Page 11

Chapter Eleven

Tegan

All I could see of Sawtooth Forest were the mountains and the sky from my window in this little cabin. The sun was setting, leaving streaks of periwinkle and fire in its wake. It cast shadows on Barrett’s face as he lay beside me, making the bear shifter look even more stern and serious than usual.

And I’d be lying if I didn’t say sexy.

My lady parts were throbbing, my arousal threatening to soak through my panties, and here I was, wondering if I’d given into an extreme case of Stockholm syndrome. Not to mention the guilt that this man was obviously still mourning his mate.

But I meant what I said. Maybe it was because we were in this tiny cabin, and I’d hired him to solve my problems, but he made me feel safe. Seen.

Sweet moon, he had no idea how much I needed that. I had no idea how much I’d needed it. I’d balled up my feelings like wadded up paper and had crushed them to make myself forget about them.

This man had given me my life back. Sure, I was still in captivity, with a threat so imminent a bodyguard refused to leave my side, but I was finally free of Gideon Silverclaw.

When I chuckled, Barrett asked, “What’s funny?”

“I was just thinking that I had this whole new life, but according to my security specialist, that new life is confined to this room.” I ran my finger lightly over his beard. It was so surprisingly soft. “Definitely not in Red Heaven.”

“No, not Red Heaven. But you will get to leave the cabin.” He couldn’t keep his hands off me either. His fingers were still under my sweatshirt, stroking my stomach.

Normally, this would make me super self-conscious. Plenty of those dudes from dating sites had told me that area needed work. But Barrett made me feel beautiful.

“Soon?” Just because the answer was no wouldn’t make me stop asking.

“Maybe.”

“Will we be headed to Sawtooth Sweets? I could definitely go for some of those cupcakes.”

“Not what I had in mind, but I’ll put it on the list.” He laughed. I loved the way the skin around his eyes crinkled when he smiled. “Are you still friendly with anyone at Wild Associates?”

“A couple of people. If they don’t think I’ve ghosted them. I signed an NDA when I went on the show, and wasn’t allowed to tell them what was going on.”

“They must know now.”

“Probably. Wouldn’t surprise me if they got gag orders too.”

“I’ve got Bellamy working on hacking into their system, but Gideon will be prepared for that. If we need physical proof, we’ll have to get into the offices.”

I realized something. “There’s no way production, or Gideon’s goons, wouldn’t have gone through my stuff that I’d left behind on set. They’ll find your business card. They’ll know you were the one who has me.”

“There’s a nationwide network of shifter security that will make sure that doesn’t happen.” He growled. “My whole family’s in the business. Silverclaw and his goons might know I was the one who took you, but you can trust that the trail disappeared once we were out of their sight.”

“So, what do we do now? All my evidence is gone, Gideon will do whatever it takes to track me down, and we’re in this tiny cabin together until further notice.”

“We’ll worry about the big stuff tomorrow,” he said.

I raised a brow. “Bellamy will be pissed if we don’t have a rock solid plan when he arrives.”

“Probably.”

“Bet he’s gonna be the life of the part at the Stepchild tonight.” I scoffed. If anyone needed a one-way ticket to Red Heaven, it was him. The bear definitely needed to loosen up.

“He’s a good guy. Hard worker. He’s cracked cases that I thought were impossible.” Barrett ran his fingers along my jaw. They were rough, but his touch was so light. “But I don’t want to talk about him anymore.”

“Then what do you want to talk about?”

“I was hoping you’d want to show me what you would do if I took you to Red Heaven.”

Hot. Freaking. Damn. My lady parts pulsed in agreement.

“I don’t know.” After I inched away from him, I sat up. I could barely breathe when I looked at him, with his chin in that big hand. “I think it would be more effective if we went there. We might have to stop at the drugstore and get some hair dye?—”

“No.” Barrett growled. “Your hair is fucking gorgeous and you’re not ruining it for some cheap disguise.”

“Bossy bear,” I teased, but I appreciated that more than he’d ever know.

“Damn straight.” He crawled toward me in a way that made my mouth water. “And I believe you were about to give me a show.”

My heart pounded. “Once I saw Red Heaven on The Real Werewives , I had some really dirty fantasies about it.” I pulled the sweatshirt over my head. The sports bra had been functional, but now, I wished it was a lacy little number that gave me killer cleavage. But I was used to working with what I had, and I’d make the most of it. I ran my fingers lightly over the fabric, my touch enough to send me through the roof. “I dreamed of meeting a shifter there—maybe a chance encounter, maybe someone who already knew he couldn’t live without me, who wanted me so badly he couldn’t resist taking me right then and there.”

“Oh, yeah?” Barrett’s voice was deep and growly. “I bet the two of you had been dancing all night. Killer band. Place was packed, pushing you closer, until you’re grinding against each other.”

So the bear was down for a little roleplay. That was a twist I didn’t see coming. “At first, I was a little shy about having his hands all over me, but it felt so good I gave in.”

He shook his head and inched closer. “No, you didn’t. If you let the bear touch you, it was because you wanted him to. Not because you gave up.”

