Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
CHARLOTTE
Snuggling with Beck was like cozying up to a space heater.
I wasn’t complaining.
Tucked against his side, I rested my head in the space where his arm met his shoulder. He’d propped his iPad on a pillow over his thighs, and Love Island played on the screen.
When he first queued it up, I’d laughed. “You can’t be serious.”
Beck had shrugged. “Dmitri says it’s the best show on TV.”
The series had plenty of episodes to choose from, and we’d spent hours watching attractive people make questionable life choices.
Beck hadn’t complained when I left the bed to take two showers back to back, scrubbing my skin and hair to get rid of the lingering scent of scorched vampire.
He’d simply waited with a towel, patted me dry, and tucked me back into bed.
Then he’d disappeared downstairs and returned with a tray laden with homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches on thick slices of artisan bread.
After we ate, he kissed the top of my head and hit the play button as if nothing had happened.
Hours had passed. I’d drifted in and out of sleep. Everett had stopped by, and Beck stood by the window with his arms folded as Everett checked my vitals and tended the cuts on my feet. He’d declared me “really lucky” not to have suffered any frostbite.
Now, a dozen episodes later, Beck traced lazy circles on my upper arm. Dusk had fallen outside. We’d spent the entire day in bed, but I couldn’t hide forever. I couldn’t avoid the question that had buzzed in my brain since we left the clearing and Dr. Henry behind.
I tilted my head up so I could look at Beck. “How do I know I really love you?”
He stilled his fingers on my arm. “What?”
“What if Dr. Henry was behind that, too? He could have programmed me to care for you.”
Beck paused the show and set the iPad on the nightstand. Then he shifted his body higher on the pillows and faced me. “Impossible. Henry could manipulate you, but he couldn’t make you feel.”
“But he sent me here to lure you.” My throat tightened. “What if my feelings are just part of his plan?”
“Do you think a vampire who wanted to harvest us would program you to love us?” Beck asked gently. “To protect us and ultimately sacrifice your career for us?”
“Maybe he needed me to gain your trust first.”
Beck shook his head. “Henry could have sprung his trap at any time. He didn’t need you to love me. He just needed you to find me and lead me back to him. Then he planned to use you as leverage to guarantee my cooperation.”
Tears burned my throat. Dr. Henry had toyed with my head for nine years, manipulating me into doing whatever he wanted. “I’m not sure how much of my life is really mine,” I said. “I don’t know what’s real.”
Beck cupped my cheek. “This is real. You love me because you chose to, Charlotte. Every day you’ve been in Bear Cove, you’ve chosen to stay here. You chose to trust me. You chose to protect the clan. Those were all your choices, not Henry’s.”
“You think so?” I whispered, hope rising even as doubts continued to hover.
“I know so.” Beck nudged my glasses higher on my nose with a gentle finger.
“Think about all the times you acted against Henry’s interests.
You fell in love with me. You corrupted your data and compromised your career to protect the clan.
You destroyed Henry’s equipment and killed his prey.
” Beck touched my cheek, his eyes tender.
“If you were really under his control, would you have done any of that?”
My breath hitched. “I…no. He would have stopped me.”
“Exactly. That was all you, baby. Your defiance. Your strength. Your love.”
Tears spilled over my eyes. “My choices,” I said through a tight throat.
“That’s right.” Beck pulled me against him, and he stroked my hair as I breathed in his scent. My heart swelled, aching in a good way because it was so full. I’d come to Alaska trying to solve a mystery. And I had. Just not the one I was looking for.
No, this was better.
Desire flared. Suddenly, I needed a lot more from Beck than strong arms and reassuring words. I pushed at his shoulder until he eased away.
“Lie back,” I ordered.
Brows lifted, he slowly complied, settling against the pillows. I straddled his hips, and he sucked in a breath as he grasped my waist.
I hid my smile. “I want to make something very clear, Alpha.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I’m listening.”
My smile broke through my defenses. “I choose you. Not because of genetics or some cosmic force that decided we’re mates. I choose you because you’re kind, patient, and protective without being controlling. You gave me the space I needed to choose. And I choose you. Totally, completely, willingly.”
He tightened his grip on my waist, spanning it easily with his big palms. “I choose you too, sweetheart. Every day, for the rest of our lives.”
I pulled my shirt over my head, then reached back to unhook my bra. Beck’s eyes darkened as I tossed it aside. When I moved to push down my pajama pants, he lifted me so I could wriggle out of them.
When I straddled him in just my glasses and a pair of white silk panties, I bit my lip. “Should I keep the glasses on?”
His growl vibrated my thighs. The sound went straight between my legs, making my pussy clench.
I laughed. “I don’t speak bear, but I think that’s a yes.”
He slid his hands up my sides. “We should take this slow.”
I leaned down until my nipples brushed his chest. “I don’t want slow.”
His lips parted. Hesitation crossed his face. “Baby, after everything you’ve been through—”
“After everything I’ve been through, I need you to make me feel alive.
” I pressed my lips to his jaw. “I need you wild, Beck. I want you to claim me. Remind me that I’m yours and you’re mine.
” I sat up, dragging my hands over his forearms before sliding my palms to my breasts.
I squeezed gently, thrilling at the way he tracked my every move. “I don’t want careful. I want you.”
Lust gleamed in his eyes. “You’re sure?”
“Completely.” I rocked my hips, grinding my pussy on his stomach. I’d soaked my panties, and he moaned as the fabric pressed against his skin. “Will you fuck me like I want?” I asked.
Something primal and slightly dangerous flashed in his eyes. “Fuck, yes.”
