Bruins Peak Bears- Complete Series, page 135
part #1 of Bruins Peak Bears Series
He rocked her on his lap for a while. That simple change in position almost rocketed her into outer space all over again. His thighs slapped her ass and knocked her up. His cock struck her most tender anatomy, but she needed more now. She needed him. She needed him inside her, where he belonged.
He knew it, too. He couldn’t hold out much longer without relief. He hitched her higher, and his fingers groped between her legs. Her wetness suffocated those fingers and threatened to dissolve them in acres of spongy pillows.
He fought through them to the hard knob wedged against her pubic bone. Somehow, some way, he got his pants open. His hard-on angled against his stomach, but he couldn’t get free with her weight in the way.
June took matters into her own hands. She inched back, and her hand down between her legs. She slithered into his pants and took hold of that whip she craved so bad.
Ash gasped in shock, but she already had him by the prick. She stroked down his shaft, back up, and down again. Startled shock froze his features. He stopped kissing her, and his mouth hung open while she handled him down his length.
She cupped his balls in their soft bag, but she always came back to his rigid shaft. She spoke to it and loved it. The veins distended between her fingers, and it pulsed and quivered when she touched it.
That thing fascinated her more than anything she saw in his eyes. It was him. It was his primal essence made flesh. She eased farther back so she could look at it. She let his lips go and peered down at the slab of hot meat in her hand.
She didn’t see him push his pants the rest of the way down. She knew only the living, breathing animal between her fingers. It jumped up at her when she pushed down its length. Its head swelled when she squeezed its base, and something glistened around its eye.
She looked up to see him regarding her. She caressed it down the shaft one more time, and he spasmed in agony. Did it hurt? A ragged moan came out of his throat. “It’s all yours now.”
She scooted back another inch so she could bend over to kiss it. She wanted to do so much more than that. Her tongue darted out to swoosh around its head. He groaned out loud, and his noises encouraged her. She flicked her tongue around the taut rim. Some part of her knew what to do. She hooked her lips behind the head and sucked.
Ash whimpered, but she couldn’t stop. She devoured the thing in gobbling mouthfuls. She never tasted anything like it. It tasted of man—fresh, hot, animal man.
She dribbled saliva down his shaft and swallowed the whole thing into her throat. She just started to get warmed up when Ash grabbed her by the shoulder and pried her off. “No! Not yet.”
She didn’t understand. What did she do wrong? One look at his face explained everything. Tension contorted his features. She barely recognized him. Wild fury distorted him into a raging animal. He couldn’t hold back any longer. His patient, steady rhythm evaporated.
He sat her up to face him. Before she could ask, he caught her up again and sat her in the same place. Her legs squirreled around him. Now nothing separated him from her but a thin film of fiery liquid.
He pumped into her, and his prick slid between her lips. Oh, God, the excitement blasted her apart like nothing else. His bumping and grinding before couldn’t touch her compared to this. His shaft glided between her leaves and tormented all the swollen tissue between her thighs.
Her hips pulsed back and forth on their own beat. She matched his movements to catch that throbbing ridged monster moving closer. She understood it now. She knew what it wanted, and she could give it.
He crushed her against him, and she sat down hard on that upthrusting spike. One more inch, and he would be in. Oh, if only he would get in, she would collapse in shivering pleasure.
His rock-hard muscles flexed all around her. His arms held her up when she couldn’t hold herself up any longer. She took shelter in his arms, but he attacked her in all his demon ferocity.
Out of nowhere, something sharp stabbed her in the guts. She screamed once. Then a mind-blowing fullness washed her pain away. He kept up his endless rocking, swaying rhythm, but she couldn’t keep still. She had to drive that pointed weapon deeper. She had to consume it in all its masculine power.
He contracted his midsection, and that hot stick burrowed into her deepest recesses. He bucked higher on his knees, and his hips propelled her into the air. Her own weight dragged her down on top of him.
The way she convulsed before faded from her memory. Her spine whipped sideways, but he held her still. No matter where she went, he always brought her back. He always impaled her on his quivering spike.
In a matter of seconds, she floated out of her body into a dreamworld of nonstop climaxes. Every devastating penetration buoyed her into outer space. She sank down only to bounce higher on the next scorching thrust.
Oh, dear God, that thing was so good! It roasted her alive until she couldn’t stand the heat. It jackhammered her apart with its incredible thickness. It tickled every inch of her channel to molten lava.
She screamed until her throat ached. Then she collapsed against him in sobbing ecstasy, but he wouldn’t stop pounding up into her. One giant hand guided her head down on his shoulder while his other arm grappled around her waist. When all her strength drained out of her, he lifted her up and drove her down on his shaft harder than ever.
Even then, even when she lacked the voice to scream and the strength to move her limbs, his cock sent her spiraling heavenward. She sank into his arms while her mind drifted on clouds of glorious delight.
From a distance, she registered his hips smacking against her ass. His arm crushed her ribs so she couldn’t breathe. None of that mattered. So much pleasure and cosmic union rushed through her in that moment she didn’t care what he did to her. She wanted him to. She wanted everything, and she got it.
