BEAR-LY NEW YEAR

by M. L. Briers

  “Fate would have led her here one way or the other.” Zav informed him and Jackson nodded.

  Mia shifted into her human form and Jackson got his first look at his mate. It was the woman from the night before.

  “Hey, it’s the hottie. Congrats man.” Dwight chuckled and Jackson wanted to growl himself as Dwight’s eyes took in her naked body.

  “Hey!” Jackson snapped and Dwight’s eyes snapped towards him.

  “What?” Dwight’s shoulder shrugged up around his ears. “She’s naked, man. How is this my fault?”

  ~

  ~

  ~

  “Kristy.” Nick bit out as he stalked across the snow on bare feet.

  “You knew. This whole time, you knew, right?” She shot a glare at him over her shoulder.

  “I…” He looked sheepish.

  “Don’t bother trying to deny it. You took my smell at the bar when we met yesterday, you knew.” She bit out.

  Kristy knew a little about shifters and mates. She’s been reading up on them since Jackson had told her all about saving the cub…

  She’d felt drawn to the mountain resort, and with little wonder. Zoe’s witchy blabbering about fate and destiny made total sense now…

  “Scent. I took your scent. Yes.” He corrected her and she spun around at him so fast that he had to pull up short or bowl her over.

  “Scent. Smell. Same damn thing. You knew I was your mate.” She bit out in disbelief.

  “I didn’t want to hurt Jackson. I owed him a life…” Nick started to explain, but the shriek of laughter from her lips cut him off.

  “So, you were going to give him yours, is that it?” Kristy demanded. “Isn’t a bear that can’t woo his mate doomed to go psycho?”

  “Most of the time.” Nick started and he took a breath to explain, but she was already off and stalking towards her cabin on another shriek of a chuckle…

  “So, instead of psycho the bear I’ve got stupid the bear!” She bit out. “Not just stupid, but a lying bear…!”

  Nick reached out and snagged her wrist, spinning her back around to him, and scowling down at her.

  “I never lied to you.” He growled out.

  “No?” She snatched her wrist out of his grasp. “Just didn’t tell the truth. A lie by omission.” She spun back around and started for the cabin again. Nick was right there on her heels.

  “You were supposed to be marrying Jackson – what the hell was I supposed to do?” Nick growled out.

  “I don’t know!” She snapped as she tossed her hands up in the air in frustration. “But you could have said something!”

  He reached out and snagged her wrist again, spinning her back around to face him, and this time, when she tried to pull her arm from his hand – he didn’t let go.

  “Fine. I was wrong…”

  “Yeah, you were!” She snapped back, blowing hard breaths down her nose like a fireless dragon. “And get some damn clothes on.”

  Nick growled. Then he yanked her towards him, wrapped his other arm around her body and brought his lips down on hers.

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  ~

  “Don’t you dare kiss me! You have no right to just kiss me after you lied to me.” Pushing away from him had felt like the hardest thing that she’d ever had to do, but she did it all the same.

  She had a head of steam inside of her that was building up quite nicely, and heaven help the man who got in her way when it finally blew.

  She’d thought that she was going mad. Thought that she was the most despicable person in the whole world for the way that she’d been torn between Nick and marrying Jackson. For the way that her body had reacted to his presence… and all that time he was her mate.

  And he knew it!

  She wasn’t sure if she wanted to swing for him or kick him in the shin… maybe higher. Maybe she should just let fly with her knee right in his balls and put him down like the dog that he was…

  She wished that she could, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do anything like that. Knocking his damn head off of his shoulders might have sounded like a tempting proposition but all she wanted to do was stalk away and lick her wounds.

  “I told you why I didn’t tell you the truth.” Nick growled. “And I have every right to kiss you, and, damn it woman, but I intend to do a lot more kissing than that.”

  A heartbeat later, before she even knew what was happening or had time to protest, she found herself draped down his naked back, like a big old bag of potatoes – just staring in disbelief at his taut backside…

  “Are you insane?” She bit out, but she did cock her head to one side and took a second to enjoy her view.

  Nick started off on determined feet. Jackson was a mate. Nothing could stop him from wooing his mate now. Not even if the mountain decided to spew lava from the bowels of the earth…

  “After spending twenty four hours with you…?” He considered that for a long moment as a slow smile boiled on his face. “Yep, quite possibly.”

  “What does that mean?” She hissed out, trying to wrench her body upwards, but finding no purchase for her hands as they slid down over his naked skin.

  She heard that heady growl rumble from his lips. It sounded like an animal that had spotted its prey and was damned hungry… she snatched her hands away from his skin…

  “That means it’s wooing time, sweetheart. Kick the tyres and light those fires cos there’s going to be panties dropping tonight.” He chuckled to himself as he heard her gasp.

  “There will not be panties damn well dropping.” She bit out.

  “You know, you’re probably right. I think I’m going to rip them off.” Nick kicked open the door to the cabin to the sound of a muttered curse from his mate. Once inside, he back kicked the door closed without missing a step.

  “Rip them… you are so full of yourself…” She bit back.

