“I wasn’t a fucking invalid, Aidan, I knew what I was asking for. I knew the risks. This is not all on you. Please don’t lie about it.”
His jaw tightened and his blue eyes met hers. “Let me do this for you, Autumn. Please let me shoulder this.”
Seeing the determination in his eyes shut her up. She had no idea what he was planning beyond the confession that would destroy her. How would he shoulder it? It was her fault as much as it was his. She was the female. She was the one who’d carried the child, and she’d made the choice to walk back through the portal with her power going haywire and no true mate to help ground it. She should have known the barrier would take something from her to balance it.
She couldn’t even look at Jasper and Gunnar now, but they sat still and solemn while Aidan recounted everything.
Finally, the torture ended and she stood from where she’d been seated on the bed and walked to the window.
“I’m going to my mother tomorrow to confess everything,” she said. “You guys can go home and just . . . forget about me. Be together, be happy.” She struggled to hide the shaking in her voice. “Be . . . ” Be able to forgive me, please.
Someone moved behind her and she flinched. She didn’t want any comfort, didn’t deserve it. She stared out at the burgeoning dawn, hoping whoever had come up to her would just leave. That they would all just leave.
A warm hand rested lightly on her shoulder, carrying with it Jasper’s piney scent. He squeezed and whispered in her ear, “I love you. And nothing, nothing would keep me from wanting you. I don’t know what that confession means for you. It seems like it’s pretty bad, but it doesn’t change a bit how I feel.”
He simply didn’t understand. Gunnar wasn’t the one standing behind her, and she was afraid to see his reaction now that the deed was done. She kept staring out the window, refusing to move. If she didn’t turn around, eventually they would all leave, and she wouldn’t have to look at them. Wouldn’t have to see their disappointed looks, their blame.
Jasper moved away, but a second later, Aidan’s familiar scent washed over her.
“They’re yours now. I’m leaving.” He squared his shoulders and rubbed the raw spot on his shoulder. He chuckled sardonically. “Mother will be so thrilled to learn I’m as big a failure as she believed after I tell her what I did. She’ll expect me to come grovelling, of course. That, I won’t do, but I will tell her the truth about why you left me back then. I’m the fuck-up in all this, Autumn, not you.”
Autumn’s chest tightened and she gripped the rough wood of the window sill, digging her fingernails in as though it could keep her world from turning upside-down.
“You’re not a fuck-up, Aidan. I deserve the punishment, too.”
She turned and looked up into his eyes. Eyes she’d gazed into for so many hours in her youth, but that were now filled with such regret it made her heart hurt to look into them.
He glanced away and smiled. “You’re a female. And you’ve already given up your place in the Sanctuary for the Princess’s mates. No one in their right mind would deny you your power. Having you, in full power, on the outside will be good for us. But you were right . . . we need to come clean. Let me carry our confession to our mothers.”
“I need to face them, too,” she said. “They need to know I’m not oblivious to what I did.”
“You can’t go back, baby,” Aidan said. He glanced behind her and she turned her head to see the two gloriously naked men standing near the fireplace. “They are yours now, at least as soon as you mark them. They can’t go back, either.”
“They’re both virgins,” she whispered.
Aidan grinned. “I thought so, judging from the hungry and almost terrified way they look at you. They can’t be a day over twenty-five.”
Autumn fell into him, pressing her forehead into his chest and laughing softly. “You remember Gunnar, don’t you? I know you do.”
“The bratty Windchaser kid who tormented every female who visited their clan for the last two decades, begging them to kiss him? Yeah. He’s still a brat who needs to learn what it means to be an ursa male. I have hopes for the Stonetree boy, though. If they make you happy, then I can’t argue with your choices.”
She wiped her eyes and looked up into his face. “Thank you, Aidan. If you ever need anything from us, let me know.”
He frowned, his eyes growing distant for a second.
“Emma,” he said.
“She’s not an option, and you know it,” Autumn said.
