Chapter 17 Imani
IMANI
Ican’t stop fussing over him.
Water. Clothes. Another blanket. Stoking the fire until the cabin is almost too warm. Anything to keep my hands busy, to keep from thinking about what just happened.
He showed me his bear. Let me ride on his back through the forest like something out of a fairy tale. Trusted me with the most vulnerable part of himself.
And now he’s huddled by the fireplace in a blanket, watching me move around his cabin with those dark eyes, and I don’t know what to do with everything I’m feeling.
“Imani.”
His voice is low, rough from the shift. I stop halfway to the kitchen, my back to him.
“You don’t have to keep doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Taking care of me. Avoiding looking at me.”
I turn around. He hasn’t moved, the blanket draped loosely over his shoulders, leaving him bare underneath. Orange light plays across his skin, highlighting the scars, the muscles, the smooth planes of his stomach.
He’s not wearing anything under that blanket. I know because I watched him shift back. Watched his body reform from bear to man, naked and gasping in the snow.
I’ve been trying not to think about it. Failing miserably.
“I’m not avoiding you,” I lie.
“You haven’t looked at me in ten minutes.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Imani.”
The way he says my name makes my stomach flip. I force myself to meet his eyes.
They’re still dark, but there’s that shimmer underneath. His bear, close to the surface. Watching me.
“Come here,” he says.
It’s not a question. Not a demand either. Something in between. A request wrapped in certainty, like he already knows I’ll say yes.
I should say no. Should keep my distance, give us both time to think about what we’re doing. This is moving too fast. I’ve known this man for less than a week. But my feet are already carrying me toward him.
I stop a few feet away, close enough to feel the heat radiating off his body. He looks up at me, and the hunger in his eyes makes my breath catch.
“Closer,” he murmurs.
I take another step. Then another. Until I’m standing right in front of him, close enough to touch.
He reaches out and catches my hand, his touch warm and rough. He tugs gently, pulling me down until I’m kneeling between his spread thighs.
“I’ve been trying to control myself,” he says quietly. “Trying to give you time. Give you space to decide what you want.”
“I know.”
“But I’m running out of patience, Imani.” His free hand comes up to cup my face, his thumb tracing my cheekbone. “And after today, after you met my bear, after you accepted him...” He swallows hard. “I need you to tell me to stop. Right now. Because if you don’t, I’m not going to be able to.”
My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat. “What happens if you don’t stop?”
“Then you’re mine.” His eyes bore into me. “Not just for tonight. Not just until the storm clears. Forever. I’ll claim you in a way that can’t be undone. And I’ll never let you go.”
Forever. The word should scare me. It scared me when he said it this morning.
But right now, looking into his eyes, feeling his hands on my skin, all I feel is want.
“What if I don’t want you to stop?”
His expression shifts. Hope. Hunger. Desperate, barely contained need.
“Say it again.”
“I don’t want you to stop.” I lean into his touch, letting him see everything I’m feeling. “I want you, Tolin. All of you. The man and the bear. Whatever comes with that, I want it.”
He moves so fast I don’t have time to react.
One second I’m kneeling between his thighs, the next I’m in his lap, my legs wrapped around his waist, his mouth crushing mine in a kiss that steals all the air from my lungs.
He kisses me like he’s drowning and I’m oxygen. Like he’s been starving for years and I’m the first meal he’s seen. His hands are everywhere, in my hair, down my back, gripping my hips hard enough to bruise.
I moan into his mouth and he swallows the sound, his tongue sliding against mine, hot and demanding. The blanket has fallen away and I can feel him now, hard and thick against my center, nothing but my clothes in the way.
“Too many layers,” he growls against my lips. “Need to feel you.”
His hands find the hem of my sweater and yank it over my head. The cold air hits my skin for a second before his hands are there, warm and rough, palming my breasts through my bra.
“Fuck.” He pulls back to look at me, his eyes roaming over my body. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
No one’s ever looked at me the way he’s looking at me right now. Like I’m a goddess. Like every curve, every roll, every inch of my thick body is exactly what he wants.
