Chapter 22 Corin
CORIN
She came back.
That was all Corin could think as Chloe stepped back into his house and shut the door behind her. She'd been leaving. He'd watched her walk away, had felt his bear whine in protest even as he'd forced himself to stay still, to respect her need for time.
And then she'd come back.
"Chloe? Is something—"
She crossed the room in quick strides and pressed her mouth to his.
This kiss was different from the one before. Harder. More desperate. Her fingers curled into the front of his shirt, pulling him down to her, and when she spoke against his lips, her voice shook.
"I still need time. But I'm tired of fighting what I already know."
His hands found her waist, steadying her, steadying himself. "What do you know?"
"That I want this. Want you." She pulled back just enough to meet his eyes, and what he saw there made his chest ache.
Vulnerability. Determination. Fear, yes, but not of him.
Fear of herself, of what she was admitting.
"I've been so scared of hoping for something real that I almost walked away from it. "
"You can still walk away." The words cost him everything, but he meant them. "I told you. The choice is yours."
"I know." Her hands slid up his chest, over his shoulders, coming to rest at the back of his neck. "I'm choosing to stay."
Something broke open inside him. This was different. This was permission. This was her, choosing him, not because fate demanded it but because she wanted to.
He kissed her again, slower this time. Savoring. Her lips were soft, slightly chapped from the cold, and she tasted like chamomile tea and something sweeter underneath. His mate. His chosen mate, choosing him back.
"We don't have to do anything tonight," he murmured against her mouth. "We can just... be. Talk. Whatever you need."
"I need you." She said it simply, without hesitation. "I've needed you for longer than I wanted to admit."
His control, already frayed, slipped another notch. "Chloe."
"Show me what it feels like. Being yours." Her fingers threaded through his hair, tugging gently. "Not the bond. Not the magic. Just... us."
Just us.
He could do that. He could give her that.
He lifted her easily, one arm beneath her knees, the other cradling her back. She made a surprised sound but didn't protest, her arms winding around his neck as he carried her toward the stairs.
"Your shoulder," she said, eyeing the bandage.
"Doesn't hurt."
"Liar."
"Doesn't hurt enough to matter." He planted a kiss to her forehead as he climbed. "Nothing hurts when you're in my arms."
The bedroom was simple, like the rest of the house. A large bed with a hand-carved headboard, thick quilts in earth tones, a window that looked out over the moonlit orchard. He set her down on the mattress and stepped back, giving her space.
She looked at him, pale blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders, green eyes luminous in the low light. Beautiful. She was so beautiful it made his chest hurt.
"I've never done this before," she said quietly. "Not like this. Not with someone who... matters."
"Neither have I."
Her eyebrows lifted. "You've never—"
"I've had sex. But not with my mate. Not with someone I love." The word slipped out before he could stop it, and he watched her face carefully for her reaction.
She didn't flinch. Didn't pull away. Instead, something warm and wondering came across her face.
"You love me?"
"Since before I knew what you were to me.
" He crouched in front of her, taking her hands in his.
"I watched you in Freya's garden that first week, the way you talked to the plants like they could hear you.
The way you smiled when you thought no one was looking.
I was already falling before my bear recognized you. "
Her fingers tightened around his. "I thought you barely noticed me."
"I noticed everything." He brought her hands to his lips, pressing a kiss to each knuckle. "The way you bite your lip when you're thinking. The way you hum when you work. The way you smell like green growing things and sunshine even in the dead of winter."
"Corin..."
"You don't have to say it back. I'm not asking for anything except what you're willing to give."
She leaned forward and kissed him, soft and sweet. "I'm willing to give you tonight. And tomorrow. And however many days it takes for me to stop being afraid of how much I feel for you."
That was enough. That was more than enough.
He rose and kissed her deeper, one hand cupping her jaw, the other sliding into her hair. She melted against him, her body softening, her lips parting to let him in. He tasted her slowly, thoroughly, learning the shape of her mouth, the sounds she made when he did something she liked.
Her hands found the buttons of his flannel, fumbling slightly as she worked them open.