“That’s not what I meant . . . But you’re friends, right? I don’t know how things will go with my mother, but I’d like an ally inside. Can you get word to Emma to have my back if things go south?”
Autumn relaxed and nodded. “Yeah, we can do that. Just promise me you won’t give up, okay? Don’t let what your mother decides ruin you, Aidan.”
“She’ll have my balls for this. Literally, and you know it.”
“They don’t take . . . ” Autumn caught on to his joke and shook her head. “I’ve heard it’s reversible.” She let her hand fall to his groin and cupped him through his jeans. “These should be treasured, after all, and ursa never waste a good, fertile male. He just has to prove himself. Go prove yourself, Sundance.”
His grin startled her. “If your vision comes true, I might still have hope. Make these male’s journey worthwhile.”
She glanced over her shoulder at Jasper and Gunnar. Jasper was eyeing the claw-marks in Gunnar’s ass with amusement while Gunnar bitched at him about the scars.
“I see a mark in the making,” Autumn whispered.
Aidan gripped her jaw abruptly and turned her face to his. His kiss was sweet and chaste and gone before she had a chance to become aroused by it. It still left enough of a tingle to remind her of how much she treasured their history, in spite of the loss they’d hidden for so long.
“I’ll love you forever, Autumn,” he said softly. “Please let yourself be happy.”
She nodded at him, smiling. She would be happy, but she would always hold out hope that he would be happy, too.
After a bone-crushing hug, he pulled away from her and left, stripping off his clothes just before charging out the door in full bear form. She watched him go, then willed herself to face the other two men.
Gunnar took an uncertain step toward her, hurt and confusion plain on his face. Jasper seemed to sense the other man’s hesitance.
“She’s still the same woman you fell in love with, Gunn,” Jasper said. “Nothing’s changed.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Gunnar said, his voice rough with emotion. “I’d never have given you up, and you wouldn’t have had to bear the burden alone. Don’t you trust me, Autumn?”
“Of course I do. But I’d put it behind me long before you were born. I didn’t want it sullying what we had. Our future shouldn’t be defined by my old mistakes.”
As if reminding her of those old mistakes, the familiar dull ache filled her lower abdomen. She let out an involuntary groan and pressed her palms to her belly, wishing like hell that it would give her a chance to talk to the men before taking over completely. A rush of searing heat shot through her core and wetness flooded the tops of her thighs. Her nipples hardened and pressed against the fabric of her dress, even that light contact causing a pleasant thrill of sensation that made her need multiply.
Autumn inhaled sharply, her senses filled with the aromas of the men, which only served to make her lightheaded from desire. Her vision clouded and the room swayed around her.
“Need . . . you . . . ” she managed to stammer, reaching out for them, desperate for their steadying touch.
They both stared back in alarm, and broke into motion at the same second the world tilted and went dark.
Chapter Nine
Jasper reached Autumn’s collapsing form a split second after Gunnar, who hoi
sted her up in his arms.
“What’s happening?” he asked, moving to the bed with Gunnar and brushing Autumn’s hair off her face when Gunnar laid her gently down.
“It’s her estrous. The magic that controls her fertility comes in waves. She needs to be serviced or mated before it will subside.”
“Mated I think I get, but ‘serviced’? What does that mean? Was that the mistake that Aidan made?”
Gunnar nodded. “Servicing means everything but intercourse. It takes an orgasm given by a male to bleed the magic out of her, to give her relief from it. We’re sort of overflow receptacles for it since the magic overwhelms them when they’re fertile. They say without being serviced, a fertile female can go feral until her estrous passes, but a feral she-bear running wild in the wilderness for a month is too great a risk, especially if she gets pregnant without having a properly marked mate to keep her magic grounded.”
Jasper blinked down at Autumn in shock. “She has to deal with this for a month?”
“Not if we have anything to do with it. The best thing for her now is to gently bring her to climax. When she’s conscious again, it’ll be time for her to mark us, if she still intends to.” He gave Jasper a wry smile. “I’m going to suggest she uses your ass as the canvas.”
