7. Chapter Seven
Cole spreads me open, then fully buries his face between my legs. He lashes at me, dragging his long, rough tongue against my sensitive flesh. On trembling legs, I arch my back and press into him. Wanting more. Needing more.
His hungry mouth roves over my pussy, sucking and slurping noisily. The sound of it echoes in my ears, bounces off the walls. Mingles with my whimpers and cries. Then he finds that little nub of pleasure and a low, throaty purr escapes me as he lays claim to my cunt with his filthy kisses.
Never have I felt like this.
So wanted and desired.
So utterly exposed.
“I dreamed about you. About this,” I rasp, hips rocking against his hot tongue. “About you touching me. Tasting me.”
“I’m going to do more than touch and taste. I’m going to devour you, Goldie. Make you mine. You’ll come on my fingers, my tongue, my cock. You’ll scream my name and beg for more.”
“Promises, promises,” I whimper as he presses a thick finger to my slick opening. “Show me.”
Then he slides in, and I clench around his finger, moaning. In response, he turns his head and lightly sinks his teeth into the curve of my ass.
The shock of it shoots an arrow of desire lancing through me, and I rock my hips backward while he takes a sharp intake of breath.
“Cole.” My thighs burn as I impale myself on his finger, over and over. But somehow, it’s not enough. “More.”
Then, in a flash, he spins me around. His mouth captures mine and I can taste traces of my own sweetness as he dominates the kiss. Hard and rough, his kiss inflames me, and two fingers plunge into my virgin pussy.
Hot.
Insistent.
Possessive.
Oh God, yes.
He stretches me, and I moan.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Goldie. Do you have any idea what you do to me? How much your scent drives me crazy?”
His words urge me to hike my hips higher and harder. I take more of his fingers into my tight channel, feeling both impossibly full and not full enough as I grow desperate with each pump of my hips.
His eyes gleam quicksilver, shining with barely controlled restraint as he bends his head and captures one nipple in his mouth. One sharp suck, a clever twist of his fingers, and he hits a spot that has me mewling. Grinding. Fisting my hands in his hair.
He growls into my ear. “That’s it, baby. Let me give this pussy everything she wants. I want you dripping. Soaking me.”
I claw at his shoulders, sobbing. “I want you.”
When his mouth slips over my neck and his palm grinds against my clit, I shatter. A rush of heat shudders through my body, pouring over his fingers. He withdraws, brings his hand to his mouth and he licks my come off his hands with a look of ecstasy on his face while the hunger inside me roars to life again.
I eye the thick, hard length of his wet, shining cock, and while he’s busy licking every last trace of me from his fingers, I grip him in my hand. He hisses, frozen in place while I sit on the tiled bench running along the far edge of the shower.
“Rae…”
“Let me.” I give him a testing stroke. His eyes light up, burning with lust as I wrap both hands around him. “Can’t even get my fingers to touch, Cole. Is this another one of those shifter gifts, too?”
He nods. “Bear-sized man. Bear-sized…”
“Mmm.” Excitement zips through me as I lower my mouth to lap at the bead of moisture topping his broad crown.
He sucks air, bracing a hand on the glass behind me and thrusting forward like a heat-seeking missile aiming for my throat.
A wicked shiver runs through me as I make a tsking noise. “Like that, do you? Tell me what to do to please you.”
“Tighten your grip,” he growls, eyes closing as I do so. “Slide your hands up and down my shaft. Yes, like that. Faster.”
I find a rhythm that matches his rocking hips, smiling when his groans give way to animalistic grunts. An intoxicating surge of power pulses in me as I open my mouth as wide as I can, then wrap my lips around his swollen tip. I run my tongue over his ridges, swirling it over the smooth head and dipping into the slit at the top.
“Fuck. I won’t last much longer.” He drives his hips forward, slipping along my two-handed grip and further into my mouth. Then he grabs hold of my wet hair and guides my head along his length. I bob my head faster, humming at the sweet and salty taste of him. “I’m going to come.”
He tries to withdraw, but I hold fast and tighten my grip. Drawing forward, I swallow down his cock. Feel him nudge against the back of my throat. Hear him curse loudly. Then he shudders, roaring with release as hot, sticky cum fills my mouth. The edges of my vision go hazy as I drink his seed down, tasting spurt after spurt as it hits my tongue. Unable to keep up, it seeps from the corners of my mouth and dribbles down my chin as he gently pulls away from me.
“Oh, sweetheart. You didn’t have to do that.” He sits beside me, tugging me into his lap and wiping the edges of my lips with his thumb.
