Chapter 8 #2
Fern steps closer. Closer still.
Then, she touches me.
I tense as her fingers drift over my shoulders. “What are you doing?” I ask hoarsely.
“Just… testing,” she murmurs.
I swallow hard. If my mate wants to test me, I won’t fail. I’ll show her I’m someone she can trust. Someone she can love.
I steel my resolve and meet her eyes as she trails her fingers around my shoulders and moves to stand between my legs. My hands grip the arms of my chair until the wood groans and my knuckles turn white.
I’m sweating already, and all she’s done is graze me with her fingers.
What will she do next? Kiss me? Straddle me?
Fern surprises the hell out of me by sliding her shirt over her head. She lets it fall to the floor. Moves directly into my space and climbs onto my lap as if she owns it. Her lips brush my neck.
My control snaps like overstretched wire.
The kitchen chair explodes beneath me as I surge upright, wood splintering as I barely keep my hands locked at my sides.
Fern freezes.
I’m shaking. Sweat breaks out across my back.
My bear roars. Let us—
“Not unless she asks,” I snarl through clenched teeth.
Her eyes widen.
Then she smiles.
“I like this,” she whispers. “The control.”
I grunt. “You can have all of it. Everything I am. All I want—everything I need—is for you to be safe and happy.”
Something soft flickers across her face.
Then she kisses me again, slower this time.
My bear is feral. Maintaining my control is agony.
She rests her forehead against mine.
“If I wanted to stop right now—”
“Then we fucking stop,” I cut in instantly.
Her breath catches. “And if I told you to pick me up and carry me to bed?”
“Then I ask how you want to be carried.”
She grins, delighted. “Like this.”
She jumps. I catch her automatically, strength surging through me as she wraps herself around me and kisses me breathless.
“Okay, big guy. Take me to bed,” she whispers.
I don’t trust my voice, so I don’t speak. I just move.
Fern’s legs lock around my waist as I carry her down the hall, every step measured, controlled, even though my bear is clawing at my ribs like he wants out. The house feels smaller, hotter, like the walls themselves are leaning in to watch.
Her mouth is on my jaw, my neck, my collarbone, soft, curious kisses that feel like torture. She’s exploring, learning me, and that she’s doing it by choice nearly breaks me.
“Bedroom,” she breathes, like she’s afraid that if she speaks louder, I’ll disappear.
I nudge the door open with my foot and step inside, kicking it shut behind us. The scent hits me immediately, her, me, the bond humming between us like a live wire. My bear rumbles, low and satisfied.
Mine.
I set her down on the edge of the bed slowly, deliberately, giving her time. Giving her space to change her mind.
She doesn’t.
Instead, she reaches for me.
Her hands slide up my chest, palms flat, reverent. Like she’s memorizing me. Like she’s making sure I’m real.
“You’re shaking,” she murmurs.
“So are you,” I rasp.
Her fingers curl in my hair, tugging enough to steal my breath. “I trust you.”
Those three words hit harder than any punch I ever took in the Army.
I drop to my knees in front of her before I can stop myself, resting my hands on her thighs—warm, solid, and real. I don’t touch anywhere she hasn’t already invited me to.
“Fern,” I say quietly, grounding myself in her name. “Tell me what you want.”
She swallows, eyes dark, brave, and unsure all at once. “I want… you. I want to stop thinking so much. I want to feel safe.”
My bear stills completely.
“I can do that,” I promise. “I’ll always do that.”
She pulls me up by my shirt and kisses me like she’s been waiting her whole life to do it. There’s no rush now, just heat, pressure, learning each other’s rhythm. I lay her back against the bed and hover over her, giving her time, giving her control.
Every time she nods, every time she touches me back, something inside me settles.
This isn’t just the mating heat. This is choosing.
My hands reach for her pants, and I pull them down her legs slowly, giving her time to stop this. She doesn’t, so I reach for her panties next. They’re wet, and I swear I almost come at the sight of that damp spot.
“Fucking hell, Fern. You’re gorgeous. Utter perfection.”
She blushes, and then she’s reaching for me. She tugs off my shirt and tosses it aside. We both reach for my jeans. She undoes the button, and I unzip, standing to kick them off.
