Page 6 of Bear It All (Bears in Love Duet Book 2)

It was well after dark, that point at which most people were settling in for the evening, by the time they found a hotel to crash in Indianapolis for the night.

All Alaina said about her conversation with her parents was that they were relieved she was okay and they appreciated Mallory and Remy bringing her to them in Florida.

Mallory should be relieved as well, except she didn’t think they were safe, even in Florida. She knew how Orsen worked. Alaina’s grandparents would have had to get permission to leave pack land to move to Florida.

Which meant Orsen knew where they were. And she doubted a senior care pack had much in the way of protection. Part of the reason elderly bears retired to those packs was because they were theoretically safe. No one had ever attacked a pack full of aging shifters before.

Maybe Orsen wouldn’t follow them. Maybe he would bide his time, wait for Alaina and her family to return to Minnesota.

But Mallory doubted it. Orsen was even more volatile than his brother had been. He was the worst kind of bully. No one could best him. Ever. It was unacceptable in his mind.

And he would see the death of his brother—at anyone’s hand but his own—as someone trying to one-up him.

They booked a double room for the night. While her bear was disappointed—it recalled all too vividly what happened last time she and Remy shared a hotel room—Mallory was certain Alaina wouldn’t want to spend the night alone in a strange city, ten hours after killing a man and fleeing for her life.

Remy didn’t act disappointed that they hadn’t booked their own room, which left her uncomfortably dissatisfied. While she knew they shouldn’t put Alaina in a separate room, that didn’t mean she didn’t want Remy to wish they could.

Alaina showered, and then they all tucked in to watch a rom-com movie. She fell asleep halfway through it, and when Remy noticed, he clicked off the television.

“Come on,” he whispered, nudging Mallory. She was sharing a bed with Alaina, while Remy had the double bed closest to the door all to himself.

The curtain over the window was partially open, letting in enough ambient light from the parking lot for her to see his face. He sat on the edge of his bed, watching her.

“Let’s go,” he said.

“Where?”

“Outside.”

“Why?”

He stood. “So we can talk.” He sounded irritated. Or maybe frustrated. But hey, how was she supposed to know what he wanted?

She’d let Alaina wear her pajamas, so she was in a T-shirt and her panties. Snagging the leggings she’d draped across the foot of the bed, she threw off the blanket and shimmied into them while he blatantly watched. He didn’t react, which was annoying all over again. Yet what the hell was she looking for from him? It wasn’t like they were going to have an opportunity to be anything but friends for the immediate future.

Did she even want to be more than friends? She still wasn’t over the last time they hooked up.

Grabbing her shoes and coat, she slipped out into the hall as he held the door open.

Instead of heading toward the lobby, he hung a left, toward the stairs, which ended at a door leading out the side of the building.

“Where are we going?” she whispered, even though there was no one around and they weren’t doing anything wrong. Just two consenting adults, wandering around the hotel late at night. Hell, it wasn’t even midnight.

He shrugged and held the door open. “I want some air. Just to breathe.”

Okay, she understood that. She felt the same way. Lounging in that hotel room made her edgy too. Although, honestly, everything was making her edgy lately. For the last four years, it seemed.

She rubbed at her sleeves as they walked along a cement path that circled the hotel. It was chilly, but not uncomfortably so, which was a nice change from the evenings in Minnesota at this time of year. And in Chicago, for that matter.

On the second pass around the building, she stopped and leaned against the cool bricks. They were on the backside of the hotel, overlooking a well-maintained greenspace cloaked in shadows. Hidden by darkness as they were, if anyone were looking out a window, they’d likely not be seen.

Remy propped his foot against the bricks, leaning next to her.

“This is nice,” she said into the silence.

“Yeah,” he responded. “Peaceful. Calming.”

It was and it wasn’t. Remy’s presence calmed her nerves, kept her grounded, and yet, having him constantly around felt like an itch she couldn’t quite reach.

She finally turned to face him. “I’m so…” She flapped her hand, like that might somehow help her articulate even though the words weren’t in her head either.

Whatwas she?

“Frustrated?” he suggested calmly.