Jasper swallowed and let his eyes drift over Autumn’s unconscious body. This was so uncool, yet so arousing.
“I . . . don’t think I can do this, Gunn. She’s out cold.”
“Come here,” Gunnar said, motioning for him to sit on the edge of the bed beside Autumn. “Just simple contact for now will help a little bit, and I’ll see if I can bring her around without outright molesting her.”
He took Jasper’s hand and pressed it to Autumn’s thigh just above her knee. Her skin was shockingly warm and Jasper squeezed involuntarily.
Closer to Autumn’s head, Gunnar shifted uncomfortably on the damaged ass cheek. He brushed his fingers delicately over Autumn’s brow and temple, caressing her cheek and gazing down at her with reverence. He bent and pressed his lips to her forehead.
“Wake up, baby. Wake up so we can help you.”
Slowly, he moved his hand lower, caressing down the side of her throat and resting his hand at her shoulder, thumb sweeping back and forth along the hollow of her throat.
“Move your hand higher, just a little, gently.”
“How do you know what to do?” Jasper asked, feeling completely out of his element.
Gunnar glanced up at him, a look of abject fear on his face. “Believe me, I’m scared I’ll do it wrong, but I’ve seen her touch herself. Most male ursa who grow up inside the Sanctuary are given lessons on how to service a female, but I’ve only actually been with other males before. We’re told if she falls unconscious that we can’t leave her this way. When we practice, it’s on another male playing possum. Supposedly if she becomes aroused enough, she’ll wake up. Just don’t fuck her until we’re marked, no matter how much she begs.”
“That sounds like fun, actually. I don’t think I’d mind practicing that,” Jasper murmured. He steeled himself to venture higher and gently let his palm slide up her inner thigh a little farther, then back down. His gaze drifted back to Gunnar’s hand, now sliding down over her chest and tugging at the laces of her dress.
Gunnar pulled the two sides apart, revealing both creamy, pink-tipped mounds. Bending his head, he blew a breath out over one nipple and it hardened instantly.
“Autumn,” Gunnar said, bending closer so that his lips brushed against her nipple as he spoke. “Can you feel this?” The very tip of his tongue darted out and drew a circle around the taut nub of flesh.
Jasper stroked absently, enthralled by the sight of Gunnar’s mouth teasing at Autumn’s breast. The memory of that mouth on his cock made him throb harder between his thighs. The very present, potent scent of Autumn’s arousal flooded his nostrils, making painfully apparent how much her need matched his.
He hazarded a shift even higher up her thigh and his knuckles brushed damp, soft curls. He was rewarded with a feminine moan and her legs parted slightly.
“Jasper, yes. Higher,” she whispered. Her hand rose languidly off the bed, slid up Gunnar’s arm until her fingers threaded into his hair, pressing his face tight against her breast.
Jasper’s heart pounded so hard he feared it would burst out of his chest, but he complied. After all, Gunnar had her nipple fully in his mouth, sucking, while his other hand attended to her opposite breast.
Jasper pushed the hem of her dress up her thigh, just far enough to reveal the glistening red-gold curls that covered the source of that delicious aroma filling his head. Coming to a decision, he urged her to bend her knee. He glanced across Gunnar’s pale head, met her gaze, and smiled at the way her eyelids fluttered when his fingertips brushed lightly over her slick, warm folds. She nodded in encouragement, raised her other knee, and spread her legs wider.
Jasper moved onto the bed, knelt between her legs, and slid his hands down her thighs. With his thumbs, he parted her folds and slipped them up and down her slit, simply exploring and hoping he’d discover what she liked most. When the pad of his thumb pressed up beneath the hood that covered the swollen pink bundle, Autumn’s hips twitched and she let out a soft cry.
“You like that?” he asked, pressing a little harder and enjoying the way the bit of flesh under his thumb pulsed slightly.
