Chapter 12 Kaidan
TWELVE
KAIDAN
Kaidan had been pacing his private chambers like a caged animal for over an hour.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Tessa standing so close to him that her sweet scent wrapped around him like a drug.
The memory of how she'd looked up at him, her green eyes wide with awareness, made his hands clench into fists at his sides.
Damn it all to hell.
His bear prowled eagerly beneath his skin, growling with frustration at being denied what belonged to them for so long.
After nearly losing her to that fire—after carrying her unconscious body in his arms and feeling the terror of what could have been—he couldn't pretend anymore that he had time to waste on propriety or careful timing.
The mate bond pulsed between his ribs like a second heartbeat, urging him toward the woman sleeping just one corridor away.
His primal instincts yelled at him to claim her and to mark her, make her his in every way as so every shifter in Frosthaven knew exactly who she belonged to.
But first, she needed to understand what she meant to him—what they meant to each other.
Screw waiting for the right moment.
Decision made, Kaidan strode from his chambers before his rational mind could talk him out of it.
The palace corridors felt endless as he covered the short distance to her guest suite, his heart hammering inside his chest like it was trying to break free.
He paused outside her door, drawing in a steadying breath that did absolutely nothing to calm the storm raging inside him.
He knocked, three firm raps that echoed in the quiet hallway.
"Just a minute," came her muffled voice from inside.
When the door opened, Kaidan's brain short-circuited completely.
Tessa stood before him in a sheer white nightgown that Elora must have loaned her, the delicate fabric skimming her curves in ways that made his mouth go dry.
The moonlight filtering through the windows turned the material nearly transparent, revealing the dark peaks of her nipples and the gentle flare of her hips.
His enhanced shifter vision caught every detail—the way the silk clung to her full breasts, the graceful line of her throat, and the slight flush that crept up her neck as she realized what he could see.
His arousal was immediate and fierce, tightening his jeans uncomfortably as his bear rumbled with approval.
"Kaidan?" Her voice came out slightly breathless, and he caught the subtle shift in her scent—the sweet spike of desire that told him she was just as affected by their proximity as he was. "What are you doing here so late?"
"I need to talk to you." His voice came out husky, and he cleared his throat. "May I come in for a minute?"
She hesitated, her teeth catching her lower lip in a gesture that made him want to lean down and capture that mouth with his own. But then she stepped back, opening the door wider.
"Of course."
She led him to the sitting area, her bare feet silent against the polished stone.
The nightgown swayed with each step, and Kaidan had to clench his jaw to keep from reaching out and pulling her against him.
She settled onto one end of the plush sofa, tucking her legs beneath her, and he took the other end—close enough to catch her scent but not so close that he'd lose what remained of his self-control.
"I need to explain myself," he said, leaning forward. "About why I've been acting..."
"Overprotective? Possessive? Like you know some big secret about me that everyone else is in on?" Her green eyes sparkled with a mixture of curiosity and challenge that made his bear puff with pride. His mate was no wilting flower.
"All of that." He ran his large hand through his thick blonde hair, searching for the right words. "From the moment we met three days ago, I knew something about you. Something important."
"What kind of something?"
"In the shifter world, there's a concept called fated mates." He watched her face carefully, looking for signs of fear or rejection. "It's like..."
"A soulmate?" she offered, her head tilting with scientific curiosity.
"More intense than that. Much more." His hands flexed against his thighs as he tried to find words adequate to explain the cosmic force that had rearranged his entire world.
"When a polar bear shifter finds his fated mate, he knows immediately.
The moment he scents her, touches her—there's this recognition that goes deeper than conscious thought.
She's the one he can't live without, the one who completes him, makes him whole. "
Tessa's eyes widened, and he could practically see her brilliant mind processing the implications. "That does sound intense. And pretty significant."
Kaidan's heart hammered as he prepared to lay his cards on the table. "Tessa, you're my fated mate."
