Page 54 of Mated to the Mountain Bear (Bear Protector #1)

BEN

T wo strides, and I’m across the room, my hands cupping her face and tilting it up to mine.

Her skin is soft under my calloused palms, warm and real.

For a heartbeat, I just stare at her, drinking in every detail—the way her lips part slightly, the flutter of her pulse at her throat, and the tears gathering in those green eyes that have haunted my dreams.

“Ben, I’m so sorry. I missed you,” she whispers, her voice breaking on the last word.

My mouth crashes down on hers, pouring every minute of agony, every sleepless night, every moment I thought I’d lost her into this kiss.

She makes a soft sound of surprise that melts into a moan as her arms wrap around my neck, fingers tangling in my hair.

The taste of her floods my senses, and my bear roars with satisfaction.

When we part for air, I rest my forehead against hers and breathe her in. Her scent fills my lungs and chases away the lingering cold from the mountains.

“Never apologise for sending me away. You were trying to help.”

Her hands frame my face now, thumbs stroking over the beard I haven’t bothered to trim in days. The touch is gentle, exploring, like she’s reminding herself I’m real, too.

When I claim her mouth again, the kiss shifts, becoming deeper, more possessive. My bear is pushing at my control, demanding we claim what’s ours. One hand slides to her lower back, pulling her flush against me, until there’s no space between us, while the other buries itself in her hair.

She rises on her toes and presses closer, until suddenly, standing isn’t good enough.

I lift her easily, my hands gripping her ass as she immediately wraps her legs around my waist. The heat of her core presses against my already hard cock through our clothes, and I groan into her mouth. The feel of her, warm and real and here, nearly brings me to my knees.

“You’re staying.” It’s a declaration, not a question. I can see it in every carefully placed item, every small change she’s made to my space.

She’s moved in. She chose me.

She chose us.

“You couldn’t make me leave if you tried.” She breathes against my lips, rolling her hips against mine in a way that makes me see stars.

She’s here.

Zara’s here, in my home, and she’s staying.

Seeing her things mixed with mine feels right. Like she was meant to be here all along, and her presence is what’s been missing from my life. My bear settles for the first time in a week, recognising his mate is where she belongs.

All the way down the mountain, he’d been pushing me hard. He’d sensed something I hadn’t noticed yet, too caught up in my misery to pay attention to. While Maddox rambled on about criminals setting up shop in the old logging headquarters, my bear had been pulling me home.

To her.

“What about Maddox?” she whispers between kisses, her breath hot against my skin.

My bear rumbles in my chest, and the sound makes the windows rattle slightly. “He’s my brother, but if you say his name again while I’m kissing you, I’m going to have to kill him.”

She laughs, the sound lifting my soul, and she shifts deliberately in my arms. The movement grinds her pussy against my cock, and with only thin layers of fabric between us, I have to bite back a groan.

She knows exactly what she’s doing.

“Okay, no more.” She promises, pressing open-mouthed kisses along my jaw, her tongue flicking out to taste my skin.

“He’s got a bear’s nose and ears. He’ll figure it out and clear off, if he knows what’s good for him.” I’m already moving toward the bedroom, my cock so hard, it’s painful.

Zara goes still in my arms, tilting her head back to look at me with wide eyes. “He can’t... he couldn’t hear us from outside, doing... you know.”

Her cheeks flush pink as she glances toward the door, and I catch her chin, turning her attention back where it belongs.

On me. Only me.

“Hear me take you so hard, you’ll be begging me to bury my teeth in your neck and my seed in your womb?” I nip at her throat, harder than I’ve ever done before, and let her feel the edge of my teeth. When she gasps and grinds against me harder, satisfaction rolls through me.

She shivers in my arms, then pulls back slightly to look at me. “Ben... Natalie mentioned marking. She said it’s important. That it... completes the bond?”

“You met my sister?” I go still, searching her face. “And she told you about marking?”

It should have been me, but I didn’t want to pressure her.

“A little.” Her fingers trace my jaw. “She said without marking me, your bear would make you crazy. But she didn’t explain what actually happens.”

