9. Chapter Nine
“What are you doing? Put me down!” I cry, resisting the urge to kick my feet and pummel his back with my fists like a petulant child. Not that it would do any actual harm. His back is strong and firm, and my God, why do I want to run my hands over every inch of muscle on his body?
I squirm, which only earns me a quick, stinging smack on the ass.
“You did not just do that.” My cheeks burn, even as the rest of my traitorous body flushes hot.
“I did. And I’ll do it again if you keep it up.”
Irritable and testy, I wiggle again, willing him to put me down, but his bare hand only lands harder and higher on my rounded ass. A squeal ekes out of me as I jerk against the sting and moisture floods the juncture of my thighs.
“I warned you.” His voice is choked, and I wonder if he can scent what kind of effect he’s having on me.
How humiliating.
“Stop that,” he growls. “Or I just might drop you, right on your pretty little head.”
I still, blowing out a breath and focus on the rapidly diminishing view of the lodge as he continues carrying me like a sack of flour. “Stop what? I’m not doing anything apart from trying to regain my legs.”
“Sure.” His hold on my thighs tightens, his fingers slipping further up my thighs, ever closer to the lace edging of my panties.
My face burns as I think about how close those thick fingers of his are to my sweet spot and how good they felt stretching me. I try to focus on his long strides and the crunch of his boots against the dried leaves and sticks underfoot.
There’s an easy motion and sway to his movement, and he must be so strong because I know I’m not a light woman, but he doesn’t sound like he’s struggling for breath or anything. In fact, he hasn’t even broken out in a sweat despite the warmer temperature and dwindling daylight.
“Well, I can see that you’ve made remarkable progress healing from our little run-in. You’re hardly limping at all now.”
“Yes, I seem to have rebounded quicker than expected.”
I can’t see his face, but I know by his tone that he’s frowning. Why would that puzzle him? Didn’t he say that his bear shifter gifts include accelerated healing?
“You know what, this is fine. I’m just making a note of all this for my book. I’m sure I can work in a scene where Bruno goes primal and throws his mate over his shoulder while dragging her deep into the forest for his own purposes.”
That earns me a growl, and I clamp down on my bottom lip. Maybe ruffling this guy’s fur just might get me somewhere.
“Of course, in my book, that would be for the purpose of some good old-fashioned sexy times. But I can’t even begin to think why you’re carrying me off when I’m meant to be having a nice home-cooked meal right now. I mean, you literally interrupted a business meeting your mom scheduled with me.”
“You’ve got a year to figure out the details of the event.” Cole sets me down and pins me between the hard planes of his body and the rough bark of a gnarled, ancient tree. “I’ve got less time than that to figure out the business between us. Especially if my brother’s going to wind me up by flirting with you. What, exactly, do you know about mates?”
“I…” My voice drops off as I glimpse the intensity etched in his face and the banked heat burning in his eyes. He’s so close, my every breath makes my breasts brush up against his chest and draws more of that fresh pine scent of him into my nostrils. His mouth is a firm, flat line, and I ache to trace it with my fingertips.
But no.
Last night, he’d said it was a mistake telling me about our connection. Now that I’ve had time to come to terms with the idea and get over the initial shock, it’s kind of thrilling to know I’m fated to be with this man.
“Everything you told me last night, and the stuff I’ve read online. I don’t know how it all works exactly, but it’s like the shifter equivalent of love at first sight or something. But deeper than that, and with guaranteed happily ever afters. Or, so they say. What did you mean when you said you’re bound to me?”
“I’m bound to you, heart and soul, mind and body. You will always have my undying devotion and loyalty. It means I’d die before I let anything happen to you.” He waits a beat, looking off into the distance. “And one’s mate will forever be a weakness that can be exploited or targeted by one’s enemies.”
“Well, naturally, anything one loves can be used as a weapon to hurt them.”
“Does this sound crazy to you? I know the bond has accelerated things between us, but you will never have to question where I stand. As your mate, my place will always be with you.”
“I write romance,” I say softly, reaching up and stroking his beard. “Of course I believe in a consuming love, whether it’s fated or chosen, whether it strikes at first sight or ignites a slow burn. I believe in the power of love to heal wounds, provide belonging, instigate change and transformation. It’s magic.”
Stroking his cheek and staring into those deep brown eyes of his, it hits me all at once that that’s really what’s been happening here in Fable Forest. I’ve been healing wounds I didn’t know I bore, finding a place that feels like home, and I’ve been changing.
Because of Cole. Because of our bond. Because, holy shit, I’m falling in love with him so fast.
“Does it scare you?” I ask.
“Yes. The mating bond and love my parents shared made my father a target, and after he was gone, I watched my mother buckle and nearly break under the weight of her grief.”
“What do you mean? What happened?”
Cole pulls away, kicking at rocks and sticks as he stares out over the valley for a long moment. When he speaks next, his voice sounds tight.
“My father didn’t die of natural causes. He was killed.”