“These.” He runs his fingers along the edge of my bra, tracing the swell of my breasts.
“I’ve been dreaming about these since the first day.
Watching you clean my cabin, bending over, your tits almost spilling out of your shirt.
” He reaches behind me and unclasps my bra with one hand, letting it fall away. “Even better than I imagined.”
He buries his face between my breasts, kissing and licking the soft skin, his beard scratching in a way that makes me shiver. When his mouth closes over my nipple, I cry out, my fingers digging into his shoulders.
“Sensitive,” he murmurs against my skin, and I can feel him smile. “Good to know.”
He switches to the other breast, lavishing it with the same attention while his hand works the first one, rolling my nipple between his fingers. I’m squirming in his lap, grinding against him without meaning to, desperate for friction.
“Tolin.” His name comes out like a plea. “Please.”
“Please what?” He looks up at me, his eyes dark with want. “Tell me what you need, Imani.”
“I need... I need more. I need you to touch me.”
“I am touching you.”
“You know what I mean.”
He grins, slow and wicked, and slides his hand down my stomach to the waistband of my pants. “These need to go.”
He lifts me like I weigh nothing, settling me on the rug. Then he’s pulling off my pants and underwear in one smooth motion, leaving me naked, the fire warming my skin.
He sits back on his heels and just looks at me. His eyes travel from my face to my breasts to my stomach to the thatch of curls between my thighs. I fight the urge to cover myself.
“Don’t,” he says, like he can read my mind. “Don’t hide from me. Ever.” He runs his hands up my thighs, spreading them gently. “You’re perfect. Every inch of you.”
He settles between my legs, his broad shoulders forcing them wider. I can feel his breath on my pussy, hot and damp, and I’m already so wet I’m embarrassed.
“I’ve been thinking about this,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to my inner thigh. “About tasting you. About making you come on my tongue.” Another kiss, higher this time. “I barely slept last night, thinking about it.”
“Tolin...”
“Shh.” He nuzzles against my center, breathing me in. “Let me take care of you.”
The first stroke of his tongue makes my whole body arch off the floor.
He licks me slow and thorough, exploring every fold, every crease, like he’s memorizing the taste of me. When he finds my clit, he circles it gently, teasing, making me whimper and buck against his face.
“So sweet,” he groans against my pussy. “Knew you would be. Could smell it on you. Been driving me crazy.”
He slides two thick fingers inside me while his mouth works my clit, and I nearly come off the floor. He’s stretching me, filling me, his fingers curving to hit a spot that has me crying out.
“That’s it.” He pumps his fingers faster, his tongue flicking my clit in a relentless rhythm. “Come for me, Imani. Let me taste you.”
I shatter.
The orgasm rips through me, making me scream his name, my thighs clamping around his head, my nails digging into his scalp. He doesn’t stop, just keeps licking, keeps fingering, wringing every last wave of pleasure from my shaking body.
When I finally come down, I’m boneless and panting, staring at the ceiling while he presses soft kisses to my inner thighs.
“One,” he says, and I can hear the satisfaction in his voice.
“One?”
“I’m not done with you yet.”
Before I can respond, he’s flipping me over onto my stomach. I gasp as his hands grip my hips, lifting me onto my hands and knees.
“Been thinking about this too,” he murmurs, running his palms over the curve of my ass. “This perfect ass. These thick thighs. Wanted to bend you over my kitchen table the first day you were here.”
I feel him shift behind me, feel the blunt head of his dick pressing against my entrance. He’s big. I knew that from last night, from feeling him through his pants, but this is different. This is real.
“You ready for me?” he asks, and there’s a strain in his voice, like he’s barely holding himself back.
“Yes. God, yes.”
He pushes in slowly, inch by inch, giving me time to adjust. The stretch burns, but it’s a good burn, a full burn, my body opening up for him like it was made for this.
“Fuck.” His voice is wrecked. “So tight. So fucking tight, Imani. You’re gripping me so good.”
When he’s finally all the way in, I feel impossibly full. He’s so deep I can feel him in my stomach. We both stay still for a moment, breathing hard.