He helped her, shrugging the shirt off his shoulders, then pulling the thermal over his head.
The cool air hit his skin, but he barely noticed.
All his attention was on her face, on the way her eyes darkened as she took in the expanse of his bare chest.
"You're..." She swallowed. "You're very large."
A laugh rumbled in his chest. "Bear shifter."
"I noticed." Her hands pressed flat against his pectorals, tracing the contours of muscle, the scatter of dark hair. Her touch was tentative at first, exploratory, growing bolder when he made a low sound of appreciation. "Is this okay?"
"Everything you do is okay." He caught her wrist and pressed her palm over his heart. "Feel that? That's what you do to me."
His heart was pounding, hard and fast, betraying exactly how affected he was. She smiled, a real smile, the kind that crinkled the corners of her eyes.
"I like knowing I do that to you."
"You do more than that." He pulled her to her feet and turned her gently, his fingers finding the zipper at the back of her dress. "May I?"
"Yes."
The zipper whispered down, revealing the pale curve of her spine, the clasp of a simple cotton bra. He pushed the dress off her shoulders and let it pool at her feet, then just looked at her.
Soft curves. Freckled shoulders. A body made for comfort and warmth, for holding and being held. She shivered under his gaze, goosebumps rising on her skin.
"You're staring."
"I'm appreciating." He turned her back to face him, his hands settling on her waist. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"You don't have to—"
"I'm not flattering you. I'm telling you the truth." He kissed her mouth, her cheek, the soft spot beneath her ear. "Every inch of you is perfect to me."
She shuddered, her hands gripping his arms for balance. "Corin. Please."
"Please what?"
"Touch me. Really touch me."
He unhooked her bra with steady fingers and let it fall away. Her breasts were full and soft, the nipples already peaked from cold or arousal or both. He cupped them gently, reverently, and she gasped at the contact.
"Like this?"
"Yes." The word came out breathy, uneven. "More."
He lowered his head and took one nipple into his mouth, sucking gently, rolling it with his tongue.
She cried out, her fingers diving into his hair, holding him against her.
He lavished attention on one breast, then the other, until she was trembling and making desperate little sounds that went straight to his cock.
"Bed," she managed. "Now."
He eased her back onto the mattress, following her down, his body covering hers without crushing her. The contact was electric, bare skin against bare skin, and his bear rumbled with satisfaction at finally having her beneath him.
But he held back. This wasn't about claiming. This was about showing her what she meant to him, about earning her trust with every touch.
He kissed his way down her body. Her throat, where her pulse fluttered wildly. Her collarbone, the dip between her breasts. The soft swell of her stomach, the jut of her hipbones. He hooked his fingers in the waistband of her underwear and looked up at her.
"Still okay?"
"If you stop now, I will kill you."
He grinned against her skin and pulled the fabric down her legs, leaving her bare before him. She was gorgeous. Pale blonde curls between her thighs, her pussy glistening with arousal. The scent of her hit him like a drug, sweet and musky and utterly intoxicating.
"Corin." Her voice cracked. "What are you—"
He lowered his head and licked a slow stripe through her folds.
She bucked against him with a sharp cry, her thighs clenching around his head. He settled his hands on her hips, holding her steady, and set about learning every secret of her body.
She was responsive. God, she was responsive. Every swipe of his tongue drew a new sound from her lips. Moans and gasps and half-formed words that might have been his name. He circled her clit with the tip of his tongue, then sucked gently, and she nearly came off the bed.
"Oh god. Oh god, Corin, I can't—"
"You can." He slid one finger inside her, feeling her clench around him. Tight and hot and wet. "Let go, Chloe. I've got you."
He worked her with his mouth and his hand, building the pressure slowly, backing off when she got too close, dragging out the pleasure until she was writhing beneath him, begging incoherently.
"Please. Please, I need—"
"Tell me what you need."
"You. Inside me. Please."
He kissed his way back up her body, pausing to worship her breasts again before claiming her mouth. She could taste herself on his lips, and instead of pulling away, she kissed him harder, her tongue tangling with his.
