“Are you going to do it now?”
“No. No. I wouldn’t do that.” He took her hands in his. She felt the warmth and strength in his palms.
She was quiet.
“Tell me what you’re thinking right now.” His brow furrowed, and his eyes locked on hers.
“I’m your mate?”
“God, yes. You are the one, Mila. The attraction you’ve felt for me all year. Have you ever felt anything like that before?”
She shook her head. “No.” She hadn’t compared her feelings to past relationships, but she knew there was nothing like it. There couldn’t be. Her love for Crawford was a force buried in her soul.
“It’s because you’re my mate, Mila. You knew before I did.” He gripped her shoulders. “I am a bear shifter. I was born into a shifter family. And there’s nothing I can do about it. This is who I am. And you say you love me. You love the man in me. I need you to love the bear too.”
She didn’t know what to say. The silence surrounded them.
The fire flickered over his shoulder. She saw the flames lowering to short orange and red coals. The cabin had started to cool. Crawford walked toward the fireplace and tossed a few logs on top.
The room danced again with the flames.
He sat on the edge of the bed. “Maybe I was wrong. I thought if I told you it wouldn’t make a difference to you. I’m now a fucking idiot twice.” He buried his head in his hands. “But I couldn’t have sex with you and not tell you who I am. What I am. And I’m definitely not ready to claim you if you don’t know what it means.”
She felt the sharp pain in her heart. It shattered her to see this mountain of a man in pain. This was the greatest test her heart had faced.
She placed a hand on his shoulder. “I do love you, Crawford.”
He turned toward her, his cheek glistening with a tear. “What are you saying?”
“I haven’t been in love with you for a year to walk away now.” She wanted to draw him to her breast and let him nuzzle against her, but stronger than that was the need to bring him inside her. Her sudden need for him was clawing at her. She wanted to prove it to him.
“And the bear?” he asked. His body moving on all fours, pinning her under him.
Her breath hitched in the back of her throat at the site of him hovering over her. The broad planks of his chest. The smooth muscles of his arms. He was everything she ever wanted.
She nodded. “And the bear.”
His mouth crushed hers as his tongue twisted against hers. She groaned when she felt his hands roam her body, canvassing her curves.
“You have to tell me.” His eyes locked on hers. “I can’t claim you if you don’t want me.”
She licked her lips. Was there ever any doubt she wanted this man? Every part of him belonged to her just as much as every inch of her was his. His brilliant mind. His artistry. His voice. His eyes. She loved all of it.
“I want you, Crawford. I want you to take me. Make me yours and I’ll make you mine. I’ve waited an entire year, don’t make me wait another second.”
“Oh, Mila.” He kissed the side of her neck. His hand slid between her legs, finding her wet and ready. “I’m going to fucking claim you like you deserve.”
She looked into his eyes, but before she could lock her hands around his neck, he flipped her on her stomach.
“Oh,” she cried.
He pulled her bottom in the air, and she looked over her shoulder. Her nipples brushed over the pillow. She waited for him to slam into her, quickly and powerfully, but instead she felt Crawford’s fingers in her slick folds, massaging her, settling around her nub.
“You deserve everything, baby.” His other hand reached forward, plucking her nipple between his fingers.
“Oh, God,” she bucked her hips in the air. The sensations were so intense, running the length of her body.
“Like that, baby. Feel it. Enjoy it.” He teased her opening with his hard tip.
“Crawford, please,” she begged, feeling her entrance hot like molten lava, as he stretched her around him. She wasn’t prepared for how intense it would feel as his cock readied to take her.
“Tell me. Tell me as my mate.” He pushed the head against her entrance, but not moving it any deeper.
Her hips swayed. She needed him inside her. Needed to feel him hit her from the inside out.
“Please, fuck me,” she whimpered. “I need you inside me. Fill me.” She couldn’t take it if he didn’t.
“Fuck.” He slid his hard length inside her, as she tightened around the intensity.
“Ohh,” she moaned. It was everything she had dreamed. Better. It was fire and ice filling her body. A fantasy finally taking hold of her skin and breathing flames of desire through her blood. She rocked into Crawford as his arms circled her breasts. His cock sank into her tight, wet entrance again and she called his name.
She spread her legs for him, craving the feel of him even deeper.
“Baby, you feel fucking amazing.” He gripped her hips as he pulled all the way out, then sent a thrust of sensation through her core.
She panted as her hips rocked harder, needing more. Needing him to fill her. “Fuck me, Crawford. Oh, yes. Yes.”
This wasn’t like anything she had felt before. Her body was no longer hers, but belonged to the man sending quivers through her veins. Kissing her, licking her, fucking her into beautiful oblivion.
He drove harder against her. “Come with me,” he groaned. He released her hip and his fingers danced over her throbbing nub. With one flick, she screamed as the orgasm shattered through her with fiery urgency.
She clutched at the pillows, while her body clenched around his cock. She needed it. She needed his release filling ever part of her, heating her, seeping into her. He spread her entrance wider with his fingers, giving his cock more space to drive deeper. She didn’t know he needed to be deeper inside until he slid another inch.
