by Elena Aitken
“It’s instinct,” she finished for him.
“Exactly.” He held her face in his huge hands and stared directly into her eyes while he spoke.
Zoe couldn’t help but believe him. It was out of their control. And maybe it didn’t matter that she couldn’t have children of her own. Maybe Chloe had been right. Maybe Gabe was right, maybe…the only thing that mattered was this connection that they shared. A connection that had only driven them both completely crazy.
“You’re right.” She spoke before she could talk herself out of it.
“I know.” His grin was so cocky and so cute Zoe couldn’t help herself: she leaned forward and it was her turn to kiss him.
Her bear, although still wildly protesting within her, needing a release, felt oddly settled at the same time. It was the calmest her animal had been since meeting Gabe. She no longer felt as if she were going to bust out of herself. But even so, instinctively Zoe knew she’d feel a whole lot better as soon as they were mated. She needed him. Now.
She let her hands slide down his chest to the buckle of his jeans. There were probably a million reasons she should stop, not the least of which was that they were only a few feet away from a festival with almost the entire community in attendance. But she couldn’t have stopped herself for anything. The decision had been made, and she didn’t want to wait. Not one minute longer.
“Zoe, we can’t…” His words drifted away as she undid his zipper and slid her hand into his jeans. Gabe’s breath came out in a hot gasp as she wrapped her hand around his hard cock and squeezed.
“We can’t what?”
“Not. Here.” He struggled to form each word, but still Zoe didn’t stop her ministrations in his pants. She wanted him and there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he wanted her just as badly.
“Yes,” she countered. “Here. Now. Just like this.”
A low growl came from the back of his throat before his hands locked around her hips. He picked her up easily, forcing her hand to lose its grip. He kissed her hard and lowered her to the ground. The dry leaves that covered the forest floor crunched beneath them, but despite the fact that it wasn’t the most luxurious bed, it was absolutely perfect.
Gabe caged her in with his arms and hovered over her. “Like this? Here?”
She nodded, breathless and completely unable to speak.
Zoe could see the battle that waged on Gabe’s face as he looked down on her.
Before he could come up with an objection that involved a soft bed surrounded by candles, a bottle of wine, rose petals, or anything else equally romantic, Zoe reached up and pulled him down to her with a kiss that told him in no uncertain terms that she didn’t need any of that—she only needed him.
He should wait. He should take her home and make love to her properly in his bed, where they could lay wrapped in each other’s arms for the rest of the night. But there was a big difference between what he should do and what he wanted to do.
No.
What he needed to do.
And when she kissed him again…there was no going back.
With her lips on his, he reached for the button of her jeans. It was going to be quick and dirty. Again. And he longed to take his time with her, kiss up and down every inch of her and make love to her so slowly that it drove both of them to the point of distraction. But there would be time for that. Later. Forever.
Beneath him, Zoe groaned as he slipped his fingers into her jeans and pushed her panties aside. He already knew she was wet for him. He’d been able to smell her arousal almost since he’d arrived at Grizzly Ridge that afternoon.
“Damn, woman. You are something else.”
“Yes.” She traced a finger down his chest. “I really am.”
A smile stretched across his face because this feisty female was all his. Almost.
“We’re doing this?”
She nodded. “We’re doing this.”
If he was being logical, there were so many reasons Gabe should slow this down. He barely knew her for God’s sake. And there was Ashton to think about. What would he say about having a new mother in his life? Hell, what would Zoe think about being a mother? Would she be one?
Stop thinking! Gabe’s bear roared within him. His animal knew what he wanted and he was not going to take no for an answer.
Beneath him, Zoe wiggled out from under him and stood up long enough to tug her jeans off and pull her T-shirt over her head. He pulled his pants off and reached out for the naked goddess before him and silently gave thanks for the fact that he was being anything but logical.
Because there was no turning back.
Zoe straddled him and his hands spanned her hips as she slowly sank down onto him. Instantly, his bear was satisfied. She felt so fucking good, her wet heat around him. Zoe was everything.
A groan escaped him as she began to move on top of him. Her long, blonde hair draped over her shoulders and teased at her nipples as her breasts bounced.
“You are so fucking sexy.”
She grinned and tossed her head so her hair fell behind her shoulder. In the distance, the noises of the festival reminded Gabe that as much as he wanted to, they couldn’t take their time. He sat up and pulled her closer until they were pressed together. “I want you,” he groaned into her ear.
“You have me.”
She was so responsive, so perfect. And she was about to become his mate. Gabe kissed her neck and she moaned, arching it to give him easier access. He could feel her climax growing closer, his own, right behind.
Suddenly, Zoe’s hands reached for his shirt, tugging at the hem. “I need to feel you,” she breathed. “I need your skin on mine.”
In a flash, he pulled his shirt off and Zoe pressed her magnificent breasts up against his bare chest.
Yes. Better.
When she kissed him again, Gabe was certain there would never be anything better than that moment.