  “Rip ‘em off with my teeth.” Nick growled back over his shoulder at her. The grin on his lips was wide, and boy, was he enjoying himself.

  “If you think for one moment…” Her words turned into something of a shriek of surprise when he tossed her through the air on another hearty growl…

  Kristy’s back had only just hit the mattress when she felt him there above her. Instinct told her to push up, get away, smack him upside his head… but all that she could do was to stare at the naked man who was climbing over her body and caging her in with a sinful frame packed full of rippling muscles as her mind whirled and her womb pinged with interest.

  “Oh, sweetheart. I think. I know. I’m certain.” Nick growled.

  Mine… His bear staked their claim and Nick wholeheartedly agreed.

  Hell fire would not drag him away from that damn bed until she was his.

  “And what if I’m not interested?” Kristy bit back.

  “You kissed me back.” Nick held in place above her. He could see that she was having trouble keeping her eyes on his – they kept wandering down his body and he liked that – he liked that a lot.

  Not interested… Pah!

  “Excuse me?” Kristy cocked her head to one side and scowled up at him.

  “Last night and just then. You kissed me right back and you wanted to keep kissing me.” Nick grinned, and it was sin personified. “Go ahead, deny it. I dare you.”

  “I did-”

  “But remember I can scent a lie. You remember that, right?” Nick’s grin turned into a teasing smirk. It had been her insistence he scent her lie that had started this whole mess rolling, but he was glad of it.

  “That’s…” She bit down on her annoyance. “Of course I remember that.” She offered him the evil eye, but he didn’t care. She was his. His.

  “So, go ahead, baby. Deny it.” He was playful now. Playful and naked, and she couldn’t keep her eyes from wandering. Was barely able to keep her hands to herself, and she didn’t want to.

  “You kissed me…” she offered. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the answer that he wante
d either.

  “Yes, yes I did. And then you kissed me right back. Say it ain’t so?” She opened her mouth, but he tipped his head to one side… “While I scent you.”

  Nick dipped his head and did what he’d wanted to do, had been dying to do the whole damn time they’d been together… He nuzzled between her neck and her shoulder and took her scent…

  Kristy didn’t move. Didn’t want to. The brush of his skin against hers, the feel of his hair against her cheek, the heat of the man – the whole package – held her in place with a rush of excitement in her heart.

  “Fine. I kissed you back.” She admitted and he lifted his head and grinned down at her. “Maybe I was curious.”

  He saw the mischief playing in her eyes. He saw the way that her lips twitched as if she was trying to hold back a smile, and then the corners of her lips rose upwards and the sun came out right there in front of him.

  “Wanna be curious some more?” Nick growled, but before she could answer, he was already bringing his lips down on hers.

  It certainly wasn’t curiosity that made her whole body come alive for him. Kristy couldn’t keep her hands down, and her palms found his skin and the muscles beneath and she explored.

  Her fingertips chased over the ridges of his back, felt those muscles move under his skin everywhere that she touched, down and back up again to the sound of a heady growl that caught in his throat.

  His kisses tempted and enticed her on. His hands were already peeling the clothes from her body. A mixture of his clothes and hers as he broke the kisses only long enough for him to yank, pull, and tear those clothes away.

  He wanted her naked. Needed her naked. Skin on skin as it should be between mates.

  “How curious do you wanna get sweetheart?” He growled against her lips, but her eyes spoke volumes as she turned those beautiful blue eyes up to his.

  “This is really real?”

  “As real as it gets.” Nick assured her.

  “And if we mated – that would be forever?”

  “For eternity.” Nick couldn’t quite breathe.

  He’d spent so long denying her that now that he had her in his arms, if she were to deny him – then he thought that he just might drop dead right there and then.

  “Even if you turn into a slob?” Her eyes sparkled with amusement.

  “Sorry – it’s a one way ticket.”

  “Jump aboard the love train?”

  “No refunds, but it’ll be one hell of a ride.” Nick’s grin was wicked.

  “I think I can handle that.” She reached down and snagged his hard length inside her hand as she tried to close her fingers around the girth of that satin covered steel and didn’t manage it…

  “You can handle that any time you like…” He grinned, and then he reached for her wrist and gently pulled her hand away. “Except right now…” He took her lips when it looked to him like she was going to protest.

  He kissed her senseless as his other hand explored her curves. Used his knees to open her legs wider for his touch, traced his fingertips up and down her inner thighs until she moved beneath his touch, searched for him, searched for more…

  His beast was clawing to get out. The instinct to mate, to bite, to bond was paramount within the animal’s psyche, but Nick wanted more. He needed to know her, all of her.

  He broke from her lips and started down her body. His tongue – his lips – traced over her skin before his blunt teeth nipped.

  Her body came alive, responding to his touch with a fevered need that made her restless for more.

  “Nick…” She tried to reach for him, but he ducked under her hand and settled down between her inner thighs.

  He needed to taste her on his tongue. Her feminine scent of arousal was calling to him, and the moment that he swiped his tongue against her flesh and got his first taste – growling like a bear with a honey pot – he couldn’t get enough.