“Oh, Crawford, it’s so much. But I need you,” she cried.
And then she felt the warm soothing sensation fill her as he vibrated against her, spilling his release deep. It worked its way inside her body and she felt sudden fulfillment, as if for the first time she had done the most important job of her career.
Crawford pulled her into his arms, tucking her head against the heat of his damp chest.
“I feel so different,” she whispered.
“It’s the magic.” He kissed the top of her head. “Shifter magic is powerful.”
“Am I going to be a bear?” she asked, realizing she didn’t know what the shifter magic did.
“No. You are still very much a woman. My woman. Enjoy how it makes you feel. I like giving you my magic.”
“I’ve never done anything like that.” Her body completely belonged to him and she knew it. This man was hers. She ran her fingertips over his shoulder. His muscles rippled under her touch.
“I’ve never done it before either. It was fucking amazing,” he growled. “I’ve always heard mate sex is insane, but I had no idea.” She could feel the smile on his face.
“It was pretty amazing wasn’t it?” She was smiling too. All her inhibitions had faded. The worry she wouldn’t be able to satisfy him. That she wouldn’t give him all the pleasure he needed was gone. She knew her body fed his every need. It was made for this mad and his bear.
“You know what the problem is now?” He propped himself on his elbow. She gazed at the lines wrapping his torso. She would never get tired of studying his body.
“What?”
“We don’t have enough food to last in this cabin a week.” He laughed.
“A week? What about for one night?” She was suddenly very hungry.
“I might have brought some food. But I can always run back to the house and pick up a few things.”
“I don’t think I want you to leave yet.”
“You know this is forever now. I’m never leaving,” he whispered.
She felt the tear slide from the corner o
f her eye.
“What’s wrong? What did I do?” Crawford looked panicked.
She shook her head. “It’s just I waited so long. I can’t believe this is actually happening. It’s a happy tear I promise.”
He rubbed it with the pad of his thumb. His chest rumbled and he pushed her on her back. Her eyes lifted to his.
“I should probably apologize ahead of time.”
“What for?” she asked.
“I’m new to this. You’ve have an entire year. And I just realized how much I’m in love with you. Right now there’s nowhere else I want to be, but inside you. It’s going to take a while for me to feel like I’ve fully claimed you. My bear needs to know.”
Mila moaned, feeling him settle between her legs. Her knees fell to the side.
“Don’t ever leave,” she whispered as he pushed deep inside her. “Your bear can have me.”
Her hips rose to meet his body, and she rocked into him until they were in a heated frenzy to release each other. Their bodies melting into the other. Crawford roared as she brought him to his release.
“I’ll never leave,” he growled in her ear.
And she clung to him as she gave in the pleasure ripping through her veins.
13
Crawford
He watched her sleep. The firelight was beautiful on her face. His hand flattened against her naval. He didn’t know how the shifter magic would work with her birth control, but he hoped his cubs were there. He couldn’t help it. His bear needed the next line of shifters as much as he needed air to breathe.
His bear was satisfied. For the first time in his life Crawford felt utter contentment and peace. Other than his insatiable need to claim Mila his heart was fulfilled in a way he didn’t know was possible.
This was what he had been looking for. His mate. The woman who would be his forever. He had loved her hard. Maybe given her more than he should have, but she was as desperate as him to seal their bond. He saw it in her eyes. Heard it in her voice. Felt it in her body when she tightened against his climax. She took him all. Stole his breath. Cut him to his soul. He had fallen and he fucking loved it.
He kissed her temple as he extracted himself from the bed. The cabin would be cold again if he didn’t put more wood on the fire. He tossed the last log on top. The bin was empty.
He slipped one leg and then the other into his jeans, leaving the buckle loose. He made sure Mila was sleeping before he cracked the door to go out into the night. Behind the cabin was a woodshed where he and Hudson had brought some timber from the main house. He stood on the porch, stretching his arms overhead.
His body felt good. Tired, but satisfied. The sky was bright with stars dotting his view overhead. He grinned at the moon. He felt like a cocky bastard, and he didn’t care. It was damn near perfect.
He stepped off the porch, the leaves crunching under his feet. Hudson had made two rows of chopped logs on his last trip to the property. Crawford loaded his arms until they couldn’t handle the weight. He would make a second trip to fill the bin. He was already aching for Mila again. They would be lucky to make it out of the cabin by tomorrow’s nightfall.
He didn’t know his body was made for one woman. He didn’t know hearing his name on his mate’s lips would send jolts of pleasure through his cock. He chuckled thinking of what he wanted to try next.
He rounded the side of the cabin, his arms bearing the weight of the logs, when he heard a twig snap behind him. He spun on his bare heels, but the firewood blocked his sight. He paused for a second, shaking the sound off to a squirrel or the wind knocking something from a tree. He took another step and felt the wallop against the back of his head.
“What the hell?” He tried to move but another smack to his lower back and he was on his knees, the logs spilled on the ground around him.
Crawford thought he heard a woman’s voice.
“Mila?” he whispered and then everything faded to black.