The words hung in the air between them like a bridge neither of them had crossed yet. For a terrifying moment, he thought she might bolt—might demand he take her back to the research station immediately.
Instead, her face lit up with the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen.
"Well, that explains a lot," she said, her voice soft with wonder. "I've been trying to understand this magnetic pull I feel around you. I can't stop thinking about that moment we shook hands—it was like touching a live wire."
Relief flooded through him so powerfully that his hands shook. "You felt it too?"
"I've never felt anything like this with any other man in my life," she admitted, her cheeks flushing pink. "It's honestly a bit terrifying."
"I've never felt this for anyone either," he confessed softly. "And I'm equally terrified. The fact that you're human and my people are so fearful of humans is making everything more complicated."
Tessa leaned closer, close enough that he could see the gold flecks in her green eyes. "I don't want to make your life more complicated. You're a king—that has to be hard enough already."
"But I want you." The words tore from his throat with raw honesty. "I need you in my life, Tessa. I don't care how complicated it gets."
Something shifted in her expression—vulnerability giving way to determination, scientific caution melting into feminine want. "Kaidan..."
Like a dam breaking under impossible pressure, they moved toward each other with desperate hunger. His hands tangled in her dark hair as her fingers gripped the front of his sweater, and then his mouth was on hers and the world simply stopped.
The kiss was everything—fire and ice, desperate need and perfect completion. Her lips were soft and warm beneath his, parting on a sigh that made his bear roar with triumph. She tasted like honey and home, like everything he'd been searching for without knowing it.
Kaidan barely registered the distance from the sofa to the bed—one moment they were tangled in each other's arms, the next he was cradling Tessa against his chest as he carried her to the massive guest bed.
Her breath hitched when he laid her down, her dark hair fanning across the pillows like spilled ink.
Moonlight gilded every curve of her bare skin as he tugged the nightgown over her head, revealing the masterpiece beneath.
Mine.
The possessive growl vibrated in his chest as he drank her in—the swell of her breasts, the dip of her waist, and the generous flare of her hips. His cock strained against his jeans, demanding attention, but he ignored it. She deserved worship first.
"Tell me this is okay," he murmured, dragging his fingers down her throat.
Tessa arched into his touch, her green eyes dark with need. "Please don't stop."
That was all the permission he needed.
He claimed her mouth again, swallowing her gasp as his hands mapped her body—his palms skating over her soft skin, committing every shiver and every hitch of her breath to memory. When he trailed kisses down her neck, she whimpered, her fingers tangling in his thick hair.
"You taste like honey," he growled against her collarbone.
Her laugh was breathless. "That's the lotion Elora lent me."
"No, it's all you." He nipped the curve of her breast, grinning when she jerked beneath him.
Then he took a peaked nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue until she was writhing, her thighs clamping around his hips. He switched to the other, lavishing the same attention, relishing the way her back arched off the bed.
"Kaidan—" Her voice cracked.
"Patience." He kissed his way down her stomach, pausing to nip at the delicate skin of her hip. "I've waited my whole life for you. I'm not rushing this."
When he reached the apex of her thighs, her scent—sweet and musky with arousal—nearly undid him. He groaned, pressing his forehead against her inner thigh. "You're so perfect."
Then he buried his face between her legs. Her cries echoed off the stone walls as he licked into her, slow and thorough, savoring the way her hips jerked against his mouth. He added a finger, then two, curling them just right until she was gasping his name, her thighs trembling around his head.
"Look at me," he breathed softly against her sensitive skin.
Her eyes flew open, locking onto his as he sucked her clit between his lips. The second she came apart, her orgasm crashing through her, he felt it like a victory—her pleasure was his now, as essential as breathing.
He kissed his way back up her body, his cock aching with every brush of her skin against his. When he finally reached her mouth again, she was still shuddering.
"You're overdressed," she murmured, plucking at his sweater.
Kaidan didn't need to be told twice. He yanked the fabric over his head, then made quick work of his jeans and boxers. Her gaze raked hungrily over him—his muscular chest and abs, the thickness of his large cock jutting proudly between them.
