Chapter 10
TEN
Ethan
Hannah had only been home for a few days since getting discharged from the hospital, and her irritation with me was obvious. I could sense it. She kept trying to sneak out of the cabin to work. I caught her every time and carried her back to bed to rest.
I knew I was being unreasonable. The doctor said she was fine. She said she was fine. But the terror in my chest wouldn’t abate. I still remembered the fear I experienced when I pulled her from the cabin, unsure if I was too late to save her.
After Mason had stitched me up, I’d parked myself at her bedside in the hospital.
The staff were too nervous about me being a shifter to force me to leave after visiting hours.
They would inch past me to check on Hannah, their nervous gazes only leaving me when they absolutely had to.
My bear didn’t help, as he got growly whenever anyone came near his mate.
I was always the most easy-going brother, but now I was the grumpy bear who couldn’t relax, and it was driving Hannah crazy. My brothers tried to intervene, but I didn’t even like them near us. Only Jonah was welcome in the cabin. Both my bear and I agreed he belonged with Hannah and me.
Hannah’s door banged against the wall. I startled and jumped to my feet. Before I could reach her, she was in front of me, hands on her hips and spitting mad. “Sit down.”
I sat without thinking. She pointed a finger at me. “You listen to me, Ethan. I will not let you keep me a prisoner in my own home for another minute.”
I wanted to protest that she wasn’t a prisoner. I wanted to tell her I was keeping her safe and healthy. But I knew I was going overboard. Still, the terror wouldn’t go away.
She must have seen it in my eyes. Heaving out a sigh, she sat on my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I know you’re scared of losing me. But I’m better now. And the saboteur is behind bars.”
“But who hired him?” I spoke the words that fueled the fear in me. “He had no reason to target the ranch. Someone else has to be pulling the strings. And whoever it is, they seem to have no problem getting around our security. How am I supposed to keep you safe?”
“We’ll deal with that. Together.” She rested her forehead against mine. “All of us. Your brothers and Chloe included. Mason’s already implementing changes with alarm systems for all the buildings.”
“I know you’re right. Really, I do.” I shifted her closer. “But it doesn’t stop this feeling inside of me every time I remember how close I came to losing you.”
“I have a solution for that.” She raised her voice. “Jonah, is your bag packed?”
His bedroom door opened. “Yes, Aunt Hannah.”
Jonah bounded out with a backpack over his shoulder. He grinned at me. “I get to go camping.”
“We’re going camping?” I asked Hannah, confused and unsure how that would help.
“No. Jonah is going camping with Gabriel and Austin.” She smiled, eyes sparkling at me. “You’re cute when you’re confused.”
I gave her a mock growl.
“There’s my mate.” She dropped a kiss on the end of my nose and lowered her voice, whispering in my ear. “We’re spending the night alone. I believe it’s time for you to mark me.”
Excitement leaped in my chest, but I tempered it with caution. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “It will make you more secure. Having that connection.”
My brows drew together. “That’s not—”
“I love you.” She took my cheeks in her hands and stared into my eyes. “I want this. So unless you don’t want to mark me, it’s happening.”
I choked out a laugh. “Of course I want to mark you. I just don’t want you to do it because you think I need it.”
“I promise you I’m not.”
I studied her gaze, searching for any hidden uncertainties. But I found none. Just love for me shining in her eyes. I clutched her close and kissed her softly.
“Ew!” Jonah’s voice sounded in my ear. “Kissing is yucky.”
“Tell me that again in five years, buddy.” I ruffled his hair as a knock sounded at the door.
Jonah rushed to open it. Gabriel and Austin stood there, wary gazes on me. I managed a tense nod. My bear was still uneasy, though calmer now that marking was a possibility.
“Are we really going camping?” Jonah’s excitement was palpable.
“We are.” Austin grinned at him. “Ready to go?”
Jonah whooped and bounded out the door with his bag. “Bye, Aunt Hannah. Bye, Ethan.”
And then we were alone, the air charged with a knowing of what was to come. I sat holding Hannah, unable to move. At war with myself. The instinct to mark my mate was fierce. A driving urge that almost overrode everything else. But I also wanted to take care.
As if sensing my inner turmoil, Hannah made the first move. She pressed kisses along my jaw. “I want this, Ethan. I want you. Because I love you.”
“I love you, too.” My voice was rough with emotion. “Not because you’re my mate. Because you’re you. You’re everything to me.”
She smiled, a slow teasing lift of her lips. “Then show me.”
Hannah
Ethan stood and carried me over the threshold of my bedroom. Our bedroom. He grinned down at me. “After tonight, I’m never sleeping on that couch again.”
“Never say never,” I teased, returning his grin.
“Definitely never.” He confirmed his words, his gaze turning serious. “I can’t promise I won’t mess up in the future, but let’s promise to always work through it. To talk and to listen.”