* * *
Mila
Mila pulled the quilt to her chin. It was cold. Her eyes opened. The fire was nothing but a pile of ash. The covers next to her were flat.
“Crawford?” she called his name.
The bathroom pocket door was open. He wasn’t in the cabin. She wrapped the sheet against her chest and crossed the floor. His backpack was still on the table. She smiled at the pack of condoms she saw peeking from the front pocket. She was glad she insisted she give herself to him without them. She loved how he claimed her.
Her hand instinctively moved to her stomach. She hadn’t meant for any of this to happen. She had gone from being in love with the man to agreeing to give him cubs in a matter of minutes. She patted her naval.
When Crawford claimed her, she finally knew what she was made to do. She was supposed to be his mate. She chewed on her bottom lip. He was fucking amazing. The things he could do to her body were things people didn’t talk about. She didn’t know it was possible to feel bliss surge through her body like magic. But that’s exactly what he did to her. He had loved her until she thought she would scream if he didn’t stop, yet the minute his touch vanished she was clawing for him again. She felt tender spots between her thighs, but smiled, knowing he would kiss them and extinguish the pain.
She saw his phone on the sofa where he left it yesterday. She looked around for a note or something. The cabin was sparse. She tried to picture it as the brothers’ man cave he described.
There were more of them. More Highland brothers. He wasn’t the only bear. She was joining a family of shifters.
She had a million questions. But with his lips on her skin, and his body rocking hers, questions seemed irrelevant. They spoke to each other through kisses and thrusts so deep she knew her soul was glowing.
Last night she didn’t hesitate. She loved everything about Crawford, and maybe it should have startled her when he admitted his identity, but it made her love him more. She saw his strength, his power, and his heart.
She cracked the front door to look outside, clutching the sheet in her fist. The porch was littered with firewood. She stepped over a log. They were scattered everywhere.
“Crawford?” she called his name, feeling her voice shake. “Crawford?” She rushed to the side of the house. In the dirt she saw two trails as if someone had been dragged through the leaves.
She bent to touch the scuffle marks. Her chest tightened. Where was he?
She heard the cabin door slam behind her. She jumped as dirty hands clamped over her mouth, drowning her screams.
14
Crawford
He felt water splash his face. He growled, shaking his head.
“Oh good. He’s awake.” A woman’s voice filled his ears.
He opened his eyes, adjusting to the dimness of his surroundings.
“Who are you?” He tried to move, but realized his wrists were cuffed to the wall. He pulled on the restraints.
“Don’t even try.” She pointed to the metal braces. “They’re strong enough. Even for a bear.” Her eyes gleamed.
Crawford studied her. She had long black hair and red pouty lips. If she didn’t have him chained to the wall, he might go as far to say she was beautiful.
“Why did you bring me here?” he questioned. He couldn’t help but test the restraints again.
She stood over him, her heels planted on either side of his legs. She bent over him.
“I need a mate.”
“What the fuck?” He looked in her eyes. She was a bear. A damn she-bear.
“That’s what I’m hoping for.” She ran her fingers over his chest, the backs of her nails grazing his skin. “And I bet you’d be a good one.”
“Haven’t you heard of drinks and a movie? Or how about dinner first?” He glared at her.
Her lips pinched together. “This seemed like a way to cut to the chase. Although, I kind of like being chased. And I know you like to do the chasing.” She settled in his lap, her hips grinding against him. “I’m Jackie.”
“Get o
ff me,” he growled. “Jackie.”
“You sure? You feel like you need more warming up.” She patted between his legs before she reached over his head, flicking the release on his wrists. Before she unlocked the second one, she swept her lips over his, breathing into his mouth. Crawford shook his head.
“I’m taken. I’ve already found my mate.”
He gripped his wrist, wringing out the sting before depositing his captor on the floor.
“Hmph!” She glared up at him. “If you’re talking about that human girl, she’s no match for you. You need a real she-bear. Someone who can give you lots of cubs. Someone who can teach them about their shifter heritage. Someone who can help them control their magic.” She rose from the floor. “You need someone who can handle your bear.”
“She can handle it.” He had to laugh. “I’m pretty damn happy. I’m not interested in another bear. Or woman.” His eyes pierced hers. “Nice to know we were being watched.” He glared at her. “How did you even know there was a bear in this area?”
She laughed. “Three brothers. A family dynasty. The Highland property is famous. I took my chances you would be here.”
Crawford didn’t like the idea that Jackie had been spying on them, especially last night. He wondered if she had spotted Hudson or Striker on either of their visits.
“There are a lot of ways a she-bear could find a mate. I don’t recommend this one again.” He was ready to get out of here.
“Maybe so, but you need to realize what you’re doing to her. I can be the kind of mate she can never be.”
“Leave Mila out of this,” he roared.
Jackie’s nose twitched. “And what happens when you fill her with so many cubs it kills her?” Her eyes shot to his. “Or they change on her and she has no defense against them? She doesn’t know how to be a mama bear. Teenage boys are a handful. I bet you were.” She winked at him.
The Steel Bear: A BBW Bear Shifter Romance (Highland Brothers) Page 6