Then he starts to move.
Long, slow strokes at first. Pulling almost all the way out, then sliding back in, letting me feel every inch of him. His hands grip my hips, his fingers digging into my soft flesh, holding me steady.
“You feel so good,” he groans. “Better than I imagined. Better than anything.”
He picks up the pace, his hips slapping against my ass, the sound obscene in the quiet cabin. I’m moaning with every thrust, my arms trembling, my whole body shaking.
“Harder,” I beg. “Please, Tolin. Harder.”
He growls and gives me what I want, fucking me hard and deep, his dick hitting spots I didn’t know existed. One hand leaves my hip and tangles in my hair, yanking my head back.
“This what you want?” he demands, his voice rough in my ear. “You want me to fuck you like this? Claim this pussy?”
“Yes.” I’m sobbing with pleasure, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes. “Yes, please, it’s yours, I’m yours.”
“Damn right you are.”
He releases my hair and reaches around to find my clit, working it in circles while he pounds into me. The dual sensation is too much, and I feel another orgasm building, bigger than the first.
“Come for me again,” he orders. “Come on my dick, Imani. Let me feel it.”
I explode.
My whole body convulses, my pussy clenching around him so tight he groans. He fucks me through it, never slowing down, prolonging the pleasure until I’m screaming into the rug, tears streaming down my face.
“Two,” he pants. “Give me one more. I need one more.”
“I can’t.” I’m shaking, overstimulated, barely coherent. “Tolin, I can’t...”
“You can.” He pulls out and flips me over, settling between my thighs. “One more, baby. Then I’ll let you rest.”
He slides back inside me, and the new angle makes me gasp. He’s even deeper like this, his body covering me completely, so close I feel surrounded by him.
“Look at me,” he says. “I want to see your eyes when you come.”
He starts to move again, slower this time but just as deep. Forehead to forehead, breath mingling, eyes locked. It’s intimate in a way I’ve never experienced before, like he’s seeing all the way into my soul.
“You’re mine,” he murmurs between thrusts. “Say it.”
“I’m yours.”
“Mine to touch.” He rolls his hips, hitting that spot deep inside me. “Mine to taste.” Another thrust. “Mine to fuck.” Another. “Mine to love.”
Love. The word cracks me wide open.
“Yours,” I whisper. “All yours.”
He kisses me, deep and consuming, swallowing my moans as he picks up the pace. His hand finds my clit again, working it in time with his thrusts, and I feel the third orgasm building, pulling me under with every thrust.
“That’s it,” he pants against my mouth. “I can feel you getting close. Feel you squeezing me. Come on, Imani. Give it to me.”
I break apart with his name on my lips.
This orgasm is different. It starts deep and spreads outward, rolling through my entire body in waves. I’m crying, clutching him, my nails raking down his back. He groans and thrusts harder, faster, chasing his own release.
“Fuck, Imani. I’m gonna... I need to...”
Something shifts in him. His eyes flash gold, his bear rising to the surface, and I feel an energy sparking to life. A connection forming, invisible threads weaving us together.
“I need to claim you,” he gasps. “Need to mark you. Make you mine forever. Tell me yes. Please, Imani. Tell me yes.”
I don’t hesitate. “Yes.”
He roars as he comes, spilling inside me, and then his mouth is on my neck.
His teeth sink into the soft flesh where my neck meets my shoulder, and I scream. Not from pain, though there is pain. From something else. Something bigger. I feel him drinking from me, mouth sealed over the bite, and the sensation sends another orgasm crashing through me out of nowhere.
The world goes white.
I feel the bond snap into place, a golden thread connecting us, tying my soul to his. I feel him, inside me in a way that goes beyond physical. His emotions bleeding into mine. His bear, vibrating with triumph. His love, overwhelming and absolute.
His tongue drags across the wound, sealing it, and warmth spreads from the bite mark through my whole body.
Then darkness pulls me under.
The last thing I hear is his voice, soft and reverent, whispering close.
“Mine. Finally mine.”