Riding With The Grizzly

Chapter 7 – Nara

“One large iced caramel latte with extra whipped cream!” the barista calls out. I grab my drink from the end of the counter and join Astrid at our favorite table next to the window.

“Girl, tell me everything. It’s been two days since you left home. Why didn’t you call me the second you ran? Where did you go?”

I blink a few times, taking in my friend’s rapid-fire questioning.

“Remember the guys who helped guide us out of the MC rumble happening outside a few days ago?” Astrid blushes and nods. Interesting. I’ll have to circle back to that later. “Well…” I inhale and blow out a breath, trying to decide how much I’m allowed to tell her. “I really connected with Jude, the man who found me and led me safely back to the car.”

“Okay…” Astrid says, not making the connection.

“We sort of had an impromptu lunch date that turned into me somehow agreeing to go to dinner with him later that day.”

“Why didn’t I know any of this?” my friend asks before taking a sip of her coffee.

“It all happened so fast. Jude is… I’m…” I clear my throat, not knowing how to make it make sense to Astrid. Jude was right when he said the mating pull is indescribable. But it’s not like I’m going to tell her anything about that or shifters or mates.

“Are you safe?” she asks, taking mercy on me and my tied tongue. I immediately nod my head. “Good. That’s the most important thing.”

We nibble on the scones Astrid got for us and get most of the way through our drinks before Astrid turns to me with a serious look in her eyes.

”I don”t want to alarm you, but your dad is furious. He, your stepmom, and your brother are telling anyone and everyone that you”re a traitor.”

“That sounds about right,” I say flatly. I finish off the last of my sugary beverage and set it down on the table.

Astrid frowns, her eyebrows knit together in worry. She reaches out for me, taking my hand in hers. “I’m scared for you,” she whispers. “I hope you really do trust Jude to protect you. If anything happens, please call me. You know I’ll come in, guns blazing.”

I grin at my friend. “You wouldn’t know how to shoot a gun even if you had one,” I say with a laugh.

“Oh, and you do?”

“Nope, but I didn’t promise an armory of protection,” I counter.

We both giggle, though her words sit heavy in my stomach. I knew my dad wouldn’t just let me leave. What other option did I have, though?

Astrid looks at her phone and rolls her eyes. “I should probably get back to my computer. I just got an email from a client who has been impossibly picky about the project he hired me for.”

We say our goodbyes and hug, and then Astrid heads outside, typing away on her phone. I take a few more minutes to enjoy being in this cafe. I have a feeling life is about to get very, very complicated. This is just the calm before the storm.

Eventually, I get up and clear the plates and cups from our table before walking outside. As soon as my feet hit the pavement, I know something is wrong.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I’m ultra-aware of every sound, every person who walks past me. I’m being paranoid, I reason with myself. Astrid gave me bad though not unexpected news about how my family handled my disappearance, so I’m just projecting that. Probably.

Either way, I turn and head down the sidewalk, picking up my speed when I sense there’s someone following me. I make it to the end of the block and turn right even though Jude’s house is in the opposite direction. The looming figure behind me also takes a right, and I finally shore up the courage to look over my shoulder. I’m probably just making all of this up…

My brother sneers at me and lunges in my direction. I break into a sprint only to bounce off of my father’s protruding beer belly. Stumbling over my own two feet, I fall backward, only to be caught by my brother.

“Thought you could get away from us? Your family? The people who fed and clothed you and put a roof over your head? Some way of thanking us for all we’ve sacrificed.”

A thousand scenes from my childhood and adolescent years race through my mind, none of them showing my family sacrificing anything for my well-being. My memories consist of getting back-handed when I disobeyed, made too much noise, or didn”t immediately clean up after myself and everyone in my family. I remember being left alone for days on end while my dad, stepmom, and brother were out on one of their benders, either alcohol or meth.

“I’m talking to you, ungrateful bitch!” my dad screams. I try flinching away from him, but my brother is holding my arms behind my back so tightly I feel like my arms might pop out of their sockets. I wish Jude were here…

“Get your filthy fucking hands off of her,” my mate growls from off to the side. Did I conjure him up? Do fated mates have that ability? I’ll have to ask him later.

His presence startles my brother enough for him to loosen his hold on me. I make a run toward Jude and his bike, knowing he’ll keep me safe. All this time, I thought bikers were untrustworthy, lewd, and morally corrupt. Everyone in Midnight Rebels is.

But Jude… As I race toward him, I realize there’s one biker I trust with my heart and body. My mate. I hop on the back of his bike and he tears off into the night while I cling to his torso.

“Are you okay, Nara?” Jude asks once we’re back at his house. As soon as we stepped in the door, Jude led me to the bed and pulled the covers back. I climbed onto the soft mattress, quickly followed by Jude. I didn’t realize I hadn’t spoken a single word since we’ve been back.

I start to say something but all of my thoughts are jumbled together. I’m still shaken from everything and a few tears slip down my cheeks as I start to tremble.

”I”m right here,” Jude says, his fingertips tracing my brow and along the right side of my face. ”I”m so sorry I wasn”t there sooner, mate.” He catches my tears on the pad of his thumb, wiping them away before they can fall.

Mate. I’m really starting to like the sound of that. Jude cups the side of my cheek, the tenderness of his touch is such a stark contrast to his rough hands.