I stare at his rigid back, the defeated slump of his shoulders, and the coiled tension rippling along his forearms as he folds his arms and tries to hold back his pain and grief.
“When I was a cub, there was a small, fanatical coven of witches who believed they were here to usher in a new era where they would rule supreme. They manipulated and recruited folks to their cause, and they sometimes used their magic to do it. They were like a cult.”
I can feel the energy emanating from him. His sense of loss strikes deep, unsettling me to my core and making me breathless. Is this what it means to be mated? To share each other’s joy and pain, victories and fears?
“They took my father from me, Rae. They killed him because they needed the blood of someone who’d experienced true love, and shifters are known for having fated mates we’d protect with our lives.” Cole shuts his eyes, blocking out the pain. “I never wanted to paint myself or someone else as that kind of target. I never wanted to experience the kind of soul-crushing devastation I watched my mama go through. Or worse, make someone else feel that despair.”
“I see.” I wait a beat, listening as the stream rushes past. “I’m sorry that happened to you, Cole. I know what it’s like to grow up without parents and to think about ‘what if’ all the time. I understand now why you wouldn’t want a mate. But now that you’ve met me, is that still true?”
“No,” he says firmly. “You’ve turned it all around on me, so hard and so fast. I don’t think I could leave your side if I tried. My bear wouldn’t allow it.”
“Is that why you yelled at Connor and dragged me away from your family?”
“I lost my goddamn mind when he touched you. All I could think is that I haven’t yet claimed you as my own, and I just couldn’t think in there.” He scrubs at his face. “Plus, Connor’s a shameless flirt who will doggedly chase after any woman who will indulge him. Seeing his hands on my mate? I was tempted to break his fingers off.”
“Are you jealous?” The idea has me quirking a brow at him.
“Not in the least.”
“So, what then? You’re worried I’ll kiss your brother?”
A dark look passes over his face and his eyes narrow. “You damn well better not, Goldie. I already told you that you’re mine.”
“Well,” I say as I inch away from him and back up a step, “as I understand it, I’m not yours until I agree and bear your mark.”
Cole’s brows snap together. “Are you daring me to give you one?”
“Well, I don’t typically go around kissing hot guys because they’re in front of me and just so happen to enjoy eating my muffins.”
The words echo back in my ears. It didn’t sound as dirty in my head, but Cole’s mouth twitches, and his gaze drags over my body like a rough caress. I shiver as an ache pulses between my thighs.
In a low voice thick with promise, Cole says, “I told you to stop that.”
“Stop what?”
“Wanting me.” His eyes flash with interest as he watches my slow, steady movements to put distance between us. “I can’t think when the air is thick with your arousal.”
“I can’t help it,” I whisper, cheeks hot and heart hammering. “You make me feel reckless and daring. Yesterday, you said touching me was a mistake, but if that’s true, all I want to do is make more mistakes.”
“Is that a fact?” He smirks, taking one predatory step in my direction before catching himself.
“Yep,” I quip brightly, stepping back and bumping up against the trunk of that old tree again. “Maybe I ought to make them with Connor…”
That ought to do it.
Cole’s eyes go liquid, and he lunges for me while I squeal and sidestep around the tree.
I break into a run. Legs pumping, thighs burning, chest heaving. I plant my feet into dirt and leaves and bob and weave under branches. A wild and giddy laugh bubbles out of me as I hear Cole’s heavy footfalls gaining on me.
Stupidly, I glance back to gauge the distance between us, and my foot catches on something. I lose my footing and go flying, arms flailing.
I brace myself for a rough landing when I feel Cole’s strong arms band around my waist and his muscled chest at my back. Together, we twist and hit the ground hard. Then, we roll a few times with Cole taking the brunt of the beating as he clutches me close and protects my head with his arms.
When we stop, his big body presses me into the cool, damp earth, and I lay on a bed of crushed woodland blooms. My legs are splayed open, and I’m all too aware of the press of Cole’s turgid length against my molten core.
“Crap,” I laugh. “That did not go how I thought it would. I can’t believe you didn’t catch me before I fell. Where were those lightning-fast reflexes when I needed them?”
“I tried,” he says, propping himself up on an elbow to brush leaves from my hair. “You were just out of reach. Are you hurt?”
“No. Are you?” I reach up and cup his face, examining a scratch there. It’s not deep or bleeding, and it doesn’t seem to be bothering him.
He shakes his head and nuzzles my palm. Shifting his weight, I swallow down a small moan when his erection rubs deliciously against my center.
“To be honest, it’s nice to see you off-balance and a little dirty,” he says.
“Why?”
His eyes search mine, and that live wire connection is there again, electrifying the air between us.
Because that’s what I feel when I’m around you. Off-balance. And like I want to get dirty with you.
My mouth drops open as his low timbre sounds in my head. But his mouth hasn’t moved. It’s still quirked up in that bemused smile he’s been leveling at me while swiping the dirt from my cheek.
I want to ask how it’s possible, but he bends his head and covers my mouth with his. The second his tongue touches mine, my brain goes blank, and my body goes up in flames.