Zoe increased her rhythm, her orgasm imminent, and Gabe shuddered as waves of pleasure started to build deep inside. “Come for me, baby.” His voice was rough in her ear before he turned his attention to nipping at her neck.
Her hands pressed against his back, holding him tight to her. “You come for me,” she ordered before dropping her own mouth to his shoulder, where she bit down just hard enough to send a shot of pleasure through him.
Gabe couldn’t hold back any longer, which was perfect, because Zoe’s own orgasm was coming hard and fast, too. His bear roared as he bit into the sensitive skin of her neck. Zoe’s bear cried out her own pleasure, but the sound was muffled by Gabe’s shoulder.
The orgasm that crashed through him was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. The world around them disappeared because the only thing that mattered was the two of them, and their mutual mating.
She was his.
He was hers.
Chapter Nine
The sun was starting to set as Zoe and Gabe made their way back to the festival. They’d dressed quickly, hardly speaking. There was an easy silence between them that hadn’t been there before. As if they were both calmer, their bears satisfied. They walked hand in hand through the woods until they slipped out of the trees and came to stand next to the adventure center.
Woodsmoke and campfire filled the air. While they’d been gone, most of the activities had wound down, and most people were crowded around a huge bonfire at the other end of the property. Zoe knew there would be a s’mores station set up, and some hot dogs for roasting. Her stomach growled. She was suddenly famished.
“Hey.” Gabe pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. “About…well…how do you feel?”
She paused with the question, not because she was unsure in anyway, but more because she had no idea how to put it into words. She let a small smile move over her face before she answered.
“Calm,” she said quietly. “Calmer than I’ve felt in a long time. As if your bear tamed me somehow.”
“Were you wild?”
His question
was meant to be cute, but it stopped her for a moment. There still was so much they didn’t know about each other. Like everything.
As if he’d sensed the sudden shift, Gabe cupped her cheek. “It’s okay,” he said softly. “We have time.”
“Time?”
“Time to learn.” He stroked her cheek. “I want to know everything about you and I want to tell you everything about me. And we will. We have time.” He slipped his hand down to her neck and he brushed her thick hair aside before he used one finger to trace the mark he’d left there. “You’re mine, now.”
She slipped her hand under his shirt to trace the mark she’d left on him. “And you’re mine.”
He kissed her hard, possessively, before he said again, “We have time.”
“Dad!” Ashton’s high-pitched voice ripped through the bubble they’d created around them and they pulled apart. At once, Zoe missed the heat of him.
He looked to her and back to the field where Ashton had started to run toward them. Behind him was Bree.
“You should go.” Zoe smiled. “Like you said, we have time.”
He pressed a finger to her lips and with a wink, took off in a jog toward his son. As he reached him, Gabe lifted the boy in the air and spun him around before pulling him into a hug. She watched as he said something to Ashton that had the little boy waving to her over his dad’s shoulder.
Should she join them?
Zoe hesitated. She was just as drawn to Ashton as she was to Gabe, and they were mated now. Surely that meant…what?
What did that mean?
Too many questions, and despite the fact that she hadn’t been lying when she told Gabe she felt calmer, she couldn’t help the questions that she had. Although, maybe she might be able to ignore them for a little longer.
Zoe spotted Harper over by the Den, struggling with her baby in one arm, and a large bowl in another. She gave Gabe a little wave and gestured in the direction of the Den before jogging over to help Harper.
“Let me help you with that,” Zoe said as soon as she got close. She meant to take the bowl out of Harper’s arms, but when the other woman turned with a thankful smile, it was the baby she handed her.
Stunned, Zoe held baby Lily at arm’s length for a minute before pulling her in close. She closed her eyes for a second and breathed in the sweet baby smell of her before tickling her foot. “Hey there, cutie,” Zoe cooed. “Are you helping Mommy?”
Beside her, Harper laughed. “I don’t know about helping. But I came inside to grab some more supplies and this little missy had just woken up. Not that I expected her to have proper naps today. Not with so much going on. But still, one can hope.” Harper laughed in that way that all new moms laughed when they were slightly overtired and overworked and their baby wouldn’t sleep. “Can you hang on to her for a minute? I’ll go grab a few more things and we can go down to the fire.”
“Of course.” Zoe nodded and shifted the baby into her other arm. Lily was almost five months old and at that super cute baby stage where she liked to giggle and smile at anyone who made funny faces at her. Something Zoe turned out to be very good at. For a few minutes, Zoe forgot about everything else, including the fact that less than an hour earlier, she’d made a huge, life-changing decision, and let herself enjoy Lily. The usual low-key sadness that seemed to swallow her up when she normally held a baby in her arms was lessened.
Maybe the doctors had been wrong? Maybe it would be different with a mate? Or maybe they would be perfectly happy without a baby of their own? Maybe—
“Thank you.” Harper returned to the porch with a stack of paper plates and napkins. “She likes you.” Harper gestured to her daughter with a nod of her head.
Zoe looked at the baby, who had reached for a hunk of her hair. She grabbed it and pulled so quickly, Zoe didn’t have time to stop her. “Ouch.” She moved to untangle her hair, but Lily had an iron grip. “You’re pretty strong, kiddo.”
