Chapter 8
Brandt
My bear needed this. He hated it when I let the human world weigh on us and always asked me to free him when things got too stressful. It had been a constant power struggle between us since I was a toddler.
We ran as fast as we could, knowing that Emma could keep up.
She was fast. And strong. Stronger than she ever gave herself credit for.
Even her decision to leave had shown her strength.
A female grizzly on her own didn’t usually survive very long.
I’d hated that she left, but she’d found a way to do something I’d only dreamed of, and that proved just how tough she was. We both loved her for that.
Crashing over the branches and dodging tree limbs, I ducked and slid until I finally heard the rushing water.
While Emma and I had claimed the waterfalls as our escape location, this was a place I’d very rarely come to.
During the day, there would be locals here.
But sometimes, in the middle of the night, we had the spot to ourselves.
Emma skidded into me when I stopped. I grunted a laugh as she shook her large head, trying to get her bearings again.
With a single thought, I shrank back into my human form, acutely aware of how much easier my transitions were now that I was almost alpha.
Emma watched me for several moments, her yellow bear eyes studying me and every single part of my body. I felt my cock harden under her gaze.
“You coming?” I asked, voice low and gravelly.
She huffed and I swear I could see a smile form on her bear snout.
Dropping to the ground, she roared as her body shifted back to human.
Had that hurt her? Was she fighting her bear?
I wanted to protect her, yet each shifter had their own way of handling the change.
Emma and I had decided long ago not to judge or worry about each other’s process.
Emma stood, her naked body glistening in the moonlight, curves lasting for miles and exciting me even more.
Her auburn hair hung over her back, matted with knots and leaves from the ground.
A little bit of dirt covered her cheek, and I reached up to brush it away.
She melted under my touch, and I almost took her right then and there.
She cleared her throat. “I haven’t been here in years.” While her gaze stayed locked with mine, I could see her listening to the sound of the water nearby.
“Neither have I.”
“Really?” she asked in genuine surprise.
I shrugged. “No time.”
Her eyes softened, her lips parting in a slight frown. I could sense her guilt and knew she felt like some of my issues had been caused by her departure. It was partially true, but most of the craziness in my life had been caused by clan obligations and not just from the aftermath of her leaving.
Weaving my fingers through hers, I forced a smile. “Come on. We should have the spring to ourselves.”
The warmth of her skin on mine excited my bear.
His mate had returned, and he wanted nothing more than to protect her and mate with her.
I’d felt him come alive again the moment we saw her at the funeral.
As though a part of him had been sitting dormant since Emma had left, the full, powerful grizzly was back and ready to tackle anything that was thrown at him.
If only I had that much confidence in my human life.
“I forgot how beautiful this place was,” Emma breathed when we reached the rocky ledge overlooking the only hot spring in this part of the Kenai Peninsula. Most people didn’t know about it at all, which left the site relatively pristine and untouched.
Steam wafted off the water’s surface in an eerie fog.
In the moonlight, it looked like something our ancestors would have seen—the same landscape untouched by time.
Emma didn’t wait for me and instead jumped down over the boulders to get to the pool first. I laughed at her eagerness and secretly thanked her for getting me out of the house.
She splashed into the water’s edge, her naked body glowing with excitement.
I had to shift my gait just to account for my growing erection.
I wondered if Emma realized just how much she could impact me without trying at all.
Floating on her back, she kicked her feet and then disappeared under the water.
I wanted to watch her all night long. I’d loved Emma for as long as I could remember.
When we were teenagers, I told her as much.
She had reciprocated, and I’d believed our lives would be spent by each other’s sides until we no longer breathed.
“Get that sad look off your face and get down here,” Emma said with a teasing warning.
I swallowed the gnawing thoughts of Emma and climbed down into the pool. She let me soak my body for just a few minutes before I found her hovering over my face.
“Feeling better yet?” she asked, kissing my forehead and letting her breasts hang so close to my chest.
“Maybe,” I teased.
She grabbed my thigh and slowly started rubbing her fingers up and down my leg. “How about now?”
I closed my eyes. “That’s a little better.”
Her lips pressed lightly against my own, and I tried to snag them between my teeth. But she was too quick and giggled as she pulled away. “Oh no. I’m in charge tonight.”
My erection hardened even more. My bear didn’t like to be dominated, but my human side certainly loved to let go every once in a while. Only Emma was allowed to have that kind of power over me. Over us. The bear settled slightly as I promised him this was acceptable.
Emma pushed me backward against a boulder that acted as a chair under the water. My back rubbed against the granite, and I growled low in my chest with the pleasure of her dominance. She stepped away from me and I instinctively reached out for her.