My bear pushes harder at my control, desperate now that she’s asking.

“When I mark you, I’ll bite here.” I press my thumb to the spot where her neck meets her shoulder, feeling her pulse race. “My teeth will break the skin, leaving my claim for everyone to see. It bonds us completely. You’ll feel what I feel. Know when I need you. And I’ll know the same about you.”

Her breathing quickens. “And if we don’t?”

“Then we’re always incomplete. Always yearning. The separation we just went through?” I tighten my hold on her. “It gets worse. The bond is there but unfinished. It drives us both mad.”

She processes this, then her eyes flash with determination. “Do it.”

“Zara...”

“Mark me, Ben. Right now. I want everyone to know I’m yours. I want to feel you, even when we’re apart. I want...”

The rest of her words are lost as my control snaps. My bear roars to the surface, and I slam my mouth over hers in a kiss that’s all teeth and desperation. She wants my mark. She’s demanding it.

Something primal and possessive takes over completely.

“Fuck.” I growl against her lips. “You want my mark? You’re getting it. Tonight. But first, I’m going to fuck you so hard, you forget everything but my name.”

I pause to study her face. I’ve made it sound like it’s already decided, but if she’s scared, if she needs time, I’ll wait. Even if it kills me.

Her eyes search mine, pupils blown wide with lust, and I hold my breath until she nods, just once, certain. Relief crashes through me like a wave. The weight I’ve carried since she left vanishes, and I can finally breathe properly again.

“Thank fuck,” I mutter, practically running toward the bedroom now. We fit together perfectly, and Zara laughs as I shoulder the door open.

Jerry tries to dart in behind us and nearly trips me.

“Out. This isn’t for your eyes.” I bark, shooing him back with one foot while balancing Zara.

She’s still laughing as I kick the door shut, the sound filling all the empty spaces in my chest.

“You think that’s funny?” I press her against the door, pinning her there with my hips, while my mouth finds hers again. My cock throbs against her core, and she moans into my mouth, her nails digging into my shoulders.

She nods, gasps when I grind against her.

I spin us away and toss her onto the bed.

She bounces once, still grinning, and kicks her legs playfully until I catch her ankle. “Poor Jerry. He just missed you.”

“Poor Jerry? Poor me.” I moan, yanking her to the edge of the mattress. My hands make quick work of her leggings and underwear, stripping them down in one motion.

The scent of her arousal hits me with full force now, and with nothing between us now, my mouth waters. She’s already wet, so ready, and the knowledge that she’s been thinking about this nearly breaks my control.

“Ben?”

She’s wearing one of my shirts over a tank top, and when she tries to press her knees together, I growl. The sound fills the room, primal and demanding, and her legs fall open like she can’t help herself. Her pussy glistens in the lamplight, pink and perfect and mine.

“Look at you,” I murmur, running my hands up her inner thighs then spreading her wider. “Already soaked for me. Did you touch yourself while I was gone? Wearing my shirt, in my bed?”

Her breath hitches, and she nods, cheeks flushing darker. “Every night.”

The image nearly undoes me. I lean down, inhaling deeply, and her hips buck.

“I’m going to make you so happy.” I promise, my hands sliding higher. “Every day, Zara. You’ll never regret coming back to me.”

The playfulness fades from her expression as she props herself up on her elbows. “Ben, I love you. I’m yours. I might have been away, but I never really left you.”

Satisfied she understands what’s about to happen, I let my bear push forward. He wants what’s his. Now.

“We’re never spending another night apart,” I demand, forcing her knees wider. “Never again, Zara. You’re mine.”

She chants “yes” softly as I strip off my own clothes, her eyes tracking every movement. When my cock springs free, thick and already leaking, her tongue darts out to wet her lips. The gesture is unconscious, but it makes me throb.

“I love you too, Zara. But my bear needs this. He needs you.” I wrap my hand around my cock, stroking once as I position myself between her spread thighs. “So I’m about to fuck you until you’re screaming for my mark. And then, I’ll give it to you.”

Her eyes go wide, but her pussy clenches visibly as more wetness gathers there. “Please,” she whispers, and that single word destroys the last of my control.