev,” she managed to gasp out as she tried to catch her breath. He really was the most amazing man. Nobody—in her admittedly limited experience—had ever made her feel so much, so fast, so intense. Only Trevor.
“Really?” He met her eyes, seeming to search her gaze for the truth in her words. “I feel like I’m rushing you,” he admitted, that crooked grin making her desire rise yet another notch.
“Any slower and I’ll be jumping you, mister,” she told him, loving the way they could talk so freely, so fondly during this most intimate act. She’d never had that before. Sex had been a mostly silent affair for her until now. Until Trevor.
“Let’s save that for another time.” His devilish expression held promises she would definitely take him up on.
This wasn’t going to be a one-time thing. Even now, before they’d actually joined their bodies together, he was planning for future encounters, and she was right there with him. It was so good to know they were on the same page.
“Just do me already,” she gasped, putting her heels against his back and trying to draw him closer.
“Well, when you ask so nicely…” He came down over her, his cock zeroing in on the spot that needed him so badly. He bit her lower lip playfully. “I like it when you talk dirty like that, honey. You just poked the bear, and now, the bear is going to poke you.” He laughed against her lips as he took her mouth in a potent kiss.
At the same time, he was pushing in below, gentle at first, seeming to gauge her comfort level as he went along. He was a considerate lover who gave more than he took—at least so far. She couldn’t wait to turn the tables on him, but for now, this traditional position and possession was just what she wanted for their first time.
He slid in to the hilt, and she thought she might just die of bliss right then and there. He fit her perfectly. As if he’d been made just for her.
The thought occurred… Maybe he had been. Maybe he was the one she’d dreamed of but never thought she’d find. Maybe he was her…mate.
On that shocking thought, he began to move. Slowly at first, his tempo rose quickly, as did her passion. She’d had a little taste of the pleasure he could bring already, but she wanted it all this time. She wanted him to come with her, burying himself deep in her body while she quaked in delight.
She wasn’t worried about consequences. Mer were notoriously hard to conceive, and she knew shifters didn’t carry diseases the way humans could. There was nothing to stop them from enjoying each other with no holds barred, so to speak, which was good considering the thirst she had developed for this surprising bear shifter.
A thirst that seemed unquenchable in this lifetime, but she’d spend the rest of her life happily trying. If he felt the same.
And then, suddenly, it was real. She knew she wasn’t playing around with Trevor. The indefinable something about him that had attracted her from the get go resolved into the certain knowledge that he was the closest she’d ever come to meeting her mate.
Sweet Mother of All. In all probability, he was it. Her mate.
The next few minutes should prove the point one way or another. Shifters often recognized their mates after having sex for the first time. Some knew before, and she’d heard that some took longer, but she figured she’d be right in the middle. If he blew her mind and rocked her world the way she thought he would, she’d never be the same again after this climax.
It was both a scary thought and one she cherished. Some shifters went all their lives without ever coming close to true mating. The lucky ones found their mates young and spent all their years side by side.
Beth wasn’t sure what was going to happen here, but she was open and willing in a way she hadn’t ever thought she’d be. In this amazing moment with the man she’d come to admire like no other pounding into her receptive body, she wanted him to be the one.
And then, there wasn’t any more time for thought as Trevor’s pace changed. He shifted just slightly, altering the angle of penetration and hitting some heretofore unknown spot inside her that made her want to scream. She couldn’t, of course. They were on the beach where screams might bring people running, but she wanted to. Instead, she clutched at his shoulders, her nails sinking into his flesh as he strained above her.
“Come on, Beth. I can’t hold it together much longer. Come for me now, baby,” he chanted, his words puffing against her skin in hot panting breaths.
She moaned as she came, unable to bite back the sound that might betray them to passersby, but she didn’t really care. Not then. Not while her world was being blown apart and put back together again by one man. Trevor.
Her mate.
They lay side by side under the stars for a while, not talking, just enjoying the moment and catching their breath. Beth wasn’t sure if Trevor had been as deeply affected as she’d been by their joining, and she was a bit too shy and uncertain to ask. She didn’t want to wreck the mood by saying something wrong, so she just kept her own counsel.
“I was going to say something about how those pretty stars up there had nothing on you, but the minute I touched you, I was lost,” Trevor admitted on a sigh. “I was trying to be all Joe Cool, and instead, I turned into Speedy Gonzalez.” He turned to face her, lying on his side on the blanket. He was nude. Deliciously so. “I’m sorry, honey.” He put a hand on her waist and rubbed his thumb over her skin in an almost hypnotic way.
She had to chuckle. “Do you hear me complaining, Speedy? I was right there with you. In fact, you could’ve gone a lot faster, and I’d have been more than okay with it.”
He smiled, gazing deep into her eyes. “Well… If you’re sure. But will you give me another chance to prove the name Speedy should never become my nickname?” He laughed as he lowered his head to blow a gentle raspberry on her shoulder. Then, he kissed it, melting her heart as he looked up at her from beneath his thick eyelashes.
Damn. The man was just too appetizing for words.