”Nara, my sweet girl,” he murmurs. ”Your tears are breaking my goddamn heart.” I smile through the heaviness and anxiety still sitting on my chest, loving that he”s still rough around the edges even when he”s comforting me. ”Why are you smiling?” he asks. The light returns to his eyes as if he wasn”t going to fully be okay until he knew I was feeling better. I”ve never had that before.

“You,” I answer, nuzzling into the hand he still has cupped against my cheek. His nostrils flare and his eyes are ablaze - literally glowing - as he stares at me. There’s a mix of raw lust, deep satisfaction, and hope for the future. I feel it, too.

“Me?” he rasps, turning me on my back so he’s hovering above me with one hand on either side of my head.

I nod. “You,” I confirm, tracing the bridge of his nose with my finger. “You really do want to take care of me, don’t you?” I don’t know if I’m asking myself or Jude anymore.

“I do,” he answers, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

“Show me,” I whisper, leaning up and brushing my lips against his.

Jude’s green eyes flash with hunger a second before he takes my lips in an all-consuming kiss. I shamelessly rub my nipples against his chest and grind my aching center against his thick, hard cock. “You want me to take care of you, mate?” he asks, his lips tickling down the side of my neck.

I let out a soft moan when Jude nips at an extremely sensitive spot beneath my ear. He licks the same spot, and I swear I can feel his velvety tongue everywhere.

“Love how responsive you are. Love everything about your gorgeous fucking body,” Jude whispers as he kisses my shoulder, my chest, lower, lower. He rolls me on my back and lifts my shirt so he can kiss my stomach.

My man keeps working his way down my body, nipping at the waistband of my leggings. I nod in encouragement, loving how eager he is. I know we’re not going to sleep together tonight. I’m not quite ready for that. Plus, the mating moon is almost here.

That doesn’t mean my body isn’t crying out for more of Jude’s touch, his hot breath on my skin, his teeth scraping down my flesh.

He has me naked from the waist down in the next second, nearly ravenous for me. God, it’s such a turn-on knowing this man wants me. This… extraordinary man, well, shifter, who has done nothing but try to earn my trust and keep me safe. I really love knowing we’ll be each other’s first everything.

I’m pulled from my thoughts, letting out a surprised gasp when he grips my thighs and spreads me wide open. My first instinct is to cover myself up, but I want him to see. I want him to take whatever he needs.

“Mine.”

It”s the last word I register before Jude flattens his tongue and licks me from bottom to top. I whimper at the foreign and fierce pleasure rocketing through me and stealing my breath. He rolls his tongue against my clit and then sucks it into his mouth, ripping an unexpected orgasm from deep in my core.

Jude growls hungrily, never letting up as my muscles tense and release over and over. He slides his hands under my ass, squeezing my soft flesh as he pulls me forward and devours everything I’m giving him.

He licks my pussy as though he’s punishing it, the fingertips of his right hand slowly creeping up my inner thigh until they reach my sensitive folds. His thumb teases my entrance with terrible, wonderful nudges.

My skin grows heated and so, so slick as he massages my pulsing hole and flicks my clit with his tongue. Jude sucks it gently, and then his middle finger slides inside my tight channel, pushing in deep and stretching me wide. My hips flex as I moan and claw at his back.

“Oh my God...oh fuck...oh fuck,” I shout, bowing my back off the mattress. Jude spreads his hand over my stomach and pushes me back down, forcing me to feel every stroke of his tongue on my swollen, sensitive flesh.

I grab his hair and hold him close as I rock my hips against his teeth and tongue. Jude growls roughly, the vibrations rattling through me and spiking my pleasure. His hands slide up my torso, under the hem of my shirt, until they cup my breasts. I whimper when he pinches my nipples, feeling the sweet, painful ecstasy all the way down in my throbbing pussy.

He does it again, this time biting down gently on my clit. Sharp, exquisite pleasure slices through me, breaking me open as I cry out my release. Jude drinks me down and licks me clean before looking up at me. I can’t speak, I can only gasp for air and tremble as the last of my orgasm leaves me, taking all of my strength with it.

“Fucking beautiful,” he whispers harshly before kissing his way up my torso. “I’ll give you that and so much more, every single day, if you’ll let me.”

Jude hovers over me and cups my cheek with one hand. I nod, brushing my lips against his. I taste a hint of myself, and to my complete surprise, it sends a wave of tingling pleasure down to the very tips of my toes.

I go in for a real kiss, ready for more. Jude groans and tilts my head, consuming me, breathing me in, somehow satisfying my need while making it deeper at the same time. I think I”ll always need him, but I know now he needs me, too.

He breaks the kiss, nuzzling into the side of my neck, and heaving out a breath. I feel his thick cock grind against my thigh through his jeans. I reach down to touch it, wanting to give him the kind of pleasure he just gave me, but Jude loops his fingers around my wrist and pulls my hand away.

I give him a questioning look, but he just smiles at me and gently turns me on my side so my back is facing his front. Jude curls his big, muscular frame around my body, wrapping me up in his embrace and holding me close.

“What about you?”

He chuckles and kisses the back of my neck. “I’ll be fine, sweet girl. You need rest and I wanted to make sure you were relaxed. Are you relaxed?”

“Mmhm,” I mumble, closing my heavy eyelids.

His lips curl up into a smile against my skin before he kisses my shoulder. “Good.

It’s the last thing I remember before falling into the deepest sleep I’ve ever had.