“I can agree with that.” My gaze warmed.
“Good. Now I have one more question.” Ethan paused, the twitch of his lips giving him away. “Are you wearing granny panties again?”
I laughed, smacking him on the chest. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
“First thing tomorrow, we’re going through your underwear drawer and burning anything that resembles something Mae might wear.”
I narrowed my eyes but couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from turning up. “You didn’t complain at the pond.”
“I certainly didn’t. You make even granny panties look hot. Still burning them, though.”
He laid me on the bed as we laughed. His touch was gentle, his hands skimming over me, his kisses lingering and sweet. I sensed his protectiveness was near the surface, holding his shifter instincts at bay. I wanted to break through that.
We needed to start this right. And if we started it with Ethan treating me like I might break, he might never get past the fear he had inside.
I shoved at his shoulder, only the surprise of the movement allowing me to roll him to his back.
I quickly straddled him, sitting up to pull my shirt over my head and showing him I definitely wasn’t wearing granny underwear.
He grew hard beneath me, and I ground against him. He groaned, his hands grasping at my hips to still me. “Hannah. My control is hanging by a thread, here.”
I leaned forward, stopping just shy of his lips. “Good.”
Then I kissed him. Fiercely. With all the passion I could muster. He growled and kissed me back, his grip switching from holding me in place to encouraging me to rock against him. His hands slid firmly up my back, stroking my skin, pulling me closer.
He flipped us over, and I reached for the hem of his shirt at the same time he did.
Our hands battled for a moment before we realized we were after the same thing.
Giggling, I slid my palms under the shirt while he pulled it off.
My fingers traced the faint scar on his side before sliding up over his chest and around his neck to guide his lips back to mine.
His work-roughened palms sent shivers down my spine as he explored my skin.
He cupped my breasts through the lace of my bra, kneading at the mounds of flesh.
I arched my back, twisting to undo my bra, wanting nothing between his palms and my skin.
He helped me remove it, tossing it to the side. “We don’t need to burn that one.”
A laugh turned into a moan as he leaned down and sucked my breast into his mouth. His hands slid lower, undoing my jeans and pushing them over my hips. I wriggled beneath him, kicking my pants off and reaching for his waistband. “Your turn.”
“This will be over too fast if I get naked right now.”
“I’m fine with fast.” I slipped my hand past his waistband and grasped his cock. Stroking it. “Fast is good.”
He shuddered, and his arms buckled as he collapsed over me, his weight pushing me briefly into the mattress before he found his strength again. “You deserve better than that. You deserve slow and romantic.”
“We have the rest of our lives for slow and romantic.” I bit lightly on his lower lip. “Tonight doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be us. Together.”
I felt the moment he gave in to his instincts.
The air surrounding us changed. It was still Ethan and me, but he was no longer holding back.
He kissed me hard before sliding his lips over my jaw and down my throat.
To the spot I knew would soon bear his mark.
He spent a little longer there, nipping at the skin, giving me a preview of what was coming.
Then he continued lower, feasting on my flesh as he went.
By the time he reached my core, my body was bowed, muscles tight as I wavered on the tightrope between pleasure and too close to the edge.
But Ethan read me perfectly and kept me right there.
Not allowing me to tip over. Driving me higher than I ever thought possible.
His fingers dipped inside me, stretching my body to accommodate him. He was so much bigger than his fingers were, so he added another, stretching me further. His tongue licked at my clit, and I almost tumbled over the edge. But again, he pulled back, keeping me on the brink.
Finally, he came back over me, settling his cock against my core, rocking back and forth as it slid through my wetness. We locked eyes, and he fit himself against my entrance. He stilled, watching me. Waiting for something.
I nodded, smiling at him, and he smiled back, a tender look in his eyes as his cock filled me. I lifted my hips to meet him, my body eager for its release. We kissed, and he thrust in and out of my core, claiming me in the most basic of ways.
Then his lips found my marking spot. And he claimed me as a shifter claimed his mate.
There was a flash of pain, but it immediately turned to pleasure as it pushed me over the edge, the tightrope forgotten.
I cried out, body shuddering with the sensations that rolled through me in waves.
He thrust wildly, following me over as he spilled inside me.
When I came back down, I was draped over his side, held securely in his embrace.
Something in me was different. More right.
As if something had clicked into place that I hadn’t even known was missing.
I tilted my head to look at Ethan, seeing a peace in his face that had been missing since I got hurt.
I rested my chin on his chest. “If that’s what wearing non-granny underwear gets me, I’ll light the fire myself.”
He chuckled, his body vibrating beneath me. “Not until tomorrow, though. Tonight, I just want to hold you.”
“I can get behind that idea.” I cuddled into him and hummed with contentment, remembering how before I met Ethan, I’d avoided men, believing lousy taste in men ran in my family. But fate had something else in store for me. Something wonderful.