But with a shaking head, she smiled. “Not yet,” she breathed.
Dipping her body under the water, she emerged with her hair out of her face and water dripping off her ample breasts.
When she opened her eyes, they had a hint of her bear inside—yellowing around the edges of the light blue.
Her bear was also right at the surface, giving her more power than she probably realized.
Low rumbles reverberated from her chest, and once again, my cock hardened.
Emma sauntered back over to me, dragging her hands behind her in the water and arching her back slightly.
She looked like a siren. A beautiful, powerful siren that put me under her spell in seconds.
Without saying a word, she climbed on top of me so that her breasts were in my face.
Grabbing the back of my head, she pulled me against her, my mouth covering her nipple and clamping down.
I flicked my tongue back and forth over her hardened nub, sinking my hands into her ass cheeks and holding her tight.
Emma moaned under my touch, my arousal wanting to be inside.
But she stayed high on her knees, preventing me from finding her sex but allowing me to explore other parts of her.
With a forceful move, Emma yanked my head back and leaned forward to kiss me.
She pushed her tongue in my mouth, and I reciprocated in kind.
Rubbing my hands along her hips, I found myself moaning in the pleasure of having her take control.
With a smile, Emma pulled back and then slowly lowered herself until the head of my dick pushed against her folds. Even under the water, I could feel her wetness inside. She bit her lip, and I almost lost it. “Are you feeling better?” she asked.
“Perhaps,” I said.
Her mouth turned up into a grin, her eyes dancing with anticipation. “Good.”
I thought she was going to lower herself even more, but instead, she stood.
Legs straddling either side of me, she balanced on the rock.
My nose brushed down her stomach as she stood, finishing right between her legs when she stopped.
Her small patch of hair tickled my nose, the smell of her sex so enticing I wanted to bury myself in it right now.
But Emma was in charge and, even if it killed me, I would let her dictate the pace.
She lifted her right leg to rest on the small boulder behind me. I glanced up at her and she smiled—a wicked smile that spoke a thousand messages about what she was expecting me to do. And then she dug her fingers into my hair and pressed my face into her sex.
Growling my content, I didn’t waste any time.
My nose brushed against her clit while I used my tongue to lick her folds—her wet folds that smelled of arousal and ripped the bear from my chest. She called out into the evening air each time my tongue reached further and further inside.
With fingers grinding into my head, I felt her left leg weaken with the pleasure of an impending orgasm.
Her center rocked back and forth in time with the rhythm of my tongue.
I cupped her ass, letting one finger slide between her legs so I could tease her clit.
Her moans increased while my mouth was covered in her wetness.
Pushing my face even deeper between her legs, Emma cried out the moment her orgasm rocked through her.
Her hole pulsed around my tongue, her sex throbbing with aftershocks.
I continued to tease her with my mouth, sucking on her clit and inducing more waves of pleasure from deep inside.
My balls ached for release, my cock hard enough to break the rock I sat on.
Squeezing her tight, I could only wish she would fuck me until the sun came up.
As her body relaxed a little bit, Emma pulled my head away from her core.
She looked down at me and smiled, the sweat glittering on her forehead.
But she didn’t say anything. Instead, she lowered her leg and then her body directly on top of my erection.
She was so wet, it didn’t matter that we were in the water—her folds slipped right over the tip of my head until I was resting deep inside.
Emma’s breasts rubbed up against my chest as she wrapped her hands around the back of my head and kissed me.
Our mouths danced around each other while she moved her hips back and forth and up and down over my cock.
Lifting her ass, I encouraged her to move faster.
She complied, and in no time at all, I felt my orgasm rushing to the surface.
I hardened more, Emma biting my shoulder when she felt the same inside.
Her teeth sank into my skin, drawing blood and pulling the orgasm from deep within my core.
With one final pulse against my arousal, I released into her.
I couldn’t control the roar that escaped my lips, claiming my mate and loving her for giving me this kind of pleasure.
Emma called out into the air again, her folds tightening around mine as she climaxed for the second time. We shook together, pulsing with each other until the final wave subsided. Emma sank lower onto me. Resting her forehead against mine, she cupped my face and focused on my eyes.
“Better now?”
I chuckled. I couldn’t help it. “Much.”
Kissing me gently, she smiled into my lips. “I love you so much.”
I never prided myself on being an emotional man, but I wasn’t ashamed when I felt the burn of tears behind my eyes. My life wasn’t whole until Emma returned. And now that she was here to stay, I couldn’t imagine ever being so lonely again.
“I love you, too,” I said as we sat in the hot spring wrapped in each other’s arms and enjoying the feel of our skin pressed against one another.