“Come back to the hotel with me tonight. Stay with me and let me make love with you again, Beth. Once is just not enough.” He kissed his way over her collarbone as she sucked in a breath. He was seduction itself, but he didn’t have to say much to get her agreement. She’d wanted to extend this night as much as she could, anyway.
It all might go to hell tomorrow, but at least she’d have tonight. That’s the way she looked at it. That’s the way life had forced her to look at things for too many years to count.
“I like the sound of that,” she whispered as he lifted his head, blocking out the stars.
“I’ll make sure you don’t regret it,” he promised, and then, he kissed her again. The stars were behind her eyes as he woke passions she’d thought would remain dormant for a little while longer.
CHAPTER NINE
A short while later, Beth went with Trevor to his hotel, and they made love long into the night. She was left in no doubt that Trevor was her mate, but he remained stubbornly silent on the topic, and she refused to say anything to ruin the stolen night in his arms. If this was all she’d ever have of bliss, she wasn’t going to make it end with foolish words.
Trevor was a rolling stone. A mercenary who traveled a lot, risking his life repeatedly. He wasn’t exactly a stable sort of man, and she doubted he wanted to be tied to a mate, regardless of how good they were together.
One thing Beth was grateful for was that she finally understood why her friends had given up the hunting p
arty and their ocean-going ways to mate with their bear shifters. She truly hadn’t understood the pull a mate could have on a woman.
Beth thought she just might give up everything if Trevor would only ask her to be his forever. Oh, she wasn’t holding her breath, waiting for that. She hardly expected it. He didn’t seem the settling-down kind of man. Not at all. But if he did… She would give him everything in a heartbeat and never look back.
As her friends had done for their bear shifter mates.
She fell asleep in his arms and dreamed of a cabin by the shore where they could live together forever. It was a nice dream, but only that…a dream.
Beth woke before Trevor and realized, in the darkness of predawn, that there was no hope for them as a couple. He was a mercenary who lived on a mountaintop. There was no way she could thrive in an environment like that. He also traveled a lot, and she had major limitations in that she had to be near the water. Coastlines were her domain. Not mountains or anyplace inland, for that matter. Most of the world was inland. A guy like Trevor wouldn’t easily be able to live with such prohibitions.
Oh, it had been a beautiful dream in the middle of a passion-filled night, but in the cruel glow of predawn, things were much clearer. When her head wasn’t filled with the mind-numbing pleasure of Trevor’s caresses, harsh reality reared its ugly head. It could never work between them. She’d been fooling herself entertaining any idea that it could.
Heart breaking, she slid out of bed and to the door, not even bothering with her clothing as she ran down the beach and straight into the sea. The hotel was on the beach side of the main road, and Trevor’s room faced the water, so there was little chance anybody would see her this early, in the dark, going into the water and not coming out again.
She swam as if her life depended on it, running from her sorrow, as she’d run from all the problems in her life. She couldn’t face Trevor in the morning light. Not after the night they’d just spent. She needed some time alone, in the water, to clear her head and rebuild her courage to face him again.
After bearing her soul to him in the depths of their stolen night, she would have to gird herself with steely determination to keep from begging him to love her and mate with her the next time she saw him. Beth wouldn’t do it. She had more pride than that. But her heart would break, and so, she needed the solace of the water in order to prepare herself for the ultimate heartache…rejection from her true mate.
She knew it was coming. She just didn’t want to see it in his eyes this morning.
Goddess help her, she wanted to believe in the dream for a little while longer.
Trevor woke when she left the bed, but she was a quick little thing. He’d never expected her to make a run for it. He followed, but she was already down the beach and into the water before he could catch up with her.
He wanted to bellow. He wanted to rage. But he knew it was no use getting angry. He was a soldier. He’d come up with a plan of action, and then, he’d execute his plan…and win his mate.
There was no doubt in his mind after last night that Beth was his true mate. He just had to figure a way to convince her of that simple fact. He had to make her love him and be willing to give up a lot to be with him. Which was a problem.
He knew there were some rather large stumbling blocks to any relationship with Beth. For one, he was still employed by Jesse Moore, who’d been hired by the Kinkaid Alpha. He had a mission to fulfill, and his duty to his longtime CO was clear. He had to finish what he’d started here in Grizzly Cove.
The thing of it was…as soon as he finished gathering what intel could be found here, Moore might very well reassign him someplace else. For the first time in his life, Trevor didn’t want to go. He had found something—someone—worth staying for.
He wanted to stay with Beth. Regardless of whether or not she could fully accept him as her mate, he wanted to be near her. He wanted to protect her and watch over her. He wanted to watch her bloom into the strong woman hiding just underneath her surface fears.
If Major Moore gave him new orders, Trevor didn’t know what he’d do. Quit his job? Quite possibly. But he had no idea what he’d do to earn a living if he didn’t work for Moore. Moreover, his current home was in Wyoming, on the mountaintop Major Moore had claimed and set aside for his men. If Trevor ceased to work for the major, would he also have to cease being a member of his Pack? Would he have to move?
