Page 11 of His Bear Hands (Bear Creek Grizzlies #1)

11

SIMON

S imon lost control when she bit him. Whatever restraint he'd managed to hold onto disappeared as her bear growled and his bear growled and then lust consumed them both. The soft welcoming warmth of her drove him insane as her channel drew him in, tightened around him. Between her climax and the desperate noises she made and the bright spark of her bite, he was lost. Utterly addicted.

He couldn't stop. Not even if the roof came down around his head. He thrust, driving through the tremors of her orgasm, until his sweat dripped onto her and marked her. Until her scent curled through his brain. Until the feel of her under him, around him, branded onto his body that she was his. His . Always and forever.

As pressure built and he careened toward his own finish, Zoe arched underneath him and her breasts crushed against his chest and she cried out again. Her dark hair spread across his pillow in a tangled mess. Simon groaned and froze above her, filling her, and bit the soft point where her neck met her shoulder. He moved slowly, and collapsed on top of her. Her bear grumbled as Zoe lay still and quiet, eyes half-closed.

Simon loved her with a desperate intensity. His odd little criminal. He kept his weight off her chest as he tried to catch his breath, letting his forehead fall against her shoulder so he could kiss where he'd bitten her. She shivered, her fingers trailing down the small of his back, and she sighed.

He moved to the side, not wanting to lose contact with any of her body, but fearing he would crush her. The sheets rucked up at the foot of the bed, and Simon dragged them up to cover her. He kissed some of the sweat from her forehead, her lip, her cleavage. Loving that some of it was his sweat and she smelled like him. He traced shapes on her stomach, under the sheet, and studied her sated expression. "You're so damn beautiful."

It slipped out before he could think, and he almost regretted it. He should have come up with something poetic or at least not profane.

But a hint of a smile touched her lips. Her green eyes glinted at him in the dim room. "She likes you."

"Who?"

"The bear." A hint of unease drew her eyebrows together, and Simon smoothed his thumb over her forehead.

He wanted to hold his breath after asking his next question, but forced himself to concentrate on her only. She could cut him low with a single word, and that terrified him. "And what about Zoe?"

Her eyes drifted closed but the smile returned. "Zoe likes you too."

"I'm glad." Relief eased the band around his chest and Simon relaxed next to her after making sure she had enough pillows and another blanket to keep her warm. He pulled her close to his chest and pressed his nose in her hair, inhaling her .

Her nose wrinkled as she wiggled next to him, then she yawned and stretched. "But we're both still really, really hungry."

Simon laughed and squeezed her close before beginning to untangle himself. "Then I'll feed you."

He pulled on sweatpants after he tucked her in, and headed for the door. He braced for four sets of raised eyebrows in the kitchen, but only Ethan waited downstairs. And Ethan knew better, though he couldn't quite hide a smirk as he slid a pair of steaks into the skillet. "Just going upstairs to get clothes, huh?"

Simon frowned at the giant platter of fried fish, tortillas, avocado, scrambled eggs, and salsa on the island. "This for me?"

"Of course. When you didn't reappear after a couple of minutes, I sent the guys off to work. And then the moaning started, so I took a nice long walk." Ethan gave him a sideways look. "You might have to speed up the timeline for building the cabin out back, friend, or none of the guests will get any sleep."

Simon refused to be embarrassed, but a bit of heat gathered in his cheeks as he dug through a drawer for some utensils. "I'll get right on that. Maybe mind your business."

"Maybe gag the girl," Ethan said under his breath, then dodged as Simon aimed a kick at him. "Or at least invest in some soundproofing for the walls and door."

"Are the guests still scheduled to check in tomorrow?"

"Yes. Cooper will pick them up in town and drive them up." Ethan frowned at the steaks, flipping them before he leaned back on the counter to face Simon. "And the wrecker dragged the Land Rover back up here so we can try to fix it or chop it for parts. Luckily it was Mel, not his cousin, so he didn't blink when we told him the girl survived. He just assumed she's like us. "

Simon ran his hands through his hair. Great. Because Rosie met the girl at the bar and knew perfectly well Zoe wasn't a shifter. If Mel ended up back in town and mentioned it to the bartender, Simon would have a great deal of explaining to do. Shifters policed themselves, and the community wouldn't like someone being turned without giving permission first. But he only picked up the platter of food. "We'll be down later. Maybe."

Ethan snorted and returned to the steaks. "Don't worry about it. We're going to town for dinner. Coop'll stay the night so he doesn't have to drive back down tomorrow for the guests. So you and the girl can be as loud as you want."

"Great. Maybe you should all stay down there. Call when you're headed back, though. So we can clean up." Simon took the stairs two at a time, already thinking of laying blankets in front of the fireplace and spreading Zoe out in the flickering firelight. Lust surged at the mental picture of her smooth skin and soft curves on display on the soft sheepskin rugs.