He reached down to unfasten his jeans, shoving them and his boxers down his hips. His cock sprang free, hard and aching, and when it brushed against her thigh, she made a sound that was half moan, half whimper.
"I don't have—" he started.
"I'm on birth control. And I'm clean."
"So am I."
"Then stop talking and—"
He silenced her with a kiss as he positioned himself at her entrance. One slow, steady push, and he was inside her.
They both groaned at the sensation. She was tight around him, impossibly tight, her body stretching to accommodate his size. He held still, giving her time to adjust, his arms trembling with the effort of not moving.
"Okay?" he managed.
"More than okay." She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him deeper. "Move. Please move."
He started slow. Long, deep strokes that let her feel every inch of him. She clung to his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
"You feel incredible," he groaned, pulling back until just the tip of him remained inside her, then sliding deep again. "So hot. So tight.”
He buried his face in her neck and began to move faster, harder, driven by an instinct older than thought. She met him thrust for thrust, her hips rising to take him deeper, her body arching beneath his.
He shifted his angle, searching, and knew he'd found it when she cried out sharply, her nails raking down his back. There. He focused on that spot, driving into her with steady, relentless pressure, feeling her clench around him each time he hit it.
"Corin." His name came out broken, desperate. "Oh god, right there. Don't stop."
"Never." He braced himself on one forearm and slid his other hand between their bodies, finding her clit with his thumb. She jolted at the contact, a high keen escaping her throat. "I could do this forever. Feel you wrapped around me. Hear the sounds you make."
She was so wet he could hear it, the slick sound of their bodies joining filling the room along with her moans and his ragged breathing. He circled her clit in time with his thrusts, slow and deliberate, building the pressure until she was writhing beneath him.
"You're so beautiful like this," he breathed against her ear, his voice rough with need. "Coming apart for me. Letting me see you."
"Only you." She turned her head to capture his mouth, the kiss messy and uncoordinated but perfect. "Only ever you."
The pleasure built like a wave, slow and inexorable. He could feel her getting close, could feel the flutter of her inner walls around his cock, the way her thighs trembled where they gripped his hips. Her fingers clenched desperately in his hair, tugging hard enough to sting.
"That's it," he murmured, his thumb pressing harder against her clit. "Let go. I want to feel you come on my cock."
Her whole body tensed, her back bowing off the mattress, and then she shattered with a cry that might have been his name, her whole body convulsing, her pussy gripping him so tight he saw stars.
He thrust through her orgasm, prolonging it, wringing every last tremor from her body before finally letting himself go.
His release hit him like a thunderclap. He spilled inside her with a groan that might have been her name, his hips jerking, his vision whiting out at the edges. The pleasure seemed to go on forever, wave after wave, until he was empty and trembling and collapsed against her.
For a long moment, neither of them moved. They lay breathing hard, sweat cooling on their skin. Corin shifted just enough to take his weight off her, but he didn't pull out. Didn't want to break the connection yet.
"That was..." Chloe's voice was hoarse. "I don't have words."
"Neither do I." He pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. "Are you okay?"
"I'm better than okay." She turned her head to look at him, and what he saw in her eyes made his heart clench. Tenderness. Trust. Something that looked a lot like the love she hadn't said yet. "I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."
He gathered her near his chest, pulling the quilts up around them. The fire had burned down to embers, but neither of them moved to stoke it. They had each other for warmth.
"Stay tonight," he whispered into her hair.
"I wasn't planning on leaving."
"Good." He kissed the top of her head. "Because I'm not sure I could let you go."
She laughed softly, her body relaxing into his. "Possessive bear."
"Only with you."
They lay in comfortable silence, her head pillowed on his chest, his hand tracing lazy patterns on her back. The mate bond hummed between them, stronger now, but that wasn't what made this moment perfect. What made it perfect was her choice. Her trust. Her body soft and sated in his arms.
"Corin?"
"Mmm?"
"I think I love you too." The words came out quiet, almost shy. "I'm not ready to say it for certain yet. But I think... I think I'm getting there."
He tightened his arms around her. "Take all the time you need," he said. "I'll be here."