“Of course. But I felt a little self-conscious at first. All those people. Watching us.”

“Every shifter in the room wished he could have you.” Barrett pushed himself away from the mattress, his muscles bulging as he rose. “But not one of them dared make a play for you, because you belonged to him.”

I fought the tinge of disappointment he didn’t say me instead of him . But I had to go easy on him. Not even an hour ago, he was beating himself up for these feelings because he was still mourning his mate. I wanted this to be his fantasy as much as mine. He deserved to have his world rocked. I might not be able to pay him for the job, but I could give him that.

No, I wasn’t using sex in exchange for payment. This went way deeper than that. I wanted to see if I could help this bear put his broken heart back together. Didn’t mean we couldn’t have a little fun while doing it.

Maybe I needed a few things put back together too.

His mouth dropped as I got up off the bed.

“It took everything I had not to rip my clothes off right on the dance floor.” I turned around, so he got a full view of my ass, and slipped my leggings off my hips in my best burlesque worthy move. We’d had some lessons on Moonlight Mates , and they were finally coming in handy. It felt awkward, but from the fire in Barrett’s eyes, I’d pulled it off. “I wanted to see if he’d follow me to Red Heaven.”

Barrett rose from the bed in a move that could only be described as pure bear. His body was rumbling, and I almost expected him to shift. Sweet moon, did I want that?

Maybe.

The rumbles got louder, almost like a ragged purr as he backed me against the wall. His hands were on either side of my body. Caging me in. “Your plan worked.”

And I had a feeling this was the part where I lost—no, handed—every bit of control over to him.

“Barrett,” I whispered.

His breath caught. “Is this too much?”

“No.” Well, maybe. “It’s just that. I’ve never actually been with a shifter before.”

His brow arched. “Really?”

“Really.” I sighed. “Just in case this isn’t what you?—”

“Hey.” He took my face in his hands. “What you were doing was driving me wild. You don’t have to apologize for doing something you’ve never done before. It’s brave and sexy as hell. But if you want?—”

“I love the way you ask for my permission just before you’re about to ravish me.”

His eyes sparkled, like I could see every filthy thought that was going through his mind. “I’m definitely gonna ravish you, but only if you want it.”

“Oh, I want it.”

“Are you sure?” He raised a brow.

It was my turn to take his face in my hands and pull him toward me. That rumble turned into a full-on growl as he kissed me, his tongue tangling with mine in a dance much more provocative than our roleplay from the dancefloor.

His hands moved down my body, under the bra, pushing it up over my breasts. I managed to lift my arms so he could take it off me. My boobs weren’t as perky as they used to be, my body was soft and a little lumpy with cellulite. I was forty, my gym membership had lapsed long ago, and this man was looking at me like I was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life.

He made quick work of his shirt and then kissed me again. His lips moved down to my neck, teasing the spot that pulsed wildly in response to his every move.

Then the bear fell to his fucking knees in front of me. The move made mine weak, but he wouldn’t let me fall. His lips were on my breast, circling, sucking, teasing my nipple into a hard peak. His big hand covered the other one. My hands were in his hair, pulling in appreciation, giving him direction, letting him know what I couldn’t say with words.

Everything was so much more intense with him. When I made my confession, I’d worried that this would be a disappointment. That I wouldn’t be able to excite him. That our connection was nothing more than loneliness and the desire to finally be taken seriously.

But it was more than that. Barrett pulled away from my breasts and dragged my panties down my thighs. I’d almost taken them off in the striptease, but I hadn’t been that bold. His gaze was glued to the patch of hair between my legs, and the rumble intensified in approval. I stepped out of the panties, my legs pure jelly. He pushed my thighs apart and his lips were on my clit.

Electricity rocked through my body on contact. At first, he only teased, flicking his tongue, circling slowly, turning my blood to lava. My body bucked in response, telling him exactly what I liked. The bear picked up on my every cue, and he got bolder, licking, sucking, exploring…

I slid down the wall, and he followed my move, laying me out on the floor, spreading my legs wider. Now his fingers were in the mix, teasing my opening, and slipping inside.

My hips bucked as he curled that finger forward. He didn’t have to be told what to do, and he caressed the spot until I couldn’t see straight.

“Things are a little different with a bear.” His grin dripped with pure sin as the waves of my orgasm rolled through me.

“Little bit,” I panted. “I want…your cock.”

“Do you?”

I nodded. “I want that big cock inside me.”

He fumbled with his pants, his cock springing free. He crawled up my body, his shaft bumping against my thigh, my stomach, before he lowered himself and whispered in my ear. “What would you do if everyone was watching you? Would you ride my cock like a good girl?”

“Sweet moon, yes.”

He rolled over onto his back, pulling me with him. I was on top of him, with that glorious cock bumping against my stomach. My legs were still shaking from the orgasm, and he put his hands on my hips, steadying me, helping me position myself.

I grabbed his thick shaft, giving it a couple of pumps. My hand could barely close around it. Barrett’s eyes fluttered closed, and he moaned. I moved faster, harder.

“Tegan,” he gritted out. “We can’t do this.”