Rough and Rugged: A Meet Me In Milwaukee Charity Anthology

Chapter Eight

Axton

The crackling of a fire roused me. For a moment, I forgot where I was until the cobwebs of sleep slowly cleared from my brain. I was inside the cabin I had stumbled upon last night.

Hint of pine and musk, fused with charred wood, stirred my dick awake. So strange. With my eyes still closed, I snuggled into solid, firm heat, not wanting to face the desolation of my current situation.

Then my eyes popped open, and I faced a wall of… chest hair?

Am I dreaming again?

I had to be. There was no way I’d wake up and find myself face to face with a tempting sight. My lips were mere millimeters away from a dusky, pierced nipple. My mouth watered for a taste.

Just stick out your tongue and lick it, I urged myself.

But I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to suck and bite and savor the enticing treat before me. Hell, if I was still asleep and dreaming, then there’d be no repercussions from my actions. Right?

I tilted my head slightly and sucked the taut nipple into my mouth. With my teeth on the tender flesh, I pursed my lips and claimed it.

A quiet, deep groan from the owner of the succulent bud froze me in place.

Shit, I’m not dreaming after all.

I eased off the tempting flesh and slowly moved back. With my elbow anchored to the mattress, I rose until I had a clear view of the man’s face.

Beare.

My breath hitched at the sight, but I wasn’t afraid. Deep down, I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. Because if that was the case, he would have already, instead of sleeping beside me like he belonged there.

Damn, I should get up and leave, but I had so many questions—especially about his…. Animal? His bear? I inwardly shivered at the memory of what I’ve seen. And what had he called me? His mate?

Thank goodness Beare was still asleep, because this was my chance to truly get a better look at the man without fear. Tall, broad chested, and with body hair I could surely rub my entire form against. My skin tingled, imagining the sensation.

My eyes trailed down to his covered hips. I licked my lips and pictured the hidden treasures awaiting me. Inches from touching him, I pulled my hand back and closed my eyes. I had no right to look.

After regaining control of myself, I opened my eyes and stared into Beare’s amber eyes, each ringed with glowing gold. I never saw anything more beautiful and strange.

“Axton.” His rough but honeyed voice had my dick going from semi to rock hard. Beare wickedly smiled. “Good morning, sweetheart.”

“B-Beare?” I stuttered out his name, not from fear, but from sudden lust coiling tight in my belly.

He slowly sat up. His reddish blond hair was gloriously messed. “Don’t be afraid.”

“I’m not.” I lied. With Beare awake, a tiny bit of fear trickled in. Not of the man, but of his animal.

It wasn’t like the panicked dream I had, where Beare’s animal form was licking me all over. I was afraid the beast was going come out and eat me.

I swallowed deep, glancing at the door and then at the chair I had wedged under the handle. “How did you get in here?”

“Through the window.” He said it so casually, like he did that all the time.

“Oh,” I gulped.

“Don’t be afraid, mate.” Beare leaned in close, with a devilish grin that had goose bumps erupting across my entire body. My heart jumped with anxious excitement. “You know I would never hurt you.”

“I know,” I cautiously said. “What do you mean by mate? You said that yesterday, too. And what I saw…” I couldn’t finish. Maybe my aunt was right and I was going crazy.

“Can we have some coffee first?” Beare interrupted my spiraling thoughts.

I sat up straighter. “You… want coffee?”

“This conversation needs coffee.” Beare climbed out of the bed, and holy monster sized… My eyes widened at the marvelous and scary sight before me. This man was hung. Huge. His cock was nestled amid glorious reddish blond hair, the same shade as on his head. I should look away before I came in my pants, but I was too enthralled.

Then I heard grunts.

Beare went to the door, opened it, and stepped out.

I heard him utter something, then he came back inside with a green backpack.

“Who were you talking to?” My attention shifted to the window, then back on Beare.

“My cousins.”

“Cousins?”

“Yes,” he clipped. “When you took off into the woods yesterday, my family had just arrived. With their help, we tracked you here to the old homestead.”

I slid to the edge of the mattress. “You scared the crap out of me,” I confessed.

Now fully clothed, Beare stalked toward the bed, his golden eyes blazing with ire. “I get that and I’m sorry. But instead of talking and letting me explain, you took off and got lost,” he gritted out. “There are predators out here that won’t think twice about seeing you as food. You could have been seriously hurt, or worse.”

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but I had nothing to counter that. Beare was right. Though, who could think straight when one saw a bear shifting into a man? Still, that was no excuse for putting myself in danger.

I dropped my chin to my chest. “You’re right.”

“I am.”

For the next several minutes, quiet settled in the cabin. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, but I waited for Beare to finish with the coffee.

I had questions, particularly about the mate thing, but the aroma of java infusing the small space distracted me. I inhaled, and yearned for a taste.

Beare turned from the makeshift counter, two cups in his hands. He extended one out to me. I carefully reached out and took the mug—without touching him.

The heat from the cup warmed my hands as I took a grateful sip. “Now you have your coffee. Please explain.”