He definitely needed to build that cabin.

Simon managed to shoulder the door to her room open and kick it closed without dropping the food, and eased through the dim room to sit on the bed next to Zoe. Her green eyes reflected the light at him as she stretched and sat up, the sheets falling away until her round breasts distracted him still more. Simon cleared his throat as he offered her the food. "Eat, Zoe. It's all for you. I'm going to take a quick shower."

All of her attention went to the food and she didn't even bother with the utensils, instead using her hands to start filling a tortilla, so Simon edged into the en suite to clean up. He didn't want to wash away any evidence of her, but at least if they used the same soap, they would smell alike without the hint of sweat and sex.

By the time he wrapped himself in a towel and returned to the bedroom, Zoe had finished all of the fish and most of the eggs and avocado. Simon raised his eyebrows, impressed in spite of himself. Maybe they needed to take another trip to the river. "Do you want more?"

She groaned and sprawled across the bed, arms and legs akimbo, and patted her stomach. "I might burst if I eat another bite."

"We can't have that," he said. He finished off the rest of the breakfast, pleased she was well-fed, and left the tray outside the door to deal with later. He toweled off his hair and slid into the bed next to her, pulling her close to spoon. She fit against him perfectly. His bear grumbled, content.

Her bear made an answering noise. Simon kissed the back of her neck, listening to the steady drumming of her heartbeat. "Will you stay here, Zoe?"

Her hand stroked his forearm where it draped over her side, and for a moment she stretched and wiggled and then settled back against him. She sounded half-asleep already. "There's nowhere else for me to go."

Simon stared at the wall past her shoulder, his own pulse racing. She was right, of course, but her feeling like a prisoner of her circumstances didn't make for a happy relationship. His arms tightened around her reflexively, wanting to keep her close. "That's not true. If you don't want to stay here, we can find a place you do want to go."

She pulled away enough to lay on her back and look up at him. "Do you want me to stay?"

"So much I almost can't breathe." He smiled and leaned down to kiss her.

Zoe made a contented sound and turned toward him, resting her head on his bicep as her fingers drifted up and down his side. "One more stray for your little group?"

"You're not a stray." Simon pulled the blankets up higher and tucked them close around her before pulling her against his chest. "I've been waiting for you my whole life. I never thought Tate would bring the other half of my soul back to me."

She yawned and stretched again, then sighed. "I have to learn how to be a bear, right?"

"Yes. But you're off to a good start already." He chuckled without meaning to, and she looked up at him with a drowsy smile. Simon kissed her again. "You growled at Ethan when he wouldn't give you food. That's pretty bear-like."

Zoe snorted, patting his side. "No, that's more Zoe-like. Don't get between me and dinner."

"Good to know." Simon laughed and shook his head, playing with her hair. "I can't believe you used 'Simon says' against me. I haven't heard that in years."

"It seemed like a good way to tell you what to do." She smiled. "Simon says you should go to sleep so you can catch me more fish later."

Just the thought of her earlier words, telling him to kiss her, reignited his desire. His cock hardened and pressed against her stomach. Zoe glanced down between them and then looked up at him, eyebrow raised. "Simon didn't say anything about that ."

He laughed, hard enough to jostle her, and rolled to his back, bringing her with him until she straddled his hips and his cock stood up just in front of her neatly-groomed slit. "Well, Simon says this is the best idea he's had all week."

Zoe chewed her lip in that adorable uncertain way she had, and her soft hand tentatively gripped his base. She stroked him once, then again, and Simon groaned, his hips lifting in response. She studied him and Simon wanted to immediately roll them back over so he could plunge into her welcoming warmth. But he waited, holding his breath.

Zoe lifted herself up and wobbled, almost fell off him entirely, and flushed. "I haven't done it this way before. "

And again he almost reversed their positions in a desperate need to have her. To take her. Waiting to feel her surrounding him, gripping him, drawing him in was pure torture. Pure agony. But he concentrated on her as he petted her stomach, teasing her center until her head fell back and she made indecent noises. They had plenty of time. He couldn't rush this. Couldn't rush her.

Simon gripped her thighs and helped guide her. "Just like this." He gritted his teeth as the head of his cock slid against her center and Zoe moaned, and Simon held back even though he wanted to impale her. She sank slowly down on his length and he couldn't take it, lifting his hips to meet her until she gasped and gripped his shoulders for balance.

She stared down at him in surprise, green eyes wide, and gave a tentative rock of her hips. Her eyes closed and her mouth opened, and she sighed. Did it again. And again. Simon was lost. Utterly lost. He lay back as her fingers dug into his shoulders and she moved faster, deeper, wilder.

If heaven existed, this was it.