“Yes,” she bit out.

“It’s your bear.”

She blinked. Once. Twice. He was right. Now that he’d said it, she could pinpoint it. All those edgy sensations were coming from her bear. It was so odd. They’d always been in sync before. Always.

“She wants my bear,” Remy added.

Mallory stared at him. “She wants…” But she didn’t need to finish the sentence. The moment he said the words, she knew it.

He was right.

“But how…?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “My bear is doing the same thing. In here.” He tapped his left pec. “And definitely in here.” He tapped his temple.

“So our bears want…”

He twisted so that his shoulder was propped against the bricks, fully facing her. “Our bears want us to want it.”

No issues there. Hell, she’d wanted Remy since—honestly, since the moment he was hauled into that lab in Detroit, fighting his captors with more resilience than even she’d had.

She’d given in to the want when they shared that hotel room after they’d escaped, because why the hell not? They’d both needed the release, and what point was there in denying the attraction?

Except wrong place, wrong time, even if it could have been the right person. For God’s sake, she’d convinced herself there probably wasn’t a right person out there for her. She was too messed up. Yeah, bears believed in fated mates, but it didn’t happen to everyone, and given what she’d gone through, she’d figured that train was simply never going to leave the station.

And why was she thinking about fated mates while standing here in the dark, tucked into a shadowy corner, staring down Remy like she was daring him to make a move?

This wasn’t about fate. This was about really excellent sex.

And maybe, just maybe, the fact that she hadn’t had any in almost four years was exactly why she couldn’t reach that damn itch. Maybe Remy had ruined her for all other men. The idea sucked if she put too much thought into it, because sooner or later, they were going to part ways again.

Best not to think about the long-term. Just focus on right now.

And right now, Remy was watching her with those luminous pale eyes, his body tense, waiting.

Waiting for her to make the first move.

She reached for the collar of his jacket, grasped it, and pulled. He stumbled forward, his hands automatically cupping her waist as he twisted them both until Mallory’s back was flat against the rough wall. Even in the darkness she could see the desire flare in his eyes. The need.

This attraction wasn’t one-sided. But she’d always known that. What she hadn’t realized was how strong it was.

For both of them.

Twining her fingers in the soft waves at his nape, she applied gentle pressure, and he came willingly, watching her steadily as his face descended, his lids fluttering shut at the last moment before his lips pressed against hers.

It was everything, this simple kiss. As if they were the last two pieces of a puzzle that had finally been turned the right way and locked together with triumphant satisfaction.

She canted her head, tentatively opened her mouth, letting her tongue slip out and gently touch his lips.

He growled, the sound as feral as if he were in his bear form. His hands dropped to her ass, his fingers curling against the stretchy material of her leggings, tugging her hips closer to his body.

She spread her legs, and he edged between them, his erection pressing against her belly. Heat flared inside her. Hell, it was a damn inferno, threatening to consume her.

I want this. All of this. Forever.

Her bear was in her head, cheering her on, but Mallory tried to ignore the beast. This was a release—nothing more—and she was confident it was going to be a hell of an experience.

Remy growled again and broke the kiss, his lips nibbling their way to the shell of her ear. He gently bit on her lobe, and she moaned quietly. “This isn’t how I intended?—”

“Don’t think,” she whispered, tightening her hold on the strands of his hair. “Just feel.”

“We should?—”

She kissed him, cutting off whatever argument he was about to give. If they brought logic or reason into this moment, the moment would pass.

And they’d both still be edgy, uncomfortable.

“I just want to feel,” she whispered against his lips. “With you.”

His groan was guttural, loud enough to be heard, if anyone else were out here with them. “I didn’t bring protection.”

She shook her head. “It’s okay. I’m protected.”

His body stiffened for a scant moment before he squeezed her ass, lifted her onto her tiptoes, and very deliberately rolled his hips, that erection she had been craving for four long years dragging across her most sensitive area.

She arched, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the wall. He took advantage of the opening and kissed her neck, sucking and biting and licking her hypersensitive skin until she whimpered, a desperate please falling off her tongue.