His teeth clenched around her lip, and the pain snapped her out of her delirium. Only then did she hear him gasping for breath and whining in tortured agony. Every questioning yelp grated through his parched throat. He watched her eyes for any sign of her return.
The moment she locked her eyes on his, he bellowed out loud. A wounded animal couldn’t scream like that. The sound sent shivers up her spine, but it was already too late. His cock swelled hard and tight inside her. She squeezed him back with all her inner muscles, and he gushed into her on steamy torrents.
He rose straight up on his knees. June clung to his chest and gripped her ankles behind his back. She flexed her hips to grab his cock inside her, but all that rigid hotness flowed out of him into her. His vital elixir filled her dark caverns and mixed with her cocktail to become something never seen on Earth before.
He roared into her mouth, but he couldn’t hold himself up anymore. He fell forward on the bed, and his shoulders slammed her down hard. His cock plunged into her depths to its limit, but he already spent himself inside her.
He extended his legs between hers. One deadly tremor racked his body to his fingertips and toes, and he lay still. His wet cock pulsed inside her, and her muscles milk the last wetness from them both.
He shouted his thunderous cries into the pillow behind her head. She rubbed his neck and combed her fingers through his hair. She traced the rivulets of sweat tricking down his back. She never loved him more than now. She would protect him and harbor him. She would give him a safe place to rest after his herculean labors. That was the least she could do after the joy and intoxicated belonging he gave her.
The tension waned, and his body sank against hers. His arms and legs weighed a ton. June’s hips started to ache, but she hated to disturb his reverie. She kissed his forehead and neck, but he didn’t move.
She murmured into his ear, “Ash?”
He didn’t answer. Ever so slowly, she eased him aside. She straightened her legs and pushed him off. He tumbled over on the quilt. He was already asleep.
Chapter 14
June woke up the next morning to the sight of Ash watching her. He bent one elbow under his head and regarded her while her eyes blinked awake. He’d been watching her sleep.
She cuddled into his chest, and his arms protected her. “What time is it?”
“It must be close to noon. The sun is almost overhead.”
She clamped her eyes shut. She didn’t want to think about that. She didn’t want to think about anything outside this cabin.
“Your father will be wondering where you are,” he remarked.
“He’ll figure it out, and when he does, I’ll be happy. I hope he figures it out soon so he doesn’t have to wonder anymore.”
“What will you tell him when that happens?”
“Tell him? I won’t tell him anything. There’s nothing to tell. We’re mated.”
“I mean what will you tell him about us? What will you tell him we’re going to do?”
She pulled back so she could look at him. “I don’t know. What are we going to do?”
He sighed and shook his head. “Same old questions and no answers.”
“Well, I don’t have any answers. I only know we belong together.”
“Will you come back to Bruins’ Peak with me?”
She eyed him. “I can’t lie to you. I don’t want to go to Bruins’ Peak.”
“And you don’t want me staying here, do you?”
Her eyes flew open. “What makes you say that?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Come on. You don’t have to pretend.”
She hid her face against his shoulder. “What would your people say if you brought me back?”
“They would be delighted. You would be very welcome. My mother and my grandparents would cry with joy.”
She laughed out loud. “Stop fooling.”
“It’s true. We have no reason to hold NightShade at a distance.”
Her head shot up one more time. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just what I said. No Bruin would have any reason not to welcome you. You would be a part of my family. End of story. There are lots of nice women around, including quite a few your own age.”
She cocked her head. “Are you sure there wouldn’t be some young women who got their feelings hurt that you took a mate from outside instead of going with them?”
“Is that what you’re worried about? There’s only one woman I ever looked sideways at, and that’s Sky Farrell. It didn’t work out, but she found another guy before I ever left Bruins’ Peak. If I came back with you, she would probably be the first to congratulate you—after my family, of course.”
She regarded him. “You miss your family, don’t you? You miss your home.”
“Sure, I do. I’ve never been away this long, and I wasn’t planning on staying away as long as I have. What about you? Do I have anybody to worry about on this Ridge besides your brother?”
June bit back a smile. “The only guy I ever really considered was Abel, and that ended years ago.”
“He’s a nice kid.”
“He’s very nice, and very kind and handsome. It just didn’t work out. He…well, he’s just not you.”
He kissed her. “You belong on the Ridge. I understand that now. You don’t belong on Bruins’ Peak. You wouldn’t thrive there.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Just some things I’ve noticed about your people. Noah said no NightShade ever leave the Ridge, and now I understand why. You all seem to grow out of the rocks and canyons. The soil runs up through your legs to feed the Earth’s energy into you. You grow on the Ridge like trees. You would wither and die if you left it.”
She buried her eyes in his chest. His heart beat against her temple. How did he understand so much about her in such a short time? He understood NightShade better than most NightShade did.
“That doesn’t help us find a solution to our problem, though.”
He kissed her hair. “Tell me more about the Ridge. I never got a chance to see your livestock. How much land do you have dedicated to food production?”