  He was ravenous. He licked, sucked, and nibbled until she was right there on the very edge of her first release with him, and begging him to take her over that heady drop…

  Nick didn’t hold back, he took her over the edge and revelled in the sound of pleasure. He couldn’t get enough of the sweet taste of her body, and locked her in place against him, taking her right back over the edge again even when she mewed for mercy…

  “Don’t – you – dare…” She breathed out as he gave another hungry growl against her flesh, and this time, she made more of an effort to get away from his wicked tongue… “I need you…” She protested, and a split second later – there he was – climbing up her body towards her.

  Nick’s eyes were jet black and locked on hers. Mesmerising. She couldn’t drag her gaze away from him.

  He reached out and snagged her wrists, pushing her arms up above her head and trapping them there with one large hand as he fisted his shaft in his other hand and guided it to the edge of her wet heat…

  “Baby, if you want something, you’ve just got to speak up…” He teased.

  “Kind of hard to do when…” He pressed into her, silencing her words, but bringing the sweetest sound of pleasure to the back of her throat.

  “I had to make sure you were ready for me.” He growled beside her ear, and every inch of her body was so attuned to him, to his body, that she felt every press of skin on skin. Every brush of his hair against her flesh…

  “More than.” She promised, and a moment later he thrust to the hilt, buried balls deep inside of her.

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  ~

  “You were made for me.” Nick growled at the feel of her tight channel sheathing his cock.

  Nothing had ever felt more right to her than what she was feeling in that moment, and the next, and the next.

  His hips moved slowly, back and forth, taking her down his hard length over and over. They moved together as one, but it couldn’t last.

  She knew he needed more. She knew his beast was fighting to get free, and she wanted to know him, all of him.

  “Let him out. Let out your wild side…” She whispered against his ear and got a hearty growl for her trouble.

  “Are you sure you want to bond with me?” Nick all but demanded an answer.

  “Certain.”

  He pulled back and looked down at her. Those blue eyes were filled with desire, and something more… truth. He didn’t need to take her scent. He knew that she wasn’t lying.

  Nick wrenched his body back from hers. He reached out and spun her on the bed, drawing her body back onto her hands and knees, and burying his length right back inside of her again.

  Heaven and hell. Hell, because he knew that he was about to lose his mind to his beast. Heaven because she felt so damn good.

  His hips moved, faster now. Skin slapped against skin, but the heady sounds of pleasure that she was making was more enticing, more mesmerising to him than any sound that he’d ever heard before.

  He could feel the fever growing in his blood. His beast wouldn’t be caged for much longer, and as he brought her body right back up towards release again and he got lost inside of her – so his bear pushed forward, winning the battle and gaining its release from the iron cage…

  Nick reached for her as his fangs elongated. His beast was right there at the surface staking its claim, and readying to place their mark into her skin.

  Nick’s hand fisted in her hair. He tugged her head to one side, opening up her neck and shoulder, and he dipped his head and took her scent.

  Sweet. So damn sweet that he could just die.

  He growled out his claim as his hips moved faster and his cock thrust deep inside of her. Her inner muscles tightened. Her body was primed for the mark, and he wanted nothing more…

  His beast clawed inside of him, ready, eager, and the moment that he felt that hard clench and release of her inner muscles around his cock – he sunk his fangs down into the skin of her shoulder and dragged them down through her flesh, marking her, claiming her as his.

  His be
ar roared within him, like the signal to his own needs, his own desires. He had half a mind on the task of cleaning and sealing her wound with his tongue as she went limb against him, and half a mind on finding his own release, completing the bond between them.

  “Sorry, baby. I need more…” He growled against her ear, brushing his cheek against hers as he took her scent.

  His hips moved faster. He took her down his length to the hilt, over and over, as that friction built up between them once more. Her body came alive in his arms as he demanded that she come for him again.

  Wild and free. He’d always been forced into his cage before, but now he felt truly alive with her.

  The sounds that she was making, the way that her body was responding to his was so damned erotic that he could have found his release a thousand times over, but he was waiting for her, and when his fingers found that sensitive nub between her legs, he felt her hand cover his – their fingers tangled and laced as she climbed right back to the very edge.

  Nick’s whole body was on fire with the need to complete the bonding. His muscles were tight and they burned. His head slowly fell back on his neck as his hips started to move erratically…

  He was lost inside of her, desperately seeking what he needed more than life itself. The cry from her lips was followed by the hard clench and release of her inner muscles around his cock, suckling hard, demanding his seed, and his body locked up tightly as he buried himself to the hilt inside of her and roared with that very first explosion that was torn from him…

  Over and over, he buried his cock deep and gave her every last drop of his seed deep within her womb.

  His. She was his. Claimed and bonded to him – for now – forever.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  “You and the alpha.” Chloe was bouncing in her chair as she eyed Kristy with a smirk that was bursting to break free.

  “You and the beta.” Kristy shot back and Chloe snorted a chuckle.

  “I know, right?” She chuckled. Both women turned towards Zoe who was sitting in her chair nursing a bottle of beer.