He yanked me higher on his body, then set a record removing his sweatpants. We both shuddered as he repositioned me so his cock stuck straight up between us, precome glossing the head. Just when I expected him to remove my panties, he pulled the fabric aside and locked his gaze on my pussy.
He fingered the silk, his touch featherlight. “Keep these on, too.”
Heat crackled through me. Moisture pooled between my legs as I lifted up and then sank onto his cock.
The stretch was everything. Hot and hard and all-consuming. Just a little too much, which was utterly perfect.
“Baby…” Beck breathed, squeezing my hips.
Moisture leaked around the place where we joined.
Nostrils flaring, he dragged slow, gentle fingers through my arousal before painting it over my clit.
Tipping my head down, I watched him tease and stroke the most intimate part of me.
He tugged my panties more firmly to the side, the white silk a tantalizing contrast to my pink opening stretched taut around him.
My clit throbbed, and I trembled as he traced a soft circle around it.
“You’re so beautiful here, Charlotte. So slick and pretty. Like a ripe little berry.” He looked up, his finger still working its wicked magic. “Do you know what bears do when they find a little berry in the forest?”
My breathing was ragged as I shook my head.
Beck’s eyes glinted. “We eat it.” In one swift movement, he pulled me off his cock and planted my pussy directly over his face.
His beard abraded my inner thighs. Palming my ass, he spoke against my opening, his voice muffled and rough.
“We pluck pretty little berries off the tree and swallow them whole, baby girl.”
He sealed his mouth over my clit and sucked. Pleasure lashed me, my hips jerking against his face. He didn’t give me a chance to adjust, just gripped my ass in both hands and worked me over with his lips and tongue.
“Beck!” I cried out, clutching the headboard.
My heart thundered and my hips rolled. More cries spilled from me, the sounds drowned by the wet, filthy smack of Beck devouring my pussy.
Gripping me tighter, he lifted me enough to lick down to my asshole, dabbling his tongue around the sensitive muscle.
My gasp probably echoed all the way to Anchorage.
But I couldn’t be bothered to care as I clung to the headboard, my body caught up in a whirlwind of dark, forbidden pleasure.
His tongue was a hot, fluttering brand against my skin, the tip thrusting and stroking.
Then it was inside me, fucking me in a way I’d never imagined.
“Oh god,” I whispered, my thighs shaking.
“Mmm,” he growled. Relentless and dirty.
Wild and uninhibited. He speared me over and over as his big hands kneaded my ass.
He pulled my cheeks wide and delved his tongue deeper, every forbidden thrust accompanied by a hungry-sounding growl.
My glasses slipped down my nose, but I didn’t dare release the headboard.
I clung to it, pleasure threatening to sweep me off the bed and into a dark sea of bliss. And, oh god, I wanted to drown.
My body was a tightly wound spring, each coil twisting smaller and harder as Beck fucked my ass with his tongue.
Without warning, the spring broke. I screamed as I came, grinding on Beck’s face. His growl rumbled hard against my cleft, and his fingers bit into my cheeks. Then he pulled me down his face, buried his nose in my folds, and lapped and sucked at my clit.
Another orgasm tore through me. The edge of the headboard bit into my palms. Sobs spilled from me as my inner muscles clamped and waves of ecstasy pounded over me. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but ride Beck’s face while I shattered to pieces.
When the last aftershock subsided, he lifted me at last and flipped me onto my back. My legs sprawled wide, my body limp. He yanked my ruined panties down my thighs, shoved my knees to my chest, and plunged inside me in a single stroke.
We cried out in unison. My calves rested on his shoulders, my body folded in half. Fresh heat blasted me as he set a frenzied pace, his hips slapping sharply against mine. His eyes were two silver slits, his mouth and chin shiny with my arousal.
“I love you,” he said, his beast in his eyes. He fucked me harder, making the mattress squeal in protest. “You’re mine, Charlotte. No one will ever take you from me.”
Coming from anyone else, the possessive words would have been too much. But he wasn’t an ordinary man. And I didn’t want ordinary, anyway.
I only wanted him.
“Yours,” I gasped, my breasts bouncing from the force of his thrusts. Seizing his shoulders, I dragged him down and wrapped my legs around his waist.
His gasp was loud in my ear. Turning his head, he found my mouth and kissed me fiercely, stroking his tongue over mine as he deepened his thrusts.
The bed shuddered. The slap, slap of his skin against mine rose over our moans and labored breaths.
His cock swelled inside me, and I squealed as his shaft dragged roughly over my clit.
Then I was coming again, the tendons in my neck straining as I screamed into his mouth. He followed on a roar, thrusting a final time and then shuddering as his hot release flooded me.
Afterward, we lay facing each other on the pillows, both of us breathing hard. The wonder in Beck’s eyes mirrored the emotion swelling in my chest.
“Your glasses are crooked,” he murmured, carefully straightening them on my nose.
I laughed softly. “I’m surprised they stayed on at all.”
A smug smile touched his lips. “They know I like them. They wouldn’t dare fall off.”
Another laugh escaped. “So, even glasses do what you say?”
“Mmhmm.” He twirled a strand of my hair around his finger and used it to gently tug my lips to his. “Everyone around here does,” he said against my mouth. “I’m the alpha. When I give an order, people obey.”
Desire shivered through me. “And what kind of order do you have for me, Alpha?”
His lips curved against mine, and his fingers were achingly gentle as he slid them into my hair and cupped the back of my head. “Just let me love you, sweetheart. For the rest of our lives.”
“I think I can do that,” I whispered, and I surrendered to his kiss.