Her breath caught. "Oh, wow."
He smirked. "Still okay?"
Tessa reached for him, her fingers wrapping around his shaft in a tentative grip that made his vision blur. "Very okay."
Kaidan groaned, his hips jerking into her touch. "Tease."
She laughed, the sound sweet and warm, and he realized—he'd never been happier.
Then she tugged him down, her lips brushing against his ear. "Stop talking and claim your mate, Your Majesty."
A growl ripped from his throat.
Gladly.
Kaidan's breath hitched as he entered her slowly, inch by agonizing inch, his cock stretching her tight, wet warmth.
Tessa's gasp was music to his ears, her eyes widening as she adjusted to him.
God, she was so warm, so soft, so his. Her inner walls clenched around him, and he had to grit his teeth to keep from losing control right then and there.
"You're so damn perfect, Tessa," he growled softly.
Her nails dug into his shoulders, her legs locking around his waist as she tilted her hips, urging him deeper. "More," she whispered, her voice trembling with need. "Please, Kaidan."
He obeyed, pulling out almost completely before thrusting back in, slow and deliberate.
Every movement sent waves of pleasure crashing through him, but it was more than just physical.
The mate bond pulsed between them, a living, breathing thing, tying them together in a way that was both terrifying and exhilarating.
He could feel her emotions—her desire, her growing trust, her raw vulnerability—and it made him ache in ways he couldn't describe.
"You feel that?" he murmured against her ear, nipping at the sensitive skin there. "This is us."
"I feel it," she gasped. "God, Kaidan, I feel everything."
Her words unleashed something deeply primal in him.
He quickened his pace, thrusting harder and deeper, each stroke drawing a moan from her lips.
Her body arched into his, her breasts pressed against his chest, and he lowered his head to capture a nipple in his mouth, sucking hard enough to make her cry out.
"Yes," she breathed, her nails scraping down his back. "Don't stop."
He had no intention of stopping. Not when she was trembling beneath him and her inner walls were clenching around him. Not when her sweet scent was driving him wild. Not when the bond between them was pulsing with raw, unrelenting power.
"You're mine," he growled, his voice low and possessive.
"I'm yours," she agreed, her eyes locked on his.
Her words sent a surge of emotion crashing through him, overwhelming in its intensity. He shifted his angle slightly, hitting that spot inside her that made her gasp and shudder. Her legs tightened around him, her hips bucking against his as she climbed higher and higher to ecstasy.
"Kaidan," she cried, her voice breaking. "I'm—I'm close."
"Come for me," he commanded, his voice a harsh whisper. "Let me feel you fall apart."
She obeyed almost instantly, her body convulsing around him as she cried out his name again.
Her orgasm was a thing of beauty, her inner walls pulsing and clenching around his cock in a rhythm that had him seeing stars.
He swore he felt the walls of the palace tremble in time with her shudders, the bond between them flaring so brightly it was almost blinding.
"That's it," he growled, his thrusts becoming erratic. "Take everything you need."
He plunged deep one last time, a loud groan tearing from his throat as his own orgasm crashed over him like a tidal wave.
Hot seed spilled into her, marking her as his in the most primal way possible.
For a moment, the world faded away, leaving only the two of them connected in every way that mattered.
When he finally came back to himself, he was still buried deep inside her, his body trembling with the force of his release. He pressed his forehead against hers, their breaths mingling as they both struggled to calm their racing hearts.
"You okay?" he asked, his voice rough with emotion.
She nodded, a soft smile playing on her lips. "More than okay."
He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, his touch tender despite the raw power still thrumming through him. "Good. Because I'm not letting you go. Not now, not ever."
As he held her close, his bear growled with satisfaction. She was his, body and soul, and he'd do whatever it took to keep her beside him. The bond between them was unbreakable now, and he knew without a doubt that his life had just changed forever.