June froze. This pleasant conversation turned into something dangerous. She didn’t want to answer, but she didn’t see how she could get out of it. “I’m not exactly sure. It’s a lot, though.”
“How many families live on this Ridge?”
“Only one. We’re all one extended family. I thought we explained that.”
“You did. I meant individual family units. There’s you and the Blacks. Who else? How many houses are there? Does each family have their own territory? How do you divide it up? It must get complicated when people start to intermarry.”
She sat bolt upright. “You have no idea.”
He leaned back and watched while she slipped on her dress and her panties. She splashed water on her face and straightened her clothes.
She looked back from the door. “Are you coming?”
He looked around. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Aren’t you hungry? We should go get some breakfast…or lunch, or whatever.”
He propped himself up on his elbow. “I asked you a question, June. You just said you couldn’t lie to me. What is so secret about how many families and territories you have on this Ridge?”
She didn’t turn around. “Who said anything about a secret? Come on. We don’t want to spend the day in bed.”
She put out her hand for the door latch when Ash swung his legs over the bedside. He set his feet on the floor and barked out, “June!”
She stopped dead in her tracks. She kept her back turned to him so he wouldn’t see her eyes clamped shut.
His voice split the air. “Come here, June.”
She took a deep breath and turned around. She locked her eyes on his face and walked back to stand in front of him. She knew this moment would come. She dreaded it. She did everything she could to avoid it. Now, it was here. She had to stare it in the face and tame it.
He laid both hands on her hips and pulled her against him. He set his chin against her stomach and breathed into her face. “I love you, June. I’ll love you forever, no matter what, but you can’t keep this from me. I’ve seen enough to know the NightShade have some secret on this Ridge. We’re going to be together or we’ll both die, and if we’re going to be together, I have to know what’s going on around here. Are you in danger? Do you have some deadly contagious disease?” June laughed in spite of herself, but Ash shook his head. “You have to tell me.”
She couldn’t cope with that look on his face. “I can’t tell you. I wish I could, but I can’t. No NightShade can reveal it to anyone. That’s why we keep to ourselves. You’re the first outsider to come here in centuries. We’ve always kept the secret. I can’t tell anybody, not even you.”
He let his hands fall, and he sat up straight. “I have to know. Unless you want to come back to Bruins’ Peak with me, I have to know.”
She shook her head. “I won’t go back to Bruins’ Peak. I don’t want to, and the Elders wouldn’t let me even if I did. If I went, I would spend the rest of my life worrying about letting the secret slip to someone over there. That would be too horrible to endure. Whatever happens, I have to stay here.”
“Well, what do you suggest? Do you suggest we part ways, that I go back to Bruins’ Peak and you stay here?”
June braced herself. “The only way I could tell you the secret is if you commit yourself to joining the NightShade. You would have to stay here and become one of us. You would have to give up Bruins’ Peak forever. You’re not willing to do that, are you?”
He started back. “Give up Bruins’ Peak! How can I do that?”
“You might be able to visit once in a while, but you would have to stay on Renegade Ridge. You would have to grow on the Ridge like all the other NightShade.”
His wide eyes bored into her soul. Everything hinged on this moment. What would he decide to do?
He let out a shaky breath and let his head fall. “I don’t know if I can do that, but one thing is certain. We have to talk to your father. We have to tell him we’re mated. Maybe then he can help us.”
He pulled on his clothes, and when he stood up to face her, they met in the center of the room. They confronted each other the same way they did when they first entered it. No more reservations held them apart. They were mated. All they had to do was break the news to the rest of June’s people.
Chapter 15
June and Ash walked hand in hand down the path. Ash paused when Ezra’s cabin winked into sight between the trees. He drew June close. “Are you ready for this?”
She nodded. “I want to. I don’t want to hide anything from them.”
“It could get ugly in there. You realize that, don’t you?”
She shook her head. “It will be all right. They’ll understand.”
“Maybe your father will.” Ash gestured toward his own battered face. “What if Arryn decides to finish the job?”
“Then you’ll have to put him down.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
She gazed toward the cabin. “You gotta do what you gotta do. If he gives you no choice, then that’s the way it has to be. We have rules about this sort of thing, and may the best man win.”
Ash faced the cabin. His eyes narrowed, and his shoulders swelled out. “We have those rules, too.”
She fell behind him. “Then do it. Don’t back down.”
He didn’t look at her again. He eyed the cabin and nodded to himself. Then he took her hand and set off the last few paces to the door. He walked in without knocking. Ezra and Arryn sat at the table with a pan of cornmeal between them.
Ezra’s head shot up. His eyes widened when the couple walked in holding hands. Arryn frowned, and he clenched his jaw. June motioned to the one remaining chair, and Ash sat down. June took her place next to him and laid her hand on his shoulder.
Ezra spoke in his usual casual drawl. “Are you eating, honey?”
“Not just yet, Daddy. We’ve got something to tell you. Ash and I, we’re mated. I spent last night with him at his cabin, and we’re bonded for life. Whatever happens between us, we’ll do it together.”