He grasped her chin, pulling away just enough to be able to look her in the eye. “Tell me, Mallory. Do you want this? Or do you need it?”

“Oh God,” she said, her hands on the front of his jacket, her fingers curled into the satiny material. “I need it.”

“It?”

“You.” She practically breathed the word, realizing how true it was even as the small gasp tumbled over her lips. “I need you, Remy.”

He stared at her for another second before pressing a hard kiss to her lips and then whispering, “You have me, Mallory. I’m all yours.”

She arched, her body desperate to be connected to his. They weren’t close enough. Too many layers between her skin and his.

“Please,” she said again.

He grinned, looking like he’d just won a prize. Not just any prize, but the prize.

Sliding his hands down her legs, he grasped her thighs, lifting, until her feet left the ground. He began walking sideways; she locked her ankles behind his back and clung to his neck. “What are you doing?”

“Moving us deeper into the shadows,” he replied.

When he was apparently satisfied with their location, he pressed her against the wall again, holding her in place with his pelvis while he struggled out of his coat, letting it drop to the asphalt.

With her gaze on the garment, she asked, “Why did you do that?”

“You need to get out of a whole lot more clothing than I do?—”

“Shame,” she interrupted, slipping her hands under the hem of his shirt and letting her fingers trail up, over those rigids of muscles that shivered as she stroked them.

“We can get another room. The front desk clerk said there were plenty when we checked in?—”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to lose this momentum. I don’t want us to think too much.”

His eyes flared, some unnamed emotion there, and in the next breath, his lips pressed to hers, his fingers digging into her hips like he might be able to will her clothing from her body.

She stripped off her coat and dropped it onto his. When she lifted her shirt, pulling it over her head, his gaze tracked her movements until her breasts were exposed. He watched as they puckered and hardened.

“It’s so cold,” he said when she let her T-shirt fall on top of her coat.

“Guess you need to keep me warm.”

Groaning, he cupped her bare breasts, suckling first one, then the other.

“So beautiful,” he mumbled around her nipple. “So delicious.”

She wiggled, impatient to feel. To be connected with him, entirely and fully, for however brief that moment in time may be. She wanted to forget everything else and pretend they were the only two people in the world and there was nothing to do but feel. Each other. Together.

“I need…” she whispered again. She could hear the edge of desperation in her own voice.

He finally lowered her legs to the ground, and she didn’t even wait for him to get around to undressing her. As chilly as the slight breeze was, her skin was heated, probably from that inferno burning inside her. Burning for Remy.

She shoved her leggings down and wriggled out of them. Remy only watched—she almost laughed, but she was too far over the edge, too needy, too focused on what came next.

She grasped his jeans and tugged the button free, the hiss of the zipper lowering only increasing her sense of urgency.

She stroked his erection. Her name tumbled over his lips like a prayer as he lifted her legs again, pressing her against the wall while he rubbed against her like a cat.

As good as that felt, she needed more.

More.

Reaching between them, she positioned his erection. With his jeans hanging off his ass, he finally thrust, sliding into her as if they were meant to fit together. She gasped and then groaned, clinging to him when he pulled out slightly and thrust again, his fingers digging into her bare ass, his face buried in the crook of her shoulder.

She squeezed her thighs around his hips. He surged forward, groaning gutturally. A breathy “yes” tumbled from her lips.

“Come for me, cher.” His thrusts became faster, more determined. “Show me how much you want me.”

Her head banged against the bricks behind her, her inner muscles milking him, her orgasm racing through her like he had the power to command her pleasure.

Hell, maybe he did.

One hand still clutching her ass, the other tangled in her hair, tugging gently until she turned slightly. His lips crashed into hers, and he began pumping with renewed vigor, mindless, uncontrolled, dragging a second orgasm out of her before he finally gave a shout as he stilled, warmth filling her.

They stayed like that for long, long moments, holding each other, their hearts hammering in sync. She didn’t want the mood to be shattered, but eventually, the cold started to seep into her bones. She needed to dress. They needed to return to the hotel room in case Alaina woke. They needed to sleep, as they had a long drive tomorrow.

They needed to return to the real world.