Page 81 of Bearly Hanging On

Tor wiggled his eyebrows for effect before staring conspicuously at my chest.

“Well, at least we’re back on familiar territory,” I said with an exaggerated sigh. “Though, if we’re going to have some kind of shifter style sleepover, I better not wake up to one of you humping my leg.”

“That’s a wolf’s M.O.,” Kieran growled. “Not bears.”

“Hey, I brought you flowers,” Tor spluttered.

“You also licked my neck like a popsicle,” I said.

“Pretty sure you like my tongue fine.” Tor made a show of leering at me. “When I use it in the right place.”

“What we’re doing, Harper,” Kieran’s voice cut through our banter, “is making clear that you don’t have to carry everything on your own anymore.”

I smiled as I snuggled into his chest, hoping it masked my true reaction.

“That sounds dangerously close to emotional intimacy.”

“Terrifying, huh?”

Tor’s tone was a lot gentler now. I wanted to protest, to say something stupid and get him riffing off that, but instead, I stayed right where I was, cradled in Kieran’s arms.

“You have no idea.”

My voice was little more than a whisper, but nothing escaped the sensitive hearing of a shifter. They both settled in closer, sandwiching me between them. Kieran kissed the top of my head and Tor’s fingers laced with mine, and I felt that spike of fear, but for once I didn’t surrender to it. I just gripped Tor’s hand tightly, breathing through it.

Because for once, this wasn’t about sex. It was about us, and maybe I was ready to find out exactly what that meant.

Chapter 34

Kieran

The female elders of the bear community spent some time explaining how to keep our mates happy, how to please them. The ladies seemed very determined that we would all know where the clitoris was and be able to find it with ease, but in the end, it turned out that wasn’t the most important thing. Any guy with a cursory understanding of feminine anatomy could find Harper’s clit, but only we could find our way into her heart.

“I…” Her breath was coming in hard and fast, her eyes wide. The air was filled with the slightly acrid perfume of her scent. “I’ve never done this before. Like…” She wrinkled her nose. “Made love before.”

“Of course you haven’t.” My lips peeled back from my fangs, ready to snarl at Tor, but his usual cocky bullshit was offset by the softness of his smile. “You were waiting for us.”

“Fuck’s sake, Tor…” I muttered before focussing back on Harper. “That’s OK. We’ve got you. Eyes here, pretty girl. Just keep your eyes on me.”

It felt completely different as my hand slid over her stomach, as if I was touching my mate for the first time. The soft curve of her stomach, the way she squirmed when my thumb brushed over her belly button, then the resulting smile. I sucked in every detail, my focus just as intent as her gaze as she stared right back. My lips wanted to curve into a smile when my hand slid up her ribcage, her expression turning to one of disappointment when it skated across the other side of her body and back down again, though that was quickly smothered. I turned and glanced at Tor, the two of us nodding before moving as one.

She blinked when I pulled back, placing her foot in my lap.

“Is this a kink you’ve been holding back, Bear Boy?” she asked, that sassy armour ready to be picked up and put back on. “You’re into… oh.”

“Oh?” Tor looked at me, then at my thumb as it pressed hard into the arch of Harper’s foot. “I want some oh.” Her other foot was picked up and dumped in his lap and he watched me massage Harper’s sole, then started doing the exact same thing.

“So you’re going to compete…” Pretty sure Harper didn’t mean that to come out as a sigh, but it did anyway. “OK, yeah, I can get behind this.”

My thumb moved of its own accord, feeling the sinews and tendons of her foot and finding tension easily. Over and over I stroked the muscles, encouraging them to release everything they were carrying, giving the pain to me. My reward came when she went limp against the cushions, her eyes rolling closed as her breathing evened out. I shot Tor a look, cocking my eyebrow as if to say ‘see?’ He nodded in agreement, our hands moving faster, stroking harder until finally her scent bloomed, making clear it was time to move on.

This is the way it should’ve been that first night we slept together, I realised. It was what my dads had been trying to tell me, but I wasn’t ready to listen. At the time, I’d have takenwhatever crumbs Harper was willing to give me, but now? I wouldn’t be satisfied until she surrendered completely. Her ankle was elegant, dainty almost, and I spent an inordinate amount of time getting to know the shape of it before letting my hand slide higher.

I loved how responsive Harper was, even though that could be a liability of sorts. It was obvious that she’d learned that sex was easy, emotions were hard, so when her thighs fell open, revealing just a little of that perfect pink cunt between them, I had to hold myself back. Lunge forward, that’s what my instincts told me. Taste her before Tor could get near. Claim her pleasure for your own. Be the one who makes her gasp, not Tor, not Mack, but that’s not how sleuths worked. Male bears kept well clear of each other in the wild, but shifters had very different instincts. Bonded to our mates completely, we knew we needed a strong group of us to keep her safe.

And to satisfy her.

I glanced over at Tor and he nodded as we both moved up.

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