“I wanted to. I like it.” I lean forward and lick the last of his cum from the pad of his finger. “Next time, I want it inside me. If it’ll fit.”
“It’ll fit. You’re my mate, my perfect match. We’ll just have to make sure you’re ready for me.” His eyes darken, that reflective quality shining in them as he cradles my face and strokes my cheek before bending low for a sweet kiss. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up and fed.”
I smile as he leads me under the warm spray of water and lathers me up while my heart stutters in my chest.
“Watch out now. I could get used to this kind of treatment.”
He lifts his gaze to meet mine. “So could I.”
At his words, something shiny and beautiful and different from pure lust takes root inside me and sprouts.
After sharing a take-out pizza for two under the stars and getting to know each other better, we make our way back to the cabin under the light of a half-moon, hand-in-hand. A companionable silence settles between us, but I can sense that something’s changed. The air around us is charged, pregnant with possibilities and swirling with a magical, otherworldly energy.
Must be the nearby portals and the enchanted effects of this land, but somehow, I feel so comfortable and at home in ways that I never felt back in California. Maybe it’s the sound of the breeze rustling the leaves, the fresh air, or the expansive space that surrounds us.
Or maybe it’s the man at my side.
I turn my head to glance at Cole and catch him staring at me. Smiling, I give his hand a small squeeze. He squeezes back and that funny little feeling worms its way through me again, making my stomach flip.
I could put roots down here. Call this place home.
“It must be nice to work so close with family.”
“You haven’t met them yet,” he says. “Maybe withhold judgment until you do. Clay can be a moody bear and Connor’s the social one. But Mama is all mama bear.”
“Oh yes, I’ve exchanged several emails with Melanie while we were planning the event. She seems lovely.”
“She is—when she’s not needling us all about giving her some grand-cubs or hovering around us trying to take care of us all even though we’re all grown up.” He pauses for a minute, then squeezes my hand.
I smile. “Mama bear sounds like it suits her perfectly. I wish I was close to mine, but my family’s busy. Always jetting off here, there, and everywhere. We don’t even get together for Christmas anymore. It’s just a phone call or a card someone’s assistant got stuck sending out.”
“Really? But, if I remember right, aren’t there a whole litter of you? You’re not connected?”
“There are six of us. Gia, Malcolm, Xander, Iseul, Wiley, and me. I’m sure you’ve seen or heard of a few of them.” I reach up to touch the gemstones dangling from my neck. “Everyone thinks we must’ve had such a charmed life to be adopted by such a famous A-lister couple. And yeah, my parents adopted us all and gave us every material comfort, but I still have questions I wish I could’ve asked my biological parents. I don’t even know who they were, what they were like.”
Questions like why didn’t they want me? Why didn’t they keep me? Why did they leave me with nothing except a gemstone pendant?
I push the thoughts aside. Now’s not the time to get into that mess. “Instead, I landed with a family that I share very little common ground with. They all crave attention and spotlight where I just want to hole up, read, and write. I’m the only anomaly. In their view, I’m a massive screw up.”
Cole quirks a brow in surprise. “I highly doubt that. You’re wildly successful and creative. Got a sold-out on-site event next year that says so. Why wouldn’t they be proud of what you do?”
I huff out a breath. “Because they think it’s a phase. I have a track record for starting things and not finishing them. They’re convinced this will all end in disappointment—for me, for my publisher, for all the fans. And so far, they’ve been right. I came here hoping to recover my writing mojo.”
“They’re not right. You’ve been working hard. I’ve seen you. How’s it been going?”
“Yeah, better than I expected, actually. I’m getting there, but I’m still worried I won’t be able to pull it off.”
“Your track record is your past. It doesn’t define the path you choose to walk from this moment forward.”
“Yeah? Try telling my family that.”
“Family should be there to support you, build you up when you need it, or maybe give you a swift kick in the ass, if necessary. Not add to your stress and make you doubt yourself. You shouldn’t have to live up to anyone else’s expectations but your own.”
“But everyone wants—”
“Everyone else can suck it,” he bites out. “You get to decide what you do or don’t do, Goldie. You control your own destiny. You’re the boss. What matters is what you want. So, what is that? What do you want?”
Heart pounding, I open my mouth and the truth tumbles out. “To belong.”
Cole yanks me to him and hugs me tight. Planting a soft kiss along my temple, he murmurs into my hair. “You belong, Goldie. You belong with me.”
I inhale the pine and berry scent clinging to his skin and wish it was the truth.
Then he takes a deep breath and lets it out, long and slow. “Rae, you’re my mate.”