Then I’m back in bed with her, our bare skin rubbing together. My bear is on edge inside me. The mating heat grows stronger as it gets darker outside and the full moon rises.
“I need to taste you,” I mumble, kissing my way down her neck
She sucks in a sharp breath as I cup her breasts and flick my tongue over her nipple. I suckle it until it stiffens, grazing it with my teeth.
“Oh!” Fern gasps.
I’m encouraged by her response. I’ve never done this before, and I want tonight to be good for her. She deserves the best of everything, and I’m going to give her that.
My teeth graze over the sensitive peak again, and she arches against me.
“Don’t stop!” she gasps.
I double my efforts, plucking her other nipple until she’s writhing beneath me. Switching to her other breast, I roll my tongue over her nipple and suck it into my mouth.
I listen to Fern for my cues. Anytime she gasps, cries out my name, or arches into me, I know she likes what I’m doing.
“Jameson!” she cries out as I kiss my way lower.
My cock is rock hard, rubbing against the sheets, driving me crazy. I know I won’t be able to come until I’m inside her, so the friction is torture.
I settle between her thighs, and she pants as she gazes down at me.
“Jameson—”
She cut off when I spread her legs wider and bury my face in her drenched folds. I growl as I lick up all her juices. My tongue spears into her tight opening, but I’m only able to get the tip in.
“I’m going to have to loosen you up,” I growl.
Fern moans. “Oh, God.”
My tongue licks up to her clit, circling the sweet little pearl until her hips grind into my face.
“More,” she whines.
I do as she asks.
My finger presses against her opening, and I wiggle it inside. She doesn’t tense, so I take that as a good sign. I fuck her with my finger, slowly sliding it in and out of her soaked channel until she moans and her pussy clamps around my digit.
I wrap my lips around her clit and roll my tongue over the sensitive bundle of nerves as my finger curls inside her.
That does it. She goes off like a rocket, screaming my name as she comes all over my face.
I lick up her release, not wanting to waste a drop of her sweet nectar. Removing my finger, I meet Fern’s eyes as I suck her juices from my skin.
“Oh, my god,” she rasps, her body melting into the mattress.
“Fern,” I growl. “Do you want to stop?”
“No,” she pants.
I crawl up her body and brace my forehead against hers, breathing her in, holding myself right on the edge of restraint. “If this gets too much—”
“I’ll tell you,” she says firmly, her eyes certain.
That’s all I need.
I kiss her again, slower, deeper, letting the world narrow down to the two of us, the bed creaking softly beneath us as I shift closer, the full moon rising somewhere outside the window.
My hips line up with hers, my cock brushing against her center. I brace myself above her, and as I stare down at her, she turns her head, offering me her neck.
My bear roars in my head, and my mouth waters as my teeth elongate, preparing to bite and mark her.
“Tell me you want this,” I whisper.
She takes a deep breath and meets my eyes. “I want this. I want you, Jameson.”
I lick her neck and take another deep breath, pressing my cock into her pussy as I bite her.
“Fuck!” she screams as she comes instantly on my cock.
I growl, licking over my bite mark and sealing it.
Pulling back, I stare down at my mate. “Mine.”
She nods. “Yours.”
Withdrawing slightly, I sink into her tight heat again. I only retreat a few inches before I sink back in, needing her warmth. Needing to feel her tight pussy clenching around my length. Needing her.
Fern’s hips rise to meet each thrust, and my balls draw up as tingles hit the base of my spine. I’m close, but I don’t want to come before my mate.
She comes first. Always.
I lean back on my knees, changing the angle, pounding deeper into my mate. She cries out, her body tensing and coiling tighter as her pleasure builds again.
“Come for me, mate,” I growl.
“JAMESON! OH, GOD!”
Her pussy clamps around my cock. I groan her name as I come with her, my arms shaking as I hold my weight above her.
She sighs as she relaxes against the pillows. I pull out of her gently and fall to my side next to her. We’re both breathing hard.
I smile as I tug her into my arms and against me. “How are you feeling? Do you need anything? I can run you a bath.”
“I’m good,” she says sleepily. “I’m perfect, actually.”
“Good.” I kiss her forehead.
She snuggles closer, and I let my eyes drift shut.
My bear is content now we have our mate, and I smile as sleep claims me.