And how could he not, with Beth living here and needing the water so desperately? There were lakes in Wyoming, but mermaids needed the ocean, didn’t they?
It was pretty clear there would have to be some major upheavals in Trevor’s existence to make this mating happen. He hadn’t thought it all the way through yet, but given time, he was sure he could figure out a way to make it all work.
The first thing he had to do was talk to Big John. The Alpha bear of Grizzly Cove had a way of making things click. Perhaps, if Trevor laid his situation out for one of the world’s top strategists, John could come up with some ideas on how to solve some of the outstanding issues. Certainly, Grizzly Cove was going to be part of the solution if Beth wanted to remain with her pod, so talking to the man in charge of the town and the Clan that lived here was a good first step.
For now, he had to beat a strategic retreat and allow Beth some space. Something had freaked her out and sent her running—literally—into the cove. He hoped it was the same thing that had him in a mental tizzy, but he couldn’t be sure. Women were hard to read, and mermaids the toughest of all, he was learning.
But she was safe with her people in the cove for now. He had some plans to make before he could talk to her again and hopefully convince her to stay with him for the rest of their lives.
Hours later, after breakfast and a long discussion with Big John, Trevor’s next calls were to Major Moore and the man who was footing the bill for this particular mission, Samson Kinkaid. It had been John’s idea to involve Kinkaid, and although Trevor wasn’t certain at first, the Alpha bear’s strategy paid off in spades.
Armed with new information and a solid plan, Trevor couldn’t wait to talk to Beth about the things he’d just set in motion, but he had a few other action items he had to accomplish first. For one, he had to check out some intel Big John had passed along about strangers being spotted in the woods. John had asked Trevor to keep his eyes open, as he had all the former operatives who were now residents of Grizzly Cove.
Some civilians had run across signs of deep-cover surveillance, though they hadn’t really recognized it as such. Still, one or two of the non-military residents had called the sheriff, and one had even called John directly. He’d confirmed the vague sightings. There were strangers in the woods, casing the town. Whether or not hostile action was imminent remained to be seen, but everyone had been put on alert, and those with military training—Trevor included—were the first line of defense.
Trevor had readily agreed to help defend the town, should it come to that. Barring direct hostilities, Trevor had vowed to stay alert for anything anomalous, with an eye toward sharing any intel he gathered on those who might be watching the town.
He was only too happy to help. Aside from wanting to keep Beth safe, Trevor genuinely liked the town and its people. He didn’t want to see anyone in Grizzly Cove come to harm.
To that end, Trevor decided to spend the next few hours prowling around in the woods at the perimeter of the town. Beth was on duty, patrolling the ward, and would be—according to Marla—for the next eight hours at least. Apparently, Beth had traded shifts with another patroller to give herself a double shift.
Marla had winked at him when she’d said it, along with wishing him well in his pursuit of her friend. She’d suggested he not let Beth become the one that got away, as if she was the main character in some kind of fish story. He supposed that was mermaid humor, but he understood what she’d meant. Marla was giving him tacit approval in his pursuit of her friend. He only hoped the rest of the pod would feel the same.
He thought about that as he prowled through the woods surrounding the town. He was careful to stay clear of other bears’ property lines, but he saw a few of the guys and exchanged the silent nod of acknowledgment that meant it was okay that he was so close to their personal territories. John had gotten the word out, and those who could be home, patrolling their own areas, were doing so, Trevor was glad to see.
Anything that threatened the town also threatened the new inhabitants of the cove, and that was unacceptable, as far as Trevor was concerned. No one would pose a danger to his mate—unclaimed as she was—while he drew breath. It might take some time to convince her that she belonged with him, but Trevor was already thinking in terms of a siege. He would wait and watch, never letting up pressure until finally, one day, she’d agree to be his mate.
She had to. The alternative was also unacceptable.
Trevor frowned as he walked silently through the forest, both at his dark thoughts and the faint trail he had just picked up. He sniffed. Human.
Human, and… There was another scent here too. Masked by a really stinky human overlay, but under it, there was a shifter tang. Something mangy. Wolf? Or perhaps coyote? And something feline. Leopard or maybe even mountain lion. It was hard to tell with the human stink overlaying everything.
That wasn’t normal. Humans had a different odor than shifters, of course, but usually, it was related to the heavily scented soaps and perfumes they favored. Under the chemicals, there was a more natural scent—stronger in those that had been sweating, or who hadn’t bathed in a while—but this… This was way more pungent than that. This was the reek of a body that hadn’t washed in months and lay in its own filth.
It was overpowering and bad enough to almost completely mask the underlying shifter scents. But Trevor remembered this tactic. He’d seen it before. Some less scrupulous shifter mercenary groups used it. As did the occasional shifter bounty hunter.
Trevor frowned as the thought crossed his mind. If shifter mercs were involved, Major Moore might be able to get the inside line. There weren’t that many groups like his in operation in the States, and the leadership of each of the units liked to keep in touch so they didn’t end up fighting against one another. Shifter mercs had a very different code of honor that humans wouldn’t really understand, but it worked for them.