“Fuck, yes! More!”
The intoxicating scent of her grew stronger, so alluring that Jasper’s mouth watered with the desire to take his fill of her. He shifted backward and lowered between her thighs, his mind spinning with anticipation as he pressed his mouth to her glistening folds and swept his tongue in a long lick up the entire, delicious valley. A rough growl escaped his chest in response to her succulent, sweet, and tangy flavor.
Autumn clutched hard at his head, the fingers of one hand tangling in his hair, pressing him tighter against her.
Jasper swirled his tongue experimentally around her clit until he found a rhythm that made her moans and cries the loudest, then grew bolder. He pressed his fingertips into her soft, pliant channel. Autumn let out an even louder cry of affirmation when he sank two fingers deep and drew them out again. Her hips bucked hard and he was forced to press his free arm over them to hold her still so he could delve deeper.
Christ, she tasted amazing, and he could only imagine how incredible the clenching, slick tightness around his fingers would feel when he buried his cock into her.
“Fuck me!” she begged.
The mere sound of the words made him screw his eyes shut at the wave of pure, aching hunger that washed through him. The plea was like a siren’s song, urging him to do exactly what she asked for. And he wanted it so much, but Gunnar’s word of warning held him back. There was no way in hell he’d risk putting her through the same ordeal her old lover had.
Instead, he worked a third finger into her and redoubled his tongue’s efforts on her clit.
Soon she cried out incoherently, her thighs quivering on either side of his face, her hips rising so sharply he could barely hold her still. Her pussy clenched hard around his fingers and her clit pulsed under his tongue. The flood of warmth beneath his lips was pure ambrosia and Jasper lapped it up, buzzed from the contact and the flavor. After a second, he realized it wasn’t just her fluids soaking into his lips and tongue, but something more like a drug that seeped through him, leaving his balls feeling heavy and tingly—an odd feeling, but not unpleasant in the least.
When her tremors subsided and her legs collapsed limply to the bed, Jasper sat back on his heels and swiped a hand over his lips and chin.
“Fuck, what was that? I feel like I just took the biggest bong hit of my life but only my nuts got high.” He cupped himself, hyperaware of the sensation lingering there as well as in his head.
Gunnar gave him a confused look, then cast it at Autumn when sh
e started giggling.
Autumn caught her breath and said, “That’s the excess magic that builds up. It’s most potent in bodily fluids. Feels good, doesn’t it?”
“Feels incredible, but I can see how there can be too much of a good thing. If that’s just the excess, I can’t imagine how horny it must make you to have even more of it trapped inside you.”
She pulled herself up to her knees and stripped her dress off over her head, then moved down the bed until she was close enough that her breasts pressed against Jasper’s chest. She raked her fingers through his hair, clutched at the back of his neck with both hands, and pulled him into a hungry kiss. Her mouth lingered on his, tongue teasing, as though savoring her own flavor, which only served to turn Jasper on more.
She was the drug—every last inch of her—and Jasper was happily becoming addicted.
“This is why I need two of you. Now, I’m not wasting any more time before taking care of you both. Bend over, Stonetree.”
She leaned back and raised up a hand. As her fingers waggled in the air before his eyes, terrifyingly huge black claws formed at each slender tip.
“How . . . ?” he asked, staring wide-eyed. He still had so much to learn about how to be an ursa.
“Years of practice,” she said and motioned for him to assume the position.
Anxious, yet eager, Jasper turned and presented his ass to her. She smacked one cheek hard with the flat of her un-clawed hand and he let out soft gasp at the surprising sting of it. Staring over his shoulder at her, he watched her raise her clawed hand and make two swift swipes at the top of his left ass cheek. It barely hurt and he was grateful for the sting of the initial smack when he felt the heat of blood trickling over his skin, but no real pain.
She turned to Gunnar, who stood and turned around, presenting his already clawed cheek to her.
Bitten (Black Mountain Bears Book 2) Page 7