“Here.” Harper laughed. “Let me help. When she gets latched onto something, you would swear she has super-human strength.” Harper put her things down and used both hands to unwind Zoe’s hair, but before she released it, she pulled it back from her neck. “What the—Zoe?” Harper stared at her. “What is this?”
With her free hand, Zoe reached up and grabbed her hair, smoothing it back over her neck and the fresh bite mark Gabe had left there. “It’s just a little—”
“Mating mark.” It wasn’t a question, so Zoe nodded, making Harper laugh. “What? Who? Gabe!”
It was Zoe’s turn to laugh. “I thought everyone already knew,” she said. “Chloe made it sound like the whole town already knew we were fated. You didn’t?”
Harper shrugged and picked up her supplies again. “I was pretty sure. But I’m only half shifter, remember. I don’t always pick up on things like the others.” She turned before they walked down the steps together. “Of course, you don’t have to be a shifter to see the heat between the two of you. And I did hear a little rumor about a game of pool that went unfinished at the Station the other day.”
Zoe shrugged. Word definitely traveled fast around here. Not that it mattered. Not anymore.
“Well, I think it’s great,” Harper said as they made their way across the field. “Everyone loves Gabe. He and Ashton just fit in so well around here. I know everyone will be just as thrilled to see him happy and settled down again. It can’t be easy to lose a mate and—I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No,” Zoe assured her. “It’s fine. I know Gabe had a mate. I mean, Ashton’s mom, right? And…I get it.” She smiled, but she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of discontent. Did she get it? After all, she didn’t really know anything at all about Gabe’s mate except that she’d died.
How had she died? What had it been like between them? Was it the same way with her? Had their connection been just as strong? Stronger?
All of a sudden, she had even more questions. Some of them didn’t even make sense and made her feel like a jealous teenager.
“I’m sorry,” Harper said again. “I didn’t mean to say something to upset you.”
Zoe shook her head. “You didn’t,” she lied. “Things are still so new. There’s a lot I need to…well, all I mean is…” She looked up into her new friend’s concerned face. “It’s okay. Really.”
It didn’t matter that there was still so much she needed to know about Gabe and he about her. They had time. They had forever. All of her questions would be answered.
And hopefully, she would be okay with the answers.
“Well, that didn’t take long.”
Gabe looked at his best friend. The flames of the fire provided enough light that he could see the teasing question in her eyes. He knew Bree had been dying to say something from the moment they got to the bonfire, but it wasn’t until Ashton had gone off in search of a roasting stick and some marshmallows that she had her chance.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She rolled her eyes. “So it’s done?” she continued. “You’re mated?”
Gabe didn’t bother to hide his grin as he replayed their union in his mind. “She’s mine.”
“Wow.” Bree shook her head and looked back to the flames.
“Wow what?” The smile fell from his face. “What does that mean? Weren’t you just telling me not to fight it? You were literally just going on about how we were fated and everyone could see it and—”
“I still didn’t think you were going to take her out into the woods like some animal.”
Gabe burst out laughing at her choice of words.
A moment later, Bree joined him as she realized how ridiculous she sounded. “Okay, never mind,” she said. “But seriously.” She touched his arm, making him look at her. “Does this mean you’re not scared anymore?”
Belatedly, he remembered that he’d confided his fears in Bree. Was he still scared? The answer was more complicated than a simple yes or no and he was about to tell his frie
nd that, when his senses alerted. He spun around and there she was.
Zoe.
His mate.
She walked next to Harper with baby Lily in her arms, and Gabe’s bear rumbled within him. Before long, it would be his cub in Zoe’s belly and in her arms.
Yes.
In a flash, everything became crystal-clear.
“No,” he said over his shoulder to Bree, not taking his eyes off his mate. “I’m not scared of anything.”
Chapter Ten
“Do you think we’re crazy?” Zoe nuzzled closer into Gabe’s side and let the bedsheet slide off her. She didn’t need anything but her mate to keep her warm. Besides, there was no way she could be cold after the hot lovemaking they’d just had.
As soon as they could, which was after Ashton had successfully made them each a s’more and had started falling asleep around the campfire, they’d snuck away from Grizzly Ridge and returned to Boulder Creek and Gabe’s cozy house in town. Zoe felt a little bad that she hadn’t said good-bye to Chloe, or told her where she was going, but at the same time, she was pretty sure it wouldn’t take long for her to figure it out.
Ashton had given her a hug goodnight before Gabe carried him into his bedroom and tucked him in. Moments later, they were naked and in his bed, where they’d been ever since.
It was still dark outside, but Zoe knew it would soon be morning, and they’d be expected to get out of bed despite the fact that they hadn’t actually managed to get any sleep. But between their lovemaking sessions and just talking, she wasn’t in any hurry to close her eyes.
“No.” Gabe answered her as he stroked a piece of hair from her face and pulled her in closer to his chest. “We’re fated. And there’s a difference. A huge difference.”