“Before I explain about you being my mate, I want to clarify to you about this world—my world.” He pulled up the very chair I had propped against the door and sat. “You, as a human, aren’t aware of the supernatural world I was born into.”

“Supernatural world?” I was intrigued. “I thought that was only in books.”

Beare chuckled. “Yes, the supernatural world does exist. Shifters of all kinds, magic folks—both in other and human forms. We’ve coexisted with the humans for thousands of years. Granted, there were moments in history that our kind were seen by humans. But that was rare.”

“All kinds? Magic? Other and human?” I shook my head, utterly gobsmacked. “So, there are different kinds of animal shifters. Magic is real. But others? Like witches and…” I wanted him to fill in the blank.

“Demons and other things,” he whispered the words. The tension in his jaw relayed that the subject was too serious to talk about for the moment. That still didn’t fully explain things, but I didn’t push.

“What about this mate thing?” Trepidation coursed through me. I took a sip of coffee, needing another jolt of caffeine.

Beare paused, took my mug and put them both down on the nightstand. He then sat and took my hands in his. I sat there frozen; my heart thrashed against my ribcage as I focused on his face.

“Do you trust me?”

Do I?I glanced down at our clasped hands. His was big, calloused and warm. Not since Mrs. Muller, had I trusted anyone. But with Beare, there was sincerity and hope on his face that I couldn’t ignore.

“Yes,” I finally said.

“For many years, I was told there’s only one person for me. The one who’s a perfect match. One who gets me. But I thought it was only a myth. And then I saw you, Axton. Even though I caught your scent that first night, I didn’t believe it until I came back from my run. I scented you again and knew immediately that you are my fated mate.”

“I still don’t understand,” I admitted, and pulled my hands from his. I couldn’t sit there anymore. I got up and began pacing. “What do you mean by fated? Like destiny?”

“Yes.” Beare stood and came to me. “You and me. We are like missing puzzle pieces. We’re meant to be together.”

“Mating, is it like a sexual thing? Because I don’t know if that,” I pointed to his groin, “could fit…” My voice hiked up at the idea of Beare’s cock inside me.

“Mating is like a marriage. And it’s for life, Axton. As my fated mate, we only crave each other’s touch. No others. You complete me.”

I reflexively snorted, followed by uncontrollable laughter. I couldn’t help it as a familiar movie scene played in my head.

He frowned, and a deep groove formed between his eyebrows. “What’s so funny?” he growled, but I wasn’t afraid. I saw past his bravado. Beare was all bark and no bite.

“I’m sorry. But the second you said I complete you, a movie scene popped into my head.” I should be embarrassed by my actions, but I wasn’t and laughed harder.

He must have got the reference, because he ended up laughing with me. It was deep, and throaty, and so damn sexy I wanted to climb him like a tree and devour his mouth. But I restrained myself.

“I like your laugh.” Heat rose up my neck at my confession.

“I like yours, too.” Beare cupped my cheek. “I know this might be too soon for you to say yes, but Axton, I can’t leave here without you. My bear… Well, he wants to—and I…”

“What? Eat me?” I swallowed hard at the sudden panic choking me.

There went that devilish smile again. “Not in the way you’re thinking.” He winked, and my alarm vanished.

What the… “Ohhh. I understand—wait? Can we do—”

“No!” Beare cringed. “Not in my bear form. I much prefer skin to skin,” Beare’s eyes glowed a soft amber again. “Say you’ll be mine?”

It was freaky and awesome at the same time.

Mate. The notion that I was Beare’s mate was tough to comprehend. But so was a supernatural world that had coexisted with humans. I needed time to digest all that.

No matter how strange all this was, I felt safe with Beare, like he was my… my home. And no one had ever made me feel like that. Furthermore, I was extremely attracted to him.

Could I be his mate? There was only one answer. As crazy as it sounded—hell, this was crazy. I was crazy to even consider this situation. But every ounce of my being was telling me to go for it.

“Axton?” The questioning look across Beare’s face was adorable.

“Okay. Let me see your bear,” I insisted, folding my arms across my chest.

“What?” His eyes bugged out.

“Come on. If I’m your fated mate, I want to see your animal.”

Beare straightened to his full height, another mischievous smirk crossing his face. “Okay.”

Beare stripped out of his clothes and stood before me gloriously naked. Before I took another breath, he shifted into the biggest Grizzly I had ever seen.

I stood still as a statue, while Beare lumbered over and sniffed at me. He then proceeded to rub himself against me. His large head kept bumping against my arms, my hands, until I touched him.

His fur was a bit bristly and wiry, but soft at the same time.

With another hard bump, I stumbled backward, and landed on my ass. Before I could right myself, the bear hovered over me. For a beat, I feared he would crush me. Instead, he leaned down, sniffed, and licked my face.

“Eww. Gross.” I couldn’t say it was enjoyable to be licked by a hairy beast with claws that could easily shred me to pieces. I was just happy he didn’t bite me.