Page 107 of Mated to the Mountain Bear
Through the haze of lust, I can feel him differently now. His desperate need to fill me, to mark me inside as thoroughly as he’s marked me outside. His determination that everyone will know exactly who I belong to.
Lifting my legs, I wrap them around his back and tilt my hips to give him an even deeper angle. The change makes us bothgrunt, his movements becoming more ragged as he nears his release.
I slip my hands into his dark hair to scratch my nails along his scalp the way I know he loves, and then I tug.
The action elicits another possessive snarl from my bear.
“Mine. My mate,” he roars, his voice barely human anymore.
Ben thrusts into me one last time, burying himself to the hilt completely, as his body goes rigid. His hands clamp my hips tightly to his as he stills, and I feel it, feel him pulsing inside me, each jet of his release coating my insides with heat.
The sensation, combined with feeling his pleasure through our bond, sends me over again. I whimper, panting hard, and struggle against the dizzying intensity of it all.
For long moments, we stay frozen like that, with our bodies locked together, both of us trembling with aftershocks.
Then Ben’s hands find my face, infinitely gentle now, and he cups my cheeks. He presses a soft kiss to my lips, then pulls back to stare deep into my eyes. Concern creases his brow as he studies me.
“Are you okay? Was it too much? The bond, I mean. Some people say it’s overwhelming at first and…”
“Mmmm.”
I interrupt his worried rambling with a lazy smile and another soft kiss. Then, I turn my head to kiss his palm where it’s resting against my cheek.
“I’m more than good, Ben. I’m yours.”
48
BEN
It’s been three weeks since Zara chose to stay. Three weeks of waking to her warmth, and her laughter filling spaces I didn’t know were empty, replacing the silence that I thought I loved.
Jerry looks entirely too pleased with himself now that he has someone to spoil him morning, noon, and night. Some days, I still can’t believe she’s here, that she picked this life. Picked me.
Today’s different. Today, my family is descending on our mountain sanctuary like a swarm of well-meaning but slightly brutish bears, and I’m not feeling too thrilled about it.
But while Zara’s doing well, I know she still misses her sister desperately, so I’ll do anything to put a smile on her face.
“That’s a lot of beards and plaid.” Zara muses, peering through the kitchen window at my brothers, who’ve gathered around the fire pit I rarely use. She’s wearing one of my shirts over her jeans, and her hair’s pulled back in a messy bun that makes my fingers itch to take it down.
The cabin already smells different with her here. Coffee brews constantly, something’s always baking in the oven, and wehave fresh flowers from her walks with Jerry. It smells like her, and I love it.
“It’stoo manybeards, and too many muscles in such a small place, that’s what that is. And testosterone.” Detective Harris’s hushed voice, or Lisa, as she’s insisting I call her now, cuts through my thoughts as she joins Zara at the window.
“No such thing,” Zara argues but I agree whole-heartedly with Lisa. There are far too many people on my land. I spent years making sure they knew regular visits weren’t welcome, but they’ve all come to hang out with my mate, and now, my fortress of solitude feels more like a train station.
It doesn’t seem to matter how many glares I give them, they keep coming back.
Though I’m still not sure how Zara convinced the buttoned-up detective to drive all the way up here for a barbecue, but Lisa said she was going to be close by, anyway.
Somehow, I doubt that. This isn’t somewhere you really pass by on the way to anywhere, but she has been checking in regularly since everything went down. I’d say she wants to confirm that Zara’s okay with her own eyes.
“I’ll admit, Mrs. Lennox sure knew how to produce beautiful men, even if they’re arrogant as hell.”
Zara chuckles, the sound making my chest tighten in the best way.
“My sister would have loved this.” Her voice softens as a shadow passes over her features. “She’d be right out there, giving them all the third degree about their intentions with her little sister. Or trying to convince them to become actors and leave this PI nonsense behind.”
I move behind her, wrap my arms around her waist, and rest my chin on her shoulder. Through our bond, I feel the bittersweet ache of missing Amber mixing with contentment at being surrounded by family she never expected to have.
